Food and Drink – Page 2

cooking lessons

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Tim McMurdo

Everybody needs to start someplace. Why not grilled cheese and apples? Life never gets too complicated at Carriage Hill Farm and that is one of the reasons the farm has become one of my happy places.

From a photographic standpoint, I've shot the farm, its workers and its animals in thousands of images. Still, each time that I return, I find something to point my camera at. It seems to me that the more familiar I become with the farm, the more I find to capture.

I'm sure that every one of us has a place to retreat and relax. What are your favorite places to get a way for a few hours?

raspberry lomo

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Tim McMurdo

drying onions

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Tim McMurdo

lemon curd

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Tim McMurdo

A few of you expressed and interest in the real recipe for lemon curd. Debbie was kind enough to send it over to me. Here it is:

Recipe for LEMON CURD from My Favorite Receipt, 1886.

To 2 pounds of loaf sugar, add 1/2 pound of good butter, the rind of 4 lemons grated, the juice of 6, 8 eggs; Beat the eggs a very little before adding them to the sugar and lemons; put all in a jar; stand jar in a sauce pan of boiling water, stir it occasionally until the consistency of honey; keep the water boiling and stir the mixture with a silver spoon about 8 minutes makes a delicious filling for pies. – Mrs. F. J. Southwell, Hawley Minn.

When we made the lemon curd, we used a half recipe. Good luck and let me know how yours turned out.

Tim

lemon curd

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Tim McMurdo

Last weekend, I was over at the farm and Debbie was making Lemon curd. The results were incredible and we soon found ourselves spreading the yellow yuminess on biscotti. The results were so good that I thought you might like to know how we made it. I say we because, I stirred the pot a little and that counts… doesn't it?

The first thing you need to do is to find a nice farm lady that knows how to make lemon curd. While she's getting all of the ingredients together, you should be as helpful as possible. Mainly by staying out of her way and taking lots of pictures to document that you helped.

Once your nice farm lady has all of the ingredients mixed together and the wood stove nice and hot, its time for you to watch her cook the lemon curd on the stove. You should be as much help as possible. Tell her what a great job she's doing and that you look forward to sampling the curd when it is finished cooking. Offer to help stir and fetch wood from the wood pile if necessary.

And that's it. Now you know how to make lemon curd. Any questions?

lunch on the farm

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Tim McMurdo

When I arrived at the farm on Saturday, Debbie was just finishing preparations for lunch. I caught her in the kitchen window, peeling and slicing onions.

The hands needed a hearty lunch and Debbie was cooking up a great big skillet of fried potatoes and onions.

The wood stove was plenty hot and the skillet saw constant motion to keep everything from burning.

When the potatoes and onions were just about finished, Debbie scrambled up some eggs and added them to the skillet. In the oven they went until the hands arrived for lunch.

The meal also included pickled beets, pickled green beans, corn relish, and for desert, brandied cherries. When the men went back to work, there wasn't a whole lot left to put away. The table looked like locusts had had there way with the meal.

butchering day

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Tim McMurdo

Sunday was butchering day on the farm. The hog had been slaughtered and cleaned on Saturday. The different cuts will be soaked in brine and then placed in the smoke house to cure and add flavor.

the berries

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Tim McMurdo

The berries were plump, juicy, and sweet. Just like berries should be. Biting into one caused a flood of their wonderful juice to wash across my tongue. Even now, my mouth waters at the thought of eating them.

links

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

You all know that the world wide web is all about links, so I thought I wold show you some. It's not evryday that you get to see the inside of a smoke house.

pizza monster

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Nobody knows where it came from. One day, it just showed up… squeaking and gibbering. The beast practically slobbered over the entire town as it worked its way from the suburbs, past the elementary school, the train station, and the library until it eventually made its way to the pizza place.

Once in side, the hairy animal ordered a slice with pepperoni and extra cheese, NY Style. A shake of salt, parmigiana cheese and a little red pepper flake finished his preparations and the beast was ready to chow down. He swallowed the pizza in four huge bites and washed it down with a cold lager.

He wasn't a dangerous monster, he just needed some pizza. Aren't we all a pizza monster on one day or another?