The Temperature are Back to Normal, Sort of

I'm happy to say that the temperatures here are sort of back to normal, but normal for April and it's almost June. With highs in the mid 70s to low 80s, that coolish spell took everyone by surprise. I know my poor heat loving plants like tomatoes and okra suffered through it. They were set outside to harden off, but survived.

With all the rain we had, we'll need a few rainless days to be able to till under the  summer garden. It will delay harvests for about a month. That's okay, because with the cooler weather my English peas flourished and my lettuces didn't bolt.  My second planting of sweet corn starts is doing well in their reused organic salad goods, plastic containers. They will need to be transplanted soon. My kidney beans, black eyed peas, baby lima beans have sprouted so they'll be ready to transplant soon as have the zucchini, yellow squash, and pumpkin seeds. I decided not to plant the gourds seeds again this year. I'm focusing more on food in my main garden area.

Burpee seed

Although I love the crooked neck yellow squash, a standard in southern cuisine, this year I planted the straight neck variety from Park's Seed in NC. The squash is easier for me to slice to preserve. Parks is my #1 stop for organic/heirloom seeds. They don't have a lot, but what they do have  has a better than 90% germination rate for me. I've been a customer since the 1980s. As my mother was before that. Next, it's a toss up between Mary's Seeds and Baker Creek. Locally sourced seed of organic/heirloom seeds is limited to Tractor Supply's Seed for Change.

This year TSC has been hard pressed to keep seeds in stock, as well as various local garden centers. I guess more people are taking the "grow your own food seriously." Which is great, but makes for "sold out" tabs every where even online. I'll just have to order my seeds in December or January next year if I don't save enough seed this year. My stockpile of saved seeds was exhausted in last year's failed garden.  I still need to pick up two more packets of green bean seeds for the next session of green beans. It'll be the last time for the year. I've already planted three- two weeks apart. Then there's that same problem with the fall garden. I really dropped the ball this year. I got so used to having my saved seeds available.

Our pretty pullets should become layers soon. I'm expecting one of them to start laying any day now. They'll be 6 months old in a couple of weeks. OOPS! I went to the coop with a load of weeds they favor and was surprised by three small, blue eggs in the egg box. We got Americanas in that mixed breed of chickens. I thought so but they come in so many different colors, it was hard to know for sure. I was so looking forward to having dark orange yolks again instead of the pale yellow yolks of store bought eggs. Now, I got some!!!

I finally found where the free range hens are laying their eggs! Now, it's just a question of beating Kassity, Luna, and Frankie from stealing them! They here the hen's caterwaul when they lay an egg and make a bee line straight for the spot. The spot? It's the partially dismantled elevated, pallet herb bed with the oregano in it.

HAHA! I beat the dogs to an mature hen egg today too. Black Butt was in the herb bed while Miss Greedy Piggy was out an about cackling like she'd laid an egg, She always does this the whole time Black Butt is on the nest. Black Butt has learned that this sound brings the dogs, so she doesn't sound off anymore. The dogs now ignore Miss Greedy Piggy because she'll walk down the side driveway cackling. I was near the vegetable garden so I got there ahead of Kassity. I've got to make them a nesting box since they no longer can use the one attached to the coop nor my chair in the back porch. (Their old nesting spots)

from myershatchery.com

The deal with our librarian fell through and she returned Big Red and Miss Greedy Piggy to us after Goldie was killed by her dog. So now we have two 3-year old layer hens and a rooster as free ranging chicken who roost on our front porch.  To top off our free ranging chickens I had two pretty pullets escape past me in their run, a blue/black Birchen maran and a black Australorp.

By the next morning. try as I might I couldn't corral them, the black australorp hen was gone never to be seen again. The Birchen maran was accepted into Big Red's harem. I found this out after I grabbed her intent on putting her with the other new hens and Big Red flew at me impaling the back of my leg and knee with his talons. In surprise and pain, I dropped the hen.  When I turned on him, he did his angry shuffle dance at me so I picked up the flat head shovel and hit him in the head. "One more time, and I'll cook you for Sunday dinner!"

No, my strike didn't kill him, but I wouldn't have minded if I had. Big Red shook his head a couple of times and he gave me a wide berth with a wary eyes on me...at least a shovel handle distance for the rest of the day. Even when I wasn't carrying a shovel.

(L to R) Miss Greedy Piggy, Birchen Maran, Big Red

New evidence, the third reason, that Miss Greedy Piggy is aptly named. I was carrying a plastic wrapped pouch out  to where I usually toss scraps to the free ranging chickens. I was concentrating not to slip and slide in the mud. Miss Greedy Piggy jumped up and punctured the baggy with her beak. The contents spilled out into the mud. She didn't care. She greedily pecked at the pieces of yellow rice that had fallen to the ground before Big Red, Black Butt, and the new gray knew what was happening. I emptied the contents into the mud for the rest of them. She also knows which black trash cans holds the cracked corn and black oil sunflower seeds versus regular feed grains. She'll watch me like a hawk if I approach either of these, she's right there looking up and trying to jump into the bins. This alone earned her the name. She's the first one in line to be fed and the last one to leave the barn in case the others missed some morsels was the second reason. I'm afraid she'll fly into my face when the bins get low. Just to confuse her, I moved all of them around yesterday. Today, she hopped with every lid I opened. Yes, I was being mean to her.

I went inside to tend to my bleeding leg or have Mel tend it. That rooster got me good! Ever since then, that little maran stays right by his side. I guess it makes him proud to nab such a pretty, young hen for his harem. So now we have twelve out of the fifteen chicks we ordered from Meyers Hatchery the coop and run. You might wonder about the five we hatched out. They were cockerel and promptly went to freezer camp. More roos with Big Red's attitude, we don't need.  Granted he was only protecting his hens, but still...You don't attack the person feeding you!

With Buddy Baby dying, it's been a week. That's about it for this week. As always...

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Cooking with Chef Jo: More Yogurt Dough

I wanted something sweet. I wanted something good and I didn't want something that would take hours to prepare. I wanted cinnamon rolls! I had a spare couple of cups of flour after making our daily breads for the week. So I figured I'd stretch my recipe repertoire with the yogurt dough.

That's the thing about grinding your own flour. It depends on the humidity as to how much you end up with. Even if you purchase flour, it depends on this to how much liquid you have to add. So one day you'd add this amount of liquid and the next time you'd add up to 1/4 cup less liquid. It all depends on the weather. Well, the east coast has been pounded with rain and thunder storms for a week now. The absorption into the soil is slow going because there has been so much rain.

 So I cooked up (pun intended) a recipe using yogurt dough to make cinnamon rolls. I didn't need a whole sheet pan of them because I'd feel obligated to eat them all. I figured two for Mel and two for me would be plenty. If I had bought one of those Pillsbury "cheaters" cinnamon rolls tube, it would have made eight. Oh, the calories were rolling in my head and it would not taste as good. My waistline is a large enough number without the temptation.

Problem I tackled and solved was cinnamon rolls take a sweet, rich dough. What makes a sweet, rich dough? Sugar, eggs, and butter. I can do that. I'd splurge and make a cream cheese icing to drizzle on top too. What's the sense in making cinnamon rolls without an icing on top? I'd do it one better. I'd bake it in my air fryer too. All that resolved, I set to work. After numerous attempts, I finally hit the right proportions. I thought I'd share it with y'all.

Jo's Quick Cinnamon Rolls
Serves 4- 3 1/2" diameter rolls

What you'll need
 Dough
1 1/2 cups Self-rising flour*
3/4 cup yogurt
1 large egg
1 tsp butter, melted
3 TBS sugar*
1 TBS butter, melted

Filling
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar*
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

 Cream Cheese Icing Glaze
1 TBS cream cheese, softened
1 TBS butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar*
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBS milk, to thin to glaze consistency

Notes-* To make self rising flour- sift 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder/baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt together. For Gluten-free- substitute your gluten-free flour mix.
*To make this sugar-free- add equivalent sweetener of your choice.
*To make brown sugar- stir 1/2 tsp molasses and 1/4 cup sugar or sugar alternative for sugar free. 
* To make this sugar-free- blend sweetener of your choice and 1/8 tsp cornstarch. Whizz until powdery like confectioner's sugar.

Putting it all together 

• Start with the filling. Mix brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon together until well mixed. Set in the refrigerator to cool while preparing the dough.
• Place flour and sugar in a bowl. Mix together well and make a well in the center of the bowl.
• In another bowl, mix egg, 1 tsp butter, and yogurt together until blended.
• Pour yogurt mixture into the flour well and mix until combined. A soft dough ball will form. 
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
• Knead the dough about twenty times. The dough will be smooth and have a bread dough like appearance.
• With your hands, roll the dough into a snake about 3" in diameter.
• Divide into 4 pieces.
• Roll each piece into a 3 1/2"x 18" strip.
• Spread with filling. and roll the strip into a roll. pinch to seal the cut end to the roll. If it refuses to stay together, try moistening the loose end piece with a little water and press together again.
• Repeat with other pieces.
• Brush each roll with remaining TBS of melted butter.
• Place in the air fryer slightly touching.
• "Air fry" 350 degrees for 15 minutes. For regular oven. On a greased pan, 350 degrees for 20 minutes.   
• While the rolls are cooking, mix the ingredients well, cover to prevent a film from forming.
• Place cooked rolls on a rack to cool for 15 minutes. 
• The rolls will be slightly warm to the touch. Spoon glaze over the top of the rolls.

Serve warm with a tall glass of milk. I haven't played with this recipe yet for a vegan version. It's enough that I made three versions this month- regular, gluten-free, and sugar-free for me. Mel is allergic to the maltdextrin they add to Splenda to make it sugar-free. She'll be bouncing off the walls and awake for days. I don't know how she'd react to monk fruit or stevia. I'm honestly afraid to find out. I think she is too. I did all versions in the air fryer and my toaster oven. I have to admit the air fryer made a crustier roll while the oven made moister rolls. Mel thinks she was rewarded for doing something good. Shh! I won't tell her if you don't.

As variations, add 1/8 cup rehydrated raisins, cranberries, chopped raspberries, or nuts to the filling mix. I did variations raisins, and then with chopped raspberries. They turned turned out wonderfully delicious!

As you can see in the picture, there are lots of layers filled with cinnamon butter.  Slathered with the cream cheese glaze made them extra yummy for my tummy. From gathering the ingredients to my mouth, it was 30 minutes tops of instant fix for my sweet craving.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

Get to Know Your Weeds and a Rabbit Emergency

What's up with this weather??!! This is Georgia at the end of May, and our highs are in the 60s!

After selectively hand weeding all of my garden over the last several weeks, I thought I'd let you know what I left in there. Granted a large portion ended up in the compost heaps. But I left quite a bit to pull up while waiting for my neighbor to till. I might mention we haven't mowed our yard yet also because I'm still harvesting spots in rotation. If I miss some of the roots, by the time I get back to a spot, 3 or 4 days later, the missed roots will spring back with new growth. They are easier to see because everything else is cleared out.

When I say know your weeds, I mean know how they grow. Take a look at their roots, how they grow, and how they propagate.  Are there any medicinal qualities you might need? Are they edible and do they taste good? These are important factors in knowing how to kill them, or simply move them to a new spot where they can flourish.

Weeds like plantain, wild strawberry, violets, blackberries, clover, fleabane, and wild Amaranth do double duty as critter food and for us. If you wait until the wild Amaramth goes to seed, These are easily harvested with a paper bag. Once fully dried. it can be a grain side dish or can be ground into a gluten-free flour. All the rest can be eaten in salads or dried and made into medicinal teas or tinctures. The chickens love the small red berries and leaves as much as the rabbits.

Speaking of rabbits, Buddy Baby, is ill. When I went out to feed her yesterday, she was lying on her side. Only her ears and nose twitching at the sound of my voice, made me realize she was still alive. I tried to stand her up to no avail. She can't use her hind quarters. There was something neurological going on with her because she had no external bleeding. This doe was my entry into angora rabbits before my husband's death. He and Buddy had a firm bond. No matter how high I elevated his hospital bed, she found a way up there to be loved, snuggled, or just nap with him. 

I'd have Mel bring her in when we got back from my treatment. We'd check her our thoroughly then. After my  treatment, which I was 15 minutes late to because of my bunny baby (she's six years old but still my baby bunny) issues, I told Mel about her. Mel brought in my girl after feeding the pretty pullets (I did think of a new name for my chickie babies). We ran warm water in the kitchen sink. We gave her a good soaking and checked out her skin and bones. Nothing. We did our normal March shearing of the bunnies in April just in time for the weather to get cooler in May. Go figure. With less than an inch long fur, there was little danger of her fur matting. In the bath, there was one instance of her fighting. That was when she got a snout full of water. Otherwise, she was cold and limp.

