How things did or are doing! How's that for a gripping title!

 Good morning all!  It is a tad cool here, around 48 degrees at the moment, but windy.  Really windy.  I hear it whistling  against the house. Makes me want to read "The Long Winter"!  My tomatoes plants are out on the patio table, scrunched together to help block the wind.  It's one things for them to get used to wind blowing.  It's another to have them saying " what in the world!"! (Smile)  Anyway, I thought I'd take a bit and update how some of my trials succeeded or not.  

First off, the broody mama hen is still a wait and see.  All but one of our full sized hens are black so it's hard to tell them apart.  I suspect the broody hen is trying to decide which laying box is the one she wants to be in.  So we are just gathering whatever eggs are available and we'll see if we have baby chicks in a couple of weeks.  I've been told that commercially bought hens have had the instinct to brood bred out of them and so it takes a bit of trial and error before they get it right.. Most people that buy hens want eggs, not more chickens.  Some of our hens were commercially bought, and some were home grown (as in born here).  One of our Bantum hens, we affectionately call "Big Mama", broods very easily.  She actually has hatched out a few full size chickens for us.  Some were roosters, but I think we got about 3 full size hens from her last year (as well as some bantum hens).  I have to say it's very entertaining to see her giving a full size chicken, twice her size,  the "what for" as mothers often do; and they listen!  lol.

We're getting about a Dz eggs A DAY!  We had almost 8 Dz in the fridge that needed addressing.  I froze 2 DZ.  Which means I greased a 12 cup muffin tin, beat 2 dz eggs and poured them into the muffin cups equally.  It filled them to the top.  Then I put a silicone baking mat (these things are so versatile!) over them to cover and placed them in the freezer.  Once frozen, I will dip the bottom of the pan in water to loosen the eggs, pop them out, and put them in a gallon size freezer bag to keep stored in the freezer for the winter months when the hens aren't laying.  3 Dz were washed for our everyday use.  The rest will be taken care of later.  That was all I could do today.  May try my hand at pickled eggs.  Haven't decided yet.

The buttermilk experiment was a smashing success!  I even tried the cream cheese, but I don't think I let it culture long enough for the cheese.  I will try again.  It's worth it.

Not overly impressed with the heirloom yogurt culture.  I followed their process to the letter.  It set up, but the yogurt ended up watery.  I am in the process of straining it to make it Greek yogurt, but I'm getting a lot of whey and not as much yogurt as I would like.  I set aside some of the yogurt as "Seed yogurt" for the next batch.  I'm going to try it again and see how it does.  If I get similar results, I may just go back to buying a 5 oz container of good yogurt at the store and making it that way.  I do love having the whey.  You can use the whey in smoothies and baking, but you also use this to soak beans or grains before cooking them.  It helps the beans or grains break down before cooking.  Makes it easier to digest.  Also Whey is full of nutrients and enzymes that are beneficial for you!

According to Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions", a TBS of whey taken three times a day can help keep ligaments tight , muscles strong, and in joint health.  At my age, joint health is a good selling point.  Check out her Blog here.  She's way more knowledgeable than I and can explain things much better.  I will say she is the reason I started using only whole milk! (smile).

I need to bake bread today, as well as maybe a few other things.  I also plan to get out in the garden.  I need to pick spinach, and still reclaim some beds before planting.  

Also, before the leaves get too big and they're obscured, I plan to go, with a saw, into the woods behind our house and cut the large Kudzu vines currently plaguing the better trees ( and my apple trees).  I need to take a picture back there to show you guys something neat.  I'll do another post on that pic later.   Stay tuned.

So if anyone has any yogurt or cheese making tips, I'm all ears.... or eyes as the case may be.  So what's happening on your homestead?  Are you trying something new?  Have you finally acquired a knack for a certain skill!  Please share!

  

YIKES!

 Pulling out my black belt again!

Now I try to be frugal on a daily basis, but there are times you need to be seriously frugal....black belt frugal.  These are the times I pay close attention to the nickels and dimes flowing in and out of this house.

Lately we've had quite the dings to our funds.  We've had medical bills for different members of the family, the need for a plumber, and some car repairs.  Now because we have a savings account and budget for these types of things, we've been able to pay for all of these in full.  That part is good, however, now we need to replenish those funds, only with a tighter budget that's previously due to lost wages from some of those medical bills.  

Snug, snug, snug!  

BUT!

1) We keep a pantry for situations such as these.  That's good, but I need to take it up a notch and seek out more ways to stretch what we have, and/or find more things I can make from scratch.  For example, yesterday I cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot.  I de-boned it and put the bones back into the crock pot with the broth created just from cooking the chicken.  I added celery, onion, salt, carrots, and a little vinegar to the crock pot along with 6 cups of water to cover it all.  This will slow cook for a day or so, and make an awesome bone broth for other recipes.  I took some of the meat and made chicken and dumplings for dinner.  However, I didn't use as much meat, but added about a lb. of sliced carrots (peeled it was more like 12 oz.).  Less meat, less expense and an added veggie!  No complaints.  It was still comfort food.  I had enough left over after feeding 3 men and myself dinner last night to provide at least 2 lunches as well.

 I already knew about making yogurt, and had done it before, but had gotten into the habit of just buying it at the store.  Well now I'm back to making it. The difference this time is making it with an heirloom culture.  Heirloom cultures can be re-cultured over and over so I won't have to buy culture.  Savings!  With that yogurt I can make yogurt cheese (like cream cheese).  That's cool by itself, but recently I learned how easy it is to make cultured buttermilk.  Now this isn't the "Buttermilk" where you just add vinegar and cause the milk to curdle.  This is sure enough cultured buttermilk which is awesome for you.  With this buttermilk I can make cream cheese!  So while I've made the buttermilk, I've not made the cream cheese.  I'm in the process of doing that very thing.  Will update on the results when I have them.  Another item I want to try is cottage cheese.  I love me some cottage cheese.  

For those interested:

BUTTERMILK

For every 1 cup of milk at room temperature, add 1 TBS of cultured buttermilk.   Let sit on the counter for 24 hours.  It will culture the rest of the milk and voila!  More Buttermilk!

2).  Garden is already started.  The only thing I have to harvest at the moment is spinach and Kale.  I have a cabbage that over wintered.  I'll harvest it in a few days, but that's about it.  I'll take it though.  One less thing to buy at the store.  I've been planting all kinds of other things as seed starts; Tomatoes, Parsley, Basil, Broccoli, Red and Green Cabbage, Green and Jalapeno Peppers, Yellow, and Butternut Squash and Zucchini.   Snow peas, Spinach, Turnips, and Beets were direct sowed.  Only Spinach is ready for harvest.  Extra seedlings are being sold.  There were some things I wanted to buy for the garden this year; pine straw, cattle panels, and t posts.  Due to our recent expenses and tight funds, I've had to rethink those things.  In a way I'm glad because it's forcing me to think outside the box and use what is already on hand as opposed to spending more money.  Eggs are plentiful as well, so that's good.  I think we may have a broody mama as well.  We'll see. 

3)  Turning up the Etsy shop again.  I've been busy with things around here and so really haven't replenished my stock in a bit.  With money things being like they are, it seemed prudent to restock those items again.  I have three days of rainy weather coming up, and so the plan is to sew like crazy to get those items restocked .  Once the sun comes out again, I want to be where I can get back outside.  Etsy is important, but so is the garden.  Have to prioritize the priorities!

4)We have "Plan B's" if need be.  Plan "B" means cutting out expenses we wouldn't normally; i.e. cable, 401k contributions, or extra on the mortgage.  It can also mean more austerity measures regarding things like the grocery budget.  I don't think it will come to that.  I do know we can't cut our contribution to the Health Savings account.  We need that at the moment.  If need be we would cut back on how much we contribute.  We aren't thinking about a Plan "C" yet.  

There will be other frugal things coming down the line; things that are mainly just paying extra close attention to details.  As I find weakness in our financial wall, we'll plan accordingly.

I'm sure we aren't the only ones dealing with income issues.  I'm always hopeful that something I write may give someone an idea.  I can say this.  The priorities are Food, shelter, and transportation.  Food doesn't mean cokes and snacks so to speak.  In the words of Dave Ramsey "rice and beans and beans and rice".  

I once came up with 25 frugal tips as a challenge from another blogger I read.  You might find them helpful.  Here's the link:

25 frugal tips

Just call me Stu...

 True confession time.  Like Stu of Toy Story fame, I don't take care of my toys ( sigh, hanging my head).  Not that I take glee in blowing them up or feeding them to the dog; it's more a matter of being busy and getting distracted.  Things are always "I need to get to( insert task to procrastinate here)".  Oh!  I guess I need to clarify about the "toys" per sea.  My gardening tools.  For example, my wheeled cultivator.  It actually isn't that effective in a clay soil garden like we have here in Georgia, but in my raised beds, has done okay.  I really just like the thought and look of it.  As you can see it needs some love.  This is just one of the many tools needing some attention in my toy box.

Okay, now that we have that clear and out of the way.  I am happy to announce you can teach a somewhat old (ahem) dog new tricks.  Better late than never right!  

So yesterday I gathered all of my wooden handled garden tools to give them some love and attention.  I gathered them all, sanded all the handles and cleaned them off and then proceeded to coat each of them with boiled linseed oil.  FYI, as long as your linseed oil has no additives, it is safe to use in a garden.  

