Autumn weather is here at last with stunning beauty. Chilly mornings where slippers and flannels are essential, followed by exquisite golden days of rich sunshine and cool breezes. I feel like I’ve come back to life and it is marvelous.

Bear and I have been working hard on the farm pruning trees, chopping wood, planting winter veggies, and using up the remains of last year’s bounty from the freezers so we can start filling them again with homemade sausages, frozen vegetables, and baking.

We’ve been bottle-feeding two orphaned baby goats and look forward to each feeding. They are the sweetest little girls and make us laugh every day.

Our geese, ducks, and chickens have slowed down their laying, ready to hunker down for the cold months. Each time we find a new egg is cause for celebration.

wooden bowl of eggs

In my downtime I’ve been making wood-burned necklaces for my Etsy shoppe, building up my stock for the medieval markets we’ll be attending in just a couple of months. It’s such a lovely break from hard labor, turning pieces of wood, beads, and stone into little works of art.

wood burned necklace

Today we took a break from our labors to wander through one of our favorite thrift stores to see what we could find. My treasures are this darling little pottery mug and a bag full of nearly-new cookbooks and gardening books to inspire me.

pottery mug

Our dessert this week has been a fresh strawberry tart with vanilla cream in a whole grain crust sweetened with dark brown sugar. Simple, delicious, and just the edible cheer we need to keep us going through our chores.

strawberry tart with vanilla cream

What keeps you plugging along when you have lots of work to do? xo

Strawberry Tart with Vanilla Cream

Ingredients:

1 pint strawberries, washed and trimmed
1 tub sour cream
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Crust:

1 cup whole grain flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375 F.
2.   Mix all crust ingredients, add a little flour if too soft. Press evenly into 9-inch tart pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until crust is golden brown.
3.   Gently blend sour cream, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth. Do not whip or it will get too runny. Chill until crust is cooled.
4.   Let crust cool, remove from tart pan and set on serving tray. Spread sour cream mixture in the bottom of the tart shell, and top with strawberries.
5.   Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.