Hobby Farms Forums / Food and Recipes / HobbyFarms.com Forum Topics

Tomato Jelly

cweick — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:31:03 GMT

Need a recipe for tomato jelly?

What can you use this jelly on?

Thanks

Duck eggs

country hick — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:53:21 GMT

OK! I am sitting here with a dozen boiled duck eggs in front of me wondering whether to open the window before I throw them through it or not!

I have tried poking holes in the eggs. I have tried putting vinegar in the water. I have tried holes and vinegar. Fast boil...low and slow simmer...bring to a boil then cover and let them cool down. I have tried peeling them hot and almost frozen...

How do you get the da...stupid things to peel so they don't look like Jason or Freddie peeled them???

Help me Obiwan...help me!!!

Homemade cheese press

MrsKK — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 06:34:39 GMT

I made myself a new cheese press yesterday, using 1 x 12 pine and one inch pine dowels. 1/2 inch x 1 1/2 inch fluted birch dowels became the feet for the bottom board, so now my press won't be sitting in whey.

I bought a dish drainer board to funnel whey over the edge of the bottom board and it works quite nicely. I sit the whole thing in a boot tray to catch the whey.

The dowels are a bit tall, as I cut the 4 foot sections in half, but I think I will leave it as is. I made this press wide enough to hold two of my 6 inch cheese molds - thinking ahead to when she is fresh and giving me 5 gallons of milk a day.

I put 9 feet on the bottom board, wanting to give it lots of support.

The one thing you need to be watchful of with this press is to make sure that the cheese mold is centered, otherwise you can end up with the cheese being a bit lopsided. If that happens, though, just turn the cheese over, make sure everything is centered and press with some heavy weight for a couple of hours.

Fresh Bacon

cweick — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:17:21 GMT

How do you cook it or use it?

Vet gave P2 bad news about his sow Ruby not every settling again so she has a slaughter date next month and she's big enough for bacon.

Cheese Making

Tobiasrer — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:56:58 GMT

Well 3rd time is the charm I guess.
After 2 failed attempts at 30min Mozza I decided and made the plunge to try a conventional recipe, from mrs KK. and while my yield was less then hopped for it was a success and everyone loved the cheese!!
On to bigger and better now!

Missing Liquid

HFfriend — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:22:01 GMT

This question comes from Lynette, a Hobby Farm Home reader:

My biggest canning problem is when I can beans or potatoes in the pressure canner and I take them out, the liquid in the jar is gone, and it's not leaking into the cooker. What am I doing wrong?

Can you help answer her question?

Chrsitmas Gifts

Tobiasrer — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:43:51 GMT

This year as our family is growing my wife and I have decided to do gifts from the home, rather then box stores in a effort to save on some money and so the gift is more meaning full.
Any one have any great seasoning blends they make or sauces that can be easily stored? Maybe a soup blend that you add water and meat?
Thanks in advance.

Vacuum Seal Machine

cweick — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:47:12 GMT

Is it worth the money?

Does it collect more dust on the kitchen counter then any other appliance that you have in your kitchen?

What brand do you have?

Good Bread Machines

Sugar Oak Farms — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:34:11 GMT

I want to purchase a good bread machine that will last along time, but there are so many out there I don't know which one to buy. Do you have a bread machine that works well and has lasted you a long time? If so, please mention it! Thanks.

MyPlate

HFfriend — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:50:08 GMT

What are your thoughts on the USDA's MyPlate icon (www.choosemyplate.gov), which has replaced the food pyramid?

Do you find it helpful in planning family meals? Does it influence your decisions on what crops to grow or what livestock to raise?

Canning Redo

HFfriend — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:23:37 GMT

This question comes from Lynda, a Hobby Farm Home reader, in response to the article "9 Fixes for Canning Problems": How do we know how much juice, pectin or sugar to add if we need to redo a batch? What am I doing wrong?

What are your thoughts?

BBQ Sauce

Tobiasrer — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:33:29 GMT

I have some bbq sauce recipes I want to make as gifts for xmas. how should i package these for the best shelf life, and special procedures, ultimatley they are sugar and or vinegar so i should be able to can it just like jam or pickles right?
any one have some recipes they would be willing to share as well? maybe a great rub or marinade?

winter pears

shelahmom — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 05:13:28 GMT

Hello everyone, I was looking at our pear tree and decided that this year I was going to "do"something with them. However the pears are a 'hardy or winter' pear. This means they are HARD! This is why I haven't fussed with them. I was told that they make great pear butter, but how does one do this? Should I boil them up first to loosen the skin a bit and them cook them down? Any other recipes for this crop? I need to get to this before the lovely deer!!! *sigh* Any advise is welcome as I'm a winter pear newbie!!! :)

Canning Preserves - I love it!

NEAlaMADhouse — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:45:41 GMT

I have discovered that I really enjoy canning fruit preserves! I have come up with some delicious recipe variations that have made quite a hit in my neighborhood and church group. I started with the recipe off the box of pectin, but in the peaches I added some cinnamon and a tiny bit of vanilla.

I also tried mixing some fruits which were very well received - the most popular was the 1/4 blackberry to 3/4 peach blend.

I found a crockpot recipe for apple sauce or apple butter, which is a great way to use those extra apples if you have a tree.

I encourage others to share recipes or experiences - I would love to learn some "tricks"!!!

Reusable Canning Lids

Genienut — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:42:46 GMT

Has anyone used reusable canning lids?
I have been contemplating trying the Tattler brand.
Pro/con comments please.

Ma-Maw did it again

cweick — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 07:23:23 GMT

Thanks Ma-Maw for a GREAT B_DAY CAKE!

Zucchini Bumper

HFfriend — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 05:34:47 GMT

When the garden gives you lots of zucchini, what's your favorite way to use it?

Pickle recipe translation

dollyandcasey — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:58:55 GMT

I recently got a recipe that's older than my mother for 'Sweet Pickles.' The person who wrote it is long gone, and the person I received it from never made it.

I need to know what the recipe means by 'agriculture.' Here's the context-

8lb pickles sliced. Soak 24 hours in 2 cups agriculture plus 2 gallons of cold water. Stir several times. Rinse well.

Any clue? I think it might mean salt maybe....

Thanks!

Real Food

Amy Grisak — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:28:01 GMT

Today I interviewed Nina Planck, the author of Real Food: What to eat and why. She's a great advocate in eating old and traditional foods, and has a great sense of getting back to the basics of real food. I read the book several years ago, and it was an eye opening topic. My family dies of heart attacks (no one has made it to 70 years old for a few generations), but what's interesting is it happened more after WWII. Before the industrialized foods there were some that lived to 98! She brought up a whole bunch of good points about eating traditional foods - butter, whole milk (preferrably raw), whole grains, red meat, etc. It's good info if you haven't read it already!

Best,

Corn Kerneler

kmw — Mon, 23 May 2011 09:41:14 GMT

Going to try growing more sweet corn this year. Would like to freeze the extra off the cob. Has anyone tried a tool like this--https://www.homestorecollection.com/product/?productId=594&src=YSF.

Anyother tried and true ways to get the corn off the cob? Thanks

Zucchini Canning recipes

jrus1stcav — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 07:28:40 GMT

I have an over abundance of zucchini right now. I'm looking for canning recipes for it.

Hoping to find something like soup or pasta sauce.

Any recipes would be great.

Bacon Club

cweick — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:36:54 GMT

Has any every on here ever joined up as a member of any type of "bacon club"?

Serving Sweet Peas

cweick — Thu, 12 May 2011 12:21:48 GMT

What do you use to keep sweet peas hot for a 6:00 pm supper without electricity? AND we have a 30 minute drive to get to the supper on top of not having any electricity there.

Does 14 cans of sweet peas sound right to serve 50 people?

Ice Cream

HFfriend — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:58:25 GMT

Do you make your own ice cream? If so, what's your favorite way to eat it?

Need info on starting a new farm/ranch

agriculture — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:10:42 GMT

I am from the Midwest originally and I want to move my family to Montana to start a family owned and operated farm/ranch raising cattle and crops. I have recently started working on a business proposal and I don't know where to send it to get grants to start a small family operated farm/ranch was wondering if anybody had any suggestions.If anyone has any information please e-mail me at rogdoug71@yahoo.com

Luck or does it really work

Jasper08 — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 08:43:04 GMT

My sister posted a way to easily peel eggs for easter on Facebook. I gave it a try with 2 week old eggs, and it worked pretty good, to "test" the theory I boiled up a dozen eggs that are from 24 to 48 hours old and 9 out of 12 peeled wonderfully.

Add 2 tsp baking soda to the water when boiling. It took some time, but once you got under the membrane it worked pretty good. ( the big end didn't have the air pocket on all of them) I broke the ends and then rolled the eggs to "crackle" the shell.

I was impressed

Grinding your own grain?

Jasper08 — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 20:50:54 GMT

Has any one ground their own wheat into flour? How do you go about cleaning it? I know they sell small grain grinders out there. But had a thought pass through my mind about if I could go out to my grain bin, get out some wheat and grind it for flour... I realize that it would be whole wheat and not bleached.. but what would all be involved?

If nothing else would like to "try" it for the heck of it...

Soups,Soups,Soups,It's that time of the year!...

Colinmarke — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:44:10 GMT

1 Lb. fully cooked bratwurst links (I used Hillshire Beer Brats,they were delicious)cut into bite -sized chunks
2 med. sized potatoes peeled and chopped

2 cups of water

1 med. onion,chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 t. fresh parsley and basil

1 t. minced garlic

4 cups shredded cabbage

2 1/2 cups milk

2 T. flour

1/2 cup of either swiss or parmesan cheese

In a large pot bring the bratwurst,potatoes,water onion and seasonings to a boil turn down to simmer for 10 min.,add cabbage simmer for 10 more min. Add 2 cups of the milk,in a bowl or jar combine the 1/2 cup of milk and flour together,pour into the simmering soup to thicken,adjust seasonings to your taste and add the cheese.

This is good with cornbread or a crusty bread,no bread? try some croutons.This is a quick,good, hearty soup,especially on a cold day.Enjoy

Small batch baking

Colinmarke — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:31:58 GMT

Hi folks,

Any of you run into the same problem I do of wanting cookies or cake but don't want to have finish off an entire batch before it goes bad? I found a cookbook a while back on making deserts for one or two people. Any one interested in some?__________________________
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Rhubarb Crumble

Colinmarke — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:53:22 GMT

Rhubarb Crumble. Actually you can put the crumble over any stewed fruit, Rhubarb and apple crumbles are very common in England. A half and half of Rhubarb and Granny Smith type apple reduces the sour acidity if straight Rhubarb is too tart for you.
This recipe is good for between 12oz and 1lb of fruit. In a saucepan, over high heat boil a little water, maybe 2 tablespoons, add the 1" long stalk chunks of Rhubarb. Once the Rhubarb juices start too appear reduce the heat to low or medium (the higher the heat the more you need to stand and stir)

Start tasting the Rhubarb liquire, it will be really sour, start adding sugar until the sour:sweet ratio is to your liking. I think I added about 3/4 cup of sugar, but it really varies.

The crumble: 3oz Sugar, 7.5oz Plain Flour, 4oz Unsalted Butter cut into small chunks, Pinch of salt.

Chuck all the ingredients into a food processer and pulse until it resembles fine breadcrumbs, Now, when you have mostly fine breadcrumb like texture you will have some bigger chunks left of the butter in the mix, DO NOT keep pulsing this will turn mix to a pastry, either leave the butter as is OR put your fingers into the mix and spread the butter lumps into the floury mix. Thats it.

Make sure the stewed fruit is how you like it, it can be anything from a puree to still having distinct soft chunks. Put the stewed fruit into a baking dish. Spread the crumble mix untidily over the fruit and bake 400degF for 25 to 30 minutes or until the crumble browns a bit.

Serve hot, straight out the oven with cream, ice cream or to be really authentic custard (sauce anglaisse)
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Leftovers: eat cold with cream.

Caldo de Queso (Cheese Soup)

MrsKK — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 07:57:56 GMT

This recipe came from a co-worker who is Panamanian. Very good soup, I served it at yesterday's cheese class and only came home with a cup full leftover from a double batch. I used a variety of cheeses, mostly cheddar and colby. I also only used 2 Anaheim peppers for the double batch, not wanting the soup to be overly spicey for my students.

Caldo de Queso (Cheese Soup)

1 onion chopped
2 Anaheim peppers – seeded & chopped
3 Roma Tomatoes – seeded & diced
Garlic to taste
4 Medium potatoes – peeled & diced
1 13oz can evaporated milk or 1 ½ cups cream
5 cups water
1 ½ TLB chicken bouillon granules
1 ½ cups each of shredded Sharp Cheddar, Provolone & Mild Cheddar

Sauté chopped onion, add chopped peppers & sauté, add diced tomatoes & sauté, add garlic & sauté.

In a separate pan, sauté potatoes in small amount of olive oil until soft. (You can use small amount of water to reduce fat keeping an eye on the potatoes. If they start to stick to the bottom of the pan add more water.)

In a soup pot add the water, evaporated milk & bouillon –Simmer to heat. Wisk in shredded cheese (a little at a time to prevent it from settling on the bottom of the pot) until blended. When cheese has melted, add vegetables and heat approximately 10 minutes.

Serve with bread or tortillas.

sheep sausage.

HeatherN — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 08:58:28 GMT

Does anyone have any reciepes to make sausage with lamb? we have no machine so it would have to be done by hand.

thank you

Easy Fried Chicken Recipes

Norsemn — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:42:41 GMT

This may be heresy to say here but this past Sat.(10/23) I watched a program on my local PBS channel called 'Cooks Country' and they made fried chicken that looked easy enough for a non-cook like me to handle. I tried their website but all I get is "Try our Free 15 day Trial Subscription" which leads to a request for your credit card number to continue that 'free trial'. No thanks, I just want the recipe that they already put in the public domain. Anyway, what I'm looking for is an easy fried chicken recipe similiar to KFC's version of fried chicken...crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Any recipes along this line would be appreciated.

Historic cookbooks

Colinmarke — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:26:58 GMT

Historic cookbooks

Colinmarke — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:16:53 GMT

I'm not a great cook, so I won't participate much at this forum. However, I refer to a really neat website when writing some of my Hobby Farms/Hobby Farms Home articles and thought you folks might enjoy it too.
It's called Feed America and it's a collection of the unabridged, scanned texts of dozens of historic cookbooks--along with a Search feature. Check it out!__________________________
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Historic cookbooks

Colinmarke — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:52:23 GMT

I'm not a great cook, so I won't participate much at this forum. However, I refer to a really neat website when writing some of my Hobby Farms/Hobby Farms Home articles and thought you folks might enjoy it too.
It's called Feed America and it's a collection of the unabridged, scanned texts of dozens of historic cookbooks--along with a Search feature. Check it out__________________________
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Polenta anyone?

Jasper08 — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 07:55:29 GMT

I decided that I wanted to try polenta, which means make it yourself out here on the prarie I made some yesterday, put it in the fridge overnight, and then cut out a couple pieces, brushed with Olive oil and fried. I think it was really good. I need ideas to use it in a meal. I looked on the internet and there are plenty of recipes for polenta, but not too many menu ideas. I do know that this is one more recipe I like, but there won't be any other fans in my household

Pizza Crust

HeatherN — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 08:52:45 GMT

Last night I made a wonderful pizza the crust was so soft and fluffy but we had one problem, it was very plain. any Ideas on what I can put in the dough to make it taste better nothing too crazy ( I have a 3 year old)

thank you.

Salsa recipies needed!

Colinmarke — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:51:33 GMT

I need salsa recipies that you make with home-grown garden ingredients, and of course, you might a few from the store!
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Recipe calling for 4 or more eggs?

cweick — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 11:59:42 GMT

Does anyone have a recipe that calls for 4 or more eggs without doubling the recipe?

and omelets are out, too.