This is one of those mornings that I love to share with all the folks who write to me daily telling me how lucky I am and how wonderful it must be to have a farm.

We awoke to about 1/4 inch of ice covering every surface of the farm, every door, every latch, every post, every bucket. Walking hundreds of feet back and forth carrying 6 gallon pails of water while you try to stay upright on a solid surface of ice is enough of a trip, doing it without having anything to hold onto because IT IS FROZEN makes it all the more enjoyable. So back and forth we go wit buckets of food and water to feed the animals. Of course they are miserable because they can’t really go out…at lest not without falling all over themselves. Days like today mean Dumplin’ stays in the barn too, can’t take a chance of having him go down on the ice. That is a scenario no horse owner lets comes into their mind without shear panic and dread. So he is tucked in his warm dry stall while Todd makes him a second Mr. Ed door so he can at least peek out.

SO anyway!

I come in soaked in ice and all I can think about is bread. Only one problem…I don’t have a loaf because I spent yesterday tied to my very aged dog who is in his last days. (I told you, that this life is harder than it seems, and this is one of the hardest). I just want someone to care for me, nurture me, tell me that it is ok. Unfortunately the only way I am going to get that right now is if I wallow in a loaf of something right out of the oven with mug of coffee and some tissues. I know, poor me…I’ll be ok, I really will.  After some popovers anyway.

Because I am feeling particularly fragile right now I decided to check out the King Arthur site and see what recipes it would yield. This my friends is now my “go to” Popover recipe. Absolutely perfect!

Popovers – King Arthur Flour

Recipe summary
Hands-on time:
5 mins. to 10 mins.
Baking time:
35 mins. to 40 mins.
Total time:
Yield:
12

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk (skim, low-fat, or full-fat), at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons melted butter

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 450°F. Position a rack on a lower shelf. The top of the fully risen popovers should be about midway up the oven. What you don’t want is for the tops of the popping popovers to be too close to the top of the oven, as they’ll burn.

2) Use a standard 12-cup metal muffin tin, one whose cups are close to 2 1/2″ wide x 1 1/2″ deep. Grease the pan thoroughly, covering the area between the cups as well as the cups themselves. Make sure the oven is up to temperature before you begin to make the popover batter.

3) Use a wire whisk to beat together the eggs, milk, and salt. Whisk till the egg and milk are well combined, with no streaks of yolk showing.

4) Add the flour all at once, and beat with a wire whisk till frothy; there shouldn’t be any large lumps in the batter, but smaller lumps are OK. OR, if you’re using a stand mixer equipped with the whisk attachment, whisk for 20 seconds. Stop, scrape the sides of the bowl, and whisk for an additional 20 to 30 seconds at medium-high speed, till frothy.

5) Stir in the melted butter, combining quickly.

6) Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filing them about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

7) Make absolutely certain your oven is at 450°F. Place the pan on a lower shelf of the oven .

Bake the popovers for 20 minutes without opening the oven door. Reduce the heat to 350°F (again without opening the door), and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until they’re a deep, golden brown.

9) If you plan on serving the popovers immediately, remove them from the oven, slip them out of the pan, and serve.

10) If you want the popovers to hold their shape longer without deflating and settling quite as much, bake them for an additional 5 minutes (for a total of 40 minutes) IF you can do so without them becoming too dark. This will make them a bit sturdier, and able to hold their “popped” shape a bit longer.

***notes*** perhaps the single most problematic issue people have with popovers is that they skip the crucial elements. The milk must be at room temp or warmed, but you cannot nuke it to boiling and expect to get great results. You will instead make scrambled eggs with flour. Another part is the eggs, they do need to be at room temperature and NO YOU WILL NOT GET SALMONELLA OR OTHER HORRID FOOD BORNE ILLNESS by leaving it on the counter to warm up. And perhaps the biggest…DO NOT open that oven door. Seriously, the world will explode and you will be responsible for it. Trust me, they are baking in there and you don’t need to peek.

These cookies couldn’t get any easier to make, and the kids love to help.

2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs slightly beaten
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups oats (not quick cooking please!)
1 cup raisins

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1. Add the sugars to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the melted butter and vanilla and mix.

2. whisk the flour, oats, soda and salt together in a separate bowl.

3. mix the eggs into the sugar/butter mixture and then add the dry ingredients a bit at a time to evenly mix.

4. add the raisins and stir gently to combine.

5. place by rounded tablespoon on your cookie sheet, flatten slightly and pop them in the oven.

6. bake for 10-15 minutes rotating your sheets half way through the cooking time. When the bottoms are slightly browned remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before removing them to a rack to cool. They will be soft when you remove them from the oven, but they crisp up upon cooling.

Makes 24 cookies

We had 3 big huge gorgeous eggs from the Cayugas today. We joke sometimes that we’ll need to go out squeeze the others because they are so stingy with their eggs. I am so pleased with the egg production of the Cayuga ducks, it has surprised me.

I have the first of my Holiday cards are ready for 2008. I am very late releasing these and I am truly sorry about that. This has been a VERY busy year for us and I’m finding myself at least two weeks behind as we are heading into crunch time. 

I create new, unique card designs each year. They are sold only through the farm, you won’t find them anywhere else. They are press printed on archival papers which are selected to enhance each design. Some will be printed on watercolor paper, others a linen paper…yet others are printed on a pearlized stock or a deep metallic stock for black and white or dramatic designs. There is a minimum of 25 cards and significant savings for orders of 100 cards or more. They include personalization, and your own images. You will need to send me your text and images for printing approval. This way I can ensure that your resolution suits the printing process. My holiday cutoff for card ordering this year is December 15th, so please be sure to order prior to that date. I will be releasing hte other designs this week as be on the lookout for them!