Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings.

Spring is getting closer each day,

as this carpet of daisies shows.

The seasonal beauties are popping up all over.

Here's some of what we're discovering in our gardens.

candytuft

hyacinth

tulips

iris

phlox

The purple muhly grass is coming back

after a hard prune last week.

This ornamental grass has a lilac hue,

which sways whenever the wind blows.

The sedum, lamb's ear and salvia are all returning

in the front porch bed.

Most of the lamb's ear will be transplanted elsewhere,

and the sedum will be allowed to ramble.

The Yukon Gold potato bed is hoppin'!

We had a couple of days of rain,

which gave them all the moisture they needed.

Chicken wire supported by rebar has been added

to the inside perimeter to keep curious chooks

and pesky squirrels outtathere!

A new whole wheat bread recipe was tried just yesterday,

and I think this one's a keeper.

The flavor and texture are both delightful.

This will most likely be my go-to for weekly sandwich bread.

It's so wonderful to be able to enjoy REAL bread again!

It's been a rough couple of months.

A few weeks ago, we lost Buttercup, unexpectedly.

This week, her buddy, Saffron joined her.

They were both around five years old,

and I did what I could to help them,

but it wasn't enough.

It's so hard when you don't know the cause to their illness,

and they go downhill very quickly.

I just pray that they enjoyed their time with us,

and that they are together again.

 

These four babies (they are two years old) will have to get used to not having access

to the raised beds for a while.

Winter sowing is going strong, and soon these beds

will be filled with transplants that will be off limits to the chooks.

Insect netting is used in the warmer months to keep them out.

It's possible they could talk me into letting them have one bed

for snacking, chatting and the like.

They will also have to learn to take in Henrietta,

who now has no coop mates.

I'll tell you something about Henrietta

that's pretty doggone amazing.

Yesterday was the first day that she was put into the run

with the four younger girls.

Now, we estimate that Henry is at least 8 years old,

because she is the only member of the original flock

who is still with us.

A few hours after I had put her into the other run,

I went to check on things, see how everyone was getting along.

I found this egg in one of the nesting boxes.

We know this is her egg because she's the only chook

who lays blue eggs

(it may look white, but it is a pale blue).

Now, mind you, she hasn't laid an egg in close to two years.

She had stopped laying one other time and then started again after a couple of years.

Needless to say, she never ceases to amaze me.

I think Buttercup and Saffron would approve.

Homestead Happenings

Welcome to the first Homestead Happenings of 2026!

It's been a quiet couple of weeks around here.

The holidays are over, and we are getting back into our groove.

The weather has been wavering from frightfully frigid

to downright delightful.

Christmas day had us at 70 degrees and sunny!

The garden is still growing,

though ever so slightly.

Leeks were harvested for the makings of soup,

but for the most part,

harvesting is just not happening.

I'm starting to gear up for another season of

winter sowing.

I'm currently saving my lettuce containers to use for the project.

Thankfully, the girls are sailing right through winter,

and all have now grown back all of the feathers they lost from molting.

Their coops are still stuffed with straw as needed,

and cracked corn allows them to maintain their body heat.

We look forward to adding to the flock this spring.

Life is just better with chickens.

A few thrifting trips have been taken.

It's one of the things that all of us enjoy.

We actually found a couple of new to us shops,

so it was fun to get out and spend some time together.

I also found a new local feed store,

so that I can pick up rations for the chooks.

We prefer to support small businesses when we can.

The colder weather outside has been the perfect reason

to force me to stay indoors and bake.

The fresh milled flour recipe library

continues to grow.

I never thought it would be so much fun to learn

how to bake all over again!

Bread and rolls are pretty much a weekly task now,

and I don't mind it one bit.

It's absolutely unbelievable how much better I feel

now that I've been making my own bread for these 3 months.

This past week, I tried my hand at making

English muffins, one of my favorite breakfast foods.

They turned out pretty good,

but I have a bit of tweaking to do.

It's so rewarding to know that I am creating food

that nourishes my body and feeds my soul.

This week, honey was purchased from our neighbors,

three doors down from our home.

We've been using this honey for years.

You can't get more local than that!

Their honey is wonderful,

and it is being used in most of the bread recipes.

It seems everyone is recovering from the holidays.

Even one of our resident squirrels was spied

napping on the back deck.

Nothing wrong with a little sunbathing.

I hope that your year has started out on a good note,

and that it just keeps gettin' better!

God bless.

Homestead Happenings

 

The end of another week,

and the sunsets have been simply spectacular!

It looks as if the sky is on fire through the trees,

but not to worry, it is only Mother Nature showcasing one of Her many talents.

Here are a few of the things that went on this week.

The leaf collection and mulching are complete

in both our yard and our neighbors'.

Our wonderful next-door neighbor allows us to use her 

mower with attached bagger to clean up our yard,

and in return we take care of hers.

Everyone wins!

We have this massive leaf pile out by the garden,

and another two cubic yards in heavy duty bags.

I think we're set for leaf mulch for a while!

I finally got around to cleaning up the loofah.

We ended up with about 20 usable loofahs.

These will be listed on our local Next Door

for anyone who can use them.

Considering that I wasn't sure they would dry in time,

(we got cold weather earlier than expected),

I'm quite pleased with the harvest.

One of the big projects we've been 

dragging our feet on pondering for months,

was how to level our shed.

Big K can fix just about anything,

but this lil' conundrum was a little out of his comfort zone.

The floor inside had started to buckle,

and after calling a couple of shed companies,

ended up with no one who would do the job.

Until I asked our neighbor Joe.

Joe is an 80-something gentleman 

who lives a block over and does all sorts of odd jobs

for folks in the neighborhood.

He cuts grass, chops wood, builds stuff,

he's truly a talented guy.

Not only did he do a fabulous job of leveling the shed,

he would not take payment for it.

We ended up dropping off a Lowe's gift card,

knowing that he'll put it to good use.

Generous neighbors are such a blessing.

A couple of the raised beds have been dismantled,

to make room for our new Birdie's beds.

The garden is being reconfigured,

and two of the beds need to be moved anyway.

The soil from these beds will be added to

the asparagus bed,

as it has settled quite a bit.

I've been working on getting rid of things 

that I don't really need.

A couple of items were found that I didn't even realize I had.

One was this French newspaper,

which must have been with my mom's things.

Our next-door neighbor is going to help me

with the translation.

Someone suggested that perhaps the paper

held some information about a family member.

I don't really know what to do with this,

as I have no way to contact any of my mom's family in France,

if they are even still around.

Suggestions?

Here's the other item.

Remember these?

Here's the flip side.

Again, what to do with these random things?

I know that C will not be interested in them,

so there's really no reason to save them,

but I can't bring myself to just throw them out.

Not my style.

The baking has commenced.

Another year of sharing my mom's recipe for Madelienes.

They are a traditional French "cookie"

that my momma used to bake at Christmas time.

They taste like miniature sponge cakes more than cookies.

Unfortunately for me, I can't eat them because they contain gluten,

but I do enjoy making them for others,

knowing that they've probably never had anything like them.

Our indoor decorations are fairly simple.

We always decorate the mantel with our various holiday Lego sets.

It's a fun activity for the whole family,

and it gives our home a unique, cheerful theme.

Hoping you are enjoying this holiday season,

however you celebrate!

No Sugar Pumpkin Muffins (cf,df,ef,gf,sf)

 

 

Over the past few weeks,

our son C, who has multiple food sensitivities,

has taken himself off of sugar

in an effort to support his gut health.

While I admire his determination to foster good health,

it's been a bit of a challenge finding goodies for him to enjoy.

He also gave up his beloved pumpkin bread  

(which contains sugar) for breakfast,

which he's been making himself for the last few years.

He's been eating apple slices or watermelon as his sweets,

but I wanted to provide more of a treat for breakfast and snacks.

 These muffins are just the ticket.

They are corn, dairy, egg, gluten and sugar free,

which supports his goals.

(He's not allergic to eggs, but this recipe is vegan.)

I found the recipe in the allergy-friendly cookbook

Babycakes.

I remember reading this book of recipes many years ago,

when C was just starting his gluten-free journey.

Momma had to learn a new way to bake

and this book helped me along that path.

It was good to revisit the pages and figure out

which things he might like best.

I swapped out maple syrup for the agave,

as I've read some not-so-nice things about it.

I also omitted a couple of ingredients that I didn't have on hand.

They turned out great!

Another resource for maple syrup recipes that I plan to peruse is  

Souly Rested, 

where Michelle shares an array

of maple syrup sweetened concoctions.

 

 

 

For now, this recipe will do just as it is.

I can imagine tweaking it to add fruit, nuts or seeds.

There are limitless possibilities with this basic recipe.

These muffins (or cupcakes), are delightfully moist and flavorful.

The recipe made much more than 12 regular-sized muffins.

In fact, I was able to make over a dozen standard muffins,

as well as 12 mini-muffins.

Here's my version,

although you can find the original recipe here.

Give 'em a go and let me know how you like them.

Babycakes Pumpkin Muffins

2 C gf flour
2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 C light olive oil
2/3 C maple syrup
2/3 C unsweetened almond milk
2 T vanilla extract
1 1/2 C pumpkin puree
1/2 C hot water

In a large mixing bowl,

combine dry ingredients and whisk to aerate.

Add oil, milk, syrup and vanilla to bowl,

and mix thoroughly.

 Fold in hot water and pumpkin puree.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place paper liners in muffin tins.

Place 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin tin and bake 20 minutes,

remembering to turn pan around at the halfway point.

Let cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Date Cookies (cf, df, gf, sf)

 

 

 Living without processed sugar has become

relatively easy.

I always knew that it affected me

(my skin, my gut),

but it wasn't until I did an elimination diet

a couple of years back that I realized

how addicted to the stuff I was.

Thanks to some mighty creative bakers who are happy to share,

white sugar is just not part of my diet anymore. 

In fact, about a month ago,

I treated myself to a French Cruller at a local coffee joint,

and it was shocking to my tastebuds.

After you stop eating processed sugar,

it's like overload when you partake of it.

 

These chocolate chip cookies were fabulous

and absolutely no sugar was involved

(even the chocolate chips are sugar free!).

I tweaked the original recipe to my liking.

I'll take any excuse to add nuts to recipes,

so I added walnuts here.

I could see shredded coconut fitting in nicely as well.

Next time, I think I will add some oats

to replace some of the almond flour.

You can find the earnest baker's version here.

 

 One of the sweeteners in the recipe was date syrup,

and fortunately, it was easy enough to find out how to whiz it up in a blender.

It's as simple as combining these ingredients:

1 1/4 C dates

1 1/2 C water

1 teaspoon lemon juice.

 The mixture will keep for 3 weeks in the fridge.

This recipe made much more than I needed for the cookies,

so I will be using it to bake more treats for my son,

who has taken himself off of sugar.

 

If you're still consuming sugar of any kind,

be prepared because these may not be sweet enough for you.

As for me, I think I've found a new secret ingredient.

 

Chocolate Chip Date Cookies

(theearnestbaker.com)

 

1 3/4 C almond flour

1/2 C arrowroot powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

2 Tablespoons date syrup

1/4 C coconut/light olive oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 medjool dates, chopped

2 handfuls chocolate chips

(I use Lily's)

1 handful walnuts, chopped

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together dry ingredients,

then add syrups, oil and vanilla.

Fold in dates, nuts and chocolate chips.

 

Use small ice cream scoop to place on baking sheet.

Bake 7-9 minutes until golden,

then remove from oven and flatten with a fork.

Enjoy!