Cast Iron Cookware Is My Old/New Favorite

Today when I made breakfast, I realized that I hadn't blogged about my love for my cookware.  Love is a strong word, but I really really like my cookware.  I have been married almost 46 years, and I have had every type of cookware.  I started out with cast iron frying pans.  When I was in my 20's,  I thought that was so old fashioned.  After saving for a while, we purchased some copper bottomed RevereWare.  I thought I was so smart and with it.  I hung them in the kitchen on a very pretty pot hanger.  I ended up hating them.  First of all the copper was tarnished most of the time and needed constant shining.  Food stuck on the pans and I had to scrub a lot.  I ended up selling them at a garage sale.

Next I bought those glass saucepans that were so popular.  They were even worse.  The temperature was so hard to control that I burned a lot of food or boiled things all over my stovetop.

 My next set was a variety of teflon.  It was good for a couple months and then the finish started to scrape off.  We have now learned that eating teflon is dangerous, but we didn't think about it at the time.  I went through new improved versions like T-Fal  throughout the years.  Even now I have a set of Cuisinart nonstick pans which are wonderful for their nonstick and cleaning properties, but the finish on some of the pans are getting pretty stratched.   So that brings me full circle.  I am now back to cast iron.  I only had one pan left from over 40 years ago, so I had to go out and buy them.  The pans you purchase these days come pre-seasoned.  If treated properly, nothing sticks and cooking in these pans adds iron to your diet.  I love them.

I bought this set from Amazon.com.

They even sell silicone covers for the handles so the handles don't feel hot.  That is really helpful because the pans do get very hot.  To clean all you use is water.  Never use soap because it breaks down the surface oil.   If something does stick, just let some water sit in it for a while and take a scrubber to loosen the food.  When it's clean, I put it back on the stove and turn the heat on until the water evaporates.  It's now ready for next time you cook.  I use two scrubbies.  I made one multi color so I know that is the one I use on the cast iron, and it won't have any soap residue in it.

Hand made scrubbies made from nylon netting.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/10/nylon-net-scrubbies.html

Fix For A Scratched Wood Finish

Today I spent the day with my grandson.  He had been sick during the night, so he had to stay home from school.  As the day wore on, he felt a lot better.  We actually had a wonderful day.  We watched HGTV and he played on his ipad.  I knit and made him dumplings for lunch.  My three oldest  grandkids want my dumplings whenever they are sick.  It must be comfort food.  During the day my daughter called to check on us.  She told me she had pinned several things on Pinterest the night before.  One of those things was how to repair scratches on wooden furniture.  She told me that all you do is mix 3/4 cup olive oil with 1/4 cup of vinegar, and that she was going to try it on her dining room table.  As long as I was there and she had the oil and vinegar, I gave it a try.

Two spots on the table where the finish was scraped off.

After I applied the oil and vinegar.

More marks on the table.

After the treatment.

My conclusion is that it really does cover the scratches.  The only thing that showed after I wiped the oil off was the marks didn't have a sheen to match the shine on the table.  It would need some wax or something to make it shine.  These marks were quite big but small scratches on furniture or woodwork would blend in nicely.  It is a very inexpensive fix, and it is worth a try.

The original blog shows another example of how this works.  http://lilyandthistle.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-quick-trick.html

Then another project that appeared on Pinterest.
http://www.domesticblisssquared.com/2013/06/diy-fix-scratches-in-wood-furniture.html

Taco Soup

Many years ago we went on the Formula Zone 40-30-30 eating plan.  It works but I quit because living such a rigid diet lifestyle is very difficult.  I did learn that living a healthier life style has many benefits and just cooking good meals at home is the most important part.  Some of the recipes from the diet book are very good and healthy, and we still make them.

My Tuesday recipe is from the 40-30-30 cookbook.  It's quick and easy.

40-30-30 Taco Soup

1 1/2 pounds extra-lean ground beef
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1 clove minced garlic
28 oz. can of diced tomatoes with juice
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
15 oz. can of black beans, with juice
1 cup fresh, canned or frozen corn
1 pkg. of taco seasoning mix 

In a large soup pot, heat the oil.  Add the ground beef and brown.  Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.  Add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, corn and taco seasoning.  Bring to a simmer for 30 minutes.
 

