I feel like this might not be complete and I know I've got a few projects to wrap up, but I want to get this recorded before I lose my paper full of scribbles!
Frozen
Rhubarb 2 gallons
Strawberries, whole 4 quarts
Strawberries, sliced in sugar 7 pints
Mulberries 8 gallons
Blackcaps 4 quarts
Cherries 1 gallon, 6 pints
Blueberries 2 quarts
Green Beans 18 bags
Swiss Chard 6 bags, 1 large bag
Kale 22 bags
Mixed Green 7 bags
Beets 11 bags
Corn 4 bags
Roasted Vegetables 5 large, 16 pint containers
Chopped Jalapenos 6 3/4 c. bags
Garden Marinara 4 quarts
Vegetable Bisque Base 3 large containers
Pesto 19 small containers
Zucchini Butter 5 containers (meal sized portions)
Shredded Zucchini 14 bags
Canned
Applesauce 52 quarts, 1 pint
Strawberry sauce 6 pints
Peaches 14 quarts
Queen Anne's Lace Jelly with Currants 5 half pints
Mulberry Jam 4 pints, 13 half pints
Brown Butter Banana Butter 6 half pints
Apple Butter 5 12 oz jars
Corn Cob Syrup 4 pints
Peach Syrup 2 quarts, 7 pints
Diced Tomatoes 26 quarts, 1 pint
Garden Marinara 8 quarts
Enchilada Sauce 7 pints
Pizza Sauce 13 pints
Tomato juice/water 16 quarts
Tomato Soup 14 quarts
Tomato Chutney 9 pints
Tomato BBQ Sauce 20 pints
Roasted Corn Salsa 20 quarts, 8 pints
Tomato Salsa 9 quarts
Fiesta Corn Relish 6 pints
Dill Pickles 18 quarts
Bread and Butter Pickles 14 quarts
Garlic Scapes 3 pints
Chicken Stock 5 super concentrated quarts, many other quarts
Garlic Bulbs 88
Maple Syrup 12 quarts (from bulk buy)
Dehydrated Apples 1.5 quarts
Dehydrated Cherry Tomatoes 3 quarts
We are basically done with our grass fed beef from 3 years ago and will most likely buy a quarter or half from Wundrows in the coming months. We purchased 1/2 a pig from Ibelings after fair and are quickly making our way through it. We purchased a lamb from Knutsens in the spring and are slowly making our way through it :) It is stronger flavored and also pricier so we are spreading it out. The meat chickens did well this year and are disappearing all too quickly. The 5 new layers started laying, but then stopped so they are a disappointment so far as they've been here since May and we've gotten only a few dozen if we are lucky. The 2 year old girls molted and also stopped laying so we are basically eggless right now. Kelby is eating duck eggs from Wundrows and other friends. Milk still comes from Wundrows, honey from the neighbor on 140 and most of the produce is from our own gardens. It was a late, but productive tomato year for us. We got apples from Marcee, our tree and Aunt Betty, strawberries from our patch and Wundrows, Peaches from Michigan through Kauffmans. Syrup still from Troy, but may need to price other places as he is getting higher and gave us less for the higher price this year. Have a bunch of squashes and pumpkins that are partially cooked and partially waiting to be cooked. They were bought at Aldi and at the 4 way stop in Clinton. Potatoes did terrible in the ground this year and will be back in a raised bed for sure! All in all it has been a good year and our freezers and shelves are very full!
Showing posts with label frugal groceries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frugal groceries. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Friday, September 1, 2017
Bulk Pork Purchase 2017
We bought a half pig from the Ibelings this year. This little piggy went to fair and it is a terminal fair so they all go to butcher after. We were offered a whole or half and went with half, thankfully since our freezers are so !
This pig was processed at Sorg's so this will be our first time trying the bacon and ham. Hopefully we'll like it! They charged $20 (1/2 the kill fee), $.50 for cut and wrap (appears this is only on dressed weight, not on hanging weight), $.45/lb for smoking (we had 33 pounds that got smoked, just hams and bacon), and $7.50 for a trucking fee. So the total charges to Sorg's was $91.35 for 98 pounds of dressed weight. When I weighed our meat I came up with 96.5, but it was on our bathroom scale, so I figure it was close.
Here is what we got...
Bacon 13 pounds
Country Ribs 1 pack, 2.5 pounds
Pork Chops 8 packs, 15 pounds
Butt Roast 2 packs, 7.5 pounds
Hock 1 pack, 4 pounds
Loin Roast 1 pack, 3 pounds
Jowl 2 packs, 3 pounds
Hams 2 packs, 23.5 pounds
Sausage 15 packs, 15 pounds
Shoulder Picnic roast 2 packs, 6 pounds
Spare Ribs 1 pack, 3 pounds
Neck Bones 1 pack, 1 pound
We also got 10.5 pounds of fat to render down. I could have had them do it and probably will do that in the future. We also got a pork bladder for the kids to blow up and play with like Laura Ingalls Wilder did. The kids are so excited that they gave us one!
So it broke down as follows $70 to Ibelings, $91.35 to Sorgs which is $1.67/lb for the meat and if you include the fat it comes to $1.51/lb total. Either way a good price for everything!
This pig was processed at Sorg's so this will be our first time trying the bacon and ham. Hopefully we'll like it! They charged $20 (1/2 the kill fee), $.50 for cut and wrap (appears this is only on dressed weight, not on hanging weight), $.45/lb for smoking (we had 33 pounds that got smoked, just hams and bacon), and $7.50 for a trucking fee. So the total charges to Sorg's was $91.35 for 98 pounds of dressed weight. When I weighed our meat I came up with 96.5, but it was on our bathroom scale, so I figure it was close.
Here is what we got...
Bacon 13 pounds
Country Ribs 1 pack, 2.5 pounds
Pork Chops 8 packs, 15 pounds
Butt Roast 2 packs, 7.5 pounds
Hock 1 pack, 4 pounds
Loin Roast 1 pack, 3 pounds
Jowl 2 packs, 3 pounds
Hams 2 packs, 23.5 pounds
Sausage 15 packs, 15 pounds
Shoulder Picnic roast 2 packs, 6 pounds
Spare Ribs 1 pack, 3 pounds
Neck Bones 1 pack, 1 pound
We also got 10.5 pounds of fat to render down. I could have had them do it and probably will do that in the future. We also got a pork bladder for the kids to blow up and play with like Laura Ingalls Wilder did. The kids are so excited that they gave us one!
So it broke down as follows $70 to Ibelings, $91.35 to Sorgs which is $1.67/lb for the meat and if you include the fat it comes to $1.51/lb total. Either way a good price for everything!
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Meat Chickens 2017
This is an interesting year to report on our meat birds as so many variable are in play. This year I wanted to order all cockerels again, but the hatchery was sold out. Not a problem, I just went with a straight run of 20 and 5 replacement hens, expecting there to be 6 hens and 21 meat birds. When I got to Sharon to pick them up there were only 20 meat birds in the box and one of them was dead. There were 6 hens, however and all seemed fine. In the end I didn't lose anymore meat birds, thankfully, but of the 19 I got 13 were female. Considering they always come out basically 50/50 this was a rather unpleasant surprise. I lost one replacement hen the day they moved out side because she was killed by the neighbors dog.
This year I also switched to organic freed from DeLongs. I used one bag of organic starter and then went to an organic grower, but after finding out it was like 16% protein I returned the unopened ones and went to a 21% starter/grower. So total we used 1 bag of starter, one of grower, and 6 of the 21% protein one. A total of 8 bags of food for 25 birds through week 4 and 24 birds for 9 weeks. The total for feed was right around $241.86.
We butchered a total of 19 birds (and our teeny, tiny rooster, Chocolate, but his numbers aren't in the totals.) We had 13 females and 6 males and they finished out with a total of 124 pounds! Our largest birds were 7.5 pounds and are smallest were 5.5 pounds with a 6.5 pound average. So really, they did well on their weights, partially because we waited until 9 weeks to butcher. We also did collect 2 pounds, 11 oz of liver and hearts and 2 pounds of gizzards.
So the breakdown of our organic, pastured chickens was $1.95/pound! I was seriously concerned we'd be much, much higher, so I was very happy with that. If you count in the organ meats it comes down to $1.87/pound. And these numbers include the grain for the replacement hens, which added no value in meat as of now. They are now eating the same no soy, organic ration as our laying hens, but for 9 weeks their feed costs are buried in the meat birds numbers. All in all a good year, even with the challenges.
This year I also switched to organic freed from DeLongs. I used one bag of organic starter and then went to an organic grower, but after finding out it was like 16% protein I returned the unopened ones and went to a 21% starter/grower. So total we used 1 bag of starter, one of grower, and 6 of the 21% protein one. A total of 8 bags of food for 25 birds through week 4 and 24 birds for 9 weeks. The total for feed was right around $241.86.
We butchered a total of 19 birds (and our teeny, tiny rooster, Chocolate, but his numbers aren't in the totals.) We had 13 females and 6 males and they finished out with a total of 124 pounds! Our largest birds were 7.5 pounds and are smallest were 5.5 pounds with a 6.5 pound average. So really, they did well on their weights, partially because we waited until 9 weeks to butcher. We also did collect 2 pounds, 11 oz of liver and hearts and 2 pounds of gizzards.
