From Rebecca's Kitchen Window

Hi Everyone,

I know it's been awhile since you have seen me here. I guess you could say I was trying figure out what direction I am taking with my blog. When the winter months hit, I decided it was time to leave the outdoor stuff to the guys. I'm not much of a cold weather gal!! I am doing a lot of answering emails, phone calls, and running eggs to different towns each week. Also, I help wash eggs in a warm building! I work with Gary getting orders ready for our customers that come up from Columbus, Ohio. Gary and I also run to Perrysburg twice a month and deliver orders to our customers and drop off eggs at Kazmaiers Grocery Store.

This winter this country gal went with my sister to New York City and stayed with my niece for 11 days. What an adventure that was! I thought our farm can sure be an adventure, wow, N.Y.C. is quite a place for adventures! While I was there, I was on the set of the Today's Show, where my niece and I got the set ready for her client, we also got to sit in the green room while we waited to do that, then my sister and I got V.I.P. treatment the next day at the Today Show! Meredith Vieira even told me I looked good in my coat!!! We watched them blow up those huge balloons for Macy's Parade, which all three of us found to be a rather emotional moment, we also ate at some really good restaurants. We had a lot of fun shopping ( a lot of window shopping) I even got to try on a vintage bracelet that cost $80,000.00, that one looked really good on my wrist, I tried on a cheaper one that was only $50,000.00, of course, the more expensive bracelet fit and looked the best, isn't that how it always goes, and no, I didn't buy it! One day, we went to a outdoor market and while we were there I saw a man who was going through the trash and digging out food people had thrown away and was eating it. That was hard to see and I felt bad that he had to be in that situation.

Most of you know, I bake cupcakes, so, I had to go to all the N.Y. C. cupcake places and have cupcakes!! Some where better than others! At one place some of the cupcakes were $3.50 a cupcake!

One day at my nieces apartment, we were watching Julia to Julia and then it came to me, that maybe, I could do something like that on my blog. To share different recipes with you that I have tried and loved with our meats and eggs. So, when there isn't anything exciting going on at the farm, I can always share recipes. If you only knew how many cookbooks I have!!! My mom is the same way, we love to read cookbooks and I also love to try new recipes. So my plan is to share a recipe with each of my blogs.

We did have our share of issues with our electric fences today. We have had a lot of rain lately and I guess rain and electric fences don't do well together!! This morning I got a call from a guy saying our calves are out at another farm, then a get a second call from another guy that said someone who told someone told him, that some calves were out!! Of course, both of those guys new that they were our calves. One nice thing about living in a small community, most people know each other. So our son, Ethan, got the calves back in and then saw that the breaker had flipped off and got that back on. Then he comes in for lunch, and looks out the kitchen window and now there are cattle walking around our lane. They are suppose to be in the pasture on the other side of the ditch! The cattle or sheep have never gotten out from that pasture. I was thinking okay, either they walked down the road and up our driveway or else they went for the more adventuresome way and went down the ditch where the water is pretty high up! My vote is for the latter one! ha So out Ethan goes to round up the cattle, with Gary and Leah's help they get them back in with the rain pouring down on them! They get the fence fixed again and now are heading in for lunch. Gary and Ethan came to the house, one jumped in the tub and the other the shower. I am here blogging and the phone rings, they just wanted to let me know that the calves are out again!!! Are you kidding me! Gary and Ethan get all cleaned up and now, once again, they have to go back outside into the rain and get two ornery calves back into the fenced in pasture. Gary and Ethan got that taken care of and now we pray that they all decide to stay where they belong. Once again, the saying the grass is always greener on the other side must be true. Except, they must not realize that there really isn't any green grass over there at all at this time of year. Oh and I don't believe they ever did get to eat lunch that day!

I have a really good recipe to give you for Steak Marinade, that I found the other day.
We had friends over for supper and I marinated our tenderloin steaks and then the guys grilled them. We all agreed, we will be using this recipe again. Enjoy.
Steak marinade: 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup red wine, 3 T. red wine vinegar, 4 tsp. minced garlic, or 1 tsp. garlic powder, (I used minced garlic), 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. I just sprinkled some pepper in the bag.
Combine all ingredients, put in Ziploc bag, marinate steak 4 to 6 hours. I actually only had time to marinate them for 3 hours and they still turned out really good. Take out and grill until desired degree of doneness is reached.
If you want to get Gary's favorite soup recipe you'll want to check back soon.
I am ready to blog!

Blessings,
Rebecca