~lull~

Mama squid carrot with her baby. (This has nothing to do with this post, it's just funny.)

Oddly enough I’ve had trouble writing any new posts. Don’t get me wrong…I’ve been making and doing a crazy amount of stuff lately. But at night I settle in and watch a documentary or knit (and often do work) and just can’t seem to find the motivation.

I’ve been great about exercising lately and also canning and both are physical, sweaty activities that exhaust me, in a good way. I know that’s definitely played a big part in my evening slackerness.

I don’t think a lull is terrible though. Sometimes it’s nice to catch up on my favorite blogs or just zone out a bit. Soon I will be in a posting frenzy and tell you all about:

-U-pick outings

-a surprise trip to a Naval destroyer

-jalapeno jelly, blueberry cherry balsamic black pepper jam, bruschetta in a jar and hot pepper peach jam

-bacon (from the pig I watch die) curing in the fridge

-farm work

-knitted cardigan

-and more!

….now back to Netflix.

Just Another Day on the Farm…Sort Of

A very blurry, rainy picture of Michael with a rifle.

*The following is my experience with the death of a pig. Although I purposely didn’t include graphic detail (as I don’t think it’s completely necessary) it still might be upsetting to some.

Last Friday I was out on the farm, like usual this time of year. Around 3, the time I’d normally be getting ready to pack up and head home, Michael said they would need to go out and slaughter one of the pigs. Joel would be coming back in about an hour to assist.

This pig had a hernia and it had doubled in size overnight. The vet didn’t seem very optimistic. So, that was that.

Right away I asked if I could come. As soon as the words left my mouth I was worried I’d made a big mistake. What if I was super scared, or nauseous, or sad? What if I just started crying right there in front of Michael and Joel?

Then I just told myself that no matter what, I had to do it. If Chris wants to raise pigs for charcuterie I need to be aware of what I’m getting into. I need to know that if need be I could participate and not have a meltdown. I was going to go out into that field and watch the whole thing, eyes open.

In the field it was pouring rain. The pig went down with one shot, thankfully. Everything went how it should, and it was pretty quick. I actually watched the whole thing and I was completely fine. I was actually very surprised by the fact that I was so calm.

They had to move the pig to a different field to gut it. I stayed back so I wouldn’t be in the way, but at one point Michael said I could come closer and look. It just reminded me of high school science class. It was interesting and informative and I was glad I was there.

As someone who didn’t eat meat for a very long time, this was a huge step for me. Ever since I started eating meat again I’ve been very aware of what I’m eating when I’m eating meat. I think about it every single time. I remind myself to be appreciative.

When it was all over I thanked the pig. I’m glad she lived a good life and although it’s unfortunate that she was having health problems, I’m glad she went easily. If you can ever get the chance to get this close to your food source (assuming you eat meat) I suggest it.

 

Day 13-The Dream Team of Productivity

This is the full piece of maple bacon Chris and Jason made, right after it came out of the oven.

It hardly feels like just a Monday since Jason and I got so much done today. When I got home from taking Jack to school I cleaned and organized all the pantries. (Long overdue.)

Jason worked on drilling holes in the small stumps of the giant lilac bush they just removed. Now they need to pour kerosene in there and set it on fire to get rid of the stump so the fence can go in.

Then we went into the garden and put up stakes and fencing next to the recently transplanted pepper and tomatoes. I’m very happy to say that the transplants seem to be doing well, which I credit to patience with not moving them too soon, and two days of good, soaking rain.

Jason weeded the heck out of the section behind the garden and I showed him how to prune and tie up our growing tomato plants. Then I plucked out some parsley, spinach and romaine to give to my neighbor.

In the afternoon we made whole wheat sandwich bread, roasted red pepper hummus, and I tried out a new recipe for granola from Heidi Swanson. Tomorrow we will make yogurt which will  go great with the granola.

We drove up to Saratoga to the library so both of us could get some books. I brought home an entire bag full of cookbooks. I really need to get back to meal planning and trying new things. I already went through 3 of them making photocopies of recipes I want to try.

I think tomorrow we will keep it a bit more simple. I have some reading and organizing I want to get done. Wednesday is the FSC Food Swap so I’ll be a bit busy then cooking and labeling everything.

Days 6 & 7-Gardening, Running, Tacos & Whiskey

Yesterday Jason and I went crazy on the garden. He weeded the outer perimeter (which was amazing and long overdue) while I moved over some of the peppers and tomatoes I grew from seed. They were big enough now to be transplanted.

I also harvested up all the radishes and arugula and a bunch of the mesclun so I made us a salad before driving up to Congress Park to run. To be fair, Jason did most of the running; I ran for a bit and then just tried not to die.

Last night we made tacos all from scratch. I showed him how to make tortillas from this recipe (which I used in place of the usual one and I actually like it better, but used 2 cups AP flour & 3 cups whole wheat plus Spectrum shortening instead of Crisco). Jason mixed up taco seasoning from this recipe but we omitted the dried onions and just cooked up some red onion with the ground beef.

Today we were a bit more lazy during the day but we both went running again, but separate routes at different times.

Tonight I made breakfast burritos for dinner with some of the extra tortillas. I also got to use some romaine from my garden.

Now Chris and Jason are both at the last whiskey tasting of the season at 9 Maple. Lucky ducks. Tomorrow Jason and I need to make graham crackers for s’mores for camping and at night Chris is going to show him how to cook up the bacon they made, which is curing in the fridge right now.

Days 3 & 4 – Jam Completion & The Pig Roast

Just as a warning, this post contains pictures of a deceased pig after the jump.

Rhubarb Blueberry Orange Jam

Friday we finished up the jam and I actually haven’t even had a chance to try it out yet. We actually ended up with 4 jars of jam and 2 small ones that were more like compote.

The mix before it got cooked down.

The part where I discuss the pig roast (with photos) is after the jump.

Day 2-Jam, Sausage & Ice Cream

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Tomorrow there will be plenty of pictures as we finish the jam, I promise. Anything related to sausage making will be devoid of pictures unless I happen to be around because Chris doesn’t take picture for me. Crazy, huh?

This morning I was wondering what to do and then I remembered all the rhubarb that’s been sitting in my fridge. So I went on over to Local Kitchen (because she will never lead you astray) and found this recipe for jam right away.

Now I didn’t have currants but I did have tons of blueberries left in my freezer and she says it’s perfectly fine to use those instead. Yay! So I got to chopping the rhubarb and I used an orange in place of the lemon, simply because that’s what I had on hand.

Then I gave Jason the manly task of macerating the fruit. So he got to learn how to start making jam and he learned the word “macerate.” Rad. The mixture has to sit overnight, so we will finish it in the morning.

Later in the day Jason mentioned making ice cream so I busted out The Perfect Scoop. He decided upon the chocolate peanut butter.We made up the mix so it could cool while they were making sausage tonight.

When Chris got home they picked up some meat at Sanders Market and went to a friend’s house to make sausage and bacon. I also managed to solve a meat smoking crisis as I used my connection with Chuck Curtiss from Willow Marsh to get a backup smoker for the party.

The original one got all messed up during the winter and there was about to be a serious dilemma with regard to the party. I may not have the hippest connections but I certainly do have practical ones!

Later we busted out the ice cream maker and mixed up the ice cream. It was terrific. While browsing the book today I noticed a recipe for basil ice cream. I will be making that for sure!