Dreaming of Simplicity

  Has anyone ever heard this term before? Apparently this term means fruit that by law belongs to the public and therefore anyone can pick it. Have you ever driven down a road and seen an apple tree with branches extending over the road way? Well that is an example of public fruit because the fruit is located on or hanging over public property. This includes side walks, roadways, and parking lots.

 So has anyone ever stopped and picked a bit of public fruit? Although it seems naughty in some way and I feel like it is something that I would have to do under teh cover of darkness or something I am intreged by the concept. I drive around so often and see trees on the side of the road loaded with apples and the apples falling along the roadside and want to pick them but I always figured I could not. Another example is the wild grapes growing at a local store parking lot, they are just hanging there on trees, telephone poles, the tire air pumps ect. I would like to pick some and make raisins or something but I am not sure I am brave enough. My kids and I have foraged for berries on a near by dirt road but that seemed different. I don't know maybe the world is not ready for public fruit, or maybe it is? Are you?

 Also I was wondering if anyone can describe what the fruit a walnut comes out of looks and smells like. In an area we used to walk in we found these odd green fruits falling all over the side walks. I read something recently that makes me think they are walnuts, I would like to know because I would go pick some up if they are indeed edible walnuts. Heh, I guess that is like the public fruit concept but a bit nuttier :)

ps...expecting scattered frost tonight! BOOOOO!

 Fall is on it's way. We have started school and well things are hectic and I have to figure out how to spread myself around to three kids who all still need loads of guidance and assistance. We have one doing switched on schoolhouse, one in life pacs, and one in My Father's world. Yup we like to spread ourselves around to lots of curriculums. Last year we did not use any curriculum, this year I am making it a no brainer.

 I think one or two of my buff orpingtons is moulting. They are about a year old so I think that is about the right age. There are feathers all over the place and egg production has slowed drasticly in the last few days. I have not had a good egg day since last week. Although I only have five hens I always get at least two days a week where I get four eggs and the other days I get maybe two. They are really good layers normally. How long does the moult last?

  Last but not least here is a breakfast that just screams of Vermont in the fall :)

Peel and chop an apple quite finely

place a teaspoon of butter in a little skillet and saute the apple for a couple minutes and then add a few table spoons of water and a sprinkle of cinnamon to the pan to poach the apples in until they are cooked.

Meanwhile prepare a serving of oatmeal as directed.

When the apples are tender and some of the water is gone add in two tablespoons of real maple syrup and simmer very gently while your oatmeal cooks.

When the oatmeal is done serve it in a bowl topped with the apples. Some chopped toasted nuts would be wonderful with this as well. This was so good and just reminds me of fall. Plus the cinnamon and maple will fragrance your kitchen lightly with that wonderful smell of baked goods with out having to bake.

Have  a great day everyone!

 Today was a good day. It has been unseasonably cool so baking and cooking has been a pleasure. I finally got another batch of zucchini bread in the freezer. I wanted to make the orange zuke bread some one posted on here but I could not find it. Oh well there is always next time!

 I made my first pickles and canned them tonight. My husband asked me to make some. I used the little package mix Ball makes with all the seasoning and salt in it. They look good, smell good and I got to hear that satisfying ping as the jars cooled. Yay! I have seven jars cooling on the counter. I have some of the juice left and I put it in the fridge. I am going to use it to make some quick sweet pickle relish when I get a couple more cukes.

 The fall planting is coming in nicely. Lots of turnip greens popping up, string beans are up, and some green onions. I am not sure about the lettuce yet, it might be up or those may be weeds growing, ha ha! Only one lima bean plant has sprung up. Those just do not like my soil. The carrots continue to look nice and are getting plump under the soil. I found some beet seed yesterday and popped that into the garden. I hope we get something out of this planting. Evertything else is not going so well. We had tons of blossoms on our squash and pumpkin plants but other than a few zucchinis nothing is growing from the blossoms. Our tomatoes died, our cabbages are small, and our corn was knocked over by last weeks severe storm. Oh well this is our experimental year. Next year we will have it worked out better. :) You have to learn before you get it right!

 Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! School is going to start in a couple weeks and I am not ready at all. I have not done our paper work for the state yet or worked on the kids portfolios. I have to copy workbooks for two kids. I have software for one kid that I can not get to work on the two computers we have in our house and we can not afford a new one or repairs. Unless some money floats down from Heaven I do not know what we will do! AHHHH!

 I remain faithful that the Lord will provide all we need for homeschooling :)

 I hope you are having a wonderful and blessed day!!!

My menu is not set in stone but here is my game plan for the week. This is of course subject to change on a whim and some items are not very specific because I have not decided yet what style I want to cook or what recipe I will use.

Monday: Spaghetti and meat suace, homemade french bread, salad or Italian flat green beans

Tuesday: Roast , fried or grilled chicken parts, mashed potatoes, a vegetable or two

Wenesday: Pork ribs, cole slaw, cottage potatoes

Thursday: Chili served on rice, salad maybe? It will probably be a bean dish either way.

Friday: It's my night off, my husband takes me out to eat or we get take out, isn't my husband sweet.

Saturday: ? Hmmm not sure yet. We will see what happens

Sunday: Again not sure, maybe something in the crock pot

Yesterday was quite productive. We found some seeds to plant which I hoped to get in the ground but ran out of time. We did however get the plot we are using for the fall planting weeded out. We just need to send the chickens out there to scratch it up. It was tilled twice in the spring so the chickens should be able to get the surface worked up quite well. We also were able to weed the plot with onions, carrots, squashes, pumpkins and tomatoes. It looks nice now and I am actually getting growth on teh sqaushes since I placed the wire fencing on the plants. Whatever was eating the blossoms stopped doing so when I did that. It made weeding hard because we had to carefully lift the wire off to weed.

I picked the remaining peas yesterday and pulled out the plants. They were getting very sad looking. I picked my first zuke yesterday too. I ended up getting a bag of peas, and six bags of green beans processed for the freezer. Today is zucchini bread day!

 Well there you have it. All the news from my sad little homestead :)

 Praise his name for the cool air that has settled in for the day! This past week was a scorcher with highs near or above 90 most days. I do not like heat. Today it is so much nicer. I actually baked today and did not find myself melting into a puddle. Thank you Lord! I want to make zucchini bread and freeze green beans today. I have about five pounds to freeze.

 Here are the local items that were on our table this weekend.

Specialty hamburgers (sweet onion and bacon with VT cheddar) made from beef from http://boydenfarm.com/. This farm is very close and we pass by it when we pick up our CSA share. We picked these up from http://www.sweetclovermarket.com/reachus.htm .

 Organic corn on the cob that we picked up from the farmers market that came from a farm that is in our town. I would have bought directly from them but we were at the market and I was using farm to family coupons that WIC offers to low income people to buy fresh produce at farmers markets.

Vermont butter of course.

Our own eggs scrambled for breakfast, and also in muffins which contained fresh organic blueberries from our CSA share.

Tonight we will have tacos made from ground beef from the local butcher, Vermont cheese, tomatoes and lettuce from our farm share.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 Today was farm day here is what was in our share

4 cucumbers

2 zucchini

1 summer squash

two tomatoes

choice of cabbage or cauliflower (I picked cabbage because I got broccoli last time and it was too full of critters for my taste)

1 onion of your choice (I picked purple)

beets, radishes or kale (I picked beets plus there was a box of extra beets which I took some of)

basket of blue berries which I snacked on on the way home

bag of string beans

red leaf lettuce

new potatoes

choice of cilantro or basil (got basil)

two big homemade pickles

a new style of goat cheese we have not tried yet

 I think that is it.

Today's Local items on my menu included goat cheese and cucumbers at lunch, lettuce at dinner. Also the blueberries I snacked on.

I made a nice sauce to put in the freezer with onions, garlic, fresh chopped up tomatoes, olive oil and salt and pepper. This will become a sauce or will go into a soup some day.

 I also put some organic leeks in the freezer for fall soups.

I dried bluebrries which took two days.

I have some basil that needs to be dried this weekend.

 Some people's priorities are WAY out of whack. I have spent many nights at rehearsals and a few huors helping set up the festival grounds. I enjoyed myself and like the EXTREMELY RARE chance to get out and do something non-domestic. But on the other hand I gave up precious time with my family which I hated.

 I gave as much time as I was able to and willing to give to this festival. A couple of weeks ago my brother in law decided to move back to Florida. He was leaving today amd we wanted to spend time with him before he went. On the last day of the festival we were supposed to stay and tear everything down. I told people I was not able to stay because of family commitments and they were upset at me. One person even went so far as to tell me that since I knew about the festival clean up well over a month ago and my BIL sprung this on me I should tell him I was busy. I made it clear that I was very sorry but family is first. No one was happy with that.

 Another thing I learned was how empty some people's lives must be. I admit I was a little envious of those who were able to buy anything they wanted at the merchant booths and through out the festival I struggled just to buy a scone or a soda. Many of the people just seemed to be buying things they probably did not need to fill some void.

 I had some who told me how sad they were to go back to real life. I was thrilled to go back to real life with my family and all the daily duties. While some wish they could live the life of a gypsy and travel each day and play make believe I enjoyed the moment of fun for what it was but longed to go back to the real world. How does ones life become so empty that they want to abandon the real world to a pretend world? So many of them are actors in their spare time, they live to be some one else.  How I pity these people who do not have Jesus in their lives and a life that they find fulfilling.

 Now do not get me wrong, I would love to travel, I love to pretend for awhile to be some one else and live in another time but nothing makes me happier than being right here surrounded by four children loudly chomping on popcorn, one napping soundly in the next room, a loving husband who is on his way home for work and loads of laundry just screaming my name! Thank you Lord for my life that is so full and thank you for the peace and contentment that fills my heart!!!!

 We often hear this verse tossed about but sometimes even something small can remind you how true this passage from Phillipians 4 is. Here is a brief testimony to that fact.

  As I had written before I have been working at a renaissance festival playing a lady in waiting. I just do not do well with the heat and the sun so you can imagine walking around all day in the beating sun in several layers (one of which was black velvet) that I was just a wreck each night. Yesterday was the last day of the festival and I did not know how I would get through the day. I was just dragged out tired, worn out and dreading another night of heat sickness. I did not know what to do, I had done everything with in my power to try and stay cool and none of it had worked. As I was driving to the festival listening to some hymns it came to me. I could not get through the day on my own power. I prayed twice on the way to the festival grounds for the Lord's strength to get me through the day healthy. When I got to the grounds I prayed once more. You know what, it was the only day of the two weeks that I was not sick at the end of the day! Tired, yes but not sick! Praise the Lord. I praised the Lord and thanked him for his help. Even as fun as the festival is to work at I know with out the Lord I would not have been able to face the day and made it through! Praise the Lord!!!

 I do not go to the grocery store as often as I used to! Tonight I relized that it was the first time in weeks that I have been to our normal grocery store. I used to go at least once a week. Now that I am trying to use more local items I do not have the need to go as often. Our produce has mostly come from the farm, I stock up on a months worth of meat from the local butcher and we buy Vermont produced milk at the small store here in town. I admit that we have been to the salvage store twice this month to purchase things like cereal, condiments, and some snack foods but I really have changed our focus from shopping at the traditional chain store to smaller local businesses. How cool is that?

I just picked my first tomato from the garden!!!

 That is all :)

 I was gone all day to the beach with the kids and when we got home it was farm share pick up day. Farm day is always exciting. The kids love to go see the animals and I get to see what kitchen I magic I can do with the fresh, organic, local produce and cheese we recieve. Here was what was in our share tonight:

garlic

choice of herb-I picked basil

carrots

2 cucumbers

2 zucchini

1 summer squash

a basket of blueberries

choice of greens-I swapped our greens for extra carrots

a red lettuce

a tomato- they are just barely starting to ripen up in our area

a basket of peas-last of the season

a bag of mixed string beans

choice of cole crop item-I chose the regular broccoli this week, they also had purple and cabbages

herbed and plain goat cheese (I have been looking forward to the herbed cheese for weeks and we finally got some!!!!) the small round cheese is covered in a wonderfully fragrant herb mix which also has some tiny purple flower petals in it, lavender possibly? I tried this cheese at the farmer's market and I was just in love.

a basket of new potatoes-I chose red this week

I think that was it :)

 For dinner I steamed some new potatoes and peeled and cubed them. I sauted a red onion from last weeks share along with some green pepper and garlic until it was soft. I added the potatoes plus some chopped ham to the pan. I poured six fresh eggs from our chickens wisked with black pepper over this and cooked everything in a large skillet with out stirring. When the egg had set somewhat I moved it under the broiler to finish cooking. I decided to add a sprinkle of Vermont cheddar cheese to the top as well. I served this with the string beans from the farm and some quick biscuits. The meal was so good! Even with out the ham it would have been good.

 Later I might have some goats cheese on crackers!!!!

 My mother recently gave me a lovely gift. It was a jar of the most wonderfully scented, mousse like, whipped body wash. The scent was called Cherry Divinity and let me tell you it is just divine! The lady who makes it sells it on Etsy.com, a ebay like place for crafts people and artists to sell their creations. I turned around and just purchsed a matching body spray from the same person. If you would like to look at these wonderful products and see the huge list of scents available run on over to www.madcitysue.etsy.com and look at what she has to offer.  Below is a link to the actual product that I have in my shower. Oh did I mention the matching bath poof she sends with the shower parfait? She is so right about not wanting to get out of the shower because it smells so good.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6315927

The renaissance faire that is. I am a cast member for the local renaissance festival. I am silent in all but one show but it is still a lot of fun. I was cast as one of Mary Tudor's ladies in waiting and we had to research our roles. One problem, all of Mary's ladies in waiting were teenaged girls and one was a four foot tall hunch back! I chose a less hunched character the Lady Katherine Gray. The age of my character is quite a stretch, she was fourteen at the time of her first service to Mary and she only lived to the age of twenty-seven! I am THIRTY!

 This has been a very fun experience so far but it is much more work than one might think. At least the festival I am in is. The festival is in alliance with a theater company so there is a lot of acting involved. Not so much for me but I still have to be there for rehearsals and such.

 So with sunscreen and water bottle in hand I bid you farewell!

Eat Fresh, we all know the commercials for a sandwich company touting their anything but actually fresh sandwiches. The real fresh stuff was on my table tonight. Here was our menu.

Chicken purchased from the local butcher roasted with spices, roasted garlic, and lime.

Beets from the farmers market with Vermont butter

Rainbow heirloom variety carrots and carrots from our farm share with peas from our garden and edible pod peas from the farm

New potatoes from the CSA share smashed with with chives from our garden, vermont cheddar cheese, Vermont butter, bacon, and sour cream

 Everything was fresh and flavorful. The plates looked colorful, healthy, and appealing. I have to say that fresh beets although messy to prepare are so much better than those canned things.

In keeping with my local eating challenge here are the locally produced items that were on the menu at my house yesterday.

Breakfast: Vermont butter

Lunch: Vermont bread, butter and cheese

Dinner: Ground beef from a local butcher, an egg from my chickens, fresh goats milk Feta cheese from a farm in the next town, and a salad that contained veggies from my CSA farm share and a few peas from my garden

Well that was what was local on my table yesterday,what about your table?

Kraft is one of those brands that you just think of as family friendly. Recently my children and I saw a commercial that made us think differently. If you watch tv have you caught their commercials promoting a contest to win a trip to see the Cheetah Girls in concert? In this commercial they show clips of the Cheetah Girls, in one of them one of the "girls" is wearing what I can only describe as a fancy loin cloth. It is disgusting. As far as I know the Cheetah Girls is some Disney creation gone wrong. It is supposed to be a group of teenaged girls but from what I have seen they dress more like a group of "ladies of the night". I can not believe this is the image that Kraft wants to project to the public. My children urged me to write to them and let them know how we all felt about their commercial. It is a sad commentary that 7,9, and 11 year olds, the target audience for this marketing ploy are disgusted by it! Here is the nasty gram I sent Kraft

 I am writing to you in reguards to your Kraft Macaroni and Cheese commercials promoting a contest featuring the Cheetah Girls. I am very disapointed that Kraft, a trusted brand name would use the footage that was used in that commercial. Your macaroni and cheese dinners are cleary marketed to children and I was terribly disgusted by your choice to promote the Cheetah Girls in a contest geared toward children. The footage shown of those "girls" was to be frank filthy, one girl's bottom half appeared to be only covered by something resembling a fancy loin cloth! Does Kraft really want to promote it's self this way using scantly clad supposedly teen aged girls to peddle it's products? My older children who are 7,9 and 11 recognized the fact that these young ladies were not clothed very well and that this was not an appropriate thing for kids. My daughter is actually the one who pushed me to write this email when I mentioned that I was also bothered by the Cheetah Girl's lack of clothing in your commercial. Although I enjoy your brand for the durtation of this promotion and maybe beyond that I will be choosing not to purchase your products and will be spreading the word to other mothers who share my same views on modesty in dress and behavior for young women. I sure hope your next advertising promotion will be a more family friendly one that fits with Krafts formerly clean cut image. Until this promotion ends or possibly longer, I will not be purchasing Kraft products and I plan to share this with other mothers who are concerned about innapropriate marketing to children.

 A few entries ago I spoke about my interest in eating more local foods. I have been challenging myself to use more locally grown or produced foods in my family's everyday diet. My reasons for eating more local foods is becuase I want to support local agriculture and businesses along with knowing where and in many cases how the food was grown or produced. Because I have a limited budget eating entirely local is not feasable but I have found a way to work more local items into our diet. I invite you, my fellow homestead bloggers to join me in my EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE. Here are the very loose "rules"....

 Try to add at least one localled produced food to each of the three major meals; breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For example here is a menu from my week, the local items are in red.

Breakfast: buckwheat berry pancakes made with eggs from my own chickens, and berries foraged from near by woods, maple syrup which may actually be with in my 100 mile range but I am not sure, and sausage patties.

Lunch: a grilled cheese sandwhich that included butter produced in VT, some chips, and an apple

Dinner: Beef stroganoff made with steak from a local butcher, fresh garlic scapes, and onions from our CSA farm share, served with orzo pasta mixed in

 Any food produced in your home state or with in approximately 100 miles of your home can count.

 Snce my focus is on supporting local business eating something like bread baked at the locally owned bakery counts although the ingredients used may not be local. You are supporting some one in your community that way rather than some faceless national chain. Some purists may not like this little bend to the rule but I think it is an important part of starting the local food chain. Another item like this is meat, I personally can not afford the wonderful organic grass fed meats that are raised here but I can support a local butcher shop who sells as many local meats as is possible.

 Just reading labels on foods you normally buy can really open your eyes to how far your food is traveling to get to you. Yesterday I read labels on butter at a grocery store chain. The chain is a New England based chain. You would think that they would have products produced in the area. No such luck the butter they are selling under their label is all the way from Idaho!!! Instead of purchasing that butter I spent fifty cents more to support a Vermont based business. It's that simple!

 So there you have it! Anyone game for a challenge? I will be trying to share my menus with you here on my blog.