R word

This is the new freezer bought with the last of the pennies from my economic stimulus check mailed out way back when. The first of the pennies went to buy a few vinyl replacement windows for Our Old House.
The freezer sits empty near the corner that holds our food stores. Buckets of Winter Wheat, Organic Rye, & White Rice bought on deep clearance 2 years ago when a local store went belly up. Lying on top is a 25 lbs. bag of yellow onions which need to be introduced to the food dehydrators soon.
K, so I have this new freezer that speaks of almost endless possibilities - perhaps filled with a great deal on free range organic chickens, or our own rabbit fryers? Maybe a wonderful bounty of fresh caught trout (lol, April Fool's Day is opening day of Trout season see the irony?) ... or just a wonderful bounty grown and harvested less than a few yards away?
Need to start thinking about formulating a plan.
A really good plan 'cause it's getting serious out there.
It's on every one's lips that "R" word.
Up until now my fugal/cheap coping methods were meant for my world. To help a struggling single parent household hang on to a quality life. Then eventually to enable me work at times less than a 40 hour work weeks. Recently fugal habits are helping me regain lost retirement savings due to poor life choices.
Now it's a whole different ball game.
Now it could very well be about just living.

So what's gonna be in your freezer, urbanbilly?

~~ pelenaka ~~


12/13/2008
DH pulled the girls outta school on Thursday (their 1st absence & their honor roll) to go hunting.
After spending a week last Summer @ a NYS DEC Camp in Rushford, New York, where they tested & gained their Hunter's Safety Certificate it was time. Time to see if they could & would actually make a kill. Hunting isn't for everyone - long hours spent motionless in the woods, freezing cold at times just waiting. Not to mention the actual task ...
Long story short no game was had but DH who has been looking forward to doing the Father - Child hunting experience for years had a wonderful time. Daughter's experienced a taste of a hunt (4 hours worth in 18 degree cold) and most importantly it left no question in any of their minds that they would be able to hunt.
So now I'll have to see about hitting our local freecycle / craig'slist for some quality hunting clothing in their size.
Also hooking up with someone who has a line on land to hunt (think Deer) maybe a barter Cheese for hunting rights. Yeah I hear you all ROFLYAF!

~~ pelenaka ~~

Backyard Lasagna

Lasagna filling for the most part made from our homestead garden minus the raw milk & vinegar used to make a soft ricotta style cheese, & ofcourse the Parmesan cheese.
Everything else such as the Swiss chard used in place of cooked spinach, the diced Onions, dehydrated Green Bell Peppers, and all the Italian herbs such as Basil and even the Bay Leaf ( houseplant ) were grown within 18 feet of my kitchen.
The raw milk came from a dairy in my county so easily within say 15 miles. I'd give you the exact GPS but then I'd have to kill ya 'cause buying raw milk is illegal here.
The tomato sauce was made with a quart of stewed toms put up last Summer.
I strayed when it came to the pasta a loss leader from mega mart for 99¢ a box.
Bad locavore, bad!

So here is the first of what will indubitably be more Winter Goals than I have energy for ...
This Winter my goal will be to learn to make pasta such as lasagna from locally grown ingredients.

Run down on our version of veggie lasagna -
$ 2.50 for a gallon of very fresh whole milk from cows that are actually pastured, $ 1.00 worth of grated Parmesan cheese, $ 1.00 something with tax for the pasta = $4.50 for huge dish that fed 4 for 2 meals.
Forgot to add in the cost of the canning lid on the quart mason jar that the home canned stewed tomatoes came in. Being a bit OCD huh ?
You get it though, right ?
It's about being self reliant.
Maintaining direct control over our food supply.
Utilizing your pantry goods.
Cost effect organic produce.
Sitting down to a family dinner with good food.

Now when the vines start producing then we can have a nice Red to go with this.

~~ pelenaka ~~

This is how I plan my garden - 1st planning a menu then planting toward that menu.

1902

This is was my house.
This is was my house circa 1998 on drugs.
Word on the street was that the white van had been parked there for over a year quickly becoming a haven for neighborhood cats. I still have no idea how the van was able to fit in the driveway due to a large wooden fence installed directly on the lot line (right side of photo).
Oh forgot to mention the drug bust shortly before the bank took ownership.

