Frost & Harvest

Kuntry Boy and I got to get outta town for a couple of days recently...and upon our return THIS is what I saw! Excuse me whilst I weep aloud. Sniff, sniff.

Apparently, while we were gone Western Washington experienced her first frost. Well, at least those of us at higher elevations. I can't speak for the lowlands, but I suspect that they may have been spared this time around. But just wait...it's coming for ya.

We've had some very nice fall days, but recently it has turned c-o-l-d. As in itchy skin, chapped lips, and warm up the car in the morning cold. Yuck. I've been dreading this. But I've also been preparing myself for it. And it's time I suck it up.

So yesterday I donned my jacket and earwarmer and poked around in the garden, desperately clinging on to the memory of warm soil.

Sadly, it's time to say good bye to most of my flowers for the year. But I rest assured knowing that my tulip and lily bulbs are cozy underneath a bed of dirt and poo and will be there to bring in the spring after cooling their roots for the winter.

I do have a few beds that still contain some cheeriness...a few varieties that don't mind a little chill like snapdragons, stock, bachelor buttons, sunflowers, and sweet peas. But it's only a matter of time. ;)

Fortunately it's not all doom and gloom in the garden (hmm...am I coming off a little melodramatic? Maybe a bit whiny?) ;)

Anyway, while I was poking around and inspecting the carnage I came across this lovely sight!

Wow! How exciting! Red potatoes ready to be harvested! I was so stoked about this because even though I've been an obsessed gardener for years, this was my first year trying my hand at growing food! As I rooted around I came up with 11 or so of these babies. And a few were BIG! Too fun!

In the same bed as these guys I also grew leeks and onions...so guess what I made for dinner tonight? That's right! Potato leek soup! You are so smart. ;)

Unfortunately, my onions were not as successful as the potatoes or leeks. See these three little baby onions? Yeah, they're more like shallots. Oh, well. I still used 'em. And another grown up onion from the store. Darn it. But it was still fun to use ingredients from the garden to make dinner tonight!

And guess what the best part is? Kuntry Boy LIKED IT!! ***Bells, whistles, party blower, ah-ooo-ga*** Mark this day on the calendar! It's not often that one of my experimental meals gets rave reviews. Or even a "thumbs in the middle". But he kept going on and on about it! Of course, he had to doctor it up with lots of pepper and saltines, but he even does that to Ivar's clam chowder so I didn't take it too personally. ;)

I found the recipe for it at http://www.pinchmysalt.com/. I picked it 'cause it looked like the most straightforward recipe, yet still flavorful. Emeril had a mouthwatering recipe, but Mr. Meat and patatas isn't usually a fan of meals with a "gourmet spin".

Definitely go check out the site, but here's the gist of it:

Sautee up (in 3tbsp. butter) 1 onion (chopped) and 3 leeks (thinly sliced) until just golden brown.

While that's cookin', thinly slice up 6-8 potatoes (depending on the type/size of potato being used).

Once the onions and leeks have turned golden, add in the potatoes and enough chicken broth to just cover the potatoes.

Continue cooking on medium heat until potatoes soften.

Use a masher to, um, mash the potatoes until you reach the desired consistency.


Add in 1 cup (or so) of heavy cream (or half and half or milk). I used heavy cream. 'Cause now that it's getting cold I need some extra insulation. At least that's what I tell myself each winter. ;) Also add in any seasonings you dig...I used sea salt & pepper and a little garlic sea salt too. Can't go wrong with garlic, right?

Cook on low to medium heat for about 15 more minutes to let the soup thicken and then serve up and enjoy!


Since I didn't think the heavy cream was enough of a sin I also sprinkled some cheese on top. Oh, yeah...and I also dipped some fresh bread into it. I'm doomed. Better put the scale away for a few months. Why can't I have the metabolism of a Weimaraner? ;)

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I love it! *20 Kuntry Girl favorites*

Gosh, time sure is flying by this summer! I've been a little absent from blogging lately, because I've been super busy with all sorts of fun shenanigans. :) Like so many of you, I'm sure, I have this huge backlog of blog posts I've been meaning to write but haven't quite been able to find the time for. So, I figured why not just get them all out in one post?

So, I would like to share with you the top twenty things (in no particular order) that I'm lovin' right now, figuring that this should pretty much cover most of my backlogged blog post ideas. Then, the slate will be clean, my mind will be clear and I will be at peace again. For now. ;)

20. I'm lovin' this heat wave we're having in Washington!! I know, I know...it's a little much for us Washington folk who are used to being spoiled by a very temperate summer climate. However, as you're wiping the sweat from your brow walking to your mailbox, I challenge you to remember that our six month winter will be here before we know it and we will be longing for these hot summer days! I know I will be!

