Another Tuesday on the Homestead

And like a flash, Tuesday is upon us again. We have been busy celebrating J’s birthday week with bits of excitement; country drives and roadside apples, antique-ing for the store and surprise Farmer’s Markets, a few stolen moments for a glass of wine and a chat, a long line for a lovely ice cream afternoon (cannoli flavored? yes please), relaxing together and making a slow cooked daube (oxtail and olive stew) and more to come.

Many of our ‘plans’ didn’t come together because we’ve been waiting on news of the store and finagling business accounts, etc and we’ve ignored the garden (but maybe as long as we can – those garlics have GOT to get in! But the deer have eaten all my beans, broccoli, and Fall snow peas though I could still pull my carrots and have Asian greens coming up, the Fall raspberries are still fruiting, and the Calendula are still blooming and seeding) in favor of attending to each other. And so far the Snapdragons are holding their own in stunning little colors, the Driskell mint is big and strong, and my Witch Hazel subtley bloomed while I wasn’t looking.

J did not take a week off for his birthday but instead made a limited menu (thank you for making his day a little easier and lighter) which may, in fact, be closer to a real adjustment of the standard menu in the future: he is only one guy, after all. And it makes memberships and specials even more special. We shall see.

D is in full Samhain-swing. We could not find our big blue spider decoration friend this year (lost to the corners of the attic?) so she made her dolls into ‘scary’ situations (and they were really scary, she is not a delicate child! Aaack!) and drew up a hundred snakes and ghosts to put around the house. We need to find a jack-o-lantern pumpkin soon. Right now she is obsessed with pop up scrapbooking, resplendent with mica sparkles, yarn bits and felt, drawings of cats and fish.

A thunderstorm all night kept me up – I’ve managed to devise all manner of display windows for the store, a few design elements that were still up in the air, a couple of conversations I need to have, some dissertation bumps smoothed out, a menu for the week, some Solstice presents, and where I want the new herb bed for next year (ha!). I’m off to work on the writing a bit today while my beautiful Tulips deliver the goods. I will whip up a Birthday Apple Pie today for their return and we shall play some games and maybe make a nice fire. Perhaps J will grace with us with his guitar and Don Gato (since he keeps wandering around singing/humming it lately) which sounds like a pretty lovely evening.

Tuesday Happenings

Rock Bottom Updates (big & small):

  • the Swine & Stein was a moderate hit – we got the word out so that was good and we broke even on the event spending. I was a little shocked more people didn’t desire a little bag of warm bread with butter to nibble on since it was chilly! And many folks think we are opening a full spread bakery, and a classic style bookstore…but we had a nice time with friends and family who hung out with us! Thank you, friends and family! It was so nice to see you and hang out with you, too!
  • New stamp labeling excites us – moving away from stickers has been a goal (stickers aren’t really made with the best of stuffs, and yes, neither are stamps but their footprint is much smaller), and we’re enjoying the new bulk order bags…it’s the little things.
  • We’re still not in the space yet but we’re hoping it will be this weekend – we might try and woo you into a painting party next weekend if all goes well to round out J’s birthday week…pizza, beer, low VOC painting…
  • And speaking of, we have a bunch of fun adventures lined up this week for said B-day: a leaf-peeping train ride, apple day at MOFGA, maybe a Grateful Dead cover band?, a day in Portland to visit a few of our favorite places…I hope it doesn’t rain.
  • We’ll hopefully have a good day or two still to putting the garden to bed, planting the garlic, and gathering many last seeds to tuck away for seed swaps and spring plantings (I’ve been gathering so many! I can’t wait to host a swap in the store in Jan or Feb!).
  • Meanwhile, we’ve finally convinced the steadfast New Englander of the house to let us partial-flatlanders have a fire – the woodstove is toasting away the morning fog and chill (the dog is in his glory).

It’s good for all of us to enjoy a little extra warmth!

Monday’s Muse

Hunter’s Moon

The first person you fall in love with
will be a deer. You will want to cradle him,
but his instinct is to vanish. Scuttle. Scurry.
He may lie down at the end of the forest
in the sorrel, but you won’t ever see him
even with the binoculars you bring into the wild.
Perhaps, he’ll disappear on a trail beside you,
and you may be charmed by his departure.
He is worried about your heart spear, what you keep
hidden, but you are not a hunter, you are just tired
of walking through this forest alone.
~Kelli Russell Agodon

Duendesday: Pet Care

{life with a curious and crazy 12 yr old}

D has been dying for a bunny or another dog or even a gerbil these days but I have to tell you, if you’ve seen her room lately, you would not even consider losing an animal to that mess! ha! On one hand, yes, it is good for her to have her space and room clean and I could do it, or force her, or withold good things but all that seems a bit rough to me. I need her to want to take care of it – and as long as it isn’t a mold or disgusting hazard, I let her be responsible for it. We get on her about her clothing pile, and when all of things that belong in a particular container are lying right next to said empty container (like all of the stuffies next to the stuffy basket, or the folded clothes next to the empty drawer, etc) but mostly she’s on her own. And that’s the biggest takeaway – if she wanted a bunny or something-or-other, she would have to have a clean healthy space for them: in effect, if she wants one, she’s the one preventing her from having one.

We tried fish a few years ago – (yes, I almost got her a bunny when the pandemic hit – I was ready to pay the lady for a sweet little black bunny when I realized that was crazy talk and got the family to all chip in and get her a big tank with a castle and rainbow plants and a bunch of glo fish – which all promptly died – because they don’t tell you that you have to acclimate the tank either with chemicals or dead fish, and then the next batch died, and the next, so we got a betta who lived for a year or so, and then died – she cried every time, so we got rid of the fish tank) which was a disaster.

When we first moved to the house, we got a pup (mostly for J but really for all of us) and he’s the best dog in the world (I kid you not). And then we got the babe a kitten – who was the best kitten in the world but she really loved to go outside. Eventually we couldn’t hold her back, she was determined, so we put a collar on her and let her come and go as she pleased. One day she didn’t return. We were all broken-hearted. She really was the best cat.

But we got another anyway – the kid was so sad, we went local and got a little boy cat from a mixed litter. He was crazy and now he’s neurotic. Most people don’t even know we have a cat because if he even catches a whiff of another human he’s hidden somewhere deep upstairs for hours and hours until they go away – if they stay the night, he sneaks down in the dark and takes care of himself and then stashes himself away again. A couple of years ago D decided the whole family needed matching Solstice pajamas (including the cat & dog) so I complied because it’s weird and funny. I just found the cat’s pajamas (my favorite saying ever) in a buried corner of my closet after 2 years, he maybe had them on for an hour – we were seriously considering that maybe he ate them.

Today, they both (the cat & dog) are off to their yearly vet check up (it’s actually the first for the cat because, well, he’s a cat which sort of means ‘expendable’ to me, yeah – I said that). She has been giving them lots of love all week so that they 1) don’t suspect a thing, and 2) so they aren’t scared when they go. Though she is slightly obsessed with just being the one to leash the dog and stuff the cat into the carrier, too. It’s a fine line between love and torture, apparently. D likes to dress the pets, dance with the pets, marry the pets, chase the pets, ‘train’ the pets, and love them hard – a little too hard sometimes. These poor pets, they take it I think because they know it’s love. Weird, weird kid love.

(all pics taken by DBR)

Rock Bottom Tuesday: Swift Change

This season is sweeping in on a gust of cool wind. Though we get a warmer reprieve in the next couple of days (just enough to tidy up the gardens, get the wood crib cleaned out, and get a painting project done in the driveway – copper coating some tin ceiling for a woodstove backsplash!), the nights have begun with light frosts. My eggplants are unimpressed.

And as the waning rainbow of flowers signals the end of a lovely season, there is much to look forward to – like the store space! We are finishing up the bureacratic touches and will soon be able to get in there and make it our own (paint, buy/build furniture, make bread, add books!). Getting us in preparation for all this marvelousness is this weekends Octoberfest of Gardiner, Maine – the Swine & Stein Brewfest! Come see us – we’ll have snazzy little demi baguettes, try out all the local libations, visit the cute little downtown, it’ll be a blast!

Recipe Thursday: Rock Bottom Bacalao – Salt Cod Stew with Potatoes, Chorizo, & Aioli

I love Salt Cod – spending some teenage years in New Jersey I was marvelously introduced to many kinds of food (unlike my simple food childhood which was working-folk and hunter-folk based) – lots of Italian, Jewish, Thai, Haitian, all kinds of Indian, regional (think Taylor Ham/aka porkroll, subs, stromboli, funnel cake), Portuguese, and Puerto Rican (likely others but these stand out for me). My Mom became particularly adept at making dishes and ingredients from the latter – sofrito, pasteles, empanadas, tostones, sopa de fideo, and bacalao…so many yummy things. After she moved away from jersey sourcing some of her favorite ingredients became harder but since she still works from NJ (but at home from wherever she is) – and has to visit the home base every now and again, she is able to get some goods when she is there.

Sometimes she brings back Portuguese rolls (there’s nothing like them here), culantro, chorizo, porkroll, and salt cod though I tried to get her to snag me some Zeppole while she was down there this time (to no avail) – most of those things she brought back and shared with us recently. So, I decided to make them all pretty much into one delicious dish – a spicy and sassy Bacalao. This term really just designates it as a Salt Cod stew – Nordic areas have a tradition of this, Portugal, Brazil, Puerto Rico and likely everywhere in between. This is Maine-by-way-of-NJ Bacalao with our own Rock Bottom flair (but not 15 pieces of flair – we would never require so many…just a bit…).

Think garden in September, with some magickal Salt Cod and Chorizo, and Stone Broke Bread – sounds like a hearty picnic in the waning light.

