Better Butter for Thanksgiving

WREA THinking, en-TWINED

All winter long, Local Farm cows eat dried grass hay that is stored in bundles or bales tied with twine. As she feeds out the hay to her cows, Farmer Debra cuts the twine at the knot and hangs each strand over a peg until she has enough to bundle like those hanging from the tree by Joyce.

On Columbus Day, Motherhouse offers a free workshop on wreath-making with leftover twine and wire coat hangers.

We bundle the strands of twine with the knots in a clump and braid them around the bent hanger frame...

...and decorate them with dried flowers and ribbons.

This year, we had a bumper crop of straw flowers!

Finished wreaths can be purchased for $15-$25 at the Motherhouse table at the West Cornwall Farmer's Market or directly from Debra@Motherouse.us (860-672-0229).

Lacto Pickle With Lacto-Bacillus?

Sauerkraut, beet kvass, ginger carrots, kim-chee, traditional dill pickles, and other foods fermented with the help of lacto-bacillus are chock-full of health-supporting enzymes and probiotics. Alicia North of Northstar Botanicals led us in starting our own on a gorgeous October day. When making dill pickles, she adds oak leaves to cucumbers and summer squash to keep them firm and crunchy.

Some links Alicia recommended for continued experiments are: wildfermentation.com, thenourishingcook.com, nourishedkitchen.com, and www.cheeseslave.com.
We grated and mashed, measured, and sliced... then turned our attention to beverage-making!

Water Kefir (for a detailed guide, visit: http://www.yemoos.com/waterkefir4tbs.html)

To make the basic recipe, you will need:

*1 QT jar or bigger

*4 TBS Kefir grains ( a basic ratio to remember is about 1 TBS grains:1 TBS sugar:1 cup water)

*4 cups spring water

*1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar (4-6 TBS)

*a couple figs, apricots, dates or a small handful of raisins

*1 to 2 teaspoons of lemon juice from a lemon or 1/4 of a fresh lemon cleaned & sliced w/skin on

Put all the ingredients in the jar and cover it with a cloth, paper towel or parchment paper held by elastic so your kefir grains can breathe and to make sure nothing can contaminate it.

Let them rest and do their thing! ... out of direct sunlight... 24-48 hours.

Days End, Jarred Beginnings!

CowMOOntary

The following cowmoonts arrived shortly after our September 17th workshop; Keeping a Family Cow.
Debra, I just wanted to thank you again for the workshop last Saturday. It was such a delight to finally meet you! I also felt a sweet kinship, with you personally, and also the work you are doing there with Local Farm. I find it is always a gift to rub elbows with such comrades, especially in these challenging days often imbued with materialism and paranoia. I also want to thank you for helping me to feel so much more confident than I ever thought I would about taking on my own cow, and also for helping me to feel like it’s even possible in the first place. Oh, how I have longed to nurture a close relationship with such a benevolent creature. Now that I have attended your workshop, I am pining all the more! Warmly, Brenda ArmstrongDebra, Thanks again for all your effort on Saturday, our family greatly enjoyed our visit to your farm. We have been talking about it together and with our friends ever since. :) One of the things that we appreciated the most was your willingness to teach and share in such an unintimidating way. (Peter never thought that cows could be calm and gentle, and insisted that he would never milk one) Now he admits that it would be possible and beneficial for our family to adjust to life with a family cow to take care of and milk. We are still discussing some of the fine details of how, when, and where, but I just wanted to share with you our admiration for all that you do to educate and encourage people about cow ownership. thanks Caity
Thanks, Zjeke, for the photos! For Margaret's report of a typical Family Cow workshop, click HERE.

Be-an Corny!

Lend me your ears!!!

Grill-master Wyatt Whiteman, his daughter Indiana, and our neighbor Sally O'Shaughnessy served up a delicious, nutritious heap of roasted sweet corn at Saturday's 20th anniversary Cornwall Ag Fair. Brent Prindle donated the corn, Margaret Hopkins and Rhonda Jaacks represented Motherhouse Market, and Alicia North made some herbal, corny comfort packs with whole corn "stuffing." Debra brought out the grain mill and corned some passing children into preparing ground grain to feed her chickens. Wyatt dreamed up this crowd drawing picture-taking fun placard and Debra & Zjeke Hermann painted it!





Just to

YO GAtta Try Yoga!

The days are getting shorter and we are approaching the darker time of year. Join us Monday mornings at 10:30 to breathe in the light to nourish body and soul while finding peace and relaxation with yoga guide, Angelina Tan. Contact Debra@Motherhouse.us or 860 672 0229 for location.

Angelina has studied yoga in the tradition of Sri Krishnamarcharya since 1999 when she discovered yoga in her rehabilitation from a horseback riding accident. She has studied with Dr. Dolphi Wertenbaker in New York and Vedic Chanting with Sonia Nelson in New Mexico. She continues her studies in yoga therapy, philosophy and Vedic chanting with A. G. Mohan and Indra Mohan in Chennai, India.

Svastha Yoga class. The meaning of the word “Svastha” in Sanskrit refers to the state of physical and mental well-being. The practice of yoga incorporates working with the breath in movement to move to a place of stillness and quiet. With each posture, students learn to coordinate movement with breath. There will also be a period of conscious breathing (pranayama). The practice is design to give participants an experience of using breath and sound in postures and developing an awareness of breath in daily life.

Please bring a mat or, a small rug. The session is open to all levels. Suggested contribution is $15.

Honoring Our Foremothers

Gathering for four Wednesday evenings in August,
we shared stories of our
school principals,
mothers,
grandmothers,
and other women who we admire
and in some way,
who have made a difference
in our lives.

We brought in photos,
made drawings and collages,
and wrote cinquain poetry
and letters of appreciation.
We reproduced our work on 5X5 inch card stock,
and bound the pages with artists tape
into accordion books.

We are already
thinking ahead
to who we'll honor this winter
in our next book-making series
and hope you'll join us!