Progressive Pioneer

Homemade Granola: It's Easier than Pie!

Sometimes bare cupboards inspire the tastiest things at our house.  A trip to the grocery store was in order, but apparently not in the cards, because it just wasn't happening.  So, I scrounged around in the cupboards, looking for inspiration among the raw ingredients, and homemade granola was the result!

There was some dried fruit languishing in the snack cupboard and a hefty sack of dried coconut from a co-op order.  The bulk of the granola, grains and nuts, we always have in abundance.  And I combined a few sweeteners; molasses, maple syrup and the tail end of a jar of rice syrup.

Although I looked at a recipe to get the basic idea, I just used what we had on hand and it turned out beautifully.  So delicious, in fact, that even though I made a 1 and 1/2 batch it was gone in less than a week!

Motivated by how simple it was, I whipped up a second batch (tripling the recipe this time) the following week.  A slightly different version, based on the cupboard contents at that time, but equally delicious.
This variation had rolled oats, rolled wheat, coconut, walnuts, pecans, almonds, dried apricots, gogi berries and dates, plus the three sweeteners and some olive oil.  But really, your imagination is the limit!  The basic proportions are about 1/4-1/2 cup oil, 1/2-3/4 sweetener (or more or less depending on your taste, you could even skip it altogether) to every 6 to 8 cups of dry ingredients.  Mix that all up and bake it at 350 for 15-25 minutes, stirring every so often.  It helps to put the liquids in your baking pan and pop them in the perheated oven for a moment to soften the syrups.  Then stir in the granola and mix it all around right in the baking dish and put it back in the oven.  Add your dried fruit at the end, after it's done cooking, so they don't get scorched.  I'm not sure how long it keeps, we haven't been able to hang onto it longer than a week...

Ten Beauty Products in Your Kitchen (at Simple Organic)

I was invited to contribute to Simple Organic, part of the Simple Living family.  Such an honor to write among so many talented, inspiring voices!  You can read my post today about replacing some of your beauty products with simple ingredients you probably have in your kitchen- a good follow up to yesterday's post!

Home Brewed Vinegar

With all those apple peels left over from the apple grunt, I decided to finally try my hand at making vinegar.  I've been itching to do this for awhile and finally emptied the enormous bottle of rice wine vinegar we had, so I had the perfect container for it.

I combined the instructions from Wild Fermentation and The Herbal Home Remedy Book.  This meant that I put the peels, water and evaporated cane juice in the jar and added a bit of Bragg's apple cider vinegar (with "the mother") to get things started right.  And that was really all there was to it!  Now we wait...

It's been about a week and there's some definite bubbly action going on.  It also smelled initially like sweet cider, but is now smelling more like a sweet wine with some acidic notes.  I'm exactly sure how I'll know it's done, I suppose when it smells like vinegar and not like wine.  At some point I'll strain out the juice and removed the peels, then let the liquid continue to vinegar-ize until it's nice and zippy.  I can't wait to have our own home-brewed vinegar.  We've also got a fresh pineapple sitting on the counter that may be destined for a batch of pineapple vinegar!

Hometown Seeds

I got the coolest thing in the mail last week from Hometown Seeds; a sealed package of non-hybrid, emergency survival seeds that keep for up to five years (ten if frozen)!  Talk about some brilliant food storage!  The whole package is only thirty-odd dollars (on sale from $50) and you can plant 3/4 of an acre worth of food with it.  And, of course, all the seeds are non-hybrid, non-GMO so you can save the seeds and continue the whole storage/preparedness/self-sufficiency thing.  But I just love that someone else figured out which are the best varieties and put it all together in a little kit (I love kits!) that you can simply tuck in the back of your freezer for a few years for some peace of mind. 

I, of course, opened ours right away because a) the curiosity was killing me, and b) we're going to plant a lot of them this year anyway and then save the seeds.  I wish we had room for corn though... maybe we'll give those seeds to Clay's brother and sister-in-law. So, here's what spilled out of the shiny, silver package; Golden Bantam Sweet Corn, Lincoln Peas, Champion Radishes, Spanish Onions, Beets, Tomatoes, Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach, Golden Acre Cabbage, Swiss Chard, Paris Island Lettuce, Scarlet Nantes Carrots, Peppers, Butternut Squash, Cucumbers, Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans, and Black Beauty Zucchini!!  That's a whole garden's worth!

The seeds came with a whole packet of information about the seeds; they were chosen because they do well in short season climates (and thus would be fine in long season ones too), are easy to grow and are adaptible for most regions.  They quote a study that says that with $30 worth of seeds you can grow $600 worth of vegetables; that's a way better return on your money than playing the stock market!  The packet gives tips abot soil modification, moisture, planting times, harvesting and saving the seeds and even nutritional info about each of the veggies. And it's all really simple and basic, no frills, nothing fancy, just good, honest seeds.  I love it and I can't wait to plant some!

Herbs 101

I went to a fantastic class on using herbs for health this past weekend.  The class was free (though you could pay extra if you wanted some materials) because the woman teaching it is all about empowering moms to care for their families naturally.  I really do feel so empowered when I learn about simple things I can do to keep us healthy.  I feel like there can often be a lot of fear in our culture about taking your health into your own hands, but who else knows your body better than you?  Or understands the subtleties of your children's health better than their own mama?

She talked about whole health (the mind, body spirit connection), the benefits of herbs and how to incorporate them into your regular health care.  She gave us a whole list of "substitutions" for common over the counter medications, things she uses in place of pain killers, cough syrups, allergy meds etc.  I can't wait to start growing more medicinal herbs this summer.  I get so excited about this kind of stuff!  And I love thinking about how our bodies and the natural world are designed so brilliantly and work together so well.

There's a class at the end of the month about making herbal remedies.  The class is free, but you can purchase all kinds of fun stuff like salve kits, encapsulation machines, tincture supplies etc.  I'm can't wait!  Maybe I'll see you there:)

All images from Mountain Rose Herbs, a great source for all sorts of raw ingredients.

 

Indoor Winter Greens

We've had this sneaky plan to garden even in the dead of winter and have finally gotten around to setting it up.  The shelving we use to start seedlings on is now set up on the kitchen counter by a sunny window.  Trays filled with nutritious dirt and sprinkled with seeds will hopefully yield tender baby greens in a few weeks!  We'll see how they do with just the natural light, I have a feeling they might need a boost, in which case we'll hang up the fluorescents.Santa left these seeds in my stocking and I've been so excited to use them!  What a delightful mid-winter project, to start spring a little early with something lush and growing.  My mouth is already watering thinking about sweet, fresh greens.  There really is nothing like greens straight from the soil. The basic drill was; fill up the trays with soil, press in mini-furrows (cute!), spinkle in the seeds (one tray of spinach, half of Swiss chard and half of roquette; my favorite!), water, and wait.  It was probably done in less than half an hour.  That was the quick part, now we just have to wait for them to grow.  We'll probably cover them while they germinate and then set up the lights once they sprout.  I'll let you know if our little experiment yields tasty salads in a few weeks!

Seed Saving

It's that time of year, when the brittle husks begin to break open, scattering seeds to their fate.  For a lot of the seeds in our garden that fate is to be carefully collected and stored in little white envelopes until next spring.

I cut dry, brown heads of dill and snipped the seeds off.  I don't worry too much about extracting the individual seeds.  It will be just as easy to do that in the spring right before I drop them into the ground.

It's amazing the diverse ways plants come up with to protect and scatter their seeds.  I love these roquette pods.  Each pod is divided by a translucent membrane with seeds clinging to either side.  They looked so pretty held up to the light.

Fresh basil is one of my absolute favorite smells; it puts me right into a swoon.  But I hadn't before experienced the smell of basil seeds.  It's such a delicious, rich, autumn-y scent, so different from the vibrant, fresh, young leaves of the early summer plants, but no less intoxicating.  It sums up all the good earthy, smoky, cozy feelings of fall.  I'm wondering if I could use the seeds in cooking...

These I just rolled around in my hands to loosen the seeds and remove them from the stems.  But again, I didn't worry too much about freeing them entirely from their pods.  It would have been too labor intensive.  So, they'll spend the winter snuggled in their little shells waiting for a spring day warm enough to plant and to start the cycle all over again.

Even though we didn't love the taste of the New Zealand spinach, the vibrant hot pink was such a welcome burst of color in the predominantly green garden that I think I'll plant it again just for a little visual variety.  They were particularly dramatic when they went to seed and shot up as brazen pink spikes.

 

I've heard that when you save seeds those plants get acclimated to your little microclimate and are more resistant to the bugs and diseases in your area.  I wonder how snail resistant I can get ours to be...

End of Season Pesto

Just before this cold spell, complete with thunder and rain storms (which I love!) and even the occassional freak snow flurries, Sam and I gathered the last of the basil.  Sam also picked a few lemon cukes, see them tucked in there among the basil?  He loves harvesting, as many a green tomato can attest!

