In the Kitchen

I spent a lot of time this weekend in the kitchen.  I found myself with a bunch of tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden, as well as a zucchini, and (once again) TOO MANY eggs.

This year I'm having the same issue with my cucumbers that I had several years ago:  they are very prolific, but because it has been dry, some of them are intensely bitter.  I thought I would have enough cukes to can some pickles, but half of them were inedible, so I started some refrigerator Bread & Butter pickles - they have to marinate for 24 hours before we can try them.

I also made some NY style pizza sauce that went into the freezer for later.

I baked 2 loaves of zucchini bread and made 3 quiches (2 ham and cheese for JP & myself and Mom & Dad) and one cheese pizza one for L and managed to use up 3 dozen and 1 eggs.

For dessert, I made "Train Wreck."  Train Wreck is like a messy trifle of my own creation.  I make it with layers of cake cubes, pudding, crushed candy/oreos/fruit, and whipped cream.  This one was angel food cake, chocolate pudding, crushed Skor bars and whipped cream.

Poor Stella had surgery on Thursday to remove a growth from her eyelid.  She doesn't want to leave it alone, so she is having to wear an Elizabethan Collar as well as socks on her hind feet.

She looks like a hybrid vacuum/dog:

Speaking of hybrids, JP and I finally went to look at a car yesterday (one month after losing the Subaru.)  We drove a Hybrid Hyundai Tucson.  It's a nice little car, and we were seriously considering it, but when we came back home and did a bit of research, it has a pretty poor reliability rating with Consumer Reports.  I think we will look at a plug in Hybrid Toyota Rav 4 later in the week.

That's about it for my weekend.  Time to go taste the quiche!

Almost a Gross...

Yesterday I realized that I had over 11 dozen eggs in my refrigerator, so since this was a cool and rainy weekend, I decided to do something about that!

We started with breakfast burritos yesterday (4 eggs) and then I made a double recipe of lemon curd (12 egg yolks) and a recipe of blueberry scones to eat it with (1 egg.)  I made an angel food cake to use up the remaining 12 egg whites.

Today I made egg salad out of 12 eggs and had another egg for breakfast.

I used a grand total of 30 eggs this weekend and took another dozen over to my parents. (And found this in my flower bed on the way. 😊)

I collected 10 eggs from the hens this weekend, which is actually fewer than normal.  However, I still have more than 7 dozen eggs in the refrigerator...

Apples

 
Last week, J and I drove north in search of apples.  We came home with quite a few, along with tiny pumpkins, tomatoes, and a jar of jam.

On Monday, I made 25 pints of my delicious "Secret Ingredient Applesauce."  I like to freeze it as it tastes more fresh when we thaw and eat it than the canned applesauce does.

I had a few extra apples, so I thought I'd try drying some.  JP and I fashioned a dehydrator out of a box fan, some bungee cords, and several air filters.

This is the end result.  L  has already devoured a handful or two!

The big news this weekend is that after 202 days, we have decided that JP will no longer quarantine.  He has moved back upstairs and rejoined the family at the dinner table as well.  It is such a relief!

Another Fail

I heard of the idea of banana peel bacon on a podcast that I listened to recently.  I thought that it might be something that would appeal to J, my vegetarian daughter.  And besides, I'll try most anything once.

I found this recipe on line and amassed a couple of brown-enough peels by last weekend to give it a shot.  The intro to the recipe post states "Yes, you read that right, this is banana peel bacon. A vegan bacon recipe made from the banana peels that you would otherwise toss away. Am I crazy? Maybe a little. Does it taste good? Yes, it does. It really, really does!"

Well, please believe me.  This stuff is basically inedible.  I know, I know, this is not a big surprise.  We are all grasping at straws here for some amazing discovery to make life stuck at home a little more interesting.

Go ahead, try it for yourself.  Maybe I did something terribly wrong?

