I'm finished. Goodbye.

 

It is with a sad, and very tired heart we are closing the Cockeyed Homestead blog and partnership. I'm grateful to all for following along with us on this journey. We've shared our successes and failures with y'all. I've also learned a few things along the way from y'all. This will be my last post here.

I'm moving back to coastal Georgia into a senior, independent living community. I'm moving by my #3 daughter and her family. They'll only be 5 minutes away. Over the past year and a half, my health has taken significant downturns. Between a bad heart, thyroid issues, surgeries, and a new diagnosis of moderate Hashimoto's disease. I am no longer feel safe and confident as I once did in my abilities to live this lifestyle. 

Mel will be staying on until the property can be sold. Then, she's off to greener pastures back in Florida. The winters here though not as bad as up north aggravate her seasonal depression which is worse now. The affects of last year's COVID flu continues to impact her heart and stamina.

We are still friend despite our differences. I wish her future success in wherever life takes her. Homesteading is a younger, able bodied person's lifestyle. We had the deck stacked against us from the start but we both had to try. All the hard work and money we've thrown into this has not been wasted. It's been an adventure worth doing. You don't know what you are capable of if you don't try. Well, we tried and it honesty beat our butts. We are cutting our losses.

Will I totally give up my homesteading ways, not hardly. I'll still be grinding flour to make my daily bread, making friends with community farmers to get the freshest, humanely raised, no chemical added vegetables and meats available to preserve to supply my needs whenever possible. I may even u-pick some. 

As far as gardening goes, the administrator and I have been talking. We'll be setting up a small high tunnel and elevated, raised beds to grow some herbs and vegetables. So, I can still get as dirty as I want and so can other residents of both the independent living, assisted living and memory care residents. They started two weeks ago in the memory care enclosed courtyard by planting a few dwarf fruit trees and berry vines. I'll also be digging up some of our perennial herbs to carry with me in pots.

Once a homesteader, chef, and gardener, always a homesteader, chef, and gardener. I think I've even convinced my daughter to keeping a few hens and quail. Wohoo!

Y'all have a blessed life!!

Cockeyed Jo 

Cooking with Chef Jo: Mandarin Butter Toffee Candy

 It's been quite warm here for a couple weeks, and then a cold snap hit us again. While I'm working in the garden, I like to have a sweet to suck on. It keeps me hydrated so I don't have to stop so often and get a drink. This cooler weather was the perfect opportunity to make one of my favorite hard candies, Mandarin Butter Toffees. I reduce the sugar so they are tart to promote your own saliva glands to kick in but not overly sour. They are rich and creamy. The tangerine extract and dehydrate zest of all those Mandarin oranges I put up in January will work nicely in this recipe too. Tangerine extract settles you to focus internally and encourages mental alertness by way of the offactory nerves.

Mandarin Butter Toffees

Makes 2 1/2 pounds. How many candies depends on how big you cut them.

What you'll need

1 TBS plus 1 cup butter, divided

1 1/2 cups sugar or sugar substitute equivalent

1 cup light corn syrup

1- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp Mandarin orange extract

2 TBS Mandarin zest

1 tsp vanilla extract

Putting it together

• Line an 9x11 pan with buttered parchment or waxed paper. Make sure you have a 3"-4" paper edge to lift the candy from the pan.
• In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, add sugar, zest, butter, and corn syrup.
• Stirring constantly over medium heat bring mixture to a boil.
• Continue cooking without stirring for 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat and gradually pour in milk. The mixture will foam up drastically.
• Once all the milk is added and the foam dies down, return pot to the stove over medium heat.
• Cook and stir until candy thermometer reads 244℉ hard ball stage.
• Add extracts and stir well.
• Pour candy into prepared pan.
• Let set until cooled.
• Lift candy from the pan and cut with a uttered knife into 2"x 1" rectangles. You may roll the edges slightly.
• 
  Wrap each piece in 1 1/2"x 3" cut waxed paper rectangles. Store in cool, air tight container. 

I ended up with about 75 pieces of wrapped candy. Of course, we had to do quality control checks while wrapping the pieces.😁 For a variation of this, you can melt 6oz of chocolate chips in the microwave and spread it on top of the flattened candy. Everything is better with chocolate. Am I right, or I am right. Try different flavored citrus extracts and zests.  By  the way, they are only about 60 calories a piece. You'll burn that off in no time. Less with sugar free ingredients. Bring on the gardening. I'm prepared!

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

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Fool Me Once, Shame on You...

Living in the north GA mountains like we do, I've learned a few things about the weather. You can't predict it, but you can try.

When I came here, Mel had this hard, fast rule of never planting anything in the ground until May 1st and nothing is planted by Halloween. I've fudged on that with potatoes, onions, garlic, and leeks as fall plantings in November (heavily mulched in). and as early as March, but these crops can take a little colder weather before springing back to life or going dormant for the winter. For the most part, I follow her rule. She's got a couple of years on me garden wise in this climate.

So last week when the temperatures soared into the 80s with consistent lows in the 60s, I waited to plant my heat loving crops like eggplant, tomatoes, and okra knowing the temperature was sure to drop again. Sure enough, it did, but this should be the last time unless the Polar Vortex gets absolutely nasty again. I don't think it will but you know what they saw about ASSUME.

Still we were tempted to air out the house on the days we could. We opened the outer doors leaving the screen doors closed. Our free ranging chicken decided to free range through the pet doors and venture inside. They have developed a taste for cat and dog kibble. No sooner did we chase one set out the back door another set would be entering through the front. Chinese fire drill anyone?

