Yard Farm Year

A few people have asked me to share my calendar, so here it is.  It is pretty loose, since I seem incapable of following directions, even my own, but it is at least a hint of what I try to focus on each month.

Just a note, this is a work in progress, updated as I learn new things and discover what isn’t working. So, it will change from time to time and incorporates dreams as well as realities.

Another note: in 2012 Paul Virant’s The Preservation Kitchen came out. What I love so about Paul is that he uses his put up jars in the most creative ways. Me, I seem limited to spreading all my “jam” on “toast.” So, I decided to try and loosely follow his cookbook and see what I could learn. I am incorporating his recipes and things in here.

January

• Make preserved lemons, whole lemons, in 6 half-pint jars, , The Preservation Kitchen
• Make one gallon lemoncello with 50 lemon skins
• Freeze lemon juice in ice cube trays with pulp from above
• Make candied orange peel, lemon peel, about 6 each
• Order seeds
• Prepare winter seed sewing supplies
• Brew chocolate stout (still working on making drinkable beer)
• Make chili, 24 pint jars
• Make chicken enchilada mix, 12 pint jars
• Make mustard soup, 12 jars
• Milk Jam, The Preservation Kitchen
• White Asparagus Aigre Doux, The Preservation Kitchen

February

• Start winter sewn seeds outdoors after Imbolc — greens of all kinds
• Prepare indoor seed sewing supplies
• Start chicken forage trays in hoop house
• Make onion confit, 12 jars
• Make applesauce with apples in storage
• Pickled Baby Artichokes, The Preservation Kitchen

• Make 12 bars soap and 2 jars lotion
• Take inventory of canned and frozen goods, make adjustments for next year
• Brew maibock (again, my beer sucks — I still try)
• Beer Jam, The Preservation Kitchen (although I am the master of Beer Jam, I haven’t made any in a while. I use Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. Always. It is made for jam.
• Get new chicks (!!!)
• Make corned beef, 1 shoulder
• Peas go in ground March 17 (!!!)
• Start arugula, spinach, lettuce, tat soi, mâche and broccoli rabe in the hoop house

April

• Pickled Asparagus, The Preservation Kitchen
• Ramp forage, freeze greens for Thanksgiving and pickle shoots, 12 jars (New pickling recipe from , The Preservation Kitchen)
• Rhubarb-Beer Jam , The Preservation Kitchen
• Freeze asparagus with compound butter in vacuum seal bags, 24 servings — probably dumping this for pickled asparagus
• Smoked and Pickled Spring Onions, The Preservation Kitchen
• Lemon-Pickled Turnips
• Freeze rhubarb juice in ice cubes for summer soda, 4 ice cube trays
• Start carrots, parsnips, radishes, beets, parsley, cilantro outside
• Butcher lamb, process and freeze (determined to do in 2012, er 2013)
• Ramp Sauerkraut
• Turnip Sauerkraut

May

• Strawberry and Pinot Noir Jam, The Preservation Kitchen
• Dehydrated Strawberry Jam, The Preservation Kitchen (although the strawberry jam I make, straight from “Home” cookbook, is award-worthy, I will try Paul’s strawberry jam.)
• Dehydrate spring herbs — especially mint for tea
• Make 12 jars strawberry jam and dehydrate strawberries
• Make strawberry wine, 6 bottles (I make good strawberry wine)
• Forage for elderflowers, make wine, 2 bottles (be rigorous about removing all stems)
• Forage for dandelion, make wine, 2 bottles (haven’t done yet)

June

• Blueberry Aigre-doux, The Preservation Kitchen
• Cherry Mostarda, The Preservation Kitchen
• Caramel-Cipollini Aigre Doux, The Preservation Kitchen
• Grape Aigre Doux, The Preservation Kitchen
• Mulberry Aigre Doux, The Preservation Kitchen
• Currant Mostarda, The Preservation Kitchen
• Apricot Jelly, The Preservation Kitchen
• Make 1 gallon cherry bounce, dry sour cherries
• Freeze peas, 24 single serving bags
• Start winter seeds in trays — end of month
• Buy salmon, freeze (I like not having to go to the store)
• Pickled Snow Peas, The Preservation Kitchen
• Brandied Cherries, The Preservation Kitchen
• Brandied Black Mission Figs, The Preservation Kitchen
• Brandied Peaches, The Preservation Kitchen
• Gooseberry Jam, The Preservation Kitchen
• Peach-Saffron Jam, The Preservation Kitchen
• Yellow Plum and Riesling Jam, The Preservation Kitchen
• Rainier Cherry Jam, The Preservation Kitchen
• Vanillaa Melon Jam, The Preservation Kitchen

