Snowing...34º

Canning marathon was finished by noon....Ham and beans simmering in the oven...What to do now?Heaven forbid that we sit down for a rest...While I was mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, thinking I just have to finish this and the afternoon is mine...But Rusty was having flashbacks of a time in his childhood when his mother made special treats..."Mom, what were those things 'eclairs?' or?'" "Cream puffs, " I said and immediatly knew I had stepped into a trap." "Yes, with chocolate pudding and whipped cream."...He searched the internet, he made the shells and I made the pudding, we invited friends for a taste treat...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Vanilla pudding in the middle, chocolate drizzle and whippd cream.

Shells in the oven

Shells resting in the oven

Becky and John, first bite

Rusty, "Ah," just like 40 years ago.

"Fruits" of our Labor...27º

The smell of cooking turkey permeates out house...Four turkeys boned, chunked and in the jars almost done, one more canner this morning...Broth is heating before it is strained and we do the last seven jars of it this morning...Then the cleanup begins...When all is said and done we will have over fifty pints of newly canned turkey, 14 quarts of broth and 6 quarts of beef/deer burger...The canned burger is relatively new for us...I did a few jars last year and like it so well for taco filling that Rusty and I got a little wild with the ground meat and fresh garlic yesterday...We lightly packed this mixture into the jar and filled around it with a mild beef bullion...It is hard to restrain from opening a new jar right now just to see how it tastes....As always the best thing about canning is admiring all of the jars as I gently remove the rings, wipe the jars with hot, soapy water, date them, before they go into boxes and Herb carries them all downstairs, to place on the cellar shelves...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Turkey Broth

Ground meat and Broth

Turkey and Beef

Boiling the Bones...25º

It would be so easy to throw the bones in the trash can, but my Mother would haunt me forever...So we put the bones in a huge kettle, cover with water, add salt and simmer until we have a clear, rich broth...Drain the broth to be canned and placed on the cellar shelves...That is what she taught me to do.

The three of us know the ritual as we start the canning process...Prepping: Thawing, sawing, cleaning, boning, chunking...Hauling, setting up, sterilizing, packing the jars...We started yesterday with Herb, fetching and carrying, Rusty and I boned two turkeys and have them ready for the jars this morning...Bones are boiling (simmering) making the lucious broth, that will also be canned...In between doing these things I mixed and baked 6 loaves of sourdough bread, fixed plates of cookies, breads and pickled asparagus wrapped in ham, for the Josephy Center and FishTrap fireside...Prepared dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes and salad...Late evening I attended the Fireside especially to hear friend Amy Zahm read...It was enjoyable, but I was tired, the drive was foggy so I slipped out early to come home and enjoy a glass of wine with my guys before bedtime.

Up early this morning, the dishwasher is running with the first load of jars, canner and gas stove is set up, broth is simmering...I must get dressed and moving as we have a busy day ahead...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Foggy...26º

Fog early, so maybe it will be moving to the lower valley soon!..Rusty got home yesterday afternoon, so must get organized this morning to start prepping meat for canning...Herb has the turkeys thawing and should be able to saw them in half this morning and we will start the tedious job of boning and chunking...All the equipment must be hauled upstairs, along with jars to be washed and sterilized...Herb said we have about 12 cases of large mouth pints, so we are in good shape for empty jars.

Yesterday I baked the molasses cookies, while mixing a batch of chocolate chip (both vanilla and semi sweet) and had time to chill them and bake in the afternoon.

Mixing chocolate chip cookies

Chunks of dough for molasses cookies

Baked and cooling

Had Patty melts and leftovers ready to cook when Rusty arrived home mid afternoon...Pam picked me up at 5:30 and we attended the "Big Read Kick off." "Into the Beautiful North" has been chosen for this year...The theme last night was Mexican food by El Bajio (local restruarant) a piñata breaking contest for the kids and brief summarys of the book to get everyone enthused about reading...Events are scheduled for the next month and I was the lucky winner of a free copy of the chosen book...Must get busy on the canning marathon...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Baking...22º

Update from Pat and Brian as they make their way to warmer weather...They left Maryland, where they have spent the past two months, in a snowstorm on Tuesday, (stopping at Kennedy Space Center and staying with friends for a couple of nights along the way) before arriving on Saturday afternoon at a condo in Islemorada (Florida Keys)...This mornings temp was a warm 68º  in Florida compared to 6º at Applewood Farm in Maryland...Looks like they headed south at just the right time.

I will spend the day baking cookies and making more cookies to get a stash in the freezer and some to take to events this weekend...Herb is going to the log deck for a few hours this morning...We have been promised sunshine today....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Some sun...27º

Will spend the day baking and cooking as I have two events coming up this weekend...Also have to fix food for family meals as we will be boning and canning turkeys this weekend and always need easy meals for those busy days.

Two photos to share today...A photo posted by Cienna as she "blooms" in a field of sunflowers in Thailand... And since I missed the most incredible sunset of the year last night I will share a Wallowa County Chieftain photo...Hug To All...OWAV:)

Our Blooming Girl

Wallowa County Sunset (Chieftain Photo)

Sunday Dinner...35º

Rusty was in the mood to make his "No knead bread" and I had pork and sauerkraut ready for a long slow roast in the dutch oven...We managed to work side by side in the kitchen, without coming to blows, gave each other advise and come out with a good meal...Mashed potatoes and Waldorf salad rounded out our menu...We invited B & J, but they were in recoup mode after having company and family gatherings for several days, and declined the invite...Pam arrived, after snowshoeing with friends, ravenous for food and drink...It didn't take us long to fill our plates and enjoy...It is always fun to eat from the bounty of summer...our own cabbage, potatoes and apples went into the dinner...For dessert we finished off the chocolates left from Christmas....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Fresh from the oven Rosemary/garlic no knead bread

Rusty smearing a little butter

Pork roasted with purple and green sauerkraut

Waldorf Salad

Mashed Garlic Potatoes

Slices of warm bread