4th week of November 2008

Cold Frame GreensWe have reached the season of Thanksgiving, a favorite holiday of our family. There is special pleasure in celebrating God's abundance using food we've raised on the farm. Pictured I'm gathering greens for our Thanksgiving salad. For other family meals this week we enjoyed things like a pastured chicken, leg of lamb, fresh dug carrots and turnips, frozen yellow beans, Olin's cheese, blackberry custard, tapioca pudding with cherries and more. An extra benefit for me was that we supplied several ingredients and my sisters-in-law were glad to do much of the cooking. After eating abundantly this week, I think our bodies are sufficiently fattened up for hibernation!

House PlantsWith fewer things to attend to outdoors, we've started a bit of indoor growing. I started making sprouts (radish, broccoli, fenugreek, etc.) to supplement our salads. This is a quick way to grow food right on top of the refrigerator. We dug up several rosemary plants to continue picking from for a few months. Since I am notorious at neglecting house plants, my children have taken over that arena. They must miss the excitement of watching things grow since they have been using some of their spending money to purchase small houseplants at our local thrift store. So far, they are faithfully watering. It's also amusing watching them check for new growth and trying to figure out how to propagate different varieties. They must have inherited some of their mother's genes.

Now that outdoor gardening activities are minimal, I'll make only monthly journal installments. Some of my extra time will be used revising chapters on the local foods book I'm writing with a friend plus I'll be doing my winter reading from the library and seed catalogues. I encourage you to check out the gardening and food resource books available at your local library for some great education for free this winter.

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