Whiteley Creek Homestead

LIFE AT THE END OF A DIRT ROAD IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA

organically grown triticale in our field
canoeing in our wetlands
raspberries growing wild on our property
our back porch fieldstone fireplace

about

  • pumpkin pancakes

    There is an autumn feel in the air… just the day for pumpkin pancakes topped with chunks of perfectly ripe pears and a drizzle of real maple local syrup.

    Pumpkin pancake batter  

    Pure autumn bliss…

    Pumpkin pancakes 

    Pumpkin Pancakes

    Whisk 1 ¼ cups flour (I used stoneground Gold N White flour), 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp each cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt, 1/8 tsp each nutmeg and ground cloves. Mix 1 egg, 6 tbsp pumpkin purée, 2 tbsp melted butter, and 1 cup milk; fold into dry ingredients. Heat an oiled skillet over medium heat (or an electric skillet to 350°). Pour ¼ cup batter for each pancake. Flip when bubbles form on top side.

     

    There was no indication, on my yellowed-from-age photocopy of this recipe, of where I originally discovered this recipe, so I am unable to credit the source. All I can say is, "Why did I wait so long to try it?" 

  • 1st day back to school

    The buses are running once again. Each year, since I left the teaching profession twelve years ago, I have made a point to go out for breakfast on the first day of school so that I can watch the buses pass by enroute to their dropoff sites… just because I can. This year was different. Since I am once again a student myself, I decided to stay at home and create some school supplies for my two classes this first term… Basic Herbology and Fundamentals of Nutrition. Every student needs school supplies to start the new year. I decided I needed some cheery bookmarks to keep my place as I progress through my texts. 

    I started out on a blog called How About Orange where I saw the cutest cupcake picks and before I know it I'm on Little Paper Dog's Blog printing off her free download to make the picks. I hang out a while there and end up eventually at sharonrowenphotodesign.blogspot.com. Now how'd I get there?! A link link here… a link link there… here a link… there a link. Everywhere a link link. That's how. 

    Bookmark pear  

    The bookmark on the left is a free download I found on Sharon Rowen's blog. To create the bookmark on the right, I changed up her colors a bit to suit my taste by using the "hue and saturation" option in my digital imaging software. 

  • labor day

    Today, on this Labor Day, I salute the hard-working farmers in our country. This photo dominated one-third of our local newspaper's front page on Friday. The sky… look at the sky. It looks like it was painted with watercolors.

    Corn hay field  

  • packaging

    I'm a sucker for packaging. Give me an artsy, creative receptacle… doesn't really matter whether I need what's inside… just make it catch my eye and you've got my money. Take this retro look Chinese takeout-style cardboard box with a handle no less… Did I need the dishcloths so neatly folded inside the box? I do love the colors but, no, I didn't need them. Just a few days ago I received two cheery yellow ones that a guest knit for me… my fav dishcloth type… to replace ones that had thinned out beyond usefulness. No, my dishes would have gotten washed with my present dishcloths, but look how adorable.

    Dishcolth retro packaging 

    As I browsed the products a couple aisles away from where the dishcloths were displayed at The Wedge Co-op in Minneapolis, I spied this package of granola. The leaf-shaped cutout windows, that allow a peek at the mix of grains, dried fruit, seeds, and nuts inside, subconsciously ever-so-subtly and gently says "nature, wholesome, good-for-me"… the autumn colors didn't hurt either. 

    Granola packaging

  • state fair, mpls farm mkt, wedge co-op

    What would the end of summer… Labor Day Weekend… be without attending the state fair? It's the season's right of passage into autumn, afterall. So, early yesterday morning, Dick and I headed to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. One of our final buildings to tour last evening was the one where the Princess Kay of the Milky Way contestants' heads are carved out of butter. Since it was the topic of one of my earlier posts, I thought I'd take a photo of this year's event. A sculpture is created each day of the fair but, sadly, the sculptor had finished her carving for the day, so I wasn't able to get a shot of her in action. According to the poster hanging on the wall, each sculpture is carved from a 90 lb block of butter inside a booth chilled to a temperature of 40 degrees. Each sculpture takes about 6-8 hours to complete. After the fair, each Princess Kay Finalist takes her sculpture home.

