A New Addition to the Homestead

Meet Ken:

He's my fancy new Kenmore sewing machine. Purchased from my local Sears on sale plus a case and a 3 year warranty plan. A very fitting Birthday present if i do say so myself.

I am very excited to get working on some husband-wife crafts that have been held up by my old jammed machine. I'm also planning on developing some new products for my Etsy store and Baby Boutique.
I'm thinking some cute pillow cases, blankies, bibs maybe - with cute animals sewn on to match the critter and color theme in the wall art.  I think it's a cool idea and am excited to get to work.

 

Time honored brand.

 

Many different feet included, drop in bobbin, auto threading needle!

 

Cool stitches, easy to use.

 

Me = stoked!

Pita Pizza Recipe, Revisited

I posted my recipe for veggie pita pizzas quite some time ago, but I thought i'd update with a reminder recipe. This evening I'll be adding some chicken sausage to half the pizzas, as my carnivorous father is in town and he likes excuses to eat animals (his wife is vegetarian).
The house is a bit bare of ingredients - but i try and keep pitas and tomato paste on hand at all times, as pita pizzas are a great 'use what you have on hand and i can't think of anything else for dinner' quick fix. The husband and i have decided 2 ingredients are must haves for the best pita pizza, however - so i'll be running by the store to pick up: canned pineapple (in juice not syrup) and black olives. Hubby is always disappointed with a pizza sans pina.

So here we go again, tonight's version of
Miranda's Pita Pizzas

Sauce:

• 1 can tomato paste (small for two people, large for 4)
• Splash red wine
• Finely diced garlic cloves to your preference (i use lots)
• Dashes cayenne, salt, pepper, basil, oregano
• Optional rosemary

Pitas (i like Toufayan and local Pheonicia, choose pitas that aren't "pocket" pitas)
Toppings - whatever you like! Here are some suggestions:

• Onions - raw or sauteed briefly
• Mushrooms
• Bell peppers
• Black olives
• Diced pineapple
• Sausage or pepperoni
• Homemade mozzarella 
• Fresh basil leaves
• Tomato slices
• Feta
• Jalapenos
• Zucchini
• Etcetera!
• Shredded cheese - any variety

I try to stick with things i have on hand or in the garden. But as i said - we really love that pineapple!

*Note that there is no pineapple on this board. I had pineapple on one list, and went grocery shopping with another list. I forgot the pineapple. 

I failed.

But it was still good, and husband was  happy since i replaced the pineapple with chicken sausage!

Preheat to 425. I usually make these in the toaster oven, but tonight i'm cooking for 4 and will be using the big oven. That heats unevenly. We'll see how that goes. Mix up the sauce - you can do this ahead of time. I like lots of sauce, and it keeps in the fridge just fine - so don't be afraid to make a little more than you might need. Set out the pitas on a baking sheet, or directly on the oven rack (not while it's in the oven, obviously). Slather on as much sauce as you'd like (more sauce needs a bit more time in the oven to crisp the pita, less needs less time). I like to sprinkle just a tiny bit of cheese first, then add the toppings, followed by more cheese. I skimp on the cheese for my pizzas - i really don't think it needs much to be tasty, and load on more for the husband or hungrier guests.

Place in oven and cook for 12 - 20 minutes depending on your oven, rack placement, crispness preference. I often take them out too soon for fear of burning- ending up with a soggier pizza. Don't be afraid to peek inside and lift the pita to see the underside - it can get a little brown on it and it should be firm so that the whole pizza lifts when you lift an edge. Pizzas are easier to cut when crispy, and i just prefer a crispier pizza.  (Cooking on two racks on cookie sheets in oven - rotating the sheets top to bottom half way through - my pizzas cooked perfectly at 13 minutes).

Cut with a pizza cutter and slide onto plates. I served the pizza tonight with side garden salads - i grew every last thing in that salad, besides a cucumber and the olive oil and vinegar of course.

Yum yum yum!

Have you ever gone shopping with the intent to purchase a specific something, and that one thing is the thing you didn't get??? C'mon, tell us your story.

Gorgeous Day - The Opposite

Who would guess that just 3 days ago I was going on and on about lovely, sunny 70 degree weather.

Didn't think i'd be seeing pretty snowflakes fluffing their way to the ground here at my little Austin Homestead. I am just tickled....white! White roof. Snowy garden. Pretty toadflax waving about out of the snow. Ned the armadillo is unphased, and the view to my neighbor's house has never been nicer.

 

The husky doesn't seem quite as excited by the snow as i feel she should.

The chickens are sure curious and seem to like tasting snow.

On a gardening note, you may be wondering why i'm not covering anything. The citrus are safely  shlepped back inside. The germinating mustards might be a bit peeved but can be easily replanted.  Other than that - most of my growing things have been harvested and eaten, or don't really mind a blanketing of snow. Garlic and onions should be fine, the lettuce seems unphased, and the few other more tender things can be lost without great loss. 33 degrees and snowing is one thing - 18 degrees plus windchill was quite another. I'm takin' this one easy.

Easy Roasted Garlic Recipe

Well, my my. I had no idea i hadn't already posted this. I was about to make some mayo and wanted to make this batch with some roasted garlic in the blend. I searched my blog to find the temp and time, and low and behold i had not posted this after all.
Roasted garlic is super yummy, spreadable, and adaptable. Mix it with butter, mayo or cream cheese to spruce up those condiments. Slather it onto bread straight, or mix it into just about anything for a garlicy flavor that is less "sharp" than raw garlic. It's more mellow and not as spicy. Plus the olive oil you use to roast it becomes infused with a lovely garlic essence that's great to use in salad dressings or as dipping oil.

How to:
Simply cut the papery top (opposite of root side) with a sharp knife. You want to cut the top of each little clove in the bulb, just exposing the inner flesh without cutting off a ton of the meat - maybe a half inch at the most.
You can use muffin tins lined with foil, or just make little foil packets, or nestle several bulbs in an oven-safe dish and cover with foil. Place the bulb in the foil root side down, sprinkle with any seasonings you may like (salt, cayenne, basil, etc) and drizzle well with olive oil. It doesn't need to be submerged, but oil should get into all the crannies.

Roast for about 30 minutes at 450 degrees. At about 20 minutes in the delicious smell of garlic will be intense! Be careful when you open that packet - hot steam will come rushing out (along with some delicious garlic aromas). Allow garlic to cool some as you don't want to burn yourself on that hot oil, and easily squeeze the cloves out of their paper wrappers. Store in fridge whole, or squish out the cloves and discard the paper part (lick all that good oil off first).

Ta da, that's it. Don't burn your tongue, but eat at least one clove while it's still warm: soo devine.

What's your favorite way of using roasted garlic?

Granola the 2nd

Hard not to snack on, but good for husband breakfasts - granola is easy to make and smells as delicious as it tastes. I had a couple over for a dinner last night - i made thai curry with butternut squash, kale, habanero, multiplying onions and cauliflower from the garden (the squash being the odd man not grown by me). Turned out scrumptions - i should have taken a pic of my one head of cauliflower, but i weighed it at least: 11 ounces.

Anyhoo, i gave Mary a taste of the granola I'd made that day and am posting the specific recipe here by request.

• 2 cups rolled oats (organic)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt (fine sea salt- could reduce this if using sea salt, but i kinda like the extra salty kick)
• 3 Tablespoons veg oil - i used 1/2 safflower 1/2 olive
• 1/4 honey or agave nectar or mixture of the two
• 1/4 cup rapadura (brown sugar if you don't have rapadura, but you should get some)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp (a splash) almond extract
• mixed nuts/fruits to taste, this time 'round i used:
• handful walnuts and pecans crumbled
• sprinkling dried wild blueberries
• handful coconut shavings (sweetened as i was a bit short on the honey)
• hemp seeds (could use flax as well)

You could use a lot more nuts/berries. The original recipe calls for 1 1/3 cup nuts and fruit.

