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Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!:  Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 03 2016 : 3:56:40 PM
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Charity Van Ausdle (#6821) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Recycling Merit Badge!
“I researched recycling in my area. There's not much in the way of curbside recycling, but we can drop it off at the transfer site. I've picked up a couple containers, and believe that it'll save me a pretty penny. There's glass, metal, tin, plastic, paper, and cardboard.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2016 : 4:31:04 PM
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Emily Moore (E-Moore, #6770) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a Beginner Level Get it Together Merit Badge!
“January 18th I went through my "container cabinet" to purge and organize. I even found containers that carried goodies from neighbors that I had yet to return! Needless to say, I am in the process of returning property to the rightful owners. I took before and after pictures. I am including the after photo - the before is too disturbing! I did not realize I had let my cabinet get so crazy and disorganized!
I loved how my clean cabinet looked and it inspired me to go through my other kitchen cabinets and organize! My kitchen is now a happy, organized place. Plus, going through my cabinets helped me make my list for the intermediate part of this badge! Just got to get a few more things and my kitchen will be 100% for me.”
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MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2016 : 4:39:26 PM
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Heidi Weismann (#6778) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Recycling Merit Badge!
“We have recycled for some time here in NH and where we used to live in NJ. We had curbside pickup in NJ where they picked up glass, plastics and newspapers. In NH we collect in separate bins-paper, plastic, glass and cans. 4 Days a week (Fri-Mon) the transfer station is open to bring all the recycling to. You must have a sticker to show you are a resident of the town and you stop at each station (plastic, garbage, glass etc) and dump your things. Items such as mattresses and appliances cost $20.00 to leave.
I was able to find out things they do not take such as: antifreeze, tires, gas tanks, tires etc. I also found out what they considered to be mixed paper: newspapers, junk mail, magazines and the like. This is not mixed paper: gift wrap, drink cartons hard cover books.
We have always recycled and I could never understand why anyone would not. It does take space and time but it is so much better for us all in the long run. I was glad I took the time to really read into the hows and whats of recycling in our town. I also plan on putting up shelving in our recycling area to hold the bins and labeling them accordingly to make that area a bit less 'messy.'”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 3:09:10 PM
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Barbara Green (#6639) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Shopping Green Merit Badge!
“I have collected several reusable cloth shopping bags and use them each time I shop. Doing this saves me money (since most places around here charge for plastic bags) and it also saves the environment.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 3:10:21 PM
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Barbara Green (#6639) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning an Intermediate Level Shopping Green Merit Badge!
“I have done many hours of research on natural cleaners. I now use them to clean my entire home and when doing laundry. I have been making my own all-purpose cleaner. I use a spray bottle full of water and add 20 drops of lavender oil and 20 drops of tea tree oil.
I am very happy with my natural cleaning products. I really like the natural all-purpose cleaner that I make. It cleans well with the lavender providing a nice scent and the tea tree acts as a disinfectant.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 3:15:54 PM
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Barbara Green (#6639) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Backyard Farmer Merit Badge!
“Each year I raise a flock of 30 chickens for meat. I keep them 3 months and then butcher them. I allow them to free range in a small area, and I also feed them crops from local farmers. I really enjoy delicious meat raised without medicated food, preservatives, etc.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 3:22:52 PM
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Charity Van Ausdle (#6821) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Shopping Green Merit Badge!
“I collected six reusable bag, and go shopping with them.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 3:29:32 PM
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CJ Armstrong (ceejay48, #665) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning an Intermediate Level Candlemaking Merit Badge!
“My choices for candles were to use paraffin wax for both projects, but make them different with shape, scents and coloring.
One candle is pretty much a cube shape and I wanted to make look kind of wintry so I chose not to use any coloring, but cut some fresh cuttings from one of my Colorado Blue Spruce trees so there would be some evergreen needles encased in the candle. I used evergreen scent for a very light scent.
The second candle project was to use demitasse cups for dainty “cup” candles that could be used for small gifts or party favors or such like. I used pink crayons for coloring and rose essential oil for the scent. They have a lovely fresh “flower garden” scent.
The evergreen candle is gifted to my daughter, who lives in Arizona, to remind her of home in Colorado! The “cup” candle is gifted to a friend from church to remind her she is loved!
This was a fun project and I enjoyed it very much! They are not perfect but I think they turned out pretty well! I will be making more, since I have a lot of wicks! Will be on the hunt for cute little cups for more “cup” candles, for sure! Looking forward to the candlemaking project for the expert level.”
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MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 3:34:05 PM
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Joan Anthony (ijjie, #849) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level Knitting Merit Badge!
“For my Intermediate Level knitting badge I made Toques for pre 1840 Rendezvous Fur Trade Voyagers. I made a total of about 10 for my husband and his friends. Total knitting time for each was about 3.5 hours.
They turned out well. Along the line I learnt some lessons, about knitting with hand spun wool, opposed to 100% store bought wool. For the hand spun I needed to adjust the pattern as it was much finer than the store bought and knit up to much smaller size. Good lesson learned.Photo is my husband modelling the one I made him, for hunting (same pattern as the traditional style).”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 4:09:49 PM
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Erin McBride (Notathreatinsight, #3762) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level My Fair Farmgirl Merit Badge!
“In researching the term "cruelty free" I found out that this label is very unregulated. Having a "cruelty free" label implies that a product and its ingredients have not been tested on animals. There are many ways for a company to have this label on their product dishonestly. Some of these are to use third party testing, claim no product testing on animals while still using animals to test ingredients, or to use a cruelty free subsidiary while the parent company still uses product or ingredient testing on animals.
Another thing to be aware of is the use of "natural" on product labeling. This term is unregulated and is nothing but a marketing strategy. If a product is labeled "organic" this means it has been certified by the USDA. A USDA logo on the product will clearly show this. This logo should mean that all of the ingredients in the product are organic, however the USDA only regulates the term "organic" relating to agricultural ingredients. It's unclear whether synthetically created ingredients that are chemically identical to their naturally occurring counterparts, such as caffeine, would be eligible to receive the USDA certification.
The bottom line is, if you want products you know are cruelty free and organic, the best option is to make them yourself using organic ingredients. If you want to buy something cruelty free and organic, look carefully at the ingredient list, and research the company thoroughly.
I decided to make lip balm, because this is something I use everyday. I used organic ingredients and essential oils. I'm happy with how they turned out, but when I make this again I'm going to experiment with different oils. I used coconut oil for this, and I feel the coconut is a little overpowering. It was very quick and easy to make, so I'm sure I'll make it again.”
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MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 4:13:02 PM
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Erin McBride (Notathreatinsight, #3762) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a Beginner Level Get it Together Merit Badge!
“I cleaned out my storage container cabinet, making sure all containers and lids had matches.
I'm so happy I did this. It had been probably over a year since I'd gone through and reorganized everything and it's going to make my life a lot easier, especially cleaning up after meals!”
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MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 4:19:32 PM
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Erin McBride (Notathreatinsight, #3762) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Know Your Roots Merit Badge!
“I've been working on putting together a family tree so I talked with my grandma a couple years ago about this. She helped me with some information about her grandparents and where they came from originally (Poland and Austria). I also have some pictures of her side of the family that are pretty old, and she helped me with some of the names of relatives in those pictures.
The family tree is an ongoing project that I'm only still in the planning stages of. Some of the pictures I have are hanging in my upstairs hallway. One is of my great grandmother in her late teens or early twenties. Another is a wedding picture of my great great grandparents. The picture here is one that I have on a bookcase in my living room of my grandma, the one that I discussed family history with. I'm not sure where this picture was taken, but probably on a beach in Chicago, since she lived in Chicago all her life.”
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MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 4:23:06 PM
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Erin McBride (Notathreatinsight, #3762) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Birds Merit Badge!
“About two weeks ago I was looking out my craft room window into our side yard and I saw 3 cardinals and 2 blue jays pecking in the yard. It was so unusual to see so many together. I'm used to seeing one every now and then. I watched them for a while and it inspired me to start this badge.
I looked up common feeder birds in Indiana. These are: Northern Cardinal, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, White Breasted Nuthatch, Dark Eyed Junco, Brown Headed Cowbird, Carolina Chickadee, American Robin, Downy Woodpecker, European Starling, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, and Song Sparrow. I've seen most of these around my yard at some time.
My bird wish list will include actually identifying these backyard birds, and also the following: Purple Finch, Fox Sparrow, Short Eared Owl, American Kestrel (Sparrow Hawk), American Goldfinch, Scarlet Tanager, and Snow Bunting.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2016 : 4:28:55 PM
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Leslie Boston (cori1312, #6830) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Knitting Merit Badge!
“I learned to knit when I was a kid, though I have not done much beyond the basic corner-to-corner dishcloth.
Today, I spent 4.5 hours knitting and purling from a pattern to make this dishcloth.
It's not fancy, but it's definitely prettier than the basic diamond, and I think I know an Ohio State fan that would like to have it.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 12:13:42 PM
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Joyce Hein (GinghamGirl, #6071) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Going Green Merit Badge!
“Over the past 3 months (it's helped that we've moved across the country, so I got rid of all non-green cleaners before moving!) I've used up everything that is not green (I was too thrifty to throw it away - lol!) and now am officially a completely green house.
My mission statement: To be a completely green household for the health and future of my family!
From my journal:
1. I'm excited to have a super cute compost bucket (think 50's) that I can use every day. It even looks cute on the counter! I'm also very excited to be planning for pigs in the spring so we can give every single scrap to them! Right now we have chickens - but as they don't care for onions and potatoes, among other things, it's nice to know I can use it for the piggies soon.
2. I'm gathering recipes for homemade dishwasher and laundry detergent (think intermediate badge!). I tried out baking soda and vinegar...but it left a residue on my glasses. It cleaned really good though. Now for adding something to help with residue.
3. I'm so so so excited to find a LOCAL product (well...local before we moved to PEI!) that is available Canada wide (don't know if it's USA?) called Nellie's - 100% natural powders for laundry and dishwasher. They truly are fabulous - and the best thing is that I can pronounce and KNOW what each ingredient is!!
4. I'm looking forward to being creative with wrapping paper this year... I'm hoping to use material scraps cut into squares etc. to be creative, for the most part, and whenever possible. FUN!
This was a process - I didn't want to waste the products we had in our house. For the most part, I was already green, but there were other things I wanted to include, like dishwasher detergent, dish soap and toilet bowl cleaner. My favorite thing I've learned? Using just plain old vinegar with 10 drops of lavender in my hot water to clean - and 10 drops of lemon oil to polish my floors. I love it!! My hands are never cracked and sore anymore!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 12:18:26 PM
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Denise Thompson (levisgrammy, #43) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Going Green Merit Badge!
“Learning to knit is something I have always wanted to do. A friend of ours taught my daughter how to knit a simple dishcloth. She in turn showed me how to do it. For a long time it was all I could do in knitting. Then as time went on I decided I wanted to learn the dishcloths that have raised patterns in them. So I knitted these four. They took me a bit more than the 3 hour requirement.
I am happy with the end product. Along the way I learned how to fix my mistakes. I have become more attentive to my work. Taking the stitches off when I made an error and re-doing them is not as difficult as I thought it would be.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 12:35:50 PM
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CJ Armstrong (ceejay48, #665) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a Beginner Level Apples Merit Badge!
“Apples were originally from the border of China and, apparently, were introduced in England by the Romans. The earliest known mention of apples was by King Alfred in about 885 AD. After the Norman Conquest more varieties were introduced from France. Gradually over the centuries, more varieties were introduced and orchard practices for raising them successfully became more refined.
Apples came to America when settlers from the UK and Europe came bringing seeds and grafted trees. The grafted trees did not do well, but the seedling trees planted from seed were much more successful. More varieties were introduced from New Zealand and settlers became more successful at getting trees to grow and produce. When settlers started moving to the West they brought apples with them and it would seem they did very well in the area that became the State of Washington where the Red Delicious, especially, was grown to perfection.
There are many ways apples are used, but I believe four ways apples have been used for generations might be: eat fresh, make into pies, make applesauce and apple butter and into cut slices to dry for use later.
I grew up on a farm where we raised apples by the tons. We sold them locally and to truckers and my dad had a cider press that made 40-45 gallons per press that we sold locally to private individuals.
Apples on our farm were:
- Red Delicious
- Golden Delicious
- Summer Transparents
- Gala
- Rome Beauty
- Winesap
- Jonathan
- MacIntosh
The orchards are still in existence and available to us, even though we no longer own them. We go apple picking every year to have our supply. This season we picked apples for ourselves as well as some to share with a few friends. We picked Rome Beauties, Golden Delicious and Galas.
Two new things I learned were:
1) the origin of apples was China. Even though I grew up “in an apple orchard” I never really knew that origin.
2) the Red Delicious variety was “perfected” in the State of Washington. While I knew Washington was a state where apples were a primary crop I didn’t know this. I did know that there was somewhat of a “competition” between Colorado (which is where our orchards are and a great apple state) and Washington for apples!
I’ve also posted this in a thread under Merit Badge Chit Chat:
http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=71617
I’m grateful for the apples we grew, for the work I did in them and for the different varieties and what you can do with them. I’ll always be fond of and a fan of apples!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 12:58:44 PM
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Sherrilyn Askew (#1350) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a Beginner Level Apples Merit Badge!
“1. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus Sieversii, is still found today. The Romans brought sweet apples from western Asia into Europe. Apples were brought to North America by colonists in the 17th century, and the first apple orchard on the North American continent was planted in Boston by Reverend William Blaxton in 1625. The only apples native to North America are crab apples, which were once called "common apples". Apple varieties brought as seed from Europe were spread along Native American trade routes, as well as being cultivated on Colonial farms.
2. (a) Religion, (b) cooking, (c) eating fresh, (d) cider or juice
3. Eating – Gala, Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, Fuji, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Cripps Pink, Cameo
Cooking/canning – Gala, Yellow Delicious, Fuji, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Cripps Pink, Cameo
Cider making – Honeycrisp, any variety we can get into the press.
4. Two new things I learned about apples (I shared these on the Farmgirl Connection Chatroom too):
1. Alexander the Great is credited with finding dwarfed apples in Kazakhstan in 328 BCE
2. Because apples do not breed true when planted as seeds, grafting is generally used to produce new apple trees.
The research was very interesting. I didn't realize the sweet apple was from the Middle East and that apples don't breed true from seeds, only from cuttings.
I did place an order of several antique variety apple trees to add to my orchard though. I am patiently waiting for them to arrive.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 1:00:34 PM
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Sherrilyn Askew (#1350) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an Intermediate Level Apples Merit Badge!
“I made a BakeOver using MaryJane's Budget Mix and posted a photo of it and the "recipe" on the Farmgirl Connection Chatroom.
I dried apples and made cinnamon candy apples (organic and canned of course). I love to use the dried apples in my trail mix and oatmeal, or just eat plain. We had the cinnamon apples for both Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.
In three separate dishes, I made apple topped cake, apple and chicken sausage turn-overs, sweet potatoes and apples. There were no leftovers in this house.
I also sent Winnie a box with some fresh local winter apples, some of my dried apples, and an apple themed grocery bag. A farmgirl can never have to many grocery bags!
We still have Opals in the grocery store. They taste wonderful baked with pumpkin or just plain raw.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 1:06:09 PM
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Winnie Nielsen (Red Tractor Girl, #3109) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a Beginner Level Apples Merit Badge!
