August 31, 2012

last day of August and it got to the mid 90's today.....not really sure what to expect

with the weather....haven't heard what they are predicting this winter.

worked in the office until noon...then off to the GARDEN...

a bucket of perfect tomatoes for us and a bucket of not-so perfect

ones for the chicken mamas...they LOVED them!!!

picking green beans is not an easy task....you pick and pick and still find some that you missed....

picked 30 lbs today....gave a bunch away....will can them in pint jars tomorrow....

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made some sandwich bread ....used the Dutch Oven bread recipe from

August 17, 2012....this time i put it in my bread loaf pans instead...

worked perfectly.....

this is the first time it rises.....

then punch it down and split into 2 pans.....

let it rise again....



bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour....

brush top with milk when you take them out of the oven

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and then no BUSY day would be complete without a trip to the Emergency room....

I LOVE living in the country...the ONLY downside is the hospital is 30 minutes

away.....our 10 month old grandson stuck his hand in a hot bowl of soup...

2nd degree burns.....he will be just fine.....I took our daughter-in-law and the baby to

the hospital and Ross watched the other 6 kids....never a dull moment!!!

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Watching our favorite College Football team play tonight under the lights....

GO MSU......Michigan State Rocks!!!!

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first report of CHICKEN INCOME......this is the first month that eggs were sold....

I will keep the Chicken Income/Expense TAB updated.....but here is the general info.....

the Rhode Island Reds (Chicken Mamas) have cost $398 from birth to August 31, 2012..

in August we sold 42 dozen eggs for a total of $63.....at this rate it will take until about March 2013

to break even....they were born in March 2012...so 1 year to start making a profit...

feeding them the fruit and veggies from the garden that we would not eat is

making a difference in feed....each bag is $15....and with the price of corn

going up....it could get worse....they typically go through a bag a week....

in August because of the garden leftovers....they only used 3 bags ...YEAH!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

August 30, 2012

had a busy day at work....that is a GREAT thing......being self-employed

has its ups and downs....after 18 years.....we have a good understanding

of when it will be rough and when there will be times of abundance.

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Choir practice tonight followed by Prayer Meeting....

Love going to CHURCH!!!

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Ross found these in the yard while mowing...

Giant Puffball Mushrooms

we will use these in spaghetti....Ross will fry them up with onions and butter....we have deep

 fried them in DRAKES mixture....and they are a great replacement for eggplant in any recipe.

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we have a Falcon that keeps attacking the chicken mamas...we haven't lost any yet...but

the falcon got one of the mamas off the ground and Reggie the rooster jumped in...

there was a bunch of feathers...but everyone was safe....GREAT Job Reggie!!!

the first garden fruit was picked...but not by us......the cantaloupe did not do well

this year and this one was not connected to the vine any longer....not sure

what happened....it tasted fine....all the rest of the cantaloupe split before they

got ripe....so they were fed to the chickens.....Recycle Everything!!!



and the Lions Preseason is on TV.....great way to end the day!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

August 29, 2012

did another move of the chickens....the yard area where they are is so sparse....

the grass has not had the water consistently to come back....so I moved them

out into the side yard and keep moving my orange snow fence to make a boundary...

will give this a try for a couple of weeks and see what grows back....



the tomatoes against the kitchen window are growing out of control  :)

here it is the day I planted - June 20th

here it is 65+ days later on August 28th...the bottom of the kitchen

window is 5 foot off the driveway...these are LUNCHMATE tomatoes

made Hamburger/Tater Tot Casserole for dinner....recipe on January 13th

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took our granddaughter Gabby out for her birthday....

bought her some cute clothes for school and some school supplies...

then off to McDonald's for a late lunch.

Pleasant Dreams!!! 

August 28, 2012

took Mom back to the bus station this morning......

tried this scrambled egg recipe...someone posted in from

pintrest....mine didn't come out as pretty as their picture...but it

sure tasted great!!!!

cut your green pepper in thick slices, and pour your scramble egg

mixture inside......we flipped them over after 2 minutes....

this entire breakfast...down to the jelly that we put on the toast came

from the farm!!!!!

made an Italian Dressing recipe today....just realized that I never made

one from scratch yet....this one is nice and simple and it does NOT

jell (solidify) in the fridge....just shake and go!!!!

Italian Salad Dressing :

1 cup vinegar

1 1/3 cup canola oil

2 Tbsp water

1/2 Tbsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 Tbsp onion powder

1/2 Tbsp garlic powder

1/2 Tbsp sugar or honey

1 Tbsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 tsp thyme

1/2 Tbsp parsley

put all ingredients in a glass shaker and shake or in a bowl and whisk together....

refrigerate for a bit before serving.

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took 2 of the grandkids to the elementary ABC (ask before coming) night

at school.....very exciting to get everyone back to school....1 week and

counting!!!

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hadn't had any rain for several days .... we got 3/4 of an inch on Sunday night Monday morning,

and the grass is greening right back up....Ross had to mow today and it was thick....

normally not an issue at the end of August....CRAZY weather!!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

August 27, 2012

we had a WONDERFUL time in Minnesota.....Loved hanging out with family

non-stop for 4 days.....made it home last night....we are

excited to get back to things at the farm....

while we were away.....Our granddaughter Gabby turned 12, Neil Armstrong passed away,

there was a shooting at the Empire State Building, Lance Armstrong was stripped of his medals,

the Republican Convention cancels the first night because Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac is about

to do some damage to the Gulf area....

Mom is here until tomorrow so we used her help doing some more canning....

more Chili.....

and then some more Spaghetti....



79 lbs of tomatoes turned into 14 quart jars of each......

picked some veggies from the garden for salad tonight....



Mom wanted French Dressing...so we whipped some up....

French Dressing :

1 cup canola oil

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together...I used a stick blender.

and then for dinner we tried a meal that was served at the Family Reunion....

Chicken Parmesan :

chicken breast

spaghetti sauce

bread crumbs

egg

mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

dip the chicken breast in the egg ... put in the crumb mixture and coat both sides.....place in
13 x 9 glass cook pan....spoon spaghetti sauce over each breast ....sprinkle the mozza cheese
first and then a little Parmesan cheese on top.....cook at 350 degrees for 40 minutes



glad to be back in the swing of things.....

Pleasant Dreams!!!

August 23 & 24, 2012

arrived safely in Minnesota for the 32nd annual Mother Wolf Open - Family Reunion

part of the golfing group on Friday



the group at the Minnesota State Fair

and of course...in the parking lot when we got back to our hotel was the
Oscar Mayer Mobile

Having a BLAST....Thanks everyone for taking care
of the farm while we are away!!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

August 22, 2012

had a great breakfast this morning and then on the road.....

stopped to see Aunt Elaine and Uncle David Kaffenberger on our way up....

she made a great lunch and then we were back on the road....

LOVE crossing the Mackinaw Bridge

our goal was to make it to Escanaba.....missioned accomplished!!!

had a quick dinner, took a swim and now off to bed...

6 hour drive tomorrow to make it to Minnesota....can't wait!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

August 21, 2012

last day at the farm until we take off for several days.....and it was complete CRAZINESS!!! 

started before dawn and still going......did the big house clean, some mowing,

then picked up Mom (Ross') from the bus station, stopped by Tripp's Auto so they could put some

molding on the car, delivered some eggs, babysit 7 grandkids for an hour plus , cooked

a great dinner......and now at 9:45 I am cleaning the kitchen and getting this post done...

Steak, Garlic Potatoes & my favorite garden medley I call Summer Salad

Summer Salad :

Tomatoes

Bell Peppers (any color)

Cucumbers

Onions

Italian Dressing

Chives

mix it all together....refrigerate......let it sit for a few hours so all the flavors can blend.....

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Mom makes the most beautiful Afghans.....and she came bearing gifts.....Yeah for us!!!!



probably wont have a post for tomorrow.....long drive day....but will catch

back up on Thursday from Minnesota and the Mother Wolf Open - Family Reunion

still have to pack.........Pleasant Dreams!!!

August 20, 2012

Happy Monday.....busy schedule here today.....since we started the blog on January 1st, 2012

we have not been gone from the farm for over 48 hours.....we are getting ready to head

to Ross' family reunion in Minnesota....we will be gone for several days and we want to

Thank everyone in advance who will be taking care of the farm while we are away....

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so after a long day of work and a trip to drop off my car for an engine light

issue....then picking it back up (keep in mind that the car shop is 25 miles 1 way)

we had to pick the garden.....cucumbers (24 more lbs)

and green (snap) beans.....

then, of course, because we are running out of time to get everything done...

at 9 pm ...I washed them, Ross snapped them and we started canning....

Green Beans : (canning)

fill a quart jar with beans cut to whatever length you desire

1 tsp salt in each quart if you desire

we add a 1/4 tsp of pickle crisp to each quart to keep them crisp

add boiling water to each quart.....remove air bubbles and put hot lid and ring on tight

process in a pressure cooker at 10 lbs for 25 minutes

this is what they look like after being canned.....I normally wash the jars before I take the picture

but tonight it is too late to wait....so you can see some of the residual from the well water...

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to date.....the garden has produced 160 pounds of tomatoes....

and 164 pounds of cucumbers...and there is a whole lot more to come...

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Ross and Jasmine sitting on the porch at 10:15 pm awaiting the green beans to be done



Pleasant Dreams!!!

August 19, 2012

CRAZY....BUSY day today.....

started with the Church 15th Anniversary Celebration.....worship

service, then a luncheon and an auction....it was a BLAST!!!

Part 2 of last weeks message at www.h-hcc.org

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then home to do some more canning....

we picked 73 lbs of tomatoes...we focused on the ROMA's...they are super

meaty so they will work great for making PIZZA SAUCE

we have never canned Pizza Sauce before so we created our own recipe....

it tastes GREAT!!!  it is so thick the spoon stays straight up......

here is our recipe.....

Pizza Sauce : makes 15 pints

1/2 bushel of Roma Tomatoes

3 lbs onion

4 green peppers

2 heads of garlic....separate each clove and press

cook for 2 1/2 - 3 hours to reduce....you can see in the pot above where it started and where it finished

1/4 cup salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup veggie oil or olive oil

1 1/2 cup Italian Pizza Seasoning (from GFS)

add these items....bring to a boil and can in a pressure cooker for 5 minutes at 5 lbs of pressure

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with the rest of the tomatoes we did another 14 quarts of Chili...so that is 29 more jars today.

last year we found this great store brand Pizza Sauce called Classico...from Sam's Club

or Walmart....it tasted great and it came in a Pint canning jar.....so we have kept

them through the year and we recanned our Pizza Sauce right back in them...

Recycle....Reuse.....Gotta Love It!!!

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still had some daylight so we finished the back porch steps..... same 2 views

as Wednesday August 15th

took all the tools back to the barn and realized that I hadn't watered the garden in over a week...

went to check on my lettuce and the green beans and found them growing all over

my watering stand....OK so the rain DID make everything grow!!!!



there are full sized beans hanging off the waterer....Amazing......we will be canning

green beans tomorrow!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

August 18, 2012

started the day off by working on the back porch steps.....they are coming along...

Ross should have them done tomorrow...Jasmine gives her seal of approval....

then....canning...canning and more canning

 washing the tomatoes....

then set up of the pans.....

starting from the left...washed tomatoes....hot water....cold water...

squeezing bowl....simmering bowl

in the hot water BLANCHE for 45 seconds....bigger tomatoes take a shorter

time than smaller ones......then spoon the tomato into the cold water for 1 -2 minutes...

then core and peel the tomato and place into the squeezing bowl....keep doing

this process until the squeezing bowl is full.....squeeze them by hand and dump

them into the simmering bowl....this is where you add all of your ingredients

depending on what you are making.

we made Spaghetti (recipe on January 1, 2012) and

Chili (recipe on January 9, 2012) in a 14 quart stock pot....

I think those recipes say a 12 quart...it should read 14

anything with tomatoes needs to be canned in the pressure cooker....not a hot water bath...

so 7 quarts go into the cooker and you set the disk on top to 5, 10 or 15 lbs

both the spaghetti and chili go for 25 minutes at 15 lbs of pressure....

we put up 27 quarts today....14 Chili.....13 Spaghetti

as Ross was heading up stairs to bed...he looked back into the kitchen and said that

he needed to take a picture of the kitchen / dining room...it is filled with canning from today

and plenty of vegetables to keep us busy tomorrow after church !!!

our Sheba dog got in the picture and I am off to the left at

BLOG CENTRAL typing this blog.

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Pleasant Dreams!!!