Welcome to May! (Are you keeping an eye out for those pilgrims? ha-ha-ha) As mentioned last month we took a trip and it was wonderful! We visited Vermont in what is considered its 5th season, known as mud season to the locals, between winter and spring. It wasn’t anywhere close to as bad as some have said it could be. In our first couple of days, the temperatures hit the low 80s, and the day before our return we were in snow flurries.
Our main vacation goal was to explore Vermont which we did and loved every bit. We also saw a snippet of New Hampshire and a small bit of Maine. We can now say we have seen both oceans and touched the waters (it might have only been on the water-soaked sand but we’ll count it).
To see a few of the pictures we took head on over to theoasisfarm.org where you can view our Vacation Gallery.
Our trip was so fast and we realized we missed spring in our little neck of the woods when we arrived home. Do grass and weeds truly grow that big that fast?
The answer is YES!
Spring happened while we were vacationing! We jokingly say that spring lasts for 2 weeks here and we just happened to be out of the area for it this year.
We have been blessed to meet a gentleman who is incredible with a weed eater. He has helped to get this jungle under control or at least in some semblance of order. He also enjoys leaving rock sculptures where ever he goes. What a gift! (please excuse the background clutter, we were moving items while he worked. We can get strong winds almost daily so I hurried to snap pictures).
Such a beautiful kindness. Watching him attack the backyard jungle with a vengeance made quite the contrast to watching him create his art. Slow, patient, exacting, almost gentle, and did I mention patient? What a beautiful meditative art.
As you read through the May Fun 411 below I encourage you to pick a few of the “Days” throughout the month that make you smile or even just smirk and celebrate the day. Have fun, be fun, and encourage fun.
Maybe a Star Wars movie marathon followed by tacos or carnitas. Meld your favorite Star Wars with your favorite Mexican food and BOOM, you have a great way to celebrate May.
May Fun 411:
Flower: Lily of the Valley, Hawthorn
Birthstone: Emerald (Love, Success)
5-1
Beltane a.k.a. May Day
5-3
Garden Meditation Day
5-4
Star Wars Day
5-5
Cinco de Mayo
5-6
Kentucky Derby
5-9
Lost Sock Day
5-11
Eat What You Want Day
5-13
Frog Jumping Day
5-14
Mother’s Day
Dance Like a Chicken Day
5-16
Love a Tree Day
5-18
No Dirty Dishes Day
5-19
World Plant a Vegetable Garden Day
5-20
Pick Strawberries Day
5-23
World Turtle Day
5-24
National Escargot Day
5-27
Sun Screen Day
5-28
National Hamburger Day
5-29
Memorial Day
Learn About Composting Day
5-30
Water a Flower Day
5-30
National Macaroon Day (Check out this month’s “What’s on the Menu”)
For the Month:
Date Your Mate Month
Gifts From the Garden Month
For the Month Nationally:
Barbecue Month
Hamburger Month
Salad Month
Photographer Month
Bike Month
Slàinte Mhath, from the Oasis
La Vita e’ Bella, M.o.M. (Mistress of the Manor)
The Oasis Farm Population +/- 106
Caretakers: 3
Chickens: +/- 29
Cows Beef: 0
Cows Dairy: 0
Dogs: 3
Goats: 2
Pigs: 0
Rabbits +/- 53
Sheep: 8
Turkeys: 3
If you have something and are interested in gifting, bartering/trading, or selling let us know. Thank you in advance
-If you have any old shoes of sizes and would like to donate them to Mac Diu’c’s toy stash. He would be so happy.
-Stock Trailer
-Hay &/or Grain Feeders
-Painted Desert Ewe/Ewe Lamb (looking to diversify genetics)
Eggs, we’ve got the eggs.
$6.00/dozen $8/18 pack
Message for availability and pick up.
Now’s the time to get your garden started. Check out the farm store for seeds.
Seeds available for purchase at the Farm Store:
Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles
With the nicer weather, it is the perfect time for kids to be running around playing outside. Soaking up the sunshine, laughing, and making wonderful memories.
A super easy and fun time can be had playing with bubbles.
Have you ever made your own bubbles? Were you successful? Did they come out just like you wanted?
I decided a bit of rabbit holing in this area was needed and found there are some incredible recipes out there in internet land. Some of the recipes I found were…
There were also simple instructions for making wands to go with your homemade bubble solution, no matter which recipe(s) you choose to try.