10 years earlier this home had been accessed for over $ 70k.


On the day I viewed this property with a realtor it smelled so bad that my 3 very young children wouldn't enter, instead planting their feet firmly on the plywood porch floor covering their face with their hands and vigorously shaking their heads NO. Seems that there had been an altercation with a baseball bat & the original toilet in the upstairs bathroom. The resulting flood soaked all the first floor carpet.

The fashionably dressed realtor jumped at the chance to stay with the children while myself & my then husband took a look around.

After a very brief tour ending in the cellar, my soon to be ex asked me if I was on drugs for even considering this as an option.

2 days later armed with work gloves & a flashlight I came back for a good go thur.

What can I say ... one too many episodes of This Old House, and the fact that it was the only house in my price range.










Almost 9 years later this is my urban homestead.
I had thought that by now all the restoration & rehab would be over with. But then life takes over with raising children single all the while learning how to rewire an outlet.
Still needs a new roof (main portion), and as of right now only 3 windows left to be replaced of the original 14, along with countless wood work that is covered in 30 + layers of paint. Then there is the bathroom remodel that we have been collecting materials for over 4 years for. What can I say when you are offered a 1920's claw foot tub for free.
Then there's installing a wood stove from scratch.

Details; built in 1902 as rental income, 3 original upstairs bedrooms with 1 downstairs, parlor, dinning room, kitchen with a pantry closet, no indoor toilet, 3 coal/wood stoves. Cellar sported a large cistern (now holds all my home canned goods). Garage/shed added in 1929 floor paved with slate perhaps from a city works project?
Sometime in the late 1920's the owner's two children lived here as young adults to be close to employment as their parents had moved out to the country. Their mother died in 1928, father remarried then succumbed to work related injuries (city plow truck mishap) at which point the house stayed in the 2ND wife's possession for many years.
Interesting fact found in her obit was that her wake was held in their home 3 blocks away in a house that is still standing. I was able to find hers son's grave but not hers nor her husband's.
I believe that the stepmother & the owner's daughter had a falling out because in 1936 she signed a quick claim deed giving the new wife all rights to this property. On all the paperwork the house was owned by the wife. I found that very interesting that in the early 1900's a married woman owned a home separate from her husband's name.

Sometime in the 1950's a family with 6 children lived here. It was at that time that there was a kitchen fire caused by a stove. An elderly neighbor delighted in retelling how both her & a GF ran into the house and scooped up what seemed to her dozens of children before the fire trucks came. At the time I truly thought she was just telling tales then on a remodel of the kitchen ceiling charred beams verified her adventure.
Even though the deed & title have been a wealth of information I haven't been able to find out exactly what my house sold for in 1902.



~~ pelenaka ~~

P.S. 7/5/2010 per the internet the average cost of a home in 1900 was $1500. Still unable to find out what my home sold for in 1902.

Feasibility Factor/Canning the Harvest

Looking over my notes, I realize that I could have done allot better with this critical task.
Like starting my own veggie plants from seed instead of buying.
Like planting more.
Like getting my Roma's to grow 5 lbs. toms ... organically.

Here's the dollars and cents of putting food by on an urban homestead when you have limited Sun, Soil, and Space. The critical 3 S's.


Spent - a total of $37 on vegetable plants such as the Broccoli, Cabbage, Cantaloupe, Chard, Eggplants, Green Bell Peppers, Roma Tomatoes, Yellow & Purple Onions, and Watermelon seedlings. Also Marigolds & Nasturtiums for bug control.

$1 worth of lemon juice used in both prepping & canning of produce.

60¢ worth of pickling spice from my local neighborhood health food store.

$2 of white vinegar used in canning. Last year's purchase/price.

40¢ of salt.

7 boxes of pectin bought last year on clearance for 35¢ each - $2.45

$2.49 worth of Sugar (12.8 lbs. of Sugar originally bought for 99¢/5 lbs. in 2005 holiday sale).

$70 on farmer's market produce such as canning tomatoes for salsa, jalapeno peppers for jelly (yet unmade) & salsa, fresh corn on the cob (majority eaten fresh), a few bushels of fresh apples in varieties we could barter/forage such as Gala, also more Bell Peppers, Onions (over 25 lbs. total), along with a few purchases of new to us veggies for taste testing like Delicious & Turban Squash. About 1/4 was eaten fresh such as plums which weren't canned.


$50 for a 5 gallon bucket of pie making Cherries from a cannery located the next county over. Coop of sorts through a local home school group. One of the Mom's knew someone who knew someone ... Worked out to under $2 per lbs for pitted Bing Cherries.

Bartered a few Cherokee Purple Tomatoes, 3 large Bell Peppers, and a small Chuck Steak - $6.99 retail for 2 bushels of Bartlett pears worth $36 - net $29.01.


$147.94 for produce/ingredients.
Minus $18 worth of Broccoli collected from the garden which was both eaten & frozen.
$17 Winter Squash more than paid off the cost of the Swiss Chard plantings.
$29.01 worth of Pears subtracted from the produce/ingredients column.

Grand total spent $119.93

On the garden effort really only the Broccoli, Cabbage, Chard, and Roma's, were worth the effort.
The Chard for instance had a good return in not only the enjoyment factor for our table but also was a very profitable barter item. I eventually traded the last harvest, a peck's worth for a bushel plus of Winter Squash ($17). Some people really love Swiss Chard!
The Cantaloupe, and Watermelon never amounted to anything. The Green Bell Peppers worked out to about a 1/3 of a bushel. Peppers were on the very small side. Eaten fresh & dehydrated for later use in Chili & Soups.
Eggplant only yielded 1 med. & 1 very small but glorious purple tender globe. Next year I'll just consider bartering for a bushel or buying outright.

The rest of the ingredients used such as herbs were either freebies from GF's, obtained in bartering or started years ago in flower pots from seed.


Except for items such as Corn or the Chard which has to be Pressure Canned on my electric stove (I'm good but not that good @ Wood stove cookery) I cooked & canned on my laundry stove with free firewood. I'm not gonna calculate the cost of collecting the wood since the majority was done on foot with our little red wagon after the October 13Th storm.
Cost of my wood stove was absorbed last year as was my huge canner.
All American Pressure Canner was bought 8 years ago for $20 @ Aunt Sally's.
Old fashioned jar lifter was a gift from my SIL when we were running tag sales years ago.
Prepping was done with non electrical appliances such as paring knives or a Squeezo http://thirtyfivebyninety.blogspot.com/2007/10/utilizing-child-labor-opportunties-aka.html
All of my mason jars are paid off - freebies, gifts, or bought cheap over 5 years ago.
Canning lids were 9 ¢ each bought in bulk on eBay (shipping included).
224 canning lids were used for a cost of $20.16 , 3 mason jars broke during processing.

Comparison was to a local house brand from a Mega Mart who is so kind as to have online access to their products.
I didn't base cost on organic items because buying organic is out of my economic reach. If I had well I'd be talking a alot more Franklins.
That is one of the many reasons why we garden & forage.

Preserved Produce - 221 Mason Jars

Applesauce - 15 pints (240 oz.) retails for $9.60 ($1.99 /50 oz. or 4¢ per oz.)

Blueberry Jelly Organic - 13 jelly jars (104 oz.) retails for $28.51 ($3.29 /12 oz. or 27¢ per oz.)

Carrots - 7 pints (112 oz.) retail for $5.60 (65¢ /14 oz. or 5¢ per oz.)

Chard Organic - 6 qt. Unable to compare as this can only be bought fresh for $2.29 per bunch.

Cherries in Syrup - 12 pints (192 oz.) retails for $11.52 ( 99¢ /15 oz. or 6¢ per oz.)

Cherry Pie Filling - 11 qt. (352 oz.) retails for $42.24 ($2.59 /21 oz. or 12¢ per oz.)

Cider - 15 qt. 6 jelly's (528 oz.) retails for $21.12 ($2.39 /64 oz. or 4¢ per oz.)

Corn - 9 pints (144 oz.) retails for $2.88 (39¢ /15 oz. or 2¢ per oz.)

Current Jelly - 3 jelly jars (24 oz.) retails for $3.84 ($1.99 /12 oz. or 16¢ per oz.)

Hot Dog Relish Green Tomato - 7 jelly jars (56 oz.) retails for $7.28 ($1.29 /10 oz. or13¢ per oz.)

