Trees Like Lungs

[First Pickup from Erehwon Farms - stew greens, green onions, stew veggies, spaghetti squash,

winter squash, radish, fennel, collard greens(?), fingerling potatoes, apples, garlic, baby pumpkins]

A restful weekend - full of this and that. We are taught to be industrious, to make the most of our time, never slow down, sleep is for the weak. Our imperfect, human bodies are not made to go that fast for that long... it's dishonoring to treat our bodies as machines. This season of my life and of the year has me in thought of how to reconnect my (our) life to the truly natural internal clock that was in mind at our very creation. Sabbath. What does that even mean anymore? When I was young it meant we HAD to take a nap on Sunday afternoons, but that didn't translate into anything. It didn't resonate with young little mind.

[first go at making applesauce - apples from both Wellhausen & Erehwon]

Now what can it and what does it mean in my specific life? I still try and fit entirely too much in, easily distracted by the next project on my wish list. Though, now, I'm coming to understand that Sabbath doesn't mean inactivity - it means taking part in creation, in a way that is restful and restoring to our own bodies. Intentional time that I have set to embrace the things that draw me closer to the heart of God.

[home made mashed potatoes - Wellhausen & Erehwon]

This weekend was restful & restoring. An extra hour yes - but it felt like twelve. Saturday morning gifted a gentle drive, my best friend at my side; explosions in the sky and trees, leafless, reaching into that very firmament like the lungs that they are. Bronchi and bronchioles stretching, bidding adieu to their luster and seeking restful days and nights, regrouping and regaining the strength for another year. Perhaps the time was not so intentional, but it was restoring.

[red meat radish for stew - Erehwon - how beautiful - does anyone
know if this is different than a watermelon radish? Sunday]

And what to be said for my list of activities? Purchase foodmill, pickup CSA delivery, make applesauce, crochet plant hangers, separate pumpkin seeds... I had quite the list by 3:30pm. But it was reposing. To take part in embracing this earth, in the creative process, is completely fufilling, and fills me up.

[Erehwon Farms - Grandma Beth's stew recipe - beets, radish, turnip, potatoes,
carrots, Jerusalem artichoke with stew meat, stew greens were added later - Sunday]

Saturday:
Apple Sauce - Erehwon & Wellhausen
Mashed Potatoes - Erehwon & Wellhausen

xo,
Evie

PS... Earlier in the week I needed an immediate satisfaction sewing project and made this lovely new pillow for our couch using a fat quarter of some incredibly silky, cotton, quilting weight fabric I picked up on Bainbridge island while shopping with my sister-in-law this August on vacation... The lighting doesn't do it justice, but the silly thing makes me grin.

I've seen a million onions...

and I've cooked them all!

We are at the beginning of quite an (CS)Adventure, and I think it's very fair to say we're still in the romantic stage. Optimism is the only thing we see in our future regarding this, and I can't help but wonder at what point we'll have our bubble burst. Feel free to start your betting now so you don't miss it!

Although our current situation might find us with a bushel half full, I truly believe this is important to document this time for when we are up to our ears in tatsoi and other insane things we've never heard of. We have never been as mid-west as we will be in the next 7 weeks, and that is a prospect worth writing about, contemplating, and taking us into the time of advent.

It is no wonder that the intrinsic value of the life cycle of food allows for many helpful analogies to life. We are all products of the Creator and while our relationship is symbiotic, we are able to connect on the level in much the same way as we are to others. That I am taking on this endeavor with my wife then, who I connect with in a way unlike any other human, is incredible.

Together in this time, we will learn to get a better idea of what it means to live more sustainably. While this is quite the buzz word these days, I don't want to give up on it yet. There is a reason behind it and I think it involves more than buying "green." In taking on this, we are becoming connected to the gifts of the area not the limitations of it. I think this will cause us to shift what we eat in different seasons and learn that simply because we are suburban Americans that does not give us the right to demand whatever we want whenever we want it. This will be a difficult process for us two banana fans(just had one today in fact), but bringing ourselves closer to production will shape the way we approach food. In order to eat my banana today, the only thing that is perfectly clear is that it was delivered on a truck and put out on display by a Meijer employee.

Through the CSA, we have already interacted with those that work on the farm and we are learning what projects they do throughout the year and what produce they were able to harvest that week. As we look into doing this again next year, we will be paying an amount up front which will enable the farm to take on another year of uncertainties.

Through all this, however, we are moving a step closer, but we are still not fully engaging with everything that goes into the daily life of a farmer. We are very aware of this and are excited for the lessons this will teach us as we one day get a house that has room for us to do some gardening ourselves. There is much wisdom to be gleaned from those that have gone before us and I eagerly await this whole time. We will be posting along the way(though not always this long!) of the different items we get and how we enjoy them. We will share what we have learned in this process and I'm sure many of the sentiments shared here will gradually shift over time as well. Even if this is only for us, I believe fleshing out these ideas will be a beneficial process for the two of us as we continue to learn about and from one another.

