Canning and sewing and butchering Oh My!!!!

Phew I'm tired. I've been busy this week with my little projects and of course the bigger projects(children).
I made a, what I call, table runner. It's just a center peice for the table but I made it with my very own hands and I even hand quilted a section. I'm thinking of quilting the entire piece but I don't see me doing it any time soon! lol...



The clothes have been hung on the line saving the electric bill. Which I have to say has been obscene this year.I love the smell of fresh air on the sheets when I go to bed.
I mopped the floors but you can't tell because I have four kids who tramped all over them...sigh... thank goodness for the FlyLady!
My son cleaned out the kitchen closet and I am going to have to do something about this cat we have because she has been peeing all over the place. Apparently the kitchen closet has become a favorite spot. As soon as I can get her spayed she is going to become a barn cat!
I am so proud of myself because on Friday, without help from my big strong Hubby, I hauled out the chicken crates and had the boys help me load the chickens in the crates, put a tarp on the truck bed(Hubby has a rug liner) and load the crates on the truck, actually we put the crates on the truck and then put the chickens in them! Robert and I drove out to the butcher and unloaded the crates.
Since we were out there, I stopped off at the produce stand and got close to a half bushel of beets. And Robert got a whoopie pie, yuck!
Hubby did go out to the butcher that after noon to pick up the birds he brought them home and put them in the kitchen, Beth and I bagged weighed and put them away.
So my freezer is full of chicken. We were quoted a price for the steer. $130 to kill and process the beef and additional $30 if we want them to packages it with their commercial vacuum sealer which I think is a really good idea. No fuss or mess at my house.
Yesterday I cooked and peeled the beets and jarred them up with a pickeling brine then last night I canned them. Now they are all tucked away for later. I like to do several small batches of canned goods then to spend hours and hours canning. With the one exception being that I enjoy when I have help doing hours of canning. Hubby's adopted grandmother will come over and help and what would take me 8-10 hours takes me half the time. I love the fact that I can handle the canners, wipe the jars, put on the lids and while one or two batches are canning I can also work on filling more jars.
Today I am going to hang out more laundry and do something fun with the kiddos. Tonight I am going to work on embroidering tea towels.

Summer Time Blues...

I am unraveling.... I need to have a bit of a pity party for myself. I know it's a complete waste of time and I should be thankful...Blah blah blah... It's a really bad attitude! I am super tired because I can't seem to sleep well without my Hubby next to me. Our schedules are all messed up because his schedule is not consistant. My garden...has 6 tomato plants! nothing else just the tomatos. I am in so much trouble. Someone dropped off a beautiful Rhode Island Red rooster. I guess people think we have chickens we must need a rooster. I don't appreciate the gift, my neighbors don't appreciate the gift. We don't have a rooster because my neighbors don't appreciate the sweet cockadoodle at 5am. Hmmmm.... I'd like to make soup with him but I don't have the heart to kill him and Hubby hasn't had the time to deal with it either.
Then my car broke and I am carless because you need extra money and time to get the car fixed! It's summer time, the kids are eating me out of house and home, everytime I turn around something else is gone and now I can't go to the store.
My cat for some reason has decided to use the entire house as a litter box My son's bed, the kitchen closet... What on Earth????
I think the cat has to go with the rooster...
The good things in life are, Hubby has a job with a good income and benefits. Everyone is healthy. I have laying hens so we at least have eggs and the goats give me milk everyday. Hubby released the rabbits in the field and they are multiplying faster and better than they did in the cage. Small game hunting will be good.
By being at home I am getting some projects done. If I had batteries for the camera I'd take pics and post them. Hmmm...batteries ... I can't find any and they have disappeared from remotes, clocks, razors, trimmers, toys and games. All to power Daughters MP3 player which she insists she has had the same batteries for months and has no idea what we are talking about...
I planted my herbs on the front porch in baskets and when the wind blows I get a whiff of mint or lemon or basil.
My girlfriend brought me rhubarb roots so I can plant it in my yard. It's sitting in buckets next to the chives and rose bushes I need to plant. The best intentions don't mean anything without actions. I need to get my action to meet my intension before it's too late.
I think that might apply to other areas in my life too. I think I could pass that on to Mama for sermon material!
Thanks for listening... Now I can get busy doing what I can do.

