What's Happened to Life on the Farm?

I know I've been a little quiet on this subject for awhile. Truth be told, not everything at Green Acres is happy and easy. Say, for instance, the Hungry Fox Meets the Pretty Fluffy White Chicken Incident. Yes, it was very sad. A big mess of feathers was all that was left behind. C-Man has suggested we "run over the fox with a bicycle" the next time we see it. Hmmm. At least we still have eight left.

Then, there is the issue of shorter, colder days which, we city-folks-at-heart now know means much longer growing periods. So, we aren't overflowing with goodies just yet. I simply can't wait to get my hands on the following: celery, brussels spouts, cabbage, lacinato kale, savoy cabbage, carrots, chioggia beets and others veggies I can't remember at the moment. Plus, there is something not very, I don't know... sexy.... about all these winter vegetables. I mean, a big, juicy, ripe tomato begs to be photographed. And all those pretty shiny peppers and cucumbers from last summer? I just couldn't keep my mouth shut.

But then. Late yesterday afternoon, B walked in with those big heads of broccoli. Aren't they gorgeous? (GAH, I sound like the Barefoot Contessa every time I say that.) I want to do something special with them, but I haven't figured it out yet. Any suggestions?

The best part of our winter garden is that B is growing tons and tons of different types of lettuces. Which means we get to have a salad every night. This particular one has carrots, green onions, avocado and pine nuts. And I've been making big batches of this dressing to use. C-Man has declared it his favorite dressing ("the brown one.")