Winter Harvest

Hello, friends.  I hope you had a most enjoyable holiday.    Last week, we harvested cabbage for colcannon, lettuce and chard, and thyme for tea.  I finished reading Love & Saffron, which I really enjoyed, and requested three more books from the library.  A pot of small sweet potatoes was simmered on the woodstove for the pups and chickens.  Another tromboncino was grated for the chicken's mash, which they get every day that I'm at home.  My two sewing machines were moved into the new sewing room, and J bought a small wall propane heater, as our wood heat doesn't reach there very well.  I've started looking for a piece of furniture for fabric storage.  At a dental cleaning, I received a "free" toothbrush and two samples of ozone gel.  My husband and I watched the Bocelli Christmas special, free (with ads) on YouTube; free Pandora holiday stations and the holiday stream on Folk Alley provided cheer.

pre-single digit garden cover up

I stopped at Hallmark after an appointment, and got $9 off my purchase, using coupons, and received a free card.  At Harris Teeter, I received the 5% senior discount, and picked up brussels sprouts for $2.99/#.  Not a great price, but better than the $3.99 I'd been seeing elsewhere.  I also got a large organic cucumber for $1.79, and canned organic beans on sale for $1 off/ 4 pk.  At Food Lion, I got three bunches of asparagus for $1.49/#, and froze two.  The quality was less than I'd hoped for, but that's not uncommon with produce these days.  Also purchased was honey on sale, and  .99 avocados.  J read there's a bumper crop of avocados, so hopefully the price will go down further.  I went by a favorite thrift store.  The sign said Christmas items were 1/2 off, but at the register I realized they were giving everyone half off, which was a nice surprise.  I bought a small gift, and two items for my online shop.

Vegetable soup was made, with several of our vegetables, and also used some of our dehydrated greens and soup mix (onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms).  J & I deeply harvested the winter garden before the single digit temps, and covered everything as well as possible.  None of it may make it, but we wanted to try.  We harvested many lbs. of of collards, more than a large black trash bag full, and blanched and froze 16 qts.  Also harvested was 5 oz of chard, equivalent to a regular clamshell of salad, 13 oz. of lettuce, around 2# of kale, some of which was frozen, a small amount of broccoli, and a few lbs. of mixed winter greens.  We did our best to not waste anything, and hope to be harvesting something on the other side of this frigid snap.  Three friends who often take our produce were out of town, and another didn't want any of it.  I went through Rakuten with 10% back, for a business purchase.  On Christmas day, J made himself a pork roast, and our turnips and greens with bacon.  I made a sweet potato, apple, cranberry bake with walnuts, and a cranberry quinoa salad with kale and walnuts.  I also roasted asparagus and made cookies.  We ate well.  May the remaining days of '22 go out quietly, and may '23 bring greater hope, peace and light to us all.