Chocolate Box Cottage Diary Vol. 1
Week 28: July 16, 2021

Happy third week of July! This week was characterized by blackberry pie, zucchini every day, and everlasting yeast. And ducks! Don’t forget the ducks.

After a fun and productive Project Week , Sam went back to work and I resumed the farm chores he had taken on while he was home.

Generally I get up in the morning and take care of the animals first thing, before my Bible reading and cup of tea. That includes feeding and letting the chickens out of the henhouse, saying good morning to the sheep and giving them a treat, checking on the rabbits, and watering the garden/pots/anything else that needs water. And don’t forget the cats and dogs.

The week began on Sunday with a potluck at church in honor of Joyce Dierking, a teacher and friend who returned from a 2-year service term in Papua New Guinea. I wanted to bake a pie, so I pulled a bag of last summer’s blackberries from the freezer.

I generally pick 8-12 gallons of blackberries in the summer to freeze. Sam helps on weekends when he can. Now that it is July, the remaining berries need to be used up.

Zucchini season has begun, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

Every so often I walk the tomato beds and tuck any stray vines inside the wire cages. This supports good quality fruit. Tomatoes in that rest on the ground are normally nibbled by hoards of hungry, big-eared field mice that call Chocolate Box Cottage home.

Adding more 60 degree diamond star blocks to the quilt in progress!

On weekend evenings we either eat on the porch, if it’s cool enough, or at the tea table in the living room. It’s special enough to feel like a date. We love C.A.T. Salad with Coconut Battered Fish!

Every year I try to invent at least one more crave-worthy zucchini recipe. This one looks promising, so watch for a recipe soon!

Here you go! Recipe for Spiralized Zucchini Butter Spaghetti here.

I just washed the jar, and doesn’t it look presentable? Normally it would be coated with glops and globs. If you look closely you can see tiny bubbles in the everlasting yeast.

These waffles are made with sourdough, or to be more precise, Everlasting Yeast, a leavener common with German-from-Russia pioneers in the Dakotas. Make your own Crock Pot Apple Butter with windfall fruit, farmstead fruit, or store-bought fruit.

One brave duck peeks out the henhouse door after his or her first night in the coop. My friend Jenna gifted us 5 Indian Runner ducks. I gave her some zucchini and I think we were both happy.

Porcelain Princess pumpkin is a hybrid, so I won’t be saving seeds from it, but will enjoy the beautiful pink 7-10 lb (3.5 kg) pumpkins for desserts and decorations.

Bee yard bouquet: St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) and wild daisies. These aren’t weeds, the flowers provide food for nearby honeybee hives. I use St. John’s wort in skin-soothing salves and make an herbal glycerite to combat the winter blues.

I hope you enjoyed a cup of your favorite beverage along with our visit. See you next time!

Blessings,
Michele

Chocolate Box Cottage Diary Vol. 1
Week 26: July 2, 2021

Firstly, thank you for being here, Dear Reader! Do you have a cup of tea or coffee ready?

I get a lot of questions about gardening and cooking from scratch using wholesome ingredients and have long dreamed of a beautiful website where I could share my simple ideas and creative recipes along these lines. A huge thank you goes to my web designer, Peter Hulce, of PHD Studios https://phdstudios.com/ who was easy to work with and did a terrific job creating a beautifully cozy destination with this site. Thank you, Peter! Thursday June 30, 2021 was my official “Website Launch Day.”

While Peter and I were paddling hard (at least I was, I don’t think Peter ever broke a sweat) organizing the last-minute details for this site, we were also dealing with unusually hot weather for June in Oregon.

Southern Oregon saw temperatures of 110-117F (43-47C) this past week; our daytime high at Chocolate Box Cottage was 111F (44C), lasting several days. I love summer, it is my favorite season, but 90’s in the house is not fun! 

Our chicken eggs are fertile, so gathering eggs twice a day ensures our eggs remain fresh. To deal with heat, chickens hold their wings up and away from their bodies and breathe through open beaks – it looks as though they are panting.

Coping Strategies for Hot Weather ~ share your ideas in the comments!

• Planning productive tasks in the mornings
• Cool showers and wetting my hair in the afternoon and evening
• Chilled melon and homemade yogurt pops for snacks
• Being mindful to drink water often
• No-cook meals
• Absolutely no baking
• Hanging laundry out to dry on the porch railing instead of using the dryer
• Gathering eggs twice a day
• Lowering my expectations on housework and productivity in general

Toby settled into the heat. He hopes this picture is a step in the direction of re-naming “dog days of summer” to “cat days of summer.”

Early mornings saw me scurrying around feeding and watering animals, gathering eggs, and watering the garden and the pots on the front porch.

You can find Dragon Tongue beans here at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/fall-favorites/dragon-tongue-bush-bean

You can find Red Rosie basil seeds here: https://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-non-gmo-rosie-basil.html

Heat Wave Surprises ~

• Potted geraniums did not seem to mind the heat as long as they were kept watered
• We did not lose any chickens
• Sunburned trees
• So many visiting butterflies! 

The heat did not deter dozens of Swallowtail butterflies from visiting Chocolate Box Cottage! Wherever a sprinkler was running, we would see butterflies gather for water.

Do you love homemade ice cream as much as I do? A countertop Cuisinart electric ice cream maker is perfect for couples and small families.

Read more about Candlelight S’mores here ~ https://staging.chocolateboxcottage.tv/recipe-box/candlelight-smores/

Hello from Twin Creeks, where we awaited 4th of July fireworks! I have been working on this quilt made by the English paper piecing method (EPP) off and on for years, mostly off. Fabric diamonds are basted over templates cut from discarded manilla file folders, then stitched together by hand to form stars. I named this quilt “Sand Stars,” and I have a long way to go…