Consolidated Kansas

[lizzyGSR]

Anyone else ever try doing home grown pumpkin before? I made fresh pumpkin pies years ago but it seems like they had lots of flavor when I got them cooked. I didn't get hardly anything done today I intended. I spent at least 2 hours cutting up the stupid pumpkin and getting it ready to cook.

I got a pumpkin from someone else who grew their own pumpkins this year. To prepare it, I cut it in half and removed the seeds/pulp. then, I put butter on the cut edges and put the pumpkin halves, cut side down on a silicone baking mat. I then put the mat and pumpkin on a cookie sheet (would recommend a 9x13 cake pan instead as there is a lot of juice that drains from the pumpkin during baking) and then put it in the oven at 350*F for 30-60 minutes or until the skin comes off easily (mine ended up being in for an hour). After that, I pulled the skin off (really easy) and then cut the flesh into pieces and put the pieces in my blender. I then blended it until smooth and used it just like you would use canned pumpkin. Quick and easy way to process homegrown pumpkin. I made "pumpkin pie cake" out of the pumpkin puree, and my husband claims that the cake is better than authentic pumpkin pie. The pumpkin I used was a larger pumpkin, but still turned out good. I got enough for 4 (2-cup) servings of the pumpkin out of the one pumpkin I bought. It probably wasn't the kind of pumpkin that someone else said was "the best for pumpkin pies", but my DH and I both liked it. I kept some seeds back so I could grow my own next year.

 

[mommahen10]

Hawkeye, that's the scariest story ever. WSU scares me anyway because of the location, it's like the only place I was strongly discouraging my dd to go to because campus is fine but then it's like the campus is surrounded by a not so good area.

Hi PrairieChickens! I'm from SE Kansas too; Humboldt.

 

[mommahen10]

Kansas Priarie, that's so scary about the heat lamps starting fires. I don't use them for the bigger chickens but they do seem necessary for the chicks. It's something that scares me and I think about it, but I continue to use them for the chicks only. Thank you for the reminder.

 

[sharol]

It is quite efficient. I agree about electric heat. Not only is it expensive, but there is no where to get really warm -- nothing to "back up to" so's to speak. Otherwise, the electric is fine. We got an HE hot water heater when we were renovating (the old one was the original), and I do all my clothes in cold water, so that isn't an issue. The dishwasher doesn't do the "dry" cycle, and my HE washer cuts down the time for drying clothes when I can't put them out on the line. In the summer, the heat pump does a fine job keeping us relatively cool.

We love our little Earth Stove (now Lennox). We bought it when the model was discontinued in 2005. Now I'm replacing the "fire bricks" inside it, but otherwise it hasn't required any maintenance. That little stove keeps the whole house (1500 sq feet of it at least) warm all winter. We burn hedge, and I can put a hedge log in about 9 and engage the catalyst and shut down the damper, and it will chug away all night.

When I first saw the house, my reaction was, "I can't live in that house, it is just to ugly." However, my DH and I fell in love with the idea of the efficiency and we could see the possibilities. Our contractor told us (when he came out to look at the house before we bought it), "buy it!! This is going to be fun." When I get home, I'll post before/after pictures of it. They are on another computer.

"Wow, your house sounds really neat and very energy efficient! I would want to run gas or a wood stove in there, though. I can't imagine having electric everything, but it still sounds like it's pretty efficient despite that! "

 

[chicken danz]

Maidenwolf your daughter looks so much like you! She's a cutie.
I tried 3 different methods of cooking the pumpkin. 1. Microwaving. I wouldn't recommend it. It didn't cook evenly through. 2. Baking. Worked okay but the edges seemed to dry some. 3. Boiling. This is what I would use in the future. It was done evenly and although instructions said to peal it I didn't. It literally fell of the skins. Also by boiling I cut it into smaller pieces and could cook a lot more at one time than the other methods.
Oh Hawkeye that's spooky. I wouldn't have ever been coordinated enough to get my door locked and closed.
I had an unrelated scary thing happen to me several years back. This was when I was driving back and forth every day from Wolf Creek to my house in Council Grove. I was on one of the back paved roads, Americus Road on my way home late one night. I came up on a pickup who was driving slow. He started speeding up and then putting on his brakes and back and forth. I finally got disgusted and passed him. As soon as I did he rushed up on my bumper, then the faster I would go the faster he would go and pull out and try to force my car into the ditch. This went on for several miles. Americus road is a hilly rough narrow stretch. (I am sure that Sharol, chickies, duckies, or Marty are familiar with it. I was going 85 miles an hour trying to get away from this maniac and he was still trying to ram the side of my car to force me off the road. I was so scared. I got up to the Bushong RR crossing and a train was coming. I was going to have to stop for sure or be hit by the train. All I could think is that if I stopped this maniac was going to kill me. So I gunned the car as hard as I could and flew across the tracks. I thought there was no way he could make it since I was doubting I would, but he followed right behind me. I made it to 56 highway and headed west and was up to over 90 mph at this point. Pretty frightening in those hills. Finally I saw an oncoming car and I started flashing my lights as fast as I could and slowing down. I figured a witness might save my life. The guy in the pickup turned on the first road when he saw what I was doing. I reported it to the sheriff but I didn't have anything but a vehicle description, so they never caught him. Just a few weeks later I heard some people talking about a guy in a pickup trying to force lone women off the road on Americus road. Then later I heard that one had been brutally beaten and raped. This was over 20 years ago but I still refuse to go on Americus road at night.
I also took my service revolver out of lock up and had it in my car seat beside me for at least the next 5 years. I always thought to myself rather than taking a chance with my life with that train, if I had my gun I would have shot him right through my driver's side window if he came for me.
I had nightmares about that night for years.

 

[sharol]

Nightmares, I guess. I can't imagine 85 on Americus Road. That must have been terrifying. I wonder if they ever caught the creep.

Quote:

Oh Hawkeye that's spooky. I wouldn't have ever been coordinated enough to get my door locked and closed.
I had an unrelated scary thing happen to me several years back. This was when I was driving back and forth every day from Wolf Creek to my house in Council Grove. I was on one of the back paved roads, Americus Road on my way home late one night. I came up on a pickup who was driving slow. He started speeding up and then putting on his brakes and back and forth. I finally got disgusted and passed him. As soon as I did he rushed up on my bumper, then the faster I would go the faster he would go and pull out and try to force my car into the ditch. This went on for several miles. Americus road is a hilly rough narrow stretch. (I am sure that Sharol, chickies, duckies, or Marty are familiar with it. I was going 85 miles an hour trying to get away from this maniac and he was still trying to ram the side of my car to force me off the road. I was so scared. I got up to the Bushong RR crossing and a train was coming. I was going to have to stop for sure or be hit by the train. All I could think is that if I stopped this maniac was going to kill me. So I gunned the car as hard as I could and flew across the tracks. I thought there was no way he could make it since I was doubting I would, but he followed right behind me. I made it to 56 highway and headed west and was up to over 90 mph at this point. Pretty frightening in those hills. Finally I saw an oncoming car and I started flashing my lights as fast as I could and slowing down. I figured a witness might save my life. The guy in the pickup turned on the first road when he saw what I was doing. I reported it to the sheriff but I didn't have anything but a vehicle description, so they never caught him. Just a few weeks later I heard some people talking about a guy in a pickup trying to force lone women off the road on Americus road. Then later I heard that one had been brutally beaten and raped. This was over 20 years ago but I still refuse to go on Americus road at night.
I also took my service revolver out of lock up and had it in my car seat beside me for at least the next 5 years. I always thought to myself rather than taking a chance with my life with that train, if I had my gun I would have shot him right through my driver's side window if he came for me.
I had nightmares about that night for years.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Chicken Danz- Thanks she is my little side kick.
Do you have your conceal and carry permit? If not it may be a good thing to look into.

 

[cherwill]

I'm glad to hear Sera is feeling better. Besides the seriousness of her illness, it must have been so disappointing to have to wait on the surgery after you've all gotten yourselves psyched up for it.

I made a pumpkin pie one year with a pie pumpkin from Wal-Mart. It was disappointing because it just didn't have the pumpkin flavor I was used to from the Libby's can of pumpkin puree. Another year I had to use a different brand because it was the only one available, and I had the same disappointing result. Later I read about the differences in pie pumpkins and apparently the taste test studies regularly show that Libby's has the best canned pumpkin because they created their own pie pumpkin with lots of flavor. I'd still like to grow my own some day, but I want one with lots of flavors. Which varieties of pie pumpkins have the most flavor?

Hello, I just found this thread and wanted to introduce myself. I'm from southeastern KS and have been raising chickens with my folks for about a year and half now.

Welcome! What kinds of chickens do you have? BTW, we love pictures!

When I first saw the house, my reaction was, "I can't live in that house, it is just to ugly." However, my DH and I fell in love with the idea of the efficiency and we could see the possibilities. Our contractor told us (when he came out to look at the house before we bought it), "buy it!! This is going to be fun." When I get home, I'll post before/after pictures of it. They are on another computer.

We mowed at a friend's mother's berm house while she was trying to sell it. Mowing over the top of a house takes some getting used to! It was out of our price range or we'd have bought it ourselves. Like you, we didn't find the house attractive at all, but the efficiency and the property appealed to us very much. You'll do things that make the place your own and then you'll love it as much as you love the idea of its efficiency.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Americus road is one of several in this general area that has a "bad" feel to me, even in the day time, and I avoid them when I can. So good you can think and drive fast!!!!

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

A berm house has always been a dream of mine. There are many things about them I think I would like. I saw part of one that, if I ever win the lottery, I would get one like. Oh my, that was a nice (unique) one. There are a couple around here for sale, but as long as they have been listed may be over priced. One is right on a highway, for me, not good. Over my price range anyway.