Life With The Crew

Springing Slowly

Every day brings more signs of Spring.  We had the first garden fresh mint milkshake of the season yesterday.  We've been eating salad from our garden and Spring greens pesto, which is a little of this and a little of that - garlic mustard, baby kale leaves, sage, oregano, chives with olive oil.  Straight and simple green goodness. 

We're finding empty bird's eggs on a daily basis and the little babe has been making some nests out of fern fronds, grass clippings, and rhododendron leaves arranged artfully on stumps around the yard with the cracked eggs displayed in the middle.  I wondered for several days why the tops of my ferns were stripped of their leaves - just the stalk remained.  Were the dogs chewing them?  Then I saw the little babe run her hands up the fronds coming away with a handful of leaves.  Oh well.  It is for the sake of art.

We went on our second and last bird walk out at Shaver's Creek.  They will resume in August and I am looking forward to it.  The weather was much nicer this week and the little babe and I then walked along the lake, soaking in the morning sun and blue skies.  Today we are back to gray drizzle.  We had stopped using the woodstove three weeks ago, but got a little fed up with the cold damp house, so it is going again.  Frost free date is next week - I'm waiting impatiently for it.

 

When It's Cold Outside...

~stick close to the woodstove,

(Molokai watching the fan spin.)

~make meals that warm you twice,

(Once when you chop the 20 pound squash, then when you eat the ginger and orange squash soup.)

~and drink lots of hot tea.

(Dried orange peels are my new obsession.  I don't buy oranges very often because of the huge food mileage involved, but the little babe loves them.  So in order to put the whole orange to good use, I started saving and drying the peels.  It is so simple and there are so many awesome things to do with dried orange peel!  Baking with it is the obvious use (squash quick bread with dates and dried orange peel turned out fantastic), but I have also been adding it to my herbal tea mix, and I made orange peel infused honey, which is spoon licking yummy!  You can also add the fresh peel to a bottle of white vinegar and let it infuse for an easy homemade cleaning spray.)

How are you keeping warm?

 

Cool Weather Pesto

My basil plants bit the dust about two months ago, but we have still been eating fresh pesto.  Just today, after two decent frosts, I came in from the garden with a colander of green goodness.  

Carrots, sage, and even two little stray onions - Fall onions instead of Spring onions.  Even when the carrots themselves look like this...

all is not lost.  Just chop off those little babies and toss them to the chickens.  Throw the tops, sage leaves, and green onion tops into the food processor with a big glug of olive oil, a couple shakes of salt and pepper, several chunks of parm or pecorino and if you have them, a handful of walnuts.  Puree until smooth and put it on whatever your heart desires.  Pasta, grits, scrambled eggs, pizza - we've done it all.  Instead of the onion tops, I normally throw in a tablespoon of minced garlic.  As the little babe was eating her carrot top pesto pasta, she told me that she thought it was made with basil.  Awesome!  A simple way to get my toddler to eat more veggies.

 

 

Busy With The Bright and Cheery Cottage

I'm not a fan of random photo dumps, but despite the fact that I've been absent from this space for a week, I haven't had time for taking many photos.  My husband and I have been working on our first Airbnb rental and we had a deadline to meet.  It has been several stressful months of hard work for my husband, completing remodeling the entire house.  I contributed ideas, painting, cleaning, and decorating, things that can be done with one eye and ear on the little babe.  We are in the process of completing the second bedroom and doing a bit more decorating to fill it in a bit, but it is ready to rent!  We had our first guests on Saturday night and everything went well, so now we're ready for more.  If you're interested, here is the link to The Bright and Cheery Cottage.  I am jealous of the kitchen - it is much nicer than my own!  And now for my random photos.

Plenty of Pennsylvania Longneck Squash - this is only half of the harvest.  Muffins, cakes, fritters, cookies, soup, smoothies - we're not orange yet!

Fresh ginger - not quite as much as I'd like, but oh well, it was a first year "let's see if it actually grows."  It grew a little.  Enough for one quart of fresh gingerade and then I added the strained ginger pieces to applesauce - very yummy.

Pretty afternoon light and natural Autumn decorations.  Leaves have been dipped in beeswax and strung into a garland, acorns are gathered on every walk, and I've been told our grapevine wreath is too bare, so we're on the lookout for some vines with berries.

Make it a happy week!

 

 

Thankful Tuesday - 10.4.16

Today I am thankful for...

~a successful harvest.  Earlier in the season, when the groundhogs were climbing the cattle panels, the rabbits were eating the emerging leaves on the ground, and the chipmunks were stealing the 2nd and 3rd round replacement seeds, I was hoping that we would get just one squash or pumpkin.  Luckily, we got more than one!  We have a little pie pumpkin on the top of every fence post surrounding the garden, ten butternut squash, three red kuri squash, several little mystery green squash, and about ten longneck squash which we have not harvested yet. 

~yummy seasonal food.  Applesauce Honey cake made in my new bundt pan, purchased in an antique store in Maine.  I don't know if it is a true antique, but I think it is beautiful anyway and it made a perfect cake!  The applesauce was made from four different types of apples, foraged from roadside trees in Maine.  

