Newsletter - October, November, December 2004

Something New!

Quarterly Newsletter
October, November, December 2004

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

Coffee Cake

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
dash of salt
1/2 cup strong coffee
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

   In large mixing bowl with mixer on low, then high, cream butter and brown sugar. Mix in eggs. Sift together dry ingredients except nuts. Mix honey with coffee. Gradually add dry ingredients, alternating with coffee/honey mixture. Beat just till blended. Fold in nuts. Pour into greased and floured 9-inch cake pan. Bake 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees till knife comes out clean. Drizzle with confectioner’s sugar glaze.

Confectioner’s Sugar Glaze: 1 to 1-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar. Slowly add milk and stir till of proper consistency for drizzling.

— From the kitchen of The Soap Lady

October 2004

Hello!

   Summer has passed and a few of the Zahn Family memories are worth sharing.

   Our son, Rudy, has a new family. His girlfriend, Marsha, has two daughters, Kaila, nine and Bonnie, eight. One Sunday in September Rudy and the girls were bored. In the front yard on the farm where they are living there is a large swimming pool, twenty-seven feet in diameter. The previous tenants had allowed the pool water quality to deteriorate, so Rudy purchased one hundred goldfish and put them into the water to eat the algae and water insects. After a few weeks the fish had grown to lengths of six inches or more. On the Sunday afternoon in question Rudy decided to take the girls fishing. He put his canoe into the pool, loaded the girls and fishing poles and the three of them spent the day in the pool, in the canoe, fishing for goldfish. No one caught any fish, but they had a wonderful afternoon and now have a precious memory to share!

   I recently completed a class in rural leadership through the University of Wisconsin. During fund-raiser auction, some of my classmates and I opted to offer our services as maids to the highest bidder. We sold for six hundred dollars, the highest item of the evening. Eight women, ranging in age from thiry-five to sixty-five worked free of charge three hours as waitresses at a restaurant in central Wisconsin for the birthday party of the winning bidder. Some weeks prior to the party, we got together for a few nights of fun sewing our aprons and head pieces. Then, when the date arrived, we all met and rode together to the restaurant in a bus owned and operated by Rudy Zahn. The bus ride to the party was a hoot as we laughed and talked with one another along the way. Serving the guests was easy. The night sped by as we brought drinks and plates of food to the tables, clearing dishes as needed. The guests enjoyed being served by eight happy maids, some choosing to leave tips, which we opted to give to our friendly chauffeur. The idea went over so well that we are now in great demand at more benefit auctions in our communities!

The Soap Lady is the maid furthest to the right.

   If you have an opportunity to contribute to a charity auction in your community, I highly recommend offering the services of a group of your friends as maids for an evening as we did. It was great fun and we raised a good sum for the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program.

   Each year we raise a cluck of chicks in our back yard, and as Autumn begins we are treated to the sound of the roosters practicing their cock-a-doodle-doos. The young males begin testing their voices at about 8 weeks of age. At first they sound a bit rusty, sometimes missing a syllable or two. It takes several weeks of practice before they get the sound right. Contrary to popular belief, roosters do not crow just at daybreak. They call out the whole day long, competing with one another for the strongest sound. Our roosters and hens are free range, which means they run free about the barn yard. Chickens will not leave the area where they are fed and watered. I enjoy watching them flit across the yard, pecking at the grass, hunting for insects. This year we have a smaller breed with feathers on their feet. They range in color from purest white to darkest black, some with fluffy feathers, some with double combs.

   When the weather turns cold, we will catch the chickens at night while they sleep and put them in the hen house for the winter. After dark, when the chickens are asleep, you can walk right up to them and pick them up. If you are gentle with them, they won’t scare. Catching chickens in daylight is nearly impossible.

   We will choose one or two roosters to keep for fertilizing the eggs (so that we will have more chicks in the spring) and put the rest in the freezer. Our crossbred hens will give us eggs at the rate of about 4 eggs a week per hen, compared to purebred layers which will produce an egg each day. Throughout the winter we will collect the eggs each day to be used in my kitchen. When I get more eggs than I can use I share them with family and friends.

   Fresh eggs are different than those purchased in grocery stores. The yolks are firm and deep orange in color. The whites are thick and clear. The flavor is distinct. Round about late spring I will choose just one nest in the coop to leave alone, allowing the nest of eggs to grow, while one hen sits, or clucks on the nest. In twenty-one days we will have a new brood of chicks to raise!

   This past summer a gentleman came down my driveway with trailer loaded with two female donkeys to sell. It seems he met my husband, Jim, at a farm auction some months ago, mentioned that he had access to a few donkeys, and wondered if Jim would like to buy some. I have a male donkey, named George. Jim thought George might like to have some company. We now have three donkeys, Jenny, Genevieve and George, playing in the pasture outside the window of my home office!

   Donkeys really do bray Hee-haw. George is quite loud and can be heard up to a quarter mile away (to the delight of my neighbors!). The females are much softer spoken, higher in pitch, and bray with a feminine He-hah. My George does not bray often, and sometimes will be silent for several days. The girls bray less than George does. For me it is always a treat to hear them. Now that my George has female companions, perhaps we might have little baby donkeys in the spring!

   For a fund girl friend day, you might like to try dyeing scarves.

   At www.dharmtrading.com you will find everything you need to get started. My friends and I purchased blank white scarves, dresses, baby clothes and fabrics by the yard. Clothing and fabric is of the highest quality cotton, rayon and silk. We then chose colors of dye and tools needed to spend an afternoon dyeing our items in pots or painting them with brushes and squeeze.



		Something New! Quarterly Newsletter October, November, December 2004 Recipes, hints, ideas, new books, whatever... Coffee Cake 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter 3 eggs 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1/4 tsp ginger dash of salt 1/2 cup strong coffee 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup chopped walnuts In large mixing bowl with mixer on low, then high, cream butter and brown sugar. Mix in eggs. Sift together dry ingredients except nuts. Mix honey with coffee. Gradually add dry ingredients, alternating with coffee/honey mixture. Beat just till blended. Fold in nuts. Pour into greased and floured 9-inch cake pan. Bake 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees till knife comes out clean. Drizzle with confectioner’s sugar glaze. Confectioner’s Sugar Glaze: 1 to 1-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar. Slowly add milk and stir till of proper consistency for drizzling. — From the kitchen of *The Soap Lady* October 2004 Hello! Summer has passed and a few of the Zahn Family memories are worth sharing. Our son, Rudy, has a new family. His girlfriend, Marsha, has two daughters, Kaila, nine and Bonnie, eight. One Sunday in September Rudy and the girls were bored. In the front yard on the farm where they are living there is a large swimming pool, twenty-seven feet in diameter. The previous tenants had allowed the pool water quality to deteriorate, so Rudy purchased one hundred goldfish and put them into the water to eat the algae and water insects. After a few weeks the fish had grown to lengths of six inches or more. On the Sunday afternoon in question Rudy decided to take the girls fishing. He put his canoe into the pool, loaded the girls and fishing poles and the three of them spent the day in the pool, in the canoe, fishing for goldfish. No one caught any fish, but they had a wonderful afternoon and now have a precious memory to share! I recently completed a class in rural leadership through the University of Wisconsin. During fund-raiser auction, some of my classmates and I opted to offer our services as maids to the highest bidder. We sold for six hundred dollars, the highest item of the evening. Eight women, ranging in age from thiry-five to sixty-five worked free of charge three hours as waitresses at a restaurant in central Wisconsin for the birthday party of the winning bidder. Some weeks prior to the party, we got together for a few nights of fun sewing our aprons and head pieces. Then, when the date arrived, we all met and rode together to the restaurant in a bus owned and operated by Rudy Zahn. The bus ride to the party was a hoot as we laughed and talked with one another along the way. Serving the guests was easy. The night sped by as we brought drinks and plates of food to the tables, clearing dishes as needed. The guests enjoyed being served by eight happy maids, some choosing to leave tips, which we opted to give to our friendly chauffeur. The idea went over so well that we are now in great demand at more benefit auctions in our communities! The Soap Lady is the maid furthest to the right. If you have an opportunity to contribute to a charity auction in your community, I highly recommend offering the services of a group of your friends as maids for an evening as we did. It was great fun and we raised a good sum for the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program. Each year we raise a cluck of chicks in our back yard, and as Autumn begins we are treated to the sound of the roosters practicing their cock-a-doodle-doos. The young males begin testing their voices at about 8 weeks of age. At first they sound a bit rusty, sometimes missing a syllable or two. It takes several weeks of practice before they get the sound right. Contrary to popular belief, roosters do not crow just at daybreak. They call out the whole day long, competing with one another for the strongest sound. Our roosters and hens are free range, which means they run free about the barn yard. Chickens will not leave the area where they are fed and watered. I enjoy watching them flit across the yard, pecking at the grass, hunting for insects. This year we have a smaller breed with feathers on their feet. They range in color from purest white to darkest black, some with fluffy feathers, some with double combs. When the weather turns cold, we will catch the chickens at night while they sleep and put them in the hen house for the winter. After dark, when the chickens are asleep, you can walk right up to them and pick them up. If you are gentle with them, they won’t scare. Catching chickens in daylight is nearly impossible. We will choose one or two roosters to keep for fertilizing the eggs (so that we will have more chicks in the spring) and put the rest in the freezer. Our crossbred hens will give us eggs at the rate of about 4 eggs a week per hen, compared to purebred layers which will produce an egg each day. Throughout the winter we will collect the eggs each day to be used in my kitchen. When I get more eggs than I can use I share them with family and friends. Fresh eggs are different than those purchased in grocery stores. The yolks are firm and deep orange in color. The whites are thick and clear. The flavor is distinct. Round about late spring I will choose just one nest in the coop to leave alone, allowing the nest of eggs to grow, while one hen sits, or clucks on the nest. In twenty-one days we will have a new brood of chicks to raise! This past summer a gentleman came down my driveway with trailer loaded with two female donkeys to sell. It seems he met my husband, Jim, at a farm auction some months ago, mentioned that he had access to a few donkeys, and wondered if Jim would like to buy some. I have a male donkey, named George. Jim thought George might like to have some company. We now have three donkeys, Jenny, Genevieve and George, playing in the pasture outside the window of my home office! Donkeys really do bray Hee-haw. George is quite loud and can be heard up to a quarter mile away (to the delight of my neighbors!). The females are much softer spoken, higher in pitch, and bray with a feminine He-hah. My George does not bray often, and sometimes will be silent for several days. The girls bray less than George does. For me it is always a treat to hear them. Now that my George has female companions, perhaps we might have little baby donkeys in the spring! For a fund girl friend day, you might like to try dyeing scarves. At www.dharmtrading.com you will find everything you need to get started. My friends and I purchased blank white scarves, dresses, baby clothes and fabrics by the yard. Clothing and fabric is of the highest quality cotton, rayon and silk. We then chose colors of dye and tools needed to spend an afternoon dyeing our items in pots or painting them with brushes and squeeze. Sign up to receive my quarterly Newsletter —