TROUTS
LATEST PHOTOS
January,
2010
– Issue #104
NEW YEAR’S
DAY PARTY
What a great way
to kick off a new decade – invite all our friends over for a New Year’s Day
party. Many came for a bowl of Hoppin
John and got their pictures taken with Spot, our Trouts Farm mascot. See the whole story
here: New Years Day 2010
DIGGIN OUR
NEW DIGS
Of course,
throwing a party a week after moving had us scrambling to get the place looking
lived in. Between the framed art, books and throws, we sorted things out
nicely. We couldn’t be more pleased with our home,
from the bright, sunny office next to the kitchen to the cozy reading spot in
the corner of the master bedroom. See pictures of every room in the House
Formerly Known As Yellow at: Diggin’ Our New Digs
UNPREDICTABLE
WINTER WEATHER
January brings
unpredictable weather. From one day to
the next it can be bright and sunny with friends stopping by, to overcast and
bitter cold with a frozen well pump. Matt came over on January 3rd and got
his picture taken with Spot. The next morning, Bob donned his
heaviest winter coat and poured hot water on the well head, then ran an
extension cord from the house to a lamp to finish thawing it out.
We had running water again in less than thirty minutes and will keep the lamp
plugged in until Spring.
HAPPY
FRIENDS, HAPPY SPOT
We capture
everyone’s first visit to Troutsfarm in a photo. Tami stopped by to do a
little Abundance work with Camille. Curtiss came over for potluck.
Although Spot sometimes blushes a little from all the attention, he recovers
quickly and can be quite the conversationalist.
DINNER
GUESTS
More dinner
guests, which explains the dark sky. Devin came for potluck and Holly and
Jeremy for dinner a couple of days later.
A LITTLE
GETAWAY
We both grew up on
the coast and get to feeling land-locked if we don’t see the ocean every once in
awhile so we used CFSA’s (Carolina
Farm Stewardship Association) 2010 Commercial Organic Production Conference
in New Bern as an excuse to drive to the shore. It was a nice little
getaway. We
stayed in the spacious yet cozy Turret Room at the Harmony
House Bed and Breakfast, and walked around town, taking photos of painted bears,
stopping into a pub for French fries and stout. There are a few more
pictures on this page: A Visit to New Bern
THINGS TO
DO WITH FORTY POUNDS OF CABBAGE
Okonomiyaki, for
one! Here, Bob flips Japanese pizza otherwise known as okonomiyaki (oh ko
no me ya key). This fried vegetable pancake with sauce, mayonnaise and
nori is indescribably delicious! Six other ways we burned our way through
all that cabbage are cole slaw, sauerkraut, Reuben sandwiches, cabbage
burgers, borscht and stir fry. When we got word that ECO (Eastern
Carolina Organics) our local food distributor was selling cases of second
grade cabbage for $15, we took action. If you want to eat local, you have
to jump on windfalls like this one. More photos on this page: A Case of Cabbage
FOURTEEN
POUNDS OF SEITAN
Moving right
along, we next tackled a double batch of breaded seitan cutlets. Seitan is
vegan protein made from wheat gluten and, in our opinion, tastes better than
meat. Here the seitan boils in a pot seasoned with tamari sauce.
SLICING
AND BREADING
Then comes the
real work, slicing and breading. We dip each piece in a solution of potato
flour, arrowroot and water before pressing a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs
and panko into the moistened seitan.
MONEY IN
THE BANK
A couple of hours
later we’ve got enough seitan to last us about six weeks with some to share with
our friends. These breaded cutlets are incredibly
easy to cook. We heat a pan of oil and drop them in, frozen.
They fry for about a minute and they are done – crispy on the outside, tender
and chewy on the inside. No gristle or veins.
A WALK IN
THE WOODS
Any day is a good
day to explore the trail system behind our new home. Especially a bright,
sunny day! We have gotten lots of rain this winter and the water is
running all through the woods.
POOL SIDE
FACE LIFT
We were so
refreshed from our walk that we decided to clean up the area around what was
once a swimming pool. It took us a couple of hours to trim the low hanging
branches off the red tips, pull out the honeysuckle vines and clear the sidewalk
of mud and weeds. The pool has been filled in with fill dirt and
will soon be the site of our kitchen garden.
HEARTY,
HEALTHY WINTER MEALS
Haruka and Camille
decided to try their hands at making An Pan or sweetened bean buns. We got
a little carried away with the adzuki filling and decided that next time we
wouldn’t score the dough on the sides. Nevertheless, they were delicious
and were all gone within a day. We ate them for dessert with cabbage
burgers and a green salad.
Most people
don’t get fresh, local greens like the spinach in this picture for a January
salad but since we live next door to Edible
Earthscapes, we do. We topped the salad with carrots, sprouts and
daikon and ate it with home made minestrone soup and bread.
SNOW DAY
We made the best
of some bad weather by staying home and going for a walk in the snow. Bob
stands on the bridge built by our neighbors. Camille pastes a smile on her frozen
lips for the camera. If it looks cold, that’s because it was. Have a
look at some more pictures from our Southern Snow Day
THIS MONTH’S QUOTES:
“(Nationalism is) a set of
beliefs taught to each generation in which the Motherland or the Fatherland is
an object of veneration and becomes a burning cause for which one becomes
willing to kill the children of other Motherlands or Fatherlands” – Howard
Zinn, historian 1922 – 2010
“With all my heart I believe
that the world’s present system of sovereign nations can only lead to barbarism,
war and inhumanity” – Albert Einstein, scientist 1879 – 1955
“Liberal activism is sort of
like sending a rabbit to sell wolves on the benefits of veganism.” – Joe
Bageant, author and columnist 1946
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