Miss Thelma's Shenanigans ~ New Recipes Tried

My mornings are spent sipping coffee, stoking the fire, and listening to the snow plows hard at work outside.  It also has me thinking it's time to get back on the treadmill in the mornings (haven't had the motivation lately).

In case you missed the post, I caught Miss Thelma inside the feeder the other day.  Well, I went out yesterday after putting spikes on my muck boots, shoveled off 4 inches of snow and ice off the ramp (not easy with rungs on it either), to fetch eggs and feed/water the chickens.

I happened to look down inside the feeder (which when I am standing on the ground looking in, I have to tip it sideways).  She laid eggs in there.  They are confused as to where to lay eggs.  I'm going to have to build something so they feel like they are crawling inside something (in the sides of the coop).

Dinner - two new recipes.  Up  top is sweet potato/lentil stew, and below is Skillet bread.  Both are online - stew is from Taste of Home, and bread is from I Heart Eating.  Both were delicious. Sorry for the bad photos, it's been dark in the house with the cloudy skies and snow lately.

Tuesday Tidbits ~ How to Freeze Sweet Corn off the Cob

Yesterday's sunrise before I got started on the garden work.

Rain was due at 4pm.  Time was cut short outside.  It was also already 83°F by 9:30am, but I went back out after another load of laundry and un-buried the green pepper plants. All but one.  A swarm of wasps continued to gather water and mud to make a nest somewhere, and they were around the very last plant I needed to weed.  I'll get it done this morning.

Tried a new recipe for overnight breakfast - baked french toast.  I have made it before, but with cream cheese and blueberries.  I just wanted cinnamon/brown sugar ones this time.  We'll all do a taste test this morning.

I have been asked about how we freeze our corn.  Here is the link to my post with the recipe for freezing it off the cob:  Puttin' Up Sweet Corn.  It is very good, and when I thaw it to cook, I do not add water. Just the salt (you can also add salt before freezing).  As the corn cooks, it will produce it's own water.

This and That ~ Pumpkin Pasta Dish

As soon as daylight hit, I noticed these ladies were out wandering.  And later a 4th.  Hm.  Daughter didn't do a head count, but they are all there.  Whew!

The new handicraft adventure I wrote about (several months ago) is still on the list, but delayed.  It may be a winter project.  

 Puffed pear pancake was enjoyed for an after school snack vs. breakfast.   Again, I used 2 pears. Apples would be delicious in this too.  Although I only have one kiddo in school, it's the perfect time of day to make a sweet treat, and double it as a dinner dessert.  And utilize our homegrown pears.  Right now, organic apples are $5.99/bag (3 lb.), so I am patiently waiting on a sale.  I am hoping our apple trees produce next year.

 The herbs are getting full attention this week.  Sage was dehydrated.

Rosemary was also dehydrated.  More to do this week yet.

I spent yesterday digging up potatoes, and I have to say the sweet potatoes did great this year.  I brought in 16.5# total of Kennebec, Red Norland and sweet potatoes.  Of course this meant pulling weeds, and that was very time consuming.  And I'm not done digging.  That alone took 3 hours.

I brought in a handful of Russian Kale too.  Dang it all, I just keep finding things that need done.  

However, meals need prepared for this family, so after a very welcomed shower, dough was started for English muffins, my garden clothes washed and out on the line ready for another long day.

"Grad" Daughter did some mowing, but has been helping me muck the chicken coop on her days off work.

Dinner was a new recipe - Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce.  It's online. If you google it, I used the one by Budget Bytes.  As I sat down on the porch to eat, I realized it just needs a sprinkle of fresh herbs - thyme or basil perhaps.  It was good and filling.  It just needed something to add color to the dish (and flavor).  It contains garden garlic, pumpkin, broth, seasonings and pastas (all organic).  I bet this sauce would taste good using cooked millet too.

I woke up to a slight sore throat.  Grad Daughter spent the night with a friend, so I'm also on dog duty.  I am debating to stay out of the garden today and take a rest day from it, but I have so much to pull out of it before the ground freezes.  First, I think I'll enjoy a cup of miso soup to help stay healthy.

Enjoy your Wednesday. 

Random Tidbits ~ Sausage and Kale Millet Skillet

I was up, and sipping through my first cup of coffee Tuesday morning, when my phone rang about 7:00am.  

Tidbits and To-do's ~ Surprise Mail ~ Millet Skillet

With a growling stomach yesterday morning, I randomly wrote out my "to-do" list.  It never has a particular order, and anything not completed simply rolls over into the next day.  Interruptions can do that.  

It was still too wet outside, and everything was still dripping in the bright sun, so I concentrated on the indoor work.  

The weather however, was excellent for laundry on the line.

Puffed Pear Pancake ~ Cast Iron Baking

(right out of the oven)

In the midst of waiting for my pear liqueur to finish, I decided to tackle the 5 large bowls of pears that awaited me. Okay, so I tackled two whole pears (of the 5 large bowls). Ha ha!

I decided to make a Puffed Pear Pancake (Real Simple Recipes).  It's baked right in a cast iron pan.  Simple right?

Not only simple, but delicious. I took the advice of other reviews, and added a second pear, and extra spices.  It was a nice after school snack for the kids.  The batter bakes into a crust that has a somewhat "egg" flavor.  It was really good topped with maple syrup too.

Baking in Cast Iron ~ Naughty Horse

Baking continues - Irish Soda Bread (Before)

 Cooling....

Isn't it beautiful? Yum! 

I used a recipe I found on the internet, but used ricotta cheese in place of sour cream, and cut the 3 cups of raisins down to 2 cups.  I also baked it in a 12 inch cast iron pan vs. a 9 inch (didn't have one).  I just reduced the heat by 25 degrees about half way through the baking process.  The ricotta worked as well as the sour cream.  What can I say, part of our motto is "use it up."

Last night I woke coughed and coughed.  This morning I woke to a sore throat.  I am very low on honey so I cannot try the cough syrup Candy mentioned.  I hope to restock this weekend.   Two more girls are feeling ill now. 

Yesterday, while I was checking the soup on the crock pot, I looked out the window to see Blondie (my daughter's horse) with her head completely over the fence, eating the grass on the outside.  Hmpf.  I ran out and threw her some hay on the other side, to keep her mind off the grass out there.  She knows the fence is not electric.

Then when the three younger ones arrived, Blondie was doing it again.  So, out went my second oldest daughter, and got her head back in the fence.

Only a few minutes later, that daughter was back in, and my oldest was driving in the driveway.  In that short time, she (Blondie) go caught up in the fence and had her blanket half way down.  My son and I already straightened her blanket once in the morning.  She's been rolling in it already too.

Thankfully, the weather is warmer, and her blanket is off, but my oldest daughter had to fix the fence.  Naughty horse.