A week and a half ago, Mel caught a flu bug. We'd already been though the COVID so we knew it wasn't that. But still she was feverish, coughing and huddled under a throw which a subscriber sent us one Christmas. She didn't eat for three days. I pushed clear fluid on her augmented with bone broths, and my white clover jelly made into a tea. She had almost every pillow in the house propping up her back so she could sleep, but she slept sporadically and fitfully. She's on the mends now. Her fevers have broken for good. Me, whatever it was, I didn't get it Thank God for Kimchi and it's probotic and immuno-boosting powers! It's a good thing we laid in groceries before she got sick.

I've got my 6-month check in with my PCP this week. I imagine his office has been going nuts with all the updates from my other doctors. Lord knows, he shouldn't have to order any blood work. My left arm is still badly bruised and painful from my endarterectomy earlier this month. He'll just check that I'm still breathing and renew my prescriptions for my allergy meds.

That's it for this week. How's it been for you?

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Putting Food By Dilemma-Canning Lids

This year, I'm having to join the ranks of folks attempting to find flats or canning lids. As I said in my previous post, I've started buying Harvest Guard/Tattler reusable flats and gaskets to replace my lids for my jars. Since the fall, I've been buying them in 100 lid lots each month. This set me back about $130 a month.  

From the 1,500 jars I have on hand (1/4 pint, 1/2 pint, pints, pint & half, and quarts.), about half of the non-pints are wide mouth so I added a lot of of wide mouth to the mix. To date, I've successfully bought enough reusable lids to take care of a full year's worth of canning for me, but I'm not stopping there. My canning goal for this year is to put up two and a half years of  food stuff. This includes dehydrated and vacuum sealing as well as traditionally canned goods. Providing that I freeze all dry goods before I either dry can or keep in buckets staples it's doable thanks to Uncle Sam's stimulus checks. I'm pinching my pennies wisely. I never would have been able to afford these many lids otherwise.

The plan is to keep buying lids and gaskets until I have one for every jar I have on hand and to buy extra set of gaskets for each set. Everything I've researched says the gaskets should be replaced after 10 sealings. So by the end of summer/early fall, my plan should be complete with no actual monies out of pocket.

So what am I canning this week? Pulled chicken and grilled chicken strips. Yes, I bought another $110 meat package this week. When you raw pack your chicken for canning do you par cook it first for "pretty chicken" or do you just put it in the jars raw for "ugly chicken?" I'll usually grill mine first to seal in the smoke and seasonings before I slice it and put it into my jars. I have twenty pounds of Dolly Parton sized chicken breasts just begging to be processed.

Since it's been gorgeous (weather wise), I couldn't resist firing up our charcoal Webber. I put all my chicken breasts in the sink, seasoned it with my blended seasoned salt, tossed it around a bit while the coals heated. I calculated it would make about 18-19 pint jars of chicken and leave us some for dinner. The plan was to make 9 jars of chicken strips and the rest would go into jars as pulled chicken. I pulled two pints of my knock-off Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce from stores already.

Since I was basically canning chicken two ways at once. The only difference was how it was cut up when putting into the jars. I was still raw pack/dry canning it. It would be a "not-so-ugly canned chicken. So I threw the seasoned half breasts on the grill and cooked them 6 minutes on each side. Just long enough to get some of the hickory laced smoke onto the meat and grill marks, but not cook them fully.  I figured one to one and a quarter per jar to gill them.

For the strips, I cut each breast across the grain into 1/2" strips. These would be for casseroles, Fajitas, pot pies, and soups. Leaving a 1" headspace, I wiped the rims, lidded, ringed them  and placed them in my canner. For the pulled chicken, I diced the breasts into 1" cubes. I placed 2 TBS of BBQ sauce in each jar, and then loaded the chicken. I wiped the rims, lidded, ringed, and placed them in the canner. I ended up with one chicken breast leftover. This one I coated with BBQ sauce and threw it back on the grill for dinner.

I pressure canned a full canner load of chicken for 75 minutes for my altitude. I removed the jars from the canner. The next day I washed each jar in warm soapy water after checking the seals. All of them sealed. I labeled them and placed them in my food stores building. Next, I added the jars to my computer inventory program that Mel designed. (For Sale under the "For Sales" tab) So I can keep a running tally of what I have on hand at any given time at the touch of a key.

I plan on doing this several more times in the coming year to meet my goals, but for now, I've got 18 delicious meals that are heat and enjoy. For dinner, I took that one Dolly Parton BBQ-ed breast, shredded it, added a bit more of my knock off BBQ sauce, slapped a scoop of coleslaw(canned coleslaw) on it on one of my homemade buns. I added some microwave potato chips, and a fermented dill pickle on the side. 

Boy, Howdy! A meal fit for a king! It was totally yummy for my tummy! So what have y'all been up to? The weather has been great. I wish I could be playing in the garden. I see the surgeon later on today so I should get my up to 15 lb clearance and my ability to bend forward back. I've been a "good girl" I have over the last two weeks, but I'm chomping at the bit to get into the garden.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

Stockpiling Food for my Working and Long-Term Pantry

 It's that time of the year when we begin again seriously start filling the larder back up again. As if it ever stopped over winter. It didn't here with pots of soups, chilies, stews, dry beans, and fruits.

And yes, I'm finally converting to reusable lids. I spent the summer and fall months researching and comparing brands. Harvest Guard lids won out because of the comparable quality of the lids and price point. Both are made in the US. I've monthly bought 100 sets of regular mouth lids each month since October. The plan is to replace all my need for flats for homestead use. Sometime this summer, I'll be starting on a spare set of silicone rings for all the lids since they only last for about 10 uses. Yes, I have that many jars!

The news for the last year has been bent on continued instability for the future so I'm preparing to can and dehydrate even more this year. I'm not a die-hard prepper, but a failed vegetable garden two years in a row has made me rethink my previous method of "stockpiling foods. It's only common sense, right? 

I ran across  recommendations for a local butcher who runs several weekly specials of meat.  They were only 40 minutes away so I decided to try them.  I bought the $110/> 50 lbs  variety pack of beef, pork, and chicken. I wanted to try everything they sell in their shop regularly before I committed to a larger purchase of meats. They also sell whole and sides of butchered meats too. Ours, when I looked at I picked it up, totaled 55 lbs of meat. I spent $2 a pound for good meat! What was the $110 package?

10lbs. 80/20 ground chuck

5lbs. Beef roast

1 whole Boston butt (average 8lbs.)

1 whole slab St. Louis Pork Ribs (average 2-2.5lbs)

5lbs. Boneless pork loin

10lbs. Chicken leg quarters

10lbs. Boneless skinless chicken breast

The meat looked good! Hardly any extra fat. The one concern I do have is with the chickens. The 10 lb breast package held only 8 split breasts. Each breast weighed 1.25 lbs. They were what I categorize as Dolly Partons (to me that meant hormone feed for the birds). Not that extra Estrogen would hurt us two sexagenarian females, but it's the principle. So we won't be ordering their chicken again.

We spent the afternoon breaking the packages down into meal size portions for us. The ground beef was divided into 2lb portions, the beef roast (bottom round) was divided into four meals, the leg quarters were split into two thigh or four leg packages (10 packages), the 9 lb Boston butt was left whole to be ground into breakfast and Italian sausage, and the 3 lb pork loin was cut into 1/2" boneless pork chops (6 packages) and the breasts were wrapped separately.

Yes, I'm still buying our usual half and whole of beef, pork, and chickens, but the specials when combined with what I have would allow me the comfort zone I'm looking for our homestead.  This year's preserving goals have doubled (if not tripled in some areas) my regular amounts. It's my stimulus checks in action while my regular money is untouched. Makes sense and cents, right?

My plan for some of the meat is freeze drying the beef roast and sausages, and chicken breasts. I'll store them in Mylar bags and sealed in pint jars. Why pints? It the bulk of canning I have on hand and I won't have to open a big bag to get a week's worth of chicken exposed. Makes sense, right? A pint jar of dehydrated chicken reconstituted makes about four cups of chicken. It's perfect for casseroles, pot pies, and chicken salad during a week. Why double seal it in pint jars too? Rodents and bugs cannot eat their way through the glass and metal. I mean if I plan on putting it aside for years, isn't it worth the extra effort?

I think I told you that I bought a Harvest Right food freeze dryer on halves with another homestead before.  It made the price of the system more budget friendly. For seven years I've used both my freeze dryer and regular dehydrators to dehydrate our food. After two years of trading it back and forth with the freeze dryer, I paid the other homestead to own it outright. I brought it with me along with my regular dehydrators with me when I move up here. Yes, it's an older model without all the bells and whistles that the newer models, like different colors, have, but it still works well. If it ain't broke, don't fix or replace it. It has more than earned out its cost in that time.

Well, that's the plan. Don't worry about tomorrow, be prepared.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

 

Cooking with Chef Jo: Dry Scalloped Potatoes Packets for the Working Pantry

 As I said in my previous post, we are entering our busy time of the year. I'm taking advantage of the newest cold front and rain to stock my working pantry. So "instant" or quick fix short cuts for home cooked goodness are what we need. Today, I'm using my dehydrated potato slices. Now regular scalloped potatoes do not have cheese, but when my mother always made scalloped potatoes she always added cheese making them a cross between scalloped potatoes and au gratin potatoes.

The great thing about this recipe is you only need a can of evaporated milk and water make it so it's a good prepper/working term pantry side addition for a meal. It can be cooked on a stove top, in the oven, or even over a wood fire if needed. I made it all ways. I honestly haven't tried to make it with a sterno stove though, but I imagine it could be done that way. I use evaporated milk to reconstitute the dry ingredients to make it extra creamy, but you can use regular milk to make this. I'll give you the bulk recipe for the cheese-less sauce mix because you can scallop any vegetable. Without further ado, on to the recipe.

Bulk Scallop Mix

Makes a little over 1 Quart

Bulk Mix

2 cups milk, skim milk is okay but whole milk is better

1 cup white flour

1 cup corn starch

1/2 cup dried onion flakes, or 8 tsp onion powder

1/4 cup dried parsley flakes

1/4 cup dried chives

2-3 TBS seasoning salt

1 TBS mustard powder

                                                                 1 TBS garlic powder

                                                                 1 cup dried cheddar cheese powder*

* Notes- *If you are making it like my mom or Au Gratin potatoes.

4 serving "box"

What you'll need

1/2 c mix

3 c dehydrated potatoes slices

1 c evaporated milk

2 cups hot water

4 TBS butter

There you have it another pantry stores made from scratch without all those words you can't pronounce. As always, it's a yummy for your tummy.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

Garden Delayed on Account of Doctors

You know the saying, "If you want to know God is in control, make a plan?"

This week the weather was wonderful! We decided to plant the spring garden.  That was the plan until I had my new base line ultrasound on my carotid arteries. I had a T-CAR procedure done on the right one back in January and it took forever to get my stamina back (over a month). But I did and we got busy with life again. So I went to my vascular surgeon's office for the scan.

Since I had no problem with the left side, I wasn't worried at all that the right side wouldn't have just as good of an outcome. Mel had gripped almost the whole way there (30 miles) about how doctors just milk your insurance with one test after another. How if they wanted to do more for me just to say no. I agreed with her. I'd pretty much had been put through the wringer for the last two and a half years with this or that treatment, complications, or surgeries.

I saw the PA right after the scan was complete, PA is supposed to stand for physician's assistant, but my husband said it stood for piss ant after a run in with an extremely arrogant one. Anyhow, she gave me the bad news. It seems like the procedure caused a dissection of the inner wall of my carotid artery. I was bleeding in the space between the inner and outer wall and it was closing off the artery leading to my brain on the right side, she judged by the pressure numbers. Another CTA and surgery was needed immediately to correct it or if it ruptured, it could cause a massive stroke or cause me to bleed out that either would kill me. So instead of saying no, I agreed.

So the procedure to fix the problem caused a similar problem below the stent. Go figure. I always say, "I've got the luck of the Irish (by marriage) if Murphy's Law Didn't weigh in so heavily. And, I should know because I'm a Murphey." It's so true. So I won't be planting next week but having surgery instead with all its restrictions afterwards again.

The garden is up to Mel this year. Sigh!

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo 

Cooking with Chef Jo: When is Cooking NOT Cooking?

You might be wondering why I haven't posted a recipe for y'all in a couple of weeks. Well, it's like this. I ain't been cooking much. Sure I'm cooking each night, sort of, but not really cooking anything exciting to talk about. So when is cooking Not cooking? when you are opening up jars of leftovers and reheating them.  And, that's all I've done for the past couple weeks.

I've been so busy tweaking the cookbook, doing crafty stuff to replenish inventory, and just trying to figure out my next move that 5 PM sneaks up on me most nights. So, it's open a jar of soup/stews/chili from the pantry and make some cheese toast to go with it. I did make some tuna salad to use up a half dozen eggs last week. On the few warmer nights, we enjoyed it for dinner with some homemade, air fried tortilla crisps and salsa. But that's just cutting up some hard boiled eggs, some onions and celery, and some seasonings. Not much special about that. Even the bread was store bought. 😮

It's even going to be worse next week with garden planting starting. We finally have a few days in a row with no rain. There just are not enough hours in the day to do it all. The Velcro strap, one of three broke,

so I'm sitting more now too until I can get in to the orthotics' place to get it fixed next week. I kind of have-to-have that brace to stand and walk. We brought in the wheelchair from the barn only to find the rats had chewed and dry rot had taken care of the wheels. GRRR! The new pair of tires were $42 through Amazon.  We finally got all the house and food stores building to have them take up residence in the barn. We need a barn cat to adopt us.

The nighttime lows are still in the forties and there us a definite chill in the air after sun down so for now my pantry/food stores works. It's a good thing too. Soon the fresh greens will be big enough to cut for fresh salads again. I can't hardly wait. I'm so tired of store bought salad mixes. Of course, recently I've been boosting them up with fresh micro greens. Oh to have the high tunnel greenhouse Mel talked about building for year around growing, but that's still in the to-do folder. .

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

 

Weather Woes for the Garden

We've been chomping at the bit for the weather to warm up a bit to start planting in the garden. For weeks now, we've had everything laid out for our Ruth Stout/no dig market garden ready. Tthe weather finally cooperated We had a week of warm spring like weather, but then here came the rain. Followed by another cool patch.  Isn't that always the way it works?

Now, we're watching for the weather to clear and warm back up. Oi Vey! At least the weather clears long enough to have a goof turn out for the Farmers market on Saturdays. Nothing is as miserable as packing the Blazer to go, setting up, and sitting at the market in rain with no customers save those who placed orders the week before.

We're spending our time starting more seeds, and crafting.  We're concentrating on planting summer crops now. We have trays of tomatoes, okra, peppers, and sweet corn started for us and the market. We've also propagated some roses and blueberry bushes from our own stock when we trimmed them in the fall to sell to transplant and sell at the market. Mel started her usual assortment of pansies, zinnias, and petunias to plant baskets for the front porch and to sell in our recycled pots just in case someone is not interested in just vegetables. It'll make our tent more interesting with spots of color.  By selling the plants, we won't be in direct competition with a long time vendor at the market who sells cut flowers. It's frowned upon by the vendors.  It also gibes us our independent niche.

We're hoping the weather will cooperate so we can get our spring garden planted soon before the GA heat makes it impossible to grow. With all this warmer weather the peach trees, wild violets, and strawberries are blooming. The area's dogwoods, red buds, and apple trees brighten the landscape with, pink and white blooms. Is there are better tell that spring is on its way? Of course, seeing a red breasted robin sings to me it's so although this one is more orange.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Crafting with Jo: Upcycling Plastic bottles

I've talked quite a bit about what we sell at the Farmers Market. Since we started herb seeds and grow our own herbs to propagate, there is an abundance of herbs to choose from. Now that it's getting warmer, I'm thinking more towards collections of herbs such as salsas, Italian, Mediterranean, and first-aid.  Lord knows, there's almost an unlimited supply of pop bottles in a variety of different sizes available in the trash cans to work with. I've also acquired a lot of different color sprays and tubes that have been leftover from this or that project so cost should be almost nil. Plus the other vendors are saving theirs for me too.

Now I could just paint some 5-gallon buckets or maybe keep it small. Imagine a first aid caterpillar like this one on the left creeping along a window sill, patio, or balcony. How stinking cute is that? It can be made from plastic drink bottles of varying sizes from single serve to liter bottles. I will have to go to the Dollar Tree for some pipe cleaners to make them though.

