Experimental archeology in the kitchen

If you’ve never heard of it, experimental archaeology is when a bunch of academics roll up their sleeves and try to reproduce something in order to understand how it was built or what it meant to build it. For example, trying to build a pyramid in order to see what makes sense or what theories are an epic fail. The practice can extend to matters of everyday life as well. And it’s my excuse for my now dwindling gallon jug of hard apple cider.

Making cider from my own apples has been on my list for awhile now but I still don’t have an official grinder or press. Luckily I didn’t have that many leftover apples either! What I did have I quartered, ground up in the Cuisinart and then pressed through a small hand cranked juice press. I ended up with a little under 1 gallon of dark brown cloudy juice - like what gets sold in the refrigerator section of the grocery store as unfiltered ( I did strain it!) It didn’t look anything like hard cider I’d ever seen at that stage but I stuck it in a gallon fermenter with an airlock on top and put it in the mudroom - no additives, no yeast, no sugar - just juice and waited to see what would happen.

At first it made foam, that looked like a good sign but not particularly alcoholic, not like the first stages of wine making. Then gradually it started to burp bubbles up through the air lock and as it did so, the sediment started settling to the bottom. The liquid got clearer and clearer until it looked like tea. I confess to a few small samples along the way but not too much as I didn’t want to lower the volume and allow too much air in.

When it was completely clear I put the whole thing in the refrigerator, minus the airlock which wouldn’t fit (don’t worry I used a loose bottle stopper to prevent any explosions) and began to consume. It’s very interesting and very light. I can see why medieval peasants would drink it like water. You could definitely go about a full day’s work without impairment but a nice buzz, which lets face it wouldn’t be such a bad thing in medieval Europe. (I’m by no means implying anyone should drive, use heavy machinery or make financial decisions in this state, just that it’s a very different feeling than consuming comparable amounts of beer or wine.)

The flavor isn’t very apply nor is it very carbonated, just a mild sizzle and rather on the dry side. I was mostly just glad it didn’t turn to vinegar but I am relieved that the natural yeasts of Short Meadow are prepared to make a decent brew. I’m already looking forward to next Autumn!

Almond Cake

(Serves however many you are willing to share with.)

 This is one of those divinely inspired recipes that just worked out of the experimental gate. It all started with happy chickens in Spring. That means lots of eggs, which are notorious for not freezing well. But you know what does freeze well? Cake. I confess that more of this has gone in my mouth than the freezer but it’s so high protein I excuse myself 😊

You will need a stand mixer.

Preheat oven to 325 F.

• 6 large eggs

• ¾ c granulated sugar

• 1 ts almond flavoring

• ½ ts salt

• 2 c almond flour

Crack the eggs into the bowl of the mixer with the whisk attached. Gradually increase the speed until it is one or two notches below full speed. Leave it here for ten full minutes. The eggs should be frothy and about triple in bulk but go with the timer.

Reduce the speed to a low-medium and gradually sprinkle in the sugar. Once that’s incorporated add the almond flavoring and salt. Then sprinkle in the almond flour and mix until most of the lumps have gone but don’t over mix as this will make the batter deflate.

Pour the batter into an angel food cake pan (or a large spring-form pan) and bake for one hour. An inserted knife should come out clean. Invert the angel food pan to cool and then slide a knife around all edges until the bottom can be removed (with cake). Do the same here and transfer the cake to your favorite plate or stand. Frost as desired – my favorite being a simple almond flavored icing with unsweetened chocolate drizzled over.

End of October

There are a handful of golden beets waiting in the refrigerator. In a few days they’ll be slow roasted with potatoes, slathered in olive oil and then mixed with Gorgonzola and fresh spinach for a deliciously earthy salad. The beet greens will probably go to the chickens as they’ve gotten both tough and slug-nibbled. Sharing the bounty around the farm always pays it forward!

The autumn leaves continue to turn and fall. Some trees are already empty, some distributing slowly and others yet to turn. There is magic in there somewhere though because after raking and removing twenty gallons of leaves, the driveway looked just the same! How is that possible?

Everything is settling in for winter but still clinging to the last breath of summer. There are still a few dahlias brightening up beds and the random rose blooming with fierce determination. Time to put the vases away until Spring and start thinking about wreaths.

The Equinox is here again

I’m not sure where Summer went, or if it was even here - I never even got out the fan, let alone tried to use the sad excuse for air conditioning. But Autumn isn’t going to skip! Right now the back room window’s are full of aromatic condensation from the dehydrator working on a full load of apple slices. There is still one tree to be picked but that's destined for cider and sauce. And last night I made a Thai curry with everything available to harvest: tomatoes, purple string beans, Thai basil, green pepper, and cucumber. There was some purchased additions like pork and coconut milk, but it was exciting that the majority had come from the garden on the same day.

I’m going to let the birds have the crabapple harvest this year, I have yet to use what I put in the freezer last year. It’s so full of tanins that the juice makes me sick on its own (fine when paired with other food). So that pretty much leaves the squashes left for storable harvests. With any luck things won’t freeze for awhile and the beans and leafy veg will continue for a few months. The rain has already returned so probably not too many more ripe tomatoes!

Next spring will be here before you know it though, so don’t forget to save seeds from favorites for next year. Now’s the time before they drop to the ground!

Kitchen Creativity

If you want to get truly creative in the kitchen trying growing your own food!

