Soup Sunday, New Welcomes & a Strange Vegetable

The last couple of weeks have been uneventful. We went to the Country last weekend & got the 2 asparagus beds straightened & filled w/sticks, poo & straw. Will continue adding compost material until time for planting in March. Forgot the camera so no pic.

Had a bit of drama though. When we got there we were basically locked out of our way in to the property. We had to go to the other side of the property & use my Dad's gate & drive across the pond damn. Quite a ways out of the way but doable. The person who let us use his gate for access has 'gone off his meds' & is a bit crazy w/o them. This is the 3rd or 4th time he's done this so we are done w/him. We'll be putting in a driveway just down the road from my Dad's gate but have  few obstacles we will need to be overcome, such as clearing some woods that has a branch running through it. I'll post our progress.

I got this strange vegetable in my last CSA delivery. 

I cut it up along w/some onion, mushrooms & yellow peppers & roasted them.

I served it w/organic chicken in a creamy asiago cheese sauce. It was delicious.

Greg got some bathroom shelves put up so I could display my milk vases (he calls them graveyard vases). We've had these shelves since last summer & I've been collecting the vases from estate sales during that time. I'm quite pleased w/the results.

For Souper Sunday, I made sausage, kale & lentil soup. I don't like kale & this is about the only way I've found that I can stomach it. I like all other greens (turnip, mustard, collards, etc.), just not this one.

Saute some spicy sausage w/the casing removed
Add onions & any other vegetables you would like (I used parsnip, carrot & a couple of potatoes)
Add rosemary, salt, pepper & cumin
Saute until slightly tender
Wilt in chopped kale along w/some grated nutmeg
Stir in some tomato paste & a cup or so of white wine
I also added a can of chopped tomatoes at this point.
Add lentils & 6-8 cups of liquid (I used a quart of homemade tomato juice, 3 pints of homemade meat stock & 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat & cook until lentils are tender (about 45 minutes)

This made a lot of soup so I canned most of it (12 pints). I also found a couple of containers of spaghetti & meatballs in the freezer so I thawed those & canned 2 pints of that along w/the soup. The pressure canner is whistling while I type this. Note: This is my 1st time canning any meat products. 75 minutes at 10lb pressure.

Greg just put some ribs on for dinner & I harvested my cauliflower & last of the broccoli. Here's a picture of my bounty.

The largest cauliflower floret is about the size of a baseball. Guess I need to add more sun & fertilizer to my fall/winter garden - lol.

Lastly, I'd like to welcome a few new followers:

Lara from A Primitive Homestead. She's got a real nice blog that talks about a lot of the things we all like. She's going through a rough time right now, as she lost a child last year, so she could use any support available.

Barbara Fitch also joined. Barbara, I didn't see if you have a blog. If so, send me the link, I'd like to read along. Update1: Barbara's blog is 3 Acre Homestead. Head on over & tell her hello. She has a lot to offer.

Lastly, Garland Girl from Crap Happens Acres. From what I can tell, she just started her blog & it looks like it will be very interesting & entertaining.

Update2: Suzi from Chores and Chandeliers also decided to come join the party. She's a very talented wife & mother we could all learn a lot from.

Thank you all for joining me on my journey.

Brooke

Many years ago, Greg & I decided not to have children. This was a disappointment to my parents (& his) but we were just too busy & made the conscience decision to not have children ourselves.

But my sister did (she's 10 years my junior) .... thank goodness, she took all our pressure away! I remember the day she called me to tell me I was going to be an Aunt. It was late & I was still at the office with only a few people around. Once she gave me the news, I just started squealing (like a happy girl)! The few left on my floor came running but were relieved to find that I was screaming from happiness. I . was . going . to . be . an . Aunt!

The birth, the coming Christmases & Birthdays were wonderful. My sister & BIL always brought her to our house 2 days before Thanksgiving & we babysat & would do projects that she loved, & return her on Thanksgiving Day. Her sister came along 4 years later & both of them came to our house for this 'ritual' year after year.

I think this my favorite all time picture of her as a child.

My 2nd all time favorite. Uncle making her laugh. Getting ready for a parade.

The family.

She was so sure of herself!

Cooking crab legs w/Uncle

We also spent several New Year's Eve with those 2, as my Dad's side of the family always had their family reunion around that time & they would always sleep at our house.

She was insistent on driving at that age.

Then she let her sister drive.

At 6, Brooke insisted she was going to be a nurse when she grew up. I also 'mentioned' that I would take her wherever she wanted to go (within the continental United States) when she turned 16. She announced then, that she wanted to go to NY.

10 years later, 6 months before her 16th birthday, she reminded me of my promise. We agreed on a date & I immediately made reservations for flights & hotels, telling her that she had to find restaurants & other things to do. She did & I made arrangements for it all. We went to NY in 2008 & saw  a couple of plays, bought purses in China Town, ate at wonderful restaurants & shopped to her heart's content. We did all that she wanted, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Macy's, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, etc.

She was so glad to have seen Lady Liberty!

The last day we were there we stumbled upon a street market. It was windy & rainy & we came upon a vendor at a street market from Venice selling glass jewelry. He looked at her & told  her that she was "just lovely". She gushed about that. No one had ever described her as 'lovely'. Lots of people told her how beautiful, smart, sweet, nice, kind, etc. But, never 'lovely'. She loved that term. I will always cherice the necklace from that day.

She graduated in 2010, as class president.

After graduation, she started planning her wedding & began nursing school & started a job at one of the local hospitals.

At her job, all the full-time nurses wanted her to work with them & all the patients wanted to take her home with them. I know this because my Dad's wife has worked at that same hospital, as a nurse, for over 20 years & was told this same thing about her, over & over again.

She had met her future husband at 15 years years of age, the year before we went to NY. At one point in NY, I asked her if she shouldn't broaden her range & make sure he was THE one. She explained to me, her silly Aunt, that she had made up her mind & that was that. She loved him & his sister & parents & that made all the difference in the world. They loved her & she could tell, just as I knew with Uncle Greg, that it was the right choice. I agreed with her & let it go.

At 20 she got married. She was a beautiful bride, with nothing but love & excitement in her heart for the future.

In the next picture she isn't posing for the camera at all, just looking at the person she loved so much, & knowing that he loved her the same. Oh how happy she was on that day!

On Saturday night the 15th of December they had celebrated Christmas with her husband's Grandmother. It was such a beautiful night, they decided to ride the dirt roads on their ATVs. At one point, her husband missed the turn onto another road, hit the brakes & turned a hard right. Brooke wasn't expecting the sudden stop & hit her on head on what we think was the roll bar of the Ranger she was riding in.

It was just a terrible accident. The next 3 days were a bit of a blur, visitors stopping by to give hugs & bring food. Then the families having to make the funeral arrangements, the viewing & then the funeral itself.

There were 800 people that attended the viewing. Along with my Sister & BIL & Brooke's husband & his family, my 16 year old niece stood there & greeted every.single.one of those people. The funeral was the next day with about 500 or so in attendance. It just proved to all of us, how much people loved & respected her.

Just a note on the funeral ... I had written before, about southern traditions & that people, no matter where they are headed or how big of a hurry they are in the pull to the side of the road to pay their respects to friends & family when they come upon a funeral procession. I noticed 2 such occurrences during Brooke's procession.

The 1st was the county Sheriff at the first turn just past the church. He was in a suit & tie, instead of his usual uniform, as he had attended the service as a family friend. Even though he wasn't on duty & could have let another officer do that 1st turn, he stepped in & stopped traffic on a US highway to let those in mourning pass, as HIS show of respect.

Along the route various drivers we met along the way stopped to pay their respects ... cement & dump truck drivers, mothers & fathers on their way home, school buses full of children, etc.

But what caught our eye was one young man in particular.

After driving along the US highway for a couple of miles, we turned onto 'the back roads' heading to the cemetery where Brooke was to be laid to rest. We passed a neighborhood that contains houses on 5 - 10 acre lots. Most have swing sets, some have gardens, some animals, etc. Along the way, at the end of one of these driveways by the road, sat a boy 8 - 10 years on his go-cart.

He had stopped riding & shut off his 'vehicle', standing w/his hand over his heart, watching us, until we passed. It was truly touching that this child, without his parents immediate direction, knew to do what he did. It made me cry all the harder, but made me believe that there is hope in our future generation!

The following pictures were taken last December (2011), by Brooke's best friend, as a gift to my sister. These are just 2 of the loveliest photos I have to look back on.

Brooke on the left.

Brooke on the right.

Her sister is again quoting silly things on FB, along with scripture, which makes me feel that she will go on with her life, as it should be.

I miss Brooke with my whole being, but I do know that she is in heaven awaiting all of us. She was called to heaven the day after that horrible CT/Sandy Hook massacre. Maybe she was needed to help take care of those precious children? It's definitely what she was called to do... help others.

We stopped by the grave site on our way home the other day. We won't be going there to 'visit' her because she isn't there. It will only be a place to reflect on her life on occasion.

I am still very sad. I am ok when I am around others or working on something. But when I am alone, the tears come back ... mostly on my drives to & from work & during my shower just before bed. I am really trying hard not to think of what might have been. I have to push those thoughts away because there is no need in thinking them because nothing will change the fact that she's gone & certain things will never be.

POEM of LIFE (Author unknown)

Life is but a stopping place,

A pause in what's to be,

A resting place along the road,

To sweet eternity.

We all have different journeys,

Different paths along the way.

We all were meant to learn some things,

But never meant to stay..