Buddy Baby

I figured she was on her way out to join my husband in heaven. Mel wouldn't give up so easily, thank God. Now normally, Buddy Baby would drink a 32 oz water bottle of water a day sometimes one and a half. Now she wasn't drinking. She just laid on Mel's desk while Mel sprayed her down with a generic brand of "No More Tangles" and vigorously started rubbing her to get her circulation going. The spray will allow agitating her fur without matting.

Mel ground up some rabbit pellets, water, and a pinch of antibiotic powder and gave it to her for nutrition. She only managed to get two syringes full into her. This was followed by six syringes full of water. We still didn't know what was wrong with her. Mel and I put her in a medium dog cage with several folded towels under her and a hand towel over her for warmth. She was as snug and comfortable as we could make her.

We hit the internet researching what possibly be wrong with my beloved bunny. I know it couldn't be poisoning from the greens I was giving her. I'm extremely careful about what I give our girls to eat and what's around them. We ran down the list of what it could be. The only thing that fit was Encephalitozoonosis (E. cunculi), a small microsporidian parasite that's intracellular (it has to live within another cell. parasite). It's carried by rats and mice. As much as we've combated rats on our homestead, we still have some that frequent the bunny/chicken barn. There is no treatment. All you can do is boost the immunities and pray. Once infected, you'll stay infected. The leaky hoop barn had lowered her immunities to where these spores attacked her. But Mel, God bless her, fed and watered this bunny every couple of hours through the night.

This morning, I checked on Buddy Baby. She's still alive! Mel again fed and watered her with the syringe. This time she ate/slurped down four syringes full of food. She passed urine and a tiny bit of feces during the night. This is a very good sign that she might recover. We're crossing our fingers. Rabbits can be an easy or difficult animals to raise. No, we aren't taking her to the vet. He'll just say there's nothing to be done and offer to put her to sleep. Better not to put her in more stress. She'll be by those who love her and cared for. If she dies, she'll die. She will be sorely missed by me for the love and antics that always made me smile. But if she survives, so long as she is kept healthy, she continue to make us smile. So long as she's not in pain she'll be with us, we'll have her.

After I typed this my Buddy Baby died. RIP Buddy Baby. You'll be missed but I know you are happily reunited with my late husband.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Cooking with Chef Jo: Stretching Ground Beef

Well, it's been one of those weeks where the slightest hiccup snowballed. I got my stimulus check. Yippee! I gave Mel cash to pay the bills and the extra amount to get 100 lbs of propane ($310) so I can really cook again. While cooking in the air fryer, on a two burner electric cook top, crockpot, and toaster oven is doable, I missed my stove. It's almost canning season again too.

So, I'll bet you're wondering what the hiccup was? The battery in the Blazer died. Yes, it's a fairly new (3 months old) battery, but something drained the battery so much that it wouldn't start. Mel put the battery on the charger. After a few hours, she tried to start the car again...nothing. Everyone around us had essential jobs so they were at work. Mel tried charging the battery again. Still nothing.

I did a quick inventory of what meats I had in the refrigerator, stores building, and freezer. It was quick because there was so little. The only meats I have left in jars was six half pints of bacon and one jar of ham. In the freezer was twelve shrimp and a 1 1/2 of ground meat. This would have to last until, somehow, the car was fixed. So I had to make do. This was one time I was thankful there's only two of us on the homestead.

I pulled my last jar of Pasta e Fragioli for one meal.  I added a little extra macaroni to stretch it so the dogs could have a tablespoon each with their dinner and more filling for us. Normally, I'd open two pint jars. I added some leftover broccoli, poached eggs, and onions to the shrimp to two packets of ramen noodles to make another meal. Bacon and lettuce sandwiches made up two meals (I loaded the sandwiches with bacon) to up the protein count. I made pizza on the cook top with 1/4 of the ground beef, a forlorn half pack of pepperoni (it had been laying in the meat bin for months), veges and the last 1/2 oz of Swiss cheese. We'd run out of milk.

 Mel figured out that the battery charger was defunct. It was only 25 years old. She put the battery on her trickle charge set up that she made after watching a Youtube video on it. It would take a while to charge the battery on it.

So I was left with a pound and a quarter of ground beef. One night I made hamburgers leaving me with 3/4 of a pound of ground beef. The next night I served meatballs in gravy over smashed potatoes with broccoli and a salad.

