Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Kitchen Craze

Inevitable Aftermath
They say that time flies when you're having fun, so I guess it's a good thing that I'm a little amazed to recap the litany of items Weldon and I have concocted in the kitchen over the past couple weeks.  This morning alone I had three recipes on the docket: pizza dough, garlic scape pesto, and fermented sauerkraut.  Yesterday I shelled, cooked, and put up a gallon of fresh peas in the freezer.  We had an extensive list of tasty ideas piled up from winter and spring -- these would be inspiration enough -- but our dose of gifts from the garden has also begun increasing daily. Pleased as pigs in mud, we've kicked into high gear in the kitchen to make use of these early days of summer.  Before we know it, there'll be salsa, corn, and pickles, oh my!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

One Wild Ride

Not in Kansas Anymore!
When I wrote the previous post I naively expected my next one to be dated a bit sooner than this.  The break that I spoke of was in fact a two-week road trip.  Though we cruised back into our own driveway a week-and-a-half ago, I've barely sat down since, never mind sitting in front of my laptop to make coherent sentences into a post.  There's a ton going on at the homestead -- there should be, it's June!  Before I get to posting about gardening, fermenting, canning, and such, I'd like to share a few snippets from the trip.  For my husband and I, travel is one of our luxuries and priorities in life.  One of the many reasons we live frugally is so that when opportunity lends itself, we can hit the road or board a plane. Our idea of travel incorporates a whole lot of the same simple pleasures that we embrace in our day-to-day: gathering with friends, eating scrumptious local food, appreciating the beauty of nature, learning about our surroundings, and enjoying each other's company.  Our recent journey over 4,000-miles, 10 states, and 4 Canadian provinces was no exception. Our trek took us to Montreal, northern Maine, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Acadia National Park, and through my childhood stomping grounds in Connecticut.  The route was a perfect mixture of new and familiar destinations coupled with hearty doses of visiting.  It was exactly the leisurely adventure we were hoping for.