Whiteley Creek Homestead

bees order and creamy honey syrup

February 4, 2009

Today I placed an order for a colony of bees from Mann Lake, Ltd. in Hackensack, Minnesota. If it should happen… shudder… that our present colony succumbs to our brutally cold winter, then this new colony will replace it. Optimistically, we will be expanding our bee population to two colonies when we pick up our new ones in May.

One recipe that I make frequently is Creamy Honey Syrup to serve over French toast, pancakes, and waffles. Real maple syrup is a more nutritious choice, but now and again I throw caution to the wind and indulge in some things just because they taste so unbelievably good.

Creamy Honey Syrup

1 cup sugar

½ cup honey

¼ cup water

½ tsp cinnamon

½ cup whipping cream

In a saucepan stir together the sugar, honey, water, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cream. Syrup will thicken as it cools. Serve warm or at room temperature. It can be refrigerated for several months. Makes 1 ½ cups, serving 12.

Feb. 4, 2009

Today's mileage: 2 mile walk in the brisk outdoors

Total monthly mileage: 8 miles

Bible reading? Yuppers.
“Deborah’s” blog

February 3, 2009

This is a scan of some notecards I created from a photo of aprons hanging on my clothesline. The message I chose to insert on the front and continues on the inside states, "Of all the paths you take in life… make sure a few of them are dirt." For me, that means to slow your pace now and again so as not to miss the gifts that life has to offer. The following description of an incident in my life this afternoon drives that message home.

Today, just before I set out for my walk, I received a comment from "Deborah" on my 2008 Food Blog Awards Results and Free Drawing post. She stated that she had discovered me through the food blog awards and that we are practically neighbors since she lives in Nisswa, which is 12 miles north of Brainerd. I pecked out a reponse to her and hurried out the door. Upon my return, I groaned when I discovered that the email I had sent her had come back as undeliverable due to an "unknown user account". Not to be deterred, I found a blog address that she had included with her comment submission on my blog. I am a firm believer that when we slow our spirits down to a pace so that we can be "in the moment", we are better able to absorb and accept events that can so easily be missed or brushed off as "luck". The receipt of Deborah's email, and my response to her followed by the returned mail message, was such a snippet in time but monumental in its end result. Let me explain… In the natural progession of this event, I clicked on Deborah's blog address and discovered the most delightful insight into this woman whom I have not yet met but have so quickly formed a connection.

In her "About" section, she describes the direction that her blog will take. I quote… "Like my previous blog, Exuberant Lady, I expect this one to lean heavily toward the relationship between garden, kitchen, and table, but with a decidedly more political edge… mostly of the small "p" sort. Supporting the local economy, being a committed organic gardener, growing a row for the soup kitchen or food shelf, saving heritage seed varieties, buying grass-fed meats, improving my composting skills, and encouraging others along all these lines are as much political acts as are writing to one's members of congress. I believe with all my heart that real politics resides in little acts of conscience."

You must check out the First Snow poem by Louise Gluck with Deborah's interpretation of it and the beautiful snowy landscape view outside her kitchen window.

I decided that my next book purchase will be Deborah's recommendation of Weathering Winter by Carl H. Klaus.

So you see… If I had deleted Deborah's comment with a mere, "Oh, wasn't that nice," or had not taken a few extra minutes to attempt an alternate way to contact her, I would have missed this blessing. For it is these moments that are the essence of life itself.

Feb. 3, 2009

Today’s mileage: 2 mile walk outside

Total monthly mileage: 6 miles

Bible reading? affirmative
paper flock

February 2, 2009

The heavy cloud cover throughout the entire day today nearly deterred me from this bird photo shoot, but Miss Hilda, Libby, Elsa, and Effie May got dressed in their finest, so I didn't have the heart to disappoint them by waiting for the sun to shine. I used scrapbook paper to create this flock of fowl from an idea I found on the Family Fun web site. Because I chose to dress my girlie girls in over-the-top flourishes, I used a layer of tagboard in between the two outside layers of scrapbook paper for added support. Tagboard can be eliminated if head pieces and tail feathers aren't added or are less ornate. Templates for three sizes of bird bodies can be downloaded from the Family Fun site.

One week has passed since I announced my drawing that will take place on Monday, February 9 at 8 p.m. so, before time runs out, submit your comment on the "food blog awards results and free drawing" post where there is a list of the prize choices.

Feb. 2, 2009

Today’s mileage: 2 mile walk in the fresh air

Total monthly mileage: 4 miles

Bible reading? Uh huh.
carpe diem

February 1, 2009

Cape Diem "To live each day as if it were your last, you would be trying to remedy all the mistakes you had made, all regrets, all the things unsaid. If you live each day as if it were your first, you are freed from all obligations, all guilt, all regret." ~from Breathing Space: Twelve Lessons for the Modern Woman by Katrina Repka and Alan Finger

So I shall do just that… I will not beat myself up for slacking with my exercise and Bible reading. Instead, I will begin anew with a renewed sense of purpose and determination. My friend, Sheila, is my inspiration. She set a goal of logging 50 miles of movement in a month, which she attained. That can be walking, jogging, or running outside or on a treadmill, swimming, biking, rollerblading, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing… you get the idea. Now that's a novel way of approaching the whole get-yourself-in-shape… move it or lose it campaign. I determined that today, being the beginning of a brand new month, would be my rebirth. However, I was anxious to get started and to verify that I hadn't gotten too rusty, so I walked 2 miles yesterday outside in the fresh air. I also read several passages in my Bible and pondered them a while. Time to tie the shoelaces and hit the dirt/pavement combo again… Wanna join me?

photo courtesy of Microsoft Clipart Gallery

Feb. 1, 2009

Today's mileage: 2 mile walk outdoors

Total monthly mileage: 2 miles

Bible reading? Yep.
January’s Cupcake

January 30, 2009

I decided to do a themed cupcake each month in 2009. My goal will be to choose a different "clean" cake recipe each month. (According to Clean Eating Magazine, "cleaning up a recipe is reducing calories and fat" and adding in or substituting more nutritious ingredients.) Since tomorrow is the final day of January, I thought I'd best get movin' or my idea will fizzle before I get it off the ground. (I already have a plan for February's cupcake. I will be baking it next week in case you're looking for an idea for Valentine's Day. It's a chocolate cake batter, of course.) Before I unveil January's creation, I would like to share the catalyst that set my thought processes in motion. When I was in Tampa, the day I discovered Sami's Bakery, Dick and I stopped at a thrift shop nearby. I purchased this "Goodie-Goodie Gumdrops" puzzle for $0.49. It had such lovely colors and the puzzle's name is irresistable. Here's the picture on the box lid…

Here's the puzzle that I completed while watching "24" one night.

Therefore, I decided to use gumdrops to create a snowman… appropriate for January's cupcake. My circuit to four stores to purchase large gumdrops turned up empty, so I settled on small ones that I mushed together to create the snowball sizes I desired.

I thought carrot cake batter would be appropriate… carrot nose, ya know. I found a lightened up version on EatingWell's web site that is so light (as carrot cake goes) and extremely tasty. I definitely put my stamp of approval on it as a must-try. I used cake flour, as called for in the recipe, since the remaining ingredient choices were more than substantial to satisfy my requirements for a "clean" recipe. You might want to try substituting whole wheat pastry flour and see what happens. I think probably it would just be a trifle heavier. The cake is a definite keeper.

Dick got involved in the project by creating some skis and poles for our snowman. He cut popsicle sticks for the skis and wooden skewers for the poles. The pretty blue ends on the poles are candies that I had left over from a choo choo train cupcake topper that I made last winter.

Carrot Cupcakes from EatingWell

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

½ cup pitted prunes

¼ cup hot water

1-8 oz. can crushed pineapple

1 ¼ cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 large egg

1 large egg white

¾ cup sugar

¼ canola oil

1 cup grated carrots

Frost with cream cheese icing, plain powdered sugar frosting, or simply a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Preheat oven to 325°. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Combine prunes with hot water in a food processor and process until smooth; set aside. Drain pineapple in a strainer set over a small bowl, pressing firmly to extract most of the juice. Set the pineapple aside and reserve the juice for another use. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk egg, egg white, sugar, oil, and the reserved prune puree in a mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir with rubber spatula until blended. Stir in carrots and the reserved pineapple. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake’s center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Let the cupcakes sit in the pan for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool before frosting.
simplifying

January 29, 2009

I want one…

I grew up on a 160-acre farm ten miles southeast of Brainerd… surrounded by other large farms. We had a "party line" where several neighbors shared the same phone line. To make a call, you gingerly removed the phone off the wall hook so as not to disturb someone in case it was in use. After waiting patiently and checking intermittently to see if the line was free, you could then place a call. If you were snoopy, you remained on the line barely breathing and listened in. Think about how many phone lines, towers, and cables… not to mention phones… that we have today. Convenient… but necessary? I'm not so sure.

From Martha Stewart's Blueprint Magazine, I acquired a list of "100 Reasons to Get Rid of It". Now and again, I will share some web sites from that list that I think stand out… ones that will assist us all in simplifying our lives by reducing the stuff that clutters it up because… "People burn 55 minutes a day looking for things, 80% of what we own we never use", and this one hurts… "1.4 million Americans suffer from chronic hoarding and clutter"… I do love a good yard sale, thrift shop, and antique store. Well, I say let's commit ourselves to decluttering to "reduce housework by 40%", because… "Less is more." -Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." -Leonardo da Vinci
baking utensil organization

January 28, 2009

Sometimes… more often than not… we get stuck in a rut doing things the way we have always done them… not because it is the most efficient way, but it's just habit. Recently, I broke free and came up with a more efficient way to store my baking utensils. Previously, I would criss-cross my kitchen opening up cabinets and drawers until I had gathered measuring cups and spoons, spatulas, wooden spoons, a whisk, mixing bowls, and whatever else I needed to begin a baking project. Now, I store the most common utensils that I use in an old enamel pan set atop a jellyroll pan. All washed utensils are placed back in the enamel pan ready for the next baking project.

I use the jellyroll pan to gather my ingredients together before I begin. I also measure ingredients on the jellyroll pan so that spills are contained to the pan which can be easily washed at cleanup time. Here I have gathered supplies on the tray to make a loaf of Whole Wheat Flaxseed Bread from Vegetarian Times.
aprons

January 27, 2009



Growing up in the 1950s, it was commonplace for me to see women, especially on the farm, wearing aprons. Even on T.V. shows like "Father Knows Best" and "Leave it to Beaver", crisp freshly-ironed aprons were a mainstay. My mother was no exception so I sewed an apron from the A is for Apron book by Nathalie Mornu in honor of her. I will be wearing it whenever I am in the kitchen baking. There are so many cute patterns to choose from in this wonderful book. For my first one, I chose a vintage-style bib apron. It was so much fun to make that I already decided which one I will sew next.

Dick's Aunt Tommy… I consider her my special aunt, too… thoughtfully shared the following "History of Aprons".

The History of Aprons

In the past, the principal use of an apron was to protect the dress underneath. Because most housewives only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material. Along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven, it was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. When the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.



Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.



When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds. When dinner was ready, she walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.



It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
2008 food blog awards results and free drawing

January 26, 2009

The winner of the Well Fed Network's Food Blog Award in the rural category is… Farmgirl Fare. The total votes tallied when the voting polls closed at 8 p.m. Saturday, January 26, 2008 were…

Chez Lou Lou- 74 votes

Whiteley Creek Homestead B&B- 221 votes

(not so) urban hennery-232 votes

Farmgirl Fare-389 votes Congratulations… a very fine blog!

Lucullian Delights- 239 votes

As I begin to leisurely peruse the five finalists' blogs in each of the fourteen categories, I will provide tidbits of info. with links so that you might visit them as well, or you can go directly to Well Fed Network. The site contains a wealth of information that you will want to tap into.

I have had my little excitement with the whole process of being nominated, then selected as one of the five finalists, and lastly the voting process. Now, it's time for me to "pay it forward". To express my gratefulness for your involvement in the voting process, and to the new readers who discovered my blog through the contest, I am having a drawing. If you choose to participate, all you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post. On the 9th of February at 8 p.m., I will select a winner. When filling out the comment form, you can provide just your first name or both first and last name. You must, however supply your email address so that I may contact you in the event that you are a winner. At that time, I will acquire additional info. that I will need to mail your prize. Note: Your email address is invisible to everyone but me. Also, to prevent spam from finding its way onto my blog, I moderate (filter) comments. Therefore, your comment won't immediately display. It will appear after I approve it.

What, you say, is the prize??? There are four choices, so when I inform you of your winning status, I will request that you make a selection at that time. They make nice gifts, too, for you to pass along to the perfect recipient.

Choice #1 sprouting drainage rack with seeds and unbleached cheesecloth to get you started. All you'll need to provide is the canning jars and rings and you're set to go. The rack is handmade by Dick using our own design. It will be identical to the one pictured but without the blue spoons at each end and it will have a board in place of the metal seive to rest your sprouting jars on.

Choice #2 A book titled A is for Apron by Nathalie Mornu. It features "25 fresh and flirty designs". It has brightly colored photos of each completed apron with drawings and text explaining each step. I sewed an apron from the book. I am featuring the apron in tomorrow's post.

Choice #3 A book titled Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. It is "the essential guide to a whole new way of sewing" with "fresh patterns, 30 cute designs, great for beginners, learn the basics, have fun, and sew with abandon".

Choice #4 Smart Cookies by Jane Kinderlehrer, who was food editor of Prevention Magazine. This one in a series of her cookbooks that consist of recipes that "are dense in nutrients, each programmed to do a special job, without the abundance of fat and refined sweeteners." (Note: The copy is gently… lovingly… used.)

I hope you have as much fun with my drawing as I did participating in the Food Blog Awards.
apron project demands “fast food”

January 24, 2009

I am immersed in a sewing project today. Here is a glimpse of one of the two fabrics that comprise the bib-style apron that is shaping up to be a fun one to make any day's cooking/baking a celebration. When I was growing up, my mother sewed school clothes for each of my 11 siblings and myself. Rather than using pins, I remember watching her place knives onto the pattern pieces to hold them in place while she cut the fabric underneath. I do the same when I sew. In fact, I keep a set of knives handy in my sewing room strictly for that purpose… yard sale castoffs. It makes the cutting process go so much faster so you can get on to the fun part.

So that I might be able to devote more time to my sewing today, I decided to make a quick dish using falafel that I had purchased at Sami's Bakery in Tampa on Monday.



I placed some of the falafel in a pan to reheat along with some Muir Glen Italian Herb Pasta Sauce. Since my attempt earlier this week to purchase spaghetti squash as an alternative to pasta proved futile, I decided a good substitution might be zucchini. I sliced the zucchini then placed it on an olive oil coated unbleached parchment-lined baking sheet. After flipping the zucchini slices to evenly coat them with olive oil, I placed them in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes… just enough to soften but still have a somewhat firm crunch. The result was one I will repeat.

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