Our destination is a place,
Far greater than we know.
For some the journey's quicker,
For some the journey's slow.

And when the journey finally ends,
We'll claim a great reward,
And find an everlasting peace,
Together with the Lord.

Update: I heard my sister laugh, however brief, this past weekend. Also, my younger niece requested that Brooke's husband & one of his best friends go to church w/her on Sunday. She picked them up & they had lunch afterwards. Life does go on, no matter how painful.

Happy New Year, Souper Sunday & New Welcomes

Happy Near Year everyone! Thank you for all your kindness, support & prayers. We made it through the New Year 'celebration' by cooking a rib roast (aka prime rib), twice baked potatoes (can't remember the last time we had these!) & roasted asparagus. Plus, one of my favorite wines ever ... Terra Bianca! It was delicious, many times over.

We ended the year on such a sad note that it's hard to look back at all I got accomplished. But, we must forge ahead, no matter how painful at times.

So, instead of looking back, I'll look forward. My sister is now speaking in complete sentences instead of just one word answers to questions. And, she shared the Hobby Lobby postings this week. All signs that she will move forward with her life as well.

I'm still working on the post for Brooke but having trouble with just the right words, much less the problems with photos. Oh well, I'll get it worked out somehow.

I went back to work last Wednesday (1/2/13). Hard, but getting better. I still have a few friends to face but after that, I think things will work themselves out for the normal side of things.

Our house is still clean & uncluttered. One of the goals we have set for ourselves .... when laundry is done, put it ALL up. That may take some cleaning of drawers & closets but rest assured, we are going to really try.

This past weekend was another round of accomplishments. Not much to speak about for Saturday but Sunday was a busy day. 

I tried a carpet cleaning recipe that really seemed to work. Our last house guests (in Oct.) apparently filled their coffee cups too full & 'dribbled' coffee straight across the room which I didn't notice until we started cleaning last week. I put about an 1/8th of a cup of baking soda in a spray bottle, then filled with hydrogen peroxide. Sprayed the stains, waited a few & then dabbed scrubbed the spots, then vacuumed a little while later. All gone!

Update: No pictures. Just trust me, it worked!

I then started some yogurt with whole milk (pasteurized but not homogenized) from Wainwright Dairy I warmed 1 quart milk to 180 degrees, let cool to 110 & then added 1/2 c. Greek yogurt w/life cultures. Put it in a covered glass container & put it in an insulated cooler with a qt. jar of very hot water. I just changed the quart jar of now luke warm water w/another qt. of hot. I take it out at 8pm tonight & will set it in the fridge to drain to get some nice thick yogurt.

Update: Got it & it's delicious! It is a toss between sour cream & butter. Soooo good! I can only handle a 4 or 5 teaspoons at a time.

I decided to make French Baguettes today as well. I had bought 2 Williams Sonoma baguette pans at an estate sale last year ($10, retail for $30). I mixed the yeast, sugar & salt, let that sit, then added flour & kneaded for 10 minutes (my 2nd workout for the day) then let it rise for 45 minutes. Then every 30 minutes took out, turned, folded & put back to rise for another 30. Next was to shape in balls, let rest for 5, then flatten & roll into loafs. Let that sit for another 30 & then bake for 20 min. in a 450 degree oven. They smell heavenly, & they tasted wonderful! Update: It's now Tuesday & I just had a couple of slices w/my wonderful salad, delicious.

Note: Will cook at 425 degrees for 25 in the future. They were very good but I think a lower temp. would work better.

Since it was such a dreary day & on queue from Mama Pea I decided to join in Souper Sunday & made homemade soup.

Cream of Broccoli that I adapted from Granny Miller is what I decided on. I steamed Organic broccoli that I got from the The Veggie Bin & then finely chopped & put it in with some whey that I had frozen from the last time I made cheese & heated that up. In a separate pan I melted 3 T. of butter, added dehydrated shallots, s & p & then added about 1/2 c. flour. I browned all that & then added about a quart of the Wainwright Dairy whole milk. Once it thickened, I added the broccoli mixture to that & it has been simmering for about an hour. Update: Added about a 1/2 c. of freshly grated parmesan cheese, just before serving. 

Sorry for the bad pic, but rest assured there is broccoli & cream in there!

I picked 3 different lettuces from my grow stand. Made a simple salad of lettuce, scallions, a little bit of tomato & crumbled blue cheese with balsamic vinaigrette. It was very good!

2 of the 3 different kinds of winter lettuce!

Home grown lettuce!

And last, but certainly not leastly I would like to welcome a few new blog friends:

Red Woman - She's a woman who speaks her mind & makes no apologies. Very refreshing.

Pat. It doesn't appear that you have a website, but I welcome you as you follow along.

Terri from Our Crazy Farm. She is probably one of the most spiritual person I have 'conversed' with. She's been through a lot but continues moving through her purposed driven life.

