Kitchen Concoctions

As the amount of food we harvest continues to grow, I try to come up with new recipes so that my boys don't get tired of eating the same ole same ole. Today I harvested an over abundance of spinach, so here is the recipe for today. It's very similar to a quiche.

Spinach Sausage Pie
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp spicy brown mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
10 oz fresh (or frozen) spinach
1/2 lb breakfast sausage browned and well crumbled
1 9in unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a blender combine spinach milk and eggs. Pour into large bowl and add 1 cup cheddar, onion, sausage,salt, mustard and chili powder. Stir to combine well. Pour into pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until knife inserted between center and edge comes out clean.

Here's a tasty and very easy chicken salad recipe from last week:
3 baked boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 stalks celery
1 apple peeled and cored
1 medium onion
1 cup pecans
ranch dressing
salt and pepper to taste
Combine chicken, celery, onion, apple and pecans in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
Add enough ranch dressing to get the chicken salad to the texture you like. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve on wheat bread.

It's the End of the World as We Know It

Boy how things change in a year. A year ago we were living in a townhome in the center of a thriving community on the outskirts of a big city. We could walk to the grocery store, the drugstore, Starbucks, and just about any other handy dandy grab it quick and go place that you can imagine. Our yard was, well, not even worthy of being called a yard. It was more of a 10x10 square of grass.

A year later, we are living in a big ole beautiful farmhouse, in need of much love and repair. The hubby now has 8 acres of grass to cut. There are holes in the barn, and fences to paint. I find bugs daily that look as though they jumped right out of the Sci Fi channel. There are hordes of ants and nats and spiders and flies. We've taken out three snakes this week. I found a four foot snake skin hanging in the tree from whence our farm gets it name. There are birds singing songs more beautiful than any music I've ever heard. We have a porch swing where we sit on nice nights and listen to the frogs and crickets singing their heart song, while the soft night breeze blows. We roast marshmallows with friends and family, and chat by the fire. It's the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine.

The winter garden is just about spent. The cabbage and peas are ready to harvest. All of the lady finger carrots are out of the garden. I just started cutting back the spinach last week. The strawberries weren't supposed to fruit until fall, but I've found a few surprises! And since there aren't enough to preserve, I feel no guilt at reaching down and plucking one right off the plant, wiping it off on my shirt, and eating it right then and there. I can't even describe the sweetness of eating a strawberry as soon as it ripens. Oh my.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our first year summer garden does as well as the winter one did. For a first time gardener, I'd say I didn't do half bad! I'll definately add more peas and plant a LOT less lettuce. I'll also have a better garden plan before I plant the beds again in the fall. It kind of makes me sad to see it go.

I am however getting very excited about the summer garden. I think if everything does well, the quantity of food we'll grown will be a bit overwhelming. I think I'm going to invest in another pressure canner. It would sure make putting up food go a lot faster. Thus far we have corn, beans, squash, zucchini, eggplant, three types of tomatoes, five types of peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe,several hundred sunflowers, and several herbs sprouting.

Despite all the happy things going on here at the farm, we learned a sad hard lesson this week that all things farming aren't all fuzzy peaches and warm tacos.
Sunday we had a family day and picked up another batch of Americauna chicks. One of the bunch didn't look too healthy when we picked them up, so we brought them home and starting giving her electrolytes. She unfortunately didn't survive past dinner. It broke my sweet son's heart. We had a little burial for her and put her to rest under a tree in the pasture. We've lost eight more over the past six days. Out of the batch of eighteen, only nine remain.

We have made up for that loss! On Saturday, we took some dear young friends and our son to a chicken swap. Our flock has now grown to 25 buckeyes, 2 easter eggers, 5 broad breasted turkeys, 8 heritage turkeys, 5 splash Americaunas, 3 Rhode Island Reds, 8 crested polish of various colors, about 40 True Americaunas, and 10 ducks. No more chicks for a while. You hear that honey?

I would like to dedicate this blog to my sweet, bouncy, giggly little girl who turns twenty today! You are the light of my life. You can make me laugh even when I'm mad. I love you for the little girl you were, and the woman you are growing up to be. I love you always....and welcome to adulthood! :)

We Be Jammin'

Dandelion Marmalade
Makes 3 pints, or 6 half pints
3 oranges
1 lemon
1 cup dandelion flowers - no stems
3 tbs Ball Real Fruit Pectin - low sugar
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups water

Peel oranges and lemon. Chop rind into small pieces. Add water and peel in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 20 minutes.

Chop oranges and lemon into small pieces. Remove any remaining rind and seeds. Add to rind mixture. Cook 15 minutes.

Mix pectin and 1/2 cup sugar

Add pectic/sugar mixture and dandelion flowers to citrus mixture. Cook until boiling, stirring often.

Add remaining sugar, stirring constantly. Return to full boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Ladle into hot sterilized jars and process 10 minutes in a water bath canner.

Very Berry Cherry Preserves
Makes 2 pints or 4 half pints
1/4 cup pitted black cherries
1/2 cup mulberries (or blackberries)
1 cup crushed strawberries
2 1/4 cup blueberries
4 cups sugar
6 tbs Ball Real Fruit Pectic - Classic Pectin

Crush all fruit together, add to pot and slowly add pectin. Bring to a full boil that you can't stir down.
Lower heat and add all sugar at once.
Return to a full boil and boil for 1 minute.
Test by using the spoon method. (if the jelly sticks to the spoon and doesn't run off, it's ready)
Ladle into hot jars and process 10 minutes in a water bath canner.

Talking Turkey

Turkeys aren't the first thing people want to add to the barnyard as pets. I mean, let's face it, the toms have beautiful plumage, but have downright ugly facial features. The females are a little more pleasant to look at, but only a little. They have a reputation for being stupid, stinky creatures.

Today the hubby and I picked up the remainder of our last order of Americauna chicks. On the way home, we decided it would be best to stop by Tractor Supply and get the items we needed to add another brooder to the barn. We were worried that the older chicks, who are now three weeks old, would bully and possibly kill the new babies. These little munchkins are only two days old.

I thought it might be a good idea, once the new fuzzy butts were settled into their new home, to introduce one of the turkeys into the mix. By adding one of the bigger kids, it should help the little ones to not be so intimidated by their bigger size, and not be so nervous when we ship them off to kindergarten.

The turkey wasn't thrilled at first to be pulled away from his new little family. He squeaked and called them for about five minutes. This upset the babies, so THEY started screeching and crying. Once the turkey realized he wasn't alone, he started mothering the chicks! It was one the sweetest things I've ever seen.  All the babies would crawl under him and cuddle. He sat there like he was the king. When they would wander around the brooder, he would scoop them under his body, and settle down for a nap. Absolutely precious.

The honey bees are a buzzing! They've started chewing the wax in the hives, which means we could possibly have honey this fall. I would elaborate more on the so on and so forths about the bees, but it's not my thing. I'm perfectly happy letting the hubby handle them. I am however, quite excited that we will have a few hundred pounds of honey...right out of our own backyard. I should invite him as a guest blogger. :)

It's been quite a busy gardening week here on our little farm. We added another garden plot, about 100x50, and planted about 150 corn seeds. Next week we'll add squash, zucchini, and beans. We also planted a row about 200 feet long, with 150 sunflowers, 40 pumpkin plants, 16 cantalope, 20 watermelon, and 16 honey dew melon plants. Late summer picnic anyone?

The winter garden is coming into full fruition. I harvested about 14 quarts of broccoli from half of a 4x8 bed. I pulled the majority of the plants out yesterday, and the remaining ones will flower and provide our seeds for the fall.
Our 18 cabbage plants have softball sized heads. The leaves are so big they look fake! The lettuce are all the size of basketballs, and the pea pods are filling out nicely. The potatoes are flowering and the strawberries are fruiting. And though it's taken a lot of work...and I say this quite proudly...we've grown all of our veggies pesticide and chemical free. We did have a few lettuce casualties, (may they rest in peace), but everything has grown big and healthy and strong. The only thing I've used as a pesticide is a garlic spray.
Here's how you do it:
Fill a spray bottle with water and add about 6 teaspoons of minced garlic.
Add a squirt of non-bleach dish liquid
Add about a teaspoon of olive oil
Shake well, let sit overnight and then strain

Well, I think that's about it this go round. I'm tired and think I've earned a nap! Good night all!

A Blessing for Peter Cottontail

About two weeks ago, I became an involuntary surrogate to a trio of baby cottontails. I have a soft spot for critters...babies especially. So when the hubby came in to inform me he had dismembered mama with the lawnmower, and had three little babies wrapped up in the wheelbarrow in the garage, I couldn't just let them die. I brought them in the house, put them in a box on a heating pad, and started bottle feeding them goats milk. Over the last week they have really thrived, and now look like miniature rabbits. For the past two days, they've been jumping at the sides of the box trying to get out, so I knew it was time to release them back into the world where they belong.

My son and I took them out this morning, and put them into a nice patch of high grass. We've peeked in on them over the course of the day, and they're just hanging around in the spot where we left them. They do run away when we get too close, so I have high hopes for them.


So here's to you little cottontails:
May Mother Nature guide you and keep you.
May you live long and prosper, and may the force be with you, wherever your lives may lead you.

The Little Farm Grows

It has been an amazingly beautiful weekend here on the farm. It was a bit windy yesterday, but warm enough to be outside and enjoy the day.

There's quite a bit gone on in the last two days...our animal number count is now up to 51! On Thursday my son and I drove to a little neighboring town to pick up our Amercauna chickies. We were supposed to pick up 8, but an unfortunate incident with a neighborhood cat, left us with only 3. (RIP fuzzy bottomed little babies.) Only one of those is a true Ameracauna, meaning she will lay all blue eggs. The other two are easter eggers, and they will lay eggs that are pink, purple, green and blue. So if you're on the market next Easter for real Easter eggs, well...you know where to go!

Friday brought us five baby Turkeys. I'm amazed at how cute they are as babies, knowing how ugly those poor sweet creatures are going to grow up to be. My heart bleeds for them, really. Three of them are a heritage breed, and if you can imagine what the offspring of a chicken and a zebra would look like, you get a picture of these babies. The other two are white turkeys. They've got attitude. They know they get to be cute  as babies AND grow up pretty. Shameful...

My sister came for a visit Friday, along with my two favorite little girls in the whole wide world.
The biggest downside to this farm, is that I'm further away from my family. I miss those little monkey faces (wipes tear). An upside to this farm, is seeing the sheer joy on their sweet little faces as they run around our farm. Little faces all covered in dirt...hair all in knots. Squeeling like it's the best day EVER. We even got a special tractor "quilt" ride from our precious neighbor.

After the girls left today, the neighbor called and asked if I'd like to go with her to pick strawberries. This was the first time I've ever gone strawberry picking. Perfect day for it. The sweet smell of that strawberry field...wow. I picked about a gallon of beautiful, fat, juicy strawberries. As soon as I got home, I baked three loaves of honey wheat bread, and made six pints of jam. Guess what was for dinner?
The house smells amazing. I wish I could pour that in a bottle and sell it. I could probably pay off this farm.

After all that was said and done, I headed out to the back five, to do a little foraging for blackberry leaves. I popped those in a cool oven to dry, and ran a loaf of bread over to the neighbors for being so sweet to my family this weekend. I told her I was drying tea, and she gave me a bunch of lemon balm to toss in with it. We'll be drinking blackberry lemon balm iced tea all week!

Tomorrow, we will wrap up our weekend with a trip to Goat Lady Farm. It's a big organic goat dairy farm, and from the looks of the photos, is just as beautiful as it is productive. We are all excited!

The Good Life

A brief overview:
In August of 2010, my most excellent husband made my sometimes secret life long dream of being a hobby farmer come true. I've always had a passion for critters of all kinds. Since the time I learned that fries must be cooked with oil, I've loved cooking from scratch. And for as long as I can remember, I've been at my happiest when my hands were the dirtiest. So I guess the whole hobby farming thing makes sense.

I'll fill you in on the happenings of our young lives as hobby farmers. After some much needed repairs to the house before our move in date, we finally settled in to this little slice of heaven we now call home. My son's 13th birthday, his ascent into manhood, was spent with loved ones camping out...right here on our little farm.

Winter was a nightmare. We, being quite naive, or in denial...not really sure which...as to the warmth insulating abilities of an 86 year old house, froze our poor arses off all winter. We hardly spoke to each other because we were all so agitated from being cold, and when we did, it was sometimes..well...a little unfriendly. We were rewarded however, for all of our suffering, with snow at our family Christmas party, AND on Christmas day. It was the first Christmas snow in my life. I wrapped myself in a blanket, sat down on the porch swing, and watched it snow on our farm on Christmas Day. Magic.

For Valentines Day this year, my true love gave to me, chickens! Sweet fuzzy bottomed little blondies. Buckeyes they are called by the professional chicken growers. It has been the most fun and happy thing watching them develop from little balls of puff into full grown chickens with attitude!

This week we added 10 baby ducks. Cute they are, but neat creatures they are not. I've never, at any time that comes to mind, ever seen a living being poop so much...all the time. Them giving me the pleasure of watching their shinanigans in a little paint tray full of water, makes up for the mess I guess.
And in the words of the most awesome Forest Gump..."That's all I got to say about that."

Well folks, thank you much for taking the time out of your busy lives to read the ramblings of a girl living the good life. Night all. :)