Gone Fishing

My sister and I caught our first trout of the season. We were supposed to be on our way home about the time I told my dad I wasn’t leaving until I caught a fish, and look who tried to eat my hook.

Photo Jun 21, 11 59 11 AM

I was pretty proud when Dad grilled them up for dinner.

Photo Jun 22, 6 15 12 PM

Mia was mildly concerned when she thought she was supposed to eat the tail! She seemed a little confused by a variety of things, including her Santa pjs in the middle of summer. 🙂

Photo Jun 22, 6 14 23 PM

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    How did you like your fresh caught trout StellaJane? It looks very delicious on your plate. Poor Mia, I can fully understand her reaction. Somehow the fish looks sad on the plate without it’s head!

  2. Terry Steinmetz says:

    Oh girls, what great catches! I hope you enjoyed them, as a fresh catch is THE BEST! Great job!!

  3. Oh My Maryjane and family, trout! Perhaps you heard about my ordeal of eating trout and only trout for over 6 months when I was camped out in the NH White Mountains many years back ? MJ remembers my tale ( or is it tail?).
    But kudos to your fish catching skills Mia and Stellajane! yep, pan fry them fast and you just give the tail and innards to the cats or coons. Heaven knows I fed a whole slew of them that year.

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farm_romance-9934

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Yellow roses are a favorite of mine. They just remind me of sunny , happy summer days.

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Today’s Recipe: Dandelion & Rose Petal Freezer Jelly

Jelly_4186

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    This is such an interesting combination. Does it have a rose flavor or just a general fruit flavor? Also, why is it not canned in a water bath? Too delicate?
    Last weekend I made Florida Wild Plum jelly from the plums in my daughter’s yard. We don’t always get a good crop but this year was a bonanza. With a distinctly different flavor, it is a rural regional favorite I learned from my son-in-law. My thickener was ChillOver powder which performed perfectly! The wonderful aspect of using ChillOver powder is that I can use less sugar overall in my recipe. I believe the result gives a stronger more vibrant fruit flavor instead of the heavy sweet result you get using pectin.

    • MaryJane says:

      The jelly has a subtle rose and dandelion flavor. It is relatively sweet, but since it uses ChillOver Powder, the amount of sugar can be adjusted to your personal taste (reducing the amount of sugar will change the final volume).

      Here’’s what my DIL Ashley (MaryJanesFarm food guru), had to say about processing the jelly in a water bath:
      The acidity of the jelly is low, making it susceptible to the growth of botulism bacteria. To safely can it, it would need to be processed in a boiling water bath with a temperature of at least 240°F. Since we did not test this recipe using a pressure cooker, we don’’t have a designated process time. Also, in order for the contents of each jar to reach 240°F, the time to process would vary depending on the size of jars you are using. If you would like to can this jelly, refer to a canning manual for guidance.

      • Winnie Nielsen says:

        Makes perfect sense to me! Sounds like freezer jelly is the very easiest and safest option. The flavor sounds quite interesting.

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Summer Crafting

Most days we get outside, now that school is out. Our days are full of picnics, long bike rides, day hikes on the ridge behind the farm, farm visits to help Nanny Jane milk the cows, and trips to the local swimming pool.

Yesterday, it poured rain. We, of course, welcomed the rain (we were behind on moisture), but for a 7-year-old and 5-year-old, this sounds like a good day to pick a fight with your sister. Ha, I had other plans!!

Photo May 19, 4 16 00 PM

I had the girls draw their favorite pictures with a water-erasable marker on a tea towel, reminding them to keep the designs simple. Then, using an embroidery hoop and a yarn needle threaded with embroidery floss, the three of us got busy. The yarn needle isn’t sharp—perfect for beginner hands. The tea towel works perfect because the cotton weave is loose and easy to stick the yarn needle through. It’s so fun to watch them concentrate and see the look of accomplishment on their faces after they’ve embroidered their entire scene.

Next up, they want to embroider their handprints and something written in their sweet little handwriting. These make great gifts too, a tea towel to treasure forever.

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Meg, I love your daughter’s horse design. You know what? I have been re-reading your Mom’s Idea book and decided I had to get out my embroidery thread and hoop. A MJF Swap landed me a cute package of farm patterns and two plain cotton tea towels. Yesterday, I embroidered my first towel with some sun flowers for the August dishcloth swap since I had just knitted a sunflower pattern cloth. Gosh, it was fun to see the end results and now I am inspired to complete some more towels for gifting (and keeping)! Tell your girls that a big girl across the nation was doing just the same thing that they were doing and smiling at the results!

