Another Manic Monday

It was a busy day here.  My Monday off, as usual, was packed full.   I got up fairly early and spent about 90 minutes out in the garden this morning before breakfast.  It got hot fast today but I managed to get my little seedlings planted, mulched and watered before it got too bad. Hopefully they will survive.  I also watered the vining plants.  Chickens fed and watered, I headed inside to work.
After breakfast, I worked on cleaning and doing a bit of hand washing.  After Justine got up we went off on a mother/daughter trip to Kalona to the Stringtown Grocery (the Amish bulk food store) and the cheese factory.  There we picked up flour (unbleached and whole wheat), some cornmeal, popcorn, dried fruit and more pectin.  A quick stop at the cheese factory for cheese and curds and we were off to the Hawkeye Food Outlet.  We're getting together with V's family soon and I wanted to pick up a few things.  I was amazed to find organic udon noodles for $.75 per package.  Since we like these with stir fry I stocked up.  We also got some tortillas for $.50/pack.  And they're having a sale- 10% off all week leading up (I think) to inventory on Friday/Saturday.  We may go back in a day or two since they were out of something I was looking for.
Home again and purchases stowed, I worked on tomatoes. I got another 7 pints canned.  So I'm up to a dozen pints of diced tomatoes in the pantry so far.  Now I'll start working on sauce as I hopefully will start getting a few more tomatoes per picking.  I also dried the skins again.  I've got quite the collection going so I'll have to break out the coffee grinder soon to finish them off. I also whipped up a bit of fresh salsa.  Mmmm....
Late afternoon, we had a family swim, I watered the rest of the garden, made dinner and then it was time to watch Warehouse 13. Now, I've got to head to bed soon since it's back to work tomorrow.  V's mother will be here in a few days so I really need to re-convert the sewing room into the guest bedroom tomorrow.  Looks like it will be a busy week...

Sultry Sunday

And not the seductive type of sultry!  Actually, today wasn't as bad as we had been lead to believe.  It was cloudy for most of the morning and we even had a few sprinkles.  Of course, the line of showers that was on its way on the radar dissipated about 10 miles out from our house.  sigh... we're still dry, dry, dry and HOT!  I think we finally hit 97 this afternoon.  At least it wasn't the 102 that had been forecast.
It was a busy day here. We did the drive-by church drop off since I15 had to acolyte. I got up early and headed out to weed in the garden while it was still cool. I'm trying to get a spot prepared for my fall crops.  The spot available is the space where early stuff had been and has now been taken over by weeds.  They pulled amazingly well considering how dry it is.  Justine got up and helped me for a bit and we got quite a bit done before it got too hot to work.
Then, we ran off to the farmer's market and grocery store.   We picked up a HUGE cantelope and some sweet corn from the market and got peaches at the store (along with a few other things).  Then this afternoon became a busy time of making things.
First, it was necessary to make some laundry detergent since I had used the last of what we had.  I'm definitely getting faster and better at it.  3 gallons of detergent in half an hour for probably about a dollar cost.  Not too shabby!
Then, I worked on some of the peaches.  They aren't as ripe as the ones we got to eat so I had to be selective.  The rest will ripen some more before I use them.  But this afternoon I made some spiced peach jam.  YUM!  I15 wasn't too excited about it (He's not a huge cinnamon fan) but everyone else thought it was 'da bomb'!  I hope to make some plain peach jam when the peaches ripen a bit more.
After jammin' - it was family frolic in the pool then a late dinner.  I'm back to work tomorrow- a 6 day stint.  It will probably be a rough week since one of my co-workers is on vacation all week.  But, I can't complain too much, I've got some vacation time coming up soon.
V and I also met our new neighbor this afternoon.  The 41 acre lot to our West and South were sold earlier this year.  This afternoon, we noticed that someone was mowing brush across the fenceline to the west.  So V and I wandered over that way.  We met Dave- the new owner.  It seems that he has a full time job but wants to farm evenings/weekends so they bought the land.  We're just fine with that.  At least he doesn't want to develop it.  We have been worried about a housing development going up over there.
Family things have been a bit stressful recently.  One sister's home was burglarized recently but she at least has gotten her wedding ring and a few other things back- the police found them in a pawn shop.  My other sister was rear-ended last week and totaled her car.  Fortunately she is OK.   I'm really hoping that this isn't a trend of bad luck for the family.  I can't handle much more stress.
I thought I'd end with a few drought photos.  I wish I had taken my camera along today when Justine and I were out.  I'll have to get some photos of the local corn fields.

 This is our lawn!

 Complete with cracks in the soil.  This one is a good inch across in some place.

 At least the weeds in the driveway aren't a problem this year.

 The neighbor's hay field to the North.   He has had only one cutting so far this year.  Unless we get more rain that may be all he gets.

 The pollinator garden is struggling.  Even the coneflowers are curled up.  This space is usually lush and green.  Not this year.  I have watered it on occasion but not as much as it needs.

But, just so you don't think everything is doom and gloom.  A few positive photos.

Eggplant!

 Ripening tomatoes.

 And green peppers.  This is the first year in a long time that I've had green peppers.  I plant them but usually they have huge plants but very few peppers.  This year, they are doing great.  The Anaheims are the ones that have big plants but no peppers.

And, lastly, a potato of questionable origin...

How odd!

I love Craigslist!!

I made a fabulous craigslist score today!  I'm so excited by this one.

An Atlas hand crank pasta machine (with the 'pasta bike') and... the ravioli attachment!!  All for $40!!
Years ago, we had an atlas machine.  In fact, I think I still have the manual around somewhere.  We made the mistake of lending it out to someone who never returned it and then adamantly denied that we had ever let them have it (needless to say, we don't hang out with them anymore).  I've been using the pasta rollers that go with my stand mixer but I'm happy to have the hand crank version again.  But what excites me even more is the ravioli attachment.

Isn't it beautiful?  I can hardly wait to use it.

Guess what's for dinner this evening.....

And while we were out, we stopped at Earl May- one of the local garden centers.  I needed some rooting hormone powder to try to salvage my forsythia bush that V backed over with the lawn tractor :( and some aluminum stuff for the blueberries.  While we were there, J17 picked up a job application since they are hiring. At least with this one, she does have experience both with plants and sales, having worked with Nan at Wapsi-no-noc Gardens last summer.  But if she gets hired on that could be very dangerous for me.....  a family member with an employee discount at a garden center...... Oooooo.......

A drizzly Sunday

It was kind of a slow day here.  I'm feeling much better, as is I14, who also got it.  V, however, is still struggling with this respiratory malady, I think because he had to fly ill last weekend.
It was cool and drizzly here today.  Low to mid 60's and drippy.  Not an actual rain, just misty.  V and the boys worked a bit on moving shrubs outside the back door in preparation for the deck extension that we hope to put on at some point.
J17 and I did some shopping this afternoon.  I was fortunate enough to get a 30% discount coupon at a local store (Kohl's) and they generally have a great selection on their clearance racks. So, we shopped.  I needed a few things for work (new pants and a couple of fall/winter shirts), the boys needed new jackets and J17 and I found a few deals on the discount racks.  With sales, clearance and discounts, we got $500 of merchandise for $180 (tax included).  Not too shabby of shoppers. For example- we got I14 a jacket that was priced at $100.  Since it was 'end of the season' for fall jackets it was on sale at 50% off and on top of that we had the extra 30% off. I'm so glad that J17 has picked up the bargain shopping gene.  She even got a great deal on a dress for homecoming. We then hit the grocery store- the daily deal was 10 lbs of midwest grown potatoes for $1.99!
Magnus was a bit more his usual self today.  I was able to go in to feed and water them and collect eggs with no problems.  I even raked up the bedding under the roost without him going nuts.  Of course, he went after V but V slapped him around a bit with his gloves and he backed down.  We'll see what happens.  I got 4 eggs today, three brown and another blue one.  And yesterday, I gave away the first half dozen eggs- well, bartered more accurately.  In exchange, I got some lovely poblano peppers and some french sorrel.
Tomorrow it's back to work and school.  Only 4 days of work and then I've got a 3 day weekend.  My plan is to work on the permanent run for the chickens this weekend.  I would really, really like to go the beekeeping class offered by Zan Asha on Saturday but it would be a several hour drive and I'm not sure I can justify that.  I don't know...

I'm starting to get some ideas for my days off this winter.  I'm really hoping that since the house is more put together, I can spend some time sewing and/or quilting. It seems like forever since I've had time for either and I can't wait.  Now to get the garden put to bed for the winter, get the chicken run finished and a few more inside projects done so I'll have time.

Answering my own question

Why do I do it?

Thanks for all your insights. I wholeheartedly agree with each and every one. I've really been giving this some thought since more than one person has asked me the Why? question over the past few years. Here are my reasons- in no particular order of importance.

1. I was raised this way. I grew up on a farm and even though Dad was a traditional corn and soybeans kind of farmer, we grew much of our own food. We gardened and canned. We had a huge freezer. When I was little, we had a dairy cow and pigs. We got rid of those when Dad got the travel bug. It's hard to take vacations in the summer when you have animals to care for. My parents were also very frugal. The motto I remember was "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without". Being farmers, there wasn't much extra money so I learned at an early age to "make do".

2. Since I mentioned it already- MONEY. Yeah, it may be the root of all evil but it is a necessity in this day and age. V and I have never had much money so we learned early in our relationship to make it count. While I was raised frugal- V comes by it through common sense- a wonderful thing. We learned in our early days of renting that if we sealed up the house well (blankets over the windows in one old house) and turned down the heat, we had much more reasonable heating bills for poor grad students to be able to pay. We also discovered buying in bulk and storing food was a way to keep cost low and keep us fed through lean times. Yup, in grad school we ate lots of lentil burgers and learned other creative ways of stretching our food dollar. Even when we were both in school and rented- I always had a garden and at least canned a few tomatoes.

3. Care for the earth. We only have one planet. I get angry sometimes when I see people being careless or thoughtless. I've always had a connection to the soil- maybe that's part of being a farmer's daughter. Dad, for all he was a farmer, had a great respect for the land. Before it was even "the thing to do" he was careful about how he plowed his fields and always left grass growing in the drainage paths to prevent erosion. He was definitely a pioneer of the "don't treat your soil like dirt" attitude.

4. My children. V and I were "green" before it was cool or even a catch phrase. But after our children came along, we started having more thought to the future and what kind of life and world would our children inherit. We moved out of town, partly for the land and the life but for a large part for the lives of our children. They have so many more opportunities to learn and grow and explore out here.

5. Health- Growing our own food, I think, gives us the best nutrition. I know what is in it and where it came from. Fresh air and hard work are great for body and soul.

6. Food. No doubt about it, like some mentioned- the food just tastes better. There is nothing like the taste of a sun ripened heirloom tomato in July. Also, since I'm preparing it, I don't have to worry so much about food safety. It seems like there have been so many problems with the industrial food system recently but they haven't touched us. Food safety is key. As is food security. Having a pantry and freezer full of food helps me feel more at peace, knowing I could feed us for a while should something happen. Which plays into my next category

7. My Doomer mentality. Not that it interferes with my daily life, but I have this lurking fear that someday the sh*t will hit the fan. Whether it is an economic collapse, pandemic illness, climate change, or even the zombie apocalypse, I sometimes worry that something will happen and it gives me a sense of peace knowing that we could survive out here pretty well.

8. I also like the challenge. Yes, I complain in August when I'm up to my eyeballs in tomatoes, staying up canning til midnight and then having to get up at 5:30 am to go to my paying job. But it is a challenge to see if I can do it all. Seeing how much food we can produce, how local can we go with our diet. I love the challenge of self sufficiency. Maybe that's why one of my favorite TV shows is The Good Neighbors. V got me the DVD set for a gift a few years ago and even the children have fallen in love with it. Ah, to be as self sufficient as Tom and Barbara....

9. Last, but definitely NOT least. I LOVE IT! I wouldn't do all this if I didn't love it. Yes, it would be easier to hire a contractor to finish our basement. Yes, we could buy all our food at the grocery store. But I love the work and the challenge. And the benefits so outweigh the cost that it's not even a contest. I think, and hope that my family loves it too. I'm pretty sure V does or he wouldn't have stuck with me on this crazy journey for so long. The children, well, they're along for the ride and while they sometimes complain about the work- that's their job- to whine but do it anyway. And, the look on their faces when we had our first meal on the deck that we had finished as a family showed how proud they were to have been part of the process.

Thanks for putting up with my ramblings. This has helped me organize my thoughts.

Concerts and craziness- IDC better late than never

Whew! It's been a wild few days. Here are a few stats since Saturday night:

Mice caught in the garage- 6

Percentage of workers on the job today in our department- 50

String concerts attended- 1

And a beautiful concert it was. Last night J15 had her first concert as part of the PSSO (That is the Preucil School String Orchestra). She has taken violin lessons for years at this school (Suzuki method) and this is her first year in the PSSO. As the program last night said "this group is the most advanced of five training orchestras at the School". She has wanted to play with them since she was tiny- mainly because they get to wear a red satin sash:

Modeling her concert dress.

Last night they divided the larger orchestra into several smaller groups and it was a lovely hour of beautiful music. But it meant a crazy night of running here and there.

Tomorrow will also be a bit wild. V will have to take I12 to confirmation (my usual job) since I have a farewell party after work for my coworker who is done at the end of the week.

Being at the concert last night I missed out on posting my usual Monday IDC update. There isn't much to report but here goes:

1. Plant something- No

2. Harvest something- picked some catnip to dry for the kitties.

3. Preserve something- No

4. Waste not- reused concrete blocks from the deck foundation for raised beds. Nothing else of much interest.

5. Want not- got a few chemical glow sticks at an after Halloween sale. Yeah, they're plastic and chemicals- but at 37 cents each they provide a measure of safety for the vehicles and they make great nightlights should we lose power. Stocked up on the store brand of frozen cheese tortellini. I've been trying to get away from prepared foods but these are so good and everyone likes them (they're fabulous with pesto!) and they only take a few minutes to cook. That makes them a great meal for busy nights around here. Since they were on sale this week I picked up a few packages for the freezer.

6. Community food systems- not much here.

7. Eat the food- we've been really bad this week. I was so busy last weekend that I didn't do my normal meal planning so V and I were having to discuss meals in the car while I was waiting for the bus. We were also discussing finances (not pretty at the moment!) and trying to cut even more from the grocery bill than we have been. I need to get more organized and try to plan all our meals based on what we have in stock and try to avoid going to the store except for milk and eggs.

sigh- why can't it ever be easy....

But on a brighter note- V has a job interview on Friday!!! Cross your fingers for him on Friday the 13th!!! And I've decided to throw my hat into the ring for the clinical supervisor position. They started accepting applications for it this week (through the 20th) and hope to have the positions filled and ready to go by the first of the year. If I get it we could definitely use the extra $$. So think positive thoughts for us both on the job front.

Fun construction

Every year the high school youth at our church put on a Halloween party with a haunted house for the younger children. This year, V volunteered to be the parent supervisor of the haunted house build. So this afternoon, J15 and several of her friends descended on our shop to construct a few props.

The beginnings of a crypt.

We still have some styrofoam panels left from insulating the basement so those are being used to build a 3D crypt for the haunted house. They used little dowel rods to peg them together.

Someday they'll learn to paint from the inside out!!

Need I say anything....

The name above the door is....?

They have to make this scary for the adults too! Their theme is something like an alien ship has crashed in a cemetery and awakened a few residents. Go figure.

In news for me, I made a trip to Kalona, a small town near here and went to Stringtown Grocery, an Amish bulk store, to stock up on a few things. I got some oatmeal, whole wheat flour, a few dried beans, craisins and some dried herbs (rosemary, oregano and an italian blend that I like). I also picked up a bushel of apples. Not organic but from a local orchard. I'm going to have to either can or dry the ones from Mom since they are already starting to go bad. Guess what tomorrow afternoon holds in store....

The kids all laughed at one of the apples...I'm not sure why....

The picture doesn't do it justice.

I also stopped in at the cheese factory next door the the grocery and picked up a few things. The cracked black pepper cheddar is fabulous!

Independence Days- week 10

What a week.  It seemed to fly by!  Even after having had a three day weekend I can't believe it's already time to go back to work tomorrow. Today wasn't as warm as it has been but was still above freezing so the snow and ice continue to melt. We still have snow in the yard and behind the house in the driveway and alley.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow, hopefully it won't flood since the ground is still frozen.

I'm itching for spring... getting more and more impatient. Only a few weeks until I can start planting little seeds, first the broccoli.  I have high hopes for the garden this year.  I hope I can keep up with my goals.  I do think that the Independence Days Challenge will help keep me on track.  Here goes the update for this week:

1. Plant something- Nope, but getting closer and closer.  I've got all my seeds organized and ready to go.  

2. Harvest something- A little bit of lettuce from the planter in the basement but, Hey, it's February!!

3. Preserve something- I don't think so.

4. Store something- Found a reasonable deal on craisins so stocked up on a few.  They'll make a nice addition to granola bars.  Made more waffles for breakfasts for the week so that's short term storage.

5. Manage reserves- Ate almost entirely from stores this week.  I found an acorn squash with  spot on it so it will have to be used this week.

6. Cook something new- I made granola bars this week.  I thought they were a bit sweet but the children LOVE them.  I'll need to tweak the recipe a bit until I get it the way I like it.  At the rate we've been going through oatmeal I'm going to have to make another run to the Amish bulk food store soon.  Usually our fall purchase last longer than this.

7. Prep something- Not really.  We're pretty status quo for the moment.  I'm not sure if this counts as prep but my Mom offered me some old canning jars. I'll have to see what they look like next time we're down at the farm.

8. Reduce waste-  Composted, recycled and used cloth bags as usual.  Shopped at a local thrift store for 'new' clothes.

9. Learn a new skill- Didn't get around to knitting at all this week. Having  our friend Mike in town really threw off my usual schedule this week.  Did learn how to make granola bars but I'm not sure that is a skill.  This isn't a new skill for me but will be for J14.  We went to a local fabric store this afternoon since they were having a pattern sale (patterns that are usually $15.95  or more were all $1.99) We picked up a few patterns and some fabric.  She will start out with a project of flannel drawstring PJ pants.  She has been saying that she wants to learn to sew her own clothes so this is a good start.

10.  Work on community food security-  Signed up at church to provide a double batch of chili to serve at the local homeless shelter next weekend.

11. Regenerate what is lost- Had a great discussion with my parents yesterday about gardening and canning. I want to see if my Mom will teach me how to make pickles this summer.  I tried it once years ago and they were awful!  My Mom makes fantastic pickles of all sorts and I would like to learn at the hands of a master.  I remember helping as a child, but back then, I really didn't care. Now, I wish I had paid more attention.   I would like someday get my hands on one or more of the pickling crocks that have been in the family for forever, maybe I'm just being mercenary but I don't think that's entirely it.

12. Behavior change- I've been better this week about setting priorities and sticking to them.  Since the weather has warmed up, I'm going to start walking to work again.  I've been spoiled by having V drive me when it was really cold here.

Not a bad week.  We'll see what this week holds in store.  I can't wait until I can get out into the garden to really see what I can do.  

OK, I'm a hypocrite

Wow, what a busy day.  I got almost everything on my list accomplished.  I didn't manage poop patrol. It warmed up faster than I expected and by the time I made it outside it had thawed too much.  So I'll try again tomorrow morning when it's colder.  

I got three loads of laundry washed and hung on the lines in the basement, tried a recipe for granola bars, had some quality time with my sweetie, had a discussion about finances, made enchilada casserole for dinner, and went shopping.  

That's where I feel like a hypocrite.  Essentially right after having a discussion about finances and the need to control spending, I went out and spent money.  Yeah, it wasn't that much.  A few groceries (and more rum!), a pair of pants for work and a pair of jeans from the thrift store for $4 each and some new socks (my old socks were many years old and have reached the end of their lives- they're not even darnable anymore.  I had 3 catastrophic failures this week!).  But  I also got this:

Sorry for the bad photography

The thrift store we went to is run by the local Mennonite community and they a section of fair trade and other items from the MCC.  I succumbed to my desire for 'stuff' and got another cookbook.  It is one that has been on my list since I learned of it.  I have 2 other cookbooks by the MCC.  I already have the More With Less Cookbook and Extending the Table.  This is their most recent one: Simply in Season.  It is a celebration of local, seasonal food.  They have the recipes divided up by season.  While I feel a bit guilty, this is also something that I will use as we depend more on our own food and try to eat more seasonally.  But then, to make me feel better, we got a credit card bill today.  It was for less than $11...  OK.  We'll be fine.

In more humorous news:  The dog enjoyed having both V and I home for the day and was quite relaxed:

Sleeping puppy

He sacked out on the couch this afternoon after making himself quite comfortable. For a dog that was skinny and in bad shape when we rescued him, he has come a long way.  

As have we all.

January Dumpsters

I have been looking for a long time for a small wooden drying rack.  I have regulation sized ones that I generally use for drying clothes but I have wanted a small one to sit in front of one of the heat registers for drying gloves and hats.  With two boys and snowy weather we generally have an abundance of wet winter outerwear at our house.  The register we use to dry things is in the dining room by the china cabinet. We have used the large rack because we needed something, but it was always in the way, sticking out into the room, reaching out to grab you as you went by.