Whizzed up in the cuisinart with a little olive oil, Parmesan and walnuts it should provide a delicious burst of summer on the tongue come those long, cold winter evenings. 

I packed the pesto into little canning jars, leaving a bit of extra headroom and stored them in the freezer. I left out a lot of the olive oil and will add it when I mix the pesto into the individual dishes.  This way I saved a little freezer space and can adjust the amount of oil in each dish.  Clay doesn't like very much oil.  I on the other hand, hedonist that I am, like my noodles swimming in it!

The smell of pesto is so intoxicating.  I stood over the blender in an absolute swoon as those delicious smells wafted out.  I'm already dreaming about angel hair and pesto, pesto pizza, pesto bruschetta.... mmmm... 

Saving Some Summer for a Winter's Day

I love harvest season.  Some things, like a perfectly ripe heirloom tomato, can only be enjoyed in their own season.  But others can be preserved and treasured when green and growing things have long since retreated into their winter slumber, tucked beneath a snowy blanket.

We discovered some sort of minty plant, lemon balm I think, growing on the side of the house.  Throughout the summer we used it in drinks and salads.  Sad to see it fading at the end of the year, I decided to gather as many leaves as I could and string them up to dry.

I just used a regular needle and thread and strung the leaves along the length of string, leaving a bit of space in between them such that air could circulate as they dried.

The garland was hung in the spice cupboard (which used to house one of those old fold-down ironing boards) and left to dry.  After only a few days it was nice and brittle, ready to be moved gently into a jar and stored for winter tea. 

Spa Night

While Clayton was away for work I had a girls' night in with my friend Rachel (remember the Topless Undershirt giveaway?).  We roomed together in San Francisco and always had such a blast together.  We were always cooking something new, throwing a party, learning some craft or exploring the city, cameras over our shoulders. 

We decided to have a do-it-yourself spa night and make all the spa treatments.  It was so much fun!  I felt like we were silly, city girls again!  I was also reminded of the time I tried to take a bath in tea and clogged up the whole drain and we had to call a plumber... 

Rachel came over armed with bottles of oils, fresh fruit and spices.  I picked up some books at the library and we raided my cupboards and medicine cabinets for essential oils, raw eggs and potion-making utensils. And Sam, bless his heart, went down at 7:00 and stayed asleep the whole time!

The first thing we did was one of my favorites.  Rachel gathered some rose petals from the neighbor's rose bush.  The blossoms were a bit past their prime, but perfect for a facial sauna.  We added dried lavender buds and poured steaming hot water over it.  Then we each spent a good ten minutes under a towel tent and emerged glowing and pink-cheeked.

Of course there were tea and cookies, and a spa-appropriate soundtrack provided by Rachel and Pandora.

Prior to the beauty queen mask (that's really what it was called) we used a sugar scrub with grape seed oil, lemon juice and lemon oil.  My skin felt so buttery soft afterward. 

Rachel used it on her hands and feet too.  And you know what we used to take our mascara off beforehand?  Olive oil!  Why anyone even sells or buys eye makeup remover is beyond me; olive oil works so incredibly well, is so gentle on that delicate skin around your eyes and leaves your skin so nice and soft.  I love it and I think I'm going to pour some into a little jar to just keep in the medicine cabinet.

The mask we used on our faces (the aforementioned Beauty Queen Mask) was made with egg yolks (courtesy of Rockefeller), pumpkin seed oil (which is apparently next to impossible to get in the states so Rachel's boyfriend has his dad send it from Europe.  I hope he doesn't mind that we spread it all over our faces...), honey and an essential oil blend called Renaissance Mix. 

The really crazy concoction was Rachel's avocado hair mask.  We made it in my mortar and pestle, but later realized, when trying to spread chunks of avocado in our hair, that we probably should have used a blender. 

This was the part that reminded me of clogging the tub with tea leaves.  But this time I thought ahead and we went outside to shake the chunks of avocado out on the lawn before rinsing our hair in the tub.  I'm sure Clayton, resident handyman, and Nellie and Rockefeller, resident food scroungers, all appreciated the gesture. 

The recipe was an avocado, egg white and some essential oil.  We pasted it onto our hair and sat in shower cap and saran wrap (that'd be me) and face masks and watched an episode of Glee before rinsing it all off and examining the results.

