Shelby

It's a dark, chilly Saturday morning--feels like fall. Got everything that I had planned to do done yesterday except Elaina's cherry tomatoes which I will start on here in a bit. The guys worked hard on duck blinds all day--it was HOT. Thank goodness a cold front came in today. No hunting happened yesterday due to the work that had to be done. Today, they are hunting again. Anyway, on to yesterday. I tackled the bierocks first. I am pretty sure somewhere I've posted about these before, but I'll do it again here Cook chopped onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil until soft. Add in diced cabbage (or in my case, a bag of cole slaw mix. It's easier), some sauerkraut (not traditional, but it gives it a kick that we like), a couple diced tomatoes (again not traditional and I wouldn't do it if I didn't have garden tomatoes) and venison burger. Season with Lawry's salt, black pepper and ground caraway (you can use the non-ground type, too, I just don't care for it). Cook until done. Cool completely. I had a lot of filling left over so I vac packed and froze it for future bierocks. For the dough: 1/2 C. milk 1/2 C. water 6 T. butter 1/4 C. sugar 3 1/2 C. flour 1 T. yeast 1/2 t. salt 1 egg, beaten Combine milk, water, butter and sugar in a sauce pan and heat on stove until 110F. In mixer, combine, 3 1/2 C. flour, yeast and salt. Slowly add milk mixture and the beaten egg. Mix for about 3 minutes. Increase speed to medium on mixer and mix for about 5 more mins. until dough is smooth. Transfer dough to greased bowl and let rise until doubled. Then roll your dough out until it's square-ish Cut into sections and using your fingers make each section as square as you can. Spoon the cooled mixture on and sprinkle with grated sharp cheddar cheese (my grater was in the dishwasher, hence the non-grated cheese lol). Grab opposite corners of the dough and pinch together and make sure all the seams are sealed Bake @ 375F for 20 minutes (I use the CSO bread setting) Excellent along with some mustard I baked a couple loaves of bread during this time too. Forgot to take pictures, but ya'll have seen that before. This was just plain french type bread. I will be getting back into milling grains soon. Then I tackled the tomatoes For appetizers last night I made @Kim Shooksausage and pimento cheese balls . SO good. I baked about a dozen for last night and the rest I froze on a sheet pan and I'll vac pack them later. They will be perfect for the December deer hunt. Along with some spicy mustard On to dinner. The guys won. I made BLT's. I guess it didn't seem very fancy to me, but our hunter said these have to be on permanent rotation whenever he's here and we have our tomatoes. Fries to go with Tonight is "game night". We have quail (our friend brought them frozen from a previous hunt), doves and teal. I'm doing the quail in the CSO. Doves and teal will be on the grill. They want scalloped potatoes too. So, I gotta figure out appetizers and something veggie or a salad......Like I said, last night I feel like it wasn't super special, so I'll try to be more creative today I don't have to can, so I'll have more time.

Oh I'm loving this. Amazing pictures. Thank you so much!

Yes, directly in the water. I did not soak first.

Thank you, Kay! I'd LOVE to have your recipe when you get time Also, any tips on the confit would be appreciated So sorry about your tooth woes. I feel your pain both in your mouth and your wallet. Chum appreciates the kind words @Toliver and @kayb. She had quite a day yesterday and did phenomenal at finding birds. First, the sunrise Chum waiting for a shot to be fired Searching for a bird Found it! Doves and I think a teal is in there too Tired girl I'm feeling more myself today, which is good because I have a million and one things to get done. Need to can tomatoes or make spaghetti sauce, make bierocks, pick the garden, get some cherry tomatoes in the oven for @ElainaA's slow roasted sauce, bake some bread (last night the guys said they wanted BLT's tonight--I want homemade pasta and sauce.....wonder who will win?)figure out an appetizer (thinking about making @Kim Shook's pimento cheese sausage rolls, but need something to go with)....phew oh and somewhere in there, I need a shower lol. I better get busy. On to last nights dinner: Snacks Fried bass and catfish with green beans from the garden, @Jaymes's squash, truffle cheese mac using the melty cheese calculator and tomatoes

It's ok.....I don't want to sound like a complainer because having two circulators is so handy at times, but if I'm just using one, I don't choose the Gourmia. My Anova has an adjustable screw clamp that is much easier to use with different pots. The Gourmia clamp I can only use with a specific, more shallow pot. Does this make sense? I think I'm rambling lol.

Happy Thursday! The guys came home last night super excited because there were a ton of doves that have migrated in. Hopefully they hung around and they are having a good shoot this morning. Chum was very excited to go this morning. As the evening went on, dinner got less complicated lol. I was going to do a venison cheeseburger pizza and a pepperoni canadian bacon pizza. But, I decided that was too much food and just went with the cheeseburger pizza and a big salad. Seemed to hit everyone's spot. It's a cool, almost a bit cold morning so the garden picking was quite pleasant.

Snacks --guys are supposed to be home around 5. @Ann_T's board makes everything look good I got it for Christmas a few years ago and I love it. Left to right-the Harbison cheese that I'm still obsessed with. I need to order more. I hate being without it. Venison sausage Ronnie made --spicy, but not super spicy, smoked gouda, venison sausage Ronnie made-spicy and a store bought cajun mix. Those kind of mixes always remind me of my Grammy. She loved stuff like that and always had it sitting out for us or her various club meetings like Eastern Star or bridge club etc.

Good morning! After Advil and way more than one glass of wine I got some of my mojo back last night. I was instructed that I can't eat anything crunchy until Saturday. I'm not very good at following instructions, but I'll do my best . So, venison stroganoff, squash and green beans last night. After picking the garden this morning You can see why I'm canning green beans and tomatoes every other day 🤣 Still have some big guys in the watermelon patch. Then we went to our pumpkin patch. I was worried that we wouldn't have any orange pumpkins in time for fall/Halloween but we do! The plants got a very late start, but I guess they have a way to catch up quick. I now have a date with my vacuum cleaner.

Weather is pretty good for 'maters still. Highs in the upper 80's to 90's. However, I just saw a distinct change for next weeks forecast in that it's going to be highs in the upper 60's to 70. Not so good for our red round fruits, but still ok for beans.

I haven't. I should.

Aw, you are too kind! Yeah, the garden has gone on a lot later than usual. The flooding has delayed everything--crops included. I still have green tomatoes and flowers on the plants. Unheard of this late in the year. You are double too kind!!! The whole time growing up I wanted to be an artist....just didn't happen, but at least I have my chalkboard 😁 No that was just a regular old cheese slice, but I think it would be so fun to make slices using the Melty cheese calc. and am planning on doing so. Maybe this week would be the perfect time since I make breakfast sandwiches for the great hunters. Well, today did not go as planned at all. My dentist visit was far worse than I figured. Had to get a tooth pulled (a very back one) and didn't get good news about my gums. I won't go into it but needless to say, I'm not feeling so hot. Ronnie went to Sam's for me during the appt. thank goodness. I made it through two other grocery stores and the other errands and then came home and had to lay down. I'm up now with a large glass of wine. I hope that starts to cut the pain Anyway, I was going to take pics of the groceries but that didn't happen. Came home with some pork loin and wings. Some veggies and cheeses. These two look exciting: I think @Kerry Beal just tried some of this, so I couldn't resist. And then this one I have much to do. Didn't get near done what I should have, but tomorrow is another day. Our guest arrives at around 10:30 and thankfully I think Ronnie is going to take him out to lunch so I get the whole morning to finish my chores. Oh, a pic of what I did yesterday afternoon. I can't believe all the beans we're getting. I think I have over 30 pints now. So, at least that's done for a day or so. Be back later

I shouldn't share this, but I'm terrified of doctors and dentists (no offense @Kerry Beal or any others in medicine).. It's me, not you. I brush my teeth like a madwoman in order to have no problems, but..sigh. Anyway, any good thoughts would be great and I cannot WAIT to get back home tomorrow and resume my plans-----I have so much to do .

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL!!! 🍁 It's been a while since the last post here Our hunter friend couldn't come out this spring like he normally does, but he will get here Wednesday for fall hunting. Teal and dove season is going on so they will be out and about doing that along with building duck blinds and whatever else they get up to. Today is get the house ready day and hopefully get some cooking done --I'm planning on making a batch of venison bierocks so they can take those for lunches. And, who knows what else. This is the first year that I can remember having to fit gardening and canning into his visit. I canned a batch of tomatoes yesterday. Need to do green beans today. I probably have enough for 10 pints. Tomorrow I have to make a stop at the dentist early in the morning. Sigh. Bad tooth and he won't call in any antibiotics unless he sees me. After that will be grocery shopping. Hopefully I come home with some fun stuff. So much to do that I just feel like sitting here and doing nothing lol. I did get the fall chalkboard done And I just ate an egg sandwich which will keep me going for a while

More duck hunting happened yesterday, thus more teal for dinner last night

Bang bang shrimp, sweet and sour tofu with green beans and zucchini and bok choy

I was hungry for fattoush salad, but I also wanted kind of a chef's salad. So I compromised with myself. Sous vide chicken breast cut up and marinated in some sumac, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, garlic, red wine vinegar and olive oil Cheese toasties to go with.

Well, yes...pink would have put me over the edge.

I'M JEALOUS And excited! And, damn it, I had managed to forget about this toy. Now it's back in my head.

Teal season is upon us (where has the year gone????). Lots of ducks due to lots of water still standing after all of the flooding earlier this summer. Opening day was last weekend but it was a full moon and the ducks had fed all night and went back to roost so it was tough. Yesterday was a better hunt. So, teal last night roasted in the CSO.

More than enough

I do mine in a small saucepan....I think it's a saucepan anyway. I do a lesser amount because there are only two of us.

YES. I'd be in trouble if I didn't have the main ingredient on the table lol.

I'm too terrified. I feel like those thingies are probes that are going to bury into my skin.

I really think it's an alien. If all the smart people here can't figure it out, then it has to be!

Venison meatballs and spaghetti Not complaining, but it's been SO busy around here. Garden still going pretty strong. I am canning either tomatoes or green beans every day. So, it was nice that Ronnie was hungry for a venison roast done in the slow cooker. Taters and carrots from the garden along with Red Lobster biscuits (made from a box mix and SO GOOD)