Pear Juice, the old fashioned way

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Our friends from Michigan were in town for the weekend. Before they left to go home, we took them to Slate Run Historical Farm for a little taste of 1800s Ohio farm life.

Upon arrival, we saw a farmer with a wheel barrel by the pear trees. It turned out we had arrived too early, before the 11am opening time. The farmer did not seem too bothered. He told us a bit about the orchards; how the apple trees have a harder time with pests, and that these two pear trees can yield a lot more fruits than several of their apple trees can provide good apples. As we listened, we helped him collect the fallen pears for the old fashioned cider press.

The farm bell rang when they were ready for the cider pressing. The kids ran from the barn so fast you would think it was Christmas morning. They were allowed to help put the pears into the press as well as the pressing itself. How fun that they got to see and help with the whole process, from beginning to end.

And I hear (I did not taste it) that the pear juice was quite a delicious reward.

Fall Colors

Just a glimpse of what we get to experience here in Bexley. Beauty!

Oh, and all those beautiful leaves? They fall! They fall a lot onto our front and back yards! I bought my first rake the other day... Beauty is fleeting, is it not?

Cherry Tomato Jam

We are expecting some frost tonight...our first one, I believe. And yet, we still have so many cherry tomatoes that are trying to make it just one more day!

Our dear Claire was inspired in the garden yesterday. She wanted to can tomatoes... which we have done a lot of this season already, and there is not enough to can anymore. But those cherry tomatoes! Something must be done with them before they go to waste.

Tomato Jam. It just popped into my head just like that. Not that I had made it before... but why not? Can't be too hard right?

The little chef got it all together: the harvesting, the cleaning, the chopping, the stirring. I was just the sous-chef. The result: brilliant. It went very well with the Alaskan Cod I made (and did not plan to have tomato Jam on the side). It was just meant to be.

Claire's Cherry Tomato Jam

Two cups of ripe cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

a pinch of salt

Wash and slice cherry tomatoes into halves. Combine all ingredients and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Let cool, and serve!

Colors

I kind of drove through the "bad" part of town today on purpose. Part of it is being revitalized, and part of it has beautiful old homes.

And then there were these buildings and windows! My goodness, the colors of the windows, and the red brick and that blue sky!!

It was worth 'risking' the drive. I do hope that this area of town will see its pretty days again, soon.

Last Fresh Pesto!

For the first time in a while, we have our own basil plants that are prolific, delicious, and oh so fragrant!

It is going to be heart-breaking to see the first frost-bites on these little plants...so, I am not going to wait for that. Instead, I am going to harvest them before that dreadful day, turn them into pesto and freeze for a mid-winter's feast (or two or three or more!).

I generally don't measure my ingredients for pesto. It it by taste, and may vary from person to person (you may like more nuts and less cheese, more garlic or a miniscule amount). Here is a basic way we make ours at home:

Ingredients:

• Bunch of fresh basil leaves, washed and drained
• Handful of nuts (we like tamari almonds, or walnuts)
• One clove of garlic
• A good amount of grated Parmesan Cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• A squeeze of lemon juice

I generally start with the nuts, cheese and garlic in the food processor, and mix that well. Then add a lot of olive oil so you get a consistency of a thick soup. Add the basil leaves next, then salt and pepper to taste, and squeeze in lemon juice at the end. You may need to add a bit more oil, or water works, too, if it is still too lumpy. Remember, taste as you go. You can tweak it with less or more of each ingredient, depending on your liking.

Freshly made pesto over a well-cooked (al dente) pasta is one of the most delicious dishes ever! Try it now before the season is over. Or like I said, make it, freeze it, and celebrate summer in the middle of January...because it will be summer somewhere in the world!

The Piano

An important inanimate object became part of the family a few weeks ago. Thanks to craigslist, we didn't have to break our bank account to be owners of a piano (a perfectly fine piano especially for little fingers!).

Also, thanks to Ted, the piano teacher, there are actually some real music and tunes being played to sooth the ears (rather than causing headaches).

Maybe someday, this can be heard in our home. Wouldn't that be lovely?

Sunday Moment

Organic Apples in the heart of Ohio!

We are 50lbs richer with organic apples from Charlie's Apple Orchard! You can read more about our day and the orchard here!

On the field

This moment. Inspired by Soulemama.

More Pumpkins

How many pumpkins can one have in a season? Apparently there is no limit. I didn't grow up with any of this stuff: autumn, Halloween, Pumpkin patches... I guess I am still getting used to it.

