A Soft Blanket of Snow

Despite many of us wanting autumn to stay with us forever, winter is fast approaching. We awoke this morning to find our world covered under a thin blanket of snow. As I’m sure most of it will melt away over the course of the afternoon, its a reminder to us that winter is knocking at our door and it will not be long until we’re buried in snow.

It’s been almost a week since we’ve turned our clocks back, and I’m starting to get use to driving home after the sun has set. It seems like only minutes after I get home and start supper, it’s pitch black out. No time for leisurely evening strolls, those will be kept for weekend afternoons. Nights are colder and after cocconing myself in the blankets last night, I’ve realized it’s time to put the thin cotton sheets away and pull out the heavy flannel ones in addition to an extra blanket. And, as Turkeycookies reminded me, I’ll dig out our microwavable rice bag that my Grandmother made for me and put that near the night stand for those really cold nights in need of a little extra warmth under the covers for your toes. Grudgingly, I’ll even force my husband to help me switch out our shorts and tank tops for pants and sweaters this weekend.

One more day of work at the lab until the weekend work of warmth, crafting, and baking arrives. What a busy work week it’s been, and interestingly enough, it’s due to the opening of hunting season in just over a week. I thought it unusual that all of our wastewater operators were coming in with their monthly samples all at the same time this week. So, after the third operator in a span of less than an hour showed up, I thought to ask. With hunting season is opening soon, and many of them have vacations coming up, it’s time to get it all done this week and next. The puzzle was solved, and now that I know exactly who’s hunting, I’ll be sure to follow up with them next month in hopes of scoring a free pound or two of venison.

 

The Transition Time of November

The calendar tells us that it is still autumn until we reach the winter solstice, this year being December 21st. But I have always found the month of November to be not quite autumn, yet not quite almost winter. September and October really build up the joys of  autumn- colorful leaves, apples, pumpkins, the start of the cool nights, and Halloween. Then, in a blink of an eye, not much unlike Christmas, it’s over. All of the leaves have fallen and the colors on the hills have since changed to crisp browns of dead leaves, grays of exposed bark, and dark blotches of evergreens on the hills. The only bright colors I’ve seen this weekend are those of the falling needles of the tamarack trees at the higher elevations in Mt. Holly. All the apples and pumpkins have been sold and our beloved Wellwood Orchards is now closed for the season. Every night now is cold, with mornings full of frost. And sadly, the witching hour is over and nights are darker earlier, as we have all now turned our clocks back an hour. Quiet and dark, November wraps us in the coming cold, but can reward us with afternoons of fleeting sunshine.  

After reviewing my list of October goals, the only thing I didn’t quite fulfill was the “lots” of soups and breads, although we have begun eating our fair share. Halloween was a blast, kind of out of this word really…

 

Mid-October Photo Briefing

This blog always shows me how busy I keep myself. In the past two weeks I’ve been working on my autumn “to-do” list and so much more!

Our harvest of carrots this year! A handful got roasted, another batch blanched and frozen for soups, more used for a pot roast, and one final batch given away to my father in exchange for his time spent helping us to expand the garden.

One of my favorite things to do with squash- cooking it until tender then melting it with apples and some brown sugar to top over some brown rice. Mmmm-mmm!

My father with his rototiller which he graciously brought all the way from Maine to help us expand our garden to twice its size. We already have potatoes, winter squash, and pumpkins on the brain for next year thanks to the expansion. During his visit he also helped to fix our front door and replaced the old weather-stripping with new stuff that actually works. Our door shuts tightly now and lets less heat out.

I’ve figured out the secret to pumpkins- halve them with a serrated knife, scoop our the pulp and save the seeds (for roasting of course), half again, throw into a pot and boil the pieces until you can stick a fork through the skin side of the pumpkin. Drain and let cool. When cool to the touch, gently use a spoon to scoop the flesh away from the skin and you’re done! I ended up making pumpkin puree for cooking, using an electric hand mixer to get it smoother than I could by hand.

