Out into nature …

With a gorgeous sunny day ahead of us, Abigail, Laureli and I headed for the garden to collect culinary herbs. Our goal was to harvest and discuss aromatic herbs, and each collect enough to season one pot of bone broth. This turned into a long and satisfying exploration. Before we even got to the herb patch, Lila identified and gathered chickweed (Stellaria media). We took time to observe and discuss the plants we found, and deeply smell each aromatic. Abby was also busy jotting down botanical and culinary data in her notebook, as well as sketching what we picked. Eventually we all had sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary and parsley, and it was time to go make lunch.

Foods and Nutrition …

Our garden research was so interesting that we were behind schedule on making the food, but fortunately we had already talked and talked about plant nutrition and benefits so we were ahead in that conversation. Car travel time is great for covering a lot of topics too.

We started a crockpot full of bones, herbs, grey sea salt, peppercorns and apple cider vinegar, to experience the process of making bone broth. It won’t be ready for 20 hours, but I had a pot of finished bone broth in the fridge, as well as a precooked squash. We’re aiming for Sunshine Soup. The girls scooped out the flesh and blended it with the bone broth and ginger, tasting as we went. No double dipping, of course. We set our finished pot of soup on the stove to heat while we discussed food sensitivities. This batch of soup does not contain onion, garlic or hot pepper, but those are important ingredients for the ones who can eat them. So we ground up some dried hot peppers, added garlic and onion powder and funneled it into a shaker to use at the table, not without some coughing and sneezing. (I should have let the dust settle before I opened that cannister.)

With rice crackers, a log of chevre, homegrown daikon radish sprouts, dehydrated cherry tomatoes, nasturtium petals, and of course, Papa’s kombucha, we were ready for a delightful meal.

Honey-Do …

Young and flexible, the girls were more than willing to help out with lower cupboard and drawers. It’s surprising what can be accomplished in twenty minutes. We left the dishes and pots out so the surfaces could dry completely and moved on to our next activity.

Forest Therapy …

An unusual October is giving us splendid, sunny days filled with all the glory of autumn, so we definitely needed to go back outside and make the most of the perfect weather. Our destination was Stony Creek Park where we could immerse ourselves in the therapeutic benefits of time in the forest. Since it’s an off-leash park, we also expected to make the acquaintance of any number of happy dogs enjoying themselves with their people.