~the pretty colors still found in the garden.  The calendula and marigolds are still going strong and now there are randomly placed red and yellow leaves that land among the flowers.

What are you thankful for today?

Grape Juice Just Because

Earlier this week, the little babe declared that we have not been in the woods for a while.  So later that afternoon, keeping one eye on the sky (we have had thunderstorms every day for a week straight), we entered the woods, just she and I - no dogs, no camera.  After finding a red Pilated woodpecker feather, she decided that we needed to pick up the pace and go "skiing", so she found sticks for ski poles and away we went.  We jogged along the paths, stopping at each intersection so that she could decide which way to go.  We were only in the woods for about half an hour, but we arrived back at the car sweaty and happy.  She apparently had so much fun skiing, that she requested that we go again the next morning.  So after walking the dogs, we headed back down the street, this time walking to the wood's entrance.  We skiied some more and then walked home along the shaded bike path, about two miles total.  Along the path we passed some wild grape vines that had a decent amount of ripe grapes.  We had passed the grapes on previous walks, but didn't have any free hands to collect them.  Since this time we didn't have any dog leashes to hold, I stopped and pick several bunches and said that we could make grape juice.  

We do not buy juice of any kind and so the little babe has never even had grape juice.  I do not even like it.  But I think that some things are worth doing for the experience alone, and so I made grape juice.  At least, I made a liquid from wild grapes.  Since I only had the small amount shown above and because I know that most homemade grape juice recipes would call for a ton of white sugar, I just did my own thing.  After rinsing them, I heated the grapes with some water until they softened and started to burst.  Then I used a fork to squash out more juice.  I then strained them and added a bit of honey.  The resulting "juice" is pretty tart, but cut 50/50 with water, it is fine.  I do not recommend anyone using this method, but it isn't really the taste of the juice that was important.  The little babe learned that nature provides us with edible gifts that we can use to provide for ourselves.  She learned to identify wild grape vines and to know what color they are when ripe.  And she learned two rules of foraging - make sure you are not on private property (unless you have permission) and always leave some of the good stuff for wildlife.  And since she has never had Welch's grape juice, she doesn't even have anything to compare it to - she just thinks it is pretty cool that we made our own juice!

If you make grape juice and have a favorite method, I'd love to hear about it for future reference.

Thankful Tuesday - 8.9.16

Today I am thankful for...

~more berry picking time with the little babe.  Now in season - blackberries.  They are definitely not my favorite; I don't really like the taste or texture.  But that is what our local organic u-pick farm has right now, so that is what we've got.  The little babe actually said that she likes them straight up, but I'm going to be freezing most of them for berry milkshakes.  (My latest treat - raw milk, frozen blueberries and two kinds of raspberries, a glug of maple syrup, and a tablespoon of cocoa all in the blender.  And when the little babe asks me if it is healthy, I can honestly reply, "Yes!")  

~my little garden helper.  She has been waiting for several weeks now to pull the onions and I have been saying, "No, not yet."  I finally got tired of looking at the sad limp stalks (for some reason only two of them ever stood up straight), so last night I gave the go ahead.  While I watered, she proudly pulled up 20 onions.  They are not the biggest, but they are our first home grown onions, so I'm happy about that.  And seeing her happily tug them out of the ground made me pretty happy too.  (I know that we pulled them up a bit prematurely; I should have let the tops totally brown, but we'll use these up before we have to worry too much about storage.)

~hummingbird sightings in the yard.  They love our purple phlox and Obedient plant.  What amazing little creatures they are!

~sunflowers!  I was hoping to have at least one flower this year make it to maturity and I actually have more than one.  Every time I pass by them, there is a bee on the bloom, covered in yellow pollen.  I knew that birds love the seeds, but I did not know that they were such a great source of pollen for bees.  Now I am even more thankful that some survived.

What are you thankful for today?

Garden and Kitchen Glimpses

Gathered in the morning:  a heaping bowl of basil to be made into pesto and two lovely eggs - one little, one humongous.  When I let one of the little red hens out of the coop, this is what I found.  She had just laid the smaller egg and our big Buff Orpington laid the monster egg, which most likely is a double.

I got tired of looking at the dried-up sad looking potato plants, so I pulled up six of them.  I loved seeing my purple shirted babe picking purple potatoes.

Rhubarb and elderflower shrub on the left.  We'll wait two weeks to see how it tastes, but the color sure is lovely.  Elderflower and raspberry cordial on the right.  I was inspired by CJ and Christina's cordials, so after discovering the monster elderberry bush in full bloom, I thought I'd give it a try.  But being Katie, I couldn't follow the recipe exactly, so mine is a riff on this cordial.  I cut the recipe in half, threw four big red raspberries in with the elderflowers, and then since I couldn't bring myself to put two entire cups of sugar into this small amount of liquid (actually, I just can't bring myself to use two entire cups of white sugar for any one recipe), I only used half a cup.  So it probably is not like a cordial at all - I wouldn't know since I've never had cordial.  However, adding a splash of it to a glass of ice water makes for a refreshing summer drink.

I still have plenty of jars taking up space all over the kitchen.  I added several echinacea flowers to my whole plant tincture - I sure hope something good is happening in there.  My lavender plants survived the mild winter, but they haven't produced many flowers, so this little jar of buds in olive oil is all I have.  In the jar on the right is rosemary and thyme infusing in white vinegar.  Not that cleaning up cat vomit is ever enjoyable, but the smell of fresh herbs makes it just a bit more pleasant.  

I am sharing this picture of a near perfect looking Baby Pam Pie pumpkin because it may not be here when we return from vacation.  If your garden is doing well and doesn't need them, please send positive protective thoughts towards mine.

Enjoy these summer days!

Thankful Tuesday - 6.28.16

Today I am thankful for...

~a homegrown dinner.  I got a bit curious/impatient and pulled up a couple of carrots.  I just wanted to see if any of my rabbit guarding efforts were worth it.  I have never grown carrots before and I find the tug and release of harvesting carrots very satisfying.  Then I dug up the dying pea plants in order to plant more carrots, and I got curious and pulled up three garlic plants that were at the end of the pea bed.  Again, I wanted to see if there was actually anything down there - gardening requires so much faith, imagination, and hope!  I was happy to see that the garlic bulbs looked just like they were supposed to, if a bit small.  I also dug up the volunteer potatoes and found a bowlful of little cream orbs.  So dinner last night was boiled potatoes with butter and fresh mashed garlic, homemade bread and butter, and a salad of lettuce, carrots, and calendula petals.  (The chamomile is for drying for tea.)

What are you thankful for today?

Jars of This and That

I realize that I missed Thankful Tuesday for the second week in a row.  I'm not giving it up; things are just busy around here right now.  There is so much puttering to be done in the garden, strawberry season is finally here and so we've been going on morning picking adventures to a local farm (and then the berries need processed), we've been doing some paid landscaping work, and the little babe is taking shorter naps.  That all means less time for sitting in front of the computer.  I also have been busy with "my jars".  I think either you're a mason jar family or you're not.  We definitely are.  We drink out of them, store food in them, use them as vases, keep homemade salves in them, catch spiders in them.  The end of my kitchen counter is usually occupied by either a jar of sourdough or kefir.  Here is a little tour of my current jar collection of garden goodness.

Chamomile.  Every day I pick a couple of the sweet smelling flowers and add them to the squat mason jar, which I have covered with cheese cloth.  Perhaps by the end of the summer I'll have a full jar for sleepy time tea.

From left to right:  plantain leaves in olive oil, calendula buds in olive oil, echinacea in organic vodka.  In the most recent issue of Taproot magazine, there is an article about using "weeds" for medicinal purposes.  It says that broadleaf plantain is soothing on skin damaged by splinters, stings, and it has antimicrobial properties.  Just pick, wilt slightly, and add to a jar of olive oil.  Let infuse in the sun for about three weeks, then strain and use the oil to make a salve.  When I went looking for plantain, I discovered that in my own backyard I have more plantain than grass!  For the calendula, I planted two different patches, hoping that at least one of them would survive rabbit attacks.  Amazingly, both of them did and I have calendula buds opening every day.  In Rosemary Gladstar's book, Medicinal Herbs, she says that when you pick the buds, your fingers should get sticky with resin.  Mine definitely do, so that is a good sign!  I love this jar of yellow and orange goodness - it is like a dose of sunshine in a jar.  I will eventually be using the oil for salve.  The last jar is full of echinacea leaves and buds.  When the flowers form, I will add those and eventually a plant root or two in the Fall.  I am following Rosemary's Whole-Plant Echinacea Tincture.  (This video shows the process of making a tincture from dried echinacea; I am harvesting the plant parts myself.)

Garlic scapes.  I've been making garlic scape and basil pesto and it doesn't last very long in a jar - I eat this straight up!  This is a super simple dairy-free pesto that is cheaper than traditional pesto.  I combine garlic scapes, fresh basil leaves, a handful of walnuts, a couple glugs of veggie oil, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper.  It makes a great sauce for pizza or on top of pasta.  

Strawberry shrub.  I think that most peope don't know what shrub is, but we happen to live near Tait Farm Foods, which is a family business located about 15 minutes from our home.  Along with having a small nursery of great plants and seedlings, they also have a high end farm shop where they sell merchandise, some local, along with processed foods that they make. Shrub is one of them - they make over 10 different flavors.  It is quite expensive, about $9 for a small bottle, so it isn't something that we make a habit of buying.  However, I do like adding a splash or two into a glass of water for something just a bit extra.  You can also use it in alcoholic mixed drinks.  This is my first attempt and if it turns out okay, I'm excited to try it with raspberries too.  I'm using a cold process recipe instead of boiling.

Every other day I brew up a batch of sun tea.  It is so simple to make and just the process of gathering the herbs makes me happy.  I normally do a half/half mix of lemon balm and peppermint, then a handful of new raspberry leaves, and some snippets of stevia, chamomile leaves, and lemon thyme.  Rinse, stuff in a clear jar with water, and set in direct sunlight for a couple of hours.  I strain it and add a smidge of honey.  

How about you?  Any goodness in jars at your place?  Have you tried making shrub?