I've totally messed up my blog page so bear with me! Not only that my son has started barfing so who knows when I'll get back to it!! :)

"I don't like...(insert anything)"

I hear this sentence everyday sometimes even more than once and for the most part it is in regards to a meal that I've just set on the table. I pride myself on making new and exciting meals so that we are never bored with what we're eating. For example, tonight I made a very simple pasta dish- fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, spaghetti and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. "I don't like tomatoes"

"I don't like spinach" "It isn't spinach, its basil" "I don't like spinach" "It isn't spinach its basil!"

Last night I made a savory sausage stew. A fitting meal for the blustery day we were having. I thought it was delicious but apparently my kids, who would very nearly give up their left arms to have sausages for dinner, didn't.

A friend of mine suggested a while back that maybe I just needed to go back to the basic comfort foods, you know like chili and spaghetti, lasagna, those kinds of things. I tried it. My daughter decided she didn't like lasagna anymore. If my kids could live on broccoli they would. That's the funny thing, they love their vegetables, particularly the green ones; broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts of all things! But chili- no way! Potatoes- I don't like it! Rice- I don't like that either!

So what the heck is a mom to do? Keep making meals that I like in hopes that they will too or serve Alpha-getti for dinner... oh wait he doesn't like Alpha-getti either!

What a wet and yucky day!

What a yucky day to be a cow...

or a chicken...

or even a dog for that matter!

The kids were taking turns cleaning muddy dog foot prints this afternoon. I got tired of doing it after the seventh time. I know, a smarter person might make the dogs just stay outside but... it is just so wet and yucky out there! Hope your day is less wet and yucky!

On my own again

I'm on my own again today. My husband has headed back to work for another shift of a month or so. This is always the hardest day(besides the day we wait around for him to come home) for us because we have to try and get back to 'normal'. Its pretty bad that I refer to it as normal, I suppose, but he is away more than he's home. The kids are always hyped up when he's on days-off and we do extra fun things that we wait for him to be home for. The housework, especially laundry, seems to suffer when we're on 'days-off' and so in getting back to normal all these things need to be caught up on. It doesn't help that today is one of those grey dreary days(a day I refer to as a BC day) so we're cooped up in the house. We're all still in our jammies and the kids are watching movies. I, on the other hand, have been playing catch up- laundry, vacuuming, washing the floor, dusting, unloading/loading the dishwasher, making granola and talking to my dear friend on the phone.

Many people ask me how I do it. How I run a house, raise my kids and look after animals while my husband works away. Obviously it isn't the ideal situation. But truly what is the ideal situation? Having a husband who works 9-5 at a job he hates? Or having to get a job myself because we can't make ends meet on one salary? While this may not be the ideal situation I am very lucky to be able to stay at home and raise my children rather than have them raised by a daycare or a babysitter. So how do I do it? I just do. Sure, I'm tired at the end of the day(who isn't?) and there are days I just wish someone could spell me off so I could go grocery shopping by myself but we all have to make sacrifices in life and this just happens to be one of them. I am thankful for a husband who is willing to live away from home to make sure that our family is properly provided for because if it wasn't for his drive and determination to provide for his family, I would probably be working too and watching someone else raise my daughter and son and that thought makes me ill.

Quote of the Day

"Chickman tastes delicious! Chickman tastes better than the chicken we buy at the store!" From my daughter after she tasted a piece of our home grown chicken. He was delicious!

Farewell Rosco and Chickman

Today was 'The Day.' I butchered the roosters. My friend Nija had the day off today and offered to help me with the deed because she's a bit of a veteran in the butchering of livestock department. She was running a bit late and I had already been pacing around the driveway for an hour- my table was ready, chopping block and hatchet in place and I was running on adrenaline. Not because I was excited but more because I wanted to get it over with. I had committed to doing this today and didn't want to chicken out(bad pun?) Finally I grabbed the baseball bat and headed up to the coop where the roosters were. We all said our good byes(the kids were insisting on watching despite the fact that I thought it was a bad idea) and then I got on with it. I decided to use the baseball bat because there is just something about chopping off a live chicken's head that I found totally inhumane. Atleast if you knock them out hard enough first they are already dead. That was the worst part of the whole thing- whacking them on the head and then cutting it off after. Nija showed up within 10 minutes of us killing the two birds.

