I hope everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving and are enjoying the holiday season. We had a wonderful family dinner celebrating our thankfulness this year and a beautiful time celebrating all the Christmas activities this December. These past few weeks we have taken some time to reflect on family and all we have done this year and accomplished.
We are still harvesting salad greens and we were finally able to pick some carrots to add to our salads. Our temperatures dipped down into the low 20’s and we did notice some damage to our Winter Density lettuce but it is still hanging on. I did lots of cooking for Thanksgiving and Christmas and managed to do a little more canning too.
December 31, 2023
In The Garden
What a busy month we have had here at Becoming Homesteaders. Lot of new things happening in life and that brings change with it. Balancing jobs and taking care of family and household tasks can be a challenge but we always manage to get it all done.
Brassicas
We finally put the heavy-duty plastic row covers over everything that is left green in the garden. With the exception of the broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower that really didn’t do so well due to bug damage. To my surprise, I do have very small broccoli heads as well as cabbage. I decided to cover them with my small greenhouse covers that I purchased from Aldi.
These only cover 2 plants, but I covered the ones that looked the best and will see how long they last. I have used 3 of the Chinese cabbage that had the major bug damage. I simply peeled off all the outer layers and used the very center which was still good. This was made into stir-fry’s and sautéed up with onion and garlic. I am happy that everything didn’t totally go to waste. I will let you know how the rest of the brassica’s do coming up in the future Urban Updates.
Greens
Once again, this month we were able to harvest some lovely greens for a delicious salad. We used our Giant Winter Spinach and made an egg, spinach, and beet salad. I use a homemade sweet & sour salad dressing for this salad and add bacon. It is so good and a good way to use up the beets we have canned in July.
Our Winter Density lettuce is still hanging on as well. I do sometimes get a bitter taste with some of the outer leaves but all in all this one has definitely lived up to its name. I am still so amazed at how well things are holding up. This is all an experiment for us and so far, we love having fresh greens this late in the year. Tomorrow is January 1st, and I am curious to see how long it all will last. We are eating as much as we can for now.
This yellow Winter Choy green is not only very hardy in the cold climate, but also beautiful and tasty. It has held up well in our cold temperatures and I look for this hardy green to make it through most of the winter.
Its lush yellow green leaves are dense enough to hold up like a collard or kale. I have used this in place of kale in some soups that I have made this fall as well as in just a simple salad. Again, so nice to have a variety of greens in the garden this time of year to just go out and pick anytime you want something fresh. My mom like to sauté these greens and eat them that way.
The next is a first for us and that is the cold hardy Champion Collard. This green has beautiful blue-green leaves that have a cabbage look and feel to them. I am letting them get as big as they will before harvesting any so I can’t say how they taste yet. They are easy to grow and are under the heavy plastic row covers along with all the other greens and I look for these to make it all winter as well.
That leaves the Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch Kale. This is a favorite of mine and I have grown this variety for several years. It is good as a baby kale and delicious as a large curly kale. I have a couple plants that I planted in the spring that are still hanging on. They are about 2 feet high with large, dark green, curly leaves. These leaves have a sharp tart flavor and hold up well in hot soups. The small baby kales that are planted in the raised bed with the collards are sweeter and better for eating in salads. Both are a welcome to my kitchen during the cold winter months.
In The Kitchen
So much going on in the kitchen this time of year. With the holidays we are baking, cooking, and yes even canning. Lots of good food and trying to preserve leftovers so not to waste anything.
Thanksgiving
What a beautiful time we all had celebrating Thanksgiving and all we truly have to be thankful for. I still have my parents with us and feeling so blessed and thankful for that and the time I have with them. We had a feast of oven roasted turkey, and spiral sliced ham along with all the fixings. Thanksgiving tends to have an expected menu that I usually follow with some family members requesting their favorites. My dad’s favorite and most requested dish is the sweet potato casserole with the nut topping. So of course, that is a must have. What are some of your family traditions and foods that you make at Thanksgiving?
This year once again we used the turkey carcass to make some amazing turkey broth. We preserved this by pressure canning it in quart jars for future meals. I believe I prefer turkey broth over chicken broth. It has a richer flavor than chicken and adds more to soups and hearty fall dishes (in my opinion). We ended up with 14 quarts to add to our pantry shelves. My pressure canner only holds 7 quarts at a time, and I did two separate canings. I made a hearty turkey stew with the leftover broth I had.
Christmas
This month was very busy. Juggling work, shopping, cooking and baking along with all the normal household chores but this is always such a beautiful time of year, and we so enjoy it.
We made lots of yummy new coffee syrups this year for my daughter business, Sage Lane Syrups. This year we made a Sugar Cookie coffee syrup that was a big hit along with Chestnut Praline, Gingerbread, and Peppermint. So many ways to use these syrups. Hot cocoa, in oatmeal’s, added to hot teas sky’s the limit!
Oh my all the cookies! We usually set aside an entire day to bake cookies and this year was no exception. It was a lovely time with the girls in the family and a great way to get a lot of different varieties of cookies made at once. We did try a few different ones this year and made our usual as well. I had a great time and will always cherish these memories. I truly hope this is a tradition that never gets old.
What a beautiful Christmas. Time spent with family and friends, all the Christmas parties and get togethers we are truly blessed. It is definitely a busy time of year and sometimes I think that there is just too much to do but then I remember we won’t be doing this with some of the family much longer and that makes me slow down and smell the flowers a little longer, or in this case the pine!
Wrap Up
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I am looking forward to the new year and all the resolutions to be made here at my house. What are some New Years resolutions you are making for 2024?
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