Almost as soon as Explorer came back to us from the farm where he was breeding more cows, the grass was ready to graze for the first time. Several cold fronts had showered us with rain, and the warm weather that came afterwards made the grass wake up, shake itself, and start to grow. We…
Author: toadstoolsfairyrings
POMMES DE TERRE A LA MAITRE D’HOTEL
In the garden, the potato plants have keeled over and turned brown, a sign that they are not going to grow much larger, and are ready to dig. They are not as large as they have been in other years, perhaps because it has been very dry and I haven’t irrigated them. But they taste,…
Chicharrones and Pork Pie
The Chicharrones (or, as they are called here in the South, Pork Rinds) are just the pork skin sliced and baked for awhile. In general, we scald and scrape our pigs, not only because cured hams must have the skin-on, but also so we can save the skin for these delightful, crunchy…
Sausage
Sausage seasonings being mixed – we only use pure organic herbs and spices and sea salt. Sausage being mixed The results Black Sausage Ingredients Liverwurst getting ready to be made There has been some confusion about the pig classes we are offering. I think in being overly flexible about what…
Pâté Progression
I thought it would be interesting to show what goes into the various tasty things we made over the weekend. Naturally, I am starting with the most photogenic end – the result. Most Americans, I think, would be a bit squeamish when it comes to looking at a picture of raw liver. They are…
First Pig Harvest
Getting started…. All of these fresh organs are used to make delicious traditional foods…. We harvested the first of the spring piggies over the weekend. Everything went so well, and we were careful not to pack too much into one day this time. The scald water was the perfect temperature, and scalding…
SOUPE A L’OIGNON: Onion Soup
The onions are bulbing beautifully. This year we were careful not to water them, and they are keeping very well. They are very strong – I’ve never shed so many tears while slicing onions before. Through gardening, I have not only been impressed by how much flavor home-grown vegetables have, but also the remarkable lack…
In the Garden: Between Seasons
I loved this quote from Ben Hewitt that he posted recently: “Things will get done, and that which doesn’t get done will get done later or ultimately be deemed unnecessary in the first place, and we’ll think to ourselves isn’t it lucky we didn’t do it back when we thought it had to…
Clo and Belle
Car trouble marred most of yesterday – it seems like whenever we have savings, the car breaks, and the repairs always magically cost exactly how much we have. It’s more of a broken car fund than a savings account! I remember reading an article in ACRES USA magazine years and years ago about all…
Fruitful
Despite our years of neglect, the orchard seems to be having a good year so far. The early blueberries are just beginning to turn purplish. No one can wait until they are properly blue. The girls go through every day and pick every one that even thinks about turning color, and offer up a handful…
Hidden
The past few weeks have been an absolute crush of work – the garden must be finished, and the KonMari-inspired, once-in-a-lifetime spring clean is nowhere near complete. And we are still homeschooling for several more weeks. Every day there is just so much to do. The weather has been beautiful, which has made…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 