Stock by the Gallon November 26, 2008

Not your prettiest wood stove - cooking my stock

On Friday, we took  a much-needed trip to FSJ for groceries and Christmas cake supplies, enjoying a tasty lunch at the fairly hip cafe Whole Wheat and Honey downtown FSJ.  Eating out is quite a novelty these days.  We sat by a gas fire and people-watched while the kids explored the book selection.  A two hour drive each way on top a of a marathon of errands makes a town trip less than relaxing, but we still managed to make it fun.  The cold wind, the grey skies and slippery parking lots, walking around stores weighed down by winter coats and boots ekoved memories of “town trips” as as child; the dirty snow on sidewalks and streets made me thankful for the clean beauty of the country.

Since we’ve been in our own place, Sue and I have worked out a flexible schedule of alternating suppers Monday-Thursday.  It provides us with two kitchen-free afternoons a week, also, a welcome little outing at the end of the day.  The days are getting much shorter now.  The sun comes up over the hill to the east of our house around 10 am, and sets maybe at 4:30.  The evenings are long, and a nice meal shared with friends is something to look forward to.  When Dave comes over to our house, he always asks, “What are we listening to tonight?”, and Nick puts on a record, or two, or three.  I think they enjoy being away from the phone for a bit; their home as the business base being very busy this time of year.

This was going to be a post about cooking, and I AM getting to that.  Since the weather has gotten colder, our wood stove provides not only warmth but a steady supply of heat for cooking.  It boils a kettle as fast as the gas stove, and cooks a pot of brown rice beautifully on a front corner.  I often will do my sauteing in the kitchen, then move my soup or stew to the wood stove for the duration.  The other day, I had the opportunity to try it for a large quantity of stock when we were given a whole lamb by a German homesteader whose son had stayed here for the horse clinic back in September.  He had offered us a lamb in payment at the time, and then we didn’t really hear anything more on the subject until Dave returned home from town one day with a lamb carcass in the back of the suburban.  Dave was skeptical.  I love lamb, however, even if I have to cut it up myself.  I didn’t though, as Nick did a great job despite no bone saw.  Unable to locate a diagram of a lamb on short notice, we figured it out more or less, and had it packaged up and in the freezer in a few hours.  We then managed to cut up the ribcage into smaller pieces, and I borrowed a 5 gallon stainless steel pot from the old dining hall.  Some carrots, onions, bay leaves and thyme joined the bones.  It took hours for the water to boil.  The stock did not maintain a constant simmer, but over the course of 72 hours on the stove, produced a fragrant, rich, dark brown broth.  It yielded 16 quarts of stock.    Organic lamb stock – let’s say $4 a quart  x 16 = $64.  For me having stock in the freezer is like having money in the bank.  It makes me feel secure.  I know I can take a quart out to make a quick pot of soup for lunch with a handful or lentils, a little curry, potatoes, carrots, and onions, or to make a fantastic stew, like the one I am making tomorrow with lamb, onions, golden raisins, cinnamon, and apricots over basmati rice. 

Kids in Costume November 18, 2008

In Character

These are some VERY late Halloween pictures which I am posting in honor of “Nonna” – Nick’s mom, Jenny, who got these two started on Halloween, and who made the best costumes.   Last year, she dressed them as Woodland Fairies, and they still play dress-up with those outfits.  This was the first time I had attempted costumes and it was a lot of fun, but I have to say I would like to be better organized next time, and perhaps make something a little more polished.  These were pulled together from the dress-up bin, and the local clothing bank.

The Lovely Princess Rose

The Fiercest Dragon Ever

Cross-country Skis All Around November 18, 2008

On their own already

The first 17 years of my life, I lived where I had access to cross-country skiing out my front (or back) door.  This spoiled me completely.  Even as a small child, living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, our back yard led down to the Red River and that is where I learned to ski, around the age of four or five.  Our family would ski together, with Aimee, my youngest sister at the time, riding on my dad’s back.  In the Yukon, we maintained an 8 km or so ski trail with some great hills, and skiied in all kinds of weather.  My older brother, Josh, won second prize at a 10 km ski race in Whitehorse when he was 13 or so.  Second prize was a hot pink tee-shirt embroidered with “Yukon Gold Loppet”(name of the race), but hey, still a great effort.

When Nick and I moved to Anchorage, Alaska, we both balked at loading up our skis and driving somewhere.  It’s not as if it is much harder than throwing in a snowboard, and certainly easier than strapping on a bike.  Nick had taken up skiing in Haines, Alaska, where he could ski for miles out his door on the frozen swamps.  Of course, we did occasionally go skiing on the miles of beautiful trail in Kincaid Park, south Anchorage, frequented by many large moose.  When we left Alaska for New Mexico,we sold our well-used skis at a garage sale.

Moving to Graham, I knew I would be very sorry to go through a winter without skis.  I also knew I needed help as we wouldn’t be going to the local nordic shop and picking up four sets…  So, I put my awesome brother on it.  He took our measurements and shoe sizes.   He and his wife Laura got a baby sitter for the evening and visited the annual ski swap.  They found everything, even a got a ski box, and Josh shipped them to Fort St John.  Nick brought them home late Friday night, unpacked the box, and laid them all out for the morning.  When the kids saw them, they couldn’t wait to get going!  We went out for a trial run on Saturday.  Everything fit, it was amazing.  Thanks Josh and Laura!!!

