Life With The Crew

Happy Taste Buds

I had an ice cream date with the little babe on Friday morning after buying some kale seedlings to restock the garden.  Actually it was her treat/bribe for not running pell-mell through the store to get a cup of water from the water cooler.  She chose Oreo Cookie.  Luckily for me, the big scoop fell off into a dish and she just wanted the cone part.  I realized that it is the first ice cream cone that she has held and eaten herself - what a milestone!

Pancakes made with goat's milk kefir instead of the normal whey left over from cheese making.  One day was a banana oatmeal combo, another day was grated zucchini and oatmeal pancakes with a pinch of nutmeg.  Kefir is something that we've just started buying at the farmers market and I have discovered that it is great in smoothies (my favorite - about 3/4 cup of kefir, some fresh peaches, a banana, frozen strawberries picked in June, a glug of maple syrup, and a handful of almonds).  I would like to start making my own kefir.  

Simple little butter cookies kicked up a notch with fresh lemon balm and rainbow sprinkles.  After making the chocolate cake with fresh mint leaves, I was curious about what I could bake with lemon balm.  I found this recipe and altered it a bit.  I blitzed the fresh lemon balm leaves and white sugar* together in a food processor to make a totally delightful lemon balm sugar.  It smelled amazing!  Then I simply made the cookies like normal - combine butter and sugar, then eggs, etc.  The lemon flavor was faint, so next time I'll up the amount of lemon balm.   I like lemon flavored baked goods, but don't like using lemons (way too many transportation miles on those yellow babies), so it is nice to know that there is a sort-of substitute.   The lemon balm sugar would make an awesome topping for muffins too!

Maple lattes, iced chai lattes (homemade chai concentrate recipe coming soon), fresh maple lemonade (maybe with a splash of vodka on a hot Summer afternoon?) - we have some good drinks around here too.  Oh, and I'm loving the midday lunch picnics with the little babe on the back deck.  Some dates, raw milk Havarti from the farmers market (I am slightly addicted to that salty cheese), pita bread with beet hummus - it doesn't take much to make the little babe happy (sometimes).  Bribe her with some chocolate goat's milk or a pumpkin whoopie pie and she'll do almost anything.  Though she's not allowed to have both of those at the same time - even this sweet tooth Momma has to set some limits.

What are the good eats at your house?

*I've been doing most of my baking with maple syrup instead of white or brown sugar, but I was afraid that maple syrup would overpower the lemon balm flavor and make these cookies spread out too much.

 

Thankful Tuesday - Small Wonders

Today I am thankful for...

small wonders.

-This little guy is a Northern Spring Peeper, which is one of the most common frogs in the Northeastern US.  They are easily identified by the "X" shape on their backs and their sticky toe pads.  My husband and I were surprised by the frog's pale beige coloring.  According to the link above, Spring Peepers can change color to blend in with their surroundings.  This guy had been hiding out in a huge hydrangea blossom and when I shook the blossom to remove any insects, he flew out and hit the deck with a little thud.  I had no idea what it was at first, because it just looked like a gelatinous light colored mass.  I then looked closer and jumped back - I had never seen a frog like this before and I thought I had just smashed it.  But within several minutes, he was jumping around.  Perhaps he had lightened his coloring to blend in with the bluish-cream colored hydrangea.

-My husband was working in the driveway this weekend and left some boards outside to dry.  When he returned only two hours later, he found a spider web stretched across the entrance to the garage, anchored at three points.  It is amazing to ponder how these tiny creatures can create such intricate webs in such a short amount of time.  How do they decide where to build their webs?  I don't think the spider said, "Okay, I'll launch myself from the recycling bin over to the bottom of the garage door.  Then from there, I'll land on that piece of wood."  The following day, another web was spun near this one, which had been destroyed.

