This morning I put up a ton of spinach. Picked it yesterday then began the process for freezing it! I use this really awesome resource from Bon Appetit: https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/preserve-leafy-greens.
- Rinse clean
- Roughly chop (DANGEROUS --> see below)
- Blanch in boiling water
- Cool down in ice bath
- Squeeze (really hard) all the excess water out
- Make into little golfballs
- Place individual balls on cookie sheet to freeze
- Next day, place all the spinach balls into baggies and use Food Saver to suck all the air out
- Place in freezer
- Enjoy ALL winter long
So this system works with lots of things in which I have experimented: Swiss chard, spinach, and beet tops. I also plan to try it with kale. It is wonderful for smoothies....you already have the perfect size to go in there....just pop a ball in smoothie and add other ingredients. I am also steaming and freezing red and yellow beets which are also a smoothie staple. All this work now will pay off this winter when the sun goes down at 5 pm and doesn't get up until 7 am. We will be all cozied in our home using all the wonderful, bountiful blessings God has provided this year.
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| Turns out your nail does not stop a sharp knife. |
I have started going out to the barn to pick up the bigger kittens in order to get them friendly and handle them more. We go out to the gardens in my basket and then back to their home in the basket. They are sweet little things and sure do love them some gardenin'!
As you can see there are only four little ones. I was laying in the hammock last week when Heath came home. He asked if I had fed the kittens yet and I hadn't. I also have been giving an antibiotic and cleaning their little eyes twice a day to help them feel better. When I went out there, I only saw 3 of the 4, thinking to myself, maybe Fuzzy was just in with the chickens. Sometimes, I find them in the chicken coop mingling....may be an identity crisis since they lost their mama at an early age. Regardless, they all get along and the chickens don't see to mind the kittens and the kittens don't try to eat the birds, so it's all good! Right when I was starting to administer the meds to the three, Heath walked up. When I told him that I thought Fuzzy was still in with the girls....he had a very sad look on his face. We exchanged glances and I knew what had happened, Fuzzy had passed away and Heath gently had already take care of him. Tears, tears, and more tears poured out. I had gotten so attached to this little guy and he had just made it to his second round of going to the vet, our little miracle kitten. He is no longer suffering. He was a sick little guy and Heath reassured me that I did the very best I could. We had such an awesome moment as he embraced me, allowing me to cry, reassuring me on the barn floor. It was such a treasured moment. He has such a BIG heart!
We decided no more naming animals as we have lost so many lately....all but 3 of our chicks we raised from babies, 2 ducks, 3 cats, 1 turkey, and now this kitten. No more names. I told him that I just don't know what to do differently to stop losing all of our animals. He said the only way you will not lose animals is if you don't have any. True. Life must go on and we just do the best we can to love and care for them and to provide them what they need.
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| I matted and framed Jean's coloring page! Spray painted an old frame teal!! It looks great in my yellow walled office! |
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| We are doing something special for our boss' birthday tomorrow. My part was the flowers. I purchased some sunflowers since ours aren't in bloom yet and then got creative! Even used Tiger Lilies and dill! Picked, arranged, and delivered! |
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| Finally got those Superhero muffins mixed up and in the oven. |
By the way, I am looking for muffin tins that are waxy, you know, the ones you usually see at a bakery. You can have a larger muffin without the muffin top sticking to the pan or the actual muffin sticking to the muffin tin. If you know where to purchase them, please let me know. It's a struggle because these muffins turn out different each time since I use different ingredients each time depending on what I have available. I purchased tin cups thinking they wouldn't stick, but I freeze these and pull them out to eat.....turns out tin doesn't microwave well. The paper cups stick and make a horrible mess.....any suggestions, I'm open! :) These muffins are delicious!
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