asparagus and smoked salmon couscous with lemon-tamari vinaigrette

What can I say, sometimes a couple of farmers need to call in for reinforcements. The weeds are getting out of control and we know some pretty special ladies who were up for the challenge.

Our good friends Rachael and Meggie drove all the way from Portland (in the pouring rain I might add) to come pull weeds for us at Tumbleweed. Apparently, they weren’t going to let anything get in the way (not even a few raindrops) to come help us out. Did I mention our friends are rock stars? An afternoon spent hunched over in the dirt with these ladies was amazing!

Taylor joined team weeders after he finished tilling up more of the field. The farm is expanding everyday. I can’t believe how much food we are going to be able to grow! It’s awesome.

After a few hours of weeding we all began to get a little thirsty.

Just when I thought our friends couldn’t be more amazing they treated us to beers. That’s right, they pulled weeds and bought us beer. What? It should have been the other way around. We are blessed with amazing friends!

There is only so much weeding and beer drinking that a couple of farmers can handle. We headed home and made this easy and healthy dinner. Dig in everyone!

Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Couscous with Lemon-Tamari Vinaigrette (serves 2)

1/2 bunch of fresh asparagus, snap tough ends off

1 cup cooked couscous, at room temperature

2 ounces smoked salmon, cut into bite size pieces

1 small red onion, thinly slice

a small handful of slivered almonds

For the Dressing:

2 TBS olive oil

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 tsp low sodium Tamari sauce

1/2 TBS rice vinegar

1 tsp grain mustard

1 clove of garlic, minced

Directions:

Whisk all dressing ingredients together. Taste test and add anything if you need to. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook until tender (about 2-3 minutes) Place cooked asparagus in a bowl of ice cold water.

Combine cooked couscous with smoked salmon, asparagus, red onion and slivered almonds. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy.

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black bean and avocado tacos with cumin-lime dressing

I’m not going to lie. I was a little grouchy today. The truth is, I was SO tired last night that I did not take a shower before bed. I literally crawled under the sheets with dirt in my hair, under my nails, and in -between my toes (and god knows where else!) I kept waking up in the middle of the night because dirt would be scratching my face. Yep, I’m doing laundry as we speak.

The good news is that my grouchiness wore off as the day went on. And guess what, we have our 4th lettuce planting in the ground. That’s 250 more heads of lettuce which brings our total to almost 1000 lettuce plants outside! Woo-hoo!

Our goal is to attend our first farmers market next Thursday. It’s the beginning of the season so we wont have much of a variety, but we are hoping our first round of lettuce, radishes, and spinach will be good to go by then. Fingers crossed!

Tumbleweed Farm is looking better and better everyday. This is only a small section of the farm but there is a LOT of food growing right here! Taylor and I sometimes pinch each other just to make sure we aren’t dreaming. We really are doing it!!!

This evening we came home dirty from the farm, showered (lesson learned) and enjoyed these lovely tacos. What started out as a grouchy day really turned into a nice day after all. Enjoy this simple and delicious recipe everyone.

Black Bean and Avocado Tacos with Cumin-Lime Dressing (serves 2-4)

4 corn tortillas

1/2 TBS olive oil

1 14.5 oz can of organic black beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium sized avocado, chopped into small cubes

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

2 cups, shredded red cabbage

1 small red onion, diced

1/4 cup cilantro, diced

For the dressing

Juice from 1 lime

1 TBS olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 TBS pure maple syrup

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Whisk all ingredients together and set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat add a little olive oil. Add jalapeño pepper and saute for about 1 minute. Add black beans and cook until just heated through. (About 3 minutes) Remove from heat and place beans in a bowl.

In the same skillet add a little more oil and add the tortillas and cook for a couple of minutes on each side, (or until they turn slightly brown)

Combine the beans with the cabbage, cilantro, onion, and avocado. Drizzle with cumin-lime dressing. Top each tortilla with a healthy portion of bean mixture and enjoy!

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new recipe page!

Henry and I have some exciting news to share.

No. Henry doesn’t have a girlfriend. Buttttt my recipe page had a major makeover. Check it out here.

While I was busy digging in the dirt some really cool people I have grown to love changed up my recipe page. I am so happy to finally have a recipe page that is user friendly and very visual. I hope it makes it easier for you all to cook up a farm fresh meal. Dig in!

Falafel Sandwiches anyone?

You can also subscribe to Dishing Up The Dirt and receive emails whenever I write a new post. YAY!

I hope you all enjoy the new layout.

Now go make some food!

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