Monday, November 9, 2009

Busy, busy days

I have a million things I ought to be doing right now, but I thought I would take a short break to say how busy we have been.

Paul has been helping his Dad with farm stuff for the last week. I went to take a picture of him working in the field today, but as usual, the combine was broken down... again. These pictures probably show much of what they have been doing for days! It is supposed to rain tonight, and they need to have the beans out... I am doubtful that it can be done...


Paul is the one in the brown shirt with his head in the machine. That is his dad beside him. They called in another mechanic to help, he is by the cab.
 
As for me, I have been on vacation... sort of. I am due in 5 weeks, and everyone is worried about me. So, Paul has taken Nelson to "work" with him every day! I have had some QUIET days around here! So, I spent one afternoon finding recipes for pumpkin. I spent another afternoon learning to process my own pumpkin. And, I am spending every afternoon working on a new recipe (that usually includes pumpkin!) I am getting all my recipe ideas from The Family Homestead - my new favorite site!!! (Go me! I made my first ever pumpkin puree!) I should also mention that since I do not have a sturdy mixer I am mixing and kneading by hand! My hands are not too sore these days... and I am going to enjoy this labor while I can!

This afternoon, I took Paul, Nelson, and Paul's parents lunch out in the field... then, I came home to start garlic cheese dinner rolls (another new recipe). Oh, and I bought groceries this morning. It was a vacation with only three kids - the busiest one being absent!

My folks are coming from IL on Thursday, so I probably won't be around much at the end of this week. There is cleaning to be done... hospitality to extend... and so on.

Tomorrow I have another OB appointment, I will let you know if I learn anything new.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bethany, I didn't do it this year, but I made my own pumpkin puree last year, and it was so much fun! You'll have to let us know what all you make with it. I'm still reading through all the articles at the Family Homestead. Love it!

Bethany W. said...

April,
Here are pumpkins recipes courtesy of The Family Homestead
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/pumpkinrecipes.htm

We loved the pumpkin pancakes! Like I said on Facebook, I used regular whole wheat flour instead of pastry flour, and I cut back the baking powder to 1 1/2 Tbls.

Bethany

Anonymous said...

Having your head inside the combine just seems dangerous! Hope they get it all fixed up and in time. As city folk dependent upon farmers, we pray regulary for them. Curious about how you are storing your pumpkin? I froze mine, then I read that the USDA does not recommend water bath canning as pumpkin is a low acid food and has great potential for botulism growth.

Bethany W. said...

Kimberly,
So far I haven't stored any. We are eating it so fast, that I am just setting it in the fridge for the next use! BUT, I do intend to go back to the Amish store where I bought them and get a dozen or so more (at 50 cents/pumpkin). I will freeze that puree. I usually vacuum seal everything for the freezer, but I am almost out of bags... so I will just use Ziplocks. A lady from our former church did that once and the puree kept for us in good condition for almost one year.
Bethany

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info- I froze mine in freezer ziplocks too - after it cooled. 50 cents a pumpkin is a great deal! Pumpkin is so nutriious.