Just another Day on the Farm

Spice Rack-Coriander

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Just another day on the farm

I like Coriander to use with my lamb and goat meat dishes, I do buy premade curries that have this spice in them as well. I decided to share one of my favorite homemade sauces as this months share, this sauce can be used in stews with the lamb or kid meat itself, it can be served on the side, it can be mixed with yogurt or cream cheese and made into a pasta sauce to go with pasta that has lamb or kid cut up into it etc.

16 cups of plum tomatoes
3 cups of diced peppers
3 cups of diced onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup of fancy molasses
3/4 cup of malt vinager
1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp of Chili powder
2 tbsp of Coriander powder
2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

Take the first four and put in a large steel pot and bring to a boil, then cool just enough to handle, you can either Mash it very well for a chunky style sauce, or you can blend it with a hand stick or you can move it over in batches to a blender. Once the sauce is smooth or chunky, your choice, add the rest of the list and stirring frequently bring to a full rolling boil, cook over med-high heat until reduced by half, typically takes at least an hour or more, then jar hot sauce into hot clean jars and process in water bath for 20 min, will easily keep a year in a cool dry dark place.

So first let me hang my head that I didn’t get this post up on time last month, I had in fact wrote it early and saved it in draft, all I had to do was post it, and then I got sick and busy and forgot, and our posting week came an went, and I didn’t want to admit that I had missed it again.. but having had this sitting in my draft box ever since, I decided to just beg forgiveness and add it to this months write up.

Spice Rack-Dill

ah, compared to last month challange where I had no idea what to do with it, Dill on the other hand is my friend, I use it all year long and grow many different kinds, it is a herb from my childhood, used by my mother and grandmother in home canning for as long as I can remember.

I put on my thinking cap and tried to figure out how I used dill the most, and I am tied between my favorite two things, one being my standard salad dressing for colslaw, which is mayo, dill and tiny bit of sugar, this dressing gets eaten at my house year round, it goes on veggie salads, colslaws salads, add a little vinager and it gets drizzled on greens, its just yummy.

The tie goes to my carrot and dill soup, its so plain and basic, but o so good, one onion diced and cooked till clear, chicken or veggie broth, a couple carrots peel, and diced, cooked till tender, blend till smooth, and then a dab of butter and lots and lots of dried dill mixed in.. Its one of my favorite lunch soups that I make just enough for me to eat and be done. Sometimes I add in a potato or left over sqaush or turnip to the soup, as well as the carrots, its all good.

Mango, mixed with a bit of honey/mayo or heavy cream with lots of dill mixed in, and that’s all there is to it girls.. Its different but its good.

Posted in Spice Rack | 2 Comments

Freezer got unplugged-Not Good!

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Just another day on the farm

Well the title of this post would explain why I have nine roasting chickens done at the same time, plus seven roasts, plus the canner full of stew meat, and the hot water bath full of cherry’s and am making Elderberry Juice, still need to cook off the two big turkeys, and then put apart all the birds and make broth and can it from the birds bones etc.

So last night I had a craving for a grilled cheese and I sent Dh out to the big freezer for a block of old sharp chedder, and he came in with a look of horror on his face.. I don’t know when it got unplugged but the freezer has two area’s, one the meat area, one the big area and three hanging baskets, everything in the baskets had to go to the birds/hounds or Miss Piggy, everything in the main part of the freezer was ruined other then the cherry’s and the elderberris that were both in food grade buckets, but they were thawed out and so had to be processed.

On the smaller portion that is big freezer meat area, we got a little luckier, while most of them where almost thawed, all where still cold to the touch and when prepping for cooking some still had just frozen spots, so all of them were touched, smelled and then cooked off, and so I was able to save the meat, thank goodness. Have to admit that I was grateful for being able to plug in and turn on the second fridge for cooling and fridge space, normally I don’t have to do that till further into the summer when we are harvesting.

However I could just cry over the loss of the last of my veggies and the rest of the fruit, it will mean a very lean spring for other then canned goods and wild harvested fresh food sigh.

I like canned goods but I like to be able to have the different textures that freezing provides as well, and the hard work of growing/perserving those foods is lost now.

On the other hand the freezer will now get a very good spring cleaning before being plugged back in, and as fate would have it, during the power outage with the high winds, we had moved all our flour out of the freezer just in case, and it turned out to be the right choice, once the freezer is clean and dry and cold again, it can get moved back in.

Posted in Life moves on daily | 7 Comments

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Just another day on the farm

For those that don’t like Rhubarb, please forgive that there are going to be a number of posts on how to use this plant over the next few weeks, we will look at canning rhubarb fruits, making Rhubarb Relish, among others but one of the most famous in our area is Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.

Here is full photo instructions on how I make my Pie dough or for even more Pie Dough info for you.

Fresh picked Rhubarb and a some good looking Farm Boy fresh strawberries to go together, washed, sliced and diced.

Mixed in a cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, a pinch of nutmeg an ginger all mixed nicely, and then into the pastry dough and ready for the oven, I will add a photo later of the finished pie.

So do you like Strawberry Rhubarb Pie? or do you like the Crisp more? What spices do you like to add to your pie? What is your favorite way to use spring rhubarb?

Posted in food, Food Production and Recipes, gardens | Tagged Food Production and Recipes, Garden | 8 Comments

Lets Make Mayo!

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Just another day on the farm

I have plans for some lovely salads in the next few days to I wanted to make fresh mayo this morning, so simple, takes no time at all, and I did it by hand to show just how easy this really is!

Start with two fresh room temp eggs yorks, now there is one tool that if you can get your hands on, I would recommend that, its made of steel, would last a life time and can be used to help make other baking goods, and it cost very little to buy. It allows you to get ALL the white off the egg.

You can use your whites elsewhere, and you left with two lovely egg yolks in your bowl.

Beat your yolks with a pinch of salt till its thickin’s just a bit.

Now, you hit the tricky part, you need to add one drop of oil at a time while you whisk away, you are going to add about 1/4 of the oil at this time, till it begins to come together and become thick.

Now, you can add your vinager, today I added in a lovely aged rice Vinager, sometimes I just wine vinagers or herb vinagers or even been known to use garlic or fruit Vinagers, each will give a slightly different taste.

Now you can start slowly drizzling in your oil while always whisking till you reach your desired thickness, some like it really thick and some like it thinner, it really depends on what you are looking to do with it. For more idea’s check out my other Mayo post just full of idea’s and recipes

Last but not least, I added salt, pepper and dried keens mustard powder (cuz I know that I will not be serving it to Nat, so I can have my mustard add in it) As I wanted it to be the base for a salad dressing, raither then for sandwhich’s I left it fairly thin, plus it will thicken up a bit once its in the fridge.

Posted in Food Production and Recipes | Tagged Farm Fresh Eggs, Food Production and Recipes, Frugal | 3 Comments

Garden Photos

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Just another day on the farm

Well this past weekend my old faithful digital camera died with a bang and whimper, so after a bit of searching, I got a reasonable replacement, and here are some of the first photos it has taken.

Our first Blueberry blooms, I have a number of different kinds of blueberry bushes and the earliest has berries ready by June.

The very first bush we got for the farm, this stunning spring beauty is always covered in flushes of tiny pink flowers with the most heavenly scent, a bee favorite.

Was I ever surprised to see these on one of the big rhubarbs this morning, “Bad” plant, don’t go to seed in May!, focus on those lovely red stalks, despite that, I do like it from a artist eye personally.

I am very happy to be able to again put photos with the posts.. So which one is your favorite and why?

Posted in gardens | Tagged Garden | 1 Comment

Wild Violets Recipes

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Just another day on the farm

There are folks that consider these weeds as they freely grow in my local area, so I would consider them a “wild” harvestable food. The perk of this, is that you should be able to find yourself some of these for free to transpant back into your own yard and garden.

Warning: These hardy plants spread rapidly, and so plant them where you can mow around the edges or in a area that you don’t mind if they take over as a lovely ground cover. They do well in shady areas under tree’s but are tough enough to handle most conditions. As with all edible flowers, use ONLY varieties that have been organically grown and never sprayed – and do not eat the African violets, they are not the same as wild Violets.

