The lucky Winner of the pillow giveaway is.....

 

Shakti O'Melveny-Rupp

 

Congratulations!!!

 

 

Thanks to all of you who left us comments we appreciate your participation and following the blog, you all are great!

FREE PILLOW GIVEAWAY!!

 

This evening after 5:00 p.m. central time we will be choosing the lucky winner of the cute hen and chicks pillow made by my niece  Lindsay Hanks.   Stop by Lindsay's Etsy store and check out the pretty things she makes.  I'm sure you'll find something you like.    http://www.etsy.com/shop/SewSimplyBlessed

Homemade Pizza Sauce From Garden Fresh Tomatoes

Let's head for the garden and pick some fresh herbs and vegetables to make pizza sauce. 

 

Yesterday I made homemade pizza sauce for the first time, I didn't have a recipe but figured it can't be to hard to make.  I picked some Roma Tomatoes, you can use any kind that you have growing in your garden.  I cut some Basil and Oregano, there's really no measuring to this just guess and put what you think you'll like.

Next I washed the tomatoes and herbs put them in the blender with about 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pureed them together.

 

 

Put the mixture in a sauce pan and simmer until it's the thickness you want your sauce to be.  I Simmered mine about 30 minutes.

 

 

Looks good and smells delightful!

 

 

Top your pizza with any fresh vegetables from the garden that you like, I've put tomatoes mushrooms, banana peppers and green onions. 

The sauce was very easy to make, I think it would be great put in jars and pressured to use over the long winter.  Just one of the many things you can do with all those tomatoes your garden is producing

right now.

 

 

Don't forget to sign up for the free pillow giveaway.  We'll be choosing a winner on Friday this week.  If you would like to order a personalized pillow, contact Lindsay at  https://www.facebook.com/SewSimplyBlessed  

Introducing Sew Simply Blessed- and a Free Giveaway!

I have shared on the blog a couple of times about my love for sewing.  It doesn't seem quite possible that I have been sewing for about 3 years now.  Not long after I got my sewing machine, my younger sister who was a newly married Navy wife at the time was in need of something to fill her extra time.  After my sister Lindsay and her husband Aaron were married they had about 3 months to live close to our family and then it was off to the first of their Naval destinations.  Although Lindsay met the move with a positive and willing attitude living away from family was no doubt hard and lonely at times.  I encouraged Lindsay to dive into sewing, and much like myself she did!  It wasn't long and I was getting text messages with pictures of the cute things that she was making.  Apron, purses, table runners just to name a few.

Fast forward a couple of years and Lindsay and Aaron are now in Washington with a baby girl.  After Lindsay had Clara and was experiencing the many firsts that come with being a mother she told me, "I'm not sure if I will ever have time to sew again".  I assured her that she would get into a routine and that she would get to start doing some of the things she loved again (other than caring for sweet Clara!).  God blessed her and she did!  Clara has become quite the easy baby girl.  This has allowed her Mama time to sew all sorts of new things and start a small home decor business.  

Lindsay has lots of variety.  

Sweet Clara makes the pillows look that much better!

Lindsay started and Etsy store called Sew Simply Blessed.  Her store motto is: Simply put: I love to sew and am blessed beyond measure!  Her pillows are so cute and she can even personalize!  Lindsay makes every thing by hand and will ship right to you. She is even going to bless one of our readers this week by giving away a hand made pillow like this!  Aren't those chicks so cute?

This is a hand stamped pillow.  The winner will get one like this.  If you don't win and would like one of your very own check out her shop she can personalize too!

To enter you must be a follower of our blog.  That means you have to put your email in the become a follower box on the blog page.  Then after you checkout the Sew Simply Blessed Etsy Store leave us a comment and tell us what your favorite item is!  We will end the giveaway on this Friday, August 9th.

Head over and show her some support!  You can find her at her Etsy Store and at her Facebook page Sew Simply Blessed.

Melissa

(Lindsay's incredibly proud big sister!) 

Our Guest Speaker For The Day - Welcome Dr. Emily Smith

Hello, today I want to Welcome Dr. Emily Smith to our blog.  Emily is a Veterinarian in the small town of Albion IL.  In the future we hope to offer a time where you can ask the country vet a question, so stay tuned...

I want to thank Chicken Scratch poultry for letting me be the guest blogger this week. I am Angie's cousin and I grew up on a small family farm in southern Illinois. That is where my inspiration to become a veterinarian was born. My dad raised cattle and hogs and my grandparents had dairy cows when I was young. We always had dogs around and there were many, many kittens to spend the day cuddling. Most of my early memories involve “critters” and one of my fondest memories was the day my momma's first chickens came to the farm. With a growing family and mouths to feed, she decided we needed some chickens so we wouldn't have to buy eggs. She placed an order for an assortment of chicks and we turned an old smoke house into a chicken coop. A few days later, our mailman drove up to the house and honked. He handed us a box and boy, was that box peeping! I will never forget Mom lifting the lid to show us those fluffy little chicks. She had a little chicken nursery for them and I thought it was so funny that their little water dishes were filled with marbles to keep them from drowning. It was so neat to watch them grow and change. We had some Barred Rocks, Leghorns and what looked like Buff Orpingtons.

As they grew, we discovered we had several roosters in the bunch. My mom and Grandma Smith decided that we should “put up” those roosters. I didn't know what that meant but soon learned that I was not cut out for “putting up” chickens. I was elected to help pluck feathers and to this day I remember the smell of those hot feathers. I decided then and there that I would just buy my chicken meat at the store because I didn't want to eat anyone I knew personally.

My momma was a firm believer that chickens should roam free during the day. Those chickens had a great time scratching around the barnyard and garden. They were fat and happy eating all the spilled grain and feed around the farm. My big brother was not a big fan of the free range chickens. He had a little basketball court and he would invite his friends over to play. He hated being in the middle of a fierce game and having to stop to wipe the chicken poop off the ball. My little brother was about four years old and liked the hens but our rooster liked to attack him when he wasn't looking. The rooster didn't bother the adults or older kids but he thought Josh was an easy target. He had to resort to carrying a wiffle ball bat everywhere he went to keep the rooster off him. My Dad finally decided the rooster had to go because he jumped on his boy one too many times.

Those chickens were very productive and produced fine eggs with the most beautiful golden yolks. They made gorgeous yellow cakes and custards and breakfast was never better.

My momma began selling eggs to all the neighbor ladies and they were always in demand. Mom helped Dad farm and I was often left home to make sure someone was there to sell the eggs. Mrs. Davis would drive up in an old truck, wearing her big straw hat and I would run out to “do my trading” with her. Mrs. Allen always wanted the brown eggs and everyone always brought back the egg cartons to refill.

As we Smith kids grew and left home, there was not a need for so many eggs. The chicken population grew older too since Mom didn't have a rooster and she didn't order any more chicks. When I was in college, my Dad rounded up the few remaining hens and took them to our neighbors to add to their growing flock. My Dad told them they hadn't seen a rooster in years and the excitement might do them in! They lived out their final days enjoying life on a goat farm.

It seemed odd to return home and not see any chickens running around the yard. The first time I had to buy store bought eggs and I looked at those pale anemic looking yolks, I felt sorry for people who didn't know the joy of a fresh egg. I felt sorry for people who had never heard a rooster crow in the cool of the morning or saw group of fat hens scratching through the yard in search of the treasure of a juicy bug. I felt sorry for folks who didn't grow up on a farm, where kids and chickens could roam free. It was funny how some eggs could make you be grateful and long for home at the same time.

Those of you raising chickens with your families are doing more than producing eggs. You are making memories. The first time you hatch chicks, those omelets for breakfast, those cakes you bake for the family reunion, the pride of winning first place at the fair ....all memories that started with a few chicks. Enjoy your chickens and I wish your families memories as precious as mine!

Thanks and have a great day!
Dr. Emily Smith



I

This is Dr. Emily Smith's Vet clinic in Albion IL.   If you locals are looking for a good Veterinarian give the Countryside Veterinary Clinic a call. 

 

Leave a comment and let Emily know we appreciate her taking time out of her busy schedule to be our guest!!   

Homemade Laundry Soap

I know most of you have probably already made this before but there might be a few of you out there who haven't.  I wish I would have know how to make this when my kids where still living at home.  Laundry soap can be so expensive, especially if you have a large family.
I ran out of Laundry soap today and didn't want to run to the store just for that.  I had all the ingredient's on hand and it takes all of about 5 minutes to make.  It also makes a cute homemade gift. 

Fels-Naptha 1/2 bar

Arm & Hammer washing soda 1/2 cup

Borax 1/2 cup

 

I just made a small batch but you can double the recipe.

 

 

Grate the Fels-Naptha into a bowl.

 

 

Add 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer washing soap and 1/2 cup Borax, stir it all together and put in a cute little jar. 

Add 2 tablespoons to a large load of laundry.  Safe for H E machines also.



How to grow and preserve onions

As you probably have figured out by now, I love to grow a nice sized garden.  It's a great feeling to grow and preserve your own food.  It gives you that feeling of being at least a little self sufficient.  As you also know I highly recommend using chicken manure on your garden.  before we started the chicken farm I would use horse manure and I can tell you from experience it doesn't work even half as good as chicken manure.
I like to plant lots of onions, there are so many ways to use them.  While they are still small I use them as green onions on salads.  As they get bigger they are great to use in stir fry, fajitas, on a pot roast....you get the idea.

 

 

I begin to use the green onions when they get just a little bigger than this photo but you really can use them at this size.  There is a tick to growing onions that I learned from a lady a long time ago.  When your ready for your onions to get bigger you need to keep the soil some what loose around the onions and as they grow start pulling the dirt away from them.  As they grow they will look like they're just sitting on top of the ground and only the roots are in the dirt.

 

I pulled all of the onions a couple of weeks ago and they filled my wheel barrow.  Now what to do with all those onions.

 

 

I used a wire frame that we cover chick brooder boxes and set it on top of the wooden box.  After a couple of days I decided to move them into the shade to dry and set the wire frame up on saw horses.  I think the hot sun was going to cook them, so don't sit them in the sun.  Sitting them on saw horses or whatever else you have, allows air circulation for the green part of the onion to die and dry.

 

 

The green of the onion dries and withers pretty quick.  Allow them to fully dry.

 

 

Once you think the onion tops have dried enough you will trim the tops off with scissors.

 

 

Next trim off the root end.

 

 

Rub off the excess dirt and your done.

 

 

Onion sets are inexpensive to buy, you can plant onions in a small space and with very little work you can have enough onions to last all winter.

To store your onions you can place them in a box but don't stack them deep, really just 2 layers stacked loosely.  Keep in a cool spot.

If you have some good tips, leave us a comment, it might be helpful to other readers.