Pumpkin Soup ~ Tidbits

I have never made pumpkin soup of any sort, so this year I did. I roasted one entire pumpkin for this soup. 

The recipe in my "pile" or "stash" called for potatoes.  I did some searching, and found there are so many ways to make this soup.

I didn't follow the pumpkin and red lentil soup recipe I found online, but adjusted it to what I had.  I seasoned it with home canned hot sauce and garlic both fresh (heated with the onion) and some garlic powder to add more flavor.

 I served it with a dollop of sour cream, and freshly chopped parsley.  Some of it is going in the freezer.  The hens are happy gals too.  They are getting the pumpkin "guts" for a treat.

The taste test with the soup?

Delicious!   I used 2 carrots and 2 potatoes in my soup, as well as the pumpkin.

Guess what arrived at the library?

Pear-Walnut Bread (using applesauce) ~ Whiskey-Bacon Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

For the first time in a long, long, long time, I woke up to a day where I had nothing on the list that could be done (for one reason or another).  Rain arrived, and there was heavy cloud cover, making me feel even lazier than ever.  Oh, I could have attacked some deep cleaning with gusto, but I didn't.  I got a few recipes written on cards, but boy I felt lazy dazy.  Maybe I deserved a day off and it just arrived?

Well, I eventually found something I could do.   I mean they are taking up half of a kitchen table right now.

About the bread. . . .

Barn Siding ~ Getting our Legumes ~ Red lentil burgers ~ Beet Hummus

Sorry if this is a boring post about beans, but I have a few new recipes to share - from "pile to file" keepers.  I've found my voice this month, so watch out for long posts.  I think I have blog-i-tis this October.  I can't blame the weather either.  It's been hot out again.

The only other news, is that while I was sitting on the porch with leg up sipping my hot herbal tea yesterday, a car hit a deer just yards from our north drive.  The driver pulled over (a young girl), and the deer flopped around on the road for a few seconds, then got up and ran off.  The same area a car hit one early morning not long ago.  There is a corn field adjacent and north of our property.  

 Before

We also got some barn siding removed last night.  We are tired folks.  Simply tired.

We've been eating more beans than meat lately.  It helps the budget as well as our health.  These meals were over a period of time.

I soaked a bag of organic black beans for all sorts of meals/snacks.  We love it on a burrito for any meal - add scrambled eggs, any leftover rice/veggie mix, jalapenos or cowboy candy, or yellow squash relish (or radish relish)...more total goodness.  

I'll have a post regarding the yellow squash relish soon. 

(these are broiled)

I have also made red lentil burgers for the first time.

Tidbits ~ Barn Rubble Update

Monday madness didn't stop this gal from getting the list crossed off.  Even though I was dog-gone tired.  

Popcorn was all pulled.  I'm not thrilled with the harvest, but it's more than the year we only got 2-3 ears.  I'm happy, but sad to see so many small ears this year.  

I brought in 8 more pie pumpkins.  Had I thought in advance, I would have kept the white one for target practice.  I tossed it.  It was the heirloom variety that went rotten before ripening, and I only got 3 of those pumpkins, out of 4 mounds of seeds planted.  It's not a good variety to plant, but my New England variety did well.  Grand total of pie pumpkins this year is 23.  

I brought in a bit more of the hot peppers too.  I'll be freezing most of them, and tossing a few in dinner.  I had some tomatoes too.  I have been very late in getting those dang plants pulled.

 The day of knocking this barn down.

And for that barn clean up update. . .

"In progress" photo from last weekend.  See all that roofing?  That one piece to the left was a huge pile, but Hubby and I worked it down to the last piece until help arrived.  There was a third pile off to the right of that next large pile.

Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm joining up with Sandra at blogspot, Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  Today, on Happy Homemaker Monday, I am very happy to find out our frost date has moved to the end of October, not the beginning.  Whew!  I don't have to high-tail it out to the garden like I thought I would.  Although garden work is very far behind now (that we have spent two entire days on barn rubble removal).

On the breakfast plate. . . 

I wish I could say it was this (above).  We made breakfast burritos all last week.  Mmm, so good - black beans cooked up from dry beans with cumin, onion and garlic, topped with homemade sausage, farm fresh eggs, garden peppers, and a dabble of cheese.  Every day we made different ones. 

As for today's breakfast?  eggs over easy and toast with home canned peach jam



The weather. . . 

Fall Garlic Planting ~ Garlic Powder ~ Recipes that Use It

We worked on barn wood all day Sunday.  We are very tired and sore.  I took photos, but will load them later to share.  As soon as we finished removing boards so we could load up a trailer, a stranger pulled in wanting the metal hay rail.  We now know why the other guy wanted it - money.  Each little metal piece (photo to come later) is worth $10.00.  Not including the rail.  So this stranger, after we did all the work, just drives on in and asks for it for free.  I'm going to put signs up for those types of people. Oh, and the stranger immediately asked for the pulleys.  Hm.  The nerve of people. 

So, without photos of the barn clean up, I'll share my garlic.  A frost is possible in a week or so, and I wanted this job done.

Last year I planted about 175 cloves of garlic.

This year? 

I planted 70 cloves of Moroccan Creole, 56 cloves of Russian Giant, and 100 cloves of our regular variety (so far - we have no idea what type it is, as we were gifted it to start our first garlic bed years ago). 

Grand total so far:  226 cloves of garlic

In the fall I also dehydrate a lot of our current garlic, and grind it into garlic powder.  Pure home grown, chemical free, no fillers, no anti-caking agents, goodness.

Many of my recipes call for fresh, but some call for powdered.  These recipes are listed using what I grow or make, so you can adapt and of course reduce for smaller families.

Here are a few recipes (and links to recipes) I use my home ground garlic powder in:

Barn Clean Up

It's been hectic around the homestead.  Morning is crazy - feed dogs, feed cats, feed barn cats, dogs in, dogs out, dogs in, dogs out.....chickens out, dogs in, dogs out....chickens back in...

I'm on dog duty until Daughter is feeling up to it again.  She is still recovering from the removal of her wisdom teeth.  She took care of me while I was sick, and now I'm taking care of her.  I am using my ice chipper to grind up ice for her.  She is still very sore around her jaw. 

Unfortunately, she has inherited something I inherited from my mother - can't handle pain meds (nausea).  I had to call the dentist.  They told me to take her off the pain meds and the ibuprofen and put her strictly on Tylenol.  She is not getting sick any more thankfully.

Weekend work resumed, although we were invited to ride to IN for the day, we opted to work.  While the guys worked on the barn, I weeded the herb garden and Youngest did the mowing.  I was super happy to find mullein growing in one of my flower beds.  It's safely transplanted into the last pot I had available.  There is hope to have a large harvest of it soon again.


Deep cleaning continues as well - washed down the outside of the stove, top, under knobs, dishwasher, more cabinets, etc.  I also took everything off the bathroom door hooks, washed down the door, and washed our winter bathrobes.  It was just in time for nice clean robes to take dogs out at the crack of dawn. It's been chilly early morning again.

 

And for a different cleaning story. . .

. . . update on the barn clean up.