NOAA, you are such a tease!

The first thing we do every morning, and the last thing we do every night, is check the weather forecast.

On the farmstead, staying on top of the weather is important. The last thing we need is to be blindsided by a white-out or blown over by a hurricane. And yes, we get hurricanes in Ohio! Well, one hurricane since I've lived here, but still...knowing when to batten down the hatchlings is important.

NOAA has been promising sunshine for over a week. It has yet to materialize. Instead, I get snow. Lots of snow. Every day, when I check the forecast, the sunshine and warmer temps are still three or more days away. I'm starting to feel like a donkey chasing the elusive carrot on a stick.

The current forecast calls for temps in the 40's next weekend!! That will feel like summer after the cold of the past month. And sunshine! Oh glorious vitamin D, light, and warmth!! Dare I hope??

This weekend wasn't so bad. Of course we had snow, and lots of it. We'd planned to thin out the chicken flock, but the temptation to play was too great, and we spent most of Saturday sledding and playing in the snow with Little Sis, and then taking a romantic walk in the snowy wood. Today was also fun - we ran some errands, did some window shopping, and then Eöl treated us to a steak dinner. I can't even remember the last time we all ate out! The food was ok, but I think the best part was having a meal that I didn't cook. lol Not that I mind cooking, but it's nice to have a break from time to time.

Provided NOAA isn't just teasing me again, we'll get the chickens done next weekend. Despite the sun and warm temps, we won't be quite as tempted to play, as everything outside will be mud and muck instead of snow.

I say toe-mae-toe, you say tah-mah-toe...

The seeds are planted! Well, at least some of them are. Little Sis and I started a large portion of our tomato and pepper seeds this week. I know it's a tad early, still 12 weeks till last frost, but I'm planning to re-pot these once they are big enough and start another batch. Looks like no one in our family will need to buy plants this year! So far we have 392 tomato and 196 pepper plants on the way. :)

I know that's a lot. We had around 120 tomato plants last year and everyone thought I was nuts. However, last year was a blight year, and if I hadn't had so many plants, we certainly wouldn't have had enough tomatoes to put up. This year, I'm hoping to participate in the farmer's market in addition to putting up twice as much as last year, so all those extra plants are pretty much a necessity.

I'm trying a few new varieties this year, some heirloom, some hybrid. I have nothing against hybrids, many of them are bred for disease resistance which means a better crop. I have a particular fondness for Celebrity and Early Girl, but I haven't started any yet (note to self: order seeds!). They have great flavor and produce wonderfully.

Here's what we have started so far:

Tomatoes: Omar's Lebanese; Dutchman; Djena Lee's Golden Girl; Golden Sunburst; Aunt Ruby's German Green; Black Russian; Red Zebra; Super Beefsteak; Mortgage Lifter; Big Mama (paste); Bloody Butcher (ok, I confess, I got that one because of the name);Marglobe; Delicious Beefsteak; Golden Mama (paste); Tangerine Mama (paste); Razzle Dazzle; Italian Ice (cherry); Honeybunch (currant).

Peppers: Chinese Giant (great luck with these last year); Habanero; Anaheim; Ancho; Long Slim Red Cayenne; Jalapeno; Hungarian Wax; Big Red; Chardonnay (these are lovely) ; Purple Beauty; Orange Sun; Diamond.

I can't wait for the first little seedlings to emerge; a small taste of spring while the wind howls and the snow swirls outside.

Waiting for spring...

I can't stand it!! No more snow!!! Please!! ack!!! We have so much snow that our paths are actually more like snow bridges: two feet of packed snow. If you step off the path, you have snow over your knees. The good news is that it's melting at last! I can't see the ground yet; we are still several inches from that, but it is melting. yay! The bad news: more snow in the forecast.

I've been paging back through my blog to see what we were up to at this time last year. I'm encouraged to see that around the beginning of March the peepers were peeping (I got an unbelievable number of hits for 'peeping on wife' after that post. Naughty Monkeys!!) and the first buzzard had been spotted. So, maybe in a couple of weeks, we'll be able to see the grass, or at least the mud.

I have started spring cleaning, or what I like to call The Great De-Ashing. Those of you with woodstoves and inserts know what I'm talking about. I also have some remodeling I want to get done before I head back to work, so I'm officially out of my 'winter-time-where's-the-sun' rut and into the 'oh-my-gosh-I-gotta-get-done' mode.

I'm starting some seeds today, tomatoes and peppers at least. I think I had them started earlier last year, but there's still plenty of time so they should be ready by the end of May to go into the garden. Our last frost was at the end of May last year; I'm hoping for an earlier spring this year. Just to see something green will be pleasant, anyway.

I've set a goal for each day of the week, and if all goes well, I'll be done with the cleaning and on to the major portions of remodeling by the weekend, with time out to harvest a few more roo's.

Speaking of harvesting chickens: We hatched more than we had freezer space for last year, so we kept the extras on the hoof..um...claw..um..foot? *shrugs* The problem with that plan has been that it's been too cold to harvest the ones we now have freezer space for. Now that we are having a slight warm up, we're trying to bring the chicken population back under control. By spring we hope to have a more reasonable number of chickens and a new plot for them to roam.

And now... I'm off to accomplish today's tasks! Wish me luck!!

Taking the snow road...

Dear Maniac Driver,

During a major snowstorm, please stay home. If you must be out, or get caught out like some of us did, please drive considerately.

Tailgating is not a good idea. Notice I have allowed ample stopping distance between myself and the vehicle in front of me. If I had to slam on my brakes, I'd slide to within a car length of the bumper in front of me before coming to a stop. You, however, would plow into my backside and send us all into the ditch. Moron.

Note that I am not tapping my brakes in order to stop, but to let you see the brake lights and know that the traffic in front of me is also slowing. That means you should GET OFF MY A$$!

And to the other imbeciles... if the roads are covered with inches of slick, slushy snow, and the traffic is moving steadily, although slowly, this is NOT the time to whip out in front of someone from a side road. Notice how your rear end is sliding all over the place like a salmon swimming upstream? Duh. Notice how you almost went into the ditch? Or how the car you pulled in front of almost took out your side door? Morons. Morons! Morons!!

**deep breath***

Rant over.

What is it? And what do I do with it?

It's Pink Banana Squash!! Or, as my dear friend convinced her offspring: winter pumpkins. Yes, I've mentioned them here before, as I grew a slew of them this past season. And yes, we still have plenty. They store exceptionally well. I still have two full baskets of them stored in a cool, dry place.

Now that you know what they are, what do you do with them? Don't worry, it's not complicated and doesn't involve any sort of sacrifice, animal or human.

Wash your squash. Then cut open lengthwise. Scrape out seeds (an ice cream scoop works great). Place cut side down on baking pan. Bake at 350 until a fork pokes easily through the outer skin (time varies from 30 minutes to an hour or more, depending on the size of your squash). Remove from oven and let cool. Scrape cooked squash from skin using a large spoon or ice cream scoop. Or, remove from oven and serve with butter, brown sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon, etc.

You can use this squash in any recipe calling for pumpkin. Substitute two cups of squash for one can of pumpkin. Whatever you don't use right away can be frozen. If you freeze it in two cup measurements, that makes things easier for next time. Easy as pie! And, speaking of pie, here's my favorite recipe for pumpkin...er...Pink Banana Squash Pie:

2 cups Pink Banana Squash (baked)

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

dash of ground cloves

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

Mix well and pour into pie shell. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

More pumpkin/squash recipes can be found here. (Hat Tip to Dearest Friend for the link.) Keep in mind that the nutritional information posted for each recipe will be different if you are using your very own fresh produce instead of the canned moosh listed in their ingredients.

Tomato soup recipe

I've had a request for my tomato soup recipe, so here 'tis:

I start with this recipe from Ball, which they call Basil-Garlic Tomato Sauce:

Basil-Garlic Tomato Sauce

Makes about 7 (16 oz) pints

20 lb tomatoes (about 60 medium)

1 cup chopped onion (about 1 large)

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup finely minced, fresh basil

Bottled lemon juice

7 (16 oz) pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

1.) PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

2.) WASH tomatoes; drain. Remove core and blossom ends. Cut into quarters. Set aside.

3.) SAUTE onion and garlic in olive oil until transparent. Add tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.) PUREE tomato mixture in a food processor or blender, working in batches. Strain puree to remove seeds and peel.

5.) COMBINE tomato puree and basil in large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until volume is reduced by half, stirring to prevent sticking.

6.) ADD 1 Tbsp bottled lemon juice to each hot jar. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.

7.) PROCESS filled jars in a boiling water canner for 35 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check for seal after 24 hours. Lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

After I made this sauce the first time, I thought it tasted exactly like Campbell's tomato soup, so that's pretty much how we've used it since. The recipe makes sort of a concentrate, so here's how I prepare it:

One jar of Basil-Garlic Tomato Sauce

Two jars water

1/2 tsp onion powder (more or less to taste)

1/2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)

1 Tbs Sugar (optional)

The soup is fairly thin, so you can thicken it with a couple of tablespoons of flour or cornstarch if you wish.

Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least five minutes.

It is surprisingly filling. Excellent when served with grilled cheese or fresh, homemade bread sticks.

Speaking of Writer's Butt

These aren't helping!! **Must stop eating Kifli**

Hungarian Cream Cheese Kifli

(from Cookies to Die For by Bev Shaffer)

• 1/2 lb unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
• 1/2 lb cream cheese, cut into pieces, room temperature
• 1/2 Tbs baking powder
• 3 large egg yolks, reserving egg whites for brushing cookies
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
• Confectioners' sugar for dusting cookies
• Any flavor jam for filling

Cream together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Mix the baking powder into egg yolks, whisking to blend. Add to the butter mixture, blending well.

Add the flour gradually until all is incorporated and dough comes away from bowl.

Divide dough in eighths and shape each into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap; flatten to 1/2". Chill dough overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll dough on lightly floured board, turning and flipping as you roll, until very thin, a min. of 1/16". Cut 2" squares (or any desired shape). Fill with 1/2 tsp to 3/4 tsp of desired filling and fold 2 of the opposite corners together. Pinch lightly to seal. Brush with reserved egg whites.

Bake until a light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheets to wire racks to cool completely.

Sprinkle cookies with confectioners' sugar when cool. Makes about 6 dozen.

Writer's Block?

No, not a problem. In fact, the book seems to be coming along better than I had hoped. Just as well, as there's not much else to do with two feet of snow outside. Well, I do have some remodeling projects to do, but for those, I have to get out and get supplies, which just ain't happening with this much snow.

Writer's Butt? Yep, now that could be a problem. I'm not used to sitting for such long periods. My legs go to sleep and my butt is numb...and I think I can feel it spreading! To make matters worse, I broke my Thigh Master!! No kidding!! I was just using it and POP! It exploded into pieces. Guess I mastered my thighs, after all.

Oh, well, at least I'm well insulated, just like this guy:

Food Police

"Do you know why I pulled you over, ma'am?"

"Um..no, officer."

"You were clocked slow cooking in a fast food zone."


_______________________________

This post was inspired by a forum post about how hoity-toity (I'm paraphrasing here) some of us tend to be when posting to the 'What's for supper' threads. The poster said that we didn't need to point out that our food was homegrown, homemade, made from scratch, raised and butchered at home, organic, wild, blah blah blah. Another poster agreed, saying it made us sound like we were so great, look at me, etc. Spoken like a true McChef.

There's a HUGE difference between real food and McFood: taste, texture, nutrient content, not to mention the amount of work involved in growing, harvesting, preserving, cooking and serving your own food.

I've served entire meals, on a regular basis, in which everything but the flour, yeast, and butter, came from our own little plot of land. Knowing full well the amount of work involved, I reserve the right to post my menus as 'homegrown, homemade, fertilized by my sweat and blood, etc'.

There was a time when I considered 'homemade' something else entirely. I bought veggies and meat, sliced, diced, and mixed, and that was homemade. I opened cans of this or that and threw them together with a few spices, and voila! A homemade from scratch meal. Funny how things change. Now, when I say 'homemade', I generally mean I grew, harvested, canned or froze the ingredients myself. Chicken noodle soup has evolved from opening a can of premade soup; to buying chicken, cooking it with bullion cubes, and adding store bought noodles; to hatching our own chicks, raising them, butchering them ourselves, storing them in the freezer, then cooking them, shredding the meat from the bones, throwing in a few herbs from my herb garden, and adding a batch of made from scratch noodles, made with our own eggs but store bought flour and milk (although that will eventually change, as well).

Sure, I have my downfall from time to time: I have made pies with premade crusts (they really weren't as tasty) and even tossed frozen fish sticks and instant mashed potatoes together for a quick meal. Sometimes it's easier, but it's never as good or filling, and we really can't eat that kind of stuff very often without feeling ill effects: run down, tummy aches, etc.

I will even admit to liking the occasional bucket of KFC. It's quick and easy and fairly tasty, but once every few months is more than enough.

There's an amazing thing we've learned in growing our own food: It's filling. One small hen will make two or three meals. The only reason I can think of is that there are a lot more nutrients, and they are most likely more easily absorbed, in homegrown food. It makes sense: our land isn't over used and then artificially fortified, so our veggies, hay, and even grass are better for us and for our livestock.

So, for those of you that find us hoity-toity homesteading types just too 'look-at-me-it's-homemade-braggity', maybe you should McMoveAlong, before you get caught speeding in a slow cooking zone.

Snooooowww!!!

Friday night:

Saturday morning:

Pretty, isn't it? Not if you have to shovel it out of the 1/5 mile driveway! That's 1056 feet long, by 8 feet wide, which is 8448 square feet, which, divided into linear feet, is 1.6 miles shoveled. No wonder my arms hurt!

We have knee deep drifts, and more snow expected this week. *sigh* Looks like our knee deep drifts may be doubled. Egads! Did I mention I'm ready for spring??

My cell phone is possessed...

Or at least the 'word' tool for texting is.

How the iiitingne is iiitingne a word??

Oh, look. I used it in a sentence. Twice.

Hmmm.

Guinea Fowl: The Farmer's Watchdog

Guinea fowl are often called 'The Farmer's Watchdog' due to their noisy announcement of intruders, trespassers, and guests alike. Funny, from the name, you'd think farmers didn't actually keep real dogs.

Guineas are known for their noise. I've heard people say that a guinea will squawk at an intruder, at a breeze, if the sun is shining, if the sun is not shining, if the wind is blowing, if the wind stops blowing....you get the idea. They truly are noisy buggers. I even thought they were false alarm specialists for a while, myself. But it turns out that they just have sharper eyes. Chances are, if the guineas are barking, there's something amiss.

I first noticed this as I was working outside one day and was startled by the guineas going completely bonkers over something. I happened to look up just in time to see two turkey vultures land in a tree near the edge of our property. If I hadn't seen them land, I'd never have known what all the fuss was about. Just yesterday I looked outside to see a wild rabbit bounding away as the guineas announced that this is their domain. They also set up a fuss when a hawk comes around, something the chickens have picked up on rather quickly. As soon as the guineas sound off, the chickens all run to the coop.

Around here, we say, "The guineas are barking" or "The alarm is going off" when the guineas are squawking. If you've never heard them, let me tell you, they don't chirp or sing, they SQUAWK! Of course that's not their only noise. They have a pleasant chirrup that sounds sort of like a lightly blown pea whistle when they are happy, usually when they are eating. I'm happy when I'm eating, so I can understand. :)

The female guinea has a sort of two syllable squawk that sounds like "Buckwheat". That's really about the only way to tell the females from the males.

Guineas are great for gardens. They don't scratch around as much as chickens do, and tend to leave most of the plants alone. Their worst habit is taking a dust bath where I've planted seeds, but a bit of chicken wire over the dirt will keep them out. Don't forget to move the chicken wire once the plants get big enough.

They absolutely love ticks and other bugs. We find fewer ticks than anyone we know, and we live smack in the middle of the woods. There's nothing more entertaining than watching a guinea chase a grasshopper across the field. Or maybe there is. What can I say; I'm easily amused.

But be warned: guineas wander. Unless you have them in an aviary, don't expect them to stay put. I've seen my guineas take off to inspect the neighbor's property over half a mile away. Thanks to their wanderlust, we lost as least one guinea to a field sprayer. Pressed guinea, anyone? They do come home at roosting time, though. In fact, I've read that purchased adult guineas will fly back to where they came from, so it's best to start with keets.

Our guineas like to roost in trees, so we lost a few to raccoons and owls. Oh, yeah, if you have a severe fear of clowns, avoid going outside near the guinea roost at night! They sometimes make this weird noise, like an insane clown laughing from high in the tree in the deep, dark woods. *shudder*

You can train them to come when you call by giving them food each time you call them. It's pretty awesome to call and have them fly right over your head! We feed ours goose/duck/chick feed during the winter, and they mostly free range during the summer, pigging out on bugs, worms, and all other kinds of crunchy goodies. Yum!

We're hoping to replenish our guinea flock this spring with some keets from the hatchery. Now that we have an incubator, we'll be able to hatch our own once we get some females. We lost our last few females when they went broody; they nest on the ground and predators sure love the easy reach. We started with a dozen keets (about five years ago) and are down to our last two guineas, both male. Our lonely bachelors tend to stay close to home now.

Overall, they are very low maintenance, and really quite useful.