Sep. 7, 2008 - Faux Pineapple

so you take some of your over abundance of zucchini or yellow crookneck squash and peel and cut it up in chunks or grate it.  

You'll need 4 quarts of prepared summer squash.

1.5 c. lemon juice

46 oz. pineapple juice

3 c. sugar or honey

bring to a boil and simmer for 20 min.

pack hot into hot pint jars and waterbath for 20 minutes.

 

Tada!  Use in place of pineapple in any recipe that calls for it.

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Sep. 7, 2008 - Make your own chicks

Jeremy made a funny little incubator for some eggs we saved before the rooster (henceforth known as BP, short for butt-pick)  went in the soup.

We didn't know if it would work as BP and the hens were still very young.

but Jeremy candled them last night and at least 50% are developing and we are half-way through the incubation period!  it's incredible how fast they develop.  in 21 days they go from egg to cute little furry chicks with all the instinct of chickens.  They scratch and flap and fluff up their feathers....

God is really incredible.

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Sep. 7, 2008 - funny chickens

So I was feeding the chickens friday morning and one flew out of the run.......

  This one particular chicken thinks she belongs with us and thinks she's a yard chicken, not a run chicken.  So I didn't bother to chase her around because when she first gets out she has no interest in being caught.  pet, carried and fed by the kids is fine but as soon as an adult approaches her she is very careful to stay just out of reach.  The reason she is like this is because we had her out for a few days when the other hens pecked her comb off. 

Anyway, so she flaps out in a huge loud dramatic escape and all the other chickens are impressed and worried.  So I just left her 'cause it would just end up in a frustrating game of tag if I tried to catch her at this point.  But I had to go in, make breakfast, get started for the day etc.

about 3 hours later I remembered the chicken was out when I heard a very loud "BA TOCK, BA TOCK, TOCK!!!!"  so I run out to find out what's going on and she's way over in the vacant lot with a cat crouching a metre away!  so I climbed over the fence and she came running over to me and couldn't wait to get picked up! 

Who says chickens are dumb?

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Sep. 2, 2008 - mmmm... I'm going to have these for supper tonight.

Spicy Squash Cakes
 
This recipe works well with a combination of zucchini and pattypan or yellow squash. Temper the fieriness of the jalapenos by adjusting the amount or by removing the seeds and white membrane. Prepare small cakes for an appetizer or larger ones as a side dish or serve with crusty bread and tomato salsa for a full meal.  
 
1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites or use 3 eggs
4 cups grated summer squash
1 cup fresh corn kernels, cut from 2 ears
1/4 cup chopped green onions, tops included
1 large jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or black pepper
Canola oil for sauteing
Low-fat sour cream (optional)
Fresh tomato salsa (optional)
 
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in squash, corn, green onions, jalapeno, the cheeses, flour, olive oil and ground pepper.
 
Heat two tablespoons canola oil in a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. For small cakes, spoon one tablespoon squash mixture per cake into the hot oil and flatten to uniform thickness. For large cakes, use two tablespoons of squash mixture per cake. Do not over crowd the skillet. Leave about an inch between cakes.  
 
Cook until edges turn golden brown, turn and cook the other side until golden brown, about three minutes total cooking time per cake. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Place in a warm oven and continue cooking the remaining cakes.
 
To serve, arrange two or more cakes on individual plates. Serve with some of the salsa and a dollop of low-fat sour cream. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Serves 6.  

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Sep. 2, 2008 - chicken coop is coming

Well, we started on our chicken coop yesterday.  WE are using a lean-to on the back of our garage that was full of junk, ours and the previous owners.... and probably the owner before that.  It was full of squirrel mess... little bits of insulation and pieces of pinecones and a few things from our compost.  What messy little things.  so we cleaned that all out, pulled out the rickety shelving and it's actually quite large.  We will easily be able to keep our chickens over winter... we just have to reinforce parts of the building so no other animals can get in. 

Now... what do we do with all the junk that came out of there?

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Aug. 29, 2008 - completely self-sufficient meal

tonight for supper we are having a chicken that we raised and killed, turnips, carrots and potatoes from our garden all roasted in a crockpot.  It's a very fulfilling feeling.

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Aug. 22, 2008 - Canning, canning and more canning

Well, I haven't been on in a while so I thought while I'm waiting for the water bath canner timer to go off I would tell a little about what I've been doing.

I made and canned Apple Filling (14 qts) and it was so good I will make some more,

I made and canned probably around 20 qts of applesauce, 12 pts of raspberry jam, 5 1/2 pts of zucchini relish, 12 pts of apple butter.

