We have a huge mulberry tree growing in our front yard. My parents planted it when we first moved into the neighborhood, when I was 10, which makes it more than 20 years old. Every spring it is covered with flowers – which look like tiny green mulberries with white curls all over them. We…
Author: toadstoolsfairyrings
A Bad Haircut
This post is actually about TWO bad haircuts. One of them I actually had a hand in myself – but I’m getting ahead of the story. It all starts with our Great Pyrenees puppy, Cloud Bear. There’s a spot of cool weather now, but just last week it was hot, really hot. There were some…
FRICASSEÉ DE POULET: Chicken Fricassee
This chicken recipe wasn’t too involved…if you don’t mind quartering a chicken, and taking several steps during the cooking. So yeah, it wasn’t the easiest recipe by any means….but it was really, really good. The flavors were just excellent, and you have a chicken frame to put into broth afterwards, so it’s a budget-stretcher as…
The Lost Art Of Clothing Repair
Clothing repair is a lost art, but I don’t mean to suggest that this post will replace all the art that has been lost! This is just one way that I’ve found to be a satisfactory way to repair clothes. I used to just throw away clothes with rips and tears, but when I got…
Banana Cream Pie – And A Paleo Grain-free/Dairy-free version
We had two almost overripe bananas, and lots of creamy milk and eggs on hand – and this was the result. We can confirm from experience that this delicious pie is great for a picnic at the springs! There are two versions – a real pastry and real creamy milk version, and a Paleo…
ÉPINARDS À LA MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL: Spinach, The Butler’s Way (or beet greens)
Confession: I’m terrible at growing spinach. It just doesn’t like my garden, or maybe it just doesn’t like me. I like spinach, but I just can’t seem to grow it. I’ve tried starting it at different times of the season, in different conditions, with either coddling or neglect (some plants do better with one of…
Home-grown Soap
Ever since we put our first beef in the freezer, I’ve wanted to try making soap. There were suddenly so many jars of creamy-colored tallow taking up the kitchen shelf. I read about it, and bought some lye, but I never was brave enough to make the attempt. Caustic lye, plus the possibility of an…
BETTERAVES EN SALADE: Beet Salad
I have found beets difficult to grow here, so I am pleased to have a decent crop this spring. They just don’t grow well in acidic soil, and I have found that sprinkling lime on just after I plant the seeds helps them actually grow. I grew out a beet trial this year, with five…
Kids Love Junk
Clothilde yells, “I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!” while wearing ear protection. If you’ve ever visited our house, you will know something about us – we have junk. Lots of junk. I don’t necessarily like junk. Actually, if I had things my way, there wouldn’t be a scrap of junk and someone else…
The Cat-cher in the Rye
I know the pun is terrible, but I couldn’t help thinking it to myself! The long rye cover-crop in the garden is the perfect place for the kitty to hide. In fact, she seems to revert to an ancient feline ancestor that hunted large game while she is immersed in it. It’s cool, even when…
OMELETTE AU JAMBON: Ham Omelet
We finally roasted the ham we had curing in brine for several weeks. The best part about ham, I think, is leftover ham. There’s so much you can do with it. Ham sandwiches, added to quiche, diced up with potatoes. Still, there’s nothing that goes together so well as ham and eggs. With all the…
Spring
I love spring! The winter garden has burst into lacy yellow, white and pink blossoms. The tender, bright green leaves of the trees begin to soften the bare branches, and you can smell flowers on the breeze. The pastures have lost their stark, crackly brown look, and the sweeping broomsedge leftover from the…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 