19. I'm lovin' the evening breezes that lightly blow past me as I'm outside taking care of my last few chores. They carry on them the scent of horse poo and sweet peas and they are a welcome friend at the end of a sweltering day.

18. I'm lovin' fresh strawberries from the garden and I'm looking forward to the ripening of our blueberries and blackberries.

17. I'm loving' the fact that I got to enjoy some quality summer time with Kuntry Boy at the beach last week! Even if it was just one day, this type of trip is usually not possible 'till Octoberish.

Not that the time of year makes much difference when you're talking Washington beaches! July or October, it's probably gonna be grey, maybe a little drizzly, and a lot chilly! :) But we did get some sun too! I'm lovin' the fact that I got to cruise around on the back of a moped with him and momentarily forget about the fact that there's still another month or so before he's home again!

I love that we got to have a campfire on the beach and that he seemed to really enjoy being able to kick back and relax on a fun summer day. This time of year, he usually only gets one day off about every thirty or forty days.

I loved taking these pictures of him and his friend (he and his friend?) that we went with...his friend's wife & I were cracking up...don't these pictures look so romantic?!

The mopeds parked side by side, the dudes gazing over the water contemplating life...so picturesque. He'd kick my butt if he knew I was posting these, so let's just keep this between us, shall we? ;)

16. I'm lovin' that my garden is starting to take off after a late, late planting this year. I love cutting fresh snapdragons and herbs to bring inside.

I'm looking forward to blooming sunflowers and zinnias. I love my little garden kitty that accompanies (and sometimes annoys) me as I'm watering and weeding. Why do cats always have to park themselves in the middle of what you're doing?!

15. I'm lovin' that my grass experiment is actually working and I'm starting to get a (somewhat) lush front lawn! I've been installing it one wheelbarrow at a time, mixing topsoil, coconut fiber, organic compost, dolomite lime, grass seed, and water then spreading it out, molding the edge to the contours of our flower gardens. I still have lots of work to do, but it's coming along!

14. I'm lovin' my two new "summer bags". I got the green one at the Gap on a super sale and it worked great as a beach bag! The bright one I got from a very good friend who unfortunately lives way too far away from me. She sent this to me on my birthday and I absolutely love it. It's called a Bagolita...I love the uniqueness of these bags!

13. I'm lovin' easy, light summer meals. I love snipping fresh dill from the garden and broiling up some salmon. I love cheese tortellinis with basil, garlic, EVOO, lemon juice, and cheese. Sometimes I top 'em with fresh shrimp or scallops. P.S. Yes, Patches, that is bag cheese. I'm so ashamed. I love my staple summer dinner of an "avocado omelet taco". Using eggs in a carton (Best of the Egg by Lucerne), I fry myself up an "egg tortilla", sprinkle on some salt and pepper, top with Italian cheese (again, from a bag) and then fold over a mix of cubed avocado and chopped onion and tomato. Super quick and good for me! Love it! I also love my summer dessert of plain yogurt topped with honey from my mom's beehives. So good!

12. I'm lovin' grooming my smooth summer horsey. I'm especially lovin' a new skin treatment I got for him called Calm Coat. This stuff smells SO good and has all sorts of healing benefits. I recently read about mixing it with Vaseline and Campo Phenique for a bug bite salve/repellent. Perfect to rub on Caspian's belly with a sponge, since he's a buger about fly spray. Although, I'd prefer not to use petroleum, so I'm trying to think of something else similar that I can mix it with. Any suggestions? Lanolin? Five O'Clock Somewhere? Any expert advice?

11. I'm lovin' the surcingle and long lines I got for training. Speaking of training, I'm really lovin' our trainer. She's so patient, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. She's super helpful and above everything, she's extremely generous. One session, she brought out a bunch of her saddles to help me determine what type of saddle will be the best fit for Caspian. Last session, she brought me five of her own books to read to reinforce what we've been learning.

10. I'm lovin' Dover's Summer Sale catalog, from which I just ordered two new pairs of breeches and a pair of super cool boot socks. I swear I did need these, 'cause I only had one pair of junky consignment breeches. I need to stop looking at the catalog now, though, because I probably don't need a pair in every color (including plaid). Nor do I need a pair of half-chaps, a new helmet, and multiple pairs of gloves. Yet. ;)

9. I'm lovin' the sweet smell of sun baked local hay permeating the still summer air. I love driving down our highway with my windows down and filling my lungs with it. If I could bottle that smell, I'd put it in one of those reed diffusers! :)

8. I'm lovin' the fact that local farmland that two years ago would have been snatched up by a developer is now being farmed again. There's a new farm that's started right down the road from me that's growing organic produce. I love passing by the workers each morning and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that their venture will be successful.

7. I'm lovin' living in a small town. I've really come alive living in the country again. It suits me perfectly. I love all the work that goes with it, even if it can be overwhelming at times. I love that I'm on a first name basis at the hardware store and the post office. I love that I have awesome neighbors that watch over me and our house and whom I can trust to take excellent care of my horse when I'm out of town.

6. I'm lovin' Pioneer Woman's new Tasty Kitchen website. She's really outdone herself now!

5. I'm lovin' my new pair of gardening clogs. They're SUPER dorky, but I don't get a funky sock line when I wear them. Plus, they match the tank top that I wear under my denim shorts overalls. Now is this Kuntry Chic or what?!

4. I'm lovin' the snakes that slither through the tall grass as I walk up our hill to water our trees. Seriously. I've made my peace with them. Only because they're not poisonous. ;)

3. I'm lovin' the fact that the Jenny Doe has been getting a lot of rest lately. I don't love that it's because my pastures are fried, but I'm not a huge fan of mowing. Well, I actually don't really mind it, it's pretty relaxing (unless I'm getting stuck traversing our hills) but it takes up SO MUCH TIME!

2. I'm lovin' waking up early on Sunday mornings so that I have a little time to be lazy with my crazies. They seriously know when it's the weekend and they love to lounge around with me before starting our day.

Dogs are so smart. It's crazy how they have their little internal clocks.

1. Last, but not least, I'm LOVIN' all my blogging buddies! You all provide me with great daily entertainment, not to mention lots of wonderful information and insights. I might not always get a chance to comment, especially if I'm doing a quick read, but I really appreciate everyone's stories and helpful tips!

Some of my most recent favorite informative posts have been:

**Kacy with her post on hoof boots. I've been contemplating what type to get Caspian and can use all the info. possible.

**One Red Horse with tips for helping to strengthen a horse's back. I've recently started some exercises with Caspian that our trainer showed me so this post was very timely! It was amazing to see her before & afters!

**Five O'Clock Somewhere with her healing salve post. Quite impressive!

Okey dokey, I think that's it! What are some of your favorite things right now? :)

When life gives you lemons...

...go make yourself a fruit tart. And then go plant some daisies.

Okay, so yesterday was one of "those days". I haven't had one of "those days" for quite sometime and I have been very much enjoying the lack of drama or major strife in my life these days...things certainly haven't always been this way. My 28 years on this planet have definitely been full of ups and downs, and I'm well aware of the fact that sometimes things are just out of our control.

Having this awareness, I really strive for a drama-free existence and for the most part enjoy a pretty darn simple life. Which suits me just fine. However, with this being the case, I think having one of "those days" affects me more now than it used to...even when it's not really all that bad. I'm a pretty upbeat person, though, and will generally try to see the positive side in most situations. It just might take me a day or so to get there. Having said that, I do feel much better today. ;)

You know how the saying goes...when it rains....yep, you got it. When it rains, it pours. Well, I guess I don't need to be quite so dramatic. It didn't really pour on me yesterday. It was more like a drizzle. A heavy drizzle though.

The crappiest part of yesterday was finding out that our trusty truck has sprung a major oil leak and will need the rear main seal replaced. Which just happens to be the most expensive type of oil leak repair there is. The whole transmission needs to be pulled in order to get to it. The part itself is cheap, cheap, cheap, but the job is super labor intensive. If you were lucky, you might just be dealing with cracked valve covers. Oh, but wait! We have those too! Cha-ching! Not to mention a whole laundry list of other maintenance issues that need to be addressed. Cha-ching, cha-ching!

