Today has been a baking day so far. We also need to do some catch up on school work and work on our CSA. We have made granola, applesauce cookies, pumpkin bars, banana bread and muffins, shortcake, graham crackers, 3 loaves of whole wheat bread, and cinnamon rolls. We still have oatmeal cookies and chocolate zucchini cade to make.
We focus our baking around goods that use items we preserved from summer like pumpkin, applesauce, and zuchini. I love the pleasant smells of cinnamon, the warmth of the kitchen, and the longing looks of children that can't wait to taste everything. This will supply us for the part of the month. We have to bake bread about every other day and something else usually needs to be done once a day. It takes alot to feed a large growing family.
Well we have two new baby goats on the homestead and baby pigs expected soon. We have finished some much needed fencing and putting manure on the garden area. It is still too wet to till but we have been planning, order seeds, and starting cold weather crops in the greenhouse. Many things are poking their little seedling heads through the warm soil.
With at least one goat available for milk, we are planning on making soap soon. We are in need as well as want to get some ready for farmer's markets. This year we plan to offer about 20 CSA subscriptions as well as attend 1 or 2 of our local farmer's markets. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it is great to work together as a family.
One thing I love about blogging is the ability to share a little of my life and hopefully encourage others. When we first began homesteading, I hungered for blogs and websites that would help inform what I was doing. In fact, I still hunger to read what others are doing and to discover whether there are better or more efficient ways.
Our ancestors would probably be shocked to find out that we use little boxes in our homes to visit with our “neighbors” about how to grow food, farm crops and raise animals. I was just as shocked to discover the “farming” gaming community. On Facebook, a social networking website for those who have missed the phenomenon, people sign up to have little farms and they plant and harvest their crops from what I am told.
I can only go on what I read from my friends because I am not participating in these games. As I told a friend who invited me to come play at farming, I am too busy doing the real thing to spend that much time on a computer pretending. When recently visiting with a young woman at work, she told me that she is “farming” on a Wii game system where she spends up to four hours a day playing. She told me that this system allows her to get married, milk cows, and make cheese.
According to a recent article in an urban farming magazine, 65 million people play the farming Facebook game and 30% of them adjust their lives to plant and harvest for the best results. [Imagine a shocked look on my face.] I also recently read that roughly 35 million people receive government assistance in the form of food stamps because they can not afford to feed their families.
I recently joined the gym to get in shape for gardening season. The sedentary lifestyle of the winter leads up to some soreness and stiffness as I begin gardening. Therefore, DH and I figured that a few months of gym time prior to the summer would serve us well. The gym is packed with people walking on treadmills to nowhere and biking with great perseverance but remaining in the same place as when they started.
I got to thinking. Look at the energy these people are expending. They really know how to work and sweat. They are diligent and determined, much like the pioneers that settled our great country. However, pioneer families never needed such activities to remain in shape. Their lifestyle was exercise enough.
People are willing to work hard in the gym to get exercise, and they are willing to give up time to play games that include planting and harvesting, and they are obviously in need of food, but they have never thought to plant a garden and feed themselves? Am I the only one wondering why?
We are settling in to the seasonal rhythm of life on the homestead. January is sewing month. The girls have completed 11 dresses for the 4 of them this past week. The two middle girls will each need a few more items and they all need undergarments and then they have our main sewing completed for the year.
In the garden, we have been ordering seeds for the early spring starts like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. We are starting to move compost and manure to the garden to prepare it for the spring planting. The greenhouse is getting organized and cleaned a little at a time.
We are going to plant our orchard this year. We planted a few fruit trees our first year, but money was needed elsewhere for the past few years. I chose to plant the soft fruits first with what resources we had. I have had a spot saved for the orchard and I believe it will hold about 14 trees. I am planning on 6 peach trees, 3 plums, 3 apricots, a hazelnut, and a walnut. In another section I am planning to add 2 sweet cherries and a pie cherry. This will round out our orchard that has 4 apples, 2 pears, and a cherry already. In soft fruit we have grapes, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries planted.
