Around the Kitchen

Yesterday, I made some green tomato relish or also know here in Texas as catfish relish.It is a chunky relish.We have a catfish restaurant chain here in Texas called Catfish King that serves this type of relish so I guess we all just associate this stuff with eatin' catfish! It is really good with pinto beans too, which they also serve at the restaurant along with coleslaw and hush puppies.I have to say,they changed their hush puppies and I am not impressed.You can't mess with perfection! For my non southern friends,a hush puppy is a yummy type of fried cornbread!In the old days folks used to feed their dogs fried corn bread if they didn't have any scraps and tell them "hush puppies here's you somethin' to eat!"



Thanks to the wonders of the Internet I found a copy cat recipe! This is the first time I have tried this recipe so I can not yet vouch for it's authenticity, but I did sample some after it was heated and it was pretty tasty.It needs to sit awhile and work on it's flavor before I will know for sure.If you need something to do with those end of season green tomatoes here is the recipe.

a.. 2 gallons (or) 16 cups green tomatoes, cut in pieces
b.. 1 qt. (or) 4 cups Onions, peeled and chopped
c.. 2 cups jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
d.. 1/2 gallon (or) 4 cups white vinegar
e.. 6 cups sugar
f.. 1 cup salt
Directions


Mix all together. Bring to a boil in a large pot.
Fill canning jars, seal. Put into a water bath.
Do not overcook.

I also made some soap.I don't have nice molds being as I don't sell my soap,I just make it for us.
This is some chamomile soap I love! If you like chamomile tea you will love this soap! The recipe is here.

It has tiny bits of chamomile flower in it.



I poured this soap into a Pringel's chip tube for a mold.Then I peeled off the tube and sliced,rather crookedly,with a Pampered Chef crinkle cut veggie slicer.




This is a coconut milk soap with a manly fragrance for The Boy.I just poured it into a trash bag lined baking dish.I haven't sliced it yet.He asked for some scrubbies in it.I have some blueberry seeds for that purpose but couldn't find them so I threw in a little coffee.




I thought I would throw in a few turkey pictures.




The Tom's heads are really amazing!





Two of them are starting to get that dangling chest feather thing that I am sure has a name but I don't know it! Someone out there can let me know please.

Sweetie and Bonnie are still improving and anxious to be back out in the pasture.Clyde rarely leave the barn area,he wants to stay close to his girls! It never ceases to amaze me how much animals can love each other.

Not Wordless Wednesday!!!

I have fallen off the blogger band wagon the last few days! I know it is supposed to be wordless Wednesday,but since it has been a few days,I can't be wordless!
So here is some catch up! Hubby made it home fine and has been fixing his truck.You all remember the truck,the one that I was barreling down the interstate redneck ghetto thumping with The Boy to his music at 80 mph when the drive shaft and transfer case exploded!Well he is working on that and going to school this week way on the other side of Houston about a 3 hr trip one way if he gets the traffic!
We have had some animal problems.Fiona,my she devil milk cow,finally went totally berserk and gored Bonnie and Sweetie Sunday night.Thank The Good Lord,and I mean that as a truth and not just a saying,both are looking good.She got poor Bonnie twice and Sweetie once.They are not bad wounds, but painful without a doubt.I have been able to treat them at home with wound flushes,and sprays and antibiotics.It really stresses me when any of my animals are hurt or sick.They are both doing really well.Fiona is in a make shift pen awaiting a trip to the vet to be dehorned.Most Dexters have horns,they are a small, gentle breed of cattle and there is no need to remove them.Why do I always end up with the psycho animals?Hubby's mentally deranged dogs are another example!
So,how about something nicer.We went and cut our tree Sunday.We have a terrific tree farm about 15 minutes from us.



It is beautifully nestled in rolling hills and surrounded by east Texas forest.
As soon as we parked we saw the perfect tree! There was no need to roam the 20 or so acres to find the perfect one!



The Boy started sawin'.We always try to get a cypress tree,because they don't bother The Boy's allergies.The Boy gave up and Hubby had to step in!


Exactly how many of us does it take to cut down a little tree?



Apparently all 3 of us.I had to pull on the tree so the rather dull saw could get between and cut better.But it was no match for us!We toppled that mighty oak..um..OK ,little tree.



The mighty hunters with their prey!



The Boy managed from there.



No,that is not a real bullet hole in my window.Hubby thinks he is funny and put several of those stickers on my truck!



This tree farm had all kinds of stuff set around so if you wanted to make a day of it you could.I thought this was funny!



This is the junk truck waiting for "repair"! Many,many places in the country have these!



These are just their dogs they put up during business hours.I thought they were real cute until..



their eyes started to glow!They are either on a nuclear waste dump or these dogs are of the zombie variety!



There was a campfire and hot cocoa.



Games for the kids...



Who needs fancy electronic games?These kids look perfectly happy!



Funny story,one of the places I lived as a kid was so small we had 2 grades in each classroom.We had almost no play ground equipment.Someone dropped off 3 big tractor tires and we entertained ourselves all year rolling each other across the school yard in them.Ahh..the good ole days!
I made soap yesterday and plan on making another batch today and some green tomato relish. If it all works out I will show you tomorrow.If it doesn't,well,we shall never speak of it again!!!Just kidding,I don't mind showing you my flops,you all may have some good suggestions to help me the next time!

Yep,It Snowed !

I know some folks got tons of snow yesterday.Well, down here there is no such thing as tons of snow.We did see some though and it was beautiful! It stopped in the afternoon before it had time to stick. Last year it snowed all night and stuck until the next morning.All we can hope for here is a snowy night once a decade!
I know my snow pictures are not special as far as snow goes, but if you take in to consideration location...


Snow on roses and green lawn and old mossy ceders...




Snow in the woods...



Snow on turkeys...they didn't care..



snow on ducks...they didn't care either!!!What they did care about is their frozen pool this morning!!!!





Hubby made is home just fine,covered in a big red beard ! Mmmm....I love my rugged man!

Snow

Well,the weather man says snow for us tonight.Yep,we live in south east Texas.Snow.I love it,so does The Boy!The only bad thing is Hubby flies in this evening at 5.We had a night of snow last year in December too.People told me it was the first time in something like 8 years.This summer, which was akin to vacationing in hell,I would have said there was something to global warming,but now snow again here...oh well.
I went out and picked the few green tomatoes I had in the garden,put boxes of hay in the rabbits cages and a tarp over the end of the turkey coop.We are ready.
Jenna,over at Cold Antler Farm,wrote a wonderful post.It really captures how I feel,and I am sure many others, in this life we have chosen.I wish I could write like that.She must have the spirit of a poet.I, on the other hand,have the spirit of a hillbilly!
I do feel we are alone in our life style here.Yes,we are very rural , surrounded by folks living the country life,but no one else in all these people that live in this rural area,that I have found anyway,live and think like us.I admit I do have a hermit nature,but still going on 2 years you would think we would have found someone.Grow your own,grass fed,organic,sustainable.I don't understand why.I feel like I am waiting for everyone to wake up and join me.To hear parents talk about all the ADHD meds and the like they have to give their children and I look over and little Timmy is sucking down his third Mountain Dew and eating a ding- dong.I just don't understand.I am thankful for blog land.It has allowed me to connect with kindred spirits,giving me encouragement in the road I have chosen and people who have more experience to help me along the way when I am not sure of the next step.So,big thank you to my blog neighbors in my cyber community!
That's it for now,got to take The Boy to church,go by the feed store,and clean like the wind before I go to pick up Hubby this afternoon.Yeah!

Mushrooms

I bought some fresh organic mushrooms on sale at the grocery store.They only had 2 cartons left so I got them both.I love mushrooms.Just me, the boys won't touch them.More for me.Since I can't possible eat two whole containers of fresh mushrooms,well, maybe I could, I decided to can them instead.I have never canned mushrooms before but there were instructions for them in my canning book and really there is almost nothing I won't try and can.If I can't find instructions I have a dear church lady who is like a Grandma to me who absolutely knows how to can everything,and I do mean everything!She is my canning encyclopedia !
This was super easy!Just soak the mushrooms in cold water for 10 minutes to remove the poop..er..I mean dirt.Then slice if you want.I was using the small jelly jars so I sliced mine.Boil for 5 minutes.This shrinks them down and gets them good and hot for the canning process.Put them in jars and can ,11 lbs for 45 minutes.

When I say canned,I mean pressure canned,not hot water bath.All low acid foods MUST be pressure canned,there is no getting around it.Well, unless your tryin' to kill some one,but please don't do that!Murder by canning,there's one I haven't seen on those crime shows yet.It's just a matter of time,there are so many of those shows,they've about run out of interesting ways to do folks in!
If you have never caned and are a little afraid of the pressure caner,I was, you shouldn't be.The new ones have safety release valves if for some reason,like you leave the house and go to the mall,it will blow to keep it from exploding.Not like the old pressure cookers.I don't know of many people who still use them,but most people my age and older remember them.They were like the old microwave,a faster way to cook food.I don't use a microwave,Hubby has labeled me crazy for this!I can still hear the steamy sh-sh-sh of the the thing in my memories.If it clogged or a mischievous red haired little boy,AKA Hubby, held down the little sh-sh-sh thingy on top it would blow.It happened at our house once too,but it was because it clogged.It was full of pinto beans,which we had at every meal.One big pot a week reheated every meal ,getting thick and more delicious with each passing day.You could see each individual bean print on our ceiling over our stove!
That's it!Easy Peasey !Oh ! I forgot to tell you how good this smelled! Just the 5 minute boiling set my kitchen to smelling delicious. If you love mushrooms your mouth will be watering!All I could thing about was mushroom soup or sauteed mushrooms and steak....This has really got me wanting to try to grow my own mushrooms.Anyone ever done one of those mushroom logs?

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Boy and Happy Goaties !

Homemade Veggie Stock in a Jar

I found this awhile back at A New Old-Fashioned Gal. It is a veggie stock that is preserved with salt.Just click the link for the recipe and info of where it came from.

People have used salt as a preservative for ever.I have been meaning to try it for a long time and finally did this weekend.The Boy helped chop all the veggies.It was very easy.Just chop the veggies in a food processor and add salt.It makes a big batch.If it keeps as good as it is supposed to I will make it a staple,only I will make the next batch smaller.After I have tested it myself and am sure it is OK,it might make a good gift in the future.


It is very pretty.How handy will it be to use in a quick soup or pot of beans or casserole.Most gardeners grow most of,if not all, the veggies for this in their home gardens.How great would it be to know you grew every ingredient,well,except for the salt.