Tag Archives: Colorado Springs

Night Canning: Preserving the harvest while the season shines.

Posted on by
Reply

At this time of year, every weekend is a marathon of canning. We have such an abundance of local produce here in Colorado Springs in late August and early September, I could spend all my time doing nothing but admiring it. But if that’s all I did, we’d have to eat expensive, cardboard flavored grocery store produce in winter or eat commercially canned food.

As you can see, I’m not the only admiring the produce.

And so I take the time to preserve it.

So far, this year, I’ve frozen…

  • Six one-gallon bags of green beans
  • Four one-gallon bags of ancho peppers

And canned …

  • Seven quarts of apricots in cherry juice
  • Six quarts of peaches in apple or cranberry juice
  • 21 pints of crushed tomatoes

These are the fiery tomatoes of the Underworld … or at least that’s how it seemed at midnight.

I usually do the canning at night because the house gets so hot. If you do your own canning, you’ll know what I mean. It takes a lot of heat to boil a canner full of water and here at 6,000 ft you have to process the jars an extra 15 minutes. At times, I’ve been up until 2:00 AM … much to the delight of the kittens. In their little feline minds, that’s how it’s supposed to be. In my simian mind, I should have been asleep by 9:00 PM.

If you live in or around Colorado Springs, you can get all this produce too.  If you’re serious about preserving local produce, Grant Family Farms offers a preserving share, which gets you five, ten or fifteen items in bulk, as they become available.  I’ve gotten several boxes from the Arkansas Valley Organic Growers too, with our “neighborhood buying club” (we call it the “Hungry Chicken Local Produce Club” because …. well, I’m sure you can figure it out) .

If you’re just testing out your preserving skills, visit the Colorado Farm and Art Market.  Farmers often bring boxes of seconds to sell for canning.  (“Seconds” are fruits or vegetables too small or funny looking to sell by the pound, but perfectly good for cooking.)  Or check out the Venetucci Farm farm-stand on Saturday mornings from 9AM – 1PM.  Susan, the farmer, has lots of pickling cucumbers at 75 cents a pound right now and later she’ll have lots of something else good for pickling, maybe beets.  If you want garlic, for pickling or drying, check out Hobbs Family Farm, where you can order a garlic share.

 

If you’d like to learn to can or revisit what your mother or grandmother taught you, visit my Class Schedule page.  I’m offering a fourth canning class this year at Venetucci Farm on September 8th, to help kick off Local Foods Week.  It’s a hands-on class in which we’ll make pickles while discussing the basics of canning and pickling.  You’ll take home a jar of pickles, lots of information on how to can safely and even where to find information about freezing and drying food.

With all that information, who knows what you might preserve next?

Puff the Tragic Rabbit – A Serial

Posted on by
8

Have you read Greenwoman Magazine?  Greenwoman is an extraordinary literary magazine published right here in Colorado Springs.  The editor, Sandra Knauf, collects beautifully written stories, poetry and images about gardening and sustainability.  I have a subscription and read every issue cover to cover.

Sandra writes beautifully as well and I jumped on the chance when she said I could publish a story she had written.  It’s a sad story, but I since I just had to let Snowball go, I sure can relate.  I’m going to publish it like an old fashioned serial, one installment every week for ten weeks.  Tune in on Thursdays to read the continuing saga of “Puff the Tragic Rabbit”…

******

Puff, a.k.a. Fox Mulder, former humper-bunny extraordinaire, rested on a towel in my lap as I fed him Earth Farms Organic baby food, diluted with warm milk and spiked with crushed antibiotics. The carrot goo, administered through syringe, dribbled out his mouth and down his dirty-white chest. The dwarf rabbit looked rough; he’d had surgery the day before to open up a large-marble-sized abscess on his chin. We were surprised he made it through. I didn’t see how someone so tiny and weak, little more than fur and air, could survive. I just knew his heart would give out. I’d almost planned his funeral. But here he was.

The bald, fleshy abscess now had a gaping hole in it. Terrifically gross, but I was beginning to get used to it. I had to keep it clean by squirting it with saline solution a couple times a day with a bigger syringe.

Even though Puff had made it through surgery, the vet hadn’t been optimistic.

“I wasn’t able to drain it because Lepus have a thick, non-liquid, almost hard pus,”

Dr. Hart explained, as I and my two daughters gathered around his cage. “I got out as much as I could.”

