Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts

Thursday, March 7, 2024

This and That ~ Medjool Dates


The recent days here have been cloudy, cold and dreary.  By cold, I mean cold enough for a winter coat again (and too cold to paint doors).  Brr!  The chickens and I are not exactly happy about it.  I guess I will be taking my vitamin D for a little while longer.

It was confirmed that a tornado touched down in a town within an hour of us, when we had those last thunderstorms. I was actually finishing a book out on the porch when the thunder and lightning arrived.  I finished the book, but high tailed it back inside.

The tornado did damage to the community area there.  It is said, that there was no warning, nor a watch issued, so the people there had no time to prepare.  Very scary.  It happened between two cities where both my Mom and my Dad grew up, and are now buried.

I'll be visiting that area soon, as I gather flowers together to take to the cemeteries this spring.  Spring is a difficult time to go there too, as the weather is so iffy, and I worry about the wind destroying the flowers I leave.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

A tip for those who knit, or are beginners with knitting:

Bind off knitting with a crochet hook!

I cannot believe I did not even think of this myself, after all those years of knitting dishcloths.  The worst part for me, was binding off, and not messing it up.  It was the first item for me to learn to knit as a beginner.

I wish I knew this all of these years I have had trouble keeping tension and binding off my knitting, with knitting needles.

  So much easier!!  Oh my.  What a game changer for me.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  

We finally tried Medjool dates for the first time.  I decided that the rotten, dreary, misty and cold days were perfect to get them out and making a sweet treat I have been reading about.

I bought pitted medjool dates.  I opened each one and filled them with organic peanut butter (the stir kind that is made with  only peanuts).  I gently closed them, and dipped them each in melted semi-sweet chocolate (I used Lily's as that is what I had on hand).  

By the way, I picked up a few bags of different Lily baking chips, at a health store, during our last trip to Amish.  I had plans for them this past Christmas holiday, but never got around to using them.

Okay, back to the dates. . .


I dipped them using forks and place them on waxed paper on a lined baking dish.  I put them in the freezer for a few hours to harden, and stored them in an airtight container.


We tried them yesterday, and they are delicious!  I think crunchy peanut butter would be divine also.  They taste as if there is a layer of caramel inside them.  We both agree that these are a very good sweet treat to have on hand.

I also think the dates are a bit large, so you may want to cut them in half for a serving.  I have also seen these being made using a layer method (chocolate spread over waxed paper, topped with all the dates flat, with a layer of peanut butter and another layer of chocolate), and cut into smaller portions.  Either way to you try these, I think you'll like them.  I'm glad I bought the dates to try this. 

Do you have a favorite use for medjool dates?

This and That ~ Medjool Dates ~ Update  © Mar 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart


Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Participation Plummet and Random Thoughts

 

March rolled in quicker than I expected.  I had some goals for the end of February, and here we are at March.

There seems to be a blogger participation plummet for whatever reasons.  So many blogs I used to follow, with such interesting and useful homesteading content (sometimes humorous), have left the blogging scene.  I get it for the most part.   It can be time consuming, and in winter the writing content can be very limited.  Things change for some as well.

I mean, we used to raise dairy goats (Lamancha), and we stopped doing that years ago, so I do understand change.  Life changes constantly.

I'm experiencing the humdrum of blogging.  I know spring is around the corner, but maybe like all the other blogs I used to read (and now don't post anymore),  I'm sort of falling off the blogging "thing" lately as well.  

Maybe I am the one who needs a new change.  Although we are still undergoing home repairs, and staying busy, sometimes change is a good thing.  


The rain held off, and we had a few very nice 70 degree days here.  It may stay in the upper 60's today, but thunderstorms may actually roll in later.  The weather causes that itch to clean up gardens, but I know I need to refrain for now.  It's still too early.


For the first time this year, I was able to wash and dry the bedding and quilts outside on the clothesline.

We also blew the dust off our motorcycle, and got our first ride of the year in.  The weather has been that nice. 



Here is an update on "what I am crocheting" for the time being.  I have to admit though, as the warmer days stay, I'm on hold for this blanket.  If we cool back down, I'll be back to work on it some more, and in hopes to finish before the cooler days disappear for the year.  The photo doesn't really show the colors very well.  

That is a burgundy yarn, leftover from crocheting a cardigan, and the others are heather gray, teal, and soft white.  The gray and white are also leftover project yarns.  The colors remind me of a cabin.  I wanted to use the other pattern, but his one has less ends to sew in.  

Blogger is once again having hiccups with posting.  I am having trouble with photos loading, and for the font to stay the way I type it.  I have to constantly go back and fix the post.  

I may also remove the "popular post" widget.  I am getting some outrageous view counts on some very old posts, that is not normal.  Most of my posts barely get 100 views within a few years, and some showing up in the "popular" post widget are well over that.

I am using the stats and google analytics to watch those this week.  Another reason I am contemplating continuing to blog - a lot of work to maintain for all reasons. 

By the way blogger "stats" is not working properly.  It was working the other day, but now it is not.  Anyone else having blogger issues?  Also, I tried adding a jump break on a post, and it would not work either.   I may try an entirely new blog theme.


Participation Plummet and Random Thoughts  © Mar 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Sitting on the Front Porch in February

 

Update on the Tex Mex Sweet Potatoes and Onions:  Delicious!  However, I keep forgetting that our jalapenos from last year, were very "hot" in flavor (hence the small amount on my plate).  

It ended up very spicy, but next time I will cut the jalapenos to a smaller amount, ha ha!  I cannot find the recipe online, so you'll need to borrow the cookbook from your local library.  We served the side with homemade chicken enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce.

My chicken enchiladas are filled with sauce, then a layer of cooked onion, chicken, chilies, and black beans (salt and pepper), and some cheese.


The enchiladas are super easy to make.  I cooked my chicken in the crock pot the day before, and the sauce can be made up to 3 days before (stored in the fridge).



On Monday, we had a 65°F day!  Sitting on the porch in February is unheard of in our area, and I took advantage of it.


Not once in the day, but twice I got to enjoy our front porch.  When my husband got home, and after dinner. we enjoyed the front porch until the cooler air set in.  

Tuesday, we hit a record for the month, and the day.  We heated up to a whopping 73°F (a feels like temperature of 76°F).  I got another day of reading on the front porch in February!

Rain moved in with thunderstorms overnight, but should end today.  The weather is to dip to a very cold 13°F (feels like) by tonight.  We may even get snow later today, after the rain stops.

Yes, I said that right.  Crazy weather.  The spring daffodils are starting to come up right now.  

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Sunshine ~ This and That

 We had the most gorgeous 60°F day Wednesday.  It was also one of my most busiest days of the week for me as well. 

Sheesh.  There were lots of dishes, more laundry, cleaning, cooking and so on.  I also started on the stairway clean up project.  It may take a month to finish, as I am fitting it in my cleaning schedule, as I have time for it.

I finished dusting and cleaning all of the kitchen blinds and windows, and the valances were washed and put out on the line.

It was so nice to open windows and let the fresh air flow for a day.  So intoxicating for the soul.  Winter can seem so long sometimes, and this day was welcomed by all.


To focus on what's in the freezer and pantry. . .





I made a batch of Einkorn pumpkin pancakes for us for breakfast, and more egg cups, as I had one more cup of cooked sage sausage to use.  I used thawed frozen pumpkin puree from last year's garden, for the pancakes.  Einkorn flour pancakes are the best.  These pumpkin ones are more of a scoop and spread type batter.  It is much thicker, but so good.


Today the rain moves in, but the temperature is still nice.  For now anyway.  



We have been enjoying some organic snack bell peppers lately.  Especially when I have a very busy day, and lunch is eaten standing up (ha ha!).  We add a slight layer of cream cheese topped with homemade everything bagel seasoning.  Some days we add a few slices of turkey pepperoni or other meat.

I have also been making us a healthy peanut butter fruit dip, to have alongside our daily fruit - apple slices, banana slices, blueberries, and grapes.  It's very good, and so easy to make.  To be honest, most days, I just mix some peanut butter in some yogurt without measuring.  It's good either way.

One of my daughter's gave me the idea for this dip, vs. using plain peanut butter on fruit.



1 cup of organic Greek plain yogurt
1/4 cup organic peanut butter, creamy*
1 Tbsp. honey

Mix and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.  Our dip does not last that long.  I pack it in little containers for my husband's lunch too.  You could leave out the honey too.  Especially if you do not have access to wildflower honey or other honey that is not from bee hives left in or around sprayed crop fields.

*We buy the organic peanut butter that requires you to stir it.  If you buy the "no stir" kind you will see that they add bad oils to it, so read your labels.

By the way, the bell pepper snack and fresh fruit with homemade peanut butter dip are both great take-a-long food ideas for gatherings.  Especially if you want to make sure you have something there for you to eat that is healthy.

Stay tuned for an update on the hallway repairs/renovation project.

Sunshine ~ This and That  © Feb 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Friday, February 9, 2024

Reading Books

 



It was about the time Mom started to get worse, and rotated from Emergency room to the nursing home, to home and back around again, that I completely lost my reading mojo (2021)

I think more than half of the books Mom had, were from me.  I used to read so often.

I am just starting to get back to reading.  However, with all of the home repairs and renovations going on, I often put it off or completely off for the day.  I often feel guilty for sitting down to read, when I know there is a window trim that needs painted, or a counter full of dishes that need put away, or laundry that needs folded (but more so the home repairs/renovations).

How do you not feel guilty to sit and read on a daily basis?

I am currently reading a book I started back in December.  Seriously.

So....in light of all of that....

Ha!  Trying to squeeze in a few pages when I can.  I was waiting for the blanch water to boil.  

We shall see how this goes.  My one Grandma (Mom's Mom) used to have a book with her all of the time, and I was told she'd even read a book while standing in line (say at the bank or wherever).

We hit a high of 64°F yesterday, and it was warm enough to read on the porch for once.  Getting some fresh air was just a bonus.  We are to hit another 60-ish degree day today (winds as much as  35mph), but it will return to cold again.


Reading Books © Feb 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart




Friday, January 26, 2024

Just the Bits



The fog that rolled in recently.  We have been, and are still getting rain.

The chickens are loving this warmer weather, and the eggs are rolling in again.  However, it's "mud" season here, and the coop run is a mess of mushy mud.


My husband requested more sausage/egg/cheese cups with sage sausage.  One pound of sausage, makes approximately 3 dozen of these egg cups.  It helps make the most of your money with the sausage vs. making sausage patties to go with scrambled eggs.  I cook up a pound, use 1 cup and freeze the rest for future egg cups for breakfast.  They re-heat well too.


Winter Project Progress:

~Hallway~

Window curtains washed, window blinds cleaned, and windows cleaned.

Door to garage painted, but it will need a second coat.

 

Just the Bits © Jan 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart







Saturday, December 30, 2023

Back on Track ~ This and That ~ Cashew Brittle

I hope you are enjoying the recipes lately.  I am sorry I am posting them after the holidays, but maybe it will spark motivation for next Christmas season.  Or for that matter, any time of the year.

No, I am not turning my blog into a cooking blog ha ha!  It's winter, and there is not much going on that is "news" worthy, so you get to see some new or older recipe posts.

(Before a weeding day, and they grew almost 6 feet tall!!)

...... and yes I do miss my garden shenanigans.  Oh man, this last season was a good one, and I will not forget how I would start my day with a good laugh.  Every time I went out to work in the garden, I would just laugh and laugh about the enormous squash plants we had.  Not to mention the enormous bounty we got from them.


Something ate the tops off of a few of my bunching onions, that are in my herb garden.  Hm?  I will have to put a deer camera on it if it continues to come back.  The herb garden is very close to the house too.  

 * * * * * 

The outside Christmas lights are all taken down, and put away.  The tree decorations are off, the holiday bedding washed, dried and put away, and other decorations collected to be boxed up as well.  Another Christmas all wrapped up and put away for a year.  The tree will be put away this weekend.  Believe it or not, my husband is the one pushing me to keep it up longer (it only has lights on it right now).

Lists are back in action.  I have a goal for each winter month.  Trust me, when I say we will not be running out of things that need done around here.   I've already cleaned out one shelf in my refrigerator.  The holiday season baking/cooking really put a toll on my organization.  The fridge is a hot mess, so the plan is to finish that job first.

The warmer days have spiked the egg production here at the homestead.  I guess we can't complain about that.  




We had some leftover "innards" from omelet making, and I did not want to waste them.  I decided to whisk up 9 eggs, and make a small-ish sheet pan egg dish using all the leftover omelet bacon/bell pepper mixture.  


I harvested some bunching onions from the herb garden for this too.  I cooked up some sausage patties and made it into a sandwich.  I'll be doing this again, but adding some greens too.  Gosh, you could eat it without the bread, jazz it up with flavor etc.  

Tip:  I save my bacon grease, and greased my pan with the bacon grease.

The weather otherwise, is still damp.  However, we are starting to cool down again.  The current chicken coop run is a muddy mess.  


Detox for the win!  

I'll admit the holidays get us off track of every day meals, and life in general.  By the way, I am still waiting on my holy basil to arrive.  In the mean time, we are using what tea we have on hand.  

I forgot about our traditional Christmas Cashew Brittle recipe.  I did not make it this year, only due to the lack of time.   I do have the recipe already posted on my blog, and it makes a small batch (I use my metal round baking sheets for this).

You can get the recipe HERE.


Back on Track ~ This and That ~ Cashew Brittle © Dec 2023 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Saturday, December 16, 2023

Sunset ~ Sunrise












I had a rather long day yesterday, and I was outside later than usual.  I had to snap photos of the sunset.  I'm glad I did.  Right after I took these, the beautiful colors disappeared.




















I  opened the kitchen blinds early this morning, and before I had the time to post this, I got the chance to view the most beautiful sunrise this morning.  I was tempted to get my thick robe, put my coffee in my yeti cup and go out and sit to enjoy the entire sunrise.  I may be doing that in the future.  It was rather nice to be out there, with complete silence.  Not even a rooster from afar, nor a bird chirping.  It was rather nice.

I do have to clean up my porch yet, so there is that reason to be out there.   We've had some rather warmer days lately too.  In the 50's which is rare for December.  It's definitely not sending any Christmas vibes, but I'll take the warmer weather.  We have more work to do on the chicken coop and other area clean ups.