Homemaking on the Homestead

After posting yesterdays instructions on making cheese I had a few questions from Michelle which I have tried to answer.   I am not a cheese expert I am sure that my friend Dalyn could give you even more info on cheese making than me.   But I have tried to answer the questions!   I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. : ) ~No I don’t   When you say "any milk" does that mean even regular dairy milk in the gallons at the store? ~Yep.. milk from the store will work too     Do you purchase the vegetable rennet from Leeners too? ~Yes I do!   We like it plain, are the herbs necessary? ~No, plain would work, but this is a very mild feta cheese so it will taste a lot like milk :)   About how much salt would you say you use? ~I did not measure, just sprinkled   Does it have to be packed in olive oil or can it be stored in a little of the whey (I think that's how they sell it at a local store)? ~If it is not packed in olive oil the...

This is a recipe that was given to me by a friend (thank you Cheryl!). It looked so easy to make that I thought it was to much to believe. So of course I had to make it! It turned out great!! I took pictures of the process so that if it did turn out I could show you just how easy cheese making can be!!  I buy my cheese cultures and my cheese salt from Leeners http://leeners.com/   This is a great company to do business with.  Here is the recipe: Super Easy Feta Cheese 1 gallon goats milk (any milk would work, I used raw goats milk) ¼ c cultured buttermilk- this must be real cultured buttermilk or 1/8 t. Mesophilic A culture (I use direct set cultures that I buy from Leeners and that is what the pictures show) ¼ c water 20 drops vegetable rennet Also: Salt (cheese salt works best) herbs, dried or fresh, your choice (dill, basil, oregano, chives, thyme) Olive oil Start with 1 gallon of milk Heat the milk to 70 degrees (about room temp. I am not sure you have to do that, b...

Appetizer What's the funniest dream you can remember having?    My problem is I seldom remember my dreams when I wake up! Soup If you were a dog, what breed would you be, and why?   A Great Pyrenees..   they sweet, loyal and loving dogs but fiercely protective when necessary!   Salad Continue this sentence: "I get confused when..."   my teenage daughters make more plans than I can keep up with..   Main Course Name two things that need to be done, but you are procrastinating in completing .   Finishing a sewing project and cleaning out my 3 big freezers Dessert When was the last time you tried something new, and what was it?   I tried a new recipe for Feta Cheese sent to me by a friend and I think it turned out quite good (it will be 3 more days before it is ready for eating!)

We burn wood for our winter heat.   It takes about 6 to 8 cords of wood to get us through the winter.   Every summer a few of our weekends and various days are devoted to gathering wood from our property.   We have 18 acres and much of it is in trees.   So with 75 inches of rain a year (helps the trees to grow quickly) and a bit of good selective logging we seem to be able to continue to meet our own wood heating needs.     Tobin has been spending his weekends tractoring around the property and gathering wood. He has been making paths through different areas that are overgrown to be able to access the trees. With the chain saw he cuts and fills up the bucket of tractor with the wood and then he brings it back to the house.   Some of the bigger pieces will still have to be split.   The smaller pieces are cut up and then stacked in our wood shelter.   Jacob had been doing the job of cutting up the smaller pieces.   Tobin put the chop saw o...

     I just put a whole new section on my website all about making soap!   I have given information, instructions, recipes and more!!   http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/makesoap.htm

Thirteen Favorite Me mories (in no particular order)   1. Sitting on the back of the couch at my grandparents putting curlers in my grandpas very sparse hair.. he just sat there reading the paper and watching the news.   I was about 4 years old.   2. Going with my big sister (10 years older than me) to the lake to swim in the summer   3. Finally delivering my firstborn child after many hours of labor!   4. Holding my 8 th baby Isaac for the first time while I was in ICU and so thankful we were both alive   5. Tobin and I spending a weekend in Las Vegas alone..     6. Baking bread for the first time with my mother (which was a big deal.. she rarely baked anything).   7. Going to work with my dad one hot summer day. He bought me ice cream on the way home.   8. Camping with my husband and (then) 2 children right next to a beautiful lake..   9. Taking a picture of my 8 children last year next to the Chris tmas tree.   I kne...

Summertime is time to hang out the laundry!  I love my clothesline but was always struggling with how to deal with the clothes pins.  Well I have solved that problem and want to pass this on to all you clothes line ladies!! This is a VERY simple project to make!  If you don’t sew, do not despair because you can hand stitch this one! Supplies: 1 child’s size button up the front shirt, about size 2T or 3T 1 coat hanger Thread to match the fabric Lay the shirt on the table and button up the front of the shirt.  Turn the shirt inside out and sew the bottom of the shirt closed. Turn the shirt right side out and unbutton the first few buttons at the top. Now you have a little bag that you can fill with your clothes pins! Insert your coat hanger as if you were hanging the shirt up and hang it on your clothes line!  Not only is it cute but it is the most simple to make and useable project that I have made in awhile!!

  I have been making lemonade lately a lot.   I am doing really in a simple way.   I don’t like to buy the frozen lemonade because it has so much sugar and fructose in it and probably “natural flavors” (another name for MSG, which I try my best to avoid).   So I have been using lemon juice.   The kind you buy at the store.   The recipe on the bottle says 1 cup lemon juice and 1 cup sugar to two quarts of water.   I made it this way but thought it was way to sweet.   We like beverages that are not overly sweet so what I do now may not be sweet enough for some!   To make one gallon I use 1 cup lemon juice and ¾ cup sweetener (this can be cane juice crystals or sugar.. whatever it is that you usually use to sweeten things).   My kids don’t think that is sweet enough (a sign to me that it is plenty sweet..    ).   But if you like it a little sweeter you can mess around with the orginal proportions similar to what I d...

  Last night Hannah made cornbread and put it in the table top oven (Nesco Roaster Oven) outside on the deck.   It worked great.   I have baked a lot of turkeys, chickens, pot roasts, etc.. in there but not looked at it much for actual baking needs.   We also baked a potato casserole in there the other night.   Just thought I would pass this little tip on to anyone not wanting to heat up there kitchens any more than necessary!

What are your favorite ten words?   1. Homestead 2. Family 3. Tobin (   ) 4. Faith 5. Grace 6. Forgiveness 7. Simple 8. Blessings 9. Goats 10. Google

  1. I won't eat past _____ o'clock in the evening .   usually 7:30 pm ..   I can’t sleep with a   full stomach 2. My favorite subject for photographing is my family and my farm 3. I use _________ most often to edit my photographs.   I use the software that came with my Olympus camera 4. If I'm having trouble sleeping, I usually read. 5. When I'm hungry for a snack, I usually eat nuts or chips and homemade dip or fruit or anything that my girls concoct in the kitchen 

  It seems we are enjoying yet another day of hot temps.   I know when this summer is over I will feel very well “summered”.     Despite the heat I made another 4 batches of soap.   Yesterday I made 4 also.   Today I made 3 batches of shampoo bars and 1 bath of peppermint tea soap.. that one was more experimental as I won’t be selling it.   It smells very nice.. but then again I love the smell of peppermint.     I woke up very early with hubby and then took advantage of a cool house to make my soap.     I also did 4 loads of laundry.   At over 90 degrees outside the loads dried very quickly.   We cleaned up the house and that was about it for the day.   The kids spent a lot of time in the pond keeping cool and when Tobin came home from work he and I did the same thing.   Finally we just had to bake bread today.   I was on the last little slice of bread and it had to be done. I was avoiding it because I...