Thanksgiving at the farm

My favorite tree.

We spent the day with my parents on the farm.  This is the place where I grew up.  The original house was lost in a fire in 1991 but my parents rebuilt on the same spot and much of the property is just as it was many years ago.  

If you have ever wondered about my tree image.  This is it.  This is a HUGE cottonwood tree that has stood near the corncrib for nearly forever.  You can just see some farm equipment parked on the far side of the tree that gives you a sense of scale.  I have been taking photos of this tree, from about this same spot for years.  Not quite sure why- except that I love that big old tree.  Maybe it is a symbol of the connection I feel, the rootedness (is that even a word) to the land.

I, K and V check out the corn.

After eating waaay too much for Thanksgiving dinner (we ate about 1:00) some of us took a walk.  My Dad has retired from active farming but rents the land to a young man who lives nearby.  Yeah, it's conventional farming, but this guy at least treats the land with respect.  He was out with his combine later, still trying to get the crops in.  This particular field is, I believe, about 70 acres and I think it is one of the last he has to finish.

My Dad on the tractor.

My Dad took advantage of the nice weather as well to disc one of the garden plots.  This old tractor is his pride and joy.  If you notice the big silver tank on the side- it's a propane tank.  My Dad is quite the tinkerer and a few years ago converted this tractor to run on propane.  It definitely isn't new or top of the line but it runs.  I learned my frugality from one of the best!

Hope all here in the states had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration.  And to all those in other places,  I hope you also enjoyed your day and the bounty of the earth.

Peace,  Judy

Brussels Sprouts with maple butter and walnuts

Yum, the sample was great!!

This is an adaptation of a dish I have made in the past that originally used chestnuts.  I'm fresh out of chestnuts and not likely to pay the outrageous price to get some so I substituted lightly toasted walnuts for the roast chestnuts.  I'm assembling the entire dish tomorrow at my Mom and Dad's house but thought  should make sure it is OK before I serve it to the family.  Quality control is important.  It works with the walnuts.

Brussels sprouts with maple butter and walnuts

1/3 to 1/2 cup lightly toasted walnuts (I dry toasted them in a cast iron skillet)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 or 3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, cooked until tender but not mushy (leave whole if small or cut into halves or quarters)

olive oil

1/2 large red onion, sliced thin

salt and pepper to taste

Cream butter with maple syrup, set aside

Lightly saute onions in olive oil until tender.

Mix sauteed onions into Brussels sprouts, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Allow to cool slightly then mix in maple butter and toasted walnuts. Serve immediately.

For traveling just over an hour tomorrow I've cooked the sprouts and onion, mixed the maple butter and toasted the walnuts.  When we arrive, I plan to  reheat the veggies and add the maple butter and nuts right before we serve.  Hope it turns out well.

I'm also making Pumpkin Praline Pie.  From the scent coming from the oven it promises to be remarkable!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  Enjoy the fruits of your labors!!

What I'm Thankful For...

I'm thankful for many things in my life.  

First and foremost,  I'm thankful for my family.  My loving husband V and my 3 beautiful, talented children.  Oh, we have our moments where things aren't always fabulous, but, that's life.  

I am thankful that I have a stable job that I love, working with people I respect.  I may not always want to go to work and sometimes I resent my work interfering with my life but again, I am grateful.

I am thankful that we have a beautiful, warm home. That we have enough food to feed us and keep our bodies strong.  I'm even thankful for our wild, wonderful dog.

I am thankful for all my friends and family, both near and far, even those I have only recently met.  I am also thankful for this wonderful world that we have been given and I hope to have much opportunity to be a good steward of this earth. 

Snuffle, Snuffle

Everyone here has a cold.  I11 is hopefully just about over his since I think he had it first.  K8 doesn't seem too bothered but he is sniffling and snotty nosed.  J14 has been coughing, V has been slightly feverish and snuffly.  I've been having the sinus drainage down the back of the throat for about the last week and, frankly, I'm getting a bit tired of it.  V and I both have to work tomorrow (V only til 1:00) but the kids are all off school until next week.  Hopefully if they get a chance to rest up tomorrow they'll be good to go on Thanksgiving.  We'll have to be careful around all the family so we don't share more than a meal.  

My sister from Colorado and her sons will be at my parent's Thursday- they're bringing the turkey with them so it won't exactly be Iowa local.  I still need to decide what to bring.  My Mom was NO help.  I got the traditional midwestern indecision:  "Whatever you want to bring is fine".  ARRGH!!!

I've been tagged! Green Meme #2

Mon at Global Homestead has tagged me!  Green Meme #2.  Wow, I've never been tagged before but here we go.

Guidelines: 

1) Link back to Green Meme Bloggers. (use image if you like)

2) Link back to whoever tagged you (no need to wait to be tagged!)

3) Include meme number

4) Include these guidelines in your post

5) Tag 3 other green bloggers.

Green Meme #2

1. Do you use baking soda toothpaste or baking soda shampoo?  If not, would you consider it?

I've used baking soda for toothpaste before both in toothpaste and 'straight up'.  I've never tried it for shampoo but I've heard it's hard on the hair and mine tends to be pretty dry anyway.

2. Do you make any home cleaning products?

Oh yeah,  We use lots of vinegar and baking soda.  We even discovered, when the children were young, that a mix of water, vinegar and a bit of soap actually cleans crayon marks off walls better than the commercial cleaners.  

3. What is your top green issue at the moment?

Probably local foods.  I've been trying to be more conscious of where our food comes from and how many miles it has traveled to make it to our plates.

4. Given unlimited cash, what is on your fantasy green wishlist?

Oh,  the acreage with the dream house would be top of the list.  Passive solar, with a wood stove and a fireplace that I can cook in- with a bake oven.  And a root cellar and some wind turbines up on the hill....

5.  Have you implemented any new green act/behaviour/product this month?

Hmm, not really recently, although I did manage to finally get our new rain barrel emptied before it completely froze.

I am planning to tag Stephany at
Naturally Simple, Matriarchy at Ramping Up the Garden and Gina at Cauldron Ridge Farm.

Taking advantage of things

      

I love my slicer.  We got this one for a wedding gift way back in the dark ages.  It is beginning to show it's age but it still works quite well.  It allows us to take advantage of buying things in bulk (or chunks) and slicing it ourselves.  Much cheaper than deli products.  I'll admit, over the past few years I have gotten lazy and we've been buying deli meats, but no more.  The ham pictured is a smoked one (not local unfortunately) that I picked up recently.  I also took advantage of a special deal at the grocery store.  There must have been an error in ordering for the deli because they had a limited number of whole 12 lb deli hams on sale for $11.99.  We got one and cut it into chunks, wrapped it and tucked it away in the freezer.  Talk about a lucky find.  I went back later to pick one up for my mother but they were all gone.

We also took advantage today of the warm weather.  It was up to 51 today.  Not too bad for Iowa the week before Thanksgiving.  V climbed up onto the roof (I was the official ladder holder) to fix the chimney.  The chimney cap was crumbling and he discovered that there are several bricks that will need replacing- but not right now.  He got it patched up enough that it will hold through the winter but we'll have to put some effort into it in the spring when it's warmer.

I also picked up some inexpensive chicken hindquarters at the grocery this afternoon (one final shopping trip for the week while I11 was at band rehearsal).  We're having some of them roast with winter veggies for dinner and I have the rest simmering for stock for other uses.  We'll have several meals from them.  

I got the weekly menu planned, with the exception of Thursday since we will go to my parent's farm to be with family. My brother will be there as will my sister from Colorado. I need to find out from my Mom what she needs me to bring- although I'm sure she has been cooking for the past week already.  I was thinking of maybe the Pumpkin Praline Pie I saw last week. Not that we will need any more desserts.  

LOL.  The boys asked if they could watch a movie while dinner is cooking and since they have finished their homework I said yes.  I just noticed that they are watching a Winnie the Pooh movie- in French- with English subtitles.  Who knew....

Thrift store treasures

Since the weather turned colder, J14 has been complaining that she doesn't have many long sleeved shirts that still fit her (that child had the audacity to grow!! although I think she is about done).  I plan to get her some new things for holiday gifts but in the meantime I took her to a local thrift store (run by the local Mennonite community) to pick up some new shirts. We were fortunate that they were having a sale (even at the thrift store!) so she got several shirts for $.25 each.  I also let her get a gorgeous midnight blue formal since she informed me that the winter formal dance is coming up on Dec. 13 and I'm NOT going to pay retail prices for a dress.  It will need hemmed because it is too long but it was definitely a good find. I told her I would only get it if she promised she would wear it more than once.  I think formal dresses are such a waste (hence my thrift store wedding dress). I'll have to post some pictures before the dance.

We also purchased several used books.  J14 got "The Seed Starter's Handbook" that she plans to give me for a holiday gift (Hmm, I wonder who could have clued her in on that $.75  gift idea).  The most interesting we got was a total impulse buy.  We were looking through the foreign language section (since J is taking German) and came across an old book about the Johnstown flood in Pennsylvania. Since V is originally from PA and also knows German we decided to get it for him, especially since it is a first edition printed in 1889.  We paid $.63 for it (a half price item).  This afternoon I did some research online about it.  I only found 2 or 3 sites with information about this particular volume (there were lots about the edition in English) but the ones I did find had it listed for sale anywhere from $38 to $130 depending on condition.  We're not planning to put it up for sale but what a great find.  I love old books and we have quite a collection, many of which I have no idea how much they are worth.  Maybe we should up the home insurance...