What is a three finger pinch?
If you are Indian, you probably call this a ”chutki”, but a three finger pinch is very common where I come from. It is how we Indians tend to add spices. It’s your thumb, and two additional fingers. I first noticed myself using this term when I saw Alex (my fiancé) cooking his favorite Indian Dish - Pav Bhaji. He kept using two fingers to pinch the spices and gently, fearfully sprinkling spices. He asked me to come add the spices and I said multiple three finger pinch’s and you’ll be good. So the term ‘three finger pinch’ just became something we always use in the kitchen.
Our Homestead
The term ‘homestead’ is piece of land that you live off. Way back when, or in more rural areas, you could potentially completely try and live off your land. In today’s world, it is slightly harder to do in suburban areas. I like to best describe the modern homestead as a micro farm. A place where you do your best to grow enough food and small livestock to share with you, your neighbors, family and friends. On our homestead, we have a garden when the weather allows it, a mini commercial kitchen where all the food prep/preservation is done, ducks & chickens for now, and maybe some day goats and horses.
Our 1600’s SaltBox Reproduction Home
I had never heard of a reproduction home until we were in the process of buying this one. Essentially a reproduction home is replica of a house from another time period. The reason they call it a reproduction is because these houses are typically not as easy to build in current times with modern materials and methods.
The story we heard was that a local carpenter (who still lives in our town) built this home for his mother as a reminder of the home she may have grown up in. He sourced all the cast iron nails, king pine floor boards*, cast iron door latches to match what it would have looked like in the 1600’s ...along with some modern touches. The result, our saltbox looks like it was built 300+ years ago, but is only 20 years old. So we don’t have the creaking and weird pipe noises of an old home, but we have the beautiful architectural charm.
*King Pine - the term was created back in the day when you needed the king's permission to cut large pine trees. Some of these trees had diameters of 3-5ft.
A rule I still wish we had today.
