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.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
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...
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