I love it...! Here when it warms up a little I will be going outside and putting the rest of my tomatoes in.....I also want to plant more beans,peppers,popcorn and FLOWERS of course:) I LOVE gardening.I do alot of canning,dehydrating etc.This year we planted 200 strawberry plants! I have NEVER had that many strawberries and I am so excited.They are my favorite! We are also planting a bunch of heirloom corn (bloody butcher....I do NOT like the name! lol) for grinding! That will be a new experience for us.With all of the genetically modified corn in just about EVERY corn product you can buy.....it is a big push for us to just grow our own.If you don't know much about genetically modified foods and their dangers I highly suggest you research it.It is a very serious/scary issue!
POPCORN.....We are growing a bunch of that this year too! I have never grown it and I can't wait to see how it does.....
POLE BEANS....Usually I grow bush beans but after growing a few pole beans last year I am excited to grow alot more this year.....My husband is building me trellisis for them to grow up that I can walk underneath! They are SO beautiful!! My garden is much more to me that a place where food grows! ....I LOVE to make it pretty! Anyhow, I am very excited about these pole beans....It would be so much easier picking beans standing up!! SO that is another fairly new thing for us this year.....
My children all have their own gardens this year....That is SO fun and they just love it.We have such a wonderful time outside in the garden.They are very serious little gardeners and get so excited about growing things.My girls just love to go and gather herbs to preserve.They were given their very own dehydrator to dry flowers/herbs in .They love that.....They love to make things with herbs....
I am so thankful to live in the country and be able to grow all of this good food....have animals....fresh air....good water....It is such an excellent place to raise a family!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Baby chicks and turkeys!
We finally have some!
I use to have alot of chickens.....I have had turkeys,ducks,pheasants etc. too but then we moved out of state, built a house....etc. and haven't had time to build any chicken pens or get more chicks.(We also now have an organic chicken farmer for a neighbor that we got FREE eggs from so that made the egg issue not as important.)Figuring out how I would keep the chickens enclosed was another hindrance.I have gardens and flower beds that I do not want my chickens in.(They can do some real damage quick!) Yet I didn't want the traditional kind of pen that I had in the past. I want them free ranged! hmmmm Well,my husband is building me a HUGE chicken pen for my birthday! I really mean HUGE :) It is aprox 50 ft by 150 ft! My chickens,turkeys and whatever else I get will be able to free range yet still be caged! The pen is going to be built in part of our yard (we live in the boonies :) ) under a beautiful stand of poplar trees.....The area is big enough that they won't be able to scratch it all down to dirt but should have an abundance of greens and bugs.....I am very excited!
I am going to have a variety of breeds of chickens....
Black australorps
Silver Laced Wyandottes
Black Giants
Buff Orpingtons
New Hampshire Reds
Araucanas
My turkeys are.....
Blue Slate
I don't have the Black australorps yet.....They were OUT and that is the #1 breed I wanted! The feed store that I orered from say that they should be able to order me some yet this year....Oh and the Araucanas too.....All of the breeds that I have are heirloom breeds.I do not trust any of the hybrid/cross animals.....Or anything for that matter! From cows to seeds give me heirloom! They hybrid stuff is suppose to me "improved" but how can they really be? Almost all of them have reproduction problems....Some CAN"T even reproduce naturally! The white broadbreasted turkeys that are commonly grown for meat are prone to an abundance of health problems! They can be very hard to keep alive and they can't even mate.....No thank you....I don't even need to read a "study" (although their are many) to prove to me that meat/milk/eggs etc. from hybrid animals are inferior....Who knows what nutrients are missing....?
I am thrilled to have chickens again.....I am thankful to have had the opportunity to have the organic eggs from our neighbor while it lasted (he charges now....$2.00 a dozen...very reasonable still...) but unfortunately, "organic" doesn't always = healthy .I want eggs from birds who are living in fresh air and eating the diet they were intended to have.The organic chickens are hybrid and although they are not caged,they might as well be.....There are thousands in a barn and even though they have access to the outdoors,they won't GO out(they are mentally OFF)....You can't even breath in the barn....It makes your eyes water from the ammonia.So they are fed organic grain? They are not healthy birds.....Makes you think twice about what you are actually getting when you spend the high price on ORGANIC food.....Most of the time it is a joke....Just a money making scam.I am all for TRUE organic food.....Your best bet is to grow it/raise it yourself or buy from a local farmer/source you know and trust!
