Cabinet Shop
Custom Classic Construction, Inc.
Since 1985
cabinets4u@built-incabinets.com
Those of you not familiar with the term.
A Blog is a weB LOG. A journal or open diary
A page where we will share our thoughts, new ideas, frustrations and information with you.
A personal view of us & our business
Click on a year below for older posts
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all
Today is December 20th
The Tractor shed
Today is December 13th
The tractor shed is almost complete We ran out of materials. Jim was a mere 2 boards short on completing the basic structure
After the Battens are install in the spring (giving the siding boards time to shrink and dry). we can stain the building, entry door and the trim boards.)
we took the time to run to the sawmill yesterday.
The boards are bunked up in the clean room to them to dry some before they are cut to length, stain and installed..
It Won't be long now.
Today is November 27th
We are making great progress on the Tractor Shed
Sunday Nov 24th late afternoon The Tractor gets tucked into the shed.
This morning Photo taken from the back deck
The battens will be added in the spring. The passage door in the middle should be installed sometime today and the main sliding barn doors will go into production as soon as possible,
A day early but wanted to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving
Today is November 13th
We are racing against the weather to get the "Tractor Shed" up before the snow becomes an issue.. At the Present time the tractor is parked in the shop at night.
Today Is October 31st
BOO!
Happy Halloween!
PRESENTS
The Wizard of OZ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U016JWYUDdQ
the Wicked witch
and
Emerald City Guard
All the usual suspects were there
A flying Monkey
The Gator was packed with treats
First stop is drop off a couple of Pies at Richie's Home for later on ,
This year I made an apple pie and a tomato pie..
And below are treats for the neighbors
The weather was not good so no photos but. I have not missed a halloween night so I grabbed the umbrella and headed out Because The show must go on!
It was a really foggy to start followed by a downpour half way through the run, This was the first time my friend had joined me. She was not put off by the weather and is looking forward to next year.
Once safely back in the shop I snapped these
Today is October 28th
Getting ready for winter we Hired All weather construction to work on a few projects.
We needed the water and power lines to the greenhouse buried, a new dry well, and a level surface for the "Toy Barn"
Today is September 7th
Again I find there is not enough hours in the day to keep up with all the chores. Some get neglected, this being one of them. I do apologize.
We Continue to work on canning freezing and eating lots of veggies from the greenhouse.
The tomatoes are not large enough to compete in a contest but these are the two largest tomatoes we have grown this season
They are a heirloom tomato called "Mortgage Lifter"
here they are on the vine
On the scales
So
far in the freezer:
4
- 8 oz packages of rhubarb
8
- 12 oz packages of Spinach
12-
12 oz packages of Chard ( combo of Swiss and Rhubarb)
12
- 8 oz packages of Snow peas
4
-12 oz packages of Sweet peas.
4
- 16 oz packages of sliced Beets
2
- 12 oz packages of Carrots
7
quarts tomato sauce
4-
pints of tomato paste
9
- stuffed peppers
14_-Stuffed
cabbage leaves aka Golumpkies
2
quarts of Broccoli soup
2-
gallon bags of sliced and whole sweet peppers
3
quarts of Corn chowder (That used up all but 2 serving of our big corn harvest.)
1
gal Freezer Baggie full of Thermos size ice cube tray size frozen Basil in Olive
oil = about a tsp each
Canned:
4 quarts of tomato puree
2 quarts and 3 pints of pickled beets
Off
of 5 "Picklebush" cucumber plants we harvested enough to make:
24 pints "Wickles" as we like to call them aka as Bread and butter
with a kick ( I used Chile de árbol peppers this year since my Cayenne peppers
had not turned red when the cucumbers were ready to pickle)
24 pints of Polish Dill Pickles
12 pints of Kosher Dill Pickles
The
5 ft X 5 ft potato bed yielded
14
1/2 lbs of red Potatoes
8 lbs - Idaho Baking Potatoes
Onions
put in the basement for future use:
Wala
Wala 16 lbs
Yellow
onions 10lbs
Shallots
Not sure on the weight 9 braided with 6 cloves each
Garlic
30 bulbs
Replanted
in the last month or so
Carrots,
Beets, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Potatoes, Cabbage, Onions and Peas which now are
starting to produce
pods
Today
I am planting Spinach
I
will be making more tomato sauce and will get stared on slices of tomatoes
in the dehydrator seasoned with either Olive oil, Garlic, salt and pepper or
with Olive Oil and Basil Please note because there is oil on them I keep
these in the freezer once I have evaporate, roasted a lot of the water out.
Oh
yeah for dinner last night I made Tomato Pie
Here is the recipes for those that are interested.
Tomato
Pie
1
9" BAKED pie crust
7
ripe tomatoes sliced
( I toss them into a colander as I slice them to help them drain some.I also
pick out most of the seeds.)
