Category: SFH Lessons Learned

Farmhouse Living, Mr. Monte, SFH Food Talk & Recipes, SFH Lessons Learned, Traditions

A New Year for Our Farmhouse

Rested and renewed Miss Blondie and I are starting a new year for our farmhouse. We are in the midst of Christmastide, the lights on the tree shine brightly, and there is a warm fire in the wood stove. This is the perfect beginning for our 11th year at Serendipity Farmhouse. – It just doesn’t get any better than this.

Celebrating the Farm House New Year

My beautiful wife and I lived in Japan for over a decade. Our family grew and prospered there. So, it is only natural that our New Year’s Eve celebrations are highlighted by Japanese food and traditions. This year, Chef Blondie made a large batch of Gyoza. – What a treat!

Perhaps in late-January or early-February, Chef Blondie will pull out the electric skillet and show you how our dear friend Reiko made gyoza for us. She will also explain how to make up a large batch and freeze some for use several months later.

Farmhouse New Year Plans

In looking at the statistics for this blog and for our YouTube channel, we’ve realized we have two separate audiences. The first audience, the one that’s been with us since the beginning, consists of our family and close friends.

The second audience, started growing in August and September. The folks in this audience are all about good food. They’ve learned that Chef Blondie and the soon-to-be-world-famous SFH Test Kitchen can be relied upon to provide recipes that are top quality. They also have shown great interest in the Test Kitchen’s take on great chefs like Jacques Pépin and Julia Child.

The truth is we consider both audiences to be important parts of the Serendipity Farmhouse family. This year, Miss Blondie, Pierre LeChat, Mr. Monte, and I will do our best to satisfy your interests and build a farmhouse spirit of togetherness.

A Quick Look into the Farmhouse New Year

As I mentioned earlier, you can expect to see a full post and video on Chef Blondie’s rendition of Japanese gyoza. But before that, she is working on a project around a Jacques Pépin recipe perfect for these cold days of January. So within the week, she will introduce you to Beef Stew with Red Wine from the cookbook Jacques Pépin’s Simple and Healthy Cooking. – Don’t miss it. It’s going to be a good one.

Mr. Monte’s New Year

Mr. Monte’s off to a mixed start this year. He has a minor medical problem and had to visit the vet today. That’s never on his wish list. Nevertheless, he made the most of it and finally figured out where Dr. Meyers stashes her fantastic feline treats.

Classical music? Maybe I’ll come out and look around.
Hmmm? Different exam room and toys.
Certainly not big enough for a Maine Coon.
What cute tasty looking birds.
I’m going to capture the high ground.
Mr. Monte now in command!
Now where are those treats?
Found them! Fuzz Face, don’t snitch!

Come join us for this most auspicious

Farmhouse New Year

Rested and renewed Miss Blondie and I are starting a new year for our farmhouse. There’s going to be good food, good fun, and maybe even a good feline. – Err, perhaps I’m expecting too much.

This blog and our YouTube channel work together. In our blog you will find the full, printable recipes used by our Test Kitchen staff. Our YouTube channel provides video demonstrations of cooking techniques used with our recipes.

We want to do the best for both of our audiences. So, Miss Blondie looks forward to your comments on our posts and videos. Your insights and suggestions are priceless. If you like, you can contact Miss Blondie directly at the email address listed below. You can get to our YouTube channel by clicking on the image below or by scanning the QR code.

Have a Happy New Year!

Autumn cleanup made easy
Autumn, Farmhouse Living, Seasons, SFH Lessons Learned

Autumn Cleanup and Maintenance Made Easy

At Serendipity Farmhouse we have a plan to make Autumn cleanup and maintenance easy. It may not be the world’s best plan, but it works for us. Perhaps some of our tips for cleanup and maintenance will work for you too.

lawn tractor blues

Hi! Ol’ Fuzz Face here.

Despite what my 24-pound, Maine Coon cat tells you in his posts, I’m the one who does the real work around here. – More precisely, I do what Miss Blondie tells me to do – or else.

That said, Blondie and I both know, we would get nothing done if we didn’t have a plan. So, Let’s talk about our 2023 Autumn Cleanup Plan and how it works.

How we make our Autumn cleanup easy.

We’ve been living in our beloved Serendipity Farmhouse for almost 10 years. The seasons here follow a pattern unique to the Blue Ridge and rural life. We synchronize our tasks and chores to that pattern. With each passing year, we are more attuned to that pattern.

Lesson Learned: We let the pattern of life and experiences of preceding years be our guide. Because we do, our Autumn cleanup planning becomes easier every year.

Best Use of Time & Effort

Early Autumn is a tricky time of year. One day it’s in the 80’s and clear, the next day it’s in the 40’s and rainy. We’ve learned that our cleaning plan must be flexible. So, we break down our work by indoor and outdoor chores. On good days, we work on the three outbuildings, the yard, and the gardens. On rainy days, we work inside to put the house in order before the holidays arrive.

October 2023 was for outdoor work.

This October has been very dry. With just a few exceptions, we were able to complete almost all of our outdoor work before we headed out on our last RV trip of the year.

Miss Blondie and I tackled Vegetable Garden #1 first. We weeded the asparagus and cleared out the old plant debris from all the boxes. The we turned over the soil and added a layer of new soil and our own compost to each. Finally, we planted almost two box sections of garlic.

Autumn cleanup made easy

Outbuilding Autumn Cleanup

In our post How to Have a Firewood Party, you saw how the woodshed had to be cleaned and how the new firewood was stored in the shed. Well, thanks to the previous owner of SFH, we also have a large storage shed with three ground-level bays and an upper storage area. During the Summer, it gets exceptionally dirty. Additionally, all the hornets and wasps in these parts think our shed is the perfect place to set up housekeeping.

My sweet and industrious wife tells me that I must play the role of the nasty landlord and evict all the unwanted tenants. Once they’ve been removed, Miss Blondie insists that each bay must be cleaned to the same standards as a room at the Inn at Little Washington. – It comes down to a simple question: Stinging Insects or Unhappy Wife? As you can see, the shed is getting cleaner every day.

Autumn cleanup made easy

Outbuilding #3 – The Portal to Hades

I usually don’t admit my fears. But as you saw in Mr. Monte’s post My Security Staff Jackwagons, I have been very unhappy with Monte’s employee Rusty the Rat Snake. The well house has always been a place of dread for me. Rusty has only made it worse.

Well, I finally mustered the nerve to enter this place of dirt and filth, infested with vermin of every kind. In fact, I was actually somewhat proud of myself when I saw the progress I had made.

Before
Autumn cleanup made easy
After

Yes, I was really proud of myself for being so brave. I went into that Portal to Hades, and I had survived.

That is when reality hit me in the face, almost literally. – As I was making a victory lap around the well house with the leaf blower, I encountered this guy, just six inches from my nose.

Autumn cleanup made easy

Next year, maybe I can talk Son-in-law #1 into cleaning the well house. It’s worth a try.

Here’s what our Autumn Cleanup List looks like today.

Now you know how we go about our Autumn cleanup. Here’s the list of what we’ve done so far, and what we have yet to do.

Autumn cleanup made easy
SFH Autumn Cleanup List

be prepared
Be Prepared, Ol' Fuzz Face, SFH Lessons Learned

Lifelines to Clotheslines – The Right Fix

From lifelines to clotheslines things can go wrong – strive to be prepared with the right fix. We here at Serendipity Farmhouse continue to learn that any day can be a bad day if you haven’t used forethought and built preparedness into your plans. – This week we had another example of why this is so true.

Hi! Ol’ Fuzz Face here – Let’s talk preparedness.

be prepared

In my post No Need for A Farmhouse Nightmare I waxed eloquently about ‘lifeline functions’. I made some good points, but I didn’t really get into practical solutions.

Likewise, in my post How to Prepare – Graceful Degradation I probably left you scratching your head with my use of terms like ‘upgradation’ and ‘graceful degradation‘.

The Right Fix – A Practical Example

Last Wednesday, our dryer died. My dearest Blondie could wash clothes as usual, but she needed a way to dry them. – No problem! – We had the right fix! We went into our graceful degradation mode. Just like the first residents of our nearly 100-year-old farmhouse, we merely had to hang the clothes out to dry on our clotheslines.

be prepared
Blondie hanging the wash out to dry.

The loss of our dryer is temporary, it should be repaired this coming week. But the ability to use our clothesline is permanent. Should the dryer fail again or if there is a major lifeline power outage, we just gracefully degrade to our backup mode.

