The Summer of my Discontent
This has been a rough summer here at Chiot’s Run. We’ve been super busy with our business, which is good for the checkbook, bad for the gardens. Because we’re so busy we’ve had less time to work outside than we would have liked. We had a list of projects we wanted to complete and they’re all still on the list.
I also had to deal with physical problem, so after months of pain, months of therapy and months of strict limitations on my physical activity, the gardens began showing a little neglect. My front flowerbeds remain only partially edged in rock walls.
That new flowerbed I dug in the spring still lies fallow, at least I planted some crimson clover in it to improve the soil. I wanted to get a fall cover crop growing, but was not allowed to turn the soil. So instead I spent the summer doing this, resting.
I did spend some time this spring building a lovely wall around my small cherry tree. A month or two later, my Dr said “no more heavy lifting for 3-4 months and only moderate lifting for a few months after that”.
So, instead of spending lots of time building up the small retaining walls by the driveway and elsewhere the rocks sit at the edge of the driveway waiting for their final destination.
Since heavy lifting was out, watering by hand was out of the question. Mr Chiots installed a pump so I could use the rain water from my barrel system with the hose & sprinkler.
I also ended up with plants I didn’t get planted, digging holes was also not allowed. I had trouble weeding, too much bending over caused too much pain. It wasn’t until late this fall that I have been able to get out and put any amount of time in. I got a few things planted before the ground froze, I was at least able to weed the flowerbeds before the first frost. I’m finally on the mend and building up my strength once again. I love a good challenge though, so I’ll spend all winter to getting ready for spring gardening season.
I laced up my running shoes last week for the first time in over a year (injury happened towards the end of Oct in 2008, last day running was the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day 2008). I hopped on my trusty treadmill and started the slow climb back to running races and serious gardening. It will be a month or two until I’m able to run outside, perfect timing since I love running in the cold snowy weather. Hopefully by spring gardening season I’ll be ready to finish all those rock walls and turn all that soil.
All was not lost this summer, I could have spent the summer upset since I couldn’t do much, but instead I learned to love the process of gardening. It’s not a race to get things looking great right away. Gardening takes time, there are seasons involved, times for work and times for rest. 2009 happened to be a year of rest for me. I call it “The Summer of my Discontent”, but in a way I learned to be content. I’m not one to sit around and relax, but I was forced to do so this summer and learned the value of it. Hopefully in coming years I’ll be able to take time to relax and enjoy the fruits of my labor instead of working all the time.
Here’s to the tough times, these are the times we learn the most about ourselves and grow the most as person. I’m looking forward to 2010 to see what it has in store for us here at Chiot’s Run.
How you you summarize your 2009 gardening year?
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The Day After
I hope all of you who celebrate had a wonderful Christmas yesterday! Mr Chiots and I keep Christmas Day for ourselves, just us two, it’s our family day. For the past 8 years we’ve watched vintage James Bond movies all day. We usually get up and have a big breakfast, yesterday we had french toast. We celebrated by having an extra cup of coffee! We decided to play some video games instead of watching Bond. I’m sure most people don’t think of me as a video game player, but I spent the afternoon with Mr Chiots playing Diablo II. My video game self is much different than my real self, I’m currently a level 34 Barbarian, I wield a maul instead of a shovel.
We finished the evening off with dinner and a movie. Dinner was a delicious local meal of venison pot roast, from Mr Chiot’s own deer, with potatoes from the garden, carrots and onions from the farmer’s market. The movie was The Soloist, which was great. We enjoyed a simple day at home and it was lovely.
How did you spend Christmas day?
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I Love Nativity Sets
I’m a big fan of nativity sets. I’ve always wanted to collect interesting ones from around the world. I only have 3 right now, but I’m sure I’ll acquire more throughout my lifetime. Mr Chiots and I bought our first nativity set on our honeymoon. We went to Seattle and while at Pike’s Place Market we saw this lovely little set made out of volcanic ash from Mt. Saint Helen’s.
It’s an interesting set not because it’s made out of volcanic ash, but because one of the characters is the little drummer boy!
The second nativity set I got a gift from “our pets” although I think Mr Chiots had a hand in it. Each year I’m given a few more pieces to this wonderful set. It lives atop our TV cabinet throughout the season with some lights behind it.
My newest nativity is a family set. My parents purchased this set in Cartagena, Colombia while we were there on vacation (since I grew up in Colombia that was the usual vacation destination). It’s a wonderfully interesting set, I think it was modeled after the art of the famous Colombian artist Fernando Botero. It’s handmade of clay and has such interesting metallic accents. I have fond memories of this always being out at home and I was thrilled when my mom gave it to me for Christmas last year.
