Often, when I'm posting on Facebook or talking to someone about the projects we do, people often say, "I don't know how you do it all! I could never do all that!"
The main thing to remember is that you need to focus on what you CAN do or HAVE done. Just because I accomplished XYZ today, probably means that I had to let something else fall by the wayside (usually housework and laundry). I try to accomplish at least one small thing every day that falls in line with our sustainable lifestyle. Whether it's making laundry soap (takes 5 minutes) or making and canning sauce from the tomatoes from our garden, which takes all day... Every task is an important one. Often, I feel so far behind, that I post everything I have done as a reminder to myself that the small steps are important and they count too. Putting all you have accomplished in writing really helps to put things into perspective and validates that yes, you are moving in the right direction.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Measuring Independence
I don't have much time to write lately, as the pigs have been very challenging to keep contained, and with a 2 month old baby, you can imagine our hands are full. I thought today, as I'm feeling frustrated, I would try to measure how far along we are in our self suffiency. Following are things we don't have to buy now (if we don't want to), that we either harvest, grow, raise, or make ourselves:
Eggs
Milk & cheese (goat)
Bread
Soap
Laundry detergent
Dishwasher detergent
Jams & Jellies
Spaghetti sauce
Produce (for now, from our garden)
Pickles
Diapers
Wipes
Mustard
Soon, we will have meats (rabbit, pork, goat), and if fate allows, we would love to have a mini-jersey cow to make butter and cheeses and have cow milk (the kids don't care much for goat milk). Hopefully, next year, we will have apples (this year's crop was killed by a late frost), pears, cherries, and peaches.
Eggs
Milk & cheese (goat)
Bread
Soap
Laundry detergent
Dishwasher detergent
Jams & Jellies
Spaghetti sauce
Produce (for now, from our garden)
Pickles
Diapers
Wipes
Mustard
Soon, we will have meats (rabbit, pork, goat), and if fate allows, we would love to have a mini-jersey cow to make butter and cheeses and have cow milk (the kids don't care much for goat milk). Hopefully, next year, we will have apples (this year's crop was killed by a late frost), pears, cherries, and peaches.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Winter's Coming!
The last couple nights and mornings have been exceptionally cold. It's starting to feel like Fall!!! Autumn is my favorite season. Pumpkins, apples, soups & chili, baking, changing foliage: All those usual things that come to mind are great, but there's also something about Fall that stirs up some primal instincts in me that I love being in touch with.
Preparing for winter, though hectic sometimes, is fun and satisfying. Sprucing up animal shelters, stacking firewood, freezing and canning the garden harvest, making sure we're stocked up on paper goods and supplies, and freezing batters and doughs so we can bake (thus heating the house) at a moment's notice... It's all part of providing for our family, so should we be snowed in for days or even weeks, we have all we need. Consider it extreme nesting, prepping, or whatever you want, I love knowing that should we be cut off from the world during the winter, we will be snug, fed, and happy.... Actually, I'm kind of hoping for it :)
Preparing for winter, though hectic sometimes, is fun and satisfying. Sprucing up animal shelters, stacking firewood, freezing and canning the garden harvest, making sure we're stocked up on paper goods and supplies, and freezing batters and doughs so we can bake (thus heating the house) at a moment's notice... It's all part of providing for our family, so should we be snowed in for days or even weeks, we have all we need. Consider it extreme nesting, prepping, or whatever you want, I love knowing that should we be cut off from the world during the winter, we will be snug, fed, and happy.... Actually, I'm kind of hoping for it :)
Sunday, August 26, 2012
What if We Had to.....
With all of the problems facing our country and the world - economic difficulties, civil and political unrest, natural disasters, droughts, pollution, etc., I often find myself wondering - if life as we know it changed tomorrow, would we be able to provide for our family for an indefinite period of time? The answer for us is, "Not yet, but we are getting there".... For right now, just being able to provide a few meals a week from our garden, animals, and food storage (flour, sugar, etc.) provides a sense of pride and a connection with our land makes it all worth it. As it stands now, we don't need to buy eggs, bread, milk, produce (except for exotics and we will have to buy in winter), fire wood, or water. All of that is provided by our land, our animals and our labor. I also make our own laundry soap, body soap, and candles. By this time next year, we will have our own pork and rabbit meat, and be able to trade those for beef from friends of ours. Hopefully, the fruit trees and grape vines we planted this year will start producing next year as well. So while we are still far from being totally self sufficient, we could be self sustaining if we needed to be, and that's a good feeling!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Got Pork?
WE DO!!! This past weekend, we purchased a breeding pair of Yorkshire/Duroc cross pigs. The sow is a year old, and the boar is about 7 months. She is bred and due to have her piglets around 11/21. I have named the breeders Porky and Petunia. Out of the litter, we will probably only keep 3 or 4 for our own butchering, and sell the rest as piglets. If anyone is interested in any of the piglets once they are weaned, please let me know.
Temporarily, the happy pair has a lean to within our electrified goat pasture. Soon, James and the boys will be fencing in our lower pasture for them and building 2 separate huts and dividing the pasture so that when Petunia has her babies, we can separate Porky from them so that he doesn't eat any of the little ones.
I am hoping to find a local resturant (or an employee) to give us their prep scraps for the pigs as well.
I can't describe the feeling, knowing that soon, we will have our own perpetuating supply of delicious, natural, grassfed, homegrown meat! It was one of the big missing pieces on our overall homesteading plan, as free range chickens give great eggs, but the meat is lean and tough. We will also be aquiring a couple of rabbit bucks to breed with our does soon, so that we have a good supply of delicious (don't knock it till you've tried it!) rabbit meat.
I have a short term goal of being able to cook at least 1 meal a week this winter, made entirely out of foods we have grown, hunted, or raised on our homestead or made from scratch using minimal store bought staples. Wish me luck!
Temporarily, the happy pair has a lean to within our electrified goat pasture. Soon, James and the boys will be fencing in our lower pasture for them and building 2 separate huts and dividing the pasture so that when Petunia has her babies, we can separate Porky from them so that he doesn't eat any of the little ones.
I am hoping to find a local resturant (or an employee) to give us their prep scraps for the pigs as well.
I can't describe the feeling, knowing that soon, we will have our own perpetuating supply of delicious, natural, grassfed, homegrown meat! It was one of the big missing pieces on our overall homesteading plan, as free range chickens give great eggs, but the meat is lean and tough. We will also be aquiring a couple of rabbit bucks to breed with our does soon, so that we have a good supply of delicious (don't knock it till you've tried it!) rabbit meat.
I have a short term goal of being able to cook at least 1 meal a week this winter, made entirely out of foods we have grown, hunted, or raised on our homestead or made from scratch using minimal store bought staples. Wish me luck!
The Canning Bug
I have always been fascinated with the idea of canning. Afterall, what could be better than preserving something that you grew from a tiny seed in your own land,and seeing it grow, ripen, and create something delicious that could be enjoyed year round? After years of wanting to learn, I finally took the steps necessary to learn this invaluable skill for myself.
Several months ago, I took a canning class from Karen Allen, owner of Old Barn Hallow in Binghamton, NY. I'm now hooked.
Since taking her class, I have canned blueberry jam, blueberry pie filling, dilly beans, green beans (pressure canner), and candied jalepenos... I'm hoping to get some peaches this week to make preserves and can slices. It's going to be amazing this winter, to open up a little jar of summer that I preserved myself. Soon, I would like to start canning some meat in my pressure canner, especially since we are hoping to get some deer this year, and thanks to our two new pigs, we will have an over abundance of pork eventually.
What are some of your favorite canning recipes?
Several months ago, I took a canning class from Karen Allen, owner of Old Barn Hallow in Binghamton, NY. I'm now hooked.
Since taking her class, I have canned blueberry jam, blueberry pie filling, dilly beans, green beans (pressure canner), and candied jalepenos... I'm hoping to get some peaches this week to make preserves and can slices. It's going to be amazing this winter, to open up a little jar of summer that I preserved myself. Soon, I would like to start canning some meat in my pressure canner, especially since we are hoping to get some deer this year, and thanks to our two new pigs, we will have an over abundance of pork eventually.
What are some of your favorite canning recipes?
Blessed
As I'm having my coffee this morning, the air is cooler than it has been and it feels like Fall, my favorite time of year. Sitting here, with my baby cooing and the house all quiet (except for the dryer and baby sounds), I'm reminded of all the blessings I have to be thankful for... As stressful as life can be, if you count your blessings, it helps to put things into a clearer perspective. Today, I plan on reflecting on how thankful I am for my husband, our children, our little home, the bounty we are harvesting from our garden, our animals, our extended family, our friends, and the knowledge that someday we will see those we have lost, in Heaven. Thank you, Lord, for granting us this life and the means to live it well.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
County Fair
While strolling through the county fair yesterday and today, I became aware of just how much my mindset has changed over the past several years...
It used to be that looking at the animals was a novelty and the midway, games, and consession stands were the highlights (which is still the case for the kids) of the fair. This year was different for me. Looking at the animals, I was more aware of their breeds, uses, quality, and approximate market values. I found myself being slightly envious, not of the owners of the animals, but of the parents of all the 4-H kids. Granted, this is only our second year on our "homestead", but I hope that some of our children will take enough interest in self sufficiency and farming to become involved in such an amazing club. I think a parent's proudest moment is when their child demonstrates the core values that they have been raised with.
Hopefully, if they decide they want to, we will be in a position within the next year or two to enable our kids to pursue any 4-H interests they may choose, if they choose to do so.
Seeing all those amazing creatures also reminded me of how far we have yet to go toward our goal of providing most of our own food. We want to breed pigs - we still need a new divided fence and 2 pig huts. We want a milk cow and a meat cow - we would need yet another fence and a 2 stall cow barn. We will be breeding 3 of our goats this fall - we need a milking parlor build before spring.
A simple solution to most of our livestock barriers would be to build a large new garage for my husband and use our huge pole barn for livestock. We would simply need to build the fence off the back of it and fit it with stalls for the various animals. A milking room could easily be built inside also. Now to figure out how and where to build him a new garage... and how to pay for it.
On another note: Today I picked another 3 quarts of green beans from our garden, and the tomatoes are starting to ripen. I think I'm going to make a batch of dilly beans this weekend.
It used to be that looking at the animals was a novelty and the midway, games, and consession stands were the highlights (which is still the case for the kids) of the fair. This year was different for me. Looking at the animals, I was more aware of their breeds, uses, quality, and approximate market values. I found myself being slightly envious, not of the owners of the animals, but of the parents of all the 4-H kids. Granted, this is only our second year on our "homestead", but I hope that some of our children will take enough interest in self sufficiency and farming to become involved in such an amazing club. I think a parent's proudest moment is when their child demonstrates the core values that they have been raised with.
Hopefully, if they decide they want to, we will be in a position within the next year or two to enable our kids to pursue any 4-H interests they may choose, if they choose to do so.
Seeing all those amazing creatures also reminded me of how far we have yet to go toward our goal of providing most of our own food. We want to breed pigs - we still need a new divided fence and 2 pig huts. We want a milk cow and a meat cow - we would need yet another fence and a 2 stall cow barn. We will be breeding 3 of our goats this fall - we need a milking parlor build before spring.
A simple solution to most of our livestock barriers would be to build a large new garage for my husband and use our huge pole barn for livestock. We would simply need to build the fence off the back of it and fit it with stalls for the various animals. A milking room could easily be built inside also. Now to figure out how and where to build him a new garage... and how to pay for it.
On another note: Today I picked another 3 quarts of green beans from our garden, and the tomatoes are starting to ripen. I think I'm going to make a batch of dilly beans this weekend.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Preserving Traditions
I started this post back in January, but never got to finish... It was my first time trying to make my family's "Pot Pie", which I hadn't had since just before my Great Aunt Elsie died when I was 13... Amazingly enough, I still remembered exactly how to make it and exactly how it should taste. I have to admit that when no one was around and I tasted the first bite, I cried a little because it did taste, feel, and smell just like hers and I felt that just for a moment, she was there with me. It's amazing how food can connect you to your memories! Here is the post:
Anyone who knows me, knows that my Great Aunts and Grandmother were a HUGE influence on my life. While wondering what to do with the ham bone and scraps from this weekend's birthday celebrations, it hit me..... POT PIE!!! Now, granted, what I think of as "pot pie" is actually a take off of Amish "bot bie". As a child, I never knew that pot pie was actually a stew baked into a pie crust. Aunt Elsie, Aunt Nelda, and my Grandmother used to make "pot pie" a few days after we would have a big ham dinner. What I considered a treat, and one of my favorite meals, was actually a product of their Depression Era Pennsylvania upbringing.