Plus of course keeping up with making and pressure canning chicken stock.

It's been busy around here with picking, cooking and canning.  If I get around to it I plan to do some pickles today.... cucumber, squash, bean and carrot pickles.... all garlic dill with a homegrown chunk of hot pepper in each jar.

Hopefully next week I will get to can some meals in a jar... I've used all the ones up that I made before and they were sure handy!  I'd like to try a potato soup that you add milk to before you eat it.  sounds good to me.

Also the chickens started laying eggs.  that is very exciting!  we no longer have to buy eggs and that is sooooo cool.  In the meantime I got Salmonella from a store bought egg so I am really glad to get our own eggs now.

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Aug. 19, 2008 - fun giveaway!

a lady with whom I am a co-reader of backwoods Home forum is giving away a free homemade, all-in-one cloth pad!  isn't that cool of her?  so i'm posting her link here for all those who want to enter her draw.

http://www.homesteaderbelle.blogspot.com

Have fun!

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May. 7, 2008 - Natural health care products could be gone soon.

Our natural health care freedoms are being threatened as I write.  Please sign this petition against bill C51 which basically makes all herbs and natural health care products illegal.
 
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/StopC51
 
and for more info go to www.nhppa.org
 
Thanks.

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May. 2, 2008 - Lake of Yuck!

Well late monday night, or should I say early tuesday morning, My hubby discovered that there was a lake under our house due to an Insufficiently glued sewer pipe from our toilet.... YUCK!  so we have had no toilet or bath or shower at our house since then.  My sis  and b-i-l have kindly let us use theirs and loaned us their port-a-potty henceforth known as pap.

Since using the pap I met Sally.... a tiger salamander in the basement who greeted me cheerfully upon my first morning trotting down to visit the pap.  What a cute little gaffer.... I left it alone and it returned two more times to greet me upon my morning visit.  The last time was this morning when I felt sorry for it.... it was covered with dust and no longer shiny and sleek..... so I captured it in a jar and let it go in the wild.... (next to my stoop) and did not let the cats out all morning.  I hope it found shelter and worms to eat.

This is like camping.  An Adventure.  We visit the basement (for #1 only), wash in a basin and use the kitchen sink for everything else.... fun.

And... through this we are renovating the bathroom.  There was moldy soft patches of subfloor, the pipes were all put together poorly, and the drywall and vapor barriers have some mold on.... not as much as I expected but still, I don't want it there.

Advice.  Don't look at too many bathroom books from the library.  All the bathrooms in these books approx. 100 sq. ft.!!!  how annoying.  We are not designing a bathroom for Henry the fifth people!  i just want a few practical ideas!

Well hubby's on the phone with the insurance adjuster right ow to see if anything is covered.  so maybe they will give us a little money to help with the cost.

 

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Apr. 27, 2008 - Curdled canned Zuppa....dryed lemons

Looks gross, tastes good, but I won't can Zuppa with the cream in it again.

 

The weekend's not a total bust though, I am drying some 1/4 inch slices of lemon, as i type, which will then be ground and used in place of lemon zest and as seasoning.... I gotta find out how to store this so it will last.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

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Apr. 25, 2008 - Score!!! Big Buckets w/ lids

I asked at 2 different grocery stores, at costco, at DQ, at another icecream place.... I began to dispair....

Today I went back around and costco had saved me some...... LARGE BUCKETS WITH AIR TIGHT LIDS!!!!!  Yay! 

DQ also gave me some.... they asked for a donation to the children's miracle network.... no prob!

All the places i went to said they just throw them away... what a waste...  what a consumeristic throw away society we live in. 

the small local icecream guy was from India so i think he was surprised that someone here in north america was going to save and reuse something so useful and taken for granted.....and was so happy that I would use them and will now save them for me to pick up on thursdays.  for some reason in our town we can't recycle those type of buckets so he was just having to throw them out.... there's only so many you can keep!  Anyway he was very happy to save them for me.

There are some really great nice people out there if you give them a chance!

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Apr. 25, 2008 - Canned Zuppa

I will try to can this for my weekend project.  So far all my canning projects have turned out great.  so here's hoping..... 

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Apr. 25, 2008 - Patrick's Cold

"I prayed to Jesus this morning to help my white blood cells fight these germs."

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Apr. 18, 2008 - Best steak marinade!

2 medium shallots, minced

1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tsp molasses

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

I mixed these all together in a shallow 9x13.  and every time I turned the steaks I poked them all over with a fork.  It is yummy!

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Apr. 17, 2008 - Weekend Canning Project

Each weekend I am going to find something to can.  Last weekend, on the spur of the moment, I decided to can meat sauce, like for spaghetti and such stuff.  It turned out really well.  It's so lovely to have "convienience food" that doesn't have any mystery ingredients. 

Next time I will not cook the veggies ahead of time, I will just put them in at the end of cooking the meat and heat it all through.

this weekend I am going to can stew.

 

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Apr. 17, 2008 - More tortilla trouble

So I bought Masa.  Tried the recipe on the package.  I figured out how to make pretty good tortillas but the trouble was, turning them into chips. 

these things were sooooooo hard, wow, my jaw was sore after eating them. 

plan for next time:  try to make them thinner somehow.

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Apr. 15, 2008 - Homemade Lemon Curd with honey instead of Sugar

2 eggs beaten

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 2 lemons

1/2 cup butter

1 cup honey

whisk ingredients together and place in top of double boiler, 

Stir constantly until thickened, 10 -15 minutes.

Pour into jar (makes approx 1.5 cups).  cool on counter and then refridgerate.

Eat on bread or buns or gingerbread.

Why?  Less waste, less harmful additives.  Now if only I could get a cow and a lemon tree and a beehive.

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Apr. 15, 2008 - Best mayonnaise recipe so far

I keep adapting until I find one I like.   this one is adapted from several different recipes and requires a food processor.  you could do it with the beaters on high or a whisk attachment on your stand or hand mixer but it will not be as thick.  Or you could whisk by hand like the proper chefs do it .... Not until the grid goes down, thanks!  At least not for me.

2 egg yolks (reserve whites and add to your next batch of scrambled eggs, keeps for 3 days well covered in fridge)

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp - 1 Tbsp dijon mustard to taste

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp whey (from draining your yogurt)

run food processor for a half minute, stop, scrap everything together and run again .... leave running.

now mix together in glass liquid measuring beaker:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup safflower oil

3/4 - 1 cup sunflower oil

stir a couple times with a spoon.

Now, using your drizzle insert, add, 1 tsp at a time, 10 tsps of oil mixture, mixing for 15 - 30 sec between the last drop of each tsp.  (does that make sense?  Add a tsp of oil, watch for it to be done dripping through the drizzle attachment wait for 15- 30 sec. and then add your next tsp.)  (if you are using something that is not a food processor add the first 10 tsp of the oil mixture 1/4 tsp at a time, allow it to emulsify into the egg mixture and then add your next 1/4 tsp.)  Do Not Hurry this process or you will end up with a gross bunch of  eggy globs floating in oil.

Once you are done with the 10 tsps, you may start adding 1 Tbsp at a time to the drizzler in the same way for the next 10 Tbsp and then just glob it in there every couple of minutes.  If you are not using a food processor do it just with the thinnest drizzle you can, such a little bit at a time until you are down to 3/4 - 1 cup of oil, then you can start adding it in a very little bit faster.  If you hurry this process you will have a gross inedible mess.

Once all the oil is incorporated transfer to a glass jar (you will have 1-2 c. of mayo) cover tightly and let it sit at room temp for 7 hours.  This allows the whey to do it's work which is innoculating anything that may cause the mayo to spoil.   then put it in the fridge.   If you skip the whey your mayo would need to be eaten within a week, but with the whey and the room temp resting period your mayo should last several months in the fridge.

Ideas:  mix half yogurt and half mayo then add dill, garlic, basil, thyme stir and allow to sit in fridge for 1/2 hour.  Dip for your veggies.  Use however you would use store bought mayo.

To make into Salad Dressing (miracle whip) add sugar and horseradish to taste.

Why?  there are more and more additives in the mayo and miracle whip you by at the store, most of them not good for human consumption, not to mention how taxing it is on the environment to be buying and chucking all those plastic and glass jars and lids, even if you recycle them.  Recycling is not a guilt free, go ahead to buy into our society's consumeristic mindset.  Recycling uses gas to get the materials to the recycling plant, chemicals and energy for the recycling process and usually the product is no longer food safe when it comes out of the recycling plant which means our only option for food safe plastics and glass is raw virgin materials..... besides...... The first R of the 3Rs is REDUCE, and by making this, among other things from scratch I am hugely reducing my waste, recyclable or other wise.

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Apr. 14, 2008 - Chicks!!!

they were so cute and small and fluffy. 

Now they are 2 weeks old and large and getting to look more like chickens already.

We got 32 Red Sussex Cross chicks.  They all survived!  Even though one was under the waterer for several hours. 

We can hardly wait to harvest eggs and meat of our own raising.  It feels really good!

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