1-14-10

THE COBBLER TASTES BETTER
THAN THE PHOTO LOOKS
AARON FEELING AROUND THE
NATURAL SPRING, RESEARCHING
HIS WATER SYSTEM PROJECT









A SKYWARD VIEW
OF THE BACKYARD




Aaron woke up the at 7:30am, which is the earliest he's gotten out of bed since we've been here. Since we went to town yesterday afternoon we didn't have time to split wood before we left. By the time we returned it was dark and it's quite a task to split wood in the dark. Hence, the early wake up this morning was to split more wood. Seems like we are constantly splitting wood. The fire is like a baby, requiring constant attention and feeding. Thank god if the fire dies we don't feel too badly!!

There is a great freezer by the saw mill that holds lots of goodies from seasons past. In addition to the groceries Paul and Lara buy us, we are allowed to help ourselves to all their dry ingredients and anything in the freezer. For some reason we haven't gone to raid the freezer yet, but today we decided it was time. After feeding the animals late this afternoon, we went to see what the freezer held. This freezer is some sort of deep freezer, keeping everything inside well under zero degrees. There were lots of baggies of kale, of which we took one, some weird fish and chicken parts, of which we obviously took zero, and various unlabeled things we were unsure of. We were, however, able to identify some blueberries and a mixture of blackberries and raspberries, which were precisely what we went looking for. It's been long enough since Jen's really baked anything, and Aaron's sweet tooth was kicking in full force. With the berries in toe, we headed back to the cabin and Jen promptly created some sort of berry/apple cobbler. Aaron says "it was amazing." He then went on to say "it sure is a good thing I like your desserts, otherwise it would be a dicey situation." Heavy sigh of relief from Jen.

We also scored some bay leaves from Lara's bay tree. Who knew bay leaves grew on a bay tree? The logic is there, yet somehow this fact alluded us both all our lives. These are the greenest bay leaves either of us have ever seen. We're excited to create something delicious tomorrow, putting them to good use.

Speaking of food, we enjoyed a delectable dinner tonight. We soaked some black beans early this morning which we added to the crock pot at lunchtime, accompanied by a can of tomatoes, and a third of a diced spicy pepper. We also added salt, pepper, and a touch of balsamic vinegar. Vinegar, it seems, is the key to all good food. Thank god for O & Co. opening our eyes to good vinegar. Since then, we realize vinegar can take the place of wine when we don't have access to it. It really brings out that one flavor that is often missing. So many times we taste something and it's good, but we think "it's missing something," and after we add vinegar it is precisely the flavor that rounds out the dish. To compliment the beans, we made mac & cheese with colby cheese and shells. A side salad of spinach balanced the plate, color-wise. It was comfort food to the max, and it hit the spot.

Turns out that our new roommate isn't coming until Saturday, not today. So a few more days of just us will be nice. Then it'll be fun to socialize and hopefully have a new friend.