You see, our family's "pot pie" is actually a type of ham soup with cut dumplings, there is no crust or "pie" involved at all. When they were growing up, my great aunts and grandmother had very little. My great grandfather was a coal miner and with 8 children to feed, NOTHING was wasted. After a ham was eaten, the bones, fat, and scraps were boiled for hours (you "boil the piss out of it", as my Aunt Elsie would say), making a stock. Scooping out all of the bones and fatty bits, the stock was allowed to cool until all the fat floated to the top. the fat is then skimmed off the top, and combined with flour, and a pinch of salt (if there isn't enough fat to make enough dough, lard or shortening can be substituted with a little of the broth for flavor). There was never measuring in "pot pie"... Everything was "eyeballed" and improvised until it tasted good or was the right consistency. The dough would be mixed and kneaded until it was "workable" , then turned out onto a floured surface and rolled out fairly thick. It was then cut into strips, then across the strips on a diagonal to form a type of delicious imperfect parallelogram. The dough shapes would be set aside, covered by a damp towel, until about a half hour before supper time. While the dumplings were beng made, chopped onions, potatoes, and celery (if it was available) would be added to the skimmed broth, and any meaty, useable bits woud be picked off the hambone and added back into the liquid as well.... The women would then boil the piss out of that too, then reducce it to a simmer, stirring occasionaly and tasting, usually all day long. They would add seasoning (only salt and pepper) and water throughout the day as needed. the day long process would fill the house with an aroma of home, comfort, and family. I remember getting excited when it was time to drop the "noodles" into the boiling broth, and it was almost time to eat. The smell filling the house was absolutely incredible, and still feels like home. Once the noodles were done, there was never an empty seat at the table... And usually not a drop left.
Anyone who knows me, knows that my Great Aunts and Grandmother were a HUGE influence on my life. While wondering what to do with the ham bone and scraps from this weekend's birthday celebrations, it hit me..... POT PIE!!! Now, granted, what I think of as "pot pie" is actually a take off of Amish "bot bie". As a child, I never knew that pot pie was actually a stew baked into a pie crust. Aunt Elsie, Aunt Nelda, and my Grandmother used to make "pot pie" a few days after we would have a big ham dinner. What I considered a treat, and one of my favorite meals, was actually a product of their Depression Era Pennsylvania upbringing.
You see, our family's "pot pie" is actually a type of ham soup with cut dumplings, there is no crust or "pie" involved at all. When they were growing up, my great aunts and grandmother had very little. My great grandfather was a coal miner and with 8 children to feed, NOTHING was wasted. After a ham was eaten, the bones, fat, and scraps were boiled for hours (you "boil the piss out of it", as my Aunt Elsie would say), making a stock. Scooping out all of the bones and fatty bits, the stock was allowed to cool until all the fat floated to the top. the fat is then skimmed off the top, and combined with flour, and a pinch of salt (if there isn't enough fat to make enough dough, lard or shortening can be substituted with a little of the broth for flavor). There was never measuring in "pot pie"... Everything was "eyeballed" and improvised until it tasted good or was the right consistency. The dough would be mixed and kneaded until it was "workable" , then turned out onto a floured surface and rolled out fairly thick. It was then cut into strips, then across the strips on a diagonal to form a type of delicious imperfect parallelogram. The dough shapes would be set aside, covered by a damp towel, until about a half hour before supper time. While the dumplings were beng made, chopped onions, potatoes, and celery (if it was available) would be added to the skimmed broth, and any meaty, useable bits woud be picked off the hambone and added back into the liquid as well.... The women would then boil the piss out of that too, then reducce it to a simmer, stirring occasionaly and tasting, usually all day long. They would add seasoning (only salt and pepper) and water throughout the day as needed. the day long process would fill the house with an aroma of home, comfort, and family. I remember getting excited when it was time to drop the "noodles" into the boiling broth, and it was almost time to eat. The smell filling the house was absolutely incredible, and still feels like home. Once the noodles were done, there was never an empty seat at the table... And usually not a drop left.
