Popcorn

This is the very first year that we grew popcorn and it was an adventure.  We bought our seeds and planted 3 different types and according to package directions should be the best ever popcorn that we've ever tasted.  It also said to plant different varieties far enough apart so that they wouldn't cross-pollinate. with each other and with our sweet corn.  Well, we thought we did that as we had used 3 vacant alpaca pastures.  Maybe they were supposed to be like in the next county.

Well, first came the sweet corn.  We had 3 separate plantings of that to stagger the length of time that we could eat fresh corn....with that, we fought raccoons and those gardens are all inside a 5' 2" x 4" no-climb fence which should have kept critters out of the garden.  It didn't.

After the corn had tasseled, we began planting the popcorn so they wouldn't cross-pollinate.  Ha.  in the 3rd patch of sweet corn we had some colored kernels in the beautiful yellow corn.  Didn't change the taste of it, just made it prettier.

So now, the sweetcorn is done.  Here comes the popcorn.  Growing nice and tall.  I swear we had one overachiever that was most likely 8' or 9' tall.  It dwarfed me by about a mile it seemed.  Now that the ears are growing and tasseling out on the popcorn, here come the pesky birds.  They want to peck at the corn under the husks.  They were shredding them...which would mean they would be bug infested and not usable.  So, what to do.  Remember, corn is pretty tall which means anything we would hang would have to be about 2' taller to be effective...  The Farmer ordered some sort of metallic streamers that we could span across the rows if we had to.  He also ordered some popcorn bags which we did use.  Looked a little "popcorny" but it worked.  Below is a picture of one of our "picture perfect" popcorn patches.  Look how clean it looks.  Remember our rainy summer, created so many weeds that we fought them all summer long....so by the time I took this picture, I was joking that it looked like the farm on Green Acres without any weeds....remember that show.

Finally, the popcorn is ready to harvest and we did that this past Friday evening.  Date night at its finest.  

Harvesting corn brought back a flood of memories from my childhood.  When I was in high school my parents bought a 400 acre farm in Harrodsburg, Kentucky and we loaded up the car every Friday night and went to the farm, driving back each Sunday night.  Little did we know that they did this on purpose to keep us out of trouble....guess it worked, we turned out pretty good.  We have a lot of memories from our weekend farm experience and maybe I'll share some of those from time to time but this time it is about harvesting corn.....as that is what I was thinking about the whole time The Farmer and I were in our little corn patch, creating memories of our own.

I remember the farm well.  We grew tobacco, corn and hay.  Had some cows, pigs, chickens and ducks.  I remember frog gigging with my brothers, camping out, the outhouse, the well where we drew our water, the wood stove and fireplace and the heat vents in the floor that let the air rise from those heat sources to help heat the upstairs where we slept.  Good times.  My uncle lived at the farm full-time in a separate little shack with his wife so someone was there to take care of things on a daily basis.  In the fall when the corn was ready to pick, we would take a hay wagon with sides on it and all of us would go to the back and pick the corn.  Since it has been so many years (about 50) I honestly can not remember all the details.  I don't know if we shucked it in the field, or if it went into the corn crib with the shucks on it.  I am sure they probably sold some too but those are details that I don't remember.  I only remember the fun times that we all had growing up like that.  Times were simpler.

We've got the popcorn laying out in the sun to finish drying and then will remove it from the cob and put it into the freezer to preserve it for a little while and then it will get stored in mason jars awaiting those times we want to have some popcorn as a snack.  Home grown popcorn is the best.

Homemade Yogurt

I love Yogurt!

Homemade Yogurt is the absolute best and is really so easy to make.

I use about half a gallon of milk, (I prefer whole milk because the rest of it scorches in the pot).  I pour it into a saucepan large enough to hold about that much milk, put in a thermometer and use a flat whisk for stirring.  Turn the heat on high because I love cooking on high to "gitterdone".  Bring the temp up to 180 degrees then remove from the burner.  I have a heavy, large glass salad bowl that I pour the hot milk into and with the thermometer still in use, I let it sit on a trivet on top of the stove cooling down to at least 120 degrees.  When it reaches the low temp I add about 4 ounces of existing yogurt and whisk it gently into the milk and then I remove the thermometer and let it rest in the oven on 115 degrees for several hours.  Once everything has jelled....it is done.  I love it warm but of course, you can't keep it warm forever so I cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put into the fridge to chill (overnight) and then transfer it to the jars.  (my batch fills 2-quart jars)

I love it just plain and you can also use it for a sour cream replacement.  If you want flavored yogurt you should remove the "starter" of about 4 ounces for your next batch and refrigerate that.  After you've saved your starter, you can add honey or sugar and a flavoring if you like.  You can also add some fruit but I would do that in small batches.

Enjoy, and stay healthy.

Rustic Ratatouille

 

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/rustic-ratatouille-51127020

Another very delicious recipe.  

This is another recipe that I'll use again and again....a great way to use up fresh produce from the garden.  I sent the link to The Farmer and he said he would just stop and get something on his way home....hahaha.  He didn't.

The substitutions on this one were:

• I used a PattyPan Squash instead of the zucchini because they were fresh and our zucchini is done for the year and are in the freezer.
• I had 3 green bell peppers and 1 yellow one instead of the red ones.
• I used 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• about a teaspoon of dry rosemary
• only 1 jar of chickpeas (yeah, I can my own so they are in a jar)
• tomatoes, I used ripe red and yellow ones, I'm not picky about the type they are
• and I sprinkled the dried basil onto the baking dish with the vegetables instead of on top when it was done.  

