Harvest

Waking up with a migraine, I've allowed myself to be cozy on the couch with a cup of my new favorite tea- The Tea Guy's Coconut Truffle Black Tea.

This has been a busy summer.  Once again, I quit my job (unsafe work environment!), so I have had a bit more time to keep up with the garden and fiber arts.  Somehow, all of this 'free time' does seem free at all!  I've been busy canning tomato sauce and pickles, harvesting dried beans, playing with baby rabbits...

I've named the grey one Sterling and the blue and cream one Pika, both males from the same litter.  We also got another grey male, Firari (runaway in Turkish after he nearly escaped!), who is six months old now.

Firari has bonded with the two kits, and I think they will do well together.  Tavie, our two and half year old male, is kept separate due to his age and inability to bond well with other males.

Why do we have so many males?  Our large outdoor hutch originally had three separate pens, but when we moved, we took those out so that everyone could have a large run and keep each other warm.  We couldn't keep any does with our male without the inevitable happening!  It turned out that our original male was too old or his personality didn't allow him to bond well with our new ones, but these new rabbits seem to be happy and carefree, so I now get to have four angora rabbits =)  I do plan on breeding them in the future.

The garden has been producing well, especially since we had only amended the newly overturned soil with loam.  I've never seen so many cucumbers!

I have probably 20+ pints of pickle slices and three gallons of sour mustard whole pickles in the basement fridge.  Tomatoes had late blight and didn't produce well at all, but I was able to buy 60 lbs of canning tomatoes from Sapowsky Farms and I put up 8 pints of ketchup and 7 pints of sauce from that.  Canning a couple pints of sauce at a time from my own heirlooms, I think we will have enough to last at least into the next year.  Next summer, I hope to have 30-40 tomato plants instead of 15, and I will find a drier spot to ward off rot and blight.  I have also put up 40 lbs of peaches (sliced and jam) from Breezeland Orchards.  If I can get another couple bushels of apple drops from Mt. Pleasant Orchard, I think we will eat well this winter!

One last summer market on the 23rd, and then I might been a vendor at Northampton's winter market!

I think the rest of today should be spent avoiding shelling more turtle beans, finishing the hat that I've been knitting, and watching classic Doctor Who.  Also eating cupcakes because it was someone's birthday and I made sure there would be leftovers.

Next post will be about buying half a freezer pig from Mockingbird Farm!

Ginger carrot soup and a mushroom and spinach quiche with potato crust

Alright, I admit it.  Some days, I spend all morning looking up recipes, and spend all afternoon making dinner.  But its for a good cause!  Don't tell Jon that I'm not working on his sweater today ;)

I made orange juice today, too!  One bag of oranges made about half a large jar of juice.  I'm saving the pulp for muffins.  I would candy the rinds, but they have fungicide on them =(  I have a bag of grapefruit waiting for next time.

Tonight for dinner, I am making ginger carrot soup and a mushroom and spinach quiche with potato crust.  Sounds fancy, but is really easy!  The quiche looks absolutely beautiful, and the broth of the soup is AMAZING.  Like, restaurant quality.  Woo!  I substituted organic whole milk for the soy milk in the soup.  The quiche is taking forever to set, though, so next time I might use a higher temp. to begin with, then bring it down to finish setting up.  One more egg might help, too.  

I actually had ginger on hand from when I preserved it in some vodka in the fridge.  Now I have ginger extract, and the ginger tastes just fine in the soup.  No alcohol taste.  I did use a mid-grade vodka that doesn't leave a horrible taste in things.  Great for vanilla, too!

Jon's sweater IS coming along...slowly!  Here is what I have done so far, about one skein, next to my new favorite tea: Tazo Focus.  It has black tea, lemon balm, chicory, cocoa peels, roasted yerba mate, rose petals, citrus essence oil, rosemary, and 'natural flavor'.  LOVE the cocoa!