Lazy J Bar C Farm

Easy Jambalaya

2012-03-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite cool weather suppers. It is so quick and easy to make on a busy day and uses pantry staples that most everyone has on hand. I have been making this for so long that I don't remember where I got the original recipe.

2 cups diced tomatoes, home canned or frozen is best :)
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 pound fully-cooked smoked sausage cut into 1/4-inch slices, I use turkey sausage
1/2 to 3/4 pound uncooked medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 1/2 cups beef stock
1 cup rice
3 tablespoons dried chopped onion
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper - really!
1 bay leaf

In a Dutch oven, combine all ingredients except the shrimp. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until the shrimp are pink. It shouldn't be runny at all but if it is, uncover and cook until desired consistency.

We had this last night with a nice salad and some toasted garlic parmesan bread. A further note about the cayenne pepper, if you have leftovers and reheat, it gets even hotter! ;-)

I'm linking up to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop co-hosted by Deb and Heidi and new for me this week, the Food Photography Challenge at Crisp PhotoWorks with Mira. I would love to improve my food photography and I think this will help me learn! :)

First of the Month - March

2012-03-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

I'm joining Jan at Murrieta 365 for her First of the Month meme all this year. Here are the ground rules per her site: "The goal is to capture one thing repeatedly on the first of each month. It can be a landscape, a person, an animal, a project; whatever your focus is, is fine. It can even be a record of where you are each First of the Month."
I am focusing on my Alpine doe, Abigail, and her first pregnancy and kidding. She is due to kid the middle of April. I never think there is much difference in how she looks until I go back and look at the post for last month! This time, I thought I would let Abigail fill you in on how she is doing. :)

"A girl needs to keep her strength up when she is pregnant by eating lots of yummy hay! I get my goat cereal too for the extra protein and vitamins."

"My belly is getting so big that I have trouble getting up from my mid-morning nap and I'm starting to waddle when I run! Don't laugh, it's not nice!"

"Can you see my "baby bump" on the right? Candy is hoping that I only have one kid since this is my first time being pregnant."

"Dang, it's really getting hard to get my hoof up there to scratch that itch!"

"That's it for this month! I hope you come visit me again at the beginning of April, by then I should be HUGE! I don't want to be huge but Candy and my maaa keep telling me it's going to happen."

Old Bunkhouse

2012-03-01T04:58:00.000-08:00

After we took Jerry's mom home on Sunday, we took the scenic route back so I could take some pictures. I have admired this old bunkhouse beside the road for about 25 years so we stopped so I could get some photos for my blog. After I downloaded this picture to the computer and was playing around with editing, I noticed something next to the water tank on the right! Who could it be?!?

Old wiley coyote himself!! I looked at all the other pictures and this was the only one he was in, pretty cool, huh?!?

I love the door and the big metal latch and the way the bark is worn off the top of the posts.

There was one of these signs on each side of the gate leading into the pasture.

Pretty nice setting if you ask me!! Linking up with Lisa at Two Bears Farm and Nancy at A Rural Journal for Rural Thursday. Hop on over and check out all the rural happenings! :)

Wordless Wednesday #2

2012-02-29T05:01:00.001-08:00

The miniature donkeys, Esmeralda and Mercedes.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday at Kent Weakley Photography.

Tuesday's Tails, #13

2012-02-28T06:03:00.000-08:00

Good news, we got our first egg from the Buff Orpington hens Sunday!! YAY!! It was a good size too for a first egg but then again, they are the biggest hens I have ever had! Good girls! :)

Until they get up to full production, I bought a couple dozen eggs from one of my friends. She has a mixed flock of 23 hens that are in full production and she has eggs running out her ears! LOL!! I wanted to show ya'll the lovely variety she gets from her girls.

That is one of the most beautiful dozen eggs I think I have ever seen! :)

Starting Seeds for the Summer Garden

2012-02-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

It is finally the end of February and I can start my seeds for the summer garden! YAY!! I have been itching to get them going but I didn't want to start them too soon (like last year) and have to transplant everything two or three times to bigger containers. I will transplant the tomatoes a couple of times though just because they seem to like it! :)

The tomato seeds are Dr. Wyche's Yellow, German Johnson (pink), Earliana (new for me), Yellow Pear and Sweet 100. The peppers are Red bell, Green bell, Jalapeno and Pepperoncini. The eggplant are both Italian heirlooms that I have grown for several years and really like, Listada de Gandia and Rosa Bianca.

Everyone is labeled and the containers are put into plastic bags and closed up.

I have this awesome, totally wonderful, south facing window that I use to start my plants! Did I mention how much I love this window?!? This will be my third year doing it this way and I have had really good luck with germination rates and growth. I have cut WAAAYY back on my summer garden this year because I intend to only grow enough produce for us. The past two years, I was growing produce to sell at the Farmer's Market. I'm linking up to The Country Garden Showcase hosted by Heidi at My Simple Country Living.

Sunday Photo - Kieffer Pear Blossoms

2012-02-25T16:04:00.000-08:00

All our fruit trees are now blooming...I just hope they know what they are doing as we could still get a hard freeze in the next month or so! The Kieffer pear is even getting it's leaves.

Linking up with Jan at Murrieta 365 for Straight Out Of the Camera Sunday and Nancy at A Rural Journal for Your Sunday Best.

Cheesecake...Mmmm

2012-02-24T05:55:00.000-08:00

Jerry's mom makes The. Best. Cheesecake. EVER!! We are taking her to the rodeo today so she is staying with us for the weekend and she brought us a cheesecake to enjoy! What a nice mother-in-law, huh?!? :)
I really like this recipe because it is very easy, rich and creamy, and turns out beautifully every time!

Harriet's Cheesecake

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
16 ounces sour cream
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom and halfway up sides of a 10-inch springform pan.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla and mix well with an electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven undisturbed for two hours.
Refrigerate overnight.
Top with desired topping and enjoy!!

Linking up with the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop hosted by Deb at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House and Heidi at My Simple Country Living.

Rodeo Redux

2012-02-23T04:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, I promise this will be the last of the rodeo pictures, well...maybe one more for Sunday! The good news is that ya'll haven't seen any of these pictures yet. :) If you missed the prior posts with great, full color action shots of the La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros Rodeo you can see them here and here.

I wanted to play around with some photo editing on a couple of the pictures to give them a vintage feel. I added the sepia tone while the pictures were still in the camera, there is an option on my camera for black & white or sepia. I used the vintage effects option on Pixlr for the overlays and frames, what a cool, cool site and it's totally FREE! I used a different overlay and frame from Pixlr on each picture.

I'm linking up with Nancy at A Rural Journal for the Rural Thursday Blog Hop today because, in my book, you don't get much more rural than rodeo! Yee-Haw!!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-22T05:07:00.000-08:00

Since I have more pictures from the rodeo that I would like to share with y'all I thought it would be fun to link up with Wordless Wednesday at Photograpgy by Kent Weakley this week. I really like this series of pictures of one of the saddle bronc riders and feel that they don't really need any words! :)

La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros Rodeo

2012-02-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

One of Jerry's buddies gave us box seats to the rodeo this past Sunday! Yee-haw!! We try to go every year and this year, we are actually going to go twice, last Sunday and this coming Friday. We are taking Jerry's mom on Friday and bought tickets for the VIP tent since she doesn't get around all that great. These are the Catalina Mountains to the north of Tucson. I liked the clouds in this shot.

I took 532 pictures Sunday. That. Is. A. LOT. Of. Pictures. I'm so glad I didn't have to buy film and get it processed like in the "good old days!" Yikes!! I actually got a little bleary eyed going through them all deciding which ones to keep and which ones to post and, just so ya'll know, there will be more rodeo pictures this week. You have been warned! ;-)

First, the Rodeo Queen brought in Old Glory and we had the singing of our National Anthem.

Then, the rodeo got underway with one of our favorite events, bareback riding. Jerry actually did bareback riding back in his 20s. He says he did that as opposed to saddle bronc because he couldn't afford a saddle! :)

Next up was the steer wrestling.

Then came the saddle bronc riding, my second favorite event. I love this picture! :)

The guys had a little trouble with the tie-down roping, I think this cowboy was the only one who got his steer tied within the time limit!

The ladies did an outstanding job in the barrel racing! :)

There was also team roping but we just weren't in a good spot to get any pictures of that event. Of course, we HAD to have a rodeo clown, this guy came all the way from Canada!

It was "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" Sunday at the rodeo to benefit Breast Cancer Research.

And it's always mandatory to put the rodeo clown in the barrel for the bulls to play with! :)

Finally, the event that most everyone really comes to the rodeo to see, the bull riding! The fella in the back with the pink shirt and the black hat is the stock contractor, Bennie Beutler, his family has been providing awesome livestock for rodeos for three generations!

Well, that's it for this week's edition of Tuesday's Tails! Hope ya'll enjoyed the La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros Rodeo!

Santa Rosa Plum

2012-02-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

The Santa Rosa has gone plum crazy! (Snicker, snicker!)

As you can see, the fruit trees were unfazed by last week's snow storm. Jerry had fertilized them recently and with the moisture, they are really taking off. The temps are going to be in the 60s and 70s here all week and I hope that was the last of the colder weather. We have been known to have a hard freeze as late as the end of April though.

I also wanted to include this picture because I really like the early morning shadow on our "Barrio" fence! :)

The plants in my little garden are all doing pretty good too. These have still been covered with the plastic.

My snow peas, on the other hand, have not...wish I could figure out "who" is eating them! Grrr! I believe I have the garden pretty rabbit proof but it could be a rodent of some kind or even the silly little birds who have claimed the garden as their own. We took down a bunch of fencing that I was using for trellis in the garden and I'm going to try to make some hoop covers to see if that will help protect the plants.

Linking up with Heidi at My Simple Country Living for The Country Garden Showcase.

Sunday Photo - Winter's Bounty

2012-02-19T06:44:00.000-08:00

Today, I would like to share a picture of some of the beautiful winter produce that I have recently picked up at the Farmer's Market, been gifted from my friend's garden and harvested from our garden. This is part of our ongoing effort to try to eat locally and to include more in-season produce.

Linking up to Straight Out Of The Camera Sunday with Jan at Murrieta 365 and Your Sunday Best with Nancy at A Rural Journal.

Front Door Decor

2012-02-17T04:34:00.000-08:00

I like to have something welcoming on the front door all the time. I have several seasonal wreaths, some made out of wood, some made out of metal, and I display them for the appropriate holiday/season. I bought this chile ristra at the Farmer's Market in December and put it on the front door as soon as the Christmas wreath came down. I like it so well that I didn't even change it out for the Valentine's wreath! LOL!!

A chile ristra (the spanish word for "string") is a braided string of dried red chile peppers; ristras are often seen in homes throughout the southwest. They can be simply decorative but they were originally devised as a way to dry and preserve the chile peppers for later use, sort of the way onions and garlic are preserved. Red chile is a staple in southwest cooking and this treatment will allow the chiles to be preserved for about a year. Today, chile ristras are still used for this purpose but are also often hung in front of homes to welcome visitors and bring good fortune to those living within.

I like the cheery and welcoming look it gives to the front door! :)
What do you hang on your front door to welcome family and friends and to bring good fortune?

Linking to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop with Deb at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House and Heidi at My Simple Country Living.

Farmgirl Soap Dispenser

2012-02-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

My blogging friend, Jaime, of Ngo Family Farm recently did a post on this cute soap dispenser. You can find the complete tutorial posted by Julia at Blissfully Content. You can read Jaime's post here which also includes a homemade citrus cleaner and her homemade vanilla extract project. By the way, Jaime takes the most amazing photographs, you really should check out her blog!!

This soap dispenser took me maybe all of 10 minutes to make! Seriously!! It took longer for the glue to completely dry than it took to do the assembly! LOL!! I have had this cute canning jar lying around for awhile and only ever use it for storage so I thought it would be the perfect container to use. I think it looks much more "country" than a store bought soap dispenser and probably a little classier than a bottle of dish soap sitting on the counter! ;-) Check out Julia's tutorial to see just how easy it is to make and be sure to visit Jaime for some lovely photography, great recipes and cute, cute pictures of her baby!

Linking up with Nancy at A Rural Journal for the Rural Thursday Blog Hop.

Snow Day and Chicken Chowder

2012-02-15T04:45:00.000-08:00

It was so beautiful Saturday afternoon that we were sitting out on the front porch and then yesterday afternoon, it SNOWED! Crazy weather everywhere this winter!!

By evening, it had all melted away, except in the shady spots, and it really didn't get that cold last night so I still have hope for my fruit trees.

Is this not a pathetic face?!? He really wasn't cold though, he was romping around in the snow just a few minutes after I took this picture! :)

It seemed like a perfect day to make some soup for supper and I decided to go with a Chicken Corn Chowder. I don't have a recipe, per se, just a "method" as Rachael Ray likes to put it. ;-) I simmered a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast in a pot with some onion, garlic, bay leaf and spices and then shredded the meat and used the stock for my soup base. I diced a couple of potatoes and added that to the stock along with the chicken and a can of white corn. I used a can of corn because I'm trying to use up things out of the pantry but fresh or frozen would have been my first choice. Bring to a simmer and add some cajun seasoning or other spicy type seasoning or, actually, whatever suits your fancy! When the potatoes are tender, taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Then, add some heavy cream or half-n-half or milk to make it creamy and heat through but don't boil. I served the soup with a homemade rye baguette. It was very yummy and the perfect supper for a snowy day! :)

Linking up with The Country Homemaker Hop hosted by Heidi at My Simple Country Living and Michelle at Michelle's Little Piece Of Heaven.

Won't You Bee My Valentine?

2012-02-14T04:45:00.000-08:00

I'm sure ya'll have noticed that I'm just LOVING my new camera and now, thanks to Nancy at A Rural Journal, I have discovered pixlr, a really cool, FREE photo editing site! I was able to take one of my bee photos from this past weekend and add a layer of texture and a border in about five minutes with their Retro Vintage Effects. As I have more time to explore the site and experiment, I'm sure I will be able to do even more with my photographs. I would like to extend a very big THANK YOU to Nancy and all the other GREAT photographers out there (there are a lot!) for inspiring me to learn, experiment and expand my photographic skills!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone and it is also Arizona's 100th birthday! :)

Actually Using The Harvest From The Garden

2012-02-13T14:15:00.000-08:00

I'm almost too embarrassed to post this! ;-)
We got absolutely NO peaches from our little tree last year thanks to the birds and that was in spite of having bird netting over the whole tree. But, the good news is...I still have peaches in the freezer from 2010's bumper crop! I know, I know, you are only supposed to keep fruit in the freezer for 12 months but, hey, I'm only five months past that and I sure wouldn't want to waste any of our yummy homegrown peaches!

I packed these in a medium syrup in pint canning jars and they have not gotten any freezer burn. It seems to me that the glass protects the fruit better than plastic. I decided I needed to use them up so I made a Peach Cobbler for tonight's desert. You can find the recipe for the cobbler topping using my Baking Mix here.

I have seen several posts recently about making sure that you actually eat the food that you grow and it kind of "guilted" me into trying to use up what I have. Besides, the silly fruit trees are BUDDING OUT already and I'm hoping I will actually get some fruit this year!!

Kieffer Pear

Santa Rosa Plum

Peach

Ornamental Plum

I'm linking up with Heidi for The Country Garden Showcase at My Simple Country Living.

The Versatile Blogger Award

2012-02-13T05:35:00.000-08:00

I have recently been awarded The Versatile Blogger Award by several of my fellow bloggers! Thank you SOOO much to Heidi at My Simple Country Living, Clint at The Redeemed Gardener, Lisa Lynn at Little Homestead on the Hill and Sheryl at Cypress Hill Farm. Each of these blogs also received this award and they are all very deserving of it! If you haven't checked them out, I would highly recommend it! :)

Here are the RULES for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Add the award to your blog.
2. Thanks the blogger who gave it to you.
3. Mention seven random things about yourself.
4. List the rules
5. Award to 15 bloggers.
6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are seven random things about me:

I was born and raised a "city girl" and knew NOTHING about gardening or raising animals when we moved to our little place seven years ago!
I can't sing...just ask the goat! ;-)
I own at least 10 guns and I'm a pretty good shot.
I LOVE to bake, but ya'll probably already knew that!
I am the middle child and have two brothers, one older, one younger.
I was raised an Air Force brat and moved around quite a bit as a child.
I am proud member #977 of MaryJane's Farmgirl Sisterhood!

Now, as far as passing this award on to 15 bloggers, I consider every blog I follow as being deserving of this special award and could never pick just 15. So, I award ALL OF YOU the Versatile Blogger Award! Woo-Hoo!! Keep up the good work everyone! :)

Sunday Photo Honey Bee

2012-02-12T05:56:00.000-08:00

It has been so warm here that the honey bees are out, this one was busy in the rosemary yesterday afternoon. I'm linking up with Jan at Murrieta 365 for Straight Out Of The Camera Sunday and Your Sunday Best with Nancy at A Rural Journal this week. Stop by to see all the lovely photographs!

Peeper People Update Three

2012-02-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

My beautiful Buff Orpington hens will be five months old at the end of this month. Every day, I check for eggs even though I know it's still too soon! This morning, Jerry mentioned that at least one of the hens has a larger and redder comb than the others. I have always heard that a red comb is a sign that a hen is laying! Check out the difference between these two! :)

When I took the chickens their half a pumpkin awhile ago, I took my camera to snap some pictures.
This girl's comb is quite a bit bigger and redder than the others!

This is what most of them still look like.

Just to prove to myself that I hadn't accidentally taken a picture of the rooster, I went back down and got one of him! ;-)

So, I'm hoping that I will find my first egg sometime soon!! I hope, I hope!!

Linking up to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop hosted by Heidi at My Simple Country Living and Deb at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House.

Thankful Thursday, #6

2012-02-09T05:37:00.000-08:00

Today, I am thankful for...

...our farrier, Robert.

Paco has problems with quarter cracks and we went through several farriers trying to get the problem taken care of. Some of them even made the situation worse!

Robert was highly recommended by a couple of our friends (thanks Sharon!) and he has done an excellent job with Paco's feet!

And as an added bonus...he will trim the donkeys' feet when they need it! :)

Linking up with Nancy at A Rural Journal for the Rural Thursday Blog Hop.

Country Herb Beer Bread

2012-02-08T06:01:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted a recipe using my Baking Mix in awhile. The Baking Mix is so versatile, you can use it for everything from Monster Cookies (my new favorite cookie!) to Buttermilk Biscuits to a Cobbler Topping to Cheesy Biscuit Sticks and don't miss the Onion Caraway Rye Beer Bread recipe! If you do a "search" for Baking Mix at the top of the blog you will find even more recipes! :)

I love making beer breads, they go together very quickly and you can get a wonderful loaf of homemade bread on the table in under an hour! This isn't your standard beer bread with cheese, this one has cornmeal, oregano, thyme and basil in it. If by chance you have any left over, it toasts up nicely and also makes wonderful croutons! I use a light tasting beer when I make this beer bread, I don't want the flavor of the beer to overpower the herbs. You can also use unflavored seltzer water if you don't want to use beer.

Country Herb Beer Bread

3 cups Baking Mix
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
12 ounces beer
1 egg

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add beer and egg; beat vigorously. The batter will be "shaggy."

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan; cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Serve warm.

I'm linking up with The Country Homemaker Hop hosted by Heidi at My Simple Country Living. Check out all the entries for this week! :)

Tuesday's Tails, #12

2012-02-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

Who wants treats?!?

"I do, I do!!"

"Me too!!"

"And some scritches too just because I'm so darn cute!"

Ordering Seeds and Cool Weather Crops Week 2

2012-02-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

I have been planning my summer garden the past few weeks. I took stock of all my seeds that have been stashed in canning jars in the fridge to see what needed to be ordered. I have plenty of seeds still for tomatoes, peppers and eggplant and I still have enough pickles put up from last year that I won't need to plant any cucumbers this year. One thing I was out of was my favorite zucchini seeds, the Clairmore.

Here they are just starting out in last year's garden. They are the first zucchini to set on and the last to give it up come the fall, they are thin skinned and almost buttery in taste and texture. I LOVE them!! I had a problem though, the company I usually get the seeds from didn't have any!! I searched on the internet and finally found some in a combo pack with Golden Dawn and Raven zucchini from Renee's Garden. I ordered three packages. ;-)

I also ordered some Athena cantaloupe seeds and a Tricolor Snap Bush Bean mixture from John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds. The Tricolor Bean package contains Jade Green, Purple Queen and Gold Rush, that ought to be fun! This morning, I ordered some Kakai Pumpkin seeds from Johnny's Selected Seeds. This is what they say about them:

Striped fruits, delicious "pumpkin nuts."
Eye-catching, medium-small, avg. 5-8 lb., black-striped pumpkins. After displaying the pumpkins next fall, you can scoop out the large, dark green, completely hull-less seeds, which are absolutely delicious roasted. Kakai is a variety of the Austrian type that yields the valuable green pumpkin seed oil that some European studies show promotes prostate health. Semi-bush, short-vine plants. Avg. yield: 2-3 fruits/plant.

Photo from Johnny's Selected Seeds website

I have read so many wonderful things about these pumpkins that I want to give them a try and they sound perfect for my smallish garden!

The cool weather crops are coming along nicely. The collard greens for the chickens have sprouted, as have the broccoli and snow peas.

Snow Peas

The radishes are starting to get their "true" leaves this week.

That's it from here this week! I'm linking up with Heidi and The Country Garden Showcase at My Simple Country Living. :)

Your Sunday Best - February 05, 2012

2012-02-04T17:06:00.000-08:00

This is one of the neighbors' horses. Don't let that sweet face fool you, he's really a bronc!!

Linking to Your Sunday Best at A Rural Journal. Thanks Nancy! :)

Applesauce Molasses Cake

2012-02-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

OMG!! All I can say is this is so stinkin' good that I hope you all try it! Very spicy and moist!! I love gingerbread but haven't had much luck making it because it always falls in the middle. To me, this recipe tastes very much like gingerbread.

I have had this recipe lying around for several months wanting to try it and I finally did this morning. I had some leftover homemade applesauce that I used the other day to make some Applesauce BBQ sauce (which is yummy too!) and since I didn't need to bake bread today, I figured it would be a good time to try this cake recipe. I don't remember where I got the recipe so if it was from one of you I apologize for not giving you credit! The only substitution I made was to use some of my Pumpkin Pie spice mix instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg. I will list the recipe for that at the end. The recipe calls for unsweetened applesauce but mine did have a little sugar in it.

Applesauce Molasses Cake

1/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
(I used 3 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie spice instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch square cake pan. I used a greased 10-inch cast iron skillet.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar; beat in applesauce, molasses, vanilla and egg.

Add dry ingredients and beat well.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve warm with whipped cream.

We didn't have any whipped cream this morning but this cake was AWESOME just plain with a cup of coffee after we got back from our morning walk!

Pumpkin Pie Spice

8 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cloves

Linking up with the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop. Thanks Deb and Heidi for hosting the hop! :)

Thankful Thursday, #5

2012-02-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

Today, I am thankful for...

...the sound of a rooster crowing in the morning. Hearing the rooster crow in the morning as I'm going down to milk the goat always brings a smile to my face, even though he doesn't quite have his "grown-up" voice yet or maybe it's because he doesn't quite have his grown-up voice yet! ;-)

First of the Month - February

2012-02-02T04:54:00.000-08:00

I'm joining Jan at Murrieta 365 for her First Of The Month meme all this year. Here are the ground rules per her site: "The goal is to capture one thing repeatedly on the first of each month. It can be a landscape, a person, an animal, a project; whatever your focus is, is fine. It can even be a record of where you are each First of the Month." I am focusing on my Alpine doe, Abigail, and her first pregnancy and kidding. You can find my post for January here. By the way, it's not too late to join in! :)
I'm also linking up with the brand new Rural Thursday Blog Hop hosted by Nancy at A Rural Journal and Lisa at Two Bears Farm. Check it out! :)

I was thinking that there really wasn't a lot of difference noticeable with Abigail since last month, until I went back and looked at last month's pictures! Her belly is definitely bigger and lower.

Because she is pregnant, I'm focusing on her nutrition. As you can see, she's really enjoying the mineral blocks we have out for the animals!

She also gets a 16% protein grain ration every day to help the babies grow big and strong. This is the same "goat cereal" I feed to Madeline while I'm milking her. All of the goats get good quality alfalfa for their hay.

I put Abigail down in the spare pen to feed her the goat cereral to make sure she gets it and not her maaa or grandmommy! She is a bit skittish yet, sometimes I can pet her and love on her and sometimes NOT!! Her maaa was the same way at this age and has turned out to be a great milker and is a real love with me. I'm working on getting Abigail settled down so that she will lead every time and come over to me for lovin'. Of course, if I have the bowl of goat cereal, I'm her best friend! LOL!!
That's it for this month, by next month she should really be getting big as she will be three months' pregnant.

Fingerless Gloves/Handwarmers

2012-02-01T04:51:00.000-08:00

My blogger friend Sharon at High Prairie Farmgirl was talking about taking up knitting again and posted a picture of some lovely knit fingerless gloves as inspiration. I asked her about them and she turned me on to AllFreeKnitting.com. What a great site! I looked through all the fingerless glove/handwarmer patterns and decided I would like to make these.

I used to knit quite a bit but haven't so much lately. I have made everything from socks to sweaters to afghans (yep, I like to knit afghans) and have even made mittens before. I really like this pattern because they are knit flat and then seamed together, as opposed to knitting in the round.

The moss stitch adds some nice texture too.

I was really pleased with how quickly they knit up, even with my rusty skills! I was able to finish them in two days and that was knitting in between batches of bread! You can find the pattern here.

I'm looking forward to wearing my new fingerless gloves on our morning walks. :)
Linking up to The Country Homemaker Hop co-hosted by Heidi at My Simple Country Living and Michelle at Michelle's Little Piece Of Heaven.

Tuesday's Tails, #11

2012-01-31T09:02:00.000-08:00

This week, Tuesday's Tails is going to the birds...some of the birds that hang out around the Lazy J Bar C that is!

First up are my favorites, the ravens. We have a pair that have been here for several years that hang out down at the barn. These birds are huge, every bit as big as the chickens!

How do I know they are the same ones you ask? Check out this one flying away, he/she has a bad foot - you can see it hanging down in the picture.

Next is another one of my favorites, the Swainson's hawk. I had never seen these guys around here until the past couple of years, usually only the red-tailed hawks. This one cruises over the barn every afternoon, glad I have wire over the top of the chickens' pen!

Next is the curve-billed thrasher. They like to build their nests in the cholla cactus. We had one build a nest in a cholla down near the barn two years in a row, it was fun watching the eggs hatch! Jerry finally had to dig up the cactus though because it got too big and the horse and goats kept getting stickers. This lady usually hangs out down by the chicken coop; although, yesterday, she was in the garden when I went out to take pictures of the sproutage. Sorry for the blurry picture but I wanted ya'll to see her yellow-orange eye.

Then she flew up on top of the chimney. She likes to sit up there and sing, she makes lovely sounds and I like listening to her but her song kind of echoes down the chimney into the fireplace and it drives the cats nuts! LOL!!

Also in the garden yesterday were the sparrows. I believe they are sage sparrows but I'm not 100% sure. These guys are only here during the winter, hmmm...does that make them snowbirds?!? LOL!!

And no post about birds in the high desert would be complete without a picture of a roadrunner doing what roadrunners do best...running across the road! This one is a young bird, they can get quite a bit bigger than this. In the summer when the lizards are hanging out up here around the house, we see a LOT of roadrunner activity as lizard is one of their favorite meals.

That's it for this week's Tuesday's Tails, I hope ya'll enjoyed hangin' out with the birds! :)

Cool Weather Crops

2012-01-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

Woo-Hoo! I got out in the garden last Monday and got some seeds in the ground! Not everything I was hoping for but quite a bit. I still have to get some lettuce and spinach planted. Here are the "before" pictures of the beds prepared for planting.

I have one cabbage that made it past the grasshoppers and birds from last fall so I planted more cabbage and cauliflower in this bed.

This bed is planted with collard greens for the chickens.

This bed is planted with turnips, rutabagas, beets, radishes and snow peas along the trellis in the back of the picture.

I watered everything well and then covered with plastic to help the seeds germinate.

The other half of this bed I planted with broccoli.

Today, we have sproutage! YAY!!

I really haven't been gardening for very long and it always gives me a sense of satisfaction and thrills me deep in my soul when I plant seeds and they grow into wonderful FOOD that will nourish our bodies! Nature is truly amazing!

I'm linking up with Heidi and her Country Garden Showcase at My Simple Country Living.

For all of you who think you can't garden in the dead of winter (like we can here in the high desert), check out my previous post Grow Your Own Sprouts. Talk about a "gardening" project with almost immediate gratification! All these lovely sprouts took less than a week to grow! :)

Hand-Made Pay It Forward! Pass It On! Don't Pass It Up!!

2012-01-30T10:52:00.000-08:00

Kaye from Giggles and Raspberries did a post last week for Hand-Made Pay It Forward 2012. She inspired Susan at e-i-e-i-omg to pass it on and Susan, in turn, inspired Tombstone Tidings to pass it on and she, in turn, inspired me to pass it on. Whew, that was a LOT of passing it ons! I hope I can inspire some of you to participate in this really cool idea!

So, here are the two rules:
1. I promise to make something and send it (before the end of 2012) to the first five people who comment on this post.
2. If you are one of the first five, you must promise to re-post the rules on your blog (or even Facbook) and send something to the first five people who comment on your post. The item must be hand made by you and the recipient must receive the gift before the end of 2012. The item may be as simple or as complicated as you would like. You just have to promise to follow through.

That's not too tough and it gives me an "excuse" to make stuff! I see all these neat ideas for crafty things and have trouble justifying to myself the need to make them but if I can give them away to you guys, YAY!

Anyway, I hope some of you also think this sounds like fun and leave a comment below to join in! :)

Bakin' Bacon

2012-01-27T07:53:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I saw someone (can't remember who but it was probably Paula Deen) on Food Network bake their bacon in the oven instead of frying it or cooking it in the microwave. I figured I would try it since I hate frying bacon because it makes such a big mess, and it never really comes out the way we like it - crispy - cooking it in the microwave. I always bake the bacon now and it's always crispy, it tends itself while baking - you don't need to turn it - and clean up is pretty easy!

I took one of my old cooling racks and relagated it to just the bacon bakin' rack (you have to say that REAL fast - bacon bakin'). I line my cookie sheet with foil too for easier clean up.

Just line up your bacon slices on the rack and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes depending on the thickness of your bacon and how crispy you like it.

It always turns out perfectly cooked, it doesn't curl up and like I mentioned, no turning or fussing required which leaves you free to concentrate on the rest of the meal!

If you want to save your bacon grease just let it cool a bit and pour it into your container. As for clean up, if you put some hot water on the rack for a few minutes it cleans up pretty easily. It doesn't even need to be completely submerged in the water.

I hope you try bakin' bacon the next time you fix it, I highly recommend it! :)

Linking up to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop hosted by Deb at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House and Heidi at My Simple Country Living.

Thankful Thursday, #4

2012-01-26T05:16:00.000-08:00

Today, I am thankful for...

...the ibuprofen and homeopathic sinus medication that is keeping me going with what I hope is just a head cold! LOL!!

Rye Bread - Three Ways

2012-01-25T03:24:00.000-08:00

We love rye bread here at the Lazy J Bar C and eat it often! I make at least six different types of rye bread to sell at the Farmer's Market. This is my basic rye bread recipe that I can "change up" to get different varieties. The picture below shows Onion Rye on the left, Caraway Rye in the back and Dill Rye in the front. These three are very consistent sellers and the Onion Rye makes for a killer patty melt!

Rye Bread

1 1/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups medium rye flour
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast (If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients.)

Now here is where you can vary the type of rye bread you are making.
Add 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
OR 3 tablespoons dried chopped onion
OR 1 tablespoon dried dill weed and 1 tablespoon dried dill seed

For today's post, I'm featuring the Dill Rye shaped into half loaves. The half loaves have become very popular at the Farmer's Market, people like being able to mix and match two types of bread or just buy a small loaf if they are single or have a smaller family. I have found that when most people say they don't like rye bread it's really the caraway seeds that they don't like. This Dill Rye has no caraway seeds just lots of lovely dill flavor.

Mix, knead and let your dough rise until doubled using your favorite method; bread machine, manual or stand mixer. Shape into a loaf and place in a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch bread pan. I love the "feel" the rye flour gives to the dough, totally different than using all wheat flour.

Let the dough rise in a warm place until nearly doubled.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until done. Cover loosely with foil after about 10 minutes to prevent over browning.

No matter which version you make, this bread has a lovely light texture and slices beautifully. It's funny, living here in the desert southwest, I can find Masa flour all day long but I have to buy my rye flour at a health food store! LOL!!

One of these days, I will post the recipe for the dark Pumpernickel Rye and Jerry's favorite, the Scandinavian Rye with fennel, caraway, dried orange peel, molasses and buttermilk! :) I'm linking up to The Country Homemaker Hop with Heidi at My Simple Country Living.

Tuesday's Tails, #10

2012-01-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

This week I thought I would share pictures of some of the critters who have been visiting us at the Farmer's Market recently.

A lady had five of these Golden Laced Polish roosters for sale. She brought them on two separate occasions and finally sold them all this past Saturday. My friend Sharon took this picture for me with her cell phone, thanks Sharon! The lady was carrying this guy around like a baby and he kept falling asleep in her arms! LOL!!

A couple of weeks ago, we had the "Three Amigos" come and visit. They are three young wethered Alpacas. They were all perfectly groomed and beautiful until they decided to roll in the loose, dead grass!

One of the vendors occasionally brings one of their Pygmy goats for the children to pet but I don't have pictures yet. We also always have vendors and customers who bring their dogs. Most of them are very well behaved but there is one who likes to chase the poor little goat! I need to remember to take my camera every week so I can capture all the animal happenings at the Farmer's Market.

Pruning the Fruit Trees - Finally!

2012-01-23T09:02:00.000-08:00

We finally got out yesterday and pruned the dwarf fruit trees. Sadly, I must admit that this is the first time we have done it since we planted them as bareroot stock in 2007. The first few years, they didn't really need it and last year I just never got around to it. The pear and plum trees were getting too tall and the peach tree had so many branches and leaves that there was no light getting to the fruit inside to ripen it. The taller tree to the left is a Carpathian walnut tree and it is supposed to be tall so I didn't mess with it. We actually got seven walnuts off of it this past year! :)

When I go back and look at the pictures, it is kind of hard to tell we actually did anything on the pear and plum trees!

Kieffer pear before

Kieffer pear after

The silly pear tree is budding out already! I'm not sure what kind of yield we will get this year, I don't think we have had enough chill hours.

Santa Rosa plum before

Santa Rosa plum after

The height of the plum tree is now even with the top of the fence but it's hard to tell with the Vitex in the background. I cut about two feet off the top.

Peach before

Peach after

The peach tree was given to us so I don't know the variety but it bears the biggest, juiciest, freestone peaches and it is only about 4-1/2 feet tall! YUM!

I certainly hope we did our pruning right and that it helps the trees be more productive. I'm linking up with Heidi's Country Garden Showcase at My Simple Country Living.

Appliqued Wall Hanging

2012-01-20T08:14:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun making the appliqued Christmas Moose Pillow awhile back that I wanted to do another small project. The original design was from Qweenee Quail Quilts. I'm not a quilter but I do like to piece the tops. One of the reasons I made the moose into a pillow was so that I didn't have to worry about quilting or binding the edges! LOL!!

Well, this time I wanted to make a little wall hanging as a gift for one of my friends. The directions were kind of vague..."quilt as desired"..."bind the edges as desired!" I didn't actually quilt it but rather did the applique stitches through all the layers for the quilting. The picture showed a 1/4-inch wide binding but I think if I make another one, I will go for a 1/2-inch wide binding. I used the same material as the body of the chicken for the backing and I added the pewter buttons to hide my "less than perfect" corners! ;-) I wanted to do a chicken so I designed the chicken applique myself. All in all, I'm happy with how it turned out and I sure hope my friend likes it! Linking up to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop with Heidi at My Simple Country Living and Deb at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House.

Thankful Thursday, #3

2012-01-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

Today, I am thankful for...

...my beautiful Alpine doe, Madeline, and all the lovely milk she gives me every day! I always make sure I tell her "thank you" when we are finished milking and give her extra lovin'. This is the milk she gave me this morning.

New Baking Sheet

2012-01-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

Jerry's mom gave me a gift certificate to Bed, Bath & Beyond for Christmas and I knew one of the things I wanted to get was a new baking sheet for my bread business so that I would have two nice ones. I wanted another Chicago Metallic 12 x 18-inch heavy duty baking sheet. I bought one last year at a different Bed, Bath & Beyond. Of course, they didn't have any when I went looking! I wasn't too sure about the USA Pans, what with the corrugated bottom and the silicon coating, but it was the heaviest weight 12 x 18-inch baking sheet they had so I figured, what the heck! When I was checking out, the cashier told me how much she loved her pans like this so I thought maybe it would be okay.

Here is what USA Pans says about the coating on their website "AMERICOAT© Plus is a clear non-stick, environmentally friendly coating that is specifically formulated for superior baking and does not contain any PTFE’s or PFOA’s."

I have been using my new pan for a couple of weeks now and I absolutely LOVE it! It bakes evenly and nothing sticks! If you are in the market for new baking pans, I highly recommend USA Pans AND they are Made In America! :) I know I will be looking for some muffin pans, cake pans, loaf pans, a hearth bread pan, mini loaf pans, etc., etc...

Just so you know, nobody at USA Pans knows who I am (or cares!) and I was not compensated in any way, shape or form for this testimonial. I just love this pan and wanted to share with all of you! I'm linking up to The Country Homemaker Hop with Heidi over at My Simple Country Living.

Tuesday's Tails, #9

2012-01-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, T-Bone and Shorty went back home. The youngest daughter is back from Texas and Shorty is her horse and she will make sure both are taken good care of. Anyway, we were thinking of getting another horse as a pasture mate for Jerry's horse, Paco. There is a horse auction in Benson on the second Saturday of each month so Jerry went this past weekend to see if he could find anything. Well...you can see what he came home with!! I was blown away when he told me what he bought! A miniature donkey and her 7-month-old foal!! We weren't even sure if the foal was a jack or a jennet until this morning. LOL!! Meet Esmeralda (mom) and Mercedes!

Esmeralda

I had to keep backing up to get her picture!

Mercedes

We didn't know much about miniature donkeys until we bought these girls. We always thought they had been bred down to mini size but they are actually normally this size and are originally from the Mediterranean. They are naturally friendly towards people. We noticed! LOL!!

