Last Sunday, before we even got out of bed, I pulled back the curtains and to my surprise the ground and trees on the farm were blanketed in white, fluffy snow.
At first I was a little annoyed, but after making a pot of coffee and putting my coziest socks on I was cured.
Plus, the way the farm looks when there is a dusting of snow is so charming. It felt like Christmas morning, or a scene from a story book.
Our puppy, Sawyer, was also pleasantly surprised. Delighted even. He’s eight months old, so this was one of his first times seeing snow. The only other time was when we drove up to Lakit Lookout in the spring. He and his brother, Ollie, pranced around and played in the snow and were very quickly soaking wet. Happy and soggy puppies.
E and I decided that this snowy day was the perfect excuse to get a roaring fire going in the wood stove and spend our day cooking.
At 9 a.m. we had pulled pork in the crockpot, which quickly turned into inspiration for elk jerky.
By noon we were making fresh pasta. We had so many eggs in our fridge that we decided to use some of them up; pasta dough requires an absurd amount of eggs, mostly yolks. We made two different kinds of pasta dough, one which we made into ravioli and the other that will sit in the fridge until next weekend, to be made into linguine and fettuccine.
Once the dough was tucked away in parchment paper in the fridge we decided we had to do something with the dozen egg whites. We decided on quiche.
We enjoyed some lunch, put on a vinyl record and continued our cooking. We went for walks around the farm in the snow as things simmered and bubbled on the stove.
The kitchen was being utilized to its full potential on Sunday. We always eat fairly well, but there’s something about spending the entire day cooking that’s so fulfilling. We danced around the kitchen, making use of every inch of counter space. We spread out onto the dining room table and dirty dishes overflowed in the sink. It was a constant cycle of making a mess, cleaning up, and making a mess again. The dogs most certainly sat nearby, patiently hoping for a morsel.
Ashley from Turner Farm said it best: the farm kitchen is like a workhorse.
“There is a truth that whispers from beneath the dirty dishes and crumb littered floor that all those hours spent in the belly of her are hours spent with love.”
We put in a solid eight hours of cooking. At least. We ended up making vegetable stock, quiche, pasta sauce, fresh pasta, elk jerky and pulled pork. The day prior I made chicken soup and borscht. It was our version of “meal prep”. Most of the core ingredients came from our land or local farmers and hunters. Being able to reach into the fridge or freezer and have a plethora of delicious options is a privilege.
We spend a lot of time in our kitchen. We laugh, we play with the dogs, we sit on the floor and chat. Most importantly though, we spend quality time nourishing our bodies and souls. We take what we have grown and turn it into something even more wonderful. We waste as little as possible and we are grateful for every meal. Our freezers and bellies are full.