Sweet Harvest Homestead

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.       

It is a time for walking down the road kicking crisp fallen leaves.

Planning a night out with your friends and all of the mischief you plan to get in to.

The wonderful smells in the air like mulled cider, burning leaves, the inside of a jack' o' lantern after a candle has been burning in it all night.  The great taste of roasted pumpkin seeds.

Watching Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin.  That old movie, Night of the Scarecrow

and my very favorite Halloween movie, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Walt Disney!

Halloween masks that you can't breath in and can barely see out of the tiny eye holes ( circa 1978-1988)

Haunted Houses, those yucky tasting candies that were always wrapped in orange and black paper.

Caramel Apples, using pillow cases as your loot bag. The panic of waiting until the last minute to buy your costume, then having to cut one of your Mama's sheets to make a ghost outfit.

Toilet papering a friends house only to wake up and discover that yours has been rolled too.  Your Dad waking you up at 5 a.m. and making you get out there to clean up that mess!

Sweet little ones dressed up like goblins and carrying flashlights.

 

Upon the nights of Halloween when all is dark and still,

the goblins, ghosts and black cats come trooping over the hill.

They say old witches ride through the air, what a strange mysterious site.  A ghost will catch you if you don't take care upon this frightful night!

 

Because I'm still in love with you, I wanna see you dance again, because I'm still in love with you, on this Harvest Moon..... ......Neil Young

 

Soooo....., when your ridin home tonight, Make for the bridge!!

with all your might, he'll be down in the hollow there, he needs your head, Look out!!  Beware!!.

 

- Braum Bones, The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

 

Simple Gifts

Earlier this year, I posted a picture of some Hydrangeas that I grew and asked if any of you knew how to preserve them.

The suggestions ranged from keeping them in a hot trunk for a few days to using silica gel.

I opted to use the silica gel because it was supposed to do the best job of preserving, but it was complicated and expensive and after thinking it through, way too long, the Hydrangeas that were left were no longer pretty enough to preserve so I never got to do it.

Fast forward to a few days ago, I was cleaning out my daughter’s bathroom cabinet and came across the prettiest, perfectly preserved hydrangea that I have ever seen!

I remembered her picking a few of them this summer, saying that she was going to try to dry them but with the business of life, I forgot that she was even doing it.

You know what she did?  She stuck them in a vase of water, let the water dry out and then put the vase with the flower in a dark spot.  That’s it!

Simplicity.  What a lovely word.

We tend to over complicate things to the point that we don’t ever get around to doing them.    My sweet child just went for it.  She didn’t over think the process, she just did it and now look at this beautiful flower she has.

 In the cold winter ahead, that flower will serve as a reminder of those warm, carefree, summer days.

More importantly, it will remind us that if you want something and that something is good and pure.  Go for it.  Even if it does not work out the way you wanted, at least you won’t have the regret of having never tried.

Morning Walk Report: October 14th. Pet Cat

It’s a misty and balmy morning here in North Carolina. 62 degrees at 9:30.

My walks have been a touch lonely for the past few mornings. Our little cat has decided to leave... us. I hope she comes back. She would wait on a rock for me while I was out walking and when I returned, she would run beside me back to the house.
She was almost like a dog in that she would follow my children everywhere they went.

She came to us in March. We get a lot of stray cats and dogs out here. I guess the same folks who throw out their TV’s and couches, think this is also a good place to drop off their little unwanted animals.

The children started calling the cat John Doe for the first few days. After we found out she was a girl, they named her Jane.

She had kittens in May, two were born alive, one born dead. The morning after she had her kittens, my husband woke me to say that he thought she was having another baby. I asked if maybe it was just the placenta but no, it was indeed another kitten. #4. Sadly it was already dead and I could not get it out with my nonexistent midwifery skills so we had to take her to the vet to have the kitten removed.

$215 dollars later, she was fine and spayed as well.

We found a good home for her two kittens. They are living out their lives on a farm, in Gastonia, NC.

