An Austin Homestead

"Shake and Bake" Chicken

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

No, this is not the recipe that you are thinking of. No preservatives, boxes, pre-packaging or styrofoam was harmed in the making of this meal. And let me tell you, I have found my absolute favorite way to prepare chicken! Easy, quick, wasteless and delicious. What's better than that???

Although we can't afford to buy pastured, organic chickens from our local farmers, i have committed myself to never purchasing packaged chicken that's already been 'convenienced.' This means no buying "chicken breasts" or boneless, skinless anything. I buy Foster Farms whole chickens at the local market... I'm sure FF isn't the most humane, ( but maybe it is? ) but it is affordable and grown quasi locally, sourced from Oregon or Washington farms. By purchasing a whole chicken, i'm skipping the packaging (plastic wrap, styrofoam, etc) otherwise found in pre-butchered chicken, plus i get the whole bird, leaving me bones and giblets for making stock or feeding Pocket.

Sustainability aside, buying a whole chicken does add an element of work, but really not much. I have a nice meat cleaver that i sharpen often, so hacking the thighs and wings off is easy, as is shaving off the breasts. Pocket always gets the wings, but the breasts and thighs are saved for the humans of the family. I often roast the chicken whole, but chicken grease is just too delicious to not be eaten with gusto, and we usually eat it all in one sitting, rarely leaving the sandwich meat leftovers originally planned for. While searching for a better 'diet friendly' option for cooking chicken, i've tried curries, bakes, casseroles and anything else you could think of... but now i've found my absolute favorite, and it's the easiest to make of all!

Shake and Bake Chicken - Scratch Made

1 chicken/ 2 thighs and 2 breasts, fat and skin mostly removed (i like to leave just a bit of skin covering the large side of the thigh, and some of the breast
a ziplock or grocery bag
Flour mixture: crushed dried bread crumbs, 1/2 cup flour, salt, pepper, seasonings to taste: pick a theme and go with it: cajun, italian, mexican, etc - i used mustard, paprika and sage
2 potatoes

Mix the flour mixture in a bag and toss each chunk of chicken, one at a time until coated. Before tossing, preheat the oven and a large cast iron pan (or pyrex baking dish if you're sans-cast iron) to 425-450. Once pre heated, take out the hot pan, melt a bit of butter in it and place the tossed chicken pieces in, skin side down. Enjoy the popping sear sounds! Place a potato or two halved, face down in the same cast iron, nestled in between the chicken parts. You may also wish to toss the liver and gizzrds in the seasoned flour and add to the the pan. Bake for 20 minutes, flip chicken parts (leave the potatoes) and bake another 20.

Easy. Tastes like fried chicken. Stays juicy. Isn't greasy. = new favorite.

What's your favorite way to eat a whole chicken??

TUTORIAL: Crocheted Produce/Market Bags - Step 1

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

Crocheters: grab your hooks, string and savvy and let's make some reusable bags!

These bags are great to take to market, hold onions or potatoes in the kitchen, and even for storing yarn and other goodies in. They roll up fairly small, so you can keep on in your purse or car without taking up much space, yet they expand quite large, depending on how big you crochet the base. If you already rock at crochet, this will be easy. I've done my best to post this pattern as both an easy to read description for those folks who aren't great at reading patterns, as well as in normal pattern lingo. I wrote in the first tutorial post that we'd be using three stitches: chain stitch, slip stitch and double crochet, and i left instructions for these stitches. However, i remembered that i usually like to use triple crochet for the majority of the bag, so please do your homework and get ready to triple crochet in the next post.
So, without further ado: we commence the tutorial!

* I must first start out with a disclaimer.... i am not a master crochetist. I often make mistakes, crochet into half the stitch instead of the whole stitch, am notorious for 'winging' most 'patterns' and have never written a pattern before. That being said, this bag pattern has lots of room for error, there are many ways to skin this cat, and i think you'll have fun doing it. Hopefully you even have fun trying to decipher my instructions. Please also see the second disclaimer at the bottom of this here post. *

Abbreviations used: ch: chain, slst: slip stitch, dc: double crochet
Round 1: ch5, slst into 1st ch after slip knot to join: makes a tiny circle
Round 2: ch2, dc3 into eatch st of the foundation chain (makes 16 stitches)
Round 3: ch5, place marker in st on hook, dc into next st (meaning skip 1 stitch and crochet into the next stitch), *ch3, dc in next st, repeat from * 6 times, stopping at marker
be sure you're crocheting under the two loops of the stitch, not just one. If you crochet 'incorrectly' you'll get a ridge between your two rows. Check out this diagram )
Round 4: ch3, dc around the chain (instead of into it), move marker to this chain, chi5, *dc into next dc "post", ch5, repeat from * 7 times, stopping at the marker
Round 5: dc into the stitch with the marker, ch3, move marker to this chain, ch3, * dc into next "post", ch3, repeat from * to the marker
Round 6: add to more ch to make a chain of 5, dc around chain, move marker to this stitch, ch5, skip the next "post" and dc into the chain

Sound like jibberish? Here's an 'english' version, with pictures!

Remember that if you don't have cute little markers, you can use a loop of different colored yarn or string, a twist tie, or even a paper clip.

At this point, i like to use triple crochet for the next round and the rest of the bag. SO please do your homework and learn the triple crochet stitch. Hint, it's just like double crochet, but you yarn over TWO times before crocheting into the stitch, and pull through three times instead of two times: thus triple crochet. We'll stop here for now and continue on Friday with the base of this market bag, continuing to get you on your way to completing your very own market bag! You get to decide how big you're bag will be based on how wide you get the base circle and how long you continue crocheting up the sides of the bag.

As always, i welcome emails and questions, and want to see your progress! So, be sure to join the Flickr group and post images of YOUR creations!

A few resources to help you out if you have questions:
learntocrochet.lionbrand.com/www.anniesattic.com/crochet/
Ravelry.com
www.crochetspot.com/category/tutorials-and-help/

*Our market bag pattern, and all tutorials found on this site are presented for your personal use only. Tutorials and/or objects made from my tutorials may not be sold commercially (that includes Etsy or Ravelry!). If you want to sell something based on one of my tutorials, please email me at gonudesoap at gmail dot com and we'll try to work out a fair deal. Please play nicely!

Market Bag Tutorial: Gather Your Supplies!

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

It's almost time to get your crochet on, people! A few of you have already clamoured for details, but for those of you who waited, this is what you'll need:

1 spool of basic cotton string. You could use any sturdy yarn, but you don't want anything bulky, fuzzy, or woolen. Hemp would probably work, but it's a bit stiff. This basic string from the hardware store will do just fine
Medium sized crochet hook. You can use the lightweight plastic ones if that's all you have, but i recommend a metal or bamboo hook as i've been known to snap a hook during heavier projects.
That's it! Though a crochet marker or extra piece of thread tied in a half inch loop would be helpful.

Now for the skills needed. I meant it when i said only basic crochet skills are needed. We're going to be using three stitches: chain stitch, slip stitch and double crochet. That's it. You can find instructions for these stitches in ANY crochet book, online, from a friend and from these ridiculous videos i filmed yesterday. Which means you will now hear my actual voice, not just the type written one. Let's see how many of you make fun of my lisp!

I'm sure you could also find many more and better tutorials on YouTube. If you're a total beginner, check out that site for lots more how to videos. I should have filmed over my shoulder so that you're not looking at the stitches backwards... but here are some photos to help out as well:

So now you know what you need to get ready for our crochet along on Monday. Head to your local yarn, fabric or hardware store, your basement or your private stash and let's get crackin! For fun, i've created a flickr group for showing off our progress. I hope you'll join the group and share with us! You don't have to join to see what others are doing, but it would be even more fun if we could see your projects too! You can also post any recipes or other projects inspired by this blog, up to 10 images a day! Yay!

What to expect on Monday: bring your thread, hooks and savvy and get ready for a free pattern* with some variations and room for personalization. We'll start with developing the base of the bag, using chain stitches and double crochet, crocheting in the round. Having a stitch marker on hand will help you to count your stitches.

*Our market bag pattern, and all tutorials found on this site are presented for your personal use only. Tutorials and/or objects made from my tutorials may not be sold commercially (that includes Etsy or Ravelry!). If you want to sell something based on one of my tutorials, please email me at gonudesoap at gmail dot com and we'll try to work out a fair deal. Please play nicely!

Excited? I sure am! See you next week!

Choosing a Raw Diet

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

Since choosing to feed our corgi, Pocket a raw diet... we've had lots of factors to consider. Where to get our supply of meat? What type of meat to feed? How often? How much? What "philosophy" will we follow: B.A.R.F., raw meaty bones, whatever is on hand with no rhyme or reason, should we stop feeding kibble altogether or feed some occasionally? Will we consult a nutritionist, or just follow our common sense? We've come to a few decisions, and we're still working it out with the help of Pocket. So far, so good!

Supply of meat: local. We're open to roadkill and hunting if the opportunities present ourselves, but we've found an excellent source of goat/pork/ and lamb meat just north of town: Winns Livestock and Hatchery. Initially, we found a great source of 'meat' from a butcher about 40 minutes up the road, and still have a few butchers to call up for alternative sources... but the first butcher sold dog food in the form of ground beef (muscle and organ meat). And we've sense decided that what she needs is meat and bone. (Pocket is seen here consuming ALL of a goat neck, from the flesh to two vertebra).

Philosphy: The ground meat, along with chopped veggies and other raw human-grade meat was a great start, but we've since decided that going with the 'raw meaty bones' philosophy makes the most sense to us. I purchased the book "Work Wonders: Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones" by Tom Lonsdale and read it cover to cover. His website, rawmeatybones.com (which i haven't visited yet) has more resources and forums, and i feel that feeding meaty bones that require Pocket to pull, chew, "floss" and gnaw makes more healthful sense than feeding already ground up meat. I still feed her chopped veggies, in season and supply her with chunks of meat, but the majority of her diet is now fed from raw meaty bones. And when we're talking meaty, we're not talking a bone with some meat on it, we're talking about a leg of critter, covered in all the good stuff and consumed down to the last swallowed bone chunk. Eating is a workout, strengthening her jaws and shoulders and cleaning her teeth all at once.

So now we have both source and philosophy down, it's time for implementation. Along with meaty goat and lamb bones (and potential pig/sheep/goat heads and other weird body parts) purchase specifically for Pocket from the local farm and butcher shops, she'll also enjoy bones from human grade food, that would otherwise be wasted or saved for stock making. I only buy whole chickens when i want chicken meat, so i have plenty of chicken carcasses coming through the kitchen. When i have plenty of homemade chicken stock on hand, i'll save the chicken frames and backs for Pocket's meals. If i need to save a few for stock making, she'll have to eat something else. If we happen to buy some bone-in red meat, i may cut off the meat for us and save her the meaty bones. "Reduced for quick sale" meat is a great option for us and her, and one can usually find gizzards and other cuts in the grocery store. Utilizing 'spare parts' or less popular/old cuts of meat, and sharing the edible portions from the meat we do purchase becomes cost effective, resourceful, and healthful for the whole family to utilize as many parts from the animals/meat we choose to eat.

Now that we've decided what philosophy and source we'll be feeding by, the proof is in the pudding: Pocket's coat is shiny and soft, her teeth are getting cleaner and her itchy ear scabs have cleared up. Are you interested in the pros and cons of a raw diet for dogs? I'd be happy to post more about my research and experience, and i'd love to hear from you if you feed your dogs/cats raw meaty bones.

Shall we continue this conversation?

Beazell Forest

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Just up hwy 223 (from the junction of hwy 20, just west of Philomath) is Beazell Memorial Forest. Hidden under the trees are mushrooms, ferns, streams and several miles of lovely hiking paths.

Signs of the recent floods were obvious, and water still ran down many of the steeper paths. We very much enjoyed our trip into the fog and ferns, and Pocket is still sleeping off her eager romp. With a hill steep enough to warm my core and work up a sweat, you can be sure we'll be back again soon.

Do you have a favorite trailhead near enough your house for frequent day trips?

Black Bean and Goat Chilly

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

While everyone else in the country (it seemed) was watching a football game, we the televisionless couple cooked some chilly in honor of the sport. We paid a visit to a local farm last week to pick up some meaty bones for Pocket, and some goat meat for us. Winn's Livestock and Hatchery just north of Corvallis has affordable meat raised by a 4th generation farmer and his very friendly wife. April chatted back and forth with me via email to decide what was best for us to purchase, and we ended up with a freezer full of bones for Pock, a pound of ground goat meat for us plus a shoulder steak that i'll cut up into stew meat in the next week or two. *More about the nutritional facts on goat meat coming soon.

To preface, i am no master of chilly. Sometimes my chilly is soupy, sometimes thick. Sometimes it just tastes like bean soup, other times i master true 'chilly' flavor. This batch was kind of more bean and meat soup, but it was freakin' delicious bean and meat soup. Topped with a little shredded cheese, in season (and cheap!) avocados and a dollup of homemade yogurt: protein, a little fat, probiotic, balanced deliciousness!

I started by soaking some black beans in a stock pot over night. The next afternoon i poured off the water, covered the soaked beans with water and brought to a boil. Meanwhile i browned the pound of goat meat with a few chunks of bacon, seasonings (taco seasoning from a Seattle market), chopped jalapenos and a diced onion. Once the meat was cooked, i poured it with the fat into the beans along with some chopped carrot, another diced onion, some more jalapenos, a few pinches epazote and a generous pinch of cumin. I turned the mixture down to a simmer and covered it with a lid. The stew/chilly/soup hung out for about 3 hours until i added some frozen roasted tomatoes (with garlic) and a little salt and homemade raw apple cider vinegar. Never add tomatoes/vinegar/salt to beans too early on: you'll get beans that never soften! After adding the final ingredients, i simmered for another few hours until we were ready to eat. This definitely did NOT taste like watery beans! All the flavors emalgumated very nicely and formed a lovely, thick texture.

Fist pumps all around!

Are you picky about your chilly, or can you 'go with the flow'?

Are You Ready for Some Crochet!?

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Football season is gearing up and winding down at the same time, so it's time for 'us girls' (total gender stereotype there, sorry) to get something to do with our hands during the big games, other than stuffing our faces with nachos. I mentioned it before and got resounding support to host a crochet tutorial, so it's time to get your hooks out, crochet-savvy ladies and gents! Let's make some market bags! They're great for picking up produce in the store or farmer's market (be sure and weigh your bags at home so that you can subtract the cost of the bag when weighing your produce), for carrying your purchases, or even for storing onions or potatoes, etc in the kitchen. For the purposes of this tutorial, we'll be calling our project "market bags."

