Allow me to introduce you to one of our kids’ favorite books.
The children call it “Christmas Family” for reasons that become obvious as soon as you read the book.
One of the key moments in the early part of the book is the family preparing candles from the wax of bayberries, to burn on the mantlepiece and in the windows at Christmas time.
We looked around online for a bit, but it turns out the western version of the bayberry plants don’t actually have much wax in them. So we bought the kids some northern bayberry bushes.
Because the bushes are dioecious, (meaning they come in male and female varieties) it is necessary to have enough to ensure that we have at least one male per five female plants.
They are a common hedge and ornamental shrub in the northeast.
It was a cold morning the Tuesday before Christmas. Seppi and Winnie stayed inside where it was warm.
Evie and Ellie came out to the very back northeast corner of the pasture, in the laneway behind the food hedge where the great big pile of stones the previous owners left is there.
The bayberry is known for growing and thriving in poor, salty or acidic soil, so we stuck them around the rock pile under the pine trees. We will need to run irrigation to them before the summertime hits.
For now, we put electric netting up to keep the sheep and cow from nibbling them when they go back there.
I thought this was beautiful little bunch of fresh veg.
Winnie helping to make our last Christmas cookie. This is the dough for “Joe Froggers,” one of our favorites from “America’s Best Lost Recipes.”
Seppi has a way with words. “Winnie, which would you rather have? A big sloppy wet kiss, or a hug?”
Winnie: “A hug.”
Seppi: “Okay!”
He carried her around the kitchen a few times before he put her down.
We seared some beef heart and ox tail with onion, then set them aside and stir fried all the veggies in the drippings.
Broth from oxtail and beef heart, with a little juice from the beets to give it a red color.
Last thing before you throw the seared beef back in, toss in a couple of diced brussels sprout leaves.
This makes for a hearty, beefy and nutritious soup.
To go with it, focaccia dough that had been fermenting for 36 hours.
Rye bourbon molasses cookies.
They are a fun little bite-sized cookie. When baked perfectly, it has a crunchy outside with a gooey, molasses-y center.
This came out amazingly!
Even Ellie thought it was delicious.
Check out that beautiful crumb!
All that’s left after supper.
Little Farm in the Big City 