Of Birds and Bees

     Well, as if I don't have anything else going on in my life, remodel-wise, spring proceeds on unabated. As usual my garden is amazingly fecund, and I have been able, through the miracle of no- rest-and-less-sleep to keep ahead of the weeds.  There are changes afoot on 2 fronts that are amusing and at least temporarily distracting.

 First the birds.  Over the last year or so, Brandis and I lost 2 of the older chickens.  The original portion of the flock are older now, and so the first death was a shock, but they are over 5 years old now.  For chickens, that is getting on.  We fully expected to see them stop laying this year as well.  So in January, we ordered more peeps!  They arrived about a month ago, and have been a source of amusement and stress ever since.  Originally 6, one died before they arrived.  Then another died about 2 weeks later, for no discernible reason.  Generally, you figure that some baby chicks die, for unknown reasons, but 2 weeks later was a shock to us.  We had a scare with a 3rd peep, but that has passed as well.

   
     Of the remaining birds, 3 are bantams, which is new for us.  One is a Polish Crested, who will have feathers that look like a punk rocker on her head (Ludmilla).  Brandis' dog, Jack, has been a great baby sitter, although you just have to wonder what's going on in his head about all of this.  You forget, until you have peeps again, how goofy they are:  trying to fly out of their box, racing around.  They get almost frantic when separated from each other.  Remembering our foibles with Calamity Jane, we are very hesitant to let them outside for a while, at least without close observation.
     And then we will have to figure out how to integrate the flock as well.  Stay tuned for more posts on this one.

     It was over dinner, looking out over said fecund garden, that we noticed the bees.  One of my bird houses, which has never had a bird tenant, had bees coming and going.  There was a lot of buzzing going on, and it turns out that we have a bumble bee hive!  These gals are great pollinators, so they are naturally welcome.  No honey to be obtained, and according to my friend Kit, they are not likely to stay around past this season.  We will then rejoice and enjoy the visit, and be grateful for their service.
     Finally, if all goes well today, we will participate in this year's Chicken Coop Tour!  This is very exciting, and has forced Brandis and me to knuckle down and address some ongoing garden issues:  we have built our garden gate, the approaches, with steps, to it, and spruced up our coops.  Brandis is still working on the design elements of her coop siding.  If all goes well, we will have the great back hoe removal of bamboo next week.

Pork Tacos, or, what to do when you have no kitchen

     Well, it's been pretty busy around here.   I hardly know where to start!  The kitchen remodel goes on, somewhat sluggishly at the moment, but it goes.  We are down to studs, shiplap flooring and a whole lotta dust.  The French doors have handles, the windows are in, and the roof is no longer in danger of collapsing, as the Versalam beam is in, supporting the joists, and correcting a whole bunch of pre-existing construction errors.  Between the wiring, the joists and some rather odd framing done by previous homeowners, it's been a real adventure trying to get some things right.

      So, currently, my kitchen is in my living room, we wash dishes in the bathroom sink.  It basically feels like camping in a house.  Everything is on bare bones supplies, and takes twice a long as it normally would.  The framing is in place now, though, and I can see the potential for what this space will be.
     Being food obsessed with no kitchen is a challenge.  I have eaten a few meals that are merely fuel.  But I try to keep up standards, such as they are.  Dinner tonight definitely upheld standards.  It helps that the garden is in full swing, and I have a barbecue to back me up.
     I developed the pork recipe a few years back, and originally made it in the oven.  But it works more easily on the grill, and there are fewer dishes that way, a great benefit when you only have the bathroom anyway!
     The concept is this:  brine the pork, pat it dry, salt and pepper it, then grill it, adding a glaze half way through.  Add to that a delicious and very simple mango salsa, and dinner is on!

Chipotle Pork Tenderloin
serves 2 with left overs, or 4

2-3 lbs pork tenderloin

5tsp salt

3/4c sugar

4 c water

2-3tsp chipotle in adobo sauce

2T brown sugar

1 T plus 2 tsp olive oil

Additional accompaniments:  cilantro, shredded cabbage, radishes, corn tortillas, cotija cheese

Dissolve salt and sugar in water, and brine the pork for 1 hour.  

Prepare your grill:  preheat or get the coals ready for a medium fire.  

Pat dry, oil with 2 tsp oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill over medium to high heat, turning every 3 minutes until browned, total of 9 minutes.  

Meanwhile, mash the chipotle, add the remaining oil and the brown sugar and stir.  

When the pork has browned, brush with the chipotle mixture, and return to the grill.

Grill over medium heat, turning every 2-3 minutes, until browned and lightly charred on all sides, approximately 10 more minutes.  

Remove, and let rest 5-10 minutes.  

Meanwhile, heat the tortillas in olive oil on a stove, and make sure the salsa is ready to go.   Then slice and cut the pork into batons for tacos. 

Serve with sliced cabbage, cilantro, radishes and any other accompaniments that light your fire.  

Quick Mango Salsa

serves 2

1 mango, diced

1/2 cucumber, peeled so that there are stripes of peel left, and then diced

3T diced red pepper

1 scallion, sliced thinly

1 T jalapeno, minced

Cilantro, if you remember, which I didn't

1-2T rice vinegar

2 tsp sugar

salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, taste to correct seasonings.  

Enjoy, and feel smug that you can do this WITHOUT a kitchen, unless yours is still intact.