by Krista | May 3, 2015 | Autumn
“For after all,
the best thing one can do when it is raining
is let it rain.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
It has been pouring in Southern Queensland. Solid, steady rain turning sun-baked earth into black spongy mud, filling wheelbarrows and planters, causing every heat-withered plant to lift up vibrant leaves to the skies in unabashed joy.
Everywhere you look are signs of the storms: flooded fields and rivers, branches tossed higgledy-piggledy after fierce winds ripped through the area, new potholes along the highways.
It’s been wonderful. And wild. And scary. And shiveringly cold. But mostly wonderful. It’s like every bit of my world threw up its hands and said, “Let’s sit back and enjoy this.” So I joined in.
To-do lists were set aside, projects completely ignored, and we gave ourselves up to utter relaxation. Movies were watched and naps taken, popcorn popped and soup simmered. I made bread and curry and pasta, delicious comfort food while the farm turned into a giant puddle.
The rains returned this morning, so I brewed up a pot of Cherry Cider spiced with star anise. There’s something about the licorice flavor of star anise that goes beautifully with cherries, and the combo was deliciously warming as the temperature dropped.
Now it’s time to roast some veggies between storms – turnips with fresh thyme and Brussels sprouts with Balsamic Dijon dressing. Teamed up with Beef Garlic sausages from the butchers, this meal is going to warm our bones for sure.
What is your favorite drink on a stormy day? xo
Spiced Cherry Cider
Serves two
Ingredients:
3 cups cherry juice
1 star anise
Directions:
1. Simmer cherry juice and star anise over low heat for 5-10 minutes.
2. Serve hot.
by Krista | Apr 28, 2015 | Autumn
“It was such a pleasure to sink one’s hands into the warm earth,
to feel at one’s fingertips the possibilities of the new season.”
Kate Morton
There is something deeply satisfying about reaching the end of a day spent gardening. To ease up on aching legs, rub your sore back, and look around at neatly dug gardens mulched with shiny yellow straw, knowing that within a few weeks or months there will be all sorts of good things to eat.
This week has been spent outside in glorious Autumn sunshine digging, weeding, watering, mulching, planting, and planning. I’ve loved sorting through seed packets and choosing the veggies we want to feast on this winter: celeriac and ruby red Swiss Chard, black, yellow, and striped radishes, heirloom beets, Belgian endive, deep red radicchio, purple Brussels sprouts, turnips, peas for Spring, garlic, dill, and cilantro.
I may have throbbing muscles, blisters, cuts and scratches, but it is worth every ache. Especially when there are still a few evidences of summer bounty to remind me that beautiful things will emerge from the dark soil.
Until then I will continue to plant and dream and feast on the last of the sweet cherry tomatoes, mini-capsicums, cucumbers, and pumpkins.
This morning I took a break from gardening to wood-burn a lovely new box that Bear made for me to carry my medieval supplies. Our medieval camping season starts soon and we are so excited. Early mornings with hands wrapped around steaming cups of coffee, nights spent around the campfire talking for hours and drinking homemade spiced wine and mead. So we’re busy sewing and wood-working, getting our garb and equipment ready for fun, memorable times with good friends.
Now it’s time to have some lunch and get back outside to plant some olive trees.
For lunches this week I’ve been making all sorts of dishes featuring seasonal veg such as these lovely yellow string beans. After a quick steam, I saute them with double-smoked ham, caramelized onions, and crispy bits of garlic. Served with a bowl of French Onion Soup, they made a hearty and satisfying meal.
What is your favorite thing to make with string beans? xo
Yellow Beans with Ham, Garlic, and Onions
Ingredients:
olive oil
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, halve and thinly sliced
1 cup double-smoked ham, chopped
3 handfuls of yellow beans, tailed and snapped in half
salt and ground pepper
Directions:
1. Steam yellow beans until crisp tender. Drain and set aside to dry.
2. In large saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add onion and garlic. Saute until soft.
4. Add ham and saute until ham begins to brown.
5. Add yellow beans and more olive oil, if necessary. Heat through. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.
by Krista | Apr 27, 2015 | Autumn
I’ve been fascinated by Cuba for a long time, so I’m happy to share this post written in partnership with Thomson.
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Of all the Caribbean islands, Cuba is perhaps the most intriguing. Thanks to a rich revolutionary history and unique culture, it’s no wonder 3 million visitors flock to see the island every year. A surprising number come by cruise.
The tourism industry in Cuba has really only taken off again on scale since the late 1990s, when the country opened its gates to both external tourism and foreign money. Now US visitors are able to spend freely in the country, cruise companies are adding this paradise destination to their itinerary. It’s easy to see why. It is after all, the island that Christopher Columbus described as “enchantingly beautiful” some 500 years ago.
Cienfuegos Palacio Azul 2012 by Guido Hermans
The island’s south side is in the most part a spectacular coastline of palm trees, white sandy coves, clear blue waters and coral reefs. Many cruises stop at Casilda, a pretty seaside resort in the Trinidad province. As well as having some beautiful beaches (including nearby Playa Ancon), the village is a good base to explore city of Trinidad, which is just 7 kilometres inland. Like stepping back through time, walking through Trinidad’s streets is a perfect reminder of the island’s colonial past.
Cayo Coco in Cuba by Scott Willis
Cienfuegos is another destination well worth exploring. This city, known as the Pearl of the South, is Cuba at it’s stereotypical best; spot American 50s style cars and colonial architecture, including the slightly downtrodden but very beautiful Palacio de Valle.