It’s been an odd summer. There are four plum trees on the property and only one had fruit. It wasn’t shy about it either, I think I picked about 45 lbs. They’re some kind of juice plum, impossible to eat without liquid running down your face. I knew this from last year so I was ready. But after a gallon of juice in the freezer and another gallon of syrup (OMG, try it on the Baby Dutchem!) But there were still more plums…

For the cost of a bag of sugar, I’ve got a couple of gallons of plum summer wine (see the picture above). The color alone is tasty to the eyes!

But…. the deer ate the beans. The cucumbers and tomatoes are only just getting started, just as the weather has turned chilly. The lettuce and bok choi bolted. But the cabbages are magnificent. The apple trees are loaded and the kale is hanging in there.

All in all it’s a typical year of personal farming - its just that what succeeds and what fails changes every year! I have no idea what I’ll do with these things to make a meal but I’ll figure something out - and I’ll enjoy it if for no other reason that I grew it from the earth where I live. I learned somewhere that the key to great creativity is constraints. So here I go with cabbage, plum wine, and some kale! What would you do with that mystery box?

Awash in Plums

The harvest has begun. Haphazardly and thank God for grocery stores or it would be a very strange winter ahead. The one fruit tree that was absolutely loaded was the juice plum, I think it may be a Santa Barbara but I’m not an expert. In any event the branches are bent down with fruit and just as they started getting pink I found the deer standing around eyeing them with the same considerate look as me. I hung some sheets on the lower branches and that did the trick. The deer have gone to someone else’s yard and 80% of the tree ripened in 3 days. They are so juicy they can only be eaten over the sink which is fun for one or two but… So I steam them into juice and there is now a gallon in the freezer and 10 pounds of plums making wine in a bucket.

Other than that, there is 5 pounds of rhubarb in the freezer and yesterday the Excalibur 2000 (the dehydrator) came down from the top shelf for the first picking of salal berries. Everything else is hanging back waiting for it to warm up. The slugs are not hanging back and I’ve taken to donning gloves and a flashlight when I let the dog out at 1 am. I go slug hunting while she’s busy and we both go back to bed content.

More plot twists than reality TV

Fruit cliff hangers

I’m glad I’m not a professional farmer, and I think my DNA still remembers the uncertainty my ancestors faced with dread. I’m particularly glad this year because the cherry crop is a bust, worse than last year which wasn’t good. They flowered, they were pollinated, they made tons of little tiny cherries. I had visions of cherry crisp at Christmas. Then it got cold and they dropped almost all of the little tiny cherries leaving me with about two cups of big cherries from eight trees. But the only real consequence is the quality of my morning oatmeal next January which will have to rely on something less exciting to pep it up. Maybe next year… On the bright side, the peach and apple trees are feeling optimistic and there are TWO little nectarines on the young tree I planted two years ago. Will I be able to get to the ripe peaches in August before the deer? Stay tuned.

The dirty no-dig secret

I am still attempting to follow along with no-dig vegetable gardening. Even though I hit a serious snag. My compost isn’t commercially hot. Which isn’t a huge problem except that all the seeds survived the process. I knew better than to put grass in there but the tomatoes and other things went in to the heap, I mean that’s what compost is for, right? Except now I have baby tomato plants everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. And they’re cute, and you can never have too many tomatoes. And so my beds and pots are overcrowded (again) because I find it hard to pull them out and put them back in the compost. I’ll feel vindicated if the freezer is full of tomatoes this winter but it’s too soon to tell.

New cast members

On the wildlife front, Short Meadow is now complete. There were two things I desperately wanted when we moved here: frogs and quail. The frogs showed up almost immediately, requiring no pond and no maintenance except to avoid chemicals and move things slowly. The quail remained a dream. I looked into rearing them but how street smart is a quail raised by humans going to be? Exactly.

Then it happened about two weeks ago. Little bobbling heads in the driveway and later their calls echoing across the orchard. Whether they’re living here or not, they’re definitely nearby and visiting, having children that will need their own homes. So as long as some of them can avoid the coyotes and the owls, quails should continue to be part of the community.

In summary…

Meanwhile the flowers are coming on strong and (mostly) not being eaten by the deer. Everything new has come from cuttings and seeds this year. There’s a certain joy in raising a plant from ‘birth’ that doesn’t happen from a nursery purchase. I am behind on weeding. I am always behind on weeding.

Share your thoughts in the comments!

Plum Coffee Cake

(generously serves 12)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

½ c butter

1 c sugar

2 large eggs

1 ts vanilla

½ c milk

2 c flour

3 ts baking powder

½ ts salt

12 – 24 Italian plums

Topping:

1/3 c flour

½ c sugar

½ ts cinnamon

¼ c butter

For the cake, blend the butter and sugar together until creamy in a mixer or by hand. Add the eggs and vanilla and incorporate. Stir in the milk and then add the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until the batter is smooth.

This is a farm house version so I’m usually trying to use up plums and therefore go with a larger surface area (2 9 inch cake pans) but the original recipe called for a 8 x 12 baking pan.   Either way, pour the batter into a greased pan.  Halve the plums, removing the pit, and place skin side up in the batter. Since I’m trying to use up the fruit I put them as close together as possible but if you don’t have that luxury then try for two plum halves per serving arranged evenly.

For the topping: stir the dry ingredients together: flour, sugar, cinnamon. Gently mix in the butter with your fingers until just incorporated and the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the batter. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes until a knife comes out clean from the middle.

A note on plums:  Italian plums work for this because they are meatier and don’t have as much liquid (they’re the long, purple ones).  Juicy plums probably won’t work very well.