Just sharin' the love!

Vintage Dutch boy & girl

Sharin' the love under the Redbud and Lilac are two of my favorite garden pieces.
Both the Redbud and the Lilac have spring buds, but it will be a few more weeks before either is blooming.

Three hens a - layin'!

Big Red, our rooster, "shares the love" ALL the time.
Fertile eggs are the tasty result.
As of this week, our chickens will be given ALL organic laying mash.
After reading the ingredients list on our local mill's mash, I made the very pricey
($7.50 per 50# for NON-organic...VS...$21.00 per 50# for ALL organic)
decision to go all organic with their feed.
Tho they are truly "free-range" and getting much of their food right now straight out of the gardens and yard, I feel I have to do this.
Ever since we have had our layers I have always given away our surplus eggs.
To go all organic would make that very difficult.
My dear friend Jen, from "A Bowl of Cherries", has agreed to now purchase her eggs for $2.00 a dozen to help offset the new cost.
She will be getting organic/free range eggs, and so will we!
Such a deal!

Chickens doing what they do best...foraging for fresh greens and bugs!
They are out from about 9am till dusk when I go and lock them in for the night.
Our henhouse is fairly secure with a cement floor and insulated walls so it would take some mighty fine handiwork on the part of any predators to get in.

Last years tomato garden

THIS is what I will be tackling this week!
We are expecting some beautifully warm sunny days and I must take full advantage of it!
Since I was in a lot of pain last year, the gardens were never properly put to bed for the winter.
Hence, this will make for much more work this week.
Nevertheless...it is what it is, and it has to get done!
This particular bed will not be for tomatoes again, but for lettuce, potatoes, carrots, chard, and possibly some beets.
The tomato garden will be where the lettuce gardens were last year....
Crop rotation and all that....

How's YOUR week looking?

xoxo,
Cindy

My firstborn, my daughter, my friend

Giselle with HER 1st born, Trena Constance
Feb. 09'

37 years ago today I gave birth to our oldest daughter, Giselle.
Easy going right from the git-go, she was friends with everyone.

In fact, out of all 5 of our children, Giselle was by far the easiest to raise.

Giselle & Jon, July 2007

In high school she met her best friend, Jon.
They "liked" each other, but it never went any further than that.

A few years ago, at a 5K race, she spotted him.
A year or so later, they ran into each other at another race, and Jon began calling.
Dating for less than a year, they knew this was "it".
So did I.
I think I knew before Giselle did!

Giselle & Jon, pre-wedding spring 07

A beautiful ceremony with reception following and they began their new life together.

Jobs being what they are here in Michigan, Jon took a teaching position in Montana nearly 2 years ago.

Marathon runner!
Marathon finisher!

Cindy and Giselle, Christmas 08'

Tho they are far from us in miles, they are ever close to us in our hearts.
We are ever so thankful for our Verizon to Verizon free minutes, live video using Skype via the internet, and their 2x a year visits back home.

She is a lover of God, her husband, and her daughter.

And I am so proud to be her mama.

I love you Giselle.

mom

We don't need no stinkin' colored eggs!

Beigey pink, brown, green and cream

Who needs colored Easter eggs when these beauties are being laid every day?
We are getting between 7 and 10 eggs a day...more than enough for ourselves and a few friends we bless them with.

Not that I am against coloring eggs, cause I have fond memories of writing on the hard boiled eggs with that magic crayon they put in the kits, then coloring them with my kids.

Nowadays tho, there are many alternative dyes, and one only has to google "natural dyes for Easter eggs" or some such thing, and you will come up with everything you ever need to know about it!

I LOVE Google.

Homemade Ranch Dressing and Mayonnaise

I spent some time with Michelle from "She Looketh Welll" last week and she passed on her recipe for homemade mayo and ranch dressing/dip.
With eggs being prolific right now, and their "yellows" more orange than ever, I thought today would be a perfect day to try it.

I have made homemade mayo before, but was just OK with the results.
Turns out I needed to double the yolks to get it as thick as I wanted it.
THIS stuff is amazing!
And it really could not be easier.
Here's Michelle's recipe....

HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE

2-4 egg yolks (farm fresh eggs, please!) ...I used 4
1/2 teas. dry mustard
1-2 TBL lemon juice (Costco has wonderful bottled organic lemon juice...cheap!!!)
3 teas. rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar (something mild)
dash of onion and garlic powder
1 teas. sea salt

3/4 cup oil...(Michelle uses half olive oil and half sunflower oil)

Combine everything but the oil in food processor or blender (I use my trusty Cuisinart)
Mix till creamy....1 min. or less
Now slowly add the oil while running the processor until very thick.
With a blender or processor this goes very quickly.
You can also do this by hand, whisking the oil in a teensy bit at a time till it starts to emulsify then adding a bit faster as it has thickened.
Put in a mason jar and refrigerate.

I actually doubled this recipe as I wanted a jar of mayo AND a jar of dressing.

Michelle says this lasts approximately 2 weeks in the fridge. She says you can add a couple Tabl. of whey to extend the life of it and make it lacto-fermented. If you do this let it sit out for about 7 hours before refrigerating.
She also likes to add a teensy amt. of maple syrup (maybe 1 teas.?) to round out the flavor.
I didn't have any so I skipped this step.

Seasoning for the ranch dip/dressing:

2 TBL salt
2 TBL dill
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/2 cup dried parsley

Mix together and store in mason jar

To made dressing/dip:

1 cup homemade mayo
1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream (I used my homemade yogurt)
1 1/2 to 2 TBL dip mix

Combine!

Michelle says you can kick this up a notch by adding fresh cilantro, parsley, dill, basil, or jalapeno.
Also perhaps a bit of cayenne.

This stuff is SO good, I can hardly wait to have a salad tonight!
Hmmm....
Maybe I WON'T wait!
Lunch?

xoxo,
Cindy

FOOD, INC....THE RANT

Nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary

I'm back on the warpath.
After spending the weekend reading "Seeds of Deception" by Jeffrey M. Smith, and "Real Food...What to Eat and Why" by Nina Planck, I could hardly think straight!
Pacing the floor, incensed over what is happening to our food industry right under our very noses!
Did you know, for instance, that MOST of our processed food has genetically modified ingredients in them?
Even so called "healthy" processed foods?

Check this link and see for yourselves!

http://opposingdigits.com/forums/post-62.html

Did you know that the FDA has said that these foods do NOT need to be labeled?
Uh-huh.
You read that right.

Seems the powers that be (Monsanto) thinks that kind of info would cause fear to rise up in the hearts of the American people and they would run from anything labeled genetically modified.

Kinda like we all ran from milk when they added those crazy hormones RBST/RBGH???

Or, at the very least, many consumers would do some research for themselves and determine if GM foods were acceptable for them.
But no.
The average consumer has NO idea what they are ingesting.

Do yourself, and your loved ones a favor, and rent/purchase/borrow FOOD, INC.
It's not all the information we need, but it's a start.
And for those who are already aware, I can only say...

DO WHAT YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

If your grocery money will only stretch just so far, make the wisest purchases possible.
Get rid of as many ingredients containing corn syrup solids as you can.
Use REAL butter, not margarine, or "I can't believe it's not..."
Ditch as much processed foods as your family will allow.

Baby steps!

And while you have a minute, stop by "She Looketh Well" and see the giveaway Michelle is having!

A $75.00 gift card to...

U.S. Wellness Meats

Wellness Meats sells grass-fed meats and other cool stuff that would get you on started on the right foot!

Michelle is SO passionate about getting good food on our plates that she is offering this awesome giveaway!

Just follow her instructions and get onboard.

And don't forget to tell her that FarmgirlCyn sent you!

$75 bucks toward my groceries????
I am so "in"!

xoxo,
Cindy

But that was yesterday...now yesterday's gone

Hen House Clean-out

The 1st spring hen house cleaning is pretty bad.
They've pretty much been coop ridden for a few months and they DO make a big mess.
But it was in the mid 60's this week, and it was time.
Sam helped with the actual pitch fork work, tho I think I could have done it.
He's just stronger and faster and I wasn't about to turn that down!
And they go berserk once they get back in there with fresh pine shavings covered with 1/2 bale of straw.
Scratch, peck.
Scratch and peck some more!
Till it's re-arranged just the way they like it!

Front porch sittin'

A couple of weeks ago the hens and Big Red were running around, willy nilly, totally enjoying the sunshine and warmer temps. Naturally they have to check out the porch and peek in the bedroom windows!

