New Lambs: Week Two

From The Hen House

This is the view from the back door of the hen house where I could see our sheep grazing in the back pasture this morning. It was raining when I took this picture, but I am hoping it will clear up later today. It is that time of year again (click here) and I'm thrilled to have the rain clear the air a bit. Below is the chicken house, our hens, both the happy and the broody, our growing chicks, and the morning's basket of eggs collected -enough for another flan (click here), more deviled eggs, or a lemon meringue pie (click here) perhaps. It is the time of year to appreciate and celebrate that which comes from the hen house: the incredible edible egg!

Sheep, Spinach and Strawberries 2011

The sheep are once again in the orchard, their own little bit of heaven here on earth...



...the spinach is growing and very soon we will have daily garden salads...



...and the strawberry blossoms promise an abundance of fruit. I can hardly wait!



The seasons change, and here we are almost full circle again.

Phat Thai

Is she here yet? Is that her? With our hay?



YES, HURRAH -It's her, it's hay time! Everybody in the barn! Go, Go, Go!



The sheep are absolutely overjoyed every morning when I feed them. They are quite happy to eat the exact same alfalfa hay, every single day for six months. Our dog is also SO EXCITED to be fed the exact same food, day after day after day. Every evening, after we lock up the poultry, I feed her, and every time she responds the same way -OH BOY, I GET KIBBLES AGAIN!!!! The people living here, on the other hand, would balk at the same old thing put before them every single day, though they do respond rather cheerfully to homemade pizza once a week, and they'll happily eat pasta several times a week -if it's not the exact same recipe. This is the something-with-noodles-that's-different-recipe I'm making tonight. It isn't an Italian-style pasta recipe, but rather an Asian-style noodle recipe, and I swear, this is the very best Phat Thai recipe. It is actually very easy to make at home, and there have been long periods of time when I've made this almost every single week.

Our chickens have recently woken up from their winter funk and are laying in earnest once again, and I can use quite a few eggs when making this Phat Thai. When I first learned to make this, it required a special trip to an Asian market, but now most grocery stores (at least here in the Puget Sound area) carry the basic ingredients for cooking Southeast Asian foods. After the necessity of making a shopping trip (unless you have a particularly well-stocked kitchen), the key here is to prep everything first, and then it all cooks up rather quickly. Substitute what you have (tofu or chicken, instead of shrimp), leave out what you don't like (one of my kids hates peanuts put in this), use more or less (or no) eggs as preferred, and the vegetables used can be varied, though when I added Savoy cabbage my kids were all rather cranky about it.




Phat Thai
Soak 1 lb. rice sticks in warm water for 20-30 minutes.

Have ready:
3 T. garlic, chopped
2 lbs large shrimp, cleaned (or sliced chicken breast, or whatever you want to use)
4 (or more) eggs, beaten in a bowl
1/3 c. honey dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
2-3 c. bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
14 oz can cut baby corn (and/or straw mushrooms, sliced water chestnuts, etc.) opened and drained
3 limes, juiced
1/2 - 1 c. fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
1-2 limes, cut into eighths and put into bowl to serve with Phat Thai
3 T. fish sauce
2 T. sugar

Heat a large skillet or wok. Add 1-2 T. oil and heat. If adding any fresh vegetables, saute them first until until tender-crisp, and remove them to a large serving bowl. Add 1-2 T. more oil to skillet or wok. Add garlic and when it browns, add shrimp. When shrimp is no longer pink, transfer to the large serving bowl.

Add 1 T. oil to pan, add eggs and tilt to spread evenly. Scramble, or cook in a sheet (or cook eggs in a separate pan, if preferred). Remove when just cooked (cut if in a sheet), adding to cooked shrimp in large bowl.

Drain rice sticks, and add 1- 2 T. more oil to pan. Add rice sticks to hot oil, then using two spoons, chopsticks or spatulas (or any combination of) pull apart and turn, or clump and turn and spread, to evenly coat with oil and cook. Add sugar and fish sauce as the noodles cook. Add bean sprouts and peanuts (if your kids will let you add them) when the noodles appear cooked, and keep turning until the bean sprouts are cooked to just tender-crisp. Add canned vegetables and when warmed, transfer all to the large bowl, pour lime juice over all -and sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves, if available and everybody at the table likes cilantro.

Serve with lime wedges, soy sauce and hot chili-garlic sauce. This makes four generous servings, but almost everybody really likes this, so I double the recipe for more than five at the table. This truly makes the very best Phat Thai ever -any night of the week.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Finished!

I just finished knitting my sweater and am quite pleased with myself. Paris, whose wool I spun for this, is one of the sheep in the background.

White Boys and White Bread

With the new lamb's arrival, the boys were kicked out of the barn and moved back into the orchard. They tussle about with each other in the barn and I was worried they might hurt him. It is amazing just how much effort all the flock exerts to make sure and not injure the little ones, both kids and lambs -but boys will be boys, and I didn't want to take the chance.



After their initial disgruntlement, Paris and his two sons, settled down to the serious business of grazing in the orchard. Paris has a colored gene, so he throws both white, like the boys here, and colored, like the girls and our new lamb. I love both the dark and white wool. I like the variety in the dark fleeces but I also like the classic white. Classic white wool and yarn is really quite lovely and a classic farmhouse white bread can be pretty spectacular, too.



Long ago in the B. C. (Before Children) part of my life, after graduating from college and moving to Portland, our next-door neighbor, Lori gave me this recipe. She had gorgeous red-hair, that I (very unsuccessfully) tried to capture the beauty of, by oil painting her portrait. She was my age, had a toddler son when we moved in, plus infant twins less than a year later when we left for Baltimore. We talked a lot about life, choices -and food. I'm always fondly reminded of my friendships from the past when I cook using the recipes my friends have shared with me. Friends may move on, but their recipes, and their place in my heart, remains.



Milk and Honey Bread
"Especially from Lori"
Mix in a small cup and leave until foamy:
1 T. yeast
1/2 T. honey
1/4 c. warm water

Heat to warm and pour in stand mixer bowl:
2 T. butter
1 c. milk
3 T. honey
1 t. salt

Add:
1 1/2 c. bread flour
Beat. Stir in:
1 egg
Add:
foamy yeast
Switch to dough hook attachment. Knead and add 2+ c. more bread flour, or as needed to make a smooth and elastic dough.

Place in a greased bowl. Leave to double in size. Deflate and let rise again. Shape one loaf and 8 rolls in a second loaf pan. Rise. Brush with egg-milk mixture (I always forget this part) and bake 350 degree oven for 35 minutes (20-25 minutes for the rolls). Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.

Sheep!

I love sheep. I love the way the look, they way they smell, the way they feel.

I love the way they'll either completely ignore me, or watch me carefully, thinking that I am going to do something -interesting or possibly terrifying- but something.

They are just so incredibly cute sometimes! It is such a joy to know they are all content and happy in their still green pasture, even though winter is not far away. I can't wait for lambs!

Sheep go to Heaven, Goats go to Hell

"Sheep go to Heaven,

...Goats go to Hell." though not meant literally, fitting song lyrics of the group Cake. Capricious by nature (Caprine is Latin for goat), goats are a PAIN to deal with. They will climb on whatever they can (here our terrified quail's house), eat the few thing you wish they wouldn't (the dogwood tree and roses across the fence), and given the slightest opportunity, they are geniuses at escaping (and then eating things you REALLY wish they wouldn't). 'Charming' and 'full of personality ' are how those who like goats describe them -oh sure, they're cute- but they are SUCH a pain to deal with.