Fiber Friday: Bellwether Wool Company (Preview)

Let's face it, i've been terrible at keeping up any sort of weekly routine here at my blog (remember Wholesome Wednesdays??)..... so i might as well throw out random fun-days now and again! Today i'll be 'starting' a friday 'series' that may or may not develop, but could be great fun if it does!

For the next 3 weeks, my husband and I will be house sitting at a fiber friend's farm surrounded by Wenslydale sheep, alpacas, llamas, Maremma dogs, collies and beautiful Oregonian trees. I'll post more about the experience soon, and more about her fiber company, Bellwether Wool Company soon too. For now - please take a moment to check out their website. Bellwether offers an assortment of natural and dyed fibers from all sorts of critters, many raised on my friend's property.

Here's what i've been spinning lately: Bellwether's "bunny fur" roving: an angora rabbit and Rambouillet sheep blend. So soft! I've spun the singles uber finely and started plying yesterday: it's going to be some darn fine and lovely yarn! Excited to try and make a fine scarf or headband from it. I'll post more pictures of the finished 2 ply yarn once it's washed and skeined.

Feeling Behind - Lavender Facial Toner Recipe

Buh! This week is a disaster. First i was sick, now i have an illustration commission, next week is deemed 'soap making extravaganza' plus we'll be house sitting for 3 weeks in the country. I'm a bit overwhelmed!

Needless to say i'm being a bit remiss in the blogging. So, i think i'll borrow a blog post from my OTHER blog for Nude Soap. It's a great DIY facial toner, plus lavender vinegar recipe. I actually borrowed both recipes from another blogger that i found at the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop - a great little hop that you should check out today!

Skin toners work like an astringent, smoothing skin tone and tightening pores. When you wash your face with our Facial Beauty Bar and some hot water, your pores are opened and thoroughly cleaned, as well as moisturized. The kaolin clay in our beauty bar helps to draw out impurities from your pores, and the nourishing oils condition your skin. Hot water is great for opening up those pores, but after washing you want to tighten them back up again, to keep grit and grease out, moisture in. Make this easy facial toner and dab on with a cotton ball after every face wash. Follow with some light moisturizing cream or jojoba oil for a truly divine face washing experience.

• 1 half gallon white vinegar (may also use apple cider vinegar)
• 1 bunch fresh or dried lavender
• Water

Simply infuse the vinegar with the lavender (broken up some) for about 1 month…. It’s worth the wait! Dilute the vinegar 1 to 1 or less in a glass bottle to use as a facial toner: easy as that! Use the lovely smelling, lavender infused vinegar for all sorts of things: mix with Sal Suds and water for a perfect dish soap, pour some in the laundry to soften clothes, substitute for any home made cleaning recipe that calls for vinegar.

You’ll love it!

Check out the original post and other fun soapy updates over at the Nude Soap blog.

Close Call

Phew, that was a close one. I woke up yesterday feeling very not myself. Achey, sore, lethargic, nauseous and downright just gross feeling. I was worried i might be getting sick, but didn't quite remember what that feels like. I haven't been properly 'sick' since graduate school in 2005, it's been a good run. I've been 'almost sick' a few times - feeling that touch of 'ew' and loading myself up with garlic, onions, white tea and echinacea just in time to beat it, but haven't succumbed. I feared the worse yesterday, but health has prevailed!

It's amazing how a few days away from nourishing, homegrown/locally grown 'real food' can help to beat down the immune system. It amazes me that there are people out there that rarely eat real food and actually expect to be healthy. Taking multi-vitamins is a decent substitute when you can't get real food, but a pale, pale comparison to the natural team work of whole foods and their corresponding vitamins and minerals that work together.

Pocket and I spent a lot of the day yesterday curled up in nap position.

How did i beat it this time? I took it easy. I didn't eat all day (I can tell i'm sick when i have NO appetite, as i always have an appetite) save some orange juice (with no added sugar or preservatives) and a few bites of locally grown melon and plum. I pounded the echinacea pills (that are none too fresh and probably not overly effective) and I did take a multi- V to help compensate for the week away from homegrown food. Most importantly, i went to the local store and bought a side of locally grown chicken and began boiling it. I removed the skin and most of the fat, leaving some (i feel chicken fat has some benefits) and boiled that sucker with some local, organic shallots, garlic, bay leaves, a splash of white wine and enough water to cover all well. As the day went on i added more water, onions, cabbage, blue potatoes, hot peppers and finished it off with some salt. The house smelled amazing, and my spirits lifted.

Like feeding a sick dog boiled chicken and rice, my spirits rose immediately. Even after my first nibbles of chicken while the meal cooked, i felt a bit less sick. I went to bed earlyish, and slept in (woops, i'm supposed to go to work today) after some serious night sweating (T.M.I.?). My body has always been good at hitting a fever, or sweating hard to work out an illness. It came through for me again last night, and i've awoken fresh and ready for a new day. I'm almost disappointed, i kind of like curling up on the couch being doted on - but there are things to do, so i better get to doing them!

What do you do when you start feeling sick?

Travel Log: Monteray Bay Aquarium

While in California for a wedding, my husband and I drove an extra hour down to Monteray Bay to go to that famous aquarium i've been watching documentaries about for years. It was maybe not quite as amazing as the documentaries make it out to be, but that's probably just because we didn't spring for any of the extra 'behind the scenes' tours. It was probably the best aquarium i've ever been to, though. Seahorses? Including baby seahorses the size of a mosquito? Come on, that's awesome! Anyhoo - here are a few photos from the highlights.

To start with, my husband (who works at an organic farm, a SMALL organic farm) and I were just amazed by the huge farming operations going on along the highway. Tons and TONS of strawberries and artichokes, among other veggies were planted in every square inch of useable soil, right up to the dunes. All the veggies appeared to be hand picked, as well.   Really makes you respect those veggies in the store from California!

 Otter bubbles and giant peekaboo fishes.... things are getting good.

I just love sea critters that live along the floor. I lived in Savannah, Georgia for about a year, and used to enjoy going to Tybee island and shuffling along the shallow surf to dig up living sand dollars. Fuzzy!

I couldn't get a photo of my favorite critter at the aquarium: the sea gooseberries. Amazing. Google it. But i got a few nice ones of my favorite little flightless birds, the penguins and my other favorite drifters: jellies and sea horses. This weedy sea dragon is pretty much awesome, right? Yes. Yes, it is.

The aquarium wasn't cheap, $60 for a couple. But i'm pretty okay with putting down some change for a place like the Monteray Aquarium, that is doing a ton towards promoting conservation and encouraging species diversity. i picked up a few wallet sized pamphlets for choosing the best seafood, which will really come in handy when i'm choosing what to buy at the store or in a restaurant. There are so many terrible fishing practices out there that are devastating the environment, and not all are obvious.

Have you been to an aquarium lately? What did you get out of it?

Road Trip!

I'm heading down to southern California to attend the wedding of one of my step-sisters this weekend. I can't wait to celebrate her union, meet her fiance, and wander around the San Fran/ Santa Cruz areas... Not sure what else we'll be getting into - but i'll be sure and post the highlights next week!

Whadya think? Should we spend the $60 plus gas money to go to the Monteray Bay Aquarium???

New Online Shop!

I hope some of my readers will be as excited as I am for the launch of my brand new website: 

www.GoNudeSoap.com

 A few of you have already tried my soaps, but if you haven't you might want to ;) You can read all about the ingredients I use, my business philosophies and all the products i create at the website and at my other blog nudesoap.wordpress.com.  I only use natural oils, pure essential oils, and the occasional botanical infusion for a hint of color. No fragrance oils, perfumes, lathering agents, preservatives, chemicals or dyes are used in my soap. I have some darned sensitive skin and i started making soap for my own use - and have since expanded to small scale/ small business. The new website makes ordering online easy and safe, and is awfully pretty, in my opinion. :)

I'll be making a bunch more soap in time for the holidays - so feel free to recommend or request your favorite essential oil blend if you don't see it already available. I even do custom packaging for large orders- great for bridal showers, baby showers, or any goodie bag.

That's enough shameless self promotion, but I really am excited about it and would love it if you'd check out the site and comment back here with any feedback you might have. If you love it - tell your friends! I'll also be writing a not-too-frequent newsletter that you can sign up for on the website, sure to be full of witty remarks and dorky, out-of-date slang - as you're accustomed to from me! 

I might even be inclined to do a giveaway in a few weeks -- would you be interested?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Handmade Holidays Series: #2

This project isn't just for the holidays, but some Texans will be the happy (i hope) recipients of some Oregon love this Christmas.... What do you think this could be?

