When my Grandma immigrated  from Germany to the USA she didn't bring much with her, but she did bring a chunk of rootstock from her father's Strawberry Rhubarb.  Strawberry rhubarb differs from regular rhubarb in that it generally has a smaller stalk that is a pretty pinkish red color.  My grandma, my mom, and I all have offspring from great grandpa's rhubarb plant growing in our yards... mine's a little small and sad, but mom's was big this year and she's been harvesting. 

Admittedly, with 2 young kids in the house the "veggie growing" portion of my mini-homestead lifestyle has been... uuhh... lacking.   But, living in a house that has been here for over 150 years in an (albeit formerly) agricultural community, has some inherent perks.  The now wild grapevines growing in the hedgerow are certainly to be counted among those perks.  Yep.  I've torn a good amount of them down, but they keep coming back (go figure) and they are actually quite useful if you take the time to process and prepare what they have to offer. 

The leaves have unfurled bright green and tender over the last couple of weeks, so I decided to pickle a small batch for later use as "wrappers" for Greek Dolmades.

This was super-easy and the recipe I based it off of was very intuitive and fun to do.  My kind of canning!

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add enough Seasalt to make a brine that "tastes like the sea".
2. Get a large bowl of ice water ready.
3. Boil the grape leaves for 30 to 45 seconds, then plunge into the ice water to cool. Drain them once the leaves are all cool.
4. Take about 6 grape leaves at a time and roll them up into a cigar from the side — not the top or bottom. You will need to fold over the leaf end to fit into the pint jars. Pack the grape leaves into a clean (disinfected) pint jar, making sure you have about 1 inch of head space at the top.
5. Add the lemon juice to the pint jar. Bring the water you used to cook the grape leaves back to a boil and ladle it into the jar to fill the rest of the way. Make sure the grape leaves are covered with the brine. Wipe the edge of the pint jar with a clean towel and seal the jar. 
6. Let cool on the shelf until the jar lid seals itself, then store in the refridgerator until you're ready to make Dolmades.

   Can't wait to try these!   Will update with a "Dolmades" post once we've made them... probably for when friends come over.

Simply put:  These are the best. Ever.  They're more like  breadsticks, hot out of the oven and crisp on the outside with a soft center... with TONS of colorful seasoning.
They're perfect for a snack, or for entertaining... liiike with wine out on the deck.  And that is exactly what we did with this batch when our neighbors invited us over for an impromptu glass (or 2 or 3) of wine on their deck.  They timed it perfectly for when the crackers came out of the oven, and everyone (including the kids) loved them.

My husband got the idea from the book The Bread Bakers Apprentice recipe for "Lavash Crackers" and we modified it according to our own preferences.

Baking has taken a hiatus in our house ever since my husband was diagnosed with Diabetes.  He is the baker, and he's really good at it but it took us a little while to figure out what a good balance was to keep his bloodsugar levels in check.  Turns out that moderation works just fine for him, and so he's back to baking and consuming all those delicious carbs in moderation (usually no more than 2 "carbs" per snack/meal). 

So, we needed some snack ideas and were sick of buying everything premade at the grocery store.  We found a recipe for Whole Wheat Soft Pretzles and modified it to fit our needs and the type of flour we had on hand.  They were really, REALLY good hot from the oven.

Up until a few days ago, I had never eaten a stuffed artichoke.  Generally they are made with a generous portion of cheese and I never thought to try it without.  But last week my husband decided he wanted some... and I played along by buying the ingredients, and then making HIM cook it :-P   And they turned out great!  So, I recorded the process by taking photos ( I did NOT take a photo of my plate after I had eaten more than one of these things... holy mess! But completely worth it).  I'd suggest serving these at a party or as a side, and you can make them vegetarian (vegan, actually) but subbing 1/2 c. vegan parmesian cheese for the sausage.

• 4 large artichokes
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I make my own out of leftover frozen bread)
• 2 links mild italian sausage, cooked
• 2 sliced garlic cloves
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup white wine
• well-salted water (brine)

 Cut off the bottom of the artichokes to level them off so they  stand up straight. Peel off  any tough outer leaves, and then trim the tops so that they are flat across.


In a separate bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, sausage, garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Pry open the artichoke so you can start stuffing the breadcrumb mixture in between the leaves.  Do this until all four are sufficiently stuffed.
 ... We did 6 artichokes, I know.  4 would've been stuffed a little more thoroughly.


Put the artichokes in a heavy bottomed sauce pot and drizzle them with olive oil.  Fill the pot with the wine and then enough salted water to come halfway up the sides of the artichokes.  Brink to a low simmer, cover and cook until soft, at least 45 minutes.


 These were delicious by themselves, but would've been amazing with a little Marinara or other Italian Tomato Sauce drizzled over the top.

Enjoy!

I have to admit, the sunny warm days over the last couple of weeks have made me manic.  Like the kind of manic where you can't stop moving and doing even to sleep.  So, I channelled the energy, had a fantastic birthday, Mother's day, and visit with my brother and his wife, and concentrated on the abundance of dandelions that have finally sprung up all around us!    I already wrote an entry on the how-to of Dandelion Wine making when I excitedly realized the 2013 batch was ready to try back in March during a late season snowstorm.  But I've been so preoccupied with dandelions lately I'm feeling the need to share a mostly picture entry documenting the creation of my 2014 batch of wine!


Spring has finally Sprung!



There are SO many Dandelions this year and the girls love to pick!

My helpers!


Filled up the under-seat compartment... pink wagons are SUPER handy...



6 cups of dandelion petals... my fingers were numb at this point!

Dandelion must at the bottom of our 5 gallon food grade bucket (it ended up being about 1 gallon of liquid/petals/other ingredients).  The bucket was then covered loosely with aluminium foil and left to ferment for 3 days...




Today I strained the liquid and racked it into a 2 gallon fermenting vessel with an airlock on the top.   It will be ready to bottle in about 3 months!

This has been so much fun! One of my very favorite hobbies!

We ran into 2 issues last weekend 1) It's STILL cold outside and 2) there was no room in the freezer for the stuff we bought for our 1st barbeque of the year.   So, I purged the freezer and found 3 chicken carcasses to make stock and a great big ham bone left over from Easter.



Good thing I have more than one stockpot!

As much an I hate to admit it, my shivering body is telling me that it's still soup season, regardless of what the calendar is telling me.  This recipe for white bean, kale, and ham soup holds a special place in my heart.  The first time I came up with the idea was when I was pregnant with my first daughter and feeling more than a little morning (all day) sickness. The sweetness of the ham and the texture of the beans were apparently just right and this soup was the only thing I could stomach for about 2 weeks straight right around Easter time that year.