Confessions of a Farmer's Daughter

Sprung Spring

2011-03-22T17:35:00.000-05:00

This week is spring break around our house. Our younger son is in Germany for 10 days for a student exchange trip, and the older son is back home "working" for mom and dad (somewhat). We have had some unusually warm days off and on the past two weeks, with highs in the upper 70's and low 80's. While we love it after the long winter, we know it is really too early as we have about 6 more weeks of frost chances. Another part of spring that I hate:

weeping cherry that needs to be removed

and the black snake sunning in said cherry tree!!!

I am terrified of snakes. I know that we need them, we would be overrun with rodents if we didn't have them, but, I don't want to see them. And, this was waaay to close to the house. Our puppy hadn't noticed it, yet. Lucas relocated it for me and I am not walking tippie-toed in the yard again. A few more photos of some of the flowers starting to bloom:

As you can see, I haven't even cleaned out the old flowers from last year. All of my daffodils are planted in with the mums, and I like to leave the dead stuff on until it warms up in the spring. Along with the flowers, we are getting the garden ready and started:

One of the onion beds, (above) and other other smaller one, below. The small one has 80 plants in it if that gives you a clue how many are in the other one, and the one outlined by the landscape bricks is showing only about half of the bed! I think I overdid the onion ordering this year, but just couldn't resist, we had such a great year last year. The plants were ordered from Dixon Dale onion farm , and we had a great yield. We will use these guys from now on. I think my wonderful hubby planted potatoes, too, I know they disappeared from the garage, but didn't ask if he planted them! I hope spring is close to you where ever you may be!

Sunday's

2011-03-20T17:55:00.000-05:00

My children call Sunday evenings, "cook's night off". Now sometimes I take a little offense at that statement, as I am not their "cook", I am their mother!! However, as parents, we all know that we wear a multitude of different hats when raising kids. I am a chef, housekeeper, chauffeur, financial planner, advocate, cheerleader, nurse, coach,can we think of anything else? I know I've missed a few.

Last Sunday, I had Food Network on whilst making breakfast burritos with my eldest, (6 dozen, by the way), I don't do anything in small scale, and Guy was making pitas. I haven't ever been able to say no to bread. So, we made some, and also found a recipe for grilled flat bread along the way, so made that to compare, too. There is a little restaurant in Lawrence, KS, called, "The Mad Greek", and the only thing I have ever ordered there, mostly because I love it so much, is called, "the tour of Greece", it is a sampling of four dips served with warm, fresh pita bread. Hot feta, tzatziki, babaganoush, and hummus. Sorry if the spellings are butchered. This, paired with the small house salad, is a wonderful meal. So, for Sunday evening snacking, I decided to try my hand at the hot feta dip, which is my favorite.

Hot feta dip

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup of Greek yogurt, or reduced fat sour cream

1/4-1 tsp of cayenne pepper, depending on taste, I used about 3/4 tsp

1 tsp. sweet paprika

pinch -1/4 tsp oregano

1-2 garlic cloves, mashed. I used 1 and I love garlic, 2 seemed a bit overpowering.

4 tsp olive oil
Put in a bowl, and use a potato masher or fork to smush everything together. Or you could use a food processor if you prefer a smoother consistency.
This is great eaten right away, or let sit overnight in the fridge to totally meld the flavors. Serve with warm pita bread wedges. I might even try this heated up just a little bit. MMMMmmmmm!

MYOT

2011-03-06T13:23:00.000-06:00

Friday night was, "make your own taco" night at my house. Actually, it looked a little like, "eat my different salsas" night. From the top left we have, mango salsa, guacamole, lime wedges, (for the coronas, what else?), black bean/corn salsa, and pico de' gallo. Not pictured is the regular fresh made salsa. I slow cooked a huge package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts with my fresh salsa. Yep, just salsa. The key to cooking juicy, tender chicken is low and slow. I baked at approximately 250 degrees for 4 hours. Took it out of the oven and let it rest for about 30 minutes and then shredded it. The chicken absorbs most of the salsa, and it is so juicy and tender! I pulled some slow cooked roast out of the freezer and added some taco seasoning to it. My own taco seasoning consists of: chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper. I don't like the packaged stuff, though I will admit to using it in a pinch, ie, staying in a condo/motel with a kitchenette and no herbs or seasoning to use in sight. I also use the above combination for hamburger, for taco's, too.

In addition to the corona, I thought a little sangria would be nice. I made both white and red. The basic recipe that I use and love, is: the juice of 2 lemons, 2 limes, and 2 oranges, a bottle or red or white wine. Let sit overnight with chopped fruit of your choice, and add a litre of Sierra Mist. ( I use the diet version, see previous posts). This time I added pineapple, nectarines, and apples, along with some of the chopped fruit from the juices. It is refreshing and oh, so yummy!!

