1) My husband really likes "bringing home the bacon" the old-fashioned way - starting with a live pig.
2) Homemade sausage is way tastier than store-bought
3) Electric meat grinders are much easier to use than manual. And appallingly more expensive
4) A sharpened Henckels knife from 1993 works better, and is easier to clean, than a meat slicer from 1968.
5) In the time it takes me to google "green slime electric plug" Stephen can rewire the plug on an old meat slicer
6) I like facebook
7) Our cats are both male
8) It is cheaper to neuter male cats than spay female cats
9) It is a nice surprise to save $10 when you go to pay for your cats' surgery
10) I feel like planting when the weather is balmy
11) Six hours later when the temperature has dropped 40 degrees, all I want to do is sit in front of the fireplace.
12) A 2 year old does not intuitively grasp that he should not stick his butter knife in his sock at dinner
13) Coyotes eat their breakfast when we are finishing up ours, at 7:30am. Right outside our window. They prefer chicken for breakfast. Maybe they eat eggs for dinner.
14) A coyote with a chicken in its mouth runs faster than Stephen can walk from his seat to the gun safe
15) Our cats can take down a rabbit that is almost their size.
16) Our cats are very proud of this.
17) Out of respect, our cats may leave us an offering of a rabbit head on the front door mat. If we do not eat it, they will take it away to a suitable location for "burial"
18) Living here can be gross. Oh, I learned that years ago.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thank goodness for ag science
Happy cows produce more milk.
Imagine. {rolling eyes}
Do you think happy mothers make better cookies? I wonder how much grant money I could get to study that. It would, of course, require cookie testing. Any volunteers?
Imagine. {rolling eyes}
Do you think happy mothers make better cookies? I wonder how much grant money I could get to study that. It would, of course, require cookie testing. Any volunteers?
Friday, January 16, 2009
It Couldn’t Be Done
by Edgar Albert Guest
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Out of the mouths of babes
We have a new batch of baby chicks. On the day they arrived I took Little Guy out to see them, after he woke up from his nap. He seemed to have mixed feelings... they were "so cute!" but he wasn't too interested in holding them. Not that I'm complaining; he killed one last time (seriously).
Later that night as I was telling him "The Story of Little Guy's Day", which is part of his bedtime routine, I got to the part about going out to see the chicks.
"So Mama picked up a chick and gave it to Little Guy, who had to be very careful. It was soft and, well, what DID it feel like?"
He looked at me solemnly with those big 2 year old eyes and said "Chicken nuggets."
Later that night as I was telling him "The Story of Little Guy's Day", which is part of his bedtime routine, I got to the part about going out to see the chicks.
"So Mama picked up a chick and gave it to Little Guy, who had to be very careful. It was soft and, well, what DID it feel like?"
He looked at me solemnly with those big 2 year old eyes and said "Chicken nuggets."
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Kitties
In late October we added two new residents.
The children named them Genesis and Exodus.
This past Sunday, for a Christmas gift, I surprised The Princess with tickets to the musical Cats. We had another happy girls-only outing, this time all the way to San Antonio.
Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the leader of the Jellicle Cats is named Old Deuteronomy! Thus we learned that The Princess (for it was her idea) is a natural at dignified cat naming!
The children named them Genesis and Exodus.
This past Sunday, for a Christmas gift, I surprised The Princess with tickets to the musical Cats. We had another happy girls-only outing, this time all the way to San Antonio.
Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the leader of the Jellicle Cats is named Old Deuteronomy! Thus we learned that The Princess (for it was her idea) is a natural at dignified cat naming!
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Another new year
The years are flying by faster and faster. How can 2008 be gone already?
Last night, in a happy change of tradition, both Stephen and I were awake past 10:00 on New Year's Eve. We stayed up and watched the ball drop an hour late (the networks delayed the broadcast by an hour for the deprived Central Time Zone folk). We talked about how when we were kids, 2009 seemed like a year that was only possible in the movies. We agreed that the concept of 2000 was so unsettling that we had never really thought past it.
And now here we are nine years past it! On reflection we also agreed that we could never have predicted that our lives would be the way they are, or that we would be the people that we are, when we were teenagers in the 80's.
It was also a moment to reminisce 19 years back, to our first this-is-not-an-actual-date-we-are-just-friends outing to a New Year's Eve party in Newport, RI. I had a terrible crush on Stephen then, but could not tell how he felt about me. I was so nervous I was ready 30 minutes before he came to pick me up! Anyone who knows me knows that this is, well, practically defying the laws of physics.
