Hike Night

In the craziness that is Spring on a farm we have had to push the stop button. One night, once a week, we pack up our dinner and leave.

Sometimes we eat in the car, sometimes on the trail, but no matter what, we go hiking.

We have to. We need to recharge. Even when you forget that your family will indeed need to actually "eat".

You mean to tell me that these people want dinner every single night??? But they already had breakfast! Aaaannnndd lunch! Here children and hard working husband, drink some water for dinner.

Obviously, I would never actually only offer water for dinner, unless someone gave me an attitude, but that is a whole other post. I'd offer them all a banana and milk smoothie..... That'll fill 'em up.

So what is a mama to do when she needs to feed her family the day before grocery day, and she forgot to pull any meat out of the freezer? Not to mention it needs to be pack-able.

Well, I did what I always do when I need direction for my life. I headed on over to my favorite blog. Thank goodness for Shaye and her Irish Farls!

And thank goodness for hike night.

And family time.

And being unplugged from our to do list.

And getting to watch a male Grouse do his thing to try and impress the ladies. He was pretty awesome. He was strutting and dancing and making his Grouse noise just a few feet from us.

And thank you Lord for food.

Pastry Dough

Oh this dough. I really can't say enough about it. It has made its way onto our plates many times these last couple weeks. I use it with both savory and sweet fillings. Each time thinking this new filling is my favorite. Making dough is by far my favorite thing to do in the kitchen. Pies, breads, pasta, pizza dough and now pastry. I enjoy the process.

This recipe is for two Gallettes, because one is never enough. Heck, two is barely enough. Especially when feeding the 5 mouths in this family.

You will need:

- 2 1/2 C. White Flour (Do yourself a favor and please use non-GMO)

- 1/2 tsp. Salt

- 16 Tbs (2 sticks) Butter

- 1/3 C Plain Whole Milk Yogurt

- 1/2 Cold Water 

Step 1. Preheat your oven to 400.

Step 2. Put the flour and salt in a bowl and mix together.

Step 3. Cut the butter up into small chunks. Add the butter into your flour and salt and mix with your hands. Smash and pinch the butter into the flour until it looks like coarse crumbs. Use both hands and really get into it. 

Step 4. Add the yogurt. It should look about like this.

Step 5. Slowly add in the water. It does not take much and this can vary from cook to cook and even batch to batch. You want it to feel somewhere between biscuit dough and pie crust. 

Step 6. Now flour your work surface and knead, gently. We don't want to over do it. So probably 3-5 actual kneads would be good. Now cut your dough in half. See the layers forming and the pieces of butter? That is what we want.

Step 7. Roll it out and fill with whatever goodness your heart desires. If it will take awhile to prepare your filling go ahead and place the dough in the refrigerator. We don't want the butter pieces to melt.

Step 8. Fold the edges up over the filling and place it in the preheated oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes. 

And enjoy! Happy eating friends!

What are you going to put in yours? 

Galette

It may have finally happened. The pastry dough that I have been looking for.

Easy and no fuss to make, at least by puff pastry standards. Light and chewy on the inside and crisp and flaky on the outside. I filled one with mushrooms and sweet potatoes. Topped with smoked mozzarella cheese. Then packed it and the kids up and had a picnic with Timothy on his lunch break.

Then magic happened. Food magic. I used the leftover dough to make this blueberry, honey and

pecan baklava-esque galette.

Pair it with all the kids in bed, a rainy evening, a latte and all is right in my world.

Sunshine and Elm

Lessons learned the hard way number 6487. Never, I repeat NEVER, try to teach an Essential Oil class in your home with your 3 young children. They will be teething or fighting or telling you how to teach your class. 

As you can imagine... This has never happened to me. I was just thinking up random motherhood tips to share... wink.

                       

After learning my lesson, I realized I needed some.... Let's say... Seperation. The little guy laid down for his nap and I escaped outside for a couple hours. Alone. Just me, the cats, the chickens, the dogs and the wood pile. Your definition of being alone changes when you have a farm. I took the chickens down our hill to the "Pond". And that, my friends, was just about as easy as teaching my class. Have you ever tried to get 10 chickens to willingly go somewhere that they have never been? Through gates and around chopping blocks? With a dog who just keep trying to put them back in their house?

               

Suffice to say I needed a battle I could win. And win I did. One and a half whole hours of that wood pile beating the tar out of me. Elm is prized for it ability to be easily split.... NOT! 

This, is my nemesis. It may have taken about 20 swings on each end and even some on the her side and she still didn't split. Until my husband got home and showed her a thing or two.

                       

Slowly, but surely I filled my cart.... Twice!
                         
                       

And really.... Who needs a gym when you can split wood? I got my workout in for the month and I got to take off my coat in January.

                       

All in all I had a blast. Seriously. There is something about getting outside and working that clears your head. It's grounding and wonderful.

Elm may not be the easiest wood to split, but it was free. And it burns long and hot.... Kinda like my husband... wink.

                       

I should go now. My sleep deprived brain may not be the best judge of what should or should not be said in public.

Christmas at The Little Red House

We kept things simple this year. We had to. With 3 little ones, one of which has not slept for more than 2 hours at a time since he was born almost 7 months ago, I had no choice. Stay sane or do all the holiday decorating/baking/hosting/merry making I wanted to. I chose to stay sane.

This year I remembered that we wanted to adhere to the Something to wear, Something to read, Something you want and Something you need rule for the kids. Which was perfect. It more than helped when I wanted to just lavish them with things that were just things.

Timothy and I never do gifts for each other on Christmas Day. Mostly because we justify other purchases through out the year by say, "We'll just call this your Christmas present!"

The tree went up right after Thanksgiving and will come down tomorrow. I am always sad to see it go, but happy at the same time. Kinda wishing there was a way to do both.

Merry Christmas friends and Happy New Year!

Comforting Color

Blustery day outside.

Means a comforting food inside.

Some for us.

 Some to give away.

 

Colorful pots and pans,

 

And a pumpkin, sausage, creamy, cheesy, from scratch casserole to be enjoyed by many.

Chinking

Are you tired of hearing about these old logs?

Me too!

They are only a giant feature in our living, dining and kitchen area.

It is like a painted accent wall....

Times 100.

Or maybe times 1000.

Or maybe times.... Never mind... This could go on for quite awhile.

Would you like me to explain why I think it is so awesome?

cricket... cricket... cricket...

I will take that as a yes!

They add texture.

They are a great natural element.

They ground the rooms, and can stand up to and balance out all my other white things.

They are old.

And now!!!! They are chinked.

Chinked with a homemade concoction that only my husband knows. I do know that he didn't buy anything for it. Everything was gathered from the Earth.

Which is hippy talk for dirt.... and sand.... and wood ash... and water.

And sweat.... and tears... and love.... and.... You get the point, atleast I hope you do. This project was a lot of work, hard, hard work. But we love the out come. 

What do you think?