Jamie Oliver's Sweet Pastry~

This is the last Jamie Oliver Friday I will do for awhile. There are a few more recipes I want to post but they are very seasonal and this is NOT the season for them, and then there is the one last recipe that requires a lot of wild game which my husband has brought home from the hunt and he will prepare it , in his time. This is the sweet pastry, which in the book is directly opposite the savory recipe I posted last week. I like this pastry but instead of using it as a fruit pie pastry as Jamie suggests, I will in the future use it as a ONE crust pie pastry for cream pies, or lemon meringue.The pastry is rich enough for me to be dessert by itself! You will need:

• 3 1/2 cups organic all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting ( *I did not have organic, just used regular)
• 1 cup icing (* confectioners' ) sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons good quality cold butter , cut into small cubes
• zest of one lemon
• 2 large eggs
• a splash of milk (* and he means JUST a splash)
• flour for dusting

"Sift the flour from a height onto a clean work surface (* from a height?) and sift the icing sugar over the top. Using your hands , work the cubes of butter into the flour and sugar by rubbing your thumbs against your fingers until you end up with a fine crumbly mixture. This is the point where you can spike the mixture with interesting flavors, so mix in your lemon zest." "Add the eggs and milk to the mixture and gently work it together till you have a ball of dough. Flour it lightly . Don't work the pastry too much at this stage or it will become elastic and chewy, not crumbly and short. Flour your work surface and place the dough on top. Pat it into a flat round , flour it lightly , wrap in plastic wrap and put it into the fridge to rest for at least half an hour." Jamie Oliver I pulled this out of the oven around midnight and had to let it cool to taste it. The pastry is delicious, my winter apples are a disappointment. Even with the right amount of sugar, cinnamon, and lemon...the lack of flavor the apples show cannot be disguised. My lesson here is that if I am going to invest such rich ingredients and my time into a recipe I will make sure ALL the ingredients are worthy! I think my sheep will appreciate the remaining winter apples from our trees NOT baked into a pie. * asterisk denotes my comments or words

New Arrivals to Cedar Pond

Introducing Bide-a-wee Buttercup's new lamb, a son ( ram) I have named Basil. I find this picture touching as she nuzzles him and he leans into her. This is a big ram lamb and he is very strong and sturdy. He is also the son of Goth, the dominant ram here at Cedar Pond. I am excited to see how his horns grow, will he have 4 or 6 horns? We'll see. Buttercup's half-sister Bide-a-wee Chicory gave birth to TWINS today. She had a ram lamb and a ewe lamb and I am overjoyed by this. Aren't they cute? In this picture they are still wet from birth and learning to nurse. She is proving to be a good mom. Goth is also the father of these lambs. The boy lamb is on the left and it is obvious he will have at least 4 horns, they are already popping up out of his head . ( YIKES, can you imagine giving birth to already horned babies? ) And then there are the warm, fuzzy, and ridiculously cute babies...chicks! Yes, more chicks arrived in the mail to replace those that did not fare well in the last package. All seem to be doing well now, but i took a picture of them as they will be grown up so very quickly. You can see I have a lot going on around here and later on today my shearer will be here to shear a few more sheep, then there will be the skirting and washing of the fleeces so I can begin anew the dyeing, carding, spinning and locker-hooking of the wool that starts as a lamb late in the winter at Cedar Pond.

Delilah Has A Little Lamb

I am so happy with my newest lamb, she is sooooo cute! I am so thankful for her too. Last year Delilah's lamb died. I believe it was my fault, I should have been home. I had noticed her showing all the signs of lambing but as usual we had obligations away from home and in spite of my reservations , I went away for the day and came home to find a beautiful, full term lamb, dead on the ground with Delilah guarding it. She had not cleaned the birth sac off from around the lamb's face. Had I been home I could have easily done this and also made sure the lungs were clear of fluid, and the little lamb would most likely have lived. This was one of those times I got frustrated with so many aspects of my life conflicting with one another. Friends and family are important, but to me, my flocks are too. I cannot do a good job shepherding my sheep if I take them no more seriously than a casual hobby...to drop it when it is inconvenient and then pick it back up when I FEEL like it and it fits into my busy schedule. The little lambs are the fruition of months of planning, waiting, feeding and caring for the ewes when they are pregnant...joy when the lambs are born and then the new year of watching the lambs grow and deciding which lambs I might keep. Lambing time comes for a brief time every year, what kind of a shepherdess am I if I take this too casually , and what does this say about my stewardship of the flocks God has blessed me with? I am thankful and comforted my Shepherd, THE Shepherd, is not at all conflicted about His care for me and you ; "Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes." Isaiah 40:11

And look, my husband made fudge this weekend, it is delicious! Don't you just want to reach into the screen and help yourself to a piece of this?A very nice weekend, a new lamb , lots of yummy food to eat while we watched the Super Bowl, and fudge!

Orpah & Obed

Naomi had the first lambs , twins- a boy and a girl. She is one of my older ewes. Nine years ago she was born to one of my favorite Jacob sheep, Ruth. I have kept the biblical names for this line of sheep, particularly names from the book of Ruth. I think I will name these twins Orpah ( the girl and not to be confused with the name Oprah) and Obed. "And the neighbor women gave him a name, saying "A son has been born to Naomi !" So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David." Ruth 4:17 This is a beautiful story in the Bible and if you read it you will see the son was born to Ruth, Naomi was Ruth's mother-in-law, the mother of Ruth's first husband who died leaving Ruth childless and Naomi without children, or grandchildren . The book of Ruth is the touching story of Ruth, a foreigner, and her love and respect for her Mother-in-law Naomi . This little book in the Old Testament also"shows an oasis of faithfulness in an age marked by idolatry and unfaithfulness." comment in my study Bible. Ruth was the great- grandmother of King David.

The Best Savory Shortcrust Pastry~ Jamie Oliver Friday

This was an easy recipe for me and a chance to make pie dough in my food processor. I make a lot of pastry, but have never done it with my food processor and Jamie's recipe called for this so I was delighted to give it a go. The recipe in the book is simply the pastry recipe so I decided to make a chicken pot pie, a dish my husband always appreciates coming home to, especially on cool rainy days. You will need:

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 7 ounces lard, cut into cubes
• 2 ounces freshly grated Cheddar cheese
• sea salt
• a sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• a splash of milk
• flour for dusting

"This savory pastry is good for making tarts, quiches and the like.The two main principles behind making it are the same as for a sweet pastry; stick to a ratio of half fat to flour, and bring the pastry together as quickly as possible without pulsing the dough too much. Like sweet pastry, you can flavor this savory one in different ways. Try things like paprika, black pepper, nutmeg or mace instead of the rosemary and thyme. In my opinion an exceptional savory pastry is made with suet or lard, rather than butter. This gives the pastry a great flavor, a slightly richer texture and a delicious caramelized crust when it comes out of the oven. Feel free to use butter instead, if you're at all concerned about the fat intake of lard, but if you're eating this only once in awhile, why not spoil yourself and do it properly? There's nothing better! P.S. You can make this pastry the old fashioned way ( by hand) if you're feeling nostalgic. Put the flour, lard, cheese and a generous pinch of sea salt into a food processor and pulse for 20 to 30 seconds or until the mixture is crumbly and fine. Add the rosemary and thyme leaves or your chosen flavoring. Pour in the eggs, add the milk. Pulse for a few more seconds until the mixture comes together. Scoop your dough out of the food processor onto a clean floured work surface and pat it a few times to make it more compact-don't be tempted to knead it. When you have a flat round, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to rest for at least half an hour." Jamie Oliver I made up a chicken pot pie filling using leftover chicken and broth and added slightly cooked vegetables and thickening to the mixture, and after rolling out the pastry and lining a casserole dish with 2/3 of the pastry, filled it with the chicken mixture, then topped it with the last 1/3 of the pastry. I pricked holes in the topper and baked the pot pie for a little over an hour at 375 degrees. My husband said this was very good! As I do not like cooked potatoes or peas ( I know, I am way too picky) I did not eat any of this, but I did sample the pastry and it is delicious! A recipe I will most definitely use again and again~thanks Jamie!

Chicks!

My chicks came in the mail. I ordered bantams this time. Bantams are the small chickens. I ordered Silkies, white and barred cochins, and red and white frizzles. Aren't they cute?

Two of our granddaughters spent the night and are playing with me all day today. They very happily helped me clean the chick box by holding the chicks while I cleaned the box.

KN holds a little barred cochin bantam chick.

Look at how tiny it is.

MN holds a little Silkie chick. Look at how much fun I have, I get to spend the days ( and some nights) with little granddaughters and baby chickens. Blessings abundant!

My Woolly Valentine

You might recall I received a kit in the mail from Shannon of Kenleigh Acres Fiber Studio *. She issued a fiber art challenge and was generous in providing the whole kit to anyone interested in accepting her challenge. I let my phone calls go to voice-mail today and after the usual needed work around here I just got to work doing something I enjoy. I need a day like this every once in awhile. Above is my little woolly lamb, made using the instructions and materials in the kit. Here again is a picture of what I received in the mail, thank-you Shannon! The instructions were very, very well photographed and explained. Shannon , you are very gifted at writing, photographing, and publishing very easy directions. You are obviously a gifted teacher.

Here is one view of my lamb.

And the other, in which I veered from the pattern and gave him a heart.

Here is my lamb placed next to a sheep we received as a present from my husband's sister and her family. They purchased this from Pottery Barn because they knew we would love it!

I was inspired not only by Shannon's challenge, but also by the special February celebration of Valentine's Day, so I combined the two and unless I change my mind ( which can happen) this is my entry for the felting challenge Shannon issued. The lamb received a heart-shaped bead around his neck, and he is standing on wool I dyed and felted myself, using my Jacob Sheep fleece. The hearts are also of my felted wool. I fiddled with this arrangement , and it took many different forms until I decided it was enough for today.So Shannon this is for you, and thank-you!