January 24th "Out on the Farm" Class - Seed Selection & Companion Planting

Yeah!!!!! It's finally here . . . January and time to order all the seeds for this year's planting!  

Bald Knob Farm is hosting our FIRST "Out on the Farm" class series which will cover topics such as seed selection and companion planting.  We will have some great prizes, everyone will get to take home seed catalogs AND some seed packets specially grown and prepared by Bald Knob Farm. I also heard there will be wild blackberry cobbler and hot coffee!

Location: Bald Knob Farm, 4921 Creel Road, Harrison, AR 72601
Date: Saturday, January 24th, 2014
Time: 1 pm - 3 pm
Cost: $10 per person
Payment must accompany RSVP and is non-refundable.
This is to ensure enough materials are available for everyone.

There are only 20 slots available for this first class, so sign-up quickly!

REGISTER HERE!!!

"Antiquing" made easy

My sister Amy does an amazing job on "antiquing" pieces of furniture. She has a real eye for beautiful things.  I asked her for a step-by-step process to antique a few small pieces of furniture and "update" their look.  She explained it to me over the phone, so I hope I captured what she was trying to say.

Supplies
Paint (whatever color you choose)
2 paint brushes
Dark colored wood stain
Small container non-sanded grout (linen or natural color)
Rubber gloves
Old t-shirt or cotton cloth
Can of poly acrylic or finishing wax with paint brush

Directions

1. Mix 1 cup paint with 3 tablespoons non-sanded grout.
2. Brush onto furniture, doesn't have to be smooth.
3. Let dry completely.
4. Use sanding paper to add wear and tear.  This is called distressing.
5. Wipe down thoroughly to remove any dust or particles.
6. Wearing gloves, dampen old t-shirts or cotton cloths with water.
7. Working in sections, use brush to apply thin coat of stain, making sure to get into all the creases and crevices, then wipe down with damp cloth.  This will allow dark coloration to get into every crevice and enhance the wood pattern.
8. Let dry completely.
9. Spray poly acrylic or brush on finishing wax.
10. Let dry completely.

*Note, when selecting paint color, remember you will be applying a dark finish over the top so the color will be slightly muted.

Ed's Crockpot Greek Yogurt

Ok, I admit it, I didn't think making Greek yogurt would be easy or taste good, so I have put off my attempts as long as I could. I read recipes and methods online and it seemed complicated and I didn't want to special order ingredients. I had absolutely no excuses left though when my brother-in-law (Ed) handed me a hand written recipe, verbally explained the process, equipped me with tips and then said "call me with questions". WTH! Really? Uggh. Loud sigh. I thought, here goes nothing!

First off let me say, don't attempt this recipe if you are bleary-eyed and sleep deprived. That was me on the first attempt and it turned out like milk soup. Though appetizing to a kitten, not what I was planning. I read the directions wrong. I salvaged it, but it took twice the time and an extra cup of yogurt.

All I can say after making this recipe is I may never buy yogurt again. This is creamy, not too runny and fairly inexpensive. I taste - tested it on my 10 - yr old Adam and he gave it two thumbs up and I caught him sneaking seconds when I was putting it in storage containers.

Here are the directions as provided by my brother-in-law with a few extra notes included:

INGREDIENTS & kitchen tools...
Gallon of whole milk
Optional-Sugar (I used 1 cup)
Optional-Flavoring (I used 2 tablespoons vanilla)
Yogurt starter (I used 1 cup Yoplait Greek yogurt because it was on sale)
Crockpot
Cheese cloth or thin towels
Strainer
Storage containers
Candy thermometer (unless your crockpot shows temp)

NOTE: Follow steps in the exact order

1. Pour milk, flavoring and sugar together. Stir. Heat mixture to 185 degrees. Any method, any speed. Stir.
2. Cool mixture just below 120 degrees.
3. Add starter, stir.
4. Maintain temperature between 100-120 for 6-8 hours. 
5. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
6. Strain with thru cheesecloth to desired thickness.

Here are some notes I added to this recipe.
I used the crockpot on high in the first step, stirring every little bit and keeping lid ajar slightly with candy thermometer tucked into the lid opening. You will see a meat thermometer in the first picture, which was part of the problem with the first batch. The meat thermometer is not accurate in liquids. Once the temp reached 185, I removed the lid, cooled for a bit added the yogurt and waited for temp to drop to below 120. Not necessarily the right way to do it, should have been cooled to 120 first.  Once it did, I placed the lid back on and monitored the temp. When the temp got near 100, I turned the crockpot to the "keep warm" setting for about 30 minutes and turned off again.  I started the yogurt around dinner 6'ish and let it culture till I woke at 4 am, then refrigerated for a couple hours. When straining, you will want to use multiple layers of cheesecloth or a thin towel.  

The last picture is of they whey (watery part of milk) remaining after being strained.  There are many uses for whey, just google it.

This is a fairly simple recipe and worth the try.

Thank you Mr.Ed for sharing with me!

I used the crockpot on high in the first step, stirring every little bit and keeping lid ajar slightly with candy thermometer tucked into the lid opening. You will see a meat thermometer in the first picture, which was part of the problem with the first batch. The meat thermometer is not accurate in liquids. 

This is after the yogurt had cultured and before refrigeration.  You can see the milk/yogurt separating from the whey.

After straining the yogurt, it became thicker, but was still silky when stirred.

After straining, I thought I had overcooked it and may have just a little as there were a few chunks, but they smoothed out when stirred.

This dude LOVES this stuff.  He dressed his bowl with a drizzle of local honey and some pomegranate arils.

The remaining whey.  Lots of good benefits for those who want to use the whole mix.