What Not To Do



THIS is NOT a cheese press!

     I had this much piled on top of my 1st cheddar cheese try + 3 more iron frying pans, when it all crashed to the floor.  I screamed, the baby that was almost asleep in his swing started crying hysterically because I scared him so bad again, (s-o-r-r-y Remington!)

      ..........and this is what happened to my floor.



Not that my floor doesn't have a bazillion dog claw marks in it already.
I guess it just made it more "rustic".

      I have no idea if the cheese will work out without enough weight (we'll eat it young).  Not making cheddar cheese again until we make or buy a press :-)

Maple Nut Cookies

1 1/2 c. WW pastry flour (we use white sometimes too)
1 c. organic rolled oats (not quick)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. toasted chopped pecans
3/4 c. (or less) chocolate chips

Mix everything together.  Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten with a fork. (or if you are Rick -- with your hand) Bake at 325 degrees for 45 min. or whenever they are toasty brown.

These are my husbands favorite.  When he makes them, we fight about whether he put too many chocolate chips in :-)  Make sure to bake them long enough.  They taste best really crispy.  Notice there are no eggs -- this works great for my egg allergic grandson.



The more ragged the edges the better, they get crispy and yummy.
These could have actually been baked a little longer for my liking.
(Those are Rick's thumbprints)
Enjoy!



Sunday In Pictures





Trixy and Mitch packed up and ready to go.
They were excellent travelers.





Turning dogs in at Leader dogs For The Blind in Rochester Michigan
Maggie is holding Black Lab Kibble (Trixy's sister)
Cameron (Maggie's grandson) is holding Trixy



....and while we were at Leader Dog they just happened
to be taking Delta out for a walk.
Delta is Kibble and Trixy's sister too.

New puppy "Ray" was snuffling mud...lol.  Cameron was a great "puppy wrangler".
We also brought back another black lab puppy for Maggie named "Kimber".

Well doesn't the Mackinac Bridge look "like a bridge" from this far away.
When you are driving it --- well, I don't like it. Especially when the wind blows!
Sometimes I swear you can feel it moving...... it is a suspension bridge. :-)  The wind wasn't blowing this time.
All was good. --- I just don't look down.

Trixy Is Off To College / Baby Pics

     Future Leader Dog Beatrix (Trixy) is off to "doggy college" today.  Maggie, the leader of the Northeast Wisconsin Puppy Raisers Group, her grandson, and I, are leaving for Leader Dogs For The Blind, in Rochester Michigan today.  Maggie's puppy Kibble, (Trixy's sister) is going back too.  And.... Mitch, another puppy from our group, is hitching a ride.  We will be going up through Upper Michigan, across the Mackinac Bridge that connects Upper and Lower Michigan, and then all the way down Lower Michigan to Rochester which is near Detroit. 


     This is never fun for us.  You slowly get yourself ready for it over the last month you have them,  reminding yourself that this is not your dog.  The sting of parting with them will be eased some, as we are bringing home 2 new puppies.  One for Maggie and one for Mitch's raiser.  (Remember I already have my new puppy, Butsch, at home.)  If all goes well, after 5 months of professional training; Trixy,  Kibble, and Mitch, will get teamed up with a blind person.  This is the goal, this is why we do it.


                      Sending a "kid" to college makes you dig out the "baby pics" ..........

   


The very first day we had Trixy.

  




She so wanted Billy to be her "mommy".

  

  

And she fit into the "doggy toy box".

 


Sleeping by Dad's foot........if we watched we could see her growing :-)

  


She loved the chewing parties with Billy.

 



God's Blessings go with you Trixy.......love you.  Be a "good girl".

  

Pizza

                                                           Rick said it was really good!  It was.

Mozzarella Cheese

      That's what I'm going to try to make.  Never made cheese before.  I was going to try to make cheese curds --- hence the mesophilic culture in the picture yesterday.  But, I went a little easier with some mozzarella.  I am impressed with how easy it really is.

I started with 1 gallon of organic, raw, whole milk.

I added 1/4 c. of fresh lemon juice.

And heated it all to 88 degrees....or 90 :-), stirring constantly.
(Don't do as I did -- make it 88 degrees :-)



This is a really bad picture.

It's hard to stir and take a picture

Then I added 1/4 tsp. of liquid rennet.  This I

bought at my wine supply store. (Which I guess

is also a cheese supply store :-)













And heated it to 105 degrees.
It didn't take long and I had "curds and whey".

I took out the curds and gently squeezed out more whey.
With all the whey back in the pot I heated it to 180 degrees.
And added 1/4 cup of non-iodized salt.

I made two balls of the curds....and one at a time put them in the
hot whey for a minute or two.  With gloved hands I stretched
the ball of cheese.  I did each one three times. (In retrospect I
would use 2 spoons to start each stretch --- it's really hot!)


....And I ended up with cheese!!!





Tomorrow we're havin' pizza!
(My husband already had a hotdish in the frig for tonight -- he's so good to me.)

 

Guess

     Tomorrow I'm trying  my hand at something I've never done.

It's going to be made with raw milk.  Step by step.....if it works or flops ..........tomorrow.

Maple Syrup Old Fashioneds

We enjoyed these with supper last night.  In our area of Wisconsin, if you order an Old Fashioned, more likely than not, they will assume you want it sweet and made with brandy.  This is the "country" way to make them.

        Start with a rock glass  full of ice.




Fill it 1/2 full of Cherry Bounce.  Add 2 splashes of bitters,
1 Tbl. of maple syrup (fresh is yum), and fill the glass with club
soda.  Stir well.

Enjoy.

So, what you ask, is Cherry Bounce?  Another Northeast Wisconsin yummy.  This recipe is from a Green Bay church cookbook (lol!), circa 1950.

Cherry Bounce

2 fifths brandy
2 c. sugar
2 qts. of fresh tart cherries
    ( Keep the pits in, but prick them for extra flavor.)

Combine all the ingredients in a large jar, and cover tightly.   Let stand for at least 2-3 months.  I keep mine down in the basement.  Strain when you're ready to use it.

This will end up tasting like fresh cherries......  We always start when the cherries are ripe, and let it sit until Thanksgiving --- and then enjoy as a holiday treat.

Of course, when there's still Cherry Bounce left over at this time of year, who can resist one made with fresh maple syrup!

Sunday In Pictures



Made no difference to Billy that it was a late March snowfall........it was all fun!





My son's ice shack parked on our driveway.   (Because there's too much snow to get it to it's "summer spot" behind the garage.)
 Ice shacks had to be off Shawano Lake the 1st Sunday after March 1st.  It has been "snowplowed" around.  Lots of perch caught in it this year.

 


Silly geraniums are blooming inside, while the snowstorm was in full blast outside.



The tulips are tough.

Grandson Brayden was in charge of handing out
the fruit snacks last sunday. He ran out of hands.



Butsch's ears still look way too big for his head :-)



Remington!!






 My Grandson Remington.





This cute, sweet, adorable baby, just threw up smack dab in the middle of my eyes while I was holding him up above my head!!!  ...And not just a little!   ......It was classic America's Funniest Home Videos.  I scared him when I screamed.  S-o-r-r-y Remington :-)