Thank you all for joining me on my journey!

That's it. Good night, sweet dreams, don't let the bed bugs bite, etc., etc.

Another update: I also made homemade yogurt that is nothing if not exceptional!

Hard Work & Christmas

Since we have been so sad & preoccupied with memories the past couple of weeks, Greg thought it would do us good to do some hard physical labor & just plain hard work. Okay?

Greg closes his business the week between Christmas & New Years Day. Normally, he would leave for the Country after celebrating Christmas at my sister's & I would head back to the City to work a few more days then head up to the Country to ring in the New Year. We've been doing that for 30+ years. This year my sister asked that we not celebrate, just yet & they wanted to be alone. Understandable.

So, we decided to go to the Country & spend Christmas there. We left a couple of days after the funeral, stopping by my sister's for a few minutes, on the way. They are better but still very reserved. Time will heal, it's just having to live through the time itself.

Greg usually has projects lined up for the last week of the year but didn't really have anything specific planned this year, except .... the garden. This thing is going to kill me one way or the other.

The first day, we got the rest of the large bed covered in the requisite, newspaper, leaves, poo & straw, yeah! We don't normally exchange Christmas gifts as we save & buy what we need during the year. But not this year ... after we finished the bed, Greg decided to go buy me a present, he went to Lowe's ....

Yep, I got blocks for a Christmas present, 256 of them! No surprise. One year we were clearing our property for our City House & since I had a hard time swinging a full size axe, I got a boy's axe for a Christmas present. Practical people are we.

The blocks were less than we had originally priced because they were "light block". My foot. I would have hated to see what 'heavy block' did to my back.

The next day we got the block unloaded & 'placed' around the existing beds. In order for everything to be somewhat uniform we needed a starting spot. I wanted the first 2 long beds to be our asparagus beds & want to plant those next spring (in order to have asparagus in 3 years). So, the next day we decided to go ahead & place those beds, as a starting point.  One bed went down fine, the 2nd one is on the curve of the terraced land we own & didn't level out as well. We had to dig out in order to get them somewhat level, remember this is clay soil. I was sitting down, in the wet ground, scooting along as I was digging and the seat & legs of my sweat pants were absolutely filthy. Sorry, no picture, didn't want to put you through that. But they came out fine in the wash.

After about an hour on the 2nd bed it started to mist. We worked feverishly & finally got the 2nd bed down. It's a bit lopsided but we will be able to make minor adjustments in the future. It then started to pour so we stopped for the day.

After the rain, the temperature dropped & the wind started to blow (I swear that is the windiest place on earth). The wind & rain continued the next day & we lounged around, actually had a lazy day, very unusual for us.

I had started The Hunger Games series a week or so ago & was able finish the 2nd book & started on the 3rd. I plan on finishing it before the New Year is out, if Greg will let me be still another day. Since the weather didn't look like it was going to cooperate we decided to head back to the city.

B-T-W ... By the time we were packed & ready to go, the wind died down, it was 65 degrees & a beautiful day to garden!. We left anyway.

In the meantime I got another Christmas present!

Broad Fork... blurry pic.

It's a broad fork from one of my cousins who has a connection to the maker of these fine American Made products - Hosstools.com. They mainly sell manual push plows & seeders but have dabbled in other tools. The owner of the company had sent me one of these earlier this year.

It's a small shovel & it works great here at the City House with our plethora of trees & tree roots. These are great products & very well made! If you are in need of any manual tools for the garden, this is the company to go to!

More manual labor for me ... yeah!

The first day back in the City, we decided to do nothing except go see a movie & go out to eat (I think we are changing our lifestyles). Going to see a movie is a stretch for us. We've been married over 30 years & have only been to the movies a few times (Hunt for Red October, Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park are 3 that come to mind). 2-3 hours of just sitting & watching a movie always seems like a waste when we could be doing something else. Besides, we could wait until they come on HBO or on video & watch in segments.

Anyway, we went to the matinee to see 'Lincoln'. It was just what we needed, not too much drama, good acting & an excellent story. I even learned a couple of things.We then went to what we were told was a good Mexican restaurant. It was ok, we've had better, much better. We don't like Americanized(sp?) Mexican. Give us the real thing or nothing. If they put orange cheese or lettuce on it, it ain't true Mexican, got to have Queso & cabbage. But, it was palatable.

Anyway, on to hard work (no pics) ....

With 2 houses to keep up & so many projects, our homes get wiped but not really bathed. We decided the City House could use a good cleaning. So we cleaned room by room. I mean really cleaned, moved furniture away from walls, scrubbed baseboards, swept, vacuumed, mopped, dusted. We got the foyer (our take to Country staging area), den, dining room, & living room done yesterday. And, today we got the master bedroom, guest bedroom, master bath, hallways, 1/2 bath & finally the kitchen.

I knew it was serious because Greg got out the Murphy's Oil Soap to wash the cabinets. Everything was cleared off the counters, upper cabinets washed, lower cabinets washed, appliances shined, etc.

It feels so good to walk through a mostly thoroughly clean house! I swear our bedroom is bigger!

Still have my office (where many things got stowed), the garage, spare room (aka canning staging area) & back porches, but we don't live in those so we will tackle as we go. Plus, we still have 2 more days of vacation! Whoopee more work!

Seriously though, I don't mind hard work. It is kind of mindless & let's me reflect my inner thoughts without drowning myself in sorrow. So good for  my soul. And it feels good to get so much accomplished.

I'll write about my niece another time. Just to know that she is in my heart & thoughts daily gives me comfort.

I am so sad

And, hate to bring all this sadness to you all. But I am hurting....

My oldest niece, Brooke, died in an ATV accident last night.

She smiled her ENTIRE life. She was beautiful, smart & a happy person with her whole being.

I think God made a mistake.....

First Fire & More New Followers

We had our first fire of the season this past weekend. We love to sit outside by the fire with an adult beverage in hand. We find it very relaxing, especially after a hard days work.

I was very fashionable out by the pit. Perfect night for a fire & just cool enough to need my boots.

We got 2 more strips of the garden prepped. The wind cooperated all morning. We were able to lay all the newspaper, then wet it down, add leaves & horse poo & then topped it off with a thick layer of hay/straw, then water once again.







Leave & poo







Hay/Straw





We had brought leaves from the City which was enough to do one bed, although it was a bit thin but well composted. We then raked pecan & oak leaves from along the fence line & filled the huge trash can & 2 barrels (only took about 30 mintues). This was more than enough to do another strip. The more leaves the better. We also had just enough poop to do that 2nd strip. That makes about 1/2 of the garden done. (I have such a hard time positioning pictures on this blog, I originally had them lined up side by side but that didn't last after I added the captions.)

Since it was such a nice day & still fairly early we went over to my cousins to shovel 2 more barrels of horse poo. He has 3 horses & a barn which makes it very easy to gather the poo. The hardest part is getting the horses to move from the barn opening. They just want to be loved on.

I even got one of the pre-prepared beds outlined in blocks. I was trying to determine how many block would be needed for each one. After a bit of adjusting I've determined it will take 20 blocks per bed (20 block x 20 beds = 400 blocks!). The original goal was to have a 10' x 3' inside planting area. Due to the size of the blocks it wound up being 9' 8" long & 32" wide, which is just fine. This is just a prototype. When we lay them we will have to dig out a bit to make them all level & I will put cardboard under each to help keep the weeds & grass at bay.

MIL & FIL were up working on their little house & they brought about 60 block to use for a temporary project. Once that project is done we will use those blocks in the garden. I've got another 10. That means we only have to find (or buy) 320 more. Whew, my wallet & back is hurting just thinking about it.

Once all the beds are outlined, we will line the pathways with cardboard & cover w/wood chips (once I find a source for the chips).

Enough about gardening .... I'd like to welcome some new followers to my little blog world:

Kelly from http://kellyshappyhollowfarm.blogspot.com/. She's a lovely lady from out west that enjoys things that interest us all.

Red Woman from http://www.red-woman.com/ also decided to join. In her words ... she's "an opinionated woman who speaks her mind". I've been lurking around her blog for a while & am very happy she's joined mine.

Melanie from http://adventuresincountryliving.blogspot.com/. She's not too far from our Country House & we have a lot in common.

Thank you all for joining me on my journey.

Here's my crooked little snowman for the front door from an idea I got from Manuela. You can tell I made those wreaths myself, not at all perfect like the one Manuela posted. He's a lot like me, heavy on the bottom ... lol. Just perfect for our Country House. (Note: Greg wants to get him a proper scarf,  to replace the extra ribbon I used.)

Garden Prep & Anniversary

Well, the gardening at the Country House did not go as I had planned for last weekend. But, we got a little bit done. We're trying to do a 40' x 100' (or thereabout) w/raised beds. But, since we aren't at that house all the time, the weeds & grass (especially the Bermuda) takes over! So, I decided to kill a whole plot in one big bed (no photos). This is in addition to the raised beds that we had already started, that now have grass growing all over them (another project for another day)

We got the plot tilled & then started putting newspaper down with the intent to wet it after it was on the ground. However, the wind picked up making it impossible to keep the paper in place. So I filled a 5 gallon bucket w/water & soaked the newspaper before laying it on the ground (down & up & down then down & up & down). Very hard on the lower back. It's times like this that make me realize I'm no spring chicken anymore. Thank goodness it wasn't cold. We then added leaves & horse poo & straw & wet it all down with the sprinker. We got about a 14' x 30' portion of the plot done before we ran out of leaves. We'll just whittle away at is as time & weather allows. I'm not planning on planting anything for a couple of years. Just trying to prepare the soil so that little to no till is needed in the future. Still on the lookout for wood chips to use in the walkways.

