Our Food, Our Health

Three Whitetails Feed the Kitties for Nine Weeks

2011-11-29T22:24:00.001-06:00

DH and I finished processing his three whitetails today(almost). I think he said there are three more quarters from the last deer to go. After saving the back strap and tenderloins for himself, there are nine weeks worth of ground venison for our five kitties. I need to find all the other tubs that are mixed in with everything else in the other freezer. There is still time for more deer. We usually run out around April or so and the poor babies are forced to eat canned food from the pet store. This makes at least two of them very unhappy, even though I buy what is supposed to be of the highest quality available around here.

Busy Day Ahead

2011-10-20T00:47:00.001-05:00

It is just after midnight and I'm still up. Thinking of the day I will have 'tomorrow'... I must get the remaining bushel of apples processed while they are still in good shape (some dried and some apple butter) ... there are tomatoes to be skinned, pureed and canned... green tomatoes to put up (several recipes in mind-- green tomatoes pickles, relish, etc.)... garlic to pickle. No time to waste! Will try to get some photos posted anyway.

Three Eggs and a Fox

2011-09-16T19:07:00.004-05:00

Today we are up to the third egg from the pullets. I have no way of knowing if these are all three from one hen or not. I did find in Gail Damerow's 'Raising Chickens' that when a pullet begins to lay early then she is more likely to prolapse or become egg bound. I guess I will have to prepare myself in case that happens, but pray for the best. I have never had to deal with either situation yet.

I took down the rest of the shade cloth today. Some of the birds thought it was cozy to sleep on the shade cloth instead of on the roost in their shelter. Kind of like a giant hammock, I guess! One of my 'Have to Do's' before winter is to get a Chicken Tractor made. This will be taller than their current shelter, so they will be able to roost higher up as they prefer...and they are ready for nest boxes. It will be portable, by definition, so they will be able to be moved around to fresh grass, yet be safe from predators.

We have had a fox on the property. He still eludes our capture and I have not been comfortable letting the old birds out loose. The use of the dog run has come in handy this summer for some peace of mind.

Pullet's First Egg

2011-09-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

One of the pullets laid her first egg today. It was very surprizing as I think it is early for them to begin to lay. They are only eighteen weeks old! I don't know if the surprize was from one of the Cornish or a Sumatra... a very nice brown egg though. The small egg belongs to the pullet and the larger eggs are from my old hens.

Butchering Day

2011-09-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

Today I set my alarm early. I once read that it would be easier to capture the cockerels early in the morning while they are still half asleep and loopy. I was out there right before sunrise, capturing them one by one and hauling them out to a holding pen. We didn't get to butchering until later in the afternoon, due to other chores that took priority that morning. This butchering ordeal is my least favorite part of being part carnivore.

I had already spent some time the last couple of days in the pen with the birds finding and marking the more docile roosters. I knew there were at least a couple, but managed to find five that would let me handle them. They seemed to have no fear nor contempt of me and would jump up on the fence waiting for an invitation to roost on my arm or to be held in my hands. As soon as I picked one up, he would get comfortable in the palm of my hand and sit there until my arm grew tired and I had to let him down. These five I marked by spraying 'Blu Kote' on their feet and legs. At the very end, I will have to pick two only to keep. I have to leave the area when DH does the dirty deed with the three who won't make it.

Chickies Arrive!

2011-05-09T18:16:00.000-05:00

The chickies are here! They were shipped out from Murray McMurray on Friday, May 6th. I got a phone call on Saturday afternoon from the post office up in Champaign to let me know that they were there and that I could come pick them up, if I wanted to. We were not able to make the two hour drive, so would have to wait until Monday for them to arrive at our little local PO. The birds would be fine, as they are able to survive at least three days without any food. They would do well on the nutrients that they had from the egg.

The area I was setting up for the brooder was not quite ready. I hurried to get that done and we would need to make a trip to town for another heat bulb and something for litter... Rural King was out of pine shavings, but they had ground cobs. We'll see how well those perform, I guess.

Sumatra chick

Apples and Pecans

2011-04-04T23:20:00.002-05:00

The apple trees and pecans have been ordered from Miller Nurseries in Canandaigua, New York. For one reason or another, I chose not to go through Gurney's. I have used them in the past and was happy, but this year I have been disappointed on several counts when trying to place an order online. I will not go into detail right now, but just let it be said that I am not happy with them at all this year. I was going to try Henry Field's, but I suspect that they are affiliated with Gurney's... same operation with a different name perhaps. I would have preferred Stark's over Miller's, because Stark's stock would be more regionally adapted to our location, but I went with Miller's for the simple reason that their stock is air root pruned. This is the great advantage as researched by Dr. Carl Whitcomb. They also have a nice selection of fruit and nut trees and reasonable prices.

So the trees that I was able to narrow it down to are as follows: I purchased as a package the disease resistant varieties of four apples; also a Winter Banana Semi-Dwarf Apple and Northern Spy Semi-Dwarf. I am concerned about how these two will do because we already have a cedar that carries Cedar-Apple Rust. I may try to figure out a place to plant these two trees that are a little further away from the afflicted cedar.

For the nut trees, I ordered two hardy pecans. I want a heartnut walnut tree, but these are sold out at Miller's for the year. I will search around a bit and see if I can find it from another nursery without having to wait a whole year.

Chickens are ordered!

2011-04-04T15:02:00.004-05:00

I finally placed our chicken order yesterday. I went through Murray McMurray Hatchery... I have ordered supplies from them in the past, but never the day old chicks.   I was just thinking about the penciled note that I found in our chicken coop... it was about eighty years ago that DH's great-grandparents placed that order for so many white leghorn and so many brown leghorn day old chicks from Murray McMurray and penciled a note on the wall of the 'brooder house' as it was. I have since painted over it... but I have a picture of it somewhere.

So, what I finally settled on were the Dark Cornish, twenty-five roos and five pullets. I plan to save at least one roo and try to raise some chicks from these. Also went for the Sumatras, which are a rare breed. These are only available straight run, so I hope for at least one roo and several pullets (I only ordered five total)... wonder if they actually sex them and try to include both in an order?   I decided against any banties at this time. Too many chickens to try to house and waaaay too many eggs!   Even with the four hens that we have now, that is more than enough eggs for the two of us.

What I liked about the Dark Cornish is that they are described as hearty, tight-feathered meaty birds that will go broody and even hatch out chicks. They also have the pea comb-- one of the types I preferred and are clean-legged. The Sumatras are just interesting to me... thinking it will be cool to raise a rare breed and maybe pass some chicks onto others who will hopefully do the same. They also have the pea comb and are clean-legged. They look rather wild from the pictures.  McMurray also includes an unknown rare breed chick with each order... It will be interesting to see what we end up with.

The chicks are scheduled to be delivered to our post office between May 9th and 11th.   Next on the agenda is to finally get our fruit and nut trees ordered.

Chickens: Perusing the Catalogs

2011-02-01T10:16:00.001-06:00

After we lost three hens to what was likely a weasel last fall, we knew that we would have to plan for more chicks this year. I have decided to do something different (and a little daring) and go for banties this time. So far we have only picked up straight run chicks from the local Rural King, but this calls for our first catalog order. Of course, Rural King would special order for us, but there is something kind of exciting about the anticipation of our box of chicks arriving at our little local post office! I have looked at several hatcheries' catalogs including Estes, Cackle and Murray McMurray. At this point, I am liking what I see at McMurray.

There are so many interesting breeds, but I have been able to narrow it down a bit by my choice of combs at least. I have found that in our winter climate, the single combed birds will suffer with frostbite if their heads are not tucked well under the wing. I guess there are things you can do to try to prevent it, such as keeping a coat of vaseline on the comb (I used what I had on hand-- bag balm). But if I can prevent it just by choosing a different kind of comb, then that is lower maintenance.

Another stipulation right now is clean legged birds... (although the beautiful Buff Brahmas are awfully tempting)! Right now I am considering the Partridge Wyandotte, the Quail Antwerp Belgian is said to be 'very friendly', Golden Seabright and the Araucana for my little egg layers. For meat birds this year, I decided to go for something other than the Rock Cornish cross. Full size Dark Cornish are what I am leaning toward. These are very sturdy looking birds with interesting marks. If I keep one rooster and a couple of hens, then I could put the eggs under a banty hen which I've heard have not had the setting instinct bred out of them.

The Joy of Pickling

2011-01-31T11:03:00.001-06:00

I happened across this wonderful book 'The Joy of Pickling' by Linda Ziedrich while standing in line at the fabric counter at Jo Ann's the other day. What luck! and such good timing. I knew I had to snatch it up then and there... putting my second 50% off coupon to good use. Great unusual recipes are found within, but best of all is that the 'whys' and 'wherefores' of various methods of pickling are explained in better detail than I had found to date. I also like that there are a variety of ethnic recipes and the history of each is touched on. A virtual table is spread for the reader and I can imagine myself in various settings, dining on delicious 'sweets and sours' with a Pennsylvania Dutch family or sauerkrauts or sauerrubens somewhere in Eastern Europe or kimchees at a table in Korea. I did not know that Koreans were more prolific picklers than any other Asian group! What I did find in these pages are several recipes for different kimchees that I am anxious to try. I would love to duplicate the delicous kimchee that we had been served at the resort on Je Ju Do.

There are a few questions that weren't answered for me. In the brining method of pickling, which I am most interested in for the probiotics, Ziedrich, talks about a method for low-heat pasteurization that can be used to extend the shelf life of the brined pickles. This was new to me and as she doesn't really delve deeply into the probiotic benefits (this obviously was not her purpose in writing this book), I have to wonder if the probiotic life is 'pasteurized' out of the pickles and brine as well as non-beneficial bacterial or fungal activity that would have caused spoilage-- even at a lower heat. My guess is that it would. Neither does Ziedrich get into the kind of probiotic bacteria (as to binomial nomenclature). At this point I am just curious, but it would be great to know eventually. According to 'The Wonder of Probiotics' (Taylor and Mitchell) different strains are known to be preventative and/or curative of certain specific ailments. So while I believe that keeping a balance of any probiotic life in our digestive tracks is important, it would be good (or at least interesting) to have more detailed knowledge of the strains that appear in brined veggies. This book is a very helpful and thrilling find indeed, but I will keep looking until I am satisfied that I know what I want to know.

'Fermented Vegetables', The Herb Companion

Sauerkraut Crock

2011-01-23T12:49:00.002-06:00

I have done a little reading on sauerkraut and other fermented foods, including fermented pickles. I hadn't really bothered to look into it before, but now I understand that these foods are similar to yogurt in that they are alive with probiotics (beneficial bacteria). So I have a couple of books on my list to purchase as well as the crock I have chosen. This is the TSM Products Fermentation Pot, 10 Liter capacity, which is sold at Amazon.com, etc.

The book is 'Making Sauerkraut and Pickled Vegetables at Home' by Klaus Kaufmann and Annelies Schoneck.
An important point made by the authors is that the sauerkraut that we find on the grocery shelf is canned. It has been pasteurized and there are no living beneficial bacteria. It is dead and while some may enjoy the taste, the consumer will not enjoy any probiotic health benefits. One would have to search for 'raw' sauerkraut which can sometimes be found in sealed bags in the produce aisle... or make your own!

National Center for Home Food Preservation
Hidden Pond Farm

My Seed Inventory

2011-01-20T21:15:00.001-06:00

I took an inventory of the seeds I have on hand... also figured out a seed starting/ direct seeding schedule. There are a few more types of seeds that I need to order. Some of the seed varieties I will plant extra to sell the plants. Ideally, I would be able to start enough extra plants in the future to pay for my seeds for the year.
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Start These Seeds Indoors:

8-10 Weeks before last frost— February 10 through 24

Eggplant (Solanum melongena)

• Black Beauty

8 Weeks before last frost— February 24

Peppers (Capsicum annuum)

• Marconi Rosso

• California Wonder

• Fish Pepper

• Maule’s Red Hot

• Beaver Dam

• Sweet Chocolate

6-8 Weeks before last frost— February 24 through March 10

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)

• Copenhagen Market

• Emblem

6 Weeks before last frost— March 10

Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum)

• Amish Paste

• Mexico Midget

• Roma

• Federle

• Gold Medal

• Olpalka

*Manitoba

*Specialty Striped Cavern

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea)

• Romanesco

• Liberty

5-6 Weeks before last frost— March 10 through March 17

Malabar Spinach (Basella rubra)

4-6 Weeks before last frost— March 10 through March 24

Brussels Sprouts (Brassica oleracea)

• Falstaff

Leek (Allium ampeloprasum)

• Blue Solaize

Hybrid Cabbage, Savoy, Samantha F1

Onion (Allium cepa)

• Yellow of Parma

Very Hardy—Plant in Garden 4-6 Weeks Before Average Frost Free Date: March 10 through 24

Kale (Brassica oleracea, Acephala Group)

• Dwarf Blue Curled

Arugula or Roquette (Eruca sativa)

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)

• Amish Deer Tongue

• Black Seeded Simpson

• Bronze Arrowhead

• Crisp Mint

• Forellenschuss

• Grandpa Admire’s

• Grand Rapids

• Ruby

• Simpson’s Curled

• Susan’s Red Bibb

• Mesclun (mixed lettuces)

Pea (Pisum sativum)

• Maestro

• Strike

• Super Sugar Snap

• Oregon Sugar Pod II

Salsify (Tragopogon spp.)

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)

• Bloomsdale

• Melody

Turnips (Brassica rapa)

• Purple Top White Globe

Frost Tolerant—Plant in Garden 2-3 Weeks Before Average Frost Free Date: March 31 through April 7

Beet (Beta vulgaris)

• Perfected Detroit

• Detroit Dark Red, Medium Top

• Red Heart

• Cylindra

Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris)

• Bright Lights

• Five Color Silverbeet

• Ruby Red

Carrots (Daucus carota)

• Chantenay

• Danvers Half Long

• Dragon

• Hyb. Sweetness III

• Nantes

• Scarlet Nantes

*Creme de Lite F1 Hybrid

Asparagus or Winged Pea (Lotus tetragonolobus)

Radish (Raphanus sativus)

• Early Scarlet Globe

• Diakon

Warm Season Plants for Late Spring Planting—Tender (Plant on Average Frost Free Date): April 21

Beans, Snap (Phaseolus vulgarus)

• Jade (bush)

• Provider (bush)

• Tendergreen, Improved (bush)

• Royal Burgandy (bush)

• Flavorsweet (pole)

• Hidatsa (pole)

• Golden wax (pole)

• Cherokee Trail of Tears (pole)

• Kentucky Wonder (pole)

Yardlong Bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. Sesquipedalis)

New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia expansa)

Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo)

• Patisson Panache, Jaune et Verte

• Yellow Crook Neck

• Medley Blend of Hybrids

• Cashflow Hybrid

*Hybrid Zucchini Dundoo F1

Corn (Zea mays)

• Japonica Striped Maize

Warm Season Plants for Late Spring Planting—Warm Loving (Plant 1-2 Weeks After Average Frost Free Date) April 28 through May 5

Lima Beans (Phaseolus lunatus)

• Pole Lima

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

• Hybrid Cool Breeze

• Crystal Apple

• Poona Kheera

*Cucumber, Pickling H-19 Little Leaf

*Cucumber, Miniature White

• Unknown cucumber

Melon (Cucumis melo)

• Armenian cucumber

• Hale’s Best Jumbo

• Healy’s Pride

• Emerald Gem

• Charantais

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)

• Red Burgundy

• Clemson Spineless

Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo)

• Baby Pam Pie Pumpkin

• Big Moon

• Jack o’Lantern

• Field pumpkin

• Neck pumpkin

Winter Squash (Cucurbita moschata)

• Table Queen Acorn

• Table Ace Acorn

• Hybrid Argonaut

• Waltham Butternut

• Kabocha (Cucurbita Maxima)

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

• Moon & Stars (Cherokee)

• Red Seeded Citron

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Plant Maps Freeze Data:

Average first frost is October 11-20

Average last frost is April 21-31

Dave’s Garden Freeze Data:

Each winter on average, my risk of frost is from October 12 through April 20.

Frost almost certainly from October 27th through April 4th.

Almost guaranteed not to have frost from May 5th through September 26th.

Frost free growing season is around 175 days

My Sowing Schedule Plans for 2011

2011-01-06T14:01:00.000-06:00

In effort to improve my skills and thus production, I am collecting information about the vegetables that I plan to grow. In a previous post, I inserted links to my specific zone and that is a start. Next is listing in chronological order the seeds that will be planted and how.

One resource I will refer to is Seed Saver's Exchange helpful tips page, using this as a guide for starting seeds specific to my garden plans. I am still working on this list and will start by taking an inventory of the seeds that I already have on hand. There are yet others that I plan to try this coming season, but still need the seeds for.

Volga German Cuisine

2010-12-07T20:56:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking about ordering one or more cookbooks that I have found on the internet featuring Volga German recipes. This is my heritage on my paternal side as my great-grandparents and their children immigrated from the Volga River in Russia back in 1907. I remember enjoying a couple of things growing up that managed to survive integration and the generations, but I want to learn more about what kinds of foods were traditional to my ancestors way back when.

Mom used to make bierocks and varenky (which is basically the same as pierogy with a different name) and these were taught to her by Dad's mother who learned from her mother-in-law, the German from Russia immigrant. Some of the other foods that I knew were sauerkraut, of course, and German sausage or wurst, as I guess it was called, as the Germans probably didn't call it 'German' sausage! Grandma used to buy the sausage at Renna's Meat Market in Fresno. It is still there and still selling their famed and most secret recipe sausage. Yes, I asked and they would not give it up to me! As for other foods, there were noodles (spaetzle), pickles of all kinds, and as far as sweets there were the Pfefferneuse, stollen and kolacky. One thing I was recently surprized to discover is how prominant a food watermelon was to the Volga Germans!