They don't like dogs (just ask Buddy, they chase him!) BUT they do not make suitable livestock guardians, they just aren't big enough to fight off predators. We used to have a standard size donkey but one of the horses we had at the time was picking on him so we gave him to some friends of ours who have two little kids and the kids just love him! I have missed my donkey and the braying ever since. Jerry said that was one of the reasons he decided to buy these girls, that and they won't eat much! ;-)

When I went down to the pasture a few minutes ago to give the chickens their treats, Esmeralda saw me coming and she started braying so I called them and they both came a runnin' to get some scritches behind their ears! Sigh...I'm in love already!

Winter Kale

2012-01-16T14:09:00.000-08:00

I got absolutely NOTHING done in the garden this past week! In my defense though, Jerry's mom was here visiting. What?!? It sounded like a good excuse to me! LOL!!
I did get some seeds ordered and they should be arriving sometime this week.
I wanted to link up with Heidi's Country Garden Showcase this week so I thought I would show ya'll some pictures of the beautiful kale that is just about the only thing growing in my garden right now. We don't eat it as often as we should but the chickens are always happy to see me coming with some greens! :) Maybe I'll get around to making some Zuppa Toscana this week.

I think they are pretty enough to deserve their own post! :)

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

2012-01-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

I have really gotten into roasting veggies recently, see the recipe for Quick Roasted Brussels Sprouts from Farmgirl Susan that I made last week, yummy!! I am trying to do better about eating in season and decided to roast some root vegetables the other day to go with our leftover ham. I was actually able to buy some of the vegetables at the Farmer's Market. :) This turned out really good, it is very quick and easy to make, and is a healthy side dish if you use olive oil. Adjust quantities and types of vegetables depending on what you like, have available, and how many you are cooking for.

Roasted Root Vegetables

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 or 2 red or white potatoes, cubed
1 or 2 carrots, peeled and cubed
1 or 2 parsnips, peeled and cubed
1 turnip, peeled and cubed
1/2 of a rutabaga, peeled and cubed
1/2 of a large onion, chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place all ingredients into a baking dish and mix well.

Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the vegetables, stirring once or twice until done and nicely browned.

Roasting vegetables brings out their natural sweetness and makes them oh so good!

I'm linking up to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop hosted this week by Heidi at My Simple Country Living. Thanks Heidi! :)

Thankful Thursday, #2

2012-01-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

Today, I am thankful for...

Harriet helping at the Farmer's Market this past summer.

...my mother-in-law.

Jerry's mom got her own place in Green Valley, about an hour away, in November. She hasn't had a chance to make many social contacts yet and she gets lonely. She is here visiting with us this week. Today, we are going to take a trip to Tombstone and Saturday, she is going to go with me to the Farmer's Market. I lost my mom 25 years ago and my dad 5 years ago. I am thankful that, at 85, Harriet is still with us and that I can enjoy her company! :)

Vegetable Beef Soup

2012-01-11T08:18:00.000-08:00

I love making soup, it is so comforting to sit down to a bowl of homemade soup and a nice piece of homemade bread! I have only been making homemade soup for a year or so, I used to be intimidated by the thought of getting the seasonings right. Go figure! I have come to realize that soup is so easy to make from scratch and it doesn't matter if it isn't the same every time, just use what you have and it will still be good!

We picked up a package of local, grass-fed beef stew meat at the Farmer's Market last week and that was my inspiration for this soup. I have made lots and lots of different chicken soups but this is my first vegetable beef, I usually just make stew. I know, I know, not really much difference is there? :)

This is one of those recipes without specific quantities for the ingredients, just add whatever you have on hand, in the amount you like, and become one with the soup! I tried to keep it simple to let the beef become the main "star" of the dish. I do like to use stock in a box as opposed to canned broth because it has more flavor and less sodium. Uh, I think I've been watching too much Food Network!

Saute some chopped onion in a little butter and olive oil until soft.

Dredge the beef chunks in seasoned flour and add them to the pot and let them get nice and brown to add to the flavor. Then add about 2 cups of the stock and one cup of water and a little dried thyme or whatever seasoning you prefer and let the meat simmer for about an hour.

Add some diced potato and let that cook for about 10 minutes.

Then add a nice heaping amount of frozen mixed vegetables and let the soup cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until the vegetables are done. Check and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Stop by The Country Homemaker Blog Hop and see what Heidi and all the other ladies are up to this week! :)

Tuesday's Tails, #8

2012-01-10T05:54:00.000-08:00

Today, I thought I would share some pictures of the cats who rule the house here at the Lazy J Bar C! ;-)

Ruby on the left, Bob on the right.

Bob, "Ahhh, the fire feels good!"

Smile for the camera Bob!!

Garden Planning

2012-01-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

I'm joining Heidi's Country Garden Showcase Blog Hop this week! Hop on over to My Simple Country Living to see what everyone is planning for this year or in Heidi's case...already DOING!! Please join in with other gardeners from around the country so that we can all share our trials, tribulations and successes!!

I really haven't been gardening very long. The past two summers, I grew veggies for us but primarily to sell at the Farmer's Market. I have learned a LOT about gardening here in the high desert! I really like the Square Foot Gardening technique but what I really LOVE about it is the use of the boxes to plant in. Mine aren't really raised beds but rather designated beds that don't get walked on so the soil stays nice and loose. One of the things I noticed early last summer was that the squash plants that were planted in the boxes were doing much, much better than the ones that were not. I believe it is because the boxes help to hold the moisture in. We built boxes around the three squash plants "outside" and they really took off! This year, I am going to plant exclusively in boxes. I'm also scaling the garden way back this year and I will only grow produce for us, not for the market. This is because of my Farmer's Market bread baking business! :) I need to take stock of my stash of seeds and see what I need to order. I have found that drawing up a garden "plan" helps me remember what was planted where last year to help with crop rotation. I started my pepper, eggplant and tomato seeds too early last year and had to transplant them twice before it was time to set them out so I'm going to wait until March to start them this year.

By next week, I'm hoping to have some before-and-after pruning pictures of my fruit trees. This is the time of year to do that here. I'm also hoping that by joining this Blog Hop, I will be inspired to get some cold weather crops going in my garden. I had planted quite a bit (twice!) in the fall but the stinkin' grasshoppers ate the sprouts as quick as they came up!

What are you planning for this year's garden or have you already started?

Quick Lemon Butter Shrimp with Spinach

2012-01-06T07:29:00.000-08:00

This is just SOOO good and so quick and easy to make, it is truly a 30-minute meal!

This is very similar to the Shrimp Portofino at Romano's Macaroni Grill, except they add mushrooms and toasted pine nuts which I leave out because Jerry doesn't care for them. I highly recommend adding the mushrooms though! :) This recipe serves two.

Lemon Butter Shrimp with Spinach

1/2 pound raw shrimp, shelled, deveined and tails removed
4 tablespoons butter
Large handful of fresh spinach, chopped (from our garden! YAY!)
Juice and zest of one lemon
1/4 pound Angel Hair pasta

Melt butter in a medium skillet.

Add shrimp and cook 2-3 minutes on first side.

Turn shrimp and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until pink. Don't overcook or they will be tough.

Add spinach and cook until wilted. Stir in lemon juice and zest. In the meantime, cook the pasta.

Serve shrimp over pasta.

To round out this lovely, lemony main dish, I made Farmgirl Susan's Quick Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Parmesan. This is the second time I have made these and they are quick, incredibly easy and bursting with flavor!

Check out Farmgirl Susan's blog at Farmgirl Fare for great recipes and pictures of life on their 240-acre farm in Missouri with sheep, donkeys and dogs!

Linking up with the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House!

Thankful Thursday, #1

2012-01-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

Today, I am thankful for

Flannel sheets dried outside on the line.

My blogger friend Julie at Mooberry Farm Homesteading Journal does a Thankful Thursday post every week and it got me to thinking. By taking just one day a week and focusing on something to be thankful for, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem at the time, it would make me more appreciative of my life and all the wonderful people, animals and "things" in it. And as an added bonus, it would give me more structure in my blogging! LOL!! Thanks Julie for being my inspiration! :)

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread

2012-01-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about whole grains and the importance of adding whole grains to our daily diets. Whole grains contain complex carbohydrates, protein, and B vitamins and iron. They also contain fiber which is important in helping to feel satisfied when we eat.

This time of year, many people "resolve" to eat better in the coming year and the first thing they say is "No more bread, it's too fattening!" Well, this is true if you are eating the overprocessed, white bread fluff that is most supermarket bread! What we need to do is eat more whole grain breads made with the best quality ingredients we can afford to buy! If you pair your nutritious whole grain bread with a bowl of homemade soup or a nice salad made with garden fresh veggies you are doing your body a favor.

Making bread is incredibly easy, especially if you let your bread machine do the hard/tedious tasks of mixing and kneading the dough. While the bread machine is hard at work, you can be busy doing other stuff like feeding the chickens or milking the goat. ;-) One of the things that led me to baking bread and selling it at the Farmer's Market was my desire to feed Jerry and I better food and I realized that whole grain breads could and should be part of the plan.

This recipe makes a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf of bread or 12 rolls. I made these rolls to take to the Farmer's Market this week so, sadly, I won't be able to show you one cut open with butter on it! This is a 100% whole wheat bread without any white flour or white sugar. The egg adds lightness to the dough and the orange juice helps to cut the bitterness sometimes associated with 100% whole wheat bread.

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread

3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg, room temperature
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup raw wheat germ
4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast (If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients.)

Mix, knead and let your dough rise until doubled using your favorite method; bread machine, manual or stand mixer. This time, I divided the dough into 12 pieces and made rolls. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

I'm linking up to The Country Homemaker Hop hosted by Heidi at My Simple Country Living. This is a new blog hop that is just starting this week! Stop by and check it out and join in the fun! :)

Tuesday's Tails, #7

2012-01-03T10:40:00.000-08:00

Jerry and I go for a walk almost every day. We walk out in our friends' cow pasture near our house. There are 30 to 35 cows, heifers, calves and a bull in the pasture and some days we see the cows and some days not, it's a big pasture. Recently, they were right by the road AND I happened to remember to bring the camera! ;-) Here are a few pictures. I liked the "composition" of this picture with the rolling hills and snow-covered mountain in the background.

Whadda ya' think of our Arizona Longhorn cows?!? It's actually kind of hard to get a picture of this particular cow, she is pretty shy. That is her calf with her.

I didn't want to get too close or she would just walk off.

I also wanted to include this picture I took a couple of weeks ago when the fog rolled in as we were out walking.

This particular bush always looks like a stag from the top of the hill, especially in the fog! It is one of my favorite desert bushes, Larrea tridentata, more commonly called Greasewood or Creosote around here, and is the smell of the high desert after a rain! Lovely bush with waxy green leaves and pretty yellow puffball flowers after a rain and it is medicinal to boot; although hard to process.

First of the Month - January

2012-01-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to join Jan at Murrieta 365 for her First of the Month meme. Here are the ground rules per her site: "The goal is to capture one thing repeatedly on the first of each month. It can be a landscape, a person, an animal, a project; whatever your focus is, is fine. It can even be a record of where you are each First of the Month."

I have decided to focus on my pregnant goat, Abigail, for this project. This will be her first time kidding. She is currently only two months along and is due in April so we will get to see just how big a goat gets when pregnant! I always think they surely must explode! LOL!! Then we will get to watch as the baby(ies) grow up. We will also get to see what kind of a milker she turns out to be. Her maaa is GREAT!! :)

These are some pictures from this morning.

Her maaa is an Alpine and dad a Nubian. She got dad's Nubian markings and maaa's wattles. She doesn't have her maaa's beard but she does have "Flying Nun" ears!! I wouldn't swear to it but I think that is a "baby bump" already on her right side!

I also had to include her baby picture from the day she was born, March 29, 2010. Good thing she grew into those ears, huh?!? ;-)

It will be interesting to have a photo record of the changes over the coming year. It's not too late for you to join in on the fun too, come play along!!

Happy Birthday!

2011-12-31T09:41:00.000-08:00

To ME!!

I know, I know I got my new camera recently and it was supposed to be for all major holidays for the next year! ;-) But I have been wanting a smaller, 3-quart porcelain-coated cast-iron Dutch oven for awhile now and so...I ordered one last week and it came yesterday, just in time for my birthday today! YAY!! I love, love, love my 6-quart porcelain-coated cast-iron Dutch oven but since there is only the two of us, sometimes it is just too big. Anyway, just wanted to ~~show off~~ share my new toy! Farmgirls are SOOO easy to please! LOL!! Here is a picture of my two Dutch ovens together so you can see the difference in size.

Happy New Year everyone! I have so enjoyed visiting your blogs this past year and I really appreciate all the comments you leave me here! Here's to a wonderful New Year in Blogger Land! :)

Mexican Pork and Beans

2011-12-30T09:14:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite slow cooker recipes and I have been making it for several years. The original recipe is great just the way it is but I decided it needed a "Farmgirl" makeover to use fresh ingredients, home canned salsa and our goat cheese! Here is the original recipe:

Mexican Pork and Beans

1 pound boneless pork loin cut into 1-inch pieces
1 jar (20 ounces) salsa
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles, drained
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Mix pork, salsa and chilies in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or until pork is tender. Stir in beans. Cover and cook 10 minutes more or until hot. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve over hot cooked rice or tortilla chips.

