GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

Another week has flown by.

The farm is ankle deep in water again.  It stays clear all week and then we have a monsoon on Friday, ha. 2nd Family said we got another 3 inches of rain. No mowing for the second week in a row.

And today, even the NASCAR race (in another state) was rained out.  Water water everywhere!

2nd Man made pork chops and with a pan sauce over rice.  Of course we also had a salad so we would have our greens!  It was good food for sure.

So here is Hobart who was was sleeping on his red blanket which was next to me on the couch where I was sitting.  I got up to go downstairs to check the mail and when I came back, he had moved from the blanket into my spot.  I didn't move him, instead I moved over and sat where the blanket is.  Because...

#notspoiled

POSSIBLE PROJECT

With all the planning we are doing at the farm now, we have been tossing around this thought.

A few weeks ago, we had the truck parked in between the barn and shed to get it out of the way as they did the clearing.  We liked it there.

And then we started thinking...

What if we have a concrete pad poured in that spot between the two buildings?  That could be SUCH an added benefit to us.  Of course, we could park the truck here all the time but also, having a concrete spot like this means other ways of using it:

A place to put the mower to work on (something we don't currently have) when doing oil changes or taking the blades off to sharpen, for example...

If we were needing to cut wood for something and needed to set up saw horses, it would be perfect to have a nice level surface...

A spot for any outdoor project we're working on like painting or repairing or even building something...

During a get-together or party, it could also be a place for an outdoor bar or serving food with extra seating and we could see some cool string lights up between the two buildings...

Sure, we'll have something by the house when we get that done (back deck, front porch, etc) but this would be close to the workshop and mower shed where it would be convenient for the tools, mower, etc. This weekend, we're going to measure the space so we can get an idea on a rough cost based on square footage.

Any other ideas we missed?

Stay tuned!

 

LOST THE FIG TREE

 Well, we lost the fig tree.

We were hoping it would come back or was just slow, so the other day I was going to bend a small branch to see if it was still green inside and the whole thing snapped in half.  It was that fragile.

I reached down to wiggle it and oops, it snapped off at the base!  I guess that means it's DEAD dead.

Not sure what happened, the only thing we can think is the freeze.  Figs are generally freeze tolerant but we're guessing that is "when established" and I should have covered this one.  Lesson learned.

This one was a "Brown Turkey" fig.  According to our county's extension office, the three best varieties for us are "Alma", "Celeste" and "Texas Everbearing" so it seems we need to look for one of these and maybe it will do better next time around.

One good thing is, there are plenty of fig trees right now all over Houston in garden centers...

WEEKEND WASHOUT

 It was a wet weekend.  Well, half of it but early Friday morning we had some heavy rain come through.  Saturday was gorgeous and clear but I went to the farm solo on Saturday because we were anticipating it to be a quick trip.  "J" from 2nd Family said we had about 3 inches of rain. I was hoping for the best.

It was indeed clear blue skies and cool temps with a nice breeze which would have been perfect for a day of working in the yard but...

...even my Jeep left muddy tracks when I drove a bit off the normal path.

There was standing water everywhere.  This is a natural path where the water goes from the back of the property, down the driveway to the road, and further on to points beyond.

Needless to say, it was WAY too wet to mow and I was NOT about to get the new Zen machine stuck in the mud.  What I really wanted to do was edge but I couldn't even do that because it would have just created an even bigger mess.

So I watered the plants on the porch but of course, no need to water the fruit trees/bushes.

Yesterday we got another inch of rain and this week...

...there is more possible, though we'll look at this as a 50/50 chance which means it's just as likely to not rain, ha.  We shall see how it goes.

For those who have asked, we had our brush/tree clearing done last week.  The water prevented me from mowing over the cleared areas so I'll have to do that soon.  Pictures of before, during AND then after once we get to the after part.

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

Another week has gone by and here we are, closing in on MAY?!?!  Where does the time go?

2nd Man made a pot roast yesterday.  One of those meals that just makes you want to take a nap when you're finished.  A nice chuck roast, seared, with seasonings and potatoes, onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms, all covered and put in the oven low and slow for a few hours.

It was melt in your mouth wonderful.  We had enough for yesterday's meal, we'll eat it again today and have a bit left for lunch tomorrow.  Win/win/win.

Hobart was not interested.  He decided yesterday was a good day for relaxing on the window seat pillows (we saved them from when we sold the house).  We put them there to make it easier for him to get up onto the chair, sort of like soft stairs.  Because...

#notspoiled

BLT WITH AVOCADO

Recently, 2nd Man baked some bread and we had to have some wonderful sandwiches with it.

One of our favorites is this; a BLT with avocado.

It adds a nice extra flavor and texture.

A little mayo, some spring mix lettuce greens on each toasted slice, some sliced fresh tomatoes, sliced avocado and of course, bacon.

Put it all together and enjoy.  Sometimes, to change it up a bit, we will put it on hamburger buns and add a few fresh sprouts.

It's just simple comfort food at its best.

We remember once when we mentioned it to someone that we enjoyed having a BLT sandwich, they had no idea what we were talking about. We thought everyone had at least heard of this type of sandwich? Maybe not?

Are BLT's that unusual?

NO GARDEN THIS SPRING OR SUMMER

You may have noticed, we have not had any garden posts this Spring.  It should be in full swing at this point in the year.

This picture is from after Summer but before Fall planting.  But then after Fall, we just let the plants in and they died/froze and we haven't tackled it yet.

Honestly, it kind of snuck up on us.  We had other projects going on and our weather this year was a lot of rainy weekends in March.  But the main reason we decided not to have one is that we should have some construction going on at some point, fingers crossed (nothing to announce just yet but we're working on it).  That will have people there with cars coming and going and just other stuff in the way.

Not having a garden will allow us time to focus on other outside projects that we've put off.  I can just go out there and mow and edge and work on clearing some spaces without having to worry about the garden, weeds, pests, harvesting, etc.  One project I've really wanted to do is work on cleaning out and organizing the workshop and shed.  We'll miss having a garden this season but we just have to remember that we'll have all the time in the world for gardening.

The goal will be to have a nice Fall garden later this year after we have some other things done.

FARM TRUCK HAS A TEMPORARY PARKING SPACE

Now here's something we don't see all the time, ha.

See it there?  In the distance?  The farm truck has been parked between the barn and shed.

Side note, this shows how big the front yard is, ha.  We took this picture from over where the truck is usually parked in the front yard.  Yeah, it's a long walk, ha.

We moved it over here to get it out of the way of the tree/brush clearing crew and it fit nicely.  We kind of like it here.  Might leave it here more often, except maybe in monsoon rains if the yard is flooded.  Of course, if it got stuck there, that just means it wouldn't be driven until it dried out, ha.

More update tomorrow or Wednesday.

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

It has been a beautiful weekend.  A few pop up showers last night but otherwise it is nice and today is cool.   

2nd Man asked what we should have for dinner yesterday and I said "we haven't made hamburgers in a while, how about that?"  I stopped at the grocery store and got some brisket steak burgers and all the trimmings.  We opted for Swiss cheese and mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and my pickled red onions.  A side of fries and of course some ketchup.

So good!

Now for some Hobart...

Here he is sleeping next to his glass of water.

I whispered his name after I took the picture and he looked back.  He's so happy to have his glass of water out all the time and of course we keep it fresh and fully filled.  Because...

#notspoiled

CAT PAW TEDDY BEAR

We saw this online and we have to share!

This is a cat's paw...Hobart's of course.  Just a normal paw with the little pads that some people call jellybeans. We saw something online that said if you ever look at it the other direction, it looks just like a teddy bear.  Hmm...

So here it is, turned the other direction and with the addition of a face!

OMG, it's a teddy bear!

TOO CUTE!

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR FRIDGE CAKE RECIPE

Made this a couple weekends ago and wow it was so good.  This is a "fridge cake", meaning no baking, just put it all together and let it sit overnight in the fridge.

This is what it looks like finished.  Layers of pudding, graham crackers and topped with chocolate.  It does taste a lot like a chocolate eclair.

Ingredients:

1 container of cool whip, thawed

2 boxes of instant vanilla pudding (we used French vanilla)

Graham crackers (mostly the whole box)

2 1/2 cups milk

FOR THE TOPPING:

Chocolate, chopped up (using chips are fine)

Milk

Mix the cool whip with the milk and boxes of pudding.  Fold together until mixed.

In a 9x13 pan, line the bottom with graham crackers.  You may have to move them around, break them up, just get good coverage on the bottom.

Top with half the pudding mixture.  Spread evenly.

Put on another layer of graham crackers, again, just making sure they cover the pudding.

Put remaining half of the pudding mixture on top of that layer.

Last layer of graham crackers (this used almost the whole box).

Next came the ganache. Now some recipes use chocolate frosting from a can or homemade chocolate frosting.  I wanted to make chocolate ganache.  It's super easy.  For a thicker cake frosting you would use a ratio of 1:1 by WEIGHT.  For this to be spreadable and not stick to the graham crackers as you spread it, you want it to pour on and be smooth.  For this, I used 1:2 by WEIGHT.  Example, 45 grams of milk to 90 grams of chocolate.  Just heat milk in the microwave and break up the bars (or drop in the chips) whisk and it will melt and be beautiful.

Stir until melted and it becomes a smooth chocolate consistency.  While warm, it will be easy to spread.

 Spread it over the final layer of graham crackers and pop in the fridge.  At least 8 hours, better overnight.  After that, the chocolate will firm up and the graham crackers will soften.  It will be perfect.

Here is a slice.  SO good.  Sure it's a quickie dessert, and of course you can make your own whipped cream instead of cool whip but sometimes, classic and old fashioned is comfort food.  This is a comfort dessert!

We feel like this is one of those things our parents or grandparents took to a pot luck or a church service and we're betting everyone loved it, ha.

This was our first time having it and 2nd Man said "Oh you will have to make this again!"

  

PLANTED THE APPLE TREE

Finally got the new replacement apple tree replaced.  A few weeks ago, I dug up the old one and let the bed sit so the soil would get wet with rain and loosen up some.

Now this was done the weekend before last, when it was sunny and gorgeous.  This weekend was rainy and more rainy, ha. 

I got out our Earth auger that we bought several years ago.  It has been such a lifesaver around the property, or should I say backsaver, ha.  A great tool to have in the shed.  It's big and heavy and you have to be steady and have a good grip when you pull the throttle.  I have the blister to prove it, ha.

I put it into the raised bed and went down about 2 feet or so.  I took a shovel and pulled out the fresh soil and widened the hole a bit.

Then I popped the new tree in the hole, fluffed out the roots and filled in with soil.  I still need to mulch the top of it but I have to do that to all the beds.  I'll be taking Bill the truck to load him up with bags of mulch soon.  Need to get them all mulched for the season.  Just need some dry weather for a bit.

And speaking of apple trees...  

The "Anna" apple tree that's doing so well (albeit growing with a bend, ha) now has apples on it.

One here...

...and a couple more here.  There are a few more higher up but I couldn't get a good photo in the wind.  Hopefully, we'll be able to get a few apples this year.  This apple tree is obviously happy.

Here's hoping the new one is just as happy!

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART EASTER SUNDAY

It's Easter Sunday and that DEFINITELY means it's definitely time for some good food...

Our tradition for Easter meal is carver ham, homemade mac and cheese and broccolini.  2nd Man also made a side of cornbread.  It's been good food for sure.

Couldn't resist this picture.

We have two couches that face each other, 2nd Man sits on one and I sit on the other.  The sofa table is behind the one I sit on and Hobart gets up on there on his quilt and sleeps.  Occasionally, he'll reach over with his front leg arm and want me to hold his foot hand.  I do it while he lays there, happy as can be.  Because...

#notspoiled

HONEYBEE MASON JARS

Was at Kroger the other day at lunch and just happened to see this on the shelf:

HONEYBEE JARS!!

What the heck?  Somehow they landed in my cart...

...and came home with me!  Ha!

Here is a closeup picture.  They have the regular Ball logo on one side but then on the other side, they have a honeybee embossed with some small honeycomb images.  They are so cool.  They only come in the 4 pack of pint size regular mouth jars. 

 Here are some images from the Ball website.  What a great idea for honey based drinks or canning something with honey.  2nd Man said that when we get to the farm and I have bees again, these would be great jars for putting up our honey.  Hmm, knowing Ball, these are probably limited edition and might only be available for a period of time.

That means I might have to pick up another box or two, you know, just to be on the safe side.