My husband’s grandmother used to make “roast-a-beef” every Sunday. She would boil the roast with some salt and pepper. The result was a grey, tough lump of meat that needed to be cut with a chainsaw. Never in my life did I ever hear of someone boiling meat! She also ate raw onion sandwiches and…
Ugh. It’s been one of those days. I awoke at 4am to an overpowering smell of skunk. “NO, no, no, no, nah no!” my brain was screaming. “Too late,” my nose was saying. Now, if you’ve never smelled skunk close up, than you’re lucky. It smells nothing like the skunk smell you are used to when…
I have decided to embrace my age. Gray hairs – check Sagging boobs – double check Menopause – hell, yeah! Reading glasses – yup Cellulite – bring it on, baby A chin hair… C.h.i.n. H.a.i.r CHIN HAIR?????? Errrrrrrrrrrr…. boom! My grandmother had chin hair. This discovery is worse than the time I got jumper…
I am a very private person. Very few people know about my trials and tribulations. That’s just me – I play my cards close to the vest. Until now… I will let you in on a struggle that has consumed me for five years and changed my body and my life. I have the unfortunate…
Garlic is one of those “plant it and forget about it” crops. Although garlic can be planted in the spring, fall is the best time for planting. It gives the cloves a chance to establish a good root system which helps produce bigger bulbs. In my area, I plant my garlic after the first hard…
Fall is just around the corner and the trees on the farm are heavy with apples. A gluten for punishment, I picked 4-5 bushels and got down to canning applesauce. After chopping and slicing and dicing, I filled a 22 quart pot with apples and began my first batch of sauce. Making applesauce is quite…
True craftsmanship has become a thing of the past. The days of horse-drawn logging, hand-hewed beams and even handmade nails are mostly extinct. Fortunately, the legacy of those skilled workers still lives on in many old barns around the country. With nothing more than hammers, saws and measuring tapes made from leather, they constructed grids…
Take the wonderful deliciousness of baked beans and the spicy heartiness of chili, simmer them together and the result is Baked Bean Chili. Enjoy!
I had just walked outside with a basket full of laundry to hang on the clothesline, when the old timer from up the road came roaring up the driveway. He needed baler twine because he was making some sort of trap to catch the “damn varmint” that was getting into his corn. I pointed him…
One of my earliest childhood memories is the kitchen of my paternal grandmother. It was a tiny room with baby blue walls and a hulking white enamel, coal fired stove. A harvest gold refrigerator sat catty-corner across from the stove and was always filled with Hershey’s fudge pops. And next to the fridge, were two…
The autumn olive (or autumnberry) bush is a double-edged sword. In my area, it can be found along just about any country road or fence row. Unfortunately, just like Japanese knotweed and multiflora rose, it’s considered an invasive species. However, recently, it’s been discovered that the autumn olive berry contains high amounts of Lycopene –…
Weekly photo challenge: monochromatic
Most folks I know have never heard of pickled green tomatoes. It’s one of those recipes that was born out of the desire to not waste anything. The old timer up the road gave me the recipe years ago after a strong storm blew over most of my cherry tomato plants before they had a…
We call him “The Jumper.” He’s a gazelle disguised as a bull-calf Hereford. He can leap tall buildings in a single bound. He is the bane of my existence. Throughout the years, there have been many, MANY calves born on this farm. All have been well mannered and easy going… except for “The Jumper.” He…
The Farmers in the Dell 