Important Information

Due to my adrenal and thyroid crashing the last couple of days. I've done diddly squat in comparison to usual. Therefore, I interrupt this usually highly informative blog to take you back to the very basics while I rest a bit and see if I can't get the cussed things going again.

Thanks to our youngest grand daughter, who volunteered to host this blog today, you will be taught important information about your house or barn cat.

Watch carefully. This is a cat's eye.

and this is his ear.

Got that? Now go and try it out on your own cat and amaze your household with your new found knowledge.
If you are already this amazingly smart, then stay tuned. I hope to be back up and running tomorrow.

Nope, Not Spring Yet

What am I thinking using this picture as a heading? Well, in your neck of the woods you might be enjoying spring weather and your crocus and tulips may be peeking out of the ground. Some of you may even be planting or harvesting from the garden but here, its our typical March / April weather, snow, snow, snow and then it snows again. So no... the heading picture of the snowmen our grand daughter built Saturday is not out of place.

In fact, this is what the ground looked like Saturday when she first built the mother daughter pair. Cold seeped in and snow began to fall again on Sunday. As I write, we are at 24.5F but we are to dip down to 4 tonight. Winter begins to wrestle this time of year. The weather becomes a tug a war shifting dramatically. December, January, and February are pretty barren as it's just too cold for much moisture to fall and so our worst storms are in March and April. It doesn't mean spring hasn't sprung in my heart or inside for that matter. I know I'm rushing the spring season, having started a couple pots of Siberia tomatoes. I only used a few seeds but I swear everyone I planted sprouted. The packages are getting old and so I'd ordered new tomato packet just in case. I did only two pots to test the waters and yes, it is really early yet to be starting indoors.

But after today's mishap with one of the pots of tomatoes and the one and only pot of parsley, I'm thinking planting extra is a good idea. Yup, our two year old decided to try gardening on her own. I'd do everything in the basement but I know I'll run out of room for all the things I want to start. I need to garden seriously this year since the basement isn't as full of food as it use to be. So I'm going to attempt to train her to leave them alone. Wish me luck. If you've any great ideas on how to keep a two year old explorer out of garden pots, let me know.

I've also a couple planters of lettuce going as part of an experiment project, finding someplace in my house that it will grow well. I've tried in the basement twice and that didn't work. I'm suspecting they aren't going to like it here either for the same reason, too warm. Look how spindly they are. Next, I'm going to try some in the living room. I'm determined to learn to grown tomatoes and lettuce through the winter in this house. With gas prices climbing at an alarming rate, it looks like I'll need to. I can't afford to run to the next town over for supplies very often. That means I'll run out of fresh things like lettuce and tomatoes that don't last very long. Sure, we have a grocery store but it is very small and the produce section is not what one would like. Not what they'd like either as they often aren't shipped the nicest stuff because their orders are so small. So I'll learn to be a bit MORE -pant, pant- self-sufficient. How did the pioneers ever get it all done? Oh yeah, they did without. That may just have to happen too if things keep escalating in Libya, North Africa and a cazillion other countries. Not to mention the natural disasters and crop failures that have the world in a turmoil. Yes, good and plenty may be a thing of the past. Think America will ever learn that being self-sufficient is a good idea?

.................................On the bright side..........................

During a couple days of warmth, in the forties. The bees came out in numbers. I was thrilled to see that both hives were alive. They sounded like both queens had made it too. How I hope so for I've not ordered any new ones.

They did the usual, pooped all over everywhere, all over the hive and the white wall of the shed the hives are resting against. Looked pretty gross. Isn't it nice that I shared? LOL Can't really blame them as they've not indoor plumbing and what do you do when you've been pretty inactive and all at once started running around in the cold weather? Yep, the same thing.

I watered them by filling a dish just outside their hives, wished them well, and told them I'd come inside and visit when the temperatures reached the fifties. Any lower and you can chill them too much and kill off your bees. I've got to check soon to make sure they have enough food to make it until the blossoms start. That's not for months yet. They should be okay as a cold winter equate to less food demand. They aren't as active and hence don't get around to eating much. That means warm winters are hard on honey stores.

Oh, they won't like my visit at all, and they are sure to think I'm there to rob them but I'll just take a quick peek into the top two boxes , then leave them alone if they've plenty of food. That is unless it warms up a bunch and they start robbing the pantry often. Spring is the time you loose lots of hives to starvation if you aren't careful.

