Homemade is still the best

Good Morning Puffins.  It's a cloudy, snowy, cold Saturday morning here on the Farm.  My Farmer and I have been taking turns being "awake" all night long.  Congestion, back aches, sinuses, etc...  Thankfully it's the weekend and we'll be able to catch up on our rest.

I'm mentally planning my day while I'm sitting here drinking my coffee and have been reading through a few of my favorite blogs.  I'm not feeling up to doing much cleaning or decorating, beyond the must-be-dones.  But I enjoy imagining how I will "fluff" my front porch and kitchen this spring.  Our living room and office may be in disarray as we are planning to gut & renovate the living room, paint both it & the office and put new flooring down in both rooms.  My brain seizes up when I try to plan much for these rooms.  It balks at even considering paint color.  I'll be asking for advice on that as I get closer to actually buying it.

So since it is not a day to do alot of physical activities, my plan is to bake some cookies for my Farmer and mix together some sandwich buns and possibly a loaf of bread.  While the bread dough is rising I can be resting or sewing.

And on the off-chance we feel well enough to go to church tomorrow, we should dig into our Sunday School lesson.

The day will not be a loss as long as I keep myself on track.  I've found if I give into the feeling of "poor me" when I'm not well, then I truly am a pitiful soul.  But if I keep on going, I may still feel just as unwell, but I have accomplished something and that helps me to feel productive and brightens my day.

Such was the case last evening.  After both my Farmer and I were home from our busy day at work, as usual we discussed our ideas for the evening meal.  In the past, I've done meal planning, but many times he is not that hungry or would prefer something lighter.  It works best for me to have a well-stocked pantry and freezer and fridge, with the ingredients ready for different meal suggestions.

We both agreed we felt pretty worn out from the week and that a lighter meal sounded best.  I had 2 different packaged soup starter mixes on the shelf.  I don't normally buy mixes like these, but they were a Christmas gift and I've been eager to try them.  Farmer-dear chose the Beef Noodle and I chose Chicken and Dumpling.  Happily, his left-over ribeye steak from last weekend was in the freezer and it took no time for me to defrost and poach a chicken breast and thigh from my stash in the big freezer.

While Farmer was out choring and then was busy with his own affairs inside; I thinnly sliced and then sauted his beef.  I poached my chicken in water, fresh thyme, s/p and onion/garlic.  

While that was going on I started to break up the 2 pork roasts I had cooked earlier in the week.  I used Pioneer Woman's recipe from her cookbook.  I had planned to serve some of this all week long but Farmer-dear was never in the mood for it.  I decided to shred it all, reheat it with the juices and rechill it.  (I love my "walk-in cooler"  a.k.a. front porch in winter when the temps are 12°.)  Today I will portion it out and vacuum-seal it for meals this spring and summer when we are busy.  And quite possibly I'll save out enough for us for this evening, just in case a bbq pork sandwich sounds good to him.  Or it will go into his lunch this week.

While the pork was reheating in the oven, I finished up our dinner.  This consisted of shredding up my chicken, dumping the contents of the boxes into the broths and topping mine with the dumplings.  I'm sorry to say that was it for our dinners.  Not the most nutritiously planned meal.  No veggies beyond what was in the soups.  And I noticed Farmer-dear hunting around for more after his initial bowl.  That is very telling for me.  He only does that when his meal was not satisfying.

We both found our individual soups very lacking.  I definitely did not care for the smell of his.  Too much of a  "processed beef" smell, that was sickening to me.  My chicken soup was too salty (I guess that's why they said to start with water, not my good stock, which was salted to flavor the chicken when it cooked.)  The dumplings were fairly good.  We both agreed that the soups were "edible at best" and tasted much too "processed and full of preservatives."   I guess we've gotten spoiled from eating mostly home-made foods.   And then later I noticed I had a reaction from the MSG and the extra sodium that were in the soup.  

I know these kinds of foods are marketed to busy women, but I can't say I saved all that much time.  It takes only a few more minutes to slice or chop up a carrot and potato, add in some dry noodles, stir in a handful of frozen peas.  If one does not make their own stock, there are several decent brands available in the store, some sodium free and some organic.  With just a very few more minutes I could replicate these soups with ones that would have a cleaner flavor and very few additives.  

I do, however, appreciate the wonderful thought behind this gift. 

Well, my dears, my coffee is long gone and the laundry is not getting washed by me sitting here.  It's time for a Vit C dose and a big glass of water to wash out my system.

Have a wonderful, relaxing, joy-filled weekend.  Please leave a comment on your thoughts of time-saving vs home-made meals.  Are you interested in cooking more "wholesomely" or are you willing to sacrifice taste for convenience.  Oh dear.... I must get off that soapbox!  *grin*

I'll be back soon....

Hugs!

K~

** "Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork."  ~English Proverb

Thus starts the dark months

Did you wonder what happened?  I was so wordy and then "NOTHING!"   My Farmer and my Bffs all decided to share their versions of the flu.  Bffs dear-grandson had it, my Farmer had it and Bff's dh got it Sunday night (after spending all day with us.... oh the germs!)  It was only a matter of time until we ladies got it.  I spent Wednesday home curled on the couch.  But now I'm well and feeling fine again.

Have you noticed the darkness!  Yes,  I know.  Daylight Savings Time has ended.  I'm liking the sunrise right after Farmer-dear leaves for the plant, but not liking at all, the darkness at 5-5:30 p.m.  Yesterday afternoon, after work, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things and with the clouds, it was gloomy.  It seemed like all the folks in the store were hurrying to get their lists completed and head for home.  I felt that same urgency as I walked quickly to my car.  It felt like early evening.  I was almost surprised to see that it was not even 5 p.m.   Today was even gloomier and blustery with wind and rain all day.  And with the bad weather, came frayed tempers and impatience along the roadways.  So many people in town, all trying to get somewhere and all in each other's way.  I was glad I had gotten my groceries yesterday and only had to do a quick errand at the bank and post office drop box before I headed for my cozy farmhouse.  

The Prairie Kitchen has been smelling wonderfully the past few days.  

Despite having a rumbly tummy on Wednesday, I still made some psuedo-homemade chicken noodle soup.  I like the noodles in Ramen Noodle Soup packages but I dislike the seasoning packet.  It's all salt and MSG.  So I always throw that way and make my own broth using either a good packaged chicken stock or my own homemade stock.  I added some of my dried "green powder" (dried celery, zucchini, aspagragus, chard... the green veggie part you might not want to eat normally, but are not bad/spoiled.  Just not pretty.  But they are fine dried and powered and added to soups and sauces for extra nutrition.) I also added some of my "mixed veggie powder" (tomatoes, carrots, etc.) and a little extra pazzaz from Adobo seasoning (garlic and onion are the dominate flavors there.)  I added some of my home dried thyme and some sage and a big handful of frozen mixed veggies.  I brought all this to a boil and added the noodles that I had crushed slightly to break up the lengths.  It was warming and calming and full of all the good things that veggies and chicken broth have in them.

On Thursday, I told you I stopped at the grocery store and one of items on my list was a variety of apples to make my boss-Richard, an apple pie for his birthday celebration today.  I bought Golden Delicious and Pink Lady apples to combine with the Gala and Granny Smith I had here at home.  Normally I just use whatever is on hand, but since it was a special pie, I wanted to make the filling extra special.  I also added a rounded teaspoon of cinnamon and a small amount (1/4-1/2 tsp?  just dumped) of Cardamom to the scant cup of sugar.  That was the finishing touch.  Not really a distinct flavor, but that extra "hmmm...what is that?" that lightened the flavor of the filling.  Sometimes cinnamon can make an apple pie seem "heavy."  The Cardamom brightened it all nicely. 

And tonight, after a long week, and with it cold and rainy, well it just called for Comfort Food.  Farmer-dear chose Spaghetti with my Homemade Meat Sauce.  I never say "No" to Pasta!  A couple of tablespoons of EVOO, a couple of smaller garden onions, 2 cloves of garlic, all chopped and softened in the oil.  Our good ground beef, browned with the veggies.   I deglazed the pan with a small amount of red wine, not much as Farmer-dear does not like the taste of wine, but just enough to deepen the taste of the sauce.  (By the way, those 4-packs of single glass bottles are perfect for this kind of use.  Screw tops so you aren't uncorking a bottle for just deglazing, especially if you are the only wine drinker and already have a bottle started (Pacific Rim Riesling) & need to finish it before you open another.)  (by the way, again.... I highly recommend the Pacific Rim Riesling, not too sweet, but not dry either.  Not that I'm a wine connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination!  I drink Arbor Mist too as well as some better local wines.  I drink what I like and like to try new varieties.)

I just keep getting side-tracked, don't I?  Blame it on the wine....  

Ok, getting back to the sauce, I deglazed the pan and added 2 16 oz cans of a good tomato sauce (I use Hunts), a generous teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, home grown & dried basil (last year's, I didn't get any to dry this year-- **sob**) and some mediocre store oregano.  I let it all simmer and reduce slightly for 30 mins., while the spaghetti cooked and the garlic toasts browned.  It was a soul-satisfying meal.

(All recipes will be on my recipe site soon.)

I've been taking advantage of some good deals online and some store return policies.  It really does pay to read those.  I had a pair of shoes that I wore for outside work and chores the past 2 years.  They used to be my "better" winter shoes for snow and cold.  Nice heavy, warm shoes.  (Not especially "sexy" shoes, but warmth is more important in the dead of winter than sex appeal.) 

Anyway, the warm shoes developed a rip just under the opening.  I'm not sure how or why, but it wasn't from wearing out... it was like a material flaw.  The store I originally ordered them from (and have another pair I'm wearing now), offers a "no questions asked" return policy.  I have returned another pair of these shoes a few years ago.  And they sent me a new pair... matter of fact, the ones I just returned, may have been that pair!  I do not abuse this policy, but figure if they offer it, I will take advantage of it.  

Another beauty products store has a similar return policy.  I ordered a new perfume, after just loving the sample I tried.  There is a definite difference between the sample and the large bottle.  The full-sized product was just too strong and heavy for me.  I thought I was "stuck" with it, until I read their return policy.  They had no restrictions and I had really only used it twice.  Thankfully I had kept both the product box and the shipping box.  And I had the postage free shipping label.  It was mailed off today.  

In addition to returning things, I've been buying a little too.  I found a good sale at Sears on coats for the grandgirlies for their birthday gifts.  There was a great deal on Groupon   (Groupon dot com) under the city of Phoenix for a $50 gift certificate for $25!  You can bet I jumped on that one!  I can't wait for the after holiday sales.  

I haven't had a chance to really watch the pre-Black Friday sales on BFAds dot com, but hope to do that this weekend.  It's time to get my Christmas shopping Done!

And that's the latest from the Prairie Farmhouse.  I'm off to make some thing warm to drink, look out and see if the rain has turned to snow yet and find my cozy quilt and my book.  I love cocooning during the Dark Months.

Happy Weekend, Puffins!

Hugs,
K~

** "November days and a bright wood fire;
    A hearth and a home and the Heart's Desire."  ~~Esther M. (Clark) Hill

It was Amazingly Good! Pan-sauted Chicken Breasts with Pan Sauce

Sorry... no photos.  It smelled too good, I was too hungry (little to no lunch) and it was 8:30 p.m.  No natural lighting.

But let me tell you what I did and you can recreate it yourself.   This is a dish you want to start in the morning for the evening, but no worries... the morning prep is super easy.

That is... if you remembered to take the boneless chicken breasts out of the freezer the night before.  If not,  take them out now, put them on a metal baking sheet or cake pan.  The metal surface will dispel the coldness and the chicken will defrost faster.  (I do this all the time with frozen food.)

When the chicken breasts (2) are thawed, rinse or don't, it's up to you.  Mine were very fresh... had just picked them up from the organic producers that day and I had just cut up the chickens, so they were already rinsed.

Take a gallon ziplock bag and dump in a tablespoon or so of Canadian Steak Seasoning (black pepper, onion and garlic minced and dried), then a couple of tablespoons of kosher salt.  Add 2-3 cups of water and seal the bag.  Double check the seal.  You'll see why..... now shake or squish the bag so the salt dissolves.  (see why you want that seal, Sealed!)  Add the chicken breasts.  Place the brining chicken bag in a bowl and place in the fridge.  See!  That part was easy-peasy.

Later on or the next day (I left mine brining for 18 hours because I was too lazy tired to cook these.  Then I dumped out the brine and left the bag open just an inch and left it in the fridge for another 24 hours.  Again... I was not in the mood for cooking chicken on the chair painting evening.  Too hot and humid.)

Ok.... so you can do like I did OR you can dump off the brine and proceed as follows:

Pat the chicken dry.  Dedge in flour seasoned however you like.  I added a couple of good shakes of Goya brand Adobo seasoning(found in the Mexican/Latin foods part of your grocery) to mine.  Heat a medium frying pan.  Do not use a non-stick pan.  We want fond to form, Puffins.  When the pan is heated, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Let the oil get good and hot, but not smoking.   Add the coated chicken breast, skin-side down.  Let brown until nice and golden.  Turn over and let the second side brown. 

After both sides are browned, turn the burner down a bit and let the chicken cook.  If you see things are getting too hot and too cooked and the fond (the dark brown stuck-on bits of goodness in the bottom of the pan) is in danger of burning, add some water to the pan, clap on the lid and let it simmer.  You may have to add more water if your lid is not a tight seal for the pan.