And .........

We celebrated our 31st Wedding Anniversary Tuesday! I originally thought this year was going to be 33 years. But, as the date grew nearer it was obvious that is was ONLY 31 years (we got married 11/27/81, the day after Thanksgiving that year).

I am married to an amazing & talented man who can do just about anything he sets his mind to. He's a wonderful cook & he always helps with the cleanup. He can build stuff, fix stuff & he helps me with all my crazy projects. I am lucky to be his wife.

The past few weeks

I have been a bit busy the past few weeks.

In addition to learning how to process chickens I went to a cheese making class with a few of my city girlfriends. I have transplanted lettuce plants, planted more garlic, fertilized my garden & went to several estate sales. And I've made more pepper jelly & tried my hand at monkey butter (thanks to SciFiChick for that last one - it's delicious). Greg brought home his label maker from work to make it easier to label my jars. You get tired of writing the same thing over & over for each jar but I definitely want them all labelled as I don't want to guess what's inside, much less the date it was processed.



Label

Pepper Jelly & Monkey Butter








And I made meat stock. I took kymber's advice & just threw in all my meat bones (beef, pork & chicken), vegetable pieces that I had stored in the freezer & even added crock pot juice. You know, the extra juice that is made when you cook a roast in the crock pot. I never use it all to make gravy & used to just throw it out but decided to freeze it for stock. I had both beef & pork juice. I threw it all in my big stock pan & cooked it for about 2 hours. I then strained it & put in my big crock pot with the bones, with the lid ajar, for about 4-5 more hours. I strained again & pressure canned. What I got was 7 pints of a wonderfully aromatic & tasty meat stock.

Meat Stock

I was also able to stop in & say hello to my friend Stephen last week. I had a cup of coffee with him which was delicious. He says it was delicious because he adds egg shells. Huh, who knew? Anyway, he's such an easy person to talk with & we seem to get along well. We discussed his writing style & mine. His is much more 'sit down & let it flow' all at one time. Mine is more of the write a few lines, save, walk away, come back, write a few more lines, rearrange, walk away, come back proof & then publish. Unfortunately for him he is constantly interrupted which breaks his rhythm. I hope he gets some time to himself because he writes beautifully, from the heart.

This past weekend I took a basic pistol safety course through one of our local gun shops. It's the same shop  that I got my CWP from a few months back. This course was an all day class, with classroom time in the morning, a short break for lunch & then about 3 hours of range time at a FOP range & then back to the class for our test which we all passed, yeah! The range was pretty cool as we got to try several different types of hand guns. There were three different sections on the range.

1) Shoot at metal targets that pinged & either 'went down' when hit or flipped around to the other side. We used a 9mm on that one.
2) Basic target w/a long barrel .22.
3) Don't remember what they called this one but firing a .380 or a .40 cal ... shoot from hold down position - bring arms up, aim & shoot 1 shot to the middle, down, then up to shoot 2 shots to the middle, down, then up again to 2 shots to the middle again, down then up for 1 shot to the head.

I did best on the last one, I chose the .40 cal & hit all but 1 shot within the rings. The weather was the only bad thing, damp, windy & cold. But, all in all it was an enjoyable day.

I helped Greg inventory his today. I created a spreadsheet with the makes, models & serial numbers. He took pictures & got them stored on hard drive & thumb drive & will be printing a copy to put in a safe place.

And last but not least, we have been busy off & on, moving my In-Laws vacation trailer from it's current home to our country property. It's more work than you think & I'll post more on that later.

I'm off to try a new Cabbage recipe along with Sea Bass & Asparagus that Greg is cooking for our Sunday night dinner.

In case I don't get the chance to post again, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Chicken Processing (new for me)

DISCLAIMER ... This post is a fairly graphic post comment wise, not too many pics though. Regardless, consider yourself forewarned if you decide to continue reading......

A couple of weeks ago I received an invitation to help process chickens.

Turns out the land where the chickens are raised & the home where they are processed are only a couple of miles from my City House! The guy (we'll call him KC) that sent the invitation is a firefighter who actually lives even more 'in town' that we do. But, he has a firefighter buddy that lives on the property where the chickens are raised. The buddy (we'll call him Jack) has 3 jobs so he just mainly provides the residence for the birds. The chickens are raised in a paddock/coop, that is moved daily so they have fresh grass/bugs as well as fresh water & supplemental feed available.

When KC got them as chicks it turns out that he had gotten a few too many roosters & needed to thin them out a bit. I think they were 16 weeks old & looked to me, in my uneducated mind, to be "good sized" birds.