Rock Bottom Bacalao
Serves 4-6

1 lb Salt Cod, rinsed then soaked in milk (or water) overnight, rinsed again, sliced
1/2 lb Chorizo (any kind, though I am using Portuguese), sliced (if not ground)
1/2 cup Olive Oil
2 Garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 Large Vidalia or other sweet onion (10 shallots?), sliced thinly
1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced thinly lengthwise
3-4 lb ripe Tomatoes (heirloom are great, but 2-28 oz Fire Roasted can are good, too), chopped coarsely
16 small waxy potatoes (not floury) or 10 medium-sized, either boiled for 20 min whole and then added to sauce for 30 min or proceed with recipe as is, cut in half or 2″ pieces
5 oz fancy Olives like Kalamata or Green (pitted or not, up to you, just be careful if not)
A handful of Flat-leaf Parsley or Cilantro (or a mix), stems removed, leaves chopped (I put mine in a cup and chop them with scissors)
Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Aioli to serve, optional (see Note)

Add the Olive Oil to a wide frying pan, add sliced Chorizo and gently fry until browned on both sides or if ground, until just browned then add Garlic and fry for 2 minutes.

Add Onion and saute for 5 minutes with the Chorizo and Garlic, shaking the pan from time to time. Then add Red Pepper strips and cook until slightly softened.

Add the tomatoes and boil gently with the lid on.

Add Potatoes to the pan and continue boiling for 1 hour (if not pre-boiled, if pre-boiled cut this time by half), still with the lid on. Make sure the potatoes are covered in sauce.

When the Potatoes are almost done, add the sliced Cod. It is better to add the fish later, than sooner. Continue boiling gently for about 15 to 20 minutes.

When 5 minutes remain, add the Olives.

Add Freshly Ground Black Pepper and scatter chopped Parsley (&/or Cilantro). Serve with crusty Bread and Aioli! (This is even better the day after, if there are any leftovers!)

Note:
Garlic Aioli
Adapted from the Joy of Cooking

1 Garlic clove
pinch of Sea Salt
2 Large Egg Yolks
1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil (or Avocado Oil)
1/2 cup Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (or to taste)

Crush the garlic finely with the salt. I like to do this with the flat end of a large knife so that it forms a paste.

Add the crushed garlic to the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl and whisk by hand until thick. You can also do this in a stand mixer or small processor.

Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking vigorously until the mixture thickens.

Finally add in the lemon juice and whisk thoroughly, adding more to taste.

Duendesday: Woodland Faierie

{life with a curious and crazy 12 yr old}

When we start going for Fall woods walks, Duende dresses like Ronja or Swiss Family Robinson – she’s a fan of both, see – she’s got her knife at the ready to save any tied up rabbits or trim mushrooms, or carve a spoon, and a basket for acorns, leaves, birch paper, snacks, or random ephemera. If we go far enough she can visit the old car in the woods, the quartz ledge, or hone mica from the rocks on Monkey Lane. Many quizzes and conversations happen in the woods about tree identification, birdsong, fungi foraging, and humus soil. The other day she got to see some deer in her path, it was then she understood the delicacy of quietness in the woods (if she ever wanted to see them again). We found coral, ghostpipe, and lobster mushrooms (many amanita – don’t eatya!), mosses and lichens, and patches of lovely down rattlesnake plantain (a woods orchid), and we hunt for galls (ever since we used to go to the Insect festival and she made ink from oak galls, she searches).

And then we went to the treasureland of the Swap Shack and found new (old) bikes! We have a fantasy of rolling down the bike path and Water St of Gardiner (maybe delivering bread?) in our fancy old bikes – so she’s working on bringing hers back to its glory. Many days of caring for fruit trees, snuggling with the pup (and cat), noticing the seasonal changes are happening and are to come – Happy Fall!

Happenings: Common Ground Fair

We had a wonderful festival week – a couple of mushroom/woods walks, meets with friends, amazing weather, with a culmination of goodness at the Common Ground Fair. We almost didn’t go – and we would have been so sad. The weather for our day was grey, cool, and kinda windy. But it was nice – we were glad we made the trip. It hasn’t happened in a couple of years (in person) so just being there, knowing that we were amidst at least some folks with similar interests and values was uplifting. The Common Ground Fair is nice because it gives us a space to feel – well, grounded in other communities – in a larger community.

The Common Ground Fair does just that for us – it lets us know there is some common ground, even if we don’t know each other. So, with that, we ate some snacks (thank you Heiwa Tofu!), managed to go to a couple of great workshops/talks (Herbal Revolution with Kathe Langelier, Backyard Grains with Will Bonsall, Apples with John Bunker, The Wild Seed Project) and the gal got to roam free a bit, get her face painted, eat some popcorn and ice cream. I got to visit the Greenhorns and pick up an Almanac, Taproot Magazine, the Farmer-ish journal folks, and buy some goodies from Frontier Sugarworks (like bourbon maple syrup!), Meeting House Farm (herbs!), Fedco Seeds (I like to pick up my Fall cover crop there when I can – Common Oats!), the Scott Nearing table (of course!), and snag some more seed garlic. We roamed the gardens, the orchard, and admired the adorable Angora rabbits, draft horses, snuggly pigs, curly sheep, and marvel at the juxtapositions of the really large goats to the dwarfs, and the huge horses to the pony, and some beautiful cows with their beatific faces. Duende loved the spinners (so nice to meet you Gayle!) and the harpsichord player, the sheep dogs, and people with tiny dogs (ha!).

It was an invigorating seasonal change. A time to focus on what works and what does not – Happy Fall!