I will post this tut in a few posts, first with materials needed, then with the first step for the bottom of the bag with several variations, and then the completion of the bag.

Here's what we'll be making:

Excited? Tantalized? Eager to learn this basic but sometimes hard to find (esp for free!) pattern? You should be. It's great fun, totally customizable and only requires basic crochet skills. Gather your friends (tweet this post, share on facebook, email to your bestie) and get ready for some crochet! Step one coming THIS FRIDAY, WOOT!. You'll have the weekend to gather your supplies before we start the meat and potatoes of the project on Monday and finish the next Friday.... just in time to hone your skills before Superbowl Sunday.

I hope you'll play along, too!

Floods in Philomath

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Philomath, and local surrounding areas, are facing some tough times. For once, i'm happy to be living in this apartment, on the north and HIGH side of main street. The Mary's River crested this afternoon at record heights, and she took some homes, cars, streets and farms with her. I hope to take some better shots today, but yesterday was a work day and i was only able to snap a few pics on my lunch break.

That last shot is of the parking lot of my workplace.... my low slung hatchback was not at all pleased that i decided to go ahead and drive through that mess. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this flood. From the homeowners with a serious mess on their hands, to Gathering Together Farm with all their farmland covered in water, local residents will have a serious cleanup to face when the waters recede. I just hope the Mary's leaves some topsoil behind.

Local highways and roads to and along the coast are also facing erosion and mudslides. If you must travel, be sure and check with the roads services to see where closures and delays may impede your progress. Back in Texas, we had a saying that reminded folks not to try and drive over low water crossings when in flood. Same goes with Oregon: don't play the fool and try and drive down a street covered in flooding waters. We've already had some casualties from cars swept away into streams and rivers. Learn by their unfortunately example and stick to the high and dry road, even if the bypass delays you on your way somewhere. Better safe than sorry!

On the flip side, Eastern Oregon didn't get as much snow as they hoped and are still facing some scary drought conditions for the upcoming season. I wish we could send some of this surplus to them, but isn't that always the way?

Have you ever been victim to mother nature?

Warm Soup for a Cold Day

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

After playing in all that snow, we needed some soup to cup our hands around and to warm our bellies. The snow prevented much of a shopping trip, however so i stuck with what i had on hand. Leeks, being my hubs' favorite of late have been featuring heavy in my recent soups, and 1 leeks goes a long way to creating a delicious soup.The husband says i'm good at making soup. I love that, since i was afraid of soup making for a long time, assuming that some great skill, knack or formula was needed to make a great soup. I was totally wrong. Soup is easy! Everyone should make soup, and no one should buy soup from a can or box. Skip the bpa lined cans, skip the packaging and skip the preservatives and sodium. Just throw together some veggies (you don't even have to chop 'em much), maybe some (preferably homemade) chicken stock and then finish it off with an immersion blender and you've got soup fit for a king and queen! If you don't have an immersion blender GET ONE, they're awesome... or just chop the ingredients finely for a somewhat uniform consistency at the end.

Served with a side of locally baked crusty bread (and a totally non-local BUT in season avocado!) you've got a well balanced meal. Remember the Dark Days Challenge? The soup challenge is ON this week and i'm proud of this contribution, even if it doesn't meet quite all the parameters of SOLE food. To prove that making soup is NOT a challenge, even if sourcing all your ingredients locally can be, here's the recipe:

1/2 quart condensed chicken stock *homemade*
1/2 quart water
1/2 a cauliflower *not local (california), in season*
1 turnip *local and in season*
1 leek *local and in season*
some garlic cloves *homegrown*
fresh rosemary *homegrown by my mama #2 1 hour away*
1 potato *Oregon*

To cook is too easy: put all the ingredients in a pot, cover it, bring it to a boil and reduce to a simmer until you feel like eating, at least 20 minutes after it boils. Hit with your immersion blender and top with some seasoning for a filling and vitamin packed feast. Makes enough for 4, but 2 of you will end up eating it all if given the chance.

Have you ever become master of a dish or technique you were once afraid of?

This post can be found at Simple Lives Thursdays: a great blog hop of recipes and sustainable living tips

Snow Day!

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Wowee, we got some SNOW up here in Philomath, OR! Inches and inches and it just kept falling out of the sky. I luckily didn't have to work yesterday, though my hubs had to drive to Eugene and back on the treacherous roads. As for Pocket, she mostly just played around.

The drought is still threatening the other side of our lovely state... so cross your fingers for some 'better late than never' snow pack in the mountains.

Handmade Holidays #6: REVEALED!

2012-01-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

We've finally done it, we've made it to the final handmade holiday teaser/reveal post. And this one was actually guessed correctly! The photo i used in the teaser post was actually from another gift, but i made two of the same thing... so this was the teaser... what did you think it was??

This photo depicts my 'first attempt' at a braided rug! I was hoping that it would turn out large enough to be a Kitchen Rug for my folks' new kitchen addition. But it turned out pretty small and has become a perfect sit upon pad for my Dad and Mommy #2's hearth... and the second attempt was the grand project of the season for me, and wasn't completed until halfway through Christmas Eve.

First you braid roving, then you felt it, then you sew it together.... each step takes FOREVER and provokes TENDONITIS!

I really didn't get to play much at my folks' house this Christmas because i spent the entire visit sewing, sewing, sewing and SEWING! I think i developed arthritis in my thumb. Which sucks. But the rug is amazing. It actually turned out kind of wonky, because i didn't really learn how to do it RIGHT with the RIGHT materials until i was 3/4s done. But it was for my mom, and moms have to love what you make them regardless of perfection. She dampened the wonky parts and it seems to have dried out just great. I'm very proud of it, at least.

Pretty spiffy, ay? You can almost see in the top image that the center was super lumpy... i got the first brown stripe too tight and it messed up the center. After getting it wet and drying it, however - it seems to have flattened out. Yay! I can't wait to make more of these rugs with the fiber of our own sheep. I bartered some Nude Soap bars for half the cost of the roving i used this time, which was from 4 lovely Icelandic sheep from Michigan.

Have you ever made a braided rug? Did you finish it, or give up along with your wrist/thumb tendons?

My New Favorite Kitchen Gadget

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

One of my smallest Christmas presents this year is quickly becoming one of my favorites. (Thanks Sister!) If you had paid a visit to my kitchen recently, or joined me in my Thanksgiving prep or been within ear shot of me while cooking anywhere recently, you would have heard some cursing.
Kind of a lot of cursing, actually. What was the cause of this audible frustration? Garlic skin.

That's right, garlic skin has been my nemesis of late. Fresh garlic, especially is hard to peel. That thin skin sticks to the garlic, then to my fingers, then to the cutting board. It makes me want to SCREAM. I doubt my sister knew how pertinent this little gadget is to my kitchen activities, but it is totally my favorite toy (other than my new camera, of course!) It's a garlic peeler!

This unassuming little tube is made of some kind of stickyish plasticish substance that sticks to the garlic skin and magically separates it from the clove. It is truly magical. All i have to do is break off the cloves, stick the into the tube one at a time and roll with some downward pressure. And voila! Separation!

No more cursing. No more time consumption. No more peels of garlic stuck everywhere but where i want them. Just more garlic peeled faster and easier than ever! So awesome!

I dunno where she got it (maybe she'll leave us a comment, ay?) but every one of you should go out RIGHT NOW and buy one!

What is YOUR favorite kitchen gadget? Is it a big ticket item like a Kitchenaid, or is it something small like this?

Valentine's Day Giveaway!

2012-01-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

Love Valentine's Day? Love natural soap? Love lavender or sandalwood? If you said yes to any of these, entering this giveaway is totally worth your while! AND it's super easy!

Nude Soap has come up with some lightly pink, and romantic smelling soap for Valentine's Day, but we're having a hard time coming up with the perfect name. That's where YOU come in! Help us pick a name for our newest soap by submitting a comment at Nude Soap's Facebook page or blog and you could win! Complete details and comment form can be found here. The contest is going all the way until February 5th, so you have lots of time to stir up that perfect name from your brain pockets. Share with your friends: the more ideas the better!

Handmade Holidays #5: REVEALED!

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Handmade Holidays #5 was another fuzzy project... could you guess what i knit for my step-mama?

Using handspun "bunny fur" (a blend of angora rabbit and a few other super soft sheep) i knitted her a scarf. The scarf i wear is a lovely cashmere woven scarf, gifted from mama #2, so i felt it fitting to make a scarf for her to enjoy. My dad tried to steal it, so perhaps next year he'll get one of his own. Pocket also had a good time modelling for me, though i dare say it's a bit big on her.

I'm currently working on a scarf for my hubs using a similar pattern. This scarf is a simple knit2 purl2, and the scarf i'm working on now is a stretchier and more 'manly' looking knit3 purl3.

Are you working on any post-holiday knitting projects?

Christmas Cute

2012-01-10T09:56:00.000-08:00

Just a 'quicky' this morning with some cuteness for you to enjoy from Pocket and Blinca, Christmas sisters.

Handmade Holidays #4: REVEALED!

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

This gift was a labor of love, an amazing learning experience, and repayment in kind for a handmade gift i received several years ago. Did you have any ideas what this fuzzy photo might be?

If you guessed some handspun yarn, you're right! What really makes this yarn special, however is the fiber it was spun from. I spun this "meriboo" yarn for my mother in law back in Texas. Meriboo is a blend of merino (super soft sheepswool) and bamboo fiber. It is lusciously soft, and very slippery. I had a devil of a time at first, but increased my skill as a spinner by about 300% as i learned to deal with and embrace the nature of this luxury fiber.

I spun 3 separate skeins: one green, one gray, and one striped. I meant for them to all be the same weight to be used interchangably in one project, but as i spun along, i was able to spin more and more finely... and ended up with three skeins of finer and finer weight. I hope my MIL is able to find a project or a few that will utilize this yarn.... but if she's anything like me, this yarn may end up in a stash somewhere to be pulled out and petted on occasion. I do hope you'll knit something with it though, Deb :)

I'm currently spinning some straight merino fiber, and it is turning out fairly uniform, very fine, and super soft. I'm excited to finely be spinning yarn destined to be a hat for ME, but it brought me so much joy to spin this yarn for my mommy number 3, who ones gifted me a hand-knit shawl of light green bamboo yarn.

Don't you love it when gifts come full circle?

Challenge!

2012-01-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

Don't miss the Dark Days Challenge re-cap for us West coasters this weekend over at Not Dabbling in Normal. My choice of 'favorite dish i'd like to be invited over to try' was Nico's Mustard Braised Turnips with Soft Red Wheat and Pinto Beans. Doesn't it look delicious? Read all about it over at her blog.

We've scheduled some 'challenges' for the dark days challenge for the next few months. First up is a soup challenge, and i've got just the chicken carcass for the job hanging out in my freezer. Will you join us?

Handmade Holidays #3: REVEALED!

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

This fuzzy creation was for my sister who lives in Bend, loves to snowboard and hike and loves functional yet fashionable clothes. I used some of my very first handspun and some buttons out of my grandmother's sewing box. Did you guess what it is?

It's a headband! Warm, yet stylish this was one of the very first things i made with my handspun, before i learned how to knit. I wanted some fun pattern, but didn't know how to expand even on my crochet skills to make textured patterns... so i used simple chain stitches to make a sort of mesh that looks neat when stretched on a noggin.

Unfortunately, the photos of my sis wearing her new garment were lost along with my camera ( my hubs has them on his 'puter, but we're still working on moving them from one place to the other ) so all i have is this photo of my noggin, slightly out of focus.

The fiber is an alpaca blend from Bellwether Wool Company and is quite softy soft. The button holes should be adjustable if it stretches too large to fit her head, as well.

Have you ever struggled with the limitations of your skill in a certain craft? Did you come up with something fun within those limitations?

Snuggles for a Bestie

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

I've been having fun revealing the full sized images of all my macro handmade holiday teaser posts.... and i will continue to post more. BUT i must also post some photos that one of my best besties sent me of her modelling her brand new hat. Isn't she just the cutest thing?

The hat turned out pretty good, too ay? This was my very first 'good' hat. Along with another sweet hat sent to another friend (whom i'm waiting to see a picture of! HINT, MANDY: HINT), this hat is 'almost perfect' with some funny little oddities as the result of not following a real pattern. My friend lives in New York, so the hat must be warm and fashionable. She declares it will be worn, and that it matches her Winter garb nicely. Yay!

I may not be able to warm my best friends with my hugs, as they live ages away from me... but i can warm their lovely heads with my handspun/ hand knit hats.

Handmade Holidays #2: REVEALED!

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

I sure got a lot of great guesses for the teaser photo of bubbly rings in dark purple found in my handmade holidays #2 post... did you guess it right?

Carol guessed blackberry "jelly" but it's actually blackberry/cayenne JAM! I used a bit less than full sugar, as i couldn't find my Pomona Pectin, so it's purty sweet and very delicious. I sent a few jars to various family members, who all scarfed it down with relish! I think my daddy #2 ate half the jar on Christmas morning.

The rings are formed from my canning funnel in between filling jars. I thought it looked pretty enough for a picture, so i took a few! The jam was made with blackberries from down the road and dried cayennes from my Austin garden. I honestly can't really taste the cayenne, but there might be a bit of perceptible smokiness ...

Did you gift any preserves this year?

Technical Difficulties

2012-01-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

The homestead is experiencing some technical difficulties. I got a little rambunctious Saturday night, and a little unobservant: left my camera at a pizza joint. Both painful to my wallet, sad, sick inducing and just plain unfortunate.... the loss of my camera puts this blog in a bit of a stall. I do have some sweet photos to fill in the gaps, so i'll be back tomorrow with some more handmade holiday reveals. The market bag tut will have to wait until i get my sparkley NEW CAMERA in the mail! I went digital SLR, folks! I'm so excited to tantalize you all with even nicer photos. Might need to dig up my tripod, as well.

Hugs to you all in this new year. May it be prosperous and joyful for us all... and may we not lose our most prized possessions while enjoying ourselves with some of our oldest friends in celebration. Grrr.

- Miranda R.

I'm Not Dabbling

2011-12-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

Please head over to Not Dabbling in Normal for this morning's post, and get ready for more handmade holiday projects revealed next week here at An Austin Homestead.

