I vowed to start earlier this year–no dragging my little feet, making excuses, or just not doing it.  So this past weekend JGL graciously installed my grow lamp in the basement, and after procuring some fresh potting soil I began pulling out my trusty seed starting supplies:  pots, tray, soil, seeds and popsicle sticks.  There are several varieties of tomatoes, jalapenos, and the seeds I saved from the super hot peppers.  We’re about a month and a half ahead of schedule, compared to last year, and I’m really hoping that it will pay off in terms of helping the seedlings get bigger and stronger so we’ll get fruit out of them sooner.

To say this week has been a long one is an understatement!  There’s still a ways to go, but tonight I’m excited about having salad with fresh greens from the cold frame.  That’s right, folks, the cold frame has officially exploded with big, luscious, leafy greens.  How can a week be that bad when you have that on your table?

We’ve been battling a case of the ickies since New Years.  JGL came down with it first, and I succumbed shortly after, and while it hasn’t been as bad as we were last year, it’s been no fun feeling blah for the first few weeks of 2012.  The find of the week, however, came in the form of a Facebook post on JGL’s wall.  ”Have you tried Tomato Tea?  Google it!”

What we found sounded pretty gross at first glance, at least for me.  Tomato juice and as much garlic and hot sauce as you can handle.  Meh.  But the combo does two things immediately opens you up (seriously, with as much hot sauce as you can handle what else can you expect?) and helps with congestion, but the volatile oils of the hot sauce and garlic act almost like a disinfectant for your throat.  Burns like hell, but oddly feels good.  JGL started drinking it well after the congestion fell to his chest and I started drinking before that happened.  I did not get hit half as hard as he did, and the congestion stuck (like glue) to my nose.  Not sure if I just had a milder case or if the tea worked, but I’m sure it didn’t hurt!

And as for the taste?  I have to admit, it wasn’t bad at all, and by the second batch it was almost tasty.  I added fresh herbs from the garden to help make it a bit more palatable.  This one will be put in the repertoire for future illness (and just another reason why I need to grow garlic in the garden!).

You know what Mom says, whatever you do New Year’s Day you do all year-long, so easy Sunday’s can still be productive Sunday’s, right?

As I pulled some leaves that had gathered in the front bed into the yard so I could chop them up with the lawn mower, I was shocked to find the above purple beauty just hanging out.  More surprisingly, there are more tight cluster of flower buds waiting to open up soon as well.  Poor little guy thinks it’s late March, not January 1st.  And frankly, as I started to break a decent sweat this afternoon mowing, if I closed my eyes and let my mind wander I almost could believe that spring was almost here myself.  But by next Tuesday we’re suppose to have highs in the mid-thirties, and winter will be visiting us once again–one of the many things I’ll never fully get used to living down here in Virginia.

Yet, it’s that glorious early spring that lets us get cracking on the new harvest, which I’m just itching to plot and plan.  Thoughts for 2012 include starting our tomato seedlings in the next week or so (EEP!), a concentrated effort on container gardening and creating variety in these raised containers, adding raspberries and blackberries to the homestead, preserving, preserving, preserving, and potentially Can Jamming with friends.  We’re also considering the benefits of joining our local CSA to help supplement what we grow (thoughts and your CSA experiences are MORE than welcomed!), and I have a vague idea/budget plan about patronizing our local butcher more often.  It’s going to be a great year, and I’m grateful for those of you who are along for this journey with us.

May your 2012 bring you and yours lots of happy times, beautiful memories, and a bountiful year!

When we moved here to our little homestead, there was an under utilized deep freezer hanging out on the car port.  The previous owners claimed it didn’t work, but after a deep clean (that sadly did include bleach….) and the realization that one must plug it in to work, I was elated to have extra freezer storage.  And let me tell you, a well stocked freezer will get you through the best of times, and the worst of times.

About a year ago our local Kroger had an amazing sale on turkeys, and as Mom always says, for $5 it never hurts to have an extra turkey on hand.  And she’s right–at 39 cents a pound, that bird could have saved the day if I needed a big fancy meal or just needed to serve a crowd.  But a fancy crowd never came, and something had to be done about the bird.  This week seemed like the right time to tackle to project (and subsequent culinary projects) since I have a few more days off before I have to head back to work.

I like to start my turkey off by stuffing herb butter just under the skin on the breast.  It’s not glamorous work, but what it does is both season the meat and keep the bird from drying out.  I used a mixture of lemon zest, rosemary, thyme and local honey because I like those flavors with poultry, and I have a plethora of rosemary and thyme on my hands thanks to our little herb garden.  I finely chopped about 3-4 long stems worth of rosemary and thyme leaves, grated the zest of one lemon, and mashed them all together with a fork in with the softened butter.  After the initial mashing, I added about a tablespoon of honey to add a bit of sweetness and also give the turkey a little something more to caramelize while it was in the oven.  I saved the stems of the herbs to use with the zested lemon to stuff the bird (waste not want not!).

