Bread Baking Sunday

If you haven't tried silicone pans, I would recommend them.  I picked these up on eBay for $5 each to include shipping.  HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Today's tally, 3 loaves of bread, and 50 biscuits.  Bread is cooling before I slice it -- to make hubby's sandwiches for lunch. Biscuit dough is in the freezer so, I can bag them up later.  Nice way to spend a Sunday with my menfolk.

What is the temp where you live?  Can you believe we are in the 90s?  I had to turn on the a/c in order to bake.  Have a great day of rest........
The seller still has the loaf pans on special.
wwwDOT5stardealDOTcom

What Has That Chicken Woman Been Up To?

Let us see..... I have been busy getting back into the routine of teaching my boys on a daily basis.  Lisa did move back to San Antonio with her mother for awhile before heading out to California. 

This week's classroom focus has on been on getting Saenz passed long division using a calculator and without.  Knowing how to work an answer depending on just what information the problem given is a fine art / language.  For example: does the question ask for an answer with a remainder, carried to 3 places to the right of the decimal place, converted to a fraction. This means basically, I have not only been teaching him how to divide but to pay attention to directions, break down a problem into parts, order of operations, and how to double check his work. 

Zephyr can now recognize about 50 printed words with some accuracy though, he will not sit still with a book.  So my next stop will be taping up index words all over the house and making a game for him to learn primary reader words and how to spell them.  Otherwise, once we get passed the reading issue I can then move him into the first grade.  Not too bad considering this his kindergarten year.  He is already tackling double digit subtraction, addition, and single digit mutiplication -- I teach along side the basics.  I learned this lesson the hard way with Saenz's difficulties in learning the multiplication.

Now onto gardening and cooking:

We have broccoli and this is my second cutting -- remember Egg Pie?  Today, I added cut leaves of the broccoli to our diet.  Yeppers, I said the leaves and have cut them up and placed them in my trusty crock pot of chicken noodle soup complete with carrots, onions, lots of garlic and heavy whipping cream for extra body.  Did you know you can eat the leaves of broccoli?  When I was getting ready to take the broccoli heads, I thought it is such a same to waste such lovely greens.  I got the idea from remembering how the Cretans used to walk the roadways and pick wild greens.  So I doubled checked to ensure the leaves are not poisonious like tomato leaves. 

Thanks to all those who wished us speedy recovery.  Though it is now cold and icky outside; we have gotten rid of the cold that was giving us such grief.  Can you believe in the 30s in Hawter than Hades South Texas?   Oh Yeah, I will be stopping by to visit all you folks seems I have let blogging slide a bit while I got us back on track. And a Big Ole Howdy to my new followers...thanks for stopping by.

Cooking, Cleaning, Just A Normal Life

It's been another busy week with the boys, their school work, critters,  planning a larger garden, Mrs. Lilly's visit, and of course baking. 


This week we had to call in Verizon repairman; our phone line went nuts and basically kept a busy signal on the line.  The phone line connection runs through the attic and we must have some really hungry Hippo Rats up there gnawing about again.  Instead of paying Verizon $95 the first hour and  then $45 for each additional 15 minutes PLUS --- supplies. 


Hubby will have to get up there to install new wiring, dang it.  Plus he will have to find the rats entry points and lock them out good it was the phone and not the electric wiring. (We hope and pray.)

This week's adventures in cooking has been the storage of eggs in the freezer. Just whisk three eggs, pour into a snack size bag, lay flat in a container freeze then put into storage.  I do this too with separated yolks and whites for later baking and is an easy way to build up a supply.   For whole eggs you can use large ice trays then transfer them into a freezer container.

Saenz calls this egg pie but, I learned how to make fritattas while serving in Europe.  Easy  to do, start by whisking six eggs, add a bit of chopped ham and veg like onion or broccoli with some cheese thrown to a pie shell pour eggs over and bake til set on 350. 

I got myself a treat this week and purchased 8 corningware ramekins plus a roasting pan and set on the adventure of making baked vanilla custard.  It must have been pretty darn good because, I did not get to even try it.  LOL I found the recipe on Mahalo.com

"• Step 2: How to Make Baked Custard


3 cups milk, heated
2 egg yolks
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
 Nutmeg, if desired

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Prepare some boiling water for adding to baking dish
Mix the egg yolks, eggs, vanilla, sugar and salt together in a mixing bowl.
Add the hot milk slowly, stirring constantly.
Divide custard among 8 buttered 4 oz. ramekins.
Place ramekins in a baking dish, add boiling water to halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Sprinkle custard with nutmeg.
Bake for about 45 minutes.
A knife inserted into the center of the custard should come out clean.
Serve warm or chilled"

I don't like to dirty my hands when busy prepping so I take a sandwich bag, turn it inside out, grab a pat of butter, buttered the ramekins, then turned the bag right side out with butter safely inside, seal bag, place in refridgerator for the next time.  Waaa laaa no stopping to clean your hands.

I did not use any salt but, I did sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top of the mixture just before baking for color.  Saenz likes the custard cold.  Zephyr says it tastes like egg nog basically meaning -- he doesn't like it.  So today's experiment had me trying the same recipe but, I substituted buttermilk instead or regular. 

Will let you know if it is a hit or not.  I am going to have to switch to cakes for a bit, I think the boys are getting tired of my pies. So tomorrow we will be making Angel Food cake. YEAH! One of my all time favorites to make from scratch.

I wanted to post this picture for Jan over at My Brother Andrew.  Tex here is too old and fragile to touch but, wanted to help spread the word about Fighting Progressive Bulbar Palsy (MND).  He allowed me to place one of the support bracelets on his still broad shoulders for a picture.  He asked me to remind all ya'll to help others by reaching out and making donations to the causes you care about. 


Squawk at ya later,
Mal

Kicking It Old School, Chores, and Chocolate Buttermilk Pie

I love playing some vintage (if you can call the 90s vintage) video games with my boys.  We still have Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, Playstation, Playstation 2, XBOX and XBox 360 consoles.  On really boring evenings after chores are done; we hook up one of the older games and play Banjo Kazooie, Mario Racing Cart or some other games that doesn't have violence or gore. (not my style)

This week was time to refill our feed holders here little Banjo was trying to help Lisa off load the truck while his brother Sonic chased the hens about.  Next month both pups will be having a gender altering surgery.  YEAH! Less male agression is good.

Just look at those WOMAN muscles. :O) 

Our supervisor, Cubby Bear. 

Our shotgun, Banjo (Da Killah).

 These birds are called Caracara (Mexican Eagles) and are vultures.  If I see them on the ground, I know they have found a nest of chicken eggs I need to gather.

Next, Chocolate Buttermilk Pie, just click the name get the recipe.  I just added 1/3 cup coco baking powder. Yummy, creamy -- great eats. 

 above is without a crust just as a custard.

This one had a store bought crust of which I am not fond of at all but, it came out well.  The top layer was crusty with a brownie texture.  My next baking foray will be sweet potato pie, butter, and breads. Another item I want to try my hand at is Chicken Pies. Yes, I know I have been baking quite a bit but, in the summer it is just way too hot. If any of ya'll who pass by here have a great flakey layered crust recipe let me know. I don't like the store bought crusts and need to learn how to make my own.

Enjoy the pie!

Buttermilk Pie, Hush Your Mouth!

This is one of hubby's favorite pies and so easy to make:

I just remember 4, 3, 2, 1

4 Tbls Flour
3 Eggs beaten
2 cups sugar
1 stick of softened butter
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Just cream butter, sugar, and flour together
add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla mix well
pour into a pie shell
bake on 325 for 1 hr
or until a knife inserted near middle comes out clean.  SIMPLE, EASY --- SUPER YUMMY!

Only one more week of hubby working second shift.  I am so thrilled he has two of these lovelies waiting on his return home tonight.

Take care!

Have Ya'll Been Feeling Ick?

I don't know maybe it is just this weather: 80s one day and the next chilly, windy, down to the 40s.  Today, I am sipping lots of peppermint tea for my sore throat and achy head. 

Our hens have fun hiding their eggs from us and look for places that are hard to reach and out of sight of predatory birds. 

Saenz gets a kick out our one of our production reds. She bascially buries herself completely before laying and hollars at any hen or boy who dares to interrupt her at work. Each evening, we go on an egg hunt while putting the ladies in their coops.  It is a nice way to end our work day outside.

This happy young man is really enjoying the computer Grumpy Gramps sent to our family.  Later in the year, when hubby has time perhaps he will build Cubby Bear a desk that is his size. Then Cubby will have a work station all his own.  Last night he was so thrilled with learning how to set up his software and played counting games -- he just was beaming as ya'll can see.

Thanks Grumpy Gramps!

This is my first jar of refrigerator pickled serrano peppers. Cubby Bear and I picked the bush clean since, a large cold front is moving down into our area next week.  We had fun making the brine, cleaning the peppers, adding the spices and other items to fill the jar for cold storage.  We are anxious to see if hubby will like them later this year.  Thanks Lady Bloggers, whom I follow for the idea on this learning event.

With hubby working on second shift, the kids and I usually have meatless dinners.  I don't know what it is about Texan men folk, they basically insist on flesh at every meal; at least in my experience.  So until hubby is back on days.  We go meatless, this is a really quick rice pudding (without raisins) recipe I found on a Ricelands box. I modified it for the boy's taste. It's a simple dish we all like and it uses up some of the eggs we find.

Southern Rice Pudding:

1 c rice                               

4 c milk, *divided

2 tbsp butter

1 c sugar (I add 1/4c more)

1 tbsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

1/4 tsp cinnamon, and dash of nutmeg

Soak rice in 2c milk and vanilla for 2 hours at room temp.  Add remaining milk to rice and cook over low heat for 30 mins until rice is tender.  Set aside to cool

Preheat oven to 350F

Combine softened butter with sugar.  Beat eggs until forthy, add sugar mixture , spice, rice and mix well.  Pour into a greased baking pan.   I used 13" x  9" or rounds.  Bake for 45 mins.

Tonight, I am going to make a egg dish called Goldenrod Egg, mom used to make. She learned the recipe in high school home economics back in the 1960s.  You know it's good if Southern cooks taught it in schools. It's basically a white sauce gravy with chopped boiled egg served over toast.  YUMMY!

Here is a link to a recipe but, I usually just do my own version.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/goldenrod-egg/Detail.aspx

Anyway peeps, stay warm and dry.  Off to take a nap (wishful thinking) or book diving.

I AM A WINNER!

I am so lucky and won this gift pack from Flartus.  I love her blog; just looking at the pictures make me so hungry I am fortunate not to have shorted out my keyboard from drooling.

If you want to see some of the goodies I have won just -- sautee your buns right over to her place at:

Flartus

Does Nekkid Chicken Happy Dance and Punts Breakfast out to the universe!

~:>
WHOOP WHOOP!

Today's Experiment: Drying Beef

Today's main lessons were on the science of perserving food, the history surrounding preservation of food, and the social impact if there was a time of crisis say drought, famine, or war.  For our classroom experiment; we used top sirlon steak sliced milanese thin, I sliced into uniform strips, the boys made a marinade , mix meat and marinade, let mixture rest, and then put into the dehydrator.

We also covered other preservation methods like: fermination canning, freezing, dehydrating, sun drying, and vacuum sealing.  Next, we make powdered egg from already scrambled and then reverse the process.  It's really simple an easy enough for a child to do almost himself. NOTE:  MOM will scramble the eggs before hand for safety reasons.

Our almost finished product inside the Nesco.

Day 9 of our seed growth. We have progress. I am guessing cilantro but, time will tell.

Let's see today we covered: Phantom Tollbooth at story time, Addition, Averaging, Measurements, Science, History, Social Issues and had some Physical Education earlier.  All this happened within three hours of actual learning time and it was not a pressured day. Now, everyone is milling about before I take one of them with me to start making dinner for Dad.  It is such a beautiful day in our slice of heaven! 

Hoe Hen Inn Razed, Menudo to the Troops

Sid and Lisa came down to help us out by: tearing down the Original Hoe Hen Inn, weedeat, mow, and just wrassle some good eats and family memories. We have gotten lots done this weekend and I have put in 5 hours on 'Husky.' 

Hubby made them lunch of guacamole and chips.  It's really good to eat light in this heat. Simply just mash a good avacado with minced cilantro and stir in some chopped firm tomatoes.  LOL His guacamole never stays around long enough to brown so no lemon juice needed.

Notice the glare it is flipping HAWT outside?

Start with bite sized tripe, spilt pig hooves, hominy, onions, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, Mexican Oregano split, put into a crock pot with some ingrediants.

Cook on high for 6 hrs to soften the meat. Waa Laaaaaaaaaaaaa, menudo. Not for the faint hearted and this is known as the hangover cure.  LOL Don't know about that but, it took me about 12 years to develop a taste for this dish and to cook it.

This is the view from Husky, we are getting along quiet well.  I love how easy she turns and how smoothly she cuts.  Like a warm knife through butter; we are the perfect marriage between farm hen and machine. ~:>