Friday, August 28, 2015

What's Up at the Urban Farm and The Carbometer Fake Eggs Benedict


The Carbometer Hens
Hello World!  I know it's been some time since I posted, it's a day by day thing here at The Carbometer as I continue to recover from a rear-ended accident that happened March.  It's a one step forward, two steps back kind of thing.

I have some really exciting news.  I now have fresh vegetables arriving in The Carbometer garden.  As many of you my know, California is in a scorching drought and there are water rations everywhere.  Our part at The Carbometer was to ditch the lawn and put in a garden area, with raised beds.  We have done half of the garden, building as we have resources to do since we are doing it all ourselves.  So we have 4 beds of 3' x 6'.

 In these beds we have romaine, basil, asparagus, cucumber, Capri, beefsteak and cherry tomatoes, red onions, strawberries, baby bell and regular bell peppers, also growing on the property are chardonnay grapes (that we eat as table grapes), cherry trees and a little Fuji apple tree.  The garden has not met my expectations.  The sun exposure was too much and stunted the growth so we have to use a lot of shade cover, during most of the day, this has slowed down veggie production but at least we know now.  So far, romaine only fit for our dry land tortoise - who loves it, basil for salads and pizza, a few tomatoes, some cherry and lots of pear tomatoes, three peppers, 1 strawberry (I kid you not)!  1 cherry!  The apples are just coming in and I think we'll get at least 10.  We've had what grapes we could salvage from the deer, maybe 6 bunches.  I think we have until about November for the current plants but I will start planting some winter vegetables next.
Coconut

This spring we invested in 4 baby chicks, who are now some pretty big hens but aren't laying eggs yet and soon to come in a few weeks, two goats.  A white Pygmy we have named Coconut and a Nigerian billy whose name moves back and forth from Captain America to Prancer on a daily basis.The idea is to have baby goats and to milk Coconut and participate in a local 4-H program on dairy goats.

So with the recent spoils, I made what is close to being an all from The Carbometer garden breakfast that I call The Carbometer Fake Eggs Benedict.
The Carbometer Fake Eggs Benedict

Here's the fiber and carb count:
2 poached eggs - 2 carbs - no fiber
1/8 cup long sliced green pepper - 1 carb - .5 fiber
1/8 cup sliced Capri tomatoes - 2 carbs - .5 fiber
1 slice of buttermilk toast - 19 carbs - 2 fiber

Total carb: 24 carbs and 4 fiber.  To lower the carbs consider increasing the green peppers or using a bed of spinach which will give you more fiber too!  Now that I'm maintaining my weight I have started to introduce some grains back into my diet, but only about 3 times a week and mainly equivalent to 1 slice.  On days that I do not have grain, I substitute with a fruit, like a half of an apple.

Hope you enjoy the pictures and Happy Carb Counting.