"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Dehydrated Asparagus Powder (woody ends)

It's been raining here since last Thursday, so that makes 7 days of rain straight in a row.  Some days, partial day rain, and others full out thunderstorms. Some days it's been so cold we need jackets, so there has been no good time to work on the gardens (any of them).  A few days the rain has let up, and we got to see a teensy bit of sunlight, but most days have been misty, foggy, rainy, and gray skies.  Oh and colder.  I'm getting a wee bit concerned about planting the garden.  They posted a flood advisory Monday night.

The asparagus patch is about to the end of the harvest season for us.  Although the rain brought up a few more stragglers for us to enjoy.



 May started out with another new "first" for me.  I dehydrated the woody ends, leftover from the asparagus we recently prepared.  You can simply save them in the freezer for soup, but those bags can get buried easily.  Does anyone actually remember they are in the freezer?


I do not know anyone who has dehydrated their woody asparagus ends, so I did as much reading on this as I could find. 

Everything said to blanch the asparagus first, to break down the fiber, for better results.  One Youtube video said to not use an ice bath on the woody ends after blanching, so they would continue to "cook" on the trays as they dehydrate.

A lot of our very first asparagus planting grows up much thicker than the newest plantings, so I sliced those pieces smaller to dehydrate better.

I blanched the woody ends (not to waste them, or you could compost them too), and they were dehydrated, and then ground into a powder.



I'm storing it in a canning jar and vacuum sealing it for now, and adding to it as the asparagus rolls in.  I'm thinking cream of asparagus soup, adding it to any soup or stew, adding to any breakfast or dinner casserole, and it can even be added to homemade taco seasoning.  Nothing wasted, and nothing buried in the freezer.

Sunday, May 4, 2025

This and That

The rain here has been off and on.  I got some herb garden seeds planted - cilantro, dill, Thai basil and feverfew.  I still need to get more planted, but it's progressing as the weather allows.



I now have a set of 4 square biscuit cutters.  I have not used all of them yet, but it should add some "fun" to the kitchen baking.



 

Remember the free magazines I brought home from the library?  Did you know you can pickle fruit?  I guess I just never thought about it, nor considered it, but now I will.  It would be a nice addition to a bowl of yogurt or to an appetizer board.

Does anyone make their own kombucha?  I do not personally know anyone who does, and I'm pondering the option to make it or keep buying it.  I'm guessing it will be less expensive in the long run.




I have been looking for individual alcohol pads for months.  I am adding them to our camping/travel tote.  It's much easier to have on hand than trying to store a bottle in the camper, and it's nice to have in the travel case for any travel.  I found a box of 100 at our Meijer for $1.49.  



I made the free adult craft from the library - beaded, string bookmark.