Tuesday Tidbits

Yesterday morning I piddle-dinked away on the procrastination station (computer). I picked out some new recipes to try, printed out a crochet pattern, and after 15 attempts to get the wood stove fired back up, I finally went out to the barn to retrieve cut barn wood boards for kindling.

Although I said yesterday that I'd take the day slow, I decided to wash bedding, remake the bed.  Boy oh boy, was Tiger mad at me - kept meowing until the bed was remade (ha ha ha!).

It'll be the first year my husband and I won't exchange gifts.  We would like to buy ourselves a new TV (if the price is right).  We are gifting the girls that are living here, and one has a birthday just before Christmas.  No gift card buying either.  I'm afraid I'd get them for each, and the business could close from another shutdown (local winery, brewery, gift shops etc).

My dehydrated onions came in handy yesterday for dinner prep.  I didn't want to cut a fresh onion for only 3 Tbsp.  Here is how I made them (BBQ Turkey Cutlets)

6 turkey breast cutlets

Mix:

1/4 cup organic sorghum molasses

1/4 cup Bragg's organic apple cider vinegar

1 - 4 oz. home canned ketchup

3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. garlic salt (see note below)

3 Tbsp rehydrated, dehydrated diced onion, drained

2 Tbsp. organic light brown sugar

1/4 tsp. organic black pepper

Place cutlets in a crock pot, pour mixture over and cook on low for 4 hours.  I served ours with organic wild rice, but you could use any rice or even quinoa.

Note - Garlic salt:  Mix 1 Tbsp. homemade garlic powder with 3 Tbsp. salt.  Store in a spice jar.

Friday Finish ~ A Molasses Cookie Experiment ~ Goat Treats

I took the advice of so many thoughtful folks, and took the day off from the garden Thursday.  Totally felt guilty after seeing the weather forecast too.  Winter will roll in quick and I am far from ready.  I still took the day off.  I donned the apron instead.  And I did a little handiwork. And downed a tincture while I baked (for my swollen glands, slight sore throat).  I had my tea afterwards.

I finished a project and I never thought I would.  Especially this time of season.

I started this back before the 4th of July, and well, it's done!
I'll link up with Jill for "Friday Finish" once she has posted.

As for the cookie experiment. . .

Calling all of those who love a crispy, crunchy molasses cookies!  Do you have a tried and true recipe?

I do not.   

So I tried one (Sally's Baking Addition online - Crisp Molasses Cookies).  Only I used 1 cup Einkorn flour, and 1 cup regular (organic) all-purpose, and local sorghum molasses. The dough is refrigerated for 1 hour before you roll it.

The dough can be frozen ahead of time, or refrigerated for 2-3 days prior to making them.  You can also freeze the baked cookie of course.  These are all bonuses as we approach the holiday baking season too.

The first cookie taste test?  Crunchy on the outside, chewy in the middle, however delicious.  I wanted a fully crispy cookie for another recipe.

So I baked the last sheet of cookies one minute longer.   I cooled them exactly as the recipe called for as well.

Now for a cookie story.  Back when we had our dairy goats, we treated them each one gingersnap after milking was over.  We didn't put their heads in those contraptions they have on milking stands.  We simply used a long coffee table we re-purposed, put a cement block on one end and attached a feed dish.  We had them jump up on the table, hooked a thick animal leash to their collar and hand milked.  

Each goat was different.  One goat you could lean in on, the other didn't like that.  Anyway, after milking, and a full bucket, they'd get a treat - gingersnap cookie.  Often times we ran out of cookies, which we bought at the store.  I now wish I had found this recipe so many years back.  I'm not sure we could train the goats to do this in the future, but this recipe is a keeper.  Oh, and when the wethers were here, they knew where the cookies were kept, and they would jump the stall and eat them all (until we built up the stall, ha ha!)

I bet some ice cream in between two would be absolutely naughty.  Yum.  It's hard to eat just one.  Next batch, I'll use the full 2 cups of Einkorn flour and see how that compares. 

There will be a "next" batch, so I can get them in the freezer for Christmas.  I'm totally excited to find this recipe, but please share if you have one that is good and crispy.  Once I put these cookies into an airtight container they softened up again (although the family still loved them).  I guess if you need to use the crunchy type in another recipe, do it the same day.  If there are any left today, I'll freeze some for a few weeks to see how they do.

Birthday Dinner ~ Sorghum Candy Making

Youngest asked for me (for her 13th birthday dinner) to make a few new recipes - Pumpkin and Sage Baked Macaroni, and Italian Oven Roasted Cauliflower. 

(Cauliflower dish)

(Pumpkin Macaroni Dish)

Both were super easy to make,

Perfecting Sorghum Baked Beans ~ Pickling Sugar Snap Peas

Now that the kids have associated summer gatherings and cookouts with baked beans, I think I have come up with a nice homemade version.  In fact, I think I'll take pre-soaked beans to our next camp-out.  I would love to try cooking these over the campfire all day long.

(They were steaming in the photo.  I had just taken some out of the crock pot)

Weekend Tidbits ~ Baked Beans with Bulgur

The weekend brought more rain and more cold weather.  We brought the tomato and pepper plants inside Saturday night (still in their flats).   And because the news forecaster mentioned temperatures as low as "freezing" we brought in my few porch pots.

Sorghum Candy ~ Yet Another Arctic Blast

I had some extra dark chocolate melting wafers leftover from the holidays.  And with the snowy weather, and slippery roads we are getting, I decided to stay inside. 

I decided to make these delicious candy pieces that are made with sorghum. Sorghum, if you haven't heard of it, is sometimes called "poor man's sugar." 

A Library Run

Remember those 25 library books I had out?  Well, one of them was Stop the Clock Cooking, by Cheryl Forberg, R.D.  This cookbook has many healthy recipes, which are full of age-defying ingredients.  I had to try a few.  There is even a grape jelly recipe that uses sorghum in it.  So what did I try?

Sorghum, Honey, Ginger, and Cinnamon ~ Baking a Healthier Gingerbread

I have been looking through some of the recipes I collected over last summer.  Recipes that I had not yet tried.  I found one that uses sorghum, and I just had to bake it!  I buy locally produced sorghum and honey, so I had the ingredients.  I just adapted it with organic ingredients and our fresh farm eggs.

Sorghum is still a form of sugar, so it is not recommended for diabetics.  However, from the articles I have read, most forms of sorghum do not contain gluten.  And like Molasses, it is a good source for iron, potassium, and calcium.  In one article, I read that it contains more antioxidants than blueberries.  I find this interesting.