Small, Medium, Large and Muy Grande

The kids did great.  We call Marley “The Plodder”.  He loves to be on a trail (behind mom, especially), and just scoots along without poles.  His skis are so short, they don’t have much glide; but that is a good thing because he doesn’t slip much.  He’s very steady, and if I stop to wait for a minute, he says, “Go mom, go!”  Lyra’s skis are longer and faster, and though she tried poleless first, she did better with them.  We went behind our house up to the beaver pond and back – a good distance – and really enjoyed it.  It was hard to believe we were all out as a family, doing something Nick and I love, sharing it with our kids, and everyone was having fun.  Lyra loved it so much, she went out again in the afternoon and made her own trails.  She figured out how to get herself untangled and get back up when she falls(big progress), and even how to keep her balance down (very) little hills.

Nick has plans to look for an old trailmaker which can be pulled behind a skidoo.  In the meantime, he has made a pretty decent loop which we’ve both done a couple times on our own.  It’s such great exercise for the whole body, and such a beautiful setting.  Flying down a few small hills on the edge of white fields alongside the black river, I felt so alive.

Rosy-cheeked Lyra-girl

Our New Home November 13, 2008

All dressed up for winter fun in the backyard

Many of you have been asking for pictures of our house, and I have been very slow in responding… mostly because, not until recently, were all our systems up and running.  We moved in after Canadian Thanksgiving, and were happy to have our own space, but there was no cookstove, no hot water, no countertops, and no plumbing in the kitchen.  Those were just the big things.  Well, if there is one thing I hope I learn before I die, it is PATIENCE, and this is a good place to learn it, because sometimes it seems that it takes forever for things to get done.  When you are two hours (and at least $50 in gas) from the nearest hardware store, when you can’t just call a plumber – you actually have to crawl around underneath your house and figure it out yourself – factor in lots of extra time.  Dave let Nick figure some things out on his own, but he was there to help out when needed, which we really appreciated.  It is nice to have someone more experienced around so you don’t have to learn by making the really BIG mistakes, (just the little ones).  Learning how to do things for yourself takes time, but self-sufficiency can be addictive, when it isn’t completely frustrating, that is.  I think Nick only lost it once, which is far better than me.  Of course, he DID throw a hammer, but that was after it broke while trying to pry several boards apart to get that one piece of two-by-four he needed…  The kids found it in the woodpile a few days later, and were thrilled.

Doing without made us so appreciative for things we normally take for granted.  The day Nick fixed the upstairs toilet, and we didn’t have to all go downstairs at night to pee… The first breakfast I cooked on my new stove and being able to eat in our jammies…  Being able to wash dishes in a sink, with running water, and pouring the water down a drain…  Fresh-baked bread…  Cooking is good.  I’ve been enjoying cooking what I like to eat.  After all, I am pregnant!

It has been also very good to get on a schedule of sorts.  I set up a schoolroom, and we do school every morning for about an hour-and-a-half.  The time flies by.  Lyra loves it, but I’m glad she is not in school all day long, because she would try to do everything, and burn out or forget how to play.  After school, I get us all dressed up and we go outside.  We fill the woodbox.  Marley has to get three pieces of wood, Lyra, five, and I have to get… the rest.  If the weather is nice, which it has been, they will stay outside and play until I call them for lunch.  Now that we have snow, there is so much for them to do.  They come in all rosy cheeked and say “MMMM, Soup!”  Well, almost.

Click here to view more photos of the house.

Parcel Post November 6, 2008

As I have been unpacking and setting up my kitchen,  so many things remind me of people I love. There’s the poppy plate from Alaska, the watermelon bowl from my Georgia girlfriend.  A set of small square bowls reminds me of my New Mexico neighbor; the green pottery serving bowls a friend sent me when Marley was born.  A wooden plaque of San Pasqual(the patron saint of the kitchen) from my mother-in-law was one of the first things I hung on our walls. Looking around, I find myself thinking of all of you.  Thinking that I am rich in friends.

Getting mail has been a treat.  Our mail comes to a small collection of green mail boxes about 10 miles outside of Fort St John, which is usually only checked once a week.  Receiving a box, or even a personal letter, is a big deal!  The biggest thrill for the kids was definitely Nonna’s Halloween box which provided a shower of dum-dums and jack-o-lantern confetti.  I was more interested in the Dagoba dark chocolate and the homemade granola, which we ate for breakfast the first week in our new place, before our stove was hooked up. Thanks to ALL of you who have written or sent something.  Considering the price of postage nowadays, a trip to the Post Office can be quite painful. Now that we are settled in to our own place, those long dark evenings should afford me opportunity to respond.

Someone I cannot thank, however, is the person who sent a mystery package recently.  The sender lives in Ohio, apparently a potter, as her name was also on the bottom of the gorgeous little bowls and mug.  I do not know anyone in Ohio.  I suspect several people who could have had something to do with this.  One is my sister-in-law, Becca…  It sounds like you:).  Another is a friend from New Mexico who used to leave anonymous parcels on my doorstep.  One day I came home to find a wool rug, in soft Southwestern colors,  sitting outside my door.  (That rug is now warming up the floor in our little schoolroom.)  I knew that had to be Daisy, but this time, I’m not so sure.  Whomever it was, Thank-you!  I use the mug every morning.

My new colorful way to start the day