2013

Photo of our back deck by visiting Zsuzsanna Luciano

I'm afraid to title this 2013 cuz by now it gets tiring reading/ hearing of summing up the last year. And too New Year's Resolutions. I don't usually go there. But last year was quite a ride - mainly health wise - amongst some other things cooking wise. I want to start posting again . . . We'll see. Seems I'm too busy to write, tho writing is one of the many things I love to do.

Like today. It's January 6, Eucharist Day, Magi visited the Christ child on the Church calendar. It's my day (usually) for putting away Christmas decor. Our tree IS brown, so last night was the last lighting of the tree. BUT I also had Sardines mailed to me from I Love Blue Sea - 3 pounds. I'm going to "pickle" them, as you can with all small fish and white fish - typically herring. But I'm planning on doing more of the ferment version, without the vinegar. I still have some cranberries for my favorite wintertime ferment (I posted about it before). I'm not going to ferment all the sardines.

Garden produce ferments - sauerkraut, dilly beans, zucchini relish, and kimchi

I got an electric smoker in November, so going to smoke a lot of sardines too. We're loving the smoker. My reasoning, finally, for getting the smoker, is all the grass-fed beef we have in the freezer - 1/2 a cow! Unless slow cooked in the oven, and the ground beef is out of this world! all the steak style cooking, including grilling, has not been a good experience - it's tough - not enough marbled fat like modern beef (the last century?). So I figured a smoker is slow cooking as well as giving that luscious grilled flavor. I don't use a lot of smoke - usually just 2 feedings of pellets and soaked wood chips in the first hour. Everything has been great! Turkey at Thanksgiving (going to do 2 smaller turkeys from now on - one stuffed and in oven for good stuffing and gravy). The steaks have been awesome. Did some bacon as a trial run before getting a whole pig to add to the freezer later this month - bacon was awesome. Pulled pork, pork chops, and loved the roaster chicken. We even smoked our Swedish potato sausage we make every Christmas, instead of the typical boiling, and it was great.

Thanksgiving smoked Turkey - everyone's preferred meat!

So today - some ferments and smoking (I have a "smoking jacket" and hat which I think is so funny!). Oh, I also have some sourdough started yesterday to form into loaves and bake either today or tomorrow morning. That's the other food thing I'm in love with - making sourdough bread! And the book that transformed the whole process is the Tartine. Chad Robertson just came out with Tartine 3, hot off the press I got it, and am in love!

Sourdough bread

I did mention my health. Quite the year! Things I complained to a nutritionist friend of mine had me tested. I was diagnosed in February, big time, as Adrenal Fatigued. I researched a lot, and still occasionally read along that line and in conjunction with Candidiasis. They can have a connection. Then further testing, is not absorbing nutrients. Hard to take when living and eating so well. Primarily B12 deficient - which is another weird thing when we have chickens and eat tons of eggs, as well as all the meats in the freezers. And oh . . . also diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia, which is not fun - when it's kicking up, it's very painful - checking that out more this year. My mantra last year was "You Gotta Keep Dancing"!!

My kitchen garden

Moving on . . . I gardened big time. I'm thinking I'm done with buying plants, unless a great deal on some fruiting tree or bush that's different from anything I have. Froze a lot of beans and broccoli and kale. Dried a lot of zucchini and tomatoes. And all this living at an altitude of 8,000 feet. Like growing corn and having enough to freeze. That's quite a feat! (Ah, another homophone to tell my grandson: feet and feat - he's collecting them!)(Oh, our 5th Grandchild was born.)

Tail end of broccoli, green beans and kale to freeze

I joined Denver's Botanical Gardens and walked around there a lot with my Master Gardener friend. We also took lots of classes together. Like greenhouse gardening and propagation and seed saving. So that's the new venture - tho that's how I've gotten tomatoes at this altitude in the first place. And I've scattered seeds forever, which is how my wildflower and perennial beds look lush. But on to improving it all and more propagating.

Photo of our sunroom/ greenhouse by visiting Zsuzsanna Luciano

So what will this next year look like? Garden planning and ordering some seeds right now, hoping to do more seed saving. We moved my studio space to a brighter and warmer room, so more sewing and weaving (which ends up involving spinning and dyeing)? Always food prep gourmet with real foods!

A large loom I'm selling - if anyone's interested!

Have a good year!

Living Out of a Suitcase

Daughter Heather

Monte and me took a road trip. We first visited our daughter and two grandkids. We helped get their gardening spaces planted with veggies. Monte and Bill with four-year-old Will went and got soil prep ingredients, and once home prepared the soil for planting. Heather and me with one-year-old Bridget went our way to get plants and seeds.

Grandson Will

Plant starts, even including lettuce, I felt would be easier for Will to keep out of the beds, as he's been used to playing with his trucks and cars in the dirt. I put the plant markers by the plants and showed Will the pictures of the "fruit" from veggies to flowers, and we talked about them. I had him help me plant the pole bean seeds around bamboo teepees we poked into the soil, hoping this too would help him avoid playing in the dirt.

Granddaughter Bridget

Heather called and said seedlings were coming up. Oh to have a longer growing season. We're still getting snow! I have started seeds in flats in my greenhouse tho. That's how I get my urge for getting my hands in dirt, and an early start for my short season. And my outside greenhouse salad ingredients, though dormant during winter, didn't freeze, is taking off. I need to take a current picture.

Next enroute was Sonita Arizona to stay with Monte's geology "partner" (tho both individual consultants they tend to do most projects together). Being close to Tucson I spent a day with my sister and Monte came for supper to visit and drive me back to Stan's. Tucson is where I spent most of my growing up years. Monte came for graduate school and met me. Before moving to 8000 feet in Colorado, we'd built a home in the Tucson Mountain desert. So I've gardened in two extremes - like a bumper crop of tomatoes in February planted at the base of a brick south facing wall in Tucson, to being able to get tomatoes, period, in the mountains - all by tricking mother nature.

At my sister's

Stan and us took a scenic drive to Apache Junction east of Phoenix for a friend's daughter's wedding. Since the southwest got lots of moisture this past winter we wanted to see the desert wildflowers - we caught the beginning of the season. And along the way we stopped at a copper mine overlook - Arizona is "The Copper State".

Sonora Desert beginning to bloom

Large Arizona copper mine

The next morning we dropped Stan at the Phoenix airport and met my brother and family for brunch. After visiting for a couple hours, we visited friends from our neck of the woods vacationing there. Visited for the afternoon, eating out on patio at Mexican restaurant for supper, then drove to Flagstaff to stay the night before heading home. We were going to visit some areas in eastern Utah, but since Colorado had gotten dumped on with snow, we figured it was probably chilly still with snow too.

Grand-daughter Scout

Then Easter weekend we visited our older son's. Emery and Scout were excited to see us!

Three year old wrote his name!

Monte and Emery having cookies and milk and a discussion

Remember I said Colorado got snow while we were gone? Yes, the entire state got snow. Our other son Dawson, with wife Sarah made snow "men?" And as I write this, it is snowing again!

Sarah and Dawson's snow creations

It's snowing today ... again!

Ukrainian / Pysanky Egg Dyeing

Ukrainian - Pysanky Eggs

It's that time of year again. Time to order dyes or kits, though I still have last year's dyes jarred in a box in the garage. When more people are going to be coming to our home to do eggs, I get some fresh dye, otherwise just use the stored dye. 

I saw an article in a 1973 National Geographic Magazine on Ukrainian eggs, and wanted to do them. Since I knew how to do Batik textile art, I understood the process, but didn't know special tools existed. As is typical of me, I just jump in and do things. I got beeswax and melted it in a metal measuring cup and stood over the stove painting the wax on eggs. And the only dyes I new of were the typical grocery store Paas (?- I think that's what it is) dyes. Monte joined in the process when we were dating.

Monte almost 40 years ago waxing an egg for resisting the dye - batik style egg designing

Years ago, group of young couples Travis brought to dye eggs

Soon after we were married I found the traditional kistka tools and special dyes. For years now we've been ordering supplies from the same store, and have bought kits for wedding presents. We've also bought a lot of extra tools and leave the dyes out for about a month and have had many people around our dining table decorating eggs. One couple, years ago so looked forward to it they started designing eggs months beforehand. When they moved away they bought their own kit and have done it every year.

Though electric kistkas exist, it's traditionally done by heating the metal funnel of the kistka over a candle till the beeswax is melted. It does not run out until it touches the egg. It's a wax-resist process, starting from lightest and getting progressively darker. You initially wax over everything you want white and put egg in yellow, once dry, you wax over what you want to stay yellow, and so on. When done you hold the egg to the side of the candle and wipe the melting wax off with a paper towel. The eggs are raw and they dry out over time.

Egg carton of our Ukrainian dyed eggs

This picture is just one of the three cartons that got done several years ago. That was a very productive and artistic weekend of eggs - Travis had several couples come and stay several days to dye eggs (and enjoy just hanging out, of coarse). Dawson has friends come too. Everyone loves it!

I cap the canning jars of dye and repack the box. I store them along with the old silver spoons, candles and candle-holders, box of tools, instructions and pictures, and then the vinyl tablecloth. It can be pulled out anytime. Every year I say I'm going to do it for Christmas ornaments - but I haven't yet.

Several years ago Monte made a shelf for the eggs to better display than the hanging wire baskets I've always kept them in. The company I order the dyes and tools from, the Ukrainian Gift Shop, has a variety of stands for the eggs. So I got a bunch of the cheap clear plastic stands. Monte is going to make a shelf unit for each of the kids too.

 



Having done these for years, I never varnished them and finally did a few years ago. It's a final step I've always skipped. So some of the varnished ones are older and already faded. These dyes are toxic, so no eating of the eggs, but are not run-proof, so make sure the varnish is not water-base. We nailed three nails every so often in boards to support the eggs and I use my gloved hands to rub the oil-base varnish on the eggs. (The stands could be used in the oven on low temp for helping melt the beeswax off. I've not tried this - but a book I have shows it.)

3-legged nail 'stands' for holding varnished dyed eggs

More people around our dining table Ukrainian egg dying

Dawson waxing his egg for dye resist

More people enjoying creativity and our home's hospitality

Shared with: The Homestead Barn Hop, The Chicken Chick

Garden Seeds/ Speaking/ and Family

One of My Veggie and Fruit Gardens

What to write! Lots has been happening and I've not found breathing space yet. And what to title this post . . . I think I'll ramble, and maybe then an idea will formulate.

Right at the moment? I'm researching my favorite seed catalog and Monsanto. Monsanto bought Seminis - a large, maybe the largest organic seed company - in 2005. There's blogs being written, "Don't let Monsanto into Your Garden!" No matter where you buy your seeds, a large amount of the vegetable seeds come from Seminis. You have to look closely if you're concerned about all this. There's a lot of posting out there that are mainly around the year 2010 - so old. Check for currant info. I'm only researching my seed company.

Why Johnny's? I think I said it in my last post - they breed most of their own seeds. They are a short cool growing season area as am I. I've used their seeds for 30 years. At my altitude of 8000 feet, their seeds work for me. When we moved here I was told I can't grow tomatoes or winter squash, but I do. I have to trick Mother Nature tho. I'm giving up on peppers, eggplant, and okra. I don't know why I keep trying.

Johnny's is now completely owned by their employees and they are a member of the Safe Seed Initiative - which states that they do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered or modified seeds or plants. I know that over the years they have been phasing out these kinds of seeds. So with that knowledge, I still have to order my seeds.

When I wrote my last post, we were in Grand Rapids, Michigan, speaking at their Midwinter Homeschool Conference. Monte and me have not been speaking in that arena for over a decade. We did homeschool our kids all the way thru, till they went to college. When Monte wrote Romancing Your Child's Heart, we were doing parenting seminars, but haven't been doing that for quite awhile as well. We were told by many last weekend that we need to return to speaking; that our message needs to be heard. And we do have lots of messages, having lived a rich life! We'll see what the future holds . . .

Emery

Once home, we did our annual visit to Denver's National Stock Show. Little Emery and me have birthdays close together in January and have started the tradition of going to the Stock Show together. He picked his colors and made himself a rope this year. Little Scout rode a pony. Saw lots of animals, spun wool . . . Saw the typical chicken egg production, and glad we're raising our own chickens again. Visited with the spinning and weaving demonstrators (which I used to do a lot years ago). We met friends for a great lunch. Then visited the art exhibit before the little munchkins needed to leave for naps!

Scout on Pony

I spoke at MOPS yesterday. Been a Mentor Mom for 13 years.

I'm going to do a post on what I dyed just before leaving for Grand Rapids and ended up wearing. Actually every day I wore something I dyed, and scarves I knit. In spare moments I knit - always have knitting along wherever I go.

A New Page Added

Our 1st Album Cover

I've done a lot of work . . . The new page under my blog's Banner is My Basket of Products. There's my cookbook and Monte's books. His Secret of Singing Springs is hot off the press! It's his first novel. I describe the products on that page.

And too, we created two albums years ago. Monte wrote the music and our kids and I sing with him. I tear up when I hear my current 24 year old Dawson singing when he was 4! So we've finally captured the songs from those albums and combined our favorites into one. It's a free download and you can listen before downloading.

Christmas Time with Family

My boys came for Christmas. Travis and Sarah with their two munchkins stayed for several days. Our wood stove keeps the chill off our great room when cloudy cold. Emery really liked keeping it stoked and our home's mass was quite warm!

Travis in the rocking chair reading

Emery stoking the fire

Little Scout was not feeling well, but pretty cheerful in spite. I stayed home with her one evening as everyone else went to downtown Denver's Zoo lights. Travis took some great pictures with his new camera!

Scout leaning in to hug me, her Oma

Dawson and Splarah silhouetted and Monte framed by the elk antlers

Splarah and Dawson looking at their breath

Dawson and Splarah made their Nephew and Niece some pretty cool Christmas presents: a "lappy" for Emery that has magnet closures for the wood laptop as well as the "pad" chalk cover, along with a cloth carrying case; and then a vacuum.

Chalkboard "Lappy" with magnetic closures

Carved to resemble a Mac

Vacuum

Scout loves her vacuum!

Emery loves to sit and color

Scout playing with the crayons too

Emery loved sledding this year

My back deck

Our Home

Sunrise

Elk in our meadow