twitter without the bird

quick updates as I'm @ the library without my lap top using a pc paid for with my tax $. Stopped in to snag some free DVDs for movie night later this week. Our local Library has quite a selection of films all for free. Just need a library card.
DD#3 picked out the box set of Indiana Jones & a Denzel Washington movie, Inside Man which I had never heard about before. I love action thrillers with a good plot & this movie has Jody Foster & an English hottie Clive Owen. Hope he is as manly as he was in that King Arthur story a few years aback!
Sorry we have been without regular t.v. for 2 days because the new fangled antenna that goes with the new fangled converter box is broken. Hopefully DH will be able to fix that $60 antenna. As it is the 15 year old t.v. is starting to loose one of it's speakers.
No we don't have cable haven't in well almost 10 years. Yeah I know there are some peeps reading this blog who are lol about having a t.v. from the early 90's let alone not hanging on a wall. What can I say it's just not an issue for us. It's not our priority.

Back to homesteading type topics.
If you look over to the right side of my blog you will see that I have separate lists for various ways to preserve food for long term storage. Under the freezer section I have listed a zillion cups of shredded zucchini. K, think I can now take zukes off my need to have list!
Scored onions by way of a gleaning ops thru a church friend. Got enough to give Aunt Sally's a bushel for distribution to a local food bank. Gave a half bushel to my gfbb. Gave a peck to a church lady who in turn gave me a flat of nest run eggs (have no clue what that means exactly but they are fresh), and gave about 6 to my co chairwoman. Her & I run our church garden of which the food is donated to both Congregational members & various community food banks.
Plan is to slice the onions & dehydrate then vacuum seal them in pint mason jars.
Corn - so far have about 45 ears of corn from the hubby of the church lady who gifted me eggs. Seems my family has been adopted by them. Well actually she realizes that the main reason I have been volunteering so much with church projects is that I am now a SAHM. She & her DH are helping to keep my sabbatical a reality.
Good karma huh?
Fighting with my self not to just freeze the corn cob style. I should can it & keep that valuable freezer real estate vacant for other items that either can't be canned or we prefer frozen.
It's just that I really do dislike pressure canning. And corn has to be pressure canned.
K, have 3 minutes left on my allotted time on this very public pc.
Will work on downloading the few pics from Lehman's that I snapped.
Anyone wanna help slice onions?

08/20/09 - 0049
DH got an air card thru Cricket which enables me to be online in the privacy of my kitchen in my robe instead my local library. Convient it is but slow like dial up.

Nine pounds of onions are currently nestled in the dehydrator making my house smell like onion bread.
Will leave about 10 lbs. out in a crate down in the cellar. Another 20 lbs. use in pay it forwards namely the local food bank @ Aunt Sally's. They inturn used a portion of the gleaned onions to fill out their Senior Luncheon on Tuesdays. The rest went out for general disrabution.
May use 10 lbs. in a barter deal need shampoo/conditioner along with vinagar. Actually I could make a shampoo bar that would be rich enough not to need a conditioner for our hair. That would be the smart thing to do.
Then all that is needed would be t.p. & vinagar, lol. Maybe bleach. & powdered milk.
Spent $20.92 @ Aldis today. Bought; 2 containers of quick oats, box of corn flakes, 8 oz. of hard cheese, frozen can of pink lemonade requested by DD#3, brown sugar, can of black olives, grated parmesan cheese, & 2 bags of tortilla chips for nacho night later this week. Also bought Bananas on 50% discount - due to over ripness. There's 5 qts. of diced bananas in the freezer.
Oh forgot a gallon 2% milk for yogurt making. Haven't been getting raw milk from the dairy as the farmer's price is still @ $2.50 per gallon. The raw leche isn't organic just freasher & creamier, & a bit more expensive so I'm going with the more cost effective choice.
Last week grocery shopping @ Aldis was $15.11; bag of apples, gallon of milk, again 2 bags of torilla chips, 2 bricks of hard cheese, package of bologna, & canned mushrooms. Also canned black olives.
In the next week or two I will do a post on UPC with updates such as the side of beef that was bought last month. Surfice to say that I still haven't truely limited our grocery budget to the the $100 mark.
Reality sucks.


