Monday, March 08, 2010

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
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23 comments:

Pam said...

I haven't slept on line dryed sheets since I was a kid - lucky girl.

The eggplant dish looks amazing - I love all the oozing cheese.

Louise said...

There's nothing like the smell of line dried sheets, so fresh and crispy!
I bet your chickens were glad to see you !
Love Louise xx

Vickie said...

Yep, I'll be tryin' that eggplant dish - anything with that much cheese on it has to be wonderful!

I'm hoping to make some blueberry jam or preserves this summer when I get blueberries. The ones from the grocery store just aren't doing it for me!

Line dried sheets are the absolute BEST!

Melodie said...

That eggplant looks great! I love the Barefoot Contessa! Lined dried sheets are the best!

Wendy (The Local Cook) said...

Mmmm, looks like you had a glorious weekend!

Camille said...

How wonderful! Good to see you up and around acting like your usual self...that is great! :)

mmmm...LOVE line dried sheets...great pic with the snow on the ground! That's desperation for you! Come spring!

Love,
Camille

Regan Family Farm said...

Hey...I did that too! Boy did they smell GOOD when I climbed in!

KathyB. said...

I remember line-dried sheets! Like sleeping in Heaven's scent ( maybe?) and certainly wonderful! We don't do too much line -drying here rain is often a constant. I love the picture of your sheets hanging against the winter backdrop.

Your day sounds perfect to me and so do the recipes~ I enjoy the Barefoot Contessa too. I think I will try out both recipes.

Anna said...

I just LOVE you! I have those same boots! And guess what? I'm incubating eggs due to hatch in 18 days! Oh and I'm here to find the Crockpot yogurt recipe again. Are you sure you're not really my real mom?

Julie said...

I bet the sheets smelled gloriously fresh-aire! And I'm betting you were doing the funky chicken dance to be back out their with the girls. Congrats! The bread and blueberry jam sounds out of this world. And that's about what you are experiencing lately...line dried sheets and delicious made from scratch food. not the average every day stuff in our current culture! Blessings and Enjoy it! :-)

goatmilker said...

Getting in bed after the sheets have been hung outside is the best!

Maria said...

Hi Cindy!
Hasn't the sunshine been so therapeutic!?!
I enjoy looking at your wonderful farm space~
I love your chickens...
(When my son was just a boy, his 4-H job at our county fair was to take care of the chickens).
I remember those days fondly ♥

Cindy, how do you keep your chickens warm during the cold months?

and the eggplant recipe... must check that one out for sure!
So glad to see your new knee working for you!
God bless you~ Maria

maggie said...

You sound so UP! And well on the way to recovery. I love your boots and would love to find a similar pair in some variation of "spring green." Were those local Michigan winter eggplants in that dish? ;P

Donna said...

Hey, look at you getting up and around! Love those little boots, LOL.

Old Time Cindy said...

Hey...I have my fancy boots, but I want some cute work boots like yours! Glad you are having some sunshine up north.
Cindy at Lakewood

Unknown said...

We have had the same weather. Finally. All the limbs and branches that have been on the ground - frozen there - since Dec. 8 are being picked up and carted off.

Farmchick said...

Still not quite warm enough here to dry our sheets outside...looks wonderful though. So do you dishes you made!

Parisienne Farmgirl said...

Looks like you are back to your old tricks! Cookin up a storm - we had 50 today but drizzly. Too sad.

Hosting a Collections party tomorrow - come on by!

Kay-The Rustic Cottage said...

So glad to see that you're getting around!! Love the boots!! Line dried sheets are THE best. I love hanging out all my clothes. Bet they smelled divine!

PamKittyMorning said...

Doesn't the sunshine do your heart good? I felt happy all day, it's sunny here, cold but still SUN SUN SUN!!

Kathy @ Sweet Up-North Mornings... said...

Hello Cindy...Nice to meet another Michigander who loves line dried sheets and Ina Garten!!!!

Whoo-Hoo.
Your farm life reminds me of us when we lived in McBain on a farm raising our family...Chickens... canning...cooking....line dried sheets and all

It's a great life!!!! Loved finding your blog ...will surely be keeping an eye on you!

xoxo~Kathy @ Sweet Up-North Mornings...

Stop over when time permits...love to have you!

Thistle Cove Farm said...

The food looks amazing, I must be hungry!
Love line dried sheets...now if I can just train the puppies to NOT use them as playthings.

Anonymous said...

Hello im new to this board i hope i will be able to help out and give something back here because iv learned a huge amount myself.

Cheers

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