chickens, tequila, and of course cake

Aren't they cute, I love them. There is an advantage to having 2 backyard pet chicken to having a whole coop full on the farm, you can spoil them....yup, they love treats and I am having fun experimenting with different treats to see what excites them most. Right now the winner is yogurt, they get so excited that they have it all over their faces, of course they won;t let me wash their faces yet. I put some oats in the yogurt so they have something to grab it with since I don't trust them with spoons, they keep their coop way too messy, I would never get them back...just kidding. The also love spinach, so I have planted extra for them. I can tell them apart now, that's Thelma on the left and Louise on the right, Louise is a little bigger and Thelma is a little friendlier....and  they both love yogurt.

So I am reading farmer porn now too.....I know...geek

I am still loving my little cake pan that I brought back from Mexico, I love making a little cake, who wants to eat a whole huge cake? Who wants cake all week? A nice little Sunday cake is so fun and you don't have to live with it for a whole week.....especially  if you share it with a friend.

I am still knitting for the little grand boy, another little baby sophisticate, (I call it a little old man sweater) pattern is here www.ravelry.cpatterns/om/patterns/library/baby-sophisticate. I also had to make him little pants and then had to make dad a matching tie and pocket handkerchief because I am a geek and can't stop myself. So...I went to the store and bought a tie (they are not cheap) and ripped it apart so I could use it for a pattern....seriously, once I had this idea in my head I couldn't stop myself, but isn't it adorable? Think about it....the impossibilities, you could make your husband a tie out of the same fabric as your dress...how cute, or as your little girls dress...cuter yet hey. If you want to borrow my ripped up tie for a pattern let me know....don't buy one they are not cheap.

I also finished another project, that "Bloomin Bus" is done, and it is one hot bus if I say so myself.

It really needs chrome wheels and bumpers doesn't it?

We have had many promises of rain but no rain to speak of, last weekend we got 6mm, barely a 1/4 inch, it wet the ground but just left us thirsting for more.

It was all drama...no rain.

Look who came to visit me at work, the little ol' man himself, a sweet little pea he is.

In amongst work and all my other geeky shinanagins that keep me busy I do get lonesome for Mexico quite a lot, not because I am not happy here just because ..... just because, when that happens I put on my blingy jeans that I bought there, crank up some Anna Gabriel and dance in my living room and drink tequila. The picture doesn't really do them justice but I warn you, should a bright light or the sun hit my butt in these jeans I could blind you....don't follow too close.

Of course I don't dance while drinking tequila.......that would get messy.

Many crab apples, and same old same old garden pictures

 A friend dropped off 2 bags of crab apples and then my sister invited me to pick crab apples at her house, this is how I ended up with 6 bags pf apples. Yes sir yes sir 6 bags full. I turned them all into juice. It is so simple. Cut all your apples in half and put in a big bowl or pot, pour boiling water over them and let them sit for 24-36 hours. Strain (no mashing, just straining) the now beautiful pink water into a large pot (or 2) and add sweetener to your taste. I  like honey, and I don't like my apple juice too tart, I think I had 18 cups of juice to about 1 1/2 cups honey. Boil this for about 10 minutes and pour into hot clean jars, no need to water bath as they will seal. Let stand on kitchen counter for at least a week so you can admire how pretty and pink it is before putting on your cold storage shelf. When you are done straining the juice off the apples you will be left with buckets of perfectly fine looking apples, you will be tempted to do something with them, do not....do not make pie with them. There is no flavor left in those apples, your pie will not taste like apples, you MUST put them in your compost bin. I know, it seems wasteful. I think on a cold winter day this juice would be really good heated up with some cinnamon and cloves, but for now it is good cold on ice with a few mint leaves.

On the left raspberry rhubarb juice, then pretty pink apple juice and some pickles.

Another friend had way too many cucumbers so I made 3 jars of pickles, I normally don't do pickles but I knew I would not be able to eat them all. I am also blanching and freezing beans as I pick them from my small patch.

I figured that since I was doing something new like making pickles I should go all out and really make something new so I made these beautiful Asian Moon Pickles. Got the recipe and picture below from Liesl's site here http://nestinground.blogspot.com/  I forgot to take a picture of mine but they didn't look near as pretty as Liesl's. I couldn't find black sesame seeds anywhere so I had to settle for the ordinary white ones. I haven't tried them yet. Thank-you Liesl. 

Tomatoes are at all different stages

More tomatoes

My afternoon snack at work, I get my 5-10 servings of vegetables in before supper, I've learned to eat tomatoes like apple...no core or seeds to spit out

This is my garlic harvest , minus 1. Need to plant more next year.

From what I am reading this squash is ready to be picked when he is not shiny anymore, I'm getting a little impatient, they are still all bright green and shiny and Jack frost is breathing down our necks here. 

These are organic brandy wine tomatoes and they still growing and not turning red yet, they are in the greenhouse so harm of frost but I'm not sure if I should pick them or let them be.

This little guy will soon be pie

This guy wants to be the "prize pumpkin".

IS there any other flower that is more wholesome and farm-like than sweet peas?

My ivies have decided they are tired and done for the year and are  putting on one last show for me

The weather has started to turn on us, we had one morning at 3C with about 5C being the normal now. Our days are still nice, anywhere from 15C to 25C but with a cool fall breeze. It's at this time that I start thinking more and more of my Mexican home and friends and of taco of course. I really start craving tacos and toni-col, and tostadas, etc. I also start thinking of knitting, I actually started a little knitting project, a little baby sweater, there are no babies in my life but it couldn't hurt to have a gift on hand and it is a very easy quick project just to get my kntting groove on. The pattern can be found here :http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-sophisticate

I have also been drinking Mexican hot chocolate in the evenings, I don't even drink this stuff when I am in Mexico because it's just not cold enough there for hot chocolate. Those of you that know me know I don't like chocolate but this chocolate is very mild and not too sweet and mixed with cinnamon. It's more like hot frothy milk with just a hint of chocolate. Most of us North Americans coming home from Mexico have a few of these boxes in out suitcases, usually more than we need, I think we are just  infatuated with the hexagon shaped box...I know I am. There are many different brands but the box is always hexagon shaped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibarra_(chocolate) 

MY garden makes making lunch so fast and easy. Boil a pot of water with some carrots, onions, garlic, add some noodles, a tomato consume cube and at the last minute some swiss chard....so good.