Winter Break is Over!

February 1, 2009 - I seem to have found the cure for the winter blues! All you have to do is become a gardener! It turns out that there are only really two months (December and January), when being in the garden and/or planning for the garden doesn't occupy a significant block of your time. These two months are just the perfect amount of time to celebrate the winter holidays, take a vacation, and enjoy some relaxing snuggle time in your warm house. It is not, however, enough time to get the itch and that horrible feeling of "is spring EVER going to be here?" The reality is, for Joe and I anyway, spring is right around the corner, and it's already time to get to work. What that means for you, hopefully, is more regular blog posts, so get ready to check back often.

The best thing about this time of year is seed shopping! There is just nothing like flipping through seed catalogs and looking at all the pretty choices. I swear to God, even if you aren't a huge veggie fan like we are, these things will get you pretty excited.

We actually have a lot of seed leftover from last year to use up. But we did pick out and order a list of things that we need more of or that we didn't grow last year. If you want to start dreaming about your gardens this year (and stop being depressed about winter) go to http://www.seedsavers.org/ or http://www.highmowingseeds.com/ and order some seeds.

I've also begun putting a seed order together with John for the farm this year. We are going to be growing a whole vegetable garden to supply the stand, so there's a lot of work to do. I created a planting schedule, which will begin this month with starting tomatoes in the greenhouse. Did I mention we have a greenhouse to work in this year?!?!?! That's very exciting for us. We realize now how crazy last spring was, trying to grow seedlings in the basement with no real access to sunlight. This will be a whole different ball game.

Joe and I are also making plans for cold frames so that we can start greens in the backyard as soon as the ground thaws. We can't wait for arugala with our breakfast! But just because it's winter doesn't mean we're not eating garden-fresh produce at our house. Just this morning, Joe and I had the perfect backyard farm breakfast. I thawed out some broccoli that I had in the freezer from our garden this past summer and served it with our fresh eggs. The broccoli was bright green and tasty like it was freshly picked. Delicious.

The more food we eat out of the freezer, the more grateful I am for those hours and hours I spent preserving late last summer. I promise you - it's worth it. I've been eating my canned peaches in oatmeal with walnuts, or in grape nut cereal. Our pesto is almost gone, and went excellently well with whole wheat pasta and shrimp. The frozen corn has been a HUGE hit at family gatherings all winter. Not only are we saving money at the grocery store, but we are eating really GOOD food.

Today I also made applesauce from all the apples I had left in my refrigerator (gotta love how long they can last when kept cold). I take my applesauce making method from Selma Hardeman. Just apples. Nothin' else. If you use a mixture of apple varieties, the sweet and tart mix together perfectly and there's no need for sugar or cinnamon. I just peel, cut, and throw in a pot. Add some water, boil and smash.

All I have to say is - yum, yum. :) Thank you John Hardeman for growing these delicious apples!

We're having a beautiful day here - lots of sun which is beginning to slowly melt the snow and ice from the past few weeks. Joe's been outside chopping wood and working in the yard. The chickens must also know that it's time to get busy again, because they are venturing out for the first time in a while -

The longer days of sunshine are hopefully getting them geared up for more egg production. Currently, we're still getting about one or two eggs per day. But these chickens are also soon to have a lot more friends running around. We haven't placed any orders yet, but there will definitely be a pile of baby chicks in this family's near future. Joe is hoping to start them a bit earlier this year. It takes roughly 5 months for a new chicken to begin laying, so the sooner we get them, the sooner we have more eggs to sell.

We've also been doing a whole lot of reading lately. Our current favorite is the Omnivore's Dilemma -

This is a seriously great book, which I would recommend to everyone who is interested in knowing a bit more about the food we eat - which you all ought to be. It blows my mind when I think about all the people who don't give a seconds thought to what they put in their mouths and what effect it could be having on their body - especially with all the heart disease, obesity, and other health problems that are plaguing our society. But that's enough out of me -

In his book, Michael Pollan explores the industrial food system, the new 'organic' industrial food system, sustainable agriculture, and also personal gardening and hunting. I haven't finished the book yet, but so far he makes a pretty strong case for eating locally, eating grass-fed beef, and staying away from processed foods.

The main philosophy in our house is that whole foods (unprocessed) are always a first choice. We eat tons of fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, meat, and fish and we try to stay away from packaged foods. Actually, in order to help us stay inspired, Joe created this awesome shelf for our jars of beans, oats, barley, and tea -

Doesn't that make you want to eat healthy?