Natural Beef, Home School, and a Day in The Life of a Farmer

View the updated version of this post over at Pocket Pause!

Today, I'm happy to share this guest post from Erika DuVal, a farmer, home schooler, and savvy mama living in Northern California with her husband and two girls, ages four and two. The DuVal's have a small farm where they raise alfalfa and grass hay, and Black Angus cattle. Erika was one of my best friends' older sisters, and we've recently reconnected via Facebook - that oddly useful and distracting social networking site. She's been very gracious in networking with us, sharing farming advice, and just welcoming us back to the Northwest in general. Thanks for the great post, Erika, and I hope my readers enjoy it too!

-Miranda

It was an honor and surprise to have Miranda ask me to write a guest post for An Austin Homestead. I have a blog of my own where I post pictures for my family to enjoy but have never written a guest post before. Agriculture has always been in my blood. I was born into a farming family, spent my younger years raising animals for 4-H and FFA, was trained at Oregon State University to be a high school agriculture teacher, and now get to live my dream of farming with my husband. We made the choice this year to home school our children and it has been the right decision for us and them so far.

Miranda asked me to share with you a little about how we have chosen to help our girls be savvier about the food we eat. We are by no means perfect and this is definitely a process for us. I grew up eating mostly meat purchased at the grocery store, since that’s what we could afford at the time, and not much beef at that. Our interest in homegrown beef basically started shortly after getting married, when my husband and I purchased our first little herd of cattle. I raised our first steer for butcher and we haven’t looked back. We love our homegrown beef, mostly because we think it tastes better and I know exactly where the animal has been and what it has eaten. While attending college I visited a very well run feedlot where cattle were fattened for slaughter and I was impressed with the operation. I’m not afraid to eat beef from the grocery store but since raising our own, that’s what I prefer. There have been many times when we have hired help on the farm for just a few hours at a time and they have preferred to be paid in beef rather than cash.





Our daughters have been to every butchering since they were born. Hannah attended her first one at a few weeks old, and Helena was under one year when she attended her first. A few weeks ago they had to miss their favorite cartoon show to watch a steer being butchered. They were a little upset when they got back in a realized it was over, but I strongly feel that the benefit of seeing where their food comes from far outweighed the drama from the missed cartoon. For those of you that wonder how it happens, a mobile butcher comes to our farm, harvests the animal and takes it back to his shop where he cuts and wraps it up for the freezer. This year I asked that all of the trimmed fat be saved so that I can experiment with it a bit. Maybe we’ll try making some soap. I Recently tried my hand a rendering pork fat for lard. It made for some delicious homemade flour tortillas. Next up is pie crust made with lard.

The girls also take an active role in the garden. We have a fairly large garden spot and each fall or spring my husband does whatever he thinks necessary to prepare it for the next growing season. My husband has been gardening since he was a little boy and usually does the planting but he was really busy this spring, so this year the girls and I did much of the planting. I don’t let the girls do too much with the smaller seeded crops but they were a big help planting things like corn, beans, peas and squash. Now that late summer and early fall are upon us harvesting has become a big hit. Tonight we harvested beans, corn, and tomatoes. The next step will be for me to figure out how to best utilize them.



Early in our marriage my husband used to grow some things just because they were fun to grow and not because he liked to eat them. I’m now trying to adhere to a rule that we only grow things that we will eat and then I try not to waste what we grow. Zucchini is the one exception. I cannot keep up with it. So far I have canned a small batch of raspberry jam and the rest of the produce has been put in the freezer.




As we raise our girls we always want the best for them. As a result we have chosen to homeschool them. I’m currently a licensed high school teacher and never would have thought I would be homeschooling my children. However, as we have looked at the local public school system and realized it can’t meet the needs of our children, and have found that the 45 minute drive and cost of tuition for the nearest private school is not within our means, homeschool seems to be the best choice for us at the moment. We have been educating our children since birth so this progression doesn’t seem all that foreign after all. Hannah is currently enrolled in a Classical Education program that meets once a week and so far she seems to be thriving there. The other days of the week we have a structured time of working on math, reading and writing. The rest of the day when life is happening around them they are acquiring many life skills and much knowledge.




I hope you enjoyed your brief look into our world as we work to do the best to raise and educate our family, even if it means traveling down a new road. The next learning curve for me will be the potential addition of chickens to our little farm. I’m used to larger animals so the addition of smaller creatures will be a change for me.

