Anyone who has known me from childhood will remember that gathering and eating weeds has always been something I’ve done. I would run all over our apartment complex, finding edible plants to make picnics and feasts for my friends and family – and I still do! This time of year some of my favorite edible…
Author: toadstoolsfairyrings
Cricket’s Twins
Our goat herd has gotten large recently, and feels a bit overwhelming. Two sets of twins again this year brought the head count up to 14. The newest twins, Cricket’s twin doelings, are up romping around with everyone now. In the midst of our kitty getting lost (and finding her way home again), I…
TARTE AUX FRAISES: Strawberry Tart
Happy Valentine’s Day! Fresh strawberries and rich pastry crust make this delicious and simple recipe a perfect way to celebrate! This recipe starts with the crust. Adding the strawberries is simple and is translated below, along with US measurements for the ingredients. I didn’t have enough strawberries to make a large tart, so I made…
Piglets!
Any day now, for the past week, we’ve been expecting the piglets to be born. The mamas were huge and pregnant, and the first possible due date had already passed. We’ve got them in rotation with the cows right now – the cows eat hay, litter it around, and poo everywhere. When a pack of…
NAVETS A LA BÉCHAMEL: Turnips With Béchamel Sauce
Turnips Béchamel, or turnips in a creamy white sauce. La Cuisine details the choosing of a good turnip: “You must choose turnips that are white and firm, not too large, but heavy (because many are hollow).” This being The Year Of The Enormous Turnip in the garden, I had to skip over the “not too…
Losing and Finding
It already feels like spring – the peaches are blooming, summer seeds are sprouting, the potatoes are planted, and a few days ago the last of our mama goats kidded, and had twins! It’s been so busy, and there is so much to do in this nice weather before the summer…
Creamy Dill and Daikon Salad
I love daikon radishes. They seem to be sweeter than other radish varieties, and they improve the soil where they are grown. The long taproots can grow to be huge, and when they are pulled, they look like little people. Daikons are also very versatile in the kitchen. They are delicious in stir-fry, incorporated into…
The Evolution Of Butter
Butter is something I’m passionate about. I’ve always loved butter. Even when I was trying to be vegan in high school, I liked fake butter. Then, when I returned to the real thing, it was like being reunited with Truth, an experience of tasteful clarity that lightening-bolted Earth Balance off my grocery list for good….
Making Thick, Creamy Yogurt
For years I struggled to make my ideal yogurt – one my children would actually eat. They would down yogurt by the carton, and it always seemed so unprofitable to have so many dairy animals and be buying yogurt, just for the sake of the picky, picky little ones. Their ideal yogurt must be mild,…
Making Butter
Once I was travelling outside of Carcassonne in Southwestern France. I was passing through a small, small town, the kind they have there with the cobbled medieval streets that are made for foot traffic only, and trap foolish American tourists who think every road should be worthy of large vehicles. There was a small market…
Kefir, An Immortal Ally
I have bought and tried out many different milk cultures over the years – piima, viili, fil mjolk, heirloom buttermilk culture, Flora danica….there were more, but those were the ones I remember clearly. While all of these cultures made different and interesting forms of sour milk, there was one problem – they were incredibly…
Imbolc/Candlemas
Imbolc or Candlemas, the ancient celebration of mid-winter, approaches on February 2nd. It marks the middle of the time between the solstice and the equinox, between the time of long darkness and time of the day outlasting the night. Imbolc meant “in the belly,” as the sheep were about to begin their lambing season, and…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 