Ha! I am wondering how I will manage to blend my desire to explore my heritage with the desire to eat my way to good health?! I may have to take up Polka to work off all the extra fat I could be consuming. At least I have ordered some cabbage seeds for the garden next spring. I have never grown cabbage before, but if I manage to harvest any, then I will definitely make some sauerkraut which is supposed to be very healthy as a fermented food. Well, I can in turn use the kraut to make varenky and also it can be used as an ingredient in borscht. I also plan to grow the beets for the borscht.

Average First and Last Frost Dates

2010-12-04T17:26:00.005-06:00

Links to the average first and last frost dates and growing seasons for the state of Illinois tell me that for my area, I should expect my last frost in the spring sometime between April 14th and 21st (according to the state climatologist office). My average first fall frost is sometime between October 14th and 21st. My growing season is somewhere between 185 and 190 days without season extension practices.

Dave's Garden has a page where I can enter in my zipcode and find out more specific information in regard to average frost dates.

The Weather Channel page. Again; enter in your zip code for current weather. Then from that page, scroll down and click on the link to get your >HISTORICAL DATA. I am seeing March 15th as our last average freeze! It is interesting to note the difference in dates given by the various sources. I really need to buy a thermometer that saves the low and high temps and start keeping my own records. Of course, the average is far earlier than the approximate last freeze. One date or the other is taken into consideration depending upon what is being planted--the hardiness of the plant or lack thereof.

On this Plant Maps page, I can really zoom in and see our area right down to the roads.

In addition to knowing the average frost dates as an aid to planning my garden, I have been interested in learning about gardening by the signs. This is important to the philosophy of Biodynamic gardening or farming. This goes beyond 'organic' and I like the idea of growing our food and living in harmony with the earth.

Garlic is Planted!

2010-11-29T17:14:00.000-06:00

The Samarkand has nice large cloves. I saved the best for planting!

I first marked the rows with a board, approximately six inches apart.

This is the dibber tool that I repurposed to make a hole for each clove.
I think it was once used for soldering.

Plant the clove root end down. Duh!
6 to 8 inches apart, 2 inches deep.

I have labeled each bed with the variety of garlic.
I misspelled 'Samarkand' when painting the stakes.
Oops! I don't think I will sleep at night knowing this is amiss...

The Inchelium Red bed-- planted, mulched and labeled.

Rosy Melon Rind Pickles

2010-11-24T11:05:00.000-06:00

Here are the finished pickles. The flavor is good, but I don't think I will use this particular recipe again. The pickles, while they held their shape, are not crisp. I didn't really expect them to be extrememly crisp, but I think I will go for one of the recipes that called for a lime soak instead. I think I may have answered my own question about whether the Citron melons and watermelons are interchangeable in a recipe calling for one or the other. I couldn't say for sure without a side by side comparison, but I'm guessing not. I used citron melon rinds in a recipe calling for watermelon rinds. The recipe called for 4 to 5 quarts of cubed watermelon rinds (approximately 4 pounds). This would result in 5 pints of pickles. I ended up with over 8 pints... I only canned 8 and the rest went into the fridge. So I think that it may have something to do with the amount of water in watermelon rinds versus the citron melon rinds that would account for way less shrinkage from the brine soak.

Citron Melon

2010-11-21T17:00:00.000-06:00

One of the heirloom melons planted in our garden this year is the citron melon. I don't believe I have ever experienced the citron melon before. I think all of the watermelon pickles that Grandma made were from regular watermelons. I was surprized to find that these melons are as tough as nails! Cutting into them, even with freshly sharpened knives was like trying to cut into an old field pumpkin. Even the flesh is tough! It took me two hours to cut up enough rind to make five quarts of one inch cubes. I may try an electric carving knife for the next batch. Some of the recipes specific to citron melons mentioned that the flesh can be seeded and made into preserves also. I may not bother with that, as our yield was over fifty melons. I have already given some away and still have some on the vine that may go into the compost pile.

I plan to make several batches of pickles or preserves, so we can do a comparison to see what we like best. The recipe I am using for this first batch is called Rosy Watermelon Pickles. I was looking for something different. This one called for maraschino cherries for the color, and in addition to cloves, cinnamon and ginger root, also black pepper! Sounds good to me. The book is 'Farm Journal's Freezing and Canning Cookbook', 1978 edition.

Something I found in this book that I have found no where else is that it is better to use melons grown earlier in the season and not overripe in making preserves and pickles. If these that I have are overripe, I would not know it considering how tough they are, but they are certainly not 'early'.

I was wondering if the recipes for watermelon rind pickles or preserves and citron melon preserves are interchangeable. Still don't have an answer, but thought I would give it a shot and see what happens. It seems that the recipes for citron melons that I have noticed, don't call for a brine. I am wondering if this has something to do with the water content in citron versus a much jucier watermelon. I went ahead and soaked them in a brine anyway, following the recipe.

While doing some searching around on the internet for recipes I came across this website WatermelonRind.com . I may try some of the ideas found on the site. There apparently are other ways to enjoy the rinds besides pickles and preserves!

Heirloom Cucumbers

2010-08-10T18:15:00.000-05:00

Heirloom Cukes, etc.

I planted several varieties of cukes this year. The hybrids look like the normal green cukes we see in the grocery store and are Straight 8 or Sweeter Yet. Not sure which of those two the green cukes are in the photo. The golden hued heirlooms are called Poona Kheera and have been coming off the vine as long or longer than the hybrids. These have as good a flavor as the hybrids with maybe a slightly more gelatinous center if left too long on the vine. They have never been bitter at any stage of growth. They don't seem to keep as long, becoming slightly pithy after a couple of days on the kitchen counter. The small pale green goose egg like cukes are called Crystal Apple and they are just now ready to come off the vine. I like the way they look. The skin is the same color as the flesh, but we still prefer to peel them. These slice like butter and have a real mild flavor. I hope they turn out to be longer keepers than the Poona Kheera... I may like to grow these again if so. The variety of cukes makes a pretty picture. If I peeled and sliced them, they would all look the same!

Garlic Scapes

2010-06-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

The garlic planted last fall is looking great! The Inchelium Red has begun to turn and they have been blown over for the most part due to strong winds out of the north. We have had a few good thunderstorms lately. I am going to assume that the Inchelium Red are a softneck variety that can be braided, but don't quote me on that! The other variety that I planted are Samarkand and these are without a doubt hardneck garlic! They are still standing and there is no way I could imagine anyone braiding them. These developed scapes and the Inchelium Red did not. I broke off the scapes today and thought I might try using them in stir fry. I don't have enough to try pickling them, but maybe next year.

Strawberries and Tennis

2010-05-27T20:48:00.000-05:00

My version of 'Bread and Circuses'... Hey, if our government can keep the common people in 'strawberries and tennis' then everyone's happy, right? Uh,...right?

'Wait! These are my strawberries! What do you mean, 'redistribution of strawberries? I paid for these when they were just little bare root starts. I worked the soil and planted them, fertilized, then watered and weeded them regularly, covered them with straw over the winter, and then earlier this spring I rolled out the floating row cover when frost threatened, I patiently waited for an entire year, and then carefully picked each one when it was at exactly the right point of flavorful ripeness! Wait!, STOP! I should be able to eat all that I want and to share them with my friends and family! What do you mean, you are going to take half of my strawberries and give them to the grasshoppers?'

First Strawberries

2010-05-24T16:23:00.000-05:00

Today we harvested and enjoyed our first strawberries! These are the so-called 'Strawberries as big as peaches' from Gurney's. Actually today's berries were fairly large...about the size of a golf ball, give or take. There are some larger-- but still green. Flavor was decent, but not the outrageously yummy and explosive strawberry flavor that I was dreaming of! I think that in addition to the cultivar grown, the soil that it is grown in and the weather conditions may have alot to do with the nuances of flavor. One other fact to make note of is the narrow window of time between slightly underripe one day and slightly overripe another. I will have to remember to check the berries every day from now on. The big thing we love is strawberry freezer jam, so as soon as we have begun to eat our fill of fresh berries, then I can start to save them up in the freezer until I have enough for batches of jam.

This coming Sunday: waffles with fresh strawberries and whipped cream!

Tomatoes and Peppers sowed today

2010-05-09T21:28:00.000-05:00

I have a dream to one day be a very good vegetable gardener (Smile).  I am learning something every year, I suppose. Doing better about keeping some notes. I'm slowly getting some permanent beds established. One day I will have enough permanent garden space to have room for everything I want to grow and also to be able to rotate the crops properly.

The big step this year was finally getting that hoophouse covered. I wish I had had it done last fall, so that I could have overwintered some things, but better late than never! We have it in now, and have even managed to start some things early to be transplanted later.

