Today's Agenda: Homemade Ice Cream Cake

This evening we celebrate a couple of family birthdays.  In an effort to use more of what we already have, I'm looking for something unique for my son's cake.  I'm planning on a simple ice-cream cake, with the ice cream being homemade fresh from our beautiful little cow's cream.  There's so much of the white stuff, we've got to be creative putting it to work!!  By rights, I should be hitting the cheese-making hard today (since I'm out of refrigerator space and milk bottles :) ), but then there's also that big garden to catch up on (SUCH a rainy Spring we're having!).  Ahhh....one day at a time, and make the time to enjoy the things that I am getting done (by not overbooking and stressing myself!)

My plan for my homemade ice cream cake is simple.  I'll cheat a little and use a boxed cake mix (unless my conscience gets the better of me).  I'll make a chocolate cake mix and mix up a quick batch of probably vanilla ice cream in my Cuisinart icecream maker.  I love this Cuisinart ice cream maker because it is simple, fast, and easy to use, and requires no salt or ice.  It has a gel-filled bowl that you freeze which replaces all of that mess.  So literally in half an hour you can have delicious home made ice cream without very much of a mess at all. 

When the ice cream is first finished it is about the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.  That will make it easy to spread over the finished cake, and then I'll freeze it to let it harden up a little more.  I haven't quite decided yet whether to cut the cake horizontally in half and layer it, but I am thinking I will probably do that.  If I'm very ambitious I may make a batch of chocolate, too, and layer that in somewhere.  We'll see, but I'll be sure to let you all know how it comes out!

(NB: I'm able to make two batches of homemade icecream because I've bought a spare bowl for my icecream maker, so I have the two frozen and ready to go.  Without two bowls, you'd have to wait hours or another day to refreeze the bowl in order to be able to make a second batch.  I find that spare bowl well worth the additional investment!)

Spring Has Sprung and Blossom is Born!

It's been pretty exciting and busy around here as of late.  Spring pretty much decided to arrive, albeit a very wet one, and so the gardening has started in earnest.  Additionally, our first-calf Jersey heifer finally decided to give it up and calve, and so last weekend we welcomed Blossom to the farm's fold on a drizzly but beautiful Sunday morning.  Everything went as smooth as could be.  Baby is strong and healthy, Momma is sound, quiet, and milking like an experienced cow.  We're putting up close to 5 gallons of milk per day!  Which means it's time for me to get busy. 

We've already had the first homemade ice cream from the fresh cream; it was Oh so good!  Next week I'll be jumping right back into making fresh cheese with the milk.  Cannot wait for that again, and to try some of the soft cheese in my homemade ravioli (the newest trick I learned this week - how to make homemade ravioli).

But for now, here are a couple of my favorite pics of the newborn babe for your viewing pleasure :)

It's Spring! Finally....

It's taken so long for Spring to actually get here in the Northeast.  We had a long, cold, but fun winter, and since then more cold and lots of rain.  BUT we're finally seeing some weather that's more seasonal, although still plenty of showers.  We've finally gotten the garden tilled and planting has begun!  The question is, though....will it ever end?  LOL  Who knows.  I've got a gigantic garden (well, I am feeding 6!)  But it's a labor of love that keeps us more and more self-sufficient, and I trust my food over anything I get anywhere else any day!

Mother's Day brought me a trip around to Lowe's and the local Farm and Garden store, where we bought fruit trees for our little orchard and cole-crop plants for the garden.  We came home and my husband planted the trees for me.  Really, it was a great gift and a great day...and I can't wait until we can out back and sit under the trees and pick a healthy, yummy snack.  Now that we have the orchard started, we're considering bee-keeping.  So yes, next up is hunting for some great bee keeping books.  And maybe learning how to make Mead ;)

Here are a few books I'm considering - do please feel free to make suggestions in the comments below!!

• Beekeeping For Dummies 
• The Backyard Beekeeper - Revised and Updated: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping
• The Complete Guide to Beekeeping for Fun & Profit: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply (Back-To-Basics Farming)
• The Compleat Meadmaker : Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award-winning Fruit and Herb Variations
• How to Make Honey Mead with Recipes

In the midst of all this, I've also refinished the hardwood floors in 5 rooms of our old labor-of-love 1901 Farmhouse.  Shellac was the chosen product and method in keeping with the age and period of the house, which has always been kept very original.  I'm LOVING the result.  But more on that another day.  Oh - and my kitchen pasta maker arrived, but as the rooms were all disassembled and not able to be walked on, that, unfortunately, has not made it out of the box.  But I do expect it will be making an appearance very soon :)

Kitchen Pasta Maker Coming to a Kitchen Near Me Soon

My kitchen of course.  After many hours, I finally decided on what I wanted for a starter kitchen pasta maker.  It took some work, too, believe me...but I finally landed on a nice little start-up kit that I put together myself (I think ;) ).

Here's what will be arriving, courtesy of Amazon, in a matter of a week or so....

• CucinaPro 177 CucinaPro Pasta Fresh

• Norpro Pasta Drying Rack
• Norpro Ravioli Maker and Press
• The Pasta Machine Cookbook

Can't wait for it to get here!  Of course, I'm sure that it'll take some trial and error, but I'm looking forward to my first-ever fresh homemade pasta.  And I can't wait for the heifer to calve and to be making fresh cheese and fresh cheese ravioli with it - yum! And to think of the the combos creatable once the fresh garden veggies get growing.....*sigh....

Pasta, Pasta, Pasta!

Pasta, Pasta, Pasta!

...It's what's on my brain today.  I already love making my own homemade pasta sauce (and am a little sad to be down to only 2 jars left from last year's garden :[ ).  I always think when I use it, though, that it's kind of a shame to be pouring it over that crap from a cardboard box.  So my latest craze is to make my own pasta!  Yes, I want to become a kitchen pasta maker, too, and so that's where I've been spending my "spare" time these last couple of rainy days.  Hey - with those backyard chickens of mine producing more than a baker's dozen a day, I've got to use all those eggs somehow!!

Basic Rules to Build Small Chicken Coop

Today, more and more people are looking for ways to become self-reliant. I built a small chicken coop big enough to house three to five laying hens in my backyard. I wanted to design an attractive chicken coop. One inspired by some coops in my area is the one I chose to build. Small chicken coop meant small price. I only spent around $40 for chicken wire, lumber and siding to complete the coop.

I saved money by using damaged siding, scrap wood as well as leftover hardware and paint. I was able to get the damaged siding half price at the local lumber store. The other materials that I used were scrap and leftovers from previous projects, and scraps from a condemned house nearby. I was sure to get permission to take the materials from the property. In addition, I was able to get shingles from a neighbor who recently put a new roof on his garage.

The basic rules to designing a small chicken coop are as follows:

      • Be sure to provide adequate floor space for all of your chickens
      • Your coop should be properly ventilated.
      • Remember to provide some type of temperature control.
      • Predator protection is key when designing your chicken coop.

If you live in town, or only want to keep a small flock to provide enough eggs to feed your family, a small coop is ideal. Owning your own chickens is safer and more economical than buying eggs from the store. Best of all, you do not have to pay taxes on the eggs you eat or the food you feed your chickens. Now, that is a win-win!

Chicken Coop: Buy It or Build It?

I have decided that I need a new chicken coop. Buy a chicken coop and I could save a lot of time, but how much money will I have to invest? On the other hand, if I build a chicken coop, will I end up spending a great deal of time getting the chicken coop that I want?

These are questions that I am sure every backyard chicken farmer has faced at one point or another. So, I decided to share with you the benefits for each I found as I was determine which move was the best.

The Benefits of Buying a Chicken Coop

• If you buy a chicken coop, you will be able to get your backyard chicken farm up and running quickly.
• If you lack the time or the ability to build a chicken coop, several designs are available for purchase with all the work done for you.

The Benefits of Building a Chicken Coop

• If you build your own chicken coop, you will get the exact structure that you want to your own specifications.
• You can save money by building your own coop using surplus, recycled and scrap materials.

Tips for Choosing Plans for Chicken Coop

At the top of my to-do list today: “Plans for chicken coop”. I am searching for chicken coop plans online, hoping to find the best way to build my chicken coop. If you too are looking for plans for a chicken coop, you need to know a few basics in order to find the right plans for your backyard chicken farm.

Ease of Maintenance

One of the most important things to look for when searching for chicken coop plans is a structure that is easy to maintain. Make sure that the coop floor slopes at a downward angle toward the main door. As you wash out your chicken coop, the water automatically drains out as opposed to pooling in the middle.

Adequate Space

When it comes to the size of your chicken coop, it is important not to skimp. Without adequate space, chickens are prone to cannibalism and abnormal pecking. Allow four square feet for every chicken you plan to house in your coop.

These are just a couple of things to keep in mind when searching for plans for a chicken coop. You should also consider predators, drainage, sunlight and a number of other details to build the ideal home for you backyard chickens.

And So It Begins....New Chicks!

It's getting to be that time of year again...a very busy time of year, before long.  But the weather will be nice (not so today, celebrating the first day of spring with 3 inches of snow as we are :)....but it's New England, and that's the life!). 

So what time of year is it?

Chick Time!

I have a pretty good-sized laying flock of chickens out back as it is, but they are starting to show their age.  Some of them I'm pretty much just feeding because they're there, and I know there have to be several who were not laying (I know this because I have some breeds like Ameraucanas that lay colored eggs, and I have none :(  ...too bad, they make great Easter eggs!).  Of course, some of them have just not started back up yet - it's been a long, cold, winter here.  But still, I know that a number of them are in decline so I had planned to start a fresh batch of laying hens this year to come up as replacements come next Fall.

I pretty much order chicks, online or off, every year.  It used to be that I always ordered my chicks from the local Farm store.  Last year was my first year to order chicks online.  That worked out pretty good for me because we raised about 40 meat chicks last year for the freezer, and it was somewhat simpler as far as handling goes, and by ordering chicks online I was able to save money. Ordering chicks online has its own pros and cons, but that's a discussion for another day.

Yesterday we found ourselves at Tractor Supply Company, which is in full-swing with new chick orders every week, and so we came home with 16 new chicks.  More than I had planned, but that's always the way of it, isn't it?  We came back with 3 black sex-links, 3 Brahmas, 6 red sex-link pullets, and 4 little Bantam chicks, my daughter's investment.

And so, it begins.  This was my first experience buying chicks from Tractor Supply Company.  Actually, it's only about my third trip to that store, as they've just recently reached this area (but seem to be taking off like wildfire!).  It was nice being able to choose from among the chicks that they had there, because we were able to pick the strongest looking birds (and so far, so good - haven't lost any, but always keep the fingers crossed!).  On the other hand we were limited yesterday to what was available in-store, but they do also accept custom orders on over 40 breeds.  That might be something to look into for the next step, but for now, we'll get this set up and running before we start it all over again with our meat bird runs!

And now, off to the next step...more research on chicken housing and plans to build a small chicken coop....all these different birds mean good housing setups for each one!

Happy chicking!

Great Sites for Plans for Chicken Coop & More!

Chickens actually are a big part of what we do around here. We keep hens for eggs and we also raise a big number of meat birds, which we'll probably be increasing and expanding this year. But our set-up isn't quite right just yet, so I'm still looking into some different options as far as plans for chicken coop goes.


Looking around for plans and ideas to build a small chicken coop, I've come up so far with a couple of good sources you might want to check out! Yeah the pages are a little sales-y but I can say that the products behind them are really quite good, and there is excellent additional information on some of these pages to boot. Bonus! Check out these two leading resources for

Small Chicken Coop Plans:

• Build Small Chicken Coop....some great plans and designs
• Build a Simple Chicken Coop .....great plan and design ideas, but also some extra goodies of information worth checking out!

My Kind Of Life....

My kind of life...what is it?

It's evolving is what it is.  It's a work in progress towards something simpler and less stressful, but not necessarily less "work".  In fact, it's probably a lot more work than a lot of people's lives, at least in some ways, but it's the life I and mine want, and are working to build...bit by bit, step by step.

Is it the kind of life you'd want?  Maybe, maybe not.  More than likely you'll find some things about it you'd like to incorporate and others you'd really not.  But to give you an overview and an idea, here's a bit of what you can expect.

The Simple Life

Well, if that's not a loaded statement....

I consider the life that we are striving for to be more simple, but many would certainly think otherwise.  The life we've been building, (and I can say I think we're a good step of the way there), is a country life striving to be able to enjoy the simpler things that we enjoy.  Like what?

Like....

• Home cooked meals and saving money.  
• Like producing more of our own, on our own, or with friends and neighbors.  
• Like being self-sufficient, or as close to it as we can.  
• Like living according to our belief systems.  
• Like trusting the food we eat because we grew it ourselves, and know exactly where every carrot stick and chicken leg came from, to the best extent possible.  
• Like finding better ways of working at home to open up time and freedom to do more of what we want to do.  Not necessarily work less, I repeat, but to do what WE choose - not what is chosen by others for us.

That's it in a very vague nutshell, and there's certainly more to it.  But then, that's what this blog is for...to work it out, to share, and to discuss as we go.  I hope you'll come along!