Wahsega Valley Farm

New diet, new concerns...

Good grief.

I recently had a blood test that checked these aspects of my blood:

• Lipids 
• Lipoprotein Particles and Apolipoproteins
• Inflammation/Oxidation
• Myocardial Stress
• Platelets
• Lipoprotein Genetics
• Platelet Genetics
• Coagulation Genetics
• Metabolic

And there was a total of 35 sub-categories under those headings. My doctor knows I am predisposed to heart disease and just wanted to go a little deeper to see what was going on. I know the list above probably sounds like a lot of gobbledy-goop, but once she explained everything and I went online to look up some of the words used in the explanation of my results, I understand most of it.

In a nutshell, the results of the test show that I am leaning towards becoming insulin resistant and have an increased risk for heart disease, stroke and blood clots. And because my Apolipoprotein E Genotype is 3/4 (including about 20% of people in the world from what I understand), diet works better for me than taking medications. So, at least that is a good thing.

But... I'm becoming insulin resistant? That was a shocker. But diabetes also runs in my family; my mother and uncle both had it. My mother got it when she was quite overweight, but my uncle was never overweight. So, I guess it's not that unimaginable that I could be leaning that way.

And one doesn't have to be overweight to become insulin resistant. But because of other indications of the blood test (it's way too detailed and complicated to write about here and would bore you to death), my doctor wants me to lose 10 pounds even though I am 5'10" and weigh 150, which feels ideal for me. But since I have such a small frame, I guess there is still just too much fat and can create problems. 

So, I am to lose 10 pounds and refine my eating habits. A lot! I was vegan and gluten-free for awhile, but felt I lost too much weight, but am now wondering if that was a good thing. I dunno, but what I need to do now (as does Mike since his symptoms are more extreme than mine since he is pre-diabetic) doesn't seem as restrictive to me. I've not been vegan now for over a year. I started eating eggs and a bit of dairy and put on those 10 pounds and felt better. 

My doctor recommended my reading Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution by Steven R. Gundry, M.D. He's not pro-vegan, vegetarian or carnivore; he's promoting eating predominantly greens/green veggies and protein, preferably with a lot of the veggies being raw. Most everything else -  even foods I considered healthy - turns into sugar and is what's causing my potential problems. He writes about how the modern diet is dominated by grains and how they have caused so many new health issues in the past 100 or so years. Humans never used to eat so much of their diet from grains; we used to eat more like the Great Apes - mostly greens with some bug/animal protein mixed in at about 6%. No, I don't want to eat bugs and lots of animals, but at this point I need to make some changes. The foods he recommends eating not only put you at your optimal weight, they help alleviate whatever is causing me to be leaning towards insulin resistance... and all my other leanings as well. 

Basically, I have to cut out all foods considered "beige" or "white", including pasta, all rice, potatoes, milk, crackers, chips, all baked goods, cereals and candy - forever, except for occasional treats. Fortunately, I don't eat that much of those things anyway. But I also have to give up some foods temporarily... foods I love, such as sweet potatoes, most fruit, quinoa and legumes. But once my system gets balanced out, I can eat them again... just not all the time. The problem is that all of these foods turn to sugar and can wreck havoc on a body.

I hope I can get my spring garden in; so far the weather has not cooperated. Mike and I cleaned it up yesterday, getting it ready to till, but the ground was way too wet. And it's supposed to rain again this upcoming weekend. Boo. Well, I want to plant in a couple of weeks, maybe it'll be done by then. I'll really be able to use the lettuce, kale and spinach in my new diet. I can always buy the stuff, but it's sure nice to walk down the hill and pick it. 

Life is always throwing us challenges, isn't it? This one isn't too hard to deal with since I love veggies and prefer to eat them over anything anyway... but what about that gooey brownie that I've been craving for months? I guess I won't be making any of those for the time being. But I can occasionally have some greater than 70% cocoa dark chocolate. Phew.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

I was in the kitchen preparing the chicken's snack a little while ago and when I glanced into the living room, I saw a couple of sleepy-heads.

That's Mike and Sophie snoozing. Sunday is Mike's only day off, and with the rain we're having, he just slowly melted into the couch while I was up and doing my thing. And I guess it looked like a good spot for Sophie to settle in too.

By the time I got back from feeding the chickens and cleaning off their poop board, Mike was once again sitting upright. Not Sophie though... she's still out like a light.

There is now some coffee brewing and I think it's snack time for us now.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. 

A spring veggie garden...

I've never had a spring vegetable garden before... only summer ones and one autumn one. But I'm thinking, "Hey, the bugs won't be out yet," and that floats my boat. So if Mike can till up the garden in time for me to plant next month, I'm going to give it a run for the money. 

I got my seeds yesterday from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and need to do some quick research on how to sow and grow the spring veggies since I'm not used to their likes and dislikes other than cooler weather: kale, carrots, lettuce, onions, leeks, spinach and potatoes. I'm ordering onion and leek sets and some seed potatoes to arrive next month. I like the look of the purple bunch onions, one type I'm going to give a try:

And, for my summer garden I've decided to forgo planting any squashes or sweet potatoes this year because of the deer and squash bug problem last summer. I'm going to grow cucumbers, but I think I can control the squash bugs on them alone. Last year was too much work leaning over and picking off those blasted pests for hours at a time from the squash plants. Plus, the winter squash take up so much room and Mike isn't crazy about them anyway. So the plan is to plant more green beans, okra and eggplant and about the same amount of tomatoes and peppers. And more herbs too, along with some sunflowers. It'll be fun growing different varieties though. Not sure which herbs yet, but will figure it all out very soon. I want more culinary ones and bug-repelling ones for now. Medicinal will come in time...

And, speaking of time, it's so much more difficult writing now than when I was in an office in front of a computer eight hours a day. Now I am spending my days doing what I used to dream about doing. And when one is doing, one isn't writing. It's a bit of a conundrum, but maybe I'll get into a comfortable rhythm eventually.

Flapper update

Flapper the chicken, who had a big bald spot on her back and bad wound there, seems to be doing fine back outside now that she's been wearing her saddle. Here is a picture of her and Dusty last week before the saddle arrived:

They were looking out the window towards the other chickens. I had pink towels on the couch in case Flapper jumped up and decided to poop. She didn't, fortunately.

Her saddle showed up a day or two later and here she is eating her afternoon snack with the other birds:

And in her nesting box - top row, in the middle:

It took her about ten minutes to get used to it and I'm just glad she's kept it on. The other birds didn't bother her or her saddle at all, thankfully. They can be rather cliquish you know. From the dirt I can see on it, I can tell Clyde has climbed on top of her once again. What a horndog. She'd still be inside with us without that saddle! Here is a better shot of her donning her new accessory:

In other chicken news, we sold Andy, Buzzard and Stanley - our other roosters, to a family who is loving them a lot. Andy has been in the new owner's house because they love him so much! He even sat in the new owner's lap in the car on the way home (her husband was driving). That was a good sign. Mike and I hated giving him up, but with Clyde being the dominant rooster, the others were always getting run off and there was a lot of friction in the coop and run. Lotsa drama! So, it's peaceful out there now. Andy was a good looking boy and huge... and very gentle:

And in a bit of sad news: we had to put Betty, our first egg layer, to sleep. She had an impacted crop and after trying to make her better for about four days and then consulting our vet, we decided the kindest thing to do was put her out of her misery. It was sad for me, but I knew when I got chickens there would be situations like that. It's not easy though.

My cochins, the youngest birds, are finally 100% integrated with the other chickens. Finally! It happened once we sold the extra roosters. When they were here, it just freaked the cochins out... too many roosters going after the hens all the time and fighting over them y'know. Once they left, there was peace in the chicken kingdom and they mixed right in with the big group. Here is a picture of three of them, with Betty's sister Veronica, in the back. They are the coolest looking birds, all big and fluffy:

We're getting lots of eggs on a regular basis and the birds are still as friendly as always. They are such fun to be around and watch. Flapper is getting better and Clyde is the head honcho now with no competition whatsoever. He's been strutting around a little taller lately. 

Turnip soup recipe

Sarah's Turnip by Nigel Fletcher

This is a follow-up post for the one where I was looking for a good turnip recipe after having been given about five pounds of turnips from one of Mike's customers.

I lucked out on the first turnip recipe I tried! I've never really liked or disliked turnips because I've never had fresh turnips in anything that I can remember. But I knew I disliked rutabaga a lot from the canned stuff I was forced to eat as a child. Uck. Pah-tooey. I kinda threw turnips into the same category.

I was recently going through a lot of my cooking magazines - tearing out the recipes that held promise and tossing the rest. In this small cabin, there is no room for collecting piles of magazines. In the third magazine I went through, my January 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times, I discovered a bunch of cream-free "cream" soups. The two that caught my eye the most were the Curried Cauliflower and Sherried Kabocha with Spiced Pepitas, but on the next page, what did I see? Cream of Turnip Soup... Eureka. How how easy was it? Very.

And, how good was it? I liked it a lot, though I did make a few changes. ! I was actually surprised, with the simplicity of ingredients, but there you have it. And, here is the recipe for anyone looking for a turnip recipe that doesn't taste like dirty socks. :) At least it didn't to me.

Cream of Turnip Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds fresh baby turnips, peeled and diced
1 small onion
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup soy creamer (optional)
1/4 cup celery leaves, sliced into fine strips

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add turnips and onion, and cook 15 minutes or until vegetables are translucent, stirring occasionally. Add bay leaves and three cups of water, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook 25 to 30 minutes, or until turnips are very tender.

Remove from heat, and remove bay leaves. Add soy creamer, if using. Use blender or food processsor to puree ingredients until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and stir in celery leaves just before serving.

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The changes I made:

I didn't have any celery leaves on my celery, so just added celery to the turnip and onion mix and cooked with them. 

I added 1/4 cup of dry, white wine while cooking the turnips, onions and celery.

I used a large onion instead of small one.

I used veggie broth instead of water.

I added two large heads of garlic.

It tasted better the second day. And, when I ate it, I sprinkled a little cheese into it. And the next day when Mike came home, he was toting a bag of Frito Corn Chips - not an item on my normal eating list by any means, but I crunched some on top of the soup for texture and it was even better. I'm not a proponent of junk food as any of my regular readers know, but hey - it was a fun change of pace. Next time I think I'll try the crunch of something better... like pumpkin seeds.

Crochet projects - part 2

I'm trying to stay caught up with my blogging, but with a healing chicken (update soon), posting lots of silver jewelry on ebay and just taking care of the cabin, etc., it's been difficult. I'm behind once again!

And it's a dark and dreary day. I can't wait to see the sun again!

Here are pictures of the rest of my holiday crochet projects. The first group shows Sarah (who should be a model) wearing the hat, arm warmers and scarf I made for her:

It's gotten so warm here lately that it might be next year before she has the need to wear them though! The next arm warmers I make will be with much finer yarn and I'm thinking about making some socks soon too. The latest Interweave Crochet Magazine explains how to make them so well that it doesn't look too intimidating. And I still want to make myself some leg warmers. If it was colder, I think I'd be doing just that, but with our warm weather, my brain is on my veggie garden instead.

Here are a some boring ol' hat and scarves that I made for myself:

I want to make a lacy shawl and some kitchen curtains, but haven't had the time to sit down long enough to get either going. I started the curtains last winter, but the pattern didn't float my boat. So I'm going to start over. No point spending hours on something that doesn't make your eyes happy, right?

Oh, here is a picture of the apple and pear & ginger butters I made for gifts this year; I forgot to post pictures of them:

The apple butter is woooonderful. It cooked in a crockpot for about 18 hours or so. The pear butter was good too and didn't take nearly as long to make, but the apple just hit the spot. Yum.

That's it for now!

Dusty and Flapper hangin' in the kitchen

Flapper is still inside the cabin due to the cold weather and her lack of feathers thanks to Clyde. She has one of the largest combs and large, red combs seem to turn the roosters on. So the ladies with the biggest, baddest combs get the most action, which can lead to feather loss. Poor Flapper even has a bad abrasion where Clyde's claws scraped her - another reason to keep her inside, so she can totally heal. Men! ;)

Since the dog crate is quite confining, I've been letting her out some to stretch her legs and get a little exercise. She wonders all over the place with Dusty in tow, who is totally absorbed by this new non-cat creature. Once he experienced a couple of pecks on the nose, he figured he couldn't hug her like he so wants to do. Flapper is no shrinking violet and puffs up, looking almost twice her size and runs after him if he gets too aggressive. It's a sight. Sophie and Miko just get on high ground and watch. Sophie is used to chickens... ho-hum, and Miko would rather be left alone to sleep.

Here are some pictures of Flapper and Dusty in the kitchen yesterday.

If Dusty had his way, they'd be best buddies. As it is, Flapper offers endless entertainment for him. 

I hope to get the chicken saddle in the mail soon. While it's entertaining to have a chicken in the house for a short time, chickens don't have sphincter muscles and poo whenever and wherever. I've been lucky so far, but it's just a matter of time before I discover a mess.

Even if the weather warms up, I can't put Flapper out with the other chickens unless I remove Clyde, until the wound heals. She might be inside for another four or five days and I'm not sure how such a distraction will affect me. But, I don't think I've mentioned that she is my favorite hen because every time I go out to the coop/run, she follows me around wanting me to pick her up. I sometimes walk around for ten minutes with her in my arms. Yesterday we watched a little Masterpiece Theatre together, her sitting in my lap (on a towel, just to be on the safe side). Dusty was taking a nap in the sun at the time. Peace in the cabin.

Too cold for fun

Here it is 10:30 and it's finally up to 22 degrees F... up from 18 with windchill down to 9 degrees. Ugh. Do not like. I had to bring Flapper, my favorite buff orpington hen, inside for the night since too many of her feathers have been removed by an overzealous Clyde via passionate love making. (If you ever saw a rooster mate a hen, you would more likely call it chicken r*pe, however; it ain't a loving thing!). With so many of her feathers missing close to her body, I was afraid she'd be too cold in the coop.

The wind was blowing so hard all night long that I was expecting to see the Wicked Witch of the West fly by. It gets sooo windy on this hill. I'm just glad we closed off all the windows to the coop, though some people don't recommend it. It's covered with thick, clear plastic so the sun can get in, but the wind can't. There are vents right near the ceiling all the way around, so there is plenty of ventilation... just no wind. I had to change out all the birds' water this morning because it was frozen most of the way through. Ah well, these are things I expected. Not a bald backed chicken though (well, almost bald)...

I've ordered Flapper (so named because her comb flaps to one side, unlike most of the hens) a "saddle" to keep her warm and Clyde's claws off her poor back. The one I ordered is fleece-lined so should help keep her warm. It will give her feathers a chance to grow back, poor thing. Until I get it, I need to keep her separated from Clyde whether it's cold or not. Maybe I will just remove him from all the ladies for awhile instead of removing her. Give 'em all a break.

Here is picture of what a chicken looks like with a saddle on:

I would never get a pink one for my chickens though. And, I would make my  own if I had somewhere to sew, but alas, I don't - especially with a big ol' dog crate in the living area with Flapper in it. She's not thrilled to be away from her "people" and Dusty has learned that his crazed curiosity will warrant a peck on the nose. And now there are pine shavings and straw strewn about the living room floor.

Being a chicken mama sure is entertaining. :)

And I look forward to spring!

Crochet projects

I crocheted quite a few things for gifts again this year, so thought I'd post pictures of some today and the rest later this week. Crocheting is very relaxing for me... nothing like watching a good movie (preferred: Masterpiece Classic ones) and crocheting on a cold, winter day. It's a bit on the sedentary side, but I make up for it when I hang with the chickens every day raking and toting and doing chores outside. 

I made two throws that are similar, though one is bigger and the colors vary a bit. Here is the smaller one I gave to my friend Laurie in California:

They can be used seam side up or seam side down, depending on preference. Here is the larger one for my son Jesse and his family (shown seam side down):

I also made a few things for Margot again this year since it's just so much fun. Mike and I went to Atlanta to visit on Christmas day and I got to take pictures of Margot modeling her new things. Here she is in a sweater and ear-warmer set. I was just so glad it fit her. This yarn is super soft and warm and I think it suits her!

This next sweater was made with the neatest yarn; it has lycra in it, so stretches and was fun to work with and I love the colors.

Margot is checking out the fringe at the bottom; they hang in a curly-cue fashion. The colors look different in each picture because one was shot in daylight and the other with a flash. It was raining on Christmas day making it very dark inside. 

I thought Margot might like a pocket sweater and here you can see she has her hands shoved into the side-opening pockets. She sure looks like her mama here.

I also made her a little poncho, though she will have to grow into a bit before it'll fit quite right:

And here is another picture of the cat I made for Margot, looking cool and casual. 

When I gave Jesse and Sarah some of my soaps, I decided to make washcloths to go with them as well. I labeled the soaps differently this year for a change... wrapped them in some fabrics I had:

Here is a closeup of the washcloth I made for Margot, showing the stitch I used on all of them; it's a cool looking stitch:

I'll post the rest of the crochet projects a little later this week; I'm still editing pictures and getting caught-up computer-wise since getting back online.

2012!

I dunno, but that just sounds so... into the future! Here is a greeting geared more toward my pace...

Best wishes and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my readers!

Anyone have a good turnip recipe?

I thought I'd have time to write a catch-up post today, but Mike came home from work last night with a lot of kale, collards and turnips with the greens attached. One of his customers asked if I'd like them and I said "Yes!" since I didn't grow any greens this winter (due to having such a hard time with pests in my summer garden... I just wanted a break!). So today I've been washing and cutting them up and it's taking up most of my day. Not complaining; I love free food, but it's keeping me away from other want-to-do things.

Here's the beginning of the cleaning process, with my helper, Dusty, in the box the veggies were delivered in:

The collards are soaking in the sink and you can see I have quite a few turnips - with red Georgia clay still clinging to them. Does anyone have a good recipe for them? I've never been a big turnip fan, but I've not had it fresh very often. I'd like to give it another chance and have been looking online, but have yet to find a recipe that tempts me. I'll have to check all my cookbooks next.

The chickens will get a lot of cast-offs in the cleaning/cutting up process; they will be thrilled at something different from their usual cabbage and lettuce. By they way, remember all those green tomatoes I had from the garden at the end of the summer? They all turned red and ripe and I only recently ran out. They were so nice to have and the chickens ate most of them; it's one of their favorite treats.

Here is another shot with Dusty looking quite demure, which is laughable considering he is usually running around the cabin like a raving maniac. 

Well, the kitchen is a wreck with bowls all over the place and mud in the sink from the veggies, so I must run. 

Have a nice New Years Eve everyone!

Back online

It's nice to be back online again! Being without a computer is a hardship these days since I use it so much for research and keeping in touch with the rest of the world. Being the introvert that I am, and living in the boonies... well, it's just a necessity! So it's wonderful being back. 

I have lots of things to catch up on and many pictures to upload and edit so will begin all that and make a for-real post very soon. Oh yes, and comments and emails to respond to as well! At least I have a good excuse for being behind this time. 

Before signing off though, here is a picture an Amigurumi cat that I crocheted this year for my granddaughter, Margot. She is wearing workout gear - leggings, a sweatband and a tank top. It's my first three-dimensional project and was a lot of fun to make.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season and not eating too much! 

Computer problems

My computer isn't feeling well so I'm working on getting it fixed... soon I hope. If I can't get back online before Christmas, I hope everyone has a wonderful one!

Always a trade-off

Just look at this face:

Isn't he cute? Aw, I just want to pick him up and pinch his little cheeks and hug him.

But then again, maybe not... mice just like him (of the particularly small and cute variety) have moved back into the cabin now that the weather has gotten cooler and even with three cats, are leaving mousie poops in all kinds of places in the pantry and kitchen. This morning I reached onto the top shelf of the cabinets to get a bowl to mix two eggs in. I cracked the eggs into the bowl and then wondered what the heck is wrong with the eggs... they had black spots in them! Were the chickens sick or something and laying eggs with spots in them?

Of course not... it was mouse poop in that bowl and I was irked. Irked!

I know the mice are only doing what they know to do; they aren't irking me on purpose, but we can't have mouse poo in our dishes! I already turn all the pots and pans in the lower cabinets upside down, but now I've gotta do it with our eating dishes as well.

I guess we will have to get some sort of traps and I'm not looking forward to it... any more than I look forward to tripping over a mouse carcass first thing in the morning on the way to the bathroom after a night of kitty hunting.

I love living in the country, but there are always trade-offs in life it seems. Mice pooping in our cabin seems to be one of them.

What's lurking at the top of the stairs...

What do you think?

a little closer...

and closer still...

HA!

It's Dusty of course, crazed out in his stalking mode, getting ready to pounce on me as I am walking up the basement stairs. Ha! His ears are usually even flatter in his attempt to not be seen, but I was lucky to get these pictures. He has more than doubled in size since we got him and has turned to greased lightening - running around like a madman - so getting good photos has been difficult; they are always a blur!

His eyes are still blue, but don't really show in the pictures above - that were taken three weeks ago when he still looked like a baby. He's going to be a big cat and is already almost as big as Sophie.

I had a scare two weeks ago with ol' Dusty. I was washing dishes and cooking something on one of the front burners on the stove when I noticed he had suddenly jumped onto the very front of the stove (he's still learning where he can and can't go). Before I could move him (I was just three feet away) his whole right side caught on fire! Fortunately, my gloves were all wet and he seemed to jump off about the time I got to him and he was okay, but looking at his fur ignite like that... I feared his whole body would go up in flames! Just the ends of the fur was burned and it smelled horrible, but didn't hurt him. It was black and crunchy though and the bad thing is I don't think he had a clue how much danger he was in because he still wants to get up there and check things out. He's going to be a stubborn one, I'm afraid.

Here he is recently, sleeping in my bay plant pot:

And, about a month ago, sleeping in a trash can:

That's the Dusty update for now. Oh yeah, he hasn't destroyed anything yet, but as I was writing this he tore off a big leaf from one of my plants and is now running around the cabin at super speed with it in his mouth. What a goofball. We love him!

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I will respond to comments soon; I know I am way behind! But for now, I've gotta make some bread!