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.

Adopted Motto

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

Monday, July 4, 2011

Toffee Recipe

Homemade Toffee:

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon plus 1-3/4 cups butter, softened, divided
  • 2 cups sugar 
  • 1 tablespoon light organic corn syrup

Excerts from a Journal Junkie

from the homesteader's journal . . . 

  Finally got the septic cap made for the distribution connection

from the garden journal . . .

  picked a handful of strawberries, a basket full of peas, a bit of swiss chard, two green peppers, and a ton of lettuce.  Runner beans are doing well also.   Cut more Lemon Balm for drying too.

from the crafting journal . . .
  still working on one last hope chest blanket, starting to crochet hand towels.

from the gratitude journal . . .

   ~Today I am Thankful for~
* water
*my camera
*God's Mercy and Grace
*wild black raspberries on the property
*my covered porch 
*ice (phew!  needing it  a lot these last few hot days)
*windows
*the watering hose (the first year here we had no outside water spigot, so we filled jugs of water and hauled it to the garden all summer)
*books

Share what you are grateful for today.   
  

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Weekend Projects Completed

Another, much prettier scarf completed (knitted).  I have another skein of yarn, the same color, for another scarf also.  For the next one, I will need to make it a bit thinner on the width, so it will be longer.

We also, thanks to extended family, completed several yard projects.  The ground over the septic is now flat again, and ready to re-seed the grass and cut down the pipe.  We also made our own cement cap for the distribution on the septic/leach bed.  The back hoe ran over it and crushed it in last year.  They run about $50.00, so making it ourselves was a smart move.  Now, it will interesting on watching the men lift it and move it, once it has completely set.  It feels good to see work get completed. 

I have also been able to pick more wild black raspberries every day now.  I will soon be baking my first pie with them.  I never did get a picture of baking the quiche with milkweed flower buds, but will try to remember next time.  

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Milkweed, Clothespins and More Berry Pickin'

Today, we picked milkweed flower buds for our first quiche.  I have also picked a few of the flowers.  I'll boil those and post that later, after it's baked.  I hope it doesn't affect, my already flared up, allergies.






To cut back on washing towels so often, I have initiated a clothespin system for the kids.  Each one has a clothespin with their name, and they are to mark their bath towel and dry it after each use for the week.  Then, and only then, will I wash them.  They groaned about this, but when you get out of the shower, you are clean.  So what's the problem?  I'm tired of washing towels every day around here, and it should cut back my water and electric usage.

We picked about another 1/2 quart of wild black raspberries.  My new best friend is:
I need about another quart of berries to make jelly.  They are coming in about every day now.  In the process of picking berries, we found a deer bedding area.

Our heirloom runner beans are starting to bloom.  They are a very bright orange.

 

Friday, July 1, 2011

Clothesline Rules

My Mom sent me this, so I just had to share.  To be honest, I don't care where and what goes on my clothesline, and sometimes (gulp!) I just throw whatever I have all in the same load.  If you drive by, you may see my "unmentionables" on there too.
 
 
Some of you may simply have to pass this up or pass it along to your
parents, uncles and aunts.....
You have to be a certain age to appreciate this.
THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:
(If you don't know what clotheslines are,
better skip this.)

1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any
    clothes--walk the entire lengths of each line with a 
    damp cloth around the lines
 
2..You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and 
      always  hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.
3. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders, always by the 
    tail  What would the neighbors think?

4. Wash day on a Monday! . .. . Never hang clothes on the
     Weekend, or Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you 
    could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & 
    busybodies,  y'know!).

6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero
    weather....clothes would "freeze-dry."

7. Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry 
    clothes!  Pins left on the lines were "tacky!"

8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so 
    that  each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one 
    of the  clothes pins with the next washed item.

9. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly 
    folded in  the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.

10. IRONED?  Well, that's a whole other
       subject!

A CLOTHESLINE POEM

A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew,
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths"
With intricate designs.

The line announced a baby's birth
From folks who lived inside -
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!
The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
You'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.

It also said, "Gone on vacation now"
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged, with not an 
inch to spare!

New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.

But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess!

I really miss that way of life.  It was a friendly sign.
When neighbors knew each other best by what hung on the line.


Now, I do try to wash my whites separately, and I do collect all my clothespins and bring the bag in each time.  They get moldy if I don't.

More Black Raspberries and Goat Goes to the Vet

We are picking more and more fresh, wild black raspberries every day.  We have to pick them before the birds and the deer get to them.  They are mostly at the back of our property, on the edge of the woods.  We are lucky to have one not far from the front door also.  Either way, we are sure to get mosquito bites and prickers all over our legs and arms.

I don't feel much like cooking today, and they have brought me another full quart of berries.  I think I will keep those another day and add to it, making 3 1/2 pints or more of jelly this time.  

Orion, our male goat needs to see a farm vet today.  I am sure my daughter will have an update on her blog later.  Watch for it at:  LIFE AS A TEEN FARMGIRL



You can't see the horn than has grown down from this view, but I'll see if my daughter can post pictures.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Garlic, Lemon Balm, and a Toad

What a combination to write about too.  First, I decided to add more fresh garlic in my diet and found this delicious salad.  I had a few of the kids try it, as the rest of them had no interest in trying it.

Southwestern Quinoa and Chickpea Salad
(From The Doctors Book of Food Remedies, By Selene Yeager and the Editors of Prevention Health Books)
1 cup quinoa
1 3/4 cups water
4 tsp. olive oil
1 cup rinsed and drained canned chickpeas
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. salt
Place the quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse well with cold water.  Drain and transfer to a medium saucepan.

Add the water and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender but still slightly crunchy.  If all the water has not been absorbed, drain it through a fine sieve.
Place the quinoa in a medium bowl.  Drizzle with the oil and toss to mix.  Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, garlic, and salt.  Toss thoroughly to mix.

Makes 4 servings.  Tip:  Try baking dry chickpeas ahead of time.
I planted cumin for the first time ever this year.  I see only a few came up, but we had a very strange start to our summer.  The abundance of rain, followed by no rain, caused some odd growing in the plants.

I cut some lemon balm yesterday.  I will dry it to add to a tea for my sore throat.  I am also considering finely chopping some fresh lemon balm, and adding it to our Lemon Wild Black Raspberry Muffins.  

Oh....and for the "toad" part of today's post . . .

Check this out.  A toad has made his home in my redbud tree pot.  We removed him, and later in the day, he was right back in the pot.

Look just above the word "Pioneer" on the photo.  You can see his head barely sticking out of the dirt.  You may have to click on the photo to enlarge it to really see it.