Trying to be like the original example of a homesteading woman:
"She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family, and organizing her day. She looks over a field and buys it, then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden." Proverbs 31:15-16 (The Message)
Last night two teenage boys were killed in a car accident. They were Joshua (18) and Shawn (16) Harless. How devastating this must be for their family and friends. My son had English class with Shawn last year. This makes you realize just how precious every moment is. My son sent me a text message that said, "It's funny how short life can be." Death is a hard reality for the young to grasp. It is the second time since middle school that a child my son has known has died in an accident.
The accident happened near where, 29 years ago to the month, my husband's 16 year old cousin Tim Russell was in an accident that resulted in his death. It is a sharp pain that has stayed with the family all these years.
My heart is crushed for the family of Joshua and Shawn. And my younger daughter told us last night that a friend of hers, who she graduated HS with, has been moved into a hospice house because of non-malignant, but terminal brain tumors she has had all her life. Her name is Shelley Brooks (22). Please remember Shelley and her family.
On Monday, I started working with my 3-yr old grandson to learn a Bible verse. His mother selected the verse before she left for the day. We practiced it all throughout the day. I even showed him where it was in the Bible so he could understand why we had to learn the reference with the verse.
Tuesday morning he walked up to where I had laid down my open Bible. He knelt beside it and pointed to a passage and asked, "Is this first johnny four eight?" Amused and amazed, I said yes and asked him what the verse said. He placed his finger on a word and tapped across as he responded with "God is love."
He repeated the verse, reference and all to everyone in the house when they came home and even told it to his mother when she called to check on him.
I have a new respect for the simplest of inventions: Wet Wipes! In the three years since my grandson was born, I've removed chocolate from my dress pants, quick-cleaned my bathroom sink when company showed up unexpectedly, made my ancient white leather furniture look almost white again, along with countless other "saves." I used to think my m-i-l was a little extreme when she kept them in her car for emergency messes. Not any more ( or maybe I am extreme, too! ;-> ). They hold up to vigorous scrubbing and don't leave as much lint on clothes as do paper towels. They're like the American Express card...never leave home without them!
P.S. The store brands are as effective as the more expensive brand name ones. Whoohoo! for economy packs!
I was reading the blog from BornCountry and couldn't help but join in the fun of chicken discussions!
My dh has devised a game for the "girls." It's similar to flag football...I call it "wormball." Steve takes a shovel he keeps leaned against the hen house and places it in the dirt. Immediately the chickens gather around, even standing on the dirt just above the shovel blade, watching the ground. He turns the dirt over and the game begins. Everyone tries to find a fat earthworm. When one is found, the lucky hen starts clucking and running. The others follow her all around the pen trying to snatch away the prize. If the first hen looses possession before she swallows it, the game starts anew. We watch a minute, then for fairness sake, he turns a few more shovel-fulls of dirt to let all the girls get a chance to play.
This is just one way we try to keep the hens happy through this cold season. I also supplement their grain diet with veggie and bread scraps. I buy them a canister of old fashioned oats a few times a month, too. They are now producing enough eggs each week to pay for their own feed. Giving them the veggie scraps is a bit of a sacrifice as I'm not able to grow my compost pile, but we have had to be on the watch for night critters (a killer 'possum-got 2 hens in late fall and my dh has spotted raccoon tracks), so we can't let the hens be free-range right now. Once in a while, when it hasn't snowed or rained for a few days, I pull clumps of grass up and toss it in the pen. Our mild climate makes for green grass year round.
Even with all the extras we do for the chickens, every once in a while a couple will mount an escape from the pen. It's 8 feet high except at the gate, which is 6 feet high and one spot where the predator netting sags a bit. The hens spent the summer and fall running anywhere they wanted to be, including roosting in trees at night, so their wings are well developed. Most of the time the escapees are found just in the backyard, but a couple days ago my dh found 3 of them in front of the neighbor's house. He shooed them back around our house and they hurried to be let in the gate
Chicken farming is not for wimps! It takes work, but the rewards are definitely worth the trouble.
BTW, I'm currently looking into making my egg sales legal. Evidently, the government seems to need to regulate even that. I found out through the WVU extension service calendar that there are specific rules and regulations to be followed before I can hang a sign on my mail box. As this is apparently true for most states, I'll keep you updated on what I find out.
Is a freezer an option for storing bulk grains? I am limited on refrigerator space, but I have 2 freezers (aside from the one on the fridge). We're trying to move our diet to a more healthful one and whole grains play an important part of that.
