Golden Beets and their Greens

Golden Beets : I thought they were just so pretty - even before cutting them up, and they had a long and thick plume of greens attached to them.  They are a bright golden color on the inside (See below).  Also, the leafy tops are more like the Siberian Kale than the darker tops that are on the red beets.   I cut all the green bits off of the stems and chopped it coarsely to put in a freezer bag.  A whole bag of greens AND beets for the price of a bag of spinach.  And the goat and chickens got bits of all the bits I didn't want, so none of it really went to waste.

And I got to show Esme how to prepare them - she says it is interesting to see the process and then how they are cooked.  Of course, then I also show her what vitamins are in them and tell her what foods and/or spices it goes well with.  I've told her that cutting up vegetables seems to be one of my favorite hobbies, which goes well with but does seem to live in a space all of its own beside the gardening and the cooking.  I also said that even though the produce wasn't perfect and the rest of what was on the shelf with it was bordering on sad - I would have been proud of that bunch if I had grown it myself.

Here are the bottoms, scrubbed but not peeled, then sliced somewhat thin, put a bit of water in the bowl so that the pieces were not sitting directly on the bottom, sprinkled olive oil over the top, added spices, and then drizzled some honey over the top.  Covered, in a 400 degree oven for probably a bit over a half hour.  We ate it with mandarin oranges, and she had about five slices on her plate.  I had twice that - and the leftovers in a small quart jar to use up tomorrow.  Mark made hamburgers for her and for himself, and I used up a bit of the sausage and egg rice I had made last night and added curry, ginger paste and green onions to it.

I will add the frozen beet greens to other fried rice and soup type meals just like I do kale and dandelion greens. 

Easter eggs

 Even though Esme has graduated high school, or very close to soon, I asked her to dye a few eggs with me.  Our eggs are already 'Easter Egg' colors, from having Americana chickens, but that just made it a science experiment which brown, green and blue eggs would change what colors.

 The yellow one was nearly purple-brown to start with, and the pink one was a pale green egg.  The left-most green egg was naturally green, and the one on the far right was brown to start with.

 I've done a little work in the garden, mostly checking on things, some sorrel and kale planted, seen beans that are coming up finally again after that freeze killed the other ones etc.  There are some cucumbers and squash plants and I planted another few seeds of zucchini.

Planning on making Esme something we haven't tried before - artichoke hearts, with a little bit of gruyere cheese baked on top - with egg omelets and Mark is making a bit of beef that be bought at the store.  So, waiting for that time to arrive to start making things.  We brought Grandma some chocolate for Easter but we weren't planning on making a full big holiday meal, just sort of a hodgepodge experimental type meal.

The artichoke hearts :  1 can of artichoke hearts, drained, and then put in a glass bread pan with olive oil sprinkled over the top, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, oregano, and then cooked in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until the very edges begin to brown - sprinkle with shredded Gruyere cheese and bake longer until the cheese melts well.  Serve with omelet and Italian bread. 

 

I've been playing some more Minetest and working in the research mode to earn a few of the materials as 'creative' or free play items.  I'm sure you can see I've gotten this wood as one finally, and also the colors of stone that the houses are made of, sand and glass.  I've mostly stayed playing this world because the mining distribution has impressed me - and I've even been finding some things like fire opal and pink tourmaline that I have not found before in the years I was playing it.

Studying French mostly, and French from the Spanish interface on the other platform. 

 

Not a bad little village to hang out in, catch fish, rotate the crops etc etc.
 

chicks - 1 month

 

 

They are a month old now - and will need a bigger cage soon  Mark and Esme are deciding what to do for that.  They can't go out with the other chickens until another month or two, because our roosters are very big and all of the big chickens sleep in a pile up on top of the house six feet off the ground.  They are starting to look so much like 'little chickens' now though, roosting and sitting on the ground with their feathers all arranged.  We've heard a few whistles and a cluck - no crowing, but up until that they mostly made little tweety chirp peeping noises, so we've noticed the difference.  'Goose' is the dark gray one, 'Spot' is the white one, 'Stripe' is the golden colored one (who is hiding behind Spot), 'Duck' is in the bottom left, 'Prairie' is in the top left (those two are trying to be twins now, but Prairie' has a silver back) and 'Pheasant' is the one with the yellow cheeks and brown body looking directly at the camera.