The Seed Power Plant and The Dehydrating Meltdown

Have you ever looked at a seed of a plant as a power plant? What if it used all of its energy at once? What if your food supply depends on understanding dehydrating a little more? Well it does....

For this example of teaching, I am going to use a mature Zucchini Squash. This shows more than anything, the problems that could arise and ruin your food supply that you have dehydrated and put up for future use. After noticing a problem in my own food supply, I felt this would be more informative to express and blog about because I found little to no information about this problem.

So lets start with this photo... Here you can see fat, somewhat thick seeds at the end of my knife.

I found that seeds that are slightly thick to thick need to be removed before dehydrating. What gives? I have no formula and I can't say which vegetables need seeds removed, but Squash of all kinds that your going to dehydrate needs a little more attention than say peppers.

Seeds were design to with stand extreme conditions. Consider a plain that has burnt after a lighting strike and catches fire. Many people start field fires to control weeds, knowing that regrowth will occur again. So why would a seed that goes under stress from a dehydrator? So if the seeds are mature enough, remove them.

For this process I am removing seeds from Zucchini that I sliced on a slicer and have many pounds to get through so I can move on to other task. If I am grating Squash, I will use a ice cream scoop. Here I have sliced the Squash and have used a egg cup to cut out the centers.

Once I have cut all the centers out of the slices, ensuring a safe vac package of dehydrated Squash, I set my racks beside me, and move the slices to the cutting board.

Once I have moved them over, I cut the larger pieces in half in a crescent moon shape and place them on the drying rack as shown in the photo. With my 9 tray dehydrator full, I have processed 19 pounds of wet product or enough for 10-12 meals for four people.

Following this method might save your whole dehydrated food supply as you reduce risk of those power plants start sprouting out and rotting or souring in a airtight bag.

 Adjustable slicing allows this machine to be used for everything that you want to slice evenly and properly for OUTSTANDING end product quality when dehydrating.

People often over look this product because slicing is easy, but here the key is even thicknesses for consistency. I and several other hundreds of people found this slicer to meet our needs during harvest time, and makes great Jerky too

Raw Milk Turns Into Many Homestead Products

As I sit here this evening, while the cool fall air swirls around the trees to pull off the dead leaves and floats them to the ground, today was a good productive day.

You might remember the other night I went to a secret location and got some raw, right from the cow, milk. Now before you start posting your thoughts of how bad raw milk is for you, I will not listen to your nonsense. Your wasting your time preaching to me about all the things bad with raw milk, and if I wanted to waste my time I would combat and debate the issue with you. But I am not going to do that.

As I used a method taught to me by my Mom, I had confirmed the technique of separating the cream from the top of the milk. So out of the milk I got I ended up with enough cream to make nearly three pounds of butter. You see I dodged that "how much cream did you get" bullet? I didn't measure my cream as I should have because I forgot to and just moved into butter production first thing this morning.

So, I know your ready to get into the whole butter production, but I wanted to let you know in my useful gadgets I have a Mixer Stand like the one I used to make my own butter. One of these days I am going to blog a list of stuff I make with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

So I started out by allowing my cream sit overnight and then just chilled it a couple hours. I added some into the stand mixing bowl, and kept adding until the mixer was going on high and I always make a foil bonnet around it to keep it full.

 So as it starts to churn, it will thicken up and the milk and as you can see in the photo below, the level of milk has dropped compared to the one above. Generally I just keep adding cream until I get enough where I know my machine can handle the butter.

So by adding foil around the edge, tucking it in, I can fill my mixer up pretty full without spreading milk all over the kitchen.

Taking a peek in, can you see the noticeable change it texture and color?

Well it won't be long until my butter starts to clump and balls together. When it is at this point it is time to take it out and strain it.

Now it is time to start cutting the butter, if you don't cut it, it will become rancid very soon and you have wasted all your cream, time and effort. Cutting the butter with a pastry cutter and cold water will clean out all the residue milk that has been collected during butter making process. Ice cold water added, than cut it for a couple minutes, strain add new cold water, and repeat until your butter cuts clean in water. I use 1/2 cup cold water during my first cut and mix that with my buttermilk. The remainder several batches after the first one I toss out.

This is my last cut, clearly from the first photo you can see the water color get much clearer.

Now I will strain the butter one last time and begin to press it into containers for long term storage. Notice the water coming out?

Don't be afraid to poke your fingers down into the butter to remove the air pockets and the water will also continue to come out. Now it is time to smooth it out for long term storage...

Some advice, never share your source for raw milk by bragging about it, share with people you know if the farmer allows it. Make sure to visit your farmer and make sure they are a clean milker. If your lucky as I am, mine doesn't use hormones and mine grazers and produce organic milk for the market.

So tomorrow for breakfast I will have homemade buttermilk (made from my by product from butter production) pancakes with my homemade butter covered in my homemade maple syrup.... I feel pretty proud to say all those homemade words in one sentence....

Discussion 1 Billion Without Food 2011, Now With A Population of 7 Billion Coming, What Can You Do?

As we consider our diets, and the food we eat, lets consider production of the food. If your reading this than you already know that the Earth is at a point where the global population is 7 billion mouths to feed.
Companies are already making smaller packages of food, though the price has remained the same, the amount of product in a package has been reduced. Some companies have reduced the amount of product by as much as 28% in the last couple years.
People are becoming more aware of the crisis, even books are starting to tell the now untold story of the great Famine that is coming.
One of the smartest things you can do is learn how to grow, gather, hunt, and take care of yourself. I often think when I hear folks discuss where food comes from. I was shocked when I watch Food INC on hw some of the store bought food is grown, some how a cow with its side completely open, eating and processing food while looking at its insides, just isn't right. That is a animal that was being raised for its meat.

The wife and went to a restaurant because we had been out away from home, we don't go out often, so it was a treat having a meal presented to us already cooked. Now, if I hadn't seen the movie prior to eating that steak, I would have not questioned the food we were eating. So here is the fact, the steak that I got tasted like manure smells, I am not saying it taste like chit, I am saying it tasted the same as the manure smells, there is a difference. Now, I did mention it, and it was replaced, with the same tasting meat I had the first time. At the meal I ate all my breads and veggies just to get some substance in me.

I wonder how the world can support our population now as it is, and projected is 11 billion by 2045. I wonder if the GM food wil be so bad that we won't get any thing from it that will help us build our bodies. Rather just sustain it to allow it to live. Think about that for a second, I know there is nothing as good as a fresh right off the vine tomato, the taste it has compared to one bought at a store is night and day.

There are many aspects to think about the human race, and we know from the sexless blind blobs of fish  in the Oceans around China, that birth control also has its own effect on the environment. I would agree that we, humans are taking, taking and taking from the earth without solutions being made.

You and I can make a difference, and I know many people on line, as well in real life that are taking charge and doing something to be more self sufficient. Being self sufficient is the key word here, if you want the best food, learn to grow your own  make a step to learn, teach yourself, re-use everything you can, teach your children, teach your grand children.

There isn't to many reason not to grow something, even if its a 2 foot square plot, or a couple mater plants on the patio.... You can do something to help feed your own, and the rewards are wonderful. Some of my fond memories are those days of riding on the fender of Grandpa's tractor, and picking and clean veggies with my Mom and family on the farm.

When the boy and I made some sausage together year before last, I remember his face as we ate it. He mentioned how good it was, and how it was the best sausage he ever ate. It was good sausage made from pork and pheasant meat with seasonings. It might not have been the "best sausage" in the world, but it was good. I am sure that is a memory that kid will hold well into his adult life, and for his sake, I agreed it was the best sausage in the world.

One out of every seven people will be starving, I doubt we will be able to keep this pace up for hundreds of years to come.....

Update Bramble Hedge Rows, Year Two, Fruit Tree And Nut Tree Warning!

Well I wanted to post an update for you folks who are wondering how my hedge rows were doing. Drew/Erin purchased their first blackberry plant and so I wanted to tell them yay and show them what they can expect next year.
First off, a warning of mixing fruit trees with nut trees. In my country wisdom book I read last year a chemical that is given off by nut tree roots system which spreads to the surrounding soil and doesn't allow fruit trees to produce buds/blossoms. I had said I would look that up, however time has limited me today to follow up on that research. However it is a survival defense for the tree so that it can allow its own seeds to fall and reproduce with any fruit tree taking up the space.
Second when pruning your brambles be sure to either trash the cuttings or burn them. If you don't your inviting all sorts of problems including fungi/rust issues.

The close ups are of my Darrow plants, on the lower end I do have some Chicksaw as well. Chicksaw has thorns, sharp, narrow ouchy ones that poke and draw blood. It produces a fine tasting berry though, my fav to eat fresh.
Country Wisdom book has some very good  instructions on how to raise berries. I credit them for me getting a nice harvest the first year and this years harvest is going to be wonderful. I do side dress my plants 3 times a year with 100% organic fertilizer and start to trim the main new stalks when they get 4-5 feet long. This alows for as many branches to grow for the next years harvest.

Hedge Rows Grapes/Brambles How To Video

Sustainable Future? Are You Ready? One Step Forward!! Plant A Pot Of Veggies!

Some might read my blog and see the hard work it takes to become self sufficient, and I know I have only tipped the top of the iceberg. I know that I can only live a certain level of self sufficiency, but I have never regretted getting started. I can tell you that my struggles have been many, whether through my own mistakes or lack of understanding what is going on because I did not educate myself enough.
I wonder what the future holds for my children as adults? With a yearly boom of the population 88 million people, can the earth handle this amount of human life in say 30 years? If mankind keeps heading down this road we are on now, I fear that the earth will die in the next 30 years.
I wonder how many people have at least decided to have 2-3 meals a week without meat and have more than one/two servings of veggies per meal? I also wonder how many people have started their own sustainable future by growing a garden for the first time this year? If empty pockets in the seed display are a sign of people gardening this year, the future looks great as noticed when I passed the seed display the other day. I am by no means a vegetarian, I like to gnaw on my bones, but my point is a healthier choice of living better.

The day I opened my freezer, and all the food within was grown/gather/fished/hunted by me and my family members, the feeling was undescribable. Though I struggle with the weeds as I learn to become more weed free every year, I found that all the home processing/blanching/freezing/canning was a reward I did not truly understand till that day.
Take a gallon size container and grow a tomato plant for fresh tomatoes, once you eat your first one, you will be hooked!!

Cold Frame Mistake, Still Almost 80% Free Materials!!

I made a huge mistake when building the cold frame. I took out a sliding glass window, so I framed that in thinking it would be nice to have for a cold frame. I built it on a hard level surface, moved it to the location I decided would work the best. Then I started loading the dirt in, I filled one side pushed it over to be level. So as I went to move the window over, it was stuck, so thinking about it, the frame must have twisted while under all the weight.

I didn't want to loose the glass, after some prying and moving, I was able to remove the glass. So I had to do some back yard engineering and figure out how to hinge it. So I had some hinges I bought at a auction last year, and was able to fit/screw those to the window metal frame than back to the box. It needed some work on it now as well. I had to use my first piece of new lumber that I paid to use on this project.

I took the cost of dirt out of my SS fund and mixed it with some of my own dirt from the tater baskets last year. I have put the word out on some containers that I am going to paint black, fill with salt water to absorb heat during the day.

Somehow I thought this project was pretty straight forward, and through doing it I learned a few things I didn't expect to happen. I was a bit snuffed by how to mount the glass and in the end figure it out after thinking it over a couple days. I will also need to seal the edges a little better. Personally, I don't think I know it all, but I am always willing to learn from my mistakes. The frame tweaking never occurred to me, also the reason I need to put a small seal around the window.

You wouldn't believe how much I am learning on my way to being SS, its not everyday, but more often than if I just lived like most of the population.

Raised Beds, Bees Wax And Cheap Materials, Be Informed...

When we think about raised beds, we think about how long will they last?

Time and time again I see raised beds made from wood that was made to last, pressure treated or creosote treated railroad ties. In no way am I a expert and admit the info I am about to share is just keeping any/all chemicals out of my food.

I rub my wood for my raised beds with bees wax, as short lived as it is, it's better than getting cancer from chemicals in the food that I work so hard to raise.

The amount of folks making raised beds from used railroad ties and pressure treated lumber is alarming.

Its better to make your raised beds from wood that you need to replace every couple years, verses inviting cancer to be a pal... The chemicals used in these products also over time leech into the ground, perhaps into your well water.

A small list of items of types of treated materials are old rail road ties, old telephone poles, old pier pylons/boards, marine grade plywood and green/blue colored pressure treated lumber sold at tores across the nation.

I am sure there is even a better solution to my bees wax idea, please share.