We've Moved

I have officially moved from using Blogger to using Facebook for farm-related posts.

 

SO!

 

 

Check out our NEW Facebook Page!

 

I will be posting much more frequently about the goings on of the farm (I hope) :D

 

 

 

 

Bonus: Here's a cute picture of some new chicks that just hatched yesterday/today. You can see more pictures like this on the new page!

 

 

Crème Brûlée

Crème brûlée.

It's French. It's fancy. It's delicious.

AND, it is super easy to make. 

I'm serious.

I'm not talking "easy if you've got a PhD in French cooking". I'm talking "easy if you have an oven and are not lactose intolerant".


I love dairy. Cheese, milk, cream! Most foods I make contain at least one of those ingredients, and if you're really lucky, all of them. The "creme" in creme brulee = cream = yum.

I found out about a month ago that one of the main ingredients in creme brulee is egg yolks. Yup, not whites, yolks. That means, when I make angel food cake, and need something to do with all of those leftover yolks, I can double-up on the dessert and use them in some creme brulee! Uh-yeah!


Well I promised you an easy recipe, so here it is:

Creme Brulee (makes 4 servings)

2 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 egg yolks 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place four 6 oz. ramekins into a baking dish. 

Whip together egg yolks, then add cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whip until evenly blended.

Pour the mixture into your ramekins, distributing evenly. It's ok if they are full, your creme brule won't rise. Fill the pan with the ramekins about two-thirds full with water. 

Place the pan into your oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the sides are set and the center still jiggles a little. 

Let cool. Sprinkle with a light, even coat of sugar. If you have a culinary torch on hand, go ahead and caramelize the tops. If not, place them under the broiler, with the tops of the dessert about 5 inches from the heat until the sugar has caramelized.


I do not have a culinary torch. Though...I do have a fella who was comfortable using a hand-held torch thing from his work shop to do the job. It worked brilliantly. I applaud improvisation.

This dessert is rich, and oh so creamy. If you would like to make it for guests, and you would like to leave out the part about how easy it is to make, I won't judge.



Enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff

I decided to try something new for dinner tonight: beef stroganoff!

Well, not exactly new. My mom used to make beef stroganoff from time to time growing up. We had some extra beef that was in need of being used, and I had never before cooked stroganoff on my own before. So, lo and behold, I pulled out my trustee Pinterest and found a recipe.

After some searching I found one I liked. There were plenty of recipes gallivanting around claiming to be made from "scratch", but I found that more often than not they all contained canned soup. Call me a snob, but I don't consider it scratch if it has canned soup. Tisk, tisk.

I finally settled on an actual from scratch recipe from Eat Cake for Dinner, and decided to give it a whirl. I made a few small changes, but it turned out great! This one will definitely be printed and put in my cookbook. You might think I'm moving too fast, but this stroganoff is worth it. It's true love.

Don't believe me? Try it for yourself!

Beef Stroganoff

1 lb. ground beef
8 oz. mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1 cup onion, diced (optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 cups hot water
3 bouillon cubes
5 T flour
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cups sour cream

Brown beef over medium heat. I used a little steak seasoning to give it some extra pizzazz. If  you are using onion and mushrooms, sautee them together in a separate pan with a little butter. (Some crazy people don't like mushrooms OR onions, so you might need to leave them on the side). Whisk water, bouillon, flour, and Worcestershire sauce together in a separate bowl until smooth. Add this mixture (and the onion/mushrooms) to the beef. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and let cook until thickened (5-10 minutes on medium-high). Stir occasionally. Remove pan from heat and stir in sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I also may have spiked it with a little cream. Your choice!

This would be great served over egg noodles, or mashed potatoes (like we did). I also recommend a little somethin' somethin' on top (aka, cheese).



Enjoy!

Fall Farm Photos (2014)

Last year I spent some time taking photos around the farm. As we approach our two-year mark on Mayhew Farm, I thought I would do the same. So here are some lovely pictures for you all!

 Henry, one of our silver laced wyandotte roosters has free reign of the yard. His favorite activities include staying at the top of the pecking order, running at random intervals, and following humans around hoping for treats.

Ana (short for Anastasia) is one of the baby goats we brought home last spring. She and her sister, Raven, were bottle fed by us as kids and are now super friendly. They love having their ears and chins scratched! And with that face, it's impossible to resist.

"Mama" duck is half of our pair of pekin ducks. She decided not to wait til spring and laid a clutch of eggs. She has been sitting on her nest diligently, and seems to be taking good care of her babies despite freezing nights and low daytime temperatures. Hopefully she will hatch out a new bunch of ducklings soon!

Maya is enjoying the fall, but she's not ready for it to snow!

A few weeks ago we picked up a breeding pair of impeyans (Himalayan monal). They're in the pheasant family, a cousin of peafowl. Though this pair is young now, beginning next year, the male will begin to grow extravagant, brilliantly colored feathers.


Happy Fall y'all!

The Making of Plum Jelly

Hello all!

Good news! We found wild plum trees on our property. After much deep thought and contemplation, we decided to make plum jelly from it!

The most difficult and/or time consuming part of the whole process was picking the plums. For this, we needed backup...and we were in luck! Henry followed us around the whole time, monitoring and offering moral support.

An offering of gratitude. 

Once we had a few pounds of plums picked, we removed the pits from each one. There may or may not have been some taste testing done along the way as well...You can never be too careful.

Once we had a good amount, I lightly chopped them in my new blender! That thing is amazing...like, it can make pesto, and guacamole, and jelly! Can you do that?!

In order to make our jelly, we followed the recipe on the back of the pectin box. (Some jellies use pectin and some don't, because it is found naturally in the fruit. We decided to use it this time!)

The process is super easy! You just boil the plums with some water to bring out the juice, then strain it (we used a fine strainer, but cheesecloth works too). Then you cook it some more with the pectin and sugar, throw it in a can and viola! Jelly!

The finished project!

Like I said, super easy! Though the plums are very sweet, this jelly is nice and tart, similar to a rhubarb flavor. If you want it sweeter, just peel all or most of the skins off the plums.

Some fresh jelly, and homemade bread...mmmm...fall is here!

Sneak Peak

The bathroom is coming along nicely. Just yesterday we were able to finish tiling the tub surround, lay down sub floor for the tile, and paint a layer of primer and paint. 

Here's a sneak peek picture for you! 

As we finish out the weekend and move into next week, we hope to lay the tile floor, paint the final coat, and begin installing the toilet, vanity, and ceiling (yes, we have to install the ceiling - you'll see!). 

Our (Almost) Fancy Bathroom

Well, we are about a week (we hope), away from finishing our first fully remodeled room in the main house!

It's a bathroom.

I have never been so excited about a bathroom in my life. Ever.

For those of you who read the post where I gave a house tour, or for those of you who have actually been to the house...our bathroom situation is, well let's be nice and say it was less than great. It was a no-brainer that the first thing we would need would be a new bathroom. 

And my oh my is it gonna be a bute!

Luckily, I have a hard working guy who knows how to do plumbing and electrical work, because he didn't just remodel a current bathroom. Oh no. He turned my craft room (may it rest in peace) into a whole new bathroom! It is spacious, and will be painted a pretty color called "comforting blue". 

We may not even need to remodel the rest of the house, we can just live in the bathroom.

On second thought, a new kitchen would be nice.

I am holding out on pictures until it is completely finished (mostly because I want it to be a SURPRISE!) ...(also mostly because I don't have any pictures of the room itself).  

I DO have a picture of the vanity though! So here, check out my project for the week.

Here's the vanity tipped on it's side, getting ready to be sanded. 

This is about halfway through the sanding process. You can see the exposed lighter wood. The front is a thick veneer, while the legs are solid wood, though I'm not sure what kind.

We found this vanity at our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Overall it is in great shape, aside from a few scratches. It even has a nice granite top. I'm sanding it down and will be refinishing the wood with a lighter stain that will match the trim and door of the room! Yay for DIY!

Keep checking back for updates! 

Also coming soon.... Mayhew Creek Farm Instagram! Because everyone loves pictures! (And I love posting pictures from my phone!)