Breaking More Ground

We have learned a lot since we bought our small farm. One of the things we learned was that we don't want a small front-tined tiller. This tiller nearly beat Dad to death. We are using large sheets of black plastic to kill the grass. You can see one of the sheets in one of the photos. We rented a larger rear-tined tiller this time and it performed MUCH better. After Dad finished tilling, we finished our second bed for fall planting. See pictures of our second "dig" below.

Getting started

Moving forward

Dad is working hard

Almost done!

The pile of rocks pulled from the field. The one on top must weigh a ton.

It's all about perspective. You could see this as just a big rock or you could
see a table for your glass of ice water. -Grand

Nutty Cheese Bites

Grand made some delicious Nutty Cheese Bites for us and we thought you would like them too. It is our great-grandmother's recipe and she liked to make them around Christmas instead of regular Cheese Straws. She also liked to make them in the middle of the summer because they are good crumbled on top of a fresh garden salad. We hope you enjoy!

Nutty Cheese Bites

Ingredients

2lbs. of grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1lb. of very soft butter

4 cups of All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of Red Pepper Powder or Flakes

2 cups of Rice Cereal

2 cups of chopped Pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. In a large bowl mix flour salt and red pepper together.
3. Add cheese and mix until cheese is coated with flour.
4. Mix in softened butter.
5. Mix in Rice Cereal and chopped Pecans.
6. Roll into small balls, place on cookie sheet, and then flaten
7. Cook for about 10min. to 15min. or until crispy. Do not brown

Grand's Tips

Grand thinks it's easier to mix this with your hands than to mix it with a spoon. But it's your choice.

The butter has to be really soft to mix in well. You can even melt it if you prefer. 

You can use four cups of cereal and leave out the nuts or you can use any combination of nuts that you like. Sunflower seeds, Sesame seeds, Poppyseeds, and even crushed corn flakes work well in this recipe. 

Breaking Ground

     We are now breaking ground on Sweet Summer Farm. Grand rented a tiller and had my dad pick it up with our truck. It was Dad & tiller vs. hard dirt & rocks we'll have to call it a draw. Dad eventually got some ground tilled so we could plant blueberries and raspberries. Don't miss the pile of rocks, that's probably only a fraction of what is actually there. Pictures of the "dig" can be seen below.

The Beginning

Dad doing farm work, kids resting in the truck

Almost finished, everybody working hard.

Rocks from the field.

New Print Button

There is nothing Grand hates worse than to find a recipe online with no print button. So in her honor I have added a Print Button. Just click on the post title and then scroll down. There you will find  a print button (located left of Gmail button). Now you can quickly and easily share and print your favorite recipes on Sweet Summer Farm!

Apple Pecan Bread

There was a definite feeling of fall in the air this morning, it was 42° in the mountains. Luckily we woke up to fresh Apple Pecan Bread, toasted and spread with cream cheese. This recipe is delicious for a cool fall day, hope you enjoy

             Apple Pecan Bread               

Dry Ingredients

3 cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup of chopped pecans

3 cups of chopped, peeled, apples

Wet ingredients 

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of oil

3 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

Topping

2 tablespoons of soft butter

1/2 cup of uncooked oatmeal

3 tablespoons of sugar

1/4 of finely chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Oil and flour two loaf pans (Grand just used baking spray). 
2. Mix together, in a large bowl, the first eight ingredients. Stir well.
3. Mix together, in another bowl, the last four ingredients. Beat well.
4. Now is the time to mix your topping. Mix in a bowl all ingredients listed under Topping. stir together with a fork and set aside.
5. Combine all ingredients into large bowl, adding wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir well
6. Divide mixture into prepared loaf pans. Crumble topping evenly over both loves and gently pat into dough
7. Bake in preheated oven for  60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Cool in pans for about five minutes. Then cool on a wire rack.

Hints from Grand

Grand covers the bottom and the long sides of the loaf pans with one long sheet of parchment paper, but not the two short ends. She lets it overhang several inches on either side. This way the bread does not stick and you can use the overhang to lift the bread from the pan. Grand uses this tip on all quick bread.

Chicks get a new home

Our chicks have grown a lot the past few weeks and are getting too big to stay in the brooder full-time. So we got a chicken coop extension and set it out on the deck to put them in. Now they can run around more and get fresh air and sun. We have some pictures of the coop and the chicks enjoying it.

Chicks in their brooder.

The chick's new home.

Chicks enjoying their new home

Our new chicks

We now have seven new baby chicks. They are Silver Lace Wyandottes. We have one rooster and six hens we hope. They hatched August 17^th. They were shipped in the mail and arrived August 19^th. AMAZING! They are a week old and so far all seven are doing great. They're so cute! See pictures down below.

Box that chicks came in.

Seven chicks in a tub

Chicks eating boiled egg

Smile! It's your close-up!



Moving our new chicken coop!

     Our friend Josh, who also teaches all three of us the guitar, needed to sell his chicken coop. So we bought it! Then we had to move it! It sounds easy, but it's really not! Daddy had to rent a trailer because our trailer was too small. Daddy hatched a brilliant plan he used a high-lift jack, a come-along, a pulley, and PVC pipe as rollers plus lots of pushing from Mama, Josh, and me also some pulling from Daddy. Finally, we got it loaded on the trailer. We slowly made our way on curvy mountain roads to our new farm. The farm house finally came into view. Grand looked out the kitchen window and started laughing because it looked like there was a chicken coop coming down the road because she couldn't see the truck. Finally, Dawson, Daddy and I got it unloaded. Soon we will have a place for the newest arrivals to the farm. See pictures below

The chicken coop arrives at the farm!

Ready to unload

Foundation blocks first

PUSH!!!

Look Out! Don't smash Mama!

Safely unloaded

What a beautiful spot. Lucky chickens.

The search is over!!!

     Guess what?!!! Sweet Summer Farm has finally become a reality! We closed on it Monday, August 3rd, and celebrated with cake. We have now bought a farm that is 6.9 acres, half pasture half woods. It has a two sheds, an old barn, and an Appalachian farmhouse that is about 100 years old. It also has a beautiful creek that runs through the property. We have already ordered chickens.  We got six hens and one rooster they are all Silver Lace Wyandottes. They have a beautiful design on their feathers and they lay the same eggs as Buff Orpingtons. We have three Buff Orpingtons (Our Three Girls) and we love their eggs. I am really excited to try this new breed of chickens. We have also bought six blueberry plants, four raspberry plants, one pear tree, and lots of flowers. I still can't believe we have a farm! Oh, we'll have to get to work. See you later!

The 100-year-old farmhouse

Two large rock steps going up to the deck.

A side view of the farmhouse



The old hill barn on the property

The two sheds mentioned above

4-H Cupcake Wars

    I'm in the 4-H and they have a Summer Relief Program. One of the lessons was 4-H Cupcake Wars. We were divided into eight teams, two people on each team. I was on a team with a friend named Brianna. We thought up the theme The 4 Seasons. We decorated five cupcakes, one for Winter, Fall, Spring, Summer, and one that said The 4 Seasons. Then, we gave a small speech to the four guest judges. Out of the eight teams, Brianna and I won the second place! We each got a big box of candy. See our prize-winning cupcakes down below!