Thanks, Erika - I bet some of my readers can help her out with starting chickens! I'd also recommend my Chickens for Beginners series I wrote for Yard Farm Austin - i think i will re-post that over here in time for Spring.

This post also found at the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop.

Guest Post Coming Soon!

I have a little tease for you!  An old school mate of mine has generously offered to write up a guest post next week here at the homestead. She homeschools, farms, and strives to teach her girls where food really comes from.

I can't wait to share Erika's insights and musings with you all. Stay tuned!

Erika's daughters are learning about real food: from calf to table. Isn't he a cutey!

Nap Time

My husband and I both work the same Farmer's Market - he on Wednesday, me on Saturday. We both usually come home basically brain dead and foot sore. This is generally what happens to us around 4 pm, instead of picking blackberries or doing any other fun "you're off early, let's do something" activities we may have planned.

Corgis make the best nap pals.

Handmade Holidays - Macro Series

Woo hoo! The holidays are coming up! In........ like 4 months. Ha ha. For the first time in about 5 years, i'll actually be home for the holidays, with MY parents versus my husband's. I've loved sharing my family holiday traditions with my husband's family. I've loved camping on Christmas and forging our own traditions as a newly married family. I've loved learning his family's traditions and especially loved eating their Thanksgiving feast! But i'm pretty stoked to have Christmas back at my childhood home, with sledding!

I'm so excited. I'm also poor, as per usual and need to scheme up some handmade gifts. Handmade is almost always better, poor or not, and I always get a lot of joy out of hand crafting or cooking gifts for my loved ones. As an artist, I'm never at a loss for gifts to give, but this year I'll be focusing on my new fiber art skills, soap making, and other homey crafts vs fine art.

For a little bit of fun, I'm beginning a series of posts with macro images of my handiwork. Little teasers of the gifts to come, and after the holidays i'll post the projects in full. I'm excited to make, to give, and to show off the months to come.

Feel free to leave comments with your guesses as to what the items will be!
Here's the first one, destined for a certain sister of mine:

This post is also found at the Simple Lives Thursdays blog hop

Spinning a Yarn!

Clementine and I have been productive lately! Spinning singles, plying doubles, cleaning and skeining, I've even been experimentally crocheting (secret Christmas presents) with great success! Now, I just need to learn how to accurately measure my skeins so that I know how many yards are there... and to properly plan projects so that i know what to do with what.

My very first ball of plied handspun - spun and plied on a spindle

Increased productivity!

My first wheel-plied yarn, still unwashed and on the niddy noddy. Washing brings out the beauty and softness!

All washed and evened out. So bouncy and soft!

  Pretty, ay? Not bad for my first month on a wheel! I think i'm a natural. Hee hee. Lots of room for improvement, though. I can't wait for my first, almost totally evenly spun and plied skein. For now, i'm rocking the hand spun look of handspun, with some thick and thin action.

I'm not sure what critter this creamy white fiber came from. I procured a lot of nice fiber for a lady out in Henly, TX before I moved, and not all was labelled. It was nice to spin, and is very bouncy and mostly soft. I spun a bobbin full of singles, so i ended up with a bobbin and a half or so of plied yarn with a length of singles left over to add to something else. I have a feeling i'll have a lot of 'bits and pieces left over' to work with from now on. This skein is about 4.5 ounces and the other is a little less. I may dye one of them if one of my nice spinning friends hosts a dye day, hint hint hint. Or, i might try the koolaid method - i just prefer natural looking colors so i may just leave it as is.

What do you think, knitters and crocheters? Would you like working with this yarn, or is it still too lumpy and uneven for your tastes?

This post is part of the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

It's high pepper season here in the Willamette Valley. Red, orange, yellow and purple: there's a bounty of peppers, and they are sweet and delicious! I usually just chop them into my salads, but i felt the need for stuffing some last night. We probably only needed 2 each, quinoa is very filling, but i splurged with 3 each and we ate ever last lick.

For the filling:
Sautee seasonal veggies in a bit of olive oil with salt, pepper and the herbs/seasonings of your choice. My saute included chard, the pepper tops, garlic, onion, smoked paprika, kaffir salt and fresh basil.

Meanwhile, cook the quinoa as you would rice: one cup grain, 2 cups water and some salt. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400.

