Tag Archives: Gretchen Quarterman

Planted Sugarcane 2025-05-09

The watering house indicates the rows with cane. They also continue beyond the middle where the hoses start.

[Watering hose just before the rains]
Watering hose just before the rains

This was just before the rains started. Three inches so far, so no hose watering since then.

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Honeysuckle native and exotic 2025-04-17

Near the garden the fragrance of Japanese honeysuckle was suddenly overpowering. Where is it?

[Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)]
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)

Oh, behind me, big bunches of Lonicera japonica.

Meanwhile, back near the farm workshop, the native Coral honeysuckle is also fragrant, just not so overpowering. Continue reading →

Steel Roof Boat Rack 2025-03-31

Tired of having boats taking up space under the tractor shed, I built a bigger boat rack.

[Rack full]
Rack full

As you can see, some patches were required. The steel roofing came from niece Peggy’s neighboring house, where she had some roof replaced after Hurricane Helene. The roofers were going to throw away the old roof. Nope, now some of it is boat rack roof, basically fancy sunshade.

The three canoes belong to WWALS, as does the jon boat and outboard.

The other boats are ours. Continue reading →

Salvillum, ancient Roman cheesecake 2025-04-07

Sweet, but not cloying like so much modern cheesecake. It’s tasty but very dense. I predict many days before we finish the other half.

Gretchen and I learned of this ancient Roman cheesecake on a YouTube video, Tasting History, with Max Miller.

She decided to make some Salvillum.
https://youtu.be/GP4VDh4HJm8?si=pmZzCdLQ-hKExGZf

[Salvillum, ancient Roman cheescake]
Salvillum, ancient Roman cheescake

In addition to a more modern version of the recipe, here’s what Cato wrote:

“Make the savillum this way. Take half a pound of flour and two and a half pounds of cheese, and mix together as for the libum. Add 1/4 pound of honey and 1 egg. Grease an earthenware dish with oil. When you have mixed the ingredients well, pour into the dish and cover it with an earthenware lid. See that you cook it well in the middle, where it is thickest. When it is cooked, remove the dish, coat with honey, sprinkle with poppy seeds, and put it back beneath the lid for a short while, then remove from the fire. Serve it in the dish with a spoon.”
— De Agri Cultura by Marcus Porcius Cato, 2nd Century BC

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