Update

Hello everyone! I hope all is well in your life. I still do not have my computer back but I thought I would post a little update while I had access to a computer. The keyboard Dave ordered for Grace’s computer did not work so she is still using mine. Oh well, the things we do for our children!

We have been busy here. The garden is doing fairly well. We have had tons of rain though. We have been harvesting beets, cucumbers, carrots and such. We planted a new type of beet this year. They are called Chioggia beets or candy striped beets. They look like this http://www.rareseeds.com/chioggia-bassano-beet. They are really pretty. I will definitely be planted them again. I want to try out a new pickled beet recipe refrigerator pickled beets.

We picked blueberries last week. We made blueberry freezer jam using the pomona pectin. I really like using it. Thanks, Cheryl, for telling me about it. We also made homemade blueberry ice cream. So good!!!

I’m sure there is lots more going on around here but I just can’t seem to remember it all. That’s what happens I guess when I don’t do a post for a long time. I hope you all have a great Sunday and God bless.

July 14, 2013 5

Blueberry Muffins

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated brown sugar or white sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. In another bowl, combine butter, egg, and milk and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and with a spatula, stir until just combined. Do not beat or over mix; its okay if there are lumps in the batter. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tray, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from the oven. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the granulated brown or white sugar and return the muffins to the oven to bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before turning the muffins out.

July 16, 2012 0

Blueberries and Squash

The girls and I picked a gallon of these beautiful blueberries yesterday. It was a nice day for picking. It rained on us before we got to the blueberry place but stopped before we got there. The bushes were wet but the temperature was not bad and the bugs even left us alone.

Today we made this zucchini pineapple recipe. We used yellow squash instead of zucchini. It actually tastes like pineapple. You would never know it had squash in it. I got the recipe from here. http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/zucchinipineapple.htm A blogger friend of mine had made it the other day. She posted about it here. http://holcombhappenings.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/a-day-of-canning/ I think it will be really good.

Now, question time. I found out from the internet this squash is called a patty pan squash. Do any of you ladies have a recipe for it? Our pastor gave them to us and I really would like to try them. Online it says it pairs good with tomatoes but I thought I would ask you all.

Our weather change here has been amazing. We had rain yesterday which we so much needed. We laughed and said the plants in our garden were doing a happy dance for God. The temperatures have cooled off so much. We are right now at 73 degrees!!! Thank you Lord.

Well, that’s about all. I hope you have a great evening and God bless.

July 12, 2012 5

Blueberries

Just look at all these beautiful blueberries! I think I mentioned we planted 3 blueberriy bushes this year. Well, this is one of them. They all have lots of blueberries on them but I think this one has the most. They seem to be doing very well so far.

Monday, we worked around the house. The girls and I made a batch of cherry jam. It is very tasty! Yesterday, we worked in both gardens, hoeing and weeding. We then took down the greenhouse and put it away for next year, cleaned the fish tank, and did several odd chores that have been needed to get done for a while. The girls worked on history and science while I ran into little town to get chick feed. Supper last night was hamburgers, corn on the cob, and pineapple all fixed on the grill. I love cooking on the grill. Not near as much clean up involved and the kitchen doesn’t get heated up.

Well, today we will be cleaning out the chicken house and working on the nests. Definitely not my favorite job, but it is a little cooler this morning so hopefully that will make it a little easier. This morning I am making kefir and buttermilk. I have shared before how I make my buttermilk but maybe someone is reading this that hasn’t read it before, so I thought I would share it again. It tastes a lot like kefir. Heres what I do. First add 1/4 cup of whole milk buttermilk purchased from the store to a quart jar. I suppose you could use lowfat or fat free for this, we just prefer whole buttermilk. Finish filling up the jar with milk. I use raw milk but any milk will do. I leave the cream on but you can take it off. I then shake it up and sit it out on the counter for about 20 hrs. There is no set time for how long to leave it out. It all depends on the temperature of your house. This same rule applies to kefir. The warmer the temperature the quicker it will set. It is ready when you turn the jar over and it all leaves the side of the jar in one clump. Shake the jar for about 5 min and put in the fridge to chill. Now to making kefir, I use kefir grains when making my kefir. Jess bought the grains for me a little while back. Before that I used the powdered starter. The grains will continue to produce indefinitely. I store them in the fridge in a jar covered with milk. When I want to make kefir, which is usually every other day, I take them out, finish filling the jar 2/3 full with raw milk and leave it out on the counter for about 24 hrs. This time is also dependent upon the temperature in your home. Kefir is very good for us. You can read about the benefits of kefir online. It is full of good stuff. It tastes very good in smoothies. I think it is good to drink plain with just a little sweetener.

Well, I guess we better get busy with our day. God bless.

May 30, 2012 5

Easy Pie Recipe

I thought I would share with you all this super easy pie recipe. I don’t know the name of it but years ago when I worked, one of the ladies I worked with used to make this a lot. It uses simple ingredients and takes very little time.

I used 1 store bought graham cracker pie crust. For the filling use, 1 container cool whip, 1 pkg cream cheese-both at room temperature. Add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Mix with your mixer until well blended. Pour filling into pie crust. Then for the topping I used fresh strawberries and a little strawberry glaze. Set in fridge for a little while to chill, then enjoy. You can make this with blueberries, peaches, almost any type of fruit. If you do not want to use the store bought glaze you can always just add sugar to the fresh fruit and let it make its own glaze. Its all up to your taste.

Well, Julie ended up with strep throat. She started running a fever yesterday. I called the doctor’s office and he called us in a prescription. Needless to say, we will not be going to church today. Just staying home and recuperating.

I hope everyone has a great Sunday and God bless.

April 10, 2011 3

Sam

Baby Sam LOVES food. Yesterday, he discovered blackberries. This boy loves every type of food he has sampled so far. Brother Daniel, however, is a totally different subject. Whereas Sam eats and loves everything, to Daniel almost everything is YUCKY. Jess has to disquise all the fruit he eats. They eat a lot of “purple snack” (blueberries combined with other fruit and pureed into total smoothness). He can’t even suspect he is eating fruit.

Today temperature is not near as nice as yesterday. Wind chills around zero this morning when we go up. It has warmed up some though-mid 20’s with wind chill around 10 degrees. Needless to say, I did not hang clothes on the line outside today. We are doing school as usual, working on history now. They are learning about Egypt. Tonight’s menu is undetermined at this time. I know, though, it will revolve around a deer roast, which is cooking on the wood stove as I type.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 3, 2011 7