Flower Art Friday - 08/31/2012

Blanket flower (Gaillardia grandiflora). Picture taken beside the interstate where these lovely flowers have been planted. :) Edited with Pixlr Express.

Linking up with Flower Art Friday, Floral Friday Fotos, Orange You Glad It's Friday and Mandarin Orange Monday.

Cowboy Cookies

Howdy ya'll! This here is a cookie that will satisfy them hardworkin' cowboys in your life. Why shoot, even the little buckaroos and buckarettes down to the Farmers' Market have told me, "Miss Candy, them are some mighty tasty cookies!" Just so's ya' know, these ain't no chicken-livered girly cookies. Nope, they're chock full of oats, raisins, chocolate chips and walnuts. They'll make ya' sit up and say "Yee-Haw!" Why, you could even grab one or two on the way out the door to see you through them early mornin' chores. I know my cowboy can go through several before the sun has even come up! ;-)

Okay, let's git down to bakin'!

Cowboy Cookies               **Click here to print this recipe**

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups Baking Mix
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups uncooked quick or old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup golden raisins or regular
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; mix well. Add Baking Mix, cocoa and oats; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips, raisins and walnuts.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. I flatten the dough a bit as it doesn't spread very much.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly golden brown. Cool on pan for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

I haven't done an "ingredient" picture in awhile but I wanted to show off the new mixing bowl that I picked up at a thrift store in Willcox a couple of weeks ago. It is marked Robinson Ransbottom and probably isn't particulary old, the company was in business until 2005, but I have always wanted a heavy crockery mixing bowl and the price was pretty good! :)

Linking up with The Country Homemaker Hop, Rural Thursday, Farm Fresh Friday and Farmgirl Friday.

Barn Charm - 08/28/2012

We don't have a whole lot of barns around these parts and the ones we do have, I don't usually consider charming. This one was probably pretty charming back in the day but now, it's pretty much just waiting to fall down. It is located right next to a new freeway interchange.

Most of the wooden barns in this part of the country have been replaced by metal ones due to a really, really bad problem with termites!

All of these pictures have been edited with Pixlr-o-matic.
Linking up with Barn Charm and Tones On Tuesday.

Sunday Photo - Melon

I had two of my Athena Cantaloupe plants grow to maturity and I ended up with exactly two beautiful cantaloupes. At least they are both nice and big, with firm flesh and really great flavor! :)
Linking up with the new Orange You Glad It's Friday, Straight Out Of the Camera Sunday, Mandarin Orange Monday and The Country Garden Showcase.

Flower Art Friday - 08/24/2012

This is the last gladiolus from the garden with some caryopteris and catnip thrown in. I love the combination of yellow and purple flowers.

Edited in Pixlr using Vintage Craquelure, a free texture from Bonnie at Pixel Dust Photo Art. (Layer Multiply 75%, duplicate layer Overlay 51%, flatten image, lighten image, add border, add watermark.) Jeez, I hope that makes sense! LOL!!
I want to thank everyone who puts that kind of info on their photo art, it is really helping me start to figure out how to do some of this stuff! :)

Linking with Flower Art Friday, Floral Friday Fotos, Weekly Top Shot and Your Sunday Best.

When Life Gives You Pumpkins...

...make Pumpkin Scones!! I sure hope ya'll aren't sick of scone recipes yet because here is another one! :)

I have been gifted several pie pumpkins in the past week or so and after cooking and pureeing the pumpkin, I decided to see how it would do in some scones. The pumpkin puree, an egg and some molasses were the only wet ingredients I used and I added some dried cranberries and vanilla chips. I also used my homemade pumpkin pie spice, you can find the recipe at the end of this post. (That reminds me, I need to make that Applesauce Molasses cake sometime soon!)

Pumpkin Scones

2 1/3 cups Baking Mix
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
6 tablespoons cold butter
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup vanilla chips
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 tablespoon molasses
Turbinado sugar for the tops

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, stir together Baking Mix, sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Cut in butter until it resembles small peas; stir in dried cranberries and vanilla chips. Make a well in the center. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin puree, egg and molasses; mix well. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and mix lightly until incorporated. Do not overmix.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently for 4 or 5 turns. Roll or pat dough into a circle 7 inches in diameter. Cut into 6 or 8 wedges and place on a baking sheet. Make sure to leave enough room between the scones as they will rise a bit and spread out. Brush the top of each scone with a little heavy cream or milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes until golden brown.

I had some of these for sale at last week's Farmers' Market and they went fast, guess it's getting to be pumpkin season, my favorite time of year!

Linking up with The Country Homemaker Hop, Rural Thursday, Farmgirl Friday and Farm Fresh Friday. Thanks ladies for hosting these wonderfully fun blog parties! :)

Railroad Bridge

Union Pacific Railroad bridge spanning the San Pedro River in Benson, AZ. Edited with Pixlr Express.
Linking up with Tones On Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday and Black And White Wednesday.

Garden Update - It's A Jungle In There!

We have been getting rain recently and it sure does make the garden grow! The tomato plants and summer squash plants completely fill their 4-foot by 4-foot boxes and the tomato plants are starting to break free!
I have been harvesting quite a few of the French heirloom Ronde de Nice zucchini (small picture far right) and the Bennings Green Tint Pattypan squash, enough so that I have been selling some at the Farmers' Market. Jerry will only eat so many squash, ya' know. ;-)
The picture on the bottom left is an Italian heirloom eggplant, Listada de Gandia. I just love them, not only are they pretty but I like the taste and texture better than the Black Beauty eggplant. The bright yellow guy is a Golden Sweet melon and while it is certainly golden, they aren't very sweet and they are small, only about 5 or 6 inches long. I won't be growing them again.
The cherry tomatoes and yellow pear tomatoes are producing nicely but I'm still waiting for the bigger tomatoes to ripen. I found a great site that talks about freezing tomatoes until you have enough to can a batch and you can even freeze the cherry tomatoes!
What I didn't show ya'll is the "wildlife" that is living in my garden jungle. You know, the squash beetles and grasshoppers! Grrrr...
Linking up with The Country Garden Showcase and Mosaic Monday.

Sunday Photo - Field of Flowers

I stopped beside the road on the way home from the Farmers' Market today to take a picture of these beautiful flowers. They are planted along the fence at a local pick-your-own mini farm. This shot has been edited in Pixlr-o-matic with the HDR-type "Hagrid" effect. Linking up with Weekly Top Shot, Your Sunday Best, Floral Friday Fotos, Flower Art Friday and Orange You Glad It's Friday, a new meme at Hood Photo Blog. :)

This is the SOOC shot which has a little softer feel to it. I have been admiring the wild, happy display these flowers present for a couple of weeks now and finally remembered to take my camera with me! :) Linking up with Straight Out Of the Camera Sunday.

Photo Art Friday - 08/17/2012

I have been wanting to try my hand at a little photo art and when I came across Bonnie's Photo Art Friday meme I figured why not link up!! The prompt for this week is container(s). Eggs are the ultimate containers of life and mine are contained in a basket. Yep, all in one basket too! LOL!!
I used Bonnie's Vintage Manuscript #2 for the effect. I am pleased with this as my first effort and hope to improve with time! :)

Garlic Bread Pizza

There have been many commercials on the TV recently for Pizza Hut's Garlic Bread Pizza. Since the closest Pizza Hut is over 40 miles away and I just don't think they are going to deliver here, I figured making my own was going to be necessary! :)

I started with a purchased rustic-style loaf of bread. I wanted the chewy texture so that it would hold up to the toppings. Spread with butter and sprinkle on some garlic powder and stick it under the broiler until golden brown.

Let it cool just a bit and then add your pizza sauce of choice.

Next, some shredded mozzarella cheese, a little or a lot - your choice!

Now, add your toppings. I just used sausage this time, I have also used pepperoni with bell peppers and onions.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly.

This is so good, a lot quicker than making pizza dough, and you can make several different types so that everyone gets what they want. I guess it's a take-off on the old french bread pizzas but I like this version better as it is not as soggy.

Linking up with Rural Thursday and Farmgirl Friday.

Cowboy Wind Chime

Linking up with Tones On Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday and Black and White Wednesday.

Monday Mural - Cow

This photo was taken on our recent trip up to Flagstaff.
For many years, this building on historic Route 66 in Flagstaff, AZ was a furniture store. It has just recently reopened as a very nice health food store called Natural Grocers. The mural was painted by Melanie Thomson-Myers, I can't find any info on what year but it was awhile ago. The building was originally the Flagstaff Armory and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Linking up with Monday Mural this week. Check it out for lots of great murals from around the world! Also linking up with Mandarin Orange Monday! :)

Sunday Photo - Sunflower

On our way up to Flagstaff last week, we pulled off the interstate so I could take some pictures of an older homestead and some horses. This wild sunflower was growing in the ditch alongside the country road.

Linking up with Weekly Top Shot, Straight Out Of the Camera Sunday, Your Sunday Best and Floral Friday Fotos.

Waiting...

We were at the Triangle T Historic Ranch and Retreat Center in Dragoon recently for their garlic festival when I spied these guys waiting...
I liked the fence around the old bathtub! :-)

Linking up with Friday's Fences.