Preheat 325. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Toss oats with cinnamon and salt to mix well. In separate bowl mix oil, honey, sugar, vanilla, almond (the wet stuff) and add the oat mixture to blend well - occasionally squeezing with your hands to mush it together well. Spread this evenly in the cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and flip/ stir and add nuts. Bake 5 minutes, remove and flip/stir, add hemp seeds (flax). Bake another 10 minutes, remove and flip/stir adding fruit and allow to cool. Will be softish when you take it out of the oven, but will crisp up as it cools. Store in a well sealed jar - if doubling recipe store some in fridge or freezer for longer shelf life.

Ta Da. Easy. Don't be limited to the recipe. Add whatever you have around, keeping in mind if it will burn or not. Things like chocolate or burnable seeds should be saved until the last or second to last step. Larger nuts and things can go in sooner.

Mary also inquired about yoghurt making - which i'm excited to say will be happening soon! My mama is shipping me her old yoghurt maker for my birthday (if she remembered to get that in the box) so i'll be yoghurting away with my local raw milk pronto. Can't wait for yoghurt and granola with seasonal fruits!

Gorgeous Day!

Man alive. I'm wearing shorts and a tank top. Seeds are germinating, Dog is panting, Chickens are scratching, Spring is springing.

Except that i have to bring all the citrus and the hibiscus back in soon.
Laaaaaaame Texas forecast:

Seriously - can't it just be consistent sometimes?
Nope. But i suppose i've just lived in texas too long - i assume the flukey weather is due to my location. But really Spring is usually flukey, right?

List of to dos today:
Enjoy the gorgeousness
Make granola
Clean house
Till some garden patches while the sun is out to dry the ground
Plant some mixed millet to border my yard (destined to be chicken fodder)
Make veggie curry for some friends for dinner - perhaps i'll post the "recipe" tomorrow

It may be too early to plant some seeds - but i figure they'll either wait the cold patch out and germinate a little later, or i'll just try again at th end of march. Either way, it's an excuse to get outside.
Sorry for today's lame post. It's been a slow week  ;)

Personalized Baby Name Gifts, Custom Nursery Decor, by ME.

Today i take a moment to shamelessly plug the career side of my life. I love experimenting in the garden and kitchen all day long, but i would like to be spending a bit more productive time in the studio as well.

As you know, i am a children's book illustrator with several fun books and magazine spots under my belt. You may not know that I also sell custom fine art to folks looking for a unique and special gift, or personalized artwork for their own home. Lately I have been focusing on cute, baby name pieces that are great to hang in the nursery or over the changing table - purchased by parents for their own home or as gifts for friends and family.  Each piece is entirely custom designed for each and every client: featuring a baby's name in bold letters paired up with an animal who shares the same first letter (or anything my clients prefer). No two pieces are alike, and I always send preliminary sketches to my clients for approval before mailing out final artwork. Art is shipped unframed within days of order.

More samples of both my published work and fine art gifts can be seen on my website.

Today, I am very excited to announce that now I am also offering an easy and secure PayPal option for folks looking to order Baby Name pieces from my site. Check out the News section of my site for all the details.

There is a great drop down menu for paper options and text fields to enter in the child in question's name. I have also posted a gift certificate option, perfect when you're buying a baby shower gift and you're not sure what baby's name will be.

Folks really love these pieces:

"Oh wow, I love it! You are quick and clever! I actually got a little teary-eyed when I saw it, so sweet! " -Betsy K. in Eugene, OR
"Whoo Hoo. I love it. Thanks again, it's the perfect gift." - Mike G. in Banks, OR

I would be deeply grateful if you could tell your friends, or share my site with folks you think would be interested. These pieces are great as gifts, and are also a wonderful choice for your own nursery. I can of course customize pieces for older children and even pets as well: the possibilities are truly endless.

Size

5x7 $35.00 8x10 $50.00 11 x 14 $100.00

Paper Color Preference

No Preference Slate Blue Rose Pink Flannel Yellow Textured White

Please enter child's name:

Enter animal (optional) :

So please visit the site today, tell a friend, and maybe even place an order with the PayPal button above. Feel free to leave me a comment here or on my news section at the other site with any feedback or opinions.

