Well friends, our new combine almost paid for itself in its first week of work. We had just over a half acre of rye cover crop gone to seed that we wanted to harvest. Of course, this half acre was spread amongst all three fields. We may need to invest further in some orange vests and signs so that we can more efficiently move our combine throughout suburban Tumwater. Or move it in the deep dark of night when no one else is on the roads. Anyway, we did get it all around and it did work great, and was broken and repaired on the fly twice before the day was out, and harvested 900 pounds of seed. If we were to buy that seed, and we will be doing exactly that shortly, as we clear out areas of the farm and prepare for winter, it would cost more than 500 dollars. So the combine is half paid for already. Good investment, I’d say. We plan to try harvesting some of our crimson clover and buckwheat next year for our own cover crop seed needs, to nurture the soil in the off season. We also plan to learn more about which grains grow well here and are delicious to our chickens, so that we can grow our own feed for them. We fed some of our rye to the turkeys and the chickens and they both gobbled it up happily.

I think it’s Lyle Lovett who sings a song that goes like this…”When my baby cooks her eggplant, she don’t need no recipe” but last I checked none of us were his baby so we are likely to need one.
Grilled Eggplant, Cherry Tomato and Romaine Toss– Fresh Market Wisconsin
1 tsp. Minced garlic
freshly ground black pepper salt 1 pound eggplant
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
romaine lettuce
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 egg white
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
5 tablespoons olive oil
To make dressing; mash garlic with 1/4 tsp. Salt to make a paste. Combine with basil, vinegar, and egg white. Whisk in 4 tbsp. Olive oil and season with pepper. Grill sliced of eggplant brushed with olive oil until tender about 3-5 minutes per side. Cool to room temp. and slice into 3 inch strips. Chop, clean and dry lettuce. Toss lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, cheese and dressing in large bowl. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.