Extreme Makeover - PB&J Edition

I know what ya'll are thinking...how in the world can you possibly have an extreme makeover of something as ubiquitous as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Why, make all the components from scratch, of course! :)
I started with a lovely piece of lightly toasted 100% Whole Wheat bread, then I added a layer of homemade Peanut Butter, crunchy for me please, finally, I topped it all off with some of our favorite Carrot Cake jam/conserve (thanks, Michelle, for the recipe). To complete this lovely breakfast, just add a glass of icy cold, fresh, raw goat milk! YUM!!

Toasting the bread is optional but doing so makes the peanut butter all melty good. :) Talk about comfort food!
Linking up with Rural Thursday, Farmgirl Friday and Farm Fresh Friday.

Toned Down Windmill

I took this picture on one of our morning walks recently. The buildings off in the distance are part of the Old Mescal movie set.
Linking up with Tones On Tuesday and Wordless Wednesday.

Canning Really Small Batches of Produce

My garden isn't very large but I want to make the most of it by preserving everything that I can. I have two pepperoncini plants and they are producing nicely. I had a small batch that I wanted to pickle before they went bad but I didn't want to drag out the big water bath canner for one or two half-pints. I read on the internet recently about how to turn any pot into a water bath canner by using the rings from regular mouth canning jars. The wide mouth rings won't work as the jars could slip through.

My little blue enamelware bean pot is 6 1/2 inches tall and 7 1/2 inches wide and was just what I needed to water bath can a few half-pints. I attached the rings together with twist ties. One site recommended zip ties but I didn't have any. Three rings will fit in the bottom of my pot.

Using this pot, I can water bath can three half-pint jars. I tried a fit check with pint jars but they are too tall for my pot. You need to have one to two inches of water above the top of the jars for water bath canning. The jars sit on top of the rings very nicely and don't seem to want to tip over at all.

I am so glad I found out about this! There were a couple of times last year when produce went bad before I could gather enough together to justify getting out the big water bath canner. Now, I can process really small batches! I only ended up with one half-pint jar of pickled pepperoncinis but I'm glad that they are now sitting on the shelf ready to be put on sandwiches! :-)
Linking up with the Homestead Barn Hop, The Country Homemaker Hop and Wildcrafting Wednesday.

Garden Update - August 06, 2012

The garden is starting to produce nicely! :) I have been harvesting bush beans, jalapeno, pepperoncini and bell peppers, scalloped squash and Ronde de Nice French heirloom zucchini, cherry and yellow pear tomatoes, and strawberries. The cantaloupe are growing nicely and one of the Kakai pumpkins has started to turn. The only fruit I am going to get from the trees this year is Kieffer pears and they are doing well too. The big tomatoes are all still green but I noticed one starting to blush today! YAY!! I'm still hoping for enough tomatoes to can and make into tomato sauce this year. So far, it looks as though that will happen.
Linking up with The Country Garden Showcase and Mosaic Monday.

Sunday Photo - Pretty Kitty

We took a quick trip up to Flagstaff over the weekend to visit Jerry's son. This mountain lion sculpture is part of the Coconino Coalition for Children and Youth PAWS project and represents Family Support. He is in one of the little shopping malls and I couldn't resist taking a few pictures! :)

There is a little paint chipped off here and there but I still think he is a very pretty kitty!

Linking up with Weekly Top Shot, Straight Out Of the Camera Sunday and Your Sunday Best.

The Ravens

I have been having better luck getting pictures of the Ravens lately. I caught these guys as we were coming back from our morning walk recently. We have an adult pair that live here year round and we have had four juveniles hanging out this summer. I'm pretty sure these four are the juveniles as the older birds are quite a bit larger.

I have been wondering if all four of the young ones belong to the same parents. According to Whatbird and All About Birds, these are Chihuahuan Ravens and they lay between one and eight eggs per clutch so I guess they probably are.

It gets pretty loud around here when they are all sitting on the stock panel "talking" at the same time in their raucous voices! ;-)

Linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Friday's Fences.

First Of The Month - August

I'm joining Jan at Murrieta 365 for her First of the Month meme all this year. Here are the ground rules per her site: "The goal is to capture one thing repeatedly on the first of each month. It can be a landscape, a person, an animal, a project; whatever your focus is, is fine. It can even be a record of where you are each First of the Month."

Not really too much new to report on Miss Daphne this month. She is five months old now, growing like a weed, and her favorite pastime is eating! I'm going to have to add a couple more links to her collar before too long.

She still wants to be right by my side whenever I'm down in the pasture, which makes picture taking somewhat of a challenge. No matter how nicely I asked, she just would not jump up on the steps behind her for a photo session. ;-)

Here, she is trying to figure out how to get the chain off the gate so she can get out! LOL!!

I really love seeing the goats out in the pasture during the day.

I'm still working with Daphne every day - making her lead, getting her used to having her udder touched and just lovin' on her lots and lots, which is very easy to do because she is such a sweetie! I really love my goats and feel very fortunate to have such nice girls. :-)

Linking up with Rural Thursday too.