Cheeses loves me

Here's a glimpse into the way my mind works.
Joe was reading a bedtime Bible story to our dear sweet babies.
As he read, this is what I heard, "We know God loves us because He gave us cheeses."
Amen.
I am all about the cheeses. Especially sharp cheddar, that's how we know He loves us a LOT.

And one more mildly entertaining story. Last night was open house at Jackson School where Joe works as a fourth grade teacher on the third floor.
One of the parents came up to Joe and told him this story:
The Boy Scouts meet at the school at night in the art room in the basement. The scout leader was talking about some serious topic and mentioned the "big guy upstairs." One of the second graders thought a moment, raised his hand, and asked, "Do you mean Mr. Rebisz?"

For clarification, Joe is 6'6'', so he really does qualify for the position of big guy upstairs if you are in the art room at Jackson. LOL.

Well, I just entered the Agricultural Fair at the Genesee Country Museum. I will enter my white bread and some strawberry jam. I will let you know how I do. I hope to get first with my bread this year, I took second last year.

My kids really would like to have my attention now, so I should go.
XOXO
Joce

Pumpkin pie and my kids like yogurt

Pumpkin Pie:

I cannot remember if I posted this recipe before, if not- here goes.

1 C sugar

1/2 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/2 t ginger

1/2 t allspice

1/2 t cloves

1 1/2 C pumpkin puree

1 2/3 C evaporated milk

1/2 t vanilla

2 eggs

1 unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine all ingredients, pour into pie shell. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 350 F. Continue to bake for another 40 minutes, until pie is firm.

This is the best pumpkin pie I have ever had.

Yogurt, the easy way:

In a pint jar, put a glop of store-bought yogurt, then fill the jar with fresh milk (about 88 degrees). Keep it in your oven with the light on, and turn your oven a couple times if you need to, in order to keep the yogurt at around 90 degrees. Keep it in there for 12 hours.

Tillaboro Orchard
2nd Annual
Apple Festival

You are cordially invited to attend our
2nd Annual Apple Festival
on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at @ 5:00 p.m.

Things to do:
· Hay rides
· Camping
· Cider Pressing
· Bobbing for apples
· Apple Recipe Judging
· Bonfire
· Pumpkin Painting
· Wiffle Ball
· Yard games of all kinds

What to bring:
· Snack to pass
· Your best apple confection for Apple Recipe Judging
· Tent or camper
· BYOB
· Your favorite yard game
· Warm comfy clothing
· An extra shirt (and a towel?) if you plan to win at bobbing for apples

Apple cider, mulled cider, mulled cider as an adult beverage, wine, hot coffee and cocoa, and AWESOME contest prizes will be provided.
R.S.V.P. right here.

Egg Souffle

I made this for my mom a while back, and I have had a hard time finding the recipe again. It was in the D and C and they make you pay cash money to read their archives. But today I got lucky and found it at it's owner's site.
This is good food:

Egg SouffléFrom Springdale Farm Bed & Breakfast

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
9 large eggs½ cup sour cream
½ cup whole milk1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put butter in the bottom of an 8-inch-round soufflé dish that is at least 4 inches tall. Place dish in preheating oven for a few minutes, until butter is melted. Remove from oven. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs, sour cream, milk and salt together until eggs are light in color, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour egg mixture into dish. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the soufflé is full, high and fluffy. Serve immediate.Makes 4 servings.

Today I will use kefir instead of sour cream because that is my only cultured milk in the house at this time.
Go to this site for the original article.
xoxo
Joce

Shehadababyit'saboy!

Clara delivered her calf last night at right around 10:00.

Joe took about four hundred pictures, hugged me, and said, "We're parents!" And I thought, "Hmmm, was he this excited when I pushed Brilyn and Cade out?"

I'd like to think that he must have been. LOL.

The kids were in bed when the calf was born, so I sent them out to see it right after breakfast this morning.

Brilyn came running back to the house to let me know that, "Cade is in the pasture! Isn't the fence on? He's hugging the baby!"

So, I hurry (not run, exactly) out to see what's going on, and there is Cade all spooned up to the baby, and Clara, calmly chewing her cud next to them. I am sad to say that I forgot my camera, and I did not feel comfortable "hurrying" back to the house to get it while Cade snuggled the newborn next to it's thousand pound mama.

I told my boy, "Cade, it's dangerous to go in the pasture with Clara when mommy is not outside to watch you."

And he told me, "Nuggle baby dangerish?"

I love that boy.

So, here are some pics:

Last night

This morning
Oh, and, apparently, Brilyn got ahold of the camera the other day. Here are the first fruits of her photographic career:

Here comes the baby...

We are holding a late-night vigil waiting for Clara's baby to arrive. (Yes, quarter after nine is late-night for us).
So far, we have a first bag of waters and front feet.
See this article for more info. If you want, feel free to come over to watch.
XOXO
Joce

Eat your zucchini... part 3

Okay. Here is the final installment of the zucchini trilogy.

And, I believe I saved the best for last.

Zucchini pickles:

Ingredients
16 cups fresh zucchini, sliced
4 cups onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup canning or pickling salt
4 cups white vinegar (5%)
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp mustard seed
2 tbsp celery seed
2 tsp ground turmeric ( I used curry powder, because I don't have any turmeric)
Directions
Step 1 - Brining
Cover zucchini and onion slices with 1 inch of water and salt. Let it stand 2 hours.
Step 2 - Drain
Drain (and discard) the liquids from the zucchini and onions.
Step 3 - Mix the spices, vinegar and heat
Combine the
4 cups white vinegar (5%)
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp mustard seed
2 tbsp celery seed
2 tsp ground turmeric
in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Step 4 - Add the zucchini and onions
Add the zucchini and onions. Simmer 5 minutes.
Step 5 - Fill the canning jars
Fill the jars with zucchini/onion mixture and pickling solution, leaving 1/2-inch of headspace.
Adjust lids and rings snugly.
Step 6 - Process in a water bath canner 15 minutes.

Yummy.

So, my friend Hanna let me borrow a book called Birthing from Within. It is weird. But interesting and I am learning from it.

Anyway, she (the author) recommends doing some birth art to get your psyche ready for pregnancy and birth. I liked the idea and did some last night. I picked the exercise where you are supposed to draw an animal that you think exemplifies excellent pregnancy/birthing/mothering/etc. I chose a Clara, because she is so sweet and calm and her body has expanded easily to accomodate baby, and she has a lovely mammary system, etc. My cow was okay. It didn't have a lot of oomph. The proportions weren't quite right. You could tell that somehow, my heart wasn't in it.

And then, today, I drew the right picture. It is not of a cow, but it is of a farm animal with which I am even more familiar. The game hen. (Game chickens are the kind traditionally raised for cockfighting.) And not just any game hen, but a broody one. Which is the chicken equivalent of pregnant woman. And this picture? Has OOOMPH. It's me, baby. I don't have a scanner, so I can't show you my drawing. But I did find a pic online of the animal of my inspiration.

I don't think I can say much more about how I feel about being pregnant. It's all right there, in full color.

For those of you who really cannot interpret animal thoughts and feelings just by looking- I'll add a quote. "Vacate the premises immediately. Failure to do so will result in your immediate annihilation."

I don't feel murderous all the time, but I do get me hackles up pretty quickly if someone doesn't respect my physical, emotional, or spiritual space.

And then, this evening I did some more birth art. Because I like it. I put a big piece of paper on the floor and had some fun with my kids' crayons.

I think it is good for me. I should keep doing it.

But anyway.

I am going to go eat some ice cream. And read the book about birthing from within. (I can't help but think to myself, where the heck else are you going to birth from? But I guess the author's point is that a lot of women allow others to dictate their pregnancy and birth, and so that is kind of like Birthing from Elsewhere. But the title still makes me smirk.)

XOXO

Joce

Battling zucchini... Round 2

Now let's take some zucchini and make it think it is eggplant, because that is good.
Zucchini Parmesan:
Thinly slice enough zucchini to fill your favorite big frying pan.
In olive oil, saute the zucchini, one onion cut the way you like it (I food processed it along with the garlic) and one clove of garlic until zucchini is tender.
Spoon, dump, or shake the contents of the pan into a 9X13 pan, add some nice thick tomato sauce, and smother with shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 until the cheese is lightly browned.
I like this dish served with grilled Italian sausage. I especially like it the next day, it warmed up really well.
I am proud of this dish because:
I grew the zucchini, I bought the onion from nice kids who grew it in Elba, I bought the garlic from a slightly different-from-me lady who grew it organically in Stafford, the olive oil is not local, sorry, I made the mozzarella from milk from my own sweet cow, and the parmesan is from Cutter's which is near here somewhere. I am happy with my ingredients. And I look forward to making next summer and being able to say that the sausage is made from local Pig. (Which is what we call our fat hog.)
And, now for the interesting stuff- hold on......here it is..... I think Clara will have had her baby by tomorrow night. She seems to be bagging up and has some evidence of the birth canal becoming lubricated for the upcoming event. She's a nice cow, I tried to phrase that delicately.
Well, the supper is cooked, and the natives are restless. Must go now.
One seems to "Need to go PEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!."
XOXO
Joce

Battling the overabundant zucchini...Part I

Zucchini. It's not all that delicious to me, but it is so easy to grow. And the Animal Vegetable Miracle lady made funny jokes about how much zucchini can grow in one person's garden. So I put in a few plants, and by a few, I think I mean five. That's not too many. Or so I thought. Luckily, Pig really enjoys some raw, gargantuan zucchini in the double digit poundage. And, I have also found a few ways to get people (and by that I mean me) to eat it.

No zucchini popover here.

And now for today's first use of zucchini.

This one sounds a little crazy, and I realize this. So, I am placing a rule on comments that you can't say how you think it would taste. If you want to comment on this recipe, you must try it.

Zucchini Crisp

I don't measure much, so keep that in mind.

Peel some zucchini and chop it the way you would chop apples for a crisp. I use 1/2 inch square pieces.

Keep chopping until you have filled your 8X8 Pyrex just over half way full.

Pour a 1/2 cup lemon juice over the zucchini. Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon nutmeg over the zucchini. You have now convinced the zucchini that it is apples.

Now, you can use your favorite crisp topping. I used 1 cup flour, 1 cup oats, 1 cup brown sugar, sifted together, and cut in with 1 stick of butter.

Bake at 375 for a half an hour, and, voila!, you have zucchini-thinks-its-apples crisp.

Here it is:

And for tomorrow...come back to see what kind of identity confusion I can inflict on the poor zucchini as a main dish.

And, while I'm waiting for the pictures to upload...I have included a pic of one, ah, incident that occured while we were painting the floor of the playroom. I will show you pics of that as soon as we get the wall thingys back on. But anyway, this pic? Is a mix of a dad who wasn't thinking about the two year old who wasn't thinking either.

Start now

So we will again be giving only hand-made gifts for Christmas this year. A lucky few will receive a jar of mulberry preserves. The rest will get by on some peach, strawberry, and/or cherry wine. And now, added to the list, is blueberry syrup. My sister gave me some store-bought blueberry syrup a few years ago with some super-de-duper waffle mix. I really enjoyed that gift, so I did my dangedest to recreate the syrup she had given me. (I'll work on the golden waffle mix later). Here's the recipe:
7 cups pureed blueberries
2 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Combine and bring to a boil- hold it for 5 minutes or so.

4 cups water
5 cups sugar
Combine and bring to boil- hold until about 219 degrees.

Combine the two syrups, bring to a boil and hold for 1 minute.

Hot water process for 30 minutes.

We had it on pancakes this morning- it will be equally as delicious on waffles or crepes or your breakfast carb of choice.

XOXO

Joce

I am going to go assist my hubby in the cutting in of the playroom paint job, (don't worry, the window is open) and then go take a nap.

Today we picked 3 1/3 lbs. of blueberries at Pat's, and then it was off to the LeRoy farmer party (aka farmer's market) where we bought 1 fudge nut cookie, 1 head of organic garlic, 1 big sweet onion, 1 quart smaller cooking onions, 3 bars of Charleen's soap, (Egyptian spice w/ clay- good for shaving, Lavender- good for smelling, and cucumber mint w/corn meal-good for scrubbing), and 2 peaches from the Watt's (where we bought the peaches for last year's wine for those of you who know about that).
We had a good time with that.
And, now that I have my bathing suit on, the sunshine has vamoosed.
So Brilyn and I are going to eat cake and play My Little Pony Memory.
See ya.
XOXO
Joce

Try this

So, a friend brought me some chocolate pudding. Which is good. But, I really should be eating yogurt, not pudding. So? I mixed it half chocolate pudding, half plain yogurt, and accidently made up a practically gourmet treat. It is so so good.
So, you should try it.
And, I made mulberry preserves. Mulberries are a LOT of work. But, I think, now that the work is done, that it was worth it. I have never had any jams, jellies, or preserves with such a rich flavor. Basic recipe: 1 cup fruit, 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice. And a new trick: how to tell when it's jam- put a teaspoon of fruity stuff in question on a plate, and when cool enough, run your finger through it. If it doesn't run back together, but stays in two blobs, its done!
That trick worked for me. Quite well. Plus, you get to lick some jam (or almost jam) off your finger.
XOXO
Joce

Just in case...

Just in case the baby in my belly is a boy, I am going to need some boys' names.
So I don't end up with a Justin Case, who is a real person in Oppenheim, NY.
Rules: I need boys' names that are cool like Cade, but not trendy like Caden, Braden, or Jaden. Okay?
Go.


Thanks.
XOXO
Joce

Two pictures and two precious gifts

My mom passed into glory one week ago today.
I was very happy to find this picture in my camera. It was taken a few weeks ago, the last time she was able to visit. See previous post- we had a good time.

And here is a pic (as is the new header) of the bouquet my sister and I chose for my mom from our kids. Flowers have never been more meaningful to me.

Thanks for your prayers- I'm doing okay. I can take some comfort in the fact that I held her hand as she was meeting Jesus.

I am also comforted by two gifts straight from heaven:

1. The last time my mom visited here she felt good, and we had fun, and cooked together. And I was aware of the fact that it could be the last time I ever cooked with my mom and I savored every second of it. I'm so glad I took the time to notice. That's a gift.

2. I was able to say a few words and play the piano at mom's funeral. I wanted to say something, but I was unsure what I could do without breaking down. The morning of the funeral, I was playing my mom's piano- "It is Well"- and God just calmed my heart. I knew that playing that song would express two things I have received from my mom- music and faith. That I was able to do that was a gift to me and to those who were there. That's the second gift.

XOXO
Joce

Rambling me

So, my kids are both asleep. I had a chance to check my email and my blog, and I want to write something here...but I also want to go out to my garden and weed a bit. The planted plants and the weeds are all QUITE big enough to pull weeds without hurting the planted plants or my fingers. (Pulling baby weeds hurts my cuticles, call me a wimp, I don't really care.)
So, my onions are really begging to weeded.
We ate our first fruits (vegetables) of our labors for supper yesterday- Lettuce and baby beet greens. What a salad. My mom and dad were visiting (yes, my mom is well enough to travel, the oxygen lets her do more than she was before, and that is a praise report right there. And the swelling in her arm due to a tumor she has went down while she was here, Amen!) and I cooked up one mean meal for them and Joe. It was in honor of Father's Day. Here's the menu:
Green salad from the garden, pickled beets from last year's garden, yummy steaks from a grass fed cow I never met, but have enjoyed eating, creamed potatoes (which I made and were really really good), and scalloped onions (which my mom made and were out of this world). It was fun to do a bit of cooking with my mom (read as: I spied on her and found out how to make scalloped onions) Everything was delicious and I had seconds on everything except the salad, of which I really took two helpings the first time.
No dessert- my mom had requested cookies, so we had already eaten those before supper. Because we eat dessert first if we want to. The cookies were quite yummy, too- oatmeal three ways. Oatmeal with semi-sweet chocolate chunks (Pamela I need more bulk chocolate), oatmeal with walnuts, and oatmeal with big glops of chunky Pamela-made peanut butter (Pamela, I need more peanut butter too. And so does my dad, so my order is for 1 quart creamy, amd 2 quarts crunchy. My dad said, with a look of mild elation, "It comes in quarts?" And that is funny to any LOTR fans who can picture a certain hobbit saying, "It comes in pints?" But that is not about peanut butter, it's about beer.)

Okay, if that isn't enough rambling for you, you'll never get enough, so I might as well go weed my onions. And my peppers, because I am looking forward to kabobs.
XOXO
Joce

Easy community service

Okay, so this is easy.
Go to twitter, create an account, and then follow @Mom_17.
I have two very strong reasons.
1. Pamela (the classy gal you would be following) is funny beyond reason. Go read her for proof.
2. She is in a contest, that has really cool baby-related prizes. And, if she wins, Pamela will donate everything but the camera (which she will give to her mom, because I guess she really needs it) to Teen MOPS of Batavia. Which is a great ministry that helps teen moms gain skills for parenting and stuff.
So, go ahead and do that. Go to twitter. And follow.
XOXO
Joce

Strawberries

I had a little outfit when I was about 8 years old- a pair of shorts and a tank top with three strawberries across the chest. I called it- My Strawberry Outfit. And, I had big plans for this outfit. On my first day of summer vacation, I was going to wear it strawberry picking. Ah...poor ALP Farms had no idea that my 40 pound self could eat so many strawberries. Honestly, they should have weighed me coming in and going out and charged my mother accordingly.

Anyway, I took my own dear children strawberry picking last Saturday, over to Duysson's in LeRoy. I must recommend it. The farm, not the taking of children. However, I now appreciate that mom took me strawberry picking. It is not as joyous for the mommy as it is for the little strawberry party animals. I take it that Cade enjoys strawberries as much as his mommy, because, as Hanna put it, "He looks like a crazed little strawberry murderer." His red mouth and hands, and the red juices dripping from his chin and finger tips really were a little disturbing.
Since then, I can't recall how many times I have had to say, "No more strawberries!" I feel like a mom in a bedtime story for pre-readers, the amount of times I have repeated myself word for word. He's a naughty little pilferer of strawberries. He's sneaky. He's persistant. Everytime I prepare a strawberry recipe, he's there. Lurking.

Anyway.
Here are the recipes.

Number one, Strawberry Jam, go here: http://cincinnatilocavore.blogspot.com/2008/06/strawberry-preserves-no-pectin-recipe.html
I pretty much followed those directions.

Number two, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie:

INGREDIENTS
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 pound fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
12 oz. fresh strawberries, halved
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell

TOPPING:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup quick-cooking or rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ stick cold butter

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg. Add the sugar, flour, corn starch and vanilla; mix well. Gently fold in rhubarb and strawberries. Pour into pastry shell.
2. For topping, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and oats in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

Yum.

XOXO
Joce

Oh, yeah, you probably want my pie crust recipe, too. Fine. Here it is.
2 cups flour
2 teaspooons sugar
pinch salt
2/3 cup oil
3 Tablespoons milk
Mix it up in the pie plate and shape into crust. No rolling. Easy Squeezy.

And, some updated photos of the fam:

A recipe, a request, and a moment of silence

Recipe:

Asparagus thingys

1 package cresent rolls

cheese

asparagus

In the little triangles that the cresent roll people make, place some cheese (I used sliced mozz, shredded cheddar, and shredded swiss- that's what was in my fridge) and about four 4-inch spears of asparagus. Roll it up like the cresent roll people say on the package, and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Wow. That's all I'll say. (I do apologize for posting this now that asparagus is done for the year.) (And, sorry that the picture is blurry. I did my best, but my camera just wasn't feeling cooperative.)

Request:

Please identify this plant-

And this one, too-

And a moment of silence: (for my baby's hair)

Due to a very unfortunate miscommunication (on my husband's part, I won't mince words there)my dear sweet baby accidently received a Big Boy Hair Cut while I was Out of Town.

Sweet Baby-

Big Boy-

That's all for now, my little people are in need of food.

XOXO

Joce

Quote of the moment...

God is great.

Beer is good.

And people are crazy.

And a picture:

"Princess Brilyn of the long hair"

In the merry merry month of May...

Birthdays!

Brilyn:

2005

20062007

2008

2009

Cade:

2007

2008

2009

Happy Birthday!