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

(Some) Lessons Learned

     The warm air, open window of opportunity came shortly after Thanksgiving.  It always does. Noncritical farm chores need to be put aside. So, to the top of the priority list went bulb planting and Christmas lights and garland. 

     The bags, arriving in October and carefully saved in the garage, revealed a mere 105 bulbs to plant plus the 8 graciously given as a complimentary gift. Thank you. Wasn't there a note to self from this time last year?  Ah, now I remember. Still fresh from the memories of beautiful daffodil arrays, the fall bulb catalogs arrive in late spring tempting with great offers and the promise of increasing the beautiful display from the harbingers of spring.  And heck, then fall was so far off why surely there would be plenty of free time on a warm day to get everything planted. 



Armed and not dangerous

     So here, armed with a new gadget, visions swirled through my head about how fast these bulbs could be planted on this day. Maybe it was December, but it was warm, and I was not going to be planting these darn bulbs on a freezing cold day in partially frozen ground.  My mind envisioned this giant drill digging perfectly round holes in rows where the quick and efficient process would be drop in bulbs, cover, and move on.  Not so fast. It didn't work the way a drill works in wood.  The drill went in, but had to be pulled up with the dirt, drilled again and repeated until the hole was deep enough.  No matter, it beats trying to dig a small hole or a big hole in rocky earth with a big shovel. 

     Ah, to be near the end 2 1/2 hours later, with only ten bulbs to go, (not including the free ones) who should appear, but Maggie, my faithful companion, with a bulb proudly in her mouth and just out of reach. She had her treasure, and I had my vision of my work being undone. For sure, at least 104 bulbs are in the ground, but maybe less.  Didn't check; didn't want to know.
     Lesson Two Learned.  Get the Christmas lights and garland put up on the very next warm day.  Shouldn't one check the two-year-old light sets to make sure they worked before putting them up? Note to self next year all three will work instead of just one.

Dessert - crust is tender, filling is perfect - only whip cream and a sliver of a slice needed
                           Caramel-Pecan Tart 5*

 3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

 2 cups flour

 2/3 cup powdered sugar

 3/4 cup butter, cubed

 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

 1/2 cup honey

 2/3 cup butter

 3 Tbs whipping cream

Oven 350

1.  Bake pecans for 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes or until completely cool.

2. Pulse flour, powdered sugar, and 3/4 cup butter in a food processor 5 to

6 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture evenly on bottom

and up sides of a lightly greased 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

3. Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a

wire rack 15 minutes or until completely cool.

4. Bring brown sugar, honey, 2/3 cup butter, and whipping cream to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in toasted pecans, and spoon hot filling into prepared crust.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Cool on a

wire rack 30 minutes or until completely cool.

Adapted from Southern Living NOVEMBER 2007

Maggie on Monday

      Sweet Maggie.  What a great companion she has become! In a mere two weeks she has made so many improvements.  We're almost to the point that she sees cats as tolerable, chickens and turkeys bearable, the horses scary, and the sheep - they still look like a lot of fun to chase.  What progress! What a neat dog! What a glowing tale could be told this week!

     Well, that was two days ago.  With sunrise today, Maggie fell off the wagon so to speak.  Sleeping just a little later than normal, I awoke to a phone call and Maggie ripping into her super strong bed for super strong chewers.  The zipper was off and she was starting to unstuff it.

     A dog whisperer would say that when something is wrong in Maggie's world she just starts to rip and chew.  She must need to go out. So with coffee cup in hand and Maggie's empty stomach, we went out.  Everything was going well, she more or less left the cats alone.  With all animals out it was time to clean stalls. 

     Now a farm and animals have their own routine and the sounds that go along with them.  The continuous pitch of the gobbling turkeys sounded an alarm. Sure enough, there was Maggie with a rooster pinned to the ground.  Where were the other chickens to help their com padre? Not a single peep out of them. They hightailed it out of there; after all, they are chicken.  Scolding Maggie and rescuing the rooster was my immediate mission. Fearing the worst, I watched to see what, if anything the chicken could do next.  Up and running, the rooster joined the others while proudly crowing. The winner of the battle! Who would have thought?

     Maybe next time I'll feed Maggie before I go out. 

     The rest of the day was shaky at best as everything, to include a scrub brush, seemed to taste better than her bone.  Apparently cleaning for Thanksgiving was just not giving her enough attention. However, her eyes tell me there is still hope.  I don't always have to clean that much. : ) She is still staying.