Toppings:
Sour Cream (low-fat)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Crumbled taco shells
Diced Jalapeno pepper (optional)
 

A Return Visit To The Worm Farm

I am going to preface this blog with a warning.  It is somewhat gross if you don't like worms.  I blogged about this subject before and was told by some that they wouldn't read it.  That's ok but some of you will find it interesting and may want to try it yourself some day.

My previous post was an introduction to my worm farm.  If you haven't read it or couldn't read it, here it is.  Just click on this link.  Worm Farming, An Unusual Type of Farmer

In the blog I told that I take the worms and the casting dirt out of the trays in the spring, and then I start the process all over again.  Today was that day.  I left one working tray in place because the worms were still working on the latest carrot peelings and removed the other three.  There were a lot of worms left in these three trays so there must have been some bits left to eat, but it was mostly lovely dirt.   At least I thought it was lovely dirt.

Tray of worm castings that used to be kitchen waste and paper.

It was nice and sunny outside.  I spread out an old tablecloth on the sidewalk and dumped out the first tray.  The worms don't like the bright sun and immediately embed themselves under the dirt.  By doing this, it made it a little easier for me to retrieve them.  If anyone has a better way, please let me know because it still wasn't easy.  Then I noticed it.  Oops, someone had shredded a plastic credit card.  That someone was probably me.  There amongst the dirt were pieces of plastic.  I mentioned before to be careful not to shred the envelopes with the clear plastic windows, but credit cards are a definite no no.  I started to pick out the plastic and pick out the worms.  It is a good lesson. It may take millions of years to decompose every piece of plastic that goes into a landfill because even worms won't eat it.  People shouldn't ingest it either but that's another topic.

Bits of plastic in the dirt.

This looks like more than one card.  I think it's the AARP cards we received.

This tray took a while to sift through, but the other two trays went faster.  I ended up with thousands of worms.  I'm not sure what others do with the excess worms, but I would love some ideas for this too.   I kept out a pound container of worms and put the rest of the dirt and excess worms in my outside compost pile.  I also spread some of the dirt around a few plants that were just starting to come up.  Now here is the gross part.  Don't look any further if you ever want to eat spaghetti again.  It's time to return the lucky ones to the farm, or maybe the lucky ones were set free today.

I started a new tray with a lot of shredded paper.  Then I put the worms back to live another day. 

Night Bowhunters Return To Our Marsh

It's May 3rd of 2014.  We had a very nice day.  The temperatures were in the low 60's but best of all the Baltimore Orioles returned for the summer.  At this time we only see the male birds but soon the females will follow to build their nests and raise their young.  I am thrilled every year.

The first of many birds we will see this summer.

Last night was a very long night for me, and I didn't get very much sleep.  Seeing this Oriole this morning was wonderful.  Last night the Carp bowhunters returned to our marsh.  I wrote about it last week. 

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/04/was-it-ufo.html 

They didn't stay that long last week, but last night they were here for several hours.  They have very bright halogen lights on their boat.  They come very close to shore so the lights brighten up our whole house.  The air boat sound is very loud.  I am a light sleeper and couldn't sleep while they were out there.   Fishing must have been successful because another boat joined the first which doubled the lights and the noise.  It is legal as long as they stay on the water even though the land is our private property.  I think it is very rude and kind of creepy, but hopefully it is just a temporary situation.

It kind of looks like a pirate ship.

You can see the shadows of the fishermen standing on their boat at 2:30am.

It's Not A Beautiful Yarn Bowl, But It Works

A few weeks ago my son-in-law asked me if I knew what a yarn bowl was.  He makes beautiful wooden bowls out of a variety of woods, and he was considering making one for yarn.  If you wonder what that is, it is a decorative bowl that holds a ball of yarn to keep it from rolling around when knitting or crocheting.  I told him I had seen them, but to keep my yarn ball from rolling across the floor, I just put it in a wastebasket.  After that conversation, I started thinking about other ways to control the yarn.  This is what I came up with.  It is super ugly, but it works so well.

This an old tupperware pitcher that I have had for many years.

I found an old Tupperware pitcher in my cupboard.  I don't use it anymore because I switched to glass measuring cups.  I do most of my knitting in the car.  Whenever we go to "the city", I like to knit.  It is one way to get at least two hours of knitting without feeling guilty that I should be doing household chores.  I recently started to knit another pair of socks.  Socks are the perfect take along project.  I just roll the yarn into a ball and place the ball in the pitcher.  I put the lid on with the yarn coming out of the pouring spout.  The ball rolls around inside the pitcher and doesn't get tangled.  In between knitting times, I can put the whole project away in the pitcher.  I grab it when I go in the car.  The yarn stays clean and I don't have to dig around in a bag for my work. 

I like sock yarn that has some washable wool in it.  The finished socks wash beautifully and are nice and warm.  I have mentioned this before, but I also buy thrift store sweaters and unravel them for the yarn to make interesting socks.

I roll the yarn in a ball rather than use it straight from the skein.

In the past, I would make socks from the top down.  Now I found that making the sock from the toe-up gives a lot more opportunity for a perfect fit, and there is no need to kitchener stitch the toe closed.  I also found that if you internet search the yarn and yarn company, you can find patterns specifically for that product.  It's easy to start from the toe.  This isn't really meant to be a tutorial for toe-up socks, but to show how to get started if you want to try.  Just cast on about 10 stitches (or whatever the pattern calls for) on a double pointed knitting needle.  Then pick up an equal number of stitches from the cast on row.  I use a crochet hook to pick up the stitches and then transfer them to the second knitting needle.

Cast on stitches on a single needle

I use a crochet hook to pick up stitches on opposite side.

Then transfer from crochet hook to second needle.

From this point follow the sock instructions to increase for the toe.  I use four needles until I have the total number of stitches needed to fit my foot.  This sock increases to 56 stitches on a size 2 needle.  If you have a thicker foot, this is the time to increase a few more stitches.  If you have a skinny foot, you can do less.

This specific pattern increases to 56 stitches.

I really like using a nine inch circular needles instead of four double pointed needles.   I have to use the double pointed needles until there are enough stitches to comfortably work in the round with the circulars.  Then it is just a manner of working around and around placing markers if needed.

Put any pattern you would like, this is the Irish Moss Stitch.

So if you knit or crochet and want to control your yarn ball from rolling around, find a pitcher.  If your not a knitter, this method would control a ball of string for tying up newspapers or magazines.

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

If any of you want to submit a recipe with a picture to me, I would love to post it on this blog.  I make a lot of the same foods over and over again, so finding a new delicious recipe is getting harder and harder.  Just send it to cabincountess@gmail.com

I made this recipe in my Pressure Cooker tonight but it could be made the same way and baked in the oven.  When I have made it in the oven, I just layer it in a casserole dish, and I heat the milk before I put it over the sliced potatoes, ham, flour and butter.  Bake covered for an hour until the potatoes are almost tender, then uncover to get the top browned slightly. 

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

2 medium potatoes, sliced
3/4 cup of cubed ham (can be purchased already cubed)
Small onion either diced or sliced

Mix together 2 heaping Tablespoons of flour, 1/2 t. salt and 1/8 t. pepper

Spray a heat proof bowl or a metal bowl that will fit in the pressure cooker on a rack.

In that bowl layer sliced potatoes, ham and onion.  Sprinkle with 2 t. of flour mixture.  Put a couple pats of butter on flour.  Repeat the layers two more times.  Pour 3/4 cup of milk over the top.

Put 1 1/2 cups of water into the pressure cooker cooking pan.  Put the rack in and place the bowl on the rack.  Cover the bowl with foil.

Put the lid on the pressure cooker and cook on high for 20 minutes.  Let the pressure drop naturally

Baking Soda Deodorizing Disks

As many of you know by reading my stories, I like messing around with different concoctions, potions and make-it-yourself projects.  I previously made and wrote about toilet bombs and this project is similar.  Many of us put a box of baking soda in our refrigerator to keep it fresh inside and to absorb odors.  I did too, until recently.  I came across a recipe for making baking soda disks.  They can be put anywhere you would like to absorb odors.  I put them in the cabinet where I keep the trash basket and recyclables.

It looks like a lazy susan.

But it's a trash/recycle center.

I put them in the refrigerator, in shoes, closets and cabinets. For those with a baby in cloth diapers, some diaper pails have a spot in the lid for a deodorizer.  The disks fit perfectly.  I usually put them in a little dish or container in case they deteriorate and crumble a little.  There is nothing caustic in them but if you have pets or kids, a container with holes in the lid might be a good idea.

I had this little covered container with a lid for air flow.

About every month you replace the disk with a new one and crumble the old one in the sink with a little vinegar.  It bubbles up and helps clean the drain.  It's like two for the price of one.


Baking Soda Deodorizing Disks

2.5 cups baking soda
1/2 – 1 cup water
15 drops Purify essential oil
Silicone mold
Directions:
1. Combine baking soda, 1/2 cup water, and essential oils into bowl.
- See more at: http://doterrablog.com/diy-fridge-refreshers/#sthash.DfzbkMYc.dpuf

2.5 cups baking soda
1/2 – 1 cup water
15 drops Purify essential oil
Silicone mold
Directions:
1. Combine baking soda, 1/2 cup water, and essential oils into bowl.
- See more at: http://doterrablog.com/diy-fridge-refreshers/#sthash.DfzbkMYc.dpuf

2 1/2 cups of baking soda.  It's about 1 1/2 boxes.  Baking soda only costs about 50 cents per box.

1/2 to 1 cup of water

About 15 drops of essential oil.

I like citrus scents, either lemon, grapefruit or orange.  I also made a batch with peppermint.  I heard that mice don't like the smell of peppermint.  I put a few disks in the basement.  So far so good. There are no critters that I can see.

To make these, all you do is mix the essential oil into the baking soda.  Then you add enough water to make a wet sand.  If it is too dry, the disks will crumble.  If it's too wet, the baking soda will dissolve and it will take forever to dry.  Next press into a form.  I have a silicone mini muffin pan.  These work great because you can just pop them out of the form.  With a rigid form, you may have to urge it out with a knife.  The only secret is to let them dry for 2 or 3 days.  I took them out too soon and they did crumble on the edges.  They aren't pretty but work well.

Was It A UFO?

It was about 11:15 pm on April 25, 2014. I had just gotten ready for bed. I have taken my flannel sheets off the bed and replaced them with regular cotton sheets, but I haven't taken off my electric blanket. It was a bit chilly so I turned the blanket on for a little while. I got all cozy, but the room seemed especially light. I opened my eyes and could see a bright light coming in the window. Being slightly startled, I got up and looked out the window. Wowza! Something was out on our marsh, and it was coming in our direction. I got my husband up. We watched it come closer and closer. I looked through binoculars but it was too hard to see. The light was blinding. My husband opened the patio door and went out on the deck. He was certain it was a UFO. I stood behind him in my bare feet on the cold deck boards. Then he yelled "What are you looking for?".   There was no answer, but it turned around and slowly went back the way it came. Then in the distance I heard "Goodbye". The aliens could speak English. Then when they turned a little,  I could see it was a boat.  I could see the shapes of people. I could hear them laugh. Then I saw them casting out a white net or a line of some sort. Slowly they moved toward the river, and then they were gone.  My husband said he was correct, it was a UFO (Unidentified Floating Object).

Blinded by the light out on our pond.

Then they started to move away.

And then they were gone.

We stayed up for a while talking about what just happened.  We know it is sturgeon spawning season which I wrote about a couple days ago http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/04/sturgeon-spawning-season-in-wisconsin.html.  We know it is walleye spawning season, and there is a limit on the number of walleye a person can catch.  We were sure that who ever it was out there was up to no good and probably doing something highly illegal.  We were certain they were poaching sturgeon or walleye.  We finally settled down again, the bed was nice and warm on my cold feet and we went to sleep.  The funny part is that my dad was in the next room with all this going on, and he didn't hear a thing.  He claims he doesn't sleep that well, but he did last night.

This morning my husband called the DNR to see if they had any boats out looking for sturgeon.  They said no, but it is Carp bowfishing season.  It was probably just some people fishing for carp or maybe catfish with a bow and arrow.  It is a legal sport.  We have seen them do this during the day, but we have never noticed night fishing before. 

This is the type of boat we saw.  It has a platform, spotlights and a big fan like an airboat would have.

Another Busy Day On The Homefront With Wood Ducks and More

Today it has been a very very busy day on the home front.  I have not gotten anything done.  The minute I start something, I see some new sign of summer.  I got up at 6:00am today because I knew it was going to be a sunny warmish day.  The forecast for the next few days isn't nearly as nice.  The first thing I always do in the morning is make coffee.  It only takes three minutes with my awesome and very old Bunn coffee maker.  When it's done I relax in the chair and look outside.  I love this time in the morning when everything is quiet, and no one else is up.  Today the first thing I noticed was all the wood ducks have paired up.  Up until this point they would hang out in a group with a few pairs mixed in.  Today a pair was swimming in the water, a pair was sitting in the tree and a pair was walking right past the wood duck house and climbing the hill.

Pair of wood ducks sitting in the tree right outside our dining room window.

Male wood duck walking up the hill away from the water.

Either the same duck or another came to sit on my deck railing.

Next I saw a great big bird out in the marsh.  It didn't have a white head but it was as large as an eagle.  I couldn't get close enough to see what it was, but when it flew it was gigantic.  It takes three to five years for an eagle to get its adult coloring.  This could have been a young one.

The big bird is sitting in the photo about half way up to the left of the tree.

In spite of the cooler water temperatures, the turtles are peeking out.  The sun probably feels good.  Soon there will be tons of them out sunning themselves on any branch or surface they can find.  The flooding makes it a little more difficult.

The leaves are budding out.  The pussy willows are gone and the willow is now getting its leaves.  The red winged blackbirds like to sit in the willow tree.

Pussy Willow bush is getting leaves.

Tamarack Tree is getting it's new needles.  Tamarack trees are pine trees that lose their needles like a deciduous tree.

The most convincing sign today was the return of the Tree Swallows.  They usually compete with the Bluebirds for birdhouse space, but there aren't any bluebirds in our yard today.  I see them on the property but they must not be ready to nest.  The Tree Swallows always settle on the same house.  No matter how many choices we give them, they like the blue-gray house.

I could hear them squawking at each other as soon as I went outside.  One must want to live here and the other doesn't.

All this has happened, and it is only noon.  I need to go and get some chores done.  If anymore signs of summer happen, I will report on another day.  Considering we live in the middle of nowhere, there is a lot happening today.  Even the common Male Mallard duck was ready for his close up.

Sturgeon Spawning Season In Wisconsin

 
The sturgeon are spawning again in this area.  I wrote about sturgeon spearing and a little bit about the spawning process last year. Click on this link if you want to read more about the sturgeon.
http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/02/sturgeon-spearing.html

We knew it was getting close to sturgeon spawning season 2014.  Then last night my daughter got a call from her neighbor.  He said the DNR was down by the Fox River netting sturgeon to tag.  They were tagging the fish so their behavior and habits can be monitored.  Since her son is fascinated with wildlife, fish and prehistoric creatures, they went to see the process.  He got to touch the sturgeon and ask questions. I bet all of his classmates are getting stories today.

They use a net to capture the sturgeon.

They take measurements of the fish.

Here they are putting a device under the skin so they can keep track of that individual fish.

Being a little bit jealous that my daughter and grandson got to participate in such a fun adventure, we took a little trip to see if we could also see a sturgeon.  We didn't quite know where to look, but we went to the city park on the Fox River.  There was a policeman walking along the trail so we asked him if he had seen any.  He said there were some a few feet down the trail.  We could see the fin action from where we were standing.  I almost ran to the spot.  We were very lucky to see them.  There is a boardwalk and when the river flooded the boardwalk became a few inches under water.  Apparently the sturgeon flopped over the top and landed in shallow water trapping them between the boardwalk and the shore.  As I was trying to take some pictures, the DNR warden came walking up.  He explained that the sturgeon were trapped, and they would have to find a way to release them.  He said the male sturgeon have to be 14 years old and the females 20 years old before they spawn.  He also said that the water has to be 54 degrees.  Since the water temperature has gone down because of the cooler weather we have had in the last couple day, the fish wouldn't be in our town for several days.  At that time they will bring in a crew to tag the fish in Princeton.  Maybe we will see them again.  Thank you Mr. Game Warden for being so nice.

Sturgeon don't have teeth, they sense food with their feelers (barbels).