DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE #175

In which we celebrate the grand finale to another good year, graced with uncommonly warm weather, local food, generous friends and beautiful family.

 

LOCAL FOOD

20151204EdibleEarthscapesCSA  20151205Bread

Edible Earthscapes CSA, brimming with grown-next door goodness, and sourdough bread baked using locally-milled Lindley Mills flour.

 

LOCAL FOOD FRIDAY

20151204LocalFoodFridayFarmCrew  20151204LocalFoodFridayLyleBobJules

Bringing Plant denizens together to celebrate our local food bounty.

 

POLENTA

20151206PolentaMealCooking  20151205PolentaDinner

Often overlooked, but always appreciated on our menu, polenta is a pain to make, requiring 30 minutes of stirring the pot. But it freezes and fries like a dream. We served these fried corn cakes with caramelized onions and roasted garlic and served with Tofurky Sweet Italian Sausage and braised greens.

 

PAMPERED AT THE WATSON’S

20151207BruceLinda  20151207CamilleMeringues

Bruce and Linda invited Camille to a delicious, all home crafted lunch and surprised her with a plate of vegan meringue cookies. Linda has perfected her recipe for Aquafaba Lemon Meringues. Who knew you could substituted beans water for egg whites? – Linda knows this and much, much more.

 

WINDOW WASHING

20151212CookieWindowWashing

Uncharacteristically warm weather gave Camille an opportunity to wash windows which hadn’t been cleaned in years.

 

BABY NOLAN

20151213NolanAmy  20151212PantherNolan

Amy explains the secrets of the universe to her new nephew and Nolan cheers the UNI Panther (The University of Northern Iowa) in his matching afghan and booties.

 

BEHOLD THE JOY

20151227EmilyNolan

Emily is delighted by Nolan’s furrowed brow and everything else about her little man.

 

PLANTING SEEDS

20151221SolticeLyleTamiCamilleBob

Lyle, Tami, Camille and Bob got together to toast the end of another great year and envision 2016.

 

HARVEST

20151224GingerEtcHarvest

We are rich in home-grown ginger, turmeric, leeks and daikon radish. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

 

GINGER AND TURMERIC

20151227GingerTurmericCookieSheet  20151227GingerTurmericTablespoons

Camille processes ginger and turmeric, freezing it in tablespoon-sized balls for easy use all year round.

 

CHRISTMAS DAY

20151225XMasMugsCookieBob  20151225SpotCookieBob

Carol and Mark Hewitt, of Hewitt Pottery gifted Camille and Bob a pair of gorgeous hand-crafted mugs. Mark uses local clay and local minerals in his beautiful glazes. Rich in clay deposits, Chatham County has long been known for its pottery. We have much to be grateful for on a bright Christmas Day!

 

TRADITION

20151225JasonBobHarukaCamille

It is tradition to spend Christmas Day with our next-door neighbors Jason and Haruka. Spot wormed his way into this year’s selfie.

 

SPOT!

20151225HarukaCookie  20151225SpotHarukaJason

More fooling around on a 75-degree December 25th. Click on Spot, 2015 to see more Spot photos.

 

TOE TAPPING GOOD

20151225JasonRockinIt  20151225CookieHawaiianSocks

To our delight, Jason played some toe-tapping good music on this fabulous day. His song writing and guitar playing are too fun for words!

 

CHRISTMAS DINNER

20151225XmasDinner  20151225HarukasSweetTaterPecanPie

Ho hum, the usual… Quorn Turk’y, chestnut/sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, home made cranberry sauce and roasted carrots. All but the sausage, turk’y, chestnuts and wheat for the bread stuffing were grown in our garden or next door at Edible Earthscapes. Haruka topped off the meal with a killer pecan/sweet potato pie topped with divine vegan topping made from coconut cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and Grand Marnier.

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THIS MONTH’S QUOTES:

“Science has realized that the sun does not revolve around the Earth, but it still thinks it revolves around human beings.” – Stephen Buhner


“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” – Donald J. Trump


“Nothing really surprises me anymore. I don’t know that he has any boundaries at all. His bigotry, his bluster, his bullying have become his campaign.” – Hillary Clinton in reference to Donald Trumps campaign strategy

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[Troutsfarm] * [December, 2015] * [Spot, 2015]

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