Cost Factors – The Right Fix

You may have had better experiences than we have. Our recent experiences have caused us to reconsider our strategy for home repair preparedness. Here’s what we’ve observed.

  • Major appliance repair costs have risen greatly.
  • Home warranty and appliance warranty service companies have become far less responsive, especially since COVID.

Our home warranty service used to pay for itself almost every year. But service degraded so badly that we had to drop it. Other warranty plans are expensive. For example, Sears Appliance plan starts at $49.99 per month ($599.88 per year).

Now, we act as our own home warranty plan. We put away $50.00 each month and don’t touch it until a need arises. – This works well, and for us it is the right fix.

Clotheslines – Right Fix vs. Wrong Fix

Even when you have a good preparedness backup plan, there may be some bumps in the road. For example, on the second day of using the clothesline, it broke.

The Wrong Fix: A number of repair options were open to us. It was our job to determine which was the best. One option was to use a clothespin to hold the broken clothesline together. – This was obviously a wrong fix.

be prepared

The Right Fix: A square knot is not the best for joining two lines together. But, if you don’t have the needed length of line for a better knot, the square knot will do in a pinch. – In this case I used a square knot so my dear Blondie could dry the clothes. – It worked and it was the right fix.

My point is this. Use forethought and build preparedness into your plans. Be prepared to change your plans when conditions and circumstances dictate. Always be prepared to improvise and select the right fix.

Mr. Monte, SFH Food Talk & Recipes, SFH Journal, SFH Lessons Learned

SFH Journal: 2021-03-15 through 03-28 – Obsessions

Hi! Mr. Monte here!

To my 23,417 feline followers, especially my many cat cousins residing in Virginia and Ohio, Blondie and Ol’ Fuzz Face have been exceedingly busy over the last two weeks. And I, the officially proclaimed “FELINE PRODUCTIVE,” have had to take on more and more editing duties for the Serendipity Farmhouse Blog. It is both a duty and an honor. Besides that, I’m far more capable, honest, and objective than Fuzzy is.

Lately, my two big cats have been preoccupied by two competing obsessions – food and Spring gardening. Frankly, I have to admit that I share the food obsession and the gardening thing affords me added time out on the back porch.

St. Patrick & St. Joseph: If you view the featured photo at the top of the page very closely, you will see that culinary delights created in the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen were a centerpiece at a dinner party honoring the great St. Patrick and St. Joseph. First there was a simple fruit salad. Then, Blondie outdid herself by baking not one, but two delicious loaves of bread. One was Scandinavian Light Rye Bread and the other was Irish Potato Brown Bread. The breads were SFH variations of recipes by Beth Hensberger as found in The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook.

Fuzzy’s Follies: Fuzzy added a finishing touch to the bread concept with homemade butter. In so doing, he set a new SFH and personal record – from start of process to end of cleanup, less than 20 minutes. Unfortunately, he was unable to even come close to that record time later in the week.

Normally, the old guy uses store-bought heavy cream to make butter. Ten ounces of cream will give you a quarter pound of butter and six ounces of buttermilk. When that type of cream is at room temperature, it only takes Fuzzy about 5-7 minutes to churn up a quarter pound of my favorite licking butter. His record time is three minutes and forty seconds. But, on this recent occasion, he desired to show that he was a true purist and decided to use cream skimmed off the top of a half gallon of raw milk directly from the dairy farm.

Well, Fuzzy was able to skim off the requisite 10 ounces, leaving about a quarter inch of cream still in the jar. He poured the cream into his churn and began to turn and turn … churn and churn … turn and turn … churn and churn … I think you get the picture. Some fifty minutes later, a tired, panting, moaning and groaning old guy finally threw his hands up in the air and confessed he could turn and churn no more. He ended up with about two-thirds of what he usually produces. – – For the record, though: It was probably some of best butter this feline connoisseur has ever tasted.

Lesson Learned: If it’s butter you’re making, consider the time it will be taking. Because if it’s raw milk you’re using, a great deal of time you’ll be losing, not to mention, though it was not your intention, you’re going to turn and churn until your arms begin to  ache and burn. – – So sayeth Mencius (孟子) Maine Coon

Raw Milk & Cream
Still churning …

Foodies’ Preview: Both my big cats are foodies. These last two weeks they have been deep into the creativity thing. For years they have been making pizzas, but they’ve always made the crust from store-bought mixes. A few days ago, they finally said that the soon-to-be-world-famous SFH Test Kitchen could not be entirely authentic and true to its founding principles so long as store-bought mixes were to be used. That is when they created this beauty of a three-cheese pizza. But, sad to say, my dear friends, you’ll never be able to reproduce it yourselves because you don’t have the secret SFH cheese ingredient.

Meanwhile, Ol’ Fuzz Face, while a partial failure at raw-milk butter, scored a great success with homemade sausage. He and a friend, who has the needed tools, spent a Saturday, each making eight pounds of pork and beef sausage.

In the coming weeks, there will be special posts describing the intricacies and ins and outs of how the SFH Three-Cheese Pizza and the SFH Special Sausage were conceived and how they became truly masterful culinary delights. – – Yes, I got to taste them.

Gardening: Blondie is the SFH Master Gardener. She has already started Spring planting. The raw intensity of garden is in the air. If you are around Blondie, never ever make the mistake of joking about her gardens. She takes them very seriously and she does not abide by humor about such an important undertaking. SFH is nothing if it is not about its bountiful gardens and the food that comes from them. – – It is what brings the family together – children, grandchildren, and good food to share – all bound together with a prayer. – – Yes, of course, this Maine Coon does join in family prayer.

More of Fuzzy’s Follies: Ol’ Fuzzface has a well-developed and abiding appreciation for maintaining the “perfectly manicured lawn.” Often, he can be heard happily chatting to himself about how beautiful and verdant are the many lawns spread about the vast 1.204 acres of the Serendipity Farmhouse estate. This week, he has been almost ecstatic because of the great success he has had in cultivating one of his favorite winter annual ground covers – Corn Speedwell (Veronica arvensis).

After doing some research, Blondie and I are less enthused. After all, Corn Speedwell is a weed!

This is not a lawn! These are weeds!

SFH by the Numbers

The following links will catch you up with what’s come out of our gardens and what has gone into mason jars and the freezer since our last Journal post:

SFH 2020 Plantings

SFH 2020 Harvest

SFH 2020 Preserving

SFH WX Station Report – Weekly: 

SFH WX 2021-03-15 through 03-21

SFH WX 2021-03-21 through 03-28

 

Critters, Mr. Monte, SFH Lessons Learned

SFH Security Blues

Hi! Mr. Monte here!

To my 23,417 feline followers, especially my many cat cousins residing in Virginia, Friday 12 March was not a good day for yours truly or any members of the world-renowned Serendipity Farmhouse Security Staff. Some cases are not part of our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). In fact, this particular case was so unusual that all we could do was just “wing it”. – So, for the official record here is the case of the SFH Security Blues.

It all started about 09:30 hours EST. There was a commotion outside. Local critters, squirrels, cardinals, etc., were making a racket. At about the same time, our aerial observer, Lightning the broad-tailed hawk, sent a text saying that there was some sort of disturbance on the western side of the vast SFH estate. Soon afterwards, Rusty the rat snake called and noted that the disturbance was near the avian residential area where Serendipity Farmhouse leases properties (bird houses etc.) to many trusted and reliable feathered tenants.

Simultaneously, with the Security Staff alert calls, I noted that Blondie and Ol’ Fuzz Face were watching something from the large western picture window (Blondie’s bathroom window). Knowing that they would need a rapid response from me and my staff, I met with them in the bathroom and conveyed what I had learned from my able staff.

During our conference we were able to compile the following facts:

  1. The bluebird house on the western fence was ground zero for the disturbance;
  2. After cleaning the birdhouse recently, several prospective tenants had come to inspect the property;
  3. Unfortunately today, at least one female bluebird and two young males all arrived for a viewing at the same time;
  4. Bluebird real estate prospects are in high demand this time of year and each of the male bluebirds was insisting that he had first rights to the single available residence, and
  5. The female had retired to a nearby tree to await the outcome of the dispute.

That’s when the fight began. Both opponents were resolved and determined to take possession of the birdhouse. From the window, Blondie, Fuzzy, and I could see that this was not going to end well.

I quickly referred to the SFH Security SOP. Just as I thought – there was no procedure for this type of affair. Yet, it was up to me to prevent disharmony and perhaps even bloodshed here at SFH. I quickly called the available staff to a safe distance from the ongoing melee. I figured that if the staff could get the combatants’ attention, perhaps we could resolve the issue and come up with some equitable solution.

Just before I was to call the meeting, however, I made a quick check of what might be the appropriate protocols to be used in such a meeting. That is when all my good intentions proved to be worthless. As I searched for proper sounds and gestures that could be used to communicate with these brawling birds, I noticed in the fine print the host of animals that are common predators of bluebirds. The list prominently noted three predators that could make this whole meeting idea a bit problematic – they were: rat snakes, hawks, and most prominently CATS.

Oops! I recognized at that point that we had to scrub the meeting. I didn’t think that Blondie and Fuzzy would have been very forgiving if the SFH Security Staff were to bring mortal harm to their highly-prized flying friends. – – So, I had the staff stand down and return to their normal duties. I decided that the best thing to do was to ask Fuzzy to take some pictures for the record. I also asked that he make a note in the Official SFH Security Log that the Chief of Security was relieved of any responsibility if the two combatants were to come to any harm.

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So, the pictures were taken and we all went back about our business. This morning, a single nesting pair has taken residence in the bluebird house and all is peaceful once again here at Serendipity Farmhouse. – No, I didn’t suffer a failure but I had no great success and that is why today I have a case of the SFH Security Blues.

 

SFH Food Talk & Recipes, SFH Journal, SFH Lessons Learned

SFH Journal: 2020-12-29 through 2020-01-03 – Making Amends to His GRITS

Hi! This is your Serendipity Farmhouse Girl Raised In The South (GRITS).

This is a story about my Hubby. Although, he may have some rough edges and is not quite as cute and cuddly as my sweet Del Monte, in his own way, he is a big part of what makes SFH the pleasant home and quiet retreat from the world that it has become. As I reported to you a year ago, my adventurous and daring Hubby learned two very important lessons concerning common sense and an over abundance of self reliance. The unfortunate affair revolved around Hubby’s desire to master the use of our brand new Instant Pot and to make the best New Year’s Day Southern-style ham and black eye peas ever.

In retrospect, he might have achieved that goal had he read the Instant Pot directions and listened to the most observant and wise creature in all of feline creation – Mr. Monte. No, instead, my Hubby chose a different path, and because of that ill-advised decision, he was publicly humiliated and learned the following two important lessons: IMG_20200104_112051376 (2)_edited

Lesson Learned 2020-01: An Instant Pot is not like a crock pot or a toaster. The electric cord is detachable. That cord is subject to Murphy’s Law and it will detach itself when you least expect it.

Lesson Learned 2020-02: When your 20-pound Maine Coon Cat jumps on the counter and tries to tell you that the Instant Pot electric cord is detached – – Listen to him!!!

(For the full story of how Hubby learned those lessons, see SFH Test Kitchen – Hubby Under Pressure.)

Well, all of that happened a year ago. Since then, dearest Hubby has frequently pondered upon those two lessons learned. Over the course of the last year, many a time Hubby could be seen walking about the vast SFH estate, muttering aloud, over and over again: “Instant Pot – – detachable cord; Mr. Monte – – Listen to him!!!”

So, when it came to this New Year’s Day, I considered his request to redeem his honor. He came to me hat in hand, promising to make amends to his beloved GRITS, promising to to make the best New Year’s Day Southern-style ham and black eye peas ever. – – How could I resist his plea? Although he may have some rough edges and is not quite as cute and cuddly as my sweet Del Monte, in his own way, he is my loving Hubby. – – I could not refuse him. I said, yes.

On New Year’s Day we started the year 2021 all together in the kitchen. I worked the magic that only a GRITS can do, making the best collard greens and cornbread ever. Mr. Monte, the soon-to-be-world-famous SFH Test Kitchen Master Chef, observed, advised, and guided our kitchen staff. And, to one side, dear Hubby, ensuring that the Instant Pot cord was firmly fastened and listening to Chef Monte’s every word, prepared the Southern-style ham and black eye peas.

We sat at our places, prayed our grace, and tasted the flavors of the New Year’s Day meal we had prepared. All was as it should be, all was so very good and tasty. Indeed, Hubby had learned his lessons and we feasted on the best Southern-style ham and black eye peas ever. – – Hubby had made his amends to his beloved GRITS.

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SFH by the Numbers

The following links will catch you up with what’s come out of our gardens and what has gone into mason jars and the freezer since our last Journal post.:

SFH 2020 Plantings

SFH 2020 Harvest

SFH 2020 Preserving

SFH WX Station Report – Weekly: 

SFH WX 2020-12-28 through 2021-01-03

 

RV Living, SFH Lessons Learned

Serendipity River Park – Re-Creation

Lesson Learned: When it seems that you have exhausted all the possibilities, it’s time to look to your friends and be creative. Once you’ve done that, then it’s time for re-creation.

Blondie and I were becoming frustrated and irritable. Every RV park was either booked solid or we would have to stay in one spot one night and move to a second spot the next. That certainly was not what my dearly beloved Glamper or I wanted to hear. – – It looked like 4th of July week we would be confined to Serendipity Farmhouse.

Then, Blondie and I, almost simultaneously, remembered an offer made to us by Don and Louise. Don and “Lou”, as we call her, were very close to us and we go back a long, long way. They have a beautiful piece of land, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Long ago, they told us we could set up our RV there any time we wanted. Knowing of our regard for unexpected, happy discovery, they had named their little private RV camp Serendipity River Park (SRP).

IMG_20200701_163933363_edited

It didn’t take long to work out the schedule and details. The very best camp site at SRP was reserved for us. El Camino Del Monte was loaded up. Mr. Monte, with great pomp and ceremony, was escorted to the RV and positioned safely in his favorite travel spot. – – By 4:15 PM we were in our assigned site, which Don and Lou had dubbed “River View”. It was very hot that day, but River View was a full hookup site. So, there was 30 Amp AC electric service to run our air conditioner. We quickly made everything as cozy and comfortable as any dedicated Glamper could want.

IMG_20200702_133618168_HDR_edited

As usual, we had a full two-day menu prepared. My dear Master Chef, after taking a short break, got to work making a delicious Chickpea Scramble. It was perfect meal, light but filling, and ever so tasty. Our next post will document that happy culinary achievement.

The next day was for exploration, relaxation, and re-creation. And I do mean “re-creation”, not “recreation”. – – Along the river bordering Don and Lou’s property, they have cleared some land to make a wide grass pathway they call “River Walk.” There they have done their best to enhance the naturally beautiful scenery. Along the walk, they keep a couple of small meadows mowed, giving visitors a place to emerge from the forest setting and enjoy the Summer sky. – – Indeed, Blondie and I had a most enjoyable walk, our earlier frustrations and irritability had long since vanished.

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Having seen the open clearings along River Walk, an idea came to my mind. This is where the re-creation comes in. Almost two and a half years ago, my most thoughtful Spouse had given me a drone for Christmas. For two and a half years I had never even taken the drone out of its box. There never seemed to be a right time to attempt a first flight. Either the wind was too strong, or the fields at Reality Farm needed mowing, or it was too cold, or … You get the idea. – – Somehow, I had become an “old man” and forgot how to play, forgot how to enjoy fun things. I had intentions to do “fun” things, but I had forgotten how to let go and just do them.

It was not so at Serendipity River Park. On a whim I had packed the drone. On another, ever more important whim, I actually took that drone out of its box, charged the battery and prepared to make my first flight.

One point must be made here. I attempted to read the directions, but they were an example of the very worst possible machine translation into some language no way resembling English. That is when I decided to cast away all caution and be young again. Nope, there’s really no need for instructions, I’ll figure this out all on my own.

– – And that, gentle reader, was an act of “re-creation”. I had found something that had been lost in me and literally re-created an element of youthful daring. – –

You can be sure there will be many more flights for the newest addition to the Serendipity Farmhouse Air Squadron. Someday, there will even be pictures and videos from the air.

While on another “great explore” of the areas near Serendipity River Park, Blondie and I found that we were in the midst of an historic Civil War site. We read the story and decided that SRP might be a perfect place to search for Civil War relics.

And that brings me to a second act of re-creation. For over five years, a metal detector has sat alone and abandoned in our shed at SFH, never to be used.

– – Now  I can tell you that forlorn electronic gadget has been thoroughly cleaned and restored to working order. It will be among the first items packed for our next trip to that fantastic place called Serendipity River Park. – –

No, it’s not a second childhood, it’s a return to how I was created.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe, SFH Food Talk & Recipes, SFH Lessons Learned, What were we thinking?

SFH Test Kitchen – Hubby Under Pressure

OK you foodies, I had hoped to bring you a very fine food & recipe post based on our most recent adventures in the culinary arts. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen in this post because my dear, sweet Hubby once again succumbed to his knack of “over thinking” a problem.

A little background is needed. I have the distinct pleasure of being one of those “girls raised in the South” (GRITS). New Year’s Day would not be complete without the traditional black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread. Hubby is a Yankee, but this traditional meal is one of his favorites. In fact, he offered to make it the first featured meal of the soon-to-be-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen for the year 2020.

Being the geek that he is, he declared that the ever so important black-eyed peas would be prepared in our almost brand new Instant Pot. Hubby has background experience with pressure cookers since he was young and he thought using the Instant Pot would be a stimulating challenge. – – This, devoted readers, was his plan – his Plan A. He had no Plan B.

Hubby chose the recipe “Southern-Style Black-Eyed Peas” by Laurel Randolph in her book Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook. He elected to go with leftover Christmas ham rather than bacon and added and subtracted a few other items.

Late in the morning on New Year’s Day, the clock was ticking. My dear friend Nancy would be here at 1PM. I had prepared the collard greens – perfect! The cornbread had just come out of the oven – heavenly! Freshly homemade butter was at room temperature waiting to meet the cornbread.

Hubby, with flair and enthusiasm, had sauteed the onions and ham in the Instant Pot. The aroma incited high expectations for what was to come. The broth and black-eyed peas and other ingredients were added to the pot. The lid was locked in place. Hubby set the pressure cook time … and then … and then … and then there was nothing. – – No indicator lights, no build up of pressure.

Meanwhile, Mr. Monte jumped up on the counter. We told him it wasn’t time to eat. He insisted on staying on the counter and was laboring to get an important message across to us. We had no time for that. Mr. Monte was removed from the counter.

My almost but not quite in a state of panic Spouse checked the plug. He moved it from socket to socket. He cycled ground fault buttons. He noted that there was some warming in the pot, but still no indicator lights and no pressure build up.

It was past 1PM. Nancy was late. Hubby was turning in tight little circles. His ears were turning red. Nothing was going as it should.

Then, Nancy arrived. We greeted her. Hubby attempted to look untroubled. He wasn’t very convincing. His ears turned more red and it was obvious that he was suppressing his speech out of consideration of the presence of dear friend Nancy.

At just about the same time, Hubby and I asked the question, “Can’t we take the black-eyed peas and finish cooking them in our old pressure cooker?” Hubby immediately answered the question and said, “That’s it, that’s my Plan B.”

Within 30 seconds, my enterprising spouse had pulled out the old pressure cooker; transferred all of the black-eyed peas; and had the pot heating up on the trusty SFH Test Kitchen stove.

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While the peas were heating, Hubby cleaned out the Instant Pot and was preparing to put it away. – – That is when he saw it! – That’s when he realized that Mr. Monte was calling the wrong person Blondie. That’s when he saw that the plug was no longer attached to the Instant Pot.

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Now to make a very long story very short. The peas went back into the Instant Pot. When they were served they far exceeded the expectations of all gathered around the table. Dearest Hubby said not a word as he completed cleaning the old pressure cooker and, of course, the Instant Pot for the second time of the day.

Lesson Learned 2020-01: An Instant Pot is not like a crock pot or a toaster. The electric cord is detachable. That cord is subject to Murphy’s Law and it will detach itself when you least expect it.

Lesson Learned 2020-02: When your 20-pound Maine Coon Cat jumps on the counter and tries to tell you that the Instant Pot electric cord is detached – – Listen to him!!!

Happy New Year!!!

 

SFH Journal, SFH Lessons Learned

SFH Journal: 2018-09-14 through 16

Highlight: Once upon a time, there was a hurricane, a pair of scissors, and an okra plant. Who would ever suspect how the accidental coexistence of those three things could lead to a Serendipity Farmhouse emergency and a very unexpected Lesson Learned?

Florence is coming! Florence is coming to Virginia! Batten down the hatches! Stow away everything that isn’t tied down!

And so it was a week ago. Tables, chairs, and garden tools were stowed away. My beautiful, forward thinking wife made sure everything was safe from tropical storm wind and rain – even her garden gloves.

While on our RV trip in Mr. Monte’s bug out buggy, Florence changed course and moved further south and west. The immediate danger was gone. We returned home and set about our normal routine – even in the garden – even though all that had been stowed away had not been returned to its rightful place. And, of course, that included dear wife’s garden gloves.

