Dolmades

I used the Grape Leaves!

Back in July, on my parents farm, we harvested (prolly the last growth) of grape leaves from my mom's vines. While this was a little late in the season for the picking, they still looked really nice and I was very excited to have them in the winter to use with the large amounts of hamburger we tend to have in our freezer.

I rinsed the leaves in plenty of water to remove any salt from the canning (very gently!) I'd say 80% turned out with no rips or tears. The larger leaves work the best, so next year we'll have to make sure to pick the big ones!


To make dolmades you simply mix ground beef (or lamp or pork or a mixture!) with uncooked rice and spices. Wrap the mixture in the grape leaves, like you would an egg roll or burrito, it's about a table spoon per large leaf, don't overfill.

Then placing any ripped leaves on the bottom of a dutch oven, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and place the wraps on top. Cover with about an inch of water, and then cover again with a bowl or large plate. You want the rice to cook and the beef to steam, but not in to large of an area, ideally with some weight on them. This worked for me with the dutch oven and a glass plate, but you could also use a small sauce pan with a tight lid I would think.

After about 30 minutes the water will have evaporated and the dolmades will be cooked.

I didn't add enough spices to the meat mixture, so make sure you make it very flavorful, with oregano, mint, dill or another green herb. Lots of things could be used as a spice.

The leaves were so tender and just fell apart with a fork. Can't wait to try these again!

Memories

I went through some old photos last year to make Christmas presents for my family. I used MyPublisher.com to make a photo book from pictures on both sides of my parents, going back 2 generations and up till their wedding.

Some of the photos came from my parents, some from my late grandmother, and others from my paternal grandma's mother's (my great grandma) photo albums. Those photos were so old and falling apart that you had to scan each page individually, since the pictures were glued to the pages.

The books turned out really nice, the site is so easy to use and I would highly recommend it for your next project.

Here are some of the photos of me, which I did not include in the gifts, but I loved and had to scan anyway. I have no idea what me and my mom are making in the above photo. Any guesses? What ever it is, there is a lot of it!

Here's my dad and I working on something. Again, not really sure what it was. Maybe a bird house or a crayon box... He's so fashionable in his pearls, don't you think?

This last photo is from Northern Wisconsin where I grew up. This was my first attempt at a business. We lived too far out for a Lemonade stand to be productive, so instead my mom helped me grow Status flowers and other dryable items. We would bunch them together or weave them into flower crowns and sell them at a local town on weekends.
My sister, brother, and I were all homeschooled for parts of our childhood. I learned so much during that time. A lot of lessons I could only know through personal growth and inner retrospection.

Poem on the Poster: From my Garden, Soft and Bright, I picked these Flowers for your Delight, In the Sun that the Flowers Love, I hope you like these flowers of fun.

Apparently poetry was not my strong suit…. Sorry mom.

Ice Chest

Over the Veteran's Day weekend we took a trip up to my parents cabin in Northern Wisconsin. We try to get up atleast once a season and this was our last chance before the snow set in.... or so we thought.

Thursday was sunny and windy. Friday was filled with Antiquing and clouds. We had decided to take the plunge and get the beautiful Antique turn of the century Ice Chest we had seen in Hayward area (a 30 min drive north) on our last trip to the cabin. We would get up early, walk the dog, drive up and *hopefully* it would still be there, purchase it if we could get the right price, and make it back in time for the Iowa Football game.... or so we thought.

Saturday morning it snowed.

A big snow storm that left us wondering if making the slippery trip north, which would take us much more than 30 minutes, was worth it.

I have to say I think it was :) I'm super excited to have my Ice Chest! Yes the roads were slippery, we almost went off a few times. Yeah, we missed some of the Iowa game, but they were horrible this week and ESPN went out because of the snow anyway.

But we now have this!

The chest was built in Eau Clarie, WI some time before 1910. It has the original hardware, kick board on the bottom, inserts, and was refinished by the Antique dealer we bought it from after he purchased it in an auction in Northern Wisconsin. He said he drug it out of an old basement where it had been sitting for who knows how long.

It's in our 4 seasons porch right now. I'm planning on storing serving platters and other kitchen items in it after I finish cleaning the inside and airing it out a bit.

I read that coffee will help remove any of the musyness from the wood. Hopefully it helps a little bit. I think it must have sat in that basement for awhile!

Weekend Retreat

We had a wonderful weekend at the cabin in Wisconsin. Grilling, antiquing, boating. Lots of strange fall mushrooms.

A couple of catch and release fishes.

Some walks in the woods to see turkeys and deer.

Veggies along the roadside. Who can beat a bag of red potatoes for $1.80?

So pretty on the lake.

Fresh from the Vine

Back in May when we went on our Greece trip, we had dolomades (stuffed grape leaves).
They were so amazing! we decided to try out some of our own from my mom's vines on the Wisconsin farm.

Here's the arbor view of them growing.

I read that the best time for grape leave picking is early spring (May - July) when the leaves a smaller, green, and fresh. So I went for those even though it was late summer....

We washed them, blanched them in hot water, wrapped them into packets of 25-30 (for one pound of meat), filled them in a acid (4 c water, 1/4 c kosher salt, 3 tsp citric acid) bath and then hot water canned them using a large pot (not pressure cooking) for 20 minutes at a boil.

They sure looked nice and I can't wait to use them!!!!

Rare sighting

Back on the farm we saw a really great sight. Two Luna moths were found by my dad on the light pole by our house.

Luna moths are very rare to be seen since they only are in their final moth stage for 7 days to breed.

See more on Luna moths here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actias_luna

My Grandpa O, a farmer of many years, said that he heard most people are lucky to see one moth their entire life. We got to see two!

I remember when I was younger I collected moths that were around our house in Northern Wisconsin. I had one Luna, a couple Emperor, and some other smaller Hawk moths.

I didn't realize how little time they had.... I feel bad for collecting that one now. Hahaha, at least we didn't take these ones.... although my Grandpa really wanted to!

2010 CSA

We are very excited to be signed up for the CSA again this year.

Last year we tried out Harmony Valley which was a really wonderful introduction to the local CSA programs here in the city. They have an amazing Cheese Share which we signed up for again this year, that comes out of Wisconsin.

For the Veggies we decided to try Driftless Organics in 2010. This farm is in the same region in Wisconsin, my childhood home, as Harmony Valley is. And to bring it even closer to home, I went to middle and high school with the founders, Josh and Noah.

From the site:
"Driftless Organics came into being fifteen years ago under the name Rainbow Potatoes. It was started by Josh and Noah Engel, ages eleven and nine respectively, and as the name suggests they grew a colorful spectrum of potatoes; more than twenty varieties in all. As they themselves grew, so did their ambition and the number of crops they planted. What began as a quarter acre field of potatoes on their parents’ organic dairy farm has now expanded to over one hundred acres of vegetables, fruits, small grains and sunflowers; all grown in the driftless region of local Southwest Wisconsin. Noah and Josh have been joined in recent years by Mike Lind and his small herd of grass fed beef cattle, further diversifying the operation. The three of them work together to provide sustainably grown organic food at an affordable price to people like you."

I can't wait to share what wonderful things we get in 2010!

Happy (21 Point Buck) Birthday!

My baby brother turned 21! And what else does every young buck need than a deer cake. With 21 antlers ofcourse...

I used the same application for the paint as I did with the Thomas the Train cake, thick food coloring with alcohol for faster evaporation.

When I first made the devil's chocolate cake I forgot to flour the pan, so my not-so-non-stick pans made a destruction of that boxed delight. The second attempt was much better :)

I molded out the fondant and painted on the deer head. I had initially wanted to do 21 antlers, but I couldn't figure out how the heck they would look, so I just did 13. First thing the birthday boy does when he sees the cake is start counting the points. Now that's a true Wisconsinite! So after an explaination of where the A1 antler would go and at which level the D4 (whatever) would start, we got 21 points on there.

Thank goodness, cause it didn't last long.....

Backyard Grocery Store

A trip home to my parents recently involved some berry picking. My mom has a wonderful garden set up this summer. There is everything from raspberries and blueberries, to red onions and pole beans. She has pumpkins and grapes, herbs and hot peppers. It's like having a grocery store in your own backyard! So jealous... you can see the greenhouse and beds here in the late winter before any work has been done...

...and then here in early spring when the lettuce is just coming up. The berry patch is in the upper right corner.

But the raspberries needed to be cut back my grandpa said. And the blueberries where full on drooping with purple bunches. So I decided to try out a Clafoutis I'd seen online. Eventhough I can't pronouce this French dessert, for my first try it turned out pretty yummy. It's a nice eggy flavor and I just love raspberries!

Since the weekend also involved a bluberry bush adventure, (basically searching all over the Coulee region for some onsale) I might be able to make my own.

Some day I'll have a grocery store in my backyard. We'll start with the dessert section for now.

Raspberry and Blueberry Clafoutis
*addapted from the post by Posie Gets Cozy

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup raspberries
1/2 cup bluberries Confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 10 by 3 by 1 1⁄2-inch round baking dish and sprinkle the bottom and sides with 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar.

Beat the eggs and the 1⁄3 cup of granulated sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Slowly mix in the flour, cream, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and salt. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash and dry the berries. Pour berries into the bottom of the dish, spreading out evenly. Pour the batter over the berries and bake until the top is golden brown and the custard is firm, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

Pollenators

So I've had a bout of bad luck with bees lately. Seems I can get stung by just walking out the front door. I don't mind the Honeybees, but the wasps are out to get me this year.

If all flowers could be pollenated by butterflies my life would be easier :) This pretty blue guy was helping my already overgrown Blackberry Lillies propegate even further.

On a visit to my parents over the weekend, I picked up some blueberry bushes. I'm excited to see how they do over the winter. They are a Northern variety, so I would hope the snow and frost won't do too much damage. We'll see in the spring....

Stars and Stripes

For the America's Birthday this year we traveled north to the cabin in Wisconsin. The lake was amazingly low traffic and the boaters who were out were in full "4th" mode. I wish I had pictures of all the pontoons decorated with flags and streamers and ribbons. So much stuff that's it's surprise they had room for a beer cooler on the boats!

Every time we leave for the cabin I feel that we are packing for 3 weeks instead of three days. We have a cooler full of food, two smallish suitcases, bikes, games, the dog and all her toys, the new Duck Dog bed for the cabin, golf clubs, more food... *sigh* it's an adventure.

Mr. Mike had picked up a huge bag of cherries in our food preparation the week before. You have to prepare for the trip, because you never know what will be left up at the cabin. With three of our families trading weekends there's never a reliable stock (sorry guys but I used the last of the flour!)

So I made some 'stars and stripes' cherry turnovers...
And then a Cherry Pie...
There are still cherries left....

But there was more than baking with cherries this weekend. There was a lot of time spent on the deck playing yhatzee, cribbage, backgammon, cards, and bags.

There was a lot of time snoozing by the dog on her new cabin bed.

There was golf. There were trees, water hazards, and sand traps.

There was a bike ride.

And with all of our bike rides there was a pony. There's always a pony when we go out for a ride. I have no idea why.

Pink cake, red drinks

Through our CSA we've gotten a lot of rhubarb. I've always been a fan of the classic crumble that almost everyone has a recipe for. But I didn't want that! I wanted something different. Something not the norm. Something like, oh I don't know, cheese cake....

My sister has a great recipe for cheesecake. Over the years it's been a classic staple at the hubby's birthday. Nothing says I love you and happy birthday like a peanut-butter chocolate cheesecake.

On the Whipped blog I visit there was a post about summer drinks, which reminded me of the Mexico vacation we went on this spring. It was filled with Mojiotos, Sol, and Sangria. I've always wanted to try making a batch of Sangria, so that's what I did this weekend along with the cheesecake.

The tartness of the rhubarb is a smooth match to the rich sweetness of the cheesecake filling. It was hard for me to eat just one slice.
And Sangria is my new favorite summer drink! So refreshing on the hot days we've been having, without leaving you feeling like you've had one too many beers in the sun. I would recommend it for any wine or non-wine drinker.


Rhubarb Cheesecake
2-3 cups crushed graham crackers
3 tbsp melted butter
2 pkgs cream cheese, room temp
2 eggs
1/2 cup + 1 tsp sugar
1 cup rhubarb, chopped
1 clove, crushed
2 tbsp water

For crust: Mix crackers and butter together until sticky. Press into the bottom of a spring form or other tall pie dish. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove and let cool slightly.


In a sauce pan heat rhubarb, clove, 1 tsp sugar, and water until rhubarb has broken down and is soft, about 8 minutes. Let cool.

In a mixer combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cream cheese till blended. Add eggs one at a time mixing slowly.

Pour over crust leaving about 1/4 cup back. Beat saved portion with the rhubarb. Spoon over other filling in dollops, using a knife to swirl into bottom filling. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Center should be slightly giggly and edges just browning. Let cool at room temp then place in the refrigerator till ready to serve.

Sangria

4 cups red wine

2 cups citrus soda (sprite, sun drop, 7up)

2 cups water

sliced fruit (lemon, lime, orange)

ice

Mix liquids together. Slice fruit into rounds, until desired ammount. Sqeeze leftover juice into mixture. Add ice, sitr, and let cool.

Weekenders

For Memorial Day weekend we headed up to my parents cabin in northern Wisconsin for a long weekend full of boating, fishing, biking, hicking, golfing, grilling, and everything else we could fit in.

We'd spent the previous week building a new 'Bags' set for the cabin. We tried to follow ACA standards and build the boards to a specific hight and weight the bags to an exact weight. While the boards worked out great, the bags done on my little house wife sewing machine burst after a few throws and I spent the rest of the weekend hand stiching the squares up before all the beans came flying out.

I will be ordering an industrial proof set this week.

We went on many walks with Maddie around the cabin and of course had to drive into Spooner and stop at the Bakery Shop and swing by the Natural Spring to fill up or water bottles before our bike trip. We had to search around for a place to ride but finally found a trail going behind some fields and into a woods that was peaceful and exciting to ride on.

Many of the spring flowers are opening up there. The woods are covered in white spots of Trillium flowers and there are some other little hidden flowers like wild violets and these forget-me-nots we fould on our walks...

It takes so little to amuse the puppers though. One floating log was all she cared about during our fishing trips (and about the only thing 'swimming' we saw)