Who's my pretty baby?

Tres and I have been (finally) getting some things up on the walls, now that we've organized and arranged the larger things around here. I just hung the photo above and thought it was worth sharing. I came across it a few years ago at my parents' house and I just think it's kind of amazing (they're all so serious, yet she's holding a baby goat on her lap!). The little baby is my grandfather (my mother's father), being held by his mother. I don't know who any of the other people are, although I assume that they're other family members (one of the young ladies on the far left is likely his older sister, the one sitting looks a little more like her to me). I'd guess it's 1918, based on my grandfather's age, so during World War I (hence the dirth of males in the photo). I find photos from this time so enigmatic. I guess it's the serious faces and the posing (rather than more candid/action shots), but they make me so curious about their daily lives and what was going on.

Meow kitty, meow so pretty

Here's Silas's kitty. I'm referring to him as Sleepy Kitty, as he can't stand up (due to the combination of a giant noggin and under-stuffed legs - that's what makes homemade toys special, right?) and because I gave him sleeping eyes (I'm with you on cat eyes, both real and artistically imagined, being pretty creepy, Matt). I've been excited to be doing a little sewing these past few weeks and am planning to get down to some more right now, while my mom is here for a quick visit. Happy Monday!

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

HAPPY WEEKEND!

I've really  been enjoying havinge flowers blooming inside this winter

Something delicious:I've made this several times now and it's been consistently great. I really like it with cranberries (as he suggests, I just dump in a bag of frozen  berries), but am planning to try it with some of our frozen cherries and/or blueberries this winter too.

Something neat: One of our dearest friends and her gentleman are trying their hands at homesteading (or something thereabouts) - it's been super exciting reading about their exploits thus far and we're eagerly anticipating the next installment.

Something to read: I expect that even those without children, having once been children themselves, will appreciate this. The bath water reference has been especially making me giggle lately. Even better is listening to Isaiah Sheffer's reading of it on Selected Shorts, if you can find it.

Something to make: I started one of these for Silas yesterday. He's become very interested in cats, both his own and those in books, and now meows (sounding uncannily like Tiger) whenever he sees one, so I figured he should have one of his own. His will be a bit more subdued, orange striped flannel with brown felt stripes.

Tiger and Jane get a little time in the spotlight

Warm woolen mittens

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Tres has had these pants hanging to dry for a week

now, but it hasn't warmed up enough for them to thaw

Something delicious: I thought that this recipe from earlier in the week was worth sharing; it's an adaptation of Marian Morash's colcannon (which is also delicious!).

2 medium onions
1 pound savoy cabbage (any cabbage is fine), chopped
2 pounds potatoes (we especially like waxy potatoes, like yellow finns or yukon golds)
butter
milk
salt
pepper

Add whole potatoes to large pot of boiling, salted water. Turn down to a low simmer and cook until they can be pierced easily with a fork (usually about 30 - 45 minutes, depending on size). Near the end of the potatoes' cooking time, dice one onion and cook it in two tablespoons of butter until soft and glassy. Add cabbage* and stir until coated in butter. Put a lid over your pan and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove lid, add salt and pepper to taste, turn up heat to medium high and cook until all liquid is evaporated and cabbage is slightly seared (stir often to keep it from burning, should take about 5 minutes). Set onion and cabbage aside. Slice second onion and cook it in one tablespoon of butter over medium heat, until caramelized and brown (adding a pinch of sugar here will help). Mash your potatoes (I like to use a ricer, it takes the skins off for you and is super speedy), adding a little milk and butter until they reach your desired consistency. Stir in cabbage and onion mixture, taste, and add additional salt and pepper as needed. Pour caramelized onions over top and serve. We often eat this as a meal, but it's also an easy and delicious side dish.

*Taste your cabbage and if it's bitter, blanch it before chopping (add it to a pot of boiling water, return the pot to a boil, then drain it) and leave out the covered cooking step above.

Something neat: As a big fan of pasta, this tickled my fancy.

Something to read: I just finished this a few days ago and really enjoyed it. The writing style isn't totally my bag, but the content was so interesting, that it didn't really matter. My only real beef is that I would have liked more photos (I'm totally a sucker for the glossy section of biographies and this one didn't have one!).

Something to make: I've been daydreaming about planting a succulent garden (there are a few cacti out there already, so I imagine that it would be pretty low maintenance, if we chose the right plants) and thought that this had some lovely inspiration photos.