Leaves are heart shaped attached to long petioles, Five petaled purple or blue flower with white centers. Spread by short, branching rhizomes, typically in bloom from May to June in my zone. According to “Stalking the Healthful Herb” by Euell Gibbons, violets are “nature’s vitamin pill” containing 150mg of vitamin C per 100g of blossoms, three times the amount of that in oranges weight for weight.

Both the leaves and the flowers are available for use, now I know that the leaves are safe but honest, other then for use in a Violet tea, I don’t find them worth using personally. When making the tea, I use a 2 to 1 portion, so 2 tsp of dried leaves to 1 tsp of dried flowers.

However the real treat is the flowers, there are all the regular uses, you can make them into candy Violets, you can use them as color in salads or you can put them into sandwhichs fillings for extra color and for the health benefits

You can make Wild Violet Vinager (as you can with any other safe flower) by filling a jar half full of clean picked flowers and then covering with a light white vinager (rice, white wine or white), and flip up and down once a day for three days, strain out the flowers and bottle, will keep for a full year and can be used as a flavored vinager for dressings/salads etc.

Of course you can make Wild Violet jelly or syrup,

My Basic Flower Syrup, pick your flowers and use only good quality fresh flowers, and into the jar they go, covered with boiling water, let steep for a full 24 hours, then strain and measure, I personally like to reduce my flower water by half a very slow simmer, then measure again, at this point, I make a simple one to one sugar syrup, so if you have 1 cup of flower water, you match it with one cup of sugar and one tbsp of lemon juice, boil till its a thich syrup and into hot clean jar, if you are going to use right away, allow to cool and into the fridge, if you are making for later use, hot water bath the jar for 15 min and then cool and store in a cool dry dark place, will keep at least year.

Now what are you going to do with that amazing Syrup, how about a lovely Wild Violet tartlet? Now you are going to have to be a little creative on this because its another one of those Farmgal recipes but I will do my best to share how I do it, if I miss anything, please ask.

Enough of your favorite pastry for 12 tarts, you can use basic or you can use a sweet dough recipe, both will work well.

Preheat your oven to 350 C and then take about a tsp of room temp cream cheese and put it in the bottom of the tart, press to be fairly level, drizzle in at least a tbsp or two of Violet Syrup over the cream cheese, bake for about 12 to 15 min till pastry is golden brown and the middle is bubbling hot. Find twelve of the most perfect Violets flowers you can find and when the tarts come out, carefully (they are hot) place the flower dead center, pushing gently, the syrup will be sticky and they will become a colorful centerpeice on the tart.

Allow to cool and serve on a plate with a dollop of whipping cream on the side.. this is a treat in so many ways, first its just plain awesome in taste!, second its a wonderfully dressy little show off peice for a special event or fancy afternoon tea.

The violet syrup can also be served over shaved ice for amazing slush on a hot summer day, or it can be used on pancakes or waffles, its excellent when added in to your standard lemonade, it gives it a wonderful twist on the basic flavor.

So do you have this wonderful plant in your backyard? Do you harvest its flowers for use in the kitchen? Have you found a great way to use those green leaves? What is your favorite recipes for using the jelly or syrup?

Posted in food, gardens | Tagged Food Production and Recipes, Garden, Herbs, Wild Foods | 22 Comments

Do you curb shop?

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Just another day on the farm

Last night I was off the farm for a bit to go have coffee and yummy chocolate Banana muffins and a girls visit, to get there, I take a backroad route and could not help be notice that they had stuff out for their spring cleanups. I even pulled over a bit to look a wooden picnic table with benchs, and had decided that on my way back, I would at min pick up the benchs, they could be used in my greenhouse for shelves, I don’t know why I didn’t load it up right there but I tend to follow my gut on these things.

So I am driving back home in the dark and as I come round a curve, I see a flash of golden wood and a set of four chairs at the curb, this was not there when I drove by four hours earlier, and I turned around and went back.. WOW, it was a set of four oak chairs, solid wood, with fancy turns, and they are in perfect shape, not a mark on them and still glowing from their last polishing, needless to say, they got brought home with me, and I am just thrilled to have a new set of four oak chairs for the dining room table.

Honestly I am so glad that these got picked up, because it would have been such a shame for them to have gone to the dump. It never fails to amaze me on some of the like new things that can be thrown away, when they have so much work life left in them.

Last week, I was able to pick up a pile of old glass windows that were being given away for free by the road and they will be used for the tops of cold frames for the garden.

Have you found any goodies by the road side this spring? Do you watch for things that are put out?

Posted in frugal | Tagged Frugal | 4 Comments

Its started already-The dryer’s are full and will be till fall

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Just another day on the farm

Its the time of year that we start preserving food for the coming winter, and I am currently drying Stinging Nettle (for my own use, I like the fresh spring nettles for house use), Clover for winter chicken feed, and Dandelions Greens, for our house use. I looked at hubby and said, you know that the tray’s will be full now till frost.

Now, I love reading about things and giving them a try, its always eye opening to try something that folks write about, so I am going to give an example, I like Dandelions, I like eating the fresh baby greens, I like drying the older big greens for chicken winter food, I like the baby roots used fresh and I like the big ones dried and used for a hot drink. I adore those yellow flowers, I spend a number of hours each spring picking flowers and making my Dandelion mock honey, which is so good!

I have read a number of folks talking about dipping the flowers into pancake batter and frying them up, so I had to give this a try, I went out and picked half a dozen lovely big flowers, and cleaned them up and had the pancake and cast iron all ready and hit my first stumble.. how do you take off the green, if you leave the green on the flower it has a VERY bitter taste to it, when you make Dandelion honey or jelly, if you want it to turn out to be fab, you need to pull out the flower and leave the green behind.. I will show how it can be done fast when I do the post on how to make the honey version.

As soon as you remove the green, the flower falls apart and you can’t make a fried dipped flower, if you leave the green.. ehhhkkk on the taste, so I picked out the flower part and added them to the batter itself, I used four flowers to one pancake, and while it was pretty with those little yellow flakes, there was no taste added that I or Dh could tell. On the other hand, I think it would great to make matching Dandelion pancakes to go with the syrup.

Ok, so are you eating them with the green on? Are you making a lighter batter and deep frying them? Got a trick to share, because otherwise, this is going in the did it, but not worth it pile for me.. Do you hold the green and only eat out the middle flower part?

Posted in food, Food Storage, frugal | Tagged Chickens, Food Production and Recipes, Frugal, Garden, Greens, Herbs, Wild Foods | 4 Comments

There is a red head around here that is in BIG Trouble!

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Just another day on the farm

So last week a truck pulled in, and farmer T got out and asked real nice if I had any new cats that had showed up to join my barn cats, surprisingly the answer is no, we almost always have at least one momma cat that shows up and think my farm is a great place to stop but so far this year, no new strays..

So who was she looking for.. and I got a list of six colors and patterns to watch for.. what the ? you are missing six cats over the past two months, now her cats are farm cats but she feeds them well, and her children adore those cats, there are times I have drove by and her little ones look like pied pipers with the kitty’s taking a walk with them.

I personally was missing two cats over the past month or so, but they were strays and ghost cats, so sometimes they move on or you don’t see them much for awhile.

She said that Old Farmer Man down the road had also lost chickens, and one of his cats in the past two months, had I lost any birds, and I had not, but I showed her Hank and explained that I was no longer letting them out without Hank and he seemed to be doing a fine job.

Well, now flyin’ farmer(he has his own light weight) up the road stopped in to ask if I had seen one of their house kitties, which I have not..but I did see the red head that has been causing all kinds of trouble out and about.. got it figured out yet?

Anyone remember me writing about why I got Hank the big Gander this spring, it was because every spring, I have a battle with the local fox, who thinks my free ranging chickens are good pickings, well this year, I am not losing chickens personally but I think I have got a pretty good idea of what has been happening, and its upsetting everyone, we like our chickens/ducks etc but we adore our kitties..

Now to let the local’s know what I think, and see what can be done.