Thankful day

I have been working on evaluating the miles traveled for this meal and I've decided it's impossible. But I can get it down to the bulk items, some of the spices...yeah I'm not going there. So, here's the run down.

Turkey- Rocky Ridge Ranch- Reardan WA to Spokane WA 23.6 mi Spokane to Cheney 17.7 miles. The birds traveled a total of 41.3 miles

Milk- Spokane Family Farms 34 miles from Cheney WA
Cream- Straus Family Creamery 886 miles from Cheney

Bread (for stuffing) made by me from Montana Milling in Great Falls MT. 375 miles

Cranberries- organic from Northern Cali. Probably similar in miles of Straus Cramery so lets just say 886 miles. I need to find a cranberry bog like Mr. H!

Misc. Incalculable's
pepper
salt
poultry seasoning
butter-costco organic (I did't get a chance with this shoulder, to make my own)

Garden Goods (From our garden)
Squash
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Celery
Sage
Thyme

I could have reduced the miles traveled of the cream and the milk by getting it raw from our very local country market. And I probably would have if it weren't for the snow and the shoulder stuff. So next year we'll have about 900 miles less on our total. Wheat for bread I struggle with, no one local grows it organically so I am forced to purchase it regionally. I'd say minus the cranberries and cream we did pretty good. The bulk of the meal was kept under 50 miles! Still, room for improvement but a good job overall.

Hot Chocolate

My "other mother" Mom-J suggested that I write a post on Hot Cocoa Mix's. She wanted to know if I had any recipe's for making my own mix. Their are a wealth of cocoa mix recipes on the internet and it is so easy to make it would probably make a great homemade gift idea. However I find cocoa mix's way to sweet! So I started making them old fashioned style, which takes about 10 times longer than a mix does. But I find that the best homemade things are worth a little time and effort. So here is my hot cocoa recipe and how I make it. As I said I like mine on the more cocoa less sugar side...

Measure your milk (what ever kind you like to use), these mugs are 12 oz. and just about 3/4 full. I leave room for cocoa, spirits, and marshmallows. I use the mugs I intend the finished product to go into, rather than any exact measurement. Heat the milk to around 140* if you don't have a thermometer that's fine, the finger test works good too, should be around the "pretty warm but still touchable stage." Next we add the cocoa powder. For a 12 oz. cup I use 1.5 Tablespoons of cocoa powder per cup. So since I am making two cups I used 3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder. But I add them one at a time, and I use my little sifter to break up any cocoa clumps. It adds an extra dish and an extra step but it's SO worth it. It prevents the cocoa from clumping up in the milk and making a horrid mess!!

I stop and stir in the cocoa after every tablespoon I add the milk, which will also prevent excessive cocoa clumps. Once the milk and cocoa are thoroughly mixed I add the sugar and spirits. In this case I added 1 Tablespoon of sugar and 1.5 teaspoons (ish*) of Kahlua.

Peppermint Schnapps is another fine addition. Or the spirits can be left out entirely, however I would add a teaspoon or so more sugar if you leave it out.

I always add the marshmallows to the bottom of the cup and pour the cocoa over the top. This melts the mallows and adds some additional sweetness to the slightly bitter hot cocoa.

Once the all the ingredients are added I raise the temperature of the milk to around 160*-170* which is the standard "latte" temperature at most coffee shops. This way the hot cocoa isn't at a gulping temp and will last longer and melt the mallows. But if it's for kids the 140* temp is usually pretty good.

Pour hot cocoa into mugs, sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy.


Hot Cocoa Recipe

2   3/4 full 12 oz. mugs of milk
3 Tbl. Dark Chocolate Powder
1-2 Tbl. Sugar
1.5 tsp. Kahlua or other spirits
handfull of marshmallows per mug

Snow Day

It's been snowing off and on for about 4 days now. Last night was the first time we got really wet snow. Our little electric snow blower has been performing beautifully. A real shoulder saver. I love using things that are body powered but with both Jacob and I having shoulder issues this little snow thrower is a must.

I am working on a blog post about our Thanksgiving and the miles traveled for all the food we consumed. It's kinda fun to see how much of our food was made right here in our county. Not much else is new with me, just healing up and trying to find a comfortable sleeping position. Enjoy the snow if you have any.

Victorian Farm

I saw this posted over at cold antler farm and got hooked. Jacob and I spent all weekend watching all 36 episodes of the show. The show makes me want land to farm so badly! I wanted to post the show here incase anyone is interested and for me to be able to find it in the future.

Victorian Farm Episode 1:

Left Hand learning

I can finally type now, which is better than doing the left handed hunt and peck version of typing. Still...here's what I've learned so far.

Left handed mouse control isn't easy, neither is writing
Keyboard shortcuts aren't so short with only one hand
Elastic waist pants are a must, buttoning pants is.... difficult
Being dressed is humbling
Don't try and remove stitches in a hot room you will faint
Narcotics make me dizzy
Delegating dinner isn't as fun as making it
I am very thankful for freezing meals ahead of time
Surprisingly people in public bump into me A LOT, it's amazing how invisible this sling is
Laundry can be done one armed, but it takes twice as long
Comedy therapy really does work

I am doing really well and now that I am on the flip side I can't wait to recover. I still have about 3 weeks left to be in the sling before I start Physical Therapy. I should be mostly recovered by mid January. Which leaves me time to garden plan and get some seeds started once February rolls around. I left some turnips, carrots, leeks and beets out in the garden. I kept thinking I would have time to harvest them before surgery but it didn't end up that way. Oh well maybe I'll send Jake out there on the next 'nice' day to play in the mud and harvest stuff.

Preserve Toothbrush Subscription

I don't know if I ever mentioned our subscription to Preserve for toothbrushes. This is our 2nd round of toothbrushes and I wanted to just document how the whole thing works.

First we were sent toothbrushes, now 3 months later we are sent this package:

Recyclable paper notice & cardboard shipping container, plus two toothbrushes in return labeled packaging.

Now I place my old toothbrushes back into the same packaging the new toothbrushes came out of. I left the heads poking out just to show you, but before I shipped them back I stuffed the heads in and taped it shut.

Drop it in the mail and voila. Cardboard and paper get recycled, the plastic case for the toothbrushes gets sent back with the old ones = no garbage.  Pretty cool.

Made it

I have to type this one handed since my right arm is still in a sling. But I made it, I am on the flip side now. Hellish nausea and reactions to pain meds aside the surgery went well, I had a labral tear (that didn't show up on the MRI) and a very loose shoulder that has now been tightened back into place. 4 weeks in the sling followed by 8+ weeks of physical therapy which means I should be ready for next garden season right on time!

Happy Healing everyone, I'll post more when I can.

Canning List 2010

With the impending shoulder surgery just 2 days away I figured I should get this last bit of documentation up before I forget in my drug induced stupor to get shit done.  I should go and count how many jars of each item I have for a truly accurate number but lets be honest here.... I'm lazy and just getting the list was a heroic effort for me. I've been really busy lately getting dinners cooked and frozen, and other such food staples ready and in the freezer. Jacob doesn't cook, with him working full time all the domestic tasks are my 'job' and I love it. The kitchen is my domain, saying goodnight to my knives on wednesday morning will be difficult for me. I don't give up control easily, I have issues, I know. But I should be able to dictate dinner from the sidelines even if it drives me crazy.

Here's the 2010 list of dried, canned, frozen glory!

Dried (not including herbs, culinary or otherwise)

Parsnips
Zucchini
Peaches
Cherries
Apples

Canned
I pretty much used Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, however most of the recipe's I tweaked to my own liking. If they aren't from Ball, then I've tried to include the link to other's pages. Here we go.....

Apple Pie Filling
Peach Apple Spice Jelly (left over from pie filling made into jelly)
Peach Apple Pie Filling
Cranberry Sauce
VanillaBean Maple Apple Butter
Apple Sauce
Peaches in light syrup
Cherries in light syrup
Summer Solstice preserves (screwed this one up, should be jelly like instead of jello... even the best canners get distracted.)
Gingered Zucchini preserves
Strawberry Jam
Raspberry Jam
Green Tomato Salsa ( tweaked, since recipe states not to can it)
Roasted Everything Salsa
"medium" Zesty Salsa
Ketchup
Peach BBQ Sauce
Hot, Sweat, Sour Sauce
Pickled Hot peppers
Tomato Sauce (unseasoned)
Tomato Juice
Diced Tomatoes
Green Beans
Carrots
Pickles
Balsamic Onions
Jerked Onions
Roasted Garlic Balsamic Jam = awesome!
Beans: Black, great northern, kidney, pinto, garbonzo ( or equivalent from our garden)
Chicken Stock

Frozen

Huckleberries
Strawberries
Rasberries (not many but next year they should produce wildly!)
pesto
Chickens (purchased from Halperns)
Turkeys (soon to be added from Rocky Ridge Ranch)
Celery
Onions
Bread for stuffing
Tortillas
Loaves of 'Plop' bread or otherwise known as no knead bread
Dinners galore from mac n' cheese to chicken tetrazzini
Scones and quick breads
Granola