The verdict?  We loved the facial sauna and the sugar scrub.  I thought the Beauty Queen mask made my skin pretty soft, but it wasn't that dramatic of a transformation.  And neither of us noticed a huge difference in the hair department, certainly not one worth the effort and avocado-covered bathroom.  Although, even the treatments that didn't knock my socks off still seemed way more effective than 99% of the products I've purchased.  And spa night was definitely a success in terms of relaxation and rejuvenation. 

Breaking Ground: The Sandbox Project

My boy is a digger.  To accommodate this hobby (and save my flower beds) I decided to dig out a little corner by the patio and fill it with sand.  There's a spot where a little right angle is already built into the side of the patio and walled in by the garage on the other side, leaving me with only one side to box in.  This will be the site of Sam's new sandbox.

Turns out I'm kind of a digger too.  I loved the physical exertion and the satisfaction of watching the pile of dirt grow in proportion to the depth of the hole I was digging.  Sam's rapt attention and exclamations of "Wow!" every time I emptied a shovelful served to make it an all around satisfying endeavor.

Though the eventual plan is to fill the hole with sand and put a nice cover over it, I'm pretty sure Sam would be equally happy if I just left the hole and piles of dirt as they are.  What is it about rooting around in the soil, working up a bit of a sweat and creating something that is just so satisfying?  I'm happy to see that our little boy seems to be equally enthralled with the process.

Coriander Harvest

Harvesting these coriander seeds put me right in the mood for fall.  I love harvest season, pumpkins, spices, the smell of dry leaves, that crisp autumn air, things baking in the oven and jars lining the pantry shelves. 

I love that you can use the leaves (cilantro) and the seeds (coriander) of this plant.  We have more seeds on some of the other coriander plants, but this one was just already dried up and ready to be harvested; I couldn't resist.

The flavor of the seeds is really delicious, more multi-dimensional than store-bought coriander.  I can’t wait to add it to some Indian dishes or crack some to sprinkle over the tops of loaves of bread.

Thompsons on Utah Stories

There's this great little publication here in Salt Lake called Utah Stories that focuses on local, relevant news.  We were recently interviewed for their "Rage Against Conformity" series (the poster family for abnormality- that's us!)  When they came over to film they saw some of Clay's art and asked him to do the cover illustration.  I'm so proud of him, I think it turned out awesome!  Recognize anyone familiar?

You can watch the video on Utah Stories, here.  It's pretty weird seeing yourself recorded, but I'm trying not to be too self-conscious about it.  I really like how he put all the clips together, he shot a lot of video and I think he did a great job whittling it down and telling a story.

Mighty Vinegar

I’d heard about using vinegar for cleaning (and, of course, in your hair!), but for some reason had never really tried it out.  However, recently our dishwasher got possessed and decided to start coating all my dishes in some sort of film.  Turns out the city turns on some extra wells in the summer and they're chalk full of minerals.  And for the life of me, I could not get that film off no matter how hard I scrubbed!  Then the idea of using vinegar popped into my head (domestic inspiration?), and would you believe that film wiped right off?  I was amazed!  And so happy to see my silverware and glasses gleaming again.  I’ve been meaning to try making my own cleaning products.  I have a bunch of green products that I’m just waiting to use up before I try making some.  Cleaning isn’t one of my favorite things though, so it might be awhile before they run out…  But when they do, I’m all about the vinegar!  I bet it would great cleaning mirrors.  Does anyone have any homemade cleaners they use and love?

Here they are all clean and sparkly again!

Welcome Home Gifts from Nellie and Rockefeller

We were surprised and delighted to find five eggs in the nesting boxes when we returned from Yellowstone.  These are the first eggs that Nellie and Rockefeller have laid!

They were so cute and tiny.  That's Rockefeller's blue egg there next to a store bought one I had in the fridge, and I don't even buy the extra large ones! (I feel too bad for those poor chickies squeezing out such unnaturally humongous eggs!)  It didn't take long to put those eggs to good use.  I made delicious blueberry pancakes, adding one extra egg since they were so small.  I was amazed at what a rich color the yolks were.  I guess a steady diet of greens, bugs and compost scraps will do that!

They still haven't been laying regularly though and a reader suggested placing decoy eggs in their nesting boxes.  Apparently it makes them broody and they lay more.  Sam and I collected a few egg shaped rocks to tuck in there.  What do you think?  If you were a chicken, would you be fooled?

Gone Fishing

Clay and his dad spent hours on the lake together.  They'd get up early in the morning and sometimes be back before Sam and I were even awake.  I think it was a real treat for them to spend some one-on-one time together.  They caught so many fish (five or six altogether, I think) that the whole lot of us were able to have a fish feast one night!  The next day we mixed up the leftovers with mayo and dill and ate it on toast triangles.