We are planning on fencing the new little orchard and building a turkey shelter. I am so excited because I have wanted turkeys from the beginning and this year DH has agreed to 15 turkeys. We are also discussing other poultry. We of course will be running about 100 chickens through here for our needs. I would like to order some geese. I have read that they are great grazers. I though maybe 3 or 4. Two to keep for mating and a couple for Christmas dinner?
DH has been working on fencing. We got a new sow and boar and he is enlarging their pen. Then he is going to work on the other fencing so the animals will stay out of crops that will share the fields this spring and summer. Our neighbor has given us permission to run the animals in a field he is not using. This may allow us to free up our remaining pasture for hay. We are planning on planting wheat, oats, mangrels, sunflower seeds, and a forage crop for animal feed. This will leave us will just 3.5 acres for pasture.
I have also been shopping for sheep. DH suggested hair sheep so that we don't have to worry about shearing. I have found both hair and wool kinds for meat on the internet for sale. I would really like wool because I would love to lear to spin and weave. I'm just not sure. We have a friend who knows how to shear and could either be paid to do it or teach us how. However, we have learned to be careful with - "we will figure it out later."
Mostly we have tried to figure it out later when it comes to mating animals. Therefore, I have a new rule no females without males. I know it costs more to keep them when you only need them occasionally, but we have kept animals for YEARS without mating them because we couldn't find a male to come visit. Certainly that can't be cost effective.
I am continuing to beg DH for a milk cow. I think he is finely convinced that he loves the fresh raw milk and all the things we can make from it. We have convinced him that we can keep up on the processing as we have been making butter, yogurt, sour cream, cheese, and cottage cheese for about 6 months with what we buy. He just does not want to end up being the one milking it. He said maybe next year. There are other things to focus on, as you can read, so he is probably right in insisting I be a little patient.
It is time to start your engines - another great homesteading year is upon us. The seed catalogs have all arrived. I finished making my selections for all my vegetables as well as grains and forage crops to plant. I have yet to select herbs and consider any fruits that we would like to plant.
Now the poultry catalog has arrived and we are making our turkey and chicken selections. We are also considering ducks and geese. After the death of our sow, we are still trying to replace her. We are also working on sheep for this coming year. It is a time to replenish our supplies.
Our planting plan includes a few new additions in the animal feed area - mangrels, wheat, oats, and a forage grass combination. We will also continue with the corn, however, we will need to improve our ability to finish drying the corn in the barn. DH got a little too excited and husked it all before it was dry and put it up.
DH is working on fencing and we have outlined a few other projects. Soon we will be starting seedlings in the greenhouse. In the house this is the time of year when we focus on getting some sewing done. With all three oldest girls - 16, 12, and 10 - sewing it goes pretty fast. They are working on button down jumpers for themselves right now. Today we baked bread and have been making butter, sour cream, yogurt, and cottage cheese.
We are busy as usual. I have been working out at the gym and I keep thinking "Do these people know how much production towards meeting their own needs they could get out of the energy they are exerting?" In the pioneer days can you imagine people going somewhere to "walk" or "lift weights?" Seriously?
It seems like lately it has been all about events, food, and rushing about to make the holiday deadline. I spent the last two days before Christmas reading. Yes, just reading. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I am finding a really enjoy biographies and autobiographies of political figures.
Today we are getting back in the groove. We got the yogurt, sour cream, and cottage cheese started. We baked bread and made granola. We still need to churn the butter. Now we are doing Saturday chores and shortly we will work on some sewing. I am getting the last week of our school term planned. We are then off for a week. I have books to order for next term and plans to finish up.
The seed catalogs have continued to arrive. Today I will work on what needs to be ordered and started this month. In the coming weeks I will finish planning the rest of our seed orders for each month. We are anticipating an active gardening season. I am amazed how well the greenhouse and cold frame have done. We had weather down in the teens and the celery still survived in the greenhouse. We did bring in the lemon tree. The lettuce and spinach also survived in the cold frame. Next year I just need to start the lettuce earlier in the cold frame so I have more start with when winter hits. Then it will probably hold most of the winter.
Each year we learn a little more and try a few more things. We are in huge need of a pig. We butchered our last one and have not replaced it. We have to do something soon. We also butchered our steer, but at least we have two calves coming up. Chickens we are doing okay on, but I wish they would lay some eggs.
We are eliminating processed foods from our diet while out of the home. I don't think we will go to the extreme of no preservatives or food dyes, but we have eliminated processed sugar and will avoid it outside of the home as well. I am working on my weight with a more specific program and am spending a lot of time in the gym, which is one of the reasons I could not take on the focus of diligently removing all chemicals from our food consumption. Slowly but surely we get there with a little more each year.
Well we have did the inventory on food items that we eat or use regularly at home and that have to go if we give up dyes, preservatives, and chemicals in our food: cheddar cheese (dye), soy sauce (dye), oyster sauce (dye & chemicals), white rice (processed), and coconut milk (preservatives).
The coconut milk surprised me because it is such a wonderful food for healthy eating, but the less expensive ones all have preservatives. I was able to get some without preservatives by at 1.5 times the cost. There are soy sauces out there that don't have dyes, but we are picky in this area. I brought home one to sample and one of the kids didn't want to eat his rice. I use soy sauce as a flavor additive in lots of recipes so I bought some organic boullion to see if that will work for me. Oyster sauce I'll never find a good substitute so we are experimenting with making some naturally fermented fish sauce. Cheddar cheese we are just eating white cheese instead. White rice is a big one for our family. DH says he is committed to giving it up for our health.
As you can see there were not a lot of items that we need to eliminate at home. We have been eating healthy for many years. Our downfall is the temptations outside the home. Here is yesterday for example:
- We had a doctor appointment 2 hours away and I needed to run some errands in that town. We packed a morning snack of homemade whole wheat oatmeal cookies. For lunch we packed natural peanut butter with homemade jam with honey on homemade whole wheat bread and apples from our tree cut up.
- Everyone had a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, accept mom who got busy and only had an english muffin.
- We get part way there and mom is starving. I stop at McDonalds to get something. This launches an in depth conversation about all the horrible aspects of what I am eating. I finish half of it.
- We eat morning snack and lunch all right. We then run our errands and people are starving. "When is snack?" I make it through the first grocery store without giving in. "We will have snack when we get home."
- Heading back towards home I begin to think perhaps we should go to Costco as we have to go right by it. I already have everyone packed up.
- At Costco everyone is starving. Okay we'll get a snack. "I want cake!" "Cake? We are not having cake for a snack." "Cake!" "Okay how about muffins."
- We continue through Costco and graze the samples - 2 involving margarine and 1 bacon. There was 1 of grapefruit but funny no one really ate that one.
- We get to the van and have muffins and head home.
- Oh by the way, while in Costco I realize that we have taken out nothing for dinner, its getting late, we've been gone all day, so I buy a cooked chicken.
- This morning what is sitting on the counter when I get up early and need a little something to eat? Leftover muffins. I have one, ugh.
That is part of the reason we feel we have to be 100% committed to this plan. It is so easy to say, well it doesn't make any difference if . . . But it does because X leads to Y. Before you know it everytime you leave home is an excuse to eat poorly. We don't propose to do this forever, but for 1 year to bring it to our consciousness, to focus on it, and to develop new habits.
We finally seem to be on the mend, but I am still having trouble catching my breath. This illness has really brought to our attention the short-comings in our health and immune systems. The kids are pretty much at home and they eat the healthy food we raise on our own farm. They have the occasional processed item when we are in town shopping or at Church during snack time. Their immune systems fight off things much better than DH and I. We are out and about more. We are lazy about making sure only healthy food passes through our lips. We have more opportunities to eat processed, chemical laden food and we make bad choices.
DH and I are also overweight. DH has always been a muscular man but on the larger side. I have always been overweight. DH was a professional athlete and works hard so he is in good shape, but he shouldn't eat the way he did when he was 20. Things just don't respond the same way they use to. I have always been pretty active despite my weight, but over the past few years it has gotten more difficult.
Our family has been considering and praying about giving up all processed foods, all preservatives, and all food dyes in 2010. We started having this conversation after we found out my nephew is sensitive/allergic to some of these items. The kids are on board and really excited. This would mean no eating out for an entire year. We would probably have to take our own food to any Church events and heavily scrutinize anything we would eat at a potluck. We would be limited in our ability to eat at other people's homes. Although frankly people don't invite you over much when you have 7 children. We would have to make almost everything from scratch.