While each are cooking, cut the tops off some peppers and place in a baking dish.

When veggies are soft to your liking and quinoa is cooked, mix together plus a spoonful of mayo. I also added some turkey gelatin that i had from a previous night's meal. Spoon the mixture into the pepper cavities and top with an optional slice of cheese. Carefully place the baking dish into the oven and bake the peppers for 10-15 minutes, until the pepper walls are softening and the cheese is melted.

Serve as a meal or as a side, with knives and try to save the cheesey bites for last. Delish! Quinoa is a complete protein, so no need for meat in this wholesome vegetarian recipe.

Travel Log: Lovely Day for a Faire

I was a participant at the Shrewsbury Renaissance Festival this Sunday, and it was warm! Glad i wasn't there on Saturday though, as it was a Texas-style 100 degrees out there. I dressed as a pirate, and even got comfy with my 'me lady' and 'me lord' and 'good day's. I felt a little silly, but it was a good time. I AGAIN missed out on the turkey leg of my dreams, but enjoyed a cup of mead and viewed the jousting, which was really impressive. These guys weren't using break away lances, but rather using real equipment and gorgeous horses and costumry. One of the jousters busted his lip something fierce on Saturday - glad i didn't see that!

Kings Valley was a gorgeous place for a ren faire. Treed hills all around us, blue sky above, hay field below. It was a lovely day to be sure.

Looking for Inspiration and Hope

This post could be pretty profound, researched, detailed and poignant.  Instead it will be brief and to the point. 
Since moving to Oregon a few months ago, my husband and I have had pretty good luck, all things considered. I landed a well paying, half time job - that ends in November. He landed a low paying, full time job - that ends in November. Mine has been rewarding so far, and looks good on the resume. His pays the bills, gives him sore muscles, and provides us with all the fresh veggies we can eat - plus he's learning a lot about farming and making some new friends. We are constantly burdened, however with the knowledge that both of our gigs will be ending with the season. I guess that's more job security than some may have, but it makes planning for the future stressful and uncertain.

We've both been applying for jobs right and left. Jobs we'd love. Jobs that would pay decently. Jobs where we want to live. Jobs far away. Jobs. We, along with (what is it, 9% now?) many unemployed citizens are applying for as many jobs as we can, with mixed results. Our hopes go up, our hopes go down. We get excited about a potential opening, we get bummed out by a letter of 'thanks, but no thanks' in return. We each got one of those letters this week. I got two.

It's great to get a call back. It's even more great to get several, plus interviews! That's probably more than some can say in this economy. But call backs and interviews don't make a full time career that we can grow with. They just build up hope and make it that much harder to receive disappointment.

I like to wake up around 7 in the morning, whether i have a job to go to or not. Something about seeing the sun rise helps to fuel that hope again. It doesn't hurt to have a charming church right next door: a little reminder that there's more than just me and my husband out there. We have friends, family, and at least a little bit of faith to help inspire us and keep up the hope.

I do have my art and soap making to help pad the cracks. I currently have a small book deal and some commissions to work on, so my previously full time freelance art career has at least some life left in it. I'm terrible at marketing, however, and we both just really need consistent, reliable (is any job ever really reliable?) employment that will carry our family to our next homestead and provide the type of income that can support us and half a dozen animals. It takes a lot of investment to start out, and we're so ready to be 'there' now. At least we're in the right state. I guess if we both become out of work in November, we'll just take an extended Winter vacation, ay? Sigh.

Are you or anyone in your family struggling to find work? What do you do to keep your hope alive and spirits up?

Even Easier Frittatta Recipe

Back when we had laying hens, eggs were on the menu pretty darn often. We've been in an egg drought lately, but thankfully many of my new friends also have chickens. We're back in egg business! Not only back in business, back in excess: a friend gave me an extra dozen at the end of market last Sunday, so we've got a lot of eggs on our hands. What do i always think of for dinner when we have lots of eggs on hand?? Frittatta, of course! That impossible to spell, easy to cook, perfect dinner or brunch meal. 1 frittatta is perfect for a main course for 2 or a side for 4. Chock full of protein, and completely maliable to whatever seasonal veg you have in the garden or fridge, frittattas truly are the perfect weeknight meal.