Alas, another year and a half would pass before we declared our feelings for one another. But you know the story ends happily, and here we are in Texas (surprise #1), married for 15 1/2 years (surprise #2), on our farm (surprise #3), with our 3 beautiful children (surprise #4), whom we homeschool (surprise #5), I am an omnivore (surprise #6), we own guns (surprise #7), and are conservative evangelical Christians (surprise #8). There are more, but I think that's a good start.
Yes, it is a long journey home, but it is never boring, especially with Stephen Brown holding my hand. I do love that man, and pray we will be journeying together for many years to come.
Last night, in a happy change of tradition, both Stephen and I were awake past 10:00 on New Year's Eve. We stayed up and watched the ball drop an hour late (the networks delayed the broadcast by an hour for the deprived Central Time Zone folk). We talked about how when we were kids, 2009 seemed like a year that was only possible in the movies. We agreed that the concept of 2000 was so unsettling that we had never really thought past it.
And now here we are nine years past it! On reflection we also agreed that we could never have predicted that our lives would be the way they are, or that we would be the people that we are, when we were teenagers in the 80's.
It was also a moment to reminisce 19 years back, to our first this-is-not-an-actual-date-we-are-just-friends outing to a New Year's Eve party in Newport, RI. I had a terrible crush on Stephen then, but could not tell how he felt about me. I was so nervous I was ready 30 minutes before he came to pick me up! Anyone who knows me knows that this is, well, practically defying the laws of physics.
Alas, another year and a half would pass before we declared our feelings for one another. But you know the story ends happily, and here we are in Texas (surprise #1), married for 15 1/2 years (surprise #2), on our farm (surprise #3), with our 3 beautiful children (surprise #4), whom we homeschool (surprise #5), I am an omnivore (surprise #6), we own guns (surprise #7), and are conservative evangelical Christians (surprise #8). There are more, but I think that's a good start.
Yes, it is a long journey home, but it is never boring, especially with Stephen Brown holding my hand. I do love that man, and pray we will be journeying together for many years to come.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
A little color
Here's a burst of sunshine and color from this summer. These are two kinds of watermelon we grew, Yellow Doll and New Orchid:
White food
Recently we were given some store-bought eggs. Yesterday I was baking cookies and pulled the carton of eggs out of the fridge. As I opened it I heard a gasp, and turned to see The Princess with wide eyes, up on tiptoe, saying, "They're SO white! They're completely white!"
It had not occurred to me that she might not have seen white eggs. I suppose the last time we didn't have our own laying hens was almost four years ago, when she was just 3, and even then I usually bought brown eggs.
This reminded me of this past summer, when we had used up all our chickens in the freezer, and I bought some breast meat at the grocery store. Farmer Boy came into the kitchen, looked at it, raw, on a tray waiting to go into the oven, and said "What is THAT?!" He actually did not recognize it as chicken meat. When I told him it was chicken he said, "It's so... white!" Later, when asked for his thoughts, pronounced it, "Gross." He said the texture was what really bothered him. "Sort of slimes down your throat... blech" was the best he could describe the texture. This is the boy whose eyes light up when he hears the word "tongue". Not a picky eater.
Now let me clarify that he ate it (that comment notwithstanding, he is a polite boy), and was not criticizing the cooking. But he could distinguish the vast difference between home-grown chicken and factory-farmed chicken. And he was not impressed.
For Stephen and me, coming from a non-farming background, we have had a similar reaction, but different in its emphasis. Our kids have been surprised by how bland factory food is. We have been amazed by how delicious fresh food is. Animals grown in healthy environments produce tastier eggs and meat. It is that simple.
Veggies just picked from the garden glow with color and flavor. Bread made with freshly ground wheat is tender and moist. Last summer Stephen was the caretaker of a goat dairy farm for a few weeks. He is not normally a milk drinker, but he guzzled that fresh milk!
Because I cook mostly from scratch, I find my taste is now more sensitive to artificial ingredients. It is surprising how few ingredients are needed in a recipe when each ingredient is bursting with flavor because it is fresh.
Obviously this can be expanded almost indefinitely. In the final analysis, the way God made it is the way it is best enjoyed, and best for you.
Fewer and fresher ingredients in our food, our homes, our relationships...