Six-year-old Lily stared at the rabbit. Though she’d recently confided she thought the young doctor “cute,” she wouldn’t look at him now. “He’s bloody,” she announced,  her eyes glued to Puff’s blood-flecked chest. She was scandalized.

“Honey, they don’t have time to bathe them after surgery,” I whispered. Her sister, Zora, ten, petted Puff silently.

“We’ll keep him on antibiotics and see what happens,” said Dr. Hart.

As I fed Puff, I thought about the nightmare Lily shared with me that morning. She dreamed Puff had a hole in his throat and all his blood squirted out until he got as small and skinny as a deflated balloon. As he sat on my lap, sucking down baby food, wanting to live, I wanted to weep.

Maybe this was my penance for not taking good enough care of our first rabbit. Oscar was a lop-eared rabbit from the feed store, last year’s Easter present for the girls, especially Lily, who’d became smitten with rabbits in kindergarten. Although Oscar proved to have dangerous claws and an independent personality (in other words, not a huggable playmate), we enjoyed him as an addition to our family. Unfortunately, his stay was short. He disappeared from our fenced back yard last summer and was never found.  I’d been the one who thought it’d be okay to let him scamper free.

When spring came again this year, all crocuses, daffodils and marshmallow chicks, my mind returned to those happy heralds of spring, bunnies. In May, I noticed a classified ad: “Free male dwarf rabbit to a good home. Comes with a hutch and food. ” I called and the owner described him, “He’s Himalayan, white with dark markings.”

White, I thought, that’s the rabbit color Zora likes best. White with pink eyes, like the March Hare in Alice in Wonderland. Then she mentioned his name, Felix.

Felix. Our first bunny was…Oscar. It had to be fate.

“We want him.”

***********

Sandra Knauf is the publisher and editor of Greenwoman Magazine, a new sustainability-minded garden writing magazine that features fiction, creative nonfiction, interviews, commentary, art, and more. She was a 2008-09 featured “Colorado Voices” columnist for The Denver Post and her humorous essays have appeared nationally in GreenPrints, an Utne Reader award-nominated garden writing journal. She’s also written for Colorado Gardener, and has been a guest commentator on KRCC’s “Western Skies” radio show. She is currently readying her young adult novel, Zera and the Green Man, for e-book publication, and working on issue #4 of her magazine.

Click here for Part II of “Puff the Tragic Rabbit”.

Chickens in the Office: Rhino Office Supply

Posted on by
4

I would like to announce that I now have my own office supply catalog.  I’m very proud of it.  Hungry Chicken Homestead is a one woman and four chicken business, but I have an office supply catalog right here in the office now, just like the big corporation I used to work for.

The catalog came from the only office supply company around that could truly understand the needs of a business such as mine.  Colorado Springs own Rhino Office Products, on Las Vegas St., is not only a local business itself, it also has chickens in the backyard!

Yes!  Chickens!  And you get eggs with every order!

Nathan Giffin, Rhino’s affable commercial sales manager invited me to visit.  I was greeted at the door by resident canines, Remy and Jackson.  Remy and Jackson were also affable, despite being elderly dogs.  I like elderly dogs.  They seem so happy to be alive, but without much jumping.

I had arrived just in time for Bagel and Lox Friday.  Nathan and Dave, one of the owners, generously offered me a bagel (which I declined but have been craving ever since).  Since there were eggs on the table, I wondered out loud if they would be making lox and eggs, a recipe I learned from my mother.  Nathan explained that the chickens were not keeping up with the current demand and he had brought some from his backyard flock to supplement customer orders.

See what I mean about understanding the needs of a business such as mine?

Jackson led us to the back door to see the resident flock.  The chickens live in a big run in the back.  Some days they get some free time in the fenced in yard, where they keep the bugs and weeds under control.  The chickens are also beneficiaries of the Springs Rescue Mission, which is right next door.  Mission personnel sometimes throw food scraps over the fence, taking advantage of chickens’ considerable food waste disposal and recycling abilities.

Nathan and I spent a long time talking about chickens and office supplies.  Naturally, I asked where I could get better pens since mine kept running out of ink and he gave me some, along with the catalog.

He told me they have no minimum order, they deliver, they offer free printer repair and they can often save customers a lot of money over what they would spend at a big box store.  He told me how he was able to save one customer $500 just by recommending a different brand!  No big box store would ever bother doing that.

But that’s the way it is with local businesses.  Friendly people, great service, and in the case of Rhino Office Products, a good breakfast!

