Sunday, October 28, 2012

"One Autumn When the Nuts Were Ripe. . .

 . . . And the leaves on the hazel bushes were golden and green-

"
 Nutkin and Twinkleberry and all the other little squirrels came out of the wood, and down to the edge of the lake (to gather nuts). . . "
 Dear Friends,

We've been busily squirreling away nuts and apples, before the cold sets in and ends the harvest.


We've also been blessed to find a mess of inky cap mushrooms growing nearby. Inky caps and shaggy manes are easy to identify, because they turn into ink when overripe. They are delightful if cooked up when young and fresh.


We also found a surprise on our collard leaves while harvesting them; it pays to look closely!

Since it was too cold to sit outside and "do apples," we decided that the kitchen floor was as good a place as any. Children love helping with gathering and eating the bounty that grows all around.



Our African marigolds are STILL blooming, and still giving us lots of seeds. If anyone wants some, just let us know!

Our hands have been busy making lots of baked goods this week (in addition to pancakes), too~ We especially loved making pita bread for the first time, which is much easier than we had thought. They taste so much better than store-bought! Here is the recipe we used, which we found in the book "Every Woman's Herbal," by Dr. John R. Christopher and Cathy Gileadi:

1 c. warm water
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon dried yeast

1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon kelp (optional)
(we added about 1/4 cup powdered goldenrod leaves)

After mixing and kneading these ingredients, let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Break off golf ball-sizaed pieces of dough, and roll out about 1/4 inch thick into circles. Place on ungreased cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Let rise about 30 minutes, during which time you preheat your oven to 450 F.
Place sheets on bottom shelf of oven, and bake the pita breads for 5-8 minutes, just until they puff and solidify a bit. Remove and cool separately. If you don't have a lot of cookie sheets, let the breads rise on a cornmeal-sprinkled surface, and gently place them on the cookie sheets as they become available. Makes 2 dozen pita breads.

May your family be well and happy this upcoming week!

Love,

Marqueta

p.s. Hettie sends a letter from the Lake District here!

12 comments:

  1. Such beautiful apples...are those from your own tree? I wish I knew which mushrooms were edible ...I am always afraid to try any I find. Hope your sweet girls are feeling better soon...Chicken Soup usually does the trick :) Blessings dear friend

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your home life is so refreshing my friend. I pray that your sweet little ones will begin to feel better. m.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The homemade pita bread sounds good. I'll have to try that recipe sometime.

    I've been doing alot of baking these days myself, and I'm sure I'll keep baking as the weather becomes cooler. :)

    The apples you picked look lovely!


    Blessings to you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Charming, as always, Marqueta!
    The children and your pittas look delightful!Love to YOU
    xxx Alex

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good Morning Marqueta!

    Look at those apples!

    Marigolds. they are so pretty. We were admiring some in our back yard last night. My daughter said the bush almost looked like mums. I happened to be sitting outside reading up more about gardening and read that the mairgold flower is edible ... and so, my husband and I tasted our first flower!! It did have a peppery taste just like the book said.

    Your children are so beautiful. I loved the cattails picture.

    Blessings to you Marqueta!
    ~Deanna

    ReplyDelete
  6. Honey, you are somethin else! Wild mushrooms, buckets of apples and marigolds and beautiful children. You are a true pioneer woman, I wish you lived next door!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Marqueta, What a beautiful abundance! I love the picture of you sitting on the floor with the apples. What a wonderful afternoon!

    ReplyDelete
  8. We would love some seeds for the homestead of the African marigolds! Please send some our way ~

    It looks like you are gathering some wonderful things at the moment. I wish I was there to help!

    Thank you for sharing the pita bread recipe! I will be trying this!

    Blessings to you all for a wonderful Fall week~

    ReplyDelete
  9. The Apples! How wonderful I harvested apples in july for the family I worked for. There were not to many though.

    I love the hankerchief you sent it is so lovely!Thank You.

    I will be finding out the dates for the youth Nauvoo trip soon and will let you know when we will be up that way.

    Erika

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dear Marqueta,

    Loved that photo of you all on the floor. And good grief, I forgot to send you my address for the seeds. Life is so delightfully busy here!! Yikes! I will try to do that soon, but if the seeds are all gone before I do, no worries! Dearie me, where does the time go?

    Love,
    Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think I will make that bread - thank you. And I love the pictures of all the family.

    (Heart for Home-making Blog)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh the beautiful bounty. I think I'll make pita. It's been years and I had forgotten all about it.. thanks for the reminder and the encouragement to get busy!

    Blessings, Debbie

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for coming to visit — I look forward to hearing from you!