Here they are today.
Look at how much their little wing feathers have grown!
And what else do you notice?
Tail feathers!
Go, Chickies, Go! 😀
And they are trying to fly, already! Hmm…
Another Chick Check!
Category: Homemaking
Forget Frost on the Pumpkins!
Look what I got for frost on the pepper patch!
Thanks to an abundant planting, careful tending, and a heavy frost, my son’s pepper patch yielded all these beauties, for the last pickin’. So glad to get them, as our pepper plants did poorly this year.
Thanks, J&J! And thanks to the kiddos of theirs who picked them. 🙂
National Biscuit Month, 15-SECOND Biscuit Recipe!
My family loves hot, homemade biscuits, and this is National Biscuit Month.
So, I thought I’d resurrect an old favorite recipe, just for you!
Although I’ve known the recipe handed down to me from my families, I’ve also never been satisfied just to do what everyone else is doing. I’m always thinking it might be even better if…
So one day I tried substituting real butter in the recipe I’d inherited, to replace the shortening. Oh, MY, did I notice a big difference, right away!
One thing led to another and I tried upping the fat content. Instead of the recommended 1/3 cup of fat, I tried a whole STICK of butter. Oh, MY, did I notice a big difference right away!
But then. Oh, then, I found a recipe for cream biscuits.
Phoo, those things are almost ALL fat, did you realize? Mmmm. No one can eat just one.
Several tweaks later, I invented the 15-Second Biscuit Recipe.
Yep.
If I hurry, I can make biscuit dough in 15 seconds, and so can you. Here’s how:
- Combine equal portions of self-rising flour and heavy (or whipping) cream.
- Stir very quickly with a fork.
- Done.
Now. You must realize the benefits of this recipe that go beyond the race with the clock:
- These biscuits are almost like cake, but without the sweetness.
- You won’t believe how tall and tender they turn out.
- If you want, you can make only one biscuit. Just use 1/4 cup, each, flour and cream.
If you prefer whole wheat biscuits, as I do, you can easily create your own whole-wheat, self-rising flour.
Enjoy!
And share with us your favorite type of gravy for these golden orbs!
That Darling Spot
I live in a small town, outside a small town, actually, which puts me smack in the middle of nowhere. And I like it.
I remember when I followed a map and my husband’s instructions and finally, finally arrived at this place, with one of my daughters-in-law in the front seat of my car, and her baby in the back. I remember when we got out of the car I said to her, “Listen!”
She stopped and did not shut the car door, straining to hear something.
I said, “What do you hear?”
Since I was grinning in pleasure, she knew what I was hearing, and answered, “Nothin’!”
“Nothin’,” I repeated.
And mostly, that’s how it is out here.
Quiet. Calm. Safe.
And so, after years of being here, content as can be, I’ve begun thinking of all we do not have.
And I cannot think of a thing I’d add.
Why, just today, near a town of fewer than 300 population, I found a great place to work out (both strength and aerobics), tan, and sauna.
While I was at it, I got my yardwork done for free.
Just cannot beat it. 😉
My Spaghetti Farm Guest Post!
I have never shared my spaghetti sauce recipe with anyone but my own children.
Today I break that practice. I hope you enjoy!
The reason is that I have again been allowed the amazing privilege of guest posting at Farm Bureau’s blog site, thanks so much to Arkansas Women Bloggers!
I share there, how to make lasagna pasta in one, simple, easy-to-manage sheet. You will not believe how much more often you will feel like pleasing everyone with a sumptuous lasagna supper, once you eliminate the cost, inconvenience, and grief of store-bought, pasty-white, lasagna noodles.
Since most folks make red lasagna, using regular marinara or spaghetti sauce, I thought: why not go all the way and make the entire dish from scratch, beautifully and deliciously natural, whole, and health-giving!
So, here is my recipe, a rare, costly, never-before-given gift, from me to you. All I ask in return is that you go to my guest post , leave a thankful comment, and share it everywhere you can think of!
