The Birth Of The Smoothie

There are a few dishes that sit on my table today as did when I was a child. It is sometimes wonderful how we relate food today and the memories from our childhood, sometimes it isn't.

Traci, my sister can correct me on this one, however I am sure it was in October of 1978. We lived in a shanty in a small town in Clarksburg Pa. It was once a sturdy home, left to time and rented without up keep. The coal door still opened as we would feed the coal furnace from the basement and the coal truck put coal through that door. I doubt that at any time in life of that house was it ever warm during the winter.

I had returned from shoveling coal into the furnace as I was told to do, steam in the air, windows covered in condensation, the old brown TV with a fuzzy picture of the evening news was on. Traci and I often peeled potatoes as well as help Mom prep dinner as she had a full time job.

Dinner time in our house was that, all the family come together, sit, ask for people to pass around stuff. It was a Friday evening and Bobby's two children spent that weekend with us. So with 4 children, when Mom shouted dinner, the whole house seemed to rumble and shake as we made our way to our seats at the table. But this night it was a quiet "drag" to the table.

It isn't my fault if your having your own flashbacks by this time, perhaps, but let me tell you more.

Bobby and Mom thought a good meal was a meal where you would have to eat stuff that children think is gross. It doesn't matter how it was cooked, it was just nasty. Bobby's pick that Friday's meal, saute' liver and onions... with mashed taters...

I tried for an hour to climb my way through this meal, it was nothing smaller than Mt Everest, and almost no place to drive my fork in. It was cold and harsh, but Mom just kept pushing forward... Your not leaving that table till your plate is clean.. I remember listening to the clock tick as if minutes were hours...

As  time past, I was alone in the kitchen while every one else fought for a spot to watch TV. Mom went in and put her night gown on... I knew better to waste the food, that is the real reason I didn't try to out smart my way through it. I wasn't a very clever child either and knew I faced a spanking or worse if I did get caught. Then, with a sad face as I looked at her, she said right....

Mom was a War baby and was raised by her Mom and a nanny as the story was told to me. So she had some of that hard liner and dry humor about her that had been caste into her as a young child by a Brit Nanny.

The blender was pulled out, she grabbed my plate, scrapped it into the blender, she came back and grabbed my golden Tupperware plastic glass which was filled with whole milk. In it went like she was a master chef creating a master piece... The blender bogged a few times at the start... than it ran...

She filled that same glass up, placed it before me and ordered me to drink it. I did so in total fear that she was about to become a monster.. Than she filled it up again until the blender was empty, again she ordered me to drink it, but this time my gag reflexes were about to explode. I lifted it up slowly, and couldn't get that liver infused milk drink taste out of my mind. I was crying and begging my way out of it, but I was stuck...

So the birth of liver and onions smoothie was born... The taste test didn't do so well, so it never became a popular fade diet or smoothie...

PS Please look at the labels I have attached to this post....

Stop By At Facebook When You Want.

Never miss one of our facebook posts again! Be in control of what you see and when you see it, all from your own facebook page.

Follow these 3 easy steps (screenshots below) to add the facebook page to your Interest groups so you can see our posts in one place with one click (and without timeline)

Why do this?
1) If you are busy at work, sleeping or just not on facebook, this gives you an easy non-intrusive way of letting you see posts quickly and easily.

2) If we post too much and we're filling your newsfeed, you can remove us from your feed at step 2 and just see us whenever you like

3) Our posts only go to about 25% of our members feeds, either due to facebook system or you weren't around to see them. This way you don't miss any but you decide when to view them.

 Step 1 

Go to our Modern Pioneer Facebook page. 

Click the "LIKED" button at the top of the page. 

Step 2 

Click to add to existing list 

or click +Add New List 

At the next screen, select the page and click NEXT.

  You will be asked what privacy settings you want. 

Select one and click DONE. 

  

Step 3 

 Go to your own newsfeed 

 http://facebook.com 

View the menu on the left 

At the bottom, see Interests 

Your new list is there

Hover your mouse over on the left to get the pencil 

 Click the pencil to edit Select "Add to Favorites" 

Now go to the top of the page,
See the list in your favorites on the left

That's it! Now when you visit your feed, 

you can see if you missed any posts from us. 

The number of posts will be shown.
Just  click that list and see the posts in one place!

How To Make Your Own Breakfast Sausage W/ Recipe

Memories of smelling bacon from downstairs always woke me up and made my tummy growl. At home on the farm, it was a frosting designed window as I looked out the window at the sun rising. At Grandpa's it was a cool morning in Hornsby Hollow, and the sun was up and the chickens were calling out to be let out. Isn't it funny how we can recall memories from smells?

Well, I am creating new smells for my children, and from my own recipes, local meat, and organic seasonings, so which I will add were grown right here on my homestead. Seasonings are troublesome for me as I can grow a lot, but some I can not and I rely on other suppliers, so I do the best I can to research my sources.

So lets talk about breakfast Sausage, why? Because I want to do something different and there is a very limited selection out there, and the ones that are out there that are links, some of them are so processed they aren't even sausages....

Ѽ  How about a couple things found right on the Homestead? How about some Maple and Apple Breakfast Sausage links?

4 lbs of lean pork
1 1/4 pork fat
6 tsp. garlic powder
2 cloves fresh garlic
3 tsp. crushed Sage
3tsp black pepper
1 tsp of celery seed
2 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp marjoram
2 tbsp of dried parsley
1/2 apple sauce
1/3 cup apple juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp of lemon juice
 34-36 mm casings  ( I like New Zealand Lamb casings)

Cut and grind meat and pork fat to a fine texture together..

In another bowl, blend spices add apple sauce/juice and lemon, mix well. Add bowl ingredients and meat and mix at room temperature until well mixed. Put it in the fridge and let it set 12 hours.

Soak your casings and rinse them several times...

Stuff the meat into casings to 5 or 6 inch long links, or make into patties.... Freeze or use within a couple days.

 

The Old Canning Jar Project, Be A Interesting Host

I want to get right into it, and I am willing to share the links after we stroll through the project so you can get those products if you want or bookmark this page to follow up on a later date.....

So I only had a few jars that I could no longer use for canning, I donated the other two to make this project practical and fun. I did this project outside....

I started out with a few different jar sizes, but they have to be widemouth in order to make this project work.

I know the original idea, no I didn't make this up, had said to spray the outside of the jars, but the flawed idea behind that is that you can only get Interior Frosted Paint...

So I decided to spray the inside after I tested it on the outside where it was exposed and scratch very easy. I jumped in and started spray and the runs showed up. So I lightly sprayed the inside a few times.

I let them dry and opened the lights, I got these on the fly from the Flea Market last week, but I discovered even cheaper ones that function even better and have more lights. Well that happens sometimes, and I will share that link with you.

So I opened them by twisting them apart to locate the two sided sticky tape and remove the pull tag so they will light up.

I pulled the tag, removed the double stick doughnut.... I twisted the light back together and applied the double sticky doughnut to the back, and removed the protective tape on the other side.

I took one lid and fastened the light to it....

I did this for the rest of my lights.... So I had to test them to see what they looked liked, even though it was daylight....

Pretty dang cool looking... So to save the photo by photo, let me explain, this is a great idea. You can Host a party and have these so people can see a path, see steps, use them to draw attention to a nice area on your property during a party, boundary lights, use any season and have one on the night sitting table....

The Casting Call, Will It Lead To A Show For Me?

I had a great conversation that lasted 45 minutes with a Senior Casting Director today. I am not going speak a whole lot as I not sure where this sets. It might not go anywhere and I am just thinking how neat it would be to do a documentary style show or a show that I can show people what I am up to.

When I looked into what she was representing, and she gave me a break down of what they are thinking. I thought she was just singing a beautiful song to me as she told me what their thinking of. Instead of living my life, she could put what I do in your living room...

I don't want to do a reality stye show, I am not a redneck and I don't want to entertain people in that manner. I would like to do a show where I can share some of my ideas.... So I am not "jumping" the make-up seat just yet... But I would enjoy sharing my life on my homestead.

She was very fun and a good listener, and she didn't make fun of my bashing of the English language. Half way through the conversation, I got the feeling I wasn't what she was looking for. But you know, at least she considered what I was doing, and if this doesn't work out she has my number. I told her I was happy to advise her or help in any way I can.

Thanks Caz..... Jason

Eggtastic Homesteading With Chickens

People talk about the hundred dollar egg when I tell them that I raise chickens for eggs. As you know, there is a lot more to raising chickens than just getting eggs.

To me, anything labeled organic is worth looking into, and anything that the Government says organic or free range isn't really what might be in there. People that raise their own chickens can tell some of you that your eggs that you buy and homegrown eggs taste different, and they do.I know that my chickens eat a very healthy diet and are very happy birds. I know that the egg I am eating is a good quality egg.

I also enjoy having the chickens around as pets, they develop their own personalities as well as teach children about caring and responsibility. When good food goes in a couple good things come out, eggs and poop. We eat the eggs, and I use the poop in my garden.

Chickens will also come to you if your outside and want to see if you have something good for them to eat. My kids have learned to keep a little scratch in their pockets, and like dogs, the chickens will come calling if they see you.

Nested in our hand paint Gourd bowl is our first batch of eggs from our second flock.

....................Click the picture to enlarge it.....................

Stocking Up The Pantry 2012...

As the garden keeps giving, I keep on putting food up. Because I use several methods of storing food, I use the methods that best suit our needs and I know the food will get used.

While the pantry fills, taters sit at the bottom under every shelf, jars start to stack up, and I end up putting empty jars waiting to be filled every where I can.

To the right are Jars filled with good eats, as well as the left side. The right is wet side, the left is the dry side. We are looking good so far and ahead of production this year. I am short on taters, and I was late on beans which are now canned from mine and Marks garden. I still have Lima, Kidney, Pinto and Mexican Red Beans that are almost ready to harvest. Because they are dried beans, they need time to ripen and store.

I also have 19 Butternut Squash that are bigger than a pound each, and a few Pumpkins. The Okra is still going as well as the Sunflowers. I still have 2 bushels of maters and the peppers will continue to grow. 

The pantry is looking good...

The Care, Share, Thought, and The Deal...

Along side a country lane, chickens roam around the front yard, natural rocks decorate the land scape. A huge statue of a tree man sits in front of the house, with a hand painted Gourd Birdhouse hangs from the eves.

As you pass by you notice a log flower bed filled with weeds and flowers, and just beyond that is a wee little make shift food stand the has a hand written sign FREE on it.

SO as you keep going you remember a little spot you could pull over and sit out of view of the house where no one can see you. So you turn around and return back up the hill and you pull over. You take a few seconds to decide what you need, or take it all... You say no...no to yourself that would be greedy... So you grab a couple maters and a squash, back to the car you go and now your on your way...

I wonder what people really think of my free food road side stand and the free food... Oh well, guess I might not ever know...

Cutting Board Contest!! Giveaway For Phones

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Real Homesteding For Real People, DANGER! (Graphic PG-13)

For most people here you understand how I live and the reasons why I live the way I do. It is a system that balances on many factors, some I can control, some I can't.

I know I have had ONE egg fried and savored in the last two months. No pancakes, no Souffles, no cakes, nothing that requires a egg. Sadly my old flock is in its senior years, and the girls are beyond their hot flashes and have just about stopped laying. I would cull them, but their are our first flock and I said I would only cull them if it made them live more comfy.

The new flock has had a Rooster, a kind gentle Silkie. I didn't know he had fight in him, but now I know he does, and he is ready to defend the flock.

Growing up on a Farm, you understand sometimes bad things happen. In order to secure the problem you have to look at the evidence and decide how and what happened. Even when you look at what is there before you, it isn't what it seems.

Joshua came in and mentioned he saw a Red-Tail Hawk looming in the trees near the coop and he saw one dead chicken and other stuff. We had just come home from Church and I was cooking lunch, but it was a Homesteaders worst fear, grabbing the gun to defend what is yours. I will defend my way of living and my food including my animals.

Wait... You can't shoot at a Hawk against the law, but my thoughts were different as he said he saw a dead chicken. I knew it wasn't a Hawk, a Hawk would carry its pray off to eat... But I knew that the killer was near and close by. I thought a dog was near by, and if lived by me and your dog entered my property line and killed my chickens, I would kill your dog. I have no relationship with your dog, my dog has been trained to guard the chickens and not harm them.

So as the evidence was there, a dead chicken laid at my feet, I looked at the method of killing and looked around the pen. It was the scene of horror for a chicken, a real reason why they are so skittish by nature. Piles of feathers, each pile near or around the edge of the fence.

I figured if a coon had made the kills, I would find more dead chickens as I had 7 still missing. I ruled out a yottie, and then a weasel was considered. I didn't know so we recovered the live chickens secured them.

After lunch I went out to look around and decided to make my "chicken call" just in case the girls had escaped some how and made a run for it... What do you know, they did, and they were still alive and called back to me!! Scared, but still alive, the Araucana ran to me (we are friends) and so she was happy and settled up in my arms. I called out to Danielle and Jessica to help me, I told Joshua where to go. We got four of them, the other three had been hurt pretty bad by the feathers in the pen. By evening they showed up ready for food and water.

I suspect a young coon came in and the rooster defended the flock while many of the got away. We did loose one chicken, and she was buried as she died unexpected and was honored.

The great news is that the girls have started to lay!!

Ѽ Modern Pioneer's Original Apple Chip Recipe Ѽ

 With all the recent request for my Wonderful recipe, I decided to blog it..

Modern Pioneers   Ѽ Ѽ Apple Chips Ѽ Ѽ
1/3 cup Cinnamon
1 cup cane sugar
nice pinch of Allspice (heavier pinch if you want the taste to lean towards Apple Pie)
Pineapple juice
7 pounds of choice apples (use sour apples for sweet/s

our chips)

I use two thicknesses, just over 1/8 for crunching chips, 3/16 for less crunchy. Cut Apples into desired width, placing the fresh slices into the pineapple juice until you fill the bowl. No need to soak them as they just need to be coated with the juice. the juice has vitamin C which will protect the color.

Mix the Cinnamon, sugar and allspice together blend well. Sprinkle over apple chips already placed on trays. Then dehydrate until crispy ( ⌚ 8-14 hours)

If you want to omit the sugar altogether you can do that but the flavor will be much stronger, and I agree healthier as well. You can do this in a oven, but I am not sure how that would work.

If you want to make some really different fun chips, consider getting a spiral slicer like this one. Great for other dishes as well.

Re-Claiming and Makng Useful Stuff (Pictures)

There is a lot to be said about keeping things you "might" use in the near future, then comes along the rules of how long to keep it. I know on at least a half dozen times, I have stuck to the rules. But wouldn't you know it in the near future I would need it. Sometimes, that is my luck... So I decided how rare or how many things could I use it for and what was the chance I was going to include it in a project.

I had some manure delivered a couple years ago, and the driver backed into my gate and crushed it, breaking off the post it was attached to. After bartering, I got another load for free and replaced the gate but I held onto the crushed one.

It was a 12 foot gate and too large to store, so I cut it down, did some tree pulling on it to pull out the bends as best I could. I attached a come-a-long with a strap around a large wild cherry tree and the other end to another big tree. Using a nylon industrial/farm strap, I positioned it several times along with the other strap to pull out the kinks. Some I couldn't get out, some I just repaired.

After I repaired them, I stored them away in my out building for a few years. They were out of the way because I hadn't remembered them until I needed them. When I built the new coop pen, I used both of the now two parts for entrance and exit gates as you will see.

 So each gate would have been around $70 retail or more, and the installation went quickly. 

Now the finished product is keeping my Silky Roo in with his girls and the critters out!