 A boy and his kitty

I'm putting all my eggs in one basket

Raising our own hens means that our egg supply is not always consistent. Depending on their maturity, the time of year, etc., we can find ourselves lucky to get a few eggs a week at times and then, at others, can be hard pressed to find enough takers for our surplus. Our hens were not as prolific this summer as they had been the year before, but we were able to build up a stockpile of about 40 eggs in the fridge by the time we got our new chickens a few months ago.* While I ended up  being pretty happy with the eggs that I froze last year, I was curious if there were any other suggestions or techniques out there for hanging onto your eggs. I came upon this article, which quite thoroughly investigated this question and determined (*spoiler alert*): put 'em in a carton in the fridge. So, that's what we did and it turned out to be an excellent strategy. I just used the last two last night and not a one had spoiled. I was pretty cautious each time that I used them (it is suggested that you break them into a bowl to check for spoiling before adding them to whatever you're working on), giving them a good sniff prior to adding them to my concoctions, but they all passed. Now, to make them last this long, I've pretty much kept myself to using them as an ingredient, rather than the main dish, so I can't speak to how well they have kept their texture or flavor over this time, but they have performed appropriately in baked dishes. So, hooray for the surprisingly long-lived egg!

Silas and the new hens keep an eye on each other

*I meant to write an entire post regarding this and didn't quite get there, but getting new chicks meant it was time for a changing of the guard. It is not prudent for us to continue caring for and feeding birds that do not produce eggs, but that, of course, does not make it any easier. It was with heavy hearts, grateful for their hard work (not only providing us with eggs, but also eating up our bugs and fertilizing the yard), that we quickly and humanely ended their lives. We will use them to make stock throughout the winter, as we continue to feel grateful for their contributions to our health and lives here.

Plant a carrot, get a carrot, not a Brussels sprout

I once saw Brussels Sprouts at a market labeled as

"little green balls of death" and even though

that doesn't really reflect my opinion, I can't

help but think of it whenever I see some

Today, an ode to Brussels sprouts. I harvested these beauties from the garden last week and they were mighty fine. We didn't get a huge yield this year (what you see above is about half of our total), as we got them in a little late for our weather. We're still trying to work out the best time to plant them, so that they can grow into the winter, but also yield a maximum number of sprouts. The scarcity this year, though, has just made them all the more precious. I realize that they're not everyone's cup of tea, but I expect that's only because they haven't had good ones. Fresh, small sprouts, prepared well, are really one of life's treats. We typically just cut them in half and fry them in a little butter and salt until they're soft (they should still have a little crunch - the mushiness that comes from boiling them is often what people dislike about them), splashing on a little lemon juice at the end. Pairing them with bacon is often a popular choice and, obviously, delicious as is adding some salty cheese like parmesan. We tried this last week, using the wonderful preserved lemons my sister gave us for Christmas, and enjoyed it thoroughly. So go, seek out a winter farmer's market and find yourself some sprouts - you won't be disappointed! 

Bright copper kettles

HAPPY WEEKEND!

We had a little flurry this morning and are
possibly due some more snow this weekend 

Something delicious: We had these for breakfast last Sunday. It was a little tricky mixing at first (our mixer was much happier once we switched the paddle out for the dough hook, but maybe that's just us) and we subbed turbinado sugar for the big chunks (it's what we had), but otherwise we followed the recipe quite faithfully. I'm seriously digging on this cookbook so far (see, I told you I'd be writing about it again).

Something neat: Tres and I have listened to a few of their shows and it's pretty fun. I especially recommend it for unwinding at the end of the day, perhaps with a warm and/or relaxing beverage?

Something to read: We received this from some dear friends for Christmas and have really been enjoying it. It covers a lot of the useful basics of farm life in a manner that is appealing to both adults and children, aided in no small part by stupendous drawings, and is just plain entertaining. While it is, of course, directly relevant to our lives, I think it could be engaging and interesting to anyone who picked it up.

Something to make: I've been looking at this for awhile. I think I'd like to have one in the living room at night, but it would also make a neat nightlight for a child or a useful aid/project for teaching children about constellations.

Better throw in a picture of this guy too

It's cheese, it's cheese, it's cheese that makes the mice go 'round

The recipe made about 3 times this many and

this is how many are left 15 hrs later - be forewarned

As often happens in the new year, when hope and energy are both high, I've been getting to some things that have been on my list for quite awhile. Last night, it was making cheese crackers. While that might not seem particularly earth shattering, it actually kind of was (at least for me). We've  been in need of some easy to grab snacking material around here for awhile, but I've been simultaneously planning to and avoiding making my own crackers because I was sure they were going to be too labor intensive (what with the rolling and the cutting, etc.). Turns out, not at all. All you do is throw the ingredients in the food processor (grating the cheese is the most time consuming part of this and it takes all of a couple of minutes), blend them into a dough, refrigerate them while you put your child to bed, and then roll, cut, and bake them (which is really no big whoop). I used the recipe from here (an already much beloved Christmas gift - I'm sure this won't be the last time I mention it), but I couldn't find it online and don't want to violate anyone's copyright. This is quite similar, although with some fancier additions (mustard and paprika, I assume to more closely approximate a Cheez-It). Either one is certainly open to interpretation. I was thinking I might try some black pepper next time.

*Updated to add: these start to get stale after about 2 days, even in an airtight container, so go with your instincts and scarf them by the handful.*

Peach, plum, pear

As we work our way through this winter's pantry, I've been thinking about numbers and recipes and making some notes for next year. Today, I want to talk about pears. While there are a lot of flashier fruits out there, both in appearance and flavor, I think pears might actually be my favorite. Ok, so I might change my mind when it's berry season or the stone fruits are ripe, but right now I am seriously digging them. I know that I complained about preparing them (note to self: this year, less complaining!), but the results have been pretty darn spectacular. The preserves, while maybe a touch too sweet for my taste, are delicious. The pear butter is lovely. What I'm really enjoying, though, was the easiest to prepare: pear sauce. Just a little spice and pureed pears. . . Silas digs it and so do I. I'm already thinking about how much more I'd like to have next year (is processing 80 lb. crazy?). Also, a quick google search indicates that you can blanch pears, much like one would a peach or a tomato for canning, and it greatly improves the peeling process. I don't know why that hadn't crossed my mind earlier (say, when I was in the throes of peeling pears), but it's welcome news nonetheless. Oh the possibilities!

Whiskers on kittens

As is true for most people, I would imagine, the internet and I have something of a love-hate relationship. On the one hand, I love how easily I can find information and learn new things and am constantly inspired by the creativity of others. On the other, I am easily sucked in, leaving me little time for creativity of my own. All of this is to say that I'm trying a new experiment today, sharing a few things that I've found interesting online. Hopefully, they will serve to engage and inspire and won't send you down the rabbit hole.

Our lumberjack gnome wishes

you a wonderful weekend

Something delicious: Maple sours - take my word on this one, it's a keeper (enjoying the taste of bourbon/whiskey is key here).

Something neat: When I was in grad school and commuting between home, teaching, and school every day, I did a lot of reading. One of the train stations had a "take a book, leave a book" cart and it was really a perfect find for me that year. It was so easy to grab a book at the beginning of the week and switch it for a new one when I was finished, all on my way between activities and without the hemming and hawing that so often plagues me with a larger collection. The Little Free Library operates on the same idea, emphasizing the idea of sharing books with people who might not have easy access to a larger library. It is neat.

Something to read: This article is a few months old, but it's one that I keep thinking about. We want so much for our children to be successful and happy, that it can seem a bit counterintuitive to think that less parental involvement would help them to become so. Yet it's pretty clear (both from my observations of children in my teaching practice and from my own growing up) that encouraging people to be autonomous and allowing them to learn from their own decisions is most beneficial to their overall development. It's a tricky balance to find as a parent and I think that I will have to be pretty mindful of my own tendencies to want to help and overly praise as Silas gets older. While these ideas come pretty naturally to me as a teacher, it really is different when it's your own child. Logic (knowing that letting him get a little frustrated when he can't figure something out will eventually lead to a greater sense of accomplishment when he does it himself) often competes with my soppy maternalistic tendencies (I hate to see him frustrated, why don't I just show him the first time?). These certainly aren't new ideas, but this is a concise and interesting synthesis that is worth a read.

Something to make: These ice wreaths are really only practical for those who live places where it stays freezing most of the day, which does happen to have been us most of this week, but there has to be some benefit to enduring endlessly chilly winter weather. Plus, they're awfully pretty.

The beet goes on*

Deconstructed borscht (shredded beets,
canned tomatoes, bacon, and cabbage not shown)

Yesterday, we had our first borscht of the season, a bit later than usual, and I was struck again by how perfectly suited it is to this time of year. I know that I've written about it before, but I feel as though I rediscover its perfection every year. Aside from the obvious benefit of warming one up during cold weather, we also tend to have all of the ingredients on hand for most of the winter. Admittedly, this happens a bit by design (have I mentioned that I love borscht?), but it is also because they are all storable/able to grow during this time of year. While I tend to stick pretty closely to the recipe I posted earlier, it would be so easily adaptable to other wintry items you might have on hand. No potatoes? How about a few turnips? Or parsnips? Or rutabagas? No cabbage? How about shredded Brussels Sprouts? Or kale? There's something just so beautiful to me about a recipe that utilizes a number of fresh ingredients during a season that we tend to think of as not offering a lot. It doesn't hurt that it's pretty delicious too.

Silas is also a fan (and yes, eating borscht
is a shirtless activity)

* I am fully aware that that's the worst, punniest title ever, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

There's a patch of snow on the ground

As I headed out to the winter garden yesterday, I realized I'd better grab a few shots, as it will only be another month or so until it's time to till it up and get ready for this year's garden. Tres has been spending some quality time with his catalogues and the garden spreadsheet, happily working on what I'm pretty sure is his favorite part of gardening. While we dream about the coming year's tastiness, here are a couple of shots from yesterday's foraging (if you look closely, you may be able to see some of the pieces of ice that were still attached from the morning's dew - after an unseasonably warm December, it's definitely winter here now!).

tasty sprouts!

row of kale

yum

rutabaga

What's new? How is the world treating you?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We had a terrific, if brief, week in Portland with our families and friends and are now back home and back to work, with lots of plans and schemes for the coming year.

We hope that you had wonderful holidays and that you are entering the new year with pluck, resolve, and perhaps a little wind in your hair.