Silver Falls State Park

Saturday, Mr. K and I played hookie from house projects, gardening projects and art projects to do one of our all time favorite things. We've been hiking the Silver Falls State Park Loop once a year for as long as we've been together. Silver Falls State Park is south of Silverton, OR. The drive there alone is plenty worth it meandering through farm and forest land. The town of Silverton has a nice small town feel and is a great stop along the way. They have a number of coffee shops, so all the better. The hike is 7.2 miles round trip passing 10 falls....really.....I'm not kidding. It's absolutely beautiful especially this time of year. Click here to see more info on the park. The park also has a log cabin that houses a huge fireplace, gift shop and cafe. We brought our lunch in and ate it in front of the roaring fire after the hike.

The original log cabin.


One of the Falls.


Self-portrait

Another Fall

Since we were in the area, we stopped at the The Oregon Garden in Silverton. All I can say is WOW.....really a very beautiful garden to visit. It's quite extensive and worth the trip.

Funny pumpkin sculpture


In their Children's Garden

All in all, a great day!

Sammy

Seckel Pears

Last week on the The Splendid Table, a weekly cooking show on NPR (which is awesome and I listen every week.....you can podcast it too), she had a guest talking about pears. The woman spoke about these little baby pears called Seckel Pears. They are best for roasting or poaching. I had never seen or heard of them before and really thought nothing of them after the show. UNTIL, I stopped on Friday at the Apple Festival at Portland Nursery. I was perusing the apples and pears they had for sale and saw these little babies. I figured what the heck, I'll take a crack at poaching and canning them. I found a recipe on the web for them. I've included the recipe below.

Poaching in water, sugar and spices.

The finished product.


I have to admit it was a lot of effort for just two jars worth. You have to peal (PEAL) each tiny pear.

But, they were all yummy goodness. You just eat them seeds and all.....they practically melt in your mouth.

Spiced Poached Pears

2 doz. Seckel Pears
3 sticks of cinnamon
2 whole star anise
4 cloves
6 cups of water to cover (or whatever it takes to cover) and half that amount of sugar.

Peel the pears leaving the stems intact.
Place in a saucepan and cover with water.
Add sugar and spices, cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer till tender when pierced with a fork.

Either refrigerate them for eating within a week or two or can them using the boiling water process.

Enjoy,

Sammy

No Farm, No Food

Last night I finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kinsolver. Barbara and her family moved to a farm and tried to grow or buy locally 95% of their food for one year. This book is about that journey. The idea wasn't about saving money (although they did), it was to better understand the importance of not relying on food that has to travel many miles. One of the things I loved about the book is that she was never preachy; she was informative and insightful. For me, it taught me things about God's creation that I didn't realize or took for granted. It's a book that opens your eyes and makes you think about your habits and how you can change in small or large ways. I encourage all of you to make it a part of your reading library. You will be glad you did.

On that note, I went to a workshop yesterday on organic gardening at an urban farm. The farm is Zenger Farms on SE Foster Road. Their website is http://www.zengerfarms.org/. It was opened as a Diary Farm in 1913 by the Zenger family and stayed in the family until 1994, when the City of Portland bought it to be a part of their long-term conservation plans for the Johnson Creek Basin and Watershed. In 1999, the Friends of Zenger Farms was established to provide unique experiential learning opportunties for youth, farmers and families. They are also a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

The farm offers classes throughout the year and anyone can also help on the farm. I attended my first class yesterday called Pest, Plant Disease Managment. I thoroughly enjoyed the class. They strive to be informative, but also experiential. We spent class time learning about the various pests especially to the NW and then spent the last hour in the field actually finding them. I LOVED it! Next week's class is on cover crops and winter gardening. They are also starting a 4 part series on Saturday's in November on Organic Gardening. I'm planning on signing up. If you're interested, contact Ryan at ryanlee.hofrichter@gmail.com or 786.972.1333. (Bruce, wanna come with me???)

I hope you are enjoying this change in seasons and the slowing of the hurried summer pace,

Sammy

What To Do With Quince

So, last weekend I was at my mother-in-law's for a quick visit and I spotted a quince tree in her neighbor's yard. Her neighbor is currently gutting the house and is not living there. So, I took liberties to swipe some quince, with the blessing of my very proper mother-in-law. What do you do with quince??? I didn't know. I just so happened to have picked up a Kerr Home Canning Book at a garage sale the week prior. The book is probably from the 1950's and opens with a letter from Ruth Kerr addressed to "Dear Homemaker". Okay, I will not take offense as I am feeling quite "homemakerish" lately. I have to find another word though.



Options for quince are fairly limited, as it is a bitter fruit. You can make jelly (I didn't have a jelly cloth), chutney (too many ingredients) or......ta da.......quince apple preserves. All I needed was quince, apples, sugar and water. Here's the recipe.

Quince Apple Preserves

Pare and slice or cube quinces and apples. Use 1/2 as many apples as you have quinces. Weigh and for each pound of combined fruit use 3/4 pound of sugar. Cook the quince in boiling water until tender, then add the apples and cook until the apples are tender. Pour into steralized jars and seal each jar as filled. I processed them in a hot water bath for 20 minutes and all of them popped nicely.

I can't tell you how my heart sings when I hear that pop.

Here are my quince apples preserves in front of pickles that were canned in August.

This fall and winter, I will use the preserves as a sauce over pork or ham. I would love to hear your suggestions for their future use.

Sammy