The wonderful thing about making your own bubbles is that you can have a lot of fun experimenting which of course leads to a ton of learning. The site verywellfamily.com has a wonderful article titled “How to Make Your Own Bubble Solution”. I am sharing their Homemade Bubble Solution recipe below but I encourage you to check out the rest of the article to find out how to make Colored Bubbles and Sugar Bubbles as well as ideas for creating homemade bubble wands. They also give a little science about bubbles (That’s where the learning comes in).
Don’t forget the links above also. Try a few different options and see what you like the best. It’s spring, friends and bubbles are just one more fun way you and the sprouts can enjoy the beauty that is Mother Nature.
Homemade Bubble Solution Recipe
1 cup water
2 tablespoons light Karo syrup or 2 tablespoons glycerin
4 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
Stir together until everything is dissolved.
As always we encourage you to share your thoughts and results. Please feel free to leave a comment and pictures of huge, giant, massive, ginormous, colorful bubbles.
In honor of National Macaroon Day (May 30) I am sharing our favorite Almond Macaroon recipe along with a Baked Custard I make to use the remaining egg yolks from the macaroon recipe.
The trick I use to make this combination work is to make 2 batches of cookies. As you will see below each batch of macaroons requires 3 egg whites while the custard recipe requires 6 egg yolks. My answer to this quandary is to make 2 batches of cookies.
The macaroons call for almond extract which is a truly wonderful flavor BUT I like to experiment with different flavors. I have made lemon, orange, chocolate, and spiced macaroons. We each have our favorites so making 2 batches just makes it easy AND 6 egg yolks means custard!
The cookie dough requires chilling which allows for the custard to be baked first and warm custard helps to make the wait for the cookies a bit more bearable. I found the original recipe for these macaroons on Epicurious.com. I will share their exact recipe but as you all know I like to change things up a bit and will put my notes/changes next to the original.
ITALIAN ALMOND MACAROONS
YIELD 24 cookies
INGREDIENTS
3 egg whites
1 (16 oz.) package Bob's Mill finely ground Almond meal flour OR 1 lb. almonds very finely ground
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sliced almonds
Powdered sugar
PREPARATION
Beat egg whites until foamy in a large bowl. (I use my food processor blender bowl). Stir in almond meal, sugar, extract, and salt; cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to chill.
Preheat oven to 300° degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Press almonds with your fingers to break them into smaller pieces. Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch crescents and roll in almonds, place on baking sheets. (I use a small cookie scoop, don’t roll in almonds, and use my thumb or knuckles to press down the centers)
Bake for 20 minutes for softer or 30 minutes for firmer macaroons. Dust with powdered sugar (unless these are for giving away I pass on the dusting).
Don’t forget to make two batches of macaroons so that you are ready to make Best-Ever Baked Custard. I found this recipe on cdkitchen.com and will note my changes again. :)
Best-Ever Baked Custard
ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
6 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I highly recommend freshly grated if you have it)
(For the 2 cups total of milk products I have used, either solely or a combination of half-n-half, whole milk, canned milk, and coconut milk - all with great results)
directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine the sugar and egg yolks in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. While whisking, add the milk, whipping cream, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
Pour the custard mixture into 6-ounce custard cups or ramekins and sprinkle each with nutmeg. Set the custard cups in a 13x9 baking dish. Carefully pour hot water into the baking dish to fill it 1 inch deep, taking care not to splash any water into the custard.
Place the baking dish in the oven and bake at 325° degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until the custard is set and a knife inserted in the middle of one comes out clean.
Carefully remove the pan from the oven and remove the custard cups from the hot water. Dry off the cups before serving. Serve warm.
Sourdough Pineapple Upside Down Cake
As I have mentioned in previous missives, I’m back on the sourdough train. Our home is made of cinder blocks so winter can be a challenge to regulate the heat which of course can be a bit of an issue for sourdough starter. Nothing that can’t be overcome but just a bit more challenging.
Before our vacation, I had been seeing great progress with my starter. It was finally starting to show growth and then vacation. Vacation for us meant vacation for my starter. I just couldn’t ask our farm sitter to add one more thing to her plate. My only choice was to put my starter a.k.a. Houdini into stasis.
The day we returned home I pulled Houdini out of the fridge and let her warm up naturally. After she was at room temperature I returned to my normal feeding routine. So far we are seeing good signs of growth. In the meantime, I have a plethora of discard to use. I think it’s becoming my favorite part of the sourdough process.
Our farm sitter thanked me for not asking her to take care of Houdini and then requested a pineapple upside-down cake. Our farm was taken care of so well, how could I say NO?
I found this wonderful recipe at makeitdough.com. With so many folks at our house on our return, I chose to double the recipe. The larger casserole dish I used for part of the batch stayed “downside-down” but was still so tasty. The smaller portion of the batch I baked in a cake pan that allowed for presentation.
I should mention that most bakers that I know use standard measuring cups and such. I was/am one of those people (gasp). There is nothing wrong with this and I still do measure this way for many recipes. What I have found though is that there truly is a difference when your ingredients are measured by weight.
This recipe is only written in grams. Please don’t let this stop you. Purchase an inexpensive kitchen scale (check Amazon for some good options) and give it a try. Do a bit of experimenting with your measuring cups and different flours for instance. Once I did this I could see the differences. I grind my flour (3-4 different grains, soft white, Red Hard, Einkorn, and Khorasan a.k.a. Kamut) and each grain weighs out differently cup for cup. It’s a bit of a trip but it can step up your baking game.
I’m considering using other fruits with this cake recipe, maybe a Pear Upside Down Cake or Peach Upside Down Cake. Until then enjoy the recipe.
Sourdough Pineapple Upside Down Cake
PREP TIME 45 mins COOK TIME 1 hr. TOTAL TIME 2 hrs.
EQUIPMENT
10-inch round cake pan don’t use a smaller cake pan or your caramel may overflow as it bakes
Kitchen scale
small saucepan
stand mixer or hand mixer you’ll need an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugars to aerate your batter
INGREDIENTS
Topping
150 grams brown sugar
143 grams pineapple juice or whatever is left after measuring out 75 grams for your batter
28 grams unsalted butter
56 grams Bourbon optional
Batter
150 grams all-purpose flour
7 grams baking powder
10 cardamom posts about ½ teaspoon
84 grams unsalted butter softened
200 grams granulated sugar
113 grams sourdough discard
2 eggs large
4 grams vanilla extract
75 grams pineapple juice
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep: Preheat oven to 325 F.
Make the topping: Combine the brown sugar and pineapple juice in a small saucepan. Stir and cook over medium heat. Turn the heat down and bring to a simmer until the mixture is thickened, about 15 minutes (make sure the mixture has thickened or your batter may overflow as it bakes). Remove the mixture from the heat, and stir in the butter and Bourbon, until fully incorporated.
Assemble the topping: Pour the caramel into the cake pan and nestle the fruits in. Arrange 7 pineapple slices on the bottom of the pan, cut 3 of the slices in half, and arrange them around the sides of the pan. Dot the cherries around the pan.
Make the batter: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.
In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer with beater attachments (or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment), cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the discard, eggs, pineapple juice, and vanilla to the creamed butter.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a third at a time, waiting until all of the flour has been hydrated before folding the remainder in. Don’t over mix or your cake may turn out dense and rubbery.
Bake: Pour the batter gently into the prepared cake pan, trying your best not to disturb your topping. Bake for 50 to 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs.
Serve: Set the baked cake on a wire rack and let the cake cool for 5 minutes. Place your serving platter over the baked cake and quickly turn the pan over. Carefully lift the cake pan off. Place fruit that’s stuck on your pan back on your cake.
Enjoy and store: This cake is excellent warm or cold. Store any leftover slices in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
NOTES
When in doubt, use weight over volume measurements
Use canned pineapples in juice, not syrup
Drain pineapple slices, but save pineapple juice, you’ll be using all of it for this recipe
Use a 10-inch cake pan for this cake, do not use a smaller baking vessel or the sugary topping may overflow as your cake bakes
You’ll need an electric mixer for this recipe to cream the butter and sugar together, this aerates the cake and makes it lighter and softer
To use cardamom pods, crush the outer shell, gather the seeds, and grind them using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder
Don’t overmix your batter or your cake may turn out dense and rubbery
Don’t be afraid to put any fruit that gets stuck on your pan back on your cake
Do not let your cake cool completely in the pan or it will get stuck
Community Partners
Still an obsession. Quail eggs! Aren’t they gorgeous?
We received these from our wonderful community partner, Cooper’s Homestead, and Crafts.
Yes, they sell them for eating at $4/dozen or hatching at $5/dozen, or over 8 dozen at $3/dozen. If interested contact: Rachelle Cooper text: 530-782-8545
A huge THANK YOU to Salina at Artistic Wonders for the wonderful Graphic Art.
If you require art of any sort give her a shout at:
artisticwonderscreates@gmail.com
Thank you to pngtree.com for the fantastic May clipart
<a href='https://pngtree.com/so/St'>St png from pngtree.com/</a>