It's Happening, We're Listing.

On top of working at Baskin Robbins, Yard Farm Austin, and my own entrepreneurial efforts: i've been spending every waking minute preparing my house for the public: we're listing April 1st!

If you or anyone you know is looking for a great house in south Austin (78745 zip) with organic veggie and herb gardens, a certified wildlife habitat, and the option to buy our chicken coop and chickens: please contact me or Don at Austin Music Realty! I'd be happy to show you around my home and dish about the great gas stove, real bamboo floors, new drip irrigation system and the teeming ecosytem filled with toads, anoles, butterflies and birds. I'll post the listing when it's up, but for now please forgive me for some absence: i'm running around like a headless chicken trying to figure out where oh where to store a carport load of 'extra stuff' that doesn't need to be unattractively distracting potential buyers from the goods. The house will hit the market at under $130,000 and i'd love to see it go to someone who will enjoy the gardens as much as i have. Spread the word!

Wouldn't you love to come home to this every day? I enjoy it.  :)
Look for the house on the MLS market this Friday! Woo hoo!

Felt and Fun

That's pretty awesome, isn't it? Ages ago i hosted a blog swap and sent some lovely Nude Soap to Bohemian Beetnik in exchange for her beet based lip stain, and a box of random goodies from my various workshops to Marigold of Hideous!Dreadful!Stinky in exchange for this rockin' pin-chicken. It's about time my lovely friends got some props: I'm not a huge lip coloring person, but the product is pretty cool and i think i'll use it next time i feel like dressing up. The pin cushion is obviously a new 'must stay on sewing desk' feature, and gets along great with my chicken tape dispenser that i received as a christmas present from one of my best friends. Swapping is fun :)
Thank you ladies! I hope you enjoyed my stuffy stuff.

Fresh Salad with Toasted Chickpeas

I love salad season. I also love Bed Bath and Beyond who very happily exchanged my 3 year old salad spinner that had a frayed string with a brand new, shiny spinner to clean my organic garden greens! This was a delicious salad put together with minimal effort. I soaked the garbanzos (chickpeas) the night before and simply tossed them with oil and seasonings, laid them on a cookie sheet and stirred occasionally until done to my liking.

Toasted Garbanzos

• Dried garbanzos, soaked overnight
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Smoked Paprika
• Curry powder

You can season with whatever you like. Bake on a cookie sheet at 400 for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. You can bake them longer to be more crunchy, but i kind of like them cake/chestnut like.

The Salad

• Organic lettuce
• Green Onions
• Frozen peas
• Hemp seeds
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Homemade Honey Mustard Dressing

Call for Recipes!

Before March and The Real Food Challenge  come to a close, i would love to try out some recipes from other local or not so local homesteaders, cooks and food enthusiasts. I post my 'recipes' here on my blog in the form of quasi measured and formulated inspirations, ready for your elaborations. Many of you have tried some of them, much to my great joy! I would love to try your favorite, seasonal recipes in the coming weeks and I invite you to submit a seasonal recipe in the comment form below, or via a link to one of your own posts.

My kitchen is ready to cook your recipes!

The only stipulations:

• No Beef, please.
• Utilize seasonal ingredients. Here in Austin that means: greens, canned tomatoes, frozen hot peppers, salad greens, onions, immature garlic, savory herbs, citrus, beets, weeds like chickweed and cleavers, eggs
• Be creative!

The recipe could be for any meal, could be a main course, side or bread dish, and preferably serve 2 with leftovers. I can't wait to choose my favorite recipe (or two!) and cook them up for my little family. I'll post your recipe with plenty of lovely photographs and a link to your blog or website if you have one.

Please submit your entries by the end of this coming Monday the 28th, and look for your recipe featured at An Austin Homestead by the end of the last week of this, my favorite month of March. Happy cooking!

Review: Nature's Pride Hearty Wheat with Flax

As a featured publisher for FoodBuzz, i occasionally receive samples of products to try and review and received a loaf of this new variety of all natural bread from Nature's Pride just yesterday. This bread has a nice consistency, firm and solid and well suited to well-filled sandwiches, but also tasty as toast with little nutty, flaxy bits here and there. The flavor is not as nice as my go to sandwich bread, no store bought bread is ever as good as home baked of course.

