mmm...Homemade Bread

I don't know how many of you bake your own bread but it is a staple in this household.  My husband makes different kinds and shapes just about every month or so and then we store them in the freezer. We usually slice them and put them in freezer bags that way they are ready to go when we need them.  He also likes to give loaves away... and boy does it make people smile.  I thought I would share a few loaves he made today.

This was the first to come out of the oven so as you can see it has been sliced and partially consumed!!! What is better than fresh, HOT, homemade bread straight from the oven. We pulled out the Fontinella cheese and some homemade Dilly beans and had a nice Rye bread snack.

While I was having my snack I took a peek under a dish towel to reveal these nice whole wheat loaves starting to rise.  This is a design I have not seen my husband do before but I am super excited for this one to come out of the oven. 

This is also the first time I have seen him do this as well. For his birthday he received a round Brotform and a bread lame (lahm). It is a special blade used to make cuts in bread. I have no doubt the more he uses the lame the more creative he will be. I am also excited to see how this loaf comes out once it is baked. Maybe I will edit this post once they are out of the oven...that is if there is any left by the time I get my camera ready!!!!

SPA day for Supper

Many are wondering why Supper had a SPA day.  I was really nervous about bringing her home and Miss Lucky potentially getting a disease or mites from Supper. So I thought maybe a nice shampoo and blow dry may ease the worry. I have to admit my husband was not thrilled that I was going to bring a chicken into the house to give her a bath.  For that matter he is never thrilled when I want to bring a chicken into the house for any reason!!  We have a deep utility sink in the laundry room so I assured him everything would be fine.
I have always noticed that during an oil spill they would wash all the wildlife with Dawn dish soap so I assumed it would be a safe place to start. I put her in the sink and soaped her up then sprayed her off.  She did not put up the fight I thought she would.

After being towel dried, out came the blow dryer.

She managed to sit still through most of the drying. I thought the noise would scare her but I think she enjoyed the warmth.  After it was all said and done ....

POOF!! We were done and mite free!!! I like to tell myself she felt better and was not as itchy.

Here is a little FUN chicken fact for today: A chicken naturally keeps mites and lice off of them by dust bathing.  They find a patch of dirt and scratch around to break the dirt up, then they scoot down in the dirt and flap their wings. This dust/dirt gets up into their wings and causes the mites to fall off. This is why it is important if you do not free range your chickens you give them something inside the coop to take a dust bath in.  Also if they have mites on their legs, just take vegetable oil and rub their legs at least once a day. This will suffocate the mites out of the skin over time. 

... And this is how it STARTS!

My husband says I could be on the verge of being a chicken hoarder. I think he is just a little jealous. It all started when our friends gave us our first batch. It was a mom and three babies.

Unfortunately due to the lack of education on our part only one baby survived. We had a predator issue. So we fixed up an old tool shed that was sturdy enough to keep predators out and that is where Lucky (the baby that did survive) called home.  Lucky and I were like peas and carrots. If I was home I was hanging with her. She was still to young to be without her mom and since we had no other chickens at the time I had to show her the ropes!?!?!?

We hung out together, 

had morning coffee together, 

and we even napped in the sun together. It was GREAT. The best part about Lucky was she was incredibly kid friendly and entertaining. When I would go to the coop she would fly up on my shoulder to get treats. She lived a good life.

As winter was approaching I felt she needed a friend to hang with in the coop. I didn't want her going stir crazy in the coop and I didn't know how bad of a winter we would have. So I went to the Amish and bought a Japanese Bantam. I later called her "Supper" because we weren't really bonding. 

But Lucky seemed to enjoy snuggling up with Supper all winter so that is all that matters. Another day I will tell you about Supper's spa experience before she was allowed to play with Lucky!! 

I think you should try everything you possibly can at least once in life. Otherwise how do you know what you could be missing out on. I KNOW sometimes trying new stuff is scary but sometimes it is GREAT!!! I have really enjoyed every moment of raising chickens and in some ways they are easier to keep than a dog. If you are allowed to have chickens in your area I highly recommend trying it. Fresh eggs, education, and friendship whether you are young or old.

Crafty

Nicky and I helped to prepare a meal for the women's banquet at church tonight and can I tell you those ladies really know how to decorate a table. Each table had a host that would bring everything to compose a beautiful table, everything from the centerpiece to cup and plates. Each table was completely different. I had to show you a few.

All the ladies were so creative decorating their tables. From what I heard they all really enjoyed themselves and LOVED the food.  All the men helped cook and serve the women. It was GREAT!!

Nicky was dying to take a picture of me cookin' up the onions on the griddle, so here ya go!!

Pizzelles

A couple nights ago we went to my mother-in-laws house with two of our nephews to start the process of making pizzelles for Christmas.  Since I can eat about 20 in one night myself you can image how many we have to make.  Nicky's mom usually makes them with jelly between them or just plain. But at our wedding reception our cousin NikiPaula made chocolate almond pizzelles.  Since that is my favorite ice cream I had to try them... and yes they are my favorite pizzelle as well. So this year we decided to make both. THANKS NIKIPAULA!!!

First you need your ingredients (recipe at bottom of post.)  mixed, ready to go and a HOT pizzelle iron.

Place a small scoop of batter on iron and close the iron. Make sure and gently squeeze the handles to keep them closed while the batter cooks. Should take about 30 seconds.

Once cookie is done open iron and use a fork to gently release the cookie from the iron. Cookie will be soft and pliable at first. Sit cookie aside to cool and harden. 

Jelly filled pizzelle, ready for the freezer.

Chocolate Almond

Pizzelle Recipe - small batch

2	Eggs
1/4 cup	Sugar
1/4 cup	Melted Butter (not hot)
1/2 tsp.	Vanilla
1 cup	Flour

Optional Ingredients: anise seed, orange rind, nuts

Beat eggs till light, beat in sugar, butter, and vanilla (and optional ingredients). Stir in flour.

We used a small scoop which makes it easier to drop on the iron and maintain the same size cookie. 

You can eat them plain or you can put jelly between two hot pizzelles and let them cool. Once they are cool you can put them in freezer bags and keep them in the freezer. If you have company pop in just pull a few out and place on a plate. 

ENJOY!

The tree is UP!!

Last night we had some last minute guests for dinner. Which was perfect because there is nothing better than assembling the Christmas tree with a 4 year old.

Taryn putting a special touch on the tree.

The ball ornaments only kept her busy for a short while, she was more interested in our Grilling Reindeer and our kitchen utensils ornaments. Below is one of our favorite.

As  you can see she did a wonderful job. 

Why pay full PRICE???

Auctions!  That is my new fun time; for this moment anyway. As long as you do not have to have an item right this minute, shopping around at auctions can be quite budget friendly. We went to a couple in the past month and have found some great finds. Looking around to find that one little gem that you can not live without...that is if the price is right. Once you have scoped out the whole lot you must and I mean MUST settle on your max price you will be willing to pay. Because if you wait and just see how it goes you may get caught up in the excitement of the buy and over pay. UH yes, if you are wondering we have gotten caught up before but it was all in good fun. Thank goodness for Craigslist, Ebay, and the local Classifieds.  Thats how you get rid of what you don't want and make a little SPA money!!  I usually like to get stuff I can use around the house or give as a gift. My husband likes to get the perfect find that he can resell and make a buck or two. Sometimes you buy it because it was cool and to cheap not to buy. Sometimes things go for a $1 that you could turn around and for sure make a profit. JUST DO NOT BECOME A HOARDER!!!
We have found several shelving units for cheap to help keep the basement organized and we also bought a cider press to make cider from our apple trees.

Below are a few of my favorite auction buys we are selling: