Small Harvest; Big Thanks

Organic Mustard Greens, Swiss Chard and Acorn Squash Blossom

Organic grown mustard greens, Swiss chard and Acorn Squash blossoms from the Clan Garden. A small harvest but none the less appreciated by this would be homestead. This is not a showing of my hard work; another young woman put her sweat, time, strength and wit into hoeing the land, picking out rocks and other debris, hauling the cinder blocks, buying the plants and transporting the mother acorn squash to the raised bed. It is my honor to have the responsibility to maintain that level of care that was first invested by Rhi.

Our garden is flourishing, so much so that I know must prune the acorn squash's runner vines and a few leaves every other day. She's an aggressive one but fertile, we already have six baby Squashes working there way up in the world. The mint has only refrained from exploding everywhere by virtue of the Mother. That squash will fight mint for every inch of soil and sunlight she can. I've pruned back the lemon balm, purple sage, spearmint and the squash herself to give the Clan something yummy to enjoy and all the plants some breathing room. I have been contemplating digging up a second raised bed and transferring the Twins (two daughters from the Mother) over to that bed. These lovely blossoms came from Twin #1.

Wishing you all lucky and bounty with your own gardens and dreams.  May you have a very Happy Sunday, from the Heart of Home.

Everyone at work thinks I'm crazy.

And, you know, they just might be right. Maybe...it is a little crazy to want this life were you spend the majority of your time bound to the home because the dairy goats need to be milked twice a day. To want to rely on the skill of your own two, tired and callous hands to knit a scarf from 100% wool. Maybe wool that you spun yourself, from sheep you have raised from lambs at the bottle. Crazy that you would want to grow your own acorn squash because let's face it, squash might be the biggest bully in your garden. Pushy, demanding over space and nutrients. Wouldn't it be easier to go to a Super Target and buy the milk, the scarf, and the squash? Wouldn't it just be easier to walk over to Michael's next door and decorate your home like it was a Pinterest board.

Maybe but to me, that sounds more and more strange the older I get.

More over, that would drive me crazy with a capital "C".

 So I get strange looks from the folks at my job because I am the girl...the woman with the Mother Earth News magazine in her purse. A purse that is really a library book bag. Who talks about the price of corn, the length of the squash and the rain. Who loves goats and wants them very badly. Who weeded the garden last night in her work pants and got them covered in dirt and grass stains.

Who is blissful in the knowledge she is working toward a self made life.

So I draw some odd looks. I don't mind. I'm a tough little squash myself and I just keep growing.

Love is a well make cake

Feed the Belly, Feed the Heart

Keeping the home gardens growing

Spearmint, Chocolate Mint, Purple Sage, Lemon Balm, Rosemary, Savory, Thyme, Bell Peppers, and Tomatoes.

This is the pride and joy of our homestead in training. The home garden. I might have poured my love and words into the telling of this tale but Rhi dug this baby out with her own hands. Colin and I bought the majority of the plants and when Rhi goes off West this summer, the tending of the home garden becomes my responsibility.

I'm looking forward to it.

This is were we begin. A patch of fertile soil, compost, organic top soil mix, young plants, water and sunlight. Too many people rely on chain conglomerates and specialty stores to get herbs, vegetables and fruit. Herbs...the easiest and by far best loved thing we grow here. We buy them as sproutlings and tend them well, in turn they reward us with lovely little flowers and flavorful leaves that season our meat, bread and make our tea.

That lemon balm in the bottom left corner came from a $1.00 sprout from the Market SquareFarmer's Market and will be three times as large by the end of July. By the end of the growing season I will still have enough lemon balm to see me into the beginning of next spring. With very little effort, my lemon balm will keep me in good company for the rest of the year. Outside of a farmer's market, I couldn't tell you were to find lemon balm. Or chocolate mint for that matter; a variety of mint that honest to goodness smells vaguely like Thin Mints.

Keep the home fires burning is a common saying but lately I have been thinking "Keep the home gardens growing." The power to fill our pantries, stomachs and souls is within our grasp. The idea that you must depend solely on grocery chains is a fallacy; it is an illusion. It is important for us to take back the power of controlling our food by getting our hands dirty. Literally, get dirt on them. Dig yourself a garden, plant some mint in a pot, get a coop and raise a pair of chickens for eggs. If you crave an authentic life, it is out there. You just have to find it.


 I just have to find it.

Pushing through the thorns

That's what it feels like for some of us still doing the 8-5 daily grind, as if we are pushing through the thorns of a thicket, trying to reaching for the gleaming berries right beyond our fingertips. It is hard, sometimes it hurts but in the end the prize will be so sweet your mouth will water and joyful tears will fill your eyes.

Work is needful, work is hard, and work is the lifeblood of my Clan. We bend our shoulders and neck into it, share the load, to all pull forth as a team to reached our dream. The dream were we have a homestead, tend our goats and raise our chickens. Were we grow spinach and watermelon, peppers and mint.

The honey bees were delayed due to bad weather in the Valley several weeks ago but we should be getting them soon. Its progress, a step in the right direction toward home.

