tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828922466627298262012-01-21T15:08:45.437-05:00Marynoreply@blogger.comBlogger8991100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-83207717004640233452012-01-12T11:49:00.000-05:002012-01-12T11:49:20.518-05:00

The wind is just howling - the roads slick with a coating of a couple inches of snow and a little bit of ice. I need to go out and feed and water the cows and check on the chickens, but I'm dreading putting myself outside the back door! Days like today I like to bake bread and make soup. Today I was supposed to drive to a conference in Burlington and is taking a snow day instead. You can't even

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-125107061555904282011-12-21T12:49:00.002-05:002011-12-21T12:49:27.116-05:00

Today I'm taking a little time to roast 10lbs of red peppers, roast a pound of green coffee beans, and make home made ice cream. For dinner we're having meatloaf and then a carrot cake to celebrate Bob's birthday. So, today is a great cooking and baking day. With the rain and fog outside - it's perfect to hang out in the kitchen. We're picking up our beef this week. The cow was a very noisy one

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-83561953082464048262011-12-16T23:03:00.001-05:002011-12-16T23:03:11.522-05:00

Well, I'm stumped. I made camembert, kimchi, and caramels this year, but the cuckoo clock can't be fixed! And the model train is making me cuckoo too! I am not so great at fixing things I think.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-58804395005819087482011-12-16T08:51:00.001-05:002011-12-16T08:51:47.560-05:00

Making cornbread and stew this morning. And some veggie broth with some veggies in the fridge that don't look super fresh anymore. I keep doing that every other week or so rather than throwing slightly tired vegetables out. I use the vegetable broth from the freezer then, every time I want to make soup and want a nice flavorful base to start. I'm also roasting red peppers today. I bought 11lbs

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-82152779153115395092011-12-15T09:54:00.000-05:002011-12-15T09:54:19.031-05:00

Working from a home-based office is often a real challenge, especially at this time of year when the pressure is on to finish end of the year activities for all the grants we receive while needing to get ready for Christmas. In past years I've been part time in my work, so I've handled the crunch -- starting next year it will be different as the projects we've taken on get more numerous and

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-63376903571905440442011-12-13T18:19:00.000-05:002011-12-13T18:19:21.890-05:00

I buffed the silver, shined the brass, and washed windows the last 2 days. I'm getting ready for the holidays and even though we're not entertaining much, I wanted to have things just so. So, I'm dusting and vacuuming, straightening and throwing stuff away - hoping to have the place in order for all the holiday cheer. It's time to be of good cheer!

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-77207935646275781752011-12-09T16:20:00.001-05:002011-12-09T16:31:26.690-05:00

These are the major chores I tackled since the end of May 2011 - it feels good to have done so much this year! May Clothes – went through all the closets and drawers Kitchen drawers, cabinets, counters - got rid of broken things, sorted items, got new spices Put in vegetable garden Put furniture outside June - Cleaned pantry Cleaned out fridges and

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-4142742395143306112011-12-08T08:10:00.001-05:002011-12-08T08:22:50.085-05:00

Snow - is winter almost here? The paddock is still muddy, but the bull has gone back to his home and the younger cow sent off to be processed. It's just the 4 month old calf and the old cow now. They crowded into the barn this morning to get their hay and water. Too cold to run the house out to water tank in the field this morning, so I carried two buckets out to fill the heated buckets in the

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-81393512305740656692011-11-23T10:32:00.001-05:002011-11-23T10:35:53.379-05:00

I'm making the pies today, for the big feast. I am roasting pumpkins grown in our garden. I'm also making my own mincemeat, without suet or meat -- but with apples from the local orchard, raisins and spices. I usually buy the jarred mincemeat and then add more fresh apples and plump raisins, but this year I didn't shop early in the week and now the roads are icy - and I just don't want to go out

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-3940941334808455132011-11-20T16:49:00.001-05:002011-11-20T17:34:36.782-05:00

It's November 20 and 60F outside at dusk tonight. Wow. We took a walk up on the ridge an hour ago and  loved the way the warm wind blew the dry leaves. Came back to see the sun setting over Mt. Aeolus -- pinks and golds. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky we are. The last several days I've been working hard on a new funding proposal for our policy work. Multiple projects, aiming to improve the

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-53705300955167856272011-11-17T10:46:00.001-05:002011-11-17T11:10:50.709-05:00

I'm making bread today - so I can make apple bread pudding this weekend. I'll make 4 loaves - Mama's bread -  3 cups of white flour - I use King Arthur 2 tsp instant yeast - not the kind you need to "proof" in warm water 1 1/2 tsp salt 3 T honey 4 T butter 1 cup or so of water I put all the ingredients in my food processor, except the water and blend it together. I turn the machine on and add

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-44008428068341158992011-11-16T11:46:00.001-05:002011-11-16T11:51:44.116-05:00

Cleaning the barn - what a chore. I need to pull the truck in and fill the bed up with lots of junk to go straight to the dump. But, this is the perfect time of year to go through all the junk we've accumulated. In past years I've used some of the stuff and then reused it again - grain sacks become ground cover on the paths in the garden and plastic pots from the nursery are used to grow

