This pile of red oak was here before I arrived. It was cut on this property, and Ken helped mill and plane it; he worked at a local mill in exchange for getting wood sawed and planed so he could build. This pile was intended for the flooring on part of the main level. The other flooring is tiles he made. A divorced friend asked about it once. Ken explained that someday it would be …
Loyal and I have been learning how much food we need to grow and preserve. We eat some meals together, some apart, and some shared with friends. I offered to freeze corn and he bought some from our friends Josh and Rama at Turnip Rock Farm. Then I got out Ken’s food preservation bible – duct taped together It has times for blanching, times for canning – so much helpful information. I last froze corn …
When it was cold last week I knew I would be using the cook stove, so I asked Loyal if he would help me with rendering lard. He created this fat cutter with objects he found here. It works like a paper cutter. I follow the directions in Ken’s old Stocking Up. Place a quarter inch of water in the bottom of a kettle, add fat, add heat. Once the temperature reaches 255 degrees, the …
Although the farmers markets here have ended, I am still gleaning and preserving. These slightly blemished peppers came from a farmer friend. I offered to clean and chop, bag and keep a portion and give back a portion so I could have more than I had bought and frozen over the season. Peppers are marvelous. Ripe bell peppers have vitamin C. They are a joy to chop, and don’t need blanching before freezing. So Saturday …
Each week – rain or shine – I go to my local farmers market where I can buy food from the next generation. I know them, I have visited their farms, I know how they grow my food, and I want them to survive. PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS!
I have been eating great greens from the farmers market. As the week ends, I look at what remains. When I get over enthusiastic about greens, I wilt them so I can finish them up. Here are some beet greens and a couple green onions Chop Here is a bit of sausage and the onions Add greens and wilt ; they will turn bright green and shrink – just a minute or two Add a …
Eat local challenges in August always amuse me. The REAL challenge is to eat as much as local as possible all year round. This morning and again at midday I felt like some greens would perk me up. So I tried a wrap. Wrap and avocado are NOT local. But The quark from Cosmic Wheel Creamery came from Amery, the radishes from Whetstone Farm, the greens from Steady Hand farm, the tomatoes …
Yes, those are snowshoes, and yes, this IS April 5th. Although this are often gets spring snows in April, it is usually after the frost has come out of the ground, and the snow melts quickly. This year the frost has come out only in some areas, and the amount of snow was greater than I remember. So, I got out the snow shoes to get to the greenhouse at the bottom …
What does one do when winter returns on March 30th? Make jam, of course! I will be selling jam here at Keppers during the Earth Arts show Saturday, May 5th and Sunday, May 6th. Here are the raspberry – blackberry on the left and black currant on the right. I have also made strawberry, ripe bell pepper, and organic peach. Other than the peaches I got in Viroqua last summer, the jams are made from …
Few people knew which tasks Ken did and which I did. We formed a good team, and I guess to many people the pieces were seamless. Ken did the planting. He made the potting soil in fall, brought in enough to fill four or five fifty gallon plastic barrels, made the soil blocks, planted, watered and transplanted. In Ken’s absence I found empty barrels – he hadn’t felt good enough to make the potting soil. …
