Skip to content

Eating Buckets

Life on a 1901 island farmstead.

  • Home
  • About
  • Get in Touch

Tag: farinata

Italian Farinata with Spring Herb Pesto, Baby Radishes, Early Potatoes & Fresh Mozzarella

This tasty meal is delightfully gourmet, but it’s not difficult to make and it highlights the best flavors of the season right now. Italian Riviera-inspired Fare Cinque Terre, a seaside escape in the Genoa region, is rugged and windswept and surprising. Meals are culled from the sea and harvested from the stepped gardens that sweep…

Read More

Share this:

Like this:

Like Loading...

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow Me on Facebook

Follow Me on Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Savory Zucchini Soup
  • Spring Chimichurri Sauce Recipe
  • Look, Ma, I Got a Medal!
  • Wild Food: Spring Foraged Herb Pho Noodle Bowl
  • Food for a Happy Heart: A Story of Surprise and Legacy on Mother’s Day

Archives

  • October 2019 (1)
  • May 2019 (7)
  • April 2019 (6)
  • March 2019 (5)
  • February 2019 (4)
  • January 2019 (3)
  • November 2018 (5)
  • October 2018 (4)
  • September 2018 (3)
  • August 2018 (7)
  • July 2018 (3)
  • June 2018 (6)
  • May 2018 (5)
  • April 2018 (4)
  • March 2018 (7)
  • February 2018 (14)
  • January 2018 (13)