    • Megan says:

      Oh how fun, I will tell the girls. I love embroidery. It is so rewarding and I do love gifting them too. Have fun!

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    I don’t know what these flowers are but they sure are beautiful. The pinks and purple are striking against the dark green. What a view!

  2. Ah Lupines , the wolf flowers. I adore them -just gorgeous pic .

  3. Saskija says:

    You are very blessed to have a view like that.

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Mmm… Pie Season yet?

It’s always pie season, right? Maybe it’s a tad early for fresh-from-the-garden pie, but the rhubarb and a few starter strawberries are coming on in my neck of the woods. I’m thinking it’s time for pie.

susan dahlem

Of course, there is the age-old issue of making a proper crust. I was lucky enough to learn how to make a crust before I learned that a pie crust involves a fair amount of confidence. A child rarely lacks confidence. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been making the exact same crust as featured in my mom’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook. Her cherry filling is also a regular at my house.

But if you aren’t confident about your confidence when it comes to making a crust, I know a secret and so does our very own Susan Dahlem (Sister #15). In her Not Quite June Cleaver Bakes a Pie book, she shares the beauties of getting it right with … gasp, shortening.

I’m not a proponent of shortening, so as soon as you get more comfortable with your pie crust skills, I would absolutely replace the shortening with butter … better for you and much tastier! But to get started, try it. Spectrum does make an organic version for the better-for-you part. The difference between butter and shortening is that shortening doesn’t get too soft about the time you’re ready to roll your crust out, so you don’t have the same time crunch—less stress for the beginner.

To help with the worries of getting the crust right, Susan has some delicious recipes for fillings, too. And once you get past the beginner stage, she also has a variety of crusts to try. I’m looking forward to trying my hand at an entirely new crust and filling.

 

  1. calle says:

    My dear mother taught me at age 4 or 5 how to make pie crust and Crisco was the thing.
    Today I long for a Gluten free, chemical free flaky crust.
    As I love to make Quiche Lorraine, but can’t as we have not found a great homemade gluten free recipe.

    • Megan says:

      I have yet to try a gluten-free crust. Maybe I will have to keep you posted! And yes, the trick is a flaky one. 🙂

  2. Winnie Nielsen says:

    There is nothing so perfect as a pie with a flaky crust. I too learned to make a crust with Crisco shortening, but switched to butter because the taste is so much better. Right now, blueberries are in season here with U Pick places everywhere. Our household favorite with blueberries are pancakes, but a blueberry pie with the perfect crust might be a close second! It has been awhile since I made a pie, but I do have your Mom’s Idea book so I can revisit the crust recipe. Your rhubarb/strawberry pie sounds wonderful. I vote an enthusiastic YES for one of those soon!!

  3. I’m from the South and its always, always LARD to make a perfect crust, no substitutes ! My step-grandfather was the best baker of anyone I ever knew and ofcourse it was cold water and lard to make a perfect crust for his legendary pecan pie ( with a kick of homemade bourbon ) and various other home-grown fruit pies. He always rolled it out on an old marble table, he said the secret was to keep the dough cool.

    • Megan says:

      Yes, lard is also a very good route to go for a perfectly flaky crust. Susan does make that suggestion. Here’s to a marvelous pie!

  4. Susan says:

    What a SWEET surprise! Thank you for sharing my book! I am working on the next one in the series–Not Quite June Cleaver Bakes a Cake!

    Blessings & Bliss!
    .· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
    ¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
    ((¸¸.·´ .·´ -:¦:-Susan
    -:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

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farm_romance-cherries

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Oh, those cherries look delicious. There are so many ways to enjoy them too. My grandmother had some cherry trees in the backyard at the farm in Indiana, and we picked them every summer. She would then make the best cherry pies in her big old black wood stove and we gobbled them up!

  2. Nancy Coughlin says:

    We had sour cherry trees when I was growing up and what wonderful memories this photo brought to mind. The pies we had during the winter months, oh my goodness! And my Mom used to have a sour cherry relish that was out of this world. Of course my sister and I have been through all of her cookbooks and can not find it. Wish she were still with us so we could try to recreate it!

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Mmmmm, an abundance of green beans and yellow wax beans! These are some of my favorite veggies because they are perfect for so many dishes and one of the veggies that picky eaters seem to enjoy .

  2. oh lovely beans, you have them already? We are just barely planting them here. Here in PA Dutch country you wait until ” bohne Dag ” , bean day. which is traditionally June 1. The old “Dutch” saying loosely translates to ” don’t plant beans till can sit on the ground bare a–ed ! ” .

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