Virginia....Here We Come

My boys and I are on our way to Charlottesville, Virginia for the week.  My little sister lives there with her husband and I am more then thrilled to be able to spend some quality time with them.  For any of you who have not visited Charlottesville before, it is worth the trip!  I will be taking a week off from blogging and enjoying some of my favorite local sights with my family.  Here is a small glimpse of what I will be doing in the coming week…

Center for Historic Plants Open House at Monticello.  I can’t wait to take a behind the scenes look at where they grow all of Jefferson’s heirloom pants.  Don’t worry I will snap lots of pictures! I will also be touring Jefferson’s gardens…I have been there before but it is easily my favorite spot on earth.


James Madison's Montpelier.  This will be a new stop for us.  Montpelier has just been restored and I look forward to walking through the formal gardens and forest trails.  There are also some great kids activities at Montpelier that Big C can’t wait to try.


Blenheim Vineyards…owned by musician Dave Matthews.  This is one of my favorite wineries.  We went here for my sisters bachelorette party and I can’t wait to go back.


Jefferson Vineyards.  I stop here every time I visit Virginia and it never disappoints.  It always amazes  me to be able to sit outside and drink a glass a wine on the same land which Jefferson did hundreds of years ago.  Plus the wine is fabulous, so cheers to that! 


Michie Tavern. ca. 1784
“A Virginia Historic Landmark MICHIE TAVERN, located ½ mile below Jefferson’s Monticello, accommodated travelers with food, drink and lodging more than 200 years ago. Today, visitors experience the Tavern’s past through an historical journey which recreates 18th-century tavern life. Servers in period attire offer bountiful COLONIAL MIDDAY FARE.”-Michie Tavern Website.  This is my favorite place for lunch and I can’t wait for some warm peach crisp.

Ash Lawn-Highland…home of James Monroe.  Another great presidential tour with beautiful gardens and a small hobby farm.  The best thing about going to Virginia this time of year is that they are well into the spring season.  Colorado is far behind them, so this will give me my spring fix!

Of course the main reason for going to Charlottesville is to be with my little sis.  She will kill me when she sees that I put a picture of her up on my blog….this was taken at an indoor waterpark last year..no makeup, numerous times down the waterslides does not make for a glamorous shot.  The below shot was from her wedding…so pretty.  Look at how little Big C was.  They grow so fast!  I am going to be helping her put in her vegetable garden and plant some flowers around the yard.  She also volunteers at a sheep farm on the weekends and has asked me to help her feed some baby lambs…twist my arm.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I look forward to sharing all of my wonderful Virginia experiences when I get back.  Thanks again for stopping by!

Sauerkraut Dreams

Today was the day to give my cabbage a little more wiggle room.  I started these beauties from seed on 3/4/2012 and look at them now.  Gardening is a lot like mothering to me….taking something from seed and nurturing it until it blooms…maybe that is why I love it so much.  The cabbage has 2-3 true leaves and needs more space for its roots before I can put them in the garden.  I originally started the seeds in Jiffy Peat Pellets and they are moving up to Jiffy 4-in Peat Pots.  I could have gone for the 3-in size but for some reason there was a shortage of them in my area.  Seriously, it was like someone knew I needed that size and bought up every one in a 20 mile radius.  So I went a little bigger.  It won’t hurt the cabbage, but it just takes up more room in my seed starting area.

All you need for this project is:
Potting Soil (make sure to moisten before transplanting)
Peat Pots( or pots of your choice)
Craft Sticks for plant labels
Garden gloves ( my favorite are Ethel Gloves)

The process is very simple and also very meditative.  Fill each pot about halfway with new soil.  Place the seedling pellet in the middle of the pot and then cover until the soil is level with the top of the pellet.  Don’t pack the soil down to hard…just a light tamping around the inside of the pot will do.  Try to be fairly delicate during this process as the seedlings are still so new to the world.  I kind of compare this to changing a newborns diapers.  You are much more delicate when they are 1-2 months old versus when they are 1-2 years old. At that point you are tackling them in the middle of the living room to wrestle a diaper on them.  Once the seedling is potted, label the individual pot and lightly water.  Don’t overdo it but you want to see some moisture seep through the peat pot.  Place the newly potted plant back under the light and admire your work. 

I always know when it has been a good day when my Ethel Gloves end up looking like this. 



Here are some of my peppers which are next on my transplanting list. Jalapeno Grande, Orange Bell, Chocolate Beauty…the list sounds delicious. I am excited for all of the cabbage we are growing.  I have visions of sauerkraut dancing in my head.  Kimchi will also be on the list of fermenting endeavors.  Wild Fermentation by: Sandor Katz is going to get quite the workout at Throwback Road come harvest time.

I hope everyone is enjoying their planting season so far! I am a little nervous because I am leaving for Virginia with the boys in two days and Mr. G will be in charge of my seedlings for a week.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that they all are alive and well when I get back.  Send good plant thoughts our way please!  As always, thanks for stopping by Throwback Road and have a great day.

What edible plant are you looking forward to cooking with this planting season?

Primitive & Proper

Hi everyone!  I am guest posting over at Primitive & Proper today.  Please stop on by to take a peek into my home.  Also while you are there, get to know Cassie. She is an amazing DIY, crafter, furniture painter extraordinaire.  You will love her and love her blog!  Hope everyone has a great Friday and pops on over to Primitive & Proper to say hi. 

A sneak peek…..



Thanks everyone for your support!

Homemade Pumpkin Maple Granola

The next stop on my homemade food tour is granola.  I love granola poured over my Homemade Yogurt drizzled with raw honey, mixed into my morning oatmeal, or just served with milk and fresh fruit.  I have slowly been going through my pantry trying to figure out all of the products I can stop buying at the store and granola was the next obvious choice.  I am actually embarrassed that I have been buying granola!  This was so easy to make and so customizable to your individual tastes, that the idea of going back to the store brand is not an option.  The granola I had been buying was always a little to sweet for me and also expensive.  I stock all of these ingredients in my bulk pantry so whipping up a batch of this is easy and inexpensive.  Mix in dried fruits or dark chocolate chips once the granola has cooled for a quick trail mix.  Enjoy!

Homemade Pumpkin Maple Granola

Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 pinch sea salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice 
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 300degrees F.

Combine oats, seeds, almonds, flour, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine oil, syrup, juice and extracts.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and combine

Spread on a cookie sheet or in a shallow pan and bake.

Turn granola every 15 or 20 minutes so that it toasts evenly.

Bake until granola is dry and golden (45-60 minutes).

Store in an air tight jar (I like 1/2 gallon mason jars)

This recipe will fill a 1/2 gallon mason jar, but the boys literally attacked the granola before I could get pictures taken.  A day later and it is almost gone!  Good thing this recipe can be easily doubled.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

My Pinterest Perfect Day

In my Pinterest perfect world…everyday I would wake up in my house that looks like this….


And walk downstairs to my kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee…..


Once done with feeding the family breakfast, I would throw on my super cute Wellies…..


To go water and weed my garden……


Once I was done gardening I would go feed my chickens in their very practical hen house…..


And check on Buttercup and Rosie ( my miniature donkeys)


Once the chores were done the boys and I would head to the woods to play in our teepee…


The boys would both go down for a nap without any fuss ( hey, this is my dream so I make the rules) and I would have some time in my craft room…..


The boys would sleep extra long and I would have time to whip together some yarn work……


Dinner would be a gorgeous aged steak from our local rancher…


Washed down with some homemade Limoncello or home brew…


The family would then retire to our backyard to snuggle and watch a movie on our outdoor movie screen…..


Where I would serve homemade Dark Chocolate chip cookies….


You heard me right…chocolate chip cookies not raisin cookies because….


Once the little ones have drifted off to sleep Mr. G and I would sit around and talk about what an amazing day it was while admiring my pantry and jadeite collection.


And then Mr. G would end the day by saying……


Ahhhhhhhhh, what a perfect Pinterest day.  For more of Throwback Roads Pinterest dreams, please follow me on my Pinterest page.  That was sure fun! Keep dreaming!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Homemade tortillas are something that we have been making at Throwback Road way before we started this journey of simpler living.  Mr. G and I honeymooned in New Mexico and have an extreme love of New Mexican food and culture.  This recipe is also great because I store wheat in my long term food storage and it is good to have recipes that can accommodate such products.  I decided today to grind my own flour to make my tortillas, but store bought flour works just fine.


I used my Wondermill Junior Deluxe Hand Grain Mill to grind up my wheat.  Talk about a workout!  This is the grain mill my family has in case of a power outage.  She works by old fashioned hand power and is a great activity to do with your kids.  Big C loves to crank out flour for my cooking.

Homemade Flour Tortillas Adapted from Leona’s Sanctuary Cookbook
Ingredients
8 cups all purpose flour or 6 cups all purpose and 2 cups whole wheat ( I used 8 cups fresh ground soft white wheat)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup canola oil (I use Olive Oil)

3 cups warm water or enough to make dough the right consistency

Directions
-Combine flour with remaining ingredients.  The dough should not be sticky.  Add additional flour or water as needed.
-Knead dough 5 minutes
-Tear into 12 balls and place on a lightly floured surface;cover with clean dish towel
-Heat griddle (I use my Lodge Cast Iron Griddle), but any skillet will do
-Roll out balls one at a time….it is ok if they are not a perfect circle…mine never are
-Place on medium hot griddle until done, about 30 seconds on a side
-Be sure the griddle is not to hot or the tortillas will scorch
-Yield: 12 8- inch tortillas

**They may be frozen up to six months or refrigerated up to 2 weeks



You know it is time to flip when the tortilla starts to bubble…


Perfect!


Homemade Tortillas are great by themselves with some melted butter or they can also be used for wraps, flat bread pizzas, burritos…the list goes on and on.  I store mine in an airtight container in the fridge and they stay nice and fresh.  Hope you enjoy!