Alabama Chanin style kids clothes

Skirt, modelled by our cousin

Did I mention lately that I LOOOVE Alabama Chanin?

Needless to say, that I am copying Natalie Chanin's techniques into my little designs. What she does, is basically hand stitching and over the top embellishments with no-fray fabrics.

And so, as a result, we have iguanas on our placemats, I have a top or two in her unique designs and now the kids have a couple items, too.

I made a dress for Demetra and a skirt and a shrug for Aurelia.



"Nature never says one thing and wisdom another." Decimus Junius Juvenalis

Harvest Tally - February 2013 - Easter Egg hunt in February and foamy eyed duck

Freckle's nest

The breed of bird we have is called Ameracaunas amongst other names. Some people also refer to them as Easter Eggers. Recently, with the cold weather, we didnt expect them to lay all too well.

However, one fine day, I am searching for one of the ladies and I find her in the middle of my geranium, clucking up a storm. Typically, they do this, to let everyone know ueber-proudly, "I laid an egg! I laid an egg!". So, I pull the branches aside to pick up Freckles (the chicken) and I couldnt believe my eyes. That silly gal was sitting on THIRTEEN beautiful eggs.  Whow, she really is an EASTER EGGER.

A word about storing eggs: If they are from a trustworthy source, one can leave them un-refridgerated for up to three weeks.

No wonder, we dont get any eggs. It's spring (according to this silly broody birdie's glands) and she wants to have babies.  Of course, this upsets my daughter Aurelia, who declares, we need to find her a boyfriend. Needless to say, hubby doesnt quite agree with this rooster-idea. Although we just learnt that fertile eggs have a way higher protein content.

As it seems, my birds have developped a fancy for laying their eggs in scented bushes as geraniums and lavender. The hen house is not good enough any longer.  So, I snip branches of the nice smelling stuff and make them nest-potpourries. One can easily say, there are no chickens or ducks that are more spoiled than mine.

Speaking of ducks, Biggie - our lame duck - got one of her eyes infected. We saw that one of the chickens was standing over her, pecking at her eye. Initially, we concluded that this is bad behaviour (and that the eye got infected as a result of pecking)  and Aurelia immediately stormed out and chased that chicken around.

Later, Roberto found out that it is a virus that causes the eye to turn foamy and the other birds pecking off the foam is actually helpful. I figured it was a good lesson in false human projection. Of course, we washed the eye with camomille tea and it is slowly recovering. That poor bird. As if her disformed leg wasnt bad enough.

So, what did we harvest in Febuary?

10 lbs of arugula  

5 lbs of swiss chard 

1/2 lbs of parsley

8 gallons of Kombucha

4 lbs of yoghurt

1 lbs of creme fraiche

2 lbs of buttermilk

 34 chicken eggs

 17 duck eggs

"Nature never says one thing and wisdom another." Decimus Junius Juvenalis

Harvest Tally - January 2013

Happy (belated) New Year!

With the cold and wet front, the birds are somewhat on strike and not much is growing on the homestead.

Instead, we are pruning the fruit trees, turning the compost and get a rough seeding and planting schedule ready for the coming months.

One thing that we picked up new is brewing our own Kombucha as well as culturing our own yoghurt, buttermilk and creme fraiche. You may wanna say the culturing bug got the best of me. Little microbes are all over my kitchen. I have to say, these cultures sure opened up a whole new realm of cooking possibilities. Just think creme fraiche and butternut squash soup... 

On a more happy gardening note, the peach is in full bloom and we are super excited about it. Hundreds of busy bees assisting in the fruit making. Ahh!

So, what did we harvest in January?

4 lbs of arugula  - We have a super spicy heirloom variety that we LOOVE that by now has seeded itself all over the yard - yay for wild gardening! Only issue with this heirloom is its shelf life. You have to eat it immediately or keep it in a bit of water in the fridge to keep it nice and crisp.

4 lbs of swiss chard - Self-seeded after I was too busy with baby all of last year  to gather any of my seeds. Now I am in love with this kind of wild seeding. Ah, the places the seeds went.

10 lbs of Meyer Lemon - it's lemon juice vinegrette time!!!

2 lbs of figs Black Mission

1/4lb of calendula

4 gallons of Kombucha

1 lbs of yoghurt

1/2 lbs of creme fraiche

1/2 lbs of buttermilk

17 chicken eggs

 30 duck eggs

"Nature never says one thing and wisdom another." Decimus Junius Juvenalis

DIY - Christmas Dresses for my Girlies - Tutorial - PART 1

Over the past couple of weeks, we really did look for some cute christmas dresses for our girlies but we could not find anything we liked. Gotta admit, we are somewhat picky: Aurelia insists that the dresses have to match (BTW: I cannot stand matching outfits for kids, but hey, she wants it, she gets it.) and Roberto and I were not loving any dresses we saw.

Aurelia kept arguing that christmas dresses should be pink and purple because who ever wears red and green? Roberto whispered to me, "I wouldn't mind if some of the girls' clothes were not pink or purple. I mean, there ARE other colours..."

My man even raised the point that it was somewhat silly to get an outfit that you wear once in your life, since the girls will outgrow it in no time. Well, Aurelia and I simply ignored that rational comment.

Then we thought, maybe we should go with an outfit - as in shirt, leggins, skirt - that is a tad festive but even with that idea we could not find anything we liked enough to buy it.

Eventually, i said, "Let me see what I can whip up from my fabric storage."

Back at home, I found some ivory colored knit and a red velvet. Aurelia loooves that velvet, even if it's not in her favourite colours (pink & purple). Hmmmm.....

Now, here is the idea:

I have a pattern for a cute shirt, that I could extend the hem so that it becomes a dressy length with some flare, of course.

