Search Feature

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Snow Ice Cream

I bundled up and had a great time making snow angels after the last snow storm. The ice cream seemed like the perfect ending to my day.

I combined 3/4 cup of sugar with one egg...








Added 1 cup of milk, a pinch of salt and a bit of vanilla....

Then mixed in as much fresh white snow as I could, until the mixture was as thick as ice cream..









Topped with a bit of whipped cream and a cherry. It was pretty tasty! :)


Enjoying the Snow....




After making sure the animals made it through the storm,
I bundled up, put my tall boots on and made my way around the farm yard.

The best drift was in front of my machine shed. You can see the round bale mover tines on the left side of the picture. I'm not sure how deep the drift was, but it was over my head.



















My male border collie trying his hardest to hold still while I made snow angels.
He's pretty sure I need my face licked as soon as I lay down in the snow. lol



I had to find a spot shallow enough so I wouldn't disappear forever when I fell backwards into the snow. :)
My boot is somewhere in there...




My angel....










I gathered a few snowballs and bagged them for the 4th of July....




My friends say I can't call them snowballs.....by the time I get them out of the freezer in July they are pretty much hard balls of ice. :)




To end my day, I made snow ice cream...
No.. I didn't use yellow snow. lol
The fresh egg used in the recipe turns the ice cream yellow. :)
It was pretty tasty!



I'm still not sure about how much snow I received. Some say 16 to 24 inches. How do they measure snow when it's coming down sideways?

Friday, March 27, 2009

My World

The storm made it here.
The snow is coming down, the wind is blowing a steady 35mph with gusts to 50.
The drifts are getting bigger.
The roads are drifting closed.
The power is going off and on.
I DO worry about my friends and neighbors and the animals.

The next thing on my mind is the killer snow angel I'm gonna make tomorrow when the sun comes out. :)





My pasture.....




Getting ready....

Took these pictures last night while getting ready for the winter storm headed this way.
I do not mind snow, it's the wind and drifting that cause problems.

I hauled a few extra round bales to the cows and horses.....











They were happy. :)


The young heifers are growing fast...


My windmill repair job is holding up great! I think it even works better than before...



The windmill rod...


The water is pumping steady....



All's well at the pasture. :)



Things look a lot different today. lol
The storm has arrived, the wind is blowing...snow drifts are getting deeper. My electricity is back on right now. woohoo! :)
Neighbors have stopped in to check on me, some have stopped by to borrow flour, some were running short on fresh eggs. I know they were just keeping an eye out for me. :)
Several are out searching for calves.... makes me glad I had my cows bred at a later date.
The newborns lay down in draws to get out of the wind and weather, then end up being drifted in and die.
It's hard to find the calves in weather like this....
Hope everyone is keeping safe and warm!

Venison Backstrap Canadian Bacon with Wild Onions and Morels

This is part of the backstrap from the doe I got this fall...





I cleaned the backstrap and butterflied the meat to lay flat...


The cure mix consisted of

1 TBS of Tender Quick (per pound of meat)

1 tsp of sugar (per pound of meat)

1 dried cayenne pepper

1 TBS black pepper corns

1 TBS juniper berries

1 clove of garlic... minced.




I crushed the cayenne, juniper berries and black pepper corns, then mixed them with the tenderquick/sugar mixture and added the minced garlic.

Rubbed the mixture into the backstrap covering all edges, and picked the meat up and gave it a shake to get rid of any excess cure.

I wrapped the slab in plastic wrap and let it cure in the fridge for 3 days.

After curing, I rinsed the cure off of the meat under the faucet....then soaked the backstrap in fresh cool water for an hour


The wild onions are sprouting so I picked a few bunches to add a bit of flavor to the bacon. (I love wild onions. :))



I soaked a few of my dried morels in fresh water...

Layed the wild onions and morel mushrooms across the backstrap...





Rolled and tied...then onto my smoker with a bit of hickory...

added a few potatoes and an onion for another project. lol


Smoked til the bacon reached an internal temperature of 150, wrapped in foil and let it rest.


Things happen here on the farm and I didn't get the chance to try my bacon right away. lol

When I was able to get back to it, the smoked potatoes were cold, so I sliced and fried them in some butter, baked a few cheese/herb biscuits and fried a couple of fresh eggs to go with the bacon...

It was tasty and worth waiting for. :)



The wild onion and morel stuffed venison canadian bacon. :)




Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Mesquite Smoked Venison Fajitas

I grilled the venison but threw on a few chips of mesquite to add a bit of smoke.These are some venison trimmings I had from the hind roast and backstrap of the doe I got this fall...


The marinade was a mixture of..

2/3 c red wine vinegar

1 c oil

1/2 tsp of oregano

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp cracked black pepper

3 cloves of garlic cut up

a couple pinches of cumin

a squeeze of lime juice

and sliced onions...I poured the marinade over the venison and let it marinade overnight..







Onto the grill with a tiny bit of mesquite...




Added the tortillas...


Ready to eat..





I built one with the sliced venison, onions/pepper mix, cheese, pico de gallo and lettuce...



Served some salsa, lime and sour cream on the side...




It was pretty tasty! :)

Thank You Ken!

Smoking friend Ken from the Carolinas was kind enough to send a box of goodies to me, which I received yesterday!! Made my day!! :)
Ken owns and operates a Pool and Spa building company in the Carolinas called PoolScape Pools and Spas.
Builds some amazing looking pools!! Beautiful!

http://www.poolscapepools.com/


Ken sent a nice PoolScape T-Shirt, Visor and even a Carolina Panther Koozie!! :)








I love them Ken....thank you for being so thoughtful!! :)