Black Iron in the Heat of Summer

     One of my most loved possessions is my cast iron cookware collection. I just don't know how I would get anything done without those pieces of cast finery. I learned a long time ago that if you plan to use cast iron, you'd better learn the secrets to keeping it in top shape. Yes, seasoning the surfaces....

We have rescued many cast iron pieces from the scrap pile. This is typical of a flea market find.

A gleaming kettle once it has been properly seasoned in the old way.

An Easy Way to Wash Berries

It never fails... You bring in that bucket/bowl of beautiful berries, ripe from the sun, gleaming and taunting you to dive right in and have a nice bowl of berries and cream. But wait! You can't. If you look just a little closer you will find the "trash" that clogs the bounty. It's just the way it is. It's inevitable that particles of straw or grass or even berry stems and bugs lurk within the depths of the pail. It's not the end of the world, however. We just need to clean them.

Over the years I have attempted to clean berries the hard way, by picking at the bids and running water through berries in a colander. There is always something that gets left behind and you are surely bound to find it at the worst possible time... like when company drops by for berries and cream. There is a simpler way to wash berries... so simple in fact that I am almost ashamed of posting it here for fear that I may insult your intelligence. But post I shall! Just follow me and it will be over quickly.

Canning Iced Tea Concentrate

   Two things that I absolutely love in this world are iced tea on a hot day and a pot filled with something that I have just bottled up to can. It's about time that I put one and one together to come up with my latest project. Canned iced tea concentrate that is ready whenever I am!

Iced tea made from Home Canned Concentrate!

     You may ask way I even bother doing this, but if you've ever made tea to go along with your dinner at the last minute, or someone just wants a refreshing drink to cool off in a hurry, then you know that iced tea starts off hot and has to work its way down to cool off. Not Convenient! So I searched the internet for answers and came up with a couple of resources that were encouraging, but not exactly what I was hoping for. Then it hit me! (Yes, I got excited.) The whole process works the way you specifically make your own favorite tea. In other words, I needed a recipe that would produce the tea I love to drink. So here's how I break it down:

A Sink Project: Pretty Vintage Bottles

     Sometimes I have a post so simple that I wonder if it is even worth posting. This is such a post. Pretty Vintage Bottles fitted with cute little nozzles, ( like those found in the bar section of the department stores), make for some pretty nifty dispensers for liquid dish detergent. Not only are they lovely to look at, it dresses up an area that is difficult to dress... the kitchen sink. See mine below...

Black and Blue: Berries in the Bucket

     I can finally say that I have picked every last blueberry on the bush! Whew! All are sitting tidy in the freezer waiting for me to finish up the next wave of assault, the blackberries. We are absolutely covered up! When we thought about planting a berry patch for the homestead we felt that a good twenty plants was enough for whatever we wanted to fix in the way of jams and jellies. Oh, but did we know what we were really getting ourselves into? Not in the least. It appears that the mild climate that Tennessee has found itself in as of late, coupled with the rain that stretches into the summer months, has created a superb climate for berries to thrive in! in short, it has been a good year for berries!

Big Beautiful Berries

The Great Potato Project of 2014

     Okay, so I know potatoes are not a very exciting topic to be writing about on a blog. I am a realist. I suspect half of you are about to click right over to the next blog.... BUT WAIT! Potatoes are kind of exciting when you make a Zero Waste Project of them. Zero Waste is the buzz phrase these days. Everyone is trying so hard to use less packaging, waste less food, be more efficient... in general, do more with less all the way around.
     I, too, try to practice zero waste by using the old adage "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse, and Rot". However, I wanted to do more. I wanted to waste less. Thus, we set the stage for, ( insert trumpet fanfare here), The Great Potato Project of 2014! Essentially, I decided to see what could be accomplished if I didn't toss anything from a 50 pound bag of potatoes that I bought at Save-A-Lot.
Let us begin...

50 pounds of happiness!!!! bag was shredded and sent to the compost pile.

This is what we begin with, a 50 pound bag of potatoes that I ripped into, composted the bag, washed the spuds in the sink, and began working through until I thought my fingers would fall off.

Old Hickory and my taters, just getting started.

Busy with the Blueberries

     It's been a while since I've posted a decent piece on this blog. There is no excuse for it, just sheer laziness on my part. Well actually, it wasn't exactly laziness. I have been busier than a three-headed duck in a patch of June Bugs! No kidding! Building a homestead is hard work and we've had our share of it. we've also had a death in the family, my husband's father, and a wedding in the family, our daughter Kristy. Just about the time we finish up the wedding and things go back to normal, well... our blueberries are turning blue! See...

Here are a few that are just right for picking.

Can You Can Left-Overs? Yes You Can!

     We have all had that moment when we pack up the dinner left-overs, open the fridge door and realize that the refrigerator will not hold another thing. Grrrrr! It happened to me last night. At 5AM I began filling up jars for canning. Yes, you can can your left-overs. You have my permission. :)
     I filled up three pints with left -over chili from Saturday night, a quart full of pasta sauce with meat from my son-in-law to be, a quart of sliced chicken breast meat, and a bowl/pint of purchased chunky soup that my son opened but wouldn't eat because it had mushrooms in it. It was such an easy project that I decided to do this every week! I am so stoked! My inner tightwad is totally thrilled! Here's how I did it:

1. Always use clean, sterilized canning jars:
   
I wash my jars in hot, sudsy water, rinsed, then placed them in a large kettle filled with hot water. I allowed the kettle to come to a rolling boil. I t usually requires about 10-15 minutes to thoroughly sterilize the jars once the water is boiling. It is also good practice to have a smaller pot of water for the lids and bands. The water in this pot does not require boiling. We only need the rubber to soften up for a good seal. I usually allow it to heat up until there are bubbles forming around the lids.

Beef Stew for a Wintry Night

    So here we find ourselves in February, a time when Winter can't decide to sleep in or give us a right good sucker punch. Here in Tennessee the weather is mild- up into the 60s, with everyone running around in
 t-shirts. This week Old Man Winter is obviously taking a break just when I was gearing up for a cold front. I wanted beef stew for dinner. There's nothing better on a cold wintry night than curling up with a tummy full of stew, a hot cup of tea, and a good movie.
     Beef stew is one of those dishes that plays well with others, meaning that it can be made ahead and reheated. It can be made in a crock pot, for those with limited time. It can be canned and put into your food storage. It is the ultimate comfort food, not just eating it, but making it can also be a comfort. Stew is forgiving of those who are new to cooking. You can add almost anything and it still taste respectable. Stew can feed one or a family, and usually without great expense, especially if you are of the gardening persuasion. It is versatile, and allows for creativity and variety. It can be served over rice, pasta noodles, or some other grain base. And last, but not least, you can opt to include dumplings if you want to dress it up just a little.
       Old Man Winter will be back, and he will be hungry when he gets here! I'll make extra! Stews on!
 
Now on to the recipe!

First, let me tell you about the recipe. It comes from a vintage cook booklet, Favorite Recipes for Country Kitchens,  from General Mills, published in 1945. I love these sweet little booklets for all the genuinely "made from scratch", home cooked dishes. I also love the art work on the cover! Why can't things be this way again?  So pretty and so nostalgic! When I dream, this is what I see.

Taking Stock Part 2: Recipes for Dry Staples

Popcorn Tins of Christmas Past... great for storing baking ingredients!

     If you read Taking Stock Part 1: My Pantry Basics, ( previously posted), then you know that I make many of my own baking mixes and specialty flours. In my pantry you will find the popcorn tins of Christmas Past. These are generally free for me, as I receive them either as gifts, or ask friends and family for those they no longer need. I save them because they make excellent (and pretty) canisters for my flour, cornmeal, and other dry ingredients. Reusing them also keeps them out of the landfill, (always a bonus). Once made, my baking mixes get stored in the large tins, some of which may hold 20 to 25 pounds of flour and baking mix.
     I thought that you may be interested in sharing some of the recipes that I have collected for staples in my pantry so I have posted a few below. I am always updating with new recipes that I find to further my own efforts in self reliance. Hope you enjoy the post and recipes!

Taking Stock: My Pantry Basics

Canning for the pantry.

     While reading Amy Dacyczyn's "The Complete Tightwad Gazette", I observed the “Pantry Principle”, in which Amy describes her family's food supply. Many of the items are simple staple items, some are homemade, others bought in bulk. As I read I began to realize that she was describing my own pantry contents and that of everyone who has opted for a more simplistic way of living. This makes perfect sense because our goal in living simply overlaps with Amy's goal of living frugally. Many items that we once purchased in the stores we now make ourselves. Basic staples are the key components to a self-sufficient pantry. Basically, my pantry contains lots of baking ingredients, some canned goods bought from the “cheap” stores, (Save-A-Lot and Aldi's), and items that I make to help with meal preparation, like flavored vinegars, liqueurs, syrups and extracts, etc.

It's Turnip Time Again!

      Our turnip patch really surprised us last year. After the long months of drought earlier in the growing season, we had almost decided to turn everything under and retire for the year. Our little turnip patch almost wasn't. But then the rain began again and our enthusiasm was off and running... just like our turnip greens. The patch sprang to life, and soon we had more greens than I could manage. One small patch was enough to supply our household, my mom's house, my husband's parents and his three brothers, as well as my aunt and my cousin and his family with turnips and turnip greens. On the verge of Winter, the patch was still spitting out turnips at such a rate that everyone was about tired of messing with them. In fact, my brother actually said that he would be glad when the patch dried up and died. What a horrible thing to wish upon such a hard working little vegetable patch. :)

Turnip Green patch growing out by the chicken pen. (OMG! We need a new chicken pen!

     

Canning Up the Cranberry Sauce

     Another Thanksgiving is behind us, and while most are wondering what to do with all the leftovers, I am looking at all the beautiful jars in my pantry. I filled quite a few jars with all the good things that Autumn has to offer: cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, turnips, turkey stock, and turkey soup.
My cranberry sauce is so easy to make and easy to can up to enjoy all year. I began making my own when I was just setting up housekeeping 32 years ago. Since then, my family has come to expect homemade sauce. I can't remember the last time we opened a can from the store. Here is my recipe. It come to you straight off the bag.

Cranberry Sauce

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 (12oz.) bag cranberries

Combine water and sugar in a sauce pot. Heat to boiling; dissolve sugar completely. Pour in the cranberries, fresh or frozen, and allow to return to a boil. When the mixture has come to the point of a boil which can not be stirred down, stir to loosen the juice from the berries and be careful not to let the concoction boil over. This should be watched and boiled for about 10 minutes. You will notice that the liquid will begin to thicken slightly. This is the stage we have been waiting for.


Just before they begin to boil. How pretty is that?!

Homemade Buttermilk or The Never-Ending Milk Pail

Growing up in the country, you tend to learn things, whether intentionally taught or simply
 because you happened to be in the right place at the right time. Buttermilk is one of those 
lessons you learn by watching. To clarify, buttermilk is not the same thing as "sour milk". I get
a little irritated when ever I see a recipe that calls for buttermilk, but then says you may 
substitute sour milk. I can tell you now that you will not get the same result in your baking. 
First of all, sour milk is thin and runny, while cultured buttermilk is rich, thick, and creamy. 
 The textural difference will translate through whatever you are cooking.
 Sour milk is nothing more than milk that has had an acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, 
added to curdle the milk. And while the original buttermilk is the thin liquid leftover from 
churning butter, this is not the buttermilk of which I speak. I am talking about cultured milk.
 The buttermilk that is purchased from the grocery store is a fine example. Our modern 
buttermilk is a cultured product that is far superior to the curdled drool of sour milk, both
 in texture and taste. 

Homemade Cultured Buttermilk and my Never-Ending milk pail.

My Cool Shaker Project

My pretty new flour shaker, filled and ready for baking day.

     It is early and I am at my computer composing an article to share with my blog readers. This can mean one thing and one thing only- I was struck with mammoth insight! I immediately pulled out my scrap paper box, (doesn't everyone have a scrap paper box?), my glue and scissors, and then headed straight for the hall closet where my cleaning supplies are stored. I knew that I had saved a Parmesan cheese container with the intentions of making a carpet scent shaker. But what was a scent shaker compared to my brilliant idea de'jour? That's right- Nothing!

Best Bread Machine Rolls I ever Ate!

      This week is getting off to a slow start. I have been concentrating on cleaning up clutter and I fully intended to get an early start on the basement since my boys are away for a few days. The trouble is Pinterest called out to me, and since I was alone for a change, I couldn't help but play a little. Three hours later... Okay, it's true I am a Pinterest-aholic, but I am in recovery. I just needed to find a recipe for my bread machine, and wham! I was in so deep that I lost all track of time! I seriously need a computer chastity belt!
    In all seriousness, I found the perfect recipe for my bread machine... Bread Machine Rolls! These rolls are so good and so easy to make that I make them almost daily. I was never a fan of the bread machine, and Hubby thinks that the bread is awful compared to the hand-kneaded loaves that I usually bake. I actually got into a debate with a friend over using a bread machine. I was so hardcore homestead that I couldn't see her point, that these machines are convenient for working folks. And I do declare, I was stubborn back then. When I went to work in the corporate world, I missed homemade bread, so I broke down and bought a used bread maker at Goodwill for $15. No, I did not fall instantly in love, in fact the machine went into the closet and until recently hadn't seen the light of day for quite some time. But then I found this recipe for Buttery Bread Machine Rolls on Positivelysplendid.com and pulled my bread maker from the mothballs to give it a try. Everyone- hubby, my children, and all four cats agree that these are some of the best rolls they have ever eaten! The reason? Well, they are light and yummy, of course! And I can set the machine to make dough, go wash the dishes and tidy the house, then  bake the dough in my oven instead of the machine itself. Everyone is happy and we have home baked bread every night with dinner. There you have it. The bread machine as a time and labor saving devise. Works for me! Now on to the dough!

Best Bread Machine Dinner Rolls I ever tasted!