Chokecherry Pie and birds on the fly...

We went out to or prairie property this weekend.  I was pleased to see the chokecherries were ready to be picked.  Yes, chokecherry pickers they could be a smidge darker, but we weren't going to be able to go out to the property again until next weekend and the birds would have them gone by then.  In fact, the birds sat in the bushes and chewed me out while I was picking.  

Most of the berries will go to wine and maybe some jam, but I have been dying to try a recipe Phyllis gave me.  Chokecherry pudding.  My husband was excited. Then we decided to make a pie of it.

  

Phyllis's Chokecherry Pudding

1 quart of chokecherry juice

1/2 c. of sugar (I used 3/4 c. since the berries weren't fully ripe.)

1/3 c. of cornstarch

dash of salt

I stirred in the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Then brought everything to a boil and boiled until thick.  Once I thought it was thick enough I poured it into a graham cracker crust.  It was delightful and will go in the family cookbook for sure.

The photo of the pie is a bit fuzzy because the steam from the pudding fuzzed up my camera.  Remember this is a bird, bee, and berry blog.  I am not a professional cooking blogger.  

Finally, the beans in my garden were ripe enough to pick.  I found this recipe last year and loved it.  I made 4 slices of bacon.  Used the grease to sauté the beans, three small cloves of garlic and two slices of onion.  I sautéed for about 20 minutes.  Added the bacon and yum.

Now, technically the birds in this post aren't flying.  I just wanted the title to rhyme.  For the last week I have heard an unfamiliar bird call around the cabin.  I haven't seen the bird and couldn't identify the call.  Then yesterday I saw it way at the top of the tree.  Even with the zoom on my camera and binoculars it was difficult to tell what kind of bird it was.  Luckily, I was able to use the computer to zoom the photo.  Turns out it seems to be a Cedar Waxwing looking for more Cedar Waxwings.  A Robin and even a Grosebeak joined it in the tree to keep it company.  Even today it was flying around with it's sad lonely chirp.  It isn't going to find any other Cedar Waxwings around.  The last time we had any up here was about 10-15 years ago.

As I was typing this post, two mother Turkeys went by with their brood.  I was too busy trying to get photo to count how many they had.  There was quite a few.  Both mommas kept a sharp lookout while the little guys scampered around looking for bugs.  Living here in the woods I see so many wonderful things from our porch.  I count my blessings every day.  

As the sun sets on another week, I am amazed that I am able to find something to blog about every week.  Maybe not the most exciting stuff, but there is always something going on around here.  Either I'm making something, there is a new flower blooming in the garden, or some animal has caught my attention.  Do you find it easy to blog about things?  What are you making in the kitchen?  What are you seeing from your porch?  Do you even have a porch?  I hope all is well at your corner of the world.  

The Tomato Taj Mahal...

Here is my new Tomato Taj Mahal.  I love it.  This weekend I finished the patio and most of the retaining wall on the right.  This one is much taller and the bench is along the side instead of at the back.  The bench will be great next year because I grow most of my peppers in wash tubs.  I think I will even have room to grow some tomatoes in tubs.  Here in the hills it is almost impossible to grow tomatoes and peppers without a greenhouse.  The season is too short and it never gets super hot.  Below is the bench with my tubs and little garden potting bench kit.  I was pretty worried about transplanting my tomatoes from the tubs to the ground of the greenhouse.  Turns out they did great and didn't miss a beat.  

My chamomile has been blooming like crazy.  It is contained in a water tank.  If you aren't careful it will take over the garden.  I use the flowers for tea, an amazing hair detangler, and facial toner.  Because it is so plentiful I am going to try making a wine with it.  It will be an interesting endeavor.  Who would have thought dandelions would make a good wine?  It never hurts to try.  The rest of my outdoor vegetable beds are making progress.  My first round of sweet corn is knee high by the Fourth of July.  The green beans are also doing fabulous.   

My roses are doing great.  One of my favorite quotes is by Richard Sheridan, "Won't you come into my garden?  I want my roses to see you."

                                                For the first time ever my poppies are plentiful.

The butterfly bed is beautiful.  It has been too dry to use the fire pit.  With the tomatoes in transplanted in the greenhouse, the tub was open for a different use.  Leftover flowers are on sale and it was easy to find some to make a mobile hummingbird heaven. 

If you have a smoker this is the perfect summer recipe:  Smoked S'mores Ice Cream

2 cups of milk

2 cups of cream

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 Tablespoon of vanilla

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Mix well in an oven proof bowl.  Put the bowl in the smoker.  Spread 1 jar of marshmallow cream on an aluminum pan place it in the smoker.  Place 1/2 bag of chocolate chips in an oven proof pan and in the smoker.  While everything is smoking, crush one sleeve of graham crackers.  Smoke the ice cream mix, marshmallow cream, and chocolate at 150 degrees.  After an hour remove the ice cream mix and put it in the ice cream maker.  Let it do its thing.  Leave the chocolate and marshmallow cream in the smoker at 150 degrees until the ice cream is done.  Swirl in the chocolate, marshmallow cream, and graham crackers.  Freeze over night.  Then enjoy.

Do you make homemade ice cream?  Are the fireflies out where you are?  I've been watching them every night.  I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July.  

Wood shop, pizza, and winter trees...

Our winter barn project is done.   We painted and installed the salvaged cupboards.  We used chalkboard paint for the middle one, so my husband can keep project notes. The bench below was built by his father.  The walls are lumber from various projects and we added a wood stove for heat.  Altogether, it turned out pretty cozy.   It is good to have that project done.

 I love Pinterest.  This weekend I tried Mexican Chorizo White Pizza with a beer crust.  Overall, pretty good.
Crust:
2 c. Flour
1 t. Active dry yeast
1/2 t. Baking powder
1/2 t. Salt
1 T. Olive oil
6 oz. Dark beer
Mix dry ingredients and add olive oil and warm beer.  Knead 7-10 minutes and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.

White Sauce:
2 T. Butter
2 T. Flour
1 1/2 c. Milk at room temperature
1 t. Garlic powder
1/2 t. White pepper (I used normal pepper)
Pinch of nutmeg
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. Cheddar
Melt butter in a saucepan and whisk in flour.  Cook 2 minutes then whisk in milk.  Stir in garlic, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook, stirring often, until sauce becomes thick.  Then remove from heat and stir in cheeses.  Stir until the cheese melts.

When dough is ready knead for a few seconds.  Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Drizzle a little olive oil on a baking sheet or pizza stone.  Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place doughball in the center and push to edges of the pan.  Brush with olive oil, cover with white sauce, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and oregano.  Add taco meat (The recipe calls for chorizo, but we didn't like it much.) or sausage, black olives, pepper, mozzarela, cheddar, and Parmesan cheeses.  Yumm.  I made changes to the actual recipe.  It can be found here: pinaenlacocina.com

All this talk of social distancing is intriguing to me.  My husband and I are professional social distancers.  I normally get groceries once a week and sometimes every two weeks.  The pantry is always stocked and our freezer is full of deer meat.  We don't go out to eat very often and take few shopping trips.  During this time my biggest concern is for our families and friends.  I hope everyone is being safe and taking care of themselves.  

Lots to accomplish...

Quite a bit was accomplised this weekend.  We got plenty of exercise between shoveling, yoga, and snowshoeing.  Ella wasn't the only one tired out.  

I made this amazing peach cobbler.  There is nothing cozier than enjoying warm cobbler, with ice cream, in front of the fire, with big flakes of snow drifting down.  Heaven on earth.

I started cutting the flying geese border for my quilt. Since it

was all about feathers, I figured the flying goose was the best border to use. It's been awhile since I've done these blocks, so it took a bit to do the first ones.  Hopefully, I'll get faster.

Today was definitely a spa day.  I let my hair reenergize with honey/olive oil hot oil treatment.  I used the dry brush to exfoliate and increase circulation.  The lemon sugar scrub coupled with my homemade lemon lotion bars gave some much needed moisture to my skin.  The chamomile hair detangler helped me get a comb through my hair.  Finally, a long cold drink of refreshing raspberry/basil water.  It was better than going to the spa.

I did my monthly wine racking.  I bottled my Pearly Legal pear wine and bottled some Golly Gee Grape from the oak barrel. I have made 131 batches of wine.  I really enjoy making wine and cannot believe that it is so simple.

Ella and I sent a little message to my husband for Valentine's Day.  It was a beautiful day to be outside.  We're you able to accomplish much this weekend?  Did you have a good Valentine's Day?  I have been able to keep busy this winter.  Just three more months.  I hope your winter has been as productive.

Life is fabulous...

There is nothing we appreciate more than Sunday dinner.  We both work together to make a nice meal.  My husband does an amazing job with our smoker/grill.  I'm usually in charge of the side dishes and sometimes homemade bread.  Today I made some fried potatoes and my favorite rosemary and sea salt flat bread.  We finished everything off enjoying a white cake with raspberry filling that my

husband made. Even better with a glass of homemade raspberry wine.  Little things like this make life good.   

Overall, it was a good weekend.  I finished the feathers on my quilt.  They all turned out great, except the last one.  It fought me the whole way.  I'm still debating whether to rip part of it out and fix it.  Ella and I enjoyed the sunshine today and went snowshoeing.  I entered several recipes in the family cookbook.  Somewhere in that the house got cleaned.

We are supposed to get a blizzard tonight, so one must enjoy good weather when possible.  The photo below was last night's sunset.   Breathtaking.  I've really enjoyed reading about everyone's winter projects.  I'm so impressed with all the different talents people have.  Here is hoping you have a fabulous week.

A busy week...

 So far I am enjoying winter.  I've been working on my quilt, beading earrings, making wine, baking cookies, enjoying the outdoors, and working out.  This week I was elated about the chance to spend time with my parents, sister, and her family.  I got to see the older girls play basketball, help the younger girls with their homework, and we all worked on a puzzle together.  The puzzle was finished tonight without me, but they sent a picture.  My nephew was adamant it looks like our cabin.  I got home for the weekend and was lucky enough to enjoy a glass of wine, cozy on the couch, with the dog.

 My brother made this wonderful tray and it works perfectly for my beading projects.  I love the juxtaposition of colors and textures in the photo above.  I'm finishing a feather a week on the quilt, so progress is good on that front.   

I rewarded myself today with a hot yoga class.  I've been watching on-line yoga videos for guidance every night, six days a week for three months and am amazed with the results.  A friend of mine teaches a Bikram yoga class in Spearfish.  Bikram yoga is done in a heated room at 105 degree temperatures.   I love sweat lodges and saunas, so Bikram yoga was right up my alley.  It was my first official yoga class and I was super excited.  It did not disappoint.  Afterwards, I enjoyed coffee with a few friends.

I was also pleased because I tried a homemade electrolyte drink for my yoga class and it was excellent.  I took 2 1/2 c. Water, 1/3 c. Lemon juice, 2 t. Honey, and 1/4 t. Salt.  I highly recommend it.  There is no sugar, it tastes good, and I felt great after drinking it.

I made my husband's all time favorite cookies, white chocolate chip cookies.

TOLL HOUSE WHITE CHIP CHOCOLATE COOKIES
2 1/4 c. Flour
2/3 c. Cocoa
1 t. Baking soda
1/4 t. Salt
1 c. Soft butter
3/4 c.  Sugar
2/3 c. Brown sugar
1 t. Vanilla
2 Eggs
1 1/2 c. White chocolate chips

Mix together and drop by tablespoon on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 Degrees or 325 degrees at high altitudes.  

It has been a great weekend.  Tomorrow my huband and I are going on an adventure.  That should make the weekend perfect.

My husband felt bad for the deer around the cabin, so he got them a couple of alfalfa bales.  They must have told every deer in the tri-state area, because we went from 10 deer to 21.  Holy moly.

Well, that is all I know. What a great week.  Time with family, friends, exercise, projects, baking, and relaxation.  Life is good and I am thankful.  Who did you spend time with this week?  What projects did you work on?  Did you exercise?  Did you bake anything?  I can't wait to hear about your adventures.

Projects and more projects...

 I was a project fiend today.  I repotted my succulents into some pots I got in Denmark.  Then surrounded them with some little rocks I had.  Next, I took what was left of a gingerbread candle I loved, melted it down, added some beeswax, and made wax melts for the wax melter my brother made me.  That project was a HUGE success.

I have been out of lotion bars for awhile, so I used a double boiler to melt coconut oil, olive oil, beeswax, and lemon essential oil.  The lotion bars are a little softer than I would like, but maybe they need more time to harden.

Then I moved to herb projects.  I picked my rosemary, basil, lemon thyme, juniper, lavendar, marjoram, and sage. The goal was to replicate some herb salt Christina brought me from Denmark and make smudge sticks.   I pulverized a coarse salt with rosemary, lemon thyme, basil, and added juniper berries.  I made several different smudge sticks with combinations of sage, lavender, marjoam, juniper, and even some rose petals. I have to wait until they dry before I know how they turned out.  That might be awhile, since it is very humid.

Yesterday, I picked red currents, black currents, gooseberries, raspberries, sour cherries, and service berries. I washed them up and froze them for various projects.

I was on a roll, so I found a recipe for Himalayan bath salt ideas.  I found one that had peony petals.  After drying the petals, I took 1/2 pink Himalayan salt, 1/2 cup Epsom salt, 1/4 cup of peony petals, and 1 T. of lavender flowers and added 4 T. of olive oil.  Then I made my go to sugar scrub with 1 cup of sugar, 1 T. of lemon rind, 3 T. lemon juice, and 3 T. olive oil.  I also made some chamomile/lemon hair de-tangler and face spray.  That was about it for projects. 

Even though it sounds like I was super busy, I had plenty of time to sit on the porch.  As always I am amazed with what I see from my porch.  Friday night while sipping a glass of chokecherry wine, something came out from beneath the front stairs.  I couldn't see it's head and I thought that sure is a dark colored cat.  Well, it wasn't a cat.  It was a Pine Martin.  I was so excited.  It trotted up the sidewalk and wandered around the road.  I was trying to get Kelly's attention, as he was inside the cabin so I didn't get a photo.  You should have heard the squirrels cussing him.  I was happy, because pine martins eat squirrels and our squirrels are nasty little creatures.  Sure enough that wasn't the end of the story.  Saturday morning, while enjoying my coffee on the porch, I heard a commotion by the bird feeder.  A squirrel was just sitting there eating peacefully and here came the pine martin.  The race was on.  They went up the pine tree, down the pine tree, and off through the woods.  I don't know if it caught the squirrel, but I hope it did.  What excitement.  These are some photos of a pine martin I took while elk hunting several years ago.  They are very curious and remind me of a ferret.  I hope he hangs around.  I have plenty of mice, chipmunks, and squirrels for it to eat. 

That was my busy weekend.  It felt good to get some projects done.  I've been sluffing for awhile when it comes to doing anything extra.  What projects have you done?  What is the strangest animal you have seen around your home?  Have you ever seen a pine martin?