Hot mustard . . .

a success! Yummy!!!

This mustard was made from red mustard seed (Brassica juncea). The original seeds came in a hot mesclun salad mix packet and has self seeded the last two years.

It will make a wonderful gift put in a small preserving jar with a plastic lid and a personalized label with the ingredients listed.



Hot Mustard
Put red mustard (Brassica juncea) seeds in a small glass or plastic container with a non-metal lid.
Keep covered with apple cider vinegar. Add more as needed.
Approx. proportions: 50% seeds & 50% vinegar
Allow seeds to soften 12 hours or more.

Add:
1 tsp. honey/per 1/2 c. of seeds plus vinegar
½ tsp. sea salt/per 1/2 c. of seeds plus vinegar
You can add other seasonings but . . .they are not needed!

Grind in blender, food processor or spice (coffee) grinder* until creamy and thick. If too think, add a bit more vinegar.Put in jar with plastic lid or protect a metal lid with plastic wrap. Keep in refrigerator.

*I found my small coffee grinder was best with a small batch of seeds.

For more info go to

Annisquam Herb Farm

What's happening . . .

The Herb Farm gardens will be on the Sargent House Garden Tour June 20th. The garden beds are new.

The oldest, The Old Kitchen Garden was started in 2005 as a small plot.









It has grown to include the all of the available space outside the old kitchen door. Two grape arbors have been built and 4 plants put in. This year we have a good amount of growth with small bunches of grapes appearing.







The Back Forty (feet) were planted last year in potatoes and a few other vegetable. The Victory Garden - Upper & Lower were new in 2008 and were planted with tomatoes, squash and pumpkins. Our retaining wall had to be replaced. The work was completed in the spring of 2008. All the plants that had been there were either given away. transplanted or composted. Now there is an Upper Great Wall of Annisquam Garden which has lavender, clary sage and other medicinal herbs. And . . . The Lower Great Wall of Annisquam Garden is being prepared to receive the rhubarb plants that need to be transplanted and some asparagus.

The Greenhouse has been a nursery this spring.

For more information. click here.

Where did the days go?

Fall is upon us and plans to bring in the tender plants are in the works. The greenhouse was covered with plastic temporarily and will house the hardier plants. The boxwood looks well. Buyers are being contacted for sales in November and December. The lunaria, a small European herb also known as honesty and silver dollar fared well. Since we had blue as well as white blooms we will harvest some next year for seeds and to use dried.

Tea House

There is so much we want to do. Richard needs to get under the kitchen to run a cable to the Tea House, a small stone building in the back of the property. The roof needs to be replaced.

Back home

We came back today from Ireland. What a wonderful trip even though we had some rain and hail it did not diminish the beauty of the landscape. Our first two nights were with Rita Mead and Margret at the Berry Lodge, a must-do for us. If you are going to Ireland you can check the web site at:
http://www.berrylodge.com/

Keeping the daily driving to a minimum, we covered the northeast with only two days on the road that were too long. I did a few watercolor sketches and took photographs. We stopped often to get out and walk, look in a few shops and just watch the people. The faces of Ireland are changing now they are in the EU.

We enjoyed talking with friends from earlier visits, the Atlantic View in Clifden, Mr. Kelly at Quay West in Westport and the Cahills at Laural Lodge in Ennis. A stop in Donegal was a must for a new Hanna Hat and a visit with Mr. McGinty at the sweater shop. We enjoyed talking with other friends from earlier visits. Although two restaurants we were planning on revisiting were not open on the days when we were near, we found others where the food was good and the atmosphere pleasant. Our evening was well spent at Kitty Kelly's restaurant in Killybegs: good food, lots of entertainment watching the others guests and the owner/maitre d'. Off the Square in Clifden was excellent: food, waitstaff and atmosphere.

Moving in

The first items to be moved were the garden tools! From March 24 through the 30th we moved in most of the furnishings needed at the moment. We are going to rent the house this summer.

Trip

We left for Ireland, a trip we had planned before the herb farm was in our sights.