Soup & Cornbread Kind of Day!

I found this great recipe for cornbread! It is just SO yummy I had to share it with you! I usually just throw together a Cornkit and call it done, but I decided to try something a little different today. The weather is dreary out and there is a chill in the air. So, I just felt like today was a soup & cornbread kind of day!!

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

3/4 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

pinch of black pepper

1 cup corn ( I used can but you can use fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar

3 jalapenos seeded, and thinly sliced

oil to coat pan

Preheat oven 400* Place 10 in cast iron skillet in oven. Meanwhile, mix with electric mixer butter and sugar until pale yellow; about 3 min. Beat in eggs 1 at a time till very Incorporated.

In another bowl combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add to the butter mixture and stir with wooden spoon till combined. Fold in corn and cream. Then fold in cheese and jalapenos. Do not over mix batter.

Remove skillet from oven coat with oil. Pour batter into hot skillet and smooth the top with wooden spoon.

Put back into oven and bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean or about 45 min.

Mine turned out so pretty! If you like sweet cornbread you'll really like this recipe!! It's sweet with a kick!! I ate mine in a bowl of Campfire Stew!!

Campfire Stew ( my version!) I just throw stuff in. Start out with ground beef and add canned veggies or veggie leftovers...usually stewed tomatoes, corn, pinto beans, minestrone soup, diced potatoes....you get the idea. I cut up and saute with the meat- onion. bell pepper...whatever I have on hand to spice it up a bit. Served over cornbread it's yummy!!

Nothing says Fall better than a hot crackling pan of cornbread!!!

Mini Cow Crazy!!

Well friends, I did my research and I now have my Farmgirl heart set on getting a Miniature Jersey as my family milk cow!! This is a picture I found of 2 beautiful Mini Jerseys!! They are just like a standard Jersey only smaller. To qualify in the Miniature Jersey Association they can be no taller than 42".

This picture shows how small they really are!! Aren't they SO sweet!! While doing my reading I found that a standard Jersey produces 4-8 gallons of milk a day! Yep, I said A DAY!! Well, that freaked me out a bit! What was I to do with all that milk. But then, in Mary Jane's magazine, I read about her mini Jersey and that they are perfect for a family cow because they produce 1-4 gallons a day! Now, that is more manageable! So I started researching these cows and I found out great information about them. You can go to the American Miniature Jersey Association website to find out more about these cuties if you want to. I haven't found a seller in Texas yet but I'm looking!! I'm really excited about the idea of having our own milk cow!! The pros really do out way the cons. After finding out about the conditions of processed milk and how pasteurization strips the milk of all nutrients turning it into a substance completely different from it's original form, I was sold!! Everything I read about commercialized milk was negative. It made me never want to drink store bought milk again!

I have the space and barn for a cow this size. Having a smaller cow means less feed costs and space to house them. I'm going to be on the look out for dairy equipment at all the antique and thrift markets! There will be butter and cheeses to be made. Not to mention, cream and buttermilk to be separated and kept. I'm SUPER excited about this!! I'm not going out and buying a cow tomorrow, BUT I am set on the idea, and hopefully God willing and providing I will be able to make this a reality for our farm.

This is exactly the same way chickens came onto our farm and they have been awesome!! I'm getting about 5-6 eggs a day! That makes about 3 dozen eggs a week!!

The Blue Ribbon Farmgirls had their first meeting! I know I'm going to LOVE being a part of this great group of women! We are meeting for 1 project a month. October we will make homemade noodles and take a Farmgirl portrait. 1 of the women owns the Wool and Cotton shop, she offers classes as well. I'm not good at sewing so I'm excited to see what I can learn. Every Farmgirl was different but we all had one thing in common...a condition of the heart to be a Farmgirl!!

Fall is in the air and the cotton is blooming! Miles had the Cotton Festival this past weekend. We had So much rain, everything has been just a muddy mess! The kids still rode in the parade in the rain! Maddie rode on the 4-H float. It will be an event to remember...everyone slippin' and slidin' in the mud! AND where was my camera?! If only!! Guess I was too busy trying to stay upright and dry!

I decorated for Fall!! I LOVE FALL!! It is truly my favorite season! The falling away of the old to make new in Spring. The colors of Fall are all my favorite! The smells of pumpkin and spices..yummmm!! Oh and the food!! LOVE the FOOD!! Soups and chili, lots of cornbread, apple pies, pumpkin breads, turkey and dressing!! The list goes on and on! The chill of the air on Halloween night trick or treating with the kids! Lighting the fireplace and drinking hot cocoa!

Can you tell I'm ready for Fall to take off?! However, today is a warm 80* out! AND I'm talking about hot cocoa!! Hahaha! Well, it will be here soon! I hope!

Happy Harvest!!!

Farmgirl Dream

I received an E-mail and then a phone call from a fellow Farmgirl that wanted to start a Farmgirl Chapter in this area. I was SO thrilled!! I had attempted to begin a chapter but soon found out most of my friends like to hear about my Farmgirl escapades but DO NOT have any interest to get involved!! They just enjoy the view from afar!! I love my friends for supporting me, occasionally laughing (at me) with me, and listening to me ramble on and on about Farm stuff!! But I really dreamed of meeting ladies that have the same Farm interests as me. A fellow woman that knows what it's like to have a Farm dream! Who has chickens or wants chickens or LOVES to talk about chickens, grows a garden, contemplates getting a milk cow....You get the picture!! WELL...SO YOU CAN IMAGINE MY EXCITEMENT TO FIND SUCH A GROUP OF WOMEN HERE!!!! BLUE RIBBON FARMGIRL CHAPTER-WALL,TEXAS!! To top it all off and really get me into a fuss (picture me jumping up and down holding this card squealing with delight!) I got this wonderful hand-made invite to the first planning meeting!!

The envelope was stamped with a chicken wire stamp and a red rooster. The front of the card had a beautiful picture of a rooster crowing and welcoming the morning sun. Inside the card was a little envelope that had a card stamped saying "It's a Farmgirl Thing!" tied with red gingham ribbon. Then on the opposite page was the particulars of the meeting. So many hand-made details in this card it SO BLESSED me!! I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL THE MEETING!!! We are planning to do at least 1 project a month. To get more info or join the chapter check out the website. http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/blueribbonfarmgirls

ON TO MORE FARM BUSINESS......
I have collected a little more than 2 dozen eggs so far!! I gather 3-4 a day! I can STOP buying store eggs now! That is such an awesome feeling! I use the brown eggs more...I just like brown eggs! SO that's why there are more white in the carton! I will keep most of the brown eggs for us and sell the white ones. The size of the egg is getting bigger each time they lay another. They are about the size of a medium egg you'd get at the store. I can't even describe to you the feeling you get when you go out to check for eggs and there are eggs in the nests! It's just a great feeling! I look forward to that time of day when it's egg gathering time!




While reading Mary Jane's Farm Magazine I noticed an article on Milk Cows. In the article she mentioned the title and author of a book that she described as the book to get on anything you need to know about being a milk cow owner! Well, I had to check this out! I found the book at the library and I've just begun to dive in! ALREADY I'm getting sideways looks from my friends and family!! "What? Are you serious? A milk cow?" YES people I'm VERY serious! Now in no way am I about to haul off and pick me up Bessie tomorrow! BUT I'm in the research stage of my contemplating the idea! NOW this worries my husband, because the last idea I had --to get me some chickens--went from idea, to research, to reality! But, one thing my poor husband knows for certain I do thoroughly research my ideas. I read tons of books on the subject, talk to people that have them, drill my grandparents for stories and knowledge.... The research is almost as fun as the reality of the idea! I learn so much. AND I know my limits and what is feasible for our family. I try not to jump in feet first without knowing exactly what I'm jumping into! SO friends and family...YES I'm serious about this idea! BUT Bessie will have to wait until I read a ton more and see if it fits our family and our farm! It took many years before my chicken idea then research became a reality. With that said, I have to be honest with you IT IS part of my farm dream. Having a milk cow is as deep of a desire as having chickens! It's just something I would really like to do! Having fresh eggs and fresh milk is a HUGE part of the dream!

The Family Cow by Dirk Van Loon. So far it's chalked full of important info and I'm only on chapter 3!! The book behind it is titled Keeping A Family Cow -Revised Edition- byJoann Sills Grohman. I've not dived into that one yet! It's next on the list!

FARMGIRL IS A CONDITION OF THE HEART

Eggs--Peaches--And A Rainstorm

I've gathered 2 more eggs this week. 1 on Monday and 1 today! It's is such an awesome feeling to go out and look in the nest and find a treasure! So fun!! I check the coop for eggs a couple of times a day. I read that when the hens first start laying they will lay 1 egg about every 3 days at first before they begin to get regular and lay an egg a day to every 2 days. So that leaves me to believe I have 2 hens that have begun to lay. Today's egg could possibly be egg #2 of the hen that layed the first egg. I'm pretty sure it's the Wyndottes that are laying them. So if you are thinking of getting chickens that shows you how good the Wyndottes are!

I've been checking the peach tree in hopes of getting peaches this year. I noticed that they're ripe but very small. I'm guessing that last freeze is maybe the reason. OR maybe this tree just makes small peaches not sure. I've never been able to harvest any because the bugs or birds have always gotten to them first. Usually it's fruit flies and wasps that seem to eat them ---BUT this year a scary BIG GREEN BUG is eating them!!! I'm pretty sure they're Japanese Beetles. Much like a June Bug only bigger and greenish. They fly and dive bomb you---they scare the life out of me!! I began gathering as many ripe peaches as I could so these ugly bugs wouldn't get them. I had to climb up the ladder to get to the top of the tree to get the ripe peaches up top. I was trying to carefully pluck the peaches from the tree and not disturb the crazy bugs. BUT as I reached around this peach swarmed with the ugly guys they got perturbed and began bomb diving my head. I half fell -half jumped off the ladder screaming like a scared school girl!! I landed on my feet but ended up on my rear end!! The fall was too far!! I'm so sore today in the backside and oh my legs! I gathered a good number of peaches but they are so small there's not much I'll be able to do with them---Guess we can just eat them as snacks!! They really are sweet and delicious! Wish they were bigger!!

After just about killing myself on the ladder--later in the afternoon a crazy rainstorm came up. I say crazy because the wind was so strong the rain was coming down sideways from the North. I noticed my chickens in their normal spot by the back of the house under the trees. I'm guessing they got caught there and couldn't make it to the coop in the storm--I say this because I've seen them run to the coop when it begins to rain. WHY they didn't do it this time in this CRAZY storm--well, I just don't know!! I decided after a few minutes of pouring rain I'd better go stir them up and get them to run on to the coop. BUT as I shooed them, they all scattered running in every direction getting more soaked. I ended up chasing each chicken down 1 by1 and carrying them to the coop. This took about 20 min. SO you can imagine just how soaked I was! TO THE BONE!! The funny part was I had on my muck boots and the wetter I got the more it ran into my boots! Several times I had to stop and empty a gallon of water out of my boots! It was a crazy, funny, and yet almost typical FARM DAY! We were blessed with 2 inches of rain in a span of about 2 hours! CRAZY!! Then after all that drama the sun came out and I had to go back and let the chickens BACK out!! I added some apple cider vinegar to their drinking water to ward off them getting a cold. Chickens are very susceptible to respiratory problems. UGH!! But so far today they seem to be as happy as ever and I got that egg so I assume they aren't too traumatized by it all. ME --well I might be a little!! hahaha! The kids had a good several laughs at my expense yesterday! It will be a day to remember! --"Hey Mom, remember the day you fell off the ladder? Hahaha!"

The 1st egg!!...and much more!

I know I haven't written in a few months...Summer happened! The kids being out of school takes up all my time. We've had a great summer! We've swam and swam, traveled to family reunions, gone to the river, attempted to camp in the backyard, 1 trip to the emergency room, stayed up late, slept in, laughed, watched movies, and just fully enjoyed our time together! Back to school day is fast approaching and it will be so bittersweet! I love the time with my kids but I like my quiet time too!

The chickens are all grown up! That is RockaDoodle such a handsome guy! His feathers are so grand! He has gotten quite cocky over the summer months puffin' himself up and chasing all the girls around the yard.

I started letting the chickens out in the backyard every morning and closing them up in the coop at night. They really like to free range eating bugs, grass and the scratch I spread out. They spend time under the trees and in the flower bed next to the back of the house during the hot parts of the day. Which here lately is most of the day! The girls on the ground are dust bathing! They love a good dust bath!

I'd been checking the nests everyday for the last few weeks looking for the first egg. They're almost 20 weeks old so I knew eggs should be coming soon. The morning of my 32nd birthday I woke up and went out to the coop to check for eggs AND there was a perfect little brown egg in the nest! A wonderful birthday gift! I couldn't have asked for a better gift! I was so excited I jumped around all day full of joy! I know God orchestrated this wonderful thing for me and I was so thrilled beyond words! I brought it in and Sherman cooked it for me for breakfast.

It was a small egg but it had a perfect yolk! It was just so pretty! The kids were excited to crack it and watch Daddy cook the first farm fresh egg that OUR chickens provided! So cool!



My wonderful husband fried me up a tasty egg for breakfast combined with a tortilla, fried potatoes, and chili con carne! Yummo!! :P

Now that someone layed an egg I need to change their feed from chick feed to layer feed. I've already been offering them crushed oyster shell along with the grit. That should give them calcium and make the shells on the eggs strong. I can't wait till I'm gathering a few dozen a week!

A sad thing happened this summer, we had to put our dog Blue down. You remember her from the last post "chicken dog". She had been sick for a long time. It was such a hard thing to do. I still miss her and sometimes I absentmindedly see her laying in her favorite spots or hear her coming down the hall. We added a new puppy to the mix a few weeks before Blue was put down. Sherman named her Pepper. She is Great Pyrenees and Lab ( we think!) She has been quite a handful! She has kept us VERY busy this summer!

Pepper is all puppy all the time! We took her to the river with us and she LOVED the water! She swam and chased the kids, it was so much fun. If you haven't seen the movie "Marley and Me" you must watch it! Not only is it a great movie it will give you insight into what we've been living with! Pepper is Marley...in fact after watching the movie I really debated on changing her name! She is really a mess!! But I think we'll keep her...for now anyway! haha!



It's 2 weeks till the kids go back to school so I'm confident I'll be able to post regularly again! Thanks for reading! Farm life is fun and there is always something going on each and every day! I look forward to sharing the stories and experiences with you!!

Chicken Dog?!

So, I'll just get right into the story... I came home from town Monday afternoon. I let Blue out and then decided I would take a little rest before the kids came home. I had just gotten to that in between sleep and awake state when I was jolted by a shriek. I jumped up and looked out my bedroom window, which faces the front yard. There I saw Blue with a chicken hanging out of her mouth! I was in panic mode!! I jammed my bare feet into my boots, grabbed my glasses and was heading out the back door. As I opened the door there she was with the chicken screeching in her mouth. I yelled, "Blue! Put her down!" and she did! The poor Buttercup girl ran to a corner and hid. I scooped her up and held her close to my chest afraid to look at the damage. Blue ran in and laid down under the kitchen table as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. Still clutching the hen to my chest, I went out to the coop to see if anyone else was out or hurt. I quickly noticed a hole going underneath the coop. Sherman built the coop up off the ground, so there is a gap between the coop bottom and the ground. Too small for my big fat blue heeler to fit in. But perfect for a mischievous cat to prowl in. The "Little Kitty" (as we call her, because she was the runt and smaller than the other two) had pushed her way in under the coop and into the run. I had barricaded the gap with wood and rocks but she worked until she made a hole she and a chicken could fit through. I'm assuming she went into the run and all the others made it safely inside the coop but one found the hole and escaped into the backyard. That is when Blue scooped her up! Everyone back at the coop seemed O.K. so I closed the chicken door and trapped them inside until I could fix the hole and doctor my hen. I took her into the garage where there is better light, armed with a bottle of Rooster Booster-pick no more lotion- it's to doctor wounds. I was so worried I was going to find puncture wounds from Blue's teeth. I thoroughly checked her all over. She was wet with foul smelling dog drool but I couldn't find a scratch on her!

She was very out of it and almost fainting. She was weak and wouldn't stand up. Her breathing was very fast and her eyes were wild. I wondered if after finding she wasn't injured if I would loose her to shock. I tried to comfort her and found a small box to put her in so that I could keep an eye on her. I was a little afraid to just dump her back in the coop with the others because they"ll pick on the weak. So I carried her in the box out to the coop with me while I checked everyone closely for injury. When I sat the box down she quickly perked up and hopped out to join the others.

She went straight over to get a drink and then laid down over in the corner. I watched to see how the others treated her. They didn't seem to notice anything different. She rested for the rest of the day and was leary of going out the chicken door. But by the next morning you couldn't tell anything had happened to her...She was back to herself! By the time the whole ordeal was over the kids were hopping off the bus. No nap for me!! Just crazy chicken drama!! Now... I'm going to assume the very best of my girl Blue. I figure the cat rounded the chicken out into the yard and Blue was saving her. The fact that she carried her so gently in her mouth is quite amazing to me. If she had wanted a chicken snack she certainly could have been well on her way to gobbling it up... that she brought her to the back door to me is amazing as well. The chicks did grow up in the house...maybe they bonded and she is now a chicken dog! I have seen her herd off the cats as they stalk the outside of the fence of the run. Maybe, just maybe she is loyal to the flock and will protect and serve!! I hope that is the case! I know she impressed me by not munching down on my poor hen! She is fat and lazy and not good for much BUT if she protects my chickens she will be greatly rewarded and live a long happy life!!!! I found some leftover wire and patched all the possible entries under the coop. The girls and Rock a Doodle are safe and happy scratching around in the run! You should see them fight over a June bug!! Funny!! Let's hope the entertainment stays in the coop and the girls live well and happy and grow to produce LOTS of eggs!!! That was enough excitement to last me awhile!!!!

How Does Your Garden Grow?!

My garden is growing up nicely! My tomatoes are there in the pic. The corn is over to the left of the pick. My spinach was down by the corn but the 100* + temps fried it to a crisp! I don't know if it will come back or not. Spinach doesn't like extreme heat. I may have to try to grow it in a container so I can bring it inside if these temps continue to be so hot! My onions and herbs are in the plot directly behind the tomato plot. My herbs are growing well and the onions are coming along good too. With this heat I guess the ground is plenty warm enough for me to go ahead and plant okra. I may have to do that in the next few days!



I finally got my bean patch plowed! I'm planting pinto beans and black eyed peas! Yum! I have 3 rows of each. This hot weather is really drying everything out. We had a good rain but it soaked in so fast you can't even tell anymore! It is amazing what a good rain will do for your crops. You can water every night but a good rain will give your plants a huge boost! We could use another good rain!







This is a pic of the squash patch. It's planted in front of the chicken run! Which is FINALLY finished!! YAY! The chickens now have a nice yard to run in. It turned out great and they love it!
It took them a little time to get use to using the chicken door. But they soon got the hang of it and run in and out freely. I close them in every night and open it every morning. They usually go out and scratch around in the morning and evenings and stay inside the coop in the heat of the afternoon. With the hot temps I've been putting jugs of frozen water in the coop to cool them off. They gather around the frozen jugs and absorb the cooler air they produce. It seems to work very well and is easy to do. It is sad to see them panting and trying to keep cool in 110* days...Which is what the thermometer registered last week!! Crazy hot! I hope this is not a preview to what the summer will be like. It will not be fun to have this heat hang around all summer. I pray the temps become more pleasant and we have a few nice soaking rains without all the bad stuff! That would be nice!! How is your garden growing? I hope we all do well and have veggies in abundance! Happy gardening to all!