Happy Monday!
I know you haven't heard 'bout the farm in a while (like two months.) Well, there's not much happening since it's winter. We did get the apple trees in November and planted them in the front yard. I would include a picture, but they look like sticks that have been partially buried. The trees are only two years old, but they seem healthy and appear to like the location that they are in.
On December 12th we lost a dear friend and companion, our cat Riley. We wanted to thank you all for being so supportive. We miss him terribly, it's amazing how much space in your life one cat takes up. The other four seem to be adjusting, and we're still trying to figure out who will be the alpha now that Riley is gone. This spring we are going to plant a tree and place his ashes under them. We haven't picked out a tree yet, it needs to be something truly special.
Since it's the new year, Ryan and I have some big plans. We are going to post a list of all the tasty and wonderful plants we hope to put in this spring. We are definitely going to put more gardens in - once again biting off way more then we can hope to chew. The garden in the front that is exclusively for vegetables is going to be expanded to accommodate two raised beds that will be 4ish by 8ish. (It will also make my flower bed larger and I hope to add another six rose bushes to my surprisingly thriving rose garden.) We will also put in some raised beds in the back yard and on the side next to the blue berries. Hopefully all these raised beds will help us deal with the swampy conditions that continue to plague us, even when there's no rain. We are also getting chickens this spring, so stay tuned for Ryan and Gretchen's adventures in chicken raising. The first task is to build them a home - I can assure you this will provide many a humorous tale.
Before Christmas we did manage to bottle a bunch of the wine. We got some of the fig, and some of the pear into bottles. We have more fig and pear to bottle, along with some peach. If the world starts to end anytime soon, we've got enough booze to keep the entire county so drunk they don't notice. We also froze some watermelon that needs to be juiced and fermented sometime in the next week or so. We can't stand to watch food go bad, or uneaten. We also can't eat more then half a watermelon or a pound of figs between the two of us. This leads to much booze - since we can't think of any finer way to keep this stuff around. To be fair - we do pickle, make jam, can, and experiment with some of this stuff too. Pickled pears anyone?
We didn't get around to making our barley wine in time to toss it into Santa's sleigh, but we're still planning on brewing before January is out. This is actually good news, provided that Ryan and I can show some restraint. When we give bottles of the barley wine, we always tell you too keep them for a year before opening them. Well, I know for a fact that many of you have about as much restraint as Ryan and I. Next year, however, you will be getting a barely wine that has already been aged for a year and ready to be opened! - on the condition that we didn't drink it all. I will make the following recommendations to all of you who missed the Long Night Ale this year - call us regularly and leave death threats on our message machine. I am pretty sure nothing short of bodily harm will keep us and our grubby fingers out of the best brew on earth. (If you haven't tried it yet - I'm sorry. You have missed one of the finest things man could possibly experience, aside from sex and the perfect cup of coffee.)
We are also trying to assemble a collection of our favorite recipes. We get a lot of requests for them, and there is no such thing as bad food in our house. I was thinking of including one here that we absolutely loved!!! Rachael Ray's Fool-i-ya-baise Seafood Stew. We made the whole meal, including the anchovies and olive salad that was dressed with lemon and olive oil. (FYI - evidently you have to warn wayward diners that they might eat an anchovy. How were we supposed to know?) It was fantastic and quick. We substituted the white wine for vermouth and we used our homemade chicken stock that had plenty of gelatin in it. The gelatin comes from cooking the bones to death and gives the stock a great mouth feel. We'll be making the stock later this week so I'll fill you in with the next Suburban Farm.
So that is all for this week - you'll hear from us again. We wish you a fine new year and many happy new beginnings.
- Gretchen, Ryan, & "the kids"
I know you haven't heard 'bout the farm in a while (like two months.) Well, there's not much happening since it's winter. We did get the apple trees in November and planted them in the front yard. I would include a picture, but they look like sticks that have been partially buried. The trees are only two years old, but they seem healthy and appear to like the location that they are in.
On December 12th we lost a dear friend and companion, our cat Riley. We wanted to thank you all for being so supportive. We miss him terribly, it's amazing how much space in your life one cat takes up. The other four seem to be adjusting, and we're still trying to figure out who will be the alpha now that Riley is gone. This spring we are going to plant a tree and place his ashes under them. We haven't picked out a tree yet, it needs to be something truly special.Since it's the new year, Ryan and I have some big plans. We are going to post a list of all the tasty and wonderful plants we hope to put in this spring. We are definitely going to put more gardens in - once again biting off way more then we can hope to chew. The garden in the front that is exclusively for vegetables is going to be expanded to accommodate two raised beds that will be 4ish by 8ish. (It will also make my flower bed larger and I hope to add another six rose bushes to my surprisingly thriving rose garden.) We will also put in some raised beds in the back yard and on the side next to the blue berries. Hopefully all these raised beds will help us deal with the swampy conditions that continue to plague us, even when there's no rain. We are also getting chickens this spring, so stay tuned for Ryan and Gretchen's adventures in chicken raising. The first task is to build them a home - I can assure you this will provide many a humorous tale.
Before Christmas we did manage to bottle a bunch of the wine. We got some of the fig, and some of the pear into bottles. We have more fig and pear to bottle, along with some peach. If the world starts to end anytime soon, we've got enough booze to keep the entire county so drunk they don't notice. We also froze some watermelon that needs to be juiced and fermented sometime in the next week or so. We can't stand to watch food go bad, or uneaten. We also can't eat more then half a watermelon or a pound of figs between the two of us. This leads to much booze - since we can't think of any finer way to keep this stuff around. To be fair - we do pickle, make jam, can, and experiment with some of this stuff too. Pickled pears anyone?
We didn't get around to making our barley wine in time to toss it into Santa's sleigh, but we're still planning on brewing before January is out. This is actually good news, provided that Ryan and I can show some restraint. When we give bottles of the barley wine, we always tell you too keep them for a year before opening them. Well, I know for a fact that many of you have about as much restraint as Ryan and I. Next year, however, you will be getting a barely wine that has already been aged for a year and ready to be opened! - on the condition that we didn't drink it all. I will make the following recommendations to all of you who missed the Long Night Ale this year - call us regularly and leave death threats on our message machine. I am pretty sure nothing short of bodily harm will keep us and our grubby fingers out of the best brew on earth. (If you haven't tried it yet - I'm sorry. You have missed one of the finest things man could possibly experience, aside from sex and the perfect cup of coffee.)
We are also trying to assemble a collection of our favorite recipes. We get a lot of requests for them, and there is no such thing as bad food in our house. I was thinking of including one here that we absolutely loved!!! Rachael Ray's Fool-i-ya-baise Seafood Stew. We made the whole meal, including the anchovies and olive salad that was dressed with lemon and olive oil. (FYI - evidently you have to warn wayward diners that they might eat an anchovy. How were we supposed to know?) It was fantastic and quick. We substituted the white wine for vermouth and we used our homemade chicken stock that had plenty of gelatin in it. The gelatin comes from cooking the bones to death and gives the stock a great mouth feel. We'll be making the stock later this week so I'll fill you in with the next Suburban Farm.
So that is all for this week - you'll hear from us again. We wish you a fine new year and many happy new beginnings.- Gretchen, Ryan, & "the kids"