I am so excited! The hubs agreed to try out maple tree tapping this year. We have about 5 maple trees in our yard. I only bought 6 taps, 3 per tree, just to give it a try.
Maple syrup making facts: which I do not claim to be the expert on by any means. These are just things I have researched and learned.
1.Depending on how much you know about the process of making maple syrup. You may or may not know that it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.
2.Sugar maple trees are the best because they have the highest sugar content, but you can also use Silver maple, red maple and boxelder tree sap. With the last three it will just take more sap to make the finished syrup.
What happens when you decide in the middle of winter that tapping your maple trees sounds like fun!!? You may run into a small problem, What kind of maple tree is it??? Did you know there were so many kinds of maple trees? I didn't. I mentioned 4 there are more than that. Some produce a milky sap that does not produce syrup. Some have a higher sugar content than others. Tell me how does one identify a maple tree with no leaves? Well I am going to try and if worse comes to worse I we will tap them and find out later. It will be mystery syrup....mmmmm :).
Here is the link to the taps I bought. http://andersonsmaplesyrup.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=464
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
How blessed am I
My dear sweet hubby went with me to the Indiana Home Educator's Convention. If you knew how he opposed home education from the get go you would see what a blessing this is. The end is closing in our first year of home schooling and it has gone wonderfully. Very rare were the days that I felt like throwing in the towel and many were the days of sheer wonder at my little childrens minds being enlightened. The hubs agreed at first to allow us to try out one year of home schooling. I believe now he is really starting to see the wonderfulness of it. If nothing else he can see that I love it and so do my kids.
Just the thought that he cares enough that he is willing to spend a day going to a conference that I know he wasn't looking forward to. Shows what a good husband and father he is! I am overcome with thankfulness!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Jungle Jim's a foodies paradise and much more
First of all I have been remiss to post an update. Every time I sat down to start typing I have just felt altogether uninspired. Kind of the theme for the last couple weeks of February for me. It will soon be over and signs of spring will be near and my spirits be lifted!
Today's adventures after schooling the kiddos. The hubs stayed home and worked then had to go to Ohio for something and asked if we wanted to go along and go to Jungle Jim's afterward. I would be a silly woman to pass up the opportunity to go to Jungle Jim's. What is Jungle Jim's you may ask? Just the biggest, coolest grocery store you have ever seen. They discribe it as "the 6 acre food lover's paradise" I would have to agree. For any cook it is heaven and dangerous all at the same time. It is also very entertaining for the kids. I meant to take pictures but never got around to it. You know that feeling of walking into Disney World as a kid? Well it is like that for an adult. The sounds the smells, the shear biggness is overwhelming and you don't know which direction to go first. They have EVERYTHING you could ever possibly want when it comes to food. To name a few; black truffles ($250), chicken feet, pig heads, ham that is $250 a lb, any produce and alot of it at great prices. The cheese section is as big a small grocery store. If ever you pass through Hamilton, OH I would highly recommend stopping by Jungle Jim's.
Today's adventures after schooling the kiddos. The hubs stayed home and worked then had to go to Ohio for something and asked if we wanted to go along and go to Jungle Jim's afterward. I would be a silly woman to pass up the opportunity to go to Jungle Jim's. What is Jungle Jim's you may ask? Just the biggest, coolest grocery store you have ever seen. They discribe it as "the 6 acre food lover's paradise" I would have to agree. For any cook it is heaven and dangerous all at the same time. It is also very entertaining for the kids. I meant to take pictures but never got around to it. You know that feeling of walking into Disney World as a kid? Well it is like that for an adult. The sounds the smells, the shear biggness is overwhelming and you don't know which direction to go first. They have EVERYTHING you could ever possibly want when it comes to food. To name a few; black truffles ($250), chicken feet, pig heads, ham that is $250 a lb, any produce and alot of it at great prices. The cheese section is as big a small grocery store. If ever you pass through Hamilton, OH I would highly recommend stopping by Jungle Jim's.
Since the last time I posted I have done OAMC (I know I know I promised two more posts about it and I will I will). Took my girlies and 3 nieces to a hotel, build a bear, out to eat and gave them all makeovers for sweet Macy's B-day.
Now that was a whirl wind of girl fun. Poor poor husband.
I made homemade pasta for the first time...
All strung up.
Basil fettuccini...mmmm
Chicken sauted in a garlic butter sauce. Thrown together with some of my sundried cherry tomatoes and parmasean. Served over my homemade basil fettuccine. Simply Delish!
After a a few learning curves the pasta was a cinch. I used the kitchen aid pasta attatchment to make it.
Still waiting on those baby goats to make their appearance. Mama looks like she could go any day. I have her penned up in the barn with lots of straw in one of the horse stalls. I am keeping a close eye on her and impatiently waiting!
Tomorrow is a busy Friday with Coop, theater, library and baking sweet rolls for the freezer with a friend. Come to think of it I have spent 3 days this week cooking with friends. There is not much better than spending the day in the kitchen with a friend. Making good food and have good times.
The highlight of my day was Macy (who is 5) when she noticed I was picking up some broccoli at Jungle Jim's proceded to shout "YAY, Broccoli!!!" now that is a great kid!
Good night, all!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Fess up Friday
Ok I'll play. Kendra at http://newlifeonahomestead.com/ has started fess up Friday so I decided to play along. Here are the rules she has laid out.
If you have a blog, and aren’t too embarrassed to spill the beans to millions of viewers, write up a short post confessing that less than perfect housekeeping secret you’ve been sweeping under the rug! Copy the Fess Up Friday logo and paste it into your post, then leave your link below to share with others!
This can be about cleaning “shortcuts”, mommy mistakes, recipe flops, forgetful minds… anything to get a laugh! I do reserve the right to delete any links to crude or inappropriate materials. Please leave a link directly to your Fess Up Friday post, and not your home page.
If you don’t blog, or would rather share your secrets anonymously (com’mon, they can’t be that bad!), you can leave your silly story in the comments section.
I’m not looking for a long post. Just a short admission reminding us all that we are all doing the best we can, and sometimes that just has to be good enough!! It won’t take long, and you’ll feel so much better getting it off your chest, *smiles*. So, you have no excuses!
My Confession
All this week and even now I am neglecting my duties and responsibilities for one reason or another. Mostly it has been garden related. With the recent cold frame, seed share planning and seed order I cannot get my mind out of my imaginary garden. That is sure to be a success come spring(lets cross our fingers). I have laundry(at least it is clean) that has been on my couch all week. Something my dear husband HATES. I have neglected to make dinner more than once this week. School has been at the bare minimum. Even now as I type here I should be getting ready for our Friday Science Coop. What the heck is wrong with me? I am lacking some serious focus and some major self-dicipline. In the famous words of Ren (from the Ren and Stimpy Show...LOL) "Pull it together MAN!"
If you have a blog, and aren’t too embarrassed to spill the beans to millions of viewers, write up a short post confessing that less than perfect housekeeping secret you’ve been sweeping under the rug! Copy the Fess Up Friday logo and paste it into your post, then leave your link below to share with others!
This can be about cleaning “shortcuts”, mommy mistakes, recipe flops, forgetful minds… anything to get a laugh! I do reserve the right to delete any links to crude or inappropriate materials. Please leave a link directly to your Fess Up Friday post, and not your home page.
If you don’t blog, or would rather share your secrets anonymously (com’mon, they can’t be that bad!), you can leave your silly story in the comments section.
I’m not looking for a long post. Just a short admission reminding us all that we are all doing the best we can, and sometimes that just has to be good enough!! It won’t take long, and you’ll feel so much better getting it off your chest, *smiles*. So, you have no excuses!
My Confession
All this week and even now I am neglecting my duties and responsibilities for one reason or another. Mostly it has been garden related. With the recent cold frame, seed share planning and seed order I cannot get my mind out of my imaginary garden. That is sure to be a success come spring(lets cross our fingers). I have laundry(at least it is clean) that has been on my couch all week. Something my dear husband HATES. I have neglected to make dinner more than once this week. School has been at the bare minimum. Even now as I type here I should be getting ready for our Friday Science Coop. What the heck is wrong with me? I am lacking some serious focus and some major self-dicipline. In the famous words of Ren (from the Ren and Stimpy Show...LOL) "Pull it together MAN!"
Thursday, February 18, 2010
~Farewell Franklin~ Mixed feelings
These are pictures of Franklin at 2 days old. He is now 10 months and much bigger.
Late last night I finally got the nerve to list my dear sweet Franklin on Craigslist. Franklin is my so ugly he is adorable, super lovable but oh so stinky buck pygmy goat. I love him dearly but with his mom and sister on the premesis it is not best for all involved that he be here. He has already inpregnated them once and that just cannot happen again. Also when the girls give birth I plan to milk and a buck near by will probably ruin my milk. Well the girls are due soon! They are really starting to show the signs of impending labor. So it is time to find Franklin a new home.
As I suspected it didn't even take 24 hours to find him a home. Good news is I had a 20 minute conversation with the man coming to get him. Come to find out the we both frequent the local Amish produce auction. My guess he was a 65 yr old country man and he had just the sweetest personality and we agreed to be auction buddies come next spring when the auction starts up again. (BTW when the auction does start again you will be getting filled in on the goings on every week. Last year was my first year. Not only is it addicting to get broccoli at 10 cents a head but you meet and interact with the cream of the crop of the farm world.) Max is his name and I am looking forward to meeting him. Though it will have to wait until auction season since he is picking up Franklin on Sunday and I will be out of town. I have a friend coming over to give Franklin to him. He told me his auction number 320 so I could find him, I think I have a new friend!
Monday, February 15, 2010
OAMC week- Once a Month Cooking-
Once a month I get together with a friend and we spend the entire day cooking up a storm. This is the week of OAMC for February. On an average OAMC day we prepare anywhere from 15 to 20 main dishes and 2 side or appetizer type items that will be frozen and used throughout the next month. I have been doing this for nearly a year now and I cannot live without it!!! It is an absolute life saver for a busy Mom or a busy anyone or for anyone who loves to cook good food and eat good, home cooked meals on a daily basis but doesn't nessecarily love, have the time or have the energy to spend 1-2 hours a day in the kitchen making it happen; or someone who wishes they didn't have to eat out so much because of their busy scheduele because it is not healthy or is too expensive; or if you want to reduce the amount of grocery trips you have to take in a month; or if you spend half of your grocery budget in the frozen food section; or even if you just want to reduce you grocery budget. Did I mention that we make all these meals for and average of $50 a month!?! You may be asking but how?? Haha! that is a loaded question than MANY a person has asked me to answer. I have had MANY people ask if they could come do this with me or just come to observe or could I teach them how to do it. I have to usually turn them down. I feel bad but I cannot take the time to teach countless people all that is involved in this. Some day I may have the spare time but at this phase in my life I do not.
So lucky you I am going to share with you the best I can VIA blog on the ins and outs of my OAMC process. I will put up a few posts this week walking you through it with me.
First:
Decide if you want to do this by yourself or with a partner. I personally love to spend time with people. It adds motivation for me. Then you also get to have another persons recipes and opinions to help break up the dulrums of the same ole same ole for dinner. Now there are some KEY elements in picking you partner. Now if you are unlike me and are a self motivated person then you are probably able to tackle this on your own.
If you choose to go with partner here are the 3 KEYS
1: You need to have similar budget ideas. If one person like the finest cuts of beef at $6 a lb and you prefer to only buy meat if it is $.99 a lb or less (that is me BTW) then it will probably become an issue.
2: You need similar food tastes. Again if you just love your grandma's casserole recipes but they prefer filet mingion then there will most likely be conflict.
3: Speaking of conflict that is #3. You both have to be willing to work respectfully through conflict. Trust me you put two women in a kitchen for 12 hours month after month, you WILL have conflict. You will do things differently and you have to be able to let things go and if it is an issue you cannot let slide you have to be able to handle it with grace and love.
Second:
Find your recipes. Over the past year I have accummulated a decent amount of recipes that are OAMC compatible. You would be surprised what can be frozen pulled out heated up and taste like you spent all day in the kitchen. I started by looking through all the recipes that I know my family loves and seeing if they would work. Most do! It is just a matter of figuring out the best stopping place for the recipe to freeze. Then my partner does the same. After that depending on how many recipes you come up with you can scour the internet for any additional ones you want to try. From my experience with trying new recipes you have to have an open mind. Especially with a partner. I have decided I can try almost anything once and if it is a flop then I don't have to do it again. There have been a few flops but hey you have to live and learn.
Then you need to look through what recipes you have come up with and decide the final list. A few things to keep in mind when making your final decision.
1. Sales, what we do is find out what is on sale at the price we are willing to pay usually $.99 a lb or less. We will splurge on 1 or 2 recipes a month where the meat cost more but still under $2 a lb and rarely $3 a lb. Then we pick what recipes we will do according to the sale.
2. Variety. Do you want to eat chicken 17 times this month? If not, make sure you pick a variety of meals to prepare.
3. Time involved in each recipes preparation. It is fine to have 5 meals that require a large amount prep time but you also need to put in 5 that are just marinade type recipes that take minimal prep time and 7 that only require a medium amount of prep.
Ok that is enough work for one day. Tomorrow I will touch on making the grocery list/layout and shopping day. Susan and I are doing our shopping tomorrow and cooking on Wednesday. I will not be posting on Wednesday unless it is late in the evening and I am proping my feet up after a long but productive day. Over the next couple days I will also post a list of recipes that we use, how we decide where we cook and why and money handling. Then finally a Q and A. If I have any questions regarding any of this I will answer them on Friday.
So lucky you I am going to share with you the best I can VIA blog on the ins and outs of my OAMC process. I will put up a few posts this week walking you through it with me.
First:
Decide if you want to do this by yourself or with a partner. I personally love to spend time with people. It adds motivation for me. Then you also get to have another persons recipes and opinions to help break up the dulrums of the same ole same ole for dinner. Now there are some KEY elements in picking you partner. Now if you are unlike me and are a self motivated person then you are probably able to tackle this on your own.
If you choose to go with partner here are the 3 KEYS
1: You need to have similar budget ideas. If one person like the finest cuts of beef at $6 a lb and you prefer to only buy meat if it is $.99 a lb or less (that is me BTW) then it will probably become an issue.
2: You need similar food tastes. Again if you just love your grandma's casserole recipes but they prefer filet mingion then there will most likely be conflict.
3: Speaking of conflict that is #3. You both have to be willing to work respectfully through conflict. Trust me you put two women in a kitchen for 12 hours month after month, you WILL have conflict. You will do things differently and you have to be able to let things go and if it is an issue you cannot let slide you have to be able to handle it with grace and love.
Second:
Find your recipes. Over the past year I have accummulated a decent amount of recipes that are OAMC compatible. You would be surprised what can be frozen pulled out heated up and taste like you spent all day in the kitchen. I started by looking through all the recipes that I know my family loves and seeing if they would work. Most do! It is just a matter of figuring out the best stopping place for the recipe to freeze. Then my partner does the same. After that depending on how many recipes you come up with you can scour the internet for any additional ones you want to try. From my experience with trying new recipes you have to have an open mind. Especially with a partner. I have decided I can try almost anything once and if it is a flop then I don't have to do it again. There have been a few flops but hey you have to live and learn.
Then you need to look through what recipes you have come up with and decide the final list. A few things to keep in mind when making your final decision.
1. Sales, what we do is find out what is on sale at the price we are willing to pay usually $.99 a lb or less. We will splurge on 1 or 2 recipes a month where the meat cost more but still under $2 a lb and rarely $3 a lb. Then we pick what recipes we will do according to the sale.
2. Variety. Do you want to eat chicken 17 times this month? If not, make sure you pick a variety of meals to prepare.
3. Time involved in each recipes preparation. It is fine to have 5 meals that require a large amount prep time but you also need to put in 5 that are just marinade type recipes that take minimal prep time and 7 that only require a medium amount of prep.
Ok that is enough work for one day. Tomorrow I will touch on making the grocery list/layout and shopping day. Susan and I are doing our shopping tomorrow and cooking on Wednesday. I will not be posting on Wednesday unless it is late in the evening and I am proping my feet up after a long but productive day. Over the next couple days I will also post a list of recipes that we use, how we decide where we cook and why and money handling. Then finally a Q and A. If I have any questions regarding any of this I will answer them on Friday.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Garden lovers check it out: DIY cold frame
I am so excited! Today we put together a cover for my garden box to create a cold frame. It cost about $20 and was about 2 hours work. Thanks to my wonderful, strong and handy hubby.
Step one: Draw out plans
Step two: remove the mound of snow from the top of the garden box.
Step three watch my hot hubby cut the pieces of wood.
Step four: Lay out the frame.
Step five: Screw together frame and repeat for opposite side of box.
Ahhh it all fits perfectly!
Step six: Staple plastic to the frame.
It is a group effort!
Viola!! Finished!!
This is two seperate pieces with blocks to stablize them on each end. Both sides prop up in the center for the particularly sunny days. I am hoping to have some lettuce growing in them soon!!!
Looking forward to learning how to utilize this. I also received my copy of "Square Foot Gardening" book today that I ordered. I used Mel's method last year and now I am hooked but I just finally got my own book. Also got "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" which is awesome considering I returned the copy to the library yesterday. Now I need to start studing up on how to garden in a cold frame. If anyone has any tips I would greatly appreciatet them.
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