And I found the best recipe ever to make the best pumpkin muffins! The perfect way to enjoy a Sunday morning? Hot cup of coffee, Sunday paper, pumpkin muffins.

And this is what I found when I saw my husband off for work at 5:30 this morning- a snow-sleet mix covering our porch. It’s all gone to rain now, but the slush is still everywhere. Not what I expected for the middle of October.

All the leaves are past their peak now, with most trees retaining less than half of their leaves. The cold nights and mornings are here, and today isn’t suppose to get much higher than the mid forties. I’m sure there will be a warm spell again soon, that familiar Indian Summer break of a few days in early November, but for now, it’s our signal to get things in order, put your garden to bed, get your storm windows in, and prepare for the cold that’s ahead.

 

End of September

It’s the last day of September and I can’t believe how fast the month has gone by! We’ll welcome in October tomorrow, the month where autumn is at its peak and the days get shorter, colder, and darker. In the interest of community and curiosity, I take turkeycookies’ approach and ask, what do you have planned for October?

*Another round of apple picking, complete with a visit to the petting zoo this time
*Hopefully can another 6 or so quarts of apple sauce
*Play more with pumpkins- I’ve figured out the secret to pumpkin cooking thanks to habitsofamouse
*Bake more delicious pumpkin muffins made with real pumpkin and enjoy countless batches of pumpkin seeds
*Enjoy the crisp nights and smells of wood smoke on evening walks
*Find and experiment more with root crop recipes, including various squashes
*Make lots and lots of soup and homemade bread
*Carve pumpkins and dress up like Star Trek (TNG) officers for Halloween

 

Welcome Autumn

With the arrival of the equinox, today we welcome autumn to the northern hemisphere. It’s crazy how fast time flies the older you get. September is quickly coming to a close and yet it feels like the month just started. The last few weekends of late summer have brought us plenty of happiness. We marked the arrival of September with a trip to the Rutland Fair, enjoying the day with great company- visitors from the north, my Mom and Step-Dad (Hi Tom!). My husband took second place in the amature art show and all four of us spent the weekend catching up and celebrating. The weekend after that marked the passing of my Grandfather. Unable to make it home, we spent a day up at VINS exploring and learning in his remembrance. And last weekend was our first trip to the orchard for apples, picking up squashes and filling the weekend with batches of applesauce. This weekend will be a wedding, working on some final harvesting in the garden, experimenting with pumpkins, and more cleaning and buttoning up as October is fast upon us.

Day and night are equal, and we can feel the sun weakening. The sun is setting earlier, the mornings are colder, and even in midmorning and early evening we can feel that briskness that is upon us. Leaves are changing and the final harvests are approaching. Nature is readying itself for the rest of the long cold months of winter. Today is a great time for all of us to take a moment to reflect upon the great days of summer- rainy days and all. Now is a time of harvest. Take time today to give thanks.

 

Harvest Meal: Turnip and Greens with Bacon

Reading some other blogs, I’ve realize that all of us in the North are starting to experience the transition from cool summer food to warming fall and winter meals. Over a big plate of salad, my husband and I looked at each other and realized that it wasn’t as satisfying as it was earlier this summer and that we’re ready for soup and warm home-cooked meals. Here’s something new we tried and really enjoy: Turnip and Greens with Bacon.

I have a hard time wasting things, so when I thought about eating our turnips, I wondered if you could eat the leafy tops as well. Turns out yes, you can! It seems most people eat them when they are young and tender, but my thought was why would you stunt or k ill your turnips for their greens? But, you can eat the mature greens as well. Obviously they are not sweet and tender like their younger counterparts, but if you cook them, they turn out just fine.

You will need:
Bacon
Turnips
Turnip Greens

No specific measurements needed, just use what you would like and take into account how many people are eating. I removed and put the dead or damaged leaves in the compost. The nice looking green ones I pulled off of their main stem (very woody and stringy, not pleasant to eat) and put them in the strainer. Leaves with a little insect damage were still used, but I just ripped around iffy areas. Gave them a good rinse to get off the dirt and then into a pot of boiling water. There I boiled them for about 8 minutes or so. I read that doing this not only wilt and tenders them, but also gets rid of a  lot of the old and bitter taste they can have. When tender, I drained them and put them aside. Meanwhile, I washed and peeled the turnips, sliced them up, and boiled those until tender. Drained and set aside. So now you’re left with cooked turnips and greens. Next, in a large skillet, cook your bacon to your liking. Remove your bacon and let cool. Do NOT drain the bacon grease! You need it! While your bacon is cooling enough to handle, throw your turnips and greens into the pan and let them warm and cook in the flavorful drippings. Cut up your bacon when cool enough to handle, and throw that back into the skillet. Let everything cook together for a few minutes until all the grease has been incorporated and things get warm and encorporated. Add some pepper and you’re done! Serve with some homemade cornbread (I like making cornbread in muffin tins because it’s easier to serve and store and then you have leftovers for breakfast or a snack) and you’re done! It sounds simple, it really is, but it’s quite nice if you like turnip. The greens are pretty bland on their own, but cooked with the turnip and bacon, they really do something mild and nice for the dish. Besides, it throws in more vitamins and looks really nice on the plate!

No doubt our turnips were one of the most successful plantings in the garden- tied with the carrots. We really like them in soups and stews, but now we have one more way to enjoy them.

*The biggest turnip we’ve pulled so far*

*And a couple weird ones, one actually grew another turnip on it I think? Just goes to show that not everything looks like picture perfect, contrary to what grocery stores show. Luckily, they taste different too (way better!)*

 

Photo Update

Fall is closing in on us and I couldn’t be happier. I love summer, who doesn’t, but I’m not afraid to shout it out that fall is my favorite season. My husband thinks I’m nuts because I love a season that ushers in the endless winter, but that’s not true! I love autumn in and of itself. I love the colors, the smells, the activities, the food, I love it all. But before we get there, I figured I’d give an update of other summer photos I have not yet gotten around to.

Our first opened sunflower

 
Drying and harvesting my own cilantro seeds (not sure if the seeds will be viable, but we’ll see)

Jamming in the kitchen- learned how hot it can get making jam in the middle of summer!

Homemade salsa with our own cilantro from a recipe by my aunt- really yummy and really hot!

Basket full of swiss chard, cucumbers, and tomatoes (ripe and unripe)

And even though it came really late (I know, I know) we still got the Late Blight. Our one surviving crimson sprinter that we started from seed held up the best, resisting it the longest, but the five we picked up at a local greenhouse didn’t do too well and were most likely where it came from. Still edible and yummy though if you cut around it.

And a little something for the family and friends, my husband and I after an afternoon hike.

Fall is quickly on its way as all the mornings start out in the 40s, the sun sets earlier, you need to wear something long-sleeved after 6pm, and the wild grapes are ripening. We’ll be pulling what we have left of the tomatoes and zucchini out this weekend. The peppers, cukes, little swiss chard, and tiny corn can stay where they are for now until the frost comes. I’m actually looking forward to our first frost now, as the carrots need to be sweetened. The turnips continue to be yummy and I’ll post our fun “frugal” recipe next time that we experimented with and loved. A happy Friday and weekend to all!

 

Pizza Dough Recipe

At the request of PEI Island Girl, I’m going to post our favorite pizza dough recipe! Mind you, we make it in our bread machine, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work if you made it by hand, but don’t quote me on that. The recipe makes enough dough for two dough balls, each making a medium/large pizza. And the beauty of it is that you CAN freeze the dough. I like to make a batch up on a Sunday, then throw both balls into the freezer until we’re ready to use them. Easy to work with, delicious, cheap to make, and good for you. Enjoy!

Our Favorite Bread Machine Pizza Dough

1  1/3  cup hot water
1  teaspoon sugar (or honey)
2  teaspoons  salt
2  Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3  1/4  cup bread flour
3/4  cup whole wheat flour
2  1/4  teaspoon yeast (we use the bread machine variety)

Put all ingredients into your bread machine in this order (or however your bread machine calls for wet/dry ingredients) finishing by making a well in the flour and pouring your yeast in there. Select the dough setting and walk away! Once the cycle is finished, pour out onto a lightly floured surface to avoid sticking as you pull the dough into two equal sized portions. Use at once or freeze. 

