Baby "Snuggies"

Sleep Sacks, Wearable blankets, Snuggies, whatever you want to call them, I'm making Big Boy two of them in a bigger size. The one he has is starting to get snug on him. I really like these for night time. If I don't put one on him he loses his blankets in the night and wakes up because he is cold. Our household name for them are snuggies, even though a Snuggie is a blanket with sleeves you can wear while sitting on the couch. I made one yesterday, and hopefully will make the second one today. I lined it with fuzzy fleece, and the print is a soft flannel. Here is the first one:

 My little helper fell asleep.

 It was hard to get a good picture of him, all he wanted to do was bounce on the bed! Lol.

 Fun and games

 Made cookies in the wood cookstove

 Yummy!

 Playing with his new Melissa & Doug toy from Grampie Osgood

I'm working on a frugal kitchen post, coming soon!

Fun in the Snow

I took Big Boy out earlier last week when it wasn't too cold and the sun was shining. He loved it! We weren't out very long, but it was nice to be in the fresh air and sunshine. It stinks when the weather is way too cold, windy and cloudy to be able to go out with him, sometimes for two weeks or so. He loves the outdoors. 

 Little mittens drying by the stove

 My little '''hoodlum"

Also, our fridge is working now! Yay!
Hope you all survived another "blizzard". Have a great day!

Gotta Love Tax Season :s

~There is nothing quite like going to do your taxes, thinking you're going to have to pay in, only to find that you don't, only to get home after your appointment to find your refrigerator has died.

 'Nuf said.

(Google Images)

Onions Aren't Apples

Here it is snowing, again. Hopefully with all the snow we are getting it won't rain the whole Spring/Summer. :)

Sprouted lentils, a treat for the chickens

 Blooming Christmas cactus

 Jack found the onions and thought they were apples!

Yuck! What is this thing?!

Hope you all have a great day!

Farmer's Vocation

"We farmers have the most sacred, noble vocation on the Earth." ~Joel Salatin

Progress Comes With A Price

"There is a moral emptiness that comes when we are deprived of the satisfaction of doing things for ourselves." ~Eric Sloane, The Seasons of America Past

I think anyone who has grown a garden, tapped a maple tree, raised a backyard flock of chickens, milked a cow/goat, knitted a dishcloth, sewed an apron, changed the oil in their car, baked bread, or watched their homeschooled child graduate and blossom in the world, knows that feeling of satisfaction.

~Apple Pie~

I baked an apple pie on Monday in the cookstove. It was fun! Baking really is not that much different than in a modern oven, now that I'm getting used to it. If only life in today's world would allow me to use it every day. :( I wish life would slow down, it's too busy and too fast!

   
Crust tip: If you roll your crust onto your rolling pin, instead of lifting it with your hands, you won't get tares and thin spots. I think I read this in one of my old cook books, it really works.

 Simply unroll it over your  pie plate

 Top with some freshly whipped cream and enjoy!!!

I love fruit pies! I want to try blueberry next. :)

Batten Down The Hatches!!!

Blizzard warnings for some areas of New England. Snow accumulation for Maine anywhere from 1-4 feet, depending on the area. It is supposed to be quite windy, so there is a good chance we will lose electricity. Our line is on the ''low priority" list, so we could be out of power for several days.

 Today's to do list:

~ Button up the barn
~Stack wood on porch for cook stove (source of heat, cooking, and hot water with no electricity)
~Fill a few gallon jars with drinking water and put in fridge (I wish I had a 5 gal. Coleman water cooler!)
~Fill a few jugs of water for cooking/dishes
~Fill 5 gallon buckets for animals
~Fill milk jugs with water for the toilet
~Top off lamps and lanterns with oil
~Catch up on all the laundry
~Charge cell phones
~Bake a pie and watch it snow :)


I hope everyone stays safe and warm in the coming days!

Photo courtesy of http://wallpaperswide.com/blizzard_traces-wallpapers.html

Home Grown Roasted Chicken

Thaw chicken and rub all over with olive oil.

 Heat skillet on stove top, grease with a little olive oil. Rub chicken liberally with coarse sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

 Sear chicken, presentation side down (breast side down) 'till golden. Sear other side. Searing the chicken before roasting caramelizes the natural sugars in the skin and meat, bringing out a delicious flavor. I learned this from a youtube video, and have roasted my chickens this way ever since, it really makes a difference in flavor!

Keep a nice hot fire going so the oven temp doesn't drop in the middle of roasting your bird. "Biscuit" wood works great for heating up your oven (small, round, seasoned wood). Juniper burns really hot, too hot for my preference to burn it alone. But mixing it with hardwoods seems to work well. I'm still experimenting with different types of wood.

Roast the bird at about 350*-400*. At one point the temp dropped to 300*, I just added more wood and brought it back up, it didn't seem to bother it any.

For about the last half hour, I placed a sheet of aluminum foil on top to keep it from burning before it finished. Also, I kept moving the pan around, closer or farther away from the firebox and the back of the oven as needed.

Take chicken out when nicely golden and meat thermometer reads 155*, as it will reach 165* while it is resting. I usually check in the breast and thigh.

Moist, juicy and flavorful! Mmmm!

I tried to capture how it looks after cooking it this way, but the pictures don't do it justice ;-)

I added flour and water to the drippings, and made gravy for the rest of the week. There was enough salt and pepper in the drippings that I didn't need to add any spices. After picking over the chicken, there is plenty for Darlin to take sandwiches to work in the woods all week and some for a few meals besides. :)

I am really enjoying trying out different dishes in the cookstove. This is the first time I roasted a chicken with it. I must say though, I think I know a couple reasons why Caroline Ingalls baked one day a week: You have to tend the fire every so often, and check the food frequently. And you have to have a HOT fire going to heat the oven, which really heats up the kitchen! I can't imagine what it would be like in the Summer!
   I do wish the stove top didn't always look icky when I snap pics while cooking. But as the surface gets hot, it burns off the nice, shiny coat of shortening I put on it, and then there are the unavoidable grease splatters! So after it cools to a gentle warm temp in the evenings, I grease it again like I do with my fry pans before I put them away (only I grease those with olive oil, shortening in my food or pans creeps me out, yuck!) Yup, I'm an odd one ;-)

Baking in the Wood Cookstove

Sunday we had a nice fire going in the cookstove to warm up the kitchen a bit. I couldn't help myself, it seemed like such a waste not to do some cooking on it. After making breakfast, I also baked homemade pizza (I was so excited to find that my pizza pan fit in the oven!) and finally, I dared to try bread! The thought of baking bread in the wood cookstove was intimidating, for some reason. But I am glad that after almost three years I finally did! I just wish I'd done it sooner!
   Baking with wood, as I have found with my cinnamon rolls, you have to constantly turn/rotate your pans. I was a little too slow on the pizza and the crust got dark on one side, but it was still good.
 I was very happy with how the bread turned out though! I'm thinking for future loaves, I'll switch to tin/,metal bread pans for this stove. The lowest setting for the rack is too high for the bread to bake without touching the top and getting squished, so I have to put them on the bottom of the oven. Which means, unlike an electric or gas oven, there is no hot air moving beneath the pan. And with the glass that I used, the bottom took a long time to bake, I almost had to put foil on the top to keep it from getting too dark. So I think I will have better results with metal pans because they are thinner and the outside bakes faster than in the glass pans. Can't wait to try it out!
  Yesterday I roasted a chicken in the oven, I'll do a post on that later ;)

 Hot creamy wheat cereal with strawberries, cinnamon and vanilla. Yummy! Jackson loves this stuff! I change it up now and then by using maple syrup and brown sugar, and different berries. It is one of his favorite breakfasts. :)

DIY Vanity

My Mom and I got a desk, probably close to 15 years ago now, for $4.00 at a yard sale. I've had it in the downstairs guestroom/ office for a couple years, and haven't used it for much. A few months ago I decided I'd really like to have a vanity to keep all of my make up and hair things in, for the sake of having my own little space and to relieve the storage dilemma in the bathroom. I bought some white paint for $10.00, foam board for $1.77 and got busy.
 


   BEFORE:
This is after I unearthed the top, which was piled with papers and odds and ends of junk. It was sitting with boxes of baby clothes a neighbor gave us, give away items, things to return, and more baby clothes. So you can see, it wasn't doing much.

AFTER:

 I had some silver spray paint from a previous project to paint the knobs. The silk flowers have been in various places throughout the house. Originally from Dollar Tree. I thought it made for a nice, feminine touch.

 I saw several people on YouTube using foam board to make custom, affordable dividers for all types of drawers. So genius, I wish I'd thought of it! I tacked it with tape, until I am sure it is how I want it, then I will glue gun it in place. I used some leftover batting from a sewing project to line the jewelry compartments to keep things from sliding everywhere and getting tangled up. At first, I had baskets in the drawers to hold things, but it wasn't working very well. The baskets weren't the right size, so I was losing lots of space. And the little stuff was constantly getting lost.

Hair tools and jewelry in the large, top drawer

 Makeup in the small, top left drawer

 Pedicure/manicure kit and lotions

 Travel case for makeup, sprays, Moroccan oil

Not much in the bottom two drawers, but everything has a place. I like how the divider keeps the cans from rolling around every time I open the drawer.
  I still need to put up a mirror, I found one I like at Family Dollar pretty reasonable, just have to pick it up.

  I am pretty pleased at how this project turned out. For less than $15.00 I have a beautiful (to me) place to keep all my "girl" stuff, everything has a home, and things are visible, only one layer deep so that it is all easy to find. Not to mention the desk is probably happy to be out in a sunny room, where it is used every day ;)
  I hope this post inspires you to get creative and carve out a little something for yourself in your home.

Walking and Trumpets

Jackson took two steps on Friday! Then, yesterday he was standing free style a whole lot, and took another step! There were several times when I could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking of taking more steps. He would be holding on to a piece of furniture with one hand and eyeing another for several seconds, shifting his feet like he was going to go for it! Also on Friday, he figured out his trumpet! It was so cute, I was folding laundry in the livingroom and he was in the playpen in the kitchen. All of a sudden I heard this soft blowing noise and went to see what he was doing. Joe caught him on camera Saturday morning.

 Freezing rain outside. Yuck. So we are home-bound today. Think I'm going to try baking bread in the wood cookstove today, we shall see...

  For breakfast: Eggs over easy, scrapple, potato hash with onions, mushrooms, salt pork, and of course, coffee.

 Last night I was cuddling with Big Boy in our bed, humming and running my fingers through his hair. He was so still, I thought he fell asleep, so I stopped humming. A few seconds later, I heard him hum ever so quietly. It was so cute and precious, I almost teared up :) I hope you have a good day all!