Snake! And it's Almost Spring. (Homesteading Newbie Diary)

Are you ready? Tomorrow is the first day of Spring.  And the weather people are calling for lows of 38, 29, and 33 degrees over the next 72 hours.  Go figure.

Did you know this is the earliest arrival of Spring since 1896? Me either.  File that under things that make you go hmmm…

Well, I think I had a pretty productive week.  I had two big items to get going.  One was completed, and the other has been started.  Yay, me!

I've been reading through the Old Testament.  All told, I read chapters 21-32 in the Book of Numbers this past week.  Two quick thoughts:  those wilderness wanderers whined a lot, and sometimes I find the Old Testament disturbing.

We were able to go on long walks with the dogs a couple days.  Once along a creek by our place, and once around the lake just a few miles away.  Our youngest, Kody, dove in the lake without a thought all the way up to his chest.  Then quickly decided it was too cold and got out just as fast.  The older one, Bear, who is more cautious and measured in his decision making, decided not to go in at all.  It was beautiful scenery, and we all had a good time.  So much so, one of us was all tuckered out afterward.

Think I mentioned this in the Cabbage Rolls Deconstructed post.  I'll pop it in here, too, since it is part of the weekly recap.  I created a facebook page for Stephlin's Mountain.  If you like to follow blogs there, stop by and give the page a like.  'Preciate it!

So! Sowed any seeds lately? I did! Rosa Bianca eggplant, small cherry tomatoes, chocolate bell peppers, Poblano peppers, Fresno chili peppers, Thai basil, and Tom Thumb lettuce.  I have more to do, but that's a start! B also got the small greenhouse put together for me, and all the pots are out.  Ready and waiting! I was going to sow some rainbow swiss chard seeds, but thought I'd wait until after the possible freeze over the next few days.  I also read that cilantro doesn't like to be transplanted.  That right?

It took three more days' work, but I finally finished the women's history post I mentioned to you last week.  The subject is Myrtle Terry Lawrence, organizer for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union.  It's here at the Southern Graves blog, if you're interested.

One of my big goals for next week is to get some water kefir started.  Anyone else made it before? Any tips?

Made a loaf of sweet Mountain Dew bread.  Not a good step forward in healthy eating, per se, but it's a recipe I'm comfortable with.  And I did have to make some adjustments in the actual baking process.  This is my first experience with baking bread in a gas oven.  Plus, said oven is smaller than a usual one.  So even though I made my regular loaf size, I couldn't proof it as long as I would normally, or it would have hit the top of the oven.  I double panned it, but the bottom heat was still too much for my liking.  And lastly, I needed an egg wash for it to brown…It was still yummy, though!

We might have discovered a wild blueberry bush in the back corner of our lot.  Fingers crossed!

Made iced sugar cookie bars and watched In the Heart of the Sea.  Good dessert.  Good movie.

Last, but not least by any stretch of the imagination…SNAKE! Bear saw it first.  I walked by it at least twice before turning around to see Bear on his hind legs sniffing the air.  Then he dropped back to all fours and backed up a bit.  I followed his gaze to see a nice creepy black (rat?) snake slithering in between the railroad ties bordering our lot.  By the time I got the dogs inside and grabbed the camera, it was out of sight.  Even if I'm not exactly right in my naming of the type of snake, I'm still fairly confident it was not a poisonous one.  But still! This is the one thing I've been fearful of since moving.  I stress so much over my dogs, and it's not like I'm ever excited to see a snake.  Ugh.  Know of any natural snake repellant? (I'm only half kidding.)

Well, you're all caught up! What homestead happenings went on at your place last week?

Shared at Freedom Fridays, Simple Saturdays, Happiness is Homemade, and The Homemaking Party.

From my mountaintop to yours,

5 Ways to Use Ready to Eat (Now!) Bananas

Ever find yourself with more bananas than you can eat before they start to brown? Ever wanted to take advantage of a good sale on bananas, but weren't sure how you'd use them all? Here are 5+ ideas for those ready-to-eat (now!) bananas.

1. Banana Bread

The recipe I used combined all-purpose and whole wheat flour.  I didn't think it was sweet enough (for me) at first, but the more I munched the more I liked what I was munching.  It was a good platform for blueberry-lemon-honey fruit spread, too.  Here's the super easy recipe:

• 8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, at room temp.
  
• 3/4 cup sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tsp baking soda
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1 cup whole wheat flour*
  
• 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
  
• 1 tsp vanilla (how I make it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease 9x5x3" bread pan.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (I used a KitchenAid Classic stand mixer).  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and whole wheat flour to cream mixture, mixing a bit after each addition.  Mix well.  Fold in bananas and vanilla.  Pour mixture into pan, bake 50 to 60 min. or until cake tester comes out clean - cool in pan 10 minutes, on rack.  Makes one loaf.

*I mill my wheat flour using a WonderMill.  In this recipe I used what I had on hand, which was flour from organic hard white wheat berries.

 

2.  Banana Jam

I had never heard of banana jam before reading this post at Confessions of an Overworked Mom.  It sounded delicious, and it's something that may be preserved with water bath canning.  I gave it a go and was not disappointed.  It's swe-eet, though.  I might lower the sugar amount next time, cuz there will be a next time.  Here's the recipe (adapted from Ellen's, linked above):

• 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4-5)
  
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Put all ingredients in a pan (I used a 12-inch nonstick skillet) and simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until bananas are broken down to your liking. I like some texture, but still want it to spread easily.  Know what I mean?

Now let the jam roll at a full boil 5-6 minutes.  Everything will reduce and thicken.  Ladle jam into jar or jars.  I got a bit over 12 oz.

3.  Chocolate, Peanut Butter, & Banana Smoothie

I've been making this off and on for more than a year.  It's got enough good for you stuff to be a nice breakfast or snack.  Yet it's got enough chocolate flavor that I had it for dessert just last night!

Click here for the Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie recipe!

4.  Blueberry Banana Cake Donuts

These came about when I planned to make some blueberry donuts and at the last minute decided to throw in an overripe banana.  Good stuff happened there – moist, tender, blueberry freshness, with a hint of banana.

Click here for the Blueberry Banana Cake Donuts recipe!

5.  Strawberry Banana Soup

Ok.  I know "soup" is a poor choice for this often made traditional dessert.  You could think of it as a sauce.  If you want to make an angel food cake a little more special, add this strawberry banana mixture.  It wouldn't hurt to top your ice cream with it, either.

All you do is slice up a bunch of strawberries and bananas.  Toss them in a bowl with some sugar and fruit juice.  Just enough of each to bring out the natural juice of the strawberries.  It really is yummy all by itself.

There you have it! 5 ways to use some ready-to-eat (now!) bananas…But I did type 5 plus in the opening paragraph, didn't I? Well, don't forget banana pudding.  The best way is to go all out and make the custard from scratch, of course, but I was short on time the first night we procured the bananas.  So semi-homemade it was.

Get some banana (or vanilla) pudding mix and whip it up.  Get a bowl and layer the following:  vanilla wafers, pudding, and sliced bananas.  Then repeat until the bowl is full or your ingredients are gone.  You have a pretty nice trifle style dessert.

And last, but by no means least, I really enjoy sliced bananas in my breakfast cereal.  Sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many times I forget to take this simple step to enrich my morning when I'm in a hurry.

Now the next time you see those marked down several pounds bag of bananas in the produce department, have no fear.  You have at least 5 (or 7) ways to use them!

Shared at Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Simple & Sweet Fridays, Freedom Fridays, The Homemaking Party, Tuesdays Rubies, Happiness is Homemade, and Tuesdays with a Twist.

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From my mountaintop to yours!