Follow Me on Instagram

Instagram post 2180028151105715581_6901877640 Connection to home and land is sometimes a transient thing. We can move our emotions to meet our new environment, and that spirit of receptivity ensures an adventurous life. But yesterday as I stood on our land with its sunbowl meadows, wetlands, forests and gardens, and ancient sentient beings still growing and thriving.... I reflected that no other piece of property has so fully engaged my heart. Our land has embraced us and encircled our family like a protective grandparent. Ancient poplars, evergreens, trees that have stood for so long—bright blue sky, ancient lilac, American Pillar roses, the rich loam beneath our feet being fed from a wellspring of soil microbes and a millennia of deciduous leaves, air snapping with health and vitality in every breath, the seasonal creek moving through the property and bringing its sound and energy, the circling hawks and falcons, otter, deer and coyote, hummingbirds and sparrows, the busy squirrels and insistent bees—spirit animals that bless us with their daily work and reminders of life cycles. Every time I am away and return, I feel a magnetic pull and a peaceful reminder of the passing of time...no matter what we do, time marches on. I can sense a shift in the universe, a small wrinkle as if a curtain is opening and revealing a new day. I wonder, what beauty and possibility is ahead?
.
.
.
#oldfarm #oldfarmhouse #sentientbeings #nature #naturewonder #naturalwonders #spiritanimals #treespirits #pnwonderland #upperleftusa #outdoormagic #connection #legacy #ecosystems #hopeandhealing #healthandhealing #ancientwisdom #naturewisdom
Instagram post 2166328546225951462_6901877640 I love my house. I love my gardens. I love pulling food from the ground. I love feeling this lucky and alive and grateful breathing in cool fresh air beneath bright sun rays, all of nature a symphony of sound around me—the wind in the poplars, the birds in flight, the circling hawk, my dog’s delight at another squirrel sighting. Every small food harvest is a delight to me. I love imagining the meals I will make. I love standing at my kitchen island chopping and creating within old walls that have been standing since 1901. To me, it is an ultimate artistic expression of being alive.
.
.
.
#bainbridgeisland #organicgardening #permaculture #hugelkulture #sustainableliving #happyfarmily #homestead #homesteading #farmstead #farmsteadlife #pnwlifestyle #thatpnwlife #pnwonderland #upperleftusa #islandliving #naturelover #nature #myhouse #myhouseandhome #countryliving #countrylivingmagazine #bhgfood #bhghome
Instagram post 2165637690047865490_6901877640 Saying goodbye to our favorite chicken before she heads off to her home coop filled with sister and brother bantams over with @rebeccarockefeller, kind soul who is taking her back in. We bathed her in warm bubbles in the farmhouse sink, snuggled her close, dried her with a warm soft setting from the hair dryer, gave her little massages, cleaned her feet, and fed her many treats. This is the best chicken we’ve ever met. She is so loving and kind and dear, dear, dear. .
.
.
#bantamchicken #bantam #chickens #bestpet #sweetbantam #familypet #oldfarm #homestead
Instagram post 2149086873610515759_6901877640 These are the people I live for. ❤️
.
.
.
#family #love #familylove #bettertogether #bestkidsever #besthusband #besthusbandever #familyfirst
Instagram post 2143825288247725022_6901877640 When your commute to the city looks like this, why wouldn’t you wanna live on an island? Some people spend an hour on a clogged freeway. We hang out together for 35 minutes and drink coffee and hug our dog. Just sayin’ #ferryboat 😎😁
.
.
.
#seattle #bainbridgeisland #wsferries #ferryrides #ferryboatrides #islandlife #farmstead #homestead #pnwlife #pnw #pnwonderland #pnwlove #upperleftcoast #upperleftusa #upperleftliving #farmhouse #glutenfreelife #visitbainbridgeisland #farmily #family #oldfarmhouse #parentingmagazine #portuguesewaterdog #pwds_of_instagram #islandkids
Instagram post 2140317907568243754_6901877640 You guys, I figured out why I have always wanted this life, this farmhouse, this old stove, these canning jars, this old-fashioned kitchen, these small hands nearby, these pastoral-forever views. 😃I thought it was Anne with an ‘e,’ or Laura in her big woods, but in the end it’s all right here, embedded in the entry and ending pages of this cherished classic tale. I found our copy of Blueberries for Sal yesterday and read it to the kids, who laughed like always at the kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk if three blueberries in a pail while mama thinks about canning blueberries for winter. I used to study these pages seeing the contentment of simple plenty....
.
I read Blueberries for Sal to our kids all through their babyhood, toddlerhood, and kindergarten years, but I’ve had this book packed away since we moved here, and by that time the kids were sort of “beyond” this book. It was surprisingly funny and comforting to sit with them on our couch by the wood stove staring at this illustration while looking in at our old-fashioned kitchen with its pastoral views, old stove, and canning supplies. You never know what will stick. What dreams are embedded in our kids already? What will surprise them one day?
.
.
.
.
#blueberriesforsal #robertmccloskey #caldecottmedal #childrensbooks #childrensbookclassics #classicchildrensbooks #farmstead #homestead #organicgardening #farmtotable #canninglife #ballcanning #countryliving #farmhouse #farmhousefood #oldfarmhouse #oldfarmhousekitchen #farmhousekitchen #farmhousehome #parentingmagazine #kids #storytelling #childhood
Instagram post 2140206845099392862_6901877640 I started my day among the dewy grass of the apple orchards, snapping stems from branches and filling my big blue bowl with fresh, crisp apples. The birds were alight and full of morning song. The chickens were murmuring subdued approval over their breakfast of dandelion greens piled high. The delight on our kids’ faces when they helped make the juice and tasted the first sip of cold-pressed juice...it’s what I hope they will always remember about the first tremendous gifts of Autumn. .
.
.
.
#applepicking #appleharvest #appleorchards #appleorchard #heritageapples #homestead #farmstead #farmily #freshpressedjuice #brevillejuicer #coldpressedjuice #autumnmornings #pnwlife #pnwlife #pnw #bainbridgeisland #kitsapcounty #falltraditions #farmlife #farmhouse #farmhousefood #livingfood #oldfarmhouse #oldfarmhousekitchen #farmhousekitchen #countrylivingmagazine #bhgmagazine #bhgfood #parentingmagazine #kids
Instagram post 2137983058387801674_6901877640 So thrilled to share a beautiful person with you today. Eliza Henry Jones @elizahenryjones is an author, farmer, horse lover, mama, wife to her first love, and a wordsmith who manages to cast out her line and capture her audience immediately with stunning words and photography of her Yarra Valley farm and home in Victoria, Australia. Swipe for photos of her farm.
.
I have such an intense gratitude for people who reveal themselves authentically in these formats and likewise spark our own growth and encourage authenticity and vulnerability. An author of 5 novels, both adult and Young Adult, she is at work on her PhD and has qualifications in grief, loss, and trauma counseling. Her photos are visions of rural beauty among the apples and green, and show her picking garlic and persimmons and planting seeds. It is a happy world that I enjoy visiting whenever she shows up in my feed, and her depth offers a lovely change from the superficial. I enjoyed sharing her work this morning with my writer daughter, and I hope you do hop over for a lovely weekend respite and agree she is #onetofollow and enjoy. .
Of course, now I just desperately want her to pop over for a cup of tea and a chat in my writing studio, and so shall take this interest out there myself and start #writingitdown. .
.
.
.
#writinglife #writersofinstagram #writer #elizahenryjones #farmland #farmhouse #australianwriters #novelist #authorsofinstagram #author #oldfarmhouse #ruralbeauty #traumarecovery #grief #farmstead #parentingmagazine #parenting #motherhood #motheringmagazine #farmtofork #farmtotable #countrylivingmagazine #bhgmagazine #farmsteading #homesteadinglife #writinginspiration #womenwritersofinstagram
Instagram post 2137509209636441290_6901877640 I took some time for myself today in my writing studio, and managed to get a few thoughts recorded...not on paper, as is the goal for me, but in video. I’m not sure who it might resonate with, but I shared it over on YouTube and you can link to it from my profile if you want to share my 10-minute coffee break with me today to talk about fear and it’s hold on most of us. Can you relate? What are you afraid of? What do you do to hide from your fear? What do you do to break through?
.
.
.
.
#fear #overcomingfear #overcomingobstacles #selfgrowth #writinglife #writing #faceyourfears #faceyourfear #innerdemons #impostersyndrome #selftalk #negativeselftalk #positiveselftalk #oldfarmhouse #writingstudio #effort #showingupforme #showingupformyself #dothework #dailymotivation #coffeebreak #relatable #writerfarmer #homestead #farmstead #womenwriters #womenwritersofinstagram
Instagram post 2137283333497954643_6901877640 HARVEST VEGGIE PICKLES 
These yummy refrigerator pickles are easy to make and will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 6 months, but they won’t last that long. Our kids grabbed forks and ate a jar each the other evening. 😋 I love these because it’s like having an easy pre-made salad to add to lunch or dinner, or to amend savory appetizers, grain and bean salads, fusion tacos, and anything else you can think of. You can use any combination of veggies; I used what we have in the garden plus store-bought cauliflower (because our river otter ate all my cauliflower plants 😂). Recipe is for two quart-size jars of refrigerator pickles. I used the brine recipe from the Wild Child Dill Pickle recipe by Donna Shaw from the Gardeners’ Community Cookbook, shared with me by my friend Karen @rainyqueen Note that if I were to can these (heat seal), I would change the vinegar-water ratio to 1:1 for safe canning practices.

2 cups distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup pickling salt
6 cups water
4 cloves garlic
2 small jalapeños or hot peppers
2 fresh grape leaves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dry dill
1 tsp dry thyme
2 tsp black peppercorns 
Garden veggies, cut into bite-sized chunks. I used green beans, unpeeled carrots, zucchini, onions, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, and shishito peppers.

Combine vinegar, water, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to fully dissolve salt. Split herbs, spices, garlic, bay leaves, grape leaves, and jalapeños equally between two quart-sized jars. Layer in veggies, packing them tightly in the jar. Pour hot brine over the veggies, filling to cover them completely, leaving a half-inch of airspace at top. Cap and store in fridge, shaking twice a day for the first 48-72 hours. Enjoy! .
.
#refrigeratorpickles #vegetablepickles #homestead #farmstead #farmhousefood #farmhouse #farmhousekitchen #countryliving #countrylivingmagazine #organicgardening #permaculture #easyfamilyrecipes #gardenharvest #harvest #growyourfood #farmtofork #farmtotable #zucchinirecipes #bhgmagazine #bhghome #marthastewartliving #easyrecipes #kerrjars #kerrcanning #bainbridgeisland #kitsapcounty #upperleftusa #pnwlife #pnw
Instagram post 2136815261309846056_6901877640 (Turn up volume.) Maybe you didn’t see my video earlier today, but I cleaned my house all day today. Swipe for the before. Watching the “before” video, you might not think we keep our house clean under normal circumstances, but we do. Harvest season (pickling, canning, freezing, dehydrating, and drying) and back-to-school plus new (fun) news means the house has been the last priority for us. But this clean house and first fire of the season feels great. Do you like it? Can you relate? Thank you for all the love and kindness today.
.
.
.
#homestead #farmstead #cleaning #cleaninghouse #farmhousekitchen #farmhouse #farmhousefood #bainbridgeisland #messyhouse #parentingmagazine #kids #parenting #canningfood #excaliburdehydrator #dehydratingfood #freezingfood #dryingfood #organicgardening #permaculture #growyourfood #hugelkulture #hobbyfarm #eatingbuckets #upperleftusa #pnwlife #glutenfreelife #glutenfreefood #pnwonderland #countryliving #bhgmagazine
Instagram post 2136546468700482653_6901877640 What’s your vote for an appropriate title for this? Transformation Thursday? Inspiration through others’ failures? Cinderella’s worst nightmare? Anything I Would Rather Do Than Clean This Woman’s Kitchen? How Do They LIVE Like This? Is She Coming Out As A Hoarder? 
Tune in again in a few hours for some elbow grease sparkle, y’all. It’s time to celebrate domestic accomplishments during harvest season. .
.
.
#notsurewhattocallthis #farmhousekitchen #oldfarmhouse #oldfarmhousekitchen #harvestseason #mamadrama #kitchenwork #kitchencleaning #smallvictories #hoarders #cleanyourhouse #notgonnalie #myfarmhouse #organicgardening #cookyourownfood #growyourownfood #preserveyourownfood #farmstead #homestead #farmily #farmschool #farmschooling #homeschool #homeschooling #homeschoolingmom #whatisshethinking #kids #parentingmagazine #parenting
Instagram post 2135364053416210690_6901877640 Tomato Home Preserving PSA: It’s raining out there, PNW. ☔️ Despite harvesting most of my tomatoes last week, I still have quite a few tomatoes ripening on their vines, even though the leaves and vines are now turning dark and dying. I am still harvesting them for sauce—shown here. BUT did you know that it’s NOT a good food safety practice to can (heat seal, water bath or pressure can) tomatoes if they are picked from a dying tomato vine—even if the tomatoes look plump and healthy? The vitamin C content in these tomatoes can be significantly reduced (and their flavor, but that’s another story...), thereby making it difficult to know how to properly amend your sauce with lemon juice or citric acid. Lastly, marred tomatoes carry the risk of bringing unsafe bacteria into your canned tomato sauce even if cooked. So, don’t can any tomatoes harvested from dying vines. However, it is still safe to cook these up into your favorite sauce and eat today, or freeze portions for later. You can also wash them and freeze them whole for use later! 
Happy & safe harvesting, preserving, and cooking, everyone! .
.
.
.
#safecanningpractices #canningtomatoes #canningandpreserving #tomatoharvest #preservingtomatoes #freezingtomatoes #homestead #happyfarmily #farmily #countryliving #countrylivingmagazine #permaculturemagazine #permaculture #farmstead #growyourownfood #foodhandlerstraining #homegrowntomatoes #homegrownfood #homegrown #pnwfarmhouse #myfarmhouse #cookyourownfood #bainbridgeisland #kitsappeninsula #kitsapcounty #pnw #upperleftcoast #upperleftusa
