Low Carb, Gluten Free Broccoli Cheese Soup

8 ounces broccoli florets, chopped small
4 ounces cauliflower florets
1 medium carrot, grated
1 large onion
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups chicken stock, homemade bone stock is best
2 cups half and half, or cream, whole milk or a mix
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch nutmeg, optional
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or too taste, lots is better
1 dash hot sauce, optional

1.     Melt butter in a large pot.

2. Saute onions till translucent.

3. Add stock, black pepper,  broccoli and carrots to pot and simmer covered, till just tender.

4. In the mean time, steam cauliflower.

5. Once Cauliflower is tender, process in food processor or blender with 2 tablespoons of the cream till consistency of mashed potatoes.

6. Heat remaining cream in a separate sauce pan.

7. Once it's hot, slowly add grated cheddar as you whisk the cream.

8. Add all the cheddar till it is all melted and you have a nice cheese sauce.

9. When broccoli is tender, combine cheese sauce with stock and vegetables.

10. Add the mashed cauliflower and nutmeg (if using) and whisk to combine.

11. Lastly, salt to taste.

Serves 6

Split Pea Soup

This is one of the flavors of my childhood.  I have added a spicy kick to my mom's recipe and no longer eat it with the delicious croutons she would make, but it still reminds me of her excellent cooking.  Delicious!

Ingredients:

1 pound split peas
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, sliced very thin, I use the slicing side of my grater
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water (or 8 cups stock)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes according to taste (I use 1/2)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon thyme
1 or 2 good meaty smoked ham hocks (or left over ham cut into chunks)

Directions:

1.Rinse and sort split peas.  Discard bad peas.  Plop into the slow cooker.

2. Saute onion and garlic for 5 minutes just to get them started.

3. Add onions, garlic and all remaining ingredients to slow cooker.

4. Cook on high for about 6 hours or low 8 or more hours.

5. Remove hocks from soup onto a plate and let cool enough to handle.

6. Pick meat off hocks, break into bite sized pieces and return to soup.

7. Salt to taste and serve.

Notes:

I also make this on the stove top or in the oven.  It is easy by any method.

You can use any kind of smoked pork in this soup.  Hocks are just perfect, but ham works well also.  You want about 1 lb of meat after bones are discarded.

Because the saltiness of ham or smoked meat is such a variable, I never add salt to this soup until it is finished and I taste it.

I've started adding pureed kale to my soups, stews and casseroles in order to boost nutrition.  It works perfectly in this soup.  I just puree the fresh, raw kale in my food processor and add about 1 cup along with all the other ingredients.  It cooks down into tiny chunks of green that look like herbs flecks.

Turtle Dissection

ClaireAnna is studying Physical Science this year, not biology. But she has been begging to dissect a turtle for almost a year now, so here we go!  I purchased a turtle prepared for dissection and a guide manual at Home Science Tools.  

The candle was a necessity. 

I Want To Live

I haven’t ridden my horse in three months. 

Not since the heart attack. 

Those of you who know me know that this is not good.  It must mean something is seriously out of whack with my life.  Yes, I have been busy with many things.  But the main reason I have not found the time to fit in a ride is that I’ve been cooking instead.  And washing dishes.  And researching nutrition.  And looking up new recipes.  And washing dishes.  And cooking.  And washing dishes. 

I’ve never enjoyed cooking.  I definitely hate washing dishes.  (I have no automatic dishwasher.) I’ve thought a few times, while washing and cooking, about being resentful or even just irritated about having to suddenly do so much of something I don’t enjoy.  I’ve definitely thought about that a few times over the last three rideless months. 

The truth is that eating healthy takes time.  Eating healthy generates a LOT of dishes.  Eating healthy is neither easy nor convenient.  I love convenient.  I love easy.  Eating healthy food is annoying to say the least.

 

Really, who has the time to eat healthy anymore anyway?  Life is so busy!  We’ve got appointments and meetings.  Church, school and work.  Chores, clubs, exercise and hobbies.  It’s so much easier to drive through, grab and go.  So much more convenient to open a can, box, bottle or the freezer.  Who has the time to wash, peel, cut, chop, grill, roast, bake, sauté, blend and puree?  Three times a day?  Every.  Single.  Day!?  Who even wants to do that?