This morning, I had my bread toasted with peanut butter and honey on one side and plain butter on the other: it was good with both, especially the peanut butter. My husband had his toasted as well and enjoyed it, while he doesn't think he'd like it as much untoasted. I tend to agree as the bread seems a bit dry by itself. I can see this bread making excellent BLT's with tangy homemade mayo and the wonderful uncured bacon i've been buying recently. No tomatoes in my garden yet, but i think a BLEggsalad sammy may be in my near future. Stay tuned for a yummy sammy recipe featuring Nature's Pride Hearty Wheat with Flax bread soon!

Wholesome Wednesdays: Hard Work

Hard labor is rare to find around our little urban homestead. That was not always the case, and i definitely miss it. Working with your hands, knees and back (carefully!) outside with the soil and sun is such an important part of our human relationship with the environment and too few people truly get to participate. Many people grow up thinking that food comes from the grocery store and beef is always packaged in plastic wrap. The hours it takes to cultivate, plant, harvest and prepare the produce in our markets is lost upon many existing in concrete cities and suburbs.

It took days to dig out the bermuda grass from our easement strip, and more hours and years to fill the space with tiny plants. Watching them grow into healthy, blooming shrubs makes it all worthwhile.

It brings me great joy to hear of news around the country of a re-surging in interest to 'go local' 'go green' and 'grow your own.' Backyard chickens, backyard goats, front yard veggie gardens: they're no longer just for the eccentric artist at the end of the lane (me!). They're also for young families, urban schools, even the tops of city skyscrapers. Getting dirt under your fingernails while planting carrot seeds makes those carrots even more delicious. Having a relationship with your hens makes their eggs that much more special. Spending all day Sunday building a coop or pen or raised bed makes dinner especially delicious, a bonus if you raised the food yourself.

It's not just the physical exhaustion and connection with the solid earth that is so rewarding, it's also the bond of kindred understanding that is built while working your land. The concept of ownership is really only true if you truly own your soil: respect it, work it responsibly and utilize the gifts it will provide to you. Ownership of the land is not a title or deed, it is a declaration of accountability. If you make time to work your land, work up a sweat or a chill, give your time to the cultivation of the soil and the life that inhabits it, you will be experiencing true ownership of your land. By watching the tiny tadpoles turn to fist sized toads over the course of the season, you have become more connected to your unique environment. You will be more careful when mowing because you'll want to spare any toad-lives you can, and you'll think twice before spraying a pesticide because you'll want to leave some bugs for the toads to eat. You'll also be developing strong muscles and a healthy mind.

Photo circa 2009: This is what happens when you garden at 3 pm in 90 degrees: sweat.

Hard work is not something to be afraid of or to shirk. Embrace its gifts to you and to your land. Your body will feel tired and satisfied and your mind will be invigorated as it strives to solve the problems that come up throughout the day. Hard work connects us to the land, and it connects us to ourselves. It feels good to know what your body and mind are capable of, as well as to know our own limits and respect them.

Off i go to the gym and then a 6 hour shift decorating cakes. Hard work is also necessary to get a pay check now and then (much to many of our chagrins, i'm sure) and can get in the way of the hard work i'd personally rather be doing in my garden. Tomorrow it's back to trying to piece together a motley irrigation system. But until then, back to work!

This post is part of the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop.

Johnson's Backyard Garden: Work Share

 A dark pre-dawn sky welcomed me to my "day off" last Friday as i prepared to drive just east of Austin to Johnson's Backyard Garden, a local farm that serves the Austin area with organic produce and an opportunity to work for your share of the harvest. JBG's workshare program is not unique, but it is a great choice for folks looking to get their hands dirty, learn a bit about farming, or just work for their food: every workshare volunteer comes away with a full CSA box full of organic produce definitely worth the 5 hours of labor. Here's a little bit about JBG from their own website:

About Johnson's Backyard Garden
Johnson's Backyard Garden is a certified organic vegetable farm located five miles east of Austin, TX. Year-round, JBG grows over 60 different types of vegetables, flowers, and herbs.
Johnson's Backyard Garden literally got its start in a small urban backyard. In 2004, we completely transformed our backyard in the Holly Street neighborhood in East Austin into a working garden and started selling our produce at the Austin Farmers Market.

In 2006, we began a small CSA and were able to provide weekly produce to about thirty Austin families. Our garden eventually took over the front and side yards, too, leaving our children with little room to play.