July

• Blackberry Jam, The Preservation Kitchen
• Pickled Candy Onions, The Preservation Kitchen
• Pickled Carrots, The Preservation Kitchen
• Pickled Celery, The Preservation Kitchen
• Chow Chow, The Preservation Kitchen
• Dill Pickles, The Preservation Kitchen
• Tomato-eggplant relis
• Pickled Fennel, The Preservation Kitchen
• Giardiniera, The Preservation Kitchen
• Freeze raspberries, 1 case
• Freeze blueberries, 1 case
• Continue sewing winter crops
• Pull up and store, dry onions/shallots
• Dry lemon verbena, lemon balm, lemongrass for tea
• Hardneck Garlic Conserva, The Preservation Kitchen

August

• Pickled Cherry Bomb Peppers, The Preservation Kitchen
• Grilled and Pickled Hot Peppers, The Preservation Kitchen
• Pickled and Spiced Summer Squash, The Preservation Kitchen
• Pickled Summer Beans, The Preservation Kitchen
• Forage for elderberries, make syrup
• Make relish with cucumber glut
• Make squash fritters with squash glut
• Make bread and butter pickles with squash glut
• Freeze excess tomatoes from garden
• Get 100# tomatoes for canning: 24 jars tomato junk, 24 jars bloody marys,  crushed tomatoes with the rest
• Go blackberry picking and make blackberry syrup for soda
• Pressed eggplant, The Preservation Kitchen

September

• Sweet Pickled Cherry Tomatoes, The Preservation Kitchen
• Canned Tomatoes, , The Preservation Kitchen
• Tomato Jam, The Preservation Kitchen
• Pickled Watermelon Rind, The Preservation Kitchen
• Peach weekend, 2 bushels
• Plum weekend, 15 pounds
• Chile weekend, 10 mixed pounds
• Can dry shelling beans, 24 jars
• Tuna weekend, 14 pounds
• Make sauerkraut and kimchee
• Store winter squash, carrots, turnips, rutabegas, onions in garage
• Cut down raspberry canes, fertilize
• Make hard cider
• Can Jupiter grape juice and dehydrate concord grapes
• Forage for hazelnuts, dry and store
• Order olives
• Forage and make elderberry syrup
• Pickle beets, 24 jars
• Get 12 fresh chickens, butcher and freeze, can chicken stock
• Get 15 whole frozen chickens.

October

• Sauerkraut, The Preservation Kitchen
• Caramel Apple Jam, The Preservation Kitchen
• Smoked Apple Butter, The Preservation Kitchen
• Pumpkin Butter, The Preservation Kitchen
• Cure olives
• Start cheese
• Can jardineire, 24 jars
• Make 12 bars soap
• Store apples and pears in garage
• Start Christmas Beer
• Make chow chow, 24 small jars
• Make mustard, Dijon-style and English-style
• Plant garlic, shallots and onions and crocus (for saffron)
• Make apple butter
• Start indoor worms for winter chicken treats
• Pickled Celery Root, The Preservation Kitchen
• Red wine-Pickled Beets, The Preservation Kitchen
• Butternut Squash Aigre Doux, The Preservation Kitchen
• Cranberry Aigre Doux, The Preservation Kitchen
• Pear and vanilla Aigre Doux, The Preservation Kitchen

November

• Butcher pig: stuff sausages, cure bacon, ham and prosciutto, smoke butt, render lard, make pork stock
• Roast, puree and freeze winter squashes
• Thanksgiving Dinner!
• Brussels Sprouts Sauerkraut, The Preservation Kitchen
• Get Christmas Tree and make Christmas pudding Friday after Thanksgiving!

December

• Mandarin Aigre Doux, The Preservation Kitchen
• Meyer Lemon Aigre Doux, The Preservation Kitchen
• Make Christmas cookies
• Make eggnog
• Make rootbeer, 1 case
• Kumquat Marmalade, The Preservation Kitchen
• Maple-Black walnut Butter, The Preservation Kitchen