Planting shallots

Well, the days are getting shorter.  The skies start darkening around 7 pm now.  When I get home I'm racing the sun to get the outside chores done.  Thankfully, Russ and Benjamin help out with the farm chores and Tricia milks Daisy.  Russ gathers the eggs and cleans and packages them for sale and then helps weed the garden.  Benjamin waters the animals and feeds the dogs and cats.  I feed the chickens and push the pullets in the chicken tractor one length and feed them as well.  Once that is done, I start knocking off other things on the to do list.


When the rainwater runs out, we go back to the hose

It's time to plant shallots.  Shallots are similar to green onions but are sweeter and not as strong.  We like to use them to flavor a lot of the things we cook.  Tricia went to the local feed store and bought a bag of shallots to plant near the green onions.  Our feed store is a neat place.  It is run by friendly people that are very helpful.  It is in an old building with wooden floors and is like stepping back in time.  It has a "feed store" type of smell that I can't explain with words, but it is a good smell that brings back memories of days gone by.  If you grew up in the country or a small town, I bet you know what I'm talking about.  There is a bulletin board on the wall where local people post that they have hay for sale or okra or honey or yard eggs or even puppies to give away.  You know, the old-fashioned e-Bay or Craigslist.

Here is the brown paper bag of shallots that Russ has opened and is ready to plant.  You can tell that it is getting dark already.  Tick tock, tick tock...  Gotta work fast!


Bag of Shallots

Here we've worked up the ground a little bit.  This area of the garden has the richest dirt as it is mostly made up of composted wood chips.  The ground doesn't pack here and is a darker color than the rest of the garden.  Russ is spacing out the shallots between the green onions and the sugar snap peas that are sprouting up nicely.

Getting the shallots in place

Now, all that is left to do is to cover them up and water and it won't be long before they'll be growing and will be harvested to add nice flavors to gumbo during the fall/winter.

Spacing out the bulbs

While we were out in the garden we harvested jalapeno peppers, poblano peppers, chocolate bell peppers, green bell peppers, yellow bell peppers and banana peppers.  I took them inside and seeded and cored all the bell peppers after cutting them in half and froze a gallon Ziploc bag full.  We'll used these in many dishes throughout the winter months.  They add color and great flavor.
 

Mini cajun bell peppers

Yellow bell peppers

As I was heading to the back door, after helping Russ plant shallots and pull up two rows where we'll plant some additional spinach and garlic, I had to stop and take a picture of a beautiful pink rose in bloom.  I did not know it, but the color of roses have come to have different meanings.  Pink roses range from a subtle hint of color to deep and bright, and they have come to mean joy, happiness, gratitude and admiration.


Beautiful Pink Rose

I was rushing to beat the sun going down, but I'll also admit, I was rushing in for supper.  Tricia thawed out some of the homegrown cauliflower that we had blanched and she pureed it, mixed with heavy cream from the cow, broth, butter, onions and some other items to make a wonderful Cream of Cauliflower Soup.  This tasted like something you'd get in a five star restaurant - so rich and smooth!  I added a link below if you're interested:  Cream of Cauliflower Soup

 

1 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 generous head cauliflower
3 tbsp. butter
3/4 c. minced celery
3/4 c. minced onions
1 tbsp. sesame seed
3 tbsp. flour
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 c. shredded cheese

Combine water and broth; bring to a boil. Add cauliflower. Simmer, covered, until tender. Remove 2 cups cauliflower and set aside. In another pot, melt butter. Add onion and celery and cook 8-10 minutes until tender but not brown. Add flour, stirring constantly; cook over medium flame a few minutes without browning. Cover and set aside. To cauliflower and stock, add cream, milk, salt, and pepper. Heat soup just until boiling point, but don't boil. Pour hot soup into flour mixture, stirring constantly. Cook until thick. Puree soup in blender; add reserved cauliflower and cheese.

One thing Tricia added to the recipe was some local smoked sausage.  It added some additional punch to a delicious soup!

As the sun was sinking below the horizon, a pink cloud caught my attention.  Good night all!