Month: April 2016

Lets face it, breakfast can be boring.  During the week I am trying to do a bunch of different things to get out the door on time so there isn’t much variation in the breakfast food.  Think cereal, yogurt with granola, smoothie, or that bagel which I know I shouldn’t get but always fill me up.  On the weekends it usually is some of those same things but we will add in scrambled eggs or when we are doing a “big” breakfast we will make pancakes, bacon, fruit salad, tater tots.   

We recently went to Houston and Austin, Texas to visit some friends and family.  The food in Texas, especially Austin, was amazing.  Most of our meals there were either mexican or BBQ style (side note if Torchy’s Tacos ever comes to Connecticut you definitely have at least one customer).  A couple of weeks after we got back we had some company staying over our house who are foodie types and we wanted to make sure they ate well.  One thing we had to be cautious of as well was making a gluten free meal due to an intolerance.  We decided that for breakfast on Sunday morning we would make breakfast tacos inspired by our recent Texas trip.  

Ingredients

• (*This served 4 adults)
• 1 Jalapeno
• ½ Red Onion
• Salt & Pepper
• Eggs (1 egg per taco)
• Sharp Cheddar
• 1 Avocado
• Sriracha
• Tortillas (we used corn due to the gluten free)

In addition you can really make the toppings whatever you want based on your own tastes

1. Heat up griddle and spray with nonstick spray (you can also use pans on the stove).  Put tortillas on the griddle for about 30 seconds each side to heat quickly.
2. On one side of the griddle cook jalapenos and onions.
3. While the jalapenos and onions are cooking, crack egg and open onto the griddle.  Place each egg on griddle so they are separate.  Once one side of the egg is cooked, flip over.
4. Add onions, jalapenos, and shredded cheese on top of each egg.  Add some salt & pepper your liking
5. Once cheese is melted, pick up the egg with a spatula, place a tortilla on the griddle and place the egg towards one side of the tortilla.  Fold in half.
6. Serve the tacos with other toppings to taste after taken off the griddle.  I added avocado to mine where my husband added some Sriracha.  

This recipe definitely adds a bit of flavor to a meal that can become a bit boring and overall is pretty healthy start to the day!   

We spend our winters on the farm preparing for the next growing season. We prune trees, fix equipment and order seeds, plants and material to be as prepared as we can be, but ultimately it is Mother Nature that determines when “Spring” starts on the farm. So far, this season (as measured by the trees breaking dormancy and starting to grow) is about three to four weeks early.

It is probably not news to anyone that it has been an unusual winter and spring (it is April 4th and SNOWING!! as I write this.) It was a pretty mild winter, but it was punctuated with some extremely cold nights (remember Valentine’s day weekend?) If you can wear flip-flops and snow boots in the same week, you must be in Connecticut.

What most people aren’t as aware of, is how the  weather we have been experiencing can affect our perennial crops for the rest of the season. For instance, the fruit buds that we are counting on to flower and set fruit this for this year’s crop were actually formed last year. The weather conditions and crop load last year determined how many and how strong the fruit buds are for this year. The fruit buds then need to survive the winter and spring cold and frost in order to bloom and set the young fruitlets that will become this year’s crop.

We get one shot. If something happens to damage the fruit buds during the winter and spring we are done for the year. The trees don’t form new buds to replace the ones we lose now.

Needless to say, this can lead to some sleepless nights for us as we sweat out these cold nights. In a year like this, when the trees start to emerge from their winter sleep in March, we have a few additional weeks to worry about until the threat of frost affecting the tender buds and blossoms passes.

Those of us who make our living in agriculture are careful to follow Benjamin Franklin’s advice to not count our chickens before they are hatched. There is a lot that can happen between now and harvest time. Understanding all the obstacles to growing that crisp apple or a sweet,  juicy peach makes us appreciate them all the more.