...I will can this weekend. I will!
Because I know a certain soldier, far away from home, who has specifically requested some blueberry jam, I will get my act together and make the jams that I have been putting off making. And then I'll drag my lazy butt to the post office and send those jars on an exotic journey. Hold me to it, people. Otherwise someone on the other side of the planet is going to be eating some dry mess hall toast, and that's just not cool.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Wine Time is Nigh
In spite of utter neglect on our part, our wines seem to have been doing just fine during their extended aging. The dandelion is good, very good according to Bill, who has both a sensitive palate and an iron stomach, and is therefore usually the first one to try anything home brewed.
At almost 5 months old, the dandelion was only just sampled and racked to age for another few months before being bottled. Oh the anticipation!
The grape wine (variety unknown) finally reached it's first birthday, and was therefore bottled and laid aside to age further.
Annnd in goes the cork!
The grape is one of my favorites so far, but Bill finds it kind of hum-drum. It is a dark rosé color and reminds me of a lower-shelf white merlot. It's nothing to write home about, but most grape wines aren't until they're at least 2 years old, according to what I've read. I can wait... I think.
Or not. Cheers!
At almost 5 months old, the dandelion was only just sampled and racked to age for another few months before being bottled. Oh the anticipation!
The grape wine (variety unknown) finally reached it's first birthday, and was therefore bottled and laid aside to age further.
The grape is one of my favorites so far, but Bill finds it kind of hum-drum. It is a dark rosé color and reminds me of a lower-shelf white merlot. It's nothing to write home about, but most grape wines aren't until they're at least 2 years old, according to what I've read. I can wait... I think.
Or not. Cheers!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Appliciousness
My apples are ripe! My apples are ripe! At least as far as I can tell, they are.
Besides hardness, how does one determine the ripeness of an apple? I figure that since they are essentially leaping off of one of my trees, that at least that tree must be ready to go. And so I picked a few today, 5 pounds worth, which didn't even make a dent in that side of that tree. I'm excited for this harvest. This quantity of apples is a wonderful gift for many reasons. They will become applesauce, fruit leather, snacks for the bunnies, and more. But I have to admit that the one apple incarnation that stands head and shoulders above the rest is Bill's hard cider. Some have described Bill's cider as strong. Some have gone so far as to call it hallucinogenic. It packs a punch.
So as soon as we acquire either a steam juicer or a fruit press, we'll have ourselves a little harvest-fest and crank through some apples. And a few months after that - hopefully by Christmas - we'll be knocking back some Boggy Hollow cider. :)
Besides hardness, how does one determine the ripeness of an apple? I figure that since they are essentially leaping off of one of my trees, that at least that tree must be ready to go. And so I picked a few today, 5 pounds worth, which didn't even make a dent in that side of that tree. I'm excited for this harvest. This quantity of apples is a wonderful gift for many reasons. They will become applesauce, fruit leather, snacks for the bunnies, and more. But I have to admit that the one apple incarnation that stands head and shoulders above the rest is Bill's hard cider. Some have described Bill's cider as strong. Some have gone so far as to call it hallucinogenic. It packs a punch.
So as soon as we acquire either a steam juicer or a fruit press, we'll have ourselves a little harvest-fest and crank through some apples. And a few months after that - hopefully by Christmas - we'll be knocking back some Boggy Hollow cider. :)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Pay it Forward ~ Granola Giveaway #2!
Last month I was the very grateful recipient of a package of lovely assorted British Columbian goodies, courtesy of Megan at Tomato Tots's Pay it Forward giveaway. Here are the tasty treats that I recieved-
Not surprisingly, the Whistler Organic chocolate was the first to go, followed very shortly by the lemon marshmallows. We, uh... have a bit of a sweet tooth over here. ;) We're down to the granola and the peach syrup now. Everything has been so good!
And so, it's my turn to pay it forward! My prize package's exact contents are still yet to be determined, but one thing is for sure, with a new house and back-to-school having just laid waste to our bank account, most of the goodies in this basket will be homemade. I have a lightweight scarf that I'm finishing, and a whole cupboard full of this summer's jams and jellies with more to come. So, if jelly and scarves appeal to you, simply leave a comment on this post to let me know that you'd like to be entered to win and, BAM, you're in the running. Good luck to all and thanks again for reading!
Michelle
Not surprisingly, the Whistler Organic chocolate was the first to go, followed very shortly by the lemon marshmallows. We, uh... have a bit of a sweet tooth over here. ;) We're down to the granola and the peach syrup now. Everything has been so good!
And so, it's my turn to pay it forward! My prize package's exact contents are still yet to be determined, but one thing is for sure, with a new house and back-to-school having just laid waste to our bank account, most of the goodies in this basket will be homemade. I have a lightweight scarf that I'm finishing, and a whole cupboard full of this summer's jams and jellies with more to come. So, if jelly and scarves appeal to you, simply leave a comment on this post to let me know that you'd like to be entered to win and, BAM, you're in the running. Good luck to all and thanks again for reading!
