Dreaming of a White Christmas

If anyone ever asks....there is a downside to buying in bulk. This is what 50 lbs of local bread flour looks like after a "flour party".  I had a student freak out about an assignment revision and had to take a 10 minute phone call.....the girls called up the stairs and ask if they can have....I heard....a "flower party!" Sigh. What was I thinking?

I was in shock. I came down to find them slip n' sliding through three rooms, giggling maniacally, and I just scooped them up and stuck them in a bath. After about five minutes I realized that water + flour= glue, but it was too late. Their scalps and hair were solid flour glue. That was really quite punishment enough. 5 lather and rinses later, it just stung and their hair was breaking off. (The next day I got some cradle cap conditioner, left it in for 30 minutes, and used a lice comb to get the bits out. It worked, but they were really in tears by that point.) Oh and then they thought it was funny to flood the bathroom floor. On a roll, my girls.

The night of the flour party, Chad got home and talked to each girl. They in turn apologized and helped clean up, but we still have flour on everything, two incapacitated-until-we-clean-them vacuum cleaners, and did I mention flour dust on EVERYTHING? They also dumped out my yeast jar in an attempt to make couch bread.

Oh, and I had just cleaned the downstairs to "company is coming" clean (note the video shelf organized?).....because we had company coming. Luckily they were understanding enough, delayed a day, and we had time to vacuum 50 more times. Not like it helped though.

Is it funny? Maybe it will be in a few years. Or maybe they have pushed my sanity past its limit and that's why I am laughing. When my girls do something, they really go BIG.

That said, we might be gluten free for a while. ;)

Adding to the Farm Equipment

We (or at least I) moved to the farm to start an orchard, the pigs were a side operation that kind of took on its own life. We are happy there is demand and that the pigs are paying for more of the farm to be built up. But, at least for me, the orchard is still the prize we are working towards. This summer I took up beekeeping. We will plant 25 more trees in the next few weeks, and I have been searching high and low for a cider press that we could afford and worked and was in good condition AND that would double as a cheese press.

Then we found one for sale online, pretty near the major city to the north of us. At a great price, when we happened to have the money.

It needs to be sanded down and the wood re-oiled with food grade mineral oil but other than that it is in fantastic shape. We will do our first pressing of apples next weekend. The pigs will get the apple pulp and we'll freeze the yummy juice.

We also inherited 2 antique hand churn ice cream makers! They too need work, but not only were they free, but carry part of our family history! 

What amazing things have you found at garage sales, wanted/for sale adds, or in a friend's basement?
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Fishing with Cousin J and Aunt J.....

Or up a pond with one paddle? I am a terrible outdoors woman. This includes being put in charge of gathering fishing gear. Worms? Send the 5 year old out to the garden. Hooks? Surely this random tackle box in the Morton building has some in it? Trolling motor? Whaaaaa? Oh yeah, we have one of those, I remember once we are out to the middle of the pond fighting algae and wind with only one usable paddle. 

You see, I cook what they catch. I don't even clean what the catch. I prop my feet up and read a book while everyone else fishes. So why did I think I could co-ordinate a fishing expedition with Aunt J? Because I was nervous and trying to impress her I guess. Which, I did not do. I can only hope that the kids had fun!

Tootalini A La Aunt J.'s Grandma Bartoletti

Sometimes taking a long time to do something complicated is the way to simplify.

This week I met my sister in law. She's been married to my brother for six years, I think. I am not close to my brother and don't know him or his family well, but last month he deployed to serve in Afghanistan with the Iowa National Guard. Being a soldier was his dream from as far back as I remember him playing GI Joe in the sandbox. We lost touch in adulthood, seeing each other at funerals or running into each other at the local coffee house. But I am so proud of the duty he doing for our country and for the sacrifice he has made to his family. His wife and little girl are hanging on, worried about him, and over a year left to go.

I had become familiar and comfortable with not knowing them, and suddenly my heart hurt. I may never see my little brother again. What if I never get to know his family? What could I possibly do for him or them during this incredibly enormously difficult time in their lives. They are living something I can not even begin to imagine. My husband comes home every night, they go weeks without contact. There is nothing I can do to make any of that better.

Then my brother called me. He's not ever done that, not even when we were growing up. He's never called me, not even to return a call. Ever. And then he did. His request was simple. Just be there for them. Get to know them. Tell them stories about us growing up, the nice ones.

So I reached out. And J. and Miss J. came to stay at our farm for a "weekend".  She brought with her a recipe for "Tootalini" that was her grandmother's, and that she made growing up for family holidays.

It was a full day long project to make the broth from beef neck bones, make and knead the pasta, roll it out, make the filling, and stuff and shape the noodles. In doing so, we got to talk, to get to know each other, share family histories, and talk about our children. She is a lovely lady and a very caring mother and my brother is one lucky guy.  Making and eating food together is an incredibly old and ancient bonding.

And my family was blessed by her visit.

Here, with her permission, is her grandmother Bartoletti's recipe:

Pasta:
8 Cups of Flour
6 farm fresh eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) of salted butter
approx 2 cups of water - until dough is doughy.....

Filling:
3 lbs of ground sirloin
3 farm fresh eggs
parsley flakes
allspice (add to taste)
1/2 cup of butter
salt
grated Asiago cheese

Broth: (grass fed) beef neck bones, celery, onion, carrot, tomato (her recipe says tomato paste), and salt to taste. Boil then simmer for 8+ hours. Strain solids off for a clear delicious broth.

Then:

Roll out pieces of dough, thin.

Let babies play with bits and in the flour!

Cover main chunk of dough so it does not dry out.

Then take little bits of the filling and roll into balls. Place along the edge.

Roll up and over and pinch/press around each little lump.

Cut into squares.

Fold bottom under and top "flaps" over to look like little ladies with hoods/bonnets. You can make them sing and dance to entertain the littles too.

Place on tray and then freeze.

Later, pull them off the tray frozen and store in bags or place in boiling broth for a meal that is hearty, filling, and simple all at the same time. I sent home food with Aunt J, and filled a shelf of my freezer too. The broth is really versatile and I've made a mushroom and beef based rice noodle soup with it, cooked up ground beef with it, and just heated a cup for a snack. Good to have on hand.

Both my girls and little cousin J. flitted to and from the table, sometimes helping, sometimes playing. The recipe took a lot of the day, but at the end our tummies and hearts were full of joy. Sometimes life is simple when you actually take the time to do something as complicated as make Tootalini from scratch or get to know someone, you know?