and what do you eat with home made crackers?

why good cheese salami, fresh tomatos and cucumber!! (by the fire of course!)



Chalone Vineyard Cab Sav of Monterey CA



Cheers! ;)

Homemade Caraway Rye Crackers

10-27-2011
So I have been listening to alot of DYI/Homesteading Podcast and I go tth eidea today of trying to make homemade crackers. I quick search on Google and I landed on Cooks.com and a simple recipe for Homemade Crackers http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,174,150189-248199,00.html .

Turned out I had everything in my pantry to make these Caraway Rye Crackers.



After mixing the wet with the dry it gets rolled out



Dry works mixed together






Using a  pizza cutter, I scored the dough to make the sqaure shapes



I ended up with 2 pans worth of dough!









20 Minutes later and I had CRACKERS!!







YUM!







 



Needless to say they tasted as good as they look!! Even Sierra like them ;) Looks like ill stop buying storebought crackers and just make them myself :)

and now for some eye candy......you gotta love Fall colors!!

Cheers!!

Carrot and Apple Muffins, Spouts, Sauerkraut Update, and..

10-22-2011 Carrot and Apple Muffins, Spouts, Sauerkraut Update, and.........A Trip to Downtown Salisbury!! I was excited about this weekend. Not because I had it all planned out, but because I didnt. I was able to wake up and let my day unfold organicly. After doing some kitchen cleaning I remembered reading a recipie from Mother Earth News on how to make homemade Carrot and Apple Muffins (with fresh grated Ginger!) So I broke out the recipe and began! First I combined 2 cups of All purpose Flour with 1.5 tsp cinnimmon, 3/4 tsp baking Soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 cup of Spleda's Half Sugar baking mix. Then I peeled one Winesap Apple (from the apples my wife picked a coupke weeks back) and 3 medium sized carrots (of course all the peelings and end peices went into my composter outdoors). Then I tackled the wet works. 1/2 cup of Vegitable oil, 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp of fresh grated ginger! Next up the Wet works were folded in with the dry and then the Apple and carrots were added. Into a 12 cup cupcake tin and all that paced into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes! Needless to say the smell was incredible!! Once they came out I started to wait and let htem cool, but then I succumed to weakness and ate one!! :) Serious Yum! and now to tease you all with some tastly photos of these very same muffins.

and now for somehting completely different.....Sprouts!

In my many adventures online, I stumbled apon a youtube video on growing your own sprouts in your very own kitchen!!

So inspired I bough a bag of Lentils from the local store and 3 days ago started then on their way. I wasnt sure if this would work so I dont have a step by step. But whe  I start my next batch I will post the how to on it. But anyways here are my Lentil Sprouts on day 3 of growing.

 As you can see they are growing nicely! :)

Sauerkraut Update:
As per my last post I tried my hand at making my own Sauerkraut. All three jars are happily fermenting away. Most of the soft green color has left the cabbage and its a little stinky (thats good right? ;) )

Ill be doing my first taste test next weekend so stay tuned!!

Walking in Salisbury with my Daughter Sierra



So after lunch I wanted to go out fo rmy daily walk/run exercise and asked Sierra if she wanted to go with me (and of course she did, such a good daughter!) Instead of around the block like we usually do I took a quick trip to downtown Salisbury. We also stopped by the Rowan Museum (I cant beleive I have lived here so long and have never been there) We walked up and down the streets and visited a few shops that Sierra wanted to check out. Below are some photos I took along the way.





Nice flowers in pots along the streets today!



and finally, the cute picture of the day.....Brightheart!!



Brightheart is still looking for a home!!!





We took Brightheart to the vet and got her first shots and had her checked for feline leukemia, which turned out negative :)

Until next time..Cheers!

Cheese, Bread, Apple Pie and Sauerkraut and a One Eyed Kitten

10-16-2011 What a great and beautiful weekend her in the Carolinas, Friday night started out with making some of my Lemon Cheese. Easy to do, and I will post instrucions in the near future. Saturday started with making some whole wheat bread, one loaf of Italian Seasoning and one loaf of BBQ bread. While that was proofing, I got started on my next home made Apple Pie ( destined for my mother-in-law's house ) and.. while they where both cooking and proofing I tried something new. Thats right Homemade Sauerkraut. It was really easy to prepare. All I needed was on cabbage, pick up from Patterson Farms, 4 1/2 tsp pickling salt, 3 quart mason jars and some frsh filtered water. First I chopped up the cabbage and then used a potato masher to mash down the cabbage. The as I filled up the jar I would add a little salt. 1 1/2 tsp per mason jar, in a layering fashion, a little cabbage adn litle salt, a little more cabbage and more salt and so on until the jar was full to within one inch of the top (tightly packed) Then I added from frsh filtered water to cover the cabbage and put the lids on loosely. Thats all there was too it. Now I wait. I will taste some in about 2 weeks and ill let you all know how its coming. Once everything was done, I took it all outside for a photo shoot ;)

On Friday my wife also brought home a suprise! A 7-8 week old tabby siamese kitten.. with only one eye! Appearently someone dropped her off in th eparking lot of where my wife works. Shesi cleaning he up and we are going to see if we can find a good home for her (my daughter has named her Brightheart) She is the CUTEST thing! Full of curiousity and aside from her eye looks to be comepletly healthy.

