Sunday, April 30, 2017

Sunday Quotes....RAIN

Spring, the time of year when you need 48 hours in every 12 daylight ones.
When everything needs to be done at once and most of it should have been done yesterday!
 
The time of year when housework falls into the lick and a
promise category.
A lick when you Have to, and a promise delayed until tilling,planting, mowing, & burning are done.
A time when new critter members are added to the family, requiring more of your thinly spread time!
 A promise to catch it all up before Haying,harvesting and canning time comes!
 
 

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Strawberries.... Rainy....cloudy....wind...cool

Here in our part of  Arkansas Strawberries are often ready by Mother's Day! (where I grew up we often waited nearly till the 4th of July to enjoy them!)
'Back in the day' this county (Searcy) was the Strawberry capital of the world.
 The Flintrock Strawberry Growers Association of Searcy County reported sales of 19,500 crates in 1948.
Back then a crate held 24 quarts! The county paper reported 1956 as the peak year with 1,800 acres in production. In those days the school year was coordinated to allow children out of school (sometime in May) in order to pick. A large truck would be sent to town to pick up the children and take them to the fields, which were usually on the slope of a hill. (Remember this is the Ozarks!) They would climb the hill bent over picking their way up. One person I know said, in the late 1960's he was paid .06 cents a quart to pick!
This past week at the farmer's market in Little Rock a quart cost $7.00!
I recommend checking out Wikipedia, which had so many interesting facts about the Strawberry, going all the way back to King Charles V of France in the 1300's who had 1200 plants in his garden.
A few years ago you could find some version of this pie in almost ever small town café in our neck of the woods, this time of the year. It doesn't seem as likely now-a-days as most restaurants --even the small ones-- buy their pies ready made from some big supplier and you see the same kinds in every café, Buttermilk and Strawberry pies seem to faded into a thing of the past........................
 
                                                        Strawberry Pie
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 T. sugar
5 T. melted butter
 
1  8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
 
 
1 quart sliced strawberries
1/2-1 cup sugar*** See Note
1 cup water
3 T. cornstarch
2 T. strawberry Jello
1 tsp. Almond flavoring
 
Mix crumbs and sugar together, add melted butter, stir well then
press firmly into a 10” pie plate.
 
In medium bowl beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with handheld mixer for
2 minutes or till light and fluffy.
Carefully spread into piecrust, place in fridge.
 
In medium saucepan whisk together sugar and cornstarch, add water and cook over medium heat until thick and clear about 2 minutes, add Jello and stir well, remove from heat and add flavoring and gently stir in berries. Spoon into crust and chill at least 4 hours before serving.
Can be served with or without sweetened whipped cream on top!
 
 
**The amount of sugar you need totally depends on how sweet your fruit is!
Taste  your strawberries first and adjust as needed
 
 

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

farm life...con't from yesterday.... sunny....windy...50's

Good morning, yesterday I shared the kitties in the new box photos, well this morning we have a continuation of that... and the moral of the story "Persistence pays off" see Lonesome REALLY wanted in the new box, & Lonesome is too big to fit in the box with any of the other cats.... But Lonesome has a way of getting what Lonesome wants.............. the look on his face in the last picture.......... priceless !
Have a great day!



Monday, April 24, 2017

Farm Life....Sunny....chilly...45*

It's sunny here today, but we had a long, wet, dreary, chilly, rainy weekend..... the chores still had to be done, everyone fed and watered................ unless you are a cat..... if you're a cat you can just sleep away the rainy weekend :)


I woke her up, she is NOT amused
This box was not put here for cats to sleep in,
they disagree, they think that's exactly what it
was put here for!



Apparently if ALL of you won't fit in the box
half is better than nothing!
Have a wonderful Week!


Sunday, April 23, 2017

Sunday Quotes.... cooler

April hath put a spirit of youth in everything. 
 William Shakespeare

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch.... Rainy...cooler

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats
10 T. melted margarine
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups raw rhubarb, diced
2 cups strawberries, cut in half
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla



 Mix first 5 ingredients until crumbly. Press 1/2 into greased 9x13 pan. Cook sugar, cornstarch and water until thick and clear, add vanilla, strawberries and rhubarb, pour over crust in pan. Sprinkle rest of crumb mixture over all and pat lightly. Bake 350 for 35-40 minutes, till bubbly and lightly browned.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

NEW items & a SALE ..... Partly sunny , warm

New Items listed this week in our Etsy Store & don't forget our 25% off Jewelry sale too! 
Retro Clothespin apron
https://www.etsy.com/listing/511567812/clothespin-apron-retro-apronhalf?ref=listing-shop-header-0
 

 
Spring Jewelry sale! ALL jewelry 25% off with this coupon code: JEWELRYSALE17, just enter when you check out for your discount!
 
Ruffle baby hats
https://www.etsy.com/listing/510231150/ruffle-baby-hat-infant-hat-hand?ref=listing-shop-header-2

Set of three shabby hearts just $10.00
https://www.etsy.com/listing/524874981/shabby-chic-hearts-shabby-hearts-hearts?ref=shop_home_active_2

 

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Sunday Quotes

"And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
Rose from the dreams of its' wintry rest"
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Lemon Thumbprint Cookie.... partly Cloudy... very warm

As with many old timey recipes, there are a lot of versions of how thumbprint cookies came about and just when they date back to. But regardless of all that, the fact remains that they are a well known cookie reminiscent  of 'the good old days' when Grandma still baked cookies with the grandkids while wearing her apron!
This recipe is quite simple, and the tender flaky cookies, show off the filling wonderfully. Traditionally thumbprints are filled with jam or jelly and though that will work beautifully in these, in springtime when we have so many eggs I love them filled with our Homemade Lemon curd recipe HERE


1 cup butter, very soft
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsps Almond extract
2 cups flour

1 cup homemade or prepared Lemon curd (cooled completely)

Mix butter and sugar together till very creamy, add extract.
Add flour and still well, it will be very crumbly at first, keep stirring, it will come together into a nice silk ball, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for an hour (longer is fine too).
Lightly dust hands with flour and pinch off small balls of dough, roll into a ball about 1 inch in size place on ungreased cookie sheet and as you set down use your thumb to make an indentation in center of cookie. You can place them quite close together as they hardly spread at all.
When all your cookies are formed, take a teaspoon and place a dollop of lemon curd in indentation (don't overfill--about 1/2 a tsp. will do it) Bake at 350*15-18 minutes. Cookies will be slightly firm to the touch but will not brown. Remove from tray to a wire rack and cool completely.

Glaze: Mix together 1/2 cup powdered sugar and enough lemon juice (about a teaspoon)  to make a glaze that is thick but will easily drizzle off the end of a spoon, glaze cookies and serve!!!


ENJOY!

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Sunday Quotes......

April, April
Laugh thy girlish laughter,
Then, the moment after,
Weep thy girlish tears.         
 
Sir William Watson
 

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Fresh Strawberry Pie... Sunny.... warmer

Strawberry Pie

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 T. sugar
5 T. melted butter
 
1  8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
 
 
1 quart sliced strawberries
1/2-1 cup sugar*** See Note
1 cup water
3 T. cornstarch
2 T. strawberry Jell-O
1 tsp. Almond flavoring
 
Mix crumbs and sugar together, add melted butter, stir well then
press firmly into a 10” pie plate.
 
In medium bowl beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with handheld mixer for
2 minutes or till light and fluffy.
Carefully spread into piecrust, place in fridge.
 
In medium saucepan whisk together sugar and cornstarch, add water and cook over medium heat until thick and clear about 2 minutes, add Jello and stir well, remove from heat and add flavoring and gently stir in berries. Spoon into crust and chill at least 4 hours before serving.
Can be served with or without sweetened whipped cream on top!
 
 
**The amount of sugar you need totally depends on how sweet your fruit is!
Taste  your strawberries first and adjust as needed
 
Enjoy
 

Monday, April 3, 2017

SPRING SALE..... Cloudy, windy, cool

Time to clean off the workbench! Check out our Spring Cleaning SALE on ETSY ! ALL jewelry is 25% off !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Check out our E T S Y Store and save 25% on every Jewelry Order!
Just use this code at checkout: JEWELRYSALE17
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Jonquiljunction/

#SALE #Facebook #Jewelry #handcrafted #springsale

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Sunday Quotes.... Happy April

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Yummy Oatmeal Cookies.... Cloudy.... cool

2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup raisins, dates or nuts

Mix together first 4 ingredients and refrigerate at least 1 hour,
(overnight is better). Add flour and b. soda and nuts and stir well.
Drop by teaspoonful on cookie sheet. You may need to push edges
together. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. Let cool before
removing. Makes 2 dozen cookies that you can't stop eating!
 
 

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The items we offer are as varied as the weather in these hills!
Hand-hammered copper jewelry, handmade wood case clocks, biscuit and rag quilts, handsewn infant gifts, handcrafted soap, & homespun tales and photos of our menagerie of four footed and feathered friends.




Copper earrings

Copper earrings