Oh Gosh, I Love Them!

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When I picked up my Mom for the Christmas break, she had in her basket, two beautiful crocheted rugs made by an old friend.  My Mom said Mrs. Heyens made these two just for me!!

How special is that?!  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!!  They are extremely squishy.  Just perfect for cold floors in the morning during the winter.  The brown, rust rug now has found a permanent home in front of my kitchen sink.  The colors just mix perfectly with my decor and the match my new kitchen curtains.

Now Mrs. Heyens  is from the old country (Holland) like my Mom and they have remained good friends throughout the years and always lived within 25 miles of each other.  They stop and visit often now that they are older and their children are grown and gone.  During the summer months, you will see Mrs. Heyens and my Mom riding their bikes to yard sales throughout their small town.  Many times they are faster than those in vehicles that are thrifting as well!  Very cute.

I am hoping that one day she will share the pattern for the rugs as I would love to make more for myself and others .... but that might be a secret.  For now, I will have to be content enjoying the ones she made for me.

Please remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze

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Oh me, oh my.  Debbie over at Homespun Living posted the link to these scones and needing something for dessert the other night, I dug out the ingredients and got to work.

If you love scones and the spices of the cooler seasons like I do, then this is the dessert for you.

According to Wikipedia, a scone is a single serving cake or quick bread, originally hailing from Scotland. They are usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent and are baked on sheet pans.  They are often lightly sweetened, are occasionally glazed and as far as I am concerned, are best served with a cup of sweet tea .... I am an English tea drinker ... lots of sugar and cream.  If you have never made scones before, they are easier than you think!

Since I do not own a stand mixer, the most difficult part was mixing the dough until it resembled cornmeal but the old pastry cutter and some muscle came in handy.

Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze

For the scones:

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoon cold butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
3 tablespoon half-and-half - don't worry if you don't have any on hand ... see my recipe here
1 large egg

For the spiced glaze:

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.  (I used spray Pam instead of parchment paper as I didn't have any on hand and it turned out fine)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (remember I used a pastry cutter instead), stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.  Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture.  Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, half-and-half and egg.  Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and form the dough into a ball.  Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a one-inch thick circle.

Use a large knife to slice just like a pizza making equal portions.

Place on a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until light brown.

Place on a wire rack to cool.

While the scones are cooling, make the powdered sugar spiced glaze by mixing the powdered sugar, spices and milk together until smooth.  When scones are cooled, pour the glaze over the top of each scone.  Allow to firm.

Enjoy with a cup of tea, coffee, hot chocolate or spiced apple cider!

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Heating with Wood

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Oh my, how I wish we had a fireplace ... or a wood stove .... or even an outdoor furnace .... anything to be self-sufficient by burning wood and heating our home.  Our plans were to put in a wood stove this past summer but it just didn't work out.  My absence from home, really put a dent in our 'building/adapting our heat source' agenda.

Before my marriage to my dear hubby, I had a wood pellet fireplace installed in the basement of my home.  It was wonderful.  The heat that it expelled was amazing and oh so cozy.  It heated my 1200 square foot home with ease and was simple for this single woman to maintain, load and clean.  

Heating with wood has it's advantages.  Wood is a renewable fuel, it is widely available in our parts and in most of North America and in some cases, and for some it can save you money.  If you live in a forested, rural area and you own a chain saw, trailer and/or truck, you could process the wood yourself.  However, if you have to buy split wood and have it delivered, the savings will not be substantial.  This fuel cost calculator might help you determine if heating with wood would help you financially.  If you take into account all the time and energy need to cut, haul, split, stack your wood, savings drop substantially but if you consider the work as a 'personal weight reduction program' instead ..... well then you would be benefiting two ways from heating your home with wood.  You also become less dependent on fossil fuels and more self-reliant.

The disadvantages include but are not limited to; difficult and costly to obtain if you do not have access to free or cheap wood.  Wood is bulky and storage can be a problem.  Firewood must be seasoned for at least 3 months.  When burning wood in the home, fires must be properly prepared, tended and cleared.  Fires can be dangerous and many fireplaces leak smoke into the home.  Fireplaces are difficult to seal for air infiltration on the inside and for water leakage from the outside.  They also must be inspected regularly for tar and soot build-up.  

One has to remember that the type of wood burned, whether it be softwood or hardwood will determine the energy efficiency.  Softwoods burn quickly whereas hardwoods, like oak or maple, have less resin and burn longer and slower.   The amount of moisture in the wood determines its fuel value.  This is why firewood needs to be seasoned.  

Over the winter, we will look at installing a wood heating system in our home once again.  From all the information I have read, it seems shopping for one is best when done in the spring.  Retailers are more accommodating on prices when the season is over and they are looking at a dry spell over the summer.  Now what do we buy?  Do you have a wood burning stove/fireplace in your home?  Do you like it?  Do you have any advice for us?  We would appreciate any and all!  All these photos have been taken at our neighbor Dave's property.  He burns wood in his home and is ready for the long winter that will soon be upon us.  So lovingly and carefully chopped and stacked.

So for now I will dream of a wood stove, the beauty of  the natural wood fire, of the warm spot in the house to gather around on cold evenings.  I will dream of security knowing that we will be warm and comfortable if the power grid fails in the middle of winter and of being set free from our energy supplier who only cares about our money.  In time, I hope all my dreams come true.

I hope you have a great day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Roasted Garlic

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Roasted garlic might not be something new to some of you but I had never done it before.  Since I wanted to try a new recipe that included roasted garlic in the list of ingredients, I scoured the web finding any type of tips.  There were a few but then one late afternoon I had the television tuned to the cooking channel while I was cooking dinner (my inspiration...ha!), they were demonstrating how to roast garlic.  For the life of me, I cannot remember which program it was .... I watch so many of them!

Grabbing a pencil and paper, I quickly jotted down the steps as I remembered them ..... not paying close attention at the beginning, I had to kind of wing it and since I didn't have any fresh garlic bulbs from the garden, I had to count on the good old supermarket.

First - begin by peeling back all the loose 'skin' surrounding the cloves but leave the cloves intact.

Second - trim a slice off the top of the bulb .... still keeping the cloves intact.

Third - gently rub some olive oil over the cut end of the bulb.

Fourth - place the bulbs in a muffin tin with the cut end facing up.

Fifth - cover the bulb with a small piece of tin foil.

Last - bake in a 400 degree oven for approximately half and hour or until the cloves are soft when pierced with a fork.

When you remove the garlic from the oven, let cool and remove the outer skin on the cloves.  Chop, slice or mince as needed.  It so very easily slides right off!

If you have never used roasted garlic in recipes, I highly recommend it.  The taste is unbelievable.  The process was simple enough and the house smelled divine.  The recipe I had used the roast garlic for?  Well that is for another post coming up soon!

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Adding to the Fruit Trees

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Friends of ours, Barb and Dave, own the local greenhouse here in town.  In the spring and summer they sell everything from flowers to trees to bushes to shrubs to vegetable seedlings to soil.  They then close up for the months of July and August.  

They re-open again in September and sell fall flowers such as Mums and pumpkins, ornamental squash, straw, cornstalks and anything that one would use to decorate their home for the season.

Locals love their greenhouse and products as Barb and Dave take great care in providing only the best for their friends and customers.  The other day, the hubster and I stopped in to check out their new stock and say hi as we don't see much of them when the shop is open.

Around the corner I noticed an adorable and very healthy looking tree.. a Redwing American Cranberry Bush.  The leaves were already a glorious red and they looked almost like a maple leaf.  Well I just had to have it and the price was perfect!  Only $14.95!!!  This bush was already five feet tall!

We have been slowly adding fruit trees to the property and this will be a wonderful addition.  The berries are edible .... just imagine .... my own homegrown cranberries for Thanksgiving dinner!  That will, however, have to be next year as the berries have already gone through their cycle.

Loading it into the trunk, we drove our new little baby home but a heavy frost was threatening that evening and since I didn't want the leaves to fall off just yet, we brought the bush indoors for the next couple of nights.

Yesterday the threat of deep frosty nights had passed and it was time to put the bush in the ground.

After digging a hole big enough, I added a bag of Miracle Grow soil to the bottom to give the bush some extra nutrients for a good head start.

I then added a bucket of fresh water and dropped the bush into the hole.  Finishing up, I gave it another good bucket of water.

Hopefully the deer will leave the bush alone and let it grow into a large, fruit producing tree that we can enjoy for many years to come!

Do you add fruit trees to your property?  If you do, which ones have been successful?

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Super Green Veggie Powder

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Oooh, oooh, I found something really neat while surfing the web one night and I just had to try it and I love, love, love it!

Over at The Nourished Kitchen, Jenny came up with a wonderful idea to use all the greens .... beet and turnips tops, carrot tops, kale, Swiss chard, peppers (with seeds removed), celery leaves, even herbs......she later mentions that she also uses tomatoes, onions, or anything that is in excess in her kitchen or garden now so it isn't just 'green' veggie powder.  I will also be including the chives that need to be trimmed once the next batch of 'greens' is done drying.

from this morning's breakfast...to be added to the dehydrator

After a batch has been dried, I ground the greens in my little coffee grinder....it actually worked very well instead of using my mortar and pestle.  As they turned to a powder, I would add more until the whole batch was turned into my super powder. 

Now what do you do with the powder you ask?  I will sprinkle it in stews, soups, casseroles...even scrambled eggs, quiches and omelettes.  Almost like my own homemade Mrs. Dash!  The combination of flavors from all the vegetables will add so much to my dishes....not to mention the added nutritional value!

For now I am storing my super powder in a glass canning jar until I find something more suitable for my spice cupboard. 

Can you imagine using every, single part of the vegetable?  How cool is that?  Thank you so much Jenny for thinking 'outside the box' and sharing it with us all.  My dehydrator will be working overtime for many weeks to come.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

After the holidays

Pin It Well the holidays are over. It has been crazy around the old homestead and decorations are finally put away. Things are finally back to normal. I had a wonderful visit with my Mom over the holidays. It is always such a joy when she can come and stay awhile.

Everyone loved their 'homemade' gifts which inspires me to do more next year. Now I am waiting for spring to arrive so seeds can be planted in the garden.....but it will be a while yet!

The temperatures here have been very cold...perfect weather to stay inside and get projects done while enjoying a cup of tea and taking many breaks doing enjoyable tasks.

I decided yesterday to try my hand at block quilting. I have quilted before but have never made my own blocks and it is one of my goals this year. I want to make a few quilts for loved ones and to me there is nothing that screams 'homesteading' than being cuddled underneath a homemade quilt.





This is my first quilt block. The colors in the picture don't do it justice. The corners aren't perfect but I am happy with it since it is my first attempt. I am hoping to get better as I go along!

I am sorry to all my friends whose blogs I read regularly. I haven't been around on the computer much but will try and catch up. Sometimes life gets in the way!

Today will be spent taking our Rottie Sammy to the vet. He had to have emergency surgery before Christmas and he needs his check-up and shots. He is doing well and is as goofy as ever.

I need to make a trip to the library as one of my goals for the new year (I don't call them resolutions as then I don't stick with them) is to learn Spanish. So I have a kit on order there so I can get started. This should be an experience!

I hope everyone is doing well, keep warm (or cool) where ever you may be on the this planet of ours.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug! :)