I'm a failure at rabbit raising...

I'm so sad. I am failing in the rabbit area. This spring we started out with 21 baby bunnies. I'm down to one. My Breeding Buck died, which is all my fault. I wanted to brood the turkeys in the shed I had the rabbits in over winter. So, I had the Boys pull the rabbit pens out and put them against the shed. I figured it was nice out and they would be fine. Did I think about the fact that they didn't have cover? Nope, never thought that if it rained they would get wet. And it poured. The one set of pens was on the front of the shed and didn't get hit too bad with the rain. But the buck was on the side of the shed, and he got soaked. We came out the next day and he was dead. Then my bunnies started dying, each day another dead bunny. I don't know what happened. We had moved the rabbits into another pen and the goats got into it and ripped the wiring apart. So then I had escaping rabbits. Hubby is working so much he didn't have time or energy to fix them and apparently my attempts were futile. Yesterday morning I went out and found one of my breeding does dead. But she seemed to have a broken back. I don't have a clue how that happened.
I quit. I am finding a happy home or butchering the rabbits I have left and I am not doing this again until I have a proper place and proper housing for them. It's alot of work and money for nothing to show for it. I am going to tag this as experience and move on.
I'm also looking into selling my two dairy goats and two of the kids and using that money to buy one proven milker. I'm feeding two goats to get the same amount of milk one goat should be giving. So if I can sell these goats I can spend the extra money on one with a record of heavy milking. Hubby wants a Saanan or as he says, a white goat with ears.
Farming is challenging. I have a new respect for the "real" farmers who do this on a bigger scale and rely on it to provide for their families. Something always needs to be cleaned or fixed. Feeding has to be measured correctly. Ordering feed has to be done on time, Then there's hoof care and udder care and wings to be clipped Oh My...
I'm tired too tired to sleep and tomorrow will come soon. I'm listing off all the things that need to be done. Barn swept, Milkstand scrubbed, garden weeded, weed eater needs to be run, grass mowed, plus the everyday stuff...
I'm going to try and sleep or I won't have the urge to get stuff done while it's cool in the morning.

Super sticky yummy ribs!

I wish I took pictures but I'm really terrible at it! But our dinner was so good I had to post it! Silly, some may think, but I enjoy cooking and sharing.
What we had, "Country Ribs with Rhubarb BBQ sauce" and Cheesy scallopped potatoes with a mixed lettuce salad w/ tomatoes and sharp cheese.

The country ribs recipe came from Mary at www.oneperfectbite.blogspot.com with an adaption of my own.

Ribs
4lbs country style ribs
1 lemon thinly sliced
1 large onion thinly sliced

Sauce
1C. chopped rhubarb
2/3C. water
1med onion finely chopped
1t oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1C. ketchup
2/3C packed brown sugar
1/2C dark corn syrup (I used Honey)
2T cider vinegar
2T Worcetershire sauce
1T dijon mustard (I used stone ground dijon)
1-1/2t hot pepper sauce
1/4t salt

Directions
1) preheat oven to 450 degreesF
2) Salt ribs placed in a roasting pan. Roast for about 30 minutes. Drain excess fat. Top ribs with lemon and onion slices

3) In a small sauce saucepan, bring rhubarb and water to a boil and then lower heat and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Place the rhubarb in a blender and process until smooth. In the same sauce pan saute the onion in oil and then add the garlic, saute one minute and then add the additional ingredients. Whisk in the rhubarb puree and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

4) Pour sauce over ribs. Lower the temp to 350. Bake until fork tender, basting every 15 minutes. Total cooking time should be about 2-2 1/2 hours. If sauce get too thick add a little water.

This sauce hits all parts of your tongue. As it roasts with the ribs it gets sticky and candy like. The lemon and onion carmalize and the lemon peels become soft and chewy. YUM! The lemon and rhubarb really cut the sweetness of the brown sugar and honey.

