Coconut Cream Pie!

When I started blogging, I thought I would talk about cooking or baking more often but that hasn’t happened. I guess I’m just a boring cook, but sometimes I do make something new.

Part of my morning routine is to check e-mail, then I read blogs. One of the first blogs I always check is Mennonite Girls Can Cook. They have some good recipes there but I don’t try new recipes like I used to years ago. However in March they gave the recipe for Coconut Pie Crust. The farmer loves coconut so I downloaded the recipe to make for our dessert on Easter.

It was delicious! I made the crust exactly like the recipe said.

I used their Coconut Cream Pie Filling recipe for the filling. (There is a link in the pie crust recipe for the filling too.) The pudding calls for a can of coconut “milk” (it isn’t milk, call it coconut water or coconut juice, I don’t care what you call it but it is not MILK) which I actually had on hand. I couldn’t taste any coconut flavor in the pudding so next time I won’t use the coconut water and will just use all 100% real milk.

I did take a picture of the pie after it was cooled. You are supposed to put parchment paper on top while it cools, which I did, but when I peeled off the paper, it messed up the top and didn’t look that nice. Look at the picture with the recipe, it is picture perfect!

 

Planting Garden

Monday I tilled my garden and planted the onion plants I picked up at a greenhouse. The variety I like to plant is called Candy. They are big, white and sweet. Delicious!

The little paper sack contains shallot sets. I’ve never grown them before but I decided to try them this year. I’ll let you know later what I think of them.

Last summer/fall I had seeded fall radishes in my garden. They winter-kill, the roots turned into pithy things the tiller could just chop up and the stalks and leaves just dried up into nothing. I had only planned to till soil for the onions but went ahead and did the whole garden. The soil just tilled so nicely. The radishes are wonderful for condition the ground. Everything tilled nicely until I got to the very east part where the tomatoes had been last summer. The Farmer pulled the cages after the tomatoes frosted and no radish seeds were planted there. It was harder ground and not as malleable as the other part.

On the left side of the picture is the garlic I planted last fall. It is maybe 3″ tall now but coming along well. To the right side are the teeny, tiny onion plants I just planted. You can’t see them, but they are there. When they grow larger, I will mulch them with sawdust and give the garlic another covering too.

 

 

 

My crocuses are finally blooming. Finally, flowers outside!

 

 

 

 

 

The rhubarb is up. We’ll be eating rhubarb custard dessert soon!! The Farmer is happy about that.

 

 

 

Last summer when the wind storm hit us, the top of one of the old maples on the east side of the house broke off. This tree has had a crack on one side for years,  but the crack was much deeper after the storm. For safety reasons we cut the tree down this winter. It isn’t completely down yet, this stump is what is left. Our tree guy needs to come back and finish the job.

It was hard to make the decision to cut her down. We don’t have air conditioning in our home and the trees make a huge impact on keeping our house cool in the summer. We will miss her and hopefully the south maple will be enough to keep us cool.

Spring is Slowly Coming

Spring is slowly making her way into northern Indiana. The neighbors have buckets hanging on the maple trees to collect sap.

The white pails are hard to see against the snow background.

Most of the snow has melted and I can see the roadside trash that needs to be picked up. Daffodils have started emerging from the ground and the skunks have emerged too!

When I walk down to the road in the early morning to get the newspaper out of the box, I often hear the male cardinal singing to his mate, if I’m lucky, I’ll see him too. The other morning I could hear a killdeer in the bottom pasture field calling and another bird from the neighbors farm, crying in return. We’ve had bluebirds sitting on the fence and the other day in town I saw robins hopping around in a yard.

The garlic is waiting for a little more warmth before completely waking up. I’m glad I decided not to plant peas this year, the garden isn’t fit for planting.

I have taken the time to sew the buttons in the center of my pincushions. Don’t they look better? I just used regular buttons from my button tin.

I’m still working on my Red Radiance embroidery project too. I’ve completed 3 of the 4 borders. I hope to get the embroidery completed before we start field work this spring.

Spring Flowers; Some Wild, Some Tame

Dutchman’s Breeches

 

I think these are called Jack in the Pulpit, but I don’t know for sure.

And some creeping myrtle.

These are the “tame flowers”. I bought some violas and planted some in a planter. I see them every time I come in the house.

I’m not a flower expert, I just enjoy looking at them and I think they are pretty.

Garden Progress

The early garden vegetables are planted; now they just need to grow! The peas have popped up through the soil line and the pea fence will go up next week. The garlic needs to be weeded and another layer of mulch added. The onions aren’t big enough to mulch and the potatoes are waiting for warmer weather before they emerge. The broccoli is holding its own and has grown some since I planted it last week.

The first picture is of the garlic; such an easy crop to grow!

This is looking west from the center of the garden.

 

 

That is alfalfa at the top of the picture. When it is tall enough, we will make hay to feed the cattle. Here is a close up of the alfalfa.

The garden and alfalfa field are beside the field the farmer is plowing.

The Plowing Begins

The farmer began the spring field work today. This is a 5 bottom plow being pulled by a John Deere 4240 tractor.

We rotate the crops on our farm, and this year the rotation calls for corn to be planted in this field.

The heifers like to watch.

My Favorite Day of the Year!

Every spring an event happens here on the farm that I very highly anticipate. Most people won’t appreciate the excitement that builds toward this event. “The Event” is called . . . putting the cows out on pasture! Yes, Yes, Yes!!!!! So much less barn work now and the cows enjoy it too.

Here are some pictures of the girls enjoying their first day of the season on the grass.

Isn’t green a beautiful color?

Springtime Clean Up

I like to put the mulch on my flower beds before the perennials pop up. Some years I have to really hurry to get them mulched before the plants appear. This year I haven’t had that problem. I’m almost done mulching. Now I need to start pruning.

Apparently the rabbits’ winter home was under our LP gas tank. We had so much snow the only food they could find were the burning bushes.

I don’t know if this guy will make it.

First Day of Spring!

Today is the spring equinox. Nothing is growing, the ground is so cold and frozen. I often have rhubarb by now, it may not be tall, but I cut it anyway and make rhubarb custard dessert in celebration of spring. This year I had to improvise; I used frozen rhubarb from last year, served with a fresh brewed cup of coffee and a splash of Golden Guernsey cream. Springtime delight!