Chats On The Farmhouse Porch - 11/26/2013

 

1.     If you are celebrating Thanksgiving, what are looking most forward to on Thursday?

Spending a quiet day with Jerry. Oh, and the FOOD!! ;)

2.  My favorite Thanksgiving dish is _________________.

The pumpkin pie. I usually only make one or two a year so I really enjoy it while I can.

3.     Do you ever go through periods of time when you get hooked on a specific food?

Yep. A couple of years ago it was cottage cheese with whole-berry cranberry sauce. I had it for lunch almost every day for several months.

4.     What's the best stuffing for a turkey?

I like just putting in some onions, carrots and celery. I like my dressing cooked separately.

5.     When you were a child, were you ever in a Thanksgiving play, pageant, mock pilgrim dinner, or anything different to celebrate?

No, but it sounds like it would be fun!

Thanks Patrice for these fun questions!

Pecan Spice Waffles with Molasses Cinnamon Syrup

Heaven...I'm in heaven... :)

I have been making these Pecan Spice Waffles/Pancakes using my Baking Mix for a couple of years now but teaming them up with this Molasses Cinnamon Syrup sends them right over the top! I found the recipe for the syrup here. The combination of flavors is perfect for the Holidays!

The pancake/waffle mix also makes a nice gift. Just put the dry ingredients into a baggie and then put that down into a fabric bag or gift bag and include a tag with the directions for making the pancakes or waffles. Pair it up with a jar of this homemade syrup for an extra special, homemade gift anytime of year.

Pecan Spice Pancakes/Waffles

1 1/2 cups Baking Mix
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice (find the recipe at the end of this post)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon oil (for waffles only)

In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients; stir into the dry ingredients just until blended. Ladle onto a lightly greased, hot griddle for pancakes or a preheated waffle iron for waffles. Feel free to add a little more milk if the batter seems too thick.

Makes five 6-inch round waffles.

Molasses Cinnamon Syrup

1/2 cup demerara sugar (or brown sugar)
1/4 cup molasses
6 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon salted butter

In a small saucepan, heat together the sugar, molasses, water and cinnamon over medium heat. Bring to a low boil and continue stirring until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Cool slightly. Transfer to a pitcher for serving or a glass jar for storing. Keep refrigerated and use within two weeks.

Makes a little over 3/4 cup of syrup.

Linking up with Farmgirl Friday and What I Am Eating.

Wordless Rurality

Another picture from our visit to the Empire Ranch.

Sharing with the Rurality Blog Hop and Friday's Fences.

Oatmeal Honey Wheat Bread

This is my absolute favorite sandwich bread! It's just a little bit sweet from the honey and the oats add a nice texture. Because it's half whole wheat flour and half bread flour, it's not real heavy either.

What really made it extra special this week was my new cast iron Camp Chef bread pan that I found at the C-A-L Ranch Store in Flagstaff this past weekend. I love cooking and baking in cast iron and I have been wanting a cast iron bread pan. Now that I'm baking just for us, I figured why not! It's even pretty with the decorative handles. :)

This one came pre-seasoned but I washed it before using it and seasoned it again. The way I care for all of my cast iron pans is to rinse with hot water and scrub with a nylon scrubbie as needed after using. I then apply a thin coating of olive oil on the inside of the pan and put it in the oven preheated to 350 degrees. Then, I turn off the oven and leave the pan in until cool, usually overnight. All of my cast iron pans now have an awesome "nonstick" finish! I thought the bread might stick just a bit because the pan was new but the loaf fell right out.

Oatmeal Honey Wheat Bread          **Click here to print this recipe**

1 cup lukewarm milk
2 tablespoons softened butter
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast (If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients.)

Mix, knead and let your dough rise until doubled using your favorite method; bread machine, manual or stand mixer. Shape dough into a loaf, put it in a greased pan, cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, cover loosely with foil after 10 minutes to prevent over-browning. Remove from pan immediately and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Jerry commented that he thought this loaf even tasted better than usual...hmmm, must be the cast iron bread pan!

Disclaimer: I did NOT receive anything from anyone for this post, I just wanted to show off my new pan. ;)

Joining Farmgirl Friday, What I Am Eating, the From The Farm Blog Hop and Food On Friday the Bread Edition.

Wordless Wednesday - 11/13/2013

Tuesday's Tails - 11/12/2013

I just loved this little brindle calf used in the cattle handling demonstration at the Empire Ranch Roundup and Open House recently. :)

Joining Madge for the Rurality Blog Hop.

The Baby Sweater...

...is finished!! :)

I really liked working on this pattern, it worked up quickly and went together easily. I used the 12-month-old size instructions because JayCee's dad said she is quite a bit bigger than a normal 6-month-old but it looks really big! Oh well, like Jerry said "Better too big than too small. She can always grow into it."

We are making a quick trip up to Flagstaff this weekend to see everyone (this retirement thing is GREAT!) and Jerry wants to give them the sweater now so I guess I will have to come up with something else for JayCee for Christmas. ;)

P.S. I just noticed this is my 500th post! Woo-hoo!!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday - 11/06/2013

B Troop - 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (Memorial) from Fort Huachuca, AZ presented the colors to kick off the 13th Annual Empire Ranch Roundup and Open House this past weekend.

Linking with Madge for the Rurality Blog Hop.

Tuesday's Tails - 11/05/2013

Bert taking a nap up in the rafters of the carport. :)

Random 5 Sunday

Joining Nancy for Random 5 Friday Saturday Sunday. Okay, okay, I know I'm two days behind but I got busy! ;)

1.  I wanted to share with ya'll how cute the neighbor boys were for Halloween! They are the only Trick or Treaters we ever get and I always enjoy seeing the creative costumes their mom comes up with. Landon was a rodeo clown/bull fighter and Caden was a tourist. The detail of their costumes was amazing!

2.  We had a GREAT time in New Mexico a couple of weeks ago! We really enjoyed visiting with our friends and the Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium was a lot of fun! We got to see a Craig Cameron horse training seminar and performances by Red Steagall and The Texas Playboys.

3.  Unfortunately, Jerry ended up catching the flu while we were there and passed it along to me! He started feeling bad on the drive home and I was two days behind him. It took us a little over two weeks to get completely over it but we are both feeling better now.

4. We had a skunk hanging around last week eating all of the barn kitties food every night. It sprayed Red Dog twice. Thankfully, not too badly and we were able to get rid of most of the smell with a couple of home remedies. We put out a trap and "got" it on the second night.

5.  Last Saturday was my last day at the Farmer's Market. I can start receiving early retirement payments from my old aerospace industry job so I retired! I almost feel guilty about it...I only worked for the company for 11 years and I left in 1991. You will notice I said I almost feel guilty, mostly because I will be getting about the same amount of money each month as I was earning baking full-time for the Farmer's Market. :)