A chocolate chip cookie recipe:

(Compliments of THE GOOD CLEAN FUNNIES LIST)

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

532.35 cm3 gluten

4.9 cm3 NaHCO3

4.9 cm3 refined halite

236.6 cm3 partially hydrogenated tallow triglyceride

177.45 cm3 crystalline C12H22O11

177.45 cm3 unrefined C12H22O11

4.9 cm3 methyl ether of protocatechuic aldehyde

Two calcium carbonate-encapsulated avian albumen-coated
protein

473.2 cm3 theobroma cacao 236.6 cm3 de-encapsulated legume
meats (sieve size #10)

To a 2-L jacketed round reactor vessel (reactor #1) with an
overall heat transfer coefficient of about 100 BTU/F-ft2-hr,
add ingredients one, two, and three with constant agitation.

In a second 2-L reactor vessel with a radial flow impeller
operating at 100 rpm, add ingredients four, five, six, and
seven until the mixture is homogenous.

To reactor #2, add ingredient eight, followed by three equal
volumes of the homogenous mixture in reactor #1.
Additionally, add ingredient nine and ten slowly, with
constant agitation. Care must be taken at this point in the
reaction to control any temperature rise that may be the
result of an exothermic reaction.

Using a screw extrude attached to a #4 nodulizer, place the
mixture piece-meal on a 316SS sheet (300 x 600 mm). Heat in
a 460K oven for a period of time that is in agreement with
Frank & Johnston's first order rate expression (see JACOS,
21, 55), or until golden brown.

Once the reaction is complete, place the sheet on a 25C
heat-transfer table, allowing the product to come to
equilibrium.

~Author Unknown

Eggnog~

For the few of you that DO enjoy eggnog, :) I thought I'd share the recipe I used yesterday:

HOLIDAY EGGNOG

3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
salt
4 cups hot milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
freshly ground nutmeg

Beat 1/2 cup sugar and egg yolks; add 1/4 tsp. salt. Stir into milk slowly. Cook in double boiler until mixture coats silver spoon, stirring constantly. Place in pan of cold water to cool. Beat egg whites and dash of salt until stiff peaks form. Add remaining sugar. Add egg white mixture and vanilla to milk mixture. Chill for 4 hours. Spoon lightly in punch cups; sprinkle with nutmeg. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Relatively Healthy Fruit Pizza Recipe:

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups melted butter
3 cups flour (I used 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup coconut flour)
3/4 cups powdered sugar (I want to try just using honey here sometime...)


Spread this on a cookie sheet and press down. Bake at 325F degrees for 15 minutes. Cool.


Mix:
16 ozs. softened cream cheese
1/2 cup honey
2 tsps. vanilla
2 tsps. lemon juice


Glaze:

2 cups pineapple juice or other juice (I used our apple juice)
4 Tbsp. corn starch (non GMO, of course :) )
3/4 cup honey


Beat filling ingredients, spread on cooled crust. Combine glaze ingredients in saucepan and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and cool. Top pizza crust and filling with desired fruit. (Grapes, strawberries, pineapple, peaches, kiwi, mandarin oranges, blueberries....) Spoon glaze over fruit; chill.



ENJOY!!!!



PS. I did get bread baked this morning. :)

An apple recipe~

BAKED APPLE CHUNKS WITH WALNUTS

(We usually 4x this recipe for a 9x13" pan:)

2 apples, peeled and cut into bite size chunks

2 Tbsp. coconut oil

2 tsp. honey

1/2 cup walnuts (Sally Fallon's Crispy Nuts are especially good!)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375 F

2. Toss apple chunks with remaining ingredients, except walnuts.

3. Place in a covered casserole dish and bake for about 35-45 minutes or until tender.

4. Top with walnuts and bake 15 minutes more uncovered.

Delicious!!!

A recipe for "Sauerkraut in Glass Jars"

Ingredients needed:

Firm cabbage
10 juniper berries OR 1 or 2 bay leaves (we've make ours with the bay leaves)
1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt per jar of cabbage
Hot water
1 quart glass jars with rubber seals

Scald the jars and rubber seals. Grate the cabbage and pack it firmly, adding some of the bay leaves or juniper berries as you fill them.
Top off each jar with 1 Tbsp. of coarse sea salt and a bit of hot, unchlorinated water. With very juicy cabbage, only a few spoonfuls of water are needed.
Close each jar with its rubber seal. Let stand for 2 to 3 days in the kitchen, the store in the cellar. Wait one month before eating.
M. M. Boulo says, "I've been using this method for four years. I'm very happy with it, and I've never lost a jar of sauerkraut yet. My sauerkraut keeps until the following summer and we even take some with us on vacation. It's very convenient and quite tasty. I prepare pickles in the same way, sliced if they are large, but stored in smaller jars."

Recipe taken from the helpful book, "Keeping Food Fresh".


Ours was a busy, productive day. Dad is feeling better now and was able to go over to the hay field with Andrew this time. PTL!

Meanwhile, Mother, Jacob and I cleaned the house and did more laundry; cooked up a tasty batch of "Gary's stew"; and I thoroughly cleaned the entryway, then baked bread and made caramel rolls.

After feasting, we played a game of Rook and then several rounds of Rummy. Then we visited for a long time in the living room before finally having family prayer time and heading for bed, which is why this is so late. :)

It would be fun to hear from any of you who try making sauerkraut using this recipe! We really enjoy eating sauerkraut (raw) with noodles or frying it up a bit with all-beef hot dogs. Now there's a yummy German dish for you!

When I think of sauerkraut, I think of Mylo Hatzenbuhlers' (or rather, Clyde Bowmans'--a ND song writer) silly song about Germans, especially the lines below:

(FYI: There are LOTS of Germans in this part of the world, us being amongst their numbers.)

".....Germans make real pretty girls,
And their polkas are the best in the world.
German cooking (pronounced "Cougging") is simply the best,
Who----else----could-----think-----of------sauerkraut?....." :)



~Enjoy your sauerkraut, however you make it!

Delicious blueberry muffins!

The original recipe is called "To die for blueberry muffins", but as I don't think any food is worth dying for, I'll just call them Delicious Blueberry muffins. :)


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar (or half this amount honey)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2.Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3.To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. (NOTE: If your muffin tins are regular sized, like ours, then you can just 3/4 the topping recipe and still have plenty!)
4.Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Serve with butter for a wonderful treat!

I baked a double batch of these muffins this morning before heading for work in town and was glad to see a few left when I returned. ;)

My dad just got home too, as he was over by Linton, helping an Organic farming friend of ours load up the 3 semis that came this evening for the farmers' organic oats.

Have a good nights sleep and, to all my Northern friends, stay warm!

Locked in!

It was nice outside today. So nice, in fact, that it must have thawed some water that was in the outside doors' doorknob, and then, when it started to cool down again, that bit of water obviously froze... Consequently, when Dad tried coming inside after working in the shop, he was locked out. He and Jacob got the door open though, after taking the doorknob apart. When Dad, Jacob and I were going out to do the evening chores however, we were locked in, again. We walked through the kitchen and dining room and went out of the patio door, only to go around and find that the door opened from the outside. Strange!

Andrew went with Mother to Bismarck today, as he was looking at spending some of his computer-fixing-then-selling money, but the item he was hoping to purchase was already sold, so that didn't happen. He still ran errands in town and helped Mom with some technical things in her office.

I was looking at some recipes that my friend, Rachel (at Young Homemakers) recommended on her blog and would like to try this one: Butterscotch Pudding. I'd like to make it with honey though and am wondering if any of my readers have ever made pudding by using honey in place of sugar? If so, did it thicken alright? I also hope to try the Gooey Butter cake recipe sometime... I think Sally Fallon would like this cake (as well as some other people I know!) :)

Well, it's getting late once again, so I'll wish you all a good night. Millie is barking outside again (maybe at that fox we saw out in the cornfield today?), and Lady always gets excited when she hears that. She's whining right now, but I know that if I let her outside, she'll be whining in a few minutes because she's cold and wants back in again. Such is dog nature...

