Farm style Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving Farm Style.....



What constitutes a farm?? You must  at least have  some chickens and a rooster, a 105 year old Farm house (or so),  sheep as your neighbors, and just maybe some cows across the way:)



You also must have deer that live in your fields year round. Munching to there hearts content at your apples you just never got around to picking, your flowers you rarely get to see bloom, and your garden you worked so hard for...still it just wouldn't be the same with out these beauty's.



And you just have to have some trees that your absolutely in love with, these are mine...

But what constitutes farm style???

An old hand me down table that I once hated but now love, since my husband so kindly refinished  it for me..



A beautiful fresh bird from another farm.. with all the right finishes.



And of course you have to have the love for the simple yet beautiful things in life.  You have to work eager with your hands and be thankful for everything you have. You have to love and cherish your friends and your family because with out them, all of this would be meaningless. This I'd say makes for a farm style Thanksgiving from a not so average farm girl. 




And don't forget your pies... Happy Thanksgiving from our little farm to yours.



Rain Drops On Roses And Whiskers On Kittens...

These are a few of my favorite things....



Making Christmas gifts for family..



3 quarts chopped and peeled apples, 5 cups sugar, 1 cup maple syrup, 1 teaspoon cinnamon,
half teaspoon allspice, half tea spoon nutmeg, fourth teaspoon ground cloves. Mix together in large pot bring to a slow but rapid boil.



Enjoy the beautiful fragrance as this reduces on your stove top and maybe get some decorating done just in time for thanksgiving.



Almost done, I just need to buy the rosemary for the terra-cotta pots...I painted the rims gold and wrote the names of each guest, its a cute place setting and a wonderful gift for your guests to take home!



I always like to taste test a simple drink recipe before serving to my guests, Here is some  sparkling wine with a spoonful of my apple honey preserves  http://canningwife.blogspot.com/2010/11/cranberry-apple-honey-perserves.html.



This looks about right, let it reduce to a jammy almost honey texture. Cap and seal in sterile jars, process in a water bath for 10mins. Careful as you ladle into jars, I burnt myself pretty bad as the jam is pipping hot!!



This is one out of 3 yummys that I am making for Christmas gifts this year. Apple-Maple Jam,  Ball Blue Book. I actually even put a spoonful into my tea today and it was delicious! There's so many ways to use this jam. Now if I could figure out how to make a candle smell this good...but that's another blog post coming soon:)



For some simple yet elegant decorating this year I am heading right out my back door for beautiful flower cuttings and leaf collecting.



Not bad for free...

These are just a few of my favorite things, cooking and decorating. But the most favorite thing of all is this little guy...and I am so very thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Ready, Set, Go!



 It's that time of year!! And I couldn't be more pleased. The holidays mean alot of different things to alot of different people. For me, and my family the holidays are fun, fast, and very beautiful. Lots of amazing food and lots of time spent with the people we love. Memories are made and every year I am amazed at how truly blessed we are.
So with just a week to go be fore the big "T" day I thought I 'd better get to work. Because this holiday season I have a very full but very rewarding plate. First things first....hire help.....



2 cooks are better than one:) What a cute cook!



Tonight's recipe had to  be easy, I didn't want my new cook to get overwhelmed



And since baking was his specialty I thought pumpkin pie would do nicely.



Store bought crust, pumpkin in a can. So easy even Parker could make it...and he pretty much did!! His first pie.



This was a delicious super simple pie that my son and I made.

  Pretty much from now until new years I will be in my kitchen, cooking for the holidays...
and you know what, there's no where else I'd rather be.  Because I know that I am cooking for the people in my life who I am THANKFUL for every single day.

Happy Thanksgiving!! God Bless!

Cranberry Apple Honey Perserves..

