Another Favorite

Gingersnaps.



Everyone in the family loves these, and they won't last long. Another keeper from "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" by Annalise Roberts. This book is quickly becoming my favorite gluten-free baking book - though I admit I don't follow the recipes exactly - I like real butter, not shortening, and I mix up the sugars with whatever I'm in the mood for, and I don't add in the icky xanthan gum. But the basics are solid and so far my results have been rave-worthy. Luke says these gingersnaps are the kind of cookie he could eat all day. I guess I'll have to double the batch next time!



Gingersnaps

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses

1 3/4 cup brown rice flour mix (I used GF Classical Blend sold by Authentic Foods)
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together butter and sugar, add in egg and molasses. Combine dry ingredients and add to the wet - mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet, sprinkle some sugar on top, bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Super simple! Enjoy!

Happy Summer Solstice!

The Short List

Finally, something to add to my standby list - the good stuff, the stuff everyone craves and begs me to cook. These, right here, are as good as my old Oatmeal Cookies. You know, the ones on the lid of the Quaker oats tub. These of course, are gluten free. You'd never know, though.



Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from "Gluten Free Baking Classics" by Annalise G. Roberts

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon gf vanilla extract
2 cups of your favorite gluten free flour blend (I used Authentic Foods Classical Gluten Free Flour Blend)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups gluten free oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix the butter and sugars til creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, and cream together. Add in flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, then add in the oats, and then add in the chunky stuff that you like.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Slowly, if you live in my neck of the woods. But still, there's tiny fruits to be seen. Little promises of summer goodness. Plus, we are finally eating lettuce from the garden. Love garden fresh lettuce, pretty much spoils you to what's in the grocery stores the rest of the year.

Tomatoes:





Peppers:



Strawberries:



And of course a future egg-layer:

Gardens and Chickens

I'm tired. We've done a lot this spring, and things are looking pretty good, mostly... and we are not done yet. But I think it's caught up to me and now I need a break from it all. I need to melt some glass soon or I'm going to go crazy. You too? Sick of chickens and gardens? Oh well, that's all I have right now. Glass soon. I have date with it next Tuesday afternoon for sure... but first my knuckle has to heal up from what I did to it on the edge of the compost bin this morning... that wasn't pretty - always wear your gardening gloves, you never know when you'll wish you had!

Garden Time!

Well, that was fun. The chicken coop, I mean. I'm so glad so many of you enjoyed watching along - though I'm sorry it took so long! But it's done now... and things are quite... quiet out there. The chickies are really too easy now, I just open the door in the morning and let them out, put out some food and fresh water and walk away. Later on in the day I pull up some grass and weeds and toss them in the run for them to play with and eat. Later on I freshen up their bedding in the coop (takes less than 2 minutes) and make sure they have enough food and water in there... and then around 7 or 8 they just put themselves to bed and I go shut the door... and freshen up their run, which takes 5 to 10 minutes and is not so fun, I'll admit. I need to figure out how to make that part better.... a long handled kitty litter scoop? Maybe. But really, all in all too easy and not very exciting. Though I love having chickens in my back yard! Perhaps I need to get started on that chicken tractor so I can chase the chickens around the yard and try to tell them where they are supposed to be? Hmn... that sounds exciting! Maybe in a few weeks. I've got gardening to do first.

It's my favorite time in my yard, just about everything is in bloom right now, and I've been weeding like crazy. I'll never get it all done, I know, but I think I'm the closest I've been any spring so far. Luke is even learning to mow! Garden bed borders are getting moved around, some plants I haven't been loving are being removed, new things planted... flowers and shrubs, yes, but also lettuce, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries all growing. My spinach keeps failing me and I'm not sure about this burying the potato stems thing yet... I don't think there is enough dirt in the world to keep up with how fast those guys are growing. I'm thinking about a fence around my garden and a blueberry hedge. And I need to cover the strawberries so the birds don't get them before I do this year. So much to do!

Lights, Camera, Action!

It's after 10:00 at night and I have chickens in the chicken coop!!! What a happy day! Lots and lots of details taken care of today and the girls are, hopefully, sleeping happily on their new roost (I need to go check on them once I finish this post!).

So... the lights - we have lights:



And we have a roost with poop catcher board and a ramp and a catwalk. (Don't ask. Well, ok, I didn't think the "poop board" could hold a ramp so we made it all complicated.) The clamp is there because I wanted the poop board to be removable, and without it, it wasn't at all sturdy. So, big deal, there's a cool old rusty clamp in the coop, I kind of like it.





And we have nest boxes blocked off with hard wire to keep the girls out of there until they are ready to lay some eggs:





All ready for action!!







And then there was a nap:



And someone else was sleeping on the job (when do I get a nap?):



The final detail: we build a roost in the chicken run. I'm afraid it might be a little high, only our high flier, Daphne likes it, but then she was in the rafters earlier in the day. I wanted it higher than the ramp platforms, hoping they would stop roosting on them and messing them up so much. We will see. But Luke and I made this while Frank was hanging that light... I think it's pretty clever - it folds up so we can get in and clean and stuff.











Nite, nite, chickens! Sweet dreams!

SO Close

They could have moved out tonight.... except I decided it would probably be better to let some paint dry first. The ramp to the roost has a tiny bit more work and I want to install a gate/board at the door to keep the wood shavings inside the coop when I open the doors... but the girls are moving out tomorrow! Woohoo!

Inside the Coop

Still working on things. Still need one more door. Still need to cut down the "poop board" to fit. Details, details.

Another Chicken Post

Today I went through the run and totally predator-proofed - I sandwiched the hardwire walls between a second inside board on the bottom and put screws with washers along the top. I also added a second latch to the door, one that closes behind me when I go in. And I added a string to pull from the inside to get out again! I also added a pull cord for the pop door. So... the run is finished, aside from a roost. Though the girls think the new zig-zag chicken ramp is a roost, of course they do!









We also worked some more on the doors. Here's a shot where you can see how complicated my design is. Oh well, we will get it right.



And, sadly, I had a casualty today. My trusty old wagon did not survive the building of the chicken coop. Darnit!



Oh well. The rest of my patio pavers will have to wait until I get a new one. Tomorrow I'm painting the inside of the coop and we have the one more door and then the coop is done! I think...