The Urban Farmer's Almanac

I planned to swing by Skillet Diner and pick up a jar of Bacon Jam for my brother Alex’s stocking, but I realized that I could probably make it cheaper, and then I would have more to give away. A quick search got me this recipe, which looked pretty good, and I was off and running. It is basically equal parts bacon and onions, cooked down for hours and hours with garlic, coffee, brown sugar, maple syrup, and vinegar to round out the flavors.

So how does bacon jam taste, you may want to know. I won’t resort to the superlatives that the other blog did about this stuff, but I will say it’s pretty tasty. It won’t change your life, but it would definitely improve a burger. When it finished cooking at midnight or so, I decided to test it with an egg poached in plastic wrap (testing a breakfast I was planning for the family getaway) and it definitely satisfied that late-night fat- and salt-tooth that I could really do without. Alicia said it was sweeter than she expected, but it is called jam, after all.

A personal note and disclaimer on bacon: I am not usually one to want to wrap everything I see in bacon. We do have a freezer full of it from buying half a pig earlier this year, though, so access isn’t a problem. However, this month I not only made bacon jam as a stocking stuffer, I also brought bacon-chocolate-chip-pecan cookies to a Cookie Exchange Party. And when I noticed that I was almost out of Bacon Salt (a stocking stuffer I received – and secretly mocked – last year), I thought, “I wouldn’t mind more of that.” Hmmmm…. I may need to re-examine the cool distance I try to maintain from bacon-obsessed dudes who are weaving bacon baskets to hold a dozen pigs sculpted in foie gras (or other ridiculous things…).

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We have had chicks in the basement in a box that fit them just fine when we first got them, but they’ve grown quite a bit in the last month. They’ve got plenty of feathers now, so it was time to put them outside (plus, our basement was starting to smell like a barn). In order to make the transition, I had to build a new house for them inside the coop. It could use a coat of paint, and come spring it will need a few nesting boxes, but it’s a big improvement over the last one.

After a day out in the new coop, I will say that the concept of ramps is a pretty complicated one for a chicken brain to wrap itself around. Or maybe they just like to stay close to the heat lamp. Hopefully, they’ll figure it out soon and learn how to scratch around for worms. Either way, Bob Dylan is happy for the company out there.

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When I was studying graphic design in college, a magazine called Critique was the most highbrow thing going… smart, critical, and as a design challenge they used Times New Roman as the main font just to see if they could make it look good. They had a cover for their Economy issue that completely blew my mind; it was maddeningly perfect:

It's probably too small to read; click to see a larger version.

All this to let you know that we’ve simplified just a little bit: our domain name has dropped the “the” at the beginning. You can still go to the old address and it will bring you here, but if you’re used to typing it in still (Mom), you can type one less word in an already long name. Onward, upward, and winterward!

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We’re having a pre-Thanksgiving potluck with the neighbors tonight and I decided to make a pie with the sour cherries we got this summer at Paul’s parents’ place in Wenatchee. If I had room to grow a cherry tree it would be this kind; super tart and really only good for baking or jam.

When I thawed them out a ton of juice drained off, and I realized that I could do a batch of jelly alongside the pie. We had everything we needed in the basement (including the obscene amount of sugar that goes into jelly), and besides the processing time, it only took about a half hour to make 8 cute little pints.

Plus this was my first lattice-topped pie. Alicia accused me of showing off and I won’t deny it.

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My design class took a field trip to the Volunteer Park Conservatory (one of Seattle’s best-kept secrets) yesterday, in search of patterns in nature for their final project. Though I have a relatively strict no-decorative-plants rule in my garden, I’m loosening up on that stance in my advancing years. I’ve planted some succulents along the front stairs, and I don’t fight against the poppies and daffodils that come up every year.

I can only aspire to a thumb green enough to cultivate a whole room full of cacti like the Cactus Room at the Conservatory… if you’ve never been there it is a must-see.

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