Happy Summer Solstice!

Little Bear, all decked out

 Bonfires. Singing and dancing. Drum circles. Trekking to Stonehenge to join in chants of "All Hail the Sun!" All common ways to celebrate the summer solstice, but slush and dogs? 

Slush and dogs is exactly how our newly-made dog park family decided to celebrate the day of birth, sunlight, growth, and joy: the summer solstice. Our dogs played fetch, while we sipped slush, conversed, and even sang a few tunes.

Dogs enjoying dog slush

The slush was really the star of the show. People got creative. The slush menu included brandy slush, watermelon slush, a banana-berry mix slush, a slush for the doggies (made of Braunschweiger and milk), and our rhubarb-strawberry slush. Turns out making slush is pretty easy, and when we returned from the festivities, we made a peach-pluot slush.

Peach-pluot slush

 

 

To make this summer slush concoction for yourself, you need the following:

•  8 cups water
• 4 cups fruit (or to taste)
• 2 packages of gelatin
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1.5 cups of sugar (or to taste)
• vodka to taste
• 7-up to taste

Instructions:
1. Boil water with fruit until fruit turns to mush. Lower heat.

2. Scoop out mush (and save it for breakfast fruit, to add to yogurt, or to give to your chickens!)
3. Return water to boil.  Add sugar and gelatin.  Boil until sugar and gelatin are dissolved. Remove from heat and cool.
4. Add vodka and freeze. We started with 2 cups of vodka, but you could easily add more or less, if desired.
To serve: scoop out desired amount into cup. Top off with 7-up or like soda.

My friend Jennie and I also made dog treats for our best friends.

Za tries to take his treats early

Jennie received the recipes from a friend, and the dogs LOVED them. Here they are:

Cheese And Garlic Dog Cookies :
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cups cheddar cheese --grated
• 1/4 pound margarine -- corn oil
• 1 clove garlic --crushed
• 1 Pinch salt
Cream the cheese with the softened margarine, garlic, salt, and flour. Add enough milk to form into a ball. Chill for 1/2 hour. Roll onto floured board. Cut into shapes and bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until slightly brown, and firm.
MAKES 2 to 3 dozen, depending on size.

Peanut Butter Puppy Poppers :
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
•1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 375 F. In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, and then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Place dough on a lightly-floured surface and knead. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes (actually we just made them into balls and pressed them with a fork, like peanut butter cookies). Bake for 20 minutes on a greased baking sheet until lightly brown. Cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container.

A Hot Cup of Tea

If you know us personally, you know that we LOVE tea. Hot and cold. There's a tea for every mood, every season, every stage of every day.

Tired? Brew a cup of green.
Full? Brew a pitcher of pu-erh or oolong.
Not tired, but need to be? Brew a cup of chamomile or lavender or a blend.
Just craving something warm? Brew my personal favorite, mint green tea.
In need of a flavorful immune booster? Brew up a cup of hibiscus.
...need a pick me up? Try our new personal blend created by Andy and produced just for us by Adagio Teas. It's a mixture of ginseng green, ginger, and artichoke green tea.




Description:
 

This healthful tonic of ginseng and ginger, paired with the delightful flavor of the Artichoke Green goes down smooth and leaves you feeling clean and at peace.  These flavors are staples in the kitchen of the Backyard Market.  Enjoy!

So, you might be thinking, "Tea isn't grown locally! Hypocrites!" And to that we answer, "Why no, traditional teas are not grown locally, so we try to grow as many of our herbal teas as possible. And, as for the traditional types, we allow ourselves this luxury. We just have to for our peace of mind and for our health. ...and we're addicted."

If you're thinking of trying our blend, please do! On the right sidebar, click on the tea widget and order some. Let us know what you think.

Directions: Brew a couple of Tbs of tea at 185 degrees for 3 minutes.

Naysayers Beware: Beets = Nutritional Goodness

Earlier in the week, we pulled our garden's first beets. Yesterday, we planted another row of them. Today, we juiced a few for a recovery drink after our 60-minute run. Beets are good to us.

Beets are one of those roots that many claim not to like. I (or rather we) challenge those naysayers to try new ways, other than the classic pickled beet, in order to consume this super food. These crimson roots contain loads of Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, and C. They can be juiced, roasted, broiled, put into a cake, pickled, grilled, blended to be added to a vinaigrette, or shredded and eaten raw. And all methods equal pink, magenta, or crimson pee for nearly everyone. When it happens, don't be alarmed; it's only natural! :)

Our beverage today is a spin-off of the Willy Street Co-op's Juice Bar's Beetnik. We juiced carrots, oranges, and beets.

Beets from our garden, oranges from our fruit CSA, and carrots from our veggie CSA

 Ready to be juiced

All done...

My own version of the Beetnik! So sweet, so yummy, so nutritious!

Cold-Brewed Coffee: Ethical Heaven

Who wants to drink hot coffee in humid, sticky weather? Maybe some, but not me. On steamy days, I crave a nice big glass of iced coffee. Rather than spend $2 to $3 daily to feed my addiction, we've started cold brewing our own. Pour the silky liquid of deliciousness in a glass of ice; add a splash of cream; and oh-my-goodness: sipping heaven on my front porch! Try it. :)

How?
1. Coarsely grind coffee beans.
2. Use ratio of 1 cup coffee grounds: 4.5 cups water.

3. Combine and stir. 

4. Leave sit 12 hours or overnight at room temperature.

5. Strain using a colander lined with paper towel or a regular coffee filter.

Cold-brewed coffee has been called iced crack by some. Unless you want crazy jitters all day, be sure to fill your glass with ice to help dilute the coffee a bit. General rule of thumb is equal portions of cold-brewed coffee to water (ice in most cases).

Why choose cold-brewed coffee?

• You get your caffeine fix in the summer without staining your clothes with sweat.
• Cold-brewed coffee is less acidic than hot coffee, so it's easier on your stomach.
• It keeps for up to two weeks in the fridge.
• It freezes well too. Lots of people freeze leftovers into ice-cube trays for more coffee goodness added to their cold coffee drinks.

We typically use Kickapoo Coffee because we are fortunate enough to have that coffee offered as a CSA through Harmony Valley Farm. It's delicious, organic, and most importantly, fair trade. When and if we run out of our coffee for the week, our priority in purchasing is to buy fair trade. Why you might ask?

A few reasons include:
1. Smaller farmers are generally better stewards of the land.

2. Buying fair trade ensures that fair wages are being paid to people who harvest and grow your drink/food.

3. Fair trade requires sustainable agriculture methods, so generally, fair trade products are better for the environment.

Click here and here to learn more.  And look for these symbols when purchasing coffee!

Holiday Spirits

Each year, our contribution to the Christmas Eve dinner at the Poquettes is traditional Irish Cream. We usually double the recipe in order to have some left for our own Christmas Day feast with my parents, the Lapps.

The recipe for this creamy concoction was handed down to me from my mom. She used to bring it to the dreaded holiday party in Illinois! I remember soaking down a few glasses to take the "edge off" along with my dad way back when. Now, there's no need to "take the edge off" as both of our current family parties are enjoyable. Now, the drink is simply for added pleasure!


We buy the following ingredients as locally as we can. Obviously the milk and eggs are from local farmers. The rest is purchased from our co-op. Next year, we're hoping to provide our own eggs with the chickens we WILL get in 2010 (New Year's Resolution #276).

Ingredients:
3 eggs (from local, free-range chickens please!)
1 Tbs. chocolate syrup
1 tsp. instant coffee
1 tsp. coconut extract
1/2 pint whipping cream (from happy, small-farm Wisconsin cows!)
1.5 pints of milk (happy Wisco cows once again!)
14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk (organic versions of this exist)
2 cups (or to your liking) Irish whiskey

Instructions:
1. Mix eggs, chocolate syrup, instant coffee, and coconut extract together.
2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
3. Refrigerate and serve over ice.














Christmas Day wouldn't be complete without Mimosas. Luckily, our freezer is stocked with orange juice from oranges this past summer found in our CSA fruit box! Simply fill a glass three-quarters way with champagne or sparkling wine, and then fill up the flute with orange juice (or for fun, another juice of your liking!).