Michelle
Friday, August 27, 2010
The Bog Blog
For your reading pleasure, a little off-shoot of my Granola adventures, focusing on getting this farm up and running, I humbly introduce, The Bog Blog.
http://boggyhollowfarm.blogspot.com/
Yes, indeedy, the farm finally has an official name, Boggy Hollow. We were going to go with Boggy Bottom, but a Google search revealed that there were several farms with that name.
I probably am getting a little ahead of myself by even referring to this place as a farm, since, as of this moment, it isn't really. But I can picture everything that it will be - someday. As for now, 13 chickens, 6 fruit trees, 3.5 acres and a whole lot of big ideas are all that we've got. Stay tuned ;)
http://boggyhollowfarm.blogspot.com/
Yes, indeedy, the farm finally has an official name, Boggy Hollow. We were going to go with Boggy Bottom, but a Google search revealed that there were several farms with that name.
I probably am getting a little ahead of myself by even referring to this place as a farm, since, as of this moment, it isn't really. But I can picture everything that it will be - someday. As for now, 13 chickens, 6 fruit trees, 3.5 acres and a whole lot of big ideas are all that we've got. Stay tuned ;)
Monday, August 23, 2010
We're here!
Just a quick howdy to all my homeboys and girls on the interwebs. We're in the house, surrounded by boxes, overwhelmed by our new yard (and missing our old garden), enjoying the quiet, adjusting to the taste of well water ;p and just generally exhausted and blissfully happy to finally be HOME.
Pics forthcoming, as soon as the camera can be located.
By the way - the farm name debate drags on. Bill leans toward Boggy Hollow Farm (because Boggy Hollow Beer sounds better as a name for his homebrew, so he says), while I and many of you prefer Soggy Bottom Farm. Maybe a compromise? Boggy Bottom Farm, Soggy Hollow Farm? Help!
Pics forthcoming, as soon as the camera can be located.
By the way - the farm name debate drags on. Bill leans toward Boggy Hollow Farm (because Boggy Hollow Beer sounds better as a name for his homebrew, so he says), while I and many of you prefer Soggy Bottom Farm. Maybe a compromise? Boggy Bottom Farm, Soggy Hollow Farm? Help!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Input Requested - Name this farm!
Our very soon-to-be new place, our little farm, is going to need a name. I've been mulling this over for a while, trying to think of something unique, witty and fitting. I've got so many weird possibilities that I thought I'd run a few by you, but first, you'll need a bit of info on our farm and what we hope to do with it.
Our new place is located on one of many peninsulas in Western Washington, which means a few things -
A) The soil is clay, rocks and more clay, but mostly, clay.
B) We get a lot of rainfall.
C) Our back pasture is a very small valley with clay soil, which is to say, it is boggy.
D) The main food crop grown on our little peninsula is blueberries, because they don't mind the standing water or the acidity from our abundant fir and pine forests.
E) Our main focus will be poultry, at least at first. Chickens and turkeys for sure, maybe ducks too and somewhere down the line, we'll look into getting something with hooves. We will also, of course, have a hefty garden - eventually.
With all that in mind, I humbly toss out a few of the names that have drifted through my head, when thinking of this farm-
*Homemakers Acres
*Soggy Bottom Farm
*Jackson Family Farmstead
*Pampered Poultry & Produce
*Two Sisters Organics (This is the girls' choice, though I think we'd have to be certified to use this name - d'oh!)
*Little White House Produce & Poultry
*White House Farmstead
*???
Feel free to leave your thoughts and suggestions in the form of a comment or email, though I don't know if/when I'll be able to view it, since my internet was supposed to be shut down yesterday, Comcast could drop the hammer at any moment.
See y'all on the flipside! ;)
Our new place is located on one of many peninsulas in Western Washington, which means a few things -
A) The soil is clay, rocks and more clay, but mostly, clay.
B) We get a lot of rainfall.
C) Our back pasture is a very small valley with clay soil, which is to say, it is boggy.
D) The main food crop grown on our little peninsula is blueberries, because they don't mind the standing water or the acidity from our abundant fir and pine forests.
E) Our main focus will be poultry, at least at first. Chickens and turkeys for sure, maybe ducks too and somewhere down the line, we'll look into getting something with hooves. We will also, of course, have a hefty garden - eventually.
With all that in mind, I humbly toss out a few of the names that have drifted through my head, when thinking of this farm-
*Homemakers Acres
*Soggy Bottom Farm
*Jackson Family Farmstead
*Pampered Poultry & Produce
*Two Sisters Organics (This is the girls' choice, though I think we'd have to be certified to use this name - d'oh!)
*Little White House Produce & Poultry
*White House Farmstead
*???
Feel free to leave your thoughts and suggestions in the form of a comment or email, though I don't know if/when I'll be able to view it, since my internet was supposed to be shut down yesterday, Comcast could drop the hammer at any moment.
See y'all on the flipside! ;)
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