Thursday, July 31, 2014

#22 Boo's Butternut Squash Mac-n-Cheese

 Who's Boo? Rachael's dog that sample most of her cooking while he was alive. She decided to give him a shout out in the cookbook as it was one of his favorite. Hey Boo!
 This is the fifth mac-n-cheese. I found the squash with the health food.
#22 Boo's Butternut Squash Mac-n-Cheese
I would eat it again.
-Mom

I liked it.
-DD

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

#21 Citrus-Marinated Chicken and Orange Salad

  Spent four hours in the garden this afternoon. I got my hands good and dirty. I reset my soul.

We had most of these ingredients on hand. I picked up the chicken and radicchio. A certain teenager got into the oranges yesterday so I needed a quick run to the store today to get some more. 
 Sweet girl zested and juiced the oranges.
 We fired up the grill and the meal was ready in no time.
#21 Citrus-Marinated Chicken and Orange Salad
Chicken was tasty. The sauce was nice. The salad was not great but the overall meal was a success.
-Mom

Chicken was delicious with the sauce. I liked squeezing the oranges.
-DD

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

#20 Bean Stoup and Southwestern Monte Cristo

 Yesterday, we took a mini family vacation and went to Cedar Point, the Roller Coaster Capital of the World. The lines were on the short side and we rode everything we wanted to ride. A fabulous day of adventure and thrills.
 This morning I had one of those sit back and watch my daughter in amazement moments. She asked if I would take her to the fitness room at the hotel so I grabbed a book and accompanied her. She did the typical run on the treadmill, test out the bike, and see if she could lift any weights. It was while trying out the weights that she made me put down my book and watch her. She is my Math and Science girl. In a day when girls are saturated with messages about their body and beauty, I have been conscience of making sure she knows her value is more than skin deep. So I watched. She wanted to see if she could get the gym weights to match her weight on the scale. She did the math, balanced out the weights, than calibrated the scale. Success. She beamed with pride. "I did carry my own weight." I encouraged her cleverness. I praised her for thinking it through. She is more than a pretty face, so much more.
 We made it back home in time to do dinner.
#20 Bean Stoup ad Southwestern Monte Cristo
If you are looking in the picture and wondering where the beans are, it was right after taking this picture that I was wondering myself. I searched all over the house for what was suppose to be black beans. I could not find them anywhere, most likely they were a casualty to DH random meal making a couple weeks ago and I did not notice. So I had to substitute chili beans and great northern beans. It worked out just fine.
 Everything was chopped and added to the soup pot.
Then we moved onto the sandwiches. I substituted Udi's white sandwich bread. This was our first ever Monte Cristo.  It was really good. Added to the do it again list.
When we asked hubby what he thought he said, "It is stouper!" ;)
-Mom

My review is, I thought that the stoup tasted a lot like chilli, and that the southwestern monte cristo tasted good with sour cream on top. If we were to make it again I would make minor adjustments other than that it was a win. -DD

Sunday, July 27, 2014

#18 Turkey Saltimbocca Roll-Ups, Mushroom and White Bean Ragout, and Spinach with Pancetta and Onions

As I write I am awaiting hubby's arrival home. He has been traveling on business for awhile and I miss him. He posted a mountain man picture of himself today on Facebook and his beard has doubled if not tripled in length. Crazy that beard, I hope it is a passing phase. Yet tonight I will welcome him home straggly beard and all.

If you are looking at the numbers and are a bit confused, I intentionally switched 19 and 18 as it fit better with our schedule. I am all about sanity. I like myself so much more when I am sane.

So today we did a rewind and went back for recipe 18.
 Step one was to smash the turkey until it is 1/8 of an inch. We could not find turkey cutlets so we went with Jennie Os turkey breasts. They smashed down just fine, then we cut them in half.
 The kitchen was a buzz with activity, three pans cooking simultaneously. Yet DD could not resist the rain. She would stir the pan, run outside to jump around, then hurry back in to stir the pan again.
 #18 Turkey Saltimbocca Roll-Ups, Mushroom and White Bean Ragout, and Spinach with Pancetta and Onions
A nice welcome home dish! I am glad we switched.
It was our first time making gravy, success!
The Spinach with pancetta was a nice surprise, the light touch of nutmeg made it a pleasant side dish. The ragout, another first, was a bit spicy but overall not bad.