It's Been Awhile
It's been a long time since I've posted... The craziness of being pregnant and running the household, and helping James' business got to be pretty busy for awhile, and then our daughter, Elsienne Mae was born in June.
Now that things are settling down, I'm hoping to be able to write quite a bit more... Some exciting things that have happened on our little homestead since January are:
1. Elsienne was born... Our little angel is doing great and is the perfect baby!
2. I learned how to can. So far, I have waterbath canned blueberry jam and blueberry pie filling, and I bought a pressure canner and canned green beans from our garden yesterday.
3. We got another goat. Her name is Snickers and she's a Lamancha/nigerian dwarf cross. We will be breeding her this fall.
4. LuLu (our Lamancha goat) had a baby on April 28th... She's a beautiful doe, and we named her "Sugar" because she's white and sweet! We milk Lulu every day and get about 1/2 gallon from her. I like making cheese, but the milk is usually all drank before we can save up enough to make a batch. Hopefully, after the other does are bred and kid, we will have enough to make lots of cheese.
5. We have more chickens than before, and we also have some ducks.
6. James and his crew put up a high-tensile electric fence for our goats.
7. They also built the baby's room and an AWESOME pantry for me!
8. We planted some peach, pear, and cherry trees, grape vines, and a garden. We won't see anything from the trees or vines this year, but it's an investment in our future and our homestead!
Well, that gets you caught up on the major happenings in our little corner of the world...
Now that things are settling down, I'm hoping to be able to write quite a bit more... Some exciting things that have happened on our little homestead since January are:
1. Elsienne was born... Our little angel is doing great and is the perfect baby!
2. I learned how to can. So far, I have waterbath canned blueberry jam and blueberry pie filling, and I bought a pressure canner and canned green beans from our garden yesterday.
3. We got another goat. Her name is Snickers and she's a Lamancha/nigerian dwarf cross. We will be breeding her this fall.
4. LuLu (our Lamancha goat) had a baby on April 28th... She's a beautiful doe, and we named her "Sugar" because she's white and sweet! We milk Lulu every day and get about 1/2 gallon from her. I like making cheese, but the milk is usually all drank before we can save up enough to make a batch. Hopefully, after the other does are bred and kid, we will have enough to make lots of cheese.
5. We have more chickens than before, and we also have some ducks.
6. James and his crew put up a high-tensile electric fence for our goats.
7. They also built the baby's room and an AWESOME pantry for me!
8. We planted some peach, pear, and cherry trees, grape vines, and a garden. We won't see anything from the trees or vines this year, but it's an investment in our future and our homestead!
Well, that gets you caught up on the major happenings in our little corner of the world...
Friday, January 27, 2012
A Day of Rest.....
There's some days that God, in His own way, tells us to slow down and rest. Whether it's a gloomy day, a little sickness in the family, or (my favorite) a day when everything is done, clean, prepared, and you have an "ahhhhhhhhh" moment with no stress when you can breathe and enjoy all that the Lord has provided.
Be sure to listen to what your body and God is telling you. Sometimes we just need to let everything go, and REST.... And that's what I'm going to do today.
Be sure to listen to what your body and God is telling you. Sometimes we just need to let everything go, and REST.... And that's what I'm going to do today.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls
So I didn't think I would begin posting so soon, but I couldn't help myself. I've added my Grandma Esther's cinnamon roll "recipe" to the cooking page. Hope you get to try it and let me know how y'all like them. ENJOY!
Welcome
Welcome to the future home of the Stafford Family Homestead, where I will be sharing our family's struggles, triumphs, tips, and lessons from our journey to becoming self sustaining on our small 8 acre property in the Southern Tier of NY.
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