Knock, Knock...Who's There?

About 8 months ago, there was a knock at my door. I had just put on my bathing suit, as I was headed outside to the hot tub. I thought it was my neighbor so I answered in my towel. Nope, not my neighbor. Instead it was 2 people decked out in their Sunday best. My mind raced ...who are these well dressed, smiling people on my porch. Then it struck me...I had just opened my door to the Jehovah's Witnesses. 

I am not one to slam the door in peoples faces, so I stepped out on the porch to talk. We had spoken for about 2 minutes, when I realized I still was wearing nothing but a swim suit and towel. I wonder how that looked to them. They probably were horrified at the sight. But we keep talking.  I have a strong faith, but will admit it has been some time since the local church had seen my face. But the Jehovah's Witnesses!? come on, total cult, now standing at my door. What should I do, I pondered. Close the door and run? Tell them thanks, but no thanks? Sell the house and move? 

Next thing I knew they were in the house, on the couch and I was sharing cookies. We talked. We laughed. I cried. Not once did I feel that they were going to make me drink some "Kool-Aid". Not once did I feel like I should shave my head and put on a robe. Nope, these people just wanted to share the Bible with me. To talk about God. They even looked up everything in the bible. My Bible. I am not sure that everyone in the Jehovah's Witnesses organization is like the kind, non-judgmental, loving people that have showed up at my home. However, I can say that for the past 8 months they (I probably have met 10 different witnesses) have come into my house once a week, and have studied the Bible with me. Not lectured me. Not judged me. Just studied with me. I have learned a lot. I continue to learn a lot. I think they have even learned a thing or two from me (I do make a great cup of tea). I know that God sent these people to my door that day. I know that God is at our study group. I also know I am so thankful I answered the door that day. 

Next time someone knocks on your door, don't hide behind the couch, go and answer the door. Worse case, you say "thank you", and go about your day. Best case, maybe you find that these strangers help you learn more about God and his kingdom. I know that by simply opening up the door that day, I have become a better person, I have a stronger relationship with God and I have found some amazingly kind people that I am proud to call friends. 

If you are interested in having a Bible study group, but don't want to wait for the knock on the door, you can request a Bible study online. If you have questions about the organization check out the Jehovah's Witnesses website.

New Giveaway

I am so excited to bring you a new giveaway.
Perfect for any kitchen, the giveaway will make any chef smile. So make sure to check it out.  I just think it is so beautiful! It would almost be a shame to use it...but I bet I could get past that. :)

John Boos Co Cutting Board Giveaway 

Christmas Tree Up

So excited. Our Christmas Tree is up. Isn't it beautiful! My husband did such a great job. It makes me smile :)

Christmas Decorations

Put up the Christmas Lights on the trees in the yard today. I am so pleased. The freshly falling snow has settled on the branches, and it looks magical.  God Bless!

Winter Wonderland

Woke up today to the most beautiful scene. While we slept, the fog in the area froze and the trees were blanketed by the most intricate ice/frost. It was just gorgeous. I know the photos do 

not do it justice, but still wanted to share...

..

AMAZING!!! 

Gingerbread Cookies and "Divine" Hot Chocolate

Today my husband made Gingerbread Cookies, and divinity. I love the cookies! The divinity was very sugary, so I decided to make hot chocolate and have the divinity be the "marshmallows". It was divine for sure!  

Divine Hot Chocolate and Gingerbread Cookies

Iced Tea

You have heard of Sun Tea... in the north we drink ICED tea...literally. 

I LOVE tea. I drink a lot of Raspberry Tea in the summer and switch to Chai tea for the winter. I like tea, iced. I am not a fan of hot drinks (except for hot chocolate). So today I made some chai and wanted to cool it fast so I could drink it. I looked outside, and decided the snow would do the trick.  20 minutes later, best iced tea ever!!  

ICED Tea ;)

Firewood sled

Winter is definitely upon us. We do most of our home heating with wood, which my husband cut, chopped and stacked during the summer. The wood shed it about 100 yards from the house. Not to big of a deal...until he has to hand carry the wood, in the snow/ice. He had to make about 10 trips, to fill up our wood rack in the house.  

We decided to buy a sled to fill with the idea we could stack wood on the sled and drag it to the house. 