We are praying and have the realistic conversations . . ."you know this means no (fill in the item)." It is our goal to be a healthy family and that is a large part of why we work so hard on the farm raising our food. It seems like it is time to take it to the next step and hold out against the lure of the fast food restaurants and pre-packaged grocery store. My kids have no taste for these items and they have a hard time with most of these items thinking that they are yucky. But for DH and I who have been eating this way for the years before the kids, we struggle with still enjoying them. It may be time to finally let it go.
Well our plans include a quiet Thanksgiving at home. In fact, we will do school in the morning before enjoying our meal. I did by a nice family video for us to watch in the evening. I am looking forward to the peaceful holiday.
I have been working on cooking slowly. There is not really much to do ahead, but I want to teach my girls how to make a Thanksgiving meal. They have been chopping the items for stuffing and toasting the bread. Today they will work on the pies. Last night I made up a dip and my grandmother's pistachio pudding salad.
I have managed to re-make all my favorite holiday dishes without canned and processed food, but I have never figured out how to do it with the pistachio pudding salad. I decided I was missing out on one of my favorite family holiday tradtions, so one processed thing will have to be lived with.
We're hoping to go to mid-week Church services tonight, which is always a blessing. It really depends on DH because some of the younger children just can not behave in the evening away from home without Dad. They do pretty well at all other times, but I have to recognize our limits.
Turning the time I was sick, and unable to do much of anything else, I did manage to finish some household projects that seem to never get done - filing and mending. Nice quiet activities. We also revised the school schedule so that the preschoolers have more activities during a day. I also worked on some homeschool planning and getting the little kids' activities ready ahead of time.
As you can "see" we are getting back to normal around here. Still a lot of coughing.
The first seed catalog arrived and now I am beginning to feel the call of spring planting. I hope that the long weekend will result in a few other projects getting done. We are still packaging up seeds that we saved for next year's harvest. We have gone through a lot of dried sage and thyme for sick people, so I need to package up herbs that have bee drying. Your typical homesteading activities that are never finished.
Well I would like to report that we are all on the mend, but it just doesn't seem to be so. This stuff can really hang on. Everyday is different with some children having a fever and coughing while others seem to be okay. Then the next day it is different again.
Right now I am telling the kids - if you have a fever you are in bed that day. If you don't you can play quietly out of your bed. No going outside at all.
I said to someone the other day that at least no one was vomitting. I take it back - some one vommitted 2 times last night. Once in their bed, and once in mine.
Well at least we are all at home together, spending good quality family time with each other. . .
Well it appears that we all have the same thing and not a variety of sick bugs - the swine flu is upon us. Two children seem to have not come down with it while everyone else has had it to some degree. We are in phase 2. The first phase was upset stomachs and the things that go with that. Phase 2 is congestion - serious congestion - and the things that go with that along with a return of the nausea from phase 1. My understanding is that phase 3 will be if we get some kind of secondary infection.
We have been sick for 2 entire weeks. The doctor said another 1-2 weeks. We are all just sick and tired of being sick and tired. Of course we have enough supplies to see us through and luckily it is the 2 oldest daughters who are not sick. One has been assigned to keep the house running and the other is assigned to nursing duties. It figures that Mom is the sickest, which means I am not up to mothering everyone else who is sick like I want to.
DH was sick first so he is up to helping in the middle of the night with the little ones. Heck the coughing has meant I haven't slept in 3 days so I am up all night to listen to the little ones. Avoid it if you can, folks.
It has raised an interesting question in my mind though, if you are part of a Church body, what do you think is the Churches obligations or ministry to sick families within the Church? Just wondering.
The sick bugs have been visiting us. I say bugs because it seems we have more than one going through us. Unfortunately, I got one and then another. There has been lots of going to bed early and resting during the day. We have garlic lathered on us, elderberry syrup being drunk, and lots of mint tea being drunk.
We have started holiday sewing. It is such fun to work with all my daughters on the projects for the little kids. We making a doll and clothes for my 3 year old daughter. My daugthers 12 and 10 are making a set of old fashioned clothes for the doll. We have asked DH to make a little chest for everything. We are so excited to give it to her.
I have a one son I have had to talk to several times about why we will be having a frugal Christmas. We never give tons of gifts and we have been cutting back each year. Last year we were "blessed" by someone who wanted to give our children gifts. I thought it would be a couple of items. It was a van full! The kids enjoyed it greatly, but now some of the little ones have their expectations set very high.
My 12 year old said, "that's the way they did it in the old days, we can do it too." Tell them anything was the way it was done in the old days and they are on board. Wait till I tell them they have to use an outhouse! Just kidding - for now we don't have an outhouse, although we have discussed it.
The good news is that there will always be plenty of food for the holidays. For Thanksgiving we are planning - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, candied carrots, rolls, pumpkin pie, and chocolate cream pie. I had to buy the turkey and of course flour and sugar, but everything else will be from our farm.
We are gearing up to bake for the holiday season. It is not something that I always do, but I thought it would be fun for the girls. It is an opportunity for them to practice baking some new items and making candy.
I miss the clarity of the goal, the focus of the season and the clear priority of putting as much food into the pantry and freezers as is humanly possible. The house gets cleaned and people get food, but there is not much else beyond that and preserving. Now there is everything else.
As the weather changes and preserving is clearly behind me, I am not sure where to begin. A plethora of projects lie in front of me and I am overwhelmed as I consider what to do first. Should I make soap, sew dresses, quilt, crack nuts, bake, make holiday gifts, dry herbs, de-stem dried herbs, make herbal medicines, work on cordials and vinegars, etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on.
By the time I finish preserving the holidays are nearly upon us and I feel that my focus should be there. However, there are just so many other diversions. This year the girls and I have a long list of clothing to sew as well as 7 quilts that we need. I doubt I'll get 7 quilts done, but they will need to be done eventually. I would also like to get some rugs done and we need new dish cloths and towels for the kitchen.
Where to start is the question. I just need to tackle one thing at a time. School is underway and people are getting in to the swing. Kids have been under the weather here is weekend, but I did get a few things done. I started some more lettuce in the greenhouse. I also transplanted some celery to see if I can grow it during the winter in the greenhouse. I dug up my luffa that never produced anything and took it back in the greenhouse. I have to remember the greenhouse is there and I have to see what I can grow in it during the winter.
I cut some more herbs and brought them in the house to dry. My harvest includes some calendula flowers I grew for lotions and ointments. I also brought in some rosemary, sage, and mint. I cut back large amounts of overgrown herbs in the herb garden and did some general clean-up. I still have to get lessons for school done and maybe plan out some sewing for the week. I got a cute new jumper for my youngest daughter that I want to sew.
Hope you are pleasantly busy on your homestead . . .
We went away for the weekend and visited Alaina at Pearls 4 Him and her family. It was such a blessing. The girls had worked so hard this summer on the preserving that I told them they could pick a weekend trip and they picked Alaina's house. We had hoped to get away before school, but our trip was delayed by a couple of weeks.
When you live on a farm it can be challenging to visit the "city" where there are no chores or work to be done. When we visit Alaina's we feel like we fit right in. And really how many people can you visit that think 6-9 people descending on their home is nothing. The fellowship and time together was special. I was encouraged and blessed to be out of my circumstances and to spend some time reflecting and sharing with others.
We got some new recipes and my oldest was taught by Alaina's oldest at home (Olivia) to knit hats using a ring. We spent time crocheting granny squares and making cheese. We even got to go to the local quilt shop and antique store. We looked at their soap and candles and came away with all kinds of ideas. I got to look at the cellar and see the result of all their hard work preserving. We also got to eat great food.
Alaina and her husband have such a wonderful family. Their kids know how to work together as a family and they are very respectful and kind. They enjoy nice wholesome activities and I don't have to worry about my kids playing with them. It is such a blessing and an encouragement to be their friends.
