Recipe

Creme Brulee Recipe

Mother Hen

Here it is Christmas Eve, and what better topic to be posting than a yummy dessert recipe using farm fresh eggs… more specifically, Creme Brulee!

Creme Brulee is one of those desserts that is indescribably delicious, and yet, so easy to make. It’s made using a few basic ingredients—so be sure to use high quality ingredients for best results.

My recipe is a modified version of the recipe from Fresh Eggs Daily.

cremeBrulee

Creme Brulee

Makes 6 ramekins.

2.5 cups organic heavy cream
1/3 cup brown sugar
7 farm fresh egg yolks, whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 teaspoons brown and/or white granulated sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and start boiling water in tea kettle. Place ramekins in an oven safe dish. Add boiling water to dish, so water level is halfway up the ramekins.

Place cream and brown sugar in saucepan and bring to simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Gently whisk the egg yolks and vanilla into the creme. Carefully pour or ladle the mixture into the ramekins.

Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes until just set. Centers will still jiggle a bit when done. Remove from water bath and let cool. Place in fridge for three hours (or up to two days), covered in plastic wrap.

When ready to serve: sprinkle up to a teaspoon of granulated sugar on top and either torch with handheld torch or broil in oven for a few minutes until the sugar melts and forms a hard crust. Serve immediately.

Viola! Yummy goodness—enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

Mother Hen

I’ve always wanted to try making a cinnamon bread, and here it is! I must say, it turned out rather well. It’s not too sweet and easy to make. You could easily use honey in place of the first sugar. And use whatever flour you’d like. I actually baked mine on a cookie sheet, but I would recommend putting it in a loaf pan so it doesn’t flatten out so much. I tend to “wing it” with recipes, but a number of folks wanted the recipe, so here it is:

CinnamonSwirlBread

Cinnamon Swirl Bread — Yields one loaf

2 c organic spelt flour
1/2-1 c organic unbleached white flour
1T yeast
1/2 c organic milk
1/3-1/2 c water
1/8 c brown sugar
2T organic butter (plus 1T)
1T salt

1 farm fresh egg, beaten
1T cinnamon
1/2 c brown sugar

Stir together 1 cup of spelt flour and yeast.

Heat milk, water, and 1/8 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons butter and salt (though I forgot the salt and it didn’t seem to matter) over low heat until butter is melted.

Slowly add heated mixture to flour yeast mixture and mix well. Blend in the egg. Add the white flour (though you really can add whatever flour you’d like), a little at a time, until the dough chases the spoon around the bowl. Then, turn out dough on lightly floured surface and knead for at least five minutes, adding flour as needed. Form dough into ball and place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or tea towel, and let sit in a warm place for about 45 min to rise.

In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar and cinnamon. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Grease loaf pan well.

After dough rises, knead dough and roll out to about 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Brush with melted butter, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top. Beginning at the short end, roll the dough up very tightly to form a roll. Flatten ends a bit and roll them under the bottom. Place roll in greased loaf pan. (Try not to have too much cinnamon mixture exposed or it can ooze out the bottom while baking.)

Allow bread to rise for about 10-15 min. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 35 min. Remove from pan and allow to cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Homemade Flock Block

Mother Hen

Even though my girls get to free range daily, they seem to sometimes get bored. That is, every time I approach them they rush towards me as if to say, “Oh my gosh, we have missed you sooo much—please entertain us!” Or, maybe they’re just saying, “Where ARE our treats, lady?!” Either way, I decided to try my hand at making my own Flock Block. I read a few recipes, but none really fit what I was looking for. So, I created my own, and it came out rather well.

flockBlockInNetting

I did initially make a hole in the block, thinking I would hang it, but I was afraid it would break. So, instead I hung the block in netting. And, I think the netting will help make it last longer.

I used ingredients I had readily available, so of course I added many herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, as well as rose petals and dried rose hips.

flockBlockCloseup

Homemade Flock Block Recipe:
(I use organic, non-GMO ingredients)

1 c Scratch
1/2 c Layer feed
1 c Black oil sunflower seeds
1 c Oats
1 t Cinnamon
1/2 t Cayenne pepper
1/2 t Garlic powder
3 T Flax seed
3 Small diced apples (no seeds)
Herbs, Rose petals & Rose hips

3 Eggs & crushed shells
1/2 c Molasses
4 T cocnut oil (warmed)
1/3 c Water (as needed)

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, and mix well. You may need to get your hands messy to mix it well. It should somewhat stick together, but not be dripping wet. Add more water or dry ingredients to get right consistency. Spread in greased pan (I used a bread loaf pan) and pack it down.  Bake at 325˚F for 2 to 2.5 hours. Let it cool in the oven (for a few hours, or better yet, overnight).

flockBlockIngredients

I decided to put my flock block in netting and hang it. It works very well, and I think it helps make it last longer. Other ingredients I might try using next time include applesauce, sprouts, different herbs or flowers, and whatever I have on hand. So, give it a try. Use what you have, and give your girls some fun feeding time. Mine seem to really like it!

flockBlockBirds

Braided Rosemary Bread Recipe

Mother Hen

I’ve been wanting to make a rosemary bread for some time. And, I’ve wanted to use egg in a bread recipe for some time. This turned out to be the perfect combination. This bread tastes great with just butter on it, or as a side to over easy eggs, or for dipping in homemade red sauce on pasta. Mmmm!

breadBraided

I’ll admit I’m not one for following recipes exactly. That is, I like to “wing it” more often than not. I modified this from the rosemary breadsticks recipe in this month’s Mary Janes Farm magazine. I used organic ingredients whenever possible and I used local (Hatcher’s Pass) honey.

Here is the reicipe I used:

1 c warm water
3 T melted butter
1/2-1 t honey
1 T active dry yeast
2-3 c white flour
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary
sprinkling of salt
1 farm fresh egg
sprinkling of course salt

In a small bowl, whisk together the water, butter, honey and yeast. Let it sit. In a larger bowl, mix together 2 c flour, rosemary and salt. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, and mix well. Add more flour until the dough chases the spoon around the bowl.

Turn out on a floured surface and knead, adding flour as needed (I used whole wheat flour here). Form dough into ball and place in a lightly buttered bowl. Turn ball of dough over (so butter is on top of dough). Cover with plastic and set in a warm place for 45 min to let dough rise.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Turn dough out on floured surface, knead, then separate into six balls of dough. Roll each ball into a long piece of rope. Take three “ropes” and attach at one end, then braid, and pinch end under. Do same with remaining three ropes.

Whisk egg. Lightly brush egg on each braid and sprinkle course salt on top. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 min. (Remember they will rise, so give each loaf enough room.)

Cool on rack, and try not to eat it all before it cools. Good luck!

Next time, I’m going to add more rosemary, and maybe some sage and thyme. Braiding in a circle would be fun. Oh, the possibilities are endless!