Lime juice - 11 half jelly's (44 oz.) retails for $9.68 (99¢ /4.5 oz or 22¢ per oz.)

Pickles Bred & Butter - 9 pints (144 oz.) retails for $20.16 ($2.19 /16 oz. or 14¢ per oz.)

Pickles Dill - 7 pints (112 oz.) retails for $14.56 ($2.09 /16 oz. or 13¢ per oz.)

Peaches - 15 qt. 4 pints (544 oz.) retails for $38.08 (99¢ /14.5 oz. or 7¢ per oz.)

Pears - 9 qt (288 oz.) retails for $17.28 (99¢ /15 oz. or 6¢ per oz.)

Pizza Sauce - 16 jelly jars (128 oz.) retails for $10.24 ($1.29 /15 oz. or 8¢ per oz.)

Salsa - 43 pints (688 oz.) retails for $61.92 ($1.49/16 oz. or 9¢ per oz.)

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam - 14 pints (224 oz.) retails for $60.48 ($3.29 /12 0z. or 27¢ per oz.)

Tomatoes Stewed - 16 qt. (512 oz.) retails for $25.60 (79¢ /14.5 oz. or 5¢ per oz.

221 Mason Jars yielded $378.12 in retail value.

Minus $20.16 - 221 canning lids, $119.93 - produce & ingredients.

Net savings of $238.03 or $1.07 per jar.

Awful lot of work for under $250 even if you factor in that the majority of the produce was organic, and had a very high quality control (me) and tastes outstanding.
Granted there is the serenity factor of being able to cook & can outdoors in my garden. Did have a nice tan going on.
Not having to deal with with weekly grocery shopping especially in the Winter (could factor in gas milage).
Peace of mind knowing that we have a good stocked pantry is rather priceless.
Still, I really need to work on either better barter deals or growing more produce for free.
Also increasing the amount that I can on certain items like fruit.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Crunching the numbers

~ ~ consider that a wave, be it a princess wave or a hailing a cab wave
Life has me running in circles right now. Employment schedule has changed drastically, children are busy running a muck a muck with both church and school activities which means child labor is in short supply, and my country man has started a new job so while he may be willing to be my prep boy he is elsewhere obliged. Pity his apron outfit makes me weak in the knees.
In short I need a good old fashioned hardy homestead wife to fill the void. Dressed a bit on the Amish side with good rubber clogs for gardening, strong hands that can weld a paring knife like a well train surgeon, and a deep desire to kick it. Ability NOT to say, " This is too much work" needed.
Any takers?

Canning season has wound down to a trickle. Jar count is over 200.
Freezer is filled to capacity with broccoli and beef and well items that hurt when they tumble out of the freezer dropping on our feet.
Buttoning down the old family home hasn't really even started despite a few good chilly nights.
Suppose were waiting for another October 13 storm to hit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w__rGeLpeMQ
Putting the garden to bed is taking longer than a first time babysitter with a set of 2 year olds doped up on candy.

So on that pitiful long winded excuse I pledge to have as soon as harvesting season is over October, I will have the final tally of our harvesting efforts from start to finish in dollars & cents.
The Feasibility Factor.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Mindset

Got a windfall of Persian Limes from a friend who got them from a friend who originally got them from a food ministry who got them from a local mega mart. While the temptation to cut, squeeze, strain, and salt the nearest goblet in preparation of traveling to Margaritaville was great I made the decision to opt for long term storage. Future hopes of Lime curd and marinades for chicken won out. Directions posted from a query to HomesteadingToday forum provided directions based on a Ball Canning book.

2 lbs. of Limes gave me a quart and oh about a fourth of a pint of fresh Lime juice. Utilized half jelly jars for the containers since I doubt I'll need more than a few ounces at a time.

Lime juice retails for $4.39 a quart.

Limes were free, lids & jars were a B-day gift, energy to can also free.

Nonelectric food processor (knife & 1930 glass juicer).

While it can be said that canning up a few pounds of Limes was a waste of time I prefer to look at it as expanding my urban homesteading preservation mindset.

Sharpening my skills.

Besides I'm a type A personality.

Couldn't let a few Limes slip past me now could I ?

~~ pelenaka ~~