Posts Tagged ‘Mason Jar’
Simple Wealth and Winter Preps
September is here, folks! I can hardly believe it is just one month until my beloved October. The thought of it makes my heart swell.
This long Labor Day weekend started early with a steel gray glimmer of morning and a breeze that glided over me, soft and cool; the first gentle kiss of autumn. It was still in the 50’s when I ventured outside in my sweatshirt and muck boots, watering and feeding chickens and rabbits. There are no leaves falling yet, but the world is changing, moving ever so slightly from one season to another. You can feel it in the sunrise. You can feel it in the change from our blistering August heat wave. You see it in the evening as the sun sets farther to the south and the rising moon throws a golden cast over the farm.
We are picking tomatoes and zucchini almost daily, little shards of insurance for a small family. A pint-sized mason jar filled with fresh herbs sits on the windowsill sending a wave of fragrance through the house. My lone sunflower is beginning to bloom, tall and big and yellow; the last survivor from marauding birds and scavenging chickens, and a few apples hang on the tree growing fat and juice, until they are plucked off and put into a pie or cobbler or spice bread. Some of the older hens that were beyond being good layers and a rooster were taken to the feed store to be given away. I’ll hold on to the few good layers I have until spring then think about increasing the flock. Production is a big deal on our little farm and those who can’t pull their weight in stocking the kitchen don’t stay around to waste precious feed. Sounds harsh I know, but that’s the reality of farm life.
Winter preps are still at the forefront of my mind. I feel an urgency about getting this farm settled for a long winter, maybe even more so than in past years. The agricultural meteorologist, the one all the farmers listen to for weather forecasts, is calling for an El Nino winter; and that can mean only one thing — RAIN — and lots of it. Making sure the farm is set to handle such storms drives my actions.
The new batch of meat birds is slatted to arrive next week and now that the opossum family has been caught and relocated I am more excited than ever to get some meat in the freezer. I still have a few half chickens left. There are also packages of lamb, the ducks we raised in spring and containers of soup base and cooked down chicken carcasses that can be made into casseroles and potpies. The pantry is pretty well stocked with dry goods like beans, lentil, rice, barley and pasta; all the makings for a hearty and warm winter meal; and with Brianne off to college even the smallest amount of meat and veggies seem to go farther. Even with all this, I’ll make a stock up trip to fill in and take advantage of prices before we see increases caused by this summers’ drought.
The greenhouse now has a roof, a barrier from the wind and rain. The plan is to finish the walls this weekend. With any luck the whole thing will be done in a week or so and I can begin planting root veggies and salad greens in the fall garden. Maybe I’ll even try a few potted veggies that can stay in the greenhouse over winter. One of the nice things about living in an area where you can garden 365-days is that we do not have the pressure to “get seeds in the ground” like other areas of the country.
I still have firewood to bring in and the house to switch over from summer to winter. My list is made and it’s thrilling to cross things off. By the time wood smoke circles the farm we’ll be ready, mark my words. This will be a warm and comfy farm house, glowing and smelling of winter.
I am smiling, folks, for these are all small banks of insurance. Money may be nice, but it can’t beat a warm stew fresh from the farm. Now that’s simple wealth!
Mason Jar Meals
Warm summer nights are the perfect time to enjoy the freshness of the garden — when clear skies beckon and staying inside seems impossible. This is also the time of year when many towns and cities explode with outdoor activities like concerts-in-the-park, art shows, plays and festivals. It’s a time to sit around a lake and let the cool summer air drift over you or lull around listening to the crashing sounds of ocean waves. So grab your picnic basket and stake your claim on the great outdoors with a well worn quilt and a pile of soft, plump pillows. Surround yourself with family and friends and an iced cold glass of fresh lemonade or tea.
Take the garden with you with fresh seasonal salads, which are more easily transportable and attractive when packed in a single serving Mason jar. Try a tangy and aromatic salad featuring a medley of heirloom tomatoes, haricot verts, Persian cucumbers, sweet Vidalia onions and shallots tossed in light champagne vinaigrette and topped with fresh minced dill, basil and oregano. How about a sweet Asian cucumber salad, a Greek salad of tomatoes, cumbers and onions, or, use your favorite veggie combination to make your own creations. Paired with a crusty bread and fresh made cheese it’s bound to make any sultry summer night even better.
Taking Back Life
Taking back a life and a farm is no easy task. It starts early, lasts till dark and cleanses the body with sweat. My “take back” plan started in the quiet pre-dawn hours of the morning. Over a cup of free trade tea I sat at my kitchen table staring out the window and thinking as all that needed to be done rumbled through my head. But none of that would get the job done, so I picked up my pen and started writing, making a list really of all the chores, repairs, tasks, errands that needed to be accomplished to get us back on track.
When I had filled an entire page I stopped, a little overwhelmed by the shear volume. But when I realized the jobs were falling into categories like barn, garden, yard, garage, house I felt a little better. I could group the jobs by area and work on one area at a time with inside jobs being done in the middle of the day when it was too hot outside to work very long in the garden or yard.
By mid-morning I had fed and collected eggs, planted and watered in 45 4” pots of pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes, watered 2 flats of sunflower seedlings, picked lettuce, radishes and spinach, fixed the water line to the fruit trees, repaired a few sprinklers, washed and refilled water fonts, water buckets and water bottles, scrubbed out and stored the water fonts used for the meat ducks, swept the front of the barn of cobwebs and dirt, cleaned the kitchen and thrown in two loads of laundry. I didn’t work at a frantic pace, I’ve had enough of that lately, but I worked steadily, moving seamlessly from one task to another like a dance of persistence and determination. As each chore was marked off the list I could feel the chaos and stress fade in my body and my mind.
