tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57105257667367365472012-02-02T14:36:34.424-05:00ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.comBlogger5851100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-47835478180445316842012-02-01T22:21:00.001-05:002012-02-01T22:30:10.047-05:00

When I was in my early teens, I started to imagine the type of woman I wanted to be when I grew up. At the time, I was equal parts smitten with fashion, skateboarding (my brother and I had a half-pipe in our backyard and I had posters of Tony Hawk adorning my bedroom walls alongside those of Joey McIntyre), and creative self-expression. I was on the journalism staff, acted in school plays, and

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com74tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-44545196374928855112012-01-31T19:28:00.000-05:002012-01-31T19:28:12.298-05:00

Hi friends! My English Lessons column for Verve magazine has a new post up for February. Today Butter, Tomorrow World Peace touches on the way that dairy-making made me feel I could take on anything. Really. It honestly did. And does. You can read the post here. I'd love to know if taking on some sort of food-related project empowered you, too. Funny, the things that empower us. For some, it's

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-66272566953581097312012-01-31T12:43:00.001-05:002012-01-31T12:44:23.697-05:00

Ever since I became a nursing mom, my appetite has been off the charts. I eat like a growing teenage boy, it seems. Each morning, "pre-breakfast" (a glass of water and a bowl of plain yogurt with honey and seasonal fruit) is followed by breakfast, which in turn is followed by a succession of small meals all day. Partly I do this because I'm the sort of person that has to. Meaning I get low-blood

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-433920755173695672012-01-30T16:49:00.000-05:002012-01-30T16:49:30.756-05:00

Issue No. 6 Trailer from Anthology Magazine on Vimeo. Our little homestead is featured in the new issue of Anthology magazine! Editor Anh-Minh Le writes so beautifully about our place and what we're up to out here in her piece titled Home Grown. I'm so excited by this, as I just adore the publication. Photographer Jen Siska visited us this past October for a fun-filled afternoon of photo-taking.

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-90794815954311617202012-01-27T10:35:00.000-05:002012-01-27T10:35:19.551-05:00

Happy Friday friends! Hope your week has gone well. Ours has been characterized by unusually warm weather and a sniffling, sneezing, coughing baby. We've been making the most of the balmy days, taking walks down the driveway to the creek that runs alongside our driveway's entrance and opening up windows in the house during the day (in JANUARY! It boggles the mind...). As for Huxley, I've been

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-41436412339378223822012-01-25T15:54:00.000-05:002012-01-25T15:54:38.359-05:00

I didn't really need another reason to love Larry's Beans. A coffee roaster across the state in Raleigh, Larry's already has so much going on for their beans and their business. They use organic, shade-grown beans (which is better for birds and bugs), they engage in fair-trade practices (wherein people are treated like, well, people, and not commodities), they heat their building with solar

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-17186661999879866572012-01-24T16:39:00.001-05:002012-01-24T16:40:35.076-05:00

I was just outside, emptying items into the recycling station when I came across these beauties. Surrounded by what looked like a small village of daffodils about to burst, these two Hellebores are living proof that, no matter how dormant and inactive it may appear, the soil is always, always, always teeming with life and activity. I appreciate that reminder. Life never slows, not for any of us.

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-67904114240921013932012-01-22T18:06:00.000-05:002012-01-22T18:06:13.691-05:00

Huxley got some quality reading time in with his grandmother ("Gigi") and great-grandmother ("Nanny") yesterday. They typically come over every Sunday, when Hubs heads out for 4 hours (!!!) of board time with the local Scrabble club. As we were having friends over for brunch today, we switched things up and hung out yesterday. I can't even begin to tell you how much it makes my heart swell to

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-82660013108560523972012-01-22T15:18:00.000-05:002012-01-22T15:18:10.599-05:00

I'm super excited about these new Tattler lids Kristina gave me on Friday. Thanks, friend! While I adore canning, I've long lamented the FDA recommendation to use new canning lids for every batch. Thankfully, Tattler's lids can be used again and again. Have any of you used them? I'd love your feedback. I'm about to make some of my kumquat 5-spice marmalade and would like to give them a go.

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-68286315674486231232012-01-20T11:30:00.000-05:002012-01-20T11:30:13.865-05:00

Happy Friday, friends! What weird weather this week has brought, right? Serious snow and ice have raged in the Pacific northwest while we've been inundated with spring-like rains here in the south. We even have daffodils peeking up here in the cove! My poor honeybees are all kinds of confused, out foraging on the warm days and stuck indoors on the rainy and cold ones. Fellow beekeepers, keep in

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-4934423869870737372012-01-19T16:05:00.000-05:002012-01-19T16:05:07.757-05:00

I'm super excited to try out these Italian honeys my little sister Theo brought us last week. A junior at Notre Dame, she spent last semester studying Art History in Rome. On one of her many weekend jaunts, she stopped by La Ginestra, an amazing looking inn, spa, restaurant and more in Tuscany. Her gift included truffle and coriander honeys, along with a beeswax candle, all sourced from La

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-61459670083400792552012-01-18T12:29:00.003-05:002012-01-26T18:50:55.180-05:00

While I can't recall exactly where it was that I first encountered Willi Galloway, I can tell you that I was instantly smitten. Positively radiating goodness, Willi's blog Diggin Food captivated me from the get-go. It's a digital cornucopia of organic growing and cooking tips and suggestions.  And Willi should know. The former West Coast Editor of Organic Gardening magazine, she now pens

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com176tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-29822477946241242162012-01-18T11:28:00.000-05:002012-01-18T11:28:35.955-05:00

Big thanks to Where Women Cook for profiling me on their blog Amuse Bouche today. Being a contributor to the book was so much fun (by the way, those are our grit cakes on the cover!). I can't wait until Huxley is big enough to show him the images and cook him up some of the recipes from that loving, fun-filled day!

