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A Farm Share Sausage Soup

This summer we decided to get a share from a local farm; Troggs Hollow. It was a way to insure fresh veggies all summer. So far we have only had two weeks worth and being so early in the season it has been almost all greens. 
I have a sausage potato soup that I have been making for quite a few years now and I decided to spruce it up a bit with our veggie share. I use a smoked sausage in it but ham or bacon would be just as good. For this batch I used hakurei turnips, and dinosaur kale. I usually have homemade chicken/turkey stock but I’m out and need to make a fresh batch so I had to use some store bought this time. I also added 5 red potatoes. Onion is also good in this but I didn’t have any this time.
  
Ingredients for Soup Including Fresh Hakurei Turnips and Dinosaur Kale

I start out by browning the sausage. Then, I cubed the turnips and potatoes and ripped the veins out of the kale.
Since all parts of the turnips are edible I also coarsely chopped up the
turnip greens.I add in the stock and make sure to scrape all the yummy bits up from the bottom of the pot. Next, I add in the potatoes and turnips. I add my seasoning at this point as well. I use thyme (fresh is best but I had to use dried this time), parsley, red pepper for a kick, and some black pepper. If salt is needed add it at the end. If you add it at this point it gets absorbed by the potatoes. I bring the pot to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer. Keep the simmer going for about 20 – 25 minutes or until the potatoes and turnips are fork tender. During the last 5 minutes of simmering time I added the kale to a separate skillet with some bacon drippings (you can use butter but Owen has dairy issues so I try to not use it here). I cook it for around 2-3 minutes and then add it to the pot of soup at the end. I pull out a serving for Owen (keeping it dairy free for him) then I add about a 1/4 c. of heavy cream. I bring it back up to a simmer but only for about 5 minutes (don’t let it get back up to a rolling boil or the cream will separate).

  Serve as is and enjoy or top with some shredded cheese to melt in. This soup went over so well in our house that every last drop was
eaten…none for left-overs! That is saying something since Hugh is such
a picky eater.

Farm Share Sausage Soup
1 lb. Smoked Sausage/Ham/Bacon
Turnips (I used 4 Hakurei Turnips)
Turnip Greens
Kale (any kind would be good, I used dinosaur kale)
5 red potatoes
4 cups chicken/turkey stock
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 T. bacon drippings (for dairy free) or 1 T. butter
2 T. parsley
2 t. dried thyme or 4 fresh sprigs
red pepper to taste
black pepper to taste
salt to taste
Cut and brown sausage/ham/bacon in the bottom of a 5 quart or larger pot. Wash and cube the potatoes and turnips. Rip the veins out of the kale and chop kale and turnip greens. Add stock and stir to get all the browned bits off the bottom. Add the potatoes, turnips, parsley, thyme, and peppers. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer for around 20 – 25 minutes or until the potatoes and turnips are fork tender. In a separate skillet heat up the bacon drippings/butter and add the kale and turnip greens. Turning the greens to coat with the fat and working to wilt the greens; only for around 2 – 3 minutes. Add the greens to the soup. If you are going for dairy free the soup is ready to be served. If you would like a cream based soup, add the 1/4 c. cream at this point. Simmer (but not boil) for a few more minutes. Serve and enjoy.
 
This makes around 10 servings of soup if you are serving it with a meal. If this is “the meal” (as it was for us) then you only get around 5 or 6 servings.
The great thing about this soup is how easy it is to add any type of veggie or bean or change up the meat or leave the meat out all together. Enjoy this as much as we did!
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A stress busting skirt!

I have been slack in the blog department. I have been keeping very busy though! I had a joint birthday party for the boys, I made a dress for Miss Faye, and we had an awesome camping trip. I will get posts up for all of those things soon!

For now, I made yet another Lazy Days Skirt for Miss Faye. The quick and easy aspect of the skirt makes me feel like I have accomplished something. Even if it only took me around 35 minutes to make. I have so many other projects that are huge time and energy eaters that ‘accomplishing’ something makes me feel like I’m out of the project rut.

Some of the projects that I’m working on…..

  • A set of cocktail sized napkins for a Montessori classroom (I’m actually almost finished with these).
  • A guest blog post for a good friend (not hard but I need the mental energy to rework a current post to make it ‘right’)
  • A 4th of July dress or outfit for Miss Faye
  • Planning and putting up a chicken wire fence to keep the bunnies out of my garden
  • Planning Miss Faye’s 1st birthday party
  • Making a party dress for Miss Faye
  • I got an awesome dresser that I garbage picked…I need to refinish/paint it
  • A full set of curtains for a friend’s bedroom

 Here is the skirt.

I used left over fabric from a birthday gift to Hugh’s Birthday Buddy. Shown in this post. I really liked it with the darker purple ribbon but I didn’t have enough so I made a quick trip to the store for this. I also added some top stitching around the waist and a matching purple tag. I also switched to using my surger.

I made this skirt a bit on the long side so that it will last longer for Miss Faye. Now, I need to come up with a top to match it…or at least sort of go with the skirt. Right now I have nothing.

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The Loss of Luke

Four years ago today our family had a huge loss. I am still at a point where it is easier to just copy and paste the story rather than delving back into it. So if the words are a bit raw still, it is because I typed out the story shortly after the loss and have not been able to read/edit since.

I have been having trouble with coming up with words to put down to
say what happened to us. I need to stop hesitating and just put my
thoughts into words to help myself heal.

On Wednesday,
May 25th, 2011, I woke up a bit early because I needed to head to a
prenatal appointment in the city. I had switched OB’s so I could attempt
a VBAC and University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is the only hospital
that would allow me to attempt it after 2 c-sections. I had to drop
Hugh off at school early so that I would have time to drive in. As it
was it was raining buckets and I was afraid I would be late. We all know
traffic gets backed up when it rains.

Even with bad
traffic I walked into my appointment at exactly 9:30 am (that was my
appointment time). I had Owen with me and a bag full of toys and snacks
to keep him occupied. I had a standard appointment….pee in a cup, get
weighed, listen to the heartbeat, but she had some trouble finding the
heartbeat with the doppler. So, she sent me to the hospital for an ultra
sound to find it. I was a bit worried but I hoped that the baby was
just being shy and the ultrasound would find the heartbeat right away.
As it was I had had my gender ultrasound the previous Thursday and all
was well at that point.

It was a 10 minute drive to the
hospital and then I had to find parking and head in. My midwife told me
that they were expecting me. I assumed that meant I would be seen right
away for the u/s. I was wrong. I waited, with a hungry and grumpy 2
year old, for 1.5 hours. When I was called in they had cleared the
waiting room and it was their lunch time. I went to the back and had to
strap Owen into his stroller (this made him really mad) so I could have
the u/s. The machine was so old and crappy they could hardly even see
the baby let alone find a heart beat. So, they told me yet again to wait
so they could get approval to use a better machine. Another 20 minutes
have gone by. Owen is just crying at this point and I finally get in the
room. Owen would not be set down at all at this point so there I am
lying on the table with Owen sitting on my chest (they needed my tummy
free for the u/s). At this point they could see that there was no heart
beat but it looked like the baby was still moving. That was all Owen.
Another tech had to come in to hold Owen because he was sobbing so much
that it was shaking my entire body. Then they wanted the OB to come in
to confirm. Again we waited. I’m already crying at this point. I just
wanted to leave. I had Owen to deal with and I didn’t want to deal with
the reality of what was happening to me.

I went into
this overly optimistic. I mean it is almost pushed down a pregnant
woman’s throat that after the 12 week mark you are “safe” from losing
the baby. I was almost 18 weeks at this point, plus I had just seen the
baby less than a week ago and everything was fine. It really hit me when
I was getting ready to leave and the OB told me that it was my choice
to schedule a D&E or an induction. OMG…..not only did I lose
the baby but I was so far along that I would have to deliver the baby
too (a D&E is a horrific procedure and I would never in a
million years consider it…if you don’t know what it is you can look it
up but be forewarned that it is horrific).

I knew at
this point that I would go back to the OB that I had started the
pregnancy with. I have anxiety driving to and from the city as it is. I
am not comfortable at UIC and the only reason I was there was to attempt
the VBAC, which is not happening now.

I had called
Greg a few times during all my visits to keep him updated on the
situation (he could not come to be with me because of transportation
issues), so he knew what was going on. I still had to go pick Hugh up
from school…Greg had informed them that I would be late but not why. I
cried for most of the entire hour drive going to pick up Hugh. I should
have pulled over but I just wanted to be home at this point. Once I got
to get Hugh I ran in and started sobbing again. I had to tell them what
was going on and I got two of the best hugs ever from Hugh’s teacher
Ms. Crystal and Miss. Stacie.

I made it home without
getting into any accidents and I just sat there. I didn’t know what to
do or to think. I needed Greg. I needed him to hold me and be with me. I
tried to do a little research online but crying kept getting in the way
so I did nothing until Greg finally got home.

Friday,
May 27th came and we drove to the hospital. My mom had taken off work
to stay at our house with the boys. We arrived and they showed us to our
room in the labor and delivery area. We had to sit and wait a bit. The
OB (same one that delivered Owen) wanted to check my cervix before
anything. I was still closed.

I got an IV and blood
work (18 vials, they were testing me for EVERYTHING) and the first
round of cytotek at about 8:30 am. Bed rest for the first 2 hours with
cramping starting at just about 3 hours. At 1:45 pm I got my second
dose. 2 more hours of bed rest. The cramping became more regular. By
5:00 they were coming every 2-4 minutes. I got the last dose at 6:00 pm
with 2 more hours of bed rest. Cramping/contractions were coming about
every 2 minutes right away. At 7:00 pm my water broke and the intensity
level of the contractions went through the roof. By 8:00 pm the
contractions were coming on top of each other with no break. I started
throwing up at about 8:15 pm with quite a lot of pressure. Right around
8:40 pm the pain increased and I delivered the baby.

I
never had to be hooked to a monitor except for blood pressure and that
was only while I was on my 2 hours of bed rest after the med dosing.
They allowed me to deliver in any position I wanted so I ended up
delivering on my side (it was the best position to get me through those
non-stop contractions).

The baby was a boy….we
named him Luke Gregory. He weighed 6.88 ounces and was 7.5 inches
long….he was not large enough to qualify for stillbirth status in the
state of Illinois but he was classified that way through the doctor’s
office. Luke was perfect, with 10 fingers and 10 toes. It appears that
he died right after my gender u/s the week before. I have since
received chromosome and pathology results and he was a perfect in every
way boy. They could detect nothing wrong and have no reason for his
death.

The placenta never delivered on it’s own so I
had to go in for a D&C. They put me under completely saying
that I had emotionally gone through enough at that point. The hospital
staff was wonderful, they contacted the funeral home for us to arrange
for Luke to be picked up so we could cremate him. They also took
pictures and have put together a memory box for us with foot prints

and a bunch of other stuff. The funeral home waived all charges except for the $50 county paperwork fee.

Greg
and I got to hold Luke for as long as we wanted, his eyes were both
open and he had a perfect nose and 10 fingers and toes. We took more
pictures and said our goodbyes. Now that Luke is gone I need to deal
with this loss. I didn’t just lose a baby, I lost all my hopes and
dreams for another person that will never be.

We had Luke cremated and have since received his ashes from the funeral home.There was not much.

I
am having them made into a pendant to put on a necklace so I can have
him close to my heart forever. I also had his foot prints and name
tattooed onto my inner wrist. Anytime I think about him I can look down
and remember how little and at the same time how much he touched in this
world.

Last year on Luke’s Birthday I bought a white balloon for each boy to release. After their birthday party they each released one balloon for Luke. I did the same this year. It is such a small thing but the boys talk about it all the time.

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Beanpole Teepee and Patio

The beanpole teepee for the boys is DONE! I spent way too much time digging the sod out. I wanted to rent a sod cutter but it was not worth the cost. $65 for 4 hours, when the rest of the project only cost me around $60.

I of course got my idea from a pin on Pinterest. I pretty much followed the directions on the page except for the center stone. They wanted me to get a 17″ stone. Well, they don’t come in that size. At least not that I could find after spending a couple of hours searching online. I considered making my own using a plastic planter base as a mold but then I realized it would take a good week to set and become useable. That was not going to work for me. I wanted to get this project done right away.

First, I took a stick and tied a 3.5 foot piece of twine on it, near the bottom, then I stuck it in the ground where I wanted the patio floor of the teepee. I took a left over can of spray paint from the crib project and sprayed the grass while  holding the nozzle of the can near the end of the twine and walking in a circle.

Next, I started digging (about a foot outside the pink line, the pink line is the finished size of the patio….I wanted a dirt area on the outside of the patio to have a space to plant the beans in). I have no idea what kind of grass this is here in the back of our yard. It is different from the rest of the yard. It goes completely white in the winter (it has not yet gone completely green yet this year) and it is thick. It’s root system makes a sort of mat in the top 2 inches of the soil. It about killed me to even get the shovel though the grass. This step took me 3 days when it should have only take me a few hours. After I had about 2/3 of it done I got G to help. I had planned a play date with a couple of kids from Hugh’s school but they only planned on helping with the bricks.

There was the problem of what to do with all the grass and dirt that I ripped out. Well, I made some new flower beds with it! I put down newspaper to smother the grass in the area and then I put the sod upside down on top of it. By putting it upside down the sun bakes the roots and the grass stops growing. I will spend the rest of the summer adding to the new beds. G will dump all the grass clippings on it and all our kitchen compost scraps will also go on it. If I had all that stuff to dump on it now I could just let it sit for 6 weeks and it would be ready. I have to do it the long way though. It will be ready to plant in in the fall.

Here is the final size of the newly added bed. I was excited to be able to get the entire bed laid out with the sod and dirt that I ripped out of the patio area!

Next up…the sand base. The pin directions called for 12 bags total, 6 for the base. Yeah, as if. I had to use all 12 bags as the base. This pic is of the awesome mom from the boys’ school and G working on leveling the sand. I have to say, this was the hardest part and the part that we kind of gave up on. I knew that a perfectly level patio didn’t matter since it’s intended purpose is the floor of a teepee. I learned a lot though and I “think” I will be able to accomplish this step a bit better on the big patio on the other side of the yard (the one that we intend to put a table on and need a level floor).
Oh, and I know it is just an excuse but it was HOT out. Hot and the sun was beating down on us (I have the crazy sun burn to show for this day), and we needed this step to be over.
I didn’t get a picture of the step where we laid the bricks. Or the kids hauling all 150 bricks and handing them to me but I did get this one of the boys standing on the patio before I filled in the cracks. You can see that it is not level…I was not about to pull the bricks back up and start over with the sand step though. I also bought a bag of smooth river rocks and we added them in the “big cracks”. It think the kids enjoyed doing that.
I decided to add a stepping stone where the “entrance” to the teepee would be. I also decided to not use regular sand to fill the cracks. That is just inviting 2 young boys to dig it all back up. Doing that turned into a huge hassle though. I did my research and decided to use polymeric sand It worked perfectly and almost like magic! I love that stuff. I ended up having to use two 50 lb. bags…and that was exactly enough for a patio of this size. 
We had a frantic gardening in the dark issue with this though. I spread the sand and then got it a little bit wet with the hose…it got dark by this point….the directions said to go out and get it wet a second time…I did that. The directions then said to not let it get rained on for 24 hours. Go, check the weather. Oh, crap! Realize that it is supposed to storm all night and all the next day. Then realize that the tarp is still holding all the dirt that needs to be back filled around the edges.
G really is a good sport with all my crazy projects. He came out and set up a small flashlight and started back filling the dirt while I finished up something in the house. I came out and we finished with the dirt. It actually was pretty nice working in the garden in the dark. No chance of getting a sun burn! Anyway, after all that work to use the tarp to cover the patio, the storms all passed us by. I shot this pic the next evening just before dark. You can see my stepping stone where the entrance  will be.
G had a day off work today so I got him to help me with the poles for the teepee. I bought twenty-four 6′ bamboo poles. I knew that they would not be long enough since the patio is 7 feet across, so we taped 2 poles together with some duct tape. We gave them a 12″ overlap to make them sturdy. That gave us 12 poles for the teepee. Miss Faye was great and took a nice long nap so we were able to get the entire thing done. I didn’t measure but I think there is a good 7 or 8 feet of standing room on the inside of the teepee.

As for the top of the teepee, I just tied the bamboo poles together with twine.

We left to go pick the boys up at school and came back late in the day. The sun was low in the sky and I realized that my stepping stone and entrance were poorly located. They face west and the afternoon sun shone directly in the teepee. Obviously it is not an issue now that it is bare, but once the beans fill it all in then it will not be shaded inside in the afternoon. It bothered me enough that I dug the stone up and relocated it on the south side of the teepee.
After I relocated the stepping stone I then needed to fix the position of all the bamboo poles to accommodate a new entrance. Then, give the boys a quick planting lesson. Find stick….poke holes around poles…drop a couple of beans in each hole….cover and firm soil….DONE!

Then I tied twine all around the teepee to define the area for the boys (get them used to going in and out at the entrance) and to give a tiny bit of stability to the poles.

Here are the boys….excited by the teepee. Well, Hugh is for sure and Owen is really excited by the rolly polly in Hugh’s hand.

Now, we water and wait. We planted 6 beans around each pole. There has got to be at least one good strong one to come up around each pole. I will thin them back if we get all of them to come up.

Project done! On to birthday party planning. The count down is on….party in 11 days.

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My Summer Gardening Plans!

Every year I try to do more landscaping in my yard. I really enjoy the manual labor and I love to make my yard beautiful. I wish I could do more each year but sadly the budget only allows a little bit. This year I am enlarging some flower beds, completely changing my garden to accomidate a teepee for the kids, and creating a path to “enter” the yard while surrounding the patio with flower beds. 
I have already started on the path. I was initially only going to put a narrow stepping stone kind of path in but then I realized we needed to be able to get the lawn mower into the yard without crushing the flower beds. So, a big wide path it has become!
Mini path progress (it will be solid stone when I’m done). This is just a dry lay to see if I like it. Now I need to go get some sand. Except for the sand (which is only $1.50 a bag) this is a free project….the last people who lived here put in the patio and kept all the extra stones in a big pile behind the garage. It is kind of nice to get rid of the piles! I don’t want the pavers perfect squares like they are now though so I need to figure out how to break them.

View of the path from the yard looking at the house. I will rip out all the grass to the right of the path and make that flower bed butt up to the path.

I got a couple of plants today. One is a vivid pink hollyhock….I will plant it near my bean teepee. The other is a dappled flamingo willow. I still have to figure out where I want to put it. I researched it online and it is supposed to get HUGE and grow fast. I may put it in the bottom right of the below picture.

If you look closely you can see my pink circle in the grass. I started making the flower beds around it it two years ago. I will clean it up and make the flowerbeds go all the way around (except for an “entrance”) this summer. Next summer I plan on digging out the center and putting in a patio for our bistro set…..can’t afford all the stones this year though. If I do put the dappled willow near this “almost” patio it will be in a perfect position to block the patio from the neighbor’s prying eyes.

Finally, the “fun” project! Over in this corner of my yard I had my “garden” it was tiny, but you can see another pink circle. This one is where I need to rip the grass out right now. I’m putting in a very small brick patio which will be the floor of my bean teepee. Then I will create new garden beds around the outside of the teepee area. I still need to mark those before I rent the sod cutter.

Off to start digging!