Traditional Homemaking Fall/Spring 2009! - Page 11

[1jooj]

Thanks for that tip, Juvysen. My local health food store sells the YL EOs. They're kinda $$ though, and I depleted several of my EOs on the bees this week. We're all showering in Selsun Blue and I am at this point applying Lamisil. One of the barn cats has it now, too, and I'm concerned he could pass it to the goats.

I got the yard cleaned up and all dh's "toys" put away, got the animals fed, and now there is a butternut squash in the oven. I'm making chili mac and cheese for the kids for dinner. WW pasta, beans, tomato sauce and cheese. The kids love it, dh hates it, and I know they'll be happy to eat it for a couple days.

OK, here's my newest "problem": a dear friend dropped off, I kid you not, a beach ball sized cabbage. Now. I love cabbage. Love it dressed simply with ACV, OO and S&P. Love it sauteed in OO. Love it as soup. Or creamed. Honestly, I am not going to make sauerkraut. What should I do? Kids are not big fans, but there's no point in saving to eat with dh, because he can't stand cabbage. It's huge. I suppose I should just suck it up and eat through it while no one's around to smell me.

[Juvysen]

maybe you could cut the cabbage up and put it in baggies in useful-sized amounts, then freeze (for soup, or other cooked-faire?) whatever you won't eat right away. I have no clue how well it freezes, but I'm guessing if you're gonna stick it in soup it won't matter tooooo much...

[Katico]

Originally Posted by 1jooj

OK, here's my newest "problem": a dear friend dropped off, I kid you not, a beach ball sized cabbage. Now. I love cabbage. Love it dressed simply with ACV, OO and S&P. Love it sauteed in OO. Love it as soup. Or creamed. Honestly, I am not going to make sauerkraut. What should I do? Kids are not big fans, but there's no point in saving to eat with dh, because he can't stand cabbage. It's huge. I suppose I should just suck it up and eat through it while no one's around to smell me.

I would so be making sauerkraut! I saw this last week and was inspired - I didn't realize it was so easy:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/87255087@N00/3966269491/
(read the comments)

I would definitely be having a corned beef supper, make some cabage rols for the freezer and then krauting the rest

[1jooj]

Hrrmmm...maybe I will make a little sauerkraut. It's not that I don't love it. I LOVE it. I'm just fearful, I guess. I could let these ferment in the back room of the basement. I wonder whether the stank would help keep out vermin. I love cabbage rolls too...and the kids like them...ugh. Well, at least the giant cabbage will keep until I decide.

Still on the fence about calling the doc again re:ringworm. I might give it the week or at least a couple days and see. Poor dd is really self-conscious about the bald spot on top of her head.

The chickens are fed, and everyone else is good until the afternoon. I caught one of my does fast asleep this AM. SO CUTE. I listened to To The Best of Our Knowledge this weekend (love WI public radio), and was enraptured by the author of Goat Song. Can't wait to be milking my ladies.

Back to my novel WIP. Other tasks for the day include cleaning more beeswax (done!), hanging a load of laundry, mulching trees in the front yard and dropping off dh's car for an alignment. I roasted the squash yesterday, and today I'll make curried soup of it. For myself. Kids will finish the chili mac (which I ended up making without cheese, just sprinkling some on top). Next meal for them is cottage pie with whatever zucchini is out there, plus chard, green peppers and the last of the eggplants.

Have a wonderful day making wonderful homes.

[Katico]

Today involves.....

Finishing up DD's new sweater, just the button bands and 1/2 a sleeve left. I should have it done tonight.

I finished her hat and am stalled on what o do for the matching scarf - has anyone knit baby scarves? Do you like a long wraparound style or one of those ones that slip one end through a slot on the other side? ( here's a picyure of her hat) Ideas?

Some new cloth diapers in the wash right now, stripping them

Last batch of fruit leather is in the oven

Our midwife is stopping by so I can finally give her a thank you gift - adding a jar of handpicked, homemade jam, I love that! Makes a gift extra nice

Pesto chicken pasta for supper tonight

I thought you would all enjoy this story - we had a potluck last weekend and one of my friends and I were discussing canning peaches. One of the husbands pipes up from across the room... "You can can things?!"

