Drying Figs and Tomatoes; July Flower Orders; Happy Blog Anniversary 6 years!!!

Thank you for coming back to my blog again.  Has been a bit of time, wish I could say we were sitting by a stream listening to the cool water bubble around rocks or fly fishing.  Didn't happen here at Windmill Farm.

The season is exploding, so many peaches on the ground, not enough time to pick all the trees; vegetables turning corner and starting to look like their production season is just about ending; so many tomatoes, I pick every time I go out to garden a case or two.  The fig trees have had lots of fruit this year but have been fighting the birds and the heat.  At least we were able to supply our CSA members with figs and had some extra to try out drying them in our dehydrator.

 I have never been a fig lover but dried, I love them.  I just couldn't figure out what the nutty taste was like when a friend, who begged me for some ate them, told me they tasted like Fig Newtons. She was right.

I had some not so perfect, tomatoes I cut up and dried in my large screen dryer that I leave out in the sun to dry, instead of the electric dehydrator.  I put a little salt and basil on top.  They are fabulous in soups, salads, any type of cooking.  One little dried piece of tomato has a huge amount of packed fresh tomato taste.

 Great thing about drying tomatoes, is I can use my Roma's, which actually are the perfect ones to use; or any size, shape or ripeness of the tomatoes.  They were dried in the sun in 2 days and I was able to sprinkle some on top of our CSA member's boxes as a treat along with the dried figs and fresh figs.

What we hate more than anything on the farm is waste.  It takes so much time and money to get to the point where our crops are producing; people want to purchase our products but sometimes; there just isn't enough time in the day to get everything that needs to be done, done.  Every time I walk or gator past the orchard and see fruit on the ground, it just kills me.  Most people wouldn't give it the time of day, no big deal.  Probably most people wouldn't even eat any fruit that hit the ground.  But I look at every one to see if some part of it can be used to either preserve, dry, or eat fresh.  I have some canner friends that feel the same as I do and are ready to accept a case or too of almost too soft; or maybe not large fruit at a very cheap price.  When you cut it up to make something out of them, it doesn't matter that they weren't the #1 fruit.

Along with our CSA delivery this week, I had several flower orders AND a small wedding flowers to do before Saturday.  Every day was get up early, pick, pack or arrange in a vase; or meet someone at the gate for eggs.  

I looked at my blog the other day and saw my first blog that I wrote was, July, 2009.  Well happy anniversary to my blog today, wow 6 years of writing about our small farm, about growing food; about remodeling our house; about craft ideas; talking about the many classes we have given; our CSA baskets.  I can't believe the time has passed and I feel pretty good about the commitment I made to people who happen to come to our site to see what we are doing; to be inspired possibly; to see what we may be doing next!!!  Happy Anniversary Windmill Farm blog!!!  I just wish more people would make comments, even to say hello.  It always feels like I am talking to myself.

Hope you come back again, and leave a comment sometime!!! Until next time.