It was a room full of elbows and eager book lovers, all vying to pounce on a few (boxes full of) good books. We scored over a dozen new books for only $37, including a new “how to build small banrs, sheds and shelters” book, some new herb reference books and a great guide to central Oregon hikes. The purchase wasn’t exactly in the budget, but a pile of useful books is definitely worth the investment, especially for a good cause.
Our dog, Pocket has always loved veggies, especially broccoli and cherry tomatoes. (Favorites of mine, too: go figure?) As a pup, she’d join me in my veggie garden and snack on little tomatoes while i harvested. She also enjoyed grazing with the chickens in the backyard, helping them gnaw on old broccoli stumps. Pocket now enjoys a diet of Raw Meaty Bones, but i still give her all the veggies she wants. Some more Pocket veggie favorites:
kale stems
cauliflower stalks
carrots
peas
green beans
yams
Her favorite treat in Winter is definitely broccoli. Pocket isn’t allowed in the kitchen while i’m cooking, but if i happen to be chopping up broccoli she usually gets a call. The paws scurry in to receive a chunk of broccoli stem that she brings back to her crate to enjoy while i cook. Sometimes she even gets some broccoli dessert on the couch…. though not very often as she can make quite the mess.
Does your dog enjoy veggies? What’s his/her favorite?
Wahoo! I FINALLY cooked an entirely SOLE meal, and was up to the veggie challenge over at Not Dabbling in Normal. I have been slacking off, more or less, during this entire challenge, but i finally did it. On a week that most of the other recappers are busy! Oh, well.
For my vegetarian dish, i made a fresh salad and a fritatta of sorts. The fritatta was more veg than egg, and i DID use balsamic on the salad but ALL other ingredients were from either right down the road (literally), or a neighboring state (Californian olive oil).
This “fritatta” turned out way more veg than egg, but was still pretty yummy. I followed my normal fritatta guidelines: potato crust, veggies, egg mixture poured over the top and baked at 400/425 for 20 minutes or until firm throughout. For this meal i used the following ingredients:
5 eggs from a neighbor’s hens
half bunch kale (from Gathering Together Farm (GTF), an organic farm 1 mile from my house)
3 cloves garlic (from GTF)
1 purple potato (GTF)
1 crown broccoli (GTF)
1/3 leek (the white part) (GTF)
1 smoked serrano pepper (from my step-mom in Eugene)
pinch dried basil (stored from my Austin garden)
Salt/Pepper
Splash milk from Lochmead Dairy (about 40 minutes away, no hormones added)
For the salad, i tossed GTF’s salad mix with a shredded beet (from Denison Farms, also local/organic), chopped walnuts (that i picked locally this past Fall), more salt and pepper and a drizzle of California olive oil and who-knows-where Balsamic. Local, fresh, seasonal, healthy, SOLE and vegetarian! I finally did it!
Interested in joining the challenge? Check out Not Dabbling in Normal and cook along with us!
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Do you enjoy cooking vegetarian dishes, or do you find them limiting?
I am so excited to finally reveal Pocket Pause, with “Tails” of my family’s adventures: our follies while learning to farm, and the joys i get from food, cooking and practicing fiber arts. Yay! If you are a long – time reader of An Austin Homestead, you will love Pocket Pause, even if we left you back in Texas. While Pocket Pause will have an Oregonian angle, my focus will always be on sustainability, which transcends all borders. Watch for the occasional post from Pocket, our blog’s namesake and the best little corgi in the world. PS, Pocket is a girl.
Browse around this new site, and feel free to comment with feedback on what you’d like to see more or less of. You can expect to read lots of posts about local hikes and travel destinations in Oregon, delicious and easy recipes, local and national resources for sustainably grown meat and veggies, tutorials and DIY tips, helpful links and more! Pocket Pause will be a week day blog, with 3-5 posts a week. Looking for more tips on DIY beauty products or herbal medicine? Check out Bathtime, our sister blog for weekly posts about natural bathing, healing and fun using herbs and essential oils.
I am working a “recipes” page, and hope to have that ready and published soon. In the meantime you can find all my older recipes, along with all older archives at An Austin Homestead. How would you like to see recipes organized? By meal? By ingredient? Comment below with your preference! Consider answering this little poll, as well. I want to know what you want to read:
Please join me in wishing An Austin Homestead a big “good-bye” and i hope you will stick around Pocket Pause for many more of the posts you have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy in this new location. New to both blogs? Welcome! Along with this blog, you can find links, updates and more at Facebook and on Twitter. Check out the cool toolbar at the bottom of this page to “Like,” “Follow,” and check out our latest tweets. Sometimes homesteading is awfully high tech, don’t you think?
I earn a tiny percentage from any purchase you make at Amazon when you shop via clicking on one of the above links. You do not have to buy one of my recommended items: every purchase made after you've clicked through applies. Every cent helps us fund this crazy adventure! Thanks in advance!
