Caramelized Onions

While I was up at the farm last week, I took the time to sit at the computer & look up recipes. There is a pizza we love at the Driftless Cafe in town that has caramelized onions on it. They are so good. I've never made them before so I found an easy recipe. Just use your crock pot. No standing at the stove stirring the onions for 40 minutes. Cut about 3-4 onions (put in fridge before hand to keep your eyes from watering so much), melt a stick of butter in the crock pot, add onions & set on low for about 8 hours.
I used some right away on a homemade pizza & froze the rest. Putting serving size lumps of onions on a cookie sheet to freeze solid then moving to a freezer safe container. Now I have enough caramelized onions for six more pizzas.
Next, I will be drying onions and probably some garlic.
Here is a link to a great blog called Farmgirl Fare and her homemade pizza sauce. Great for using up those last tomatoes. Steve & I agreed that the pizza I made with the onions & homemade sauce was the best one yet.
We are getting some much needed rain at the farm today. We'll see if we had frost when we get there tomorrow...

The Food We Ate as Kids

So I've been thinking...what processed foods do you remember eating as a kid?

Here is my list of five

1. Fish sticks
2. All soups-never had "real" soup as a kid
3. Tang-the astronauts drink
4. Frosted Flakes
5. Canned vegetables-rarely had fresh

Most nights for dinner we had meat, potatoes & a canned vegetable. Milk to drink, bread & butter always on the table & sometimes desert. When my parents went to play pinochle once a month or out to eat for their anniversary or birthday we would sometimes eat TV dinners. Most often though, we would eat pancakes for dinner those nights. My parents were "frugal". One piece of meat, you know, the "old size" not the new super-sized portion. Fill up on bread if you were still hungry. Actually I am grateful for that "portion control" of my youth. None of us have had a weight problem as we got older & I think it might have something to do with that.
Breakfast was usually cereal from a box or oatmeal with a glass of milk. Lunch was soup & sandwiches & again milk (or Tang when that came out. We really thought we were cool drinking what the astronauts drank). Bedtime snack was a small glass of milk or when we were older, Coke-A- Cola. The caffeine/sleep connection apparently wasn't made yet :-)
So that in a nutshell was my youthful diet. It kept me thin but not healthy. I suffered with asthma from the time I was seventeen until I changed my diet six years ago. Live & learn.

So...what are your top five processed foods as a kid?

Pump n' Seal & Other Stuff

Yesterday the Pump & Seal came that I ordered.

I've been trying to decide whether to get a seal-a-meal type preserver. The thought of something else on the counter just didn't appeal to me. So after a little research Pump n' Seal won out. We needed something to help us keep stored food longer. I'll be trying it in the next week or so & let you know how well it works. It even comes with a video (which they show on their website) on how to use it.

Went to my first therapy session of the year yesterday. It was frustrating as usual but I am glad to be back into it. Seems as if I am still at the same place I was when I started, but I have hope for a change.

When I got home yesterday afternoon, I turned on the TV expecting to see no cable. Well, we still have some stations & some are gone. Very strange. Thought every station would be gone. We still have the digital box (which I need to return) so some signal is coming through. Maybe I'll wait & see if they miss it! I was kind of looking forward to no TV though. We alway have so much to do but end up some time during the evening watching TV. It seems a waste. It like a vacuum that sucks you in. Sitting there glassy eyed, staring at the screen. Books & making plans for the farm is so much more interesting.

Started some seeds from last years garden last week to see if they are viable and they are popping out now.

These are Dickenson pumkin seeds.

These are garlic seeds from the flowers of the cloves that came up last year.

These are radish seeds.

These are lettuce seeds.

This is a sweet potato I started. Want to try it for the garden this year.

I really need a taste of spring. I'm going to plant all these in starter mix & harvest the leaves of the radish & lettuce plants. I bought some wheat berries at the food coop last week that I'm going to start for wheat grass. If you take a shot of wheatgrass or just chew it, you won't need that cup of coffee in the morning.

I'm dreaming of spring...