The Potato Crew

My potato digging crew, paid off in pumpkin pie. Thank you boys!

"What! Only a third of the way done?"

Roasted Turkey

We had our first homegrown turkey for dinner- even though this was an older bird, it was better than anything we have ever gotten from the store!

Bitterroot Style Cornbread

2/3 cup butter
2 cups cornmeal (the best is freshly ground homegrown organic flint corn)
2 cups almond flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 cups water or milk
4 eggs
1/4 to 1/2 cup honey depending on how sweet you want it
1 tsp. vanilla

If you have time, soak the cornmeal and almond flour in the water or milk for several hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 425. Place the butter in a 9x13 pan and put it in the oven as it heats. Whisk everything else together. Take the pan out of the oven and tilt it around so the butter coats the sides, then pour the excess into the batter and mix it in. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Pear Leather

An older couple from church gave us several boxes of pears from their orchard, so I've been busy making them into pear leather. They did not get sprayed this year so are smaller and have more bugs, but I'm happy not to have the pesticides and think it is well worth a little more work with a knife. Following Mama's recipe, I remove the bad spots and cores and put them in the food processor, skins on, with 1 T lemon juice and 1 1/2 T honey for every six cups of pears. I spread the puree out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and dry them in the warming oven set to low for about 48 hours. I take them out when they are still sticky, since they seem to harden more once they cool off. The leather makes a nice winter snack, if it stays around that long!

Winter Squash, Garlic, Chickens and Turkeys

After covering them for several frosts, I harvested about 75 pounds of pumpkins and acorn squash yesterday. Not much compared to last years 450 pounds, but still enough for lots of pumpkin pies this fall!

I sorted through the garlic I dug earlier in the summer, pulling out the best five pounds to replant for next year. I ended up with about twelve pounds for eating, plenty to get us through the winter.

Another hen hatched ten adorable chicks, bringing our total to 63. I've already sold several pullets to pay for feed. I think I have a buyer for the rest. We should get 30 young roosters for meat.

Friends helped us butcher our older three Bourbon Red turkeys last weekend. It was a little gross, but doing it with friends made it kind of fun! We have six youngsters left to butcher in November.

Gluten Free Coconut Scones

Gluten Free Coconut Scones

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold butter
2 eggs
1 T. honey
1/3 cup cream or coconut milk
zest of a small orange
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup dried cranberries or 2/3 cup frozen blueberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Put a baking stone in the oven to heat, or cover a cookie sheet with greased parchment paper. Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter. Add eggs, honey and cream or milk and blend well before stirring in orange zest, coconut and berries. Roll the dough into a ball and place on a little flour on a cutting board. Pat into a circle 3/4" thick and slice into eight triangles. Bake 10-12 minutes or until they start to turn golden brown.

Buttery Goodness

1/2 cup softened butter
1/3 cup raw honey
3/4 tsp. vanilla

Whip together and serve with the scones.

Mama's Birthday Cake

I had some fun making a barn cake for Mama's birthday. It came out a little messy, but it still looked like a barn so I'm happy! I used my Chocolate Almond Cake recipe with vanilla frosting. I put some of the frosting in the blender with a slice of cooked beet to make the "red". For the grass I did the same with dried peppermint leaves. For the dark gray roof I mixed in a tiny bit of activated charcoal powder. I sprinkled on some coconut sugar for the path. It tasted great!

Chocolate Almond Cake

This one is one of my specialties, a cross between a cake and a brownie.  It is quick and easy, and even people who aren't gluten-free rave about it.

1 ½ cups almond flour

½ cup cocoa powder

½ cup evaporated cane sugar or coconut sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

¾ tsp guar gum or xanthan gum

5 T oil (I use sunflower)

1 T vinegar (I use brown rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar)

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup of water (Will vary according to how fine your almond flour is. Start with a little and add more until it is the usual consistency of cake batter)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8” pan. Mix dry ingredients and dust greased pan with the mixture.  Add wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.

Vanilla Frosting

½ cup/1 stick butter, softened

1 lb. powdered sugar

¼ cup water (more or less)

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp cream of tartar

Fudge Frosting

½ cup/1 stick butter, softened

½ cup cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar

1 T water (or more depending on how thick you want it)

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch salt

Beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add remaining ingredients and beat a few more minutes.