Pioneer Woman at Heart

We finally got one evening of rain here.  I'm not sure how much more we'll get from the cucumbers, but they are almost all dead plants at this point. The jalapenos are rolling in, so I have plans to bake us a jalapeno cheddar frittata for breakfast soon.  I also have plans to try a new hummus recipe (Jalapeno-Avocado). I've been trying new tea infusions, and have included some new ones and excluded some we didn't like.  I found that yerba mate iced in the early part of the day is delicous with nothing else in it. Once again, there are locals stealing, cars getting broke into, and in one small town, a person walked through the woods to break into a house.    I have discovered something new!  I can substitute pie pumpkin puree for mashed bananas in a zucchini muffin recipe.  I have only made the recipe a few times, as we lacked the zucchini (squash bugs). I did not know I could swap the pumpkin for the bananas, and I am blown away how good it tastes in t...

It's a chilly 32°F here this morning.  Brrr.  We have not yet turned on the heat (nor burned wood).  Wood....let's not be reminded we are so far behind on that chore (gasp!). I recently used some pumpkin puree to try another new recipe - Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells (Country Living, online). I purchased my pasta shells.  Barilla is certified Non-Gmo.  If you prefer, you could use homemade lasagna noodles and roll them, slice and bake in the tomato sauce too (for a completely self-sufficient dinner, adding a garden veggie for a side, homemade rolls etc.).  The basil and sage came fresh from my herb garden.  I had just enough of each herb. We absolutely loved this dish, but to me it lacks a protein.  I think I'll have a side of meatballs or something with it next time, for us meat eaters.  Tuesday night I went to bed completely e-xh-aus-ted.  I spent the day baking and mashing sweet potatoes, amongst other chores. ...

In the midst of my morning routine lately, I have been forgetting to hunt down my recipe for my apple cider vinegar facial toner.  The empty bottle haunted me long enough.  Oh, I found several recipes for the toner on the internet.  That's now restocked.  I use lavender essential oil, because organic is expensive.  A 1/2 oz bottle is $37.50. In search of that recipe, I dug out my essential oil/herbal DIY books, and came across my copy of this book. . .

My brain has gone plain insane.  I feel like I'm caught up in a whirlwind and I'm trying to reach out to stop and get a job done, and I'm sucked back in again heading another direction.  The barn.... Oh lets not talk about that job.  It's getting on my nerves, although I've wanted that job done for several years.  So. Much. Work. The barn siding was delivered.  Then rain arrived, so garden work halted, and I was back indoors.  Deep cleaning, cooking, putting up. . . The hens are molting.  Egg supply is at it's all time lowest.  I made a crock pot of pumpkin oats.  We are not tired of pumpkin just yet, ha ha!  I picked a handful of red raspberries for topping the oats too. I baked my first flourless pumpkin bread.  I have always baked it with flour, so this was a new recipe.  I only tired it out of curiosity, and the fact it saves me on ingredients.  Einkorn flour isn't cheap. It was so-so.  Not awesome, ye...

I had a bit of a delayed start in my day at home yesterday.  I had another follow up at the new doctor.   Grad daughter drove me, so my leg wouldn't be stressed.  I took along a book I'm trying to finish (that I found tucked away in my night stand).  I'm still reading my fiction book too. The news? Spider bite is healing, leg swelling is going down - doctor is very happy.  I don't have to go back for 2 more weeks, but I will be taking up stock with the company who manufacturers gauze and roll gauze (ha ha ha!).  I can exercise too, but have to start slow.  Woo hoo!  On the road to recovery!! I ended up home after lunch time, and well, it left me with the question what to tackle next.  Oh, I have a funny to share (not so funny to me, but to a kid of mine) I have more tomatoes, but I cannot can sauce related items late in the day, or I'll be up all night long. I decided to roast all 6 pie pumpkins I recentl...

I purchased 8 pie pumpkins so far, and roasted them all for puree.  The first 6  weighed in about 1 5 . 71 lbs.  I typically cut them and clean them all, and roast them all in one day.  This time I roasted two a day, until I was done.  I have a dog that likes to steal food , so I made sure I didn't have a lot going on.  Funny how all the dog s don't touch the tomatoes.  An yway... I used parchment paper this year.  I usually add water and cover, but not this year.  It works pretty well too.  Parchment paper isn't cheap, so I buy it at our dollar store for $1 a box.  It gets me th rough the ho liday baking sea son on a dime as well.