Cobwebs in my eyes

This weekend some friends voluntarily came over to help put in fence posts. Yes, you read that right, voluntarily! It was nice to see an Irish boy working with a Scotch. 

Well, until that moment when things went terribly wrong. Small,  medium, myself and Irish boy's wife ( should give her a nickname as they might be appearing in the blog regularly) headed into town to grab some lamb at the shop and a couple of ingredients for dinner at the grocery. On our return, Husband's head was bleeding, and Irish boy smugly walked up to the truck. "I beat the crud out of him." Irish Boy's wife and I sat there, our eyes as round as saucers. Husband says "he took the tamping round and swung it at me like a bat." For those of you that don't know, a tamping rod is a 6' pole of heavy gauge metal, (aka pike, sucker rod or spud bar) with a flattend end for tamping down dirt, and a spaded end for breaking rock

Photo is of the next day. Big ole knot!

Suddenly they both start laughing. Husband with a knot and blood in his right eye, giggled. "No, I pulled a stupid, did it to myself." It was that moment that I realized that these two were not only going to give me trouble, but they are fast becoming thick as thieves.  Needless to say relief flooded us both. Silly boys.

They managed to get all the posts into the ground. My job today will be to use that tamping rod to secure the posts. Once that is done I can soon start on the barbed wire. I am actually looking forward to it. I have missed being able to do so much physical labor. The last few years, with the leg issue and all, had basically put a stop to many of the things I use to do. I still do not have full flexibility nor strength, and some days it aches so much that I do resort to using my cane. But I am alive, I can use it much more than I did a year ago, and for that, I am grateful.

Update (even though this isn't yet published) I tamped down the poles and set kickers. Barbed wire is now being placed. Come-along is a girl's best friend. As I was tamping, eyes wide open, I would literally get cobwebs in my eyes! It was a disturbing feeling. 

 I made dinner for our new friends. (Told you I would be back with mutton recipes). They happened to crash here, so I made two mutton dinners. The first night I decided to go traditional Autumn.

Let's call it Fall of the Mutton

2 sweet potatoes (the call them Southern Yams here)

1 medium sized butternut squash

1lbs mutton meat

2 cups chicken broth (plain)

4 red apples

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Sage

Peel and dice up sweet potatoes. Place them in a pot with the chicken broth. As that heat over a medium heat, peel and cut the butternut squash into larger, yet manageable pieces than the sweet potatoes. You do not want your squash to get too mushy. Add to the pot. Dice up the mutton into bite sized pieces, add salt and pepper to taste and place into the pot. Cover and reduce heat. Cook until your squash is just tender. Remove from heat and drain.

Peel and dice the apples. Add 1 Tbls butter to your pot, stir in the apples. Over a medium high heat, slightly brown the apple pieces. Add the cream, and fresh sage (2 mince leaves fresh, or 4 crumbled pieces dry). Stir until it begins to thicken, reduce heat to low. Add 4 Tbls butter and the mutton/squash mixture back into the pot with the apples. Stir well. The sweet potatoes will purée itself as you stir. It should not be the texture of soup. If it is, slow cook uncovered until the cream sauce thickens.

Salt  to taste, and serve hot with fresh bread.

Mutton and Fall Rice

I was cooking for 7 people.

You will need, 1 cup rice for every 2 cups chicken broth

1 small butternut squash

1 lbs mutton meat

Spinach

Butter

Grated Parmesan cheese

Mushrooms (we used puff ball shrooms)

Fresh garlic

Salt

Pepper

8oz cubed cheddar cheese

Sage

Parsley 

Place broth in a pot and bring to a boil. Add 2 fresh sprigs on minced sage (4 crumbled if dry) and as much parsley as you like. Peel and dice up the butternut squash, add to the broth. Pour in the rice and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until rice is tender. 

Slice the mushrooms and mince 1 clove of garlic. On a skillet, melt 1 Tbls butter and begin to brown the garlic. Once golden in color, add the mushrooms, and lightly brown.  Add the lamb, and cook for a few moments. Remove from heat.

Add as much butter and Parmesan as you prefer to the rice, tear up the spinach and stir. Add salt to taste. Stir in the cubed cheese then serve before the cheese fully melts. Add the mushroom and lamb to the top, serve with fresh bread. 

Irish Boy's wife caught the mushroom hunting bug. She left here with 2 grocery sacks full of wild mushrooms. She was the one that found the wonderfully sweet puff mushrooms.  All in all it was a productive weekend with some really good people. Only spoiler was that someone had tried to break into their car that sat at the top of the driveway. Nothing stolen at least. 

Mutton Awesomeness

The last few days I have been offline. Instead spending some time with Husband. I won't be seeing him very much over the next month, or so.

I have been experimenting with food. I miss doing that. But with the windfall of lamb and mutton at my fingertips, something has to be done to keep everyone's palates happy.

Unfortunately I do not have photos.

However I do have two awesome mutton recipes. (For now)

My sheep were a bit over two years old. Ideally mutton is preferred over 3 years old. I don't like mutton.  It can be too tough and too flavorful. Yet my 2 year olds came out perfectly flavored. I know that the image above says Dorper, my sheep were Black Belly Barbadoes and Desert Paint mixes. The lack of laniolin tends to help keep the meat from being "greasy" flavored. Similar to Spring lamb (3 months of age) that you tend to find in American Supermarkets. 

Lemon Pepper Mutton

Leg cuts

Dried lemon zest

Butter

Pepper Jack cheese

Salt

I took about a 1 lbs leg cut, and sliced it into bite size pieces. Melt 1Tbs butter in a cast iron skillet. Over medium high heat, add the mutton cuts, around 2 tsp dried lemon zest, and a sprinkle of salt. Stir. The butter and the juices from the meat will rehydrate the zest. You can use fresh lemon zest if you want. Once the meat is about medium rare (takes only a few minutes) reduce heat and crumble the pepper jack cheese over top. Do not strain the juice. Mix together and allow the cheese to melt. Serve hot. 

(I served it with fried potatoes with lots of fresh onion and garlic, and scrambles eggs.)

Mutton Roast

Roast

Mushroom gravy

Very simple, place your roast into a pot or slow cooker, add gravy and allow to cook all day. I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Homemade mushroom gravy

3 Tbls unsalted butter

6 oz fresh mushrooms (I actually used the dried wild mushrooms. Because the flavor intensifies once dried, I did not use as much)

Salt

Ground pepper

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 cups beef broth (or stock)

Over a medium heat, melt butter until it foams. If using fresh mushrooms, add. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Stir occasionally, allowing the mushrooms to "brown" a bit. About 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms, stirring as you do so. Toast the flour for 3 minutes. Pour in the wine, scrapping up any bits stuck to the pot. Mix for 30 seconds. Slowly add the broth, using a whisk. 

If adding to a roast, stop now and pour into your slow cooker. (Add the dried mushrooms here if using)  You do not want it to thicken up just yet. While cooking, add a bit of wine or broth (whisking around the roast) to keep it from firming up too much.

If wanting to use as a gravy only, bring to a boil, stirring constantly for two minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream. Salt and pepper to taste. 

More recipes to come.

Picante Sauce using unripped tomatoes

Reader has requested the recipe once again. This is a medium spice recipe. Enjoy!

2 lbs unripe tomatoes, quartered and skin on

1 large onion
4 bell peppers
13 jalapenos
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salad oil
pinch of hand crushed fennel seed
dash paprika
dash chili powder

Using a food processor (or your amazing knife skills) finely chop the onion, bell peppers, and jalapenos. Add everything to a medium size kettle.

Since unripened tomatoes have little juice, you will need to stir this constantly over a medium heat until the liquid at the bottom begins to boil. Remove from heat, cover and place in a slow oven (200F) for 1 hour. Remove and carefully chop the ingredients in a food processor or blender (too hot for your mad knife skills) get those tomatoes finely chopped. Return to kettle or a new one, and place in the slow oven for 2 more hours.

jar and can in a hot water bath for 5-10 minutes.

Blackberry Jelly

Another after dark, campfire canning event.

The berries were dutifully smashed, then processed through my food mill. Next I drained the juice, pulp and seed through three layers of cheese cloth, and allowed it to drip over night. And then into the next day, unable to get to it until after dinner, as the sun set.

With the campfire roaring, I placed my canner, a pot of water for the jars and a pot of the juice to boil (4 cups) I use a fly wheel on top of my campfire. Keeps my pots from going black and gives me a more consistent heat. Once the juice slow rolled, I added one box of pectin, and brought to a hard boil.

Using a flashlight, I checked it periodically to make sure it was a hard boil, then allowed it to roll for one minute. Next I dumped 4 1/2 cups sugar into the scalding juice and returned it to a hard boil, again checking on it with my flashlight. It should only take a minute, but sometimes it can take 5, as bringing it back up, without burning it can be tricky on an open fire.

Once it jelled on a spoon (did I mention it is July, yet I can see my breath at night?) I poured the soon to be jelly into my sterile jars and processed in the hot water bath for 30 mins. It should only take 10, but my fire wasn't fully cooperating. 

And there you go. Very basic blackberry jelly. Up next, rum/ blackberry vanilla spiced blackberry jelly and chocolate raspberry jam.

My confession;

I have an aversion to crunchy jam or jelly. There is a time and a place for crunch, this is not one of them. I realize that many people do like blackberry jam. I won't hate you because of our differences. Just know that. I am a texture person, and I will look at you like you just emerged naked from a spaceship that flew out of a unicorn's rear end. But we can still be friends.

Small's Accomplishment

For those of you that are new, welcome! Small is my youngest son, age 10.

By now we have all been made aware of how much Small loathes the school here. So much so, that he was worrying himself sick over things. Yesterday we had a "small" breakthrough.

And it is all thanks to National Agriculture Day, and 4H.

Last week Small came home with an assignment that was going to be involved with The University of Kentucky Ag. Dept and 4H. He was to make a presentation, following the guidelines set forth. One of the rules was no weapons, but you could talk about them and show diagrams, and no live animals. (Some of you might remember Large's project a few years back, he was allowed to bring in Chickens)

So we fussed over what to do. Small suggested cooking. It was on the list. He wouldn't be allowed to show off his knife skills because even kitchen knives are listed under weapon. We settled on making campfire muffins. They are made just like the Campfire brownies in the orange cups, but made with a chocolate muffin rather than the brownies. We made the information poster, got the ingredients and equipment put together and practiced making them. Even made a couple for the judges to taste.

Yesterday was the competition. I was worried that because of his shyness, and lack of public speaking exposure, that he would not do very well, and hate school even more.

However, once he hopped in the truck, he was excited. Big smiles and bouncing! I asked him how he did.

"I lost to a rainbow cake and a rock collection." Then he handed me a blue ribbon. He scored 97 out of 100. The 3 point deduction was for eye contact or lack there of.  He was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to go to the County competition for it, but he was still stoked about winning a ribbon for originality and communications. The judges feedback was great! We know what he needs to work on for the future, and he is pressuring me to enroll him in 4H. (of course I will).

I am proud of Small, and so grateful he has found something to like here. (sorry no picture of the muffins, just the brownies we made in the past)

Homemade lip balm

 On one of our many snowed in days, Small and I found ourselves itching to do something. We decided to make chapstick.

 

Using the chamomile and goldenrod we dried in late summer, bees wax (brought with us from Kansas) and sunflower oil, Small and I created a healing, very soothing lip protectant. Medium used it on his cracked lips, and within a few days it was healed up. Small is very proud of himself.  



 

 

 

6 cups dried flowers (goldenrod and chamomile)

2 cups sunflower oil

a scant 2 cups of grated bees wax

 

I don't have a double boiler, so I use a metal bowl over a pot filled less than half way with water. Place your dried flowers and oil into the bowl, and bring it to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for 1 hour.

 

Strain through a colander lined with cheese cloth, into a clean bowl. Once it cools down enough to handle, squeeze the cheesecloth, removing as much oil as possible.

 

If using the same double boiler or bowl, make sure it is clean and dry before pouring your oil into it. Bring to a simmer and slowly add the beeswax, stirring it until all is dissolved. 

 

Carefully pour the hot liquid into your containers. Allow to fully cool before using.

White Clover and Wild Strawberry Jelly

I made clover Jelly yesterday, and tossed in a couple of wild strawberries for the heck of it.

Clover Jelly
2 1/2 cups white wine
1 cup fresh clover blossoms
4 cups sugar
1/4 tbs lemon juice
3 ounces of liquid pectin

a few small wild strawberries, or 1 large one, sliced

Bring wine to a boil and pour over petals, toss in strawberries. Cover and steep until
liquid has cooled, then strain out flowers leaving only liquid. Combine 2
cups of this clover flower infusion with sugar and lemon juice.

Bring to a boil over high heat and as soon as the sugar has dissolved, stir
in the pectin. Return to a rolling boil, stirring, and boiling for exactly 1
minute. Remove the jelly from the heat and skim off any foam.

Boston Cream Pie

By request, here is the recipe.

Sponge cake

1/2 cup plain cake flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp in salted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Oven rack at the lower-mid position. Grease two 8" round pans, press parchment paper into the bottoms.

Whisk first four ingredients together. Set aside.

Heat milk and butter over a low heat until the butter melts. Stir in vanilla, cover and set aside.

Separate the whites from 3 of the eggs. Reserve the yolks. Beat the whites until foamy. Gradually add 6 Tbsp of sugar, and continue to beat until soft, moist peaks form. You don't want to over beat to form hard peaks. Set aside.

Beat the 3 reserved egg yolks and remaining whole eggs together with 6 Tbsp sugar until very thick and pale in color. This can take five minutes or more. Add this to the whites.

Sprinkle the flour mix over the egg foams. Fold gently 12x. Make a well on one side of the bowl, pour milk mix into well. Fold gently until batter shows no signs of raw flour. 8x

Pour batter into pans. Bake 16-20 minutes, until cake tops are light brown, firm and spring back when pressed. Immediately run a butter knife along the edges. Use a towel and plate to invert the cake and place it on a cooling rack. You do not want the cake to cool in the pan.


Pastry Cream
2 cups milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup corn starch, sifted
1tsp vanilla extract
1Tbsp Rum
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Chocolate Glaze

1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup (if this freaks you out, I will teach you how to make your own)
8 oz semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp vanilla


Making the pastry cream:

Heat, but not simmer, the milk in a small pan. Whisk yolks. Sugar and the salt in a large saucepan, 3-4 minutes, until thick and lemon in color. (Your winter eggs will do this, summer eggs will be darker) stir in the cornstarch. Whisk in the hot milk slowly. Cook over a med-low heat, constantly whisking and side scrapping, until it reaches a pudding type consistency. You want to remove all traces of the corn starch flavor. This can take 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and rum. Cool to room temp. Next place a piece of plastic wrap over the pastry cream, press down gently onto the cream to prevent cream from forming a skin. You can refrigerate this over night, but only need a few hours for it to firm up. Do not stir or whisk again.

Chocolate glaze:

Over a medium heat, in a medium saucepan, bring the heavy cream and corn syrup to a full simmer. Remove from heat, add chocolate, cover and set aside until chocolate melts. 8 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, gently as we are not making a whipped cream. Cool until tepid.

Presentation:

Place one cake on a serving plate and evenly spread out all the pastry cream, to the edges. Place second cake on top, lining it up carefully. Pour glaze over the center of the top cake, help spread it over the top and down the sides. Allow the cake to set, 1 hour before serving.


Told you it took a long time to make, but oh so worth it.

The Best of 2012 in pictures