I Relish The Day

My posts are lately far and few between but I don't seem to have or find the time to sit and write so much anymore.  Today I created and canned two types of relish from peppers and radishes from my garden.  And pickles some more okra from the garden.  Yes!  I am still harvesting okra in November!  Crazy, huh?  I created these recipes myself.  Here are photos of my radish relish, three pepper relish, and the pickled okra.  And I've included photos of various projects of the last few weeks.  Enjoy!

                                                   Today's relishes and okra.

                                    Ricky & Little Ricky catching chickens for wing clipping.

                                              Prepping to dehydrate potatoes.

                                       Prepping to dehydrate lettuce mix.

                                 My jars of orange marmalade (gold) - very time consuming to make!

                                             Our first gathering of pecans from our trees.

                                         Found this heavy cracker at a garage sale - works!

                                            A glimpse of our Fall garden.

                                              Canned whole jalapenos.

                                             Fall view from my kitchen window.

                                       Prepping to dehydrate romaine lettuce

                       Making Texas Armadillos with jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese, cheddar cheese
                          then wrapped in bacon.  Put in freezer.  Great when smoked in the smoker!

Homesteading Honey

Well, it's been awhile since I've blogged, but really, I've been busy!  My husband is calling me his homesteading honey!  I have surprised myself - don't know who I've become, but am actually enjoying the learning process, the creativity, and the accomplishments.  And along with all of the homesteading ventures I continue to be a wife, mom, home educator, friend, homemaker, and just recently have been ministering in music and message at a local church!  I can't even believe it!  Who am I and what did I do with me?  I am who God says I am!  Blessed!

So back to the homesteading part - within the last several weeks we've experienced a brooding hen sitting on her eggs resulting in a new baby chick!  We've had a new hen given to us bringing our grand total to around 40 chickens!  Not all are laying yet, too young, but we've brought in as many as 10 eggs and as few as 4 a day!  Pink, aqua, and brown - everyday is an "egg hunt" around here!  We've tilled up the summer garden, continue to harvest some of the summer garden, planted a fall garden and receive a bounty of fruits and veggies from other unexpected sources!  Blessings! 

I have been busy making cloth napkins and cloth reusable "paper" towels and reusable "swiffer" dusters.  And forming the idea and gathering the raw materials to make some craft items.  I have been drying basil, sage, orange peels, cantaloupe and green onions.  Made fruit leather in my dehydrator.  Been making tinctures and essential oils with all but the cantaloupe and green onions.  Also orange extract!  I have canned beets, cherries, carrots, more beet pickles and pickled carrots, a green veggie blends for soups, lime juice, orange juice, orange slices, chicken broth, red wine chicken stock, chicken chili, chicken vegetable soup, and potato soup.  We're running out of storage space!

Been making new friends, spending time with them, having them over for visits and dinner.  And I've cut my own hair!  And discovered making coffee cubes from our leftover morning coffee - just pour into an ice tray - let freeze - then bag.  Great for making iced coffee drinks in the blender!

And recently I have the opportunity to do some work from home with a company out of Colorado!  So I'll be making some much needed extra income!

All of these ventures are interspersed with homeschooling, laundry, meal preparation, cleaning, and the usual everyday duties.  Wow!  I love being productive but this is getting ridiculous.  I find myself not sitting down sometimes until 9:30 in the evening!  And that's with an early start to my day.  

So here are a some pics of a few of the aforementioned ventures.  Probably forgot to mention some venture - And now you know why I haven't blogged in awhile.

                                                             Shadow and baby chick

                                            A Sampling of our pink, brown, and aqua eggs

                                                                    Beets

                                                                       Cherries

                                           Another of Shadow and her chick

                                                     Processing the limes

                                                       A few of the lime juice jars

                                               Green veggies for soups

                                                  Canned green veggies

                                                   Drying cantaloupe

                                                        Dried green onions

                                               Peeling and prepping oranges

                                                 Abundance of oranges for free!

                                                             Oranges being processed

                                  Drying orange peels for essential oil and extract - waste not, want not!

                                                 Juicing oranges for canning of juice

                                                       The orange juice process

                                                        Coffee cubes!

"You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country."  Deuteronomy 28:3
"The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you."  Deut. 28:8

Gluten-Free Homestead Gumbo

I created my own recipe of cajun gumbo and as we were eating realized that a great bit of my ingredients came from our homestead!  Now, that was quite satisfying.  I would have never imagined a year ago that this would be.  If you're interested in replicating this dish don't think you have to raise your own - just go to your local grocery store for your ingredients.

From our garden/homestead: 
Rooster (chicken), green peppers, jalapeno peppers, sage, and okra

The only problem with your replicating my recipes - mostly why this is not a recipe blog - is that I don't do measurements.  I cook by "feel".  I'm odd in that I don't even taste my dish as I create - I just do it and it usually turns out very tasty!

