Newsletter - January, February, March 2002

Something New!

Quarterly Newsletter
January, February, March 2002

Recipes, hints, ideas, new books, whatever...

Old Fashioned Molasses Cake

2 cups flour 1 cup dark molasses
2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ginger 1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon mace 1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking soda 1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients at low speed until well blended. Beat at medium speed for 1 minute more. Pour batter into greased and floured 8 x 8 cake pan. Bake 40 - 45 minutes at 350 until cake tester comes out clean. Cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, or frost with Creamy White Frosting; 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 stick butter, 3 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat at medium to high speed till smooth.

For a delicious variation, serve fresh from the oven with vanilla ice cream.

—from the Zahn family recipe box

January, 2002

Hello!

   Winter is upon us in the Midwest, and has arrived with cold and a trace of the usual snow. Chores must be done twice daily to care for the animals. We feed corn silage, hay and ground corn to the steers in the morning. We have chickens to feed and water, eggs to gather. The sheep need hay and ground corn. The horses and donkey get hay and ground corn, and a sugar cube each for a treat. Water is a bit of a challenge in the cold weather, as we must drag a hose out to fill the water tanks with just enough water for each group of animals to drink in the day before it turns to ice. Then the hose is dragged back into the basement of the house to keep it from freezing, before we drag it out again the next day.

   Afternoon chores are the same as the morning, with each group of animals getting feed and water. We add bedding when needed, and periodic cleaning of the barns is done to keep the manure from building up.

   The barns the animals live in over the winter are heated by the animals' body heat and the manure on the floor. There are no other heating systems in these buildings, and it always amazes me just how pleasantly warm they can be! As the snow builds up through the winter, we often bank it up against the house and barns for added insulation against the cold and wind.

   Snow removal is my husband Jim's responsibility . He has a snow blower attached to the back of a tractor which cuts an eight foot swath through the snow. Jim keeps our own driveway and barnyards clear of the white stuff, as well as three of our neighbors' and his parents' yards. I keep the doorway shoveled clean, and often need to remove snow from the doorways of the barns where we gain access to care for the livestock. Cleanup after an average snowfall can take several hours.

   We heat our home with wood and gas. There is a wood stove in the cellar, one in the kitchen and another in the family room where I do much of my soapmaking work. Each morning I must restock the boxes of wood we keep near the stoves and start new fires to heat the house. Wood heat is one of the things I love about winter, but it tends to dry the air. I keep steam vaporizers going in several rooms of the house to add sterile moisture to the air for healthy skin and easier breathing.

   Winter can seem to last a long time when you live in a cold climate, so I like to plan a few projects for the colder months. This year I hope to paint and paper a room above my kitchen for weaving. The room is 16 x 16 with gabled ceilings. My kitchen and the room above it are built of stone, with walls two feet thick. The windows are deep set in the walls. That part of our house dates back to 1849. I purchased an antique barn loom which dates back to the same period and would like to use it to weave the fabric for a coat I have planning in my head for several years. I used the wool from our sheep to spin yarns in shades of blues, green and rust.

   My soon-to-be loom room was our boys' bedroom when they were young. Jonas is married now, and Rudy is off to college, but every now and then I wake with a memory of days when they were young.

   One cold, dark morning 23 years ago, I woke to a strange noise in my kitchen. I went downstairs to check it out, and caught a little green monster running across my carpet from the kitchen through my dining room and into the living room. It left little white foot prints every where it ran.

   Jonas, age three, wanted to make play dough. He had opened the flour drawer in my baker's table and scooped flour onto the table top. Then he poured water over the pile of flour and proceeded to knead it with his little hands. When I came down the stairs, he was afraid of being discovered with the mess and ran in his cute little green jammies to hide! Well, I couldn't help but laugh! He was so sweet! We vacuumed the mess and then set to making play dough. It was a Country Woman mother and child moment!

   The recipe follows. Home made play dough is a great family project for those cold winter days when playing outdoors is out of the question.

Play Dough

4 cups water 1 cup salt
2 tablespoons alum 2 tablespoons oil
3 - 4 drops food color 4 cups flour

   Boil the 4 cups of water with the salt to dissolve. Add alum and food color. When warm to the touch, mix in flour and oil, blending well with your hands. Keep in air tight containers when not in use. Will last several weeks if not left out to harden. You can divide the dough into three or four parts and add a different color to each part if you wish.

**********************************

By popular demand, I now accept charge card orders. You can place an order by phone using MasterCard or VISA, or you can fax your order to me at 920-386-2436. Be sure to list your phone number on FAX orders, and include charge card number, the expiration date, and whether it is MC or VISA.

***********************************

   Valentines Day comes with hopes of sweets and treats from our loved ones. I don't think I'll ever outgrow my hopes for surprises on that day, as it is my birthday! Plan now to send your loved ones a little treat. Bake some heart shaped cookies and share them with your friends. (Recipe on back page) Send one of my Heart Stacks to that special someone (see page 11 in my brochure) $1.00 off during the month of February!

   Compose a few lines of your own and make a card using paper doilies and red construction paper the way we did in school when I was young.

   Materials needed; red contruction paper, paper doilies 3 -4" diameter, paste or glue stick, crayons or markers.

   Cut construction paper in half to make 2 rectangles 8 1/2 " x 5 1/2'. Fold each in half to make 2 cards. On front of card, glue paper doily to center, and cut a heart out of red contruction paper to glue to center of doily. For variation, paper doily can be cut into heart shape before gluing to card. Write your message on the inside! If your child is required to bring Valentines to school for the class, this project can be fun for all!

Almond Raspberry Valentine Heart Cookies

1 cup flour 1/2 cup finely ground almonds
1/4 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup butter, softened 6 tablespoons raspberry jam

   In medium bowl, combine flour, almonds, sugar and almond extract; mix well. With fork or pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Shape dough into a ball. If necessary, cover with plastic and refrigerate 1 hour for easier handling.

   Heat oven to 375. On well floured surface, roll out half the dough at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Keep remaining dough refrigerated. Cut with 2 1/2 inch heart shaped cookie cutter. Place half the cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Cut 1 inch hearts from the centers of remaining cookies. Place cookies and small cut out cookies 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.

   Bake at 375 for 5 to 8 minutes or until light brown on bottom. Cool 1 minute. Remove cookies from cookie sheets.

   Spread bottom side of each whole cookie with about 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam. Top each with a cut-out cookie frame. Make small sandwich cookies with small cut-out hearts. Roll hot cookies in granulated sugar and set aside to cool.

   Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This recipe can be made in shamrock shapes with mint jelly for St. Patrick's Day, too!



		Something New! Quarterly Newsletter January, February, March 2002 Recipes, hints, ideas, new books, whatever... Old Fashioned Molasses Cake 2 cups flour 1 cup dark molasses 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon ginger 1 cup warm water 1 teaspoon mace 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 egg 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla Beat all ingredients at low speed until well blended. Beat at medium speed for 1 minute more. Pour batter into greased and floured 8 x 8 cake pan. Bake 40 - 45 minutes at 350 until cake tester comes out clean. Cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, or frost with Creamy White Frosting; 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 stick butter, 3 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat at medium to high speed till smooth. For a delicious variation, serve fresh from the oven with vanilla ice cream. —from the Zahn family recipe box January, 2002 Hello! Winter is upon us in the Midwest, and has arrived with cold and a trace of the usual snow. Chores must be done twice daily to care for the animals. We feed corn silage, hay and ground corn to the steers in the morning. We have chickens to feed and water, eggs to gather. The sheep need hay and ground corn. The horses and donkey get hay and ground corn, and a sugar cube each for a treat. Water is a bit of a challenge in the cold weather, as we must drag a hose out to fill the water tanks with just enough water for each group of animals to drink in the day before it turns to ice. Then the hose is dragged back into the basement of the house to keep it from freezing, before we drag it out again the next day. Afternoon chores are the same as the morning, with each group of animals getting feed and water. We add bedding when needed, and periodic cleaning of the barns is done to keep the manure from building up. The barns the animals live in over the winter are heated by the animals' body heat and the manure on the floor. There are no other heating systems in these buildings, and it always amazes me just how pleasantly warm they can be! As the snow builds up through the winter, we often bank it up against the house and barns for added insulation against the cold and wind. Snow removal is my husband Jim's responsibility . He has a snow blower attached to the back of a tractor which cuts an eight foot swath through the snow. Jim keeps our own driveway and barnyards clear of the white stuff, as well as three of our neighbors' and his parents' yards. I keep the doorway shoveled clean, and often need to remove snow from the doorways of the barns where we gain access to care for the livestock. Cleanup after an average snowfall can take several hours. We heat our home with wood and gas. There is a wood stove in the cellar, one in the kitchen and another in the family room where I do much of my soapmaking work. Each morning I must restock the boxes of wood we keep near the stoves and start new fires to heat the house. Wood heat is one of the things I love about winter, but it tends to dry the air. I keep steam vaporizers going in several rooms of the house to add sterile moisture to the air for healthy skin and easier breathing. Winter can seem to last a long time when you live in a cold climate, so I like to plan a few projects for the colder months. This year I hope to paint and paper a room above my kitchen for weaving. The room is 16 x 16 with gabled ceilings. My kitchen and the room above it are built of stone, with walls two feet thick. The windows are deep set in the walls. That part of our house dates back to 1849. I purchased an antique barn loom which dates back to the same period and would like to use it to weave the fabric for a coat I have planning in my head for several years. I used the wool from our sheep to spin yarns in shades of blues, green and rust. My soon-to-be loom room was our boys' bedroom when they were young. Jonas is married now, and Rudy is off to college, but every now and then I wake with a memory of days when they were young. One cold, dark morning 23 years ago, I woke to a strange noise in my kitchen. I went downstairs to check it out, and caught a little green monster running across my carpet from the kitchen through my dining room and into the living room. It left little white foot prints every where it ran. Jonas, age three, wanted to make play dough. He had opened the flour drawer in my baker's table and scooped flour onto the table top. Then he poured water over the pile of flour and proceeded to knead it with his little hands. When I came down the stairs, he was afraid of being discovered with the mess and ran in his cute little green jammies to hide! Well, I couldn't help but laugh! He was so sweet! We vacuumed the mess and then set to making play dough. It was a Country Woman mother and child moment! The recipe follows. Home made play dough is a great family project for those cold winter days when playing outdoors is out of the question. Play Dough 4 cups water 1 cup salt 2 tablespoons alum 2 tablespoons oil 3 - 4 drops food color 4 cups flour Boil the 4 cups of water with the salt to dissolve. Add alum and food color. When warm to the touch, mix in flour and oil, blending well with your hands. Keep in air tight containers when not in use. Will last several weeks if not left out to harden. You can divide the dough into three or four parts and add a different color to each part if you wish. ******************************** By popular demand, I now accept charge card orders. You can place an order by phone using MasterCard or VISA, or you can fax your order to me at 920-386-2436. Be sure to list your phone number on FAX orders, and include charge card number, the expiration date, and whether it is MC or VISA. ******************************* Valentines Day comes with hopes of sweets and treats from our loved ones. I don't think I'll ever outgrow my hopes for surprises on that day, as it is my birthday! Plan now to send your loved ones a little treat. Bake some heart shaped cookies and share them with your friends. (Recipe on back page) Send one of my Heart Stacks to that special someone (see page 11 in my brochure) $1.00 off during the month of February! Compose a few lines of your own and make a card using paper doilies and red construction paper the way we did in school when I was young. Materials needed; red contruction paper, paper doilies 3 -4" diameter, paste or glue stick, crayons or markers. Cut construction paper in half to make 2 rectangles 8 1/2 " x 5 1/2'. Fold each in half to make 2 cards. On front of card, glue paper doily to center, and cut a heart out of red contruction paper to glue to center of doily. For variation, paper doily can be cut into heart shape before gluing to card. Write your message on the inside! If your child is required to bring Valentines to school for the class, this project can be fun for all! Almond Raspberry Valentine Heart Cookies 1 cup flour 1/2 cup finely ground almonds 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 cup butter, softened 6 tablespoons raspberry jam In medium bowl, combine flour, almonds, sugar and almond extract; mix well. With fork or pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Shape dough into a ball. If necessary, cover with plastic and refrigerate 1 hour for easier handling. Heat oven to 375. On well floured surface, roll out half the dough at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Keep remaining dough refrigerated. Cut with 2 1/2 inch heart shaped cookie cutter. Place half the cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Cut 1 inch hearts from the centers of remaining cookies. Place cookies and small cut out cookies 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 5 to 8 minutes or until light brown on bottom. Cool 1 minute. Remove cookies from cookie sheets. Spread bottom side of each whole cookie with about 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam. Top each with a cut-out cookie frame. Make small sandwich cookies with small cut-out hearts. Roll hot cookies in granulated sugar and set aside to cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. Happy Valentine's Day! This recipe can be made in shamrock shapes with mint jelly for St. Patrick's Day**, too!