Independence Day Challenge – Update Week of Jun 22 -29

The following are the steps we took in the past week towards greater self-sufficiency (information on the challenge and my first Independence Day Challenge post):

1.  Plant something: This morning, I finally got the strawberries plants that I was given for Mother’s Day transplanted into the new square foot garden that hubby built last weekend and I painted during the week.

2.  Harvest something: Nothing this past week.

But on Thursday we picked up the produce from our CSA and on Saturday I bought green beans, potatoes and cabbage at the farmers’ market.

3.  Preserve something: Saturday afternoon we started a crock of sauerkraut.   It should be ready to can in 10 to 14 days.

Then Saturday evening we canned 4 pints of tomatoes (from the CSA.)

Sunday it was back to canning more french cut green beans.  Not sure if we’ve got enough to last until next season but I’m thinking the beans may be about done because I had to do a lot of picking through them to get enough to make it worthwhile canning.

4.  Reduce waste: Dave made our regular trip to drop off the recycling.

I fixed the waistband on a pair of our son’s exercise shorts.

And I’m currently working on a couple of quilts using leftover fabrics from other projects.

Used water from canning to water plants.

5.  Preparation and Storage: Dave put up two new shelves, one in the laundry room which gave us room to store our canning equipment and extra paper goods.  And the second, in the spare bedroom closet to hold some of the produce we’ve been canning.

6.  Build Community Food Systems: We found a source locally for raw milk and though it was clearly marked For Pet Consumption only, we made the sweetest butter from the cream we skimmed off the top of the jars and I’m looking forward to learning how to make cheese.   I’m also going to be making some of our old family recipes that require farm fresh milk and cream.

Also found a local farmer selling grass-fed beef.  Now we just need to find another family who is willing to do a shared purchase with us.

As mentioned above, we added a new square foot garden to the backyard.

7.  Eat the Food: I cook most of our meals from scratch, so the food definitely gets eaten.  This is some of what I made last week:

The last of the blueberries from blueberry picking were made into Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins.

Made a dish of braised turnips, leeks and squash (from CSA.)

Independence Day Challenge – Joining In

Recently I came across an interesting blog called Casaubon’s Book by Sharon Astyk.  Reading back through the archives I see that she is doing a weekly post on Mondays in which she lists what she has done during the previous week to move her family closer to food self-sufficiency, hence the title: Independence Day Challenge.  She encourages readers to join her and even though I’m starting a month and a half late, here is a list of what I’ve accomplished in the past week:

1.  Plant something:  I planted four sweet potato slips.

Our CSA had been shipped more than they needed and were giving these away.  At first, I wasn’t going to take them because I know that sweet pototoes can take over a small garden, but when I learned that they can be grown in containers with a trellis, I decided to go ahead and give that a try.

2.  Harvest something:  2 zucchinis and a handful of basil from our containers and square foot garden.  We also picked 3 gallons of blueberries from a local u-pick farm.

3.  Preserve something:  Details of what we did with the blueberries can be found here.  Also later that same day, we made and canned mustard beans from the yellow beans we received from our CSA.

Then Saturday, I bought dill, pickling cukes and green beans, (as well as potatoes and sunshine squash) from our local farmer’s market.

We made four quarts of dill pickles and canned some more pints of french cut green beans.  We have a total of 11 pints of green beans now, but if there are beans available again this week, I’ll be buying more.

4.  Reduce waste:  Dave made his weekly trip to drop off the recycling we collect during the week.

Rather than buy new lumber for an additional square foot gardening box, we bought three pieces of used lumber of varying lengths from our local HomeMart (run by Habit for Humanity.)

I added another bucket of kitchen veggie and fruit scraps and trimmings to the compost bin.

And the water used for preserving from washing fruit and veggies to water-bath canning, pressure canning and blanching all got reused to water the plants (once it cools down, of course.)

5.  Preparation and Storage:  The Gamma Lids and mylar ziplock bags I ordered arrived so we transferred the rice I’ve been getting free after coupons into one of the food grade pails we picked up for $1 each.  (One of our local WalMarts sells the buckets that their icing comes in)

6.  Build Community Food Systems:  As you can see above, we are members of a CSA and I support our local farmer’s market.  I also buy eggs and honey from local farmers.

