Category Archive: Foods

2021
02/03

Category:
Foods
Life

COMMENTS:
1 Comment »

Life ends and begins again

2 month old Will, named for this grandpa, arrived by plane and this photo was taken a few hours before the end of my husbands earthly chapter.  We were blessed that each family member had some time with their dad the last day.  His mind was clear, but his heart just wasn’t strong enough to carry on.  The good news is we WILL meet again.   I am looking forward to that chapter of our lives.

I have been keeping very busy, using what energy I have.  There is so much to take care of: paper work, finances, and cleaning things out.   Each of the children was able to take some memories that are important to them.  The clothes have gone to meet other peoples needs.

 

 

 

When Bill retired, he decided to try some of the hobbies I enjoy. This is the only pair of socks he ever made. They will go to his namesake.   Before he broke his arm in March, Bill  made some of these Aunt Matilda slippers.  I just finished sewing them up. They still need little pompoms.  Crochet was much easier for him; so there are a number of these infant caps.  I will take them to the hospital.

 

Today I canned 21 quarts of potatoes.  The winter has been so mild, they are already sprouting.  I use the french fry cutter and when ready to use them, they are so easy to heat up for mashed potatoes or for soup.  Another way I like to use them is to add seasoning and blend them with a cooked carrot (for color) and use them as a gravy for my baked potato – no added calories.

Next on my list is to start working on taxes and try to put some fun activities in my week.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! a time for scheduling

HAPPY NEW YEARimg_0148sToday I finished scheduling the lists of what I really wanted to get done in 2017.   There are more things, but I knew there were too many to realistically get done.   I settled for a dozen in each category.   Then I spent the rest of the day putting together a kit for each item.

img_0149sThis is 12 pair of socks with the pattern and yarn in each.   The list is under “Construction” at the top

img_0150sThis is the fish quilt and the bear paw, both time consuming and needling many parts.

img_0151sThese boxes hold the other 10 quilts and the 1/2 of the sewing projects.    DH wanted to know how I managed to get 10 quilts in there, but the batting is not in there and that makes the difference.

I did not fair so well on the embroidery projects.  I have two projects with the designs copied onto a jump stick, but I still need to find the fabric I purchased for the one and I need to purchase 3 fat quarters for the other one.

img_0153sOver the past few days, I have been making these chia seed crackers.    So we’ve been enjoying munching these during the day.   Vary the vegetable and the seasonings for fun.

  • 2 cups chia seed
  • 1 large onion
  • 3-4 stalks celery
  • 2 carrots
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (I used shredded)
  • 3 med garlic cloves
  • 1/2 bunch parsley
  • braggs or soy sauce to taste
  • 1 cup water
  1. Mix all in blender or food processor.   Let set 8-12 hours the optionally you can add 1/2 cup soaked sunflower seeds which I don’t think I’ll add next time.   Spread thinly on the plastic trays or parchment paper in the dehydrator and start checking them after 10 hours.

  2. The original recipe that I took off from was from Lorraine Godsoe in the book Raw Inspiration by Lisa Montgomery.    There are several good cracker/bread type receipes in this ook

2016
10/11

Category:
Foods
Life
quilts

COMMENTS:
1 Comment »

A table runner, flies, and shopping

img_5453aA table runner is the next project.  This one will take a bit more time because I’m doing it between several non-quilting chores.

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I have it cut out and have a dozen of each of these sewn together.

The fruit flies were so horrific this morning after all the canning, etc. that I bombed part of the house.  I hate doing this, but I also hate those flies in everything.   How did our grandmothers manage this and they not only had fruit flies, they had horse and every other type of fly to deal with in the summer.   The directions tell you to leave the house for 4 hours.   So what should I do while not in the house, why go shopping, of course, and I did.

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I have a 2 young citrus trees to bring in for the winter, so needed to keep them up off the floor.  These were half price, so they came home with us.

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And I was so inspired by my daughter’s shelving this weekend, that I decided I needed some shelves to hold my spinning supplies and some of my knitting supplies.   So 4 of these shelves (36″) also came home with me.    Lowe’s had only 2 on the shelf, so I asked for more.  They had them in the inventory, but can you believe, it took over an hour for them to locate them – high next to the ceiling – and then to find the lift thing and someone to bring it over and go up in it to bring those shelves down.   And look what I found OCTOBER 12, while I was waiting!

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So much of the Christmas supplies are out.    We haven’t even had Halloween yet!

 

2016
09/26

Category:
Foods
Life

COMMENTS:
1 Comment »

How to make applesauce in your blender

img_5347a Before making the applesauce, clean your jars and have them ready.   I ran mine through the dishwasher.