Earlier in the day I boiled my rooster that we had butchered a couple a months ago (had been frozen).  Deboned it.  Chopped it and set it aside.  Then for good measure I put the bones and skin back in the broth, added wine, water, chopped onion, chopped sage and continue to boil then simmer for a couple of hours to create about 3 quarts of chicken stock that I put up for future!  It feels great to stretch our food!  

I prepared brown rice in my rice cooker ahead of time.  

Then I put some olive oil in a deep sided pot.  Added some gluten-free all purpose flour from Bob Mill.  Browned the flour, creating a roux.  Added chopped onions, green peppers, jalapeno peppers.  Continued to saute.  Added Tony's Seasoning, and Old Bay Seasoning.  Added tomato sauce, water, red wine, Better Than Bullion chicken base and simmered.  Added chopped okra.  Added chopped cooked chicken.  Simmered.  Served over rice.  It was quite spicy and my "men" loved it! They didn't even need the Louisiana Hot Sauce that was on the table for enhancing!

Although, as we were discussing the rooster who's name we were trying decide - didn't put the name on the freezer bag - my sons' appetite started waning.  Ricky and I tried to help the situation by telling them that our rooster had a better, more humane life, than the chicken we buy in the grocery store, and were healthier for us since it was free-ranged. 

I must say we are beginning to settle in to the homesteading lifestyle.  And all is good.

Happenings on the Homestead Photos

Photos of happenings here on the homestead.  Tart Dill Pickle Relish in the making from our garden cucumbers.  Our largest watermelon from the garden weighing in at 33.1 pounds!  And a recent homestead sunset.  See the tiny oil pump  - not ours. Peaches from our peach tree - though the harvest wasn't very large.  Our first "blue-green" egg.  Large four inch in diameter spider with babies on its back - we know 'cause when we went to kill it they dispersed - millions of teeny babies went everywhere in our storage room.  Yuck - one not so pleasant thing about living in the country.

                                             Placed a penny on the watermelon for scale.

                                         Decided I need a higher powered camera for justice.

                                                                    Peaches

                                                          Blue-green Egg

                                                  Very large spider with babies on back.

...In A Pear Tree

We have discovered here in the country that if you are willing to put in some effort and hard work you can also enjoy some of the wonderful delectable delights of life for free!  First we were blessed to be able to harvest figs and create some sweet and yummy fig preserves.  Then recently we were invited to pick pears at a friend's and I must say I created some perfectly pleasing pear preserves - my first!  I have since been receiving rave reviews from those who have tasted them.  As a matter of fact we were told one's grandmother took to eating them from the jar with a spoon!  Which gives me such a sense of accomplishment.  I put up nineteen jars of pear preserves!!!  Who knew?  What I am learning and enjoying is that with the preserves, pickles, relishes, and more that I'm "putting up" it is art just like any other cooking.  Creating my own mix of ingredients and making a unique product!  And we have been told there are more pears to be had - so, we'll be back!  I'm thinking canned whole pears, pear sauce, pear relish.......hmmmmmm.  And, do I dare enter the County Fair with my pears?

Purple Hull Peas

One of my memories from childhood growing up around my grandmother's garden is that of fresh shelled peas.  And sitting around in rocking chairs on the porch in a group of cousins, aunts, and whoever was around, shelling peas and conversing.  So when the opportunity arose to procure some purple hull peas I took it excitedly.  I also thought they would be a great item to can!  We got a five gallon bucket full of the peas and the next day Little Ricky and I got all comfy and prepared to shell and watch the old iconic 1960's sitcom "Hazel".  I have always loved introducing my boys to the nostalgic "yesteryear" wholesome and fun TV shows that I grew up on - and they REALLY enjoy them!  Lucky me!  So, Little Ricky and I shelled and shelled and shelled.  For about two and a half hours we both shelled.  What a great memory for Little Ricky to have.  When we were done and I measured we had just about three quarts of peas - which I decided was not quite enough to mess with canning and besides Ricky nor Little Ricky had ever had fresh southern cooked purple hull peas before.  So I took out some salt pork and cooked them.  They were everything I had remembered and the guys loved them.  Of course I added to the menu some gluten free cornbread, stewed fresh yellow squash from the garden, fresh sliced tomatoes from the garden, and sliced onions.  Blast from my past and the most wonderful meal as of late!  Love this country living and country cooking - which I am so blessed to have learned at a young age from my southern grandmothers.  And by the way, aren't purple hull peas pretty?

                                                    Purple Hull Peas in the Pod

                                                           ...and on the stove.

Drying Times

 

                                                                  Lemon Balm

                                   Sage
Recently instead of preserving via making tinctures, canning preserves and jellies, I decided to go back to drying a few items.  A few figs, some of our lemon balm, and sage.  The figs will be good for eating, the lemon balm for tea and seasoning, and the sage for tea, seasoning, and herbal remedy.  I have so much more to learn about the bounty of the earth that our Lord created and gave freely for our use.  As I continue seeking Him first and His righteousness He continues to give me ideas, goodness, resources, and provision. His Word is true and He is faithful.  And we are blessed. 

                          
 Matthew 6:33