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crocheted doily rug… for the kitchen

By on April 6, 2016 in Uncategorized

crochet doily rugIMG_0133IMG_0139angora bunnyPopping my head inside to share the new rug I made for the kitchen sink area.  Oh its so cushy!  Just the thing I need to stand on when dinner is over and the sink is piled high.  We all take turns, each one of us doing our share while children claim first, second and last to do dishes (the first people get to pick the dishes so you don’t really want to be last) until the sink is clear and wiped out clean which means that its ok to head to bed, or grab that book anyone of us may have been waiting all day to grab, work on a project, any project, guilt free.  Oh I love that.

I am not completely sold on this being THE ONE for the kitchen but it was super fast to make and its making me happy right now.  I do think that I will eventually create something easier to wash in the near future though, honestly.  The yarn came from here, really, I am just as surprised as you are 🙂  and all I did was pretend to crochet a simple doily with the biggest crochet hook I own.

I am excited to join my friend Ginny again (boy has it been a long time) and now I am popping back outside again because all the weeds out there wait for no man and the violet greens and flowers are at their peek before the blooms dissapear until next year and the greens become too tough to eat.  So we are once again collecting violet flowers outside to dry for tea and to make our violet jelly and enough greens for this weeks salads.  It is surprisingly cold outside again this week which is hard to deal with after we have become accustomed to wearing skirts and tshirts but it does make coming inside such a treat after a day of work outside.

See you tomorrow… I do need to finally share our new kitchen remodel and sometime this week, our maple syrup completed as well as the entire process.  See ya later!

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chokes, sunchokes, jerusalem artichokes

By on April 5, 2016 in Farm and Garden, Uncategorized

jerusalem artichokes harvestIMG_9538IMG_9540IMG_9542IMG_9604IMG_9605IMG_9608 sunchoke tuber IMG_9753 IMG_9755washed and chopped jerusalem artichokes

jerusalem artichokes seasonedIMG_9765roasted sunchokes jerusalem artichokesGardening with my children has been one of the best things I have done with them.  Having a true understanding of where food comes from and what it takes for us to put it on the table is magical and magic is what childhood is all about.  With these warmer spring days upon us, we have been having such a nice time everyday doing a little work here and there.  Finding our work from last season or the season before that is like finding a ten dollar bill in the pocket of an old sweater.

This time it was a bed of jerusalem artichokes or sunchokes as we call them.  We planted them last summer and I meant to pull them up in late fall after a few frosts had hit them to make them sweeter but that never happened and truly, it completely slipped my mind all together.   That is, until Christopher comes running with a dried up plant stalk in one hand and a sunchoke in the other.  What a great surprise for him to find while weeding a bed.  This led into an hour of JP and Chris digging for sunchokes, pulling up one after another.  Some as big as a fist.

How I love seeing their faces light up when they gets to harvest anything.  I wish I could bottle the expression and excitement for this process.  It reminds me of the first time Chris helped dig potatoes.  He was probably 6 and pulling out a potato with his chubby little hands started him down the road of love.  Love of dirt and plants.  Love of planting and waiting.   He is always eager to help me with whatever I am doing out there and always learning and listening.   JP is my walking encyclopedia.  All I have to do is explain something to him once or give him the name of a plant snd he retains it for another time when the information will be helpful.  JP, Christopher and Ronnie are my favorite gardening buddies.  Ronnie is more business.  She and Erica like to get things done.  Just tell them what we need to do out there and they get moving.  These kids of mine, light up like fireflies when we talk and make plans and love farming and all that goes with it.  For me, it is even better than the harvest.  Seeing their enthusiasm and excitement, it keeps me going.

There has been a lot of talk around here (between them but spilling over to me) about expanding the garden and dare I say, growing and raising food for others.  Right now, its just talk and plans but I hear my little farmers and entrepeneurs making grander plans and I sit back and take a deep breath remembering that we are not in Florida.  We don’t have as big a circle here and very little community but all in due time.

This harvest was a bushel full.  We have roasted and boiled a few.  Replanted the smaller tubers and scrubbed up the rest to keep in the refrigerator.  Nutty and slightly sweet, very much like a potato but a little sweet and totally delicious.  The first harvest of this year, discovered by mistake.  A reminder of a warm summer day when we put those 4 little tubers in the ground and let the soil do its thing.  4 tubers turned into 60.  That is my kind of math!

Our favorite way to cook them so far is to boil in salted water for a few minutes and then toss in oil, thyme, salt and garlic and roast till crispy and the sugars have caramelized on the edges a bit.  So good!!  If you want an easy root veggie to plant, this is an unstoppable and pretty much takes care of itself with just a little watering here and there.

So now we wait to enjoy the beautiful sunflower looking blooms to come up and know that someday in the fall, we will be pulling up another bushel or two to enjoy and feed our family.  Unless that is, if I forget 🙂

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