Roasted Vegetables

I have found a great way to cook vegetables and they are so delicious you might not want to eat the entrée. I am probably the only person in the world who has not had roasted vegetables before. I made them for a first time a few months ago, and we honestly ate nothing else, because the vegetables were so good.



I love bristle sprouts cut in half, asparagus, rutabaga, carrots, onion, cabbage, sweet potatoes, green beans. The list could go on and on. After you have a cookie sheet filled with assorted (or just one if you want) vegetables drizzle olive oil over the veggies (don’t go crazy with it) then add seasonings. Every time I make it I put different seasonings on, switch it up. Pop it into the over at 425 or so for about 20 minutes then turn the veggies over and pop it back in for another 10 minutes or so. You can stop here, but I like them crispier so I turn the oven on broil. You have to keep a close eye on them because it will burn easily. I remove it from the oven when it is brown/blackish. I always make more than we can (hopefully) eat because I like to take it to work with me. I don’t even warm it before I eat it at lunch time. The taste of it cold is different, and quite good!


I think I could live on roasted vegetables.

Thoughts about my husband

When I  was a child I spoke as a child, I thought as a child.  It took me a long time to grow up, in fact I am probably not totally grown up.  One thing I have done is mature in my feelings.  When Phil and I got married, I loved him.  But now as we have lived together, and worked toward building our dream my feelings have changed.  I am no longer looking at him with little girl eyes (not that I was a little girl when we got married!!) but with eyes that hold the appreciation of someone who always has my back. 

We have worked together to build gardens to feed us, and rejoiced the bounty of the harvest.  He has carried and hauled tons of straw and hay for mulch in the garden.  He has pounded countless posts into the ground to build fences to keep the deer our.  He has carried an amazing amount of jars up the basement steps and then after I have filled them, back down the steps.  He has carried my canners for miles up and down those steps.  He has helped me lug our harvest from the garden into the kitchen to prepare it for storage.  Along the way he has enjoyed some amazing food as well!

He was not excited about following my hearts desire to raise animals.  That didn’t matter he brought in a shed to make into a chicken coop.  He built a fortress for the chickens to sleep in and a huge yard for them to run in.  We raised 150 birds for meat last year (we sold 75% of them), this year we will do that many but not all at the same time.  He has complained about them, but also loves them.  He knows each of the laying hens by name, and sometimes can tell me what chicken laid which egg.  He didn’t complain to much about getting rabbits, and now that we are about to have our first litter, he is as excited as a child.  Pigs, well we will talk about that next year.

My point to all of this, I have the great fortune to be married to my best friend.  He has rescued me when I got a flat tire on a very cold and snowy day.  He rescued me when the tire fell off my car on the interstate.  He has bandaged my cuts and blisters.  He has dried my tears and let me cry when I was sad. He has encouraged me to do what I needed to,  cheered me when I failed.  Loved me when I felt unlovable, walked beside when I am strong, and behind to push me when I am weak.

The road will never be smooth, but without the bumps how can we appreciate the downhill side?  

bread making day

I have been learning more about nutrition, and realizing how much I don't know.  One of the things I am trying to understand more about is sprouting grains.  As I understand, grain doesn't digest properly in humans, it is intended for cattle and they have 4 stomachs to digest it.  Grain has been shown to cause humans to gain weight, and their bodies are not as strong and healthy and they should be. My friend Jen told me how to sprout wheat, which will apparently change the entire structure of the grain and make it easier for the body to digest. 

Olivia gets her turn at kneeding

Last weekend I sprouted a batch of wheat and they dried it in my dehydrated.  I froze it so it didn't spoil.   The kids came out Friday night to spend the night. On Saturday The girls and I made bread.  We ground the wheat into flour.  Olivia was amazed that the wheat could change into such a soft great smelling powder.   We talked about yeast, and how it was a living organism.  They were amazed at how yeast will make the bread "poof" up.  I explained how we needed to proof the yeast with sweetener and make it grow.  Ruby listened with so much attention and brightened up suddenly and said "We have to proof it  to prove that it works".  She got it! 


Ruby is the first to kneed the bread

We used the Kitchen Aid to mix the ingredients but the girl worked hard to kneed the dough.  

We are ready to let the dough rise.

The dough has risen twice and now they are shaping ad putting it into the stone bread pan for the final rise of the dough.











Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the baked bread.  They were to excited to try it!  What a great day.





My new projects

My sister Marg sent us some dish scrubbers several years ago.  She told me someone at the senior center makes and sells them.  They are made from bridal veil lace (what I call tulle) and crouched.  We both love using these to not only wash pots, but for all of our dishes.  I hate to ask her to send me more of them, so I decided to try making them myself. 
I bought a bolt of tulle at a yard sale for $2 years ago.  Marci wanted it for some project so I took it to Maryland went I went to visit (before Shelby and Josef).  I got it back when I wanted to use it for a project in the garden several years ago.  The project never happened so Delana ended up with it to make princess beds for the girls. That also never happened so I got it back last week so I could try making the scrubbies. 
I simply cut 2 - 3 inch strips of the tulle and connected them together

and after chain stitching to make a base circle, then double crochet the rest until I got a circle the size I wanted.  The larger cut makes the pad fuller and a little more difficult to hold. 

But they are great at scrubbing!!!!  I think I will have to make a few more.  It didn't take long and they work SO well. 

My other project is a rag rug made from old jeans.  I ask my family to save all of their old (to worn to pass down)  jeans and will often find them for free at yard sales.  I cut them into 2" strips and connect the strips them roll a big ball  as if it were yarn. 

