Back in the fall when we were pressing cider we also starting another fermenting project and it might be my favourite project yet.

When you press 8 bushels of apples you are left with a ton of pulp.  While we composted about half of it we decided to turn the rest into apple cider vinegar.

After leaving the scraps in a closed tub for two days we transferred them to a carboy.

You can do this on a much smaller scale, one jar or crock at a time.  We just had so much waste so we went big. Probably too big.

Once your vessel is full of apple, add a little sugar.  The amount does not seem to be important, it’s just to kick start the fermentation.   Next fill the container with water to cover all the scraps.  If you are using a crock, you can weigh down the floating apples with a plate as seen here on 17aparts tutorial and here in a Somona Garden’s post.

Cover the opening with cheese cloth to keep dirt out but to allow wild yeasts to help out.

After a week or so, strain out the apple scraps.  We switched to a much smaller and more manageable container size at this point since we started out too big.   This picture shows how it immediately started forming a new yeast mother.

We added an airlock at this point, but you can keep using cheese cloth. I tucked it away in the basement  and then waited another 6 weeks.  Now we have the best vinegar I’ve ever tasted.  We bottled it up and have been using it for everything, marinades, salad dressing, cleaning the house, washing my hair.  It’s great and quite possibly the most useful stuff we’ve ever made.

Oh poor neglected blog, poor neglected house, and dog, and oh everything really.  We’re working on so many many things and it’s been hard to keep up.  This time of year we pack seeds by the millions, we thresh seeds, we print and fold packages, we write descriptions, sort hundred of photographs of tomatoes, kick off marketing campaigns and it’s all very very busy.

This year things are a little more challenging, as I’m suffering from what I call why-do-they-call-it-morning-sickness-when-it-lasts-all-day-long-sickness? That’s right. Sometime at the end of this summer we should have a second baby.  While I’m a totally healthy low risk pregnancy sort of person, the first little bit is well, dreadful.  Temporary, but dreadful.

Well enough of this! The last few days have been better, the worst is over, and it’s time to get on top of things.  So while January was a total write off, February is my new year and I’m getting organized.  I have lots of posts written for the next few weeks, lots of local events planed, lots of new seeds, a farm to dream about and a garden to plan, hey! I might even make dinner.

I am really not a morning person.  I am grumpy, sleepy and move very slowly while trying to let various animals out and get breakfast into Rebecca who insists on being fed before I get coffee.  I find it all especially hard when it is still dark out. That’s where muffins come in. You can make them on Sunday afternoon and have at least a few mornings of breakfast started. Makes these cold dark mornings just a little bit more manageable.

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

3/4 cup sunflower oil (or another light cooking oil like grapeseed or canola)

1 small zucchini grated

2 large carrot grated

1 cup raisins

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350. Line or grease 24 muffin cups.

Whisk eggs, sugar and honey together.

Add the oil, then vanilla, and then the grated zucchini and carrots along with the raisins.

Combine your dry ingredients in another bowl.

Whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and oats together.

Combine the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together slowly.

Divide the mixture evenly into your greased or lined muffin tins.

Bake 18-20 minutes at 350.

Remove from tins and cool on wire racks.

These are so good.  Sometimes I throw half a cup of finely chopped walnuts for extra goodness. Enjoy!

Have had a few questions about the napkins.  Ryan put these awesome apple napkins in my stocking this christmas, they’re from JAQSstudio on etsy.

December 24th, 2011 Ryan and Rebecca making sugar cookies on Christmas Eve.

December 35th, 2011 Christmas was adorable this year.

December 26th, 2011 Cousins decorating gingerbread houses.

December 27th, 2011 Kale salad is the opposite of gravy.

December 28th, 2011 Spot and Rebecca have some down time with the ipad.

December 29th, 2011 Hmmm, don’t think we were supposed to let the press fill up with snow.

December 30th, 2011 The tree is down!

December 31st, 2011 I can’t think of a better way to end the year than with Zucchini Carrot muffins.

This seasonal combination of raw kale, beet, carrot and some pomegranate seeds is a great start to the new year and antidote to the excess of the holiday season.

After 3 turkey dinners and a truly obscene amount of baking and chocolate I need some green leafy vegetables in my life stat.

For the Salad

2 carrots

3 beets

a bunch of kale

half a pomegranate’s seeds

2 avocados

Grate your raw carrots and beets.  I cut off the ends and use the food processor but you could grate them by hand.

Tear kale into bit sized pieces. Now for the fun part; massaging your kale with avocado. This is what makes this salad so delicious.  With clean hands take two avocados and much them into the torn up kale covering each piece.

Combine the avocado massaged kale with the beets, carrots and pomegranate seeds. Toss as evenly as possible.

Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 scant teaspoon of salt

Pour on your dressing and toss again.  Delicious and a nice break from the gravy train.