Frugal Friday

"Rather to go to bed supperless than rise in debt"- Benjamin Franklin

Just to warn ya, most of the summer's "frugality" is going to revolve around food preservation.
So consider yourself warned :-)

Well, we jumped right from freezing peas on Wednesday to picking green beans on Friday.  I thought Bri was going to cry when she saw they were ready to be picked!

We start out by picking early in the morning- the vegys are supposed to be at their peak taste in the morning- something to do with the sugars stored in the plant. 

Once they are picked, we all sit around and break off the ends and snap the beans into 1 inch pieces. 
(Because, if you remember, this is where the TV watching comes in.  It's the most popular step, needless to say.)

Then, I put them in a huge cooking pot and bring then to a boil- simmer 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat.

Load them into pre-washed mason jars, add 1/2 tsp seasalt in each jar, and slid a knife along the inside of the jars to remove any air bubbles.

Add new seal lids that have been boiled, and tighten on the rims.

Place the ready jars into the pressure canner, then follow the instructions that come with the canner.

This is my "return" to using a pressure canner.   I was fairly nervous, since it's been years since I've used one, and I wasn't keen on blowing my kitchen up, so I followed the instructions to a T.

Notice the different stove??  Our newer glass top cannot be used for canning because the heat will crack the top, so we (and by "we", I mean "Loren") had to move our old stove back for canning season.

I've missed my old stove.   (See the burnt ring around the right burner?  That's from canning.)

Good times.....

Be Prepared

 I want to start out by saying how proud I was of my husband Sunday night. 

Not that this is unusual, but it was a different kind of proud, the kind that almost made me verklempt.

Loren portrays all the values that I had on my checklist for a husband- incredibly loyal, compassionate, old fashioned in a good way, honest to a fault, trustworthy.....yes, he sounds like a Boy Scout. 

Which brings me to Sunday night.  Luke's best friend, Evan, was receiving his Eagle Scout award for Scouts, and Loren had been asked to "make a few comments".  (Or give a heartfelt speech that would bring the audience to tears...yah, that's the one he chose)

Luke and Evan

Loren is part of a long tradition in Viborg of producing an incredible amount of Eagle Scouts.  He was part of a group of 5 scouts one year from Troop 61 who earned their Eagle Scout awards, receiving alot of attention because of the large number of recipients from such a small town. They even garnered a spot on the local news station and an article in the paper.  Loren's father, Wayne, was his scout leader, and Evan's grandpa, Bob, has been involved as our area Scout director for many years, so our families have been linked through scouting.

The ceremony was simple but heartfelt, and everyone felt the enormity of this accomplishment.  Evan read a poem about Scout mothers that made us choke up and his mother cry.  Then it came for him to "pin" the adults that had helped him along the way; after pinning both his parents, he pinned Loren as his Mentor, which surprised and really pleased him.

Scouting is a long standing tradition that is seeped in old fashioned values.  The young men that travel the road to Eagle Scout learn the importance of committment and dedication to family and community, faith and country.  

It emphasizes doing for others instead of just doing for themselves.

I think everyone should become a Boy Scout. :-)

Loren, Luke, Ethan, Evan, PJ, Cody, Mike

Buds!

Frugal Friday~

This week's garden harvest includes peas and raspberries.  Because these are "fragile" fruits and vegetables, they preserve better when frozen, as compared to the canning process, which is kind of hard on vegetables and fruit.  Their flavor and texture is better if you first flash-freeze them, then bag them.

First, place the freshly picked raspberries in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

Second,  place them in the freezer for about 4-6 hours.

Third, bag and label them, and pop them in the freezer.

 Fresh produce during the winter with the taste of summer. 

Because these raspberry bushes grew from some shoots planted years ago and they come back every year, it's hard to determine how much it cost to produce these raspberries.  However, to purchase bags of frozen raspberries currently costs over $4.00/qt bag, so I'm hoping that those bushes just keep on producing! 

 I love perennials because they are SO worth the investment price of planting them, because if they are taken care of, they just keep on giving.

Pea Harvest

Our mild spring weather, along with all the moisture we've been getting, has resulted in optimum gardening conditions.  The pea plants are almost taller than I am!  (I know....that's not a very hard thing to do because I'm only 4'11, but still, it's impressive.)

So yesterday, Camille and I spent 3 hours picking peas,(well, she wandered off after about 20 minutes, but it's the thought that counts!)  and another 4 hours shelling them, with help from Bri and Luke.

And that's only the first picking!  We are going to be eating LOTS of peas this year. My Dad also loves peas, so we will share :-) 

I have willing pea shellers because I let them indulge in their TV obsessions while they shell, because really, it's a very boring job.  So, to season the pot, so to speak, I let them watch TV as long as they keep on shelling.  Yesterday, we shelled over 30# of peas!  (yes, I weighed them) 

It's funny how these yearly chores build memories.  The kids were talking about how they always would think about watching funny Seinfeld reruns whenever they would eat peas, because that's what they watched last year when we were shelling.  This year, it's Cosby reruns. 

Yes, there are days when I wish we didn't own a TV, and that my kids weren't so keen on watching it ALL THE TIME, and then there are times when it weaves itself into our traditions.  Besides, it makes hours of shelling endurable.  Listening to the birds sing while sitting on the deck just wouldn't cut the monotony of pea shelling like laughing at little Rudy Huxtable and the crazy antics of Bill Cosby.  I get it.

Now, I'm going to go sit down to shell some peas....and watch a little Veronica Mars. :-)

4th of July

We are so fortunate that we live in a country where we can enjoy so many freedoms.......




Camille and Friends



AnnaMarie, Bri, Hannah, Lani

Loren visiting

Luke and many boys setting off fireworks



Spent the morning painting my bedroom

Just another Independence Day!  We worked on the farm in the morning, had a wonderful picnic with friends in the afternoon, and watched fireworks that night.   

The 4th of July is also our anniversary.  Loren loves using his standby quip "Isn't it ironic that I got married on "independence" day!?"

Very funny, sweetheart. :-)

I like it because we get the day off every year....and there will always be fireworks!

Just Because...

Had to post these pics, just because they were so darn cute :-)

(This picture was not set up- honest!  I came in and found the 3 of them napping in this basket.  My fiddling with the camera woke them up.)

Frugal Friday~

This is a double duty tip- qualifies as frugal and Green! 

Instead of using environmentally harmful chemicals to get rid of bugs, we take a little extra time and pick them off, then feed them to our chickens. 

No expensive chemicals, no toxins on your plants, and your chickens will thank you!

Camille is my bug picking helper, and today we were picking Squash bugs (yes, that is a technical term...) off of the potato plants.  It's easy work, and the plants look much happier once we were done.

Handle our planet with care and a little TLC.  And if it saves you money in the process, then all the better!