What do I have in my Hand?

What do I have in my hand? It is a beautiful old expression often heard around the farm. It is meant encourage us to look at what we already have in a more creative way. There is so much around us! Everywhere we look there are common items that can be brought to new uses or perhaps brought back to their original purpose. What do you have in your hand? Look around you.

So what do I have in my hand? This time of year the answer is pumpkins! Although the thick fleshed pumpkins cultivated specifically for culinary purposes are wonderful, many people don't realize that decorative, jack-o-lantern pumpkins can be used the same way.

Pumpkins are easy to work with.
Cut it in half, remove seeds, place cut side down on a sheet pan and bake at 375F until soft

Cool, scoop out the flesh, puree in a food processor, then drain for a few hours in a colander set over a large bowl.

Once the puree is sufficiently drained it is ready to use in any recipe calling for canned pumpkin or you can freeze it to use later. Now you will never have a shortage of pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake, pumpkin butter... You get the idea!

Quick and Easy Pumpkin Cake

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh pumpkin puree
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Combine all ingredients, stir well. pour onto a buttered half sheet. Bake at 350f  for 25 min. until done.
When the cake is cool sift powdered sugar over the top and serve.

Make your own Curd Draining Bag

Artisan quality curd draining bags can be expensive. Even though you can use a pillow case to drain soft cheese it is nice to have professional equipment. These curd bags are easy and inexpensive to make.

Make your own Curd Draining Bag

.36” wide Bleached Muslin (or a looser weave fabric if you prefer)
Cotton Draw String Cord
Single fold 7/8” Bias Tape


1. Cut 13 ½” of muslin. Fold is at the bottom, salvage is at the top.
2. Sew a ¼” seam on each side. Turn and press

3. Sew a 5/8” seam on each side enclosing the first seam.

4. Cut 2 12” lengths of bias tape



5. Open and press ends


6. Sew top of bias tape to the top of the bag, turn bag wrong side out


7. Fold the bias tape down and press



8. Sew the bottom edge of the bias tape



Repeat with the other side

9. Cut 26” of cord



10. Thread the cord through the bias tape



11. Turn inside out to finish



Finished size 12 1/2" X 17"

Dolly Freed: One Awesome Possum!

The summer I graduated from high school, in the shop-till-you-drop era of consumerism and Reaganomics, I read a book that saved me from the yuppie expectations and showed me how simple life could be. The timing was magical.

Though it might be difficult to present Dolly Freed as an artisan she is so inspiring that I can't help but mention her. Dolly wrote Possum Living in the rescission area of the 1970's. She was18 and had left school in the 7th grade at the age of 12.

This is a survival guide, but not for the reasons you might think. Dolly's brand of survival is of the 'Bloom Where You're Planted' sort. It posses the question, if you were to strip away all the trappings of your life who would you be? Could you survive? Could you be happy?

There is a sad, troubling thing happening between the lines. Aside from Dolly's pluck and cheer there is the underlying truth that she is living in poverty with an alcoholic father who seems at once overly permissive and possessive of his daughter. Dolly fully adopted his desire to live outside the money economy and at times, even the law. She is passionate but still very young and idealistic.

After writing Possum Living Dolly put herself through collage without a student loan and went on to become an aerospace engineer at NASA. When Dolly decided that she wanted a career closer to nature she went back to school and got a masters in environmental education with a specialization in biology. Later, when there was no funding to start an environmental education program she developed a pilot program on a shoestring budget that was an overwhelming success.

In the 2010 reprint Dolly includes an afterward that explains how she moved forward from Possum Living keeping her love of nature and simplicity while living within 'the system'.

You don't need to go the whole Possum, raising rabbits and chickens in the basement and distilling moonshine in the kitchen, to benefit from Dolly's wit and wisdom!

Once a Month Cooking Revisited

Wait! Before you navigate away with a 'been there done that' attitude hear me out. I have learned a few things about this meal plan since I first tried it out in the early 90's and I want to share it with you.

First, this cooking plan works best if you give yourself permission to continue to make dinner when it suits you. Just because you have 30 meals in the freezer doesn't mean that is all you can serve your family for a month. Next, don't make more than 2 of any recipe. If you haven't made a lasagna in years then all of the sudden you are serving it every Thursday, your family will be confused and secretly hope that you will lose the recipe again. Don't try too many new recipes. There are a ton of recipes for this kind of meal plan but don't try to use this time for a mass experiment. As a kindness, offer your family some recognizable dishes. Also remember you don't need to live this way. Once a month cooking can be a great trick to pull out of your hat for times when you know you will be busy, a new baby, the start of the school year, canning or kidding season are a few times you might be glad dinner is in the freezer.

I got home from shopping at 2:30 and by 6:00 I had prepared 26 meals for $117! This included the cost of the meat since my fall beef and chickens aren't ready for the freezer yet.

9 Chicken entrees (9 meals)

8 lbs Mexican Beef (8 meals)

5lbs Meat Balls (5 meals)

Pizza (4 meals)

26 meals

For the Mexican Beef I put 8 pounds of ground beef in the crock pot on high with chopped onion and garlic and let it cook while I put the meatballs together. Some ideas for beef recipes can be found on Menus4moms The chicken entrees were of the Dump Chicken variety, super easy. If you are using whole fryers from the freezer just put them, a few at a time, into a stock pot of cold water. Fryers are easier to cut while they are mostly frozen if you have a very sharp knife. Once the chicken was in the freezer I drained the cooked beef from the crock pot and added the tomatoes and seasonings. I didn't premake the pizza I just put the pepperoni and Canadian bacon in the freezer.

I made 7 different chicken entrees, so only 2 repeats. I can do so many different things with the Mexican beef, everything from enchiladas and empanadas to tacos and tamales not to mention super nachos and chili. The Meatballs will be for spaghetti and meatballs, baked rotini, pesto penne with Italian vegetables and meatballs, Scandinavian meatballs and sweet and sour meatballs. Pizza for Friday night Pizza night.

So there you go! Once a month cooking as easy as you please. No huge stock pots bubbling away and no casseroles. If you're pressed for time give it a try :)

Upcycled Vintage Aprons

An apron brings a certain charm to everyday work. Something happens when I tie my apron strings, my mind clears and I feel like I can accomplish everything on my endless to-do list . 

I used to barter for aprons with a friend but she has put off sewing for a while with twin toddlers and a new baby needing her attention. I was inspired to try making a few upcycled aprons from vintage linens I found at the thrift store. I whipped these half aprons up quickly and I have some pretty full aprons in the works.

I found a set of curtains with pretty vintage trim

This is what it looked like after I cut it,

and this is all that was leftover.

 

I made two aprons from the curtains, one to keep and one to sell or barter.

 I also bought a few vintage pillow cases which make very pretty aprons.

Grandma's Apron

Author Unknown

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears…
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men-folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.