Inward.....the ABC's of Getting a Grip

Apples, Beets and Cheese, much more than just a grocery list! I have had a crazy feeling the last two weeks - like being in the eye of a rushing tornado, its winds choked with semi-trucks, cows, billboards and such that were never meant to fly. And here I stand, as still as I can so I don't inadvertently step in the way of one of those killer projectiles. In the place of stillness, I look around and find near me a bin of apples, two bins of beets, and several gallons of glorious raw milk.

What's a girl to do but go to work? So far, I've made spiced apple butter and honey apple butter. My girls were lamenting that the only jam we have in the house now is rhubarb. Next year, we will do better at making time to visit the u-pick raspberry patch and the wild blackberries. For now, we had applesauce bread with honey apple butter on top for lunch!

The apples were a gift from the small farm for whom Jeff works. He'd pruned quite a few of their trees this Spring and they are just loaded with apples. My heart swells witnessing the intimate pride of relationship this couple feels for their homestead - "Pick apples from this tree - they are perfect for applesauce. Those from the tree in the pasture there? Those are my pie apples, they're not quite ripe yet. Another week or so." It seems so simple and everyday. I guess that's the beauty - the interaction they have with all parts of their home, from the animals to the trees, to the soil and water is an everyday, every season thing. I am inspired and grounded and grateful.

I do love my beets. Everything about them is a piece of who I am and what I strive to bring to my life - their vibrant, deep, lovely red I remember vividly as round stains on our old melmac plates as a child. Just seeing the scarlet jars will make my mouth water as if I already hold their sweet, spicy, tart earthiness on my tongue. But......this is the first year that I've tried to preserve the intense health benefits of the beet greens. I dried the tops of the beets that I am now lacto-fermenting in our crock. Because there were so many, I put the base of our round American Harvester dehydrator in the bottom of our electric oven (after pulling the oven control knobs off!) and filled the oven racks with greens. It worked very well. It smelled very bad. No joke. I am going to be psyched this winter when I am making immune supporting soups that I dried all those greens but I just hope I can forget the smell when it comes time to do it again next year!

And cheese. I am so infatuated with making cheese! Who knew. I'd read books, read webpages, tasted other people's cheese but was too intimidated to make my own. I love to cook but I'm more the stand-at-the-cupboard-door-and-put-in-a-few-sprinkles-of-everything kind of creator. I don't do so well with following directions. Jeff said he would make the cheese and I could help. Great. Jeff is very good at following directions. He was also ready for bed by the time our to-do list got around to starting the cheese process. So I went for it. And it was great! If you have ever wanted to make cheese, I absolutely recommend the Deluxe Cheesemaking Kit from Leeners.com. It is inexpensive, straightforward, easy, and successful. The Farmstead Cheddar is delicious! My best tip is to use a double boiler for heating and maintaining the temperature for your curd. I've found the temperature stays quite steady when I remove the inner pot and just set it next to the pot of hot water on the stove. If it cools too much, I just replace it in the double boiler. Bottom line - if I can follow these instructions with the level of success we've had, anybody can.

This week, our whole family has begun working for a local gourmet potato farmer, harvesting acres of yellow, red, black, and russet potatoes. The weather has been kind and the company has been eminently enjoyable. All in all, not a bad way to ride out the storm.