Redneck or Genius? I think the latter.

Okay, so first of all I am very upset with Martha, yes the Martha Stewart.  I followed her recipe to make a cranberry cordial, only after 25 days the sugar still hadn't dissolved in the vodka, crushed cranberries, and sugar mixture.  After reading in a couple of other cookbooks (not Martha's, as I am so through with her!), I noticed with other cordials that the berries were cooked and smashed then added to the vodka and sugar. So, again, redneck or genius, below is my (and my mom's) version of a double boiler, as I did not have one.  As a side note, when we added the cranberries the first time, we overflowed the water in the pan below, making the flame very large under it.  On to another burner to let that one rest and recover.  lol  I am heating it to dissolve the sugar and then will strain to put into containers to drink when I feel like it, which can be pretty much any time of the day, as hey, it is five o'clock somewhere, right?!!!

On to another redneck or genius idea.  Rob and I have been wanting to incubate some turkey eggs and really don't want to wait until the turkey hens "feel" like being broody, kinda like when Spongebob says "I don't feel like it Mr. Crab."  lol  Anyway, we looked at incubators at Skagit Farmers today to the tune of $129 and the same on one Amazon was $85.  So, you know Rob, always up to the challenge.  Below is the result of his brainstorm.

Yes, it is a cooler, you are not blind.  And no, there is not beer in there for the turkey eggs to hatch.  Now on to the inside.

So let's see, he used the fish tank heater left over from his fish tank, he is not using anymore.  The black bowl on the bottom is filled with water to make it more humid, topped with a wire rack to cover the heater and water, and the turkey eggs are in half egg cartons.  We will need to monitor the temperature, as it is supposed to stay 99 to 99.5 degrees with about 85% humidity I believe.  The humidity needs to be raised a little as the eggs get closer to hatching, which should be 28 to 30 days.

Anyway, will keep you posted.  The cranberries have heated up and I am now going to smash them some more, strain the liquid into jars and perhaps drink the whole lot.  Will blog again when I have come to.  :)  Later!