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-89059993248524383272012-01-18T10:02:00.003-05:002012-01-19T15:05:26.805-05:00

 The Wall Street Journal has a post up today on making dairy products at home. Myself and my buddies A.J. and Claudia were all mentioned in it. I've put a partial excerpt of the article below (to read the entire piece, you'll need a subscription). The Latest DIY Craze? Say Cheese (And Other Dairy) By ALINA DIZIK A.J. Simone, a 23-year-old account executive at a furniture chain, had tried

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-74355808180655676392012-01-17T12:40:00.000-05:002012-01-17T12:40:36.315-05:00

To know me is to love, and accept, my abhorrence of waste. I'm constantly on the prowl for ways to reduce, or eliminate entirely, the amount of things we toss in the garbage. This means loads of recycling, making abundant use of Craigslist and Freecyle for unloading used goods, donating to thrift stores, and reusing and repurposing whenever it makes sense. Plastic bags are one item in my waste

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-53815361675728885432012-01-17T09:59:00.000-05:002012-01-17T09:59:25.962-05:00

Just thought I'd post a quick reminder for all the local yokels that I'll be chatting up all things "Backyard Chickens" this coming Thursday at the AB-Tech campus. I think there's still a few spaces available. And, for those of you unable to attend a Thursday evening course, I'll be doing the whole shebang again on February 10th (a Friday) from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Asheville Mall.

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-69274832927688667592012-01-15T15:59:00.000-05:002012-01-15T15:59:54.375-05:00

Quite excited about the newest addition to our reading library. With 11+ acres to forage from out here, there's bound to be more wild edibles than those I already know of. Incidentally, I was thinking of perhaps doing a wild foraging walk on our property sometime this spring. We'd tour the woods, searching for and discussing wild foods, then come back to the house for lunch. Would any local

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-21167054946791110722012-01-13T11:57:00.000-05:002012-01-13T11:57:56.161-05:00

 Happy Friday, friends! My sisters are visiting from Florida, so we've been doing lots of sisterly things, like playing Rummikub, chatting by the wood stove, sipping hard cider, and giggling, lots and lots of giggling (especially after watching this video-and this clip, too).  Here's a smattering of this's and that's that tempted my tastebuds, dazzled my vision, and pleased my ears!  *These

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-47722256517557309982012-01-11T11:44:00.004-05:002012-01-19T12:55:25.597-05:00

Ever had something you long for? Something you pine for so deeply it aches? An itch you just can't seem to scratch, no matter how hard you try? My buddy Jenna had that particular affliction something fierce. She had a desire so strong, a yearning so profound that she called it a disease, seemingly without cure. "Barnheart" was what she had, and a farm of her own was what she wanted. In her new

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com150tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-46326270128334366092012-01-06T20:07:00.001-05:002012-01-08T10:41:46.157-05:00

Hi friends! Happy Friday! We had a pretty great week, chez English, save for Wednesday night when Huxley poked his finger directly into my right eye and I thought a trip to the E.R. was imminent (oof!). Otherwise, this week was an especially fantastic one, as I got to view and edit the unbound copy of my new book. Oh, man. It far surpassed my expectations. You're going to love it. Details are

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-16736287778933744172012-01-05T17:17:00.000-05:002012-01-05T17:17:44.323-05:00

Very excited with some new reading material that arrived in today's mail!

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-86979635872968475762012-01-03T12:40:00.000-05:002012-01-03T12:40:03.441-05:00

Oh. Wow. It's cold here. Very, very cold. Low-temperature-with-the-wind-chill cold. The sort of cold that allows me to not have to go in for jury duty on account of icy roads. Snuggle up next to the wood stove cold.  While we can pile on layers and fire up the tea kettle, the chickens, meanwhile, can't do much more than squawk in complaint and fluff up their feathers in protest. You, however, can

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-8922847903886487992011-12-31T11:40:00.000-05:002011-12-31T11:40:48.699-05:00

The new year holds some exciting writing projects in store for me. I'll have a column in a debut quarterly magazine that is, for now, top secret. I can't even begin to tell you how pumped I am about it. Sorry to be so mysterious, but, trust me, it'll be worth the wait. Look for more details this spring... I'm also penning a monthly column, titled "English Lessons" (trust me, I'm aware of just

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-2604683017137391702011-12-30T11:21:00.002-05:002011-12-30T18:41:11.966-05:00

Happy Friday, friends! I'm still battling my head cold, 'tho I think it's finally giving up the ghost. Thank you so very much for sharing all of your go-to cold-fighting tips! Here's a smattering of things that got me jazzed up, amped up, and otherwise intrigued this past week: *This British documentary film about sustainable farming for the future is so captivating.  *Stingless honeybees

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-34341224591173700082011-12-29T14:56:00.001-05:002011-12-29T17:19:18.152-05:00

Out here in the country, we don't have regular curbside trash service. Well, let me clarify that. There is a trash service, but you have to pay for it. Since we live one mile down a dirt road, by the time we haul our garbage and recycleables into the back of the Outback and down to the curb we figured we might as well just keep driving, skip the removal fee,  and take them to what's known as the

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-67436895631582039482011-12-27T14:15:00.000-05:002011-12-27T14:15:34.953-05:00

Hi friends! I hope your holiday weekend was filled with everyone and everything that you love. Ours certainly was. We stopped by our favorite children's consignment store on Friday and picked up a few things for Huxley, including a wooden stove (with cabinets! for squirreling things away in!), a wooden rocking horse, a wooden tool box, a wooden puzzle, and some great clothes on clearance. Along

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-34690065244013105322011-12-23T11:08:00.000-05:002011-12-23T11:08:52.400-05:00

It's finally here, friends! Solstice was yesterday (we took a walk in our forest to celebrate) and Christmas is in two days! Baking has been full-throttle, packages have been wrapped and shipped, and plans for a holiday feast are in full swing. Here's a smattering of things that grabbed my attention, piqued my interest, and tantalized my taste buds this week: *Gorgeous and inspiring

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-91398354740337635932011-12-21T18:02:00.000-05:002011-12-21T18:02:19.489-05:00

Oh, my. These past few days have been a flurry of dinner party-noshing, birthday party merry-making, cookie-baking, gift-packaging and baby-chasing. We're finally starting to wind down, looking forward to a quiet, slow solstice walk in our forest tomorrow (if the rain stays away) and then a hearty Christmas dinner with friends and family on Sunday. We're doing things on a small scale,

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-8139295331861586082011-12-16T10:56:00.000-05:002011-12-16T10:56:43.359-05:00

Happy Friday, friends! It's grey and overcast here, which suits this wet weather-loving lady just fine. Hubs and I are cuddled up with homemade stollen and cardamom coffee, with plans to make batches of spiced apple butter later. Tonight we're headed over to Lynne's for dinner, followed by a trip to Rene and Billy's tomorrow for their sweet daughter Trumie Rose's first birthday. Should be a great

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-72212097999498024442011-12-15T13:57:00.022-05:002011-12-15T14:05:42.699-05:00

A few posts back, I mentioned that I was sporting fashionable yet chilly fingerless alpaca gloves. Ever the sweet soul, Cat over at Neo-Homesteading tipped off her buddy John of DR Power about my glove plight. A stranger to me, John, in an act of extreme generosity, then shipped me a complementary pair of Elkskin gloves from his company, DR Power Equipment. Made by a small company in Oregon, the

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-42072131899254776252011-12-14T18:26:00.000-05:002011-12-14T18:26:52.752-05:00

   Huxley and I took a walk down to the mailbox today. I gave the UPS guy permission when he dropped off a package last week to just give me a call with future deliveries and leave them on the mailbox. Our driveway is insanely bad right now (more of a 'challenge' than a driveway, really), so driving a big, brown parcel truck up this craggy canyon of a drive is no one's idea of a good time. When

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-24794513856579995622011-12-14T13:59:00.015-05:002011-12-14T14:04:17.475-05:00

I love all of the small world overlaps that occur when blogging. My editor was super close friends with Anna growing up, whose blog I just adore. Sara is friends with Grace, which I discovered on Twitter. And Katy, whose blog is gaining increasing renown, went to college with Hubs. Small world, indeed. A few weeks back, Katy sent Huxley a package for his birthday. The package contained an

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-89017593672387871442011-12-12T19:40:00.001-05:002011-12-24T13:02:08.015-05:00

  For some, the months of winter are dreaded days. The trifecta of cold, wet weather, minimal daylight hours, and time spent indoors renders them cranky and dispirited. For me, though, this is a glorious time of year. A perennial homebody, I can contentedly go for days at a stretch without leaving the property. In fact, I just did this very thing, sticking around chez English this past Tuesday

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-37034018171535760002011-12-09T11:05:00.004-05:002011-12-09T19:29:59.106-05:00

 Happy Friday, friends! Hope your weekend is off to a great start. Ours began a bit roughly. We were up oh, somewhere between 15-20 times last night, placating a whiny, wiggly, generally miserable teething baby. Poor fella! I've got all kinds of grand plans for us this weekend, though, including some new additions to our flock (including a rooster!) and a photo opportunity with a certain

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-55833375751748459492011-12-08T13:24:00.001-05:002011-12-08T19:41:21.346-05:00

Oh. My. Since my last post, chez English turned, for two days, into a house of affliction. Hubs and I came down with some kind of nasty stomach flu. On a good day, contracting stomach flu is miserable. Add a baby, 2 dogs, 4 cats, and 7 hens to the mix, and you've got two extremely bone-weary parents. We're all on the up-and-up, though, and, best of all, Huxley never picked up the nasties himself

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-47777614240860840552011-12-05T14:22:00.001-05:002011-12-14T11:42:07.934-05:00

While the weather outside today may be frightful (well, truth be told, it's not all that bad, just grey, misty and a bit cold), indoors, chez English is just delightful (it's for the sake for the rhyme, folks, so humor me, if you will)! I've mentioned lately that the holiday spirit descended early this year and has held me in its sparkly, shiny, happy grasp for weeks now. Its effect can be

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-84218518596048866332011-12-02T11:14:00.001-05:002011-12-02T11:22:31.992-05:00

Hi friends! Happy Friday! December is fully upon us now and we're into the holiday spirit, big time, chez English. I'll be hosting my 4th annual Ladies Cookie Exchange tomorrow. It's always a good time, with lots of raucous laughter, hearty hooch swilling, and delectable sugary bliss. Here's a sampling of what's caught my eye, tugged at my heartstrings, and intrigued my senses this week: *These

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-13163407058050694082011-12-01T13:34:00.000-05:002011-12-01T13:34:04.159-05:00

BRRR!!! It was capital COLD here in the cove today, greeting me with a 25 degree slap in the face this morning as I went to feed the chickens. Which made me realize that, while my fingerless alpaca gloves are indeed chic, it might be time to seek out a pair that are as big on warmth retention as they are on style. Note to self... As we move into the colder months, if you find yourself short on

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-14636639305044196512011-11-28T16:41:00.000-05:002011-11-28T16:41:13.649-05:00

Hi, friends! I don't know about where you are, but it's raining something fierce here. Intense, driving, just-watch-as-it-washes-out-the-driveway-again rain. Coupled with the bursts of wind sending leaves, wind chimes, and small birds aloft, today is definitely one for staying indoors. You might recall the post I made a few weeks back about Huxley's "H". Several of our friends recently had

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-75096949408034357692011-11-25T18:02:00.002-05:002011-12-05T11:16:31.791-05:00

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope your holiday was wonderful. Ours was the definition of the word feast! Oh my! Here's a round-up of a few things that tickled my fancy, piqued my curiosity, and made my stomach rumble this week: *Totally smitten with Designerica, especially the honeycomb ring. *Garden Betty's brand new chicken coop is gorgeous! *Interested in this food blogger conference out in

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-23309141418347684352011-11-23T11:58:00.001-05:002011-11-23T11:59:29.384-05:00

Oh, man. I don't know about you, but we're busy as squirrels chez English, gathering up items from the market, prepping dishes to try to get a leg up on things, sprucing up the house, and getting ready for a big day of feasting tomorrow. We'll be hosting 8 adults and 2 children (well, 3, technically, if you consider the few bites that Huxley will munch on), including Lynne Harty (the

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-88475125181187413562011-11-22T10:46:00.000-05:002011-11-22T10:46:07.919-05:00

When you live in a house with two adults that love to cook, kitchen space is always at a premium. We entertain a lot, so our pantry is stocked not only with edibles, but with all manner of platters, serving bowls, cake stands, coffee makers, ice cream makers, pie pans, ramekins, pastry bags & tips, fancy beverage glasses, portable hot plates (great for both canning demos out and about and in-home

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-74014511163568081732011-11-18T11:40:00.000-05:002011-11-18T11:40:57.452-05:00

Hi friends! Happy Friday! I'm experimenting with a new weekly feature here on small measure. All week long, a good chunk of my work time is spent online, reading blogs, discovering new websites, and getting inspired by images found there. I thought it might be fun to gather up some of my findings and corral them into a weekly round-up here, entitled "What I'm Digging." Here's what left me

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-86106343696404297252011-11-15T12:30:00.000-05:002011-11-15T12:30:37.941-05:00

The seed for my lifelong love affair with soup was planted at age 5. I was a kindergartner at Kempsville Elementary in Virginia Beach, VA. Along with reading the beloved children's classic Stone Soup (which is a wonderful lesson in cooperation), my teacher decided it would be fun to have the class actually cook the eponymous soup as well. Every student was instructed to bring an ingredient. I

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-18960726216525854122011-11-14T16:33:00.014-05:002011-11-18T12:08:11.866-05:00

I used to be an incredibly frugal butter-spreader. In other words, sure, I'd put butter on my toast or my baked potato, but only in the tiniest, slightest, skimpiest amount imaginable. Once I discovered, though, that whole, full, nutritious, all-natural animal fats made me feel and look better, I started slathering it on, thickly. Now I use butter in almost everything I bake, spread it liberally

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com138tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-11513687862981745072011-11-11T12:36:00.000-05:002011-11-11T12:36:27.319-05:00

Local yokels, my friend Sarabeth Lattimore (the fashion designer and seamstress extraordinaire I profiled back here) will be hosting a discussion on all things sewing related tomorrow at Waechter's Fine Fabrics. Here's the information she forwarded to me: 10am-1pm Meet and Greet with Sarahbeth Larrimore of Unabashed apparel - Meet our designer-in-residence and learn about her up and

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-34704523510775189632011-11-08T11:28:00.001-05:002011-11-09T19:17:20.117-05:00

The simplest things make me so happy these days. A mug of hot coffee. Baby giggles. A maple tree clad in golden leaves. And firewood. Well-seasoned, cut-to-length, tightly stacked firewood. Hubs has tried out a variety of firewood cradles since purchasing the property back in 2004. While they've all worked, each had a number of design issues. Until now. He built this hefty cradle in an ideal

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-79495257957517996872011-11-07T19:30:00.000-05:002011-11-07T19:30:06.207-05:00

Oh, how I love them so. Crazy to think they looked like this just over a year ago! Sorry for the radio silence, friends. Hubs' folks have been staying with us since Thursday and we've been busy with all sorts of grandparently activities the past few days. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh, new, exciting, riveting (one can hope, right???) post!!!

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-22190565575382084582011-11-01T12:29:00.000-04:002011-11-01T12:29:59.614-04:00

The "Wild Things" party was an absolute joy. Huxley and I dressed as wild pollinators, he as a bumble bee and myself as a lady bug. Other wild things in attendance included several frogs, a dinosaur, a bat, a spider, some cats, a monkey, several wild rock & rollers, a banana slug (!!!), several lions, and a grandmother in a python skirt and a great-grandmother in a giraffe/zebra/lion ensemble (

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-12436289281772332412011-10-30T16:49:00.000-04:002011-10-30T16:49:15.495-04:00

Remember yesterday's post, opening with images of our golden leaf-clad ginkgo tree? Well, 'tis no more! A wild wind blew into the cove today and sent the fan-shaped leaves falling off in a slow, steady, stunningly beautiful drop, drop, drop. Reminder enough to appreciate every beautiful fleeting moment as though it were your last. Huxley's party was heaven. Wild and wily and filled with laughter

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-26987685554473377982011-10-29T09:30:00.000-04:002011-10-29T09:30:01.672-04:00