Pretty simple, huh? Very tasty too! Now, for the "Farmgirl" makeover.

Season the pork with salt and Seasoned Pepper and brown it in a cast iron skillet. I like to get a nice sear on the meat to enhance the flavor.

Put the meat into the slow cooker and deglaze the pan with the salsa to get up all those lovely browned bits of pork!

I don't have a pressure canner (yet) so I used some freezer salsa that I had made with corn and black beans in it and I also added half a cup of Southwest Salsa, both made using produce from our garden, to get the 20 ounces recommended. I added the salsa to the slow cooker along with half a cup of freshly roasted green chiles from the Farmer's Market. Hey, I live in Arizona, remember? We have stuff like that available year round! ;-) These particular chiles were a little on the hot side so I didn't use a full half cup.

Mix well; cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. In the meantime, cook one-half cup of dried black beans. Pinto beans would also work well.

When the pork is tender, stir in the cooked beans and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until heated through. I served this over hot cooked rice and topped it with grated Queso Blanco made from our goat milk. I had to add some Cheddar because I didn't have enough of the goat cheese. :) We also had some homemade tortillas from the Farmer's Market.

This is a very easy and tasty healthy dish either way you make it! Have you given a favorite recipe a makeover to use fresher, home grown and/or home canned ingredients? I'm linking up to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House! :)

Schedules

2011-12-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

I am a creature of habit and I have found that I work best to a schedule. This became very apparent this past summer with my house cleaning...or should I say lack thereof! When I was able to start baking bread to sell at the Farmer's Market again, I was home all day and figured I could clean house whenever I had some spare time. HA! As anyone who has ever worked from home can tell you, there isn't really ever any spare time! I was also blaming my lack of house cleaning on the fact that Jerry's mom was here and I didn't want to disturb her TV watching. ;-)

I already work to a schedule with my baking. On Monday, for instance, I make the loaves of bread because I can bake two at a time in the oven and I can knock out quite a bit on that one day. I also have "Cheese Bread" Tuesday when I work on all the breads and rolls that contain cheese.

When I was a stay-at-home-wife in my former life in the suburbs of Los Angeles, I actually did my house cleaning per a schedule and it worked really well for me so I figured I should probably go that route again. I have been using a schedule for cleaning for almost two months now and I am very pleased with my "cleaner" house! :) Monday is bathroom day. Cleaning the shower is my least favorite chore in the whole world but I have found that now that I do it every week, it is a whole lot easier! LOL!! I also take the dirty towels and damp mop the bathroom and kitchen floors before throwing them in the wash, keeps the floors looking nicer in between regular mopping. Tuesday is dusting day and cleaning "kitty noses" off of the windows. Wednesday is vacuuming day, especially the sofa and chair where the kitties like to sleep. Of course, EVERY day is laundry day! Thursdays and Fridays are usually pretty busy finishing up the baking for the week and getting everything ready for the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. On Monday, I check the weather forecast for the week to see which day will be nice for hanging out the sheets and that becomes bed-changing day. I have also found that since I am only doing one chore each day, it isn't so overwhelming and I will actually get it done rather than procrastinate. When I was trying to do everything on Sunday, it was very easy to find something else to do and then, guess what, nothing got done!

Schedules seem to work best for me. What strategies do you use to keep on track with chores?

Leftovers

2011-12-28T08:40:00.000-08:00

We went to Jerry's sister's for Christmas day and had a lovely time! Jerry's mom was there too and we had ham, beans, pasta salad, homemade rolls, goat cheese and crackers, and homemade pickles and deviled eggs, YUMMY! Heck, I could have gotten by on the cheese, crackers, pickles and deviled eggs! :) There was quite a bit of ham left over so everyone got to take some home. It was a spiral sliced ham and Jerry's sister and mom took the precut slices which left me with the HAM BONE!! :)

The latest issue of MaryJanesFarm magazine has several recipes using a ham bone and they call the article "Nothin' but a ham bone." I thought that was pretty cute! I got enough meat off of the "bone" for five meals for the two of us plus there is still enough meat on the bone to cook up with a big pot of beans. WOO-HOO!! I just love it when I can get frugal, especially with food!

Any good leftovers at your house?

Tuesday's Tails, #6

2011-12-27T09:27:00.000-08:00

We said goodbye to the Barred Rock hens last week. One of our friends said he would take them when he found out that we wanted to find them a new home in the spring. He gave away his hens a couple of years ago because he was having some health issues and is now ready to have some chickens around again. Our enclosure for the chickens has already been expanded twice but it was just too small for 22 chickens! The Peeper People, at 12 weeks old, are now as big as the full-grown Barred Rocks! It was time for them to go to their new home; besides, I was only getting about six eggs a week. We ate the last four for breakfast this morning. :(

One of the two Roo boys, they are both VERY nice so far!

I did keep my Aracuna, Dolores. She was one of my first chickens. Here she is getting ready to roust the young girls out of their dust bath.

The Peeper People have not been going into the chicken coop yet. With the nicer weather Monday, Jerry cleaned out the old straw and put some new down. Their curiosity seems to be getting the better of them or maybe it just doesn't smell like the Barred Rocks anymore! ;-)

"Are you REALLY sure we are allowed to come in here?!?"

"So far so good, maybe just a little farther in."

Here comes a third! Maybe by tonight they will all be sleeping in the hen house!

New Camera for Christmas...Birthday...Valentine's...Easter...

2011-12-26T09:39:00.000-08:00

I LOOVE my hubby!! He indulges me occasionally and this time he did BIG time! :)

There are so many talented photographers out there in blogger land and they have inspired me to try to improve my own photography skills. To that end, I have been wanting a new camera for awhile and Teresa at Eden Hills had recently posted about how much she liked her Nikon D3100 and how much she missed it while it was away being cleaned. I did some research and found that the Nikon D3100 is considered an excellent entry level D-SLR camera. We found the best pricing locally at Best Buy in Tucson and headed out a couple of weeks ago to check it out and possibly buy one. A purchase that big I wanted to make in person as opposed to over the internet...I like to touch and see! LOL!!

It was December 15th and the store was super busy but the salesman was very attentive and really took the time with us that we felt we needed to make an informed decision. He showed us several different cameras and told us about the pros and cons of each. Needless to say, I left with the Nikon, in Candy-Apple Red no less!!, and a 55-200 telephoto lens. Since we purchased the telephoto lens at the same time as the camera there was a substantial savings.

I have been having fun taking pictures with my new camera, I used it all last week with the candy making posts. I have been playing around with the telephoto lens too and took a couple of neat pictures of the mountains to the north last week during our bad weather. They reminded me of Scotland! :)

I'm loving the macro setting too, it's more "macro-y" than my little Canon PowerShot A590. I still need to read the user's guide completely and figure out exactly what all neat things this camera can do! I'm hoping to get some cool photos of the animals and the garden as the year progresses and with the amount of winter rain we have had so far, we should get a beautiful display of spring wildflowers!

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

2011-12-23T05:28:00.000-08:00

These chocolate peanut clusters are SOOO easy to make and so incredibly good! This was my dad's favorite Christmas candy and he liked them so well that he even requested them for his birthday. :) Again, this recipe makes a LOT so feel free to cut it in half, I always do and there are plenty!

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

4 cups roasted salted peanuts
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
24 ounces vanilla chips

Melt chips together, either in the microwave or in the top of a double boiler. Stir in peanuts. Drop onto waxed paper to harden for a couple of hours. That's it!! They are peanuty, chocolatey, salty yumminess!

I hope you all have enjoyed hanging out this week making Christmas candy! Here is a picture of one of the plates of goodies that the neighbors received.

I would like to wish you all a Happy Holiday and hope you get to share some time with family and friends!

Chocolate Toffee Truffles

2011-12-22T06:05:00.000-08:00

These were a new candy for me this year. I have made truffles in the past but never with the toffee chips in them. They turned out very good! I dipped them in chocolate and then drizzled them with the white chocolate to differentiate them from the Bon Bons but you could also just roll them in cocoa powder or chocolate sprinkles or even colored sugar. For gift giving, they look very nice placed individually in paper candy cups.

Chocolate Toffee Truffles

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup butter
1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
2/3 cup toffee chips
3 tablespoons milk

Melt together the chocolate chips and butter, remove from heat. Stir in the powdered sugar, toffee chips and milk. Mix well until blended (go ahead, use your hands, it's easier!). Cover and chill mixture until firm enough to shape, 1 to 2 hours. Shape into 1-inch balls. At this point, either dip them in melted chocolate or roll them in cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles or colored sugar. For the white chocolate drizzle, I melted the chocolate with a little cooking oil, put it in a plastic baggie, snipped off a tiny corner and drizzled it quickly over the candies.

One more candy post left for tomorrow, the easiest one of all and my dad's favorite, Chocolate Peanut Clusters! :)

Maple Fudge

2011-12-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else remember when the Fantasy Fudge recipe on the back of the Marshmallow Creme jar included instructions for making it in the microwave? Well, I do and for some reason (thank goodness) I wrote it down! I have been making my fudge in the microwave ever since and it always turns out great, right consistency and never grainy. The secret is to use at least a 4-quart bowl or it will boil over, trust me! ;-) I think mine is probably a 6-quart and just barely fits in the microwave.

This is just the basic Fantasy Fudge recipe substituting vanilla chips for the chocolate chips and maple extract for the vanilla. I also use my goat milk, I haven't bought canned evaporated milk in several years.

Maple Fudge

3/4 cup butter
3 cups sugar
2/3 cup milk
12 ounces vanilla chips
7-ounce jar Marshmallow Creme
1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract (I use a little extra just because)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts if desired

Melt butter in a 4-quart bowl in microwave on high. Add sugar and milk; mix well. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stir after 3 minutes. Mix well and scrape down bowl. Microwave on high 5 1/2 minutes, stir after 3 minutes. Add vanilla chips and stir until melted. Add Marshmallow Creme, maple extract and nuts if using; mix well. Pour into a well buttered 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Cool at room temperature. Cut into squares.

As an added bonus today, I thought I would share a picture of this candy mouse that the neighbor made! She makes these every year and includes them on our Christmas goody plate. The body is a chocolate covered cherry, the head is a Hershey's Kiss and the ears are sliced almonds. She "glues" it all together with a little melted chocolate. They sure are cute! :)

Chocolate Dipped Bon-Bons

2011-12-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite of all the Christmas candy recipes! I can remember as a kid, every time I would be in the kitchen, I would have to snitch one of these out of the fridge! My mom would always say "Who has been in the Bon-Bons?!? There won't be any left for Christmas!" I'm still pretty bad about snitching one every time I get in the fridge but who can blame me when you have sweetened condensed milk, coconut, pecans and powdered sugar all rolled up and dipped in semi-sweet chocolate! YUM!! They are kind of like a Mounds candy bar with pecans added in.

This recipe makes a LOT so you might want to consider cutting it in half. That is what I do now and I use the other half of the can of sweetened condensed milk to make half a recipe of Magic Cookie Bars. My mom's original recipe also calls for paraffin wax to be melted with the dipping chocolate to give it a hard, shiny shell. I still use paraffin but if you don't want to, you can use some solid vegetable shortening instead.

Bon-Bons

1 can sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand not evaporated milk)
7 1/2 ounces shredded coconut
3 cups finely chopped pecans
2 sticks butter, softened
2 pounds powdered sugar
24 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 stick paraffin wax, grated or finely chopped

Mix first five ingredients together well. Refrigerate for a couple of hours to make the dough easy to handle. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. At this point, I usually put them back in the fridge for an hour to make them easier to dip.

Melt chocolate chips and paraffin together in a double boiler or in the microwave. I use the microwave so that it is easier to remelt if it starts getting too thick. (If you use the paraffin, do be careful because it can ignite.) Toss a couple of bon-bons in the chocolate and then using a fork, take them out one at a time dragging the fork across the top of the bowl to remove excess chocolate and place on wax paper to harden.

I got all these from half a recipe plus half as many again that you can see in the back on the right. These candies aren't difficult to make but they do take awhile because of the chilling time.

Here's the one I snitched this morning before going down to milk the goat! ;-)

Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle

2011-12-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

Let the candy making begin!!

My mom always made candy for Christmas. I don't ever remember us having homemade Christmas cookies; although, sometimes we would have a tin of those Swedish butter cookies. That was okay with us because mom made some AWESOME candy! :) After my mother passed away 25 years ago, I took up the Christmas candy making tradition. Luckily, she had shared her recipes with me and I would now like to share them with all of you!

This recipe came from my mom's sister, Aunt Betty. When she first shared the recipe with us, I remember her standing at the stove, stirring the peanut brittle, talking nonstop with a cigarette hanging out of the corner of her mouth! My mom always said that the extra ashes in the peanut brittle is what made Aunt Betty's candy so good! LOL!! It is important to stir constantly once the peanuts have been added in. My grandmother used to complain that her peanut brittle tasted burnt and my mom told her it was because she didn't stir well enough after adding the peanuts in.

Make sure to use a candy thermometer to get the correct consistency and I have also found that a wooden spoon works better than a metal one. When you get all done, you will think that the candy left in the pan will never come off but just take all of your sticky spoons and things, put them in the saucepan, fill it with hot water and let it sit for about 10 minutes and the residue will just melt away.

