More Comfort Food

My dad was sick last week and when he got to feeling better I asked him what he was craving. He wanted Ham and Bean Soup. My mom made it so good and I have picked up where she left off after she passed 14 years ago from breast cancer. Remembering is honoring.

I start with onion and celery sauteed in a large pot. Then I add the beans. I have used canned northern beans and dried beans, whatever I have and have time for. I like to add some different types of beans too, like lima and dried peas. Whatever I have or feel like.

The ham is usually turkey ham because its cheap and makes the soup meaty. My husband is all about meat. Sometimes I use a couple of smoked ham hocks.

I add water to cover all, add some carrot, bay leaf and salt and pepper. Then I add my moms addition of tomatoes. Just a can , diced, crushed, whatever. When its all cooked up and in the bowl add a spoon of vinegar to your bowl. I use balsamic, it is a great addittion, try it.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Tim was chomping at the bit to pick a butternut squash before the vines died so I decided to make this beautiful fall soup. I found it on a cooking blog for gluten free cooking. I have been searching different blogs for interesting healthy foods to get me and the old man on track. This fits the bill.

I made a few deviations. Us Freemans are all about deviant behavior! Anyway, this recipe has just a few ingredients and the only thing you might not have ever cooked with, is the coconut milk, but dont let that turn you away. You must try this.

I didnt have any celery but I did have some Pak Choi and I used the stalk not the leaves. I put it together and got it started cooking when my BFF came over and we had to leave because I had some money burning a hole in my pocket.

Shopping was great! Got a cute pair of jeans just like I like, Tummy control, a little stretch, boot cut and cheap! Old Navy "Dreamer". And I picked up some everyday tees. V-neck with a little stretch.

After all that the BFF let us come home. (she has shopping stamina !)

When the Goof Troop gets together we work up an appetite and thats when I can try out new stuff. After I returned home from shopping ,released the hounds , I gathered up the last ingredients for the soup, the pot that the soup was in , my bottle of wine and headed to Carms.

I have not used my new immersion blender yet so I was very excited to get it out and try it. Assisted by Carm we tried to read the directions and figured it out quickly. I stuck it in the pot and did o.k. but when Carm tried it she didnt put it all the way down and it blended by drawing everything around it into a tornado in reverse. The color was rich golden orange and everything was completely blended in just seconds. It was beautiful. Then we added the remaining ingredients stired a bit and turned off the fire.

As you can see the Goof Troop liked it very much and we all had two bowls and there was enough for the old man and a bowl for me at breakfast.

I Know you all think that I am a wild child and that I Boogaloo all night but I was still home and in bed by 10.

Looking out my Window

Looking through my window today the cotton wood tree is shedding its leaves while the sun shines through a hase of clouds that was fog this morning.

I didnt go for my walk because I chose to lay in bed a little longer. I did walk the last two days. Not a great excuse but one, none the less.

Last night Tim and I attended a public meeting for the upcoming lake that the NRD is proposing to build where we live. We learned that the appraisals are to be done in the next 3 months and after that they will come with a $ figure and it will be a done deal. After 10 years of living in a house that will be sold , torn down or whatever. It wont be mine and hasnt been mine since we heard of the plans 10 years ago. I want a house that is mine and no one will knock on the door and take it away from me. I am a homamaker and that is my bliss. Playing house is what I like to do.

I have been afraid to dream too much about the new place. My husband is very forward thinking and we have purchased land about 3 miles from where we are now. Its a beautiful sight. With 55 acres there is some farm ground,some pasture, some timber and plenty of view. We pastured cows and horses this summer and whenever I got a chance I would slip out and sit where we are thinking of putting the house. It feels right. And if you think my present place is peaceful you need to come out to Crazy Acres. Thats what we decided to call it. Some of our relatives dont like that name but it suits us. Hey, crazy aint so bad!

Sometimes I suprise my self and make something yummy out of nothing. I had some leftover deer meat that I didnt use all of for the chili on Sunday. I started out with a little olive oil in the pan added the meat cut up really tiny. Added a few cloves of garlic and onion. I had some little eggplant on the counter so I sliced them up threw them in a collander and sprinkled with salt to let the bitterness weep out for a few minutes. Then I added the eggplant and cooked for a bit and added what I am afraid is the last of a truley worst year for tomato production, EVER!

Oh ya and I threw in some chopped pak choi that i picked up at the Asian store. This all tasted pretty good but it was lacking. I hate to try something totally different that would cause the whole dish to be ruined so I took the easy way and added some soy sauce. not much just a few hearty splashes.

Since Tim likes a little bread I had some bakery buns and I opened them up and spooned the mixture onto the buns then ladeled some of the juices over top to drain through and soften the buns a bit. Srinkled this with parmesan cheese and we both really liked it.

Do you like Soap Operas? Oh, I do! And so does Tim. I told you he is a great guy! We watch the first part of all my children together everyday, then he goes to work and I alone must endure the trials and tribulations of Pine Valley, Lanview and Port Charles. Its a tough job but somebodys got to do it.

Sometimes the shows really crack me up. Like a while ago Blair had a vision of what it might be like if she and Dorian were the Beils (Grey Gardens). Very funny stuff. I love looking at the fashions and the home decor in the background.

Later today I am going to take diner to my dad and hang out for a while. Dad is a retired policeman and hes 85. Does ok by himself but should not be driving. Still golfs. He and I also share the same love of books so I have been providing him with different selections. He read the western I took him real fast and now he is reading Barbara Walters book, Audition. He says its real good so I cant wait to read it. I started "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young. I really liked the begining but when it got further along I lost interest. I am taking it to dad and see if he likes it. One of the little towns by me has a book club and posts what books are to be discussed in the newspaper so I am going to try and read a few of those. "The Shack" is a pick for Oct. and that is all I could get at the library this time. I will have to look them up on my on-line library and see if I can download them to listen to. I am currently listening to Shanghai Girls,by Lisa See. Very good and a pleasure to do cleaning, laundry and yardwork listening to such a good story.

I have been yacking too long I better get going. See you next time I look out my window.

Zuccini Crazy

This year the garden was real slow to start. The rabbits ate all the cauliflour and broccoli that I set out then the weather was strange and the rest of the garden was very slow to produce. The zuccini were the first veggies ready. We have been eating them since! Everyday I go to the garden and pick whats ready. I put them in everything. Scrambled eggs, taco meat, stir fry, soup, cake, and pico de gallo.
The pico de gallo was a surprise because I did not have any peppers so I thought I would try zuccini instead. Suprisingly it works very well and picky critic son did not even notice. It is best fresh.

I diced up red onions, tomatoes, unpeeled zuccini and tossed them in a large bowl.
Squirted the juice of a lime, chopped some cilantro and added a hot pepper and threw in some salt. Thats it! Let it sit for a bit to let the flavors meld.

We love it so much that we caught each other standing at the counter with a spoon and eating right out of the bowl.

One day I diced up an avacado and shrimp and put some clamato juice in it and ate it like a soup.
How healthy can you get!

I am fat! My knees hurt. My back hurts. I have become very lazy and just do not have the energy to get up and go. I need a change. I do not work outside the home other than getting up real early to sit at my daughters house when one parent goes to work and wait for the other to get home. Then I come home have coffee and when my husband gets up we feed the chickens and horses then we take water to the cows and horses that are in a pasture a couple of miles away. When we get home Tim gets ready for work and i cook lunch which is our biggest meal for the day. After lunch we watch the news and then hubby goes to work and the rest of the day is mine.

Left alone to my own devices I clean the kitchen and then I am ready to clean something or work on one of my many projects. Lately this is where I get stuck in nuetral. I find myself sitting and thinking about doing something yet I do nothing. It is starting to get to me. I cant take the guilt.

I am so fortunate to live my life. I am so very loved by my husband. I have great kids and darling grandkids. Two dogs and a granddog are my companions all day.
So whats my problem? I think I am complacent. Too comfy in my safe lovely life. So I need a change and this blog is going to be my springboard. I am going to share with the world the details of my fortunate life.

So jump starting things the first thing I will do is walk as many days a week as I can. The dogs will really like that. Eating healthy with lots of fruits and veggies will be a challenge especially not eating after 7 o'clock. I am a night time bored eater. I love bread and soft mooshy foods.

I plan to start eating just veggies for my evening meal that way Tim will have something to eat when he gets home and he wont have to prepare anything for himself and it will be good for him too. We both need to lose about 30 pounds. Well here goes I will keep you posted.

I am Back!

It has been a couple of months since my last blog. For these and all my sins I am sorry. Sound like confession? I read so many blogs that I think mine is rather boring and not as grand as some of the blogs I read. Thanks for your encouragement Susie.

Life here on the farm can be busy but lately I have been in a bit of a low energy phase. I think it is lack of estrogen. The garden was real slow to get growing and producing. I was asked if everything I make has zuccini in it. Last summer the zuccini did not do well and this year I am making up for it. I made a fresh salsa and substituted zuccini with peppers ( I did not have any). No one even noticed not even Johnny my biggest critic. Hes the kid that starts conversations with "You know what you should do". Love hearing that from a 27 year old child!

I was able to spend lots of time this summer with two of my granddaughters. Mikayla, 9, and Mariah 3. Mikayla usually came mid week so we could hit the library before taking diner to my dad. She liked making dessert for dad and licking the bowls! Mariah and I spent time while her mom was riding her horse. This summer she really started talking and was always cracking me up. Mariah got a pony for her 3rd birthday but refuses to ride so Mikayla has been riding him. His name is Trooper and he is so cute!

As the summer comes to a close I start to feel panic over projects not completed and regret for projects not done well, like the garden around the pool. It is terribly weedy and looks horrible. But nature will help me out and freeze those offenders and in the spring the ground will be tilled and it will look nice and neat until late summer when I let down my guard and the weeds will once again take over. What a world!

My Damned Life

Ten years ago an aquaintence pulled into our lane and suggested that my husband and I attend a meeting that was coming up soon. He then informed us that the state of Nebraska was considering our valley as a watershed project. They wanted to build a dam and create a lake on the Jones creek. The creek is a quarter mile to the east of our land. The lake would be 250 acres and they would purchase roughly 750 acres in all.

So we went to the meeting and were horrified that several state entities were involved and had a design all drawn out and were actually working on this project. I got my chance to speak and I chastised the group for not contacting us sooner and explained to the group how we felt about our home of which we had only been in for 2 years. We bought 32 acres in 1997. The house has 2800 sq ft and very nice. A large barn and a pool we felt like we were on vacation when we were home.

That was ten years ago and the project is near completion as far as obtaining permits, funding and the engeneering. The powers that be have worked very well with us and have included us in any meetings and I have become an integral part of this project. I am not crazy about giving up my home but as I have always said "When given lemons, make lemon ade!"

A couple of years ago we recieved a flyer in the mail that advertised 55 acres of land for sale about 3 miles from us. We did a drive by and my husband fell in love. A hunters paradise! At that time the land was in set aside. The governments way to pay landowners from not farming parcels of land that are hilly and may cause erosion. When its ten years was up we took it out of set aside (which we had to pay for, what a racket!) We are pasturing some horses and cows this summer on 11 acres and we have decided that when we get $ from the state for our current home we plan on building there. We needed a name for the newer property so we started calling it Crazy Acres. It suits us. One really cool aspect of the property is that is has a 2acre cemetery on it. The headstones are dated from 1898 to 1912. It is very overgrown with lilacs and plums so I plan on clearing it out a bit and making it available to the public. This property has fantastic views and it is very private. I am getting pretty excited and we have a house design in mind. I will keep you posted in future and more pix are coming. Time for chores , Peace