Pioneer Woman at Heart

I'll have to make these again, I realized I should have double checked and tested my thermometer.  I am still using a candy thermometer I've had for over 12 years.  It's an acurite thermometer by Chaney Instruments.  I really need to invest in a better candy thermometer. I later tested my thermometer (sigh).  It read 195°F at boiling point.  That means I should have taken my fudge off the heat at  219°F instead of 236°F.  Quite a difference. I just had a brain lapse.  My word!  My mother gave me a nice stainless steel candy thermometer made by Taylor (Smacking myself in the head!)  Sheesh, I definitely have to make this fudge again. What a tasty treat to make.  I did not have an 8 x 8 inch pan so these came out a bit thin. Gus Jesse and Sadie

"Uh...do you ever have time to actually read those?" asked my husband. He he he he! The weather is absolutely gorgeous today.  Yesterday's fate in the garden, has caused me to play "hookie" from it today.  Ragweed grew in one section, and as I pulled, a seed went straight into my eye.   Aside from daily chores, I plan to purposely spend time reading through some of these books.  I have more than what's in that pile too. Ha ha ha!  We just love the library, and I have a wide assortment to read today. I also have a stack of odd newspapers to read through.  I try to do this often, and clip ideas for writing.  National Novel Writing Month is next month, and I hope to create an ominous miscreant in this year's novel.  Although, I do try to wait until the first day to even begin a plot, create characters etc.   I best get my chores finished, or I really won't have time to read.

From the garden journal . . . . . .pulled many tomato stakes, dead plants and still have much to do.  Swiss chard, green peppers, banana peppers and cayenne are all still producing. I started to bring in herbs for the winter.  I still need more pots and soil for the rosemary.  So far, I have brought in spearmint and basil. The fall garlic is finally planted. From the homesteading journal . . .   . . . with no more room in my freezer, I am dehydrating more and more green peppers.  I really love my dehydrator.     . . . we started harvesting our first home grown sunflower seeds. . . . baked up the last of our pie pumpkins.  I will save the puree for tomorrow's meal, and roast the seeds today for an after school snack.   . . . today's is perfect for drying clothes outside.  We have had a few wet and cold days where I've had to hang clothes all over the house to dry.  Soon, I will by drying them in front of the w...

Yesterday's newspaper had an article about a lettuce recall  that involves listeria.  Just a few days ago, I read about a ground beef recall, and weeks before that a cantaloupe recall.   Today I am thankful for the swiss chard that is still growing in my garden.   It is starting to get the nickname "poor man's lettuce" in our house.  It's so easy to grow too. While spending an hour clearing out the garden for next year, I noticed some swiss chard that needed picked.  I decided to slice it up to top bean burritos again.

(Before I started) The photo is only one small corner of the 3 vegetable and fruit gardens we have this year.  Day one started with pulling dead tomato plants and pulling stakes.  A good portion of the back is still under water.  This clean up, considering I'm doing it by myself, will take a week or two.   After starting to clear the corn stalks from the garden, I got an idea.  I took a few of them to the front of the house and added a few pumpkins and squash that won't make it to the table (vines died before they ripened, or bugs got to them).  They will make a nice decoration for fall, without having to buy anything or waste anything.  It's a blessing that the garden keeps giving in different ways. And speaking of the garden blessings, we are still getting more green peppers.  I am dehydrating some of them today, and may be doing that for the rest of the week.  I have no room in my freezer for anymore.  These can be used in sou...

 Cat, Tat and Note I went into my bedroom to find Tiger with a note gently attached to him.  My 9 year-old daughter used a small section of my first tatting I ever did, and gently but Tiger on my bed to deliver the "noter." She wrote "Enjoy your made bed, and cat, as a wonderful bonus.  Oh what a joy he is (he likes it when you scratch his tummy).  If you come to the kitchen for a spa treatment you can choose manicure, pedicure or both.  It will only cost you one all nighter.  Then you can enjoy yourself to any treatment. Oh and there's also a hair-do." Well, she never did stay up late.  She fell asleep before I did.  It's just having the idea that she can stay up that makes her happy.  I never did cash in on that spa treatment either.  Maybe she'll be in "business" today. 

The crusts were made using crushed homemade whole wheat (honey) graham crackers.  I really need to buy another pie pan.  The clear glass one is a teensy too small.  It's not as big as my other one.  My  9 year-old helped with the crusts.    I have never baked a pumpkin pie from home grown (or store bought) pie pumpkins.  I used my own home grown ones for these pies, and put more puree in my freezer.  There were so delicious.   Of course our farm fresh eggs went into this pie.  I used a recipe from Allrecipes, that required a can of sweetened condensed milk, but now I am searching for a recipe that uses yogurt instead. Once I learn to make yogurt from raw milk, I can make these pies even more homemade, avoiding high fructose corn syrup and other unwanted elements. I found this recipe to try when we do make our own yogurt: Alton Brown's Yogurt Pumpkin Pie You can't get more "pioneer" than that.   (The...