Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Moving Along....Again

I think I was born with a need for horses in my life.  Their magic, their regal power and loyalty, the sheer wonder of how beautifully they are put together, all of this has truly captivated me ever since I can remember. I remember the time they were going to give a pony to the kid who came up with the perfect name for the new bowling alley.  I didn't enter, but I would have committed heinous crimes to get that pony.  My dreams had horses galloping through them, and, though I could feel the silky coat and the warm breath of them, somehow, before I could get on a horse's back to ride it, I would wake up. I remember feeling somehow cheated when that happened.  All I ever wanted was a horse.
Then my dad surprised me with a horse...I saw it, just like in one of my dreams, standing tied to the fence in the pen by the barn, the first thing I saw when I turned up the driveway on my walk home from school.  I was seven that year, the horse was black, she was beautiful, she was real...and she was very, very young.  Way too much horse for a little girl, but she was indeed a dream come true.  I was never really able to ride her because we just weren't ready for each other.
Then there was a pony; he wasn't new, and I wasn't as young then, but he could certainly be a heathen curse from hell if he chose to be.  He was cute with his arched neck and his shiny coat and his four white socks that neatly came to his knees.  He was also able to evade almost any kind of ploy to catch him, though he would allow himself to be caught by a hind leg. It was as if that approach didn't cause him to lose face.  We respected each other and spent many hours walking, playing, exploring and sharing our deepest thoughts. That pony taught me more than words can say.
Time passed and life got serious.  People, little people, counted on me.  There was little time for those friends who had given me so much joy when I had been only a few years younger.  I had to move along and give my thoughts and time to my family.
More time passed.  Children moved along into their own lives.  Suddenly, it seemed like it was 'my time' for the first time in my life, and miraculously, there was again a horse! She was tall, she was black, she had a devious sense of humor, and we were told that she had what they called a 'cold back'.  This seemed to mean that she would have a tendency to explode into twisting bucks that were designed to launch a rider into another galaxy if she was asked to perform any duties before she had gotten her mind right for it.  This usually meant that I was first in line to ride her before anyone else...just to get the kinks out.  She never did buck with me.
Then, there came Phylleigh.  She was indeed the horse that had appeared in all my dreams.  She was, and still is, the classiest ride in all my experience.  She has grace and power and a way of knowing my mind almost before I do myself. Every moment on her back has always been filled with joy and challenge. She was the ultimate gift of a lifetime.
Phylleigh gave us a handsome horse colt who was a beginning in himself.  I remember waiting so impatiently for Jack to be born, wondering if he would be red like his mama or pitch black like his pa.   We drove into the yard that afternoon, looking, as always, toward the little pasture where Phylleigh was serving out her maternity leave and seeing what seemed to be a heap of laundry laying in front of the grain bin.  Then, suddenly, that heap of rags had a head...and ears!  Through Jack, I discovered that horses have rubbery toothless gums when they are born.  I also discovered that horses with a strong thoroughbred background have very weak-looking saggy ankles when they are newborns. Jack brought out a maternal side of Phylleigh that meant that she would ever after have a special warm spot in her heart for all young things, even young humans.
Jack sired several colts for us and for others.  Each of them seemed to enjoy the company of human beings.  They didn't always agree with what the humans expected of them, but they each learned to respond to the reward of low-voiced "Good boy" or "Good girl" in a way that lasted throughout their lives. Some of his sons and daughters found lives away from us immediately, others stayed with us for several years.  I have had the joy of riding some of those colts and the pride of knowing that I had been a part of almost every moment of their lives.
I have had the joy of watching them all come to water and jostle for place in the pecking order. I instinctively look to the pasture searching and counting noses. I have been blessed to realize that a mare was actually helping her son or daughter to understand was I wanted from it.  I have rejoiced to hear one or another of them greet me with a nicker and perked ears.  I have been humbled to realize that, to them,  my voice has always held reassurance and a sense of safety. These glorious creatures have given me so many gifts that no amount of money could ever buy.
I can't afford to do it anymore.  Reality has again become stronger than the dream.  It is time to move along again. I know it and have known it for some time.  I have been a coward and have not wanted to look directly into those eyes and say 'goodbye'.
But I have done just that.
Gone?  Well, yes.  But those gifts and those joys will live with me for the rest of my life.
And I am grateful, humbly grateful.


Monday, August 27, 2012

jalapeño heaven

Previous years we have planted habanero peppers (Scottish bonnets) but this year we went for variety and flavour, anticipating a variety of ways to preserve our harvest. We grew jalapeños, chilli peppers, Anaheim peppers and, of course, sweet bell peppers. I dried one batch of chilli peppers and ground them into flakes, enough to fill a pint jar and this will be enough to flavour many a dish until next year, and I intend to freeze another batch so as to keep their pretty shape and colour for adding to stir fries and tofu dishes. (Oh how I wish we could grow our own ginger!) The Anaheims are getting charcoal grilled, the skin gently removed and then frozen to keep the sweet, gentle, smoky heat for use in winter.

Then we have the jalapeños! Six plants and I never anticipated such a harvest, in fact I wasn't sure what to do with so many. I had heard of Cowboy Candy down in Oklahoma and, believe me, if you like it hot and sweet this recipe is a killer. If you prefer it a little milder just remove the seeds and inner membrane before you start on the menu.

Cowboy Candy:

1 lb fresh  jalapeños
2/3 cup cider vinegar
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons mustard seed
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon celery seed
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cloves of garlic

Slice jalapenos. (remove seeds and membrane for a milder flavour)
Mix cider vinegar, sugar, turmeric, celery seed, garlic powder and cayenne and bring to boil.
Reduce for 5 minutes to a simmer.
Add jalapenos at the simmer for 5 minutes more.
Load sterilized jars with jalapenos first ( add a couple of cloves of garlic to each jar at the halfway point) and add liquid filling the jars leaving a 1/4” headspace.
Process in a water bath for 15 minutes. ( I found that the jars sealed without the water bath but if you want to be sure, or plan on long-term storage, include this step)

Makes 2 pints

Enjoy with cream cheese or on a hamburger, or any other way you enjoy a bit of heat.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Garden produce

For weeks we have been jealous of our southern friends and their bountiful harvests, now our turn has come. 

We had a brief period of snow peas, most of which never reached the kitchen but were delicious snacks as we sweated our way through the garden. Cool weather crops such as spinach and radishes have long gone and even the warm weather alternatives of Rat's tail radishes have been and gone with the extreme heat we have been experiencing for weeks. If you like radishes so much that you also find the growing season painfully short, the rat's tail radish sold by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is a wonderful plant to add to your garden. An edible podded radish variety, be careful how many you raise at it produces an abundance of pods delicious in salads and stir fries. The pods can also be pickled but we learned of this too late to take advantage of the recipe this year.

We drooled over photos from the south as we watched our tomato plants grow and begin to blossom. Then we carefully watched that first green tomato ripen on the vine, hoping against hope that the bugs and critters would leave the fruit for us. We mulched and hoped that the drought would not stress the plants too much, destroying our fruits with blossom end rot. Then the moment came when we were able to share the first tomato, still warm from the sun, deliciously sweet and full of flavour. Store bought tomatoes are not even closely related to the delicious varieties available to anyone growing their own. We went from watching, to eating them twice and even three times a day, gorging on our new found wealth. Finally we have reached that next stage in the process of growing, where we fill a large bowl every day and start planning ways to preserve the bounty for the rest of the year. Tomato juice, paste, sauce, salsa and pasta sauce. Sharing recipes and using old time favourites because gardeners are a generous bunch when asked to share their experiences and knowledge.

This has been our best year ever for growing cabbages. We controlled the cabbage loopers using bT and thankfully we had no hail to damage the growing plants. The cabbages were huge coming in at around 6lbs after we cleaned them. Half our crop has been turned into sauerkraut and we plan to try making kimchi with a couple of others. 

We have 21 jars of pickled red beets standing on the kitchen counter, waiting to see that all the lids have sealed before transporting them to the basement. I love pickled beets and over the years have been delighted and disappointed with the recipes I have tasted. This particular recipe is worth sharing and I believe the superior quality can be attributed to using the beet water in the pickling recipe.

Mom's Beet Pickles
1 1/2 cups of beet juice ( from cooking the beets)
1/2 cup of sugar
Bag of mixed pickling spices
1/2 cup vinegar
Boil ingredients together, pour over cooked beets in jars and process.

It doesn't get much simpler!