Instagram post 2133689204989824916_6901877640 EDITED: While it began with George Winston playing peacefully on Pandora (original post: “Current state of things: Onions drying, potatoes curing, music playing, and prepping pickles”), it has turned into fun and terribly distracted work today. 😆 My 9 yo son is collecting bugs and reading aloud all about them in the kitchen at the same time. So it goes something like this....Me, mumbling: “Maybe I should ferment them. What veggies can I do that with...hmm...I will look—“ Him: “MOM! The wolf spider is ESCAPING!!!” 🕷 <shivers...> 🥴😂
.
.
.
.
.
.
#oldfarmhouse #bainbridgeisland #countryliving #plantbasedmeals #organicgardening #permaculture #countrylivingmagazine #hugelkultur #farmtotable #pnwonderland #farmhouse #pnwlife #farmstead #farmhousekitchen #farmtofork #glutenfreelife #coastalfarmhouse #homestead #washingtonstate #kitsapcounty #northwestisbest #gfree #thatpnwlife #greenthumb #glutenfreefood #growyourownfood #farmhousestyle #plantbaseddiet #upperleftusa
Instagram post 2133183642133049817_6901877640 Prepping veggies for pickles—green beans, peppers, baby carrots. I’ll add zucchini spears, garlic and onions, and grape leaves to keep ‘em crispy. And I must gratefully give credit to my dear friend Karen @rainyqueen for showing me how to pickle in her gorgeous kitchen a few years ago. I still remember nervously following her every move and feeling unsure about vinegar and salt ratios. I will be making a brine tomorrow using Karen’s favorite Wild Child brine recipe. It’s always easier when you can stand on the shoulders of giants and Karen is a wealth of inspiration and knowledge when it comes to many things, especially kitchens and gardens. Finding faithful friends who inspire and support makes life more fun, don’t you think? I will share the recipe tomorrow, along with the final product. .
.
.
.
.
.
#oldfarmhouse #oldfarm #homestead #homesteading #farmstead #permaculture #organicgardening #bainbridgeisland #farmhousekitchen #farmhousefood #farmhouselife #farmhouseliving #pickling #picklingtime #picklingseason #oldfarmhouse #hugelkulture #naturalfoods #countryliving #countrylivingmagazine #bhgmagazine #bhgfood #cookinginspiration #goodfood #foodpreservation #canning #growwhatyoueat #farmtofork #farmtotable #sustainablefood
Instagram post 2133128964816786438_6901877640 Turn up for birdsong. 🐦 We’ve had several big storms and heavy rains this past week. Yesterday was clear and bright and our poplars were filled with a giant flock of blackbirds or starlings. (I think they were the Brewers Blackbird, common to Washington and in particular wetlands, open spaces, and farmlands—do you recognize their song?) These two poplars are a mated pair. I think of them as King & Queen of our land. It is believed that they were planted when the house was built in 1901. Poplars were commonly planted to commemorate weddings and/or new homes. If you watch the video you will see that one is taller and larger than the other. Brian and I love these trees and have sat for long evenings watching them lean into each other to kiss, their arms stretching out and fingertips unfurling in a soft embrace. Seeing them filled with such bright song made us all stand still in awe. It was the kids who noticed it and raced in to get me to take a video. .
.
.
.
.
#pnwlife #pnw #pnwonderland #bainbridgeisland #washingtonstate #blackbirds #brewersblackbird #oldfarmhouse #myfarmhouse #myfarmhouse #farmgirl #farmstead #homestead #homesteader #permaculture #countryliving #birdsong #happyfarmily #farmily #naturekids #outdoorkids #outdoorkidsarehappykids #farmhousemama #poplartrees #homesteadkids #weddingtrees
Instagram post 2131027837321429960_6901877640 So Many Tomatoes!!! Time to start canning sauce. What about you—did you grow tomatoes this year? Do you freeze yours, can yours, or use them all up while they’re fresh? .
.
.
.
.
#tomatoes #pnwonderland #pnwtomatoes #oldfarmhouse #farmhouse #countryliving #tomatosauce #heirloomtomatoes #preservingtomatoes #organicgardening #glutenfreefood #glutenfreelife #hugelkulture #permaculture #homestead #islandlife #islandhomestead #homestead #hobbyfarm #hobbyfarming #farmtofork #farmtotable #tomatoes🍅 #bainbridgeisland #washingtonstate #kitsapcounty #harvest #homegrown #myfarmhouse #plantbasedmeals #plantbaseddiet
Instagram post 2130128141237262859_6901877640 In the 1970s or ‘80s, the owners of our old farmhouse lifted the house and excavated this massive, above-grade basement. They planned to put in an indoor swimming pool (but thankfully didn’t).😁The space operates more like a ground floor than a basement. It’s over 1,000 sf and has 15-foot ceilings and massive support beams, plus a laundry room, storeroom, guest room, workshop, and utilitarian bathroom. We have lots of ideas for how to finish and use this space, and it’s on the list to work on this winter “in all our spare time.” 🤣 We want it to tie in with the rest of our home’s original 1901 farmhouse vibe, and we have tons of ideas, including family room, library, sleeping porch, 5th bedroom, guest apartment...Things like shiplap, cool lighting, French doors, bunkbeds, covered patio, entertainment center....What would you do with this space if it were yours? What would you hope Chip & Joanna would do with this space if they stopped by to work their magic? .
.
.
.
#restoration #remodel #homeremodeling #homeremodelingideas #basementremodel #basementdesign #oldfarmhouse #farmhouserestoration #farmhousestyle #myfarmhouse #basementrenovation #finishedbasement #farmhousebasement #hgtvdreamhome #hgtv #chipandjoannagaines #pnwlifestyle #countryliving #countrylivingmagazine #fixerupper #thisoldhouse #thisoldhousemagazine #diyhomeprojects #homedesignideas #homedesignideasinspiration #bainbridgeisland #washingtonstate #homestead #farmstead
Instagram post 2128094809640950310_6901877640 Savory Zucchini Soup
This has become my favorite way to enjoy the zucchini harvest we look forward to all year. It is a rich and savory soup base that can be frozen and thawed all year to bring back a taste of sunshine. ☀️ We serve it with a variety of toppings—roasted rosemary pine nuts, chopped tomatoes and basil, shaved Parmesan, grated mozzarella, and chopped ham or bacon for the meat eaters. .
SAVORY ZUCCHINI SOUP RECIPE
For the base:
10 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup water or broth 
1 medium yellow onion
1 medium shallot
5 medium-large cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4-1/2 cup butter
1 rounded tsp dried thyme
Favorite bouillon, such as Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base
Fresh ground black pepper
.
To add when cooking or thawed:
2 cups shredded carrots
3 cups finely chopped kale, stems removed .
Optional Toppings:
Shaved Parmesan 
Grated mozzarella 
Chopped fresh tomatoes 
Chopped fresh basil
Toasted pine nuts with fresh chopped rosemary 
Bacon or chopped roasted ham
.
Chop onion, garlic, and shallots and add to soup pot with olive oil and butter. Sauté till soft. Wash and coarsely chop zucchini, removing large seeds and any hard peel or marred areas, and add to pot. Add 1 cup broth or water, thyme, and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and simmer at medium heat, stirring frequently, adding broth or water as necessary. Zucchini has a high-water content already and the soup will quickly become too thin if you add too much broth, so just drizzle in a bit of liquid at a time. When zucchini is cooked enough to squish easily with a spoon, use an immersion blender or standard blender to blend until just barely smooth, leaving 1/4 of the soup still chunky. Season with bouillon to taste by diluting the bouillon in small concentrated portions and stirring into the soup small portions at a time until you’ve reached desired flavor. Set aside portions of base to freeze. Add carrots and kale and cook until just tender. Serve immediately topped with your favorite toppings. Our family’s favorites: Shaved Parmesan, grated mozzarella, pine nuts roasted with finely chopped rosemary, and chopped tomatoes and basil. Optional for meat eaters: Bacon or chopped roasted ham.
Instagram post 2127248880667096021_6901877640 Scenes from a happy kitchen. 😃 Classical music is playing, kids are writing and drawing at the kitchen island, the windows are open and the sun is streaming in. Soup’s on! I’m making big canning pots full of creamy Italian zucchini soup and miso yellow squash soup with shallots and ginger. These will be added to the freezer as quick evening go-to meals throughout the year. As promised, easy recipes will be posted later. We call these soups our “sunshine soups” because they taste exactly like a summer harvest. ☀️ .
.
.
.
#oldfarmhouse #oldfarmhousekitchen #oldstove #roundoakchief #easyfamilyrecipes #easyglutenfree #summerharvest #zucchini #yellowsquash #squashsoup #farmtotable #farmtofork #freezersoup #countrylivingmagazine #countryliving #ballcanning #plantbasedmeals #plantbaseddiet #myfarmhouse #oldfashionedstove #bhgmagazine #bhghome
Load More... Follow on Instagram
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Powered by WordPress.com.
%d bloggers like this: