Sugar, in all it’s forms, scientists say, reacts the same way in our bodies whether it’s honey or high-fructose corn syrup.  They also say that cancer tumors have now adjusted so that they are fed by glucose (what our bodies turn all sugars into).  While the details of how and how much are interesting, this isn’t much of a shock for me.  Moderation is a boring mantra, but it seems nature really likes balance and that would include a balanced, plant and grain focused diet.

While sugar and all of the other ingredients mentioned above are probably not the best choices for what one would call a healthy diet of moderation, targeting one or more ingredients still doesn’t get at the heart of the issue.  The details of the chemical makeup and individual nutritional labels of our food all dissolve if we ask the questions:

1. Did it grow in the ground?
2. Did it eat healthy food that grew in the ground?
3. Did it have a healthy life?
4. Would your grandmother have recognized it as food?
5. Is it real?  Hint: if it comes in a box, the answer is more than likely, no.

It’s not so much about what the label says that the “food” contains as that it has a label at all.  If it was made with your hands, it’s much less likely to have tons of sugar, fat, high fructose corn syrup, transfats and whatever else our scientists are researching for us at the time.  If it comes in a box, it’s not real food.  If it’s advertised on television, chances are it’s not real food.  It’s not that the research isn’t valid, it’s just that whole, healthy, real food creates whole, healthy real bodies.

Annie
Off to make my grandmother’s Irish Apple Cake (sugar included)

Joe, our resident bee guy, is the fretter on site.  He checked on our two hives recently and found that they are both healthy.  When he lifted the lid he could both hear and see them.  Also, it was a little warmer than the air when he put his hand close to the entrance.  On the other hand, because our winter has been so mild, he’s actually more worried for them than if they just hunkered down and stayed still.  The warmer it is, the more active they are.  The more activity, the more honey they eat.  So, Joe’s worried they won’t have enough food stores to get them through to pollen collecting time.

On goes a 5# bag of sugar on top of each hive.

Helping our bees through the winter.

Tucked in but still healthy and active.

Joe, The Bee Guy, Rebecca The Most Excellent Gardener and the Peanut.

Artichoke and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Could the color of these veggies be any prettier?  That’s White Bean and Roasted Garlic Dip for the vegans.

More dip, cause we all gotta have our veggies!

Roasted Mushroom Pate en Croute – another one that never comes back empty.  For me, this is one that I have to say to myself, “Step awaaay from the food.  Awaaaay.”

This one is my favorite because it’s so pretty.  Sesame Soy Udon noodles are wrapped around forks and served on a bed of shaved bright purple cabbage.  Guests just take one or two forks for their plates.

Delicata Squash and Goat Cheese Tartlets – kinda pop in your mouth goodness.

Annie
Playing in my winter kitchen

The winds blow so hard on our property that securing this house to the ground somehow becomes a bigger priority than we thought.  Luckily, it wasn’t that difficult to straighten and we didn’t loose the kale or the Swiss chard growing inside.  Jon drove rebar stakes to which he affixed the base and then reinforced the sides with long 2 x 8′s.  This should do the trick, but a winter of Maine weather will tell us for sure.

All of the other season extenders – cold frames and mini-greenhouses – are producing as well.  The leeks and carrots are completely covered and insulated with straw and it was only last week that I harvested the last of the Brussels sprouts and broccoli from the beds.  The hens were so excited to still be getting greens this late in the season.

Traveling back in time to when it was constructed in the spring…

The girls got into the act, donning drills and hammers.  The base is made of 3 – 2x12x12′s, the frame of electrical conduit piping with dry fit 45 and 90 degree corners at the ‘roof edge’ and topline.  The whole is encased in 6 mil. plastic which we may find isn’t strong enough to withstand our property’s micro-climate.

Chloe working on strapping while Ella works on the framing.

Jon and Ella getting the last piece fitted for the base.

Rebecca used the greenhouse all summer long to grow veggies for the Riggin.  I can’t wait to use it as we go into spring!

Annie
Why is chard ‘Swiss’ and sprouts ‘Brussels?’

There was one special group of guests who were blessed with bagels last summer, pre-Scratch recipe.  One.  Bagels at home or in a bakery space are one thing, but on the Riggin in my galley?  We are talking quite another, my friends.  However, as I’ve been making them fairly regularly at home, I can now see the possibility of shiny, chewy, crispy bagels slathered with flavored cream cheese on the boat.  I mean Scratch does 1,200 in a day and is only able to boil 12 at a time.  If they can do that, I surely can make 60!  We’ll see!

Annie
In bagel heaven

We all pitched in and helped, the girls now FAR more adept at working with dough and rolling out the rolls than they used to be when much of their time was spent seeing if they could submerse their arms into the big bag of flour all the way up to their shoulder.  They’d start by just putting their hands into the flour, to which I didn’t usually object, because, hey, who can resist the silky feel of flour in your hands.  Usually in a moment when my back was turned, the temptation would become irresistible, and my next snap shot would be of the bag of flour swallowing my child.  Happy child, messy kitchen.  Bread is never a clean event on the best of days, although much more so now than it used to be.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce
Simple Romaine Salad
Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

Annie
Remembering the little people when their cheeks were big and rosy all the time…. sigh.

My grandma worried that we would get so bored that one year we would eventually resist coming.  I’m not sure why we worry as adults so much about the children in our lives being bored.  I know as I look back on my childhood memories, the softer, less thrilling moments are the ones I cherish most.  As I watch my own children, move in and out of boredom, what comes after bored is so interesting to observe.

“Mama, I’m bored.”

“Oh, excellent!  I can’t wait to see what comes after ‘bored.’  Whatever you discover, I know it will be terrific!”

I’m certain that this is one of the phrases that I give to my children which they promise to themselves they will NEVER repeat to their offspring.  We’ll see.

During one of my many childhood periods of boredom spend with my grandparents, we would don my grandpa’s old oxfords with the tails down to our knees and the sleeves rolled up to our wrists, armed with pails and some sort of muck boot.  We’d then tromp through the bushes to my grandma’s favorite haunts looking for whichever berry was in season – usually raspberries, blackberries, or my favorite, elderberries.  We would then trounce home, tired and sunburned and mouths watering for my grandma’s famous elderberry pie.

For the longest time I tried to recreate it with other berries, but eventually gave up the effort, resigning myself to reliving elderberry pie in my mind only.

Until this summer!  When the elderberry patch went into my garden!  It’s American Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis, and I should see my first pie next year.  My mom has always said that gardening skipped a generation and that my grandmother passed her green thumb on to me.  Thank you, Grandma, for the memories.  I’m so glad you are with me again in the garden.

Annie
Thinking of Cecile Hunt

Do I have a recipe to share?  Nope.  Who wants to actually roast pears before making this bread?  As much as I love cooking, not even I would say yes.  The trick is to make creative interesting meals with what you already have on hand.

As a guide, rather than a recipe I use 2 cups of wet or liquid ingredients including some sourdough starter.  In this case the pears and the oatmeal.  I then use the ratio of 5 cups flour: 1 tablespoon yeast: 1 tablespoon salt to the 2 cups of wet for each loaf of bread.  Here’s where it gets tricky – the moisture content is never the same when you are using leftovers.  You want your dough to be the consistency of sticky biscuit dough.  If you are a traditional bread maker who is used to kneading, you know that this is a mess waiting to cover your arms to the elbows.  Don’t fret though, it doesn’t hurt anything to add a bit more flour or water depending on which way you need to go.   In this case time will be your friend.

With these loaves you can see from the photo that I also pressed them flat, sprinkled them with cinnamon and demerera sugar and then rolled them into loaves for the loaf pans.

For more detailed process see my post on no knead sourdough bread.

Annie
Usin’ what I got

To Make:

Fabric remnants in 1, 2 or 3 different matching fabric.
Thin quilt batting or ugly fabric that you don’t want to see.

Cut 4, 5 inch squares from fabric 1 (the back.)
Cut 4, 4 1/2 inch squares from batting or ugly fabric.
If you’d like for the front and back to be the same fabric, cut 8, 5 inch squares of the same fabric.
Cut 4, 2 3/4 x 5 inch rectangles the back fabric.
Cut 4, 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 inch rectangles of fabric 2.
Cut 4, 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 inch rectangles of fabric 3.

Sew the small squares of fabric 2 and 3 together first with a 1/4 inch seam allowance for all.
Sew the two squares to the 2 3/4 x 5 rectangles and press.
With wrong sides facing, leave a 2 inch opening, and sew the front and back pieces together around the outer edge.  Snip the corners.
Invert as you would to make a pillow and then insert the batting material.  This took some patience to smooth out the batting and not have wrinkles.
Fold the opened seam closed and top stitch at both a 1/4 inch and right on the edge.  I also added an x, but you could easily do circles or another free form design.

Annie
Frugal gifting – gotta love it!

This is my mom’s recipe.  As a little girl I loved the leftover meatloaf sandwiches more than the meal itself.

2 pounds ground beef
1 cup oatmeal or breadcrumbs
1 cup tomato juice or 2/3 cup milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon dried onion
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix it all up, pat it into a greased loaf pan and pop it into the oven. Bake for 1 hour.  Let it cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8