The Isolation Farm is harvest-ready!

Remember back when I had nothing better to do than watch seeds sprout and sprouts grow? Real Estate was super slow and distancing all but thwarted any efforts I made to connect with clients and show houses. 

So... real estate is huge again but I haven't forgotten my little green babies in the back yard. A month ago they were spindly and pasty, barely able to tolerate the swings in day and night temps, torrential downpours and random hail storms. Today that 4' x 4' raised bed is a jungle. Veggies are shading each other with their leafy goodness and I'm picking them for dinner, for space creation... to give the remaining ones the best chance possible to reach their full and delicious potential.

So far we are going gangbusters with the swiss chard, mesclun lettuce collection, radishes and hot peppers. The strawberries have mostly met their end in squirrel mouths, the zucchinis are only 2" long and the yellow squash and bush beans are just getting going. Tomatoes that were pasty, got some Miracle Grow and now blossom. Green onions, found hidden beneath neighbors appear to be doing ok and the herbs - well they've gone crazy!!!

 I feel invigorated and satisfied when I make my early morning rounds in the garden. Our Isolation Farm (boredom project, grand experiment) is in no uncertain terms, a success!

Who loves pizza? WE love pizza!

Once in a while, Mark and I order pizza. It's a guilty pleasure for sure and on top of that, I feel the need to apologize that it's generally Domino's. Why? I dunno. We live in a foodie town and gourmet pizza abounds. Plus who doesnt have a friend or two from NYC or NJ... someone who delights in scolding you for eating chain restaurant pizza, non-authentic pizza. Pizza that just isnt "the real thing".

Near the end of "shelter in place" my adorable lender, Susie Kiesling (Elevations Credit Union) mailed me a gift. It was one of those fancy pizza cutters. A half moon shaped board that you rock back and forth to cut the pizza. It was compelling. I had to make pizza in order to cut pizza.

A new hobby was born. The Isolation Cafe was expanding its menu!

Check it out:

Fig and Pig pizza.
Thin crust, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, figs and arugula. Then a wee drizzle of a balsamic glaze to finish. Mmmmm.... delish.

Then a more traditional pepperoni with peppers, onions and mushrooms. I loaded the tomato sauce with garlic and after a hearty helping of grated mozzarella, added parmigiano-reggiano sprinkles.

In case you were wondering, the dough I used was a traditional olive oil bread dough. Basically just water, oil, salt, sugar and yeast, then few cups of flour and ... done! It proofs for 2 hours in the oven, then is chilled for a couple of hours in the fridge to make it easier to work. 

I roll about 2/3 lb of the dough into a round thats 1/4" thick and put that on a pizza shovel that is covered in corn meal. Quickly load it with sauce and toppings before sliding it onto a super hot pizza stone and cooking the heck out of it for just 12 mins.

* Dont leave it too long on the pizza shovel and dont load it with toppings until ready to shove into the oven. It gets challenging to work with fairly quickly, IMHO and darn that pizza stone is hard to clean once burned with cheese!  LOL

Hiking in Spring

Hey, hey! We love hiking. It has been a lifesaver during "shelter in place" and then "safer at home". Pretty much the only excursions we have taken, that don't involve groceries, until later in May.

Now that spring is truly here, the hiking is delightful on another level. Days are longer, light is pretty darn beautiful at sunrise and sunset and the animals are all out and about now too.  I LOVE it.

It's just a cow, right? Not the farm animal you'd associate immediately with aggression or expect to take much interest in us. But... I guess that depends how protective of her baby, she is!  LOL  I made Mark go first.  :-)