Ponder also this: I'll be changing both the url and the name of my blog in the next few months to reflect my new Oregon based persuasion. The blog's mission will be the same: to post tips and recipes on how to live and cook sustainably, healthfully, and joyfully, and will also (eventually) include more homesteading tips, livestock raising tips and troubleshooting (as we learn ourselves) and follow our transition for suburbanites to rural hobby farmers. I'd like to name the blog after our farm, but it's looking like the farm purchase may be delayed some. Any ideas for a great name???

Handmade Holidays #1: REVEALED!

2011-12-29T08:52:00.000-08:00

Yay! Christmas is over! That means it's time for me to cry every five minutes, ponder over whether i should spend my Christmas checks on bills or new stuff, and finally reveal those handmade gifts i put together this season! I suffer from 'Christmas Let Down" something fierce, so i'm looking forward to extending the season a bit with these reveals.

As you may remember, this was my first handmade holiday teaser, way back in October:

Did you guess what it was? I didn't receive any correct answers in the comments, but i did get a request for a 'sew along'. If anyone is still interested, i'd be happy to write up a tutorial on how to crochet your own MARKET BAGS!

They're also great for storing onions or garlic in the kitchen, are dyeable (100% cotton) and have a pretty massive capacity. I'm kicking myself that i didn't weigh them and put a tag inside with their tare weight, so that my gift recipients won' t be paying extra for the weight of the bag. Next time!

Shall we have a sew along/ Shall i write a tutorial?

This post can be found at the Simple Lives Thursdays blog hop

Christmas Dinner Contribution

2011-12-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

Well, don't i have egg on my face? I thought for sure that i had posted my favorite side dish recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner in the past, but i was wrong. No old post to re-post for me! This is the basic jist, however:

Patti's Sweet Potatoes (or squash)

This dish is best prepared the day ahead.

1 squash or sweet pie pumpkin OR
6 or so yams/ sweet potatoes
Half gallon of apple cider
Whole cloves/ cinnamon/ salt/ pepper/ paprika/ cayenne
Splash cream sherry
Olive oil or butter

Cut squash or yams into evenish sized cubes. Toss in melted butter or olive oil with savory seasonings. Roast at 400 until cooked through, at least 30 minutes- stirring occasionally. In the meantime, pour cider into a medium sized pot with the cloves and Cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and continue to cook down until it has reduced to at least 1/3 of its original volume.
Once squash/yams are cooked to your liking, place into an appropriately sized baking dish and cover with the cider. Toss a few times, cover and put in the bottom of the fridge (or the really cold garage).
To serve:
Toss potatoes/squash a few times to work the cider juice around all the veg and add a drizzle of cream sherry. Place in the oven at 350 to reheat. Serve hot!

This dish is my stand by side dish to bring to any large meal. You can top it with some spiced pecans if you want to get fancier, but this is very tasty just by itself. I love this dish because you can cook it ahead of time and slowly reheat it in between other dishes being baked. Much better than canned sweet potatoes with marshmallows, don't you think??

What's your favorite side dish to bring to a family meal?

Last Minute Shopping? Shop Sustainably: a Guest Post

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Benefits of Shopping Locally/Sustainably

- Adam Jacob from Frugal Dad has provided this post. FrugalDad.com is a personal finance and frugal living website.

We all love the convenience and simplicity that technology affords us. With just a few clicks on your computer, you can purchase virtually anything: food, a car, a spare part to fix your broken appliance. But do you ever stop to think about the miles that your purchase(s) travels to reach you? You’re not alone. Many people don’t realize how unsustainable some of their shopping habits can be.

What is shopping locally/sustainably?
Environmentalists urge people to shop and eat locally, but many people do not understand how buying from local food growers relates to the environment. To understand this, consider the food on your plate and the processes it has gone through to reach you. Depending on what type of food it is, it probably went through a minimum of four of these processes: how it was grown, harvested, processed, packaged, shipped to the retail outlet, prepared for consumption at your home, and finally where the waste goes. Each of those processes has an effect on the environment. They directly affect the earth’s natural ecosystem, positively or negatively. A process that is most sustainable is one that has the least negative effect on ecosystem. Locally made goods skip or minimize some of the processes, reducing the environmental impact.

So how do YOU benefit when buying locally?
1. When a local farmer sells directly to you, he’s not likely to attach much importance to packaging, transporting, or the shelf life of his food items. Instead, he will choose to grow and harvest food crops in a way that guarantees the utmost quality of freshness, taste and nutritional value. Local famers tend to grow seasonally too, something closer to what Mother Nature allows. So, in addition to eating better tasting, more nutritious food, you’ll also eat seasonally when you buy locally.
2. It takes less energy to process food grown and sold locally, so by buying locally, you help reduce the carbon footprint because less energy used means less emissions into the atmosphere. Imagine the amount of energy it requires to grow, process, and transport food for a family of five every year, and we’re talking about fossil based fuel sources.
Fossils are a non-renewable source, which means they degrade the earth during the drilling and production process. Fossil fuels are used to power machinery used when applying agricultural chemicals, such as pesticides and fertilizers, on the farms. Worse, these fuels are again used to ship the food across the country, or the world, and even in refrigerated storage trucks during the journey. If the food is going to be processed, that takes up even more energy, not to mention the unhealthy additives used to preserve it. Locally grown fresh foods skip many of these processes, hence more energy saved.
3. Most local farmers grow organic foods - foods grown strictly through natural farming methods. This means that by buying local foods, you contribute towards minimizing the use of potentially harmful chemicals, such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, most of which are petroleum based. Chemical residue on the plants eventually ends up polluting the soil, water bodies, the atmosphere, and some may even end up inside your body through consumed food. Chemical residues are believed to increase the incidence of certain health ailments, especially tumors, and resistance to antibiotic treatments. On the other hand, natural farming methods work in line with natural ecosystems to preserve fertility of soil while drawing ‘friendly’ insects and pollinators to avoid the use of hazardous chemicals. This is a more sustainable method of farming as it replenishes soil through natural means. When you buy from a local farmer, you’re indirectly contributing to this process.

Final Thoughts
Do you ever think about the impact of your consumption of meat and dairy on climate change? Simply altering the way you enjoy animal products can have a huge effect on climate. Meat and dairy production contributes to a great deal of the global green house emissions. Animals bred on corn and soybeans in confined farms emit higher amounts of methane gas, which greatly contributes to global warming. This means that reducing your consumption of meat from these animals has a positive impact on the environment - less demand, fewer animals reared - saving your health too in the long run.
If you’ve made it to the end of this article, you’ve taken the first step! Take the next step by buying a few products from your local farmers market or that haven’t traveled as far. Even the smallest of efforts makes all the difference.

See Frugal Dad for personal finance tips.

Christmas Cousins

2011-12-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

The holidays are upon us and i find myself back at my childhood home, surrounded by family, a lovely local Christmas tree, plentiful food and plentiful critters. My mom's fur family consists of two geldings, 1 golden retriever and a handful of barn cats. We brought Pocket along with us to play with her cousins, but left behind her sister and my oldest pet: Holly the Christmas turtle.

I got Holly (who came with her name already in place, but seasonally appropriate) for Christmas the year before i went to college. (For those of you counting or guessing: i've had Holly for 12 years, eep!) She's travelled with me to my dorm room, to several apartments, to warm and sunny (and then cold and air conditioned) Texas and now up to Philomath. She loves the damp and temperate Willamette valley best, but she spent many years living down here in the dry of southern Oregon with her biggest fan, my daddy #2 while i was away at graduate school.

Holly loves Christmas! Something about the glittering lights and their warmth, mountains of presents to scale and ribbons to wear always gets her to show up out of the woodwork. This year, she's safely back at home, sitting on her heating pad under the couch. She might be missed by her unlikely sister, but honestly: probably not.

Pocket was raised with this odd pet ruling our roost, and has always been a careful housemate, occasionally helping us find her when she's lost. Which is is often. A 6 inch turtle who roams freely in your house is often hidden, often in a discarded garment on the floor.

Holly knows what good is, and a warm corgi by the space heater is definitely good.

Happy holidays to you and all your kin: furry, scaley or even covered in human skin!

- Miranda, Pocket, Holly and the Husband

Pork Chops

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

I gotta admit, i used to hate pork chops. They were my dad's favorite meal when i was a kid, but i just couldn't get into the way my mom cooked them. With raisins. I just wasn't into it. (sorry mom)

So, when i stopped into a local meat market, i was surprised to find myself leaving with a package of pork chops. I only recently started including a decent amount of meat in our diet, and am still not super familiar with how to purchase meat or how to cook it. Rack of lamb? Ribs? Roast? Eh? Pork chops were familiar, so i grabbed them. I'm glad i did.

I still didn't really know what to do with the chops, though. I sure as heck didn't want to use raisins, but you need to eat something with pectin in it when eating pork to help our human bods digest the stuff. Remember that applesauce i put up earlier this Summer? I finally cracked a jar open, and it wasn't as bad as i worried it would be (i burned it when i cooked it down). I added some chopped jalapeno to the sauce and warmed it up for a perfect slightly spicy/slightly sweet side to our meal. And then i left it in the microwave until we were 90% done with dinner. Sigh.

I think i did pretty well: from confused in the meat market to cooking a well balanced meal of pork chops, mushroom gravy, little baked potatoes and a side of broccoli (and applesauce). I winged the chops, and they turned out great. First i sauteed the chops with some onions and nitrate free bacon, then i added some mushrooms and herbs and topped it all with some homemade chicken stock. No worries about dried out chops OR undercooked pork. I can't wait until we're growing our own hogs and i can spend even more time humming, hawing and experimenting with the meat we package up.

Have you ever found yourself feeling like a fish out of water at the grocery store or market? Did you try something new, or stick with the one thing you recognized?

Dark Days Challenge Week 4

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

One helpful tip for folks looking to eat locally, seasonally, and healthfully in the Winter: learn to love squash. Squash is one of the latest crops to be harvested in the fall, and generally has long storage times. Some varieties can store all the way until spring if you keep them dry.

For my Dark Days meal this week, i made some scrumptious squash soup. Warm, healthy, tasty and locally sourced: this soup is as easy as it is delicious.

This was a very basic soup: one squash and one leek coarsely chopped and boiled in enough water to cover them. I threw in some herbs and spices and finished the soup by blending with my immersion blender and adding just a touch of yogurt and milk. Served with a side of crusty bread baked just 6 miles away and you've got yourself one satisfying meal! (Especially when you slather the bread with homemade garlic butter, nom nom nom).

Dog Food Supplement: Seasoning Salt for Pocket!

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Since making the switch from kibble to a raw diet, Pocket has been eating with gusto! Other corgi parents may find it surprising that she's always been very picky, dainty, and unwilling to over eat. She'll often take a day off from eating if she didn't get enough exercise that day (wish i could control my caloric intake like that), and has amazing skill at picking out even the tiniest of 'unpalatable' crumbs. Case in point: she always leaves any trace of beet skin at the bottom of her bowl, but picks out all the delicious squash first thing.

So, as much as i believe feeding raw food is the best way to go with her- i want to be sure she's picking up enough extra goodies that may or may not be included in her kibble. Extras like kelp, omegas, minerals etc are important to a pooch, and since we don't live on land where she can forage on clover etc, i need to give her the goods myself. So, i got to work dehydrating some fresh things and picking up some bulk dried herbs at the grocery store and mixed up some 'seasoning salt' to add to her evening meals. By grinding up and mixing together assorted healthful ingredients, and combining "gross" spirulina and beet with "delicious" yam and apple i can add just a touch of this 'salt' to her food without her being able to pick it out.

I let her lick out the funnel to see if she liked it... i didn't have to wash it out much later, so i guess she does!

She'll get a tip of a spoonful every day, and i'll be sure and add other seasonal yummies as they come around. Broccoli is her favorite right now, and the aforementioned delicious squash. She eats up the meat then brings the broccoli to her bed to gnaw on it a while. It's gratifying to feed my dog nourishing food, and to rinse out a totally empty bowl in the evenings. No more kibble being thrown to the chickens because she's not into it - just a diet of 2-3% of her body weight in raw meat, veggies, yogurt, eggs and seasoning salt to keep her body healthy and fit! Gotta love the sound of a bowl being licked clean to the last drop!

If you feed your dogs a raw diet, how do you supplement it to be sure they're getting all the nutrition they need?

Sharing Holiday Cheer

2011-12-16T07:40:00.000-08:00

Tired of waiting in lines? Frustrated with the new cashier at your favorite grocery store? Exhausted from filling out rebate paperwork?

You're not the only person involved in holiday purchases and transactions: on the other side of the counter is a living, breathing human with feelings and frustrations. Don't forget about your customer service representatives when spreading holiday cheer this season.

I'm spreading a little extra cheer this season: read more about it at Not Dabbling in Normal.

Pocket's In for a Change

2011-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

As many of my long time readers know, my hubs and i are proud parents of one 20 pound almost-two year old..... who is covered in fur. Isn't she cute?

Pocket's first whiff of sea air at the Oregon coast

Since before we brought Pocket home, we've been planning for her long, healthy, well educated life. I'm a bit of a task master when it comes to her training, but i also bring all my nutritional savvy to her dinner bowl as i do in our own kitchen. As a pup, we fed her Nature's Variety kibble and raw diets. This very expensive, and very high quality dog food was the best we could get in the city, but we want even more wholesome food for our fur-baby that will in turn more reasonably fit into our budgets. Even Nature's Variety, with its probiotics, grainfree and well balanced ingredients, and raw options doesn't quite get it. Kibble, for so many reasons, is so off the mark. Dehydrating, sapped of nutrients, not very tasty, and far removed from what nature really intends for our dogs to eat: kibble just isn't a great option.

For all the reasons kibble is a poor choice of dog food, i've been supplementing Pocket's food from the beginning with homemade, grain free treats, veggies from the garden, and chunks of human grade raw meat and bones, plus guts and old meat scraps not as appealing for human consumption that i sourced from local farmers. Even with her fairly high quality food, Pocket has had problems with itchy ears to the extent of requiring medication. Moving forward, we will continue to feed Taste of The Wild kibble in small quantities: i'd hate to go backpacking and have nothing to feed the pooch without swerving her diet off its normal course. But i'm talking small quanities, like less than 1/4 of a cup. What will we be feeding her instead? Real, raw food: raw meat, raw and cooked veggies and herbs, plus homemade yogurt and local eggs.

Once we're raising our own animals for meat, milk and eggs, (and living more rurally with access to squirrels and buns to hunt), we'll have even more options for feeding our pooch. For now, we have to source what we can from local farmers and butchers, and have so far found some great resources. I'll be posting even more about Pocket's new and improved diet in the following weeks here at AAH and over at Not Dabbling in Normal. I welcome your questions and suggestions... i am aware that the subject of what to feed your children: furry or otherwise, can be source of some contention and disagreement and i welcome the conversation!

What do you feed your pets? Do you think your pet's diet or health has room for improvement, and have you noticed any ailments in your pets that could be due to allergies?

Cran/Apple Nut Bread, Revised Recipe

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

After yesterday's re-post of some of my favorite cookie recipes, i thought i'd re-post the recipe for my cranberry nut bread, with this year's variations. This bread is healthy, not too sweet, and goes great with a big slab of salty butter: yum! I was lucky to get some locally grown cranberries this year and used up some of the last of this Autumn's apples. The walnuts were local too, but i can't use this recipe for our Dark Days Challenge because of the glut of flour sourced from who knows where. All the other ingredients (save the sugar) were local though!

Cran/Apple Nut Bread

3 1/2 cups flour (i subbed 1 cup whole wheat)
3/4 Cup Sugar (increase by 1/4 cup if you want a sweeter bread)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups milk (or orange juice)
2 eggs
1 cup chopped nuts (local walnuts)
1/2 to 3/4 cups chopped cranberries and apples
Drop almond or vanilla extract
Pinch cinnamon and cloves

** I doubled this recipe to make 2 pans of bread
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl, add to dry ingredients and stir well until mixed. Pour into pans (this recipe fills 1 9x7 pan unless doubled) and let stand 20 minutes. Bake for 50 minutes ** I had to bake my doubled recipe for about 90 minutes- always check with a chopstick or long toothpick.

Remove and let cool a bit, then remove from pan onto a nice towel to finish cooling. You may wish to grease the bottom of the pan before you pour in the batter. My walnuts were so fresh that they didn't release as much grease as this recipe usually does.

As you can see, there isn't much left. I cooked 2 loaves, brought one to a potluck and stuck the other in the freezer for later. We're already eying that frozen loaf! This bread makes a great gift and can be baked in mini loaves to share with many friends.

Do you bake for friends during the holidays?

Christmas Cookies!

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not doing much baking this year, yet... but here is a re-post from last year with some of my favorite cookie recipes. Let me know if you try any of them, or comment back with YOUR favorite cookie recipe!

This year i've tried foldover cookies filled with homemade jam. I've baked a few loaves of my favorite nut bread and may just have to bake another as the one i used pumpkin puree and duck eggs in was so good we ate it too fast and i want some more! My husband and i have been rekindling my mother and my tradition of making an annual gingerbread house. We've somehow managed to make this process last 3 days instead of one, but hopefully i'll have some photos of the finished product for you tomorrow. Gingerbread houses rock because the cookies just get yummier as they age and it's fun to pick them apart between christmas and new years. I'm not making my sugar cookies this year, but my favorite (chocolate variety) cookies are on the docket for tonight. Christmas just isn't Christmas without sucking the coldness out of some chocolatey, fudgey variety cookies.

Chocolate variety cookies


Gingerbread cookies for Texas

Sugar cookies with half whole wheat flour

Spiced Pecans

What are your favorite holiday cookies? Have you succombed to the delights of refined sugar despite normally health eating habits like me? I may have gained 3 pounds (2011 edit: 20 pounds, sigh), but i'm still enjoying my annual guilty pleasure of holiday cookies and quick breads. Now, enough typing, and more cookie eating!

Dark Days Week 3

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

I continue to struggle along with cooking only SOLE ingredients... i keep adding things like pasta or store bought onions. Sheesh. I finally did it, though! My contribution to the Dark Days challenge this week was a Sunday afternoon brunch of one of my favorite recipes: nests!

The eggs came from a good friend about 12 minutes down the road. The bread is again Dave's Killer Bread out of Portland, OR and the butter is by Tillamook on the Oregon coast (the husband picked up pasteurized milk instead of raw milk, so no homemade butter for me, grr!) I added homemade hot sauce i bottled back in Austin and cooked until perfectly yolk-gooey, white firm. I did add salt and pepper, not locally sourced but at least purchased in bulk!

Are you participating in the challenge with us? Check out the other bloggers over at Not Dabbling in Normal and look for the first re-cap of participating bloggers from the Western persuasion this Sunday!

My First Stew!

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

I have never made beef stew. I'm a seasoned turkey/chicken souper, but i have never stewed. I also do not own a crockpot - my old one got dinged in one of my many moves. So when my mother gifted me with several pounds of local, grass fed beef along with a scribbled recipe for her beef stew, i was hesitant to commit to the project. I promised the hubs that i would, though and it really turned out amazing! I started cooking at about noon, 2 hours late according to my mama, and the smells of stewing yum filled our little apartment for the rest of the day. I wish i'd baked up a fresh loaf of crusty bread to go with the flavorful stew, but a slice of toasted Dave's Killer Bread with local butter was pretty nice too.

Mom's Beef Stew, a la Miranda

1 pound grass fed stew meat
2 onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
the last of the potatoes ( about four small potatoes, chopped )
1 turnip, chopped
4 small carrots, chopped
bunch of cilantro, chopped (okay okay - chop everything in this list)
several hot peppers, fresh and dried
tomato sauce, paste, or roasted - i used some frozen tomatoes i had roasted during the summer
optional celery and/or other soupy veggies like parsnips, radish, etc
1/2 cup - 1 cup mushrooms - i used some blanched and frozen chanterelles from an earlier mushroom hunt
salt/ pepper/ clove/ cumin
drizzle oil
3 cups water/stock/red wine
splash apple cider vinegar
splash worchestershire sauce
handful flour
2 fresh bay leaves

As per usual, the measurements are approximate. Toss the chopped onions, garlic and meat in a bag with the flour. Coat the bottom of a stockpot with oil and brown the meat. Cover with the liquid and toss in everything else except for the carrots, potatoes, turnips and cilantro. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and keep covered on low for the next foreseeable future. About an hour before serving add the other veggies and splash of vinegar, bring to a boil then cover and simmer on low again until potatoes and carrots are cooked to your liking.

What really surprised me about this stew was how much it tasted like my mom's, even though i'd added cumin and hot peppers. My husband said 'well, it definitely tastes like beef.' I guess that's it: i just don't really know what beef tastes like. In this case, it tasted good and was the perfect amount of spicy. The roasted tomatoes added some sweetness and the vinegar at the end brightens the stew up a bit. The cilantro just adds another level to the stew without making it 'chilly' like at all.
I'm really looking forward to seconds tonight, along with some locally baked crusty bread. :)

Do you have a favorite stew recipe? Where did you get it?

Small Town Holiday

2011-12-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

My hubs and Pocket and I went to the annual tree lighting at the Philomath museum last night. There were lots of people, most who knew each other, plenty of cookies and hot cocoa and singing middle school students. For us new comers, the tree lighting was the perfect small town event. We didn't feel like we had to 'mix' with anyone, but Pocket brought plenty of new friends by to say hello. She's good for being the social one in the family. I'm a sucker for pretty lights, and we got plenty of that. 6:30 and dark is the perfect time for a tree lighting, and i'm glad we made the 4 block walk to see it.

Happy holidays, everybody!

Comfort Food

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

After a long and foggy day, a big plate of roasted veggies is just what the doctor ordered. Add a few dried herbs from the Summer's harvest, and you've got one of my favorite simple meals.

We're almost out of vegetables from the Summer's local harvest. The local farmer's market doesn't get going again until January, so our groceries will be coming fro grocery stores for the next month. Sigh.

Where do you shop when you can't get to a farmer's market?

Photos from Dark Days

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Dark Days challenge has started! Check out Not Dabbling in Normal on the 18th for re-caps from our western region, but in the meantime here's what the western bloggers have been up to lately:

Kitsap Farm to Fork had some really great reflections this week. Her late Summer chores take over her blogging time, but her family is doing some things my family dreams of doing: growing most of their food. Her post this week reflects on where the ingredients she's cooking with lately come from - and there's nary a mention of a store or even a local purchase - she grew most of it! Kudos! I think Diane really summed up the challenge when she said:

And the best part about this meal? It was a meal eatenaround our family table with my husband and children, we were trulygrateful for the bounty of our life, and were able to talk andlaugh as we enjoyed the fruits of our labor. Regardless ofwhether your food comes from 100 miles or 1000 miles from yourhome, if you are unable to eat with the people you love, they aredark days indeed!

Cocoa and Coriander with her Toasted Beet and Carrot Panzanella

Reluctantly Blogging's Borscht

I really want to know what borscht tastes like!

Four Four Ten's "All American Meal"

I'm doing my best to think of some SOLE meals i can cook up in the next few weeks... the freezer is pretty scant! But hopefully I'll come up with some gems.

Have you been able to cook any all-local meals lately?

Fiber Fridays / Handmade Holidays #6

2011-12-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Opening up the guesses on this one!

How to Beat the Post-Thanksgiving Gut

2011-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sure if you've been reading this blog a while, you will notice that both my complaining about my weight has increased, as well as the size of my waistline. (Another reason not to include photos of ME here very often.) For a long time i avoided Thanksgiving all together simply because i cannot enjoy eating without then subjecting myself to massive guilt trips. It's lame, but it's who i am. I've tried to get over the guilting after the holiday, but i can at least be sure and exercise daily and maybe take it easy on the creative and filling meals for a while.

Enter, cabbage soup! Cabbage is filling, yet light and chock full of vitamins. Onions are my favorite cold-fighters and vitamin C troops, and hot peppers do wonders for the metabolism. I don't follow any particular recipe for my cabbage soup, just throw in cabbage and veggies, some water and/or stock, a splash of apple cider vinegar and plenty of herbs: boil, simmer, eat, get full. Then, maybe try not to eat half a dozen ginger snaps afterwards. ;)

Let the Dark Days Challenge Begin!

2011-11-29T18:49:00.001-08:00

I am excited to be a part of the Dark Days Challenge over at Not Dabbling in Normal this year. I'm in charge of reading and re-capping all the luscious, local and scrumptious posts that participants from the west coast will be submitting. I will do my best to post some of my favorites here at An Austin Homestead, and will be posting every other Sunday over at NDIN. Check us out this Sunday for some tantalizing photos, and be sure to visit all the participating blogs to see what they're cooking up this season.

What is the Dark Days Challenge, you ask?

Cook one meal each week featuring SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) ingredients, write about it on your blog and email your happy recapper a link to your post. It’s really that simple, but at the same time, it can really be that hard. Need more details? See the links in the right side bar at (not so) Urban Hennery to the past Challenges.

It's quite a task for me this year, as i have A. no garden B. no chickens C. no farmer's market until mid January and D. limited food put by in my cupboards. BUT i did put up SOME produce, and i do have a little local meat left in the freezer, so i'll do my best and hope to scrape together some yummy, local dinners. Come January the farmer's market opens back up, indoors and i'll be vending my soap! Hopefully i'll be able to convince some farmers to trade me for veggies.

Here's a sneak peak at what one blogger is finding locally in her area: Kamut!

I just started a new job this week (!) and wasn't able to cook up the apple nut bread I'd planned for this post... so stay tuned for that. I'll be using almost all local ingredients, except the flour and salt... which i think will be a problem for many folks trying to source all ingredients locally. NDIN has a nice bit about 'what's local' too:

What does local mean?
Traditionally, local food challenges call for a 100 mile radius. Winter time is more difficult in many climates, especially if you’re new to eating locally, so my default winter definition is 150 miles. You can choose to make your radius smaller or slightly larger as you need. Typical exceptions to the local requirement are oils, coffee, chocolate and spices. If you’re making fewer or more exceptions, please note that on your first post.
What if I can’t find every ingredient locally?
That’s why this is called a challenge! If you can’t find every ingredient, or heck even most ingredients, please still write about your attempts. This is just as much about what we learn, the obstacles we find, and the decisions we make as it is about cooking with SOLE ingredients.

I hope you'll enjoy our adventure and challenges this Winter. Read along, cook along, and join us during these dark days.

DIY Ranch or Tartar Sauce

2011-11-28T17:13:00.001-08:00

I posted a comment on Facebook recently about a not so yogurty batch of yogurt i made. It has since become tangier after sitting a bit longer in the fridge, but a reader left me a great idea on how to utilize yogurt that may be less than up to snuff: make Ranch Dressing!

I for one, have never been much of a ranch eater. It's just so clearly fattening. But it is delicious, and my hubs sure likes it - so i decided to give it a shot. This 'recipe' sounds just up my alley. Unfortunately, i'm lacking any homegrown veggies so my additives this time around were pretty scant, just some garlic, salt, pepper and paprika. I remembered that i had some multiplying onions in a pot out on the porch at the last minute, so i chopped some of them up as well. The resultant sauce is tangy, rich (but not toooo creamy) and delightful for dipping or as a side. I imagine you could add more lemon juice and maybe some relish and turn it into tartar sauce!

Do you have a fun recipe that utilizes homemade yogurt?

Pre-Holiday To-Do List

2011-11-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Omigosh, it's practically December already. Time to really get in gear! This is what my week is looking like so far:

Knit
Felt
Put serious hours into largest (secret) present project of them all
Make soap to be ready for the Corvallis Indoor Winter Market
Bake apple/walnut bread after putting that off for about a month
Pack up the Christmas box for the in-laws.... after getting the last few gifts in and wrapped
Shop some local bookstores
Get out the sewing machine
Spin
Knit some more
Apply for jobs
Apply for some more jobs
Cook dinner every night, and work on the Dark Days Challenge posts for Not Dabbling in Normal
Did i mention i have some knitting to do?

Yeah, that looks like a great week to me... now if only i could knit while hiking i'd be able to get as much exercise as i need after stuffing face for Thanksgiving.

How are your projects/shopping coming along? Think you'll be ready for 'the big day'?

Fiber Fridays/ Handmade Holidays #5

2011-11-25T08:45:00.001-08:00

I finished my very first knitting project last weekend, and it's destined to be a Christmas gift. I hope it will be cherished for years to come, despite some inconsistencies and a clear growth of technique from on end to another. It sure is soft! I used some of the first handspun for this project and have been repeatedly tempted to just keep it for myself. I can't wait until after Christmas when i can start spinning and knitting for myself!

How are your handmade holiday gift projects coming along? Will you be finished in time?

2011-11-24T09:53:00.001-08:00

Happy holiday, everyone. I have so many things to be thankful of this year, despite having so many other things stressful and uncertain in my life. I have a loving husband, an adoring corgi, a roof over my head and a fabulous immune system. I am most thankful for the gumption of this little family: for moving ourselves away from our previous home to search for our dream here in Oregon. It's a rocky road, but i'm sure we can do it! I'm also so so thankful for the support and love of my family, near and far. We couldn't do it without you guys!

And i couldn't have run 3 miles this morning (at the Corvallis Turkey Trot) without this squinty beast pulling me the entire way like a little tugboat... I let the 'heel' training lapse a little, cuz who doesn't need a little corgi power to get you through a race?

Please keep in mind this photo was taken at 7:45 am... we are not looking our perkiest.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Eat well, love well, hug well and sleep well- easy on the stuffing!

Baked Salisbury Steak

2011-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

When you have a whole mess of wild mushrooms on your hands, you have to use them in as delicious a recipe as possible! Salisbury steak is "the" recipe i request when i go home to visit my mom. She doesn't cook a ton these days, leaving the delicious fish preparation to Bud, my daddy #2 - but when i can convince her to cook up salisbury steaks I am never disapointed!

One problem i've had with enjoying this favorite recipe of hers, is that i really can't digest beef well. I should say, i can't digest 'conventionally grown' beef at all. I've recently begun dabbling in the eating of grass fed beef with pretty positive results (though i still get a tummy ache the next morning if i over do it) and definitely did not decline the several pounds of naturally grown beef mom got from our neighbor. Can i just say that the beef we got from the DuVal family is hands down the most delicious beef i've ever tasted, and i've only had the hamburger! Lean, bright red, flavorful. Yum. Anyway, back to the recipe:

Mom bakes her salisbury steaks and generally uses golden mushroom soup plus a heap of fresh veggies. I made the mushroom soup from scratch, but followed her technique. It wasn't as gooey amazing as hers, since i failed to thicken my sauce until it was a bit late, but the flavor was devine and we had to try very hard not to lick the entire cookie sheet while it was still hot. This is NOT a greasy, pan fried beef dish, nor is this the salisbury steak found in frozen TV dinners. Shove in as many fresh veggies as you like, use bread, breadcrumbs or oats and enjoy this meal with some veggies and maybe a potato. You will not be disapointed.

Salisbury Steak

1 pound grass fed beef hamburger
1-2 onions, finely diced
1-5 garlic cloves, finely diced
Optional green pepper, hot pepper, roasted pepper etc
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup oats
1 egg
salt, pepper, seasonings to taste

for the sauce:

A whole mess of mushrooms, chopped (i used wild porcinis)
diced garlic
pinch mustard powder
pinch dried rosemary
pinch dried sage
salt and pepper
rich chicken, turkey, veggie or beef stock- enough to fill the pan
splash cornstarch/cold water slurry

In a large bowl combine the chopped veggies, oats, egg and beef etc and squish around with your hands until well combined. You may wish to add a sprinkling of flour to help it stick together. Form mixture into little patties and arrange on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, add all the chopped mushrooms and some butter into a pan with the herbs and spices. Add a pinch of flour and mix well. Cover with stock and bring to a rigorous boil. Boil for a smidge then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered until sauce has reduced by at least a third. Add the cornstarch slurry, stir and reduce heat to low. Pour some of the sauce over the patties and return to the oven for 5-10 more minutes. Serve topped with more sauce along side with maybe some peas and a potato. Be sure you make enough sauce to slather on everything, including a spoon in your mouth. It's so good!

My salisbury steaks were a definite success, but i think i'll still clamour at mom to make her version.

Do you have a special 'mommy made' recipe you beg for when you see her?

Wild Edibles: Mushrooms

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

I got to go mushrooming with my husband last weekend, and we had a family blast. I found a patch of chanterelles, a huge porcini and Pocket even snuffed out a lovely frog after a long sprinting/frap session on the beach. We saw hundreds of mushrooms, most unknown to us and thus unpicked. We still admired seeing all the colors and shapes of the different types of mushroom, and we've enjoyed eating those we did bring home: all 6+ pounds of them!

Have you ever hunted for mushrooms?

Creamy Roasted Squash & Chestnut Soup

2011-11-21T09:26:00.001-08:00

I made butter for the first time in ages yesterday, and as usual was inspired to make a soup using the leftover buttermilk. We had an acorn squash in the cupboard, screaming to be used, as well as half a bag of chestnuts and some other good soup veggies on hand. We're pretty obsessed with leeks lately, and no soup is complete without a leek, so that went in as well. What really made this soup special, though was a first step i often skip: roasting! I roasted the squash first, then boiled the rest of the ingredients. You could probably roast the turnips as well to get an even stronger roasty flavor.

Roasted Squash & Chestnut Soup

1 acorn squash (could use butternut, delicata, etc)
1/2 cup chestnuts, *shells and inner membrane removed
1 turnip, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, cleaned well and chopped
Cinnamon, ginger, cloves
Salt
Pinch flour
1/2 - 1 cup stock
1/2 - 1 cup buttermilk
Pat butter

* To remove the shells and inner papery stuff from the chestnuts, carve an x in the shell and pop in the microwave for about 30 seconds. The heat should open them up some and make that inner shell layer pop off. If you try to shell raw, the inner layer is too difficult to remove.

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds: set aside if you wish to make roasted seeds later. Cut into quarters and place cut side down on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 for about 30 to 45 minutes, or until soft. Meanwhile, cut the other ingredients up and toss into a soup pot with a bit of butter and flour and saute until butter and flour are combined. Cover with water and boil until the turnips are soft (20 or so minutes). Remove squash from the oven and scoop the flesh into the soup pot, being careful not to put in those hard string bits from near the skin. Add the splash of stock and blend with your immersion blender. Finish with the buttermilk and stir in well.
The chestnuts aren't 'key' to making this soup work, but they do add a lovely flavor. Add them if you can get them, but don't stress it if you can't.

Serve with a bit of grated cheese on top and a side salad for a wonderful late Autumn meal. We polished off the whole pot, it was so good. Though, i guess we usually polish off the whole pot. ;)

Is it "soup season" in your neck of the woods yet?

Fiber Fridays: My First Knit Hat!

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm totally excited that i finally finished my very first knit hat. I have suitably called it "The Hat of Many Mistakes" and have learned a heck of a lot about knitting from start to finish of this little project. I cannot count the hours it took me to finish this hat and i did not follow a pattern as i am still unable to decipher the jibberish that are knitting patterns. I do know, however that i am super proud of my feat: i spun the yarn with colors chosen specifically for my husband, i spun the color pattern specifically chosen for the hat, and i struggled my way from band to point - and it even fits!

Yes, it looks like a Hershey's Kiss, but it's warm and i think he likes it. What more can you ask?? I think it will look a bit more even after I wash it, but it will always bear plenty of little quirks and 'mistakes' that will make it even more well loved as the years pass: as my very first knit hat.

Do you love the foibles of a "first?"

Guest Post: Pocket Reflections

2011-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

The hubs and I are off hunting mushrooms today! And, as i spent all of last night cooking down chicken stock and getting it ready to can when i get home today - i didn't get around to writing up a proper post. Pocket is thankfully always glad to provide some guest words, so she's taking over for the day. Welcome, Pocket!

First off, thanks mom for being such a great mommy and for feeding me that chicken heart last night and for letting me lick the chicken stock bowl and for getting me this awesome new bed and for feeding me that chicken heart last night. Secondly, i really like my new bed that gramma got me. It's really soft. It's even the same color as me, so i feel like i'm invisible and that's pretty cool. Thanks!

I'd also like to thank gramma for having such an awesome homestead. It just keeps going and going and going! And this last visit, it was covered with snow! SNOW! I love snow. You can eat it when you're on a long walk and get really really thirsty. Snow is great. Barooooooooo, snow is great. The sun there is really bright though. I always have a really hard time not blinking when you take photos of me. Sorry about that.

Here, this one is better. Aren't i pretty? I must be, because you tell me that like a thousand times a day.

Have i mentioned that i really like my new bed? i like it so much, i think i'll actually have to cut this article a little short. I'm really sorry about that mom, but you know how much i need my rest. I work really hard. Well, i guess i haven't been working too hard lately, unless you count all the CATCHING THE FRISBEE IN THE AIR that i've been doing at the PARK lately. Those are my favorite words, by the way. Frisbee. Park. You should say those words all the time. Anyway, i need some rest on my soft bed now. Love you, mommy. -Pocket

My Favorite Squash Recipe

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay - this isn't exactly a recipe, but it is my very favorite way to prepare Winter squash, especially butternut or delicata. I think i've mentioned this recipe before, as it is my Grandma's favorite squash as well, though she evilled it up a bit. I used to cook all healthy and fat free, ya know..... until i read Nourishing Traditions and decided i needed more fat in my life. My body may need it to function, but i'm not really sure it needs it to survive, as the 20 extra pounds on my bod seem to be indicating.

Nevermind my waistline, this meal was delicious and the fats were healthy ones at least, even if i did use maybe a little too much olive oil on the kale chips. It also occurs to me that i've never actually posted a real 'how to' for my husband's favorite side: kale chips. So here ya go, two favorites in one!

Pan Seared Squash (best with butternut, second best with delicata)

Halve a squash longways, scoop out the seeds. Slice half moons about 1/4 inch or less thick. Heat a pan (cast iron best) with some olive oil to medium high: lots of oil if your gramma, hardly any if you're me. Arrange the squash slices so that they all lay down on the surface, sprinkle with your seasonings of choice (go with sweet or savory or both!). I like curry, paprika, cayenne, salt, but you could totally do pumpkin pie spice and cloves if you wanted it more pumpkiny. Heat on one side until browning and flip. Repeat and store the done squash on a plate in the oven. Don't cram too many into the pan at once or it will be impossible to flip them!

That's all there is to it! And omigosh, they're so delicious. I actually adapted this recipe from a friend i met while living in Australia. He cooked the squash halfmoons on a griddle on the bbq and dipped them in sweet chilly sauce. No worries about peeling off the skin with this recipe either: just eat it and embrace the fiber!
***** PS: see those little shredded bits on top of this meal's squash? Those are shredded mushrooms! I am totally new to the amazingness that is wild, local mushrooms, but let me tell you: If you get your hands on some, shred them like cheese on top of anything. It's glorious.

Kale Chips

Roughly chop some kale. I like to keep the stems, but cut those chunks smaller. Toss in some olive or coconut oil and season with salt, pepper and your choice of seasonings. I like nutritional yeast and smoked hot paprika. Put on an oven sheet in a hot oven preheated to 400. Try to lay them out evenly, but no worries if they won't all fit without laying all over each other. WATCH THEM CAREFULLY! If you hear sizzling, take them out and flip them. Flip a few times and cook no more than maybe 15 minutes, probably shorter. You want them to crips, not singe to a crisp. Some will still be chewy, but that's better than eating ash.

Kale is chock full of calcium and cancer fighting goodness and makes a great side dish that competes with the yuminess of french fries. You can use any kale for this dish, but i prefer the tuscan kales.

The secret ingredient on this plate is CHESTNUTS! See the shredded shells in the background? I am a sucker for chestnuts, and they really rounded out this dish. We just cut an x on the flat side and microwaved them for 2 minutes: easy! I purchased them locally from a seasonal vendor at the Corvallis farmer's market. The proceeds of my purchase went to help a local school: delicious eats for a good cause: can't get better than that!

My favorite squash recipe will find its way on our plates many times this season. Do you have a favorite squash recipe?

How i Spent Spring Break in 2001

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Back when i was a young lass in college, i spent my Spring break helping my mom plant about 250 baby trees. We didn't really do the best job of it, and most didn't survive. My mom planted more trees in the following years and was more diligent about watering them, etc and now all the surviving original trees and the more newly planted trees are getting quite big and robust.

Our property was once inhabited by native pine trees, but has long been covered in sage brush and junipers. The junipers aren't native, but they're very good at surviving in drought/desert conditions. Along with some watering of the saplings, my folks have also been slowly but surely cutting down many of the invasive juniper trees that are so good at sucking all the water out of the soil. Fewer competing trees and more years of growth is really helping these pine trees re-establish themselves. I can't wait to see them in another 10 years. I wonder how tall they'll be?

Do you have trees that you planted as saplings? How big are they now?

Shorter Days

2011-11-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or is 4 pm feeling a little too much like "Chardonnay o'clock" this time of year? I hate that the sun is going down so early, but i'm happy to have light when i get up in the morning.

One of my favorite things in life is watching a good sunset. It brings me joy, and makes me feel more connected to the seasons, weather and my surroundings. I grew up on a mountainside with an amazing view and stellar sunsets. Living without daily sunsets is very hard for me, and a western view is very important to me and our home search. Living in Austin, i was without any sunsets: the only sunset view i could get from my little, tree surrounded house was the reflection in the neighboring condo's windows or while driving in the evening. Not cool.

Needless to say, i suck up all the sunset i can get when i go back home to visit my parents.

Photos never quite do a great sunset justice... but i think you can see why i love that view so much.

Is watching the sun rise or set important to you?

Country Cooking

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I really like not having to do the cooking. Especially when my step-dad is doing the cooking, and the dish he's preparing is venison he shot and cleaned right here on our property.

Venison loin = yum.

Bud always finds creative ways for cooking meat. Would you ever think of adding shredded wheat, cornbread stuffing, or cheerios to your meat? He does, and somehow it is amazing. Thanks, Daddy#2!

Do you or any of your family members hunt? What's your favorite recipe for using wild game?

Country Cute

2011-11-09T12:56:00.001-08:00

Remember those kittens I found at my mom's ranch a few months ago? They're getting bigger!

Puss pile:

They're bigger than their mama (the little gray cat) now, but not quite as big as their uncle who knows how to put them in their place. I'm still not much of a cat person, but i am looking forward to a small passle of barn cats to help us keep the weasels from our hens. All in good time. For now, it's fun to go on a hike and be followed along by team kitten.

Have you ever had a cat that likes to tag along on a hike?

Late Season Tomatoes

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

What do you do with big, green tomatoes - other than stare at them on the counter while they ripen?

Slice 'em, dip 'em, fry 'em, eat 'em!

You can find my recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes here, though i tweaked it somewhat this year. For the batter i mixed 2 eggs with a splash of beer and mixed masa, flour and corn meal with spices for the dry portion. I fried in coconut oil and got a much nicer crisp by keeping the heat low enough to not burn them to death. I put the finished tomatoes in the oven while i cooked the rest, so they cooked through even more. Yum fest.

I think i'd better have salad for dinner tonight.

Preserving the Orchard

2011-11-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

I must admit, i'm a bit new to dehydrating. I've always loved dried fruits, but only recently considered dehydrating vegetables. After all, who wants to chew on some dried green beans?

It wasn't until i looked through a book all about dehydrating that i really thought about the possibilities dehydration opens up: you don't have to use up valuable fridge or freezer space, and you can rehydrate the veggies later. My favorite idea was to dehydrate mixed vegetables and layer in attractive mason jars to be popped directly into a soup pot. (Could make a really great handmade holiday gift!) I like the idea of storing veggies in the cupboard and throwing them into Winter soups....

This post isn't about veggies, though. It's about apples. We've finally ALMOST gotten through all of the apples we harvested last month. There are still a few in a paper back in the fridge waiting to become apple/nut bread. The rest have been turned into cider, snacked on, or dehydrated.

I have a dehydrator, but it's not overly fancy. My work, however has a very nice Excaliber that i borrowed for the weekend. I really love how the mesh inserts come off of the trays for easier cleaning and easier pouring into bags or jars. I sliced and cored my first batch, went insane with the tedium, and just sliced the 2nd batch. I dehydrated on 135 degrees for about 24 hours and got mostly dry apples - some crispy, some chewy.

We're really trying to save some, since our main goal was to preserve the harvest..... but i think we might eat them all in about a week. So yummy!

What's your favorite fruit or vegetable to dehydrate? Do you snack on them or use them in recipes?

It's Time for Handmade Holiday Projects

2011-11-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

It's November. It is officially time to get your butt into holiday gear! I take that back, for some - it isn't even Thanksgiving yet and not even close to being time for thinking about other holidays, but for those of us who value handmade holidays, it's definitely time to get working on those projects!

Out here in the damp Northwest, I've been busy spinning on my wheel in the kitchen or cozying up on the couch under a pile of handspun yarn, working on scarves and hats for the special people in my life. As an artist and otherwise crafty person, i usually try to give handmade gifts during the holidays. I also love to cook and take every advantage of family get-togethers to bust out my favorite recipes. Instead of art this year, i'll be giving a lot of gifts involving my new passion for fibers. I'm a beginning knitter, and these homemade gifts are sure to be a little rough around the edges, but i think that will make them even more well loved. For the knitters in my life, i'm spinning them skeins of yarn with the colors and fibers chosen specifically for them.

Although i don't have a garden to harvest from this year, my husband and i took advantage of wild harvests during the late Summer. Oregon is full of blackberries for the taking, and take we did! I put up a few half pints of blackberry/cayenne jam that we'll be sending back to Texas with our Christmas package so that the family we left behind can enjoy some of the seasonal bounty found in our new home. It's apple season here now, and i've been slicing, coring, peeling and boiling until my hands cramp into achey claws. Apple crisps, pies, breads and rings are sure to play some role in my holiday plans and gift giving. We'll even get to toast the new year with some homemade hard cider!

This year marks the first holiday season spent in the same state as my family in about 5 years, and i'm absolutely thrilled to enjoy our silly traditions with them once again. (I'm also pretty happy about only having to ship one Christmas parcel this year!) We have some pretty great traditions that always make the season seem to last forever. One of my favorite traditions that was started by my mother's parents and has been passed on to every new family member i have acquired, from step-sisters to in-laws. Instead of just the basic "To/From" tags on our Christmas gifts, we also include clues that make the packages mysterious and even more exciting. These clues are often riddles or rhymes, often silly and misleading, not meant to be a hint or description of the gift, but rather something more involved and engaging. Something as basic as:

To Mom, From Miranda........ "Greasy Bug"

Greasy Bug really meant a decorative silk "butterfly,"and after 15 minutes of trying to guess, with some pretty outlandish ideas, and failing, my mother opened her gift and laughed. That's what the clues are really all about: extending the morning, bringing out laughter and creating family memories for years to come. Because memories and joy are what the holidays are all about, and handmade gifts bring back memories every time they're tasted, worn, looked at and enjoyed.
I'm looking forward to sharing my handmade holidays with my readers this year, as well as with my family. I hope you'll share your own handmade holidays with me, and with the writers over at Not Dabbling in Normal. We'll be honoring our time honored, handmade traditions with you and can't wait to hear about what projects you're working on and what unique gifts you come up with.

Happy holidays, almost!

I'm Not Dabbling!

2011-11-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to formally announce that i have been invited to write at the online collective of all things awesomely sustainable, frugal, nourishing and fun: Not Dabbling in Normal. I have joined a group of really creative and savvy ladies and gents, whose blog i have long been a follower of. I know at least a few of my readers are also followers of Not Dabbling, and for those of you who aren't: get on over there! It's like An Austin Homestead, but better. Which is why i'd better be a part of it so that you still get some of my articles and don't just leave me forever ;)

I'm hoping that my participating at Not Dabbling will also serve as a bit of a bridge when i finally change my blog from An Austin Homestead to whatever I end up naming my new, Oregonian venture. I'll have a brand new blog with a new locale, so please follow me over to NDIN and then follow me back to my new online home. I'm not going anywhere yet though, so keep reading here every weekday for now :)

I'm super excited and can't wait to be part of the challenges and fun that will certainly be soon ensuing.
Head on over there now!

A Calendar is Born

2011-11-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

I hope you'll check out my 2012 Calendar. I chose some of my favorite photos from the past year from Austin to Oregon and everywhere in between. The calendar includes some gardening tips, inspiring and sweet quotes, and luscious photos of my favorite recipes. Hard to believe the year is almost over and it's time for a new calendar again. Will the years ever stop flying by?

I receive just a small portion from each sale of this calendar, which helps me to pay the costs accrued while writing this blog, which i do basically for free. The limited ads i carry on this blog bring me less than $10 a month and the occasional 'free sample' which is fun, but not exactly the wage warranted by the amount of time i spend writing and documenting my adventures and recipes. I write this blog because i love it and because i love teaching, sharing, learning and discussing. I hope you'll consider purchasing a calendar to help support my labor of love.

The calendar is a basic 11x17, full color calendar chock full of my favorite recipes, wild creatures, garden views and more. Thanks for checking it out. :)

Planning for Livestock

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

We drove up to Portland this past weekend to visit with some of my best old college friends (it was so good to see you guys!) and to stop by a farm in Sandy: Cascade Meadows Farm. CMF raises all sorts of heritage critters, and most of them are small statured. My main interest was in their Icelandic sheep (a very small and very ancient breed of sheep from Iceland where they served as "the cow" for the community) and Miniature Nubian goats: we want sheep and goats for fiber, milk and meat plus the entertainment of watching some seriously cute critters graze and romp on our property.

Why small livestock, you may ask? Other than having animals with similar dwarf-qualities as our herding corgi dog, we will be small time hobby farmers, with the needs of a small family and the means of small freezers and less need for the massive production that commercial livestock growers have. Commercial growers want the biggest bang for their buck: if they're spending the money to get the animal butchered they want the most poundage off that animal as possible. For the small homesteader, however the need is different. If you're planning on butchering yourself, you need an animal that is manageable in size, but efficient in meat production. Icelandics have an excellent amount of meat for the size of the body, that is delicious and nutritious, and their fiber is multipurpose, with an undercoat suitable for clothing and an outer coat better for rugs. You can even milk them (who doesn't love Manchego???)

The same goes for the mini-Nubians. Full Nubians are really big, really noisy milk goats with a penchant for excape. The smaller versions are bred with Nigerian Dwarves for smaller stature and excellent milk quality and production. They're less noisy and more easily handled during milking time and slaughter. They tend to kid twins or triplets, and goat meat is actually one of the better meats for you, despite it not being commonly eaten here in the states (the only country in the world to NOT commonly eat goat meat).

Kirk also raises Dexter cattle, a small breed of cattle - which makes seeing how small the sheep are in these photos a little screwy.

It was a rainy day (gosh, rain in Oregon?) so their fleeces are wet, but you can see their lovely colors. You may not be able to tell how small they are, but they're pretty teeny, have naturally bobbed tails and come both polled and with horns.

We liked what we saw in CMF's Icelandics and liked what we heard about Kirk (the farmer)'s breeding methodology. He's no longer breeding mini-Nubians, but had some of his old goats at the neighbor's house for us to look at. Beautiful! I think we will most likely be getting our ewes from CMF, but may have to source our mini Nubians elsewhere. We're excited to have a source of excellent breeding stock, plus tons of information: gotta love a farmer who will talk to you about sheep and pigs for 2 hours straight, and is willing to lend lots more advice as we get closer to raising our own.

What we didn't expect while on the farm was to fall in love with a completely different kind of animal. We're now obsessed with American Guinea Hogs. Kirk passionately says that if he had only one type of livestock on his farm, it would be guinea hogs. If you're at all familiar with pigs, you may find that hard to believe. Pigs are known to root up pastures and make a mess of just about everything, plus they're really big! Guinea hogs are different! A. They're pretty small. The piglets were the size of Pocket and the boar was about half the size of a commercial sow. B. They're friendly. Kirk's boar came right up to us for some belly scratching and some happy grunts. C. They graze! That's right, no rooting. No messing up the hedges. They are happy to graze all day long, and what's even better, they're happy to dispatch all your compost, your butchering waste, even your dead of old age livestock. We're obsessed with this incredibly useful and apparently delicious breed of pig and have put a breeding pair of Guinea hogs at the top of our 'livestock to do' list.

Kirk's full grown boar, complete with sharp tusks: what a friendly push over for the belly rubs. You can see how much smaller he is than a big commercial boar that wold be about twice his size.

We'll probably also be adding a Pygora goat wether to the team (i need pretty soft wool for hats and other next-to-the-skin garments), angora and meat rabbits are for sure, and will keep an Icleandic ram lamb and a billy kid for breeding our ewes and does to to be self sufficient, culling and eating the kids and lambs (and ewes and does) that don't cut the mustard. More on livestock management and breeding programs when the time comes. For now we dream, plan, research and learn in preparation for our extended wolly/furry family. We're pragmatic and ready to organically learn and decide which breeds work for us and which don't. I'm ready to change my mind. I'm ready to be disapointed. But i'm also ready to bring home those first animals and get a thrill out of all our 'firsts' with our livestock.

Pocket is so ready to get her 'herding' on, but she's not sure what to think about these piglets.

Do you have livestock? How did you finally decide which breeds to get?

Handmade Holidays #4

2011-11-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Other than the knitting projects I am working on (that may or may not be destined as personal garments instead of holiday gifts), this gift definitely took me the longest.

Truly a "labor of love," I cannot wait for the recipient of this project to receive his or her special Christmas present.

Hint: it's really, really, really soft. :)

Salmon Salad Sammy!

2011-11-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your radical husband catches a super huge fish that has enough meat to last for days? You use the meat for days!I already dished about our delicious salmon and mushroom feast and this is what I did with the leftover portion of fish (after the hubs had leftovers of a huge filet and the rest of the mushroom sauce for dinner when i was out of town.)

Looks good, doesn't it? I didn't bake the bread or make the cheese, but i did use some relish from our garden back in Austin and the bread was baked locally.

Salmon Salad:

Portion of baked or grilled salmon, mushed up
Spoonful mayo, preferably homemade
Spoonful relish, I used my green tomato relish
Smaller spoonful of mustard
Salt and pepper to taste plus optional other herbs if your salmon isn't already slammin' in the flavor department
Optional sliced cheese

Easy peezy: just mush the ingredients together and spread on slices of bread. You may wish to spread mayo and mustard on the bread as well. If you don't have a relish you love on hand, you can finely chop some onion and pickles instead. My relish is quite mustardy and not overly tangy. I would like to be eating this again right now. *Could be great as a salmon melt as well!

Delicious Delicata & Leek Soup

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

It is definitely winter squash season and my favorite this year is Delicata. The flavor is a bit like butternut, but even better. It's hard to describe, but i'm in love. Gathering Together Farm in Philomath, OR touts some of the yummiest Delicata around, and i've stocked my cupboards full! I'll can a batch in the next week or so, but in the meantime i've been sauteeing, baking and souping up a storm.

This soup is uber easy: just boil a cleaned and chopped leek, a halved and seeded delicata cut into chunks, some herbs and spices to your preference (i used sage, turmeric, cayenne, salt/pepper and garlic) and cook until soft. Once soft, just pulse with an immersion blender until the soup is smooth. You could add milk or cream just before serving for an extra decadent soup, or leave it as is.

This soup is also lovely cold or re-heated as leftovers. Try leaving any!

Fiber Friday: Knitting in Progress

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am an absolute beginner knitter. At first i found it INCREDIBLY frustrating, but i persevered. I find casting on delightful, and the stockinette stitch makes me squeal with delight. I never thought i could possibly learn this two-needles-at-a-time skill, but i have and i'm loving it!

My very first hat project, without a pattern, destined for either the hubs or the step-daddy. That's my handspun, by the way :)

I can't really express how rewarding it is to spin yarn and then turn it into a cozy garment for someone I love, or myself. It's pretty darned rewarding, that's all i can say. I still mess up and drive myself crazy, but i feel it's only a matter of time before i'm busting out sweaters and mittens and socks and scarves and leg warmers and......

Wild Salmon/ Wild Mushrooms: Wild Feast!

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Back in Action! I found a spare power cord in the barn and i'm hankering to post this delicious salmon recipe.

I know, i know: butter on salmon? Is that really necessary? NO! But it's DELICIOUS!
My fish cooking skills generally rely on a grill. As we are without a grill in our apartment, i had to be creative. Luckily, my husband's friend who took him shrooming and fishing is also a chef and had some great advice: Really Hot. Really Fast. I can do that! Unlike some fish, salmon is great rare or medium rare. I cooked this batch a little longer than i needed to, but honestly: i like salmon either seared and rare, or grilled and cooked through. So, i went for the cooked through. Not OVER cooked, mind you. I think i cooked this sucker on 475 for about 10 minutes. That's pretty quick. I didn't overly season it either: just some basil, cayenne, rosemary and garlic, plus that touch of butter for extra wow-factor. The edges got crispy, the middle was flakey and soft and the whole thing was moist as all get out. This was definitely the absolutely, most delicious salmon I have ever eaten in my entire life. I am not exaggerating. At all.

I served our fillets with a half of steamed Romanesco cauliflower and of course some more delicious mushroom gravy.

