Strawberry Shortcake- easy but genuine

It’s a dreary, rainy day here in Northeast Ohio, but that’s a good thing. Ever since the last storm that dumped about four inches of rain, flooding a lot of local areas, we haven’t had a drop. We’ve been watering the flowers and garden plants daily as the temps have been high. Yesterday we hit 90◦. Today it’s rainy and cool, so I’ve got the oven on doing some baking (and blogging and photographing, too!), in between laundry, budgeting and other miscellaneous and necessary tasks.

Since June is strawberry time in Ohio and just around the corner, thought I’d share my best recipe for shortcake. This is the real deal shortcake, unlike those yellow sponges that are passed off as shortcake in the supermarket.

The original recipe comes from an old cookbook first published in 1924. I have improvised it just a bit to suit me and replaced the added “fat” with shortening, butter or vegetable oil, whichever you prefer. I’ve also added sugar to it because I sometimes do not sweeten my berries unless they really need it or I sweeten them lightly. The original recipe calls for making the dough into individual biscuits, but I spread it into a cake pan and cut into serving squares. Always going for easy when possible! This recipe works for a small or round cake pan. You can easily double it for a larger pan. I used a double recipe and a 9x13" pan in photo.

Shortcake

1 ½ c. flour

2 t. baking powder

¼ t. salt

4 T. fat (shortening, butter or vegetable oil)

½ c. milk

½ c. sugar (optional)

Mix dry ingredients and work in fat. Add milk. (a little extra doesn’t hurt)

This makes more of a dough than batter, so it will become stiff. When mixed well, place in lightly greased pan and spread as evenly as possible. You may need to use your hands. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 450◦. You’ll want it to be golden brown around edges. Enjoy!

Hummingbird Season

I haven’t seen our Hummingbird family return just yet although I expect to any day now. But, since the hummingbird season is upon I thought it would be a good time to share a few facts and tips on these beloved birds.

Facts

Hummingbirds zip around at about 30 MPH and when zooming in towards a feeder they often reach close to 40 MPH. (And believe me, they will dive bomb at times if you are near their feeder!)

North American Hummers weigh from 3 to 8 grams on average and measure 3 to 5 inches.

They eat insects and spiders as well as nectar. Even more reason to adore them!

The female Ruby Throat usually lays two eggs with each being about the size of a jelly bean. Imagine!

Their wings beat faster than the human eye can see at 40 to 80 beats per second.

Their heart pumps blood at 1200 beats per minute. When at rest this slows to about 250 beats per minute. Amazing!

Tips

To make Hummingbird food, mix four parts water with 1 part tap water. Boil water and add sugar to hot water, stirring until completely dissolved. Let cool before filling feeders. Refrigerate any leftover mixture.

Replenish the sugar water every 2-3 days during the hot summer months and every 4-5 days in cooler weather to keep from fermenting.

Scrub those feeders every week with plain hot water to get rid of mold and mildew and other matter, such ants that find their way to the feeder.

Hummers are attracted to red, but do not use dyes or food coloring in their food! It may be harmful to the birds health. Do not use honey because it fosters the growth of fungus which is lethal to hummers.

The peonies are up and bulbous, soon to bloom as the shiny black ants nibble away at their buds. The Maple tree out back near the old Locust stump has managed to save itself as it has transformed from a measly, sickly tree with sparse and tiny leaves to a full, green shelter of shade. I like to think it is happy now that we are here and that maybe that our presence has contributed to its dramatic turn around.

The new peach and pear trees have been planted, the zinnias are popping up in front of the porch as is the calendula and the half dozen sunflowers I have started in pots. Yesterday and today have both been extremely warm days, so I brought the tomato and pepper plants to the outdoors now, feeling as if the chance of frost is past or nearly so. I think they will grow stronger and faster now that they are outside.