CHEESY SCALLOPPED POTATOES
This is my own recipe
Six russett pot. sliced on the mandoline
1/4c flour
1/4c butter
2C. cheddar cheese
2C. milk

Super simple.
preheat oven to 400 degrees F
grease the bottom and sides of a casserole dish (11x7)
layer potatoes, a sprinkling of flour , a handful of cheese. continue layering until you fill the pan or run out of potatoes
dot with butter
pour milk over the top
Cover with foil
bake at 400 for 30 minutes covered.
Uncover and bake until golden brown and tender, about another 10 minutes.

Cheesy and creamy!

I hope you try this out. We enjoyed it and I had the time to roast this.I have a summer kitchen to cook in so it wasn't so bad. If you have air conditioning you'll be fine but if not I'd wait for a cool rainy day to make this!

Making Kefir

My girlfriend, Chelle, gave me some kefir grains and a paper telling me how to make this fermented milk product. Kefir is made by pouring milk over the "grains"(they look kinda like tapioca,just not round)covering the jar or crock with a cloth and letting it sit out on the counter for up to 24 hours. After 24 hours you strain the kefir through a sieve saving the grains to make another batch. The result is a thick buttermilk texture liquid. It's put in the fridge to chill. It smells yeasty and has a tangy taste that I really can't drink alone. I was told it's an "acquired" taste.
Ummm it's just gross plain. I made smoothies sweetened with agave nectar or honey. The kids loved it! We made peanut butter- banana w/honey and strawberry w/agave and then peanut butter with chocolate syrup.
Kefir is so easy to make and you continue to use the same grains. The grains start to multiply and after a few weeks, making kefir everyday, they should grow enough to have a cup full of grains. I use about a 1/4c and that will ferment 1qt of milk. So with more grains you could do more milk at a time or divide it up and share with your friends like Chelle did with me!
Kefir is very high in probiotics and cleans out the toxins in your system. Depending on your home temperature and air quality, it may take less then 24 hours. You just have to make a few batches to see what works for you. In my home, with no air conditioning, it takes about 18 hours to get a thick creamy kefir. I have also noticed that it thickens in the fridge, so if you strained it too early it will thicken up with time.
As I am more of an instant gratification person, I like making kefir. It's simple and neat and tidy. No mess! In fact I am having trouble because I'm using up all my milk! I wish I had these grains a few months ago!
I'm still looking up more recipes to use it up. But smoothies are great right now. I would like to make ice cream and was looking to see if I could use it in baking.

New business Venture

I took a step,um more of a leap. I signed on to become a Lilla Rose consultant. Lilla Rose offers hair accessories as well as eye glass chains and jewelry. As soon as I get my new flexi's I will have my daughter take pics. I have alot of hair. Long, thick, curly hair.I usually wear it in a messy bun because I like it out of my face and cooking. Hubby wishes I wore it down more because he LOVES my hair. BUT all my barettes would break or I'd get a headache because they were so heavy duty they were HEAVY.
I am also trying to be more feminine the flexi's are light weight and heavy duty made with piano wire. There are so many pretty designs some more modern then others some extra beaded. I like pretty but practical. You should have seen me picking out glasses today! Pretty but practical...
So if you are interested here is my website. www.lillarose.biz/farmgirlintraining

I thought this would be fun. I could try out new hairstyles and maybe make a little extra cash on the side.

AHH CAH ChEEEW!!!!!

MY eyes are watering, my throat tickles, my nose is leaking... Allergies. I can't breathe or see. Typing is fun! The past two weeks have been busy busy busy. Thankfully school is out on Tuesday and baseball is over On June 11th. No more running, no more harping on grades...summer. Now I get to harp on gardening chores and animal care. My kiddos love me.
Had to buy a live animal trap...Bunnies are everywhere. They figured out how to shimmy out the food dish!
Hubby worked 195 hours last two weeks. We need the money but nothing else seems to get done.
I went to Pap's today and came home with 25 tomato cages, four boxes of old canning jars with glass lids, a pitch fork, a handle, an old tool box and a few scrub brushes! Hmmm... I'll have to go take pictures and update my blog post.
Turkeys are on their way next week. That's why I needed the pitch fork. I have to clean out another pen. Yeah me. I hope this nice breezy weather continues so I can get it done.
I am about ready to plant my garden. I just need to rototill a bit more.
Well, I'm off to check chores and water...

UPDATE
One baby bunnie caught in the trap, six more to go!

All the "goodies" I got from Pap!