Sunday, July 24, 2011

Keeping On Getting Back To Normal, Love Fresh Food

Hello SS folks, long time no post... However as I mentioned after my return from the coast, I am presenting you with the photos of the homestead and where I am at with things.

So we are doing great, and the weather has been bad. With almost no rain, my rain barrel has been dry most of the grow season. I have used both pond water and well water for the garden. The mulch I laid down has been a blessing. Like some of you, I have been getting on with my seasonal duties of putting food up for the winter season. Although I have been eating more veggies since the garden has been growing, I drop almost 25 pounds of fat. Stress fat as well as process food eating I am sure. We all know the difference in the taste of market food and your own.

Well, all that being said, I'd rather explain the photos as they posted. So if you have sometime and want to join me on my adventure of my SS lifestyle, grab a cup of tea or your preferred drink and lets have a mozzy on the farm.
Mushroom Logs setting idle, waiting for some rain
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Wind spinners which help run the birds off and add some beauty to the garden
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Solar lights in the garden. 4 corners have led colored globes, and again the bean tree fence post topper
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Garden Guard
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Garden pictures of different crops and general garden stuff
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Ground Hog enters garden and eats carrots and beans, I will harvest and stew him soon
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Early Garlic processing
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Onions
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Summer and Zuke squash, dried and ready to be separated into my squash mess vac bags and other cooking recipes. I have a long loved squash mess recipe from my Mom that she taught me how to make. I took it one step further and developed a dehydrated recipe of my own.
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Jamming.. Maple syrup too..

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So let me set this up and explain to you how some people don't think. At the end of maple season, folks are tired and couldn't be bothered working out the "fines" in the last gallon of syrup. Fines are named as all the small particles left over in the last batches of each go at maple making. They were going to toss them out this year, I got my equal share already, and wanted the stuff they were going to throw away. Anyway, what you are looking at is one jar of the left over "fines" syrup. Somewhat darker than Amber, still a good quality syrup, this jar is 90% maple syrup with the fines settled at the bottom. SO letting it settle and removing the top syrup has given me another half gallon of syrup.
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Todays harvest
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The root cellar seems to keep at a steady 66 degrees and was a rewarding building project for food stores. It has proved to be a great place for me to safely store both dried foods as well as canned food.

The hedge rows have provided a steady supply of berries for jamming and fresh eating. This year is the first year that grapes are growing. some of the later raspberry plants are still providing berries of pancakes and sugar and milk.
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I suspect that I will be drying and canning tomatoes very soon. I will be canning green ones as well. I also will be drying some for soup recipes.

You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.
вегетарианец- Russian word for poor hunter
We are pioneers, trail blazers, we fight for freedom. We transform our dreams into the truth, our struggles, we became a nation.

3 comments:

  1. Look into lacto-fermentation as another means of preserving food. Sauerkraut is one example. I've fermented salsa and beans so far besides the sauerkraut. My favorite kraut recipe is latino sauerkraut. It has a little heat and is very tasty. The beans are so good. I'm hoping the pole beans I planted (my bush beans are done) yield enough to put up a bunch of quarts (they are more like a pickle, but they taste sooo good!

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  2. Care to share your squash mess recipe? I'd love to dehydrate more squash.. but not sure I like it rehydrated.
    Thank you for your awesome blog. I really enjoy it!

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    1. I use equal parts of summer and zuke squash, 1/2 dried onion, salt pepper to taste. Adding 2 cups of water, bring the squash to a boil, let set over night in the fridge. Soak the onions in warm water to hydrated. Prep the pan with olive oil, place squash in over medium heat, add onions, cooking 20 minutes or so, add a little butter and mix 1/8 cup of flour, cook till flour browns in the squash mess.

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