So the breakdown of our organic, pastured chickens was $1.95/pound! I was seriously concerned we'd be much, much higher, so I was very happy with that. If you count in the organ meats it comes down to $1.87/pound. And these numbers include the grain for the replacement hens, which added no value in meat as of now. They are now eating the same no soy, organic ration as our laying hens, but for 9 weeks their feed costs are buried in the meat birds numbers. All in all a good year, even with the challenges.
Monday, November 9, 2015
Preserving 2015
This has been a big year! Here is the run down...
Frozen Items
Beet Greens 1 big bag
Garlic Mustard 4 small bags
Swiss Chard 6 small bags, 3 quart bags and one huge bag
Kale 21 small bags, 3 large bags
Green Peppers approximately 100 peppers chopped and sliced for fajitas
Orange Pepper 4 quart bags sliced for fajitas
Mulberries 6 quarts, 5 gallons
Black caps 5 quarts
Red Raspberries 1 quart
Blueberries 9 quarts
Peaches 1 gallon
Garlic scapes 14 bags chopped, 10 jars of paste
Strawberries 6 jars of sliced, 1 gallon whole
Tart Cherries 2 gallons
Green Beans 14 big bags, 10 medium bags
Cauliflower 7 bags
Pesto 20 small jars
Zucchini 4 bags shredded
Garden Marinara 2 quarts
Garlic Lemon Veggies for bisque 5 jars (3 soup recipes)
Zucchini Butter 6 large batches
Beets 6 bags
Cinnamon Apples 6 gallons
Squash/butternut squash/pumpkin puree 17 pb jars
Pumpkin Butter 10 1/2 pint jars
Dehydrated
Apples 7 quarts
Cherry tomatoes 2 quarts, 1 pint
Thyme, Oregano, Chives, and lots of Mint
Canning
Garden Marinara 7 quarts, 2 pints
Tomatoes 22 quarts, 1 pint
Tomato 'water' 4 quarts
Salsa 16 quarts
Spiced apples 2 quarts and 9 pints
Pears 25 quarts, 5 pints
Peaches 12 quarts
Peach Juice 4 quarts, 1 pint
Cherry lime syrup 3 pints
Applesauce 51 quarts, 2 pints
Apple 'juice' 2 quarts
Pear 'juice' 3 pints
Dilly beans 9 pints
Garlic Dill pickles 20 quarts
Bread and butter pickles 7 quarts
Pickled garlic scapes 1 quart, 11 pints
Chard Stems w/ Sriracha 5 pints, regular 3 pints
Roasted corn salsa 9 pints
Fiesta Corn relish 10 pints
Spiced cranberry apple sauce 3 pints, 1 half pint
Sliced apples 4 quarts
Apple Bourbon Chipotle BBQ sauce 15 pints, 1 quart
Spiced Pear Pancake sauce 4 pints, 1 quart
Jam
Mulberrry jam 13 pints, 2 half pints
Blueberry cinnamon 4 pints
Black cap/Mulberry 6 half pints
Pear spice 7 pints, 4 half pints
Wild grape jelly 11 half pints
Rhubarb vanilla 2 pints
I still have about 15 butternut squash and 3 large other ones to freeze (one Hubbard and two other ones). These got eaten and turned into puree and pumpkin butter. I've got about 5 small cabbages in the fridge along with beets and turnips. Kale, chard, turnips, lettuce and spinach still out in the garden and doing okay in the frosts/freezes so far. Lots of maple syrup canned up, along with pinto, black and garbanzo beans, chicken and beef stock. We put 21 chickens in the freezer (gave two away) and have a little pork (last year's pig purchase) and lots of beef (fall of 2013) left from previous years. We get our honey from 2 miles away and our milk from 10 miles away. Most of our produce came from our 10 raised and 1 in ground gardens, mulberry trees, and black cap vines. The extra squash and peppers came from Brad at the market, garlic scapes from The Blossom and The Bean, apples from multiple neighbors and Orchard Ridge, pears from tree near church and Orchard Ridge, cherries from our tree and Korleskis, corn from McCabes and peaches from Kaufmans. Really happy with everything turning out as good as it did with our incredibly challenging year and especially summer. We foraged the garlic mustard and asparagus in the spring and just missed out on some puff ball mushrooms this fall! Lots of jars are filled...makes me feel so content and secure to see them filled up. Still had a decent amount of applesauce, tomato chutney and other items left from last year. Last count put the jars filled right around 450 or so :)
Frozen Items
Beet Greens 1 big bag
Garlic Mustard 4 small bags
Swiss Chard 6 small bags, 3 quart bags and one huge bag
Kale 21 small bags, 3 large bags
Green Peppers approximately 100 peppers chopped and sliced for fajitas
Orange Pepper 4 quart bags sliced for fajitas
Mulberries 6 quarts, 5 gallons
Black caps 5 quarts
Red Raspberries 1 quart
Blueberries 9 quarts
Peaches 1 gallon
Garlic scapes 14 bags chopped, 10 jars of paste
Strawberries 6 jars of sliced, 1 gallon whole
Tart Cherries 2 gallons
Green Beans 14 big bags, 10 medium bags
Cauliflower 7 bags
Pesto 20 small jars
Zucchini 4 bags shredded
Garden Marinara 2 quarts
Garlic Lemon Veggies for bisque 5 jars (3 soup recipes)
Zucchini Butter 6 large batches
Beets 6 bags
Cinnamon Apples 6 gallons
Squash/butternut squash/pumpkin puree 17 pb jars
Pumpkin Butter 10 1/2 pint jars
Dehydrated
Apples 7 quarts
Cherry tomatoes 2 quarts, 1 pint
Thyme, Oregano, Chives, and lots of Mint
Canning
Garden Marinara 7 quarts, 2 pints
Tomatoes 22 quarts, 1 pint
Tomato 'water' 4 quarts
Salsa 16 quarts
Spiced apples 2 quarts and 9 pints
Pears 25 quarts, 5 pints
Peaches 12 quarts
Peach Juice 4 quarts, 1 pint
Cherry lime syrup 3 pints
Applesauce 51 quarts, 2 pints
Apple 'juice' 2 quarts
Pear 'juice' 3 pints
Dilly beans 9 pints
Garlic Dill pickles 20 quarts
Bread and butter pickles 7 quarts
Pickled garlic scapes 1 quart, 11 pints
Chard Stems w/ Sriracha 5 pints, regular 3 pints
Roasted corn salsa 9 pints
Fiesta Corn relish 10 pints
Spiced cranberry apple sauce 3 pints, 1 half pint
Sliced apples 4 quarts
Apple Bourbon Chipotle BBQ sauce 15 pints, 1 quart
Spiced Pear Pancake sauce 4 pints, 1 quart
Jam
Mulberrry jam 13 pints, 2 half pints
Blueberry cinnamon 4 pints
Black cap/Mulberry 6 half pints
Pear spice 7 pints, 4 half pints
Wild grape jelly 11 half pints
Rhubarb vanilla 2 pints
I still have about 15 butternut squash and 3 large other ones to freeze (one Hubbard and two other ones). These got eaten and turned into puree and pumpkin butter. I've got about 5 small cabbages in the fridge along with beets and turnips. Kale, chard, turnips, lettuce and spinach still out in the garden and doing okay in the frosts/freezes so far. Lots of maple syrup canned up, along with pinto, black and garbanzo beans, chicken and beef stock. We put 21 chickens in the freezer (gave two away) and have a little pork (last year's pig purchase) and lots of beef (fall of 2013) left from previous years. We get our honey from 2 miles away and our milk from 10 miles away. Most of our produce came from our 10 raised and 1 in ground gardens, mulberry trees, and black cap vines. The extra squash and peppers came from Brad at the market, garlic scapes from The Blossom and The Bean, apples from multiple neighbors and Orchard Ridge, pears from tree near church and Orchard Ridge, cherries from our tree and Korleskis, corn from McCabes and peaches from Kaufmans. Really happy with everything turning out as good as it did with our incredibly challenging year and especially summer. We foraged the garlic mustard and asparagus in the spring and just missed out on some puff ball mushrooms this fall! Lots of jars are filled...makes me feel so content and secure to see them filled up. Still had a decent amount of applesauce, tomato chutney and other items left from last year. Last count put the jars filled right around 450 or so :)
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Chickens!
Our first home grown meat is finished! So excited that I took the plunge and just went for it. It really wasn't hard, but did take time. It cost more than I thought (isn't that always the case) as they went through about 2 more bags of food than I had figured. And the butchering wasn't easy, but it also wasn't hard and it did go fast. Next time I'll have sharper tools and a better set up and it should go even better! I butchered 4 of the biggest roosters at 8 weeks and 1 day and the other 11 we did at 4 days.
So the breakdown...
Ordered 15 chicks, was sent 16, lost one at 3 days...in the end the remaining 15 made it to the freezer! Chicks cost $25.
Went through 7 fifty pound bags of food at about $16 each after tax. So total was $137 in chicks and food. I did spend money to build the tractor, buys some dishes, some apple cider vinegar, etc, but most of these are reusable items, so only counting in the cost of this batch in figuring $/pound.
