Emma's Squash Soup(s)

Cut open 5-6 small squash (one full cookie sheet's worth--the photos are from a double batch) and bake in the oven, halves down in a bit of water on a cookie sheet until you can easily poke through skin with a fork (35 minutes?). Wash, chop and boil about 8 potatoes. If they're thick-skinned, consider peeling (though Emma would frown at that choice). Saute 1-2 leeks in a healthy pour of olive oil. After a minute or two add 4-5 cloves of garlic. Throw in a carrot or two or three, cut into slices. Add spices: probably a bay leaf or two, maybe some thyme, sage if you're feeling crazy, cutting celery, parsley. Salt and pepper. Add water (start with 6 cups, add as needed), bring to a simmer. Or I guess you could pour the potato water right into the pot. Either way. Add potatoes. When squash is ready, scoop out flesh and add to pot. Blend the entire batch, return to pot, and simmer again to warm and reduce if necessary.

I know it's unhelpful that the spices don't have amounts next to them, but really, this soup is all about letting the leek and squash flavors do most of the work. Throw in any fresh herbs you have around, and if that's nothing than try salt and pepper first and go from there.

Honey Time

The bustle of the honey house

A de-capping machine. You drop the frame in and it slices the wax (mostly) off of both sides.

Joy finishing the decapping, Emma working the machine.

Shawn and April decapping

back to the main Honey Post

The Pletzel

The original recipe I found at Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. It called for a challah or brioche dough. I ended up going brioche, but I can't seem to find the recipe I used for that--I'm sure brioche doughs are all pretty similar.

Two problems I had with this bread. The first, which you can kinda see in the picture, is that the outside got way more well-done than the middle. Partially my fault, i think i added extra onions, making that layer too thick. It did solidify enough as it cooled. The second was flavor--it wasn't oniony enough for me. For the second pan I roasted the onions a bit longer and added balsamic vinegar to them to reduce a bit. I wonder if they'd have more flavor if you roasted the onions in balsamic, salt and pepper in the oven first, instead of sauteing. Maybe I'm just spoiled--my old work did an onion bread that was uber-yummy.

Currant Jam

You want to strip the berries off their bracts into a colander to rinse them, then heat and simmer in a bit of water for about 10 minutes. Run them through a foley mill (or cheesecloth) to remove the skins. By our calculations, 4.5 quarts of berries + 1.5 C water = about 7.5 C currant juice.

Honey Recipe

6.5 C currant juice
3.25 t dry low-methoxyl pectin
3/4 C honey
9 t lemon juice
6.5 t calcium water (comes in a Pomona's pectin packet)

Mix pectin into honey, stirring well. Add lemon juice to berry juice in pot, bring to a boil (be careful not to scorch the bottom --stir, stir, stir). Add honey/pectin mixture, then return to a boil and boil for a timed 2 minutes, then add calcium water, stir that in, and remove the pot from heat. Can away! If I were a better person I'd have estimates for how many jars this makes. Um, sorry?

Sugar Recipe
4 C currant juice
1-2 C sugar (i'd recommend the high side, to counter the tartness)
2 t pectin
2 t calcium water

Process the same way.

Lazy Sunday Lentils, rambling version

I'm surprised this isn't already up somewhere, it's one of my standards. God, maybe it is and I'm just getting worse at using the internet.

1 # bag of green lentils
1 onion (yellow, usually)
3-4 cloves garlic
a bit of olive oil
cumin
paprika
salt and pepper
turmeric?
3-4 carrots, cut into coins and coin halves
3 celery stalks or a small handful of cutting celery, leaves and stem, diced
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes or equivalent amount (2-3 handfuls) of fresh tomatoes
4 C water (?)

Dice onion and garlic, saute in olive oil in a soup pot. Add spices in ratio of 2 cumin:1 paprika, salt and pepper to taste (lots of pepper...add a little salt now, but save some for the end), and the equivalent of 1/2 turmeric if you feel like it. Maybe start with 2 tsp cumin, etc. Stir well, then add the diced carrots and celery, continue cooking on low (you can cover it if you're worried about the garlic scorching). When the carrots are starting to get tender, pour in lentils. Stir lentils around for a bit--i dunno, 30 seconds? i learned this from my old roommie Visnja. She says it brings out the nutty flavor in the lentils--then add water. How much? Well, I put 4 cups, but you want enough to cook the lentils in. It may be closer to 8 cups--i usually add some water, and add more as the lentils puff up. You can always add more later, but you can also always simmer it to the desired consistency later as well if you add too much early on. Your call. Ramble over. So, you threw in the water, now bring to a boil, then back to a simmer until lentils are cooked. Add tomatoes, let heat through. Now check your spice levels and adjust. I used to add the tomatoes with the water, before the lentils were cooked, but somebody told me that tomatoes get more acidic as they cook, so I started holding them back a bit. I wonder if that's even true. Anyway, the stew is better the second day.

(The next time I make this I'll pin down the water and spice deal and update these directions to sound less crazy).

Grafting and Blossoms

Joy making a diagonal cut in the scion wood (the dormant wood from the existing tree that you want to replicate).

Scion wood bundles

The rootstock end has already been cut

And here they are--don't they look fragile? We taped tightly over the grafts to help press the layers together. The green goo on the end helps prevent moisture loss.

Miraculous! Green growth above the graft.

Pear tree at the end in full bloom, ahead of the young apple trees

Bob calls this the "red balloon" stage, when the buds are full and round. I think these pictured may be just shy of red balloon

A row of blossoming apple trees. The buds are set in the previous summer, so your apple is actually over a year in the making. Amazing, right?

The sepal-like green bit behind the blossom is the calyx. And the slight swelling between calyx and stem? Your future apple. The calyx remains through the process- it's that little bit of stuff in the bottom cleft of the apple.

I think this is a pear blossom.

Brandon's Spinach Quinoa Egg Bake

Ingredients (serves 6):
2 cups red quinoa
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 packs of frozen cut spinach
1 cup of chopped yellow squash
1 Tbsp salt
6 eggs


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and thaw your veggies (if necessary--if not, i'd quickly steam them both). Cook quinoa until fluffy. Combine warm quinoa with thawed/cooked spinach and squash. Stir in salt and parmesan cheese. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl until well mixed and pour over quinoa spinach mix. Spoon into a 9 x 12 glass baking dish and bake-- covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for the final 15. Serve warm with soy sauce to taste.