Some mornings out here in the cove, the view is positively breathtaking. Today is one such day. Dazzling foliage in every direction. Fog and mist moving across the mountains in the background. Muted bits of blue sky peeking in through the clouds. Gorgeous. The cherry on top is the fine looking pastry specimen pictured last. It's one of Dave's exquisite Apple Croissants from his bakery, Farm &

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-50209624885659475412011-10-27T11:48:00.001-04:002011-10-27T12:01:40.046-04:00

We've been on the hunt for a decorative "H" with which to adorn the entrance to Huxley's room for some time. While we found a number of antique options, they were either too small or in a font we didn't care for. Since necessity (or preference!) is the mother of invention, Hubs took matters into his own hands. Literally. This rad "H" is the end product of his efforts. He cut the letter out,

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-48251907534926289462011-10-26T10:29:00.000-04:002011-10-26T10:29:23.526-04:00

Welcome to my new addiction. Pumpkin spice lattes. Oh, yes. They're incredibly easy to whip up. Well, let me qualify that; you're going to need a pot to steam the milk, sugar and pumpkin in, some coffee (I use my french press for brewing), and another mixing bowl for whipping heavy cream and powdered sugar in. That said, they're easy enough to concoct, and use ingredients you're likely to

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-86632979388619040862011-10-25T11:20:00.003-04:002011-10-25T11:29:36.551-04:00

 What goes better with an ice cold hard cider or pumpkin ale than soft pretzels? Nothing, that's what, aside from perhaps a forest clad in a dazzling array of fall foliage. Check, on both fronts.  My sister, Devan, came to visit last week and brought her pretzel-making prowess with her. Truth be told, she'd never made soft pretzels before, or any pretzels for that matter, but she had them on the

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-13279754864090618342011-10-21T11:04:00.000-04:002011-10-21T11:04:56.656-04:00

 Oh, my sweet baby boy! What a difference a year makes! I never knew I could love something so intensely, with such devotion. As I just told my sister Devan (who's visiting from Florida), motherhood is the hardest, yet most rewarding work I've ever done.  We're off to an nearby orchard for a bit of apple-picking, donut-eating, cider-sipping, picnicing and general merriment. This is especially

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-62249514134816315972011-10-17T11:56:00.004-04:002011-10-25T10:31:19.898-04:00

Illustrator Julia Rothman is, and always has been, a city girl. Her husband, however, grew up on a farm. Visits to his family's property piqued her urban interests, ultimately resulting in the creation of her gorgeous new book Farm Anatomy (Storey). Even if you don't pine for a farm of your own, Julia's book will tempt you. From recipes on making Dandelion Wine to illustrations detailing the

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com186tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-19461727591459677052011-10-16T13:16:00.000-04:002011-10-16T13:16:39.637-04:00

We had a lovely time chez English yesterday, spouting "fowl language" (again, I have to credit Kristina for this cheeky pun), noshing, and dishing all things poultry. Thank you so very much Natalie, Kirsten, Rebecca, Grace, Jenn, and Erika for making the trek out here and sharing your time, resources and lovely selves with me, Hubs and Huxley. I thought I'd take a quick minute and show those of

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-76534747868174673252011-10-12T14:59:00.001-04:002011-10-12T16:27:12.210-04:00

Like pasta? Like saving money? Hate wasting food? Me, too, to all of it. Here's a little wallet-friendly and delicious technique we employ chez English when we've a glut of pasta left-overs: we put 'em in a frittata. Simply whisk together some eggs and a bit of milk, add the pasta, put the whole concoction in a buttered/oiled ovenproof saucepan, and cook over medium heat until the filling is

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-10671801886052973412011-10-10T13:03:00.002-04:002011-10-23T19:22:01.919-04:00

Some of you long-time readers may recall I spent April-September of '10 working at my friend Jodi Rhoden's store Short Street Cakes. Without question, that gig was one of the best places I've ever been employed. Considering that I was almost 14 weeks pregnant when I first hooked up with Jodi and her crew of raucous bakers, and that I was sick as a dog for some time before and thereafter, being

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com92tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-35955697312884921962011-10-09T14:51:00.001-04:002011-10-10T17:50:33.970-04:00

Taking it nice and easy today. Huxley is snoring away in his swing beside me (perhaps dreaming of these for his birthday in less than two weeks; I can hardly believe almost a year has gone by). It's overcast outside. The dogs are barking at a hound in the woods and sitting, lazily, instead of running up the mountain to greet it. I taught two canning demonstrations at yesterday's True Nature

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-22071141368564609672011-10-05T11:06:00.000-04:002011-10-05T11:06:02.030-04:00

As promised, here's the recipe for the dish Hubs whipped up for our impromptu dinner with Ian and Kristina Saturday night. It was ready in just over 30 minutes or so and was savory and satisfying without making you feel like a lump once you put your fork down, as many grain dishes do to me. The dish was made gluten-free, with the help of buckwheat, on Ian's behalf. We often turn to buckwheat

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-49123155684422949342011-10-03T16:42:00.001-04:002011-10-03T16:59:25.167-04:00

Oh, man. What a week last week was! We did two of the final photo shoots for the new book, had a photo shoot out here on Friday with Anthology magazine (it was SO much fun, I can't wait to see Jen's photos!!!), and I had to get all of the copy-editing done for the new book during any fleeting free minutes I could find. In short, a whale of a week, but, overall, a whale of a good time. Come this

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-7967579272278525162011-09-28T15:18:00.006-04:002011-09-28T17:53:58.471-04:00

On Labor Day weekend, I mentioned some friends came over and helped us with a summer honey extraction. Ian, Kristina and Jenny are all absolute troopers, always willing to lend a helping hand when it comes to all things apiary (and beyond; these are, as it's said around these parts, "good people").What I didn't have in that post were photos of the extraction process itself, but now I do (courtesy

