Considering a new direction

Today wraps up another month of posting for National Blog Posting Month. I started strong, but I missed a few posts.  Still, I managed to blog more than two-thirds of the days of November. 

I enjoy blogging, but I’m considering making some changes. I think my range of topics is too broad. I’ve always heard if you aim at nothing (in particular), you’re sure to hit it.

Most advice I’ve read for bloggers says “find a niche,” so I’ve been thinking of narrowing my focus for this blog to food. 

Why? 

I love it! And it’s kind of safe. 

You may (or may not) have noticed that the subtitle of my blog is “Thoughts on family, food, faith and farm.” 

Most of my posts are scratching the surface of my true inner life, but if it’s truly personal, I’m not really comfortable sharing. I’ve always been a very private person, and few people really know who I am. 

The rest of you better be thankful for that.

But I am deeply interested in food—and it’s connections with family, farm and even faith.  Eating is so much more than meeting a physical need.  Preparing food is therapeutic, if you like to cook.  Serving food goes way beyond the desire to fill a belly, at least for me.  It’s a way to heal a hurt, to comfort, to strengthen and just to share the bounty of God’s good earth. 

I’m also interested in how food connects us with culture. 

These are just some of the ideas I’ve been bandying about.  Heck, maybe I’ll change my title!  How does this sound “The Progressive Farm Cook” or better yet, “The Progressive Farm Kook: Lisa’s Vittles from Pigpen to Platter.”

Why progressive, you might (or might not) ask?  Because, after frying my potatoes tonight in that organic lard I spoke of a couple a days ago, I discovered I really do like them better sautéed in olive oil.

And I seriously think I could become a vegetarian sometimes! 

Anyway, I’d like to know what some of you think.  What would you like to read?  Anything in particular?  Nothing?!  Oh, come on, now! 

Seriously, I’d welcome your suggestions, if you care to make them! 

The hanging of the greens

I've been inspired to cut lots of greenery and make wreaths, centerpieces and other
arrangements for the house and porches after attending a workshop today at the extension office.

I'm not much of a crafter, but I do love working with natural materials.  Just about anything in our yards or the woods can be used for decorating.. 

There's a cedar tree down in the fence row that is simply full of little blue berries.  I love the look of a bunch of cedar boughs in an old enamel bucket, and I love the smell of them too. 

There are pines at the edge of the woods around the house, and there's a holly up on the hill.  I'm thinking I'll use some dryed heads of sedum, maybe some dried grasses and even some iron weed stems to add some interest to my creations. 

Here's the one I did today--I love all the fresh green stuff! 

 (The candle globe really wasn't that crooked--the pic was taken at an odd angle.)

Lard rendering over an open fire

At my age I should probably be reducing the amount of fat in my diet, but today I’ve been a pig. 

Well, I’ve been eating a pig.  Bits of pig hide, that is, deep-fried golden brown and sprinkled with salt. 

Cracklins, we call them. The stuff that doesn’t melt when you cook pig fat to render the lard out of it. 

It’s been a while since I’ve watched or helped render lard, but this afternoon my brother Stuart, my dad and my cousin Johnnie cubed a large tub full of fat from a couple of freshly butchered hogs. 

They built a fire under a large cast iron kettle, and once it got hot, we added a few handfuls of pig fat at a time into the bottom of it.  I stirred as it melted.  We added and stirred for hours until we melted down or rendered all the fat.

The cracklins are the solid bits that float on top and don’t melt.  Once they became crispy enough to rattle around a bit when the pot is stirred, we added a couple of teaspoons of baking soda.  This is supposed to help preserve the lard and keep it white. 

The next step was to dip the boiling hog fat out of the cast iron pot and pour it through a lard press. The fat is funneled into a lard can or stainless steel pot with a cloth stretched over it to strain all the bits of hair and whatever other solids remain in the lard. 

Once all the liquid is poured through, the lard press is tightened down to squeeze the last remaining bit of fat from the cracklins.

We dump the cracklins out on clean cardboard, sprinkle a few with salt and eat some as soon as they’re cool enough to put in our mouths—or before, actually, because I burnt my tongue. 

Think homemade pork rinds…

I can’t wait to fry some potatoes in the fresh lard.  Fried chicken sounds good too—it’s been years since I’ve had chicken fried in pork fat, but I remember how good Mom’s was when she used to fix it that way. 

Soooo-weee! 

 

Living a long life can't be easy

Sometimes I think how hard it must be getting old. 

It must stink losing one's independence and having one's body slowly give out, especially when the mind is still clear. 

We went to the nursing home tonight to see Robin's granny.  She's very fortunate to have a large family who takes good care of her so that she doesn't have to be alone very much.

She fell a week ago and had to have surgery to repair a broken arm, and now she's in the nursing home for rehab. One of the family has stayed with her each night, and she's had a steady stream of visitors throughout the daytime hours. 

All the challenges of aging must be a lot easier to deal with when you don't have to face them alone. 

So many older folks are not as fortunate. 

Christmas crack

Who in the world sits around and thinks of these things? 

Hmmm, I'll boil some brown sugar and butter and pour it over a layer of saltine crackers, which I'll bake for a few minutes.  When I take it out of the oven, I'll sprinkle chocolate chips over it all and let them melt.  When it cools, I'll break a chunk off, and it will be good to eat. 

Seriously?

Seriously. I love toffee, and I like sweet and salty, so I thought this recipe sounded interesting. 

You guessed it.  I had to find out.

And I found that Christmas crack really is addicting. 

Here's the recipe from asoutherngrace.blogspot.com.

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
40 saltine crackers

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan or a 12x17-inch cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Lay a flat layer of crackers out on the foil. Melt the sugar and butter until a boil is reached. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the toffee becomes bubbly. After removing the pan from the oven, let it sit for 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle on the chocolate chips, let them soften and melt, and then spread them into an even layer. (You can add nuts, cracker crumbs, or whatever else floats your boat at this point.) Let cool and break into pieces. 

 

Savoring the day...

I'm nesting in my lopsided old recliner, the one that's so worn down it's molded to custom fit my ever-broadening backside. 

The heater hums beside me, and it feels cozy in here. 

My hubby sits across the room on the couch, and his head nods occasionally as he catches up on the latest.  Black Betty stretches her sensuous self out on her back.  She doesn't budge when Robin takes his hat off and places it on her head.  (Black Betty is the cat, lest you think she's another woman or something.) 

Chelsea and Taylor, Kayla and Josh are in the other room watching The Office.  I hear them laughing, talking and having a good time. 

Our bellies are full of home-cooked food, and we aren't worth a dime right now. I'm trying to ignore the siren song of leftover desserts that lure me from the kitchen.

It's been a good day--a great day, actually. Hannah and Eric brought Clay to Thanksgiving dinner, and he entertained us by making faces and smiling continuously.

Last year,  we didn't get to see Hannah on Thanksgiving--or Eric or Clay.  They'd spent another long day at the hospital, but Hannah did get to hold their son for the second time on his one month birthday.

A lot has happened between now and then, but when I think of where we are now compared to where we were then, well, my heart feels full as my belly.

I thank God for it all...my life, my family...right now, it's all good. 

A Psalm for the season

I love this Psalm any time of the year, but I especially like it in the fall, at harvest time. It seems to me to be especially appropriate at Thanksgiving. 

Psalm 65: 5-13

"By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation. 
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples. 
They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.

You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it. 
You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth. 

You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance. 
They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing."