But despite the heat, we've still got to eat, and a fabulous farm dinner of homegrown grilled lamb leg steaks, the first green beans from the garden, just dug new red potatoes (which were unbelievably good), a hunk of homemade baguette from the freezer, and freshly baked chocolate chip raisin cookies (a bribe for the cookie loving neighbor who lent us the antique tractor above—which bears a striking resemblance to our own big tractor, except that his isn't dead) almost makes it all worthwhile.
And as Joe's mom said to him a few minutes ago on the phone as he was recounting the day, "Oh, but you love what you do, and you love who you're doing it with." "Guilty on both counts, Mom," he replied. How cute is that? But we'll still both be extremely glad when haying season is once again over!
And if you'd like to read more about what we feed our chickens and why, check out the comments section of yesterday's Dose of Cute. You'll also see why I never have time to reply to all of your comments—I easily get carried away!
Wondering what all you can feed chicks and chickens? I talk a lot more about what we feed our flock in the comments section below, and lots of other chicken owners chime in, too. And then the discussion continues in the comments section of this post. Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!
Where the heck are our priorities? Oh wait—they would be over with the whole 'several times a day' feeding thing. Current chick photos coming soon. Can't wait? Get a peep of past peepers here and here.
3. To make one serving of jam, place the raspberries on a plate and mash them with a fork. For a larger batch, put the raspberries into a bowl and mash them with a potato masher.
4. Sprinkle in a smidge of sugar if your berries are a little tart.
6. Shake your head in disbelief at all the jam and preserves recipes you've seen that called for 1 cup of sugar (or more!) for every 1 cup of fruit as you savor each ridiculously delicious bite.
7. Lick the jam off your lips and set off to find more raspberries.
8. Put some of your next batch in the freezer to be devoured next winter during a snowstorm.
Farmgirl Fare is four years old today! In my very first blog post, An Unexpected Beginning, I wrote about the word unexpected, which my thesaurus told me meant surprising, unforeseen, sudden, stunning, eye-opening, astonishing, astounding, amazing, breathtaking.
Yep, that pretty much sums up the last four years (along with all the cute of course). Thank you all so much. Here's to another four and hopefully many more!
Okay, I admit it. One of the reasons I like to hold book giveaways is purely selfish. I always make you answer a specific question in order to enter because I know I'll love reading your responses—and once again you didn't disappoint.
When I was a child I would read Little House on the Prarie every summer. I remember the food that was written about very well, it was homemade & homegrown most of the time.
I've just heard from Judi, and she's starting the California leg of her book tour. If you'd like to meet her in person, check out her Events Calendar to see if she'll be in your area. And I hope you'll let me know if you read and enjoy The Laws of Harmony!