Monday, January 16, 2023

Self Sufficiency : Take Control of your Future

 The other day while checking out at Aldi an older gentleman ahead of me in line was commenting how expensive eggs are right now. I told him we have chickens to which he replied "awe, smart."

I knew right then this was a story I wanted to preserve in our scrapbook. 

For the most part I agree with him. But honestly farm fresh eggs are nowhere close to free. We have the cost of feed, bedding, equipment, etc. Yes free ranging them helps with that, but then they're more susceptible to predators and you may have to go on an occasional egg hunt to find that days bounty. A coop with a run works well for us for now. But, I've got plans (yes big plans baby) for this Spring. ;) 

Raising & hunting for your own food isn't necessarily about cost savings. It can be; but for us it's more about knowing where our food came from and how the animal was treated. It's about knowing that once you pull that trigger the work part of the hunt is just beginning. 

Honestly, we're nowhere near as self sufficient as say my grandparents where. But to not have to go to the store for ALL of our food is a win to me. Don't get me wrong I love me some Aldi & seriously can anyone even live without at least a little bit of processed food these days? Well, probably yes but we're not there yet. We really don't buy meat in the store other than say bacon if we run out of our own. The occasional package of hot dogs for over the camp fire. (Seriously the only way those things can be consumed. Barf.), and things like shrimp, etc for special occasions. 

I found this "quote" on Pinterest (of course) & the link doesn't take me anywhere so I'm not sure where it originated. But I loved it. One, because "SELF SUFFICIENCY" plays right into my 2023 word : SELF. 


Photo: Megan Klauer Photography  Quote : Unknown


GROW YOUR OWN FOOD :

- Lawd, I try. Every year I have visions of a beautiful weed free garden. Pretty much what I always remember my parent's garden looking like. I swear my dad gets up with the sun just to be out in the garden with a hoe before the weed fully pops thru the perfectly black soil. I don't remember ever being forced to work in the garden other than if it was potato digging day. Dad ran the pitch fork and we'd be behind him retrieving them from the freshly turned dirt. But the truth is in my own garden I'm more like an old hippy who could care less because the weed that took over might just produce a beautiful flower that's beneficial to pollinators. Plus it's now July and hot as hell. I don't care if there's weeds between the rows.  The truth is, if we get enough tomatoes or green beans for us to enjoy for the season plus maybe put a few in the freezer I'm happy with that. Don't get me wrong, my seed order has already arrived for the year & I pretty much know what I'll be looking for at the first FFA greenhouse sale. Goals. It's good to have goals.


PRESERVE YOUR OWN FOOD :

- This we've gotten better at! We may still freeze many things rather then water bath them to put them in the pantry. But, come winter when life slows down we pull the frozen whole tomatoes out & make ketchup, use the chicken carcasses & ox tails to make broth, and warm up the chunky applesauce to go with supper. This we're getting better at! My mom taught me how to make grandma's tomato juice and I make sure and do at least a little bit of that every year. Add flour, butter, & milk to create a thickener & you have the most amazing homemade tomato soup on a cold winter day.  We also process most all of our own meat. This is 100 percent because Aaron has been willing to learn how to do it over the years. Hogs, meat chickens, wild game; we all jump in as a family and do it. Aaron loves to smoke, grill, and generally cooks every meal we have so that helps too. The man has more smokers than I have pairs of boots; for reals. Going back to the whole "eggs ain't free" thing, neither is processing your own meat. We've invested a lot in equipment over the years but it's been so worth it for us. We have a walk in cooler, meat grinder, commercial grade chicken plucker, etc. It's not all perfect or pretty, but it's stuff we have invested in because it's how we want to live our lives. Chicken butchering day ain't for the faint of heart & believe me you just want to order a pizza at the end of the day, but man nothing beats that farm raised meat!


TRADE & BARTER : 

- This is something that I think is going to be even more important and necessary in the coming years. It's a scary world we live in now. Get to know your neighbors and trade some eggs for milk. Whatever it may be, make sure both parties feel satisfied with the exchange and you'll have a relationship that's life saving. I once traded a senior session for a hog. Not lying. I literally "brought home the bacon".  LOL   I recently exchanged homemade soap for a bag of home grown red potatoes from my sister. A friend shared a flat of strawberries with me so I shared the strawberry jam I made with her.  

THESE TYPES OF THINGS NEED TO BECOME NORMAL AGAIN.


COOK FROM SCRATCH : 

- This one almost makes me laugh because the first thing that comes to mind is bread making. It's like my freaking arch enemy. I can kill yeast faster than anyone I swear. I'll keep trying & we'll keep choking down hard flat bread until I get it right.  On the flip side Aaron makes amazing homemade beer bread, so there's that. I tried the whole "sour dough" thing and lets' just be real we have 3-5 kids to feed on a given day. I don't have time to worry about feeding the yeasty monster growing in my frig, Maybe someday. 

- Really though we aren't terrible about this one. Although "from scratch" sometimes means a box of Mac & Cheese. I added milk damn it; it's homemade! 

- I truly NEED to be better at this. Like those three rotten bananas staring at me on the counter begging me to become banana muffins before they all out die. I just need to do it. 


SAVE YOUR OWN SEEDS : 

- Well I have pumpkin & sunflower seeds saved to plant from last years garden. If only I could remember where I put them. .... 


That was a whole lot of rambling and I am in no way trying to say how we do things is the correct way or the best way, but it's what works for us during this season of life. 

I'd love to hear what you grow, preserve, or cook from scratch. Do you save your seeds each year or buy new? What's something you've traded in the past? Help us become more SELF SUFFICIENT!

Thursday, February 28, 2019

:: Failed Bread & Homemade Granola ::

Yesterday I spent half my morning attempting to make homemade white bread. 
Well, it was a huge fail!


Like throw it in the garbage kind of fail. Apparently, you can "kill" the yeast if you use too hot of water. Who knew? And yep, I killed the shit out of it. But, I'm not giving up. I will try again soon!

I did however successfully make homemade granola. This recipe was given to me by a friend and neighbor. And it SO good and SO easy.


Recipe : Homemade Granola

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4 c. old fashioned oats
1 1/2 c. nuts, unsalted (I used sliced almonds)
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
Note : I also added 1/4 c. of flax seed into mine.

Mix together the above dry ingredients.

1/2 c. coconut oil, melted
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 t. vanilla

Carefully melt coconut oil, add honey and brown sugar. Mix well.
Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix well.
Loosely spread over aluminum foil covered pan.
Bake for 21 - 23 minutes stirring halfway through.
Cool completely on pan.
Dried fruit or chocolate chips can be added after cooling.


Store in air tight container.



This is SO good by itself or on top of yogurt!
What do you add to your granola?



Friday, February 15, 2019

:: Welcome Edith & Edna | Katahdin Sheep ::

These girls were my valentine's present last night & I was so excited to get them home! Edith is the one with the white belly and is pretty shy. Edna is the all black one and a bit more friendly. They will love me and my camera before they know it.










Sunday, January 6, 2019

:: Winter Vacation : Days Eight & Nine | Rest & Home ::

Friday was our last full day at the cabin and we decided to just stay in and relax all day.
We slept in, Aaron made breakfast, we hung out and watched tv, played pool with the kids, had ice cream before 10am, and simply enjoyed being together.

That night Aaron was making back strap on the grill and it started to storm. The power ended up going out so we had super by the light of a flashlight & a gatorade bottle. We played cards and laughed about how we actually enjoy roughing it.
We had packed everything that we could so we could head out early in the morning. We had originally planned on not getting home until the 8th, but the kids were ready to be in their own beds. So, the next morning we were up and on the road by 7am.
It was a long trek home and Aaron drove the whole way. He's such a trooper!
We laughed at how many times I'd say oh, look at that and be taking photos out of the windshield. So, here's a few highlights. LOL!
Over all, it was an amazing experience. This was the biggest trip we've ever been on. I'd do it all again in a heart beat. Even during the moments the kids were fighting in the back seat. ;)

:: Winter Vacation : Day Seven | Knife Forging ::

Chase had a friend tell him about a place down in Pigeon Forge where you could make your own knife. This, the kids were excited for! Ella was a bit nervous about doing it at first, but ended up loving it.

The entire area ended up being really neat. We checked out the distillery and pottery shop. I could have spent ours in there!
We headed back to the cabin for a little bit of knife throwing (not the ones they had just made) and oh so totally safe. Those were bought by my sneaky husband when I wasn't looking.
And I made him take a picture with me because we both had our new boots on.
Inside to get supper started. Ella had fun helping daddy make fried chicken in the new cast iron.
^^^ (Paybacks baby!) LOL! ^^^
The chicken paired nicely with pepsi and moonshine. ;)
And the kids finished their day with ice cream by the fire place.
Are we seeing a theme here? I need a fireplace!