Hubbies home, peace out my peeps!
-Mom




I had play date this afternoon, they fed me a whole bunch of food so I was not that hungry. I really only had the meat.  Dad's home and now I am licking a gigantic jawbreaker he got me. That is all.
-DD

Saturday, July 26, 2014

#19 Rosymary Corn Cakes with Prosciutto and Chicken Sausages

Switcheroo! Recipe 18 is a lunch wrap and 19 was one that could be breakfast, lunch or dinner. With two shows for the Little Mermaid today we thought a hardy brunch would be a good thing and we would not need to skip cooking today. Yeah for flexibility! 
 This recipe called for Jiffy corn bread mix. I swapped it out for live G free cornbread mix available at Aldi. I used the whole package and did not need to adjust the quantities of anything.

 This recipe also called for a cubanelle pepper, which is suppose to be a long light green sweet italian pepper. Meijer had a generic sign listing 5 pepper and the price. No pictures and no matching bins to signage, so I called over one of the produce stockers. He had no clue but per Rachael's info it seemed to match the long light green and was the only one there to do so. I picked one up. It was nineteen cents. I took my chances. We were wrong. It was a super hot sucker that burned my nostrils and the heat was felt in my lungs as it cooked. I took one bite to confirm what I already knew. It was not sweet, it was not a cubanelle. Scratch  the peppers. I never did find the hot red cherry peppers in a jar either. Oh well!
#19  Rosemary Corn Cakes with Prosciutto and Chicken Sausages
 With the exception of the peppers this meal was exceptional! Easy, tasty and fun addition to our breakfast rotations. The cakes were thick and filling. Superb with honey.
Another yes, yes and yes!

-Mom

Delicious! A very good pancake breakfast. I agree with my mom that the peppers were too spicy. But definitely a win in my book. Wish me luck on my performances. -DD

Friday, July 25, 2014

#17 Honey Nut Chicken Tenders

 Easiest meal to date and that is a good thing since it was opening night of the Little Mermaid.
Probably also the least expensive meal as well, maybe $8. The chicken and cereal the only thing I did not have already on hand, woot woot for simple meals.
 DD was hesitant to do a meal on opening night but then remembered it was chicken tenders and quickly changed her mind. She has been looking forward to this one.
Pretty easy peasy, dip, dunk, smother with goodness then bake.
 #17 Honey Nut Chicken Tenders we used Honey Nut Chex to be certain we were gluten free.
 They were really really good! Winner winner chicken dinner. It was thumbs up from all and will be added to our family favorites pronto.
Here is my happy yellow fish after her first official theater production. :)
-Mom

Thursday, July 24, 2014

#16 Oregon Style Pork Chops with Pinot Noir and Cranberries

 Today, I had a few minutes while one child was off to camp being a Junior Counselor and the other was participating in VBS the Blast. I decided to go shopping for the next four meals. There were a few items that had me stumped and I unfortunately did not consult Google before leaving the house. I am getting really good at asking deli managers and other employees for help in my quest for unusual items. Between Meijer and Aldi I was able to get everything on the list, except hot red cherry pepper in a jar. Still stumped about that one. The cost was $50 for four meals. I have been asked a few times if this cooking challenge is blowing the budget and at first glance some of the meals have cost a bit. But the average is probably somewhere around $15 and feeds at least 4 people. Math nerd for a moment- 15 times 30 equals 450. Add on another $100 for household, breakfast and lunch items and I am still under my previous budget. The main reason being I am no longer eating out. The other we are not really buying processed foods. While meat costs are higher for some meals, I have a freezer full of beef so those are already covered. And even if it cost a bit more, it is totally worth it. The fact that I am building memories with my daughter is priceless. We are eating healthier meals. We are sitting down at the table at least once together, everyday. The education factor alone is worth it. Totally worth it!

Note worthy items. A leek, we kept quoting Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, "There's a leek in my boat." It was our first time preparing and eating leek. Wine used pinot noir. Gluten free bread was Udi's multi grain.
I prepped some of the items before picking up the boy from camp as I knew we would be close on time tonight. It was a good call.

#16 Oregon Style Pork Chops with Pinot Noir and Cranberries; Oregon Hash with Wild Mushrooms and Whole Grain with Butter and Chives Topped with Hazelnuts and Blue Cheese.

OMG!! Delightfully delectable. This was like nothing I had ever tasted before and I loved it!
Gold star! Absolutely no leftovers, none.
Will I make it again? Yes, yes and yes!
-Mom

DD decided to do a video journal. LOL

Tomorrow is opening night for her production, The Little Mermaid.  Break a leg darling.

