Chimney Rock NC

We needed to make a trip to Asheville to get some gardening supplies. I'll post more about that later. Friday was also our 11 year anniversary. So we turned the trip into a little sight-seeing vacation.

As you can see from the picture above, there was not much of a view when we first got to Chimney Rock. We posed on Vista Rock but we were laughing because it was literally surrounded by a cloud. There could have been anything (we were imagining a beach, aliens, big city) on the other side of the fence. We couldn't see anything.

We stopped for a rest in the Opera Box to get another view of the cloud.

We hiked our way up to the highest point and it was beginning to clear up. We posed for an anniversary picture:) Photo by Ellen.

On our way down the mountain we stopped at the Chimney again and we were excited to see the clouds had parted a bit and we could see Lake Lure and the village.

We hiked down another trail over to the waterfalls.

Arianna found a baby salamander. Ellen caught it and wanted a picture for our nature journal.

Looking up at the falls. They were so tall I couldn't get a good picture of it from the bottom.

They found a crawfish eating a dead snake.

They were on the edge of the falls. We had a great view from this point--huge waterfall on one side and the valley on the other.

Here's another view of the mountains on the other side of the valley from the trail on our way back.

 

Here is a view of Chimney Rock from the gift shop and parking lot.

 

The view of the lake from the same spot.

 

 On our way home we made a wrong turn and instead of going back through Hendersonville we realized we were on the way to Black Mountain (which is the opposite direction). So to make the best of our mistake, we stopped in downtown Asheville to eat at one of our favorite restaurants The Laughing Seed.

I admit, I was wrong

We can't eat all the greens that we are growing--at least not fresh. So, while still eating about a pound a day (and giving away several pounds) we were able to blanch and freeze 6 pounds (3 lbs collard, 3 lbs kale). Daniel and I spent the evening in an assembly line of washing, chopping, weighing, boiling and freezing all this.

 From the picture below you can get an idea of how tall and big our onions have gotten.  I was standing up while taking the picture. Some of them are as tall as I am! (I took this picture the same day we harvested a ton of greens) The biggest are multiplier onions that we planted last year, but instead of harvesting them all we left some in the ground. Daniel also planted some other onion sets and slips that I purchased at a local shop.

These beautiful blanket flowers came back from last year. We started them from seed a few years ago and they have really taken off. From now on I should be able to have fresh flowers inside for the rest of the summer.

New pet, planting tomatoes, imovie, Alegria

I found this guy walking across the driveway on Friday and so we brought it in to study. While Daniel was holding it, a small egg came from the tiny white dot on the side of its neck. We found it a mate and made it a habitat so we can keep it inside for a little while. The girls have named them slowmo and slumzo.

Daniel and I planted all the tomatoes that we started from seed. We are growing several different kinds this year--Matt's wild (cherry), Golden, Abraham Lincoln (reg. sandwich variety) and one black cherry. I got a few other varieties from the store in case our heirlooms don't do well. We also planted our baby basil, peppers and eggplant that we started from seed.

Our homeschool coop has been doing a drama class all year. The students were asked to write skits. Then they each got to cast and direct them also. I made a movie out of the first one we filmed. I was using my little flip video camera and imovie. It's the first time I've used imovie and I had a lot of fun with it. You might be seeing more of these:)

To finish a wonderful weekend we got to see Cirque du Soleil Alegria. The girls have been waiting for weeks for the show. We were so amazed at every moment. Loved it! If it comes to your town you should definitely try to get tickets. If you look around you can get discounts. I got a great deal on ours through Groupon!

From Yard to Table

Picking peas this morning. Eating them fresh all day...

May 6, 2011

If you know me you know that I LOVE kale. I use it all year around in about everything I can think of. It is super healthy, easy to eat raw or cooked, relatively easy to grow, and pretty too! The dark greenish, blue color is beautiful in the garden.

May 6, 2011

We have one whole row of kale this year--about 60 plants. People ask me, "What do you do with all that kale?" Although we give some away to neighbors and friends, the answer is we could eat all of it! (and the row of collards also but I'll save my I love collards post for later.) You can use kale in any dish that calls for spinach. I steam it to replace it for cooked spinach in lasagna, and add it raw to soups, Indian dishes, dips, etc.

My lunch today

One of my favorite ways to eat it is in a raw salad with oil and vinegar dressing. To get the best flavor you have to message (or rub) the leaves with the dressing for a few seconds. I like to chop it up, put it in a bowl and then drizzle a little balsamic vinegar, ume boshi plum vinegar, and canola oil on top. Rub the leaves with your hands--there's no way around it being messy. Recently I've been adding a few slivered almonds for fun. Let it sit for a little while (30 mins to a couple of hours) to absorb even more flavor. You can see the leaves turn dark green and look like they've been steamed. They taste tender and oh so good!

Happy Easter

Just a few days late...

I thought the girls might be getting too old for an egg hunt but I was wrong. They were waiting for it all day long. Mimi prepared the eggs while we went to church. Thanks Mimi! 

The joy of candy filled eggs!

Blue really wanted some candy but all he got was a kiss:)

 

 The next day, these Lindt dark chocolate bunnies came in the mail.  Thanks Liz and Grandmother Gail. Yum!

 

First Spring Harvest

This is not exactly the first harvest. We've brought in a few other greens and things that grew over the winter. I've also used small batches of greens and lettuces from the garden for dinners all last week. This is the first big harvest of lacinato kale--1 pound 12 oz.

Here is how the garden is coming along. Remember those little seedlings we started inside back in January? (Here's the link to the post and pictures about how we got everything started.) The row to the far right of the picture is cabbage and Brussels Sprouts, the second from right is collards, the third is onions.

Here the far right row is red Russian kale and garlic, then lacinato kale, then peas, then broccoli, lettuce and garlic, the far left row is potatoes.

Daniel and the girls outside all weekend.

Still coming up with new ways to ride the zip line.

Homemade Jam: How to and Why I love it

I have been making jam with fresh picked berries for several years. Each year I do it I make more because we love it so much. We go to u-pick farms for strawberries in the spring and then blueberries in mid summer. As I said in an earlier post this week we picked about 14 pounds of organic strawberries for $2.25/lb. I think we ate about 4 pounds fresh on pancakes and for snacks, so I had about 10 pounds for jam.

Benefits of making jam at home:

1. Control of amount of sugar and what is going into the jam
2. Supports local farms
3. Less waste--use same jars year after year
4. Cost:  I spent about $1.50 per 8oz jar of jam 

•  I've been buying conventional (not organic) all fruit preserves at Kroger for $1.79 for 8 oz. To get it homemade, local, and organic would be a whole lot more.
• The only place you can get organic jam cheaper is in large quatities at Costco or maybe Trader Joe's and we don't have either. 

This homemade (local and organic is even better!) jam makes great gifts for teachers, friends, neighbors, and families. Another thing I love about having jam around is that it is very satisfying to have the pretty red or blue jars of fruit in the pantry. It is very rewarding to pull a jar of my own jam out of the pantry and serve it to my family:) 

What you need to make strawberry jam:

Berries. For the smallest batch you'll need about 2 quarts of berries which will yield 4-5 cups of jam. (If you want to make a bigger batch you can. I made 4 batches at once.)

Pomona's Fruit Pectin

This is an all natural pectin that can be found at your local natural food store like Earthfare, Wholefoods, etc. (or the amazon link provided) It is what makes the jam have the gel consistency without using gelatin or alternately using tons of sugar and cooking way down the old fashion way. It comes in a small box for somewhere around $3.00-$4.00. There are detailed instructions and recipes inside the box.

Jars. Jars come in cases at the grocery stores. You only need 4-5 cup or 2 pint jars but you have to buy them in a case. Consider this an investment as you'll be able to use the same jars for many years.

Lids and rims. The metal rims can be used many times but the flat lids have rubber seals and these need to be replaced every year. Get these near the jars at the grocery store.

Sugar. The amount depends on how much you want to use. I used 1 cup organic sugar per batch.

Water Bath Canner. Get from Target, Walmart or hardware stores. 

Misc. Canning supplies optional but very helpful. The funnel and tongs are a must.

The Process:

1. Wash, trim, and mash about 2 quarts of berries. You'll need 4 cups of mashed berries for one batch.

2. Sterilize the jars. Do this by boiling them in water for 10 minutes or cleaning them in high heat dishwasher. Leave them in the water or washer until needed so they stay warm. Consider how much time this step is going to take because getting a large pot of water to boil or a cycle in the wash take different amounts of time. When you have about 20 minutes left start the rest of the process.

3. Sterilize the lids and rims. Put them in small pot covered with water and boil for 10 minutes. Leave them in the pot until needed.

4. Open box of pectin. Directions clearly explain the following. It comes with 2 small pouches. The large one is the pectin that you add to the sugar and the small one is calcium powder.

5. First add the 2 teasponns of calcium to 1/2 water and stir well. Keep in the refrigerator until needed.

6. Measure proper amount of sugar in a bowl. The amount varies depending on your taste.

7. Measure 2 teaspoons of the pectin (large pouch) and add to the sugar. Stir well.

8. Place berries in large pot and add calcium water. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Add sugar and stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

9. Use a ladle and funnel to scoop hot jam into hot jars. Leave a half inch of space at top of jar. Wipe rims with wet cloth. Place lids on top. Screw down rims tight but not too tight. Usually I tighten as much as I can then go back a bit.

10. Use tongs to place jars in boiling water. They need to be fully submerged with about an inch of water on top. Boil for 5 mins (check instructions because you may need to add time depending on altitude.)

11. Remove from water with tongs and let cool. After a few minutes check that jars have sealed. I love hearing the little clicks as the lids are sucked down:) It's a sign of success! If they do not seal the first, remove lid and check that there is nothing on the rim blocking the seal and reboil for 5 minutes.

Day trip: Strawberry Picking, Angel Oak, and Folly Beach

We are actually on Spring Break this week so we decided to head over to the Charleston area with some friends for a quick day trip. Last year we visited Ambrose Farms to pick organic strawberries. The Farm is beautiful and full of veggies so I was in heaven. We picked 14 pounds of berries in about 30 minutes. I made jam out of them today!

While driving to the farm last year we drove right by the Angel Oak Tree but didn't have time to stop. So this year we took a picnic and ate lunch by this massive 400-500 year old Live Oak tree. To give you an idea of its size, the tree's circumference is 25 feet and its area of shade is 17,000 sq. feet.

The girls were not happy that they were in the presence of the best climbing tree ever but not allowed to climb it.

They didn't stay sad long.

We spent the last few hours of the day at the beach. It was extremely windy and a bit chilly but the kids never seem to mind.