It has been a very busy week – more storms (our first Nor’Easter of the year – 6″ of wet heavy snow that has now turned to dense ice) with a lot of power loss. I know we are lucky and have some systems in place – generator (so the basement doesn’t flood and powers one room), and the woodstove but it was still a lot of work while the certainly more capable fellow of the homestead is convalescing from a minor (though necessary and restricting) surgery. He’s doing fine taking it easy and getting back up to speed but it left me to do tasks I don’t do as efficiently (like carrying wood, tying and rolling tarps for the chickens/hauling their water, shoveling, and delivering some goods to our lovely customers, and then make dinner on a hot plate! plus try and teach online when there is intermittent power – it’s been crazy for sure, or maybe just me). And worrisome news about good good friends – our hearts are in our throats.

So, I try and take a few moments to focus on the loveliness of the world that I really had nothing to do with – it’s just my advantage that I get to experience it when it comes, even if it comes at a really bad time (or rather, a more perfect time). Like the bright clear almost Winter moon on the sparkling snow, or the layer of ice on tiny red rose hips, or my beautiful child catching snowflakes on her tongue. Or the man singing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s “Posh Posh, the Traveling Life” song over and over while he tries to get everything together for me to stay sane. Or the ridiculous pup who loves to nest in the blankets in front of the fire. Meanwhile we snuggle up and eat Pork Belly Ramen bowls, and Tofu Saag with Flatbreads, drink Warm Cider with Cinnamon, and lots of hot Chicory Tea. We both find and make those moments.

I wish you many small moments of living and loveliness.

I spend a lot of time at my desk lately – between teaching, tutoring, and writing my own dissertation my desk is my anchor. Therefore, I spend a lot of time looking out my window at the goings-on in the world. I don’t see much of the world, per se, but I can see the road, and a couple of our mature apple trees, a bit of the neighbors, that we like, and a bit of those we don’t know, and a bit of the store when it is Fall or Winter and the trees are bare. In this stretch I can sometimes see my child running around outside, Josh tending to the trees, the dog digging up voles, and mostly my passel of chicken-ladies roaming from safety area to safety area.

This last part is definitely one of my favorite distractions – mostly they move in their flock of 15, but a couple of them don’t mind the solo or roaming buddy life and I’ll see them sneak into the bushes by the road (where there’s a ditch and a giant hedge of rose, alder, wild cherry, and in the summer goldenrod, asters, and jewelweed – someday I dream of a sumac stand there). When a big logging truck (or the jerk with the super souped up engine in his primer truck) goes by they burst out of the bushes, if there are a few – scattering everywhere away from the road. Sometimes they all huddle beneath the witch hazel outside my window or the dwarf apple tree farther out (some in the branches, so funny). I love watching the ladies traverse the entire cultivated ‘yard’ (maybe about 2.5 acres) – sometimes we find them in the woods that separate us from the neighbor or the wooded area between the ‘yard’ and what we call the orchard (it’s not a neatly lined up affair, more of a dotting of trees wherever we want them). Since the leaves have fallen, they have had to find new hiding spaces.

Meanwhile, we’ve been steaming up the house with lovely tart batches of Cranberry Jam (flavored with our maple syrup and orange zest), and Apple Butter. We need to take a break for the next two weeks for bread baking but I’ve been hatching up some delicious pasta plans to try and make up the difference (I’m thinking more Ricotta Gnudi, of course, but also Pumpkin Tagliatelle, Beet Gnocchi, Spinach Fettuccini with some quick sauces like our Rock Bottom Pesto, Roasted Garlic and Herb, and Roasted Summer Tomato, Artichoke & Preserved Lemon). We’ve lots of eggs right now so the pasta will be rich and silky (which will leave me with a lot of whites – I’m thinking Berry Swirled Meringues?). So many ideas, so little time.

Until then, may your window watching be relaxing.

Bread has its own agency, apparently so does our proofing refrigerator, and the weather, and the sourdough starter, and the baker. There are probably more I’m neglecting but the reality is that there are many variables and much of the time, they all co-ordinate into one big happy explosion of delicious baked goods. Sometimes, however, something goes haywire (what an interesting idiom, like the Chewbacca defense?) and there is no sense. The bread is still delicious but overproofed and ‘flatter’, the bagels fail (and turn into lovely bialys), the cheese doesn’t curd as fluffy – there are more trials and tribulations in cottage foods than one could possibly plan for (which is why many feel more comfortable with the factory options – uniformity, strategic success, sterility). But know that everything made here, despite their quirks, is made with love and care and the best ingredients possible.

Innovation and adaptation in a troubling situation is what we should all strive for, no? Especially these days. (I do love bagels but I would not kick a lovely bialy out of bed for not being a bagel! Why are there baked goods in my bed? At least they are not eating crackers!) Our little kitchen practice here is a work in progress, we are fine tuning our processes, our ability to organize, and our desire to share it with you.

And we thank you – for your patronage, for your patience, for your advice, and willingness to be flexible when we are challenged. All of these goodies we make are an extension of our own needs and family – we invite you to our home in this fashion. We’d prefer to make some coffee or pour you a fancy drink, wander around the apple trees or sit by the firepit, and visit with you. But this is the world we live in right now – a quick delivery from our home to yours – and we hope that this gets us all through.

Thank you for the connection ~