Feeling Useful

My last day of work was Friday, and I've had a very productive and happy day today.  I came downstairs to the smell of breakfast - always a wonderful thing.  Though it was a very strange one (shitake mushrooms, bacon, and sweet potato omelettes a la *B*), it wasn't too bad.  And I didn't cook it, which is always appreciated.  I conquered my fear of pie crusts and made a crust for a hubbard squash custard pie. It was delicious!  Though it was just a little green, which is strange.

We went with my family this afternoon to a local oyster roast.  We've gone every year since I was a little kid.  Even Miss F was eating fried oysters.  Probably not the most healthy way she could have eaten oysters, but I'm happy to have another shellfish eater in the house :o)

My brother dropped bales of straw off from his fiancee's farm, so *B* has been working away in the garden today.  He made three straw bale gardens in which to grow garlic.  He had picked up four bags of lawn trimmings from the side of the road the other day, so he mowed them into the beds as the last lawn mowing of the year.  He also took apart our canopy and cleared off our deck.  It's so nice to have the outside of the house decluttered, just as it's nice to be decluttered inside.  Even Miss F was raking up leaves with her child-sized rake.

Many of our summer crops have died off, but our jalapenos and lima beans are still hanging on.  I'm not sure how long the limas will last, but they still look good and are just now filling out.

Since it's so cold, I finally got up the motivation to fix an old winter coat of mine.  The last time I wore it, I was 60 pounds heavier, and two buttons of six were missing with two buttons hanging by a thread.  Rather than taking it to the tailors (which I can't believe I've done before), I found some thick black thread in my fabric box and sewed them on myself.  I've known how to do it for a long time, but I couldn't bring myself to cut off the two buttons that were still intact until today.  I think I did a pretty good job, and it'll be a lot warmer than my leather jacket if this winter is going to be as cold as they say it will.

Homesteading and Homemade Food

Aside from attending the renaissance festival, my weekends have been taken up making pumpkin puree, roasting pumpkin seeds, baking bread, making pasta, and canning.

The pumpkin seeds are so delicious.  A quick boil in salt water and baking in a baking sheet with some olive oil makes them crispy, salty, a little oily and just plain delicious.  They don't last long in our house.

This year, we had four San Marzano roma tomato plants.  My mom had one.  Her one plant produced more than our four combined - times five!  She was sick of dealing with the plant at the end of September, so she let us have whatever we wanted if we ripped it out for her.  We got almost 45 pounds from that one plant!

 

We laid all of the tomatoes out on the table in front of a window.  The red ones we picked out and threw into a freezer bag.  The rest, we let sit.

  

So when it came to sauce day, I knew we'd be set.  We'd have enough tomatoes to fulfill our needs all winter.  What I didn't realize was that I didn't have the equipment to deal with all of this at once!

Within ten minutes of putting the tomatoes into all of these pans, the black pan started to smell terrible.  Because of how the bottom of the pan was formed, the tomatoes instantly burned to the bottom.  So we pulled the tomatoes that were still good off and filled more pans.

 

The whole process was a bit stressful.  I kept having to shift sauce around from pan to pan in order to keep it from burning but to keep reducing.  I kept cooking and straining tomatoes for six hours.  I bet if I had a large stock pot, this would be a much easier endeavor.

 

In the end, though, it all worked out pretty well.  I would totally do this again next year if I'm properly prepared.

After the tomato sauce ordeal, I apparently had canning amnesia, because I bought two half-bushels of apples.

I'm thankful that apples last a long time, because it took me a couple of week to get around to processing them.

 

About half way through processing, I mentioned to my dad that it was really difficult to push the apple pulp through the sides of my strainer with a spatula.  I wanted to get a food mill one day.  The next day, he stops by with my grandmother's Foley food mill.  She used to use it for making ketchup.  My grandfather gave it to me to use since he wouldn't be using it.  It really makes work easier!

Since June, we've put up 16 quarts and 15 pints of peaches, 6 quarts of green beans, 16 half-pints of strawberry jam, 14 half-pints of peach preserves, 12.75 quarts of tomato sauce, 6 half-pints of tomato paste, and 41.5 half-pints of apple butter.  Every time I can something new, I only see the bit that I just did.  I feel a little good about it, but it still doesn't feel like enough.  Well, that changed today.  I went downstairs to put more apple butter in the pantry, and there wasn't enough room.  Over 1/3 of our pantry is home canned, and that is amazing.  Our strawberry jams are rapidly disappearing, though, because they are *B*'s favorite.  We will definitely be canning a bigger batch next year.

This past Saturday, we bought three fresh chickens from a local farmer.  These chickens are sustainably and humanely raised.  It’s the same farm where we get our pork.  The chickens look more bird-like than any other chicken I've ever bought.

 

I chose fresh chickens so that I could part them out myself and be able to use as much of the chicken as possible while giving us an easy source of meat on busy nights.  Part of using the whole chicken was rendering the fat.  I’ve never done it before, but we tend to eat skinless meat, so it seemed like a good idea.  I followed the tutorial on Penniless Parenting and it was fantastic!  The result was almost ½ a cup of shmaltz and some tasty fried chicken skin.

 

I've also been doing a couple of little projects.  I made homemade pasta on a whim using the 3 cups whole wheat flour to 1 cup water ratio to put into some chicken broth for an impromptu chicken noodle soup when *B* was sick.  I didn't consider myself a chicken noodle soup person in years gone by, but I am definitely a homemade chicken noodle soup person.  I realized it's just the canned stuff I can't stand.

 

I've made two batches of crackers now using the recipe from the Prudent Homemaker.  They're really good, but I'm having a hard time rolling them thin enough to be cracker-like.  For now, they're tasty pita-like bites.  I added 1 tsp of garlic the last time, and it made it brilliant.

Since it's getting cold and Christmas is coming, I picked up some yarn at our local store for a scarf for Miss F and presents for family.  I was amazed that the scarf took me just over 24 hours to make.  In a day, she got herself a new scarf to go with her red, pink, and white winter hat.

A New Farmer's Market

*B*, Miss F, and I started going to a new farmer's market.  It's much further away than the one in our town, but for some reason our market closed early in the middle of September.  It's probably for the best, because the new one we found is MUCH bigger and has many more items. 

We buy coffee there from a local roaster who employs people with developmental delays and sends some of their profits to charities overseas.  There are at least three times the number of farms, many more meat and egg producers.  They know us and Miss F even plays with one producer's daughter while we're there.  There are three pastry/bread/yummy food vendors.  I know two of three vendors.  I grew up with the son of one of the vendors.  His mom makes delicious jam.  The other vendor happens to be a couple I used to know.  I babysat their children when they were young, and it's now amazing to see them move onto a new stage in their lives now that they're empty-nesters.  They make the most brilliant food - bacon, cheddar, and scallion scones, ham and gruyere croissants, pumpkin tiramisu, and plenty of pastries.

Since we've found this farmer's market, we've been stockpiling winter squash and pumpkins.  We love all things pumpkin, and we love soup made from butternut squash.  This year though, we also picked up a hubbard squash and a cheese pumpkin.  We're going to see how they taste.  If good, we'll load up on them to feed us through the winter, since the market only goes until the end of November.  My mother's husband had this work shelf sitting around that he made a number of years ago.  They gave it to us, and it makes an excellent squash storage shelf.  It's wonderful to see it so full!

Fall, Already?

This past Saturday, it was unseasonably "cold" at 71 degrees.  We opened all the doors and windows and welcomed the fresh air.  Funny thing is, we haven't had to shut them since then.  The air conditioner on the main floor has been off for almost a week.  Our upstairs is still on only because a) our bedroom gets pretty warm and b) you need pliers to turn it off.  The knobs on the air conditioner broke off. 

We've had hot drinks (chai and cocoa) a lot more than usual.  We had an amazing chicken tamale bake early in the week.  And I'm seriously considering making a pot roast before the week is out.  I think that fall might be heading our way a little earlier than usual.  Given that the winter was so warm, I'm not really surprised.

The change in weather reminds me that Miss F's first summer is almost over.  Miss F is eight weeks today, and things are still dynamic between us.  For a while, it seemed we had things figured out.  Then, around 6 weeks, she started getting fussy at night.  During the day, though, she's fairly happy.  I don't know if I'd call it colic, but it definitely isn't fun.  But she continues to grow and change.

Last Saturday, as the weather changed, we decided to change our living arrangements.  One of the reasons we had Miss F in our room, aside from convenience and safety, was because her room was rather warm, even at night.  She went into the nursery Saturday night and hasn't had to come back to our room since. 

We even got a bedtime routine down.  She gets changed, but in a sleeper, nurses, and I put her to bed with a lullaby CD.  She doesn't seem to need the pacifier to sleep that way.  We can't swaddle her because she doesn't like it, but we tuck her blanket into the sides of the crib so that her arms are free and her feet can kick.  She seems to be happy with that.