I got a newsletter from Marilyn Moll and saw that The Urban Homemaker website is having a grain sale in April. It is impractical financially for me to order from Colorado since I'm in West Virginia. Shipping charges are prohibitive. I found a company in Georgia that has whole grains, including certified organic. The company is called Homegrown Harvest. They seem to have a broad selection of products.
So, now I just need to know where/how to store the grain. Anybody have any tips?
I am craving the taste of summer. I have started a little herb garden in my kitchen window. I imagine by the time the herbs are ready to use, it will already be time to plant some outside. In the meanwhile, I've found that packaged salad is a great way to supplement my winter meals. I buy the romaine mix from the supermarket. Head lettuce is too expensive for the quality right now. I can feed our family of six twice with a small bag of pre-made salad. The cost is about 20 cents per serving.
As a side for a winter stew or casserole, it makes the meal so much more special: like a burst of summer fun with the snow falling all around. Throw in a loaf of fresh baked bread, serve everything on your best dinnerware, light some candles, and make your family feel like they're being treated to a night out in the middle of the week.
"She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from far away." Proverbs 31:14
Our house is so busy with everyone coming and going that I rely on my crockpot to provide some of our meals that can be ready whenever someone has time to sit down to eat (or wants to pack it to go). I found a recipe for Beef Barbecue Sandwiches in an advertisement to buy a cookbook. I had to modify it to suit us--After 2 1/2 years in San Antonio, Texas we're all barbecue snobs. This takes a few minutes of preparation the night before you want it and then you can store it in the fridge to reheat after you complete the recipe.
"Quick" Beef Barbecue Sandwiches
Makes 12-16 servings
Use a 4-5 quart slow cooker
Ingredients:
3- to 4-lb. beef roast, cut in half
1/2 cup water
1/2 to whole bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce (depends how "sloppy" you like your sandwiches)
12 to 16 Kaiser rolls (or you favorite type of bun)
1. Place roast in slow cooker; pour 1/2 cup water into cooker.
2. Cover and cook on high 1 hour and then on low 8 to 10 hours.
3. Remove roast from cooker; discard juices (I saved them in the freezer for soup base.)
Shred roast with 2 forks and return to cooker. Pour sauce over top. Mix together.
4. Cover and cook on low until thoroughly heated. (You can warm you sauce in a pan on the stove or in the microwave to speed up this step.)
6. Spoon meat mixture onto rolls using a slotted spoon; spoon additional sauce over top of meat, if desired.
I buy pre-shredded slaw mix and slaw sauce to make up just what we need for the meal at the moment (no finding mystery slaw in the back of the fridge this way!) I serve with our favorite chips or fries and my home-canned bread-and-butter pickles. Leftover barbecue can be refrigerated for a couple days or frozen for in meal-sized portions for about 2 months.
Note: The next time I find a good deal on beef (or whenever I get my whole, grass-fed cow order in), I'm going to have my dh fire up the smoker grill and smoke a couple roasts for about 2 hours. Then I can use those roasts in the crockpot and they will have the extra Texas BBQ smoky taste that we all love.
BTW, this recipe will work with pork roast as well.
Just after I finally shut down the computer last night, I remembered my promise to my dh. I'll admit I hesitated for a moment--the image of a warm bed beckoned me. Shaking the cozy thoughts from my head, I filled a gallon pitcher with water, tugged on a coat, slid my feet into my garden clogs, and headed for the hen house.
I noticed some snowflakes falling as I went out into the yard. The "girls" were grateful for the drink of water before bed -- they let me know how they feel with these little, quiet clucks they make when they are enjoying themselves.
I finished up and started for the back door. I was stopped in my tracks by the sound of ... nothing. So rare, as our property borders a county highway, the silence was amazing. The streetlight in the neighbor's yard that so annoys me when I'm stargazing illuminated the snow as it fell softly around me.
After a moment of soaking in the silent beauty and the sub-freezing temperatures, I remembered that warm bed again. I went to double check the front door locks and the sight of the increasingly heavier snowfall caused me to pause and stare out the front door window. Only a passing big rig carrying the local variety of breakfast meats reminded me that the noise and busy-ness of the morning was just a few hours away.
I reluctantly turned away from the view and the little girl wonder of a wintry night. As I walked to bed I thought of the sad truth that the beauty I'd witnessed tonight would be forgotten the minute I had to scrape the windshield tomorrow. That thought made me glad I'd taken the time to enjoy the small gift of "snow quiet."
Praying you find a blessing hidden in your busy day,
P.S. The "girls" were less than enthusiastic about the snow this morning:
See how most of them are huddled against the hen house...
This one is a finger biter...I have to keep my fingers high on the gate when I close it or she takes a nip.
