Laura and the Laundry

Often I am in the midst of piles of laundry.

Clean

Dirty

Thrown out of drawers by one Miss. C.

Shoved under items.

In hampers

In baskets

On the floor.

In the washer.

In the dryer.

Clothes everywhere.

W. and I have been slowly reading through the Little House books.

I am reading ahead...what can I say, they're addictive.

In the later books, she spends great amounts of time describing what people wore.

What the style "back east" was.

What would Goody's book say?

Talking about working making shirts at the dry goods store.

Or hiring out to the dressmaker's  (7am-5pm bring your own lunch for $0.50 a day)

Sewing all day during the winter or knitting lace with friends.

So much of their time was spent making clothes, yet it seems as though they each had 

1) lots of underclothes that were worn several sets at once (one must be proper petticoats, drawers, union suits etc.)

2) an every day dress and apron (or for the man folk, what we would call a dress shirt and slacks.)

3) a best dress (or a suit)

The best dress may be rotated to the everyday once the everyday was through being worn (or not depending on what it was made of.)

Children's clothes were made with growth in mind; seams could be let out as could hems to allow for the growing child.

Man do I long for those days.

Laundry was a hassle (Monday wash and Tuesday iron, but no purple dye #17 to get out of clothes after Grace painted...just stove blackening.)

But think of it...no folding...no laundry everywhere.

People cared for their clothes and didn't think of them as disposable as they do so in modern society.

Clothes were time, raw product, and lovingly made.

Not cheaply made in Indonesia.

Socks were knitted by the fireplace during the evenings when family spent time together talking, singing, and being together.

Old clothes were put in a scrap bag to be remade for smaller clothes for siblings, or trim for the curtains.

Sheets that were worn had the center seam torn and then the far sides were then sewed together to make "new" sheets...ones already flipped were then made into curtains or dress linings or quilts...

Yes they were stylish.

Yes they were thoroughly modern for their day.

Laura embraced technology and loved modern things.

I have read some about her later days and the modernization of her farm through the years.

But often I wonder what would Laura think about today's modern society.

bubble bubble buzz....

Despite my total absence from this space for the past few months...things have indeed continued on here on the Country homestead.  There is plenty of updating and filling in to do.  Reflections on summer.  Changes in the landscape and on the animal front.  All that.  But for today, late as it is, I can tell you that amidst a house full of children, lawn mowing and thunderstorms, and in the face of an oven repair that was two months in the waiting...I was kitchen bound! 
Things have been bubbling, fizzing, buzzing and rising all over the place.  City sister, during her recent (and super fantastic) visit, left me with some sourdough starter that actually originated from another lovely homesteader so many miles away.  By a stroke of miracle I did not kill it.  It is living on the top shelf of my fridge.

I kicked off 5 loaves of oatmeal bread today (oven repaired just in time...phew).  A double batch of cookies.  Rhubarb muffins for the freezer.  Soaked our dry beans for crock pot baked beans.  Two quarts of yogurt culturing away in the cooler. 



One loaf taken by force with bread knife and butter...




Our own Jacob's Cattle beans soaking on the counter.



How we do our yogurt.  Cultured milk snuggled in with hot water bottles in a cooler for 8 hours.

A little of the good fermented stuff to close out a long day in the kitchen.

One of those days where it all comes together.  Busy kids, food put away for the week, kitchen cleaned.  And would you belive it...a blog post to boot!  Feels good to be back.
More details on the buzzing in a couple days.....

How trashy are you?

During an average week we...

Compost 7 quarts of compostables.

Feed the chickens about 2 quarts of scraps.

Recycle 2 large bins of stuff.

Throw out one small white kitchen bag of trash.

Then there are THOSE weeks...

The one where you clean out the cupboards and find expired weird stuff...

Or clean out the kids room and find a stash of broken toys that they were hiding...

Or this week when I cleaned out the freezer...yikes...

Freezer burnt tomatoes from 2 years ago...

A loaf of bread I can't remember making (chicken treat)

4 pints of freezer burnt rhubarb (chickens are eating high on the hog tonight)...

Soup...unlabeled and undated...going in the trash...I see meat in it...

Maybe spaghetti sauce...maybe gazpacho...anybody's guess...trash...

Cranberries...oh boy cranberry sauce with chicken in a couple nights...

Blackberries...smoothies?

I have been planning defrosting the chest freezer since I noticed it's only about half full...

Cleaning out the freezer in the kitchen will make that possible i'm guessing in about a month so that way we can use up what's in the kitchen freezer and then move items from the chest to the kitchen.  In the chest freezer there are bananas... about 1/8th of a cow...some chicken... and a few quarts of blueberries.

Menu planning will be put into place in order to use up the items left...so in our future there are...

Blueberry muffins for breakfast (in the oven)

Blueberry pie at Glummer (end of summer festival at our house...we're glum because it's the end of summer) or pineapple blueberry dump cake...not sure yet...

Beef stuff...

Banana bread...

Cranberry sauce (chillin in the fridge right now.)

Lots of smoothies.

Hamburgers at Glummer as well...

At this point of the month, I have usually done our large shopping order for the rest of the month, but I haven't had to yet...in fact I've only bought (or rather the husband stopped on his way home from work and bought) milk and coffee, two items we cannot make here.

I am truly thankful that we are able to take care of our needs via the freezer.

Cultured Buttermilk

I always felt as though buttermilk was one of THOSE refrigerator items...

One of those things I don't really use except when making pancakes or something fancy...

One of those things I could just sour milk for and not have the added expense of buying something just for a few items...after all, I do so love multipurpose.

But alas, W. started having some milk issues, so I decided to experiment with cultured buttermilk since yogurt didn't seem to bother him...and lo and behold...it was fine!

So...I still had the "I don't want to buy buttermilk just for baking" issue...

So I decided to just find a way to make my own...

Easier than yogurt...let me tell you I wish I knew about this before...

Cultured buttermilk

Buy a container of buttermilk with live cultures (got mine at Trader Joe)

Pour one cup of it into a clean quart jar

Fill with milk (whatever type you like...doesn't matter if it is ultra pasteurized, raw, your monkey's uncle etc.)

Shake

Let sit at room temperature for 12-36 hours

Refrigerate 

Use

When you are down to one cup in the bottom of the jar, pour into a new jar and repeat the process.

That simple

We've been going through about a quart a week for baking, pancakes, and buttermilk sourdough waffles.

It seems to add a richness to items.

I use a touch less leavening too (or not.)

Baked items seem to stay moist longer as well...

(as always...this is what I do, use caution in the kitchen and always use approved methods as bacteria and culturing can be harmful if not done it the right way...)

Scrumptious Saturday...I'm a nut job

So I have always wondered where almond milk came from.

No udders.

No creaminess.

So I happened upon Earth Mama's  nut milk recipe...and my curiosity was finally satiated for this query.

So here it goes.

Put one cup nuts into a jar and cover with water.

(I put one cup of almonds in a pint jar and filled 3/4th of the way with water.)

Soak overnight.

(I soaked almost 24 hrs.)

Drain off water.

(Be amazed about how large your nuts get.)

Place in a blender with 4 cups of fresh water and blend until smooth.

(Or place nuts and 1 cup of water in a container and use a stick blender to pulverize...then place a cloth over a strainer and jar and pour the slurry into the cloth...then put the nuts back in the container with more water and repeat until all 4 cups of water have been filtered through the nuts.)

Strain nuts through a cloth and squeeze like no tomorrow.

You will have about a quart of nut milk and about a cup of nut flour...keep the nut flour for

Grain Free Brownies

Also known as freekin' good brownies.

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup plus 4 TBS fat (I used a combo of butter and canola oil) Melted

1/2 cup nut flour

3/4 cup cocoa

mix eggs and sugar until eggs become fluffy...add cocoa, fat, and vanilla...mix in nut flour... Grease the bottom of a 9x13 pan (or a smaller one for thicker brownies...and cook longer) bake at 350 for about 20 minutes...enjoy!

Somehow these brownies came out really dense and fuggy, but fluffy at the same time.  When dealing with the leftover almond flour, I was amazed how fluffy it was (compared to regular flour) and it seemed to pass this trait on to the brownies.  

The recipe was based on the Silver Palate cook book, but modifications were made to change the flour, fat, and chocolate methods (I never have unsweetened chocolate by the ounce on hand.)

So enjoy and tell me what you think.

Sorry no picture of the  brownies...they seem to be in the belly of my family almost instantly!

Round 3 planting

More planting occurred today.  We just did not have enough tomatoes and the new varieties came in.  So today  Moskovich tomatoes went in as well as Gilbertie Paste tomatoes and more California Wonder peppers.  Lemon Balm and some supplementary spinach went in.  Last time I planted indoors, I made some paper pots and filled them with some potting soil.  I decided to go a different route this time.

For Christmas, my in-laws gave us a Kureig coffee maker.  It makes a perfect cup each time.  The one thing I hate is all the waste it creates.  For a time, I took off the foil top, dug out the coffee grinds, then recycled the plastic bottom and the foil tops.  

Then I realized they look like perfect little pots, and coffee can be used as a potting medium as well.  So off came the foil tops with a small knife and with a few jabs of the knife, I loosened up the coffee grinds.  I then added a touch of potting soil and water and poof...there I had some little one inch pots.  Perfect to start seeds and then transplant them into larger newspaper pots.

Let's see how this goes.

Stocking up...

Last night I roasted a chicken.  

I had to clear room out of the refrigerator and freezer due to the new month's supplies being delivered this morning.  

You will have to wait and see the Scrumptious Saturday this Saturday to see what I made, but for today, I will tell you about the stocking we did last night and this morning.

After roasting the chicken, I broke up the chicken leftovers into smaller pieces and put as well as the pan drippings into a pot and covered all the bones in water.  Then I let it simmer from dinner time to bed time.  

My dear husband was actually the one to take the pot off the stove and put it in the fridge so we didn't waste it.  

This morning I woke up early as I had received a phone call the night before from our dear Frankferds that our delivery would arrive between 7:30 and 9:30 am!  I put the pot on the back burner on low and continued on my day.  

The delivery came...Stocking up yet again with flour, yeast, canned goods, produce, and dairy delivered to the door. Then, once everything was put away, I realized that we were out of yogurt, so out came one of our 1/2 gallon bottles of milk.

I figured I saved quite a bit of time, money and energy by having the delivery made.  They drive right by here anyway and the cost of gas and time out of our schedule made it worth it.

 C. and I prepared the yogurt in our usual way. With that starting to ferment, we started in on the chicken.  

I drained off one pint of ultra concentrated chicken stock and then began to pick any meat that had boiled off the bones.  I got one pint of chicken meat pieces.  I then put some of the stock over the chicken pieces and topped both bottles off with water.  With that done, I broke up the bones once more into smaller pieces to expose the marrow and all of the goodness found there.  Again, covering the bones with water, I started up the pot.

During all of this we:

Ate breakfast

Read one chapter in "Little House In the Big Woods"

Did a phonics lesson

Did a math lesson

Had some free play time with connect 4

Did a puzzle

Got dressed

Got very silly with a monster chase game.

That's my story...

What did you do this morning?

UPDATE: Weighed remains of chicken after 2nd boiling...Used all of the chicken except 8.6 oz (from a 6 pound bird) Pretty good EH?

Scrumptious Saturday...eating from storage

It's the beginning of the time of year where we actually get to eat freshly grown food out of the backyard (right now just oregano, mint and chives...but more will come.)  It also is the time of year to start clearing out what we have so that we will have room for what is to come as the seasons progress as they tend to do.  Soon lettuce and spinach will grow and be replaced  by tomatoes and peppers, which will give way to broccoli and apples. Oh the wonderful cycle of a garden. My jar filled shelves are now quickly emptying and more empty jars are going into the canning cupboard.  Soaking beans and sourdough are out frequently, and store bought food is becoming more common.  Some previous posts will be shared in this recipe.  It is with fond memories that I share this recipe as many of the items in it are home grown, preserved, and loved.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

3 cups garbanzo beans (post soaking volume, about 2 cups before soaking)

1/2 cup roasted red peppers in olive oil

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup yogurt strained (makes about 1/4 cup Greek style yogurt and 1/4 cup whey-keep!)

Spices as you like (I used oregano and chive since I have them!)

Place everything except the oil in the food processor.  Give it a whiz around and then slowly stream in the olive oil.  Depending on your beans may need more or less oil.  

Enjoy.  

Recently the husband and I went to a restaurant and had some hummus made from black beans and it was really good too...we may have to make a batch of that some time.

As another note, when I strain my yogurt, I usually strain two cups at a time.  To do this you put a strainer over a  container and line the strainer with cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Place it in the fridge for a few hours.  This yields 1 cup yogurt, and one cup whey.  I have been topping the strained yogurt with granola and honey and then using the whey in my pancakes.

