Hog Jowl Dinnah

My day started early, about 5:30 a.m. At 8 a.m. I was at the river, hiking.

I never tire of these views of the river. I grew up on the Long Island Sound, and close to the Atlantic Ocean, and I often miss the salty seas. The tidal Hudson satisfies that need.

I've been coveting this abandoned house for a long time. It's for sale, and right around the bend from the river. I really wish someone would buy it and fix it up.

Ida Reds, one of my favorite cooking apples. I made Candied Pickled Apples, a recipe from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff. It's a book that I highly recommend, even if just for this recipe. I double-batched it this year because last year there just wasn't enough.

These peppercorns make up part of the supporting cast in the recipe.

We played outside a lot. After a lot of bitter cold days, today was just brisk. A perfect November day. We did a closed elementary playground and the back yard sand pile. I love this tree, how it drapes in the last sun of the day.

The hog jowl. Very much anticipated. It delivered. We couldn't resist eating a slice on top of our meal. I was hoping to have ham slices for dinner, but I have learned to always give yourself a few extra hours when smoking. You never know how slowly things will cook. In this case, cooking the two portions of meat slowed down the time for both. I should've known, and started earlier, but I was not disappointed in a slice of smoked jowl for dinner.

Not the best picture, but I was hungry (as is my usual excuse!). I realized while washing dishes that this meal was all local. Local meat, local corn (frozen), creamed kale with Ronnybrook Farms cream and Pine Island onions. Not pictured were non-local buttermilk cheddar cheese muffins.

And now for some rest. Good night!