donut try this at home, kids

        Today started out pretty dreary. Then it morphed into the most depressing form of weather, freezing rain. One second I'm glancing out the window at big fat rain drops coming down in slanted sheets and the next I'm staring, in disbelief, at golf-ball-sized snow flakes coming down with consistency. Geesh! Pick a season already, Mother Nature!
        So, needless to say, it felt like a perfect day for baking at our house. The other day I was in Target picking up cleaning supplies from my painstakingly-made list when, out of nowhere, an Easter-inspired end cap caught my attention with all of its glaring pastels and I spotted a Wilton donut pan. I have been seeing donut recipes everywhere, but especially on Pinterest. I've heard that "the donut is the new cupcake", whatever that means. All I know is that this girl loves her some donuts. So I didn't hesitate buying the pan, even though I know my donut making will just be a short-lived phase.
        I whipped up the recipe, according to the directions on the back of the pan packaging. I new I was in for trouble when it called for nutmeg. I'm not a big fan. I don't even include it in my apple pie. But I added it in anyway. Then it called for 3/4 cup of granulated sugar. This girl only had about a 1/4 cup in her pantry (I still have no idea how I've run so low on sugar). So I added a little brown sugar. The first 6 donuts came out looking great and I quickly threw a couple of them in a bag of powdered sugar (for myself) and made a chocolate glaze for the rest of them (for Chris). Of course, the nutmeg ruined it for me. Dang nutmeg! But Chris poked his head in the kitchen while he was putting on his muck boots, ready to go out and do afternoon cattle chores. He snatched up a chocolate glazed one and gave me a look of approval. At least they won't go to waste.
         This weekend, we are slated for a lot of bumming. Tomorrow night we are taking my brother out for chicken george (one of the most de-lish uses of chicken I've encountered; battered morsels of chicken with this fabulous sweet/tangy/sour white sauce). He's been working most every weekend night bagging groceries at our local grocery store and finally has a Saturday off. So we are taking him out for his favorite meal. I'm pretty excited for some quality time with him. Next year he will be a senior in high school and after that, who knows where he will be so we are going to make the most of our time with him while he's still a local.  Let's hope for some spring-like weather for next week. Enjoy your weekend!

   

nap-tastic weather

On Sunday night, right before turning off the lights, Chris asked me if I was ready to start waking up at 5am from tomorrow onward, until harvest commences in maybe early November. I said yes because I had to and ONLY because I had to. I am one of the worst morning persons you may ever meet. I thrive with a good 9-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep under my belt. My typically sweet demeanor disappears once I'm in the REM cycle and Chris is usually greeted by an unimaginable witch when he tries to wake me up to say goodbye or especially so, when he tries to get me out of bed for no reason besides that he would like to get up at the same time. Try as I might, this is not something I have been able to change. But, I knew on Sunday night, that even though I detest early mornings, I would no longer be allowed to throw my bitchy morning tantrums. It's was going to be harvest time on Monday morning. We make our living at harvest time. Complaints are not allowed. We will miss birthday parties, dinners out, lunch dates with friends, etc.. because harvest comes first. I understand this so I wouldn't dare complain.. Its just how it is and will always be.

On Monday morning, we awoke to the unfamiliar sound of pouring rain hitting the big canvas of maple tree foliage outside of our window (unfamiliar b/c its been a dry summer). Chris cursed it... I secretly welcomed it. To me, the rain meant at least two more days of catching up with house work and getting a few more hours of shut-eye before I sell my soul to that big Case IH tractor that will become my home for the next couple months. To Chris, it meant more time spent waiting for the corn and bean moisture to drop a few percentage points as well as the soil itself (entering a field with heavy equipment when it is saturated is a big NO-NO.. it can cause compaction which will keep the next year's crop from being able to break through the soil). Anywho, the rain circled over us for the past two days creating the most perfect napping environment. It was cold, rainy, and gray for the past two days. Those happen to be my favorite type of days because I get to see Chris so much more than under normal circumstances. Since he can't exactly do much outside in those conditions, it plants him on the couch with me, which is exactly where I'd like him to be. Reagan even enjoyed the perfect napping weather.

The sun is out today and Chris is hoping for some warmer temps to help dry things out so he can pull the trigger on starting harvest. I will try to keep up with things as much as possible on here but please forgive me if my posts start to diminish to about 2 posts a week. I'm almost sure that I will have some absolutely dreamy sunset/sunrise pictures for you to drool over. There really won't be much else for me to look at besides rows and rows of golden corn and soybeans.