Jo's Meatballs and Gravy
Makes 6 man sized meatballs

What you'll need
3/4 lb ground beef
1/2 cup onions, small dice
1 rib celery, small dice
1 egg
1/4 cup rice, raw
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 TBS ketchup
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 pint beef bone broth, or 1 beef bouillon cube reconstituted to 2 cups

1 TBS Clear-gel or cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 TBS oil

Putting it all together

• In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except for the broth, oil, and clear-gel.
• Combine well, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
• In a deep skillet, heat oil to smoking over medium heat.
• Add meatballs to the skillet. Brown on all sides.
• Pour in broth, scrap the bits from the bottom of the pan, and reduce heat to simmer.
• Cover skillet and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Mix clear-gel and water. Add to the skillet.
• Stir gently until the gravy is thickened. 
• Taste gravy and add salt and pepper if needed

You can substitute the beef broth with tomato sauce for a variation of this recipe. Serving suggestions
were given above.

The battery showed that it was charged so Mel put it back in the car. After dropping one of the bolts and a few choice words uttered by Mel, the car was fixed. We headed off to the grocery store. I stayed in the car with it running while Mel shopped...just to be safe. Now fully stocked with meats, milk, and a few other items, I'm just waiting for the propane delivery truck.

They say food shortages will be hitting the stores now with processing plants closing because of the virus. Well, we have chickens and quail we can butcher for meat and eggs. I've got a contact for lamb/mutton. There's even a grass fed beef operation in this county for beef. Pricey but it's an option. Now if only I knew a pig farmer. Worse comes to worst, I'll snare some of these cotton tails, shoot some squirrels, or a deer in or out of season on my property. There's always foraging, and the garden. A little knowledge goes a long way in providing food for the table.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

Three Sisters Method of Planting

I REALLY want this from Amazon!

As many of you readers know, we don't do anything by conventional means on this Cockeyed Homestead. Last Sunday. I touched on the way I plant our garden. I do what works for me. I grow an adaptive garden which makes it easier for me to care and harvest my produce. I use the square foot gardening method to plant my garden in zone, but I'll also interplant these zones with multiple crops of vegetables and herbs.

Now I not only do square foot gardening and companion plant, but I throw succession planting also. With a small amount of growing space (less than 1/8 an acre), I can harvest what we need for a year. I get triple duty and harvest from the same square foot of space I have to garden in for optimum results. I don't make raised beds anymore but use the whole garden set up in "rooms" or different sections. The whole garden has had years of ground up tree stuff, hay, straw, cardboard placed on it for years to build and condition the hard packed clay soil into a nutrient dense growing medium. Why would I plant in single rows with plants two foot apart. To me, it's a waste of space.

Hey, what can I say. I'm the eclectic minded in all things. There are many ways to build a gardening and gardening. I do a little bit of most of them in my organic garden.

This leads me to today's topic, the three sisters method of planting. Now if you follow the square foot gardening method, you can plant four corn seeds in a square foot section, or nine climbing beans/peas, or one squash/pumpkin/gourd/sweet potato per square.

I don't do that. I expand my square to two feet. I'll plant three corn seeds 6" apart, seven bean/peas around it three weeks later, I'll plant more for a bumper crop harvest of dried legumes. I'll plant squash/pumpkin/gourd plants in each corner. In the spaces between the squashes/et al, I'll plant nasturtiums and marigold flowers to deter nasty insects and diseases. I'll skip the next square foot and do it again on down the row or section. I do leave myself 3' around each mound to maneuver.

This year around my 46 bi-colored corn, I'm planting black eyed peas, kidney beans, and baby lima beans to dry next week. Two weeks after they begin to sprout I'll go in and plant more bean/pea seeds. Since the peas and beans will be drying on the vines, I want to have plenty to harvest. I planted my corn transplants in my garden last week so next week I'll plant seeds and transplants of vegetables and flowers around the corn.

I honestly love this method of planting. It's a no brainer for weed and pest control. Yes, it takes up space in my little garden, but oh, the havest! In case you are wondering, I do not like pole or runner beans. No fencing required. The stalks will remain in place until the last of the beans.peas are harvested. 

Down in the orchard, I'll be planting my dent corn later in the summer. The ears will dry on the stalks and harvested before the first frost. This is my winter chicken feed and my grits/corn meal/ corn flour. We won't be 100% self sufficient in this, but close to 75% but that's better than having to purchase it all. Oh, Before I forget the mention it. I'll grow three black oil sunflower seed in the 6" center space in the corn. So I guess my cockeyed garden is FOUR SISTERS. 😄 I'll also be planting them in and around my dent corn too. My bunnies and chickens LOVE their snacks. 

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Cooking with Chef Jo: Rice Pudding

I had a kitchen mishap this week while cooking rice. I realized too late that the pot I was cooking rice in was too small. This led to a comedic adventure.

The rice was only 3/4 of the way cooked when I grabbed a larger pot. My intention was to transfer the contents into the larger pot in one piece so I could save the rice I was cooking for dinner. Remember, I only have one functioning hand, so holding the pot and scrapping the contents into the larger pot was impossible.

I ran a knife around the edge of the rice to loosen it, and then flipped the smaller pot over the bigger one. That's when Murphy's Law kicked in. The hot holder slipped and the pot landed inside the slightly larger pot. I tried lifting the rice filled pot but it was stuck. After several failed attempts, the pots were  even farther wedged together. "Mel, I need your help!"

Mel tried several times to unstick the two pots to no avail. It was as if the two pots were welded together. She finally gave up. "It could only happen to you," she said as she put the pots down to tackle it after a rice-less dinner. The air baked chicken, green beans, and salad were delicious anyhow without the rice.

After dinner, Mel finally broke the two pots loose. She put a lid on the larger on and placed the rice in the refrigerator. The rice had broken free of the smaller pot and was in the larger one just as I originally intended. I had intended to serve rice with dinner and make shrimp fried rice the next night so the rice needed to be chilled anyhow. However, the next night's dinner wasn't fried rice but steak. So I heated the rice as a side dish. When the rice was fully heated, it was over cooked and mushy. Not one to throw away (give it to the chickens or compost pile), I started thinking of what I could do with over cooked rice...3 1/2 cups of over cooked rice was just too much give to the birds. I decided on this recipe. Waste not, want not.

Creamy Rice Pudding with Raisins and Cranberries
Serves 4

What you'll need

1 1/2 cups rice, in this case over cooked rice
2 eggs, beaten*
1 cup milk*
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipping cream *
1/3 cup sugar or honey
1/8 cup dried cranberries
1/8 cup raisins, golden or dark is your preference
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
                                                              1/2 tsp salt

Notes-** If you are vegan, substitute your nut based milk increasing the amount of milk to 1 1/2 cups.
* If you are vegan, you can substitute a vegan alternative to eggs like flax eggs for this recipe.

Putting it all together

• If using uncooked rice,  make rice until cooked. Set aside.
• Add milk, cream, cinnamon, sugar, raisins, and cranberries to a pot. Bring mixture to a simmer. DO NOT BOIL. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
• Add the cooked (over cooked) rice. continue stirring for 2 minutes. This will break up the rice further.
• Stir a little bit (about 2 TBS) of hot liquid to the beaten eggs. Do this twice to temper the eggs. 
• Add the eggs to the pot stirring well.
• Stir in the vanilla.

At this point, you can finish your pudding two different ways.

1. Stove top method- continue simmering the mixture to almost the consistency you want. The pudding will thicken as it cool.  As pictured above.
2. Oven method- Pour pudding in Pyrex baking dish. Bake until thickened and golden on top at 375 degrees for 20 minutes uncovered.

Serving suggestion- Before service, sprinkle the top with cinnamon or cinnamon sugar. Served warm is best, but can be served cold or at room temperature.

The rest of the over cooked rice went to the chickens. Our flock now numbers 22 with 10 more hens in the brooder. So everyone got some rice and leftover cornbread as a treat. They gobbled it down gleeful. Meanwhile, we enjoyed our rice pudding. How do you like my fix for over cooked rice?

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

It's Spring so Everthing is About the Garden

Even though the highs dip into the 60s and equally lower nighttime lows, I'm keeping my summer my transplant starts outside. A few days of lower temperatures won't affect my Roma tomatoes and okra that much.

I started 60 seeds for Roma tomatoes this year... up from 32. If all of them germinate and produce healthy, robust plants, I should have tomato sauce and diced tomatoes galore to can this year. Or, I'm hoping that's the case. We use far more tomato products than any other vegetable each year. Tomatoes are in everything we love to eat soups, pasta sauces, a plain side dish, chili, and even ketchup for French fries.

Like I said a couple of postings ago, I'm doubling up on planting everything this year.  It was far too scrimpy of a pantry after the garden failure of 2019. I don't ever want my pantry that low ever again. On my fixed income, I can't afford the healthier heirloom organics from the grocery stores. It was hard enough obtaining what I needed for recipes during the store runs/rationing of the Corona virus lock downs. Nope, I'm not going through that again.

This will be the year of heavy harvests and preserving. Even with the cancer surgery (again!) and the treatments, I have no choice. I can see putting the leaf in the table to hold all the pint and quart jars at the very least, not that it's any different during the heavy canning season.

Mother Nature is cooperating with us this year too. I was chasing an escapee chickie baby this week around the wild blackberry thicket this week. All the canes are loaded with blossoms. The bees are busy helping to pollinate them all. I should have gone in there this winter and try to run wires in there, but I didn't. I'll be wearing long sleeves when harvesting these tasty morsels.

I can envision the jars upon jars of jams, syrup, and pie filling lining a pantry shelf with bags of whole berries in the freezer for muffins and cakes. It makes my mouth water just thinking about how good they'll be. And, this thicket is only one of ten around our property. It's the smallest with about thirty canes. This one and the one along the driveway are the only two I can harvest. Mel will eat/harvest the other larger ones along the creek. We just have to beat the birds to them.

.So the summer garden planting has commenced. Here's to an abundant harvest to fill my stores building to over flowing again. May your gardens produce well for you too.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

 

Cooking with Chef Jo: French Toast Casserole with a Twist

 Now if you've followed along with this blog very long, you know there's only two of us on this homestead. I love cooking once and serving many times. If you have a larger family or guests, this is the Rolls Royce/Cadillac of French Toast Casserole recipes. Some foods just go together like hands and gloves and they are included in this recipe...bacon and maple syrup, and cinnamon and raisins. With each serving, you get proteins, carbohydrates, and fruit for a well rounded breakfast. Sugar gives a great energy boost. I know, I know sugar is not that good for you, but every once in a while you deserve something sweet as a guilty pleasure. 

If you don't use sugar, substitute your choice of sweetener. Don't do gluten, substitute your favorite gluten-free bread. Don't like raisins, substitute another rehydrated fruit like apples or figs. Vegetarian? substitute a soy based bacon. Vegan? I haven't tried to make this with vegan substitutes yet. This recipe is easily adaptable.

Jo's French Toast Casserole with a Twist
Serves 8 

What you'll need
14-16 ounce sourdough loaf (day-old/stale) about 9 packed cups of 2" cubed bread
8 eggs
1 1/3 cups whole milk
10 slices bacon, cooked crisp and chopped into 2" pieces
1 cup rehydrated raisins* 
1/2 cup chopped pecans 
1 cup heavy cream
1 TBS pure vanilla extract*
                                                             1/3 cup pure maple syrup
                                                             1 tsp cinnamon
                                                             1/2 tsp nutmeg

Streusel Topping-

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup old fashion oats
1/3 packed cup light brown sugar*
4 TBS unsalted butter cubed
1 TBS cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

 

Notes-* To rehydrate raisins, break raisins apart in a microwave safe bowl. Add 2 TBS water per 1/2 cup of raisins. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for for 1 minute. Raisins should be plumper and not as hard. For an extra special touch substitute, half the water with rum extract.

*Try making your own vanilla extract. Madgascar or Tahitian vanilla beans are the best ($40-35 on Amazon) and 90 proof plain Vodka. In 8oz jars, place 4-5 vanilla pods in the jar and fill the jar with vodka. Place a tight fitting lid on the jar. Place in cool, dark place for 6-12 months. Remove the pod and place it in a jar of sugar for vanilla sugar, or scrape the seeds into pudding or cakes. Your cost savings will be minimal but the flavor is greater and it does double or triple duty.

* Don't have brown sugar? No sweat. 1 cup of sugar to 1TBS molasses and mix well= 1 cup unpacked cup of brown sugar.

Putting it all together

• Prepare the casserole the night before you want to bake and serve it. 
• Heavily butter a 9x13 baking dish very well.
• Tear or cut the stale bread into rough, 2-inch chunks and line the pan with the bread.
• Add bacon, pecans, and raisins to the bread. Toss lightly to distribute all the additions evenly.
• Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Whisk very well. Add the remaining french toast ingredients to the bowl, and whisk to combine.
• Pour the mixture over the bread. If needed, press down gently to make sure all the bread is in contact with the egg mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Prepare the topping by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl with a pastry cutter or your fingers, until it resembles coarse crumbs. Cover and store in the fridge.
• The next morning, remove the casserole from the fridge while the oven preheats to 350F. Tip the pan to one side. If you notice a lot of liquid, drain the excess liquid from the casserole (this varies depending on the bread). 
• Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the casserole. 
• Cover the casserole with foil for 30 minutes to prevent burning. Uncover for the last 20-25 minutes.
• Once the oven is hot, bake the casserole for 50-65 minutes (depending on the pan used--dark ceramic pans usually require more baking time than clear glass pans), until set.The casserole is done when the center is set.  

Serving suggestions- Serve with more male syrup and dust with powdered sugar. Yes, that's right even more sugar. 😛 If I'm making a special breakfast, I'm going to do it up right. The kids or those kids at heart will love it! But I guess if you aren't, topped with fresh sliced berries will work too. You can really splurge and top it off with a dollop of whipped cream.

I said above cook once and eat many times. Instead of baking it off in a 9x13 pan, make it in 8 foil or ceramic ramekins. After you soak the casserole overnight and before you top it with the streusel, spoon the mixture into the ramekins, top with streusel, cover with foil and freeze them. When you want something extra special for breakfast, thaw and bake 350 degrees for 40 minutes. I know others who bake them off, and then freezes recipes like these, but I find that it gets soggy in the thawing process. Enjoy!

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

The Hand Weeding is Done!

Of course this is Mel not me.

The hand weeding of the obnoxious weeds that propagate by their roots is finally done! To hand dig each and every root was a chore in a half. As you saw in the ultra short video of the wicking pots last week, it looked like I didn't touch the garden area at all, but you saw only a very small part of the garden. Every weed that was left can be tilled under.

I was very selective in my hand weeding, but in some areas I went down to bare ground. These areas like the 4x8 green pea patch, the 5-10' double rows of green beans, the asparagus patch, and the double row of corn were seeded immediately as I cleared it. The soil underneath the weeds is loose and rich so I could plant quickly with eases. I watered each area with rabbit poo tea and top dressed it with compost.  The mulch will go over the seeds and plants next week after the garden is tilled and the fenced. My free range chickens wasted no time helping me break up the soil. We gardened side by side.

I rarely plant my gardens in long rows. I use the square foot method for spacing my plants in double raised rows no longer than 10' with companion planting around it. I know it's unconventional way to garden, but this isn't called the Cockeyed Homestead for nothing. It's just easier for me to get around to care and harvest in this fashion. Especially since, Mel abhors weeding so it's all on me.

I did have one mishap this week. It's the expected incident of using garden tools one handed. I had the hoe handle come back and pop me in the left eye. It didn't blacken it, but it was sore, red, and swollen for a few days.

The other issue I have is with my Ankle-Foot brace (AFO)that allows me to walk. It's malfunctioning. I've actually got two of them. The old one allows for too much movement of my foot and ankle so after I've been up and about for three hours it feels like I've sprained my ankle. The newer on presses on one area of my foot and causes pain after about an hour. Foot pain and mouth pain are my two worst kind of pain. Although my spasticity, due to my strokes causes pain , I can take more medicine to relieve it.  Granted, taking the additional medicine will put me to sleep. But foot and mouth pain will cause me to blubber like a baby. I've got an appointment next month with my brace maker, but that doesn't help me now. But, I carry on with the garden because we need it.

Once the garden is tilled and fenced, I'll plant other things like tomatoes, squashes, okra, more herbs, and other summery type vegetables. The nighttime lows are gradually able to support this so it's all good. The daytime temps are almost 80. The weather has been cooperating without me having to watch it. I actually make a habit of not watching it. Within a couple of days of me transplanting or sowing the seeds, it rains. Not just sprinkles, but a good soaking rain usually overnight or early morning. I am blessed this year.

Georgia is going back to work as of last week! Not that it matters much to us on the homestead. What does matter to me is I'll be able to go and get my hair cut. The mop on top of my head is sorely out of control. I missed out on my bi annual shearing date because of the quarantine by almost a month and a half. The bunnies got their hair trimmed and the chickens and chickies got their grooming out of the way. Only I missed out. Maybe now I can get into videos again or maybe not. I had my bi annual physical last week. There are some issues. My cancer of the defunct thyroid gland is back. Actually another mass has shown up in the newest scan. So, I'm afraid the cancer is back. I should know more next week. I desperately need a pampering, girly day. But as usual, I'm not going to let it define me.

Y'all have a blessed day.

Cockeyed Jo