Drying Herbs



Oregano





Parsley




Oregano in the dehydrator



Parsley in the dehydrator



Dried Oregano



Dried Parsley





Parsley and Oregano ready to flavor a variety of winter meals.

Joining the Carnival Of Home Preserving



Herb Butter

The Oregano needed pruning!

After snipping about half the height from the

plant...

..I added most to the dehydrator.

(The parsley wanted to go to seed

so it was trimmed, also, and shared

half of the racks in the dehydrator.)

The aroma was so fragrant

it made me hungry for a tasty

treat of a lightly toasted roll

with herb butter.

To make my Oregano, Garlic and

Parmesan butter I first

stripped the leaves from the stem by grasping

the top with the fingers of one hand

and pulling down the stem with the fingers

of the other hand.

(the stems go to the compost)

Chop leaves fine ~

about 3 Tablespoons

Add to 1/4 cup softened butter

Add a heaping Tablespoon of minced garlic

(I usually use fresh, but didn't have any so

used this garlic in a jar.)

Add 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Mix up with a spoon and place in a pretty little

crock or bowl.

I spread a roll with the butter and

toasted lightly!

Mmmm! Delish!

You can use a variety of herbs

such as Rosemary, Parsley, Thyme, Marjoram,

Basil, and Sage

or any combination of the above.

Be creative ~ add Garlic, lemon, pepper,cheese.

It can be used on meats, fish, chicken and vegetables.

It's perfect for grilling ~

add a pat and let it melt it's herbal

goodness right down into what ever you are cooking.

Tastes so good!

Freezes well and keeps for about 3 months.

Fill up a pretty jar and

present it to your host at that next

Bar~B~Q!

~*~

Linking to these blog hops:

Homestead Barn Hop

The Country Garden Showcase

Tuesday Garden Party

Share Your Cup

Home & Garden Thursday

The Country Homemaker

Farmgirl Friday

Farmhouse French Vanilla Ice Cream

Gentleman Farmer gave me an ice cream maker

attachment to my KitchenAid Mixer

for Christmas.

This is my first experience making Ice Cream.

Here is a recipe I tweaked from the

KitchenAid Recipe Booklet.

Farmhouse French Vanilla Ice Cream

5 cups whole milk

(I use raw Jersey Milk ~ highest in milkfat

I let the cream come to the top and pour that into

a measuring cup. You can substitute half and half and

whipping cream, light and heavy cream, whole milk, or any combination 

as long as the liquid measurement stays the same.

 The more fat [cream] the

richer the flavor and creamier the texture!)

8 egg yolks

(mine are farm fresh and organic ~ straight from the nest!)

1 cup sugar

(you guessed it ~ organic!)

4 teaspoons Real Vanilla

(I would have used a Vanilla Bean if I'd had one!)

dash of salt

In a saucepan,

heat milk/cream to 170*

Do not boil

Stir often.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Mix egg yolks and sugar in a bowl

until well blended and slightly thickened.

While mixer is going, very slowly add

heated milk/cream.

Return cream, egg, sugar mixture to saucepan

and heat on medium, stirring constantly, until small bubbles

form around the edge of the pan  and

mixture is steaming.

Pour into a large bowl and stir in vanilla and salt.

Cover and chill in refridgerator overnight

(at least 8 hours)

Pour mixture into Ice Cream Freezer/Maker

and process according to

your machine's directions.

In a KitchenAid, on Stir for

20 minutes, until desired consistency.

Eat now for 'soft serve' texture,

or freeze 2-4 hours to harden

and ripen flavor.

You can add up to 2 cups fresh fruit

during last 5 minutes of processing.

What will you have on your delicious fresh ice cream?

(I had Chocolate Syrup ~

Gentleman Farmer topped his with fresh Rhubarb Sauce.)

Yum any way you serve it ~ even plain!

;~P

~*~

Joining Deborah Jean's

Farmgirl/guy Friday!



Busy Time Starts Now!

With the harvesting of the rhubarb

so begins my canning for the season.

I start off with rhubarb sauce and a few loaves

of rhubarb bread in the freezer.

Soon will be berries

for jams and jellies

and pies and smoothie packs...

but that is another post!

Joining
 Jami at An Oregon Cottage

for

Tuesday Garden Party

Amy at Homestead Revival
for
Barn Hop #61

Springtime Farmhouse Quiche

My quest for Spring has brought me back to a favorite

dish that is good anytime, but I love it for a quick

meal to incorporate my abundance of farm fresh

eggs and tasty springtime Asparagus!

You can find my recipe for Farmhouse Quiche

here.

Tonight's version uses sausage and asparagus.

Quiche is one of those dishes that are so

easy to prepare, uses just a few basic ingredients

 yet is impressive enough to serve to

company. It is a lovely Easter Morning

Breakfast dish!

Joining:

 Kathy at A Delightsome Life

for

Home & Garden Thursday!

Deborah Jean at Dandelion House
for
Farmgirl Friday!

A quick lunch with ties to the past

My Grandma was ahead of her time! Back when I was a child, she would fix this for a quick lunch that seemed oh so special to me.  Kids love this sort of thing, and I still adore it today! Top Ramen wasn't even invented yet! (My kids would say, China and Chinese Food wasn't invented yet when I was a kid! :~O ) Good thing about the ramen ~ this is way better .

Here is her 'recipe'!

1 can Campbell's Beef Consomme Soup

1/2 package of Red Rose Gourmet Chinese Egg Noodles(found in the Asian Isle of the grocery store)

Chopped Green Onion

Mix soup according to directions on can ~ (one can water to dilute)

Heat consomme to gentle boil and add noodles.

Cook till soft.

Serve with topping of chopped green onion (and any other additions

as you would ramen soup ~ leftover bits of vegetables and meat or fish, but

I prefer it simple ~ just the way Grandma made it!)