My Favorite Pumpkin Seeds

 A Pumpkin seed recipe

Greetings from Utah ! How is your weather this time of year?

 Winter has caught us by surprise as Autumn was very mild and then one day then whoosh* the snow came tumbling down and we were in single digit temps. That day it began I went out in the afternoon  to feed my hens and llamas and stepped out into a flurry of snow and a drop in temperatures. Visibility was low and I stepped into the coop to turn on the infrared bulbs and no electricity..... Well you can read our new post about that experience here. The Day Winter Came

Now for the Pumpkin Seeds.

Connecticut Field Pumpkins Little Utah Farm

I hefted those 16 Connecticut Field giants into the barn and lined them up along the walls to keep them warm and safe. But when the temps plummeted to teens then single then to Yikes -7 degrees, the big fellows didn't stand a chance. They froze solid and heavy too, I discovered, as I carried each one through the snow along the barn and into the kitchen to save the seeds. In the warm kitchen the frost gathered on the outer shell as they thawed. A few that were not mature I gave to my husband as he left for the shooting range.

We would not want to let a frozen pumpkin thaw out completely as they turn to mush, shell and all. It is then you have quite a mess. They can not be picked up whole as they just fall apart. I worked fast and furious excavating those precious seeds. Thankfully, Nature protects those seeds with her design and the seeds were fresh and healthy. I am so happy as I love pumpkin seeds don't you?

Here is one recipe that works for me. You can share yours if you like in the comments below.

Pumpkin Seeds Recipe:


These slippery pumpkin seeds look so pretty nestled
inside the pumpkin. You got to scoop them out and pull
 off the orange strings that hold them in place.

Then give them a good rinse and 

remove any lingering orange strings.

Swish them around and

in time they will be clean and shiny.

Using 1 1/2 cups of seeds per batch- put in a pan of boiling salted water

( I used 1/2 tsp of salt) for 20 minutes.

You can see a foam rising and that is OK. Just stir occasionally.

Drain and spread on a towel then spread

out on a pan to dry overnight. Must be dry.

Mix in for each 1 1/2 cups of seeds

1 Tbls of oil

1 Tbls of melted butter

1 tsp to 1 Tbls of salt ( adjust to your taste)

Bake at 300 - 315 degrees depending on your oven* Bake till golden brown.

When the seeds are cooled they should have a nice clean edible crunch like popcorn.

If they feel tough and inedible it is only because they were not dry enough *see note below

* Note: If your seeds were not completely dry when you added your oils then you may need more roasting time to get a nice crunch. Let them cool and bite into one. If it feels tuff then stir the batch and place in the oven for 6 minutes then test again. Do another time if necessary.

Store in a mason jar tightly sealed and watch these disappear. Easy to eat just like popcorn.

  Now for  The Day Winter Came

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm!

Deborah Moen
Little Utah Farm

Until next time,

A Happy New Year to you all

Deborah

Great Indoor Flycatcher !

It is late summer and the flies are still buzzing around everywhere. Sometimes you can't help but let a few indoors as you go in and out. Everyone is grabbing the fly swatter or a kitchen towel and having contests on who can swat the most flies down on the ground or worse smash them on the counter or the edge of the stove. Have you every broken anything in the course of swatting a fly?

Let's face it, this usually turns out to be a big gooshy mess. Ewww* Many times it is futile, the flies are keen and sense what your up to. They are intelligent and naturally plugged into the universe. If we could hear high frequencies I bet you would hear them either screaming before the blow or laughing at us as they fly just out of reach.

My indoor flycatcher. www.littleutahfarm.blogspot.com

In this post, I will give you the method I use to catch flies indoors. I will show you the tools and give you step by step instructions on how to easily catch flies indoors. I am the Fly Whisperer.

Just For Today:
I will be kind to every person and every living thing.

Except for a few accidents, illness or old age, everyone and everything on our farm gets to live on the physical plane as long as they choose to and that includes insects and spiders and Jerusalem Crickets and such.

 I have found a marvelous way to capture the flies inside my home and set them free. No muss, no fuss. It is so easy and it is such a heartfelt experience watching them fly away to freedom. Don't laugh until you have tried this. I caught 8 flies yesterday with this method one right after the other. The more you do it the more finesse you gain.  


Here is what I use: (See the image at top right)
1 plastic lightweight 20 oz tumbler
1 subscription card or post card ( that you find in magazines) big enough to completely cover the top. I always keep one in my kitchen drawer for scooping up spiders and crickets. Oh yes, you can use this method for other tiny critters also.

Here is my method: Have the door already ajar ( make sure it has no space open or of course you will have more flies come indoors)

1. When the flies are on the window screen or a vertical surface lie a cupboard slowly walk toward the window with your tumbler and card. (approach one fly at a time) Note: I haven't has any luck catching them on the counters. Must be a vertical flat area.
2. As you do this, place your focus on the tumbler ( not the fly) and when you are near enough move it slowly towards the fly with a peaceful feeling in your heart. I know; I know, it sounds strange but trust me the fly can pick up on fear or anger.
3. The fly will seem interested in the vessel because energy flows where attention goes. Maybe  the color blue is appealing to them also. Have your card ready...
4. Carefully, slowly move your card to the screen or flat surface above the fly ( tumbler is below) then slowly ease the card down the screen or surface as if you were ushering a patron to their seat in a theater, then... gently place your focus on the tumbler again ( the fly will be attracted to the tumbler ) and go right in or you can gently sweep the fly toward the tumbler. Once he is in, place the card on top quickly making sure it is completely covered or he will fly out.
5.   Walk proud, you Fly Whisperer, you, to the door and pull the door open with a finger still holding the card on top of the tumbler. Here is the good part; hold the tumbler with the fly outside away from the door and take the card off the top of the tumbler watch it fly off into the great outdoors to freedom.  Yay ! There is nothing like the feeling of kindness.

Trust me this can make you feel very accomplished and Zen. This can be trying for some of you but think of it as a mindfulness exercise. Practice practice, practice.

Now, if you have another fly just waiting to be set free, you have the tools and the method to lead him to freedom. Now you can throw away your fly swatters and bring out your good kitchen towels. You have just learned to interact peacefully with the fly.

 You may have a little trouble explaining this method to your family and friends and I know you will want to shout your accomplishment up to the rooftops so if you want to share in the comments below we would love to have your story.

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm
Until next time
Peace,
Deborah Moen 

Moist Zuchinni Bread Recipe

Moist on the inside, a nice crunch on the outside, this recipe is my favorite when it comes to making zucchini bread. My husband loves it in his lunch at work. It is also good with your tea in the morning and in the afternoon and for dessert after dinner or really anytime you want to enjoy a sweet and delicious treat. I use a wooden spoon to mash and mix the ingredients all together.

Moist Zucchini Loaf right out of the oven at Little Utah Farm.

MOIST ZUCCHINI BREAD

Recipe makes 2 8X4 Loaves
You can put this batter into one large loaf pan and bake it longer.
Turn on the oven to 325 degrees
bake 40-60 minutes
To begin
Grease and flour 2 8x4 loaf pans

RECIPE

Sift into a bowl and set aside

3 cups of white flour
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp of baking powder
3 tsp of cinnamon

Mix well together in separate bowl

3 eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups of white sugar
3 tsp of pure vanilla



 Add flour mixture into egg mixture and mix well

The mixture can be thick so do the best you can. I use a wooden spoon to mash it all together.

Add and Mix In

2 cups of shredded zucchini
1 cup of chopped pecans or grated carrots (optional)


Pour mixture into 2 greased and floured 8x4 loaf pans

Bake at 325 for 40-60 minutes.
Begin checking for doness at 40 minutes.

Important: Check to see if it is done by sticking a clean sharp knife down into the center.

If it comes out clean its done and ready to take out of the oven.

Let the bread sit for 5 minutes then loosen the sides and remove from pan. Let cool completely, wrap in plastic and store in fridge. Good alone or with cream cheese, butter, or peanut butter.

Enjoy!


Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm

Until next time,
Believe in your dreams!

Weeds and Bare Root Willows

In the summer of 2007 when we arrived in Utah, our land was barren, a diamond in the rough. We pulled all the wild thorny tumbleweeds and discovered muscles and joints we didn't know we had. 


 Weeds and bare Root Willows
 www.LittleUtahFarm.blogspot.com

When the cooler days of autumn came, we decided to go out and clear the pasture out back. Having a tractor would have been wonderful. It was on our bucket list for sometime in the future. For now we entertained the idea of hiring out someone to plow a 1/2 acre. We called a man who had a tractor but it would have cost $700 to clear the whole thing. $100 dollars an hour.

We decided to DIY. We grabbed our shovels and set to pulling the big old grey and boney tumbleweeds and cleared the debris that the former owners left behind. Funny, we discovered when we pulled on the weeds we nearly tumbled backwards as the roots had let go of the soil. The tumble weeds just lifted out easy with the tip of the hoe or a scuff sideways with our boot.

We had a good laugh after that. To think of all the work we did on those fresh young weeds back in spring along the pasture road. They had quite a hold into the ground and you got to get it all or they will grow back. There were many such lessons when we first arrived here on Little Utah Farm.



Bare Root Purchases For Beginners

 Have you ever had that planting fever in spring where you want to order everything in the catalogue?

 It is like going shopping when you are hungry. In late winter of 2010 I had this happen to me. The pictures show blooms with beautiful bright colors and the prices are cut in half for the big sales in the mail order Burgess' Seed Catalogue.

 I had ordered a dozen Hybrid Willow plants for a wind barrier behind the llama shed.  I was in quite a hurry to get it going so I selected those fast growing wonders. We also ordered some 6 Poplars Screen Hybrids to go in  front of the garden fence.

As I placed my order, I felt my heart racing with enthusiasm. Dreams of lovely lush green trees passed through me day and night. I envisioned the 3' to 4' plantings and played reruns of it till the day they arrived.

I recall, with a little snicker* the feeling of receiving 40 some shrubs and trees that I ordered from Burgess Seed Catalogue. The bare roots came inside a plastic green bag. All of them. I remember the day they came like it was yesterday. I got a knock at my door  and saw that the post lady was parked out on the graded road.


My hands rubbed together in anticipation as our postwoman opened the back door of her mail truck and brought out a large green sack. "What? Well hmm." I thought , "That sack is probably just the bulbs and small perennials I ordered". She sat the sack down with her one hand and gave me a friendly smile and waved with the other to bid me good day. "Wait, isn't there more?" I asked. "That is all." she replied. As she hurried back down the driveway, my heart sunk into my solar plexus.

 I shook off my disappointment and  ripped open the stapled bag. The smell of glorious earth came fuming up into my nostrils. It was love at first sight as I gazed over the little bare roots of my future trees and shrubs. While gently placing the skinny red- brown roots into a bucket of tepid water, I wondered how long it would take before they would grow into trees. I soaked the roots overnight.


Digging Yourself A Hole In Clay

 

 By the way has any of you ever dug in to the hard pan layers of clay?

The shovel may go in as far as the tip and then you hit what feels like rock. This is the hard pan of clay. Little by little it does chip away with the shovel.  I came to a softer layer half way down, from an ancient alluvial fan, and that made the last half of digging the hole a breeze.

20 holes later....

I successfully planted 20 trees and shrubs. I got the routine down.

Only 20 more holes to go...


How to plant bare root willows in clay:

My holes were 2 feet deep and 1 1/2 feet in diameter. Usually you make the hole twice the diameter of the root ball but I had heard stories of the hard clay stopping the roots and trees dying out of the blue, so I made the holes bigger than the spindly roots.  For the hybrid willow wind brake,  I placed the holes 31/2 feet apart.  

1. dig your hole as much as you can ( it may not be all the way yet) if it is not hard just skip steps 2-4
2.  fill with water to the rim.
3. wait 30 minutes or until the water has soaked in you may dance around the plant for optimum fertility
4.  continue digging your hole ( it will be softer now)
5. mound 1 part soft rich earth mixed with 1 part of manure in the center of the hole
6. lift the tender bare roots out of the water while thinking encouraging thoughts
7. gently untangle the roots and spread them over the mound gently, set her down, then breathe
8. put some of the soil mix on top of the roots, filling the hole half way and tamp the soil down gently to remove any air bubbles. I added some water at this point.
9. fill the rest of the hole with soil tamp down a bit then water really good
10. nurture your plantings like they were your children. Water them regularly especially in dry hot weather. You can mulch them also just not too close to the stem.


The catalogue book was right.

The little branches I took out of the green plastic bag did grow really fast just like the catalogue said they would. they grew 4 feet the first season. Now look at them !

My magnificent graceful willows after 3 years. They are about 15 feet! They are just about to bud into beautiful slender leaves. I watered them faithfully, admired them from afar and every time I feed the llamas.  I stayed in faith during the many woe be gone stories and warnings of my neighbors. " Oh my trees never made it, they died,"  they said. Their efforts or lack there of, produced nothing but dead wood. My story was going to be different. These plants would grow big and strong and provide shade and glorious green in the summer. And they did.

Looking up the willows. Hybrid willows planted from bare root. 3years old.
www.littleutahfarm.blogspot.com

Just wait till they are all leafed out. These are amazon sized willows, are happy as can be. The catalogue says they will reach 60 feet tall. They provide shade, protection, yummy snacks for the llamas and satisfying songs in the breeze.


EPILOGUE

It is almost spring 2014. It has been 4 years since my trees and willows were planted. These hearty plants and trees have given us such joy and greenery and shade. The Siberian Elm that grow here in Utah like weeds have rooted in some bare spots and really filled in some of the bare spots quite nicely. Our willows are now flowering after the cold harsh winter, and the bees will come shortly as it warms up.







The willows are gigantic and tower way above the wind harps ( telephone lines). The hybrid poplars tower way above us as well. We are so excited to see them leaf out this year. These memories bring me so much joy and laughter. I ain't done yet. I am still learning and discovering on Little Utah Farm.

Paul is near 6 foot tall. These willows are giants.
www.LittleUtahFarm.blogspot.com

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Believe in your dreams and appreciate life as it is. Those dreams will materialize.
Until next time,
Deborah Moon Moen

How To Make Your Dreams Come True 101

Dream it-Be It Have It

Pretending Your Dream

Paul and I had a dream of living in the country with the four seasons and the pleasure of having our animals on a little farm where we could love, feed, and care for them. 

We wanted to gather eggs and grow alfalfa hay and enjoy beautiful mountains and wide open spaces. 

Everyday we pretended we had a farm. Yes, that is right. We pretended and created farm projects and chores in our backyard even though we were smack dab in the center of the city. 


The Vision Board 

We played a game by making a dream board or a vision board. 

We bought some white poster board and stick glue and grabbed our scissors 

1. We cut out pictures from our favorite farm and ranch and nature magazines that generated enthusiasm and the feelings of living in the country. 
2. We pasted the pictures on the poster board and hung it where we could see it in the kitchen. Some people just roll it up and forget about it and find years later their dreams had come true without their realizing it. You can display your vision board if it makes you feel enthusiastic otherwise put it away and let go of it.  Let it cook as if it were in the oven. 

This barnyard  picture of the chickens, sunflowers, red barn and garden was placed on the dream board
and used as a screen saver because it uplifted me and increased my enthusiasm.

This farm picture was placed on the Vision Board in the kitchen.
We loved the red barn, lanscape and silo.

This is our view today from our bedroom window on Little Utah Farm. The back yard,
the llama corral, my sunflowers and the red barn is our neighbor's home however it is something just like my pictures in my vision board. We have a barn and it is tan. I can paint it red any day but I like it this way.

Be The Dream

When I first began to raise my chickens in the city, it was a learning process to clean their coop and feed them. Although I enjoyed having my own chickens, I felt a little awkward in the beginning. I knew by experience that with repetition anything gets easier and easier. 

Raising chickens is really fun. this is me in my backyard in
a big city in California.

I loved gathering the eggs. The whole ceremony of caring for the chickens was very gratifying. In time it felt natural. Caring for my hens helped me develop my skills and self-sufficiency. Learning how to raise chickens in the city kept my mind occupied with interest and joy.

We even grew a little alfalfa crop in the back yard..

Gandhi said "Be the change you want to see in the world" 

Even the smallest ideas of how to live on a farm and care for it, was carried out. We began growing alfalfa in a little patch of earth just to get the feel and joy of it. It was only a 2 foot x 4 foot patch. 

Every time I went out to feed my chickens or clean their coop, our farm and the thrill of living in the country was in my mind, and joyfully in my heart.

Doubt Snuffs It Out

We must have faith that our dreams have been acknowledged. Dreams do come true. This phenomenon has been and is demonstrated over and over again as long as certain mental and emotional conditions are met. Once you doubt or worry over details like money and logistics then you keep the precious seed, that you planted with your desire, way under the soil and it never sees Light. 

Be Patient and Have Fun

Struggling, trying, hard work that is getting you down is not required. If your dream is something you love then Be in Love with life and do what you love. Laugh and have fun and the Love will reflect right back at you like a mirror. If you struggle or you are noticing your dream is not there yet, that will reflect back at you as well. 

Life is what you think it is ~ Universal principle

Dreams Do Come True

It took a few years of searching to find our dream farm. We had fun looking for property on our vacations. We adventured into Oregon near the Rogue River and dreamed our dream, then we traveled to Arizona, and New Mexico. We hadn't yet seen anything like our vision board yet, however, it was so much fun to explore. One day in June 2006 our farm was revealed to us. It was in Southern Utah high on the western edge of the Colorado Plateau. 

The little acre of land, the house, old coop and pasture was so like our vision board when our eyes met we instantly agreed silently with big smiles as the real estate agent showed us the place. 

Diamond In The Rough

Our farm was a diamond in the rough and the wheels merrily turned in our minds how we were going to fix it up. The money magically came in to pay for it and a transfer came through for my husbands work and we moved into our dream home in 2008. 

Paul and Deborah Moen standing in their alfalfa field on Little Utah Farm
July 2012