Coming Soon...

...after the last wheelbarrow full of tomatoes is canned, the last of our three-roosters-too-many are culled and sent to the stock pot, and I've had a day or two to straight-up veg out on the couch, I'll be posting a long overdue giveaway!

Because I'm still presently freaking out all a-tither over getting a ton of produce picked and put up, I don't yet have my lineup of goodies selected, but don't be surprised to see some jam, salsa, sauce and maybe a knit or two in there. More details and the pics of the goods are forthcoming... soon (I hope.)

This represents a wee sampling of what I'm working on these days. Mercy!

GGG Holiday Giveaway Winner!

Of the 16 valid entries received, the winner was...

#16! My homegirl, Kristin! Thank you all SO MUCH for stopping by and entering the giveaway. I look forward to holding another again soon.

GGG Holiday Giveaway!

Finally! The giveaway I've been promising is here at last!

This humble little box of goodies contains a combination of stuff that I, myself, have made, and foodie delights that I'm crazy in love with.

This box includes-

*1 bar Orange Cream goats milk soap
*1 jar Sweet Orange bath fizz
*3 knit cotton washcloths
*1 adult size pair wool bike helmet earmuffs
*1 jar each of tomatillo salsa, raspberry peach jam and spiced peach jam
*1 Theo chai chocolate bar
*2 whole organic vanilla beans
*1 package smoked sea salt

Approximately $70 worth of stuff. And you never know, I might pop a little something else in there too.  :)

Enter by simply leaving a comment on this post. Make sure that you provide me with a way to contact you in the event that you win.

Please feel free to share this giveaway with others. The more views/followers that these giveaways generate for this lil' ole blog, the more likely I am to do them! I'll accept entries until 12/9/12 at midnight, my time. A random winner will be chosen and announced here on GGG on 12/10/12.

Thanks again for stopping by and Good Luck!

I haven't forgotten...

...that I promised you all a sweet giveaway. I'm presently in the throes of Bazaar/Thanksgiving prep and half out of my head stressing over details. You guys are on my mind, though half-buried beneath a giant to-do list, you're still there. ;)

I'm doing a food-nerd favorite things/homemade goodies themed basket, so unless I sell clean out of them between this weekend and next, you can count on some soap, scrub and washcloths in there.

I won't tease you anymore. Just hang in there with me, friends. I'll get my booty in gear....eventually.

Chelle

Woohoo!

We made it! Three years and 25,000 pageviews later, this little blog is still kickin'.

As promised, there will be a celebratory giveaway! Right now I'm still building my basket of goodies. I want to load it up with my favorite food-nerd, locally made and generally-nifty stuff, but I have to do so on a budget, so I'm pecking away at it.

I will make a big, honkin' deal out of it when I finally do post the giveaway though, so stick around. :)

Thanks again for reading, guys & gals. It means more to me than you know.

Chelle

Can-o-rama, the Second Act

My homegirls and I started an informal monthly food preservation-fest last Fall that we dubbed The Bitchin' Kitchen Collective. I think we met maybe three times last year, before scheduling conflicts, Holidays and general chaos tore our little gathering asunder.

I'm bringing sexy jammin' back.

Yesterday, my girl Kristin and I had a little fiesta de salsa. The 25 pounds of free tomatillos that I was able to get via Craigslist were our launching point. She and I both hunted around for a good salsa verde recipe that could be made with the hot water bath canning method, and settled on this one, with just a few minor tweaks. Our bounty of tomatillos meant that we had enough veg to make eleven batches worth of salsa. Dios mio! Times like these are when it is especially handy to have a hubby who is into home brewing and willing to share his giant brewpot and propane burner with you. I also owe my guy some serious props for being willing to shuttle jars back and forth from the kitchen to the water bath canner bubbling away on the covered porch because a) it was raining, and b) he had to bob and weave past two very excited and curious Great Pyrenees both ways. Canning is not for sissies!

Our efforts yielded 10 pints and 36 half pints of salsa, over the course of a 7 hour-long, mellow Sunday spent with one of my bestest girls, drinking wine and shooting the breeze. Life is pretty darn good. :)

Next up - more jam and jelly and probably a little wine as well, made with apples, pears, rose hips, hawthorn, rowan berries, and whatever else we might forage or stumble upon.

The Weekend Loometh

Maybe loometh is too dark a word? The weekend... cometh aggressively(eth)? Let's just say we're packing a whole bunch of homesteady-type activities into the next 48 hours.

On Saturday - We're trying our first batch of homemade goats milk soap. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect recipe. I'm leaning toward something creamsicle-ish with sweet orange oil and vanilla beans. We'll see if chemistry is my friend!

Also on Saturday, we'll be planting a few trees and medicinal perennials - Beaked Hazel (nut), Echinacea, Yarrow and a few others. I scored big at a closeout sale on water-wise plants. Not that a shortage of water has ever been a problem here (this is Boggy Hollow), but plants that don't mind a little accidental neglect on my part will most definitely do better in the long run.

Lastly, we plan to list 3 or 4 of our goats for sale this weekend, which could translate to the unparallelled joy that is wrangling disgruntled goats during an epic downpour. Yay?

Sunday, it's salsa-jam 2012. My girl Kristin and I scored 25 pounds of free, perfectly ripe tomatillos via craigslist, so we're going to devote the day to making enough salsa verde to feed a small army.

Free tomatillos. Thanks, Kathy!

Spending the day chopping, stirring and jarring up salsa may not sound like hard work, but after 8 or 10 hours of salsa fest, me and my good friend, giant jug o' red wine, would beg to differ.

Here's to a rainy, drainy, productive weekend!

The Case for Foraging

Harvested on a 90-minute walk in the woods with my 9 year-old:

Organically grown* Bosc Pears - $5.98/pound (8 pounds, 8 ounces = $50.83)

Organically grown* crab apples - $1.00/pound (10 ounces = about 63cents)

Organically grown* mystery apples - $1.00/pound (4 pounds, 12 ounces = $4.75)
{In season, in Washington state, apples can get pretty cheap, but this would still be a very hard to find price for organics.}

Organically grown* rose hips - $3.00/4 ounces (4 ounces = $3.00)

Organically grown*/Wild rowan (ash) berries - $4.00/pound (8 ounces = $2.00)

Organically grown*/Wild hawthorn berries/haws - $5.50/pound (4 ounces = $1.38)

Market value of fruit harvested today** = $62.59

Washington state minimum wage as of 9/29/12 = $9.04/hour

Amount of hours (before taxes) needed to work at minimum wage to earn $62.59 = 6.9 hours

*This assumes that since these are in the middle of the woods, that they are organic/unsprayed. Unless, of course, Montsanto has Round-Up ninja lumberjacks on it's payroll, which is certainly possible.

**Prices per pound are based on the most conservative prices I was able to find per item per pound on the interwebs.

Grain Mains Giveaway Winners!

Last night I drew our contest winners for the Grain Mains Cookbook Giveaway.

Congratulations to commenter #5, Melissa, winner of a copy of a "Grain Mains" cookbook.

And, (drum roll please) the winner of the Grain Mains cookbook bundle, commenter #9, Michelle.

Congrats, ladies! Your goodies should be arriving at your doorstep shortly. Enjoy and thanks again for stopping by!

Giveaway: Grain Mains Cookbook Bundle

I was offered a copy of this book to review honestly, which is exactly what you'll get here, I hope that you can trust in that. The publisher was also kind enough to give me two extra copies to share with you, my readers and friends, hence, the giveaway!

Grain Mains is the latest offering from Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, the same fellas who brought us Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese, one of my favorite go-to guides for creative and delicious ways to use up our frequent surpluses of goat milk and meat.

Both Goat and Grain Mains go well beyond the standard cookbook, in terms of informative and, more importantly, pleasurable content and truly unique recipes. Weinstein & Scarbrough write with humor and wit, which makes reading this book cover to cover (when was the last time you felt inclined to do that with a cookbook?) both interesting and entertaining.

The recipes within feature many fairly uncommon grains in some familiar preparations, as well as some more creative, altogether exotic dishes, the majority of which can be prepared to accommodate a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

I am particularly intrigued by the Burgers recipes, as most commercially available veggie/non-meat burgers leave a great deal to be desired in terms of taste and texture. Now, if only I could find a good source of organic bulgur and millet!

Although the recipes sound fantastic, I've yet to attempt to prepare one for our family because a) Most of the exotic grains called for have been quite hard to come by, and b) Because my children are rather persnickity eaters. If I can locate a good, affordable source of organic whole grains, I will definitely be game to make a salad or main dish for my husband and myself, but scouring the earth for organic black quinoa is not high on my list of priorities at the moment. If you know where I can score some, let me know!

Overall, I'd recommend this book, especially for self-styled foodies, looking to explore new culinary horizons. The relatively new-to-American-palates grains featured in the majority of the recipes within Grain Mains have the allure of being rather exotic, as well as the benefit of being uniquely rich sources of fiber and other beneficial plant compounds that are key elements in a healthy, whole foods diet.

Different, delicious and good for you? Yes, please. :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now, on to the freebies!

One reader will receive a copy of Grain Mains - 101 Surprising and Satisfying Whole Grain Recipes for Every Meal of the Day by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough.

While another reader will win the contents of the gift basket pictured below:

One copy of "Grain Mains" by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, one package of organic Mekong Flower rice, one package of organic Hard Red Wheat Berries, and two jars of my homemade jam.

To enter, leave a comment on this post. Please be sure and provide me with a link back to your blog through which you can be contacted, or an email address to reach you at if you win.

For additional entries:

-Like Girl Gone Granola on Facebook. Leave an additional comment letting me know that you liked it.

-Follow this blog (whether you're an existing follower or a new one, leave an additional comment letting me know!)

Entries will be accepted until 11:59pm, PDT on 9/14/12. A random winner will be selected with the help of random.org, and the results posted here on 9/15/12.

Good luck! :)

A Plethora of Good Things

Life has been wacky for a while now, so I'm going to focus on nothing but the positives today. I've got a heck of a lot to be thankful for!

*I just found out that we've been accepted as doggy foster parents! We get our first foster pup next weekend.

*I got SO HOOKED UP with garden goodies by my sweet and generous friend, Lisa, that my kitchen runneth over with garlic and beans.

*Three of my four apple trees are loaded with fruit, as is my one and only pear tree. Pies & cider... nom.

*It's been 3 months since my accident, and I'd say I'm, 80% back to normal. My broken arm has healed, my scalp wound has finally closed, and my cognitive issues seem to be dogging me less. :)

*The girls go back to school in two weeks and three days. But who's counting?

*Fritzen & Oreo, two Lamancha does that we sold to a friend earlier this year, are here for a romantic getaway with our guy, Buckley. I get extra goat nuzzles this week!

*The vet got back to us re: Anabelle. It seems that she had something like cancer, which sucks, but the good news is that the rest of our flock is not at risk. Trying to see this as a good thing, even though I know her last days were hard.

*The heat wave seems to have passed, temporarily at least. The difference between 75 degrees and 95 degrees is too beautiful to describe.

*I have an awesome giveaway in the works! Stay tuned. :)

And the winner is...

...the lovely and talented Megan (also known as commenter #1), at A Kitschy Kitchen! Congrats, lady!



Thanks again to the kind folks at Shabby Apple for sponsoring this giveaway. Enjoy your dress, Megan!

A Very Girly Giveaway

I love hosting giveaways, and this is a great one for all of my girly girls out there. :)

The folks at ShabbyApple.com have very generously sponsored this giveaway for a super cute little dress, "Ahoy!".



I selected this dress for the giveaway because the soft jade color has a breezy Caribbean vibe that I love. It wasn't an easy choice though! Shabby Apple offers a lot of really cute and sophisticated vintage style dresses for women and little girls. So much pretty!

The happy little frock featured in this giveaway is offered in sizes Small to X-Large, and can be yours with just a few clicks and a little bit of luck.

Enter to win by doing the following-

*"Like" Shabby Apple on Facebook, and leave a comment on this post letting me know that you liked them.

*For an additional entry, visit Shabby Apple and take a look through their collections of sweet and sexy dresses and accessories, and leave me a comment telling me which outfit/piece you fancy best.

This giveaway ends Sunday, March 18th at 11:59 pm, PDT.

Winners must have a US shipping address. There are no exchanges for the winning dress, so if Ahoy! isn't your cup of tea, go check out Shabby Apple for something else fabulous and use the coupon "girlgonegranola10off" to save 10% on your purchase.

Thanks for reading and entering!
Michelle

An Embarrassment of Riches

That's what my husband called the 15 pounds each of Asian pears and pomegranates that we "salvaged" from the free produce haul that we receive each week for our animals.

The content varies widely, so you never know if it's going to be an all cabbage week, or whether it's pumpkins and cantaloupes that will be the fuel for this week's eggs. It is a mystery, and it is incredibly interesting and very revealing of our flawed modern perception of food. We first-worlders expect our food to be impeccable looking, perfectly ripe/prime and always available. And when it's not, it's only fit for lowly animals or worse yet, dumped into a landfill. It is insanity.

My chickens will eat pomegranates, if you cut them in half so that they can get in there and gobble up the juice-filled capsules at lightning speed. And I did give them a few pomegranates to enjoy (they're heart healthy!) before deciding to keep the rest for myself. I opted to juice them, as everyone in the family enjoys pomegranate juice and/or grenadine (which was my back up plan in case the juice was blah).

I found out the hard way that juicing a pomegranate with a citrus juicer is quite a bit of trouble for not a lot of yield. We got about a quart of juice from our 15+/- pounds of pomegranate. Not much, but it was free.

Then I was left to ponder the Asian pears. In case you aren't familiar, these are the little guys that look like an apple and a pear had a baby, and you'll usually see them displayed in their own little styrofoam mesh swaddling. They are that delicate and prized. They also tend to cost upwards of three dollars each. (FYI - and average sized pear in my batch was 6 ounces, which means that these puppies can and do go for about $14 per pound.) And I had 15 pounds to work with.

So I did what I usually do when presented with an ingredient that I'm not used to working with, I googled. Try it for yourself. Google "juicing Asian pears" (quotes and all), and you will get precisely one result. That is how insane the idea of having that quantity of this fruit on hand and not having a plan for it is.

Not having had any help via googling, I made an executive decision to steam juice the majority of my pears. A steam juicer is a marvel. It can coax the juice out of fruits that are otherwise hard or messy to juice, like berries and apples. My kids go nuts for fresh juice, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to taste the nectar of the fruit of Emperors. :)

Critter Chow Heaven

The big girls peck through the heap of yum-yums, two weeks ago.

This last week's batch of free critter produce was interesting - Hot peppers, cantaloupes, bagged salad mix and pomegranates, mostly. The cantaloupe and the croutons from the Caesar salad kits were the biggest hit with the chickens. The Bunzos liked the fennel and the broccoli. The goats are in one of their snobby "hay only" moods, and are therefore turning their noses up at all of the produce except for the occasional sliced apple. Divas.

This landslide of free animal food has been a blessing. Thanks again to the folks at Ralph's Thriftway for sharing it with us.

Granola Giveaway #3

In celebration of my 200th post, I'm giving away a bag full of granola & farm goodies! Check it out -



This Farm Aid shopping tote is filled with some of my favorite earth-friendly products, an inspirational read and some gardening goodies to get you outside and planting. This package includes-

*Farm Aid "Farmers Kick Ass" shopping tote
*Farm Aid "Farmers Kick Ass" pin
*Alba Botanica Coconut Milk Face wash (Love this!)
*Three dishcloths, hand-knit by yours truly
*Biobag non-GMO, 100% compostable bags for your compost bin
*Ladies size medium Bamboo Gardening Gloves
*"Farm City" by Novella Carpenter (used copy, cuz that's how I roll)
*Miscellaneous heirloom seeds from Victory Seed Company

I'll probably throw a few more goodies in there before I mail this off, but you'll have to wait and see. ;)

All that you need to do to enter is to leave a comment on this post. I'll draw the winner on Friday the 17th, so check back and spread the word! Thanks again to all of my followers and friends for reading.

Good luck!!!

Last Call for Stick to it! Menu Planner Winner

Yo! Jennifurla! You won, mamacita! Email me your info at - pisceschick99 at gmail dot com so that I can send you your prize, lady, or I'm going to have to draw another winner.

Thanks again to everyone who entered. Have a wonderful 2011!

Stick to it! Menu Planner WINNER!

And the winner is....



Commenter #4, Jennifurla! Congrats, lady! Email your address to me at pisceschick99 at gmail dot com, and I will forward your info on the the good gals at Stick to it!

Thanks again to one and all for entering, and please stop by again soon!

Review & Giveaway - Stick to it! Menu Planner

About Stick to it! Menu Planner -
Stick to it! is handy-dandy magnetic menu planner. It was created by two busy moms who wanted an easier way to plan their family's meals and the grocery shopping required to make them. It comes with 40 blank magnetic "tiles" which you personalize with your family's favorite breakfasts, lunches or dinners, to plan a whole week's worth of meals in advance.

My experience with Stick to it! -
I got mine the week before I had my surgery, and used it to plot out a meal plan for my husband to follow while I was down and out. Having several days worth of meals planned in advance (all the way down to the side dishes) also made grocery shopping a lot easier. Here is what my planner looked like that week -



I only set mine up through Saturday, because I was expecting to be back up and about by Sunday. Alas that wasn't to be, but that's on me. I could have easily planned and shopped for an entire week's worth of meals using Stick to it! as an organizational aid.

You might notice that I used labels on the magnets, rather than hand-writing my menu items on them. I initially wrote on a few of the magnets with a fine-point Sharpie, but found that they were still a bit wet and smudgy even a week later. I spoke with Amy, one of the creators of this planner, and she told me that a regular ball point pen works best if you choose the write-in option.

Your chance to win!
So now we're down to the good stuff - a giveaway! If you think that a Stick to it! meal planner would help to simplify your life and would like a chance to win one, simply leave a comment expressing your interest in the planner and you'll be entered to win! I'll draw a winner and post the result this Friday, the 17th, at which point you can email me your mailing address which I will pass on to Stick to it!, so that they may mail you your planner directly. BUT - if you can't wait that long and want to lay your hands on one now for yourself or as a gift, you can place an order via Stick to it!'s Facebook page.

Thanks for taking the time to read this review and to those of you entering to win - Good luck and Happy Holidays! :)

**Full disclosure - Amy (one of Stick to it!'s creators) is a friend of mine. That being said, my opinion and subsequent review of this product is an honest reflection of my personal experience with it. I don't tend to do reviews because my opinions aren't for sale. If I sing the praises of (or rail against) a product/service/business, you can bet that I'm doing so because of my first hand experience with it. I hope that you will trust that this will always be the case with this and any future reviews on this blog.**

A Random Act of Kindness

My local organic grocery delivery service, SPUD! asked its customers, via Facebook, if they had any critters that enjoyed eating fruits and veggies. I have several, of course, but when forced to choose, I had to go with my man, Archie the smiling goat.



Arch is almost always the first one to jump up and say hello when I wander down to visit my goaties. He doesn't liked to be petted all that much, but he is a very curious little bugger, and he truly enjoys having visitors.


Here he is, nibbling on my sweatshirt.

Well, apparently the folks at SPUD were as charmed with my Archie-boy as I am, because along with my regular grocery order, they sent me an entire case of less-than-perfect produce for my critters.



How cool is that?!?

I want to keep the goodness going! I am hereby declaring a giveaway. Something knitted and something chocolate, most likely, but the details aren't yet full formed. I really just want to make someone feel as lucky and grateful as I felt as the recipient of someone's thoughtfulness. You don't need to follow my blog or answer a trivia question to win, just leave a comment on this post and you're in the running. ;)

Thanks again to the good folks at SPUD for the critter treats - they will be very much enjoyed. :)