I cook almost everything from scratch…want a cracker: I grab the recipe and freshly ground wheat flour and in about 20 minutes you've got saltines…need cheese with that? Well the gouda is in the cheese fridge on the porch along with about 20 other wheels I've made over the year…summer sausage: yep made that in October…changed your mind and want peanut butter on your cracker: sorry no peanut butter (crop failure), but I do have honey roasted almond butter in the fridge (my almonds and honey).
I grow all of our vegetables, if I lose a crop, I'm diversified enough I can harvest something else. Everything I grow is available fresh, canned, frozen and dried…everything: broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, radishes, beets…not lettuces (only fresh), kale, chard, cabbage, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash…strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, grapes, peaches, apples, pears.
There is never a time something is not growing in the garden…it is never bare…I am always growing food. I don't grow green manure cover crops to plow under…I have tons (really) of organic mushroom compost. I have my worms making plenty of castings (took a while…but we're on a roll now), chicken poop, the neighbor has a very large herd of Boer goats (I rake up the poop pellets and take home in a 5 gallon bucket)…I collect cow patties across from the Chamber of Commerce office (I'm the secretary and a rancher grazes cattle next door)…one of his foreman caught me in the pasture picking up the patties and asked me in broken English what I was doing…I tried to explain I was collecting the manure for my garden…he kept shaking his head…finally I did a Charade of picking up the patties, putting in the bucket, filling with water and then pouring on plants: he laughs and tells his helper I'm the Vaca (cow) Sheet Gringa! I surprised him with a large basket of fruits and vegetables the next week…needless to say I no longer need to collect the cow patties: they're waiting for me at the Chamber Office yard whenever I stop by!
7 comments:
I am in envy of your pantry. We're gradually working towards more self-sufficiency and independence, so it's so encouraging to look at all the possibilities.
Emma
City Roots, Country Life
Being able to garden most of the year is such a blessing. Up north, we're lucky to get it in, grow it and get it out by the time the snow starts up again. :)
You go girl!!! You have achieved my goal! I am trying to get to where we buy very very little. I am gaining on it every year.
Funny on the cow patties, I asked my neighbor if I could come get some from his pasture. he said honey you take all of those you want ROFL ROFL...
I don't make meats and won't as I don't eat them. LOL I leave that up to honeyman he is the meat eater so um if he wants those in the freezer he will have to do the dirty job.
I have not made cheeses either. I would like to down the road.
My main focus has been vegetables and fruits so far. I was just in our canned goods pantry earlier organizing and to see what we had eaten so far.
I hope my garden is realllly good this year with the covers, we got them done last year after the heat had burned up a lot of the garden... so this year will be the first year to have them in time to stop the damage! We are very excited to see how it works out!
how bout sharing that cracker recipe!
Since I've *retired* it's taken me a couple years to get up to speed...and I had a head start: I did all of this stuff before...in the early 70's and again in the early 80's. I'm also blessed to be in a farming family...the hubby barely bats an eye when he gets the Feed and Seed/Farm Co-Op bill...but you should see his eyes bug out when I pay $24 for some beautiful Humboldt Fog Handcrafted Goat cheese. And I have a number of employees that *get* what I'm doing and love to help during their down time.
I am impressed! Wow and very very cool!
I am envious of your pantry. If you ever get time, could you share some of your cracker recipes? Do you have a multi-grain one? Like the Triscuit crackers?
You go girl, where do you get the energy? How about bottling that and make a fortune, I would like some. LOL
Take care and have a great weekend and beginning week. We are going to get another round of cold and snow here. Read my lips *&$#@% sick of snow and cold.
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