We ended up with 14 birds for roasting (or whatever) and one in pieces. He had a broken wing that was starting to get infected. To be safe I just took both wings off and kept his legs and breast meat. Total meat weight was 77 pounds, would have been 2-3 pounds higher had he been left whole. Birds finished right around 5 pounds each with a few roosters going up to 6 and just over. I also kept the 30 feet for making stock, the livers for making dog food (maybe 2 pounds worth?) and the 7 pounds of odds and ends (heart, gizzard and necks) for adding to stock. Amazing how much comes off those birds that were little puff balls 8 weeks ago.
So total meat was 77 pounds and cost was $137 making our breakdown $1.77/lb. If we include everything else it comes down significantly, but just comparing to roasters in the store that is where we land. Of course, our birds have no solution added so that is the real weight and we know how they were raised and that they had a good life. Many good days and a few bad moments hopefully means some great tasting chicken!
What an adventure!
So the breakdown...
Ordered 15 chicks, was sent 16, lost one at 3 days...in the end the remaining 15 made it to the freezer! Chicks cost $25.
Went through 7 fifty pound bags of food at about $16 each after tax. So total was $137 in chicks and food. I did spend money to build the tractor, buys some dishes, some apple cider vinegar, etc, but most of these are reusable items, so only counting in the cost of this batch in figuring $/pound.
We ended up with 14 birds for roasting (or whatever) and one in pieces. He had a broken wing that was starting to get infected. To be safe I just took both wings off and kept his legs and breast meat. Total meat weight was 77 pounds, would have been 2-3 pounds higher had he been left whole. Birds finished right around 5 pounds each with a few roosters going up to 6 and just over. I also kept the 30 feet for making stock, the livers for making dog food (maybe 2 pounds worth?) and the 7 pounds of odds and ends (heart, gizzard and necks) for adding to stock. Amazing how much comes off those birds that were little puff balls 8 weeks ago.
So total meat was 77 pounds and cost was $137 making our breakdown $1.77/lb. If we include everything else it comes down significantly, but just comparing to roasters in the store that is where we land. Of course, our birds have no solution added so that is the real weight and we know how they were raised and that they had a good life. Many good days and a few bad moments hopefully means some great tasting chicken!
What an adventure!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
2014 Pork Purchase Breakdown
We purchased another hog from Country Pride Meats in Clinton this spring. They again ran a special in conjunction with their customer appreciation day. This year the price was $1.85/lb (based on hanging weight) for the basic cuts and smoking of hams and bacon. The price was $.10/lb higher than last year and this year there was an additional charge if you wanted any sausage or smoking of hocks and such. We just had them do the basic and left our ground pork plain. This will mean I get to make our sausage exactly how I want it!
The break down this year:
Ham (have these cut in half) 4 packs, 20lbs
Ham Steaks 4 packs, 8 lbs
Bacon 12 packs, 12 lbs
3 packs, 4 lbs
Pork Steaks 14 packs, 12.5 lbs (next year these should be packed 2 to a pack)
Pork Chops 17 packs, 19.5 lbs
Loin Roasts 2 packs, 9 lbs (were supposed to be 3 lbs each, but not a big deal)
Shoulder Roasts 4 packs, 13 lbs
Ground Pork 21 packs, 21 lbs
Jowls 2 packs, 4.5 lbs
Hocks 4 packs, 10 lbs
Country Ribs 1 pack, 4 lbs
Spare Ribs 2 packs, 6 lbs
Liver 3 packs, 3 lbs
I didn't ask for the fat as we have lots of lard and even a sack of fat to render in the freezer (from some friends.) The pork liver is something we've never tried, but I figure we'll feed it to the dogs if nothing else.
146.5 lbs of take home meat, 191 lbs hanging weight, which means we had a conversion of 76.7% this year. That is fantastic! I'm not sure if I was generous with weights or if there was just a great conversion on this big, but we are happy with it. Even with the slight price increase we actually came in with a better price based on take home meat. It turned out to be $2.41/lb, which I think is pretty amazing for great pork that supported a local farmer, a local butcher and means we have a year's worth of pork. With the things I've heard about the virus wiping out baby pigs I'm sure pork is going to be increasing in a big way this year. I'm also glad to have our beef for the next year and a half in the freezer too as I've heard crazy increases are coming in the beef world too. I've got 15 little chicks that are hopefully going to be in the freezer in about 6-7 weeks too. And if all goes well in raising them I'll raise another group in the fall, which should pride us enough chicken for the year. We'll be getting hens in less than week too, hopefully! So the egg production is coming in house as well....making strides!
The break down this year:
Ham (have these cut in half) 4 packs, 20lbs
Ham Steaks 4 packs, 8 lbs
Bacon 12 packs, 12 lbs
3 packs, 4 lbs
Pork Steaks 14 packs, 12.5 lbs (next year these should be packed 2 to a pack)
Pork Chops 17 packs, 19.5 lbs
Loin Roasts 2 packs, 9 lbs (were supposed to be 3 lbs each, but not a big deal)
Shoulder Roasts 4 packs, 13 lbs
Ground Pork 21 packs, 21 lbs
Jowls 2 packs, 4.5 lbs
Hocks 4 packs, 10 lbs
Country Ribs 1 pack, 4 lbs
Spare Ribs 2 packs, 6 lbs
Liver 3 packs, 3 lbs
I didn't ask for the fat as we have lots of lard and even a sack of fat to render in the freezer (from some friends.) The pork liver is something we've never tried, but I figure we'll feed it to the dogs if nothing else.
146.5 lbs of take home meat, 191 lbs hanging weight, which means we had a conversion of 76.7% this year. That is fantastic! I'm not sure if I was generous with weights or if there was just a great conversion on this big, but we are happy with it. Even with the slight price increase we actually came in with a better price based on take home meat. It turned out to be $2.41/lb, which I think is pretty amazing for great pork that supported a local farmer, a local butcher and means we have a year's worth of pork. With the things I've heard about the virus wiping out baby pigs I'm sure pork is going to be increasing in a big way this year. I'm also glad to have our beef for the next year and a half in the freezer too as I've heard crazy increases are coming in the beef world too. I've got 15 little chicks that are hopefully going to be in the freezer in about 6-7 weeks too. And if all goes well in raising them I'll raise another group in the fall, which should pride us enough chicken for the year. We'll be getting hens in less than week too, hopefully! So the egg production is coming in house as well....making strides!
Monday, February 3, 2014
2013 canning wrap up and grocery info
A very belated posting of this, but at least I'll have it for comparison purposes in the future!
This year I canned a lot of new recipes to play around and see if there are some new favorites out there that we just haven't tried. I didn't have access to our big farmer's market, but I have a neighbor with a small stand that I took advantage of throughout the summer. I also got pears from a family at church, apples from a few local trees, peaches from our Mennonite store, cucumbers from a different neighbor and lots from our own garden. Here is more or less what was in stock at the close of the fall canning in 2013.
Applesauce 106 quarts and 7 pints
Apple slices 1 quarts and 1 pint
Peaches 20 quarts and 1 pint
Apple Jalapeno jam 11 pints and one 1/2 pint
Apple butter 4 pints
Pears 20 quarts of diced and 2 quarts of juice
Mulberry jam 9 pints, three 1/2 pints, many others given away to visitors
Cranberry Sauce 16 pints (mix of regular and with orange)
Piccadilly 5 pints (to give to Grandpa G at request of Grandma G)
Tomato chutney 6 pints
Green Tomato chutney 10 pints
Green Tomato Relish 3 pints
Brushetta 3 pints and 3 half pints
Tomato soup 9 quarts
Rotel 5 pints
Diced tomatoes 8 pints
Salsa 25+ quarts (forgot to do a final count after last batch from freezer)
Salsa water (from frozen tomato batch) 4 quarts and 5 pints
Tomato Sauce 4 quarts
Roasted pasta sauce 4 quarts canned and 4 quarts frozen
Fiesta Corn Relish 4 pints
Dilly Beans 19 pints
Zucchini relish 6 pints
Sweet Garlic Dills 7 quarts
Honey Bread and Butter Pickles 4 quarts
Quicker Kosher Pickles 8 quarts and 1 pint
Bread and Butter 3 quarts and 1 pint
Sweet Jalapenos 6 pints
Pickled Jalapenos 1 pint
Beef stock 6 quarts
plus mixed stock, beans, pickles, zucchini relish and diced tomatoes on hand. Cranberry sauce was from last winter and I did do a bunch of great chicken stock that isn't in these numbers. We bought a100 pounds of potatoes from the farmer's market, as well as some cabbage that we turned into sauerkraut (5 quarts I believe). We had 2 bushels of butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash from our old house and the market. I frozen a LOT of mulberries (at least 5 gallons), 2 containers of black raspberries, a gallon of peaches, 20 pounds of blueberries, and 1/2 gallon of blackberries. We froze a bunch of broccoli, a little cauliflower, zucchini, roasted beets, at least 12 pints of pumpkin puree and a LOT of green and yellow beans. Dehydrated some mulberries, lots of apple rings, some blueberries, chives, oregano, mint, and roasted lots of pumpkin and squash seeds. We picked up our 1/2 grass fed beef this fall and filled more than our small freezer with the huge steer! Helped butcher chickens for the first time and brought one home to eat! Found a source for raw milk (local home school family) and bought 5 soup chickens from them as well after their cull day. Get eggs from the son of our local meat market owners (fellow St. Stephens members) or next door neighbors. Honey from a family near Janesville (who also turn out to be home schoolers) and maple syrup from our old connection up in Lomira.
All in all a good year for food! A lot of what we eat comes from very close to home these days. Hoping for homegrown eggs and chickens next year a lot more home garden produce!
Our grocery total for 2013 was much, much larger than in the past! It came in at $4769.23 for the year. Works out to $397.43/month or $91.71/week for our family of 5. The big increase was because of the half beef purchase, but that meat will last two years we believe. And really when broke down by the meal it comes in at $4.37/meal, less than $1/person/meal. Granted we don't eat every single meal at home as sometimes we are on vacation, but the huge, huge majority are eaten at home. I pack for Mike in the summer and we take a lot of food with us when we do go away. So I think it is fair to say we don't come in too much above that overall. I'm so happy with our food choices (for the most part) and where we are headed and who we support that I am okay with our budget and won't be actively trying to lower it, although I do expect to have lower overall numbers next year because we won't be buying any beef, just our pork and chickens.
Here's to a great 2014!
Heather
This year I canned a lot of new recipes to play around and see if there are some new favorites out there that we just haven't tried. I didn't have access to our big farmer's market, but I have a neighbor with a small stand that I took advantage of throughout the summer. I also got pears from a family at church, apples from a few local trees, peaches from our Mennonite store, cucumbers from a different neighbor and lots from our own garden. Here is more or less what was in stock at the close of the fall canning in 2013.
Applesauce 106 quarts and 7 pints
Apple slices 1 quarts and 1 pint
Peaches 20 quarts and 1 pint
Apple Jalapeno jam 11 pints and one 1/2 pint
Apple butter 4 pints
Pears 20 quarts of diced and 2 quarts of juice
Mulberry jam 9 pints, three 1/2 pints, many others given away to visitors
Cranberry Sauce 16 pints (mix of regular and with orange)
Piccadilly 5 pints (to give to Grandpa G at request of Grandma G)
Tomato chutney 6 pints
Green Tomato chutney 10 pints
Green Tomato Relish 3 pints
Brushetta 3 pints and 3 half pints
Tomato soup 9 quarts
Rotel 5 pints
Diced tomatoes 8 pints
Salsa 25+ quarts (forgot to do a final count after last batch from freezer)
Salsa water (from frozen tomato batch) 4 quarts and 5 pints
Tomato Sauce 4 quarts
Roasted pasta sauce 4 quarts canned and 4 quarts frozen
Fiesta Corn Relish 4 pints
Dilly Beans 19 pints
Zucchini relish 6 pints
Sweet Garlic Dills 7 quarts
Honey Bread and Butter Pickles 4 quarts
Quicker Kosher Pickles 8 quarts and 1 pint
Bread and Butter 3 quarts and 1 pint
Sweet Jalapenos 6 pints
Pickled Jalapenos 1 pint
Beef stock 6 quarts
plus mixed stock, beans, pickles, zucchini relish and diced tomatoes on hand. Cranberry sauce was from last winter and I did do a bunch of great chicken stock that isn't in these numbers. We bought a100 pounds of potatoes from the farmer's market, as well as some cabbage that we turned into sauerkraut (5 quarts I believe). We had 2 bushels of butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash from our old house and the market. I frozen a LOT of mulberries (at least 5 gallons), 2 containers of black raspberries, a gallon of peaches, 20 pounds of blueberries, and 1/2 gallon of blackberries. We froze a bunch of broccoli, a little cauliflower, zucchini, roasted beets, at least 12 pints of pumpkin puree and a LOT of green and yellow beans. Dehydrated some mulberries, lots of apple rings, some blueberries, chives, oregano, mint, and roasted lots of pumpkin and squash seeds. We picked up our 1/2 grass fed beef this fall and filled more than our small freezer with the huge steer! Helped butcher chickens for the first time and brought one home to eat! Found a source for raw milk (local home school family) and bought 5 soup chickens from them as well after their cull day. Get eggs from the son of our local meat market owners (fellow St. Stephens members) or next door neighbors. Honey from a family near Janesville (who also turn out to be home schoolers) and maple syrup from our old connection up in Lomira.
All in all a good year for food! A lot of what we eat comes from very close to home these days. Hoping for homegrown eggs and chickens next year a lot more home garden produce!
Our grocery total for 2013 was much, much larger than in the past! It came in at $4769.23 for the year. Works out to $397.43/month or $91.71/week for our family of 5. The big increase was because of the half beef purchase, but that meat will last two years we believe. And really when broke down by the meal it comes in at $4.37/meal, less than $1/person/meal. Granted we don't eat every single meal at home as sometimes we are on vacation, but the huge, huge majority are eaten at home. I pack for Mike in the summer and we take a lot of food with us when we do go away. So I think it is fair to say we don't come in too much above that overall. I'm so happy with our food choices (for the most part) and where we are headed and who we support that I am okay with our budget and won't be actively trying to lower it, although I do expect to have lower overall numbers next year because we won't be buying any beef, just our pork and chickens.
Here's to a great 2014!
Heather
Sunday, April 21, 2013
2013 Whole Hog Processing Cost Analysis
I thought I had written out our beef and pork breakdowns for the last couple of years, but obviously I haven't as I can't find them on the blog! I want to have them to compare from year to year so I'm going to type this one up today and add the others when I find the box they are buried in.... Lots of unpacking left to do here!
This pig was processed at Country Pride Meats in Clinton, WI. The owners also raise the hogs and we ordered during a March special when it was $1.75/pound based on hanging weight and that included the slaughter charge, smoking and all other fees. We didn't have them do any other special brats or things that would have caused there to be additional fees.
Hanging weight 166 pounds
Processed meat
4 ham (they were cut in half) 19 pounds
4 ham steak (cut to 1/2") 4 pounds
4 hock 7.5 pounds
2 spare rib 6 pounds
2 country rib 8 pounds
4 shoulder roast 14 pounds
8 pork steak 8 pounds
2 loin roast 8.5 pounds
14 pork chop 12.5 pounds
7 bacon 7 pounds
1 ends 2 pounds
14 breakfast sausage 14 pounds
1 jowl 1 pound
1 fat 5 pounds
Total weight (without fat) 111.5 pounds 67% conversion from hanging weight $2.61/pound
Total weight (with fat) 116.5 pounds 70% conversion from hanging weight $2.49/pound
I believe these numbers are similar to what we saw with our pig from Cedar Road Meats. However I did not have them include liver, which would have added weight and lowered the price/pound. We also have enjoyed the bacon from Country Pride more than we did from Cedar Road Meat. We haven't tried the ham yet, but are hopeful we'll like it more too. The pigs were raised by local (to them) farms, were not pastured, but the feed was raised on the farm and they do no hormones or antibiotics unless treating a sick animal. Since we now live right by Country Pride we'll be doing pork from them from here on out. The beef will depend as the grass fed beef farmer that we order from takes the animals to Cedar Road. We LOVE the meat and it is processed really well, so we may be doing the very, very long trek if we don't find a local grass fed beef farmer.
This pig was processed at Country Pride Meats in Clinton, WI. The owners also raise the hogs and we ordered during a March special when it was $1.75/pound based on hanging weight and that included the slaughter charge, smoking and all other fees. We didn't have them do any other special brats or things that would have caused there to be additional fees.
Hanging weight 166 pounds
Processed meat
4 ham (they were cut in half) 19 pounds
4 ham steak (cut to 1/2") 4 pounds
4 hock 7.5 pounds
2 spare rib 6 pounds
2 country rib 8 pounds
4 shoulder roast 14 pounds
8 pork steak 8 pounds
2 loin roast 8.5 pounds
14 pork chop 12.5 pounds
7 bacon 7 pounds
1 ends 2 pounds
14 breakfast sausage 14 pounds
1 jowl 1 pound
1 fat 5 pounds
Total weight (without fat) 111.5 pounds 67% conversion from hanging weight $2.61/pound
Total weight (with fat) 116.5 pounds 70% conversion from hanging weight $2.49/pound
I believe these numbers are similar to what we saw with our pig from Cedar Road Meats. However I did not have them include liver, which would have added weight and lowered the price/pound. We also have enjoyed the bacon from Country Pride more than we did from Cedar Road Meat. We haven't tried the ham yet, but are hopeful we'll like it more too. The pigs were raised by local (to them) farms, were not pastured, but the feed was raised on the farm and they do no hormones or antibiotics unless treating a sick animal. Since we now live right by Country Pride we'll be doing pork from them from here on out. The beef will depend as the grass fed beef farmer that we order from takes the animals to Cedar Road. We LOVE the meat and it is processed really well, so we may be doing the very, very long trek if we don't find a local grass fed beef farmer.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Let's Get Popping!
I heard that today is National Popcorn Day and just had to put it out there so I remember in future years! We love popcorn at this house and for dinner tonight we'll be doing popcorn and smoothies with a movie to celebrate...the kids can't wait! We will even have a very special (and not very good for us) treat of dessert popcorn. For Christmas we were gifted the Chocolate Lover's collection of Boy Scout popcorn and there is a bag of white chocolate popcorn and one of chocolate popcorn. They'll be enjoyed by our little family tonight!
