From the Kitchen of Sunrise Cottage

I am not good at blog pictures. Don't know why some of us are cut out of certain images, but if I keep working on it, I will go crazy. Which is something I don't need right now. :) These are our first just "Chris Murray Family" pictures since last April. It is time to update our "Hens and Eggs Family Shot" for market display. In our current one, HJ is still in utero!

---

Ok, it was a model airplane.  Kyle ran it into the tree branches. Good  job, Kyle. J/K. It made for some fun times.

---

If you had stopped by Sunrise Cottage today around the dinner hour, we would have invited you to have a "Fatback Sandwich" with the Farmer and I. The young'uns opted for cheese quesadillas and some leftover pork chop. Our fatback, called by some "strick-o-lean", others "lean and streaky," is essentially uncured bacon. There is a bit of meat and it fries up beautifully because it is so beautifully fatty. On my sandwich was cheddar cheese, mayo, avocado, fatback and canned tomatoes! I had opened a can (jar) for Battle-girl recently that we hadn't used up, and I thought, "why not?" The flavor is amazing....

---

The Farmer was underwhelmed and King Peter disgusted, but Battlegirl and I enjoyed the soup. Very bright green in color. The verdict is still out from Hornet as he was in bed by the time we had it ready....nevermind, it was a no go for Hornet tonight.  I guess it's paritcularly vegetable-y, and you don't cook the collards very long, so their flavor is strong.

---

As I continue reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I keep thinking, "I want everybody to know this!" So, I am taking this opportunity to relay some memorable quotes, jumping off points for deeper thought on our food system and the importance of good food for our bodies, minds, and communities. "Farming is not for everybody; increasingly, it's hardly for anybody. Over the last decade our country has lost an average of 300 farms a week...Wherever farms are still living, it's due to some combination of luck, courage, and adaptability." from A,V,M, p. 113 My question for you is: then where on earth...

---

  Here are the pictures of the sweet potato pie I promised. In this box you will find lettuce, braising greens, scallions, and sweet potatoes. Remember, the "best" thing to do with braising greens is saute them in butter. As one friend said, they are similar to sauteed spinach but with a more complex flavor. May the peace of God transcend in you above the hecticness of this season. Thank  you everyone.  ...

---

On Sunday we spent the day with friends. Cooking, eating,  and fellowshipping together.  It was decadent. Our children entertained themselves and played quite well together. We made "Carnitas" using a pork shoulder (or Boston Butt) from one of those lovely pigs of ours. Josh used a recipe from epicurious.com . We made salsa from our canned tomatoes, elephant garlic, scallions, jalapenos and cilantro--which is growing quite happily now! And some quick-pickled carrots and turnips. To pickle fresh veggies for immediate use:  Slice, chop or grate vegetables of choice. We used carrots and turnips....

---

The start of a new month; I appreciate any excuse for a fresh start. In today's box you will find, multicolored sweet potatoes--red, white, and blue. Although, as an artist, I must say that whichever botanist or horticulturist picked vegetable colors must have been color blind.  "Usual" sweet potatoes are orange and the "blue" look purple to me. Just like red cabbage and onions, they look purple to me also. But I digress, the rest of the box is fairly green; collards, kale, "spring" onions, and lettuce. And, oh is the lettuce lovely. If you enjoy raw onions as I do, then slice those long little...

---

Our first "pork harvest" is in! We have been fattening 6 pigs on veggie scraps and whatever they scrounged out of the woods surrounding our pasture (as well as a non-antibiotic feed) since April. So in keeping with tradition, now that the weather is cool (at least it is supposed to be cool), it was time for "hog killing." "The cute little pigs" going to  market was more difficult for our children than the usual cow or chicken has been in the past, but they weren't little or cute anymore, and we all agree, the sausage is delicious. We have mild and hot breakfast sausages, sweet and hot Italian...

---

We just finished vegetable soup with bread and sweet potatoes--an excellent rainy November day meal. I made this soup after hearing about one of our very own, Elizabeth Hall, turning her weekly CSA box into a weekly pot of soup! I started with chicken broth,  then sauteed onions and garlic, and add chopped sweet potatoes, turnips, turnip greens, and beet greens, as well as a little brown rice. I seasoned with only salt and pepper and we grated some parmesan over each bowl. Your boxes today contain 1 bunch carrots, beets, turnips, and radishes, as well as 1/2 lb of spinach, and 2 lbs sweet...

---