I am planning on using the ivory knit to make this shirt-gone-dress kind with red velvet sleeves.

Then, I will cut stripes of the red velvet and make ruffles and more ruffles and sew them onto that ivory portion of said dress.

OK.... now, let's wash that fabric and draw that pattern.... stay tuned...

"Nature never says one thing and wisdom another." Decimus Junius Juvenalis

Harvesting & Drying Herbs

It is fall. And most of our garden's bounty has been harvested and eaten but there are still those herbs who need harvesting. With the moon in a watersign today, I decided, it is time to get the scissors out and snip: sage, rosemary, mints and lemon balm.

Now what?

After rinsing them, I shook them, tied some of them in bunches and hung them upside down in the dining room. You won't believe the scent!

Drying herbs in the oven is way faster, but if the herbs are dried too quickly at too high a temperature, much of the flavor, oils, and color of the herbs can be lost.  So, to gently oven dry, I placed the leaves and / or stems on a cookie sheet or shallow pan and warmed them at 180°F for 3 to 4 hours with the oven door open.

What to do with those dried herbs? While herbs can be used for soo many things, here is what I do with my herbs:

Lemon Balm, is a perennial.The leaves are picked and I use it in herbal teas or in iced tea or fruit salads.

Lavender is a perennial. The whole flower spikes are cut just before the florets are fully open. I use lavender in sachets, cold-hot-packs, eyemasks, airsols, oils, soap as well as for culinary purposes. Check out some herbal tea recipes here. 

You also may wanna check out my lavender chocolate cookie recipe here.

Marjoram, is an annual but in my mild Californian winters, they end up being a perennial. I cut them back to 1 inch above the ground and use marjoram leaves with meat, poultry, vegetables (beans for Thanksgiving!)

Mints are perennials. We harvest the leaves basically all the time for herbal teas and for cooking. Since they grow like mad, you may want to cut them almost to the ground.

Oregano is a perennial. Harvest and dry before flowering and use to season spaghetti sauces and tomato dishes.

Rosemary is a perennial and mine smell and taste amazing! We love them with meats, poultry dishes, and potatoes. After drying, you can season sea salt with it; in a pretty jar these are nice gifts.

Sage is a perennial Harvest when just starting to flower A commonly used seasoning for Thanksgiving (meat & stuffing) as well as great in herbal teas. We also love fried sage leaves. Check out my recipe here.
Thyme is a perennial and is nice with meats and soups.
 

Or make HERBAL BUTTER:

Soften 1/4 pound of butter at room temperature. Add about 4 tablespoonsful of dried herb leaves as well as a bit of minced garlic.  Beat with an electric blender until light and fluffy. Store in the refrigerator in a covered container.

"Nature never says one thing and wisdom another." Decimus Junius Juvenalis

How to make Rose Water - Tutorial

My rose petals

With holiday baking approaching, it is always good to stock up on rose water. Rose water can be used in baking, cooking and even makes for a great mild facial toner for sensitive skin.

What do you need?

• Fresh petals 
• Water (Ratio: 1 cup firmly packed petals : 2 cups of boiling water)
• Ice cubes
• Enamel or stainless steel pot with lid
• Heat proof bowl or brick or stones
• Deep bowl

What should you be mindful of when using rose petals?

Flowers should be organic (no pesticide, no herbicide!) and freshly picked; you will be using only the flower petals; no leaves or stems.

I grow my own, but some vendors at farmer's markets may also sell organic roses. Rinse briefly to take bugs and dirt off.

Inside the pot

What now?

Fill the bottom of the pot with the petals.

Then pour the boiling water over them until they are just covered. 

Place the heat proof bowl in the middle of the pot. 

The pot's rim should be at least a couple inches higher than the liquid. 

Ice cubes on upside down lid

Cover with lid, but position it upside down so that there’s a dipped “container” to hold the ice on top (to be added later). 

Bring to a boil.

After a couple minutes, turn the heat down; simmer for about two hours.

Add more ice as needed and check occasionally to ensure the petals still have some water.

How does it work?

This process will create condensation forming on thedownward facing lid. 

The condensation will drip down into the bowl inside the pot, which is to become your rosewater.


"Nature never says one thing and wisdom another." Decimus Junius Juvenalis

DIY Christmas Presents - Paint a Mug - Aber bitte mit Sahne

With Christmas approaching rather fast, I am starting to get all my pressies ready to be shipped to our loved ones overseas.

Let me ask you this: What do grandmas love more than anything else in the world? Correct, their grandchildren!

So, I figured, they also must love artwork from said kids.

My mom lives in Germany where we have what is called 'Kaffeeklatsch', where basically a bunch of women get together, eat cake and drink well, coffee.

A famous German musician even made a song about this.... Aber bitte mit Sahne

And here is what I have in mind for my Mama: I bought Villeroy & Boch New Wave coffee mugs here..... Dinner Ware Etc

Yes, real fancy. Well, it's for my one and only Mama!!!

Then, I recruited my one and only Aurelia....

We picked up some acrylic ceramic paint at Michaels. Note if you are planning on doing this project with your kids, you may not want to take your kids to pick out the colours because in my case I ended up with pink & purple and I had to use bribing to get the blue that my mom would actually like ;-)

Anywho..... I covered the table and the girl and she painted those mugs.

What's next: Well, after one day of drying, they will be baked in the oven for about 30 minutes at 325F and TADAAA! Personalized Christmas pressie for a Kaffeeklatsch Oma!

Happy Holidays!

.... and yes, you may wanna stay tuned for more DIY Christmas pressies....

"Nature never says one thing and wisdom another." Decimus Junius Juvenalis