We've enjoyed popcorn a lot more around here since I found a source for bulk popcorn that is raised without a lot of chemicals and such. We bought 100 pounds (half yellow, half white) and are enjoying a lot more cornbread (grinding it in the nutrimill) and movie nights with popcorn and smoothies. We've even gifted a large container of it to my dad who is the ultimate popcorn lover! I've even been collecting recipes for different spice combinations and ways of making it to enjoy some variety. I love having a whole grain snack that my kids love and is so reasonable in cost.
Happy Popping!
We've enjoyed popcorn a lot more around here since I found a source for bulk popcorn that is raised without a lot of chemicals and such. We bought 100 pounds (half yellow, half white) and are enjoying a lot more cornbread (grinding it in the nutrimill) and movie nights with popcorn and smoothies. We've even gifted a large container of it to my dad who is the ultimate popcorn lover! I've even been collecting recipes for different spice combinations and ways of making it to enjoy some variety. I love having a whole grain snack that my kids love and is so reasonable in cost.
Happy Popping!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Summer 2012 Canning/Freezing
So haven't done so well on the whole 'I'm going to post more' have I? Ah, well, such is life.
Here is a mostly complete rundown of what I froze and canned in 2012. I'm hoping these lists help me see what we need more of and what we have a glut of from year to year. Most of the produce was purchased by the bushel and such at a local farmer's market, but a few things were grown in our little city lot. (The good news, the exciting news, the unbelievable news is that next year...this year...I'll be growing things in my own huge garden! Yes, we are moving the country...in less than a month!)
Mustard Greens: 3 bags
Green Beans: 19 frozen bags, 12 pints of dilly beans (these were crazy expensive this year because of the drought, but we love them so I bit the bullet!)
Dill pickles: 26 quarts
Garlic pickles: 5 quarts
Zucchini: lots and lots chopped and shredded
Salsa: 26 quarts, 8 pints
Cranberry sauce: about 20 pints
Corn: 22 bags
Tomatoes: Done with freecycle tomatoes early in the spring, not sure of numbers
Banana Butter: 4 pints, 2 half pints must do more!!!
Zucchini relish: 6 pints (still had many left from 2011)
Bread and Butter pickles: 4 quarts, 1 pint
Broccoli: 16 bags, 1 bag of leaves
Beets: 11 bags
Cauliflower: 2 bags (still had many left)
So this isn't complete, but I also bought 4 bushels of squash, almost all butternut and about 150 pounds of potatoes, as well as multiple cabbage.
We didn't get any beef this year as the half (bought fall of 2011) will last us for 2 years. The pig we got in March 2011 was much larger than the previous and we still have a fair amount left. We are debating ordering another as the butcher is going to be 2 hours from our new home...however we also get our maple syrup there and we don't have enough for another year. We'll see how the move goes and then take it from there.
Here is a mostly complete rundown of what I froze and canned in 2012. I'm hoping these lists help me see what we need more of and what we have a glut of from year to year. Most of the produce was purchased by the bushel and such at a local farmer's market, but a few things were grown in our little city lot. (The good news, the exciting news, the unbelievable news is that next year...this year...I'll be growing things in my own huge garden! Yes, we are moving the country...in less than a month!)
Mustard Greens: 3 bags
Green Beans: 19 frozen bags, 12 pints of dilly beans (these were crazy expensive this year because of the drought, but we love them so I bit the bullet!)
Dill pickles: 26 quarts
Garlic pickles: 5 quarts
Zucchini: lots and lots chopped and shredded
Salsa: 26 quarts, 8 pints
Cranberry sauce: about 20 pints
Corn: 22 bags
Tomatoes: Done with freecycle tomatoes early in the spring, not sure of numbers
Banana Butter: 4 pints, 2 half pints must do more!!!
Zucchini relish: 6 pints (still had many left from 2011)
Bread and Butter pickles: 4 quarts, 1 pint
Broccoli: 16 bags, 1 bag of leaves
Beets: 11 bags
Cauliflower: 2 bags (still had many left)
So this isn't complete, but I also bought 4 bushels of squash, almost all butternut and about 150 pounds of potatoes, as well as multiple cabbage.
We didn't get any beef this year as the half (bought fall of 2011) will last us for 2 years. The pig we got in March 2011 was much larger than the previous and we still have a fair amount left. We are debating ordering another as the butcher is going to be 2 hours from our new home...however we also get our maple syrup there and we don't have enough for another year. We'll see how the move goes and then take it from there.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Still going!
Can you believe I haven't posted since May? I realize no one may be reading this at all, but even for my own memories I can't believe I've skipped half a year! We had many things that contributed to it with my Grandfather passing away, Mike being gone basically all summer long, me being pregnant and just the general mayham that seems to have taken over our house with a very mobile 1 year old who thinks she is a 3 year old and the said 3 year old who stays mighty active himself!
So we are now at 38 1/2 weeks. Baby is doing great and I'm doing okay. I've never dealt with carpel tunnel during pregnancy and it is not. fun. at. all. This poor baby isn't getting the daily life journal that the others did, but I'm hoping to do a fairly comprehensive list of things that happened and fun stories at some point. I've also had some hip/pelvic issues that may have something to do with the surgery I had after Peanut's birth. Whatever the cause I'm now seeing a chiropractor and hopeful that things will still be fine with the birth! Based on my emotions and the pressure I'm feeling I'm hopeful that we'll not be as concerned about the looming 42 week induction pressure as we were with Peanut. Of course, in a month this kiddo might have decided to just hang out and we might be pleading for prayers again :)
The thing I most want to get down (before I lose the paper I kept track on) is the canning and freezing I did this summer and fall. It was a big challenge because of my wrists, but I am pretty proud of what did get accomplished considering the two little ones and third on the way. I want to have a record to give me an idea for next year so here goes...
Freezer:
Corn 4 1/2 quarts and 3 bags of on the cob corn
Broccoli 23 quarts and 4 quarts of ends for soup
Cauliflower 20 1/2 quarts
Green Beans 7 1/2 quarts
Snow Peas 2 small bags
Zucchini 2 9-cup bags sliced, multiple small bags of diced
Swiss Chard and Beet greens didn't count, but multiple servings of each
Canning:
Diced Tomatoes 39 quarts and 6 pints
Zucchini relish 13 pints
Dilly Beans 13 pints
Spicy Garlic Pickles 17 pints
Garlic Dill Pickles 5 quarts
Pickled Jalapenos 1 pint and 5 1/2 pints
Tomato Soup 10 quarts
Pears 10 pints
Applesauce 94 quarts and 7 pints (plus over 2 gallons we ate and didn't can!)
Apple Pie Filling 9 quarts
Caramel Apple Butter 7 pints
Sauerkraut 11 quarts and 7 pints
Salsa 48 pints
Green Salsa 6 pints
Chicken Stock 7 quarts
Beef Stock 7 quarts
Storage:
Potatoes 75 pounds of Yukon Gold, 50 pounds of Red potatoes
Squash 3 mixed 1/2 bushels of butternut, buttercup, acorn and delicata, 1 half bushel of small butternut
Pumpkins 3 to process after enjoying this weekend
Cabbages 3 smaller ones for longer term use
So a quick run down! And we've gotten a 1/2 of beef (this months grocery bill is about what we spent for an entire YEAR not long ago) and I've filled our smaller chest freezer with food for after Baby 3 arrives. Here's hoping for a great labor and delivery and recovery this time around! And a big harvest again next year..these kids are growing and eating like crazy!
Happy Halloween,
Heather
So we are now at 38 1/2 weeks. Baby is doing great and I'm doing okay. I've never dealt with carpel tunnel during pregnancy and it is not. fun. at. all. This poor baby isn't getting the daily life journal that the others did, but I'm hoping to do a fairly comprehensive list of things that happened and fun stories at some point. I've also had some hip/pelvic issues that may have something to do with the surgery I had after Peanut's birth. Whatever the cause I'm now seeing a chiropractor and hopeful that things will still be fine with the birth! Based on my emotions and the pressure I'm feeling I'm hopeful that we'll not be as concerned about the looming 42 week induction pressure as we were with Peanut. Of course, in a month this kiddo might have decided to just hang out and we might be pleading for prayers again :)
The thing I most want to get down (before I lose the paper I kept track on) is the canning and freezing I did this summer and fall. It was a big challenge because of my wrists, but I am pretty proud of what did get accomplished considering the two little ones and third on the way. I want to have a record to give me an idea for next year so here goes...
Freezer:
Corn 4 1/2 quarts and 3 bags of on the cob corn
Broccoli 23 quarts and 4 quarts of ends for soup
Cauliflower 20 1/2 quarts
Green Beans 7 1/2 quarts
Snow Peas 2 small bags
Zucchini 2 9-cup bags sliced, multiple small bags of diced
Swiss Chard and Beet greens didn't count, but multiple servings of each
Canning:
Diced Tomatoes 39 quarts and 6 pints
Zucchini relish 13 pints
Dilly Beans 13 pints
Spicy Garlic Pickles 17 pints
Garlic Dill Pickles 5 quarts
Pickled Jalapenos 1 pint and 5 1/2 pints
Tomato Soup 10 quarts
Pears 10 pints
Applesauce 94 quarts and 7 pints (plus over 2 gallons we ate and didn't can!)