I don't pretend to have it all figured out, but this is what I managed to get seeded so far: Back on April 21st, I seeded some Okra, six different kinds of melon, five different cucumbers, and some old sage seeds.

Today, two and half weeks later, I have finally seeded about thirteen or fourteen different kinds of tomatoes. Mostly heirloom, but a few hybrids.  Ten different varieties of peppers; some hot and some sweet...again mostly heirloom, a couple of hybrid varieties.

I have saved these all in an Excel file.  (Trying to do better with keeping notes)!

Garlic Planted Today

2009-11-15T18:11:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I ordered two kinds of garlic from Seed Savers Exchange. As I was planning on using the sweet potato bed for the garlic, I have been waiting to get those harvested...and those have been waiting on parts for my pressure canner--which are still not here. I do not have the means to cure the sweet potatoes to keep them over as fresh root crops.

Since we are expecting five days of rain starting this afternoon, I had to hurry up and get the garlic in. If I did not get it done today, chances are it would not be done at all. We have been fortunate to have such lovely weather this late into the fall.

Time to 'Do' Geese

2009-10-11T08:21:00.000-05:00

We still have not finished off most of the geese. We still have twelve, maybe thirteen to do. Last month DH butchered three and since we don't really eat organ meat, we skinned the birds and saved the filleted breast meat and the entire legs with the bone in. The organ meat went to waste. Did not feel too good about that. We have asked several people that we know if they were interested, but with no takers. I had a few more people I'd thought to ask--one a caterer and the other a restauranteer... but now I am thinking that since I have decided to try my hand at making goose stock with the carcasses, then surely I can come up with something for the organ meat. Here are some recipes that sound like they have potential... and more recipes--this time using goose fat.

And a recipe for goose stock that is the base for a Borscht.

Eggs, Eggs and more Eggs

2009-10-08T20:04:00.000-05:00

I spent all day today cooking with eggs. The girls are doing very well---producing an abundance of eggs, eggs, eggs! I am sure that we had at least 11 or 12 dozen eggs in the fridge, as I have not been working too very hard at keeping up with them. I have already made mucho noodles. We have eggs for breakfast, use them in baking, feed them to the cats (raw or scrambled)... if I drop one while collecting them, the hens automatically get those.

While perusing my cookbooks this morning, looking for recipes, I decided to make Rosy Pickled Eggs, Golden Chiffon Cake and Deviled Eggs. I have made and enjoyed the Rosy Pickled Eggs before-- they are pickled in a solution that includes beet juice and are quite pretty to look at when finished...tasty, too! These will sit in the fridge for a few days before they are ready to eat.

I boiled over three dozen eggs for the Deviled Eggs, which I will take to Mom and Dad's tomorrow. That left me extra to make egg salad for lunch.

Amazingly, I was not hungry for dinner! DH had the pork chops all to himself and then we had the Golden Chiffon Cake for dessert with homemade raspberry preserves warmed and drizzled on top.

As the day is winding down, and I am cleaning up after dessert, I open the fridge and see nothing but Eggs, Eggs, and more EGGS!

Illinois Farm Direct

2009-09-24T15:52:00.000-05:00

I found the Illinois Farm Direct website today and I want to be sure and keep this handy. There are places very nearby that I would be patronizing if only I remembered them. The most interesting thing I saw today is a farm within 15 miles where I can go to buy organic goat's milk. And another sells raw honey.

Homemade Noodles

2009-09-24T00:10:00.000-05:00

My girls are hard at work-- each faithfully popping out a smooth, pastel egg almost every day. I had decided not to sell eggs this year. Even at the $3.00 a dozen that we ended up selling them for in the past, I figured that it was still a not-for-profit venture. These jewels are way too good to sell at a loss when we can find ways to put them to good use right here. I would rather feed them back to our chickens and the cats also love them. Most of them, we will eat in various ways ourselves, and then there is the occasional dozen given away to visiting family and friends.

Today, I pulled out my trusty KitchenAid mixer along with the pasta attachments and made three batches of noodles and hung them to dry in the pantry. I LOVE my pasta machine! I honestly would not make noodles if I did not have this...rarely...probably almost never. But with this I can whip out beautiful homemade noodles in no time at all.

The three batches used up a good 15 or 16 eggs and I used Hodgson Mill unbleached white flour. I have some Bob's Red Mill organic semolina flour which I will use the next time and then I can cook a batch of each up and do a little taste test. I did not realize that semolina flour is higher in gluten than all purpose flour. This is supposed to make for better pasta, but the noodles made from the Hodgson Mill all purpose flour seem to be pretty darn good.
We do not have any known intolerances to gluten, but since many people do, I will still be looking for tasty noodle recipes that are gluten free. I may try to make a small batch from Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour (made with garbanzo beans, fava beans, potatoes, sorghum and tapioca).

It took me two and a half hours to finish up the three batches. By the time that was done, I whipped up a quick dinner: NOODLES (!) with leftover chicken breast, some chicken stock thickened with arrowroot, sliced organic carrots, some of Mom's vidalia onions that I had sauteed and keep handy in the freezer, green peas and all seasoned with sage, parsley, sea salt and black pepper and a little lemon juice for a tasty twang. Yummy homegrown comfort food!

Baking Powder

2009-09-13T14:18:00.000-05:00

Since any baking powder that I have found in the grocery stores contain cornstarch, I was pleased to find not only a recipe to make my own without using cornstarch, but also discovered this Wikipedia article explaining the science of baking powder and how it works.

Baking Soda and Cream of Tartar are the active ingredients. I will use arrowroot as the starch in my homemade baking powder. This will be a single acting baking powder, not double acting as the timing will not be a problem for me, so a heat reactive acid salt is not critical. (Read the article).

Here's the recipe:

ABC 1:2:1

1 part Arrowroot powder
2 parts Baking Soda
1 part Cream of Tartar

That's it! I still have half of a can of Clabber Girl baking powder to use up so I can reuse the handy-dandy can with the straight edge made for leveling off the measuring spoon.
____________________________________________________
Update 2/13/10: The homemade blend has worked just fine for pancakes. That is all I have tried it for so far. I did find a corn starch free commercial baking powder at our local health food store. The brand is Hain and the ingredients are monocalcium phosphate, potato starch, and potassium bicarbonate. It is sodium free (thus the potassium bicarbonate instead of sodium bicarbonate) and also gluten free.

The Disappearing Omega 3's

2009-08-17T14:20:00.000-05:00

In my most recent issue of Prevention Magazine I found this most interesting article 'The Vanishing Youth Nutrient' on the disappearance of the vital Omega 3's from our diet. It is becoming more and more clear to me about the problem of grains, not only in our own diets, but in the silage of our meat animals!

We have not yet purchased a pasture-raised, pasture-finished side of beef for our freezer, but have been living for the most part on our own meat chickens that we raised, wild pork and the rare traditional lot raised beef from the grocery store. We occasionally will buy a huge pork loin, which we slice into chops and freeze...because of the low price. I really want to eliminate all commercial meat...it is still a work in progress for us. It's not happening nearly as fast as I would like. We have changed MUCH in the way that we eat and think about food, but the changes that we still need to make will require even more dedication.

Once again, I say that 'Organic' is not good enough for my satisfaction if the animals in any way subsist or are finished on grains, especially corn. It is greens in the diets of our livestock that make the meat Omega 3 rich (which we need) as opposed to an excessive amount of Omega 6 (which we do not need) in the grain fed livestock.

Let me reiterate that I am not opposed to using a small, balanced amount of healthy, toxin-free whole grains in our diet. The problem is that in this country, grains tend to be used in an unhealthy way. Not only through refining, but also over-use (compared to greens and other complex carbs), and not least of all is the problem of fungal toxins that exist in stored grains, expecially the universally contaminated corn.

'Strawberry' onions not so sweet

2009-08-09T20:03:00.000-05:00

Well, Mom gave me Grandma's recipe for her freezer pickles the other day so I had to make half a batch. Since I had already put up all of the Vidalia Onions, I pulled one of my white onions from the strawberry bed to use. Slicing them thinly for the freezer pickles, I popped a piece into my mouth...just had to see if the experiment worked...Nah! I guess the ol' sulfur in our Midwest soil wins out. The strawberries just didn't seem to do any good. I'll bet the people who make such a claim for interplanting onions with strawberries must already live in an area with less sulfur.

Here is the recipe for the freezer pickles:

Grandma’s Freezer Pickles

2 Qt. thinly sliced cucumbers
2 Tbls. salt
2 medium onions, thinly sliced

Sprinkle salt over the sliced cucumbers and onions. Let set for 30 minutes then drain off salt water.

Syrup-

1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup vinegar

Bring to a boil long enough to melt sugar. Remove from heat and let cool.

Pack cucumbers and onions into four pint jars. Mix 4 tsp. celery seed into syrup then pour into pint jars. Leave some head space to allow for expansion. You can use canning lids and rings or plastic lids. Freeze the pickles and you can eat them the next day if desired. Leave in the freezer until the day you want to eat them.