File This Under "Unbelievable"

We made our final payment on the Subaru this month, and received the title in the mail on Saturday.  Wouldn't you know it - Saturday evening, JP went out to return our Redbox DVDs and was hit by another driver.  Luckily it happened at very low speed and no one was hurt, but it did do significant damage to the front end of our newly fully owned vehicle!  We are waiting to be sure that the other driver's insurance company will accept liability, as he was completely at fault, but it appears that the car will be in the shop for some time in the near future!

 

I decided to make some more French food this weekend, and settled on Julia Child's recipe for Supremes de volatile aux champignons (chicken breast braised in butter with mushrooms and cream sauce) with fresh asparagus and hollandaise sauce.

 

It was delicious...but can you believe it used 3 sticks of butter?

We woke to another 1.5 inches of snow on Saturday, and it is snowing at this moment.  Enough is enough...time for Spring!

Channelling My Inner Julia

Today I prepared a recipe from my "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", by Julia Child, for the first time.  I must say, this is the first time that I ever sautéed bacon in butter - a sure sign of a French recipe.  I also added cognac, which I subsequently lighted - it made an impressive flame!  The recipe that I tried was "Coq Au Vin," and it was absolutely delicious, although it wasn't much to look at.

 This weekend, we attempted to get the Christmas baking done, as it is the last weekend before my surgery.  I made "Millionaire's Shortbread," which tastes like a million dollars, and looks like at least five bucks. J made "Chocolate Mint Cookies."  L baked peanut butter biscuits for the dogs, and mixed up dough for gingerbread men, which is in the fridge.  I attempted to make sugar-free buckeyes for JP, which apparently taste better than they look.

 

L has been busy writing a Harry Potter/Crazy Cat Lady inspired Christmas story this weekend.  She looks super smart with her new haircut and glasses.

J has been working hard on making personalized gifts for her posse.  Speaking of new doo's, here is a picture of her enjoying a "Candlestick Salad" and sporting her new haircut.  This recipe can be found in one of my go-to cookbooks, "The Mennonite Community Cookbook."  It can also be found here.

 

That's about it for tonight folks, I hope you are enjoying these days before Christmas!

4 and 20 Blackbirds

I have been asked about the object in the middle of my pie.  It is a pie bird, a hollow, ceramic device used to support and vent a pie with a top crust.

 

I think he's rather cute!

Tofood

When J was quite young, maybe 3 or 4, our good friends invited us over for a homemade Asian meal featuring tofu.  (It was delicious!)  Having never been served tofu before in her short life, J was impressed.  "I like this tofood!" she said, "May I have some more?"

I do not generally cook with tofu, and although I have enjoyed it in many dishes that others have prepared, I generally order something with chicken or seafood if given a chance.

At the beginning of summer, JP wanted our family to change our eating habits and eat more healthy food choices, including less red meat.  I bought a 25 lb bag of brown basmati rice in early June, and we have eaten through about half of it now.  The girls even admitted yesterday (as they took seconds of it) that they have grown to like it.  We eat chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, and very little beef.  JP has asked if we could try more tofu.

I'm usually game to try new things, and I generally view myself as a pretty good cook. Not being familiar with many tofu recipes, I enlisted the help of our friend, who is a vegetarian.  I copied a number of recipes from a book he loaned me that sounded tasty.  I thought it was alright when JP lightly fried it and we slurped bits of it out of the salty broth with ramen noodles or miso.  Over the winter, he made a salad featuring fried and baked chunks of tofu (think croutons) which was also pretty good. 

The 2 dishes that I made (General Tso's Tofu, and Saag with Tofu - instead of paneer,) however, not only took an extremely long time to prepare, but also made a terrible mess of the stove and several dirty pots and pans, and ultimately were not that great.  Maybe it's true that one's tried and true recipes taste all the better for the love that was added by the preparer.  Perhaps I don't love my tofu enough.

