Pioneer Woman at Heart

Homemade Toffee:   Ingredients: 1 tablespoon plus 1-3/4 cups butter, softened, divided 2 cups sugar   1 tablespoon light organic corn syrup

from the homesteader's journal . . .    Finally got the septic cap made for the distribution connection from the garden journal . . .   picked a handful of strawberries, a basket full of peas, a bit of swiss chard, two green peppers, and a ton of lettuce.  Runner beans are doing well also.   Cut more Lemon Balm for drying too. from the crafting journal . . .   still working on one last hope chest blanket, starting to crochet hand towels. from the gratitude journal . . .    ~Today I am Thankful for~ * water *my camera *God's Mercy and Grace *wild black raspberries on the property *my covered porch  *ice (phew!  needing it  a lot these last few hot days) *windows *the watering hose (the first year here we had no outside water spigot, so we filled jugs of water and hauled it to the garden all summer) *books Share what you are grateful for today.      

Another, much prettier scarf completed (knitted).  I have another skein of yarn, the same color, for another scarf also.  For the next one, I will need to make it a bit thinner on the width, so it will be longer. We also, thanks to extended family, completed several yard projects.  The ground over the septic is now flat again, and ready to re-seed the grass and cut down the pipe.  We also made our own cement cap for the distribution on the septic/leach bed.  The back hoe ran over it and crushed it in last year.  They run about $50.00, so making it ourselves was a smart move.  Now, it will interesting on watching the men lift it and move it, once it has completely set.  It feels good to see work get completed.  I have also been able to pick more wild black raspberries every day now.  I will soon be baking my first pie with them.  I never did get a picture of baking the quiche with milkweed flower buds, but will try to remember ne...

Today, we picked milkweed flower buds for our first quiche.  I have also picked a few of the flowers.  I'll boil those and post that later, after it's baked.  I hope it doesn't affect, my already flared up, allergies. To cut back on washing towels so often, I have initiated a clothespin system for the kids.  Each one has a clothespin with their name, and they are to mark their bath towel and dry it after each use for the week.  Then, and only then, will I wash them.  They groaned about this, but when you get out of the shower, you are clean.  So what's the problem?  I'm tired of washing towels every day around here, and it should cut back my water and electric usage. We picked about another 1/2 quart of wild black raspberries.  My new best friend is: I need about another quart of berries to make jelly.  They are coming in about every day now.  In the process of picking berries, we found a deer bedding area. Our heirloom...

My Mom sent me this, so I just had to share.  To be honest, I don't care where and what goes on my clothesline, and sometimes (gulp!) I just throw whatever I have all in the same load.  If you drive by, you may see my "unmentionables" on there too.     Some of you may simply have to pass this up or pass it along to your parents, uncles and aunts..... You have to be a certain age to appreciate this. THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES: (If you don't know what clotheslines are, better skip this.) 1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any     clothes--walk the entire lengths of each line with a      damp cloth around the lines   2..You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and        always  hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first. 3. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders, always by the      tail ...

We are picking more and more fresh, wild black raspberries every day.  We have to pick them before the birds and the deer get to them.  They are mostly at the back of our property, on the edge of the woods.  We are lucky to have one not far from the front door also.  Either way, we are sure to get mosquito bites and prickers all over our legs and arms. I don't feel much like cooking today, and they have brought me another full quart of berries.  I think I will keep those another day and add to it, making 3 1/2 pints or more of jelly this time.   Orion, our male goat needs to see a farm vet today.  I am sure my daughter will have an update on her blog later.  Watch for it at:  LIFE AS A TEEN FARMGIRL You can't see the horn than has grown down from this view, but I'll see if my daughter can post pictures.

What a combination to write about too.  First, I decided to add more fresh garlic in my diet and found this delicious salad.  I had a few of the kids try it, as the rest of them had no interest in trying it. Southwestern Quinoa and Chickpea Salad (From The Doctors Book of Food Remedies, By Selene Yeager and the Editors of Prevention Health Books) 1 cup quinoa 1 3/4 cups water 4 tsp. olive oil 1 cup rinsed and drained canned chickpeas 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped 3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice 2 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro 1/2 tsp. ground cumin 1 clove garlic, minced 1/8 tsp. salt Place the quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse well with cold water.  Drain and transfer to a medium saucepan. Add the water and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender but still slightly crunchy.  If all the water has not been absorbed, drain it through a fine sieve. Place the quinoa in a medium bowl....