Cookie recipe!

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups w. w. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups oatmeal (uncooked)
1 cup raisins (you can also make these with chocolate chips for a special treat)

• Heat oven to 350 degrees
• Beat together butter, sugar, and honey until creamy
• Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
• Add combined flour, soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
• Stir in oats and raisins; mix well.
• Drop by rounded Tbsps. onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen

You can also make this into a bar cookie: Bake 30 to 35 minutes in ungreased 9x13" metal baking pan.

Cookie recipe coming soon...

...to a blog post near you. :)

Release date: January 14th, 2011
Time: ?


PS. They're delicious!

Pictures, and tasty home-made tomato soup...

When I uploaded pictures onto my computer just now, I realized I had one (or more) of each of us younger Bornemanns, so I decided to post them here...

Jacob Austin (14), getting ready to beat me in another round of Dutch Blitz. :)
Andrew Robert (19), in need of a hair cut...

...and once again, Andrew Robert, with a much lighter head after I gave him a hair-cut. :)

And Cora Beth, playing princess... (All of the CNAs got thin-cardboard "Crowns" yesterday at work, as a token of appreciation for all we do to care for the residents--and then we were supposed to wear them all day. I took mine off after supper, as I kept on almost losing it while doing cares.)

And now!

Here is the promised,

~TOMATO SOUP RECIPE~
(Thank you for sharing it with us, Mrs. D!)

3 ice cream pails of tomatoes or 1/2 bushel
1 bunch of celery
2 large onions
10 sprigs of parsley

Skin tomatoes then cut in fourths. Chop the rest into bite sized pieces. Put all in very large kettle and cook until tender.

Run through a blender and strain out strings and some seeds.

Bring to a good boil then mix in:

1/2 cup salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp soda

Add 1 lb of butter melted with 1 cup of flour.

Mix together and cook 10 minutes. Place in hot jars. Process in hot water bath 10 minutes.

Makes 8 quarts.

When I cook this soup to eat, I add equal amounts of milk or water with powdered creamer. Try not to let it boil if you add milk.

~Enjoy!

Granola Bar and Herbal Salve recipes~

A while back, I got requests for a couple recipes, and am now finally getting around to sharing them with you! Better late than never, so they say... :)

CHEWY GRANOLA BARS
*Note* This is not the recipe I used the other time I made granola bars, (that recipe made very crumbly granola bars!) but this is our favorite recipe--so far.

Blend:
1 cup brown sugar (we use 1/2 cup honey instead)
2/3 cup peanut butter

Then add:
1/3 cup wheat germ
2 Tbls. sesame seeds
6 ozs. chocolate or carob chips
2 Tbls. vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup coconut (shredded)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
--This is a very flexible recipe, meaning if you like coconut better than sesame seeds, you can adjust the amount of coconut up and sesame seeds down. In other words, add your favorite ingredients and subtract the ones you don't have on hand!

Stir well. Press into 9x13" pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy!


HERBAL SALVE
*Note* This is another flexible recipe, in which you add what herbs you like and then just add enough oil to make it be above the herbs by an inch.

One of our favorite herbal combinations is as follows... It makes a salve that's good for moisturizing your skin and for relieving itches and skin irritations (and this is the salve we use on our cows too.) The salve is oil-based though, so be careful not to touch your clothing right after putting some on your hands or it will stain your clothes.

Put in a large kettle or a ceramic crock-pot 1 1/2 cups of each of the following herbs:
gumweed (we find this in our pasture--it helps you if dealing with poison ivy)
chamomile
comfrey leaf (good for wounds)
chickweed
plantain (good for skin)
calendula
chapparal (antibiotic--helps with tumors)

Also add:
3 Tbsp. bee propolis (bee-keepers can provide you with this)
1/4 cup beeswax (also a bee-keeper item--although I imagine you can find these items elsewhere too?)

Then, poor oil over the herbs and add enough so that there's about an inch above the top of the herbs. This big of a recipe requires about a gallon of oil. You can use many different kinds of oils in this salve, so experiment with what you like. We generally just use vegetable oil, as it's the cheapest and we go through a lot of salve everyday at milking time!

Allow this mixture to "Cook" at about 225 degrees for 4 hours. If you see that it starts to boil, you'll need to turn the heat back. Stir occasionally. When the 4 hours are up, it's time to do the salve test! Dip a clean knife into the mixture and then place the knife on a plate in the refrigerator for a few minutes until it sets up. Then scrape it off the knife and see if the salve is at the consistency you desire. If it's too thick, then add some more oil to your pot and let the salve cook a while longer before testing again. If too thin, add more beeswax (just a little bit goes a long ways.)

Now comes the messy part! When the salve consistency is to your liking, then you need to strain off the liquid--which becomes your salve--and throw away the herbs. I've seen this part of the process done in different ways... You can put a dishcloth (one you don't mind being stained) over the top of a glass bowl and strain the mixture into it and then poor the salve into smaller containers. Or, the recipe says you can use a coffee filter. Or, you can take a soup ladle and scoop off as much liquid as you can and strain through the old toe-end of a nylon directly into the jars or containers you've chosen for your salve.

Which ever way you choose to do it, you'll want to add to the liquid while still hot:

approx. 20 vitamin E capsules--they work as a preservative
OR: several drops of grapefruit seed extract--for the same purpose

Once you have the liquid in jars, just let it be for a couple hours and it should set up nicely!

Then, all that's left is to enjoy your salve!

Warning: Our fellas do not like the strong smell the herbs give off while cooking, (they say they can smell it even before they walk in the front door!) so you may wish to make this while your menfolk are planning to be out of doors for a while. :) Mother and I like the smell of the salve though, so it's a matter of personal preference I guess.

If you have questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them!

On pie crusts and complex puzzles...

A few days ago, I told a friend that I'd share my favorite, whole-grain pie crust recipe with her, so I thought I'd share it with the rest of you at the same time. It is as follows:

BARLEY PIE CRUST
2 cups freshly ground barley flour
1/3 cup oil
1/2 tsp. salt
4-5 Tbsps. very cold water

Mix together well. Roll out between two pieces of wax paper, then flip gently into pan. Flute the edges and prick the bottom. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes for pies that require a pre-baked crust.

This recipe is enough for one single-layer pie crust, so I had to double it today when I made my pumpkin pies. :)

Here's a picture of the crust before I put the filling in...


...And here's a picture of the finished product...


You may recall that I said a while back that we were, in our spare moments, working on doing the puzzle my grandparents' gave us... Well, last night, my dad put the last piece into it, and it looks so nice. It's going to be hard to take it all apart again...

And now, the moment that you've been waiting for has arrived--the moment when I'll tell you what the mystery picture was!

You all had the basic idea correct (Grace, you had it exactly right, and Andrew, I'm sure you knew what it was, even without reading the label on the picture!).

The picture was of: ------------------------

Steamy, warm milk, sloshing into our holding jar out in the barn! In order to save time, and seeing as Grace gave a very good explanation of what this was in her comment, if you'd like to know more, you can read Graces' comment. :)

Here's wishing you a wonderful last day of 2009! May the Lord guide us all through every day of the new year that's just around the bend!!!

He has a name!

We usually don't name our stock calves, unless, that is, they have some distinctive marking or we had to work with them for a while. As this little guy is distinguishable for now, I thought I'd give him a name, and as he was born on our friend Kimberly's son, Brandon's' birthday, I thought Brandon was the perfect name for my little guy, so Brandon he is. :)

Today, my dad went back to trucking again (he had to wait in line for 4 hours today--due to a computer problem they had at Enderlin) and the rest of us did a lot of odd jobs around the house. (Jacob did his schoolwork too...) I cleaned my room; did some paperwork; and worked on putting together a website to promote Prairie Days. Will you please join us there this year??? :)

Oh yes, I made a batch of Halva too and thought I'd share the recipe with you, as we like it very much. (That is, all of us except Mother, as she has a reaction when she eats sesame seeds, so she avoids Halva!)

HEALTHY HALVA~
Grind finely in blender:
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup coconut (shredded)

Then add:
1/2 cup Tahini (sesame seeds ground into a butter)
1/2 cup honey

Mix this all well and then put it on a piece of wax-paper and roll it into a log shape. Freeze until firm, then slice and serve.

Halva is quite often served at this time of year--although we make it year 'round. Please let me know how you like it if you try the recipe!

Recipes~

While my two pumpkin pies are baking in the oven, I thought I'd type out a couple of recipes quick that my/our friend, Kimberly requested recently:

Whole Wheat Crackers~

Mix:

4 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour (we just use a total of 5 cups whole wheat flour for this recipe)

2 cups oatmeal (ground)

1 tsp. salt

Add:

2/3 cup and 2 Tbsp. oil in measuring cup, then:

fill to 2 cup line with tap water.

Knead this well. Divide into 4 balls.

Put 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds in middle of pan and dab dough in seeds. (We haven't tried this step.)

Roll out dough onto lightly oiled cookie sheets, then prick and cut to desired shape.

Sprinkle your favorite seasonings on top. The recipe suggests: Garlic salt; onion salt; celery salt or just plain salt. (Garlic is our favorite.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

~

Three-In-One Cheese Ball~

*Note from cookbook: For the busy cook, this recipe can be prepared through shaping step 1 week before serving. Do not roll in nuts or parsley. Wrap and freeze. The day before serving, defrost the cheese balls in the refrigerator. Before serving, roll in pepper, parsley and nuts as directed. You may want to label each ball indicating the flavor for your guests.

1 package (8 ozs) cream cheese, softened

4 cups (16 ozs) shredded cheddar cheese, room temperature

2 Tbsp. milk

2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Coarsely cracked black pepper

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Minced fresh parsley

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Finely chopped pecans

Assorted crackers

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, cheddar cheese, milk, onion, and Worcestershire sauce until fluffy. If a smoother spread is desired, process in a food processor until creamy.

Divide into thirds (about 1 cup each).

Shape first portion into a ball; roll in cracked pepper.

Add the blue cheese to the second portion; mix well. Shape into a ball; roll in parsley.

Add garlic powder to the remaining portion; mix well. Shape into a ball; roll in nuts.

Cover and refrigerate. Remove from refrigerator and let stand 15 minutes before serving. Serve with crackers.

YIELD: 3 cheese balls.

Another note from the cookbook on shaping a cheese ball: To keep hands and counter top clean, spoon cheese mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap. Working from the underside of the wrap, pat the mixture into a ball.

My note: I tried making all three of the above flavors and none of us liked the blue cheese one too well. The pepper one was alright, but the pecan one was very delicious and was our favorite!

~

Well, my pies should be coming out soon, and Jacob's schoolwork is done, so we're planning on going up to our pasture to ice skate on one of the sloughs (and play ice-hockey)! I'd best post this and be off. Want to come join us? :)

Oh no---The computer's decided to smash my writing together in a jumbled mess once again! Sorry about that...

The secret revealed...(and how to make tomato soup!)

Well, it didn't snow nearly as much as the weatherman was talking about, but we did get quite a bit of rain and then it did snow in the later part of the afternoon. I took this picture around 4:00PM, in hopes that the snowflakes would show up, but they're rather hard to see... Currently, there is a thin blanket of snow covering everything and it's beginning to look like Winter again!



You may already know what the boys' birthday surprise was, (if you read Jacob's blog...) but I thought I'd post some pictures here too.

My parents bought each of the boys a brand new shotgun! My dad's never gotten into hunting very much, but the boys would like to give it a try, so now they can all learn together. :) Dad also bought several "Clay pigeons" and a thrower so they can practice.

Here's Jacob, checking his gun out...

...and here's Andrew, looking mighty pleased! Their rifles look quite similar--the only difference being that Andrews' barrel is 2 inches longer than Jacobs'.

We had a pleasant surprise this afternoon when our hunter friend, Gaylin (he's more than that implies though, as he's the one who got their group to finance our farm 6 years ago...) stopped in for a visit. As he's very much into guns, he was almost as happy as the boys were to see the new rifles in our house! We had a pleasant, hour-long visit with him and then he wanted to get going to hunt some pheasants--in the snow!

The rest of the afternoon was spent in: schoolwork for Mom and Jacob; Dad fixed the furnace and the washing machine; Andrew worked on trying to fix a scanner/printer he bought at a second hand store and helped Dad a bit; and I canned tomato soup and cut up a box of apples for sauce and juice.

As a fellow blogger has asked how we make our tomato soup, I thought I'd share the recipe with all of you here:

CANNED TOMATO SOUP

The recipe calls for:

1 large kettle full of tomatoes (I know, that's very vague, so I'll say that we use apprx. 1 1/2 gallons worth of quartered tomatoes)
1 bunch celery

6 med. onions

1 bell pepper (I use more like 2)

Cook this all together until the celery is soft. Then, remove kettle from heat and allow to cool for a while so that the contents are easier to deal with. (This is the point where I usually put it in the fridge overnight and then deal with it the next day...)

Grind up the tomato mixture and return the soup to the kettle.

Add:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup salt

Heat this up and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Then fill jars; seal them; and can in hot water bath for 45 minutes.

We like to eat this soup with cheese sandwiches or to add it to casseroles (especially Shepherds Pie!) Enjoy~

Pumpkin Bars~

I had a request a while back for our Pumpkin Bar recipe and, as I have a few minutes before lunch, I thought I'd post it now. Enjoy~

PUMPKIN BARS
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar (or 1 cup honey)
2 cups flour (we use whole wheat all the time)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup oil
2 cups pumpkin--mashed
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. clove powder
2 tsps. cinnamon

Mix all together and bake in jellyroll pan at 350 degrees. This will actually make 3 cookie sheets or 2 broiler pans full--depending on how thick you want your bars. :) We bake them for about 20 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter--melted
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese--softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (we DO use sugar for this!)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream butter and cream cheese, then add the sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Spread on bars and sprinkle on the nuts.

Ice cream~

Today my brothers and I separated 12 gallons of milk and got 5 quarts of cream! :) So, after the cream had set a while, I whipped up a batch of ice cream using my dear friend, Dorena's recipe. It is so hard to be on a juice fast at times like these!!!

I thought I'd share the recipe with you all in case you'd like to give it a try. The ice cream turns out about the consistency of store-bought and tastes even better, (probably because we know what the ingredients are! :)

ICE CREAM~
1 quart (preferably raw) whipping cream
1 dozen eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cups (once again, preferably raw) honey--I'm sure you could use sugar if you desired...
1 Tbsp. vanilla
a pinch of salt
flavoring--if desiring anything other than vanilla ice cream. We especially like the following: add a little cocoa powder to the mix to make chocolate ice cream; add strawberries chunks; maple flavoring, or a few drops of Peppermint Essential oil!

Directions:
Whip the quart of cream in a large bowl and set aside. Then, separate the dozen eggs (put the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another) and whip the whites until they make a peek and add them to the cream. Now, mix the yolks lightly and add the honey, vanilla, salt and flavoring to them and mix well. Add this to the cream and egg white mixture and stir all together well. Put the (covered) bowl in the freezer and wait! You'll want to stir it a couple times, we usually do it every other hour or so until the eggs quit sinking to the bottom of the bowl. Once your ice cream is frozen, all that's left is to enjoy it!

My favorite bread recipe~

This is my favorite recipe for lacto-fermented bread--so far. :) My friend, Dorena, shared it with me 3 years ago and we've made it often since then. Enjoy~


BREAD
The night before you want to bake bread, mix 6 cups of whole wheat flour with 4 cups of buttermilk (whey, yogurt, veggie or potato-water work too...). Cover and let set.

The next morning:
Add 2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup oil
2 Tbsp. molasses
1 Tbsp. salt
4 cups w.w. flour
1 more cup buttermilk (or whatever liquid you used the night before)
My mom and I also like to add:
1 Tbsp. unflavored beef gelatin (to help it stick together);
3 Tbsp. vinegar (to help it raise)
1/2 tsp. kelp powder (for health benefits).

Mix this all well. We use a Dimension 2,000 (similar to a Bosch), but you can mix it by hand also.

Then put 2 tsps. yeast into 1/2 cup warm water with a little honey and stir. Let this set a bit until it foams up, then add this to the bread dough, along with 4+ more cups of flour. Mix all this together and knead it well. (We usually let it run about 5 minutes in our Dimension...)

Next shape your loaves, put them in pans, and let them set for most of the day--baking them when they've risen a good deal. Bake at 350 degrees (F) for 35 minutes, then take it out of the oven and oil the tops of the loaves. Let the bread set for 10 minutes before removing the loaves from the pans. Then, dig out your cutting board and the butter dish and enjoy!!!

Yields: 7 medium-sized loaves

On cows; bread sticks; and apple cider vinegar~

Jacob & I went up to the pasture today to check on the cows. I grabbed the camera before we left and snapped a couple pictures of the cattle contentedly grazing...

...and we found some more cows up by the windmill when we went to check on their water supply.

This was a busy apple cuttin' day for me, and I got 2 batches of sauce/juice made. Then for supper, I decided to try the other recipe Mrs. Bartlett shared with us: Bread-sticks! They were very tasty and I'm sure we'll be making many more in the future, although I think I'll try making them with whole wheat next time.... Thank you so much for the recipe, Mrs. B!

I thought I'd share a link to a web-page I found that explains a couple ways of making apple-cider vinegar: (http://thehealthyeatingsite.com/apple-cider-vinegar-recipe/). The way we did it this time was how our good friend, Sarah makes her cider vinegar... We took a gallon of our home-made apple juice and added a cup of sugar to it; stirred it up good; covered it with a cloth to keep bugs out of it; put it in a dark place; and now we can forget about it for about a month---at which time it will have turned into vinegar! As I searched on-line for more information about making AC vinegar, I discovered that there are a variety of ways to make it, (some using wine-yeast,) but as long as this way works, I think we'll stick with it. :) Oh yes, Sarah said that you can stir the cider every once in a while if you'd like it to ferment faster and then it would be done within a couple of weeks.

My friend, Miranda called tonight and asked if she could bring her brother, Moses along with her, (and of course our answer was, "Yes!",) so now my brothers are really looking forward to Thursday too. Not that they don't like visiting with Miranda, but I'm sure Moses will talk more about the kinds of things guys are interested in than Miranda will. :)

Well, as it's almost family prayer time, I'd best sign off.

Sweet dreams~

A recipe~

A friend asked for the recipe for Golden Cheddar Broccoli Bake and I had a few moments, so thought I would post it. Enjoy~

GOLDEN CHEDDAR BROCCOLI BAKE
4 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup corn flake crumbs (my mom used bread crumbs and they were just as delicious!)
1-12 oz. can whole kernel corn (my mom cut corn off the cob when she made it :)
2-10 oz. pkgs. frozen broccoli spears, cooked and drained (fresh broccoli from the garden is even better!)

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter, then stir in the flour and salt. Add milk gradually and mix until smooth. Cook this mixture until it boils--stirring constantly. Add the cheese and stir until it's all melted. Mix in 1/4 cup of corn flake crumbs (or bread crumbs), then add the corn. Arrange the broccoli in 11 3/4 x 7 1/2 inch baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over broccoli. Toss remaining 1/2 cup crumbs with 2 Tbsp. melted butter. Sprinkle over the casserole and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.