Our montly IDPA was yesterday but due to the rain, Cricket and I stayed home. We got all the laundry washed and put away. Later today, we will finish up with what was used over the weekend and start the week fresh. DH did go to the match. Only 17 people showed up. I guess considering the rain, that was a good number. It rained the whole time. I’ve done that before and might do it again in the warm weather but not the cold.
Last night, we played with the electronics kit we got for Christmas. We attempted and succeeded at the second project, a transistor radio. We picked up some station in Spanish. It sounded like it might be from Cuba. We are all learning a lot about electricity and electronics.
We also grilled pork tenderloin. I tried a new rub recipe. It included fresh ground nutmeg, cumin, cinnamon, garlic powder and salt. That’s one of the best pork loins we have done. The cinnamon needs to be cut down a little bit but the meat was so moist and tasty. It hit the spot nicely. Tonight it will be burgers and fries.
This entry was posted on Sunday, January 17th, 2010 and is filed under Children, Cooking, Guns, Weather.
Author: EmmaPeel / Comments: (2)
I am needing some comfort food. My body is tired and feels overworked despite me spending way too much time at a desk. My mind is racing at 200 mph. We’ve eaten some good meals lately. With me working more, DH has been doing a great job preparing supper with Cricket and Bugaboo’s help. They’ve been great. Somehow, though, they have not satisfied that need I have. I can’t put my finger on it. I want to say something slow cook because the time put into it would counter the break-neck speed I feel like I’m running at. Beef/deer also is tickling my senses when I think of them. Something wholesome, with lots of love put into it. I’ve been getting those two parts of it but what’s missing? What’s the food that brings you back to center?
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 and is filed under Chaos, Cooking.
Author: EmmaPeel / Comments: (3)
I worked long hours yesterday and barely sat down. Today is not quite so busy. Right now, I’m going to take a few minutes to research canning/pickling jalapenos since we have them running out our ears. Apparently they like cool wet weather. I don’t much that why I live in the south!
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 and is filed under Cooking, Gardening, Weather.
Author: EmmaPeel / Comments: (0)
I’m super busy today but I did want to let you know that the jelly turned out wonderful. We are discussing a hotter batch. This is just right for me and the girls but a bit mild for DH.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 and is filed under Cooking.
Author: EmmaPeel / Comments: (0)
As promised, here are some pictures of the lamb we cooked on Saturday. This first picture is of the leg of lamb ready to go on the table.
This is yesterday’s supper, leg of lamb in the crockpot with CocaCola and apple cider vinegar for hours. We then topped it the Sweet Baby Rays and hot sauce.
The lamb was good but, for the price, not something we are going to be eating regularly. The pork butt we cooked Sunday was much better and less than 1/2 the price.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 and is filed under Cooking.
Author: EmmaPeel / Comments: (0)
Growing up, my parents canned stuff from the garden and my grandmother and grandfather made fig preserves. I was never involved in it. Now, between the economy, our government, and a large over abundance of jalapenos from the garden, I thought it was time to learn to can. So, after what seems like weeks of gathering all the necessary parts and equipment, we finally were able to can jalapeno jelly yesterday.
We grew the jalapenos in the basket in buckets. Tomatoes grew from a hole in the bottom of the buckets and the peppers grew on top. Unfortunately, due to F. Wilt, we’ve only managed to harvest two tomatoes. They were very good tomatoes but most have not made it to nice red.
DH and I chopped the jalapenos and then pureed them with apple cider vinegar in the Cuisenart.
We then cooked the jalapenos, sugar and apple cider vinegar for 10 minutes. Then pectin was added and it was boiled hard for 1 minute.
We then started filling jars. (Note the mess on the stove top. Becareful when it starts to boil. It will grow fast.
The recipe called for 5 jars. I’m glad I readied 6 because it filled 6+ enough to test out. It’s yummy hot.
With the lids secure, the filled jars go back into the hot water and boil for 10 minutes.
They are now cooling for 24 hours in a cabinet. I can’t wait to get home and try some.
As we expand our garden, we plan to can more and more. High on my list to get is a pressure canner. I have been researching them. I’d love any input you have on them or any aspect of canning. Like I said, this is new to us but we plan to continue.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 and is filed under Cooking, Gardening, Survival.
Author: EmmaPeel / Comments: (2)
Last night the lamb turned out pretty good. We should have taken suggestions of marinating it but it was a spur of the moment thing. I have a picture I will load up in a bit. Right now, there’s a boston butt slow cooking at 200*F on the grill. It’s been on since 10 a.m. We plan to eat around 7. I’m debating what to have with it. I baked a new cornbread receipe this morning. Our favorite recipe requires creamed corn. That may be hard to find it the SHTF. Buttermilk may be hard to come by too. Things are complicated in that we can’t eat wheat flour. Most folks don’t realize that cornbread is actually usually more flour than cornmeal. What’s your favorite recipe for cornbread?
This entry was posted on Sunday, September 6th, 2009 and is filed under Cooking.
Author: EmmaPeel / Comments: (0)
After years of drought, I should be thankful for the rain. But, to tell the truth, I’m kinda getting tired of it. I guess more I’m getting tired of the weather people saying 30% chance of rain, every day, and then it raining most of the day. Today, it’s been raining since 2 p.m. It is still raining at 15 after 6. A nice constant rain. It’s inhibited a lot of work. It’s hard to survey property lines in the rain. Specialized equipment and rain don’t get along.
Today, we gave up when became evident the rain was here to stay for a while. Instead, we have the rotisserie going on the Weber kettle grill. On that rotisserie is a lovely boneless leg of lamb. 
We’ve never eaten lamb before. Doesn’t that look good. We are basting it with a wine and olive oil mixture with assorted spices. Green beans and rice will accompany it in a couple of hours.
This entry was posted on Saturday, September 5th, 2009 and is filed under Cooking, Weather.
Author: EmmaPeel / Comments: (0)
Those are two words you usually don’t associate with Alabama in August (or most months really). It’s been nice except that we had a lot of fence work to do today. We are discussing adding goats to our little “farm” and need fence.
Instead, we are doing inside stuff today. We cooked pancakes for breakfast and have done some laundry and cleaning up. We played a game of Twister. Right now Cricket and Bugaboo are reading while a roast cooks in the oven. (We are out of charcoal.) The roast smells so good and has at least another hour to cook.
If the mosquitoes aren’t too bad, I’m going to stretch out on the hammock on the deck and read. Actually, I really need to get knitting. I had a sweather on my mind that I’d love to have done by the end of September.
This entry was posted on Sunday, August 30th, 2009 and is filed under Cooking, Global Warming, Life.
Author: EmmaPeel / Comments: (0)
I mentioned the other day that we cook our cornbread on the grill.
This requires a good recipe without too much sugar and a good cast iron skillet. Heat the skillet on the grill with 2 T of oil before putting the batter in. You want the batter to sizzle when it hits the oil and pan. Unless you have a really hot fire, cook as you would in a stove. It’s done with the toothpick comes out clean.
This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 and is filed under Cooking.
Author: EmmaPeel / Comments: (2)