Vintage 1905 Juice O Mat

Have you ever heard of a Juice o Mat? I found one this morning at a garage sale. I went to lift it off of the table and it was heavy...no aluminum here! It had a beautiful retro look and it seems functional. I looked around on the internet an apparently folks collect this item but there doesn't seem to be much history on the piece. I wish the Rival Company would create a product history on their web site. I definitely would like to learn more.

Fooducate

Fooducate is an interesting web site and iphone/android app that GRADES the food you buy at the grocery store. "Fooducate's scientific algorithms grade each product and provide simple, concise explanations. The Grading system is developed by scientists, dietitians and concerned parents." I try to buy locally and in our home, we preserve food that we grow ourselves. I believe that food takes time.... cooking takes time.... I also have a busy family and work outside the home so I like convenience as much as the next guy. However a balance must be established between convenience and the food we eat. This is my two cents for the day. Feel free to explore the Fooducate web site. Think critically and ponder your options.

Living Homegrown

Living Homegrown has a wonderful presence on the internet. The blog is well written (unlike here) and emphasizes the things I would like to try. This year they are beginning their blog with "31 days of Living Homegrown". I found it quite interesting thus far as Weck Jars and Beekeeping have been highlighted(amongst other things). I look forward to reading the remaining entries this month and adding more to my "to do list". :)

Welcome Back

Life has a way of side tracking me. My friends and family enjoy viewing our farm through this blog but I have been lax in doing so. So I will attempt, once again to restart this blog. Something new this year: I was selected to be an Ohio Cultivator. This is someone that applied to the program that wants to emphasize agriculture, gardening, cooking and promote local sources of food etc. This is promoted through our Farm Bureau. Apparently these folks believe that I would be an effective participant of this program. I will try to document here the journey of a "first year" Ohio Cultivator! Join me.

Farms happenings this week.

Farm Update - One of our hives died - :(

Weird clouds overhead!

New Chicks - YAY. Now I only ordered 7, but I adopted 8 more.... I'm like a kid in a candy store when the chicks come in. :)

Thinking about spring

I've been thinking about spring lately and planning what I want to plant in the garden and if I want to add any more critters to the farm. I was surprised when I went to the garden boxes last night to find onions! Yeah... I have onions! My strawberry plants are over run by grass. And 4 asparagus plants struggling to survive. (I thought asparagus was prolific and spread quickly? We've had these 4 plants for about 3 years now... hmmmm)This year I want to try growing a pepper that, when dried, can make paprika. I want to try raising potatoes in a box/bucket. As for critters, I want ducks. I so miss those cute adorable birds. I hope my girls will help me build a better pen to keep those nasty coyotes away from these birds. I think I will go to the feed store tonight and place my order. Additionally, I have 'quick' checked on the bee hives and fed them about two weeks ago. I need to make more "bee juice" as we don't have many things blossoming right now. I hope they can make it through the rest of this crazy late winter/early spring weather. The wind has been another interesting force to contend with lately. I came home one evening to find the chicken waterer blowing about the chicken yard, alpaca feeding bowls blowing around the pasture and a cardboard produce box in my neighbors corral. Also, our little puppy (a Jack Russell mix) has learned to 'round up' the chickens. We had to cull our rooster because he was attacking us when we would feed and collect the eggs. That is not acceptable behavior for a long life on a farm. So now our puppy helps the girls find their way home to the warm coop in the evening. Until next time....

Cupcake liners

Yesterday, I made some cupcakes for the Robotics team as it was my turn to take dinner to the kids. I dusted off my "filled cupcake" recipe and it was a hit. I'll post the recipe soon. I was looking for my cupcake liners and found that my cupboard was getting bare. I sorted through my hodgepodge of liners only to find that I had a plethora of fall themed liners. So I decided to use the familiar pastel cupcake liners ... you know the kind in pale pink, yellow and blue. Since my family couldn't eat the cupcakes I set aside for the team I decided to make another batch. I needed more liners. So I stopped at my local Walmart store to pick some up. I found "designer" cupcake liners... from Wilton. But where are by "Baker's" brand liners? After searching the internet and Amazon.com I discovered that Reynold's is now the manufacturer of the pastel cupcake liner. However, they don't have any in stock...neither does Amazon.com! No offense to Wilton and other designer brand cupcake liner manufacturers, but I only need my pastel liners. Let me know if you see these "old fashioned" liners around town.