When I got the bright idea to do giveaways in my magazine, I wasn’t entirely sure they’d be successful. Two hundred and twenty-seven wonder-full comments later (on this giveaway alone), I’m confident it’s as much fun for you as it is for us. So, stay tuned for more giveaways in each issue of MaryJanesFarm. The Oct/Nov issue just went on sale on newsstands, so it’s time to announce the giveaways for the Aug/Sept issue, “The Experiment.” For the next seven days (except for Friday, which is always our recipe day), I’ll reveal the winners for each of our giveaways. Be sure to come back each day to see if you’re the “won.”
And the winner of the “Secret Garden, The Experiment” giveaway is:
Sheri Puls, who said:
“I absolutely love MaryJanesFarm! My mother brought an issue when she came to visit several years ago, and I subscribed soon after reading it. What do I love most about it? Lots of things! The recipes, crafts, gardening tips, stories about enterprising and creative women all across the country and even around the world—very inspiring! Thank you, MaryJanesFarm!”
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And the original post for the GIVEAWAY was (thank you to all who participated):
In the Aug/Sept issue of MaryJanesFarm, “The Experiment” (on newsstands July 14), we led you here to my daily journal for a chance to win a free copy of a wonderful book, Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book by Johanna Basford, featured in our “Farmgirl Finds” section that has sold more than a million copies worldwide. Tumble down the rabbit hole into an inky black-and-white wonderland in Secret Garden. This interactive activity book takes you on a ramble through a secret garden created in beautifully detailed pen-and-ink illustrations, sheltering all kinds of tiny creatures just waiting to be found and brought to life through coloring.
For a chance to win a copy of Secret Garden, along with a box of 24 Prismacolor Colored Pencils and a Prismacolor Premier Pencil Sharpener, tell me one thing you enjoy about MaryJanesFarm in the comments below. We’ll toss your name into a hat and draw one lucky winner in mid-September, when the Aug/Sept issue expires on newsstands. Stay tuned for more magazine-related giveaways!
If you’re not yet a subscriber to MaryJanesFarm, subscribe here for only $19.95/year.
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Debbie Klann!!!
Debbie Klann (#770) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a Beginner, Intermediate & Expert Level Bread Making Merit Badge!
“I have been baking bread since I was a newlywed 32 years ago, but have learned MUCH in those 32 years! I’ve always known baking is more of an exact science … getting just the right amount of leavening agents so your product turns out the way you want it to.
While I’ve always used baking powder and baking soda when called for, I was never exactly sure what made each one similar and different. I recently read up on how each works and how they are not interchangeable!
I also learned that baking soda is about 4x the strength of baking powder and why you will sometimes need to use each one in the same recipe.
I’ve made several recipes using baking powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar. One of my favorite recipes was an Amish Sugar Cookie, which used cream of tartar and soda. I loved the silky texture. My favorite biscuit recipe calls for an addition of cream of tartar. They were higher and finer textured than some that I have tried. I also tried making a Cream Biscuit using a self-rising flour and cream. These seemed to raise well … and then deflated quickly! I always use unbleached flour and have recently found a whole-wheat pastry flour from soft wheat that makes the most delicate pie crust!
For my Intermediate level, I baked some bread. I love making my own bread. Store bought does not even compare. And the smell that fills your house is wonderful!
I’ve used several types of yeast in my breadmaking … regular active dry yeast, quick-rising yeast, and a special yeast for pizza dough. I prefer just the regular yeast over the quick-rising. I just prefer the texture and how it works better. I really do like the pizza-dough yeast. I think it gives it just the right amount of leavening.
Besides making our weekly bread, I also make some special dark dinner rolls that have cocoa powder, whole wheat flour, and orange juice. They were a big hit with the family!
I also tried an Irish Soda Bread. I remember reading when I was young in the Little House books how Laura’s mother would make it for the holidays. The recipe I tried included whiskey, caraway seeds, and raisins, but I substituted currants. I wasn’t too sure how this mix of ingredients would taste together … but it really wasn’t too bad! I still prefer the texture of a yeast bread to one made with baking soda.
