It’s November. All of our trees are bare, and I’ve been working the last few days at covering the garden with the wasted goat and chicken bedding that I’ve been saving all summer, as well as the thousands of leaves covering the ground and drowning out the itty bitty pieces of lawn that I actually have. And when I say lawn I mean dandelions and plantain. But they’re useful all the same, so I must try to save them.
And talking about the garden I HAVE to share this with you. My garden has soil in it! I did a happy dance earlier. I’ll spare you that sight.
When we moved here the spot where my garden is was just gravel and sand. It’s the leftovers of an old parking lot, as our house used to be a restaurant in the 70’s. I put the garden there because it is the only place on this entire property that gets full sun. We ordered a load of top soil to be brought in, but the guy never showed. So, instead, I started layering. I put newspaper down first, then goat and chicken bedding, then leaves, then bedding, then leaves, then bedding and so on. I let that sit all winter, and then planted our garden in the spring and summer. And ka-bam! There was some pretty nice looking soil out there by the end of the growing season. I’m repeating this process again this year (sans newspaper) as well as letting my chickens in there (like I could stop them to begin with!) to turn up the soil and fertilize it. Hopefully in a few years we’ll have an awesome gardening spot.
I’m pretty excited.
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But now let’s eat.
Because eating is important.
I’m still buried in apples here. When you pray for apples be sure you are prepared for the amount you will be blessed with! My oh my! We’re starting to get sick of apple pie (I know, I didn’t think it was possible either!), so I’ve whipped up an old favourite of ours. Apple Coffee Cake. It tastes as good as it sounds.
Cinnamon, apples, raisins, and brown sugar. Could there be a better Fall dessert? I think not. You should also be aware that this is a sourdough recipe. And it’s yummy. So don’t fear the sourdough! If you haven’t started a sourdough yet stop reading this minute and go forth and make a starter. And then come back in week when it is ready for its delicious destination. Or if you live close to me I can give you a starter. Because everyone needs more sourdough in their lives. Especially when it means you get to make this recipe.
You Will Need:
2 cups of white flour
2 cups of sourdough
1 cup of sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
2/3 cup of oil (I used sunflower)
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup of raisins
1 cup of finely chopped apple
For The Topping:
1 cup brown sugar lightly packed
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 pan well.
Step 2: Combine flour, sourdough, sugar, oil, eggs, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Beat well until smooth.
Step 3: Stir in raisins and apples.
Step 4: Pour into the well greased pan.
Step 5: Combine all the topping ingredients well and sprinkle evenly over cake batter.
Step 6: Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
And then eat. And celebrate another growing season that has passed. Think of the quiet nights by the wood stove that are coming, and a season of down time. Think of planning next years garden, and seed catalogs, and quiet snow, and milking the goat in the freezing cold.
….
Well ok, let’s not dwell on that last one.
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