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-29415967106710208122011-11-15T10:52:00.001-05:002011-11-15T11:00:38.710-05:00

I came back home from a conference and had to clean out the fridge and make a list of things to get to refill it. When I go away, the guys don't eat real food. I make them soups and stock the fridge but it all ends up going bad. So, I'll make sure there's plenty of cheddar and tortillas in there for their nightly burritos, and be done with it next time! I should be happy that they like things

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-72876705254108651202011-11-14T09:02:00.001-05:002011-11-14T09:24:22.403-05:00

I've been traveling a lot with work. Before I left I had to get certain chores at the farm on "auto-pilot". Chores -  1. feeding and watering the cows - Lots of large animal mouths to feed and water these days: We have the bull here now for breeding our cow. We also have one cow to go for processing, hopefully soon. So - with the mama cow and her baby calf from this past summer, we have 4 to

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-91882432097820581862011-10-29T10:54:00.000-04:002011-10-29T10:54:16.031-04:00

Today I'm making bread and a big pot of vegetable soup. I already roasted the coffee for this week. A big nor'easter is coming through here today and tonight. I closed up the coop, fed the cows, and now it's time to set up a fire in the woodstove and do a little cooking.

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-59541940405366018292011-10-03T09:52:00.001-04:002011-10-03T09:52:09.623-04:00

I've spent the summer touching everything I own. Not in a weird sort of way, but i needed to go through all our cabinets, drawers, closets, and cubbies to get rid of things we don't need. I even dumped photos that were blurry or duplicates from shoeboxes and from computer folders. Several trips to the dump later, my house feels organized and settled. The exercise, coming as our youngest child

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-90057928826027090802011-09-26T10:48:00.000-04:002011-09-26T10:48:45.784-04:00

It is gorgeous here. We still haven't had a frost and the garden is thriving. Today I'm picking a new crop of lettuce. There's more green beans and cukes, tomatoes, tomatillos, and broccoli side shoots. I might make one more batch of dill pickles. Today, I'm going to make some chocolate pudding.  I have all the ingredients - chocolate, cream, eggs, and espresso powder. Making chocolate pudding

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-85024595986822945862011-09-22T14:14:00.000-04:002011-09-22T14:14:50.638-04:00

I have to be the queen of using up veggies from the garden before they rot in the fridge. I've made veggie stock, veggie soups, veggie pizzas, and veggie tarts in the last few weeks. I've dried, frozen, pickled and/or canned tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, carrots, beets, butternut squash, tomatillos -- hot peppers...you name it. Veggie Tart -- search for recipes online - but here

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-79812071230071684502011-09-18T08:56:00.001-04:002011-09-18T08:56:07.232-04:00

I love equations. 200 apples + 12 cups of sugar + a few quarts of water + heat = 21 quarts of applesauce Why so much? We always run out, and I wanted to bring it to the girls in their apartments too. I love applesauce with our meats in the winter too, and with greek yogurt or cottage cheese for lunch. I love saving summer in a jar on the shelf. And it's canned food, but it tastes like sunshine

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-57631544111678589072011-09-17T10:12:00.000-04:002011-09-17T10:12:53.302-04:00

Two projects today -- make 2 bushels of apples into applesauce for canning, and round up a crew of volunteers to get a damage assessment survey out to residents who live on the backroads of Londonderry, Vermont. Applesauce is easy - let's hope the volunteers turn out!

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-31101860529208485702011-09-15T09:44:00.000-04:002011-09-15T09:44:47.504-04:00

I'm picking the winter squash and pumpkins today because the temperatures are supposed to fall below 40F tonight. I'll keep the items in the basement where the humidity is fairly high to keep them from drying out. Usually I can wait until the skins are very hard before harvesting the winter squash, but with the temps turning cold I don't want to risk losing everything to frost. I'll let them

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-50332483462128706192011-09-15T08:35:00.000-04:002011-09-15T08:35:41.995-04:00

Last night I was craving a little sweet. I should keep some hard candy in the house for times like this, but instead I went rooting around in the fridge for ingredients to make something good. I hit the jackpot -- there was whole milk, heavy cream and a pint of fresh raspberries. These ingredients are never there at the same time unless I plan it for a recipe --- but not this time. After checking

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-39386745448735175222011-09-13T21:47:00.001-04:002011-09-13T21:49:01.770-04:00

Scones are so easy if you remember the basic recipe -- Combine the dry ingredients - 2 cups of flour 1/2tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 c sugar Using a pastry blender -- blend in 6 T of cold butter Then add the blended wet ingredients - 3/4 c milk, or cream, or buttermilk 1 large egg Stir a few times and then add in 3/4 cup of dry ingredients - such as raisins,

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-21074020052284466472011-09-13T12:56:00.000-04:002011-09-13T12:56:31.572-04:00

I had a bushel of pears that we enjoyed, but the last 20 or so were getting very ripe fast and needed to be consumed or were in danger of being added to the compost bin. Last year, I canned a bushel in quart jars with a light syrup but for some reason no one ate them. This year, I thought I could dehydate some and add the bits to granola, or cook the pears down into a chutney, but instead -- I

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-23510588644880354332011-09-12T10:24:00.000-04:002011-09-12T10:24:35.577-04:00

My eldest daughter emailed yesterday asking for our family's pesto recipe. The middle child (another adult) emailed today looking for our Thai beef salad recipe. Here are both - taken from other sources and made more local and personal by years and years of use. Pesto - 3-4 cloves garlic 1/4 pound of reggiano romano 1/4 pound of parmigiano 1 tsp kosher salt 1/2 c pine nuts 4 cups of basil tops

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-71648100599840625702011-09-11T18:35:00.000-04:002011-09-11T18:35:17.957-04:00

Tonight we're having skirt steaks, mashed potatoes, roasted butternut squash and green beans all from our farm. Simple foods, cooked without sauces -- just a little salt, butter, and some love.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-86055002843262248592011-09-11T15:54:00.000-04:002011-09-11T15:54:22.819-04:00

I am still getting a lot out of the garden. Today - amish paste tomatoes, haricot verts, okra, cukes, butternut squash, broccoli side shoots, and carrots. What a great success the garden has been this year. Bob reminds me that I've also spent a lot more time in the garden this year - weeding, watering, dealing with bugs and mildew, staking, and pruning the blueberry bushes. The cows got me

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-81698595828457890782011-09-09T19:25:00.000-04:002011-09-09T19:25:02.898-04:00

I made salsa from our tomatillos, and another one from our tomatoes tonight. I love it when we eat our steak on the grill, homemade bread, salsas, and greenbeans from the garden. Yum! I'm still a big proponent of eating local. We're really enjoying the summer harvest, even now into September. We're sauteing leftover mashed potatoes from our garden, making delicious

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-17265904220928573242011-09-04T09:51:00.000-04:002011-09-04T09:51:57.676-04:00

I'm cleaning and getting rid of stuff. I rearranged and cleaned out all my kitchen cabinets. I realized when my middle child went to move into her apartment at college that I could easily outfit another kitchen. So many things and I'm only using half of them. So I've gone through my drawers and cabinets looking for things I can give away for people who've lost their homes in the flooding. I've

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-61749432208150275592011-08-29T14:42:00.000-04:002011-08-29T14:42:06.363-04:00

Wow - this storm has been amazing. I'm trying to get my daughter to Boston, but all the roads out of this region are closed. And not closed with a tree down, but closed because major highway bridges have been washed away. I don't know how they will get food, gas, medical supplies in and people out to hospitals if they can't repair them quickly. What i really want to make clear is that for the

Marynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-64074061188140437142011-08-28T14:34:00.001-04:002011-08-29T17:02:47.367-04:00

The photo to the left is what Mad Tom Brook normally looks like.  The photos following are from the storm. Can you see the water flowing through the woods? this is the effect of Hurricane Irene -- 2 bridges washed out -- homes evacuated -- lots of property damage.

Marynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-49288224127590847642011-08-28T14:19:00.000-04:002011-08-28T14:19:37.698-04:00

Largely a rain event in southwestern Vermont. Not much wind. We felt a little silly with all the preparations we took, while one neighbor left a 2-story ladder leaning against his house, and people left potted plants and lawn furniture outside. I am so glad though that we took the precautions. The basement is staying fairly dry, the cows seem ok, and the power is staying on. Further up the road

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-10853273343100967362011-08-27T09:44:00.000-04:002011-08-27T09:44:42.274-04:00

we're getting ready for a tropical storm -- we repacked the freezers into just one - the chest freezer, putting meats in the bottom, and then veggies i preserved on top. we also put the freezer up on cinderblocks in case the basement floods. we also cleaned a lot of junk out of the basement yesterday so that if it does flood, we're not cleaning dirty junk out of the basement. we'll put a few hay

Marynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-83546579102110317532011-08-25T14:59:00.000-04:002011-08-25T14:59:28.635-04:00

Basic muffin recipe -- combine dry ingredients - 2 1/2 c flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp salt cream together: 1 c sugar 1/2 butter then add 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla Add wet and dry ingredients, then add: for apple muffins - 2 c applesauce, 1 c chopped walnuts for banana muffins - 3 large bananas mashed, 1 c. chopped pecans place batter in 12 cupcake papers,

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-29042871045286095132011-08-25T11:53:00.000-04:002011-08-25T11:53:41.017-04:00

As items from the orchard and garden come into season, it's nice to have a group of recipes to make use of the delicious food. I also hate searching out a cookbook or researching online everytime i want to make something. I'll post some of the core recipes that we use in the days to come. These are the categories of recipes that I use for the produce as it comes in, to use it up before it goes

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-41893882443958686372011-08-22T15:19:00.000-04:002011-08-22T15:19:37.565-04:00

My daughters came home this weekend. One brought her friends from school. She told us that she's always bragging about Vermont. She said she loves how pretty it is here all year long and how good the food is. I sent her friends back to school with a cooler of hamburger, eggs, jams, honey, and maple syrup. I'm making cheese today and I wish I could have had that on hand for them.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-48658666504757956562011-08-22T10:26:00.000-04:002011-08-22T10:26:58.072-04:00

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-73421126596294075252011-08-16T22:29:00.001-04:002011-08-16T22:30:14.176-04:00

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-59192867514724484582011-08-16T11:53:00.000-04:002011-08-16T11:53:10.708-04:00

Two days of heavy rain -- will make the grass grow for the cows and the green beans grow in the garden! Very nice, but kinda dreary. Making pesto and raspberry jam today. I will also work on dehydrating peaches!