Expert level required sourdough mothers. Over the years, I have tried several different sourdough starter recipes … some created so much gas they blew the lid right off the jar, and some never did much of anything. I finally found one that worked for me. I used the starter recipe in the King Arthur Flour baking book. This one uses a rye flour to start, eventually being replaced over the next 10 days or so with unbleached flour.
This starter was by far the best I’ve ever used. I tried a new sourdough biscuit recipe that was “ok.” I thought it was a little dry. But the sourdough pancakes were divine! The batter foamed up like meringue, and they were a little slice of heaven! Definitely worth keeping a starter JUST for those pancakes.
I did learn that even if you keep your starter in the fridge while you’re not actively using it, you still need to feed it once a week.”
Landesa, a Seattle nonprofit that partners with governments to provide land rights for the poor around the globe, believes that teaching girls to farm can transform their futures.
In West Bengal, India—one of the poorest parts of the world—Landesa’s “The Girls Project” has already reached more than 48,000 girls. In 2010, Landesa launched its Security for Girls Through Land Project (The Girls Project), helping to save girls from extreme poverty, malnutrition, gender-based violence, lack of education, trafficking, and child marriage. UNICEF reports that one of every five girls in West Bengal is married off by age 15, and half of all rural girls are pregnant by age 19. And India’s National Crime Records Bureau reports that two out of every five girls bought or sold into slavery in India are from West Bengal. Teaching girls to farm increases their value to their families and their communities, saving them from these fates.
Landesa works with West Bengal’s Department of Women and Child Development and a new, government-funded program, the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (SABLA), to provide adolescent girls with life and vocational skills and improve their health and nutritional status. According to Landesa.org, “Hands-on activities focus on teaching the girls to cultivate small ‘kitchen gardens’ with nutritious produce that they can add to their family’s food supply or sell for income. Many girls use their gardens to earn money for the first time, and their families are beginning to see them as assets rather than burdens.”
Landesa also teaches girls (and their families) about their rights to inherit property along with their brothers. The Girls Project also educates boys. Meetings with village leaders, parents, and other community members work to sensitize boys and communities to girls’ vulnerabilities and rights. “The social and economic improvements for girls will only be sustainable when community perceptions of girls are changed,” says Landesa.
Watch Academy Award-winning filmmaker Megan Mylan’s short documentary film about the project, “After My Garden Grows”:
We’ve had such a warm summer, but it’s coming to an end. To celebrate our first day of cooler weather, we bundled up and headed to the tub, farmgirl style.
It even started to rain, which we’ve been dreaming of for weeks!
We love our lentils and their farmers so much here on the Palouse that we hold an annual two-day celebration to honor them. And why not? Our region grows 25% of the nation’s lentil supply, and we are world-renowned for producing the highest quality lentils in the U.S.
Since 1989, revelers have visited Pullman, Washington (our little sister city right across the border), from all across the country to celebrate this tiny legume during the Lentil Festival. The chosen weekend in August always coincides with the beginning of a new school year for both of our universities (The University of Idaho here in Moscow and Washington State University in Pullman) as well as our local schools, so you’re bound to run into someone you know while you sample some lentil chili from a 600-gallon pot.
lentil chili pot via lentilfest.com
That’s right, they stir it with a boat paddle!
If you’re the athletic sort, you can run in the 5K race, play a game of 3-on-3 basketball, glide through a skateboard competition, or join in the mini golf tournament.
lentil festival runners via lentilfest.com
And don’t forget the parade! The little cuties below are this year’s ‘Lil Lentil King and Queen.
lentil festival parade via lentilfest.com
Local artisans display their wares, a stage hosts great live music, and a beer and wine garden features local microbrews and wines.
Of course, it’s not all about parties and parades. This year, local sponsors partnered with Feeding Children Everywhere, and thanks to their support and the work of many volunteers, 25,000 healthy meals featuring lentils were hand-packed for local distribution. And our local humane shelter raised $30,000 for the animals.
If you’re out this way next year, you should definitely drop in. There’s a little something for everyone.
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
