on the land (and computer is down again)

We were on the land again last week.  All the tree cutting we did in March was moved by a D7.  This is what we have now.  Space.  A place to put a shed and a garden.  Maybe a place for a few small houses.

We had six people this time.  The tent was necessary.  This was actually the prettiest day we had all week.  We had a lot of rain so a nice tent was necessary.  The trailer was nice because we were able to get everyone out of the rain and warm when they were not working.

The kids did a lot of playing.

Spring is coming.  That is nice.

We have a computer down again.  It makes it hard to blog but I will try.  I have pictures to share of our week.

for my friend J

Today has been busy.  I finished a dirt bag mattress.  We went to the library to drop off books, dropped off knives so sheathes can be made, and picked up supplies for our road trip.  I started binding Baby Nacho's quilt since all the quilting is done.

And I finished 100 nine squares for my friend J's quilt.  My real goal with this one is to have it done by autumn so J can have something to curl under when she is tired.  She has some chronic health issues.  Kind of like me but different.  She is tired a lot and I thought a bit of warmth would help.  I know when I am tired, it helps me.

I really wanted to get the squares done before we left and I did.  The stitching also helped my head.  I really wanted to not be here.  The mountain would have been great but better if we had a cabin in place.  I just wanted to sit on a porch with my hand wrapped around a tea cup.  And not be in a city.  I will have a little bit of that next week.  I will probably not have any access to my blog but sometimes the satellites line up just right.....

savory cobbler

My Beloved asked for a biscuit crusted shepherd's pie after we tried a pot pie from our butcher shop around the corner.  The butcher shop likes to do things in an artisan type fashion and is actually more of a small grocery.  They also serve food but I have to admit that I usually go into it to by meat, milk, and a vegetable I do not have.

I thought about what my Beloved asked for and this is what I came up with.  A savory cobbler.  I used half the recipe for my sourdough biscuits.  I used the meat base of my h pie, but I used a whole container of the Grateful Breads tart cherry mustard in it.  I also used the Salish alder wood smoked salt that Whole Food carries.  Pretty darn tasty.

savory beef cobbler

1/2 recipe sourdough biscuits

meat base from shepherd's pie recipe, you can make the changes I wrote about above if you wish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make the meat mixture according to the recipe in a shallow oven proof pan.  

Pat out the biscuit dough to to fit the top of the pan.  Cover the meat mixture.  

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden.

Pretty darn tasty!  The only negative about it is that you need to be a bit more careful about reheating or the biscuit will burn.  

greek seasoning mix

I was talking about fajita with one of the men at work recently.  He said that he was given a restaurant recipe of a Greek Seasoning mix and limes for fajitas.  I decided that sounded interesting so I tried it.  One of the reasons I tried it is that I like my other fajita recipe but I would not mind something faster and I just trying new things.  This is not bad for fast fajitas.  Next time, I will probably add a bit more heat.  But then I like a little heat in my fajitas.

greek seasoning mix

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon thyme

Blend in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestle until well combined.

I used this sprinkled over sliced beef with the juice of a couple limes sprinkled over.  If I had not wanted so fast, I would have added some onion and garlic to the pan as well.  I served this meat over salad which made a really fast dinner, less then 10 minutes.

pillows

We are getting ready to travel again.  The last time we did a short road trip (2 1/2 hours), I could barely get myself out of the Suburban my knees and hips hurt so bad.  I realized the seat do not fit me very well at all and really aggravate my arthritis.  When I bought the fabric for dirt bag mattress, I picked up an extra piece that was going to be shopping bags.

Car pillows were much more needed.

I put these together tonight.  There are actually too.  I can see much more comfort in my life that long ride to the mountain.