My favorite pieces in this set are the animals, particularly the little fat sheep with their curls. I really love this one because it’s from the country I was born and raised in. It reminds me of Colombia when I look at it.
I always look for nativity sets when we’re traveling, they’re not your typical touristy item though, so they’re difficult to find. Especially interesting and unique ones. I don’t mind though, I don’t want to have 50 sets, just a few that I really love. There are some beautifully interesting nativity sets over at Etsy.com.
Do you have a nativity displayed in your home during the holidays?
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The First Sign of Christmas
You know that the holidays have arrived here at Chiot’s Run when you see chocolate covered cherries on the counter. I usually try to start making my famous chocolate covered cherries the week after Thanksgiving. This year, I was too busy so I started last Wednesday evening. I don’t really making cookies during this season, I spend my time making chocolate covered cherries and a few peanut butter cups. I also make a few batches of caramel corn for the wonderful people at the post office and the library.
These cherries are famous. A week or two before Thanksgiving people start asking about them, wondering if I’ve started making them yet. They want to make sure I remember to make them and they want to make sure I remember that they’re on “the list”.
Making cherries isn’t difficult, but it is time consuming, especially if you use real chocolate that you have to temper (which I use on about 2/3 of my cherries). It’s as simple as making a fondant to wrap around the cherries and then dipping them in chocolate. I’ve developed a few tips during my 10 year cherry dipping career. The fondant recipe below is the best, I’ve tried 10-15 different recipes and this is the easiest to work with because of the corn syrup. You can buy non-GMO corn syrup at your health food store if you’d like. Using anything else; milk, golden syrup, honey, maple syrup, etc. makes the fondant stickier and much harder to wrap around the cherries without a big mess!
Make sure you get the fondant fairly thin, too thick and it won’t turn into liquid. I cut the fondant into small balls and knead each piece, then flatten into a disc to wrap around each cherry. Kneading the fondant makes it smooth and warms it making it more pliable for easy wrapping. You don’t have to chill your fondant if your kitchen is cool.
I find that wrapping the disc around each cherry, then cutting off any excess before rolling works perfectly. I lightly roll them between my hands to smooth out the fondant, don’t use too much pressure or you’ll make the cherry leak juice which will turn your fondant into a sticky mess. Keeping a bowl of confectioners’ sugar close for dipping your hands and cherries into will help in case this happens. If you have a cherry that starts to produce juice too soon, simply dip in powdered sugar and then roll lightly between hands. Keep a wet rag and a dry towel around as well to clean your hands every so often. This keeps the process moving along smoothly.
I have found that putting parchment paper on the the cookie sheet and coating it with shortening makes it much easier to remove the cherries once they’re cooled and set. If you don’t do this they often stick, when when you pick them up they leave a small bit of fondant stuck to the sheet and then they start to leak juice.
Make sure you chill your cherries for at least an hour in the fridge before dipping. If you don’t allow the fondant to cool and set up, it will have a tendency to melt with the heat of the chocolate and start to drip off the cherries with the chocolate.
CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRIES
50 maraschino cherries, well drained
3 tablespoons room temperature butter
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 pounds dipping chocolate, white or dark
Combine butter, corn syrup and salt; blend until smooth. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix well. Knead until smooth and shiny; wrap in wax paper and chill for 30 minutes (if your kitchen is cool this may not be needed).
Meanwhile, drain cherries. Shape a marble-size piece of fondant around each cherry; place on wax paper-lined tray. Chill until firm, about 2 hours.
Melt chocolate according to kind you’re using (tempering real chocolate or simply melting to dipping consistency for chocolate coating). Dip cherries and place on wax paper-lined tray (I find those tiny muffin cups to be perfect, especially if you’re making different kinds (brandied & regular), they’re easy to keep separate if you use different colored cups for each kind). Store in covered container in a, cool dark place for 10 to 14 days to fully ripen and to attain the “liquidy” inside.
Brandied Cherries
Soak cherries in brandy for a minimum of 2 days (I soak mine for up to 1 year, but a week or two will do). Omit almond extract and add 1/2 teaspoon brandy flavoring or brandy instead. Follow recipe as stated above.
Next year I’m going to try to make my own maraschino cherries. I’m sure these will be even more delicious if I use fresh local cherries. I may even leave the pits in them to provide the natural almond flavor that comes from cherry stones. I’ll have to find a farm where I can pick them myself so I can make sure I get some with stems.
What are you famous for during the holidays? Or what is someone else famous for that you love?
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Quote of the Day: Ralph Waldo Emmerson
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I found myself in an appreciative mood last night, so I thought this quote was perfect.
What kind of mood do you find yourself in today?
