Fluffy Cows

Spring calves in their early winter coats



After the killing frost Thursday night I was up early trying to take some video of BTAP ZZ Tom. Tom is for sale and I wanted to try to show some video of him walking on You Tube so prospective buyers could get a look at him without traveling to the farm.  It was just at sunrise and Tom was a bit sluggish so the video didn't work out, but I snapped some pictures of the spring calves in their early winter coats. they look so soft and fluffy, you just want to cuddle them. As you can see from their attitude they are not in to cuddling - all but BTAP Samantha that is.

BTAP Samantha

Sammy, as I like to call her, is a daughter of BTAP Blackberry Bramble and granddaughter of Buttercup. All of this cow family is very gentle and naturally comes to me to be petted. I was trying to get Tom to pay attention and Sammy wanted me to pet her. You can see how annoyed she is that I wasn't paying attention to her in this photo. Sammy is BTAP Thor's daughter and will be a beautiful cow next year. She was the first calf born this year. If you go to www.YouTube.com/vtappy1 you can see video of Sammy, Frosty and Lady's Man last April having a race.

BTAP Zooey at the salt feeder. The mud begins!



Wrought Iron Trivets

My AGA Cooker making breakfast. Sausage in the oven.

Distelfink

I've been cleaning out the basement and came across a box of wrought iron trivets my mother gave me when she and my Dad moved out of their old farm house 20 years ago.  I kept them on the kitchen counter for a few days trying to decide what to do with them. My counter tops are granite so iron trivets aren't necessary there.  I could use them on the kitchen table. Then it hit me, they would look pretty good on the wall behind the AGA - that major blank space that was supposed to be tiled and enhanced with a decorative hood - but never was.

I picked up the heart shaped one from Helen English at the Old Post Office Flea Market. It is stamped on the back "Distelfink T-47. It's very Pennsylvania German looking and the  Distelfink is a Pennsylvania German graphic.

 The other three my parents and grandparents had purchased on the travels in the 1950's and 1960's. 

The round one has a picture of Robert E. Lee on horseback embossed into it. It says" 10-18 Confederate States of America, "Deo Vindice".  The back says CSA Trivet,  Copyright 1962, VA Metalcrafters". There are some makers marks as well.

The one at the top is the heaviest and my favorite but it has no marks.

The one at the bottom has a broken curlicue and is signed on the back "JZH 1952".  There is also a number 17 and a number 23.  All of the information is stamped into each piece.

The Distelfink is the most useful because it is the largest.  They are all reproductions of trivets from the 18th and 19th century.

 

Pecan Pie

  I hadn't had homemade pecan pie in years and decided to bake a couple for the family dessert night. The Save-a-lot grocery in town had a 6 oz bag of pecans halves for $2.99.  I bought two bags, because its always good to have pecans in the freezer this time of year and that was a good price.

  Then I dug out my old recipe and saw that it called for only 2 oz of chopped pecans.  That just didn't seem right, so I put 4 oz of halves in the pie shell. That still didn't look right, so I tossed in the whole bag.  The result was a pie that tasted like pecans wrapped in a sweet custardy sauce, not a lot of custard with a few pecans.  It was great and every body loved it.  Here's the recipe:

Helen Hill's Pecan Pie with Extra Pecans

 

 

Line a 9 inch pie plate with either homemade or store bought pastry. Blind bake for at least 8 minutes at 350 degrees. I put a round of either waxed or parchment paper on top of the pastry in the pan and add some dried bean. That holds the pastry flat while it bakes.

 

1 cup Light Karo syrup

1 tablespoon butter

3 eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

6 oz pecan halves

 

Mix together the Karo, butter, eggs and sugar either with an electric mixer our a wire whisk and lots of elbow grease until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed - a couple of minutes with the electric mixer.  Meanwhile line the blind baked pie shell with the pecans. Pour the sugar and egg mixture over the pecans and bake in a 300 degree oven until set.  Serve with sweetened whipped cream flavored with a 1/2 teaspoon vanilla is you like.

 

 



Zinnias, My New Favorite Flowers

For years I'd picked up packets of zinnia and marigold seeds at the end of the season when they'd go on sale for half price or more and I had quite a collection in my seed tin. I never seemed to get them planted, probably because my flower beds are all in shade.

This year, with the addition of bees to my property I decided to add flowers to the vegetable garden area where there is a lot of sun.  I added a couple of perennials to a round bed where my kitty Nico is buried - plants that are attractive to bees.  By July 1 I thought the bed looked OK, but there were little patches of open spaces so I decided to plant those old packets of zinnia and marigold seeds.  The ground was well prepared from the perennial bed so I just sprinkled the seeds on the top of the ground and covered them with some soiless mix heavy in peat moss.  Within a week lots of little sprouts appeared.  I didn't pay much attention to them for a while and then all of a sudden I had masses of three foot high flowers!

I had expected flowers about 12 to 18 inches tall.  I guess generous amendments of well rotted cow manure was a good thing.  The zinnia took over! They are wonderful cut flowers, lasting over a week. I've been cutting them and giving away bouquets. I'll not forget these wonderful old flowers next year!

The power of well rotted cow manure.

Cherry Tomatoes and Chicken Recipe

I hate to say it but by this time of year I'm a little over the fresh tomatoes from the garden. In another week or so it will frost and I'll try to hold on to the plants a little longer, but my craze to eat fresh from the garden tomatoes every day has passed.

One of the volunteers at the museum brought in bags of cherry tomatoes yesterday, hoping to give them away to the staff and his fellow volunteers.  Any one who grows cherry tomatoes knows that they can become overwhelming this time of year.  They aren't really something you freeze or can. But here's a tasty recipe from  my sister-in-law, Debbie.  It's very good and it uses cherry tomatoes!

Chicken Breast with Tomato Basil Sauce

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast seasoned with salt and paper. 
1/4 cup flour
4 tablespoon butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves of garlic smashed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup chicken broth
18 halved grape tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Wash the chicken under cold water and pat it dry. Dredge in flour. In a large heavy skillet melt one tablespoon butter in the olive oil. Brown the chicken in the butter and olive oil on all sides, about 3  or 4 minutes per side over medium heat. Place the chicken in an oven proof dish in the oven.

Meanwhile saute the garlic and shallot in the skillet you just used to brown the chicken, scraping up any brown bits as you go for a minute or two to soften the shallots and garlic. Add the balsamic vinegar and the chicken broth  and the tomato halves.  Saute for a few minutes over medium heat until reduced by half. Add 3 tablespoons of butter and the fresh basil leaves. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer a few minutes longer to combine the flavors.

In Praise of Old Favorites

I have a small round perennial bed at the edge of my vegetable garden dedicated to bee and butterfly plants. It surrounds the grave of my sweet little kitty, Nico who was killed by coyotes two years ago.

By July 1 I had planted a new butterfly bush to replace the one I killed with too much pruning last winter, three blue salvias, a beard's tongue and an anise hyssop all to attract bees and butterflies.
These joined the Stella Dora lilies I'd planted two years ago.

There was little bits of open space so I dug out all my out-of-date marigold and zinnia seeds and sprinkled them around. Every year at the end of the season I buy marigold and zinnia seeds thinking I'll plant them and never do. The seeds were old so I didn't expect much but I thought I might get a few flowers.

In the picture below you can see a little bit of the lilies in the front and the butterfly bush on the right but everything else has been covered by tall zinnias.

Such a pretty display all summer and now holding their own as well in the fall.

When I planted the zinnias I had no idea they would grow that tall.  I think the packages said 12 to 18 inches.  I amended the soil with well rotted cow manure and covered the seeds with potting soil to help them sprout easily, but otherwise nothing special.  This is also a well drained area, so they got plenty of moisture but were not soggy. I've been so pleased with the display and they have been great for cut flower arrangements. I won't forget to plant these old favorites again next year.

At the same time I had a nine pack of little marigolds. I planted them at the end of this bed of mint and other herbs. Most of the time the mint takes over, but these little guys held them back. .