It's A Name That Sheep Contest! You Could Win A Sheep!

Help! I need a name!


Okay, That's A Nice Head Shot There


Now Turn And Show Us Your Profile--Yes, Yes, That's Great!


And The Other Way--Perfect!

It can take a while to get a name around here. And if you do actually get one, there's no guarantee it'll be a good one. You might get stuck with something spectacularly uncreative, such as 'New Cat' or 'Whitey.' Or something just this side of embarrassing--like 'Snugglebunny.'

The lovely lady you see in these photos has been known as Yellow 21 for over two years, and she feels that this has gone on long enough. She wants a real name. A good name. A name a sheep can hold her head up high and be proud of.

This is where you come in. I have decided to hold a contest to come up with the perfect name for this sheep. And if your entry is chosen as the winner, you will become the 'honorary' owner of your newly named sheep! What does this mean? Well, if you so desire, you will receive (via email) periodic news about your sheep, including what she's been up to lately, how her health is doing, photos if she's willing to pose for them, and, of course, progress reports during her upcoming pregnancy and up-to-the-minute details of the birth--including adorable newborn baby lamb pictures!

Note: Being the winner does not mean that 'your' new sheep gets to come and live with you. No, she stays right here on the farm (and you don't even get to visit her). But, you do get to tell all of your friends that you are the proud owner of a sheep. You simply explain to them that your sheep lives in the country because she is much happier there than she would be in, say, your fifth floor apartment or out on the fire escape or eating up all of the landscaping in your lovely backyard.

So if you are still interested in entering, here's how it works:

1. No purchase necessary! Simply leave your entry submission in the comments section of this post. If you do not have a blog or email through which you can be notified, just check back here to find out if you won.

2. Anyone can enter no matter what age/race/species/country you are in/whatever.

3. You can enter any name you like, except names that begin with the letters A and B. For example, if you entered Alice or Barbara, you would automatically be disqualified. (Yes, there's a good reason for this which I will explain another time.)

4. You are welcome to enter your own name if you so desire (as long as it doesn't start with an A or a B). If you have a masculine name but still want to enter it, just give me a good reason why you feel it would be an appropriate name for this female sheep. If you know that I already have a sheep that shares your name, well, you need to come up with something else.

5. You do not have to give a reason why you entered the name you did, but it would probably help your chances of winning. (Hint: I am a sucker for silly jokes and bad rhymes. Cute also goes over well with me. Who do you think named Snugglebunny?)

6. You are welcome to enter more than one name.

7. And just to make things a little more interesting, here is a way you can increase your chances of winning: read through the other entries and suggest why they should not be chosen as the winning name.

8. All judging will be done by a select, secret panel of totally biased and partial farm inhabitants. I have the last word.

9. The winner must agree to have their name used in conjunction with this contest as well as any future Name That Sheep contests that may or may not occur on this blog.

Now I hope you'll all put on your thinking caps and Name That Sheep!

Update: Click here to read "At Last! We Have A Winner!" and find out what we finally named that sheep!

Daily Farm Photo: 9/30/05

I Hope Everyone Is Getting Along

Attention: Farmgirl Has Left The Farm

Up The Driveway And Down The Highway

Yes, it's true. Joe is dragging me away for a few days of road trip fun. Not to worry, my mother (who has five whole days of previous farmsitting experience) and her beau (who has no farmsitting experience but is very brave) will be keeping watch over everything while we are gone. We have left them with pages of detailed instructions, several emergency phone numbers, about 20 pounds of very ripe heirloom tomatoes sitting on the kitchen counter, five freezers full of food, and a nice long list of farm projects from which they can pick and choose.

As for Farmgirl Fare, my mother has my blogger password, and Whitey has promised to help her post some daily photos, because I know some of you need your daily farm fix. (I just might have to find a computer somewhere and get one myself!) So the farm will be here, but I will not be responding to comments.

And even if you can survive for the next few days without us, you should still stop by for a visit so you can enter The Exciting Contest that will be going on while I am gone. Details coming soon!

Note: My mother has declared that not only is she not an early riser, but that she is also still on California time. So if you thought this morning's photo was posted late. . .

Daily Farm Photo: 9/29/05

Heart Of Vine

Daily Farm Photo: 9/28/05

It's Starting. . .

Autumn Bloom

Daily Farm Photo: 9/27/05

My Sweet Teddy Boy Is Growing Up

Pita, Pita, It's Time To Eata!

BLT Pita & Garden Bounty

And about time, too. After two weeks of runaway preoccupation and dozens of little balls of dough, I ran out of steam (and stomach space) on what I now refer to as The Pita Project. (I also started hearing things like, "Pita, Pita, Where's The Meata?")

So no more excuses. I turned the oven off and the computer on, gathered together my photos and findings, and wrote a post much longer than originally intended. I had some fun, learned a lot, and am absolutely stuffed.