I would post pictures of the birds but blogger will not let me right now for some reason....
I use to have alot of chickens.....I have had turkeys,ducks,pheasants etc. too but then we moved out of state, built a house....etc. and haven't had time to build any chicken pens or get more chicks.(We also now have an organic chicken farmer for a neighbor that we got FREE eggs from so that made the egg issue not as important.)Figuring out how I would keep the chickens enclosed was another hindrance.I have gardens and flower beds that I do not want my chickens in.(They can do some real damage quick!) Yet I didn't want the traditional kind of pen that I had in the past. I want them free ranged! hmmmm Well,my husband is building me a HUGE chicken pen for my birthday! I really mean HUGE :) It is aprox 50 ft by 150 ft! My chickens,turkeys and whatever else I get will be able to free range yet still be caged! The pen is going to be built in part of our yard (we live in the boonies :) ) under a beautiful stand of poplar trees.....The area is big enough that they won't be able to scratch it all down to dirt but should have an abundance of greens and bugs.....I am very excited!
I am going to have a variety of breeds of chickens....
Black australorps
Silver Laced Wyandottes
Black Giants
Buff Orpingtons
New Hampshire Reds
Araucanas
My turkeys are.....
Blue Slate
I don't have the Black australorps yet.....They were OUT and that is the #1 breed I wanted! The feed store that I orered from say that they should be able to order me some yet this year....Oh and the Araucanas too.....All of the breeds that I have are heirloom breeds.I do not trust any of the hybrid/cross animals.....Or anything for that matter! From cows to seeds give me heirloom! They hybrid stuff is suppose to me "improved" but how can they really be? Almost all of them have reproduction problems....Some CAN"T even reproduce naturally! The white broadbreasted turkeys that are commonly grown for meat are prone to an abundance of health problems! They can be very hard to keep alive and they can't even mate.....No thank you....I don't even need to read a "study" (although their are many) to prove to me that meat/milk/eggs etc. from hybrid animals are inferior....Who knows what nutrients are missing....?
I am thrilled to have chickens again.....I am thankful to have had the opportunity to have the organic eggs from our neighbor while it lasted (he charges now....$2.00 a dozen...very reasonable still...) but unfortunately, "organic" doesn't always = healthy .I want eggs from birds who are living in fresh air and eating the diet they were intended to have.The organic chickens are hybrid and although they are not caged,they might as well be.....There are thousands in a barn and even though they have access to the outdoors,they won't GO out(they are mentally OFF)....You can't even breath in the barn....It makes your eyes water from the ammonia.So they are fed organic grain? They are not healthy birds.....Makes you think twice about what you are actually getting when you spend the high price on ORGANIC food.....Most of the time it is a joke....Just a money making scam.I am all for TRUE organic food.....Your best bet is to grow it/raise it yourself or buy from a local farmer/source you know and trust!
I would post pictures of the birds but blogger will not let me right now for some reason....
Making an herbal tincture or vinegar.....
I thought I would write about this today as this is one of the things I am going to do today!
For tincture:
For a basic tincture you will need......
A glass jar (canning jars are the best)
The herb/herbs you want to tincture
Vodka/glycerine/rum/brandy
You can use dried herbs but fresh are the best!
If you are using fresh herbs....Chop the herbs coarsely and pack them into the jar....Don't pack them in SOLID but do pack slightly.....Fill the jar with your choice of alcohol (not rubbing alcohol of course!!!),label and let sit in a dark place for atleast 6 weeks.....Strain,bottle,label and use.Tinctures last for years..... If you are doing dried herbs...Fill your jar about 1/3 full of dried herb and then pour 1 cup of boiling water over them.Make sure they are all moist.....Wait a few minutes and then add your alcohol or "menstrum" (The correct term for the liquid you use to tincture your herbs....)
Making tincture is extremely easy and can save you alot of money! Tinctures are expensive to buy and the quality of most that you *can* buy wouldn't compare to the quality of fresh,homeade tinctures!
You can really have fun with homeade tinctures! Make up your own combinations....You can even add fruits! I love experimenting with different herbs/fruits and see how good I can get the tincture to taste. They can be really good.....You can also add sweetener to the finished tincture to make it taste better....Mollasses,maple syrup,honey etc......Glycerine makes a really good,naturally sweet tasting tincture but *supposively* it doesn't extract as much from the herb as alcohol.You can use flavored alcohol too but the stronger the alcohol,the more good stuff you will extract from the herbs so the flavored/sweetened alcohols aren't *as* good....
Today I am making CHICKWEED tincture AND Vinegar.....
FOR VINEGAR......
Make herbal vinegars the same way you would tinctures except use applecider vinegar (I use the good RAW stuff) for your menstrum and you only need to let it sit for 2 weeks.You can let it go longer if you want! Don't cover it with a canning jar lid though....It can rust fast and the lid is SO hard to get off! A baggy with a rubberband tied around it works great. Herbal vinegars are excellent for you.Raw apple cider vinegar is mineral rich and wonderful for you by itself but when you soak herbs in it the calcium from the herb readily dissolves into the vinegar and you then have an extremely mineral rich product!They can taste great too....Later on this summer when my garlic is ready to harvest I plan on making a garlic/sage/thyme vinegar.I think that would be delicious!
Read an excellent article HERE about herbal vinegars! I do not endorse this herbalists views on spiritualality at ALL.....She is very "earthy" and believes in the herbs having fairies/spirits etc.etc. and has many more wrong beliefs but she has alot of good things to say about health....
For tincture:
For a basic tincture you will need......
A glass jar (canning jars are the best)
The herb/herbs you want to tincture
Vodka/glycerine/rum/brandy
You can use dried herbs but fresh are the best!
If you are using fresh herbs....Chop the herbs coarsely and pack them into the jar....Don't pack them in SOLID but do pack slightly.....Fill the jar with your choice of alcohol (not rubbing alcohol of course!!!),label and let sit in a dark place for atleast 6 weeks.....Strain,bottle,label and use.Tinctures last for years..... If you are doing dried herbs...Fill your jar about 1/3 full of dried herb and then pour 1 cup of boiling water over them.Make sure they are all moist.....Wait a few minutes and then add your alcohol or "menstrum" (The correct term for the liquid you use to tincture your herbs....)
Making tincture is extremely easy and can save you alot of money! Tinctures are expensive to buy and the quality of most that you *can* buy wouldn't compare to the quality of fresh,homeade tinctures!
You can really have fun with homeade tinctures! Make up your own combinations....You can even add fruits! I love experimenting with different herbs/fruits and see how good I can get the tincture to taste. They can be really good.....You can also add sweetener to the finished tincture to make it taste better....Mollasses,maple syrup,honey etc......Glycerine makes a really good,naturally sweet tasting tincture but *supposively* it doesn't extract as much from the herb as alcohol.You can use flavored alcohol too but the stronger the alcohol,the more good stuff you will extract from the herbs so the flavored/sweetened alcohols aren't *as* good....
Today I am making CHICKWEED tincture AND Vinegar.....
FOR VINEGAR......
Make herbal vinegars the same way you would tinctures except use applecider vinegar (I use the good RAW stuff) for your menstrum and you only need to let it sit for 2 weeks.You can let it go longer if you want! Don't cover it with a canning jar lid though....It can rust fast and the lid is SO hard to get off! A baggy with a rubberband tied around it works great. Herbal vinegars are excellent for you.Raw apple cider vinegar is mineral rich and wonderful for you by itself but when you soak herbs in it the calcium from the herb readily dissolves into the vinegar and you then have an extremely mineral rich product!They can taste great too....Later on this summer when my garlic is ready to harvest I plan on making a garlic/sage/thyme vinegar.I think that would be delicious!
