Wicked Tuna

The west coast has some great tuna fishing too!  Andy had the pleasure of joining Steve Kesling (yes, he's still alive!) and friends out off the coast of Westport today. They caught 20 fish between the four of them, and Andy nabbed three including the one pictured. It was huge! He said it took about thirty minutes to reel this guy in! He sliced it and bagged it up after I snapped this photo. We will use everything from this fish including the remains which will be buried in one of our garden beds tomorrow. Way to go Andy!! In the hopes of him reeling one in, I looked up fresh tuna recipes today. I plan on searing a couple steaks for us this week.  They should be delicious!

Autumn is HERE!

Yesterday, Matilde and I were busy baking bread because it is officially bread baking season! The house is finally cool enough to use the oven for a few hours in the afternoon and the girls are eating more sandwiches now that school's back in session. Plus, we couldn't pass up a fresh loaf! This bread recipe was really simple, very inexpensive, and it looks like "real bread!" We used flour, yeast, salt, milk, sugar, and water. What more do you need?! Honestly, it was so simple my 5 year old could make it....oh wait...she did! And it's absolutely delicious! 

Meow!

Evan walked outside to feed the rabbits this morning only to run back inside demanding my phone. I asked her what was wrong. She said I would never believe it so she had to take a picture. This is the photo she brought inside!  I couldn't believe it, she was absolutely right! 

Then this afternoon she found another one...and so it begins. 

Jealous?

We are still getting strawberries from our doorstep planters!  There are both green berries and some flowers just starting to bloom on both of the plants. Of course, Andy and I never get to taste any because Matilde and Evan are too busy sneaking them every chance they get! We'll see how long they last considering it's already AUTUMN. 

Snuggle Buddies

Wrapped in Plastic

We have been overrun by the Alki flu that hits our house every year, so in between popping our vitamin C, sneezing, and wheezing, we have been slowly but surely prepping our garden for Autumn. 

First things first, wrap the beds in plastic. That was all we got to today... Like I said- slowly but surely. ;) 

Weez gots hops!

And boy are they are stinky!  I love that smell....hops and Concord grapes is the scent of autumn in the Yakima Valley. 

Long day, full freezer

We have had a long weekend!  After the Harvest Fair yesterday, we processed both of the broilers we showed. We thought we'd break up the job between the two days. Aside from the meat you see in the photo (2 chickens), we harvested THREE more birds and NINE rabbits!!  I also picked a ton of ripe tomatoes and canned 5 pints worth. I lost a pint and a quart in the water bath in the process. One jar busted the bottom clear off and the other blew a seal and a ring!! Of course, I can't have a nice, easy experience canning there always has to be some lesson learned while I do it!  Today's lessons were that some jars are flawed and will break for no reason, never mix pints and quarts- do one or the other, and place my jars into the hot water bath at an angle. 

All in all, we are all exhausted and my poor lover boy still had to go to work. He's amazing and extremely tired every Monday morning! 

Also-- We are searching for a small square freezer and a vacuum sealer for keeping our food. If you know of anyone selling, we are actively looking to buy. Please pass us the info if you have it! Thank you, friends!

Harvest Fair 2014

Today was a ton of fun! We shared our story and animals with patrons young and old. We opted for a larger setup this year including a few bins to showcase some of the goodies grown in our own garden. Our goal was to share with others the ease, benefits, and fun urban farming and gardening can be.  It's always a treat to see the reactions from people when they hear just how "large" our property is. If we can do it, you can too! 

Thank you to everyone who stopped by today to say hello, ask questions, or to just pet the rabbits. We enjoyed our time representing the urban farming community at another wonderful Seattle Tilth event!  

YOU'RE INVITED to the Seattle Tilth's 2014 Harvest Fair!

Come visit us at Meridian Park, September 6th!  We will be showcasing our beautiful bunnies and fat ol' birds and encouraging others to raise their own food too!  It can be done!  

The fair is free and is located behind the Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave., Seattle 98103) in the Wallingford neighborhood. There will be plenty to take in.  Please visit the Seattle Tilth's event page for more details:

http://seattletilth.org/special_events/seattletilthharvestfair