Multi-tasking In The Country

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Busy, busy, busy.
That’s been the past week. We are small farmers (15 sheep, 8 cattle, 25 chickens and 2 turkeys) but it’s still a lot to keep up with. Lambing season is in full swing as you can see by my earlier posts plus I commute 20 or so miles to the city for work.

 

Over the years I have learned the art of multi-tasking because otherwise I would never have any down time.

 

Lunchtime is usually when I grocery shop; I have a refrigerator at work so I can just plop all the bags of perishables in there until quitting time. More than once though I have gotten home and wondered where in the heck my groceries were. Oops! Well, if I don’t goof it up lunch time shopping works wonders for saving time.

 

GC gets a lot of the errand running chores. We are constantly in contact during the day, well maybe not constantly, but frequently.

 

So, it’s a lot of, “hey sugar, I noticed Keb is out of heartworm pills, can you run to the vet (10 miles away)?” GC=sugar.

 

Then, later when I remember it, “hey honey, did you pick up your eye drops over in wherever (usually 5 miles in other direction)?”

 

Then on my way home, I usually get a call from GC, “hey babe, I’m running out to get the paper (5 miles away) do you need anything while I’m out?”

 

“Yes, I do! Can you run on over to the grocery while you’re out (another 5 miles or so) because I forgot to get milk.”

 

In the evening when we chat about all the things that made up our day, GC often mentions all the errand running he does. I kindly let him know if he would just practice better multi-tasking methods like me he would save himself lots of time. Ha!

 

Lambing Season

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Lambing season has started! That means lots of hand wringing and hoping all goes well; at least on my part. GC takes it all in stride but I’m worried a ewe may need help while birthing and he won’t be here. I can do a lot of things but I’ve never been a midwife!

Easy Greek Style Yogurt

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I remember when I was a little girl my dad made yogurt with a yogurt set. It consisted of a warming plate and 4 little containers that sat on it. Sometimes the yogurt set well, sometimes it didn’t. I’ve heard of people mixing milk and a starter in jars, then storing in coolers, or in the oven, even out in the sun to make yogurt.

 

Since it always seemed like such a hit or miss endeavor I never tried making yogurt at home…until I started seeing recipes about making it in a crockpot. Searching online, I read as much as I could from different sources and believe me it is YUMALICIOUS, has never failed and is so easy to make!

 

Crockpot Greek Style Yogurt

 

  • 1/2 gallon whole milk I’ve read that it can be made with a lower fat milk but I’ve never tried it
  • 1 small container of plain yogurt with live cultures, 6-8 oz. I usually buy a “natural” type
  • Candy thermometer
  • Cheesecloth

 

Turn crockpot on low. Pour milk into a heavy bottom saucepan set on low heat. Using a candy thermometer, heat milk to 190 F. stirring constantly. I usually get impatient and crank it up to medium – just make sure to stir often so milk doesn’t burn.
When temperature of milk reaches 190 F. remove from burner and let cool to 100 F. Pour into crockpot, add small container of yogurt (this is the starter) and blend thoroughly. Turn crockpot off and wrap with a large towel (I use a bath towel). Leave overnight or 8 hours.
To thicken it up, line a colander with cheesecloth and pour yogurt in to strain.  Yogurt may have to strain in batches depending upon the size of the colander. Let strain for an hour or to thickness preference. Put in a large container and refrigerate.

 

Instead of adding sweetener or fruit to the batch I flavor each individual serving as it seems like I do not have to use as much sweetener plus I can mix up different flavors each day. We always have lots of fruit in the freezer from our garden, I layer frozen fruit in the bottom of a container, then a cup or so of yogurt, then drizzle honey over top. By the time I get to work the fruit is thawed. At this point you can add granola, flaxseed or other toppings.

 

Enjoy!

BLT’s and Apple Purses

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Hands down, BLT’s are my favorite sandwich.

 

One summer when I was still a pain-in-the-rear teenager, my mom, my cousin and I were road tripping from Wilmington to Chesapeake, VA. My cousin had come down to spend a couple of weeks with us and it was time to take her back home. Summer was the time that after doing chores we were free to goof off and have fun so most days were spent at the beach. Lunch was normally sandwiches as they were easy to make and portable; and BLT’s were always my first choice.

 

Stopping at a restaurant in New Bern (my parents didn’t do fast food joints); my mom was obviously tired of watching me eat BLT’s as she forbade me to order one and to “pick something else for goodness sakes!” Being the PITR that I was, I staged a hunger strike for 2 days before I finally caved. My cousin still brings it up to this day.

I had some Buttermilk bread that I made from this recipe so with that and some of our home-cured bacon, lunch today was BLT’s. GC had been asking for some Apple Purses so I threw some together for dessert. They are really easy to make!

 

Apple Purses

  • 3 medium apples, peeled and chopped I used Granny Smith
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 3 tbsp. brown sugar
  • Cinnamon & Nutmeg to taste

Heat all ingredients over medium low heat until butter and sugar melt. Set aside while making pastry.

Pie Pastry

  • 1 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 stick of cold butter, cut into small pieces
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • ¼ cup + 1 tbsp. of ice water

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease if not nonstick and preheat oven to 375 F.

Combine flour and salt in medium bowl.  Work butter into flour mixture until mixture looks like small crumbs. I usually work it in with a fork. Add the water and work it in until mixture starts clumping together. Gather all in hand and form a ball. Break into 6 pieces. Put all but one piece of dough in the refrigerator to cool while you roll out the first piece.

Form the piece of dough into a small ball and place between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Roll out to a flat round circle. Transfer circle to baking sheet. With a slotted spoon mound some of the apple mixture in center of dough circle and gather dough up towards center to form the purse. Repeat with remaining dough.

Brush liquid from cooked apple mixture over apple purses and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar if desired. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 6.

 

Farm Chores

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Lambing season is almost here so we took advantage of the warm weather clean out the the sheep run-in.

 

Checking out our progress.

The garden shed doubles as a nursery for sick animals and bottle babies. Miss Lily, the latest resident has graduated to the big barn to keep Leroy company so time to move out.

 Note the sagging door – Lily has been head butting the daylights out of the door and knocked it off the bottom hinge.

Bottle bribery.

Not liking the road.

 

The world just got bigger.

Summer in Your Mouth

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Strawberry Preserves with Vanilla Bean

Really good strawberry preserves is like putting summer in your mouth. Bright and fresh. Eating it on from-scratch biscuits is one of my favorite breakfast foods. It’s simple, I don’t need utensils to eat it, and there’s minimal cleanup. We planted a strawberry bed years ago and happily gather all the berries it puts forth to make this wonderful preserves.

 

Buttermilk biscuits

I’m not big on sweets but love (too much so according to my circumference) bread and pasta so I’m cutting back. From-scratch biscuits with homemade preserves are definitely carb worthy though. That’s my new catch phrase – carb worthy. So now if GC asks “would you like a ham sandwich on some of that styrofoam tasting white grocery store bread?” I’d say “no thanks honey, it’s not carb worthy”. But if GC asks “would you like a sandwich made with some of our home-cured bacon and warm from the garden red tomatoes on some of your awesome homemade whole wheat bread?” then “yes please!”

 

Get the difference?

 

Now, GC normally doesn’t describe sandwiches so vividly….okay actually never, but I know what he means when he says “ham on white or BT on your bread?”

If you have never canned before I suggest getting Ball’s Blue Book to learn how. It’s what I learned from years ago and still refer back to.

 

Please remember the #1 rule of cooking – READ THE ENTIRE RECIPE FIRST!

 

Strawberry Preserves with Vanilla Bean adapted from Ball’s Blue Book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 qts. Strawberries
1 pkg. powdered pectin
¼ cup finely chopped lemon
¼ cup water
6 ½ cups sugar
1 vanilla bean

 Split vanilla bean and scrape out seeds. Combine the bean pod and seeds with all the ingredients except the sugar. I put everything in a bowl and leave in the frig. for a day to infuse more of the vanilla. It’s not a standout flavor but in my opinion does add something extra to regular strawberry preserves. Fish the bean pod out of the strawberry mixture.

 When ready to process, bring strawberry mixture to a boil, stirring often. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved and return to a hard boil (one that can’t be stirred down). Boil hard for 1 minute and remove from heat. Skim the foam if there is any. Stir another 3 minutes to spread the fruit out evenly. Ladle into hot sterilized jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Adjust the 2 piece caps and process 15 minutes in a water bath canner.

 

Buttermilk Biscuits these are the biscuits my Dad made almost every Sunday morning

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. soda
1/4 cup butter or shortening
3/4 cup of buttermilk

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and soda in bowl. Cut in butter until mixture looks coarse like cornmeal. Stir in buttermilk until all sticks together. Turn out onto floured surface and knead 5 or 6 times gently. Flour your rolling pin and roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out with whatever you have handy, I use either a 2-inch biscuit cutter, a glass or sometimes I just cut into squares. I usually get 9-10 biscuits. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees F. until tops are golden brown and sides are splitting.

Enjoy!

Still in Holiday Mode!

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The new year is here but I still have a couple of days left until I have to go back to work and life on the farm is busy as usual. We were up late last night doctoring a sick ewe and setting live traps for the coons that have been wearing a track around our chicken pen. It must be nerve-wracking for the hens to have coons eyeballing them all night long.

 

Sorry Mr. Coon, no chicken dinner for you

Christmas was wonderful with both sons and grandsons here. Eldest son in Chicago gifted us with 4 days of farm feedings so we hit the road before he had a chance to change his mind.
Somewhere in the Smokies

We swung by Murphy, NC. for a fun visit with my eldest brother and sis-in-law. Our tentative plans were to head over to Asheville after that but we got waylaid by the holiday decorations of Bryson City. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve been in that area and had forgotten what a pretty mountain town Bryson City is, not tourist tacky at all. If you are ever there try out Anthony’s Italian restaurant; the pizza was amazing!

 

I really wanted to catch the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad for their trip into the Nantahala Gorge but didn’t make it. They also do a Polar Express night ride with storytelling and hot cocoa for the kiddies. How fun is that? Next time!

 

The next morning we drove through Cherokee and on up to Townsend, TN.  It was starting to spit ice around Clingman’s  Dome area but was still a gorgeous ride.  Stayed in a great little motel in Townsend and just kicked back for a couple of days. So fun and relaxing!

Bathroom art in local Townsend restaurant sure made me smile!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope it is all you wish for and more!

 

Little Leroy

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Poor little Leroy…his mother did not have enough milk to feed him properly so he had to come live in the barn so he could grow big and strong. He really didn’t mind too much because on clear days he could go out in his own little pasture and take naps in the sun. Soon Leroy was strong enough to go out in the big field to play with his older sisters! Even though Farmer GC said he had to get a shot before he could go play he was so excited that he didn’t mind.
It was such a special day that he got to ride in the trailer with Farmer GC pulling him. What fun!
Sadly, his older sisters didn’t care much for him and thought he was a stinky little boy calf. They decided to take him exploring and walked way down into the woods until they came to a big thicket of vines. “Stay right here, we’ll be right back” they said. He waited and waited but they never came back.  The moon came out and the coyotes starting howling which made him bawl and bawl until Farmer GC and Farmette Barbara found him.
Now Leroy is happy back in his barn again.

Thanksgiving Has Come and Gone with…

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The remodeling is still ongoing as you can see from the missing molding and curtains.

Good food and great company.
Lots of laughter.
Memories.
Only one minor injury.

 

Lessons learned:
  • Everyone was gathered in the kitchen gabbing and GC innocently asked our niece, who works in the horse industry, how difficult it was to castrate a pony (long story….) and we were treated to a detailed description while preparing the side dishes.
  • Having a couple glasses of wine and then pitching dinner rolls from one end of a 10-foot dinner table to GC at the other end is really fun.
  • Do not over bake the pecan pie; I repeat – DO NOT OVER BAKE THE PECAN PIE. I was in the kitchen and I heard GC say “I can’t cut this” so thinking I didn’t have enough serving utensils on the buffet I took him a knife. Turns out he literally meant that he could not cut it because it was brick freaking hard!
We went to Chicago for Halloween to visit #1 son. While there we attended the 37th anniversary of the St. Francis House that my son is associated with. Scored some great handmade jewelry at their silent auction and listened to some beautiful drumming.

First time I have ever been to a Halloween Parade. The costumes were amazing. Fabulous time!

 

We’ve been busy curing bacon and prepping for lambing. More on that next time. Later gator.

Autumn Afternoons

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The garden is finally ready to be put to rest. It’s been really good to us this year; lots of tomatoes, onions, peppers, melons, beans, pumpkins, herbs, berries and our most successful crop of sweet potatoes to date.
A couple of Sundays ago it was the perfect fall day – crisp air with just a hint of winter in it and blue skies. The pears were finally ready and it was time to do some picking. GC and Monster dog were in the back of the truck so GC could pick high while I was on the ground picking low.

 

The weeds were pretty high around the old pear trip and as I turned to take a step my feet I rolled on fallen pears. With a “well hell” down I went…flat on my back. I wasn’t hurt and it actually was kind of nice laying there in the grass. As I’m lying there trying to make out shapes in the clouds, all of a sudden GC starts goofing on me and says “well hell she says” and that got me laughing.  Then he started laughing too and it turned into one of those goofy funny moments.

 

 

That evening I decided to make some Maple Apple Jam with some apples I picked up at a local orchard. This stuff is like having a mouthful of autumn. A very good spicy jam that excellent on biscuits (GC’s favorite) but I like it melted also for pouring over pancakes and French toast. It’s also great to mix up some with a little Dijon mustard and use as a glaze for pork tenderloin.

Maple Apple Jam
3 qts. finely chopped apples (about 6#), I used 3 different types of apples trying for a mix of sweet and tart
4 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. cloves

 

Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot. Bring slowly to a boil stirring constantly then bring rapidly to jellying point. Pour into hot jars, leaving ¼” headspace. Adjust caps, process 10 minutes.

 

I actually combined everything and brought it to a boil then set it off the stove to cool down. GC asked if I wanted to go hiking and I figured I’d finish up later with the jam. Ended up refrigerating it overnight and bringing it back to a boil the next day and finishing the process. It may have been from letting it sit overnight but this batch was a tad thick before ever getting to the jellying stage so I added about a ½ cup of water before boiling. I wasn’t worried about it watering down the taste as it was so flavorful to start with. To get a good spreading consistency I hit it a couple of times with a hand blender. Perfect! Smoother but still had plenty of apple bits. I ended up with 5 half pints.

 

P.S. We caught a visitor on one of our trail cams. It’s no wonder the sheep are looking nervous. They are behind woven wire fencing and 2 strands of electric fencing which has protected them very well.