Dilly Beans

2009-08-03T16:56:00.000-05:00

I put up a batch of Dilly Beans the other day. I have never had these before, but the recipe sounded good so thought I would give it a try. The recipe calls for either a head of fresh dill or a teaspoon of dill seed in each pint jar. I went out to the garden armed with my kitchen scissors to snip the dill heads... once out there among my jungle of 4 foot tall dill weed, I realized that I didn't know what stage of dill heads is generally used. I was pretty sure that it wasn't dry heads with the seeds... but do I want dill heads still in bloom or with green seeds? Back inside I went to call Mom. Dill heads still in bloom was her answer. This will actually give more dill flavor than dill seeds, remarkably.

After cutting about two pounds of beautiful green beans into four inch pieces, in went the dill head, a clove of garlic and some cayenne pepper into each pint jar. Finished that off with the pickling solution and a water bath for ten minutes. I was surprized in that my new "So Easy to Preserve" Book called for processing in a water bath as opposed to pressure canning. I guess there is enough acid in the amount of vinegar to make it safe.

I will wait until Mom comes for her visit to give these a try.

Update: tried the Dilly Beans. YUM! The beans were nice and crisp and the cayenne gave it a real kick! Plenty of dill flavor and the garlic a nice background.

Sweet Vidalia Onion Relish

2009-07-13T14:03:00.000-05:00

On the 4th, my MIL brought us fifty pounds of Vidalia onions. I had mentioned to her that back in April or May DH had made a business trip out to Florida, passing through Georgia on the way. I had asked him to bring me a fifty pound bag of Vidalias from Georgia. As it turns out, the timing was a little early for the Vidalia season. So now, here it is July and I have my onions!

I have a new book, 'So Easy to Preserve', published by the Cooperative Extension of the University of Georgia. I am real excited about the information in this book! I found out about it at a class on preserving the harvest taught by Beverly Coombs of the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service. She calls it her canning and preserving bible, and I can see why... but you will have to buy the book and see for yourself!

Here is the recipe for Vidalia Onion Relish that I made today...
____________________

Vidalia Onion Relish

1 1/2 gallons ground Vidalia onions (about 20 lbs)
1/2 cup [canning] salt
1 quart apple cider vinegar (5%)
1 teaspoon turmeric
4 teaspoons pickling spice
4 tablespoons pimento, chopped
4 1/2 cups sugar

Grind enough Vidalia onions to yield 1 1/2 gallons, add 1/2 cup salt and let stand 30 minutes. Squeeze juice from onion-salt mixture and discard juice. The pickling spice in cheesecloth. Combine onions, vinegar, sugar, turmeric, spice bag, and pimento in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil and cook until thick, (approximately 30 minutes), stirring often. Remove and discard spice bag.
Pack both onions and cooking liquid to cover in hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids. Process 10 minutes in a Boiling Water Bath.
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The recipe says that this will yield about 8 pint jars. I ended up with almost nine, the ninth jar being about 3/4 full went straight into the fridge to use right away.

Another bonus is the two quarts of onion juice that I drained off before adding the salt. I thought that if I freeze the juice into ice cubes, this will make an easy way to pop some flavor into soups or stews, etc. I also saved about a quart of the onion juice that was extracted after the salt was added. Why throw this away when I can make good use of it? :)
____________________

This recipe and others like it are found on Cooks.com.

Processing Day

2009-05-18T22:21:00.000-05:00

This is the day that I dread and I try not to think about it too much. It's actually painful, but as DH says, "We gotta eat!".

We have thirty-two broilers to do in all. We were only able to handle seven today. Not that it was such hard work, but we were set up outside on the picnic table and anytime the breeze was not blowing (most of the time) there were those pesky flying buggers buzzing us.

This is only our second time raising meat chickens, but we have figured out the best way for us. I am not very good at this whole thing, but DH has all kinds of experience processing wild game. He says the chickens are 'just like a pheasant'.

So this is what we did: The birds have not been fed since the night before---fresh water only for the last twelve hours. First thing in the morning, I got up and separated all of the layer pullets out and locked them into the coop with food and fresh water so they could eat. Then two by two, we take the meat birds over to the picnic table (which is out of sight of the chicken run). DH dislocates the necks to kill them quickly and humanely as possible. We then hang them upside down from a rod between two trees using twine. He cuts the jugular veins so that they bleed out. After they have stopped flapping and the blood stops flowing, we can start cleaning them.

We have decided that for us, we do not need the skin, so we do not bother with plucking them. We simply skin them and this seems to go alot faster for us than the idea of plucking the birds clean of all those feathers. Outside at the picnic table, we get them skinned and gutted. The remainder of the whole chicken then goes in a tub, the livers, hearts and gizzards go into a bowl for the cats and all of the waste goes into a wheelbarrow to be hauled to the burn pit. We have a large cutting board on the picnic table and a couple of sharp knives to get the job done. All of the carcasses are hosed off before going into the tub.

At this time, we take them inside the house to finish up. Using a sharp pair of kitchen scissors, I cut on either side of the spine to remove the legs. Another short cut with a sharp knife separates the leg (thigh and drumstick together) from the carcass. The final once over and rinsing under fresh cool tapwater, then into a clean tub. I filet the breasts, removing all of the bone. Using the sharp filet knive, I slice on either side of the keel, keeping as close to the ribs as possible. These then are rinsed and go into the tub. The wings are disjointed with the knife, rinsed and into the tub. Last, but not least, the neck is cut off and this goes into the bowl for the cats.

Not to waste anything good, all of the carcasses, bones and all go into the stock pot. I will add water, carrots, onions, celery, bay leaves, salt and pepper. When this is all cooked down and full of flavor, the solids are strained out. I will can them by the quart using the pressure canner, of course. Wish I had a lot more carcasses as I could always use more chicken stock than what we will get from the number of birds that we need.

Viola! Well... seven down and only twenty-five more to go.

Some Seeds Started Today

2009-05-12T22:04:00.000-05:00

Before I get too far behind the curve, I went ahead and started some seeds in a protected seed bed to be transplanted later. This is just a few things to get me started and I will add more when the new garden bed is ready. I have a BUNCH of beans and I am thinking about a whole new place for those. Most are hybrids, but one is an heirloom kidney bean. I will not plant all of them, but hold some for next year and maybe try to save some seed then-- when I learn more about preventing cross-pollination. I especially wonder about the surrounding soybean fields...lots of questions! Also one thing I did not realize, but read recently is that most or all of the bush beans are harvested at once like determinate tomatoes!? Unlike the pole beans that I have always grown and are harvested over a longer period of time. This is actually fine that I have chosen several types of bush beans this year as most of them will be for freezing and canning. I will plant those over several weeks to try and space out my canning work and also I will go ahead and plant some of the Kentucky Wonder pole beans that I still have on hand for fresh eating. All of my tomatoes are heirlooms and indeterminate, except for one that is a hybrid.

This is what went into the seed bed today:

Cilantro
Florence Fennel
Basil; Cinnamon and Swift
Sage
Italian Parsley
Muskmelon; Hale’s Best
Hot Pepper; ‘tabasco’ and ‘Santaka’
Acorn Squash; Table Queen and Table Ace
Sweet Pepper; ‘Sweet Havana’ and a color mix of bell peppers
Zucchini; ‘Black Beauty’
Summer Squash; Yellow Crooked Neck
Okra; Clemson Spineless
Tomatillo; ‘Salsa’ and an unnamed variety (I think these are the same)
Beans; ‘Fejol Huerto’
Tomato; heirloom rainbow blend
Cucumber; ‘Sweeter Yet’ and ‘Cool Breeze’
Milk Thistle
Summer Squash; ‘Cashflow’ and Medley Blend

Why Can't I Grow a Sweet Onion?

2009-05-10T18:31:00.000-05:00

The following is an exerpt from a newspaper column written by Jan Phipps, Master Gardener Extraordinaire. She writes in behalf of the Edgar County Master Gardeners. This appeared in the Paris Beacon in January of 2001. I think Jan wonders where on earth I come up with some of these gardening ideas (such as strawberries making onions sweeter)...well, in this case it was on the internet-- and you know that if its on the internet, then it must be true! LOL! We are both waiting on pins and needles to see how my 'strawberry' onions turn out this year.

WHY CAN’T I GROW A SWEET ONION? You buy onion seed or onion sets advertised as “sweet”, or advertised as the same seed used to produce Vidalia onions. You plant them, grow them, harvest them, and dry them according to the directions. The big moment arrives. You take a bite of your expertly grilled hamburger with a deliciously thick slice of onion expecting that sweet Vidalia taste but get the same hot zing of every other onion you have ever grown. Why? Two reasons: the growing conditions and the soil in Edgar County. Vidalia onions are a yellow granex type F hybrid grown in many areas of the country, but only in a 20 county region of southeast Georgia are the weather and soil conditions just right to produce the mild, sweet flavor. In Georgia onions are grown in the winter, in sandy soil that doesn’t hold sulfur, and are affected by the amount of sunlight, heat and water of that region. In Illinois we grow our onions in the summer in heavier soil. Sulfur is trapped in the soil and is what gives an onion its heat. Therefore, gardeners living in the southern part of Edgar County with sandier soil probably have the best chance of growing an onion that has the least amount of burn. Everyone else will have to be content with hot onions.

Strawberry Onions

2009-05-07T13:30:00.000-05:00

Today I interplanted my onion sets into my new strawberry bed. I found in several 'companion planting' sites that the onions are supposed to help protect the strawberries from pests and the strawberries supposedly will give the onions a sweeter flavor. I still have two of the three types of onions left, so I think I will try planting them elsewhere for comparison's sake. So fun to experiment!

I love the idea of companion planting...and so many other gardening ideas to explore...so much to learn. Crop rotation along with companion planting makes things a little more challenging and fun. For example; my June bearing strawberries will remain in the same bed for three to five years (or more). If the strawberry-onion pairing turns out to be valid for me, then how would I rotate my onions? I guess I would need a new strawberry bed every year. If I grow day-neutral or everbearing strawberries, then I could keep the onions with the new strawberries if I treat them as an annual. But do I need to treat the day-neutral or everbearing strawberries as annuals here in Illinois? Being frugal, I would have to say that I would not turn them in after one year. I would have to over winter them and see what happens.

I only have so many places that I can move a strawberry bed, especially if I am supposed to avoid any area that has had other Verticillium Wilt susceptable crops in the last four or five years.

Companion Planting

2009-04-29T13:36:00.000-05:00

Golden Harvest Organics
Companion Planting--The Natural Way to Gardening
Rodale's Organic Gardening
Ed Hume Seeds
No Dig Vegetable Garden
MSU Problem Solvers-Companion Planting

Pastured Chicken

2009-04-07T19:55:00.000-05:00

As noted, (Check out these chicks!)we bought Rock Cornish cross chicks for the freezer a couple of weeks ago. It has been four years since we bought chicks, but I think that this will become a new annual tradition for us. We are going to need another freezer, but each spring we can raise enough meat birds to get us through one year.

I have found that the price of chick starter/grower feed has gone up at least 50% and even 100% since four years ago. Right now that seems like our only option. What we are using is Purina non-medicated chick starter/grower and paid $18 for a 40 pound bag at one place, but have since found another place that charges $13. I have not done the math since the chicks are not yet ready to butcher, but considering how much these birds eat, it seems like I am going to need to look for another way to feed them. Ideally, I should have a portable brooder that I can move daily onto fresh green grass. This would be the healthiest option for the birds and also for us. They will still need more according to what information I have found so far. Here is a website on chicken feed which looks like it has some good information, but I have not yet had the time to read it thoroughly.

It will be easy to graze the goslings as the adult geese should protect them, but the chicks will need some more protection. That is where the portable chicken tractor will come in...I will think about electric fencing too, but that will not address our main concern around here which is winged predators.

Giant June-bearing Strawberries from Gurney's

2009-03-28T18:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I ended up buying strawberries this year afterall. I was planning on adding a strawberry patch, but had wanted to take the time to prep the bed properly. That probably would have been the better thing to do, but when I saw these, I just had to jump on the chance...for the LOVE of strawberries! Gurney's claims that these
'giant' June-bearing strawberries might grow as large as peaches in my garden.

The bare roots came in the mail yesterday and look really nice--thick, long and healthy looking. Now I have to hurry up and figure out where I am going to put the bed. The place I was thinking of gets some afternoon shade, which is not ideal. Think, think, think!

Update, 2 April 2009: Held the strawberry plants in the fridge until today. Probably too long, but they still look fine. I had finally decided on the only reasonable place; the south side of my fenced in garden. I don't have anywhere else where the ground is even remotely ready for strawberries, and this may not be ideal as there were tomatoes nearby last year...not exactly in this same section, but close enough. My tomatoes never had any wilt that I am aware of, so perhaps the strawberries will be OK.

I was able to get them heeled in before the afternoon thunderstorm hit. Had to get it done, as it may be a few days before the ground is dry enough to work again.

Growing StrawberriesU of I Extension
Growing StrawberriesPurdue
Tips for Growing Strawberries-Horticulture Magazine
Midwest Small Fruit Pest Management Handbook
Growing Fresh Strawberries in the Home Garden

Clover Field Meats

2009-02-28T18:23:00.000-06:00

Today, I am very happy to say, we discovered Clover Field Meats just south of Marshall on IL Highway 1 , not so very far from us. We chatted with the very congenial owners for awhile and it looks like we may have found a very good source for beef and pork. Although the meat is hormone and antibiotic free and pasture raised, they are still fed corn for the marbling. Hey, we are taking steps and this is a major step in the right direction. Just like the organic milk that I buy from the store is not my absolute ideal with the corn fed dairy cows, this is OK. I still feel good in taking this route. Also the owner seemed very open to talk to us about raising a beef for us and keeping it from any grain! Win-win. His overhead for that beef would be reduced and that equals more profit for him and we would get our corn-less beef. (smile)

Please do go and check them out if you are looking to upgrade your beef and pork. Another plus is that it is local and sustainable. You can rest assured that this meat was not shipped from Argentina or even from 1500 miles away in the USA. It's a very good thing.

Change, Change, Change

2009-02-25T19:44:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking about either cutting way back, or stopping altogether my consumption of milk and coffee. These are two things that a) we spend alot of money on, b) are not necessarily good for our health and c) there is no way we are going to 'grow' or 'raise' ourselves.

Allright...I confess: we are serious Starbucks fans. It is like an addiction. Everytime we go into town for any reason, or hit the road, we must grab that almost $2 cuppa Joe (fortunately we gave up the fancy dancy Mochas, Lattes, Cappucinos a long time ago). We even broke down recently and purchased their new Gold Card for $25. This gives us a ten percent discount with every purchase and there are freebies occasionally for cardholders. Believe me, at our current rate, we will get our money's worth out of the price of the card. If I quit Starbucks altogether, what I might miss most of all is the free used coffee grounds that we always grab on our way out the door. Or my garden will. Just ingenious, whoever thought of that idea...having the customers happily haul all of your coffee ground waste for you! I hope that guy got a huge bonus from corporate ; )

As far as the milk...I have been buying Organic for about a year. This makes the cost of drinking milk significantly higher. I have still not been happy with the fact that Organic Dairy Cows are fed corn. My ideal dairy cow would live only on organic pasture grass... I figured organic corn-fed dairy cows without added hormones or antibiotics is better than no milk at all.
However, there is much research that testifies to the fact that bovine milk or any other kind of milk is unnecessary even harmful to adult humans or any other adult mammals. I quit eating breakfast cereal a long time ago. Cold cereal is really not yummy without real milk...so what would I be missing? I enjoy a glass of milk every couple of days, or now and then a mug of hot cocoa (I use Hershey's plain, unsweetened cocoa). May not be so difficult if I still allow it as a rare indulgence.

Now if only I could have some of that Horchata like I had in Korea instead. Hard to believe...best Horchata that I've ever had was at a Mexican restaurant in Seoul while visiting brother. There were, in fact, several 'best-I've-ever-tried' at restaurants in Korea. Hmmm...

Seed Starting Tips

2009-02-23T14:24:00.000-06:00

Amishland Seeds
Heirloom Tomatoes
Seed Starting BasicsMother Earth News article
Grow it! (a Mother Earth News blog)

Small Fruit in My Garden

2009-02-16T08:47:00.000-06:00

I now have several different small fruits in my garden, so in keeping with my purpose of this blog I will post some applicable links here as I find them.

I have Latham and Heritage red raspberries and an unknown black raspberry. This site from the University of Illinois Extension on the care of raspberries is helpful.

Recently purchased were Doyle's Thornless Blackberries. They have not been planted yet, but are sitting in the cold foyer waiting for spring. These will need a wire trellis in a good sunny location.

Two articles from Dave's Garden:

Time to Tame the Raspberry Jungle

Okay, so you have raspberries, blackberries or other brambles… How do you control them? With a Bramble Trellis!

There was an unknown grape vine here on the property. It was a young start and was easy to move to our preferred spot next to the chicken run a couple of years ago. It did fruit last year, so we do know that it is a red grape with seeds. I am not real fond of them for fresh eating, but the chickens love them! I need to build a trellis for the vine this year.

We also need strawberries. There is so much work to do outside, that it may be awhile before I have a good permanent site prepared for a strawberry bed. The grubs are really bad, so I should put grub control on my list of things that I must handle this year! The plan is to apply beneficial nematodes and Milky Spore.

Midwest Small Fruit Pest Management Handbook

Average Last Frost Date is April 25ish.

2009-02-10T20:17:00.000-06:00

Well, I don’t know what I was thinking! After looking back into my manual, it appears that the average lost frost date for my county is April 25, not Memorial Day…a whole month earlier! I must have had Memorial Day in my head from before we moved down here. Kane County, where I lived for over ten years, has an average last frost date of May 5th. Still not as late as Memorial Day, but somebody must have told me that and it just stuck. I was just winging it back then. I had never gardened before we lived there. I was always pretty happy with the results, though. I guess it was just beginner’s luck. Hmmm.

Now that I am paying better attention to what I am trying to do…
Well, one thing that I have learned is to keep a gardening journal. Another thing is to do some research. It certainly doesn’t hurt…better than ‘winging it’ for sure! Advice to self: research, take note of the experience of gardeners before me, but also don’t be afraid to experiment a little.

That said, since my last post, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to try and ‘winter seed’ outside. I referred back to my Master Gardener class manual for help. It is February tenth and so ten and a half weeks before our average last frost date. Actually, I could even push that to ten weeks…we are bordering on the line between April 25th and April 20th. And those are just averages after all.

According to the manual, “Very Hardy vegetables will withstand freezing temperatures and hard frosts without injury. They can be planted as soon as the ground can be prepared. Spinach and lettuce seeds may even be broadcast on late snows over soil prepared in the fall.”

What I am thinking is that this would apply to direct seeding in the garden where there is no protection from the elements. Since I am wanting to get some things started outside under protection, where the temperature is several degrees higher, would it be such a risk to try starting those ‘very hardy’ vegetables right now? I have plenty of seeds, so I can try my luck now with some and also save some to start later.

Here is the list from the manual: seeds to plant 4-6 weeks before average frost-free date: kale, kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, onion, pea, rutabaga, salsify, spinach, turnip. So tomatoes and peppers are not 'very hardy', but I knew that, didn't I? There are a list of transplants as well, but I will address those later.

I have all of these seeds on hand. Some of the seeds that I have are old-- kohlrabi, turnips, etc. I will not necessarily need to save any for later seeding. If my 'pushing the limits' with these is not successful, I will just buy fresh seeds to try again later. Tomorrow, I will sterilize my seed trays and get this gardening season rolling!

Winter Sowing Seeds in Containers

2009-02-02T09:35:00.000-06:00

I have been anxious to try and yet aprehensive about taking risks with different methods of propagation (time and money are at risk). But it is imperative to learn how to do these things, after all, or I will never have more than one year's experience gardening thirty or forty times over! And wouldn't that be a tragedy!

Even starting some seeds indoors feels a bit risky to me. I have had varying degrees of success with this in the past. As I posted previously, my intention is to start part of my tomatoes and peppers inside. But today, I read some articles found in the Dave's Garden newletter about 'winter sowing' seeds. This is not an entirely new idea to me, but one that I have never tried. And actually, I never thought about winter sowing seeds outside in containers the way 'Critter' is doing. No point in me trying to re-explain it all. Here is the article: Six More Weeks of Winter!? Celebrate by Winter Sowing Your Seeds! and here is her follow-up article just in case you have gone crazy with winter sowing:What to do with 10,000 Spring Sprouts in Your Winter Sowing Containers

Actually, an idea just came to me! I have the tops of those PVC drums that can be used to protect my winter sown seeds from the elements. These will provide filtered light, will be warmed by the sun and can be easily lifted to water when necessary and hardening off. Hmmmm...I can easily come by some fresh horse manure to use to heat up this little mini "hot house". Now I am deviating from Critter's instructions...will this still be 'winter sowing', per se?

Gurney Seeds Arrive

2009-01-27T20:22:00.000-06:00

The seeds came today so I can begin to work on a strategy for getting them started. The Jerusalem Artichokes are not here yet, but that is fine.

The first plants that I need to think about starting are the peppers and tomatoes. I will start these indoors about 8 weeks before transplanting. It is generally said that Memorial Day (May 25th this year) is our average last frost around here. Judging by the four or five years that we have been down here, I would have to say that I disagree. It seems to me that our last frost is much earlier than that. There have been years that in hindsight, I could have set things out sometime as early as April. I truly believe that this spring will be the same. If by chance we do have a late freeze, then I can protect them. I should order some floating row cover in advance.

If I start some tomatoes and peppers inside between the second and fourth week of February, then I think that will not be too much of a gamble. I can start more seeds spaced out over a few more weeks. By the way, one thing I have observed in the past: when planting some started tomatoes from the nursery and then also direct sowing seeds...the directly sown seeds always catch up with the nursery plants. It therefore doesn't seem to make much sense to spend the money on plants. I wonder if I should even bother starting any plants inside myself, but for the sake of experimentation, I will. Last spring was soooooooooo wet and rainy. My garden was repeatedly delayed just waiting for the rain to stop and then the soil to dry out enough to get out there and work it.

Next on the list are carrots and beets. I also have some seeds for radishes, turnips, rutabagas, spinach, lettuce, etc. These can all be directly sown in the ground "as soon as the soil can be worked, while the weather is still cool".

Now the beans. These are to be sown "in early spring after danger of frost has past". I am also directed to "plant at two week intervals for extended harvest". One thought that I have had about beans is that I should plant many hills. More than I think we could ever use in one year. I think this would be a good way of having enough properly sized beans to can a batch every few days. I think that in the past, I have let the beans mature too much for snap beans. I need to think about younger, more tender pods this year.

The winter squash, summer squash, cucumbers, and okra need to be sown "when the weather is warm and all danger of frost is past". I will also grow some gourds again this year. I am thinking about a bunch of loofa and some bushel gourds. It would be cool to grow some gigantic bushel gourds to make into....NOPE, I'm not telling. I have some cool ideas, but you'll just have to wait to see. Ha! maybe a year or longer since it takes some time for the gourds to cure!

By the way, I bought a Doyle's Thornless Blackberry at the Organic Farming conference that I went to last week. He also mistakenly sent me an additional plant along with the fish emulsion/kelp fertilizer that I ordered. I called to tell him about it and he just told me to enjoy it! We are going to have blackberries coming out of our ears in a couple of years time...each plant is supposed to yield 10 to 20 gallons of berries per year! I have already thought about some delish blackberry cobbler (made with agave nectar, and Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour, of course...will have to experiment with recipes), Jalapeno Blackberry Jam....etc., etc.

I still have not ordered other seeds that I will need. Better get on the stick with that. Time's a wastin'....

Substitutions

2009-01-10T13:54:00.000-06:00

Since I an working toward eliminating corn from our diet as much as possible, I have been wondering about different thickeners and how to substitute them in recipes. I understand that wheat flour often works, but I would like to try some other things. I have used arrowroot in soups and have seen at least one recipe that calls for 'corn starch or arrowroot' in equal amounts. Arrowroot is not always so easily found in the grocery store, but I buy it whenever I see it.

Also tapioca is used in pies. I wonder about how healthy xanthan gum is. I think that it is made from corn or maybe yeast, which is something else I am trying to reduce in our diets...but immuno supporting Beta Glucan is also made from yeast cells, but has none of the harmful effects of yeast remaining in it. So, who can answer these questions for me? Here's a page I found on thickeners but there is nothing about using xanthan gum. A little info on xanthan gum here, says its made from corn...doesn't say anything about yeast, but maybe I just won't bother with it.

University of Illinois News Release: 'Tips for Best Uses of Different Starches as Thickeners'

Vege Seeds Ordered

2009-01-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

Order placed today through Gurneys.com:

Waltham Butternut Winter Squash,
Argonaut Hybrid Butternut Winter Squash,
Table Ace Hybrid Acorn Winter Squash,
(This may be all of the Winter Squash that I will need. I may add another if I see something interesting).

Medley Blend of Hybrids Summer Squash,
Sweeter Yet Hybrid Slicing Cucumber,
Cool Breeze IMP Hybrid Pickling Cucumber,
(If I see an Armenian cucumber, I will add that).

Sweetness III Hybrid Carrot,
Perfected Detroit Beet,
Jerusalem Artichoke- Roots,
(Will add other root crops).

Flavor Sweet Bush Beans,
Improved Golden Wax Bush Beans,
Jade Bush Beans,
(This will be enough 'green beans'. I would like to add some other varieties for dried beans).

Clemson Spineless 80 Okra,
(If I see purple/red Okra, I will add that).

Tabasco Hot Pepper,
(I need other peppers, especially sweet).

Heirloom Rainbow Blend Tomato.
(Will need more tomatoes. This blend of heirloom tomatoes has its pros and cons. A pro is that I get to try a variety of heirlooms for one small price, but...Will I be able to identify the different tomatoes if I want a particular kind again)?

Illinois Vegetable Garden Guide
Pole beans or bush beans - which is right for your garden?

What Do We Eat?

2009-01-05T15:33:00.000-06:00

I am trying to think of what we are already in the habit of eating that I haven't listed with foods that I will put by...also what new foods can we add to the garden?

As far as veges, we often eat carrots, lettuce (anything but iceberg), spinach...I would like to try adding things like chard, bok choy and other greens such as beet tops, mustard greens...

