Tuesday, September 29

Tuesday Dose of Farm and Cute: Good Morning Light

The 20-year-old homemade swing in the hayfield keeps getting higher as the tree gets bigger.

I haven't been taking any pictures lately, but a few mornings ago I decided to grab my camera as Bear, Bert, Henry, and I headed out to check on the donkeys, the chickens, the big dogs, and the sheep. Before we'd even left the farmyard I was seeing photos everywhere.

It's all in the light.

15 more photos below. . .

Monday, September 28

Monday Dose of Cute: No Comment.

And not happy about it.

Hi Everybody,
Just a quick to let you know why Henry and I aren't smiling.

First I want to thank you, as always, for taking the time to leave so many nice comments on my blog posts. You know I always love hearing from you, and I do my best to answer your questions in a timely manner, especially if they're about one of my recipes.

Unfortunately for some reason, Blogger, which has hosted Farmgirl Fare since I started it back in 2005, hasn't been letting me leave any comments (on my own blog!) for the past few weeks. Not on my ancient desktop—which is so old and cranky that most days I want to toss it out my second story office window—not on Joe's new Chromebook (no more Windows updates!), not in any way, shape, or form that I can figure out. *head* *desk* So if you've been waiting for me to reply to a comment you've left recently, I apologize.

I'm hoping this is some sort of bug that Blogger will figure out and fix soon, but since it's now going on something like four years since I've actually been able to change things in my Farmgirl Fare template like background colors and font sizes (I'd really like to make the main column text bigger and easier to read!) who knows.

In the meantime, you're always welcome to email me at farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com, and I'll try to reply as soon as I can. Thanks so much!

More farm dogs (including some that are smiling)? Here and here.
Want some wordless farm critter cute? Here and here

© FarmgirlFare.com, where tech is definitely a four letter word.

Wednesday, September 23

Wednesday Farm Photo: Hello, Autumn!

Looking past the recently rebuilt antique tractor and into the front field.

Happy first day of fall! Has your weather changed seasons yet? It's hot and dry and still seems like summer here, but some of the leaves have started turning yellow, and the nights are dropping down into the blissful 50s.

These cooler mornings feel fresh and energetic, with the promise that all those wonderful crisp autumn days are just around the corner. I can't wait.


© FarmgirlFare.com, falling into autumn faster than seven donkeys heading towards the treat trough.

Friday, September 18

Friday Farm Photo: Have a Well Constructed Weekend.

Morning art installation.

I'm not sure why, but every September our resident spider population seems to increase by about five thousand percent. There are spiders—and spiderwebs—everywhere. You can see them best in the morning sun, still all perfectly intact and glistening with dew, a fat spider often sitting proudly (or resting after a long night's effort?) in the center. (This web's owner scurried out of sight when I pulled out the camera.)

There are so many different shapes and sizes of spiderwebs, including little roundish ones that appear by the hundreds in the newly cut grass in the hayfield, and others that consist of simply a few several-foot-long strands that have been magically draped between two stationary objects, usually at face level.

It's easy to see why spiders and spiderwebs play a big role in Halloween decorating; somebody probably just looked around at the end of September and said, "Yep, these things could be really creepy."

I like the intricate, showy webs like the one above the best. They look like so much work that I always try to avoid breaking them as I traipse across the farmyard with a basket of laundry to hang on the line, or over to the chicken coops carrying overgrown arugula and cucumber treats from the kitchen garden. But because of the way the light plays on them, you can often only see the webs from one direction, so more often than not I will carefully duck my head and slip under so as to avoid a sticky mess and then mindlessly crash right through on my way back.

It's best to walk around the farm with a hat on and your mouth shut.

I'm always amazed at how fast the spiders can create those complicated webs, which makes me feel a little less guilty when I accidentally destroy one. Watching a spider at work is mesmerizing, and taking a few minutes to stop and really see how something is literally being built out of thin air should probably be on everybody's Need To Do This Someday life list.

The longer you watch, the more in awe you'll be.

More spiders and spider webs? Here.
More views around the farm? Here and here and here.

© FarmgirlFare.com, always in the middle of a building boom.

Monday, September 7

Recipe: Easy and Healthy Roasted Eggplant with (or without) Red Onion and Sweet Red Peppers

My favorite way to cook eggplant is great tasting and great for you (recipe here).

Got eggplant? Wondering what to do with it? You can't go wrong with roasting, and this has to be one of the least complicated—and healthiest—ways to eat eggplant.

Forget the cumbersome peeling, salting, and draining that so many eggplant recipes call for, not to mention the often huge amounts of oil. How do you roast eggplant? Just dice it up, toss it with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and stick it in the oven. Additional vegetables are optional.

So simple, yet so flavorful. Exactly what late summer eating should be.

Still not sure? Here's what Farmgirl Fare readers are saying about this recipe:

—This was way more delicious than I could have imagined! Great caramelized flavor. I also added in some halved cherry tomatoes and served it all over pasta with pesto.

—Such an easy recipe and so delicious. I was looking for a healthy eggplant recipe that didn't have tomato sauce or cheese. Thank you!!!

—Yummy! Made it today and couldn't wait to eat it — it was almost gone before I took it off the cookie sheet! I sprinkled some nutritional yeast on it before baking - mmmmm!

Thanks so much to all of you who take the time to come back and report on my recipes. And thanks for pinning them on Pinterest too. Enjoy!

No eggplant? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.

© FarmgirlFare.com, where the standard operating procedure is: when in doubt, roast it (or go outside and hug a couple of donkeys).