KItchen Sink Confessional

Okay,  I am one of the only people left on this planet, that still wash dishes by hand and I have officially had it… I am so tired of wasting my time standing behind a sink washing dishes. I know in the housewives manifesto somewhere it says that this mundane necessary task falls on the shoulders of us women at least 90% of the time.  Now you have to understand, I am not one of the women that have to have a clean kitchen before I go to bed, I try to have dishes rinsed, food wiped, space clean and ready for the morning.  I admit, sometimes I don’t do them everyday either. Here’s the thing, Life is too short to spend so many hours doing dishes!! There are books to read to the kids, wine to drink, conversations to be had, relaxing to be done… After cooking a meal it is the LAST thing I really WANT to do. So, I have come to a solution to solve this problem and possibly cut my dish duty in half. I am implementing a one dish per person ordinance in my household… I have been considering this for quite sometime, and I finally did it. One plate, one glass, one set of silverware for each of us… There was once a time I was really into my collection of dishes, my myriad of styles and novelty pieces for different occasions.. However, as my entertaining has decreased and my family has increased the dish pile that I often refer to as MT. Dishmore has perpetually grown.  In the quest to simplify our lives, I am taking a stand to do away the unnecessary. When it comes to cooking and preparing fresh meals, my kitchen cache will remain, I am mostly eliminating the twenty glasses, every fork knife and spoon in the drawer, towers of plates, who needs all of those plates?  I will keep a back stash for company, who knows maybe we will actually use that China in the cupboard collecting dust when we actually have guests. Sadly, A part of me does sometimes enjoy the task. I usually catch up on phone calls, and contemplate. Yes, I said contemplate. The Kitchen sink confessional, as I have referred to it at times. 

This by no means will eliminate the daunting task that seems never ending and multiplies instantaneously. I have a gorgeous view from my kitchen window, now perhaps I will be enjoying it more actually being outside rather than looking at it from the inside. 

P.S. This has been in effect for about a week now,  It has been an amazing week, did so many other things.... 

I highly recommend it! 

Quinn's new 'kitchen' with the two EMPTY shelves...

Loaded FIVE giant boxes to be donated. 

Adios!

AHHH,  SIMPLICITY....

Spring Chicks...

Meet June, Our new chick. 

She is the first of about a dozen chicks soon to be hatched for the first time in our incubator! The most amazing thing is. I watched it... We decided to incubate due to the fact that we had a raccoon incident, Needless to say, our only broody hen was the victim of the crime. :( So when my husband came back into the house from getting rid of the criminals (the coons) I said, " we have to get those eggs." We brought them in, candled them, threw some towels in the dryer to keep them warm, and set up a heat lamp in a drawer until we could get an incubator. This all took place about 2:00 a.m.  So we really didn't know if they were going to hatch or not. After about a week and a half of rotating the eggs three times a day, we noticed a hole in the shell. After some monitoring,the hole began to crack. When we held the egg up to our ears we could hear pecking inside. Then we saw in begin to move, after a while it began to hatch, It was pretty Amazing...I wish I was more savvy with my camera skills to have a sequence to show you of the timeline as it unfolded, The whole thing took maybe a half hour, forty five minutes. I was pretty excited to watch this miracle of life. When I saw my first lamb birthed, I cried. 
 We named her June because we were watching 'Walk the Line' the Johnny Cash story, If 'she' ends up being a 'he' We will have to name him Johnny or even better, Cash. What a great name for a rooster.

 Wishing you a Happy Spring full of new beginnings.

Old School inspiration

So at times my household has slim pickin's prior to a trip to the market, and sometimes you just want to work with what you may have on hand. In either case, This cookbook is awesome. 

Talk about whipping something up with nothing... You can make biscuits, batters, dough for anything you can imagine. sometimes it takes a little deciphering because it lists them as basic batter 1,2,3. So you have no idea what it is for.  I think my pioneer woman spirit can relate to the simplicity of using basic ingredients on hand.  So we were wanting something sweet and  felt like we had nothing to work with, But viola' we whipped up this lemon cake using the one egg batter recipe, adding lemon zest and a lemon glaze that was made by previously freezing lemon juice when we had an abundance of lemons on hand from a friends tree.

Here is the cake, the icing was made with  a tiny bit of cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon juice. 

The lemon juice was frozen in a silicone cupcake pan, put into a ziplock and is handy for whatever you need lemons for.  

When life gives you lemons...Make Lemon Cake!

Anyway this old school cookbook is filled with basic bare bones recipes along with many things that leave you saying, What?? Like a consomme mold? And things made with all kinds of animal parts... Utilizing every last bit ~ Resourceful. But it is handy and a nice gift (as mine was). If you ever need a ten to twelve course Christmas Dinner Fannie can help you out with that. Although I am assuming Miss Farmer had some help back in the day. 

Natural LOVE...

Happy Heart Day!

Winter = Sauna ...

This time of year, the dead of winter around here 

we find solace and refuge in our sauna.

It is a cedar-lined, wood burning, 

eucalyptus smelling piece of heaven.

For centuries people have taken part of bathing rituals to help increase circulation, cleanse the skin, and to detox the body and mind. We built this about 4 years ago after a 100 year old oak tree fell on the portion of our house that desperately needed remodeled anyway. 

For a couple that does not get out much with two youngins' 

and not a lot of extra money, 

this has been the best thing we could of done for ourselves.  

A true example of a 'stay~cation' right in our own backyard. 

The best part is, we have a creek running right out front, So we are able to rotate between soaking in the sauna and dunking in the creek. Crazy as it seems I cannot even begin to tell you what an extreme feeling of vitality comes from this. 

It is a mess this time of year, 

And yes, it is cold. 

I have to pump myself up everytime.

To remind myself of how amazing it feels, how amazing I feel,  

I remind myself that a warm enveloping 

cocoon is waiting for me back inside.

The Philosophy behind the whole process is to:

1) Soak out impurities of the body and mind.

2) Flush them away downstream.

With out step #2 It is just not the same, 

I have been a chicken at times and opted not to dunk 

and have regretted it every time. 

The going from hot to cold improves circulation as well. 

I love how my face looks afterwards, relaxed and hydrated.

The best part is standing out in the dark in all of your natural glory under the stars after the dunk. 

It just doesn't get much better than that. 

The energy,For this I am blessed... 

I wish everybody could feel the feeling.

After the whole rotation of about three soaks + three dunks=

Marshmellow~esque,Limp like a noodle...

Sleepin' like a babe. 

The Traditionalist

The quintessential pumpkin.

Sometimes sticking to ye Ol' tried 

and true is the best way to go.

Pumpkin carving has always been an event at our house. 

Not because we want to carve elaborate designs, 

Or have a prize winning contest. 

But because, it symbolizes a right of passage for our

home grown pumpkins serving their life purpose. 

It sounds so profound, But it is true. 

Simplicity at it's finest. 

We had fun sharing our bounty with our 

friends and family at the Jennings Pumpkin patch.

Enjoy these pumpkin days this month.

Make something 'pumpkinlishous'! 

Something About Fall. . .

Something about fall. . . 

Although it is bittersweet when I come to hang clothes on the line and realize that this may be the last load, Or when I walk out to the garden and see things starting to fade, As is my tan, ha ha. But As everything turns with the seasons 

the change is always so welcoming to the spirit. 

I only wish that spring and fall would switch places 

with summer and winter... Wouldn't that be nice? 

I have always loved the fall, the splitting and smell of firewood, starting a pot of soup, or slipping a long sleeve 

or a pair of jeans on for the first time

because you are actually chilled. 

The crisp air, fires in the fireplace,

pomegranates, figs, apples, pears and persimmons,  

The list goes on and on. 

I never thought I would have my own pumpkin patch. But I do! And it is so fun to go out with the kids to pick when they are ready, But what is the best is that I can have my porch stairs overflowing with them, like you see in magazines. 

Yeah, that's me... One of my favorite things. 

Pumpkin Perfection

Fairytale Pumpkin

                                             

The Patch

                                               

 Glorious Gourds

                                       

Again, Natures  Amazing Palette & Design

                                       

So, We found  a secret wild pear tree a few years ago, and since we've been picking the pears are much more prolific. This year they are beautiful. I think we picked a bit early though, I Did not want the birds to get them first. So they have been gracing our kitchen windowsills, rotating with a brown paper bag waiting to ripen. It's such a treat getting a few each day that are absolutely perfect!

Check out this Melon! It's called a 

Bidwell Casaba Melon and oh my!

We have harvested the seeds for a few years now 

from each melon. It's character is sweet and succulent, 

somewhat like a cantaloupe but not so intense.

And so, so beautiful. We blended and froze 

the flesh this summer for a gelato type iced slush.

YUM!

As for the tomatoes... Beautiful grand plants, 

Maybe 20 tomatoes total (big ones)...

Yes, A bleak season. 

We did get a late start this year.

Disappointing for my winter stockpile.

Better luck next year. 

Ciao' for now.