    Princess kay butter sculptures 

    After staying overnight in Minneapolis, we headed over to the Minneapolis Farmers Market on Lyndale Avenue.

    Heirloom tomatoes mpls farmers mkt

    There aren't as many vendors during the week as on the weekend but, besides heirloom tomatoes, we came away with a huge potted chrysanthemum as well as a delicious breakfast of a pint of raspberries and a bag of cheese curds. Next stop was the Wedge Food Co-op just down the road for a gigantic carrot muffin and equally large oatmeal blueberry scone to add to our breakfast fare. I love the photos and bios of the local farmers hanging above the veggie bins in the produce section. I feel an instant connection and gratitude for their hard work and committment to sustainable organic farming choices. I bought two large freshly-picked bunches of parsley to make a beverage that has cukes, celery, parsley, apples, and water whirred together in a blender. I have made this several times but never shared the recipe, so look for it in an upcoming post… so very nutritious and an excellent way to use up cucumbers that seem to multiply as quickly in the garden as zucchini.

    Wedge co-op produce section   

    The coupons in my "living green" focused Blue Sky Guide, that I got because I was one of the first hundred people in line waiting for the doors to open at the Living Green Expo this past May, expire at the end of November. I was able to use many of the coupons for the items that I purchased at the The Wedge Co-Op. The majority of the coupons are for businesses in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, but there are many grocery coupons that can be used at any stores that carry those particular products. The coupon book, that sells for $20.00, was quite a nice gift.

  • sweet pumpkin dumplings

    This morning, I arose early to make fragrant warm-from-the-oven sweet potato scones for my bed and breakfast guests. The local maple syrup used for sweetener, alongside the other autumn-colored ingredients (whole wheat flour, oat bran, ground flaxseed, wheat germ, cinnamon, nutmeg, shredded sweet potato, and deep orange yolk from free-roaming hens) was my inspiration for choosing to make them on this particular morning. It's September 1st, so it just seems natural to think autumn colors.   

    Sweet potato scone dry ingred 

    Sweet potato scone wet ingred 

    But I've already made these so very yummy and "squeaky clean" scones several times, so I wanted to try a new recipe after I'd prepared, served, and cleaned up after breakfast. Something for Dick's and my dessert after we finish off leftover beef bourguignon for lunch… Sweet pumpkin dumplings… now that sounds like a perfect way to celebrate this 1st day of September!

    Sweet pumpkin dumplings 

    I will share my version of this recipe soon. The pumpkin dumplings are perfect, but I'm going to revamp the sauce to make it a thinner consistency with a more cinnamon-y and nutmeg-y flavor and add fresh sliced peaches. Now doesn't that sound yummy? I thought you'd think so.  

  • i shan’t go to town

    No, I shall stay home today. The most beautiful pale pink hollyhock burst forth… a late bloomer on this final day of August.

    I shan't go to town today 

    …and my cosmos is so lovely, too. Yes, pink is my favorite color… for today anyway.

    Cosmos pink

  • pear tree

    Earlier this spring, I shared a photo I took of blossoms on my pear tree. So very pretty… but it never bore any fruit. Twenty years since I planted my pair of Minnesota-hardy Harbin Pear trees… never any fruit. 

    Pear blossoms 

    Until about a month ago… To my amazement, the tree was heavily-laden with the most beautiful pears. Small… barely 2 inches across and very firm.

    Harbin pear tree 

    Today, I picked up some that had fallen on the ground to see if I can encourage ripening by placing them in a brown paper bag.

    Harbin pear blush 

    Such a pretty blush…

  • organic sweetie cherry tomato

    As I walked down my garden path to dig a few potatoes to make a pot of soup, I noticed that my "Autumn Joy Sedum" has ever so slightly begun to take on its fall coloring. Sedum ranks just behind sumac as a marker of autumn's approach. A bee and a daddy long leg happily shared space together. (Click the photo to enlarge it.)

    Sedum pre autumn color  

    Look how the clusters of cherry tomatoes hang so neatly on the vine as they ripen…like a necklace of beads. I started these Organic Sweetie Tomatoes from seed last winter and transplanted them into my garden this spring. They live up to their name… so very sweet. My online research confirms my palate's analysis. This particular tomato variety is known for its low acidity and high sugar content.

    Cherry tomato vine 

    I purchased the perfect metal pail from my friend Sandy, who owns "Country Roots Greenhouse" and a gardening gift shop 7 miles east of Brainerd, to gather each day's harvest. It came with a flat lid sporting a little round loop in the center just large enough to slip your finger through to lift it off. So fun…

    Harvest in Sandy's pail 

  • my classroom

    I have returned to the classroom… not as a teacher but as a student. A load of laundry is sloshing round and round in my front-loading washer, my dishwasher is so graciously cleaning my dishes for me, and my bread machine is kneading and providing a perfectly controlled temperature for my honey whole wheat bread's first rise so that I can then place it in a bread pan for its second rise before inserting in the oven. I picked a bouquet of cosmos from my garden and prepared a steaming cup of herbal orange spice tea (rosehips, orange peel, hibiscus, blackberry leaf, cloves, and roasted chicory) in my Grandma Grace's teacup. The birds feeding just off my backporch are supplying the most lovely melodies… no need for a nature CD. This is my classroom.  

    My classroom 

    I am earning my Bachelor's Degree in Holistic Nutrition. I have a jump start, since my general ED credits from the first two years of my Bachelor's and Master's education degrees transferred, so I am able to begin my core classes right away. I am taking two 3-credit classes to earn 6 credits this first term. One class is Basic Herbology and the other is Fundamentals of Holistic Nutrition. Since I will soon be mixing my own teas, tinctures, and creams, Dick has begun calling me the "Voodoo Queen". You see, there is a guy from Brainerd that provides music in the evenings in one of the entertainment buildings at the Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's Reunion at Rollag, Minnesota that is held every Labor Day Weekend.  He does an amazing rendition of a song named "Marie Laveau" about a voodoo lady who lived in a swamp in Louisiana. Every night, throughout the event, we request that he sing the song.

    Marie Laveau Words & Music by Shel Silverstein & Baxter Taylor. 

    Down in Lou´siana where the black trees grow

    Lives a voodoo lady named Marie Laveaux.

    She got a black cat tooth and a mojo bone,

    And anyone wouldn´t leave her alone.

    She go GREEEEEEEEEEEE…

    Another man done gone.

    She live in a swamp in a hollow log

    With a one-eyed snake and a three-legged dog.

    She got a bent bony body and stringy hair,

    And if she ever seen you messin´ round there,

    She go GREEEEEEEEEEEE…

    Another man done gone.

    And then one night when the moon was black,

    Into the swamp came Handsome Jack.

    A no-good man like you all know,

    And he was lookin´ around for Marie Laveaux .

    He said, "Marie Laveau, you lovely witch,

    Why don´t you gimme a little charm that´ll make me rich.

    Gimme million dollars, and I´ll tell you what I´ll do…

    This very night I´m gonna marry you."

    It´ll be UMMMMMMMM…

    Another man done gone.

    So Marie did some magic and she shook a little sand,

    Made a million dollars, and she put it in his hand.

    Then she looked and she said , "Hey hey,

    I´m gettin´ ready for my wedding day."

    But ol´ Handsome Jack said "Good-bye Marie.

    You too damn ugly for a man like me."

    So Marie started shakin´, her fangs started gnashin´,

    Her body started shakin´, and her eyes started flashin´.

    She went GREEEEEEEEEEEE…

    Another man done gone.

    So if you ever get down where the black tree grow

    And meet a voodoo lady named Marie Laveaux,

    And if she ever asks you to make her your wife,

    Man, you better stay with her for the rest of your life

    Or it´ll be GREEEEEEEEEEEE…

    Another man done gone.

     

    Copyright © 1972  /  Evil-Eye Music Inc , N.Y