The easiest way to pluck a chicken is to dip it in boiling water beforehand. I've obviously never plucked a chicken before but it seemed to work well. The rest was easy. The kids got to see all the innards which they of course found fascinating. The crop especially, with its little bits of gravel to grind up the food. All in all it was certainly a learning experience. I think it will be easier next time and there will be a next time because I want to grow chickens for food as well as eggs. I am after all living the country life!

Delicious lamb chops

I've never been a big fan of the taste of lamb. It tastes too... well lamb-y. I mentioned this to my neighbor up the hill who raises sheep and he asked where I bought my lamb from. I told him Superstore. He made a disgusted face and said, "yuck, that's practically mutton." He sent me home with six lamb chops and a package of ground lamb to try. I decided to barbecue the lamb chops tonight(recipe to follow) and oh my goodness were they ever good! I will never buy lamb from the grocery store again! If you aren't a big fan of lamb or have never really tried it, I would recommend buying from a farm or at the very least a butcher. There is no comparison to farm fresh meat.

Here is the recipe I used:

4-6 lamb chops

3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp. rosemary
1-2 TBSP olive oil

Mix garlic, rosemary and olive oil and rub onto lamb chops on both sides. Let marinate for 1/2 an hour to an hour. Barbecue or broil until medium doneness( a little bit of pink is okay with lamb)about 5-7 minutes each side.

I served my lamb chops with steamed asparagus and fresh homemade bread. Enjoy!

Recipe for the perfect picnic

The recipe:

Sunshine
Happy kids
Happy parents
Thermos of hot tea with sugar and milk
Sugar cookies
Curried chicken salad sandwiches(recipe to follow)
Bunwiches(the kids get a kick out of calling them BUM-wiches)

We decided that today would be a great day for a picnic especially since there isn't any snow on the ground. Its my birthday next weekend but my husband will be back at work by then so we decided to celebrate today(although I plan to celebrate again on the real day!!) We drove up to the Pembina Provincial Park in Entwistle and had a picnic. Afterwards, the kids played on the playground and then we wandered down to the river to throw

rocks. It was a wee bit chilly(7 degrees and I thought it would be smart to wear capris) so needless to say we didn't stay long but we had fun nonetheless. When we got home we had a slice of the Pink Velvet cake I had made(it was supposed to be a Red Velvet cake but apparently even 6 TBSP of red food coloring couldn't make it red!) It was still delicious! For my real birthday I plan to pack up the kids and head down to Olds for a bird Auction. I'm looking to expand my flock to include a pair of Indian Runner Ducks!

Curried Chicken Salad Sandwiches

2 cooked chicken breasts, cooled and diced

1 pear diced

1 apple diced

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup celery

1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 TBSP mango chutney

1 TBSP curry powder(or to taste)

8 pieces fresh grainy bread

Place diced chicken, pear, apple, raisins and celery in a bowl. Mix together yogurt, chutney and curry in a small bowl and pour over chicken mixture. Mix gently until combined and spoon onto 4 pieces of bread. Top with another slice of bread(obviously) and voila! Curried chicken salad sandwiches! Mmmm yum!

Little helpers

My kids are almost six and almost three. They are such good helpers at this age and it makes you wonder why it is that things like clearing trees and feeding animals are chores to us but fun to them(okay so I don't really count feeding animals as a chore because I secretly enjoy it) When do these things stop being fun and start being work? My kids were fighting over a hand saw today(I know, kinda scary) because they both wanted to help their dad cut fence rails. There we were sweating and swearing and wanting a coffee break and they were fighting over who's turn it is to saw down trees. I guess I had better appreciate their helpfulness now because these things are likely short lived. There will come a day when offering to tickle them won't be payment enough anymore. *Sigh* They grow so fast!

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

The first Earth Day was April 22 1970 and an estimated 20 million Americans took part. Air and water pollution, nuclear testing and loss of wilderness were major concerns. So why, 40 years later are these problems even greater? I can't even express how disgusted I am by the amount of garbage that surfaces after the snow melts in Alberta. We were in Edmonton yesterday and had to stop at the Walmart Supercentre before heading home. Garbage bags, candy wrappers, miscellaneous rubbish littered the tree line, hanging in the branches and plastered to the base of trees. Remember that movie American Beauty where the kid video taped the plastic bag floating around in the air claiming it was 'the most beautiful thing in the world'? I see that every day and I think its the opposite of beautiful. I live in the country, 15 minutes from town and yet, I find garbage in my fields- chip bags, McDonalds cups and believe me, my kids piggy banks are richer for the beer cans we pick up on the side of the road when out for a walk.

Is it laziness? Do people just not care? Or do people just assume that someone else will pick it up? I have taught my kids from the very beginning that we don't litter. I have no doubt in my mind that the Earth will outlast the human race but we are just killing ourselves slowly while we enjoy our time here. Shouldn't we make an effort to keep it clean for our children, grandchildren and the generations to come?

Future farmer or underwear model?

I don't know whether its one of those kinds of days but I'm having a hard time getting my thoughts in order. I've started a post and deleted it because it wasn't going the way I wanted it to and I have several ideas for posts but just can't seem to make them come out right. So instead I will just post a picture and a few words.

This is my son. He is almost three. He is all boy and then some but he likes to help especially by giving the cows their oats. The first time he 'helped' I said, "watch out for that poo," and what did he do? He dumped the bucket of oats right in the cow patty. If there is poo to fall into, he's the guy who will do it. My husband has said on several occasions that he has the coordination of a three legged spider(yeah I know, you're picturing it right now) but when he isn't squashing lady bugs or screaming and running from flies or telling you that he's going to punch you in the butt, he's a real charmer and he'd melt your heart like he melts mine(when I'm not threatening to send him to time-out.)

The grass is always greener...

You know the saying; "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." Its something our parents have probably said to us at one time or another and we just roll our eyes and nod agreeably. Well, did you know that its actually true? Possibly not in the sense they were speaking of but in the literal sense. I don't know how many times I have watched a cow craning its neck over my barbed wire fence to eat the greener grass on my side. I have even had cows and sheep crawl under my fence to get to the choice blades of delicious green grass. Apparently the sh*t is always greener on the other side of the fence as well because I can't for the life of me keep my dogs out of the neighbors cow field. They spend hours out there scavenging and come home with green sh*t eating grins(literally) Dogs are gross. I have even caught our pup, Zama stealing a field mouse from the cat. Another case of 'the grass is greener...'? "Hmmm I wonder what the cat is eating, I sure would like to try that!" Anyway, the moral of the blog is, 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence... just make sure you don't catch the crotch of your pants on the barbed wire when you're climbing over to get it!'

The cows came back the very next day...

My daughter has named them Vanilla and Chocolate(respectively) and they are finally back at our house after a very long few days of fixing fences, blistered hands and plenty of screaming at tools and crying to my husband on the phone(who has been away for 32 days and not been able to lend a hand.) I can only hope that the two juvenile delinquents don't discover that hooves are the ideal tool for taking out fence staples or climbing wooden rails.

A bouquet

My kids picked these for me yesterday. Even though they are last years dead blooms of yarrow or something similar and the seed pods of a tree I don't know the name of(I haven't figured out the Alberta trees yet, I only know the coastal familiars) I thought they were beautiful and wanted to share them with you. Enjoy!

Exercising Patience

I am not a very patient person nor do I pretend to be, it's a fault I'll admit. I am certainly more patient now than I have been in the past and whether that comes with age or child-rearing, your guess is as good as mine. Things have been particularly chaotic around here lately and I have been under a fair amount of stress. The kids have been 'feeding' off of it- fighting, arguing, hitting etc. So last night I decided that there was nothing I could do to change the way things have been going of late and I needed to exercise more patience with the kids. I even wrote it down in my day planner that sits at the computer, 'Be Patient.' I woke up this morning and put on a happy face and a calm, patient voice. Even though I have been running around the house doing laundry(my washer and dryer have been going pretty well non-stop since 9:00 this morning), cleaning bathrooms, washing floors and its nearly 2:00 in the afternoon and my kids are still in their pajamas, there hasn't been any major squabbling. The kids have been playing together since 8:00 this morning and they are still at it. My son has even been using his manners instead of demanding everything like usual. He came to me a few minutes ago and politely asked,"can we have some more cranberries and almonds please?"

Its hard to be patient when life sometimes makes us want to yell and scream and kick things but knowing how smoothly things can run with patience I think I'll try it more often!

Cinnamon Snails!

I made Cinnamon Snails today for the first time. They are similar to cinnamon buns but flakier and less sweet and gooey. I know, you're thinking "but I like sweet and gooey!" They were delicious and a great accompaniment to a cup of coffee on a blustery day like today! The recipe is from the Joy of Cooking and here it is:

Cinnamon Snails

Beat well:
2 eggs

Add:
3/4 cup 105-115 degree water

Dissolve in this mixture:
1 pkg active dry yeast

Let all these ingredients rest refrigerated for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, blend with a pastry blender or by hand:
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 TBSP. sugar
1/2 cup butter

In large mixing bowl, make a ring of the blended flour. Pour the chilled yeast mixture into the centre and work it gradually into the dry ingredients. Knead until smooth, about 2 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and rest it, covered about 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

There that's the pastry, now to make it into snails!

Roll out dough into an oblong on a floured board to the thickness of 1/4 inch. Spread generously with:
melted butter

Sprinkle with:
cinnamon
brown sugar

Add:
(chopped nutmeats)
(seedless raisins)
(chopped citron)
(grated lemon or orange peel)

Roll the dough like a jelly roll. To make snails, cut into 1 inch slices. Rub muffin tins generously with:
butter

Sprinkle well with:
brown sugar
(chopped nutmeats)

Place each slice of roll firmly on the bottom of a muffin tin. Let rise in a warm place 1/2 hour. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven about 30 minutes.

Enjoy! And happy Saturday!

Quote of the Day

"Don't make me punch you in the butt." From my mega monster almost 3 year old son.

Spring has sprung... in my livingroom anyway

I had to take my seedlings out of the greenhouse box today because they have grown so much that they were pushing the lid right off. I know, it seems a bit early for starting seeds but unfortunately the growing season is so short that everything has to do the majority of its sprouting in doors. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day, green grass sprouting up and today we have 60 km an hour winds and blowing snow. That's Alberta for you. And its only the first week in April, we still have a long way to go before we're out of the woods yet! For now, I'll just enjoy my little seedlings and wait for summer!

A word or two about calves

What sorts of images does your mind conjure when you hear the word calf? Cute? Sweet? Cuddly? How about demonic? Evasive? Pain in the ass? Yeah, they look adorable with their big eyes looking at you through a fringe of thick black eyelashes, practically batting them at you as they run passed you mooing, "see you later, sucker!"

I spent my Monday afternoon with four experienced cattle people running around a field trying to catch two very slippery calves. After an hour and a half we finally managed to get them locked up only to have them both escape again through the cattle chute. After they were contained again, they were so stressed out that they were left for the night to settle down. But not before making one last ditch attempt at escape. Thank goodness their hips are wider than their shoulders otherwise they would have been gone again.

Yesterday, my neighbor from down the road hitched up his horse trailer and we got them loaded up no problem(why we didn't think of that on Monday, I don't know.) They were quickly unloaded into the enclosure I had set up for them. 20 minutes later, they were squeezing through the barbed wire to freedom. The two of us managed to get them back inside the fence but there was no getting them after that. They were gone. So last night I was outside until 9:30 cutting down every tree in sight to make fence rails. Then up and out the door this morning at 7:00 to hang some more strands of barbed wire. Needless to say, the little buggers are still running around mooing "catch me if you can!" Well I can't! I'm tired now!

Cornelius

I 'adopted' another rooster yesterday. I invited our friends from down the road for Easter dinner and she had told me about one of their Bantam roosters that was continually getting the crap kicked out of him by the other rooster so I told her to bring him over and he could join my flock. She brought him over in her shirt and let him loose with my flock of ladies. Well, did he ever make himself at home. Strutting his stuff all over the yard, even having a go with one of the hens(even though he's half their size) He is really living up to the regal name we've given him!

I think he will be happy here. He really is quite adorable(as chickens go) and he has a high pitched crow that can only come from something so small. How can you tell I love my chickens? So now the only problem is, what to do with the other two roosters? They are terribly mean to the hens, literally ganging up on them and pulling out their feathers, among other things. I think perhaps its into the soup pot for them. Anyone want to come for chicken soup?

My favorite bread recipe

This is the best bread recipe I have found so far that makes everyone happy! Its from the Joy of Cooking and its called White Bread Plus. I use whole wheat flour even though it calls for white and it turns out wonderfully!

Makes 3 5x9 loaves or 36 buns or a combination of both.

In a large mixer bowl, mix together:
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBSP. salt
1 pkg. active dry yeast

Combine:
2 1/2 cups 120- 130 degree water
1/2 cup lard or shortening (I use olive oil margarine)

The shortening does not have to melt. Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Add to make a thick batter:
1 beaten egg
1 cup flour

Beat 1/2 minute at low speed then at high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in to make a soft dough:
3 to 4 cups flour

Turn out onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.(This is where the kitchen mixer with the dough hook comes in really handy and saves your elbows!) Allow the bread to rise once in the mixing bowl and once in the baking pan. To bake, place loaves in a cold oven. Turn the heat to 400 degrees. After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 375 and bake 25 minutes longer. (Test for doneness by tapping on the bottom of the loaves. They are done if they sound hollow.) Remove loaves from the pans and cool on a rack before storing.

If you are interested in making your own bread, this one is delicious and easy especially if you have a kitchen mixer that does the work for you! Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Quote of the day

"That's not the REAL Easter Bunny! That's just someone dressed up in a costume!" from my five year old daughter at the town easter egg hunt today.

Free eggs for sale?

It seems all too often these days we can't slow down. Things are pressing us, the kids need something, the dogs need something, toilets need scrubbing or if you are part of the workforce(which I am lucky enough not to be) there are deadlines, and conferences and a myriad of other things that demand our attention. When we don't slow down, things get missed; a wrong turn, an important ingredient in a recipe or in this case it was a word. I sell free range eggs from my house and recently put an ad on Kijiji Edmonton advertising "Eggs for sale in Drayton Valley." My ad clearly stated that they are $3.00 a dozen. My ad also clearly stated that they are free range, vegetable grain fed eggs. I guess that the word 'range' was somehow lost in the mix when a person responded to my ad asking for three dozen of my free eggs. I immediately worried that perhaps I had forgotten the word 'range' in my ad and quickly went to look. Nope, it was there, the person just missed it. I wrote him back regardless and apologized for the confusion, that they are FREE RANGE eggs not free eggs. Who knows, maybe he meant to write range in his reply and forgot. In that case, I may have sold three dozen eggs!

The best granola bars in the world(according to my daughter)

I am always searching for new, exciting and HEALTHY snacks for the kids. At this point in my life, I would rather make things for them to snack on then buy another box of sugar laden junk even if it does have a health check symbol on it. I made these granola bars today and the kids loved them. I changed the original recipe I found because of what I had on hand and they turned out great.

2 cups oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oat bran
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

Mix together oats, sugar, oat bran, cinnamon, flour, raisins and cranberries in bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the applesauce, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix together well and press into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool for 5 minutes before cutting into squares or bars.

Delicious!

Easier said than done

Well, we're almost two weeks into spring and I figured that with the weather as beautiful as it is that it would be the perfect time to get into the garden and do a first rototill. The snow is gone(for now), the ground seems to have thawed and I'm getting anxious to get on with things! I didn't anticipate it taking so long to get the rototiller hooked onto the lawn tractor ofcourse. The rototiller weights between 250 and 300 pounds so not really an easy task when one is working by ones self. But with perseverance and much swearing; I swear when I work(an attribute I will give credit to my mother for) and plenty of talking to myself (to which my son who was nearby kept saying, "what?") I got it done! And it only took an hour and half! And it was worth it when I saw the blades churning up that moist black soil. My veggies are going to be happy this year!

The rototilling was mostly a success. I did do a fair amount of damage to the lawn (oops!) and I caught the tiller on the fence and stretched it a bit but these things can all be fixed. Its a learning process right? Now the only thing I have left to do is wait. I can't plant anything out until the first week in june because this is Alberta and as most people know, it can snow in any month of the year here! For now, I can focus on my other projects- a compost bin, the barbed wire fence needs a little bit of TLC oh and the kids need to be fed! That is a project in itself.

A wise friend told me on the phone this morning not to hurt myself while attaching the rototiller. Well I didn't hurt myself! But I may be too sore to walk tomorrow morning!