A Deep Sense of Appreciation
I think the biggest reason I encourage people to take an active role in their food production is because it helps bring a deep sense of appreciation for good quality food. I was thinking about this yesterday as I was storing all of our maple syrup in the basement pantry. We put a bunch of it up in these little one cup jars to give away as gifts. As I wiped down this jar I started to think about the amount of sap that went into producing this small jar of syrup. It takes 6.25 quarts of sap to make one cup of maple syrup, at least with our non-sugar maple sap.
Mr Chiots and I have always been mindful of waste, trying our hardest to not waste food, but once you work hard at making something like maple syrup, you see the value in it and you make sure not a tiny drop is wasted. You see first hand the amount of work that goes into it, from drilling the taps, to collecting the sap, to straining it, boiling it down, straining it again, and bottling it.
I also am more appreciative of those that take the time to produce good quality products that I can’t grow/make myself. I’ll never roast my own coffee, but I sure appreciate that Al takes the time and effort to micro roast it so I can enjoy the best coffee. I don’t have a milk cow, so I appreciate that Mike and Dawn take the time to bottle up delicious creamy raw milk for us to drink. I don’t have chickens, and I sure to appreciate that Martha takes the time to let them out each morning so they can roam free and lay the most delicious eggs.
What product that you grow/make do you appreciate most? Is there a product someone else produces that you really love?
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Light at the End of the Tunnel
This year sugaring season has lasted so much longer than the previous two years that we sugared. On Saturday, I finished off what will mostly likely be the final batch of maple syrup for the season. I still have 30 gallons of sap to process and I’m going to try reducing it slightly and using it to make maple vinegar (should be an interesting endeavor).
We tapped our maple trees on February 13th and collected 240 gallons of sap so far. We’ve processed about 210 gallons of that sap so far and have about 5 gallons of syrup. Gathering, straining, and boiling down sap has been taking up all of our spare time over the past month, especially during the last 2 weeks. At least we know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and we have a lot of sweet reward in the basement pantry!
What are we going to do with all that syrup? Use it on pancakes, french toast, for sweetening tea and in baking. Fruit sweetened with maple syrup makes a fabulous pandowdy or cobbler. If you haven’t tried sweetening your chai tea with maple syrup you’re missing out! I’m most excited about a fresh batch of french toast as it’s my favorite way to enjoy maple syrup. I’m baking up a few loaves of cinnamon raison bread today and we’ll be enjoying some delicious french toast for breakfast later this week.
What’s your favorite way to enjoy maple syrup?
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Quote of the Day: Thomas Jefferson
“I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family, and a few old friends dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post, which any human power can give.”
Thomas Jefferson, letter of February 1788
I was thinking about this quote yesterday while I was working inside. It was a beautiful day, I couldn’t work outside because I was busy finished up another batch of maple syrup. That didn’t stop me from enjoying being indoors. I love our little house, it’s perfect. After living here for 9 years it’s finally feeling like home.
My living room is one of my favorite rooms on a bright winter day. The walls are light green, they reflect the light beautifully. The curtains are white and let the light through the large windows. The sofa and chairs are comfy, perfect for reading.
What’s your favorite room in your house?
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Ohio Earth Food
Last week I finally made it up to Ohio Earth Food in Hartville, OH to get all of my soil amendments for the coming spring. When you have a big garden, buying amendments like bone meal, blood meal, kelp meal, greensand and others can break the bank if you buy those tiny bags at the local greenhouse. I highly recommend finding an organic farm supply store in your area. Even if you have to drive an hour or so to get there, you’ll save plenty, especially if you stock up once a year or every other year.
We filled our little car with bags of all sorts of things for the coming gardening season. Mr Chiots and I are expanding our garden at home so I’ll be needing to add a lot of amendments to the soil. A few of the products I purchased are trial runs to see how the product works. What made it into my little car?
RE-VITA COMPOST PLUS (3-3-3) – A 100% natural, composted fertilizer of poultry manure, kelp, and humate. One of the most complete fertilizers available. Contains a balanced source of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash in a slow release form which feeds the plant throughout the season. The addition of kelp and humate provides a complex of trace minerals and bio-stimulants easily assimilated by plants. These substances enhance germination, root growth and overall health of the plant. Re-Vita improves structure, water holding capacity and aeration of the soil. It also revitalizes the biological activity in the soil. Re-Vita is in a uniform, granular form which is easy to use. Excellent for gardens, flowers, shrubs, trees, and field crops. For gardens apply 5 lbs. per 100 row ft. or 2 lbs. per 100 sq. ft; Fruit and shade trees 2-3 lbs. per inch of diameter. Lawns 50 lbs. per 3,000 sq. ft. Field crops 250-300 lbs. per acre.
