paletteable

Dot

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:32:58 GMT

Dot was sick yesterday. I moved her into her own box. Today, she is lonely, but happy, and feeling great. Even though she's almost as tall as the box is deep, she likes to look out her porthole. I like to look in.

Roselle Redux

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:17:00 GMT

We've eaten a couple jars already. Yes, it is that good. The photo doesn't do justice. What a color. And it tastes just exactly the way it looks. Fruity, with a hint of cinnamon. Why, I don't know. This is made from the tart "red zinger" roselle, lemon, and sugar.

And here's Roselle today. Since we haven't had a frost, she keeps on blooming and bearing. We've sold baskets of the calcyes. I've been drying baskets more. And the tea has kept me free of the flu. Or at least that's my story.

From the Blackberry Patch

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:54:37 GMT

Smitty & I have been taking some early morning walks. It's been pretty foggy most mornings...but on this day...just glorious...sun peeking through the pines...the strata of color. I wish I could bottle the smell of that field.

The Field Below

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:51:48 GMT

The lower field has some gorgeous grasses and weeds.

Hot Mulch with Sheep

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:48:07 GMT

We had 6 loads of mulch (this is one) delivered over the past couple of weeks. Every morning, I'm blown away by the steaming aromatic mountains. They compost incredibly fast. I've actually pulled out shovelfuls of ash. Holly and Sally approve of the mountains. They go mountain climbing in their spare time.

Biddies

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:43:47 GMT

Yes, it's that time of year again. These are 2 day old biddies...our meat birds...hatched on the 3rd of November.

Nuked Flamingo

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:40:03 GMT

So what goes on at the downtown Gainesville farmers market? Well, sometimes there's a parade. This fellow appears to be a flamingo damaged by radioactivity. Or something. He was in an anti-nuclear-reactor parade. Told me, "Anything worth doing is worth doing all the way."

Playing Catch-up

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:34:32 GMT

So much has been going on! More than a month of garden progress...and still no frost! Ag forecast sez: lows in the 50s and 60s through Nov 29. What? A green Thanksgiving?

Here are some pics from the end of October:

Carolina Wonders & Jimmy Nardellos. Still going gangbusters here at the end of November!

The Last of the Seminoles.

Yamatos Phase II. We're eating these beauties now. Hope to have enough to put up a few more quarts of bread & butter pickles.

Green Cotton Rides Again. Yes...much to everyone's dismay, the cotton, which was all picked, has decided to have another go round. Many new bolls are underway. In this picture, you can see blossoms (folded up and pink) and baby bolls. Our DPI guy couldn't believe his eyes and left the weevil trap in for an extra month. We're out of the weevil woods now, so he finally did pull the trap...yesterday.

Spotty & Red

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:47:19 GMT

Remember a few months back, the saga of Wingie? Well, see Spotty? She is one of Wingie's chicks (sired by Blackie), all grown up. She lays a beautiful brown egg, every day. Spotty lives with Red in a little compound of their own. They share the digs with George, aka Garden Roo. Their "compound" started when Red and another young hen, Blue, were injured. I took them out of the main flock so they could heal without being pestered by the roosters, and made a run for them in one of the big gardens. We built a little coop right in the middle. Wingie and the chicks later moved into the compound. Now, "the compound" is down to the two hens and their rooster buddy. They are separated from the rest of the RI Red flock by chicken fence...so they see each other, but they don't compete for food...or anything else.

Roselle Today

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:37:18 GMT

Look at how the plant has matured. The blossoms (and their calyces)started along the main center stems. Now, every stem, branch, and branchlet is loaded. I picked one of those lovely red things the other day, trying to gauge seedpod maturity. After 3 days, the pod had dried and popped open, and I shook 30 perfectly beautiful black seeds out. So...I could start harvesting anytime I want.

My first purpose in growing this plant was to grow a gorgeous plant. Second purpose was to grow a useful plant...thinking JELLY!!! But, then, I found out all of the other uses roselle has. Well, I grew several of these gorgeous plants. Now, I'm up for making jelly...but my old Florida recipe calls for orange pectin. So, I am on a mission to find some organically grown oranges. Orange pectin is made from dried pith.

There's a farmers market this afternoon. I'm gonna be asking around. Please let me know if you know of anyone with unsprayed orange trees.

The Jewel of the Garden

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:20:54 GMT

Roselle - "Florida Cranberry"

This picture was taken exactly one month ago. I can’t seem to get myself in synch. Here you can see the hibiscus-like flowers and little buds rising from the stem. Wait’ll you see how the plant looks now!

This plant is, officially, my favorite plant. Here are things you can do with this plant: 1) eat the leaves – in France, this plant is called sorrel; in fact, the leaves taste just like sorrel, 2) make tea with the calyces – just like rose hip tea, 3) make jelly with the calyces – yum yum, 4) make a jellied “sauce” like cranberry sauce with the calyces, 5) make dye with the spent flowers, 6) make fiber – yes roselle is a bast plant! Quite a lot of bang for the ol’ buck, yes?

Kurogoma - "Black Sesame"

Back in August, TT gave me some seeds at the downtown farmers market. They were black sesame seeds. Of course, we couldn’t wait. Planted 6 of them. The all germinated. A month ago, this is how Miss Sesame looked. Great little flowers! Now…well. The seedpods are – well…I have to take more pictures tomorrow.

Right now, though, we're off to the 4th farmers market of the week...our very own! in beautiful downtown Trenton. Later on, we will be playing for dancers at the Kickin' Devil Cafe in Gainesville. Show starts at 7. Here's a pic from last month...

Fall Color

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:42:47 GMT

[Heads up...Cross Post: This was posted on dancingwoolymasters.wordpress.com]

This is a colander full of beautyberries. Pretty intense color. I’ve been cutting them and making wild bouquets with goldenrod. For years. Well, this year, I heard tell of a jelly made from beautyberry. Lenore, daring wench that she is, went first. She found “the mother lode” on her 10 acres. She was so daring she even added wine. Well. I tasted her jelly. I tasted the berries. I knew I had to make some.

Lenore the Enabler showed up at the farmers market with a big fat bag of berries. Almost enough for the “recipe.” On one of Smitty’s morning sojourns, I picked enough to make enough jelly for the Western World. I didn’t add wine. Just berries, pectin, and sugar.

Here you go. Five half-pints of jelly. Scarlet jelly. Now, how did that happen? The violet berries produced an amber colored juice. When the pectin hit...instant color change! I'd never used pectin before, so I didn't know what to expect. The jelly set right up...ka-boom! Heck in a handbasket, it's just like store-bought. Except it tastes herbal, wild, and like nothing that Publix would ever carry. Yum.

Thanks Lenore!

Oh...and the recipe...should anyone out there care to dare:

1 1/2 qts beautyberries
2 qts water
1 pkt pectin
4 1/2 c sugar

Start a boiling water canner rolling. Prepare 5 1/2 pt jars, lids, and bands.

Rinse and pick over berries. Ditch the stems. Cover the berries with the water. Bring to a boil...let boil for 20 minutes. Mash the berries a bit. Strain.

Use 3 c of the berry juice. (You'll have another 3 c left to refrigerate to make more at a later date.) Bring the juice to a boil. Whisk in an envelope of pectin. (I used Ball brand.) As it boils, whisk in the sugar (all at once) and bring a 2nd boil. Let it boil hard for a minute.

Remove from heat. Skim off the "stuff" on top. Pour into sterilized 1/2 pt jars with 1/4" headspace. Process for 10 minutes.

Holly Knows How to Hide

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:11:33 GMT

Holly Hogan is a funny one. I came out to feed the chickens, and there she was, head between two poles, looking at me. I fed the chickens, walked around, talked to her. And there she stood, with her head between two poles, looking at me. I went in the house, got the camera, and there she was. Yes. I really think she thought she was hiding, and being a Peeping Holly.

After about 10 minutes, Sally decided to walk through the frame.

Right on by. You think?

Ahem. No. Here we go. Sally is trying to knock down the telephone pole - so Holly can't hide any more. Didn't work. Good try, though.

