Maybe I am a Quilter after all...

Three years ago I wrote THIS post, saying that I am not a Quilter....  I've changed my mind.  I think I might be, after all.  A few months ago, I bought this quilt pattern.  I was looking for a Dresden plate pattern because I had purchased a template for making Dresden plate blocks here after watching THIS YouTube video.  She made it look so easy and fun, I had to try it! I didn't want to make a full-sized quilt, really, and so found the one for the baby quilt and then was thinking... who could I make this for?  It just so happens that a young friend is expecting a baby girl at the end of November.  Perfect!  A quilt victim!

Here are some pictures of the little quilt.  It is far from perfect, but I like it anyway.  I hope you, my Gentle Readers, do too.

Today's Breakfast...

This is one of our favorite breakfast meals.  Fresh, raw, cold goat milk, scrambled eggs from our chickens, a bit of Jasmine rice, and some stir-fried vegetables... in this case, fresh kale from the garden, chopped onion, minced garlic, fresh basil and mushrooms.  Salt and pepper.  Also, we use a little Tamari.  Oh, it's so good.

Hickory Syrup

This is the trunk of a Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) tree.  About a week ago, a friend, who owns this alpaca farm mentioned to me that you can make "hickory syrup."  I had never heard of it, and was intrigued, so of course I looked online and found the instructions to make some on Dave's Cupboard blog.

My husband and I went out to Crosley Fish and Wildlife Area , found a nice Shagbark Hickory tree, and gathered a small box of loose bark.

This morning I weighed out 1/2 pound of the bark and scrubbed it with a stiff brush under cold running water and then laid it on my perforated pizza pan, placed it in the oven, pre-heated to 350 F, and toasted it for 12 minutes.  Dave says to do it for 10 or 15 minutes, but to be careful it doesn't start to burn.  You don't want your syrup to be bitter. Here it is in the oven toasting.

Next, I put it in a soup pot, covered it with water, brought it to a boil and then simmered it for 25 minutes.  It turns the water a beautiful amber color.

Next I removed the bark and then continued to simmer the tea until it was reduced by about 25%.  Then I strained it into a Pyrex measuring container (there were 3.5 cups of tea) and put it in a large sauce pan and added twice the amount of tea, in cane sugar, so that means I added 7 cups of sugar. DO NOT STIR IN THE SUGAR.  Just pour it in there and bring it all to a boil.  NEVER stir it.  This can cause it to crystalize much sooner.  When you pour the sugar into the tea, do not get it on the sides of the pan.  Pour it carefully into the bottom. Ok? Next bring it all to a boil and then turn the heat down and simmer it until it is as thick as you like.

I used a candy thermometer, and mine was just over 220 F when I decided it was done enough.  I kept checking it with a spoon.  It's kind of a judgement call, actually.

I skimmed off the foamy stuff and tasted it.  That part was very bitter, but the syrup is not bitter.  Interesting.  When it was ready, I carefully ladled it into jars and put on clean lids.  It is cooling now.

The aroma of the bark toasting was wonderful... like a spicy hickory smell.  I do like the taste of the syrup.  I would like to think it has some beneficial minerals in it or something, however, it is still sugar, just as maple syrup and honey are sugar.  It should be used sparingly, to top pancakes, etc. and as flavoring in other dishes.

A Report on my 2015 garden...

The weather has been very unusual here this year.  I had a really nice garden going, and then it started to rain... and it rained and rained and rained.  When I would go out to harvest vegetables, I would remove my shoes and walk in mud up to my ankles.  Actually, that was rather fun, but one of the down sides was that I couldn't hoe in mud and the weeds took over early in the year.  I am not even going to show you a picture of how terrible it is right now.  In spite of all of that, I was able to do sufficient canning for us.  I have also made a decision.  I've decided to go with a permanent mulch system, a la Ruth Stout/Back to Eden.  I worked so  so hard this year, and it completely got away from me!  I'm getting too old for this.  If I can't make the permanent mulch work after a couple of years, then I'll just keep a very small garden, but I hope it doesn't come to that. 

So, my husband and I are clearing things out in the garden and he's going to cut down the weeds and remove what he can, and then we have a friend that has promised to deliver wood chips to us.  The picture above shows the small amount of things I found out there.  Here is some more, about 3 gallons of Yukon Gold potatoes.  I don't usually dig them this early, but I have to, and noticed the mice had just begun getting to them, so I'm glad I did.

Here are the sweet potatoes!  Not a stellar harvest, but it will be enough.  It is early to dig them also.  I was pleasantly surprised to get this much, because sweet potatoes don't like to get their feet wet, but I always grow them on a ridge of soil, so I guess it really worked this year.

There are some more Kennebec potatoes out there that I need to dig up, but then that will be all.  This year I canned green beans, tomato juice, sweet corn and salsa from the garden, as well as stewed rhubarb.  I am very grateful for what we have.  I just need to go in a different direction.  Stay tuned.

Fermented Apple Chutney - easy and delicious!

chut·ney

ˈCHətnē/

noun

noun: chutney; plural noun: chutneys

1. a spicy condiment made of fruits or vegetables with vinegar, spices, and sugar, originating in India.

