Farmville & virtual games

Facebook has a few Farm games that are pretty addicting and fun! Farmville, Farmtown and Lil Farm Life(for kids).I'm having a lot of fun with this because I don't have to put up with the REAL issues of farmlife.For instance, there are no gopher holes hidden in the grass to twist your ankle on.Sneakers stay clean and there is no such thing as horse or pig manure,sheep or goat 'raisons' and there is no chicken or turkey poop dropping on your head while you gather eggs.'No-seeums' are strangeley absent from your eyes, nose & mouth as you gather veggies from the garden.There are no weeds in Farmville or Farmtown.HUH!~ What am I doing wrong?There is no sweating or struggling or getting out of breath as you plow.Simply,'CLICK,CLICK,CLICK' and your field is plowed.Another 'Click,click,click' and your field is seeded and you start winning Blue & Yellow Ribbons effortlessly.There are no COBWEBS turning your barn into a horror den! In real life it's difficult to keep up with the manure pileup. Cobwebs have to be swept from the rafters , stall rungs and every nook & cranny every 2 weeks.Manure is strangely omitted from these games.So is fertilizer.As soon as you harvest you abruptly reseed.Who cares about replenishing the earth? Sheep don't shove you, pigs don't bump then bite your leg, sheep require NO sheering ( I like that!) and goats don't need their feet trimmed.Tractors don't flip over while you plow . There is no such thing as drought, blight or too much rain.
I LIKE this game! Was it like this for Adam & Eve before they messed up?

Growing Like A Weed !

Every day that I get out to the garden I find a new weed. It's a jungle out there.I can't believe we're still gathering stringbeans & waxbeans, corn & peppers, brussel sprouts~ all growing just fine despite the rampage of weed growth.Here's one I never saw before~~ a Kyle weed!! or is it a little lost boy?

Uncle Fritz

Bread & Butter Pickles

UNCLE FRITZ & JANET'S BREAD & BUTTER PICKLES- makes 8 PINTS

4 qts sliced medium cucumbers (do not pare; slice thin)
4 large white onions sliced
2 green peppers,chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/3c kosher salt (non-iodized)

Place in large pot and cover with CRACKED ICE (lots of it).Let stand 8 hours or overnight.Then drain well. Combine remaining ingredients:

5 c sugar
3 c.cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp tumeric
1 1/2 tsp celery seed
2 TB mustard seed

Pour over cucumber mixture.Heat just to boil.Pack in hot sterilized jars .Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath.(According to Ball Canning Book.)

Happy 20th Anniversary !

Happy Anniversary,Danny & Jamie!! The Big two-O ! You guyz are so good lookin' !!

Refrigerator Pickles

Something else to do with CUCUMBERS~ Refrigerator Pickles.No canning required and they stay crispy,crunchy for months in the fridge.SOooooo good!!

7 medium cucumbers, sliced
1 onion sliced into rings
1 small green pepper(mango)sliced into rings
2 Tb Kosher salt (non-iodized)
1 Tb Celery Seed
2 c. Sugar
1 c. White Vinegar

1.In a large bowl,combine cucumbers,onion & green peppers(I put mine in a large glass jar with lid.
2.Sprinkle with salt & celery seed.
3.Combine sugar & vinegar.Pour over cucumber mixture.
4.Cover & refrigerate at least 8 hours.Then it's ready. ~~~~ ENJOY!!

What to do with Zucchini & Cucumbers

Freeze measured out portions of Zucchini or cucumbers diced or grated for future recipes.Both Cucumbers and Zucchini are ingredients in many fantastic recipes.

1.Freeze 2 cups grated zucchini (run thru a food processor,chopper or blender)in ziplock sandwich bags. MANY RECIPES !!

2. Freeze 1-2 cups of grated cucumbers for recipes (Cucumber Dill bread or rolls)~fantastic toasted or use with grilled cheese, grilled tuna fish.

ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CAKE
BAKE 325F. (50-6MIN.)
Cream Together: 1/2c butter
1/2c vegetable oil (or 1/2c applesauce + 1 Tb oil)
1 3/4c sugar

Add & mix well: 2 large eggs
1/2 c buttermilk or sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4c cocoa
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 c. grated zucchini

Fold in by hand: 3/4 c chocolate chips
1/2 c walnuts (optional)

Note: You can buy buttermilk in powdered form. This works best so you're not stuck with a lot of leftover liquid buttermilk.For this recipe 2TB buttermilk powder mixed in 1/2c water)


CUCUMBER PAN ROLLS Yields 1 dozen
Bake 375F 30-35 min
Mix together in small bowl & allow to foam up
1 pkg Active dry yeast (or 1 Tb)
1/4c water(warm)
1 Tb sugar
1 tsp salt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3/4c diced cucumber
1/2c sour cream
Add above 2 ingredients to saucepan and heat to near scalding(not boiling)(to kill enzyme that will inactivate yeast in the sour cream)~ and cool to baby bottle warm (too hot will kill yeast).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 3/4 - 4 1/4 c all purpose flour
2 Tb minced chives
2 tsp minced fresh dill or 3/4 tsp dill weed

In a mixing bowl on low speed,combine 1 1/4 c flour,yeast mixture and gradually add cucumber sour cream mixture.Beat on high for 3 min.
Change to dough hook and add enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough.(Or knead by hand 6-8 minutes until elastic).

Place in greased bowl,flip dough over so as to grease top.Cover & place in warm place to rise. ( I place mine in oven heated to 135F then shut off oven when it reaches that temp). LET RISE 1 HOUR.

Punch down dough ; let rest 10 min;Shape into 12 balls and place in greased 13" x 9" x 2 " baking pan.

Cover & let rise till doubled about 45 min

BAKE 375F for 30-35 min or until golden brown.Remove from pan & let cool on wire rack about 10 min.