I appreciate your patience, and hope you will find it was worth the wait. Just click here to start reading all about How The Pita Puffed.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/26/05

Well Seasoned

Weekend Dog Blogging #2

Lucky Buddy Bear Happy In His Hay Cubby

After 15 weeks of Weekend Cat Blogging, the dogs have finally been invited to play. This new event is called (not surprisingly) Weekend Dog Blogging. We missed last week's premiere episode, but as you can see, Bear isn't real upset about it. (Nothing gets that dog down except scary thunderstorms, and who can blame him for that? I'd be safely huddled under the house with him if I could wiggle my way down there.) If you'd like to see more fun dog photos and discover yummy new food blogs, head over to Sweetnicks on Sunday night for the complete round-up and links to participants.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/25/05

I Can't Resist These Pink Sunrises

Weekend Cat Blogging #16

Window Washing

Attention Cat Lovers! It's time for Weekend Cat Blogging #16!
Food Bloggers around the world unite each week and share pictures of our favorite felines. See cute cat photos and discover yummy food blogs. You'll find all the links to this week's entries here at Eat Stuff in Australia (run by the adorable Kiri). We'd love to have you join us. Just send your permalink in a comment to Clare (Kiri's slave) at Eat Stuff and add a "Weekend Cat Blogging" tag to your post.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/24/05

Look What Flew Into My Photo

Daily Farm Photo: 9/23/05

Swing Shot

Daily Farm Photo: 9/22/05

Happy First Day Of Fall

Daily Farm Photo: 9/21/05

Donkey Doodle Dandy Loves To Hang Out In Corners

What To Do With All Those Green Tomatoes? Try My Salsa-Like, No Sugar Green Tomato Relish Recipe!

Running Out of Time?

The shorter days and cooler nights of September signify a slowing down for the kitchen gardener. It's a time for reflection: on successes and failures in the garden, on the quiet winter months ahead, and on the fact that all those green tomatoes still out on the vines are never going to turn red.

If you abhor the thought of letting any of your precious garden bounty go to waste, this frightful realization may bring on all sorts of irrational behavior. Frantically struggling to cover your tomato plants with enormous tarps in gusty winds and plummeting temperatures while praying to the garden gods for a late frost is not the way to deal with green tomatoes. Making green tomato relish is.

Tastewise, unripe green tomatoes bear little resemblence to their fully ripened counterparts. They are crunchy and slightly tart and completely lacking in that unmistakable tomato flavor. But when slowly simmered on the stove, green tomatoes come into their own.

Green tomato relish is traditionally a sweet concoction, often made with raisins, ginger, cloves, and lots of sugar. Unfortunately this tends to be the type of thing that people receive in jars as holiday gifts and eventually end up throwing out because they have no idea what to do with it.

The following relish, however, is not sweet at all; in fact, it does not contain any sugar. It resembles a thick salsa but is easier to make, as green tomatoes do not even need to be peeled. Nor do the apples; all you really do is chop everything up and toss it into a pot.

This recipe also takes full advantage of the late summer/early fall harvest; red peppers, onions, garlic, and apples are all called for. Adding the cilantro and jalapenos right at the end helps them retain their bright color. Green cilantro and jalapenos coupled with red peppers gives the relish a festive color combination that lends itself perfectly to holiday gifts—that definitely won't get tossed into the compost bin.

Relishes are quite forgiving, so don't be afraid to adapt the recipe to what your end-of-the-season garden or farmers' market has to offer. Any type of tomato can be used, and you can mix and match varieties. Paste tomatoes, such as those pictured above, will require less cooking time. A touch of red on a few of the tomatoes is fine, as long as they're still very hard. Fully ripe tomatoes, though, will give your relish a completely different flavor and consistency.

Partially green sweet red peppers can also be used, and you can adjust the amount of jalapeno peppers to suit your taste, or leave them out entirely. Other fresh hot peppers can be substituted. Leave the seeds in if you desire more heat.

Green tomato relish makes a tangy alternative to traditional salsa in quesadillas and tacos, mixed into guacamole, or as a dip with tortilla chips. It can be eaten hot, cold, or at room temperature. Stir it into refried beans or cooked rice for an instant fiesta side dish. For a spicy burrito filling, lightly brown some ground turkey or diced chicken in a skillet, add equal parts green tomato relish and water, and simmer until thickened. Put green tomato relish on a Monterey Jack cheeseburger in place of ketchup and pickle, or use it to liven up grilled flank steak. Mix a little into diced home-fried potatoes, or even hash, just before serving.

Green tomato relish will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator or up to a year in the pantry if the jars are processed in a boiling-water canner. Canning adds very little preparation time because you can set up your canning equipment during the hour the relish is simmering. And as its zesty aroma fills the kitchen, you'll be secure in the knowledge that although the temperature has dropped and the wind is howling through the garden, both you and your green tomatoes are safe inside and ready for fall.

As always, I urge you to seek out locally grown and organic ingredients whenever possible. If you don't have a garden full of green tomatoes, you may be able to beg some from a neighbor (many people simply let them go to waste) or ask your favorite vendor at the farmers' market to pick some especially for you.

I don't recommend using supermarket apple cider vinegar, which is often simply distilled white vinegar with caramel coloring. Instead, look for natural (preferably organic), unpasteurized and unfiltered raw apple cider vinegar with 5% acidity that contains the naturally occurring 'Mother' of vinegar. Organic raw apple cider vinegar is amazing stuff that is rich in enzymes and potassium and has been highly regarded throughout history because of its numerous internal and external health benefits. We drink some every day and have started giving it to our sheep (mixed 50/50 with garlic juice) as a natural wormer and overall wellness tonic.

You can read more about the benefits of organic raw apple cider vinegar here and here. Look for it at natural foods stores, places like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, and even some supermarkets. I like Bragg brand, and if you can't find it locally it's available for a good price (and only 99 cents shipping) from amazon.com in gallon jugs here or in quart bottles here.




Farmgirl Susan's No Sugar Green Tomato Relish
Makes about 3 pints
Recipe may be doubled; increase cooking time by 10-15 minutes

2 lb. green tomatoes, cored and chopped
1 lb. white or yellow onions, chopped
3/4 lb. sweet red peppers, cored and chopped
1/2 lb. tart cooking apples, such as 'Granny Smith', cored and chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup 5% acidic organic raw apple cider vinegar (or less, see note below)*
1 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt
4 jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded if desired, and finely chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

Combine the tomatoes, onions, peppers, apples, garlic, vinegar, and salt in a large, nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about an hour.

Stir in the jalapenos, cilantro, and cumin and simmer for 5 more minutes. Carefully purée the mixture using a stick blender (I can't say enough good things about my KitchenAid Hand Blender—it's one of the best things I ever bought for the kitchen) or in a traditional countertop blender (in batches if necessary) until still somewhat chunky.

If canning, return the puréed relish to a boil, then ladle the hot mixture into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Store in a cool, dark place.
10 calories, 0g fat, 60mg sodium, 0g fiber, per Tablespoon

* October 2009 Update: Since I orignally posted this four years ago, a couple of people have told me that they followed the recipe but their green tomato relish ended up tasting much too strongly of vinegar. The 1 cup of apple cider vinegar called for is to ensure that this is safe for water-bath canning (green tomatoes are acidic, but the other vegetables lower the overall acidity—1 cup is plenty), but if you are just going to store yours in the fridge (where it will keep for several weeks without processing) and are concerned it might be too much vinegar for your taste, you can safely decrease the amount of apple cider vinegar to 1/2 cup, or even less. If you want to give jars of green tomato relish as a gift without having to process them, just make sure the recipients put the jars directly into their refrigerator.

© Copyright 2005 FarmgirlFare.com, the not always vine-ripened foodie farm blog where Farmgirl Susan shares recipes, stories, and photos from her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/20/05

Green, Green, Green--But Not For Much Longer

Daily Farm Photo: 9/19/05

Morning Moonset

I was so mesmerized by the flashy brilliance of this morning's sunrise that I nearly missed the rare scene playing out behind me. (Unfortuntely I did miss capturing the moon in its entirety, but I caught a glimpse just before it slid behind the clouds, and it was breathtaking.)

Phew! I didn't think I was even going to get to Daily Farm Photo #101--let alone #1,000. Since I started trying to post these photos, the sun has made its way across the entire sky. It just dipped behind this ridge, chasing after the moon. Time for me to tuck in the sheepsies--another sunrise will be here all too soon.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/18/05

This Is My 100th Daily Farm Photo


It's been amazing.*

I would love to know what some of your favorite photos are. For those who may not be familiar with how Blogger works, the easiest way to look through several previous posts at once is via the Archives (located in the sidebar on the right side of this page). Simply click on a month, and you will then be able to scroll down through all of that month's photos and stories.

So do you think I will make it to Daily Farm Photo number 1,000? Or will I run out of subject material long before that? As always, your comments and suggestions are enjoyed and appreciated. I am so glad you are here.

*amazing: adj. astonishing, fascinating, stunning, shocking, wonderful, surprising, bewildering, prodigious, awesome, unbelievable, astounding, incredible, marvelous.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/17/05

J2 & New Cat Survey The Day From The Cat Cabin

Attention Cat Lovers! It's time for Weekend Cat Blogging #15!
Food Bloggers around the world unite each week and share pictures of our favorite felines. See cute cat photos and discover yummy food blogs. You'll find all the links to this week's entries here at Eat Stuff in Australia (run by the adorable Kiri). We'd love to have you join us. Just send your permalink in a comment to Clare (Kiri's slave) at Eat Stuff and add a "Weekend Cat Blogging" tag to your post.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/16/05

Trying To Reach The Dog's Water Dish

Daily Farm Photo: 9/15/05

What Color Are These Volunteer Balsam Flowers? Joyful!

And I am, too, because the phone is working again! It seems that our phone cable was struck not once, but twice by lightning Tuesday night. The line is full of static, though, and there's apparently still a problem with the dial-up connection. I just spent the last two and a half hours trying to get (and stay) online. Since there's not much I can do at a connection speed of 9.6 Kbps anyway, I'm giving up for now and heading back to the kitchen to check on the latest batch of Simple Summer Harvest Soup and finish sopping up the pond. (Another big storm came through last night and dropped 1-1/2 inches of rain outside and slightly less through the leaky kitchen roof.)

Thanks for all your wonderful comments. Hopefully I'll be 100% back soon. Oops. Did I just say soon? Oh no! Well, if you've been meaning to delve into the Farmgirl Fare archives, now might be a good time. . .

I'm Alive, But The Phone Is Dead

Greetings from the library! Yesterday saw a record number of visitors at Farmgirl Fare, and I think that our little dial-up connection just couldn't handle it. I woke up this morning to find the phone line dead.

Okay, I suppose it might have had something to do with the fierce thunderstorm that blew in last night and knocked out the power not 15 minutes after Clare and I simultaneously published our trans-continental cookie posts. I was hoping the phone would miraculously fix itself, but since we're the last house on both the phone and power lines, often we are the only ones affected, and nobody knows there's a problem but us. I gave in at 1:00pm and drove into town to report the outage to the phone company. (Don't you just love it when you call to tell them that your phone is dead, and they want a number where they can reach you? And yes, I actually do have a cell phone. It starts working about 25 miles from the farm.)

After establishing the fact that yes, we do have livestock, but no, the front gate is not locked, I gave what I hoped were fairly clear instructions on how to find the farm. I was cheerfully assured that, despite our lack of a physical address and no way for anyone to reach me, someone would fix the problem within 24 hours.

