Well what do you know...

...it did snow!  All day yesterday we listened to the predictions of a storm that was headed our way.  Destined to bring us approximately 5-7 inches of snow.  But when 9:30 rolled around and not a flake had fallen, I called it a loss and went to bed.

Turns out they were right!  We got about 6 inches, the most I have ever seen here.

I bundled up tight and headed out doors. 

I went to check on the animals~

That's strange... looking in the chicken run... something is missing?  Oh yeah, shouldn't there be chickens out here!

Ms. Honey ~ "Who are you kidding, we're not going out in this stuff.  I'll be able up to my NECK!"

Me ~  "Good grief!  Bunch of babies."

So, I cleared the area of the offending snow, threw out a little scratch and finally coaxed the ladies and gentlemen into wandering beyond the coop door.  By the way, it's amazing how heavy those fluffy white flakes get after the 50th shovel full.

Only one thing left to do... take a crazy fast ride down the hill on the sleds.  But first we need a hot hearty breakfast.  Something that will warm you from the inside...

Cheddar & Cracked Pepper Grits

2 cups boiling salted water

1/2 cup yellow corn grits

1/2 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese

As many cranks of the pepper mill as you please

Slowly add grits to boiling water.  Reduce heat to medium. Stir constantly until grits begin to thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese.  Texture should be smooth and creamy, not runny or clumpy.  Season with fresh cracked pepper. ~ Enjoy

It makes for a very happy Snow Day:-)

~ Rhonda

A New Adventure

I am fortunate enough to have purchased a grain mill attachment for my KitchenAid and have used it for several years now to grind up Hard Red Winter Wheat berries

into a semi-coarse flour that I have used to bake some very wholesome and delicious breads for my family.

Having been mostly successful in my bread baking attempts~ if you don't count the loaves I made when I first got married some 18 years ago that could have served as a home protection system with their ability to render an intruder unconscious with a simple whack to the head... 

I have decide to try my hand at sourdoughs.  Not the typical rye sourdough but a bread called Desem.  This uses a wheat starter which will take about 2 weeks to mature.  Although it calls for only a few simple ingredients, the instructions warn that they must be followed to the letter in order to achieve the desired results.

If my efforts are successful, I will post about the process and results in a couple of weeks.  If not, don't expect to hear the word Desem uttered by yours truly ever again.

If anyone has experience with making their own bread starters and has any advice or encouragement it would be deeply appreciated~ Rhonda

Bowl of Goodness

I am trying to increase the amount of veggies I eat. I am not very good about getting all of the servings I should. I don't really know why, I like the taste of all sorts of vegetables. I am also trying to incorporate more whole grains in my diet, so..... I made this little dish~

1 cup of Brown Rice ( I found the organic kind at Wal-Mart). I cook mine in half water and half organic chicken stock.

Saute': Red Pepper, Onion, Mushroom, Carrots, Celery and Garlic in a small amount of Olive Oil (You can use any kind of vegetables you like, these are just some of my favorites) Season with salt, pepper, oregano and cumin.

When veggies are almost finished, add one can of drained and rinsed black beans and heat through. Add cooked rice and stir well.

Enjoy a bowl of goodness knowing that it not only tastes good, but is very good for you.

~Rhonda

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

Today I thought I would share one of my favorite salad recipes. I first had this at a Ryan's restaurant we have across town, I don't know if Ryan's is a national chain or just around here. Anyway, I make one variation to my salad. They toss in sunflower seeds.... I toss in Pomegranate seeds. I absolutely adore pomegranates, but I used to eat them only occasionally because preparing them meant that my hands would be stained for days by the juice, plus it was very time consuming picking out each seed.

Well along comes Martha Stewart (the domestic goddess) to save the day: just click on her picture to watch a video of the simplest and fastest way to open a pomegranate.

These are all the things you will need for the pomegranate~

And in less than 5 minutes, you will have this~
Now, to make the salad, you will need some freshly washed spinach leaves ( I prefer the baby spinach leaves), some sliced strawberries and red onion, pomegranate seeds and poppy seed dressing (I use the Naturally Fresh brand).

Toss them all together and ENJOY!

After you have eaten all your greens.... you might want to reward yourself with a nice slice of Chocolate Emergency cake, click here for the recipe ...

And by the way, the left over cake goes great with coffee the next morning ;-) Would anyone care for a slice?

Hope your day is a sweet one~Rhonda

Tasty Tidbits

Wondering what to make for dinner, tonight? Might I make a suggestion?

I have made meatloaf my whole life, always the same way~the way my Mama made it and the way her Mama made it before her.....

A couple of months ago I decided to branch out. I went over to the food network site and perused the recipes. I found one for Meatloaf with Tomato Gravy and decided to give it a try. Oh, my goodness!!! This one is a keeper:) We loved it! It is now officially my meatloaf recipe. Sorry Mom....actually, if I get her to try it, she will probably switch too;)

So, if you are at a loss for a fresh idea, follow the link and give it a try. You can serve other things for dinner with it, if you want. I made corn on the cobb and greenbean casserole to go with mine, but it doesn't matter because the only thing you will want to eat is the meatloaf.

Just thought I'd pass along this tasty tidbit to you.....Oh, really, it was nothing. You can thank me later:)

Speaking of passing along tasty tidbits.....

Robin from Bittersweet Punkin gave me this award the other day. Robin is one of the first blog sites I found and now I wouldn't consider having a blogging session without checking in to see what she is up to. She is a real treasure with a heart as sweet as golden honey....that must be why she collects all those honey pots;) If you haven't met her, stop in and say "Hi!" You will bee glad you did. "Thank you, Robin!" It really made me smile to receive such a precious award from you.

I would like to pass this award on to Hope from Second Time Around. This sweet lady is a true Kindred Spirit and I am enjoying getting to know more about her each day. Hop over and go pay her a visit, tell her I said "Hello!"

Hope you girls have a great weekend.....stay warm. Except for you Amanda....hope you are sitting by the pool enjoying a nice cool drink:)

Sunday Sustenance

I tried another of Farmgirl Susan's creations this weekend~Emergency Chocolate Cake. It was quite addictive:)

Wishing everyone a SWEET Sunday.

Rhonda

Farmgirl Fare

I have been spending a lot of time at a new site I have found~Farmgirl Fare. Well actually, the site is not new, Susan has been posting on this site since June of 2005, but I am new to it. She has the most beautiful and often inspiring photos from life on her 240 acre farm in Missouri. Now, right away you can figure out my attraction to the site. Having the heart and soul of an old-fashioned farmgirl, the photography just drew me right in, moth-to-the flame style. But what keeps me going back are the RECIPES!!

Such as the one I made last night. In going back to the earliest posts, I found a recipe for Three Onion & Three Cheese Pizza. What intrigued me most was the simple pizza dough recipe. I have mentioned my love of bread making and although I don't have near the experience that Susan has, I have been known to turn out some tasty loaves.

I was so excited to try some of her bread recipes that I went out and purchased a wooden dough bowl.....which was no easy feat as my precious son can attest to. I had to visit at least a dozen stores before I found one that was just the right shape and size and made of natural unfinished wood (it can not be painted or stained). Toward the end of the search, each time we would enter a different store my son would start chanting, "Please, let them have a wooden dough bowl. Please let them have a wooden dough bowl." At last, I found one at Crate & Barrel that was exactly what I was looking for:)

Last night, I put it to the test and made homemade pizza using Susan's dough recipe. I made one modification. I decided to incorporate some of my own wheat flour, so I ground up a cup of the Soft Winter wheat and replaced one of the the cups of bread flour with it.

My dough was not as soft as she described and did not rise up as high as I thought it should~probably from the addition of the whole wheat or possibly because the only Instant Yeast I could find was in a package written in German where it originated, before it was shipped to Australia and finally made it's way here to the U.S.. Even though the date was still good, it makes me wonder if it was a wee bit weary from the travel.

There was enough dough to make two nice size pizzas, my first crust was a bit misshapen....hey what can I say, I'm learning:)

I topped it with some homemade pizza sauce, Canadian bacon, caramelized onions~from Susan's recipe, freshly grated mozzarella, and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

I cooked it on my baking stone at 500 degrees F, for 10 minutes and although the crust was more of a thin and crispy style, it was simply delicious.

The second pizza had a bit more of the round traditional pizza shape to it~see, I'm getting better already.

I highly recommend that you stop by and pay Susan a visit, especially if you love to cook, but even if you don't, her style of writing and photos are worth the trip.

Something's Sizzlin

Have you ever eaten at Chili's and ordered their Fajitas? Don't you just love how they are served...sizzlin' and steaming...can't you hear them now....can't you just smell them....can't you just taste them right now???

Well, I had myself a fajita craving last night, luckily I had everything I needed to make them myself~Chop up some chicken breast, red peppers and onion, sprinkle with Fajita Seasoning and Cumin~Cook all together with some EVOO~Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Top with whatever Fajita Fixins you desire~

And Voila'...dinner is served~ In less time than it would have taken me to drive in to town:)

And for desert.....these delicious tangerines I picked up at the Whole Food's Market the other day~

Although hideously ugly, they are seedless, practically peel themselves and taste as sweet as Candy!!!!

So, even though they did not arrive at the table with as much fan fare as a Chili's Fajita platter.....they were might tasty and allowed me to wrap up dinner in no time.

Smooches

It has been cold and rainy all weekend ~ sooo thankful for the rain! On days like this, the mind turns to visions of comfort foods...something warm and soothing.

Hmmm, chili sounds good.....and I made Penny's cornbread recipe to go with it.

Dinner was delicious, but it needed something.....what could it be.....Oh, yes! I know....Smooches!

"Hey, little helper, wanna help me make cookies?" "SURE, MOM!"

Chocolate-Hazelnut Smooches~Recipe from Giada on Everyday Italian.

Gather Ingredients

Mix the dry together

Cream Butter and Sugars

Turn it into dough~my little helper needed a sample:)


Roll in Colored Sugar

Put'em in a pan~well, really,
a cookie sheet

Unwrap the Kisses....wait a minute, I know there were more in this bowl....little helper, do you know anything about this? "HeHeHe...."

8 minutes later....Give'em a smooch

FINALLY.....Down the hatch!

Here you go, this one is for you~Enjoy!

BTW~ Please check out the Seasons Greetings audio on the side bar~my little helper and I made it just for you:)

Breakfast for One

This morning I decided to treat myself to a private breakfast on our back deck. I have an old ceramic steel table that I found several years ago that is always an inviting place to sit and gaze. I set the table with some vintage tableware that I have collected and of course it wouldn't be complete without beautiful vintage linens. This one is a hand embroidered dresser scarf that features pots of pansies surrounded by handmade tatting. I have a real passion for vintage linens. I marvel at the time and care that was taken to create them. One day I will do a post to feature some of my lovelies.

This morning the weather is cool and cloudy and a bit of light drizzle is falling. For those who haven't heard me say it before, we are in the midst of a severe drought and every drop of moisture that falls is celebrated with much rejoicing. Especially those of us on well water!! I am praying that it rains buckets....but I must stop talking about it for fear I will frighten it away.

Yesterday, I went to Harry's Whole Foods Market. I love to go there:) They have the best selection of fruits and veggies anywhere. They also bake delicious whole grain breads, I chose a wonderful pumpernickel that had not been out of the oven long.....YUM YUM. That is what I had for breakfast this morning topped with blueberry butter that was made right here in Georgia. I also picked up some organic Colombian coffee beans that were roasted right on site at the market. I gave my husband a Cuisinart grind and brew coffee maker for our 15th wedding anniversary, I am not sure who enjoys it most.... it makes an excellent cuppa joe.

I don't know why I don't do things like this for myself more often. I guess I allow myself to become too busy to enjoy a bit of respite now and then. I often find myself moving too fast to enjoy and savor moments. It's a shame really, time moves so quickly by itself it really doesn't need me to rush it along any faster. Is it just me, or do most people feel this way?

If you feel like sharing, tell me what are the ways you like to take a pause.....