I've cooked several variations of this dish in the past, from Some Kinda Chef's inspired version to my stand-by cooked to perfection, without a recipe for my Grandmother's 90th birthday. As with many of my recipes, my frittattas are always just suggestions rather than rules. The method is generally the same, but the ingredients seasonal. I fiddled with my method the other night, however. And it was delicious!  I usually saute the vegetable ingredients first, set them aside, layer sliced potatoes back in the warm pan, top with the veg, and top with beaten eggs mixed with optional milk and cheese. This time i skipped the sautee, and the results were different, but great!

Even Easier Fritatta Recipe

• 3 small new potatoes or one large baking potato, microwaved for about a minute and sliced very thinly
• 2 chard leaves, chopped finely (or kale, or spinach, or....)
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 1 elephant garlic clove, or 2 regular garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 large tomato, or 2 small tomatoes
• 1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 small cauliflower head, sliced (or broccoli)
• 6 eggs
• splash milk
• Herbs/seasonings: salt, pepper, basil, paprika, etc
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

Instead of sauteing the veggies, i started the layer right away. A thin drizzle of olive oil first, then the layer of potato slices. Keep the slices thin and overlap them slightly. This layer is your 'crust.' I used those purple majesty potatoes again: yum! Fry the potatoes for a few minutes on med/high heat without stirring them at all. You could put a lid on the pan for this part - you just want to be sure the potatoes will get soft and cooked in the oven. Preheat to 375. Turn off the heat to the pan and start layering the veggies. You don't have to wait for the pan to cool. I layered min in this order, but you can mix it up however you'd like. Jalapenos, onions, garlic first layer. Cauliflower second layer. Cheese. Zucchini slices (round slices, not overlapping). Chard to cover the rest, be sure it's chopped up pretty well. Top with the egg mixture: 6 beaten eggs with a splash of milk and any herbs/seasonings you like. The eggs might not 'cover' all the veggies, but that's okay. The final layer should be thinly sliced tomatoes arranged evenly spaced on the top. The juice from the tomatoes will help counteract the shortness of the egg mixture, and all will end up cooking down and amalgamating themselves together.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until cooked through: the top should bounce back if pressed and their shouldn't be any egg gooeyness apparent. Enjoy with a delicious fresh salad of seasonal salad greens, fresh un-cooked corn, fresh raw shredded beats, bell peppers, a little more fresh tomato, some roasted sunflower seeds and a splash of oil and vinegar. This is a late Summer meal fit for anyone's table! Gorgeous! (Too bad my camera has been having a hard time focusing in the dim light of my new kitchen, after being dropped by my 'sous chef' of a husband. Snarf.)

This post is part of the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop!

Birthday Dinner Practice

Thanks to Diana over at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa for this great recipe! I didn't do much tweaking to her original recipe, other than by using what i had on hand instead of seeking out some other ingredients.

I'll be making this meal for my daddo for his birthday next week, and wanted to practice it once on us to be sure I didn't mess anything up for his special day. I had some elk cube steak defrosted with intentions of grilling it, but the weather turned crisp and my hubs brought home some green beans and purple potatoes and cauliflower, so this fried and baked steak meal was practically foretold.

Check out Diana's page for the original recipe for Fried Minute Steaks. My variations included:

• 3 elk cube steaks in lieu of the beef 'minute steaks'
• Rich turkey stock in lieu of beef stock
• More onions
• Less oil
• Additions of garlic, cayenne peppers, rosemary and sage
• Purple potatoes and cauliflower for the mash
• A side of quickly sauteed green beans for more veg

This meal was truly to die for. Or to live for, i guess! I happen to have a meat tenderizer, despite rarely cooking red meat in the past. I've always used it to make Kim Chee, and it came in handy for beating the already thin steaks into more tender submission. These steaks were truly forkable, and the oniony gravy was to DIE for! Especially slathered all over the purple mash.

• Half a dozen small to medium sized Purple Majesty potatoes
• 1 head of cauliflower
• Water to boil
• 1 egg
• Splash milk
• Optional butter/ oil/ crushed garlic

I forgot the garlic this time around, but the general 'purple mash' recipe simply calls for cauliflower and potatoes steamed or boiled until tender. Pour out the water, add one egg and a splash of milk plus the garlic if using or any other herbs/seasonings you'd like and blend/whip or mash. Add a hint of oil or butter at the end for extra creamyness. As decadent as mashed potatoes,  with fewer carbs due to the cauliflower. The purple is just fun, don't you think?


What would you cook your pa for his birthday?

Thoughts on Labor Day ....

Happy Labor Day, everybody. Today is a day for rest, bbqs, parties and travel. For some....

This is the 4th or 5th year that I have been home alone (with a ton of home and freelance chores) for Labor Day, or that i've been working. I don't remember my husband ever having Labor Day off, except when he worked at AT&T... As a customer service agent... In an office. Wearing a suit... And tie...

After AT&T, he took a job at Stone Care of Austin where he worked hard LABOR cleaning and restoring various stone projects including mantels, counters, floors, etc usually for large corporations or very rich people and politicians with very fancy homes. Although he broke his back daily with long, unpredictable hours, often on weekends or at night, his LABOR was not rewarded with a day off. Currently, he works as a field LABORER for a local organic farm. They treat him very well, but he does not have the day off because the work of a farmer is never done, nor is the work for the farmer's field LABORER.

This trend makes me sit back and think. Wasn't Labor Day created to ensure that those who worked the hardest were given a day off to enjoy a long weekend and get some rest? It seems to me that Labor Day has become a day for folks to skip wearing their suits and ties and to go out to parties, take a trip, or go shopping, served by shop LABORERS who do not have the day off. Do those suit wearers, who are generally paid a great deal more than the LABORERS in fields, who may not have the skill set or education required to work more high ranking jobs, really deserve another day off? Don't most of those folks get paid time off that they could use at their discretion with a little forward planning? PTO??? I haven't gotten to use that term in my own daily life since i was laid off from the Austin Museum of Art back in 2000whatever when the economy crashed. PTO? My family has to carefully weight the benefits of an extra day camping or traveling to family weddings vs a day's lost wages. No PTO, overtime, sick leave or even national holidays for us.

I currently work 2 days a week at a temporary job, and am applying like a mad thing at all sorts of full time jobs, some of which i'm incredibly excited and hopeful about. I also work as a freelance artist, which gives me the most flexibility of all work schedules. So, i'm not complaining about having to 'workin' myself this Labor Day. I get to draw cute critters that make people happy, make a  bit of money, and also have time to walk our dog past the fields where my husband and fellow field LABORERS are sweating on this Labor Day.....  It just makes me pause and think about the irony.

If you have today off, please stop and think about where the meat and veggies on your grill came from: field LABORERS worked from dawn til dusk, literally, tending those crops. The waiters and shop employees don't have today off, in order to lavish you with Labor Day sales and tasty treats. If you have today off, say thank you to those who are working to make your holiday enjoyable, and who work hard every day yet don't get to enjoy a day off for Labor Day this year.

It seems to me that many national holidays today feel like just a chance for sales, bbqs, or an excuse to skip work and school....   
What do you think about national holidays? Do you feel that their original purposes are still being upheld?

Success? Failure? I can't tell

It's blackberry season around here. On the roadsides. By the sidewalks. In people's yards. Along the rivers. Everywhere you go: blackberries by the poundful! Just waiting to be picked by crows or passersby willing to get a few finger pricks in exchange for some delicious (and free!) fruit. My husband and i have done just that and we now have a few freezer bags full of the berries, ready to be made into pie or crisp when the weather gets a little cooler, and i also did an experiment with a quartful.

I love my favorite cookbook, Nourishing Traditions - but alas it is packed somewhere far away. So, i looked to gnowfglins.com for some ideas. I wanted to try some kind of fermenting for this fruit, and Wardeh gave me a great sounding recipe. I tried it out, and i have no idea if i did it right. The recipe calls for fruit, natural sweetener (i used honey), no sugar needed pectin (optional), and whey. Mush it all together and put it in your favorite fermenting crock, or mason jar and let ferment for 2 days then refrigerate.

Mushed, jarred, ready for action!

After two days, I didn't perceive that any fermentation had even started. No bubbling. No fizzing. Nothing. So i left the crocks out for the normal amount of fermenting time: a week or so. I sure got some bubbling and fizzing! But I'm afraid i may have just started the process of wine making. My resultant jam/sauce smells awfully winy.... can we say alcoholic? I haven't actually had the gumption of trying it for fear of early morning intoxication with my yogurt or toast.

Good and fizzy! But is it suitable for eating, or is it just wine must?

Guess I'll just have to eat a few spoonfuls and see if my ability to drive is affected. Ha!

Have you ever had questionable success fermenting things?


This post can be found on the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop.