Red Bud Jelly

Imagine my surprise when one of my Facebook friends posted about making jelly from the flowers of the Eastern Red Bud tree! As you can see by the faint, yet prolific, fuchsia hue around my backyard, there are many flowers to harvest for such a project!

So I set about gathering six cups of the blooms. It was a little sad to strip the trees, but this tree is pretty invasive, and I gathered from the ones where I don't necessarily need more seeds to take root next year. 

You pour six cups of boiling water on top and steep the flowers for 24 hours. The infusion results in this incredible shade of pink!

Kind of fancy-looking in a wine glass, and I *may* have added some Malfey gin con limone after I sampled the taste of the pure juice. The juice was delicious both pure and enhanced! The juice does have a tiny bit of a bean after taste, which is not surprising as the tree belongs in the bean family.

The jelly was easy to make. I used this recipe. The jelly took a few days to really set, so have patience. I put it in the fridge a few days to speed the process.

Delicious product enjoyed on some home-made bread with butter! Yum! The taste of the jelly is not as distinctive as the juice, but sweet and light. You can't beat the fun pink color!

Enjoy the warming weather, and hope that you are safe and healthy!

Quarantine Haircuts

Eight+ weeks into the quarantine has so many of us feeling a little bit too fluffy on top, so you can't help but feel a little bit jealous of the alpacas who have their barbers make a home visit on a Saturday morning!

They were highly grateful to be able to see again! It also happened to be 80* on that day, a weather pattern that quickly changed back to freezing a few days later.

It's nice to relax in the sunshine after a thorough grazing!

Our shearing team was adamant about social distancing, so we took the opportunity to rent a box truck and also replenish the hay supply that day. We took a picture of this road sign for our nephew, who is attending Purdue next Fall! We stop in Russiaville for the hay, but are looking forward to many trips to Purdue to visit and spoil him!

Our hay guy had a new "toy" to help load the hay into the truck with a few big lifts. What a relief it was to not need to move all the hay into the truck by hand. It saved so much time!

Finally, I joked with my colleagues that it wouldn't be ISSMA Qualifications day without me interacting with a UHaul! I really missed the students and the event, but it was good to be distracted by getting some work done.

Here's hoping you are enjoying a safe springtime. Till next time!

Knitting Lessons

Niece #3 learned how to knit last year and is quickly getting obsessed, like so many of us knitters. She gifted her younger sister a hand-knit headband and a SELF-DESIGNED knit shark for her 2nd birthday last Monday! 

 

The shark took three weeks to make, which is pretty quick considering she had to design, knit, sew together, duplicate stitch a mouth, and sew on felt eyes. I am so impressed!

Nice detail with the white belly! Marine biologist in the making, for certain! It turned out super cute!

She really wanted to knit a hat, so I shipped her some purple worsted-weight yarn, size 8 circular needles, and a pom-pom maker for her birthday (which I forgot about in August... ooops!). We set a FaceTime date, and yesterday we started a hat. I didn't know that she didn't know how to purl yet, so we skipped a ribbed brim in favor of one that will curl up. I am loosely using the Beanie pattern from Charmed Knits by Alison Hansel.

The hardest part of knitting in the round is getting the stitches arranged in the same direction before joining the stitches into a circle. Looks like she passed the test! Now she has to fight through 5 inches of knitting before she has to decrease. And it looks like Auntie E forgot that you need double pointed needles to finish the top of the hat. Time to send some more supplies. What should I add to spoil her? 

Happy Creating!

Baking Community

Apparently I am part of a baking trend during this pandemic. When I saw the linked Washington Post article at the end of March, I immediately logged into Instacart and the Kroger app, and sure enough, flour and yeast was not available locally. Fortunately, I did think to stock up on flour and yeast, but maybe not to the extent that I can make all the bread products I would like to consume through May. But the small parade of baked items below (now partially eaten, partially frozen) should tide me over for the next few weeks at least.

My mother's rye bread recipe is finally starting to turn out like the loaves I remember. I am getting more bold about adding additional flour to reduce excess moisture before the second rise, and the consistency is improving.

The Farmer ordered some challah at the beginning of our shelter in place time, and we gobbled up two loaves in just a few days. I thought it would be better to make it ourselves, and it turned out just as great, probably even better with how fresh we ate it. This recipe was the basic challah recipe from the All Recipes site.

Finally, a clearing and re-organization of the cupboard unearthed some mulberry jam that was immediately turned into mulberry jam cake. I have to remember to pick some more berries this summer so I can make this again. So yummy! Recipe below.

Spring is advancing here. Gardening posts are on the radar among other projects. Hope you are all well! Hand-washing, sneezing into your elbow, and staying home still highly recommended! Stay safe, friends.

Mulberry Jam Cake
Prepare 2 9-inch round baking pans. Preheat oven to 325*.
Cream together:
     3/4 c butter
     1 c sugar
     3 eggs
Add and mix:
     1 c mulberry jam
Add and mix:
     1 tsp baking soda
     2 c flour
     1 tsp cinnamon
     1 tsp nutmeg
     1 tsp cloves
     1 tsp vanilla
Alternate adding and mixing:
     3/4 c buttermilk (kefir or yogurt work also)
     1 c flour
Fold in:
     1 c chopped nuts (walnuts)
     1 c raisins (golden)
Divide equally into 2 pans and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until knife comes out clean.
Enjoy with powdered sugar on top and whipped cream, if desired!

Pasture Pleasures

Hi there! It's been a few weeks. How's your Shelter in Place Life going? We're hanging in there, here on the farm. Let's not discuss the Governor shutting down schools for the rest of the school year literally an hour before Spring Break last Thursday. Struggling with that one... BUT... on a happier note, we let the alpacas out on the pasture yesterday. Their rejoicing was great! Unfortunately, the video is not playing nice on Blogger, so you'll have to take my word for it. I didn't take a still picture this time.

The Farmer mowed the lawn and our new pasture addition for the first time this year yesterday afternoon. The new pasture came in SO NICELY! We are so happy to finally have this project out of the way. Fencing is next. You can read about our toils with the back here and here. 

Thinking of all of you, and missing everyone lots. One day at a time, and we'll make it through this weird time. Peace, Hope, and Love to all of you.

Stay Alkaline

One way I'm trying to stay healthy is by choosing foods that have an alkaline property. Viruses and bacteria do not like an alkaline environment and cannot survive in such circumstances. Since last summer, I have been following the smoothie ideas on Green Smoothie Girl and have enjoyed the flavor and healthy results. For me the key is adding fruits that lend sweetness like banana and apple. Here was my breakfast smoothie from this morning.

It made about 4 cups. On a normal school day where I am actually going to school, I put all the ingredients in one of the smaller take-away containers the night before and then blend it quickly in the morning. We recently got a Ninja blender, and it is awesome!

Smoothie Recipe
1 Banana
1 Apple
1 Clementine (This is actually not an alkaline fruit, so use sparingly.)
3/4 cup Gooseberries, frozen from the garden
1 rib Celery
handful of Kale
1 Garlic clove
1 Ginger piece, one square inch
1 Tbsp Flax seeds
1 tsp Olive oil (to help digest vitamins that are fat soluble)
1 c Water

Now to convince the Farmer that he could get over his awful cold faster by eating more of these foods. He wants me to find peer-reviewed scientific articles. I sent him to Google! We're having fun together, and eating very well. Hang tight, it might be a long haul...

Oh, Heeeey There, COVID-19...

Well, here we are, hunkering down, self-quarantining, cooking food, and hoping for the best. My orchestra classes have moved online, and I am hoping my internet doesn't crash. I'm trying to stay as positive as possible, for which a late afternoon walk and a home-cooked meal of Hoppin' John were just the ticket.

The pussy willows have begun their new season of sprouting. Dinner was yummy. Recipe from the Pioneer Woman. 

Happy New Normal, 2020. Stay strong and kind, friends.