Cinnamon Ice Cream

(Photo to come tomorrow when I have company over eating it!)

Here is your directive my foodie friends: If you do not already own an ice cream maker, go directly to your local WalMart and get one. They have the small(ish) Rival ones on special for about $20. $25 at the most. It will be a fantastic investment, I promise! Then get the ingredients to make this ice cream. Double the recipe if you are smart.

Homemade ice cream is so lovely, that it should be harder than this to make. But here you go, a simply divine cinnamon creation! The recipe calls it "ice cream", but I beg to differ. Mine turned out like custard.

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com and it has a 4 1/2 (out of 5) star rating with 243 people writing reviews!

1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used the Pampered Chef "Cinnamon Plus" which has a bit of nutmeg in it)

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the sugar and half-an-half. When the mixture begins to simmer, remove from heat, and whisk half of the mixture into the eggs. Whisk quickly so that the eggs do not scramble. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, and stir in the heavy cream. Continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside to cool. (I put mine in the freezer until it was cool enough.)

Pour cooled mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufactures instructions. (If you are using the Rival, the smart machine will actually stop it's own self when it is done!!)

Enjoy!!

(Stole this from an email...)

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans..

5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.


CONCLUSION:
Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

JEN'S CONCLUSION:
My sister started losing tons of weight when she started taking French classes. Hummm....do you think ManU offers French for Dummies!?

A family of Nay-sayers!

I'm here to tell you that I married into a family of Nay-sayers. That's right, those negative folks who are contrary and contradictory when presented with evidence they don't really believe.

Case in point: The changing of leaves in Pennsylvania. IE: FALL

The evidence: Photographic, 'cause that's very good proof indeed!

Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:

How it all went down: Last year in early September I noticed some leaves changing color in the front yard. I am a Florida native and had not yet witnessed the changing of leaves. I noticed these leaves and mentioned to Charles (gleefully, I might add) that I spotted some leaves changing. Without even glancing at said leaves, he replied, "Nah. It's too early for that." Disappointed, I still watched those leaves and soon there were more in the same spot. I approached Charles again and asked him to look for himself. He did and remarked once again, "Too early." Not buying it I snapped a photo (Exhibit A) and presented this to my Facebook friends who all quickly called Charles a moron. Well, they were kinder than that, but I am taking an artistic licence here. The date stamp on that photo is August 11th. We watched that area change colors throughout the fall and the spot that I had seen first actually HAD been Fall leaves starting to go early. Finally a month later and after many "told-you-so's" from yours truly, he admitted that he was wrong and those leaves were changing color.
Fast forward to a visit from the in-laws. Date of arrival, oddly enough, August 11th. We are driving around town and I spot some of those same trees (Exhibit B) from our yard that had turned early last year and (once again, gleefully) point these out to my in-laws. Johnnie, Charles' mom, quickly points out to me that, "They are not changing. It's too early." Hummm...I've heard this one before. I politely explain that this particular tree had done the same thing around the same time last year. She simply wasn't buying it. See, she grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, and their trees didn't turn this early. Well, I try to reason that they might not have had this particular tree on or near their farm. Nope. Still I was wrong. But, unlike Charles she provided scientific evidence that I was wrong. Some trees are fragile and die off. Or perhaps it was exhaust from passing trucks. It all sounded good to her as a rebuttal to my theory. But when we kept seeing trees with not only brownish leaves, but yellow, orange and then fiery red her science was failing! Sorry, but evidence is evidence. Finally after many "look at that tree"'s from me said in my best "told-you-so" tone of voice she finally admitted that I might be right. I think it took the wisdom-filled voice of her very clever son to convince her, when he said, "Mom. Jen's right."

Moral of the story: You may have been raised as a "Nay-sayer", but good old-fashioned evidence and being married to an "I-told-you-so"er will quickly re-learn 'ya!

Tioga Fair

Charles and I missed going to the Tioga Fair last year and from the fun we had this year, I wish that we hadn't. It is a week long, classic state fair. There are the 4H exhibits, Grange exhibits, a midway, rides, food vendors and all the rest. This year, we were only able to go once and we waited until Charles' mom & dad came up for a visit. We looked over the event list and we all settled on the Demolition Derby. We made our plans for the day, and since Johnnie wasn't feeling all that great, she had to skip our day of fun. We had hoped that she would feel better by the time the derby started, but she didn't and GL didn't want to go without her. So it became a "date night" for Charles and me! We had a blast! The weather was spectacular. Cool, not chilly. There was so much to do and see. Imagine the movie State Fair with the classic livestock pens, the food vendors, the auctions, the tents full with food entries, etc. You get the idea. The two things that stood out from the movie-there were the campers and RVs set up for folks who drove from far and wanted to stay right there and there was no band to dance to. There were plenty of bands, but I just remember from that movie the romance of the dancing in the evening. Oh, well. I was happy...there was polka music!
Next year we have promised ourselves that we'll buy week passes and go as much as we can. Maybe, just maybe I'll enter something in one of the contests!
Gentlemen....Start your engines!! They crashed, spewed mud, sparked, smoked, rammed, got caught on logs, had red flags waved at them, lost pieces of their cars, stalled...but most of all were cheered on by screaming fans!
There were all kinds of competitions and of course, I was loving the canning competition. Just wish that I had seen it in action and not just on display. There were some pretty cool entries...
Veggies. Quilts. Jams, jellies, pickles, etc. Goats. PS-Goats LOVE Charles!! And I'm pretty sure Charles loved them back!
Flowers. So cute in an antique, blue bottle!
Best in Show! This pumpkin and blue ribbon reminded me of a "State Fair" replica that they have in Disney World. It is so funny to see that there is still true Americana out there and not just "replicated" versions!
To ride or not to ride that is the question. We decided to act our age and not go on any of the rides. HA Not really, we just didn't feel like going on anything. Heck! Maybe we were acting our age, 'cause I can remember my mom and dad sitting rides out when we kids went on. Yikes! We ARE old!!
Charles checks out the midway. I really wanted him to win me something dorky, but neither of us really felt like playing any games. Funnel Cake. For me an essential for any fair!!

Although Fried Oreos could be interesting....

Puts things in perspective

This is from an email that Charles sent me the other day. This is so cool!

This is fascinating-it's rather dazzling to see it presented this way.

I CERTAINLY THOUGHT THIS WAS ENLIGHTENING.
BEYOND OUR SUN IT'S A BIG UNIVERSE.

ANTARES IS THE 15 TH BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SKY. IT IS MORE THAN 1000 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.

NOW, HOW BIG ARE YOU?

NOW, TRY TO WRAP YOUR MIND AROUND THIS....

THIS IS A HUBBLE TELESCOPE ULTRA DEEP FIELD INFRARED VIEW OF COUNTLESS 'ENTIRE' GALAXIES BILLIONS OF LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.
BELOW IS A CLOSE-UP OF ONE OF THE DARKEST REGIONS OF THE PHOTO ABOVE.
HUMBLING, ISN'T IT?

NOW,HOW BIG ARE YOU?

AND HOW BIG ARE THE THINGS THAT UPSET YOU TODAY?


KEEP LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE.

I'm dreaming of blueberry pancakes...

I'm dreaming of blueberry pancakes...and not just any, ordinary pancakes, but the behemoth, blueberry pancakes they serve at The Black Swan in downtown Mansfield! In fact, last night as Charles and I were snuggling down under the blankets with all the critters I said, "I'm having blueberry pancakes tomorrow. Do you know how happy that makes me?" I'll say it again...it doesn't take much to make me a happy girl!!



The lovely owner of The Black Swan always cautions about getting more than 2 pancakes, because, "For most people, two is plenty." She is right. I can't finish two. Ever.

The first time we tried these beauties we were told that not only were the blueberries fresh, but they "came from over on that hill there." How much more "local" can you get than that? And with my drive to keep our intake as local as we can get, this is simply perfect! Another wonderous thing about the pancakes at the Black Swan is that I don't get the weird "after pancake" feeling on the back of my teeth. I really don't know what causes that, maybe baking powder/soda (?), but I tend to avoid pancakes in public because of this. Not here. None of that at The Black Swan!

Make sure you stop by and try these pancakes before all the blueberries are gone until next season!

I am angry at a book!

Just how you may be wondering would I end up angry at a book? Let me tell you!

It all started when I saw an ad on TV for a new show on the Planet Green network called The Fabulous Beekman Boys. If you have not yet seen it, it is a reality show about two guys from Manhattan who take up farming in upstate NY. This show first aired around the same time I was having my own "Homesteading Revolution" and this show was absolutely perfect! I love every minute of this show. Nay. Every second!! I feel quite "stalker-ey" when I tell Charles, "I loved when Brent and Josh went through the process of slaughtering their own pigs." (As a vegetarian that is saying quite a lot!) Or I might comment on the funny paranormal investigation the Boys did at the Beekman on Halloween." When I talk about them, I talk as if they are two people we've met in the neighborhood. Of course, one of the first things I did was look for them on Facebook and hit the "Friend" button as quick as I could. I love getting FB tidbits from them about the Goat Cam, recipes and farming tips. It just adds a layer to the delusional friendship I am developing! When I read that Josh had written a book called, The Bucolic Plague I got on Amazon and ordered mine the same day I ordered The Backyard Homestead and Made from Scratch. The latter two came right away and I have been devouring them learning all kinds of things this city girl never knew...like did you know that you don't need a rooster to have hens lay eggs? Or did you know that you can grow lettuce through the winter in something called a Cold Frame? Or that raised planting beds are easier to tend to? Amazing stuff!!
So here comes Josh's book and I am excited to read it. In fact when I found it in the mailbox, I couldn't wait to take care of the evening chores and head to the front porch rocking chair to start the book. The prologue had me laughing so hard that I was fearful the neighbors would wonder about me. Here is one part of reading this book that I hadn't counted on: having very similar point of views. See Josh lived in NYC and moved to a rural farming community and I had lived in Tampa and moved to a rural farming community. The experiences he is writing about are some of the very same things happening in my new world. Like conversations at Agway. Like discovering the Penny Saver (Josh calls it "The Penny Savior". I just call it "The Paper". Either way, we both love it!) Like both wondering why dandelions are such a bane to some folks when to us they look like wildflowers. And of course, like our amazement at the niceness of folks in these communities.
Now here is the bad part. The part that has me mad. I just spent about 20 minutes reading a bit of this book and when I put it down I realized that I am over halfway done. I could read the whole book in a day if I didn't have anything else to do. So my madness comes from the fact that I have a very limited view into the Beekman life. Only so many more pages to learn about my new friends the only way I can. Oh, yeah. I don't think there are any or many more episodes on TV too! So I will have no Beekman Boys to learn about or to learn from.
At the very beginning of The Bucolic Plague, Josh cautions the reader that, "This book is not about living your dream. It will not inspire you. You will not be emboldened to attempt anything more than making a fresh pot of coffee." I say that I beg to differ. I have two new fruit trees in my yard-an apple and a peach. I have a spot cultivated and ready to plant fall blueberry bushes. We are putting our barn kitty to work on mice in the garage/barn without remorse. I just build a shelving unit in my basement to hold jars of put up food that I've just started to work on. I have steps in place to learn about goat soap and goat cheese making next. My idea of homestead living may not have been born watching an episode of TV, but seeing it and now reading about it from someone with a very similar starting point has just proved to me that I CAN do it! I am living it! Well, maybe not Beekman style, but my style. I am loving every minute of it. Nay. Every second.


Buy it here, buy it now!