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You can use your old jar rings.   Put the new lids in water and let them soak while you prepare the apples

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Wash the apples, but don’t  peel them.

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Cut the apples in quarters, remove the core and cut each piece across the middle.  With about 1/4 cup of water in your hi-power (Vitamix) blender, add one quarter blender jar of raw apples.   Turn speed up and as soon as these are blended, keep adding more until the blender is full.   After the first blender of apples, you won’t need to add more water as there will be enough fluid left from the previous load.   These apples were from the neighbors trees which had not been cared for, so there were lots of spots to cut out.  And yes, this way does lose a bit more apple, but I don’t mind because it is quick, easy, and the chickens or compost can have the discards.

 

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Using a canning funnel, pour just up to the bottom of the first ring.

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Even if the rim looks clean, put your clean finger in water and run it around the rim to make sure the rim is clean,

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Now put on the lid, then the ring.

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When you have 7 jars, (pints or quarts) put them in the water bath canning kettle and bring to a rolling boil.   Turn down and keep boiling.   See there are bubbles in the water, not just on the lids.  Boil 15 minutes for pints and 20 for quarts.   If you are at a higher elevation, check with your extension agent.   OR you can make fewer jars and keep it in the refrigerator for up to a week.

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At the end of this time, remove from the kettle and set on a towel until cool enough to loosen the lid and rinse the outside of the jar.   Then use a sharpie to write on the lid.  I put 10/16, because it is so close to the end of the month.    TERRIFIC!.  You are done without peeling a single apple or losing the nutrition in the skin.  Your applesauce will vary in color with the color of the apple skin.   If you desire, you could add cinnamon and/or sugar.

Below, I saved some of the applesauce and added honey and spices to it to make apple butter.  This I placed in my slow cooker.   It is a new recipe, so I will let you know how we like it.

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2016
07/01

Category:
farming
Foods
Garden
Life

COMMENTS:
4 Comments »

Garden and shopping

IMG_4842 I laid this fleece preparing to skirt it (take all the junk off it) when I realized, I need help determining how much to remove.   It seems a bit matted to me.   So I will wait until I find someone more knowledgeable to help me.   There are three of these fleeces.  By that time, I should have learned how to skirt them.

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And the sewing I thought I would get to do today, didn’t happen because we needed potatoes.  This is a 44′ row and I had dug  just about half of it two weeks ago, but we ate all those potatoes and needed more.   So I removed these red, white, and blue potatoes.  Interestingly, I found the red potatoes to be the most prolific and robust.

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Then we planted these bell peppers which were waiting for a spot in the hoop house.   There is a double row of them.   I hope they grow  fast because it is already the first of July and I am late getting them a home.

IMG_4845This is where the tomatoes have gone.   I’m going to have to coax them back down.   There are tons of blossoms, some fruits, but no color yet.  And today the sweet potatoes opened their first blossoms.

Then we needed to go shopping for a garden hose.  Our back garden is on 3 levels and to make it easier to water, I want to leave a hose on each level and a lightweight hose to drag up and down the steps which we can then connect to the hose that goes down the row we want to water.  (DH had trouble understanding that as well)

A trip to the feed store and a quick in and out at the grocery completed out day.  I love going into the produce section and  seeing all that food, thinking that I don’t need to buy any of it – well except for bananas and avocados.   And I did need vinegar for cleaning.   I have found vinegar and baking soda does a great job on toilets and vinegar cleans most everything else.

And that was the day, I was going to have just for sewing.   But guess what, Mary is scheduled to come on Sunday and that will be a fun treat, though we haven’t decided on a project.

But for the next 24 hours, I’m entertaining Heavenly guests and listening to what they have to teach.  Happy Sabbath and have a great weekend.

 

2016
05/05

Category:
farming
Foods
Knitting
Life

COMMENTS:
4 Comments »

In the Kitchen

No photos today as I make a vegetable soup from what I found in the refrigerator.    Then I made a bulgur wheat dish with miso for flavoring.   It doesn’t look like much, but it tastes good.  I made cashew milk and cereal for breakfasts.   We make steel cut oats for 3 days at a time and then just heat them.   I have the  Quinoa cooling to make a salad for Sunday.

In between, I supervised some yard work and did research on AI on sheep.   It turns out that it is much more difficult than on cattle.   There is also the expensive proposition of bringing in the semen and all the paperwork that involves.   After talking to Washington State University, it doesn’t look like something I can afford.