-The twirling and twining of tendrils is so fascinating!  I might not be very good at growing food, but apparently I have great soil for growing out of control gourd vines (on the left) and loofah vines (on the right).  They are threatening to take over the yard.  The gourd is growing along the top of the chicken yard fence and has been on a mission to take over the gate.  The loofahs have almost completely encircled the perennial flower garden, both by crawling along the top of the wire fence and by growing straight over the other plants.  On Sunday morning they looked like they were about to shake hands.

-Did you know that loofah flowers are so beautiful?  (This one is just opening in the early morning light.  It will open completely during the day and if it is a male flower, it will drop off that same evening.)

What are you thankful for today?

The Shift

 

The shift from high Summer into early Autumn is occurring.  Each day I see more leaves on the ground.  Brown, curled up, crunching sycamores; brilliant primary colored maple leaves.  The past couple of mornings have been cool, which means that our shaded house is then almost cold until noon.  I'm not complaining - it is way better than the normal August humidity - but it seems a bit early.  The early morning light has been just lovely, with plenty of dew to sparkle and shine until the hot August sun burns it off.  Along with hearing the ice cream truck's jingle from blocks away, the little babe has also been thrilled lately with hearing flocks of Canadian Geese, which have been making an appearance, though not all flying South yet.

I took these photos at the arboretum on a beautiful quiet morning last week.  I love being there early, when we have our own private garden to explore and enjoy. 

A Sweater for Myself

Last week I finished an Annabel Cardigan from Quince & Co.  It is the first actual item of clothing that I have made for myself, other than the typical winter accessories.  I chose this pattern because it looked simple, practical, and only used 5 skeins of yarn, which still seemed like such an investment of time and money.  What if I messed it up?  What if it didn't fit?  It is not perfect, but I am content with it being my first "big person" knitting project.  

I should have paid better attention to the sizing information.  I thought that the next size up sounded too big and I didn't want it to look dowdy.  Lesson learned - when you're knitting a sweater, bigger is better.  I stretched it out as much as I could, but it is still snug.  I can wear it over a tight t-shirt or tank, but it is too tight in the arms to wear over a long sleeve shirt.  Once I realized that though, I just couldn't bring myself to start over.  Of course, I didn't knit a gauge swatch, I never have.  The pattern called for 5 skeins, but I had a whole skein plus 1/3 of the fourth one left over, so maybe my gauge was off.  The handmade wood buttons are from Anthony's Wood Shop on Etsy.  I am thrilled with them and really like how they look on the sweater.

Please ignore the ill-fitting garment that the little babe is wearing.  It was one of my no-pattern projects and I made the arm straps way too long.  Luckily, I should have plenty of time to fix it - the temp was in the 80's with high humidity during our photo shoot.  Definitely not bulky wool weather!

Cow Poop On My Big Toe

Earlier this week, my mudroom smelled like a dairy barn.  The little babe and I don't encounter too many cow pies on our daily suburban neighborhood walks, so the cow poop smell was something new.  It kind of made me smile; made me feel just a bit closer to life on an actual farm. 

The night before, we had gone to the dairy farm where we buy raw milk.  In the milk room, there were 20 big bottles of milk waiting to be fed to the calves.  I kind of hinted at it and then just outright asked if we could stick around to watch the feedings.  Farmer Jeff seemed surprised, but agreed.  Even though people go to the farm to purchase milk, I don’t know how many people actually want to get that close to the actual cows (and their other by product).  While we wandered around outside, waiting for the milk to heat up and looking for black snakes in the pond, Farmer Jeff came out and said he thought we might appreciate seeing something interesting.  Of course we said yes.  We followed him through the electric fence, down a gravel lane, and entered some of the prettiest Pennsylvania farmland we’ve ever seen.  No houses in sight, just green pastures, towering cornfields, and mountain woodland.  Then we saw them.  All 60 or 70 cows, across the field at the water trough; no fence between each 1200 pound animal and my Birkenstock clad toes.

As we watched (and I held the little babe), each of the cows, having had their fill of water, lumbered past us to continue grazing.  Most of them stopped and stared at us on their way past.  Some politely approached Farmer Jeff for head rubs; some not so politely and quite energetically demanded head rubs.   A couple of cows got a little too close for my bare feet’s liking, but both my husband and I left the pasture with all toes intact.  I’m all for letting the little babe explore, but she was content being held in my arms.  She weighs less than one cow’s leg and doesn’t even stand as tall as one cow’s knee; I think she was as intimidated as I.

The hum and constant motion of thousands of flies initially held my attention.  We learned about the three types of flies found on a cow: face flies, horn flies and stable flies.  Perhaps farmers get used to the flies, but my attention was divided: 1/3 on the conversation, 1/3 on swatting duty, and 1/3 on the movement of the cows.  As we watched, the whole herd magically disappeared into thick stalks of eight foot tall sorghum-sudangrass.  A stereotypical, romanticized, perfect pastoral scene (except that cows are normally thought to be in the corn).  Dwarf Brown-eyed Susans, Queen Anne’s lace, and milkweed edging the gravel road, goldenrod almost in bloom, butterflies flitting by.  A perfect summer evening.  And yes, I had cow poop on my big toe. 

We then followed Farmer Jeff into the barn, where we watched the calves being fed, which involved what you would expect from a group of babies at feeding time – lots of mooing, pushing, slobbering, and velvety soft pink noses.  I thought the excitement was over, but as we were leaving, Farmer Jeff took us into a separate pen and showed us a pair of three week old twin Ayrshires and a day old calf.  Just one day old!  I am so thankful we had this wonderful experience to see firsthand what our milk is made of (sudangrass that week) and where it comes from (a mix of Holstein, Jersey, and Ayrshire cows).  I appreciate Farmer Jeff taking time out of his hectic day to share this experience with us.  We would buy milk from him even if we didn’t have an opportunity to see the cows SO up close, but now we have stronger, richer connections to this product that most people only see in an adulterated state, consumed out of a cardboard carton or plastic bottle. 

Poop is part of the process.  And on a sustainable farm, that poop is part of a cycle.  The cow eats grass, then produces manure, which falls onto the soil and provides nourishment for new grass.  (That is a very simplified cycle, but hopefully you get the idea.)  I am thankful for the smell of poop in my mud room.

(An older picture from earlier this Spring.)

Thankful Tuesday - 8.18.15

Today I am thankful for...

-a quiet moment beside a lake.  It has been a little rough around here lately in toddlerland.  If we can make it several hours without a kicking and crying breakdown, then it is a good day. 

-the fact that I saw this little guy BEFORE I squeezed him with my fingers!  He reared up and looked quite menacing.  I almost fed him to the chickens, but then thought about the beautiful butterfly that he might become.

-garden goodness, both from our own garden (tomatoes, green peppers, green beans, loofahs, herbs) and from the farmers markets.  Gazpacho, lemon balm and mint sun tea, beet salad with goat cheese and walnuts, the always popular panzanella - we have good eats around here!  (Well, we're not eating the loofahs, but they are the most vigorous crop in our garden.  I am amassing quite the collection that are piled up, hopefully drying and not molding.  This is what I'm hoping for...)

-bright, beautiful color.  But can you believe this is happening already?  I'll blame it on the lack of rain instead of the impending change of season.

What are you thankful for?

50 Shades of Yellow

Goldenrod, daisy fleabane, cup plant, multiple types of rudbeckia (both black and brown eyed susans), and other yellow mystery flowers.  All in one lovely community garden.  Oh, and one hazel eyed little babe too.  Yellow is such a lovely color, especially when viewed under a perfectly brilliant blue sky, and it is so abundantly found in the plant world.  Even the blossoms on my loofah plant are yellow!  What is your favorite yellow flower?

(What I'm Eating) This Moment

~This Moment~

Fresh cooked green beans, local ripe tomatoes of your choice, onion.  From the non-local grocery aisle (unless you live in Greece), kalamata olives and feta cheese.  A pinch of black pepper, salt, and fresh or dried oregano.  A splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar if you wish.  Pairs equally well with fresh baked chewy sourdough, soft whole wheat rolls smeared with butter, or homemade pita chips and hummus.  Complete the meal with more garden goodness.  (Wink, wink.)

Hint of Mint Cake (Made with real mint!)

I haven't shared a recipe for a while and I realized that is because I don't really follow recipes.  I have been cooking and baking from scratch for enough time that I normally just throw things together with good results.  Then when something turns out really well, I wish I had written down the recipe so that I can repeat it.  My husband's birthday was on Monday and I wanted to make a special birthday cake.  His preference is always for something chocolate.  The little babe said that she wanted to make a "sprinkle cake", since sprinkles are a favorite around here right now.  Both my husband and the little babe love mint chocolate chip ice cream, so I decided to try and make a "healthy" chocolate mint cake.  I wanted to try using real mint from our garden instead of peppermint extract.  Then I realized that I could make it even healthier and continue with the green theme by adding zucchini.  I even found sprinkles made with vegetable juice instead of chemicals, so the little babe was happy.  I was really hoping this cake turned out, so I did write down the recipe.

Hint of Mint Cake

1.  Gather one loose cupful of organic mint leaves.  Rinse and pat dry.

2.  In a food processor, combine mint leaves with one cup of white sugar.  Pulse until combined.

3.  In a large mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup of softened butter with the mint sugar until fluffy.

4.  Add two eggs and beat until combined.

5.  In another bowl, combine the following:  1 1/3 cups of flour (I used 1 cup of whole wheat and 1/3 cup of white flour), 2/3 cups of Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa (or any dark cocoa), 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt.

6.  Add the dry to the wet ingredients and beat until smooth.  

7.  Stir in 1 cup of finely grated zucchini.

8.  Fold in 1 cup of warm water.

9.  Pour into a greased 9" round cake pan and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

For the icing, I was really just kind of winging it, but it actually turned out amazing!  I did not use exact measurements for this, so I'll walk you through it.  In a small saucepan over low heat, I heated about 1/4 cup of milk and 8 torn mint leaves.  I didn't pound them, just tore each leaf into two or three pieces.  After about 20 minutes, I removed the milk from the heat and let it cool with the mint leaves still in it.  About an hour later, I strained the leaves out of the milk.  Then I made a simple white icing using 1/2 cup of veggie shortening, several cups of powdered sugar, and about 2 tablespoons of the mint milk.  I normally make my icing with butter, but thought that the mint taste would come through better with the neutral flavored veggie shortening.  I was amazed with how strong the mint flavor was with just the small amount of mint milk.

After I spread on the icing, the little babe got to do her part and she merrily sprinkled away.  The cake was delicious and I felt good about making it with healthy green food from the garden.  (We won't talk about the sugar.)

This post shared on Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop.

Thankful Tuesday - 8.11.15

Today I am thankful for...

-lovely flowers at the community garden in the local park.  It is such a benefit to the community that people are willing to use their time and effort to plant and tend these flowers.  As well as being beautiful, the gardens provide habitat and food for insects and animals, and offer so many opportunities for discovering and learning.

-food harvested from our own garden, simple green beans and tomatoes.  (We discovered that the ducks LOVE green beans and we've been happily sharing with them.  Seeing them snatch the beans is so much fun!)

-my husband who enjoys being productive in the kitchen.  I woke up on Sunday morning to fresh sourdough bread, which we both agreed was my husband's best loaf yet.  Combine that with yummy Tomato and Basil Raw Milk Cheddar cheese from a local farm and one of our Amish Paste tomatoes and you've got a delicious grilled cheese!

-a special summer treat for the little babe (and her Momma):  homemade lemonade with a touch of maple syrup.  Definitely not local, but better than buying the sugary stuff from the store.

-and no picture for this one because they are so super fast - hummingbirds on our tall obedient plants, which arrive every year at this time.

What are you thankful for today?