Burns Best Farm

A serene Saturday & Sunday afternoon

Squashkin? Delakin? Pumash?

We couldn't decide what to call this new squash.  I had a plant come up on it's own and I just let it go, knowing my other squash weren't growing as well.  This is what we ended up with.  In looking at it, we think it is a cross-breed between the delicata squash that we grew last year and the sugar pumpkins.  Most all were growing on their bottoms, sitting upright.  The green stripes were a bit more apparent until just at ripening when they began to take on some orange. 

I decided to cook one up today and see what it tasted like.  I baked it for quite some time and once done, I served it at supper.  The texture was more stringy like in spaghetti squash (which is odd because I never grew that here).  I think it took on that from the pumpkin.  The smell of the item smelled identical to pumpkin, although it was more yellow in color like squash.  The flavor... was bitter.  We don't know what went wrong with this cross-breed, because delicatas are sweet and so are sugar pumpkins, but this was like a flat squash flavor with a bitter edge to it. 

I will be trying to boil the next one to see if I notice any changes and see if I can work with it enough to cause us to keep the 20 some that grew in the patch.  If not, I guess the girls can enjoy carving them... we have plenty. 

Warmly, ~Melissa

Time for a new plan.

I have a new plan for trying to work in foods into our diet.  I seen tonight it will already need some tweaking, but I need to go with this to start.  What I decided to do was to try a new recipe each day, well at least 4-5 a week, I am hoping.  And no better time to start, than TODAY!

Today's recipe was a Vegan Macaroni and Cheese.  It was easy to cook.  It was a crockpot recipe.  The cheesy sauce however was a bit "sour" for our tastes.  After it was all done, I had to cut it with a bit of honey to even make it palatible for our family.  And then... it was still a no go.   I found that when I took a bite of steamed broccoli which I had for a side dish, with a bite of the pasta, it really wasn't too bad.  But alone, it was just too sour.  I know that lemon can be a great taste, but I did not grow up with it, and the sharpness of the flavor was nothing our family was used to. 

I also tried a cashew gravy.  It had onions in the gravy and the way it was directed to cook, they did not get blended up.  I put it onto a vegetarian loaf (which was new also, but I just tweaked a burger recipe that I had and made it into a loaf).  The flavor... was good.  The family says... It is a keeper.  Though, next time the girls would prefer me to blend up those onions instead of leaving them in pieces within the gravy.  Dh said he would have liked it better if I had made potatoes with our meal, LOL.  He lives on potatoes and prefers it with every meal unless it is mexican or pasta ...and even then we add potatoes occasionally.  The new loaf was a keeper as well.  I have one daughter that requested I exchange the carrots for more potatoes, but I just smiled and everyone else said... it's fine...leave it as it is.   When my girls don't eat too many carrots (this daughter especially), it seems that if it is tolerable, I ought to leave it in.  *grin*

After all the cooking tonight, I realized that I struggle with doing dairy-free and soy free at the same time.  An automatic substitute for dairy is soy.  I made the vegetarian loaf with a vegetarian burger, didn't even dawn on me that there was TVP (Soy) in it. 

I did not take a picture of the loaf, but basically here is what was in it...

One can of vegan vegetarian burger, one potato shredded, one cup of carrots shredded, 3 eggs, 4 slices of ww bread cubed, a good set of shakes of sage, onion powder, and garlic powder.  I baked at 350 for about 30 minutes.  During that time, I made the gravy and then topped the loaf with the gravy and baked another 20-30 minutes.  (enough for the carrots to soften and the gravy to bubble). 

The gravy recipe I found in the book "Choices:  Quick and Healthy Cooking" by Cheryl Thomas Peters.  It was good and I am relieved that I had ONE new recipe for today approved by all (even if I need to tweak it and blend the onions into the gravy next time!). 

My plan will need some tweaking as on the first day I was given some comments on the plan.  The new recipe is planned to be a side dish to the main meal.  That part works, that way if it doesn't go over, the kids still eat.    The next part is that I need to keep the menu plan a bit more "normal".  This will prove to be difficult as we are ingrained in a particular style of food and when you can't eat that food, finding a new normal isn't always as easy as substituting one food for another.  Like tonight, I should have made a potato dish for the new loaf.  It would have been much easier for the family to accept the new food without feeling like they were being deprived.  But, in my thinking... we had plenty on the table... the menu consisted of:  Trial: mac and cheese, pineapple and banana salad (have bananas that need eating), burger loaf, gravy, steamed broccoli and cauliflower and squash (trial... we had a crossbreed in the garden and we tried it tonight...not so good! LOL).  After looking at the menu, I need to try and keep it smaller/simpler as well.  It's not like we're going to potluck, so I don't need to have so much food on the table. 

Anyways, I will be sharing our journey as I try new recipes.  I will share my flops, my forgetfulness, etc.   All in all, going to a new diet will be hard on the entire family.   I guess it isn't that it will be... IT IS. 

Today's aftermath of whatever little Paige ate, allowed her entire dresser of panties to be emptied.  That is about 15 pairs of underwear.  She told me at about 6pm, that she ran out of panties.  She also had about 6-8 bowel movements today.  Totally cleaned her out, I guess.  Her skin still has  the redness that appeared yesterday afternoon.  She also has a red blood mark in her eye today.  She was aggitated most of today, but seemed to calm down after supper and fell asleep a bit early for her (around 7:45 pm).  She didn't eat the loaf tonight, she has always seemed to say no to soy substitutes, although she does like gluten and those usually have soy flavorings.  I guess I will likely need to make my own at some point.  Anyways... hopefully tomorrow is a better day. 

Warmly, ~Melissa

More about Lupus and......IT IS SNOWING!!

Thanks for the support on the possible lupus diagnosis.  Yes, I did actually have a doctor tell me I was just fat.  He didn't say the word "lazy", but he certainly implied it.  I have really been hurting for the past 2 weeks and I'm quite interested in getting all of my blood work and tests results in.  I go back for more next Monday. We shall see.  I know I should probably be more concerned than I am.  But I'm really just feeling relieved.

Friday, on our 2 year Alaska anniversary!,  we had our first snow fall. Nothing stuck, but there was quite a bit of snow mixed in the rain.  Then today...WOW!  We've got Charlie Brown flakes falling off and on.  I just spoke to a friend who lives across town and her yard is completely snow covered.  Ours isn't sticking at all.  We've got a fire roaring in the fireplace. Ahhhh, love it.  :)

Enjoying The Autumn Season

Where has the time gone, its been a couple of weeks sense I have blog. We had out of state company last week. They brought their vintage travel trailer so I could work on their cushions. Plus my own work kept me pretty busy.

I'm still camping out, and it gets better all the time. I just love it up at the Outpost in this beautiful fall weather. I just sit down and let the leaves fall on my face like you would if snowflakes were coming down. Took off my shoes and socks and just ran my feet through the leaves that gathered while reading my Mary Jane Outpost book and getting more ideas. Oh I got a perfect spot for the walled tent that will have a wood stove in it. Can't wait.

Been working on the bath house , so pictures willbe on my next blog.

Its so nice out tonight I might stay out there and pop some popcorn. Sis stayed last night. The wind was up so sounds of limbs falling or maybe animals moving around. DH stayed last weekend but hes more of drop in the sack and off to sleeping were as sis and I like to read or play our tin whistles or do hand shadows on the tent, silly fun stuff. Maybe a spook story from sis, knowing full well I got to make one last trip in those dark woods to get something at the house. And oh was it dark last night, after the lamp is off and your eyes get adjusted to the dark, then comes all those shadows and seeing something and not seeing something. Stars galore, just a beautiful weekend.

This weekend was also chicken butchering again. A few weeks back I dressed out a couple and they were just a little small. The ones today and yesterday dressed out to 3 1/2 to 41/2 lbs. With about 25 more to do next weekend, they should be close to 5+lbs.

It sure is good to know our family will be eating good homegrown food. With another food call on milk from China and chicken too.

Fall Gardening:

Green beans are full of blooms, hope they hold out until we have a freeze. Lettuce almost ready to pick for a nice salad bowl.

More herbs to gather, peppers, sweet and hot dehydrated.

Planted turnips, beets,peas,parsnips,lettuce,garlic today. some will be an ify for harvest.

Gathered more seeds from flowers and gave the Gkids some huge sunflower heads to harvest and make a nice treat. I saved many for the birds too, I just leave those in the garden and let the birds have at em.

Last blog I mention a day trip down to Truman Lake. We are planning to go again this month for a pioneer festival. So I won't show most of the pictures I took and wait tell I have pictures of some of the ol time stuff being used and made.

But first before the lake we went to a Cherokee Nation gathering, even tho I have some Crow in the blood lines , it was still nice to see. Altho no tipi's, I so wanted to see the structures. But they had some heck of a set of drums. This was double drums made form a huge cottonwood trunk.

You know I have to touch it, and I did. Was told by the chief that women are not suppose to touch the drums, but was ok sense it was not being used in a ceremony. I'll be dang if I touched it again. I best watch it

I talked to lady called White Dear, she was awesome to talk to and loved what she was doing, loved her land and all the wild things she has found on her place, plants and critters. She had a display of all her findings on her homestead. Very interesting what one has just out the back door. It was a good gathering.

Then we all go out for BBQ, oh boy was it good, sitting on cedar picnic tables when a big slab of ribs and all the fixins is put before us, we hogged out.

After the eats we go to the lake where the pioneer days will be going on this month.

This is back of a log home, with other buildings made just like the ol time. I could live in this log home.

Heres a house with a history that they move in the area, lots of old cook stoves in the summer kitchen, rope beds, quilts, and a herb garden out back and much more. I could just be content on that porch shelling peas or snapping green beans with a cold glass of lemonade.

Heres a pic,looking out the window in this old one room school house. I just imagine what a school teacher was thinking just before school started for the day or maybe after the kids ran home when school was let out.

