Puffy, Fluffy Flakes Falling En Masse

Now this is the kind of snow I'm talking about...big, puffy, fluffy flakes falling en masse.  I've been mesmerized by the silent spectacle...serenaded by the sounds of the chimes and birds chirping now and then...she's a beauty, isn't she?

I'm still mesmerized...

...and looking forward to sledding tomorrow!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

A Different Point Of View

I took a long hike into the mountains behind us today...part of the Nantahala National Forest...the only sounds were leaves crackling beneath my feet, a few birds that I could hear but rarely saw, and the wind.  I felt like I was on top of the world...

I hiked to this outcropping (about a 5 mile round trip or so) because I knew I'd seen the cabin from that vantage point when the trees were bare before...which can be seen from one of the roads near our cabin, I'll share a picture of that another time...

 ...and was surrounded by the majesty of the mountains all around me.  Sure enough, there was the cabin...it's just below center in the picture below, the tiny spot with a silver roof (you can click on the photo to enlarge it)...

 ...this is zoomed in to the cabin...

...it made me appreciate the fact that we live the midst of the impressive Southern Appalachian mountains.  Surrounded by beauty, feeling on top of the world and at the same time seeing just how small we are in comparison...not in a negative way, just reality.

There were many beautiful sights during this hike...

 ...but also something disturbing...there's an area that was logged last year, and even though I've seen it from a distance many times, seeing it up close made me feel sad...

...not quite clear cut, but certainly not what it used to be.  There's a lot of controversy about whether or not this action is actually good for the forests or not...

 ...but to come across a piles of lumber just tossed over the mountain's edge made me angry...if logging companies are going to cut the trees, then every single one should be used as intended and not discarded to rot.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, I'll share this quote of his..."It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly.”  The logging industry might want to think about this. 


Back to our cabin in the woods...this is the view from the cabin to where I was today...you can see it in the bottom left corner, the outcrop is behind the trees just to the left of the power pole near the top of the mountains and the logged area is on the top of the mountain just to the right of those same trees (click on the photo to make it larger)...

...perspective is everything.

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Same Birthday, Not Twins

This day always makes me smile, brings a twinkle to my eye and a song to my heart...both my daughters were born on this day, 4 years apart.  I remember those two days like yesterday.  I couldn't stop thinking about each of them as I walked...about the smallest of details of their births and how special the experiences still are to me.  My footprints in the snow reminded me a bit of the path of motherhood...every step unique, moving me forward...some days easier than others, but I wouldn't trade a single moment.  There's so much to say about these incredible young ladies, but here's just a snippet...

Erin, my first born...bright, beautiful and a songbird.

Jessica, my second child...savvy, stunning and an awesome mom to my grandson Liam.

Together we have laughed, cried, lived, learned, and best of all, loved...loved with all of our hearts and souls.  I'm so proud of these two incredible women...my life is fuller because of them.  Happy Birthday girls, I love you!!!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Snow & Chili

Snow...it falls silently and leaves a beautiful blanket of flakes that twinkle in the morning sun...

 

...light flurries were still falling this morning and it looked like glitter falling from the skies...this video isn't the greatest but if you look closely you can see the little sparkling flakes (if you receive this post by email you may need to click on the post title to see the video)...

There's been a chill in the air all day, never getting above the freezing point...a perfect day for making homemade chili that slow cooks throughout the day.  We used my grandmother's hand crank grinder...

 ...yes, we had to attach it to the ramp railing because our kitchen counter doesn't have a lip...

 ...and we proceeded to grind two pounds of venison tenderloins...fun to do it outside but we sure were glad when we were back in the warmth of our cabin. The pot of chili is now simmering, filling the cabin with a spicy aroma and whetting our appetite for dinner...a nice bowl of chili sprinkled with a little cheddar cheese...so good!

Do you have a favorite cold/snowy day slow cooking meal?

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Bring It On! ...An Update

See that little rectangle in the middle of this picture?  That's us...our cabin...in the middle of the woods...in the southern Appalachian mountains.  See the blueish color?  That's the radar indicating that at around 8pm this evening...that would be in about 35 minutes...we should have some snow, and more is predicted on and off over the weekend.

Promises promises, we've had many predictions for snow but have gotten very little, if only the snowfall boundary would extend itself a little further south...but even if it doesn't, Johny is ready!

 

When the temps dropped to -7.1 last week, he decided he needed to own head gear to keep him warm...think these will do the trick?  I like the Trapper cap, the grey fur matches his beard.  The blue ski mask...well...might be best if he limit wearing that to around the cabin, lest he be mistaken for someone with poor intentions, LOL!   

