November 2009

Making lamb stew is a mixed blessing. I happen to love the taste of lamb but that is not shared by the entire family here on the compound. So when I invited my brother and his girl friend over for lamb stew I was walking a thin line.

The good news about the stew recipe I used is that somehow all the onions and garlic minimized the taste of lamb. Hence a lamb stew that didn’t taste like lamb.

 I used a recipe out of Cooking Light http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1142001 and cooked with lamb from our farm, all the veges: potatoes, onions, carrots, onions, garlic and turnips from the farmers market, rosemary from my pot in the window, and organic vegetable broth in place of the requested beef buillion.  I substituted carrots for the sweet potatoes and used rice flour in place of wheat for gluten free Jen.  Alongside was a lettuce salad, we’re fortunate in Minnesota to have local hydroponic lettuce and tomatoe growers so we can have it local year round. The crusty loaf of bread from the local bakery delivered by my brother, here for the holiday.  In honor of his visit I also cooked the last of the beets from our summer garden.

 I did take a picture but am having technical difficulties putting it on line from flickr so once again don’t have one of my pretty stew and salad. The beets were especially colorful.  oh well, there’s lots of photo opps in the weeks to come.

My daughter Laura has invited all of us to join the 3rd annual Dark Days of Winter Challenge. For anyone new to eating locally and living a sustainable lifestyle Laura is a true inspiration.  She and Mike live on three and a half acreas of heaven in Arlington WA, about 45 miles north of Seattle. On their small farm they have laying chickens and a huge garden, raised meat chickens, and shop locally for the rest of their meat and produce.  Her blog, www.urbanhennery.com  was featured this past Sunday in the local paper, http://bit.ly/1LWUgm so you can read more about her.

 This year I’ve accepted the challenge and it requires that I post my weekly meal, with pictures, to share with the others in the group.  Sunday was the beginning of the challenge and we cooked our first local meal as a pre Thanksgiving feast to send our son Danny off to Vail for the winter. (more on his adventures later)

In the excitement of the meal I totally forgot to take picture but here is what I cooked.

 Homegrown chicken baked in the oven stuffed with homegrown rosemary, garlic and an organic lemon from who knows where (one of my exceptions to the rule)  on a bed of chopped veges: carrots, onions, turnips

 local red mashed potatoes and homemade gravy with the drippings and veges

romanesque brocolli from the last farmers market in Minneapolis

homemade danish pastry

locally made icecream and homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert

next time I’ll be sure to take pictures….

The long rainy days here in Minnesota certainly didn’t leave much time for fall. Like many of you I feel like I missed having time outside wrapped in the colors and essence of autumn. I did sneak in time with Dan for my favorite fall hike out at Baker last week. Even though there wasn’t a lot of color on the hillsides the maple forest was glowing.  It’s always a magical moment when you walk into the soft light under the canopy of yellows and golds.  As I walked I had memories of all the kyds running off the path exploring the woods.

And now it’s November. It was always the “no” month for daycare. No barefeet, no flowers, no leaves on the trees, no swimming, no shorts, no hot days, no popsicles… you can complete your own list. 

Once we’re done with all the no’s there’s also the YES! of November. It’s the turnover month, a time of anticipation.  Hats - yes,  new horizons opened up by the loss of the leaves on trees - yes,  my winter wardrobe - yes (I love fleece and flannel), fires and hot chocolate - yes, the first real snowfall - yes!

 So I say goodbye and mourn the no’s of November but I do look forward to all the yes! of the months to come.