The River Otter and The Eagle

It's days like today that I wish I had a better zoom lens for my camera.  I'm not a professional photographer so I can't justify spending thousands of dollars on a longer zoom.  A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about the otters that we see in the spring.  I was hoping they would return, and I saw them again today. 

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/02/river-otters-return.html

The snow is melting fast, and the ice is very thin.  That is when the river otters come out to play.  I noticed that one otter had poked a hole in the ice and came out for a while.  These next photos are as close as I could get.

I watched the otter for a while and then I had to run to the store for some bananas.  My dad has a banana every night as part of his bedtime snack.  I was completely out.  When I returned I saw an eagle eating something out on the ice.  I couldn't tell what it was, but I hope it wasn't an otter.  I tried to go outside to take a closer photo but the eagle flew away when I barely got out the door.  I'm thinking it is probably a fish.  In the past I have seen the eagles eat fish from holes in the ice.  I sure hope that is the case.

Soap Nuts For Your Laundry

Several months ago I wrote a blog about how I make and use homemade laundry soap.  It worked very well, and it is very economical to make.  This detergent costs only a few cents per load.  For a long time I made the liquid version, but it was messy and it was a large amount to store.  Then I switched to the dry powder which I blogged about.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/01/what-on-earth-is-zote.html

Recently I learned of something else to use for laundry soap.  This is what it is!

Soap Nuts

These are called Soap Nuts. Soap nuts are the dried shells (or husks) from the soapberry tree.  These shells contain a substance called saponin that produces a soaping effect. Saponin is a low sudsing natural soap that can be used in top loading and front loading high efficiency machines.  It doesn't contain any of the harsh chemicals that are found in many laundry detergents, and they are antibacterial and biodegradable.  I ordered a half a pound of nuts.  Apparently I will be able to wash about 80-100 loads of laundry with this amount.

All you do is put 3-5 of the nuts in a little muslin bag (I also use little knitted soap bags) which comes with the order, tie it shut and toss the bag into the washer.  You can use the same bag of nuts 5 times before putting in new ones.  If the bag wears out, an old sock works just as well.  There is also a way to make liquid detergent with them.  You just boil them according to directions and strain the liquid into a jar.  A little goes a long way.  I ordered mine from a company called Pucketa Creek Trading (http://www.naturallaundrysoap.net).  They offer free shipping on an order or a free sample to try.  Amazon.com and others also sell them.  I admit I haven't used them for very long and haven't made the liquid, but they seem to clean well.  I'm sure heavy stains would have to be pre-treated just like you would with any detergent.  It was even suggested that you freeze the liquid in ice cube trays and toss one or two into the washer.

I also found a website that gives recipes for using these Soap Nuts to make dishwasher detergent, window cleaner, general cleaner, bathroom cleaner, face, hand or body wash and insect repellent in your garden.  http://www.crunchybetty.com/the-mother-of-all-soap-nuts-recipe-resources

I know it doesn't seem possible that these would work, but nature provides us a lot of things we aren't familiar with.  I read a blog from a person who has used them for two years and loves them.  http://www.stacymakescents.com/?s=soap+nuts

I will report back in a few weeks to report whether I continue to like using these Soap Nuts.  So far, I love them.  

Update:  I have used the soap nuts for several months now.  I like them because our clothes don't get that dirty and they are so easy to use.  I noticed the whites need a little boost now and then and spots need to be pretreated.   Overall, they are great and I will continue to use them.

This Week's Action On The Trail Camera

It has been a while since I shared some of the photos I have captured on the trail camera.  Most days are pretty much the same, but I still go out everyday.  I pull out the photo SD card and put in a new one.  I have updated my look from my previous trail camera posts.  Instead of the old red plaid flannel nightgown with floral sweatpants, I now wear a pale blue t-shirt knit nightgown with a matching pair of pants.  My husband's big boots remain the same.  Aren't I a fashion forward person?  It's a balmy 18 degrees so I didn't need a winter coat.  A lightweight fleece was enough warmth.  It's probably because I'm so HOT!

Each 24 hour period we usually have around 100 pictures of squirrels, raccoon, birds, deer, possum and anything else that wanders past the camera day and night.

A raccoon and a deer deciding who gets the last bite.

Pretty soon the Bucks will have shed their antlers.  Then I won't be able to tell the deer apart except for the little doe who limps.  She either injured her leg and it healed crooked or she was born with a defect.  I am always happy to see her because I was afraid she couldn't keep up during this brutal winter.

He lost one of his antlers.  I imagine by now he has lost the other one.
See the possum.  Neither pay any attention to the other.

The fox come by once in a while to see what new goodies have been put out.  This was the night after our early St. Patrick's Day meal.  The possum that came to dinner must have put the word out.

Orange Gluten Free Bundt Cake and An Easy Pineapple Cake Topping

I can't believe it's recipe Tuesday already.  I wrote about the early St. Patrick's Day dinner we had two days ago on March 9th, so I thought I would post the recipes for two of the deserts we had.

My daughter made a gluten free Orange Bundt Cake.  It was very good and moist.  This recipe would also work with a regular cake mix.

Orange Bundt Cake

 
Orange Gluten Free Bundt Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package gluten free yellow cake mix or regular yellow cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Glaze:
1/3 cup orange juice
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter

Grease a 10 inch Bundt pan.  Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

In your mixer bowl stir together the cake mix and pudding mix.  Make a well in the center and pour in the orange juice, oil, eggs and lemon extract.  Beat on low until blended.  Scape the bowl and beat 4 minutes on medium speed.  Pour the batter into a prepared bundt pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes.  Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.

For the glaze:

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook 1/3 cup of orange juice, 2/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup butter for two minutes.  Drizzle it over the cake.  You may not need all of it.  Determine how much glaze you prefer.

The next recipe is a super easy way to come up with a tasty desert.   My mother made this often when she had unexpected company.  I used Pistachio pudding to give it a greenish color for St. Patrick's Day.  Sometimes I also use a pistachio cake with this topping.

Yellow Cake with Pineapple Topping

Pineapple Cake Topping

Just bake or buy a plain yellow sheet cake.   A white cake or pistachio cake would also work.

Mix together:

1 (20 oz ) can of Crushed Pineapple including the juice
1 package Instant vanilla pudding (I used pistachio pudding)
1 8-12 oz. Cool Whip

Cover the cake with this topping and refrigerate.  It keeps for several days in the refrigerator. 

Our Grandson's A Junior Black Belt

Last weekend was a busy one.  Yesterday I wrote about our annual St. Patrick's Day dinner http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/03/happy-st-patricks-day.html, but the day before was also very special.  On Saturday evening our grandson got his Junior Black Belt in karate.  I wrote about Sam getting his brown-black belt in May of 2013.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/05/sam-got-his-brown-black-belt.html

 

Through a lot of hard work and perseverance he got his black belt.  It was big celebration.  They had about 30 candidates at different levels. In order to achieve this, he had to write a paper on why he wanted to be a black belt.  He read it at the ceremony, and it was wonderful.  Sam is like me and public speaking is not something we do easily.  We all were very proud.  In addition to the paper, they had two long days of extensive testing.  There are several degrees of black belt.  The next 18 months he will be working on the next level to become a 1st degree Black Belt.

Sam with two of his instructors.

Doing this is a big commitment for the whole family.  It requires weekly instruction.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Every year it is tradition to make Corned Beef and Cabbage for St. Patrick's Day.  This year we had the meal early because of the family's busy schedules.  Instead of the 17th of March, we had it today March 9th.  I had never had it or made it until I married someone with a very Irish name.  Now 45 years later, I'm still making Corned Beef.

I made three corned beefs, plus the usual carrots, red potatoes, rutabaga, onions and cabbage.  If you like corned beef, buy the flat cut and put it in the slow cooker.  It turns out great every time.

 Corned Beef cooked and ready to be sliced.

The grandkids aren't a big fan of corned beef so I also made three racks of ribs with mashed potatoes and cauliflower.  We had green jello, coleslaw,  rolls and a bowl of strawberries.  We had a lot of food.  Plus we had several deserts. 

I cut the ribs in smaller sections for easier eating.

We even had an uninvited guest come to the door.

What takes a couple days to prepare can be eaten in short order.  All that's left are dirty dishes.  There were some leftovers but not as much as you might think. Growing kids have big appetites.   Each family took home a doggy bag, and we will have one meal leftover for tomorrow.

Lots of dirty dishes but it was worth it.

After dinner was time for a little relaxation.  Every one was tired because the clocks got pushed ahead last night for daylight saving time.

A little nap.

Three generations of Steffen boys watching Batman.

 

The party's over, but this guy doesn't know it.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Spring Is Around The Corner (Hopefully)

The snow is melting today and we have seen a few migratory birds return, we have smelled the odor of the farmers getting out onto the fields with scrapings from the barnyard, we have heard the robins and other birds singing and the crows cawing, but we haven't seen the Sandhill Cranes yet.  We heard they are are south of here, so I imagine they will be here soon.

