When convenient isn't so convenient anymore

Thinking more about my small goals of a really terrific buttermilk biscuit and pie dough from scratch, my mind is going down another bunny trail. First of all, I want to make sure that I go on record with a declaration that my mother is an excellent cook. My grandmother was an excellent cook and my mother told me not too long ago that my great-grandmother baked homemade pies for sale when she was a kid. So, with that kind of cooking heritage, how is it that I don't know how to create these things?

I think that food production took a drastically different direction when processes were discovered that allowed for freezing fully-cooked dinners like that TV dinner above. In the day when we were amazed to think that Jane Jetson could prepare dinner with the push of a button, we didn't actually have microwaves!

But we did have an image that the modern woman didn't slave in the kitchen for her family's meals. We also bought into the idea that this new frozen food was more convenient than preparing meals the traditional way. I'm not sure if we really sold ourselves on the idea that it tasted the same? Just look at this plate and tell me that the TV dinner at the top of the page looks the same (or tastes the same) as the one below!

Then, we took this giant leap of 'fast food' at drive in and drive through 'restaurants'. Now, when I stop and think about time management, going into the kitchen and cooking a Rachel Ray 30 minute meal is probably a quicker, cheaper and better tasting alternative than the local Sonic, Taco Bell, etc. options that would require the drive to and from, time ordering and waiting for delivery, etc.

I think the message that 'I don't have time to cook' infiltrated my mind long ago and I've been gaining more on the truth of the matter for awhile now. But, like everything else, doing things well takes practice and so here I go. I think the message may be changing with the popularity of Rachel Ray, the Food channel, HGTV, etc. I heard a professional chef advising a failing restaurant owner to prepare and cook the food rather than heating up frozen options. He told the restaurant owner that the 'real' food would cost pennies on the dollar and would taste better. So, if that's true in the restaurant business, why not in our homes? Now, the times are getting a little tougher economically and we all may need to pinch our pennies more than we used to. Food prices are also going up, but preparing your own food will taste better and be less expensive that frozen options or eating out. Since my family doesn't mind left-overs, I usually prepare a double recipe so that we can enjoy two meals for the mess I create with my efforts.

And just because I can't help myself, let me share one other thing. A new item I saw advertised in the last month was a product called 'Recipe Inspirations'. It's a packet with 1/2 dozen different spices and/or dried herbs and a recipe card. The entire contents are less than 1/2 oz of spices and I bet the product costs more than a single container of an individual spice. Between the internet, cookbooks, magazine articles and TV shows, there's a multitude of 'inspirations' out there! Please do not spend your hard earned dollars on a frivolous item like this! Print out the recipe, make a grocery list, get the stuff and cook it! You CAN do it!

In search of the best buttermilk biscuit recipe

As a girl raised in the south, you'd think I would have already conquered this one. But, alas, I cannot bake homemade buttermilk biscuits that line up with my ideal biscuit. It's fluffy, a little tangy, soft, but lightly brown on top. Here's a picture:

I keep working on one from my favorite cookbook published by Southern Living, but without the results that I want. Now, I'm on to that queen of southern comfort food, Paula Deen. Here's a link to hers:

Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits

If we pair it with the sausage gravy, I know that we will have to spend more time with Jillian. If I can sort out how to make home made biscuits however, I'll be on to my next cooking goal - homemade pie crusts!

I'll let you know how this works out. Better yet, I should let my kids and husband report on this - they will have to eat the results!

Spring is BUSY!

The focus this past week has been on outside projects and includes completing a really thorough tilling in the vegetable garden and completing the first mowing of our 'lawn' areas. Sounds simple enough, but the complications arise in getting the equipment up and running after a long winter of dormancy. My husband and I both agreed that we need to sort out how to keep these things in better condition prior to their active season! Along those lines, I found a website to help: Hobby Farms Three regular contributors to their blog area include an experienced individual to discuss equipment, tools, maintenance and repair, etc. This is why I LOVE the internet!

Home School on the Homestead

Thanks Heather for asking about curriculum! We've taught our kids at home since our older son reached Kindergarten age. My goodness, there are so many options for curriculum these days. The choices were overwhelming when we started out 11 years ago and options have grown by at least 100 fold since!

We really like a classical education approach, primarily due to the chronological exploration of history. History is taught from the beginning of time through current age in 3 cycles, each cycle taking 4 years to complete. When we began this approach, we started with Tapestry of Grace and now use the books we've accumulated with Diana Waring. I like Diana Waring's materials because she includes CD's with her own lectures, while Tapestry of Grace would necessitate more preparation on my part. With all the choices on my time management and things I need to learn myself, it's so much easier to have a prepared lecturer available on the CD player!

So, here's a list of what we use:

History and Literature - Diana Waring
Math - MathUSee
Science - Apologia Science
Language - our 10th grader has writing assignments from a combination of Diana Waring recommendations or our own assignment based on current events

Language - our 4th grader uses Easy Grammar
Spelling - 4th grader uses Spelling Workout

Spanish - Rosetta Stone

To help with preparations for PSAT, SAT and/or ACT tests for our high school student, we include Vocabulary from Classical Roots.

In the past, we have used a smattering of things: Switched on Schoolhouse, Abeka, Sonlight and Bob Jones. All worked fine, except for some issues with Switched on Schoolhouse. We feel more comfortable with our current selections and will continue until it seems something needs adjustment. The thing I like best about our home school is that we can choose what fits us as teachers and our kids as students to keep them engaged and learning.

Our day is very full! We include some art projects, music lessons and some exposure to art and music appreciation as we can. With chores (inside and out), extracurricular activities and participation with our local church, time passes very quickly!

Unwelcome guests and my new favorite word!

Sometime during my growing up years, a certain Alfred Hitchcock movie appeared on TV with some regularity - The Birds. If you're unfamiliar with this film, a huge infestation of birds descend upon a little seaside village and wreak havoc on the residents. The birds are both gulls and these horrible black birds. Here's a few still shots from the movie and posters:

Images from that movie remain planted in my brain forever more and every time I see a flock like the following photo, I have immediate recall of those nasty birds:

Well, these creatures can be identified and they are grackles. As a lone bird, they could be attractive, except for that creepy yellow eye! When they 'speak', they have either a high pitched whistle or a terrible rasping sound. And they never are loners, as a matter of fact they travel in huge flocks creating havoc with their horrible sounds and bombardment of feces.

We saw them frequently in Texas, mostly in the central to south regions. Every year, it seems they are more predominant in regions further north. Besides being unpleasant to be around, they also drive every other species of song bird from the territory, robbing backyard bird feeders and bird baths of lovely cardinals, robins, sparrows, mockingbirds or doves.

I've despised them for years due to these factors, but as a chicken enthusiast, I have a new concern. Several diseases as well as harmful mites are carried by these creatures (and most other migratory birds). This can wreak havoc on a flock of domestic poultry!

Until the last couple of weeks, we've not had any of these creatures around, but now they've descended upon us and seem to like our tall oak and poplar trees. Yuk! Further complicating matters was my understanding that no one could harm grackles because they were defined as migratory birds by the Fishery and Wildlife Service.

But, I have a glimmer of hope....just look at this!

The Code of Federal Regulations, more commonly referenced as CFR provides this information:

50 CFR 21 §21.43

"A Federal permit shall not be required to control yellow-headed red-winged, rusty, and Brewer's blackbirds, cowbirds, all grackles, crows, and magpies, when found committing or about to commit depredations upon ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock, or wildlife, or when concentrated in such numbers and manner as to constitute a health hazard or other nuisance:..."

Hot diggity! We have all kinds of justification to 'control' these birds since 'depredation' seems to be their very purpose in life. That makes 'depredation' my new favorite word and furthermore, since we reside outside city limits, we can operate a fire arm for 'control' with no worries.

Now, for those of you that might be horrified that I'm considering these birds to be terrific target practice, take heart that my aim is pretty lousy and the birds spook quickly. They also return quickly, so we'll see how this war goes, but it's official....Grackles are unwelcome guests at our homestead and we will pursue ridding ourselves of these pests and disease carriers!

We also may need to work on the area that will be the chickens' run to assure that we aren't releasing them from the safety of their coop into mite-ville and disease laden feces in the field!

We'll keep you posted!

Second Day of Spring

I somehow missed noting that the first official day of spring was on the 20th. Undeniably, spring is all around us and we are discovering new blooms daily in the landscape and trees. We moved in during the fall, so our first spring is truly full of surprises! Not sure, but these blooms look most like a maple from our tree book.
One very brave hyacinth is very showy in the midst of many daffodils...
Daffodils are tucked into several areas around the house and along the driveway...
They are nicely coming out in stages, so we should be able to enjoy them for a more extended season.

Oh, boy...time has come to pull out the garden tiller we purchased from the previous property owner. We were told that it needed new belts and my husband had studied the manual to determine the type. He discovered that it needed belts. Period. Old ones had been removed, so the manual came out again to identify how to place them. After a few hours of fueling, adding oil, placing the belts on and tugging, tugging, tugging the starter cord...success! The almost 30 yr old tiller sputtered and coughed, but still worked.

My husband coaxed it along a few turns in the garden plot. It's extremely cranky, we're hoping due to lack of use. Our soil tests indicate we need fertilizer in the garden as well, so we'll purchase a good quantity and give the cranky tiller an opportunity to earn its keep!

Moving Day! Mission accomplished - chickens in coop, not garage!

Here's the end of the story - 26 chickens that seem much happier in the very roomy coop instead of being literally 'boxed in' the temporary brooder. They are making some adjustments, but mostly seem very content to run, flap their wings, 'chest bump' one another (establishing pecking order?), scratch the pine shavings, try out new perches, etc.
This will be the last time the boys sit down in pine litter - it will never again be that clean!
Here they are moments after being released in the coop - mostly checking out the fresh litter.
Earlier in the day, we worked feverishly to complete the last few chores of predator proofing (we hope!). Note the challenge of the chicken wire and hardware cloth that somehow clings to work gloves by a single strand! Our son was working on attaching hardware cloth to the 'ceiling' of the coop. We decided that the largest vulnerability for weasel/possum/raccoon penetration was via the roof line (corrugated roofing with no sheathing beneath).
After adding some insulation to the ceiling, we attached hardware cloth all over, securing it first with heavy duty staples, then adding boards to prevent prying critters from working their way in.
The last items added were the perches, attached with hinges to facilitate cleaning. Our younger son demonstrates the final sweep out. We know the coop will never be this clean again!
The automatic door is set to 'Night' position, meaning it will stay closed at all times. Our next project - the run! When a secure fence and covering is in place to keep the chickens from wandering off and predators from wandering in, the door will be set to 'automatic'. Using a photo sensor, the door will open about 1/2 hr after dawn and will close about 1/2 hr before sunset. Another feature automatically turns an interior light on 8 hrs after the night closure to tease the chickens into better egg production.

The two perches provide plenty of room for all the chickens to roost at the same height. We hope this minimizes feuding over the best sleeping spot! We still had them hooked up by their chains here so that we could add a layer of pine shavings to the floor.
Here the guys go at it, making a nice landing spot for the chickens to dismount the perches and also provide absorbent litter.

Four 8 cubic feet bags later, the area is all set for the chickens!
We saved an area for people only! This will provide storage space for feed, extra litter and cleaning tools.
Last check to see if everything's ready...
Now you can return to those top pictures to see how the chickens settled in after their transfer from the garage. How did we do that? We used one of our dog travel crates and scooped them out of the brooder, into the dog crate, rolled the dog crate on an old kid's little red wagon to the coop and released them into the coop. Although completely traumatized by the capture and rough ride in the wagon, they seemed to settle down within 30 minutes or so. Fortunately for us, it seems chickens are fairly resilient with inexperienced handlers!