Well the first meeting went really well for our local food bank. There were lots of good ideas and information on how we can access resources from Parksville through the Salvation Army and also ideas of how to run our program. I think it will be a case of seeing what the needs are and then meeting them as best we can as a community.
Speaking of needs, I heard a very young couple are in need of a crib. If anyone has one to donate, please e-mail me and let me know. I'll pick up between Victoria and Courtenay. They also need baby clothes and supplies I imagine. Let me know what you've got. And accept my thanks in advance!
Hey, I got those second hand diapers today and I'm stripping them (diaper mom term for "removing soap build-up") but they look to be in really great shape considering their age and price. I got 20 Motherease one-size plus 10 liners for $50, including shipping! WOW! Love them! I'm going to finish making liners out of those old towels I got from the SOS thrift store for $1. I think a hotel donated them, but they're still in better shape than half my own towels! :)
So Spring Break begins tomorrow. The kids are excited, I'm wondering how to keep them busy and fed for the next 2 weeks. They still have a little funding so I'm looking at a spring break day camp if there's room.
In The Coop
We had more chicks hatch today and I'm telling you, no two look the same. It's really fun to see them all sun tanning under the heat lamp or scratching around for food. They're quite entertaining and lively. There may be a couple more hatch tomorrow if we're lucky. The bigger chicks downstairs are growing like weeds and eating like teenagers. Outside in the coop all is quiet.
In The Kitchen
Oatmeal or cereal for breakfast. Lunch was cheese on toast and pistachio pudding. Dinner was liver and onions with gravy, mashed potatoes and peas. The liver is just the regular beef liver (not the expensive calves liver) cooked in a frying pan. I fry the onions first, then move them to a serving plate while I cook the liver. It only takes a couple of minutes per side until done and then just place it on the bed of onions. This is a meal we serve with lots of gravy! The liver is not overcooked so it is tender, not like the shoe leather I've eaten before. Mashed potatoes and green veggies are always good to round out this meal. Total cost was $8 and served 6 generously.
Tomorrow the kids are having a baking lesson so we're going to make biscuits and bread. I might teach them something like bannock so they can make it in a pan while camping. It's easy, filling, hot, and everything tastes so good when you're camping anyway that bannock and beans with wieners is almost a gourmet meal!
In The Garden
Still snow, though it's going gradually. I did treat myself to a pack of strawberry plants at the feed store today...Sshhh...dont' tell Steve. They just got them in and were unpacking them. I bought a pack of everbearing and I'll pick up some June bearing when they come in. Not too many though as I'll pinch out the flowers of half the plants so they produce runners (baby strawberry plants) and not berries. Then I'll be able to take more plants with me when I move.
Strawberries do surprisingly well in pots so that's always another option. If you can't afford one of those expensive barrels for berries, you can just cut holes in a big 11.4l bucket, staggering them in layers, and plant them in that. First make a tube out of some left over chicken wire or something and place it in the bucket after you cut some drainage holes the size of a nickel at least. Fill the tube with gravel. This helps with drainage. Next you fill the soil to the first layer of holes, plant your strawberries, and fill in the soil over the roots that are inside the bucket. The crown and leaves stick out through the hole of course, which needs to be about 2 1/2 to 3 inches across. You just continue planting and filling the holes all the way up until 6 inches or so from the top. On top you plant your last 4 plants so they grow upwards and this helps shade the soil to conserve moisture and looks attractive. Tips are basically these: Use good soil made for a planter box as it has extra water holding capability. Mix a little slow release fertilizer into the soil before planting. Have good drainage holes in the bottom of the bucket. And keep this watered. The tube of gravel will help keep it from getting waterlogged but in hot dry weather all planter boxes can dry out very quickly and take a while to become fully saturated again when you water them, so it's best to check them once a day and water slowly in the evening or earlier in the morning before it gets too warm. Also, similarly to hanging baskets and pots, don't just water them with the hose until the water runs out the bottom because that often doesn't water the entire depth of soil but just runs off. Soil that is very dry shrinks and pulls away from the sides of a pot so when you water is effectively runs down the sides and out the drainage holes. Give some water, move on to another pot and come back again once the first lot of water has had a chance to be absorbed. Better yet, avoid this by not letting the pots get too dry in the first place (yes I know, easier said than done)!
Oh, gotta run! I think my sister is having her baby! YAY!
Best Wishes!
Elizabeth
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Chicks and More Snow
Hi! It's been an interesting day. It snowed about 3 inches of nice wet snow, enough for us to wonder if the van would make it back up the steep hill after Kindergarten. (It did) But on our service calls we found almost no snow in Parksville and none at all in Bowser. So weird that the climate and weather can change here in a matter of a few miles. In Bowser, well Deep Bay actually, we stopped on the spit to look at the boats in the harbour and see all the eagles and seals gorging themselves on herring. It's that time of the year again when the herring come close to the beaches and in huge numbers. The fishing fleet is busy as are the local fish eaters. Watching a bald eagle surrounded by seagulls as she dives down to catch a fish then takes it off to eat is beautiful. Unless you're a fish. The calling of the seals to one another was very nice too. It was a bit windy so a nice surf and as it was high tide you could see all the action up pretty close to the sea wall. This sight continued from Deep Bay some 30km to Parksville. Amazing really.
The kids had a nice relaxing afternoon without mum and dad to annoy them. Chris is however a total basket case. All his term 2 work has to be handed in tomorrow and guess what...he's not done. He's been working like crazy for the last 2 days and he's still got partof tomorrow but I don't think he'll make the deadline. His teacher will give him a little slack, but only if he gets at least 80% of it in. I didn't tell him that yet, I just sent him to bed.
Steve and I went to Chapters to get book 2 by Kristen Britain. It turns out they sell book 1 and book 3 but they're out of stock of book 2 and have none on order for the foreseeable future. How dumb is that? Anyway, I ordered it online with Beekeeping books for Steve and with any luck it will be here late this week or early next week.
In the Coop.
Chicks are hatching! We have 3 hatched today and another 4 pipped I think. We've set up a temporary brooder in the bathroom again with a 75watt spot light in a clear plastic tote. It seems good and comfortable for them so now we just wait to see how many more hatch. We've got 2 Brahma/red rocks and one Silkie. They're so CUTE!! I'll take some pics and post them tomorrow.
In the Kitchen
Veggies and pasta in a garlic sauce for lunch with a can of ham sliced. Nothing fancy but tasted good. $7 Dinner for kids was leftovers. Steve and I went out for a date and blew $50. Oh, and we also bought gumboots for the kids and doughnuts for the family.
In the Garden
Nothing new since yesterday.
I did want to pose a question for you to think about. In regards to house size. Why is it that families live in medium sized houses and yet little old ladies live in huge houses by themselves? Why, when families are getting smaller, are our houses getting bigger? In an age of energy efficiency, shouldn't we be looking at building smaller spaces to heat?
Well, I'm ready for a long sleep. Having the clocks changed takes me a little while to get used to. Hope you are tucked up snug and warm. Goodnight!
ElizabethSunday, March 8, 2009
Dollars and $ense
Do you have any money saving ideas? I'd love to hear them. One of the most popular pages on my original Doula website was our frugal living tips page. All sorts of things, like 100 uses for ziploc bags, cloth diapers, make your own laundry soap for 3cents per load, uses for a 5 gallon pail, websites to find stuff for cheap or free, how to trade and barter with your neighbours etc.
Our local community is starting a foodbank of sorts. So of course I'm remembering all the work I did in Calgary and in Victoria with various food programs and community kitchens and seeing if there's anything useful in my experience. I used to write a monthly booklet with in season frugal recipes and I'm thinking I'll start again. I'd love recipe submissions, but they have to work out to no more than $2 per person, ok? It's ok if your recipe works out to be $14 to make, as long as it feeds 7 people or more. We've got to also focus on 2 things, using staples, and nutrition, so remember, veggies and whole grains are your friend!
I'm thinking I will change this site a little to include a separate recipe section.
On the home front, it's snowing again. Can you believe it? Such unseasonal weather for Vancouver Island. And it's supposed to get down to -10celcius this week too! Brrr. I'm glad we've got the wood stove and a wood pile! Oh, and lots of turkey for warm winter meals!
In the Coop
Everyone's good. The water didn't freeze overnight but this will be a problem next week for at least a few nights. I'm going to close up some of the vents again to cut down the draft but the chickens all seem happy and at night fluff up and roost together so it obviously works for them. I did increase the protein in their food by 1% to 18% while it's cold. We've got breeds of chickens who are good layers in cold weather so we are still getting 4 eggs a day or more. I'm going to put today's and yesterdays in the incubator. Our breeds are Dark Brahma, Red Rock Cross, Silkie bantams and one odd Americauna.
In the Garden
Nothing much is going on due to several inches of snow. Today would be a good day to trim those pesky kiwi vines, but I'd rather stay indoors thanks very much!
In the Kitchen
Today I'm going to make a pulled pork pot roast, just for a change from turkey and because the pork was so cheap ($1.25 lb.) I'll serve it with fresh rolls, seasoned roasted potatoes and frozen veg. (peas, beans and carrots). Here's my dinner bun recipe.
White Dinner Rolls or Loaf
I'm home from church today because of one spotty daughter. It's so quiet at home though, it's weird.
UPDATE: The day has fairly flown by! I made 4 batches of buns and they're all gone! We had pulled pork at lunchtime with veggies, applesauce and 2 dozen buns. Oh and I cut up 6 potatoes, mixed them with 2 tbsp olive oil and some fresh cracked salt and pepper and roasted them in the oven at the same time as the buns. They took 10 minutes longer than the buns of course.
For supper, whole wheat buns filled with pulled pork and the gravy from the pot followed by honeydew melon and hot cross buns (same recipe only 1/4 cup added raisins and 1/2 cup candied fruit and peel. I iced them a tiny bit too. Today has definitely been a "bun" day. Tomorrow will feature roasted parsnips and asparagus.
The kids have done a little bit of tidying up and are now carousing around the house like a bunch of mad men. Hopefully they'll wear themselves out in short order.
I think I'm going to pick up some more of those pork roasts and throw them in the freezer. Today I used 2 roasts, each costing under $3.50 and by the time I made buns, seasoned the meat and slow cooked it on the wood stove, bought a melon etc. Today's food bill came to about $16 for 6 people for 3 meals. I probably should have just made sandwiches for dinner though and saved the pork (some of which is left over) for tomorrow's dinner, but it was SO good!
I am going to finish cutting up all that turkey meat and freeze it in bags for future use. Boy there's alot left though. Speaking of birds, I have our lovebird in the office as I type this. It's 7:47pm Daylight Savings Time (yes it started today) and she's just hanging out seeing what we're up to. Steve has been feeding her paper to shred which is one of her favourite hobbies and now she'd watching me type and preening herself. Meghan has come in asking "How many more days until my birthday"? She just can't wait till August. Apparently she and Kate are doing a Show in their room for us. We'll go see it at bedtime when we have family prayer.
I should get going and clean up from dinner. Hope you all have a great week.
I wanted to let you know about United Mothers, Fathers and Friends, a child advocacy group. They do lots of grass roots kind of advocacy work, choosing to focus on strengthening families, supporting marriage and lots of other good stuff. Their website is unitedmothers.ca Just so you're not surprised, they are against the redefinition of marriage, so if this is something you feel strongly about, don't go there. I just think they are doing some important work on the rights of families, parents and children both, so I thought I'd give them a little plug. :)
Lots to talk about tomorrow. See you then!
Elizabeth
Our local community is starting a foodbank of sorts. So of course I'm remembering all the work I did in Calgary and in Victoria with various food programs and community kitchens and seeing if there's anything useful in my experience. I used to write a monthly booklet with in season frugal recipes and I'm thinking I'll start again. I'd love recipe submissions, but they have to work out to no more than $2 per person, ok? It's ok if your recipe works out to be $14 to make, as long as it feeds 7 people or more. We've got to also focus on 2 things, using staples, and nutrition, so remember, veggies and whole grains are your friend!
I'm thinking I will change this site a little to include a separate recipe section.
On the home front, it's snowing again. Can you believe it? Such unseasonal weather for Vancouver Island. And it's supposed to get down to -10celcius this week too! Brrr. I'm glad we've got the wood stove and a wood pile! Oh, and lots of turkey for warm winter meals!
In the Coop
Everyone's good. The water didn't freeze overnight but this will be a problem next week for at least a few nights. I'm going to close up some of the vents again to cut down the draft but the chickens all seem happy and at night fluff up and roost together so it obviously works for them. I did increase the protein in their food by 1% to 18% while it's cold. We've got breeds of chickens who are good layers in cold weather so we are still getting 4 eggs a day or more. I'm going to put today's and yesterdays in the incubator. Our breeds are Dark Brahma, Red Rock Cross, Silkie bantams and one odd Americauna.
In the Garden
Nothing much is going on due to several inches of snow. Today would be a good day to trim those pesky kiwi vines, but I'd rather stay indoors thanks very much!
In the Kitchen
Today I'm going to make a pulled pork pot roast, just for a change from turkey and because the pork was so cheap ($1.25 lb.) I'll serve it with fresh rolls, seasoned roasted potatoes and frozen veg. (peas, beans and carrots). Here's my dinner bun recipe.
White Dinner Rolls or Loaf
- 1 cup water, plus
- 1 tablespoon water (70-80 F)
- 1 large egg
- 4 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 3 1/4 cups bread flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons melted butter (for dinner rolls only) (optional)
Directions
In bread machine pan, place all ingredients from flour through yeast in order as recommended by the manufacturer.
Select the basic bread setting.
Check dough after 5 minutes of mixing, if needed add 1-2T of water or flour. The dough should be smooth, soft and springy. Not sticky or tough so adjust accordingly. You'll find that even if you use the exact same measurements every time your dough will be different depending on the weather, time of year, age of flour etc.
Bake as normal.
For dinner rolls do the following....
Mix in bread machine but use only the dough option.
Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan (I always use a metal pan).
When dough is finished shape into 15 uniformly sized balls. I always grease my hands with shortening to smooth the dough out and it helps keep the dough from drying out.
Cover and let the rolls rise in a warm, draft free place until risen to the desired size.
I let them about double in size.
Bake in a 350° oven about 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
After removing from the oven, brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter.
Take out of pan and let completely cool before storing, that is unless you're me and breaking one open to slather it with fresh butter...just to make sure they're edible of course! :)
A few notes about this recipe. You can substitute whole wheat flour for half the flour with no changes, only watch the dough to make sure it's not too dry. I don't know how long these buns will store since mine have never been around more than a half a day due to their yumminess and my having children.
I'm home from church today because of one spotty daughter. It's so quiet at home though, it's weird.
For supper, whole wheat buns filled with pulled pork and the gravy from the pot followed by honeydew melon and hot cross buns (same recipe only 1/4 cup added raisins and 1/2 cup candied fruit and peel. I iced them a tiny bit too. Today has definitely been a "bun" day. Tomorrow will feature roasted parsnips and asparagus.
The kids have done a little bit of tidying up and are now carousing around the house like a bunch of mad men. Hopefully they'll wear themselves out in short order.
I think I'm going to pick up some more of those pork roasts and throw them in the freezer. Today I used 2 roasts, each costing under $3.50 and by the time I made buns, seasoned the meat and slow cooked it on the wood stove, bought a melon etc. Today's food bill came to about $16 for 6 people for 3 meals. I probably should have just made sandwiches for dinner though and saved the pork (some of which is left over) for tomorrow's dinner, but it was SO good!
I am going to finish cutting up all that turkey meat and freeze it in bags for future use. Boy there's alot left though. Speaking of birds, I have our lovebird in the office as I type this. It's 7:47pm Daylight Savings Time (yes it started today) and she's just hanging out seeing what we're up to. Steve has been feeding her paper to shred which is one of her favourite hobbies and now she'd watching me type and preening herself. Meghan has come in asking "How many more days until my birthday"? She just can't wait till August. Apparently she and Kate are doing a Show in their room for us. We'll go see it at bedtime when we have family prayer.
I should get going and clean up from dinner. Hope you all have a great week.
I wanted to let you know about United Mothers, Fathers and Friends, a child advocacy group. They do lots of grass roots kind of advocacy work, choosing to focus on strengthening families, supporting marriage and lots of other good stuff. Their website is unitedmothers.ca Just so you're not surprised, they are against the redefinition of marriage, so if this is something you feel strongly about, don't go there. I just think they are doing some important work on the rights of families, parents and children both, so I thought I'd give them a little plug. :)
Lots to talk about tomorrow. See you then!
Elizabeth
Turkey Leftovers
Yep, we're still eating turkey and surprisingly not sick of it yet, though I'm sure we will be soon as there's about 20 lbs left. Here's what we're doing with it:
Turkey Stew We diced 3c. cooked turkey. Sauteed 3 onions in the pot and then added the turkey, 6 chopped carrots and 8 cubed potatoes. Seasoned with poultry seasoning (thyme, sage, pepper etc) and a little salt. Also found some celery (yuck!) and added that to the pot. You can add what veggies you have on hand. Covered the whole thing with just enough water and boiled for 10 minutes, added dumplings, and cooked for a further 15 minutes. Served hot and delicious! One pot served 12 and cost $5 not including the turkey.
Turkey Fajitas Made tortillas (very simple and easy!) Diced 1 tomato and grated 1/2 cup cheese. Made guacamole. Chopped 2 onions and sautéed with turkey (cooked) cut into strips. Added one pack of seasoning mix which I usually have on hand, with 3/4 cup water and added to the turkey onion mix. Cooked for 3 minutes then removed from heat. I'd have added green and red peppers only I was out. We placed everything on the table including some salsa and everyone just made their own the way they like them.
Here's the recipe for flour tortillas. It makes about 8- 8inch tortillas so for a family I'd double the recipe.
Turkey Pot Pie I chopped and fried up 1 onion until soft. In the same pot I made a gravy and simmered 4 cups cooked chopped turkey into it for 10 minutes. Poured it into a pan and added veggies (green beans, yellow beans and baby carrots) and topped with biscuits to completely cover the top. Of course you can make your topping pastry, dumplings or biscuits depending on what your family likes and the ingredients on hand. Bake in a casserole dish or 9x13 pan for a family, until the topping (biscuits) are done, usually about 20 minutes or so. There you have it, another one pot, one dish meal made from turkey. This costs about $4 not including the turkey and feeds 8, or 4 teenagers.
More turkey ideas to follow!
Turkey Stew We diced 3c. cooked turkey. Sauteed 3 onions in the pot and then added the turkey, 6 chopped carrots and 8 cubed potatoes. Seasoned with poultry seasoning (thyme, sage, pepper etc) and a little salt. Also found some celery (yuck!) and added that to the pot. You can add what veggies you have on hand. Covered the whole thing with just enough water and boiled for 10 minutes, added dumplings, and cooked for a further 15 minutes. Served hot and delicious! One pot served 12 and cost $5 not including the turkey.
Turkey Fajitas Made tortillas (very simple and easy!) Diced 1 tomato and grated 1/2 cup cheese. Made guacamole. Chopped 2 onions and sautéed with turkey (cooked) cut into strips. Added one pack of seasoning mix which I usually have on hand, with 3/4 cup water and added to the turkey onion mix. Cooked for 3 minutes then removed from heat. I'd have added green and red peppers only I was out. We placed everything on the table including some salsa and everyone just made their own the way they like them.
Here's the recipe for flour tortillas. It makes about 8- 8inch tortillas so for a family I'd double the recipe.
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup shortening or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
Turkey Pot Pie I chopped and fried up 1 onion until soft. In the same pot I made a gravy and simmered 4 cups cooked chopped turkey into it for 10 minutes. Poured it into a pan and added veggies (green beans, yellow beans and baby carrots) and topped with biscuits to completely cover the top. Of course you can make your topping pastry, dumplings or biscuits depending on what your family likes and the ingredients on hand. Bake in a casserole dish or 9x13 pan for a family, until the topping (biscuits) are done, usually about 20 minutes or so. There you have it, another one pot, one dish meal made from turkey. This costs about $4 not including the turkey and feeds 8, or 4 teenagers.
More turkey ideas to follow!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Irish Elephant Stew
Here's today's recipe
Irish Elephant Stew
1 Meduim sized elephant
1 Field of Potatoes
1 head of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves
1/2 ton roux
salt and pepper to taste
2 rabbits (optional)
Secure a very large pot
Cut elephant into bite sized pieces (this should take about 2 months). Place in pot with garlic and cover with water. Cook over a large fire until tender, adding more garlic to taste. Elephant has a distinctly robust flavour, so not much more should be needed.
Peel potatoes or scrub thoroughly and add to the pot. Add roux to thicken gravy then season to taste with salt and pepper. Find and discard bay leaves before serving.
This should serve about 3800 people. If more people arrive, add 2 rabbits. Do this only if necessary - and make sure they are rabbits as most people do not like hare in their stew.
*Please note: This is an old recipe from way back when there were so many darn elephants you couldn't keep them from trampling through your back yard and knocking over your washing line and smushing your flower beds. Now of course we try to protect elephants...but, if one should happen to conk his noggin falling into your swimming pool, and you have no other alternative but the humane one...well, the above recipe might just be the ticket!
Big Bird Is Dead
No Don't worry about the big yellow guy from sesame street, I'm sure he's fine. We went out yesterday morning to let out our chickens and found that our turkey had very recently died of a heart attack. Rather than waste all that meat we decided to try our hand at butchering, rather Steve disemboweled and we decided to just remove the wings and to skin it to remove the feathers more easily. It was hard work but eventually we ended up with a 35 lb turkey in the oven. It barely fit and had to get kind of crammed in there but eventually it was done and now I have a nice big cooked turkey in the fridge.
How long do you cook turkey for? For those of you who think that it takes 20 minutes per pound I would like to offer the following opinion. If I'd cooked my turkey for the 11 hours recommended by this approach, it would have been nothing but a burnt shell. It took 5.5 hours in a regular oven at 325 degrees. A larger turkey does cook more quickly per pound than a little one. Butterball has a handy calculator that you can input how many people are eating and it'll calculate how big of a turkey you need, how much stuffing to make and how long to cook it for. It's found at :
www.butterball.com/tips-how-tos/tips/thanksgiving-guide
Of course if you poke a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh you can quite accurately tell too.
Back to chickens...they're all fine and not traumatized from watching us cut up their buddy. I found a very handy chart called the
The ICYouSee
An Alphabetical List of More than 60 Chicken Breeds
Here's the address: www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
Not every breed is listed and of course there are regional differences, but it's a very good chart for comparing hardiness, friendliness, egg production and suitability of different breeds for confinement. Go have a look if you're interested.
Eggs yesterday were 3, 4 the day before, and the silkies are still hiding theirs or have stopped laying. Hmm. The first eggs in the incubator are due to hatch early next week. The current conditions in the incubator are 99.9 degrees and 65% humidity. This little home made for $20 incubator is working great. It's just one of those cheap Styrofoam coolers fitted out with a thermostat (the kind found on your wall at home) linked to a light bulb socket with a 25watt bulb as the heat source. Oh, we did adjust the thermostat using the screw inside so that it reads higher since 99-101 degrees are higher than normal room temperatures. Now it's marked out in pencil as to the real temperature but we check it every time we turn the eggs anyway. It cycles more often once you add eggs but as soon as everything's good and warm the thermal mass means it cycles only once the thermostat says it's too cool. Ours is only on for a few minutes to warm it all up again. If you build one, be sure to have ventilation holes because the eggs need oxygen. You'll also need a shelf to keep your eggs on that has a lip so hatching chicks are kept safe and an accurate thermometer that records the temperature at the height of the eggs. Why? Because the air inside your incubator will stratify, that is, divide into hotter layers at the top and cooler ones near the bottom. It's the temperature at egg height that needs to be about 100-101 degrees and 50 % humidity, increasing to 65% 3 days before hatching time. We have a thermometer and hygrometer in there all the time but I double check the temperature by having a little contain of water in with the eggs and I just pop off the lid and take the temperature using a fever thermometer as it's very accurate. Mark your eggs with an X or the date on one side and turn them daily. Some people recommend 5 times per day, some people say once is enough, I turn at least twice and usually 3 times. This stops the yolk from sticking to the shell and causing a malformed chick. Turning an odd number of times means the longest period with no turn (usually at night) isn't always the same side of the egg up.
If you'd like more info on hatching a small number of chicks please look here:
www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems/DI0631.html
In the Coop
All are warm and dry. Now without a big turkey eating their food they'll go through a lot less, about a third less we figure. We will start keeping eggs for hatching again today, store them, and then see if we can get a hatch off before the next swap.
In the Kitchen
I need to bake bread again today so grinding wheat is in order. I should also pick up some white flour as I'm out except for my storage supply. I'm going to bake 75% whole wheat so I can share some with friends. It's also time to clean out the fridge in preparation for shopping as soon as we get paid.
Today's big task however will be portioning out the cooked turkey and making some meals with it. I'll let you know what we make but you can guarantee it'll include stew and pot pie as well as cacciatore. Hmmm...maybe curry as well. I'll make up some meals, mark them and freeze them. I noticed that turkey in the store is a little over $1 per lb. That's a good price and you can really stretch turkey so if it's cheap where you are, you might want to consider it.
I know we talk about buying fruits in season but did you ever consider that meat has a season too? Here on the coast it's most noticeable with things like salmon and shellfish, but the self supporter tends to butcher cows, pigs etc in the late fall, lamb and chicken in the late spring or summer and turkeys around the holidays. So look for your meat in season and freeze it. Meats keep well for varying amounts of time so do check the recommendations and use it before it dries out. It'll also keep better in a chest freezer than the littleone above you fridge. This is due to the drying effect of the automatic defrost feature, and the lower temperature of a chest freezer. Meat also keeps better if wrapped in freezer paper or thick freezer bags. Don't cheap out. I know the good bags cost more but you can wash and re-use them you know. I often portion out large purchases into smaller bags, remove as much air as possible, then label and place several into one large freezer bag. It works well with things like ground beef which I freeze in 1 lb packs or pork chops I freeze in groups of 8 (2 for each adult and 1 for each child). You know how much you use, just do what works best for you. And consider some smaller portion packs for use when you're having company and just need an extra few chops.
Speaking of things in season, strawberries are in season in California right now and they are the same price that local ones are at the height of their season so if you're not worried about buying from far away, enjoy some! If you're waiting for the local ones that's good too. Nothing compares to a fully ripe strawberry that was picked this morning. I'm out of berries in my freezer now except for the few blue berries and blackberries I picked last year. Must remember to pick more, weather willing. I guess that's also kids willing. :)
In the Garden
I'm still trimming grapes and shortened my front garden vine by about 30 feet while Steve was out doing the turkey. I got the roses cut back too as they were straggly and over 10 feet tall. They've just been left to grow so I'm hoping cutting them back severely won't harm them. I collect the hips from my roses for making tea but you can make syrup from them also which stores well and is a natural source of vitamin C. It was cold last night so with any luck I can get some kiwi trimming done to and not have too much sap flowing. The male kiwi vine that we thought was dead has one living branch on it.Yay! Still, if I'm going to take cuttings it's worth having another male kiwi, I can take it with me when I move. I think the one I ordered is due in at the Nursery in a few weeks.
It's almost time to think about planting my soft fruit bushes. Strawberries will wait another month at least but I'd like to get my berries settled as early as possible before they start to break dormancy and put on their spring growth.
Peas and sweetpeas are going in the garden next weekend unless the weather stays unseasonably cold, then I'll wait. Lettuce
Well, it's time to get to work fixing appliances and making bread and turkey dinners. The district science fair judging is today at noon so I'll be gone for that. Wish us luck! Christopher at least.
Have a wonderful day. And remember...KISS.
Keep It Simple Silly or Keep It Self Sufficient!
How long do you cook turkey for? For those of you who think that it takes 20 minutes per pound I would like to offer the following opinion. If I'd cooked my turkey for the 11 hours recommended by this approach, it would have been nothing but a burnt shell. It took 5.5 hours in a regular oven at 325 degrees. A larger turkey does cook more quickly per pound than a little one. Butterball has a handy calculator that you can input how many people are eating and it'll calculate how big of a turkey you need, how much stuffing to make and how long to cook it for. It's found at :
www.butterball.com/tips-how-tos/tips/thanksgiving-guide
Of course if you poke a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh you can quite accurately tell too.
Back to chickens...they're all fine and not traumatized from watching us cut up their buddy. I found a very handy chart called the
The ICYouSee
Handy-Dandy Chicken Chart
An Alphabetical List of More than 60 Chicken Breeds
With Comparative Information
Here's the address: www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
Not every breed is listed and of course there are regional differences, but it's a very good chart for comparing hardiness, friendliness, egg production and suitability of different breeds for confinement. Go have a look if you're interested.
Eggs yesterday were 3, 4 the day before, and the silkies are still hiding theirs or have stopped laying. Hmm. The first eggs in the incubator are due to hatch early next week. The current conditions in the incubator are 99.9 degrees and 65% humidity. This little home made for $20 incubator is working great. It's just one of those cheap Styrofoam coolers fitted out with a thermostat (the kind found on your wall at home) linked to a light bulb socket with a 25watt bulb as the heat source. Oh, we did adjust the thermostat using the screw inside so that it reads higher since 99-101 degrees are higher than normal room temperatures. Now it's marked out in pencil as to the real temperature but we check it every time we turn the eggs anyway. It cycles more often once you add eggs but as soon as everything's good and warm the thermal mass means it cycles only once the thermostat says it's too cool. Ours is only on for a few minutes to warm it all up again. If you build one, be sure to have ventilation holes because the eggs need oxygen. You'll also need a shelf to keep your eggs on that has a lip so hatching chicks are kept safe and an accurate thermometer that records the temperature at the height of the eggs. Why? Because the air inside your incubator will stratify, that is, divide into hotter layers at the top and cooler ones near the bottom. It's the temperature at egg height that needs to be about 100-101 degrees and 50 % humidity, increasing to 65% 3 days before hatching time. We have a thermometer and hygrometer in there all the time but I double check the temperature by having a little contain of water in with the eggs and I just pop off the lid and take the temperature using a fever thermometer as it's very accurate. Mark your eggs with an X or the date on one side and turn them daily. Some people recommend 5 times per day, some people say once is enough, I turn at least twice and usually 3 times. This stops the yolk from sticking to the shell and causing a malformed chick. Turning an odd number of times means the longest period with no turn (usually at night) isn't always the same side of the egg up.
If you'd like more info on hatching a small number of chicks please look here:
www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems/DI0631.html
In the Coop
All are warm and dry. Now without a big turkey eating their food they'll go through a lot less, about a third less we figure. We will start keeping eggs for hatching again today, store them, and then see if we can get a hatch off before the next swap.
In the Kitchen
I need to bake bread again today so grinding wheat is in order. I should also pick up some white flour as I'm out except for my storage supply. I'm going to bake 75% whole wheat so I can share some with friends. It's also time to clean out the fridge in preparation for shopping as soon as we get paid.
Today's big task however will be portioning out the cooked turkey and making some meals with it. I'll let you know what we make but you can guarantee it'll include stew and pot pie as well as cacciatore. Hmmm...maybe curry as well. I'll make up some meals, mark them and freeze them. I noticed that turkey in the store is a little over $1 per lb. That's a good price and you can really stretch turkey so if it's cheap where you are, you might want to consider it.
I know we talk about buying fruits in season but did you ever consider that meat has a season too? Here on the coast it's most noticeable with things like salmon and shellfish, but the self supporter tends to butcher cows, pigs etc in the late fall, lamb and chicken in the late spring or summer and turkeys around the holidays. So look for your meat in season and freeze it. Meats keep well for varying amounts of time so do check the recommendations and use it before it dries out. It'll also keep better in a chest freezer than the littleone above you fridge. This is due to the drying effect of the automatic defrost feature, and the lower temperature of a chest freezer. Meat also keeps better if wrapped in freezer paper or thick freezer bags. Don't cheap out. I know the good bags cost more but you can wash and re-use them you know. I often portion out large purchases into smaller bags, remove as much air as possible, then label and place several into one large freezer bag. It works well with things like ground beef which I freeze in 1 lb packs or pork chops I freeze in groups of 8 (2 for each adult and 1 for each child). You know how much you use, just do what works best for you. And consider some smaller portion packs for use when you're having company and just need an extra few chops.