I started shopping. Went to Walmart and the cheapest sled was $26.  Seriously...$26?!?!  Not only was it ridiculously expensive but it was a flimsy plastic and would not have been ideal. So instead...we bought a $10 oil drip pan, bent the front edge so it would not get stuck in snow, and used 4 screws to attach a tote to the pan, and added a rope. Now we have the BEST firewood sled. Thought I would share it. Hope it helps someone else.  

Firewood Sled - Saves time and my back!

Birds in flight

Today I was playing outside with the chickens. Dolly (in white) decided the snow was too cold for her little feet, so she decided to fly to the coop.  It was so funny.  She is now my little Super Bird! I am thinking about making her a little sweater with SUPER BIRD on it :) 

Dolly takes flight

Stuffed Acorn Squash

In case you weren't already sure of this fact, I have the best husband! He has been such a great partner, and each and every day I thank God for putting him in my life. Today I am especially amazed by his cooking skills. 

All the ingredients for tonight's meal are from our Garden, except for the venison that was harvested by a friend of ours. 

I am disappointed that you cannot smell how wonderful my house smells. As I am thinking about how wonderful dinner smells, and I am realizing how hungry I am, my husband appears with the meal. The star of the dish is the Acorn Squash that was picked just hours prior. 

He stuffed the squash with a barbecued pulled venison and veggies and a panko crumble on top for crunch. It is searched on a bed of garden veggies. Oh my, I certainly do not deserve this...but I'm sure going to enjoy it!!

Fall Drive

I am such a fan of the seasons. Each season offers such a variety of activities, sights, as well as the different temperatures. Although I do love each season. Fall may be my favorite. The changing colors of the trees, the sound as the leaves fall from the trees, the crispness in the air. I love it all. Today we went for a drive to see some of the fall colors and nature did not disappoint. It was spectacular. The colors, are beyond words. So instead of even trying, I will shut up and show you (but even photos do not do it justice)

Fall Harvest

Fall is officially here. The trees are changing color, there is a crispness to the air, and the garden is nearing its end. Tomatoes have slowed, still getting a few tomatoes a day, but I can see the end is near. The corn is still on the plant, this week will be its last and we will pick all the corn next week. This week we were blessed with quite a few acorn squash, green beans and a few small summer squash. It has been such a wonderful "first" year of our garden. We learned a bunch, and I'm already starting to plan for next springs garden :) but for now, off to dinner.

Organic Peas 

Organic Green Beans

Corn

We picked a bunch of corn today. It would have been better to leave in the field a little longer but with the pending frost warning, we opted to err on the side of too early.   

Popcorn versus Sweet Corn: Although the popcorn has more starches (and tastes nasty raw) I was more surprised to learn that there is a big difference in the kernel itself. You can see in the photo, the popcorn has smaller, almost pointy kernels. They even feel pokey to the skin when caring the cob. I was amazed.  

Popcorn (left) Sweet Corn (right)

Did you know? Did you know that the hair on each cob of corn, attach to a different kernel. Each kernel has one strand of hair.  So weird. I had no clue. 

Each kernel has a hair attached

Living in the north we should have planted a quicker growing, shorter growing time, for our corn. It was hard to drive past all the fields of corn that was producing such huge amounts of corn. Of course most of it is GMO corn, which I have no interest in. However, there are hybrid versions that will offer a shorter timeline. We will look into that on the off season. 

So, the whole corn experience has taught us a lot. We will take what we learned and hopefully have better results next year. 

Sunflowers

Well, I just had to share this!  They are so beautiful :) 

Jalapeno Jelly

The canning continues today. On today's docket is Jalapeno Jelly. I LOVE jalapeno jelly. I am very excited as this will be our first time of making it ourselves. The Jalapeno's are from our garden, so obviously, they will be fantastic :).

We made this on the first cold day of the year. I would not do that. I would cook on a day that the windows can be opened. Between the vinegar opening up your sinuses to the jalapenos' burning my sinuses, it would have been nice to be able to vent the house...but SO worth it. This is so good! I served crackers with cream cheese and then a spoonful of Jalapeno Jelly on top. So good. Reminds me the Pike Street Market in Seattle.

Ingredients makes 2 - (8 ounce) jars

• 1 large bell pepper

• 14 jalapeno peppers

• 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

• 1 pinch salt

• 4 1/4 cups granulated sugar

• 4 ounces liquid pectin

• 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

Directions  
Combine the green bell pepper and 14 jalapeno peppers in a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Put mixture into a large saucepan, and stir in the cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth or fine strainer and discard pulp. Return the liquid to the saucepan, and stir in the salt and sugar until dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture comes to a rolling boil, boil for one minute, then stir in the liquid pectin. Stir in the remaining jalapeno peppers, and ladle into sterile jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Seal jars in a hot water bath. Process per instructions for 10 minutes. Wait a day, or more, to allow jelly to fully "gel" prior to eating. Refrigerate once open. 

Emile Henry Stew Pot

I am so very excited. I just received my Emile Henry 10' Stew Pot. It is so pretty. I chose the red color and I couldn't be happier. I have been getting away from cooking on non-stick surfaces, and have moved to ceramic, glass, cast iron, or copper pans for all of our cooking. This is my latest addition to our cooking family and I could not be happier. The Emile Henry Stew Pot is made in Marcigny France from high fired Burgundy clay. There is no lead, cadmium or nickel in their products (including the glaze)  ensuring no contamination of metal and toxins in the food.

It is heavier that my cooper stew pot, quite a bit heavier. However, it is light compared to our cast iron stew pot (30% lighter). I love using my cast iron stew put for most things, but any red sauce, tomato or highly acidic foods, I try to avoid the cast iron. I have a very sensitive palate, and I can taste the iron in the food and that is very off-putting. So, the ceramic glazed pot should be perfect for stews, chili, and soups. The pot has a very durable glaze that allows for it to be stove-top, grill, and oven safe. This is awesome. I like the idea of cooking on the stove-top and then being able to bake in the same pot!

Our first experience with the Stew Pot was for Split Pea Soup. I was amazed by how well the stew pot cooked, but even more by how well it cleaned up! So easy!! It really didn't even look dirty after the last drop of soup was poured out. Considering the soup was cooked all day long, the fact that the soup poured out without leaving the least amount of cooked on food particles. Super happy :)

This is an expensive pot and I hope to never need another. However, I think it is worth the higher price to ensure the food we cook tastes good, and is free from chemicals, metals and toxins. Not to mention the time-saving easy clean up :)

Pickles - The Canning of Cucumbers

Today is the super exciting pickle canning! Tee hee. It's not really that exciting, but it feels good that we are preserving the cucumbers before they spoil. Our goal is to have no waste from our garden.

The new Fagor Pressure Cooker/Canner has been doing a fantastic job. I'm very excited to see how these pickles taste versus the overwhelming vinegar taste that we had with water canning. The cooker/canner that we have does not allow for a dial of pressure, but relies on two different set pressures. This will work for us. As we become more familiar with the process, and if we find that we will continue to pressure can, then we will purchase a canner with a pressure dial. Until then we are quite happy with the one we have.

Today we making dill pickles and sweet pickles. I have posted the Dill Pickle Recipe that we used for the dill pickles. Let me know if you have another recipe to share. I am excited to try this one but have not yet, so...use with that in mind.  We did have 1 casualty, one of our Mason Jars broke while cooking. I guess that is fairly common, but it is a first for us. I don't like waste so it was hard to see, but cleaned it up and now all is well.


The last batch is cooking as I write this. There is nothing better than sitting with the windows open, and the smell of the coming autumn in the air. Then when the world and my thoughts are silent...all of a sudden there is a "pop". The pop is the sound of the jars finishing the sealing process.  It is a little smile at the end of a busy day.

And...pop...there goes another. Oh life is good  :)

Dill Pickle Recipe

Garden Cucumbers

Dill Pickles

Serves: 4 Pints

Pressure Cooking Time: 10 minutes/High Pressure

Headspace: ½ inch

Recipe complied by Fagor America

Ingredients:

• 12- 4” cucumbers, sliced in quarters
• 1 ½ cups vinegar, 5% acidity
• 2 ¼ cups water
• ¼ cup kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons dill weed, fresh, 1 per pint
• 4 garlic cloves, 1 per pint
• 4 teaspoons mustard seed, 1 per pint
• 16 peppercorns, 4 per pint

Directions:

1. Place washed and sliced cucumbers in a large bowl. Cover with a layer of ice cubes and refrigerate for 4 hours. Drain completely.
2. Combine salt, vinegar and water. Heat to boiling. Pack the cucumbers into jars. Leave 1 inch headspace.
3. Place dill, garlic, mustard seeds and peppercorns into each jar. Pour hot vinegar brine over cucumbers and spices in each jar, leaving ½ inch of headspace.
4. Cap and seal. Place in canner with 2 to 3 inches of hot water, process for 10 minutes per instructions for your pressure cooker/canner. 

* We used our Fagor Pressure Cooker/canner. We had great results and really liked this recipe. We will use again!

Canning Day

Our beautiful Bounty

Today is officially "Canning Day" at my house. We woke early and started with tomatoes. We decided to do only tomato paste and then, as we need items, we would use the paste and build on it, versus having a zillion cans of sauce and no ketchup. It seemed like a great idea. However, after reducing down the sauce or hours. We opted to do all sauce and a couple jars of paste.

We used the "no mess" tomato mill and once again made a gigantic mess. Still fun, but so messy!  We have a new pressure canner, so we were excited to try new recipes. We were not found of the vinegar/acid that we had to add for the water bath canning method. So we ended up doing sauce, paste, stewed tomatoes, tomato soup and salsa. I am so excited to have so many wonderful canned goods for the winter.

See, No Mess ?!!?!?!?

All in all, it took just over 12 hours and we are nowhere near done. It is definitely a labor of love. I did learn that I LOVE our new pressure canner.

Tomorrow I think we will go pick raspberries. Seems like that would be perfect to go with our blueberries. God has blessed us with so much and we are grateful. Just 9 days to deer season (archery). Hoping that we will get some meat for the freezer as well.

Wishing everyone a blessed day.

Komo Mill

The time had come for us to purchase a grain mill. We wanted to have a good mill that would allow us to buy wheat berries and other grains and to grind them as needed. I was surprised to learn that flour starts to spoil immediately after it is milled. In fact, according to Pleasant Hill Grain:

• wheat flour loses 40% of its vitamin content in the first 24 hours after milling and 85-90% after 2-3 more days. 
• Unsaturated fats in the wheat germ oxidize/go rancid.
• B Vitamins are destroyed by light and air.
• Beneficial enzymes start working and play themselves out.
• Vitamin A is diminished.
• Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant that helps to protect flour from oxidation, deteriorates once milled, especially if the conditions become moist.

So to increase nutrition and decrease the store bought versions with additives and preservatives we opted to grind flour as it was needed at our house. After a long process of evaluating what we features we wanted and the different options of mills we choose the Komo Mill Fidibus 21.

This mill will grind hard or soft wheat, oat groats (dehulled oats), rice, triticale, kamut, spelt, buckwheat, barley, rye, millet, teff, quinoa, amaranth, sorghum and dent (field) corn. It will also grind spices, lentils and dry beans (pinto, red, garbanzo, kidney & more.) It isn't suitable for herbs, oilseeds like flax or sesame, nuts, popcorn, or fibrous materials, but that didn't seem to matter since we have a spice mill for those items.

Results:
I LOVE this mill. More importantly my husband LOVES this mill. It is quiet, does not heat the grain, and works like a charm. I am really happy with our purchase. The mill cost just over $400 which seems like a lot (or at least I thought it was a lot), but considering we use the mill nearly every day, and it makes a huge difference in the taste and texture of our flour, we are very happy.

Tip: 

We live in a small, old, log cabin and we do have ants and other annoying bugs. Bugs really like flour and have a tendency to climb up into the mill to get at the remnants of the flour. To avoid this we cut up a pair of nylons and put a strip of the nylon around the mill. Then when the mill is not in use we pull the stocking strip up to cover the spout. Works like a charm!

Strip of nylon pushed down to use

Strip of nylon pulled over spout

Blueberry syrup and waffles

Oh goodness, this is what I woke up to. My husband made waffles and the BEST blueberry syrup ever!  I highly suggest you make it, you will not be disappointed!

He makes the waffles with organic whole wheat flour that he milled using our Komo mill (see our review of this mill). Then took our homemade maple syrup and put a bunch of blueberries with it in a pan. He the reduced the blueberries/maple until it was the perfect consistency. No real rules to the perfect consistency. Just what you and your family will find to the be the right consistency for waffles. 

It was beyond good!!  I love going to our local you-pick blueberry farm. I just cannot get enough blueberries and the you-pick makes it affordable. We got 5 gallon on our last trip and spent about $40.  We got home and promptly froze most of the berries. I recently read an article that says frozen blueberries are actually lower in antioxidants as the freezing process increase the bio-availability of the antioxidants. Yumm. 

I am so thankful

Today I am thinking about how blessed my family is. We live in a rural area, where we can raise our own fruit and veggies, and chickens. I am blessed I have a husband that does so much more than his share. Today he has been cutting firewood, getting ready for winter. The Farmers Almanac is saying it will be a bitterly cold winter. Not looking forward to another cold winter, but glad I live here so, I guess I will deal with whatever comes our way. But for today, I am left with the reminder that I am so fortunate. And I am beyond thankful!!

Starbucks Giveaway

I have been invited to participate in an upcoming giveaway for a $50 Gift Card for Starbucks.  I lived in Seattle for 10 years and have an affinity for Starbucks. I am not a coffee drinker, but they carry wonderful Tea and Hot Chocolate (Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate is amazing!!)  My husband on the other hand LOVE his Starbucks. Now that we live in a very rural area, he had to come to grips of living without his Starbucks. Until now... a Starbucks has now opened inside the local hospital, which we are at quite often. So he is now teaching the new baristas how to make his drink-a grande, double blended, vanilla, frappuccino, no whip.  If you love Starbucks be sure to check out the first giveaway I am participating in. Good Luck!! 

$50 Starbucks Giveaway

Chickens

Our first animals...Chickens! We bought 15 chicks from the local farm store. Before they could come home we needed to build a coop. The winter lasted a lot longer then expected. So instead of building we converted one of our storage sheds into a coop. It was WAY bigger then we needed but figured we could grow our flock to fit the building. We came home with the chicks, and they moved into the coop. They loved the size. After being in a tiny cage at the farm store they could finally spread their wings.

We enjoyed our chickens from the moment that we got them. I never realized how much fun they would be, but they have become part of the family. They are so much entertainment. The birds are about a year and a half now and I am so glad we got them. I sit on the back deck for hours and watch as they hunt and peck for little morsels. If one is so lucky to find a bug, she will run as fast as she can to get away before another bird steals the treasure. I was also very surprised that each bird has its own personality. We can tell which bird is talking, just by the sound of their voice. We can also tell without looking who will be the one misbehaving, out in the rain, running to lay an egg, or walking up to us in hope of a treat. It has been a most wonderful experience and addition to our little farm. I will take you on a tour of our coop and introduce our chickens on a later date. Until then, here's a shot of part of the flock.

Gardening

It's a beautiful morning in the garden. My husband is busily weeding but took me on a tour to check out the latest. It's been a week since I've been out. I was amazed at the changes in one week. The corn is growing fast, and some have purple hair. I thought that was amazing. I never saw purple haired corn before.

Then I saw the beans and peas. Both doing great. We have already enjoyed a lot of peas, but frankly there are never enough peas :).  

Then to the acorn squash. This took a long time to grow. Figured we would miss out this year. But then poof. Acorn squash appeared. 

We are still getting a lot of cucumbers, so pickle canning will continue today. Or probably tomorrow. It's pretty hot today and I hate canning on hot days. No reason to heat up the house when tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70's. 

And the excitement today...drum roll please...

Cantaloupe!!! I can't believe it. It is tiny, but I am hopeful! It made my day!!

Well off I go to hot tub away the soreness. God bless. 

Pickles

Pickles, pickles and more pickles!! Today we are canning our cucumber/pickles. It is such a time consuming, yet satisfying, task. As much as I love preserving the excess produce from our organic garden, it also signals that fall is soon approaching. So far we have about 7 jars of pickles canned. We did dill and bread and butter pickles this year. I am not the biggest fan of vinegar so I am really excited for a new pressure cooker/canner that I am getting. It will be great to use the pressure versus a very acidic liquid to preserve. But until it comes, vinegar it is. Yesterday my husband helped out a neighbor and in return was given some fresh dill. I'm excited to add that to the dill pickles. Nothing better than fresh herbs!

A few of our Pickles 

Welcome

Welcome to our blog…

Join us as we learning about our small-scale, sustainable garden/farm.

We will talk about gardening, canning and preserving methods, organics & GMO’s (genetically modified organism) , and great giveaways, all while promoting a positive, loving environment and giving  thanks to God and his many blessings.

Thank you for joining us on our new adventure. If you have suggestions, comments, or ideas…Please let us know   We really want this to be a community of ideas and thoughts, so be sure to comment and become part of this process.