A short break and a much needed glass of Mason Jar tea gave me time to regroup, figure out my next step and, of course, add to the list. The sun was reaching high in a crystal blue sky and it was getting warmer, no sign of the storm reported on last night’s news. Some of our chores would need supplies which meant a trip into town. We were also low on chicken and sheep feed and I had a few errands to run too, so I decided this would be our afternoon break with lunch thrown in as a treat.
I love living in a small town. I never have to go very far for the things I need. Some people think it’s boring, no energy and nothing to do, but there’s a different kind of energy in a small town. It’s steady and constant. I like it.
When I had unloaded 300 pounds of livestock feed and put away the proceeds of my errands I set about repairing a water hose blown out during the duck butchering. Nothing goes to waste on a small farm, if it can be repaired.
The worked continued…mow the lawn, clean the rabbit hutch, refill nesting boxes with bedding, bolt together another raised bed and fill it with cleanings from the barn and coop along with a healthy dose of garden soil and compost, a new home for salad greens and root vegetables. As later afternoon came we began to wind down. A late afternoon snack and drink, and a call from my sister inviting me to the movies brought our day’s work to an abrupt end. So much had been done and life was beginning to look normal again. After a quick shower and a change of clothes I’m off to see “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”. I think I deserve it.
Besides, as Scarlett O’Hara famously said, “tomorrow is another day”.
Mason Jar Lemonade and Iced Tea
Masonades!
We have a barbeque restaurant in town that serves cold drinks in quart-sized mason jars. They call them MASONADES, packed with ice, easy to handle and the perfect size so that you’re not slurping the bottom in just a few drinks.
With the days getting warmer, a lot of us are spending more time outside. Whether you’re enjoying time in the barn, lounging in the garden or just running to town for errands, spring is a great time to enjoy a batch of good old fashioned refreshment.
I’m a big fan (huge actually) of fresh, homemade, lemonade and brewed iced tea. But, since there are only two of us, it doesn’t make sense to make a big pitcher. Taking a hint from my local BBQ joint I came up with a way to make my own single-serving sized drinks in portable containers, which is great when you’re on the road and want a cold drink to take along with you, or when you’ve been outside digging in the garden and need something instantly cold and sweet to boost up your blood sugar. Enter Mason Jar Lemonade and Iced Tea – quart-sized servings of hand-squeezed lemonade or fresh brewed iced tea. You can make enough for a whole weekend in few minutes, which makes me wonder how powdered drink mixes ever became popular.
Here’s what you need:
Quart mason jars (with lids)
Fresh organic lemons
Water
Ice cubes
Natural sugar or honey
Natural lemon juice
Organic black tea bags or flavored tea bags
Fresh mint or lemon verbena from the garden
Here’s what to do:
Fill jars halfway with warm water (the warm water helps dissolve the sugar and honey). Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a jar, and plop the cut lemon into the jar as well, making the water tart and filled with little bits of pulp and flavor. If you really want to kick up the tartness – add some fresh lemon juice (about a teaspoon) to the mix. Then add as much sugar or honey as you like (depending on your mood and the weather it could be as little as a teaspoon or as much as 2 tablespoons). Top it off with ice till it’s nearly overflowing. Seal the lid and shake the hell out of it until its one big, frothy, icy delight. There you have it. Farm fresh, all natural, and ready for travel.
For the Iced Tea:
I just pour hot water from a kettle into room-temperature jars with an organic black tea-bag and let it cool on the kitchen counter. Then I drop in a lemon slice and a bit of sugar, some ice, a sprig of mint and sit it in the fridge alongside the jars of lemonade. When it’s cold enough to condense water off the sides, it’s manna from the still.
For an added treat try flavored teas like Blueberry or Raspberry. Better yet, mix the tea and the lemonade, half and half, in one jar for a killer organic fresh-made Arnold Palmer.
I make several of these and stash them in the fridge so I’m never out of a refreshing drink. Instead of grabbing a can of soda, I grab a cold jar of real lemonade in a reusable container, which not only tastes amazing, but feels more authentic than any processed beverage.
Need to please a crowd?
Try this “Lemonade for 100” recipe from the “Joy of Cooking”.
Boil for 10 minutes
4 cups water
8 cups sugar
Cool the syrup. Then stir in:
71/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
To serve, simply mix the concentrate with 4 gallons of cold water and serve over ice.
There you have it – enough lemonade concentrate to quench the thirst of any army.
Add style to your outdoor gathering by serving it in pint-sized mason jars with bowls of sliced lemons, mint and lemon verbena as garnishes.
Home Churned Butter
When I started moving toward a simpler, more self-reliant homesteading life one of the first projects I tried was making homemade butter. Now, it’s the first recommendation I make to anyone moving in the same direction. It’s so easy and the results are immediate – and delicious.
You don’t need any fancy equipment to get started, a quart-size mason jar or mayonnaise jar will do fine. To learn how truly easy making butter is check out this article here.
Fresh homemade butter is nothing like you’ve tasted before. So, buy some cream folks and start churning.
photo credit: redwinegums
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Aenean nonummy hendrerit mauris. Phasellus porta.