Grey Days

Darkness has descended here over Hickery Holler! The grey and dreary days of winter are here. We are expecting rain this weekend. I am taking the weekend off to quilt. It's time for some quilt therapy. I look forward to my quilt frame therapy all year. Days that are not filled with gardening, weeding, hoeing, picking or canning. Days that are filled seated at my sewing machine or my quilt frame matching shapes, fabrics and colors. The butchering canning and gardening are done and for these few months I indulge in creating.   

 So this Saturday morning I have set out to prepare enough food for my family for a couple days while I indulge in my sewing. I started out making a pot of cream of potato and ham soup. No recipe as every soup is different. This started out with 2 quarts of canned potato chunks from this years garden. Added to that was home grown ham frozen from last Easter, dehydrated onions and green onions also from this farm, home canned turkey broth and then everything simmered for an hour or so. This is then thickened with flour and cream.  The perfect stick to your rib soup for a cold and rainy weekend.   

Mustard greens just because my husband loves them : )

Cracklin Corn Bread made from those cracklins frozen from last years lard rendering. 

Ground turkey and cheese macaroni again made from those home grown spring turkeys butchered this summer. Then I made a white sauce with butter, flour and milk then added cheese to melt. No hamburger helper on this farm...

Butternut Squash pie left over from the butternut squash I baked last week.

And an Apple pie with streusel topping made with a lard pie crust, a quart of my homegrown canned apple pie filling with an oatmeal, brown sugar, butter and flour topping.  

So with the refrigerator full of plenty of food for the family to graze over the weekend I am headed to the sewing machine. I will listen to the rain hit the metal roof and enjoy my time of rest. Hope to see you all on Monday morning. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter