Day 3 - Cranberries...or what NOT to do!

Cranberries...what could be easier, you ask?

You cut open the bag...

And dump them on a tray....

spread them all out nicely...

And end up with STYROFOAM?! What happened?!?

Oy! After 24 hours, we had these puffed up, shiny berries, no dried berries in sight. So we stuck them with a fork (the warm air phfizzed out) and put them back in for 12 more hours.

At which time, they were finally looking like they should, but OY! The flavor was HORRIBLE!! There is a reason they sweeten those buggars at the store!

So, ours went into the sink, and then into the trash. I did find a video with directions on how to do this right. Guess I will try again, once the fresh berries come into the store around Thanksgiving.

Day 2 - Dried Cherries!

Day 2: Cherries...turned out to be more than a day! Who knew it would take so long! I am guessing that the more I do this, the more I am going to learn. I started a Drying Journal to keep notes of my projects so that I remember all that I am learning...all those darn scraps of paper wafting around the room like fruit flies just make me a bit batty!

This cherry project came about earlier this summer, when I happened into Wally World one Sunday after church to grab a quick something and discovered these luscious cherries on sale for...wait for it.... .75 cents a pound!! WHAT?!?!? I bought a bunch (as in 7-8 bags full), and spent the afternoon pitting them and freezing them. They have been hiding out in the freezer since then, well, most of them have been hiding out...I do LOVE to nibble on frozen cherries :-).

I have enlisted some help in my drying endeavors. Thankfully for me, she wakes up in a good mood most mornings and does not mind diving in and getting her hands dirty...or frozen!

OK, all the cherries quartered and spread out nicely, ready to go in the dehydrator. I put them in on high for 2 hours, then turned the heat down to 115 degrees (still trying out the raw food idea), then at bedtime, when they still seemed too sticky, I turned it down to 105 and prayed they would not get too dried out over night.

When I got up this am, the cherries were still sticky...so I decided on a plan B. See how much sticky juice is in the spots where the cherries got moved?

I had the kids peel up the sticky cherries and move them to clean trays.

I reset the heat for 120 degrees and prayed it would work!

By 1:00 pm, they were FINALLY done!!

At which point, I jarred them and used my handy-dandy Foodsaver and sucked the air out of the jars and then tucked them into a nice dark cabinet. Now they are ready to be used for baked goods, porridge or to be tossed into trail mix.

Tomorrow....cranberries! Afterall, cranberry season is almost upon us, and we can buy bags and bags of fresh cranberries after Thanksgiving at a GREAT price!

Game ON!

Life on this little homestead is busy. So much to learn, so much to do. So much to learn. You get the idea.

A few months ago, I was so very blessed to score an Excalibur dehydrator from a fellow homesteader who is in the process of moving. In case you don't know, Excalibur makes the Holy Grail of dehydrators. The raw food people love it because it does not destroy the food enzymes. The Preppers love it because it holds a TON of food at once. Everyone else loves it because it cycles the temperature and so it dries food more evenly and thoroughly. I love it because, well, I am a gadget girl, and anything that makes food prep easier or more fun, well, I am all in!

Since I picked up said dehydrator (I think I am going to have to name it...hmmmm...) it has been ensconced on a shelf in the studio, waiting to fulfill its purpose in life. What is that purpose, you might ask? Well, it's made to dry things out, kinda like a bit of Colorado in a box! To get my feet wet, I tried drying some herbs, but got busy before they were done, then turned it off, and still busy, just let them sit there for a few weeks. As you can guess, this is NOT proper dehydrating protocol. I am quite surprised that the Excalibur people did not come and take the dehydrator away from me. I mean, there have to be protocols for things like that, right?!

Anyway, as I have been researching how to use this machine, and trying to figure out how to make it work for our family, I surfed across a blog from a woman who uses her dehydrator five days a week! "Wow", I thought "...FIVE days a week?!?" I kind of felt challenged. And being the competitive girl that I am, I decided to challenge myself to a "30 Day Dehydrator Challenge". Here are the rules. Dry something in the dehydrator six days a week for 30 days. That's it. Follow along, if you like. Or jump in and play along! It does not even have to be dehydrating...if you have a kitchen tool at your house you are not putting to good purpose...get it out and let's get going...it's GAME ON!

Day ONE - Leeks

For day one, I chose something simple, with a short time frame. Leeks. I found them on sale last night and we love leeks in our soup all winter long, but can't always find them when we need them.

First, I rinse the leeks, and then I start at the first place the leaves split. I cut a very shallow groove all around the leek, and peel the upper leaf off and discard it.

I just keep working my way up the leek, until all the dark green leafage is off.

I then make a slit along the length of the leek to check for dirt. They grow leeks in sandy soil, and sometimes it gets down in the leaves. If I find dirt, I just rinse it out.

Next, I slice off the root end. Not too close (it won't separate during drying).

All ready for slicing!

Next, I chop the leeks into rings.

And then split the rings in half. Sometimes I will split the leek in half lengthwise first, and then cut half moons...it just depends upon how fast I need to move.

Next I took the split leek rings and spread them out on the drying trays. I tried as much as possible to separate the layers, so that they would dry more evenly. Lesson #1: Dry fewer trays at a time, and take an extra drying sheet and put it over the leeks in the tray, so that they don't blow out of the dryer all over the floor!!

Now, put the trays in the dehydrator. All loaded up and ready to go. I was following the raw food directions, so I put the fan on high (145 degrees) for 2-3 hours. I was then supposed to come back and turn the fan down to 120 degrees. When I went back, (prepare for Lesson #2) there were not only bits of leek all over the floor, but 85% of the leeks were dry!! "But wait! What about my 120 degrees! I'm not done yet!" So lesson number two is leeks dry fast.

Now this, THIS is God's gift to homesteaders and to anyone who loves to store food!! I picked this up for nearly nothing (I would have to truthfully say, she charged me so little for it, I should call it a GIFT!), from the same sweet homesteading lady who sold me the dehydrator. It works thusly: I took the dried leeks, and put them into the jar. I did not pack them in, but I did tap the jar to get as much in as possible. Then you put a lid on, put the gadget on the lid, and push a button. All the air is sucked OUT of the jar, and the lid is sealed on tight. How cool, I ask you, is THAT?!?! Especially in the moisture laden air that I now live in...to be able to keep thins crisp and dry is a real bonus.

And this is the finished product. Two quart jars filled to the brim with beautiful, dried leeks! I see being able to use these for on the fly soup days, or maybe I will dry some celery and carrots and make some dried soup mixes...hmmmm...I do have 29 more days of drying to go!

So what are YOU doing?

Life on the Homestead

Things are changing. I am changing...and it has more to do with what is on the inside, than what you see on the outside, though somehow, I think there might be a connection.

On the outside, if you came by my house on any given day (just be careful, the to-do list is looong!), you will probably find me in tube socks, tall black boots with polka-dots and a baggy T-shirt. See, I have found that when you are messing with chickens, it is almost ALWAYS a good idea to have on boots. There is the poo, the mud by the run, the curious little boogers who like to peck at your shiny toe nails if you go down in flip flops, and did I mention the poo? There is lots of poo.

I have also discovered that when you live on a homestead in the woods, you can expect two things. 1) there will be ticks dropping out of the trees, just about all the time. 2) There is poison ivy. LOTS of poison ivy. So to combat both of those inevitable occurrences, I add to my ensemble a much washed green slouch hat and a pair of long, cotton workout pants....not exactly my usual summer attire...but it suits my new life.

I am changing in other areas too...the other day, I found myself sitting on the ground in the chicken run with AJ, and we each had a pile of chickens napping in our laps. It was soooo cool to do that with him! I don't imagine if you had asked me a few months ago to sit on a chicken run floor in 90 degree heat with mosquitoes buzzing around that I would have thought it was cool...I think I would have checked you for heat stroke and gotten the heck outta there!

And today, after getting up at six to drive to Marietta to help "process" 60+ hens for a CSA, I came home and went right outside to join my husband who was putting in a shooting range. He also got the chipper out and made mulch to cover the mud all around the run. You know that I would have rather come in the A/C, poured myself a nice cold drink and read a book...but we had a great time out there with the kids, covered in sweat and sawdust and mosquito bites...nothing like working on a project all together!

So those are some outward changes...what you don't see on the inside is how happy it makes me that my not-so-little Jalapeno LOVES to come with me to the hen house to help me wrangle the chickens...and he is really good at it! We have such a tough relationship, and are so often at odds, that I am loving the time with him, working together on something that we both enjoy and that is building some great channels of communication. I love that every time we go out, he looks for his chicken "Fuzzy" and says to her in a sing song voice (as he chases her around to catch her and put her on his head)..."Fuzzy! I wuv you Fuzzy! You are my biggest fan!"

I am also really enjoying all the new things I have to learn to make this homestead thing work. I don't even know what I don't know so I can ask questions, at this point! But I have plenty of ideas and dreams that I would like for us to be able to achieve. The big thing is I am thankful that all of this outside work has really helped my adrenals to start working better, so my memory actually works!! It has been really hard to live in such a fog for so very long.

So these are a few random thoughts from our little homestead in the woods...stay tuned...there is more bumping around in this noggin' of mine!

We Have a Dream

We have a dream. A dream of living on our own farm, of feeding ourselves from our land, of working it with our children. We have a dream of sharing our love of family, food and learning with the people God puts in our path. Of receiving from Him with open hands so that all the excess flows out to those in need. We have a dream.

In three weeks, we take a step toward our dream. In three weeks, we are moving to ten acres in the woods. Not the ideal location to start a farm, but a step in the direction of our dream. The Virginia Hillbilly found a great place out in the country, with a house that will work, and a landlady who is willing to let us play. Garden beds? Yes! Chickens? OK! Goats? Sure! She even shared that the neighbor across the road had gotten goats last year who were reproducing at an alarming rate. She offered that he might even be willing to loan us some goats to help clear out under the trees. So that will be one of the first things we do after we move in...bake some cookies and take a walk across the road to meet some new friends.



Right now, we are spending our time packing and learning. Because really, there is so very much we don't know. That said, we are up for the adventure and the kids are super psyched, and hey, if all we do is live there for a few years, it will still be amazing to be able to see the stars in the velvet black sky, and hear the birds and other wildlife that are sure to visit. And flower beds! Did I mention that there is a wonderful sunroom with tiered flowerbeds out back, just ready to be freed from the poison ivy and brought back to beauty? Oh, and a wonderful laundry room where I can make soap and play to my hearts content?

Yes, we are taking a step toward our dreams.

I can't wait to see them unfold before us.

Fall Light

Wow.

If a picture speaks a thousand words, then get ready to read a book. The story of my Creator's Creation.

Enjoy!