Ever since she went into her own room, she's been sleeping until 5-5:30 am.  That works out perfectly since *B* gets up for work at 4:45 and leaves by 5:15.  I'm actually starting to wonder if she wakes up because he does.  We'll find out one way or another this weekend.  But even at 5 am, I'm getting about SEVEN hours of sleep, which is wonderful.  That's what I would have gotten by going to work anyway!  I've heard of something called the four month wakeful period, so I'm not counting on getting this much sleep forever, but I'm definitely taking advantage of it now.

Midterm Elections

I voted today.  I don't think I've ever not voted as long as I've been able, including a primary when I was 17.  Sometimes its been a total pain in the butt to drive to the polling station (like when I was in college), but I've never regretted it.  It's a civic duty.  I'm a strong believer in "you shouldn't complain if you didn't vote."

I realized two things about myself with respect to politics today.

1)  If someone took the money that they were to put toward campaign spending and put it to the deficit rather than running ads, I would probably vote for them.  I'm really over all of the negative ads and sniping. 


2)  Voting for someone does not make someone one party or the other.  One votes for someone because one thinks they will be the best choice for the county/state/country now, not necessarily because they're a perfect match for one's personality.  Their affiliation should not be the first thing one looks for, nor should there be guilt just for aisle jumping.  I can safely say that I voted for people because they were the best option in my opinion, not because of the party affiliation.



Not a sermon, just a thought :o)

Getting Back to Normal

Wow, it's almost been a week since my last post.  I'm still trying to get myself back to normal.  When last I left off, my life was imploding to some extent.  The saga continues.

I had a (mostly) good weekend, but things have been coming back to bite me in the rear.  On Saturday, we had a really good time at the Renaissance Festival for the first few hours.  My mom went for the first time ever and dressed up, and we got my future mother-in-law to go too.  There will be pictures soon. 

I got an early birthday present that I feel REALLY guilty about.  We shouldn't have done it.  A renaissance dressmaker I love had a paper up on their shop that said 50% off.  So I was super excited, and dragged *B* into the store with me.  For the last few years, my birthday presents have been renaissance clothing.  Even though I wanted something different this time, the store beckoned and we went.  I tried on two dresses.  One took 15 minutes to put on with an insane amount of help.  Think Kate Winslet and her mother putting on her dress in the movie Titanic, complete with the foot in the back. 

So I tried on another dress that I liked very much.  It was significantly cheaper (by a lot).  I'm in it, my mom and *B* say YES - that's it.  She cut the tags, and the lady quotes us the price.  But it's half off, I say.  Oh sorry, she says, that was just the sale bin.  I didn't see that!  But it's so beautiful.  I've visited it every time I've gone for the last two years, but I've never been able to suck it up and get it.  I can't say that I haven't slept on it and given it some thought

*B* convinced me he'd get it anyway.  I can't believe he did it.  I can't believe I agreed.  I'm ashamed to even admit how much it cost.  I'm way too calculated to let him do something like that.  Don't get me wrong - I love this dress.  It's gorgeous.  I will wear it for many, many years.  It fits me well, looks good on me, and since it's split in the middle, accommodates child bearing years as well as normal years. 

Image from Wolfstone Kilt Co

My dress is very similar to the one above, but the chemise is a mint green with slightly sleeves and neckline.  Think an old lady's nightdress, in a totally fashionable, vintage way.  I don't have the plaid part either.  The chemise covers shoulders and decolletage and the skirt area, and it looks very nice.  I can now add to it if I feel like it in the coming years, though it's not necessary. 

So I am at the Renn Fest, happy but guilty.  Then came more trouble.  *B* had been drinking throughout the day.  I have no idea how much he had, but I do know that he was holding his own for a while.  I, myself, had a cider and a half or so over the eight hours we were there.  *B*'s friend showed up, and at that point, he was gone.  My mom was with fMIL, *B* was with his friend, and I was left by myself.  I was annoyed. 

When *B* drinks, he changes.  Not necessarily in a bad way - he's never violent.  He just gets kind of whiny and stuck in his own head.  I can't interact with him.  So I'm being ignored by everyone, and when I'm not ignored, I can't even hold a simple conversation with him.  We have a friend's birthday dinner to attend after the fest.  And *B* is being weird.  Silent brooding ensues.

Then comes the worst part - the parking lot.  We decided to leave at 6 to be down the road and at our friend's house at 6:30.  This is an hour before the end of the day.  There was so much traffic.  It took us one and a half hours to get out of the parking lot.  People kept jumping out of line, driving through the grass and cutting everyone off.  Think leapfrog here.  But I wouldn't - I have standards of conduct.  So we got more and more behind as time went on.  We missed the birthday dinner completely.  *B*'s no help and I can't talk to him because he's still somewhat drunk.  I am seething.

On the drive home, I finally spit out what was wrong.  Yes, I felt guilty about my present.  Yes, traffic annoyed me to no end.  But I was more than mad, I was worried.  *B* has been drinking a lot lately.  He goes to happy hours with friends one or two times a week.  He drinks during Renn Fest.  When I told him what was wrong, he told me I needed to find friends.  I was taken aback.  This doesn't sound like him.  We haven't spoken of it since.  But now that worry is in the back of my mind.  I know that now that Renn Fest is over, he will cut back a lot.  I hope.  I've been turning over all of the little problems we've been happening between us.  Is there anything we can do to get back on track?  Will things change after the wedding?  Am I being too harsh?  Have I changed?  Has he?  Am I too needy?  I've had some problems slipping back into depression again.  Will I have to deal with this forever?  Or will I be okay?

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Cocoa, My Love

I realized today, much to my dismay, that I have run out of cocoa mix.  Bad for me, good for you, because I will show you how to make the most amazing mix ever.  It's SO easy! 

Nota bene:  This recipe is not syrup sweet like Swiss Mix.  You can add more sugar if you want, I just prefer it on the less sweet side.  It reminds me of a Caffe Mocha without the Caffe.

All you need is a box of Hershey's Cocoa Powder, some salt, and some sugar.

Because I'm lazy thrifty,  I keep my cocoa mix in the box it came in.  The recipe actually makes two boxes worth.  So either keep another box from a previous go around or put the mix in another container.  I washed the old box out and dried it thoroughly.  If you don't dry it, you get glue.

One box of cocoa is two cups.  Be careful when pouring, it flies everywhere. Dump it in a large bowl.

Then, measure out 2 cups of sugar more or less. Dump that in the bowl, too.

Put a little less than two teaspoons of salt in the bowl.

Mix very carefully but thoroughly.  Make sure there are very few clumps.  Clumps of salt or cocoa make things gross when recombined.

Pour carefully into the containers you chose.

Clean up all of the powder and sugar that has settled all over everything.

When making cocoa, put 4 tablespoons of mix into a mug with 8 ounces of milk and microwave for two minutes.  If making a large batch, you can make it on the stove top.  Adding the slightest bit of vanilla perks it up a bit.

Enjoy!

Homemaker Holiday

Monday was a glorious day.  I enjoyed almost every minute of it.  I cleaned my whole bedroom top to bottom and put new sheets on the bed.  I did all of the laundry and put away what was dry.  The towels will be put away after they come out of the dryer. 
I made applesauce and apple butter and canned it.  From a local Asian market, we get amazing fuji apples.  They're huge!

A quick applesauce/apple butter how to:

Peel the apples.  I've done it with and without peeling, and I definitely peel from now on.

 

 Cut them into quarters and core them.

Slice the apples up.  If you want chunkier sauce/butter, leave them bigger.  If you want smooth sauce/butter, dice them.

For applesauce, I threw them into a big pot on medium/high with half a cup of water and the lid on.

After twenty minutes, it's mushy.  I use a potato masher to get it to the consistency I like.

I do a hot pack, so I pour the sauce straight into sterilized jars from the pot.

Yum!

With apple butter, instead of using the stove, I put the apples into the crockpot with 2 cups of sugar, three sticks of cinnamon, and enough ground cloves and pumpkin pie spice to cover the top.

 The finished products:

Please excuse the messy counters.  If I always waited to have the kitchen clean to make things, I'd never get anything done.

For dinner, I made a turkey roast with mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables, and snap peas.  With the leftovers, I made turkey shepherd's pie for later in the week.

We also managed to get some garden work done. Though I've let it go a bit fallow, this is our main flower bed:

*B* was working on composting old plants.  We've cleared out a good bit of our garden and planted potatoes.  Wouldn't you know it, when we cleared it, the squashes started producing.

On our neighbor's side of the fence, there's a ton of pokeberry.  While it's poisonous (though some eat it anyway), the berries make a really nice ink to draw with.

 This little guy was eating our carrots.  I think he's a black swallowtail. We let him live.

While out in the garden, I deadheaded my marigolds.  I remember my mom doing this when I was a kid.  The seeds store really easily.  Any savings is a good thing!

Check out the Tuesday Garden Party over at An Oregon Cottage.