Appalachian Wild Turkey Egg Nog Nip

ya take a little of ya fresh goats milk, crack a couple of ya eggs that ya girls laid for ya today, sprinkle in some Apple Pie Spice, add a dab of sugar, and break out the Wild Turkey - shake it all about, shout, strut, and ya got yaself a good little nip.

Carolina Fowl Stuff Poultry Show

I heart potatoes.

Cold, rainy Sunday. Most of the Faverolle girls are staying in today but one ventured out for water. I have 8 Faverolle girls - Champagne, Doothi, Goldi, Maybelle, Roxi, Pumpkin, JenneyBelle, and BarbraJean - they just lay eggs when it's convenient after all the preening, sunbathing, eating, dust bathing, napping, and gossiping.

Goats want to know if I brought them a goodie.

Our small Bourbon Red turkey flock. 1 tom, and 2 hens, plus 2 young ones, we don't know the genders of them yet. We started with 4 turkey babies but along the way 2 have died. The experts say that turkeys are difficult to raise to maturity, we're learning.

Winston-Salem, NC is 1 1/2hrs away, off the mountain. They always have two Poultry Shows a year, a Spring and a Fall. The Fall Show is always the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year was big again with 1, 483 birds entered.

While the birds are being judged, most people tailgate - talk birds and sell a few birds. Chicken people love to talk about chickens.

Here's my Mike tailgating. We sold 11 chickens and brought 2 back home, a good day. To sell, we took 8 Standard Ameraucana's and 5 bantam Brahma's. Don't get Mike started talking about chickens, he's like Bubba talking about shrimp.

One of the judges checking out a bird.

1,483 birds entered - BIG SHOW! FYI - we don't do Fairs, because they don't have the regulations the APA Shows do. In breeding birds, you have to be VERY careful about your birds being around untested birds. A NC State Inspector comes to my house, draws blood and swabs all my birds and they wear STATE leg bracelets. All birds in a APA Show have to be wearing the bracelets. I don't buy and bring home any birds except on rare occasions and I know the breeder. Best to get hatching eggs and hatch at home rather than bring in mature birds, too risky.

Guinea's

Standard Dark Brahma Hen - a beauty

a Standard Partridge Cochin Rooster - awesome

White-Face Blue Spanish Rooster - not my type.

We have in the past, but Mike and I didn't have any birds entered in the show, we just went down to sell a few because we needed to get down on the number of our birds. If you have birds in the show, then you have to wait until the end to leave and I'm always ready to come home. We ate lunch at the cafeteria, stopped by Sears and bought Mike some work pants, $15 apiece was a good price. In Boone, we don't have many places to shop, we don't even have a SuperWalMart, EGADS! :-) I had a good time, but don't like to stay away from home too long, I'm a nester. And I sure don't want to be mistaken as a desperate Christmas-shopping cardholder. Anyway, we took our bird-selling money and turned around and spent it on lunch and 4 pairs of work pants for Mike but he needed them so we enjoyed our outing and tickled to be home again.

Goat Photo's on TDay! Nov 27.08

Look how SweetPea moves her lips while Mike scratches her chest.

Look in the lower right corner, SweetPea doesn't understand why I'm on the outside looking in, I usually sit in the goat pen, and love on her for a while.

Early, my Cuckoo Marans roo and Clara, SweetPea's Grandma.

Clara and June, Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goat does.

Thanksgiving Eve - post from Franklin 11/26/08

Posted by Franklin
Thanksgiving and Christmas are filled with humans who think they are soooo funny - they've always got the:
now, wouldn't you look good on the table for the holidays, or
you're so big, you could feed several families.
I'm not gonna be food for any dang body.
Besides, those two tubby humans that I live with, you can tell by looking at 'em, thay haven't missed any meals.
Anyway, I've got a lot of responsibilities:
to supervise the poultry lot
be a Daddy to my three little ones - Benji, Annie, and Ally
and take care of their Mama's - Franny and Sally.
So, take your:
isn't he a BIG one (wide-eyed while drooling)
and go stuff yourself!

Sharon tagged me - Tues 11/25/08

Here in NW NC Appalachian Mtns, our snowy November continues today with another round of snow showers expected, and windy and cold conditions are forecasted.

Sharon tagged me, so let's see. Hmmmm

1) Since I'm an only child, yeah, I guess I like talking about myself. I have "only child" syndrome in that I'm very content being alone and entertaining myself. Never had any maternal instincts either - for human babies that is. If someone approached me with a human baby under one arm and a animal baby under the other arm, I feel emotion and reaching for the animal baby. I know that's weird to most people but... and get this, I grew up with my parents and a set of grandparents in the house so it was 4 adults, and me. I was allowed to always have one pet. My folks were cool about pets in the house too.

2) I have worked at the same place for 24 years, AppalCART, public transportation system for Watauga County, NC. A-P-P-A-L as in Appalachian Mtns.

3) Either my cooking has gotten a lot better or restaurant food has gotten much worse. I suppose it's both but I do wish restaurant food didn't taste so "prepared" as in prepared long before I arrived. I don't care about going out to eat that much, I just soon spend restaurant $$$ at the grocery store and go home and cook it up.

4) Mike and I have been married for 18 years. I was thinking the other day that MATCH.COM or any of those matchmaking places would not have put us two together because on paper I'd asked for somebody totally different, but GOD hooked us up, and we do pretty good. I think we're the only people that could put up with each other.

Funny - [This is pre-goats and without Mike's knowledge.] Our local radio station has a SWAP SHOP and I advertised that I was looking for Nigerian Dwarf goats. No more had they made the announcement, my cellphone rang to which I heard from Mike, "we're not getting any damn goats." Well, 5 days later I manipulated him once again, and we were on our way to NE Georgia to pick up our three does. :-) Now, he dearly loves the goats.

5) If you don't have goats, you gotta get some, they have darling personalities. Check out Diane's webpage where we got our goats. Also, we dearly love our chickens, turkeys, and dogs.

6) My fantasy is to be totally self-sufficient like Jackie Clay.

Sun Nov 23.08 semi-homemade

SweetPea is feeling good! Weather-wise, the most pleasant day we've had in quite a while.



We have a house just for collecting egg cartons. Lot's of folks contribute their old cartons.

Early, Cuckoo Marans Cockerel, he's approx 6 months old. He has 20 girls, and so far, he's behaving himself, his girls are not fearful when he comes around, and I've told him to keep that way.

Yuri, has 18 girls - a Russian Orloff girl and 17 Ameraucana girls.

Nothing scientific about my combost bins, lots of leaves, kitchen stuff, dried up container plants, eggs shells, and lots of poultry and goat poop continually added in. Whenever I'm working in the kitchen, I have a poultry bowl and a separate compost bowl going.

one carton of Harris Teeter Fresh Foods Market Organic Black Bean Soup
then I had in two cans of Progresso black beans

top with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream

Also, I made Jiffy-Corn Casserole, the recipe that's been around for years, pretty good.
One can whole kernel corn - drained
One can cream style corn
One box Jiffy Cornbread Mix
1 1/2 cup sour cream
Two eggs (from my girls)

stick of butter butter - melted
chopped onions
sprinkle of chives and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Add all of the ingredients listed in a mixing bowl. Mix until combined. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Bake for about 60 miniutes. Center will set and edges should be brown.

God watches over my backyard. 11.22.08 Sat

God watches over my backyard. We have 3 goats, 6 turkeys, and approx 75 chickens.

Grandma Clara with her grandgirl, SweetPea. Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats. SweetPea is 2 months old.

Clara with her daughter, June. They're peeling off the bark.

June with her baby girl, SweetPea. Do my goats look overweight? Mostly Cuckoo Marans chickens in the background.

Young Bourbon Red Turkey's.

Mike and I went to Sledgehammer Charlie's Smokehouse and Grill for lunch. The food was OK but the total expense was $37! Mike got an appetizer and we left the server a tip, service was good. I'd rather have spent the $37 at the grocery store and cooked at home.

Fri 11/21/08 = 4th snow and so cold

Left the office, went out and took some photo's this morning, geez Louise, was is cold out there! sometimes white-out conditions.

I'm the Secretary for AppalCART, the public transportation system for our county, that's why you see the bus and van pic's, the rougher the weather, the harder we have to operate.

Backyard Photo's from Sept'08 - 11/20/08

The Cuckoo chicken girls raised 3 Bourbon Red turkey babies, the other 2 are under them.

These are photo's taken by me in our backyard Sept '08, weather was much nicer back then, has been bitterly cold and some snow for last few days.

Franklin, our Bourbon Red tom, a pet.

Hazel checking out the fall flowers.

Wed Nov 19

PUMPKIN TIRAMISU


creamy SWEET ONION SOUP

I just had a creamy SWEET ONION SOUP at my favorite Boone restaurant, Mangia Buona
My server said that the chef who made the soup wasn't in so I found this recipe online, sounds 'bout right.

2 1/2 cups of milk
3 cups thinly sliced vidalia onion
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flour
nutmeg
pepper

Heat milk very slowly in a heavy saucepan (lowest heat possible) until it just reaches the boiling point. Remove it from the heat before it actually boils. This is known as scalding the milk. (Don't cool the milk before proceeding). In another saucepan, cook the onions, with salt and mustard, in butter over low heat, until they are very limp and soft, but not brown. Sprinkle the flour into the onions, mixing with a wooden spoon as you sprinkle. Stir and cook the mixture another 3-4 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the scalded milk, stir well, cover and cook another 10-15 minutes over lowest possible heat. Stir it from the bottom every few minutes. It will become thick and creamy. Add a few dashes of pepper and nutmeg to taste. Serve with your choice of garnish.

also at Mangia Buona, I couldn't resist their
PUMPKIN TIRAMISU
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup Sugar
1 Carton (8 oz) mascarpone cheese (cream cheese can be used as a substitute)
1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumpkin
1 cup Gallo family vineyards Moscato, divided
3 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
2 pkg (3 oz each) ladyfingers
1/2 cup Orange juice
1/2 cup Crushed gingersnaps

Preparation
In a small bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar; beat until soft peaks form. In another bowl, beat mascarpone cheese, pumpkin, 1/2 cup Moscato, and pumpkin spice until smooth. Fold in whipped cream; set aside. Dip one package lady fingers, one at a time, into the orange juice. Place in a 13-in x 9-in x 2-in baking dish. Spread with half of the mascarpone pumpkin filling. Dip the 2nd package of ladyfingers into the remaining Moscato; place over filling. Spread remaining filling over the top. Cover & chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Just before serving, sprinkle with gingersnaps.

Tues Nov 18 3rd snowfall and cold

http://blueridgeblog.blogs.com/ Marie's photo


our 3rd snowfall. http://www.booneweather.com/Forecast/Boone
check out the conditions at SugarMountain http://www.skisugar.com/conditions/

still no internet at home, we're connected but no bandwidth, Charter says they're working on it. One of their fella's came yesterday, installed a modem/router combo and they didn't cure the problem either. :-(

2nd Snow Mon 11/17/08

Appalachian State Football = Southern Conference Champs again, again, again and again.

We've had our 2nd snow. http://blueridgeblog.blogs.com/ was very cold and blustery this weekend. TODAY = Hi: 41 Lo: 22Partly to mostly cloudy; Chilly day but turning colder again late afternoon & tonight; Snow showers (west) and flurries (east) beginning around or just after sunset; West wind 5-15 mph becoming NW 10-20 mph with gusts to 40 mph in the afternoon & overnight. http://www.booneweather.com/Forecast/Boone

At home, our modem went out Saturday, Charter-tech guy arrives Sunday but doesn't bring a new modem, duhh, now they hope to work us in today. No internet over the weekend, DT's -delirium tremens (yes, I just looked that up). We spent our time CLEANING the HOUSE, and I watched three btb episodes of HOUSE http://www.fox.com/house/ I try not to watch too much TV but I've caught some reruns of this show and it's pretty good.

I'm reading - http://www.amazon.com/Good-Life-Scott-Nearing/dp/0805209700 my kinda stuff, a book about a twentieth century pioneering venture in a New England community.

The Dec08/Jan09 MotherEarthNews arrived so I'll be sitting in bed tonight reading every word at least once. I'm a big fan. That, and BackwoodHome http://www.backwoodshome.com/ Jackie Clay is my hero. I receive other magazines but those are the two that really thrill me.

Did you know that a goat's eyesight is the equivalent to what a human sees with 8x or 10x binocular power? (yes, I just looked that up).

Saturday Nov 15 at home ALL day, yeah!

Isn't that a unique leaf? Found it in the backyard.

SweetPea jumped in Mike's tool wagon by herself. Then she came over and jumped on me, treated me like a trampoline for about 30 minutes.

Isn't that a cute butt?

Cold and windy. Mike's listening to ASU football on the radio and I've been baking, enjoying all the critters especially SweetPea, and playing Bejewled 2 on my computer. I got hooked on that freebie game when I was laying around while the ankle was mending. Wish I'd get sick of it but not so far.

EVENING WEATHER UPDATE - pouring the snow
http://zone.msn.com/en/bejeweled2/default.htm?intgid=hp_TopFreeOnline_2_Bejeweled2

I made BackForty's PeanutButterCookies http://homesteadingthebackforty.blogspot.com/

INGREDIENTS2 cups peanut butter2 cups white sugar2 eggs2 teaspoons baking soda1 pinch salt1 teaspoon vanilla extractDIRECTIONSPreheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.In a medium bowl, stir peanut butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Press a criss-cross into the top using the back of a fork.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Only thing I would do differently next time, make 'em thinner, they are light, flaky, and oh soo good.

Also, I made my 7-minutes-in-the-microwave apples. Butter in the bottom of the dish, chop apples, sprinkle on ApplePieSpice, add in a little brown-sugar Splenda, cover with plastic wrap, pop in the microwave (high) for 7 minutes, WaLa. Delicious. PeanutButter Cookies and Baked Apples go very well together.

Then, I baked some bread. The house is a wreck but I'm a terrible housekeeper and getting worse all the time, my mother god-rest-her-ole-soul would be so ashamed of me.

I've caught a couple of rerun episodes of HOUSE on TV, that is a great show, very few shows that I can say that I like. http://www.fox.com/house/ I'm getting Mike hooked on it too. Apparently, full episodes can been seen at that site.

HOUSE-ISMS
“You're nuts. Which makes me nuts for arguing with you.”