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Jul
9

Coco Meets the Goats

Daily Farmhouse Journal

Before we bring our own goaties home, we wanted to take Coco to the goat farm to visit the mamas and babies. I said, “Look, Coco! Goats! You will love them and play with them and protect them with your life.”





Coco reacted with the same immediate enthusiasm she had for stairs.





She bounced off to talk to their chickens. She knows about chickens. She has some of them.

“Coco, come back!”





“You can do it, Coco. You were so brave just the other day.”





“See how pretty the babies are? So sweet and adorable?”





Coco sniffed a little bitty baby with great caution. “It’s okay, Coco,” I told her. “Look what innocent cherubs they are, fresh from God’s arms.”





“They bounce, Coco. Just like you.”





“See how they romp and frolic and clamber?”





“See how they– What are they doing? They’re too young for– Oh, no. No!”





“Don’t look, Coco! Don’t look!”


Posted by Suzanne McMinn @ 5:05 am | Permalink  

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Jul
8

Brandied Apricots

Home Canning, The Farmhouse Table

Yeah, I’m still on my apricot kick here. But! I see no reason this recipe wouldn’t work with various fruits such as peaches, pears, and apples, and probably others as well. I’ll be trying this out with other things because I loved how this came out. I had to do some experimenting to get it right. Luckily, I had plenty of apricots and a whole bottle of brandy.


How to make Brandied Apricots:

10 cups halved apricots
6 cups water
3 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup brandy

Halve apricots and remove pits. (No need to peel the apricots.) Combine sugar and water in a large pot. Add fruit and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved.





Reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes, turning the fruit gently. Add lemon juice then, using a slotted spoon, place apricots in four pint jars, filling to 2/3 to 3/4 capacity. Add 1/4 cup brandy to each jar, then fill remaining space (to within 1/4 inch of the rim) with the sugar water. Slide a knife inside the jar all around the edge to make sure no air pockets remain.





Process 15 minutes in a hot water bath. (See my hot water bath canning instructions.)

You don’t have to can this, by the way. You can cut the recipe down to whatever amount you need for your use, store it in the fridge for a few days (to let the brandy really soak into the fruit), then serve. One pint will serve four, scooped over vanilla ice cream, and it’s divine. It’s perfect for dinner parties, holidays, or just because!


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Posted by Suzanne McMinn @ 5:05 am | Permalink  

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