Monday Musings

Right now... It's 10:41am. Overcast outside, a little gloomy. I'm at the school table with my nieces. The fourth grader is furiously working on a Saxon math problem set with a half broken pencil. My second grade niece is writing 25 times, in cursive, "I will bring my books tomorrow." Happy Monday!

This past weekend... I baked bread, made granola, made a coconut cream pie for my mother-in-law, watched as my husband fixed an electric fence where the calves were getting out (we have beef cattle again!). I had a glorious conversation with my mother on Mother's Day. We went for a Sunday morning country drive and stopped by a place we saw with draft horse stallions and rodeo bulls. The guy put them through the paces and showed them off for us. Beautiful, massive, powerful animals!
   

Some plans for this week: I want to start building a chicken coop, weed the garden, and order supplies for milking Ofelia. I've started calling "Lia" or "Leah", which means "cow," after all.

If I can find some time for myself, I want to... sketch or use watercolors.

Special prayer intentions: That I can celebrate Mother's Day next year.

Something that makes me smile: Wild yellow roses from my husband.

More Monday Morning Musings at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

Flat on my Back Successes

1. Had 35+ students Confirmed! (Okay, it's not even remotely my success, it's God's. But... um... I made the punch for the party!).

2. I've been bed-ridden much of this week (it's a good thing, it means the medicine is working!). I had two options for the flat-on-my-back time: getting computer work done for the impending upcoming cherry harvest, or Netflix. I chose: both. I can even multi-task when I'm bed-ridden, people!

3. Cleared out my inbox by responding to e-mails. Usually I stare at them, thinking of something to say, until all danger of warranting a reply has passed (a la one of my favorite short essays, "On Unanswering Letters" by Christopher Morley). Then I file them away. But this week I actually blew my friends' minds and replied!

Check out others' small successes and share your own this week at Faith & Family Live.

Anticipation

Several events are going to take place over the next six weeks. There's a great sense of anticipation in our house right now as we shift into high gear. 

#1. The first hay harvest of the year (read: obscenely long hours for my husband).

#2. Cherry harvest (read: obscenely long hours for both of us).

#3. Our first ever 25 baby chicks arrive (read: I'm scared witless... what if I'm a chick killer? So many things can go wrong with that heat lamp!).

#4. Our first milk calf will be born and we will start milking Ofelia (read: I'm scared witless...).

#5. Summer break will begin (read: Alleluia!!).

Stay tuned. I'll blog about each of these events as they happen.

Tasty Cinco de Mayo

Grab the button here and come join us, or just link to another site with a recipe you're going to try... or post a recipe in the comments!

Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow! I'm going to try my 3rd attempt at tamales.

Attempt #1 was a total flop. The filling was delicious but my masa never set up. Attempt #2 was a partial flop. The filling was delicious but my masa only partially set up. I'm going for success on #3 with a delicious filling and perfect masa.

Because I don't have a tried and true masa technique yet, I'll just post the perfect filling, which would make delicious taco, burrito or enchilada filling if you want something a little fancier than "fry ground beef, stir in seasoning packet and 1/4 cup water."

Is it authentic? Depends on whom you ask. Is it delicious? YES!

Tamale Filling
Adapted from "Jenn" at Allrecipes.com

• 4 pounds chuck roast (or pork shoulder/Boston butt roast)
• 1 head garlic, peeled
• 6 dried ancho chiles
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups beef (or pork) broth (cooking juices)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• salt and seasonings to taste

Place beef (or pork) and garlic in a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as water boils, reduce heat to a simmer and cover pot. Let simmer for 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours, until beef (pork) is tender and shreds easily. When meat is done, remove from pot, reserving several cups cooking liquid and the garlic (smash the garlic into the meat). Allow meat to cool slightly, and shred finely with forks. 

Remove stems and seeds from the chile pods. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups reserved broth. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. Transfer the chiles and broth to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture, set aside. 
 
Heat oil in a large skillet. Mix in flour and allow to brown slightly (stirring constantly). Pour in 1 cup reserved cooking liquid (broth) and stir until smooth. Mix in strained chiles, ground cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, vinegar and salt. Stir shredded meat into skillet and cover. Let simmer 30-45 minutes. 

This is stinkin' amazing. Holy guacamole it's good!

Cause of Monday Joy

My husband loves me! I love him!

That is all.

*blissful sigh*