“Purveyors of Fizzy Living”: Squeak Soda Shop

Posted on by
Reply

Let’s start with the name.  I love the name.

Squeak!  Makes you think of a kitten greeting you or a puppy chewing on his toy, doesn’t it?

Several fun loving members of the Colorado Springs Local Foods Meetup group met last Thursday for ice cream, sodas and sandwiches.  It was an eclectic group, ranging from a young military wife to a long lost friend of mine, to a friendly young man who reminded me of my late husband in our younger days.

My favorite thing about Squeak Soda Shop is the soda.  Not that I drink soda very often.  In fact, I just threw out a year old case of Pepsi someone brought for a party last year.  But Squeak’s 70 flavors always draw me in.  They’ll make the soda with sugar or Splenda or neither, to your specifications.  Ask for lots of sugar or hardly any, and they’ll make it just the way you want.  They will also make it with or without color.


I usually get the lavender soda, but this time I threw caution to the wind and tried a cucumber soda with minimal sugar.  It was so good!  I forgot to request no color, so it’s green.  Green makes a better picture anyway.

I knew about the soda, but what I did not know … listen up small business owners and wedding planners … is that Squeak makes custom sodas with custom labels.  In other words, I could order 50 or 100 or 1000 clear cucumber sodas and they would put my Hungry Chicken Homestead label on it.  (Cucumber is appropriate because chickens like cucumbers).

 

Just think!  I could hand them out at networking events or raffle them off at the upcoming Colorado Springs Community Alliance Community Dinner!  Ooo!  Good idea!  Maybe I will!

All in all, we had a great time.  The panini cheese sandwiches were delicious and don’t get me started on the Death By Chocolate ice cream.  Our hostess, Bethany, made it into a shake for me and I lived to tell the delicious tale.

We hardly even got to the retro candy and the Wii.  I had to ask for the Wii controllers.  Bethany explained that she had to cut a few youngsters off earlier in the day and had them behind the counter.  Oddly enough, we hardly saw any children that afternoon.  One adult after another streamed into the shop, keeping the place hopping!

Look for Squeak at Rockrimmon and Vindicator, in the shopping center with the Safeway.  You’ll know it when you see the cheerfully colored patio wall.

Among other things, it says, “No Curmudgeons Allowed”, not that anyone could remain a curmudgeon within its happy walls.

Squeak Soda Shop on Urbanspoon

Shoo fly. Don’t bother me. I’m enjoying my coffee at Stir.

Posted on by
3

I didn’t ask the most obvious question.

What on earth is a Shoo Fly Pie and why do we call it that?  Does it contain raisins?  Raisins kind of look like flies.  I have learned recently that it is not a “shoe”-fly pie, which would suggest flying shoes, a concept that has doesn’t make sense at all.

 

 

Obviously, I had never encountered such a pie until I visited Stir, the new coffee shop in Bonn Shopping Center at Wasatch and E. Jackson St.

 

 

 

It was 7:30 AM, a bit too early for me to eat or think about pie and I’m sorry to say I didn’t try it.  I also have to admit I’m not sure which of these is the shoo fly pie, though both of them look mouth-watering as I write this after dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I did do was drink a lovely and delicious latte.  Stir buys the espresso from R&R Coffee Cafe, a shop in Black Forest that roasts as well as serves coffee.

The best part of the experience for me was meeting the owner!  I saw her behind the counter and said, “Hey!  I know you!”

Sabrina had worked at Colorado Coffee Merchants, another favorite coffee shop of mine.  She told me she had wanted to open a shop for some time and decided to take the plunge when the interesting space Stir now occupies became available.

I love that!  I love that a person can be working for someone else one day and the next time you see her, she’s the owner of her own coffee shop!  It’s the American Dream in action.  With hard work, good friends and a little luck, you can live the life you choose.

Here are Sabrina, her sister and a happy young man, living that life.

 

Stir is a comfortable spot with good coffee, and Sabrina and her sister make the pies.  (Uh oh!  See that statement corrected below).  I hope you’ll check it out.  If you like it, visit again and support this local endeavor.

And will someone please, please tell me what a shoo-fly pie is!  I’ll try it, but only if it didn’t get the name from raisins!

(Correction:  Sabrina wrote to give pie credit where credit is due.  Most of the pies are made by Jackie Conway, with the occasional experiment in-house.  Whoever makes them, they sure look good!)

Stir on Urbanspoon

An urban store for urban homesteaders: Buckley’s Homestead Supply

Posted on by
1

Remember the Great Pickle Experiment from last summer? I made fermented pickles in half gallon Ball jars, causing friends and family to be concerned about the science experiment bubbling on my counter. I made them in the jars because I do not own a pickle crock. So you can imagine my excitement when I attended the Grand Opening of Buckley’s Homestead Supply and they held a raffle for just such a crock!

That’s my kind of store.

 

 

I didn’t win the raffle, but I feel like I hit the jackpot with the shop. It’s hardly a mile from my homestead, in a friendly looking building at West Colorado Ave and 15th Street. They have everything I need, from chicken feed to soap making supplies and even a cheese press!

“I’m so tired of plain goat cheese,” I said on the phone. “Do you have the culture to make chevre? I haven’t been able to find it anywhere.”

“We do have that,” was the response.

See. Jackpot.

Owners Ed and Allison Buckley mind the shop, answering questions and sharing stories with customers. I mentioned my pickles fermenting in their jars and Allison shared her grandfather’s story.

“My grandmother made those same pickles in jars, but she screwed the lids on too tight. My grandfather said they were sitting quietly in the house when …

BOOM!!”

The fermentation gasses couldn’t escape and the jars exploded. It wasn’t just one jar, either. Since they were started at about the same time, they exploded at short intervals, like pickled demolition explosives.

“My grandfather loved to tell that story,” Allison said.

In addition to great stories, Buckley’s also has a great selection of canning supplies. They have beautiful, high quality water bath canners, and pressure canners too. They also have Ball and Weck jars, as well as the salts and pectins you might need for your recipes.

Sign up for my next canning class on Tuesday July 17th, if you’d like to learn how to use the water bath canner. Local farms have an abundance of fruit right now and it’s a great opportunity to save some money and eat local all winter!

And whatever homesteading activity you’re working on, check out Buckley’s for supplies. Especially if you’re making fermented pickles. Those pickle crocks might just be more important than we think!

Five Reasons You’ll Love Her Story Cafe (Or Mac and Cheese and me)

Posted on by
3

I have two words for you.  Ranch Seasoning.

Ranch seasoning in the macaroni and cheese is the first reason you should visit Her Story Cafe.  In fact, go right now.  I’d hate for you to miss the mac & cheese if the cafe runs out.

Yes.  It’s that good.  The cheese sauce is made from scratch and lightly seasoned.  The macaroni has just the right texture, not too hard and not too soft.  I devoured this warm, creamy bowl so fast, I burned my tongue.  (Note to self:  Please be more patient next time.  The mac & cheese isn’t going to sprout legs and run away).

Reason #2

If you’re a history buff or the parent of one (or would like to be), visit the cafe for its women’s history theme.  The sandwiches have names like the Sally Ride Blast and the Molly Brown.

Liz named her most recent offering, the Jerri Marr Sandwich platter, after the highly capable U.S Forest Service supervisor who recently kept us informed about the Waldo Canyon Fire.  Choose three sandwiches and two sides for $10.  Share the platter and the story with a daughter who needs a role model.

Reason #3

The cafe is bright and cheerful, with very reasonable prices.  A good, home cooked lunch can be had for less than $10 and eaten in a clean space with plenty to spark conversation.  If the women’s history theme doesn’t provide enough inspiration, check out the story board where colorful sticky notes finish sentences like “I am proud of…” and “I promise to …”

Reason #4

My lunch companion heard this statement during our conversation.

“So I put the kittens in the bathroom so Snowball could eat after … HEY!  THERE’S A BANANA IN MY BANANA PUDDING!!”

Ok, so maybe I got a little overexcited.  But actual slices of banana were hiding in the Jane Goodall Banana Pudding.  I wasn’t expecting the pleasure of fresh fruit!

Reason #5

Liz, the owner, is reason #5 and maybe the best one of all.  She built this business from scratch (just like the mac & cheese!) and now she’s busy promoting other people’s businesses as well as her own.  She wants to see the southeast quadrant of this city thrive.

After the dreadful Waldo Canyon fire, I’m not the only one who can claim to know something about the importance of community in hard times.  You know it too.  We all want to contribute and with the interruption in tourism, small businesses especially need our patronage now.

When you need a sandwich, drive past the chains and check out a business owned by your neighbors, owned by people with a stake in Colorado Springs; stop by a business like Her Story Cafe.

Her Story Cafe and Lunch Truck on Urbanspoon