Garden Goodness

Hello all.  I have missed visiting with you.  Every day goes by so quickly during this season.  The garden work continues.... even though we had an amazing snowstorm today.  Big, fat, fluffy flakes that came in a flurry and are almost gone by this evening.  Winter headed out with a sulk :)

Right now tomato and pepper plants are consuming my attention.  The counter has been cleared of most of the cultured stuff to make way for lots and lots of veggie starts.  We saved seeds last year for the first time, and the germination was a little sketchy.  I overplanted to compensate and have spent days thinning them down to a maximum of the 3 strongest plants per cube.  Yesterday and today I separated them into singles so they can get a lot bigger over the next few weeks.

I also separated out groups of different kinds of tomatoes to share with friends.  If I promised you some you might want to nudge me.   Because I didn't label these, it is random lot of tomatoes, but I kept them to one variety per container.  As I have been separating, I choose one from each container for each of my friends.  This way they end up with 20-30 heirloom tomatoes - all different kinds - don't know which is which :)  They are all good.

The tomato plants look much healthier than the pepper plants.  Maybe they were a little cold on the germination - but they are coming up well.  I might end up buying some starts of peppers.

Next up I will start cucumber and then last melon plants.  I will also direct sow cucumber.  The melons, though, I want to keep track of.  I ordered about 15 different types of heirloom melons - pink, yellow, orange, red (inside the watermelons) so these will be planted with a little more attention to which is which.  We have seed from last year and I purchased some new from Baker Creek Seeds.

Let me know how your garden is going.  It looks like here where we are there will be about 10 more days of storms.... then a couple of days to dry out.... then the garden will begin in earnest.

My sister and I continue to study the benefits of grass fed chickens.  It is fascinating and will need it's own post.  Right now I am feeding them an abundance of greens in the morning (clover, weeds from this area, several types of grasses and vetch) with some scratch thrown in.  The long, slow rains have kept everything green.  In the evening they get a little laying pellets.   We are moving them onto a scratch that combines oats, sunflower seeds and other organic grains.   We are trying to move away from corn and soy.  So far so good!

Blessings
Cindy

Working around the farm

It has been an unbelievable blessing the past few weeks to have the guys in and out as work has ground to a halt (because of the rain).   The Lord has blessed the work of their hands and so much has been accomplished.  Fences were mended by my son and son-in-law, the pig pen readied for a couple of pigs, a large pile of junk cleaned up and is now ready to become a work area, shelves were repaired, an upgrade to the water system by my hubby and numerous other chores that need tools, skill and strength that working guys have.

My amazing husband designed and built (with a lot of help  :) another chicken run.  We now have two complete chicken areas with their own runs, pens, coops and doors.  They also worked in some storage for our kayaks up on the top.  He is planning a third "open air" chicken area for the far end of our orchard.  The chickens just don't like to go very far from their coop.  We have a lot of nice grass down at the end that never gets eaten.

Our youngest son, nephew and grandson hunted for worms, dug, measured, drilled, hammered and generally had a wonderful time "helping"  the older guys.  They had a wonderful day.

The orchard that was tilled and planted a couple of weeks ago is coming up so nicely.  The newest book I am reading is called "Gold in the Grass" and we continue to try to figure out how to turn grass into high quality protein.  Our goal is to get almost completely away from laying pellets as we raise chickens for eggs and meat.  Worms, seeds and grasses are a big part of our plan.

The incubator that my sister bought and tends to is ready to turn out the second batch of chicks (meat birds).  We moved our mama hen up and plan to sneak the three that have hatched under tonight.  Every night she will get the rest that have hatched.  She managed the last 22 really well and they are integrated into one of the flocks.

The girls have been busy as well.  The seedlings are coming up quickly and will need to be transplanted soon.  They are making plans to manage a booth at our local Farmer's Market.  We are planting enough have an abundance.

The guys have to back to their regular work tomorrow.  I just wanted them to know how much I appreciate the time, skill and energy that it takes to turn a couple of funky acres  into a productive, healthy, thriving small farm.

Be blessed today
Cindy

April's Bread and suggestions

Our family moved into the full speed ahead garden/work/fencing/concrete mode over the past few weeks.  Additionally, our daughter and son in law moved back to help us with our farm and business.  These are some wonderful, exciting changes in our lives.  

Every year at this time, my hubby and I go through a lot of shifting gears as the weather warms up and the demands on our time grow exponentially.  Sorry I haven't been on visiting with all of you, my blog community, very much, but in the interim..... my friend April has been cooking up a storm.  She is a wonderful baker and cook and has been applying the principals of nutrient dense cooking to some of her favorite recipes.  What a joy it is to see so many families come up with their "own" recipe from the springboard of someone else's recipe! 

(here is a non-nutrient dense cake she did for their son's birthday.... it is way too cool to not share it with all of you :)

Thanks April for sharing these tips and ideas with us.  

Recipe for that awesome sourdough

(or.... April's sourdough recipe!)

1 cup sourdough starter
2 cups water
1 Tbsp. sea salt or kosher salt
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp raw honey
1 cup organic white flour
3 cups whole wheat flour

Mix all of the above on the lowest speed of your mixer for at least 6 minutes, to help develop the gluten. If you just bring them together quickly and leave it to rise, the dough has no elasticity. After mixing, place into your bowl, cover and let rise a minimum of 24 hours. Any less than that, and the yeast flavor takes over, and it doesn't taste like sourdough.

After the 24 hour rise, dissolve one teaspoon rapid rise yeast in about 2T water, and add a pinch of honey or sugar to the yeast. Pour this over the sponge, and work it in with a wooden spoon. Then work in one cup of whole wheat flour and turn the dough out onto the counter. Knead in another cup of WW flour. Place dough ball into a 5 quart cast iron dutch oven, and allow to rise for one hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut two slits in the top of the loaf, cover with the dutch oven lid, and bake at 400 for one hour. Remove lid, and bake an additional 10 minutes. Yum!

Meat Pies

Use some of the sourdough from the above recipe and roll it out.

Add taco meat and sour cream....

Fold over....

Seal it up all pretty!

Ready to go in 350 oven for about 30 minutes. One sourdough recipe and one pound of ground beef makes 12 meat pies!

Cinnamon Rolls

(hey... how come I didn't get one of these?)

Butter the pan generously. This is a 10x15 inch pan.

First, lots of cinnamon.

Then brown sugar and drizzle melted butter.

Roll it up!

Cut in slices about 1 1/2 inches wide.

After a 45 minute rise.

Bake at about 30 minutes in a 350 oven.

Healing Long Term Disease

The Weston A. Price Foundation Facebook Page posted a wonderful guest article today.  Kathryne Pirtle is a musician who struggled with multiple disease issues for many years on a "healthy" diet.  Her story is not only inspiring, but she covers the principals of nutrient dense eating in great detail.

I would encourage everyone to take a couple of minutes and read her story and how she brought herself to a place of abundant health using a nutrient dense diet.

Agriculture Society - Kathyrine's Story

Be healthy and well today
Cindy

Shifting Gears

The last few weeks have been a little intense.  We have had visitors, shifting weather, Easter activities, baby chicks and an abundance of garden time.  It has been a wonderful time of food, fun, laughter, discussion, thought and applying our food principals to almost all of the meals we shared.  It is always fun to see a person who habitually eats a lot of over-processed or industrialized food taste the intense flavors of real food.  We got to see that a lot.

Yesterday I waded back into the office - I am still staring at the  pile of mail that is threatening to avalanche.  School, office, laundry and putting everything away has been the necessity of the day.

Some of the successes of this past few weeks - the lettuce in the coldframe is wonderful - the baby chicks successfully went from incubator to brooding box to a free range pen without incident (well, one MIGHT have been stepped on), the orchard was seeded, the spring garden is growing beautifully, our amended water system was successfully set up by my sweet hubby and son, and we managed to have a really healthy, nutrient dense, organic Easter meal with a lot of family members participating.

Yesterday and today bring us to the place of trying to reimplement our normal routines.  Holidays, visitors and family are so much fun, but the day to day routine keeps us healthy and sane.  We are almost there :)

Be healthy and well today.
Cindy

Sourdough Pasta

Every Monday, I am gently reminded by Kim to make a menu and check for ingredients.  Every week I am determined!  So far, haven't gotten there.  So.... over the Easter holiday, we have relatives visiting.  This is not a surprise and I planned to have pasta today.  Our oldest son is playing Judas in a play.  We are going to the play - pasta seemed like a great idea.  There has been a big pot of pasta sauce simmering in the crock pot all day. 

• Grass Fed Hamburger - lightly sauteed
• Organic Pasta Sauce in a glass Jar
• Cultured tomato paste from last summer
• Sauted onions, spices, sesame seeds and vegetables

When I went to the cupboard to get the pasta, I suddenly remembered I had taken every bit of pasta I had to a church pot luck and apparently neglected to replace it.  We live 30 minutes from town. I have a big bunch of sourdough sponge bubbling by the fire.....   hmmmm

Although I have never in my life made pasta - or even contemplated it before about a month ago, this then seemed like a good time to give it a whirl.  If it is terrible, we can just put the pasta sauce over some sourdough bread, add a bit of Parmesan cheese and ta-da - Sloppy Joes!

I have been unable to find a sourdough pasta recipe, but took a recipe from my cousin and adapted it.  So, what is in the sponge that sat out overnight?

• 3 cups each whole wheat and barley flour
• 1/2 cup flax meal
• 1 cup starter
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1-1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 Tbsp cultured sesame seeds (I keep them in a jar in the fridge w/kefir in the jar)
• 2 Tbsp Palm Sugar
• 3 Tbsp organic cocoa powder (thanks Evelyn Fields for the idea)
•  
 I think the blog on adding cocoa powder didn't ever get from point a to point b.  It does not taste like chocolate - it just gives the bread a rich taste and improves the texture.  It has been going into my sponge for about 10 days now and it is good.  It is totally an option... but it is good.

This sponge became the base for the pasta recipe.  I made the dough up in the morning and left it by the warm stove until this afternoon, then began working with it.  Here is the recipe... although I doubled this:

• 2 cups sponge
• 2 cups flour (I used organic white for the gluten)
• 2 Tbsp gluten
• 1/2 tsp salt (I left this out since it was already in the sponge)
• 2 eggs - beaten
• 1 Tsp olive oil (again, I left this out since it was in the sponge)
• 1/3 cup water

Using the Kitchenaid with the dough hook attachment, this all was combined into a very stiff dough.  The dough went into my bread rising bowl with a wet towel over it for several hours to continue culturing.  The dough is really beautiful and easy to work with.

Using a big wooden cutting board that my hubby unearthed from the shop after my purge of all plastic cutting boards   made the job go quickly and easily.  The dough was separated into baseball sized portions, rolled out with a rolling pin, cut up with a pizza roller, then laid out on the table to dry.

I cheated a little and snitched about 5 pieces of the first batch to boil up and try before it was served to everybody.  It surprised me how much the strips puffed up.  It took about 18 minutes and the results.... I am NEVER going back to that bland, tasteless pasta from the store again.  This was EASY!

Another processed food that can move off the shopping list.... this summer when the tomatoes come in the pasta sauce is moving off too!

Enjoy!
Cindy

Violets In The Wood

The newest addition to our family, a granddaughter, will be joining us in June.  In her honor, we planted violets today.  My friend shared this poem with me, something she read with her daughter often.  I think it is perfect.  Please enjoy the violets and the poem.  - Cindy

In The Wood

In the wood where shadows are deepest

From the branches overhead,

Where the wild wood-strawberries cluster,

And the softest moss is spread,

I met today with a fairy,

And I followed her where she led.

Some magical words she uttered,

I alone could understand,

For the sky grew bluer and brighter;

while there rose on either hand

The cloudy walls of a palace

That was built in Fairy-land.

And I stood in a strange enchantment;

I had known it all before:

In my heart of hearts was the magic

Of days that will come no more,

The magic of joy departed,

That Time can never restore.

That never, ah, never, never,

Never again can be ~

Shall I tell you what powerful fairy

Built up this palace for me?

It was only a little white violet

I found at the root of a tree.

Adelaide A. Procter

1825 ~ 1864

Old time remedy for a head cold

Since both of our boys have head colds, I would like to share a great recipe for clearing up sinus, cough and stuffed up head kind of cold symptoms.

1. Boil some water.
2. Put about 4-6 drops of Eucalyptus Oil into a bowl.
3. Add fresh lavender and rosemary (crush in your hand first).
4. You can use essential oil for the lavender and rosemary if you don't have fresh herbs.
5. Pour the boiling water over the oil and herbs.
6. Put a towel over the head of the person coughing, hacking, sniffling and generally being miserable.
7. Have them breathe in the aroma for as long as possible.  They might have to come up for air every so often.
8. Switch to a hankie to save on tissues - hankies work fine.
9. Tune out all complaining.
10. Sick person enjoys a couple of hours of easier breathing.
11. Repeat as necessary.
12. We also use the Olbas line of products - Olbas Oil, Olbas bath, Olbas Inhaler and Olbas sports cream are staples in our household (kind of like Vicks without the petroleum).  I get them from Vitacost - fast and cheap. 
13. You might also take a high quality beta glucan - we use one called Immunition.  I know they are expensive - we only use them when necessary.
14. Both of these are really what we use - I'm not endorsing anything.... this is just what we do along with links to where we get them.

Winter and Spring weaving together

One of the best things about living in California is the way you have beautiful spring days when everything is blooming, the sky is intense blue, the air is warm and it appears that Spring is here.  Sunday was just such a day.

Monday was also gorgeous, and the guys had time to disk the orchard.  We want to grow better greens... the plan is to turn grass into protein - chicken and milk.  We need to improve our grass and the beautiful day allowed us to continue that process.

It rained on Tuesday and by Tuesday night, we had snow.  We woke up to a beautiful blanket of soft snow.  Probably enough to freeze the plums and peaches and cherries.  Every year I remind myself I need to replace those trees with later blooming trees.  They are quite beautiful, though.... a cheerful wave in the beginning of spring.  It is just the rare year we actually get fruit from them.

Spring continues inside, though.  We have our tomato and peppers coming along nicely, the daffodils we picked the other day looking cheerful and the calendula brightens up everything.

In honor of our granddaughter, ETA: early June, we have violets to plant.  Grammie intends to have a big bunch of violets for the baby.

Non Toxic Cleaning Solutions

In our continuing effort to get plastics, toxins and industrialized things out of our life, we are moving rapidly to non-toxic cleaning supplies.  You can purchase these, but it is really easy and inexpensive to make them.  If you have some basic supplies, some knowledge of the chemistry involved and a desire to save a lot of money, here are some recipes that will be tried out here:

This is a somewhat new step for me.  We switched to "green" cleaners, but really need to switch to homemade.  The green are just a little pricy, and the plastic and trash issue bothers me.  I'll let you know how it goes as I try to implement these cleaning products, one at a time.  I think laundry soap is going to be first - my friend Sherri makes hers regularly and has offered to help me.  She has been doing this for quite a while and has some good practical suggestions.  I would recommend you go read through her suggestions.

This page here is going to have to be a work in progress as I stumble and bumble through this process.  I have now tried a couple of these, and love the dishwasher soap, the general cleaning soap, the vinegar rinse for the laundry and the toilet bowl cleaner (my friend Lynette flushes before she puts her stuff in, then turns off the tank valve under the toilet while she cleans it.)

Now.... if I could JUST find that magic cleaning solution that does the work by itself..... still looking.  Guess I still have to do it myself.  Drat!

BASIC CLEANING SUPPLIES:

• Baking Soda
• Washing Soda
• White distilled vinegar
• A good liquid soap or detergent
• Tea tree oil
• Fresh Lemon

THE CHEMISTRY:

Baking Soda:  Cleans, deodorizes, softens water, scours
Washing Soda:  Stain remover, non-staining solvent, descales of mineral deposits,  tough cleaning jobs (use baking soda to neutralize if you get burned by it - this stuff is soda ash and is caustic - use gloves)
Soap or detergent:  unscented soap in liquid form, flakes, powders or bars is biodegradable and will clean just about anything.  Avoid using soaps that contain petroleum distillates, synthetic scents, colors or other additives..  Grate bars to dissolve more easily in hot water.
White Vinegar or lemon juice: Cuts grease, removes mildew, odors, some stains and wax build-up.
Borax:  (sodium borate) cleans, deodorizes, disinfects, softens water, cleans wallpaper, painted walls and floors.

The Solutions:

Make them up and LABEL them

Store properly

General Household cleaner:

1 tsp. liquid soap

1 tsp. borax

Squeeze of lemon

1 qt. warm water

OR

1/4 cup baking soda

1/2 cup borax

1/2 cup vinegar

1 gallon water

For surfaces that need scoured, try moist salt or baking soda and a green scouring pad.

Soft Scrubber:

Put 1/2 cup baking soda into a bowl and add enough liquid detergent to make a texture like frosting.  Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerine and store in a glass jar.  You don't need the glycerine if you just make up as much as you need each time.

Window Cleaner:

Mix together:

2 tsp. vinegar

1 qt. warm water

or

2 tbsp borax

3 cups water

rub dry with newspaper to avoid streaking

Disenfectant:

Mix together:

1/4 cup borax

1/2 gallon hot water

or

spray straight 5 percent vinegar at night.  You can leave it or wipe in the morning.

Liquid Soap for washing your hands with:

In a pot, bring about 3 cups of water to a boil.  While it is coming to a boil, shave a bar of Ivory or Fels Naptha soap into the pot.  Stir the soap into the water until the soap dissolves.  Once it cools, pour it into your old soap dispenser.  It is not as thick as the store bought stuff, but it works great.  You can use a little less water if you would like a thicker soap.

