Some Floury Words from the Kitchen



I was writing about Colonial House before I lost the last entry – and how much I’m loving it. One of the best things about C.H. is how it comes in these delicious big chunks – two hours a night, two nights a week. Admittedly a huge time drain, but only for a few weeks :)

C.H. is pure homestead porn around this house, if you ask me. They actually have to DO all of the things we do or aspire to learn more about – cook with wood, build timber-frame houses, raise livestock, crops, forage for wild foods… I was glad they finally got up the guts to butcher some meat – it just wasn’t realistic. Colonial times were not full of vegetarians, and I have to wonder why they haven’t been raising what we’d call broilers nowadays – they seem to have plenty of chickens and at least one rooster… And it took an outsider to point out that there was plenty of protein in the form of shellfish?? They’re in a shallow bay… sheesh. I’m sure I’m not the only Jersey girl that could have pointed that one out, and so many of them are from NYC.

In true colonial fashion, and as is usually the way in our neo-traditionalist homestead, I’m loving on C.H., baking bread (buttermilk rolls – yum!) and E is at the local blacksmith meeting. We brought in tons of produce from the garden and I’m going to make tempura form the snow peas, chive blossoms and scallions from out there, along with peppers mama bought us and some firm tofu. Should be good! I think I’d like to pursue edible flowers as a cask crop if we stay here – among other things.. I can do the chive blossoms, and the nasturtiums – any other suggestions?

Eggs are also looking better and better – we are up to six a day, and E is gung ho about getting more, since I had a bunch of people approach me to see if we’d sell them at First Day Meeting yesterday. So more chickens it is!

E worked the bees for the first time – added the varroa screen and the tray that you pull out to check for mites. He pulled all the frames and we found one frame chock full of brand new eggs. The second time we pulled it we found the queen on the bottom of the frame (where there’s new eggs, there is a queen – you just need to find her.) I don’t know how in the world you find an unmarked queen though – we’ll always be ordering them marked!

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Posted: Tue - May 25, 2004 at 10:33 PM        

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