Test #1: Egg-in-the-hole

This morning marked the first test from The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Egg-in-the-hole was promoted at a very easy and slightly addictive comfort food. We had some homemade honey wheat bread and plenty of eggs, so I figured it might be an easy place to begin sampling some of the recipes. They were pretty good, but I broke two of the three yolks in the turning process. I need more practice.

Here is a picture of them in the skillet at about step number 3.

This is a picture of my sous-chef, Joey.

Cool find

My previous post about Good Juju spoke of these great bookends by artist Tom Hogan. The glass blocks have decorative stained glass and I love the play of the silver, etched glass, and white. Tom's studio is called Views, 816-509-7332.

I am also in love with my Christmas present from my mom. Check out The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond and her wild ranch life in Oklahoma. http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Her recipes are simple ranch fare and admittedly high calorie. I am looking forward to giving some of her dishes a try over break and going over and over her delightful book. She does her own photography and the pictures from her working ranch are just as beautiful as the pictures of food.

My next food adventure is preparing the quail and pheasant in my freezer. Jeremy, my dad, and my father-in-law went hunting this fall and brought back several birds. I was feeling very confident and dreamy after reading Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously and accepted all of the harvest. (Note: Does anyone else have a requirement of reading the books before seeing the movies? This is a must for me.) If a non-chef can master French cooking a la Julia Childs, I can at least cook some game birds. So, here is my plea...send me your best recipes for pheasant and quail. Let me confess that I love great tasting food that is simple, takes few ingredients, and does not create a million dishes. I want it all! Post them in comments on the blog and I promise to give updates on my progress and the results.

The snow continues...

Our Christmas day included taking care of all the animals in some serious snowfall. We had some major drifts all over the yard, including a drift as tall as our large haybale behind the shed. Jeremy has shoveled and shoveled over the past few days and sadly, the wind had undone most of his work. Perhaps we will invest in that snowblower, after all.

We tried to make quick work of the outside chores, fed hay in the barn, shoveled a path to the water tub, and brought Cy inside to warm up. We also said several prayers of thanks for the water tank heaters. Breaking ice several times a day would not add to our winter weather fun.

We are also pleased that our chickens are still producing eggs, despite the cold temperatures. We are hopeful that warmer weather is coming soon. It will make things so much easier for everyone.


Even though we were freezing while we hurried through chores, this sweet birds nest in our Korean lilac bush was such a wonder. I had to snap a quick picture.

Travel safe, friends!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Mother nature has been dumping a generous amount of snow over northeastern Kansas. We have had record setting snowfalls and cold windchills. Our alpacas have retreated to the barn and even under cover, they managed to get a dusting of snow over their warm fiber coats.

Jeremy has been a trouper about shoveling our drive and walks. We worried that our family would not make it for Christmas, but they did arrive to enjoy lunch together and open gifts. It was a fun time. McKenzy was disappointed that she would not be able to walk the alpacas in the blizzard.

McKenzy got to meet Joey. She is a huge fan of any kind of animal and has been so excited to see the new puppy. She loved playing with him and taking pictures.

A perfect weekend

This weekend Jeremy and I were so lucky to spend time with our dear friend, Tammy Jo. I met Tammy Jo when she was a student at K-State and we have kept in touch over the years. Jeremy got to know her better when she returned to help out with Wildcat Warm-up last summer.

We share a lot of interests in eating well, gardening, organic foods, vintage finds, baking/cooking, and more! We met up on Saturday to sample a little bit of everything.

Our first stop was Good JuJu, www.goodjujukc.com. This vintage store is my find of 2010! Great variety, great prices, and good people. We found some lovely glass blocks embellished with a stained glass design and some great antique spools in a galvanized bucket. Too cute!

We went to The Planters Seed and Spice Company, http://www.plantersseed.com/. They have an amazing selection of seeds, spices, tea, garden supplies, and a bunch of other stuff we could not even get through.

Dinner was at Jerusalem Cafe a Middle Eastern restaurant in Westport. Great portions, excellent food, and a really great time. Tammy Jo picked an excellent spot. We followed the delicious baklava with take out cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory on The Plaza.

The best part of the day was talking with Tammy Jo about her future and our shared interests. What a special day.

Meet Joey

The latest addition to Prairie School Farms is a little golden retriever puppy named Joey. He was a Thanksgiving surprise from my husband. He has been a really good dog for us!

We had talked about getting a companion for Cy. Since we lost Rookie last spring, it has been an adjustment for Cy to be on his own. We found out that he is over 100 pounds!! The new puppy keeps him moving since they are in constant competition for the dog toys.

Joey is adjusting to being inside very well. We are adjusting to a new schedule of getting home to keep him on a feeding and bathroom schedule. We also have to puppy proof. One of my big shocks was seeing him with the laptop cord in his mouth pulled tight with the other end in the wall. He was pulling with all of his might and loving every second...

We enjoyed a huge snowfall, nearly 10 inches! Joey had a great time playing in the snow with Cy while Jeremy shoveled and shoveled. I told him he had to have moved a dump truck full of snow to free our vehicles from the garage, make a path out the drive way and to clear paths to all the animals. Joey fell asleep on the floor and snored all evening.

We look forward to warmer temperatures this weekend and the chance to get outside and get some more pictures of the snow.

Pumpkin seed granola & inspired women

Last week I had approximately 15 hours in a car between three days of travel. Once the music got old, I turned to talk radio. Jonni McCoy, famous for her book Miserly Moms, was the subject of an interview. http://www.miserlymoms.com/

Jonni's story was one that started out of necessity - as most creative, determined womens' stories begin. She and her husband had to transition to living on one income. She was determined to find ways to save on her food budget, which included reducing or eliminating pre-packaged, pre-fab foods. She began to keep a notebook of cost savings ideas, recipes, price comparison information and more. Her friends started catching on and wanted to borrow her notebook. Fast forward a bit and she had a book deal.

Her story inspired me to think about our own food budget, including a few of our favorite (and expensive) grocery items. We love an organic pumpkin seed granola. It is pricey! A student told me last summer that her roommate made granola all the time - it was easy to make in great quantities and made their apartment smell wonderful. With those encouraging thoughts, we added a few ingredients to our grocery list and made granola last weekend.

The result: we left it in the oven a little too long, but lesson learned. It still tasted good and our house did smell wonderful.

Low Fat Granola Recipe

Makes 15 servings

3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup almonds (or pecans or walnuts)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon


Directions
Mix oats, wheat bran, wheat germ, nuts, and seeds in large bowl. In small bowl mix honey, brown sugar, orange juice, butter, and cinnamon. Pour honey mixture onto oats mixture and stir well. Bake in a 275º oven for 1 hour, stirring every fifteen minutes.