Thursday, May 19, 2016

Another Step toward getting the yard in Shape

Good morning!  Yesterday was a very good day for me.  I was worried those days might be gone....

I mowed around the house proper.  and then used the new trimmer for  about an hour.  I got that front part of the yard mostly trimmed (still need to do the corner of the drive).  The blasted cheat grass had already laid over and was mostly dead...the dust from that really bothered me but I persisted.

Trimming makes all the difference  in the finished product!  I  created a little extra work for myself while trimming under the  birch tree.  I hit a buried plastic bag that I couldn't see in the grass and blew tiny bits all across the front yard!  I will have to find my homemade handle with a nail in it.  I would pass out  from all the bending to get the bits  up.

Lunch was a quick one.  I did a stir-fry of peppers, onions and that new sausage that has no preservatives in it.  This time I used the beef one.  I added cooked macaroni and a small can of tomato sauce, tossed in some spices I like and lunch was reading in about 30 minutes.  We had reheated cornbread and a glass of milk with it.  Dessert was a new recipe of oatmeal cookies.  I like  it.  It is from Ina Garten on Food network.  I believe she also has a gluten free version.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 1/2 cups raisins
Add Checked Items To Grocery ListDirections
Watch how to make this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop very coarsely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the oats, raisins, and pecans and mix just until combined.

Using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 2-inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with a damp hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.

2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, All Rights Reserved

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/raisin-pecan-oatmeal-cookies-recipe.html?oc=linkback

I just baked about half the recipe and made out the rest even down to flattening them.  Flash froze on parchment paper and then bagged. I bake at normal temperature without thawing just adjusting the time until they are as brown as you like.

I like cookies from the frozen dough better than frozen baked cookies.  They seem fresher to me.



Today will be hamburgers (our new beef), home-made 40 minute buns (made Friday when our son came down) and home fries.  May have a cookie left but I doubt it.

I plan to do Mama Pea's tomato soup tomorrow if I have all the ingredients on hand.

Random Pictures

This is an heirloom rose (the name escapes me once again).  It looked very bad at the beginning of the season so I don't know if it is the rain or a insect that caused the buds to not open properly on lots of blooms.  It is very fragrant.  I have fed and used a systemic granule hoping to get it to bounce back.



This is what heavy rain does to double flowered peonies.  Bless them.  I think I got two days enjoyment before it rained this year.



It did bloom at the same time as the flag iris.



I sent Max out with his camera and he took  a few shots for me....not exactly what I was after.  I think he took it again this morning.  I enjoy them since these are scenes I rarely see these days.



We have two ponds one on either side of a fence we call the twin ponds.  The one is in the above photo with the cow and calf.

The one in the background has an overflow pipe and drains into what is normally a dry creek bed.  Bet there is water in it today.  Maybe I will get to see it.......

This is one of the hay fields after the rains....it will come back upright  once we get more sunshine and, hopefully, some
warmer weather.



FYI:  I don't do much Facebook  but my Sis talked (browbeat) me into joining a 7-day nature picture  thing.  I am just doing a photo, not nominating a person each day to join.  I do enjoy sharing the photos.

12 comments:

  1. Isn't it funny how cows will just stare at you, like they've never seen humans before? At least it makes for a good picture. Heh! I'm glad you had a good day. Our place always looks so nice when it's freshly mown and trimmed. You can dry peonies -- sometimes I will pick them before a heavy rain is expected. The pink and reds dry darker and the whites turn into kind of an ugly beige. But the scent stays. Hugs xoxoxo

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    1. Tell me more about drying peonies. I wish I had known that because I do have a double that is extremely fragrant. OK, I see now it wouldn't be as nice; it is a white. I do have lots of pinks and a couple of reds though.

      Rainy again today here.

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  2. What a great tip on freezing the formed cookies before baking. I can see how they would, indeed, produce a much fresher tasting cookie. And be super-easy when you wanted/needed a new batch of cookies. But then you'd have to turn on the oven in the heat of summer to bake them. (Yes, it really does get hot enough in the summer up here [okay, for those three or four days] to discourage me from turning on the oven!)

    I firmly believe that even with physical aches, pains and limitations anyone like you who maintains such a zest for life and interest in "doing" . . . well, that will keep you going for a long, long time. (Now if *I* can just work this kink out of my back this morning . . . ) ;o}

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    1. I will turn the oven on in summer even to bake bread. I also have a small counter top oven that I use almost exclusively for things because my oven it so large it takes a very long time to preheat. I can even do cookies but just a few at a time, so I use the big oven for them.

      Let me just warn you, the aches and pains can get worse! Enjoy each day you have working outside. We should treasure each day no matter our age and sometimes we have to stop and think about that!

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  3. How do you flash freeze things?

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    1. For me, it is laying out things single file on a paper lined cookie sheet and using the bottom freezer on the refrigerator. I seems to freeze things very quickly. The items peel off the parchment paper very easily and into the bag they go. I freeze biscuits this way every time I make them.

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  4. Glenda,

    Good morning!!! You're grass has to look really nice after all that work you've put in to getting in nicely groomed. I'm dreading cutting the grass and weed whacking. We've had all kinds of rain, and it's grown tall. I'm trying to wait for it to dry out so it's easier to cut but were suppose to get another solid week of rain.

    Speaking of rain, it does raise havoc on flower with heavy heads.
    Reading your post this morning on food sent me directly into the refrigerator this morning looking for something good to eat.

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  5. I hope you found something good! I now have a chicken thawing for chicken pot pie.

    Rain next week for us too. I hate hay season.....it seems to always begin a rain pattern!

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  6. Hi Glenda, I've circled my growing peony plants with support wire, and after a heavy rain, gently knocked the water off the flowers, it helps a bit. Your 30 minute lunch meal sounds so good! I need to be as inventive as you are.

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    1. Joy, are these those special peony hoops that cost so much our do you just surround them with wire? Every year I mean to do something but never get it done.

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  7. Dear Glenda ~ Another enjoyable post. Love the photos. I think cows are such neat, calming creatures. I love your farm and all of the beauty you have there.

    Happy May ~ FlowerLady









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    1. Thank you Lorraine. Some days it isn't so peaceful and lots of work is involved but we do love it.

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