~~ pelenaka ~~

on the road

I'm blogging from Erie, Pennsylvania @ Barns & Noble while my daughters use their b-day gift cards. We're on our way back to the New York coming from Cleveland so we stopped off here in Erie to take advantage of the tax free shopping. Go potty. Buy Gas. Sit in a/c 'cause my Aveo is air less.
Bought DD#2 running shoes @ Penny's using a promotion coupon for $10. I had promised it to my gfbb since I was told their Dad bought shoes in Houston for them. Don't ask what he bought but it wasn't what was needed. I'll offer here the next coupon that is mailed out. I get like 3 a month it seems. Quite a bit since I only shopped in a Penny's store 4 times last year. 3 shopping excursions were for running shoes. One was for me. I scored a $300 wool lawyers coat for $49. As hubby is fond of saying I really look like I could talk my way outta the big house in that coat.
Total spent was $39 for running sneakers. Now she's all set for her v.j. cross country.
Then we hit this book store so they both could use their gift cards. Again no tax here in PA.
Personally I wouldn't make the 3 hour drive here to shop since well I mostly barter for visit tag sales for our clothing needs. But it worked out since we were in the area.

So here I sit wishing that I had some great photos to share about our experience earlier @ Lehman's in Kiddron, Ohio. But alas I'm technically challenged.
The pics are on my cell phone. Wasn't planning on the side trip to Lehman's and didn't pack the digital camera. Anyone wanna email me directions on how to accomplish this task?
Daughter's have made their selections. Will post soon.

oh the road again ...

~~ pelenaka ~~
who has as a top ten topic #4-being married means you can sleep on long road trips.

ugly broccoli

I got me some ugly broccoli. Despite my best attempts my Broccoli looks nuttin like the large green globes in mega mart's produce isle. I even fertilized them with a special tonic made from water seeped with eggshells, dehydrated banana skins, & Epsom salts.
It's cool 'cause the broccoli tastes great.
Like broccoli should. Tender.
Was able to gather 23 cups off my plantings when all the blanching was done. It's safely in the freezer vacuum sealed in bags.
Hopefully a second harvest later on as once you cut off the main heads side shoots of Broccoli grow. I write hopefully as here in Western New York it has been a very long Spring. Double the amount of rainfall to the tune of 16". We haven't broke 90 degrees yet.
Retail value is some where in the neighborhood of $20, minus the cost of seed. Not a bad return on my investment.

~~ pelenaka ~~

P.S. Green beans locally grown are selling for $1.49 per pound @ Tops Market this week. So far I gleaned 21 cups = 5 lbs = $7.45 worth of free Green Beans! No idea what the cost of frozen Green Beans will be in Febuary.
This year I want to keep a savings tally calculating the vale of food that I have foraged & gleaned.

in the bag

Quick post using my local library's WIFI connection then it's back to preserving.

Long story short I have fired up the 2nd freezer, a small chest in preparation of the produce bounty that has been coming our way. Namely Green & Wax beans along with Broccoli.
Having a small chest freezer is different than a larger one as there is generally only one if any baskets to help organize contents. Ours has a small one.
My system has to organize the contents of the veggie freezer frugally.
Has to be basically idiot proof.
Must not use up valuable freezer space or restrict the operation/air flow of the freezer from doing it's job.
So as I'm bum side up with my head stuck in this chest freezer digging around it comes to me.
Organize the contents in plastic shopping bags.
Yeah say it with me ... duh!
Green Beans beige Tops bags.
Wax in bright yellow bags from Family Dollar.
Broccoli in white Wally World bags.
We don't have allot of plastic shopping bags because we normally use cloth bags. I'll have to ask fellow church members & neighbors for shopping bags.
Or another alternative is to make large draw string bags out of old sheets. Label near the opening for contents.

~~ pelenaka ~~

50¢

What your looking @ is 50¢ worth of cucumber.
That is what I paid for one last week.
I have no patience. And apparently no sense.
There's 4 more cukes growing in this container & 7 more in the another so about $4.50 worth per our local mega mart. I paid $2.50 per 4 pack (remember when it was always a 6 pack?) so in a week or so I will have broke even. After that any other cukes that grow will be free. Lack of space was why I didn't start cucumbers from seed. If I had then after the first 3 all the rest would have been free, (seed packet was $1.59).
I have 2 more cucumber plants growing in elevated pots along with 4 more planted in a raised bed. Those 4 were a $1 on discount. If I get two cukes from them then I've broken even.
I know the pic reminds me of sumtin else too.
Get your mind outta the dirt & into the soil people.

As you can see the 2 drawf Apple trees are alive and well as are the Strawberries I planted as ground cover, (background). We have just started training the trees to talk French (espalier). So far they resemble an American walking the streets of Paris with a cheap translation dictionary.

Update on the Celery/Brussels Sprouts/San Marzano raised bed - despite the pitiful amount of sunshine equally due to a neighbor's tree and our very wet & cloudy Summer this year the first 2 groups of veggies are doing well, Celery & Brussels. The tomatoes are however lagging a bit behind the ones in the raised bed directly to the right. Those are almost taller than the trellis an estimated height of 4'. Two main differences between both raised beds are that the one on the right receives about an hour of stronger/brighter Sunlight than the bed on the left. And green beans which are a nitrogen fixing plant were planted in the same bed last year. If rotating green beans with tomatoes proves successful then it will be a no brainer as to what I am planting in that bed for the 2010 garden season.

About the looking glass. My plants are vain. Very very vain. Actually just trying my best to direct more Sunlight their way.

But doesn't the mirror make you wanna sing like Carly Simmon? Your soo vain, u thought this song was about you ...

Looking forward to this coming week it will be a mostly sunny with temperatures near normal. July here in Western New York has been one of the wettest with over 9 " of rain. Not to mention cool as in low 70's cool which isn't right when it's July.
Ask me how much laundry I will be doing this coming week. Think sheets & towels. Throw in some curtains too.
I also have a stash of food that needs to be canned. Up until now I have been stock piling all the harvested produce in the chest freezer until I have a significant amount to can. Reached that point when a friend's wife offered me pickings rights to her bed of Rhubarb. I have had my eye on canning up some Rhubarb juice. Maybe mixing in some Red Raspberry juice.
There's also 2 quarts of frozen chicken broth along with 3 quarts of roast beef au juice destined for the pressure canner. Can never have enough home canned broth on the pantry shelves come winter. The beef was scored during K.P. duty after a church dinner so that will work out to 10¢ a pint (cost of the canning lid).
Add to the canning list rendering beef fat & packaging into jars. Amazing what you find when you reorganize a freezer.
Pretty sure I owe someone somewhere a loaf of rye bread.
Then there's the 10 lbs. of soap I started making last year that needs to be rebatched, and put into molds. Seriously, when I make soap I make soap ... mostly because it's really not my favorite thing to do on a regular basis which is why I make a big batch. Not to mention I'm a little bit busy here.
Know your strengths.
Understand your weaknesses.

~~ pelenaka ~~

steam juicer

This is my still.

This is my still making wild black raspberry juice.

J.J. (just joking) this is a Steam Juicer that DH bought me like about a zillion years ago @ a Good Will store for under $20. Normally retails for upwards of $130 new so I can't really say that it's a must but if you score one for a great price it's one piece of home preservation equipment that's nice to have. Otherwise the old school method of cheese cloth/white cotton pillow case to create a jelly bag works just as well.

I actually am only using it because my girl group (church not a song & dance act), is working on making jams & jelly's. So rather than having numerous jelly bags strung out all over the church kitchen I recalled that this contraption was in a corner of the cellar.

The reason I wrote still is that is what the gals all asked me when I set it on the stove during a PW work day. Apparently I look like the type of urban homesteader to have a still.

Even more droll since the average age of my gal pals is like 6o. Kinda makes ya wonder what they were up to in their youth huh?

Plan is to freeze what I collect until I have enough of a good size batch to create something. Really already have enough jelly from last year's canning season so I am thinking perhaps juice.