We have two 4 X 4 square foot gardens with another in the process of being built.  And I’m experimenting with growing zucchini, mint and now, sweet potatoes in containers.

7.  Eat the Food:  I cook most of our meals from scratch, so the food definitely gets eaten.

We’ve been eating blueberries with whipped cream.

The potatoes were boiled and used for two meals.

The sunshine squash were wrapped in tinfoil with onions (from our CSA), minced garlic and butter then cooked on the bbq.

We had toasted tomato sandwiches for lunch twice on the weekend.

With supper last night, we had corn on the cob (using up last year’s before the new corn is ready to be done) and we also had some of the mustard beans made on Friday and refrigerator pickles I made the week before last.

I’d love to hear how other’s gardening and preserving is coming along,  as well as, any preparedness projects you may be working on.  Please feel free to leave a comment.

SuperMom Tip of the Day – Pick Your Own Fruit

In a bid to beat the heat of the day, we got up early this morning and headed out for our local blueberry u-pick farm.   An hour and a half later, we were back home with 3 gallons of sweet tasting organic blueberries.

After washing and sorting, we saved out a good sized bowl for desserts and snacks for the next couple of days.

Then we filled and canned 8 pints. (That’s how many pints will fit in my canner at one time.)

The rest were spread in single layers on baking sheets and placed in the freezer to flash-freeze.

Now for a quick cost analysis:

We paid $7 per gallon at the u-pick farm… so a total of $21.

The berries we saved out for eating now would be approximately equal to 3 of the plastic pint containers.  Around here those run anywhere from $3.00 to $4.00 per pint for organic blueberries.  So even taking the lower price: 3 X $3.00 = $9.00

As mentioned above, we canned 8 pints of berries.  At the grocery store, 14 oz cans of organic blueberries run approximately $2.50 per can:  8 X $2.50 = $20

As you can see… we’ve already saved $8 and that doesn’t even include the berries we have in the freezer waiting to be divided into bags.

Now there are those who will argue that I haven’t added in the time it took to pick the berries or the energy and water costs to can and freeze.

I don’t consider the time picking the berries to be a cost.  In fact… I consider it a blessing.  Dave and I and our son spent some wonderfully peaceful quality time together picking berries.  Our son is 17 and the last of our children living at home.  He’s going into his last year of high school this fall.   There aren’t going to be too many more opportunities like today to spend that kind of time with him building memories.

The energy and water costs are minimal when compared to the peace of mind I have in knowing exactly where our food was grown and exactly what has gone into preserving it.

And then when you take into consideration that hand-picked, fresh berries that have travelled less than five miles to get from farm to table taste so much better and are of higher nutritional quality than anything you can buy at the supermarket and I know we’ve come out way ahead.

This post has been submitted as part of Frugal Friday over at Life as Mom.

SuperMom’s Caramelized Onions and Collards

Whenever we move to a new area, one of the things we do is try out and if we like them, adopt new dishes.

While living in Germany we added spaetzle and zwiebel kuchen, among others.  During our time in Hawaii, spam musubi became a favourite.

I have to confess though that since moving to the Southern States I have never been able to develop a taste for collards.   Which is strange since I love other greens.  But I’ve tried collards several times and each time they tasted so bitter that I had just decided that this was one dish we wouldn’t be adding to our menu.

That is until a couple of weeks ago.  You see earlier this spring we joined a local CSA.   Each week, we get an e-mail from Rise N Shine Organic Farm on the morning of our pick-up day with a list of everything we’re getting that week.  And you guessed it, one of the things included in our weekly selection for the past two weeks has been collards.

That first week, on the way to the pick-up point, I told our son that we’d check the swap box and see if there was anything we could swap the collards for.  But when we got there, the bunches looked so fresh and crisp that I decided to take one home and see if I could figure out a way to make them palatable.

After a search of the net and reading through dozens of recipes, I decided to try caramelized onions and collards since fried onions makes almost anything taste better.  There were quite a few versions so I took what I wanted from each and after a bit of tweaking I came up with a recipe that we not only love, but that had us searching the swap box for collards last week so that we could make it again.  (We got there a bit late and the collards on the main table were gone.)

To make my version of Caramelized Onions and Collards you’ll need:

1 bunch of fresh collards

1 large onion

1 heaping tbsp of minced garlic

2 c homemade turkey stock  (store bought chicken stock would work too)

A few grinds each of sea salt and black pepper

1 Tbsp vinegar

Thoroughly wash collards.   (I wash them at least once in a basin half full of water and then drain and wash again.)    After the second wash, remove the stems and shake off the excess water.

(Don’t waste the stems… they can be coarsely chopped and added to your compost.)

Stack several collard leaves and slice into ½” pieces.

Slice onion thinly and fry in 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil.  It will take 15 minutes or so on medium heat to caramelize the onions.  Don’t try to cook them too fast or they’ll burn.

While the onions are cooking, bring turkey stock plus 1 c of water to a boil.

Add the collards.  Put a lid on the pot and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

The collards should still be a bright green.   Drain the collards, reserving the liquid to make gravy.

Add minced garlic to onions and cook for another minute or so and then add the collards.  Add a few grinds each of sea salt and black pepper.

Just before serving, stir in vinegar.  Enjoy!

Have a Safe and Enjoyable Memorial Day

Picture taken along Highway 411 in Center, Alabama

Congress has asked for a moment of silence at 3 pm (whichever time zone you’re in) so while you’re celebrating with family and friends take a moment to reflect and remember the sacrifices made by our veterans.

New Babies at Our House

Back in the middle of April, we noticed this pile of branches on the hedges in front of our house.

At first, we couldn’t figure out why a bird would make a pile of branches like that.  That is, until we looked closer.

Even closer still and we could see there was nest making in progress.

Since then, there has been much coming and going as the nest was finished and eggs were laid.

Over the weekend we took another peek and this is what we saw.

Four baby Mockingbirds

SuperMom Tip of the Day – Get Creative With Leftovers

Last night we had egg rolls for supper.   When I was at the store, I only picked up one package of egg roll wrappers since it was just our son and I eating.  But I’m so used to making a double batch now that when I was chopping up veggies, I chopped up the usual amount.  And that meant that we had a bowl of filling leftover.

I didn't think to take a picture before I started using the leftover filling, so this is half of what was leftover.

Now with a teenage boy in the house, what to do with these kinds of leftovers isn’t a question that comes up often in this house, as most times they become an after school snack the next day.  But this leftover bowl of filling looked like it would be too much for a snack.

While I didn’t have anymore egg roll wrappers, what I did have was a ball of pie dough in the freezer that was leftover from making pies at Easter.  So last night, I moved it from the freezer to the fridge.

Then today, I rolled out the dough and cut out rounds using a Tupperware lid as a template.

On each round I place a generous spoon full of the filling.

Then I ran a bead of water around half the circle of dough and carefully folded the dough over and crimped the edges.

I found it easiest to crimp the edges just a bit at first so that it would hold together and then I picked up the filled half-round and finished crimping by holding it in one hand and pinching with the fingers of my other hand like I do when making perogies.

I continued making turnovers until I ran out of dough.  Before popping them in the oven, I poked each turnover with a fork to allow steam to escape.

Then I baked them at 375 F for about 25 minutes until the dough was a light golden brown.

Here they are… piping hot from the oven.

And this one… I just had to sample.  You know, just to make sure they tasted good.  It was delicious!

How do you get creative with leftovers?   Share your ideas in the comments.

This post was included as an entry for Frugal Friday over at Life as Mom.

Be sure to check out the many other money saving ideas linked to.

Make it Monday – How to Sew a Round Tablecloth

This past Christmas, Dave and I decided rather than buying each other gifts, we’d take that money and buy a reading chair for the corner of our bedroom.  It took us a while to find a chair that would be comfortable for both of us; short enough for me, tall enough for him.  We finally found one in February, but decided to keep looking since it was a bit over what we had wanted to pay.  Of course, when we went back to buy that chair because we couldn’t find any others that worked for us, it had already been sold.

We had to order a new one and wait the 6 to 10 weeks for it to come in.  The chair arrived last week and it fits perfectly in the corner by the window.

We already had a small round table to use for a side table, but it looked just a tad bit shabby next to our brand new chair.   So last week, I got busy and sewed a pretty round tablecloth to cover it.  Read on for the instructions for this simple sewing project.

To calculate the size the tablecloth needed:

Note: specific measurements for my tablecloth are in italics.

First, measure the diameter of the table.  Ours measured 20 inches.

Next, measure the height and double it.  Ours measured 23 ¾ inches.  Doubled that comes out to 47 ½ inches.

Then if turning under ¾ inch for the hem, add 1 ½ inches.

All together:  20 + 47 ½ + 1 ½ = 69 inches.  Just to give myself some wiggle room, I added an extra inch.  Meaning I needed a piece of fabric 70X70 inches, which also meant I had to piece the fabric.

So next, I had to calculate the size of panels I would need:

After preshrinking and trimming the selvedges, my fabric was 42″ wide.  I cut one panel 70″ long.

I knew I would need 1 inch for seam allowances (1/2″ for either side).  That would leave the center panel 41 inches.

70 – 41 = 29 inches needed to be added.  Which meant that two 14 ½ inch panels needed to be added to either side.  Adding ½ inch to each panel for a seam allowance, gave me a final measurement of 15″.

I, then, cut a second piece of fabric 70″ long.  From that I cut two 15″ wide panels.

To make a nice finished seam I chose to sew a princess seam:

Pin one of the narrow panels to the big panel, wrong sides together.  Sew a scant ¼” seam.

Trim seam slightly to get rid of any frayed threads.  Press seam to one side.  Turn the fabric right sides together and press seam flat.

Sew using a full ¼” seam.

Press finished seam toward small panel.  Topstitch in place.

Repeat for second small panel.

My completed piece of fabric measured 70X70 inches.

To cut the circle:

Fold fabric in half lengthwise and in half again.   Doing this gave me a 35X35 inch square.

Smooth the fabric so that it is laying flat with as few wrinkles as possible.

Place your measuring tape at the folded corner.   To obtain a 69″ circle, I place it at 34 1/2 inches.

Next smooth the measuring tape out flat.  Don’t stretch it.   With a pencil, mark the ¼ arc of your circle.  Move the measuring tape along the arc, while being careful to keep the correct measurement always on the folded corner.

I made tiny marks several places along the arc and then filled in with a solid line.

Before cutting, pin the layers of fabric together just inside the line.  This will prevent the layers from shifting while cutting.

Cut along the drawn line through all layers of fabric.

Remove the pins.

I now had the 69″ circle, I needed to fit my table.

For the hem:

Turn under ¾”.  Pin and press all the way around.

As the pins are removed, turn under the raw fabric edge until it meets pressed fold and then re-pin.

Sew.  Press completed tablecloth.

This is what my finished tablecloth looks like:

If you would like to make your own round tablecloth and need help understanding my instructions or making your own calculations, please feel free to leave a question in comments and I will do my best to answer.

The Pay It Forward Gifts

Now that the three ladies who signed up to receive Pay It Forward gifts from me have received them and had a chance to enjoy them for a while, I thought I’d get the pictures posted of what I made for each lady.

For Katherine over at Sew Me Something Good, I knit a set of dishclothes in colours to match her new kitchen apron and oven mitts.

Line’s blog is Scribbles by Me and while I can’t read Swedish, I did see from the pictures that she has posted that they are remodeling their kitchen.  So I made these dishclothes for her to use once the remodelling is finished.  In her photos, it looked like they had painted the walls a pale yellow, so I chose a bright yellow yarn to make them with.

From reading through Just A Flip Flop Mom’s blog entries I learned that she is currently attending classes and probably has little time to pamper herself, so for her I knit washclothes instead of dishclothes in the hopes that they would encourage her to take time occasionally to de-stress with a nice long bath.  The washclothes were knit slightly larger than the dishclothes.

As you can see, each lady also received one dishcloth or washcloth with a design knit into the pattern.  I chose each design especially for the lady who received it.

And here they are all bundled up just before they were put into the envelopes and mailed off.

Happy Easter