Pearadise

At the moment Apple season is in full swing, but a few weeks ago before our dreams were swamped with Macs and Spys, fritters and pies;

 we were in Pearadise.

We had bushels and bushels of pears.  Some laid out in the basement, some strewn on papers across the garage, others tucked in Josiah's room, and the ones we couldn't spread out sitting in baskets awaiting our pleasure.

You see we had three different pear trees (owned by three different people, and therefore in three different locations) offered to us for picking.  So any spare afternoon, off we would go baskets and ladders in tow to pick the pears.  Not all the pear trees (alright, most of them) were not pick-from-ground-height.  So sometimes extreme measures had to be taken.

Often that simply meant on a ladder with a pear/apple picker to extend your reach.

Other times though, it meant standing on top of the 8 foot ladder (yes, I mean on the part that says "no standing sitting or leaning" etc..) and using the rest of your 7-8ft. reach to get those stubborn pears at the top.

Like so.

To be honest, only Josiah had the balance and bravery to attempt the a fore mentioned feat.  The rest of us applaud, caution, and stay far enough down the ladder to be perfectly safe and comfortable, if not with both feet planted on the ground.

And there are times, when even a 8 foot ladder will not suffice.  Especially if you are a young man who is pearanoid (misspelling intended :P) about reaching every last possible pear on the tree.  If you can see in the above photo, the ladder is at the bottom, and Josiah... well he climbed.  A backpack worn in front allowed for two free hands - one to hold on and one to pick.

Once the pears are all safely home, the work had just begun.  There were pears to can - plain, cinnamon, and a new one - with raspberries (excellent by the way).

 We also pressed them in the cider mill, mixed them with the early apples and create a delicious pear/apple cider to drink.

We made pear crisp, pear clafouti (or patouti as it is affectionately known here) and pear cake.  Of course plenty of them were eaten just the way God made them.

Then there was our newest find.  Pear mince!  Sweet luscious chunky pears with plump raisins, heavenly spices, and zesty lemon.  Oh the combination!  It is wonderful to eat on its own, or you could put it in a pie, and I think it would be an excellent sauce with meat.

We have since left Pearadise, but it was a lovely visit, and we have some wonderful jars of proof in our cellar.

~Chs

Where to Start?

I was going to just begin now, and not try to catch up on everything.  But that just wouldn't be right, so many exciting things... so the question now is...  Where on earth do I start?

Do I start the 3rd week of August with the horse show at Banbury, which was such a wonderful (if super hot and exhausting) day.

Or do I start the next weekend when I spent a few days up in Port Austin with Josh and Theresa helping Theresa at the farmers market.

What about the first week in September when Mom and Dad got away for a day to celebrate their 32nd anniversary.

Or the following week when Faith, Josiah and I were able to watch a fox hunt start off in Metamora.

I could tell about the first, and subsequent, super early frosts.

Then there was the wonderful week I spent up at the ELIM retreat at the tip of the Thumb helping in the kitchen.

Oh, and the delightful time we were able to spend with Annie, one of the missionaries at the retreat who stayed with us for a couple days.

Of course there is always something else going on here at the farm.. like did I ever mention that we had an Angora Rabbit?

You see what I mean, by having such a hard time choosing!!  :)

~Chs

Where September Went

Yup.

I know it.

The whole month of September gone and not a single post on the blog.  

Now please understand that this silence does not mean that there has been nothing going on.  Quite the contrary.  We have been so busy, with so much post worthy things going on, that I have had no time whatsoever to let you all know about it.  I am hoping to change that.  No, I don't expect us to be less busy in October (I have stopped hoping that a time will come where everything slows down) but I mean to try to post little blurbs and pictures along the way.  I am not even going to attempt to catch up on all the things I missed in September.. sorry, you will just have to imagine.  :P

Till next post.. (hopefully sooner that later!)

~Chs

Proclaiming their Creator

{Photos from a sunny August afternoon in a patch of wild bee-balm}

Annual Harrison Reunion

A couple Saturdays ago, we were able to attend our annual family reunion in Port Huron.  It is a reunion of our mom's, mother's family, the Harrison's.

It was a beautiful sunny day, not too hot, and there was a luscious array of food for everyone.

{our yearly tradition that we only make for the reunion - Pizza Cookie!)

{Chatting and catching up}

 {Grilling}

{Sisters}

This year we had a cookie contest.  Aunt Beth's Snicker-doodles won first place.  Our Pizza cookies received third! 

There were a couple fun games that were played. This one was a game where the goal was to unwrap a box.  The challenge was to do it with oven mitts on.  You only could do it after you rolled double with the dice, and of course as soon as some one else got a double they grabbed the mitts from you.

 The three remaining Harrison sisters.

{Traditional water ballon toss}

 All the family.  Grateful for being able to gather with our extended family for yet another year.

~Chs

A Visit from California

 The day after Dad's real birthday his brother came to visit all the way from California.  This has been an annual event (usually in September, but hey a month earlier is awesome!) looked forward to every year.

Uncle Dave always regales us with tales from that hot and desert land from which he came... :)

This year we had Chicken Salad sandwiches with deviled eggs.  It was a beautiful cool day, and the shade was just lovely under the willow tree.

Josh was able to stop by after lunch and we took our traditional family picture with Uncle Dave, minus Grace and John. :(

We always like to see what car Uncle Dave was able to get from the rental... this year... uhuh, a 2013 Challenger.

It was great to see him again this year, and we look forward to next year's visit.  Hey, maybe some of Dad's other siblings will come and visit too!  (hint)

~Chs

Dad's Birthday

So we celebrated Dad's birthday a day early, and I am posting about it 2 weeks late....  Can I just say we have been super busy here at the farm? :)

For dinner we had new potatoes and green beans.. one of the best dishes in the world!

And.... Turducken!!  All from our property.  (if you have no clue what that is, ask us about it!)

After dinner we all gathered around for presents,

Even Sadie Rose :)

New saw blades, a vice, slippers, snacks - all things Daddy loves.

With Cherry pie and Brownies for dessert!

We are very thankful for our Dad in our lives, for his Christian witness, leadership, hard work ethic, and love of fun.  We are truly blessed.

Happy late Birthday Dad!!!

~Chs

Blueberries for the Sauve's

I don't know if any of you remember the book "Blueberries for Sal" but it was one of my childhood favorites, and it is what I always think of when the time comes to go blueberry picking!

Two years ago God blessed us abundantly by allowing us to hear of an organically grown u-pick blueberries not to far from us.  We contacted the owners and headed out to pick.  From that first picking has grown a wonderful friendship; we are so thankful for the Polk family in our lives!

So far this year we have been picking 3 times at Polk-around-Farm, sometimes with friends and some by ourselves.  But since we eat about half of the berries we pick, we are going to have to go a few more times before we have enough for the year!  That's just fine, we LOVE picking there!

{thank you to my friend Megan for posing for this picture :) }

Even if we were not friends with the Polks, I would have to say the this blueberry farm has the best customer service ever!  Mrs. Polk always comes and checks on how you are doing, if the blueberries are sweet and plentiful enough, and whether you need to empty your buckets!  And the girls are always ready to take you and your berries back up in their "gator" to the parking lot when you are finished.

We have decided that Blueberries are on of our favorite fruits to pick.  You don't have to stand on your head to pick them (strawberries), they aren't poky (raspberries)  they don't get dirty, and you don't have to top them (strawberries) and you don't have to break your neck or climb ladders to get to them (apples) and they are FULL of healthy vitamins for you!  It's not that we don't like other fruit ('cause boy do we!  Cannot wait for apple season!) It's just that we LOVE Blueberries!

Mainly we are freezing our blueberries (the ones that aren't eaten right away fresh) to use in Kefir smoothies, but some get made into jam, some are placed in muffins, pancakes, coffee cake, or clafouti, and the super fortunate ones get turned into Blueberry Jarmalade!! (which is the most amazing fruit spread EVER!).   

So, if any of you in the area need a place to pick, we know the spot!

~Chs  

For When it is Hot....

Of course, I manage to wait to share these recipes until it is chilly and more fall-like than summer, but I am sure it will warm up again, and when it does, I hope someone can enjoy these homemade Popsicle recipes.

The other week when it was so BROILING hot, I decided to come up with some cold, refreshing snacks for the sweltering afternoons.  Here are the results.

Orange Creamsicles

 1 can of frozen Orange Juice concentrate

 2 cans (use the orange juice can to measure) of milk

 1/4-1/2  (I rarely measure, so have no clue, just to taste I guess) of cane sugar

1-2 tsp of Vanilla

Blend all the ingredients in a blender (we have a wonderful Vita mix, but any blender should work) then pour into popsicle molds.   Put them into the freezer right away, if you let them sit the milk solids will separate, leaving you with ice at the tip of your creamsicle.  Let freeze (the best way is to make these in the morning, then they will be ready right when you want them, at the hottest part of the afternoon) and ENJOY!!!

The next recipe I discovered while on a quest to create a fudgesicle.  That and the presence of some ripe avacodos in the house created these rich luscious chocolatey frozen desserts.

Peanut Butter Fudgesicles  (pictured)

 3-4 ripe avacodos

 A large scoop or 2 of Peanut Butter (approximately somewhere between 1/2-1 cup)

The same amount of Coconut oil (again approximately between 1/2-1 cup)

Sweetener of choice, honey, maple syrup (the two I used) or sugar.  (around a 1/2 cup I guess)

 1-2 tsp of Vanilla

Enough milk (cow, goat, coconut whatever you like) to make the blender go.

Warning, this makes a VERY thick pudding consistency so be careful with your blender.   Pour/scoop/splat into your popsicle containers and freeze.  Because of the thickness this does take longer to freeze, and the more coconut oil you use the harder it will be.

The last and simplest of my summer coolers was created with extra yogurt and frozen fruit.

Berry Frozen Yogurt Bars

4-6 cups of Yogurt (depending on how many popsicles you wish to make)

1-2 cups of frozen fruit (strawberry, is the one I did, blueberry or peaches would work to)

maple syrup or honey to taste

 milk, if too thick

Blend, taste, add, blend, taste, then pour into containers and freeze!

What yummy snacks do you all make when it is hot outside??  Please do share!

(My immense gratitude goes to Faith and Josiah who agreed to do a photo shoot with me as long as they got to eat their Peanut butter fudgesicles!)

~Chs