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
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
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.
"Look Daddy! I'm a stwirrel!" "Tan I help you took?" When was the last time you had a squirrel cook you potato-water griddle cakes for breakfast? Tuesday morning we got over to the farm for another picking of blackberries. The big thornless blackberries are a little the worse for wear at the moment. We are… Continue reading Blackberries, First Elderberries, and Drought problems.
Last Tuesday (July 28th) The three older kids were all at VBS, so it was just Daddy and Winnie for a few hours. We picked blackberries. Winnie loves being the only child. She chatters away, all the thoughts that come into her little head. Every other sentence is, "Daddy, I really love you!" She is… Continue reading Blackberries
The hardneck garlic we planted last year is almost ready. It has been growing scapes. The scapes are the curly flower stalks on the top of the garlic "neck." These would straighten out and develop into a flower if left alone, but we don't want that. We want the garlic plant to put all its… Continue reading Garlic Scape Butter
Everything is homeschool. Even a muddy former driveway that the pigs rooted through for a couple of months. This becomes a vehicle for talking about healthy and unhealthy soil with the kids. Think of it as a "before" picture. The "after" picture won't be for a couple of years, but ideally that same former driveway… Continue reading Spring Buds