This is my finished rug.  I am amazed at how bad the ones I made last year are when compared to this one.  We live in the middle of nowhere.  We are outside a LOT and carry a lot of dirt into the house with us.  These rugs take a beating and hold so much dirt.  When I pull them up to sweep the amount of dirt they picked up is amazing.  Last years rugs really need to be treated to the power washer when the weather warms up.  I think it will take a full week to dry them out even if the weather is nice.  I love these rugs because they are so easy on the feet (mine seldom have shoes) and just look good.  Besides, what a nice way to recycle old blue jeans that would normally go to the landfill. 







January thoughts

January is almost history. I can't believe how fast time flies, and I don't get nearly enough done on a daily basis. I must be slowing down as I get older, but it doesn't feel like it. It feels like I am always busy. I think I started this journey way to late in my life. This is something I should have started in my 20's or 30's.

Phil and I both love Mother Earth News and Grit and usually fight over who gets to read it first. We got a new issue yesterday, and I was sitting at the kitchen table reading about homesteaders (a new catch phrase for people who choose to live like we do) The question was "What is the biggest misconception people have about homesteading". The answer, "That homesteading can be tidy and that every homestead is picture perfect. The truth is it's a messy, exhausting way to live. There are always things to do, and you must learn to live with the feeling of not having accomplished all you wanted to do on a given day". Wow, did that guy look inside my head? I am forever kicking myself because I don't get enough done. I continue to pile more tasks on my plate but have not figured out how to make more time.

Winter has been my time to somewhat sit back and relax after the long hard growing and preserving season. Last winter I crouched rag rugs from old blue jeans. It was a fun way to spend my evenings. This year I took up cheese making. It is fun, and will be very rewarding, but I find it has taken up all of my weekends for the last few months. I keep thinking if I could find a way to not work outside the home I would have time for all of these projects, but I don't know. Phil has not worked for 2 years and he doesn't seem to keep up with his projects. I think I need to find a way to come to terms with being OK that things aren't done the way I wish they were. I don't stress out as much about the house being a disaster. I am irritated that the carpets are not vacuumed enough, but the dishes are done on a regular basis.  I am irritated that the toilet (and the floor around it) looks horrible, but the sheets are washed on a weekly basis.  I am irritated that the furniture is so dusty it is embarrassing, but the dogs are fed and well cared for.  I guess I have picked my battles, and try to get past the rest. 

Sometimes I need to sit back and reflect on what we have accomplished over the last few years.  Yesterday coming home we sat on the road and looked at Pooh Acres.  What a difference from 4 ½ years ago. 

2011 is almost at it's end.  We have so much to be thankful for, and so much to look forward to.  The older I get, the more amazed I am at how quickly time flys by.  Wasn't it February just a few months ago?  How did summer come and go so quickly?   How did Caelum get taller than me? How did Ruby and Olivia become such big girls? 
I called Marci a few days ago to establish (in my mind) how old the kids are.  I STILL can't get it straight ...  I think the kids are MUCH younger than they are.  I am not sure how time slips away as it seems to do.  I still see Emilia as a 4 year old.  Shelby and Josef are still very small.  Caelum ... not nearly 13 .... Ruby and Olivia are still babies.  Lily, is still the baby she was the last time I held her.  Abi ... holy cow, she can't be 16 .... she is still that little girl I met when she was 3.  OK, enough of this .... on to today!
I really wish the kids were here with us as we end the year. They are young enough to ring in the new year ..... Me, I think it is close enough now.  Happy new year.  Off to bed I go!

New Adventures in cheese making

I have wanted to learn crafts like cheese making for years.  Along my journey I have learned things like soapmaking, butter making, bread making etc.  All of these things I have learned on my own.  This summer I met someone who raises his own cows and I started buying milk from him.   We formed a friendship and talked a lot about cheese making.   He has been wonderful and blesses me with a lot of milk to play with. 
My first attempts at cheese making made me realize I needed a mentor.  I had no idea what I was doing wrong, but I ruined gallons and gallons of raw milk.  Finally a couple of weeks ago I was successful ... and my cheese turned out the way it was supposed to.  I think I finally understood some things I just didn't "get" before.  I have made 4 batches of hard cheese that seem to have turned out.  I was OK with the soft cheese ... it was easy and I "got it", but now I "get" the hard cheese!!!  Yippee!!!  I am so excited for the cheese to age and I am able to taste the fruits of my labors!  (I am still looking for a mentor)

Remember the nursery story about little miss muffet?  Curds and whey are exactly what I am working toward here.  In this photo the curds have formed are are waiting for me to cut them and get started with the cheese making



Here the curds have been cut into small chunks.  They still have a lot of the liquid in them so they will have to be pressed to get the liquid out of them

The curds have been placed in the mold in a cheese cloth.  I am pressing them with 50 pounds of weight.  I have to figure out how to place the weights better so I am not putting so many pieces on the board.
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And this is the final product.  Well, it is the cheese waiting to be aged.  I wish you could see the labels on the back two blocks.  Olivia wrote them for me.  I love reading her little girl printing.  She is so talented.  After they have formed a hard rind and dried out a bit they are waxed and left to age.  Hard cheese needs to age from a month or two up to years depending on the type of cheese.  I can't wait to try some of this stuff!!!!

There is a lot more to cheese making, but I am not trying to teach, only to share my new found hobby.  Most people have lots of questions, my best answer come help me make some.  That will likely answer a lot of questions.