A Few Days on the Farm

 Note:  I took this from my daily journal so some things are repeated but I didn't go back to try to place them.


July 15 2016

Didn't feel as well today; coughing more. Maybe meds are loosening things up ? This is in reference to the recently diagnosed acute bronchitis.  My nurse Sis doesn't agree; she says just allergies.

Stayed in all day. Waiting for well (went out last night around 4pm); and oven man.

Need new pressure tank and all is well. (This is taken from my very brief daily journal)  Thursday evening around 5 pm we had no water.  Call to well man and he will be out in the morning...our old serviceman would have come out that evening since  it was 95°.  Those days are long gone.

Made two loaves of modified Annie's bread. Max thinks it is the best; added l cup white whole wheat flour and ½ cup steel cut oats to it.

Oven preheated quickly and worked well.

Saturday 7/16/16

Didn't sleep well after 1:30 am until I took a cough pill (codeine based) then slept and quit coughing until 5:30. Just the third one I have taken.

Toast for breakfast.

Outside to work but grass is sopping wet. Managed to spray 2 gallon of herbicide here and there. Will have to wait until things dry.

Japanese Beetles  on beans on fence. Spray later today.(didn't get to it).

Peaches are not ripening like they should. May just take down the entire tree. Getting very tired of the issues.

Got soaked to my knees so changed clothes.

Harvest: 4 eggplants, l cuc. Pulled lots of weeds in sweet potatoes and around fenced tomatoes and strawberry row.

July 16, Saturday

Early errands but still too hot at 9 AM when we got back to do anything. Will hit it tomorrow

I did manage to polish my kitchen counter tops.

Cooking

My stove oven is finally repaired. That same afternoon I made two loaves of our very favorite

Annie's Honey and Wheat bread. I don't do half and half but just add a cup or two of white whole wheat and ½ to l cup of steel cut oats. I also do the double rise. Rise once, punch down. Let rise again, punch down form into loaves and let rise the third time and bake. I am happy to report the oven no longer takes an hour to preheat.

Also a good report on the new Breville larger countertop oven. I have baked a 12 inch pizza in it and it came out perfectly browned on the bottom and not burned on the edges. I am going to make Philly Steak Cheese calzones with the leftover pizza dough today.

They turned out great; very tasty.  Not too pretty but I had to stretch the dough......

I got a little carried away and made a chocolate sheet cake in the oven yesterday.....some call it Mississippi mud and some call it Secret cake. It is like eating a candy bar. Delicious but not a good thing.

I kept some out for one day and the rest is in the freezer for drop by guests.

 

Secret Cake (from Symphony of Cooking fifth movement – Springfield Symphony Association

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

½ tsp salt

Sift first three ingredients together.

Bring the next 4 ingredients to a boil

l stick butter

½ cup crisco

1 cup water

3 – ½ Tablespoons cocoa

pour over dry ingredients and blend well.

Add last 4 ingredients

2 unbeaten eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

½ cup buttermilk

Mix well; batter will be very thin. Pour into greased 11x16 sheet cake pan. Bake 400° for 20 minutes.

Frosting

1 stick butter

3 – ½ tablespoons cocoa

½ cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup nuts

1 cup flaked coconut

box of confectioners sugar

Boil first three ingredients until slightly thickened. Remove from heat add rest of ingredients

. Leave cake in pan. Frost while hot. Freezes well.

Yield 20 large pieces or 5 dozen brownie size.

Note: I have also iced half of the cake with the frosting before adding nuts and coconut for the grand kids.

Also made some peach jam and mincemeat turnovers in the Breville and was happy with them.

I think(hope) I have the baking out of my system for a while!

Sunday, July 17

I decided after yesterday that I needed to go out just as the sun was coming up to work. I see Ilene does the same. I was out by 6:30 AM and worked until 9:30 which is a long time for me.

First thing was trimming the corners of the driveway around the wagon wheels. I need to do the entire ditch roadside but that will be another day.

The beetles were back by the thousands. I spot sprayed with Seven and then realized I needed to mix up l0 gallons in the big battery operated sprayer. I think I covered everything in the yard.

Also something is already stripping down ears of corn checking for prime sweetness.

So far I have harvested 4 of the new variety of eggplant and love it! Max isn't so enthusiastic but he will eat a small portion. I got one very small cucumber and two yellow squash.

This is the new eggplant from Baker Creek,   Listada de Gandia,

I can get a few beans after the spray is safe. Borers got my one zucchini plant. Isn't that the way.

I planted the cucumbers way too thick and didn't thin thinking the borers would get them;

They are untouched and running rampant over everything. I have already cut them back some.

Same with the hill of yellow squash....

I see I have a few Sungold tomatoes to harvest. I tested one and was very disappointed. What happened to the sweetness?

Looked out the back door a few minutes ago and saw the groundhog running away from the peach tree in front of the kitchen to his hole under the gas tank.  I have begun seeing half eaten peaches on the ground.  I think I will harvest them all tomorrow ready or not just to keep that blankety blank varmint  from getting them......then down comes the tree!

Just had a calzone for lunch and we both  liked it.  Max says he will eat one for breakfast tomorrow.

Random Picture

This is the first time I have seen butterflies on the humming bird feeder.