They usually arrive about this time in March.  Usually they arrive on the 9th which is tomorrow.  Last year I wrote about them on the 14th of March.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/03/enjoy-your-surroundings.html

To help me get through the winter, my daughter bought me this yard ornament of a crane.  I keep it in the house.  It is too nice to put outside and is a reminder of days to come. 

Frosty Morning

This time of year the weather is so unpredictable.  We have set off in the morning and a couple hours later while returning home, we can hardly see the road because of a snow squall coming through with a vengeance.  It's like a quick summer rain shower that only occurs in a small area.  Today we woke up to above zero temperatures but it broke records for low temperatures in other places not that far away.  My daughter took these pictures this morning while taking her son to school.  This beautiful sight was less than 20 miles away from us.  We didn't have anything like this at our house and by the time she returned home, the frost had disappeared.  The contrast between the brilliant blue sky and the white frost is amazing.  Enjoy the beauty!

The Talking Watch

It is March 5, 2014 and it is a beautiful sunny day but so deceiving.  The icicles are being formed from the snow melting off the roof and from the inside of the house it looks like a lovely Spring day.   It isn't though, it is cold and windy.

The sun must have some heat in it even with the temp below freezing.

Icicle is even dripping off the birdhouse roof.

Waiting for the real Spring to arrive, I have very little to write about.  Recently I noticed my dad, who is 89 years old, was never quite sure of the time.  He has macular degeneration and has trouble seeing his watch or a clock.  He has a clock which strikes the hour but that doesn't help much.  Sometimes he starts getting ready for bed at 8:00 PM because he thinks it's 10:00.  I got the bright idea to get him a talking clock.  I went to every store I could think of and couldn't find one.  So I went to the go to online store, Amazon.com.  I found a watch that had pretty good reviews and spoke the time.

Notice it says Talking Alarm Watch.  He had a little trouble hearing it at first because of the robotic sound to the woman's voice, but eventually learned to understand her.  During the first day, he did fine and took it to his room when he went to bed.  Some time during the night he got it turned upside down and pushed the button to turn on the alarm.  At 2:00 AM the alarm went off, and it went off every 5 minutes until 2:30.  Then it either stopped or he stuck it under a pillow so he couldn't hear it any longer.  Somehow he kept it close so I wouldn't hear it.  I'm a very light sleeper, but I didn't hear it.

My solution was the very versatile Duct Tape.  I covered all the buttons except for the one to push for the time.  It has worked well.  I will have to remove it this weekend to Spring Forward, but that won't be a problem. 

So until I have new bird sightings and pictures of plants peeking through the earth to share, you will have to hear my boring stories of our everyday life. 

Don't Bake A Paczki

It's Fat Tuesday.  The day for fattening up before the fasting days of Lent.  Not only is it Fat Tuesday, it's Paczki Day.  Paczki (pronounced Poonch-key) is a traditional Polish doughnut type bakery item.  My husband is half Polish, my mother in law was full Polish and no one in my family has even tasted one.  There is a bakery in the Green Bay area that sells over 20,000 of them on this day.  I thought they must be wonderful and so I would try to make them.  Traditionally they are deep fried, but I found a recipe where they are baked.  I don't like many things deep fried so I thought this would be a better option, and it would have a lot less than the 400 calories in a fried one.  They turned out looking like a sweet dinner roll with more sugar on top and jelly in the middle.  I think deep frying them would be better for taste and maybe a little crispiness.  It would also make the sugar on top stick better. 

Baked Paczki 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm milk (no warmer than 110 degrees)
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 ounces (1 stick) room-temperature butter
• 1 large room-temperature egg
• 3 large room-temperature egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon brandy or rum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• Granulated sugar (optional)

Add yeast to warm milk, stir to dissolve and set aside.  In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, brandy and salt until well incorporated.

Still using the paddle attachment, add 4 1/2 cups flour alternately with the milk-yeast mixture and beat for 5 or more minutes.  Dough will be very slack.  If it's too soft, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour.

Place dough in a greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.  It should take from 1 to 2 hours.  Punch down and let it rise again.

After it has risen, turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.  Pat or roll to 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness.

Cut rounds with a 3 inch biscuit cutter.  Remove scraps and re-roll and re-cut.  Transfer rounds to parchment lined baking sheets, cover and let rounds rise until doubled in size.  It takes about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place the Paczki's in the oven and bake 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean.  Remove from oven and roll in sugar.   Put jelly in the center when cooled.

For those of you who are true bakers, you are probably laughing at me right now.  I am willing to try anything, but it doesn't always turn out.  I have never tasted the real Paczki, so maybe they did turn out and I don't know it.  Some day I will have to travel to the Polish bakery and see for myself.