I love the changing pace of this time of year. Gears shift from busy summer to a more routine pace. Some chores take on an urgency as the days grow shorter, the harvest wanes and the temperatures cool. But others are a welcome addition. I really could stack wood for a living. Washing fleece for winter projects is a new process I am enjoying. Knitting needles are busy busy.
Plant: Garlic, jerusalem artichokes, alium bulb, crocus, tulips, daffodils, anemone bulbs. Winter Rye.
Harvest: Kale, Last of the Basil, tomatoes
Preserve: tomato salsa, tomato puree, chicken stock
Local food systems: Farmer's market
Eat the food: I made a yummy squash soup from a butternut purchased at the farmer's market. Lot's of sourdough bread is being baked in our home right now. Most of our meals consist of mostly local foods now. We truly live in a rich foodshed now.
Waste not: We finally got a compost bin built for food scraps and some yard waste. My long term plan is to build a bigger bin system in the spring so we may really work our piles. But we needed something right now for food scraps. We have curbside recycling in our very rural location. How cool is that? I've been transporting our recycling for the last few years to a transfer station; which has the unfortunate side effect of recyclables piling up.
Want not: Okay I am going to brag a bit about my sourdough experiment. Rye flour and water. Cover with muslin or cheese cloth. Feed more rye and water once a day. In one week I had sourdough starter. I no longer use as much commercial yeast as I use to. The process itself is a wonder of nature. All these little microbes live in the air and help to leaven. Truly wonderful. And the bread is tasty too:)
1 comment:
Sounds like you're settling in fine! You have encouraged me about the sourdough, I'm going to start one today. I have done it before, but didn't keep it up. I had trouble with the bread dough itself, too soft, but I didn't dare put in more flour. I'm just going to try again. :)
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