The Farmer's Dozen

It has been nearly 11 months since we bought our hobby farm.  We have 2 sheep, 25 chickens, 16 guinea fowl, 1 pig (the other one was recently slaughtered), and 1 farm dog. 

We have put up paddock after paddock of fencing.  We have build shelters and aviaries.  We have cared for and wrestled with our various animals.  We have plowed with a tractor and sowed with our hands.

lamb leg roast

I like lamb. I think it is delicious, however, I have very little experience cooking it.  I have decided to change that.

I bought 3lbs of a boneless leg of lamb.

Healthy (and Yummy!) Carrot Zucchini Muffins

These muffins are a sweet, tasty way to get my three-year-old to eat vegetables! They are about as healthy as muffins can get (maybe if I added bran they'd be even healthier.. will have to think about that!) and they eat like a yummy treat! 

Gardening - Asparagus Success!

We planted our asparagus early.  We dug holes in our red, clay soil, mixed in some black soil for good measure and watered faithfully.  After a month of nothing happening we decided that we would rather use that space in our tiny garden for our tomato plants so we transplanted out tomatoes from their starter pots in the house and put them in the section where we had just dug up the dud asparagus and we put the asparagus into the started pots and put them in our front window.

The general plan was to water the asparagus if we thought about it but otherwise to not waste anymore time or thought about the dead asparagus crowns.  We placed a spray bottle next to the plants and let the kids squirt (or sometimes drown) the poor little plants as they wanted to.

WAFFLES!

What is better then a warm waffle with maple syrup? Not much! Maybe, just maybe a savory waffle filled with paprika and cheddar cheese, topped with an over-easy egg and spinach? Well, at least it could give it a run for its money!

I recently invested in a Waffle maker one of the best decisions of my life.  Waffles go so far beyond breakfast food.  You can have them for lunch or dinner, gluten free, or good old traditional.  I do not regularly keep bread in my house but sometimes I get a hankering for a sandwich and what does a girl do? Waffle sandwich of course! The other day I had a delicious cornbread waffle sandwich with pulled beef, horseradish, spinach and peppers.  So, many things you can do with waffles.  

Question and Answer Time with Mom

Maude: What is your favorite thing to grow in the garden?

Mom: Why flowers, of course! Sunflowers and zinnias are my very favorites! They don't count, actually, because they are just for fun. Thank you, God, for their beauty. They cheer the heart! I also love tomatoes because I love to eat them! Sun-ripened, fresh from the garden- yum! Also because they are easily canned or frozen, and can be enjoyed in so many recipes.

Maude: That's funny.  I hadn't really even thought of flowers for my garden.  We do have Nasturtiums but that is mostly because their leaves are edible greens for salads.  I mostly think of the garden as functional, not as much pretty.  I am excited about my tomato plants though!  Did I tell you that we started them from seed?  We've not put them into the ground outside yet but we will be in the next couple of weeks.  My husband's never a tomato fresh from the garden so he's excited about that.  I told him about your tomato sandwich.  I always think of you with tomatoes, Mom.

Esther: I planted flowers in my garden this year because I loved how you always did Mama.

Maude: What has been your favorite thing about motherhood?

Mom: My kids! :) By the time I have gotten to the "red hat" age group it's hard to remember anything I didn't like. After the 1st couple babies I even relished the time alone at night with my little one- well, most of the time. I remember being pretty tired with the buddy boys, #9 and #10. My favorite thing? Maybe cuddling in bed. After awhile it got pretty crowded. My favorite thing? I loved loading up the big monster van, Nessie, with all the family and heading off to church. It was not easy but very rewarding. My favorite thing? Sitting around our Dining Room table praying together and singing hymns. What a privilege to worship together as part of education. (As a new believer in my 30's I took seriously Deuteronomy 6:4-9, desiring that my children would love and serve the Lord all of their days.)

Esther: Fun memories Mama!

Maude:  That's a lot of favorites!  Is that allowed?!  Haha!  One can definitely tell you love being a mom.

Lizzi: Those are great memories, Mom! And what an encouragement to those of us "in the trenches" that you mostly just remember the good stuff! :)

Lizzi: What advice would you give a new parent, or parent of young children?

