Country Cooking Club

A neighbor and I make up the country cooking club that meets in my kitchen on Thursday evenings.  As long as the weather is crummy enough to keep us out of our gardens and one of us was able to make the trek to a decent grocery store we cook.  

It started out with my fear of cooking lamb, or possibly even eating lamb.  So we first did a white bean rosemary lamb shank stew and it was delicious!  We also did lamb kafta with fatoush and an incredible lamb shoulder roast.  

I should have been better at keeping a record along the way but honestly there is not much time for pictures and writing notes when there are many mouths to feed.  Here's a few of the recent dishes I did catch:

Ecuadorian Chicken Stew.  What intimidated me the most about this recipe was the achiote paste but that is what made it fabulous.  This was a perfect comfort meal on a freezing Feb. evening.

More recently we  made hassle back potatoes.  We let Clara and Maryanna practice their knife skills on these.  They were fun to make and fun to eat!

We also made lamb liver and onions.  Before cooking this my neighbor taught me the very important lesson on how to properly clean and season a cast iron skillet, and also how to have the patience for transparent onions.   Charlie gobbled the liver up and begged for more.

We also discovered these super simple kale and goat cheese frittata muffins.  The red pepper in them made all the difference although I found when feeding them to my children it required a bit of crumbled bacon and less goat cheese.  These are perfect to pass around during the 20 min drive to church.

This next dish, lemon-pepper soy-ginger lamb heart stir fry, was unexpectedly my favorite.  When I opened the package of lamb liver I did not know the heart was hiding beneath it.  At first I was going to throw it to the dogs but decided to experiment instead.  It was so tender!  We cooked this on an evening when the boys were away so us girls got to enjoy it all to ourselves and Maryanna now says lamb heart is one of her favorite foods.  She also said, "maybe it was so good because we loved the lamb so much and he loved us".  

Recently the temperature has been warming up so we opt to stay outdoors instead of cooking. The girls on the other hand join for their own club.  They are perfecting the recipes from the Mudpie cookbook they got for Christmas.  

And I have to admit it looks tempting, one of these days I'm going to dig in with may hands and join them.

Homeschool News

What I love most about homeschool is the opportunity for spontaneous learning.  Paul was recently sent a rack of Dreamland ribs packed in dry ice.  Before we could even enjoy the ribs the kids begged to experiment with the dry ice, so we did.  James is the science guy around here so I let him lead the demonstration and discussion on frozen carbon dioxide, I even let him clean up the mess.  It is always fun to have an activity that engages everyone. 

On another afternoon I took a few kids to a gem show and they enjoyed soap stone carving demonstrations, talking to vendors about how stones are polished, painting their own fossil like creation a piece of slate and cracking open a geo.  They came home with their very own rock collection.

We also recently discovered diy.org and have been hooked to making all sorts of creative (and messy) projects.  I love the way it integrates right into our homeschool process, this site has supported my trust in child lead learning.  The children select a project, I provide the materials and they are responsible for both the completion and recording of it.  In the end they are rewarded with a virtual badge and are able to share and connect with other children working on similar projects.  

And the reality of our homeschool is we are still struggling in many areas.  The younger half are on the opposite extreme as the older boys, they are still struggling with basics.  I've tried drilling them but honestly that is no fun for any of us.  Instead I've created a visual reminder, just like our alphabet board, the number banner is in constant view and if they flip one or get one mixed up I simply tell them to check the banner and see if they are able to correct the mistake on their own.

My craft and sewing projects are limited to what is needed most and happy that I was able to squeeze the time in to cut out the freezer paper stencils for this project.  It is proving to be very helpful.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to spend my days surrounded by my children.  It is not easy, I'm not sure the responsibility of it meets my capacity, it stretches me, and perhaps that is the most valuable lesson for my children to learn, how to grow into their fullest selves.  The truth is, they will pick up on the things they see me holding, it doesn't require too much planning, it just happens.

Farm News

There are stories to be told but little time to give life to them now. Instead I offer just the news without any attempt to bring you to the level of laughter and tears as it all really happened.

We recently borrowed a ram.  It has been on our "to do" list for several weeks and months but it did not move to the top until my neighbor Beth came over and taught me how to properly prepare a lamb shoulder roast.  We had a memorable feast and the next day Paul made arrangements for the ram to join us. We are hoping it is not too late in the season for breeding to happen.

The kids know to stay out of the pen and pastures but have enjoyed getting to know him through the fence.

In other animal news it is confirmed that Yuleme (one of the goat ladies) is pregnant! We wanted to know for sure before drying her off so we performed a blood test.  It looked easy enough on a youtube video but the reality of drawing blood from an animal was another experience. I almost fainted once but was urged to keep trying. Finally I called a nearby vet to give us a good lesson in it.  Still not sure I will ever grow into that task, I even threatened to leave the entire farm life behind because of it, let's just say I'm glad that experience is behind us.

Now with only one of the does pregnant we are happy to still be getting 2 qts of milk a day from the other doe Arabella.  We are considering staggering their breeding so we will always be in  milk but really this is just a reminder that we really don't know what we are doing.  And the reality of baby goats due to arrive in a couple of weeks will be its own reminder and experience.  But aside from any outcome from these animals, I admit over all the farmyard, these goats have won my heart and maybe that is why the blood draw was too painful for me to perform.

Meanwhile we are all anxiously awaiting the return of sunshine.  We enjoyed one day of it but the reality is right now it feels more like January with fresh snow buzzing around outside our windows and a chill in my finger tips as I type.  So I'll stick with sharing pictures from that one beautiful day.

William's been working with Polar everyday. Except for chasing chickens he is proving to be a good dog.

I am reading more garden books than I ever imagined I would and find myself still questioning.  So the greatest lesson I am learning is the need to simply put the books down and turn to experience as my teacher.  That is not an easy thing for me because I'm really good at mistakes and even better at beating myself up after the mistakes.  

May these trees, the plants, this land, the animals and even my children be understanding and forgiving of my inexperience.  May I see the perfection in the imperfection, be unattached to the expected outcome and simply embrace the experience.

That is my way of saying I hold both a longing and terror for this upcoming garden season.

The children on the other hand see it all as joy.  With a chance to dig in the dirt they discovered rows unharvested carrots, they were the colorful ones ranging from yellow, orange and purple.  We tasted them and decided they were more fun to find than to eat so most will be left behind as food for the soil.  

As for "the stories", just know there was a close encounter with both a opossum and a skunk in recent weeks.  I am happy to report that Paul was in town during both these episodes and chuckled his way through them.  So grateful to be sharing this life with someone who holds a cheerful disposition and willingness to do the jobs that no one wants to do.  I also look forward to someday (soon) reading his record of it.  Because "farm news" actually has the power to make us laugh and touch hearts.

Meet Emma

This is Emma, Maryanna's new 29" doll.

We started making her at the beginning of winter after visiting a friend who had a large collection of handmade dolls.  She gave us some fabric and let us borrow a stack of her doll making books from Germany so we could get started on this very special doll.

The time spent at the sewing machine for making this type of doll is minimal, it is mostly a lot of hand sewing and sculpting and I was happy to do that by the fire.

She is stuffed with wool and Maryanna selected a carved stone and placed it in her body for her heart.

The kids all thought it was kind of creepy as she started to come to life.  When it was time to finish her Maryanna gave her some anesthetic so she would not feel the pain of me stitching her eyes and sewing on her hair.

"When she was finished we woke her up and she was refreshed and happy to see the sky".

Maryanna selected the color of her hair and eyes, choosing the most beautiful colors in the box.  Since she is the size of a toddler I simply pulled out some of the girls' old clothes and shoes and they proved to be a perfect fit!  This outfit was one of my favorites, it was made for Clara for Christmas several years ago.

Maryanna says she is so fun to play with because she like a real person and so soft to carry.  They will have many good times and adventures together!

Maryanna says Emma especially loves to ride her horse named "Moonie".   She also likes to play "big sister" to Clara's doll "Rosie".

I have to say the time for sewing is hard to come by these days.  I limit my projects to what is needed most or to what brings the most joy. And this doll has already brought much joy so I am grateful for the dear friend who shared her knowledge and supplies and the cozy days by the fire that allowed for Emma's completion.

Peter's Pinewood Derby

Guest Post by Peter

Last Wednesday was the pinewood derby. The week before I went over to my neighbors house and cut out my car out not knowing I was going to win.  The cut design was very simple because I wanted it to have good aerodynamics.

My dad and I bought some green spray and painted it 5 days before the race. 3 days before the race my mom and I designed a crocodile mouth with teeth and eyes and a windshield nostrils. We also added a license plate and some other details.

The next night we started grinding and polishing the axles. The next day was race day and we did a lot of work. We polished the axles, prepared the wheels and weighed it. Fortunately I noticed some gorilla glue got in the axles and wheels so replaced them.  When we got that problem fixed, we noticed the car turned left so we fixed that problem also.

Before the race we met my grandma and grandpa at Jimmy Johns.  I got an unwhich lettuce wrap it tasted good but I was felling nervous while I ate it.

At the church my car weighed 4.7 ounces so we added on a penny and a nickel which made it about 5.0 or 4.9 ounces, some glue almost got on the wheels. On the first race my nickel flew off so on the second race I almost lost.  Then I glued the nickel back on and I won the Bears group. I got pink silly putty as a reward.

After I lost what I thought was the championship.  Then I was relieved to fine out it was only a double illumination so I had a second chance.  On one round and it was a tie between me and Byron which my dad said had to be down to the last millionth of a second.  It was very close but finally after several runs I won! I got a laser pointer and I also won the award for the buffest car. It was a very memorable night and I won't forget it.  It was worth the hard work.

Fun Times in February

February was both long and short.  Looking back it was fun, but while still in it, it seemed it would never end.  Here's a collection of photos that share some of the good times, as for the rest, there are no photos, just a pulsing memory of this packed farmhouse pounding with the energy of many restless children. I admit I sought the refuge of earplugs and an insulated hat on more than a couple evenings. For the rest, I grabbed the same insulated hat and simply joined in the fun and occasionally brought my camera along.

When the snow was fresh our neighbor Hank treated us to a tractor pulled toboggan ride.  He tugged the kids back along a path in the woods and around his pond several times.  We even tied another sled to the back and had 6 of us along for the ride.  Our dog Archie would not miss out on the fun and kept right on our tail chasing us along the trail.  

    

Back in our yard the kids mastered "snow surfing" and happy to report that only one goose egg resulted from it. 

We also spared a full morning for family sledding in the sunshine at a nearby park.    

At home it's been a constant chore to catch Pickles the barn cat before sneaking in the house. 

Speaking of chores, we've gone through a lot of wood this season, more than we were able to stack in November so we had another long weekend of it.



And to stay warm we've heated constant quarts of herbal tea and I'm still wondering how it is that even on the coldest of winter days the kids are leaving the doors open and stripping down to bare skin!

Valentine's Day was celebrated fondue style with fancy cheese and stale bread, and followed with chocolate and strawberries.  We exchanged homemade cards and coupons and Paul presented me with the most romantic gift of all..........a huge box of ear plugs!

We also spent a few evenings hosting friends and family.  Mary came with her family to help us look for Polar and that unforgettable evening moved from cookie making, chess playing, a into the woods dog search party and a tearful chicken funeral.

On a much slower day the kids rediscovered the comfort of hanging out and napping in baby wrap hammocks.

I rediscovered the ease of simply putting all the younger kids to bed at once, for as wild as they may have been just hours before, seeing them asleep and snuggled up like kittens was priceless!

And finally the big joy of February has been cheering on Charlie as he's learning to walk.  We'll find ourselves in circle and everyone will call and clap until he carefully finds his way into some one's lap.  Watching him slowly step and looking into his joyful eyes has been the much needed sunshine around here.  It has reminded me to not wish away even the coldest days of winter.