Apple Pie Filling 9 quarts
Caramel Apple Butter 7 pints
Sauerkraut 11 quarts and 7 pints
Salsa 48 pints
Green Salsa 6 pints
Chicken Stock 7 quarts
Beef Stock 7 quarts
Storage:
Potatoes 75 pounds of Yukon Gold, 50 pounds of Red potatoes
Squash 3 mixed 1/2 bushels of butternut, buttercup, acorn and delicata, 1 half bushel of small butternut
Pumpkins 3 to process after enjoying this weekend
Cabbages 3 smaller ones for longer term use
So a quick run down! And we've gotten a 1/2 of beef (this months grocery bill is about what we spent for an entire YEAR not long ago) and I've filled our smaller chest freezer with food for after Baby 3 arrives. Here's hoping for a great labor and delivery and recovery this time around! And a big harvest again next year..these kids are growing and eating like crazy!
Happy Halloween,
Heather
Friday, February 18, 2011
Grass Fed Beef Quarter Cost Analysis
How's that for a dry title? I figured it would be good to share how our experience buying a quarter of grass fed beef worked out. Before we ordered our quarter I had many questions about hanging weight vs. actual take home meat and what the final cost per pound of the finished beef would end up being. Using our farmer's numbers I did a best guess and once I picked up our beef I figured the actual total. The numbers were surprising close. That is what happens when you work with an experienced, honest farmer!
This is going to look a little dry since it was typed up as a document for me to refer to in the future, but hopefully it makes sense.
Quarter hanging weight: 149 pounds, $320 paid to Miller Brothers Farms. We paid $2.15/pound hanging weight. They rounded off as we were told to just send $320. I do see that prices are increasing to $2.40/pound for this next year.
Processing costs paid directly to Cedar Road Meats at pick up. $.44/lb (65.56) + quarter of slaughter charge (9.50) + order charge (3.00) = $78.06
We were walked through cutting instructions once the steer was in, butchered, and we knew which quarter was ours. We simply called Cedar Road and were asked cut by cut what we would like. If I was uncertain she would explain the standard and the options. I asked for things to be left bone in and for all 'other' cuts to be included, 2 steaks/pack, 3/4" cut, 2 pound roasts.
This is what we got when I picked up the order about two weeks later.
Meat type: number of packages, total weight
hamburger: 34, 1 pound each (34)
stew meat: 4, 1 pound each (4)
arm roasts: 2 (4)
chuck blade roasts: 4 (10.5)
sirloin tip roast: 2 (4)
rump roasts: 1 (2)
round steak: 2 (5)
swiss steak: 2 (4)
t-bone steak: 2 (3)
rib steak: 3 (4.5)
sirloin steak: 4 (5.5)
porterhouse: 1 (2)
The next four are things we have never really eaten, but I asked for them and am hoping to be courageous and give them a try. Or to hide them in things if necessary! Since we paid for them I figured we should take them and eat them if at all possible too.
liver: 3 (3)
tongue: 1 (2)
heart: 1 (2.5)
oxtail: 1 (1.5)
Asked for fat to render and large bones to make stock--got about 10 pounds of each (not included in calculations.) Ended up with 7 quarts of beef stock and 7 or so pints of beef tallow.
Asked for soup bones and short ribs, but were not in the order when I got home. Contacted Cedar Road Meats and she checked into it right away after asking me to double check what I had brought home. After comparing my list to theirs they could only guess as to where they went. They were not able to find so replaced with beef they butchered, but wasn't from Miller Farms. They estimate I would have gotten about 3 pounds of each, so am adding those 6 pounds into final numbers. They did give us a bit extra to make up for the trouble and we arranged to pick up at a farmer's market closer to our home as the butcher shop is about an hour away.
Total weight of meat brought home (and estimates of soup/short ribs): 97.5 pounds
Total paid: $398.07
Total paid/pound of meat brought home: $4.08 (Based on Luke's estimates I had figured roughly $4.11/pound would be our final total. I don't think he could have gotten much closer!)
Percent of hanging weight: 65% now in freezer (He had estimated 68%)
So when order a quarter or half of beef it is important to remember that you will not be getting 100% of the hanging weight back for the freezer. I've seen other bloggers suggest that on a whole cow they only lost about 30 pounds of weight total, but that is not accurate. Typically you will lose 40% or (much) more on an average quarter, half or whole cow. Our percentage was 'better' because we asked for bones to be left in and we ordered from a farm that is working to increase the percentage by breeding different genetics. Different breeds of beef cattle have different meat percentages and it makes sense to find one that does a good job of converting grass into meat to maximize your yield. You lose a lot of weight to the large bones. We also would have had a lower percentage if we did not take the 9 pounds of liver, heart, tongue and the oxtail.
Also hanging weight is taken right after butchering. The meat is very wet and weighs more than it will after it ages and drys. Any good butcher will let the meat age or rest for 7-14 (or more) days before butchering. At that point you've lost a fair percentage of weight to evaporation, but it is good because the flavor has improved.
We love the beef we got. Some people talk about grass fed beef as being tough or odd flavored. I can only imagine that they have gotten an inferior product or are not used to the flavor beef should be. Our meat is tender, juicy and really wonderful! Mike doesn't like steak (I know, weird right?) but even he loved the rib steaks I made from our quarter. I recommend working with Miller Brothers if you have the chance. I do not think you will be disappointed.
All in all the price per pound is much more than I used to pay for meat. However we got many cuts I never, ever bought before. We also got the added value of beef tallow and lots of stock. And most importantly we have peace of mind as to how our cow was raised, how it was butchered and feel good about the meat we are eating and local families we are supporting. We will eat off this quarter for at least a year which makes the cost that much more affordable. We have already reserved a quarter for next fall to be prepared for 2012 and our growing family needs!
Happy Eating,
Heather
Just a note since everyone seems to need disclaimers for everything now...Miller Brothers and Cedar Roads have no idea I posted this. I did send my break down to Luke at Miller Brothers after I figured it out so that he would have something to pass onto other questioning potential customers like me. I did not and do not expect to get anything from anyone for posting this :)
This is going to look a little dry since it was typed up as a document for me to refer to in the future, but hopefully it makes sense.
Quarter hanging weight: 149 pounds, $320 paid to Miller Brothers Farms. We paid $2.15/pound hanging weight. They rounded off as we were told to just send $320. I do see that prices are increasing to $2.40/pound for this next year.
Processing costs paid directly to Cedar Road Meats at pick up. $.44/lb (65.56) + quarter of slaughter charge (9.50) + order charge (3.00) = $78.06
We were walked through cutting instructions once the steer was in, butchered, and we knew which quarter was ours. We simply called Cedar Road and were asked cut by cut what we would like. If I was uncertain she would explain the standard and the options. I asked for things to be left bone in and for all 'other' cuts to be included, 2 steaks/pack, 3/4" cut, 2 pound roasts.
This is what we got when I picked up the order about two weeks later.
Meat type: number of packages, total weight
hamburger: 34, 1 pound each (34)
stew meat: 4, 1 pound each (4)
arm roasts: 2 (4)
chuck blade roasts: 4 (10.5)
sirloin tip roast: 2 (4)
rump roasts: 1 (2)
round steak: 2 (5)
swiss steak: 2 (4)
t-bone steak: 2 (3)
rib steak: 3 (4.5)
sirloin steak: 4 (5.5)
porterhouse: 1 (2)
The next four are things we have never really eaten, but I asked for them and am hoping to be courageous and give them a try. Or to hide them in things if necessary! Since we paid for them I figured we should take them and eat them if at all possible too.
liver: 3 (3)
tongue: 1 (2)
heart: 1 (2.5)
oxtail: 1 (1.5)
Asked for fat to render and large bones to make stock--got about 10 pounds of each (not included in calculations.) Ended up with 7 quarts of beef stock and 7 or so pints of beef tallow.
Asked for soup bones and short ribs, but were not in the order when I got home. Contacted Cedar Road Meats and she checked into it right away after asking me to double check what I had brought home. After comparing my list to theirs they could only guess as to where they went. They were not able to find so replaced with beef they butchered, but wasn't from Miller Farms. They estimate I would have gotten about 3 pounds of each, so am adding those 6 pounds into final numbers. They did give us a bit extra to make up for the trouble and we arranged to pick up at a farmer's market closer to our home as the butcher shop is about an hour away.
Total weight of meat brought home (and estimates of soup/short ribs): 97.5 pounds
Total paid: $398.07
Total paid/pound of meat brought home: $4.08 (Based on Luke's estimates I had figured roughly $4.11/pound would be our final total. I don't think he could have gotten much closer!)
Percent of hanging weight: 65% now in freezer (He had estimated 68%)
So when order a quarter or half of beef it is important to remember that you will not be getting 100% of the hanging weight back for the freezer. I've seen other bloggers suggest that on a whole cow they only lost about 30 pounds of weight total, but that is not accurate. Typically you will lose 40% or (much) more on an average quarter, half or whole cow. Our percentage was 'better' because we asked for bones to be left in and we ordered from a farm that is working to increase the percentage by breeding different genetics. Different breeds of beef cattle have different meat percentages and it makes sense to find one that does a good job of converting grass into meat to maximize your yield. You lose a lot of weight to the large bones. We also would have had a lower percentage if we did not take the 9 pounds of liver, heart, tongue and the oxtail.