Good luck and love to all of you heading back into the breach this week. I go to, bag in hand and apron on my hips. We'll push through this thicket of thorns, together, until we reach the Heart of Home.

Blueberry Pie: A Heart of Home recipe

Blueberry Pie

3 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour

2 sticks of chilled unsalted butter

1 TBSP of white sugar

1/2 tsp of salt 

16oz of Frozen Wild Maine Blueberries, defrosted
1 TBSP of white sugar
                                                      2 TSP of Lemon Juice
                                                      2 TSP of butter

1) Make Pie Crust
Shift flour into a cool bowl. Cut butter into very small pieces, adding a handful at a time to flour and enfold. Once all the butter is folded into the flour, add sugar and salt. Fold. 

Using ice cold water, add 1 TBSP of water at a time to flour mixture until dough comes together. Then, roll dough into a ball and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. 

2) Make Pie Filling
Place defrosted blueberries into a medium bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Add lemon juice and gentle fold until incorporated. Allow to sit at room temperature, cover in plastic wrap.

3) Rolling Out The Crust

Preheat Oven to 425 F

Remove dough from fridge. Cut your dough ball in half. Place a dry kitchen towel a large cutting board to avoid spilling while rolling your dough. Dust cutting board liberally with all purpose flour. Dust your rolling pin and hands with flour. This will prevent your dough from sticking. Roll out your dough until it is large enough to cover a 9 inch pie dish. Prick the bottom crust across it's surface with a fork. Roll out your top crust and set aside.

4) Fill the Pie
Add blueberries and use a spatula to gentle level the filling. Cut remaining butter into small pieces and dot the blueberries evenly as possible.

5) Cover the Pie

Cover pie with top crust. Crimp the edges with your thumb and forefinger or use a fork. Using a sharp knife, slice vents in top crust. Dust pie with a pitch of sugar.

6) Bake The Pie

Bake Pie at 425 F for 15 minutes. Then reduce temperature to 350 F and bake for 40-60 minutes, until juices are bubbling around the edges. When done baking, remove pie from oven and cool on a cutting board for 60 minutes or until just warm.

!!Excellent served with just a drizzle of heavy cream!!

Makes 12 servings

Mhmmmmm Blueberry! Enjoy!

What Seeds May Come

This may very well be a sacred text for gardeners everywhere. :)

 I got this at Dollar General off of Old Knoxville Hwy heading toward 140. Not only am I blown away by the diversity and opulence of the seed selection in these pages, I'm also delighted to know they accept cash orders like New Pioneer Magazine.
 

Makin' Plans

Earlier in the week I promised a new Heart of Home recipe. Today I will devote some time and consideration into deciding what that new recipe should be. I have a few ideas, each sounding equally pretty, easy and delicious.

I have narrowed it down to four contenders, two in each fruit category. 


*Apple Upside Down Cake
*Apple Pie with Cheddar Cheese Crust

* Blueberry Pie
*Blueberry Pound Cake

Decisions. Decisions.

Good work

A clean kitchen =  A happy heart

Normally, Sunday would be my time of resting. Saturday errands and light work would be done and this day would be set aside to do the little things that make my smile. Life, however, often has something to say about my plans. Saturday's kitchen cleaning was completed this morning but the end result is a very proud me sitting upstairs and relaxing, calloused palms rubbed smoothed by white vinegar and steel wool. A little lemon oil lotion smooths that abraded feeling you get when you've been scrubbing stove covers.

Yesterday, Rhi and I ventured out to our favorite thrift store. This N' That vendors market in Maryville, in the old location of Southland Books, is a haven for previously owned treasures and the avid antique hunter.  After hearing Jenna Woginrich go on about the virtues of Fire King glassware in her memoir, Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life, I set out to find my own. I never found any Fire King glass but I did find F.T.D glassware. Particularly, a avocado green glass goblet with an oak leaf relief. I bought this glass for $2.00 and later, looked it up on Ebay.com to compare its worth. Turns out my cup goes from $8.00 to as much as $22.00. :D

Needless to say, I'm pretty pleased with the purchase.

Another purchase I am pleased about is a heart shaped cake pan I paid $3.00 for.

It might not look like much but I used to have a heart shaped cake pan when I was a preteen. I made countless chocolate cakes in that humble pan, covered them in whip cream and berries for a simple but delicious summertime dessert. Next week I will feature a Heart of Home recipe using this heart shaped pan. I'm thinking of something simple and lovely, in honor of Mother's Day.

Speaking of simple and lovely, below is a picture of the  surprise my husband left for me in our room.

A pink rose in a screw top jar, its humble...its lovely...its country...

It's one perfect way to say "I love you."

Scotch tape....its one simple way to fix holes in your screens. LOL.

May is my favorite month of the year. It is true spring, warm sun and gentle, cool wind. Plants are growing, babies of all kinds are being born and my birthday is just around the corner. The honeysuckle is starting to bloom around the parking lot at work and my Iris is in it's full purple glory. More about my Iris is to come later in the week.

Happy Sunday to everyone and I hope Beltaine was good to all of you who celebrate it. :D