We are rarely eating white potatoes now, but maybe I could plant a few for baby potatoes to eat in season.

I haven't grown peas for a few years. I may try it again...but on the other hand; I am ordering all bush beans this year as I really don't want to mess with trellising pole beans right now.

Do I want to add cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts?

Maybe I will try muskmelons again. I grew Hale's Best one year and they were absolutely the best I had ever had!

I still want a Dwarf Meyer's Lemon and Dwarf Key Lime. I will keep these in pots and overwinter in the house.

Hmmm...

Some Oils that I am using now

2008-12-16T21:51:00.000-06:00

Gone are the days of "vegetable oil" or "salad oil" and Crisco.

These days I have been using grapeseed oil, avocado oil, olive oil and I just recently purchased Coconut Oil to use instead of Crisco.

The grapeseed oil I like for salad dressings. It gives a nice nutty flavor. We enjoy this with raspberry basalmic vinegar (although apple cider vinegar would be healthier). I also use GSO for cooking for the nutty flavor and also because it has a high smoke point. It is low in saturated fat. One tablespoon has 10 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 3 grams of monounsaturated fat, only 1 gram of saturated fat and 0 grams of trans fat.

Avocado oil has a 'very high burn/smoke point of 520 degrees'. According to the label of Tree of Life brand, it can also be used for body care. Haven't tried that yet, but I know that GSO is also supposed to be good for your skin. In one tablespoon, Avocado oil has 10 grams of monounsaturated fat, 2 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 2 grams of saturated fat and 0 grams of trans fat.

Coconut Oil and other palm oils were once considered the demon of all fats, being mostly saturated, but now it is my understanding that saturated fats from vegetable sources are not the big problem! It is mainly the trans fats that come from the hydrogenation process that is done to make shortening and animal source saturated fats. Coconut oil has 12 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of polyunsaturated fat, 1 gram of monounsaturated fat and zero grams of TRANS fat per one tablespoon serving! The label on my jar of Spectrum organic Coconut Oil also promotes its use for healthy skin and hair.

Breakfast...

2008-12-15T16:21:00.000-06:00

Here's a recipe for pancakes. This was an experiment and turned out pretty well, so I had to write it down. That is saying alot, since I have never considered anything but buttermilk pancakes worth bothering with.

1 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo and Fava Flour
1 T. baking powder
1 pinch kosher or sea salt

2 eggs, divided (preferably from your own free range hens).
1 T. Grapeseed oil
1 c. organic milk, more or less, to your desired consistency
A little Agave nectar to sweeten, if desired
-----
Mix dry ingredients together. Beat egg yolks, oil, and milk together. Blend together with dry ingredients. Beat egg whites to a soft peak then fold into batter. Coat a nonstick pan with a little grapeseed oil and a little butter to help brown the pancakes. Preheat pan to medium or just under medium then use enough batter to make pancakes about 6 or 7 inches in diameter. When lightly browned, turn and brown the other side. Serve with butter, homemade chunky cinnamon applesauce, unsweetened and splurge on a small spoonful of sour cream if desired.

This is grain free, gluten free, sucrose free and tastes pretty great! The grapeseed oil gives a nutty flavor that I like, but any other healthy oil can be substituted. I may try using organic yogurt and less milk in the batter next time.

Orchard Trees

2008-12-05T00:59:00.000-06:00

There are a few orchard trees that we need to get planted. It could take some years before certain trees begin to bear very well. The longer we wait to get these in, then the longer it will be before we can enjoy the fruits (and nuts) of our labor! For starters:

Honey Crisp apple,and I would like to try Nova Spy apple,andSundance apple,
Walnuts (Carpathian Walnut, or Heartnut looks like a good possibility...eliminating the need for a Pecan and any other walnut maybe. I will look for the variety 'Walters' Read this article),
Hardy Pecan,
Hardy Almond (Read this article Are the almond and apricot different varieties of the same tree? I always thought the almond was developed from a peach!),
Elberta Peach,
Seedless Persimmon ( Fuyu Jiro Persimmon or Hachiya Persimmon look interesting if I cannot find a seedless),
a Sweet Cherry...

Heirloom Tomatoes

2008-12-04T19:12:00.000-06:00

I would like trying mostly Heirloom tomatoes in the garden in 2009. I have grown heirlooms before, but never almost exclusively. I will need to think some more about whether I want to try and save seeds, as I will have a variety and I don't think that I will want to go to the trouble of trying to prevent cross pollination.

Since I am sure that a seed packet will have waaay more plants than I actually need, I may try starting enough to keep and some to sell. This way I can use that money for fresh seeds the following year.

I have grown Brandywine in the past. Last year it was Rutgers, Green Zebra and Old German. I really liked the Old German. It is a great slicing tomato, a very sweet and luscious fruit.

I have a new magazine that gives suggestions as to which varieties to use for which purpose. As soon as I settle on what recipes I will be canning next year, I will decide what seeds to order then.

Tomato- UIUC
Tomato Plant Problems FAQ
Pruning Tomatoes- Fine Gardening magazine

Thinking about what to put by for one year.

2008-12-04T16:44:00.000-06:00

Herbs from garden: rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, garlic, garlic chives, mint, parsley, sage,
vitex, lavender, horehound, catnip, saffron, bay laurel...all dried or frozen.
Find good recipes for rubs, marinades, Bouquet Garni, other various blends...

Applesauce- chunky cinnamon, no sugar added
Apple juice- no sugar added
Apple Pie filling- experiment with agave nectar, stevia
Dried apple slices

Strawberries-frozen whole
Strawberry freezer jam- try using agave nectar
Strawberry-rhubarb pie filling
Rhubarb- freeze
Cherries- B.D.
Raspberry freezer jam- try using agave nectar

Peaches, canned halves, dried
pears, canned halves
persimmons- freeze pulp in pints or dried

Tomatoes-
stewed whole in juice, 15-25 quarts
spaghetti sauce, 15 quarts
puree, 15 quarts
seasoned sauce 7-15 quarts
juice, 36-48 quarts
V-6 +/- (garden juice blend- tomato, carrots, celery, green pepper, onion, parsley)
Ketchup- 6 pints
Chili Sauce-6 pints
Red Hot sauce, (tomatoes, hot red peppers)

Bread and Butter pickles- 6 pints
Grandma’s freezer pickles- 6 pints
Okra pickles-6 pints
Pickled Three Bean Salad-6 pints

How is chutney served? Chow-chow? Victoria Sauce?

Sauerkraut- 6 pints
Freezer slaw-5 pints

Chicken stock- 25 quarts (as much as possible- use old hens)
Beef Stock-25 quarts (as much as possible)
Pork tenderloin
Beef stew meat
Chicken, boned
Beef jerky (use lean cuts, i.e. round, flank or sirloin tips)

Asparagus- frozen pack
Okra, hot pack
Green beans, young whole, hot pack
Green peas, 10-12 pints
Chili con carne
Sweet potatoes- dried
Sweet Potato pie filling, 2-4 quarts

Winter squash- butternut, acorn- season, then preserve whole in cool storage

Using and keeping extra eggs:
Pasta
Lemon Curd

In the spring I will order 15-20 geese, 2 or 3 Kentucky Bourbon Red turkeys, 25 rock-cornish chickens. These will go in the freezer. Also buy a side of beef. Organic, grass fed and finished. If we make it to Alaska this year, we will have salmon and halibut for the freezer. I will also order 3 or 4 white leghorn pullets for eggs.

National Center for Home Food Preservation
Wise Methods of Canning Vegetables- AL Cooperative Extension

The Plan

2008-12-04T16:03:00.000-06:00

The goal is to build up my knowledge and skills in food growing, processing for storage and then daily preparation of meals for our overall health. In all the years past I have tried to steer towards a more healthy diet, but have never devoted myself to creating an actual roadmap.

A rough sketch of what I have in mind:

*List my sources for food-
My garden,local farmers' markets, orchards, grocery stores, co-ops

*Think about what kinds of foods I am buying that I should be growing and preserving myself.

*Acquire the tools that I lack to turn my kitchen into a 'Harvest Kitchen':
-another pressure canner, a food mill, many more mason jars; quart, pint, half pint, a large stainless steel stockpot, an harvest table with drawers and shelf, a good quality food dehydrator, food processor, new large stainless steel farm sink, how-to books...

*Renovate the closet by the back door into a functional pantry.

*Install more shelf space and bins in cellar.

*Streamline the information, resources that I have on hand in the form of notes, printouts, cookbooks, recipe cards, etc. Take the tough leap and get rid of stuff that will serve no good purpose for our healthy living goals. Collect tasty and healthy recipes (yes, there are enough tasty AND healthy foods to keep us satisfied).

*Think about how much of each type of preserved foods that I should put up for one year.

*Organize this Blog into seasons. I should be able to refer back to this at any time to remind myself what I should be doing when: browsing seed catalogs, starting plants, harvesting, preserving the harvest, meal planning, etc. I will edit, add, delete any post, at any time as need be without apology.