Snow Falling, Muffins Rising: Using Up Lemons and Apples on a Small Homestead
The first real snowfall
The first real snowfall of the season always changes the rhythm of the house. The world goes quiet. The light softens. Even Izzy loses her dignity and launches herself at snowflakes like they personally offended her.
This is my faithful Izzy, a miniature Berniedoodle. However, this is not my back yard. I actually don’t have one.
It feels like a day that requires something warm in the oven. Not fancy. Not complicated. Just steady, fragrant comfort. If you have lemons on the counter and apples that need to be used up, this is your week.
There is something deeply satisfying about turning what you already have into something that fills the house with warmth. The lemon–poppyseed muffins brighten a gray day. The skillet apple buckle settles it. One is sunshine. One is hearth. Both belong in a small homestead kitchen.
When you bake the lemon–poppyseed muffins, the zest hits the air first. It’s clean and sharp and almost hopeful. Fresh eggs, raw milk or kefir, melted butter — these are the ordinary riches of a working kitchen. The poppy seeds add texture without fuss. They’re not overly sweet. They’re practical. They hold up beautifully through the week and feel just as right with morning coffee as they do alongside soup for lunch.
The apple buckle is different. Deeper. The apples soften into cinnamon and honey and lemon. The batter spreads imperfectly over the fruit and bakes into a golden top that gives way to tender pockets underneath. It is sturdy enough to slice, humble enough to eat out of the skillet if you must. If your apples are a little soft, even better. This is how we avoid waste without making a speech about it.
This is what a very small homestead looks like in winter.
No orchards stretching across acres. No dramatic harvest photos. Just a bowl of apples on the counter. A few lemons. Eggs in the fridge. Milk that needs using. The work is quiet. It happens in a single oven. And it is enough.
And yes — both of these belong at your Shabbat table.
The lemon muffins can be baked Friday morning, cooled, and tucked into a basket lined with a simple linen. They feel celebratory without competing with challah. Their brightness pairs beautifully with fish or a lighter dairy meal.
The apple buckle, on the other hand, is a perfect Friday afternoon bake. It perfumes the house as you finish the last preparations. Let it cool while you light the candles. Serve it slightly warm after the meal, or the next day at seudah shlishit with tea. It reheats gently, but it is equally lovely at room temperature.
Shabbat is not about extravagance. It is about intention. Taking what is already in your home and elevating it. Apples that might have been forgotten become dessert. Lemons that could have dried out become brightness. Milk and eggs become something worth pausing for.
While the snow falls and Izzy wages her annual war on frozen water, your oven does its quiet work. This is small-homestead abundance. Not in acres. Not in scale. But in faithfulness. In using what you have. In warmth. In rest.
This week, let the lemons shine and the apples soften. Let your kitchen smell like honey and citrus and cinnamon. And when Shabbat comes, you will already have something sweet waiting.
Oh, my! Even Izzy knows a good thing when she sees… er, smells, it!
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