Monday, March 22, 2010




Well, here it is, spring. Here I am, hoping for a few more cold nights just to keep the sap a-flowin. This has officially been the worst year ever for maple here at the homestead, although I am really happy to have taught the trade to a few new beginners. I am going to keep the taps in for just a week more, just to be hopeful. Last Friday was our maple dinner at the bakery and we featured both my maple and that of the Lyonsville sugarbush. I had to reluctantlly cancel the field day at my crazy homestead I had planned that was designed to educate folks about the basics of sugaring, and to also introduce interested people to the grassroots setup that still exists.



We at the hive have been thinking a little bit of restructuring our hours to include a little more of you after Memorial Day, as we feel the need to introduce more of the people who are growing these amazing foods to those of you enjoying them. Speaking of which...two things. One:I am cooking my last bag of broccoli tonight. This makes me have all sorts of emotions. I am happy to have it. I will miss it. I look forward to it again. It smells delicious. I will be there for people looking for appropiate ways to store it for next year. My freezer has a tiny little empty space in it. I need people to come over for dinner so that I can cook all of the other foods that I still have stored. I love broccoli. Two:I am looking for people with skills and motivation to be involved in a series of skillshares. One we will host this summer at the new Wild Hive Grain Project Community Center, and the other will be hosted at my home. Please email me with ideas for how to turn sustainable skills into skillsharing. Well, we hope to see anyone out there, either at the Hive, or just in passing, and we hope that you enjoy your spring! I am ready for the ramps, morels, arugula, radishes, fiddleheads, and spring onions of the future. Oh boy, I had better use up the last 100lbs of onions I have in storage!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Gold Ball!!!!


Did I mention that I love my rooster? Here is a lovely picture of him....More to follow. Especially photos of us cuddling.

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Sap is Trickling...

Well well, the much anticipated maple season is upon us and it is not all encompassing! I am pretty sure that north of here, it has been a good year, as the nights are just a few degrees cooler. I had mentally prepared myself for the seasons of the past and it has just not come to fruition. The nights have been too warm and the sap is merely trickling into the buckets. With all that said...on my wood stove at home right now there is some maple cooking down and when I get home I will finish and bottle it. The forecast for the near future does not look good for another maple run but it does look good for the start of a fresh new spring and the upcoming mushroom season that I am so looking forward to! These next 6 weeks or so are often the bleakest of the year for local foods in the northeast, as seeds are getting started in greenhouses, the ground thaws and prepares itself for the growing season, and the root vegetables that have been stored for the winter are dwindling, and the onions that have stored will begin to sprout, and the squashes start to lose a little moisture to the air and must be roasted and turned into the last soups of the season, and you have used up your preserves, and the list goes on and on. So, perhaps the seasons were designed to make the simplest and most delicious treats early in spring. Ramps, morels, milk (especially goat!), fiddleheads, dandelion greens, nettles, asparagus, and that leads to. . . . . . . . . PEAS!!! and before we know it, we will be back to squash again. Peas are definitely my favorite food of all time. Bring me some if you happen to come across some particularly good ones. I will never forget it if you do! Here at the Hive we are having some real creative juices flowing. With the foods that we have stored, we are getting a little silly. Deliciously silly. Example?...Warm salad of sauteed cabbage and onion, mashed root veggies, celeriac puree, and sour cream, with a polenta patty and a pinch of mixed greens. This is a layered salad of distinguished flavors. I would have taken a picture, but I was having a photo shoot with my close friend, Gold Ball the rooster, at home, and I forgot it. Next blog, if I don't get to photograph the salad, at least you can see pictures of my rooster. And me. Cuddling.