Whey Cultured Pancakes
(as in sophisticated too...right?)

1c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs oil

1 egg

1 cup whey.

Mix the dry ingredients, add in the wet.  Pour out by the 1/4 cup full on a hot oiled griddle (I'm in love with cast iron.)  When they git bubbly on the top, flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  The whey makes them extra fluffy and just a touch tangy.

So I just figured out how to do something.
Did you cook something SCRUMPTIOUS this week.
Share it here!
Just click on the below button.
Then enter your information.
Others will be able to go to your recipe that you made this week.
Let's see how it goes!
(Don't forget to leave a comment too, I love reading what you have to say.)

I'll pay for this tomorrow...

Monday is usually my work day.  I work one day a week and am home for the rest.  I had a cancellation so I went home for a few hours in the middle of the day.  The weather has started taking a turn for the damp coolness that usually precedes the blasting heat of summer around here. 

 I figured I would hoe the beds I started last summer and fall.  It took all of 10 minutes to do this as the soil was the best I have ever seen.  Soft, crumbly, dark and rich, it will be the best food for our food.  I then decided it could maybe do with a little nitrogen from our chicken coop aka "chicken poo."  I went in with a bucket and extracted a mass of our deep litter from the past 6 months.  It was starting to mature to a nicely aged mass of fertilizer.  So I put one bucket on each of our raised beds.  

Then I figured I shouldn't stop there. 

 I opened the muck door in the back of the chicken coop that goes straight into the compost heap.  After 2 hours, I had finally cleaned out 6 months of weekly layering of chicken litter.  I also took the time to use some of the compost from last year and layered compost with chicken litter in order to get a lovely bacterial colony going in the heap.  Worms were everywhere in the deep layers about one foot below ground, a sure sign of healthy soil that has been produced.  

With the work all done, I jumped in the shower (I bet my afternoon clients were happy I did this!) and went to the local feed store.  There I bought a big compressed bale of peat moss for lasagna beds and mulching later in the season, and on a whim asked how much for a discarded pallet.  The pallet recycler gives them a dollar each so he'd give me the same deal.  I also got a few seeds that I saw and liked.  

With all that done, I went back to work, clean, energized, and hopeful about my garden.  But I knew after all the lugging, pushing, and tugging, I'd be paying for it the next day...

and boy o boy am I ever.

Scrumptious Saturday

As long ago promised, I have made a vegetarian meal.

(Yes, you could add bacon and it would be great, but for today, we are all out of bacon.)

Often I will "accidentally" make too many mashed potatoes.

What is one to do with leftover mashed potatoes.

Mashed Potato Pancakes

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes

2 eggs

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. cheddar cheese shredded

salt and pepper

Stir everything up in a bowl.  Place on a very hot oiled pan (I love my cast iron griddle for this.) by the 1/4 cup full and mash down into a pancake.  Let cook for a few minutes until golden brown, then flip.  After flipping, I like to give it a little smash so that it is about 1/4 inch thick.  Let cook for a few more golden minutes and serve hot.  I use it as a main course, a side, a breakfast whatever my fancy is that day.  But there is no doubt about it, they are rather scrumptious. 

Scrumptious Saturday...Cook once for 3 days.

Sorry, the whole household has been sick.
The seasonal flu and cold took me out for a while.
I was planning on posting this last Scrumptious Saturday.
But, better late than never.

I love making roasts.

Why?

You cook once and can eat for days.

I made a 2 pound pork roast make 3 meals for 4 people

(aka 12 meals or about 1.25 oz/person/day at a cost of less than a dollar a meal.)

Day 1 Recipe

1 2 lb pork loin roast

1 can tomato paste

4 cloves garlic peeled

veggie stock

seasonings to your liking

Rub seasonings onto pork.  Cut 4 deep slits into the pork and insert garlic into the holes.  Place the roast into a hot pan with some oil and sear it off.  Pour in veggie broth mixed with the tomato paste.  Put in oven at 300 degrees until tender. Serve with rice (hint...make too much rice so you have leftover rice) and savor.

Save the roasting liquid and make into BBQ sauce by adding

sweetener (molassas, brown sugar, and honey all do nicely and play together nicely as well.  Amounts vary as some like sweet bbq and some like hot.  It also varies by the type of sweetener(s) you use.)

hot pepper powder (I use a touch, like 1/8 tsp of chyanne pepper)

garlic powder (as much or as little as you wish)

ketchup (about 1/4 c)

lemon juice (about 1/4 c)

vinegar (again depending on what kind you like and how sweet/sour you like it.)

Take half of the leftovers and dice...refrigerate with your leftover rice and then make fried rice.

Take the other half, shred it using 2 forks and cook in the above bbq sauce.

My family doesn't always like to eat "theme and variations" style, so I will let you know that the bbq and the fried rice all freeze nicely. 

What else would you do with this "theme and variation"

Yarn along...

So I decided to join the yarn along since my sister is MIA

...In Ginny's words

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? ~

We are reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder for school.  I think it will take us a few weeks to get through, but W. loves how different "real" school is vs. "long time ago" school vs. "our school."

I am reading Growing 101 Herbs That Heal by Tammi Hartung.

I'm thinking about growing some herbal tea and making some lotions for my childrens' very dry skin.

I am knitting MY SOCK!

I was at the pool last weekend for W.'s swim school knitting.  An older lady started asking me about it and told me that I look like an old pro...yikes!

Soulemama had a giveaway a few weeks ago...and guess who won...again!

When it comes to her giveaways, I win the ones I want the most...art supplies and now beautiful yarn.  

It truly lives up to its name.

"Squishy"

The color was inspired by the movie Titanic.

I tried to get the beautiful subtle hues in it.

It is so nice.

I am planing on making a pair of socks for each of the kiddos out of it.

It is from Katie's etsy shop

 knit IT UP.

If you buy from Katie, put Citysister in the notes to seller 

PLEASE!

I want to be able to get more from Katie's beautiful shop!

And it is also grand to be able to help a "momtrepreneur."

And just one more shot of my sock...question for you knitters...

I always knit everything inside out...

what can I do?

What I've been doing while MIA...

Well, after my last post, things kept happening...

The drain pipe for our tub burst leaving our kitchen and basement flooded.

In its wake, I ended up throwing out food and parts of the ceiling 

(and at times both in one mushy handful.)

Then I called my mom.

"At least everyone has their health."

Mom why did you have to jinx us.

W. got sick the very next day with a fever of 103.6

Well life goes on.

We've been...

Making honey wheat bagels.  

The recipe I used I decided was too sweet.  

Next time I won't use so much honey.

Maybe when I get the recipe perfected, I'll post on that.

Making popcorn.  A true comfort food.

All of our paper bags were destroyed in the flood, 

so I made in in a pot the old fashioned way.

I've always been afraid of this method ever since my cousins got really bad burns from hot oil while making popcorn this way many years ago.

Studying plants.  This is our lavender that we planted a few days ago in coconut coir.  

The onions are starting to poke their little leaves up as well.  We also started sweet potatoes, but we'll see what happens there...it is a big experiment for us this year to attempt those.

I am thankful that we have so many opportunities.  

That our pipe burst didn't destroy too much.  

That we did not truly have a flood such as many have to endure.

Things could be much worse.

At least I can do one thing well...

It was a bad week.

Our "new to us" van broke down after owning it for 1 week.

Transmission!

(thankfully still under power train warranty.)

It came home on Tuesday night.

Our old faithful car broke down...again.

(not under warranty, but we have a great mechanic who is honest and affordable.)

It went in the shop Tuesday night and has not yet returned.

Our oven broke.

The fix took 15 minutes and some know how from the repairman.

Not having an oven inspired a genius chocolate chip cookie recipe
(if I do say so myself.)

The sink faucet broke.

Luckily, I have an amazing husband who is an expert in this faucet's repair and who has a very cute assistant.

Just as everything was fixed and we started saying, at least nothing else can break...

The vacuum started smelling like fire as my very dear husband was vacuuming C's room.

That was the last straw.

I am not paying for anyone to repair this.

I KNOW HOW TO FIX A VACUUM CLEANER!

My diagnosis...broken belt (it has broken before and will break again most likely.)

"W. Screwdriver + sign style. Stat!"

The husband helped him get it.

I undid all the screws...there it was, the broken belt.

I need a size 5 belt for a vacuum cleaner.

Now if I just had a car to go get one...

All this prompted us to do the taxes as well...

At least that part of life is done!

They say noting in life is guaranteed except death and taxes...

I'd like to add that it is guaranteed that things will break down all at the same time if at all possible!

Chocolate chip cookies...without an oven...

Those who have been reading know I love my oven.

I use it daily.

It is a trusted friend.

It runs 30 degrees hot.

I have had it's innards replaced already one time.

In the five years that we have been friends, I have never cleaned it, until now.

Yes, I did a dreaded task of cleaning the oven.

Days of preparation, soaking, and other ways to remove five years of baked on crud.

I have had this opportunity due to my oven having a fit and deciding not to work, thus I have been using it's upstairs neighbor, the stove top.

Chocolate chip cookies do not do well on the stove top.

Thus, I have decided to revamp the classic chocolate chip cookie to a rawish (not quite if you use melted chocolate, or don't make your own "chocolate" stuff) vegan style...

oh, did I mention I have also decided to truffle it...after all, it is the feast day of St. Valentine.  

My husband always asks me to make him chocolate chip cookie dough (notice...not cookies)

So here is my mad attempt to make his dreams come true.

(note, this is a first attempt at this recipe...

they taste pretty good so far, 

but any helpful suggestions are welcome)

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies

1c. coconut oil

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. white sugar

(cream together)

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

(mix in)

1/3 c. almond milk (or soy)

1 tsp. vanilla

(stir in)

2.5 c. flour

(stir in)

1c. small pieces of chocolate (mini chips, chopped chocolate etc)

or you could use any other cookie mix in that you like.

or if you decide to truffle it, you may not want to add any at all.

Roll into small balls and place on a cookie sheet in the freezer for about 1 hour. Serve as is...or

Truffles

Melt a bit of chocolate with a touch of coconut oil.  Dip the balls into the chocolate mix.

Place back in the freezer to help the chocolate set.  

Savor...best with your loved ones.
P.S. My dear husband if you see this please be surprised when you come home,
the kids really want to give you a big surprise gift.

Cold Frame of mind

I found a great article here about cold frames.  Oh how I love the idea of getting out there sooner rather than later.  I have begun my winter ritual...over dreaming the garden.  Over thinking where and what I shall grow. And planning to grow more than we have room for, of course!  I sometimes plan like I have a garden that is over an acre in size.  Then reality hits...I only have 1/4th of an acre TOTAL...My garden consists of:

a strip 18 inches by 20 feet

a patch 5 feet by 20 feet

a berry patch (poorly maintained...my fault) and the blueberries I think have been chomped by deer

2 raised beds about 4 feet by 6 feet (with plans for 4 more this spring)

So that is a grand total of 163 square feet more or less with plans of another 96 square feet or 259 square feet total (more or less, some gardens may be bigger or smaller.)  So here is my challenge this year.  As one of the goals set forth here, I am going to weigh everything I grow...or at least everything I get in the house (W. has a habit of eating in the garden.)  I am going to make a separate page where I list what I planted, spent, and grew.  I challenge my sister to do the same (ah ha something to make up for the jam challenge that never happened!) To see how cost effective the garden is.  I may even have to throw in cost/time canning/freezing...eggs...I am not yet sure if I'm up to that challenge just yet.

I am always amazed by people like this  sure they have some advantages

no young children who need to be cared for at this time

warmer environment

years of experience

but overall, they are self sufficient on just 1/5th of an acre!  And they produce enough to sell as well...

A girl can dream.

So here is my plan...

Check over the catalogs

Check with friends 

(there is no way we can use all the seeds that we order...we can't use all 30 tomato plants that grow from a packet...especially when we want to grow a couple of varieties) 

to see if they'd like some seedlings or seeds.

Order the above.

I need to plan and research the whole succession planting thing as well as interplanting!

I've been looking here

to get ideas...as well as here


Get moving on some cold frames and checking for cheap hay (could be used later for chickens and then compost, or mulch when the weather gets better...waste not!)
I also found an interesting little bit here about square foot gardening and making seed mats.

Then the weighing can begin.

I hope to have the first broccoli, lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes and beets in maybe in early March when the snow melts and I can see ground.
I also found this, a guide and the method of The Three Sister Garden, an ancient method of growing corn, beans, and squash.  We've been talking about growing corn this year.  This method seems like it would be best for climbing dry beans, and flint corn...both things I want to grow this year (and who could say no to squash?)
We also want to grow sweet corn.
We also want to try to seed save.
This will involve some careful planning so that the pollination times are separated.
Anyone done this before?

What you get for the money...

Pittsburgh has long been considered a great place to live...

the cultural events and museums

the low cost of living

family friendly environment

and many other reasons...

I had been reading a series from here over the past week about cutting your budget and frugal grocery shopping while maintaining high quality nutritional food.  I found it pretty interesting reading the comments from people about things they do to reduce the cost of wholesome food...

About once a month my husband and I sit down and take stock of the cupboards and freezer and make a big order (or two...when we forget or run out before the order is picked up) from here.  Usually it totals about $300.  For the most part, this is the bulk of our groceries for the month. We supplement with previous bulk bought items, frozen and canned food from the summer, and during the summer items that we get from our garden.  For meat, we bought a quarter of a cow from here, and supplement from here.

2 # butter (Amish roll butter! yummy)*

6 gallons milk (low heat pasteurized, non homogenized- good for making yogurt)*

10 blue corn tortillas*

2 boxes frozen spinach*

5# potatoes*

5# dried beans*
1 bottle disinfectant cleaner

1 loaf bread (we usually make our own, but it's nice to have a frozen loaf on hand)*

1 box vegetable bullion cubes*

1 case tomato soup*

1 bottle Mexican seasoning*

1# cinnamon*

1 jar salsa*

25# rice*

1 gallon honey

25# unbleached flour*

5# raisins*

1# cocoa*

1# oregano*

1# Italian seasoning*

4 oz. vanilla

8 oz. artichoke fettuccine*

3# apples*

1 bunch celery*

1 case pretzels*

# pound(s)

*organic

I like to go on Saturdays when you can shop the warehouse (other days it is closed and you just come by and they load you up.) Occasionally they'll have produce that is not so pretty or dairy that's on it's way out for a steal...such as

SCORE!

ORGANIC BANANAS!
8.5 pounds after the kids ate all the bananas that they could over 2 days
and the 1-2 pounds that went straight to the compost heap
(wet and moldy...not good for human consumption/storage!)

The guys in the warehouse said that they weren't pretty enough to sell so they let the kids have them.  They also joked that we could only have them if we made them some banana bread...who knows they are such great people I may just do so!

They also had 3# blocks of cream cheese for $4 and some change...past date, but still good...

I was thinking cheesecake, but decided not to.

It's just not that good for me.

(but my tongue and tummy are regretting that decision.)

(No, I currently receive no compensation from them, it's just a really great company)

I've been...

a little absent this past week...thanks to my sister for picking up my slack.  My creative evening time has been soaked up by "snuggle me" requests that result in me waking up at 1pm crunched into one of my kids beds.  It's where I was needed most. 
A busy week of work and school and the barn...but thankfully capped off with an amazing day....I went to bed (in my own bed....with the two girls) so grateful for days like this:

1.  The kids were dressed and fed before 7am, on their own!  Good start!

2.  Family drive to school and then a quick stop at the local chainsaw store to drop our VERY old Stihl for a little TLC, and a peek at the shiny new stuff on the shelves.  I know what my husband is putting on his Santa list. 

3.  Having time to make playdough. 

4.  The cleaning time that playdough allows me.

5.  Roasted Long Pie Pumpkin and SEEDS!

5.  A card game and tea with her...

6.  "Mommy, you 'yarn' while I play the piano"

7.  A phonecall with City Sister.

8.  Stopping back at the repair shop to get the bad news about the Stihl.  Oh Santa, I hope the elves can build something, cause the change jar in the laundry room just isnt gonna cut it.

8. Watching my oldest tack up a really big horse and ride....all by herself

9.  Our own chicken for dinner

10.  Family sing-alongs with Daddy on guitar...even my 7 year old can harmonize on this one!!

11.  My oldest teaching us a all a new contra-dance she learned at school (love that music program) to bluegrass Christmas music.

12.  A witch and a fairy burning off the last of the day's energy

Scrumptious Saturday

Does something scrumptious have to be for dinner?

I don't think so...

Here's my typical breakfast

Homemade Yogurt

Homemade Granola

For the Yogurt

I make 1/2 gallon at a time (makes 1/2 gallon yogurt.)

1/2 Gallon Whole Milk (NOT ULTRA PASTEURIZED!!!)

