A Story of Soup

Today I made soup. One of my favourite foods. I grew up on a lot of soup. The Germans have a word for creating soup. EINTOPF, it means one pot. At the end of the week everything leftover goes into one pot and it becomes soup. The origin of the word soup is suppa.  An old word, before Latin even. In German the word for soup is still suppe. It means "to sop".

 

Until bread was invented there was NO soup. Only a thick kind of gruel at best. Made from pounded grains or plants with maybe some meat cooked into it.( It doesn't sound good.) The "sop" part of soup is the thick slice of bread that was placed on the bottom of the bowl and then the soup ladled over it to sop it up.

 

Soups could be very, very nutritious when cooked over a length of time to extract the goodness of the marrow in the bones and stuff. The soup became a staple food in most medieval homes. They could afford to make soup from basically the scraps of leftover food, especially the bones which couldn't be eaten and were until then thrown to the dogs.

 

What is most interesting is that the invention of soup also beget the first restaurant. The word comes from the root "to restore". A Frenchman had the brilliant idea to make a nutritious soup and sell it to the weary travellers who needed something with sustenance to restore their energy.

 

Now you understand my little drawing. No criticism please. Drawing on the tablet isn't the easiest thing to do but I am trying. As good as it gets folks.

 

A little bit of fun - "oui?"

 

Types of Soup

Bouillon -concentrated

brown stock

Consomme -clarified

brown stock

Broths -clear

Jellied -made from

bones and clarified

Vegetable -prepared

with or without meat

Puree -with/without

cream

Bisques -shellfish based

cream soup (my fave)

Chowders -thick, fish

meat and vegie base

Fruit soups - huh???

what ?? (if you are

European you know.

I grew up on this.

Delicious !!! )

Video and Farm Update

It is the time of year when everything needs attention and doing. You hardly know where to begin first. The video is of our upper field and gives a concept of the scale of Ironwood Farm's operation. There are two other fields down below closer to the house. This is also where the hoop houses and chicken yards are. Hope to get a video of these areas done soon.

The first of the chickens went to the processor last week and Bryne is on the road as I write taking the last of the birds in. One job that is finished for the time being.

The weather is simply not its' usual self this year. We have had some very hot and sunny days but they are few and far between. The video happened to be one of those few days. In between we have experienced some incredibly windy days and nights. These winds which we call the "Qualicums" occur throughout the summer during our hotter weather. They usually start in the afternoon for a few hours but this year have been relentless and long. We even had some power outages due to their strength. They dry out the fields in very quick order, thus the need for irrigation.  Thought summer was finally coming and now we are looking at another week of cool, damp, cloudy weather. Its not cold though.

This is what I mean when I talk about one of the advantages of being a diverse, multi crop farming operation. There is always something that will do well in every kind of weather. The swiss chard, spinach, spring onions, brassicas,radishes, lettuces, parsley, cilantro and even potatoes are doing well. The few hot days got the zucchini and patty pans off to a good start and there are already lots. We had a good first flush of strawberries but it has all but stopped now. Too bad. The snow peas have been outstanding !

My dahlias are blooming and present some spectacular colour in the garden which makes me feel bright and happy ! Flowers are great for raising the spirits. Nasturtiums in the salad mix really perk thing up too.

Well the rain is really coming down now. There is still nothing like a good rain to keep things hydrated and growing. Saves a lot of physical and manual effort on our behalf to move irrigation pipes and sprinklers around. Going to do some work in the hoop houses today and stay dry.

Techno Frustrations

This morning I have spent the last hour trying to learn more about how to manipulate the blog and make it more attractive and figure out how to move images around and put them where you want them. Its amazing all the information you have to "slog" through to find what you want in a language you can understand. With all the advances in technology it seems you still really have to dig deep sometimes just to do something simple.

I can surely understand why so many people give up on trying new things. The frustration level is daunting at times. One thing I have learned is that you have to have patience with these things and just keep on trying. Not being scared of the technology really helps. I have learned that nothing really disappears and if you just keep pushing buttons you'll eventually retrieve what you think you've lost. I have also figured out that I need to write things down so I remember what I did.

Last night at flamenco lessons I was truly frustrated. I felt awkward and unable to make my feet do what my instructor was doing. She is so kind and patient. She keeps reminding me that she has been at it for 24 years and I am only on my 10th lesson. We are so hard on ourselves aren't we ?

I am determined not to give up. I enjoy the music and the rhythm of the dance and all it encompasses.  It is like learning a new language or technology. It requires patience and perseverance . If you think you can learn it in a day your are doing a great insult to those who have been at it for years. Learning something is one thing, perfecting it is another.

Watching the baby chicks emerge over these last few days is a great reminder of patience and endurance and determination. You can see how exhausted they are and how much energy it must be taking for these tiny little creatures to come forth and be present in the world. If they can do it then surely I can do it too.

Staying present and focused when taking on a task, a job, or almost anything for that matter is really a challenge at times but the rewards are boundless and satisfying to say the least.

Hang in there everyone ! We're not here for a long time, we're here for a great time !

The Last Few Days

On Friday afternoon at work I got a call from Bryne. I heard him tell me "She's ba........ck! " It took me a second then I explained "You must be kidding! " Well he wasn't. Some of you may remember the wild turkey(s) that were hanging around the last few years. Only the female has been left and she hasn't been much of a bother until lately. Eating transplanted spinach seedlings is a NO, NO ! We have a fresh faced batch of new WWOOFERs who decided that they would try and catch her. They did ! Didn't take them any time at all. Put Audrey (thats the name Craig gave her last year)into a cat carrier and off she went on a truck joy ride into the yonder parts. Bryne drove her at least 5 or more km. away. That was Thursday and now you have probably surmissed who was BACK ! Yes it took Audrey less than 24 hours to make her slow and wobbly way back to the farm. Whoever said that turkeys were stupid ! She is picking her way through the tall grasses and such and hanging out near the chickens. Maybe she thinks she is blending in. Well if she stays content to munch on the green, green grass of home then its okay with us. But beware if she gets a taste for the transplanted greens ! Maybe she likes truck rides.
Later.