We are taking the rest of the week off from blogging to enjoy some basting, baking, and all sorts of other culinary delights in our kitchen. We hope your thanksgiving is full of family, friends, and great food. 

• It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord:Ps. 92:1;

I have been obsessed with making soups lately. I guess that is just an inherent to-do that comes with the changing of the seasons. I want to get in my cozy sweater and slippers and slurp something warm. This soup does just that. Its got just a tiny mild amount of spice to warm you up. The warm flavors, the creaminess from the potatoes, and just a hint of protein and richness from the chicken. It was so simple to make, and so simple to devour. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients: 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 leek, diced
1 onion, diced
salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp curry
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp lavender
4 cans stock 
2 carrots, diced
3 pound bag red potatoes
1 chicken breast, grilled or baked, then cut into 1/4 inch cubes

Directions: 
Warm your oil in a large dutch oven pot, leek, onion, salt and pepper and saute until softened. Add your garlic and cook for 30-60 more seconds. Then add your curry, turmeric, lavender, and stir until fragrant. Add in your stock, then your carrots and potatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium heat and simmer until your potatoes are fork tender. Use an imersion blender until you have reached your desired smoothness. Add your chicken to the soup and stir until warmed through. Serve with bread or pita chips for dipping. 

This soup has a warm creamy vibe with just a slight hint of spices. It is the perfect way to cozy up this fall. 

If you've known Peggy for any amount of time, you've probably at one point or another been blessed enough to have tasted her apple pie. Using vintage apples she grows in the orchard on the farm, apple pies are an abundant staple in the Nelson household every autumn. Some say her pie recipe is legendary and luckily she is more than happy to share it with us. 

 

Ingredients for the pie crust: 

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

2/3 cup shortening + 2 tbs.

8-10 Tbs. Cold water

Ingredients for the pie filling: 

6-7 large apples

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 of the juice of a lemon

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbs flour

Peel and cut your apples into traditional wedges. Toss the apples with sugar (the amount of sugar depends of the tartness of the apples and how sweet you like your pie). Now toss in your lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour and mix it all together. Set aside. 

In a bowl add flour, sugar and salt. Cut in your shortening. To cut in shortening a pastry blender works the best. If you don't have one a few pulses in a food processor will do the trick. The flour mixture should resemble small peas. Add cold water and stir as little as possible to combine. Too much working of the dough causes a tough crust. Gather dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or so. Cut the dough in half. Roll out dough on a board using a small amount of flour so dough does not stick. Line pie pan with dough leaving enough extra around the edges for a good crusty edge. Peggy's tip is to sprinkle a little sugar onto the bottom of the pie crust before adding the apples. This keeps the crust crisp. Add your apples then top the pie with the remaining dough. Make sure you cut a couple of slits for the stream to escape. 

Happy Pie Making!

It's always hard to accept when the harvest season is over and when fall is officially drawing to a close. Our winters on the farm can be long and dark. Luckily we are able to rest and cozy up next to our fire and get some much needed R&R. We use our lavender sachets as a lovely way to keep our linens fresh while adding a lovely relaxing lavender scent to our blankets as we sleep or read. Its the perfect way for us to keep dreaming of spring while the snow falls all around us. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend. For your viewing pleasure here are some links to some gorgeous spring photos to help you weather your literal winter storms. 

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/spring-pictures/

If you are interested in purchusing your own lavender sachets, you can find them online here.