Here and There

A few random things: I was recently invited to be a part of the newly established Ohio Moms Blog.  Part of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog group, the Ohio Moms Blog is a collaborative effort of many writing mothers.  This is a challenge for me, as I'm not used to writing emotional narrative.  My first post is up and I will be posting there at least twice a month.

My tattoo addiction doesn't really fit with the educational theme of Hounds in the Kitchen, so I opened Tattooed Homemaker.  I envision it as a place that people can share the story of their family friendly tattoos and am actively looking for submissions.

Finally, I wrote a survey regarding the Kids Cook classes.  If you attended a class, please take the survey to help me plan future classes.  The survey will close December 28.

Make it Yourself: Holiday Tree

Our Xmas tradition is to decorate a Norfolk Island Pine.  It tolerates the attention but prefers to be an indoor/outdoor tree and is usually completely dried from the lights at the end of the holiday season. This year I was thinking about buying a metal or wooden reusable tree.  Then I had a brainstorm: let's make our own branch tree!

I filled an empty clay pot with garden stones.  Sand or pea gravel would also work well.

Lil helped me gather multi-pronged branches from the backyard.  We inserted them into the stones and added more on top to hold the branches in place.

I brought the 'tree' inside and wondered whether it was a dumb idea.  The branches looked out of place on the quilted tree skirt made by my grandmother.

We unwrapped our  collection of  miniature ornaments and added them to the tree.

I placed a few pieces of holiday origami at the base.

When all the decorations were placed, I fell in love.  Our tree is earthy yet shows off our ornaments.  I don't have to worry about leaves drying out or presents being dirtied by soil.  Best of all, the tree cost nothing and can be returned to the yard at the end of the season.

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I am also in love with my new camera.  I brooded about whether I needed a DSLR for months and finally bought a Canon EOS Rebel T1i Digital SLR Camera on Friday.  It is amazing!  I'm still learning how to use it well, but the pictures I'm getting are already so much better than I could take with my Powershot.

Case in point: I rarely took pictures of Hawise before because the old camera would not react quickly enough to capture her ever moving body.  Today I recorded another xmas tradition with the DSLR: torturing the dogs with costuming.

First Blogiversary!

One year ago I started Hounds in the Kitchen.  The intervening year has included:

~ 155 blog posts

~ 7 Kids Cook classes

~ hundreds of pounds of produce from the garden

~ 30 subscribers

~ 265 comments

~ 2 speaking engagements

~ 1 renovated kitchen (almost...)

~ $6 earned in advertising

~ $30 spent in domain registration and hosting

~ 1 press trip to the Fabulous Food Show in Cleveland

and...

~ 1 sponsored dinner

Tomorrow afternoon Alex, Lil, and I will be making a Harvest Meal with three families as part of the Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 program.  I will share all the details soon.

Thank you, readers, for making writing this blog exciting and interesting every day.  I hope to continue Hounds in the Kitchen for years to come.

Now, go enjoy Thanksgiving!

Hawise Sees the Light

Ah, winter sunlight.  It streams sideways through the windows and illuminates every fingerprint and bit of dust on furniture tops.  It bathes our indoor herb garden with warmth. One beam was soaked up by Hawise the little hound and I could not help but take her portrait.

Hounds in the Kitchen Gift Guide 2009

The holiday shopping days are upon us.  I put together this list of presents ideal for the locavore, gardener, or cook on your gift list.

If you have the time, please shop locally to support your local economy and small businesses.  If you prefer online shopping, click on the pictures for links.

Local ingredients - visit Local Harvest or your farmer's market to gift a CSA subscription.  Alternatively, put together a basket of local ingredients from your area.

Unique ingredients - Recently the folks at Marx Foods gave me 13 salt samples to review.  A sampler of ingredients (Marx also sells meat, mushroom, and sea vegetable samplers) would be most welcome in a food loving home.  You can also find specialty items at a gourmet grocery stores like Hill's Market or Weiland's in Columbus.

Cast Iron Cookware - Our iron skillet and griddle see an enormous amount of use.  Cooks will appreciate that a gift of cast iron is a gift that lasts generations.  If you are on a budget, cast iron cookware can be found with careful searching at thrift stores.

Food Mill - a manual powered puree maker is perfect for pumpkin, apple, and tomato sauce.  I have found food mills at thrift a few times too.

Stoneware - A pizza stone and stone baking pan are must haves in my opinion.  I recently received stoneware muffin pans and they are wonderful too.  Stoneware heats more evenly than glass or metal and naturally nonstick seasoning forms a perfect crust on baked goods.

Vacuum Sealer - not a must have, but a nice tool for gardeners and those who purchase in bulk.  I recently posted all my thoughts about vacuum sealers.

Plants - Most gardeners I know are plant collectors.   Gift givers could choose a specialty indoor plant (tropical fruit trees like lemon and bay leaf are fun) or gift certificate to a local nursery.

Seeds & Tools - Many seed suppliers are sold out right now but will begin restocking in the spring.  Seeds of Change and Seed Savers Exchange (my favorite suppliers of rare and heirloom seeds) both have gift certificates available.  They also sell quality gardening tools.

Cool Clothes - Columbus local shop Skreened prints your designs (or choose from thousands of independent designs) on American Apparel ethical t-shirts and totes.  They ship worldwide and have an awesome deal  currently of 15% off + $10 giftcard on purchases over $35.  Use code EVERGREEN at checkout.  I'm partial to those friend's shops Earth Flutter and Restaurant Widow.

Earth Friendly Water Bottle  - Gardening and cooking is hard work.  Our store, Baying Hound, sells a wide variety of stainless steel water bottles, carriers, and eco accessories.  Locals get free delivery and the coupon code FREESHIPPING gets free shipping nationwide on orders over $40. You didn't think I could write a gift guide without including Baying Hound, did you?

Donations - Many families are doing away with tangible gifts and replacing them with charitable donations.  If your recipient is of a like mind, consider donating to a food preservation society like Slow Food, organization for ecological farming like Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, or a community garden.

Happy gift giving this holiday season!

Happy Halloween!

We carved pumpkins on Tuesday night.  Lil's tiny pumpkin was a huge pain because the walls are so thin.  But look how cute it is!

Lil wanted to be a ghost this year.  I didn't see any reason to be fancier than the cut up thrift store sheet.

When we adopted Hawise from the Capital Area Humane Society, her name was Hot Dog.  I saw a hot dog costume and knew she had to have it.  Apparently, wearing a costume is doggie torture to her.  She is also not a fan of the standing still for picture taking....

Not to be undressed, Devie had to be costumed in this witchy outfit.  She does not mind costumes one bit.  This photo shows off her recently diagnosed luxating lens - notice how the eye reflections don't match?

May your Halloween is spooktastic!

Seasons Turning Weekend

This weekend was a blur of summer fading to fall.  I put three garden beds to rest, including harvesting peppers and green tomatoes, pulling out honeysuckle and ivy creeping around the fence, and adding to our massive compost heap.

In discussion last night we decided to take advantage of low mortgage interest rates at our favorite credit union.  We hope to sell our Honda Fit and buy a mid 90s Civic or similar, using the car payment difference to refinance the house into a 15 year mortgage. That's not really pertinent, is it?

This morning Alex was planning to start on making molds for the kitchen concrete counter tops.  In reading about how to do so and the necessary steps after, he came across an article about using furniture grade plywood for counter tops.  We have had wood counter tops before and loved them.  In a fit of inspiration ten months in the making, we changed direction and are now going to install cherry veneer counters, and soon!

In the middle of thinking about the counter tops, I received a text from Trish at Local Matters.  She invited us to the lovely community garden at the ECLC school.  Really an integrated playground and garden, we loved walking the spiral paths and raised mound, playing with the climbing toys and monkey sculptures (above), and drinking the apple cider.  This event was a truly good time and a harbinger of offerings to come for Local Matters Local Foods Week.

While at the garden tour, we met a Farmer Paul and his chicken.  We have considered raising backyard chickens for eggs for quite some time.  When he mentioned he was selling several four month old hens, our ears perked.  Maybe now is finally the time for us to get into raising urban livestock.  We're researching coops and will certainly update progress here.

When we returned home, we planted three varieties of garlic.  Getting my hands in the soil after a weekend of big decisions always makes me feel grounded again.

We ended the weekend with a hearty dinner with family: roast pork and potatoes, risotto cakes with tomato sauce, portabella with goat cheese, green salad, bread, butter, and gourmet salts.  Autumn is beginning to settle in around here.

Picking Apples at Windy Hill Farm

I love apples and I love autumn, so it follows that I love spending a day apple picking.

For three years now we have been loyal patrons of Windy Hill Apple Farm, home to Charlie's Apples.  It is an organic farm with a selection of specially chosen disease resistant trees located north of Johnstown, Ohio.

The farm name was fitting as today's weather included high wind warnings.  We picked Liberty apples, some of the best apples for cooking.  They were a little picked over so filling our 1/2 bushel bag took about an hour.

I prefer Windy Hill Apple Farm for so many reasons:

*Charlie himself.  He is an intelligent former-engineer.  He is soft spoken but wise about apple growing and happy to share his knowledge.

*The organic farming methods means I do not worry about pesticide/herbicide exposure when Lil bites into an apple fresh off the tree.

*The lack of chemicals means the farm is teaming with wildlife.  We saw three birds' nests, a wide variety of insects, and evidence of deer.

*The apple products available on farm include hard cider, cider syrup, and cider vinegar.  All are hand made by Charlie and his family, delicious, and include no icky ingredients.  There are no candy sticks or fall decorations to inspire the 'I wants' from my daughter, only wholesome local apple goodies.

I tried some of this year's hard cider (made from last year's apples) and it is the best yet.  Blended from two apple varieties, the naturally fermented hard cider is richly flavored and a true heirloom product.  The Johnny Appleseed stories don't mention it often, but Johnny was really planting for hard cider, not fresh fruit.

*The farm is small and off the beaten path.  Today we were the only people picking.  Other times there have been one or two families, but never enough to feel crowded.  The bags are self serve and you pay on the honor system.

*Charlie's motivations are to understand and educate others about sustainable growing and carry on the long standing traditions of apple farming.  Production and profit seem to come second to these lofty goals.

If you go:

Pick what's in season.  Charlie's flagship variety, Gold Rush, will not mature until late October.  I plan to make a return trip then.

Call ahead. Some varieties sell out and it is best to call ahead so you know what is available.

Make a pit stop in Johnstown.  The farm doesn't have a public restroom, although Charlie has allowed us to use the bathroom in his home on site in emergencies.

Bring cash or check for payment.  Apples cost $8/peck, $14/half bushel (Amazingly, this is cheaper than the non organic pick your own at other local farms!!)

Stay tuned for some suggestions about what to make with all your apples!