Some of the "girls" decided to venture out into the snow.
Our 24 hens are laying 23 eggs a day. I'm giving away some, selling some, cooking some. When the eggs get more uniform in size, we're putting up a "Fresh Eggs for Sale" sign out by the road.
Now the problem...although the eggs are magnificent in flavor, I'm running out of ideas to cook them. We're really fond of quiche, omelets, egg salad...but there has to be more ways (i.e. other ingredients) to spice up table-time with egg based concoctions.
I'd like to put a small booklet together to give to family, friends, and regular egg customers. If you have recipes that your family loves, please send them to me. These are the categories I'm looking for:
Appetizers
Breakfasts (make ahead as well as make right now)
Casseroles
Main Dishes
Desserts (simple and fancy)
Thank you in advance for all the help. If you send a recipe you don't mind me reprinting I'll put your blog link and name with it if you like (or you tell me how you want credit for the contribution). I'll also make the booklet available for a pdf download here when it's complete.
As you can see, my site is under construction...It's kind of plain right now, isn't it?
It's been months since I've been able to sit down in quiet and write on this blog. I've been to visit the Front Porch and also to read what a few of you on my friends list have been up to.
Our fall started off with our son proposing marriage to his girlfriend and our younger daughter's engagement being broken on the same Sunday. A week into the new school year, our 2 daughters, grandson, and I took a trip to Cincinnati to go to the zoo, aquarium, and Creation Museum. It was a wonderful way to help take our minds off the break-up, which was devastating to our daughter and sad for the whole family as the ex had been around for two years.
We lost our 12 year old English Springer Spaniel, Penny, to leptospirosis in early October. We still feel the loss--we got her when she was just 6 weeks old. That was the smartest dog I have ever seen.
Then I found out that our dear, sweet friend Vicky has breast cancer. She's had surgery and three chemo treatments so far. Vicky is a single mom of 2 kids, ages 18 & 15. Please say a prayer for her. The cancer is a very aggressive type. She lost her mother to it just after her diagnosis and she has to endure 18 months of chemo.
Just a little more into October our ds developed mono. He was extremely ill and couldn't eat for more than two weeks. He lost 24 pounds during the duration. I hardly left the house for a month except to take him to doctor's appointments.
Just as our son started recovering, our grandson got a nasty cold with fevers and the works. All this was right in the midst of Christmas cantata practice, so I pulled out. I missed two more weeks of church so my dh and oldest dd could attend choir rehearsal...dh had a reading part along with the singing and dd had two solos and a trio special. It went beautifully, by the way. The whole choir did a magnificent job!
All of the sudden December was upon us and I had to write a Sunday school lesson and a newsletter article for our church and try to organize our kitchen for holiday baking. **I got a beautiful Bosch compact mixer for Christmas, well, a week before...I had to try it out to make bread...cookies...muffins!**
Somewhere during all that rush my dh got a hen house built. He did a great job on it and our ds helped finish the shingling after he recovered some of his strength. We just have to paint it the next time we get a stretch of dry, warm air. I'm most impressed with the nesting boxes...my dh looked briefly at a sketch once and it's perfect! The "girls" love it. Just today I got 21!! eggs out of the nests.
When our dd2 gets back from her New Year's trip to NY with my camera, I'll upload some great pictures. I've got possum stories that need the pictures to fully explain.
I have managed to spend a little time here and there this month working on my ministry website, The Upward Call. I've added a blog and I will be offering a 5-minutes-a-day devotional starting January 1. I'm also looking for guest bloggers. Please visit and see if you have a word or two to share with ladies working on becoming Biblical homebuilders. Send me an email through this blog site or leave me a comment on the other and I'll get with you about topics, etc. Blogging @ The Upward Call
Blessings to you all! I'm so happy to be back here reading and writing!
As a writer I'm always looking for new ways of saying things. But sometimes I come across something that is exactly what I was looking to say. This is true today. My daily Bible study includes reading a devotion from Oswald Chambers' book My Utmost for His Highest. Originally published in 1935, this book has stood the test of time as a tool for encouraging Christians to grow into worthy Image-bearers. Today's devotion speaks right to what is going on in my family and I found such blessing in it that I wanted to share it with you.
The Purpose of Prayer
August 28
Key verse: "...one of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray...'"
Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person's life will suffer if he doesn't pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him,which is nourished not by food, but by prayer.When a person is born again from above, the life of the Son of God s born in him, and he can either starve or nourish that life. Prayer is the way that the life of God in us is nourished. Our common ideas regarding prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical purpose of prayer is the we may get to know God Himself.
"Ask, and you will receive..." (John 16:24). We complain before God, and sometimes we are apologetic or indifferent to HIm, but we actually ask Him for very few things. Yet a child exhibits a magnificent boldness to ask! Our Lord said, "...unless you...become as little children..." (Matthew 18:3). Ask and God will do. Give Jesus Christ the opportunity and the room to work. The problem is that no one will ever do this until he is at his wits' end. When a person is at his wits' end, it no longer seems to be a cowardly thing to pray; in fact, it is the only way he can get in touch with the truth and the reality of God Himself. Be yourself before God and present Him with your problems--the very things that have brought you to your wits' end. But as long as you think you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything.
To say that "prayer changes things" is not as close to the truth as saying, "Prayer changes me and then I change things." God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person's inner nature.
Just a few of my own closing thoughts: Life on earth is full of trial, since that day in the Garden when Eve thought that one taste of the forbidden was worth disbelieving the word of God. Nothing here will ever be like that beautiful time before the Fall. But God did not leave us without comfort and strength for the trials. Let me share a word of rest for the hurting straight from the inspired Word of our loving, heavenly Father:
From Philippians 4:6-8 (NASB):
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
What will God do when we reach our hand up to Him through our trouble or pain? He will pour out His peace like a waterfall over our hearts and minds.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
What can we do to keep hold of the rest He gives? Focus on Him and the words He gives.
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true (His Word, His Love, His Presence), whatever is honorable (the work He gives us to do), whatever is right (living our life as a reflection of Christ), whatever is pure (the life of Christ in us), whatever is lovely (the very face of God), whatever is of good repute (the faithfulness of God), if there is any excellence and if anything is worthy of praise (Jesus Christ and His perfecting work and activity in us), dwell on these things."
(All emphasis was added by me.)
Praise Him, Praise Him, Jesus our Blessed Redeemer!
We celebrated our son's 18th birthday yesterday and I made 2 cakes to suit the variety of tastes of our guests. If you have a stand mixer, you're ahead of me. I used a hand-mixer with only 3 speeds. The cakes required a bit of effort, but the taste far outweighed the work! I recommend that you follow the recipes along the steps as it seems to help the texture greatly. The best tip I found was toasting the pecans in the German Chocolate Cake. The pecans were fabulous, the aroma heavenly, and the texture divine. I'm going to toast my pecans the next time I make Toll House style cookies. Another tip is to measure out each ingredient before you start putting together the recipes. It made the whole project go smoothly as some things need to be added to the mixing bowl fairly quickly one after another and having them pre-measured made it simple. I used ramekins to put the small measurements in and cereal bowls for larger measurements.
I used top quality ingredients, organic if I could find them. The cakes are more expensive to make than box mixes, but I usually by an ice cream cake for parties for around $20. Making these cakes was about that amount and I am telling you, it was worth it!
The recipes came from the America's Test Kitchen website. This is a PBS television program. Access to the recipes is free~just register with your email address. The best part of the site is the America's Test Kitchen TV OnDemand. Here you can watch the episodes for a $20 per year subscription. The homepage has a link to a few free episodes. If you have high-speed internet (i.e., cable or dsl) you can watch all you want. If you're in the middle of making a recipe, you can go to the video and watch again how they do it.
I don't have pictures of the finished cakes...we got too eager for the Happy Birthday song and forgot to grab the camera. Here are what the slices looked like:
German Chocolate Cake~~~~~~~~Old Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake
The recipes have pictures at the end demonstrating some of the steps:
German Chocolate Cake with Coconut-Pecan Filling from the Episode: German Chocolate Cake
When you assemble the cake, the filling should be cool or cold (or room temperature, at the very warmest). To be time-efficient, first make the filling, then use the refrigeration time to prepare, bake, and cool the cakes. The toasted pecans are stirred into the filling just before assembly to keep them from becoming soft and soggy.
Serves 12 to 16
Filling
4
egg yolks
1
can evaporated milk (12 ounces)
1
cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1/4
cup packed light brown sugar (1 3/4 ounces)
6
tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces
1/8
teaspoon table salt
2
teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/3
cups sweetened shredded coconut (7 ounces)
1 1/2
cups finely chopped pecans (6 1/2 ounces), toasted on baking sheet in 350-degree oven until fragrant and browned, about 8 minutes
Cake
4
ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine
1/4
cup Dutch-processed cocoa , sifted
1/2
cup boiling water
2
cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces), plus additional for dusting cake pans
1. FOR THE FILLING: Whisk yolks in medium saucepan; gradually whisk in evaporated milk. Add sugars, butter, and salt and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is boiling, frothy, and slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl, whisk in vanilla, then stir in coconut. Cool until just warm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cool or cold, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. (Pecans are stirred in just before cake assembly.)
2. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chocolate and cocoa in small bowl; pour boiling water over and let stand to melt chocolate, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth; set aside until cooled to room temperature.
3. Meanwhile, spray two 9-inch-round by 2-inch-high straight-sided cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray paper rounds, dust pans with flour, and knock out excess. Sift flour and baking soda into medium bowl or onto sheet of parchment or waxed paper.
4. In bowl of standing mixer, beat butter, sugars, and salt at medium-low speed until sugar is moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula halfway through. With mixer running at medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down bowl halfway through. Beat in vanilla; increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds. With mixer running at low speed, add chocolate, then increase speed to medium and beat until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl once (batter may appear broken). With mixer running at low speed, add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream (in 2 additions), beginning and ending with dry ingredients, and beating in each addition until barely combined. After final flour addition, beat on low until just combined, then stir batter by hand with rubber spatula, scraping bottom and sides of bowl, to ensure that batter is homogenous (batter will be thick). Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; spread batter to edges of pans with rubber spatula and smooth surfaces.
5. Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard paper rounds. Cool cakes to room temperature before filling, about 1 hour. (Cooled cakes can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.)
6. TO ASSEMBLE: Stir toasted pecans into chilled filling. Set one cake on serving platter or cardboard round cut slightly smaller than cake, and second cake on work surface (or leave on wire rack). With serrated knife held so that blade is parallel with work surface, use sawing motion to cut each cake into two even layers. Starting with first cake, carefully lift off top layer and set aside. Using icing spatula, distribute about 1 cup filling evenly on cake, spreading filling to very edge of cake and leveling surface. Carefully place upper cake layer on top of filling; repeat using remaining filling and cake layers. If necessary, dust crumbs off platter; serve or refrigerate cake, covered loosely with foil, up to 4 hours (if refrigerated longer than 2 hours, let cake stand at room temperature 15 to 20 minutes before serving).
Step-by-Step: Assembling the German Chocolate Cake
1. With serrated knife, halve each cake evenly through equator.
2. Carefully lift off upper cake layer and set aside.
3. Evenly distribute about 1 cup filling on bottom cake layer.
4. Place next cake layer on top and repeat process.
Do not substitute semisweet chocolate chips for the chopped semisweet chocolate in the frosting—chocolate chips contain less cocoa butter than bar chocolate and will not melt as readily. For best results, don't make the frosting until the cakes are cooled, and use the frosting as soon as it is ready. If the frosting gets too cold and stiff to spread easily, wrap the mixer bowl with a towel soaked in hot water and mix on low speed until the frosting appears creamy and smooth. Refrigerated leftover cake should sit at room temperature before serving until the frosting softens.
Serves 10 to 12
Cake
12
tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), very soft, plus extra for greasing pans
1 3/4
cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces), plus extra for dusting pans
4
ounces unsweetened chocolate , coarsely chopped
1/4
cup Dutch-processed cocoa (3/4 ounce)
1/2
cup hot water
1 3/4
cups sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
1 1/2
teaspoons baking soda
1
teaspoon table salt
1
cup buttermilk
2
teaspoons vanilla extract
4
large eggs
2
large egg yolks
Frosting
16
ounces semisweet chocolate , finely chopped
8
tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/3
cup sugar
2
tablespoons corn syrup
2
teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4
teaspoon table salt
1 1/4
cups heavy cream (cold)
1. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch-round by 2-inch-high cake pans with softened butter; dust pans with flour and knock out excess. Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, and hot water in medium heatproof bowl; set bowl over saucepan containing 1 inch of simmering water and stir with rubber spatula until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup sugar to chocolate mixture and stir until thick and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Combine buttermilk and vanilla in small bowl. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk eggs and yolks on medium-low speed until combined, about 10 seconds. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar, increase speed to high, and whisk until fluffy and lightened in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Replace whisk with paddle attachment. Add cooled chocolate mixture to egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30 to 45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add softened butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing about 10 seconds after each addition. Add about one-third of flour mixture followed by half of buttermilk mixture, mixing until incorporated after each addition (about 15 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture (batter may appear separated). Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; smooth batter to edges of pan with spatula.
3. Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Cool cakes to room temperature before frosting, 45 to 60 minutes.
4. TO MAKE FROSTING: Melt chocolate in heatproof bowl set over saucepan containing 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside. Meanwhile, heat butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Increase heat to medium; add sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt and stir with heatproof rubber spatula until sugar is dissolved, 4 to 5 minutes. Add melted chocolate, butter mixture, and cream to clean bowl of standing mixer and stir to thoroughly combine.
5. Place mixer bowl over ice bath and stir mixture constantly with rubber spatula until frosting is thick and just beginning to harden against sides of bowl, 1 to 2 minutes (frosting should be 70 degrees). Place bowl on standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until frosting is light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir with rubber spatula until completely smooth.
6. TO FROST CAKE: Place one cake layer on serving platter or cardboard round. Spread 1 1/2 cups frosting evenly across top of cake with spatula. Place second cake layer on top, then spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Cut into slices and serve.
Step-by-Step: Secrets to Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake
MAKE CHOCOLATE PUDDING: Mixing chocolate, cocoa, water, and sugar into a "pudding" in a double boiler boosts the chocolate flavor and adds moisture.
RIBBON EGGS AND SUGAR: Whipping eggs and sugar on high speed until they form "ribbons" (thin strands of batter) adds volume and fluffiness.
TENDERIZE WITH BUTTER: Adding soft butter to the batter makes for a tender cake.
ALTERNATE DRY AND WET INGREDIENTS: Adding the dry and wet ingredients in small batches helps to develop a more consistent crumb.
Step-by-Step: Thermometer Watch: Getting the Frosting Just Right
STILL TOO WARM: At 75 degrees, the frosting won't set up properly once whipped.
JUST RIGHT: At 70 degrees, the frosting whips up to a billowy, creamy consistency.
TOO COOL: At 65 degrees, the mixture has cooled too much and seizes once whipped.
Is anyone out there in the Upper South or Mid-Atlantic states prepping a fall/winter garden. I've been searching seed sites and I think I'm going to try some garlic, Shvelisi (Chesnok Red) Hardneck Garlic from Seed Savers, in the winter garden. I'm looking at putting in some Buttercrunch lettuce and spinach in a cold frame. I'm also gonna spend a little time the rest of the week prepping another bed of peas...hoping for a last minute crop. I never tasted fresh peas before this season and I don't want to go back to canned if I can help it.
Any other suggestions for the winter garden or the cold frame. We're not very adventurous with lettuce. I'm about the only one who likes a little bite to my salad.
We're still getting okra from the garden. I've made my own cornmeal batter and they're better than any I've tasted at a restaurant. If we get a few more cool nights I might be able to start bringing in the pie pumpkins and the buttercup squash. The spaghetti squash has been a big hit with the chickens...but I haven't found a way to prepare it that the family likes. My son told me he only ate the casserole I made so he didn't hurt my feelings. I guess I'm going to set it all aside for the hens if I can't come up with a more creative (and tasty) way to serve it. My dear husband said the flavor was good, but the texture was odd. Suggestions? And of course, the tomatoes are going strong. I will have more than enough to can again in about a week.
Tonight's menu is:
Leftover brisket (from my dear son's 18th birthday party yesterday~~my husband is a wonder with a smoker grill!!)
Some homemade slaw
Sliced cucumbers
Sliced tomatoes, garden fresh
Maybe a bit of corn, if I can salvage any off the remaining stalks from our first planting
To drink...Sweet Tea, of course~~what else can a girl born in Mississippi and raised by a mother from South Carolina serve her family??? Although only my daughters (they get email updates of the blog) will know ahead of time that I'm starting to experiment with Stevia and will be gradually blending it with less and less sugar until maybe we'll be able to eliminate the sugar all together.
Dessert is leftover cake: German Chocolate Cake & Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake.
I'll post pictures & recipes of the cakes when my camera batteries finish charging.
I was skipping with joy at finding our first egg on Saturday morning. Later in the day I realized it was not the only egg Lucy had laid. I found another in a secure little shaded area behind the coop. I shared the excitement with everyone I talked to.
But then came Monday...
No egg.
And today...
No egg.
I looked over at Lucy and asked her why she was holding out on me. After enjoying my coffee and devotions I realized how ungrateful I have been. Over the last few months I have been witnessing a miracle straight from God's design. Lucy was a gift from a friend of my daughter. I raised her from a few days old and so enjoyed the process that I ordered two dozen more from McMurray Hatchery. I've gotten to enjoy watching them grow from fluff balls to miniature hens (they're six weeks old). I have been blessed with a dream that I've had for 15 years come true . We have a little piece of property that is fertile and my garden demonstrates the abundance. My children all still live at home and get to enjoy the farm we talked about when we were traveling the country with the Air Force, changing homes every 2-3 years.
I went with a couple of friends to look at some rural property a couple of weeks ago. I've had a hard time getting those 50 mountaintop acres out of my mind. With 20 flat acres and the rest wooded, it is a great place to do the whole Little House in the Big Woods life. We could probably afford to buy it next year, but what about the blessings God's given us right here. Why is it so hard for me just to enjoy what we have?
Evidently I've been trying to pray the prayer of Jabez ~ "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border..." 1 Chronicles 4:10.
Somehow contentment is the hardest virtue to achieve. The apostle Paul put in to clear words the lessons he learned from being a devoted follower of Christ ~ "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled..." Philippians 4:11-12.
So, my prayer today is this ~ Paul's words of gratitude: "But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied." Philippians 4:18. I want these words to become my theme no matter what the circumstances. I have Christ in my life....all the rest is, as we say in West Virginia, just gravy!
As I was putting my chickens back in the pen this evening, I chased one between the pen and the fence (about 2 feet wide). At the back of the space I found another egg from Lucy in a small depression she dug. It looks just like the one she laid today. I'm not sure how long it's been there. I don't think it's been there more than a couple of days. The space is in the shade at all times. A friend of mine who was a missionary to Scotland told me that Europeans don't put their eggs in the refrigerated section at the market. She says they last much longer than we in the US think. How can I tell if the egg is OK to use? It seems like such a miracle, I can't stand to have to throw it away.
Today Lucy, our nearly 5-mo old Rhode Island Red (see the pictures of her with our grandson from Wordless Wednesday), laid her first egg. I knew something was going on when she didn't meet me at the front of the pen and quarrel to be let out. She was sitting in a corner of the sheltered portion. I went over to see what she was doing and saw that she had dug out a small depression in the dirt. She'd been letting us pet her the past few days and I thought I knew what that was about although I really wasn't expecting her to start laying before mid-September. The books and websites said it would happen when a hen is about 5-1/2 months old.
The ground is fairly hard where she was setting (and I don't want her in the habit of laying eggs on the ground) so I got out a plastic bin I used for indoor seed starting and filled it with pine bedding. I placed it near where she had been. She almost immediately climbed in and began arranging the bedding to suit her. I watched in fascination for a while and then went to get my daughter and grandson. We sat watching and then decided to go in the house for breakfast. When I looked out the kitchen window Lucy was leaving the box and heading to where the rest of the chickens were eating. I walked back out to find this:
Of course I called for Heather and then carried Hunter out to see. It was a great time to talk about how God made Lucy so she could make eggs for us. I love real life teachable moments. The egg is about 2 inches long and I can tell from the feel that the shell isn't as hard as the cage-free eggs I buy at the market. But it is a perfect specimen. I am amazed at the beauty of God's creation.
After all the work of the morning, Lucy's back to acting like herself. I guess building the full-blown chicken house will have to take priority next week instead of next month.
>>>For those receiving this blog through email, follow this link to see the pictures: Morning Glory Farm(http://www.homesteadblogger.com/morninggloryfarm)
I was humbled yesterday at my naive confidence that reading a few books and websites were all it takes to become a chicken farmer. We don't have a hen house built, but we made a nice little area for our chicks to brood. I even extended their run out from under the canopied protection of tarps so they could explore and eat lots of bugs. 50% of our yard is covered with tree canopies. I felt that I had done everything to make the chicks safe...the cat couldn't get in and the dog wouldn't try and she would keep other varmints away. I even made my 2-year-old grandson stop jumping at them to see them run, in case his toddler balance failed at the wrong moment.
Yesterday morning as I calmly sat reading in my sunroom, a chicken hawk scooped out of the sky and killed one of my chicks. It didn't get away with any because I went screaming out the back door yelling like a banshee. But I was too late for the chick. The poor thing died from talon punctures to it's back. Needless to say, I needed a time out after that. My dd1 could see that I hadn't stopped shaking after 20 minutes and gave me a long and comforting hug.
I spent the day watching the skies and waited for my dh to come home with ideas for guarding the chicks. He found netting at a local hardware store and we put that up. It makes it difficult to get in the pen, but the package lists one of its uses for predator deterrent. So I'll put up with mussed hair every time I need to get in and the plans for the chicken coup now include a six-foot high covered enclosure. Somehow, that doesn't fit with my ideas for free range chickens, but my ds pointed out the direction he had seen a hawk's nest. It is just up the mountain aways across the creek behind our house. I'll have to modify my plans or stand watch every time they are loose.
That was a tough lesson to learn about pride and foolish over-confidence.
Here are a few pictures of our new flock of brown egg layers and my four month old Rhode Island Red, Lucy. I'll have to wait till they're a bit older to identify the individual breeds.
Day 1 - July 9: In the pool my grandson outgrew.
Day 4 - July 12: In my grandson's new pool. They started jumping up on the sides of the other one.
This is Lemon Chiffon (and me). She's the brightest of the four yellow chicks.
Like Nana. Hunter wanted to hold a chick "on my body."
This is a Turkan. It is has a bald neck and bottom. McMurray Hatchery has a large flock of these.
We got 3 of this breed, each different. This one's name is Fluffy.
Another Turkan, called Brittany Spears (see the resemblance to recent media photos?).
The third Turkan was sleeping when these were taken. She looks just like this one only black.
We call her Ruth Buzzy because she is so funny to watch.
Naptime.
Like me when I'm on a diet, "Jenny Craig" is dreaming of the next meal.
Remember the earlier pics of Lucy? This her at one week old hitching a ride on Penny's back...
Lucy today, almost four months old. She seems to want some of the attention the new chicks are getting. To appease her Heather is giving her a little taste of their starter feed.
Sort of like a toddler wanting just a taste of the new baby's food.
Hunter and Lucy.
For those of you receiving this in an email, here's the link to see the pictures: http://www.homesteadblogger.com/morninggloryfarm. Just copy and paste it into your browser's address bar. And my other blog is Typing One-Handed at http://patriciamariewarren.blogspot.com. Mom, don't forget to save the addresses to your favorites.
My chicks arrived Monday in full health. They are a mixed variety of brown egg layers plus one "free rare chick." I'm not sure if the rare one is male or female. For that matter, I'm not sure which one it is. I've been able to identify with a bit of certainty only 8 chicks: 5 Rhode Island Reds and 3 Turkans. I'll post pictures soon. The connector from my camera to my computer has gone missing. My sister took a picture of me holding a bunch of the girls (I mean chicks...I say "hello, girls" every time I go to the pen). Everyone commented on how they already think I'm "Mother Hen." They were soon climbing to my shoulders to take a nap. It's so much fun having chickens! I highly recommend a small flock for every homestead.
Lucy, my 4 month old Rhode Island Red, is curious about the newcomers. She takes a peek whenever I let her in the pen...only when I am able to watch her closely. She's a bit territorial and has already tried to peck at them in their little purple pool (my make-do brooder).
My flock will be quite big if I keep all of the chicks. 27 chickens are a lot for 1.5 acres. A friend of mine offered to buy all the ones I don't keep to get her flock back up to size. She doesn't want to do the brooding part. I think the Rhode Island Reds and maybe five of another breed (I have eleven of them - possibly White Orppingtons) may be getting a new home in a couple months.
My dear husband doesn't think I'll be able to part with them since they're already getting names according to their personalities or particular looks. (One of the Turkans has a tuft of black feathers on top of her head above her completely featherless neck and is quite funny to watch. She has a sort of buzzard look, so my sister suggested Ruth Buzzy.) One of the those I think is a White Orpington tends to fall asleep with her head on the feed trough. I'm calling her Jenny Craig, since food is apparently on her mind a lot. (If you're like me, diets only make food the prominent thought in your brain!)
The chicks are already trying to jump out of their pool. They grow at an amazing rate. They hatched around 12:50 a.m. on Saturday, July 7 at Murray McMurray Hatchery in Webster City, Iowa (all that information comes on the shipping box). They were at the Wayne, West Virginia post office on Monday morning, just little fluffy puffs of peeps. They now have grown feathers on their wings that are 1/2 inch long. I'm taking lots of pictures to document the speed of their growth. Now if I could just find that connector so I can post them............
Our 24 hens are laying 23 eggs a day. I'm giving away some, selling some, cooking some. When the eggs get more uniform in size, we're putting up a "Fresh Eggs for Sale" sign out by the road.
German Chocolate Cake~~~~~~~~Old Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake
Day 1 - July 9: In the pool my grandson outgrew.
Day 4 - July 12: In my grandson's new pool. They started jumping up on the sides of the other one.
This is Lemon Chiffon (and me). She's the brightest of the four yellow chicks.
Like Nana. Hunter wanted to hold a chick "on my body."
This is a Turkan. It is has a bald neck and bottom. McMurray Hatchery has a large flock of these.
Another Turkan, called Brittany Spears (see the resemblance to recent media photos?).
Naptime.
Like me when I'm on a diet, "Jenny Craig" is dreaming of the next meal.
Remember the earlier pics of Lucy? This her at one week old hitching a ride on Penny's back...
Lucy today, almost four months old. She seems to want some of the attention the new chicks are getting. To appease her Heather is giving her a little taste of their starter feed.
Hunter and Lucy.