I used the balsamic vinegar on top of mine, but The Farmer opted not to do so and he said it was good.  I absolutely LOVED mine with the vinegar on it.

20 minute Garlic, Beef & Broccoli lo-mein (Chicken)

   

https://therecipecritic.com/20-minute-garlic-beef-and-broccoli-lo-mein/

I've been trying to find new ideas for using produce from our bountiful garden so I started googling some things and this is one that we used 2 nights ago and it definitely is a keeper.  

• I did substitute chicken for the beef and
• I didn't have any Hoisin Sauce but googled that recipe as well and realized the only thing I needed to add was a dollop of peanut butter. 
• I also used Whole Wheat Spaghetti instead of the noodles it called for.

 It was so good.  It will be a recipe that we will use over and over again.

The Farmer's Wife

I love being the Farmer's Wife.  I love taking care of my husband and home.  I love preparing foods that help to keep us healthy.  Yesterday morning, I made a fresh batch of yogurt, more granola and canned some chicken broth for our "prepper" room.  I also did 3 loads of laundry and took care of our house pets and alpacas in the barn.  Supper was homemade chicken pot pie because I did have some leftover chicken and stock from canning the chicken broth yesterday.  It was pretty good, not the best, but edible.

Today, I will be an island due to the expected 1-2" of rain...hopefully the driveway will not be flooded, but we expect that it should be.  Sure hope the Farmer can make it home tonight.  I hope to get the house all cleaned (including the carpets) today.  We are expecting company tomorrow, and Saturday we'll host our 2nd Saturday Spinning Bee in the barn.

Stay tuned for more episodes of homemaking 101 here that include some fantastic recipes....as my way of life.

Weekend to bring Alpaca Days | alpaca, alpacas, locally - TribTown.com

Weekend to bring Alpaca Days | alpaca, alpacas, locally - TribTown.com

August was soooooooooo busy!

August was so busy, but is gone now.  We had fog I think every morning.  This is a picture of our barn with the sun rising up above it one very foggy morning.  Feels like Brigadoon out here when it gets real foggy, and that by the way, is one of my very favorite movies.

Coming with the fog, also comes some very cool spiderwebs.  Big ones, little ones, mostly with the heavy foggy dew and they are very awesome.

Also, come some very lovely flowers.  Sunflowers, are one of my very favorites because my grandma Hendrix in Kentucky grew them, so I consider them "comfort flowers". 

Another of my favorites is one that I got from a friend, Teresa.  Teresa and I traded some perennials for some  Alpaca Gold, of which we have an unending supply.  This is one of the flowers I got from Teresa, it is a Sedum and it is in bloom now.  

And last, is a mystery flower.  I got about a dozen or so bulbs from my sister at our previous house and I planted them.  They never really did anything there, but regardless since my sister gave them to me, I dug them and they are now at our new Alpaca Farm.  Not really expecting anything, but I planted them anyway. They did grow in the Spring, some beautiful daffodil looking leaves and then of course, as their life cycle has it, they die down and are supposed to "bloom" again later in the summer, when you least expect it.  They did and they were magnificently gorgeous.  The funny thing about it is my sister had moved to California but was home for a visit.  They bloomed while she was home.  Surprise!  Yes, Surprise Lily, or Naked Lady, or Resurrection Flower!  Whatever you call them, they are a surprise.  Every single one of them bloomed while she was home, and very fragrant.  

And then it was September!  That brought company.  My in-laws came up from Florida for a visit.  We had a great time, and they now have a new found appreciation for our alpaca life style and totally understand why we never answer the phone....we're in the barn.

We got a lot of "deck" time with Ron & Helen, saw some wildlife too.  Deer way in the back, some turkeys trespassing close to the house, and lots of Canadian Geese swimming on the pond.

After Ron & Helen left, we had an alpaca friend from Churubusco, IN come down and show us, along with another local alpaca friend how to us OB wire to cut teeth.  Wonderful fellowship, although Tuco didn't think so.  On Thursday, dear husband, got to drive to Newton, Iowa to pick up 5 more alpacas.  Three are ours, Donna, Angel (who are both bred) and Cinnamon Twist who we will add to our herdsire list for next year.  He is beautiful and the girls are awesome too with their fancy hair cuts.

Meet Donna!

And Angel!

On Saturday, September 10th, we had our third 2nd Saturday Spin-In.  Here is a picture of the spinners spinning inside the barn, alongside our alpacas.

We also get to share snacks and oh, they are so good.  Bo the barn cat sneaked into a spinning wheel bag that belonged to Teresa (twice) and took a little cat nap.  We also got to observe baby Moses, nibbling his mother's ears, trying to get her on her feet so he can find the milk bar.  She just lets him nibble....guess that happens when babies get teeth.  OUCH!

At the end of our day, this is what we do!  Just stand around observing.  So much fun.

This Saturday, we're having the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts "painters" visit our farm and "paint the town".  That is exciting.  The following Saturday and Sunday is our National Alpaca Farm Days Open House.  Very busy but also very exciting times on the farm.  We hope you will stop and see us sometime.