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-6485863983638250112011-09-26T16:43:00.004-04:002011-10-05T22:37:45.948-04:00

If you know me personally, then you know that I have a sweet tooth. It cannot be helped. It's genetic, you see, with my Pop always having something sweet after dinner, his mom (Gran) always maintaining a candy drawer for her multitudinous grandkids to draw upon, my mom typically stashing atomic fire balls in her purse, and her mother (Nanny) drinking her iced tea as sweet as sweet can be (I

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com91tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-5701310248135598092011-09-21T16:28:00.003-04:002011-09-22T13:49:57.858-04:00

Alright, friends. It's time to chat chickens!!!!I'm prepping for the "Backyard Chickens" class I'll be teaching tomorrow evening at the local community college and that got me thinking that I need to post my next class chez English. So, let's engage in a bit of "fowl language," to borrow from the title of my very clever friend Kristina's column in Chickens magazine.This is a great time of year to

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-39229732483507707802011-09-20T17:37:00.007-04:002011-09-20T19:04:08.894-04:00

What a time we had in St. Paul! Not only was the Creative Connection Event itself inspiring, invigorating, and infectious, Huxley was a total champ, Midwesterners offered up their customary kindness, and the food scene was totally off the hook.Since so much of my time was taken up with the conference itself, we tried to make our meals outside of the event truly memorable. Boy, were they ever.

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-3003004042596372182011-09-14T17:25:00.006-04:002011-09-14T19:08:57.226-04:00

Almost a year ago, we threw our forthcoming wee one a shindig, and dubbed it a Nugget Warming (for those of you new to this blog, "Nugget" was Huxley's in utero nickname). We'd had two other baby showers thrown for us, but we wanted to put our personal spin on things, cook up a mess of seasonal, local food, and gather around the fire ring with a smattering of our nearest and dearest. You can read

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-62413548782472385192011-09-09T13:21:00.004-04:002011-09-09T13:40:23.818-04:00

Pardon the radio silence, friends. I've been taking care of buzz-ness (just go with it), you see. Last weekend, with the help of several friends, I extracted honey from my two hives. A smattering of the honey gathered is pictured above. Three medium supers yielded 5 gallons before bottling and 12 quarts, 19 pints, and 4 1/2-pints once jarred. My little ladies were working some kind of hard all

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-37067494163247114702011-09-02T17:19:00.002-04:002011-09-02T17:24:28.179-04:00

Because, it is! FRIENDS! For reasons that I know nothing about, my "Canning & Preserving" book is now a mere $9.77 on Amazon! I have no idea how long this sale will last, but that's over half-off the cover price. I've you've been on the fence about taking the plunge and picking up a copy, there's clearly no better time than now to do so!!!

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-44388348570856669172011-09-02T12:29:00.004-04:002011-09-11T22:54:20.777-04:00

I cannot declare quite enough my admiration for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I've written about him on here before, gushing, fawning and otherwise sustainable-crushing on him. Based in the U.K., Hugh is an advocate for so very many of the things near and dear to my heart, including land sharing, sustainable agriculture, and preparing wholesome, delicious foods to share with loved ones.

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com81tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-28925643163893891162011-09-01T10:10:00.004-04:002011-09-01T10:27:36.410-04:00

Here's a quick peek at our fall garden. I took it this morning, on the little hill that runs alongside the way up to the chicken coop (you can see my tiny helper in tow; he was in the Ergo, hence the odd angle of the photo). Last weekend, our friends Faryn and Eli and their little tot Milo came over and helped us plant a mess of garden starts. We put in: lots of lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower,

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-46261821510200417322011-08-31T19:57:00.004-04:002011-08-31T20:06:30.180-04:00

Happy birthday to my maternal grandmother, Ruby Marie Ingram. "Nanny" turned a young 86 today! Huxley and I spent the day with she and my mom, enjoying a grand lunch at the Switzerland Cafe (Hubs and I usually pronounce the tiny town's name as 'Lil Switzerland, like it's a Dr. Dre production), shopping at Books & Beans next door, and then swinging back into Burnsville (where they both live, about

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-85056498530698496562011-08-30T21:21:00.003-04:002011-08-30T21:33:15.716-04:00

Short notice, I know, but I was asked just a little bit earlier today if I'd like to be on Martha Stewart's Sirius XM program "Morning Living" tomorrow. I'll be chatting about canning the end-of-summer bounty around 8:30 a.m.-ish. Tune in and check it out! *Even if you don't have a subscription to Sirius, you can listen to the show via a trial subscription. For details, go here.

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-56298260039629441732011-08-30T15:09:00.002-04:002011-08-30T15:15:52.374-04:00

The Canning Queen of the Desert from Etsy on Vimeo. Check out this video sent to me today by one of the producers of Etsy. It's on Classie Parker (AMAZING NAME, yes???!!!), an urban farmer and canning instructor toughing it out in the wilds of NYC. She's a joy to watch. I especially love when she proclaims "Canning is sexy, baby!" Given that I've been sweating something fierce in my kitchen

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-19840385080290091832011-08-27T14:02:00.003-04:002011-08-27T14:06:38.660-04:00

It's coming up, folks! In just three weeks from today, I'll be in St. Paul, Minnesota, teaching a class on making, and canning, jam as part of Mary Jane's Farm Food Day at The Creative Connection Event. Hope to see some of you there! Hubs and Huxley are coming, too. I've never been to Minnesota before, so if any of you have suggestions for places to visit or eat at for the fellas while I'm at

