DIY Summer Fun: Bird Seed Hearts

By: Guest Blogger, Kiersten Washle

Everyone loves the company of a few coo-coo birds, and no, we are not talking about your in laws, we mean actual birds! The beautiful kind that fly around and chirp happy tunes. In honor of our feathered friends CloverFields would like to present this do it yourself project: Make your own bird seed hearts. They look like this:

This way you can give
 the birds a little something
 for brightening our days
with their cheerful chatter.

Bird Seed Hearts Directions

Materials Needed:

Nonstick spray

Here are some of our supplies

Heart-shaped cookie cutter (any shape of your choice will do)

Skewer or Straw

Cardstock

Twine

Bird Seed hearts made with the below recipe:

Recipe:

(Found online- Make 12 2” hearts)

4 cups Bird seed

¾ cup Flour

3 tsp. Corn Syrup

½ cup water

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

            Mix all the above ingredients together in a large bowl.

Spray the inside of the cookie cutter with nonstick spray.

Place cookie cutter on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Spoon the mixture into the cookie cutter, pressing mixture down firmly with a metal spoon. (The more you press the more solid the shape will be)

Use the chopstick, straw, or skewer to make a hole at the top of the heart, remove chopstick. Gently pull the cookie cutter away.

            Re-spray the cookie cutter and repeat the above steps.

            Let the hearts dry 6-8 hours.

Almost Done! 

When you are done you have these adorable little bird seed hearts perfect for gifts, or for your own enjoyment. With a little piece of twine they make a lovely addition to any tree! 

You're Never Too Done To Have A Little Fun

   
     By: Guest Blogger, Kiersten Washle


    Today I felt entirely drained after a long day at work, I was just done with the day. I thought a dinner composed of snack foods would be ideal. I wanted to grab a bag of chips and a soda and plop onto the oh-so-inviting sofa. I went to the pantry, feeling a little ashamed of the poor nutritional choice I was about to make...as my hand reached out for the chips I remembered a fun fact I learned a little while back. Apparently we are most creative right after we wake up and right before we go to sleep. In my case, slumber was  most certainly imminent. With that in mind I decided to see what my sleepy mind and a few humble, healthier ingredients would warrant me. Instead of the college-esque meal I had previously had in mind I let my personal passion for art and interest in cooking combine to make me a not only more nutritious dinner, but also one that was so pretty I couldn't help but smile. It was nice to end the day on a good note with a full belly! 
     Happy eating to all of you! Hope this serves to remind you that you are never too done to have fun!

The Delicious Dinner 

Pasta a la stick! 

Nothing Like Fresh Lime Juice

Post by: Guest Blogger, Kiersten Washle

Wrap on Father's Day

 Post By: Guest Blogger, Kiersten Washle
 Menu By: Janine Washle    


      Here's to fathers everywhere! As another Father's Day has come and gone it is nice to reflect back on all the beautiful memories we all have with our fathers. Dads have been around through it all, always there to give a bear hug or cross their arms wearing a crooked smile only a dad could properly deliver. At CloverFields Farm and Kitchen we decided what better way to celebrate dad than to make food from his era. The idea is to create a burger bar based on "Dad's Decade"; take the year dad was born in and make food that was popular in this decade.
        Here is a recap of how our Dad's Decade Burger Bar went...

We made a menu for the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's. 

50’s

WWII soldiers returned home to the suburbs and the backyard BBQ was born. The soldiers brought back the tastes of foreign lands including the Pacific. “Island-style” was popular not only in clothing, and décor, but in the kitchen too. These foreign flavors were “Americanized” for the citizen’s palates.

Hamburgers popularity grew, as well as, many variations such as stuffed burgers, pizza burgers, silver dollar burgers (the original slider) and strange combinations like penny burgers; hamburger mixed with wiener slices.

Convenience food introductions were at an all time high as the memories of war rations dimmed. These canned, packaged, frozen products made their way into a myriad of ‘50’s casseroles and dinner dishes.

Menu

*Pork Burgers, Island-Style

*Blue cheese stuffed celery

*Polynesian Casserole

Watermelon Boat

 Mini Milkshakes

60’s

Foreign lands were still influencing menus and the outdoor barbeque continued in popularity but menus were more complex. Foreign and ethnic influences were explored more widely as cooks stepped away from what they saw as conformist boring dishes of the 50’s. Soul food came out of the South and into the kitchens of other areas of the U.S. The tastes of the black South were as unique and interesting as any foreign flavors., but all of these influences were still being “Americanized”.

MENU

*Italian Burgers

*Lettuce wedge with Creamy Italian Dressing

*Italian Soda

OR

*BBQ Chicken Burger

*Roasted Kale Chips

Sweet Potato Fries

70’s

New Southwest cuisine entered the scene, as well as, the Eat Local, Eat Seasonally movement via Alice Waters; however, the economic challenges of this decade influenced what people actually could afford to eat. “Eat what’s in the house” was the mantra of many.

MENU

*Southwest Burger

*Black Bean and Corn Salad

*Fresh Fries

80’s

Paul Prudhomme had a broiler problem one night at his popular New Orleans restaurant and everything was coming out blackened. The patrons loved it! He seized the opportunity and created a line of blackened seasonings. Cajun cuisine was the rage in this decade. Another culinary spectacle was the indulgent Turducken also invented in Louisiana. Every adventurous 80’s home cook, attempted this panoply of poultry. Even my mother tried it with success, except, the one time she forgot to remove the chickens’ and ducks’ legs which caused it to look like a 6-legged space creature.

MENU

*Turducken Burger

*Antipasti Pasta Salad

Curly Fries

OR

*Blackened Fish Burger

Baked Potato Salad

Summer Slaw

Our Father's Day went great and we hope yours did too! If you want the recipes to give your father a feast appropriate for his decade just email cloverfields.farm.ky@gmail.com!

The What?! The AGA.

By: Guest Blogger, Kiersten Washle

Ever heard of an AGA? No? Don't worry, this is no fault of your own and you are certainly not alone. 

If you're curious, this an AGA:

      Now that you have seen an AGA, here is a little more information and history on these unique stoves. First of all, AGA is an abbreviation for Aktiebolaget Gas Accumulator. This means that this is a stove that is always warm. The stove and ovens are made of a heavy cast iron, this iron absorbs and retains the heat from a low-heat, continuously burning source. The continual warmth allows the ovens and cook top to be used at anytime, immediately with no period of preheating. Since it is always warm, the temperature cannot be adjusted; this is why there are so many doors in the pictures seen above. Each door is an individual oven. These ovens have varying levels of insulation which gives them different temperature. When you go to cook your food you would simply put it in the oven that keeps that temperature. The stoves are can be customized so the number of ovens is often different. The top of the stove changes as well, there can be gas burners, warming plates, or closed burners. All of this leads to a very unique and convenient stove for any setting. It is a whole new, or old, world of cooking. 
     Though not many people know about the AGA in America, it is a widespread name and can be found in at least 750,000 homes worldwide. It is typically thought of as a primarily English stove. However, it was originally designed in by the Swedish physicist Dr. Gustav Dalen. He designed the stove after finding out that his wife was constantly having to tend their traditional wood burning stove. He created the AGA with the idea that it's continuously burning source would allow it to be self sufficient. His design was finished in 1929 and originally burned coal. Today, most AGA stoves run on a gas source and are favored for their energy efficiency. 
     

Our AGA

Here at CloverFields we are fortunate to have an AGA of our own.  It is truly a unique cooking experience that, for the most part, goes really well but we all make mistakes and we wanted to show you what happens when we left a baked potato in the oven for a few hours too many...
   

OOPS!