How about a 5-gallon bucket with a Mexican stencil design painted on it with cherry tomatoes, onions, hot peppers, and cilantro for a salsa garden pot? Like this one? The pots are usually free at any grocery store bakery or deli operation. Using bright primary colors would make it pop. The nice thing about stencils is that they can be used over and over again. Just change the colors up for variety.

Plant starts and planters have been hot sellers (not to mention the eggs) for us. Everyone, it seems, is jumping on the plant-your-own bandwagon in these uncertain times from apartment dwellers to urbanites. Why have something ordinary when you can have something extraordinary and multifunctional. That's been my mantra for decades. It seems our buyers agree with me. Every little bit helps. It doesn't hurt that we'll be selling transplants to go into the pots too for return business next time around. Just in case they have a brown thumb. 😄

So what do you think? It keeps me busy and happy while watching my garden grow. What have you tried at your booths?

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Farmers Market Report

 The spring like weather brought people out in "droves." Now keep in mind that ours is a small, rural county with just less than 3K folks and a traffic jam is five cars ahead of you in the turn lane. Our farmers market isn't huge by any stretch of the imagination, yesterday's count was 10 tents, but still the twenty-five folks that stopped by our tent, we considered it a successful day because all twenty-five purchased from us.

What we took and sold...

• Two flats of cabbage, lettuce, broccoli/cauliflower/Brussel sprouts and 3 pots of of preplanted carrots (19 carrots in each. We sold them all.
• Four preplanted cutesy recycled soda bottles of rosemary and oregano. We sold them all.
• Eight dozen free range eggs. We'd brought ten. Mel also handed out contact cards for future sales.
• Four kitty cat planting pots made from recycled vinegar bottles and one donkey planter fill with pansies. Leaving one kitty planter, five puppies, five piggies, five chickens to take home.
• People were fascinated by my spinning plan. Like the commenter last week, they'd never seen it spun before. They liked the product after fingering it imagining how it would feel to work with. This sold 8 skeins of tan, gray, and white plarn out of the twenty we brought and two I'd made there.
• But from this demonstration, it also sold three medium size and one large market bags our of the ten we carried with us. Mel was crocheting one in between helping customers.

So all in all, it wasn't a shoddy day. We had four hours in the sunshine, interacting with people, getting to see our friends (other vendors)and Sold quite a bit that we'd brought.  I connected with my certified organic grower friend of years past and we swapped some seeds to start for summer. He grows a ton of different peppers and Asian eggplant each year that I buy each year. But then, he's got twenty acres on his farm too.

I'm also thinking of next year's market. When we finish one of the tiny houses, I get it inspected and the certification for selling pickles and jams. Another source of revenue for this homestead. Lord knows, we've been blessed as far as fruits grow that we've planted or grow wild one our property to provide a few jars to sell. I know all about the prep area inspections from working in restaurants. Cukes and other vegetables don't take that much space. Each fall, I make ten gallons of apple cider vinegar to start with. We made enough to cover our costs and our membership fee for the market for the year from this one day too. Our cash expenditures to make to sell the items were minimal just some paint and time.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Caramel Apple Rice Pudding a Canning No-No??

Caramel apple rice pudding is usually a big no-no where the FDA is concerned or you won't find it in any canning recipe book out there, but the rebel in me tried it.  You know what... it's delicious and it works! It's a shelf stable snack or dessert. Within all the power outages going on, it was worth a try. So far it's been on my pantry shelves for five months and it's still as good as when I first canned it. I think this is a keeper for my fall canning repertoire. So I'm sharing it with you.

Back in May last year, I tried my hand at making rice pudding my way. I liked it so much I decided to try and can some so whenever I wanted a quick dessert or snack I could have it. You know me, I'm all about making it once and enjoying it many times. I've been canning rice and milk products for more than a couple of years now with no ill effects, so why not rice pudding? Worse comes to worse it would be a failure.

Turns out that Mel doesn't like rice pudding so I'll be canning these in half pint jars just for me. (grinning, goody-goody gum drops!) This was an experiment so I only tried a case of jars. I figured one testing jar per month. If it held true for twelve months, I'd do full pint jars next fall. This way I could have two servings for me within a week if I wanted it.

Caramel Apple Rice Pudding

8- 1/2 pint jars

What you'll need

6 cups diced peeled apples, small dice* 1/2 cup water 2.5 cups white sugar 2.5 cups brown sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 TBS raisin for each jar

1/4 c long grain white rice per jar, rinsed well

milk to fill jars

*NOTE- I used my Vidalia Onion Chopper's small grate or you can hand chop apples into 1/4" pieces.

Putting it all together

• In medium saucepan combine apples, water, white and brown sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Over medium heat bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes stirring constantly to prevent burning.
• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla mixing well.
• Place 2TBS of apple mixture in each jar.
• Add raisins and rice to each jar.
• Top each jar to 1" headspace with milk.
• Using the debubbling tool stir contents of each jar.
• Wipe rims with towel to remove any splashed contents, lid and band jars.
• Place hot jars in a hot pressure canner.
• Seal and vent for 10 minutes. Pressure can for 15 minutes per your altitude.

There you have it. Caramel Apple Rice pudding in a jar. It's shelf stable for an anytime dessert or snack. The above picture shows a garnish of sliced fresh apple, sprinkle of additional cinnamon and small mint leaves with the rice pudding in a bowl. For just me, I'll simply grab a spoon and eat it out of the jar.

Now if you are one of those folks that want everything tried and approved by the powers that be, go ahead and ignore this recipe. It's canning with grains and milk which are not approve for home canning. But my house, my rules.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

Garden/Market Ho!

We've got lift off or at least germination in our soil plugs. It's so exciting!! Many seedlings have their first leaves already thanks to a jump start I gave them that I found on YouTube. Actually, I've done this before with fruit trees, but not with vegetables before.

The jump start is soaking the seeds for at least 8 hours. They swell making them much easier to pick up and place on a damp paper towel. I put them in labeled baggies and let them sprout first, and then planted the sprouts in my seed starting mix (50% peat, 40% perlite, &10% compost) . Total time was one week Even long to germinate carrots are showing their first leaves! I was amazed because usually it take 2-3 weeks for them to reach this stage.

The plastic wrap came off the trays today and I turned on the grow lights. I positioned the lights (via the chains) to one foot away from the plants. By the germination-seedling rate, we should have a pretty good garden this year... if the weather cooperates.

Years ago I showed y'all how I made my soil block maker, didn't I? Yes, I did. It's here. I used my empty pill bottles that are 2" in diameter. I've since that time, made several of them. I can make six of them (3x2 layout) at a time. I tried a 4x2 layout but my hand wasn't big enough to make eight uniform blocks so I adapted the design to this. I connected them together with paint stirrer sticks. The double layer makes it sturdy. I simply drilled a hole in them and used a washer and nut to attach it. My hand easily stretches across the top bar to push it. I had perfect 2"x 3" soil blocks. Heck with paying $36 for a metal one. It's bad enough that I have to pay for my drugs every quarter (because I HAVE to have them), but sending all those plastic bottles to the landfill should be a crime. The 2" size will allow growth until several true leaves form. Then, the plants can go into the ground or container with ease. No pots to unmold or tear, just dig a hole and plop them in.

We're off to a good start for the spring garden and for selling transplants at the farmers market in two weeks. The market was very, very slow last yesterday. I blame it on the cooler temperatures and the rain.  Next Saturday will tell the tale it's supposed to be in the 60s and no rain.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Crafting with Jo: Gearing up for the Farmers Market Season

 

Last year we couldn't participate in the Farmers Market because of the COVID scare and lockdowns. We continued to craft and build up supplies. Our local market operates from next week through the beginning of August and is open between 8AM to noon on Saturdays. It's about fifteen miles from our homestead.

We got our required 10x10 pop up tent at an end of the season sale. Folding chairs we had. A table was fashioned and painted using a discarded folding table base from the dump. It was missing a top which Mel made out of scrap pallets. It looks very rustic which was the look we were going for.

We decided to invest the $100 fee which is no small hardship for us, Not that our local Farmers Market is that busy, but it would provide contacts for future eggs sales. We really were undecided after losing half of our free ranging hens to dogs an coyotes over the past few months. Now, we get a dozen eggs a day from our hens. If response is good, then we'll buy new hens to supply customers with farm, free range eggs. If there is any doubt about the chickens being free range, I've got pictures of Mel chasing them out of our living room and laying eggs in our back porch that two of them favor, and roosting on our front porch railing. There's little doubt that the flock is free ranging to any visitors we've had. They've been greeted by the chickens and dogs before we can get outside.

I've started four 36-cell trays with herbs vegetables, and flowers to sell a month ago. I've crafted small herb "dish" gardens and pots to sell out of upcycled containers. We've got some cut, fresh herbs to sell ( rosemary, sage, thyme, and oregano). We'll add to the list as the annuals grow. Our market is chemical- free and only home grown produce. Unlike other farmers markets, no wholesale produce is sold. A yearly inspection of farms in the co-op keeps it that way in the truest sense of the words. Even the inspectors operations are checked to maintain the locally grown, chemical-free guidelines of the market.

The baskets, boxed, and cups that came with vegetable and fruit purchases over the last three years have been dusted off and been given a new lease on life to display our wares. An old cube storages rack now will be loaded with plants while another 9-bin cube rack will feature homestead made objects. I'll be carrying our Traveler spinning wheel and plastic yarn (plarn) to spin into worsted weight plarn as an attention grabber. Meanwhile, a Command hooks on one of the cube storage racks will hold market shopping bags (we've made) for sale. One of the cubicles of the homestead made products will hold 350-yard skeins of plarn to sold. This will sit on two ice chests gilled with eggs. It takes a minimum of 2 skeins of plarn to make a 12"x12" sized tote. Mel crocheted some while I knitted some. I made some copies of the patterns we used as a bonus. This pretty much fills our table and tent.

Our total expense including our membership fee should be met within a few short Saturdays. I've spent the last three years talking to most of the regular vendors and watching the traffic flow through the market. The busiest time id either the first hour or the last hour. We may have to build another table with boards and a saw horses, but that remains to be seem. For our first venture, I'm thinking no more than ten of each item. I may change my mind. If we sell out the first Saturday, we'll change tactics the next. It will be a good thing to sell out. Mel will have a notebook for items for people to orders for the following weekend pick up. Anyhow that's the plan. Wish us luck! After all, one man's trash is another one's treasure, right?

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Decision Made...Garden Ho!

 

After a week of yet another artic blast sending daytime and nighttime lows plummeting below freezing, I reached a decision about the garden. It's full steam ahead with seed starting this week. I just can't chance a long hot summer arriving too soon.

I've got some broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, napa, carrots, and onions planted into soil blocks. It's no where near what we'd need to be self sustainable, but it's something. Yes, I'm trying for a spring planting of my cabbages this year. I've ordered row covers to help protect them from the moths. I'm shooting for a 35% of our needs. That will be a pretty good start for these new sustainably bound crops. I rarely plant brassicas because the in season price makes it unnecessary. But things change and times are demanding I rethink this. I'd rather have some than none. If I get a fall season planting too, that'll increase our yield to 50%. 

The garlic and leeks beds have over wintered quite well under the thick hay mulch. As did the asparagus so far. I should be set at sustainable levels for garlic and leeks this year. I'll be dehydrating most of those harvests. I can always pull some up that have naturalized in the orchard area in a pinch. Oh, and all those yummy garlic scapes to cook with. I'll have to share a recipe with y'all for them on a Wednesday entry when it's time to harvest some in May.

We are watching and waiting for the chickens to start their spring laying glut of eggs. We are down to eight hens now. It's been a rough winter for them. At the peak of summer they numbered twenty-two. Mel is so fed up that she's lost interest in chicken farming as an income producer for the homestead. All the hens that went broody last year are dead so it will be interesting if any of the others will go broody this year. Now that Big Red, Rhode Island Red rooster, is entering his 4th year on this earth it'll be interesting to see if he's still fertile. I'll decide next month whether I want to bother and order some new chickens.  They won't start laying until summer. I still think it's good idea.

The quail are doing fabulous. We are now fully self sustainable in the little, dark meat birds in eggs and meat with just 25 quail for the two of us. In the spring, I may bump up their numbers to 50 and try to sell the eggs, hatching eggs, and breeding quads (3 hens and 1 roo).  I may just look into being certified for selling across state lines, but then again the way things started out last year and are continuing this year, I may do well just selling them in my five county area too. I wonder if the local livestock market will be open this year? They suspended all auctions last year because of the virus. But, there's always Craig's List. Or, I can just be happy that I'm self sustainable in one meat product.

Anyhow, I just thought you'd like to know what we're up to this week.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Cooking with Chef Jo: The BOB of the Cookbook & Italian Wedding Soup

BOB refers to the back of the book  Of course, I'm talking about the cookbook I've been compiling for the past four years. The last section has to be written out of the cookbook  I have to work on is my seasoning blends and dry mixes. I still need some goodies for the sweets section too, but otherwise I'm finished with compiling the recipes. The canning and preserving section is huge! It's been a long process with taking pictures taking the longest. There's almost 300 recipes by the time I called a halt to it. (over 160 published here on Wednesdays) This has been a true labor of love. Scratch cooking and baking at it's best from my homestead perspective.

I probably have a few hundred or more recipes and how-tos left in my brain for at least another cookbook or two. You can't have worked in food service, globe trotted, or listened for decades to older folks without collecting a recipes or two along the way after 60+ years on this planet. Yeah right, who am I kidding! Who would want another cookbook? Would you pay for an e-book or printed volume when you can just download 80% of the recipes from this area for free? Maybe my children would want a copy or my grandchildren if nothing else for posterities sake. Still there might be someone out there who might be interested in it. Who am I to deny them?

I haven't even started on the cover nor have I come up with a title as yet. I'm not sure what to do for the either. I figure our logo should be on it, but that's as far as I've gotten with it. This is totally unlike my previous writing experiences. n those cases the title and cover popped into my head while writing and in some cases before the story was story boarded. I'm tempted to do a plain background with our logo and just let it go. Whether I add colors to it...I dunno. I'm not as creative nor fru-fru as I once was. I also don't have my drawing software on this HP Stream either.

Now for the recipe I promised, Italian Wedding Soup. Most people find it daunting, but really it's quite easy especially if you've canned the meatballs previously. That's what I'm serving for dinner tonight along with some crusty garlic bread.

Italian Wedding Soup

Serves 6

What you'll need

1 TBS olive oil

1 1/2 c diced carrots, diced 1/4"*

1 1/2 c diced onions, diced 1/4"*

3/4 c diced celery including leafy green leaves, diced 1/4"*

5 pints chicken bone broth, or regular chicken broth

1 pint jar mini meatballs, if not see below for a recipe*

1 c orzo pasta

1/2 c dry white wine, such as a Chardonnay

2 tsp minced garlic

12 oz fresh spinach, escarole, or other tender green, chopped into 2" pieces

1/2 tsp dried basil

Parmesan Cheese for service

Notes=* I use the small grate on my Vidalia Onion chopper to make short work of chopping my vegetables a uniformed size.

* On average of 4-5 meatballs per serving. What can I say, I cram those little suckers in a pint jar. 😂

Putting it all together

• Drain the meatballs in a colander. Reserve the beef broth for another application.
• In a stock pot add the oil and bring up to heat, almost to smoking point.
• Add onions, garlic, carrots, and celery to the pot.
• Allow to sauté until onions are translucent.
• Pour in stock wine, and basil. 
• Allow the soup to simmer for twenty minutes.
• Add pasta, spinach, and meatballs to the soup. Cover and allow to get happy for 10 minutes at a simmer.
• Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese for service.

If you have not made meatballs previously, you'll need to make some for this soup.

You'll need

3/4 lb ground beef

1/2 lb ground chicken

2/3 c bread crumbs

2 tsp garlic, minced fine

3 TBS dried Parsley

1/2 c Parmesan/Romano cheese, grated

3 TBS milk

1/2 tsp basil

1 egg, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

Putting it together

• In a bowl, place the bread crumbs and milk with the beaten egg. Allow 5 minutes to soak up all the milk/egg mixture.
• Place all ingredients into the bowl and mix together thoroughly.
• Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Take a TBS scoop and form the meatballs. 
• Brown the meatballs in a skillet or in a 350℉ oven.
• 
  Add to the soup.

Serving suggestion- Add a tossed salad with an herb vinaigrette and a slice of crusty garlic bread for a balanced meal. My version is so hardy that there just isn't room in our tummies for salad too. By using my home canned meatballs, this recipe is a thirty minute fix and sit down to eat meal.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

Planting the In Ground: To Garden or Not to Garden

 I'm facing the dilemma I do every year at this time, to plant my garden or wait. The nights no longer fall below freezing, but the daytime highs are still low. I planted potatoes and carrots, and it snowed. I started seeds are the temperature plummeted to highs in the forties for a week. The days warm up to the 60's one week and then we get another artic blast come through. The weather has been predictably unpredictable.

I looked into buying heat mats to go under my transplant trays. Bot, they want a pretty penny for them, don't they? I'd need at least five for my lettuces and brassicas alone not to mention the electricity to run them. There's also no guarantee that they'd last over a year of seed starting. 

Grow lights are a different story. It's just a question of replacing tubes as they burn out. Not that those are cheap, but they seldom go out all at once either. In my experience one or two out of twenty-four bulbs will burn out a season and the starters will be replaced about every three years or so. So I get a whole lot of bang for my buck. But the warming mats, it's all enclosed so if a wire inside breaks there's no way to fix it short of cutting it open and try gluing or taping it back together ruining the waterproof nature of the product. Water and electricity shouldn't be mixed, right? Not without at a minimum of tripping the circuit breaker, nasty shocks, never working properly,  or causing a fire.  So, it's basically trash and there foes money down the drain. 

I have a healthy respect for electricity. This was reinforced by an incident I experienced as a young teen. I was helping the servants buff the terrazzo floors. I grabbed the power cord to move it out of the way as I buffed. Unknown to me, there was a break in the cord and the protective wire coating had worn off from I assume was running over the cord while buffing the floors. All 240 volts shot into my hand. My fingers tightened around the cord and I couldn't let go (darn reflexes). When I finally let go, my index  through the ring fingers  were burned almost down to the bone along the first joints. I was lucky. I could have died. To this day, I have minimal use of those three fingers because of the scars. It's a permanent reminder of how dangerous electricity can be even with the US's dialed down 110. 

I think I'll err with caution and wait until the end of March or April before I plant outdoors.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Cooking with Chef Jo: Cream of Anything Dry Soup Mix

 Have you ever notice how many recipes call for Cream of something soup? I usually keep my condensed cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup canned (2 cases worth at all times in my food stores). I get nervous when I get below a case of my cream of anything soup gets low. The same thing goes for soup bases like poultry, beef, and vegetable.

Now being a scratch cook that makes her own bases, usually bone broths for the added minerals and vitamins, I spend hours making just these and canning them up because I love my body. My body, such as it is, is my temple for God. I take care of it the best I can. No MSG, low fat, low sodium, GMOs, and organic when I can get it. Read available and afford it. Not everything is this way, but I do try. By the same token, I'm not opposed to shortcuts like purchasing powdered bases and bouillons also in a pinch. This is the case with most of my dry mixes. Yes, I have access to a freeze dryer to make my own, but when averaging out the cost and time to make my own versus purchasing it, buying it in bulk wins.

This isn't my recipe, but it's pretty much standardized from many recipes. I make this up a quart jar at a time, then I'm less panicky when my food stores run low. If you have dehydrated vegetables and poultry on hand, then you can make Cream of anything soup by just adding water and a few extra ingredients to this base.

Dry Mix for Cream of Anything Soup

Makes Approximately 9 cups

What you'll need

2 c dry, whole milk (I use Hooiser Farms brand through Amazon)*

3/4 c cornstarch

2TBS onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 c chicken, beef, or vegetable bouillon*

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp parsley

2 tsp garlic powder (optional)

* Note- If you are watching your fat, you can substitute skim dry milk.

Can't decide what flavor to use, leave this out and add 1/2 tsp of base when you make a cup of soup. These recipes are pretty forgiving. 

Place in a quart jar and shake well. Store in cool, dark place.

Now how about some recipes on how to make a cup of soup? You know I wouldn't leave you hanging.

Cream of Chicken  Soup

What you'll need

1/3 c cream of Anything base

1 cup boiled water

1/2 tsp chicken bouillon if you didn't add it earlier

1 heaping TBS dried diced chicken or canned chicken

Putting it all together

• Add all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir well.
• Bring to a boil.
• Turn off the heat.
• Put lid on the pot and let steep for 5 minutes.
• Like a thicker soup? Return to low heat and stir until the soup reaches the desired consistency.

Cream of Celery Soup

What you'll need

1/3 cup of Anything Soup Base

1 cup water

1 heaping TBS dehydrated celery

1/2 tsp vegetable base, if not added to the mix

1/2 tsp celery seed, ground

Putting it together

Same directions as above.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

What you'll need

1/3 cup Anything Soup Base

1 cup water

1 heaping TBS dehydrated mushrooms, broken into small pieces

1/2 tsp either beef or vegetable base

Putting it together

Same instructions as above

Cream of Tomato Soup

I don't know about you, but I normally add milk to my tomato soup for the richer mouth feel.

What you'll need

1/3 cup of Anything Soup Base

1 cup of water

2 TBS tomato powder*

1 heaping TBS dried diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp vegetable or beef base if not added to the mix

1/4 tsp basil

*To make tomato powder, place dried tomatoes in a coffee grinder and pulse it until the pieces become powder.

Putting it together

See Cream of Chicken instruction.

The possibilities are endless. Cheese sauces, or casseroles, or have a different cream soup everyday for a month. Fix a sandwich and a small tossed salad for a complete, notorious lunch or dinner in a snap with this Cream of Anything Soup base in your pantry. There's no need to have to rush out to the grocery store for a can of Cream of Anything Soup because you forgot to pick some up.. Enjoy!

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo