Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Friday, March 05, 2010

Life In The Slow Lane

I don't get out much.  There is enough living to do at home each day to be content.  On my kitchen counter sits a 'running' grocery list that I take with me once a week to supplement our pantry and freezer supplies.  With spring and summer on the horizon, it's time to make use of some of the 'slow cooking' cuts of beef in the freezer.  Yesterday I used up the last of our stew meat to make a lovely Burgundy beef stew.  Hopefully I can time running out of beef just as we receive our next purchase in August.

Today was nice enough to get out and turn over the soil in another garden area, as well as clean up some of the untouched forest ground on our property; this will take another year or two to complete.  Some of the fallen logs were sliced into discs with the chain saw to use as stepping 'stones' in the veggie gardens.  Other wood was stacked for the bon fire pit .. and a pile was made for hubby to run through the wood chipper to make wood chips for some walking trails. 

The buttermilk (experiment) turned out so good we're on our third batch already.  It's very easy to make.  I like to add it to fruit smoothies ... wowzer on the tang!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I made stew this week too. I love my slow cooker :)

Kimberly said...

I love your trees. :) We don't have any round here.
BTW-I see that you have making crackers as a goal. I made a batch yesterday. I've been making them for about a year and have directions on my blog. Look to the right side for the link if you are interested.