This afternoon, in between loads of laundry I pulled my lawn chair up under the big Maple, arranged a small side table, filled a cup with coffee and took a book and my basket of crochet outside. I have begun a new project in greens and am nearly finished reading ‘Zen and The Art of Knitting’ by Bernadette Murphy, a gift from a good friend. It isn’t a big book, in fact just the opposite. It would be a rather quick read except for the fact it isn’t that kind of book. I realized when I began reading it, it was the kind of book that one reads in small increments, savoring the wisdom and philosophical stories a little at a time. I have enjoyed it thoroughly and highly recommend it.

As I sat with my crochet today, thinking on the trees and their significance the tears welled up and my heart ached. The landowner informed us yesterday that the old giant Black Walnut that sits in the ravine behind the house will be taken down. I understood the need to remove the smaller Walnuts close to the house. Their acidic nature is poisonous to other plant life such as the fruit trees and vegetables. But the Granddaddy tree is far from the yard and his absence will create not only an empty spot in the ravine, (and my heart) but take away the only old growth in the wooded area not to mention a generous amount of oxygen production. The fact that he is a living thing and there is no real need for his removal is tough to swallow. He is huge, the size of three trees, the kind of tree you could build a real tree house in. The thought of this grand trees absence causes my heart to ache but I have little right to oppose the landowner. However I cannot help feel sad at the prospect of destroying what seems sacred. Perhaps intentions may change.

Today started out with a power outage, resulting in my inability to shower, wash dishes, do laundry, in fact do little else but crochet. It has been one of those days when I have felt more philosophical than ambitious…a day that has been slow, quiet and given me the opportunity to consider the sacredness in everything. Unexpected occurrences (like a power outage) that are beyond ones control are often opportunities, allowing one to shift gears and make of it what you will.

Journey to Simplicity

I have been contemplating this simple life and comparing it to my previous life of trying to live the American dream. To say I am happier now is something of an understatement. Of course, my definition of happy is relevant to the amount of peace and balance I feel in my life. Happy is after all, an inner state of being, not an outer state of having.

Living a simpler, less encumbered lifestyle becomes a meditation. It is a place where you are, where one moves at an unhurried pace and is able to focus on the moment. There are few, if any distractions. It is authentic. One is no longer trying to “keep up with the Jones” so to speak and the only things that matter are truly the only things that matter.

Simplicity also allows one to open up to creativity, something I feel is an essential facet of happiness. When living a simpler life, thoughts become less scattered and time is more manageable and available to you, both elements conducive to imagination and creative expression.

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Simplifying your life is a gradual process that stems from the awareness that your life is not working well, coupled with the desire to make change that will bring about a more satisfying existence. My path to simplicity began about nine years ago when I realized I was working to live and living to work, feeling like a slave to my job without any hope in sight of that changing. The first big step I took to make changes was to sell my dream car, a white Ford Mustang with custom stripes and accent graphics. At the time, I was paying high insurance on it, plus the car payment itself, and keeping it parked in the garage the majority of the time. I finally realized that none of it made sense and to make somewhat of a pun, in essence I was paying for a dead horse. Being able to let go of the car and my false need for it was the turning point that began my journey of letting go and getting back to basics. This was the beginning step towards freedom from the burden of being a slave to requiring and acquiring “stuff”. Again I say, it has been a gradual process, sometimes challenging, sometimes painful, but the journey has brought me to a place of authenticity, peace and contentment. It has returned me to a place of appreciation, creativity and contentment. And these things I have found to be necessary components of my happiness.

Journeying to simplicity is an evolutionary process, one which I believe will continue for a long time to come. I continue to consider new ways of improving my life, becoming more self sufficient and lessening my impact on the environment. Once you have settled in to this lifestyle, like me you may find that to live fully and responsibly, to have time to enjoy oneself, ones family and friends, to appreciate and preserve the sacredness of nature, to think clearly, laugh often and sleep well are just a few of the blessings of the simple life.

COOL-for Your Own Safety

Yesterday, as I sat at the table discussing politics and consumerism, food safety and other paramount issues that affect Americans (mostly without their knowledge) I asked the questions, “What if the wheat gluten that contaminated our pet food supply also got into our food supply?” It seemed entirely possible, as we import food products from China and wheat gluten is a common ingredient in many of our food products and food producers feed livestock just about anything, including pet food.