Sam and I joined them on an afternoon trip.  I cast out a line a few times, but (thankfully!) didn’t get a bite.  Most of the time I was trying to keep Sam in the boat!  Eventually he fell asleep with the help of a little milk and the gentle rocking of the boat.

 I really appreciated the opportunity to see the whole cycle of dinner from the source to the plate.

I went with Clay to watch while he gutted the fish, although I did have to avert my eyes on the boat when he clubbed it.  I know it was the most humane way to end its life, but it was still sad. 

The whole thing made me think about people who settled the west and who had to go through this whole process every time they wanted fish for dinner.  It must have been a much more precious commodity!  Instead of just a quick trip to Whole Foods, it would have meant time in a boat or by the river, cleaning and preparing the fish, several hours of work altogether, plus the emotional element of having to kill it yourself.  When you think about that, it seems like meat ought to be a lot more expensive than it is.  And if we were all responsible for procuring our own meat, we’d likely eat it much less often, and appreciate it much more. 

We definitely all appreciated our delicious trout dinner.  It was so fresh and tasty, a much more earthy flavor than the ocean fish I’m used to.  I swear you could taste the mountains and the trees...   

The Cabin That Great Grandpa Built

Clayton's family's cabin is soaked in history; built from the ground up by Sam's great-grandpa it is full of ingenuity, honest sweat and family lore.  Every childhood summer and most winters his family would spend several weeks there.  Here's a peek inside along with some of Clay's thoughts and memories.

"The cabin has been my greatest opportunity to interact with mother nature, to interact with aunts uncles, cousins, with water, winter, wildflowers and mountains. It began as twenty five empty and wide open acres.  My grandparents had TEN children and plans to build a cabin large enough for their family and the generations that would follow.  One day bargain hunting in the nearest town of West Yellowstone, my grandpa came across a tiny, rundown, one-room, hundred year old log cabin, which he purchased for a hundred bucks!  Realizing that you have to have permits for moving entire dwellings down public roads, he rounded up a big flatbed trailer and waited until the middle of the night!  It was in this tiny primitive dwelling that my family and anyone else willing to donate the time stayed while the big cabin was being constructed.  My very earliest cabin memories were staring at the scribbles and writing on the ceiling of that little cabin, high atop a bunk bed shared with two or three cousins." 

The big cabin was built almost entirely on intuition, without frilly formalities like blueprints; the whole layout and design came straight out of Clay's Grandpa's head.  Foundation,  basement, logs, main floor, upstairs, deck, balconies, roof, chimneys, fireplaces, kitchen, they all came one at a time and as the money came.  It was built without any loans or debt, though with plenty of bartering, swapping and trading.  His Grandpa and Grandma were always up in Montana working away at it.  All summer long.  Any of the sons who could come up and help would bring their families and spend a few weeks here and there. There is a picture of Clay's dad on a break from college; he's sporting a mustache, looking young and tough with several brothers hoisting a huge log onto their shoulders in a snowstorm! 

Once there were walls and a roof, people started staying in "The Big," as it was called.  The little cabin has been pretty lonely ever since, but I think there are plans to restore it.  Roughly ten years after they started, it was complete: 9 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and a sleeping loft that could comfortably sleep 30 grandkids at a time! 

When Clay was in junior high he air-brushed characters on the underside of all the fold-out beds in the sleeping loft.  And how fun and funky is this carpet?

The loft is an idyllic hideaway where the cousins can all run wild, stay up late, have pillow fights and even do crazy stuff like jump off this balcony into huge snow drifts in the winter!

All of the moms dread cooking for crowds of 60+ over the fourth of July holidays, but for the kids being out in the wilds of Montana with all your favorite cousins is heaven!  Sam was in his element up there, nature child that he is.  And as he grows there will be plenty to keep him busy: canoeing, fishing, playing at the beach, hiking the nearby canyon, cross country skiing, sledding, catching frogs and snakes, and certainly playing on the toys Great-Grandpa invented. 

This swing set was the safer of the playground equipment; after Clay's grandpa died the parents raised a big stink and took out some of the really fun ones.  Can you believe his grandpa designed and built this whole thing?

The whole cabin is full of inventions that Clay's grandpa dreamed up: beds that fold down from walls, benches with secret storage compartments, stools for little ones, lamps of big  boiling pine burls. 