1st Day of Spring Snow

Then this!
Snow on the 1st day of spring???
It doesn't stop the chickens...there's still bits of fresh grass and weeds poking thru the snow and they are bound and determined to get it while they can!

And I am not in the least disturbed.
Winter must have it's last hurrah (or two, or three) and I can't begrudge it.
Easy to say as next week we climb back in the mid 50's.

Just biding my time...
waiting till the ground is warm enough to work the soil...
then popping in some early peas, baby lettuces, and arugula!

I know that others in the Pacific Northwest are already in the planting mode and I love reading about what's being planted or coming up in other parts of the world.

How does YOUR garden grow this 1st day of spring?

xoxo,
Cindy

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS!

Daily sustenance

His Word and a bowl of homemade yogurt...

It doesn't get any better than this!

xoxo,
Cindy

Friday Night Pizza...mmm, mmm, good!

Caramelized Onion, Fresh Tomato, Italian Sausage Pizza

More often than not, homemade pizza is on the menu on Friday nights.
Last Friday night was no exception, but for the fact that I was trying a whole new pizza dough found at "Good Things Catered" blog.
(Head on over there and copy/paste the recipe to have for your very own!)
I also made her sauce recipe, adding a bit of olive oil.
The sauce recipe is enough for 4 pizzas, so I have the leftovers tucked away in the fridge.

Typically we have been "thick crust" lovers, and that is usually what I make.
But lately I have been experimenting with thin crust recipes, and I think I found a real winner here.

Rolled super thin on a piece of parchment paper and baked on a pizza stone placed on the FLOOR of your oven, it was , if I must toot my own horn...one of THE best pizzas I have ever made.

One of the secrets to a good, thin-crusted pizza is to not over-do it with the toppings.
Too much sauce and too many toppings make for a soggy, thin-crusted pizza!

At 1st we were concerned about baking this ON the parchment paper on the floor of the oven at 500 degrees!, as that is VERY close to the actual flames. I kept a close watch on it, and tho the paper turned a bit brown, nothing got burned.

Keep your eye on this pizza, as it is only in there for 10 minutes or less, and you must check the bottom of the crust to actually see how much longer you want to keep it in there.

This recipes makes 2 pizzas, with each pizza serving 2 adults.

We all thought it was great and it is on the menu again for THIS Friday's supper.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you fix on a regular basis?

Is Friday night always pizza night at YOUR house?

xoxo,
Cindy

Without further ado....the winner is...

Tried to get some help around here pickin' a name out of the box but it seems the whole household was busy this evening.
Beau had a friend staying overnight and they were exhausted from all their play. (see above)

Fuzzy was hiding under the covers, trying to look inconspicuous.

Ollie was looking for a little somethin', somethin' to eat.

Sophia FOUND a little somethin', somethin' to eat!

So....I had to draw the winner's name all by myself...

And the winner is-----------

JUDY!

Now Judy, you must come forward asap and give me your address!
Like by Tuesday sometime?
e-mail me at....
cindy50@altelco.net

Cause if I don't hear from you, I'll have to go through this whole riga ma role again!

And thanks everyone for entering my little soap giveaway!

xoxo,
Cindy

FYI... None of the animals pictured above were harmed during the photo taking session...with the obvious exception of Sophia's "snack"

SPRING! FLING! GIVEAWAY!

Farmhouse Fresh™ Lavender Oatmeal Soap
Hand crocheted dish/wash cloth

I can't help myself!
I am giddy with excitement!
The rain we had yesterday has washed away ALL of the snow and I can see bits of green coming up here and there.

So...to celebrate I am having a small giveaway!

I have a 4+oz. bar of homemade Lavender Oatmeal soap and a hand crocheted dish/wash cloth.
The soap is made right here in my little farmette kitchen, so I can proudly say...
Made in the U.S.A.!

The dish cloth is also hand crocheted by ME! from 100% U.S.A. grown cotton and made by our good neighbors, Canada.

NOT included in the giveaway is the twiggy birds nest and the lavender (greening up in the courtyard perennial garden) it is nestled in!

To enter simply leave a comment.
No linking, no posting about the giveaway on your own blog, no fussing....
Just leave a comment between now and Sunday, oh, say around 6PM, and I'll announce the winner asap!

Sorry...due to the high cost of shipping pret' near anything these days, the giveaway is limited to the United States.

My Farmhouse Fresh™ soaps ARE for sale for those who are interested!
Each bar is hand poured and hand cut and will weigh at least 4oz and sells for $3.50 plus shipping. Orders of more than 6 bars sell for $3.00 each.

And please, keep in mind, these bars are rustic! There will always be some irregularity in the cutting of the soap! Cause they're hand made!

Fragrances include: Amazing Grace, Citrus Cilantro, Lavender Oatmeal, and Pure. (no fragrance added, jest' plain soap!)

Ingredients will always include: olive oil, coconut oil, canola oil, distilled water, and lye. Just like great-grandma used to make. And they may include essential oils, fragrance, organic oats and local honey.

So...whatcha waitin' for?
Throw your name in and while you're at it, tell me what's poppin' up in YOUR yards!

xoxo,
Cindy

The "collection"...

Bird bath...found at Meijer years ago

Angela, over at Parisienne Farmgirl, is having a collections party and I thought I'd throw my 2 cents worth in the mix!
Having a small farmette ( 1 1/2 acres), I can spread my collection throughout my perennial, vegetable, and herbe gardens.
And I do!

Copper bird bath found at Menard's!

I love how this has "turned" over the years, don't you?

Cement/stone bird bath
Garage sale find long ago

Birdie fountain/birdie bath
Farmboy bought for me

China coated bird bath
Special ordered for me from our daughter, Giselle

I LOVE this one, tho some of the little china pieces have fallen off over the years.
It's so bright and cheery, and it is usually nice and clean!
But...these photos were all taken this morning, and nothing has yet been cleaned up.

Fish fountain/bird bath
Found at our local grocery chain right here in town

I have a few other things I collect, but I wanted to get outside and shoot some photos and pret' near smacked myself when I saw how many of these I actually had!

What are some of YOUR favorite collections?

Head on over to Parisienne Farmgirl's blog and see what she's showin'!

Copper pots!
Even tho a few of hers aren't usable right now, I'd give my eye teeth to see them hanging in MY kitchen just the way they are!

Enjoy!

xoxo,
Cindy

It's been a long time comin'...

Sheets...glorious, fresh, line-dried sheets!

Guess who got to sleep in wonderful, line-dried sheets this week-end?
ME!
I washed them....Farmboy hung them out to dry.
See the snow still on the ground?
Who cares!
The sun was shining, and it was near 50 degrees!

Boots!

MY boots!
On MY feet!
This morning "I" took care of the chickens!
I haven't been out to the hen house since the first of the year!

Chickens!

MY chickens that "I" went out to take care of this morning!
Eating bread scraps and looking mighty fine to me!
I nearly danced for joy, it was so wonderful to be out there with the girls and their man!

Irish Soda Bread

I have been doing quite a bit more in the kitchen of late.
If I don't try to do too much, and pace myself, I do just fine.
I saw this recipe on Barefoot Contessa and it sounded SO wonderful I just had to try it.
I had been given a jar of Stonewall Kitchen "Wild Maine Blueberry Jam" for Christmas, and it was perfect spread on a warm piece of this bread.
I think the contents have been mis-named, as there was very little jam, and pretty much all tiny, delicious blueberries.
No wonder this stuff sells for about &7.00 a jar!

Eggplant Gratin

This is another one from Barefoot Contessa that I HAD to try.
Being an eggplant lover of the utmost kind, I am game for pretty much anything with eggplant as the star.
This recipe was SO good!
Kind of like Eggplant Parmesan, but with very little effort.
I will tell you tho, that I followed some of the commenters recommendations
(I ALWAYS check the comments section of the recipe I am trying...lots of good info from the amateurs who have tried them and added their own touches)
and baked the eggplant slices instead of frying them.
And...I didn't make 2 individual gratins, but baked it in a corning tart pan.
This is one I will definitely make again and again.

So...as you can see, I have been up and at 'em and have come a LONG ways since surgery January 8.
This past week, with temps here in West Michigan hovering in the mid 40's to 50, and SUN every day for the past 8 days, has really been a huge part of bolstering my spirits.
Rain is on it's way mid week, but that will only serve to melt the remaining snow on the ground and make way for the greening of the grass.
This is NOT to say that we won't get more snow, cause I have to be realistic, I DO live in Michigan ya know!
But we have come a long way and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Whoo-Hoo!!!

Hope your week is chock full of promises fulfilled!
Blessings to you and yours...

xoxo,
Cindy