Off to a Summer Dessert Social

This weekend, we were invited to celebrate the official beginning of summer at the small farm of another large family who is hosting a dessert social.  We love attending this family's seasonal outdoor parties because they have the most organized hobby farm, a ton of other children there to play with, adorable farm animals, and the best food served up and eaten under the roof of their immaculate barn.  I am always inspired to do more on our own little farm after leaving there.  The last event in the fall was a stone soup supper with one huge kettle of stone soup with real turtle meat included and another steaming kettle of hearty beef stew.  I have to admit that I chickened out and had the delicious beef/veggie stew.  My husband is more adventurous than I and thoroughly enjoyed the turtle soup though.

Petite Cherry Cheesecakes and Lemon Squares

Since this was a dessert night, I wanted to bring something sweet and summery that would be easy to eat with our fingers.  I opted for these petite cherry cheesecakes and lemon squares.  My 10 year old son begged me to let him help since he has decided he wants to learn how to cook and bake this summer.  He is my big eater, and he has learned through the years that the one who helps Mom in the kitchen is also the most likely to reap the rewards of licking beaters, scraping the bowl, and getting the chocolate chips or other sweet morsels that might spill out of the bag.  His little sister, who also wanted to help for the same reasons, was relegated by him to be the placer of the cupcake liners in the muffin tins before we started.  Therefore, she was out of the kitchen when it was beater licking time.

Petite Cherry Cheesecakes

2 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened          1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup sugar                                                      24 vanilla wafers

2 eggs                                                                 1 (24oz.) can cherry pie filling

1 tsp. lemon juice

Beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Line small muffin pans with paper baking cups and place a vanilla wafer in bottom of each cup.

Fill with cream cheese mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until set.

Top each with about 1 Tbsp. of pie filling.  Chill.  Makes 2 dozen.

Finished Petite Cherry Cheesecakes

I had the help of my 13 year old daughter when making the lemon bars while most everyone else was out swimming in the pool after helping their dad move mulch into the many flower beds.  She just couldn't seem to be able to keep her older brother from coming in and out when he sensed we had emptied the bowl into the cake pan so he could get the scrapings.  Honestly, when there is baking going on, I seem to have very interested and willing helpers.  I wish they were as eager to help wash the dishes and hang the laundry.

Lemon Squares

Box lemon cake mix

1 stick butter, softened

1 egg, beaten

Mix these 3 ingredients until crumbly/mushy and press into 9x13 cake pan.  I think it's the consistency of semi-dry playdough.

Top Layer:

2 eggs, beaten                                                       1 pound bag of powdered sugar

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened               1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all these ingredients until creamy, and pour over crust and bake 50 minutes - 1 hour at 325 degrees.  (I love my pink polka dotted spatula found in a bargain bin at Giant!)

After cooling, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.  I chill mine in the refrigerator.

Finished Lemon Squares

After changing into something a bit more casual, we are off.  I can't wait to sample the sweet treats that others will be bringing.  Happy Summer, Everyone!

Slow Summer Afternoons at a Preppy Mountain Farm

Our relaxed pace continues into our afternoons, at least for this week.  After lunch, we spend the next several hours enjoying the summer by...

climbing trees, such as this cherry tree that has seen better days...

snacking on homemade yogurt pops or freeze pops, depending on what we have in our freezer...

taking a dip in the pool (some of us dip less than others)...

practicing our instruments so we don't get too rusty over summer break...

taking catnaps on the front porch...

and in creative pursuits, such as trying new recipes,

building with Legos,

and in new nail designs.

We usually avoid doing much farm work or outdoor chores in the afternoons and do what most people did before air conditioning became available.  Our century old farmhouse still has no central cooling system; although, we do break out a window unit for the really hot and humid days.  Last summer was so mild in the Northeast that we only had it turned on a few times the entire season.  We have already had it on more than that this summer.  After the long winter we had, I am not complaining.

Summer Mornings at a Preppy Mountain Farm

Years ago, when we first began this farming adventure, and while we were still homeschooling all the younger children, someone asked me what our days look like.  Now that everyone is home on summer break, life feels much like it did then.  This is a glimpse into our summer mornings on a preppy mountain farm.

Walking barefoot in the dewy grass that always seems to need mowing.

Enjoying coffee and a look at the latest Country Living magazine on my porch rocker, which was a Mother's Day gift from Cracker Barrel last year.

Collecting eggs, which is now a daily egg hunt since the hens are currently free-ranging...

...and picking vegetables from the garden before it gets too hot and buggy.

Walking Tippy on one of our mountain paths.  I think she was waiting for me to join them.

Checking out growing fruit and hoping the apples will survive the chipmunk population this summer.

Playing a game of checkers or other board game on the front porch.  Note that painting our 3 porches is on the summer project to-do list this year.

I hate to admit that there is a little bit of electronic use too.

Minecraft, Age of Empires, and Pinterest are particularly popular in our house right now.

Sprucing up my middle aged feet with these cool footless beaded sandals made for me by my teenage daughter a few years ago at a summer camp.

I cherish these lazy mornings at home and fight the pressure to over-schedule our summer days with too many day trips, camps, lessons, sleepovers, or playdates.  There is some of that, of course, but I really hope our children grow up with memories of summer vacations filled with time to relax, to daydream, to even get a little bit bored.  I guess I want these summers while the children are still relatively young to feel as if they are occurring in slow motion.

Favorite Summer Dinner: Pasta Primavera

One of our favorite meals on the farm during the hot summer months is pasta primavera.  It's light, simple to make, and uses whatever summer vegetables we have in our gardens or what we have purchased from local farmers markets or Amish neighbors.  This past week, I actually used whatever I had left in the refrigerator, which happened to be onions, green peppers, mushrooms, and garlic.  I think the garlic is essential.

I used to saute the vegetables in butter, but due to gallbladder issues, we have switched to olive oil.  This is also more in line with the anti-inflammatory diet my husband and I try to adhere to as much as possible.

My husband has me hooked on cooking in cast iron skillets.  The only seasonings I added to this were salt and pepper, but if I use greens such as Swiss chard, kale, or spinach, I also add either balsamic vinegar or a locally made maple vinegar near the end of the cooking time.  Serve over the finished pasta, and add Parmesan cheese if desired.  Sometimes I sprinkle on some fresh parsley or oregano from our herb beds.  This is filling, tasty, but still light enough to go back outside to finish up weeding, mulching, mowing, or moving fence panels.  If it's a more relaxing evening, the meal is not too heavy to be followed by a dip in the pool or a hike up the mountain.  We often eat this weekly during the summer months.

Healthy Sweets Kids Love to Make: Honey Balls

Our family is always on the lookout for good-tasting, healthy sweets that are quick to make.  If they are fun for the children to mix up and put together, that's a double bonus.  A recipe that I have been using for decades that we never tire of is for Honey Balls.

Just four ingredients are used, and this only takes about 15 minutes to create, depending on how many little helpful hands you have. 

 In a smaller mixing bowl, stir together 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1/2 cup of honey.  In another bowl, mix 1 cup of quick oats and 1 cup of dry milk powder.  Then just add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.  I have to get in there with my hands to get it thoroughly combined.  This is part of the fun of it if you have children who like to get gooey.  I have one child who does not.

Finally, everyone gets to roll it into small balls and then refrigerate.  Licking the extra sticky goo off fingers is optional.

Pink Zebra Birthday Bash

This weekend our thirteen year old daughter and six of her friends (plus her little sister) celebrated her birthday with a pink/zebra print themed pool and slumber party.  We used Memory Mixer scrapbooking software to make the party invitations.  Surprisingly, I lucked out and actually found the tablecloths, centerpieces, plates, and cups at the local Dollar General store, which had an amazing selection of zebra print and pink items.  Our daughter wanted typical teen foods that I normally would not purchase, such as pink sodas, fudge striped cookies, and chips, which I did indulge in.  There were also strawberries and cherries with fudge dip, freeze pops for around the pool, and pizza.

The walls and doorways of our farmhouse kitchen were decorated with pink zebra print birthday banners and black streamers, which were also found at Dollar General.

I stood on our kitchen table on my tiptoes and prayed it would not break while hanging pink stars and more black streamers from the ceiling around our black chandelier.

We have an old fashioned (and not so attractive) coal stove in our kitchen.  I tried to give it a makeover by covering it with zebra print wrapping paper.  In the center, we filled a basket with individual bags of popcorn and an assortment of zebra print, pink, and black socks for the girls to wear that night while watching movies and eating their popcorn.  This is also where we put the gifts.  The gift wrap and socks were found at Dollar General.

I discovered a recipe for a Nutella Crunch Ice Cream Cake on Pinterest that my daughter wanted me to make.  Because I do not have a springform pan, I had to leave it in a regular cake pan, which is not nearly as attractive.  I was attempting to make zigzag patterns with the extra Nutella crispy pieces, but it did not look quite the way I had hoped.  I tried to jazz it up with zebra print cardboard cupcake toppers (from Dollar General) and black and white candles (purchased from Giant.)  No one was disappointed in the taste, however.  This ice cream cake is simple to make and delicious.  The recipe can be found at afamilyfeast.com.

By 9 PM, my husband and the boys were settled in at our cabin, and I took our six year old daughter upstairs for the night.  I left the teen girls downstairs with their new socks and popcorn, old movies, and nail polish for a night of slumbering.  Not including the food, the entire party cost less than $50, which I thought was quite a bargain for seven teenage girls.  It was also fairly simple, low-stress, and fun to prepare.  Dollar General is not usually my store of choice, but in this case, it had everything I was looking for---and more--- at low prices.  

Growing the Gardens: Summer Project #1

We filled our SUV with flowers, herbs, and pepper plants.

In order to offset the costs of feeding a large family organic food from the supermarket, and as a learning experience for our children, we grow some of our own fruits and vegetables in the summer.  In years past, we have had as many as six different gardens filled simultaneously along with some berry patches and grapevines.  However, just as we have reduced the number of animals we keep, we have also reduced the number of gardens, at least temporarily until we can keep ahead of the relentless weeds that always get the best of us by August or September.

Right now we have one garden below our pool containing comfrey, sugar peas, radishes, green onions, and some surviving flowers.  My husband is responsible for the edible plants; my 13 year old daughter and I planted the flowers.  Even though the spinach and Swiss chard did not come up, the rest of his plants look much better than mine, and we have already had the privilege of sampling the first peas and radishes.  The comfrey is for our goats and sheep and is a perennial, so it requires no work from us.  The sunflowers, zinnias, gerber daisies, cosmos, and marigolds, on the other hand, have required much effort to keep alive in our suddenly summer-like heat.  Even with daily watering and weeding, we probably lost half of what we planted, which is very disappointing.  I had high hopes that we would have rows of lush, beautiful flowers visible from the pool that would hide from view the less attractive vegetable plants that my husband always plants.  For most of the years we have lived here, I left all of the planting up to my husband because I was too busy caring for babies and toddlers to help much.  This year, I decided I would take a more active role, and I wanted vegetation that was beautiful, not just edible.  Instead, I have to admit that he is a better gardener than I, and there is much more involved than a morning shopping at the local nursery and dropping some seedlings into the ground..

This was our garden 3 weeks ago right after the flowers were planted.

All is not lost, however, and I have learned some valuable lessons from this experience:

●No matter how perfect the plants look at the greenhouse, without proper care, they will be brown, withered, pathetic skeletons within a week.
●Well water does not compare to rain water.  Although I have no control over that one, I was guilty of not always watering in the morning or watering enough.
●I mistakenly thought I would not need to add any fertilizer since this garden spot temporarily housed our chickens a couple of winters ago.  We also threw our scraps there for the chickens, so it was essentially a composting bed for awhile.  Right now, though, it is dry, brown, and rocky with barely an earthworm in site.  My husband took composting straw bedding from the barn to put around his vegetable seedlings, but I did not want to take this step, partially because it was more work and partly because I did not want straw with bits of decomposing sheep and goat droppings around my colorful flowers that were for everyone to look at and admire.
●Finally, I planted about two weeks before we had a huge pile of mulch to put down.  Within an hour or two of watering, the ground around my flowers looked bone dry again.  Additionally, even though my flowers were shrinking in size, the weeds growing up around them seemed to multiply and spread every time I glanced down there.  I would pull them up,  but the next day there would be more.  With all of my other responsibilities, I did not have time to spend hours in that small garden each day.  Mulching immediately would have definitely helped.

At this point, I admit that my husband's section of the garden does look ten times more aesthetically pleasing than mine.  I never would have imagined that would be the case when I informed him a month ago that I was taking over the front, visible part.  I have not given up hope completely, however, because most of my herbs in the herb beds have survived, as have some flowers planted in another flowerbed next to the house.  I figure if all else fails, I will put in a picket fence around the front and sides of the garden.  At least I know I will not kill that.

The garden now with my pitiful flowers in the foreground, and my husband's  green onions, radishes, peas, and comfrey behind.