Peanut Brittle

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup Light Karo corn syrup
1 cup water
2 1/2 cups roasted, salted peanuts
1 teaspoon butter
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage. Add the peanuts and cook to the hard crack stage stirring constantly (you can raise the heat a bit, just make sure to stir, stir, stir). Remove from heat and stir in the butter and the baking soda. Pour onto a well buttered 10 x 15-inch cookie sheet and spread to the edges.

Let cool completely and then break into bite-sized pieces.

I have never had a problem with my peanut brittle not coming out right, even yesterday when it was raining as I was making it!

Let's see, one down and only five more types of candy to go! I will also be making chocolate fudge with walnuts, maple fudge with pecans, chocolate peanut clusters, chocolate covered bon-bons and chocolate toffee truffles. Next up, I will share the recipe for the bon-bons, my favorite!! :)

Eggnog Almond Bread

2011-12-16T13:23:00.000-08:00

Eggnog is definitely a Christmasy thing and this bread has lots of eggnog, toasted almonds and nutmeg! I made it up as jumbo muffins this time to sell at the Farmer's Market tomorrow but you could make a 9 x 5-inch loaf, three 3 1/2 x 5 1/2-inch loaves or regular sized muffins, just adjust the baking time accordingly.

Eggnog Almond Bread

1 cup chopped blanched almonds
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 egg
3 tablespoons oil
1 1/4 cups eggnog

Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, lemon peel and toasted almonds.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg, oil and eggnog.

Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir just until well blended.

Pour batter into greased and flour-dusted pans or line muffin tins with paper liners.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about one hour for a large loaf, about 40 minutes for small loaves, about 30 minutes for jumbo muffins, about 20 minutes for regular muffins or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Dust tops with additional nutmeg if desired. Let cool in pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Linking up to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop over at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House! Hop on over and check out all the fun!

Holiday Horseshoes

2011-12-14T07:01:00.000-08:00

I love dressing up Paco's old horseshoes to use as decor items! Goodness knows, we always have plenty laying around! LOL!!

This is a very easy project. I had Jerry clean up the used horseshoes for me to get rid of all the dirt and horse poop! I gathered up some fake holiday greenery and poinsettias from some tacky looking centerpieces that I had laying around, dug out the glue gun and put on my creative hat.

I think they turned out pretty nice! :)

I am linking this post up with Heidi's Virtual Christmas Ornament Swap. Be sure to stop by and check out all the neat ideas for handmade ornaments!

Tuesday's Tails, #5

2011-12-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

When the weather is cold and damp (like TODAY), my milking doe, Madeline, is usually shivering so bad when I go down to milk her that it just breaks my heart! I keep asking her what she would do if we lived someplace where it really gets cold! LOL!! I thought about making her a goat coat or sweater but I figure it would just get wet and make her even colder.

Here is my solution, I let her wear my jacket while I milk; it just gets in my way anyway! ;-) She usually stops shivering when I'm about half way done with the milking.

"Thanks Maaa, I'm much warmer now!"

Christmas Lights

2011-12-12T14:49:00.000-08:00

We finally got the porch decorated yesterday afternoon and just in time, it has been cold, windy and rainy all day today! It is so dreary that I turned on the inside tree lights and a built a fire in the fireplace.

A little blurry but you get the idea.

This one was taken a little earlier in the evening. I like the simplicity of our decorations.

This is Jerry's favorite picture!

I hope everyone is staying warm and getting in the holiday spirit! :)

December Moon

2011-12-11T16:16:00.000-08:00

This is a picture I took of the moon this morning through the branches of the Kieffer pear tree I featured last month in Autumn's Splendor at the Lazy J Bar C. I was coming back from milking and the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon.

Cranberry Walnut Artisan Bread

2011-12-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

This is one of the special breads that I make for the Farmer's Market this time of year. I think it looks so festive done up as a braid with the dried cranberries! This recipe makes two braided loaves or one 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf.

Cranberry Walnut Bread
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon dried orange peel
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast (If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients.)

Mix, knead and let your dough rise until doubled using your favorite method; bread machine, manual or stand mixer. Divide dough in half and then divide each half into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 15 inches long. Braid the three pieces together and pinch the ends together well. Tuck the ends underneath the braid and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

Linking to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop over at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House! Make sure to go visit and see what all the other Farmgirls are up to! :)

The Yule Goat

2011-12-06T04:53:00.000-08:00

The Benevolent Yule Goat

Along with reindeer, think yule goat at the holidays; it's been part of Scandinavian mid-winter celebrations for more than 1,000 years.

By Sue Weaver

If you think of Christmas and think of reindeer, think again. Think of the yule goat.
Call him the julbock (Sweden), julebukk (Norway), or joulupuuki (Finland), he's been part of Scandinavian mid-winter celebrations for more than one thousand years.
In ancient midwinter celebrations a human dressed in goatskins and wearing a mask portrayed the Norse thunder god Thor's goats, Tanngrisnir (Gap-tooth) and Tanngnjóstr (Tooth-grinder), who pulled his chariot through the winter sky.
In a traveling play called the "Juleoffer," the man-goat "died" and came back to life, just as the winter sun does at Yule.
Early Christian fathers frowned on pagan revelry, so they proclaimed the Yule goat a demon.
According to 17th-century Swedish records, this darker version of the Yule goat traveled the countryside demanding food, playing pranks, and frightening people on the night of December 25.

He eventually become a benevolent being, giving gifts instead of demanding them.

Still later, instead of giving presents he worked for those who brought them. Gnome-like, gift-giving Swedish tomten, Norwegian nissen, and Finnish tonttu all rode Yule goats or hitched them to their sleds.
Early twentieth century Scandinavian artists like Jenny Nyström popularized the Yule goat and his tomten handlers through hundreds of charming, antique Christmas cards you can still buy at eBay today.
Here are several more ways to add the spirit of the Yule goat to your Christmas festivities this year.

Buy or make a straw julbock. The tradition dates back hundred of years, when families saved wheat sheaves until Christmas, then used them to create a goat effigy tied with red ribbons. Scandinavian gift stores sell them, as do eBay sellers this time of year.
Pack up your kids and "go julebukk", a Norwegian custom whereby children dress in costume (goat, gnome, and Christmas elf costumes are especially appropriate) and appear on the doorsteps of family friends, where they sing Christmas carols in exchange for small treats.

This article is reprinted from HobbyFarms.com.

http://polarbearstale.blogspot.com/2010/12/no-christmas-without-yule-goat.html

I couldn't find any instructions to make your own Yule Goat but I liked this picture! I went with the cookies instead. Oh, and this is all that's left of the batch of cookies I made Sunday evening, the farrier and his girlfriend were here yesterday and they really liked the cookies! ;-)

I bought my goat cookie cutter from Hoegger Goat Supply.

Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies

2011-12-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

These are my favorite, favorite, favorite cookies! I only ever make them during the Holidays and I usually only make one batch because I just can't stop eating them!! Did I mention that they are my favorite cookies?!? ;-)

I love shorthbread cookies anyway and with the brown sugar and pecans, these are just over the top!!

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together well, I use my hands. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Okay, I'm going to make a plug for a fellow Farmgirl here because she has the most AMAZING product!!

Mary Beth at Oklahoma Pastry Cloth sells, well, pastry cloths! LOL!! She also has other items too! Several months ago, I ordered a pastry cloth from her and promptly stuck it in the cupboard with my rolling pin. After Thanksgiving, I was making some turkey noodle soup and wanted to make some homemade noodles so I figured I probably should get out the pastry cloth and use it, so I did. Where has this thing been my whole life?!? You just flour it up, NOTHING sticks and when you are done using it, just shake off the excess flour, roll it up, put it in a ziploc bag and stick it in the freezer! I have used it several times now for the noodles, for my Buttermilk Biscuits and now for these cookies. Go check out her site and see for yourself, she has a lot of info about them there.

Back to the cookies...roll out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. I like moons and stars.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Let cool slightly before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hey, did you notice the Yule Goat cookies? I was so excited to find a goat cookie cutter this past year so that I could make my own Yule Goat cookies this holiday season!

I have the beginnings of a whole herd! :) I'll tell you all about the Yule Goat tomorrow for Tuesday's Tails!

Linking to the Christmas Cookie Recipe Exchange at The Way Grandmama does it! :)

Oh Christmas Tree!

2011-12-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

Our house isn't very big; in fact, there is really no place to put a 6-foot tall tree! This is my alternative. I bought this set of three pre-lit trees six or seven years ago and they still look great! They are 4-foot, 3-foot and 2-foot tall. Even though we don't have children at home, I like the primitive-homespun look when it comes to decorating. By the way, that is our pass-through fireplace behind the trees! :)

I wanted to show ya'll my collection of Christmas animals, including seven mooses! :)

I like the big guy in the back, he has on his plaid jacket and cap with earflaps!

I finally made this guy last year after having the pattern laying around for about five years!

I also crocheted a bunch of snowflakes last year to decorate the two smaller trees.

Well, that's the "tree" and the rest of my mooses, later in the week I'll show ya'll our porch after it has been decorated! :)

Farmgirl Fashion - Jumpers

2011-12-02T15:51:00.000-08:00

I'm such an old hippie, I just love wearing jumpers! When I heard this fall that big sweaters with leggings were back in style, it made me think of jumpers with leggings. The green and black jumper below was an overdress from back in my days of playing with the SCA. I shortened it a couple of weeks ago and wore it with the black thermal long-sleeved shirt and some black nylons for Thanksgiving. I liked it so much that I went hunting material for a couple more!

The jumper I'm wearing and the green one are both corduroy and I don't remember what type of material the plaid one is! It is really soft and reminded me of wool which is why I bought it. I threw it in the washer and dryer before sewing and it came out just fine. I used the green jumper as a pattern for the other two. I also cheated and serged all the edges before sewing and then just turned them under and sewed them down so I didn't have to make facings, shhhh...don't tell the sewing police! ;-)

With a pair of leggings and a thermal shirt, these jumpers are surprisingly warm and they are so, so comfortable! I may not be up on the latest fashions but I don't think the goats and chickens really mind! LOL!! When I modeled the brown one for Jerry this morning he said "Well, you certainly look very 60s!"

Linking to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House!

Christmas Pillow

2011-12-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

I love making crafty things but I don't do it as often as I used to. My blogging friend Kathy at Moving On To The Past posted about her Christmas Projects the other day and inspired me to dig out the pattern and material for a quilted moose wall hanging that I bought a month or so ago. The pattern is by Qweenee Quail Quilts right here in southern Arizona and is called Mary Moose. I love mooses (is that right?) and have a LOT of them for my holiday decorations so when I saw this pattern at the local quilt shop, I just had to have it, even though I don't quilt. I'll have to post some pictures of all my moosey decorations next week after we get things out. :)

Because I don't quilt, I decided to make it up into a pillow!

And because storage for holiday decorations is always a problem, I decided to make it as a pillow case that I can put over one of my existing throw pillows! Pretty clever huh?!? ;-)

I really like how it turned out! It actually took almost as long to do the applique stitching as it did to piece the little quilt! LOL!! Thanks Kathy for inspiring me to get my project out and, most importantly, to get it finished!!

Tuesday's Tails, #3

2011-11-29T07:30:00.000-08:00

We are currently boarding two horses for a friend. He is going through a divorce and is in Texas working. The horses weren't getting fed regularly (Grrrr!!) so he asked Jerry if he would board them until he gets a place and can come get them. They have been here for over a month now and look a LOT better than when Jerry went and got them!

This is T-Bone, he is about 15-20 and has a pretty good temperament. Our friend's 11-year-old daughter was riding him. He's finally getting where you can't see his ribs so much. (Grrrr!!)

This is Flash, he is 14 months old. I had Jerry take a picture of me, at 5'3", with him so that ya'll could see how little he is, he should be bigger than that. We figure he wasn't fed properly and it stunted him. His mom was on the smaller size but still....
Also, he hasn't been gelded yet! (Grrrr!!)

I call him Shorty. He is just as sweet as can be, very friendly and isn't afraid of anything. Unfortunately, nobody has worked with him other than getting him halter broke. He has absolutely no ground manners! (Grrrr!!) If I had more time to spend outside (stuck in the house baking bread ya' know) I would try to work with him some so that he at least understood to back up and get out of your face! LOL!!

Of course, Paco couldn't be left out of the photo shoot!

The End!!

Chicken Stir Fry

2011-11-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

I love making stir fry for supper, it goes together quickly and is jam-packed with good for you vegetables! :) For just Jerry and I, I only need to use one large boneless skinless chicken breast. I used to buy frozen stir fry vegetables and bottled stir fry sauce but decided it probably made more sense to use as many veggies from the garden as I could; after all, look at all the hard work that went into growing them! ;-) I also decided to start making the stir fry sauce to control the amount of sodium. One of the seasoning mixes I make is a Chinese one that I like to use to season the chicken. If you can find ground star anise where you live you are fortunate, I buy the whole ones and I have a little pepper grinder that I grind it up in.

Chinese Seasoning
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground star anise
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon celery seed

Cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks or thin strips, season with some of the Chinese Seasoning. Let it sit while cutting up the vegetables.