JERSEY GREENSAND – A 7% potash base exchange mineral mined from a marine deposit. Also contains 22 other minerals. Helps loosen compacted soils. Highly recommended for conditioning pastures, lawns, orchards, fields, and gardens. Apply 2-4 lbs. per 100 sq. ft. or up to 1,000 lbs. per acre.
DRIED BLOOD – A slow release, 12% organic nitrogen source. Excellent as a side dressing when extra nitrogen is needed. Stimulates bacterial growth. Also useful as a temporary deer and rabbit repellent. Use 2-3 lbs. per 100 sq. ft or as a side dress.
BONE MEAL – Steamed, finely ground bone providing 12% phosphorus, 22% calcium and 4% nitrogen. Promotes strong, vigorous bulbs and healthy root systems and good blooming. Excellent for flowers, roses, garden bulbs, shrubs and trees. Use 5 lbs. per 100 sq. ft.
GYPSUM – Pelletized, mined, natural calcium sulfate. Supplies 21% calcium and 16% sulfur; Loosens tight clay soils, aiding aeration and water penetration. Use when calcium and sulfur are needed and pH is high. Use 2-3 lbs. per 100 sq. ft
SEA-MIN KELP MEAL – Ascophyllum Nodosum kelp meal which contains 60 trace minerals in chelated form, 14 vitamins, plant growth regulators, enzymes, and hormones. Research shows that kelp improves seed germination, root and plant growth, fruit set, and overall health of plants. Makes plants more disease and stress resistant. Increases soil fertility and microbial population. Broadcast using ¾ lb. per 100 sq. ft. or 200 lbs. per acre. As animal feed supplement see Feed Supplements Section.
AGRO-LIG HUMATE – A mined, naturally occurring organic leonardite containing 65-75% high quality humic acids, 31% carbon, and a complex of other nutrients similar to chelates. Stimulates plant enzymes, root growth and beneficial soil organisms. Continued use improves the structure and organic content of the soil. For gardens apply 2 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft.; Field crops 100 lbs. per acre.
I also purchased a bag of worm castings for my homemade potting soil and a bag of their blend of potting soil to try. I used their potting soil for a planter of lettuce I started last week. I like my home mix better, so I’ll keep making it. I may have a few more things to buy so I’ll probably be heading back sometime soon as I still need some rock phosphate and more gypsum. It’s a good thing it’s only a half hour away.
Where do you buy your soil amendments? Do you have a great farm supply store to recommend for any readers in your area?
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Friday Favorite: Cookbooks Old and New
I love to cook, always have. When I was a little girl I dreamed of opening a bakery. I started cooking a lot of our family meals when I was in high school and never left the kitchen. The older I got, the more I started cooking from scratch, trying new ingredients and honing my cooking skills. I have to admit that I rarely use a cookbook, I’m fairly skilled at inventing recipes and in knowing what combinations taste great. This doesn’t stop me from buying and reading cookbooks. I do use recipes occasionally, but they never are followed to a T. Cookbooks inspire me to try to new things and give me ideas for dishes and combinations.
I do follow recipes when it comes to canning. Changing these recipes dramatically can affect the acidity which will affect the canning length and whether or not the item can be water bath canned or will need to be pressure canned. I have a lot of old canning cookbooks as I usually follow their canning length recommendations instead of the newer ones, since I think they’re overkill and cook things to death.
One of my favorite old canning cookbooks is the Preserving the Taste by Edon Waycott. It’s no longer in print and can be difficult to find. The recipes are fabulous, many of them mixing herbs with fruits and vegetables with wonderful results. Mr Chiot’s favorite preserve, Caramelized Apple Marmalade with Thyme is from it. One of my favorites, Yellow Tomato Preserves, is also from this little book. I also love the 1973 edition of Stocking Up: How to Preserve the Foods You Grow Naturally, this specific version uses honey as a sweetener in most of the recipes instead of sugar which I love. I also have the 1972 Farm Journal’s Country Cookbook that was given to me by Mr Chiot’s step mom (it was her mother’s). It’s my go-to book for pickling as all the recipes I’ve tried are really great!
I check a lot of cookbooks out of the library before buying them. If I find that the recipes sound interesting or I try a few that are really great I will purchase the book. Some books I buy for inspiration and ideas for food as well as photography. I keep a list of books that I’d like to buy. These books are currently on my to-buy list:
As my tastes change I try to get rid of older cookbooks I’m no longer using, especially if I get new ones (you know the rule if you buy something you have to get rid of something). I recently added The River Cottage Preserves Handbook and Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More to my collection.
This stack of books is getting the boot from my collection. I no longer use them and I figured they’d be better off in someone else’s kitchen where they’ll be used and enjoyed. If you’re interested in this stack of Cooking Light Annual Recipes cookbooks let me know, I’ll choose one person who comments that they want them below to adopt these cookbooks from my collection. Our winner is Brittany P, congrats.
What’s your favorite cookbook? Have you found any great new ones recently? Do you have any great vintage cookbooks?
