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All my cats are crazy, have very different personalities and they are are very entertaining. At least they think they are.  And this is what makes me wonder about cats:  what is this obsession with containment? Why would one want to be contained?  I personally think that that is a character flaw in humans.  But for cats, I guess not because….

This is what happens when I leave a box laying around the house:

Cheeto

Oaky Dokey

Theodore Thing

Tiki

Noon

This is what happens when the cat shakes her head:

and this is what happens when I don't have a box laying around:

Containment or just plain sneaky?  You see one can hide easier when contained and not be detected when it's time to pounce!




Except for maybe in the sink.

MAKIN' APPLE JUICE

Every year, since we moved here 8 1/2 years ago - I dreamed of doing something with all those apples we get every year from our four apple trees.  Well, of course, when apples are ready in August/September, I am knee deep into everything else in life and don't have time to do something with all those apples.  So this year I took several 5 gallon buckets and collected some apples, placed them in the basement of the granary and hoped the temperature out there would keep them for a few months so I could try something new with them during the cold, harsh, boring winter months..  I searched and searched for a juicer that didn't cost $400 and finally found one - this December.

 It was perfectly priced at under $30 and I snatched it up!  So the other week I took out the juicer, went out to the granary and took one of the 5 gallon buckets and decided to make some juice!  Yay!
Well here's the thing - when apples sit in a temp higher then 45 degrees - they go bad.  Well, not totally bad but softer and some go really bad (brown).

So I got about 12 apples that were actually somewhat good, at least usable, out of that full 5 gallon bucket.  And what I found out about that juicer is that apples should be really fresh.  Because these apples, although still in good shape, were a little soft and this caused a very thick juice, too thick.

not draining

 And I also found out that, although it was thick - it was incredible!  Sweet, incredibly tasty and nothing like you buy at the store (no surprise there). I tried to strain the juice with the milk strainer, that didn't work so I took some cheese cloth that I use for making cheese and let gravity take over.

 Ya know how you see jugs of juice at the store and the label states: not 100 percent juice or made from concentrate or (what is the worse) contains no fruit juice.  HELLO??!?!? How can you actually label it JUICE if it doesn't contain JUICE!

But I digress - my goal to make apple juice is to create (yes - create - (my curse)) hard cider.  I still have to go get the yeast to make hard cider but I wanted to get the juicer working and understand it's potential.  12 apples actually made about 3 cups of juice.

 Wow!  But I figure that if they were fresher, they might produce more, I will find out next year - when I get out there, collect the apples at the perfect harvest time and get out the juicer!  This winter I am gonna go out and get the yeast and try to make the hard cider with what I have left of the apples in the granary.  Ahhh… the life of a farmer… always trying to make the most of what the farm produces….

WHETHER OR NOT TO WEATHER THE WEATHER

This has been the most fabulous winter ever here in MN and rightfully so when you get days like this in January!

Remember last year at this time when it was like this out side:

and in order to be able to functionally do chores outside, I had to dress like this:

and this last week I got to do this instead:

and the ducks got to do this:

and the sun was shining like this:

But alas… it was never meant to last and now I have to dress like this:

and the snow is coming down like this:

and within a few weeks from now, I'll be dying for it to be like this:

So I can get back to doing things like this:

and this:

Which produce things like this:

and this:

and I can go to places like this:

and watch smelly, bassets run like this:

and grow pretty flowers like this:

but for now…. I will be living like this:

the end.

DARK DAYS CHALLENGE

Here's another one!  

SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH HAM

There is nothing more satisfying then a big pot of hot soup in the winter, I think!  And Split Pea Soup always seems to hit the spot, and fill it too.

I took the leftover ham from the other night and got some dried peas and celery from the Good Food Store Co-op.

 Added in some chopped carrots and onions from the farmers market and wallah!   Split Pea Soup!

Soak the peas for about an hour

Put everything in the pot and simmer for about an
 hour and a half or until peas are tender

Enjoy!

JUST ONE THING

 I get so many new ideas on a regular basis, that's just the creative me - always creating - I can't help myself and I don't know what to do anymore.  They say do one thing and do it better then anybody else, that's how you succeed in business.  But what about people like me?  are there people like me?  people who get excited when the new Hoegger Goat Supply catalog comes in the mail?  Not only because of the new items in the catalog but because of the adorable pictures of the goats in there? Are there people like me that will stop and take a picture of their food because they want to capture that steam coming off the hot soup?  Like me who looks at things and wonders what to create from it; I have apples- I should make chutney or hard cider or applesauce or pie or apple turnovers.  I've got goat milk - I should make cheese or butter or soap or shampoo or ice cream.   Are there people like me that get excited when the vegetable seed catalogs arrive and all I can think about is how to expand the garden or plant some new things I haven't planted before or design a new trellis for the pole beans.  Are there people like me that look at what some might consider garbage and see a new dining room table or plant stand?  Are there people out there that are this crazy? Because it's driving me crazy lately. Why can't I just focus on ONE THING?

It's a curse really to be this creative.  I've been rehashing my life lately; what I've done, what I haven't , why I have done something, and why I didn't. Where should I go and what should I do for my life?  I have so many letters after my name, too many, and for what?  Am I using them?  Not all the time and I am ok with that. Can I just do one thing?  Do I really want to do just one thing?  Is it truly possible for me?  If I have ever done just one thing I am sure I got sick of it after a few years and did something else, including some relationships.

I've been thinking about all the things that bring me joy in my life and how I can use them for success in business, but then I realized that if I focus on the money all the time, then I won't be doing what I love for the love of it, I'd be doing it for the opposite reasons, and thus - the love would be gone.

I thought maybe it was time to focus on just one thing and work it until it was so successful that I could retire in 5 years.  But I thought about it some more, and I realized that's not who I am. And when Samantha and I went and saw the movie, We Bought a Zoo! yesterday, I realized some other things too.

So I have decided that it is impossible and not probable for me to do just one thing.  That I will be doomed to forever not succeed in business because I can't just focus on one THING. I may not be able to be successful in business but I will/am successful in happiness by doing the things I love. {grateful sigh}

I will embrace my silly ways and create my products, projects and life in the way I see fit.  I will spend time with my ponies, time in my garden, time on my art, work with my photography, and be who I was meant to be: Dawn Sanborn, RENAISSANCE WOMAN!

TRYING TO FIGURE IT ALL OUT

Life on the farm can be so rewarding, exhausting and confusing all at the same time.   I look back on these 8 crazy years on the farm and all that we accomplished and I am amazed at how much got done, what we've all gone through, how much fun, heartbreak, and pleasantries we've experienced, and how exhausted we feel most of the time. But what is it that I see for the rest of the years we will be here (yes, the rest of our lives)? Our list is small this year on the "Things To Do"  which means we've done a WHOLE LOT. But now what?  With my little birds either flying the coop or thinking about it, the farm will never be the same as it was, so where do we go from here?

Whether we like it or not, we have to pay our bills, so that means we have to make some cash to pay Peter, Paul, Tom, Dick and Harry and I am sure a dozen others nowadays.  After looking at the cash flow for this farm, it looks like I might have to moonlight or Paul is gonna hire Guido to off me.  So dreams of this farm have to become a reality sooner then later.

Our goals for this year:

• Slowly do all the updating of the Barn Bar so it can become a real event center

I found this picture on line and it made me dream the our barn could look this way or even better:

• I'm only gonna plant in the garden what we can use and put up ourselves - just a little extra to sell to local restaurants as well as the eggs
• Make more goat milk soap and shampoo & conditioner
• Work more on my photography
• Finish the outdoor kitchen this year - complete with hot tub
• Do market only when it feels good, it's never been a big bread winner so don't put energy in where it's wasted
• Do some horse back riding lessons - I have horses, use them

This may seem like minor adjustments that don't seem real bread winning, but Bob will be retiring some day soon and I think having the Barn Bar as his toy (all the time) will be the perfect retirement gig, and income winner.  And be awful fun!  How many get to do that in their retirement?

DARK DAYS CHALLENGE - WEEK ?