When the chicken is cooked through, remove from the pan and set aside to rest.  Add 2 cups of liquid to the frying pan.  You can add just water or like me, add some chicken stock.  Stir the bottom of the pan with a flat edged spatula or wooden spoon to get all those yummy fond bits dissolved and incorporated.  Turn the heat to simmer and let the liquid reduce to a cup.  While it's doing this, add whatever other seasonings you want.  I added some dried thyme and a teaspoon of white wine vinegar for some brightening.  When the liquid is reduced and somewhat syrupy, add a Tablespoon of butter in 3 pieces.  Stirring to incorporate as it melts and thickens the sauce.  Turn off the heat, stir in any juices from the chicken plate.

and there you go!  Chicken with Pan Sauce.  I also made some rice in my automatic rice cooker (LOVE this appliance!)  1 cup regular white rice (NOT Minute Rice), 2 cups chicken stock, some dried mushroom slices and some dried leeks and a splash of EVOO.  Pushed the button and let it cook while I did the chicken and sauce.  It all got done together.  Add in a green salad and a glass of wine and you have an easy-peasy Delicious dinner in under an hour.

(Now, I know you really good cooks are rolling your eyes are me now.  This is beyond easy for you.  But I am a Farmer's Wife.  My normal type meals are basic beef and potatoes.  Sauces are not there unless you count the occasional gravy or spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce.   I was proud of myself for recreating this meal from a vague memory having made similar dishes out of my Cook's Illustrated books.  Somewhere along the way, the basic "formula" stuck in my head.  And boy is my tummy ever glad!)

Another nice thing about this meal is that it was all from my pantry.  As in no special buys this week.  Rice and chicken stock are always staples.  I just picked up my annual organic chicken order on Thursday.  I made the dried mushrooms and leeks from some that were destined for the garbage at my grocers.  I got them at a very reduced price, trimmed and sliced and dried in my dehydrator.  They add wonderful flavor to rice, soups, eggs (reconstituted first before adding to eggs).  

So Puffins... are you a cook by the book person or do you have all the formulas memorized so you can be creative or is every meal an adventure at your house as you just dump and stir and see what you get?  I'd like to know.   :oD

Hugs!
K~

**  "One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."  ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

Wordless Wednesday - Cast Iron

I love my cast iron pieces.  Left to right:  10" skillet that was Farmer's grandmother's.  I found it in the wash-house, cleaned & seasoned it.  14"skillet I got at the local "antique" mall for under $20.  Again, cleaned it and seasoned it.  It is wonderfully non-stick.  Apleskeever pan, new from a outlet store.  Makes fun "Puff" food.  And my coated cast iron dutch oven (Cook's from JCPenneys).  Love that pan for roasts and chili.

Do you have a favorite cooking piece of cast iron?  Or do you hate the special care they take?

Until next time....
Hugs!
K~

** "Talk of joy: there may be things better than beef stew and baked potatoes and home-made bread --- there may be."  ~~ David Grayson

Shrimp Pasta with recipe

Fresh Tomato Shrimp Pasta

Update!  You will find this recipe on my Recipe Blog.

The last time I wrote about a shrimp dish,  I had some readers asking for the recipe.  This isn't that one, but it is what I made for dinner this evening (for me... Dining Alone again.  Farmer-dear had Sloppy Joes, french fries and frozen veggies.  He was very happy.)

If you click on the photo caption, it will take you to the original recipe (printable) on Allrecipes.com.  Below is my variation from this evening.  It's changed enough to be my own now, I think.  ;o)


Hugs!
Kay~
** "My idea of pure heaven is to spend a day in the kitchen, peeling, chopping and stirring 
while the words of a good book fill the air around me." ~~ Ruth Reichl

Comfort is where it's at....

Some days just call for comfort food.  This was one of them.  A long day, filled to the brim from dawn to dusk.  Not to mention, rather warm and humid.

So to placate my grumbly self and feed my Farmer, I got out my wonderful cast iron skillets and made hash browns, sausage patties, scrambled eggs (in the non-stick skillet) and whole-grain toast (we're all about healthy here.  lol)

Tomorrow we'll eat healthy again.  I picked a soup bowl's worth of cherry tomatoes this evening, so I'm envisioning some kind of pasta with fresh tomatoes.  For me of course... Farmer would never eat that.  He'll get something meaty.

What do you do when you've had a day that never seems to end?  What kind of comfort food, calls your name?

Hugs
K~

** "Certain thoughts are prayers.  There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees."  ~Victor Hugo

Can you Can-Can?

Susan at The T-Cozy asked in a recent post, if anyone canned fruits and vegetables anymore?  Do We??!! 

I canned 18 half-pints of sweet pickle relish last evening from too-big cucumbers my dear neighbor gave me.  I juiced a flat of her tomatoes and have that freezing in some retangle-shaped pyrex dishes to use in chili this winter. 

I'm watching the pear trees around here and hope to can Farmer-dear some pear halves or else I'll dry some slices. 

And then this fall I need to make some apple pie filling and can it and also make some apple butter and applesauce. 
These fruits usually come to me for free also and I hate to waste anything like this. 

I haven't done much drying this summer simply because there hasn't been much to dry.  And my jars of dried foodstuffs are pretty full right now.  I'm watching my basil and thyme plants and will be sure to harvest them before the first frost.  I love the dried basil I did the last 2 years.  It smells so fresh whenever I open the jar.
I'll probably be drying onions when we pull those from the weedy garden. 

Not a huge amount of preserving going on here but enough.  It's another of my Simple Pleasures.  :)

What about you dear Puffins?  Do you "can" or is that for old women back in the 40s?  Would you like to learn how to can/preserve?  Is there a need, still, for these skills in this day?  

I'm interested in your thoughts.

And to firmly establish my identity with the Old-fashioned Ladies.... I'm off to sew on my quilt blocks. 

Hugs!
Kay~

** "I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade.  It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor."  ~D.H. Lawrence

Shrimpy

So... It was HOT this weekend. As in too hot to think, to sit, to work, to cook! Of course that was the day we hauled big round bales. Kind of like this day...

By evening I was pretty much "done," but hungry since earlier it had only been water, string cheese, a tuna sandwich and baby carrots. I've been reading my food/cooking magazines and came across this recipe for Shrimp Kabobs. I knew I had frozen shrimp in the freezer and veggies in the fridge.

In the end I didn't have smoked paprika (it's not carried in my small-town grocery), so I just winged it with a marinade of EVOO, lemon juice, a little water, some Canadian steak seasoning (just black pepper, salt, onion and garlic) I chunked up some zucchini, and red peppers, mushrooms and a small onion from the garden. I marinaded the veggies with the shrimp for 30-40 mins. After that savory bath, I alternated the zuc, pepper and shrimp. I tried to get the mushrooms and onion chunks to cooperate, but they chose to break apart, so they were cooked in the grill basket and were just as yummy.

The recipe also called for sausage but warned about using cooked sausage so everything would be done at the same time. While I was making kabobs for me (Cooking for One), I was also grilling some Jalapeno-Cheddar Brats for Farmer-Dear from the Cordova Locker. (Love this place! Al & Jeniece do a wonderful job and care about their customers.) I just didn't think I could put the sausage with my shrimp and have it all come out done the same. Turns out I could have.
When I ate the leftovers, I sliced up half of a brat and heated it with the shrimp-veggie combo and it added just the right amount of heat & spice.

So no photos but you know what shrimp and veggies look like, so just take my word for it... they were beautiful and go forth and grill!!

Hugs
Kay

** “Food is, delightfully, an area of licensed sensuality,
of physical delight which will, with luck and enduring
taste buds, last our life long.” ~ Antonia Till

Update on the quiche and new calves

In January we experienced some Sundogs, which predict colder weather. We got that too.
Sundogs are mini-rainbow effects on either side of the setting or rising sun
and are created by sunlight reflecting off ice crystals in the atmosphere.

I wrote a few days ago, " Found a recipe for Quiche HERE and it sounds soooo good. Zoomie's posts almost always make me hungry! lol I need something quick for breakfasts as I've been doing with a protein bar and a piece of cheese lately. So since Blue-eyed One will enjoy his French toast, I think I'll see what I can find to make individual quiches in muffin tins. I know I have some asparagus in the fridge, some garlic cheese curds and bacon. I don't need crust, unless I'd line the cups with some olive oil brushed tortillas? I'll let you know..."

I took Zoomie's basic recipe but since I was making a 2 small pyrex dishes instead of a 9" pie plate, I decreased her amounts by 1/3 (4 eggs instead of 6, etc...). Also, I didn't make or use anything for a crust. It was fine without it.

Her recipe called for Parmesan and Swiss or Gruyére cheese. I had the Parmesan and some locally-made garlic cheese curds. Those I crumbled using my Handi-chopper.

Instead of her half-n-half, I used 1% milk and instead of kefir, I used regular sour cream.

For the filling ingredients, she used onion, mushrooms, Swiss chard, salami. I used onion, some rehydrated mushroom, some jarred roasted red peppers, a few chopped "good" ripe olives and mini pepperoni. I had some asparagus, but I just roasted those and ate it alongside.
I also added some of my homegrown dried basil and a tiny pinch of red pepper flakes.

I sauted the onions, added the mushrooms and their soaking liquid and let it all reduce down to very syrupy. I sprayed the 2 pyrex (about 1.5 c capacity). Put the cheeses in the bottom, added the filling ingredients. Mixed the eggs, milk and sour cream together with the basil & poured it over the filling.

I baked these on a small rimmed baking sheet at 350° for 30 mins, until they tested done with a butter knife.

One of the quiches along with the asparagus and some rye toast and OJ made a wonderful dinner. I had the second one for breakfast today. It was good but a bit high-flavored for me for breakfast. It would be great for brunch as I'm a boring breakfast person. I don't really like early breakfast, but prefer it about 10 a.m.

Anyway... go on over to Zoomie's blog and try her recipe. A+


And now updating the calf count here on the Prairie Farm....

In the past 2 days we've had 5 new calves. 3 singles and another set of twins born again this afternoon. Why do twins come when the weather is frigid?? The singles are all doing super fine, but one of the twins is not doing so well. A bit limp and weak. We got some colostrum from the nearby dairy and irrigated her. She raised her head after that. We think Mama may have lost count of who she all had or this one got away from her being tipsy after birth and she thought the other one was this one.... who knows....

It was a crazy afternoon. Helping the Blue-eyed Farmer as he tried to figure out the bad wiring on the cattle trailer and ending up taking that into our auto repair shop in town. I had to go get him since he left the pickup there so they could change out the connection plug.

Home to find the twin calf emergency and dealing with getting them up to the barn, feeding, getting hay for everyone else and regular chores.

By the time we got in the house, it was 7:30 and I was chilled to the bone. Supper tonight was whatever we could find in the fridge. It ended up being leftover bacon, toast, salad and chips.

Tomorrow if the trailer is fixed, we'll be taking 3 older cows to the sale barn. And checking on the new family every 3-4 hours. Probably more feedings. B-E F is taking tomorrow off from the factory to take care of all these extra responsibilities since I'll be going to work.

I'll be thrilled if the sun shines and the temperature is suppose to warm up starting tomorrow! And there is that Flea Market to look forward to this weekend!

And now I'm heading for the shower and my warm bed. Night All!

Hugs!
Kay~

** I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

Menu for the week

I'm home today and have tons to do, but thought I'd take few moments while eating my lunch (yes, at the computer. It's my computer and I'm an adult, so Hush! lol).

Sunday- Lunch at Famous Dave's with BFFs, we left stuffed so supper ended up being the candy/snackies we ate in the afternoon during our Wii tournament.

Monday- Homemade pizza with whole-wheat crust, our beef and some mini pepperonis we got as samples at the Wine & Food Expo. They added some flavor without being a big greasy piece of pepperoni. I still prefer turkey pepperoni.
And no vegetable or salad. We were tired and hungry after doing some cattle work outside. It was all I could do to get the pizza done.

Tuesday- our typical Breakfast for Supper night (B4S). French toast to use up the loaf of store bread on the counter; canned fruit or applesauce; and some of our new bacon, making enough for 2 more recipes. Our new bacon less salty than store bacon which is good because Blue-eyed Farmer just salts his French Toast. I know.... it's a genetic thing with him. His dad used to do that and his sister still does. I need to ask his aunt if she eats it that way. Too weird, but I still love him.

Wednesday- Broiled Salmon, broccoli-raisin-bacon salad (for me)/bag salad (for him), rice pilaf, rye bread (if needed) and individual apple crisps. It's suppose to be really cold on Wed. so I'll use my oven to heat the kitchen. I'll bake some potatoes for soup on Thursday & fried potatoes on Friday and bake some brownies or bars for dessert later in the week.

Thursday- Baked Potato Soup, baby carrots and brownie/bars for dessert.

Friday- Pan-roasted chicken, hash browns/fried potatoes, steamed broccoli (for me)/canned peas (for him), biscuits, bars or ice cream for dessert.

Saturday- Lunch: Chicken salad wraps, carrots, chips (for him), apple for dessert; Dinner: Tacos (either beef or chicken if there is alot of chicken left from Friday), Mexican rice (using leftover pilaf) and custard for dessert.

We are implimenting another month or so of Pantry Challenge menus, due to some upcoming bills and watching "Horders" on History Challenge.
OMStars!!! I believe in having a well-stocked pantry but I need to move some food out and replace it with new and cut down on the amounts. I'd like to have a firmer grasp on exactly what we eat in a 3-month time span.
I'm going to be culling out some kitchenware too. Who needs a small, medium and large food processor? (Granted the small is a handy chopper and the other 2, they were thrift store purchases but seriously.... 3?!)
It's time to go through the food magazines and cookbooks again. And I've gotten away from storing most leftovers in plasticware. I'll keep a few small bowls for lunch salads, but we use glass for anything that needs reheating. I do use tupperware for storage but am on the lookout for large glass jars.

Lunchtime is over and I need to go check on a mama cow in the north pen.
Anyone else planning menus today or planning another Pantry Challenge month?

Hugs!
Kay~

** "We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink..."
~Epicurus


[Update: Found a recipe for Quiche HERE and it sounds soooo good. Zoomie's posts almost always make me hungry! lol I need something quick for breakfasts as I've been doing with a protein bar and a piece of cheese lately. So since Blue-eyed One will enjoy his French toast, I think I'll see what I can find to make individual quiches in muffin tins. I know I have some asparagus in the fridge, some garlic cheese curds and bacon. I don't need crust, unless I'd line the cups with some olive oil brushed tortillas? I'll let you know...]



[Update to the update: Ended up going into town with B-E Farmer, after we chored. He had a chiropractor appointment and then he stopped at W-m. I got bare essentials, like rye bread & crisp rice cereal for his treats. And then since I made some phone calls for him, he took me out for salads and bread sticks. The menu above will just be moved down a day.]

More Pantry Challenge Meals

I'm having so much fun with the Pantry Challenge that I think I will continue it for another month. Anyone else thinking the same thing?

This week has been 99% pantry meals. I apologize right now for the lack of photos. It just was not the week for them. The websites below will have photos but I just cooked and ate.

First was wonderfully delicious meal came from the blog "Living Dangerously While Eating". Tammy made a Seafood Bisque ala Paula Dean. I love creamy soups and I love seafood and just happened to have some bay scallops in the freezer. I'm not a fan of scallops just sauteed or in pasta, as I am shrimp, but they were awesome in this soup. Tammy might have been smarter and healthier in her version, but I only have real butter and EVOO (organic) and real half-n-half here, so that's what I used. And do you know how thrifty and chef-like I felt using my own home-made chicken broth in this. :o)
Thanks again for posting this, Tammy!



Another oh-so-yummy meal was Pan-Seared Thick Strip Steaks with Red Wine-Mushroom Pan Sauce from Cook's Illustrated May 2007. Filet Steaks from the freezer, a one-glass bottle of Shiraz, a few quartered Baby Bell mushrooms, that home-made chicken broth and a shallot. OH MY Stars!! Along with bag salad and a baked Yukon Gold potato. (All produce was purchased recently, but the other ingredients were pantry/freezer-stash.) Now that was great Pantry Eating!
(And yes, I am a CI junkie..... the bound yearly editions, a cookbook, the website, the emails and the television program. I can't help it...I don't like recipes that fail. I'm a by-the-book cook until I get the concept down in my head.... then I can wing it.)

The last Pantry meal was too simple for words.... Spicy Beef Nachos. I know.... from serious foodie meals to this? Considering the Blue-eyed Farmer was having issues with a calf and a prolapse and the vet (I'll spare you the details), I did a quick and easy and comforting meal.

Basically this was a pound of our ground beef, a package of taco seasoning (or the equivalent if you make your own and I should make some more!), nacho cheese....(yes the stuff in the big can from Sam's Club....what can I say, He likes it and it makes great nachos, of course), black beans (or any beans you like), salsa, sour cream, jarred pickled jalapenos, shredded sharp cheddar, shredded lettuce and green onions & tomato if you have them... I didn't.
Oh and the chips!
Brown the beef, and make the taco meat according to the package. Heat the beans and nacho cheese. Open the jars, containers and bags of toppings. Once the meat and cheese are cooked & heated, it's just a matter of layering however you want. I went for traditional that night while the Farmer did Naked Nachos (chips on the side).
Extreme comfort food, that was much needed.
Again, the produce (lettuce) was a recent purchase (severe price mark-down as it was almost past use date, but no ick factor yet and that was 5 days ago), but all else was freezer/fridge/pantry stash.

Not a main dish but a dessert/goodie I took to church last Sunday was Pecan Tarts. Everyone has eaten these or at least heard of them. Basic cream cheese-based crust dough, with a chopped pecan pie filling, baked until done. Again, all "pantry" stash. And too good!

Next on the menu is Chili Soup for our church's chili cook-off. I have no great expectations of winning but hope they like the soup. I think I've posted my basic recipe, but if I find I haven't, I'll do it next week. (NOTE to Self: I need an index here of my recipes. This summer!)

Also on the list is Shredded BBQed Pork using a pork roast and the last package of spare ribs. This recipe is for the slow-cooker. The recipe was in our local newspaper and the story featured the blogger from "crockpot365.blogspot.com". Since I found the recipe on Stephanie's website, I'm not going to post it here. Just click on the link above. I have all the ingredients except Tabasco Sauce, but I have Chilpotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce and that will provide any extra needed kick.


Another pantry stash-busting project is to make bread and I want to play with the dough, trying a slow, cool first ferment. Someone just hide my King Arthur Flour catalog and don't let me log onto their website. Oh my..... SAF Yeast (great stuff-- so much better than Red Star or Fleschman's); Espresso Power for extra UMPH in chocolate recipes; something called Cinnamon Filling mix..... I have such a craving for Cinnamon Rolls; a dried fruit mix of moist dried apricots, raisins, pineapple, dates, and cranberries -- OH MY! And all those are free shipping this weekend. I think I can justify buying them.... I'm doing RAB* this year. But that's a post for another day.....

And also for another day is a Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart from the Feb10 Bon Appetit magazine. Valentine's Day IS coming soon.....

*Random Acts of Baking

What is cooking in your kitchen this week?

Hugs
K~
**Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~Plato

Tis the Season

Happy December Dear Readers! I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with everything you are thankful for. Ours was small and cozy. Just the way we like it.

One thankful blessing, I had a short shopping list this year. I had most of the ingredients on my shelves or in my freezer. I did have to buy the turkey and rolls (ran out of time to bake my own) and produce but the rest I had.

I've started taking stock in Christmas baking ingredients. And I believe I'm ok there too. After the mouse wars we've been battling this year, I've decided I can only stock up using gallon jars or what I can store in the freezer. It has cut down on my usual supplies but that's ok.

So, who was crazy like me and went out shopping on Black Friday (or fired up the computer for online shopping)?

I did the big Door Buster items on-line in the wee hours of Friday morning when the sales went "live" on the websites. I was able to get what was on my list for the most part. A few small items were not available but I'm sure I'll find them in the next few weeks.

Since the grand-girlies & married ones are not coming to the Farm over the holidays this year, I have to be prepared to send them all out by Dec.12th. (my deadline) I'll be finalizing their gifts this weekend. At least all of their "big" gifts are already purchased & are being sent directly to their home.

The busy season is upon us at the Green office. Crazy busy, but fun. And this year I've decided since I come home in the near dark, that I will be turning on alot of lights in the house when I arrive. I'll be turning up the furnace and turning on the music and using my crockpot when I can, so make it cozy when I get home. And to give me a boost of energy to do those things I need to do. Otherwise I go into hybernation mode. I can do That in January. lol

And speaking of the Green office, I need to get moving in that direction. Have a wonderful week everyone! Hoping to show you photos of my decorations after this weekend.

hugs!
K~


If you don't like me wishing you a
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I'll say, "Excuse my joy."

You may cringe that I celebrate the birth of Jesus, but just tolerate it.

I cannot be concerned that
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
offends you.

If I'm not careful,
the day will come when saying I'm a Christian will offend you.

The good, the bad and the ugly

*(cue the theme music)*

The Good.....


5 pints of pickled beets and 11 half-pints of sweet pickle relish.


The Bad....


Boiling water in the canner creates Steam..... (this is not my kitchen-- found image)

and the Ugly!


(see the blisters? Gave myself a big steam burn. I do know better... "lift the lid away from you.")

On the "Good" note-- all the jars "pinged".
And the satellite tech was able to hook up our DVR (after some initial confusion) & I'm already recording one of my shows. Farmer-dear will have his tv tonight.

On the "getting better" note-- Farmer's work car that died on his way to work (and I had to stop everything to go get him), is being picked up by the repair shop. Praying it's an inexpensive fix.
And my arm, while it looks nasty and stings; doesn't feel as bad as it did and I'm not shaking and upset anymore.

What an interesting day, it's been.....


One-armed hugs,
Kay~

** "Each thing that takes place, whether it be fortunate, unfortunate or
unimportant from our particular point of view, is a caress of God's."
~Simone Weil~

In my Kitchen today....

Any guesses what I'm doing today?

I have a draft entru waiting for me to edit and post. Hopefully this week. After I sing the "Ode to Sweet Corn." ;o)


".... Sweet corn: the best thing in life. I grew up in a house about a hundred feet from a cornfield, and every evening we'd put the water on to boil, then pick the corn and husk it as we walked rapidly toward the house and chuck it in and dish up the chicken and say a prayer and out came the corn, on went the butter and salt, eight minutes flat from stalk to mouth, and when you ate sweet corn, life had nothing better to offer. You'd been to the top. That's how it'll be in heaven, I'm sure. But I'm not sure we'll have chicken.

We praise you Lord for this good good life
And praise for the day we were born
And the gifts you have given including this heaven-Ly fresh sweet corn. "

**Garrison Keillor May, 2007


Hugs
Kay~

Making Excuses .... I mean, a Menu

Banking a Prairie Farm with Sod for the Winter in Dakota Territory, 1880s

Today it looks like this.

I know... I said I was taking a break from blogging and I am... but I've been procrastinating* ... catching up on favorite blogs while eating lunch.

Tammy, my fellow Neb. blogger, and my dear PennyAnne Poundwise, both posted their menus for the week.

(Gee thanks Tammy, for reminding me about the change in the weather. I think I'd rather dodge the stray tornado & hail stones if the temps would stay in the 60s-70s. I'm not liking this 40s and cloudy and cold and rain, snow in the forecast and lows in the 20s! [Hellooooo... we just moved back to our UNHEATED bedroom! I don't want to move back down to the HEATED basement guest room. My back just got used to the change in mattresses.])

Anyway.... they posted their menus and ok, I wanted to keep procrastinating *.... participate in menu-sharing too.

Here's my menu for the Week of March 23-28th

Monday: Sloppy Joes on whole wheat buns, Cole slaw, Chips, various found things for dessert - Farmer-Dear; Leftover Spicy Catfish fingers, Jalapeno Mac & Cheese, Corn muffin from Sunday's dinner at Famous Dave's®, no dessert - me.

Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner (B4D) Night- Ham and Cheese or Tomato and Avocado Omelets, Hash browns, Whole wheat toast, Cinnamon Apples - both of us (and should be that way most of the rest of the week, unless "someone" decides He doesn't want what I'm having.)

Wednesday: ("warm" day of the week) Chef or Chopped Salad with variety of cheeses, smoked turkey breast &/or ham, Butter sticks (quick bread), Almond pound cake with berries

Thursday: Dining Alone Night** Eggplant Parmesan, chopped salad and pesto ww angel hair pasta for me; Schwan's battered Fish, fries and canned veggies for F-d

Friday: (We're babysitting in the evening for a super-cute little neighbor boy, so it'll be an easy,make-ahead supper.) Soup and sandwiches. Haven't decided on the soup yet. I've found some new recipes but F-d may want to stay with the TnT (chili, baked potato or tomato). Sandwiches will be either tuna, egg salad, grilled cheese or just corn bread.

Saturday: (I'd like a Date Night, but not sure of the weekend schedule yet.)
Individual meat loaves, Baked regular & sweet potatoes, Roasted broccoli for me & something canned for F-d (hey! He likes canned veggies.), Homemade dinner rolls, a yet-to-be-decided Cake or Dessert from scratch.
(PS Found my Cake recipe! Lemon Ricotta Cake with Strawberry Sauce ala Storybook Woods )

Sunday is Cook's Day Off, unless she wants to cook. Next week will be a little nutty with our church's Easter Pageant 4 days. I'll be eating at church this day (Sunday) I think, because of full dress rehearsal and then every day of the performances. So next week might be alot of "find what you can" meals for Farmer-dear. Good thing the Schawn truck comes this week.

I continued to procrastinate *... puttered in the kitchen and cleaned off my prep/coffee area. (I have a very small amount of countertop, so this corner does it all.) Slowly starting some Spring Cleaning.

While I was wiping down and de-crumbing (and killing awakening Lady Bugs Grrrrr!); I nuked what was left of the 99¢ package of turkey bacon and it is now jarred & in the freezer to use as Bakon Bits on salads.

I also processed 4 slices of Buffalo Jerky into "gravel." (it's not "dust" and too big for "crumbs", so "gravel" it is.) But what do I do with it? The flavor doesn't impress me. It's not a strong smoked or spicy jerky, just a bland-kind of beefiness. And obviously, being jerky, it will need to be used in something with moisture or cooked in liquid. Or not?? I'd appreciate any suggestions on uses for this. It's in a jar in the freezer too.


I hope to have photos of the newest calves soon. We had a new one, yesterday in the midst of the storms, but he and Mama are doing fine. We let the twins & their mama out of the barn. It was a bit of a muddle, all these new black babies and 2 black mamas. Plus the black/white face Aunties have "certain body parts" that look the same as Mom's to the calves. The Aunties were not amused at the extra attention. (giggle)

OK, I guess that's enough procrastinating *.... Blogging for now.

I'll be back when I as soon as I can.

Hugs!
Kay~

* I should be making a diaper cover for a goat right now. I'll let you mull on that one for a while. lol

** Click on the link for her blog. I have to cook & dine alone alot too. Farmer-dear is not very adventurous in the food area, as you know.

GREAT Dining Out Deal (and Flowers!)

In this era of economic woes and PORKulus spending, we are all looking for ways to conserve and yet no one wants to feel deprived, right?
In my on-going blog reading I found this great deal. (go HERE)

Save 60% on a restaurant.com certificate and get 15% off at FTD.com (The FTD certificate must be used by 3/31/09. I just happen to have someone's bday coming in March, I can use it on.)

I just found a $25 certificate to Skeeter Barnes (regional [?] BBQ place) for $10, applied the coupon code and paid $4 !!! That's right, a $25 gift certificate for $4!! We have 3 different "dates" with 3 different couples coming up in the next few weeks. I plan to look for more restaurants we want to try. Between this and the gift cards we already have, I can see lots of "date nights" for very little money.



So a BIG Thank You to Iva at Horizontal Yo-Yo for linking me to The Bargain Shopper Lady at bargainshopperlady.com which shared Esscie's blog, Coupon by Coupon, where I found this deal.

It just started SNOWING and "they" are predicting 4-8 inches or more for our area. Soon it will look like this out there:


I have to go to the mailbox this morning and then I'm snuggling in for the duration.

I'll be making either Chili or Baked Potato Soup, trying out that No-Knead Bread recipe (finally! It has to ferment for 8-18 hours and I have to figure out how to schedule that into my life.), putting those pineapple pieces in the dryer (Farmer-dear is not eating it fast enough) and finding something sweet & warm to make for my Valentine.



I stopped at the library yesterday and brought home 3 audio books and 3 other regular books to add to my stack. And I have several projects in the sewing room calling to me.

The house is pretty clean, the laundry almost caught up and the dishes too. I will have a snuggly day. I hope you can have one too. Local-Yokels, stay safe!

Hugs!
Kay~

** "Come now the wild dark days of February when the house seems a
lovely warm little island with winter billowing outside."
~Gladys Taber

Life in late winter, In the Prairie Kitchen and more Frugality

"Life" on the Prairie-Farm

The "girls"

Mama & Baby #292

She really was not happy with me at all.
This was taken from about 100 feet away and she still was glaring at me.

First Baby of 2009

Go ahead and say it, "Awwwwwwwww~~"
Isn't she just the cutest thing?

"Thistle"

There is beauty, even in the "dead of winter."

---

In the Prairie Kitchen:

We're baking again in the Prairie Kitchen. I made a full batch of THIS BREAD on Sunday, 2 loaves. One in the freezer for possible gifting and one almost gone now. (what is it, Tuesday? How can it be almost gone? Oh yeah, I've had about 7 slices. )
Anyway.... I am mixing up The New Bread (No Knead Dutch Oven Bread) this afternoon. The Olive, Rosemary, Parmesan variation has me very intrigued. This bread calls for 12oz of lager. It was a bit embarrassing to remember I had a 6-pack of beer in my cart yesterday when I ran into an old neighbor who has no idea why I'd be buying beer except to drink it. Which I don't. And I didn't even think about it or that I should have explained. oh well.... maybe it added to their dinner conversation.
I thinking the regular version of the bread with Fluffy Orange Butter sounds wonderful.

I have been using the French Vanilla Creamer in my morning oatmeal. I only need a little bit, cut with much more milk, or it's wayyyyyy tooooo sweet for me. The French Onion Dip has been tossed. It just wasn't working it's way into any of our meals.

Farmer-dear has been making his favorite 1000 Island Dressing. We had all the ingredients so, Another savings! I will be digging out my dressing recipes for Dorothy Lynch (it's a Nebraska thing!) and Raspberry Vinegrette. I have some Splenda I need to use up (don't like it as a normal sweetner) and I think it will work in this.

This is tonight's supper:

Carolyn's Bacon Tater Crockpot Breakfast
1 pound pkg. frozen tater tot potatoes
1/2 lb. Canadian bacon
2 onions, chopped
1 and 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk (I used skim... no difference)
2 TBSP flour
salt and pepper to taste.

In crockpot, layer ingredients in order... one third of the tater tots, bacon, onions, and cheeses. Repeat layers two more times, ending with the cheeses.
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk and flour until combined... season with salt and pepper if desired. Pour mixture over layers in crockpot. Cover, cook on low for 7 or 8 hours.
Will serve 6 - 8.

I used dried onions as I wasn't in the mood to chop up onions at 8 a.m. And I think using the sandwich sized Canadian Bacon would be better than the pizza size that I used. I'll give you a review later on it.


More Frugality

1. Still trying to be frugal but not doing as well as I'd like. I bought a few inexpensive things for the girlies for Valentine's Day. We went out to eat twice over the weekend. It was breakfast both times so at least that was cheaper than a dinner meal out.

I did take a trip to the grocery store for Olives (Feta-stuffed, Garlic-stuffed and Kalamata, they are my guilty pleasure right now....6 sliced up on my salad / dinner meal.); and a few ingredients for the recipe above. We've been eating just salads for dinner lately. Bagged salad is on sale through Tuesday (99¢!) and I want to get more of those 38¢lb bananas. They were really GREEN yesterday.
We're trying to get our 7-9 servings of fruits and veggies in every day. Farmer-dear takes some kind of fruit in his lunch and I've been putting dried cranberries in my oatmeal, baby carrots with my lunch or for afternoon snack and fruit later too.

2. Remember I told you about Playlist.com for free music. I found another site.
http://www.pandora.com/
You can put in a name of an artist, song, types of music and it finds songs that meet the criteria. You can approve songs or disapprove. You can add more than one "station." So far I'm liking the variety. I have some pretty obscure intrumental music likes and it's found plenty to play. Seamless playing without having to rebuffer all the time. (one of my biggest pet peeves with iTunes radio) NAYY, just sharing what I've found.

3. I'm drying pineapple again. When fresh pineapple drops below $3 each, we buy 2 or 3 and I dry it in 2-3" slices for Farmer-dear. It's a healthy (and less expensive) treat for him in the evenings. I use the "ugly" bits & pieces in my evening fruit & yogurt dessert.
We'll continue to do this until the price goes back up. Out of the 2 fruit we got on Sunday, I had a large Tupperware mixing bowl full of slices. Easily 4 large cans worth. A can of pineapple here is close to $3 so I'm definitely saving money.

4. I did start my Cash for Christmas savings. I emptied Farmer's change container (except for the quarters that he uses everyday) and my change plus my loose dollar bills into gallon ziplock bags and have it tucked away so I can add to it every week. When the bag of coins gets full, I'll take it in and get bills. Not sure if I'll open a savings account with it or just put it away here. We'll see...


That's the latest news from the Prairie Farm. I'm off to find some lunch (leftover pizza) and then OMG! SEWING!!! After all, dinner is taken care of and doing laundry is sooooo boring.

Hugs!
Kay~

**"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."
~e.e. cummings~

Roast Duck on the Table, the Bohemian Alps and Christmas

First, I hope everyone had a lovely, relaxed, family-filled Christmas. Ours was exactly that, filled with family times, church service, food and just enjoying it all.

We'll keep Christmas fresh here on the farm for a few more weeks as we wait for the married ones & grand-girlies to come for their visit.

As the norm, a main part of our day was our Christmas meal. We enjoyed the dinner I received from my bosses-- spiral ham, green beans, potatoes gratin, Tiramisu! and added in biscuits, fruit salad, scalloped corn and pumpkin pie.

And Roast Duck!

This is the first duck I've prepared in a LONG time. I seem to remember making one or maybe it was a goose, early in our married life. Before I realized how much Farmer-dear really disliked fowl.

Ds2 (24 yo) asked over and over , Could I make one for Christmas dinner? So began my quest for an organic or at least a locally raised duck. Thankfully, Farmer-dear, despite his disdain for the dish, asked at work and through word of mouth we found a round-about neighbor (and eldest sister of one of my school friends) raised them and had butchered ones for sale.

I happened to run into her one afternoon in town and asked about them. She had large drakes and one small duck in the freezer. Serendipity?
And then the storms began here and life took over and Christmas preparations went on..... I kept thinking I needed to call her. She had said she and their young son were flying out sometime before Christmas to go visit her DD...
Farmer-dear finally called their home on Tuesday evening and yes, she still had the small duck I had told her I wanted.

I called her again yesterday to make plans to pick it up as her home was on the way to my folks. Down a steep hill and back up and slide into her driveway since the gravel roads and such are still icy from our freezing rain & sleet & thunder snow storm last week.

They live on a cozy old-time farm with all the usual farm animals in the "Bohemian Alps" . The end of the glacier deposits from the last ice age created the Rolling Hills of Eastern Nebraska and especially the eastern edge of our county -- hence, 'The Alps'.
Bohemian for the large number of Czech & Bohemian immigrants to this area. My ancestors were some of them.
I'm very at home in the "Alps."

This family is very Czech, so it's like going home when I stepped into their house. I heard the traces of the Czech/Bohemian dialect in their speech. Their home was small and cozy and over-decorated with the usual Christmas finery and then more "silk" poinsettias and garlands and glitter and a large Catholic Nativity on the sideboard. I don't know how to really explain it, but if you have ever seen a Czech Catholic Cemetery decorated for Memorial Day, you'd know exactly what this was like.

(Like this.... just a little over-the-top, but full of love & remembrence.)

Photo & text copyright © 2006-8 Celine Chamberlin, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved, including reproduction and/or republishing. Do not copy, redistribute, or otherwise use these photos without permission. If you wish to link to these photos, please link to their web pages and not the images themselves. Thank you.

They were so cheerful and excited since yesterday was THE day they were flying out to their dd's. More serendipity that I called when I did?

We chatted and I paid my $7 and off I went to visit my parents. When I got home la Duck was bagged again and left to thaw in a sink of COLD water. Several hours and water changes later, it rested in the fridge overnight.

This morning I searched for "Roasted Duck" recipes and found some basic ones. In short, all I needed to do was rinse it, trim the excess fat, remove some pin feathers (gerk~) and poke through the skin and into the fat so it would drain. Rubbed with seasoned salt, filled the cavity with orange sections and placed in a pan on a rack. Roasted at 375° until the breast temperature was 165°, about 2.5 hours, and the skin was crispy.

Taste-- needed a bit more seasoning. Was a bit more gamey (livery) than I expected, but the meat was fairly tender. I had 2 pieces of breast meat. Ds2 picked that bird clean and later ate the last 3 slices of breast meat out of the fridge. He loved it.
I missed the dumplings and sour kraut that it is served with at Czech Dinners in near-by communities during their festivals. F-R did not even try it. He was quite happy with the spiral ham we also had today.

There was plenty of rendered fat in the roasting pan and I really wished I was a better gourmet. I hated to throw it to the cats but I have to think of our health too and I don't use bacon grease or chicken schmaltz or lard either.

Tomorrow Farmer-dear is looking for a hay grappler (??), some implement to help him haul hay. I guess that means, "Road Trip!" I have 3 new baking cookbooks to read and my annual "The Substitute Guest" reading to do, so I'll be happy to ride along. And maybe if we are close to the city, we'll do a little after Christmas shopping for wrapping paper and ornaments and such.

Wish you a peaceful weekend!
Hugs,
Kay~


More about the Bohemian Alps HERE , a photo or two HERE , and one more mention with Kolaches!

The final totals

Done! We are Done! Another harvest out of the fields & in the bins.

Farmer-dear will finish cleaning out and storing the combine & heads on Monday. Next job on his horizon is anhydrous applying.



Unofficial totals are the corn yields running from 103 bushels per acre to the high of 138 bushels. Not bad for our dryland, hilly, clay ground.
The beans averaged in the high 30s. Again not bad considering we had no rain for over a month when the beans where forming.

And in the farmhouse kitchen the totals are 4 dehydrator trays of zucchini shreds (or 1 quart canning jar), 2 trays of raisins (1 pint jar);


and 7 jelly jars of really spicy Hot Pepper Jelly. (note to self: Next time take the seeds out of the jalapenos.)



The rest of today was spent making a loaf of bread;
attending a 40th wedding anniversary Open House and getting to see old friends and new babies.
Home to vacuum up the invasion of lady beetles;
make a quick supper (who's hungry after anniversary cake?)
and suffering through 1 quarter of the NU/OU game. Too pitiful to continue watching. Yeah, I'm not a great fan. It was just too painful.



Have a restful Sunday everyone,
Hugs!
Kay~

~~"I am rich today with autumn's gold, All that my covetous hands can hold; Frost-painted leaves and goldenrod, A goldfinch on a milkweed pod, Huge golden pumpkins in the field With heaps of corn from a bounteous yield"
- Gladys Harp