Top of everyone’s list, however, is Havana. Bright, bustling, busy and big, Havana is a love it or hate it kind of place, with most tourists very much of the former persuasion. The energy of the communities here is apparent in the hustling of the markets and the live music that fills the streets. Wander around the oldest square, Plaza De Armas, pore over the history of Cuba’s leaders at the Museo De La Revolucion and if you have time, take a drive down Malecon. The Malecon is a 8km long road next to the sea, lined with the classic Cuban architecture.
Havana Cuba by Adam63
Cruises in Cuba may also stop off at beauty spots such as the Isle of Youth bay and numerous smaller towns, but you may well find it is the cities that are the most impressive. As opposed to most Caribbean cruises, an ocean vacation in The Americas offers a lot more than simply relaxation and the usual tourist hot spots. It offers the chance to see parts of this amazing country that have been, for the most part, hidden from view for a long time.
by Krista | Apr 25, 2015 | Autumn
It’s a quiet Saturday morning, no wind, the sky bright blue with feathery clouds, baby goats sleeping soundly after their bottles.
Last night we worked late bucking bales, filling the barn with hay before Winter arrives. I’ve always loved the smell of fresh hay. It calms me somehow and brings back happy memories of sleepovers in a neighbors’ barn with my friends when we were little girls.
This morning I was up early, feeding all our ducks, chickens, and geese, filling their water troughs, and giving the dogs a cuddle. I checked on my gardens, happy to see several tree cuttings leafing out and my red cabbage seedlings getting bigger every day.
As I wander around the farm now, I see true signs of Autumn that make me smile. Like this leathery leaf in vivid sunset colors.
And these beautiful seedpods looking like a sculpture against the rough, rusty surface of an old trailer.
To celebrate this gorgeous Autumn, I’m offering Free Shipping for any order over $50 from my wood-burning shoppe. Click here to choose from any of the items displayed, or request a special design or something personalized. Just enter FREESHIPPING as your coupon code and receive Free Shipping worldwide until May 1, 2015.
Now it’s time to settle in my coziest spot with coffee and a bowl of porridge with cranberries, salted butter, and cinnamon.
Wishing you a beautiful and restful weekend. xo
by Krista | Apr 23, 2015 | Autumn
“Each of us, when our day’s work is done, must seek our ideal,
whether it be love or pinochle or lobster à la Newburg,
or the sweet silence of the musty bookshelves.”
O. Henry
It’s been a Lots Of Work To Do sort of week. Bottle-feeding our orphaned baby goats, planting winter crops, writing, cooking, photographing, more writing, and collecting the last of the Autumn harvest.
It’s good work, satisfying work, but boy am I glad to reach the end of each day and climb into bed and get cozy under the blankets with a good story.
One of the good things about cooking and photographing for a writing assignment is that Bear and I have heaps to eat at the end of it. Tonight we got to tuck into all sorts of nibble-y bites, including far too many pretzels dunked in a roasted garlic yogurt dip. It sure hit the spot after getting back inside from doing chores in the cold Autumn wind.
Bear and I continue to plug along writing our medieval cookbook. Today we baked spelt bread rolls over the campfire and they turned out beautifully. We were so excited. 🙂 Tomorrow I get back to writing and cooking for the Spices section. I love seeing whole spices, like this mace, that I’ve only seen in powdered form before. The history of food is so fascinating to me, and I can’t wait to see this book come together.
Now it’s time for me to retreat to the “sweet silence of the musty bookshelves.”
What is the best book you’ve read recently?
by Krista | Apr 21, 2015 | Autumn
It’s been a beautifully restful weekend, quiet and cozy with rain falling gently. We’ve cocooned ourselves in as the unseasonable warmth of our Autumn has given way to cold harbingers of the Winter to come. We’ve unpacked flannel shirts and cozy slippers, sweaters and woolly socks, spoiling ourselves with homemade cocoa and hot coffees and all sorts of homemade bread.
Bear and I have been steadily working on writing, photographing, and developing recipes for a medieval cookbook. Over the past week we have tackled the bread section, photographing homemade flat breads, flour-dusted rustic loaves, and sturdy trenchers, like the one below, that would’ve been used to hold stew, soup, and any other type of meal.
The overcast, rainy days have been ideal for such endeavors, and the bread has been scrumptious accompaniment to big pots of ham black bean soup, creamy carrot dill soup, and shaved stacks of double-smoked ham.
This weekend was more than just a time for resting and baking, it was also time for restoration. Time to step away from projects and to-do lists and spend hours tucked up in bed reading or cozied in under blankets to watch movies. It’s amazing to me how well our bodies respond to a holiday, no matter how short or simple.
On restorative weekends like this, I make food that serves well as leftovers, giving me the opportunity to truly relax without worrying about cooking or menu planning. Quiche is one of my go-to choices both for its simplicity and adaptability. As long as you’ve got eggs and milk, any number of ingredients can be added to make something delicious and hearty. This week I chose ham and tomato quiche with lots of sharp cheddar cheese. Our butcher makes a rather marvelous smoked shaved ham and my garden provided a bowl full of sweet cherry tomatoes in bright yellow and shiny red. Equally good served hot or cold, quiche is an excellent thing to have on hand when cooking is the last thing you want to do.
What is your favorite go-to meal for restful weekends at home? xo
