Goodbye To Summer's Garden

We brought in the last of the basil today.  I hung it to dry last year, but am trying it between two screens this time.  After a hot summer, I'm looking forward to the Fall/Winter garden season.  We have cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts and garlic in the raised beds.  The brussel sprouts sure are cute at this stage.  Tasty?  I don't think I like them!

Basil is not only great in mediterranean dishes.  You can also rub basil onto your skin to ward off mosquitos.

Short End Of The Stick

Praying....They Don't Get Loose

Laura and Clay found a cocoon which we brought inside to see what would emerge.  Can you imagine our surprise when it turned out to be about 200 itsy-bitsy praying mantises?!  We took them out to the garden for their release -- they are helpful predators for the organic gardener. 

It's Lambing Time!

One of Barley's ewes had her lambs today. The other ewe should be lambing soon.

Momma, Can I Help?

She spoke with her beautiful brown eyes
I smiled
Glad she's home with me
Glad I'm her mother
...........her teacher
.............her confidant
...............her passage to womanhood
All in a slow paced world

Carefully, three cups of milk
Maybe a tad too much
Almost a whole stick of butter
Scooped from the crock
Plenty of molasses
Now? Tell me when...now?
Oh, some got on my finger
Yes, you can
Since it's just for us
But don't do that
When company is coming



Flour
...wheat grains soaked overnight
............salt
.....................yeast
Quantified with new hands
Unsure
But thrilled beyond measure

Kneading
The fun part
Fun, now
Later, fulfilling
Her family around her
Life sustenance pliable in her hands
Kneading
Shaping loaves
Warm smells from her kitchen
All in a slow paced world









"Momma, do you have time to...? Oh, never mind, I know you do. We live in the country, and have all the time in the world."
Laura -- January 2010



Recipe for Laura's Bread

3 cups milk
1/3 cup molasses
3/4 stick butter

Heat this to 120* and pour into the dry ingredients



Mix these three in prep for the wet ingredients:

3 cups organic white flour
1 Tbs yeast
1 Tbs salt

Add 4 cups fresh ground wheat which has been soaked overnight. (I will do a post on the health benefits of soaked grains soon.) Either an electric grinder or hand grinder work very well. It's nice to have both for when the electric one wears out...like mine did recently.



When the mixture is just manageable,




Pour onto a floured table





Knead until pliable and smooth. Spray with olive oil and cover with a cloth for 40 minutes.



Divide into two loaf pans, (preferably stoneware since the aluminum carcinogens can leach into your bread) score three cuts into top of the bread to help it rise, spray with olive oil again, and let rise in a warm place for 10 minutes.

Cover loosely with foil. Bake on 350* for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake ten more minutes. Turn out loaves onto a wire cooling rack until completely cool. If covered too soon, the crust and inside will be too doughy. The bread needs to breathe. After cooling, cover with a bag to seal in the freshness...if you've managed to wait until the bread cools before eating it. :)

Chicken Day

Click HERE to see further Tom Sawyering. Boy, ain't white-washing this fence fun?!

Beautiful Weekend

My grandmother has been visiting from Dallas for a couple of months. We've enjoyed her immensely!





Down at the creek:






Clay has a new enterprise with his worm bed made from a "pre-owned" freezer. As soon as he figures out his pricing, let us know when you're ready to go fishing or need worm castings for your garden soil. :) He tries to beat me to the kitchen scraps to run feed to his worms instead of the chickens getting them.


Clay harvested 31 gourds this year. He is drying them by the fire before turning them into dippers, scoops, birdhouses, and maracas.

Baby Chicks

The Riggs household has had several new additions this week. We welcomed 75 baby chicks Thursday morning. Fifty are fryers and there are 25 egg layers. Okay, all you who've been planning on visiting us....how does scheduling for slaughter day about 12 weeks from now sound? :)

Barley Had A Little Lamb, Little Lamb.....

Barley became a sheep farmer today! He bought two ewes and a ram. The ewes will each have twins in April, and then he'll be on his way to a having a bigger herd. The breed he chose to start with is the Katahdin. Katahdin is a breed of hair sheep that do not require shearing. These sheep are hardy meat producers, resistant to parasites, can withstand extreme temperatures, lamb easily, are naturally polled (no horns), and are very friendly. And, most importantly, Barley finally found a farm animal that he's not allergic to! The meat brings $6.50 per pound. Anyone hungry? :)

Little Bakers

Laura and Clay made yeast rolls today. I think kneading was their favorite part. Anyone volunteer to help clean up the kitchen? :)

No-name Salmon

I can't decide what to call this salmon recipe. It has lots of Latin flavor - cumin, garlic, oregano, black beans, corn, and salsa. It was easy enough to make, but Mexican Salmon seems, well, just a little too dull...

Begin with as many fresh ingredients as possible.


Wild caught salmon from the Pacific has the least mercury content.


Pan sear in butter and spices.


This was fun to plate up.


Just in from a hard day's work and ready to finish building a burrito.

Fresh From the Oven

Melt in your mouth Cinnamon Raisin Rolls





Recipe

1.5 cups warm milk
2 tsp (plus a tad more) yeast
4 cups flour
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon
4 T softened butter separated
3 T molasses
1 cup raisins
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix warm milk and yeast. After the yeast activates, add two tablespoons butter and molasses. Set aside. Combine flour, salt and cinnamon. Make a well in the center of flour and pour in the milk mixture. Bring the wet and dry ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Knead the dough until smooth. Let rise until doubled in size. Roll out to 1/4 inch in thickness on a floured surface. Spread two tablespoons butter over rolled out dough. Sprinkle raisins on top of butter. Roll up the dough tightly and pinch end of the dough to the roll to keep from separating. Slice roll in one inch segments and place on a cooking sheet. Place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes. Cook at 325* for approximately 12-15 minutes or until desired brownness.

While rolls are baking, combine powdered sugar, vanilla and warm water to desired consistency for glazing the rolls. As soon as the cinnamon raisin rolls come out of the oven, pour the glaze over the tops and sprinkle with powdered sugar for garnish.

Pure maple syrup is delicious as a glaze for those of us who try to avoid sugar. :) And of course, everything tastes better when it's made with organic ingredients.

Pastured Poultry (eggs)

We arrived at many of our farming ideas by reading Joel Salatin's books. One such inspiration was the pastured poultry. We have fryers and we also pasture our egg layers.

Barley moving the Egg-Mobile:





http://www.polyfacefarms.com provides information about the Salatin's farm and book references.

Our version of the inside of the Eggmobile: