Henny Penny Farmette

Whenever the mercury starts flirting with the century mark on the thermometer, I head for the freezer and take out frozen vegetables and berries to thaw a little before I put them out for the chickens and the wild birds.

One of my silver-laced Wyandotte (black-and-white) hens succumbed to the extreme heat a year ago

Another treat is corn or peas frozen in water in ramekin dishes and offered to chickens on very hot days to help them keep cool. They’ll also like chilled lettuce or spinach leaves, diced fresh zucchini, and crisp cold strips of cabbage.

Short-hair dogs need to be protected from the heat, too

For pooches, ice cubes made from frozen beef or chicken broth can provide a tasty, cool treat. Chilled carrots, or a frozen ball made from mashed banana and peanut butter can refresh a pooch on a hot day, provided the animal has no peanut allergy. Make sure animals have plenty of clean, cool water to drink always, but especially on hot days.

If you walk with your pet, it’s best to go in the cool of the early morning or late evening and avoid the heat of the day. I take my Siamese on a leash for a walk in the garden each day but will wait until the evening.

To protect her from the heat, I keep my cat inside the air conditioned house on super hot days

Cat paws are sensitive to the heat in stones and concrete surfaces. It’s best to steer clear of those heat-trapping surfaces. Stick to grass. Take your cat out in the early morning or wait for a walk until evening after the mercury starts dropping.

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If you enjoy reading about keeping bees, chickens, and other farm animals or learning about growing heirloom vegetables and fruits or making delicious farm-to-table recipes, check out my newest cozy mystery offerings from Kensington Publishing. Chocked full of all kinds of farmette tidbits, these mysteries are available online through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, KOBO, and other online stores as well as traditional bookstores everywhere.

First book in Meera Lester’s Henny Penny Farmette series of cozy mysteries

Novel #2 in the Henny Penny Farmette series, available Oct. 1, 2016

The storms have been steadily sweeping over the farmette, thanks to the El Nino effect. And on rainy days, I like to ride out the battering rain and blustery winds with indoor work. Invariably, a tea break calls for cake.

I’m particularly fond of apple cake and this recipe adds a cream cheese layer which makes the cake super moist. The praline frosting with toasted pecans partners perfectly with the apples and spices.

William Tell’s Never Miss Apple Cake

Ingredients (for the cream cheese layer):

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

The combination of apples and carrots make for a dense, moist cake

Ingredients (for the cake)

1 ¾ cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

3 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped Granny Smith apples

1 cup shredded carrots

½ cup chopped pecans, toasted

Ingredients (for the icing):

½ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup butter, cubed

2 tablespoons whole milk

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup chopped pecans, toasted

Cream cheese, sugar, and egg mixture is layered between two batter pourings

Directions for the prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Grease and flour a 10-in. fluted tube pan.

3. In a small bowl, cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and then beat in egg.

Directions to make the cake:

1. Fit the large bowl to an electric mixer.

2. Add to the bowl the sugar, oil and eggs and beat to blend well.

3. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.

4. Add gradually the flour-and-spice mixture to the sugar-oil mixture.

5. Stir in apples, carrots and toasted pecans.

6. Pour one-half of the batter into the prepared pan.

7. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter and spread it evenly into a layer.

8. Add the remaining batter to the cream cheese layer.

9. Bake 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in cake portion comes out clean.

10. Cool cool completely before inverting the fluted pan to remove the cake.

The praline icing drizzled over the top tastes great but diminishes the contours of the sunflower petals

Directions to make the praline icing:

1. Combine brown sugar, butter and milk in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.

2. Boil the mixture, stirring constantly, for 1 minute and then remove the pan from heat.

3. Use a whisk to combine confectioners’ sugar with vanilla until smooth.

4. Drizzle the frosting over the cake.

5. Sprinkle with toasted pecans.

Serves: 12

For more delicious farmette recipes, folksy sayings, farming tips, and a cozy mystery, check out A BEELINE TO MURDER and the forthcoming THE MURDER OF A QUEEN BEE (Kensington Publishing), available on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com and other online and traditional bookstores everywhere.

Family and friends may love the hustle and bustle of holiday activities but often are too tired at the end of the day to cook. There’s a simple solution. Before leaving the house, someone needs to assemble a stew or meal that simmers all day in a slow cooker.

A hearty bean and beef stew is garnished with a dash of extra virgin olive oil, Italian parsley, and coarsely ground black pepper

The process is simple. Choose your meal, put the ingredients in a slow cooker, turn it on, and forget about it until you are ready to feed your gang at the end of the day.

Slow cookers are terrific tools for making tasty stews like apple chicken, Mexican pork and hominy, and red beans with Cajun  sausages. Or, make a corned beef and cabbage dish with carrots and potatoes. Beef stroganoff, pepper steak, and even clam chowder or a fish stew taste sublime when cooked slowly for several hours.

Serve your hot meal alongside a simple salad. Choose perhaps broccoli slaw with chopped apples and pears, segments of seedless tangerines, and a handful of sliced almonds. Drizzle or spritz with Asian Sesame Ginger dressing. Put out slices of French bread and possibly a platter of cheese.

Right before serving the meal, sprinkle the hot food with some fresh herbs, a dash of olive oil, some shaved cheese, or coarsely ground black pepper. What could be easier?

For more delicious farmhouse recipes, tips for keeping honeybees and chickens, growing heirloom vegetables, and tending fruit trees, check out my latest book, A BEELINE TO MURDER.

Released in hardcover, the book makes a great gift for holidays, birthdays, and other celebratory events. Available online and a brick-and-mortar bookstores everywhere. See, http://tinyurl.com/p8d6owd

The first cozy mystery in the Henny Penny Farmette mystery series by Meera Lester, from Kensington Books

French sugar pumpkins are small to mid-size–perfect for pies

This time of year the French sugar pumpkins, persimmons and pomegranates are ready to harvest and that means it’s also time to plant cool season crops.

My summer onions formed large bulbs that I have already harvested; it’s time to replace them with bunching onions

Yesterday I turned the dirt in one of my large planting boxes, added in some aged manure and other soil amendments, and planted  red and yellow onions for soups and salads during the fall and winter. I harvested seed from my summer onions and during the winter months will grow the seed in flats for spring planting.

The cool days ahead are perfect soup days and that means carrots, fennel, cilantro, cauliflower, potatoes, and bok choy will also find a place in my fall and winter garden.

In other raised beds and boxes, I’m planting heirloom lettuces, radishes, and spinach. These traditional salad ingredients are best grown during the fall or early spring as hot weather tends to make them bolt.

The lettuces are already easy to grow in boxes with good soil

The pumpkins are ready for pie-making and Halloween carving. The persimmons are perfect for custards or for eating fresh when absolutely ripe (otherwise, the fruits are so tart they will make you pucker). And those lovely red pomegranate seeds are delicious eaten raw or tossed into salads.

For a list of Northern California cool seasons vegetables, check out Sunset Magazine’s edible gardening guide at http://www.sunset.com/garden/garden-basics/cool-season-crops-00400000042441/. If you plant to purchase seed f0r your own cool season garden, I urge you to choose non-genetically modified  and open-pollinated seeds so that you can harvest.