Rachael Eliker's Blog, page 8

Plenty of Green Grass.

It's that time again, when one of steers had come to the end of his stay on our farm and was sent to the butcher. It was Winston's turn this time, and though it never gets any easier (and why should it?), we're always grateful for their sacrifice. Winston came to us as a knobby-kneed youngster that Jack bought from someone who had extra feeder calves, right after Woody made his exit. They made the transfer in a Walmart parking lot and unceremoniously, he came home to live with us on a dreary, rai...

The Shaggy, Bang-Heavy Mini Mullet

At the impending birth of every child, I start nesting. Like seriously crazy. Adam's arrival was no exception. That included all the to-do things I do for myself, from making sure my toenails were clipped and painted to frequently scrubbing my wedding ring (Who would I think is looking at the dirt on my wedding band? Probably no one, but still...pregnant lady's gotta be prepared). My hair doesn't ever escape my attention either. I'd been growing my hair out for a couple of years and while I love ...

It'll Be a Good One

Third, Kindergarten, and Fifth.In the blink of an eye, summer break ended and the kids were headed back to school. We're about a month in and finally feel like we're getting into the swing of things. Thank goodness. Not so much because anyone was dragging their feet about returning, but because we have enjoyed unhurried mornings and long, lazy afternoons too much. Sure, school is enjoyable and stimulating and all, but there's something about having time to be bored. Seventh grade!Come the first d...

Yogurt Cucumber Salad

I tend to share a lot of dessert recipes here, mostly because when it comes to cooking dinner, I am firmly stuck in my rut. The food will be on the table at a reasonable time, nutritious, and delicious enough, but it isn't particularly gourmet. This cucumber salad is the same--a bit unassuming, but it's tasty and healthy and goes well with something simple like grilled chicken, and it doesn't heat up the kitchen while making it. With our garden exploding with cucumbers, this has been one of our ...

Adventures and Adversity

It has been weeks since we've had any measurable rainfall here in Indiana, so the one day that we had a pretty good shot at getting some rain, what did we decide to do? Go hiking! Why? Because anyone who knows anything about weather knows that if you want it to rain, you pretend like it isn't going to. Hang that laundry on the line, plan a picnic, and go on a hike, 'cause then, it's guaranteed to downpour. In all fairness, we'd seen rain promised dozens of times and it never delivered, even when ...

Garlic Grilled Shrimp

Though I am not innately a seafood lover, the rest of my family is, which means once in a while, I explore dinner options outside of my usual comfort zone. Shrimp is an easy one because it's quick and fairly forgiving now that I've had a few successful preparations under my belt. The original recipe calls for marinating the shrimp, but in my haste to get dinner on the table, I've brushed the sauce on and found it's just as good. And yes, even the seafood critic in me likes them enough to make a ...

Brood X

One summer staple for me is cicadas. There's something about their droning, haunting song on a humid summer evening that makes the season complete. Growing up in Nebraska, I'm used to the annual cicada, which shows up, well, yearly and sticks around for a couple of months until they slowly fade away. Moving to Indiana eight years ago, I'd heard about super broods of cicadas that pop up out of the soil every so often. Guess what? 2021 was one of those years. And when I say "pop out of the soil," t...

Cookies & Cream Rice Krispies Treats

Monday is our designated family night and every week, we rotate who's going to make the treat. Claire picked this one--a new twist on a classic--and it was a winner. It had all the crunchy goodness of a rice krispies treat with the yumminess of cookies and cream...yeah, they're to die for.

Ingredients:

2 cups Oreos (about 18)6 Tablespoons butter1 package mini marshmallows (about four cups/ten ounces)1/2 teaspoon vanilla1/4 teaspoon salt4 cups Rice Krispies1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Spritz 9x9 pa...

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

If you've ever grown zucchini in your garden, you know it's very prolific. Most of the time. This year, our plants were sadly flooded out, but because they were so prolific the year before, we still have gobs of shredded zucchini in our freezer. 😅 Usually, we'll make our regular zucchini bread recipe, but once in a while, we like to mix it up with this recipe. It's rich and chocolatey and basically tastes like brownies. Brownies with veggies in them? Win.
Ingredients:
2 cups flour (1 cup white, 1 ...

An Amazing Adventure

I don't know why (okay, I kind of do know why, teeheehee) we have so many spring birthdays, but we do. Like, over half our family birthdays end up within a three week window and by the end of it, we're all a little fatigued from all the fun--the presents, the cake, the extravagant dinners...Kidding! The kids live for the gluttonous lifestyle all those birthdays afford. Lucky for Peter, he loves cake, ice cream, candles, presents, balloons, etc, etc, etc, even after watching other people celebrat...