Turtle in the Peas

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:36:27 GMT

Three sisters garden, late August...corn is spent, Seminole punkins have crawled out of the garden and are running through the lawn, blooming, and setting fruit. Sky is loaded with color and that strange dark light that comes right after a rain when the sun peeks through.

Along the fence, behind the 3 sisters, grapes ramble. This is a vine of muscadines, the type of grape that grows here. Not many grapes left on this young vine. This picture is for my northern gang who thinks of bunches of blue concords when I say "The grapes are coming in."

The reason for the camera in my basket was this stand of black crowder peas. They've gone all gorgeous on me. They are late season, 100 day black peas. When they're boiled, the water turns - well, black. Not for those folks who want clear pea water. But, a great treat for black bean lovers. Negros y moros made with these peas is a perfect quick treat. And the vines! Look at these vines!

Well, when I was studying these peas, I heard crashing behind me. And then I saw the plants along the fence line moving and shaking. More crashing noises. I was fairly trapped against a pretty tall fence, and all I could think of was "snake."

Not a snake - but a turtle in the peas. She's a biggie, she is. In beautiful shape, too. Kept trying to crawl through the field fence, and failing. Made her way the entire length of the field, until she banged up against the chicken fence in the pea patch. I put her in my basket and dropped her over the fence, into the next field, where she'll have fewer gardeners to worry about, and more bunnies, turtles, and birds to hang with.

International Corny Goodness

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:20:03 GMT

Here's a summer basket. Eggs from the RI Red hens, a handful of muscadines, and the first pickings of Floriani flint corn.

The hens have been laying eggs long enough to be pros. But, the muscadines are just coming in...our bronze grapes produced many many sweet juicy fruits, and the purple grapes bore only a few. Oh, wait! There's more...

Look at that corn. That is a red flint corn - a grinding corn. This variety is a native American corn that was carted to Italy many moons ago. In it's Italian tenure, this humble corn became the famous pink polenta corn of the Valsugana Valley. Recently, Floriani was brought back to the States, and we've turned our corn fields over from last year's Hickory King dent corn to this beautiful red stuff.

This is what Floriani looks like ground into meal. It's a beautiful red flecked warm yellow corn meal. These ears are still drying, but they ground easily, and almost completely. Still, there was a little bit of tough stuff left for the hens.

And here is our first pan of Floriani corn bread: it's very yellow, very corny, with a nice crumb. This wasn't a high rising bread. My guess is that the moist meal made a heavier than normal batter. What a flavor, though! Where the Hickory King has an almost peanut-buttery flavor, the Floriani is the corniest corn around. Delicious and beautiful.

This variety grew very well here, outperforming projected growth rates. Supposedly a medium sized corn, our plants grew to 10 feet tall and better. We are seeing one ear per stalk for the most part, with some carrying two ears. Pollenation was easily achieved with Tom's "3-sisters" planting. Even with staggered planting (we have some rows just tasselling this week) production has been consistently high. We're leaning towards choosing Floriani for next year's corn.

A Giant Bunch of Grapes

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:41:43 GMT

This is our famous Riesentraube, the cherry tomato with the biggest cluster of blossoms I've ever seen. "Up to 350 flowers," says the seedman. Looks like more than that to me. These tomatoes seem to be resistant to the bad things that come along in midsummer in the Florida garden. I will knot speak their names.

Our early tomatoes are spent...Brandywine, Eva, and Roma, so the Riesentraubes, sturdy German heirlooms, rule the next few weeks. Tom's been transplanting flats of Evas to be ready for the garden at the end of the month, but, they'll be moving into a different plot. Framed by Genovese and Purple Ruffles basil and old fashioned vining petunias, Riesentraube, the "giant bunch of grapes," is the darling of the midsummer garden - and the farmers markets.

Red, the Garden Roo

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:32:57 GMT

The wild red bird moved stealthily through the stand of dog fennel. He paused to admire his reflection in the blossom of a red cosmos. He pecked at a young green Seminole punkin. He hunkered down and waited. When the food bringer lady bent down to pull an overgrown pusley from the base of a basil plant, his eyes twinkled. He took a deep breath, threw his head back, and let loose a trumpeting crow that sent the food bringer lady flying back onto her butt. She nearly crushed a Roselle - that old Florida cranberry - but managed to land on soft sand between the rows, instead.

Later that week, as she decided which red boys to send to heaven (also known as the big cold white box in the spare room) she thought of the Garden Roo. Nope. A big red bird with a sense of humor was more than welcome in her garden.

Weevil Trap

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:19:06 GMT

We grow cotton. Not a lot. But we do grow some cotton. This year, I've planted 2nd generation long staple green cotton.

When we had our nursery field inspection, dum da dum dum...we were told to apply for a permit. I did. We are now legal. But part of the deal is regular monitoring by the Div of Plant Industry...for boll weevils.

So, in this picture, you can see my beautiful, healthy, joyously abundant cotton plants, some crazy red cosmos, lots of our own wild marigold, and a lime green plastic baited weevil trap - the perfect tacky summer accessory.

So far...no weevils, and the bolls are multitudinous. Last year, we had no pesky weevils. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Our Last Dance in June

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:25:13 GMT

Last night, we played in Tampa…and caller Andy Kane drove. That was wonderful. Our truck is the apple of my eye, but, face it, it rides like a truck. Imagine that. But with the out back of Tom, we needed all the help we could get. The local chiropractor has been seeing more of Tom than anyone else. Anyway, a blast from the past walked in the door of the Rhapsody Ballroom (or as Tom says, the "Rap City" Ballroom)a woman we met at our Slow Jam in Boca Raton way back when. She brought us killer no Killer brownies, too. Let me introduce to you, Dr Patricia. Um, she's a music doctor, so don't go trying to make an appointment with her.

Before we left…after packing everything up and counting the cords twice, I dug out my camera and snagged a picture. Look at this post-punk princess! How gorgeous! She makes black dancing sneaks look cool!

The rest of the month, we’ll be splitting time between the studio and the garden…and if you want to see us you’ll have to come to the farmers markets…either Trenton or Tioga. Or the chiropractor’s office.

Note to the Universe: I am posting a monthly calendar of the Flying Turtles String Band gigs, both performances and dances, on the FTSB Blog aka FlyingTurtlesStringBand.wordpress.com. So, if you would like to know where you can catch us at any given time...please check there. The link is on the left of this page...under Other Places. Thank you very much.

Carolina Wrens on the Wire, Exploding Gardens, and a FTSB Update

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:37:48 GMT

This one's for you, Cathy!

A week ago, or so, I was poking through the shed, and saw a wren nest holding 5 little eggs. I thought, ok, step up from the orchid cactus, but still...it's about 800 degrees in that shed, mama bird. Well...the other day, we were packing up to go to a farmers market, and we needed chairs, so...off to the shed...and this is what I found. Here you can see 2 newborn birdlings...just a few feathers...really long faces...oh so cute. Mama, or Daddy, one or the other, flew in while I was snapping the picture, and flew out screaming. I thought, "Oh great, these guys will be abandoned." But, nooooooooo. Today I checked. There are 3 babies that I can see...the nest is sort of on its side...there may actually be more. With lots of feathers and downiness. Oh my word!

Market Gardening

Here's what we're selling at the Farmers' Markets in the area:

Yamato - the Best Cukes on Earth!

Red Pontiacs - Retro New Potatoes

Cocozelle Italian Heirloom Squash...Big and Juicy

Large Brown Eggs from Free Rangin' Rhode Island Reds

We've been expanding our sales through more farmers markets. Monday, we went to the Tioga market with Susan of the luxurious goat's milk soap and fresh chevre. We brought Cocozelles, Yamato cukes, Red Pontiac potatoes, Contenders snap beans, and shelly beans from the Rattlesnake vines gone wild. We also brought 7 dozen eggs. Just about sold out. Good feeling.
We recently got our nursery license, so we'll be able to sell plants...herbs, flowers, veggies, what have you, as well.

Of course, that's not all we're up to. We've been on the road...

