Cucumber Seeds

One of the seeds I decided to save this year were cucumbers.  Some of the cukes grew up the wire I placed around the cherry tomatoes to keep you-know-who from picking at all the reddish ones early in the season.  Lulu is not a good sharer so I had to restrict her access to the cherry tomatoes so I could have some as well.

 

You are to leave the cukes grow and ripen as long as possible in the garden.  Here is one of the ones from the wire that has yellowed nicely.

 

When I was worried about frost, I picked the large yellow ones and allowed them to ripen off the vine even more.  You can see the one in the top left is starting to rot.  It is now time to save the seeds.

 

First you cut the cucumbers in half so you can scoop out the seed pulp.

 

You do not need the flesh and skin so add those to your compost heap.  If you have chickens they may eat them as well.  Lulu is a more finicky eater and likes the seeds not the flesh.

 

Next place the seedy pulp in a jar.  Add some water and shake. Over time the mixture will separate.  Leave them for about five days.  The good seeds should sink to the bottom.  I ended up pouring off the scummy water and poured the good seeds into a colander.  I then rinsed off the seeds and repeated the process.

After the second time, I rinsed the seeds well to make sure no bits of flesh were still attached.  Drain them well and place on paper towels or screens to dry for several weeks.  When they are hard and dry, bag and label for next year's use.

Sourdough Rugelach

Since I was travelling early in December and then got sick, I didn't get much Christmas baking done.  I decided to try my hand at Sourdough Rugelach after seeing them on December's Sourdough Surprises.  Rugelach are a filled, rolled cookie/pastry.

The original recipe was here and I took my filling ideas from here and here.

Ingredients for dough

 

1/2 c butter

3 ounces cream cheese

1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c sourdough 
1 c flour (I used 1/2 c whole wheat and 1/2 c white)
 

fillings - I checked out the fillings above and adjusted them to go with the jams I wanted to use.  You can change them to suit your taste.

filling #1

1/4 c spiced apricot jam

2 Tbsp chopped walnuts

2 Tbsp chopped raisins

filling #2

blackberry jam

chopped chocolate chips

chopped walnuts

filling #3

apple pie jam

cinnamon

chopped walnuts

chopped dried cranberries

filling #4

chopped raisins

chopped walnuts

cinnamon

sugar

filling #5

spiced apricot jam

chopped raisins

chopped walnuts

chopped dried cranberries

 

Beat butter and cream cheese together.  Add sugar and vanilla and beat again.  Add sourdough and flour and mix on low speed until mixture becomes a sticky dough.

 

Knead gently a few times on a floured surface.  Form dough into flat ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

 

Cut dough in half and place rest back in fridge.  Work quickly so dough doesn't get sticky.  Place dough onto lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle about 14" by 6".

 

 

Since I wanted to try several fillings, I cut the rectangle in half.  For the first half, I mixed together the jam and chopped raisins and walnuts.  I spread the mixture on the dough leaving space at the edge.  Having the raisins and nuts mixed in made the rugelach easier to roll.

 

 

Filling #2 called for mini chocolate chips.  I only had regular ones and tried to chop them in food processor - not too successfully as some of the chips turned to powder and others stayed whole.  Plus the food processor was sticky to clean.  Here I spread the jam and sprinkled on the chocolate chips and chopped nuts.

 

Roll the dough starting on the long side.  Cut slices about an inch wide and place on parchment paper.  In the original recipe you sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on the jam mixture which I thought was unnecessary.  In one of the recipes, they brushed the unbaked cookies with an egg wash and sprinkled on cinnamon sugar which I didn't do either. 

 

For the second half of the dough, I decided to try rolling them crescent-style.  Again roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface.  I used an 8" round cake pan to cut the circles.  Press scrap dough into a ball and refrigerate until ready to use it.

For the next filling I used jam, chopped cranberries and walnuts.  Spread almost to the edge.

 

Cut dough in half and then in half again.  Cut each quarter into thirds and you will have 12 cookies.  Start rolling each piece from the outer edge. 

I found these a little more finicky then the long roll.  Again place on parchment paper.



 

I then tried a cinnamon - sugar mixture with chopped raisins and nuts.  This was much harder to roll as the filling wasn't sticky so it fell out instead of sticking to the dough.

You can see the mess on the parchment paper.  It was much harder to keep these intact.

The last filling was jam and the leftover chopped raisins, cranberries and walnuts.  I just rolled the leftover dough into a rectangle and rolled and cut the rugelach as before.

Bake at 350°F for about 15 or so minutes until cookies are brown around the edges, turning pans after 10 minutes.  Some people sprinkle the cookies with icing sugar.  Cool rugelach and enjoy!



The rugelach were a big hit.  They tasted part pastry - part cookie.  I enjoyed the spice jam ones and also the ones with chocolate.  The filling variety is as broad as your imagination.  ;)

Lulu and Wheatgrass

Last year I brought some sod indoors for Lulu to eat during the winter.  It worked alright at the start but as we got less sunlight, the grass began to go dormant.

Someone suggested I try wheatgrass for Lulu.  I grew several trays of it for her.

 

She loved her fresh greens.

 

By having two trays, I could alternate them so the grass could grow in between feedings.

 

She did a good job of keeping the grass down in height.

 

I keep the wheatgrass in a sunny window and bring it down to Lulu on her end table.

 

I do not leave the grass there all day.  She only gets it once a day for a treat.

 

Often she stops what she is doing when I am snapping pics but not when eating her wheatgrass.

 

 

Lulu is a very happy camper when she gets her feed of wheatgrass.

 



 

"Yum, yum, yum!"  mumbled Lulu with her mouth full, "I love this stuff!"

 

 

"It is so fresh and green." Lulu chortled.  "And I don't have to go out and get my feet cold!"

 

"I'm so happy, I could crow!"  chuckled Lulu.  "If I was a rooster that is!  Ha! Ha! Ha!"

A Snowy Night

A couple of weeks ago when we got a heavy snowfall, I stood in the doorways and took pictures into the night.  I thought some of them turned out quite interesting so I hunted up a poem about nighttime in winter to share with you.  Enjoy!

A Winter Night

 

The storm puts its mouth to the house
and blows to get a tone.

I toss and turn, my closed eyes
reading the storm's text.



The child's eyes grow wide in the dark
and the storm howls for him.

Both love the swinging lamps;
both are halfway towards speech.



The storm has the hands and wings of a child.
Far away, travellers run for cover.

The house feels its own constellation of nails
holding the walls together.



The night is calm in our rooms,
where the echoes of all footsteps rest

like sunken leaves in a pond,
but the night outside is wild.



A darker storm stands over the world.
It puts its mouth to our soul

and blows to get a tone. We are afraid
the storm will blow us empty.



by Tomas Tranströmer
translated from the Swedish by Robin Robertson

Garden Gossip with Lulu

Here are a couple of Lulu garden stories that I didn't post last year but thought were cute.

Lulu liked picking her own grapes.  Some of the newer grapevines grew grapes closer to the ground so they were within her reach.  Whenever she felt like eating grapes she would wander over to one of these low growing vines and help herself.  She was quite independent and preferred picking her own grapes rather then being fed grapes by me.  It was quite cute to see her tail sticking out from among the grape leaves and to hear her chattering to herself as she ate grapes.

Lulu also starting eating potatoes last year.  When I was digging potatoes, she would come and watch for worms and bugs.  Sometimes she would start pecking at a potato and eating chunks out of it.  I would try to give her smaller ones to peck at but she always headed for the biggest ones.  I stored the extra potatoes in the shed until I needed them.  One day I went out to get some potatoes and guess what I found.

 

 

Lulu had been snacking on the potatoes when I wasn't looking!  What a stinker.

 



Lulu sometimes got lonely out in the yard alone and would keep me company when I worked.  We have a triple sink outside to wash the produce.  Lulu would sometimes stand around the sink and I was afraid I might accidentally step on her.  I would get her a chair and she would sit and contentedly watch me work.  After she had enough company, she would jump down and carry on with her chickeny duties in the yard and garden. 

 

Lulu is very independent but likes to have company as well.  She has a mind of her own.

 

 





Sourdough Sharing - Brioche/Babka

This month the sourdough recipe for Sourdough Surprises is to make a brioche dough and use it to make a babka.

I've never made either brioche is rich bread with high egg and butter content or babka.  Babka can be a twisted loaf with cinnamon and/or chocolate or a Urkraiain sweet bread usually containing raisins often made for Easter.

I was not able to participate due to illness and time constraints but wanted to link to the blog to have easy access to the recipes.  I do plan to try these breads someday.

Update on Lulu

Well, no egg has appeared but Lulu seems back to normal.  I'm not sure what to think.  She had many of the symptoms of being egg-bound but nothing has come of it.  Lulu is eating, grooming, chattering and performing other normal chickeny behaviors.

She has been pooping alot so I am wondering if she could have been constipated.  I noticed her eating grit lately so perhaps that was part of the problem.

Lulu has had several long dirtbaths and now her feathers smell normal - which is to say - they don't smell of anything.

I have been giving her calcium and decided to continue this every day or two.  Helping Lulu consume enough calcium for strong shells is important if she continues to lay eggs on occasion.

Lulu has become very clingy though.  She sleeps beside me on the couch and usually has to be cuddled right up next to me.  If she is on the ground and comes to stand at my feet and if I don't pick her up, Lulu will peck at my pant leg as if to say, "Yoo Who!  I'm down here!  I want up!"

Lulu also doesn't like when I'm gone when she returns to a room.  She wants to know where I am at all times.  In the morning, when I am still in bed, Lulu is content to slip into my room and sleep behind the bed quietly.  But if she goes into the kitchen to eat, Lulu wants to know I'm still where she left me when she returns.  If I have moved, Lulu will start squawking and causing a fuss until I return or call to her from where ever I am.

The other day, Lulu stood outside the bathroom door causing a ruckus while I was having a bath.  When I opened the door and let her in, she was fine.  She is like a little kid who can no longer see her mom and starts to cry.  I never thought I'd have to share the bathroom with a chicken!

Since we had all the snow and cooler weather, Lulu doesn't go outside at all.  When I took her out on a sunny day, she just stood on the spot I set her down and wouldn't walk anywhere.  If I go out and leave her in the house, I find her in her kennel when I return.  I'm not sure if she needs the comfort and protection of her kennel or if Lulu is getting ready to travel with me.  When we go travelling, I often carry Lulu out in her kennel.  Wouldn't it be nice to know what a chicken actually thinks?

We are heading back to Alberta for awhile as I have to pick up my car.  We left it at my sister-in-laws and I returned home with Barry when I was sick.  Lulu won't enjoy the travelling as much as usual because there will be nowhere she can stand on the grass to stretch her legs the whole trip.  She will be content to be travelling with me though.  Me and my shadow - a chickeny one at that - will be on the road again.  Until next time - safe travelling.