But herb butter isn’t just for moisturizing meats–I save about two tablespoons of it because it is a great way to jazz up a slice of bread, add flavor to a soup, or a fun way to add flavor to most anything that you would add butter to.  The flavor combinations are endless as well–sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil would be outstanding, or anything that you have on hand that you like together.

Plus it’s just pretty.  Look at it, all festive and delicious–takes any old day and makes it a little fancy. And let’s be honest–with the inevitable post-Christmas slump and a New Year creeping up on us, putting a little fancy on your table never hurt anyone.

And stay tuned–the turkey has been picked clean, and we’ve got homemade stock and pot pies coming our way!

I think my mom still is a little grossed out by the fact that I don’t use bleach in our house.  She’s especially squeamish about our kitchen sink, and no matter how many times I assure her that it is clean I think she needs the bleach as a comfort blanket of cleaners.  More aptly, bleach is to my parents what Windex is to the family in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Yesterday I had a whole raw turkey in our sink, and when all was said and done and the turkey was in the oven, the sink/counters required disinfecting/cleaning.  In a past life I would have reached for bleach and had a field day (and subsequently a huge headache), but yesterday we did a combo of hydrogen peroxide, my homemade lemon all purpose cleaner, baking soda to scrub the sink, and then red thyme oil in the sink.  What that combo does is disinfect and deep cleans effectively, but it does so using ingredients that are not as toxic as bleach, and are relatively cheap.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’ll never go back to using the other mainstream cleaners, and I’ll certainly never go back to using bleach.  Even just walking through that aisle in the grocery store brings on a twinge of a headache if I linger too long, and their simply not as effective as the homemade stuff.

So never fear, Mom–I promise e coli is not running rampant amongst the house, and I promise we’re keeping it clean here at the homestead.

(and more to come on the turkey soon!)

I come from the land of cranberries.  Growing up there never seemed to be a shortage of the tart and sweet berries.  I have always had a penchant for them, and I’m not picky as to what form they come in–dried, fresh, in the can, you name it and I like it.  And for me, it’s not quite the holidays without them.

This Christmas I was charged with contributing to the dessert table, and after much hemming and hawing I landed on the Cranberry Upside-Down Cake that I had scoped out in my mom’s newspaper during Thanksgiving.  It felt like the thing to bake for the holidays, and I was thrilled to try something new.  It turned out extra sweet and not too tart, and the batter was buttery and a great balance to the cranberries.  I would absolutely make this again, and it would be PHENOMENAL with some extra vanilla-y ice cream.

Christmas morning was perfect here at the Homestead.  We woke up early and “Santa” had turned on the tree, started a fire in the fireplace, and even turned on the record player so that David’s music filled the house.  After some coffee and some presents, we whipped up some french toast with bread from the local bakery that my dear friend Tasha gave us.  It had dried cranberries, raisins, golden raisins and walnuts in it, and was just perfect topped with apple butter and maple syrup.

Photo credits today go to JGL–he’s super handy with that camera, and doesn’t give himself enough credit!

A mini-wreath made from rosemary, thyme, strawberry leaves, and hydrangeas from our gardens

From our Homestead to yours, wishing you a joyous and beautiful Christmas day!

Years ago my grandmother gave me a bundt pan.  When I first moved out on my own I brought it with me, and it has served me well over the years–creating cakes, ice rings, flower-pot holders–all the good things a good bundt pan should do.  This time of year it’s not quite the holidays in my family unless you’ve made a boatload of Gram’s Sour Cream Coffee Cakes, and the bundt pan, particularly THIS bundt pan, creates a perfectly shaped cake, and it bears all of the battle scars of a well-loved kitchen tool to prove it.

But I lost it.  I went to make cakes last year and couldn’t find the blessed thing.  I had a freak out, and tore apart every cabinet and every shelf in the house, and tried to retrace my bundt-steps, and finally concluded that the thing grew legs and walked off.  I was inconsolable for about 24 hours, and then tried to accept my failure at handling precious heirlooms, and then gave up on coffee cake making all together.

This week I made my mind up to suck it up, use the other bundt pan, and get on with my life.  I reached into the cabinet that holds those pans, wrapped my fingers around one and pulled, and much to my disbelief Gram’s pan came out.  I have no idea where it was hiding, but like an old friend with whom the conversation is easy no matter how long you’ve been apart, this pan and I kicked some serious coffee cake ass.

The batter for these comes together super quick, and it’s very easy to bust out several (I made six in one day…eep!) in one session.  I love giving them as neighborhood gifts, but they also make welcomed additions at potlucks, breakfasts, or my favorite, Christmas Morning Breakfast.