Cut veggies into chunks of approximately the same size. This time, I used carrots, celery, broccoli, green beans, pattypan squash and some swiss chard. The nice thing about stir fry is that you can use whatever you like and whatever is in season! :)

Heat a small amount of sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and cooked through. Add veggies and mix well. Cook, stirring frequently, until veggies are desired doneness. I also put a lid on and let them "steam" a bit because we like ours a little more tender. When the veggies are done to your liking, add swiss chard and stir until it wilts in.

For my sauce, I usually just mix up some soy sauce, a little sugar and some cornstarch and stir it in at the end. We like to add some crushed red pepper flakes too! You could also add some orange juice to the sauce or maybe a little ginger.

I hope this has inspired you to whip up a quick and easy stir fry sometime soon!

Let's Make Mayo!

2011-11-25T09:55:00.000-08:00

I just started making my own mayonnaise recently, mainly because I didn't own a blender! I bought one earlier this year specifically to make mayo and that is pretty much all I use it for! LOL!!

This recipe for Blender Mayonnaise is adapted from the Joy Of Cooking 75th Anniversary cookbook.

Put in a blender:
     1 large egg at room temperature
     1 teaspoon dry mustard
     1 teaspoon salt
     1 teaspoon sugar
     Dash of ground red pepper
     1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
Cover and blend on high until thoroughly combined.

With the blender running, slowly add:
     1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
and then:
     1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
     1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
until thorougly blended.

Slowly add:
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
and blend until thick. You may have to stop and start the blender occasionally to scrape down the sides.

Homemade mayonnaise isn't as white as store bought and the flavor is just so much better! It is nice and thick and actually gets thicker after being chilled in the refrigerator.

For me, the worst part is cleaning up the blender, it takes longer than actually making the mayonnaise! ;-)

Okay, now that the mayonnaise is finished we can have a turkey sandwich from the Thanksgiving leftovers! Linking to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House! :)

Autumn's Splendor at the Lazy J Bar C

2011-11-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

Kieffer Pear

That's it!! The mesquite trees, yucca, prickly pear and cholla cactus just don't do much in the way of fall color displays!! LOL!!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Tuesday's Tails, #2

2011-11-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

We had to move the Peeper People the other day, they had outgrown the little pen we had them in. We took down some fencing that was in the garden used as trellis for beans and cucumbers and fenced off the back part of the Big Chickens' yard.

We moved the little house in there too and made a little lean-to off of one side to provide some more protection from the weather.

The first thing they did when we let them out of the cage was to run back and forth across the yard flapping their little wings! I was really glad we moved them!

"Hi nice lady, did you bring us some treats?"

It's kind of a pain getting in and out but I figure, at the rate they are growing, it will only be another couple of weeks and I can take the barrier fence down. One of the little roo boys ended up on the wrong side of the fence the other day; luckily I was still down there and heard him carrying on! He was running back and forth along the fence trying to figure out how to get back on his side! LOL!! The Big Chickens were totally uninterested, I was afraid they would be pecking him!

What nice little Peeper People you guys are!

Oh, I see how it is, you guys just wanted your dinner!!

Right now, we are feeding 22 chickens, 11 Peeper People and 11 Big Chickens and I just had to send Jerry to town to buy eggs so I can finish my baking for the week! Hmmm...just doesn't seem right somehow! LOL!! ;-)

Thanksgiving Apron

2011-11-21T04:19:00.000-08:00

Susan at e-i-e-i-omg challenged us to an Apron Sew Off awhile back and, well (deep breath), today is the day we are all supposed to unveil our new aprons! I can't wait to see what everyone has come up with!! This has been so much fun, thanks Susan! I have enjoyed reading about everyone's progress and challenges!

This is my second apron using this pattern called Flirty Skirty, the ties are extra long to tie in front which makes it easier to put on (for me anyway!). I made the first one to wear at the Farmer's Market and I will probably wear this one there too, after Thanksgiving of course! Well, here it is. The apron looks good but, jeez, I can't believe how OLD I look! Wait, maybe that's because I'm on the far side of 50?!? ;-)

This was so much fun, what in the world shall we do next!! LOL!!

DIY Seasoned Rice Mix

2011-11-18T04:24:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves convenience foods, right? Me too, I just don't like paying the extra money for them and I REALLY don't like what is in some of them! I have this seasoned rice mix in my cupboard at all times ready to use when time is running short on getting supper ready. I use Uncle Ben's whole grain brown rice and chicken bouillon but you could use any type of rice and whatever flavor of bouillon you like.

3 cups uncooked brown rice
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
6 teaspoons instant chicken flavor bouillon
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Combine all ingredients in a storage container with a tight fitting lid. Store in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. Stir well before each use.

To use, bring 2-1/4 cups water and 1 tablespoon butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in 1 cup of the seasoned rice mix. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Makes 6 (1/2-cup) servings.

We had some last night with baked salmon and steamed broccoli! YUM!! Linking to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House! :)

Thankful Thursday - Financial Freedom

2011-11-17T04:43:00.000-08:00

I am thankful every day for this wonderful life I have! All the critters, the garden, my little bread baking business, and especially my dear husband!

This week though, I have a really big thing to be thankful for! We paid off the house!! WAHOO!! I had an annuity mature last week and it was enough to pay off the house (with just a little left), so we cashed it in. We got the electronic funds transfer a few days ago so off Jerry went to the bank in the city and gave them a check! Our house payment wasn't huge but it will make a difference and we will be able to put more money in savings every month. Now, I won't stress if I happen to have a so-so week at the Farmer's Market. At this point, our only financial obligations are taxes, insurance, utilities and of course groceries and the critters! :).

We have become more frugal since moving to the country. It is no longer important to either of us to have the latest electronic gadget, a bigger TV, the latest fashions, etc. Since I prefer we eat "real" food and since I LOVE to cook and bake, we don't eat out very often either. We have found that we live VERY comfortably on what some would consider a modest income, mostly because we don't have any debt. We don't have any credit cards either, if we want something, we save up for it. I guess we aren't living a typical American lifestyle but it suits us just fine! ;-)

What are you doing to achieve financial freedom and live more frugally?

Tuesday's Tails, #1

2011-11-15T04:49:00.000-08:00

I thought I would try something new. Mama Tea at A Farmish Kind of Life has her Sunday Scribbles, the discussion on roundabouts was a riot this week! Susan at e-i-e-i-omg has her Monday Musings, I always look forward to them and the comments are sometimes just as entertaining as the post! And there are several people who do Wordless Wednesday and Thankful Thursday and don't forget the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House! I thought I would try Tuesday's Tails and feature the animals around the Lazy J Bar C, both domestic and wild. If this sounds like fun, please feel free to start your own Tuesday's Tails! :)

For this week I thought I would share some pictures I took out the kitchen window last week.

What you can't see is just to the right of the picture is my little 4-foot tall extra dwarf peach tree! He is helping himself to some the fallen leaves. Of course, he also helped himself to a few that were still on the tree but he didn't do too much damage! ;-)

See ya! Thanks for stopping by and letting me take your picture!

And on a totally unrelated subject, Mary Beth at Oklahoma Pastry Cloth had a great post yesterday about taking advantage of produce that is currently on sale, like celery and sweet potatoes, and dehydrating it for future use. Check out her post here, it inspired me to look for good buys on my next trip to the grocery store!

Monster Cookies

2011-11-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, I realize I've probably been living under a rock or something but these are THE BEST COOKIES I HAVE EVER MADE!! :)
I wanted to put something homemade in the Halloween treat bags for the neighbor boys and thought Monster Cookies would be appropriate. I found this recipe in one of my really old grocery store checkout stand cookbooks. They called them Giant Confetti Oatmeal Cookies but that was too much of a mouthful! Here is a picture of the neighbor boys in their Halloween costumes!

Caden is a chicken farmer and little brother Landon is the chicken! Their mom made that adorable chicken costume! :)

I didn't take pictures when I made these for Halloween because I had never made them before and wasn't sure if the recipe would be worth sharing. Sure was a great excuse to whip up another batch this morning! By the way, this recipe uses my Baking Mix.

Monster Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups Baking Mix
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups plain M&Ms
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; mix well. Add Baking Mix and stir well. Stir in rolled oats, M&Ms and raisins.
Drop dough by 1/4-cupfuls about 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. I use a cookie scoop and put two scoops on top of each other and then flatten them out.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy your Monster Cookies with an ice-cold glass of RAW goat milk!! ;-)

Soup Mix In A Jar

2011-11-11T13:14:00.000-08:00

I love giving handmade gifts and I love giving food as a gift! People always need to eat, right?!? :)
I have been making these Soup Mix In A Jar gifts for a couple of years now. I was even selling them at the Farmer's Market last year. Not only are they pretty but they are tasty too!

This is one of my favorites; it is pretty to look at, tastes great and is fairly quick to cook up.

Love Soup Mix

1/3 cup beef bouillon granules
1/4 cup dried minced onion
1/2 cup dried split peas (I like to use green and yellow but couldn't find any yellow)
1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup lentils (I used red and regular)
1/2 cup rice (I used brown rice)
1 cup tri-colored spiral pasta or enough to fill jar

Layer the ingredients in the order given into a 1-quart canning jar. Pack each layer in place before adding the next ingredient. Attach a gift tag with the cooking directions.

Directions

Love Soup
1 jar Love Soup Mix
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

Remove the tri-colored pasta from the Love Soup Mix and set aside. Place the balance of the mix in a large soup pot. Add 12 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Add tri-colored pasta and ground beef and simmer 15 minutes more.

This recipe is adapted from the book "Gifts in a Jar - Soups" which I have had for a LOONG time! LOL!! It's a neat book because there are six pre-printed gift cards that you can use with each recipe.

Here are a few of the others that I did up today, aren't they pretty?

These make a really nice gift by themselves and are even more special when paired up with a loaf of homemade bread or some rolls. You could also include a beer bread mix like my Dill Chive Beer Bread or Onion Caraway Rye Beer Bread.

Linking to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House! :)

Meet Andy!

2011-11-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

This is Andy, he is here to visit with Abigail for a few days! ;-)

What a handsome fella he is! Of course, Abigail wanted nothing to do with him for the first couple of days and he was actually afraid of her and would run away whenever she came near! LOL!! He really does have a sweet temperment. Jerry went and picked him up from some friends of ours on Tuesday morning. He got right in the trailer in spite of the fact that he hadn't been away from home since they got him as a baby a couple of years ago. Jerry backed the trailer as close to his pen as he could and then wanted me to lead him in because "He STINKS and he might get on me!" All was going well (despite the horses being out and coming over to see who the new guy was) until Buddy came around the corner and startled Andy!

I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean to scare him!

Andy is a big boy and outweighs me by more than 50 pounds so when he decided he was going somewhere else, I ended up on my rear! Luckily, only my pride was hurt! Jerry was able to lead him into the pen after a few minutes of letting him calm down (and me making Buddy leave the area!).

Poor Andy, he missed home and all his "girls" and did nothing but cry every time he would see one of us for the first two days! I really felt bad for him. Yesterday, I put Abigail in with him and, like I mentioned, he was afraid of her and was crying even louder! I thought about it last night and had decided that if things didn't start happening by today, I was probably going to have to take Andy home and try to find a different buck.

This morning, when I went down to milk, Andy was NOT standing by the fence crying but Abigail was waiting to be fed. My first thought was "Oh man, I hope he didn't die!" I walked down towards the pen calling for Andy and he stuck his head out the door, whew! I was glad he had quit crying too.

After I was finished milking Madeline, Jerry came down to help me feed and I noticed the first signs of "love" between Abigail and Andy! YAY!! There was much wagging of tail on Abigail's part and Andy was definitely no longer afraid of her!

Don't they make a lovely couple as they waltz around the goat pen?!? I figure I will leave them together until Sunday morning and then take Andy home. I'm sure his girls all miss him!!

Blogger Luv - Pass It On!

2011-11-09T11:50:00.000-08:00

I was recently the recipient of some blogger luv and I thought it would be appropriate to pay it forward! :)
Michelle over at Michelle's Little Piece Of Heaven is hosting a really fun giveaway of a Mystery Christmas Box! But, it's not your usual giveaway, she has made a game out of it! Michelle posts clues to each of the five gifts (yep, five!) every Monday and Thursday and we get to guess what the items are. For every right answer you get an additional entry in the giveaway, giving you six chances to win. Pretty cool, huh?!? Hop on over to Michelle's blog and check it out, it's not too late to get in on the fun! :)

Sweet Potato Rolls

2011-11-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was trying to think of some type of bread or roll I could make for the Farmer's Market that was kind of "fallish." A couple of years ago, I was making a Fall Harvest roll that contained pumpkin puree, ginger and pumpkin seeds. I knew I had a can of pumpkin in the cupboard from last year but I didn't have any pumpkin seeds. A trip to town is not something to be taken lightly here in the country! ;-) Also, in our small town, finding shelled pumpkin seeds is a bit of a challenge! LOL!! Anyway, in front of the canned pumpkin was a can of sweet potatoes. Hmmm....wouldn't that make a nice fall roll! I started looking for recipes and found several. Most used cinnamon and similar spices but I didn't want to go that route. I finally found one at Pinch My Salt that used buttermilk that sounded interesting. Since I'm always looking for ways to use up my goat milk products I decided to adapt the recipe to fit my needs and give it a go! I'm getting pretty good at this, they actually came out right the first time! LOL!!