And hayrides? Can someone tell me exactly why hayrides are fun when you are usually breathing in gasoline fumes and sneezing from all the hay? Plus, I think I can get there faster walking.

But again, I am still getting used to this whole thing. Don't get me talking about Halloween itself! If you like Halloween a whole lot, you may want to stop reading this blog for the next month.

I have to admit, however, that there is nothing like that deep orange of the pumpkins and squashes, against the autumnal blue sky. The contrast is real, and it is beautiful.

I will try to enjoy it for what it is (these pumpkin patch visits, field trips, and the like). In the meantime, I can always bake something with pumpkin. I don't seem to have any problems with that!

Fall Planting

This will be our first time planting our own garlic, in a real garden! It will be a long wait... If we are lucky, we will see something popping up in April. I think it will be worth it!

Still enjoying summer

As I write, people around me are in their summer clothes. The A/C is on where I type this, and we are sun-drying tomatoes back home, in the yard. Yup, it's still summer here.

But it won't be long before fall comes back from its little vacation. The trees here are on fire, and the nights are cool, as they should be.

On Sunday, with all the tomatoes we still had from my visit to the farm, we had to have another summery lunch picnic (with BLAT), right in our own garden. We are enjoying it here, one day at a time.

Lebanon, OH

We just spent another 24 hours away, in the southwest corner of Ohio. The town is Lebanon, the Inn is The Golden Lamb.

You can read more about our weekend here!

Barns

On my way to Bridgman Farm today, I passed by many other farms with too many barns to keep count.

I love barns. I don't know where this particular interest came from. Now that I think about it, I used to live in a dormatory called The Barn. It used to be a real barn (painted red when I was there), and it was converted into a dorm for high schoolers to call home.

Or maybe it's because I have not lived near so many barns before that I find an appeal to them. These are beautiful old, some nearly fallen, barns. I especially love the Amish/ Mennoite barns that are plain, white, and functional.

It helped that today was one of the most beautiful of days. I spent three hours on the farm, helping the tomato farmer pull up tomato stakes (and picking left over tomatoes, too many to know what to do with). It would not have really mattered what I was doing there today. Just to be out in the open fields, under this kind of blue sky, and the warm sun on my shoulders...it was a perfect fall day.

Pumpkins Pumpkins!

Here they are, at their first pumpkin patch of the season. I wonder how many more we will be going to before the season is over! The only I mind is (besides my least favorite holiday, sorry people) how the kids ask many times a day: "Can we carve the pumpkins yet?"

I am trying to hold off as long as I can to prevent early rotting of these pumpkins!

On Bikes

It was probably not the safest thing, to try to capture a moment like this, from my own moving bicycle.

This was us, on a crispy fall afternoon, going through small roads of Bexley, in search of fallen walnuts!

Will you take a look at our goofy daughter trying a new trick? Oh dear...

Pumpkin time, again!

The weather was really too cold to spend the afternoon on a pumpkin patch. Although, it did add to the experience, and it made our pumpkin hunting more speedy!

We went south to Circle S farm with some friends after school. Although we have been to many pumpkin patches in the past (in California and Massachusetts) I did not know what to expect from this experience...except that we were going to pick some pumpkins from their vines. Little did we know, it was a sort of farm-amusement park with hay stacks, hay slides, maze, petting zoo, hay ride plus donuts and cider! We were not prepared for all of that!

At any rate, we had fun, and it helped that we were there during their lull, so the only people who shared our hay ride to the pumpkin patch were new parents of little twin girls. We shared stories of being parents of twins. It brought back many good memories of when my own were little wee ones...just about the size of the pumpkins we brought home.

More lotus

Let me continue to inspire you with these lotus images. My son was by my side when I was editing some of these photos. We both agreed that this particular image is enhanced by the simple black and white contrast. The shapes and nature of these almost perfectly round leaves are interesting enough on their own, we decided.

I think I have a little assistant in the making.

600th with Lotuses

These lotuses live in a pond, in a park, in the middle of this busy city. Every time I go by the park, I have a strong desire to jump out of the car with my camera, and capture the stillness and peacefulness that these plants give me.

And so, for this blog's 600th post, I am sharing them with you.

I hope that they will bring a little peace and a little stillness to your day today.

A Perfect Fall Day

It is one of those days that just one picture is not enough! In fact I have a few to share from this most beautiful morning I spent on a farm. But I will save it for another day.

Freshly laid

Following Soulemama's footsteps:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.