Tea Time!

Tea Time!

Winter is a funny month in the northeast. This weekend I was bundled up against the near freezing temperatures each time I went out, my scarf wrapped around me and my gloves constant companions. Today I am wearing my spring jacket, unbuttoned, and enjoying the sunny day. There are advantages to all seasons, each offering its own personality.

Sunday was that kind of day. After doing chores in the morning, we lit a fire in the den in the afternoon and settled in for our version of British tea. The logs in the fireplace were aged and burned nicely. We primed them with kindling from the branches that fall from the various trees in our backyard throughout the year using the older, seasoned wood.

When the fire was burning nicely, I set out two mugs of steaming water for our tea. We prefer green but black tea with a tad of milk is delicious, too. We enjoyed chocolate cake with chocolate icing as we sat by the fire, feeling its embracing warmth outside as we relished the pleasing snack inside. After our tea we settled back, my husband with his book and me with the jigsaw puzzle I was doing, and savored the rest of the afternoon.

There will be no fire on this warm day but the memory lasts. And as the seasons change and I experience each in its own way, I hope to bring moments like this with me, to treasure nature’s differences.

Tips for building a safe fire:

https://billysweetchimneysweep.com/properly-build-fire/ 

For an easy step-by-step for a beginner:

http://www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com/how-to-start-a-fire-fast-and-furious-and-without-fuss/ 

A Pumpkin Question

A Pumpkin Question

I put out a pumpkin for Thanksgiving decoration. It remained on our doorstep through Christmas and the beginning of the New Year, a bright entry to our winter home. Today it called to me to cut it open. I usually like to make pumpkin soup. Sometimes I bake pumpkin cookies. I bake the seeds or share them with the birds outside.

But I had lots going on recently and didn’t get to making my favorite pumpkin recipes. I wondered about the lifespan of the pumpkin, if it was still usable. So I checked around. It seems pumpkins last about 8-12 weeks if uncarved, which was within the parameters. They fare best in temperatures about 50-56 degrees; our weather has been unusually warm this year so most of the time it has been in the 40s to mid 50s. The last couple of days, however, it has been hovering around freezing. Was my pumpkin still good to cook with? I wondered.

I cut it open and saw that it must have frozen last night and thawed when the morning warmed up, not the best way to preserve it. I would hate to see it go to waste. Perhaps I’ll boil it up and see if it is still good to use.

Any ideas?

Pumpkin lifespan:

http://www.ehow.com/info_8453594_long-do-pumpkins-last.html

Brrr - It's Cold Outside

Brrr - It’s Cold Outside

Wow, the temperature is going crazy lately. Two days ago it snowed where I live. Yesterday started out at 60 degrees, confusing winter with spring. It didn’t stay there, however; the thermometer reading dropped down precipitously throughout the day. By this morning it was 5 degrees, with a wind chill making it feel like minus in the teens. Going out took determination, not to mention a hat, gloves, scarf, sweater, and heavy winter coat.

There is a natural material that is expert at warmth from which many of these products are made - wool. It wicks outside moisture that might chill us away from our body. It also soaks up sweat that we produce to cool us off, a benefit in the hot weather but not good in these kinds of temperatures, and traps it so that we don’t lose valuable body heat. It is also breathable, which makes it adapt to a variety of conditions.

Where does wool come from? Animals. Sheep, alpacas, goats and rabbits are all good sources of wool. It keeps the animals warm in the harshest of weather and it works for us, too. And the good thing is that no animal need be harmed by harvesting the wool. There are grades of wool, too, from the finest to the thickest, each type good for its specific uses.

So, when you are thinking of going outside in these single-digit days, think wool. And also consider layering, a simple technique that helps keep us warm. And enjoy these beautiful days, whatever the temperature.

The definitive word on wool:

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/lp2/wool-guide/