I suppose I still have until midnight to get a Daily Farm Photo up. I'm grateful the phone was working yesterday, though I couldn't help but smile this morning when I realized the irony of ending last night's post by saying, Isn't technology wonderful?

Two Continents, One Recipe, Cookies All Around

Please Pass The Milk

So what do you get when you combine two foodie friends, one global book swap, an intriguing new recipe, and the magic of email? About as close to "baking together" as two girls on opposite sides of the world can get. (Along with the discovery that one can, in fact, wake up in the morning with a cookie batter hangover. Note: Eating nothing but the baked version of said cookie batter for breakfast and lunch the following day does not help nearly as much as you would think.)

I've said before that I'm a sucker for chocolate chip cookie recipes. And I certainly can't resist a baking challenge--even if it does begin a half hour before my bedtime. Here's what happened.

Back in July, my pal Amy at Beauty Joy Food organized a book swap. (If you missed out on this fun event, do not despair; Amy has promised to host future swaps. She is even trying to get me to host one.) Our pal Clare at Eat Stuff in Australia signed up and received a copy of the New York Cookbook by Molly O'Neill from her swap partner. She dove into it yesterday and came up with a simple recipe for chocolate chip cookies which she then emailed to me to see what I thought of it. It immediately piqued my interest for two reasons: 1)It didn't call for any leavening, and 2)It had such a high ratio of butter to dry ingredients. I wanted to make these cookies.

A brilliant plan was quickly hatched. We would try out the recipe at the same time and compare the results of what happens when you are baking the exact same thing half a world away. I already knew from experience that when I changed even one little thing in a chocolate chip cookie recipe, it often caused a completely different outcome. This was going to be interesting. We would each write about our experiences, comparing results and including the recipe--which Clare would convert to metric for her post. And we would simultaneously publish our posts.

And so, with a flurry of emails (What is your brown sugar like? First tray is in the oven! Where are those pictures? Are you sure it said teaspoon and not Tablespoon? Where ARE you?) and a dusting of flour, our trans-continental bake-a-thon began. It was almost too much fun. (It was definitely too much cookie batter. I am 100% convinced that I inherited a gigantic batter-eating gene from my mother.)

The original recipe is from David "The Cookie King" Leiderman in New York and is called "Delicious Butterscotch Chocolate Chunk Cookies." He describes the cookies as "easy to make and absolutely delicious," adding that "they develop a butterscotch flavor as they bake and are extremely fragile."

The recipe was easy to make, but it also didn't look like it would yield much. I decided to make two batches so I would have enough batter to play around with different kinds of chocolate and various sizes of cookies. I made two minor adjustments to the recipe. I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead of 1/2 teaspoon, and I used chocolate chips instead of chopped bittersweet chocolate.


Pure & Sweet

I used Horizon Organic butter, C & H golden brown sugar, farm fresh eggs, and Heartland Mill organic, all-purpose flour. The big chips are Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Premium Baking Chips which are larger than most standard, American semisweet chocolate chips. The tiny chips are Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels. I used the double chocolate chips in one batch and the mini chips in the other. The only other changes had to do with the size of the cookies and the baking times. Even the Baby Bear cookies (which were about half the size the Cookie King called for) were not close to being done after 6 to 8 minutes.


I Stole These From The Three Bears

I used three different scoops to make three sizes of cookies. If you fill them with water, the "Papa Bear" scoop holds 1/4 cup (or 2 fluid ounces), the "Mama Bear" scoop holds 2 Tablespoons, and the "Baby Bear" scoop holds 1 Tablespoon.

As you can see, just those two little changes made quite a difference when it came to the finished products.


All These And More From One Recipe

All of the cookies tasted really good. As far as the "butterscotch flavor," well, if you nibbled on just the brown edges of the double chocolate chip Mama and Papa Bears, you could almost kind of sorta taste it. But one bite with chocolate and it was obliberated. On the other hand, all of the cookies except the mini chip Baby Bears were definitely "extremely fragile" as he stated. Although the brown edges appear to be crunchy in the photo, they are actually very soft. Why one would want to make cookies this susceptible to falling apart I do not know--except perhaps to use it as a handy excuse not to be able to share them with anyone. (In fact, I do believe I employed just that line of reasoning last week after I made a batch of Rae's amazingly chocolately Brownie Bite Cookies that she wrote about recently on Bunnyfoot.)

My personal favorites were the Mama and Baby Bear sizes made with the mini chips. They spread more evenly and also held together better than the others. Plus they're cuter. My notes for the cookies made with the larger chips simply say "weird." They were clunky and didn't spread right. And they really fell apart easily.

While this recipe did not shoot right up to the top of the New Favorites list, it is definitely a keeper. And I realized that because the cookies were so soft, they would be good for making ice cream sandwiches since all the ice cream would not smoosh out the sides like it does when you bite into one made with crunchy cookies. To make: Freeze the cookies, and then assemble sandwiches using slightly softened ice cream. Put the sandwiches back into the freezer until hard. (Or enjoy right away with large napkin at the ready.) I made some with vanilla bean ice cream, and they were very, very good. I bet they would be even better with my favorite, coffee ice cream.


Save Some Cookies And Make A Few Of These

So that's my version of our all night/all day, highly entertaining baking adventure. We are both low on sleep and high on sugar right now, but it was worth it. The recipe, including my changes, is below. To hop over to Sydney and read Clare's side of the story, all you have to do is click right here. Isn't technology amazing?

David Leiderman's
Delicious Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
As Interpreted By Farmgirl

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/3 cups chocolate chips (about 8 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg in a bowl and beat to make a smooth batter. (I used an electric hand mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute.) Add flour and chocolate chips, stirring with a rubber spatula until no traces of flour remain. (My butter was really soft, so I put the finished batter in the freezer for about 10 minutes to stiffen it up a bit before baking.) Using a scoop or spoon, drop batter onto a parchment-lined, heavy duty baking sheet. Bake until barely brown (or a little longer if desired). Cool on a wire rack. Yield depends on size of cookies. Makes about 4 dozen Baby Bear (1 Tablespoon) size.

Baking times in my oven:
Papa Bears: 16-17 minutes
Mama Bears: 14 minutes
Baby Bears: 10 minutes.

Note: Because the instructions said "bake until barely brown," I may have erred on the side of caution and probably could have baked all the cookies a little longer. This might have helped with the fragility factor.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/13/05

You Can't Fence Out A Sunrise

Daily Farm Photo: 9/12/05

One Hot & Happy Beagle

Daily Farm Photo: 9/11/05

Bird Envy

Simple Summer Harvest Soup

Freshly Picked Aconcagua Sweet Peppers

Well, I couldn't be expected to subsist solely on pita bread this past week, now could I? (I really did try to, though).** But my favorite sweet peppers in the garden have finally turned red, and so I decided it was time for some soup.

This is one of the easiest soups you will ever make. I went from unwashed garden bounty to sample spoonfuls in less than 40 minutes. The combination of yellow squash and sweet red peppers gives it a unique flavor and gorgeous color. The key, of course, is using the best ingredients you can find. Homemade chicken stock really does make a difference (in almost any recipe), and I always try to keep at least a few quarts of it in the freezer. It comes in very handy for impromptu soup making sessions.

You can vary the amounts of vegetables called for to suit your taste; more will give you a slightly thicker soup. You could use orange peppers instead of red if you happen to have some handy. My orange bells in the garden are so sweet and so few, I always end up cutting them into strips and just eating them raw or tossing them into salads.

This soup is also a good way to disguise vegetables from picky eaters. Because it is pureed, even ardent little squash haters would be hard pressed to correctly identify the offending ingredient. It is healthy and light and yet heavy with the deep flavors of summer. It is delicious hot, cold, and at room temperature. It makes a delightful first course, or a perfect light supper when served with a simple garden salad and perhaps some warm, crusty bread.

You can dress it up with a few fresh chives and a dollop of sour cream. You can toss in a few very ripe, chopped tomatoes when it is cold, and you can swirl in some nice pesto and instantly give it a completely different character when it is hot. Or you can just stand over the stove and eat it straight from the pot, slurping it up with your big wooden stirring spoon. All in the name of recipe development, of course.

As with so many soups, this one tastes even better after sitting for a day or two in the fridge (if you can make it last that long). Not in the mood for soup just yet? Pour it into plastic containers and freeze it until many months from now when all you are craving is a tasty dose of sunshine.

Simple Summer Harvest Soup

Serving Up Summer

2 to 3 Tablespoons good olive oil
2 Large yellow or white onions (about 1 pound), chopped
3 or 4 Sweet red peppers, bell or other shaped (about 1 pound), chopped
3 or 4 Yellow summer squash, such as crookneck or lemon (about 1 pound), cut into quartered slices
6 cups (48 ounces) Homemade chicken stock (or top quality storebought)

Optional garnishes:
Chopped fresh chives, sour cream, basil pesto, arugula pesto, chopped vine-ripened tomatoes

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the chopped onions, peppers, and squash. Let cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, making sure to cover the vegetables with oil.** Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer with the lid cracked, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Using a blender or stick blender (I absolutely love my KitchenAid Hand Blender), carefully puree the soup to desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot or cold, garnished if desired.

*Check out my post, The Pita Project, to learn how easy it is to make your own delicious pita bread.

**Note: You can skip this step, and your soup will still taste wonderful. Just toss all the ingredients into the pot (without the olive oil), bring to a boil, and follow the rest of the instructions.

© Copyright 2005 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares recipes, stories, and photos from her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/10/05

New Cat Spends Most Of His Time High Above Dog Level

Attention Cat Lovers! It's time for Weekend Cat Blogging #14!
Food Bloggers around the world unite each week and share pictures of our favorite felines. See cute cat photos and discover yummy food blogs. You'll find all the links to this week's entries here at Eat Stuff in Australia (run by the adorable Kiri). We'd love to have you join us. Just send your permalink in a comment to Clare (Kiri's slave) at Eat Stuff and add a "Weekend Cat Blogging" tag to your post.

Daily Farm Photo: 9/9/05

Happy Mint & More Handmade Fence

Daily Farm Photo: 9/8/05

Sedum Autumn Joy Is Blooming & Buzzing

Pita Update

A Pile Of Freshly Baked Pitas

So where is the recipe already? Is this yet another stalling tactic? Well, yes. It seems that what started out as just a colorful photo taken and posted on a whim (along with the promise of a recipe) has turned into quite The Pita Project. First, of course, I was waylaid over the weekend by all those ripe tomatoes. Then I ended up making four batches of pita bread in the last two days. I learned a lot and even took some helpful photos. I also became just a teensy bit frustrated, but I'll save those thrilling details for the actual post (yes, there is going to be one). In the meantime, I'm seriously considering changing the title from Pita, Pita, I Too Much Eata (even though that is more true now than ever) to one of these:

1. Pita, Pita, What A Stupid Idea

2. Pita, Pita, Why Won't You Just Puff Already?

Or there's the short and to the point:

3. Oh, Stuff It

Though I think I may end up going with the one suggested by my very understanding pal, Clare, at Eat Stuff in Australia:

4. What On Earth Made Me Tell You I Would Post About Pitas?

But, dear fellow bread lovers, do not despair. I will be posting not only the pita recipe and step-by-step photos, but also a surprise bonus recipe that is incredibly easy and instantly addicting. So when will all of this actually appear? Oh, I'm sure you know the answer to that by now. Soon!

Daily Farm Photo: 9/7/05

The Hornets Have Been Busy

Click on "The Hornets" above to see where they were a month ago. To see a series of photos of this amazing creation and learn about its builders, please click here. My apologies to those who are creeped out by this picture, but I couldn't resist sharing it. I find it fascinating.

Anyone For Spam?

No Thanks, I'm A Vegetarian

I didn't think so. Unfortunately, some ever-clever computer people have begun surreptitiously serving up enormous quantities of the stuff--disguised as blog comments that are actually advertisements usually linking to an unrelated site. They are known as "comment spam," and the problem seems to be expanding more rapidly than yeast cells in a batch of very happy bread dough.

And so, like many of my fellow food bloggers, I have been forced to activitate the Word Verification Option offered by Blogger. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I will swipe Blogger.com's explanation:

"People leaving comments will be required to complete a word verification step. . . What this does is prevent automated systems from adding comments to your blog, since it takes a human being [or a chicken or a cat or a sheep] to read the word and pass this step. A lot of comment spam is done automatically by software which can't pass the word verification, so enabling the option is a good way to prevent many such unwanted comments."

So what does this mean for you? It means that you will have to decipher and type in a short series of very odd-looking letters (that never actually spell anything) before you can leave me a comment. What does it mean for me? That I have to hope you will put up with this extra step and still continue to leave your wonderful comments on Farmgirl Fare.

It's really not that bad. It's almost kind of fun (for about the first three times you do it). And if you find that the letters look so strange that you simply cannot figure them out, you have two options. 1) You can go ahead and enter the wrong answer and then be given a new set of (hopefully easier) letters to decipher. Or 2) You can start leaving all your blog comments late at night when you are very tired and have had a glass or two of wine because for some reason at that time all the letters are absolutely crystal clear. Of course, this may not be the best time to be leaving comments. . .

Thanks for your understanding. Your comments are an integral (and very entertaining) part of Farmgirl Fare. I hope to hear from you soon (yes, even if it's only to gripe about my activating the Word Verification Option).

Daily Farm Photo: 9/6/05

The Hay Is In, So Now It's Firewood Season

Shrinking Summer

This Should Keep Us In Sauce Through The Winter





Or Maybe Not. Just Seven Little Pints. So Where Did The Rest Go?





To A Few Tomato Loving Sheep!

Daily Farm Photo: 9/5/05

Back Rub For Big Chip

Daily Farm Photo: 9/4/05

No Particleboard For These Hens--Even A Handmade Walnut Door

Daily Farm Photo: 9/3/05

Photoshoot Inspector

Attention Cat Lovers! It's time for Weekend Cat Blogging #13!
Food Bloggers around the world unite each week and share pictures of our favorite felines. See cute cat photos and discover yummy food blogs. You'll find all the links to this week's entries at Eat Stuff in Australia (run by the adorable Kiri). We'd love to have you join us. Just send your permalink in a comment to Clare (Kiri's slave) at Eat Stuff and add a "Weekend Cat Blogging" tag to your post.

Pita, Pita, I Too Much Eata!How To Make Pita Bread & My Search For The Perfect Recipe

The Pita Project
Three Weeks & 60 Minutes To Yum


Summer As Still Life

February 2007 Update: Attention Bread Lovers!
Are you a bread baker or wanna-be bread baker? I'm part of a fun and exciting new project called A Year In Bread. Bakers of all levels are invited to come bake bread with us! Click here to learn more.

There is homegrown ground lamb mixed with fresh basil, rosemary, thyme, onion, and garlic in the fridge. There are lemon cucumbers and white and yellow onions and San Marzano tomatoes and Italian parsley and Greek oregano and lots and lots of basil in the kitchen garden. And there are tiny drops of water falling from a cloudless sky, which can only mean that it is so hot and humid that sweat is dripping off the sun.

So what does a farmgirl do? She cranks the oven up to 500 degrees and makes pita bread of course! And just how does she do that?

She pulls out a recipe she has made only once (two years ago), and then, caught up in a seductive haze of gorgeous garden bounty and warm pita bread, she snaps a photo and posts it along with the promise of a recipe. This promise receives such an unexpected, enthusiastic response that she becomes the tiniest bit nervous, since she has never before posted a recipe she hasn't made so many times she could prepare it in her sleep.

And so she decides she should probably make one more test batch.

Three weeks and six batches of pita bread later, I am ready to report my findings. And I have much more to share than just a recipe. I even created an amazingly scrumptious, quick and easy version of one of my favorite foods. (And I also spent more time crouched down in front of the oven than I have in my entire life.) But let's start with the recipe.

I found it in Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book Of Breads, a book I claimed in my Ten Tips For Better Breads post was worth buying just for the pita bread recipe. I still agree (though I do hope to one day try some of the other 300 recipes this enormous book contains).

Here is what Bernard has to say about pita bread:
"At the heart of the Middle East cuisine is a flat disk of bread known as pita in some countries and peda in others. As it bakes, the dough puffs to leave the center hollow. Not surprisingly it is also known as pocket bread. The pita can be torn or cut open and filled with meat or other delicacies, or a bit of it can be used as a spoon or as a 'pusher'."

The pieces of dough must be rolled flat before they are placed in a hot (500°) oven. The dough should be rolled to a thickness of no more than 3/16 inch. This is the thickness of a wooden yardstick, the kind given away at fairs and by auto dealers and paint stores. It can be used as a gauge. The oven heat generates steam inside the pita and immediately the dough puffs into a ball. Later, as it cools, the bread will collapse. The oven must be hot. If it is not hot, the piece of dough will think it is meant to be a bun, and will rise slowly but without the all-important pocket in the center."

While this is a yeast dough, it puffs up because of steam. The yeast adds only flavor and texture. Don't overpower the dough with flour or it will be too dry to allow sufficient steam to be generated. Leave the dough on the soft side. Sprinkles of flour will take care of the stickiness."

What caught my interest was not only his claim that the steam (rather than the yeast) was responsible for the puffing, but also the fact that he only let the dough "rest" for 20 minutes and did not bake his pitas on a baking stone. That meant freshly baked pita bread in under an hour, as opposed to the two or three hours other recipes required.

After all of my experimenting (which I will discuss below), this is the recipe I am sticking with. It is essentially Bernard's, with a few minor adjustments.

Farmgirl Susan's Pita Bread after Bernard Clayton
Makes 8

2-1/2 cups bread flour (I used Heartland Mill Organic Strong High-Gluten), plus more for sprinkling while kneading & rolling out dough
2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons good olive oil
1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees)

8 8-inch squares of aluminum foil for baking pitas
(Bernard claims that "placing the rounds on foil rather than on a baking sheet or stone allows a softer heat to surround the dough. A direct thrust of heat from a baking stone would form a crust difficult to puff.")

In a large bowl (I used my wooden dough bowl), combine 1 cup flour with the salt, sugar, and yeast. Add the oil and water. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for three minutes, then stir in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be a rough, shaggy mass that will clean the sides of the bowl. If the dough is moist, add a small amount of additional flour.


Pita Dough Ready To Knead

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 6 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500°.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. I patted the dough into a circle and used my metal dough scraper to quickly and evenly cut it into eighths (as if cutting up a pie).


Divided Dough (it "stuck" back together while taking the picture)

Roll into balls, dust lightly with flour, and cover with a damp tea towel. Let rest for 30 minutes. (I increased this from Bernard's 20 minutes.)


Dough Balls Ready To Be Rolled Out

Use the palm of your hand to flatten each ball into a disk. Finish with a rolling pin, flattening the dough into a disk about 6" in diameter and 3/16" thick. Their thinness is more important than making them perfectly round. Irregularity adds charm, says Bernard.


Rolled Out Disks Ready For The Oven

Place each round on a square of foil, and carefully place 3 or 4 of the rounds directly on the oven rack. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until they are puffed.


Pitas Puffing In The Oven

Repeat with the remaining disks.


Hot Puffed Pitas Ready To Be Wrapped In Foil

When you remove the breads from the oven, stack them up and wrap them in a large piece of foil. This will keep the dough soft while the tops fall, leaving a pocket in the center. Cut them in half (so you can fill the pocket) and serve warm or at room temperature, or let cool, wrap tightly in aluminum foil, place in a zipper bag, and freeze. Thaw frozen pitas before using (this only takes about 5 minutes at room temperature). To reheat, stack several in a pile, wrap with foil, and place in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Pita pockets can be filled with all sorts of wonderful things. They are especially well suited for holding soft fillings that tend to squish out the sides of sliced bread sandwiches, such as tuna and chicken salad, or egg salad made the right way with still barely warm eggs and lots and lots of Hellman's (Best Foods) mayonnaise. You can even fill your pita with a 'real' salad of chopped greens, diced tomato and cucumber, grated carrot, perhaps some sweet red pepper, and a sprinkling of vinaigrette or nice bottled dressing.


It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This

A BLT Pita made with heirloom tomatoes and topnotch bacon is about as good as it gets. Tuck in some sliced avocado and you would probably be whisked straight to heaven.

But my favorite thing to do with pita pockets (which was the reason I made them in the first place) is to make gyros. I am not sure if my version is authentic or not. It is basically like a Greek-style taco.

First you mix finely chopped onion (or shallots) and garlic with plenty of parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper into some nice ground lamb. (If you want some very nice ground lamb, buy lamb stew meat from the butcher and grind it up yourself at home or see if they will grind it for you. You will never look back.) Do not overmix the meat. Dried herbs are fine, but use fresh if you have them. Amounts are simply a matter of taste. This mixture is more flavorful if allowed to chill for several hours or overnight, but if you are pressed for time you can use it right away.

Brown the meat in a skillet. While it is cooking, stir together some chopped tomatoes and onions and put them in a small bowl. In another bowl, combine a chopped, peeled cucumber (lemon cucumbers are delicious and do not have to be peeled) with plain yogurt and/or sour cream and a clove of garlic that has been minced with a little salt.

Bring the hot lamb mixture, the warm pitas, the tomatoes and onions, and the cucumber/yogurt mixture to the table and let everyone assemble their own dinner. If you really want to gild the lily, you can offer a little dish of grated sharp cheddar cheese as well. Warning: people can and will devour a great number of these in record time. The first time I made them, it was was just me and my mother at the table. Silence ensued as our complete attention was focused on our plates. As I casually reached for another pita, my mother looked over at me and said, "How many have you had?" I admitted that this would be my third.
"Why, how many have you had?"
"Five."
You've been warned.

This ground lamb mixture also makes lamb burgers fit for a king, especially when cooked on the grill, topped with melted sharp cheddar, and served on toasted homemade rolls or bread (or stuffed into warm pitas) that have been spread with a thin layer of dijon mustard.

So now you not only know how to make delicious pita pockets in under an hour, but also what to do with them. There is just one tiny problem. During my intensive research, I discovered a deep dark secret: Not all pitas puff. Oh, I know there are people out there who claim that every pita puffs perfectly for them, but this was not my experience (and I suspect they may be lying).

I tried everything. I altered the recipe. I rolled the dough balls out to different thicknesses. I let them rise for less time and more time. I baked them on one big piece of foil instead of lots of little ones. I baked them on a baking sheet (I love my half size commercial sheet pans—once you try them you'll never want to bake on anything else) and on a very hot baking/pizza stone (a must-have item for anyone who wants to make homemade pizzas and crusty artisan breads).

even turned to my very favorite bread book, Bread Alone by Daniel Leader, and tried his recipe, which called for only 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, no oil, no sugar, less salt, and two and a half hours of rising time. The pitas were baked on a hot baking/pizza stone at 400°. I did have a slightly better puff rate than with Bernard's recipe, but the pitas were not nearly as flavorful (no oil or sugar and less salt will do that to a thing). I started to become just a little bit frustrated.


What To Do? What To Do?

I finally realized that all of my pitas are never going to puff. And I no longer care, because I have traveled down The Road Of The Unpuffed Pita, and there is no turning back. I am in love.

If your pitas don not puff properly, there is no need to panic. As I see it, you have three tasty options.

The first option is to gobble them up straight from the oven and pretend they didn't exist.

The second is to turn them into pita chips.



I cannot claim responsibility for the invention of pita chips. I also cannot believe that I lived this long without them, since I am now a certified pita chip addict. The other night I was so desperate for some that I actually made them using my frozen stash of puffed pitas. They are ridiculously easy to make, and a million variations abound. Nic at Bakingsheet likes to spray hers with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. Shuna at Eggbeater simply brushes them with olive oil and sea salt, while Sam at Becks & Posh makes hers with homemade chile oil.

The pita chips in the photo above were my first attempt. Some of them were brushed with a yummy herbed olive oil/canola mixture I swiped from a container of tiny marinated mozzarella balls. Others were brushed with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled with finely grated Pecorino Romano and a little salt. I will not admit how quickly this first batch disappeared. Let's just say that there was no need to make dinner that night (and they go very well with a glass or two of red wine).

Baking time depends on the thickness of the pitas and how crisp you desire them. I baked various batches in a 400° oven for anywhere from 6 to 15 minutes. I also baked some in my beloved toaster convection oven at 400° for 6 to 10 minutes on the convection setting. I don't know if pita chips store well, because I never had any last that long.

The third way of dealing with pocketless pitas has inspired my new motto: When life gives you unpuffed pitas, make pizza!



My New Favorite 'Fast Food'

Making heavenly homemade individual pizzas just got a whole lot easier. You simply top the unpuffed pitas however you desire and pop them in the oven for about 6 minutes. I baked these in my toaster convection oven on a homemade hearth (click here for more info) at 425 degrees for 6 minutes. I reheated cold leftover pizzas at 425° for 5-8 minutes. Both times I let the hearth heat up for 15 minutes. During this time you could fix a garden salad or heat up a bowl of homemade soup to have with your pizza.

Suddenly a recipe gone wrong has turned into a fabulous gourmet dinner that is ready in less than 30 minutes and can be prepared on the spur of the moment with whatever ingredients you happen to have hanging around. All you need to do is keep a supply of unpuffed pitas in the freezer.



I made this pizza using a frozen pita. It is topped with a thick layer of homemade pesto, slices of fresh mozzarella, the first orange banana tomatoes from the garden (well worth the wait), and a sprinkling of Pecorino Romano. I ate half of it standing up in the kitchen.

So there you have it. The complete Pita Project. I can't offer you 100% success rate with this recipe, but perhaps you will fare better than I did. On the other hand, after tasting a couple of rejects, you may just find yourself crouched down in front of the oven, fervently hoping that all of your pitas don't puff.

More links for bread lovers:
Ten Tips For Better Bread
Beyond Easy Beer Bread
Whole Wheat Beer Bread
Onion Rye Beer Bread
Three Onion & Three Cheese Pizza
Tomato Pesto Pizza & My Favorite Basil Pesto Recipe
Fresh Tomato & Basil Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
No-Knead Crusty Freeform Bread
Oatmeal Toasting Bread
Savory Cheese & Scallion Scones
Cranberry Christmas Scones
Spicy Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins
Best Blueberry Bran Muffins & Other Bran Muffin Variations


© Copyright 2005 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares recipes, stories & photos from her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Daily Farm Photo 9/2/05: The Work May Be Hard

But the Views Can Be Great

Blog Day 2005 (Observed)

What are we doing up here? Blog Day is over. She missed it. She's late for everything! And then she goes and sticks us here for no apparent reason. What is she thinking? Why isn't she posting all those recipes she keeps talking about? What kind of food blog is this, anyway? So she picked up a few bales of hay. That was days ago. She should try laying an egg!

Oh no! Do you see what she just said down there? She said "soon." You know what that means. We could be stuck here for weeks! You know what we need? We need our own blog. Definitely. I mean, hens are foodies, too, right? So, do you think cluck.com is available?

I think you'd better be quiet before she posts her recipe for curried chicken salad!

Daily Farm Photo: 9/1/05

Don't Build Your Nest Deep Inside The Hay Baler