Just to give an idea of the first project with CSA food, we have a curry I put together! Many thanks to Justin Donner for teaching me the ways of the candy bar curry magic. It has served me well and it did once again.

Items used from the CSA in this dish:
Potatoes
Huge Onion

Unfortunately Evie could not have this because the curry sauce had wheat in it, but I think she's ok with it. I wear the curry pants in the family. She wears the mushroom ones.

-J.D.

The Beginning

Today marks the start of our delve into eating locally. We've signed up for a 7 week fall CSA, plus two weeks of an ending summer CSA. Bear with me here - on the off chance that CSA is unfamiliar - it stands for community supported agriculture - which is a "share" of a farm - we'll get weekly deliveries of goodies throughout the season. On average we'll receive what would fit into one and one half paper grocery bags.

We count on quite an adventure - vegetables we've not even eaten, and some we've not heard of and are planning on using the blog to journal our way through the adventure so we have something to look back on. We plan on basing our meals out of our weekly delivery for the next 8 weeks (plus some winter meals that we can prepare now and freeze, or veggies that store well over the winter months). So watch out for delivery updates, recipes, and consensus on the new veggies!

Several reasons for our decision to go CSA:

• Learn to eat seasonally and locally
• Embrace and support our local community & economy - our money goes directly to the farm, not to the 15 middle men (distributors, trucking companies, advertisers, lobbyists etc)
• Take a shared risk - we'll share in bounty as well as share in loss
  
• Eat healthy and creatively
• Reduce exposure to chemicals and preservatives
• Learn about where our food comes from and what it takes to produce it
• FRESH - do you know how long food takes to get from farm to grocery? its not exactly quick business! our produce (etc) will be harvested only days before it finds its way to our kitchen.
  

The plan:

• Today : pickup from Wellhausen Farms
• Saturday : pickup from Erehwon Farms
• Sunday : pickup last bag from Wellhausen Farms
• Tuesday: pickup from Erehwon Farms (continue weekly)

What was in today's share from Wellhausen you ask? This week's delivery was light because of the early frost. We expect next week (our last week with Wellhausen for the season) to be a little bigger.

• 1 gigantic spaghetti squash! Hooray!
• A bag of assorted potatoes
• Several apples
• 1 large onion
• 1 pumpkin
  

Hope you enjoy our adventure with us!
XO
Evie

I might have a grilled cheese...

Gluten Free baking poses a challenge - gluten is what gives elacticity, leavening, flakiness, and a great fluffy chew. When things don't work - they REALLY don't work. Last week I attempted a loaf of bread from a mix and it just really . didn't . work.

Now, I'm not a chef, or even a truly great cook - but I'm a good cook, and I know how to follow directions. It can be discouraging with cooking gluten free. My husband reminds me that everything is trial and error and lessons learned. Being practical, having an expensive mix (as gluten free mixes often are) turn out inedible is just plain sad.

So I turned to what I do know - cooking from scratch seems to work better. It just requires having a lot of different ingredients on hand. Thats where amazon came in handy. I ordered several flours I've used previously, and a couple new, in packages containing 4 of each at a discount.

Thursday night, armed with the ingredients and a recipe from glutenfreegirl.com, I made a (very) successful loaf of gluten free bread!

everyone loves a good before and after

Our apartment is lovely, and just the right amount of space for us at the moment, but living organized in a small space is tough. Our kitchen was seriously lacking in storage and we'd been on the Craig's List hunt for weeks when we found this amazing vintage drawer cabinet. It's a little smaller than we originally wanted, but has tons of character and will be useful in the future.

(I lined the drawers by decoupage with patterned amy butler paper)

(during the registry process I thought a popcorn machine was an unsightly, unused, space wasting machine - but we use it a few times a week! yummy!)

collecting

(via myspinningwheels)

So, who would be willing to send old dress shirts my way? Any men's shirt that is headed for the trash can - please send it to me so I can reuse it! I have future plans for a men's shirting quilt.

taking time to breathe

Finally... we have nights and weekends to relax. Room to breathe. No 150 person menu planning, no favors. Time to enjoy each other, to enjoy our friends, our family, and even ourselves.

I love post wedding life. I love being married and settling in to the days, slowly making our home ours. Everyone said that I wouldn't know what to do with my time after the wedding planning had finally come to an end - but I seem to be filling it just fine. So fine, actually, that I'm already juggling projects.

Here are a few peeks of what I've been up to for the past two months...



I have several before and after projects under way - watch out for my new kitchen cabinet in a few days and our new patio furniture next week!