This is the recipe link … pastoralfarms.us/2009/09/18/taco-ground-meat-filling/

We still make it the same way, only I have a preference for pure ANCHO chili powder instead of “any old mix of chili and spices that is sold as ‘chili powder’ ” Ancho is a type of chili, not a brand.

I also put a healthy dose of Tabasco sauce in for a bit more zip. As time goes on we’ve grown to LOVE Tabasco sauce in Taco’s as well as in a breakfast that I call “farmers breakfast” which I am not sure if I’ve written it down in a post here or not. — I’ll have to write it down, it’s not something I’ve posted the recipe for (though I know my son did on his blog )

It’s something that my eldest son and I enjoy having every so often, not every day, nor every other day. Basically something that many would have a problem with: potatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, butter, sea salt, tabasco sauce, eggs, cream, tabasco sauce, tabasco sauce, and cheddar cheese. So it’s something we really like, and others would think “How strange for breakfast, garlic?!!” Yeah!

I’ll post a link here when I write a new post for it.

The Yoshino’s usually last until nearly April, so they were very, very early since that was so long ago now that they had blooms.

My Peonies are setting buds and getting bigger (peonies regrow the bush every spring, btw)

My Knockout Roses are really getting full, setting a ton of buds, with many opening and already open and already spent already.

Here’s one photo I have on Flickr of one particular … with many more photos there … go ahead and click through them all by clicking on the photo which will take you to Flickr, find the Set and comment on any you wish to there.

This is a partial view of our Eastern Redbud tree in the backyard. It’s in full bloom, has been for a few days now. It’s absolutely gorgeous. The trunk is visible, somewhat. It’s twisted around like that due to a dog we had chewing the sapling to a nub, then I let it regrow and it grew two distinct trunks, I trained them to curve around each other. I really like the look, and it’s only like that due to a dog.

I guess others would have given up on it, but I don’t cull unless there’s a really good reason to. This being the only Redbud tree we have, it was worth it in the end.

The tree on the left is past peak already, and the ones to the right are right at peak bloom now (started yesterday afternoon).

Usually these trees are in sync with their blooming periods but the one to the left was way ahead of the other two this Southern Spring March 2012 with first blooms opening March 10th.

The stuffing is my own recipe.

I made a loaf of bread in my Cuisinart bread machine on Friday for this purpose. 3+ cups of White Spelt Flour, 1 1/2 tsp. yeast, 1 cup water, 1 Tbsp. Honey, 1 egg, 1 tsp. salt, 3 Tbsp. butter. I added more flour as needed for the dough. I used the 1. White Bread setting, med. loaf size and med. browning.

The loaf was perfect, so much so I wished I had made it for sandwiches, but so it goes.

I’ll try to make it again and get the same result for other uses later.

I cubed the bread using a bread knife after the loaf cooled down, then put the cubes into a gallon freezer bag. I put that into a deep drawer until I needed it for the stuffing.

Today I diced 1 sweet onion, melted 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter in a large saucepan, added the onion and let that simmer until softened. I also put in some celery seed (I guess about 2 tsp.) and a lot of dried rubbed Sage (1/4 cup or more!) then the bread cubes and a pint of Chicken Stock. Stirred it around well.

A little more than half of that fit into the chickens. The rest will be baked in a casserole dish later.

I didn’t add any salt to the stuffing since the bread was nice bread and I used commercial Organic Chicken Stock. To the out of the bird stuffing I did just add a little bit of sea salt, and a large handful of raisins and half an apple chopped. That’ll bake until it’s done.

I’ll make chicken gravy using more Organic Chicken Stock, butter & flour, and sea salt to taste. Basatmi Rice, and either peas or green beens.

We’ll also have white spelt yeast rolls, thanks to my daughter taking over that duty. She does an excellent job making clover leaf rolls, as I used to do when I was a teenager too.

Happy St. Patty’s Day!

2/3 c. butter, melted
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. milk

3 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

Sift the dry ingredients together. Set aside.

Put the sugar and eggs into a mixer bowl, then slowly increase speed and mix until smooth. Melt the butter and on slow speed drizzle the butter into the egg/sugar mixture. Mix well on a faster speed. Add the milk a little at a time, mixing well.

On a low speed add the dry sifted ingredients and mix gently until all the dry in incorporated into the milk/sugar/egg/butter mixture.

Butter a 13×9 pan, pour the batter evenly into the pan, pushing into all the corners using a silicone spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 35 to 40 minutes or until done (cake tester inserted in middle comes out clean)

I posted pictures of my Whiskey Barrel plants earlier today (all separate postings, unfortunately, not something I’ll be editing into one post anytime soon, or ever.) My Chives are making me want to make french bread and spaghetti on purpose (Chive Butter!) and the unnamed Thyme is good and fragrant already, I put some into the stew I’m making for dinner today. The Greek Oregano is simply fragrant and bushy, threatening to take over the barrel, already claiming about half the space or making moves for it, I’m going to pare it back some soon. It stayed active all winter, but has a new spring springiness, freshened and Super Hyper active. The Chives were also active over winter, but Super Hyper active now too.

The Eastern Redbud tree has been ready to bloom anytime and has opened several blossoms today. It’ll be a glorious purple blaze soon. The maple trees all have done their red blossom thing already. The Yoshino Cherry trees are ready-ing their blossoms, not yet there.

Let’s see then, there are a few other trees, starting their looking alive thing. The Weeping Willow (tree) and the Pussy Willow (bush) both appear to be dead. That’s not good. Actually I am not shocked about the bush, it was nasty, we moved it, it seemed to regroup, now looks petered ugly old knarly totally dead. No pussie willows this spring. Or next, unless …

So the Weeping Willow is another matter. It is usually greening up by now. It LOOKS dead and symptoms are every branch or strand I can touch is brittle, dry, snaps and is totally dead. Bark is pulled away from the trunk in many areas and every thing looks dead. There was a dead branch on it last year, it wasn’t dead early on, but at some point, and whatever it is, it’s the whole tree.

So, is it something Willow oriented? I don’t know, I’ve not gotten myself to do any research. I’m overwhelmed with the thought of taking the tree down. So it goes.

Anyhow, weeds are in their glorious phase. I have learned to forget about new gardening until later. Let the horrid weeds do their thing, pull out of this or that area for perennials and in the barrel, but don’t worry much about planting anything into a “garden” until later, weeds and disease, it’s too fresh and lovely for those things, but they rear their heads and what I do about things is so “natural” I just have more success starting later, if at all. I would like tomatoes and red peppers this year. Tomatoes I know I can do, red peppers I want to do, but never have successfully gotten even one pepper to eat from them.

Onion Chives – March 2012

Same chives as planted about 2004, perennial good friends.