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-13534971337131775162011-08-26T12:05:00.002-04:002011-08-26T12:11:50.121-04:00

Want to try your hand at winning some beautiful custom-printed labels to festoon your canned goods with? Well, then, head over to Felix Doolittle, a stationary purveyor in Massachusettes. I received an email yesterday from Jena of the lovely blog Modish, giving me a head's up about the contest. The gist of it is, send Felix a jar of something sweet that you've canned and he, along with chef

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-7950124779887855752011-08-26T09:39:00.004-04:002011-08-26T12:38:16.106-04:00

Happy Friday, everyone! East Coast friends, are you batting down the hatches, getting ready for Irene? Having witnessed several hurricanes firsthand, I speak from experience when I say: get stocked up on water (lots of it!), a radio-powered battery, food for all of your pets, canned foods for yourself and fill up the bath tub in order to have water for flushing the toilet. Oh, and don't try to

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-78912724281214090652011-08-24T11:20:00.012-04:002011-08-24T11:37:58.393-04:00

Hi friends! I'm chatting with A.J. today over at the cheekily titled Hand Jobs For the Home. Come for the interview, stick around for the great recipes, witty banter and helpful domestic tips (plus, A.J. sports some great specs and has fabulous personal style; we've become quite the emailing/blog-loving buddies!). Enjoy!

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-38756347571111036822011-08-23T19:01:00.005-04:002011-08-23T19:32:33.815-04:00

Today, many good things happened: ~Huxley had play time with his grandmother and great-grandmother.~Hubs and I consumed delicious lattes, courtesy of Battle Cat.~I checked on the hives and it would appear an extraction is imminent (I'm thinking the weekend after this one, as there's just a wee bit of uncapped honey still present).~Much laundry was laundered, dried, folded and put away.~Many

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-35289751340270501052011-08-19T11:58:00.005-04:002011-08-28T16:10:05.045-04:00

I love serendipity. I really do. When space and time collide in a strangely parallel way, then I just beam, feeling that some sort of order really does exist in the cosmos. Like that time my sister, Devan, and I were on our way home from a week-long trip to Northern California. We had some time to kill before our flight out of SFO, so we drove out to Point Reyes to visit the lighthouse (I have a

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com70tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-7711717975649349152011-08-17T11:20:00.004-04:002011-08-17T11:36:16.575-04:00

I used to be the sort of gal who planted whatever, wherever. If it was pretty, or it smelled good, that was enough for me. Now, whenever I'm at the garden center, or perusing a seed catalogue, I find myself thinking "yeah, it's gorgeous, and yes, it smells good, but can I eat it?" My green thumb wants to enjoy beauty and fragrance and wild pollinator attraction, as well as satisfy my palate and

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-268093807017291232011-08-16T09:49:00.002-04:002011-08-16T10:03:41.459-04:00

Today I'd like to shine a spotlight on Barefoot Books. Back in May, after my guest post on Soulemama, I received an email from the children's book publisher. They had seen my post there and wanted to send Huxley some books. I can't speak highly enough of Barefoot. Their selection of reads for babies and children is incredibly well curated. The illustrations are top tier and the subject matter is

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-26336184330730288392011-08-15T17:30:00.002-04:002011-08-15T17:37:09.736-04:00

Huxley and I will be attending what promises to be an incredible music show this Wednesday. Orlando-based Rabbit will be playing at The Hop on Merrimon Ave.. My imminently talented and exquisitely lovely friend Jen Altman worked hard to make this show happen, so, if you're free, let's convene, eat ice cream, get our music on, and show Rabbit some support! P.S. Did I mention that the show is free

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-89905214400180756452011-08-15T10:51:00.006-04:002011-08-15T12:31:09.493-04:00

The first canning class chez English went off without a hitch this past Saturday. Ten lovely ladies made the trek out here to watch me steam it up over a boiling water bath. We took some of the finest, ripest, sweetest, juiciest peaches South Carolina has to offer and rendered them into spiced peach jam. To cool ourselves in my hot kitchen, we sipped on Hubs' delicious lemonade and water infused

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-70609232327860235472011-08-11T08:37:00.003-04:002011-08-11T08:53:21.185-04:00

Sorry for the radio silence, folks! Between prepping for Saturday's t.v. segment (soon as I obtain a clip of the segment-which went really well!-I'll be sure to post it here), prepping for the 2nd photo shoot of the new book this past Monday, and then having family come into town on Tuesday, we've been busy, busy bees chez English. Now we (we being Hubs, my two sisters, Huxley & myself) are

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-82292493797657586572011-08-03T13:25:00.004-04:002011-08-03T13:46:57.885-04:00

Hi friends. I've got another great guest post for you today. Adrienne, who lives in Bellingham, Washington and blogs at Crafty Little Gnome, is sharing tips for success with Vermicomposting. That's composting with worms, for the uninitiated, but I'll let Adrienne explain all of that to you. Check out the post and be sure to visit her blog, as well. There are many, many ideas that will undoubtedly

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-48510140845245760062011-08-03T12:02:00.003-04:002011-08-03T12:11:09.883-04:00

Local folks, tune into WLOS this coming Saturday morning, August 6th. Make your morning cuppa, switch on your television, and find me chatting about water bath canning with Megan Schiering at 7 a.m.. I know it's early, but I promise to put on a good show (disclaimer-I haven't been on t.v. since I was 17 years old, when I would record newsworthy tidbits from my high school at the local cable

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-32080698604064290382011-08-02T10:35:00.003-04:002011-08-02T10:58:58.601-04:00

We take breakfast pretty seriously, chez English. I've long been the kind of person that wakes up completely ravenous (I'm starting to think Huxley may have inherited this trait from me because dude wakes up really wanting to chow down, stat). Since Hubs needs a bit longer to rouse himself when the sun is making its climb in the sky (I'm the morning dove, he's the night owl), I typically let out

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-49088162973276964512011-08-02T10:27:00.002-04:002011-08-02T10:35:09.242-04:00

Sharon, aka "Mama to Adam." I'll be in touch soon, Sharon, to get your mailing information. Thanks to everyone who entered. I loved reading all of your responses. Canning sure is grand, isn't it? I put up 4 pints of 5-spice pickled cherries on Sunday and have got a mess of yellow plums in the fridge and lemon verbena growing in my herb bed that I'm thinking of making into this (big thanks to A.J.

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-16871011723136557272011-08-01T16:48:00.003-04:002011-08-01T17:26:40.155-04:00

Want to win a copy of my "Home Dairy" book? Well then get yourself over to Lark Book's Facebook page, for a "cheese vs ice cream" throwdown!

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-17001823551683891602011-07-29T12:44:00.004-04:002011-07-29T12:49:50.444-04:00

Picked all this goodness from the garden yesterday. Patty pan, crookneck and zucchini summer squashes, lemon and pickling cukes, and loads of tomatoes, in assorted and sundry varietals and sizes. About to put in my fall garden, too. Looks like we'll be eating fine for some time to come! *That's echinacea flowering in the background. I plan to dig up the roots this coming autumn and turn them into

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-59738246396526216682011-07-29T11:41:00.003-04:002011-07-29T11:49:00.312-04:00

Want to come to The Creative Connection event in St. Paul this September? Want to come for free? With a friend? And get complimentary accommodations while you're at it? Yes, yes you do! Then pop on over to TCC's blog for the skinny on how you can try your hand at winning. The event promises to be a good one, with an incredible line-up of talent on hand. I'll be there, teaching a class on water

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-74276068717578746372011-07-28T16:02:00.003-04:002011-07-28T16:26:27.060-04:00

There's a fantastic article by Julia Moskin in the NY Times on what's being called "stem-to-root" cooking. Much like nose-to-tail meat-eating, wherein all of the parts of an animal are consumed (and not just the meatier pieces in the middle), stem-to-root "honors," if you will, every component of a fruit or vegetable, from its flowers and shoots to its rind and peel. It also respects the labor

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-36770623722823130262011-07-26T11:20:00.004-04:002011-07-26T11:35:37.117-04:00

I picked up a bottle of this Lenoir, NC-made apple brandy the other day. It's created using N.C. apples in a 110 year-old carriage house in downtown Lenoir, and aged in white oaks barrels. I haven't cracked it open yet, but I'm pretty excited to do so. Any of you have a preferred means of imbibing apple brandy? On the rocks? Mixed with sparkling cider? Chilled? Meanwhile, after wrapping up this

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-59143400049261066872011-07-25T17:25:00.003-04:002011-07-25T17:47:44.321-04:00

I've got a great guest post for you today! It's from Aiden FitzGerald, a freelance writer and the voice behind A Little Fire. Aiden, her husband Charlie Barmonde (a ceramicist and an old friend of Hubs' from his days of hijinks and shenanigans in Sarasota, Florida) and their adorable young son Felix live in the tiny coastal Rhode Island town of Little Compton. She recently wrote a guide to the

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-72885485815481769882011-07-24T18:24:00.005-04:002011-07-24T21:37:28.182-04:00

One of our favorite "it's-far-too-ungodly-hot-to-even-look-at-the-stove" go-to eats during the dog days of summer is rotisserie chicken salad. After picking up a cooked bird from our nearby natural foods store, we'll strip the meat off and blend it any of different ways. On my birthday, Hubs did it up with a curried spice blend, and then served it on fresh wheat bread slathered in mango chutney.

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-16664175643207360122011-07-23T12:18:00.002-04:002011-07-23T12:32:55.824-04:00

So, here it is, folks. I decided to enter small measure in Country Living magazine's 1st ever Blue Ribbon Blogger Awards. Out of the variety of categories entrants can select, I chose "Green." There's no big reward involved for the winner, aside from a shout-out in the magazine and a trip to the awards ceremony in NYC. This blog (and my books) is simply my labor of love, and I really, truly love

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-58822554662187897452011-07-22T11:56:00.004-04:002011-07-22T12:10:54.152-04:00

They love me in Jamestown! The first permanent English Colony, founded in Virginia in 1607, has my entire series available for purchase in their gift shop. Thank you SO MUCH to Doug, aka the "Haphazard Countryman" (the voice behind Concrete to Chickens) for snapping this photo and sending it to me. I spent 8 very formative years in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, Virginia, traveling often with

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-91335058179422415542011-07-22T09:35:00.003-04:002011-07-22T10:03:01.952-04:00

I got my first taste of canning as a wee lass, watching my grandmother "Nanny" (a sassy thing, turning a young 86 in August!) transform her garden cukes into bread & butter pickles and her grapes into violet-tinged juice. If canning wasn't part of your family's culinary background, however, and the recent resurgence of interest in this means of preservation has got you intrigued, I've got just

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com270tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710525766736736547.post-88117960065669100832011-07-20T17:49:00.002-04:002011-07-20T17:56:18.326-04:00

Check out this fantastic profile of Claudia Lucero on Etsy's blog. She's the force behind Urban Cheesecraft and is one of the lovely dairy-makers profiled in my Home Dairy book. P.S. When not transforming milk into cheese, Claudia works at a rock 'n roll camp for young girls. Is she not quite possibly the coolest person you've ever heard of???

ashley englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13762972337222302012noreply@blogger.com9