D and I went to the local u-pick berry picking patch this weekend, Impossible Acres (I love that name if I had a farm I’d name it that too). Turns out it was a great time to go too! Both the raspberry and boysenberry bushes were heavy with delicious berries and they hadn’t been picked over dozens of times (we normally go later in the year and have to really work through the bushes and thorns to get a decent amount). Berries aren’t the only thing available at the picking patch. They also have multiple varieties of cherries, peaches, apricots, tomatoes, apples and pumpkins (those last two are not currently in season. You knew that, right?)
Rows of berry bushes, to the left are stone fruit trees
Most of what we got has already been used up in the making of smoothies, cakes, and for snacks. D and I are definitely heading back to Impossible Acres before the end of the season, I don’t know how many times. It’s just enjoyable to spend an early afternoon walking through a garden with D picking fruit as we go along. The amazing things we do with them once we get home aren’t bad either. Below are some more pictures from the excursion.
We made smoothies with all the boysenberries. Oh! and cake too
D picking some boysenberries (stop staring at my wife's ass!)
Bing cherries? What do I know? I'm no fruitologist
Who's that dashing, good-looking fellow picking cherries?
This cherry tree was literally being pulled down by the amount of fruit on its branches
Spring (or is it summer) came late to Northern California this year. But, despite a 4 week delay it seems to finally be here now with temperatures rising to the high eighties and low nineties. Spring and Summer have a lot of things going for them; one of my favorites though, is sun tea. What is sun tea? Well it’s tea, usually herbal, you brew in the sun. I suppose most people just call it iced tea but I like the phrase ‘sun tea.’ ‘Sun tea’ conjures up images of a blue sky, mild breeze, blinding white walls, and sparkling pools. Oh, and the delicious taste of ice-cold tea!
Sun tea is really easy to make. You don’t need any fancy teas or tea bags (though you can use these things! Lipton is the blandest of teas and there are so many great flavors out there!) Here’s how I make it!
This is an Orange blossom, clove, and cranberry tea. I bought it in bulk from my local grocery co-op
You’re going to need some tea, a tea bag (if it isn’t prepackaged tea), and a large water jug. My jug is an old Santa Cruz Juice gallon jug.
I find it easier to place the tea bag in the jug before you put in the teaI fill the bag up as much as possible
Once you have the tea bag full, make sure you close it tight. The bag is going to be submerged in water for several hours and you don’t want it spilling out into the water. The tea won’t be ruined if it is but you’ll have to pour everything through a strainer, you can save yourself the hassle by making sure it’s closed tight.
Push the tea bag into the water. Make sure it is fully submerged
Once the tea bag is in the water, make sure the strings are still hanging out of the jar’s mouth and that the bag has plenty of slack, seal the jar and set it out in the sun.
Place in a spot where it will be fully exposed to the sun for at least 3 or 4 hours
After the tea has been in the sun for a sufficient period of time (the longer it’s exposed the stronger the tea’s taste) bring it inside, remove the tea bag, and chill in the refrigerator. I rarely, if ever, add sugar, honey, or other sweeteners to my tea but you can of course. If you feel fancy enough you can mix sun tea with a simple syrup for some Sweet Tea. As you can see from the first picture I enjoy mine over ice with some lemon juice and a slice or two. Sun tea is best enjoyed anywhere summer is happening.
Anything in particular you associate strongly with the summer season? Share it in the comments below!
Devere’s Irish Pub has these delicious BLTs that I tell everyone about. They use their own housemade Irish bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo, just like any other BLT. But, then you can have a fried egg put on your BLT too. I looked at that option many a time before actually trying it. I wish I hadn’t wasted all those opportunities! I am the last person who’d have thought that a fried egg on any sandwich, let alone a minimalist masterpiece like the BLT, was a good idea. I was wrong and so are you. The egg adds so much flavor and depth!
Stop whatever it is you are doing right now, go home, make yourself a BLT, fry an egg, combine them, and eat it. I’ll be waiting here when you want to thank me for giving you the idea.
For something even more decadent try the grilled cheese and egg sandwiches in this month’s (April ’11) Bon Appetit. That is the sandwich seen in the picture above: pancetta, provolone, arugula, green onions, and a fried egg on sourdough bread. Truly, to die for.
last night marked two weeks since I bottled my ale; which meant that they were fair game for consumption. I opened the chilled bottle with some trepidation, my wife was convinced that my sanitization regimen was lacking and that the beer would be tainted. The beer passed the sniff test and so I moved on to the next step pouring the beer. With the exception of some sediment the beer appeared fine, it had good carbonation and a nice foamy head.
Well, there it was nothing left today but taste the fruits of my labor. The beer turned out pretty good! Darker than an amber ale but lighter than a stout. The beer had a subtle floral smell, much like the hint of green apples, and nice roasted malty taste to it.
I was sure when I started this process the beer was going to be terrible but I have to say, I’ve paid money for worse tasting beer. I have a few bottles and if local friends want to give it a try and let me know what they think they’re welcome to come by and give it a taste.
Things I learned from this whole experience:
Beer is not that difficult to make
Gravity and physics are crappy things to count on when bottling. Next time I use an auto-siphon.
Make sure your bottles are not screw-top!
Have a place you can go to ask questions of more experience users. I was lucky enough to have the fine folks at Talking Time to answer my questions.
Get something to filter out sediment. It doesn’t seem to hurt anything but is kinda gross
Get a second big metal pot for the sparge.
I’m happy enough with my results to try this again. I’m not ready enough to start making my own recipes yet, so I’ll still be buying mixes, maybe a nice gingerbread ale or tripel?
Yeah, I don't have a name for my beer...Apple Crisp ale in my Odd-tober Fest 2009 pint glass*glug* *glug*
