Merry Christmas!

It is the middle of the afternoon on Christmas Eve.  I spent around five hours at work before they decided it was too slow and sent me home.  Now, I'm home baking my last batch of sugar cookies, finishing cleaning up the rabbitry, cleaning my room, and helping my dad cook for tonight. 

The menu - crab cakes, pulled pork and beef sliders, ham, meatballs, pigs in a blanket, fudges, cookies, and some meat and cheese platters.  I would put most of the recipes on here, but then I would have to kill my readers (which I don't particularly want to do).  But I will post the not-so-secret recipes my family loves.

Chocolate Marshmallow Creme Fudge
Ingredients:
1 Jar marshmallow crème (5-10 oz. Jar
1 ½ cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk*
¼ cup butter
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups Nestle’s Semi-Sweet Real Chocolate Morsels
1 teaspoon vanilla

In medium saucepan, combine 1 jar marshmallow crème, 1 ½ cups sugar, 2/3 cup evaporated milk, ¼ cup butter and ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring to full boil, stirring constantly over moderate heat. Boil 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 3 cups Nestle’s Semi-Sweet Real Chocolate Morsels, stir until morsels are melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Pour into greased 8” square pan. Chill until firm. Makes about 2 ¼ pounds.


*half a 12 oz. can is 2/3 cup evaporated milk

This recipe is off of a bag or Nestle's Semi-Sweet Real Chocolate Morsels from sometime in the 1970s.  I got it from my mom. It is my favorite Chocolate Fudge Recipe!


Cheesecake Fudge

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
2 ¼ cup sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3 cups miniature marshmallows
6 oz. cream cheese, cubed and softened
12 oz. premium white chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Line a 9-inch square baking pan with lightly buttered waxed paper. Set aside.


Combine butter, sugar, milk and marshmallows in heavy 3 quart saucepan; bring to full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly.


Continue boiling for 5 ¼ minutes on medium heat or until candy thermometer reaches 234°F, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.


Stir in cream cheese and white chocolate chips until melted. Add vanilla and mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Cool at room temperature. Cut into squares.


Makes: about 2 dozen candies

This recipe I found about five years ago on a fudge hunting spree.  Personally I don't like it, I have tried every batch I make.  But I don't like cream cheese at all.  But everyone else likes it!  I'm told it's one of the best fudges ever made.  I hope you try it and like it.  I like to drizzle chocolate over the top before I cut it to give some added flavor and for looks.  
 
I have a couple other recipes that I like that will be posted in the near future.
 
Now I must go away from the computer.  I have too much to do to spend more time on here.  Merry Christmas ya'll! 

Who Needs 4-Wheel Drive, When You've Got 4-Leg Drive?

One of my friends recently added three horses to her family.  Well, her mother did, but still, they are in my friend's life.  I must admit, these are some of the prettiest horses I've met.  My friend has requested my assistance with these new family members, and I am only too happy to oblige. 

I am by no means  a horse expert, but I do read a lot on the subject, have been involved in horse-related activities for a long time and picked up a few things here and there.  I enjoy horses, I will forever be in awe of the majestic beast.  My heart's desire is to raise draft horses, Shires, Belgians, & Gypsys.  Keep in mind I am a barely 5 foot tall, petite young lady.  These horses are giants in comparison to me, with the exception of the Gypsys.  I don't know why I am in love with drafts, maybe it is their history, or maybe there rarity, or maybe I'm just a horse-crazy girl.  Whatever it is, draft horses amaze me with their strength, power and grace. 

My friends horses are the run of the mill quarter horses & a quarter pony.  But still majestic and beautiful.  I am excited to join my friend on the journey of learning more and more about the beautiful beasts.  I hope this will open doors for myself and my friend to trail ride and maybe even show horses.  I will keep you all up to date on this particular adventure.  And I will be posting reviews of some horse-related books.  God Bless.

Twenty-One Years and Counting!

Little Bear Creek Tree Farm is a major part of our family Christmas Tradition.  This year marks our twenty first trip up there for cut down the perfect tree for the Christmas season.  It is only about an hour from our home to Alta, California where Little Bear Creek Tree Farm resides. 

 

 

This year was extremely memorable.  We usually go the weekend after Thanksgiving, but this year we had to wait until after Thanksgiving weekend.  We headed up to the farm a little after 8:00 am on Tuesday.  There had been a good winter storm a few days ago and snow was on the ground just above Colfax.  And this wasn't just slush it was SNOW!  We had never seen so much up there this time of year. 

Unfortunately, we had taken the front-wheel drive mini van - Dad's truck was in the shop and he didn't want to take my 4x4.  The road down to the tree farm was chains or 4x4 only...we had neither.  I admit I was very disappointed and my have shed a few tears.  But Dad wasn't going to give up so easy.  We drove back down to Colfax, found an auto parts store, bought chains and headed back to the tree farm. 

We were welcomed by the owner and Boomer.  The old Willys Jeeps parked around the shop, one warming up to take us up the hill so we can hike around to find the perfect Christmas tree.  We all climbed into the back of the jeep ready to go.  Just a short juant up the hill and we were hiking around to pick out our tree.  This year we picked out our tree in record time and it is a beautiful six foot tall silver-tipped evergreen tree.  We the Willys Jeep came to pick us up with your freshly cut tree we were joined by canines Boomer and his friend Sadie.  Boomer and Sadie rode back down the hill with us in the back of the jeep enjoying our company and loving. 

At the bottom of the hill while Dad was paying for the tree, Boomer stole one of Mom's gloves.  I don't think a dog has ever had more fun with a glove.  After ten minutes we finally recovered the slober covered glove, with a little help from Boomer's master.  We all retired to the van for some hot chocolate, cookies and sandwiches.  Then headed home, with the tree inside the van.

I think this was one of the most memorable trips to our favorite tree farm.  The snow was beautiful, the trees were perfect, and it is one of our favorite traditions.  Thanks, Little Bear Creek Tree Farm!  See ya next year!

A bit of Photography

I love taking photographs.  I'm not the best.  I don't fully understand how cameras work.  But I love capturing a moment.  I currently use one of two cameras - my old Kodak Z740 or my Canon PowerShot A720 IS.  I love both these cameras, but I'm still yearning for the professional grade digital SLR.  I'm still trying to decide between a Canon or Nikon.  The good thing is that I've got a while before I'll be buying a camera like this.  Until then I will continue learning about photography and how to take amazing photos. 

Happy Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving morning.  Many of us are in the kitchen, cooking Thanksgiving dinner for our families while we watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and then the National Dog Show.  I guess I'm lucky this year, all I have to make is a mousse cake.  I'm going to my Granny Goose's house for Thanksgiving dinner this year.  It does feel strange not helping my Dad cook the entire dinner, but kind of a nice change.  Tonight I'm going to watch Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving and start getting ready for Christmas.  So now I say, Happy Thanksgiving!  And if you dare to venture out tomorrow for Christmas shopping I wish you luck.  But today have fun with your family and friends, get stuffed and stay warm!

Animal Invasion!

I have recently made three crocheted stuffed animals; a bunny rabbit, a manta ray and a whale. And I must say I love how they all turned out. I used the patterns out of "Super-Super Cute Crochet" by Brigitte Read.  There are 35 different animals to crochet, including:

Pomeranian, Bunny Rabbit, Kitten, Percy Pig, Siberian Hamster, Puppy, Cat, Cow, Polar Bear, Penguin, Turtle, Crocodile, Frogs and Toads, Walrus, Manta Ray, Squid, Whale, Shrimp, Platypus, Snail, Flamingo, Tortoise, Hippo, Guinea Pig, Anteater, Butterfly, Bluebird, Toucan, Owl, Panda, Koala, Silkworm, Mole, Arctic Fox, and Dragon


I plan to make many more of these little guys and market them via craigslist and local craft fairs.  The best part about these creatures is that they are much larger than I expected.  I expected little tiny animals and I got nice stuffed animals that kids can play with. 

There is one problem that I have found so far with this book.  There are some mistakes in it.  The stitch count for many of the rows is off.  In the manta ray I just did the stitch count for the body is 52 single crochet stitches, not 62 stitches.  I have no problem correcting them, crossing out the wrong number and filling in the correct.  I have learned not to worry about "ruining" books that I use. 

Personally, I do not mind going through and fixing the mistakes as I make each animal.  But I know some people don't want to take the time to do that.  I may over a period of time post the corrections, not the entire pattern, but the row counts on this blog.  But not today. 

Tomorrow, I may visit Michael's in my way home from work, use the gift card my sister got me for my birthday and buy some more yarn to make some more little animal friends. 

Loom Knitting

I don't know if you have ever been in the yarn section of your local craft store. But many of them carry this "new" fangled product to make knitting "easier". My younger sister and I went in on a set of round looms a couple years ago (okay, it was more like six or seven) and never really got too far with them. She wasn't into it and I was more into crochet. I also didn't find the instructions too clear. So the looms got lost at the bottom of my wicker chest only to be seen on the rare occasion that I clean the chest out.

On a more recent occasion I purchased the KB Sock Loom. I really love how knitted socks look and all the different patterns you can use. I don't really like how crochet socks look and I'm not to hot at knitting so I turned to the loom. It came with a DVD which I was really excited about. I got home, pulled out an extra skein of yarn, put in the DVD and got to work.

The first complaint I have is one of the pegs was put in the board backwards so the groove the knitting tool slides in to pull the yarn was not there making it extremely difficult to grab the yarn on that peg. I was slow going, I made the tube for the leg and proceeded on to the heel. I got through the heel with only a little trouble. Then the DVD stopped instructing! It just said the foot was just like the leg and the toe was just like the heel. I gave up. I don't like admitting it, but it is true. I was too frustrated to continue, ripped it out and turned the rest of the skein (which was a bright blue) into a floppy eared crocheted bunny rabbit.

Another complaint I have about the sock loom instruction was they didn't really explain sizing. In other words, how many pegs to use to make a sock for a baby, child, or adult. And it would be nice to know the number of pegs to use to make a sock to fit a certain size foot.

I'm sad to have to write a bad review for this product. I really wanted it to work. And maybe someday I'll drag to loom out of the bottom of my wicker chest and try again. But for now I'm going to stick to crocheting and maybe attempt sock knitting in the round.

Garden Friends & Foes

There has been a movement in recent years to grow more naturally, organically and productively. This movement is companion planting. Many gardeners have moved away from stiff rows and wide walkways in their gardens. More and more people are creating beds full of different plants that “like” each other. But how does the average backyard gardener know what plants “like” each other? Louise Riotte has aided the quest to answer this question. I just finished reading one of her twelve (yes, twelve!) books on gardening, Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening.

Carrots Love Tomatoes is an excellent book. It can be read through like a novel or used as a reference book when planning your garden, flower bed or yard. Not only does Louise Riotte cover veggie gardens, but she revels the friendships of other plants including wild plants, herbs, trees, fruit bearing flora and grasses. She even gives ideas for garden designs! This book is going to stay in my library for ever and it will be taken off the shelf often to reference when planning my garden!

The best part of this book was that it didn't just say what plants grew well together, it told the reader what plants shouldn't be near each other. I cannot wait to get my hands on another one of Ms. Riotte’s books! God Bless!

County Fair Season is Upon Us!

This weekend has been crazy! Friday was spent organizing the garage (and finding out about more tools than I ever knew we had) and facing a major disaster the day before my entry to the County Fair was due. Saturday was spent at the County Fair grounds helping to check in exhibitors and their exhibits, running kids back and forth for interactive judging and going on an unsuccessful hunt for fresh picked strawberries from any roadside stand. Sunday (that would be today) was spent at a new church (with no one that I knew), I successfully hunted down my fresh strawberries, then I went on to make strawberry jam and a strawberry crisp. And then tomorrow I’m due back at the County Fair grounds to help set up the indoor exhibits for the Fair! I love County Fair time! I don’t currently have any book reviews for county fairs, but I just ordered a bunch from the library that I’m going to check out and read and I’ll update on those soon! God Bless

I just though of this...a really good County Fair song that comes to mind has to be "I Like It, I Love It" by Tim McGraw!

Breadmaking

Saturday my dad made this amazing garlic olive oil for some tri-tip sandwiches and we have a ton left over. He's been on me to make more bread to use for dipping. So finally today I did, it is currently baking in the oven. I use a really simple recipe water, yeast, all-purpose flour and salt, that's it! I got it from one of the heaviest cookbooks we own How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
This cookbook was actually the cook book that introduced me to homemade breads!

The best part about How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman is that the book is set up for the most beginner cook. It is the perfect cookbook for the college dorm! So for all those high school seniors graduating and going off to college this year, this is the book for you!

The book includes sections on equipment, about the difference between different types of pots and pans, knives, food safety, the basic equipment needed in your kitchen. It explains different methods of cooking, like grilling, roasting, stir-frying, and more! Then it goes into appetizers, soups, salads, pasta, grains, breads, pizza, sandwiches, fish, poultry, beans, veggies, fruits, desserts, and the list goes on and on! I have seriously read this cookbook like a novel! It is amazing!

I cannot say enough good things about this book! We acquired it somehow many years ago (I can't remember how...), but it is a cookbook I would rather not live without.

I've become so involved with writing this I almost didn't notice the most intoxicating aroma coming from my kitchen right now, my simple french bread is about to come out of the oven! Oh the heavenly smell and taste of fresh homemade french bread.

For this particular bread it is excellent with spagetti, as sandwiches, and of course dipping in garlic olive oil! Enjoy and God Bless!

Shire Ranch

I've been thinking that I should probably tell you a bit about Shire Ranch. Shire Ranch is more of a dream or aspiration than an actual Ranch at the moment. At my current location (unfortunately in the middle of suburbia) I raise Flemish Giant and Mini Lop rabbits, a variety of breeds of laying hens, two dogs, two cats, two parakeets, two cockatiels (apparently two seems to be a favorite number of mine...haha!), and a lovebird. I also have a backyard nursery and small garden. I bake, cook and preserve foods, I'm an avid crafter including crochet, knitting, quilting, sewing, metalworking, and woodworking. There are many other interests of mine that I will discuss on this blog over time.

G'day Y'all!

Howdy! I just wanted to quickly introduce myself and this blog. My name is Katie, I created this blog to share knowledge and resources that I have discovered with the world. So check back often!