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Smoothing the Pasture

This fall we have worked to improve a section of a horse pasture. It was originally part of a raspberry farm, so it has hills and valleys spaced at 4′ intervals reflecting where the rows of fruit used to be. I rototilled about an acre, and removed 500 lbs of rocks. Then I spread a ton of manure and a quarter ton of lime. After this photo was taken, I rototilled once more, smoothed the surface with our pasture groomer, and spread 5 lbs of orchard grass seed.

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Microgreen seeds

When my pea crops stopped producing, I allowed those pods that had become to mature to dry on the vine. When shelled, this yielded 3 lbs of snow pea seeds and 2 lbs of shelling pea seeds. I will use these to produce microgreen pea shoots over the winter. This amount of seeds purchased commercially would cost $80-$100 including shipping.

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Fig Baklava Tarts

Fig Baklava Tart

We have a bumper crop of fresh white figs.  They shine in this recipe.

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 strip lemon peel
  • 1 Cinnamon stick
  • 6 fresh figs (quartered lengthwise (about 5 ounces))
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted)
  • 6 sheets phyllo dough
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  1. Combine the water, honey, lemon peel, lemon juice and cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the mixture begins bubbling, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the figs. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until they are until tender but still retain their shape. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the figs to a bowl.
  2. Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon peel from the saucepan and discard. Increase the heat to medium-high; cook the remaining liquid for about 2 minutes, or until it has reduced to a syrupy 1/2 cup. Let cool.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Combine the walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves, if using, in a small bowl. Combine the oil and melted butter in a separate bowl.
  5. Set the stack of phyllo dough on a clean work surface and cover with damp paper towels, keeping the stack covered as much as possible as you work. Transfer one sheet of the phyllo to a large cutting board, and brush the top with the oil-butter mixture. Lay another sheet directly on top of that one and brush it with the oil mixture. Repeat with the remaining sheets of phyllo.
  6. Use a sharp knife to cut the phyllo stack into 6 4″ squares. Press one stack of the squares into each well of 2 6-well muffin pans.  Fill each cup with equal amounts of the walnut mixture, then bake (middle rack) for 13 to 15 minutes, until the phyllo is crisped and golden.
  7. While the phyllo is still hot, drizzle the cooled syrup into each of the phyllo-walnut cups (in the muffin pan). Top each with 2 pieces of fig; cool to room temperature before serving.

Modified from Ellie Krieger recipe, published in Washington Post , 8/9/2017

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Planting Fall Veg

Half of the bed of potatoes was harvested last night. The bed was rototilled, covered with 200 lbs of compost mixed with 1 lb of bone meal, and planted with transplants of lettuce, various members of the cole family, endive and kale (lacinto and red Russian varieties). To help the young plants along I laid down new drip tape.