Downright old-fashioned Industry.

In the lower field at the farm...

While the Wife (a.k.a. Mommy - she's the Mommy, I'm the Mama, but I just can't call her Mommy when not addressing the Boy or another child) went to the market to sell her homemade soaps and such, the Boy and I were up early to go to the farm to pick veggies and flowers and collect our share.  As has become routine, we hitched a ride with Mme. Child and Goose, who also had a neighbor-friend and her daughter along.  Good thing Mme. Child has the Commander that could fit us all (though I will say that the ride back was a bit tight, what with all the produce).  Aside from picking up our shares, the goal was to keep the Boy awake  through the ride home.  A success.  Having two smiling girls in the 3rd row helped, as did my remembering to bring a snack.  And the pop-down video of Dora also did wonders.

Mme. Child has earned her pseudonym by her mad skills in the kitchen.  I'm an alright cook who likes to do so most of the time, follows her nose, and has the occasional flash of genius and/or luck that makes for some delicious goodness from time to time.  Mme. Child, on the other hand, could very well be the reincarnate of Julia Child - except for the small detail of being born a couple decades before her death. As I say, small detail.  Mme. Child loves to cook, and my God, she is good at it. And she loves to entertain and share her divine creations.  And. AND. She loves to impart her knowledge about all things food to the humble likes of me.  This is where spending the mornings after picking up our CSA shares comes in quite handy.

Last week we canned Dilly Beans.  It was a long, hot day (seriously, imagine canning in 90 degree weather), but it showed us the potential of what we can do: the kids play and we play in the kitchen, thus getting the best use out of our CSA shares  ~ big smiles all around!  So today I learned how to make Ricotta cheese and then we made Sauerkraut:

 Um. That was easy.  Eerily so, actually.  Why haven't I been doing this stuff all along??  Seriously, the recipe for Sauerkraut is super easy - chop cabbage, salt it, pound it, add whey, jar it, and let it sit.  That's it.

The Wife picked up the Boy for an afternoon together and I looked forward to some alone-in-the-house time. After doing those pesky dishes, that nasty cat box, and unplanned laundry (thanks to Stubby the Cat a.k.a. the Barfinator), I felt snacky and made Kale Chips.

Wash Kale
Lightly oil
Lightly salt
Bake for
20-25 min
at 275 and 
 --->>>>>
Voila!

This I also learned from Mme. Child.

All of this and I am truly and utterly exhausted - I'd be tired anyway, but my muscles are staging a revolt from yesterdays bush-wacking.  Even my thumbs.  I was going to make dinner.  We deserve dinner.  But I'm just too tired.  The Boy had leftovers from yesterday.  We had Kale Chips and Tea Cake.  At least we fed the Boy.