A celebration of fresh food in photo! Because it is a true pleasure for both of us to produce our own food as much as possible; it is the main appeal of this labor-intensive lifestyle.
To think, it all started with a hurricane, and then a garden. We didn’t even have a dream or a plan.
Or a clue!
Left: Hot peppers and turmeric, dried luffa for sponges
Right: fresh from the garden—lots of lettuce, radishes, cilantro, dill, thyme, celery and roasted garlic.
The peppers are becoming a couple of sauces, one made by Hubby, chili garlic sauce, and was pressure canned for long term storage. It’s a copycat recipe of Huy Fong Brand and is fantastic.
Another will be made by me, inspired by Gavin Mounsey’s kitchen.
Photos by Gavin Mounsey
The peppers, garlic, elderberry, onion and other herbs will first be fermented and later made into a Sriracha-type sauce that will store about 6 months in the refrigerator. For amazing food photos and recipes, Gavin’s are spectacular, along with so much other refreshing content.
Previous year’s garden goodies.
From the pasture to the plate. It’s a very rewarding feeling!
Above: Hubby processing chickens with machine plucker.
Below left: smoking bacon Right: Pork roll just off the smoker
Left: Christmas pudding, a British classic and my first attempt. (Thanks Kath for the recipe!) We will see in a month or so if I succeeded. Also liver sausage, made from lamb liver and topped with roasted almonds. It’s not everyone’s thing, I know, but you might be surprised, I was never a fan of liver either. Right: Cured lamb and Mason jar Marcelin cheese, aging. Yes, you can put them in the same small space, I cover the cheese with a bamboo mat, in a closet with my seed storage, for about a week before moving to cold storage.
The cured lamb can be done from many different types or cuts of meats. This one is taken from the easy-to-follow recipe for Cured Venison Loin at wildharvesttable.com
The cured lamb thinly sliced with soft cheese and sourdough bread is better than anything store-bought in these parts.
We have learned so much about growing and cooking and preserving and the learning never ends.
But all the hard work has excellent rewards!
I’ve learned a lot about homemade wines and cured meats from this Italian YT channel. It’s amazing what you can do with just a little bit of space and minimal equipment and good ingredients. I’ll be trying this simple salami next.
Roasted sweet potatoes become Sweet Potato
Roasted sweet potatoes from this year’s harvest become a favorite dessert: Sweet Potato Praline served with fresh whipped cream and homemade chocolate liqueur.
Cooking is a wonderful way to spend the day, even when it’s just for the dogs!
Hope you’re enjoying your cooking time, too! Thanks for stopping by!