My clients are my favorite people: they give me an excuse to draw cute and fun things, and help to pay the mortgage on my little Austin Homestead.

Looking for a Powerbar Recipe

Hello lovelies,

Today my post is a request: for recipes, tips, ideas on substitutions, or any other insight you may have on creating homemade powerbars/granola bars that are chock full of energy and nutrition, but lacking any nasty sugar, corn syrup, or other strange processed things. My husband is a hard workin' guy, and i don't always have time to wake up early and make him a lunch, or to pack something the night before that will keep without refrigeration the next day. He's been on a diet of clif bars and odwallas, but that's just not satisfactory in keeping with our newly reduced budget and focus on zero processed foods. I would like to come up with something i could make, is open to some variety (so he doesn't get bored and leave them in the work van) and doesn't cost too much money. Sourcing local ingredients would be ideal as well.

I found this recipe online, and it' s a decent starting point, but he uses corn syrup, protein powder and dried milk. I have a little protein powder, but i'd really rather use sprouted grains and nuts, or other less processed protein sources. Are there ingredients that could be used in substitution for the syrup or dried milk?

I'm thinking a bar that contained whole grains, sprouted or soaked, dates, banana, agave nectar or rapadura, local nuts, and maybe even greens would be pretty awesome. We have tons of fresh eggs at our disposal, and seasonally lots of pecans. Bananas certainly aren't local, but i've been on a kick lately (they just go so well with warm porridge and milk!). Raw milk, carrots, and lemon juice are also things i have close at hand.

So, what do you think, like minded friends? Heard of any great recipes? Have any substitution tricks for me to use in not-so-healthy recipes? I can't wait to hear what great ideas you all have.

Thanks in advance!
Miranda

Soil Amending

Gorgeous day out, but still a bit too early to really prep most the beds or plant anything else. Forecast looks nice for the next week or so, so out go the citrus, pruned gets the hibiscus, and amended and turned goes the future gourd patch.

Tela the husky is at the vet getting expensive tests :( but the chickens are happy because they get to play in the back yard all by themselves. They are presently ruffling themselves full of dust and rotting leaves, which is their very favoritest of things to do.

The soil is still a bit moist, but for now i turned it to dry further, and added these lovely organic treatments.

 

Greensand is great for any plants that need a little kick of iron - think those sad yellow plants you just don't know what to do with. Phosphate is good for root development, which gourds really need in order to produce their best fruits.

I'll keep tilling as the soil dries and hopefully can get the patch ready before the next rain. Gourd seeds, and borage seed, will go in mid March. 

Have i mentioned that i love springtime? And it's almost my birthday, what could be better.

Mini Quiches - Enough for an Army!

A dozen eggs on the counter: 20 mini quiches in the pan!

I've been planning a big quiche cooking extravaganza for quite some time, and today i implemented it. I've been saving up the girls eggs for about a week (they're laying between 17 and 25 eggs a week these days!) and this afternoon i harvested some broccoli and spinach and got to work.  i bought a gallon of raw milk last friday and hadn't done anything with the cream yet, so i made these extra decadent.

• 1 dozen eggs, scrambled
• shredded cheddar
• 2 cups raw cream
• bunch spinach, julienned
• chopped broccoli
• various herbs: rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme
• salt and pepper
• cayenne
• garlic

First i sauteed the onions, herbs, seasonings, garlic and broccoli unti the onions softened, meanwhile scrambling the eggs with the cream and some seasoning salt.

I sprayed some muffin tins and dropped spoonfuls of the sauteed veg into each spot.

Next i poured in some of the egg mixture, leaving room at the top.

Topping that with the spinach, then a little more egg and the cheese.

Into the oven they went at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Inside the oven they were puffed to double their size! So pretty and tantalizing. But sadly upon removal from the oven they sank back down into deflated, sad little puddles. I'm sure they'll still be uber delicious. But i'm disapointed.

2 are destined for our tummies this evening, along with some cooked sprouted lentils. The rest will be frozen and packaged for quick, easy dinners for my hungry working husband.
I'm pleased enough with the results, i'm sure they're scrumptious, but i'm wondering if i missed some step to ensure the maintenance of "puff."

**update: apparently quiches aren't supposed to stay puffed (vs souffle). Though it seems when i bake them in larger pans they stay at least  a LITTLE puffed.

Does anyone know of a way to keep quiche from falling when you remove it from the oven?

Delicious Homemade Granola

Who knew making granola was so easy? The benefits of making my own are many:

• I know what's going into my husband's stomach, and it's all good stuff
• It's fresher than you could possibly get in the store
• I can pick and choose each ingredient that goes in
• I can adjust the amounts to make a batch that's just the right size to last the week and fit into the container

lots more. but that's a start. I worked off of a recipe i found online.  I didn't have all the ingredients he used, and would rather use locally sourced or on hand stuff anyway. I also changed the sweeteners around to be more healthy and low glycemic. The process was super simple and i could do several other things while the grains were cooking.
I think next time i'll try this with some mixed rolled grains, not just oatmeal. But this is sure tasty! (I would have put in raisins, but hubby said no thanks)

• 2 cups rolled oats (preferably organic)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt (i used fine sea salt)
• 3 T plus 1 tsp veg. oil (i used safflower this time)
• 1/4 cup honey (i mixed honey and agave nectar - would have used all agave but it's a bit spendy. Be sure and use local honey)
• 1/4 Rapadura
• 1 tsp vanilla (i snuck some almond extract in there also)
• the recipe calls for assorted nuts and fruits, i used what we had: about a cup of chopped walnuts and pecans plus some flax seed and hemp for omegas.

Preheat to 325. Toss the oats, cinnamon and salt together. In another bowl mix the wet stuff.  Add the oats to the gooey stuff and mix with your hands well, squishing into several balls and scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Spread oats evenly on a pan lined with parchment.
Bake 10 minutes, remove and flip, add nuts
Bake another 5 minutes, remove and flip, add flax and hemp
Bake 10 minutes,  remove and cool. Add fruit now if you're using any.
Let cool completely and transfer to an air tight container. Try not to eat it all now.

Should keep about one week. As if we can keep our hands off that long! This stuff is so good - great balance of sweet and salty. The recipe called for hazelnuts, which i'd loved to have used if i had any. Someday we plan on raising an orchard with filberts and other nuts that i can't wait to use in recipes like this. We have a pecan at this house, but naughty squirrels ate all the nuts before they even got ripe.

A brekkie of granola may not be as satisfying as porridge, but sometimes you need to give the husband something a little sweet to keep him happy (and to thank him for being such a great guy). Plus the house smelled like oatmeal cookies for hours afterward - you can't beat that!

Do you have a favorite granola recipe?

Belina's Double Yolker, our first egg anomaly

 

Two for the price of one 

(check out how little the two yolks are compared to a normal one yolk egg)

Belina's Egg, a Poem

Miss Belina, 

the last to lay, 

likes to nestle in the hay.

Her eggs are pink,

small and wee,

she lays them all

so daintily.

But one was large,

largest of her few,

who'd have knew

that it was TWO!

wow, i am NOT  a poet. Needless to say i was suprised at how big this egg was compared to her last, and even more surprised to find two yolks inside!


Have you ever found strange things in your hens' eggs?

Sunshine and Pruning Shears

 

Care for a cup of tea, Soot?

Finally some sunshine! Normally i don't complain about rain - we usually need it. But it's the time of year that i'd like to be tilling the soil, not watching it get soggy and covered in snails.

This weekend we've finally seen some warmer days (still 30s at night) and today i took advantage.

I'm afraid my lavendar may have bit the dust - it is a more sensitive variety than some, and even down at the base it looked quite dead. It felt good to give the salvias and lantana a good hacking. I just love seeing new shoots and branches spring up after a rigorous prune. Once night temps are up i'll give everyone a good dose of fertilizer and compost, and then hopefully it will rain some more and bring beautiful blooms and glorious new greens.

Happy Valentine's day, everyone. Go hug a plant :)