"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits." - Thoreau, Wild Apples

I have had several people ask me about canning apple sauce and apple butter. This website gives the best directions I have ever seen. I could do a whole post about it, but why beat a dead horse? Go here. Learn something. Make yummy food for your family. :)

http://www.pickyourown.org/applebutter.htm

I learned that if you pester your wonderful, sweet, adoring, doting, and handsome boyfriend about bringing you apples, he might just bring you more than what you can reasonably deal with in a short amount of time. Especially if you have a pressing project at work and a sickly mother. Anyone need a few apples? ;) After putting up 35 jars of apple sauce and 45 jars of apple butter, I am nearly tired of looking at apples. And I still have enough to can some apple pie filling, dehydrate some apple chips, and make a few pies. After all, "Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness." -- Jane Austen.

Tastes like Love

I made a cake tonight that reminded me VERY much of a chocolate cake that my Mamaw Mae and I used to make. It had to taste the batter and the first thought that came to my mind was "That tastes like love!" My Mamaw Mae showed her love in many ways. One of those ways was by letting me cook with her. I encourage you to try this recipe with the little ones in your life.

Vinegar Cake
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 Tbs cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 cups water
2 Tbs vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup vegetable oil

Shift dry ingredients together. Stir liquids into dry ingredients and mix well. Hand mix is better than using a mixer for this cake.
Pour into a greased and floured 13x9 pan and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Notice that this cake doesn't use egg. You can let your kiddlets lick the bowl and not freak about raw egg :)

And what is a good chocolate cake without a good icing?? Here is how I make mine:
Soften 1 stick of butter or margarine. Add 4 Tbs cocoa. Add powdered sugar and a dab of milk and vanilla until it looks right. I can't tell you exactly how much because I don't really measure. Just eyeball it. And maybe test now and then to see if it tastes right.

My apologies to Norm Abrams

But it worked!

Fence building: Part 1

We (Jason is a part of this now! haha) are trying to finish enclosing the backyard with fencing. Enjoy our efforts:
First, a disclaimer video:

So here is how I set my post:


First you need to dig a whole that is three times the width of your posts. Since I was using 4x4 posts, I dug the hole 12 inches wide. You should go deeper than the frost line for your area. Little Rock Arkansas building code lists the frost line at 15 inches. I dug my holes 18 inches for good measure.

Next you need to position your post in the hole and ensure it is level. The easiest tool for doing this is a post level. See the yellow thing in the picture? Now, I have done posts using a standard level and it is a pain! Make it easy on yourself and get a post level. They are approximately $5 at Lowe's.

You will need to brace the post so that it doesn't move while you are working with the concrete. I used the two stick method for my free standing post. Basically I took a 1x2 and sharpened one end. Then I attached a smaller 1x2 with a wood screw. I used a drill to torque the screw enough that it had some resistance but loose enough so that the second stick could still move.I hammered the pointed end into the ground and used a drill to screw the free arm into the post, making sure that everything was still level. I repeated this on the adjacent side of the post.

Now the fun part: Cooking with concrete!

The link below is to a good video on how to mix the concrete. http://www.quikrete.com/athome/video-mixing-concrete-hand.asp

Use a shovel to add your concerete to your hole. Be sure to pack it around and try to get any air voids out. You want to slope the concerete so that water will run down and away from your post instead of pooling next to the wood. Standing water could cause premaure post failure.

Leave the braces in place until the concrete has cured. Do not put any load on the post for at least 24 hours.

Once I get all of my posts set, I will do another tutorial on how to build the fence!

Remember, I am not an expert. But I do want to encourage everyone to get out and try to do something you have never done before. You might surprise yourself! :) Happy building!

Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
6 cups beef broth
1 pkg (1.35 oz) hot and sour soup mix*
1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup quick cook barley
4 eggs**

Brown ground beef, celery, and onion in dutch oven (or large pot) over medium heat until meat is brown and veggies are tender (6-8 min) Drain if neccessary.
Add broth, soup mix, tomatoes, beans, and barley. Cook covered over low heat stirring occasionally until barley thickens (11-13 min).
** optional addition: Break eggs, one at a time into saucer. Holding dish close to surface, slip egg into simmering soup. Cook until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard (3-5 min). Do not stir.
Laden into bowls and top each with poached egg. Serve immediately.

I didn't do the poached egg step because I was cooking ahead to pack for lunches for myself and Jason. This soup is incredible either way!!

*hot and sour soup mix is found by the Asain food at your grocery.

Potato Soup

6 to 8 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb cubed ham
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
2 cups milk
1/2 box Velvetta or shredded cheese*
1/3 cup flour**
3/4 stick of butter

Place potatoes in large pot and cover with cool water. Season to taste. Bring to a boil and add ham cubes. Cook until potatoes are almost done. Stir in milk, butter, and cheese. Mix flour with a little water to make a thickening agent. Stir into pot and cook for 8 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Serve with chives, bacon pieces, sour cream, onions, shredded cheese, or any other garnishes you like.

*I use shredded cheddar (mild and sharp) instead of Velvetta because Jason doesn't like Velvetta.
**Adjust the amount of flour to give you a viscosity you like.
You can also cream the soup with a stick blender if you want, but we like ours chunky.

A fence gate start

Lessons I learned today:

There is a reason drill bits come in multiples in a package. Apparently a 1/8 inch drill bit is disposable and easy to snap off in a hole.

A pan head screw will fly off the tip of a drill and through the air at roughly the same speed as light and lodge itself on the bottom of a stack of 15 T post, never to be seen again.

No matter how carefully I try, the pilot hole I drilled is never in exactly the right spot again.

If you have an injured knuckle, you will bump it, scrap it, jab it, and nearly rip it off at least every 30 seconds. All other knuckles will be unaffected.

Any gate kit that says you can build a complete no sag gate in 20 minutes is LYING!

Additionally, if you are trying to do this yourself with no one to help hold anything, multiple that 20 minutes by 5. Add another 10 minutes if you have never built a gate before. Add another 30 minutes if you are clumsy.

Good thing I am to stubborn to give up... Stubborn and stupidity can look very similar to the untrained eye. Look how far I have already gotten.