My Favorite Things ~ Fresh Eggs

Fresh eggs directly from the hen are most definately one of my favorite things. I spent all my life dreaming about a simpler life, and now that I'm finally here, it really is everything I had hoped for. I don't think I'll ever get over the thrill of walking outside early in the morning to find breakfast freshly delivered, free of hormones and chemicals.



Not everyone shares my endless enthusiasm. I walked into the kitchen this morning cradling those 3 warm eggs in my hand and announced to Colton in my silly sing song voice, "Look what I have for breakfast!" He smiled very sweetly and then said, "Mom, you do this every morning!" LOL Guess he is just not as thrilled as I am. But let me tell you, he sure does enjoy his country breakfast.

I hope to post soon about some frugal and green homemade cleaning products that I've been using. I really enjoy spending less and feeling good about having eliminating chemicals in my home and environment. I've been using a soft scrub and a spray cleaner that are working marvelously and costs just pennies to make. I'm looking forward to sharing those soon.

Well I'm off to town now. Jase needs to see the doctor today and while we're there, I hope to treat the boys to an ice cream. It's a sunshiney, warm day and I'm looking forward to the country drive. It won't be long before the daffodils will begin making their appearance. I can hardly wait!

Be blessed,
Lea

My Favorite Things ~ Old Books

Old books are one of my favorites things. I enjoy finding them in treasures hunts at the Goodwill, Second Hand bookstores and tag sales. I even love their smell! LOL



One of my favorites is "Grandma's Cooking" by Allan Keller ~ a combination fictional story and cookbook. It's dated 1955 and is an old library withdrawal from a local high school. Throughout are little handwritten comments and additions to the recipes. On page 165, some dreamy high school girl wrote "Babies" in flowery print. Wish I knew who she was ~ things like that just fascinate me.



Chapter 8 is entitled Maybaskets and Old Lace. It begins:

"Maytime in Windham Couty was a wondrous thing to behold. Grandma's great French lilac bush burst into blossom, filling the air for hundres of years around with its heady, overpowering scent. The johnny-jump-ups bloomed under the strawberry shrub and forsythia, and the bare spots in the front and side yards disappeared into a thick carpet of green."

On page 109 begins "Pages from Grandma's Recipe Book" and is filled with all sorts of wonderful chapters including a chapter for wild game with recipes using venison, rabbit and partridge. Other recipes have names like Autumn Spice Cake, Aunt Rachel's Stew, and Farmer's Delight.

Though I haven't yet tried it, I wanted to share one delightful recipe from the pages of this book. I enjoy the comments the author adds afterward.

Windham County Applesauce Cake
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 C plus 2 T flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp mace
1/4 tsp allspice
2 1/2 T cocoa
1 3/4 C unsweetened applesauce
3/4 C black walnut meats
1 C chopped raisins

Cream together butter, salt and sugar. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Sift together twice flour, soda, baking powder and spices to mix them well. Add dry ingredients alternately with applesauce to creamed mixture. Beat well after each addition until smooth. Mix in raisins. Add the chopped walnuts, if desired.

Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake in moderate oven at 350 degrees for 60 minutes, or until done. A 10-inch square pan will give about the right thickness to the cake.

Grandma served this applesauce cake, both hold and cold, with big wedges of sage cheese. With a glass of milk, it was almost a meal in itself. Many's the time the cake, cheese and milk stayed a small boy's hunger between the close of school and supper at the end of the day.

Blessings,
Lea

My Favorite Things ~ Gooseberry Patch Cookbooks

Like my mom, I love all sorts of cookbooks. But my very favorites are the cookbooks from Gooseberry Patch! Their cookbooks not only contain great recipes from folks like us all over the country, but they are filled with warm country thoughts, whimsical sketches and ideas to encourage celebrating life every single day.



I have 34 of their great cookbooks and 14 them I received for FREE! All you have do is visit their website ~ you can click on the Gooseberry book above to get there. They offer a free yummy recipe every week. Just click on that tab and you'll also have an opportunity to share one of your very own recipes. If they choose one of your recipes to print in a future book, they'll send you that book at no charge.

It's a fun way to share your family favorites and get a wonderful free cookbook as well. What could be better than that!

Be blessed!
Lea