One of his crowning achievements was this big carousel with wooden horses that went up and down.  In the winter it doubled as a clothes rack for wet snow pants, mittens and socks.  Sadly, it too came up against the safety patrol parents, meeting the same fate as many of the other wildly fun, but rather dangerous inventions.  The carved, wooden horses now sit as decorations in each of the bedrooms.

"Ask me what made me who I am and I'll talk about my brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents, my home and the cabin where I would skinny-dip in clean water and moonlight and dream, BIG.  This is the legacy I'm excited to pass down to my own children; fearless creativity, calloused hands, family togetherness, and a love of wild places." 

The Beard (aka Pioneer Papa): A Table for All Seasons, Part III

(Amy's note: if all the technical woodworking details from my long-winded sweetheart are a big much for you, just skip to the last paragraph and picture; it's beautiful!  I kind of groove on all the how-to myself, but that may be an acquired interest...)

At this point in the construction of the table my family came for a visit and all wanted to see what I was working on.  I showed them my progress with enthusiasm.  I don’t think they understood what was going on, because with just two ends to the base, it still didn’t  look like anything.  You may be thinking the same thing.  I confess that I am reluctant to show anyone works in progress (the same goes for paintings) because it seems like only the person working on it can make the leap from where the project is to where it will be.

I ended up using bed hardware to attach the two ends of the base together based on my brother's advice.  With the hardware attached, I “dry-fitted” everything to see how it came together.  It all fit very tightly and the whole structure was sturdy and didn’t rock or creak or twist!

The last step of the base assembly was to fit the stretcher into place and trace the edge where it came through the center panel in order to cut a hole in each end for the “keys.”  A “key” is little more than a wedge that you tap in and it holds the tenon tight against it’s adjoining piece.  Keyed tenons also happen to look primitive and cool.

The top was really quite a lot of work, but the steps were basic.  I took the cherry planks that I traded my old boss for, then rip cut them into 1 3/4 strips,  glued seven or eight pieces at a time together, butcher-block style, clamped them and repeated this step until I had enough sections to add up to 40 inches.  I then planed each section to 1 1/2 inches and glued and clamped them all together being careful to keep the top surface really flat and even.  From there it was just a lot of hand planing, and several rounds of sanding.

For the top, we opted for a natural, hand rubbed finish.  Lacquer and urethane finishes look beautiful, but they scratch and we didn’t want to worry about keeping it pristine and shiny.  That is another reason we made it butcher block style, for the ruggedness. 

I used several coats of Danish oil and once that was dry, we used some natural paste wax.  The look and feel of it are really pleasing.  If in a few years if we want to sand off the blueberry stains and evidence of Sam’s art projects, and rub some more Danish oil into it, it will be really easy. 

For the base I did use some regular polyurethane for wood floors.  It completely sealed all of the chipping paint, and splintery wood.  Sadly, it darkened everything more than I had hoped, but check out the finished product!  The only things I purchased for this project were: finish, sandpaper and the hardware.  There are ways to make useful, well-crafted things for next to nothing!

That was a lot to say about something so basic as a table.  In truth, when you want something to be special, you either spend a gang of cash on it, or you build it yourself.  And if you’re going to build it, put some love into it! Important things happen around tables; you eat, sew, read, make art, grow close to your family, get to know neighbors, celebrate.  The table is a place to verbalize the bitter things and the good things about life.  With luck, your great grand kids will gather around it someday for a game of scrabble and a piece of birthday cake.

Pioneer Papa: A Table for All Seasons: Part II

This is a glimpse at how one goes about turning a pile of discarded wood with peeling paint into something useful. 

Here is the step-by-step taken without the usual eloquence of my wife’s artfully composed shots.  These were taken in the “first person” so you may plug yourself in as the one building it.  For any unfamiliar terms (like the endless incarnations of mortise and tenon joints for example) there’s always Wikipedia!  I offer this for the interested, more of an FYI than a How-to.  For the short attention-spanned skip the text, just look at the pictures!

Before getting started I chose several posts that were relatively the same size; all of them roughly 3 1/2 inches squared ( a few of them had to have a side ripped down to make them more or less square. ) There were two posts that measured closer to 4 1/2 inches, which I used for the top rails of the base.

ONE- With my original sketch as a guide, I drew the design life-sized on the garage floor.

TWO- Determining the angle of the posts.  I transferred the angle from the floor and traced it directly onto one of the four posts.  I then hoisted the post onto the miter saw and moved the bevel until the blade lined up with my mark.  It turned out to be exactly five degrees, which was lucky.  I used that same 5 degree bevel many different times during the process.  I cut both the top and bottom of each of the four posts at 5 degrees so that they were parallel, causing them to taper in towards each other when sitting flat on the floor.

THREE- In order to lock-in the center panel between the two posts,  I chose to use a mortise and tenon joint.  Here is the top rail getting ready to be mortised.

FOUR- The center panel with a tenon on either end to fit snugly in the mortises.  I cut the tenons on the table saw, sending the piece through upright (I made a jig to hold it vertically and to keep it safe.)

FIVE- Using a jig like the one in the previous step, only this time at 5 degrees from vertical, I cut slots in the top rail.  This joint is also a form of mortise and tenon, but it has an open mortise.  It is also called a “corner bridle joint” for all those who are practicing their useless game show trivia terms.

SIX- Cleaning out the open mortise using the age old method of hacking away at it with a chisel.  I also used a coping saw to keep my trusty five degree angle precise.

SEVEN- And then, in order to fit the posts into the rail, the inverse shape had to be cut, also using the table saw, into the posts.  Here is the top of one of the posts (the tenon) ready to be glued...

EIGHT-...and persuaded into the open mortise in the top rail.

NINE-  The center panel is tapped into the top and bottom rails, the posts are tapped into the rails, and all of the joints are clamped.  The final step is to drill two holes per joint in order to hammer in oak pegs (O.K.  I did have to buy SOME wood, but two 50-cent oak dowels hardly count) which lock the joints together and keep them from moving.  This is one of two bases. 

Stay tuned for the finished product, Monday, in part 3!

Putting Up the Harvest

I set my canner on the stove so I see it regularly and am reminded to do small batches of canned tomatoes before it gets too overwhelming.  I actually kind of geek out about stuff like canning and food storage.  I just loooove to see all those happy, bright jars lined up on the shelves.  And I get such a contented feeling knowing I have a full pantry. 

This is actually the first year I've canned tomatoes; I've never had enough to can!  I'd only done jams before this.  So, with a quick call placed to Clay's mom, I got started.  Turns out it's really simple; 1tsp of sugar, 1 tsp of salt, stuff in the blanched tomatoes sans skins until it's full, put the tops on and pop them in the boiling water for 45 minutes. 

I love the colors.  The heirloom tomatoes we planted are such a rainbow of different hues.  I think a lot of our plants actually cross-pollinated because we got quite a few surprises.  "Who planted yellow Romas?"  "Since when are zebra tomatoes as big as beefsteaks?!"  But, regardless they all still taste amazing. 

It'll be great to open up a jar of these bright, summer colors in the cold of winter.

Saurbeets (Like Saurkraut, but with Beets)

I've gotten all excited about healthy microorganisms.  First I read this book, and most of what he said made a lot of sense, but the ideas about how our modern diet is so lacking in beneficial bacteria really stuck with me.  So then I got this book out of the library and it's RAD.  It inspired a trip to the thrift store in search of old crocks.  I then embarked on my first adventure in using fermentation to preserve foods with the help of beneficial bacteria and fungi.

First we gathered up a bunch of beets from the garden, Early Wonders and Chioggias. 

We washed and peeled them, saving all the scraps for the grateful chickens. 

I buzzed them through the Cuisinart into shreds, and added salt and anise seeds that I had roughly ground up.

Then the shredded beets, salt and seeds were pressed into this crock that we thrifted for about a dollar, and I set a plate with a jar of water on top of the beets to keep them pressed down.  Over the next day or two the brine was expressed from the beets and I added a little bit of extra salty water to keep the level above the plate.  It should take between 1 and 4 weeks for the flavor to fully develop.  You can snack from it as it's "brewing," and then once the full flavor is developed you pop it in the fridge to slow the fermentation and it stays in there quite a long time.  I snuck a little taste after about a week and it mostly just tasted like salty beets, not too much "saur" going on in there yet, but I'm excited to see what happens in the next few weeks!  Stay tuned for more adventures in fermentation; I've got plans for pickles, yogurt, and maybe fruit kimchi!

Freshly Caught

Aiding us in our quest to live off the land for a month, our friend Chad who builds furniture with Clay, brought us this Brown Trout that he caught!  I must admit, I was quite surprised to see a fish staring back at me out of my sink when I walked into the kitchen.  Although I would much prefer to eat something wild caught and fresh, even if it means remembering that yes, it has eyes.  I very much support the idea that as a culture we need to be more aware of and connected to the source of our food.  Though in practice what that translates to for me is simply eating less meat.  I can't really handle petting a soft, fuzzy lamb and then eating it for dinner.  So, since I can't come to terms with that I just don't eat meat very much.  Fish is a little easier, mainly because it's not as cute.  Which is a pretty silly place to draw the line, but there you have it.  Though once, when I was about 12, my family went deep sea fishing and it was totally traumatic.  I was in a vegetarian phase and I cried for the fish.  I don't cry for fish any more, but I do eat it with a grateful heart, recognizing that its life is now furthering my own and my family's. 

Oh, and it was one of the most delicious fish I've ever had, so mild and sweet and Clay dressed it with sage and rosemary from the garden.  I'm already looking forward to Chad's next fishing trip...

Living Off the Land Report #1

Lemon cukes, early wonder beets and chioggias, a chinese cuke, yellow pear cherry tomatoes, and two half slug-eaten red bell peppers.  Not a bad haul.  We've been able to stick to our plan of eating only from the garden and what's in my pantry, and we've been able to eat really well in the process!

I steamed beets for lunch several times last week.  I really can't get enough beets, they're like candy to me!  Although I do end up with a TON of greens, most of which find their way into smoothies and those that don't I steam and add to a bowl of grains, beans and veggies.

Most of our dinners are some variation of a meal in a bowl.  A grain base, usually with beets, beans, and often tomatoes.  This one had a sliced hard boiled egg, too.  Usually we just sprinkle it with salt and the delicious flavors of food straight out of the ground come through and are plenty tasty.  Occassionally we'll dress it with a little olive oil and vinegar. 

I've been using up some tortillas we had left over from the store, but as soon as they run out I'm going to try making my own- whole wheat, of course!

This salad, or some variation on the theme, has found it's way into almost every meal.  It requires absolutely no dressing, just a little sprinkle of sea salt to really make the flavors sing.  And it's so amazingly delicious.  These same ingredients from the grocery store in the dead of winter would produce such a drastically different result though.  You just can't replicate the rich, bursting-with-flavor taste of fresh, heirloom tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, tangy-sweet tomatillos and herbs straight from the garden.

Overall it's been great and I've still only purchased a dozen eggs (anything else is coming from our freezer or pantry).  Hopefully I'll still feel this great about it by the end of the month; I have a feeling I will.  It's so rewarding eating food you've grown and made with your own hands.  And it tastes worlds better than anything I could buy.  I really think simple, real food is the tastiest there is.

 

Living Off the Land

Clay and I are trying a little experiment this next month.  Our garden is quite tiny (we do live in the city, after all), but it's jam packed and overflowing with veggies.  So, we thought it would be fun to see if we could live mostly off our garden for the next month.  We're not going to be militaristic about it, obviously there are things we eat that aren't growing in our garden.  But, with what I've got in food storage in the basement and what's growing in our front lawn gardens, we aim to be as self-sufficient as possible.  Clay gave Rockefeller and Nellie a little pep talk, but it seems they won't be aiding us in our experiment just yet.  They're still a couple months too young to start laying.  So, we'll be buying eggs and imagining they came from our chickies:)  I dug out all my veggie-based cookbooks and I'm  ready to get creative!  We'll let you know how the experiment goes!

Yankees

We are a rugged breed, we Yankees.  And innovative and hard working too.  Up and down the peninsula my parents live on, nearly every other house has a sign for some sort of cottage industry whether an art gallery, a sewing repair service or a hair salon.  It's part of how people make it through the winter when everything all but shuts down around here.  Maine is an entirely different place in the winter.

My dad and I got some flowers here for my mom on the way home.  Not only are they beautiful, but the prices are way better than at a store and I much prefer their arrangements.  It's like that with a lot of these little business.  I'd rather do business with our neighbors and it's often better quality, and of course more personal and friendly.

Along with having a little something to sell or odd jobs to do, most Mainers are pretty self-reliant and independent too, whether it's siding your own barn or, like my uncle, adding solar panels and those things that heat water onto the side of his house.  He's been working on this project since last summer and it's pretty exciting.  He also, of course, sells rhubarb from a cute, little stand and has a B&B, soon to be an off-the-grid bed and breakfast!

My other uncle (in the top picture) has the ultimate homestead.  It's so gorgeous, situated right along the river is a little valley nestled in the trees.  He has several gardens and grows enough to keep himself fed all winter with the help of his root cellar and some ambitious canning.  He also takes it upon himself to outfit a handful of old ladies and other friends and family with plenty of garden extras.  When we lived here I'd always see him out and about delivering extra produce.  He also taught high school history and was a state representative for many years.  I wish my local rep was a gardening, clothesline-using, homesteader!