FullCircle Florals Gardening

Photo via my iPhone, E. Henderson This recipe is by far one of our new fans. My husband thought it was like quiche without the crust (and much MUCH lighter in calories than a traditional quiche). It all started when I spotted a butternut squash in the store and had to take it home. I do this. I commenced sitting on my counter for some time before I resigned my self to just steam it in the oven and force myself to make something out of it. Of course, I then went to Pinterest and got a hit on this recipe. http://www.closetcooking.com/2012/11/butternut-squash-mushroom-sausage-and.html Of course I can never just make a recipe, so I did tweak this a bit. I used Swiss Chard instead of Kale and used already cooked squash so I skipped that whole step. I also used Colby Jack as my cheese of choice because that what I had in the fridge. Servings: makes 6+ servings Prep Time:  10 minutes Cook Time:  50 minutes Total Time:   60 minutes Ingredients 1/2 pound Italian sausa...

Open forum! Got gardening questions? Fire away! We're headed into winter full bore here in Northern California with a series of whopper storms threatening to take out power, limbs, trees and flooding the rivers and streams all over the North state. But I'm thinking about SPRING! And of course spring planting! Can I sway you to think about it as well? If so, please let me know what your thinking of growing this year. If you are still holding out, tell me whats holding you back, maybe we can work out the kinks and get you growing up too! We have a Facebook page for Full Circle Organic Gardens too! Come ask there or message if you like! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Full-Circle-Organic-Gardens/153242518077764

Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! (Repurpose!) Three words that speak volumes.   Around the farm, these concepts have been applied for decades. My husband, Eric, has an impressive local family history. According to the land deeds recovered while organizing paperwork from the other house on the property, his ancestors purchased this particular plot in the 1930’s.    The family was in the area for quite some time before that, however, and are rumored to have been numbered in the Stevens Party who came over via none other than the Stevens Trail. Frances Lenninger, a local Vina historian and author wrote in her book, Vina’s History in Photos and Stories, that Eric’s great-great-great-great grandmother, Matilda Foster, came over the trail from Iowa in 1848. This photo (Left) of Sam Henry Stephens, Eric’s great-great grandfather was taken in front of the Vina Hotel circa 1910. As locals during the time period prior to the great depression of the 1...

The season for fresh veggies is definitely upon us! So much so that I can’t even keep up in my garden! I have an entire counter full of Zucchini. This summer favorite is almost surely in abundance in home gardens as well as a popular favorite at farmers markets. Tasty, nutritious and versatile, this summer Grand Slam has got it all. I have been hard at work trying to preserve some of its summer savvy as well. I done everything from blanching and freeing for soups, to dehydrating as chips, shredding for bread and grilling and freezing for a quick steam in the cold of winter. It this part two of this series I hope you too will be inspired to preserve some of this seasons abundance as well as try some of these tasty recipes I have found and or created this year. Enjoy! For a little healthy sweet tooth action, try these! Zucchini and Blueberry Muffins ·       1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1/2 of one large zucchini) ·       1/...

It dawned on me today while I munched on a tasty fruit leather strip I bought in a bulk pack at Costco that we should make our own! I have been attempting to empty the freezer of all its contents via creative diners, meals and smoothies for the last month and I have a HUGE amount of blackberries and strawberries from last years crop staring at me every time I open the door. So...Forrest, my oldest son at 8 years of age and I are going to attempt strawberry and blackberry fruit leather. Below is the recipe I choose out of a million to make our tasty treats. Looks simple enough...let's see! I have a feeling that this will be one of many fruit leather making sessions since my boys LOVE them. We do have some pears on the trees this year and we have high hopes that the apple tree will produce this year. Not to mention Pomegranate in November after our annual pomegranate jelly/syrup party. Let me know if you are interested in attending this year, its growing and growing! Fruit Leath...

Welcome to my blog. My mother has been telling for years to write a book about the funny farm we live on. So this is me following her advice, in blog form! My husband and I and our two Kids live on a 60 acre ranch in Northern California. No where near the "California" that made the zip code 90210 famous in the 90's. On the contrary, we live in the sticks! We are just far enough our here that we have to drive to town and plan out groceries in advance to avoid disasters like no onions on Fajita night! This area was historically covered in wild grape vines. For which parts still are. This is where the full circle idea started. Our ideal for our little niche is to create an atmosphere that is definitely country and ALL GREEN! We currently house chickens for eggs and meat, goats weed mowers and Lots of plants! We are surrounded by cattle fields which make for very interesting stories from time to time! We would like to bring all full circle and create an area where biodivers...