Here we are, ye olde Flying Turtles, sitting on the Turnpike, sitting, I say...for an hour and a half...sitting...still...on the way to the Melbourne dance. We ran in to the hall with about 15 minutes to spare. Saw a lot of old pals from SoFla, who made the run up the coast. Brian Kushner (who shares the same birthday as moi) called. Three Tauruses making a dance. That was very cool. What wasn't very cool is that we managed to leave a 50 ft speaker cord "somewhere."

Last night, we played a dance in Live Oak at Camp Weed. I kid you not. Shut up. There were some 120 teenagers who just needed to learn to contra dance. So...we helped 'em out. Jan, a newish caller, did the honors.

Not an easy picture to take. That was a really fun gig. The kids were great. The caller was ready for the spa at the end of the dance.

This coming Saturday night, we're playing in Tampa, and Andy Kane is calling. Hey, how about another Road Trip!!! The dance will be at the Rhapsody Ballroom. We're hoping to see Dr. Patricia there!!!!

From the Field...

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:51:41 GMT

Two gallons of blackberries equals...this much jam. This was from the first picking. I have another 2 gallons in the fridge. I started running them through the food mill this morning...almost done...so tonight, when it cools off, I can make more jam.

If you've been to Dove's Roost, you know that beyond the fence, in the field, well, there are a couple acres of blackberries. And they are really coming into their own right about now. It's just plain too hot this time of day to even consider berry picking. We're sitting at just under 100 degrees right now. But, first thing in the morning, or second thing, after the critters get fed and watered, if you pull on your heavy duty work pants, knee socks and combat boots, you can snag yourself some seriously delicious stuff in no time flat.

I'm a lifelong berry picker. One of my first memories, of an experience that I do believe truly shaped my psyche, was picking blackberries and raspberries alongside the railroad tracks in my hometown in RI, in that funny little spot where there is no shoulder. Meaning, you have to stand on the tracks to pick the berries. Well, my mother and I were picking, all the while making up silly songs and singing at the top of our voices, and really seeking out the perfect berries. We didn't hear the train. Til the whistle blew. We went flying into the bushes...which ran straight down a cliff into a gully. All the way down into the pit, we rolled through, over, under, and inside blackberry bushes and raspberry bushes twined together with thorns from hell. I had more scratches than freckles. My mother, too. Oh we were both shaking. But, by the time we got home we were cracking up and very ticked off that most of the berries had gone flying. But not ALL. Heh.

When I was translating Russian stories for a living, I was drawn to one modern writer's opus called, "The Taste of Thorns at Dawn." That, I could relate to.

Who Said Bread & Butter?

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:26:51 GMT

Tom's Tuna Sandwich Loaded with Pickles

As promised...here's the review of my first ever batch of bread & butter pickles. Last month, I took a canning class given by Dr Williams and Ms Turner from UF's IFAS Extension. And, don't you know, they gave us ten tons of literature and recipes for all things canned and pickled. And, yes, I have used at least one recipe...for pickled green beans, and they did rock. But their recipe for bread and butter pickles was so huge, so enormous, that I restrained myself. Rule of thumb, don't go messin' with the quantities of anything in a pickling recipe.

So, what did I do? What any other red-blooded Floridian would do. Pulled The Joy of Cooking off the shelf and found...a smaller bread & butter pickle recipe. I used 2 1/2 yamato cukes (exactly 2 1/2 pounds) and one big fat sweet onion, all freshly picked from Tom's big garden, to make 3 pints. Chilling the sliced cucumbers and onions under an ice blanket took 3 hours. The brine took 2 minutes. The canning kettle makes sterilizing jars a snap. That's the easy part. The hard part is waiting a month to try them. After all, these yamatos are not pickling cukes. You just aren't supposed to use slicers for pickles. But, I did. And you know what?

As soon as the daily bread was cool enough, I made lunch. Albacore with sweet onion. Pickles on the side. I gave Tom the honor of popping that first jar open. Ahhh. Now, remember, these pickles are less than a day old, let alone a month.

Here's another look...

Now, you have to keep in mind that these are slicing cucumbers. I didn't peel them - because the yamato has such a thin skin that it is as tender as a bevis...yet, as cukes go...it is very crisp. How do they look to you? You have to understand, we are picky about our pickles here. No artificial colors and cloying candy taste, no metallic dilliness is allowed here. Crisp, sweet and succulent are the descriptors I want to hear come out of your mouth when you eat my bread & butter pickles. So, when I tell you that these yamato bread & butters passed the test, I'm telling you that they are awesome.

Or, they were...

This is what's left of pint #1.

Dove's Roost in June

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:22:39 GMT

Floriani Flint Corn

Taken on the 12th of June, this photo shows a part of our 2nd generation 3-sisters garden featuring Floriani flint corn, a red polenta corn, Cherokee cornfield beans, and Seminole pumpkins. This corn has done some traveling. Originally, it was taken to Italy from America, where it became, over hundreds of years, the famous pink polenta corn of the Valsugana valley. It's back, and we are thrilled to be growing this very old-fashioned native American corn. The corn patch is greener, fuller, and more amazing every day. We chose these organic heirloom seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, who has never sold us a single dud. Thanks SESE. (NB: Because we aren't land barons, we couldn't grow Hickory King again this year. Corn varieties need to be separated by a mile. So, this little adventure will help us decide which variety to plant next year.)

Brandywine Tomatoes

This row of potato-leaved beauties shouldn't be here. See, I managed to mislabel a packet of seeds saved from last years harvest...and the words "Eva Purple Ball" showed up where "Brandywine" should be. Well, it was only 20 plants. But that meant finding a spot some several hundred feet away from the other tomatoes we were raising for pure seed...in a spot where we hadn't grown nightshades in the last 3 years. Oh bother. More digging. How I keep my girlish figure. So, where did we plant these big lovelies? In the rattlesnake patch.

Rattlesnake Beans

This is, hands down, my favorite variety of pole bean. We've eaten them til they came out our ears, and the small freezer is full of them. I've sold them at the farmers market, and pickled them, as well. My favorite bean. On the planet. They are now going all senescent on me...saying, "Girl, now we are shelly beans. Take it or leave it." I'll take it. Is there anything as delicious as a braise of shelly beans, squash, tomato and onion? Ha!

Onions, Evas, Marigolds, and Basil

Our lower garden is Tom's labor of love. He started this garden off with wide rows of onions, yellow, white, and supersweet, and 3 rows of garlic, too. Between these rows, he put in more rows in which he interplanted Eva Purple Balls (whoo hoo, the perfect NoFla tomato that actually ripens on the vine without rotten spots or splits and tastes like a REAL tomato) with Tashkent marigolds and Genovese basil. Oh, and borage and Thai roselle, too. We are going crazy with onions right now. And, oh yeah, we found out from one of the growers at the farmers market, that we aren't supposed to be able to grow standard garlic here. Hm. Our garlic, if I may say, is outstanding. The heads are big and fat and the bite is just right. In the picture, the garlic is in the front. I've just started picking this week.

Supersweet Onions

I don't see the point in planting any other onion. This is the first year we tried this variety. They are all 3 - 4" hard as rock totally sweet and fragrant. Maybe we don't live in Vidalia, Georgia, but we can grow the same kind of onions here. The whites and yellows cost half as much, but we're getting a little twinning and mush. Why waste resources on a less than amazing plant?

Yamato Cucumbers

This was a first for us. Sure, we have pickling cukes running around, but these are for salad. Oh, Lordy. No, they aren't seedless. But they are fine, crisp, sweet, tender and buttery. On a lark, and because I'm picking an armload a day, with farmer's markets 5 days apart, I made bread and butter pickles with a couple of these. Will report on their integrity soon. After lunch, in fact.

Seminole Pumpkins

This is the "oldest" heirloom we grow. Cultivated in Florida by the Seminole Indians in the 1500's these squash are keepers for up to a year. They are sweeter than butternut squash, and make an amazing addition to a garden. The leaves of these plants are 1 - 2' across, and the squash are plentiful. They plants "run" so, they've been given their own plot. We also planted them with the Floriani corn...and in the rear of that corn patch, too.

Red Hennys

Finally, I thought you might want to see what happens when you set off a camera flash in a chicken tractor full of hens. If I'd used a video camera, you'd have seen them jump 6". I think this is how Gary Larson got his start. Look at those faces. Say "corn!" For the record, every single hen is laying at least an egg a day. Sometimes, I think the roosters are laying too. Want some eggs? One of these hennys gets out through two fences, every single day. She has made a nest longside the road, right near the "Eggs" sign. And yes, she does, she lays an egg there every day. Didn't know chickens can read, did you?

Florida Folk Festival 2009

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:19:21 GMT

Rex & Tom

The 2009 FFF was held under some very trying conditions. We were in the middle of 9 days of rain. Oh, we got rain. Oh, all of the pastures look terrific. Oh, our part of Florida looks like it was lifted from the pages of a "How-to-look-like-Ireland in only 9 days" manual. Oh, we were all wet.

This picture was taken in a dry moment. We were walking along, minding our own business, and out of the blue came this SoFla contingent of very fine musicians, Rex Blazer (Lift Ticket), Chuck Anton and Ted Strauss. Long time no see. Yep. So, it was yak yak and hug hug and before you know it, Rex was checking out a band with us...the fabulous Mayhaws.

We had a dance to play that evening, and we asked that fine fiddlin' boy if he would care to join us, and he did. Pretty darn good dance, if I might venture a comment. Also joining us were Gailanne Amundsen, who, at 14, won the Rustic Division (adult) in the State Fiddle Championship just the day before, Sharon Hartmann, fiddler for Barnstorm, played banjo, and Joe Waller helped out in the guitar section. The Flying Turtles Festival Band rode again.

Daring Bakers! May Brought Strudel. REAL Strudel!

Thu, 28 May 2009 00:20:41 GMT

The May Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafes of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

[Note: Our phone line is having technical difficulties, and I am signed on at 16,800 bps...yes, really. This post will be edited at a later date to provide more photos and blather.]

Well, I never thought I'd need to make strudel. I don't think I've ever eaten "real" strudel before. Never been on my list of "Ooo I have to do thats" if you know what I mean.

I thought..."Oh, great. I'm making dough that is stretched til transparent. Right. This will be just terrific." But, guess what? This recipe was right on the money. I can read. I can follow directions. I had no preconceived ideas about strudel dough.

The ol' Kitchen Aid came through like a champ for kneading the dough. A soft satiny sexy dough, is strudel dough. I used A/P flour, and let it rest for a couple of hours before attempting the big stretch.

This is the part where photos would really help: I have a great old 50's tablecloth. I have a lot of my grandmother's old linens, and this particular tablecloth is a tight weave cotton. Perfect for the experiment at hand. I also have the perfect table for strudeling. It's a square, mahogany, fairly tall table that Tom & I made about 10 years ago. The old tablecloth was set upon the table, floured, and the fun began.

Using an old French pin, I rolled the little blob of dough out to 15" x 22" - the object being to stretch the sheet of dough to 24" x 36" - yeah, I know. Well, I'm here to tell you, that the stretch was no big deal. I just floured my hands and arms, got underneath like I do for pizza dough, and LET the dough stretch. The old tablecloth held just the right amount of flour so that I could flip that dough around any ol' which-way. The stretch was easy. I really do have a picture to prove my point.

After stretching, the sheet of dough was painted with melted butter, and sauteed breadcrumbs were set to litter the top. Then, a rectangle of chopped walnuts formed a bed for a couple pounds of sliced McIntosh apples that were tossed with cinnamon sugar and currants. Am I forgetting anything?

Then, the strudel was rolled up with the aid of the tablecloth, and formed into a horseshoe shape that fit on a pizza pan perfectly. More melted butter on the top...and into a 400 degree F oven for a while.

Now, I realize that a lot of the Daring Bakers got creative and veered off the apple cart, but I am married to Mr Apple Pie. Any excuse to use apples is jumped upon. I said, "Why the heck not use the apple recipe from the Kaffeehaus book, for Pete's sake?!"

Tom, aka Mr Apple Pie, says "Fine as Pie!" It's almost gone.

Thank you Courtney & Linda!