Cooking Outside

 

Cooking outside is something I really like today. With our weather we could probably do it year round but spring and fall are my favorite times of year and so my favorite time to do it.

Another thing I really like is the magazine Mary Janes Farm and in one of my past editions I found this wonderful recipe. We loved it.

Campfire Succotash (changed by me some)

Start cooking 1/2 lb bacon cooking till its crispy add onion and garlic till the onions are cooked about 2-3 minutes.

 

Then add 1 diced zucchini and 1 red bell pepper diced cook 2-3 minutes.

 

add 2 cups corn I used frozen organic corn that I thawed in water. Add salt pepper and cook until heated through.

 

The original recipe had lima beans in it I didn't have those so I just did what I had and it was so good with a hamburger and another salad made with cabbage. 

Goings on...

Compost, sour dough bread rising, a newly painted kitchen.

 

 

It's spring around here which I am very happy to see. We still have cooler temps in the evenings, but during the day has been nice not hot yet.

All the babes are growing with more arriving this summer.  See the pretty green grass that is starting to come up.

 

Wisteria is getting ready to bloom and send out it's delightful aroma.

Catnaps are being taken of....

 

Our neighbors sold their timber on their 25 acres and it has opened up our view. Cows are growing and getting ready to be taken to the butcher.

And the boys are just boy goats now instead of spraying, smelly, obnoxious, boy goats. At least till about August.

 

The baby is growing

 

Caeser is now 6 months old this week

 

And he is a complete and total mess...literally he is always rolling in something when it rains he is orange since he loves to sit in the rain and then roll on the barn flour in the orange dirt. But he is such a smart dog and a joy to have. I won't let him off his leash yet when I take him to feed the cows and bucks but he will sit and stay for me for as long as I need him to while I'm feeding as long as I remind him every now and then to sit and stay.

 

He is very protective already of me and the goats. We burned horns a few weeks ago and he had a hard time listening to his babies and he will sleep next to them when they are asleep. He loves to lick their faces when they are messy drinking from their bottles and he knows they are babies not to be played with. Our border collie has always amazed me how smart he is and Caesar is just as smart if not smarter at 6 months is much farther ahead of Speck at that age in training and in other areas.

 

Now he has had his moments but he's a puppy and is neat to watch as he learns to guard his flock and how they have included him in their herd.

 



To clean and Oven...

OK I love my gas stove and oven but I dislike the aqua clean option on it. I use my oven a lot and I guess they designed this option for people who don't. Now I loved the auto clean on my electric oven it took forever but it worked great! I didn't have to use a toxic chemical and that was a big bonus to me. And I love a clean oven.

Now I am embarrassed to admit this when we redid our kitchen last Jan, a year ago, we had the stove for a month or so and I used the cleaning option on it once and I haven't cleaned it since. I usually clean it every other month or so, I use my over a LOT. I dislike the aqua part and it didn't clean it like I like it to be.

Well now that the kiddos are in college I have been going through the house a room at a time slowly mind you but I have been planning as I go. The kitchen is getting painted this week ceiling and walls but anyway I wiped all the walls and I thought that oven is getting cleaned!

I looked on the Internet and found a wonderful recipe that I had all the stuff for and it did great.
at yumuniverse.com Heather Crosby had this recipe.

Non Toxic Oven Cleaner

this is the recipe she wrote with my notes.

 

Paintbrush

2 medium bowls

scrubber sponge

spoon

 

Ingredients:

1/2 homemade liquid soap she used soap nuts liquid (I used Dr Bronner's liquid tea tree soap we use a lot of Dr Bronner's I love it)

1 1/2 cup baking soda aluminum free ( all baking soda is aluminum free it's the baking powder that has aluminum in it.)

2-4 drops lavender essential oil or a scent you like or none.

1/2 c organic white vinegar or apple cider would work too.

water to add to make the paste paintable.

 

This is how I did it.

put soap in a bowl and add soda, essential oil, mix those up and then add vinegar a little at a time since it will foam up mix to a paste. I didn't have to add the water. Now paint the paste on all over your oven and let it sit for 6-8 hours I also used it on my stove top which worked great.

 

Now I don't buy aluminum foil except for putting on the bottom of the oven which I didn't do when we bought the oven. But now a year later I finally did! This catches drips and spills.

 

I hope this helps anyone who would like a better option for cleaning that oven without asphyxiating yourself or your family.

 

 

Sugar Free Banana Bread

  This weekend I had a small pile of bananas I needed, well wanted to do something with but I didn't want to use sugar since the recipe I usually make is so sugary. Though I did add mini chocolate chips to it so some sugar but not as much.

  It is pretty good not sugary at all my other recipes you can definately taste the sugar it is a little over powering actually. This one is sweetened with prunes and bananas and is mild very good.

  I bought this book, above, a few years ago when I was in a little shop I loved but it closed....bummer. And have learned a lot from it for cooking and tried some of the recipes.

  Banana Bread

In a blender add

4 eggs and a 1/2 cup of prunes

 

Pour this into a bowl after its blended

 

Add...

1 stick butter, melted

4 c whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

6 large bananas, mashed

1 c walnuts, chopped I did not add these but 1 cup mini chocolate chips.

 

Mix it up and put into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

 

 

You'll have 2 yummy loafs of banana bread made with yummy goodness without the all that sugar. It will be a bread not a cake. My other recipe is like a cake to me full of sugar.

 

Finally!

I know, I know over a month now and I said I would blog and I haven't. Sometimes I wonder if I should. My computer was in the shop for over a week so that didn't help though I could have blogged on my ipad LOL.

 Lots of things have been happening... The college students are doing great and having fun learning and seeing life and school in a new way. They are growing into adults and it is fun to watch.

I have decided to start college as well in the fall so I am getting things situated for that. I am working still here at home and at the little health food store and keeping extremely busy with goats etc.

We have had 6 babies born in the last month that are so cute! Two little pygmy goats, and four nubians it is fun having babies around again.

I have completed one quilt and am working on another I hope to finish by the end of the month but that will be up to me to make myself sit and finish it.

We have extremely cold weather here a few weeks ago that is not normal for our area. The college closed classes for three days by the third day the kids were very bored and ready to go back.

Now the weather is nice cool but spring feeling like its thinking about it but not quite yet.

I hope to get back at this soon since I have way to many thing going on in my head to keep them to myself.

And Their Off!

We've been so busy the last few weeks that this site and any other internet thing I am on has been sidetracked.

I am officially done with my homeschooling career! My two children have started college as of Monday. So I think I will start a Life After Homeschool series here on Down the Beaten Path. Not to often but posts on what life is like for me now. I have homeschooled for about 15 years and so this will be all new to me.

Today I am not feeling to good, a cold maybe, so I am a little teary missing them some though my house is so clean, laundry is caught up, and dinner is actually planned and partly done. :0)

My daughter, I am worried about we found out she is dyslexic which has answered so many questions and given her a name for all these things that have frustrated her all these years. So I am being that protective mother bear wanting her to succeed on her own but wanting to protect her from hurt. So I sit back and watch in wonder because she is starting to bloom and I can't wait to see the lovely flower she is going to become.

Around the farm we have kids (goats) due starting next week, calves and pyrennes puppy growing, freezing temps this week so I'm not working outside much, seed starting plans ruminating in the brain, a quilt that will be started soon maybe today, and getting a routine started that will last at least 18 weeks till the semester is over.

I hope all is well for you and I hope to start posting again on a regular basis.