Today

Today has been a day of:

soaking up hot showers, my bones are still not use to this cold.

frying up bacon with brussel sprouts. Dash of minced garlic, and I am in heaven.

fixing couscous. Specifically whole wheat couscous with pomegranate and shrimp. My supper tonight, both our lunches tomorrow. (His with pretzels on the side, mine with more brussel sprouts, because bacon is delicious.)

drinking a jelly jar of white zin. Again, my bones are still not use to this cold.

anticipating a mailbox full of goodness. 

contemplating good things to come. I am just around the bend from great big changes. The sort of changes that require lots of before and after pictures, and lots of hours of peeling and painting and scrubbing.

I hope all your worlds are as gloriously delicious as mine, but with a few degrees tacked on the thermometer.

Frosty Mornings...

The chickens are tractored right out near the brassicas right now. When I went out to feed the ladies this morning I realized that there was a real solid frost last night. Beautiful, but a little scary.

Luckily, it looks like they survived this round. Plus, as a bonus the cold killed some of the cabbage-pillers. Hopefully we will have broccoli and brussel sprouts, if they can survive just a little longer. 

Farmers Market of the Ozarks

Farmer's Market of the Ozarks meets every Saturday out on the southeast corner of town. They have delicious goodies year round. They are also pet friendly, so I often take Baggins when the work schedule allows. It is amazing how affordable local healthy produce is when you take out the middle-grocer.

This week's haul:

Kabocha - 2.00 - Echigo Farm

Brussel Sprouts - 2.50

Smoked Gouda - Springhill Dairy

Pork Cutlets - 7.00 - Real Farm Foods

Overall, great additions to my table this week. The brussel sprouts have already made it onto two plates, and the cheese is going to disappear in no time.

Even Baggins managed to get himself a treat, a big ol' smoked cow ribcage from Real Farm Foods. Happy doggy.

Can't wait to see what we get next week.

Martinmas

Today is Martinmas, a traditional harvest festival that has traditionally occurred across Europe.

You can read up on Wikipedia about all the details, the short version is that it is a Catholic holiday that combines a harvest feast with a Saints Day.

The main features of the celebration are massive harvests and slaughters as well as walks where small children go door to door seeking treats while carrying lanterns. (Picture is Wikipedia Commons
Bild 194-0273-38.)

I love the lantern projects you can find. Frontier Dreams has a precious tutorial for a bright paper lantern they made this year.

I have a soft spot for harvest festivals, yet Thanksgiving in the United States feels tainted by the sins of my forefathers. Martinmas is a holiday that I will keep in mind as years pass and traditions need created.

Autumn Hand Pies

Lately I have been taking Sam lunches at the glass shop and at the flower shop where he works, so I am always on the lookout for easy meals that aren't too messy. Hand pies are such an basic meal that won't drip everywhere, and fit nicely in a lunch bag.

I tend to make hand pies with whatever goodies I have on hand. All the summer veggies are gone, but lots of yummy autumn crops still exist, and meat never goes out of season.

Autumn Hand Pies - Makes Two Servings

Ingredients:

1 Cup - Chopped cabbage. (I got this particular head from Echigo Farm.)
1/4 Cup - Cranberries. Fresh.
1/2 Cup - Ham, precooked and chopped up into small pieces. I freeze up small batches of ham in advance for this sort of project.
1 1/2 Tbs - Butter.
1 Pie Crust, uncooked. You can make your own, use one you froze in advance, or  use a store bought roll out one.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Toss in the cranberries, wait a couple minutes and then throw in the cabbage and chopped ham. Wait until the cabbage is cooked down and the cranberries have popped.

Set out the pie crust and cut it in half. Each half becomes one pie, aka one serving.

Place half of the cabbage-cranberry-ham goodness on half of each pie crust piece.

Fold the crust over, and use a fork to press the two pieces together.

Bake in an oven until the top is toasty and brown. Usually about 12 - 15 minutes. I would show you a picture of the finished product, but it was just too delicious and got gobbled down.