Cookies, take 2

After dinner tonight we walked across the street to ice the cookies Rita and I made the other night. Rita had us all set up at their dining room table with tray of cookies, bowls of icing and lots and lots of sprinkles. 

Things started off well. Everyone was spreading icing and picking different kinds of toppings to put on. 

I even decorated a few gingerbread men with little outfits. 

Can't you just read his mind... Man I want to eat these!

I looked over once to see Baxter spooning a handful of sprinkles right into his mouth. That child loves sugar!

After everyone else was done, Oliver lost all semblance of control with the sprinkles. His tray turned into a sprinkles sand box and boy was he having a great time!

This is the stuff of memories!

Christmas in July...Making Our Annual Trip to Corsi Tree Farm in T-Shirts!

Ok, so maybe not July but it certainly did feel like spring today!  As we drove out to Corsi tree farm in Bethel, the car said it was almost 70 degrees outside.  The ground at the farm was covered in green grass instead of fields of snow.  It was a little hard to get in the mood, but as we began to stroll out into the rows of trees, our excitement grew.

We were looking for a tree that was tall and round with needles that were sturdy but not too prickly.  After about a half an hour and several contenders considered, we found just the right tree, and Josh set to cutting it down.

While Josh did the hard work, little B kept the rest of entertained.  First he tried to squat and stay balanced...

That didn't go so well :)

Next he made a grass mustache.  That was pretty cute.

Before we knew it, the tree was down and on the tarp, ready to be pulled back up to the car.  Look at those handsome Phillips boys with their prize tree.

At first, there was talk that the kids were going to haul the tree but that didn't last long.  They moved it about 6 inches before calling, "Daaaaad!  You need to do it!"

Since he couldn't pull the actual tree, little B found himself a "little tree" to pull back to the car.  Like father, like son...

As soon as we got in the car I started hearing biiiiiiiiig yawns.
"Are you tired little B?"
"No, I'm not tired."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

We got the tree home and in the stand while Baxter finished his little nap.  By the time we got out lights and ornaments, he was up and ready to go again.

It's always a trip down memory lane getting out ornaments.  Now we have a mix of things from the boys through the years, from my family and Josh's and things we have gotten or made together as a couple.  Here was McGregor's preschool ornament from 2009.

And a shrinky dink ornament I made for our engagement.

Finally, it was done!  The tree looks lovely and festive.  Even if it is 70 degrees outside, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Phillips Farm.

We're in!

Josh stopped by Jungle Jim's today to see if they had our eggs out. He found them along with the local food sign I made in the natural foods refrigerator case. It looked like 5 dozen had already been purchased in just one morning!  Thank you to all who are supporting us and buying our eggs. We hope you will enjoy them!

A Christmas tradition shared

We are so lucky to have neighbors who are lovely, caring and welcoming people. Recently I was over at Frank and Rita's house with my middle stepson Oliver and he asked her if she had anything to cook that he could help her with. She didn't at the time but she immediately offered for the boys to come over and decorate cookies with her grandchildren sometime in the coming weeks before Christmas. 

So we chatted about details and she explained to me that usually she bakes the cookies ahead of time so the kids can do the fun part of icing and decorating when they get there. We scheduled a time for the kids and a time to bake a few days before. 

Tonight I went over for the first step: cookie baking. It was just Rita and I, enjoying a glass of her homemade apple liquor and talking while we worked. As a child my family always made gingerbread so I brought over dough for this kind of cookie and Rita had prepared a shortbread dough. 

I'll go back a day and tell you about my gingerbread dough.  It's a nice recipe because it's not so spicy and children tend to like it. It was always my favorite as a child and we only made it at Christmas so it was extra special. Here is my recipe card:

I used some of our tiny pullet eggs we are getting from the new generation. I used four instead of the two it called for because they are so small. 

I mixed everything in my stand mixer then put it into the fridge to set up over night. 

Today I brought with me my bowl of dough, my apron and some cookie cutters. 

I covered the table in flour and started rolling out my first ball off dough. 

It was extra sticky so I worked a tiny bit more flour into it and that did the trick. It's funny with how many times I've made that recipe my hands knew as soon as I picked it up that it was too sticky. That's the great part about recipes you make over and over again. You develop a tactile memory for the food and making it brings back the times you did it before and the people you did it with. I have so many good memories associated with food and family. 

Back to the cookies...

I rolled mine out in batches, cutting out my men and trees and stars and even a few dog bones. 

Then I put them on a tray lined with parchment paper and into the oven for about 8 minutes. 

It's important not to cook them too long or they become that really crunchy gingerbread cookie we all know and can't stand. I like to take them out when they are still soft, even a little doughy.  

They came out perfectly!  We had to taste test a few just to be sure, of course. 

While I did the gingerbread, Rita worked on her shortbread cookies which were denser but also quite delicious. They will be great for the children to decorate because they are so sturdy. 

We lined every surface of Rita's kitchen with cookies cooling. It was a sight to see!  In Sunday afternoon we will go back to decorate and the boys are really looking forward to it. It is so nice to start new traditions with new friends as we settle in here at the farm. We are truly blessed with many gifts.

I will share pictures of the cookies when they are done. Check back on Sunday. 

Getting ready for the jungle

We are making our first delivery to Jungle Jim's on Friday so we have been preparing a big batch of eggs and figuring out the logistics involved with retail. I designed a new label with more information about us and a barcode so they can ring us up at their registers. 

We also tried a bunch of different methods for adhering the labels so they will last in a commercial freezer. We found good old elders glue worked best.  

We got 12 dozen prepared and ready to go Friday. Now I just have to find the right size box to hold them and make up an invoice. Exciting!

A new generation of layers

The last few days we have found several tiny eggs in the mix, which leads us to believe the second generation of chickens at Phillips farm is starting to lay eggs!  Here is the little ameraucana egg we got today...

It can be difficult to tell how small it is without a comparison egg so here it is next to an average size egg:

We got the newer chickens in mid-July so that puts them at about five months old.  The older chickens were about that age when they started to lay eggs too.

Josh and I were just talking this weekend about how we seem to have lucked out on this new generation because none of them seem to be roosters. We ordered all females but they tell you at the hatchery that they can't sex the birds with 100% accuracy and in our first batch we had one rooster. This time, though, they all se to be hens. 

So soon we may be getting closer to 3-3.5 dozen per day. It's a good thing we have hooked up with jungle jims!  

Buy our eggs at Jungle Jims in Eastgate starting 12/13

Exciting news... 

Starting the week of December 13th, Phillips Farm eggs will be available for purchase at Jungle Jim's International Market in Eastgate (4450 Eastgate S Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45245).  You will find them near the front of the store, with the Organic and Natural Dairy Items.

Their buyer is working on a system to get the eggs over to the Fairfield location as well so hopefully soon they will also be available there.  I will keep you posted!  

We will also continue to sell eggs directly; use the contact us link on the website or email us directly at phillipsfarmbatavia@gmail.com if you'd like to buy eggs directly from us.  

Many thanks to those who have supported us along the way.  We truly appreciate you.  We are so excited about this new venture into retail supermarkets, and the timing is just right as our "babies" are getting to be full-sized and soon will be laying as well, hopefully doubling the number of eggs we get each day!