Check out this video of Brightheart My wife an I also cleaned out our Garden shed and trimmed some trees and limbs from our property. All capped off with visit from our good friends the Watkin's for a nice chat in the yard ( enjoying the sunshine ) and very good Spaggetti Dinner! Until next time..... Cheers!!!

Fritz's first, made from scratch, Apple Pie!

10-9-2011 So yesterday my wife and our friend Annie Watkins drove to Morganton NC and picked fresh apples from Apple Hill Orchard & Cider Mill Laurie came home with a wonderful couple of bags of Fuji and Winesap. I really liked the taste of their Fuji apples and their Winesap Apples were really really good!

So today we were invited to a picnic at Granite Lake Park with the Watkins extended family. So I thought why not try my hand and making a apple pie from scratch. So first up was asembling the ingredients, which included, 2 cups of sifted all purpose flour, 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp frsh ground nutmeg, 1/2 cup of vegitable oil and 1/4 cup of 2% milk. For tfe apples I chose about 6 fresh Winesap apples.

Next up was adding the wet works (oil and milk) to the Sifted all purpose flour and salt. Using a fork I integrated the Oil aand Milk with teh flour mixture with a fork until the flour absorbed all the liquid.

Once that had reach the consistancy of play dough, I formed it into a ball and cut it in half.

Next the dough is rolled out between 2 sheets of wax paper and flattened to the size of the 10" pie pan.

Now the top layer of wax paper was removed and placed inverted into the pie pan and then I cleaned up the edges.

Next I peeled, quartered and cores the 6 apples. Cutting the epices in 1/4 inch slices. A little fresh lemon juice helped keep the apples from turning brown. To the apples I added the cup of sugar, tsp of cinamon and th e1/2 tsp of frsh grated nutmeg. A quick hand mix and the apples are ready to go!

I then arranged the apples in the pie pan with the bottem layer of pie dough.

Here is a yummy closeup!

Now the top layer of dough is placed on top of the pan.

Then I sealed the edges, cut several slits into the top for cooking ventilation and added a few dollops of butter.

I hour at 425 degrees and you get....

PIE!!

Needless to say the pie was a big hit at the picnic. The fresh apples flavored with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg was unreal!!! Until next time..... Cheers!!!

Salisbury's 36th October Tour 2011

10-8-2011 "For the past 35 years, Salisbury has set aside the second weekend of October for a tour of eight to ten historic properties. Meticulously planned and organized by the Historic Salisbury Foundation, OctoberTour stands among the elite historic home tours of North Carolina. It is a short course in architecture, history, restoration and antiques. It has also provided the foundation with funds that helped save or protect some 100 older homes from demolition." From : http://www.historicsalisbury.org/octobertour.htm Once again its time for Salisburys October Tour. With several new places to explore I set out on this beautiful Fall Saturday to check out a little bit of hsitory in Slisbury NC. Below is some of the pictures I took while waundering through the tour. Hall House

The second picture was taken from the balcony of the Hall house's second floor. "The Dr. Josephus Hall House today sits in a park like setting, reminiscent of a long ago era when life was very different. Purchased by Historic Salisbury Foundation in 1972, it was the Foundation's first project and helped galvanize Salisbury's fledgling historic preservation efforts. Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this handsome house was built as a school in 1820. It became a residence in 1825 when local businessman Maxwell Chambers and his half-sister Rebecca Troy purchased the house and made it their home. Successful medical doctor and businessman, Josephus Hall purchased the house in 1859 and began work to make it the showplace it is today. This house remained a home to three generations of the Hall family. Historic Salisbury Foundation purchased the house and furnishings from Dr. Hall's great granddaughter. With the Hall's china, silver and furniture, the house casts a magical spell over visitors. Since it's purchase, the house has been maintained by the Historic Salisbury Foundation and is open as a house museum." From: http://www.historicsalisbury.org/hallhouse.htm

The out building (Hall house slave kitchen) was very cool. Out in front was a triage area for wounded Confederate Soliders (a bloodly dummy lays on a table in front). The right entrance led to a civil war doctor and his equipment and medicines from the civil war era. The left side had the original kitchen set up with cast iron pots and pans for hearth cooking and a kind gentleman who gave a nice talk on how this building supported the house and grounds.

Out front is a very neat civil war era cannon. I also caught a photo of a local artist painting the Hall house.

One of the other houses that really caught my eye was the Charles Torrence House on 428 West Bank Street. What I really liked was the superb sculptures in the back yard. Below are some of these great works of art.

Walking down the streets and snapped a few more photos including a house that wasnt on the tour but I thought was very beautiful.

I was soon headed to the east across the tracks and on to Grimes Mill. Here are some photos I took along the way.

Soon I was at Grimes Mill, a place I have always wanted to take a look inside. "This Second Empire style Victorian roller mill, built in 1896, contains five floors of early mill machinery. This unique property was purchased by the Foundation in late 1982. The mill, site of the Foundation sponsored Rowan's Largest Indoor Yard Sale and the Bargains, BBQ and Beer party held each May and October, is the only roller mill museum in the state of North Carolina. Tours by appointment only. " From http://www.historicsalisbury.org/mill.htm

and finally on this photo tour I leave you with some images of the Old English ( Oak Grove) Freedman's Cemeteries.

If you ave never been on this tour, you need to check it out fo rit is one of the jewel events of Salisbury North Carolina! Cheers!!!