timberneck farm

or old minty as i like to call it. oh how i love you. oh how i hate you. i love that you are beatiful, historic, spooky, green and surrounded by lovely sunflower fields and sparkling water. i hate that i can not even afford a single nugget of your soil. ugh.

timber neck farm is a 600 acre historic estate in gloucester, virginia being developed for rich folk by the parent company of jamie's employer. oh my gosh is it ever georgous and chocked full of history. we went over to play on saturday. i took a few pics, mostly of the house and the point of land it sits on. there are hundreds of acres of beautiful fields encircled by lots fronting the york river. if you are on the yorktown side of the river,  you can actually see this house from the colonial parkway. i definitely have a love hate relationship with timberneck. i cry when i see it and when i leave it. it hurts being poor.

enjoy.

japanese cheesecake

私はこれを愛する!

i love this!

this cheesecake is so good, so different, so easy, so, so, sew your buttons on delicious. it is light, slightly sweet, airy, spongy, custardy, eggie, lemony and soooo not like your typical heavy, dense fat, calorie laden version that we all are familiar. i am so making this again, but this time it will be soooo smothered in fruits, such as macerated strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and more. i hope you will give this cheesecake a try, but remember, it is not a cheesecake as you know it. here is the recipe. oh, i so added a splash of real vanilla extract to mine. enjoy!



my first lay

now that i have your attention....i am talking chickens and eggs. teehee. you see my rhode island red, lucy, has been on hiatus to have a mini-molt and just starting laying again two days ago. i  just now went to the coop for a visit, share some grapes and i got to see her lay. although i have had my chickens for almost a year, i have yet to see one lay an egg. i go out there and the eggs are waiting for me or a girl is on the nest, but i never get to see mother nature in action. i mean to be there, right there, when it falls out of her bottom, that is until a few minutes ago. i quietly watched her as she turned around, scratched the bedding, turned around again, again, and again, threw a few pine chips on her back, stood up, sweetly chirped and plop! that beautiful egg hit the bottom of the nest box like a golf ball bouncing on wood. it was so coooooool. i know, i know, i am not right, but you knew that already. here is a picture of it minutes old, perfectly clean and warm.

i know some of you don't get it, but i think is fascinating. man, if only i could lay an egg like that without any expensive drugs, then maybe i would not have had such a hard time getting pregnant. way to go lucy girl!

enjoy, beth

happy valentine's day and yep, i am still here

i am still alive and kicking, but have been so not motivated to post, cook, bake, clean, you name it. i think i must have the winter blahs. today, here in yorktown, it is 72 degrees and a freaking teaser. i love it and it makes me feel so much better, but, wait, it all crashes back down to the freaking forties tomorrow. i am so ready for spring. i am ready for the windows to be up in the house and down in the car. i am ready to hear my chickens singing and happily over running  me with eggs to share. i am so ready for vacation even if it is a staycation. i am just so ready....how about you?

happy valentine's day friends. tonight, it is ribeyes on the grill, roasted veggies, cesar salad, rolls and chocolate icebox cake. yum. enjoy.

homemade ginger ale

is not one of my favorites. i had seen a post on how to make it and figured why not? i love ginger ale, in fact, it is my favorite soda flavor, but just not this one. i think for one it is too sweet and too gingery. caroline, however, loves it! i am going to try the recipe again, but use fresh citrus juices instead of the ginger. let me tell how i made it though.....

i took a clean two liter bottle and using a funnel, added a cup of sugar and one quarter teaspoon of plain ol'baking yeast, yep, yeast. i swirled it around a bit and let it sit. in a bowl i grated, with my microplane, about a tablespoon or so of fresh, peeled ginger root. now to the root i squeezed the juice of one lemon. i stirred it a bit and poured into the bottle. i then rinsed the bowl with fresh cold water and added it to the bottle,too. i then topped it all off to the neck with more fresh, cold water, sealing the cap. let it sit on your counter. you see, the yeast will cause carbonation or so that is the theory. you let is sit 24 to 48 hours, but no more because it might explode! also, plastic only, no glass because it might explode! i think i needed more yeast. mine didn't bubble too much, so it did not explode! when ready, the bottle will be hard when squeezed. chill it for a few hours before drinking. also, when pouring a glass, use a strainer to catch the bits of ginger. enjoy.

i am going to do again. i will let you know. i think this would be way cool if you owned a sodastream.