Better butter::

Ah, good 'ol peanut butter. Eat the easy to spread kind and you consume unknown quantities of dog poop hydrogenated who knows what.

Eat the natural stuff and you are faced with pools of grease that you must then try to reincorporate without slopping all over the front of your shirt, counter and consequently the floor. Then, every time you come back to the butter you must again, start the whole process of slopping the grease all over self and kitchen.

So, my solution? Whip out the Kitchen Aid and mix that stuff up!

I whipped the peanut butter for a few minutes and (editors beware) wallah!

Better butter!

NOTE:: The lovely loaf is Miri's secret recipe 100% Whole Wheat version.

A little homemade goodness

Update: Things are looking good with the yoghurt. Not quite enough flavor yet, for my taste. I will give it another day. Also, I just wanted to let ya'll know that I posted this on the Sanity Savers site as well. Head on over and see what the Farm Chicks have been up to lately.



Yesterday I decided to try my hand at some homemade yoghurt .

So, I dug out the starter.

I had bought this yoghurt a while back, for the sole purpose of making my own yoghurt but I am a procrastinator by nature and I just hadn't got to it. I knew that this little gem had been in the back of my fridge for some time, the exact amount of time I was unsure.

So, when I caught a glimpse of the "Best by" date, I was slightly shocked. I say only slightly, because I don't like to clean out the fridge that often. And this little number was expensive, that much I did remember. But really, 08-18-07!

So I peeled back the plastic to reveal the most beautiful sight. Staring back at me was lovely plain yoghurt, teeming with probiotic life and only the tiniest bit of whey pooled on the top.

I sniffed. Smelled like yoghurt. I gave it the taste test. Tasted like yoghurt. (Then, I waited to make sure I didn't die.)

After a few hours, of no food poisoning effects I broke out my supplies.
Clean quart jars. Check. Stainless steel pot. Check. Thermometer. Check. Milk and starter. Check.

I called my smart tres' chic, hippy farm friend to get directions. Heat milk ever so slowly, to 100F (or till bubbles form around edges). Add 2 Tbsp starter and 2 Tbsp Powdered Milk. Mix well. Pour into jars.

Easy-schmeasy!

(read: note the placement of the cell phone, just in case I needed technical support)

Jars were filled, capped and placed in this insulated bag covered with towels and placed on top of my water heater to incubate. Where it is to remain untouched and undisturbed for a few days.

ACK!

I am such a mother hen. I want to peek and shake and poke these little jars, just to see how things are going. It's taking all of my will power not to mess with them. Just the idea of all that homemade goodness just sitting there.... It is going to be a long few days while I patiently wait for my little concoction to be ready for consumption.

I will let you know how it all turns out!

What's for dinner?

Sage and White Cheddar Scones

Makes 8

4 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. dried & rubbed sage

1/4 tsp. sweet paprika

2/3 cup veggie shortening

1 1/2 cups shredded White Cheddar Cheese

1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan Cheese

1 1/3 cups milk

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp half-and-half

1. 
   
   Heat oven to 425. Grease large baking sheet. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, sage and paprika using a pastry blender, cut in shortening till like coarse crumbs. Stir in 1 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese and Parmesan.


2. 
   
   In at two cup liquid measure, stir together milk and mustard. Add to cheese mixture. Mix lightly with a fork till forms a soft dough.


3. 
   
   Turn dough out to a lightly floured surface and knead 5 to 6 times gently. Divide in half. Lightly flour a rolling pin. Roll one half of dough into a 7 inch round. Cut into 4 wedges. Repeat with other half.


4. 
   
   Place wedges one inch apart on prepared pan. Pierce tops with a fork. Brush tops w/ half and half and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cheddar cheese.


5. 
   
   Bake till golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes.

I havn't tried this recipe but plan to do so for our dinner this night. I will take some pic's and let you know how it turns out. Let me know if you try it.

Happy Thursday!

Tackle it Tuesday: Recipe

OK, so I admit it, I am an Amish Friendship Bread JUNKIE. Have been since I was a kid, watching that vat of goo ferment and grow. I LOVE, love the smell that emanates when the jar is opened for the daily stirring. OH, and of course there is the bread itself.........pure sugary goodness. Oh, the insulin spike!




Due to the high sugar, flour, and oil content of this concoction of fattening deliciousness, I have tweaked the recipe a bit over the years. This was solely in a effort to continue the consumption of this marvelous treat while not growing myself to much in the process.





(READ: I do not recommend eating this bread while inflicted with PMS as it results in MAJOR bloating and hence, tears. The tears perpetuate the eating, the eating perpetuates the bloating and the tears, well you get the idea ~~Bad news all around!)





In order to make Friendship Bread you need to have starter. This can either come from a friend or if you have friends who are not into fermenting blobs of goo, you can make it yourself. There are loads of recipes for this on the net. If you are the unlucky few who might have to make your own starter just hop on Google and type in Amish Starter. There are several different recipes for this "secret" substance. Finding one that fits with your schedule should be no problem, as the starter recipes take anywhere from a week to 30 days before they are ready for the first use.




The basic idea is: 1 cup each milk, sugar, flour and 1-2 packets of yeast, mix well in a non-metallic container, let it ferment.






I do not us pre-packaged pudding ( I would say that 90% of the recipes circulating on the net require you to add a large box of pudding ) in this recipe, I think it clashes with the whole idea of this recipe coming from the Amish peoples. Just my opinion. Besides, who needs that extra sugar, chemicals and preservatives??




Now for the big finish.

Amish Friendship Bread: Makeover version

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

1 cup starter

1/3 cup light olive oil

1/3 cup pureed fruit (I like to use pumpkin and add lots of cinnamon,cloves and ginger)

3 Farm Fresh Eggs :)

1 cup unbleached white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. of what ever liquid flavoring you like; Vanilla, Lemon, Orange, Almond

3/4 cup sweetener; This can be Stevia, Brown Sugar, Molasses, Honey or just plain 'ole white

1 1/2 tsp. Aluminum Free Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 Sea Salt

At this point feel free to spice or otherwise foof up the bread to meet with your taste buds approval. Here's a few ideas to get you started:

Pumpkin and Spice (I use 1 cup pumpkin and add lots of pumpkin pie spice)

Lemon with Poppy Seeds (use 1/4 to 1/2 cup seeds and the zest of the lemon)

Orange, Cranberry, Walnut (use either orange juice, flavoring or zest and add a 1/2 each of nuts and dried cranberries)

Tropical ( dried Pineapple, Mango and Coconut with Pecans use Vanilla flavoring )

As for adding nuts or dried/fresh fruit the rule is keep it to about a cup, or the bread will be to heavy.

Place all ingredients in a non-metallic bowl, mix well with non-metal utensils. divide into 2 greased bread pans. Yes, it says to not use any metal within the confines of this recipe but I plop the stuff right into my old metal bread pans and it turns out just fine.





Place into a your oven and go start some laundry, it's gonna be about 40-50 minutes before the bread is done cookin'. Test with a cake tester or tooth pick, it's done when tester comes out clean.





This is so absolutely wondermus, served warm with a little dab of salted butter and a steamy mug of black coffee.



Bon apettit!

Pure Randomness

Doesn't this look YUM'O! This was breakfast. It is a dump cobbler. (Read: I know, you are saying "Cobbler for breakfast!!" Hey, I am just weird like that.) I got the recipe from two of my favorite people: Mom and Lexie. Mom calls it a "super easy cobbler" Lexie calls it "dump cake". Either way ya scoop it (HAha) it is delishioso! This mornings concoction was made with peaches and raspberries I pulled from the freezer, and a yellow cake mix. I have made it with all sorts of different fruits but my two fav's are: Canned Cherries & Pineapple (recipe from Lexie) and Apricots *drooling*.

My Silkie hen, Fluffy is broody. She is so broody in fact she jumps from nest to nest whenever some other chick lays an egg. Yesterday the girls went out to gather eggs and came back empty handed. ???? Well, Fluffy was sitting on all 18+ of them. After a while, Fidget came in freaking out. Fluffy was off the nest! Both girls threw on coats and boots, grabbed the egg bucket and ran. They returned with armloads of eggs. The just grabbed every, single one in sight. This would be fine except, I had candled (see above: that is me candling eggs at the dining table) some eggs that I thought might be fertile, marked them with an X, and left them for Fluffy.

Dilemma number 2: I have an egg picker. One day while Inspector General (I was chewed out for not including the "general" part ) was cleaning up outside, he found a couple of eggs on the ground. He reasoned with self: These are who knows how old, I'll feed them to the chickens. *WHHHAAAATTTT!!* Well the hens went bazurk, and now someone is eating eggs. Arrrggg! Poor Inspector, he didn't know that this would happen. Well needless to say, I have got to root out the culprit.

Back to the armloads of eggs.......... All of the eggs the girls brought in were sticky as all get out and covered in a odoriferous mix of egg shell, egg, and straw. Nasty! I had to carefully inspect all of the eggs to see which ones had the X and candle them and see if they were still alive. Well I am no good at this new Farm Chicky stuff, I guess. They were all rotten. Even more NASTY! SOOO.....not only do I have a broody hen with no fertile eggs to sit on, I have 17 hens that like to use the same nest, I have an egg eater AND a passel of messy eggs, I have an Inspector who loves me enough to put up with it all. Who could ask for more?

More chicken news:
All of the first batch of chicks have fully feathered out now. The Welsomer chicks I got almost 2 weeks after the first bunch have not started feathering yet. I need to either make a bigger brooder or section off some of the hen house; these chicks are getting huge. It is pretty cute to see the Welsomers hiding under the bellies of the bigger chicks. The chicks seem to be getting along just fine, no pecking so far. The Barred Rocks are the calmest of the group, with the Rhodie's being the most rowdy. I am hoping that since I got these chicks earlier in the year, (as opposed to last years chicks in May) I will get some eggs in the fall. None of the chicks I got last year laid until this spring. If this years chicks start laying in the fall I will hopefully, have eggs to sell. The going price of a dozen, organic free range eggs, is $3. This would add up quick if I had several dozen to sell.

I am also going to try and put out some garden items at the Farmer's Market this year. I have wanted to do this for the last few years but it never comes to anything. So, goal for this year: Sell something at the Farmer's Market. I would like to offer some thing out side of the ordinary, slim pickin's. I have been thinking on what that might be and am looking at some interesting old heirloom veggies. I could even set out cut flowers and herbs. Last year I made the most amazing herb wreath with Miriam. I would love to make more this year and possibly sell some of them too.

I currently have a few aprons in the works and desperately need to make the time to finish them up. I cleaned up my sewing area yesterday with the hopes of pulling the Singer out. I have a watercolor quilt for my sis-in-law Mary, (promised as a Christmas gift in '06) that needs to be STARTED! Martha where are ya when I need ya?? *sigh* I have lots of other household things I would like to start work on. I bought all of that great home dec. fabric a couple of weeks ago and it's begging to be worked into new slip covers. I guess that if I wasn't a blogaholic, I could go deal with my fabricaholic problem~:(