My Secret Spaghetti Sauce
2 Tbsp. olive OR coconut oil OR bacon grease
1 lb. lean, ground, American beef or venison (opt.)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 to 3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 c. fresh, mixed Italian herbs, chopped OR 1/4 c. dried Italian herbs
1 dash cayenne powder
1 qt. whole tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1/4 c. catsup
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. corn starch, stirred into 1/2 cup water (if not making lasagna)
Brown meat (if desired), onions, and garlic in oil or grease, stirring often, until meat is crumbly and vegetables are clear, to slightly browned. Stir in Italian herbs and cayenne, and warm for a few minutes in the meat and/or fat. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, and catsup, until well blended. Heat through and simmer on low, covered, until ready to serve. At the last minute, stir in Worcestershire sauce, and cornstarch/water, if desired. Heat through again, stirring constantly and it is ready. Yields enough for one 9″x13: lasagna, or six servings of spaghetti with salad.
Well, the Coons Got Us Again.
As a counselor and a retired professional mom, I must say:
Raccoons are incorrigible wasters, ruiners of all things good, heartless beasts that care neither about boundaries nor animal rights. Their ability and seeming desire to inflict gross horror is limitless.
As people who tend six hens, our job was keeping them safe at night in their own warm place during the past winter, and one we did not mind at all. In fact, I found myself enjoying the challenge and making sure my hennies had fun treats to ease their trials during the cold. I carried all sorts of tidbits down the hill to them, through all sorts of weather, and thawed their water tank I-don’t-know-how-many times, even adding sugar to it, to assure meeting their energy needs. I literally had one of them eating from my hand.
And that one is among the five survivors, I’m glad to say.
We lost one, in a most horrific way, which I will not detail here.
And I had nearly to rebuild our chicken coop and to visit them often, really often. Hourly. And they were terrified, of course, and were slow to re-learn their trust of me.
Today, though, when they hear my footsteps approaching their little home, although they still grow very still, as if trying to be unnoticeable, if I call out to them, they answer me with seeming great excitement.
And another one is learning to eat from my hand.
That feels good.
As Promised: Sour Dough Bread
My facebook friends have asked me how I do this, so here goes!
What I love about this bread recipe is that the steps are spread over two days, leaving me time to do many other things, such as laundry or shopping, between steps. It’s just more convenient for the way I live and operate. It’s also very forgiving; I once fell asleep while it was rising and it did not run everywhere, but just kept rising slowly. I guess for my slow ways, it’s just my type. Enjoy!
First the sour dough starter:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups water
1 pkg. dry, active yeast
Stir together with wire whip in a non-reactive container large enough to allow for foaming, and allow to sit at room temperature, lightly covered, stirring occasionally, for 2 days. It should smell a bit like beer and double in size before receding. This will make several loaves.
Now, the bread:
On the evening of the third day, in a very large bowl, blend well:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil (I use good quality olive oil)
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 cup starter
1 tbsp. salt
To this mixture add 6 cups bread flour and stir until it can be kneaded. Knead slightly to make a ball. Cover bowl lightly. (I use a pizza pan.)
If you plan to use your starter again the next day, feed* and cover it and leave it out. If not, place it, covered, in refrigerator; feed it and bring it to room temperature before the night you are ready to use it.
In the morning, punch down dough, knead lightly, and form two loaves in greased bread pans.
Place in oven on top rack with a 9″x13″ pan of hot water on bottom rack. Close oven. Do not turn oven on. Leave in oven until doubled in size, which may take half a day, but watch it…
Once bread has doubled in size, remove all pans from oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Then bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes.
This bread is so good, my sons used to take it with them to college, etc. It really doesn’t need butter or jelly, although my husband and I once ate a whole stick of butter spread on this bread, in one sitting. And we only walked away from it, then, because we knew we must. I could eat this all day and all night.
When you make this, let us know how it turns out!
*To feed the starter, mix together 1 cup flour and 1 cup water, and stir into starter.
Home's Cool! 
