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Here's a quick tip to use at home and share with recipients of home-canned gifts:
Yes, this video was recorded way back in July at our old house and I did cut the video short at the end because a certain little girl and her little dog interrupted the last sentence during the umpteenth take. Making and editing videos is hard for me!
I am tired beyond tired.
I am sleepy from waking each morning at first light to open up the chicken coop and feed the animals.
My back aches from raking and transporting leaves from under the trees to where they will build soil for new garden beds.
My wrists are thick with fatigue after skinning a deer.
My calves twinge at every step with reminders of the moving boxes carried upstairs.
But my mind is free and alive.
My nose is full of the smells of our first bonfire. My ears remembering pleasant banter of family around the table at Thanksgiving. My eyes are anxious to look at plans for the orchard one more time.
This is the reality of hard, self-chosen work. My body is spent but my soul fulfilled. My brain motivates my aching joints because processing a wild animal, creating new growing areas, and setting up a more spacious home is what I have desired for so long.
I am tired and happy to be working so hard.
This post is inspired by James Ward, my grandfather, who died recently. He understood hard work as a child building airplane models, a young adult racing and fixing cars, and a home gardener and chicken keeper who turned rock solid dirt into thriving soil that grew the best strawberries I've ever tasted. We will attend a memorial service for him today. Rest in Peace, Grandpa.
Cocktail drinkers know that a Manhattan isn't a traditional Manhattan without Angostura bitters and one can't make a Sazerac without Peychod's. But home mixologists might not know how simple and fun it is to make bitters and home.
Bitters are strong herb and spice alcohol infusions including at least one bittering agent like cassia, wormwood, quinine, citrus peel, or gentian root. A drop of flavorful bitters is the strong guest that holds the door open for the remaining sweet and sour seats around the table.
Bitters were born of the ‘tonic’ movement, a period in the mid 1800s - mid 1900s where people claimed to cure all with drinks flavored with herbs and spices. They were commonly consumed neat or over ice as digestifs. A culture of secret recipes and labels listing the afflictions for which each bitters were recommended surrounded the compounding craze.
Now, bitters are most commonly used in cocktails. Bitters support a drink with complexity that is notably absent if the mixologist neglects to add a drop or two. Creating bitters at home is one way cocktail makers can customize a drink recipe.
1. Mix spices into alcohol. 2. Allow to age for up to three weeks at room temperature, tasting along the way to determine when the flavors reach your taste's desired strength. 3. Strain out solids and reserve alcohol. Dilute with a slight bit of water if desired. 4. Bottle and store in a cool dark place.
Because one only uses a few drops of bitters at a time and some of the ingredients are expensive, it is best to make very small batches. Organic bitters spices are available locally in tiny quantities at Clintonville Community Market and online through sources like Mountain Rose Herbs and Frontier. I like to store mine in dark glass bottles with eye droppers, available at Amazon and Mountain Rose.
I created and tweaked the recipes below to my taste. Participants in my recent Infusions and Bitters class at Franklin Park Conservatory enjoyed them and many left planning to make bitters as gifts this holiday season.
Cocoa Bitters 1 teaspoon cacao nibs ¼ teaspoon sarsaparilla ¼ teaspoon orange peel ¼ teaspoon wild cherry bark 1 allspice berry 1 inch length of cinnamon stick ½ cup rum
Turkey Day Bitters 2 inches fresh rosemary 2 inches fresh sage ¼ teaspoon pink peppercorn ¼ teaspoon gentain root ¼ teaspoon juniper berries 150 mL vodka
Rachel’s Bitters 3 allspice berries 1 star anise ¼ teaspoon each pink peppercorn, gentain root, wild cherry bark, lemon peel, sarsaparilla 150 mL vodka
Even our kitty Moonshine was interested in bitters as I was photographing! Try making bitters yourself and see what flavor magic you can create.
Local notes:
1) I run a monthly co-operative buying group for Frontier herbs, spices, bath and body supplies including bitters ingredients and bottles. If you live in Columbus and are interested, contact me.
2) I am hosting a Gifts In Jars event at City Folk's Farm Shop, 4760 N High St, this Friday November 23. I will have everything you need to make and label a beautiful Weck jar of hot cocoa mix, bath foam, or culinary herb salts with custom flavors. Each jar costs $6, will take about 10 minutes to make and the mess stays out of your house. Drop in anytime between 11 am - 2 pm this Friday.
Howdy! My workhorse of a five-year-old laptop bit the dust last weekend. It's where I did all my writing and editing work. A Lenovo Twist (squee!) is on order to replace it but in the meantime, blogging on shared family computers is a little difficult. In the meantime, a few thoughts on the upcoming holiday.
Thanksgiving Day is a week away. We are hosting this year. I can't wait to fill our spacious new house with family and food!