Eeek, what have I gotten myself into? I have trouble handling a store bought raw chicken w/o feeling squeamish. What was I gonna do with live, running around, then caught & put in a cage, then killed, then defeathered & then properly gutted chickens???!!!

Well, I took the day off work & drove over to meet KC by 8:00a. Another couple & their Mom showed up, as well as another lady (EM) that I had met at a gardening class earlier in the summer, with her 11 yo grandson. There were 12 birds to be processed & the couple had brought 6 additional ones they wanted to process. We gathered the birds & put them in a big dog cage that was in the back of KC's truck & drove them to the processing facility which was right across the road at Jack's parent's house.

KC had set everything up for processing. There were the cones on a rack to put the birds in upside down w/their heads through the bottom of the cone, w/buckets underneath to catch the blood, after they had been killed. Then there was the hot water to 'dunk' them up & down in until their feathers released easily. Then the 'plucker', which is a 1/2 barrell w/ rubber nibs in the side & on the bottom are more nibs on a stainless electric 'turntable'. Then a stainless table to 'de-gut' (not sure of the proper term here).

We started w/one of the larger birds. KC showed us what to do at each step. Take bird from cage, put in upside down, properly slit their throat, hold their legs until they die, hold them by their legs & dunk them in & out of the hot water until feathers released easily (maybe 8-10 times), turn plucker on & put bird in until all feathers are plucked, rinse, take to table, cut off head & feet, run fingers around to loosen skin at neck to make insides easier to pull out, cut out/off glands at butt, cut hole above butt, widen skin with hands to loosen everything & pull all innards out, keep liver (handle carefully cutting away the bile duct), gizzard & heart. We tossed the intestines for KC to use in his compost pile. Then reach inside bird to remove lungs, rinse bird & put in in ice water bath until ready to wrap/bag. Here is the only pic that would cooperate. This is the cone killing station.

I took several pics with my new stupid phone. Even though they all look fine once I transferred & adjusted on my PC, when I add them to the blog they are all upside down, except for this one. Oh well.

All morning long I helped w/various things like putting ice in the coolers, then filling them w/water. Running the water hose for rinsing & the plucker. I then stepped in and carried a few birds to the cones. Next, I stepped up & killed a few chickens by slitting their throats & holding their legs until dead.  Then I moved on to the dunking booth, what a great workout! We got to where we were doing 2 at a time & those things were heavy, at least 15 lbs. Dunking all the way in/under water, then out, then back in ... at least 10 -15 dunks each time .. until the feathers were easy to pull out. I then ran the plucker & watched very closely as all in attendance learned how to de-gut them.

I just couldn't bring myself to do the de-gutting part. I listened & learned but didn't want to touch them. All I could think about was what those store bought birds feel like, all slippery & slimey. Blulch - that's my gagging, almost throwing up sound. Yet, strangely enough, watching very closely while the others did it, didn't gross me out.

The grandson of EM was very interested & had helped in all the steps that I had. He then wanted to de-gut. His grandmother gave the approval for him to handle the knives & with close instruction from KC ... he DID IT!!  Remember, this is a city kid that had never killed anything in his life. He was also proud of himself, as we were of him.

Everyone had to leave but there were still 2 chickens left to process. So, I asked KC if I could help with the last 2. I went home & got my knives that I am used to. With only KC & myself left, I processed 1 of the birds from start to finish. When I got to the de-gutting part, the part that I was dreading most, I found that the bird wasn't slimy AT ALL & very easy to handle. I even got the bile duct cut away without ruining the other inner parts. The only scare I got was when I was holding the bird to cut the hole by the butt hole, the thing made a duck call kind of noise & sounded like it was still alive! Although I knew that couldn't be the case, it was just weird to hear. Turns out I had left too much of the neck attached & it was just releasing air while I was holding tight while cutting the back end.

I helped KC clean up & then helped him wrap up each of the birds. They weighed from 3.5 - 4.5 pounds after processing. KC then gave me one for my 'labor'. The bird is in my freezer & I will soon make chicken & rice plus chicken stock. Maybe even can some chicken soup from bone broth. Those posts will be coming soon.

Anyway, it was a very productive day & I'm glad I got to know KC. It turns out his wife makes bread from scratch & is willing to show me how she does it. They own a Country Grain Mill & are willing to let me 'try before I buy'. He recently sent me another email that he was having trouble w/about 5 or 6 other roosters & wondered if we want to come help. Heck yes! Greg doesn't believe I had my hand up a chicken's butt & I don't have pictures to prove it. So, when KC is ready, we will hopefully be in town to help.

Note: As a bonus, it turns out that EM is a Thrive consultant & is willing to come to my house for a Thrive party, which I hope to host in December. If  anyone wants to come, send me an email. I've been wanting to try some of the freeze dried meats & other hard to preserve items they offer for long term food storage. Yet another post in the future.