On the 16th, okra needed to be picked. The beautiful woman, whom I love so dearly, went cheerfully with scissors and bucket in hand. She had everything she needed to pick okra. Everything except her garden gloves.

A snip here, a snip there and soon seven okra pods were in her bucket. Number eight was waiting high atop an okra bush nearly seven feet up. She gently bent the push to where she could reach that eighth pod. Perhaps it was the awkward position; perhaps it was the unusual angle; no matter what it was, as the scissors snapped sharply shut, a small piece of her middle finger slid into the path of the blades. The blood followed soon afterwards

In her stoic way she called to me while heading towards the house. I saw the problem; I saw the blood; I saw this was no simple cut.

First one, then another, first aid kits, hydrogen peroxide, and other emergency items made their way to the kitchen where we attempted to stop the bleeding. There was no combination of bandages, gauze, or tape that would stem the flow. Within minutes, we were in the car heading 25 miles to the urgent care facility.

0916181213c (2)There was a wait, but not too long. There were experienced medical professionals that had just the right makings for a custom fit dressing. Finally, the bleeding was under control and the wound was properly cleaned.

Today, dear spouse is nursing her wound and she asked me to tell you about here Lesson Learned: Never take a shortcut, always use your garden gloves, and always, always look closely at what your are doing.

There is no doubt that the next batch of okra cooked at SFH will be accompanied by a remembrance of once upon a time, when there was a hurricane, a pair of scissors, and an okra plant.

Weather: The remnants of FLORENCE are heading our way and will dump heavy rains on the region on Monday. The level in the river is low enough to take 2-3 inches. Any more than that, however, may mean moving the cars to high ground and spending a night or two in El Camino Del Monte in the church parking lot.

2018-09-14: High – 77º, precipitation 0.06 (Details – click here.)

2018-09-15: High – 73º, precipitation 0.00 (Details – click here.)

2018-09-16: High – 71º, precipitation 0.02 (Details – click here.)

Plantings: Nothing to report

Harvest: 

2018-09-14: Nothing to report

2018-09-15: Nothing to report

2018-09-16: 8 okra pods, 1 finger

Pray, Prepare, Preserve, RV Living, SFH Lessons Learned

El Camino Del Monte – Shakedown Cruise #2

Good day to all of my adoring fans throughout the world!

After a threat of terrible bloodshed and carnage, Old Fuzz Face relinquished the keyboard and allowed me my rightly due, that is, I shall be the one to relate the sequence of events that took place on the second Shakedown Cruise of the good RV El Camino Del Monte (ECDM).

As reported in SFH Journal: 2018-09-12 & 13 yesterday, I and my sometimes intrepid crew have returned to the safe harbor of Serendipity Farmhouse. Old Fuzz Face, Blondie, and I, Mr. Monte the Magnificent, once again, have braved the open road, steep hill climbs, perilous descents at excessive speed from high ridges, and the exhausting life of a luxury RV campground.

(Please note carefully: A “luxury RV campground” only refers to luxury for humans. The fact that canines (slobbering, yapping, flea-infested dogs) are allowed in an RV campground, seriously detracts from the “luxury” that any exalted feline might enjoy.)

I must commend Blondie for having the forethought to understand how stressful the pet-remedy-200ml-spray-750x750barking, yapping, and generally distasteful sound of dogs might be to my royal sensitivities. She had sprayed ECDM with a preparation called “pet remedy”, a “natural de-stress and calming” spray.

Now, you must understand that, although the spray may have helped me some, there is more to this story. A close reading of the “pet remedy” box shows that this product works with all mammals. Let’s face it, Fuzz Face and Blondie are, in fact, mammals. It is my contention that one reason why this shakedown cruise went so well was because my two humans were even more influenced by this spray than was I.

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Blondie just made my lunch and I express my satisfaction

This was a far, far better cruise than the first. It was highlighted by many successful undertakings. One might say that my two big cats (i.e. trainable humans) have almost gotten their act together. And, although not all things went perfectly, for example the large knot on Fuzz Face’s forehead and the severely scraped and bruised area on Blondie’s right shin, we return with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Join us over the next week or two as I, with feeble and faltering technical assistance from Fuzz Face, recount our shakedown cruise experiences.

(For a look at what happened on Shakedown Cruise #1, look here, here, here, here & here.)