Growing Your Own Garlic

Growing, Harvesting and Storing Garlic

It’s the end of March and I have the worst case of cabin fever I have ever experienced. We've had an unusually hard long winter here in Ohio, and all across the Midwest, with temperatures remaining well below freezing and even well below zero for long extended periods of time, ugh.  Usually our snow melts after a few days, but not this year. 

Gardening and seed catalogs are arriving in my mailbox nearly every week.  But most days, it’s almost too cold to walk down the lane to the mail box!

I am already planning the lay out of the vegetable garden and what I need to plant, one of which is garlic. We love garlic and I use it in many recipes and dishes.

St. Augustine, Florida

What To See And Do In St. Augustine, Florida

We have taken a few trips to this beautiful little city.  I hope this blog post might help if you were thinking about St. Augustine as a vacation destination.  There is something for everyone in St. Augustine including beaches, historical sites, dining, lighthouses, parks, fishing charters, beautiful sunsets, alligators and shopping to name a few. 

The best way to see the downtown area is on foot but the kids really enjoyed renting bikes for the day and exploring all the back alleys, narrow roads and waterfronts.

We’re from the north so the best time for us to visit is anytime from Christmas until Spring Break, when in Ohio there is snow on the ground and howling winds.  It makes the sunny 80 degree days in Florida seem like heaven.

Irish Colcannon

My Twist On An Old Favorite

It’s March and nearly St. Patrick’s Day.  For our March book club we're reading Angela’s Ashes, which discusses food a lot, including cabbage and potatoes.  (Or more, the lack of them).

Although my family enjoys this dish throughout the year, its most commonly associated with St. Patrick’s Day.  Colcannon is a unique and simple potato dish and is unmistakably an Irish comfort food.
It traditionally includes green cabbage mixed with hot, floury mashed potatoes and butter. Let’s not forget the butter.  Potatoes came to Ireland from South America, and by 1688, they had become a staple of the Irish diet.

Goat Birthing

Our First Goat Birth At The Farm:

We have 2 Saanen does and one Alpine buck to use for personal small scale milk production.  One of my Saanens, Miss Claudia Milkmouth was pregnant and nearly due so I was keeping a closer eye on her than normal.

Her udder had swollen in the last few days and she appeared thinner as her flanks had become sunken. Just as in humans, this happens due to the relaxation of the pelvic muscles in order to facilitate birth.

This morning was typical, with me making the normal rounds, doing the farm chores.  Usually the goats rush the door in anticipation of feeding times but this morning Claudia held back.  She seemed a little lethargic and did not attempt to eat.

I continued with the chores, periodically checking on Claudia and noticed a little while later her standing under a pine tree in a slightly squatting position.  I have had children, and distinctly remember the pressure and urge to push, which seemed to be what she was doing.

Pretty sure she was in labor; I called my husband Bill down to the barn to help me get her into a prepared birthing stall.

Cherry Brandy (Visinata)

Bottled and ready to serve

Easy Homemade Cherry Brandy (Visinata)

Vişinată is a Romanian homemade alcoholic beverage made from sour cherries, and since it is homemade, there really is no "official" recipe for it.

This sipping drink is traditionally drank on Christmas morning.

This is a drink I share with friends and family during the fall and winter holidays.  It has a very smooth pleasant taste equally enjoyed by people who enjoy dry wine or people who enjoy sweet wine.

Just a word of caution:  This is a very smooth drink and sometimes is mistakenly thought to have a low alcohol content.  The women at our Crafting Circle Christmas Party got a “snoot full”, as my mother used to say.  There was much singing, gaiety and shenanigans needless to say.

Chicken Stock

Easy to Make Homemade Chicken Stock.
At the heart of every great soup is a stock base. Broth is really the same as stock, just with salt added. Commercially made stock is called broth, (salt added) and is convenient, I know. There are now even a few brands that are natural and organic.  But the flavor is lacking, there is just no comparison to homemade stock, and many commercial brands are high in sodium.  And bland tasting, did I mention that?

Chicken stock is a must have pantry stocking item because it can be used in soup, sauces, gravies, used for simmering meats, added to casseroles and flavors endless recipes.  

Have you tried it in mashed potatoes? Yum!

And making the stock at home is actually pretty easy.

Anytime you bake a whole chicken, fry a cut up chicken or have leftovers,

Chair Rail and Kitchenette

Installing Chair Rail and Creating a Kitchenette:

We purchased our little farm a couple years ago and have been remodeling the house ever since.  We have an area in our lower level (basement) that makes no sense what so ever. This room is off the Man Cave and Mud Room, and has a winding staircase that leads upstairs.
I decided to make it a usable space by adding bookshelves and a kitchenette.
The “new” kitchenette area had to wait until we remodeled our main floor kitchen so I could reuse the old cabinets.

While waiting, I began refinishing the walls of this LL room.  One wall is drywall and 3 walls are finished with wood  paneling, in excellent condition but

Apple Cider Vinegar, The Magic Elixir

Why Use Apple Cider Vinegar?

Vinegar is a “staple food” stocked in my pantry and I’ve been using it for various things for years. 

But not until my daughter Alexis developed what looked like a skin rash that later left discolored spots on her skin, did we discover the health benefits and the many other uses for vinegar.

In recent years, Apple Cider Vinegar has once again become popular as we look for healthier more natural ways to heal ourselves without all the chemicals and side effects.  Vinegar is being used as an especially helpful cleaner and as a health and beauty aid.

There are many different types of vinegar on the market.  Some include rice wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and white distilled vinegar. 

Raspberry Sponge Cake

Valentine's Day Easy-Peasy Raspberry Sponge Cake

Let me just put this out there: 
I love raspberries and desserts with raspberries. 

I like them on salads and with breakfast cereal or oatmeal. 
But wait, I love them with ice cream too!

This could go on forever……

This is a pretty vertical recipe, meaning you can use many different types of fruit.  Blackberry is wonderful and another of my favorites,  but try apples for autumn, it delicious too. 

And this is a perfect dessert to serve after a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner.  Or serve it to guests at a tea party, dinner party, book club or garden party, etc.
But serve it…… all of it…… to other people.
Do not make it,
and then eat nearly the entire thing,
over a two day period.
Do Not……

Pantry Stocking List

Easy and Doable Pantry Stocking List

My sister Julie Buskirk is my guest blogger today. 
She emailed me an idea for blog post a few months back about a list to stock a pantry or making a food “staples” list.  She had also sent her email to a local newsletter and they printed it. 
Here is her guest blog post:

Pantry Stocking:

These days, there doesn't seem to be many cookbooks talking about lists of basic "Staple” food items families should have on hand in the kitchen or pantry.  I have a few older cookbooks I started out my young married life with.  

Those cookbooks taught me what I needed to stock up on first, before teaching me cooking techniques and recipes.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Delicious Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup.
It is indisputable that the mushroom is a strong contender for the #1 spot as a Super Food! The mushroom provides tons of health benefits and is maybe even better than most vegetables.  Mushrooms are different than vegetables because they provide nutrients in amounts not usually found in vegetables.  For instance,  a single serving of mushrooms provides more than 20% of the daily needs for six essential nutrients: riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, copper and selenium.

We cook with mushrooms a lot and really love Mushroom Soup on cold Ohio afternoons.  Most recipes
I've tried make small single serving batches and most just didn't have that strong earthy mushroom taste I love.

Milking Stand / Stanchion

Building a Stanchion or Milking Stand.
Our goddaughter Shelby and her husband Dave gave us three baby goats last November.

Miss Claudia Milk Mouth, Gretel Buckleberry and Fetus

They are now grown and my youngest goat, the beautiful Miss Claudia Milk Mouth is going to have a baby!

We’re in the middle of a kitchen remodel along with all the other zillion chores around the farm so I just haven’t gotten around to building a milking stand. 
A milking stand is used to immobile a goat for milking and for hoof trimming and vet visits.  The same type of stand can also be used for sheep and sheep sheering.

Debra's Stuffed Peppers

My sister Debra passed away three years ago. Her Birthday is in September so in honor of her I decided to share one of my favorite summer recipes. 

She was a fantastic cook, but didn't write down her recipes, so all were lost when we lost her. Although I did not have a copy of Debra’s recipe,  I created this one to copy the peppers she would bring to our parties and family gatherings.  She used Anaheim peppers which are a little on the hot side.  

Summer Tomato Sandwich

These are wonderful summer sandwiches,  extremely easy to throw together and oh so delicious.

My husband's friend Roger gave us this recipe. 
During the autumn months Bill and Roger sometimes watch a few football games together on Saturdays,  but during the summer months they sit outside at Roger's Antique store. 

While sitting in the beautiful gardens Roger built, the two of them solve all the world problems, and work up quite an appetite. Roger usually whips them up a couple of these.

I have been hooked ever since Bill showed me how Roger makes them.

Hillside Sidewalk and Stairs

We have a slope on one end of our ranch style home.  Our garage is under the dining room on that end of the house.

There wasn't a patio here when we purchased our house 2 years ago.   And no walk from the back door down to the garage.

Nothing but a worn path through the grass, which has mostly turned into DIRT.  Ugh!

Last year we had a stamped concrete patio installed, but that still did not solve the problem of a walk and stairs down to the garage.

A couple months ago my son called from a construction job site where he was working so I could salvage the large 6 x 6 x 10 pressure treated beams from a playground being torn up.