WE'VE MOVED...ATLEAST OUR BLOG HAS!

Thank you so much for following

THE HERB LADY'S DIARY

at Serendipity Creek Homestead

Our blog has moved in order to provide you with more information

and inform you of upcoming classes and events!

I invite you to continue to follow us at our new home:

http://serendipitycreekhomestead.wordpress.com/

Blessings,

"The Herb Lady"

Summer Storms

I am reminded that Summer Storms are a natural part of nature. We've had some major rain here, raining for four or five days straight. This deluge causing some major flooding and damage all over the county. The same goes in life! Here at Serendipity Creek we have been experiencing our own "Summer Storms". In August, I had a nasty fall that resulted in a severe concussion and as a result began having seizures. While I am doing much better, the healing process is on going. As far as being able to get working on the garden, up to now it has not been an option. Just two weeks after my accident, our 16 year old son, Daniel, was thrown from a dirt bike while on a weekend trip with his friend. He broke his collar bone in four pieces, which required immediate surgery, but is already up and going.

It is definitely true that a garden can be quite healing and I am really excited about being well enough to get back to our garden. Preparing the garden for the winter feels a little bit like nesting, like a mother preparing the home for her young. Even though the ground lay cold and hard and everything in the garden looks dead, life is still going on. Below ground, the soil is preparing itself for spring planting. Winter is an exciting time to look through my heirloom seed catalogs and plan what I will grow in the spring.

Oh, but don't worry! There are still some treasures that will grow all winter long. Over the next few months I'll keep you posted on the progression of our garden. In addition, you can look forward to some helpful tips, holiday recipes and some nifty crafts! So stick around and enjoy!

Blessings,
Joy "Skylark" Askew - "The Herb Lady"

First Harvest

 Well, our cheeky little cherub is trying to keep it a secret but we can't wait to share about our very first harvest at Serendipity Creek. Summer seems to have flown by and Autumn is here in all her glory as we begin to harvest the first fruits of the season. Dave and I are having so much fun trying to decide what recipes we will use.

 The Habanero Pepper's are without a doubt Dave's favourite! So far we only have these two little gems, but Dave isn't complaining. I've saved the seeds so that I can grow them in pots ready for next season. We did have a Jalapeno plant, however, it seems to have vanished. I suspect that our little cherub knows what happened to it but he won't tell us.

 This year was my very first attempt at growing tomatoes. I don't know why I was hesitant before but these are a doddle to grow and so forgiving. You really don't have to do too much with them. I planted two varieties of heirloom tomatoes this year, one Victoria White (above) and two Lemon Boy's. We'll have a pretty decent harvest from just the three plants. I'm looking forward to making roasted tomatoes and some tomatoe basil soup.

 Our Purple Basil, which we planted next to the tomatoes really took off this year. I love the licorice taste and smell of the leaves. Dave & I have been cooking with the basil all summer but our favourite recipe to make is pesto. I should point our that Basil and Tomatoes are excellent companion plants. The Basil kept the nasty bugs away from the tomatoes and they both equally grew quite full and bushy.

Finally, but definitely not least, are our beautiful beets. Sadly we did not get as much of a harvest as I had hoped for. I planted three plants and only two beets. The soil just wasn't rich enough or deep enough. The leaves mixed with some dandelion greens and garlic mustard with grated beets and carrots on top will make a tasty salad for Dave & I.

Now that Autumn is here we begin the task of setting down mulch and wood chips ready for the winter. I will be planting salad greens, garlic and onions in the garden this week. Our journey of planting our own edible garden has been full of twists and turns this season. I am glad that I decided to start with just a few vegetables and herbs rather than go with my initial desire to try and plant everything in my seed catalogue. The summer has given me an opportunity to develop a deeper connection with my garden and allow my intuition to guide me on what plants to choose the next time around.

A Tale of Two Loaves

 A Tale of Two Loaves

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Our tale begins with these innocent looking little acorns that Dave and I collected last week while hiking. I have read many times how the American Indians would make bread using acorn flour and I was excited to try it out for myself. After all, if it actually worked out, acorns are in abundance and free for the taking in our mountain forest. Dave on the other hand, was understandably reluctant, since in one of his fiction books he read one of the characters had eaten acorns and found them to taste disgusting. In fact, while we were hiking, Dave decided to "taste' the nut inside the acorn and the look on his face....well, I'm sure you can imagine.  I should point out that acorns, because of the high amount of tannic acid in them, are unedible straight from the shell. However, once the nuts are ground into flour and the tannic acid is rinsed out, they have a very sweet, nutty flavor that is quite nice in breads or pancakes.

