a week in the life of a farm, (and still, a great meal!)

lenten fridays
notes from maggie's farm



Whew!  What a week! 

It began with a friend's wonderful centenial birthday party,

a certain farmer's departure for a week-long mission trip, and a leisurely walk during an afternoon which would prove to be the calm before the storm.

Monday....oh Monday.  A baby was born, and a farmer was reborn.  Emergency run to the feed store.  And the bank.  Bottle feeding every two hours until Mama Goat is strong enough to take over.

Tuesday....was my mother's 70th birthday. Still bottle feeding baby--now every 3 hours.  NO SLEEP. 

Wednesday...The car broke down, serendipitously, on the road in front of our property. The neighbors came to the rescue.  I learned a lesson.  Big Wind!  Destruction to be dealt with.  Still bottle feeding.

Thursday...Baby Boy goat succeeds in being weaned from bottle to Mama Goat, Stella. SLEEP!  Scurrying about the entire day preparing for impending cold and rainy snap.  Puppies helped.

Friday....cold and rainy morning out there!  Raincoat left somewhere but HERE, so trashbag was fashioned, and fastened, over sloppy clothes to meet a nasty morning, and hungry animals.


A busy, adventure-laden week, and I barely left home at all.  I'll be sharing the crazy details another time, but you'll understand why I choose today to leave a quick post for a quick meal. 

Farmers, and everyone else for that matter, cannot live on bread alone.  Sometimes, there is not time to bake the bread! Though a trip to the local Dairy Queen is might tempting, it's weeks like these that call for nourishment that cannot be had by a questionably-sourced burger.  I need nutrients!  And this lovely fish fills the bill on many levels.  It's fast, it's in keeping with our Lenten Friday tradition and the Texas theme we've got going on this week, it's delicious, and it's healthy.  Most important, I had everything on hand.  Even the mangos!  (Now that was just a fluke, but I also keep a bag of frozen mango chunks in the freezer for just such occasions.)

So, the quick skinny on this
Hatch Chile-Crusted Tilapia with
Mango Avocado Salsa on a bed of spring slaw

Da fish:

I dipped tilapia filets (you could use any fish filet of your choice) in an egg wash (two whole eggs with 2 T water) then breaded in a combination of crushed and powdered dried hatch chiles (you could use any dried chile of your choice.  I keep a dedicated coffee grinder for such tasks.) and cornflake crumbs.  Baked in upper half of a 450 degree oven until coating is crisp and golden, fish flakes, and is flesh is opaque, about 10-12 minutes.

Da Salsa:
Peel and dice one large avocado.  (Reserve as much of the darker green flesh as possible.  This is where the greatest concentration of nutrients reside.), 1-2 diced serrano chiles, seeded or not, depending on your heat tolerance, and two mangoes.  Seed one cucumber, and dice (I scrubbed well, and kept the skin on, for body, but you may choose to peel if you wish), and mince one quarter to one half red onion.  Chop a handful of cilantro, stems and all.  Toss all with 1 t kosher salt, 1t roasted chile powder (I roast my favorite chiles, then grind them to a powder and stash in the spice cabinet.  You could use a favorite prepared chili powder as an alternative), 1T white balsamic vinegar, 1T agave nectar, and the juice of one lime.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more, for flavors to marry.

Da Slaw:
This was one of those days that pre-packaged veggies were a life, and diet, saver.  I tossed one bag of  organic 'rainbow broccoli slaw', with two handfuls of arugula and mesclun lettuce that is growing in the gardens and window boxes around here.  Tossed a handful of dried cranberries (dehydrated from this past holiday's overflow) and some sunflower seeds, along with enough homemade ranch dressing to moisten the mix.  Seasoned it with a little pepper, and a teaspoon or so of palm sugar, (honey, agave nectar, raw sugar, all would net a similar taste).  I'll toss the salsa with it, and eat the remaining (entire bowl!) for lunch, tommorow. I love it!

And plate that baby up:

 
Bed O' Slaw, Topped with Filet, Topped with Salsa.  Ta-da!

Now if you'll excuse the hasty departure.......this place is a wreck and there's farm work to be done!