Bake Some Pies With Fannie Farmer: Recap

I'm not going to post the full list of completed pies and rankings and whatnot today since there are about 60 pies in my completed list now and I just wanted to do a quick update for now!  I'll do a larger update later on.  Here are a few of the highlights since I last posted:

The Peanut Butter Cream Cheese pie was seriously incredible.  Just pour the filling into a crumb crust and chill it.  So easy, and so delicious.  There wasn't very much sugar, and it was full of protein and healthy fats from all the peanut butter, cream cheese, and butter that it was almost a protein bar in pie form! 

I really loved the Eggnog Chiffon Pie.  Really loved it.  I was starting to think that I didn't like chiffon pies in general since they have all been a little weird in my opinion so far, but this one was perfect. 

Cream of Wheat Custard pie made for the perfect thing to bring to our Life Group's annual New Years Day (or day after as sometimes happens with scheduling) Brunch.  It was light, but filling at the same time.  Not too sweet, and the whole wheat crust was better than I expected!  I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about whole wheat pastry, but now I am excited to try with some different pies too!

The Maple Pecan pie I froze and saved for Christmas was excellent as well.  I was really happy with how it stood up to the freezer.  When we ate it after Christmas dinner you couldn't tell at all that it had been baked a couple weeks beforehand!

I lost some speed working through this list over Christmas, but I am excited to get back into the swing of things.  There are lots of beautiful citrus based pies that I am excited to try out in the coming month or two now it is in season!

Epiphany Feast

For the past couple of years, our family has rounded out our Christmas season by celebrating Epiphany on the 6th of January.  This is traditionally the end of the Christmas season and the "12 Days of Christmas" happen in between Christmas and Epiphany.  We like to invite some friends to come celebrate with us and eat a big meal. 

This year we had a ham that was part of our share of pork that we purchased earlier this fall.  The pig was raised by friends of ours only about 20 minutes away from our house!  You can really taste the difference in the meat.  Even if we hadn't already visited the farm and seen how well the pigs were treated you would know the quality by tasting the meat!  I made a glaze for the ham by blending honey, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, apple cider vinegar, and half an orange in my Vitamix. 

Accompanying our ham were some roasted veggies (squash, and brussels sprouts with bacon and cranberries), yams (pureed with a candid pecan topping), and mashed potatoes.  Mr. Forager came up with a winning punch combination using some of the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival cranberries I juiced in my steam juicer and canned this past fall.

Since there was nothing in my list of Fannie Farmer pies that really matched the traditional galette des rois I just made one quickly using David Lebovitz's recipe and some frozen puff pastry from the store.  Puff pastry is something that is on my list to learn how to make, but there wasn't any time to figure it out this time!  Something funny also happened to my filling for the galette and it ended up spilling out the sides all around and actually looked like it was the crust of the tart instead of the pastry above it!  Even if it looked a little funny, it was still delicious.  I will definitely make it again from this recipe next year, but maybe find a better source (or make my own) for the puff pastry.

I hope you all had a happy Epiphany whether you celebrated last Friday or not!

Foraging Goals for 2017

I'm going to continue on a bit of a "New Year's" theme for today's post, and write up my foraging goals for the coming year.  This is something I didn't do last year, and as a result the foraging efforts were sporadic and haphazard.  As I said yesterday I am aware of the fact that I also was getting used to doing all of this now with a baby, so I am not down on myself about how it went last year, but I know that I can probably do better.  This year I wanted to give myself some specific goals to accomplish so I would have a clearer plan.

1. ASPARAGUS

I really want to capitalize on the incredible, free bounty of asparagus we have in our area this year.  It blew me away that I could go on a nice walk for about an hour, and come home with 2.5 kilos of food!  It is plentiful, and delicious, and I want to make the most of it.

2. YARROW

I noticed this growing in quite a few places last summer, but I never seemed to get around to collecting any.  This Christmas, I was making some batches of herbed bath salts for some postpartum ladies, and I realized that this would be the perfect thing to include, only I didn't have any!  This is definitely on my list to gather for next year.

3. MULLEIN

Similar to the above, this (kind of ugly) plant grows all over the place where I live, and it is supposed to be good when used in healing salves.  

4. OREGON GRAPE

This was such a good find last year.  A lady from my church gave me a tip and took me to the biggest patch of it.  We were only there for about half an hour, but we gathered several kilograms.  It made a seriously delicious jelly.  I am hoping to go back for more next summer and make more things using its delectable, complex flavour.

5. DANDELION

These cheerful, humble flowers are so plentiful.  All I have to do is step outside and I am greeted by all their smiling yellow faces.  I made some syrup from their blossoms last year, and pesto from their leaves and those were both really delicious.  I want to make more with them next spring, and also to learn to harvest and use their roots in the fall.

6. SPRUCE TIPS

These have the most incredible flavour, but for some reason I keep missing out on the season.  This is the year!  

7. ARROW LEAVED BALSAM ROOT

There is a time of the year when these flowers burst into flower all over the sunny hills near my home.  I have no idea what to do with them, but I have read that all parts of the plant are edible.  I am especially interested to try using the roots since I have heard they can be roasted, dried, and ground into a sort of coffee type drink.  I am definitely NOT looking for a replacement for my beloved coffee, but it sounds interesting to try all the same!

8. WILD STRAWBERRIES

Last spring I found a patch of them in blossom, but I never made it back to gather any when they were ripe.  This year I would like to (being respectful of the size of the patch and the fact that they are food for the local wildlife) come back and gather a few when they are ready for eating.

9. LEARN MORE

I want to educate myself more this year about what to go out looking for.  I want to read more - online, but also in print - and find people who have knowledge to pass on.  I am very interested in learning to forage mushrooms since I have heard that morels are in our area.  I am cautious to do this on my own since you are risking quite a bit when you are foraging mushrooms, but if I find someone reputable is offering a course somewhere nearby I would be very interested in taking it!

10. LINGONBERRIES

Ok, these are not in my area, and that is why this is the last item on my list, but if anyone has a tip about where to find these (also called 'High Bush Cranberries') please let me know!  They are so delicious!

Gardening Goals for 2017

As part of my garden planning this year I wrote out a few goals for the coming season.  I've done this before, but I always kept them to myself.  When no one knows your goals it is easy to ignore them and not work as hard as you would if there was someone keeping you accountable.  This year I decided to share my gardening and foraging goals here as a way of doing that.  Some things were very successful for me last year.  For example: I managed to grow and forage a minimum of 5 kilos of food for my family each month last year.  I also gave myself a lot of grace as it was my first season gardening with a baby.  This year I plan to work harder and continue my quest to provide as much food as I can by myself, and hopefully rely less and less on the grocery store.

Are you making goals for yourself this season?  Please share them in the comments!  I would love to be inspired by some of the things you want to tackle and to be able to encourage each other during all the hard work that is ahead!

1. TOMATOES

I think this is on my list every season, but I do feel that each time I make an effort I learn more and get a better result.  So far my best tomato harvest has been 3.5 kilos of green ones at the end of last season!  This year I am really focused on getting the tomatoes started on time, and really hoping that the weather cooperates (it didn't last summer) for the perfect tomato season!

2. PEPPERS FOR DRYING

This goal has been on my radar before, but again it is something that I haven't really had any success with.  I love using paprika in cooking, so I would dearly love to grow my own peppers to dry and make my own!  I am excited to give this another shot this year.

3. DRY BEANS

I usually grow a few types of beans in my garden, and have at least a decent success, but I really want to grow enough dry beans this year that I don't have to buy any.  This may not be possible with the space that I have available, but I am going to do my best!

4. HOOP HOUSES/COLD FRAMES/POLYTUNNELS

A big part of my plan this year includes using as many season extending tricks as I can.  The light I get is basically the bare minimum required for growing fruits and vegetables, so anything I can do to get things in the ground early is a huge help.

5. GRAINS

We planted a few of the raise beds with winter wheat this past fall, and I had a decent success letting buckwheat go to seed last year and grinding it for flour, so I would like to continue experimenting with small scale grain planting.  With the space we have I am not ever going to get an amazing harvest, but anything that reduces my dependency on the supermarket is a good thing. 

6. GROW (AND EAT) MORE LEAFY GREENS

I usually plant some salad greens because I feel like I am supposed to, but I never really make much of an effort.  Usually it bolts before I pick any since we don't tend to eat a lot of salads.  Beet greens have been the best for us since even if we don't use the greens we will for sure use the roots.  Along with everyone else I feel like I should be eating more kale (especially since I actually like it!) and chard, and other dark leafy things that are full of vitamins and fibre.  Now that I have a Vitamix, I can make green smoothies that are actually smooth, and not sludge filled with stringy bits. 

7. SAVE MORE SEEDS

This has been a priority for me for the past few years, and I have had some - albeit limited - success.  Some things (I'm looking at you, promiscuous melons, corn, and squash) will probably never work out for me in this little garden of mine, but there are other things that do work.  I think beans, peas, and tomatoes should be possible.  I also did well with my buckwheat last season.  I don't think I'll ever be able to completely accomplish the dream of never having to buy seed, but at least I can take some steps in that direction.  I also make it a priority to support those suppliers that do make an effort to grow heritage and open pollinated varieties.

8. BEEF UP THE HERB GARDEN

We put in a few beds dedicated to various herbs last year, and now that it is established I want to make it really healthy and strong this year.  I think this might be one of the areas where I could possibly accomplish my #10 goal.  I will probably also be adding a few more herbs this year.

9. TRY SOMETHING NEW

I have my eye on a few new things this year.  I'm thinking sorghum (to render into syrup), and maybe strawberry spinach.

10. GROW ENOUGH TO GIVE

Every summer it seems like everyone around me is blessed with abundance.  We are too, but in the garden I am still learning and so I haven't reaped any bumper crops as of yet.  In the late summer it seems like almost every Sunday in the foyer at church there is a big box of tomatoes, zucchini, plums, or apples with a sign saying 'please take some'!  I would like to be one of the contributors next year, since I have been blessed many times by others' generosity.

Pumpkin Cheddar and Ale Soup

Do you have any pumpkins left in your winter food storage?  I stocked up every week at the Farmers Market by buying an extra squash or two, and now have quite a few ready and waiting for whenever I feel like eating them!  Many winter squash varieties store well if they have been properly cured, so this is a great way of building up your pantry without any labour intensive preservation techniques.

I picked up these beauties at the year end sale at Davison Orchards.  I make it my personal mission to fit the most sugar pumpkins I can in my cart since the sale is usually that all the pumpkins you can fit in your cart are $20 total.  

I have been dreaming up this soup for a while and finally got around to figuring it out.  It turned out to be everything I hoped!  I hope you can get your hands on some pumpkin (any winter squash will substitute nicely if you can't find any pumpkin, but the flavour will be a little bit different) and give it a try!

PUMPKIN CHEDDAR AND ALE SOUP

This makes a lot of soup - perfect for freezing and eating later!

• 2 sugar pumpkins (roasted until soft)
• 1 medium onion
• 3 small cloves garlic
• butter
• 1 can of ale (nothing too sweet or overly spiced)
• 4 cups milk (more or less depending on how runny you like your soup)
• 2 cups stock (I used turkey)
• 1 lb cheddar cheese (shredded)
• 1 tbsp salt
• Dice onions and garlic, and sauté in butter until soft and translucent in the bottom of a large soup pot.

1. Transfer to a blender along with pumpkin and puree until smooth.  You can add a little of the ale, milk, or stock at this point if you need it to help keep things moving in the blender.  An immersion blender will work also.
2. Combine pumpkin mixture, ale, milk, and stock back in the pot and bring to a low simmer.  Add the cheese and stir until it is all melted in.  
3. Season with salt to taste.