But not now!  The dumpster gods have smiled up on us!  V went downtown yesterday on some errands (to the bookstore to get the latest APA style book since he has to take a test for an editorial position he has applied for) and on his way home he saw a lovely little wooden rack poking out of the top of a dumpster,  It had a crack in one of the dowel rods but with a little wood glue and duct tape it is perfect for our needs.  It's only about 8 inches wide and two and a half feet tall, so it fits almost perfectly into it's space. I tried to put in a picture but Blogger is having 'issues' this morning.

Crunchy Chicken has a post today about dumpster diving.  It is something that V has done for years (I'm a mere amateur compared to him).  We have so many wonderful things that others, generally students, have thrown out.  We have 200+ music CDs that have come from dumpsters, a trumpet, a tux, our oak TV stand, and come to think about it, the oak bookshelf headboard on our bed (queen sized).  He has scavenged computers, plants, cleaning supplies, clothing (I have a lovely green silk shirt that he found - still in it's dry cleaning bag with tags attached).  It's amazing that some people throw out.  But it's all good- well, sometimes it is garbage.  You can really tell how the economy is doing based on how good (or slim) the pickings are every year.  In a college town it is cyclical.  The big times are May (graduation) and July when most of the leases expire.  If you're not too proud to pick something from the garbage you can find some great stuff- for free.

I've made an impact

At least on my family.  Most noticeably V.  He has been a member of the writer's group for our local paper for about a year and a half.  Last evening we were at a party at the opinion page editor's home to honor the writers.  They are an interesting lot and it was much more fun than I thought it would be.

But V... he doesn't usually let me read his articles before they appear in the paper.  I learned last night that his most recent piece would be published today.  He had let hints slip over the past week but nothing definite.  So I open the morning paper and there he is, on the opinion page.  Writing, of all things, about food security.  Well, not in those terms but really that's what he was talking about.  Our decisions to be more deliberate in meal planning, buying our beef, and garden planning.  You can read his article here.  I'm thrilled.  He's getting on the bandwagon with me.  I think J14 is mostly on board as well.  K8 keeps asking if we can have animals:  chickens, goats, sheep, you name it.  I11, well, I think he's along for the ride like it or not.

I'll try to post later on my Independence Days update.  I've got a lot to do today.  We pick up our beef and I've got snow to shovel since V pulled something in his elbow.

Grapefruit peels and such things

Wow!  This is my 100th post!  Time sure flies when you're having fun.  Today was a good day.  I managed to get quite a bit accomplished: several loads of laundry (the Saturday usual), a shopping trip with J14 where we purchased a waffle iron, sorting and choosing fabric for J14's practice bag that she is working on right now (I'm giving advice but trying to not tell her what to do) and I made candied grapefruit peel.  

The grapefruit peel, I have decided is one of those things that you will either love or hate.  I LOVE grapefruit and am one of those bizarre heretics who likes to peel and eat grapefruit just like I would an orange.  I don't mind a bit of the white pith that most people think is quite bitter.  J14 is the same way.

I started out with 3 grapefruit peels that I had been saving in a bag in the fridge.  I used my handy-dandy orange peeler tool from Tupperware to score it into quarters and then peeled it.  I put the quartered peels into a large pot with lightly salted water (about a teaspoon to at least 4 cups of water). Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes- this is to remove a lot of the oil that makes it bitter. 

Simmering peels

They initially float but as they cook they will sink a bit and turn slightly translucent.  After simmering them for the 20 minutes in the salted water, drain, cover again with fresh (unsalted) water, bring to a boil again and simmer for about 10 minutes.  I did some research before trying this and some recipes called for 5 separate 1 minute boils. I also noted that several of the people who tried the frequent, quick boils were unhappy with their results.  I opted to go for the method with the longer simmer.

When the second simmer is complete, drain and let cool slightly.  I'm not sure how long I let them cool- it was however long it took me to hang a load of laundry from the washer and start another.

The next step is to lightly scrape some of the excess pith off the peel.  Several sources suggested using a paring knife but what I found worked best was, of all things, a grapefruit spoon.  I used the serrated edge to scrape off some of the more stringy bits and remove some of pith where it was really thick.  How much you take off is up to you.  Then I used a sharp knife to slice the peels into thin (1/4 inch or smaller) strips.

Little strips of peel. It's a bit messy.

Then I make a syrup of 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup water.  I heated this until the sugar was dissolved, then added the strips of peel and brought the whole mess to a boil.  Then I let it simmer until the syrup was almost entirely absorbed. I forgot to look at the time when I was doing this bit but it seems like it took forever- it was probably at least 45 minutes.  When the syrup gets thick you need to watch it carefully so it doesn't scorch.  The strips of peel will look very clear- kind of like gummy worms.

Then I took them out of the syrup a few at a time into a pan of more sugar and rolled them to coat.  Then I lay them to dry on wax paper covered baking sheets.  You could use cooling racks as well but mine isn't big enough for as much peel as I had.

The finished product!

Rolled in sugar and laid out they look a bit like very heavily salted french fries but taste nothing like that. I'm going to leave them out to dry for at least a day, then I'll put them in an airtight jar in the fridge. 

My father has made candied orange and lemon peels for the past few years. I think all candied citrus peel is an acquired taste.  These are very much a "Hi! How are you! I'm a grapefruit!" experience.  It is a very intense grapefruit flavor with a bit of an aftertaste as well- a little bitter.  J14 has been snacking on them and thinks they're addicting.  I can eat only one or two at a time before I've had enough. For me the are a 'self-limiting snack'. I like that. I'm not tempted to eat too much and with the grapefruit aftertaste, I'm not tempted to eat anything else, so who knows- maybe these are the new grapefruit diet!

In other news, V heard back from the manufacturer of my canner.  He actually got an email from the foundry foreman and not just some customer service person.  They are going to be sending another lid- evidently no questions asked- although V did send photos with his initial email to the company. He had to send them our shipping address but hasn't heard if we need to then ship the original lid back to them.  But things are in the works. Yeah!!

As I mentioned earlier J14 and I went on a quest this afternoon for a waffle iron.  Even though it is a purchase of a new item we figured that it will eventually save us money.  One thing that has been bothering me a lot recently is that we have kept buying Eggo waffles for the children (especially the boys) for breakfast.  They are something that they all enjoy, are reasonably nutritious (but only if you don't read the ingredient list!), and are quick to prepare in the morning.  But I HATE that we have been buying them.  So we plan to make our own waffles and freeze them instead of buying Eggos.  That way I know that the flour won't take 3+ lines of the ingredient list and they will be much less expensive.  We're going to make waffles tomorrow for breakfast to try it out.  I don't know about the children but I'm excited- it's another step toward frugality and away from the grocery store.

Family matters

It has been a busy but fun weekend at our house.  We put up our tree last night which is always a good time.  We had hot, spiced cider, cranked the holiday music, got silly and pulled out the boxes.  Our theme tends to be 'overkill'.  We have LOTS of ornaments, more than will fit on the tree, but few are commercially produced ones that we have purchased.  Most of them are ones that have been made, either by me or by the children, or were gifts from others. We love sharing the stories as we hang them.  "Remember ____, who gave this one to us?" or "You made this one when you were __" or even better yet "This is one of the ornaments that Dad and I had on our very first tree together".  That is half the fun.  We do have an artificial tree, one that we have had for over 12 years.  It has seen better days but we're not about to get a new one.  Maybe someday we'll go back to having a real tree.  We got an artificial one when we had a cat that kept knocking the tree over by trying to climb it every year. That's why we have very few of the original glass ornaments that V and I got for our first tree together.

I11 had his band concert at church this morning.  They sounded fabulous and he is quite proud of himself for taking the risk to play in with a group that is comprised mostly of adults or high school students.  They ended up with 42 people playing in the band and played versions of holiday music by Mannheim Steamroller.  

J14 and her friends sold freshly baked cinnamon rolls between services as a fundraiser since 10 of them are going to the national youth gathering in New Orleans in July.  Everyone at church this morning was energized and in good spirits.

When we got home J14 and I worked to hem her dress for the winter formal.  It was a thrift store find but was a bit too long.  Hemming the underskirt wasn't the problem.  My Mom did that quickly when we were down for Thanksgiving and she was helping us problem solve the dress.  The issue was the sheer, floaty overskirt. It needed to be cut since it has a very tiny hem.  I was quite nervous about cutting the fabric- once it's cut you can't put it back.  But we took the plunge, cut an inch off the bottom and re-hemmed it. Luckily my sewing machine has a specialized foot that will do those tiny rolled hems automatically- although with fabric that sheer and slippery it wasn't a picnic.  But it's done.  For $20 and a half hour of swearing under my breath she looks lovely.  It also has a matching wrap that goes with it and is from a leading designer of wedding gowns.  My thought is that it was probably someone's bridesmaids dress that they didn't want so that's how it ended up at the thrift store.  The really nice thing is, if she decides she doesn't want to wear it as a formal again, it is a simple and classic enough design that we could cut it shorter and she could wear it as a shorter dress.

In other news, I reported in my comments on yesterday's post that we did put down a deposit on a side of beef that we will receive toward the end of January. Now we just need to make space in the freezer. We have planned all our meals this week around what we can use out of the freezer to make space.  Now I almost wish I hadn't bought turkeys- but variety is nice, too. I'm glad I only processed one of them since the stock takes more room in the freezer than the whole bird.  Maybe after Santa brings me my canner I will can some to get it out of the freezer. That can be my learning project.  I'm going to be pushing oatmeal for breakfast since I store my stash of oatmeal in the freezer and I've currently got about 12 lbs in there taking up lots of space.  If worse comes to worst, the oatmeal and my stash of 15 lbs of unbleached flour can live out of the freezer for a while. 

Our penchant for picking stuff out of dumpsters paid off this morning as well.  As we were on our way to church we noticed that someone had put an old snowshovel and a pitchfork out by a dumpster down the alley.  By the time we came home the snow shovel was already gone but the fork was there.  It has a broken handle but it is a great old fork...and I mean, OLD.  It doesn't look like a garden fork but an actual old-fashioned hay fork.  I'm thinking compost aeration this spring....

This has been rather rambling hasn't it.  But then, I'm avoiding laundry.

Taking advantage of things

      

I love my slicer.  We got this one for a wedding gift way back in the dark ages.  It is beginning to show it's age but it still works quite well.  It allows us to take advantage of buying things in bulk (or chunks) and slicing it ourselves.  Much cheaper than deli products.  I'll admit, over the past few years I have gotten lazy and we've been buying deli meats, but no more.  The ham pictured is a smoked one (not local unfortunately) that I picked up recently.  I also took advantage of a special deal at the grocery store.  There must have been an error in ordering for the deli because they had a limited number of whole 12 lb deli hams on sale for $11.99.  We got one and cut it into chunks, wrapped it and tucked it away in the freezer.  Talk about a lucky find.  I went back later to pick one up for my mother but they were all gone.

