I had a dessert last night that was topped with stewed dried fruit. It was amazing! Simple, affordable, easy to source ingredients... now I'm thinking of about twelve desserts that I'd like to top with stewed dried fruit.
Fresh fruit is often turned into a quick warm sauce for desserts around here (or they simply are the dessert), but oh my how sweet and plump sundried cherries and apricots become when a little liquid, heat, and time is applied. All I want to do now is place my dehydrator front and center on the kitchen counter and dry every piece of fruit that comes into the house so I can always be ready to make my new favorite topping. I feel like I'm already stalking my blueberry bushes enough, comparing their progress to this chart like a mother over her newborn babe (we are between petal fall and early green fruit, I'm obsessed).
I want to plant more berries and grapes this weekend, and rhubarb too... why don't I have any rhubarb yet? Rhubarb Ginger Jam has been on my mind and it's been ages since I've made any. I hope the plant nursery still has a good supply. Kind of kicking myself for not stocking up when we were last there. Oh, but I did get plenty of strawberries! Adding to what we put in last year, things are looking pretty good out there. So many fruits do quite well in our region, we should plan accordingly.
Getting the new to us home ready for the young ladies.
Adam created a huge berry patch that with just a little more work this weekend will be completely enclosed which should be a great deterrent for the critters. I'll take a picture soon. So far we've got strawberries, blueberries and raspberries on the property and they are all looking quite good right now. Our raspberries (brought down from Adam's grandmother's homestead in Vermont) are not in the big berry patch yet, they are still close to the house, but we'll start moving those up this year and let them establish in the more protected area. Though being so close to the house they don't seem to be too bothered by critters, other than Scout, he plucks them right off the bush for snacking!
This week Emily decided to become a redhead! Henna gets easier to work with the more you do it. Just like using henna on skin, the first couple of times can be a little cumbersome but then it becomes more manageable with practice. Emily has used Mountain Rose Herbs henna before (a soft, light brown color), this time she ordered from Henna Color Lab. Both worked really well, but her color choice this time was certainly more vibrant!
We've had rain for days here. Everything is finally as green as can be, and as damp as can be too. A little drying out now would be welcomed... after tomorrow it looks like that will happen. Adam's younger brother is coming up this weekend and staying for the week so we'll be looking for reasons to hang out on the deck or by the campfire, and grill all sorts of things. Maybe I'll use the campfire to make a pot of stewed dried fruit. Who needs s'mores when you have stewed dried fruit?