1/4-1/2 C. Live Culture Yogurt (I used a culture starter the first time around and now save 1/4-1/2 cup for the next recipe)

Heat milk to 185 degrees in a pot (the point at which it starts to foam a little).  Take off heat and put pot in a sink with a little cold water and ice in it so that it cools rapidly (do not put water or ice in pot!)  Cool to 115 degrees. While waiting for it to cool, put a metal cookie sheet on the counter top.  Put a dishtowel on top of the cookie sheet and then an electric heating pad on low.  Get out VERY CLEAN containers (glass works best) that will be big enough to hold the milk (I use 4 pint containers).  Once your milk has cooled to 115 degrees (finger can be put in milk for about 10 seconds) mix in the yogurt in very well with the milk.  Pour into the containers and put tops. Put the containers on top of the heating pad.  Cover the whole cookie sheet, yogurt jars contraption with a blanket.  Let sit with the heating pad on for 6-10 hours (depending on how sour tasting/ thick you want your yogurt...my family likes 7 hour yogurt.)  After incubation is over, put in the fridge overnight (as it cools it will thicken some more.) ENJOY...if you like Greek Style, line a sive with cheesecloth and place over a bowl.  Put yogurt in the sive and refrigerate for a day or two...

I sweeten my yogurt with honey right before serving.  I also top it with...

Homemade Granola

4 C. Oats

6 Tbs butter melted

1/3 C. brown sugar

1/3 C. honey

1/3 C. Wheat Germ

1 Tbs Vanilla

Anything else you like in your granola (I use pecans, but you can use nuts, cocanut, dried fruit)

Melt the butter...mix in vanilla, wheat germ, honey, and brown sugar.  Add in oats and coat well.  Put on 1-2 cookie sheets in a thin layer.  Place in oven at 325 degrees for 10 min. Stir and put any nuts (if using) in with granola...put back in oven for 10 min.  Take out and stir in anything else you want to.  Let cool on the cookie sheet.  Then put in air tight containers, it should stay fresh for about a month.

Scrumptious Saturday

Welcome to another Scrumptious Saturday!

I have begun making a conscious decision to start using what I have...not running to the store to buy one or two ingredients for a dinner...rather plan ahead, use what I have, and have wonderful simple meals.  I also invite you the reader to make your own meal, and post the recipe in the comments (or link to your own!) and maybe a picture so nobody gets bored with the same old meals.  So here's this week's Scrumptious Saturday...

One day this week we had pork chops and potatoes with veggies.

Another day we had rice and chicken with salad.

We had leftover rice and pork chops...what's a mom to do...

Not another boring meal...after all, it is Friday night!

(Everything But the ) Kitchen Sink Fried Rice with Sweet and Sour Sauce

Fried Rice

2 cups rice...must be old precooked rice...

that way the starch has had time to make it really sticky

(great use for leftovers)

3 cups raw veggies (for crispness, I use onion, carrots, celery, and then whatever is on hand.)

2 cloves garlic minced

1 egg beaten

4 oz white meat cooked and cut into small pieces (again a great use for leftovers) OPTIONAL

ginger, salt, pepper

2-4 TBS Oil of your liking (I use peanut and olive)

Sweet and Sour Sauce

2 1/2 tsp Cornstarch

4 Tbs Sugar

5 Tbs Brown Sugar

1 C. Cold Water

1/4 C. Ketchup

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp Ginger

2 Tbs oil (I use peanut, but any type works)

1/4 C. Vinegar (I use white)

Chop the veggies into bite sized pieces.  Place a large skillet on the stove and put about 2-3 teaspoons of oil in it and heat it up.  Put the garlic in the pan.  Put your veggies in from firmest to ones that need to be cooked the lightest (example carrots, then celery, then onion, then spinach.)  Cook veggies lightly so they still have lots of crispness to them...it really adds to the texture of the rice. Then throw in the rice and meat.  Turn the temperature up in the pan to med-high and put in the remaining oil. After the new oil gets hot, pour the beaten egg over the mixture and stir like crazy until the rice mixture is well coated.  Then, pat the mixture down in the pan and let the oil sear the rice and make it all crispy about 3-5 min, then give it another stir and repeat the pat and sear step.  It's done depending on how much of your rice you like crispy.

Serve with the sauce...

Mix cornstarch and sugars in a small saucepan.  Whisk in COLD water.  Then add everything else in and whisk.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for about 5 min.  Let it simmer until it is reduced by half...about the same amount of time it takes to make the fried rice.

I made a double batch and then froze half of it. 

For desert we made chocolate pumpkin pie...a pumpkin pie with a chocolate cookie crust and dark chocolate chips...sounds odd, but oh so good.

What did you make this week?