Tonight I invited Beth and Tom over for dinner. They brought Will, their son. Patrick and Maggie invited Taylor and Jacob over. Patrick and Jacob and Will and maybe another kid or two gathered up sheep and put them in the barn because we plan to shear in the morning. Maggie gathered beautiful reams of willow branches and forsythia and pear blossoms and daffodils for the lovely dinner table she and Taylar set.
I baked bread and made cocktails out of the damson plum brandy we made from the plums we picked the day Beth came over to interview us last summer for a newspaper article. As we enjoyed our cocktails ( I NEVER drink cocktails, but just had to, in honor of the day) we chopped garlic and sweet potatoes and ginger. The kids gathered sheep and made a bonfire and ate HOW many hot dogs? Of course they were Hebrew National hotdogs, and we know They answer to a higher authority and all that, but really, how many kids ate 21 hotdogs all in one sitting?
Beth learned to knead the dough just so. Tom set up our wireless router so if I get so inclined I can blog from the deck, the yard or the upper hay fields. We all decided that sweet potatoes and spinach and lamb with plum and ginger and garlic are pretty nice. So is sitting with friends around the table with candles and a fire in the fireplace, with happy kids doing their own thing.
Do you remember that recipe I gave you at New Years Eve, the one with the lamb chops and the spinach and sweet potatoes? Should I revisit that recipe? It really is good. And we ended the festivities with our version of the Julia Child's Queen of Sheba cake, made with freshly milled spelt, sucanat, and our very own duck eggs.
The very best part? Tom and Beth helped wash the dishes. All of them. Before they went home. God bless our dear friends.
Kids are asleep or getting that way. Sheep are hopefully in the barn, awaiting their big day.
Friday night on the farm. I had many things for which to give thanks this evening.
PS See last end of July or early August for a post that tells you the recipe for the plum brandy. Here is the cocktail. I guess I will have to make a name for it, because really, it tastes great!
Crushed ice, if you are lucky and your fridge feels like making ice (ours does occasionally, and then goes for months without. This week, we had ice)
One or two shots of vodka ( we happened to have some in the pantry because I was planning on making some tinctures for homeopathic remedies and never got around to it)
One or two shots of the blessed damson plum brandy
Plenty of lime
Shake everything and pour over more crushed ice. Please pour into special glasses, like the ones Beth gave me, with red rooster drawings. Or half pint mason jars filled with crushed ice would work as well.
Maybe tomorrow I will write out the recipe for the chocolate cake. It sure was good.
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