When Love speaks, the voice of all the gods Makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.
Shakespeare – Love’s Labour’s Lost
Cookies from Valentines past
And a cup of tea…
Cammomile, Mint & Fennel
Grind with Pestle & Mortar
Heat water to boil and cover for 20 minutes
You will have about 3 cups of tea.
Add a little honey and sip
Use a cup warmer to keep it hot
Herbs for this tea combo were raised in the garden. It brings back that special taste of summer especially when the winter seem so long and cold. Add a scone and you will round out your morning. I found my mortar and pestle on Amazon. It is heavy duty, cleans up easily and will last for a long time, I think. Add a cup warmer and you can sip away all morning.
Midnight Read
Braiding Sweetgrass byRobin Wall Kimmerer
Braiding Sweetgrass is one of the most beautiful and unusual books in my Kindle Library. I will read it again. The author’s use of native languages is unique and it might be good to listen to the book in Audible to hone in on the pronunciation of native dialects.
“Every Fern is tucked and set, ‘Neath coverlet, Downy and soft and warm.” Susan Coolidge
Wind chills in my part of the country exceed -30 below zero today. So today I will be keeping it warm by putting forth an effort to make Italian pasta, fettuccine to be exact. What inspired me today was a news broadcast that a suburban (somewhat country town) is not only providing their students with homemade pasta meals but is also doing the local food thing. Plates are heaped high with broccoli and carrots and a spaghetti pasta meal. I am so impressed. This community has also reserved a local farm that is up and working for their students to participate in.
Pasta 101
This kind of weather calls for something “pasta”. I have on my shelf a beautiful Marcato Atlas150 pasta machine. Brand new! Never tried it! Today was the day and here is how it went. I unloaded the box and found four parts and an instruction book – a handle, a clamp to attach the body to the counter, the main body (which is a set of rollers), and a head with two patterns depending on if you want a spaghetti noodle or a fettuccine noodle. I made both. This was by far the most simply and elegantly made pasta machines I have every had. My mother used to make her own noodles and cut them out with a kitchen knife. The final product is excellent and it will be my dinner tonight! I highly recommend it! I used Heckers flour, which I ordered on line and I have found it to be an impressive product.
Early morning in the kitchen brings back memories of Christmas past. Sometimes it almost seems like the moms and grandmas of the past could be sitting in the kitchen chatting. Perhaps it is the antique measuring cups that carry a certain amount of karma.
Nothing grabs attention like a rum ball. This is one of the Christmas favorites at my house and at work as well. I make these early in the season so they can get a little more infused with rum. I pack them in layers, with wax papers between and sprinkle a generous amount of sugar on each layer.
Almond bark is one of the all time favorites. I enhance mine with a bit of almond flavoring in the coating before adding the almonds. Mix the almond flavoring with about 1/4 tsp. of vegetable oil, it will blend better. Of course you will want to toast the almonds at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. It makes all the difference.
I always line the cooky sheets with foil as it makes it much easier to break the bark apart once it is hardened.
“Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house…
Christmas Poem
Once the garden is put to bed and snow covers the ground, it’s time to think of Christmas cookies. I have been an avid baker of cookies and candies for over 40 years so in the next month I will try to show you the full scope of putting together an old fashioned Christmas tray. I usually shoot for 30 types of candies and cookies. I try to put something new and different on the trays each year. I will post recipes as I can and tips as well so stay tuned.
Small Cookie Tray
When the lights go on in the little ceramic bakery, the baking season is on. I’ve had it on the counter for years and I love it.