 In the summer of 2006, we purchased 20 acres just five miles east of downtown Austin on Hergotz Lane, and moved there in late September. This gave the kids much more room to play and the farm lots more room to grow.

In just three years, JBG has grown from a backyard garden to a 1,000-member community supported agriculture operation (CSA).

In the spring of 2010, with the help of our CSA members, we purchased 40 more acres and leased an additional 10 on River Road in Cedar Creek, TX. With this expansion, we are working hard to bring our high quality organic produce to more members of the Austin
community.

I arrived at their River Road location at about 8 am, ready and willing to plow into whatever chore they had in store for me. A friend of mine recently volunteered and spent her day packing those lovely CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes, but i didn't know what to expect about my volunteer chore. Pulling up behind me in a beat up and well used pickup truck was Brenton: the farmer of Johnson's Backyard Garden. He introduced himself in a soft spoken voice and showed me around some of his fields. From potatoes, to tomato and pepper seedlings, to a bee hive near Onion Creek: JBG was a diverse and lovely farm run by a friendly farmer willing to answer all of my questions. The first thing i discovered about Brent was that he was from Talent, OR - a town just a hop and a skip away from where i grew up in southern Oregon. I want to move FROM Austin to farm in Oregon, and here is a farmer from Oregon farming in Texas...... something is screwy here. We continued our chat as he drove me out to a vast field of carrots and accidental perennial rye, and i donned my Mud Gloves, ready to pluck some carrots.

There were a LOT of carrots to be plucked. Together with another workshare volunteer and two employees of JBG, i pulled, flipped and plucked large clods of dirt and grass to reveal and harvest delicious, organic carrots from the dark soil. The River Road farm may have only been with JBG for about a year, but this large field of carrots was certainly fruitful! (Or should i say rootful?) We chatted about gardening and cooking while we methodically moved from end to end of 3 long rows of carrots, pre-sorting the tough from the choice specimens and piling them in black baskets which got loaded into their uniquely painted truck. Carrots are great conversation starters with their often oddly shaped roots. I found a 'love triangle' threesome, twisted up together in a lovely display of carrot attraction. By 1 o'clock (quitting time for us volunteers) we'd almost finished our task, and i marvelled at the long row we'd completed, and the vast field yet to be harvested.

Farm work is not to be taken lightly - from soil preparation to planting to harvest, many hours of labor are required to bring deliciously fresh, organic product to the consumers of Austin. I'm thankful for every bite of carrot i pop into my mouth: lightly crisp, sweet and so much more delicious than the grocery store version. Pocket loves to munch on the ends my husband and i toss to her, and the roasted carrots i'm planning for later this week may not happen if we keep snacking on them raw. My sore back and hands, muddy toes and sun nipped arms were all a real reminder of what i'll be getting into soon with our plans for the near future, and for what it takes to make 'real food' arrive from farm to table.

As i told Brent, i'll leave the "real farming" to folks like him. I'll be happy by simply achieving greater self sufficiency and a hobby farm that is sustainable within itself, with maybe a tiny profit margin to make it that much more satisfying. To me: counting on the weather and the health of plants and animals for our actual income sounds and feels like a majorly stressful and exhausting gamble.  Working as  a part of JBG's functional and successful farming reality was a wonderful learning experience for me and an excellent reminder that we don't always have to do it all ourselves. Our future hobby farm will become whatever it is to become, but a work share style format may be something we consider when our farm gets big enough to need extra hands. "Will work for food" is not just for the desperate, it can also be for the curious, the passionate, or the lucky folks with a few extra hours to spare who are wiling to get their hands (and feet!) dirty in exchange for something wholesome like organic produce or freshly made goat cheese.

This article can be found at the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop.

Banana/Yogurt Bread

Chocolate chips make everything better, so why not throw some into this quasi-healthy bread?
Recipe adapted from Low Fat Cooking  My version has reduced fat and sugar and added chips.

• 2 cups flour: mixed wheat and unbleached white
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup butter
• 1/8 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 eggs
• 3 small bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup homemade yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla and almond extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix the flour, salt and baking soda and a medium bowl. Mix the sugar, butter, applesauce in a large bowl with an electric mixer and beat until well mixed. Add the eggs one at a time. In a seperate bowl, mash bananas and combine with extracts and yogurt. Add to the egg mixture and beat a bit more. Add the flours and chocolate chips and combine with a spatula or wooden spoon until just mixed. Pour into a loaf pan and bake at 350 for 70+ minutes, or in 3 little loaf pans for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The decreased fat and increased saucy liquids makes the cooking time a little longer, so keep an eye on them.

