Eighth of an Acre Bounty

As the weather turns and the air takes on a definite chill, I find my self wanting to write more about food than the garden. I suppose it has much to do with the lack of any exciting new going on out there. My spinach I planted toward the end of summer seems to have been ravaged by the slugs and I am doubtful we will get any. The broccoli and cauliflower are trucking along, but also suffering from serious bug damage.

So now is the time that we settle in and find other activities to occupy our free time. For me this means a lot of cooking and experimenting. We are still awaiting our meat orders for this year so meals in the interim have been veggie based for the most part, with an odd piece of fish or slice of bacon thrown in. My father dropped off several packages of grass-fed beef with us last week to tide us over until our order comes in. We made mushroom and Swiss burgers with one package of ground, and oh my god was it good. I haven’t had ground beef that flavorful in a long time.

I’ve also been experiencing a hankering to do something creative. There was a time when I made all sorts of things, leather work, jewelry and clothing. Between working, school and home remodel it seems I got away from that and I am starting to feel the twinges of that loss. But the trick is to find something that doesn’t 1) create useless (albeit pretty) things that clutter us up more than we already are and 2) doesn’t require some sort of capital outlay for supplies, materials and tools.

Gary’s mother gifted me with her old sewing machine when she upgraded and I would like to pull that out and try my had at sewing again. But I am having a hard time coming up with something to make. I honestly don’t need anymore clothes (aside from a sturdy pair of workpants, and those I will order). We have drapes for all the windows, no need for pillows, etc. What a charmed life it is to not want for any basics much less frivolities like throw pillows and drapes, eh? I am lucky – and in realizing that and not wanting to have things just for the sake of having them, I am unable to come up with an outlet for this energy.

I should work on welding a bit this winter. We need to run power out to the shed but I could definitely make use of some larger trellises and perhaps get a little ornate with a gate for the chicken pen. Perhaps that is where the energy will go. I still need to get a better face shield and some raw steel stock to experiment with. Hmmm.

In other news, the kraut is coming along swimmingly. We cracked a jar the other night for a test sniff. Smells very Krauty! It is exciting, all of these little beasties making food for us. I am fascinated by fermentation and bacterial action. I started two half gallons of kombucha yesterday, with another half gallon of tea left over in the fridge. WHEW! I am not used to sweet tea, there is a lot of sugar in there for the beasties to eat.

No pictures for this post as we are getting ready to go out to a movie. I’ve decided that I can go see the new Oliver Stone movie W. For the past 8 years I’ve hit the mute button, turned off the radio, or rushed away from the tv anytime our village idiot came on with a presidential address. But now, with the election over and an end to his reign in site, I may just be able to go watch a movie and laugh about it for an hour or two before returning to the very real mess outside the theatre.