DARK DAYS CHALLENGE WEEK 4

find out more here

ok, here we go week 4!  I'm havin' too much fun with this!

BISON & BACON MEATLOAF WITH BAKED SWEET POTATOES, LEEKS & CARROTS

Came up with this one when I thought, "Geez, what else could I put in the meatloaf?  BACON!!!"  Everything is better with bacon. : )

Gather your ingredients:

1 lb ground Bison (Shephard Buffalo Farm, Mazzepa, MN)

a few strips of bacon (Freeman Farm, Mazeppa, MN)

1 cup breadcrumbs (from my own bread)

1 egg (from my chickens)

1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce (not from around here)

1/4 cup chopped onion (Thoreson Farms)

2 Tbs Italian Seasoning (not from around here) 

Take the bacon and chopped onion and fry it up in a pan.  (and never, ever let you forget your a maaannnn - oh sorry!  having old, bad commercial flashbacks)

Don't tell my daughter Madison I added onion!

Next, place all the ingredients in a bowl.  Admire the beauty of raw meat, mingling and getting to intimately know the other ingredients.

Now mix, with your hands only.  Because the feel of raw meat squishing through your fingers is just something everyone should experience.  I owe this thought to my mom who would only mix her meatloaf with her hands, never with a spoon, now I am convinced there is no other way.

Butter a loaf pan. I prefer to use a plastic bag so I don't get butter all over my hands ; ):

Place the thoroughly mixed ingredients into a pan and shape into a loaf:

Why?  I don't know why it has to be shaped that way, it just does.

Next cover with foil to keep all the moisture since Bison is not that fatty (hence the idea of adding bacon for more flavor).  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

my oven looks better in black and white, doesn't it?

 Then clean up a few sweet potatoes  (Whitewater Gardens, Altura MN) and place them in the oven as well:

Then get out the leeks and the carrots (Merrill's MerriBees, Chatfield, MN and Whitewater Gardens) and arrange them in a pretty way on your cutting board:

Clean up the carrots and place in a frying pan with some butter:

Sautee and while they are cooking, chop the leeks.  When the carrots are about half way cooked, add the chopped leeks:

When the 45 minutes is up, remove foil from meatloaf and broil until brown.

Place all your food on a plate and admire all your easy work.  Because really  - prep time 20 minutes, cook time one hour, having a complete SOLE meal: priceless!

APHRODITE ? - 12/21/11

"The other day this goat showed up in our horse pasture. Not sure what we are gonna do with it, my dad thinks we should find it a home.  Can't catch her though."  "Really?" I said,  "I'll take her!"

Of course I said that.  I'll take any unwanted animal or stray.  She was very difficult to catch but eventually we cornered her and got her by the horns. She was a beautiful Boer goat.  How she came to be no one knows, she just appeared in that friend's horse pasture that day, just like Aphrodite, the Greek goddess that rises from the sea foam. And as she enchanted anyone who saw her, just like Aphrodite, we named her such.  It was befitting of such a lovely young goat.  My dream is that she escaped from the meat truck on the way to the butcher.  I could see the other goats yelling yelling from the back of the truck, "Go, go!  You did it!  Be free!!!"

 She was a perky, spunky little goat and was very difficult to catch.  We finally did and brought her home.  this was over five years ago.  It took her a little while to become accustomed to the love around here.  Within a few months she became our friendliest goat and to the day, she would be the first one to greet you when you entered the goat pasture.  She loved to have her head scratched, right between her horns, because obviously, she couldn't do it herself.

The other day as I was out to do chores, I realized that the few days before when she had difficulty getting up, that things were for the worse now.  She couldn't stand at all.  She must've suffered a back injury as she was totally paralyzed down the back.  She couldn't get up and if I touched her she would wince in pain.  And I couldn't even scratch her between her horns, she would toss my hand away.

I called my friend and asked her to come over and put her down.  I am really not a true farmer as this is something I cannot possibly do, I can't kill an animal.  I've had times when you have to do what you have to do, but I can't shoot an animal, and I can't watch an animal suffer.  So I called in the one person I know that could do it, a hunter.  She came and we dug a hole over by where we buried my horse Annie a few years ago.  We put her in the back of the tractor trailer and I held onto her the whole way over to her final resting place, petting her and letting her know how much she was loved.

We placed her in the hole and I walked away, not being able to watch such a thing.  I tried not to think about it, but the tears came.  I don't care what anyone thinks, I love all my animals as if they are my own children.  It's never easy to see them go.

Life on the farm is never easy, but this is the worst part by far.

Rest in Peace, Aphrodite.  You will truly be missed.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Hoping everyone out there has a wonderful Christmas this year.  Remember to love your family, give your kids a hug, no matter how old they are, and tell them you love them. Everyday.

Your two legged kids and the four legged ones too!
Even your pig.

DARK DAYS CHALLENGE - WEEK 3

Read more here.

Week 3 is all about chicken!

I made a raid at the farmers market last Saturday. Our local farmer's market doesn't allow anyone to sell at the market unless they live within 50 miles of Rochester, so we know it's fresh!  A growers market with almost everything you could imagine, even this time of year. I'm proud to be a part of this amazing market in the summer. I bought all this for only 100 bucks!

2 Bison steaks
2 lbs ground Bison
1 Bison summer sausage
2 lbs chicken thighs
1 lb bacon slices
1 lb cottage bacon
6 lb ham
1 lb Elk breakfast sausage
2 lb carrots
6 beets
1 lb green beans
1 large kabotcha squash
3 large leeks
4 yellow onions
2 red onions
3 lbs sweet potatoes
1 lb honey

Now you tell me, I really don't think I could've got all that at the local grocery store for that price, definitely not organic and definitely not local.  So why don't more people realize this is what's available and it's good for you?????  Again, I'm on a mission to help people eat better, buy local and understand that it doesn't take forever to cook a healthy meal.

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH CREAMY GARLIC SAUCE

I was thinking of using a pasta sauce (I made this summer from my tomatoes)
 in the container above but changed my mind
and decided to make a garlic sauce instead

2 lb chicken thighs
2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup shredded (goats milk) mozzarella

for sauce:
1 cup (goats) milk
2 tbs flour
2 tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste

place chicken thighs in a pan and sprinkle garlic and olive oil over them.

Roast in a 350 degree oven for one hour or until no longer pink and nicely browned. Remove from oven.

Time to make the creamy Garlic Sauce!

Like I did before, in small saucepan, over medium-high heat melt the 2 Tbs butter, stir in flour, cook for about a minute, then pour in milk.  Stir until thick and bubbly.  (This is actually called a bechamel sauce or basic white sauce). I added the garlic and some Italian seasoning* I had laying around.

Pour sauce over chicken and top with cheese.  Put it back in the oven and cook until lightly browned on top.

I took a pound of green beans and put them into the asparagus steamer.  They were so long, they barely fit!

I also made a side of local wild rice, by boiling it in water for 30 minutes.

Then that's that!  A perfect dinner for a perfect night and all is well with the world! (cuz no one got hurt in the process, no chemicals were used and no body drove more then 50 miles to get it to me!)

DARK DAYS CHALLENGE - WEEK 2

It's been a very busy week with the holidays approaching, party after party, it seems and of course we had to fit in a Barn Bar filming for the final episode of the year, part time working at nights, Bob finishing teaching school, etc, etc, etc.... needless to say, we weren't home at all this week to cook a dinner.  So today I decided, since I had no place I had to be and no images to edit (well, i do but it can wait a little longer), I was gonna get on to this week's challenge!

I wanted to make a cream of broccoli soup and eat some homemade bread for my lunch.  I couldn't find a recipe for cream of broccoli in any of my cook books, imagine that?  I was tired of Googling everything so I just made up my own.

I also realised I had no chicken stock left.  Wasn't getting out of pj's to go to the store, so I made some veggie stock.  I never made veggie stock before, I usually just would boil up a leftover chicken carcass and save the stock or use bouillon, but I had neither, so here we go, on to making veggie stock with the veggies I had in the fridge, and a little help from Joy of Cooking:


(again - those marked with as * were not SOLE, but I'm working on it!)

All the carrots I had left were those crazy 'carrot chips'
someone left here from the last get-together

HOMEMADE VEGETABLE STOCK:

1/2 cup finely diced onions
2 TBS butter
a dash of white pepper*
a dash of cayenne*
1/2 tsp kosher salt*
A Bouquet Garni, 572*
1 cup each of carrots*, mushrooms* and celery
3 lbs of roasted tomatoes
      (I used the roasted tomatoes from my garden that I froze earlier this year in bags)
4-6 cups of water (enough to cover all the veggies in the pot)

So as you look at the above ingredients, you may ask yourself, "WTH is a Bouquet Garni???"  I know I did, and this is one of the things about Joy of Cooking that really annoys me: they just give you a page number next to some random ingredient and you have to SEEK out through the book what these things are.  Can't you just put it on there??  But you really can't find some recipes any where else but in Joy of Cooking.          ~pet peeve~

Anyway... a Bouquet Garni is a combination of herbs and vegetables added to soup or stock for flavor.  The one I used consisted of:
2 Tbs dried parsley*
1 Tbs each of thyme and marjoram*
2 bay leaves*

2 Tbs dried celery leaves (I used celery salt instead)*

Tie up the herbs in a cheesecloth to boil in with the stock.

Annnd noooooww.... back to the stock:

• Saute the onions in the butter until tender

Add the rest of the list, partially cover and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.

kinda looks like frozen meat- not tomatoes!

Strain the liquid  (I strained the liquid out but then put half the veggies back in and put them through the food processor for a thicker sauce)

I placed the leftover veggies in the garbage disposal's bowl (aka the pig)

This made about 6 cups of stock.

CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP:

2 Tbs butter
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
3 cups of broth
8 cups of broccoli (I used my bag of frozen that came outta the garden this summer)
___________________________
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
2 cups of (my own goat's) milk
salt and pepper to taste*

Not too appetizing looking (can you say baby poop?)  so I guess next time no tomatoes

1. Melt butter in medium sized stock pot, saute onion and celery until tender. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer until tender, approx. 10-15 minutes.
2. Pour the soup into a blender or food processor a little at a time and blend until smooth.
3. In small saucepan, over medium-high heat melt the 3 Tbs butter, stir in flour, cook for about a minute, then pour in milk.  Stir until thick and bubbly.  (This is actually called a bechamel sauce or basic white sauce)
4. Add to soup and heat.  Season with salt and pepper.

This was excellent!  and with all the veggies in it: super good for you!  Wasn't too happy with the color, but tasty, nonetheless.  All in all, it took me about 1 1/2 to prep, cook, and eat (minus the simmering time for the stock).  I am on a a mission to prove that healthy eating and cooking well doesn't have to take forever in the kitchen.

which one is prettier?  no spoon?

or with spoon?  (notice the photog in the picture?)

I believe the homemade bread recipe will have to be shared tomorrow.  I'm outta time for now.... tah, tah!

THE NEW CHICKS ON THE BLOCK ARE HOT!

Due to an overabundance of chickens at their farm, our friends, Jay and Renee Mallek, decided they didn't want to keep the new chicks that their hen hatched last week.  They gave them all away and we got two of them.  I'm always looking to increase the flock and since we lost 5 ducks and 5 chickens to some predator this summer, I am running low.

Hard part is - hens shouldn't be getting broody this late in the season because whose gonna keep them babies warm?

Well, I just so happen to have this wonderful little granary that we fixed up into a house for Bob's dad and thus - it's heated.  Lucky chicks get the whole basement.

the chicks in the plastic bin, they already miss their Moma

I put one of the 'walls' over the pen so they don't hop out

Right now I put them up into a plastic bin and will move them into the four-sided, portable enclosement I made several years ago as they get a little bigger.  Just the two of them in there and a heat lamp, they will be fine.

I told Renee that if they are roosters I will be returning them.  We'll find out in about 6 months if they start crowing!

But they are really cute anyway!

Speaking of broody, it made me think of how amazing animals are at being so adaptable to whatever comes their way.  They don't 'brood' over something that 'happens' to them, they seem to just think to themselves, "Well, what am I gonna do about it?"  And they move on.

It's this acceptance of change or "problems" that is so difficult for some people, and paying attention to what animals do makes it so much clearer to me.

But what is "acceptance?" It can be one of the hardest concepts to understand (think serenity prayer), but achieving it can be difficult. 

We are all creating our lives every second of time, and every thought we have or decision we make throughout our day affects the whole of whom we are.

If you can think of yourself as the driver of the car of life, the one you are now creating, the whole world opens up to you; the roads are endless! What's better than to create the best life you can for yourself? Time to get behind the wheel and drive, baby! Road trip!

Everybody has the same lessons to learn—they simply appear to us in different ways. If you are feeling sorry for yourself for something "bad" that has happened to you,  it's okay; there is nothing wrong with taking some time to feel sorry for yourself or your situation. (Lord knows - I have!) That tends to bring you back to clarity. But what does matter is how much time you spend in that energy and how long it takes for you to pick yourself up and take action toward acceptance and moving on. Being in acceptance does not mean that you settle for a situation. It means that you are at peace with it, and that is when you are fully in your power.


I've never met an animal that didn't understand this concept or that wallows in their misery.  They take what life hands them and move on.  Who couldn't learn from that?


~ When life hand you a pile, think "Woohoo! Fertilizer! ~


it's the only thing a farmer can do.

LIFE ON THE FARM - AT CHRISTMAS TIME

We decided to get the tree this past weekend and pickin's were slim out there!  Really, I mean Christmas is still a couple weeks away, how long does one really need a tree set up in their house?  Anyway, we put it up and I got out my Santa hat and put on the bad Christmas music and we decorated the tree. In between studying for finals at college for my 17 y.o., Madison, she took a moment to come out and help.

  Then I looked at her and said, "Gosh Maddie, you are as tall as the tree!"  and then my fears were realized once again - things are changing and my daughters are getting older.  I fondly remembered when we had to hold her up to the top of the tree to put the angel on; her favorite activity when decorating.  And now she can just stand next to it.

OK, granted, we've been buying shorter and shorter trees nowadays (I used to insist that they be a tall as the ceiling was high! but I have lightened up a little)  but this was alarming.  My baby girl is all growned up! Waaaaaah!  I don't like all this changing around here.

Notice Oaky Dokey under the tree and Louisa by the fire.

Louisa never did leave the fire the whole time, well she never does, ever

Then I found Tiki in the lights.

 She was gettin' all cozy and warm with them.  Twirlin' around.

Bob made his infamous ham and beans for dinner.

I made the corn muffins.

 Then we snuggled up on the couch and watched our favorite serial killer, Dexter.

It was another splendid day on the Sanctuary!