The Perfect Breakfast
The chickens are on strike at the farm, which means we haven’t had eggs for a while. I finally located another source for local pastured eggs and we were super excited to finally enjoy the perfect breakfast again. What makes up the perfect breakfast in my book: bacon (all-natural of course), homemade sourdough toast, eggs fried in bacon grease (MMMM, is there any other way to cook them?), and sauteed organic (semi-local) mushrooms (which can really go with any meal in my book). 
We can’t forget the raw milk latte made with Colombian coffee (it counts as local if my dad brings it back from Colombia for us doesn’t it?). What breakfast would be complete without coffee?
Eggs are really the perfect breakfast, lunch or dinner. They’re super healthy (especially if you buy local pastured ones) and you just can’t get much tastier! We frequently enjoy them for quick meals and are happy to have them in our diets once again!
What do you consider to be the perfect breakfast?
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Making Sauerkraut for New Year’s
On Wednesday I started my sauerkraut for our New Year’s Day tradition. We’ve been eating sauerkraut for New Year’s in my family since I can remember. We used to go out to my grandma’s house and she would have a big roaster full of sauerkraut, sausage and dumplings. When my grandma died my dad took over. He developed his own special recipe, changing it each year to make it better. It’s not your typical kraut recipe, it includes carrots, apples, tomatoes and all kinds of delicious goodness. For a few photos of my dad cooking on New Year’s and the recipe see this post.
Sauerkraut that ferments at cooler temperatures – 65 or lower – has the best flavor, color and vitamin C content. The fermentation process takes longer at these temperatures, around 4-6 weeks. That’s probably why it’s traditionally made in the fall. Looks like I’m making mine at the right time, it should be ready by mid-December and waiting in the fridge for New Years!
Making sauerkraut is quite easy all you need is cabbage (red or green), salt, and time (generally 3T of salt for every 5 lbs of cabbage). First you slice up the cabbage as thinly as you’d like, I usually do some really thin and some thick for variety. Then you put some sliced cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle salt over it, then smash with a wooden spoon or potato masher and mix. Continue adding cabbage and salt and mixing and smashing until the bowl is half full.
When the bowl is about half full I let it sit for 10-15 minutes to take a break and to let the cabbage wilt a little. This makes it easier to stuff into the glass jar I’m using as a fermenting crock. Transfer the cabbage to the jar, smash it down and continue working until all the cabbage is salted, smashed and packed into the jar. Let the cabbage sit overnight, if the brine hasn’t covered the cabbage make some brine (1.5 T of salt to 1 quart of water) and pour over the cabbage. I use a canning jar to weigh down the cabbage because I’m not comfortable using plastic. Let it sit for 4-6 weeks until it stops bubbling and it tastes like sauerkraut. You really can’t get much simpler. I’m hoping to try a few of the recipes in my The Joy of Pickling, Revised Edition
When I was making this I thought about all the women in past generations of my family that spent time each fall making sauerkraut for New Year’s. Connecting with our food heritage is such a wonderful thing. Hopefully our nieces & nephew will grow up with fond memories of eating Grandpa’s Famous Sauerkraut on New Year’s and continue the tradition with their families.
Do you have a specific food or menu that has been passed down through the generations of your family?
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A Trip to the Orchard
Last Monday Mr Chiots and I stopped by a local orchard to buy some apples to make applesauce & apple butter. It’s a great little orchard that is as organic as you can get and still have apples. They use the bare minimum of treatments on their trees. They also try to keep their business small and do things the way they’ve always done it. It’s such a cute little place, when you drive up you’re greeted by 5 dogs that are very happy to see you.
All the apples are stacked under a huge tree beside their house. The owner explained to us that he could buy a second cooler, but then he’d have higher electric bills and then he would have to work more. So he just stores his apples outside and sells what he can before they all go bad.
They had cats patrolling the crates for mice and I’m sure the dogs kept the deer, opossums and raccoons away.
I was up till the wee hours of the morning today making applesauce with the bushel of apples I purchased for $12. What kind did I get? I simply asked them for a bushel of good applesauce apples and they picked out a selection of 4-5 different kinds for me. If you are anywhere close to Orrville, Oh, head on over and visit Hochstetler Orchards, 13460 Church Rd, Orrville, OH 44667.
Do you have a favorite local place that you purchase specific items from?
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From a Different Time
Mr Chiots and I went to a Newell auction on Saturday morning (actually 2). This year we started going, because I’ve been searching for old short wide mouth pint jars. I’ve also been looking for a few Griswold cast iron skillets to add to my collection.
Auctions are interesting, sad and hopeful all at the same time. They definitely herald back to a different time when people saved things they though they’d use again, not willing to buy new when they could reuse something they already had.
It’s sad to see these people lives spread out on the lawn, others looking over it decided what they want. It’s sad to see the things people valued enough to save going to the highest bidder, and sometimes not being bid on at all or going for next to nothing.
It’s also hopeful to see people in attendance willing to buy used items, placing value in something that’s been around for a while and already has a story. They don’t need to buy some shiny new homogenized item at the big box store, they want something unique, something that has already seen some life.
One thing I love about auctions is all the unique stuff you find. It’s so fascinating to me to see what people saved.
I was happy to see lots of canning jars for sale, they even had a few of the wide mouth pint jars I was looking for. Sadly, we had to be somewhere that afternoon so I couldn’t stay to buy them.
I wonder if auctions will fall out of favor when all the classic old stuff is gone. Is any of the stuff we purchase now going to last 40 years and still have enough life left for someone to want to buy it? Are we going to save anything that someone will find valuable?
I’m definitely reaching a point in my life where I’m starting to appreciate the stuff that’s been around for a while. I’d much rather purchase something used than something new. It’s not only more environmentally friendly but it’s so much fun as well.
I still buy some new things, but I’m definitely trying to focus on buying used. The things that I do purchase new, I’m trying to invest in good quality items that I’ll be able to use for the rest of my life, and hopefully someone after me will find them useful as well. So I’ll be attending more auctions trying to find those elusive short wide mouth pint canning jars and perhaps a few other treasures that can continue to live on and be useful in our home.
Do you like to buy used items, or do you prefer new?
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A Day Off
Mr Chiots and I have the day off; well, kind of. Usually we’re working all day on Saturdays and I often don’t get time to make it to the farmer’s market. But today we don’t have to be at a shoot until early afternoon. I’m going to enjoy my day off by getting up and heading down to the farmer’s market. It’s much smaller this time of year with fewer vendors, fewer vegetables and fewer shoppers. There are still lots of wonderful things to see, the colors are so fantastic. The summer’s bright red tomatoes and green bell peppers have been replaced the mellow colors of indian corn and deep orange pumpkins.
I think one of my favorite fall seasonal things at the market are the pumpkins. They just scream fall every time I see them. I can just see the bowls of steaming pumpkin soup, the chilled pumpkin pies and the delicious pumpkin muffins coming out of the oven. Mr Chiots would probably choose apples as his favorite fall item, he’s a big fan of apple pies, apple crisp and pretty much anything that involved apples and sugar.
What’s your favorite seasonal fall item?