The sweet potato gives the finished rolls a lovely golden color. They are a bit sweet, which is how a dinner roll should be in my book. They are very tender since it is a potato bread, and they taste great! I used canned sweet potato because that is what I had on hand but you could also use fresh, cooked sweet potato. Wouldn't these make a nice addition to the table when the family gathers together for Thanksgiving!

1/2 cup mashed sweet potato
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast (If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients.)

Mix, knead and let your dough rise until doubled using your favorite method; bread machine, manual or stand mixer. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls. Place balls onto baking sheet seam side down.

Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled. Just before baking, dust tops lightly with flour (it's a potato bread thing).

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and let cool completely.

These have become one of our favorite rolls here at the Lazy J Bar C. We are having some tonight with homemade turkey noodle soup! YUM!!

Linking to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House! :)

Chunky Apple Cake

2011-11-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

I love apple cake and the bigger the apple chunks the more I like it! I got this recipe for Chunky Apple Cake from Heidi at Frantically Simple yesterday and I just had to try it! Well, all I can say is WOW! YUM! and WOW some more! :)

This recipe is deceptively simple and amazingly good! I only made half a recipe since it is just the two of us and I baked it in my 10-inch cast iron skillet. I added just a touch more cinnamon, because I like it :), and left the walnut pieces pretty chunky to complement the apples.

I baked this up early this morning, before getting started with my bread baking for the day. I had a little sliver still warm from the oven, plain, after coming in from milking the goat and was highly impressed! I had another piece drizzled with a little maple syrup after Jerry and I came back from our walk. The apples, walnuts and whole wheat flour just called out maple syrup to me! ;-)

If you are a fan of apple cake, like me, I highly recommend you check this recipe out over at Heidi's blog! She graciously agreed to let me link back to her for the recipe and, besides, you will get to see her pictures which are WAAY better than mine! LOL!!

Peeper People Update Two

2011-11-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Peeper People moved outside on Friday. They had outgrown their second box in Jerry's workshop and he said it was starting to smell in there! They are all feathered over nicely and we have a spell of very nice weather coming up so I figured they (and Jerry) would be happier if they moved to the "juvenile" chicken pen. Can you see the perch I made for them to the left of their house? It's their very own Indian cliff ladder made from yucca stalks and tied together with twine!

We usually only get 6 or 7 chicks at a time but there are 11 of them this time...not sure how long before they outgrow their new digs!

The big girls checking out the Peepers and vice versa!

I told you guys there were two roosters! The one in the back is the one marked at the hatchery, the one in the center is the one I suspected to be a roo, looks pretty convincing to me!

That first night, I went down to check on them after dark to make sure they knew to go in their house. Well, of course they were all standing in the corner of the pen in a big huddle! Silly chickens! I put each one in the house but some kept trying to get back out so I had to put a board across the opening to make them stay in.

The second night when I went down to check on them, they were all in the house like good Peepers! They seem to be settling in very well. They had a little treat of stale bread and kale from the garden this morning, they went right after the bread but they weren't too sure about the kale! LOL!!

Easy Mead - Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T15:02:00.000-07:00

Halloween is the start of the Holiday Season to me! You know, sort of like Memorial Day is the start of summer? Anyway, my mother's birthday was on Halloween which is another reason it is my favorite holiday! I'm a bit dismayed, however, by the blatant commercialism of this day that was once set aside by the ancient Celts to honor and remember our ancestors and to celebrate the end of the harvest season. Oh well, kinda the way Christmas has become over commercialized!

I started making this yummy concoction back in my days of "playing" with the SCA. I tried making traditional mead once but it didn't come out very good! LOL!! Mead is simply honey wine and will knock you on your bu** if you drink too much because of the high sugar content! I usually get requests from all the girls to bring this to Thanksgiving dinner. ;-)

Five 12-ounce bottles of hard cider (I like Hornsby's Crisp Apple)
One orange sliced
3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup good honey

Add one bottle of the cider and the honey to a half-gallon container and mix well. It will fizz up so don't put too much cider in before mixing (sounds like the voice of experience, huh?). Add the rest of the cider, the orange and the cinnamon sticks and mix again, gently.

Put into the back of the refrigerator for five days; stir once daily. On the fifth day, remove the orange slices and the cinnamon sticks. Don't forget to eat the booze soaked oranges, yum! Now, you have a choice to strain out any little bits of pulp if you want to, I usually just leave them in. I also like to use this lovely, handmade goblet when I drink my Easy Mead, it was a gift a few years back with a candle in it. I didn't think I would ever burn that silly candle up so that I could use the goblet for it's intended purpose! LOL!!

You can see that there are a few bits of pulp floating in the mead but that way I feel I'm getting more fruit in my diet, right?!? Of course, this would also be a good summertime drink but I only ever seem to make it during the winter.

Happy Halloween everyone! :)

Carnage!

2011-10-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

Seemed like an appropriate title for this pre-Halloween post! ;-)

I took this picture of the neighbors' very cute fall display out by their front gate one day last week.

This is what it looked like this morning!! Oh, the horror!!

What, you ask, could possibly have caused such destruction to such a beautiful arrangement?!? Well...let me tell you the story...we were sitting watching TV last night when I kept hearing a strange noise out the front window. At first, I thought it was the deer walking across the gravel. Finally, I went outside and activated the motion light in the carport thinking that the light would make whatever was out there run away...but...the...noise...didn't...stop!! Jerry decided to take the flashlight (and his .45) and go see what was out there. He told me it sounded like something chewing on something! What?!? Chewing?!? I told him to be careful because it was probably the Chupacabra!! He was practically on top of the noise before he could see that it was...the stinkin' javelina! There were three of them having the best old time eating the pumpkins and the cornstalks!

This is the first time in the six years we have lived here that we have actually seen any javelina; we have seen signs of them but not the actual "little darlings"! Anyway, they finally ran off when Jerry got right on top of them and yelled at them! I couldn't believe how much they had torn up that cute fall display! Ah...the joys of life in the high desert! :)

Sausage Potato Kale Soup

2011-10-28T05:54:00.000-07:00

I had some fully-cooked sausage left over from making the Jambalaya and some opened chicken stock in the fridge that needed to be used up. I had the Zuppa Toscana soup at Olive Garden awhile back and man was it good! Living out here in the country, we don't get to the city very often to eat out so I have to try to make my own version of recipes I like. I Googled for recipes and came up with several and married them together to suit our tastes and what I had on hand. I was VERY pleased with how this came out! YUM!! The kale actually came from our garden! :)

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion chopped
1/2 pound fully-cooked smoked sausage cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 to 2 garlic cloves minced
1 quart chicken stock
3 to 4 red potatoes quartered and cut into 1/8-inch slices
2 cups thinly sliced kale leaves, discard the ribs
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup heavy cream, or more if you want it creamier

Heat butter and oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and sausage and cook over medium heat until the onion is softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the chicken stock, potatoes, kale, red pepper flakes, salt, oregano and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the potatoes and kale are tender. Stir in the heavy cream and heat through.

Linking to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House. Come join us!!

Toffee Brownies

2011-10-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

Back in June, I posted the recipe for my Brownie Mix and the basic brownies that I usually make with it. I just love having premade mixes around to save time and money when the urge hits to whip up something delicious or, heaven forbid, the Goody Plate is empty!

Yesterday, I was going to make our regular brownies but noticed a bag of Heath toffee bits in the freezer that needed to be used up. I thought that they would probably go pretty good in some brownies and ya' know what, I was RIGHT!! :-)

2 1/4 cups Brownie Mix

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup Heath toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray. Combine Brownie Mix and toffee bits in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine butter, milk, eggs and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry and beat well. Pour batter into prepared pan. Mmmm...look at all those yummy toffee bits in the batter!

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until edges separate from pan. Makes 16 brownies.

These are so moist and rich that I never frost them but feel free to add your favorite frosting or topping!

There, the Goody Plate is happy again and so is Jerry! ;-)

Farmgirl Milk Bath

2011-10-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a different recipe for a change...milk bath! The weather is getting to be colder and drier and we could all use a little pampering bath that also helps soothe and soften our skin. Don't forget to light a candle, put on your favorite CD and shut the door! ;-)

2 cups powdered milk
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal
1/2 cup organic lavender flowers
12 drops lavender essential oil

Mix all together in a bowl. You could also make this with organic rose petals and rose essential oil.

I usually put 1/2 cup of the milk bath in large press-n-brew teabags from Moutain Rose Herbs but you could also use an old knee-high pantyhose or even some cheesecloth. The teabags only hold 1/2 cup but I would recommend one full cup if using the pantyhose. You don't want to put it directly into the bath though because the lavender flowers and oatmeal could clog up the drain. Just toss the teabag or stocking into the tub while filling with warm water. Squeeze or swish around a few times to release all the skin soothing properties of the oats and lavender.

Another thing to think about is what a nice gift this would make! Just put the milk bath into a pretty jar (prettier than this one! LOL!) and give with usage instructions.

This post brought to you at the request of Mooberry Farmwife who asked for the recipe for the milk bath that I had included in the Bath Basket she won! :)

Seed Saver Journal from Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Arts Studio

2011-10-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Grace at Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Arts Studio had a giveaway for some of her beautiful Seed Savers Journals a couple of weeks ago and I was one of the lucky recipients! YAY!!

She makes each journal by hand and decorates them using some of her handspun yarn, wool felted from her sheep and lots of little extras that make each one special!

There are envelopes containing plastic bags and smaller envelopes to put them in for saving different kinds of seeds. There are cards for keeping notes too. There are even some sticky notes that can be used to keep track of the seeds as you collect them!

Grace sells these beautiful journals on her blog! You can find them here: Seed Savers Journals Now For Sale and see more designs here: Win A Seed Journal. For those of us who don't spin but like to knit and crochet with handspun yarns, Grace also spins and dyes the most GORGEOUS yarns and sells them on her Etsy site, Larkspur Funny Farm And Fiber Arts Studio!!

Thanks Grace for this beautiful Seed Saver Journal! Now I need to get out there in the garden and start collecting! :)

Buttermilk Wheat Dinner Rolls

2011-10-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

I love the way these rolls look baked in the 9-inch cake pan but of course you could just shape them into 12 rolls and bake them on a sheet pan. They are a consistent seller at the Farmer's Market because of the presentation and, of course, the taste! ;-) These are a nice, rich dinner roll incorporating some buttermilk and whole wheat flour. I tried using all buttermilk initially but they didn't seem to rise as nicely. This recipe uses 4 1/2 cups of flour instead of my normal 4 cups so that the rolls fill up the pans.

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast (If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients.)

Mix, knead and let your dough rise until doubled using your favorite method; bread machine, manual or stand mixer. Grease two 9-inch cake pans. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces and shape into balls.

Place 8 balls in each cake pan seam side down.

Let rise in a warm place until doubled. (Oops, forgot to take a picture!) Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. I have to rearrange my pans after about 8 minutes to get them to cook evenly. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

Don't forget, the holidays are right around the corner and nothing beats homemade rolls for Thanksgiving dinner! Bread freezes incredibly well so these could be made ahead of time and then thawed on Thanksgiving morning, wrapped in foil and re-heated for dinner.

Linking to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House! :)

Curried Pumpkin Soup

2011-10-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

Kateri at Dandelion Haven posted a recipe for Curried Pumpkin Coconut Soup the other day that sounded so good that I just had to try making some pumpkin soup myself! Thanks Kateri for inspiring me! :)

I have never made pumpkin soup before and Jerry was a little skeptical when I told him what I was doing. I said "Trust me, it will be amazing!" He said "We'll see." Such confidence he has in my culinary skills! I forged ahead anyway! I used some of the Pumpkin Puree I had frozen from the fresh pumpkins I roasted recently. I chopped the onion and garlic very fine so that I did not have to blend the finished soup.

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt butter with oil in a soup pot. Add onion and cook over medium-low heat until soft. Add garlic and cook for another few minutes. Stir in chicken stock, pumpkin puree, salt, curry powder, cumin and coriander. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add heavy cream and cook until heated through.

I liked the texture but you could always blend it with an immersion blender until smooth or blend in batches (carefully, it's hot!) in the blender if you like it creamier. I have only just recently started cooking with curry powder and I like it! :) We had this soup with a grilled ham and goat cheese sandwich on homemade onion rye bread, YUM!! After dinner, Jerry said "Okay, you can make that again," which is high praise indeed! LOL!!

Great Giveaway At Farmgirl Fare!

2011-10-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Farmgirl Susan at Farmgirl Fare is hostessing a cool giveaway of a $100 Visa gift card! She posts the most amazing recipes and stories and pictures from her 240-acre farm in Missouri. Check out her giveaway here: Quick and Easy Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Falling into Autumn Food and be sure to check some of the other posts on her site; I have gotten some really good recipes from her and I always get a chuckle from the antics of the sheep, donkeys, chickens and dogs! :)