If a hive is dead, you can suspect starvation if cell after cell has a dead bee with his head stuck inside. There often is still a LITTLE bit of honey inside. Don't ask me why they die before the very last drop is gone. I don't know. And frankly you should be proud of me because I'm going to go and make a cake and not spend an hour trying to find the answer on the Internet. LOL

Eggs of Distinction

When I was washing eggs this morning, yes, when the weather turns warm, into the low 40F, I especially have to wash eggs as the ole girls not only deposit eggs into their nests but mud at a rapid rate as well, I was doing my thing and my mind began to whirl and I wondered if you've noticed what I've noticed? A hen lays the same style of egg over and over again.

And further more I wondered if you, like me, come home in a rush and have to put your eggs into the refrigerator to deal with later. Deal with, I'm meaning wash if the ole girls have pooped on on one or gotten a few of them a bit muddy. Just in case, just so you know, the experts recommend using water 20F warmer than the eggs. Not hard to do when the eggs are chilled in the refrigerator, then again the chicken coop is rather chilly most days this time of the year anyway so I could wash them right away if I had the time. Washing your eggs in this manner prevents thermal cracks or blind cracks. I don't go so far as to use a anti-bacterial in washing my eggs like the chicken farms do. I can't tell you how much hm... barnyard germs I've consumed over the years. I'm not afraid of it killing me but I'm not confident that the chemical laden practices of the mass farmers won't.

While handling the eggs, it's the crinkly shelled ones that fascinate me the most. I know you aren't suppose to hatch the odd shaped ones but I like them. You'd think it would be the no yolkers that new hens sometimes lay or the double yolkers, but no, it's these funny wrinkly ones that I like best. Maybe it's my advancing age but I can really relate to those eggs, my skins a bit saggy and baggy too. I don't pay any attention to the claims by the University of Kentucky that their shells break more easily. I think they have real character.

And since hens lay the same shape of egg over and over again, because of the internal structure of their oviduct and pelvic bones, some years I have a fair amount of these sculpted beauties.

Because of this fact, that a hen lays the same type of egg, I can determine how many eggs a particular hen is laying. That is if I was willing to spend a great deal of time in my chicken coop. I wouldn't mind checking in frequently to say hello and observe what the girls are laying but my coop is 3/4 of a mile from the house - not convenient. I do chance upon a hen now and then who is in the middle of the process and if she has enough distinction in feather or body shape, I can pin down her style of egg. This allows me to count how many eggs she is laying per week. That is if she isn't laying the same style as five other hens in the coop. You know, the common shape, the kind you buy at the store.

Maybe to be more accurate I should say those that lay eggs of distinction, don't you like that, you can count how many eggs they are laying per week. Then again you could put them all in cages and you'd definitely know, but I think we're all trying to get away from the mass, factory style raising of livestock.

Yet, even though I don't know how many eggs most of my hens are laying, I still have this obsession of separating out the eggs after I've cleaned them.

If you are an M&M eater, you might have noticed how people divide the colors into groups before eating them. Some even eat the colors in a pattern, brown, then green, etc. I go beyond this to not only separating them out but eating all the odds ones. If green has six and blue seven, I'll eat a blue one to make the two even and so on and so forth. Yes, I know I'm an odd duck. Blame it on my Autism if you 'd like but I just have to put the eggs into rows of six so that I know how many dozen I have and how many cartons to go get from the basement and then if I've a spare moment, I separate the eggs out into to shapes too. Giving a quiet cheer, lest someone is listening, to the hen with the most eggs.

Now all those of you who have to buy your eggs from the store, don't you feel deprived? All those chickens who lay odd shaped eggs are eliminated and you miss out on the enjoyment of witnessing football shaped ones, elongated ones with a decided point end,

fairly short with a pointed end ones, and some which appear perfectly oval. Those last ones are the ones I'm left scratching my head over since I don't know which side to turn downward into the egg carton. You did know that the pointy end goes down, didn't you? Yes, it helps the egg to stay fresher.

As I was making sure I knew why chickens laid different shaped eggs. I came across this site that talked about the differences of eggs of all types of birds. Did you know that there is this bird that lives on the cliffs and it has a decidedly pointy ended egg so that it will roll in a circle and is therefore not as likely to roll off the cliff? Fascinating huh? Don't believe everything you read on the Internet though, because I found some discussion about whether egg shape could determine the sex of the chick that forms inside. Don't believe those that tell you that the pointy elongated ones will be roosters if you hatch them and the round shaped ones will be females. That would mean the same chicken would have the exact same sexed offspring. Wouldn't the hatcheries love that? They'd be producing almost all female egg laying breeds and almost all male meat breeds.

Then you get eggs like this with this speckled white appearance and those with brown dots on them that you can scratch off with your fingernail. Don't know why but I like the brown dotted ones. I do know that eggs have 8,000 microscopic holes in their shells. Yes, eggs breathe. That's how a baby chicks gets oxygen. You might have notices the inside of your eggs are rather dry when they get old.

Now I really must go and make an angel food cake to put in the freezer. Yes, the girls are starting to wind up and lay more eggs because of the longer daylight hours. The light goes through the pupils stimulating the pituitary gland which... Okay, we'll discuss this on another day.

Cinammon

Gingerbread Waffles
I've learned that there are a number of different kinds of vanilla beans and each imparts a flavor all its own or so the Internet says. I've only tried Madagascar Bourbon and Mexican. So you shouldn't be surprised that I delved into the different types of cinnamon when I needed to order some more. It was because Allison's Pantry had two to choose from. One more expensive than the other. Can't you just see my brain cocks a whirling? Yup, I had to know why the price difference and if it was like vanilla, they each having a different flavor.


I'm hoping like vanilla, I'll like the cheapest kind as yes, I ordered both kinds. After all, one was $7.99 and the other $4.99. It wasn't like I was going to break the bank over the adventure and I love cinnamon along with doing a great deal of baking. Hence I order my spices in bulk. I then fill my over sized plastic spice container and with the rest I use a Seal a Meal to lock in the freshness of the remaining spice in the original package.

I didn't research this subject to death, it is unusual of me, I know. Instead, I simply lit upon the McCormick, the spice companies site and was satisfied. After all, taste would be the final deciding factor anyway as to what I'll continue to order in the future.

Graham Crackers

What I learned from McCormick was that cinnamon grows in the tropics, which keeps it off my do it yourself list. And though I can NOT grow it myself I do not pay pay the premium prices asked for when you buy spices in the tiny little tins or are they all in plastic bottles now? No, I don't visit the spice section of the stores in our area. I became so disgusted that they didn't have what I considered basics, that I've avoided them when ever possible. Maybe in your area things are different. I suspect they are in our daughter's town where the education level of the community and culinary interest goes far beyond factory pre-mixed.


That's why I buy most of my spices in bulk, even those I don't use quite as often like cloves. I realize that spices not used quickly enough loose their potency.

Shelf-life

Leaves and flowers 1 -2 years

Seed and barks 2-3 years

Root 3 years

Ground Spices

Leaves 1 year
Seed and barks 1 year

Roots 2 years

Apple Cinnamon Waffles

With the exception of cloves, cinnamon, ginger, etc. I buy my spices as leaves, flowers, and seeds so they last quite a spell. With the Seal a Meal, I figure they go beyond the above dates for freshness. Someday, I plan on seeing if grating my own cinnamon, ginger etc. makes that much difference. But right now I've got a list of Want To Learn and Do's that will keep me busy for quite some time not to mention all the things I learned last year that I want to perfect.



Now I'm not saying that the desire might not one day be shoved to the top of the list. It might just be ignorance keeping me from doing so and one of you might just convince me to move it to the top - who knows. But for now I have a good supply of spices that will last me a couple years. That is after my Allison's Pantry order comes.

So what I learned from the site was that cinnamon grows in the tropical highlands of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, and Vietnam.

Lankan cinnamon - comes from a small, young tree and has a very thin bark that releases a mild flavor with a citrusy note. It is not common in the U.S.A. Hence, this is not one of those I ordered.

Vietnamese cinnamon is from a large, older tree and yields a stronger, bolder taste profile similar to cinnamon red-hot candies.

Indonesian cinnamon, also known as Korintji, has a delicate flavor - warm and sweet with a touch a spicy. Indonesian cinnamon is what most Americans have enjoyed since childhood and is one of those I ordered. It grows prolifically in the majestic volcanic mountain ranges of Western Sumatra. Korintji is actually the name of a famous volcanic mountain that still has cinnamon trees growing wild. alongside newer, cultivated trees. This obviously is not a new flavor of cinnamon that I will be trying and it was the less expensive variety.

Vietnamese cinnamon, also known as Saigon, is the most coveted and exotic cinnamon available. ( I ordered this kind.) Exotic yeah, that's me. LOL The site said this kind was well worth the try. Saigon cinnamon has double the amount of volatile oil of Korintji. The volatile oil is what delivers the flavor and aroma - higher content means greater intensity. Imagine what this will taste like in goat cream ice cream, yum...

Cinnamon Rolls in the dough stage

Now encase you too are wanting to try Saigon along with Korintji cinnamon the McCormick site has recommendations on how to use the two.

Korintji cinnamon, simply labeled "cinnamon" is ideal for snickerdoodle cookies, apple pie, pancakes, French toast, muffins, streusel cake, cinnamon dip for fruit, and spice rubs for chicken and pork.

Saigon cinnamon is best in dishes that have a more complex flavor, such as sweet potatoes, roasted vegetables, oatmeal raisin cookies. pecan pie, brownies, chocolate dessert, spiced cider, spiced nuts, steak rubs, marinades and vinaigrette, chili and stews.

Well that was and eye opener. Have you ever used cinnamon in chili or steak rubs? That somehow just doesn't seem right but then I consider my home grown steaks good enough to stand on their own. A little salt and pepper is all that ever graces ours. I'm probably ignorant on the subject but that's a research project for another day. Stay tuned. It will be another month before the order of cinnamon arrives.

It's Fixed

Remember that hat with the funny edges that waved?

You don't, well, here's a reminder. Yup, it looked silly and so I took out the crocheted edging and redid it, crocheting in every stitch until I came to the wavy part and then I single crocheted in two stitches, skipped the third, repeating the process until I came to the non wavy area. It helped to shrink the flared area.

A couple tassels and I called the hat complete, finally. I've only put this thing down and picked it up umpteen times in the last year and a half. It's become our youngest grand daughter's favorite and she dons it thinking she's ready to weather the cold, coat on or not.

************************************************

The home-made baking powder worked great this morning in the buttermilk waffles. I am a bit disappointed at the buttermilk though in my pancakes and waffles. Using store milk with my buttermilk culture leaves everything lacking for flavor compared to the richness of when I use fresh goat's milk. Aw, well, the goat's girths are increasing and I've just got approximately six weeks before the first goat will freshen. I can't wait. My goal is to get yogurt and a few cheeses down to perfection this year.

If you are interested in learning about baking powder or want to make your own, check out last Novembers blogs about the subject. Hopefully the links below work correctly and you can just click on them to take you directly there. Can't promise it as my computer skills are poor at best.

http://easylivingthehardway.blogspot.com/2010/11/home-made-baking-powder.html

http://easylivingthehardway.blogspot.com/2010/11/part-ii-baking-powder-home-made.html

The real test for this single action baking powder will be when I freeze biscuit dough made with it. I'm nervous to try so don't count on it being extremely soon. I've got to have time to muster up the courage.

Meanwhile, I spent an hour on Sunday studying growing mushrooms. At the moment, I've no room in the house for the project so I'm looking in to growing them in the garden. They are suppose to enhance the soil and work well grown side by side with vegetables. One aiding the other. I found an interesting blog who experimented on the project. I think I'll e-mail the person and asked some questions. If any of you have experience, PLEASE let me know if I can fire some questions your way.

Orange Extract

Yes, I blogged twice today. The photo challenge is the next post down for those of you who may be looking for it.

I'd made lemon extract a while back but not orange. No really good excuse since it takes only a few minutes to whip up. So despite the looks from my husband that said, what are you doing that for right now, I went full steam ahead. Yes, other things needed done worse but sometimes you just have to take a few minutes for yourself.

I knew I had some really good juicy sweet oranges in the fridge and so I used the peeler and took the outside off a couple medium sized oranges, just the orange part since the white is bitter tasting. I chopped it up further and removed the juice from the inside of each orange. Then I poured a cup of Vodka over the juice and rind in a pint jar.

In five days it will be ready to strain, the peel having turned white, and the extract can be used but I've found if you leave your extracts quite a bit longer the heavy alchohol smell will disipate leaving a much more pleasant product. The extract is suppose to then be put into a dark bottle but mine just gets put into the back of a dark cupboard to keep it from being exposed to light.


Interesting that the orange and lemon are ready for use within a week but the vanilla takes six weeks.

Photo Challenge

Rosy red cheeks of our oldest grand daughter.

Santa Claus with our middle grand daughter perched on his lap.

Rose hips sprinkled with snow.
Poinsettias from Christmas.

Now it's time to adventure over and check out what others have entered in the photo challenge for this month. http://brendaphotochallenge.blogspot.com/