Well, according to federal health officials at least 2.5 million broiler chickens from an Indiana producer were fed pet food scraps contaminated with the chemical melamine and subsequently sold for human consumption. It’s believed that hundreds of other producers may have also sold an unknown amount of contaminated poultry in recent months resulting in a much broader consumption of contaminated feed and food than had previously been acknowledged in the widening pet food scandal. Go here to read the May 2 article at the Washington Post.

The second topic that came up at the dinner table yesterday was about not knowing where our food comes from, (which is good enough reason to me, at the very least, to avoid processed foods). Often you’ll read a label and all it will tell you is where it was packaged, not where it was actually produced. I suspected that was a purpose driven “oversight” that allowed food corporations to buy cheap imported ingredients, possibly of questionable safety and quality.

Ironically,the 2002 Farm Bill explicitly mandated that Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) on foods go into effect by September of 2004. Nearly two years have passed since that deadline and nothing has changed, except now we have major retail chains (such as Wal-Mart, Meijers and Krogers for example I highly assume), carrying their own brands of USDA certified organics due to consumers demand. Let’s have a look at this…

Corporate agribusiness and retail chains like Wal-Mart have fought the implementation of COOL, claiming it will be too costly for the consumer and producer. The truth is, Wal-Mart, and the supermarket chains bribed Congress with millions of dollars to block implementation of COOL labels. As a result, Americans are buying billions of dollars of imported foods without knowing it, while cheap, bogus "USDA Organic" food from China is starting to appear on the shelves of Wal-Mart and other Big Box chains.

In order to promote health and sustainability, and to save North American family farms, we need to restore our right to know where our food is coming from. Enforcing COOL laws will have a positive impact on the U.S. economy, as more and more consumers choose food products that are grown on American farms. At present, the U.S. imports more food than at any time in history and many of these imports are traditionally domestically grown crops.

So, what can we do? Speak out while we can! Visit the Organic Consumers Association and make your voice heard if you value food safety and organic standards and believe we should be supporting local food growers and manufacturers.

We must NEVER, EVER assume our government has our best interest at heart. Those who make “our” decisions (the ones that affect the safety and welfare of every one of us) have proven time and time again that they do not have our best interests at heart. The only ones who can bring about change are we, the people. If I sound fired up it’s because I am. We must stop our complacency and stop naively believing and depending on others to do what is in our own best interest.

duck eggs, opossums & another beautiful day!

My friend Janet brought me two long planters she picked up from a neighbor’s trash pile on her morning walk. She thought they’d be great for on my patio and she is right! Since this is our first spring back at the farm, I’m not certain yet where my herb garden will be or if I’ll even get serious on it until summer or fall. So, yesterday I planted cilantro in one and calendula in the other. That sure will make it easy to gather fresh cilantro when I’m making salsas or to pluck a few calendula flowers to toss in a salad or decorate a cake with this summer. I hope to infuse some oil with calendula also, since it’s so therapeutic.

Yesterday I noticed some green things coming up in the garden, plus the radishes are really up! A couple more weeks and we’ll be planting the rest of the garden. It won’t be as big as planned but will still be adequate for us to eat from, can from and offer our organic veggies to others I’m sure. It doesn’t take much space to have an abundance of veggies. I can almost taste them now. I become so anxious for fresh home grown veggies each spring, especially a big juicy tomato. There’s just nothing like it and I do believe it’s one of the very best things about summer! Gotta get that deer fencing yet!

Today was absolute gorgeous as was yesterday. Slight breeze, sunny, blue skies and temps in the upper 60’s. Perfect! Coop has been mowing for two days. Next week the weather forecast is rain for about 4 straight days, so we’re doing what we can now beforehand.

One of our hen ducks layed her first egg yesterday and another today! I think it was Thelma as I’ve noticed her hanging around the pen more than the others. They have become quite easily trained. They are let out to forage each morning when we get up, then about 6 pm or so we guide them back to their pen without much, if any trouble at all. They are now accustomed to us and show little interest in our presence except when they are scolded for getting too close to the road. They love it when Coop mows as it makes foraging in the grass easy for them. They have little concern for mowers and cars and don’t get intimidated easily by anything. And we’ve learned that they love dry cat food! So, we’ve taken to feeding Ge, our mouser, in the evenings after the ducks have been penned up for the night. They make short work of cleaning up a pan of cat food.


We watched two opossums sauntering through the woods this morning, down by the creek. I’m guessing there are babies in a pouch, too. I find opossums appealing for some reason, although most seem to find them repulsive. They are so unique with their thumbs on the hind feet. They’re the only marsupial known to North America. They are much like cats, with their ability to purr and the worst they do is hiss, growl, run or play dead if you get too close. They are also naturally immune to rabies, or it’s at least rare that they contract the disease. They do no harm that I’m aware of except scavenge for food. They have dug under our compost bin a few times over the winter when very hungry. Oh, not to mention one came into our yard last week when I was cooking and had the range fan running. I know it smelled the food through the exhaust. It was comical to watch it stand up on hind legs and sniff the sir outside the kitchen window. It finally worked its way to the front porch in hopes of finding something to eat, pausing to sniff the empty cat dish, then parking itself for a few moments at the front door. Too funny! Never a dull moment here! But that is much of what I love being here at the farm.

I have my moments of feeling such gratefulness and blessedness for my life here that it nearly brings me to tears. Sometimes it does. I know not everyone can understand the depths of those feelings, not having been through my experiences and not expecting to ever be able to return to the country and a place I love so much. But as I said before, I am incomplete away from this rural life and am humbled and happy to have been given the opportunity to be here now. I doubt my feelings of appreciation will ever subside. I wouldn’t want them to either.

The trees are greening up and the sun is shining...well now it is. Late yesterday afternoon and night we saw heavy storms directly over our county. Typical Spring in Ohio when cold air meets warm and creates chaotic weather that brings funnel clouds, heavy rain and hail. Fortunately we sustained no damage. And the ducks were in heaven with the rain and puddles! :) As I always say when it rains, "great weather...if you're a duck!"

Speaking of ducks, our three Muscovy followed (voluntarily without prodding) the path to the creek the other day. Since the ground drops in the back, I had to stand on a stool at the kitchen window to watch them waddle down to the creek. Still I could only see so far so we headed upstairs to look out the window. What a wonderful sight to see these fowl in their element, bobbing in the creek, flapping their wings and skimming the water. It was a joyous experience for us as well as the ducks! Needless to say, they are keeping themselves much cleaner now that they have regular baths! They are the most entertaining critters, worth their weight in
comic value if nothing else. They are adapting well and becoming very well accustomed to our presence.

Coop and Conrad (the landowner) worked yesterday on the section of ground by the silo, cleaning up what was obviously a junk pile the previous tenant left. On Earth Day I had gathered up two 55 gallon bags of junk from the area. That was my personal contribution to commemorate the day. That at least cleared the way for the guys to work on the larger pieces of trash. Still have a ways to go, but it's looking better. Just needed to get the worst taken care of before the grass and weeds grew tall.

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Beyond the barn bank where the old barn used to be, is now this beautiful somewhat secluded area...a small valley unto itself with the creek running nearby. It is quite lovely and peaceful. Coop has been keeping it mowed. I am thinking I will place my concrete bench down there along the edge of the grass near the trees and creek bed. What a beautiful meditation spot that would be. I have always dreamed of having a serene area in nature to go to when in need of solitude. This will be ideal.

Conrad was going to have the old locust stump removed from the back yard, until Coop mentioned that I wanted it to stay. :) It stays. It's a large stump, several feet high that I will use as an outdoor altar or plant stand. I have many memories of sitting under that old locust tree and breathing in the fragrance of its' blossoms. Though the tree may be gone now, the stump is a reminder and the remainder of something beautiful.