The essentials

This Christmas season if you or someone you know is interested preparing real nourishing foods there are a few items that I have deemed incredibly important for a working kitchen. Get them. They will make your life easier! These are all items that I use almost daily/weekly in my kitchen.

1) Kitchen Aid Mixer

This bad boy was a dream of mine from a young age. My mom always told me she would get me one when I got married. But low and behold she got me one last year for Christmas. It's seriously the power drill of the kitchen. I also have the meat grinder attachment which has been a life saver!

2) Mason jars

I use mason jars for many different tasks. Not only do I preserve fruits, beans, sauces, you name it in it in the pressure canner, but I also freeze in them which is awesome for stocks and soups. They save money on plastic freezer bags and are much more sturdy than plastic tupperware containers. They are also live savers when you purchase stuff in bulk and just want to keep a smaller amount in your cabinets. I typically get mine from the dollar store.

3) Crock pot

I don't know what I would do without one. As a working college student, planed ahead and fix it and leave it dishes are a God send. So being able so stick a roast in there or some soup fixin's in the morning, and coming home to dinner ready really makes my days go smoother. I have Hamilton Beach Stow and Go crock which locks the lid down for traveling. It's great for just that, but this one is on my wedding registry because I'm in need of a larger one. 

4) Good Quality Knives

This is actually on my wish list. When preparing real nourishing foods, you will find yourself chopping and dicing a lot of different ingredients. Sharp, high quality knives are vital to a working kitchen. I have a few that actually came from Sam's Club that have held a decent blade and are a nice weight, but these are some that I have been eyeballing!

5) Cast Iron

When I think of cast iron, I get all warm and fuzzy. I seriously cherish my collection and if you even mention putting them in the dishwasher, or get near them with soap, I will probably come at you and knock you across the head with one of my skillets......Harsh, I know, but I love them dearly. Heat retention is amazing in cast iron as well as the transferability to the stove top to oven. To me, food prepared in it tastes better. You also don't have to worry about nasty chemicals leaching into your food unlike when you cook with teflon. Also, iron. Traces of iron is added into the food which is a very important mineral, especially for women. Most people do not get enough iron. Cleaning is easy, just scrub them out and let them dry. Occasionally grease and salt them and you will have cookware that will out live you. Check out garage sales or your grandparents. Many people discard cast iron that is "rusted," but this can be fixed. 

I recommend having at least a 14in skillet and a 5-7 quart dutch oven which is perfect for soups.

So there it is. I've made Christmas shopping easier on ya'll!

Back on Track

Over the last few months, things have been slow here on the homestead. We have lost all but 3 of our chickens (none which are really laying) to a coyote. All of the chicks and even our rooster met the coyote. He will make a nice rug someday... The morning that we found the carcasses the coyote was still feast. As Zack and I were running into the house to get the gun, Zack landed funny on his foot and broke it. Never take mobility for granted. NEVER! Things have been put on hold for awhile because Zack is the main muscle of this operation. Now, almost 5 weeks later, we are getting back on track.

We have a new addition to the homestead... Forrest our 22 week old Great Pyrenees puppy. He will be our Livestock Guardian Dog to protect the chickens and the property from predators, someday that is. Right now he is just a snowball of energy.

The white one is Forrest... at 18 weeks when we got him he was already almost the same size as snick.

Also in the works is a 300 square foot fenced in area for both Forrest and the new batch of chickens that I get. Not only will this help give me peace of mind from the predators, but I will keep the chickens from digging up my flower bed and the grass seed that we are trying to sprout!

Lets hope and pray for some better luck over the next few months!

The chicken snatching of 2013....

Zack and I went to my mom's house this past weekend. When we got home we noticed that the rooster, 2 hens, and all 7 chicks were gone... We shook the food cup hoping they would come up, but none did. After searching the yard, I found one dead baby chick. No other feathers, no other evidence.... Mystery! I'll be honest, I cried and cursed a lot... Zack drank. If anything was going to eat those birds it was going to be us. In fact, that was the plan. But instead, they have mysteriously disappeared. In ways, I feel like a failure, but really, loss is part of it. Now, I just have to be thankful for the few eggs that I still have fertilized and hope and pray for a successful hatching (more on that later).

Also, a new coop is now quickly in the works. Something cheap, easy, and somewhat attractive. This one is made from pallets!

With school starting back up, oh, and a wedding to plan, we need to go ahead and tackle this stuff soon... Like yesterday! But hopefully all will work out and we will not fret over our failures and mishaps, but be thankful for the learning experiences and bounty that we are receiving. 

Now... I'm going to purchase some seeds!

I'm done with summer!

I'm very frustrated with my garden. This is what it looked like about a month ago. Green full, productive.

Now its a wilted mess. It makes me sad.

I had one harvest of yellow squash before plant death/disease something, a handful of cucumbers, no beans yet, and a few pounds of split tomatoes. It's been very very wet here for an Alabama summer so I think a lot of the plants don't really know how to react and it's giving way to a lot of pest problems... I don't think my sweet potatoes are very happy either because of the cooler temperatures we have been having. So in light of all this summer crop failure, I am thinking about my fall garden. I'm dreaming of cabbages, kohlrabi, kale, chard, collards, potatoes, and carrots.
This is what I go off of when I start planning the next round of crops. A Facebook friend asked about when to plant what so this is a really good start.
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0063/ANR-0063.pdf
Not only does it help you know when to plant, but what varieties are productive in Alabama.

Blueberries!

Zack and I went out to an organic farm yesterday to pick blueberries. We came back with 2 gallons of berries! I'm kind of in a squirreling mode right now trying to pack away and preserve all of the summer goodness into jars and in the freezer. So, not only am I going to freeze some berries for smoothies and pies for later, I decided to bust out the water bath canner and make some preserves.

Blueberries are amazing things. They have a mind of their own to bounce all over the kitchen and they are full of amazing antioxidants (that have been studied to reduce the risk of cancer), they are packed with vitamin C, fiber, and very low in calories. So these preserves are going on everything... Pancakes, PB&J's, and maybe even made into a BBQ sauce.

This was not very difficult to do, just very messy. I stained a pair of shorts and had squished berries on my floor. I ended up with 11 half pint jars of preserves. I may get ambitious tomorrow or so and do some more.

I started with about 12 cups of fresh berries.

I filled up one side of my sink and poured them in... This not only washes them, but helps me to see all the little stems, bugs, whatever that are hanging out with the berries. Move your hands through them and start putting them into a colander

After you have accomplished this, fill up your water bath canner about half way. Start the boiling processes. In the mean time, wash your jars, lids, and rings in hot soapy water. Get a big pot out for the berries. Put a sauce pan with enough water for your lids and bands on the stove top on medium heat. Once you have all the canning stuff in line it's time to mash the berries. You can do this in the food processor, but I already had a pile of dishes so I opted to do this the old fashioned way. 

For all of the family out there, this is Oma's masher thing to the old food mill thing that was above the stove... 

You want to mash them up quite a bit, but you also want to leave some good chunks... Also, feel free to use your hands. Honestly, it might be the best way. Once mashed, add the berries to that large pot we talked about. Turn on the heat. Once the berries start to bubble a little add about 4 cups sugar... I used a dark unprocessed organic pure cane but any will do (I also did less sugar, because that kind is a little on the expensive side). I also added around 4 tablespoons of local honey and the juice from one lemon. Let this start to bubble and get a nice purple foam on top.

Now it's time to sterilize your jars. The water bath should be boiling... Gently lower the jars in and let them hang out for a bit. 

Since I'm not using any pectin in this recipe, the mixture has to cook long enough to start to gel. This is tested by putting some of the juice onto a saucer, allowing it to cool, and running your finger through it to check it's thickness.

Once you can run you finger through it and not have it try to run back together it's ready to go into the sterilized jars. Folks, do this on an old towel... Even with a food funnel it makes a hot mess. Fill jars leaving about 1 inch of headspace. Clean the rims of the jars, center the lids, and hand tighten the bands. Your water bath should still be boiling so place the jars on the rack (I was able to do 8 half pint jars in my canner) and gently lower them. Process for 15 minutes.  

I kind of got distracted and forgot to take pictures of all of this. 

Once the time has gone by, remove the jars with the jar lifter things and place on a towel in a draft free area. You should start to hear the "pings" of the jars sealing. These are the outcomes. 

I'm pretty excited about trying these... 

I know this isn't the best tutorial to water bath canning. For a complete one go here. They are doing tomatoes, but you can use this method for anything that's high in acidity. 

.

Beef heart... It's what's for dinner.

I told Zack last night while preparing this meal that I didn't want to share the goodness that is beef heart to everyone... But I changed my mind because people shouldn't be afraid of organ meats, the heart especially. Not only is it very very VERY tasty, it's also very good for you. It's about 68% protein, very high in iron (which is good for you ladies), high in vitamin B12 (which supports healthy nerve and blood cells), and low in fat. Not to mention, it's also one of the biggest and cheapest cuts of meat there is!

Here it is... In all it's anatomic glory. This heart I purchased from the Harvell's Black Angus Beef at the farmers market. This chunk of meat was $4.50!

To prepare, it is advisable to trim off the hard white cartilage fat stuff... I'm not really sure exactly what it is.

A good sharp paring knife will do the trick. Next, I cut it in half. This is not necessary, but you are able to get a good sear on it in smaller pieces. Now you can see all the ventricles and arteries... If this grosses you out feel free to trim them out. 

I seasoned them with a good amount of black pepper, salt, and garlic. While you heat up a big cast iron skillet with oil and about 2 tablespoons of butter (because it is a health food). That's my favorite skillet Big Bertha.

Once everything is good and hot, cram the two pieces in and allow to sear for about 10 minutes or so on each side. This is a big piece of meat so it could stand to go longer. Also, pre heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Sorry for the blurry picture.  I also added some onions in there for good measure. Once it's seared the way you like it put it in the hot oven for about 30 minutes. Once it comes out let it rest for however long you can wait and slice. I forgot a picture of when it came out, but heres one of Zack's dinner plate.

This is cooked about medium rare. Of course you can cook it longer. We had squash and eggplant as a side but mashed potatoes would have been awesome. We were only able to eat half of it so there is enough for lunch tomorrow. So that's $4.50 for 2 meals for 2 people! Talk about cheap eating. Heart is not tough nor does it have the typical "organ meat" taste. It tastes like beef. Embrace this folks...... wait don't..... I don't want the price to go up!

Let's Give This a Try...

After months of my boyfriend telling me I needed to start a blog, I've caved in and decided I would give it a try. This is a way for me to share with not just friends and family, but others as well, who are interested in how I am able to cook real foods, garden, tend to chickens, and try to be as self reliant as possible while being a full time college student. So here it is...

This is Zack, my boyfriend, and I.

We currently have 5 laying hens, a rooster named Possum, and 9 baby chicks.                                                      

Oh and can't forget the top dog Snickers.

There are all the critters... Hopefully this will be a good place for me to share recipes and everyday photos of my 3 acre homestead. Stay tunned!