Which is what I really need allot of since daughter's cleared us out of all the previous years grape juice a total of 54 quarts plus 5 quarts found hidden which = 59 half gallons.

The Steam Juicer didn't come with a manual so I am winging it. Steamed the berries for 30 minutes to extract the juice. Need to see about either buying a copy of the manual or downloading a copy. I'm sure there is more to this "still" than I realize.

Here's the picking field err spot really. By spot I mean a tiny spot. Behind the garage where there is very little sun & I haven't fertilized.

Gotta love totally free & easy!

Update on Urban Pantry Challenge - All the produce that I have either frozen or dehydrated this week either gifted or from DH's garden.

Canned up 9 pts. of Almond flavored Cherries that came from the same canning factory as last year. Difference this is year that I bartered for a smaller amount with my bbgf. Still have canned cherries left from last year. Cherries came pitted. Traded a new granyware canning pot with rack & a jar lifter. My accessed value for the canning equipment was $20 although I had only paid under $5 @ an auction. Threw in a dozen Ball canning jars NIB that was gifted to me.

Sunday DH & I went to the local Mega Mart to pick up a few items since we both were craving grilled burgers. Ended up spending $54.48 for the following items; one cuke @ 50¢ (dumb on our part as in a week or so we will have cucumbers from our garden), four ears of Sweet Corn @ 30¢ each, one tomato on the vine 62¢ (refer to the foolishness of buying a cuke), boneless pork loin discounted to $1.99/lbs. bought 2 packages which totaled slightly over 17 lbs. Cost of pork was $32.90. Also bought a package of Italian Sausage $7.02, and ground beef patties that were discounted $12.24.

All the meat was repackaged in to family size servings. The pork loins worked out to be 6 packages. The Italian Sausages 3 meals. Ground beef patties 2 packages of 8 burgers each.

Within the next week I will be spending in the neighborhood of $300 on a 1/3 of a cow. This should be the last time I need to buy beef until next July.

Since it's just the two of us for the rest of the Summer I have been crock potting meals for later eating. Cooked one of the pork loins in White Wine, Garlic, Rosemary, (garlic & Rosemary both from garden). Combined with a garden salad & wax beans from DH's community garden allotment it was a nice dinner.

Few weeks ago an avid coupon shopper gave a seminar on couponing/rebating after church service. We exchanged emails to arrange possible bartering opps. This is a better alternative for me than dragging out to the store coupons in hand for the small percentage of items that I do buy.

The conversation went as follows -

I was wondering if you would be interested in bartering? Since my household runs on more of old fashioned methods couponing really doesn't work for me.

Oh, but it could. What items do you buy on a weekly basis?

Don't really shop weekly. What I buy is items like toilet paper, bleach, vinegar, really items that I can't make myself. Sugar is a biggy since I can. I was wondering if you might consider bartering. Gallon of bleach for a loaf of homemade bread? I bake rye or a half whole wheat loaf.

Well here's an offer for Domino Sugar 50¢ off if you buy 10 packets of Kool-Aid. Kool-Aid is on sale this week...

At that point I really hoped I had a good poker face on.

I stopped discussing my method of food preservation in times of bounty because this was a woman who fed her children colored sugar water. I was talking Apples & she was busy filing store receipts for later rebate use.

Don't get me wrong coupons work great. The concept would work magic for me if I could find coupons for items such as canning lids. Washing soda. All the items that I can't buy in a store brand/generic version. Hmm the only thing that jumps out @ me is washing soda. Beer. Primo coffee. And tp ofcourse. I'm not that much of a homesteader to make my own.

The other aspect is of course if my trading commodity costs me less than what I traded it for.

Can I bake a loaf of bread for less than the cost of a gallon of bleach?

Well I did score 100 lbs. of locally grown wheat of which I still have 2/3 left... and I still have 1/3 of a bushel of organic rye. Will need to barter for butter, dry milk, white flour, yeast, & salt too. If I'm savy enough we just may be eatting our bread for free.

Provided that the wood stove is installed this fall which will provide the means to bake.

Otherwise will have to factor in the electricity that my 1949 Hotpoint stove sucks down.

~~ pelenaka ~~