Homemaking on the Homestead

Today I was able to get a great start on my garden. My tomato plants were more than ready to be planted. Tobin called them a “forest of tomatoes” when he would see them sitting on my deck. I'm happy to say that they are in the ground. Well 40 of them are. The rest I'm giving away. I also planted seeds: Royal Burgandy Bush Beans. They grow a dark red/burgandy color, which I just thought would be fun. However when you cook them they turn green. I planted radishes, lots of flowers, bush baby summer squash (zucchini type but you harvest them when they are 6 inches long), and some patty pan squash. I still have more to plant but after 3 hours in the garden this afternoon I was done! Ha, ha.. still had housework to do, laundry and dinner to make. Which I accomplished! :) While down at the garden I took a couple more pics. A view looking at the house.. all those bushes/plants going up the hill are blackberries. Should be a huge crop this year!! Actually b...

Quite often when I go out for a walk I do it with one of my children. But often, as they have busy lives, I head out on my own. The other morning when I went out on my walk I realized how much more I saw and heard. The wildflowers, the sound of the creek rushing down, birds, the cows mooing in my neighbors field. That quiet walk was so enjoyable. I had time to soak it all in, spent time praying for family and friends, and worked on getting more fit. All in all it was a blessed walk. A few pics from my walk.. The wildflowers... The creek I pass by... The neighbors cows...   No matter where you go for your walk.. stop to take notice of God's creation.. it is everywhere!!    

  This week's menu post is a little later than usual.  My oldest son stopped by yesterday afternoon for a visit and I completely forgot about making this weeks menu :) . So I was scrambling this morning to put it together and get a grocery list made in time to go shopping. We are not doing a BBQ or anything for Memorial Day. Hubby has to work so it is business as usual for us. How is your menu planning coming along? Monday Tacos w/all the trimmings Tuesday Homemade pizza Wednesday Pork chops, rice pilaf, salad Thursday Leftovers Friday BBQ chicken legs, mac & cheese, salad Saturday Crockpot tater tot casserole, fruit platter Sunday Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, veggie platter

I love iced coffee in the summer. I’ve been looking for a way to have it that is simple. I think I found it. I made the mix up, stored it in the fridge and enjoyed it over the next few days poured over ice. I like my iced coffee a little sweet, but not overly sweet. The following recipe would be considered to me to be “lightly sweetened”. If you like sweeter coffee you can taste and adjust the sweetness to your own tastes. You will need coffee (I grind my coffee and the pic shows beans, you can use any type of coffee you regularly enjoy), white sugar, brown sugar, half in half and vanilla. Make a full pot of very strong coffee. When it is done mix with the remaining ingredients. Pour into canning jars, allow to cool and store in the fridge.. To use pour desired amount over ice and enjoy! Easy Iced Coffee 1 pot very strong coffee 2T white sugar 2T brown sugar ½ cup half n half 2t vanilla Combine hot coffee with remaining ingredients. Pour in...

This is a repost from an article I wrote a few years ago when I started making lacto fermented foods.  I have not made anything fermented in some time.  I'm gearing up to do this again.  I love sauerkraut and it is easy to make.  You will need whey to make this.  Remember the feta cheese I posted about last week?  You can use the whey from that if you make it.  If not, don't worry you can purchase a good quality yogurt (with live cultures) from the store and strain out the whey.    I don’t have large crocks to ferment food in; you don’t really need these to have success with fermenting. I tried the quart jars as suggested by Sally Fallon of Nourishing Traditions and found that sometimes, for some things, they worked great, but for other things they failed miserably for me. After reading more on the subject I tried using 2 quart jars and gallon size glass jars. These have worked great for me. I highly recommend the gallon size jars...

  Monday BBQ chicken legs, rice pilaf, salad Tuesday Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, fruit salad Wednesday Mac & cheese with hamburger, salad Thursday Leftovers Friday Hamburger enchiladas, tortilla chips & salsa, salad Saturday Grilled ham steaks, potato salad, fruit platter Sunday Leftovers  

Summer and warm weather is just around the corner and having a cool refreshing drink on a hot afternoon is wonderful.  It's even better if it's on the healthier side and is nice on the budget :) . This is a nice frugal way to stretch a 12 oz can of apple juice. With a little help from some tea bags I end up with a gallon of yummy apple peach tea. Here is how I do it.. You start with one 12oz can of frozen apple juice concentrate and 3 of your favorite bags of tea. I am using peach tea, but you can use any type you would like. I put a pan of water on the stove (about 4 cups) and add my tea bags. I bring the water to a boil and remove it from the stove. I let this sit for about 30 to 40 minutes to get nice and strong.   Then I add some sweetener. I am using honey. I add about ¼ to 1/3 cup of honey. You can add sugar if you would like and I would suggest about ½ cup if you do. However if you don’t need your tea super sweet you can skip the sweetener altoge...

Years ago when I had goats and an abundance of goat milk I loved making cheese.  There are a lot of basic cheeses that can easily be made at home.   Feta cheese is a soft cheese.  You don't need a cheese press for this.  Anyone can make this right in their own kitchen.  It is very easy to do.   You need to purchase cheese cultures and I give a link in the post below for this.   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 c...