rhubarb bluebells and turkeys

Celebrating Christmas

2012-01-05T14:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas Swiss style. We cut the tree on Dec. 22, decorate it on Christmas eve afternoon and place the presents underneath.. All except Karl go to Christmas evening church service, Karl stays home and makes a swiss fondue! After service the tree is lit, the meal is served, starting with foie gras and a splendid Sauternes brought from France. Then the fondue, served with French bread cubes, new potatoes, pears and a white wine. Dessert is Christmas cookies and Swiss chocolates.

Christmas morning we rise late, prepare breakfast, it's really a brunch. in the dining room beside our beautiful lighted tree. This year we made Karla's French Toast casserole, sausages, and fruit salad. After which the gifts are opened with much excitement and comments. Next: Christmas music videos /or football! yes football! are watched by the men. The ladies are in the kitchen preparing the turkey and stuffing for the evening Christmas dinner.

We enjoy our beautiful tree till January 6, when we sadly say goodbye to it, and replace the ornaments in their storage boxes for another year.

Country curtains

2011-11-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

I have always loved country curtains. Unbleached muslin trimmed with little fuzzy balls hanging on the fringe- that's perfect! I remember curtains like this in our farm cottage, when I was a child.

In the 1960s I found them again at Country Curtains shop in Connecticut, when came across a small black and white ad for Country Curtains in the back pages of the New Yorker magazine, and ordered some to grace the windows in our big old house in Westchester Counnty.

The ones in the dining room were made (by me) of unbleached muslin and ball fringe.

It just feels comfy having them.

Rhubarb, strawberries &......

2011-05-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

Our strawberries started ripening last week, and there is still plenty of rhubarb in the garden. Now is the perfect time for a fresh strawberry rhubarb pie. I used a new pie crust recipe, one I found in

"From Our House to Your House"

a spiral-bound cookbook from Southwestern Historical District, Troy Ohio 1987.

Troy was the birthplace and family home of my mother-in-law, a beautiful town well worth visiting!

PIE CRUST

"The recipe won first prize at the Ohio State Fair some years ago. A never-fail pie crust every time"

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1-1/8 cups shortening (or 1-1/4 cup for extra rich crust)

1 egg

5 tbsp water

1 tsp vinegar

In a bowl, cut shortening into flour and salt.

In a small bowl, mix together egg, water and vinegar and pour into flour mixture.

Mix well until dough forms.

Roll out on well-floured board or pastry cloth.

Makes 3 single pie crusts. Can be frozen uncooked.

I found this dough a bit flaky and not too easy to roll out. But worth it, it is very tender and tasty!

Goslings!

2011-05-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

Poppi and Cookie hatched 3 goslings! Poppi has found a hole in the fence that the geese can squeeze through and parade around the yard.Our geese are so graceful and beautiful. They come when you call them, and they go in their house at nightfall but only if you call out NightNight to them.

2011-04-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

"Daffodils" (1804)

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

_______________________________

Hester

2011-01-19T20:32:00.000-08:00

Hester came to us in May 2002. A beautiful full grown hen who laid blue eggs. She was a willing partner for our roo the minute he saw her, and hatched two sets of baby chicks that summer and every summer thereafter. One summer she even set 3 hatches, and she once set a turkey egg and mothered the poult! She was an excellent Mom a good protectrice who chased the cats all the way to the barn if they even looked at her chickies!

Hester was our Alpha Hen, which meant that no other hens chased her or her babies away from the feed.

We lost her late fall this year...sure miss our Hester. The tiny chick on the right would be Angel, who the kids fed angel hair spaghetti later that summer and who grew up to be a tiny rooster, and quite tame.

Vegan Cupcakes rule the world

2010-12-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

Katy came to stay with us over Thanksgiving weekend college break, as her home is on the other side of the USA! It was also her birthday! hmmmm I've never made a vegan cake. Anyway I found this vegan cupcake recipe on line ... and voila, Katy's birthday cake. Really good too.

Tarte aux pommes

2010-09-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

Made this French apple tart today. Here it is hot out of the oven, still in the pan!

The apples were picked at Charlie's Apples, a local orchard that is all organic.

Smaller apples and early harvest are due to the exceptionally hot, dry summer here.

Anyway.... I couldnt find my recipe so ended up winging it since I have made it lots of times!

Think tho it was a mistake to make a pate sucree, should have been a pate brisee but at least it rolled out nicely for me. For once.

Pets or holiday dinner

2010-09-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Brandy, our Black Spanish turkey hen, hatched seven poults in May. They grew like weeds and turned out to be beautiful, healthy birds that love the outdoor life.

Papa turkey, Mr Puff, being a Blue Slate: four of the poults are Blue Slate, three are Black Spanish, two with a teeny splash of white. We have them listed for sale at $10 each!

Tomatoes are ripening

2010-08-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

About time to start canning tomatoes, freezing tomatoes, making tomato sauce, tomato paste,

tomato catsup, salsa.

Home-Made Jar toppers

2010-08-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

The sewing machine is out! I am making jar toppers to decorate jars of home-made jellies, jam, pickles, relish, and more! I love to share my harvest... as small gifts for holidays and special occasions!

I made these yesterday, will make more today, along with some sachet hearts for scented herbs.

2010-08-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

Harvest moon is on its way. Tomatoes are coming on now.

Today's harvest: Black Kris tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, shelly beans, zinnias

July onions

2010-08-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Onions that were planted April 1.... Candy onions (Amish onions) and Stuttgart onions (good keepers).

Jelly making

2010-06-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

Fresh picked black raspberries and red currants from the garden, ready to be made into Jelly.
I boil the berries till the skins pop, then press the berries through a sieve to eliminate the seeds.

Measure the juice obtained, add an equal amount of sugar and bring to a boil, The red currants will jell in 5 minutes, raspberries take a bit longer. Pour into half pint jars and waterbath them for 10 minutes.
Home made jellies are... the best!

Sold today from my Etsy shop

2010-06-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Emanual Ungaro silk scarf, from Paris

Black raspberry jam

2010-06-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at our black raspberry bushes. They are over 5 ft tall. The berries should start ripening now and be ready to eat by the end of June.

We will need to net them or the deer and birds will take them from us.

The berries are full of pectin, so I usually add just sugar and cook to the jell stage, pour the jelly iuto jars and seal them.

oscellated turkey

2010-05-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

of course a lot of us would love to have at least one of these, gracing our property, but these turkeys are tropical and not really affordable!

Cod Florentine

2010-03-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

My favorite fish recipe!

The recipe calls for some filets of cod,

broiled till flaky, in a little white wine, S&P and butter.

Add pkg of creamed spinach on top, cover with grated swiss cheese, put it back under the broiler till the cheese starts to bubble and brown.. Serve over rice.

Yummy.

Here, I used tilapia instead of sole (we have tilapia), made my own creamed spinach with frozen garden spinach,(we don't buy supermarket veggies) used gouda cheese (we have gouda cheese)

I used basmati rice, it is my favorite.

ETSY

2010-02-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

What is ETSY?
What can you buy on ETSY?
Why would you buy ETSY items?

ETSY is an online shopping site where you can buy and sell hand made arts and crafts, vintage clothing and household items.

Why shop on Etsy... why not just go to Walmart?

Etsy is full of amazing and beautiful things, hand crafted with care and creativity and vintage items worth keeping and using. You can buy unique custom made jewelry and clothing: knitted hats and scarfs, baby clothes, dog clothes, hand made pottery, paintings, porcelain and much much more. Etsy sellers wrap your purchase in pretty paper, place a small hand made gift in the package for you, they care! you are more than just another sale to them... I should say "us" - I am one of over 350,000 Etsy sellers....
I love selling, and buying, on Etsy.

The name of my shop is lavendarblue.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lavendarblue

Still snowing!

2010-02-06T08:21:00.000-08:00

Well yes, more snow!

2010-02-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

It has snowed 2 inches in the last two hours, and more snow expected to fall for the next 18 hours. We may get 8 inches of the white stuff. The chickens, turkeys, and cats are safe in the barn. The cats don't really like snow as much as they thought they would, and the birds hate it, except for the geese, who seemingly don't mind a bit.

M is off to the big city to a fraternity lunch---like the geese, he will take his chances. Good day for me to make chocolate chip cookies, then work on my Etsy shop listings.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lavendarblue

First snow experience

2010-01-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

Early January .....Shadow and Snuggles had never seen this much snow - they loved it!!

Orange Soup

2010-01-18T16:30:00.000-08:00

Karla's orange soup, from a traditional recipe that came from her great grandmother, in Poland.

January thaw but not quite

2010-01-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

The Fla kids had a great time sledding, doing snow angels, throwing snowballs. They made a snowman!!

Seed catalogs have arrived

2010-01-13T09:56:00.000-08:00

Tho I have plenty of seeds saved from last year, I am busy perusing the new seed catalogs.

Bountiful Harvest and Seedsavers are my favorites.

Time to plan the 2010 garden... One bed is red currant bushes. Red currants do well for me and I love the jelly. Easy to make too:

Strain the juice, add sugar and cook for 10 minutes. No need for surejell, the fruits are full of pectin. Put into jars, waterbath for 10 minutes, and store. You will love having this in January.

Sunbirds and turkeys

2010-01-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

Florida kids are coming here to see snow!!

Much as I am sick of looking out every day at snow, I hope it won't melt before next week!

Turkey is on the menu.

These 5 were hatched by Brandy, our Black spanish hen. Dinner will be one of them.... they all went into our freezer. Brandy loves babies, she will hatch more next year... the Good Lord Willin and the creek don't rise!

Vintage collectible Hand made yoyo coverlet or tablecloth

2010-01-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

I just put this pretty yoyo throw in my Etsy shop!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38195873

April's end

2008-04-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

Beautiful spring this year. Blossoming are: the cherry tree, the apple, peach, plum trees, the crab apple tree, the magnolia in the front yard, the golden forsythia just finishing. Blooming are the tulips and narcissus, the yard grass is filled with yellow dandelions and blue violets. Spring Beauties bloom in the woods, and cemetery.