P.S. Anyone that knows where to find red hot cherry peppers, help a momma out.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

#15 Super Tuscan Burgers and Potato Salad with Capers

 For something as cool as setting a pan on fire, there was only one comment yesterday. One! If you want to see more videos in the future people you are going to have to communicate, let us know what you thought.

At least we get some facebook love. When it came to planning this meal I came to a standstill on the cheese. So I put a shout out of facebook asking where to get sheep's-milk cheese and what it was like. My friends did not disappoint. For that I thank you. I was told a few places to look, a few varieties, and also some acceptable substitutes if I could not find it. The number one recommended cheese was Manchego, supposedly available at Kroger. I now know it is available at select Kroger, not the two I went to. Which left me for plan B, go see the cheese man at the Lansing City Market.
 I am just now noticing the cheese slipped down in this picture and I failed to do a close-up. Hill's Cheese did not let me down. This place has every cheese imaginable or at least something comparable. The man knows cheese. I asked for the Manchego but it is coming in next week. He did however have Carr Valley Cave Aged Marisa. He gave us a sample, it reminded me of a pungent Parmesan. That is the best description I can give you.  I  walked away with a reasonable $4.50 chuck, a small chunk but all that I needed. Happy that I finally found it.

While at the City Market I picked up some sage, shallots, and a basket of raspberries. The raspberries were gone before we left the park. ;)

Tonight- new cheese, new wine. I thought it would be fun to make a list of both cheeses and liquor used thus far.
Cheeses in order:
Provolone
Sharp Cheddar
Smoked Gouda
Sharp White Cheddar
Chipotle Cheddar
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Mozarella
Gruyere
Cheddar
Cave Aged Marisa

Spirits:
Sauvignon Blanc (dry white wine)
Mexican beer- forgot beer is not gluten free
Bourbon- also not gluten free.
Merlot (red wine)
Tomorrow, we shall add Pinot Noir. I am thankful for my friends as I explore these new tastes and flavors. I had to call my girlfriend when I was at the World Market about the various wines I was considering. She had the answers I was looking for.

I am not sure how to handle beers in the future. Most contain gluten and I am not sure if they will affect me or not. I guess I did not react to the beer or bourbon so I am hoping I will be alright. Sometimes I don't really feel a reaction until a couple days later so the jury is still out.

The meal tonight- Super Tuscan Burgers and Potato Salad with Capers.
Uncomplicated. I did make two pans, one with mushrooms for me and one without for the kids. More mushrooms for me this way.
The potato salad had more of a lemon base and it was better than the previous vinaigrette potato salad. This one might actually be better cold. I will try it out tomorrow to confirm. 

The burger mix of pork and veal was okay. It will not be added to my rotation as it really did not strike my fancy and the cheese was a bit strong for my tastes.  So this recipe is a one and done.
-Mom

DD is in theater and did not give me her opinion. For some reason she was not looking forward to this one, maybe the mushrooms. Maybe the potato salad. In the end I let her skip both. -Not DD as she is not available and I am still pressing publish.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

#14 Fiery Hot Texas T-Bones with Smashed Potatoes

 So this one was a fun one! I had to go to the liquor store, I have purchased more alcohol in the last two weeks than I have in an entire year prior.  The liquor of the evening...bourbon.
 The meat was spiced and rubbed. Rub a dub dub...meat for our grub.
What do we have here? Why it is bourbon and matches. Whatever would one have need for matches and bourbon? Why dear Rachael instructed me to flame the pan. When I was reading through the recipe last night, I was a bit shocked by the fact. So I started researching, I read a hilarious telling of someone's great balls of fire. I found out what to do and what not to do. These are important things to know when combining by cooking skills, my house, and flames in the presence of my children.
For your viewing pleasure, we video taped the great flambe. Great balls of fire is right batman.

  Craziness! Fun with a splash of nervousness. I love that DD calls out, "Be careful Mom!"

The flavors, the fun, the fire... it was fantastic!
Mark this one as one that will be done again.
-Mom

My job was the smashed potatoes. I cut them up. I cooked them. I browned the bacon and onions. Then I got to smash them. They were so good! I called dibs on the rest for tomorrow's lunch. The steak was good too. On the subject of the fire let's just say I was on the other side of the room. ;)
-DD

Random Act of Hatred

We have all heard the phrase random acts of kindness. We have all been on the receiving end of someone's generosity and care. Last night, I was on the receiving end of a random act of hatred. At least I hope it was random and not targeted. While DD was in rehearsal someone stabbed a three inch nail into my rear passenger tire. I did not see it when we got in as it was the other side but I promptly heard the whamp, whamp, whamp as I tried to leave the parking lot.
A three inch nail in the side, I had not run over it, it was jabbed in there. Mean people suck.
The people at the front desk, wondered if someone had mistaken my vehicle for an ex lovers. My husband wondered if I pissed someone off at the theater or cut someone off on my way into the parking lot. Um, no and no. I wonder if someone was dared to do it as a part of an initiation. Whoever it was for whatever reason, they suck.
Thankfully our second vehicle was being unused at the moment. And thankfully, I have a dad who loves me enough to leave the comforts of home at 10pm to come get us and take us to our extra vehicle.
Unfortunately, the timing is horrible as I have a jam-packed day from taxi service, to kid's club in the garden, back to taxi services, cooking our recipe of the day, and dress rehearsal at the theater tonight. Somewhere in there I will be adding, call the tire shop, pay for a new tire, have it installed and figure out how to get an extra vehicle home. Insert sad face and a sigh.

Monday, July 21, 2014

#13 Saucy BBQ Chicken Sammies with Potato Salad

 Sammies, I am not sure if the term is a Rachael Ray exclusive but it is short for sandwich. If you have a sandwich, you need a bread. This one called for a soft bun so I decided to make my own. I really need to stop for a moment and sing the praises of Better Batter. It has become my go-to all purpose flour as it substitutes quite nicely in most recipes and their site has a few recipes that have been really working for me. Today, I decided to give the Italian Rolls recipe a try. It mixed up nice into a soft, sticky batter that I spooned onto the parchment paper using a serving spoon dipped in water. I then used my wet hand to give them a little shape. Let them rise for 15 minutes then wash them with egg whites.
 They turned out fantastic. 10 beautiful golden brown beauties.
 There were a few things going on in this recipe. The potato salad, the relish, the BBQ sauce and the meat mix.
 I had never poached chicken before but here it is, chicken in a beer and broth bath. 
 The kitchen was busy with activity from start to finish for this one. But the work was worth it.
#13 Saucy BBQ Chicken Sammies with Pepper and Green Onion Potato Salad
I loved learning the basics of a solid BBQ sauce. Since we try to avoid corn syrup, I sometimes have a hard time finding a BBQ sauce that tastes good and is corn syrup free. I love knowing we can make it ourselves and it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. This one was a bit spicy for me but with a little less hot sauce and a little more brown sugar I think we can tweak this to our liking with no difficulty.

No one in the house was a fan of the potato salad. I prefer a mayo potato salad rather than a vinaigrette. The sammie however was scrumptious!
-Mom

I got the job of cutting up the pickles for the relish. I had my mom set some aside for me to munch on. Yum!
The BBQ chicken sammie was so good, a bit spicy but still so good I went back for seconds.
-DD

Freedom and Insanity

This week should prove to be the craziest week of the summer.
The boy is a member of YLP, Youth Leadership Program, at Fenner Nature Center. He meets weekly with other youth and helps shape the future of the nature center as well as maintain it. This week he has volunteered to be an assistant at their week long summer camp, Wilderness Rangers. It is right up his alley as it covers the fundamentals of fire starting, shelter building, water purification and navigating in the back country.

Sweet tart, aka DD, will having quite the week as she does VBS the Blast in the mornings. Hangs out with a friend that we are transporting to VBS for a couple of hours. Throw in cooking our recipe for the day. Then it is off to the theater from 6-9:45pm for Tech week, a series of dress, sound and tech rehearsals getting ready for Opening Day on Friday. Closing the week with three performances of The Little Mermaid.

Yesterday, I got a really unusual phone call. A friend of a friend was looking for a ride for their son to and from VBS so he could volunteer. I said I would, hopefully I can figure out who he is at pick up today.

Which leads me to FREEDOM! I am kid free all week from 9-noon. By free I mean, free to pay bills, clean the house, blog, go shopping, do school prep and read with no kids to distract. Close enough to freedom for me.

We will be coming and going in a whirlwind of activity but it should be a grand adventure.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

#12 Spiced Lamb Chops on Sauteed Peppers and Onions with Mint Couscous

 Blessed day! Church today was amazing, one that we will sit down later in the week and watch as a family. ;)

Okay, look close at this picture. You may need to click on it to see the shock of the day.
 Did you click on it? Did you see it?
This meal has proven to be the trickiest and most expensive meal to buy. First off, lamb loin chops. I have never had them nor have I ever purchased them. I found them easy enough after asking the butcher. The cost $7.55 for four. The recipe called for eight but hubby is on business so we have been halving the recipes when he is away. Next up was the pine nuts. I could not find them at our normal grocery. They were also not at our awesome farmer's market/grocer. So on the way home from church we stopped at the international bulk food store. After looking up and down every aisle, I asked for help from the owner, whom directed me right to them. Then for the shock; for a sixth of a pound it cost $11.99. YIKES! I only needed 2 tablespoons. So now I have a whole package of pine nuts. Good thing I have basil and Parmesan to make pesto. Lastly, the couscous. Since we are gluten free I needed to find a GF variety. I checked the three previous stores we had already shopped at this weekend and no luck. I googled it to see if it even existed, it does. I finally found it at the health food store for $7 and some change oops it was really $3.79. We used just under half the box. Thankfully, I was able to get the herbs from the garden. Hey sis, I took some of your mint. I hope you don't mind. My mom offered up some of her parsley. I have planted it in the past and never used it. Now I am using it all the time. Thanks Mom and Sis!

As for preparing the meal, it was uncomplicated. DD tenderized the meat and seasoned it.
 I sauteed all the veggies and made the couscous. Unfortunately, Rachael got the measurements for the couscous wrong. It should be two part liquid to one part couscous and she had it listed as equal parts. Shame on me for not checking the package first. My couscous was crunchy but I quickly boiled some water, added it in and let it set a couple of minutes for the kids servings.

Here it is, Spiced Lamb Chops on Sauteed Peppers and Onions with Mint Couscous
I thought it looked and tasted elegant. Too bad hubby was not home to enjoy this one as it was more of an adult dinner date than a family meal the kids appreciated. They were not impressed, even the teen.
I may make it again some day. When we have money for a nice dinner date sans kids.
-Mom

Lamb chops- not very much meat on them. The couscous was undercooked. And you know how I feel about veggies. Good thing I wasn't very hungry. -DD

Saturday, July 19, 2014

#11 Italian Sub Stoup and Garlic Toast Floaters

Stoup, what is a stoup? Good question. It is what Rachael Ray defines as thicker than soup, thinner than stew. Stoup. This one had a blend of three meats; sweet Italian sausage, pepperoni and steak ham. I switched out the gemelli pasta with Tinkyada spirals after I searched up and down the pasta aisle to see what gemelli pasta even was. It turns out it is a kind of twist and I still had some spiral noodles left from the mac-n-cheese, win!
 This recipe called for making your own croutons. In the store DD kept saying we can just buy GF croutons. I was stubborn though and said no. The real reason was because I wanted to learn how to make them. So we did. We were rushing around trying to complete the meal before we had to head out to a potluck at the community garden so we did not take any extra pictures, only the ingredients pic and the final dish.
Italian Sub Stoup with Garlic Toast Floaters
I almost forgot to take the after picture as we rushed out the door for the garden. While at the garden I was engaged in conversation and enjoying the moment. I know mom got some pictures, I however did not. There was only a couple and a half left at the end, which is a good thing since I still needed a picture. I would say it went over pretty well, especially since most in attendance do not eat meat or pork. Those who do seemed to enjoy it.
The garlic toast floaters were great. Good flavor, nice crisp, gluten free thanks to Udi's baguettes.
Thumbs up from me.
-Mom

I decided I wanted to make something for the potluck too, so I settled on making Harvest Cake. It is a family recipe that is DE-LISH-OUS! I told my mom I wanted to make it all by myself, but she was available if I needed help.
Here is the batter in the mixer.
Tada! Harvest Cake. The people loved it and it was gone within minutes. ;)
As for the Stoup, I was not a fan of it but I did like the garlic toast floaters and my Harvest Cake. -DD

Whatever Happened to the Community Garden

Before the blog went silent I had shared how I was venturing into leadership at a community garden, Jolly Grove. I shared how we were preparing the land, getting it ready for it's inaugural season. It was 2010.

So much has happened in that time. Jolly Grove was a Land Bank property, owned by the Land Bank, leased by the garden. It had about 20 families, a children's garden, and donation plots that provided food for the South Lansing Kitchen. We were in the planning stages for our third season, I had just gotten approval to expand to reach out to the refugee community nearby, when we got word that the property was going to be developed. It was a bit disheartening. When the head of the Land Bank came to me and said, "Sarah, I think I have a property you are going to love for a new garden." I was skeptical. I knew the time commitment to start up a garden. I knew the labor involved. But still a part of me was curious so I went to see this new land. 14 acres in the middle of the city, mostly forest, some of it had been cleared for a housing development and then was shut down. Brush had grown up.
 It looked like A LOT of work. Yet it was charming too. It had a ditch running through it. I saw potential.
 With much encouragement from my mother, and a commitment of support from our three previous sponsors, we decided to go ahead and form this new garden. In April of 2012 we broke ground.
 Two acres of land were cleared, while keeping the natural integrity and habitat in the remaining 12 acres.
 As seen from Google Earth in May of 2012, I present to you Webster Farms Community Garden.

Part of the discussion earlier in the year had been my desire to reach out to the Bhutanese refugees nearby. I had helped a few move and a close friend was building relationships and shared the need for land, the longing to grow food for their families.
At the same time a church of Burmese refugees had approached the Garden Project wondering if there was land for their church to have a garden.
In the end we reached out to both communities.

Oh the work, there was so much work to be done. We moved all of the materials from Jolly Grove to Webster, the fence, the shed, the pallets and raised beds. Then we had to work at clearing the roots and debris from the land. After that came water solutions, we had to get creative. Then the fence. The fence was a must! We have a wide variety of wildlife in the woods and powerlines. We have seen deer, raccoon, a badger, groundhogs, rabbits, squirrels, coyote, opossum, as many varieties of birds and amphibians. Slowly, the fence went up, the electricity was turned on. The fence has improved over the years as we try to keep out the critters. Here is a signage on the fence, communicating in three languages that the fence is electric and do not touch.
 Language. The first year that was a tricky barrier. We learned a few things very quickly. One, panni means water. Second, Namaste, the Nepali greeting as we were enthusiastically greeted. Third, those over the age of 35 struggled in their English as those under 35 especially the teens and young adults spoke excellent English as seven of their nine subjects were taught in English at the refugee camps. Out of pure need, I learned to speak Nepali. It was important for me to communicate to my gardeners who were quickly becoming my friends. Whenever I did not know a word, I would ask, write it down and practice it over and over. In my dreams I would say the words over and over.  I am still learning Nepali but I have grown tremendously with my vocabulary near 500 words. Between my broken Nepali and their broken English, we can communicate. The Burmese language is much more difficult as there are 300+ dialects and even Burmese struggle speaking with each other. Thankfully they are all one church so we can communicate to the Burmese garden leaders and they can share with the whole community. This year we are noticing great improvement in their English skills as they are communicating more and more.
 Resourcefulness! It amazes me. They do not run out to the store for trellises, they make them and they are beautful.

So the garden grew, it thrived. As did all the gardeners. That first year we heard so many stories. Many of them were farmers when they were still in Bhutan, this coming back to the earth was a homecoming.
 We learned culture. I learned the meaning of human suffering. The Bhutanese went through an ethnic cleansing were the men were beaten, tortured and imprisoned. Which lead to their fleeing the country and finding refuge in Nepal where they lived for 20 years in refugee camps.  I learned perspective.

The garden has been good. We have a Children's Garden were I run weekly Kid's Club. I teach them about nature, we go on adventure hikes and check out what is living in the ditch and among us. We plant, weed, water and harvest the fruits of our labor. Here is a picture from 2010, the Kids Club harvest party.

We are now in our third season, with everything growing beautifully. Even if we still have rabbits and groundhogs trying to intrude.

And the work still continues. This year we built a rain catchment shelter.
 And a land bridge/culvert over the ditch.
Things are always changing and there is always work to be done but some things are forever.
This is a place of beauty, growth, culture, love and respect.
This place is gloriously good!

You can check out more pictures on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterFarm
Also, special thanks to my mother for her unbending dedication to this garden. She is known to all the gardeners as Ama, Mom! Also to our partners, The Land Bank, The Garden Project and SLCDA. Without them this would never have been possible. And lastly to this year's Americorp member, Brian, whose hard work is greatly appreciated. Thank you!