Winter Storage

One of the benefits of buying a 200 year old house is a built in root cellar. Our foundation walls are constructed of brick and ledge and the cellar floor is dirt. This past fall we we put up lots of root vegetables including: carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, and several varieties of squash.

The potatoes were a success. I could not tell you the last time I bought a bag. We stored those in wooden bushel baskets. Carrots were stored in a plastic tote buried in sawdust, they are still crisp. The onions did ok but are starting to sprout and soften a bit. MM thinks they may have done better in an environment with less humidity. The garlic has done well stored in the kitchen.

Our squash didn't fair so well in storage. We had a very wet, rainy end to our summer which made for a great environment for mold to grow. In addition, we had issues with fruit flies when we first brought the squash in the barn from the garden.

We further hastened our successes with poor storage methods. We had tried to store in a refrigerator in the shed. They stored nicely when it was running but shortly after we unplugged it they started to mold. MM had also stored a batch in a tote in the cellar and they also molded from the moisture and inability to breathe.

What will we do differently next year?

Store the squash is a closet upstairs (directly after picking from garden). It is cool and dry with lots of ventilation.

Check on our vegetables frequently. One bad vegetable can ruin a bunch.

Pick top quality root vegetables (without blemishes)

Grow more potatoes! We have enough for another month if we are lucky.

Does this picture above look familiar? Anyone get the 09' Johnny's Select Seed catalog? I'd say they got their picture the same place I did, The Common Ground Fair. They had a much better shot but I had to chuckle when I saw it because it was a great looking display and I even had an eye for that.

On a final note, totally unrelated... I want to grow lots of gourds next year so I can make some of these. This was also a display at this past CGF. Wouldn't they make a nice Christmas present?

Here are a few good websites that have lots of great information on root cellars and many other topics if you would like to learn more.

http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/rootcellar.html

http://www.earth-house.com/

Thanks for the references City Girl!

Color is the daily bread of the Eyes-Sunday Stills Challenge

This weeks photo challenge theme is sunrise/sunset . Ed said "let's see some color." Up until a minute ago when I went over to the challenge blog I had just read the color part and not the title that included the theme sunset/sunrise. Oops, little minor detail I missed. I did not just take these pictures because I am trying to avoid downloading any more photos until I (John) gets my computer straightened out.

I have been trying to free my computer up of some 2,000 pictures I took this past year. No wonder my desktop has been so dang slow. I recently did a system restore and screwed it all up so now my kodak program and burner are not in sync. Thankfully, I had burned up until September so I am downlading the latter 3 months on to shutterfly....time consuming!

These two pictures were the pictures I planned to post when I thought the theme was "color"...hello. I love this one of Leah I took in May out by the frog pond. Animated expression (that's my girl) and the look of the sky.

Happy to say that my trim work will probably be going up faster than I anticipated thanks to my brother and MM. I have been doing a bit of research on-line to get some ideas but have not found what I am looking for. I want a rustic look as this is an old farm house and we are hard on stuff so we need lumber that is forgiving. I was thinking pine around the windows, doors, etc and maybe rough cut lumber/ship lap half walls in the dining room/kitchen. In the living room if the budget allows I would like a 1/2 wall of bead board painted white (wainscoting I guess it is) and the same stuff to trim around the fireplace. Any thoughts, suggestions, pictures you may have, or web sites? I am so excited because I will be able to decorate like I want with real curtains (not cheap mini blinds) and I can plaster my walls with pictures.....yeah...I am SO excited!
Before and after pictures of this old farm may be here quicker than I thought.

The kids are back to school in the morning. They have had a great vacation even though we did not venture very far from the homestead. We are ALL homebodies. We did make it to the movies to see Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler, great movie!
I hope to do my next post on root cellaring....our successes and failures.

Happy New Year!

NEW YEARS GOALS ~ 2009~

~ FAMILY & FRIENDS - continue to enjoy every moment I have with them. Be spontaneous and have fun! Take nobody for granted!

~ FOOD - eat mostly whole foods, preserve more than ever before, grow/raise a good portion of our food.

~ FITNESS - continue to be consistent with an exercise regimen and ENJOY what mother nature has to offer. Loose a few pounds!!!

~ FARM - purchase solar fencing and get set up for cows. Learn as much as I can about rotational grazing.