Us: "yeah, it's really easy"
Him: "but.....doesn't it take some serious equipment?"
Us: "No, just jars and hot water......"
Him: "But Canning means to put into cans, metal cans...."
Us: "No....."
Him: "So what you're doing is jarring, not canning"

We couldn't convince him. And all night anytime we talked about canning (we talk about it alot) you would hear him pipe up from across the room "JARRING"

We might have had a few too many drinks of ouzo but it was hilarious, he was so adamant we were wrong, that it was clearly a misnomer and should be changed

[artparent]

slowly unpacking (at 2 a.m.) and finding homes for everything and taking note of what needs to be done. um, a lot! but it is raining, so will need to mostly be indoors. it is good to be here.

funny, things i brought fit perfectly. my woven rag-rug fits along the counter in front of the sink like it was made for it. my tea warmer fits the pot so perfectly the candle goes out! so i will have to make an adjustment to that...but at least it isn't *too* big. i brought along various ikea bits like a row of pegs that clip over the top of a door - perfect spot, and same for a pull-down drying rack, literally an exact fit. the cozy pillow i felted and a wooly stripey noro one i made once are both perfect on the couches. we brought a few pieces of playmobil and they are just enough to fill one wooden wine crate we already had partly filled. i've brought lots of jars and have put my laundry soap in one, brought the other full of epsom salts. this is the land of epsom, but no salt i can afford!

i harvested a few raspberries, and my partner got a couple of dozen tomatoes + one cucumber, but my garden clearly is not functioning between the lack of sun, the snails + slugs, occasional draughts, my late start, and possibly not enough good earth! hopefully i will have a solution to most of those next year, ack! my compost has dropped easily a foot, so i'm hoping it is ready for me to dig it out when i recover.

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[1jooj]

welcome home, artparent!

[simplespirit]

I am canning the last batch of tomato soup today. Really. I am. I mean it this time...

I am also doing some veg soup with black beans for me; I work four 12 hr shifts this week and need to have something made up for lunch. I also baked some not-so-sweet oatmeal peanutbutter banana bars for quick breakfast or a healthier snack after school.

I have been so busy this morning. I was up at 5:30 to make breakfast for the boys. When they left for school, I cleaned a bit, baked and then went outside to clean the outdoor rabbit pens, put the bunnies out there and then clean their indoor cages. I also mulched about a quater of the garden that is really, really finished for the season. The bags of grass clippings I had to move were so heavy, I couldn't even lift them. I put my wheelbarrow on it's side next to a bag, push the bag toward the barrow and then tip the whole thing over with my body. I must have looked like a goof if one of my neighbors looked outside.... But hey, I got it done. I still have all of the tomato supports, bean trellises and cornstalks to pull before we can turn the rest of the garden and mulch before the snow flys!

[MamaFern]

elisa, sounds like a wonderful homecoming..everything falling into place!

im inspired by the krauting! i have been planning to make some, i have 2 huge fresh organic cabbages, so im going to add that to my list for today.
i have raw milk yogurt so im going to make it the whey way. anyone have experience with this method?

we are going to pick elderberries for syrup today (cold & cough) and elderberry wine

and i have some paint prep to do..i have a bunch of kitchen furniture that needs white paint to balance out all of the wood in here (its a wood paneled house to the extreme) we have this set of old old farmhouse wooden chairs that i love, but i know that painted i will really love them...

what else..
i made a couple pf jars of pickled jalapenos last night. i had a bag from someone in my town who grew far too many for her own use..i used some on my chutney as well.

and we picked our pears yesterday..they need a few days to ripen then i will be canning them..and sometime this week we will be making apple juice/cider. a friend up the street has a press.

at midnight i found my drop spindle and decided to have a whorl. i haven't done it it many years and i want really chunky yarn for a neck warmer, so i gave it a try..my method is pretty shaky still, but i think with a bit of practice i should be good enough to get the yarn i want!

[Katico]

Originally Posted by simplespirit

I also baked some not-so-sweet oatmeal peanutbutter banana bars for quick breakfast or a healthier snack after school.

Recipe?

[artparent]

x!

sounds like lots of great food, everyone. and gardening!

fern, i hope to spin some slubby yarn to mix with the yarn from my grandmother's scarf, to make a big, warm throw. it is such a pleasure to spin your own!

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[columbusmomma]

Just found this thread and
Can't wait to read through everything, I did read the "original" thread to familiarize myself with the topics we discuss.

Last night I made lentil soup(froze some too) and oatmeal pancakes to have ready for the am. I also am going to cook tonight and start preserving fresh herbs for the winter. I need to freeze more tomatoes as well.
We are enjoying fall already: decorations, planning a trip to the pumpkin patch, and local organic farm.
This is a great thread! Will be looking forward to sharing ideas!

[Fruitful4Him]

subbing

[Birdie B.]

Well, I've been lurking here for a while (enviously, I might add), so I'm just going to jump in. I'm not much of a homemaker, but I have aspirations ! I'm staying at home with an 11-month old, and I want to use my time to better our lives.

Unfortunately we don't have a garden - our yard is a beautiful live oak forest, but a neighbor up the street has invited me to work in her huge beautiful garden, so I might be gardening soon! I have dabbled in pickling and preserving veggies, but I'd love to do more of it. I'm also hopeful to improve my knitting and sewing skills enough to make more of our holiday and birthday gifts.

Today I'm roasting a whole chicken and I plan to make several meals with it, then use the carcass for stock - which I've never done before! Hopefully it's not too hard.

[holyhelianthus]

OT-

Birdie B! That's one of my girls' name! Birdie Bree.

[GardenStream]

Originally Posted by Birdie B.

Today I'm roasting a whole chicken and I plan to make several meals with it, then use the carcass for stock - which I've never done before! Hopefully it's not too hard.

It's not hard at all and you're going to love the results. Homemade stock makes everything taste so much better.

I'm gathering the remaining things from the garden today. I made my first successful batch of salsa verde. Everything that went into it was also grown in my own garden.

I'm also canning some tomato sauce right now and I have a roast going.

[Fruitful4Him]

I am so happy to have found this thread. I cant promise I will add much to it, LOl...but I will try my best. I am a mom of 5 littles and although many of my homemaking skills are lacking, I can cook decently, and keep the house looking picked up

I am not feeling 100% today...some sort of cold or other virus has me feeling weak and lightheaded...sniffly, coughing, sneezing,...ugh...but life must go on. I have been dosing everyone with vitamin C and I have been drinking herbal tea and water to try to stay hydrated.

We have had several varieties of soup lately. The weather has been so perfect for it. This weekend it was chicken vegetable noodle soup, using homemade stock of course...and homemade style noodles. I haven't perfected making homemade noodles and drying/storing them, but I love the taste! I served it with slices of french bread, brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with crushed garlic. It smelled so good. Today I pulled a few things from the freezer, some ground beef I had cooked/portioned/frozen from the last big sale, some chopped green peppers, and some cooked dried red and black beans... cooked it up with some chopped onion, extra garlic and added a jar of homemade salsa and some other spices, tomatoes, etc. and enjoyed some wonderfully hearty chili for lunch with plenty of leftovers. No complaints from the kidlets...they love a hearty soup with bread for lunch. I am glad because it is so good for them and so economical too. I can sneak in quite a few leftovers in a pot of soup or stew.

I found an older toaster oven at a thrift shop and I bought it, hoping to save on electricity. I also used up the last of a gift card from last holiday to get an electric kettle. Oh my! I have been missing out...let me tell you, I am AMAZED at how quickly it boils water. Seriously..mere minutes. I have been enjoying tea without the hassle of waiting for my ancient electric stove to get it going. I highly recommend a household have one of these

Soooo..other than switching over a few loads of laundry and running some errands today, that has been about it. I love reading about how homemakery others are..maybe it will inspire me to stretttttch and grow

[1jooj]

Didn't mulch my trees...but the rest of the stuff got done. Cottage pie is in the oven now, and we are having our soup while it finishes. Cooked onions and apples, added the roasted squash and curry, pureed and added coconut milk.

Also got to send some eggs and produce home with my dad when he brought me home from the garage.

And added more than a thousand words to my WIP.

[MamaFern]

1jooj: sounds like things are going pretty well!

fruitful: welcome! im new here too, but i love it already. i love the inspiration that comes rom knowing that there are other people, all over the world, all loving doing these things..just like me!

i spent the day doing this:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref...5778006&ref=mf

[artparent]

welcome

nice, fern!!

i spent mine
someday i'll put it in order and get back into everything! we slept in til 4 a.m. anyway

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