How busy is too busy?

 

To say that's it's been a busy stretch would be an understatement. It's that time of year when you look around and see a few things that need done before the really cold weather creeps up on you. So I got busy, did the work, and I videoed a lot of it. 

There was cleaning up the wood yard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOMDflULKhs&t=8s 

I harvested the basil and made pesto. It's not really a cooking vid, just the way I do it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k922IppD3FE&t=17s

One day, I took some time to do the little bit of fall decorating I do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC2V-dpXLVU

But the really BIG THING that happened was the tree trimmers finally arrived to take down the mostly dead oak tree. I've been sorting and organizing the logs so that when the wood dries out enough to split, it will be an easier job. That video isn't out yet, but it's coming soon. 

On top of all that at the home front, I've been out to dinner with friends, dined with family, and enjoyed the weekly Trivia Nite at a local "tavern" with a cousin. The game takes place in the ballroom so you know it's not a real tavern. I canned a batch of green peppers, chicken breast, and white bean and sausage soup.

This week, I put on my author hat and started to add my backlist to Audible. You can read about that over at Between the Keys. If you already have some of my titles, you can add the audiobook for $1.99. It's going to cost me a small fortune to get the audiobooks into my personal library, but it'll be worth it. 

It seems like I have something to do every day, and by the end of the day, I'm bushed. Heck, I went to bed with the chickens last night and slept for nine hours! 

In reality, I think it's good to be busy. Having nothing to do would make life pretty boring. Those days are just around the corner. Winter will arrive and my days will shrink to the computer, the TV, and the woodstove. 

Until then, I'll count my busy blessings.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, YouTube, autumn, gardening, woodstove, firewood, tree trimming, cooking, basil, Black Labrador Retriever, family, trivia, winter, audio books

Seeing is believing!

Have you ever started something and then wondered why you did? I'm sort of at that point with the recent spate of videos I've posted at https://youtube.com/kckendricks. I'm having fun (sort of) learning to edit a cohesive video so that's a good thing. I've joked I'm going to be ninety years old in the nursing home and pulling up these vids to prove to the old codgers I really did operate a John Deere tractor and I really did use a chainsaw. Ha ha. 

But seriously, a conversation with some friends got me to thinking. Myself and another member of our "dinner group" live alone, and we are not afraid to cut down a tree and chop firewood for ourselves. Several other group members have no clue about how to garden, how to can food, how to take their car in for service. They just don't know where to start. I want these videos to show women in my age group that they can do it. 

So what have I been recording?

Using the Brush Crusher on the John Deere tractor to remove fallen tree limbs, brush, to aid cutting firewood, and using the backhoe attachment to dig out stumps and a clothesline post among other things. I'm going to run out of ambition to keep making videos long before I run out of projects. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUYFmD6rG3c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZLTCa_x19g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVIhb51F6hE

Of course, I manage to get video-bombed by Deuce at least once per video. 

I try hard to not allow myself to get annoyed by women who think they can't do for themselves. So many times it's conditioning from their parents. You can take care of yourself. I'm walking proof of that. I had good examples of strong, self-sufficient women to guide me. I had a husband who believed it was part of his duty as a husband to teach me all that he could. His life was my biggest blessing. 

Sooooo, if you'd like to see me in action, visit the YouTube channel. If nothing else, you'll get a laugh or three as I blunder my way through projects here at Holly Tree Manor.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, John Deere 1023, strong women, self-sufficient, tractors, chainsaws, gardening, cooking, rural living, country lifestyle, a writer's life, greenhouse, YouTube channel

Making soup and waiting for snow

A couple of days ago, as we waited to see what Winter Storm Blair would bring us, I was at loose ends. I'd done everything outside to prepare what I could, and I keep my inner spaces tidy, so that left cooking. I made the best batch of potato soup EVER!

The Lord of the Manor didn't care much for potato soup and so it wasn't part of our regular menu rotation. When I did make it, it was a bit bland to suit his taste. That man would take leftover potato soup, drain off the broth, and mash the potatoes. The gospel according to Ron said potatoes should be mashed or fried. Well....... I like soup! 

Anyway, I made the soup with onions, celery, rosemary, turmeric, parsley, milk, and butter.  It was delish! I ate a serving while seated on the sofa watching it snow. 

Ah, the snow. Winter Storm Blair. 

The Weather Channel predicted a snowmageddon for us with up to 18 inches of snow with at least a half an inch of ice. It was no surprise it didn't happen, but the exercise in preparedness wasn't wasted. 

The generator was started and my cousin noted I should replace the pull cord as it's getting worn. He also suggested a new spark plug. This will happen in the spring when the mowers are serviced. I also added a notation on my calendar to start the generator every five weeks to keep the motor lubed. 

The snow makes my woods lovely, and I've enjoyed observing the birds, but I'm ready for it to melt. One good snow a year is all I need. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, Winter Storm Blair, potato soup, rural living, a writer's life, generators, organization, snow birds, country lifestyle, cooking, preparedness

The Mad Canner: broth and beans

A few days ago as I readied ingredients to prepare dinner, I was surprised to find only two pints of chicken broth in the pantry. Yes, it's wonderful that I actually use the foods I've canned, but not keeping a closer eye on a cooking staple like chicken broth is... not a good thing. 

In an attempt to be frugal, I purchased a roasting chicken and we had a proper Sunday dinner for a change. I put the roasted meat in the fridge for another meal, and the carcass in the crock pot to simmer on low overnight. The result was fifteen pints of chicken broth. Winter means soups and now I'm ready.

After setting the pints on the pantry shelf, I took a quick inventory and decided I needed to get busy. The only thing I had on my agenda to can was apple pie filling when the Stayman apples are available, but I also was out of molasses beans. Molasses beans have become a summer staple when we grill burgers. They're sort of a cross between pork 'n beans and baked beans having less sugar than baked and no tomato flavor like pork 'n beans. Eleven pints now reside in the pantry. 

I've been thinking that I need to up my canning game this winter. I have purchased a new-to-me book of recipes and I'm going to try a few. Home canning looks like a lot of work until you open a jar and have dinner ready in five minutes - and you do it repeatedly. 

The Lady of The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, home food preservation, rural living, country lifestyle, canning, cooking, time savings, a writer's life, chicken broth, molasses beans,

A photo worthy dinner

Himself is a good cook when he applies himself to the task. He'd rather I did everything, but that won't fly, not with me. One of his "specialties" is chicken parmesan. He does a great job with chicken parm. 

Pictures do not lie. This chicken parm was as good as it looks. 

I must confess that while I enjoy some of the YouTube channels, a lot of them are lacking. I'm fond of Living Traditions Homestead, This Farm Wife, The Purposeful Pantry, Sutton's Daze, and a few others. The spousal unit's taste runs to cooking and baking channels. He delights in showing me something new and saying, and I quote, "WE should make that."

We. Right. WE all know what WE means.

Suffice it to say, the lady of the house didn't fall for that old ploy. He fixed the chicken parm based on a YouTube video by "Chef John" and it was delicious. 

I'll get chicken out of the freezer any time he says he'll fix this dish. Better yet, I'll see if I can convince him to make enough for three dinners and freeze two. 

Good plan.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor 

Perpetual vanilla

Vanilla extract used to be affordable. "Used to be" being the operative phrase here. I could go to the grocery and purchase a little bottle for about a dollar. All of a sudden, it's $30 for about twelve ounces! 

It has become time to make my own.

When you make homemade vanilla, it's a perpetual product. By that I mean you purchase the beans once and you're done buying beans. It's not a joke.

Purchase ten vanilla beans. I paid $30 for ten beans so it is a one-time investment. Buy a 750ml bottle of vodka. With the vodka, you can get as expensive a bottle as you like, but I stayed to the less expensive brand, mostly because I had a bottle already opened, but still about full. Then drop in the vanilla beans and put the bottle in a cupboard for six months. At the end of the six months, you'll have vanilla extract. 

You don't have to use the alcohol bottle. You can put this in a Mason jar or any airtight container, but it should be glass. And airtight. Airtight is important. I chose to keep it in the booze bottle just because I did. No real reason. 

This is how the perpetual part comes into play. You'll need a smaller bottle to decant whatever amount you feel is appropriate for your usage. After you decant the portion for use, top off the vodka in the steeping bottle and set it back on the shelf for another six months or more. 

The vanilla beans will keep flavoring the alcohol for years and years. As I write this post, a famous chef has said her vanilla beans have been active for twenty-five years! 

I may not live another twenty-five years. I hope my young cousins will keep it going. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

Rainy days and prep cooking

Rainy days are good days to do some cooking and stock the freezer. It's definitely helpful to have meals made ahead for those days when I've been working outside and I'm tired. Who wants to cook if you've just spent three hours on a lawnmower? Or a couple of hours on the John Deere 1023 using the snowblower? Not me, that's for sure.

I used to hate leftovers. I guess that was a holdover from my formative years when my mother and grandmother shoved even the smallest amount of leftover food into the fridge and God alone only knew how long it would be in there until they pulled it out and ultimately had to throw it in the garbage. I learned to FEAR the leftover.

Things are different now. Managing the manor means managing food resources the same as managing how we spend our time. Sound a bit hokey? It's really not. Wise use of food is wise use of money. That's what all those science projects my grandmother and mother created were about - saving money. It didn't work for them because they didn't take the time to THINK about meal planning. They just cooked. That's all they had time for. They didn't have the tools we have today.

Homemade ricotta

My life is a little different. I have a computer and the Internet. Those two things are as big game changers as Gutenberg's printing press. I don't have to reinvent the meal planning wheel. I can pick and choose from hundreds of plans developed by others. Saves money and saves time.

So taking a rainy and cooking a few freezer meals is a no-brainer for me. One of my favorite things to fix is lasagna. I generally have everything on hand on except ricotta cheese, so I make my own. Instructions on how I make it are found here.  A gallon of whole milk makes enough ricotta for one 13x9 pan of lasagna. 

I don't just cook meals on my cooking-binge days. I brown burger, bake cookies, make French toast casserole, make homemade crackers - anything I have ingredients for. A couple of hours spent prepping makes life a lot easier when I come home from work so it's well worth doing. 

Of all the things we have in life, time is the most precious. I do my best to use mine wisely. How I spend my time UN-wisely is for another blog. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor