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Raspberry Breakfast Bars and Rendering Lard
There are fourteen pint jars of raspberry jam staring at me in the basement. Fourteen jars. That’s a lot of jam (and that’s not even mentioning the peach jam, the grape jam, the plum jam, and the rosehip jam). It looks at me, wondering what it will be. And I tell them most will slathered on toast or biscuits over the next several months. Some will be Christmas gifts. But some will be used today. In a very simple, very delicious breakfast bar. And this is how it is to be done: One half cup good butter (or lard, or coconut oil) is set in a sauce pan to melt…
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Beans, Moles, and Bayberries
In the plot of earth that circles the fence that circles the garden, there is planted a double row of corn and a single row of beans. Now. Our garden is rather large, which left a rather large amount of beans to gather, eat, and can. And when we could gather, eat, and can no more, I made an executive decision to let the beans go to seed and use that seed for next-years-beans and to help feed the chickens and pigs this Winter. Well. Those beans did not give up, let me tell you. Finally, I went out this morning and we did battle. I pulled and picked and…
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Roasted Rhubarb and Raspberry Jam
The frost predicted a little over a week ago came last night, taking with it the raspberries. I was up before the sun getting the last of them. The Rhubarb, also, saw its last. These I gathered and trimmed and placed in a roaster, squeezing an orange over all and coating them with more than a little sugar. This was placed in the top oven rack, with the daily pumpkins just beneath. That rhubarb will make a nice crumble sometime this Winter. Or a crisp. I guess I will decide when the times comes. For now, it is safely roasting and bubbling away. The raspberries I’ve gathered all late Summer/early…
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Pickled Beets and Sourdough Bread
October has begun and with it, the cleaning out of the garden. The last of the Summer beets were dug up, their tops and stems set in the dehydrator for Winter chicken feed, but the bulbs, the heart of the beet, was trimmed of all but it’s roots and an inch or so of it’s top, washed, and set in a pot of boiling water for twenty minutes or so. Once they were knife tender, they were strained and left to cool and there they sit, waiting for me to do something with them. But I decided to write instead. Who wants to peel a hot beet? No. They can…
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The Last of the Apples and Two Pumpkins
The apples have all given up early this year, with most having been made into sauces and pies. There are a few stragglers left, as seen above. Those lost lonely souls, too small to be peeled and sliced, were overlooked all last week as a late-in-the-day-snack. BUT, this is a Farm and on a Farm, third and (almost) foremost, there is no waste. So. They will have to be made into something. Thank you for the suggestion, but the dried apple bucket is filled to the brim. And the Farmer has had his share of pies (more than his share, if you ask me!) Hmmm…how about a dumpling? That would…
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Garden Patties
The Zucchini is up to it’s old shenanigans again—singing away with all it’s might. Just yesterday I picked three. Off one plant. And what does one do with so much zucchini? I asked myself as I lugged it into the kitchen. I looked at it and it looked back at me. Daring me, really, to make anything, ANYTHING other than another loaf of bread. So, that is just what I did. Zucchini is a bit moist, so after it was shredded it was set to rest a bit in a very salty brine (a cup of water to a quarter cup of salt). While three zucchinis worth (about three cups)…
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The Spring Thaw–Repurposing Last Season’s Freezer Fruit
Right now in our freezer we have twenty three bags filled to the brim with berries (black, red, and mull), roasted tomatoes and pumpkins, as well as more than a few sliced and pitted plums. Now, the off-ic-ial rules clearly state that such bags need to be used up or discarded, but that is not the way here on the Farm. No. We use what we grow. And how we do it is this: The berries themselves may be thawed and used immediately in any which way, and the way in which I have chosen (this year*) is by canning them in a simple syrup. That way they may be…
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Make Your Own Laundry Soap
Here at the Farm, we have layers of plans, for many things. We have buckets of flour. We have an electric mill and wheat seed (if the flour runs out) and we have a hand-crank mill (if the flour and the electric run out). Are we planning on that happening? No. But if it does, God willing, we’ll still be enjoying our daily bread. But we’re not talking bread today. But something just as important: Cleanliness. Right now, laundry soap is still sitting there nice and pretty on all the grocery store shelves. We can buy however much we want. And sometimes we do. Let’s face it, it’s easy, works…
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Chamomile and Raw Honey Panna Cotta
Sheep’s milk makes the best panna cotta. No question about it. But…if you find yourself lacking a bit in that department, do not despair! Acceptable panna cotta may still be yours! You will simply have to make do with a bit 0f sub-stit-utions. And this is how it’s to be done: A cup of good, fresh (preferably raw) whole cow’s milk is warmed gently in a saucepan until it just starts to quiver. A tablespoon and a half of fresh chamomile flowers are stirred in (or two teaspoons dried—you know—from a tea bag—just rip that open and stir it in) as well as two tablespoons raw honey. It’s covered and…
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Honey Scones
This is one of my very fa-vor-ite things to enjoy with my afternoon cheese break–great with some scratch-made jam and tea! Enjoy.