Jane was a bit of an unusual cat. Instead of love offerings of freshly killed creatures, hers were of the regurgitated sort. I would open my front door many mornings and find an Eastern Fence Lizard, Mole, Vole or Field Mouse, freshly eaten and then vomited on my doorstep. Those gifts did not endear me to her. It was her preference of my lap when I sat outside, that made me like her.

My neighbor, Margo said it best when I asked if she had seen her. She said “strays have a way of finding a place in your heart and then taking a piece of it with them when they leave.”
I’ll leave you with a picture of her babies. We miss you, Jane, wherever you are.

Until next time.

Mother Earth & Father Time

These little needle felted items are going to a very special family! 

 

How very special are we
For just a moment to be
Part of life’s eternal rhyme
How very special are we...
To have on our family tree
Mother Earth and Father Time

He turns the seasons around
And so she changes her gown
But they always look in their prime
They go on dancing their dance
Of ever lasting romance
Mother Earth and Father Time

The summer larks return to sing
Oh what a gift they give
Then autumn days grow short and cold
Oh what a joy to live

How very special are we
For just a moment to be
Part of life’s eternal rhyme
How very special are we
To have on our family tree
Mother Earth and Father Time- Song from the 1972 Version of Charlotte's Web.

Morning Walk Report: October 11th

As I set out this morning, a sweet, gentle breeze was blowing and the temperature was about 65 degrees.
It is overcast but nice and dry, at the moment.

The little Sassafras trees that are growing along t...he fence row are the only vegetation with any hint of fall color. They are turning a nice shade of red.
Have you ever seen a Sassafras Tree? They don’t grow very tall. They’re more like a shrub than a tree.
I find them interesting because they have three distinct leaf shapes, all on one tree. I have a picture of them below. I remember the first time I came across one, it was on the playground in middle school. The mitten shaped leaves caught my eye and when I broke one off, a fragrance like no other filled my nostrils. Sort of a citrusy, sweet and earthy fragrance.
In days of old, people would dig the roots of the Sassafras and boil them, making a blood tonic of a tea.

I could use a little tonic right now.

Until Next Week.

Morning Walk Report: October 10th

Short and sweet today. The field of sunflowers down the road from my house is absolutely breathtaking! I love the anticipation of coming around the corner and seeing these happy flowers. I brought the *good* camera along with me today so that I could get a better picture for you.

The county came through and mowed the roadside, late yesterday afternoon. The grass clippings gave off a sweet fragrance during my walk....

Remember the cast off TV set that I told you about? Well, the old boys who were doing the mowing decided that it was too much to resist so now that old TV is in about 4,000 pieces. Yep, they ran over it with the bush hog.

Until Next Time.

Creamy Potato & Butternut Squash Soup.

My cupboard is getting bare because I need to get to the store. I was scrounging around for something for supper and made up this tasty treat with what I had on hand.

1 medium diced onion

4 cups diced, Yukon Gold potatoes

1 medium Butternut Squash

3 cups Chicken Broth

1 tsp Nutmeg

1 Tbs Sage

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Sauté your onion in a little butter until golden brown. Add your diced tomatoes and Chicken Broth and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, poke holes with a knife in the butternut squash and microwave for about 3 minutes. (Those suckers are hard to cut into; microwaving softens them up a bit)

Slice your Squash in half and scoop out the innards (not the seeds) and add those to your pot of boiling potatoes. Cook until potatoes and squash are soft.

Use an immersion blender to cream the soup. You can add a little more broth or milk if necessary. Add the Nutmeg, Sage, Salt and Pepper.

I fried up some bacon and sprinkled that on top of the soup. With cornbread and sweet tea, you’ve got a filling and satisfying meal!

Chunks of Energy Recipe

I keep seeing a recipe being passed around Facebook for a chocolate treat made with coconut. They looked fabulous and if I had any melting chocolate in the house tonight, I would have made those. However, since I didn’t, I whipped up these little healthy treats instead.

We have made them in our family for years and I... always seem to have the ingredients on hand.

½ cup tahini or peanut butter
¾ cup raisins or pitted dates
2 Tbs honey
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup cocoa or carob powder
1/4 cup powdered herbs. I used a mixture of powdered Nettles, Spirulina and Ginko.

Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

Directions: Very simple: Run all of your ingredients through the food processor until you have a pasty, sticky mixture. With buttered hands, shape mixture into 1 inch balls. Roll those little balls in the unsweetened coconut.

Store any leftovers in your freezer for a quick energy fix during the day.

Morning Walk Report: October 8th. Pumpkin Seeds

This morning, I was treated to a symphony. The owls, wrens and crows all got together and sang a hauntingly beautiful tune that told of rainey mornings, melting into golden October afternoons and the shorter days that are to come.

It was so much cooler this morning, only 59 degrees. The thick grey clouds along with the trees that are on the verge of a color change, made for pretty scenery.
Feeling the cooler temperatures and seeing the pumpkins that are in my neighbors garden reminded me of a recipe that I got on a school day, long ago.

Do any of you fellow classmates from PFMS remember the day that Buddig’s Beef came to school and gave us boxed lunches? It was around Halloween and they served us sandwiches made with Buddig’s Beef along with some chips & cookies. They put stickers in the sandwiches and whomever was lucky enough to bite into a sandwich with a sticker slapped on the meat, got a prize.

Okay, so on to the recipe. The boxes that the little lunches were served in looked like the old Happy Meal boxes. They had interesting facts and games about Halloween and, well, lunch meat. I took my box home because there was a recipe for Toasted Pumpkin Seeds on it.
I still have it. You can see that it is burned around the edges for effect. When we were kids, my brother, Cameron and I were really in to buried treasure. It’s a wonder we didn’t burn the house down because we used to draw maps that showed where we buried some trinket out in the yard. We then wet the map and lit the edges on fire to make it look old. We placed the maps in strategic places, hoping someone would find them and dig up the treasure we buried.

Goodness, I need to learn to stay on topic. I told all of this to say that I must have practiced my art on that recipe card.

When you are carving out your pumpkin this year, why not save your seeds and make up this tasty treat for your family! It might just become a tradition at your house too!

Until next time.

Morning Walk Report: October 7th, Last of the Tomatoes

The rain that moved in last night a brought balmy, almost tropical feel. I am glad that I got out and walked when I did because it is raining as I write this.

Everything smelled wonderful this morning! Did you know that when you *think* you smell rain; you are really just smelling the earth? Moisture heightens smells. Think of man’s best friend, they can smell everything and their nose is always damp. Put it to the test, rub a little water on your nostrils and see if it makes a difference.

My garden is still producing tomatoes. I don’t know if they will turn red before the frost sets in but we can still make use of the green ones by dipping them in a little cornmeal and frying them in bacon grease or making green tomato chutney.
When I snapped this picture of a tomato on the vine this morning, it reminded me of an October day many years ago. It was the year 2000 and my husband, baby son and I drove up from Texas to Tennessee to visit with our family and to take in the sights, smells and good times that only Pigeon Forge can offer during that vibrant & colorful time of year!
We had such a good time on that visit and took Nate to his first pumpkin patch. I think I have a picture of that somewhere……
I was finding it extra hard to leave my Mama at the end of that visit and had a huge lump in my throat when it was time to say our goodbyes and make that long drive back to the Lone Star State.
We were at my Grandmother ( Memmy’s) house and before we left, she said “ Oh wait! let me get you a tomato.” Well, she ran to her tiny garden spot and plucked me off one of the prettiest, autumn tomatoes that you ever saw. It was medium sized and a deep dark red, almost maroon color.
She said “now you fix yourself a good tomato sandwich with this when you get back home.”
I rode with that little treasure by my side and each time I looked at it, it reminded me of my Grandmother and the sweet, simple gifts that she was always giving us.
The next day, after we arrived home, I sliced up that tomato and made myself that sandwich with just bread, salt and a little bit of mayonnaise. You talk about heavenly! I have not had a tomato since that tasted that good.
It’s funny how you can feel the love of your family, from 850 miles away, in a Tomato Sandwich, but I did!

Until next time.