We also took advantage today of the warm weather.  It was up to 51 today.  Not too bad for Iowa the week before Thanksgiving.  V climbed up onto the roof (I was the official ladder holder) to fix the chimney.  The chimney cap was crumbling and he discovered that there are several bricks that will need replacing- but not right now.  He got it patched up enough that it will hold through the winter but we'll have to put some effort into it in the spring when it's warmer.

I also picked up some inexpensive chicken hindquarters at the grocery this afternoon (one final shopping trip for the week while I11 was at band rehearsal).  We're having some of them roast with winter veggies for dinner and I have the rest simmering for stock for other uses.  We'll have several meals from them.  

I got the weekly menu planned, with the exception of Thursday since we will go to my parent's farm to be with family. My brother will be there as will my sister from Colorado. I need to find out from my Mom what she needs me to bring- although I'm sure she has been cooking for the past week already.  I was thinking of maybe the Pumpkin Praline Pie I saw last week. Not that we will need any more desserts.  

LOL.  The boys asked if they could watch a movie while dinner is cooking and since they have finished their homework I said yes.  I just noticed that they are watching a Winnie the Pooh movie- in French- with English subtitles.  Who knew....

Thrift store treasures

Since the weather turned colder, J14 has been complaining that she doesn't have many long sleeved shirts that still fit her (that child had the audacity to grow!! although I think she is about done).  I plan to get her some new things for holiday gifts but in the meantime I took her to a local thrift store (run by the local Mennonite community) to pick up some new shirts. We were fortunate that they were having a sale (even at the thrift store!) so she got several shirts for $.25 each.  I also let her get a gorgeous midnight blue formal since she informed me that the winter formal dance is coming up on Dec. 13 and I'm NOT going to pay retail prices for a dress.  It will need hemmed because it is too long but it was definitely a good find. I told her I would only get it if she promised she would wear it more than once.  I think formal dresses are such a waste (hence my thrift store wedding dress). I'll have to post some pictures before the dance.

We also purchased several used books.  J14 got "The Seed Starter's Handbook" that she plans to give me for a holiday gift (Hmm, I wonder who could have clued her in on that $.75  gift idea).  The most interesting we got was a total impulse buy.  We were looking through the foreign language section (since J is taking German) and came across an old book about the Johnstown flood in Pennsylvania. Since V is originally from PA and also knows German we decided to get it for him, especially since it is a first edition printed in 1889.  We paid $.63 for it (a half price item).  This afternoon I did some research online about it.  I only found 2 or 3 sites with information about this particular volume (there were lots about the edition in English) but the ones I did find had it listed for sale anywhere from $38 to $130 depending on condition.  We're not planning to put it up for sale but what a great find.  I love old books and we have quite a collection, many of which I have no idea how much they are worth.  Maybe we should up the home insurance... 

Taking stock

Well, considering the likelihood of leaner times in the next few months I decided it was time to take adequate stock of the pantry.  I've let the inventory of some of the basic staples slide for a while.  I discovered that while I have LOTS of lentils in stock, I was completely out of black beans, kidney/red beans and black eyed peas.  We were getting low on other staples such as rice as well.  I had planned on going shopping today to round things out, only to be reassured at Sharon Astyk's page that it is a good time to take advantage of holiday sales.  She reminded me that not only are baking staples such as flour and sugar on pretty good sales right now but to keep an eye out for spices that rarely go on sale.  So I stocked up on ginger, nutmeg and allspice that were on sale at the local grocery.  In addition I got the following:

10 lbs rice

10 lbs unbleached flour

5 lbs white sugar (it was a one bag limit)

1 lb packages of black beans, kidney beans, black eyed peas and small red beans to refill my mason jars

10 lbs russet potatoes (not organic but a really good deal)

2 packs premium chocolate chips (on sale for 1.99 each with a coupon for $1 off if you buy 2 bags)

4 bags frozen peas (Mine didn't do much this year- too much rain)

2 lbs butter (again, not organic but it's getting close to time for baking holiday goodies and I refuse to use margarine)

A few other items rounded out the trip, ramen noodles for I11, oranges (definitely not local produce!), coffee, eggs and a few items for the food drive at the boys' elementary school.

Hope all have a peaceful, restful weekend.

We're being profiled!!

No, not by the police, thank goodness.  Our church newsletter periodically prints profiles of congregation members.  J14's confirmation mentor was asked to write a profile for the December newsletter and she chose us.  She sent me interview questions a few weeks ago and today sent me a copy of the article for my approval.  She titled it 'Green Before it was Cool'.  LOL!!  I have worked with her on several committees and we have both attended the series of educational forums on local foods and environmental issues that our church put on.  (It was rather sad.  It was the same 3-5 people at each session but we still try to get the word out there.)  Anyway,  she is aware that I am passionate about environmental issues and during their mentoring sessions J14 shared some information with her.  Some things we've make public in some of the energy conservation sessions we've been in on-  Things like when you do the carbon footprint calculations, we come in well under our Kyoto allotment for a family of 5, that I line dry my clothes, walk to work,  have a big garden and can my own produce.  You know, the usual stuff.  J14 also shared with her the story of my wedding dress. The wedding dress story???

Ok, I'll share:   V and I were married at the church we now attend 22 years ago.  We've lived up and down the east coast in the meantime, but we started out in this town long ago.  My wedding dress was purchased at a local thrift store for $25.  My mom had it dry cleaned and did minor repairs but nothing major.  I don't think at the time I was thinking about environmental or sustainability issues (who really was 22 years ago) but I was definitely frugal, even in my younger years.  I still don't understand spending $400+ on a dress that you will wear once for a few hours.  I liked the dress, it fit and it was a deal.  I guess people think that's strange, I didn't really think about it at the time.  I also shared with her that when we got married, there was another wedding scheduled later the same day.  As I didn't care what kind/colors of flowers were in the church and didn't see the need to have more flowers picked for no good reason, I called the other bride and offered to split the cost of flowers with her, telling her she could pick what she wanted.  Evidently another thing that people seem to find strange... Maybe it's just me.

J's mentor, Kathy, was also fascinated with our rain barrel when she was over picking J14 up for an outing, asking lots of questions and looking at how it fit into the downspout system.  But she is also trying to make changes in her life.  She evidently had her first free range chicken this summer and says she won't go back.  In fact, we are planning an outing to an organic farm just north of here on the 22nd.  The farm is owned by one of the ladies I purchase from at the farmer's market (the one we've dubbed 'the bacon lady').   Kathy evidently has an in at the farm since one of her sons' friends has been working there, raising chickens (the farm has been mostly pork and lamb, I think).  I'm excited to get to go, see the farm and actually place an order for some meat, stocking up even more for the winter.  YEAH!!

Well, after this article comes out.  People won't have to just think we're a bit strange- they'll have it in black and white.  Maybe it will open some eyes.

Getting ready

Pioneer week is nearly upon us and I've been thinking about it.  We really won't have that many major changes in how we live our lives.  Trying to wean the boys off TV will be the most difficult but hopefully we can plan some family activities to keep them busy.

Over the years we have been  been through periods of being more or less connected with where our food comes from.  I have always had a garden and have always canned (especially tomatoes).   A chest freezer was one of our first major purchases when we moved back to the midwest from the east coast.  But for a few years we became more and more disconnected- relying more on convenience foods.  

We went through a period of very frugal living right after we were married- the poverty years of grad school- that taught us very valuable lessons. (Ah- the days of finding out that we had $5 left at the end of the month and could go out to have a few drinks!) I really perfected my cooking skills during that time and we had almost nothing that was pre-packaged- we simply couldn't afford it.  We learned the lessons of buying in bulk and storing food.  We learned to Make-do.  

That carried on for a while, neither one of us are in jobs that are incredibly lucrative and while the children were small, V was a stay at home dad because it made more economic sense.  I make more money than he does and his salary at the time would have ALMOST covered child care expenses.  But once the children were all in school he went back to work.  That's where the trouble began.  With both of us working full time, time became more valuable and money became more plentiful (not ever over-abundant), and we began the slow slide into convenience....

We didn't plan or worry about where the next meal was coming from and a year and a half ago I realized that one or the other of us was going to the grocery store at least 4 times a week.  That was when I realized that things had to change.   Thank goodness we have never been fast food addicts (about the only time we eat fast food is when we are traveling for over 8 hours). I have always cooked and we have always had family meals together but I was feeling disjointed and disconnected.  So we have been making the change, trying to grow and store more of our own food, trying to rely less on convenience foods. (I will confess to Zatarain's jambalaya mix to use bits of leftover meat).  I have been trying to eat more locally as well, buying a portion of our meat from the farmer's market this year.

I got onto this ramble talking about Pioneer week.  One of the things that I have done in the past year, to help me organize my head, reduce the grocery store trips and help with time management is that every week on Saturday I make out the menu for the week.  It is posted on a dry-erase board on the refrigerator.  This way I can make one shopping trip to get everything I may need for the week, it allows me to make better use of our stores of food and I can prep things in advance if I need to (soak beans the day before you want them, for example, instead of relying on canned ones).  It was kind of funny, this morning I was working on the menu, remembering that I need to cook everything from scratch for Pioneer week.  I finished and showed it to V who commented: "Hm, it doesn't look any different from usual".  That felt like a victory of a sort.

Here's to a productive weekend and a fun week ahead.  I've gotta go bake bread.

J

A job well done

Before:  the handle is slipping out of the rim.

A few years ago I made a market basket from reeds.  A friend volunteered to teach me and several others how to do this and I made several baskets that I use on a fairly regular basis.  My thought is that it is a handy skill to know.  My market basket has seen lots of use in the garden for harvesting- but over the past year the handle has been slipping out of the basket, to the point of being about an inch and a half from where it was originally placed.  I've 'let it slide' for the summer but recently I took a good look at it and realized that the wooden handle insert (to make the handle stiffer and stronger) was about to slide completely out of the rim.  If that had happened I don't know if I would have been able to get it back in.  I soaked the entire basket in water for several days to get the reed pliable enough to work with so it didn't crack because I had to disassemble almost the entire handle to make the repairs.

Reed bits spinning off every which way...

Once disassembled I had to try to simultaneously reinsert the handle through the woven basket and slide the reed handle pieces back into place.  Then I had to rewrap it with the smaller reed to secure it.  I had forgotten how sore working with reed makes my hands.  It seems to draw the moisture out of your skin and it is rough enough that my fingertips hurt.  But the results were well worth it:

Repairs complete!!!

Hopefully this will last me for many more years to come.   It is far from a basket that I could buy- this was the first one I ever made so it is full of mistakes and unevenness.  I know many of those 'normal' people out there would have just thrown this away and bought a new one.  I'm so glad I'm not normal!!!  I also have another HUGE basket that I picked up from the top of a dumpster when all the college students were moving out at the end of the spring.  We have many dumpster finds throughout the house.  One man's trash is another's treasure.  Maybe this makes up for the pricey slippers for the boys last week.

  J