Squash-tastic

That pretty much sums up last week here in the Land of Honey. 

Te-Man and I went to a local pumpkin patch in search of some Pie Pumpkins.  I sure am glad we didn't find any, because while looking around for a suitable replacement, I did find the NC Candy Roaster and the Jarrahdale Pumpkin.  These two amazing pumpkins will be a part of our menu this fall and by saving the seeds, we can have them next year too!  We also picked up a goose-neck and a swan-neck gourd to plant next year.  Hopefully we can make some bird houses next fall!

As you can see, I got a little excited about those candy roasters and I cut one up before I got a picture of the group. Just use your puzzle piece generator and put that one on the cookie sheet back together. :)

Those candy roasters were each 10lbs! I think pumpkins and squash might be the one thing I am most excited about growing next year.  And I have a serious obsession with tomatoes, so that's saying a lot.  

I thought the gooseneck looked like a snake with that amazing curly stem. 

Meeting up with Super Mom and Super Dad this past weekend in Tennessee was AMAZING as I expected.  I did not expect to come home with a ton of beautiful pumpkins.  Their neighbor grows and sells them.  Super Mom picked these out just for us and she did great!  Please excuse the horrible landscaping in our rental house - give me some time people! ;)

Swanneck in it's natural habitat. 

Think the gooseneck is holding back the jar frankenstein?  

Aha - the jarrahdale! 

Orange and white

My frankenstein creation with some awesome turbins. 

 My little pumpkin man :) 

Black Beauty - the only pumpkin I've named in my entire life.  I am almost dreading cutting her open to get the seeds so I can have more of these next year! 

Just wait till you see how the Candy Roasters turned out! 

Spice It Up!

Let's start off the week with something easy - homemade pumpkin pie spice.  I'm not sure about you, but I can't bring myself to pay almost $5 at the store for a spice that I can make with spices I already have in my cabinet.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

What's In it:

2 T ground cinnamon

1 T ground ginger 

1 1/2 t ground nutmeg

1 1/2 t ground allspice

1/4 t ground cloves

What To Do With It:

Combine

Store in an airtight container.

See?! I told ya it was a snap! :)   What do I use it for?  I use this in pumpkin pie pancakes, homemade pumpkin butter, pumpkin muffins, and also pie - just to name a few!

Later...I'll tell you about the very first pumpkin pie that I ever made - and it was just last week! Can't believe I'm 30 and just now made my first pumpkin pie!  Why did I wait so long!? 

What's on Your Little Bee's Bottom?

Here is a sneak peak of a few things I've been working on recently.  I'm hoping to get everything set up and ready to sell within a week or so.  

Honey Bee Bottom Diapers are All In 2 (AI2) diapers with snap in soakers.  The cotton outer allows you to showcase your personality while the microfleece inner layer not only keeps your baby feeling dry, but is also a barrier to prevent the waterproof laminated PUL from touching your little one's skin.  

KAM snaps allow for both waist and rise adjustment for that perfect fit from newborn all the way through to the potty training years.  

Welcome To Mama's Flat Doughnut Shop

I figured that everyone here at the Z-Squad needed a little pick me up after the past few days.  And what better way to do that than with Baked Apple Doughnuts?

My surprise started off beautifully yesterday...Wolverine had to work late so while Ze-Ra and Te-Man ate dinner, I mixed up a batch.  Then, I woke up extra early so that I could get a few made for Ze-Ra before she went off to school.  I made a few more the rest of us that would be ready once Wolverine and Te-Man woke up, and I could get some other things done in between (but more about that later).

I don't really like it when people put their commentary into a recipe, but today, I feel like a must, so I'll try to keep it to a minimum and as captions so if you want to copy paste around it, you can. ;)

What's In It:
Doughnuts:
3/4 c lukewarm water
2 t yeast
2 t salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c apples **note this is important, do not use 2 apples like I did
3 3/4 c All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 sticks (3/4c) melted butter

Cinnamon Sugar:
1/2 c sugar
1 T cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Glaze:
1 c powdered sugar
1 T Milk
1 T Maple Syrup (I didn't have any so I used Molasses)
1 t Vanilla Extract

What To Do With It:
Peel your apples if desired and finely chop them.  Mix together doughnut ingredients and allow to sit on the counter for 2 hours.  Then put the dough in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 5 days.  After this three hours - five day refrigeration, the dough is ready to be used.  

Pull a 3oz piece from the dough and form it into a ball.  Pull the center of the dough apart to make a hole, about 3 inches around.  Combine the cinnamon and sugar and coat each doughnut in the mixture.

I don't follow directions well.  The is one of Ze-Ra's doughnuts, and that hole is clearly NOT 3" 

That's closer to 3"

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat.  Allow to rest on the baking mat for 30 min.

While waiting, enjoy a beautiful sunrise!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake for about 18 min or until golden.

Allow to cool on cooking racks.  While the doughnuts are cooling, mix together the glaze.  Once cooled, drizzle over top of the doughnuts and allow to "set up" or if you are like us and have no self control, devour immediately.   

So these are Ze-Ra's "Flat Doughnuts" as she calls them.  Please excuse the puddle of glaze.  She was in a hurry to eat and be out the door before the school bus.  Anyway, these do not look anything like the original picture! :(  I thought the dough was super sticky when I was making them, but thought I'd give it a shot.  No matter to Ze-Ra, she promptly announced, "You should open a doughnut shop named Mama's Flat Doughnuts!  These are the best flat doughnuts I've ever had!!"  So the best huh,  not the only flat doughnuts? :)  She's a sweetheart!

I added more flour (about a cup) to the dough after Ze-Ra's flat doughnuts were well, flat.  I left it on the counter for 30 minutes and then in fridge for 30 before I pulled it out to make ours.  This is the result.  

Slightly less flat that Ze-Ra's, but still not a doughnut in any sense of the word.  

I didn't use all of the dough, in fact, I don't think I even used half.  Guess I'll be adding some more flour and then giving it another shot, it's too bad we have to eat all of these tasty "mistakes" while I experiment.  

Oh well, Mama's Flat Doughnuts weren't very pretty, but they were absolutely DELICIOUS!

Will the Land of Honey ever become the Land of Plenty?

 Because right now, it is the land of sandy, patchy, weeds.

 Stylin', right?

I thought maybe you'd like to see the sad little patch of dirt I am calling a garden.  In my defense, we moved here to NC in late August and I didn't get the ground tilled until mid September (I know...I was dragging my feet).  I then decided, hey....let's plant some stuff and see what happens!  I brought a few packets of seeds with me, because...well...I'm a hoarder. :)  The rest of the seeds/seedlings were a little hard to find.  I had to go to 3 different places and that was after I'd made about 4 phone calls.

You can't catch me!!! 

I finally found a small little shop called New Hope Greenhouse.  They have their shop behind their house and it is beautiful.  I showed up on a Sunday...before Noon! Where are my Southern Manners?  Well, they are a work in progress.  Anyway, they were as nice as they could be!  After stopping what they were doing, they showed me around the shop (in the rain) and informed me they had already packed up their seeds for the fall.  But if I'd help dig out the boxes, I could see what they had.  So, we found them on top of an old fridge and I got to digging.  After I'd found about 10 seed packets I wanted - I was informed they were going to be FREE since he wouldn't be able to sell them in the spring anyway.  Heck yeah!

Kale

So, after getting some composted manure, some newspaper, some straw, and a soil testing kit from our local extension office, I got to work.  Then, we had a monsoon!  I mean it literally rained non stop for 5 days. :(  I was sure my little seedy babies had floated away.  I am happy to report that I was in fact wrong - well, and a little right.  I had an amazing germination rate!!!  But, I definitely did plant everything in rows....however, they did not necessarily stay there. :)  That's ok, my OCD can handle the chaos since my tummy will be enjoying the benefits. :)

Lettuce

Seeds I planted:
Carrots - free
Spinach - clearance $0.30
Collards - clearance $0.30
Sugar Peas - clearance $0.30
Radishes - free
Lettuce  - clearance $0.30
Beets  - free
Kale  - clearance $0.30

Beets

Seedlings I planted:
Broccoli - $2.00
Cabbage - $2.00

Early October, the amazing Aunt P sent me a million Egyptian Walking Onions.  **side note: I can not believe how much these are selling for.  Aunt P should start selling these bad boys- or maybe even I should - and we'd be rich!   I mean she sent me a small USPS box full and just for the 1/2 of them that I planted, I'd owe her over $200!**

Onions

Then, just last week, I planted 130 garlic cloves.

Garlic

So...There's my little garden. And here are some pics of Te-Man stomping like an elephant through my veggies helping me in the yard. :)

Hopefully the Land of Honey will turn into a Land of Plenty! And... if it doesn't, Te-Man, Tiki, and I will still have a blast playing in the dirt. :)

So that apple a day....did not keep us away from the ER :(

Well, another day spent in the Dr's office and the ER.  Yuck.

Poor Te-Man woke up this morning and his jaw/cheeks were horribly swollen. :(

So, off to ER we went - where they pretty much threw their hands up and said "dunno".  No fever, no rash, no redness, no sign of pain, no other lymph node swelling, so it might be from the steroids he was on for his bronchiolitis.  We weren't convinced and felt that they might be missing us at the Dr's office, and luckily they could squeeze us in.

Dr. M says she agrees that it is doubtful such a small amount of steroid would cause this swelling after only 5 days using it and a full 24 hours since his last dose.  Could be a kidney issue or a bite of some kind.  Can't do much about a bite, if that's what it is, and there were no signs of an actual bite or where the swelling started.  We can check kidneys however, and she must think I don't have enough adventure in my life because she expects me to get a 14 month old to pee into a bag.  Really?  This should be interesting!

So - we are sitting tight, hoping to catch some pee, and monitoring his face to see if it gets worse.

After all of this, it sure if a good thing we are headed to TN this weekend to see Super Mom and Super Dad because we all need a break.

Pump Up the Jam!

You know how I love a little jock jams in my day!  So....

Are You Reeeaaadyyyyyy?!  

This past weekend I decided that while my Te-Man and Wolverine were snuggling out their nasty germs on the couch, I would put some of that free produce to work.  I had tons of hot peppers and rhubarb just sitting there begging me to turn them into yummy goodness - and so I, of course, obliged them with a smile on my face. :)

Rhubarb Cinnamon Jam

from Mavis at One Hundred Dollars a Month

What's In It:

4 1/2 c prepared fruit (about 5 large stalks or 6 c chopped raw fruit or 1 lb 8oz if you like crazy exactness)

1 c water

1 box Sure Jell Reduced Sugar 

1/2 t butter (I left this out)

 4 c sugar

1 T lemon juice

1 t cinnamon

What You Do With It: 

Prepare your jars and canning pot.  Be sure to keep your jars hot either in hot water or in the heated dishwasher.

Chop rhubarb in a medium size dice (it really cooks down to mush, so the size isn't crucial).  Place chopped rhubarb into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 2 min or until rhubarb is soft.  Measure exactly 4 1/2 c prepared rhubarb into a large pot.  

Stir in pectin and lemon juice.  If you are adding butter, do it now (Man, I can be bossy!).  Bring to a full rolling boil (that can't be stirred down) over high heat. Stir in cinnamon and sugar (I had mine measured out in a separate bowl so all I had to do was dump).  Return to rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary.  

Immediately fill warm jars to withing 1/8" from tops.  Wipe rims and threads - clean and dry.  Cap, place in canner, ensure jars are covered by 2 inches of water, and process for 10 minutes.  Remove from canner and place on a heat safe surface.  Allow to cool completely.  Test center of lid - if it pops back, the jar is not sealed and needs to be refrigerated.     

I got 7 jelly jars per batch. 

Hot Pepper Jam

from Mavis at One Hundred Dollars a Month

What's In It:
6oz hot peppers, stemmed and seeded
1 c cider vinegar, divided
3 c sugar
1 3oz liquid pectin pouch
Green food coloring (optional)

What You Do With It:

Prepare your jars and canning pot.  Be sure to keep your jars hot either in hot water or in the heated dishwasher.


Remove stems and seeds from peppers - wear gloves for protection if desired...or live on the wild side.  Place peppers and 1/2 c cider vinegar in blender and blend until desired consistency. I like chunks of pepper, hence Hot Pepper Jam.  

Combine pepper puree, 1/2 c cider vinegar, and sugar in a large pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Boil 10 minutes stirring frequently.

Add liquid pectin, return to a boil, and boil 1 minute stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, add 3-4 drops food coloring if desired.  Skim foam if necessary.

Immediately fill warm jars to withing 1/8" from tops.  Wipe rims and threads - clean and dry.  .  Cap, place in canner, ensure jars are covered by 2 inches of water, and process for 10 minutes.  Remove from canner and place on a heat safe surface.  Allow to cool completely.  Test center of lid - if it pops back, the jar is not sealed and needs to be refrigerated.     

I got 11 jars out of 3 batches, so just over 3 1/2 jars per batch. 

Enjoy!  Anyone know of a cheap place I can score more canning jars?  My stash is running super low and I know with the big garden next summer plus all this reclaimed food, I'm going to need MORE!