Shelling  the acorns took a bit of time and patience but wasn't difficult. In the end, it was worth the little bit of effort. First, take off the "caps", then crack open the acorn and peel. The nut inside looks very similar to a chestnut as far as texture. Once you have peeled all the acorns, place them in a food processor and grind into a flour. The next step is very important! You need to rinse the flour to get rid of the tannic acid. A moderate amount of tannic acid is okay, however, our bodies are not meant to consume high amounts of tannic acid, which can damage your liver if eaten in such large amounts. To rinse the flour, pour into a cheese cloth or nylon stocking, rinse well and squeeze out any water. When the water is no longer a deep yellow then you are done rinsing. Finally, spread the rinsed flour onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let it completely dry (I cover mine with a tea towel and leave it overnight on the kitchen counter).

Now comes the real fun, turning the freshly made acorn flour into bread. Our recipe, which is really simple, is in a separate post. After mixing all our ingredients and making our dough we were ready to prepare our loaves for baking.

The result was amazing! Our loaves came out with a really nice nutty flavor that wasn't overwhelming. Dave was my official taste tester, much to his excitement, and gave his "Seal of Approval".  The only change I think I will make the next time is to divide the dough into four smaller loaves. This way I can freeze some or give a small loaf as a gift.


BLOOPER ALERT:
Everyone loves a blooper now and then! Well, as long as you're not the one that made the blooper.  You'll probably notice in the photo above with the two loaves that they didn't rise. That's because they didn't. I discovered way too late that the yeast I used was an old, expired jar rather than my newer one. The bread was still edible, I'm happy to say so after giving myself a face palm and laughing it off, I sat down and enjoyed a warm slice of bread. Oh, and yes, I did throw out the old yeast...LOL

Acorn Bread Recipe

Serendipity Creek's Acorn Bread

2 Cups lukewarm water

1 Tbsp dry yeast

1/4 Cup Olive Oil 

1/4 Cup Raw Honey

Pinch of Salt

2 Eggs (slightly beaten)

6 Cups flour

2 Cups acorn flour

In a large mixing bowl, put in water then sprinkle in yeast. Add in olive oil, honey, eggs and salt. While mixing, slowly add in flour. Knead for 1-15 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl and cover. Place in a warm spot for about 1 hour while dough rises.

After 1 hour, divide dough into two loaves. Shape into loaves and place in loaf pans. Brush tops of loaves with olive oil. Cover and put in warm spot for another hour so the dough can continue to rise.

Place loaves in oven that has been preheated at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 45 minutes.

A New Journey Begins

Welcome to Serendipity Creek, our little urban homestead in Western Maryland. When my husband Dave and I moved into our 3-story townhouse about three years ago, I never envisioned myself as a homesteader. As renters, we have always lived the apartment lifestyle and this is the first home that we have lived in that even had a yard. Serendipity seems to be our theme, as prior to moving into our townhouse, we weren't even considering moving at the time. I just happened to notice an add in our local paper that a townhouse in our community was for rent and it was only $100 more a month than what we were paying for our two bedroom apartment. As soon as I saw the front yard (Yeah, I could actually have a garden!) and the serene wetland that seemed to wrap its arms around us, I new in my heart that we were meant to live here.

I have always wanted to have a garden but I soon realized that we had a few challenges with our yard. Not only is our yard tiny (approx 20 square feet), we also have a large cherry tree that takes up most of the space. In addition, being on a wetland meant that we didn't have a lawn but rather heavy clay soil and many of the native wildlife plants such as Burdock Root that had completely taken over. I'm sure for any Master Gardener this would be an exciting challenge to conquer. For me, a novice at best, I must confess it was quite overwhelming. Well, three years later and with  lots of educating myself on gardening I have begun the journey of turning our yard into a functional courtyard garden that will provide my family with fruits, vegetables and herbs to feed our family. I do not expectation that this little garden will provide for all our food supply, however, I am looking forward to what bounty awaits. There is nothing more satisfying than eating the fruits of your labor. Being renters and living in a suburban community, we are not aloud to own animals so for now we get fresh eggs from a friend who raises chickens and by fresh raw goats milk from a local farm.

And so the journey is just beginning. Some day Dave and I plan on owning our own piece of land and creating ourselves a sustainable, self-sufficient homestead. Until then, we are learning all we can and enjoy discovering the blessings of homesteading, even in our suburban community. I hope you'll join us on this journey and discover for yourself that you can enjoy the blessings of homesteading no matter where you live! Along the way, I hope that you experience the joy of Serendipity!


Joy