Souffle!

When Nutmeg comes to visit, we always like to figure out a way to challenge ourselves by making something new and different!  We have been talking about trying to make a souffle for years but it always seemed so intimidating for both of us.   This summer, I saw an episode of Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa which was all about eggs and she does a Spinach and Cheddar Souffle that actually didn't look too difficult!   And after watching the episode a few times for tips and reading a lot of "reader comments" online with the recipe, we decided to tackle it head on.  

The recipe called for spinach and cheddar but we used fresh herbs and gruyere instead since it's what we had in the kitchen!  The souffle recipe is such a great base that you could probably play around with it a lot and add different ingredients to your preference.   And you can make the base ahead of time (we did it while Cutty napped), which is great if you are entertaining! 

Prep work - separated eggs and scalded milk

The "base" - wisked until smooth and thick

Base with cheese and fresh herbs added

Time to beat the egg whites! 

Finished product!  

Served with a lovely glass of wine (of course!) and a mixed green salad

A Rough First Day

As if being born wasn't hard enough, how about being born with a broken leg?   Last week we had a newborn calf who had a rough entry into the world.  But we got it taken care of immediately with the help of our wonderful Veterinarian Dr. Bom.  

Dr. Bom assessing the situation

Sedating the calf 

Rolando & Filaberto help with the wrapping of the bandage

First steps in life are the hardest!  

What a day!  

Flowers

With all the rain the pastures and the flowers look magnificent...

Bright  cosmos , marigolds and nasturtiums 

Tardiva Hydrangeas

Beauty berry and eupatoriums

Great container for golden rod

The addition of basil gives this bouquet a lot of sniff power

 love tall flowers- they need big vases!

Cosmos and tarragon blossoms

Gettin' Figgy With It

My two fig trees have had their first season of enough fruit for us to enjoy the delectable little delights!  Every morning when Nutmeg was here, we would go down to the barn for our other projects and always stop by the trees to go "figging"...   We decided that it was best to keep them simple and just top with goat cheese, some pepper and then drizzle with honey!  The perfect bite! 

Ours are still on the smaller side, but very sweet!  

The key was adding a little cracked pepper for heat

And then drizzle with honey... the perfect little bite!