Just another Day on the Farm

Taco Salad Recipe

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Ok, I’m not even sure that this one needs a recipe its so simple but I am going to share it anyway, for those that can eat the wraps or the hard shelled taco’s, then go ahead and enjoy them, I know I do! but given that I am on low carbs, and that I am not to have fast carbs, only slow carbs, they just can’t be the same as before..

But that does not mean that you can’t enjoy a awesome plate of Taco supper, I took our pasture raised beef, it was super lean, and I didn’t add any extra fat to even cook it with, Fill your plate heaping with mixed greens, you need the different textures and tastes to really make this work, a single green will work but trust me.. mixed greens with some spicy, some peppery etc.

Put a good amount of spiced meat on it, don’t skimp on the meat, you should have enough that you get a bit if you want it on each bite, but don’t spread it out right away as the heat from the meat will wilt the greens, so pile it up in the middle 🙂

A couple spoons of chunky salsa (as mild or as hot as you like it) and a big old spoon of sour cream on top, and bing, bang boom, you have all the awesome flavours of a Taco but in a salad, now if you must have crunch, take a washed, sliced into tiny bits of a celery stick so you will get bits of crunch in the salad, or if you want a little carbs, you can add multi grain or baked corn chips

Fall Venison Stew Recipe

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Ah, I am just a day behind, yesterday, I knew that I would be riding later in the afternoon with my wonderful man and we had our first dual ride since the birthday ride and he took out Brandy Girl and me on Samwell, it was a pleasant, calm and steady ride.. a good time for everyone, the horses, and the riders.

We had chores to do after that, and I was heading out for a visit with a dear friend and so that morning I had done supper in the crock pot, now if you had a wood stove and could do a slow steady simmer, that would work as well, the stove will do it as well, but this dish to be at its best, needs low an slow heat.

2 pounds of stew cut Venison (or beef, or lamb)
One quart of broth, in this case Beef Broth
One large white onion, diced
4 cloves of fresh garlic
2 large stacks of celery -Diced
2 large carrots-Diced
a quarter of green hard winter cabbage, -coarsely diced
one cup of grape tomato’s
One extra large green and red pepper-Diced
Salt, pepper, bay leaf

Place your thawed meat into the bottom of the crock pot, add all your veggies on top, cover with your broth and turn it on high for an hour and then down to low for the rest of the day, mine cooked for around nine hours, the meat should be pull apart tender.

The broth is light but full of flavour, the stew itself is very traditional! Lovely!

Monday was a cleaning day -Split Pea Soup Recipe

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

and so I made a batch of soap, cute little santa’s and pretty little flowers, some are light green, some are pink and some are a swirl of the two colors, they are scent a light clean frosted berry and they look darling.

The rest of the day was laundry, dishes, critters, and our weekly evening online get together for our roleplaying gaming (yes, I know, I know! LOL)

Got a very good visit in with a dear friend of mine (Deb you are awesome!) we live to far to see each other but many once a year or so

On with the recipe.. this is out of a old old cookbook that my dear momma gave me, its filled with old time east coast recipes, this one is for Split pea soup.

2 cups of green split peas
1 ham bone
2 quarts of cold water
savory
cayenne pepper
2 carrots diced
1 onion diced
1 celery stalk diced.

Soak your pea’s overnight, put a large left over ham bone with a good amount of meat still on it with cold water and simmer covered for 1 and half hours, (don’t boil, just a gentle simmer) Then add your pea’s, carrots, onions, clery and seasonings and simmer about an hour to hour and half till the peas are very soft and much, remove your ham bone, rub the soap though a sieve and return to pot to heat though, taste and add salt if needed.

Serve with a fresh bread, or bun for dipping, can put a pat of butter on top with crutons or can serve with a drop of fresh sour cream on top or a light swirl of cream for pretty pattern to serve it up with!

Posted in Food Production and Recipes | Tagged Split pea soup recipe | 1 Comment

Golden Morning!

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

I am sure I am not the only one that tried to look at in some way or fashion the bite out of the sun this morning, Dh did it a safe way for us, using the the binoculars to see the eclipse on a wall, I took a photo with the camera over the shoulders and got a awesome arty photo but no, sign to my eye of the bite out that we could see on the wall.

I did take photos of the wall image but it didn’t come out clear so no point in posting them, also snapped a great sam and sheep sunlight photo of them.. Did you get up this morning and enjoy the eclipse?

Posted in photography | Tagged photography | 1 Comment

Got out on Samwell for two hour ride today

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

I’m learning forward on the pats, what a good boy, and he is listening to every word 🙂

Getting much more comfortable with him, we are learning about each other, I am learning his cue’s better, he is learning mine, I am trying to do one ride on the farm, just working basic’s and building our connection and then one ride off the farm, working on him being willing to leave brandy and trust in the ride with me. We road down the “other way” today and road to the end of the road..

Its like learning to dance with a new partner.. I like him, more and more!

Posted in draft horse | Tagged Horsebacking riding, Riding for the joy of it, Riding for weight loss | 2 Comments

Saturday Health and Weight update

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

A fine Saturday to you, I didn’t plan on making this post a Saturday post, but as that was the start of my weigh-ins, I guess that its become the day 🙂

I was truly hoping when I stepped on the scale this morning, that I would have cracked down into the 40’s even by a hair but nope, I am using the last two numbers, so last Saturday, I was 54.6 and today I was an even 50, so I am down 4.6 pounds, I would have liked a bit more this week but it’s also the same week as that friend comes, so I am “hoping” that will be reflected in the scale over the next few days.

My first goal for losing is 24 pounds and the fast I can make that happen, the better it will be, I am not being stupid about it but I am not going for 1 or 2 pounds a week, I want to take that 25 pounds off as fast as can be done in a healthy way and then I will work on the next goal a bit slower if I need to.. ideally, I would like to have it done in six to eight weeks but I have given myself a full 12 to make it happen.

So while I certainly need to lose weight for just the sake of health and the sake of being able to do things, as well as the fact that I gained close to 15 pounds on my holiday (sigh!) I am currently on a pretty tightly controlled fertility diet, it’s a 3 month program to start with and let me tell ya, it’s going to be a tough one in some ways and not so bad in others.

The good news is that it focus’ on simple home prepared meals with whole food (which works with my personal goals of food from the farm, o mile food and hundred mile food shed).

One of the good things is that it’s not a diet in the sense of, buy our food, or eat this or that so many times per week, or have half a cup of this or that for lunch plus salad, its a lot more tailored then that and its also does not give you recipes, it instead gives me percent’s, and rules..

Examples, 30 percent protein, 20 percent slow carbs, and 50 percent veggies and fruit is my main plan for my body type. I am to favor, simple home cooked meals with lots of soups an stews, not a lot of cold foods, or drinks or veggies, for me, its recommended that I drink hot drinks, warm cooked veggies and even stewed fruits, I am willing to do so to a point.

No carbs without protein to go with.

The one that is ah! is no caffeine, no coffee, no tea, no chocolate, and of course limit white sugars as much as possible, I am allowed to replace within reason with raw local honey

I am also starting other fertility treatments to help with this, so we will see how it goes..

For a full tracking and my personal musings and at times rants and maybe even wheepish posts on this subject, you can find it in detail on

http://farmgalsweightlossdreamsandgoals.wordpress.com/

This week has been about adjustments but I am very proud of myself, I have had a perfect week, I have not cheated once, and unlike other times, where I have always given myself a day off or a meal off per week, that is not the case with this one.. its end goal is just to important!

Posted in Health | Tagged Fertility diet, local food, Weight lose goals, whole foods | 4 Comments

Custom Needle Felting

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

I have admired this blogger for a while and when this post came up and the amazing talent and skill on this, I am reblogging her post in case any of my readers might like to take her up on this amazing offer for xmas presents!

Bluestem Pond

I have sometimes custom-made replicas of people’s pets. If anyone would like me to do this for them, just send me a photo and I’ll make one and mail it to you for $15 plus shipping. Here are some I’ve done in the last year.

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Posted in Life moves on daily | Leave a comment

A new Month, a new challange.. The getter done Challange :) Rabbit Recipe

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Given the wide view of things that folks asked for, that’s the best name I could come up with, the getter done challenge for the month of Nov.. Its a mixed up thing that’s for sure, but I have a list, and a plan sort of 🙂

Today’s recipe is one I have done but never taken a photo of, I promise to add one to the post, the next time I make a version of this , its a single cast iron pot recipe, I love those, it can be done over a fire but I do mine part on the stove and part in the oven.

Take two rabbit saddles for a total of four, (also this can be done with two nice big duck breasts cut in two lengthwise), you will need some lard for your cast iron pan, I recommend lard for the higher smoke temp but you could use coconut oil if preferred

1 large onion, 2 cloves of garlic, a small package of mushrooms (whatever kind you like but darker fuller flavour mushrooms work best) a fourth of a cup of nice red wine, a pint jar or a 14 oz can of pre-cooked white navy beans, at least three cups of diced greens, 2 and half be it spinach, a spicy salad mix or horseradish greens, or a mustard green or even green cabbage, 2 and half cups of hard cider or apple juice, Salt, pepper.

Heat your cast iron to med heat with your fat, once well heated, sear your meat on both sides, about three to five min, take out, and allow to mellow, then add your onion, garlic, mushrooms, cook till clear and softened, add your wine, and do a in pan deglaze, then add your beans, greens and cider, cover and simmer for around 30 min, check at the 20 min mark to see if you need a bit more liquid.

At the twenty min mark, slice your saddles into bite size pieces and slip them back into the mix, finish cooking for the last min and they will be heated though, serve in a bowl with a fresh bun, roll or baking powder to sop up the last bits of that amazing sauce.

Posted in Food Production and Recipes | Tagged cooking in cast iron, Duck Breasts in a beans and greens recipe, One pot recipes, Rabbit Reicpes, Rabbit Saddle with beans recipe, recipes | Leave a comment

What is your favorite dressing for five bean salad !?

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Ok, so Dh does not like beans, as in when I meet him, he would not eat beans at all, its a texture thing or its a combo of a texture thing and a raised that way thing, when it comes to his food habits, I found often it was more what he had as a child, then what he does or not like per say but on some textures, he is stubborn..

Sometimes, I blend things into the sauces or the bases to hide them from him, but slowly over the years, his bean rules has been broken, the best one that he can handle is a navy bean or a black eyed bean, they are smaller and don’t seem to bother him near as much, I have been able to start adding them to soups, and thank god chili, but honestly, beanless chili is just not chili to me..

But a full bean salad is something I have not done in year and when I say, year’s I mean close to 15 by my memory, so when I made a five bean salad yesterday for lunch, I know that I don’t like the traditional oil and vinegar with spices, so I called mom and she said our family recipe for coleslaw will work, so I tried that, other then adding in some turmic, and it was good, but just good..

So I thought ‘I would reach out to the readers, do you have a totally amazing five bean salad dressing? Open to any and all idea’s

Posted in Canning, food | Tagged Beans and the fussy hubby, Dressing for a five bean salad, Five bean salad | 6 Comments

Do you beleive in something you can’t see?

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Just another day on the farm

Well, if I believe the hounds this morning something unseen, unheard by me, is driving them all to the edge, soft woofing alerts at the windows with breathy growls, high steady rapid alerting outside, but the thing that has ME on edge is the quiet rumbling growls the soft whining and shaking, the hair coming up on spines, the freezing and stiffness as they scent the air.

They have very clearly shown me where they are scenting and staring, this is in no way random, but I see and hear nothing..

So I am going to take it on faith and trust that something is or has been out there, so what would trigger this, (pic from the net)

and the only answer I can come up with is bear

I have seen this breed of dog react the same way to black bear and even more strongly to polar bear scent and tracks.

Now, i’m certainly not going looking for it, but I am going to keep the farm in a solid lockdown this morning, no free ranging of any of the birds, not sure on the barn, if I should lock it down, if a bear wanted in, it could get in.

I have only seen a black bear once in our neck of the woods in all these years, but other locals have spotted them before so while not common in any way, not totally unheard of either.

What a way to start a day..