Blueberry Ice Cream

The wild blueberry season is coming to an end.  I've been out picking and I think I'll go one more time.  Maybe tonight.  I can most, I freeze some.  I make a lot of blueberry mufins and blueberry cobbler.  The other night we made blueberry ice cream.  I found a simple recipe.

Blueberry Ice Cream

2 cups cleaned blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

Bring blueberries, salt and sugar to a boil.  Mash berries and simmer for 5  minutes.  Cool slightly and put in blender with milk.  Puree until smooth.  Stir in cream.  Cool mixture, covered, for at least two hours.  Freeze in your ice cream maker. 

I discovered that if I just open a pint of blueberry sauce and mix with milk and cream I can freeze that.  How easy.  The recipe calls for puttting the mixture through a sieve before you cool it.  I didn't.  I like berries, whole and in part in my ice cream.

Well it's off to the garden.

God bless your day as you bless Him.

From Glory Farm

Gardening and Free Plants

The children were all gone for the week end, so my dh and I took a ride down to the Twin Cities.  We picked up a loader for our Int'l 560.  Once we get it on the tractor, I'll be able to drive into the barn and scoop up the manure (excurse me, fertilizer) and haul it on the garden.  This wheelbarrow thing I've been doing is far too labor intensive.

We also stopped to see my brother, who works at a greenhouse down there.  They were in the process of throwing out all of the last of their plants!  They gave us shrubs, yarrow, lilies, and a couple other perennials.  We could have had a truck full!  They threw out lilacs, junipers, hydrangeas, etc.  just cuz they couldn't find anyone to take them.  So maybe there's an idea.  Leave your phone number with the greenhouse you do business with and have them call you when they need to get rid of inventory.

I'd like you to see my garden.  Next entry I'll try to post more pics.  The weather has been great for growing things.  Problem is the weeds like it too.  Today is officially garden day here at the farm.  No housework or baking.  Just weeding, freezing, canning and harvesting.

Our two youngest are at their mom's all week.  They've never been away like this before and I'm a case.  Worry is something that doesn't help and doesn't need to be done.  I do it anyways.  Praying that God's supernatural peace blankets us. 

From Glory Farm

 

 

Natural Dyes

I have been spinning and now I think I'll try dying the yarn.  All of the roving that I have is white and I'd like to experiment with plant dyes. 

First I need to soak the yarn in a fixative and simmer for an hour.  I'm going to try rasberry dye.  It's supposed to make a red dye.  To use rasberries I need to use salt for a fixative.  Other plants I might try are onion skins for orange, coffee grounds for brown, strawberries for pink, blueberries for blue, beets for a deep red, spinach or nettles for green.  These are all plants that I have around here.  There are a lot of plants that can be used for dyes and  a lot of information out there on dying.

I saw some of you have dyed yarn with kool-aid.  The colors are so beautiful.  How do you set the colors?  Do you have to do anything special?

Have a great week-end.

From Glory Farm

A picture of my garden

I thought I'd post a picture of our garden.  I guess it's a bit like bragging, but it's growing so well.  We've had great growing conditions this summer.  God is good.  This is the biggest garden I've ever had and I think we'll go even bigger next year, even if we don't bring it to the farmer's market.  There are so many people who don't have gardens and really like the fresh produce.

It's a bit hard to tell what's what.  Sunflowers, onions, spinach, herbs, tomatoes, etc.

Now in the category of using time wisely, I've placed my spinning wheel next to my computer.  I have dial-up and spend a lot of time playing solitaire waitning for pages to load.  Now I spin waiting for pages to load.  This way I'll finally finish this old roving and be able to start on the new stuff.  I can also spin when I talk on the phone.  It's great.

Hope you enjoy your day.  Bring glory to God.

From Glory Farm

Berries and Broccoli and Peas-Oh My!

Our garden is such a blessing.  It's producing much better than I thought a first year garden would.  I planted much more than we needed, thinking that I would be selling at a farmer's market, but it hasn't happened yet.  I put in my application at the nearest one, but they said that they really didn't want me or my produce.  Oh well.  Now I have vegetables to share with everyone.  Neighbors, parents, I even bring a cooler full to church.  I froze snow peas today and we've been using the broccoli as it's been getting done.  When I go to the grocery store, I don't have to buy vegies or much for fruits because my family is satisfied with fresh peas.  They eat them all day long.  God is so good.  I'm still not sure what to do with the abundance.  I may try a farmer's market 50 miles from here, but to tell you the truth, I'm a bit leary because of my experience with that last farmer's market.  I'm not sure where God is leading. 

Also, the blueberries and the rasberries are getting done.  We have a bunch back in the woods to the east of the house.  I love to put up blueberry sauce.  We have it on pancakes, yogurt , ice cream and in smoothies all winter long.  I don't put up blueberry jam anymore.  Everyone likes the sauce more.

This has been a fine day.  How does the song go?..This good day, it is a gift from You.  The world is turning in it's place because You made it to.  I will sing, sing a song of praise for this good day.

Thank you.

From Glory Farm

Hello...

This day is gorgeous.  We picked up a few fireworks for tonight.  I know the kids want to go somewhere and do something today, being the fourth and all, but we have so much hay to cut yet.  The weather is cooperating and we need to get it done.  My honey has unexpectedly gotten some time off.  He's a big help when it comes to making hay.  Maybe we'll be able to do something later this afternoon. 

My garden here is doing great.  Weeds and all.  This soil is so much better than when we lived up North.  I'll post pictures when I beat the weeds down a bit. 

Hope you all have a blessed Fourth.

From Glory Farm