Hurray!  It looks like Spring is finally making its debut here in Central Illinois.  The potatoes and onions are planted, the lettuce and spinach are beginning to germinate – everything is awakening!  We love this time of year.

With all the hurrying, be sure to mark your calendar for Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16.  From 2-6 P.M. on Friday and 8-Noon on Saturday we will be at Vanessa’s location (1 1/2 miles north of Route 32/33 intersection – watch for the Plant Sale signs).  This will be your first opportunity to see all the fun new plants and, of course, our returning favorites too.

Don’t forget that we will have various vegetable seeds available for purchase too.

The Produce Route will be starting soon!

If you have questions or would like to be added to our email produce route, please email Vanessa at vanessa@hisgloriesfarm.com.

See you soon

Part of the fun of spring is all the new “arrivals” that the Farm welcomes.

These few photos highlight the nine “new kids on the block” that were born on the Farm this past month.  There has been a lot of excitement as one mama had even four kids!  Two girls and two boys!  Everyone has had a chance to try their hand at bottle feeding (a bit harder than it looks) and caring for this busy group-

The Spring sunshine has also brought out the best in our chickens!  Right now our flock is providing over 30 eggs a day- so…

If you would be interested in Farm fresh, local eggs (from well fed, happy chickens – $2 a dozen), please email Vanessa (vanessa@hisgloriesfarm.com).  We’ll gladly make arrangements to deliver to businesses or homes in the Effingham area.

After digging out from the latest snow drift, I have had time to read (maybe you have too) and wanted to recommend a wonderful novel I just finished.  Hotel On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.

Set in Seattle during the days following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the story follows a Chinese American boy, Henry and his Japanese American friend, Keiko.  The faith, respect and commitment these characters share shows humanity at its best while reminding us that love isn’t for just the young-

Enjoy!

I wanted to take a minute and rave about my new favorite magazine (one I will renew!) fresh Home.

Published just four times a year, the magazine’s  rejuvenating blend of do-it-yourself, easy decorating, fun recipes and outdoor ideas, has led me to  mark pages and make plans.

One of the first articles that got my attention was in the Fall 2010 edition.  Entitled “Real Woodworking for Life” fresh Home highlighted Ana White a true do-it-yourself woodworker who creates furniture.  The piece they emphasized was a storage locker that Ana had designed and built herself (for under $100).

Missing a closet by the inside door has been a challenge for our family.  The coat tree was an improvement, but the shoes, the book bags, the gloves, hats and mittens- they were all still lost.  So finding a great (but inexpensive) storage locker has been on my radar for quite a while.

And just ten days later, we (yes, this was a family project) brought in our new storage locker – as you can see from the pictures below it fits beautifully and adds organizational charm to a once messy area.

Bottom line:  Try fresh Home and let me know what you think

On my 2011 “to do” list has been the challenge to bake the perfect sour dough bread for my family.  So after reading several sources and wondering just how the yeast was going to “arrive” in the recipe, I consulted a friend who is a wonderful baker asking if she would share her recipe with me.  My friend appreciated my concern.  She too had done research and even with an older home she couldn’t be sure that the yeast would naturally appear in her starter.  So she experimented and then graciously shared her result with me.  The result has been heavenly bread (that will so impress your family)- once, twice or three times a week- with an easy to care for starter that you can share with others.

To begin the starter use:

2 cup of water

6 Tablespoons of potato flakes

1 cup of sugar

1 Tablespoon yeast

1 teaspoon of vinegar

Simply stir these ingredients together and place in a jar, pottery dish or something with a semi tight lid.  These ingredients will then work together (you will see bubbles) and will be ready for you to bake with in just two or three days. 

For the bread then:

1 cup of starter (stir it before removing)

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon of salt

1 1/2 cups water

Mix well.  Then add 6 cups of bread flour.  For higher rising bread,  you can add 1 Tablespoon of yeast dissolved in the liquid before adding flour. 

After adding the bread flour, knead and add more flour if sticky.  After kneading place in a greased bowl, cover with a cloth and set in a warm place for as much as 8 hours.  (I like to turn my oven on, let it heat to 100 degrees, then shut it off and then put the dough in to rise.  The dough can rise in less than 8 hours and you can also place in the refrigerator to slow its rising too). 

When dough has risen almost double, punch down, divide into half and place into well greased loaf pans.  Cover and let rise again.  Then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  The loaves will sound hollow when throughly baked (my oven takes 40 minutes).  Turn out to cool immediately- and enjoy.

Due to the size of my container, I keep just half a batch of this recipe going.  You can easily decrease the amount of sugar and vinegar until you find your favorite flavor.   

Feeding your starter is very easy- simply make a batch to refill your container after taking out a portion for your bread. 

I received a 5 out of 5 rating from my choosy family with this recipe -they love this bread as breakfast toast with blackberry jelly and as garlic toast served with dinner.

Do you have any new recipes you  have been considering tackling in 2011? We’d love to know what you are cooking to stay warm and sane during these snowy days.  Martha Stewart has challenged me to try a chocolate Baked Alaska this weekend- I will let you know how that turns out.

As I take down the Christmas decorations each January, I find myself looking out my front window thinking about sunshine and “green.”  So for the past few years, I have begun forcing paperwhites.  They are so easy, so cheerful and remind me that Spring is really just weeks away.

The link below has a powerpoint which shows you just how easy having quick green color and beautiful white blooms can be.   So check it out for your home or office.  Enjoy!

Winter Blooms