Pickle this, Pickle that

/in , , /by

This post brought to you by our beloved Peter Piper

It’s pickle time! Cucumbers are growing like mad.
I’ve been making cucumber salad, sandwiches, and cucumber water!prickly cukeI walk out into the garden one day and find a small prickly cute baby cuke, then the next day — WHAM! It’s a huge green giant!

A pickler has got to do something with all those cucumbers, right? Well, that’s what’s been keeping Mara busy these past few weeks. She has created juicy, naturally fermented Green Tea Sour Pickles, aka Hapa Sours. They are crunchy, zesty, and delicious! The largest pickles will be available this weekend at the Boulder Farmers Market.

Stop by for a pickle on stick!

Pickles can be served in many different ways. My family likes ozuké Green Tea Sour Pickles in tuna salad. Here’s how we make ours:

Tuna Salad Ingredients:
2 Cans tuna
1 Stalk celery, chopped
1 ozuké Green Tea Sour Pickle (or more), chopped
1/2 Cup mayonnaise (or more)
Salt & Pepper to tasteingredients 1Directions:
Drain tuna. In mixing bowl combine all ingredients. Blend together well. Taste, add more of whatever ingredient you desire. Pile high on a green salad, a piece of your favorite bread, or just eat it straight out of the bowl. Serve pickles alongside sandwich or salad. sandwichLooking forward to seeing you all at the Boulder Farmers Market this weekend!

Remember this Saturday get a Pickle on a stick!pickle stick-120130905-071202.jpg

Happy Chicken = Happy You

/4 Comments/in /by

Late summer is the time of year when gardens give abundantly here in Colorado. This morning I made a colorful open faced sandwich sourced from my neighborhood (mostly).

My breakfast began with a fresh egg from my neighbors’ chickens. Kristin & John have a beautiful backyard hen house with happy chickens. These girls have the life–green grass, garden leftovers, and a palatial dwelling equals good livin’!henhouse-1Each week we receive our multicolored oval beauties, and feel fortunate to have fresh eggs so close by. Local eggs are worth their weight in gold. Do you have neighbors that keep chickens? If you do, better get in on that action!  Farm-fresh eggs are full of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A (healthy skin), choline (especially important for pregnant women) and selenium (supports immune system health). For more information read what Diana Bauman writes on the blog Simple Bites.eggshenWhich came first, the chicken or the egg?

Adding the final touches to my fresh breakfast are tomatoes and Swiss chard from my front yard garden.  At long last my tomatoes have started to turn red, and with the rain this summer, my rainbow colored Swiss chard is still thriving. I picked some tomatoes and broke off a chard leaf — voilá my ingredients were ready.

Ingredients:
1 Egg, prepared to taste
1 Piece of toast
1 Leaf of Swiss chard
1 Small sliced tomato from the garden if possible
1-3 TBSP of ozuké Just Juniper Kraut
Salt & pepper to tasteswiss chardtomatoesDirections:
Toast bread. Meanwhile prepare the egg as desired (I prefer fried). Layer the sandwich to your liking, salt and pepper to taste. Top off with ozuké the best pickled things just juniper kraut & enjoy! Because our just juniper kraut is simple and mild, all the flavors of the bread, tomato, egg, and chard can be appreciated in each bite.

Happy chicken = Happy you!
cropped metal chicken