Foraging ~ Is it Edible?

From what we can tell, this is dogbane, which is often mistaken for milkweed. I found a recipe for using milkweed and plan to try it soon. 

Corn Bread

Finally. 

We just found a delicious corn bread recipe that we can utilize home grown vegetables (onion, corn), milk from the goats (I cannot wait until we do have one in milk too), and eggs from the chickens.  I can even utilize home grown herbs – chives.  I can also use my home canned salsa in this recipe.

I found the recipe in a magazine I got from another farmgirl, and here is it on-line:  Appalachian Corn Bread.  

I wonder if I could simply leave the sugar out, and not change the taste too much?  I did use creamed corn, and it turned out to be a moist bread, and delicious.  We will make it again once the corn is in, and try it with whole kernel corn too.  I used olive oil, and also oiled the baking dish with olive oil (we are doing away with non-stick spray). 

My goal is to be able to add the cheese from my very own dairy source.  Either a jersey cow or maybe the goats.  I better put a bug in my husband's ear about getting a jersey cow.  I can see so many ways we can reduce our processed, store bought foods, and make them healthier.

And of course, the corn meal and flour is from an area stone mill that is still in business.  Maybe some day we can grow our own wheat and grind it ourselves.  Anything is possible.

This will taste so delicious with our homemade taco soup, which also uses fresh or frozen garden goodies. 

Our first Scarecrow ~ It's a girl

Naming the Farm

We are still trying to decide a name for our farm.  Most people simply use their last name; however we are a blended family, and have 2 last names.  Here is a view from the side patio, overlooking the country highway.

So far, we have decided that "Little House on the Highway" is the top choice. As you can see, the grass has not been mowed there either.  It was simply too wet from all the rain.  Maybe we can get it mowed down today.

Potato Patch

The temperature here reached up in the 90’s yesterday, and the weather is to be even hotter today.  We spent most of the day doing car repairs (gas leak, flat tire), weeding out, and adding more dirt to the potato plants.  

Today, I will be heading back out to finish the potatoes, and start weeding throughout the peas and lettuce.  You can see in the photo, in the back, where the weeds are coming up. 

 Behind the potatoes, are shallots, onions, lettuce and peas.  We have not planted our cabbage, kohlrabi, and a few more.  We have resorted to buying plants vs. seeds, due to the abundance of rain.  We were also very late in starting seeds indoors this year.  I did sprinkle flower seeds, and hope to have some color soon, in the flower beds.

Baking Bread

First, I have to share an iced tea we made.  It was very good.  We are low on green tea bags, so I boiled a pot of water, added these teabags:

2 of Jasmine Petal Green Tea

2 of Strawberry Pomegranate Herbal Red Tea

2 of Green Tea, Organic

1 of Green Tea, Honey Lemon Ginseng

It was what we call “Clean out the Cupboard” Iced Tea.  I let the teabags brew for about 4 minutes, removed them, and added them to a 1 gallon picture.  I added two scoops of sugar, and mixed until the sugar was dissolved.  I then filled it up with water, and enjoyed.  They kids loved this flavor we concocted.

Yesterday, was also day 1 of making homemade bread. Although the dough did not rise enough, the bread was very delicious.  I am using whole wheat bread flour from the local mill.  


With grocery prices rising, it's necessary to start making my own bread.  I did not have saran or plastic wrap either.  The pioneers didn't have it when they made bread, so I used a wet towel to cover my dough.  

Saturday Mornings

This morning I filled my cup of coffee, grabbed reading material, and joined one of the girls at the front porch.  We sat in our pajamas without a care.  Even though our little house is on a country highway, and people pass us often, we sat comfortably.

My mind was throwing thoughts around, such as which job to tackle first.  There is always something to fix, repair, build, clean or organize.  There are animals to feed, care for and so much more.  

As a child, I couldn’t wait for Saturday mornings.  I can remember Mom telling us we could sleep in until 10:00am.  However, if we wanted to watch cartoons, we had to be up before 10:00am, because that is when the television was shut off.  I can remember that Mom always washed our bed sheets on Saturday mornings, and if we did chose to sleep in, we were told to bring our sheets down when we came downstairs.  And of course, if we did not get up, we got a wake up call on the house intercom system.  It was the neatest contraption our house could have.  

Today, as a mother to six children, the television is never turned on during mornings.  The kids often complain about not getting the chance to watch Saturday morning cartoons, but they can never get out of bed early either.  

While they were sleeping in, and I was becoming anxious about what needs to be done, and mentally figuring out what needed to be started first, I read a story in The Small Farmer’s Journal.  I ended up laughing out loud.  Here is a small section of the story:

“I was talking with an old-timer some years ago about the seemingly endless nature of work on the farm and he said, “Yep, when yer done yer dead.”  I guess I best not complain about new projects; they may be all that’s keeping me alive.” (The Small Farmer’s Journal, LittleField Notes, Prodigal Sun, by Ryan Foxley, Arlington, Washington, page 33, Spring, Vol. 35, No. 2)

 

If there is one thing I will remember, when I’m becoming anxious or stressed about what needs done, I’ll remember this article and what this man said.  

All this work?  It's all good. 

Now try explaining that to my kids.