An OMG recipe - Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart
             FOR THE CRUST

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (14 crackers)

1/3 cup sugar

14 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ lb unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING

½ cup half-and-half

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3 extra-large egg yolks

1 package (2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin

1 ripe banana, finely mashed

1/2 tsp grated orange zest

1/2 cup cold heavy cream

 2  Tbs sugar

 FOR THE DECORATION  

1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Orange zest (optional)

1. Oven 350

2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter in

a bowl and mix well.

3. Pour into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and press evenly

into the sides and bottom.

4. Bake for 10 minutes, cool to room temperature.

Filling

5.  Heat the half-and-half, pumpkin, brown sugar, salt,

cinnamon, and nutmeg in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water

until hot, about 5 minutes.

6. Whisk the egg yolks in another bowl, stir some of the hot pumpkin into

the egg yolks to heat them, then pour the egg-pumpkin mixture back into the

double boiler and stir well.

7. Heat the mixture over the simmering water for another 4 to 5 minutes,

until it begins to thicken, stirring constantly.  Remove from the heat.

8. Dissolve the gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water. Add the dissolved gelatin,

banana, and orange zest to the pumpkin mixture and mix well. Set aside to

cool.

9. Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and continue to beat until

firm peaks form. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin

mixture and pour it into the cooled tart shell. Chill for 2 hours or overnight.

Decoration

10. Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar

and vanilla and continue to beat until firm peaks form. Pipe or spoon

the whipped cream decoratively on the tart and sprinkle, if desired, with

orange zest. Serve chilled.

11. This tart can be made a day or two ahead and kept refrigerated. Decorate

it with whipped cream an hour or two before serving.

Cooking Tip: Use a defrosted banana from freezer - it mashes more easily.

Cooking Tip: Grate zest early and allow to dry - it sprinkles on cream more

easily.  Used fine and medium microplane.

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten

                   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mondays with Maggie

Maggie made it through her first week with us, or we made it through our first week with Maggie.

Of course, because Maggie is an older puppy, we could escape all the trials and tribulations that a younger puppy brings to a new home. Well, throw that thought out. : )

We are now less one cell phone charger cord, one less riding boot, one less dog toy made with super strong fire hose material, two less leash leads, one plus hole in a people blanket, various pillows with dog slobber, but no holes, a super strong bacon flavored plastic type bone that she lost interest in and lost, a Kong chew toy that she lost interest in, a Kong bone toy that she lost interest in, a Kong tennis ball that she loved - so much that she has lost it in the house somewhere, and finally one hole and two ripped corners in a Kong bed made of super strong material for super strong chewers. 

"What have I done?"  I chose a puppy that needed a home and humans who believed in trying to make her positive qualities prevail.  She doesn't jump up on people, doesn't bite when you need to take things away from her (cords, boots, toys, blankets, papers, and many other etc.) doesn't growl when you put your hand near her food or near and in her mouth to remove forbidden objects, loves to be scratched, doesn't jump on little kids or lick them, puts her head on a little girl's lap to be petted and be called my dog, walks quietly on a leash, sits and lies down when told, and watches out the glass window door to warn of predators - real or imagined.  Maggie has the sweetest face and eyes - irresistible.  That's why she is staying.

These cookies - so good, so easy. 

Special Roll-Out Sugar Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp   baking powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp almond extract

1 large egg

1/4 cup heavy cream or sour cream (used sour cream)

3 Tbs cornstarch

3 cups all-purpose flour

 1. Beat the butter, sugar, salt, baking powder, vanilla, and almond extract until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat well.  Add half the cream, all of the cornstarch, and half the flour; beat well.  Add the remaining cream and flour, mixing just until all of the

ingredients are well incorporated.

2. Divide the dough in half, flatten into rounds, and wrap well.

Refrigerate for 1 hour or more, to facilitate rolling.

3. Preheat the oven to 350.  Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two

baking sheets.

4. Transfer the chilled dough to a lightly floured(use confectioners’ sugar) work surface and place a piece of plastic wrap over it while you roll it our to keep it from sticking

to the rolling pin.  Roll the dough to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.  Cut it into

the shapes.  

5. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until they're set but not browned.

Remove them from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet

before transferring to a rack.   

Cooking Tips: Roll out on a surface sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

 The dough is also sturdy enough to be cut into fanciful shapes and decorated.