Read an excellent article HERE about herbal vinegars! I do not endorse this herbalists views on spiritualality at ALL.....She is very "earthy" and believes in the herbs having fairies/spirits etc.etc. and has many more wrong beliefs but she has alot of good things to say about health....
Monday, May 11, 2009
Surprise! Morels!
I was walking out through my garden this evening and decided to stroll through the yard to see if I might find some morels.Sometimes we have found them right in our yard.....I couldn't believe what I found! I ended up hunting for about an hour and found over 30 morels! Big ones too....If you have never had a morel.......well,I feel sorry for you! lol They are unbelievably delicious! Slice them in half,coat them with flour and maybe a teeny bit of season salt/pepper/garlic if you choose and then fry them in butter until they are slightly crisp on the outside....Guess what we are having with out roast/gravy and potatoes?? I can't wait! 
Nutritional value? I am not sure.....There are many,many different opinions....I do know for sure that:
#1 People have been hunting and eating morels for a long, long, long time.....That itself makes me like them....I would feel much safer eating a morel then I would eating a pop-tart etc.
#2 Combine the above with the fact that they are a WHOLE food that grows in the wild that the LORD made and I find it hard to believe that they don't have some really good stuff in them! I am not worried at all that they are UN healthy.....
It is a really,really good feeling to harvest delicious food off of your land and eat it for supper!Apple bars with peanut butter,cream cheese frosting....
I served my husband a plate with these with his coffee this evening when he got home from work.....I held my breath as I asked him "Welllllll? How do you like them?" SO many of the healthy "desserts" I make he thinks are just "alright".....I get so excited when he actually LOVES something...! He said that he loves them! HE thought they were excellent! I am so happy :) Another keeper.....
Anyhow,I made this recipe up today when my children wanted me to pack them a picnic.They *love* going on picnics....I know how much we love apples w/ peanut butter as a snack so I thought I would try to combine the flavors in a "bar".....Whole wheat,wholesome sweetener,lots of good fat and protein too!They are delicious.....
BARS:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup apple sauce
1 cup maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 -1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 TB baking powder
3 apples diced up
FROSTING:
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
For bars......Beat together first the first eight ingredients......Add flour and then baking powder right on top on beaten ingredients.Stir.....You can seperate the dry ingredients first and mix them seperately and THEN add them if you want to but this is an unnecessary step and I never do it! My baked goods always turn out great.....Anyhow,then add the apples and stir them in...Grease pan....I baked this in a large sheet pan but you could use a 9x13 if you wanted more of a cake....If you use a sheet pan,bake at 425 for 15-20 min.....IF a cake pan.....probably closer to 30 minutes....
For frosting....Beat everything but the syrup together until fluffy....slowly add syrup.....Frost bars when cool! Enjoy!
Anyhow,I made this recipe up today when my children wanted me to pack them a picnic.They *love* going on picnics....I know how much we love apples w/ peanut butter as a snack so I thought I would try to combine the flavors in a "bar".....Whole wheat,wholesome sweetener,lots of good fat and protein too!They are delicious.....
BARS:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup apple sauce
1 cup maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 -1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 TB baking powder
3 apples diced up
FROSTING:
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
For bars......Beat together first the first eight ingredients......Add flour and then baking powder right on top on beaten ingredients.Stir.....You can seperate the dry ingredients first and mix them seperately and THEN add them if you want to but this is an unnecessary step and I never do it! My baked goods always turn out great.....Anyhow,then add the apples and stir them in...Grease pan....I baked this in a large sheet pan but you could use a 9x13 if you wanted more of a cake....If you use a sheet pan,bake at 425 for 15-20 min.....IF a cake pan.....probably closer to 30 minutes....
For frosting....Beat everything but the syrup together until fluffy....slowly add syrup.....Frost bars when cool! Enjoy!
Pumpkin pie.....
I decided to mess with my normal pumpkin pie recipe this weekend and substitute maple syrup for the sweetener....They turned out perfect.....Texture and everything.You would never know that you weren't eating "regular" pumpkin pie!
This recipe makes three pumpkin pies.....
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
3 eggs
30 0z pumpkin (2- 15 oz cans)
2 cups cream
Mix all together and pour into an unbaked crust....You can use your regular crust or if you want to use a healthier crust you could try the hazelnut crust posted with my cheesecake recipe....
Bake at 425 for 30 minutes or until you see tiny cracks around the edge of the filling.....
Top with lots of whipped cream!
This recipe makes three pumpkin pies.....
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
3 eggs
30 0z pumpkin (2- 15 oz cans)
2 cups cream
Mix all together and pour into an unbaked crust....You can use your regular crust or if you want to use a healthier crust you could try the hazelnut crust posted with my cheesecake recipe....
Bake at 425 for 30 minutes or until you see tiny cracks around the edge of the filling.....
Top with lots of whipped cream!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Making granulated MAPLE SUGAR at home!
I have been using maple sugar ALOT lately.....It replaces regular sugar with PERFECT results.No kidding, it isn't even a sacrifice and this is coming from someone who LOVES to bake sweet things and does often! Since we did our own maple syrup this year I have been making our own sugar! You can use maple syrup to replace sugar and in alot of things it works great,but in some things you can't have the extra liquid so that is where maple sugar is perfect! Now to BUY maple sugar is not very affordable unless you have alot of extra money to get rid of! Even just regular maple syrup is very expensive......SO....Here is how you make maple sugar! It is EASY,fun and pretty amazing to watch the transformation!! Try it!! I do suggest that you have someone to help stir but I have done it myself :) My arm was about to fall off but still.....:)
What you need:
1 qt maple syrup
A large pot
A candy thermometer reading to atleast 260
A wooden or stainless steel spoon
Cream or butter (Just a few dabs)
Now you are ready to begin!
Put your syrup in the pot and turn on HIGH heat.....YES.....HIGH heat! :) Do not stir it.....After it starts to boil you can put your thermometer in......You don't have to hold it in *constantly* but put it in every minute or so.....When it gets to 240 then you start to stir slowly......If at ANY time your syrup starts to really foam up and you are afraid of overflowing the pot,just put a dab of cream or butter in it! This should knock the boil right down.....SO....you are boiling the syrup on HIGH heat and stirring gently and you are creeping past 240......Just keep doing this.it will take several minutes from start to 260.......I think it took me around 15 minutes.....No matter,do NOT stop your syrup until it reaches 260 or you won't get the results you are desiring...Granulated sugar....As SOON as you hit 260 remove from heat and KEEP STIRRING.....You will now stir it until you have granulated sugar.....!
This is my syrup as soon as it was removed from the heat....
What you need:
1 qt maple syrup
A large pot
A candy thermometer reading to atleast 260
A wooden or stainless steel spoon
Cream or butter (Just a few dabs)
Now you are ready to begin!
Put your syrup in the pot and turn on HIGH heat.....YES.....HIGH heat! :) Do not stir it.....After it starts to boil you can put your thermometer in......You don't have to hold it in *constantly* but put it in every minute or so.....When it gets to 240 then you start to stir slowly......If at ANY time your syrup starts to really foam up and you are afraid of overflowing the pot,just put a dab of cream or butter in it! This should knock the boil right down.....SO....you are boiling the syrup on HIGH heat and stirring gently and you are creeping past 240......Just keep doing this.it will take several minutes from start to 260.......I think it took me around 15 minutes.....No matter,do NOT stop your syrup until it reaches 260 or you won't get the results you are desiring...Granulated sugar....As SOON as you hit 260 remove from heat and KEEP STIRRING.....You will now stir it until you have granulated sugar.....!
This is my syrup as soon as it was removed from the heat....
The rest of the pictures show the process of turning into sugar......You will feel and see your syrup start to get thick and lighter......Then you will see the texture change......You need to keep stirring until your sugar is DRY...Don't stop when it is wet or when it cools it will be HARD....
It will take about 15 minutes of stirring......When you are all done you can sift it to get the little hard lumps out....There will be some hard lumps.....Depending on what you are using your sugar for you can take them out or leave them in! They are wonderful "candy" or you can use them to sweeten your coffee/tea/hot cereal and a bunch of other things! The better you stir,the less lumps you will have! HAVE FUN!
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