No Cream Creamy Broccoli Soup - day 5

Last weekend I made this soup. It is currently Flower Girl's favorite soup. She is a soup lover just like me. There is just one big problem the base is chicken stock as most of the soups I make are. I am currently out of stock and flipping out because I refuse to buy that watery, overpriced crap in the store. Here we are in the midst of soup season....waaaaa. Not only am I out of that but I am almost out of chicken. Can you say CRISIS? Somebody was not paying good attention to the freezer stock and Maine Man is not into getting broilers for a couple more months. Booo Hooo.... I am going to have to buy flippin' chicken at the meat market. That may just about kill me. Enough with the drama, right? ;)

This recipe comes from a magazine titled Kraft food & family

• 2 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. oil
• Approx 30 ounces of chicken broth ~use the canned stuff if you must ;)
• 2 cups of water (I used all broth, NO water)
• 2 small bunches of broccoli, trimmed, cut into 3 inch lengths (whatever, I don't follow directions well. Maine Man will agree to that. He also says I have issues when told what to do.....I disagree)
• 1/2 cup on uncooked minute rice (I used regular whole grain rice)
• 2 cups of milk
• 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (I used more)

Lots of salt & pepper (my own addition)

1. Cook & stir carrots, onion, and celery in hot oil in large sauce pot on medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and water (again I say no water). Stir & bring to boil.
2. Stir in broccoli & rice. Reduce heat simmer for 10-15 minutes (I did longer to cook the rice.) or until vegetables are tender.
3. Add soup in batches to blender or food processor. Blend until pureed. Return soup puree to pot. Add milk & cheese. Cook until heated.

So in my hysteria I went to the butcher shop and ordered 40lbs of chicken bones. MM thinks I'm insane. I kinda like it that way :) I MUST have chicken stock! I'll admit I am a bit of a food hoarder. Is there a TV show about that. Maine Man would sign me up.....LOL

Happy Hunting!

Had to laugh when I saw Miss Callie all comfy on Maine Man's hunting clothes....washed with scentless laundry detergent, hung to dry, in a tote with pine needles.

Honestly, I am not much of a hunter! I would never make any effort if it was not for Maine Man. It is just not in my blood. I think if I shot a deer it may be but for now that is just how it is. I do go out a few times of year and then I call it good. I do enjoy being in the woods but between having absolutely NO sense of direction and my self-diagnosed ADD ;) I don't stand a chance!.

Last year I saw a deer in the woods for the first time. I was quite excited. Even tried chasing after it. Needless to say it escaped being shot by this big bad hunter. This year for the first time MM had me try out his tree stand. I assure you it was not the one above. He had me climb 20 feet up on measly pegs nearly 6 feet apart onto a platform that was way to small for my liking. I told him the only way I'd use the stand is if he built a large deck around it. The next night when I came home from work still dressed in scrubs the kids had me jump on the 4 wheeler. They took me outback to see my surprise. A little whining goes a long way! That how the stand above became.

Wish me luck because I SURELY need it!

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Who needs a Topsy Turvy? This brilliant idea came from Unusual Unusual Farm Chick's blog. She has lots of good ideas! The basket is from the dollar store. I bought it a couple years back and it was just stashed away in the hay loft.

On the top we planted some morning glories. Flower Girl also made a post about this a couple days back over at her blog. She has posted more than usual this summer thanks to her buddy Morgs. Morgs also has a blog, check it out. Flower Girl also recently posted some pictures of the fish birthday cakes that I made back in the spring. The idea came from Family Fun.

Ok, enough with the good. Now onto the bad & the ugly. Recently I have been overwhelmed with the tasks around the farm, mostly the animals. It is time to cut back! After much contemplation I have decided to sell the goats. My intention when I first bought goats was for milking. I have since come to the realization that adding another chore morning & night would send me over the edge. It is MUCH cheaper & easier to buy from my local farmer then to keep goats. I do not have to be responsible for watering and feeding day in and day out, no injections to give or hooves to be trimmed. Same goes for cows. I dream about having cows grazing in the back field but in reality it is just not in the cards right now. My garden needs more of my attention and we have a greenhouse that needs to be assembled. Oh yeah and we have LOTS of wood that needs to be hauled off the back forty, split & piled. At this point if I want raw organic milk it again easier to go support my local farmer for $4/gallon. As far as meat goes it would in our best interest if I put a little more time and effort into deer hunting. It is good, lean, meat that we do not have to tend day in and day out. Until this past year I have always taken for granted the deer meat in the freezer. You always miss something when you don't have a lot of it. From here on out I will cherish every morsel!

I am not quiting farming, just cutting back. Learning from our experiences and our mistakes. God knows I have made plenty of those, that is a topic all on it's own! After my pullets are all laying I hope to sell of last years hens, the turkeys are soon to meet their maker followed by those egg laying ducks (khaki campbells) Maine Man had to have. If the pigs ever have their piglets, we swear they are pregnant! They will be off to freezer camp as well. Maine Man is a little hesitant about that after bonding with "Pumpkin & Ham" over the last year but I volunteered to be the trigger man. Can you believe that? That is how badly I want to simplify & minimize before winter. 2 years ago even I would have said "NO way" but I must say this farming stuff has hardened me. I am jaded, kind of like working in the ER.

If it don't produce (eggs/meat) I am all set. Never use to be like this. This whole farming bit was never even intentional, it just happened.

My plan is to go through the winter with 24 layers, 2-4 muscovies, and a few rabbits. That's it!

Sorry for the rant but d@#! I feel better now! A bit hormonal ehh? The planned post to was suppose to be about thriftiness. Ha, Ha, Add PMS & ADD and this is what you get.

Sweet Dreams

Last weeks theme for Sunday Stills was water. I took a few pictures of the water holes on the farm and here you have it, 2 frozen ponds. I never posted the pictures because I thought they were lame compared to the other excitement we had last weekend. We can not wait until they thaw! This weeks photo challenge theme is lines and I took several different photos keeping that in mind. However, my battery is dead or I broke my camera when I dropped it on the stairs tonight. So I had to dig into my archives because my OCD will not allow me to post without a picture . I am unable to download my pictures from the weekend and my camera is making one funny sound. Maine Man is going to KILL me! He's going to think it was an intentional act because he knows I'm itching for a new camera. Can you imagine that me, Country Girl would do such a thing? Hee, hee....here I come e-bay! No really, I am a little sad because I had pictures to share for the challenge and pictures of our weekend including the makings of the BEST maple syrup you've ever tasted and I cannot tell the story without pictures.

The top picture is the pond right beside the house. This is where our 10 little duckies will reside. MM plans to make them a floating house so that they can stay clear of predators.

The bottom picture is of the pond behind the barn. This is where the kids spend most of their time frogging and trapping crayfish.

I am off to read one of the 3 books I have going (told you I have ADD)

I am currently reading :

A Small Farm in Maine by Terry Silber which is at the moment is my favorite because I am able to relate to the story in many ways.

In defense of Food by Michael Pollan. It is a good book but it has not kept my attention compared to the last book I read by him, Omnivore's Dilemma

The Power of Play by David Elkind is about how spontaneous, imaginative activities lead to happier, healthier children.

What are you reading? I'd LOVE to HEAR!!! C' mon ladies and Gents! Plus when I ever finish these books....June (I'm a slow read for lack of time and pure exhaustion most days) I will be looking for a good read.

Posts to come (as soon as my camera dilemma has resolved): Maple Syrup Sunday, Black Sheep (ha, not what your thinking), and a belated photo challenge.

HAVE A NICE WEEK! :)