I like this picture.

Now on the way home we stopped by an Amish store, I was after some more lye to make more soap. Some young Amish lads were out with their horses and oh was it a sight to behold. I wish I had one of those fancy cameras to get these shots. I don't know what type of horses these were but oh how beautiful.

They started back in that beautiful field, rounding them up.

Then they are heading toward us, I get nervous cuz I want a good picture.

They must have seen us cuz they all turned and ran the other direction. Oh this was indeed a sight. And to hear too. I just wonder if those Amish boys said "Those English"

Well I can't wait to go back and see soap making out in the woods, spinning, weaving, broom making, pies cooking in wood stoves, apple cider press and lots of good ol timin ways. Oh and the smoke house will be going to , hope they got some jerky to share.

The weather has just been wonderful, Fall is here

Until later have a great week and always thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Happy Autumn Blessings

linda

Crash and Burn...

We were having such a good day and shortly after potluck, my daughter started having her bladder spasms again.  I have NO idea what caused it.  We had haystacks, which we eat at home and have no problems.  The new culprits... gramma gave Paige a sucker (which had food colorings and she licked on for a couple minutes after church before I was able to convince her to leave it in the car).  Then she tried some carob dairi-free milk, some plain dairi-free milk and some chocolate dairi-free milk.  The chocolate was cocoa only, no milk products.  Well, between the sucker and the cocoa... we have a problem. 

Paige was so happy at potluck that she went potty with out wetting her panties that she proceeded to tell everyone she was dry and her panties weren't wet.  OK, not a normal thing kiddos do, but she was happy and I just sat there watching her enjoy... ENJOY being able to say she was dry.  And then two hours later, the spasms began and she tells me... I'm sorry Mommy.... my panties are wet, but I went on the potty (for the third time in 15 minutes).   It just crushes my heart... she can't do anything about it, but to see her so joyful at telling people she was dry, I KNOW that this wetting bothers her as much as it does us for having to change her outfit nearly 10 times a day.  (Yes that is alot of laundry that I do to keep up with her!) 

This evening we had friends over and my daughter was very strung out.  She kept throwing things at our guests and crying, and whining and crying and fussing and hitting.  She just isn't a hitter, so that alarmed me that the reaction was more than just wetting.  She also has a rash/hive spot on her hand that wasn't  there this afternoon.  UGGERS!

I guess we start over and eliminate chocolate, SOY, and dairy, and food colorings and be strict about it.    

That was my day...

~Melissa

Used Canning Lids (Christmas Craft Ideas)

I've been looking for some ideas on using the used canning lids from all of the canning I do.  I hate to see them go to waste.  So, here are a few links to websites for crafts that others have done:

Creative Crafts

Uses for Used Canning Lids

I have a gallon size bag full of used canning lids.  I'm going to start using them for Christmas gifts.  I've got most of the Christmas gifts for my side of the family, but not sure what to do about my husband's family.  They don't like home-canned goods and I'm not really sure that they like our homemade gifts ... hmmm.  I'm trying to be frugal, though, so we'll see what we come up with.  I'll post pictures later of the crafts we come up with!

Let the Hunting Begin!

Bow season has already started down here in Texas.  And, with God's grace and Johnny's good bow-hunting skills, we have a buck!  We're going to spend part of tomorrow processing the deer - probably making breakfast sausage.  If anyone has any good breakfast sausage recipes, please send them my way!  I think on the next one we're going to make jerky (yummy!).

I've also got a huge bag of peppers that I'm going to use this week to make Hot Pepper Butter. 

And, I took the last 3 jars of frozen grape juice concentrate out of the freezer in hopes of making grape juice this week.  I'm trying to get our freezer cleaned out for the sausage and venison we'll be putting in there this fall. 

God willing we'll hopefully get a few more deer this year so we can fill our freezer.

Life has been so busy around here - but I love a busy home!

Went to see Nancy Campbell!!

We just got back from hearing Nancy Campbell of Above Rubies speak!

Nancy was very good, her message was wonderful. Gave me much food for thought, which we have been discussing here until late into the night.

Friends Kate and Mark came around, and Mark and Neil were treated to dinner cooked by their two youngest boys, P & B, and our two girls, while Kate and I went out to hear Nancy.

I must say the experience was, for us, slightly spoiled by a long period of enforced 'worship' in the style of the church which hosted the event. I personally don't think this was wise. I was not comfortable with the style of worship, and would think twice about going to see any speaker at this church again. It was a very protracted time, and not very beneficial, at least for me.

However, Nancy more than made up for it.  What a remarkable lady - they are so far from home here in the wet and windy UK, and travelling around - they were delayed in their trip from Gloucester - but what an inspirational lady! 

We came back to find the house relatively peaceful, everyone had eaten pizza and pasta a la kids, and enjoyed themselves playing board games afterwards, and Neil and Mark seemed quite relaxed! So time for bed now, just looked at the time and it's very late!

10 Commandments for Every Christian