Also hanging weight is taken right after butchering. The meat is very wet and weighs more than it will after it ages and drys. Any good butcher will let the meat age or rest for 7-14 (or more) days before butchering. At that point you've lost a fair percentage of weight to evaporation, but it is good because the flavor has improved.
We love the beef we got. Some people talk about grass fed beef as being tough or odd flavored. I can only imagine that they have gotten an inferior product or are not used to the flavor beef should be. Our meat is tender, juicy and really wonderful! Mike doesn't like steak (I know, weird right?) but even he loved the rib steaks I made from our quarter. I recommend working with Miller Brothers if you have the chance. I do not think you will be disappointed.
All in all the price per pound is much more than I used to pay for meat. However we got many cuts I never, ever bought before. We also got the added value of beef tallow and lots of stock. And most importantly we have peace of mind as to how our cow was raised, how it was butchered and feel good about the meat we are eating and local families we are supporting. We will eat off this quarter for at least a year which makes the cost that much more affordable. We have already reserved a quarter for next fall to be prepared for 2012 and our growing family needs!
Happy Eating,
Heather
Just a note since everyone seems to need disclaimers for everything now...Miller Brothers and Cedar Roads have no idea I posted this. I did send my break down to Luke at Miller Brothers after I figured it out so that he would have something to pass onto other questioning potential customers like me. I did not and do not expect to get anything from anyone for posting this :)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
What Isn't Included
As you might guess there are a few things that might not be included in our grocery budget. And in the interest of full disclosure in case anyone is comparing or competing (which you SHOULD NOT be doing) I thought I'd list those items out. And really because I am keeping records and want to have a good comparison from year to year this will help me in future years.
What is NOT in the grocery budget 2010
*toiletries or paper goods
*canning supplies
*seeds or tomato plants
*Cola soda used for late night trips home from gigs (but any other soda, including root beer is)
*Chocolate stash (but baking chocolate, chips, etc are)
*Gift baskets of food for Great-Grandparents
To explain a few of these...
We visited my grandparents over Christmas this year. I'm so fortunate that I still have all four grandparents and they are all pretty healthy, still living in their own homes! My oldest grandfather just turned 90 and my youngest grandmother is 83. They are hard to buy for as they have what they want and do not like a lot of clutter. I decided to fill a big grocery bag of baking items for them for Christmas. I bought things like chocolate chips, flour, sugar, and spent about $30 total on both families by watching sales and getting good deals. I included that in our gift giving budget, not in our grocery budget. Other food gifts like the truffles I made the neighbors and granola I gave to friends were made with food from our regular groceries.
We have a serious chocolate problem in this house. We love it to much. So after Christmas I stock up big time on 50% or 75% off name brand candy that I won't buy otherwise. I think I spent about $50 or so last year...yikes. But it lasted all yearn, made my husband happy and is not included in our grocery budget.
Once a month Mike plays a gig that lasts late into the night and then he has to drive over an hour to get home. He does this on Friday and then Saturday night on the weekend he plays. In order to stay awake he drinks 1-3 cans of cola on the way home each of the two nights. As we never drink this otherwise I consider it a business cost, not a grocery budget cost. We rarely drink soda other than an occasional root beer but any other soda bought is put into the grocery budget.
And as for the rest...our budget is just for food. If I buy something else at the grocery store it gets subtracted out and put into a different category. Canning supplies and plants/seeds maybe should be counted, but I never have before so for now I'm going to keep going how I've done it. If we get to a point where we are raising a very large percentage of our own food then I'll probably start including them, but not for now!
Happy Budgeting!
Heather
What is NOT in the grocery budget 2010
*toiletries or paper goods
*canning supplies
*seeds or tomato plants
*Cola soda used for late night trips home from gigs (but any other soda, including root beer is)
*Chocolate stash (but baking chocolate, chips, etc are)
*Gift baskets of food for Great-Grandparents
To explain a few of these...
We visited my grandparents over Christmas this year. I'm so fortunate that I still have all four grandparents and they are all pretty healthy, still living in their own homes! My oldest grandfather just turned 90 and my youngest grandmother is 83. They are hard to buy for as they have what they want and do not like a lot of clutter. I decided to fill a big grocery bag of baking items for them for Christmas. I bought things like chocolate chips, flour, sugar, and spent about $30 total on both families by watching sales and getting good deals. I included that in our gift giving budget, not in our grocery budget. Other food gifts like the truffles I made the neighbors and granola I gave to friends were made with food from our regular groceries.
We have a serious chocolate problem in this house. We love it to much. So after Christmas I stock up big time on 50% or 75% off name brand candy that I won't buy otherwise. I think I spent about $50 or so last year...yikes. But it lasted all yearn, made my husband happy and is not included in our grocery budget.
Once a month Mike plays a gig that lasts late into the night and then he has to drive over an hour to get home. He does this on Friday and then Saturday night on the weekend he plays. In order to stay awake he drinks 1-3 cans of cola on the way home each of the two nights. As we never drink this otherwise I consider it a business cost, not a grocery budget cost. We rarely drink soda other than an occasional root beer but any other soda bought is put into the grocery budget.
And as for the rest...our budget is just for food. If I buy something else at the grocery store it gets subtracted out and put into a different category. Canning supplies and plants/seeds maybe should be counted, but I never have before so for now I'm going to keep going how I've done it. If we get to a point where we are raising a very large percentage of our own food then I'll probably start including them, but not for now!
Happy Budgeting!
Heather
Friday, January 21, 2011
Canning Recap
This is for my own notes than anything else. I need to get my recipes down somewhere so I hope to link back to them. For now it is a list to help me remember what got done this year!
What I canned in 2010
Diced tomatoes
Tomato Salsa
Green Salsa/Enchilada Sauce
Diced Pears
Pearsauce
Applesauce
Peaches
Beets
Carrots
Chicken Stock
Beef Stock
Zucchini Relish
Dill Pickles
Dilly Beans
Sauerkraut
Cherries
Nectarines
Tomato soup
Split Pea soup
Lentil soup
What I froze
Green Beans
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Swiss Chard
Roasted Eggplant
Green Peppers
Zucchini
Pesto
Freecycle Fruit
Storage Vegetables
25 pounds small Yukon Gold Potatoes
50 pounds medium White Russet Potatoes
1 bushel Butternut, Spaghetti, and other squash
19 Acorn Squash
3 Cabbage
10 pounds of Empire Apples
Things to change next year:
More Cabbage for Sauerkraut and for eating fresh
Second bushel of squash (mostly Butternut)
Freeze many more quarts of Green Beans, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Zucchini and Carrots
May need to can jam again (check stores--did in 2009)
May need to freeze corn again (check freezer--did in 2009)
Second 50 bag of potatoes with plan to freeze mashed and hash browns as they sprout
At least 10 cups of pesto in freezer
Happy Preserving!
Heather
What I canned in 2010
Diced tomatoes
Tomato Salsa
Green Salsa/Enchilada Sauce
Diced Pears
Pearsauce
Applesauce
Peaches
Beets
Carrots
Chicken Stock
Beef Stock
Zucchini Relish
Dill Pickles
Dilly Beans
Sauerkraut
Cherries
Nectarines
Tomato soup
Split Pea soup
Lentil soup
What I froze
Green Beans
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Swiss Chard
Roasted Eggplant
Green Peppers
Zucchini
Pesto
Freecycle Fruit
Storage Vegetables
25 pounds small Yukon Gold Potatoes
50 pounds medium White Russet Potatoes
1 bushel Butternut, Spaghetti, and other squash
19 Acorn Squash
3 Cabbage
10 pounds of Empire Apples
Things to change next year:
More Cabbage for Sauerkraut and for eating fresh
Second bushel of squash (mostly Butternut)
Freeze many more quarts of Green Beans, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Zucchini and Carrots
May need to can jam again (check stores--did in 2009)
May need to freeze corn again (check freezer--did in 2009)
Second 50 bag of potatoes with plan to freeze mashed and hash browns as they sprout
At least 10 cups of pesto in freezer
Happy Preserving!
Heather
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Grocery Budget 2010 Wrap Up
Grocery Budgets...they are the fodder for many a blog post and even entire blogs, aren't they? They cause much angst and competition and are all as different as the families they feed.
I'm not posting ours in order to compete or to compare. I'm posting ours so I have a record and to encourage others who might be transitioning to a more local, seasonal, organic way of eating. We have been and are continuing to do so in baby steps!
In 2008 and 2009 my husband and I spent approximately $1300/year on groceries. I do not have the exact figures (where the heck did they go?) but it was within a few dollars of that each year. I had budgeted $100/month and there always seemed to be one or two months that added on to make it a 13 month year! I realize this number is very low for most families. This only fed 2 adults and I did almost all of our cooking from scratch. I make most of our bread products and use almost no prepackaged snacks or meals. I bought (and still buy) loss leaders at the grocery store and during those years really stocked up on meat when I found an amazing sale or marked down packages. I know I bought chicken for $.29/lb and often bought hamburger for about $.90/lb.
In 2009 we made the decision to change the way we ate. We had always eaten fairly well...lots of veggies and fruit, I grew what I could on our little city lot, I made things from scratch and (other than our chocolate obsession) we didn't eat much that most would consider junk food. However, we did eat conventional meat and didn't make a big deal about which veggies or fruit we were eating. I watched "Food, Inc" and read the book. I read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and "Eating Animals" and many other books. I got disgusted about the state of food in our nation. And decided things had to change in our house if we wanted things to change in the industry.
