Lehman's Country Life

Fall provides an abundance of natural materials for decorating and crafting. If we search our gardens, farm stands and even along the roadside, we can collect items just waiting to be transformed into an autumn creation. From gourds and straw bales to pumpkins and corn shocks, it’s wonderful to use decorations that can be eaten or tossed in the compost pile rather than the trash can at the end of the season.

From our popcorn patch, we tie together bundles of three colorful ears for decorating and later dismantle the trio to shell for winter popcorn. Our compost pile was generous in growing an assortment of gourds and even a huge pumpkin this year. The pumpkin stood guard at our steps for a week before becoming a pumpkin cake for a November birthday boy. Our family raises a small patch of sorghum cane and we save the beautiful burgundy seed heads to create fall swags embellished with wheat, sea oats, rose hips, teasel and other dried finds. Once Thanksgiving arrives, we hang the swags in a tree to feed the birds so they can enjoy their own feast.
Read the rest of this post »

Bookmark it:

Hide Sites

United Feature Syndicate

MARYJANE’S EVERYDAY ORGANIC

Along with all of the wonders of the upcoming winter season comes the inevitable flu. Despite our best attempts to stay busy baking and planning celebrations, pesky cold and flu viruses often creep into our lives and put a damper on our plans. It usually starts with the sniffles, which shouldn’t be enough to waylay any party plans, but headaches, coughs and fevers can knock us down for the count. With characteristic can-do spirit, an old-fashioned farmgirl will likely face the flu with homemade chicken soup, hot tea and plenty of rest. She’ll try fresh air. She may even improvise her own neti pot using a repurposed dish-soap bottle — anything to avoid a trip to the doctor and the requisite dose of prescription pills.
Read the rest of this post »

Bookmark it:

Hide Sites

The farm I live on, World Hunger Relief, Inc. in Waco, Texas, uses composting toilets rather than flushing toilets.  I had heard about them before I came and thought it was just a quirky thing that they did, having a toilet that didn’t require plumbing, but I quickly realized upon my arrival that every toilet in common use on the property uses sawdust instead of water.

I remember my first tour of the place—I arrived at night and was given a quick tour of the dorm by Melody.  We walked into the bathroom, with two sinks and a small shower and a teal-colored door in the back.  Melody worked up a bit of theatrics for us:  “And this,” she said as she opened the door, revealing a teal staircase with teal walls leading up to a bench with a toilet lid on it, “is the throne.”
Read the rest of this post »

Bookmark it:

Hide Sites

We come across cotton everyday in our homes, at the stores and even at work. Our lives are intertwined with this fiber and most of us never think twice about it. What most people don’t know is that there are many different kinds of cotton. Cotton is grown all over the world and is a part of everyday life.

Scientists exploring in Mexico first found bits of cotton bolls and cotton cloth, in Mexican caves, that were aged at least 7,000 years old. The cotton itself was found to be much like the cotton that is grown in America today. Cotton was being grown, spun, and woven into cloth in Pakistan in 3,000 years BC. Around this time natives of the Nile valley in Egypt were making and wearing cotton clothing. In about 800 AD, Arab merchants brought cotton cloth to Europe. Columbus found cotton growing in the Bahamas Islands when he traveled to the Americas.
Read the rest of this post »

Bookmark it:

Hide Sites

I love watermelon pickles.  My biggest goal of the summer is to collect the best watermelon rinds that I can and make them into yummy, luscious sweet pickles to soothe my soul in the wintertime.

However, it seems to me that the watermelons these days are bred to have skinny rinds and there is NO rind left of any decent sort to make into pickles.  A shame!  A travesty!  How can we have those delicious pickles if there are no rinds to use?  I managed to get a total of three (count them, THREE) pints of pickles last year and they were a sorry sight to see, skinny little pickles, ashamed to show their heads against the fat ones in the past.
Read the rest of this post »

Bookmark it:

Hide Sites

Holiday times, by their very nature, are busy, busy times.  But that doesn’t mean you have to rely on pizza and processed foods to feed your family between activities.

Go through those family recipes and start enjoying the season. Do not forget to bring out your slow cooker and dust it off.  Foods cooked slowly are wonderful this time of year. Fresh fruits and crunchy green salads add a healthy punch to the menu, too.

Here are some delicious homemade recipes to make ahead or in a hurry.

Eggnog French Toast
The first time I had this recipe was at a holiday party with a dear friend who is no longer here with us. They gave me their recipe and I am sharing it with you. Plan ahead – it is worth it!

4 cups purchased eggnog
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 country white bread loaf – (14.5 oz) — halved horizontally, half cut crosswise 8 slices — (do not use ends)
1/4 cup unsalted butter – (1/2 stick) — melted
Powdered sugar
Read the rest of this post »

Bookmark it:

Hide Sites