Farm Life - Seeking the Flip Side

     There is no question about it.  Getting up and out early to be enveloped in the cold, darkness of  winter months can be downright discouraging.  However, the animals need care and the longer that they are inside the more work there will be.  But, it is dark.  It is cold.  The water frequently is frozen and metal locks are stinging cold to the touch on bare hands.  If water spills on clothing aside from the awful feeling it creates, there is an immediate freeze and dread. Wet, freezing clothes end the chores until after a trip inside to change.  Freezing temps mean that water has to be carried rather than using a hose.  Animals need to be released to the outside and they don't seem to care if it is cold.  Stalls need to be cleaned. Everybody is hungry.

     Is there any joy to all of this? Well, no, if one faces the mundane chores in a state of semiconsciousness.  But here is where the flip side comes in.   For every seemingly routine day is filled with wonder if you simply look for the flip side; just be aware of your surroundings  .

     The flip of the dark early morning hours is the singing of birds that are silenced by the sunrise. The moon is still floating in the sky and even the dark cold can't diminish the awe of an orb that circles the earth.  

     A cloudy, dark sky can't stop the sun from carving out its

arc on the treeline revealing that the sun is on the way. Once the sun is up, the magic is gone as all the trees have sunlight on them.

     And of course, at the sound of the gates, the animals respond with their own sounds.  Not to be missed is the unmistakable screechlike crowing sound from the smallest, but loudest of all the animals - the bantam rooster that lives with the turkeys.

     Even cleaning stalls which is not exactly fun, except for young girls who are known to do anything just to be near a horse, has a flip side. Aside from the exercise and a sense of job accomplishment, the reward is that nothing hinders a mind from planning the rest of the day, dreaming of ideas, or enjoying the peaceful silence and swish of a pitchfork. The flip side is the escape, the understanding, the introspective thoughts that help make it easier to accept what is and facing whatever comes our way.

Recipe to enjoy - Ham Casserole - easy comfort food.

                        Wild Rice and Ham Casserole

 1 pkg. (6 1/4 oz) quick-cooking long grain and wild rice mix ( does not

              need to be quick cooking)

 1 pkg (10 oz. frozen cut broccoli thawed and drained ( used fresh broccoli

             partially cooked in microwave)

  2 cups cubed fully cooked ham

  1 can (10 3/4 oz. ) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

  1 cup mayonnaise

  2 tsp prepared mustard

  1 cup( 4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese (used more)

1. oven 350

2. Prepare the rice according to package directions.  Spoon into an

ungreased 2 1/2 qu. baking dish.  Top with broccoli and ham.  Combine soup,

mayonnaise and mustard.  Spread over rice mixture and mix gently.  Cover and

bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Let stand 5

minutes before serving.

More Maggie on Monday

Black plastic? Don't remember a thing.

       Three weeks have passed since the last update on Maggie.  The first of those weeks Maggie only managed to chew up slippers and a moccasin (just one, lest she make a matching pair) of a guest.  Still, she was making improvements.  In the second week, it wasn't until the discovery of a chewed flashlight revealed that the strange unidentifiable, mangled thick black pieces of plastic previously found all over the floor belonged to it.  That still makes two weeks ago a good week since it was the discovery only, not the actual chewing. And whose fault is it anyway since  the flashlight was left in her reach in the first place? She  had to be given the benefit of the doubt, not 100% of the blame.

Nose at rest.

     Signals for going outside are still in the developmental stage.  Apparently Maggie finds her owners difficult to train. Sometimes it is the tear around grabbing anything in sight.  Sometimes a bark.  Many a trip outside finds her walking all over tempted by the wonderful smells on the ground that only she can sniff. Maggie does have a great nose.  On one trip just outside the door the nose immediately went to the ground, a pounce, and then the squeal of some creature that was just too slow to get away.   There is no fun standing in the cold watching a dog run around sniffing the ground. But nighttime is her fun time to pursue the creatures of the night - real or imagined. Gee, just go, get it over with, and get back into the warmth inside. 

Irresistibly innocent Maggie face

     So far her best outside cue is to walk over and slap at you with her paw.  She is pretty good actually with a shot to the cheek.  Ah, working on this one - glad to know she wants to go out, not wet the floor, paired with can't discipline her to stop this since the swat is her best way of saying, "I gotta go now or you'll be cleaning up the floor." Not really pleasant, we're working on the fine tuning so it is just a nudge and run to the door with maybe a bark.  Still, her other attributes make her worth keeping - that Maggie face!

Easy comfort food, seafood style -
                             Shrimp Casserole

1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain rice (use wild rice)

1 1/2 lbs medium-size raw shrimp

1/2 cup butter

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 green onions, chopped

2 (10 3/4-oz.) cans cream of shrimp soup, undiluted*

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar-colby cheese blend

1/4 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs

350 oven

1. Prepare rice according to package directions.

2. Peel shrimp, and devein. Cut shrimp in half crosswise for more bites, if

desired.

3. Melt butter over medium heat; add bell pepper and next

4 ingredients, and sauté 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Stir in soup,

shrimp, salt, and pepper; cook 3 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. (Do

not overcook.)

4. Combine shrimp mixture and rice. Pour into a lightly greased 13-

x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup shredded cheese and 1/4 cup

breadcrumbs.

5. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Adapted from Southern Living APRIL 2007

Winter's Back/Comfort Food Needed

Ah, confusion.  What happened to the swimming pond last night?

     This recipe is great for a chilly night.  It comes together rather quickly and can be ready for the table within an hour. Yes, I have made this more than one.  The fennel creates and interesting and nice flavor - don't leave it out.  Otherwise, you just have meat and pasta.
     I made a few changes that I've noted in ( ).  Unless it is for a special occasion or simply can't be done, I try to replace  heavy cream in recipes.  It just has too many calories.
    This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit.  Search their recipes to find it.

Tortellini with Sausage, Fennel, and Mushrooms

1  tbsp olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced lengthwise (about 3 cups), fronds chopped
1 lb. Italian sausage (hot or sweet, or chorizo)
1 8-ounce package sliced fresh crimini (baby bella) mushrooms (I used one pound white mushrooms)
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 tbsp fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I used half-and-half plus potato starch flour to thicken)
1 cup chicken broth (needed more to keep it from being too dry)
1 16-ounce pkg. dried tortellini with pesto filling or fresh tortellini with 3-cheese filling
1 5-ounce pkg fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (extra for serving)

     

     Cook tortellini until tender, but still firm. 

     Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and begin to brown.  Then add fennel and mushrooms; sauté until sausage is brown and cooked through and fennel is almost tender, 12 to 15 minutes.   

     Add garlic and fennel seeds; stir 1 minute. Stir in cream (half-and-half), then 1 cup broth; boil until liquid is reduced and very slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.  (Add potato starch flour to thicken if using half-and-half.) 

    Add tortellini to sausage. Toss over medium heat until blended. Add spinach; toss until spinach wilts. Stir in cheese. If too dry add small amounts of chicken broth/ half-and-half as desired. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped fennel fronds. Pass additional grated cheese.