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Maggie, Day Three

     Our animal farm story continues with the arrival of Maggie. Her picture was posted on the internet site for St. Hubert's.  Something about her look kept me going back.  It could have been the color, or the eyes, or the expression on her face, or the desire to find another Shiloh.
     Off to St. Hubert's to take a closer look at Maggie.  There she lay on her bed as I walked through the kennel area.  It reminded me of Shiloh 4 years ago, lying patiently while all the other dogs jumped and barked.  She did get up on my return trip down the aisle.  I asked to see her.
     In the outside enclosure she was moderately interested in me, but more interested in the smells of the cage.   Hooked pretty much at first sight, paperwork was processed, fee paid, and Maggie left St. Hubert's. Should I have cared more that the previous two matches did not work out? After listening carefully to the details of her history, I thought that I had the situation figured out, and it would be a successful match.

Is that a smile?

     She was wonderful in the car. She was wonderful in the house (cross this off, that was only the first three hours of the first night).  She didn't jump up on people and liked to be petted. She was wonderful until poor Gizmo kitty, who did not know to let sleeping dogs lie, decided to go close and sniff Maggie's nose while she was sleeping by me.   Too late to stop the interaction,  Maggie opened her eyes, saw the cat, growled and took off.  Now there is a reason for the expression scaredy cat.  That is Giz even on her best day.  She took off and couldn't be found for hours - the next day actually.  She wanted no part of this dog.  This home invasion by a new creature was not a Shiloh.
     Now what?  I couldn't fall back asleep and I knew I wasn't dozing because I was beginning to see the entire nightly rerun of an evening's worth of Fox programs.
     What was I going to do if Maggie considered cats a food group?  There were three more in the barn outside. The mixed breeds in this dog need to be outside and able to run.  This might be trouble.        
     Not having kids to keep me awake at night, now it was a dog.  The Carrie Underwood song kept playing over and over in my mind, "It started out hey, cutie, where'd you come from, then it turned into oh, no, what have I done?"  Sixty plus pounds of dog and still a puppy? What had I done?
      Luckily with the morning light and some sleep more rational thought prevailed. So, the facts as known -she likes to chew - anything, likes to run - everywhere, forget about trying to catch her on a tear around, likes to counter surf - note to self, keep food back from the edge, but she has the sweetest face and she still has a puppy brain. A puppy brain, cope with it, outsmart it, after all you are a human, the superior species higher up on the brain chain.

      Here she'll have her forever home, but she'll never know that if it weren't for Shiloh being such a great companion, she might have ended up in someone else's home.

You Are Who/What You Think You Are

Can you see Chicken Little?  A bit of confusion here, maybe?  Watching animal behavior can unlock some thoughts about human behavior.  Chicken Little is a temporary guest on our farm.  The four young chickens, slightly larger than he, would have no part of him sharing anything - not food and least of all, their space.  They pecked and chased him until he flew out of their reach.  But, he landed in the turkey pen with an empty stomach.  Promptly hopping into the dish of turkey grain he pecked at any turkey beak that wanted food.  They pretty much left the little squirt to have his way. 
     Climbing in with the turkeys to catch the little guy each night to put him safely away was added to the routine.  Each new day brought the pecking at him from the chickens and then back into the turkey pen he flew.  This went on for days until one day, when locking the turkeys up in the dark there was no Chicken Little to be found.  Could the turkeys have finally decided to push their weight around? Was it his demise?  But no -  the next morning he came hopping out the door with the turkeys.  Now at night he is usually the first in and  can be found right in there with the turkeys, roosting after dark. The moral of the story, according to Chicken Little, is that if you eat like a turkey with turkeys, act like a turkey, and roost like a turkey, well then, no argument, you are a turkey.

     So it is that Chicken Little found a place with the big guys.  And if only people would realize that sometimes those who are just a little bigger just try to boss others around.  Just get with the real big guys and there's no threat.  Those with big hearts, big minds, and/or big bodies just don't have to go after others to prove a point.

Tis the season for an easy great fall cider drink.

                         Mulled Apple Cider with Orange and Ginger 5*
8 cups unpasteurized apple cider

          A 3-inch cinnamon stick

10       whole cloves

 1        navel orange, peeled and        

          sliced crosswise

         A 2-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger,-- cut into 6 slices

      Combine the cider, cinnamon stick, cloves, orange and the ginger and simmer   for 20 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a heat-proof pitcher and serve warm.

Adapted from  Gourmet | October 1991