1
sweet onion chopped
1
TAB butter
Topping
1/2
cup Mayonnaise
1/3
cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/3
cup Romano Cheese or you could use Parmesan Cheese
10
leaves of fresh basil sliced thinly
Directions
Preheat
oven to 350
Saute'
the onion in the butter on medium low until soft and translucent.
Pour
into the bottom of the pie shell
Arrange
sliced tomatoes over the onions.
Sprinkle
with fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Combine
ingredients for the topping and spread evenly over the tomatoes
Bake
for 20 -25 minutes or until golden brown.
Most
of the time I make this without the pie crust (less time and less
calories).
If
you do make it without the crust you will have to carefully drain off the liquid
after it is cooked or serve with a big slotted spoon since the pie crust
normally absorbs the liquid created by those juicy yummy tomatoes.
A couple of week ago we purchased a tractor
1985
IH diesel-powered 254 tractor (with only 1012 hours ) with a line up of
implements that were included in the deal.
6
ft Plow
7
ft York rake
6
ft Finish mower with 2 extra sets of blades
Salter/Spreader
Boom
Middle
buster plow
4
suitcase weights
The 6 ft finish mower makes mowing the orchard fast and easy.
it is our new workhorse giving the poor old Gator a well deserved break.
Being busy in the shop has put us so far behind we bought some seasoned wood to get us started for the 2013- 2014 heating season
We have 5 cords split and stacked another 5 to get done before Ole man winter arrives.
And since that isn't enough pressure or projects to take on we are clearing an area getting it ready to have stumped so we can build a small barn this autumn to keep the tractor in.
so this is why the BLOG has been neglected in recent weeks
July 3rd
Started working on freezing beets this morning. I got 2 packages in the freezer and 1 1/2 lbs pickled in the refrigerator.
Also processed for freezing 7 lbs of Carrots in one lb bags
June 7th
Time flies I have been very delinquent in keeping up with this journal We have been spending any free time ( which is limited since business has been great) in the greenhouse..
in a nutshell from the initial planting of the spring crops the Greenhouse We now look like this.
Along with adding raised beds, we put in irrigation and a thermostatically controlled 30" gable vent on the east end wall.
and got around to getting the first coat of stain on the outside back in may
We have been harvesting lettuce non stop and Swiss chard, rhubarb chard for over a month and it keeps on coming. The Spinach is done and in that space I now have planted sweet corn and a third planting of beets. We like beets.
Sunday I pulled a few and pickled them
I even cooked the tops and made greens and beans for lunch.
a few of these were ready to pick
grab a few of these
and a few small 4" heads of broccoli
for this side dish of crisp tender veggies. for dinner
Agave glazed snow peas and carrots
2 1.2 cups of sliced carrots
1/2 lb of trimmed snow peas
handful of broccoli
3 TaB of Butter
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup of Agave nectar (or honey)
Bring saucepan of salted water to a boil
Add carrots cook about 7-9 min
add the pea pods to the boiling water and continue to cook both for an additional 3 minutes or until they are crisp tender.
. drain and set aside
in the same pan melt the butter and stir in the cornstarch Return the carrots and snow peas to the pan stir in the agave nectar cooking over medium heat until heated through.
Season with salt and pepper
I have also been processing and freezing items as they ripen for the winter.
As of today:
6 packages of snow peas
4 packages of Spinach
2 packages of sweet peas
1 jar of pickled beets in the fridge.
It is hard to believe that June 3rd is now the official last frost date for our area. which means I would just be putting seed in the ground this week not eating fresh organic produce.
I like not having to rely on mother nature to tell me when I can plant.
February 10th
Planted a few 5ft X 5 ft beds with Spinach Swiss Chard Rhubarb Chard, Mesclun,
Inside I started some seed trays:
Planted broccoli, cauliflower,, iceberg lettuce honey dew and Hales best melons and Celery
February 4th
Jim and I are very sad. Our little Maggie past away early Monday morning.
We adopted Maggie when she just turned 6 years old Her first Fur Mom gave me these pictures of her when she was only 6 weeks old
Here are a few of our favorite pictures of "Sweet Maggie"
August 19, 1996 - February 4. 2013
RIP
Last Photo I took of her was on January 30,2013
RIP Maggie
Aug. 19, 1996- Feb. 4, 2013
Just this side of heaven
is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet
goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and
play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and
comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those
who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember
them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss
someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and
looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers.
Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs
carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you
cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses
rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once
more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never
absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown.
January 5th
Been awhile since I last updated..
We are nearly done with the outside of the high tunnel.. We still have the rake boards and the batting on the rear end wall .to install. but With the last storm dumping over 19" of snow the back end wall will have to wait until spring.
Jim built a snow rack that works great.
We have a weather station set up to monitor the temperatures at all times . I have set alarms to go off to let me know when the temps in the high tunnel are hovering around 32 and when they climb to 75.
There is so much to learn about tending a year round garden.. And now Jim has an additional 400 ft of snow blowing to add to his winter chores.