WOW! The holidays are right around the corner and I couldn't be happier! I get so excited about having the big family dinner at my little farm house. I even stay up at night thinking of all the cool ways I could serve "this" or how I could decorate "that". For me, when I am blessed enough to be able to serve my friends and family, especially for a holiday meal, I want my house to feel like their own. From the moment they step inside I want them to feel welcome and cozy. But  most of all, excited about what's to come. Last night I was reading one of my food mags and they had the best idea's  for  your Thanksgiving table...You take little terra- cotta pots, the smallest ones you can find, paint the rim a shiny gold or whatever color you like. Then take a permanent marker and write the name of your guests. Inside the pot you will plant an herb of your choice like rosemary or thyme. Isn't that cute? I am  so doing that:)  Another idea I got from Pottery Barn was to put apple slices in your guests ice water instead of lemon. How adorable! And even though the Christmas tunes are already playing in our house I am in the kitchen  preparing for turkey day already.....Cranberry Apple Honey Preserves..

2 bags fresh cranberry's



Add 3 or 4 cored, peeled and chopped apples to the pot



Add 1 seeded and chopped orange or 3 little cuties, 3 cups of sugar and half a cup of pear honey( see my page for pear honey) or regular honey will do.



Stir all ingredients together and let simmer on low.



It'll start to look like this, stir occasionally until it looks something like this..



This looked just about right to me. Ladle into hot sterile pint jars, cap and seal.
15min water bath. This recipe from Ball Blue Book of course:)



This tasted so good I was practically ready to cook my turkey today! I will leave myself a jar to experiment with  this week.  How good would this be with toast, muffins, champagne cocktails, turkey sandwiches, glaze some chicken with  or even your turkey???the possibility's are endless.



9 beautiful pints and  now I'm thinking these little beauties would be perfect name holders for my thanksgiving table.

 So if you are new to canning, or even a little curious, I encourage you to try this recipe. Its quick, simple and most of all delicious! Don't forget to follow all safety guidelines for your home canning. Ball Blue Book is a great book and is considered the canners bible. I love it:) So this holiday have fun in your kitchens! And remember you can be a blessing to some one.Whether its family, friends, or someone you don't even know.

Happy Holidays!!!

Lazy Sundays...

Every once in a while you just need  to take a day off from your usual everyday chores. So for today the never-ending house projects will just have to wait. The yard that only you and your husband can really appreciate will just have to stay un-mowed. Because every once in a while you just need a lazy Sunday. A day where your only objective, your only goal, is to just be..and do what ever you want.

Like taking a stroll and enjoying the view.



Or for Bella, chasing the sheep just for kicks



Or eating some really yummy grub..



Or it could be something really simple but really fun, like collecting eggs for mama.



I will admit it is one of my favorite things to do too:)

One of my other favorite things to do on a lazy Sunday is make something or bake something....



Today I felt like making a simple yet beautiful cherry pie.  For the crust recipe click here. http://canningwife.blogspot.com/2010/09/apple-pie-anyone.html



Today it had to be easy, store bought filling with a homemade crust.



I will say I sometimes just have to laugh at my efforts for the perfect pie crust! Either way it's gonna taste great and I'll get it eventually.

 


Go on.... I know you want to, and it's okay, Jason and I laughed pretty hard too.



I can't wait to dig in !! I think I 'll just have to have more of these lazy kinds of days, after all life's not suppose to always be work. Your suppose to have a little slice of heaven every once in a while:) and just maybe some vanilla ice cream to go with.



Trick or eat...

Let me think about this one.....I say Eat! This weekend my close family and I decided that we needed a weekend away...to the coast! We rented a house right on the beach and decided to rest, relax and just indulge...To be perfectly honest Halloween has never really been my cup of tea. I'm more of a fall decorating bring on the turkey kind of gal. So for this year anyway our Halloween looked something like this...


Mom's Pan fried oysters in a panko crust.  Their was only 3 left by the time I thought to take a picture:)



Mom's clam's in pasta.



And of course on one of the days we just had to have a roast.



Mom and Dad.



Parker and Daddy

 This weekend was pretty great, we got to spend time with our loved ones, rest and relax. Eat some really amazing foods and listen to  the waves crash back and forth.
Oh and just so you know I will be doing some canning next week just in time for our Thanksgiving table's!



This post is coming a bit late due to the worst flu bug that I got after we returned home. I haven't been able to think about food until today. So hopefully I will be back on my feet and back in my kitchen in no time:)