Six Hogs and a Sow

The new hogs are here, the new hogs are here!  Quick, name that movie.  Not the exact same line but just picture me jumping up and down while saying it.
Yesterday we got our yearly hogs.  Last year we had two that I have been everly grateful to and for since the day we met.  This year we have seven.  Needless to say if you live close and want to save your scraps... DO!  Bring them over, dump them over the fence.  I have to say that I, along with Granny, had gotten so used to saving scraps from egg shells to chicken bones and leftovers that I felt guilty all winter long about having to throw them away.  I even thought about composting, which I cannot grasp how to do. 

Part of having a farm and animals is their proper care and when you are raising pigs for food there are certain things that you have to do.  I admit I don't fully understand why but the hogs have to be castrated and all tails snipped.  The castration to keep the meat from becoming too strong and too tough once they come in to their own (nicely put) and the tails because apparently it is a proven fact that it takes more to feed them with the tails on.  Something around eight bushels more per season per pig.  Regardless it is what is done here. 

So yesterday was the big day.  When Shaun and Nick arrived with the pigs the surgery had to begin before they went in to the pen.  (Not that it wouldn't have been amusing to see the pigs being chased around the farm for a while.)  I, like the country girl I signed up to be, got in the trailer with them, in my good Ann Taylor jeans like a D.A., grabbed the iodine and the syringe and jumped right in to help without a second thought.  (I am leery on how graphic to get)  I felt helpful and was helpful.  They could have gotten it done but castrating nine hogs, cutting twelve pigs tails and remembering to give the shots for de-worming and de-pesting is a lot for two people.
 


I did wind up getting blood on my jeans, wound up with not enough juice in the needle for all twelve pigs (luckily Nick had more... I  must have squeezed some out in all the fury,) and got hog bit.  Not real hard and I can't say I blame him.  But I do give my props to the 19.99 rain boots from TSC.  The pig did not bite through and if I hadn't had them on it would have hurt.  I also learned how to clean, (ready?!?!) and fry pig nuts.  So after an afternoon of doing what we had to do, we had turnip greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread and fried pig nuggets for supper.  Now how do you feel.  I feel pretty dang country.

P.S. the blood came out of my jeans with a little ivory soap, everyone is healing nicely, they are eating well, apparently are thrilled because they've never seen grass before (they came from a true hog farm which is what this one will look like with seven of them) and the movie is The Jerk, starring Steve Martin.  And if you are truly interested and want a more in depth "how to" on castrating, pouring iodine, cutting tails, or frying pig nuts I'm your gal!  Shoot me an email.

As if they weren't already pretty!

While getting ready for my Jam Session photo shoot today, for the look book for the class in two weeks, I decided the jars of jam needed to be a little prettier.  This is the simplest thing to do when you want to give your accomplishments away to the most prestigious of friends.  Prestigious because they are worthy of your home canned products!  Always make sure you have more on hand for just these sort of people when they pop over.

Here's how to dress them up a bit, as if they weren't pretty already!

Skim through your scrap fabric and pick something pretty.  If you don't have scrap fabric you can easily, quickly and cheaply get remnants (scrap pieces) at any place that sells fabric.  They want to get rid of the scraps and for this ... you want them to... it's a win/win!

Using a round bowl, trace the circumference of the bowl onto the inside of the fabric with a pencil.

Cut out the circle with scissors (like you didn't know that!)  Use a rubber band to hold the fabric on the top of the jar of canned goodness.  Tie a piece of ribbon, rickrack, dental floss, or whatever you want to keep the material in place and look purdy.

You can even tie on a label of what the contents of your jar is if you want.  Which I did not do here.  Just thought I'd tell ya.

Canned beauty!

Happy Easter

When I colored my Easter eggs a couple of weeks ago, my intent was to grow grass in a planter and for it to hold my eggs and look pretty as can be at the center of my table on Easter.  Didn't happen.  Truthfully the eggs have been sitting on my kitchen counter in the egg carton that they were placed in the minute I got done coloring them.  So with Easter being tomorrow and 18-20 guests coming over for dinner I figured I'd better do something with them.

I changed my centerpiece from being on the kitchen table to hovering above the table.  I only lost one egg in the making of this brill idea.  I wound up gluing multi-colored pastel yarn to the bottom, bringing the yarn up to the top of each egg and tying a bow.  Then hanging them from our antler chandelier.  It actually turned out pretty classy I think and the yarn gives it a bit of softness.  See what you think. 





I apologize for the crookedness, or then again no... I meant to do that :). 

So I have been meaning to tell something that I learned this year.  Back in March, or maybe just because everyone kept saying how late it seemed like Easter was this year.  Well, while planning a blog I came across the reason why Easter seemed so late this year.  I found it in the dictionary of all places. 

Gee whiz.. I feel like I've typed this before... deja-blog!  OK  Easter seems so late this year because... Easter is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21st.  This year the moon was full on March 19th which was a Saturday and not again until April 17th - Palm Sunday.  Making Easter fall on April 24th.  I never knew how Easter was scheduled.  Maybe there was a full moon when they discovered the stone had been rolled away from Jesus' tomb.  So that's how they remembered when it was?  Happy Easter everybody.  He is risen! 

Beginners Canning Class... Taught By Me

Afternoon all! I have decided to teach my first canning class. I am so excited! If you live in this area and are truly interested in learning how to can this summer I would love to show you how and hand out tips, recipes and basically instruct "hands on."

In my first class you will learn how to make strawberry preserves or strawberry jam. On Thursday, before the class on Saturday, I am going to Crossplains, TN to pick the strawberries that will be used in class. I will show you each step of the jam making and preserving process from chopping the strawberries to the lids popping, which is music to my ears!

If you would like to sign up, or know someone else interested please email me or call. This is my first class ever to teach outside of teaching a friend or two, one on one. I can't wait and am enjoying my lesson planning and preparing.  Home canned produce is just part of our pantry and with a lesson or two on how it's all done your very own jam could be part of your pantry too!