My sweet sister-in-law introduced me to "chutney" many years ago.  It makes a wonderful accompaniment to a meal... freshens up the palate and I love chutneys!

Recently, I've started making fermented fresh chutney and it's spectacular!  No need to cook or process in a canner.  Just chop it up, mix with the other ingredients, pack it into a FIDO JAR, close the lid, let it sit on the counter for 3 days, turning over once in a while to distribute the liquid, and then refrigerate it!  It will stay nice for many weeks in the fridge.  Being fermented, it is rich in healthy probiotics, and also your body will love the easily assimilated vitamins and minerals.  

Meet the magical FIDO JAR !!!

I bought mine yesterday at TJ Maxx in a nearby city for only $4.99 !  They are available on Amazon.com, but cost twice as much (and would be worth it).  You don't have to use a Fido.  You can use a regular canning jar with a lid, but then you need to open it sightly from time to time so it will let out the pressure of the gasses produced.  With the Fido, you fill it, close it, and forget it.  The rubber seal is very tight, but it will sort of burp slightly on its own.

Fermented Apple Chutney

1. In a large measuring vessel or a bowl, combine:

    1 handful walnut meats, broken in pieces

    1 handful raisins

    Enough apples, chopped into bite-sized pieces to make the contents of your bowl measure 1.5 liter. Do 

    not peel the apples, just remove the cores and the little blossom ends and where the stem was.

    1/3 cup honey

    1/3 cup whey (explained below)

    3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

    1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

2. Stir all of that thoroughly and then pack it into a Fido Jar.  

3. Close the lid.  Leave it on the kitchen counter for 3 days, turning it over to let the liquid flow through the 

    contents once in a while

4. Store in the refrigerator - it will keep for many weeks.

Here are some pictures of the process:

Voila!

A note about apples... My mother grew up during the Great Depression.  She never wasted anything if she could possibly avoid it. When she ate an apple, she would wash it, pull off the stem and then just eat the apple.  She did not throw away the core.  I do the same thing.  If you want to try that, don't eat around it and make a core first.  Just eat the apple.  Apple seeds contain laetrile, which many believe has anti-cancer properties.  As I was making this, I ate all of the little core pieces I cut out!  I do like them.  Bite into the seeds.  They taste good (at least to me.)

It is a good idea to eat a small amount of something live and fermented with each meal.  I drink about 2 ounces of milk kefir with breakfast, and have a couple of Tablespoons of live sauerkraut or this chutney with lunch and supper.  The probiotics in the ferments really help your digestion be healthier. Also, they contain live digestive enzymes.

The recipe calls for "whey".  I use whey that I strain from my milk kefir when I make kefir cheese.  You may also use whey you can gather the same way from plain yogurt that has live cultures. 

This chutney is sweet and crunchy and a little zingy!  You will like it.  I promise.  :)

Vegan Goodie Balls

I wanted to make some cookies for a vegan friend of mine... hmmmm... how can I make cookies with no milk, eggs or butter?  Aha!  I adapted my "Goodie Ball" recipe, and it turned out very nicely.  Here is the picture and the recipe follows.

Vegan Goodie Balls

In an appropriately sized mixing bowl, combine:

Some natural peanut butter
About half that much honey
Chia seeds - enough to stiffen it up nicely
Raisins
Sunflower seeds

Of course, you'll have to use your own head to decide how much of the add-ins to use.  You can start with any amount of peanut butter.  In fact, I made just ONE first to see if it would be nice.  And it was.  :)

Roll this mixture into little balls and then roll them in Sucanat.

That's it!

Yummy, healthy, and totally vegan!

My blog and it's reach...

I started this blog on December 9, 2009.  I just wanted to share the things I have learned to do and the journey as I've learned a bit more.  I had no idea that I would really be able to help a lot of people, but it has worked out that way.  On blogspot there is a place you can check to see how many "hits" you get on various posts on the blog, and also a map of where the readers live.  Here are the statistics from the past 7 days.  I find I can now kind of track the seasons just by watching the blog traffic.  As you can see, this is peach canning season and people are beginning to replace zippers in their coats and jackets.  It makes me very happy to think I've been able to get the word out about these skills.  And my Home Canned Chili Beans recipe has been a big hit!  Thank you all for reading my blog, and for the nice comments I've had over the last almost 8 years.  In all that time, I've only had one unkind remark and yes, I did publish it.  Now THAT is remarkable! (pun intended)  Have a lovely day! 

Canning Peaches is Easy! (No Sugar.) Aug 19, 2011, 106 comments	738
Home Canned Chili Beans - at last!! Apr 3, 2012, 62 comments	200
Preserving Peppers Jul 21, 2012, 10 comments	136
Sugar-Free Home Canned Peaches Jul 6, 2012, 23 comments	125
Replacing a Zipper in a coat/jacket Nov 19, 2010, 24 comments	83
Free Garlic Seeds... again! Aug 28, 2015, 2 comments	48
Freeze Sweet Corn the Easy Way! Aug 4, 2012, 10 comments	41
Canning clingstone peaches without sugar... Whew! Oct 22, 2012, 18 comments	33
Kefir - Chapter 1 Dec 10, 2009, 6 comments	15
Stainless Steel Drain Board!!! Jul 3, 2013, 12 comments	13