Is the boss the farmer or the sheep?

Farm animals are portrayed to most people through children's books.  We all have an image of what they each should look like, usually cute and huggable right?  You'd be surprised how many folks know what a lamb is but don't know what a sheep is.  Many don't have a clue that a lamb is a baby sheep.

There is a lot about sheep folks don't know.  For one, did you know there are over 200 different breeds of sheep worldwide.  The difference can be dramatic.  Some sheep have wool, some don't.  Some sheep have horns, some don't.  Some sheep have no horns, some have 2 horns, some have 4.

Wild looking you say?

  This is a perfect example of the 4 horned genetics in the breed we raise, the

Navajo Churro

.  The 4 horn genetics are not unique to the Navajo Churro. There are other breeds that carry the gene.

What has fascinated us about these sheep with 4 horns is watching their personality develop.  

They must navigate their way a bit differently.  

They are different then the other sheep.

It's almost as if as wee ones they have a special crown on their heads and they know not why. Eventually they grow into them and understand and respect them.

The horns are so dramatic and cannot be ignored by you or the other sheep.    

We've concluded by observing these guys early on in their life, 

...they learn to own these horns. 

I wonder, is there a message from mother nature?

It has been said, it's our very differences that make us stronger.

As we prepare for our new lamb crop this year we feel sure we will

welcome

at least one ram lamb with four horns.

As a final note of interest

 I read somewhere that the Navajo culture prized the multi-horn sheep as a spiritual gift, while the South American cultures believed them to be a "devil" spirit and eliminated them from a flock.  

Felted Chicks

adorable, right?

You have no idea.  the picture only shows a few examples of their cuteness.  

Each chick comes alive depending on the combinations of color and the amount of time you spend.

Like so many of my best ideas, these were the result of a mistake.  

Had one or two of those yourself?

I had a large number of wool dryer balls that just got too small, they felting too tightly. 

So, what are we going to do with a large basket full of felted wool balls?

The holiday's were approaching and I thought, hmmm, a great base for ornaments.  

Being a farmer, selling at farmers markets I concluded... farm animals!

So, grab your felting needles, don't worry about which number or size needle, any will do for this very easy project.  Get some colors of wool roving, (you'll definitely need orange for the beak) hopefully from your favorite sheep farmer.  You can even buy your favorite sheep farmers wool and easily dye your own. (Future Blog) using things from your kitchen pantry, cool aid,  turmeric, or onion skins to name a few.  Very small amounts of wool will go along way with these felted ornaments.

Take a very small amount of the orange roving and fold it in a triangular shape, hoping to see some resemblance of a chickens beak, now place the soon to be finished beak on a felting foam surface and  "poke" it with your needle to firm it up.  Keep "poking" until it holds its shape.  Admire it for  a brief moment, then "poke" it to attach it to the wool felted ball.  Now you have the beginnings of your chick!

From there, let your imagination GO

Have fun...there is no wrong .

Be careful, you'll have so much fun watching these critters come alive you might find yourself making pigs!

For those about to ask me why a sheep farmer isn't making sheep....I did.  They all sold.

I am too lame to make more before posting this...sorry.

Maybe before I have a chance to replenish my inventory you can make a few and share your creations with the rest of us?

Happy Felting 

Lamb Ribs

I can almost hear those lips smacking...

Who can resist finger lickin, napkin grabbin, fall off the bone, sticky ole ribs?

 All the talk of fabulous food bites for the upcoming Super Bowl got me motivated.

How about something that might, just might, draw the attention away from the big screen for a bit?  

potato skins, chips & dip, wings...how about something different? 

Today I'm sharing a recipe for the yummiest, easiest, most impressive little morsels...EVER

LAMB RIBS!

Think you don't like lamb?  Think again.  I have gained lamb lovers over this recipe time and time again.  I'm convinced anyway, folks that think they don't like lamb have either had a bad preparation or an older sheep.  If you consider yourself a foodie you need to give these a try.  If you want to impress your guests, this will do it, I assure you.

Finding lamb ribs will not be an easy task. I would suggest you find a lamb vendor at a farmers market, they'll have them!  Not only will they have them but lamb ribs are a very economical cut...double bonus!  As is often the case buying direct from farmers, you'll have access to cuts of meat you'd never find in your box stores.  

So enough discussion...Here's the recipe!

Lamb Ribs


ingredients: lamb ribs, spice rub, BBQ sauce

Spice Rub lamb lends itself to so many flavor profiles, Asian with soy and ginger, Mediterranean with coriander and oregano, Mexican with cumin and chili...and always garlic!  If your not feeling very creative Old Bay seasoning works great

your favorite BBQ sauce  I like a honey/molasses/mustard based sauces but I usually create something that marries well with my rub.  I'd recommend one of your ingredients be honey, molasses, syrup or even a jam you have sitting on the shelf.  Again, if your not feeling too inspired, a store bought sauce will do.   It is honestly hard to go wrong.

Remove as much fat as you can from the ribs.

Rub the ribs with dry rub and refrigerate over nite or at least 8 hours

First, we'll cook the meat.  Remove ribs and place on a foil lined baking pan.  Cover and bake at 250 degrees for 1.5 hours.  Sometimes I place them on a rack and place about 1/4 inch any fruit juice (i.e cherry, cranberry, apple, blueberry, grape) in the bottom of the pan and follow the same cooking.  

Next remove the cover and cook for another 1-1.5 hours.

At this point you could place the ribs on a grill but my oven method works great

Next, baste with your sauce every 10-15 minutes  for the next hour.  

Remove from oven.

Do you see the GOOEY?

Voila!

Too easy? 

Printable Recipe

DIY Wool Dryer Balls

On this farm, we raise sheep. 

You'd never know from my blogs that we raise sheep, would you?  I write about farming and such and occasionally show pictures of our sheep.  I do talk about farming chores but I haven't spoken of wool, our wool specifically, the many attributes of wool in general, or the many fun and useful things you can do with it.

I think I'm way over due for a blog about wool, don't you?

I have pondered and pondered the topic of wool.  Where to begin?  I've thought about the many phases and facts regarding wool.   I get so overwhelmed with the possibilities for a blog that I put the idea away thinking I'll get back to it another day.  I read a post about knitting from a friend over on Google+ ,  Lynne Knowlton. As Lynne described getting out those knitting needles again I was quickly reminded it's the very basic stuff that folks would enjoy. 

It hit me, yes, let's make    wool dryer balls!

Stoney Mountain Farm Wool Dryer Balls

What the heck are wool dryer balls you ask?


Well they're just the coolest laundry alternative out there, of course and I am biased!

wool dryer balls:

....replacing those chemical laden dryer sheets, one household at a time ... we should all be happy about that.  

This is not intended to be an ad so please don't be offended if I send you to our website for more details about the many benefits of wool dryer balls.  Here, we're going to roll our sleeves up and make our very own felted wool balls.

If your not inclined to use them as a laundry alternative they make great pet toys, juggling balls, pin cushions, and even the base for more felting projects.   I even have one customer that adorns her home with bowls of these natural felted balls of wool, quite nicely too.

So, take this project as a crafty one...that is the intent after all!

Grey wool roving

I am going to show you how to make them...the best way!  There are alot of folks making them out of yarn and that's fine but they won't last as long.  We're going to make them from wool roving.  Roving is the wool, after it has been washed and carded.  Roving is the stage just prior to spinning the carded wool into yarn.

Maybe you have a stash of yarn on hand you'd like to use?  Whether yarn or roving, the process we are about to engage in is felting.

For this project all you will need is:

1. wool,  I would suggest 2 ounces of roving for each ball, totaling 6 ounces. I would also suggest you make 3 wool dryer balls as the desired affects from the wool balls require a minimum of 3.  You can purchase roving from a variety of craft stores, our farm, our shop on Etsy or many others, and many other places.  I would encourage you to buy it from a farmer or someone that knows the source of the wool and how it is handled..  Like food, wool is being treated in ways you would find criminal...at least I hope you would.  Do you know 80% of the wool grown in this country is being sent to China for processing because the chemical restrictions are lighter there?  The wool then returns to you, the unsuspecting buyer.  On our farm we only send our wool to U.S. mills that do not use chemicals in any stage of the process...that's hard to find. If you want colorful wool dryer balls you can find roving that has been dyed.  We don't use any chemicals or dyes on our wool...just au naturale,  only the shades of the sheep.
2. a sock, either mens cotton tube sock or a womens trouser sock will work
3. rubber bands
4. washer& dryer
5. laundry soap

Lets Begin:

First, divide your roving into 2 ounce sections.  Don't be afraid to pull the roving apart.   We are going to roll each 2 ounce portion of roving into a ball.  If you are using yarn, the process is the same.   If your roving tears, do not fret, just pick up the next piece and keep going.

As you roll the roving be careful to always keep a round shape.  If your "ball" gets lopsided you need to focus on the underdeveloped side.  You want the ball to be taut but not tight.  Do not be afraid.  Regardless, you will have a felted ball at the end of this process.

Just keep rolling until the full 2 ounces of wool roving is used.  Round and round, trying to keep the roving from twisting as you roll.

You will want to feed the end back through your final pass.  If you are familiar with needle felting this is where you would felt the end down therefore leaving a smoother edge.

Now, your ball is ready to place in the sock.  Sometimes I put my hand in the sock first and grab the wool ball with my sock covered hand, then pulling the sock over the ball.  Tie off the sock with a knot or the rubber band,  Repeat the process until your sock is full with the 3 balls.

Now, place the sock in the washing machine in a hot soapy cycle.  Remove the sock from  the washer and run them through a dry cycle.

Remove them from the sock.

Voila!

your very own wool balls....

So easy!  

You'll be so impressed with the ease and quality of your results,  you may just become a wool junkie!

Ready to try some felting?

Let the New Year Begin

Another fabulous holiday moved to memories!  Another beautiful tree down and all the bits of Christmas to be packed away until the next year.  I adore the holidays so its always difficult to take it all down and pack it all away.  I felt this years tree was especially beautiful.  As I began the process of undressing the tree, winding up all the lights, removing all the adornments from all the corners,  I told my husband how sad I was.  His reply, "you always say that"!  There you have it, drama over!

 So, if you are feeling the emotional pull of the holiday past and have no outlet worthy of your drama,  just think forward to the year ahead...that's what I did.

What are New Years resolutions all about anyway?  A new year, new start?  Organization?  Planning?  Goals?  I imagine all the above would be considered sound reasoning.

According to Wikipedia a 2007 a study about new years resolutions involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study's participants were confident of success at the beginning. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying "lose weight"), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

I have always been a big new years resolution gal.  I haven't had much success with them but each and every year I proclaim a few more.  I proclaim I will clean more, eat less, work harder, exercise more, be more grateful...it's a wonder I have time for everyday living.  Truth is, as the year moves forward, everyday living kicks in and all those grandiose plans are forgotten...at least until the next new year.

We set out each year planning for our farm too.  We have the same goal setting approach but try to be a bit less casual about the results, it is our livelihood after all.  In the business environment it's referred to as forecasting.


                       Forecasting is the process of making statements about events whose actual 
                        outcomes (typically) have not yet been observed....wikipedia

Sounds like "resolutions" to me


In 2014 we plan to grow our flock.  Calling it resolutions or forecasting matters not,  our motivations are the same. We established a goal, based on previous results.  We simply recognized that demand exceeds supply.  We did some forecasting and set a goal.  Our goal was achievable because our farm, our acreage to be exact, can support more sheep.  





At the core of our mission, always, is to raise healthy happy animals and that means providing the proper conditions. Plain and simple, there needs to be enough good quality grass for the number of sheep.  

Our goal:doable! 

Truth is each year on the farm we make lots of plans.  We plan not to have any noxious weeds in our pasture, each year we do.  Each year we plan not to loose sheep, each year we do.  

Each year I am made very aware that we are not in control here.  Each year I am reminded, no matter our desired outcome, mother nature will preside over the results.  

Whether in our personal lives or our businesses, we set each new year in motion hoping to create some modem of control, yet it is not to be....

Maybe if we were willing to recognize there are influences beyond our imagination we would be more inclined to tolerate different outcomes to our goals?

DIY Heat

 This past fall we began gathering wood for our winters heat.  On one particularly beautiful fall day my husband and I headed out to gather the split wood from trees he had already dropped for one reason or another.   

Immature Sweet Gum seed pod

We choose trees that are nuisance trees like sweet gums.  I hate to call any tree a nuisance but sweet gums drop seed pods that get in our sheep's wool and create major havoc.  We choose trees that might have been hit by lightening, or others that if we don't take them down they're coming down on their own.  An amazing tid bit of information I've learned through my  recent wood burning experience is that each tree variety produces a different quality of heat.

My right hand is on the gas lever

We have a great system working together.  My husband John uses the chain saw and cuts the logs.  I place each log into the wood splitter.  The gas powered splitter feeds the log into a steel wedge that splits the log.  Each log gets split in two, then each 1/2 gets split in 1/2 again.  So, each log is    basically split into 4.  

                 Shall we say it is then, a "pretty log"?

After the logs are all split we are ready to transport and stack them in one of the buildings near the house where they can dry and age.  This way we have easy access to the wood at all times.

 I realized as we gathered our wood how much I appreciate our heat.  With each crackle of the flames, the scent of  smoke and ash, and last but far from least, the increase in our  indoor temperature...I am so appreciative.  

I am not criticizing anyone's enjoyment of their automated heat systems.  I have sure enjoyed them over the years.  I  certainly appreciate the existence of an automated heat source as I clean up the residue from our wood burning stove.  I appreciate the automatic response of the temperature control panel...heat on demand!

I also appreciate knowing the difference.  I appreciate being in a place in my life that I am reminded that warmth didn't always come so easily.  

Do you think being able to realize the difference(s) helps us appreciate what we have?

WHOLEsome Food: EGGS

Yesterday, on Facebook, I saw a post that I found eye opening.  

The post got my attention but so did the comments from folks still talking about the price of eggs.  I hear folks gripe a lot about the price of farm fresh eggs.  

No question, farm fresh food can be pricey in comparison to the big box stores. We're so conditioned to the prices established by the industrial size farms, when we're faced with the prices associated with the small, local growers offering the most healthful alternatives we often feel a bit of sticker shock. 

Many folks realize the choice they're making but for those that want to be a bit enlightened I thought it was time to share a bit of chicken and egg farming reality...

Yes, you can buy a dozen factory eggs from chickens lucky to see the light of day.  You can always be assured your eggs come from tightly confined hens dropping their eggs on a conveyor belt.  And yes, you can get those for around $1.99 or sometimes less!

Pastured, free range chicken eggs run $4-$5 in our neck of the woods.  Organic are even higher I'm not going to engage the "organic" discussion here, that might be a future Blog. 

Let me show you what you get for that extra $1.50.  

Look at the difference in nutrients!

And, if nutrients don't get your attention (the foodie in me never leaves the room) have you tasted the difference in a farm fresh egg and a store bought? 

Can you see the one?  Now you should taste the difference!

What the farmer feeds the chickens, or pigs, cows, and sheep or even vegetable crops will have a direct impact on the price they have to (or should) charge the consumer.   You want your farmer sourcing the best inputs.  Small farms like ours don't always have the luxury of buying in bulk or spreading our costs.   On our farm the quality of input is so important.  We end up sourcing our inputs from specialty vendors and the cost is at a premium. 

  

Did you know....chickens are pigs! 

Not the cute pink squealing type. So named because they eat and eat more then you imagine they could.  Creative farmers are always thinking of ingenious healthy ways to keep them full like planting a field of something chickens love but then they have to worry about the need for a balanced diet.  Yep, no kidding, they need proper attention to balanced nutrients.  

This time of year we also face slowing of egg production due to shorter days and molting.  Industrial farms, well they just pour another concrete pad and add some light bulbs.  They have learned how to manipulate nature, we small farmers are still figuring out how to work with in her parameters!

 So, next time you pick up a dozen eggs...no matter the source...think about those chickens and think about your health.  Most important though....if we want to have small farmers growing healthy food for us we need to 

Rethink our Food Choices!

As a farmer raising chickens I am blessed to see with my own eyes the bright happy spirit in these animals sniffing, scratching, rolling, cackling, and eating what nature provides....

Cinnamon Pickles

Have I said it before?  I love pickles!  This recipe is adapted from a Caswell County, NC neighbor.  I am sure it would rightfully be referred to as, "old timey".

As so often was the case, an old recipe came out of need for preservation or desire not to be wasteful.  This recipe is just that.  You know those cucumbers that stay on the vine just a bit too long?  Either hidden under all the growth, or, more likely with me...I didn't pick it in time.  The seeds are way too developed for your regular pickle recipes...well, here is the answer to your "i don't want to be wasteful" woes.  


I first had these pickles a few years back and fell in love with them immediately.  They're very different. They're crisp and spicy like fall, not from heat but from cinnamon.


The only issue I had with the original recipe was the bright red color which came from red food coloring and red cinnamon heart candy.  If you don't know, you should read up on red food coloring.  An unnecessary additive I choose to stay away from so I didn't use the candy or the food coloring.  The recipe also uses alum (yes, derived from aluminum) and I found some controversial information about it too.  Alum has always been used in pickling to get the crispness. Although controversial, I used it anyway, this time.  It is a tiny amount and I didn't want to alter the character of the pickles...Next time I will try eliminating the alum and see what happens.


The recipe is time consuming but quite easy.  Know that the next few mornings (yes you read that right) you will have a few basic steps.  The important thing to note is starting this today means you won't be actually canning until the 3rd day.  I do love canning but I also know I have to block off the time and kitchen space and I'll bet if you've read this far into this blog you know exactly what I'm saying!


Ingredients:
2 gallons cucumber rings from too big cucs (peel, seed, slice in rings or as I've done half rings)
water
2 C pickling lime
3 C white vinegar
1 teaspoon alum
10 C Sugar
8 sticks cinnamon
1 C cinnamon hearts (if desired)
1 bottle of red food color (if desired)

Soak the cucumber rings, lime, and 8.5 quarts of water for 24 hours. Drain and wash well.  Cover with ice water and soak for 2 hours.  Pour off ice water.













Cover rings with 1 C vinegar, alum, and red food coloring if using and enough water to cover.  Simmer for 2 hours.

Drain and throw away the water.  Heat 2 C vinegar, 2 C water, sugar and cinnamon sticks and candy if using.  Pour the liquid over the rings. For the next 2 mornings, drain the liquid into a pot, bring to a boil and pour back over the cucumber rings.  Keep a lid over the rings to hold heat as long as possible.  On the 3rd day, reheat the liquid and rings together and bring to a boil.

Once you've reached your boil your ready to can these babies!  Put the rings in your hot sterilized jars, cover with liquid to 1/4 " head space.  Put on your sterilized lids and water bath for 20 minutes.  In 8-10 weeks your ready for the unveiling! I didn't miss the red color at all.  When they were first cooking they had a marvelous celery green color I wished had lasted.  The color is much more appetizing to me then the red ever was.  Hope you ENJOY!

Dog Biscuits

The more I know about farming and the food we consume the more engaged I become in sourcing our ingredients.  I'm a stickler about our food  and those choices are the same for all the animals on our farm.  I honestly don't know how it could be otherwise.

My, shall we say, enlightened perspective regarding our food has led to many of our food staples falling under the category, made from scratch.

Any of you that have experienced the shift from....
store bought:homemade in any of your food choices knows...
 it is always for the better.... in so many ways.

Today, our transition from store bought is all about our four legged kids treat...

We have a ritual, as soon as our pups hear the spoon hit the side of the coffee mug, there they are.  It's pretty cute, you can change everything about the moment, the setting, the cookies, the time, it wouldn't matter...the sound does it.  They know, it's morning treat time!

I'm sure those of you with pets can appreciate the journey through expensive food options.  I love our  kids and cost just couldn't be a factor, even on our farm income.  I learned to do with out pedicures some time ago.  I'll find something else to do away with before I feed our kids unidentifiable food!

Meet our Pups!

Isabelle

Earthquake (aka Quake)

Could you resist?

Not quite as photogenic but all personality.

After much searching I finally came up with this recipe,  adapted from one I found on mydogsbreakfast.com.  A really fun blog all about pet treats.  As always, I make a recipe exactly as I find it the first time.  Then an occasional tweak here and there for my taste...or should I say, Izz and Quake's taste?  So, here it is.  Hope your furry friends like them too.  


Ingredients:
1 Cup water
1 egg (farm fresh of course)
5 Cups Buckwheat Flour
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Honey (sourced locally)
1/3 Cup Molasses (sourced as locally as possible)
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons Ground Ginger
Rendered Bacon Fat

Place the dry ingredients — buckwheat flour,flour, ginger and cinnamon — into a mixing bowl first and mix together. Then add the wet ingredients, water, honey, molasses and egg.   I used the stand mixer but you could mix by hand. Mix it until it forms a dough ball.  It does roll out easily but be sure to flour your surface well.  I also had some rendered bacon fat on hand so I brushed each cookie.  I cannot say whether it affected the cookie in flavor or texture but it sure sounded like a good idea.  I'll continue to use the bacon fat.  Our dry kibble foods, regardless how good the quality are just that; dry.  In the processing they loose the natural fats.
I like mine a bit thicker,  1/4″ and 1/2″ thick. I used a bone shaped cookie cutter for maximum affect.

Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.  Viola, a treat you can feel mighty proud of.You cannot imagine how good they smelled coming out of the oven.  So much so I had to taste.  At first I thought, a dog treat, really?  Why not, look at the ingredients. Mighty tasty morsels they are, serious.  

The original recipe used all buckwheat flour because the author was after grain free.  I don't believe grains are meant for our canines but ours dogs don't have allergies and the all purpose flour gave the dough just a bit more gluten to work with.  I think you could change that 6 cups to whatever combo you like.  I also think the sky is the limited for flavors and such.  Have fun with it!

I'm even thinking I'll stack a few together, tie them with some pretty ribbon and give them as holiday gifts.  

Peaches, Peaches everywhere

I knew if I didn't hurry up with this blog post someone would be saying, "peaches, where did she get peaches this time of year?"  Lordy, lordy where does the time go?  Hopefully I've posted this in time that you can still relate to the abundance of summer peaches and the many yummy possibilities.

So, here is the deal.  I've become addicted to food preservation ideas.  I love having great food available to present at that last minute when you get the word your BFF is dying to see the farm and will come for lunch tomorrow or your husbands family is on the interstate just passing by and would love to come say Hi!  You know those moments. We all have them in some form.

 I love to cook and serving good food is very important to me.   I don't want those moments when an unexpected guest graces our home to be any different.  I might not be the best at making sure the Welcome mat is swept off but rest assured,  I'll serve something to remember.  During the summer when fresh food is abundant and full of flavor I have plenty of opportunity to make and stash those yummy treats.

Over the last couple of years, peaches have been a  star ingredient. The addiction began when the peach vendor next to me at the Durham Farmers Market would have boxes of peaches that couldn't be sold because they weren't perfect so I would gladly take them off their hands for a few dollars.  I gathered some of my favorite jam recipes during that time but today I am here to share my favorite of all surprises...


Freezer Peach Pie.  The filling is oh so simple.  You then fill a pie plate lined with foil full of the peach mixture.  Freeze the plate with the peaches.  Then, after it has had time to freeze, you remove the pie plate from the foil and Voila!   You have a frozen peach pie filling ready to rest in the buttery crumb of a freshly made pie crust and baked to perfection just as if you'd freshly peeled and sliced those peach beauties!

5 cups of peeled and sliced fresh Peaches

Mix your cornstarch, Tapioca, sugar and nutmeg and/or cinnamon with peaches

Line pie plate with foil, crossing layers opposite directions

Add peach mixture

Crimp foil together going all around to be sure you have a tight seal

After the foil is sealed, place the plate and all in the freezer.  In a few hours you can remove the plate.  I then place the foil in a zip lock bag ready to use at a later date.

After you've followed these easy steps (exact recipe below) at any time you place the frozen filling into your favorite double pie crust recipe and bake to a glorious golden Peach Pie fresh tasting as a summer day.

Ingredients:
4-5 Cups Fresh Peaches (original recipe called for 2.5 cups but I say, why not more?)
2Tablespoons Cornstarch
2Tablespoons Tapioca
3/4 - 1 cup of sugar recommended but I add it based on peach sweetness (usually 1/2-3/4)
Dash of fresh Nutmeg
Cinnamon if desired.  I add a touch but husband not a huge fan.
Mix it all together and place in your foil lined deep dish pie plate.
When your ready to use:
Preheat oven to 450.  Place frozen peach mixture on top of your favorite crust.  Top with another crust or lattice strips.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Lower heat to 350 and bake another 30 or until lightly browned.

Recipe adapted from a recipe found on allrecipes.com