Our Turkey Day menu will include many of these tried and true favorites of my family:
Brined Roasted Turkey (don't forget to save the bones for turkey stock)
Maple Vinegar Sweet Potatoes and Kale
Cranberry Sauce (make extra to can!)
Pie with Sassafras Crumble Topping
What are your Thanksgiving plans? What will you contribute to the feast?
You may not be able to see, but Lil is bouncing up and down in this picture. The reason? The Ohio National Poultry Show.
The show runs this Saturday and Sunday at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus. Judges will award ribbons and trophies for perfectly conforming birds in all categories for both adults and youth on Saturday.
The rows of cages contain feather-headed chickens, fancy ducks, Buckeye chickens*, poultry for sale (expensive, show-quality birds), and dinosaurs.
Really, who can deny that this chicken looks like a dinosaur?!
Amid cockrel cries and duck calls, a limited number of vendors offer books, equipment and information. Owners are more than willing to share about their animals. Several breed groups also have tables with information about their varieties.
Backyard chicken keepers, those curious about poultry, and photographers will enjoy the Poultry Show.
The Ohio National Poultry Show - website and show schedule (beware the colorful text, unaligned pictures, and lack of organization) Saturday November 10, 2012 & Sunday November 11, 2012 George Voinovich Livestock Building on Ohio Fairgrounds (near 11th and I-71, enter from 17th) $5 admission
*Slow Food Columbus and the fine chef at Knead are offering a 'beak to tail' harvest dinner featuring the Buckeye chicken breed on Monday. Buy tickets ASAP as they are very limited.
Meet Moonshine, our new kitten!
Moonshine's mama was dumped, pregnant, on a friend's farm. On August 6, our kitten was born with white mitten paws.
Lil suggested the name after reading the book Pumpkin Moonshine, an old story about Jack-o-lanterns. Who were we to refuse a name that references the ultimate DIY activity?
The hounds are confused by this furry creature who has captured our attention. They spent all day yesterday staring at her. Moonshine is very tolerant of their snarfling though she hisses and runs when the dogs get too close.
'Kitten' has topped Lil's gift wish lists for years. Moonshine is a promise fulfilled, a new addition as thrilling as a sip of illicit booze.
We jumped right into making our new house a home by checking off some little projects that needed to be done:
There are many more little and big projects to come:
Tomorrow I'll post something non-house related and a recipe post is coming soon.
What little (and big) projects are happening in your world?
Lately I have been in a pie rut. My crusts have been tougher than I like and I suspected it had something to do with my switch to making pie crust with 100% butter fat. Compared to shortening, butter is arguably more healthy (because it contains healthy acids and vitamins) and easy to buy or make from local cream. I also much prefer the flavor of a butter crust to anything else. I could switch to lard and have made and used lard on occasion, but it isn't something I have on hand all the time.
I finally solved the butter crust riddle when I tested my theory that a thicker crust would correct butter fat's tendency toward toughness. The cranberry apple pie pictured above has a double crust recipe rolled thickly. The resulting crust is tender yet holds up to a fairly wet filling. It was neither mushy nor unyielding to a knife.
What placed my pie in the realm of perfection, however, is all in the topping. AJ of Sassafras Bakery generously shared her recipe with me on Twitter. Once I tested it, I asked for permission to publish for you and she agreed. Meet AJ and learn more secrets at her Buttercream-Decorated Sugar Cookies class December 1 and/or Art of Pie class December 8 at Franklin Park Conservatory.
I made AJ's crumble with Hawaiian macadamia nuts and smothered it on top of cranberries and apples because those are the ingredients I had on hand. I know I'll try it with other nuts and fruits as the seasons turn - I can almost taste a pear pie with pecan crumble topping and peach with walnut. Play with this recipe and let me know what combinations you love! Sassafras Bakery's Delectable Crumble Topping Makes: Topping for 1 9-inch pie Time: 10 minutes preparation, 30-45 minutes cooking
2/3 cup raw nuts (macadamia, walnuts, pecans suggested) 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter 1/2 cup white granulated sugar 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour
1. In a small saute pan, roast nuts over medium heat. Stir frequently and watch/smell carefully. As soon as nuts are slightly browned and smelling nutty, remove from heat. 2. Meanwhile, melt butter over low heat in a small sauce pan. 3. When butter is melted, add remaining ingredients and stir. Remove from heat. 4. Add nuts and stir to combine. 5. Spoon or use hands to place topping over a single-crust fruit-filled pie. You may not have complete coverage and that's ok. 6. Place a round of aluminium foil just smaller than the top of the pie on top to prevent burning. Remove foil five to ten minutes before cooking is complete to brown the top. 7. Allow to cool at least one hour before slicing.