Excalibur....

I did it, I purchased the Excalibur Dehydrator from Amazon today.

Excalibur 3900 Deluxe Series 9 Tray Food Dehydrator - Black


I also purchased the sheets to make fruit leathers and roll-ups.

Pack of 9 Premium 14" x 14" Non-Stick Dehydrator Sheets- For Excalibur 2500, 3500, 2900 or 3900


Now I just need to plan what I want to make, I do know Jerky will be on that list - right near the top.  I will no longer need to dry my jerky in batches.  I might also offer to dehydrate for friends and neighbors, for the cost of the electricity. (we'll see when Hunting season starts)

I purchased a mandoline slicer so I can work through the veggies faster and get even slices for drying.
Swissmar Borner V-1001 V-Slicer Plus Mandoline 6 Piece Set


I used the mandoline last night and made "skinny fries"  I used the julliene blade to cut the potato up and fried them in a deep fryer... they were delicious.
I have a tiny little Fry Daddy, I purchased several years ago...  Presto 05420 FryDaddy Electric Deep Fryer

Old Jeans - upcycled!

I've been saving old jeans for at least a year now, I was in the mind to make a quilt large enough for a bed, but that would take me forever, and I prefer projects that take a lot less time.

So I made a few cushion covers! 

Number 1 - for Trenton

Number 2 - Gillian

Number 3, still working on it, I will add some beads, etc... right now its drying after a turn in the washing machine to fluff it out a little.  The first two didn't get a go in the washer, the kids were way to excited to get their pocket cushion covers.  Each of the covers has a pocket, the kids ones have a closure on the pockets, the third has no closure.  

Kindle!

Kindle, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology  
 
Love the kindle, downloaded another book today, my kids also have kindles!  Although no color pictures etc.  they're fantastic to cart around instead of books, and we no longer need to worry about where to keep all the books.

The Last Child

Rain rain rain.....The Hunger Games

Its been raining for days, we luckily missed any tornado's that were touching down in Nebraska.

I purchased a book on Amazon for my kindle on Saturday afternoon, and I was sucked in really fast, a book I never normally would have purchased, but it had such good reviews.

The Hunger Games

I finished it in record time and purchased book 2 and 3 in the series and just finished those too.  The best books I've read in a while, I downloaded them to my son's kindle too!
Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3)

From Amazon: the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Collins's characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing.

Lovely Day!!

A beautiful sunny day today, after hanging laundry I got stuck into my veggie garden, lots of weeds to pull. 

I still have work to do, but its coming along nicely!  I have to make some tomato cages, and fence off another area for the squash, pumpkins and watermellon. 

Peas

Rosemary

Momma duck and one of her babies

Summer is hereeeee - Ice pops are in the freezer!

I recently purchased the following ice pop molds:
Orka A47221 Ice Pop Molds, White Base
Tovolo 80-8003Y Yellow Groovy Ice Pop Molds, Set of 6
Tovolo 80-8002G Green Star Ice Pop Molds, Set of 6

I made some last night, some with juice for the kids and I made 4 star shaped ones with Mocha coffee.  I used about 2 cups of coffee (leftovers from my morning) I added 3 tablespoons of torani white chocolate syrup
Torani Original Mocha Sauce, White Chocolate, 16.5-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 6)

A dash of Vanilla coffee creamer, mixed it all up and poured into the molds.  4 hours later I had an Iced Mocha on a stick!!

I'm currently trying a Jello/juice mix to see if I can make the ice pops easier to eat, and not ROCK hard as the plain juice ones are.  I mixed a 3oz package of Strawberry Jello, with 1 cup boiling water, 1 cup cold after all the jello powder mixed in.  2 cups of V8 light juice.  poured into molds and now we're waiting on them!

Trenton

Gillian

The jello added to the juice mix makes for a much better texture, like the ice pops you buy in the store and not a solid block of ice.

Dog food for Ginja

We've been feeding Ginja a raw diet since she was a few months old.  The benefits are MANY and when all is said and done, its not that much more expensive that dried kibble type food.
Benefits include:
1. no doggy odour


2. naturally cleans teeth - no need for toothbrushes, de-scaling jobs, or gum disease

3. the time it takes for a dog to chew a raw meaty bones give their stomach adequate time to get the acids moving

4. much less stools produced - and they are firm, and turn chalky after a couple of days or hours even.

5. decreased or non-existant vet bills (your dogs are healthier!)

6. less cost for dog food - commercial dog foods are ludicriously expensive

7. mirrors what a dog would be getting in the wild - and certainly even the modern day dog has a digestive tract exactly the same as a wolf

8. puppies develop at a more appropriate rate - and quick growth spurts are avoided. A GOOD breeder will want to stop fast growth in any pup.

9. the ripping and chewing involved in eating raw meaty bones develops the jaw, neck, and shoulder muscles of the dog. Commercial dog foods will never assist in this important muscle development
 
That said, I prepared a batch of food with veggies and rice today, I cut off chunks of chicken off the bone (she gets the bone and leftover meat attached raw)  I cooked up the cut off chicken, with garlic, onion, chicken broth - a can, with a can of water, carrots,  (let it slow cook for a few hours at this point) added a cup and a half of rice (let cook for an hour longer ) added corn, peas and broccoli.... turned off the pot and let the heat cook the remaining veggies.
That all made a stew fit for a human!  I bottled it all up - enough for 6 meals and popped the jars in the fridge.