Top Left – The supplies needed to put together for molded suckers are molds, which you can order online or contact a local candy/baking store, 4 inch sucker sticks (fit the slots on most molds), bags for the sucker (I use poly bags that are food grade), ties, tape, ribbons or foil twist ties to close the sucker bags and of course the wafers and luster dust needed to make the suckers. Heads up on the wafers. This year I could not use the Ghiradelli products for molded suckers and candy as it had a “bloom” when processed (it discolored when molded and very badly). I use Merckens or Clausen wafers with excellent results. Top Center – Time to melt the wafers. I use either a double boiler or melt them in the microwave. The KEY concern here is to not get the wafers too hot. They will coagulate and discolor if that happens. So keep the burner on low in the double boiler and stir frequently until just melted. In the microwave, use the normal setting and go on thirty second intervals. Do not melt more that you can use for the molds that you have available. Top Right – I melt small dishes of colors used for detail, in this case 7 or 8 white wafers for the bells and horns of the reindeer and a 5 or 6 red wafers for the nose. I dab these areas of the mold using an extra sucker stick with the red and white wafers. You can use a brush depending how detail oriented you are. I have not had a lot of luck with brushes. You can keep the small cups of detail colors warm by placing in a pan on the stove with the burner on very low and a small towel in the pan so the dishes don’t get too hot. When I complete a batch, I have another mold ready to use up the leftover red and white wafers. These small molded candies make a nice filler on your trays. Cool your molds with detail colors for a couple of minutes in the refrigerator until set. Lower Left – Time to fill with the chocolate wafer coating. I use a tablespoon and fill each cavity. Take care not to overfill and tap gently on the counter to get out all of the air bubbles. You can twirl your sucker sticks to make sure they are covered with the coating. Fill each cavity just to the top of the molds. Then refrigerate on an even surface for at least twenty minutes. When they are chilled all the way through, you can pop them out of the molds and apply luster dust with a small brush, place in poly bag and tie with a twist tie or red ribbon. Lower Right – This photo shows the “bloom” problem I was having with the Ghiradelli wafer product. I did not have this problem with the white Ghiradelli wafer. Online research indicates this is usually a problem that can be attributed to improper storage at the big box store, usually to much heat or humidity in the warehouse.
Suckers with Luster Dust in Gold and Silver
Tray of finished suckers
Product Review
One of the item I could not do with out are super parchment sheets. I have used them for years on all my cookie sheets and here’s why _ they keep baked items from sticking to the cookie sheet, no butter or other lubricant needed. Your cookie sheets and pans will look as good as new for years.
‘If we throw nature out of the window, she comes back in the door with a pitchfork – Fukuoka
Using a broadfork for opening up the soil in your garden can have surprising results. I was inspired by some of the reading I was doing on the subject so I bought one (kind of expensive but well worth it). It certainly beats the clatter of a garden tiller and is great exercise as well. The one I purchased weighs in at about 15 pounds. The basic use of this fork is to drive it into the earth for the length of the forks. You do this by standing on the top of the blades and working them into the ground. You then dismount and pull the handles tilting it about 30 degrees. The plus side of broadfork use far outnumber the rototiller, weed seeds are not turned under so you have a lot less weeding, soil life including worms and beneficial bacteria are not destroyed or disturbed and it aerates the soil deeply.
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. – Khalil Gibran
Lots of rain, lots of mushrooms! I have no idea what they are. Anyone know?
One of my neighbors has created a unique display at the front of their home. It involves an antique wooden sled and a horse with an actual bridle in place. The sled is filled seasonally with flowers for the summer, and other seasonal items for fall and Christmas. I really like it so I will take pictures as the seasons change. Hope you like it too.
Midnite Read
I often read into the night on my Kindle. So I will review some of the books I have read with my opinion of the content. See what you think.
I downloaded this to my Kindle first of all because it was free on Kindle Unlimited and secondly because he is a poet laureate who is older than most of us. This book is funny, a little scattered at times and made me want to go explore what he has written over the years. He profiles a lot of his poet friends as well. Since I have an ongoing interest in poetry it was a fun read.
To live by expert advice is to abandon one’s life – Wendell Berry
Plant life home!
Just keeping this in mind as I work through the day!
New little greenhouse just got assembled this spring. Love it. Great for seedlings and also drying garlic and the like!
Bought a circular strawberry bed kit with aluminum strips. Hope it works good. There are three tiers so it doesn’t take over the entire bed. You won’t find these on Amazon.
I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses – Old Hymn
Watchin’ it Grow
Places for little snakes to hide and surprise you!
What a wonderful day in the garden. Kale and collards, a little broccoli, some zinnias and raspberries and some lavender hyssop. Who could ask for more.
Country Comfort 