Roll Reversal

Not really reversal, but doing opposite things today. Greg & I pretty much share doing everything around our houses - cleaning, cooking, yard work, etc. It's just that days like today we are interested in doing something different than the other.

It has been a great weekend weather wise. Almost a fall like feel in the air, especially in the mornings. Yesterday morning I went to a couple of Estate Sales & then came home to make Hunter's Pie . It's leftover ribeye steak, onions & carrots simmered in a seasoned gravy made w/beef stock, wine & tomato paste & then baked in a pie crust. I made the pie crust myself! Not too pretty but it was tender & flaky, a delicious recipe that I will make again. Actually I did make one that I put in the freezer, more of a beef pot pie. That reminds me, I need to go wrap it in foil.

Anyway, I wanted to be outside today & Greg wanted to cook. After a hearty breakfast (grits, sausage & toast), I went outside to get to work. It was such a beautiful day, even with the sound of jet engines flying close by. There was a Blue Angels sky show at our local beach which is only about 5 miles, as the crow flies, from our City House.

Greg started on his meal which pretty much took all morning to prepare & all day to cook. It's spaghetti & meatballs. But instead of the traditional red sauce it is more of a stock sauce made w/chicken stock, canned tomatoes & other vegies. He made the meatballs with pork & beef. The beef came from my friends at Serenity Acres Farm. It's primarily a dairy goat farm but they also raise grass feed Angus Beef cattle to sell the steers as breeding stock. When they have an older heifer that is no longer 'producing' they have her slaughtered. Instead of having all the various cuts of meat, they take it all & make ground beef. So it has all parts in it, yes, even the filet mignons. It is easier for them to sell & boy is it delicious.

Here's a before & after shot of the meatballs.












After they were browned, he refrigerated them while the stock was cooking. The stock cooked ALL day, reducing by about 1/2.

While he was cooking I got started. I first planted some key lime seed & some peach seeds. We'll see if they sprout in a few weeks.

I then tackled one of the raised beds at the end of our driveway. I may have mentioned these beds before but they have some of the richest dirt I've ever seen & they're full of earthworms. I generally start many of our transplants there before moving them to the yard or pots. Anyway, I had a a couple of sweet potatoes sprout a few months back. Instead of adding them to the compost bin I decided to cut them up & put them in one of the raised beds. Here's a shot of what it looked like in late June.

Those vines kept getting bigger & bigger & spread everywhere. However, they were starting to turn a bit yellow so I pulled them all out & then dug for sweet potatoes. Here's my haul:

Not enough to put away for months, but there's enough to bake a few baked ones plus enough to make a few sweet potato pies. Those 2 rows of tiny ones at the bottom of the pic are from the runners that had spilled out onto the ground.

I then took all those vines, plus the compost from last week & put them in the compost bin.

This is an old picture, but the bin on the left is now finished. I put material (kitchen waste, leaves, grass clippings, etc.) in it all summer. I'm just waiting for it to 'compost' to use in next years spring garden. I've now started filling the 2nd bin which I will do throughout the winter, into spring. Then I'll start filling the 3rd one next spring while using the 1st one & the 2nd one will be composting. And then the cycle will continue.

I also got the rest of my seedlings put in the ground & even some in buckets.

Then I decided to cut up some red potatoes that had starting sprouting. I had planned to put them in the ground but didn't cut them up early enough to let them cure. Guess I'll be planting potatoes Monday or Tuesday afternoon.

Lastly, I got everything fertilized. Something I neglected to do regularly in my spring garden. Here are the 3 raised beds.

This one has romaine lettuce & 3 different kinds of beans, plus I planted some spinach in between the beans today.

Although it doesn't look like much, this one has onions, garlic, 2 different kind of carrot & leeks. The leeks aren't doing well & the carrots are sketchy. The garlic is under that netting to hopefully keep the squirrels at bay. They keep digging the garlic. They don't eat it, just dig it up & leave it exposed. The netting, by the way, is an old bath scrubbie thingy that had stretched out too much to bathe with anymore,  so of course I saved it for another use!



This last bed has chinese cabbage, copenhagen cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli & cauliflower.

I had also started some lettuce from seeds. I separated them & I've decided to grow them indoors on my grow rack. I have three different kinds.

Bibb

Gentilina

Buttercrunch

Near the end of the day I made a blackberry pie with the rest of the homemade pie crust which we had w/vanilla ice cream. That's a stretch for us, to have dessert with any meal. IF we have anything sweet, it's usually as an afternoon snack. But boy it was good. I'll just have to work it off tomorrow, planting those potatoes.

I've had a full & productive weekend. I love it when I get a lot done & don't feel like I've wasted time. Hope everyone else had a good weekend as well.

Here's a picture of Greg's spaghetti & meatballs (also had parmesan bread). Along with that pie. (Note: I'm no food photographer .... lol) But, both were delicious!