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed...stay tuned for what mother nature has in store for us!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

UPDATE...it's 9:37pm and I've been watching the skies because I can't help myself.  Lo and behold, within 5 minutes of the last time I checked, this is what I saw...

...and let Pogo out for his last nightly business trip (he's at the end of the ramp)...

 ...big flakes of snow came down fast covered everything...perhaps my snow dreams will actually come true this weekend.  For now, I am tickled and giggling and happy for the snow I've got:)

The Smallest Full Moon and Baked Banana? Squash

I let Pogo out last night for his final runabout of the evening and the glow of the full moon immediately captured my attention.  I ran inside to get my camera and stood in the cold snapping away.  I later discovered this is the smallest full moon of the year (because it's at it's farthest point away from the earth) and you can still see it tonight (Thursday), which I highly recommend (you will also see Jupiter just above it).

One of the things I love about the bare trees in winter is I can see the moon wherever it is in the sky...

...when the trees are full and green, the lushness blocks my view unless the moon is in a select few spots around our cabin.  I stood gazing and clicking away for quite some time, enjoying the clouds passing by and the chill in the air...right place, right time!

Now squash has nothing to do with the moon, but I did finish yesterday's preserving project, and wanted to let you know that I believe that long, whitish squash is a banana squash (after a little research, this is my best guess of what it is).  It smelled just like a sweet, ripe cantaloupe, but the flavor of the puree was very mild with a rich orange color (even compared to the pumpkin).  I pureed 3 1/2 cups, and saved another 4 cups of cubed with the skin on for baking.

I lightly coated the cubes with olive oil, salt, pepper, ground nutmeg and a little bit of real maple syrup and baked, skin side down, in a 350F degree oven until they were very tender, about 45 minutes (this is the same amount of time I baked the squash for pureeing but those pieces were much larger), and then for 2 minutes under broil to crisp the top slightly.  I sprinkled julienned pineapple sage leaves to serve, which gave a little bright crispness to the smooth texture of the squash.

Looks pretty, but when scooping it off the skin, the flesh was a little bitter and I noticed two layers to the flesh, the inner which was orange and then the layer nearest the skin which was whiter...that's the part that made it bitter.  So we cut the inner layer off and enjoyed that quite a bit, though we did decide we weren't planting those seeds...live and learn, right?

Have you ever experimented with cooking something and decide you wouldn't do that again?

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Preserving Pumpkin

The best way to preserve pumpkin is to puree and freeze it.  I got this huge pumpkin from my daughter Jessica when I was there for Christmas, and am finally getting to doing something with it...I was told the other squash was a sweet potato squash, but it doesn't look like any of the pictures I've come across (anyone out there know what it is?) more about it tomorrow...I tried to weigh them, but they were too heavy for the kitchen scale I have, my guess is the pumpkin was at least 12 pounds.

When I opened it up, I was impressed by the intricate design the innards made...

 ...it was drying out a little (not a surprise since it's a little old), but everything still looked and smelled good. 

The first step is to wash the pumpkin and then clean out the guts.

Save the seeds for future planting (or roast them, yum), washing and culling out the remaining fibers and bad seeds...

 ...the top seed is good, still plump and round, while the bottom seed has dried out...discard seeds like those...

 ...place the washed seeds on a paper towel to dry.

You will end up with a lovely pile of pumpkin innards that are perfect for composting!

Cut the pumpkin into similar sized chunks onto a lightly greased pan and put it into a 350 degree oven until they are fork tender, about 45 minutes.  Don't put any seasoning or oil on the pumpkin.

It will look like this when it is done...always makes me wonder if it is actually cooked enough, but the fork test is key.

After it's cooled a bit, remove the flesh from the skin, it should come off easily with a spoon...scrape the skin with the spoon to get as much as you can...

 ...and place the pulp into a food processor or blender...

 ...whizzing away until you have a smooth consistency.

The puree will be a beautiful orange and taste of pure pumpkin...this is exactly what you want because you will season the puree based on whatever you are using it for.

Measure the puree in 1 cup increments...I put a little extra because I use a zip lock baggie to freeze it and there always seems to be a little left stuck to the sides of the bag...

 ...place into a labeled baggie and freeze.  I do put 2 cups of puree into some baggies, as some recipes ask for more than 1 cup (though that is most common).

I ended up with 16 cups of pure, delicious puree from that huge pumpkin...that will make lots of pies, cakes, cookies...who knows what else, but we'll be enjoying fresh pumpkin for quite a long while!  While this is easy to do, it is a little time consuming (especially with a large pumpkin) so I didn't get to working with my mystery squash.  More about it in tomorrow's post!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise