Late Summer Sausage

OMG.  I cannot stop eating.

And cooking.

There is so much good stuff coming out of my garden!

Pair that with the bounty everywhere else and

let's just say I'm grateful for my exercise group tomorrow morning

This morning I discovered that all the green tomatoes

 I had picked are ripening

So for lunch I made Jovial brown rice Capellini

and tossed it with fresh basil, tomatoes, Spruce Hill Farm goat cheese

and olive oil

Then for dinner tonight I celebrated growing my first ever Cauliflower

by roasting it with apples, red onion, garlic and thyme

and served it with homemade sausage that celebrates

this late summer food insanity

Besides being delicious, ancho chili powder is a key

ingredient and I know many of you just bought some

to make my latest chicken recipe

So, I thought I'd share!

 

LATE SUMMER PORK SAUSAGE PATTIES

1 T chopped fresh sage

1 tsp dried marjoram (or 1 T fresh, chopped)

1 + tsp Kosher salt (to taste)

3/4 -1 tsp Ancho Chili Powder

1/2 tsp ground fenugreek

1/3 cup chopped sweet onion, or scallions

1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries 

( I like cherries in this better)

 a bit of freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. organic ground pork

 (mine is from Old Ackley Farm of course)

I mix everything but the pork together first and then

mix in the pork - gently - or you will make the 

sausage tough.

Shape into small patties, I usually get 11 or 12

and pan fry in a bit of coconut oil until

nicely browned and cooked through.

Enjoy!

Kyra

September

September is my favorite month here

(just above February)

The angles of light are non stop stunning

tangled flowers, roots and greens from the garden,

Time to spend with friends

Last weekend I drove to Searsmont to attend an

Open Bee Hive Event at Fred Wardwell's 

I wanted to see if I really was okay with bees swarming all around me

before I take classes to tend a hive next year.

I found myself in this picture perfect Maine setting, old house,

awesome barn, cozy kitchen with an oil burning stove

Fred has been tending bees for over 25 years.

He said go for it, so I think I will.

And yesterday was our first day back at school teaching

Real World 101

Gosh it was good to be with the kids

Marty Dickinson was so kind to allow us to

come pick apples from her three trees.

Then we went back and made my new favorite fast dessert;

 Sliced apples, sautéd over medium heat in butter,

a pinch of sea salt and maple syrup.

 Just as they are softening add some

cinnamon and fresh nutmeg.

Serve with whipped cream and it is like apple pie without the crust.

Delicious!

As I watch my Ready By 21 Mentors and Mentees begin their

journey of getting to know each other this September

I would like to share this quote that keeps me centered every day:

"Leave an example...

It is not necessary for you to walk in another's

shoes in order to show your love and compassion.

It is for you to walk in your own love and compassion

in order to show them your support.

It is for them to change their own reality.

You stick to taking care of your own and 

others can see how well you are.

Yours is the only experience you can truly effect."

Enjoy these golden days,

Kyra 

Preserving

I had such a hard time getting my cucumbers started this year that I am so proud

of these refrigerator pickles, I had to show them off

I also experimented with pickling peaches.

The idea seems to be in print everywhere this year,

 but the recipes are loaded with sugar.

I made my brine with just a little maple syrup and put

cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, black peppercorns and

 red onion in with the peach halves

They will be ready in a week, I'll let you know

And then.....

While entertaining one night this summer

I, of course, was drinking Rose and had made grilled peaches for dessert

The combination of the two was INCREDIBLE

So I decided to make peach jam yesterday using

honey, lemon and a bit of Rose

The result was phenomenal.

What I want most to share is that I follow no rules when I "can"

I do a lot of refrigerator pickles, which will last in the fridge for

at least 6 weeks

When I do seal my jars for shelve life

 I do it by running them through the dish washer at work

(It works like a charm)

I use honey instead of sugar, taste as I go, no pectin,

I ran my blackberry jam through the food mill before I put it

in the jars to get the seeds out 

The freedom of not following all those rules

is equivalent to my making a quilt for the first time

that the points didn't match.

I have fun.

I also found a book this year that is a pleasure

"Saving The Season" by Kevin West

He makes it seem very poetic

I've got to run, on the way to the Island Institute for

the day to learn how to be an effective

advisor to this year's Island Fellow

More soon!

Enjoy your day

Kyra

Vocation

Amy Vaughn (my Ready By 21 partner in crime) and I 

had a wonderful meeting today to plan our curriculum

for the upcoming People Skills classes we have been given the

amazing opportunity to lead this year at the high school

Our first topic is Vocation

In October our job will be to put this enormous word

into perspective for 14 and 15 year olds

On Friday of last week

a long time summer regular of Lily's sent me this picture

 thanking me for a lovely farmhouse lunch last Thursday.

I love the picture and am so grateful she sent it.

It is the end of my last lunch of the season.

Remnants of roasted carrots for the salad, an empty

apple pie pan, eggshells from the last minute

omelettes I made for my final table

(I had run out of the main course, thankfully they were "family")

I'm in a kitchen I love, with a true smile on my face,

wearing an apron and dress I've made,

serving food grown steps away

Those feelings of passion, satisfaction,

being the most of me that I can be,

in the best place possible,

That is my definition of vocation

 Today,
I was welcomed back at school by both
returning students and teachers
with such warmth and generosity
that I am overwhelmed with
love and gratitude

It seems that we are capable of more
than one vocation.

My hope is that I may, in return, create a few
sparks that set others on the journey
of discovering their own true selves

Happy September,
and Happy New Year to many of you,
 
From the heart,
Kyra

  

Abundance and Transformation

You can feel it here.

Summer's grip slipping, like a setting sun.

In response, the abundance the earth is offering

is incredible

I have been crazily trying to transform 

all this beautiful abundance into lasting memories

This from Old Ackley Farm

 into this:

Corn ice cream with blueberry sauce

These beauties from Blue Zee

into something I can jar for winter

And these 

turned into an incredible supper one night,

over polenta with lentils and red onion

A friend and gardener asked me

 if I wanted some basil

!!! 

On Friday I headed to the freezer with 10 pints of pesto

She threw in a few quarts of sun golds

because I don't have any this year

and I slow roasted them to produce

little candy like jewels 

Which I served with local goat cheese on bread

and it was like a cream cheese and jelly sandwich on steroids

The best part of all of this bounty is sharing

 I am so grateful for all the lovely people in my life

 who choose to share it with me

Thank you everyone for your abundant desire to

 participate in my summer of

creativity

 and giving me the chance to share all the wonders

of this magical place and time.

 May there be more to come

I hope you are all eating well and happy

Kyra

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

These sandwiches were a hit yesterday and I thought I'd share what I did

to the chicken because it was DELICIOUS!!

I served the pulled chicken yesterday on a homemade bun toasted with herb butter

with melted raw cheddar cheese and caramelized onions.

First of all, I am privy to Old Ackley Farm chicken -

which is the best in the world and if you are anywhere

near here you should run, not walk, to a farmer's market

where they are

 to get yourself some!

Proof that there is no reason to be afraid of a whole chicken:

Put the sweet thing into a pot that is just a tiny bit

bigger than the chicken

Sprinkle it liberally with Ancho Chili Pepper, dried thyme 

 and Kosher Salt

Pour equal parts of white wine and apple cider/juice into the 

pot to create an inch of liquid in the bottom

(don't pour it over the chicken or you will lose your spices)

Slice the top off a whole head of garlic and throw that in as well

Cover the whole wonderous thing with parchment paper and then

a lid of some sort - none of my pots have lids that fit so I use foil-

Place it in a 325 degree oven and let it melt into perfection 

This might take up to 4 hours - I like it so the legs are almost falling off-

Remove from oven and let rest a good hour, with the lid on

When cool enough to handle easily, but still warm,

take the chicken from the pot and squeeze the now softened garlic

 into the broth in the bottom.

 Pull all the meat from the chicken - don't forget about the wings

and those two little nuggets under the breast bone connecting the thighs

and add it into the broth 

YUM!

This will also freeze well and you can pull it out some other time

for chicken tacos or a topping for polenta or.....

Enjoy!

Kyra

Here I am!

While visiting with a friend a few weeks back she described

a recent meal in a local restaurant as 

"adequate"

The word filled me with sadness for some reason and

I've been thinking about it ever since

My goal has always been 'Extraordinary!'

Even my failures have been spectacular

It means editing the adequate out

and rejoicing in things that make your heart sing

There have been so many of those moments this summer

both at Lily's and in my personal life;

The Oyster Fest! topping it all

 

The success of my Farmhouse Lunches

My extraordinary crew!

The private parties 

Betsy's Sunflower Shop wanting to sell my aprons after the craft show

Having time to experiment with technique

(After reading a Bon Appetite article I roasted my eggplant

directly on the coals - it produced an outrageously delicious

smoky flesh that I paired with greek yogurt and sumac over pasta)

My garden

Scoring these chairs at TJ Maxx

 Having time to nurture friendships

And the extraordinary passing of DOMA, giving me the

 right to legalize my partnership with

Renee, someone I have spent the last 17 years with,

creating all these spectacular successes and failures

Extraordinary doesn't have to be complicated

It is as simple as a smile, if your whole heart is in it.

Kyra