Fred the Dragon

Our daughter crocheted this for her 10-year-old son for Christmas.  They are currently living with us and so I got to take a picture.  The boy LOVES his dragon.  Isn't it amazing?  Here is a link to the pattern she used.  She said she crocheted the wing lining instead of using felt, and also the eyes, in case you are interested.  I just had to show you!

Have I ever told you about Sweet Potatoes?

Here are roughly half of the sweet potatoes I grew in our garden this year.  Sweet potatoes, aside from being delicious and nutritious are Very Easy to grow and to store.  Unlike Irish potatoes, they do not need a dark cold place to be stored, long term.  In fact, if you chill them, it will ruin them fairly quickly.  I just keep mine in a basket sitting in the kitchen.  Many of them would still be good to eat a year from now.  What?  It's true!

Not only that, but once you get started, you never have to buy plants for them again, as it is so very easy to grow your own.  If you are new to this,  now is the time to start thinking about it and planning, as gardening season will be upon us before long.  I am a dyed-in-the-wool gardener.  As soon as the really cold weather hits, I start dreaming of next year's garden.  Here is what you should do:

1.  When the soil can be easily worked, either rototill the area where you want to plant them and enrich the soil, or spade the soil and hoe it up thoroughly.  Add compost, well-rotted manure, or whatever you prefer.

2.  I live in southern Indiana.  You may have to adjust planting dates accordingly.  Try to get a few sweet potatoes from a gardening friend.  Do not purchase them at the grocery store, as they have likely been treated to prevent sprouting.  On May 1st, take your sweet potatoes and plant them in the garden, placing them horizontally and covering them with soil.  They should not be planted deeply.

2.  On June 1st, there should be numerous "slips" - actual sweet potato plants growing on your seed tubers.

3.  I like to plant mine in a long row, 12 - 18 inches apart.  I work up the soil thoroughly and using a rake, make a long ridge.  Get a watering can full of water, a trowel and dig little holes at those intervals all along the ridge.  When you are ready, begin pulling the "slips" off of the seed tubers, fill the holes with water, one at a time, and plant the slip in the muddy hole.  Cover up the bottom of the slip, leaving the leaves sticking out. Continue in this manner until you either run out of room to plant or out of slips.

4.  Unbelievably, they will grow!  At first they wilt, but by the next day, they should be fine.  Then, all you have to do is try to control weeds until the vines cover the ridge and keep the weeds down because of the shade.

5.  Then, sometime before it frosts later in the year, go out and dig or pull up your sweet potatoes.  Don't wash them then.  Just put them in baskets or boxes and bring them into the house.

This year, some creature started eating them before I got to them, but even so, we ended up with more than a bushel of good sweet potatoes.  Rabbits will eat the vines.  The other invader was probably a mouse.  Lucky mouse!

If you don't have access to some tubers to plant, then buy sweet potato plants from your local nursery, or they can also be purchased online.  Once you have a start, you never have to buy them again.

Our granddaughter's latest composition. :)

It's that time of year!

Real Corn Bread!

Not long ago, my husband and I went camping at Spring Mill State Park, near Mitchell, Indiana.  We had a very nice time.  We visited the Pioneer Village one of the days we were there, and went to tour the old grist mill.  They get dried corn (non-GMO!) and grind it to sell.  I bought 12 pounds.  :)  Today I was hungry for something simple to eat, so I invented a new (to me, at least) cornbread recipe.  Here it is!

Real Corn Bread

Preheat oven to 425 and grease a square baking dish.

Combine:
2 cups corn meal
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a smaller bowl, mix together:

7/8 cup whole milk
2 egg yolks (reserve the whites, as you will use them shortly)
1/4 cup melted butter

In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.

Now, pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, mix well, then fold in the beaten egg whites until fairly well combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes.  Check after 20 minutes by touching the center of the corn bread.  It should spring back, not still be liquid inside. 

When it's done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.  Serve with plenty of butter!

Simple, satisfying, gluten - free (if you care about that).  Yes.  This is a keeper!

Homemade pancake syrup

This is not Log Cabin syrup.  Our daughter and her family are living with us currently, and I want to share with you how she makes pancake syrup.  Indeed, it is healthier, in some ways, to eat REAL maple syrup, but it can also be too expensive for many of us.  Long ago, I taught her how to make pancake syrup, but she has improved the process. Read the recipe carefully.  The success is in doing it properly.

Homemade Pancake Syrup

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan with a heavy bottom.  DO NOT STIR...EVER. 
Bring it to a boil, reduce heat and boil for 5 minutes.
Allow to cool.  Pour into serving bottle.
It will sit at room temperature and NOT crystallize.  The secret is in not stirring it while it is cooking.

No HFCS, no other scary things.  Just "real" sugar and some ambient molasses in the brown sugar.

Use sparingly and enjoy!

Perpetual fabric softener sheets...

Along with the theme of the last post, I will tell you about my "fabric softener sheets."  I have a large empty cottage cheese carton with a lid.  Into the container, I put 1 cup liquid fabric softener and 2 cups of water.  Then, I filled the container with old wash rags I had, left from washing goat udders (truly - due to events of life I had to sell my milk goats.)  When I put clean, wet, laundry in the dryer, I take one of the wash rags and wring it out thoroughly and toss it into the dryer.  That's it!  Hopefully, next summer my husband will be able to put my clotheslines back up (long story...) and next winter, we'll be using the wood heating stove again (another long story...) and I won't be using the dryer very much.  But for now, this is nice.  I can have just enough fabric softener for the laundry and it costs Almost Nothing.