Speaking of things in season, strawberries are in season in California right now and they are the same price that local ones are at the height of their season so if you're not worried about buying from far away, enjoy some! If you're waiting for the local ones that's good too. Nothing compares to a fully ripe strawberry that was picked this morning. I'm out of berries in my freezer now except for the few blue berries and blackberries I picked last year. Must remember to pick more, weather willing. I guess that's also kids willing. :)
In the Garden
I'm still trimming grapes and shortened my front garden vine by about 30 feet while Steve was out doing the turkey. I got the roses cut back too as they were straggly and over 10 feet tall. They've just been left to grow so I'm hoping cutting them back severely won't harm them. I collect the hips from my roses for making tea but you can make syrup from them also which stores well and is a natural source of vitamin C. It was cold last night so with any luck I can get some kiwi trimming done to and not have too much sap flowing. The male kiwi vine that we thought was dead has one living branch on it.Yay! Still, if I'm going to take cuttings it's worth having another male kiwi, I can take it with me when I move. I think the one I ordered is due in at the Nursery in a few weeks.
It's almost time to think about planting my soft fruit bushes. Strawberries will wait another month at least but I'd like to get my berries settled as early as possible before they start to break dormancy and put on their spring growth.
Peas and sweetpeas are going in the garden next weekend unless the weather stays unseasonably cold, then I'll wait. Lettuce
Well, it's time to get to work fixing appliances and making bread and turkey dinners. The district science fair judging is today at noon so I'll be gone for that. Wish us luck! Christopher at least.
Have a wonderful day. And remember...KISS.
Keep It Simple Silly or Keep It Self Sufficient!
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Academic Inn
What is this? Well, I'm glad you asked. It's an idea that has lead to the formation of several groups in intellectual circles, based on the writings of Leopold Kohr. You can find it at the following address:
http://www.williamfranklin.com/4thworld/academicinn/academicinn.html
There's lots there to think about and ponder. Yes, it was written a little while ago, and yes the world was different then, but not so significantly that it makes and fundamental difference. I encourage you to read it, and comment on what you found interesting.
As you know, I hold a man named John Seymour as the grandfather of Self-Sufficiency, as do many others. He is very highly respected in many circles for his honesty and integrity to the things he believed in. Now there may or may not have been incidences involving him, a field near his farm containing GMO sugar beet grown by Monsanto, and it's unfortunate digging up by the faeries. I believe that when he was asked about it in court and told by the prosecutor that "Faeries do not wear rubber boots" he replied that they must have been in disguise. Gotta love the man!
He gave 2 addresses at the inaugural meeting, arranged by his good friend John Papworth, of the Academic Inn, London. Here's a grainy and a little choppy sounding recording of his speech. His passion for the African people, traditional farming and his concerns over the sustainability of first world agri-business, mechanization and chemicalization make this a must see speech. It's 23 minutes and very relevant to today, though this speech was given by him in 1983 when he was about 80 years old. Probably the quote that stood out as being the most relevant to me was this...
"What the devil is the good of inventing a kind of agriculture that is entirely dependant on soluble nitrogen when you know perfectly well that your sources of it will have dried up in 40 years time, when you can grow perfectly good food, and enough of it, with good old muck that comes out of cows and sheep and things like that? And us for that matter. What's the good of that?"-John Seymour
The speech is a YouTube video at :
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5485958120797215219&hl=en
That's my recommendation for viewing this week.
In the Kitchen today was cereal for breakfast, a mixed up casserole made of tuna, one package of stove top stuffing and 1 cup frozen corn, topped off with home made macaroni and cheese made with wholemeal flour. Sounds weird I know but it went over well and even the kids came from school and finished off the last of it for a snack. Dinner was breaded fish, beans and baby carrots, and buttered rice.
In the coop, all are healthy and happy. The chicks in the basement are eating drinking and digging around in their new home so apparently they are happy. Apparently our local health authority VIHA has deemed it acceptable for us local producers to sell our eggs to restaurants now. That's quite a change and good for many a local farmer. I missed the first swap of the year though I think there was a variety of older hens and chicks for the offering. I'll be sure to attend the next one, hopefully with some chicks to sell. Egg production was 5 eggs today. One silkie egg. Eggs in the incubator are due to hatch starting in a week.
In the garden we had a huge windstorm in the wee hours of the morning that knocked out power to 3000 people locally (but not us) and threatened to take our poly tunnel greenhouse and deposit it the neighbours yard. Luckily it stayed put. I will be going out tomorrow to finish pruning the grapes and kiwi, and sort out what I want to take for cuttings. I will go through the seeds bought and saved from last year to decide what I want to grow, what I want to plant where, and which seeds still need to be purchased. It's March, so time to get things started ready for planting out in May. Peas can go in soon so the garden needs to get turned over this week too. Maybe Steve will help me tomorrow if I'm nice to him. :)
Time to get housework done and then off to bed to plan and dream of the coming spring.
http://www.williamfranklin.com/4thworld/academicinn/academicinn.html
There's lots there to think about and ponder. Yes, it was written a little while ago, and yes the world was different then, but not so significantly that it makes and fundamental difference. I encourage you to read it, and comment on what you found interesting.
As you know, I hold a man named John Seymour as the grandfather of Self-Sufficiency, as do many others. He is very highly respected in many circles for his honesty and integrity to the things he believed in. Now there may or may not have been incidences involving him, a field near his farm containing GMO sugar beet grown by Monsanto, and it's unfortunate digging up by the faeries. I believe that when he was asked about it in court and told by the prosecutor that "Faeries do not wear rubber boots" he replied that they must have been in disguise. Gotta love the man!
He gave 2 addresses at the inaugural meeting, arranged by his good friend John Papworth, of the Academic Inn, London. Here's a grainy and a little choppy sounding recording of his speech. His passion for the African people, traditional farming and his concerns over the sustainability of first world agri-business, mechanization and chemicalization make this a must see speech. It's 23 minutes and very relevant to today, though this speech was given by him in 1983 when he was about 80 years old. Probably the quote that stood out as being the most relevant to me was this...
"What the devil is the good of inventing a kind of agriculture that is entirely dependant on soluble nitrogen when you know perfectly well that your sources of it will have dried up in 40 years time, when you can grow perfectly good food, and enough of it, with good old muck that comes out of cows and sheep and things like that? And us for that matter. What's the good of that?"-John Seymour
The speech is a YouTube video at :
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5485958120797215219&hl=en
That's my recommendation for viewing this week.
In the Kitchen today was cereal for breakfast, a mixed up casserole made of tuna, one package of stove top stuffing and 1 cup frozen corn, topped off with home made macaroni and cheese made with wholemeal flour. Sounds weird I know but it went over well and even the kids came from school and finished off the last of it for a snack. Dinner was breaded fish, beans and baby carrots, and buttered rice.
In the coop, all are healthy and happy. The chicks in the basement are eating drinking and digging around in their new home so apparently they are happy. Apparently our local health authority VIHA has deemed it acceptable for us local producers to sell our eggs to restaurants now. That's quite a change and good for many a local farmer. I missed the first swap of the year though I think there was a variety of older hens and chicks for the offering. I'll be sure to attend the next one, hopefully with some chicks to sell. Egg production was 5 eggs today. One silkie egg. Eggs in the incubator are due to hatch starting in a week.
In the garden we had a huge windstorm in the wee hours of the morning that knocked out power to 3000 people locally (but not us) and threatened to take our poly tunnel greenhouse and deposit it the neighbours yard. Luckily it stayed put. I will be going out tomorrow to finish pruning the grapes and kiwi, and sort out what I want to take for cuttings. I will go through the seeds bought and saved from last year to decide what I want to grow, what I want to plant where, and which seeds still need to be purchased. It's March, so time to get things started ready for planting out in May. Peas can go in soon so the garden needs to get turned over this week too. Maybe Steve will help me tomorrow if I'm nice to him. :)
Time to get housework done and then off to bed to plan and dream of the coming spring.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday Continued
Well okay, maybe 4 loads of laundry. :0 Still, nearly caught up.
Inspection went smoothly and the girls were so happy to show off their bedroom. They now just have to get into the habit of keeping it clean. That's been made easier by getting rid of a lot of junk and moving their clothes into a central closet. All the clean clothing gets hung up and placed in my closet which is very large. Every day they go into the family closet and get what they need to wear. Underwear and PJ's are kept in their own dressers in their room. Seems to be going ok so far and it sure does make it easier to figure out what you've got for clothing when it's all hanging right before your eyes. Easier to get rid of stuff you don't need too.
Visited with Nicole, John and Annie and Autumn. Steve and John went out to replace a spark plug in John's Geo Metro, the kids all played, and Annie finally got her birthday gifts from us. Nic and I had a good chat. There's a mixed idea about whether she's having a girl or a boy but I guess she's still got 10 weeks give or take so plenty of time to change our minds. (I think it's a boy)
It's March 1st so I'm thinking about a menu plan for this month. Still no veggies from the garden so it'll have to all come from SPUD or the grocery store. We do still have a lot of food storage so that's good to use some of it and rotate it. Still have 2 chickens in the freezer and some deer meat from Hans. I want to use up some more wheat and beans also. Hmmm. I'll let you know what I decide.
Chris' science fair project is due tomorrow. So of course he just found out about it and is going great guns to get it finished. he built a passive solar collector for heating air which by way of convection could heat a space. Having built a model of a collector, I think he wants now to build a real one and try different collection surfaces ie. aluminum cans, aluminum sheets, rocks painted black etc. Should prove interesting.
Gonna go to bed early so I can get up at a decent hour. Thanks for reading!
The Laundry Mountain
...is now a foothill. Maybe 2-3 more loads and the laundry room will have a floor again! I have a question for all you with multiple children. How do you keep up on your laundry? Doesn't it ever pile up? I often wish I had 2 machines or one of the huge Miele ones. That way at least when you get round to the laundry you can do 2-3 loads at once. Ahhh...dreaming of laundry machines. Steve and I have an agreement that if I get pregnant I get to have a new washing machine. Some people get fancy strollers, vacations, designer cribs etc. Me, I want cloth diapers and a new washer. How very practical! :)
It's 7:30am. I can get maybe 2 loads more on before leaving for church in an hour so maybe it'll be all done before Shiela comes. I hope so. I'm feeling kinda crampy and gross and would like an easy afternoon of sitting on the couch, watching movies and folding laundry.
Breakfast is not on the menu today due to it being fast sunday.
Off to switch loads and tidy the kitchen.
It's 7:30am. I can get maybe 2 loads more on before leaving for church in an hour so maybe it'll be all done before Shiela comes. I hope so. I'm feeling kinda crampy and gross and would like an easy afternoon of sitting on the couch, watching movies and folding laundry.
Breakfast is not on the menu today due to it being fast sunday.
Off to switch loads and tidy the kitchen.
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