Great for breakfast or dessert and snacks in between.
This recipe can also be found at the Barn Hop hosted by Homestead Revival. 
You can also find this post at Simple lives Thursday!

Friday Fantasy: Goats

I think i'll start another weekly series, Friday Fantasies. With our eyes set to the next horizon, it seems fitting to mention some of the things we're dreaming about and scheming to set into motion. Goats have been on our wish list for many years now, and though our flock (herd?) will have to wait until A. land is procured B. chickens are re established and C. veggie gardens are good and going: i can still dream about the cute little fuzzy faces we're so looking forward to.

I plan on pursuing a breeding program of Kinder Goats, a cross between Nubians and Pigmies. That plan may change, but we're definitely set on the dwarf sized breeds.
Here are some links and resources i've found so far, along with some cute goat pictures for the heck of it.

Resources:

• Yellow Door Barn. Heidi's recent guest post was great, and she has tons more goaty info including new photos of her brand new kids!
• Kinder Goats. Lots of info on developing your Kinder flock.
• Living Fences. Not goat related specifically, but fascinating information on how to create living hedgerows.
• Baking Soda for Goats. The Prairie Homestead has some good tips.
• Render Lard. Baby goats mean unwanted billy kids which to me means butchering my own meat and rendering my own lard to use in cooking and soap making. This is a great tutorial from Spain in Iowa.
• Milking Schedules. A very recent post from the Prairie Homestead, this is sooo helpful.

And now it is time to blubber over the cuteness of goat kids:

One of Heidi's adorable kids

Ah, what we have to look forward to....

Sweet face

And here is a little Kinder.

I'm dreaming alright, and i can't wait for it to become a reality!   Happy Friday, y'all!

Real Food, Real Delicious

In honor of the Real Food Challenge, i thought i'd repost this, my husband and my FAVORITE of seasonal dishes: Pesto Kale! I've been making this dish the past two Winters, and have honed it to absolute perfection, though am always willing to put in whatever ingredients are freshest for a brand new and even better absolute perfection!

This particular evening's version of pesto kale was soooooo good, and was a glorious tribute to the mission statement behind the real food challenge.

Grown in my garden: Serranos (frozen from late summer), garlic, pesto (frozen from last fall, made with local pecans), onions, home canned tomatoes, and of course: the kale!

Sourced locally: Buddy's all natural chicken sausage. Minimal ingredients. Locally made. Natural and delicious.

Non local ingredients: Olive oil, the cheese in the pesto, salt and pepper.

Feels pretty great to grow it, make it, eat it, and enjoy a nutrient packed, uber fresh and easily put together meal. Fist pumps all around.

*** Update: made this favorite dish again last night with ground turkey and mushrooms. OMG. Even better. Always cook the meat first with the onions/garlic and tomatoes, then add the pesto and other veggies (mushrooms) and end by adding the kale and cook until wilted to your satisfaction. Nom nom nom.

This post can also be found at the super fantastic blog hop: Simple Lives Thursday.

Wholesome Wednesdays: Wildflowers

Watch out, Texas.... wildflower season is coming! Watch out for those wild super-corgis, too!

I like a bit of silliness now and then.
Wildflowers really are essential to our native ecosystem. They nourish bees and beneficial insects with their nectar and pollen, as well as birds and small critters when they go to seed. Many of the wild 'flowers' are also healthful herbs. Echinacea (or purple cone flower), chickweed, cleavers and more are all weedy, flowering herbs with powerful health benefits. Not to mention honey: my husband is especially partial to wildflower honey, i prefer clover honey. Honey is full of nutrients and is nature's anti-allergy tonic: the bees do the work of gathering all those pesky allergens together and processing them into a delicious elixer that will boost your immune system and help you cope with the pollen that floats through the air.

This website can get you started with identifying the useful wildflowers from the pretty, but best left alone varieties. In this day and age of bottled, packaged, pilled, and sprayed medicines we often forget that most of those medications are just man made variations on nature's  remedies. Take a few moments to ponder those 'weeds' before you pull them and toss them into the compost. They may have some wonderful and nurturing quality. Some common weeds and wildflowers with the best bang for their bloom are:

• Dandelion greens: digestive and liver tonic
• Chickweed: too many benefits to list! High in fatty acids, healing, weight loss. Can be eaten or used as a poultice
• St. Johns Wort: mood leveller and more
• Echinacea: Harvest that precious root of the purple coneflower to reap the benefits of this miraculous herb. All around immune system booster

There are too many beneficial herbs and flowers to list. Wildflowers are beautiful and delight us every Spring with their miraculous colors, they hold the dry late Winter soil down during Spring rains, they nourish wild creatures and our an essential component to our ecosystem. Wildflowers aren't all necessarily native. We can thank Lady Bird Johnson for contributing to the beautification of Texas' roadsides and the eventual spread of so many wildflowers across our state. They certainly fit nicely into our vast landscape.

What's your favorite wildflower? (I'm partial to these little coreopsis). 

Tree Free and Eco Friendly Paper Products: Truly Sustainable or Just a Marketing Ploy?

In a previous life, i 'managed' a small cafe that was part of the Austin Museum of Art. I tried to encourage our purchaser to seek out as many 'eco friendly' paper items as she could find, but we had a hard time dealing with the greater cost of those goods as compared to their nasty tree-wasting competition. I was proud to serve our coffee in recycled content cups and provide cornstarch cutlery, but the cost eventually out weighed my desire to do good and our budget was slashed (along with my salary: i got laid off).

Needless to say, i was intrigued when i was contacted by the Paradigm Group:

Paradigm Group is launching a new line of “tree free” products under its Emerald Brand today.  Tree free products use bagasse – or sugar cane pulp – as the main ingredient, making these environmentally sustainable products cheaper than their traditional counterparts, without sacrificing quality.

Businesses and consumers can tap the Emerald Brand as part of their larger strategy to improve green practices at cost neutral or less than what they pay for traditional products.  So far, we’ve had corporate clients and customers actually save money by going green – contrary to popular belief. 

I don't like to accept many of the strange and often off topic advertising please that i get via email, but i was interested enough in this company's products that i conducted a brief interview with their CEO, Ralph Bianculli.  I'm always skeptical of product that are labeled as 'green,' so i had a few questions that i hoped would provide some insight on whether this company is truly sustainable, or just marketing to a specific target audience.

I first wanted a bit of history about the company.
The company began 13 years ago as a paper products company which eventually went on to merge with Georgia Pacific. The then-founder decided he wanted to research and explore sustainable products, believing that sustainability would be the wave of the future. Georgia Pacific was not so keen on exploring new materials since they already owned billions of dollars in treed forests. So, the founder started his own company which is now known as the Paradigm Group, located on Long Island, NY. He began by using 100% recycled content and began using other content about 2 years ago that is sustainably grown and harvested. These raw materials include sugar cane bagasse (the stalk leftover after sugaring) and Eucalyptus fibers. Eucalyptus regenerate themselves much more quickly than larger trees.

I immediately wanted to learn where these raw materials come from - doesn't it defeat the 'sustainability' of the renewable resource if you're then shipping it from across the world? Apparently not!
Most of their raw materials come from the far east, some being sourced in closer-to-home Mexico or Canada, with a small portion sourced domestically. Concerned about sustainability, the company has done research to judge their habit of 'out sourcing.' It turns out that the energy used to ship their raw materials and non-domestically manufactured goods via cargo ships is actually as or more eco-efficient than it would be to ship the products from the equivalent of Houston, TX to the east coast via trucks. That's pretty impressive!

I then asked about the company's sales structure: who they market to, who they are accessible to and how my readers could purchase their products:
The Paradigm Group has 3 audiences:

1. B to B, or Business to Business: They sell their products wholesale to other businesses who then package and market them via their own brands
2. Retail via Walgreenes. You can purchase the Walgreenes "green reed" products at most of their stores. These products are also called "department five"
3. B to C, Business to Consumer. Everyone from home owners to small business purchasers can access the eco friendly paper products (from toilet tissue to paper plates and more) at www.EmeraldBrand.com. Sold in lower quantity 'smart packs' their products are accessible for very small consumers. You can buy the products online and have them delivered right to your door for prices that are competitive or even less than grocery store prices. A great option for those homesteaders living out in the sticks.

One very exciting detail that i learned from speaking with Ralph is that FINALLY prices are truly levelling out. Corn starch cutlery is now equal or lower in cost to the plastic competition. As the prices of resin raise, the price of corn starch stays level so you can choose 'green' options without subjecting your budget (and your employees' jobs) to slashing.

I asked one final question of Ralph:
I DO purchase paper towels on occasion and always choose Seventh Generation. How does his product compare?
In his words he claims their paper towels are more cost effective than 7th Generation and meet or exceed the quality.

I'd love to hear if you've ever tried one of these products, or if you plan to. Here's to more choices on the 'green living' front that really provide sustainable products, not just 'hip' marketing strategies.

My Go To Sandwich Bread

I hope i haven't already posted this bread, but since i've made it at least 5 times now, it's high time that i write down the recipe for you.

I've posted about the delicious onion/herb bread that i've made from "Mary's Bread Basket and Soup Kettle" circa the 1970s that gave me the confidence to bake bread and cut out one more aisle in the grocery store. I didn't love that the bread only went with savory fillings (when used as sandwich bread) or that it was all white and lacking any whole grains. So i moved on to page 34 and tried out this bread. It's versatile in that you can add whatever sweetener you want, and it's been consistently moist and delicious every time i've baked it. It has a nice texture and is perfect for peanut butter toast to salami sammies. I mixed in some oats this time around and am looking forward to seeing what that adds to texture wise. My husband bought me a beautiful book about the 'no knead' technique for my birthday, and i think next time 'round i may try doing a slow ferment instead of the standard hour rise for this recipe. I'm ready to experiment!

Basic Whole Wheat Bread
Taken from Mary Gubser

Ingredients:
2 packages or 4 1/2 teaspoons yeast ( i should probably do the math and convert to tablespoons, but this works for me!)
2 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 cups unbleached white flour (I use bread flour)
1/2 cup hot water
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup brown sugar, molasses, or honey (or agave nectar)
4-5 cups whole wheat flour

Make the sponge:
Sprinkle yeast over the warm water in a large bowl. By warm, i mean a little bit hot. Mix with a fork or danish dough whisk until yeast is dissolve, then add salt 3 tablespoons sugar and the white flour. Beat this with your danish dough whisk until it's smoothish. Cover with a towel and set in a warm spot until light and bubbly, about an hour. (this is where i may try the 'put it in the fridge over night' trick next time).

Meanwhile
Combine hot water, melted butter and sweetener of choice. Mix and cool until lukewarm. Once the sponge is ready (should have visable popping or puffy bubbles on top) add the sugar mixture and gradually add the flour until you have a soft, workable dough. Turn onto a floured surface (use white flour for the surface and to add while kneading) and knead about 10 minutes, or until the dough bounces right back when a finger is poked into it. Place dough into a warm greased bowl, turn to coat, and cover with plastic and a towel until doubled, about an hour. I like to rest the bowl on the top of a stock pot or canner after something has been heated - in this case some herbal hair rinse. It makes for a warm, moist environment. Once the dough has risen (a finger pressed into the dough will leave an indent this time) turn out onto the counter and knead lightly then let rest covered for about 10 minutes. Set your oven to pre heat soon!
Divide dough into two and work into loaves. Let rise in greasted loaf pans for about 30 minutes. The dough should poof up the sides of the pans. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes and turn onto racks to cool.

VOILA!
I lined the pans with oats to help release the loaves. Looks pretty too. My hubby will be happy to have fresh bread at work for his sandwiches, and i may just steal half a loaf myself for occasional decadent snackage. I like to slice then freeze these loaves A. to keep my hands off and B. to extended shelf life.

This post can be found at the Barn Hop!

Small Space Gardening

Here's a plug for my friend, Foy. She posted this really relavent and super awesome post on gardening in tiny spaces today. I think you'll want to check it out too!

Job Hunting

I recently took a job as a cake decorator at Baskin Robbins. I love my job! I've done the job before, so i'm picking it back up quickly. There's truly no better outlet for a childrens illustrator/ foodie than making delicious and beautiful ice cream cakes- other than the fact that said illustrator is also addicted to food and highly sensitive to sugar. I cry at night. hahaha.

Needless to say, with marketing my illustration career (or sad lack therof at times), decorating cakes part time, gardening, working for Yard Farm Austin part time and preparing a house for imminent sale (!) I've been a bit busy. On top of all of those things, my husband and i are on the eve of a great adventure and need to job hunt outside of this city. This is not easy. This is not enjoyable. This takes a lot of patience and time.

When i started this blog, i had a lot of time on my hands. Recently married and laid off, I focused my 'extra time' on honing my homesteading skills and writing about them for the benefit of myself and others. I love my blog. I love my readers. I love this online community of people striving to live more simple and efficient lives. I may have to limit my presence here for a while. I strive to write daily posts, but may have to cut a few days of the week out to focus on hands-on activities around this urban homestead and job hunting out of town, while working to pay the bills here. I will try to at least fill the gaps with posts of cute photos of my wonderful critters, as well as updates on our quest for an easy home sale and a fruitful move. Feel free to leave me comments with suggestions or encouragement - i'll need them!

Wholesome Wednesdays: Bee Pollen

I've recently discovered this super food and have been sprinkling a little in our yogurt every morning. According to Rosemary Gladstar, bee pollen is an energizing food that nourishes our nervous systems. It is amazing to think that every little grain of bee pollen truly contains all the goodies of flowers and bees and hours of diligent bee-work.  What really amazes me, however is that bee pollen- seemingly a little granule of honey-sweet candy, is a complete protein! Bee pollen contains all the 22 amino acids, with a super dose of the 8 most essential to our health than other protein sources. The bees themselves impart an enzymes into the pollen which changes the protein into free amino acids that are directly assimilated by the human body. Bee pollen also contains high amounts of minerals, vitamins, enzymes and other essential nutrients for our longevity and wellness including B complex. One of the 'draw backs' of eating vegetarian is the lack of complete proteins. Our bodies require all the amino acids for to function properly and maintain healthy muscles and systems. Our bodies cannot create all of the amino acids crucial for health, so it is imperative that these nutrients be consumed. Bee pollen can fill the gaps!

Image from www.bee-pollen-supplement-guide.com

Like local honey, bee pollen may help with your allergies, but sample your first kernels carefully. Those with sensitivities to allergens may notice an adverse reaction to the pollen granules, but strong allergic reactions are rare. I sampled one little granule at first: and noticed immediate allergic ticklings of throat and nose. My symptoms went away immediately and I've eased into my new regiment a kernel at a time, and now have no negative reactions. I can't necessarily vouche for feeling energized or more healthy. To be honest, i've been pretty run down with all the goings on around here lately. But i continue my 6 year streak of no colds or other 'sick,' and my allergies seem less than they have in the past.

Bee pollen is wonderful sprinkled on top of yogurt and would be great on salads too. Don't cook the pollen or you will destroy all those wonderful enzymes.

Eye Candy

Just a few shots from my Spring garden to brighten your day. They sure brighten mine!

Those salad greens are destined to be a big part of my Real Food Challenge this month. Keep reading throughout March for more info and progress on the attempts of many in our community to eat more real food.

March is Real Food Challenge Month!

We started it out here at the Homestead with a bang: Scratch Angel Food Cake for my birthday! No, we did not separate a dozen of the girls' eggs for the whites. Yes, we broke down and purchased packaged egg whites.... But it was either that or buy a box of stinkin' Duncin Hines' pre-mix. I was not about to do that! My husband and i enjoyed the adventure of baking something neither of us had ever attempted. It didn't turn out perfect, but it was definitely delicious. I seriously think i've gained 5 pounds since last week. How do some people just eat whatever they want and not turn into blimps? I go to the gym 6 days a week and just barely keep my weight in control. Grrrr..... Just another reason for us to get a larger piece of property that needs constant attention and trouncing over.

But anyway, this post is about revelling in delicious food, not obsessing about my weight. So without further ado, our Angel Food Cake Attempt. Thanks to Alton Brown for the recipe, and here's how it turned out:

I served it with some Meyer Lemon juice mixed with a little powdered sugar for my birthday, and frozen with some raspberries and more lemon juice the next night. So. Good. As you can see the top didn't poof all the way - i think i didn't whip the whites enough. Joy of Cooking warned not to over mix, and i was fine with the custardy taste of the not so poofed top. Thanks to my beautiful friend Mandy Sue for the borrowed angel food cake pan - it worked super awesomely.

This post can be found at the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop.