Pioneer Woman at Heart

It didn't take long for the recent medical bills to start flowing in (again).  I spent time on the phone taking care of those, so I can pay monthly until they are at reasonable amounts to fully pay off.  A bit of sad news.  The small quilt shop that I have wanted to take lessons at (and procrastinated for years) is now closing it's doors.  It was very close to home too, and local.  I guess Youtube and I have a date this winter.  The sewing machine sits and waits for me.  Yeah, not happening any day soon due to the last haul of tomatoes. Lemony Tomato-Basil soup was canned first.  I had very little basil in the herb garden, so I did a mix of parsley and basil this time.

I spent yesterday afternoon driving the 30 mile round trip to the "big city."  I delivered meals, to not only Dad, but Mom too.  I had s pent a few days in the kitchen with all four burn ers going and one crock pot.  I always deliver a "breakfast" meal to Dad too.  Meals included a new recipe ~ Creamy Sweet Potato Salad.  Have you ever made a potato salad with sweet potatoes?  This was a first for me.  Easy and delicious.  I t went very fast too. I know everyone but the one "vege t arian" daughter (who won't eat sweet pota toes) loved it.  I'm still p ushing her to at lea st tast e it.  If there is any left over today. I can't say I followed it exactly, bu t pretty close. You bake the diced sweet potatoes f irst.

I've been flipping trough the new recipes and picking out ones I have ingredients on hand for.  The next to try was a side dish - Zippy Carrots. I you freeze carrots and green bell peppers, grow garlic, can ketchup, make your own butter, you'll like this "from storage" side dish.  I'll admit, plain carrots are boring anyway. I used all org anic ingredients.

My hens were treated with a tray of over ripe fruit.  I'll be honest, I have never fed citrus to my hens and rooster.  Those scraps always went to the goats. I wasn't sure if they would be interested, but they ate the entire tray.   I repurpo sed a tray used to bake a giant coolie with.  Cleaning has it's advantage. They absolutely love rotten bananas.  So if I don't feel like whipping up banana muffins or bread it goes to them.

Snow fell all day Wednesday.  It was still cold here as well.  the pups don't seem to mind. I keep forgetting to share a tip:  Dump a 1/2-pint of home canned corn relish i n to some cooked green beans for a quick and nutritious side dish.  I have vegetari ans here , so I d on't always mix in bacon grease, and get bored with plain green beans. The barn door froze shut and I could not get in to fetch eggs thaw water.  I had to pry open the other set of doors, use a small stick to flip up my inside latch and get in those doors.  I spent the entire day at the computer .  A ct ually, almost two entire days.

I let my homemade tahini sit about 9 days before using it to make hummus.  The oil did not separate.   It was also darker and smelled better than the jar of tahini from the store. I should have taken another photo comparing the color of each, and it stayed softer too.  The jar of tahini from the store separates quickly and is difficult to stir again.

As promised, I am posting today the review on a recipe. I used organic ingredients, or home grown from the freezer, and home grown oregano. Here is the recipe: 

Hubby bought this new sign for me.  It's totally me.  It's totally him too.  To start my day requires a heavy dose of organic coffee.   The ironic part, is that we ran out of coffee yesterday.  The last thing I wanted to do was run out to the store.  I truly missed Hubby's help yesterday.