They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
Last Tuesday (Michaelmas) we noticed there was a windfall quince under our smaller of the two quince trees. It had a big rotten spot on the bottom, so it would not keep but rather than waste it we incorporated it into supper. Did a light sear on a rack of bone-in lamb loin, then braised… Continue reading Lamb and Quince
Sometimes it is hard to get up in the morning. Instead of getting up and getting after it, it is easier to just to stagger into the living room, and lay back down on the couch. And if you get there and find that a sibling has already staggered in and laid back down? Just… Continue reading Baking day
It is that time of year, again! Time to make Christmas Cookies! Or, at least, start the process! Some Swiss cookies, like Lackerli, benefit from several months of aging to reach their full potential. There is no risk of them "going bad" because this particular cookie is roughly 50% honey and sugar by volume. With… Continue reading Lackerli
First and second major canning of tomatoes, Kathleen has been canning diced and whole tomatoes, as well as tomato juice. Daddy and Seppi have been drying tomatoes. Seppi likes to add leaves from his pet basil plant to the tray when we start it. (His pet basil plant's name is "Basil.") It's amazing how five… Continue reading Tomatoes, Pears and Wine
We have gone through another batch of sauerkraut in the last few weeks. We have shared some with friends. The verdict is in. The lactofermentation in the silicone burp lids goes faster and makes a more harsh, strong flavor. We tried two different methods, one filling the jar with brine, the other with water only… Continue reading Sauerkraut Comparison
We ordinarily try to avoid making Sunday a canning day, but when you have 65 Lbs of peaches sitting in boxes in the garage, you can't let them sit too long. They don't keep, especially when they are picked by over-zealous kids who have a tendency to drop them into the box, rather than gently… Continue reading Canning Peaches, on a Sunday
Once again we have been several days without a blog. I have a stack of pictures and will try to get caught up. This was on Monday, August 10th. Mommy was at the fair, getting the nutrition and food preservation building decorated, and taking in all the entries that people brought in to drop off.… Continue reading Elderberry syrup… Again.
After the superb elderberry harvest and juicing last Tuesday... No, not that last Tuesday. The last Tuesday before that last Tuesday... We had a whole bunch of elderberry juice, and nowhere to put it. But first, dark and early Wednesday morning (Aug 12) planted out another tray of cabbages. They each have their own cozy… Continue reading Elderberry… Syrup?, Crabapple-Rhubarb.
Tuesday: the last full day before Pierce Co Fair starts. It was also a Monday, because on Monday we were too busy to Monday, due to baking for fair, and taking stuff to fair grounds for turn in, and decorating at the fair grounds. But Monday is the sort of thing that cannot be indefinitely… Continue reading Elderberries, beans, crabapples
Last week was the first elderberry picking of the year. I did a second picking Monday morning, early. The dried elderberries from last weekend are done, so we transfer them into a bowl and put the next batch in. The previous batch yielded almost a quart after drying. We found that if the clusters are… Continue reading Elderberries, Basil, Baking and Brewing.