I apologize, I did find this recipe online a year ago and have since lost where this originally came from. My compliments to the family/individuals who provided it to me and now, to you!

 

Peaches

Saturday morning my husband and I went peach picking for the first time. Hands down there’s nothing better than a fresh, juicy peach right off the tree! It makes those hard as a rock, flavorless things you buy at the supermarket even more displeasing after you have the real deal. And what’s better than fresh peaches? Having the whole orchard to yourself!

*My dear heart trying to make peaches look tough and manly*

*A sample of the harvest*

*Playing around because we could with no one around*

*An afternoon of labor left us with three pints of canned peaches to be enjoyed this winter*

*I couldn’t bring myself to just throw out the peels and little bits of peach that didn’t make the cut, so what better way to make use of them than making a peach infused spirit? We covered our bits of leftovers with a cheap 80 proof vodka, let sit overnight, then strained into a recycled bottle. I can’t get over the color and I think the peels did a great job of swapping out their flavor for the absorption of the terrible impurities of the cheap liquor. It’s a light taste best enjoyed with a splash of citrus soda. Quite the treat!*

 

Responsible vs. Cheaper

Recently I’ve found myself contemplating a lot of our food choices. I’ve been thinking about consumption habits, health, cost, and social responsibility. I’ve been working more whole foods into our diet over the past year, been doing more cooking from scratch, working on getting more fruits and vegetables in our bellies, and I may be on the brink of limiting my husband’s potato chip intake- an exciting breakthrough that he’s considering all by himself! Even with all of these changes and choices, I always return to the overall picture of trying to reduce our weekly grocery bill while remaining healthy. Over the past few months, I have noticed our grocery bill dropping and would love to see it to continue on this downward pattern just a little bit more. The problem is that I have hit a wall, a wall that has me weighing the price of food vs. socially responsible purchases. It seems we live in a world where, when it comes to socially and environmentally responsible food, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Or so, that’s what it seems.

As it is, there are some items in our fridge that I spend a little extra on already because I feel it’s important. The eggs are local (don’t you love the green one?), cheese, butter, and coffee produced in the state, yogurt and coffee are organic, coffee is fair trade and supports a cause, and the cheese company is working to pay local milk producers fair wages. So everything in this picture is bought because it makes me feel good about what I’m buying, and to be honest, all taste a heck of a lot better than their cheaper, generic brand “competition”. But of course, everything is also a lot more expensive than their generic counterparts. However, these items have become such a staple in our diet, I can’t imagine taking a step in the wrong direction and eliminate them, even though it would save us more.

The one food item that has really got me thinking lately is milk. Nationwide and locally, dairy farmers are being hit hard as they are getting paid less for their milk than it costs to produce it. Although some of the bigger farms are tolerating better in this market, small, local farmers are being put our of business and losing their livelihood. I feel terrible hearing about their losses and would love to help, but in order to do that, I need to cough up a few extra bucks and go out of my way to find a buy completely local milk that would be paying the farmers fairly. I was shocked when I realized that there are no local brands of milk for sale at the supermarket we shop at. NONE. Of course the generic brand says they use local milk, but at the price they sell it for, you know the farmers selling it to them are in the red. And this is where I hit the wall. How can I continue to purchase cheap goods when I am aware of other more responsible brands (at a higher, fair cost) and feel okay about what I’m doing?

I want to continue to cut my grocery bill. I’m finding ways of doing this by buying in bulk, trying to eat more “meatless” or reduced meat meals, and eating more whole foods. But when does cutting costs at the expense of others go too far? Where is the cut off point? Which items are more important than others? I know I cannot afford to buy all organic, all fair trade, all local, and all socially/environmentally responsible foods or I would be up to my eyeballs in debt. But where should my dollars go first? It’s a dilemma I need to consider personally but also one I would like to reasearch and hear more from others on.