This Boiled linseed oil soaks into the wooden handles, protecting them from the elements.  It's been on my "to do" list for a while, but something else always takes precedence.  Now all of my wooden handled tools are ready to go; including, now my wheeled cultivator.  What cha think? 

 

Two of my tools, and really very important tools, were broken.  I have a 4 tong cultivator and a hoe//cultivator that were broken.  This morning I re-glued the handle of the cultivator.  I still need to fix the head of it so it will go back on.  That has to wait until the glue dries.  I was able to fix the hoe/cultivator.  It was never really made very well to begin with, but I fought with it until the head came off.  Once it was off I could at least fix it.  I sawed off the tip of it that had rotted ( I know cause it wasn't protected).  I had to reshape the handle to take the metal collar that sits just below the head.  That required shaving it down and sanding it well.  I then glued the collar back on before addressing the actual head.  In order to fix the problem that was there from the get go( in other words, not my fault), I had to saw off the pin that held the head to the peg that, in turn, slides into the handle.  It was loose and wouldn't keep the head straight.  Once I took that pin off, I removed the old pin/peg, and, instead, reattached the head to the handle with a washer and a rather large eye hook.  My thought process was that now I can easily hang this up when not in use!  As you can see, I've been using it.  

Pretty proud of the finished project.  I think my dad would be torn between pride in my ingenuity, and eye rolling because I should care for my tools better.   So frugal tip of the day, and one I should have been paying better attention to, care for your tools; all your tools(toys), so they can stand the test of time!  

Any other procrastinators out there?  You can tell me tomorrow!

Cast Iron Pans...at least the 8th or 9th wonder of the world surely!

 I don't care whose pans you buy; Pioneer woman, Pampered chef, etc.  There are no pans with the cooking power, nonstick ability, and durability of cast iron.  I am sold, sold, sold.  Seasoned and cared for correctly, cast iron pans will last forever, or close to it.  

1.  Cooking in cast iron can help keep you from being anemic!  Small particles of iron from your pans, enrich your food and thus your blood stream!

2.  As stated before, Cast iron will last forever!  My mother gifted me some cast iron skillets that belonged to great aunts, and a great grandmother.  The pan that was my great grandmothers dates back to the late 1800's!  I would like to see something bought these days last so long.  Well cast iron could,  just don't get the enameled stuff.  It defeats the whole purpose!  Plus enamel doesn't hold up as well.  

3.  Once seasoned correctly, cast iron is seriously non stick.  I have recently learned how to properly season a cast Iron pan, and my love affair has gone to a whole new level!  I cooked eggs in a seasoned cast iron pan the other day and, when finished, wiped it out with a paper towel and hung it on the wall!  I kid you not, I think I was giggling.  HA!  

4.  Cast Iron makes the best corn bread!  and brownies, and fried chicken, and whatever!  I baked brownies in there the other day and mixed everything up in the pan and baked it all in one pan!

5.  You can go from cooking on the stove to baking in the oven without changing pans!

While I have 2 new cast iron pots, a grill, and a 2 quart sauce pan, I really love the vintage stuff.  The vintage pans are lighter than what's made these days, and it has a story.  How cool is it to cook in the same pan as my great grandmother.  Someone I was never able to meet!  It doesn't have to be my story though.  I have other pans that date anywhere from 1900-1940; 1940- 1960, and 1960 and up.  Those pans belonged to someone, who used them to feed and care for their family.  I'll never meet them this side of heaven, but I think of them as I use these pans.  My story regarding these pans is one of restoration.  I like being able to take off the old rust and seasoning, then add new seasoning making it like new.  I found this pot at an antique store last week.  Here is the before and after:

This pot is an unmarked Birmingham Stove and Range pot dating around 1940's-60's.  The company went out of business in the 1980's.  It has been stripped and seasoned and is now at use in my kitchen.

I would love to take credit for knowing how to do this cause I'm really smart, and just know things, but I can't take credit for my knowledge.  I learned by watching this video.  I'm sharing it with you so you too will know what to do with your cast iron, or cast iron you find at yard sales, thrift stores, etc.  

Oh!  I will share this I have discovered.  When you want to do your last seasoning of the pan (I do three), Fry a pound of bacon in it.  Remove the bacon.  Pour off the bacon fat (into a jar, cause it's great for cornbread).  Pour a couple of cups of water into your hot pan and, using a spatula, loosen any bits that remain.  Pour off this water and dry your pan with paper towels or a towel.  Put it in the oven upside down at 375 for 2 hours.  Once your seasoning is finished, you can just wipe it out and store it, or if you have to wash it, do it with WATER ONLY , dry it and finish drying on the stove top just til dry.  

Enjoy!