Recipes from the farm: German Apple Pancakes!

5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 1T granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
2 large tart apples (cored, peeled and cut into wedges)
1tsp ground cinnamon
1 T confectioners sugar (optional)
3/4 fresh raspberries

In a blender, combine the eggs, vanilla and the 1/2 sugar and blend until combined. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until smooth, about 10 sec. more.

Preheat the oven to 375. Place a 10 in. ovenproof, nonstick frying pan over medium head and add the butter. When the butter has foamed and subsided, add the apples and saute, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle the apples with the cinnamon and the remaining 1 T granulated sugar. Sire together and saute until the apples are glazed and the edges are slightly translucent, about 2 minutes longer.

Spread the apple evenly in the frying pan and out the batter slowly over he top, so the apples stay in place. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the bottom is firm, about 8 minutes. Transfer the pan to the over and cook until the top of the pancake is firm, about 10. min. longer.

Remove from the oven, invert a flat serving plate over the frying pan and then, holding the pan and plate together  invert them together and lift off the pan. Cut the pancake into 3 or 4 wedges and transfer to individual plates. Add sugar and raspberries! We recommend fresh whipped cream as well!

courtesy of William and Sonoma Breakfast

The fawns are here, the fawns are here!

Seeing the first new baby deer of the season is always so exciting.  Yesterday, as I was driving to meet a friend, I saw the first baby with it's mom just 1/3 mile from my driveway just down in the ditch by the stream.  What a beautiful little spotted creature.  We will start seeing more and more of them now at the tree line with their moms around dusk.  When they start to romp and play with each other, that is really an entertaining little show.

Big "kitty" excitement

Last Thursday night when my loyal friend Fiona, the herding dog, and I went out to the backyard for her final call of the day, the horses and mules were extremely riled up and just racing around the pasture.  They raced up into the woods, made a loop and came charging at full gallop down the fence line, into the small pasture and into the loafing shed.  Just after they made it into the shed, we heard the very loud cat scream.  

At that point Fiona looked up at me as if to say, 'I will just hold it for the night' and she did.  My guess is that "big kitty" was working on doing in it's prey and the horses were very upset and scared hearing this.  It is a great priviledge to live in the woods, but one must always respect that in the evening and night, the animal residents rule.

*attached image is example

Trout!

Fresh catch! My grandson, Zander, recently got to play with some nice sized trout from the state stocked lake at the end of our property. Quiet and relaxing fishing all summer! Will post pictures soon!

Elk in the mist

We don't always get to see the Elk herd in our part of the hills, but last night in the fog and mist, we saw around 10 Elk in the pasture. Beautiful scene on the cool early summer day! Welcome to our cabin in the woods blog! We hope you check back often about our events and fun things happening at Normarke Farm in the Black Hills of South Dakota!