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So near the end of the day, I decided that I needed something fun and started this dish cloth.   The yarn is pure Peruvian prime cotton from Juniper Moon Farms.  It’s a simple K and P pattern from Janet Nogle

 

 

2016
02/25

Category:
Foods
Life

COMMENTS:
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Strawberry jam

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We’re nearly out of strawberry jam and with my DH, that isn’t acceptable.   So  now with 6 more pints, we may make it until strawberry season.   I just did not make enough last year for gifts and us, but fortunately, I still had frozen berries in the freezer.  I believe I have almost enough to make it to next season

So with some catch up housework and babying this cough, and some spinning,  I had enough energy to go check the bees since the temperature got up over 60 degrees.   The poor bees did not make it through the winter.  So I want to rototill that area and plant a bee friendly area, then next year, we’ll get bees again.

2016
02/21

Category:
farming
Foods
Life
spinning

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Spinning and making raisins

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The hot wire has now been extended.   Maybe that will keep Beau on the side he is supposed to be on.   He so loves us and thinks he needs to guard us, which would be okay, if he didn’t follow the car out the gate.

IMG_4029The raisins were miserable to get off the screens.

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However we now have another 20 cups of raisins made from our own grapes.

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I tired of doing the same spinning, so am now doing some small pieces of various colors, then will go back to the sweater yarn.   I have also decided I need to spin another piece of wool to add to the sweater yarn so it will be 3 ply.

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2015
02/08

Category:
Foods
Garden
Life

COMMENTS:
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Spring is on the way

IMG_1287Do you see those small white pieces along the front of the bags   and garbage cans?   Those are the iris popping out of the ground.  And inside the house two potatoes that we missed are through the ground.

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We totally cleaned this side and the back today, then put in two types of kale, Simpson black seeded lettuce, endive, and escarole

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In this photo, the clear areas are where there was cardboard.   Any where we didn’t put it, we have all this spreading low ground cover for which we don’t have a name.

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These are some of the vegetables that went in too late last fall to get good growth, but we’re eating them now.  I do a good job of starting early, but somehow peter out mid-summer.

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 These potatoes really,  REALLY want to be in the ground, so we planted them along the west (back) side of the greenhouse.  (we just didn’t have a cool enough place to store them all winter.)  It will be an early crop which will delight us.   We will plant others outside for a later crop which hopefully will do better at lasting through the winter.

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This is a look at the entire hoop house with still lots of work to be done, but for most of it, we are still a month away.

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We laid this blanket over the new seedlings as it is supposed to make the difference of a zone in temperature.   We’re trying it.

So the day went like this:   1.  filled the freezer with another box of bananas, then worked in the greenhouse weeded one side and the back, planted, fertilized, put down slug bait, watered, and then laid the blanket over the greens.  After supper, we bagged those bananas.  (the rest should be ready to freeze and dehydrate tomorrow.  My Fitbit registered over 10,000 steps and I am ready for bed.

2015
01/30

Category:
farming
food
Foods
gluten-free cookng
Life
Shopping

COMMENTS:
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Grocery day

 

IMG_1246I’m quite sure that groceries are going up, up, and more up, which is why I really want to have a good garden with loads canned, frozen and otherwise stored.   We started at Costco and yes, I know that it is difficult to come out of there with just a few things.   However, with what we purchased there today,  I don’t think we need to visit the food part of the store for at least two months.   To follow that up, we went to Fred Meyer for the items that Costco didn’t have.   I have definitely learned that only one of a couple should go to the store, but I don’t know how to put that in practice, when he likes to go with me.   When the two of us go, it seems to me that we come out of there with three times as much as either would have purchased.   The only consolation was that most of it was long term items, some for the freezer and some like sunflower seeds that I use to make humus.  Some of it was for the big Super bowl game Sunday where several are getting together to enjoy the game.

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After lunch I made zucchini patties for the freezer and for tomorrow.   Then I put the rice and lentils that I soaked this morning for flatbread into the blender with salt, onion and garlic powder until it was thick and smooth.   I saw this recipe this past week, but I really don’t remember where and since I couldn’t refer back to it, I baked it at 400 for 20 minutes on a silicone pad on a baking sheet, then flipped it for 5 more minutes.   If I had used two sheets, it would have made wonderful crackers.   Bill cut it into some small pieces for dipping and some larger pieces to eat with meals.  This is a great and easy recipe for gluten-free menus.

Then to add some humor to my day, the geese wanted to be herded into the night enclosure.   So I put the rest of the birds in and went after the geese.   They came to the door which I then opened and the latest three ducks ran out.   OK, ducks are out and geese are in.  I managed to corned one duck and got it back in and the other two ran off to the pond.   So I went into the house.   About 1/2 hour later at sundown, I went outside and these two were giving me the what for because they were locked out.   So I went down there and told them that’s what happens at night, they better stay in next time.  They were very happy to get back in.   One  just enjoys the animals even with their quirks.