Looks like we made iiiiit...

Yes, I'm quoting Barry Manilow. Why? In honor of the Winter Solstice, of course.

I truly enjoy each of the seasons in their turn, but as I have previously whined mentioned, some of them wear a little harder on me than others. In this case, winter. Though the solstice is technically the official beginning of winter, I, in my ever-positive nature, prefer to see it as the slippery slope toward spring. We'll be gaining just a bit more daylight each day now, and paltry as those 45 seconds may seem, they eventually add up to bright spring days warm enough for me to spend the morning in my garden without numb fingers and a runny nose.

First I get a Barry Manilow song stuck in your head, then I wrap things up with an image of snot. You're welcome, America.

Three down, One to go

As of this morning, three out of our four hens are now up and running egg-wise, with my husband's chick (who he officially named "Godzilla", but whom the girls have more suitably re-named, "Rose") being the latest to join the mommy club.

Our last holdout hennie that has yet to lay is the incredibly high-maintenance, "Strawberry", who possesses, among other lovely attributes, a propensity for roosting in the rafters of the coop (rather than in the security of the hen house) every single night of her life. We naturally then, have to climb up and scoop a very startled/sleepy/combative chicken off of the roof and shoehorn her into the hen house - thus potentially saving her from freezing or predator raids - every single night of her life. It is rather fitting that she is such a stubborn, diva of a bird, considering that she is officially the pet of my youngest daughter, Scarlet, who is herself known for her hard-headedness. Just ask anyone who has ever met her. Brats of a feather, I guess...

At any rate, yee-haw! - three eggs per day! There is increasing reason for me to believe that I'll someday actually use all of those egg cartons that I've been stockpiling since we first bought the chicks. Man, the things that pass for exciting and newsworthy around here these days...

Amish Bread, Variation #745

If you know me, then you probably know that as much as I love to cook, I generally fear & dislike baking. It's all of the delicate chemistry involved. You aren't supposed to substitute or improvise when making a bread or dough, the leavening & gluten are too persnickity to be monkeyed with by a haphazard cook. Especially one with a cruddy, barely-functioning oven, such as mine.

That must be why, then, that my adventures with Amish bread have me so excited and verbose today. I've somehow managed to produce another successful batch of two dozen baby loaves (a doubled recipe) with a new assortment of hastily improvised and substitued ingredients. Here is today's re-revised recipe, and a link, once again to the original.

Amish Bread o' the day-
(This is the ingredient list, not including the starter.)

wet ingredients
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. pumpkin puree (homemade, thank you very much!)
1 c. milk
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. fireweed honey
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

dry ingredients
2 c. unbleached flour
1/2 c. sugar (I prefer turbinado)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder (I use the aluminum-free stuff from Bob's Red Mill)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice mix
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/6 c. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup nuts (optional) - I've added chocolate chips instead on a few occasions.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into well buttered bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for about and hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. - I also cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil about 3/4 of the way through the baking process to keep the top crust from over-browning while giving the loaf a chance to finish cooking throughout.

Additional notes - I actually preheat the oven to 350, and turn down to 325 just after the bread goes in. I just read about this little trick in The Bread Bible and it seems to me that the bread rose a little better with the extra boost of heat early in the baking process. After the bread was out of the oven, de-panned and cooled, I brushed the tops of the loaves with just a little maple syrup and sprinkled coarse, turbinado sugar on top.

And seriously, folks, if you need a bread starter, drop me a line.

Seeds 'n' Stuff

I'm either neurotic or bored, because I've already started planning next spring's garden, and have even just ordered some seeds from my beloved Victory Seed Company. Here's what I've ordered, what I saved and what I still need to get-

Ordered-
*Squash, "Cocozelle" (grew these last year and loved them!)
*Squash, "Burgess Buttercup"
*Pumpkin, "Cinderella"
*Cucumber, "Homemade Pickles"
*Carrot, "Chantenay Red Cored"
*Carrot, "Little Fingers"
*Mammoth Dill
*Sunflower, "Autumn Beauty"
*Sunflower, "Annual"

Saved & Given
*Swiss Chard (from Kristin - thanks!)
*Cilantro (saved seed)
*Squash, "Delicata" (leftover from last year)
*Arugula (saved)
*Sweet Peas (leftover from last year)
*Lettuce, "Marvielle de quatre saisons" (leftover from last year)

Starts to get in the Spring-
*Tomatoes (starting these from seed last year failed miserably!)
*Basil
*Lemongrass (I want to give this a try in my pond.)
*Horseradish
*Marjoram
*Raspberries
*Blueberries (Grandpa has offered us his blueberries which are failing to thrive for him. I don't know if we can turn them around, but I'll sure try!)
*4 fruit trees (We have 4 dying non-fruiting trees in our yard that will be replaced with as-yet undetermined fruit or nut trees. We're leaning toward pie cherries, apples, peaches, big-leaf maple (for the sap) or walnuts.
*Yet another male fuzzy kiwi - Let's hope this guy lives longer than his predecessors!

Our plan is ever-evolving, but a few things are locked in - we're expanding the garden by at least two beds, we (or more accurately, Bill) will be building one or two cold frames out of found/scavanged windows & lumber, and we'll be doubling the number of tomatoes that we plant, because we use them like mad, and because of some concerns that I have about the healthfulness of canned tomatoes - even the organic ones. :(

At the moment I'm researching, reading and planning; readying myself for the days when the sun comes back and the green things thrive. I can only hope that my energy comes back at the same time, because right now, on these single-digit freezing cold days of snuggling by the fire, reading and knitting, I'm blissfully lazy, just daydreaming of sunny spring days to come.

Baby it's Cold Outside/Red Light Special

It gets cold in the winter here in Western WA, but it doesn't usually get COLD cold. The past few days and nights, we've had lows of 5 degrees and highs in the low 30's. In addition to the cold, this blast of Arctic air is also dry as a bone, causing me and everyone else, wrapped from head to toe in fleece and wool, to build up such a quantity of static electricity that our hair stands on end or stubbornly glues itself to our foreheads, and we routinely zap the bejeezus out of everything and everyone we touch. Good times!

Alas, we zap-happy humans are not the cold's only victims.

You know those red heat lamps that McDonald's uses to keep their nasty "food" warm and "fresh"? At the moment, a disturbingly similar-looking lamp is about all that is keeping my chickens from becoming chickie-sicles. I had vowed not to use a heat lamp in the coop if at all possible, but it looks like once again I'll be eating my words.

I don't feel guilty for doing what is necessary to keep the critters (and people) in my care healthy and happy, but I do feel bad for using so much extra electricity lately. I'm wracking my brain for ways to make it up, but with the very real chance of pipes freezing, and three exotic pets in the house who don't take kindly to dips in temperatures, I'm at a loss for what to do. I could probably unplug the fridge for a few days...

For the Birds

Have you ever heard of "bird bread"?

Bird bread is basically the same day-old stuff that you can get for a dollar or two per loaf at a bakery outlet store. The difference is that you have to ask specifically for "bird bread" and you don't get to pick the exact bread products that you get. On the other hand, at the bakery outlet that I go to, they stuff 4 or 5 loaves into each bag and charge just $1.50 per bag.

The last time that I bought bird bread, 4 out of my 10 loaves were organic whole-grain breads that usually sell for $3.99 apiece, and I got all 10 loaves for $3.00.

I do end up feeding the majority of the "bird bread" to my chickens, who love the treat, but if a loaf of something yummy or interesting ends up in one of our bags (like the organic, whole-grain stuff or some cinnamon-raisin bagels), we'll eat it ourselves. Has my frugality hit a new low or a new high?

I've got my Mother-in-law's hips

Her rose hips, that is.

I've heard so many wonderful things about rose hip wine, that I've decided to give it a go. My sister-in-law and I raided my MIL's rose bushes and managed to scavenge almost a pound and a half of hips, but unfortunately, most recipes call for 2 1/2 pounds of rose hips to make a gallon of wine.

So, I'm looking to supplement my stash of rosehips. If you live in the Puget Sound area, have unsprayed rosebushes and don't want or need the hips, I'd be happy to take a few off your hands in exchange for a future share of the wine. ;)

If I can't come up with more, I might just end up making a half gallon. If/when I do, I'll post pics and the recipe.