That’s right, you heard me! I have been neglecting my farm blog…a bit. When my regular blog is only updated weekly (who am I kidding…every two weeks is all I can manage lately), this space has gotten shafted…a bit. But I’m going to rectify that, because it’s Christmas and there is definitely some glorious holiday goodness happening on our farm. We bought our first real Christmas tree (my husband’s mom was sensitive to the smell [think allergy, only slightly different] when he was growing up and I was all about saving money in our early years as a married couple). But when our fake tree officially kicked the proverbial bucket (thanks to cats chewing through light strings and treating it like their own personal kitty tower), we knew this year it was time. We came home with an 8 foot Fraser and I squeal each time I go in the front room, because Alleluia, it smells like Christmas!
Corra was throwing a fit because…actually I’m not entirely sure why. I probably set her down to take the picture. I’m inconsiderate like that sometimes.
Also the last few months stressing about why we didn’t have any kits has led me to finally learn that more often than not, animals know what they are doing better than I do. We have two beautiful litters of the prettiest bunny babies I’ve ever raised. Their mamas are doing well and in a few weeks we should have 14 bouncing handfuls of joy for the kids to hold. Perfect timing, I think.
These are both excellent reasons to kick me out of my blogging slump, but they are not the reason that brings me here today. No, that reason is aebleskivers. When my dad came through on his annual trip to St. George, he gave us an early Christmas present…a cast iron aebleskiver pan to add to our collection of cast iron cookware. I think we surprised him when seasoned it after he left so that we could use it that night for pizza bites. Here’s how it works:
[pictures from our Thanksgiving trip up to Sundance, UT…sorry for the lighting weirdness]
Traditionally, its a breakfast food (see babies in jammies) but we also did savory ones too and dipped them in pizza sauce for a jazzed up dinner. You heat your special pan fairly hot and butter it well. Then you pour in a basic pancake batter (recipes abound on the internets) and fill each of the 7 wells just a bit more than half way full.
You let them cook until their are bubbles in a ring (kind of like pancakes). Then you take a knife/chopstick/skewer/something pointy-ish and you push and pull and slide it up one side. This is why a well buttered, well seasoned and hot pan are so important!
The uncooked batter spills out and starts to form another side. At this point you can add fillings like apple pie filling, chocolate chips, cheese (for a savory aebleskiver), or leave them plain, which is what we did. New Years Day, however, Apple Pie Skivers are happening!
Once that side cooks, you turn it again and the same thing happens. Usually we turned it three times to get a solid ball or at least one with a very small hole.
We just piled them in an oven-safe bowl and kept them in a warm oven until people wanted to come grab them. I love that they are all the great things about pancakes, but so much more kid/mom friendly! I would break them open a bit, spoon in some Nutella and hand it to a kid…no plates, no sticky! Traditionally they are served with jam and powdered sugar, but on my list are: strawberry shortcake style, Peanut butter banana and syrup, and peperoni pizza bites. Oh and just for fun we tried it with eggs. Totally works!
I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and New Years and that you find things as joyful as fresh tree smell, baby bunnies, and aebleskivers to warm your homes! Merry Christmas!
The Angry Dwarf Dairy 