Definitely not me.

Eating out is fun!  I think it is my second favorite activity next to riding!  Can’t do that anymore either.  Well, not very often.  Turns out, most restaurant food is not healthy.  Drats.

So, this need to eat healthy is ruining my life…….

Or is it?

Maybe things were out of whack before the heart attack. 

Since my husband’s heart attack, I’ve learned a few things. 

I’ve learned that nearly all the food that comes out of a box, bottle or can is not only not good for you, but actually harmful to your body. 

I’ve learned that fresh whole food made by God and the earth is not only good for you, but can actually heal your body, prevent disease, and enable you to live longer.

I’ve learned that there are few short cuts when eating fresh, whole, unprocessed, good-for-you food.

I’ve learned that heart disease, and many other diseases are almost 100% preventable through diet and exercise. 

I've learned that you can’t trust the government or the media, or even your doctors to tell you what food is and is not healthy.  You must do the research for yourself.  You will be shocked when you learn the truth about food.

I've learned that our modern American culture and lifestyle is killing us. 

I've learned that most people have an attitude of complacency and denial about nutrition and health. 

I've learned that having the right priorities can be a matter of life and death. 

I've learned that for 29 years, as a wife and mother, I did NOT have the right priorities. 

Above and beyond any other responsibilities I may have here on earth, it is first, my job to take care of my family.  One of the most important aspects of caring for them is feeding them.  It is my responsibility to feed them healthy food that nourishes their bodies.  Convenient and easy have nothing to do with it.  For way, way too long, nutrition was not a priority in my mind or life.

No more. 

Sadly, I don’t get a redo.  I can’t go back in time and feed my family healthy food or prevent my husband’s heart attack and take the stents out of his body.  It is too late for me to feed my older three kids properly.  They no longer live with me.  It is too late to feed my husband food that does not cause inflammation in his body leading to plaque buildup in his arteries.  The plaque is there. 

Don’t get me wrong.  It’s not like we ate nothing but junk for 29 years.  We ate vegetables.  We bought what we thought were healthier options. We tried to limit the “bad” stuff.   I tried.  I think my family would agree that we ate “better” than most of the people in our social circles.  But unfortunately, it turns out that most of those “healthier” or "better" foods were actually not either. It turns out that just eating some good food is not enough.  You have to keep foods that damage your body out of your body! And like I said before, and could never repeat too many times, you can’t trust the government, the media or even your doctors to tell you what those foods are.  They have motives other than your health.  You have to do the research for yourself. 

I’ve turned over a new leaf.

I’ve reset my priorities. 

Some things on my personal agenda will have to be set aside.  We may not make that 4H meeting next week.  Claireanna may have to quit a club or skip an activity.  I may not even be able to keep as many animals as I’d like anymore.  Sure, I’ll ride my horses, but I may not be able to ride as often as I’d like.  Or keep the house as clean as I used to.  (There’s a little comic relief for you, kids!)  Our other goals for the future may have to change. 

We are slowing down. 

And realizing, deep down in our gut, (and in our hearts!)  that our modern culture and lifestyle really is killing us.

And it’s up to us to reject it.

The fact is that if life is just too busy and nobody has the time to actually take care of their bodies anymore, then something really is out of whack.

So here is my challenge to you.  Learn from my mistakes.  Maybe it’s not too late for you to prevent plaque in your arteries or in those of someone you love.  It’s definitely not too late for you to realize that we should all consider our health to be a top priority.  We should all know that good nutrition is the only way to a truly healthy body.  (Good nutrition is much more important to your health than exercise.) Stop and question whether you are letting the pressures of our modern life and culture knock your priorities out of whack.  What good is all the rest of it if you lose your heath or the health of someone you love in a way that could have been prevented? What good is a spotless house today (or whatever you spend your time on), if your productivity and quality of life is diminished tomorrow by disability or death?

What good is all the rest if you lose the love of your life way too soon in a way that could have been prevented? 

So dishes I will do.  And shopping and planning and chopping and cooking and all of it.  And no resentment or irritations will be found.  

Because I want to live.

And I want my family to live.

And because I would rather have one extra day on this earth with Ted Harmon than a clean house, or a perfect image, or the envy of my neighbors, or a hundred thousand rides on a horse. 

Romans 12: 1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

Missy, A Diamond in the Rough

Well, we did it!  They all said we were crazy.  But we did it anyway!  We sold our house in the city and moved from Wisconsin to Arkansas and bought a farm!  My husband and son had already left for our new home to start the new job and the new school.  The youngest two girls, both home schooled, and I were left behind to finish up selling the old house, packing up the old life and saying goodbye to the old friends.   We all hoped to make many new ones soon!

Some of the new friends we were looking forward to getting to know were the four legged kind.  My husband and I had both always dreamed of country life, but had never been able to afford it.  Now, after 20 years of marriage and city life, we were going to be farmers!  No one was more excited about this then our middle daughter, who, at age 13, was going to get her first horse.  Our oldest was off to college.  Our son, a high school junior, had no interest in animals at all, and our youngest was only two.  But our middle girl was going to get the horse of her dreams.  At least that was the plan!

I had had horses as a teenager, but left them behind when I got married at age 20.  I hadn't ridden since.  I was beyond excited that soon, I would be teaching my daughter, who had only ridden a horse twice in her life, about the joys of owning one of her own.   And so, I set out to find her dream horse - that first best equine friend, that Misty, Justin, Black Beauty of a long flowing mane and tail horse for my little girl.  And while I was at it, I certainly planned on finding one of those for me too!

I started searching the internet and since I was still in Wisconsin, packing up the old house, I looked at horses for sale in both states.  Besides, my sister was there and she had a great eye for horses and I trusted her judgment.   So together, we checked out several nice prospects.  We even went through with a few failed pre-purchase exams.  Eventually, I found a horse for myself and had her shipped to Arkansas. 

While sitting up late, searching the horse classifieds one particularly cold January night, I found an interesting AQHA mare located a couple of hours north of me.  I called the owner but things didn’t sound too promising.  The mare was a former show horse the woman had bought as a new trail riding prospect only weeks before but was now too afraid to ride.  I really liked this mare’s pedigree though, and since this new owner had very little experience with this particular horse, I asked for the name and number of the previous owner, which she happily gave me.  After speaking with the mare’s previous owner, who happened to be a professional horse trainer and riding instructor, I started thinking I might be on to something.  The previous owner made it clear to me that this mare was well trained and suitable for my beginner daughter and that the problems her current owner had with her were the current owner’s problems, not the horse’s.   It was a bit of an odd situation, but I decided to make the drive and go see the horse for myself.  

Well, they say timing is everything and in this situation it turned out to be a wrench in our plans.  As my sister and I headed north, the snow started to fall.  An hour later and we were in a white out blizzard.  The two hour drive turned into three.  By the time we arrived at our destination the snow was a foot deep, the wind was blowing viciously, and the cold had set in.  I’m sure the mare’s owner must have thought we were nuts to come see a horse in those conditions, but it was our last chance.  I would be leaving just days later for an extended stay in Arkansas. 

Bracing against the wind and clutching our parkas tight around us, the owner, my sister and I trudged through the snow down the driveway to her barn.  We opened the barn door and then slammed it shut again as quickly as we could.  I looked up and noticed two creatures in the run-in area, a small pinto gelding and a woolly mammoth.   My eyes scanned the rest of the barn area looking for the beautiful mare I imagined must be the owner of that superstar pedigree I had seen on the internet, but I didn't see any other horses.  Hmmmm.  “What’s going on here,” I thought, as our host walked up to that woolly mammoth and started putting a halter on it.  Surely this was not the mare I was here to see!  I’d never seen more hair on an equine before in my life!  And she was huge!  She seemed nothing short of gigantic standing next to the 14.1 hand, slightly built gelding.  No wonder this lady didn't want her.  She was hideous!

Well, we’d come this far, and through a blizzard no less, so I made the best of it.  Yes, I rode that horse, in a blinding snow storm, in the freezing cold, on the icy driveway.   After about 20 trepidatious steps, (the horse clearly realized the conditions were unsafe) I dismounted and walked back to the barn.  We spent a little more time fiddling with the mammoth, checking her teeth, picking up her feet, marveling at how long and thick her beard was, and then my sister and I left.  Another 4 hours in deadly conditions and we were home.  Safe.  Thank God.

Over the next few days, I couldn't stop thinking about the mare.  Missy was her name and yes, she was hairy and huge.  But she was also gentle.  Her owner had finally explained to us that it was Missy’s size that intimidated her and that she had bought that slight little gelding for herself instead.  She’d only trail ridden Missy once when she realized the she was not the horse for her.   I had a big long list of reasons why I should pass on this horse but the biggest one was that I just had not had a chance to properly ride her.  She wasn't cheep either.  This was before the horse market took a nose dive and Missy’s asking price was…ahem…a lot!  But the words of her previous owner/ trainer kept coming back to me.  This woman had no motive to steer me wrong and I believed her when she said that Missy would make the perfect horse for a beginning rider.   My sister liked her too.  After much hemming and hawing, we decided to take a chance. 

So we ordered the vet check and when Missy passed, we purchased her and had her shipped to our farm in AR.  I kept telling Ted and Katelynn what a great horse I’d found, but the look on their faces when Missy finally walked off the transport truck ensured me that I still had some convincing to do.  It turns out though, that Missy did all that convincing for me.  Over the next few months, in the warmer climate, she lost all her woolly mammoth hair and revealed her true beauty.  That first summer, my daughter won 1^st place stock horse mare at halter with Missy at the county fair and over the next couple of years went on to win many other ribbons on that big, surprisingly beautiful, gentle mare. 

Beautiful Missy in the spring.

But that’s just the beginning of Missy’s story as a member of our family.  We've owned her for almost 8 years now and she has certainly earned a permanent place in our pastures. Eventually, Katelynn moved on to another horse and now is off to college.  Our youngest took her turn learning on Missy and is also now riding other horses.   Missy has taught both of my daughters and several of their friends and even Daddy, how to ride.   She’s had a couple of beautiful foals for us.   She’s been in parades and given “pony” rides at petting zoos.  She’s been climbed on and doubled on and taken swimming.   She’s gone camping with us and taken all of us on many wonderful trail rides.  And you know, she never did grow back her woolly mammoth coat of hair.  I guess in the mild Arkansas winters, she just doesn’t need it.   She was big and ugly the day we got her but her true beauty, both inside and out, was just waiting to be discovered.   She was a diamond in the rough that turned into a gem - a shining jewel of a perfect first horse.   I can’t count the number of times people have said to us, “That horse is worth her weight in gold!”  And we all agree wholeheartedly!  Thank you, Missy, for just being you.   No other horse will shine so bright in our memories for years to come.

  

Kate and Missy at their first horse show, the 2004 Pope County Fair

Kate and Bailey Miller riding Missy at a Wrangler's 4H Club playday. 

Kate on Missy at the County Fair. 

Missy, standing perfectly square and perfectly still while six year old
 ClaireAnna dismounts for the Goat Undecorating class at the county fair. 

Missy and ClaireAnna a few years later at a barrel clinic.
Missy wasn't very bendy, but she tried her best!

I wrote this essay about Missy a couple of years ago, but never published it.  Today, we are laying Missy to rest, after three years of COPD.  She's come to a point where her quality of life is low and we don't want her to suffer any longer.  We are so sad to say goodbye to her.  And so grateful to have been blessed by her for so many years.  
Run free, dear Missy!  
We will always love you.  

Church in the River

We missed church this morning.  Ted needed to get some bush hogging done before the storm came in and I had goats to milk and extra chores to do before out of town guests come to stay for a week.   After a quick breakfast of nothing but string cheese, we both headed out the door to our respective assignments.  A couple three hours, two quarts of milk, and lots of filled and dumped wheel barrows later, I was ready to call it quits so I took the 4-Wheeler out to see what Ted was up to.

He was still on his tractor, bumping along in one of the cow pastures.  I checked in with him and then sped off to the “bootleg”; a narrow section of land we own along the river, to see how it looked after Ted mowed it.  I always get excited when he mows the bootleg, since it is one of my favorite places to ride.  There’s nothing better than riding my horse along the cliff and looking down at the rapids and swirling pools of the Illinois Bayou, flowing right through our farm. 

After my inspection, I could not help but head over to the path Ted cut the other day through the woods to the river’s edge.  For the first time ever, the path is wide enough and clear enough to ride our 4-wheeler right up to the rocky area we call our “beach.”  Once I was at the “beach” of course, I was simply compelled into the water, clothes and all.  How could I resist the gentle sound of flowing water calling out my name? 

I waded for a few feet till it was deep enough and then just dove right in.  Ahhhh…..What a cool, fresh and wonderful feeling.  I looked about me and marveled at how I was completely and totally alone in the middle of nowhere, deep in the woods, in a river.  “There’s no one here but me,” I thought.  And then a smile crossed my face as I finished the sentence, “And You.”  So there, in the river, I spent some time with my Lord.  And there, in the river, every single part of me was ministered to. 

The moment I dove in, my skin was cooled and refreshed by the rain-swollen river’s flowing water. I swam for a while, the breast stroke and the elementary back stroke.  My relaxed pace was barely enough to give me an edge over the current.   My muscles were stretched, invigorated and strengthened.   My own, God-made endless pool!

Then I let the river carry me downstream as I floated on my back and closed my eyes.  I prayed for my youngest daughter who is away at Church Camp.  I thought about some friends who are struggling and asked the Lord to show me ways I could bless and encourage them.   I floated silently in the dark, in total relaxation and praised God for the pleasant feeling of physical weightlessness the river was giving me. .  In those still, quite moments, the words, “Peace like a river,” flowed through my mind and flooded my entire being.

When I opened my eyes, I marveled at the pure loveliness of the woods and the river.  I looked at all the details of the stream, from pebbles and rocks to boulders and limestone slabs, a bank of clay, and another bank of sand, the reeds and grasses, so many kinds of trees, their tangled roots, the cliffs and ledges, the sky filled with white clouds.  Then I thought about all the wildlife I knew was surrounding me.  Hundreds of birds, fish, deer, squirrels and rabbits, turtles, fox, raccoons, muskrats, beaver, otter, coyotes, snakes!!  They are all there, most hidden from me, just feet away.  “This is amazing!” I tell Him.    I can barely believe how perfect it all is.  My mind is filled with awe and wonder. 

How do I deserve to be here and receive the blessing of this river?  As a matter of fact, how do I deserve anything that I have?  How do I deserve my very life?  I surely know that I don’t.  And my heart is filled with thanksgiving so much that I think it may burst.  I am thankful for this river.  I am thankful for the man on the tractor two hay fields away.  I am thankful for all the people I love and who love me.  I am thankful for all my animals and my home and food to eat.  I am thankful for fresh air to breath and all of nature to marvel at. I am thankful for a life that brings me joy… and so many other things.  So many things.  But more than anything, more then everything combined, I am thankful for His love for me.  The love that overflows into Mercy.  The love that gives me hope of a future in His presence.   The love that promises me that future. 

My soul was quenched in God’s river today.  For God made the river and God made me and He was there with me in the river.   He used the river to tell me who he is.  He used the river to encourage me to talk to him.  He used the river to refresh my body and stimulate my mind.  He used the river to fill my heart with gratitude and drown my soul in His peace and serenity.   The river was my church today, and even now, many hours later, it is still washing over me.  Reminding me.  I close my eyes and can't help but smile.    Peace like a river is mine.  

2013 Calves

It is really strange for us to have only seven calves at this time of year.  We would normally have upwards of 12 ro 15.  Our herd of 30 mama cows, (some calving in spring, some in fall) was reduced to only nine by last years severe drought.  Dumb lost her twin calves a few weeks ago and some how Annabelle is way behind the rest of the herd and has not calved yet.  So right now, we've only got seven.  But they sure are cute!  Here are the stars of this years cow pasture!

 

 

I call this guy "Eyelashes".

Today in the Barnyard

I can't stop taking pictures of these adorable stuffies!

 

 

Our surprise ewe born last night is doing great!

 

Awwwww...

 

The bottle babies are hungry!!!

I don't think this is the way you are supposed to do it!

Goat Families.

In this photo there are two mothers, three sons, two brothers, 
one daughter, three half brothers, one grandmother, one grandson,
  one half sister, two uncles, and one nephew. 
(I'll sort that out for you. The two adults are mother and daughter. 
Two boys belong to the mother, one boy belongs to the daughter.
All the boys have the same father. )  

Yearling sisters, Angelina (left) and Jolie (right)

 

 

 

 

ClaireAnna has had runner ducks for a couple of years now, and only just acquired her first male recently.  We are very hopeful that we will soon have our first purebred runner ducklings.  However, runners are not known for their broodiness or good setting skills.  They are a duck breed that has been developed specifically for two purposes, exhibition and egg production, and like egg producing chickens, they often have no clue how to set a clutch.  But right now, in the runner pen, all five of our ducks have decided to set.  The one standing up only did so when I entered the shed.  Whether or not all or some of these ducks will successfully finish the job and provide us with ducklings remains to be seen.  We are giving them the chance to try! Two are nest sharing on the left, and three are nest sharing on the right.  FYI: Female duck = duck, male duck = drake.

 

 

 We only have the one male runner and since all his ladies are trying to be good mamas, he spends his time wondering the pen alone. 

 

Now Ancona ducks are a different story. 

 They are awesome setters and mamas!

 

What's under this blue thing?

A boat load of Ancona eggs!

These two girls are nest sharing that beautiful pile of eggs. 
They are both dedicated setters. 
They only leave this nest box when I come into their pen to take a photo!  

This is another ancona duck setting on a nest of runner eggs,
just in case the runners don't come through for us!

Sadly, we found a dead chicken in the barnyard today.  This Brahma hen was one of the free range chickens that we don't collect eggs from.  The good news is that we found her body in a location that Sniper could not possibly have been!  He didn't do it!  It is also clear that she was not killed by something , but rather died on her own.  I do not know why, but since egg production just started up heavy again, she could have been egg bound and since she was free range, there is no way we could have known.  


 

We expect a big storm late tonight, and so a few things had to be done to prepare for it.....

The Bobsy Twins will spend the storm safe and sound in a stall in the barn.

Sniper too! Since his dog kennel is outside with
 only a small dog house for shelter, he'll spend the night in a goat pen.

I put up a new wind and rain block tarp in the Ancona pen
to protect my setting mamas.

ClaireAnna stuffed the goat's hay rack with hay.

 

And our resident psychotic has been chained to her dog house
and drugged with benadryl as per her vet's instructions!
I hope it works!

Today in the Barnyard

The Katahdin lambs are all growing and doing great! We have six all together from two sets of triplets.  One triplet from each dam has been pulled off and is being bottle fed with goat's milk.  There are two white w/ brown spots rams, one solid black ram, two solid brown ewes and one black and white ewe.  We are keeping all the ewes and the black ram.  We are trilled and surprised to learn that the young ewe we bought last fall that was accidentally exposed to a ram, turned out to be bred!  She is making a nice bag and we'll have more lambs by the end of April!

 

Ronald Weasley, left, Severus Snape, right
This black ram lamb is my favorite! 
He's turning out really handsome!

Hermione Granger

Hermione and Ronald

Lily Potter

Harry Potter

Ginny Weasley

We had 11 Silver Marten kits born and these three blacks are the only
survivors but it looks like they are going to make it.  They are
three days old today.

These two look innocent right now,
but the evidenct of their delinquency is between them. 
Clearly, they are trying to bust Sniper out of his kennel! 
And they've almost succeded!

Edit! I was wrong!  We have a new lamb today!  This is our bonus lamb!  When we bought the dam, Clarice, last fall, she was not supposed to be bred, but a ram lamb had gotten into the ewe pen accidentally for just one night, so there was a chance.  Well, we lucked out!  It's a ewe!