Harvesting and Cooking

Dearest Autumn, how do I love thee?

Oh goodness, I can't even count the ways!!

We had a weekend with spectacular weather...and more to come this week.

Sunny, perfectly temperate days gave us a chance to get some outside chores finished.

Trimming pig's hooves was on the top of the list,

and with Amanda's help,

(she was in charge of belly rubbing)

we were able to finally finish Ginger's pedicure.

We moved the stumps, left over from the trees that were taken down in the pigpen,

to the picnic pavilion.

With their tops covered with polyurethatne,

these beautiful pieces of wood will serve as casual seating around the pavilion.

The pizza oven is scheduled for completion today.

Beneath the protective cardboard cover is a black iron door,

brick arch and grey keystone.
The open area at the bottom is for wood storage.

I couldn't be happier with the way it has turned out!

We have been busily harvesting the last of the squash, beets,

herbs, tomatoes and peppers from the garden.

From the butternut squash,

which we roasted,

we constructed a squash and chard lasagne.
Delicious! (Recipe Here)

Amanda roasted the beets...

and used them to bake a German chocolate cake and cupcakes.
(You cannot even taste the beets!)

We tried our hand (quite successfully) at making cottage cheese.
If only we had a cow, we could be quite self sufficient!

A couple of weeks ago I picked apples from our orchard,

and stewed them with cinnamon and sugar.

Then I added the cooked apple slices to a baked oatmeal.

It was yummy....

so I thought this weekend I would repeat that recipe...

and found that the remaining apples in our orchard look like this...

Wasps have had a feast on the few apples that were left in our orchard.

I find it amazing how they eat all of the pulp out of the skin...

leaving the empty skin hanging!

Amazing...how much those wasps can eat!