“First, I learned about the history of apples from several books including Brooklyn Botanic Garden All Regional Guide: The Best Apples to Buy and Grow; secondly, Apples of Uncommon Character. Apples came to England from the days of trading where British ships reigned the seas and brought back all manner of new goods. Apples also made their way into Europe from the Ancient Silk Trading route that traversed the Middle East through what is known today as Kazikistan. Since water was often contaminated with sewage, apple cider was made as a safe beverage for everyone. Colonists, beginning with John Smith in 1607 brought apple seedlings and seeds to plant in their new home. Further north, it is speculated that the French and Dutch trappers also brought apples on their ships and seeds from them landed in places as far north as Maine and lower Canada.
Apples are a favorite subject of mine and I enjoy reading about their history, uses and diversity. What I enjoyed most about the Beginner level was hearing from Farmgirls who had experience growing apples and still had some in their yards that they use. There were so many recipes shared and stories during the month celebration!
The basic four ways that apples have been used in everyday living include, apple cider, fresh, dried and made into apple molasses for cooking sweetener.
There are many different varieties of apples today in America. Because apples do not grow here in Florida, we are dependent on apples shipped from regions where they are grown.
1. Favorite eating apples: Jonagold, Cameo, Fuji, and Yellow Delicious
2. Cooking: Granny Smith, Opal, Braeburn
3. Cider: McIntosh,IdaRed, Jonathan
There is a rural Farm Stand outside of my town and the owner does business with North Georgia, North Carolina Apple growers and brings them to his business. Here I was able to eat Cameo, Jonagolds and Fuji. I was gifted with some Opal apples from Washington state in late October from another Farmgirl. Recently our local grocer has been carrying this variety and they are delicious!
With other Farmgirls reading up on Apples during our Apple Festival Month in September, I learned a lot and shared the following two items. 1) Apple Molasses was made by boiling down cider into a thick syrup that could be kept indefinitely. Sugar was often too expensive to purchase so apple molasses was used in cooking as a sweetener. 2.) There were approximately 15-20,000 varieties of apples by the Civil War in 1865 due to the knowledge of grafting that was shared amongst neighbors.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 1:13:40 PM
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Winnie Nielsen (Red Tractor Girl, #3109) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an Intermediate Level Apples Merit Badge!
“I learned about BakeOvers when I first read MaryJanes' Ideas book. For this Intermediate requirement, I made an apple cake Bakeover using sliced apples, cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. The topping was MJF Budget mix biscuit recipe and the whole thing was baked in a medium cast iron skillet. Super easy and very tasty! I posted about it with a photo on the Forum on 10/22/15.
For my next project, I tried drying Fuji Apple slices. They turned out very good, and I have been using them in morning oatmeal along with raisins and chopped walnuts. The jar is almost empty! I posted about this on the Forum on 9/16/15.
Learning new recipes with apples was such a pleasure. My favorite dish was one I made up and I have been making more of it ever since. Here is my recipe: chopped fresh Kale, one chopped apple, one peeled and diced sweet potato. Saute ingredients in skillet with a bit of butter, add some apple cider and simmer until sweet potatoes are done. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. I love this combo and it is good with anything else in the meal.
My apple based dessert included making the apple BakeOver for the Beginner level and an Apple Pie for our Apple Pie Sunday on 09/27/15. For my apple pie, I used the apples that MaryJane sent me from the 100 year old tree on her farm. Best pie ever!! Gosh, were those apples delicious to eat and to make pie with!
My third new apple recipe included a Apple Bread recipe from he Capper's Farmer Magazine Fall Issue. Made with fresh diced apples, it was moist and full of cinnamon spice. I can say that it didn't last long when it came out of the oven!! I posted about this recipe on the Forum on 09/06/15.
The Intermediate badge level was all about getting busy in my kitchen learning and trying new ways to prepare apples. I learned that you can't go wrong! Everything I tried turned out delicious and was easy to make. If I had access to more fresh apples, I would try my hand at making homemade cider too. Looking forward to other Farmgirls posting about their experiments with cooking apples in the Chatroom.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 12 2016 : 1:40:45 PM
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Sherrilyn Askew (#1350) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning a Beginner Level Collect It! Merit Badge!
“I have several collections, but I thought I would use my earliest (and favorite) collection. I collect Blue Willow china. I got my first pieces when I was 5 years old. My parents had purchased a house from an older couple and they left behind a lot of old dishes. There was a dinner plate I loved (that's another story though) and a stack of Blue Willow coffee saucers. I asked mom if I could have the saucers, and a collection was born.
The saucers are all from Japan, but Blue Willow is manufactured around the world.
The ones I collect are blue, preferably dark blue. Sometimes there will be some gold trim too.
To learn more about this collection, visit http://www.willowcollectors.org/.
I have several pieces of Blue Willow, some of which I have gotten because they are beautiful, and some I have gotten because they have an unusual makers stamp. The most unusual stamp I have found is from Poland. I have had trouble finding good information on the stamp.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 12 2016 : 1:46:11 PM
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Sherrilyn Askew (#1350) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning an Intermediate Level Collect It! Merit Badge!
“I have a list of all the pieces of Blue Willow I have. Periodically I browse through replacements.com to see if anything interesting is available. I am very selective about condition, color, style, price, and origin. China takes up a lot of space. Every time I got to an antique store, flea market, or garage sale, I always check to see what is available and if it is a good value.
A lot of folks think that because Blue Willow is highly collectible that it is all worth a lot of money. Most of it isn't. If it's damaged in any way, its value drops considerably. How well the pattern is put onto the china and how intense the color is also makes a difference, as well as how high of quality the china itself is. The manufacturers stamp also effects value. A "Made in Occupied Japan" stamp is worth more than an ordinary "Japan" stamp. I use a "Blue Willow Identification and Value Guide" to check each piece that comes into my collection. It doesn't show everything, but I get a rough idea of the value.
The photo I attached is my most recent addition to my collection. Isn't she a beauty!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 12 2016 : 1:51:26 PM
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Sherrilyn Askew (#1350) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning an Expert Level Collect It! Merit Badge!
“Part of my collection is displayed in a glass cabinet along with my miniature tea set collection and other items I have collected during the years. I rotate my pieces through the cabinet to keep my display fresh and so the pieces can be cleaned.
Because china is porous, it should be washed every 6 months or it can get dry and brittle. This includes grandma's china tucked away for special occasions. If you make it part of your spring and fall cleaning ritual, it will get done.
I have been called a "Pack Rat," so the fact that I have more than one collection should come as no surprise. I have learned to control my impulses and wait for the exceptional pieces rather than buy everything I saw (what I did when I was starting). I also have a spoon collection I started in the 6th grade (about 250 spoons), miniature tea sets, old quilts and quilt tops (my most recent collection), and books (a collection I am trying to pare down, impulse buying is a problem in a bookstore). Please let me know if you would like to see photos of any of my other collections. All of them are active.
And Barbie too, although I no longer actively collect her, unless I found an original in superb condition with original clothes at a awesome price, then I would buy just before I drooled on her. I do have the 35th Anniversary tea set though.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Feb 12 2016 : 2:01:16 PM
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Teresa Coleman (kangaroo kate, #1506) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Expert Level Quilting Merit Badge!
“I have made a few quilts over past 4 years. I gave 4 of them to friends.
I am about to start another soon. My main style is applique with pieced blocks. most have some embroidery on them and some with fabric painting. I did a history quilt that was entered in our state fair and got a ribbon. I will try and find photo of it. It had two sides one was statue of liberty other was blocks showing history events in America.
They all turned out good sometimes don't know how it will look finished. I put it on a quilt frame and roll it as I go. I work from a idea in my head and go from there. My friends that I surprised and gave a quilt to were speechless.
I will put down on the dates the quilt I could find the photo of. This one had the poem the rainbow bridge. It was for a friend whose special wallaby died she had raised from a pinky joey (one with no fur) There was a variety of methods done on this one. You will find I do a lot of kangaroo theme quilts.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!: Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
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Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees
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