Bread

2011-02-17T14:12:00.000-06:00

I just went back to Weight Watchers, yes, back. I seem to have a love-hate relationship with it. I really do know what to eat, in fact, I eat fairly healthy, and use little packaged foods. I prefer to know what is in my food, without preservatives. Anyway, since that day, I have been so in the mood to cook bread. That is really one of my main problems when I try to drop a few pounds. Carbs. And you had better not tell me I can't have them. I can get a little crabby. My problem is quantity, not quality. My older son is overweight, too, and I told him last summer that we both need to remember that when we are eating something really good, that we can't leave alone, to remind ourselves that this is not the last time I will get to eat this, I can have/make it again, so step back!!!! Of course, I say that, but man, is it ever hard to do that!

recipe

So, back to the bread. I have two cookbooks from a PBS series, Breaking Bread with Father Dominic. He is/was a Benedictine monk in Peru, Illinois. Not sure if he is still there as I believe the book I used this week was about 11 or 12 years old. Every single I have made from these books are wonderful. I haven't had a flop, yet. And bread is not one thing I am proficient at, good, yes, expert, no. My husband says his pizza crust is one of the best tasting ones he has had, and I've made many.

So, on Saturday, I decided I was in the mood for sourdough bread, we all know that sourdough takes more than a day notice to be done right. I mixed up the starter and put it in a smallish bowl, and came back an hour later to have it all over the side of the bowl and the counter, I won't disturb you with photos of this mess. I had planned on giving a co-worker half of the starter as she had some problems with a recent one, and this hasn't ever failed me. So, when I cleaned up the bowl, and the counter, I went on and divided it up as it was obviously growing right. Guess what, it overflowed both bowls this time! I need to learn to use a larger bowl when I do this.

Short story long, yesterday was my husband's birthday, and decided to do the spaghetti, salad, bread dinner. I pulled the starter out of the fridge and made a sponge, then noticed that in the original recipe it suggests leaving it out 24-48 hours before mixing into dough (for baguettes). So on to another recipe! I used a basic white dough recipe and put 2 Tbsp Italian herbs and 2 tsp garlic powder in it to dress it up a bit.

It tastes pretty darn good when it is warm! I think it could have been just a little more done, I didn't use a thermometer to check it, but we tend to like it just a smidge doughy. When looking through the book while waiting for the dough to rise, one of the recipes was called pesto spirals. It used the basic white bread recipe, and provided a pesto recipe to slather on the inside. Think cinnamon rolls with out the cinnamon, and put in pesto!! MMMMMMmm. But, I had already put Italian herbs in the dough, what to do? On to the third batch of dough for the day! I just let this raise once and put it in the fridge for today. I make my own pesto, and used this, and this one is a keeper, too!! Father Dominic suggested using a round pizza pan and building the rolls in a spiral,too. I opted for a rectangle pan as I had a cute platter to put the rolls on.

My little sample. I did figure the bread recipe out in the WW points system, but didn't figure the pesto. Not sure I want to know.

Basic White Bread

2 cups warm water 2 pkgs dry yeast

2 TBSP granulated sugar 2 tsp salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive)

6-6 1/2 cups bread flour

Put water in large bowl, or stand mixer bowl, add yeast and stir to dissolve. Let stand 5-10 minutes, or until foamy. Add sugar, salt and oil; stir to mix. One cup at a time, add 5 cups flour, mixing thoroughly each time. Work in enough of remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in large, oiled bowl, turn to coat and cover with a clean towel. Let raise in a warm draft-free place, about an hour, or until doubled. Punch dough down, divide into two balls, I usually make a free form loaf, or you can put in two loaf pans. Let raise for about 30-45 minutes or until nearly doubled. Bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from pans immediately, and let cool on wire rack.

I added 2 TBSP Italian herbs and 2 tsp garlic powder to wet ingredients. Or roll into two rectangles and spread your favorite pesto on and roll up like cinnamon rolls, cut into approx. 24 rolls. I baked these at 350 for @ 17 minutes.

Get your books here: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Bread-Father-Dominic-Garramone/dp/0967465206

Making lemonade

2011-02-11T21:03:00.000-06:00

Kansas is not exactly known for its lemon harvests. We have a little greenhouse that houses the lemon tree that I bought about 6 years ago for a fun little potted house plant. We moved it out in the summer and inside in the winter, finally banishing it to the spare bedroom for the winter, as the sweet, sweet smell of the blossoms was almost sickening (to me, my mother loved sleeping in that room when the lemon tree was inside), but, we were lucky in that we didn't kill it by neglect, and it quickly outgrew the largest pot that we could find, and the guys hated hauling it in and out because it was so big, and it has thorns!! I wondered if it would even bear any fruit this year, as the little propane heater that we use in the winter to keep it above freezing, went out without our knowledge, and it was below freezing in the greenhouse before we knew it. The lime tree (yep, had to have one of those, too), dropped every single little gem and every single leaf that it had, and the lemon tree dropped about half of its leaves and fruit, but it must have been a little warmer in that corner of the greenhouse, because we picked a whopping 6 gallons of fruit during Christmas break!!

This is just a small sampling of the lemons, this was a three gallon bucket, notice that it is mounded over, also picked a two gallon and a five gallon bucket full! I was so excited. These are Meyer lemons, and we have found out the hard way, that once we pick and bring these in the house, they get very soft very fast, so, we juiced almost all of them. This brought just under two gallons of juice!! Now, I love fresh made lemonade, and home made sweet and sour mix, and lemon in my Blvd. Unfiltered Wheat Beer, but am not really a fan of lemon bars or pie! I did start out making a lemon cream pie for my hubby, as that is one of his favorites, and then started looking for other lemon recipes. I found a lemon tart recipe on allrecipes.com, and it was very good, not too tart, not too sweet. Then I proceeded to make some lemon curd for my mother, who made sure to tell me that she loved fresh lemons!!

The crust is a little ugly, but it covered nicely with some fresh made whipped cream!! To keep me from eating too much, I took this to our neighborhood Super Bowl party. Have a sunny day.

In the mood.....to cook!

2011-01-27T17:09:00.000-06:00

I am so in the mood to cook. Doesn't seem to matter what, a trip to the grocery store is all I need to inspire me! I have been reviewing an online cooking school for the magazine,"Cooking Pleasures", and, though I consider myself a moderately good (skill-wise) cook, I have picked up many little pointers in the last two weeks. So much so, that I went on and paid for the full years' tuition. http://www.rouxbe.com/ , check it out.

I started with stocks, basic, huh? You bet, but the little hints here and there will make my stock taste so much better. Here are some of the containers that fill my freezer:

and the aromatics:

Then it was on to ricotta cheese. Yep, I make my own, and you can too! I use New England Cheesemaking Supply, http://www.cheesemaking.com/.

I read about Ricki the Cheesemaking Queen, in Food and Wine magazine either 3 or 4 years ago. The article was about making your own mozzarella. I had to try it! She sells a kit, 30 minute Mozzarella, with everything you need to make your own fresh mozzarella in under an hour! I then went on to make boccinicini, little bite sized balls with olive oil, roasted garlic, and fresh basil. Life tastes so sweet. We love the homemade ricotta, it tastes so much better than store bought, unless you live in a large city that has a grocer that makes it fresh. With the homemade mozzarella and ricotta, you end up with a large amount of whey. Ricki includes a recipe book with the kit, and we have used it many times for the whey pizza dough. Here is the recipe for the pizza dough:

3-31/2 cups all purpose flour                             3/4 tsp salt
1 package, or 1 TBSP rapid rise yeast               1 cup very warm whey
(if you do not have whey, you may use milk)
2 TBSP olive oil                                               Cornmeal

Combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir whey and olive oil into dry ingredients. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough..Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover, let rest about 10 minutes.

We use this to make calzones with the ricotta, but if you make pizza:

Lightly oil 1-14", or 2-12" round pizza pans. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Shape dough into smooth ball. Divide and roll to fit pans. Top as desired. Bake at 400 degrees 20-30 minutes or until done.

I hope you decide to try this, as it is a very simple and fun task, especially with older children. They will love to watch the curds form and separate from the whey. Until next time........here's to your health!!

Baking bread

2011-01-07T11:43:00.001-06:00

Hello one and all, I thank you for reading my blog. I am very new to this and have no background in journalism, or photography, so, right now, I apologize, for too many expressive words, for shadows, or blurry photos. I do totally enjoy reading your posts, and looking at the incredible photos of food, family, and nature. My camera is just a little Olympus stylus, I have plans of purchasing a new digital SLR camera, suggestions, anyone?

I have cinnamon bread rising in the oven.....mmm, I don't know of many smells better than cinnamon and baking bread. I am trying the recipe that I found over at the italian dish, one of my new favorite authors.She has the most incredible photos of food, and she always has the most lovely linens in the background. I think I have found a use finally, for all my great-grandmothers' aprons, hankies, and dish towels, that are tucked away in my hope chest.

My great-aunt just passed away, the last one in that generation. She was a real trouper, diaganosed with lung cancer last spring, and in May, was told that she had weeks, not months to live. Well, I am sure she is laughing at her doctors right now, as she lived until New Years' Eve. She told a dear family friend that she was not going in to the new year fighting this disease. I tell you that, because it was her mother that owned the aprons and hankies. I don't remember my great grandmother without an apron on, unless she was away from the house, dressed for church, or another event. When my mother gave them to me, I had no idea what I would do with them, except to possibly make a quilt out of them. Now I think I will just pull them out every now and again and use them as a table dressing, or a prop in a photo. Thank you for the inspiriation, Elaine.