Eggs Again!

Our new hens have arrived and have started production! March 24th the first 6 came in and just 3 weeks later the first eggs made their appearance.

Our supplier was shorted on their order - they were expecting 450 hens and only received 125 so we were fortunate to get any at all. April 21st we were able to get 4 more so we now have 10. They were quite skitterish at first but after lots of coaxing and hand feeding they learned to trust us and they now run to meet us when we approach the gate. They do their little chicken dance and follow us around waiting for us to dish out some yummy sunflower seed or turn over rocks so they can get the bugs. We're getting 5 to 6 eggs a day now and the eggs are increasing in size so it won't be long before we will be able to sell again. Proceeds from egg sales go to our daughter who is disabled and cannot work so has very little money for the fun things in life. However, selling eggs provides her with funds to do things like go out for tea or lunch, see a movie, or buy an ice-cream treat.

The other 4 should be laying in the next week or two so all is well in the little hen house in Gumboot Country.

O Lord, how many and varied are Your works!

In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.

Psalm 104: 24

Thank you to those of you who have left comments - it's great to hear from you.
For those of you who have tried and have been unable to because it required a Google account, I have now changed the settings. All comments will still be moderated (approved before being published) in order to filter out any undesirable graffiti but the whole process is very simple. Write your comment, type the random letters that appear in the box provided (prevents automated responses) and choose 'other' or 'anonymous'. Your comment will be sent to my email address, and from there I can publish it.

The most recent sweet addition to our family, my great-nephew.

Dark and Rich Hot Chocolate

We are hooked on dark chocolate.

But we have found a supply of high quality bars which are made near our own home town. Though they are somewhat expensive, we find we don't have to devour the whole thing in order to satisfy our craving. One piece will do it. So one bar actually lasts the two of us for three days which, in reality, makes it cheaper than corner store candy bars.

However, since we've become accustomed to dark chocolate my husband has found his favourite hot drink, a comforting cup of Nestle's cocoa, no longer tastes so good. The supermarkets and health food stores do carry different brands of a richer dark chocolate mix but they seem quite expensive so my husband came up with his own solution. He simply adds some good old fashioned cocoa powder to the usual amount of Nestle's Quick and wow - what a difference!

Here's what we do to make one cup;

Place 2 teaspoons of powdered Nestle's Quick (or other brand) into a cup.

Add 1 teaspoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder (I buy the Dutch process dark chocolate from our health store as I find Fry's just isn't dark enough)

Mix well, adding just enough cream to make a thick paste.

Stir until smooth and fill cup with boiling water.

Stir well and add cream.

Delicious!

Extra special topped off with a dollop of whipped cream and some shaved chocolate, and you will feel like you've sipped on something decadent from a ritzy coffee house!

She shares a little story

We just celebrated our aunt's 85th birthday last evening with a family dinner. It was a fun evening and a great time to reconnect with cousins which I haven't seen for many years. Our aunt is a peppy little gal who spreads cheer and happiness wherever she goes - a very special lady indeed!

My brother Don

He who heeds the word wisely will find good,

And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.

Proverbs 16: 20

Can't believe it's March 2nd

Happy March Everyone!

So far this year the old time rhyme rings true - "in like a lion, out like a lamb". Well... in like a lion it is with snow falling here again today making it the 3rd time this week. Hopefully the other half of the jingle will also prove true with the month of March going 'out like a lamb'.

I was going to head off to town to look at some bathroom rugs, and back splash material (maybe tin??) for my new appliance/message centre in the kitchen but it appears to be more of a baking and project day instead as the snow is actually falling quite heavily. I am quite content to be at home :-)

God doesn't require us to succeed; He only requires that you try.
- Mother Teresa

Bagel Baking Day

It never dawned on me that I could make our own Bagels. But a dear little dutch lady down the road told me she always made her own when her kids were growing up and that it is simple to do. I don't like the smell of the preservatives in the bought ones, it always puts me off, but the man in our house likes something more substantial than sliced bread for his lunches, and he does enjoy bagels, so I tried it. They really are easy to do and they taste much better!

Bagels have risen and are ready to be boiled.

It just takes a couple of minutes - 1 or 2 on each side.

Once boiled they are brushed with an egg wash and topped with sesame seeds or whatever happenns to be the fancy of the day. Then into the oven they go.

All done and ready to eat!

Bagels

4 1/2 tsp. yeast

2 cups warm water

2 Tbsp. brown sugar (or honey)

5 -5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

seeds, etc. for topping

Water for boiling

Prepare dough the usual way depending on what type of yeast you are using. After it is kneaded put into oiled bowl, turn to grease top, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled.

Punch down, divide into 12 pieces and make each piece into a ball. Poke a finger through the centre of each ball and give it a spin to make the hole about 1 to 1 1/2 inches across. Place bagels onto greased baking sheet and let rise about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted (1 tsp.) water to a boil. Reduce the heat a bit and carefully lift bagels from cookie sheet with a pancake flipper and place into boiling water. You can do about 3 or 4 at a time depending on the size of your pot. Boil about half a minute on each side, then lift bagels out of the water with slotted spoon and place on a well greased baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal (optional). Brush each bagel with egg wash and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, oats, onion or garlic, or whatever else suits you.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from sheet and cool on rack.

Variation:

for cinnamon raisin bagels - replace 1 cup ww flour with 1 cup white, increase sugar to 1/4 cup and stir in 2 or 3 tsp. cinnamon and 1 cup raisins. Top with oats.

Sunflower seeds are nice in whole wheat bagels.

I find homemade bagels spoil quite quickly so I freeze what we won't use in a couple of days.

It's our grandson's 9th birthday today and another reminder of how the time flies. He had a hockey game early this morning and they won! Their team is doing great, this is the first year Manny has played and he's a terrific little skater. His team will be going on an overnight trip next month for a season wrap up game.

Having raised five daughters we've never been into hockey but the sight of a grandchild beaming with pride out on the ice has a way of changing that. It's exciting being there in the stand cheering him on. It's also very entertaining watching his parents and I'm not sure who really gets the most excited and exerts more energy - the players or the parents! Our daughter would probably skin me if I said that we spotted tears in her eyes as she cheered her son on so I won't say it. But we really are looking forward to the next game ;-)

our daughter Stacey

flying through the air

with some little friends.

I wonder who was having the most fun!

My dear husband

hard at work on a

warm summer day.

Mmmm...a nice drink

You might want to try this, especially if you like the new 'Arizona' type green tea beverages. I love them but find they are quite sweet.

Try brewing a pot of green tea, any flavour (honey-lemon ginseng is good), and let it chill in the fridge. When it's ready pour half a glass and top it off with your favourite pure fruit juice. The one I like best is the new blueberry.

It's very refreshing, not too sweet (okay, you can add honey or sugar if you must), and costs way less!