~ FARMHOUSE - put up trim & bead board. Finishing touches.... lots of wood work. Install a new bathroom floor.

Cheers to another great year!

The Best Things In Life Are Free ~Sunday Still Challenge~

This weeks Sunday Stills Challenge theme is "What brings you luck." Well that was a hard for me because I am not very superstitious. Well maybe a little, I do carry a picture of my late grandfather in my wallet. I wore his "lucky long john's" and I did see a deer while hunting this fall.
He did buy me a stethoscope when I graduated from nursing school that I flip out when I misplace. We do have their kitchen table which means the world to me but those items would make for a lame photo session. So, I tweaked the theme to "what makes me feel lucky". I feel fortunate to own our land.

I put on my boots, grab my camera, mp3 player, and the dogs (notice that is plural) and we are off. The snow is deep in the middle and we've yet to pack a trail with our snomobile so I walk close to the wood line.
There is tons deer sign. They are bedding all up our wood line and they have been munching on MM's food plot. Where were they this fall?

I know what a nut, taking a picture of deer poo. This post is about photography and what a good, detailed shot.

The blind looks a little different this time of the year compared to spring. It was foggy all day. The temp was up to 60 degrees today, very unusual for December in Maine.

Our land is surrounded by old fencing and rock walls. Even the back forty (the wooded area). Years ago it used to be pasture. I cannot imagine having livestock so far from the house. Our land goes back approximately 1 mile.


About 3/4 of the way back of our field the main snowmobile trail goes through. Since the trail on the back forty is not packed down this is where we walked. Well, I walk/jogged, Callie ran!



This is the newest addition to the farm, not quite a farm dog. Her name is Rona (her previous owner says it is short for Corona). I think I'll call her Ramona. She is a 4 year boxer. Same EXACT deal as how we obtained Callie. Phone call from the neighboors (kennel owners). Customer is going through a divorce and they are looking for a good home. I asked MM and he didn't say no right away so I offered to dog sit for a night then decide. She passed the test and is staying. She is SWEET as ever. She's a keeper!

Putting Pork on Your Fork

Not too much to report on the farm. The weather in Maine has been wacky... warm, then below zero, snow then rain??

So glad we are down to 2 pigs. A fifty pound bag of grain is lasting well over a week compared to 3 days. The pork chops and sausage are so delicious! My neighbor picked up our ham, bacon, and smoked shoulder today. MM is cooking our first of the bacon as I type.....yum....he just gave me a sample.
Years ago John & I raised a few pigs. I can vividly remember one of our novice pig experiences. We had just moved into our first home and we were wanna be farmers. We went to the auction and bought a 75lb pig. The closest we had to a farm vehicle was John's Toyota 4 runner so we loaded her in the back and off we went.

When we arrived home we put her in a pen that John had built out of pallets. The next morning at 5 a.m. John discovered she had escaped. It was early Spring and John was able to follow her tracks in the soft ground. He discovered her a 1/2 mile back at our NEW neighbors house rooting up their lawn. The chase began! The pig headed straight for their deck and it fell and slid into their sliding glass door. They were awoken by their dog barking and the noise of the pig and MM in hot pursuit. John was young and in his prime I tell you. But, that pig ran faster scared than John could mad. I too attempted to capture but remember dropping to the ground surrendering. The whole family attempted to catch this frisky critter and you know it, after quite some time MM outsmarted her. He hid behind a tree and when it attempted to run the field John was able to get a hold of her. The drama continued, because of the mud season we could not drive up their driveway (as they did not either) so we had to walk her home. Ever try to walk a 75lb pig? We weren't laughing at the time but we often reminisce about that day.

This was our first meeting of our new neighbors and after a bit of landscaping and a 12 pack of beer we became friends for life.

This story was not my planned post for this evening but...there you have it. That damn ADD kicking in again!

A few weeks back I finished reading Omnivores Dilemma. A little deep at times but very informative. It is headed to City Girl's bedside stand next. Now I am reading In Defense of Food along with an awesome magazine MM bought me for Christmas. It is called Countryside & small stock journal. For those of you that are interested in gardening, livestock, homesteading this is a must have . It has few ads and pictures in comparison to other magazines and it is jammed pack with great info.

I have been doing lots of cooking and I will end this with a couple recipes that we have enjoyed.

