Monday, October 19, 2009

Way so busy...

Can't hardly turn around without something else looking at me and pleading to get done!

Since my last post, I have gotten some more hamburger dehydrated and 20 pounds of sugar, several jars of beans, potato flakes, milk powder, and dehydrated egs also all put into food storage.

I made three flower hair barrettes and have them posted up on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7709732) and a prototype wreath done and up on my wall.

There are over 30 washclothes crochet, that I still am in the middle of photographing to also put up on Etsy, and some headcoverings. I don't have a mannequin to take the pictures of the headcoverings on, so I may just have to keep one of each after putting it on for pictures. Maybe I can get someone to model for me in exchange for her choice of headcovering? I have received several compliments on them already, especially since I have worn them when I go to town. :D

Window quilts are in the planning for the two bedrooms we don't really use. I want to put up window quilts in there, and small milkhouse style heaters or radiant heaters just to keep the rooms above freezing. The pipes in this house run through the ceiling and the LAST thing I want them doing is freezing this winter when the -20 below (and colder) weather hits. But I also don't want to spend the heating oil, at $2.70 a gallon, to heat these rooms either. Probably still cheaper than the electric, I don't know. I haven't done the math yet. But I know that I don't have an infinite amount of heating oil, so If I can save that and then just put a few pennies into the electric heaters I will do that.

AND I have a lot of mending piling up on me. Grrr.. Been spending far too much on the computer lately with very little to show for it. Actually, financially, nothing to show for it, since nothing has sold yet. ROFL.

Oh well, that's life as it goes on. :D

I have a few recipes to share with you, so I'll post those over the next few days.

TA!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

what a day!

ok, so today has been just one long "UGH". lol. First, I get up greeted to the fact that we are basically trapped in our house. They are doing construction on the road in front of the house and this is the 4th day of it. Friday, Saturday, Monday and today have all been pilot car traffic out front. Friday and Saturday you couldn't get our of our driveway.

Then, Hubby took the dogs out this morning, and Newbie and Freya flushed some quail out from under the pine tree out front. Newbs jumped the fence chasing one, and then, as hubby went after him to bring him back, he ran to the road! ACK! Anyway, he ended up just running around the outside of the fence on the sidewalk and then jumped back INTO the yard on the other side of the yard. Dork. As I waved my hand at him and told him to go back inside, I hit the outside of my left hand on the wall. The point of the cinderblock wall that is. I thought at first I had broken the knuckle. But it's not broken (THANK GOD and all the other higher powers that be!) It is very badly bruised though. I ran back in and immediately put it under some cold water to help with swelling and downed some tylenol. It's still very sore, and turning a pretty color of black.

I did manage to still get 5 cans of peaches chopped up and in the dehydrator, as well as canned a jar of peach juice. As soon as I get some more pint jars I'll turn that juice into jelly. It's a very good barter item as well as good eats. lol.

And just now, the icing on the cake. I had our first delivery of heating oil... 50 gallons was all we could afford right now.. 50 gallons @ 2.70 a gallon comes to $135.00... And next month I get to repeat. lol. That hurts. But at least we'll have it if it's needed now. Since we got snow this last weekend it's a good thing to have the oil. It could snow in earnest now and we're covered for a month or so.

Next month I am hoping for 100 gallons, but it all depends on finances. Heh... If Hubby doesn't get renewed for his long term disability, we won't need it, as we'll be moving somewhere warmer with just what will fit in the car as we'll ahve no income. But that's just my depression and anxiety talking I am sure. lol.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Lunch Adventure

Do you know what it's like to look at your pantry and not want any of it? I do. lol. So I thought I would get a bit adventurous and see what I could come up with.

Last year before moving I had dehydrated a lot of hamburger. I took cheap hamburger, and rolled it into small meatballs. I then boiled the meatballs until cooked through. Once the boiling was done, I spread them in the dehydrator and let 'er rip! Once dry I packaged them up and put them in our food stocks.

Well. Yesterday I decided to see what I could make with them. Tossed a few handfuls of them in a pan of water and boiled them to rehydrate. in another pan I cooked up some refried beans, then I shreaded some cheese, and fried some tortillas. Add some sour cream and the last of our salsa. Once the meatballs were thoroughly rehydrated, I put them in a pie tin and using a sturdy spoon I smooshed them so they resembled browned hamburger again. I seasoned it up with some salt and some bbq seasoning.

It was AWESOME. hubby liked it, I liked it, and it was sooo easy to do. Now that I know without a doubt that they work so well, and so easily, I'll pick up 5 or 10 lbs of hamburger our next payday and dehydrate some more. This was the last pint can I had of them (I had used some for soup, before and as dog treats), so it's time to refresh the stocks.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Reusing your canning lids!

First, let me say that Sarah at Sarah's Pioneer Living has posted another great video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QII8EfYmSBk

this time it's on reusing canning lids.

First, let me say, that I took the preserving food at home self study from the National Center for Home Food Preservation SCREES - USDA and University of Georgie program. I got 100% on all my tests, and have the certificate of completion on my wall right now. lol. Don't know if that means much, but I was proud of getting the 100% on all four tests. :)

During this study I read a lot of information about canning. Both low and high acid food. It was kind of a lark that made me take it since I had grew up watching and helping my grandmother and mother pressure can, boiling water bath and freeze food.

I learned at a young age that you do not.. let me restate that... DO NOT reuse your canning lids. But, I am going to tell you, I learned later (as an adult and doing my own canning) that this is a very expensive thing to do! Oh my. There are 12 lids to a box, and when you are canning you can go through 4 boxes in a day, and in the normal course of cooking for a day, you can use upwards of 6 jars of food a day... Well, you can see that it all adds up. I spent $2.59 a box on regular mouth lids last summer, and the price is only getting higher, with wide mouth lids even more expensive.

So, I have to say, I agree with Sarah fully. If your lids aren't bent, they have no rust, the gummy stuff is intact and still thick then reuse them. I check my food storage out all the time. I check for rust on the lids, I check to be sure everything is sealed and so on and so forth.

Although... I never throw even a bent lid away around here! If a lid isn't so badly bent that it's unusable, then it goes into the storage drawer. A lot of my dry goods (dehydrated stuff mostly) goes into glass quart jars and then a lid goes on them. If I buy bagged rice, then I put it in glass jars and put a lid on it. Mice and rats very rarely chew through glass jars! lol. It also helps with bugs and moisture to keep that lid on it. So, lids are never just tossed here at the house.

Rusty lids get glued into rusty rings and spray painted with rustoleum paint. then I stuff it with stuffing and fabric and turn it into a pin cushion or some other crafty thing gets done to them. I have an aversion to tossing things in the trash! lol.

Anyway, check out Sarah's new video, and leave her some feedback!