A breakfast of champions

I am going to let you in on a secret that you probably already know if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time... I love food.  I love making food and tasting food. So, today I am letting you in on the best breakfast ever. Period. Full of sweet potatoes, sausage, spinach, eggs, cheese, and coffee (of course!)  This is honestly my favorite breakfast. Anytime we have a little bit more time in the morning this is what I make unless of course I am making coconut pancakes (but that is a recipe for another day...)

Frying an egg

I love eggs! In fact, we have eggs almost every morning for breakfast.  Because of this I have gotten fairly decent at frying an egg (at least my husband tells me so...) My man loves eggs and will eat a lot of them. We are definitely capable of mowing through 3 dozen in a week (I know, crazy right?) Somehow our eggs just disappear, maybe a little elf comes in and steals them, maybe I make frittata's for dinner alot, maybe I bake too much, maybe we just like our eggs! Sheesh people give us a break!

Now, let's turn our thoughts from eggs for a minute to talk about my best friend, the Iron Skillet (if only I were joking). Do you own an iron skillet? Please say yes. If you don't, don't worry we can still be friends... just go buy one NOW. Of course I am joking (kind of!) Honestly, they are not that expensive and they make everything taste better.  I cook basically everything in my iron skillets, cornbread, pancakes, stir-fry, quiche, shepherds pie,  and my friend the egg.

Granola Bars!

Do any of you have the same problem as me? When you get a chance to sit down with a cup of coffee (if sitting down is ever possible, or if you drink coffee), do you crave a little something sweet to go with it? I do. In fact, it has become a bad habit that I am slowly trying to rid myself of. Admittedly, I am taking baby steps, but trying nonetheless. I have started making these granola bars on occasion that I enjoy and that I can share with my kiddos. (The recipe is also easy enough that they can help make them, too!) The granola bars are not perfectly healthy, as you will see when you peruse the ingredients, but they are delicious and a step in the right direction. I also figure they are most definitely better for me than devouring a cookie, cupcake, or (most) muffins! Why don't you try them for yourself and then let me know what you think and if you have some healthier replacements to add in?

Let's talk about coconut flour

In August I wrote about my new found love of coconut. (You can read all about that  HERE) Well, guess what? It has continued and spiraled till being deliciously out of control.  Perhaps I ate a whole box of somoa girl scout cookies by myself... in one sitting. I thought I would hate them! I always had... they have coconut and until recently I have hated all things coconut.  But, enough about my somoa eating problems I have something amazing to share with you, two words. Coconut Flour.  You can make cakes, pancakes, bread, cookies, ect. with coconut flour! It leaves an almost somoa like flavor in your mouth, incredible!

Table Talk

Growing up in the O'Brien House, Mom cooked everything from scratch.  She is a great cook and many of my memories are centered around a fantastic meal with everyone crowded around our big table, laughing and talking until long past the meal was over.


My favorite meal was always the beef roast, cooked slowly with potatoes, carrots, and onions and served with Mom's fantastic gravy.  We had that meal most Sundays growing up and it never got old.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I have been making our own bread for a short while now, and this one is my favorite so far. It is perfect for a novice (like me!) because it has basic ingredients, and few steps. The recipe makes 3 loaves of bread, so there is no need to put on my math cap while I bake, which I love! I have shared another bread recipe which I like, but this one is much easier, and still delicious, which is a winning combination.

Simple Honey Wheat Bread

3 cups warm water                                                        3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast                             1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup honey                                                               1 tablespoon salt

5 cups bread flour                                                         3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

                                                                                      2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

2. Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky- just pulling away from counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with a clean dishtowel. Let rise until doubled.

3. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. (I only have 2 loaf pans, so I use a round cake pan for the 3rd one and it is more like a roundish loaf.) Place in greased 9x5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch. (I let it rise in the pan for awhile, but don't wait until the dough peeks over, and mine still turn out fine.) :)

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tbls melted butter when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely.

I found this yummy recipe here

Making yogurt

I have been making my own yogurt. It is surprisingly easy.  I was intimidated at first by this seemingly daunting task (or at least I always thought it would be daunting) but truth be told the most simple, trivial task turns daunting when you have a toddler hanging on your leg, wanting held, and whining at you the whole time. Despite the difficulty, it turned out quite well (and it truly is easier than you think).

Let's talk about what you would need to make this happen:

• You need milk (I have used goat milk before but today I just used whole milk.) You may use any kind you would like, skim, whole, 2%. I like mine fatty so I use whole (it makes it extra creamy!)
• You need yogurt "starter" aka yogurt you already have. You will need at least a Tablespoon. You will want this to be plain not flavored.
• You need ice
• You need a pan(s) (you can truly accomplish this with just one pan)
• You need a candy (food) thermometer.
• That's it! (told you it was easy)

Lau Sah Bao, in all its Yummy Goodness

I am blessed to be married to a wonderful man, who happens to be of Chinese ethnicity. This means that I have been able to enjoy a wide array of foods that until meeting him, I had not tried. One of my favorite eating experiences (and one I crave regularly) is dim sum. Dim sum refers to little dishes, or foods that are served in small portions. They are typically served in steam baskets, and you order many and share. The best sensory dim sum experience is when you go to a restaurant where the items are still loaded on carts and pushed around the restaurant. When the cart comes near your table, you just look over the wares and point to what you want. It is so much fun!

Not every dim sum restaurant is this way, and that's okay. The food is still delectable. ;) When we were visiting Singapore over Christmas, we went to a dim sum restaurant that is known for its Lau Sah Bao, or flowing golden custard bun. I hadn't seen this type of bun before, and so it was my first time to taste it.

Lau Sah Bao (Flowing Golden Custard Bun) in a steam basket

Curried sweet potato soup and goat cheese biscuits please.

         Sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes and more sweet potatoes! How I love you!  Why is it that you can buy normal potatoes in pound bags but not sweet potatoes?  Do you know how many sweet potatoes I go through in a week? A lot.  Especially this week.  This time of year is perfect for sweet potatoes.  We had sweet potato stew last week, and it was amazing (basically normal beef stew with sweet potatoes rather than regular potatoes I added a few different ingredients and spices but it is basically the same).  Right now for lunch I am making curried sweet potato soup with goat cheese biscuits (my mouth is watering just typing those words).

So simple! So delicious! It is a rainy, dreary, type of day. A day that was made for curried sweet potato soup and goat cheese biscuits (I swear these biscuits will change your life).  

Girls Night Out

Some girls from my new church invited me out to The Melting Pot yesterday.  My first time to experience fondue.  Yes, I know I am ten years behind the rest of the world...  No, I haven't been to a Tapas restaurant yet - I'm sure I'll do that next decade.  Anyway, it was a lot of fun!

Christmas morning breakfast Esther style

Yes, it is true; I will not be making/baking or consuming any cinnamon rolls for Christmas.  No cinnamon rolls for Christmas?! I know, sad right? I just HATE making them.

Sisters Chat (Christmas Treats)

Lizzi: I want to talk about holiday treats today. Either sweet or salty, although I usually tend to just think about sweet! Haha! First I want us to share a general list of Christmas treats (whether you like them or not). I will get more specific in future questions.

Maude: So we just brainstorm a list together?

Lizzi: Yep

Maude: Buckeyes!!

Lizzi: Fudge

Esther: Christmas cookies (like the sugar ones), snicker doodles

Lizzi: Fruitcake

Esther: truffles, eggnog

Maude: peanut butter cookies with kisses on top, plum bread

Esther: Happy birthday Jesus cake

Maude: I should tell my Jesus cake story!!

Lizzi: Yes! You can go ahead

Esther: What is that?

Sisters Chat About Thanksgiving

Maude: I thought we'd talk this week about Thanksgiving (since it was yesterday!)

Esther: cool beans

Maude: First, what do you normally have for Thanksgiving dinner?

turkey, obviously

Lizzi: Cranberry sauce!

Maude: yuck, Liz.

Lizzi: :)

Esther: mashed potatoes!!

Maude: Real stuffing (not the stuff from the box)!!

yummy

Esther: I love stuffing

Lizzi: I don't like green bean casserole, Maude, so I guess we're even

Maude: Hmm, green bean casserole!

Esther: and mashed potatoes

Maude: You're weird, Lizzi.

Lizzi: Yeah, stuffing!

Esther: cannot decide which I love more

Lizzi: Me too

(to Esther)

Better than Sliced Bread!

Thanksgiving is just a couple days away, so I thought I would share a scrumptious bread recipe that I have recently enjoyed making for my family. It is tasty and nutritious, and the finished product looks

pretty! The recipe calls for molasses, but the taste is not strong at all. I also added a couple tablespoons of milled flax seed to mine since I already had it on-hand.