Wild Mushroom & Onion Gravy:

2 onions, halved and sliced
1 cup or so chopped mushrooms, preferably fresh picked wild shrooms!
Pinch flour
Salt, Pepper, herbs to taste
White wine, or chicken/fish/veggie stock/milk
Olive oil

Saute the onions in the olive oil with fresh or dried herbs until onions begin to turn clear. Add the pinch of flour and stir well, covering with about 1 cup of liquid. I used white wine and a splash of water and lemon juice: be creative with what you have on hand! Bring gravy to a simmer while stirring until it begins to thicken a bit. Add mushrooms and cook until they're soft. This gravy would be great over any meat or veggie dish.

Sigh, i wish i was eating this again right now. The hubs got the leftovers, lucky sot.

What's your favorite method for cooking salmon? Have you ever had super fresh salmon, and could you tell the flavor difference?

Bummer & See You Next Week

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ugh, bad news. I am on a visit to my parents' house in southern Oregon, which normally would be great, but en route my car blew its clutch and to top it off, i forgot my computer's charger at home. No more posts this week, as all my photos reside therin. Wah.

i will elaborate on the tale of the blown clutch for just a moment though, as it's a bit ironic. My husband tends to be rather anal about my travelling with my cell phone safely in tow. I'm more laxidasical, being late to the realm of cell phones in the first place. So, when i noticed i was missing my phone and already on the road, i kept on going as gosh: i've driven this pass a thousand times long before i ever owned a cell phone! And of course, halfway over the pass, i shift down to get some more acceloration up the mountain only to feel that not so satisfying 'squish' of a blown clutch. Sigh. Not that having my phone with me would have helped, but it could have helped me call for advice. Instead i had to rely on my own gumption, which is also a good thing. I got it back into 5th and cruised along until i just couldn't stand it and pulled into a rest stop. i hoped that perhaps i was mistaken, and the clutch had just been teasing me.

Nope. No dice. I didn't panic, though. Didn't cry. I knew there was a way to drive a manual with a blown clutch, just didn't know HOW. I flagged down a couple driving by, who thank goodness happened to be a little older. Has anyone else noticed that hardly anyone under 50 knows how to drive a standard these days? I thank the Lord for the kind gentleman who did in fact know how to shift a standard, sans clutch and who graciously drove me around the reststop parking lot with complete instructions. Instructions complete with grinding gears.

And so, i limped my way another 100 or so miles to Merrill, OR where i pulled over at R&J automotive, owned by a good high school friend's father who will hopefully get my little nubbin car fixed up in time to get back to work. He probably won't, though - so i'm ready to get back behind the wheel of my old truck. I just might bring a boat with me ;) So, apologies for my absence. I'll see you in a few days! (A little poorer and) Proud to have had the gumption to stick it to my car and persavere over the mountain!

Baked Chicken with Mushrooms

2011-10-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

I adapted this meal from those "minute steaks" i cooked back in September. Instead of battering and frying tenderized beef steaks, i skinned and de-fatted a whole chicken, cut apart its thighs and breasts and prepared them for some delicious pan and oven action.

As an aside: i very, very rarely buy chicken already split up into breasts or thighs, etc unless they're majorly 'reduced for quick sale' and the chicken is 'all natural.' I'd really prefer to get all my chicken from local farmers, but our budget isn't quite that robust i'm very sad to say. SO i get foster farms natural chicken from California at a local market that sells it for $1 a pound, in a whole chicken. I feel that buying a whole chicken is at least one step i can take: less packaging, less processing, more nutrition included and you can make stock from the bones when you're done.

My husband had called ahead with news of his mushroom find, but he didn't arrive home until almost 8 pm! That's pretty darned late to just be getting something in the oven. But i relaxed, rolled with the punches, and we both enjoyed a super delicious meal.

De-fatted and boned chicken breasts and thighs, slathered in Celtic salt, rosemary, basil, dried cayenne and pepper.

Washed and split leeks ready to be the bed of a delicious chicken bake. I've decided all roasted and baked chickens need to lay on a bed of leeks.

First i slathered the chicken in herbs and spices and pan fried them in a tiny bit of coconut oil until browned on each side and cooked through about halfway. I moved the chicken over to the leek bed and started sauteing onions and garlic. Once soft, i sifted in a bit of flour, stirred and covered in some turkey stock, bringing to a simmer. Normally, i would have put the shrooms in right away until they were soft, poured them over the chicken and popped it all into a 400 degree oven stat. BUT the mushrooms didn't arrive for quite some time, so i paced around the house wondering how the heck i'd get to sleep after eating dinner around 8:30 or so. Major Grrrrr fest.

The mushrooms finally came! I added them to the gravy and cooked until soft, topped the chicken and in the oven it went. After about 15-30 minutes (i cut it short due to starvation and bed time) the chicken was done to my liking and we ate a scrumpteoous meal, with a side of sauteed collards (with smoked paprika and a smidge of bacon).

At some point i'll have a well lit kitchen so that i can take actually QUALITY photographs. Sigh.

I served only the breasts and returned the thighs to the turned off oven to keep cooking a bit before i put them away as leftovers, just to be sure they got cooked through.

Super delicious, even if it was a little later than i'd like to eat. This mushroomy gravey would be awesome on ANY kind of meat, even just more veggies. I highly recommend this technique and encourage you to try it with different meats to see how it tastes.

The Dude Provides

2011-10-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you already know that my husband and I had a great weekend at the dinner table. Others of you who are out of the loop may remember that my husband has had a few attempted fishing trips that didn't pan out so well lately: well he finally came through for me. And with more than just fish!

Isn't the fur-baby cute, being all interested? No mushrooms for her, but plenty for us! Porcini and Chanterelle mushrooms straight out of the Oregon coastal forest. I've always liked mushrooms, but i've also always thought them rather bland, nice to add to chicken dishes but not overly full of their own flavor. Man was i ever wrong! These babies were sweet, firmly textured, magical bites of yum both when raw and cooked! I'll be treating you with the dinners i whipped together from this bounty for the next few days. I'm pretty sure (if you like mushrooms or salmon at all) that you'll be salivating with jealousy. ;)

The hubs didn't go without his fish fix, though. He was fishing with a buddy, so only brought home half his catch, but it was definitely more than enough! He was fishing in the tidewater, and a local seal eyed his catch as he pulled it in, but he was victorious and finally provided fresh salmon flesh to this family, woo hoo! Did i mention how fresh mushrooms tasted way more delicious than 'other' mushrooms? Well, I can tell you that freshly caught salmon, right out of the briney sea is just about the most delicious thing a person can ever eat. I'm not even overly in love with salmon, generally - and only like it when it's been prepared by myself or my step dad (as a general rule). This fish was amazing. A. MAZE. ING. And it's still feeding us 3 days later.

Let's hear it for the fisherman! Finally!

Fiber Friday: A Hat!

2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

I had plans for this hat, and they didn't pan out. Instead of making ribbed stripes vertically, i ran out of yarn and employed an older technique of making little ribs all the way along the hat. I like it, and i love how the colors make the hat striped on their own (as i intended).

So much fun to spin and crochet this hat totally from scratch. Next skill I need to learn: dying! Only then will i have total control over the yarn and finished product.... though i may take it even further and only use natural color wool, from animals i raise myself and breed in part for color. Mwa ha ha ha.

Hard Cider: Part 1

2011-10-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, i whipped up a small batch of 'starter' that i used the next day to start some hard cider and get my vinegar going a little more quickly. I'm worried that our apartment is going to be just too cold for fermentation, but i'm not paying a higher electricity bill just to get some hooch and vinegar. ;)

I started three vessels - the left is a gallon jar half filled with cider, with a tiny splash of yeast starter added and covered with a cheesecloth. This is destined for vineger. The middle is simmered cider and honey with starter added, covered with cheesecloth to see what happens when attempting hard cider with the presence of air and wild yeast. The right is a gallon carboy filled with simmered cider and honey plus yeast starter (too much!) and topped with an airlock.

Last Night - already fizzing

I certainly didn't have to worry about fermentation getting going, granted I am still at the farm where it's a bit warmer inside than our apartment. Now i'm worried that i most likely added too much yeast, and i don't know how that will affect the cider. More alcohol? Less? Nasty taste? Better taste? It's bubbling away like crazy, and I hope i wasn't foolish to start it one place with a bumpy drive back to our apartment. Yeah, that was foolish. Cross your fingers it makes it back home in tact.

This morning - really bubbling, now!

Have you ever attempted hard cider before? How did it work out? I got my instructions from Mother Earth News and a few other online resources. I'm about to research what may happen to my overly yeasted cider - and i'll keep y'all posted with my progress. We'll check back to see how the cider and vinegar are panning out next week. Fermentation will supposedly be done in about 3 weeks - we'll see! Please comment with any tips/suggestions if you have them!

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

Planting Garlic in Oregon

2011-10-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Last year I planted garlic during a waning moon phase on the first of October, in Austin TX. This year i have no garden, but i still get to plant some garlic with a group of teenagers in their garden in Corvallis OR. I have no idea if the moon was waxing or waning, but i think we did a pretty fine job of it.

We first prepared the beds by tilling them well, then working in some fish meal and raking the beds smooth. I purchased about 6 varieties of garlic from local vendors at the Corvallis Farmer's Market including Chinese Pink, Music, Medechi, and California Late White: a mix of softnecks and hardnecks that should be good for their Spring farmer's market sales next year. The planting went well (while i was there at least). Here's how we did it.

Break the bulbs and lay out the cloves 6-8 inches apart. I like to lay out the cloves first, THEN plant - helps to prevent the ole' did i plant one here yet or not? quandary. Label the bed well!

Once we laid them out, we used skinny trowels to poke down about 6 inches, sprinkle in a mixture of bone and blood meal, drop the cloves in sideways or sprout side up then loosely cover with dirt.

Once they're all planted and covered we put down a nice layer of compost. Once they get their hands on some hay or leaves the beds will be mulched until Spring when the mulch should be moved back. Voila! Thanks to Kayla for being such a great hand model - though i'm still not sure why y'all insist on wearing those surgical gloves for gardening. I prefer dirty fingernails, myself ;)

Planting this batch of garlic is bittersweet for me, since I won't get to see it grow in the Spring or taste it or braid it - I guess i'll just have to pay it a visit in the Spring, along with the multiplying onions i gifted them. Those things are like my children.

Do you enjoy teaching others how to plant things?

Rough Country Living

2011-10-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Livin' in the country isn't all fun and games, even if you're a corgi. Sometimes there are sticks that should not be grabbed from dogs who do not want you to grab them.... and sometimes you get some nasty puncture wounds from said dog's teeth.

A quick antibiotic shot and some iodine later.... we hope our little Pocket will heal up fast. For now, just look at those pathetic 'ow, mommy: it hurts' eyes. It just makes ya wanna cry, doesn't it?

The discoloration is mostly the iodine, but the wound does look pretty nasty. Keep her in your prayers.

Pressing Cider!

2011-10-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

We had the best weekend! My parents came up from Eugene and joined us in a grand adventure of apple picking and cider pressing. My friend's (whose house we're staying in) daughter also came down from Portland with a bunch of her friends and we made it a real party! It was great fun to meet new people, make new friends, and of course: drink a bunch of cider! It's really amazing how many apples you need in order to make a small amount of cider.... It's also amazing how much cider some apples can make! We picked the orchard fairly clean last weekend, but there were plenty more this weekend and plenty left for weekends later in the month. I think next time we pick apples, we'll just cook them down to make some apple butter for canning. I do so loooove apple butter.

Just a few of the bushels upon bushels of apples that were picked.

My family.... I asked them to smile and this is what i got. At least Pocket is a cutey pie as always.

After the picking comes the cider pressing. This press is motorized, so you have to be sure not to clog it or get your fingers chopped up, shudder. It was great fun setting up the 'assembly line' with apple cleaners, apple tossers, and apple pressers. Can you say 'good, clean family fun?' Sometimes that's the best kind!

Toss, twist, smoosh, press! The apple muck goes to the chickens and sheep and the cider goes to happy people. We had so much cider, in fact that we had to go on some reconnaissance missions for more jars and jugs.

A friend of one of my mamas lent me some corks and his airlock (he's an expert brewer) that we'll use to make 1 gallon of hard cider. Another 1/2 gallon jar will become apple cider vinegar in several months, and another gallon we saved for sipping and spicing up our morning tea. So good!

Yum!

Have you ever pressed your own cider? How did it taste? Ours is sweet and appley with a bite of tartness. It doesn't need spicing up, but i'm sure it would be delicious mulled as well.

Fiber Friday: Projects

2011-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

A while back i attempted to create some evenly striped yarn which turned out not even at all.

I loved it. This pattern is now my new thing: sometimes the colors are plied together, sometimes they're 'barber poled' and sometimes they're transitioning. It looks awesome. I'm going with it. I spun another skein of some grey/lavender fiber and am working on more combinations in different types of wool. It looks beautiful in a skein, but i've just started my first hat to see if it looks as cool crocheted into something as it does curled up by itself.

Skein before washing

I learned 2 new crochet stitches last weekend: front post double crochet (fpdc) and back post double crochet (bpdc) which i'll be adding to my normal basic hat "pattern" to create (i hope) some textured stripes around the bottom like an old school ski hat.

Same skein after washing: see how bouncy and smooth it got?

Check back next friday to see the finished hat. I hope it looks nice, and i hope i have enough yarn! I have a hard time telling exactly how much yardage i have (my count is mostly an estimate), but mostly i don't really know how many yards my average hats require. All part of the learning process!

What's your favorite hat pattern like? Do you follow a written pattern, or just crochet in the round until it resembles a head covering?

Weekend To-Do List

2011-10-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

Harvest ripe apples from several of 80 varieties of apple trees
Figure out how to use apple press
Press a ton of apples to make a few gallons of cider
Set aside 1 half gallon of cider, lidded with cheese cloth for several months to become vinegar (should be interesting to figure out what to do with said aging vinegar the next time we move...)
Cook down other apples to become applesauce
Can applesauce using pressure canner
Can delicata squash using pressure canner (may save this chore for later in the week)
Check out the "Thai restaurant" in Philomath, not so aptly named The Woodsman. This, i got to see. (It totally looks like a rural mill town American restaurant, but i've seen the owners in their garden, and they're most definitely Thai so there's a good chance it'll be tasty!)
Prepare garden beds at work for planting garlic.
Go salmon fishing!

Handmade Holidays #3

2011-10-12T08:58:00.001-07:00

I'll give a hint for this one...... It is something made out of one of my first skeins of plied handspun.

A special detail: that button came from my late grandmother Joan's (pronounced joe- ahn) sewing room. I guess i take after both my grandmothers, and that makes me super proud. :)

This gift is also destined for a sister. Hoping she'll like it, but I also enjoyed doing it and think i'll make a few variations in case she'd prefer something different - or in case i decide to confiscate it as my own. tee hee. So, whaddya think it is?

A Great Hike Near Corvallis

2011-10-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Fitton Green Natural Area is just gorgeous! We're currently staying at a house at the top left of this map and can walk right to this trailhead. To avoid having all the farmdogs follow us, we drive however. If we had a hankering, we could hike or bike all the way from Wren to Corvallis. We hiked to the bottom of that green portion, past the 'panorama parking' and to the vista loop. It was a foggy day and we ended up hiking up into a low cloud without much of a view of Mary's Peak. It was still gorgeous and we found plenty of cool critters to satisfy our explorer natures.

Part of our hike was along the Allen Throop Trail. Clearly, Pocket wanted to do some reading up on this important dude. If you're parking at the Panorama lot, the above plaque and below tree and vista are just up the loop. If we weren't stuck in a cloud, i think there'd be a nice view of Mary's Peak, Philomath and Corvallis plus the surrounding farms and hills.

Back down the trail we finally spotted some wildlife! Some very, very, very slow moving wildlife....

I just love giant Oregon banana slugs! And super cool snails just can't be beat. We haven't seen any really huge slugs yet, but you can be sure i'll post pictures when we do! Hopefully they'll have spots. Can you tell i'm a bug/reptile/crawly obsessed girl? Yes, i was a tom boy.

This is a really great natural area for anyone looking for some wilderness. We only crossed paths with a small handful of folks, many had dogs. The trail is great for dogs. It's technically leash required, but Pocket knows no boundaries! Actually, she's very well behaved with excellent recall skills, so i feel confident with her off leash. We put her on when crossing other dogs, just to be polite, but i know i have control over her so feel okay with 'breaking the rules.' There are several trailheads to this natural area that are accommodating to downtowners, country folk, or passers through. If you're looking for a nice natural hike near Corvallis, this one can't be beat! FYI, we hiked for about 3 hours and i'm not sure how many miles, as they are not marked, and we stuck to a brisk pace.

Have you hiked this trail? What did you think of it?

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

Savory Pear Tart Recipe

2011-10-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

My step mama gifted us some of the pears from her tree in Eugene, and it took me ages to use them in anything. I'm really not much of a pear eater, though i do like them in a salad or dehydrated. I thought up this recipe totally randomly after having the pears in a savory cold salad - why not heat them up in a savory fashion? I paired the pears (tee hee) with my mom's rockin pie crust recipe and came up with something truly decadent and delicious. I'm glad i wrote it down, because this is a truly knock their socks off party treat. And I think it probably should be eaten that way - in much smaller portions. A half a plate full of pie crust left me feeling really gross and sad that I'd wasted the days 3 hour hike on one meal. (yes, i am obsessed with my weight. I can't help it. I've gained 20 pounds in 2 years and it bums me out).

Gross feelings aside, my husband was fist pumping all over the place and the kale chips complimented the crispy pie crust perfectly. It was a glorious meal.... but maybe better served as individual bites next time, or at least as more of a side dish to something more healthy.

First, the crust:

2 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 Cups shortening or lard
5-6 Tablespoons cold water

You can halve this recipe, as i did or make the whole thing to fill a cookie sheet. The recipe is for pie crust, so the full recipe is for a top and bottom of a pie. I halved but kept the salt at the full 1 teaspoon and also added some dried basil and ground pepper.

For the topping:

2 small onions, one red one white, halved and sliced
3 Serrano peppers, sliced
Garlic
2 pears, sliced
Herbed goat cheese
Ground sage, rosemary, salt and pepper
Sauteed sausage for some extra yum

Arranging the ingredients

Mix up the pie crust with two knives or a pastry cutter. Don't over work that gluten! Get the texture to the point of 'not too crumbly' then squish together with your hands and roll out. I rolled directly onto a cookie sheet and it worked great. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare the veg/fruit and sautee the onions, peppers and garlic with the herbs until onions are soft. I used a nonstick pan with lid, no oil. It's okay if you get some charry spots. More to yum! Scatter the veggies evenly over the pie crust. Slice the pears and saute on just one side until getting soft through. Arrange pears evenly over other veg. Dollup some goat's cheese on top of the pears. Salt well.

Bake at 400 for about half an hour, more or less to the point of 'just browning.' This will result in a nice, flakey crust that is pick upable and not soggy. Don't let it get too brown or it won't taste as nice. I served ours with some kale chips tossed in coconut oil, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast and lots of salt. I think we may eat too much salt. haha. If you want some sausage on there, i recommend sauteeing it while the tart is baking and placing it on top just before serving.

Pretty delicious looking, right? It smelled great, too. Mmmmm, now i guess i'd better get some exercise. Sigh.

Fiber Friday - Plying Bunny Fur

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

I spent the better part of the past 2 weeks spinning singles of that super fine "bunny fur" fiber, and i almost lost my mind. Spinning super fine yarn takes FOR.EV.ER. and i'm still not very great at it: my singles are definitely uneven, thick and thin, and lumpy. Wah. The first bit turned out as fine as I wanted, but i slowly got less fine as i went along, losing my mind as i went. I really need one of those yarn thickness gauges (Christmas present hint, hint).

Once i was finished spinning two half bobbins of singles, it came time to ply them together. Again, I did not do as well as i'd like- the yarn is very well balanced, but there are sections that have nice twist and sections that are too loosely twisted to my likes. The skein looks pretty gorgeous now that it's all washed and the twist is set. Photos coming as soon as i get my camera chord from our apartment. (Argh, i hate unprofessional sounding statements like that, but such is life).

Isn't Pocket a great assistant?

Hunting for Berries!

2011-10-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

We're already into the rainy season here in the Willamette Valley, it seems. But before the rains moved in, we pounced on a delightful and noxious late Summer harvest.

Blackberries!

Sure, you can plant blackberries in your garden, but those cultivated and thornless types just don't have the proper zing I look for in a decent berry. It may be hard for some to believe, but blackberries are quite the nasty weed here in the valley. There isn't much one can do to remove them once they've shown up, spare a few goats to keep them nibbled down (plans for the future!). If left to go out of control, the berries get a bit hard to reach without ripping your skin and clothes to shreds. All the more adventure, i say! You can find blackberries along almost any roadside/ bike path and river, but i prefer to pick berries without the dust and grime from car exhaust. We hit up one of the fields at the farm my husband works at and got plenty of berries to do all sorts of fun things with. Including eating on the spot!

This post is part of the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop

Baba Ganoush, Miranda Style

2011-10-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Baba Ganoush is a Mediterranean dish, like humus that can be served as a dip or topping or sauce. It has fewer calories than hummus because it's made mainly from eggplant, versus chickpeas. It also has less protein, but is nevertheless delicious. I spruced the normal 'eggplant, tahini, garlic, herb' recipe to include some roasted peppers and some kaffir lime leaves instead of parsley, which i do not like.

Roasting the eggplants and peppers makes for a smokey yum flavor, plus it makes getting the skins off easier. Just scoop the eggplant flesh out, wipe the pepper skin off and toss in a blender with your favorite other ingredients. I also roasted some garlic, and added salt, pepper, cumin, smoked paprika and kaffir leaves to the mix. I served the B.G. on the side with some pita and some delicious "tabouli" - bulghar wheat mixed with sauteed romanesque cauliflower, onions, and more pepper with lots of turmeric and other seasonings (to be honest i'm not sure what they were as they were unlabelled in the kitchen where i'm house sitting.) It was delicious though!

Ah, finally some rural living.

2011-10-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine is spending a few weeks in Ireland, the lucky lady - and we're lucky enough to house sit for her in her 'cabin in the woods.' She has a tenant who cares for the wooly beasts, so we're living pretty footloose and fancy free, only needing to tend after some collies and canaries: all of which are very sweet.

Tessa the collie and Pocket the corgi: what a matched pair they are!

This weekend we'll be making apple cider with my friend's son, and i'm sure i'll be pouncing on her over 80 varieties (!) of apples in lots of other ways the next few weeks. I'll also be making lots of Nude Soap in her much roomier kitchen, and working on lots of fiber projects in the cozy house filled with spinning wheels and all the fiber i could dream to use. Just lounging in the cozy house is a vacation for us. We moved to Oregon for country living, not apartment dwelling with a view of McDonalds to wake up to! So, it's nice to have a chance to get a little taste of something closer to our dream.

Our first morning we took a nice hike down the lane and up to a local archery range. Me, Pocket and a whole passle of doggies took to the country roads and romped it up!

Rufus, Tessa and Damien lead the way for little Pocket. She's catching on to country life fast!

Trompsing about in the misty mist and my rain gear is a pretty swell way to start the day. Mid sixties and sprinkly feels pretty fine after the summer of 90-100 degrees and bone dry back in Austin. I'm sure i'll get tired of the rain after a while - but it's sure nice to feel like Fall during actual Fall!

Check out my Flickr stream for more photos and visual updates of our time in rural Philomath.

Salmon!

2011-10-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

Holy cow, did we see some gorgeous fish this weekend!

And yes, i said "see" not "caught." Despite my husband being an avid bass fisherman back in Texas, and despite my having caught a ton of trout when i was a teenager, we apparently have no idea what we're doing nowadays when it comes to trout, rivers, lakes, salmon and not getting all our lures stuck to the bottom.

Yesterday, we took advantage of our first Sunday off together (not counting in California) since July and drove west on hwy 34 towards Waldport. I thought my husband had a plan. He thought he'd develop a plan en route. We ended up getting all the way to the coast (where we saw lots of seals swimming about with the fishermen) where we as-per-usual lusted after the boats and skiffs the lucky fishermen were cruising around on in the estuary. On top of the "when we get settled and magically have extra money" list is a used fishing boat and trailer with small motor.

Boat lusting aside, the banks in Waldport were a bit crowded, so we turned back to 34 to meander along the Alsea river and hope for a good spot to pull over, along a highway that says 'no parking on the shoulders.' We found a turnout, however! And as we were leaving, we found several others along the way, so we have scoped out and discovered some swell fishing and potentially gorgeous swimming in the Summer (I know, Texans- it's still Summer down THERE but it's definitely Fall here, right in time with the calender). We scrambled down a muddle, blackberry lined path and made our way to the pristine river, surrounded by light (to medium/heavy) rain and puffy low-cloud patches floating in the mature trees. I think my husband was in heaven: trees, mist, his dog and wife, fishing in Oregon. Can't get better than that!

Well, it could: we could have caught something or at least gotten nibbles! The only nibbles we got were from rocks and trees that stole our lures (i think we lost 5 or so, sheesh). But we were surrounded by fish! They were either mocking us or just rejoicing in the first rain of the season, but we saw some HUGE salmon throwing themselves into the air, diving like dolphins just out of our reach. We'd be re-tying a lure on, unable to cast and those persnickity fish would be thrashing around just beyond our noses. It was frustrating, yes but it was also wonderful to get to see the beautiful fish playing around in the water.

The husband indicating the size of the fish that just did acrobatics in front of him.

Not quite as good as eating them or getting our hands on 'em for a photo before releasing, but our first glimpse of wild Oregon salmon was pretty fantastic. On a side note, our corgi is pretty water proof, but a day in the rain was a bit much for her. Thinking we need to invest in some kind of rainwear for her. She certainly appreciated the down blanket snuggle times during the drive home.

Do you fish? Do you get as much joy from seeing the fish rise as you do from hooking them?

Fiber Friday: Bellwether Wool Company (Preview)

2011-09-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, i've been terrible at keeping up any sort of weekly routine here at my blog (remember Wholesome Wednesdays??)..... so i might as well throw out random fun-days now and again! Today i'll be 'starting' a friday 'series' that may or may not develop, but could be great fun if it does!

For the next 3 weeks, my husband and I will be house sitting at a fiber friend's farm surrounded by Wenslydale sheep, alpacas, llamas, Maremma dogs, collies and beautiful Oregonian trees. I'll post more about the experience soon, and more about her fiber company, Bellwether Wool Company soon too. For now - please take a moment to check out their website. Bellwether offers an assortment of natural and dyed fibers from all sorts of critters, many raised on my friend's property.

Here's what i've been spinning lately: Bellwether's "bunny fur" roving: an angora rabbit and Rambouillet sheep blend. So soft! I've spun the singles uber finely and started plying yesterday: it's going to be some darn fine and lovely yarn! Excited to try and make a fine scarf or headband from it. I'll post more pictures of the finished 2 ply yarn once it's washed and skeined.

Feeling Behind - Lavender Facial Toner Recipe

2011-09-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Buh! This week is a disaster. First i was sick, now i have an illustration commission, next week is deemed 'soap making extravaganza' plus we'll be house sitting for 3 weeks in the country. I'm a bit overwhelmed!

Needless to say i'm being a bit remiss in the blogging. So, i think i'll borrow a blog post from my OTHER blog for Nude Soap. It's a great DIY facial toner, plus lavender vinegar recipe. I actually borrowed both recipes from another blogger that i found at the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop - a great little hop that you should check out today!

Skin toners work like an astringent, smoothing skin tone and tightening pores. When you wash your face with our Facial Beauty Bar and some hot water, your pores are opened and thoroughly cleaned, as well as moisturized. The kaolin clay in our beauty bar helps to draw out impurities from your pores, and the nourishing oils condition your skin. Hot water is great for opening up those pores, but after washing you want to tighten them back up again, to keep grit and grease out, moisture in. Make this easy facial toner and dab on with a cotton ball after every face wash. Follow with some light moisturizing cream or jojoba oil for a truly divine face washing experience.

1 half gallon white vinegar (may also use apple cider vinegar)
1 bunch fresh or dried lavender
Water

Simply infuse the vinegar with the lavender (broken up some) for about 1 month…. It’s worth the wait! Dilute the vinegar 1 to 1 or less in a glass bottle to use as a facial toner: easy as that! Use the lovely smelling, lavender infused vinegar for all sorts of things: mix with Sal Suds and water for a perfect dish soap, pour some in the laundry to soften clothes, substitute for any home made cleaning recipe that calls for vinegar.

You’ll love it!

Check out the original post and other fun soapy updates over at the Nude Soap blog.