Snow is falling. Snow will keep falling. Then we’ll get sleet. We’re housebound and barnbound and restless. What to do? Make pie. Not just any pie. I want pie that takes me out of this deep freeze. I want summer.

I keep homemade pie crusts, rolled out into 12-inch circles, tightly wrapped, in my freezer. I get out two. One breaks. No problem. I’ll use that for the top crust. You’ll see.

I pull out a bag of peaches. Last summer I bought a bushel of seconds – tree-ripened, local peaches that had a blemish here or there so the farmer sold them for very little at the end of the farmer’s market. I peeled and sliced the peaches, froze them individually on a cookie sheet and then bagged them. That’s the trick to having individual peach slices and not one huge block. I vacuum packed them, and into the freezer they went.

I hope you’re not expecting a recipe. This is the sort of pie I throw together. But I’ll tell you what I do.

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Let the pie crust defrost enough so that it can be put into a ceramic pie plate.

Toss the frozen peaches with some brown sugar, instant tapioca (to soak up the juices) and some minced crystallized ginger (optional, but ginger is so good in this pie – it brightens it up.) Put the pie filling in the pie plate. Take the broken crust and cut decorative circles with a cookie cutter and place on top.

Bake for about 50 minutes until bubbly and you’ll have summer in winter.

We are being whomped with another snowstorm. Two feet of accumulation is predicted. Or, if we’re lucky, just a foot, and then a thick layer of sleet. That’s on top of the 32 inches already on the ground. We’ve already had to pay the guy who plows the driveway to get another guy with a front-end loader to move the snow out of the way. Anyone out there keep their chickens in Eglus? Or small, low to the ground coops? Aren’t they buried? Whatever are you doing?

The dogs know what to do. Lily is having a boring day.

Might as well nap.

Saturday afternoon I went out to visit the goats. The stall door to their paddock was shut and they were outside – without food or water. OBVIOUSLY Steve, during the morning chores, had not latched the door open. I told Pip and Caper how sorry I was that that man had allowed this to happen. They got extra treats.I made sure that the door was hooked securely. See that cute goat far below? Poor baby.

I let Steve know that he’d let the helpless goats suffer.

He said, “You know, this happened yesterday, too. Once it’s my fault, but twice? Someone has learned to open the latch.” He went out to fix the situation.

Caper helped. Notice that snow bank? Perfect for climbing….

This morning I found the twine untied. Steve will be back out with wire to replace it.

What did I learn? That if you are a goat maid, the word obviously has no place in your vocabulary.

The problem with being a “chicken celebrity” is that friends cannot resist giving me gifts with chicken motifs. They give me things I would not normally wear. Ever. Like this hat.

Note that not only is there a chicken on my head, but there are also braids with bows. My son says that he would be mortified to be seen with me if I wear it. Steve says I look adorable, but I could be wearing a colander on my head and he would think that. It does fit perfectly, and it is made of the coziest yarn. Lily doesn’t care what I wear. She’s just happy that we’re out in the snow.

There’s 32 inches of snow in the meadow. I’m on snowshoes. Lily is not.

She is very happy. We tromp a big loop around the field.

Scooter is waiting for us to come home. I’ve told him that the snow is too deep for him, but he doesn’t believe me.

Last night eleven inches of snow fell on top of the eighteen inches already on the ground. I pulled on my snow pants this morning, waded out to the barns, and had to shovel to get the doors open.

It’s a good day to be in the kitchen.

I bought beets at last Saturday’s farmers’ market.

Typical of a root vegetable, they’re a bit gnarly and off-putting. But beets are actually not difficult to prepare. Some people bake them, and then slip the skins off, but I find that peeling them first is easier. Any way you do it, the beets will dye your hands bright red. It wears off in a day, and I knew I wasn’t going anywhere in this snow. Usually, though, I wear disposable gloves when I work with beets.

Isn’t this beet looking prettier already? I love the color.

I’m going to make baked beets, so I chop them and put them in a heavy baking dish. To ease clean-up, I enclose them in heavy foil. These are juicy beets, but I add two tablespoons of water anyway, to ensure that they steam as they bake.

Put the dish in a 350º F oven for 90 minutes.

I like to eat plain baked beets right out of the oven – they’re like vegetable candy. I like them chilled atop a green salad. I also like to dress them and eat as a side-dish. Beets pair particularly well with citrus.

Baked Beets with Orange Dressing

1 pound baked beets, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (only if using an organic orange)
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Whisk the dressing and toss with the beets.