Back at home the kids are catching up on school work. We are having quite the time of getting into the swing of things. We wil probably be schooling all weekend to keep them on track. Ugh! I want to spend some time sewing and I got a cute new pattern for a jumper while at Alaina's. We probably also need to pick some apples and can some pie filling.
We really have quite a bit of work still to do. What am I saying. There is no "still" about it. There is always a lot of work. There is still canning is what I mean. In addtion to canning there is garden clean up, schooling, paperwork, cleaning, baking, sewing etc. Oh yeah, and the holidays to get ready for.
We got very little done today - bread baked, red pepper jelly canned, and Saturday chores. I just didn't have it in me. I was frustrated and in a bad mood. At lunch I had to give up my plans for the day.
Tonight is movie night and "Little Women" is what we will be watching. Dinner is pork roast, mashed tomatoes, veggies, and banana cream pie. Tomorrow is church and I haven't decided what I am making but we'll be having pumpkin pie.
The girls and I started talking about the holidays today and what we want to bake, sew, and make. I don't want to give too many details in case someone is reading who may be receiving something. I feel a little overwhelmed that Christmas is coming so soon. I do know what most of the children will be getting. Now I just have a little shopping to do for them. It is the sewing that I am always concerned about finishing in time and I don't even feel ready to start.
The girls had a hard time finishing their school work this week. By the way, someone asked how I like Mystery of History. I like it very much. It is not so overwhelming but enough review that they really seem to be getting the material and remembering it. They have had to do "homework" this weekend and in the evenings to catch up. It usually takes them a little time to get in the swing of things.
DH's fire pager went off early thismorning. He couldn't responsd as he had to work, but we weren't able to go back to sleep. We had a nice time to talk by ourselves, pray for the people whose home was on fire, and have breakfast together. Now I am working on homeschool plans. The kids start back on the 13th.
We don't start school until the ten weeks before the winter holidays so that everyone can focus on the harvest. I have been slowly making progress on planning the first ten weeks of school. We are working slowly through history following a biblical timeline. We are just finishing up the old testament. All of our other subjects draw from the historical lessons or connect to the time period and geography of the areas we are studying. Here is our homeschool plan:
- Math, Spelling, Grammar, Writing - age appropriate study
- History - Mystery of History end of volume 1
- Science - Astronomy as the first measurement of the constellations began in this time period
- Geography - The Holy Land countries of Turkey, Israel, and Egypt. Have studied some of this before but we are hoping to go a little more in depth and review
- Art - Art from different countries in geography study, we have been working through this historically and have already studied the art from Ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece
- Bible - Jeremiah, Joel, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Malachi (reading through as family, children's study time is focused on historial setting and structure of books)
- Literature - Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
- Reading - depends on age but some of the books this time are "Caesar's Gallic War," "The Young Carthaginian," and "A Boy of Galilee"
Canning is for the most part wrapped up. The tomatoes will continue to trickle in until the first frost. The will become more spaghetti sauce, salsa, or dried tomatoes. Items where we canned 100% already, but would like to have 150%. Peppers still need to be brought in, roasted, and canned. Eggplant is still in the garden trying to grow a little more. Pumpkins have all been canned but we still need more and are waiting on a friend to give us some. Dry beans are drying on the vine as are seeds for next years green beans. We are trying to eat the rest of the corn, but we may have to can some more and try to find a place to put it. Later apples will be processed into cider when they are ready.
As we move into Fall we have begun bringing in the feed corn. It will have to be dried, husked, and removed from the cob. We still have carrots, onions, and cabbages that will winter over. We have been planting garlic. This is our time to save seeds and dry herbs. We will also try and look for mushrooms, elderberries, and wild mints. This is definately a transition time when our work outside will slow and begin to move inside, but there is still much to do.
As we put the garden to bed we will be putting manure on and clean the stalls to reform the manue pile. All the stalls will get fresh hay before winter. I am going to try transplanting two tomatoes and a cucumber plant to the greenhouse to see if I can lengthen my fresh vegetable season at all.
The house is also getting a cleaning of carpets, oven, moldings, drawers, cabinets, walls, and light fixtures. Trying to remove the summer grime. We are re-stocking the baking that gotten eaten down over the summer and was often ignored while we canned. It didn't matter so much while kids munched on fresh veggies and fruit for snacks, but now we need those baked goods to tied people over between meals. We are still drying laundry on the line, but will soon have to figure out how to bring that inside.
The work never stops, but it has a seasonal rhythm that is soothing and comforting. As winter becomes a reality we will remove lavendar from the seed heads, strip dried herbs from the stems, crack nuts, and strip corn cobs of their seeds. We will begin sewing again and will pick the quilting back up. Soap will be made and stored up for the year. The mending box will be tackled. Plans for next year will be made during the evenings and we will look forward to the next season of work.
Pear Pie Recipe
2 cups sliced canned pears
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
One unbaked pie shell
Mix all ingredients and pour into shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. You then add the crumb mixture on top if you want to. We like it without.
Crumb Mixture: 2/3 cup flour; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/4 cup butter mixed together with a fork.
Sprinkle on crumb mixture and continue baking until pie is light brown, approximately 10 to 15 minutes more. Refrigerate.
I can't believe how much my kids can eat - sometimes. It seems so inconsistent. We'll sit down one night and all the food is gone and they are complaining that we should have made more. The next night we make more and there are tons of leftovers. I am sure it is the age.
The solution, we have decided to make pies that can be used when people are still hungry. People use to have dessert on a regular basis and mine is homemade and homegrown alternatives, so its not too bad. It will supplement the nights when they ate through everything and are still "starving." So last night I baked a couple of pies - pumpkin and pear.
Canning is at 130% and still growing. The weather is beginning to change so there is not much time left. We continue to can tomatoes and apples. I need more pumpkins before I can finish the pumpkin canning and a friend has promised me some. We also are waiting for the later apples in order to make cider. We are working to finish filling little spots on the shelves where a few more jars of an item will fit. Might as well have it full, full, full.
We butchered two more pigs and used the weekend to make bulk sausage and links. We "salted" down the bacons and hams to cure. They will get smoked in a couple of weeks. I rendered the lard and got enough for soap and baking this winter. Lard makes the best pie crusts ever and I used some to make the pies last night.
This week our emphasis shfits to seed gathering as we are beginning storing away the seeds for next year's garden. We don't store everything, but enough of the easier things to move us one more step towards self-sufficiency.
We are so grateful for the many blessings this summer that have allowed us to stock up. It is the Lord's provision in our lives and as we enter in to fall the shelves are filled with about 1000 jars of food, 2 freezers are full of meat and 2 more with veggies and fruit, and crates are full of potatoes, winter squash and nuts. Herbs both medicinal and culinary are dried and stored away. Winter veggies have been replanted in the garden and we are beginning to bring in the dry corn and beans. What a satisfying feeling.
No I am not trying to homeschool and can, but I am getting ready. We run 4, 10 week terms per year with 1 to 2 week breaks in between. We alter a normal school year schedule to align with canning and gardening. We start the 2nd week of October and will finish in time for a two week break at the winter holidays. We then will do three terms next year, ending July. Right now I am copying assignments and planning out the term. I am trying to have the entire term prep work done so that when we start I can focus on planning the next term completely.
We have finished 950 jars/packages of food and are at 117% of total. We started with about 400 items remaining from last year. We still have a few more items to do, but we are getting a final wind. We will pretty much finish up - except for cider - by the end of the month. We will then do a little organizing and then start school.
It is nearly time to start thinking about the holidays. Spiritually I am having a hard time with Christmas. After studying some on the pagan roots, I just feel that it is not Biblical to observe Christmas. I feel more aligned with observing the Old Testament feasts, but DH does not agree. We had a brief discussion on Christmas and he wants to move forward with celebrating it. This is just one area where we are having conflict right now. The girls and I were discussing and reading about where it says in the New Testament not to where braided hair. DH does not agree with this either. I believe my primary responsibility is to be submissive and follow his leadership.
I have been questioning a lot of things lately. The more I study my Bible the more convinced I am that many churches miss teaching the Biblical truths and followers are led astray as they follow what they see is acceptable in the Church instead of following the Bible. Everyone seems so concerned that they don't want to stand out or be different, but I believe that is exactly what we are called to be - set apart.