In any case, I'm still not a fan of tofu.  Someone send me some delicious and easy recipes for tofu that I can try!  I have one more tub of tofu in the fridge...

Ham N Eggs

When we came home from Virginia this Spring, we brought a 15 lb. country ham with us.  A country ham, unlike its city ham cousin, is both salted AND smoked, then it is aged for several months.

We opened the burlap sack and paper it was wrapped in this weekend and exposed the meat in all of its moldy glory.  Like most aged meats, it developes mold on the outer surface, which is scrubbed off under running water in the first step of preparation.  We enjoyed it for dinner on Friday evening, along with other Southern comfort foods, such as buttermilk biscuits, green beans, and sweet tea. 

On Saturday morning, the leftovers made an appearance for brunch, sliced thin and pan seared, then served along side buttermilk pancakes and strawberries.

I thought about putting the hock in the crockpot with some split peas for dinner today, but we are just about hammed out at the moment, delicious and salty though it was.

After the huge brunch yesterday morning, JP and I felt ready to tackle the problem of overcrowding in the pullet house.  The Barred Rocks are now 12 weeks old, and making 100 lbs of feed disappear in about 10 days...POOF!  They are still quite small, even though they are said to be "broiler sized" within 10-12 weeks.  Perhaps they are like pond goldfish, and grow to fit their space.  If that is the case, I'll be spending a LOT of time and money at Agway in the coming weeks!

The problem is that we cannot put them in with the hens, since they are still eating chick feed.  We did think enough ahead to buy two 160 ft. lengths of electric chicken netting back in the Spring, so after some quick sketches on the back of an envelope, JP decided the best configuration was two back to back triangles, creating one large rectangle.

Now the pullets, having never known such freedom before in their lives, are happily scratching and running in the pasture, and the hens are enjoying more shade in the afternoons than in their previous locale.  All of us have spent a lot of time out by the chicken runs lately, just watching them do their chicken thing.

We also acquired a Silver Laced Wynadotte rooster this weekend. He travelled in from town in an LL Bean box, with a friend who was hoping to have a couple of laying hens.  His neighbors were hoping that too, so when the little fellow began crowing at 5:45 in the morning about a week ago, he asked if he could swap for a hen.  He is a handsome little guy.

Initially, we put him in with the hens.   They have an apparent testosterone ban in their quarters however, and seriously hen pecked the poor fellow.  JP moved him in with the pullets, where he has had words already with our suspected rooster (who still hasn't learned to crow.)  Otherwise he is fitting in much better with the younger crew, and I found him snuggled up amongst the black and white youngsters on the roost last night

Now we are speculating when these young ladies will start laying.  After some research, it appears that it still may be another couple of months before they start paying us back for all this feed.  After that happens, the plan is to "retire" the old hens, and about half of the pullets, along with any non-layers, (AKA roosters...if they are annoying).  In this manner, we hope to stock our freezer with meat, and keep our refrigerator full of eggs.  It remains to be seen how well our plans work out in the end.

At the moment, since I am stockpiling eggs against our upcoming family get together with my parents, both my brothers, and their families, our refrigerator has plenty of eggs.  And there is still some ham there too...ham and eggs.

Comfort Food

Today was a cold and dreary day. It began with the feat of taking 3 animals and dragging 2 kids along to the Vet. I spent nearly $400, and Ernie Cat was diagnosed with a Herpes infection of his eyes. At that news, I whipped out the hand sanitizer and wiped everyone down. Yikes!

I came to a realization while at play group today: I think I am subconciously keeping L a baby. My friends and I were discussing Preschool in the good old days of our oldest children being there. It brought back memories of all the drama of J feeling slighted by one of our neighbors who was in her class. I realized that it doesn't seem that L is the same age now as J was then...she still seems so little, but in reality, she is on the verge of Kindergarten! Funny how our minds can bend reality, hmm?

So...by the time the evening rolled around, I was emotionally spent, and felt a bit chilled despite nursing a cup of tea most of the afternoon. I decided it was time for a meal of comfort food. My favorite comfort food menu consists of Chicken and Dumplings, Chuckwagon Carrots and my Secret Ingredient Apple Sauce. Mmmmm...warms the belly and the heart!

Cracker Barrel Chicken & Dumplins

adapted from A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes

serves 6

2 Qts chicken stock

1 bay leaf

4 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp black pepper

3 c flour

4 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/3 cup milk

2 cans chicken breast meat

Bring first 4 ingredients to a simmer in a dutch oven. Stir together next 4 ingredients, knead several times on a floured counter top until no longer sticky. Roll to an oblong, approximately 1/4" thick. Cut into strips 1/2" x 2" with a pizza cutter. Drop dough strips one at a time into stock mixture, stirring several times between additions. Allow to simmer, stirring occaisionally, for 30 minutes, until stock is thickened. Stir in chicken and continue to simmer another 5-10 minutes until warm through.

Chuckwagon Carrots

adapted from my friend, KR's recipe

serves 4

3 slices bacon, chopped

3 cups carrots, sliced into 1/2" coins

2 T butter

1/2 tsp salt

1 T brown sugar

1 green onion, thinly sliced

Fry bacon in a sauce pan until browned and crispy, then remove to a paper towel lined plate. Discard bacon fat. Add carrots, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer until crisp-tender, about 10-12 minutes. Drain carrots, add butter, salt and sugar and toss to coat. Stir in bacon and onions before serving.

I won't share my applesauce recipe here, but you can find it on your own if you Google "Alton Brown applesauce"...it's good stuff.

Tonight, feeling calm and drowsy under the effects of all that Tryptophan, I crashed on the sofa to watch my favorite TV show, "The Mentalist". Now it's time to give Ernie his eye drops and turn in for the night. Nighty-night.

Breakfast Pies

I come from Mennonite stock. We Mennonites enjoy our pies, and not just for dessert either! Shoo-Fly pie is excellent for breakfast with a cup of coffee.



Last night, I made an Apple Crumb pie with random wrinkled apples. (Another Mennonite trait: never throw anything away!)



This morning, with my coffee, I had a piece with cheddar cheese on it. My husband and children turn up their noses, but the recipe in my Mennonite Community Cookbook actually notes "Delicious when served with cheese." I find that the cheese goes well with the tartness of the apples, and helps reduce the sweetness of the crumb topping.

breakfast of champions

Pets & Projects

Contrary to what it may seem, I'm not going to blog about our puppy today, who has reached the size of a small horse at the tender age of 4 months. (Look here for a small video clip of her on my Mom's blog.) This post is about my sourdough starter that has been in my possession for about 2 months.

A friend of mine shared her starter with me, and despite the fact that I nearly killed it on the first go-round, it is still hale and hearty in my refrigerator. I was a bit afraid that it would turn into the nightmare of "Amish Friendship Bread", but I was dead wrong. I have used my starter about twice a week, and everyone in our home seems to be enjoying it. I've made bread, pancakes, pizza crusts, bread sticks and rolls. I need to try it for some cinnamon rolls one of these days. Who knew it could be so versatile?

In my copious spare time, I've started a crash course in Landscape Design, sponsored by our local "Creative Industries". I began a week late, so I've been scrambling to get my assignment, a to scale drawing of our house and environs drawn by my Thursday night class. I'm nearly finished since there isn't a whole lot of existing landscaping here except for the scraggly grass and a few trees. I'm hoping to get ideas for beds in the front yard area, and some inspiration for the entrance of the house which is lacking in "curb appeal" at the present time. I'll post pictures as I progress. I am really looking forward to this Spring, when I'll have a blank slate for planting, planting, planting! JP and I have been pouring over the nursery catalogs as they trickle in. It is so exciting to be able to buy in bulk instead of a single plant here and there!

What kinds of interesting things are you planning to plant this year?