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Going to Market
Yes. What you’ve heard is true. The Farmer’s Wife (along with her Hannah) will be headed off to Market this Spring/Summer. They will be going to The Next Town Over every other Sunday throughout the months of May through September. And oh the things they will be bringing along with them! The Farmer’s Wife can hardly contain herself. There will be Honey Bar Soaps and Jellies of the Pink (rose and rhubarb, of course!) and Red (rhubarb with a bit of heat) varieties, Wooly Dryer Balls and Pies (of course pies!) and cookies and scones. There will be smores kits of all the unusual varieties the Farmer’s Wife can imagine…
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Family of the Vegetable Sort
Seeing as seed-starting and planting are taking place in and around the Farm this time of year, it felt fitting to share this, a chapter from the next book in The Farmer and his Wife series. Enjoy. This year, the Farmer and his Wife set out to grow all their own vegetables right here on the Farm—actually, as it turns out, that’s exactly what they did last year, too, despite an early sidestep in the way of buying a share from the Farm the Next Road Over. The seeds have been tucked in and under warmed potting soil until they reach out towards the lamp that’s been doing the warming.…
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Spring Bread
Some call this Easter bread, and you can, but that implies it can only be eaten one day a year, and that is a travesty. Yes, a travesty. Why would you want to limit the consumption of a bread so sweet, so tender, so full of the very best things in life to just one day a year? No. I won’t hear of it. This is Spring bread, just as it should be, to be enjoyed all the months this great earth enjoys a little warm-up of its own. To make a right and proper spring bread you will need two days. Nothing more, nothing less. And like all good…
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In Which a cold and stormy night is spent
Chicken Little settles herself in, fluffing her feathers just a bit. It is a good thing to be warm and in when one is a chicken. That is just what she’s thinking to herself when she hears the familiar calling. Oh brother, she thinks to herself, getting up slowly, her legs creaking a bit as she does. Not as young as I used to be. “What is it now?” she sqwalks. Some days it’s a real bother being the Queen Bee. Somedays she’s had just about enough. “M..m..my knees are aching,” comes the complaint as soon as Chicken Little makes her appearance. “Of coarse they are pea-brain,” she scolds, looking…
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Dessert fit for a Seder: Baklava
Each year as Spring comes to the Farm, there is one dessert which is made without fail: Baklava. I know, I know, this makes no sense. The Farmer is German, and his Wife a strange blend of Irish/Scottish/Norwegian?. Absolutely no one on the Farm can claim Greek roots. Never-the-less, this dish makes its way into the hearts and mouths of all those who live on the Farm and a few dozen besides each and every year, because this is the very (and only) dessert that’s made for the annual Seder. This Seder has been hosted by the Farmer’s Wife and her mother for forever so long, or the last twenty…
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Golden Blondies
There are many blondies running around and about the Farm (although not the Farmer, he’s stuck with the darkest of hair). Some are light while others are golden, like the sun shining down from the Heavens. And, despite the fact we love our chocolate here on the Farm, sometimes you have to have a good golden blond. Just ask the Farmer. And the very best thing about these brownies? They’re made in a saucepan and poured into a baking dish. Easy-peasy. To start, take a quarter cup butter and a quarter cup virgin coconut oil and place in a large saucepan over medium heat until both are just melted.…
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The Derby
And, because I’m thinking about how much I love my dad today, I thought I’d share this (it will be a chapter in the next Farmer’s Wife book). The Derby The Dickinson clan is of the fishing sort, and because the Farmer’s Wife counts herself proud to be called a member, she attends their yearly gatherings, held each May. This year all (and by all I mean grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and the like) are to meet at the Canal which runs straight through Lockport and then onward, backwards and upwards to several other fishing holes equally varied as the grounds they now squat upon, but none-the-less, squat they do,…
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Paper Pierced Quilting
There was a class held the other day in which the Farmer’s Wife, Hannah, Mema, and their dear friend Debbie participated. It was held in the same building as the Farmer’s Fair each Summer. Yes, they were going to learn to quilt. As she made her way in, the Farmer’s Wife stole a side glance at the empty kitchen. All those pies! Her stomach grumbled. Not now, she told it. You must wait until Summer. There were tables set up in the room along the walls where the plugs were. All take their seats and set up their equipment, and by that, I mean their sewing machines, cutting mats, rotary…
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Hannah Bakes: Fancy Pies
Hannah has started making pies. By herself. And she doesn’t make them how her Mother would. No. She makes them fancy. Her mother stands over her shoulder as she rolls out the dough. “It’s too thin,” she complains. “Not for what I’m doing,” is the answer Hannah gives in return. Her Mother hmpphhs and looks from a different angle. The dough does look a bit thin, but let’s trust Hannah here. She’s been at her Mother’s side watching hundreds of pies being made. She’s even made a few herself. I’m sure she knows what she’s doing. Wait a minute! What is she doing now? She’s gotten out the cookie cutters.…
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Date Night Out: Scripts Juice
Sometimes Dates are taken off the Farm, and the other day was just such an occasion. Hannah and her Mother felt a celebration was called for (something about a book coming out), so off the Farm they went. Now, Lockport (the town near where the Farm calls home) has many nice places for such an adventure to be held and hosted, but none to Hannah’s liking quite so much as this place: Scripts Juice. It was given that name because it has found its home right next to the old theater which graces Main Street. And yes it has Juice the kinds and types which make Hannah’s heart swoon. The…
