Bakes and Updates

This week around The Acre, we did a lot of baking. Cupcake works for several doctors, and one thing Big Man learned in his years of being the Po-Lice, you always take care of nurses and doctors, because there is a better than average chance, you will be on their gurney one night. So when Cupcake asked for an apple cake per doctor, Big Man sprung into action.

Two at a time

All four frosted, ready for delivery

All reports are in, and it appears the cakes were a huge hit. Some fights may have been caused, but reports have yet to be confirmed. We think we have a winner with this recipe.
Big Man also baked his first from scratch fruit cake this week. Both of us love fruitcake. We had an older woman who would make us one each Christmas season, but much like "Crazy Granny" she made it sound like it was an all day ordeal, hardly worth the time.
Big Man found a recipe and whipped one up in under thirty minutes. It took two hours to bake, but they really are simple in the grand scheme of things.

Fruit and flour

Fresh from the chicken butt eggs

Ready to bake

We are going to use whole fruit next time, but the flavor is right on

A couple of meal related items this week. We didn't get to make our usual big dinners because of choir concerts, Christmas parades and whatnot. One night we warmed up some of our brisket veggie soup, but we did make a load of peasant bread to go with it. Cast iron really makes the bread.

One night, Cupcake brought home dinner, and with it, a surprise for Big Man

Big Man loves him some sushi, Cupcake picked up some spicy tuna. It rocked.
For the update portion of this weeks entry, it's herbs and tomato plants. Cupcake's herb garden is still thriving, and there is nothing like fresh herbs in your meals.

We have two blooms on the tomato now

Apple tree sprout

Our lemon trees are still doing well

Fresh Tabasco peppers are a welcome treat

Oregano

Mint

Basil/Oregano mixed

Our lavender chickens have matured to the point our rooster started crowing this week. We were fixing Saturday pancakes when we heard what sounded like a 1940's car horn. We went out to investigate and found "Carl" flapping his wings and crowing. The hen let him sound off three more times, then pecked him on the head. Carl shut up and did not crow again until the next morning. It made us laugh.

We are on track for the hen to start laying eggs around Cupcake's birthday. Then our lavender chicken hatching machine springs in to action. It's our plan for next year.
One last update, the Christmas shopping is done.

Time to enjoy the holidays.
K&K

We Want Candy

This week, we made candy and bought candy.
We made peanut butter balls. We found an old fashioned southern recipe and they were so good, even Kattie Grace liked and ate them. And girlfriend does not like peanut butter.

Start with peanut butter and our home made butter

Add powder sugar to firm it up

Melt the chocolate chips for dipping

We found these at the store. Cupcake says Outlaw loved these things, so we bought a box. They didn't make it out of the parking lot, so we bought more. Now Big Man says there must be crack, heroin, meth and Oxy rolled up in each stick of candy, because he is addicted.

The next seasonal thing we made was a cheese ball. Well, it made two. This batch was made with pineapple.

Green peppers

Prepped and ready to mix

One last holiday item, sausage balls. Big Man has never liked sausage balls, but he was down to help make them for the family. After they were done, Big Man ate more than anyone else. They were that good.

Cupcake says that in her prior life, "Crazy Granny" would complain that sausage balls and peanut butter balls both would take all day to make. We made sausage balls in less than an hour, same with the peanut butter balls. Guess happy couples are a better run machine than others.
Cupcake loves her some marmalade, so for a surprise one day, Big Man whipped up a batch while she was at work. Because he has free time like that.

Boiling the peels

Juicing the wedges

Cooking it down

We got back to smoked meat Thor's Day, ribs this week. And we ended the week with chicken wing Sunday.
K&K

Busy Week

The week of Thanksgiving was a busy one for us. We posted about the actual meal, but there was a lot of behind the scenes stuff going on. Normal meals, dressed up dogs and whatnot.
Cupcake always dresses the mutt up for the holidays, and she is still not impressed when it happens.

The rest of us sprang in to action though. Before we got to holiday food prep, we made a from scratch pizza pie, and this time Big Man cut up a fresh pineapple for the pizza.

Regular readers will know already, we are huge cast iron cooking fans. Below is a picture of the cast iron pizza pan after cleanup. We sprayed it with water, wiped it off with a towel and oiled it down with some olive oil. It's way better than non stick crap you buy in the stores these days, but if you don't use it, you just don't know.

Big Man found a recipe for cranberry cookies, and whipped up a batch prior to the big day. Because he has free time like that.

Fresh berries, real orange zest.

Early reviews were good, so we will probably keep making them.
There was also apple cake, the latest obsession here at The Acre.

We chopped up fresh cranberries for this apple cake

Big Man's soon to be world famous cream cheese icing

And our regular followers know we are nuts about some snow. We work all summer to prep for a hard winter, so when it snows it makes us giddy. This week we got about six inches, so the giddy was wide open while we made dinner Thursday.

And what is better than having snow on Thanksgiving? Having matching nerd sweatshirts to wear while it's snowing. We have been big fans of Arrow on TV, and the spin off "The Flash" is probably going to be just as good. We are faithful followers, and picked up these in it's honor.

If you don't watch, you won't get it.
There was a couple canning related items this week. First, cranberry sauce.

Canning cranberry sauce in the snow, just like The Walton's use to do

And second was turkey broth. We don't waste food around The Acre, so after we picked the Thanksgiving turkey, we boiled the bones then canned the broth. We made two gallons, so that's four batches of chicken noodle soup or other broth related meals down the road. Can't beat a pressure canner, they are just too handy.

Add a few carrots, spices, onions, and boil

Can we get a yum for later?

And last but not least, our family tradition of Christmas decorations. Thanksgiving night, we turn on the outside lights, and the weekend following, we get our tree and decorate it.

Time to move those presents under the tree.
K&K

Triple Digits for Thanksgiving

This update marks our 100th post, since we moved life events from the Facebook news feed to a private blog. We appreciate the five regular followers keeping up with our goings on.
This will be a Thanksgiving food update. We are so blessed here at The Acre, fixing too much food is a problem not a lot of people have these days, and it's a fact not lost on us.
We start out with Cupcake's favorite dish, corn pudding.

The next favorite dish, sweet potato casserole

And real home made mac n cheese, not store bought Stouffer's with cheese sprinkled on top before you bake it. Don't laugh, people do it and call it home made (I laugh too when I hear about it)

There has to be deviled eggs, and we are fortunate enough to have fresh from the chicken butt eggs. They really make a difference.

And of course, pumpkin pie. From scratch, we even used the jar of canned pumpkin from our patch this season.

And fresh eggs

Big Man's from scratch pie crust

Big Man whipped up some mashed potatoes, fresh dug from Pops garden, and made in cast iron pots.

Fresh home made cranberry sauce

And the main course, fried turkey. Cupcake won't have it any other way now.

There is a cast iron skillet of dressing behind the bird. Kattie Grace made that for us this year.
We're looking forward to many nights of leftovers.
K&K