Stupidity

Picture 1 My Blue Ledge Farm shirt...they come in also sorts of really adorable colors...this lovely rust/orange is my other favorite.

Picture 2 Vegetables from the co-op!

Picture 3 YUMMY SOUP

Picture 4 A Barn Swallow (I did not take this picture...I give credit to www.wildphotosphotographry.com)

So guess what?  I'm getting tan!  Working in the garden and eating most of my meals outside is starting to turn me a shade browner.  Excitement!  I never get tan.

What I decided today is that I'm going to pretend that my blahg is like a daily newspaper.  And it will have columns, or maybe sections, like a newspaper.  The cute animal story (if I happen to have one) will be called "A ____'s Tail" (insert species).    I'll always have an overview of my day, but I can't think of what that should be called.  I could just call it the Daily Summary, but that's boring.  Or maybe "A Summer-y Day."  Anyway, the food section will be called "Barn Swallows" (that's my favorite).  If I ever wrote a farm cookbook, I'd call it Barn Swallows, and have a picture of a barn swallow on the cover.

A Summer-y Day

My scheduled hours today were from 8-12 in the cheese house and PM milking (4:30ish-6:30ish).  Third day in a row that I could get up late!  The day started out well enough; I worked in the cheese house salting camembrie and wrapped cheese for the farmer's market tomorrow.  Then I went to the co-op to get some vegetables for dinner...god I love the coop so much.  Spinach was on sale!  Joyous day.  I got back from the coop and got ready for evening milking.  The goats were being so obnoxious!  You have to open this little door and let in 10 goats, but sometimes they just refuse to come through and it's so frustrating.  So that put me in a really bad mood.  And then when I was done, I wasn't concentrating, and I turned off the machine without pumping the last batch of milk into the tank, so it all spilled on the floor.  Probably like, $50 worth of milk or something.  Who knows.  I felt so terrible...I'm probably the worst intern ever.  I can't believe they pay me.  I should ask them not to pay me this week.

Ok, and the angst is over.

A Pig's Tail:  This isn't really a story, I just wanted to use the title.  I fed the pigs today!  That's it.  I guess I can say more...there's nothing that makes you feel more like a farmer than feeding the pigs.  Something about climbing over fences carrying buckets of grain and pouring it into a feeding bin while 3 pigs and 10 piglets are squealing and fighting to get the food and then carrying six full buckets of whey and pouring it over the pigs heads because their faces are still buried in the grain in the bin makes you feel like you're really in touch with those colonial farmer roots.  The whole thing is a frightening experience, however, because while I'm feeding them, all I can think of is Princess Mononoke and those huge boars with those worm things coming out of them....that movie was scary.  Amazing, but scary.  

To comfort myself after the milking mishap, I made myself some soup.  Soup is the most soothing food ever.

Barn Swallows: Vegetable Quinoa Soup

Vegetable broth

Asparagus

Spinach

Mushroom

(Potatoes would be good but I didn't have any)

Peas, fresh or frozen (at the co-op they sell local organic frozen peas)

Quinoa, cooked

Flavorings (I am the queen of spice so I used ginger, red pepper, curry powder, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, and sesame oil)

Put vegetable broth in a pot, add asparagus, bring to boil, add mushrooms, boil for a minute, lower to simmer, add spinach and quinoa, simmer until spinach is wilted, and turn off heat.  Pour into bowl, add flavorings, and eat!  But don't burn your tongue.

So, if anyone has any ideas about what my Daily Overview should be called, post them here.  Or email them to me, if posting is not an option for you.  Or any ideas for other sections would be good.