The Abundance of Summer

It's a nice thing when life brings some new friends. Last weekend, we had a visit from Bob & Camille. Bob is a biodiesel instructor, and the owner of Blackspot Tempeh. He makes his tempeh in small batches, with love, and has quite a following. Camille works for The Abundance Foundation, oversees groundskeeping at Piedmont Biofuels, and writes a heck of a blog post. They have a website full of many things, including pictures of the numerous places they've lived abroad. I haven't had time to look at a lot of it, but will definitely be checking out the recipe and beer sections. Did I mention Bob brews beer? He shared some hoppy brew with us on Sunday. Good stuff! They've led an interesting life, these two.

I've been waiting all summer long for some corn. We had a most excellent patch of corn in the garden, which the local wildlife declared theirs. And they weren't into sharing any of it. Since then, we've been looking for some organic corn to buy, but it's been a rough year for corn around here. Yesterday, I spotted some local corn at Whole Foods. It wasn't organic, but guaranteed to be GMO-free. We ate it tonight. Now it really feels like summer!

I juiced a batch of elderberries today. I think I'll be turning this batch into jelly tomorrow, instead of the usual medicine. I hear it's pretty tasty.

Holiday Spirit

The Piedmont Biofuels crowd really knows how to throw a party. Their holiday potluck/party was last night, complete with some pretty outrageous karaoke. Good food, good cheer, great dancing. An excellent way to get in the holiday spirit. We've been sent some excellent cards this year, including the one on the right from Mark & Meredith of Whynot Pottery. I've been in cookie making mode. Yesterday's was Sparkly Cinnamon Coins, a recipe I got from Food & Wine several years back.

Sparkly Cinnamon Coins

2 sticks(1/2 lb) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
crystallized sugar for rolling (I've used both demerara & Sugar in the Raw with good results)

1. In large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add sugar & beat until combined. Beat in cinnamon, salt & vanilla, then beat in flour. Divide the dough into thirds, wrap each piece in plastic wrap and shape into a 10" log, about 1 1/4 inches thick. Refrigerate until firm, about an hour.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap one piece of dough. Sprinkle crystallized sugar into a 3-by-10 inch rectangle on a sheet of wax paper. Roll log in the sugar, pressing lightly. Cut log into 3/8 inch slices. Arrange coins about 1 inch apart on 1 of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining 2 logs of cookie dough. Bake the cookies for about 17 minutes, or until golden. Let cool on baking sheets.

I've had the best luck in getting the crystallized sugar to stay when I roll them prior to chilling, rather than after. This recipe always seems a bit on the dry side, and makes a pretty, crispy cookie. I'm thinking today's cookie is Crispy Gingerbread Stars. Happy Sunday!

Fired Up to Can

Today Joseph & I put to use the wood-fired canner I got at auction a number of years ago. I hadn't used it in some time, as it works best if you've got over 2 canners full to put up. It's a good tomato year when I can fire it up. Yesterday I joined the folks at Piedmont Biofuels for their Friday lunch. While I was there, Leif gave me some biodiesel glycerine to play with. I want to review some of the soap recipes that incorporate it, & see what I can come up with.