The last month of 2014 was kind of dreary, but mostly cheery with a little celebrating, a bit of puzzling, a Christmas dinner and the birth of a new compost pile.
IN THE KITCHEN
They don’t call her Cookie for nothing, Camille whipped up a dinner salad of turnips and sun chokes and dressed it with an agrodolce aioli. Our friend Karen mailed us a jar of home made cranberry agrodolce and we are finding all kinds of uses for it. Camille also roasted up the last of the giant squashes from Bob’s garden.
CHRISTMAS PARADE
Lisa invited us to join her at the Christmas Carriage parade in Southern Pines so we said “Yes!” Bob checks out the marquee on the Sunrise Theater in the heart of old town. Camille and Lisa are standing beneath the speed limit sign checking out the ears on that donkey.
PERFECT BLUE SKY DAY
Santa and Mrs. Claus work the crowd from a beautiful carriage. A pair of giant Percherons pull a long red sleigh.
PONIES!
The pony carts stole the show. It doesn’t get any cuter than this!
BOB’S TURN IN THE KITCHEN
Bob bought a box of beautiful cabbage from Granite Springs Farm and proceeded to chop it up.
WHAT A CROCK
Here’s the yield, two gallons of sauerkraut. What a good idea to repurpose an unused beer fermenter.
A 90% LOCAL FOOD FEAST – A CHRISTMAS DINNER TO WRITE HOME ABOUT
Camille and Haruka baked a purple sweet potato pie with a graham cracker crust, Bob roasted up a tofurky with parsnip and potato, Jason made a delicious dip with carrots, turnips and radishes, Haruka made risotto with squash, and greens with roasted peppers and Camille made a shiitake gravy. Nearly everything was grown on the farm or in our garden, including the rice, shiitakes, sweet potatoes, parsnip, dipping veggies, greens, squash and peppers.
TRADITION
It’s tradition to spend Christmas afternoon and evening next door soaking up the warmth from our friendship with Haruka and Jason.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS
Bob bought two brand new jigsaw puzzles and built a puzzle board of plywood and lath. Camille chose the 1500 piece puzzle with the horses on it and we went to town. Our friends were equally generous. Here are many of our gifts; zucchini bread from Buffy and her brother Fred, pickled okra and hot cocoa mix from Haruka and Jason, pony socks and soap from Lisa and a pair of darling zebras from Donna, one a stallion and the other a mare. Oh, and Camille received a hard copy proof of the book she has written with her friend Stephanie. Two Brauds Abroad will go on sale in January. Nice way to start a new year!
SPEAKING OF ZEBRAS
Spot put together a web page with all his 2014 “Welcome to Trouts Farm” photos. Check them out on Spot 2014
SWAPPING OUT THE OLD COMPOST PILE
Finally, in keeping with another yuletide tradition, Bob pulled the wire cage off the compost pile and turned it to finish cooking down. As you can see, the pile was fully grown and ripe for the picking. We like to start the new year with a brand new compost pile.
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THIS MONTH’S QUOTES:
“Certainty is primitive, leads to “us versus them” tribalism, and starts wars. We should be united in our uncertainty, not divided over fabricated certainty.” – Tim Urban of Wait But Why
“…human beings drew from Mr. Darwin’s lottery of evolution both the winning ticket and the stub to match it. This, I suppose, is why we are so wonderful and can make movies and electric razors and wireless sets – and guns with which to shoot the elephant, the hare, clay pigeons and each other.” – Beryl Markham from West with the Night 1942
“The invention of the other, the evocation of the out-group, the conjuring of the enemy are the precedents of violence.” – Dennis Kucinich
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