The temperature dips, the rains move in, the cats look cold. Whatever the reason, we love having a wood fire. There is nothing like the heat, smell, sound and look of a wood fire. Lucky for us, we grow our own supply of fuel. Every winter the forest gets pruned, we cut up the downed trees, stack it, then burn the seasoned wood. New trees replace the old, and the “cycle of firewood” continues.
…and it looks like they’re climbing clear up to the sky…
When we planted these douglas fir four years ago they stood a mere two feet high. Since then they’ve weathered elk, blackberry and wild weather.
Now, walking through these replanted areas, the trees tower over us and for a moment we get a sense of the size our new forest will be.
Made pots de creme the other day. It turned out to be quite delicious. The custard requires 5 egg yolks. So, what to do about the left over egg whites?
I found a recipe for macarons, a sweet confectionery which uses 5 egg whites. These delicious morsels are commonly filled with buttercream or ganache sandwiched between two cookies. The cookies are characterised by a smooth, domed top, ruffled foot and flat base. It is by turns crunchy, chewy and melts in your mouth.
And so a new tradition was born. Pots de creme and macarons, the ying and yang of eggs. Who knew?
Emma may turn up her nose at these sour Granny Smith apples…but we won’t. This bucket of fruit is destined for the dehydrater and an apple pie or two. Delicious!
We have been exploring the world of radishes and have a variety of them growing in our winter garden. Some of these Daikon (Japanese) radishes are almost ready for harvest. Most of them we pickle in seasoned rice vinegar, the rest we use in salads or a special breakfast tea.
spatula utensil used for stirring foods
Well, this is the culprit. A spatula top. Notice the tooth marks. Most likely it was smeared with peanut butter when Miss Maggapoo snarfed it.
Maggie was released late yesterday afternoon from the pet hospital. Here she takes the long walk out of ICU. I hope she is reflecting on the inherent dangers…of spatulas.
We had a HALLELUHAH! moment today. The doc gave me the go ahead to ditch my cast. My 10 week sentence has been served.
I think it is important to reflect on one’s past mistakes. So I have one thing to say. “Yes Jack, you WERE right. I should have worn better shoes.”
Enough said. Now, what to do with my new found freedom?
A friend gave us apples from her Gravenstein apple tree. Crisp, tart and flavorful we canned jars of apple butter, apple sauce, and apple-pie filling. We filled bins with dehydrated apples. We even made our own pectin.
We tossed the peels and cores into the stock pot. Covered it with water, then cooked until it was mush. We 
poured the mush into a cheese cloth and let it drain overnight. The resulting juice is pectin.
To test the strength of the pectin, we poured a little bit of rubbing alcohol into a glass and then dropped in a spoonful of pectin. It coagulated into a jelly-like mass. Each 12 ounce jar translates to a packet of store-bought pectin. How cool is that? We can’t wait to try it out.
Our household has been in turmoil for an entire week. Maggie (on the right), our eldest border collie has been extremely ill. Unable to keep food or water down, it was only yesterday the vet was able to determine the problem. She has an object in her gut and we have no idea what it could be. We have a series of x-rays, taken over a period of days, showing the obstruction moving through her intestines. We hope she will be able to expel it naturally. If not, she must have surgery.
Meanwhile, everyone in the family shows their concern through nose touches, licks on her face or lying close to her. Here Emma (left) lies by Maggie keeping her company.
Emma has always been an energetic handful. Part border collie, part blue heeler with a dab of “demon” dog thrown in. It is impossible to have a bad day when looking at this face.
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