Since our last update, we went on our last mushroom hunt. It is incredible how nature changes. It has been cooler and wetter, and new mushrooms, unidentified but recognized to us are popping out which signal that the boletes that we love are coming to an end. We got enough for a saute (about 1.5 pounds). We have been going to the same patch for two months and during the last trip, there was a completely different feel to it, there was even a different smell in the air–no more of that bolete aroma that would get me all excited (as I knew my little gems were near). This year, we picked enough to pickle five jars of boletes, have about 8 or so bags of dehydrated mushrooms (for soups) and a bag frozen to be used in stuffing for Thanksgiving! It was somewhat challenging to get out and hunt–we have a lot of young children and they are not always up for the trip. As they get older, we hope to broaden our hunting areas and knowledge of other mushrooms to forage. It has been a good year. The growing, harvesting and preserving has officially ended. Now, we do some crafts for the Holiday season, brew some beer, read new books and enjoy all the yummy preserved foods!
Our garden has slowly fallen into its winter slumber and we will have a few months for reflecting on our 2014 experiences and planning for Harvest 2015. As we clean up the yard and mulch the garden beds, we are taking notes on what worked, what didn’t and what needs improvement. As part of that we decided to have a tab in the blog that talks about veggies and fruit that we grow, want to grow and wish we could grow. We hope to provide our readers with information, recipes and our personal reflections of many of the plants and anything else that can be grown in a backyard.
Hopefully, this will be a good educational opportunity for us and a nice, quick reference for you. I will utilize my library and the internet as resources. I will try to reference as much as I can so people don’t think that I am plagiarizing–I am researching and condensing information for you. The recipes however are all mine, hence the lack of precise measurements. I follow too many protocols at work measuring things out. I refuse to do the same at home. A dash here and a pinch there is my philosophy…if you fail…try again!
With that said, please visit our new blog section “A to Z Farm to Table”. First on the list is Asparagus!!
Here are two of self sustainable meals from the last few weeks. Elk courtesy of Paul’s uncle, salmon caught by Paul, zucchinis that kept on giving (and we love it), mushrooms that we had gathered, pickles that we had pickled, sauerkraut made by my sister and last but not least, potatoes from the garden. Love it!! The quality of pictures are not ideal–I apologize for that. Life is very fast on our homestead, there is no time for a camera, all must be done with my phone.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out the new tab from time to time!