For all of you that have a freezer full of blueberries. This is the first time I made and ate blueberry pie. MM and my in-laws enjoyed as well.

Blueberry Pie

~3 to 4 cups of Blueberries - fresh or frozen

~7 Tablespoons corn starch
~3 Tablespoons water
~2 Tablespoons lemon juice
~ 1 teaspoon cinnamon

~1/4 teaspoon all spice

One 9 inch pie crust

For the topping:

~1/4 cup sugar (OR 1/8 cup sugar and 1/8 cup Splenda)
~1/2 cup flour
~1/4 cup butter or margarine

Add blueberries to crust, drizzle with remaining incredients and then apply crumb topping.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

This was the bread I made today. It too was a hit, even with the kiddos. Now remember I cheat making bread most days by using my bread machine. I add liquids/butter etc to the bread pan first then I add dry mix after ingredients combined. Make a hole in the middle and add yeast last. I select dough cycle which takes my machine about 1.5 hours to mix and rise. I then shape it into a loaf and put in a glass bread pan and cover with a moist towel to rise (preferably in a warm area) for 1 hour. Then it cooks at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

*EGG BREAD*

2/3 cup milk (warmed to 75-85 degrees)

1 large egg

1 tablespoon of butter

2 1/4 cups of bread flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon of bread machine fast rise yeast (or 1 1/2 teaspoon of active dry yeast)

And lastly for the Rabid Outdoorsman and Queenie here is my pickled egg recipe you were asking for. It is at the bottom of that post.
Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas! MM was scheduled to work last night and was called off because the census was low on his unit. SO EXCITING for us!!
The only blip in the holiday is that I accidentally deleted all of my holiday photos (approx 100)
Boo hoo....I had never done that before. The kids knew I was upset and jumped right up so I could take a few photos despite their exhaustion from the holiday events. We will celebrate with our in-laws over the weekend so I will try and recapture some of what I lost. :(

Note to self: Don't play with buttons or attempt to delete a picture unless I'm really paying attention.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

Sunday Stills Challenge ~Food~

I bet you've never given or received pickled eggs for Christmas. Several weeks back I proposed to our old neighbors (Mike & Bea) that we'd stop the traditional gift card swap and try doing something a little more homemade instead. We've filled a bag full of goodies. Much of it is homemade (pickled beets & eggs, body spray, soap, earrings, cookies, oatmeal bread, kids school pictures) but we did add some store bought wine & a magazine subscription (that is one of my favorite Christmas gifts, it is the gift that keeps giving all year long)

MM made a couple Tourtiere Pie's, one for us and the other for Mike & Bea. If your not familiar with them they consist of ground pork, potato and spices like nutmeg, sage, and thyme. It is a traditional pie that the French (& others I'm sure) make and eat around Thanksgiving and Christmas time. Even though both of us are of Canadian heritage it was our first time making them and they came out great. Actually MM gets the credit because I just added the spices. There are many variations of tourtiere pie and some strong opinions to go along with them. French have a reputation for fairly particular. When we make it again we will use ground pork only (we used half hamburg) and add a bit more potato.

Leah made the above yummy creations as seen at Henbogle and another blog which I cannot recall??? What we haven't given away, we've eaten. :0 Salt & sweet are a good combo. :)

Merry Christmas to ALL! HO! HO! HO!

(This is what you get when you tell your boy to go put some lotion on his face because his chin is chaffed from wrestling with his Dad)

Challenge link here for anyone that wants to join or peek around.



As requested, here is the recipe we used:


Rochelle’s Tourtière Pie
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried sage
1 small onion, chopped fine1 cup water
1 cup plain mashed potatoes, with no butter and no milk
Pastry for a 2-crust 9-inch pie
In a saucepan combine beef, pork, seasonings, onion, and water. Cover and simmer for two hours. Uncover and cook ten minutes. The mixture should be quite dry, and if it isn’t, then drain the excess liquid. Add the mashed potatoes.
Heat oven to 425° F. Put meat mixture in crust and then bake for about 30 minutes. (Foil wrapped around the edges of the pie crust helps prevent excessive browning.)


The recipe came from Maine Food & Lifestyles website

Please take a moment and read the article that goes along with the "Toochay" pie recipe.
(That is really how we pronounce it. )