It had not occurred to me that she might not have seen white eggs. I suppose the last time we didn't have our own laying hens was almost four years ago, when she was just 3, and even then I usually bought brown eggs.
This reminded me of this past summer, when we had used up all our chickens in the freezer, and I bought some breast meat at the grocery store. Farmer Boy came into the kitchen, looked at it, raw, on a tray waiting to go into the oven, and said "What is THAT?!" He actually did not recognize it as chicken meat. When I told him it was chicken he said, "It's so... white!" Later, when asked for his thoughts, pronounced it, "Gross." He said the texture was what really bothered him. "Sort of slimes down your throat... blech" was the best he could describe the texture. This is the boy whose eyes light up when he hears the word "tongue". Not a picky eater.
Now let me clarify that he ate it (that comment notwithstanding, he is a polite boy), and was not criticizing the cooking. But he could distinguish the vast difference between home-grown chicken and factory-farmed chicken. And he was not impressed.
For Stephen and me, coming from a non-farming background, we have had a similar reaction, but different in its emphasis. Our kids have been surprised by how bland factory food is. We have been amazed by how delicious fresh food is. Animals grown in healthy environments produce tastier eggs and meat. It is that simple.
Veggies just picked from the garden glow with color and flavor. Bread made with freshly ground wheat is tender and moist. Last summer Stephen was the caretaker of a goat dairy farm for a few weeks. He is not normally a milk drinker, but he guzzled that fresh milk!
Because I cook mostly from scratch, I find my taste is now more sensitive to artificial ingredients. It is surprising how few ingredients are needed in a recipe when each ingredient is bursting with flavor because it is fresh.
Obviously this can be expanded almost indefinitely. In the final analysis, the way God made it is the way it is best enjoyed, and best for you.
Fewer and fresher ingredients in our food, our homes, our relationships...
Some older posts to follow
I have not blogged for many months (three I think), but I did occasionally sit down and write a few entries without posting them. Following this you will find a few of those posts with their original dates.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Going to the Opera!
The Princess and I took advantage of a remarkable opportunity yesterday. Austin Lyric Opera opened it's final full dress rehearsal of La Cenerentola (Rossini's Cinderella) to students and teachers, including homeschoolers.
We went out to a lovely dinner at The East Side Cafe (my favorite Austin restaurant, to which I have not been for 3 years). Our dinners even came with flowers on them! Fitting, given the fancy hairdo The Princess made for herself.
Then, with an hour to spare, we went to the Long Center for the Performing Arts. Our extra time allowed us to go the top of the parking garage and enjoy the night skyline. It also permitted us to get amazing seats, since seating was General Admission and we were there when the doors opened. We paid a total of $17 for our tickets. The seats we chose were in the "orchestra prime" area. If we were to go this Saturday, EACH TICKET would cost $126!! $17 vs. $252.
Because it was a dress rehearsal we were told beforehand that there might be stops in the action, and the performers might not always "sing out" (preserving their voice strength for opening night). There were only one or two occasions when the singing was soft, and no interruptions. The singing was amazing, the orchestra stirring, the costumes over-the-top. I was completely overwhelmed.
It was long, and late, so when intermission came and it was close to 9:00 already, I suggested to The Princess that we just head home then. She wanted to stay, and so we did. The 2nd act was even better and we were both so glad we stayed. It was a wonderful evening for two very happy girls!
We went out to a lovely dinner at The East Side Cafe (my favorite Austin restaurant, to which I have not been for 3 years). Our dinners even came with flowers on them! Fitting, given the fancy hairdo The Princess made for herself.
Then, with an hour to spare, we went to the Long Center for the Performing Arts. Our extra time allowed us to go the top of the parking garage and enjoy the night skyline. It also permitted us to get amazing seats, since seating was General Admission and we were there when the doors opened. We paid a total of $17 for our tickets. The seats we chose were in the "orchestra prime" area. If we were to go this Saturday, EACH TICKET would cost $126!! $17 vs. $252.
Because it was a dress rehearsal we were told beforehand that there might be stops in the action, and the performers might not always "sing out" (preserving their voice strength for opening night). There were only one or two occasions when the singing was soft, and no interruptions. The singing was amazing, the orchestra stirring, the costumes over-the-top. I was completely overwhelmed.
It was long, and late, so when intermission came and it was close to 9:00 already, I suggested to The Princess that we just head home then. She wanted to stay, and so we did. The 2nd act was even better and we were both so glad we stayed. It was a wonderful evening for two very happy girls!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Dear doggies
We have lived on our farm for four years now. In that time nine dogs have lived here. They've come to us from people who can't keep their dog any more, strays that have shown up, and some just born here.
Farm life is a happy life for a dog, I think, but it's not a soft life. Our dogs don't sleep on our beds; they're not even allowed in the house, unless there's a terrible storm.
They're expected to work... protecting the animals and farm. Most of them really like to do this. Some have thought the chickens might be quite delicious, but we've managed to limit this somehow.
They run endlessly, play in ponds, get dirty and don't get in trouble, and pretty much live a doggie dream life.
Of course we've had dogs get stepped on by cows and kicked by horses, but the really dangerous thing for dogs here turns out to be cars.
Our house is close to the road, and for reasons I still can not understand, cars are very threatening to the canine mind. Trucks hauling trailers are the ultimate enemy.
We have had three dogs get hit by cars. Two have died. We've also lost dogs in mysterious ways... they've just disappeared. And we've given dogs away.
Molly, Fleck, Fred, Zeke, Belle, Sheila, Pepper, a stray we never named, and Luke. Nine dogs, and we're down to one.
Luke is our only dog now. Dear limping, sad Luke. He really is a good dog, but he's never gotten over being separated from his brother and best friend when he was a year old and brought to live with us. Luke was hit by a car this summer. He has recovered but will always limp.
Recently Luke seems to be cheering up. His solo status actually appears to be a positive for him... he gets all the human attention and doesn't have to argue with anyone over status (although he'd been top dog since right after he arrived).
He's not doing his job very well. We're down to six chickens (from 40 in the summer). Rather a calamitous loss. I believe the coyotes refer to our house as "The Breakfast Club".
Farm life is a happy life for a dog, I think, but it's not a soft life. Our dogs don't sleep on our beds; they're not even allowed in the house, unless there's a terrible storm.
They're expected to work... protecting the animals and farm. Most of them really like to do this. Some have thought the chickens might be quite delicious, but we've managed to limit this somehow.
They run endlessly, play in ponds, get dirty and don't get in trouble, and pretty much live a doggie dream life.
Of course we've had dogs get stepped on by cows and kicked by horses, but the really dangerous thing for dogs here turns out to be cars.
Our house is close to the road, and for reasons I still can not understand, cars are very threatening to the canine mind. Trucks hauling trailers are the ultimate enemy.
We have had three dogs get hit by cars. Two have died. We've also lost dogs in mysterious ways... they've just disappeared. And we've given dogs away.
Molly, Fleck, Fred, Zeke, Belle, Sheila, Pepper, a stray we never named, and Luke. Nine dogs, and we're down to one.
Luke is our only dog now. Dear limping, sad Luke. He really is a good dog, but he's never gotten over being separated from his brother and best friend when he was a year old and brought to live with us. Luke was hit by a car this summer. He has recovered but will always limp.
Recently Luke seems to be cheering up. His solo status actually appears to be a positive for him... he gets all the human attention and doesn't have to argue with anyone over status (although he'd been top dog since right after he arrived).
He's not doing his job very well. We're down to six chickens (from 40 in the summer). Rather a calamitous loss. I believe the coyotes refer to our house as "The Breakfast Club".
Wild Turkeys
Stephen discovered a large flock of wild turkeys (technically called a rafter of turkeys) on our property recently. I was excited because we do not raise turkeys yet, so we still have to buy Thanksgiving and Christmas birds. Wild turkey for Thanksgiving dinner - how fitting!
Unfortunately (for me, not for the turkeys), turkey hunting season is in the spring. Good thing the folks in Plymouth lived before government regulations on hunting. Not that they were unfamiliar with the problems of a heavy-handed government...
Anyway, here are the birds. Ugly but in a really cool kind of way.
Unfortunately (for me, not for the turkeys), turkey hunting season is in the spring. Good thing the folks in Plymouth lived before government regulations on hunting. Not that they were unfamiliar with the problems of a heavy-handed government...
Anyway, here are the birds. Ugly but in a really cool kind of way.
Garden
Oh my, three months since the last post. Yes, it has been a full and happy summer.
While Stephen has had many new projects on the farm these past few months, my main farm project has been planting a much bigger garden. As I've written, Stephen enclosed a little more than 1/4 acre for us last spring. We got some planted, but it was previously pasture, so there was a lot of work to do to break the ground.
In August, Stephen took over the ground breaking part (phew!) and now we are moving along quickly. At this point we have about 1500 square feet planted, and are probably 1/4 of the way done. Of course we want to feed ourselves, but we are also planning to sell vegetables at the Bastrop Producer's Market.
The kids and I plant mostly in the morning after breakfast and before school. After dinner I like to go out and sit in a chair in the garden and just look.
I still squeal like a 5 year old to see things like this (our first sugar snap pea):
We have marauders in the garden periodically. A rabbit systematically helped itself to our bean babies. This picture is taken half way up a 40 foot row, the rest of the row behind me was wiped out too.
Here's what fills the row where there you see no green above:
Thankfully I read that tabasco sauce mixed with water and sprayed on the leaves deters rabbits. It works! That's why we still have some left.
They pilfered a cabbage plant too. Here's a happy cabbage:
And a missing neighbor!
Yesterday I was marveling at how green everything in the garden is. We are in a serious drought and most of the farm is dry and yellow, but our wonderful soaker lines keep the veggies green.
We do have bursts of color here and there...
While Stephen has had many new projects on the farm these past few months, my main farm project has been planting a much bigger garden. As I've written, Stephen enclosed a little more than 1/4 acre for us last spring. We got some planted, but it was previously pasture, so there was a lot of work to do to break the ground.
In August, Stephen took over the ground breaking part (phew!) and now we are moving along quickly. At this point we have about 1500 square feet planted, and are probably 1/4 of the way done. Of course we want to feed ourselves, but we are also planning to sell vegetables at the Bastrop Producer's Market.
The kids and I plant mostly in the morning after breakfast and before school. After dinner I like to go out and sit in a chair in the garden and just look.
I still squeal like a 5 year old to see things like this (our first sugar snap pea):
We have marauders in the garden periodically. A rabbit systematically helped itself to our bean babies. This picture is taken half way up a 40 foot row, the rest of the row behind me was wiped out too.
Here's what fills the row where there you see no green above:
Thankfully I read that tabasco sauce mixed with water and sprayed on the leaves deters rabbits. It works! That's why we still have some left.
They pilfered a cabbage plant too. Here's a happy cabbage:
And a missing neighbor!
Yesterday I was marveling at how green everything in the garden is. We are in a serious drought and most of the farm is dry and yellow, but our wonderful soaker lines keep the veggies green.
We do have bursts of color here and there...
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
My son is crazy
I've mentioned the rat snakes in the hen house before. More than once. Big stinkers. Hungry. Farmer Boy chased one or two out last month, but one time decided the fastest way to deal with it was catch it! He knocked on the back door and here is what I saw! Don't worry, they are not venomous. Is he brave or what?
Friday, June 06, 2008
Beef tongue
WARNING TO VEGETARIANS: This post deals almost exclusively with meat.
WARNING TO OMNIVORES: This post deals almost exclusively with weird meat!
Okay, so I have put it off for a long time. Yes, years. I have had a growing collection of (deep breath) beef tongue in my freezer. Each steer we slaughter comes with a tongue. And various other things like a heart, two kidneys, a liver. We have these things all tidily packaged in white paper in our freezer.
A few months ago I made kidney stew. The Princess and I were reading Mirette on the High Wire as part of our Five in a Row curriculum (which I mostly just use to guide our circle time theme). "Delicious" kidney stew is mentioned, so in keeping with the theme, I found a genuine french kidney stew recipe, and we had kidney stew with crusty french bread for dinner. It was terrible. Ugh.
We have used up our regular frozen beef. We have eaten our last frozen chicken. We are down to the end, and I really don't want to buy factory farm meat at the grocery store.
So I cooked beef tongue today.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to learn how to cook beef tongue these days? Only one of my cookbooks has a recipe (The Joy of Cooking from 1964... and I'll bet the new edition doesn't have it). Online the recipes are few and far between. Seems beef tongue is especially enjoyed in Mexico and the Philippines. But not so much in the US.
I decided to take the Mexican angle today. So I made beef tacos. Note the word tongue is not mentioned... we had BEEF TACOS. Some of us have these bizarre psychological hangups. I'm not naming names.
So, on to the method. I kind of pieced this whole thing together from various sources and made the sauce out of what I had available.
First I (with great trepidation) unwrapped the packages. The tongues looked like tongues. Really big tongues. I decided to spare you pictures, but if you are really curious, look here. I scrubbed them and put them in a big pot, then covered them with water.
I put the pot on the stove, added a few bay leaves, a lot of garlic, about a teaspoon of salt and some coriander seeds. Brought it to boil and let it cook for 3 hours.
When it was done, I took it out and easily removed the skin, then cut up the meat. I sauteed (for 1 min):
2 T vegetable oil
2 T flour
2 T chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
Then I added:
the sliced tongue
14 oz can stewed tomatoes (with liquid)
1 cup water left from boiling tongue
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
I mixed the whole thing and let it simmer until dinner time, about 45 minutes.
Here it is, on a home made whole wheat tortilla, with onions, cheese and lettuce, ready to be rolled up:
The meal met with approval, but I still hadn't told the kids what kind of beef we were eating. After Farmer Boy had seconds, I told them they had eaten tongue, and they laughed! I really have the best kids in the universe.
As for me, I would not be sad if I never ate tongue again. I'll confess. I'm the one with hangups.
WARNING TO OMNIVORES: This post deals almost exclusively with weird meat!
Okay, so I have put it off for a long time. Yes, years. I have had a growing collection of (deep breath) beef tongue in my freezer. Each steer we slaughter comes with a tongue. And various other things like a heart, two kidneys, a liver. We have these things all tidily packaged in white paper in our freezer.
A few months ago I made kidney stew. The Princess and I were reading Mirette on the High Wire as part of our Five in a Row curriculum (which I mostly just use to guide our circle time theme). "Delicious" kidney stew is mentioned, so in keeping with the theme, I found a genuine french kidney stew recipe, and we had kidney stew with crusty french bread for dinner. It was terrible. Ugh.
We have used up our regular frozen beef. We have eaten our last frozen chicken. We are down to the end, and I really don't want to buy factory farm meat at the grocery store.
So I cooked beef tongue today.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to learn how to cook beef tongue these days? Only one of my cookbooks has a recipe (The Joy of Cooking from 1964... and I'll bet the new edition doesn't have it). Online the recipes are few and far between. Seems beef tongue is especially enjoyed in Mexico and the Philippines. But not so much in the US.
I decided to take the Mexican angle today. So I made beef tacos. Note the word tongue is not mentioned... we had BEEF TACOS. Some of us have these bizarre psychological hangups. I'm not naming names.
So, on to the method. I kind of pieced this whole thing together from various sources and made the sauce out of what I had available.
First I (with great trepidation) unwrapped the packages. The tongues looked like tongues. Really big tongues. I decided to spare you pictures, but if you are really curious, look here. I scrubbed them and put them in a big pot, then covered them with water.
I put the pot on the stove, added a few bay leaves, a lot of garlic, about a teaspoon of salt and some coriander seeds. Brought it to boil and let it cook for 3 hours.
When it was done, I took it out and easily removed the skin, then cut up the meat. I sauteed (for 1 min):
2 T vegetable oil
2 T flour
2 T chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
Then I added:
the sliced tongue
14 oz can stewed tomatoes (with liquid)
1 cup water left from boiling tongue
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
I mixed the whole thing and let it simmer until dinner time, about 45 minutes.
Here it is, on a home made whole wheat tortilla, with onions, cheese and lettuce, ready to be rolled up:
The meal met with approval, but I still hadn't told the kids what kind of beef we were eating. After Farmer Boy had seconds, I told them they had eaten tongue, and they laughed! I really have the best kids in the universe.
As for me, I would not be sad if I never ate tongue again. I'll confess. I'm the one with hangups.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Recent harvests from our garden
Last week was our first green bean harvest (actually they were purple... Royal Burgundy Bush Beans from Seeds of Change... but they changed to green when cooked!)
We enjoyed wild dewberries in late April and early May, and the early blackberry bush in our garden area put on some huge juicy berries for us all through May:
Last night we ate our first corn:
And tonight found our first yellow tomatoes (we've had a few red ones already):
Soon to come... zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, peppers, cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, and lots and lots of blackberries in a patch down the hill. And of course lots more beans, corn and tomatoes. Yum!!
We enjoyed wild dewberries in late April and early May, and the early blackberry bush in our garden area put on some huge juicy berries for us all through May:
Last night we ate our first corn:
And tonight found our first yellow tomatoes (we've had a few red ones already):
Soon to come... zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, peppers, cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, and lots and lots of blackberries in a patch down the hill. And of course lots more beans, corn and tomatoes. Yum!!
Yet more baby birds
As you know, we live on a farm. We have domesticated animals. We have lots of wildlife. You'd think with all these acres, we would have some "humans only" space, even just right outside the house. Say, on the front porch, for example.
Well...
First there are the dogs. The cool concrete is very soothing in a hot Texas summer. Especially when you've just taken a nice dip in the pond then rolled in the dust.
Then the chickens. Doorsteps are great places to roost on. Rocking chair arms give a fine vantage point for surveying the lay of the land (aka the front yard).
And of course, there's the wildlife. We do have trees, quite a lot for Texas. But as I've written, we have already had a nestful of babes born in a hanging flower basket over the front porch this spring.
Around the time they were born, we noticed some swallows rebuilding a nest that had been inadvertently knocked off the house around Christmastime, probably due to Christmas lights. This nest had had two sets of babies born in it each summer we'd been here, so we were sad. We needn't have worried.
After the first fledglings from the flower basket headed off for adulthood, these scrawny cuties started peeping from the rebuilt swallow nest whenever they heard the squeak of the front door:
That picture was taken on May 21st, from our open front door.
Here they are on June 3:
You can imagine what the porch underneath the nest (yes, almost directly in front of our door) looks like.
Today I went out and they were gone. All "growed up" in a whopping 2 weeks. But never fear! We are not baby bird-less yet! For we have another hanging flower basket. Yes, now it too has a nest therein.
I sneaked a peak, and look who's ready to get a-growin...
So if you come to our house and wonder why we have two completely dead flower baskets hanging over our porch, now you'll know it's because they are actually bird nurseries, and bird mamas don't take kindly to having their babies' rooms flooded.
Well...
First there are the dogs. The cool concrete is very soothing in a hot Texas summer. Especially when you've just taken a nice dip in the pond then rolled in the dust.
Then the chickens. Doorsteps are great places to roost on. Rocking chair arms give a fine vantage point for surveying the lay of the land (aka the front yard).
And of course, there's the wildlife. We do have trees, quite a lot for Texas. But as I've written, we have already had a nestful of babes born in a hanging flower basket over the front porch this spring.
Around the time they were born, we noticed some swallows rebuilding a nest that had been inadvertently knocked off the house around Christmastime, probably due to Christmas lights. This nest had had two sets of babies born in it each summer we'd been here, so we were sad. We needn't have worried.
After the first fledglings from the flower basket headed off for adulthood, these scrawny cuties started peeping from the rebuilt swallow nest whenever they heard the squeak of the front door:
That picture was taken on May 21st, from our open front door.
Here they are on June 3:
You can imagine what the porch underneath the nest (yes, almost directly in front of our door) looks like.
Today I went out and they were gone. All "growed up" in a whopping 2 weeks. But never fear! We are not baby bird-less yet! For we have another hanging flower basket. Yes, now it too has a nest therein.
I sneaked a peak, and look who's ready to get a-growin...
So if you come to our house and wonder why we have two completely dead flower baskets hanging over our porch, now you'll know it's because they are actually bird nurseries, and bird mamas don't take kindly to having their babies' rooms flooded.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Planting flowers
The big kids and I took advantage of Little Guy's nap one Saturday and planted more seeds in the cut flower beds.
I think we are weeding in this picture. This day we put in zinnias; right behind me are two rows of cosmos that were a few weeks old. And obviously we are surrounded by unbroken ground (loads of grass and weeds). Think of the possibilities!
I think we are weeding in this picture. This day we put in zinnias; right behind me are two rows of cosmos that were a few weeks old. And obviously we are surrounded by unbroken ground (loads of grass and weeds). Think of the possibilities!
Irrigation
Stephen has been working hard to get water into the garden for me. He dug a 3 foot deep trench in the back yard and ran piping out to the garden fence. Then he installed a faucet inside the garden.
At the moment we have a series of regular hoses and drip hoses hooked up to the faucet, but we need more already. The flower beds still have to be hand watered, and I am starting a new area for a second corn patch.
At the moment we have a series of regular hoses and drip hoses hooked up to the faucet, but we need more already. The flower beds still have to be hand watered, and I am starting a new area for a second corn patch.
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