Not sure what week were in, I think 8 but oh well, I'm just here for the fun of it.

More info

We have been presented by our administrators with some challenges!  Yay!  I love a good challenge.  This week:  One pot meals

Easy schmeezy, lemon peezy.

OVER ROASTED HAM, SQUASH AND BEETS
Ham from Huneke Farms
Kabotcha squash from Many Hands Gardens (Theilman, MN)
Beets from Merril's MerriBees, Chatfield MN

Take a large 6 lb ham from a farm not more then, hmmmmm - 10 miles away from yours.

Place in a roasting pan, set quartered squash and peeled beets in pan. Add a cup of water and sprinkle some cumin, black pepper and chili pepper on top, cover with foil  and roast in 350 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours.

I made a little sauce from the juices by adding a little flour mixed with goat milk to top off the ham (guilty!  I can't eat meat without a sauce, I am a pure mid-westerner).

Crazy good, and easy, local, sustainable, organic, ethical and just darn right.

I'm tellin' ya - I am on a mission to prove to people this really is possible!

LOST IN SPACE

Had to send in my Mac for repairs this weekend and now I really feel lost; no computer, no pictures, no way I can get stuff done.  Like the 365 project I am working on or the Dark Days Challenge or this blug.  How is one to keep up?  Use the gash darn PC and Picasa???? No!  I will just have to wait until the fixed Mac comes back. WWWWAAAAHHHHHH!

So here's an old one for good times sake. It's of Madison (age 9). Percy and Louie on our first Halloween here.  I scanned it from (gulp!) a print from film!  Yikes!  How old school. : )

Gosh!  Look at those ugly kitchen colors we had!

DARK DAYS CHALLENGE WEEK 6

Still not sure what's going on with the days but I thought I would pretend like I am on the right track. : )

When I cook, recipes are to me like fences are to goats: a mere suggestion.  So I find recipes and tweak them the entire time to make them my own.  This one sounded good so I thought I would give it a whirl and still stay within the confines of SOLE (sustainable, organic, local & ethical).


BAKED OMELET WITH ELK BREAKFAST SAUSAGE GRAVY

1/2 C chopped onion (Thoreson's Farm)
3 Tbs Butter ( from Wisconsin)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I didn't have any on hand so I omitted them)
 - I also think adding a lot more veggies to this would be a great idea-
3 Tbs flour
1/8 tsp dried rosemary (from my garden this summer)
1 3/4 cup milk (from my goat)
1 1/2 cups of cooked Elk breakfast sausage (from Pronschinske Elk Farm, Winona, MN)
1 cup shredded cheese (mine)
3/4 tsp salt - divided
1/4 cup milk
4 egg whites (from my chickens)
4 egg yolks (from my chickens)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar*

* not SOLE

For the gravy:
Cook over medium heat the onion and butter, until soft (if you are adding any veggies, do it now, saute until soft as well). Cook the sausage in a separate pan now too.

Stir in flour, rosemary, and 1/2 tsp salt.
Add milk all at once, cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, cook and stir 2 minutes more.
Stir in the Elk sausage, 3/4 cup of the cheese and the milk. Stir until the cheese melts.

Turn into a baking dish, place into a 375 degree oven to keep warm.


For the omelet:

look how pretty orange them yolks are!  Good girls, my chickens!

Beat egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.

them's stiff!

Beat egg yolks in a separate bowl until thick and yellow.

Add remaining 1/4 cup cheese and 1/4 tsp salt and fold into egg whites.
Spread over the Elk sausage gravy.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until eggs are cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Take a pretty picture of the empty egg shells too.

Things I would change:
I would definitely add more veggies.  This was good but if I'm gonna have breakfast, I have to have something that at least resembles a vegetable or green.  Maybe layer some spinach in between the gravy and omelet layers.

Otherwise, it was superb!

And the only thing used that wasn't bought within 50 miles or not SOLE was the cream of tartar.  I'll have to look for that next time I am at the Good Food Store (our local co-op).  AND only if it isn't from California.  I could go on a rant now about eating local vs. eating organic, but I'll save that for another post. : )