Laundry Soap:

Ingredients:

1 approximately 3 oz bar of either Fels Naptha or Ivory Soap

1 cup Borax

1/2 cup Washing Soda

Water

Tools:

5 Gallon Container

Knife

Pot large enough to hold 5 cups of water

Long stirring stick/spoon for the 5 gallon container

Directions:

Shave the soap into small strips and place in the pot with 5 cups of water.  Heat to a simmer - not a boil and stir until the soap is completely melted.  When it is almost melted, add 3 gallons of hot water to the 5 gallon container.  When the soap on the stove is is totally melted, add it to the hot water in the 5 gallon container and stir.

Add the 1/2 cup of washing soda and stir until dissolved.  Once it has dissolved add the borax and stir until that is dissolved.  You may add a few drops of essential oils for fragrance if you would like.

Let it sit until it cools - it will gel.  It might be lumpy and watery - not pretty, but it works.  Use 1/2 cup per laundry load

Fabric Softener:
1 Quart White Vinegar
1 Cup dried lavendar
Steep together for one week - strain and store.

Spot Remover:
1/4 cup liquid dish detergent
1/4 cup glycerin
1 - 1/2 cups water
Pour all into a bottle and rub a little onto the spot at least 5 minutes before washing items.  For tougher or set in stains you might try using a toothbrush to work the spot remover into the stain.

Dishwasher Soap:

Put into the dispenser:

1 Tablespoon Washing Soda

1 Tablespoon Borax

Into the rinsing gel section add:

Distilled white vinegar

If your water is hard add a little more washing soda

Oven Cleaner:

Mix together:

1/4 cup baking soda

2 Tbsp salt

Hot water as needed to make a paste.

Let the paste sit for 5 minutes - KEEP OFF WIRES/HEATING ELEMENTS!

or

2 Tbsp. liquid soap

2 tsp. borax

1 quart warm water

Spray on oven and wait 20 minutes, then clean.  For tough stains, scrub with very fine steel wool and baking soda.

Drain Cleaner:

1/4 cup baking soda down the drain, followed by 1/2 cup vinegar

Cover and drain and let sit for 15 minutes.  Follow with 2 quarts boiling water.

Toilet Bowls:

Pour:  1/4 cup baking soda into bowl and drizzle with vinegar.

Let sit for 1/2 hour.  Scrub and flush.

Use borax for stains

Mildew Remover:

Dissolve together:

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup borax in warm water.

Apply with sponge or spray bottle.

or

2 teaspoons tea tree oil

2 cups water

Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, spray on problem area.  Do not rinse.

Lime Deposits:

Squeeze lemon juice onto affected area and let sit for several minutes before wiping clean with a wet cloth.

Marks on walls and painted surfaces.oil and grease spots:

Use baking soda on a damp sponge.  Rub gently and wipe, then rinse.  This is an abrasive.  If you are trying to clean oil off of concrete, try the baking soda and a scrub brush.  You can also do this on a stove or fridge.

Cutting Board Cleaner:

Rub a slice of lemon across the chopping block to disinfect the surface.  For tough stains, squeeze some of the juice onto the spot and leave for 10 minutes, then wipe.

Coffee or tea stains:

Use vinegar and a sponge.

To clean a coffee pot use 2 cups water and 1/4 cup vinegar and run through the cycle.

Dish Soap:

If you are using a non toxic dish soap and it doesn't work very well, add 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar to your water.

Furniture Polish:

1/2 teaspoon olive oil (or jojoba)

1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice

mix and store in a glass jar.  Use a soft rag to wipe onto wood surfaces.

Floor Cleaners and Polishes:

Most floors can be cleaned with vinegar and water.  You can add a few drops of essential oils for scent if desired.  The following formulas can also be used.

vinyl and lineoleum -Mix 1 cup vinegar and a few drops of baby oil in 1 gallon warm water.  Add 1/4 cup borax for tough jobs.  Use sparingly on lineoleum.

wood: -1:1 vegetable oil and vinegar.  Rub in well

painted wood: - 1 tsp washing soda into 1 gallon hot water

brick and stone tiles - 1 cup white vinegar into 1 gallon water.  Rinse with clear water.

Rust Remover:

Sprinkle a little salt on the rust, squeeze a lime over the salt until it is well soaked.  Leave the mixture for 2-3 hours.  Use leftover rind to scrub residue.

Sticker residue remover:

Sponge vinegar over the spot several times and wait 15 minutes, then rub off the stickers.  This should also work for price tags on hard things (tools, toys, etc.)

To be continued........