The Rare Pinkshell Azalea

Earlier this month I asked if anyone knew what this budding flower was in my post Beauty in Unexpected Places.  My first sighting of it looked like this.

Since then, the flowers have begun to bloom, and I have learned that they are Pinkshell Azalea's.  They are native to only 10 mountain counties of the high western mountains of North Carolina and is state listed as significantly rare!  I am so pleased that we have them in our front yard, and I can share their beauty with you.  Interestingly, the flowers bloom before the leaves come out, which makes the flower stand out all that much more before the leaves emerge.  I love the intricacy of the deep pink pattern in the middle of the petals, it looks like a henna pattern!

Please enjoy the photos.  The blooming process is not complete yet, though I wonder if this recent freezing weather, (and yes, flurry of snow flurry, see yesterday's post), will have stunted their development.

The simple beauty speaks for itself...

Lise's Log Cabin Pot Roast on a Snow Flurried Day

I was thrilled this morning when there were snow flurries.  I do realize this is not a good thing for the apple and chestnut trees, nor the raspberry, gooseberry and blueberry bushes (blueberries already got hit with the freeze earlier this month).  But I love snow.  Now mind you, we are talking flurries of snow flurries...meaning you could almost count the snowflakes as they blew by; and I do mean blew, being the wind was, and still is gusting madly.  Anyway, I took pictures until I could capture just the right one to share my snow flurry joy with you, and woo hoo, my efforts paid off and here you are. 

If you look very closely, you will see dot of snow a little left of center.

Here, I cropped the photo so you could see it a little more clearly.

Then I cropped even more to capture the motion.

SNOW FLAKE!!!

Yes, yes, I realize it is only one lone snow flake, there were others!  Really!  But this one is special.

So what better meal on a snowy, blustery day (an exaggeration, but share the snow flurry joy with me), than Lise's Log Cabin Pot Roast.  This is my own recipe, developed from ideas collected from different resources (The old Fannie Farmer Cookbook is awesome!), including my own kitchen knowledge, to create my own, unique meal.  This is my favorite way to cook.  Another thing to be aware of, I am a little-bit-of-this-little-bit-of-that kind of cook, so my measurements in the following recipe are approximations of what I believe them to be.  I could write "or so" after each measurement, but I would get tired of writing that, I think you will appreciate my approach:).

Lise's Log Cabin Pot Roast

2 - 4 lb. chuck roast

4 tablespoons of flour

salt & pepper

1/2 cup red wine (one you would drink), then more as cooking (1 - 2 cups)

1/2 cup beef stock, then more as cooking (1 - 2 cups)

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1/2 onion, chunky chop

5 carrots, chunky chop

3 stalks celery, leaves included, chunky chop

5 potatoes, I used russet today, chunky chop (seems like a lot, but Johny loves potatoes)

1 lb fresh mushrooms, I used button because they were on sale, but would use any we could harvest if available, chunky chop

This can be a one pot meal (happiness for those of us who are the dishwasher). I am using an enamel cast iron dutch oven. Everything is accomplished in the same pot.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  I use 300, high altitude makes things cook too fast at the usual temperature, usually resulting in burned food, water actually boils at a lower temperature at high altitudes.

Let your chuck roast come to room temperature, about 1/2 hour.  Salt and pepper both sides, and dredge in flour.  

Put a little butter and olive oil in a pot, and soften your 1/2 onion.  When opaque, add your garlic.  When the garlic begins to brown, remove both from the pan.

Bring the heat up on you pan, and when very hot, shake the excess flour off the roast and place into the pan.  Be careful because it will splatter.  Brown the meat on both sides.  Once browned, lift the meat a little and pour the wine and beef stock into the pot.  You want it to sizzle and get all the sticky good stuff from the bottom of the pan.  Once I have poured the liquid in, I use the meat to swoosh around the bottom of the pan to get the good stuff, not sure if this is good chef technique but it works for me.  Then put your onion/garlic mixture back into the pot.  Put the lid on and put in the oven.

After 1 hour, turn the meat over, put some of the onions and juice on top, replace the lid and back in the oven it goes for another hour.  I actually turned the temp down to 275 because I felt it was still cooking too fast.

After cooking for 2 hours, add your veggies (hold back the mushrooms), including salt & pepper to taste (I don't use much, would rather have those condiments on the table for people to season as they choose).  When I took the pan out of the oven, I realized all the liquid had evaporated, so I added more wine and beef stock, about 2 cups total, and scraped up all the good sticky bits again.

You want to remove the bay leaves and rosemary stalks (if some rosemary came off the stalks, that is OK, just leave those good seasonings in there; just be aware they will be whole and not chopped).  I put the vegetables under the meat at first, so they are in the gravy cooking for a 1/2 hour.  Remove the pot from the oven again, add your mushrooms, stir everything and put the veggies on top of the meat, and let everything finish cooking. I also increased the temperature to 325, but will check every 15 minutes to ensure nothing burns.  You will know you are done when your veggies are fork tender to your preference, I like al dente veggies, so I cook for about 45 minutes.  Take the dish out of the oven and allow it to rest about 10 minutes prior to serving.

Serve with your favorite warmed bread.

One finishing option is to remove the meat and vegetables to a platter, and put the pot on the stove on medium high, and whisk/stir the remaining liquid to reduce to a gravy.  Johny and I enjoy the au jus style, just like it is, out of the pot.

A couple notes of importance after the meal...While it was delicious, and a keeper for sure, I have a few modifications...

1. Start with more liquid in the first stage.  Instead of 1/2 cup, I would recommend 1 to 1 1/2 cups of both wine and beef stock.
2. If you like your veggies soft, put them in @ the 1 1/2 hour point rather than 2.

ENJOY!  Let me know what you think of Lise's Log Cabin Pot Roast!

More About Another Saturday in Sylva

Yesterday I posted about our day, Saturday in Sylva, including the Downtown Sylva Farmer's Market, but did not tell you about our lovely lunch at City Lights Cafe.  We walked from the market to the Cafe, which is just up the hill off Main Street.  The outside garden is beautiful, and a lovely spot for a picture with Johny and John. 

 

The Azalea's were gorgeous!  The Cafe is a comfortable establishment all the way around. Our lunch was fantastic, as you can see from our empty plates...I had hummus and salad, it was really superb.

City Lights Bookstore is just above the Cafe and has been a favorite stop of ours for years. They have new books, used books, a used book exchange program, and they are extremely knowledgeable of local writers and historians. This is Chris, the owner. He, along with his other staff, make the place everything that it is...fabulous and more!

After lunch and some really great conversation, we ventured back to our cars through the rain, observing the farmers market closing, with very few growers remaining.  And as I looked behind me to the backside of Main Street, I was struck by how lovely it looked...






Totally off the subject, today, Sunday, I did some baking.  I've confessed before that I am not the greatest baker, my daughter Erin's 1st year birthday cake, made from scratch, was a complete disaster. So I go with the boxed products, and use them sparingly at that.  Now that we are living off the land, I am committed to baking more of the baked goods Johny loves to eat, mostly for breakfast, and no, his physique does not show it one bit, not fair!  I'm talking cakes, brownies, pies, etc.  Anyway, I digress.  So this morning, I make blueberry muffins from a package.  After I filled the muffin tins, I notice the little note stating HIGH ALTITUDE (ABOVE 3500 FEET): add 1 tablespoon flour to dry mix.  Oops, oh well, we'll see what happens.  Result?  Not a disaster, but not very fluffy muffins.

The clincher...I told Johny I would make him some brownies today, such the home maker I am these days, people who know me well will be chuckling at this! So I am making the brownies, and yes indeed, I forgot about the high altitude again!  I had poured half the batter into the pan, so yes, oh yes I did, I poured it out, washed the pan, and added the darned 1/4 cup of flour and 2 tablespoons of water it required for higher altitude.  But viola, beautiful and tasty brownies.  So as my dad always says, reminding me of the Bernstein Bears, "let this be a lesson to you"!

Proof of success is in the picture!  Yes,they are scrumptious and rich and chocolaty!!!

Thanks for visiting my blog, see you again soon!  Feel free to leave a comment, invite a friend to follow, or share the link!

Another Saturday in Sylva

As I mentioned last Saturday, we go to Sylva for our weekly trip into town to bulk up on supplies.  Today was a drizzly day, but no matter, to me it was perfectly lovely.  The Sylva Farmers Market had less human traffic that it has had in the past two weeks, but there was a decent crowd despite the rain, a demonstration of the community's commitment to supporting local farmers and artisans.  Even more demonstration of local support, the Market isn't supposed to open until May, but they have been here since early April!  Happiness for us:)  And the competition for sales is stiff, with many farmers selling the produce the have nurtured.  I'd like to introduce you to some of the Farmer's Market Vendors:

Randy is the gentleman who saved our rhubarb for us last week.  He is extremely knowledgeable, funny, and a talented grower.  Our rhubarb is still in it's pot, but growing beautifully...we are waiting to be sure there will be no more frosts before we find it's permanent home!

Balltown Bee Farm brings a multitude of various garden delights as well as fresh, farm raised, rabbit and quail, both delectable.  Kelly is on the left, and I am sorry to say I cannot recall the other person's name, but I know they are both Roller Derby Queens:)
Then we have the Sylva Seed Exchange, with Jenny, Sprouting and Idea, who developed this program so local growers check out open pollinated a d heirloom seeds in the spring and return seeds they've saved the following fall, ultimately protecting and preserving local plant diversity.

There are a couple other vendors I would like to share with you, just because they demonstrate the variety and joy that is represented at this Farmers Market...

Now these two rascals,

Johny (my husband/Mountain Man) and John, were college pals. 

We met today at the Farmers Market and then went to lunch together.  It is the first time I met John, and it was a real pleasure.  We went to lunch at the City Lights Cafe, a place with a very comfortable atmosphere, savory food, and pleasant proprietors. 


What was most intriguing to me was the community box...
only in the mountains!!!  I'll write more about City Lights Cafe and the Bookstore in the future.  The certainly are two of our favorite places in Sylva.
 
In closing, I would like to leave you with a few photos of Sylva, in the drizzling rain.  It is a charming town, with history, vibrancy, and culture.  I love it here, are you surprised?

I welcome your comments and feedback.  And thank you for visiting my blog!

It Only Takes a Moment

Every day, I marvel at the beauty that surrounds me in these mountains.  I find a deep peacefulness in experiencing what nature has to offer, and in just "being".  There is so much to see, to smell, to hear.  As I walked about the mountain today...

I saw the woods surrounding me, and was awed by the simplicity of a white moth or butterfly, so small in comparison to the flower it was near...

I smelled the rich red clay soil with a worm crawling by, still moist from our recent heavy rain...

I heard the creek loudly gurgling, slapping on the rocks as it rushed along it's path...

After dinner, I stood on my porch, heard the birds singing, the chimes chiming, the creek rushing, and a hummer buzzing at the feeder...I made a video to capture these sounds, but I cannot get it to upload...not yet anyway, still working at mastering this blogging technology.
So may I suggest that you take a  moment, close your eyes, and imagine yourself in your favorite space, and enjoy:)  As Seals & Crofts sang, "We may never pass this way again"!
Would you like to share your favorite space and what it conjures up for you?

When You Least Expect It...

Today, while walking to the mailbox, a bunch of Swallowtail butterfly's were in the middle of the road.  Visually, it is quite contradictory to see a group of beautiful butterfly's quietly suckling minerals on a stone mountain road.  Yet, they were all so peaceful and content, congregated on this spot, with not a care in the world.  And while I understand that they are suckling needed minerals to add to their diet of nectar, it still appears odd. 

Once I finished with my photo taking, and wanted to continue on, Johny stated he was extremely concerned with the danger the butterflies were in, pending any modern contraption that would come rolling along...we had seen more than one Swallowtail come to it's demise after encountering to some degree or another, one of these machines!  So, Mountain Man Johny to the rescue, he gently shooed away the beauties, and picked up those too stubborn to move.  We were once again on our way toward the mailbox.

Did you know that the long and flexible tube a butterfly uses to suckle it's nectar is called proboscis?  I didn't either, until today, but now we all know! 

As we neared the row of mailboxes, I spotted a gorgeous Tiger Swallowtail, (with the same coloration as the dark Swallowtail but perdominantly yellow) on the road.  This fellow was quick and did not like staying in one place long, so I kept trying to follow him around (picture that image!).  But the wonder of my spotting him was that as Johny waited for me to finishing snapping my camera and chasing this fellow around, he spotted a morel mushroom!!! See how lovingly he examines his precious?

Mind you, this is an incredible find, for we have been hunting these delicious morsels for quite some time, and though Johny has found them with his friend Ron, he has not found his own patch yet.  So here we were, on our way to the mailbox, and kowabunga, mushroom heaven...OK, we only found a few, well, 3 to be specific, but yummy yum yum, we were excited!  And we picked lots of dandelion for our dinner salad too, so we were happy we would be enjoying what our mountain has to offer. 

Today's trip to the mailbox was a triumphant occasion, with the joy of all that is simple in our mountain life.  Have I told you lately how I love this place?  This unencombered mountain life is soothing to the soul.  Complete serenity!

I do miss my family, my daughters Erin & Jessi and expecially my grandson Liam...so COME ON UP!!!  You'll be happy you did:)

  

What IS That in my Violet Jelly???

Today was the first day of my living off the land and "preserving" what I find.  I found a recipe, thanks to Tipper's post Blind Pig and The Acorn, Easy Recipe For Making Violet Jelly, which inspired me, considering the wild violets I was finding here and there as I walked around our mountain.

Now mind you, I have never preserved a thing, but I was more than excited to take the plunge into canning/preserving; after all, this was a simple recipe, and by George we are Living off the Land! I must admit, I am thrilled with my results.  Granted, I am one to add my own thing or two to a recipe, so while I thank you profusely Tipper, for your fantastic recipe, I had to add a couple of my own touches.  I know you all are wondering what those specs are in the jelly jars, please be patient...I promise to confess. 

But to begin the process, please refer to Blind Pig and The Acorn, Easy Recipe For Making Violet Jelly for the specifics.  The recipe itself is beautifully simple.  But let me tell you, this process was a bit of work, picking violets over the mountain is not an easy thing when you don't have a field of them, rather small growths here and there, and usually on rises off the side of the mountain!  But with Johny's help, we gathered enough for 2 cups of violet beauty!

Yesterday I soaked my violet flowers overnight...and covered them with a plate, don't they look lovely?

Then today...

I sanitized my jars...

I prepared my ingredients, which for the lemon, I used 1/2 a Myers lemon from our tree on the river, and squeezed, including all the juice and pulp, and also grated a little bit of lemon zest into it...I like pulp and the zing of zest!

When I drained the flowers, I marveled at the jeweled color of the violet juice...this is no advertisement for a particular brand of measuring cup, so just focus on the incredible color, this picture does not do the violet color justice!

I began the cooking process.  If you look closely you will see the right side of the pot is still purple while the left side where the lemon was added is turning pink, you can also see I left the pulp, love love love pulp...

Now while the sugar, gelatin and violet water began to cook, I got adventurous, and added some of the flowers that had soaked in the water overnight to create the jeweled violet water...I thought to myself , "why can't I include the flowers in the jelly, you can eat them, so seems logical to include them, it would be pretty", so I added a few hand selected robust water soaked blossoms to my rumbling boil...(this is my confession, the bug looking things are the result of this stage of my creative thought process)!

Now I know why there is a really really really good reason why people strain the juice, the end result is not so very pretty but looks kind of like bugs...but it is edible, so not worries!

So, the rest of the process ended up beautifully.  I did discover that I had extra cooked violet syrup-prepared-for-jelly, so while I initially thought I would quickly sterilize another jar, which I did, I changed my train of thought, an decided, "what the heck, try making violet candy!"  

So I boiled the remaining mixture again, let it cool briefly, then boiled it again, figuring I'd remove more of the moisture from the mixture...and the result was a sticky fluid I drizzled onto a plate to cool.  I am hoping this is something like gummy candy, though I know I did not put enough pectin in it for that.  But now I have this brilliant idea, to make gummy violet candy!

I know, this looks like blobs, but believe me, when I tasted it, it was sweet, and mild, and violety! 

I can't wait to taste the jelly tomorrow and let Tipper and all of you know what I think the flavor is like.  And frankly, today I do wonder if adding those few flowers added to the taste of the jelly...we will know tomorrow.  But today, the flavor, while still warm, was fabulous!

Have you ever made violet jelly and put the flowers in it?  I would love to know!