Self Sufficiency

We are trying to become more self-sufficient in our lifestyles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 11-20-11 - While editing another page, I found this wonderful recipe. It would make great gifts.

                 Inez Dyer gave us a wonderful recipe for "Cake in a Jar".  Click on the link to find the recipe: CAKE IN A JAR

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11-17-11 - Our new grain mill came with the co-op order. I seem to be under the weather or there would be bred today!
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11-08-2011 - My new dehydrator came!!! Whoo-hoo!! My old one was falling apart. The plastic was brittle and would break. I use it for so much!!!    I like using the Emergency Essentials site. They carry things that most places do not, like powdered butter, margarine and shortening. Whether you are planning for an emergency, a backpacker or just find it hard to run to the store everyday, they have what you need.
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11-02-2011 - We have ordered an electric grain mill to grind grains for breads and more! We use a local food co-op.
                           Check them out: http://www.bulknaturalfoods.com/local-food.html
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10-03-2011 - REMEMBER to rotate your canned goods and stock.   I like to date the tops of the cans and other items I bring home. One jug of vinegar looks just like the last jug. Using the dating system works for me. That way I do not end-up with a bad can, ar or jug.
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9-20-2011 - We are trying Jalapeno wine. Yep, wine made from Jalapeno peppers. When our son, Joe, went to Philmont out in New Mexico, he brought some back. we liked it. So, we are going to try it ourselves since the peppers went wild thins year. We have one batch going that is mild and one batch that is a little more warm! We will keep you posted.
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8-02-2011 - The rain barrels were completed!!! See "The Gardens" for details.
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11-30-10 We were asked for the name of the book we have been using for cheesemaking. The book is called: Home Cheesemaking, by Ricki Carroll. We like the way she explains things. (see 10-31 entry).
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11-11-10 -- As we all take a moment to remember those you have served and fought for our country, let's also take a breath for ourselves and look around to enjoy the beauty surrounding us.

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11-10-10 -- I tried to teach a class while being ill. It was the wrong things to do. I did a poor job if it AND I was still sick as a dog.

Ester Button, took all of these photos of the people who came and weathered my illness.

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11-03-10 -- A friend, Shannon, said that you can find the ingredients for the laundry soap/dishwasher soap at the Kroger Store in Dickson, TN. The recipes are linked to the blog below (see entry 10-23-10). That is good to know.

The "taster bottles" of root beer says that it is time to put it into the fridge. The book that we use, says that to stop the bottles from "gushing" or "popping" you should taste them at 48 and then 72 hours. When they are "fizzy" enough, put them into the fridge to stop the fermentation. When we made root beer in prior years, we always lost a few bottles to "popping". We will see how this batch goes. But, it does make sense!

Pumpkin muffins are on the agenda for today. They will be here for the Historical Society when they come on November 9th.

A couple people asked me to have a curry making class. I think that would be fun. We like curries in the winter. Warm and spicy flavours to help warm you up! A wonderful women in Germany, Marion Bornefeld, taught me to make curry. I had tried them in London and the one I ate was not the best. I was turned off from them. But, this one is so good and so easy. When I get the recipe together, we will have ourselves a cooking party!!

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10-31-10 -- I got another batch of milk. I made mozzarella again and it was very good!! I used the whey to make ricotta cheese too! The remaining whey is waiting in the fridge to be added to some homemade bread – YUM!!!

The name of the book we have been using is: Home Cheesemaking, by Ricki Carroll. We like the way she explains things.

The ice cream made was indeed made with strawberries from our own vines. It was delicious! Notice the “was”?

The last of the veggies were picked before the first frost came to the gardens Friday night. We have a ton of peppers! There are going to be a bunch of jalapeno poppers when Joe and Jessie come on tonight!!

Friday night we had fresh pork chops, roasted potatoes from the garden, fresh picked green beans (SIGH, the very last) and fresh tomatoes (again, SIGH, the last of them!). Dessert was ice cream from our own strawberries. Everything we ate came from the garden or the area. The chops were wonderful!! They had a wonderful flavour. We ended the night with a small glass of blackberry wine, provided by a wonderful friend, Debbie Schmidt.

We are realizing (and have been) realizing how much we miss the flavour of food. When you buy it at the grocery, you have no idea where or what that food has been through. When Michelle and I were in Ireland, pre EU, we were served this tiny fruit. Hmmm? We tried it, it had flavour beyond words! We could not get enough of it! Even the little bananas, as tiny as they were, were a flavour explosion in your mouth. That made us question more - what do we do to our food?

Joe & Jessie are going to be treated with a salad with our remaining Asian Pear. It is the last one off the tree. We enjoyed them while they lasted. We canned a bunch of pears for later in the winter. They will be good. We ate every last peach and nectarine that came off the trees. There were none to can. Before the frost, I picked the last two yellow raspberries and the last four red raspberries. I savoured them straight from the canes.

The other night, I came to the realization that if you can make washing machine soap, you can make dishwasher soap? So, experimentation has lead to a recipe that works well. We have added it to the website. It seems to clean better than the Cascade that I had been using for a fraction of the cost!!!!

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10-27-10 -- We were able to get fresh milk from a beekeeper friend. So, we went into our first foray into Cheese-making. We tried a “30-minute mozzarella”. It turned out a little tough, but still good. Our next foray was to make Neufchatel cheese. That turned out very well. This will be good with Jane's hot pepper jelly!

We have a little heavy cream left from the cheese making. Jane is promising some ice cream! Maybe she will use some of our strawberries! YUM!!!!

In between all of that, we found a really cool thing to try with all the watermelons we had left. We are trying to make Watermelon Wine. Mitch is our brew master. After Jane juiced the watermelons, we have 2-½ gallons of juice. Just right for our first batch of wine.

We have started bread making again. Jane made a couple really good loaves of bread last night -- whole wheat sour-dough. She uses the same dough for cinnamon rolls. She left them a little too long and too low in the oven. OOPS - the bottoms burnt. But, if you cut off the bottom, they still taste good.

We are also back to making root beer. Jane bought the extract from an old A&P grocery in New Orleans, pre-Katrina. She has found a source for it again. She bottled a batch today. In 48 hours, she will test it. Then test it again in 72 hours. Then it may be ready to try!! There are root beer floats on the horizon.

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10-23-10 -- Jane tried a recipe for homemade laundry soap. The recipe makes 5 gallons. She cut in down into a 2 gallon batch to try and see if we have any problems with it (allergic reations or anything else). So far it seems to do well. The washing soda was hard to find. She finally found it at Rural King. The recipe was provided by a UT Extension Agent. But, there was a very similar recipe online with the calculations and hints!

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10-19-10 - I am starting this new page to keep up with our trials at becoming more self-sufficient. We all want to save more money. Since I am retired/stay-at-home mom-wife, I feel it is my responsibility to make our home more efficient. One of my inspirations is Mary Jane Butters. A very dear friend, Dani, introduced her to me. I have used her as a model ever since.

We already keep bees. We are down to eight hives from twelve. Mitch blacksmiths, spins wool and other yarns, makes soap, wonderful white oak baskets and the best biscuits!

I cook (including our daily bread), can(everything from our garden), organize everything, weave, make baskets, quilts, sew, teach classes when I can, garden (I have a large herb garden for the bees and for cooking), I make root beer, and much, much more!

We raise a beef cow every year. It is grass and grain fed. We hope to get chickens in the repertoire. But, a coop must come first. We are going to build a chicken tractor this winter. That way we can move it around and fertilize areas at the same time as we raise them. Without a coop, they would become fodder for the coyotes and hawks (we have a gorgeous Red Shouldered Hawk out there every day!) Another beekeeper friend, may provide us with specialty pork sausage (no salt!!) and he ma have some rabbits for us.

We estimate we provide over 50% of our food and household products. Side note: soapwort makes great shampoo! The number would be closer to 70% if you do not count the fact that we buy the grain to make the bread (do I sound like the “Little Red Hen”?).

Our goal is to raise the percentage each year.

So on that note, away we go. . .
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Welcome to Little Dipper Forge!!!

Glad you could visit!