Old McKrystal Had a Farm E-I, E-I, O!

Could August have been any more lovely? I doubt it. I have been loving the mild temperatures and the rainstorms. Sunny days are beautiful too, but something about the texture in these clouds contrasted with the greens and yellows of the cornfield speaks to my soul. This is where I live. I see these mountains and this corn field, and even the barbed wire fence, every single day...and it never gets old.

Fall is upon us. I can feel the change starting slowly. The rain hasn't been all that great for my garden, I feel like it's more of a wild, green jungle than anything else. But it has produced some ripe things. Mostly tomatoes. The cherry sized tomatoes are doing best. And the other day I made this delicious Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad. (blurry picture, sorry)

TOMATO, CUCUMBER, AVOCADO SALAD

Prep time: 12 mins

Total time: 12 mins

Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups of chopped tomatoes - I used cherry tomatoes

1 cucumber - peeled and seeded then diced

1 avocado - diced

4 oz feta cheese - cubed

2 tbs minced red onion

1 handful parsley - minced - about 2 tbs

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs red wine vinegar

8 twists of black pepper from a pepper mill

INSTRUCTIONS

Chop tomatoes into a medium dice. If using cherry tomatoes, cut in half. Add to a bowl.

Peel and seed one cucumber and dice. Add to bowl.

Remove pit, dice avocado and using a spoon scoop out the avocado from the peel. Add to bowl.

Cube feta and add to bowl.

Add minced red onion and minced parsley to bowl.

Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar and black pepper - pour over salad.

Toss gently so the feta and avocado don't break up. Serve immediately.

If refrigerating - keep the avocado aside and add before severing.

I also canned salsa this morning. I sort of combined 2 recipes and made up the rest. :) So I won't post a recipe here. But I used a bunch of tomatoes and peppers and tomatillos from our garden. A few of the early ripe peaches off of our tree, onions, garlic, cilantro and spices. I think it turned out pretty good. I got 10 pints worth. 

Speaking of our peach tree, in a couple more days I'll be swamped. :) I'll have so many off my tree this year, that I won't need to buy from Brigham City at all. Yay! I made sure to point out to Aaron the figures, just for fun. Our peach tree cost us around $12 at Costco two years ago. To buy a bushel of peaches from Brigham City costs me about $36 every year. So in this year alone, our tree has paid for itself twice over. I knew fruit trees were a good idea! 

And our garden and trees aren't the only thing producing around here. Our chickens have started laying eggs! Yippy! We've had six eggs so far. I don't think all of them are laying yet, I think just maybe the two black ones. But with the eggs and fruit and produce I feel like I live on a freaking farm, and I love it!! 

I told Aaron today that I think gardening and canning what you grow is more satisfying than raising children. At least so far, because you can see the results of your efforts a whole lot faster. ;)