The other crappy parts really weren't that big of a deal at all, but they didn't help my sour mood. First, I had an appointment to go get hay. The sky looked a little threatening, but so far it hadn't started raining. Until I got the trailer hooked up and was heading down to the barn. Of course. Thankfully, it was just a light drizzle passing through. Then, after unloading the hay, I leveled one of my temporary T-Posts with the trailer. Comical. Then, the trailer got stuck on my towing ball. Had to try all sorts of trick maneuvers to get it to lift off. Took the dogs for a walk after all this, thought it would be good to clear my head. Dogs not so cooperative. Caleb gave me a "flat tire" in his excitement to get his leash on. I might have cursed when this happened. Neither felt like walking politely, but instead wanted to pull me in two separate directions the whole time.

After the walk, I decided to to work with Caspian a bit. I took some deep breaths first...no point in working him up too. I felt like I was in a pretty good state of mind and everything started out well. We were working on "round penning" without the lunge line and he was doing great until he decided it was time to be done and that he didn't want to trot clockwise. Which he demonstrated to me by kicking out at me when I was getting after him. Buger. He got in some trouble for this one. Don't be surprised if you don't hear about it on his blog. I think he's a little abashed about the whole thing. Thankfully, he wasn't really packing any oomph behind it and he just barely grazed my hand...didn't even leave a sore spot. But still, way to kick your Kuntry Girl when she's down!

I finally just had to get a good chuckle out of it all...most of it was comical. Then, I started singing that Wynonna song, "I Feel Lucky"....ya know how it goes at the beginning "the stars are stacked against you girl, get back in bed"? I kept telling myself, "you should just call it a night and get in bed before something else happens!"

So anyway, back to the truck. After finding out the good news we went through the usual debate...fix the truck or break down and get a new one? My hubby has actually been dreaming of a new truck for at least a year now, but it just isn't all that practical at this point in time. We can't see forking over a big ol' down payment as well as taking on a car payment (and increased insurance) for a truck that would sit for 6 months out of the year. However, if we traded in our truck, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But, it really is a good truck and we always said that even when we do get another one someday, we will always keep this one around. It's a perfect little workhorse...which has also happened to be a great every day truck for us.

For the most part, we've been lucky with it...we've taken care of the regular maintenance...timing belt, brakes, etc. This is the first surprise it's pulled on us.

Anyway, after mulling it over, we decided that the best option would be to fix it. Hopefully, this will get us a few more good years of life from it. Neither one of us is all that comfortable with taking on a new truck payment in this economy. Not for the kind of truck we would want anyway!

I feel thankful because at least we have the means to get the repair done. However, I'm irritated because that means I'm probably going to need to re-evaluate the current state of my projects. Again, I always try to find the positive side of things so here goes:

• I will now be seeding our lawn, instead of laying sod. This is going to save quite a bit of $$ and won't be so labor intensive. I was initially overwhelmed by the thought of doing it this way, but I think I'm gonna do it in sections so getting it established will be more manageable. Another benefit is that I will be able to follow the contours of our flowerbeds easier, rather than having to cut a ton of sod to the correct shape.
• Rather than buy new plants for the landscape, I can divide ones I already have. Also, I've been meaning to dig up some of our native daisies for our flower gardens. So tonight I did. I really love them and they were free! :)
• Instead of getting overly ambitious (which I tend to do) and starting all sorts of new projects, I'm going to hunker down and focus on finishing ones that I've started. I will work on collecting rocks around the property (for free!) to finish placing around the pond to cover the liner. Instead of stressing about getting all of our fencing up, I will focus on a couple of areas. I will work on digging into our dirt mound (free native dirt left over from excavating) to build up our flowerbeds around the house. This list could go on and on. The point is, I have plenty to finish and most of it won't cost a dime. I think every once in awhile it's good to get a little reality check.

And now, for those of you who have been patient enough to read through this lengthy diatribe...thank you. I shall now share with you the recipe for the tart I referred to at the beginning of this post. For those of you who got to this post by clicking on my "cooking" label...very sorry about the novel that preceeded this recipe. ;)

CREAM CHEESE FRUIT TART

• 1 pie shell...regular or graham cracker. Your choice. I used graham cracker. And I really liked it. Not that you have to like it the way I like it. (Does anyone know what movie that's from? If you do, I will be super impressed.) Moving on...
• 2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese (let it soften a little)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons of lemon, orange, or lime rind (whatever kind you're feelin' like)
• 2 tablespoons of juice from whatever fruit you chose
• Whatever fruit you feel like arranging on top (see my selections below)

1. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, fruit rind and fruit juice.
2. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl often, about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Transfer into your chosen crust.
4. Chill at least one hour before placing fruit on top.

Super, super easy (and way yummy) recipe.

For this tart, I used orange juice and rind. The fruits I used were kiwi, banana, mandarin oranges, raspberries, and a pineapple bulls-eye in the middle. I felt compelled to elaborate on my selections due to the foggy plastic cover obscuring the view. What kind of food photographer am I anyway?!

This was my first attempt and for it I used lemon. I liked this one, but not as much as the orange one.

Alright, so there you have it...even when things aren't so great, I think to myself...there's gotta be somethin' good about it. If nothing else, it could probably always be worse, right? Not that I'm hoping for that. Now I'm crossing my fingers. Hopefully I didn't jinx myself. ;) Thanks blogger buddies for letting me ramble on!

Keep on keepin' on!

Easter 'shrooms

Well, here I sit stuffed like an Easter basket after a very food filled Easter Sunday. ;) My day started with breakfast at my house with my mom and step dad. It was really nice to have them up...my hubby is on the road right now, so it was really fun to have someone to cook breakfast for! Even better that it was them and that it was Easter breakfast! I made home made orange julius' (omitting the raw egg...yuck) and Pioneer Woman's Sleepin' in Omelette. Oh my gosh, that stuff was AWESOME and got rave reviews. You definitely gotta try it sometime.

Then, it was off to church and then back to the kitchen to make stuffed mushrooms for a get together at my in-laws.

This is the recipe I shall share with you now.

At the risk of looking like a PW wannabe I'm gonna include pics 'cause it's so much easier to illustrate the process this way...

What you'll need:

• Some 'shrooms (I usually get about 1/2 bag full)
• 1 small container of your fav. dip (I use bacon & onion)
• 1 box of Stove Top stuffing (I use chicken...but it's up to you!)
• Bacon bits (optional)
• Italian cheese (NOT optional) ;)
• Butter baby!
  Cooking spray
• 9x13 baking dish

Here we go!

Begin by cleanin' those 'shrooms...to expedite the process, I really love this vegetable wash. Just stick whatever it is that you're needing clean in a big bowl, pour a little of this on top and then add water. Let 'em soak for just a little bit, then swoosh them around to remove the loosened dirt n' stuff...

Then, just throw those babies in a colander and rinse 'em off...the solution rinses off really easily and doesn't leave any residue behind. See?

While these are draining you might want to start setting out the rest of your ingredients. You will want the butter to be a bit soft...

Okay, next up (once these are done draining), you're gonna start popping the stems outta each mushroom cap. Just throw them away, or if you have a couple of ravenous dogs that won't leave you alone when you're cooking, feel free to play a little game of "mushroom stem catch it" with them.

Okay, moving on...once all those stems are off, you're gonna start scooping out the 'shroom caps. As you scoop, go ahead and stick these "innerds" into a bowl, along with your package of dry Stove Top.

I've found that the best utensil for scooping is a teeny tiny metal measuring spoon, like this one. A regular spoon just doesn't work for me.

Oh, yeah...right about now is when you probably want to pre-heat your oven. 375 please. Don't be like me and forget...I always do that!

Okay, back to scooping...here we go...

After all these babies are gutted, plop them into your sprayed cooking dish and then go ahead and add a little spoonful of the dip to each cap.

Then, even though your dip has bacon (unless you've strayed from this recipe and chosen a different kind), I like to add some bacon bits to the top of the dip. Oh, yeah...BRING ON the bacon.

The next step is to spoon some of your stuffing mix on top of the dip and bacon bits.

Almost done...

Next, sprinkle with the mandatory italian cheese (or just mozerella if you're not into four cheese).

Last, slice up a few pats of butter and place all over the top of your creation. Then, pop into your preheated oven (you remembered right??) for about 20 minutes.

If you have a watchdog on hand to keep an eye on your leftover stuffing, that's perfect...you never know, you might want to cook it up for a little snack. Lucky for me, Cabela doesn't mind helping to keep Caleb away...

Okay...pretend 20 minutes have gone by. Here I am placing my 'shrooms into my handy dandy Pampered Chef carrier given to me by my sister in law.

She's the one who requested that I bring these mushrooms today. To me, stuffed mushrooms seem more "Thanksgiving-ish", but when she gave me this carrier, it came with the condition that I must bring these mushrooms to each and every potluck style family function. ;) I totally felt like a pizza delivery boy with this in my car, but it sure kept them hot for my half hour drive. Great invention in my opinion!

Alrighty then, it's getting late now and as I type this Caleb is coming in the computer room to tell me that it's time to go cuddle on the couch. Doggie mommy duty calls!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!