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-66518233838047353222011-08-15T17:01:00.000-04:002011-08-15T17:01:29.675-04:00

We didn't organize the collective garden this year. But we did get together as a group last night, thanks to Marie and Bob. It was great to see everyone. We brought a green bean salad to the pot luck -- tossing cooked beans with feta, vidalia onions, grape tomatoes, and a balsamic vinaigrette seasoned with a little mustard and maple syrup. It was good. We ordered parmesan and romano from Black

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-2948695657130408222011-08-15T16:01:00.001-04:002011-08-15T16:01:20.304-04:00

I had so many lovely peaches that i froze some for ice cream -- the photo up top is what we've made recently.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-33724382390927796892011-08-15T15:58:00.000-04:002011-08-15T15:58:11.674-04:00

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-81554317054190118762011-08-02T19:37:00.000-04:002011-08-02T19:37:31.215-04:00

Today - I did some preserving of the good foods we grow and those we can buy locally. I have already put up blueberry jam, peach jam, and raspberry jam. I've made blueberry pie, peach pie, and peach ice cream too. Today, I froze a lot of food in plastic freezer bags - - 1/2 bushel of haricot verts from my garden, blanched first for 3 min. - 1/2 bushel of red peppers cut up - shelled english

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-45869193251720962642011-07-14T11:50:00.000-04:002011-07-14T11:50:39.090-04:00

The vegetable garden was put in late this year -- but with all the rain and cool weather, I don't think the early planters did themselves much good. All is thriving now. We had some cucumber beetles on the squash and cukes, but i used rotenone. I read about rotenone when the beetles started to eat the plants down to the ground. This was a few years ago. It's very toxic to fish. But it comes from

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-39072821480214501142011-06-01T06:53:00.000-04:002011-06-01T06:53:42.024-04:00

Finally the vegetable garden is fully in - surrounded by an electronet fence to keep the critters away. 8 raised beds, 8x8' in size, each held together with 2x8" boards in various states of decay. I planted 6 tomato plants -- all paste tomatoes, 4 tomatillos, thai dragon hot peppers and jalapenos. Broccoli plants stand guard over newly planted haricot vert and beet seeds. Cucumber seeds should

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-30760139343768135632011-05-26T15:41:00.000-04:002011-05-26T15:41:21.785-04:00

To Do List -- this is what's on my list. what's on yours? flower gardens -- get plants, seeds, weed, edge, mulch veggie garden -- weed out large burdocks, add composted manure to raised beds, plant potatoes, seeds, buy and plant plants, mulch, move turkey tractor to the garden to cover with plastic for tomato, melon mini-greenhouse fruit trees and bushes -- too late to prune and feed. Start a

Marynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-6664314253392827072011-05-25T09:14:00.000-04:002011-05-25T09:14:37.768-04:00

i love spring. planting gardens. new calves. asparagus and strawberries. spring is a poem of downpours and   green.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-74367460403310718712011-05-18T09:31:00.000-04:002011-05-18T09:31:10.539-04:00

I've been hearing from friends who've already planted spinach, peas, potatoes, onions, and other spring crops. I've been ignoring the garden for the most part. Saturday, I'll fill the eight 8x8 foot raised beds with composted manure. I won't weed or turn over the dirt already in the boxes. I'm finding that less is more when dealing with the soil. I just keep adding good soil to the top of the

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-36522866580621256362011-03-27T20:46:00.000-04:002011-03-27T20:46:09.771-04:00

Saturday's boil yielded 1 3/4 gallons -- with a jar going to a friend who donated a little sap. I'm loving boiling this year -- we're finally getting it down to a science.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-85799350711150132932011-03-27T20:45:00.000-04:002011-03-27T20:45:16.223-04:00

Bob made homemade hash tonight - and we had toasted wheat bread with eggs and hash. Homemade hash -- 1 lb of corned beef from our cows -- processed in the food processor and fried in a pan with sweet onion, red pepper, potato dice from precooked potatoes, half and half, a little thyme, cayenne, and garlic. Homemade wheat bread -- 2 cups white whole wheat, 1 cup unbleached flour, 2 tsp instant

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-80730485391125605132011-03-24T17:55:00.000-04:002011-03-24T17:55:18.953-04:00

I took 1 cup of maple syrup, 1/2 cup of ketchup, 2 tablespoons of mustard, 2 tablespoons of worcestershire - and whipped it together. I slathered 8 loin pork chops in a roasting pan with the glaze. Baked for 30 minutes in 350F oven -- mmmmmmmm.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-22782553722882186952011-03-24T10:25:00.000-04:002011-03-24T10:25:45.769-04:00

While working on the boil yesterday - I also worked on the taxes, some of my regular work, and errands - I just set the timer to check the outside operation every 20 minutes. I also made bread and roasted one of the  chickens we raised last summer, serving it for dinner with homefries and steamed snow peas. It felt great to get so much done. Tonight we'll have pork chops, which i might search

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-87316554434142817902011-03-24T10:02:00.001-04:002011-03-24T10:18:05.553-04:00

We started the fire yesterday at noon, and at 2am I had finished a gallon and a quarter of grade a maple syrup. 1" of depth in our pan is 6 gallons of sap. I knew I had around 44 gallons of sap and that I'd get a little more than a gallon of syrup - and by measuring the depth in the pan, I could tell how concentrated the sap was becoming. Here's the timeline -- 12pm -- started fire and put 35

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-63192080186789931562011-03-20T16:22:00.000-04:002011-03-20T16:22:10.060-04:00

I had a cow processed a couple weeks ago and so we had to make room for hundreds of pounds of beef in the chest freezer. We had a roast, a package of ground beef, a package of stew meat, and 30 pounds of spare ribs. We decided to boil the spare ribs to make a rich beef broth. With the beef broth I made a splendid minestrone. The friends who came to help us boil last night ate a dinner of

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-86276868301216114252011-03-20T16:05:00.001-04:002011-03-20T16:05:07.613-04:00

what a gorgeous day for sugaring! We ended up finishing off yesterday's boil this morning and ended up with 1 1/2 gallons of medium grade syrup. I'm thrilled.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-9736786694536980372011-03-20T08:57:00.000-04:002011-03-20T08:57:59.620-04:00

We've been so busy in our lives -- but we made some time to tap our maple trees. Last weekend I pulled all the stuff together, washed it thoroughly, and went outside to tap the trees. We have 31 taps now - in 25 trees. We boiled last night -- a total of 70 gallons of sap we saved this week. This morning we're finishing off more than 1 1/2 gallons of syrup.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-50780002257738306082011-02-25T09:52:00.000-05:002011-02-25T09:52:14.766-05:00

It's snowing today -- another 5-12 inches due. I hate the way dirty snow looks, but it's hard to think about tapping maple trees when it's snowing so hard. Today I'll lug everything out and take a look at our supplies. I'll wash everything and set it out to dry. We'll move the cinder blocks and fire brick from the barn and set up our fire box for the back porch after it stops snowing. We plan to

Marynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-49207680428712509472011-02-24T07:51:00.000-05:002011-02-24T07:51:15.214-05:00

I made pulled pork last night from a pork shoulder from Barb Muench's hogs. She sold us 1/2 of one from our collective this fall. Typically I put the roast in a crock pot and let it cook for a day. Then I pull it out and take off all the fat and the bones. I shred the meat and put it aside while I make the bbq sauce. This is the bbq sauce I always make -- BBQ sauce -- 1 sweet onion - chopped

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-30491121416568396112011-02-12T00:25:00.000-05:002011-02-12T00:25:17.840-05:00

Poor little calf has some type of external parasite I think -- she's losing patches of hair. Vet is coming on Monday to see her. We're also getting her de-polled -- not so crazy about her horns. This weekend I'm cleaning, baking, and hanging out around the house. I can't wait. Grace's home with us.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-840682763267154442011-01-23T18:31:00.000-05:002011-01-23T18:31:45.516-05:00

Tonight I finished the NY Times crossword puzzle and made a quick dinner with my Black River Produce delivery from Friday. I sauted fresh scallops with onion, garlic, and red peppers and then added fish sauce, cilantro and lemon juice at the end. I served the dish with bread, a baby spinach salad with mozzarella ciliegines, plum tomatoes, and kalamata olives. It was a pretty simple dinner, but

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-8577805176326029672011-01-19T08:58:00.000-05:002011-01-19T08:58:07.852-05:00

I made a really lovely pizza rollup thing last night. I took a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks and played around with it a bit. I sauted garlic, onion, carrots, cut up green beans, red pepper, and cauliflower -- all prepared first in a dice of similar size, except the minced garlic. I added a teaspoon of cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, and garam masala, and methi (fenugreek leaves).

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-35074286536276215992011-01-05T16:25:00.000-05:002011-01-05T16:25:48.058-05:00

Last night I made an easy chicken masala -- sauteing in an oven-proof pan some veggie oil, 1 chopped onion, 4 cloves minced garlic, and 1 chopped red pepper with 1T garam masal until the onions were translucent, and then removing it all from the pan. Then I sauted 5 boneless chicken breasts until just brown on each side, and also put that aside. I deglazed the pan with nearly a quart of whole

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-11420800824579274512011-01-04T10:55:00.000-05:002011-01-04T10:55:05.053-05:00

I have an unusual assortment of food in my house right now. Usually we eat a lot of local foods year round -- but right now I have tons of citrus and tropical fruit. I'm eating smoothies with nonfat yogurt and fresh berries for breakfast, mango and pineapple with cottage cheese for lunch, and salads with cukes, tomatoes, grated carrots and beets, sprouts, and beans for dinners. It's time for me

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-72695008653126315062011-01-03T08:47:00.000-05:002011-01-03T08:47:37.484-05:00

For the last couple weeks I've had kids home from school, and Bob took some time from work. Today, I'm on my own to sweep the crumbs from Christmas out the door, pack up the ornaments, and feed the animals. It was so nice having helpers to lug the heavy water buckets, but I'll be back to my pre-holiday routine today. One thing that will be different from the last two weeks: we're going on a

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-4918887772410761462011-01-01T14:54:00.000-05:002011-01-01T14:54:39.504-05:00

Our winter camping trip to Merck Forest was lovely. The day before the hike, I made a vegetable cheese soup...and we carried that and the other foods in storage containers on our sleds. Dinner menu also included hot sausages with peppers and onions, with crusty bread. Vegetable and Cabot Cheddar Soup -- this started off as broccoli cheddar a year ago...and I couldn't stop adding veggies to

Marynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-84152406031154053422010-12-25T12:52:00.000-05:002010-12-25T12:52:50.984-05:00

We hiked in two days ago and hiked out yesterday. This year we went with two other families and it was so much fun!

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-13715747298409096352010-12-25T12:43:00.001-05:002010-12-25T12:55:37.627-05:00

We're all hanging out at home-- it's beautiful and snowy. The dinner is going to be easy since each of us is taking a part -- it's a quirky, high cholesterol meal. We'll fast all day and take our lipitor! Bernie -- Potatoes -- cheesy mashed potatoes with bacon -- his recipe Rose -- Salad -- baby spinach with carrots, onions, roquefort, and bacon -- her recipe Bob -- grilling beef tenderloin Mary

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-62643519498202209992010-12-17T08:35:00.000-05:002010-12-17T08:35:00.971-05:00

I love this time of year. The cows aren't in the field as much, but are mainly in the barn and the barnyard. I can feed them more easily, by shoving hay out of the window from the second floor of the barn. Watering is a problem, but maybe this year carrying the heavy buckets of water will give me Michelle-Obama arms. I'm hoping anyway - she's got great arms. Today I have back to back meetings

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-5108357702904475682010-12-15T09:45:00.001-05:002010-12-15T09:45:24.867-05:00

Our friends the Muenches have raised hogs and shared them with us the last few years. We've used a local processor, but with the crunch of the fall hunting processing, they've been unable to take us. Barb found another processor, but they can't smoke our hams and bacon. Soooo, I've been searching for a custom smokehouse. It's funny that you never imagine how many steps there are between feeding

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-86684794203806649392010-12-13T13:17:00.000-05:002010-12-13T13:17:16.645-05:00

I'm making cookies today -- I love how easy the base recipe concept is -- how you can change a few ingredients and make a whole new cookie -- sugar cookies -- in the food processor -- I made two batches of these separately today. 1. 2 sticks of butter, 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 tsp salt -- process these ingredients together until smooth. 2. add 2 eggs through the chute and process again until

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-25606543676424858692010-12-09T10:28:00.000-05:002010-12-09T10:28:52.083-05:00

For dinner tonight, I'm marinading a thin hanger steak from our cows in the following ingredients: 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2T maple syrup, 2T grated ginger, 1T hot sesame oil I'll pan fry it very rare and serve it with rice and kimchi that I made this fall. I think I'll cut up cherry tomatoes and cucumbers and serve that too!

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-53105968187628714872010-12-09T10:24:00.000-05:002010-12-09T10:24:13.331-05:00

we share a bull with someday farm -- he's a little guy and just a year old, but dexters mature quickly so we're hopeful our cows are pregnant now. he's cute, but we never turn our back on him. he could accidentally gore you and boom - you'd be dead. i've been getting up and making breakfast every day this week for the family. the kids go off to work and school with travel mugs of hot cocoa made

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-1981158074122786662010-12-06T18:56:00.000-05:002010-12-06T18:56:12.079-05:00

Wow -- snow! I love it. I moved things around and the cows are all set -- with water from heated buckets in the barn and hay bales to munch closeby. the chickens are happy with a warmer under their waterer and a heat lamp in the coop. It's happy here on the farm. Cooking up a chicken with roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, and sweet onions for tonight's dinner. The seed catalog came, so after

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-28206091044721440942010-11-17T20:08:00.000-05:002010-11-17T20:08:00.486-05:00

The wind has been really bad since last night. The cows are loving it though. They were running around this morning. I went to fill their water tank and it was empty this morning. I filled it last evening, so it shouldn't have been empty. I think the water is syphoning back to the house, downhill to the spiggot. i think that's why it seems like there's a leak in it although there's no water on

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-25142686089470140912010-11-16T14:55:00.000-05:002010-11-16T14:55:35.405-05:00

Roasted up a chicken from our farm last night -- served it with pasta from the local place. I made a sauce of sauted onions and garlic, mushrooms, then added red wine. I added some grated asiago at the end. It was yummy. After dinner was over I boiled the carcass with carrots, onions and celery. Now I have a nice stock in the fridge, ready to go. I like the way these home grown birds just keep on

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-46012986833021141222010-11-15T12:19:00.000-05:002010-11-15T12:19:14.668-05:00

The house has been getting a new coat of paint. Yeah! It looks pretty. Yellows, white, reds. The turkeys were processed and are in the freezer. We ate one and it was quite good. What a lot of work, but with a great reward. The cost per 22lb bird was still around $35 each. So, nothing to sneeze at. The chickens were making a terrible racket last night. I got up at 2am to see what was disturbing

Marynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-70306072459959678732010-10-26T12:59:00.000-04:002010-10-26T12:59:20.780-04:00

Beautiful fall day here. The bull came yesterday, so the cows are happy. We co-own the bull with Someday Farm up the road and brought him down to stay with our herd for six weeks. The turkeys are huge -- Matt at Someday has the same age turkeys, since he sold us the poults, and he said the ones he slaughtered this weekend weight 18 lbs. Wow. We're not processing for another couple weeks, so our

Marynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-16722343610015206082010-10-13T10:56:00.000-04:002010-10-13T10:56:00.904-04:00

We're past peak in foliage, which means there are less leaves on the trees compared to the ones on the ground. But, it's still beautiful. I went to Stowe this week for a meeting and the mountains were gorgeous. The lower areas still have the reds of later foliage season, but the upper areas are stark and naked of their leaves. Mt. Mansfield looks like it's begging the sky to be cloaked in snow.

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-22721858788274196842010-09-18T09:50:00.000-04:002010-09-18T09:50:13.656-04:00

The gardens are still producing like crazy. Kale, chard, beans, tomatoes, zucchini. What a great season we've had. The collective garden still needs to be harvested with its potatoes, beets, onions, and carrots. Mmmm. Soups will be so lovely. We have to start cleaning up the barnyard. The cows move up closer to the barn in the winter, to have shelter and since the water buckets have to be

Marynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-91837308863706635572010-09-15T13:44:00.000-04:002010-09-15T13:44:54.201-04:00

Thank you so much to all of you who've posted comments and shared information recently. I really appreciate it! As fall approaches, the weather is turning cold, the leaves starting to change, and we're turning towards stacking wood, readying the root cellar, and making thick soups. I love this time of year. I say that for all the seasons, I suppose -- but this time of year is especially

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-16799192534894903592010-09-13T22:38:00.001-04:002010-09-13T22:45:27.952-04:00

Today, I had a cooked turkey breast and I thought I'd make soup. I chopped up the veggies from the garden and sauted them in the pot. Onions, garlic, celery, roasted red peppers, carrots, and zucchini. I added chunks of turkey and a container of frozen broth. I was fishing around in the freezer and found a second freezer bag of broth and threw that in too. Well -- problem was -- the second bag

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-4576234979704622642010-09-13T18:35:00.001-04:002010-09-14T11:08:15.594-04:00

The turkeys are very happy in their turkey tractor --and growing fast too. They are maturing very quickly now, and seemed to have developed wattles overnight. They're starting to gobble too. I'm so glad we're doing turkeys this year. I wish I could give great advice on how to raise them, but since it's our first time, I don't presume to be an expert. There's lots and lots of information online

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-71061638177267313752010-09-13T13:33:00.001-04:002010-09-13T13:47:56.721-04:00

We have a food buying and growing collective with several families - buying Vermont produce and dairy foods from Black River Produce in Springfield, and growing our own hogs, meat chickens, turkeys, and a big root cellar garden, with the help of 8-15 families. It's a blast to have a close community that works together for a purpose, then has real cut-throat competitions of creating the best foods

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-35231445166336045932010-09-11T20:25:00.002-04:002010-09-11T20:25:44.820-04:00

We made a ginger pear crisp tonight. I peeled a ton of pears, then cut them up into a large pan, and in a food processor I combined a stick of butter, 1tsp cinnamon, 1 cup of sugar, 1 c of brown sugar, 1 cup of whole almonds, 1/4 cup of candied ginger. Then I added a couple cups of oats and processed a little more. I poured this topping out onto the pears and baked for 45 minutes at 350F. With a

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-38513521973531468422010-09-10T18:52:00.000-04:002010-09-10T18:52:20.475-04:00

We are using up our tomatoes and eggs with localvore homemade quiche tonight. Scroll down for the recipe and substitute slices of tomatoes for zucchini.  What makes it localvore? Delicious Vermont Cabot cheddar cheese, Thomas' whole milk from Rutland, our eggs, our tomatoes, and a pie crust made from whole wheat flour from Gleasons Farm up in Bridport and King Arthur unbleached flour, and Cabot

Marynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-40071695966685227222010-09-09T14:38:00.001-04:002010-09-09T16:31:05.637-04:00

I love the cloudy skies, the cooler temps, the stillness of September days. The branches on the mountain trees are starting to change color, the apple orchard is open for business, and all is right with the world. We are blessed. Loving family, good jobs, great friends, and temporarily belonging to a patch of the planet on which we can grow really tasty food. No drought, no famine, no floods,

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-20087948472616622312010-09-07T19:30:00.001-04:002010-09-09T16:32:32.154-04:00

Gazpacho -- So gazpacho is a great way to use up all the tomatoes flowing out of the summer garden. A cuke, peeled and cut up, several tomatoes, a vidalia onion, a few cloves of garlic, 3-4 roasted red peppers, all processed in the food processor with some tomato juice, a little oil and vinegar, salt and pepper - and voila! What if you have a little crabmeat in the fridge? Go ahead, add it. How

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-20247923913397604282010-09-07T18:12:00.002-04:002010-09-10T12:51:11.312-04:00

I'm making quiche with bacon and zucchini, and gazpacho for dinner tonight. The quiche is one of those base recipes - that you can add anything fresh to - you can switch up the cheeses with gruyere and swiss and add a little nutmeg, or substitute the zucchini with thin strips of roasted red peppers and add dollops of goat cheese. The point is -- with 4 eggs, 1 1/2 c of heavy cream or half and

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-18527795932198245072010-09-07T10:28:00.001-04:002010-09-09T16:33:50.367-04:00

Our goal is to grow most of our own food, or buy it from people locally who do a nice job and don't waste a lot of resources doing it. We want to pay a fair price too, not the very top dollar for boutique food. To do this year round, we need to preserve our foods. But we are trying to do that without it costing a fortune -- ie, not freezing everything where we have to run 2 large freezers year

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-11357648929318072822010-09-06T20:01:00.000-04:002010-09-06T20:01:52.805-04:00

Today was an amazing day. We enjoyed the crystal clear skies and cool weather. After chores, a neighbor came by with a large container brimming with galumpkis. She brought us pierogies on Friday. We traded some honey, but I think she brought these lovely dishes as a present for Dr. Bob. We're so lucky to have such friends and neighbors. The cows are still eating grass in the fields, which is a

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-41217821619152470412010-09-06T10:29:00.001-04:002010-09-06T10:31:34.951-04:00

I love the chilly mornings in September like today. Summer's not gone, but it's starting to slip away. I think of September as Mother's summer. When my kids were little, it felt nice that they were happily back in school, but I could still enjoy the warmth and relatively longer summery days. Labor Day's the childrens' last day of summer, but we have a few more weeks left to enjoy. I'm picking

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-24980409864556711402010-09-05T17:27:00.003-04:002010-09-05T17:30:55.054-04:00

The chickens grew up and we harvested them today. 24 birds, each about 6 1/2 pounds. Thank you chickens, and thank you to the collective for helping with the heavy lifting. All of my worries about how much we'd end up with and would everyone be satisfied were for naught. We had a conversation and for the 2 hours of hard work, each of the 3 helpers from the collective took 4 chickens home for $11

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-83308723870940640772010-09-05T12:49:00.000-04:002010-09-05T12:49:04.743-04:00

There's a joke in Vermont that the only reason we lock our cars is to keep people from leaving the extra zucchini from their garden there. Here's a nice way to use up your zucchini, to keep you from having to snoop around in your neighbors driveway. Zucchini casserole - 4 lbs of zucchini - or a combination of zucchini and summer squash, or whatever vegetable you have in abundance from your

Marynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-4525032346161201852010-09-05T10:33:00.000-04:002010-09-05T10:33:26.795-04:00

I keep seeing these websites that have photos of bobcats in Vermont. Some people think that the much larger catamount is still around too. I know something got one of my chickens this summer -- it reached into the chicken tractor in the field and cut the chickens neck. The bird survived by there were blood and feathers that made me sure it was something with very sharp claws. I'd love to hear

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-72633768573545879982010-09-05T10:29:00.002-04:002010-09-05T10:29:36.689-04:00

the cow with her calf -- i painted this photo.

Marynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-51650105483809255762010-09-05T10:26:00.001-04:002010-09-05T10:27:58.015-04:00

The hogs that were being raised by the Muenches for the collective were purchased in the spring when they were too young to be sent away. Unfortunately 2 of the 4 died of pneumonia and one of the two remaining has grown very slowly. So, we have 8 families and one hog to share. But, the Muenches did all the work raising the hog, the daily chores of feeding, watering and insuring the hog fencing

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-90863744891441689732010-09-05T10:16:00.001-04:002010-09-05T10:16:06.587-04:00

If you like this blog, I need your comments. I also need you to share a link to the blog. I want to make sure the blog is serving a purpose, or else it's just not worth the time away from the farm to keep writing it. Please let me know what you're interested in.

Marynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-21064538763876629812010-09-05T10:14:00.000-04:002010-09-05T10:14:59.707-04:00

Today several members of the collective are coming over to help process the meat chickens. I can't wait for the birds to be in the freezer but it's hard work. In exchange for helping us do this hard work, the members can take birds home to their families for the initial cost of the chickens and for the grain costs. The problem is it's really hard work to raise these birds -- you feed them and

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-76066986778828401602010-09-02T09:28:00.001-04:002010-09-02T09:29:18.086-04:00

Do you know how a recipe can become your own? You keep making that same brownie recipe and pretty soon you're comfortable enough to start adding or changing things -- you're adding dried cherries or chocolate chips, or maybe a little espresso. I've taken a number of ethnic food recipes and made them so many times that they're now my own Vermont recipes. Summer Thai/VT Beef Salad - 3 lbs of

Marynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182892246662729826.post-5805590241601404262010-09-01T17:46:00.001-04:002010-09-01T17:48:12.882-04:00

I am loving life. Bernie's back at school and Grace is headed there this week. Rose is looking for a job. Bob and I are planning a vacation in the not too distant future. It's not that I don't enjoy the kids. on the contrary, I enjoy them because they are people who are doing things -- going places as they used to say. I enjoy their humor and their energy. I like that they have things that

Marynoreply@blogger.com0