So in late 2009 and all of 2010 I made a much more conscious effort to buy local produce and eat it in season. I shopped our farmer's market like crazy and canned and froze as much as I could of what I could get cheaply in season. I threw a whole lot of tomato plants in the ground before Peanut was born (even among the evergreen shrubs in front of the house) and put some potatoes in a garbage can and put lettuce and basil and cilantro seeds in every pot and space I could. I canned many quarts of tomatoes from those plants and the seconds I bought at the farmer's market. We ate a lot of salads from all those tiny lettuce seeds. We are still loving the pesto that I froze from our basil plants. And I'll be planting even more this year since Mike turned out to be a BIG fan of pesto.
We were able to pick apples, pears, and glean a finished garden (including 19 acorn squash) from friends that live about 2 hours away. It was a busy, fun, beautiful fall day of collecting and visiting with good friends. And the week that followed was a busy time of canning and freezing! As the farmer's market wound down I bought a bushel of squash, 75 pounds of potatoes and 4 heads of cabbage to help tide us over the winter with local produce.
I stopped buying meat from the grocery store and started getting a few things from the one meat vendor at the farmer's market. Her prices shot up a lot this summer and while I know it is fair I was blanching even at the much lower prices that I paid back in April. We ate a lot less meat through the spring and summer. We never ate huge amounts, but we ate a lot, lot less. I finally found a chicken product I was okay with in Smart Chicken. I know it is still not pastured and it is not eating everything a chicken should eat. However it is air chilled and that makes me very happy. After I read how poultry is processed in 'water' it made me seriously reaffirm my desire to buy food that I trusted not just what was cheapest. I bought a couple of local, pastured chickens at Outpost when they had their truckload sale and I wish I had bought even more, but we just didn't have the freezer space to spare. I am now paying $2 or more for chicken on average. I only buy whole chickens and I break them down myself or I get legs if they are cheaper. I have found marked down Smart Chicken at Woodman's occasionally and that makes me a very happy girl indeed. The markdowns often come down to $1 a pound or so!
We bought a 1/4 of a grass fed, no added anything cow from Miller Brothers. It was ready in November and we have been loving it! We were never big beef eaters before, but this meat is wonderful and I know the animal was raised right and was treated right until the very end. The farmer makes a living, the small family owned butcher shop makes a living and we got a superior product. Our beef came out to about $4/pound when you figure out the weight of what we actually brought home. They also saved me the fat and I've rendered it out. An interesting new thing that I tried and a fat source for cooking that I feel better about than most conventional products.
We are looking into getting 1/2 pig from Miller Brothers when they have them available. That would be ideal as the pig would be totally pastured, no antibiotics, etc. If it doesn't work out fairly soon then we'll be getting one from a different local farm. We did stock up on bacon at the little processor in my grandparent's hometown in South Dakota. It is Mike's favorite bacon and the meat was local to the processor. I'm guessing it was confinement, but I've seen the farms in the area and know that it wasn't a CAFO for sure.
So what was the grand total after all this? We spent $2212.16 on groceries in 2010.
It was a BIG increase (almost $1000 more) but it was worth it to feed our family of 2 adults, one 2 year old and a baby who is a month into solids. We have almost an entire 1/4 of meat in the freezer, bacon for a year, and still have many, many jars of canned goods. Overall we have a lot more food in this house right now than we did last January. We have eaten almost all the frozen vegetables, but are going to have a second chest freezer for me to fill next summer so I'll have enough for more months. I also will have more room because I will not have the two big boxes of milk that I pumped and saved for Peanut. That milk took precedence as I can buy groceries and I can't buy her my milk!
All in all I feel good about what we are doing and where we are headed. We have a long way to go, but we like the changes we've made! Next step is probably getting a grain mill and starting to grind our own grains. I'm excited, but does anyone have any idea where I can buy non-GMO wheat here in Milwaukee for a good price? And I'd like to make all our eggs free range and our milk local and and and and...it doesn't really end, does it? :)
Happy Eating!
Heather
I'm not posting ours in order to compete or to compare. I'm posting ours so I have a record and to encourage others who might be transitioning to a more local, seasonal, organic way of eating. We have been and are continuing to do so in baby steps!
In 2008 and 2009 my husband and I spent approximately $1300/year on groceries. I do not have the exact figures (where the heck did they go?) but it was within a few dollars of that each year. I had budgeted $100/month and there always seemed to be one or two months that added on to make it a 13 month year! I realize this number is very low for most families. This only fed 2 adults and I did almost all of our cooking from scratch. I make most of our bread products and use almost no prepackaged snacks or meals. I bought (and still buy) loss leaders at the grocery store and during those years really stocked up on meat when I found an amazing sale or marked down packages. I know I bought chicken for $.29/lb and often bought hamburger for about $.90/lb.
In 2009 we made the decision to change the way we ate. We had always eaten fairly well...lots of veggies and fruit, I grew what I could on our little city lot, I made things from scratch and (other than our chocolate obsession) we didn't eat much that most would consider junk food. However, we did eat conventional meat and didn't make a big deal about which veggies or fruit we were eating. I watched "Food, Inc" and read the book. I read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and "Eating Animals" and many other books. I got disgusted about the state of food in our nation. And decided things had to change in our house if we wanted things to change in the industry.
So in late 2009 and all of 2010 I made a much more conscious effort to buy local produce and eat it in season. I shopped our farmer's market like crazy and canned and froze as much as I could of what I could get cheaply in season. I threw a whole lot of tomato plants in the ground before Peanut was born (even among the evergreen shrubs in front of the house) and put some potatoes in a garbage can and put lettuce and basil and cilantro seeds in every pot and space I could. I canned many quarts of tomatoes from those plants and the seconds I bought at the farmer's market. We ate a lot of salads from all those tiny lettuce seeds. We are still loving the pesto that I froze from our basil plants. And I'll be planting even more this year since Mike turned out to be a BIG fan of pesto.
We were able to pick apples, pears, and glean a finished garden (including 19 acorn squash) from friends that live about 2 hours away. It was a busy, fun, beautiful fall day of collecting and visiting with good friends. And the week that followed was a busy time of canning and freezing! As the farmer's market wound down I bought a bushel of squash, 75 pounds of potatoes and 4 heads of cabbage to help tide us over the winter with local produce.
I stopped buying meat from the grocery store and started getting a few things from the one meat vendor at the farmer's market. Her prices shot up a lot this summer and while I know it is fair I was blanching even at the much lower prices that I paid back in April. We ate a lot less meat through the spring and summer. We never ate huge amounts, but we ate a lot, lot less. I finally found a chicken product I was okay with in Smart Chicken. I know it is still not pastured and it is not eating everything a chicken should eat. However it is air chilled and that makes me very happy. After I read how poultry is processed in 'water' it made me seriously reaffirm my desire to buy food that I trusted not just what was cheapest. I bought a couple of local, pastured chickens at Outpost when they had their truckload sale and I wish I had bought even more, but we just didn't have the freezer space to spare. I am now paying $2 or more for chicken on average. I only buy whole chickens and I break them down myself or I get legs if they are cheaper. I have found marked down Smart Chicken at Woodman's occasionally and that makes me a very happy girl indeed. The markdowns often come down to $1 a pound or so!
We bought a 1/4 of a grass fed, no added anything cow from Miller Brothers. It was ready in November and we have been loving it! We were never big beef eaters before, but this meat is wonderful and I know the animal was raised right and was treated right until the very end. The farmer makes a living, the small family owned butcher shop makes a living and we got a superior product. Our beef came out to about $4/pound when you figure out the weight of what we actually brought home. They also saved me the fat and I've rendered it out. An interesting new thing that I tried and a fat source for cooking that I feel better about than most conventional products.
We are looking into getting 1/2 pig from Miller Brothers when they have them available. That would be ideal as the pig would be totally pastured, no antibiotics, etc. If it doesn't work out fairly soon then we'll be getting one from a different local farm. We did stock up on bacon at the little processor in my grandparent's hometown in South Dakota. It is Mike's favorite bacon and the meat was local to the processor. I'm guessing it was confinement, but I've seen the farms in the area and know that it wasn't a CAFO for sure.
So what was the grand total after all this? We spent $2212.16 on groceries in 2010.
It was a BIG increase (almost $1000 more) but it was worth it to feed our family of 2 adults, one 2 year old and a baby who is a month into solids. We have almost an entire 1/4 of meat in the freezer, bacon for a year, and still have many, many jars of canned goods. Overall we have a lot more food in this house right now than we did last January. We have eaten almost all the frozen vegetables, but are going to have a second chest freezer for me to fill next summer so I'll have enough for more months. I also will have more room because I will not have the two big boxes of milk that I pumped and saved for Peanut. That milk took precedence as I can buy groceries and I can't buy her my milk!
All in all I feel good about what we are doing and where we are headed. We have a long way to go, but we like the changes we've made! Next step is probably getting a grain mill and starting to grind our own grains. I'm excited, but does anyone have any idea where I can buy non-GMO wheat here in Milwaukee for a good price? And I'd like to make all our eggs free range and our milk local and and and and...it doesn't really end, does it? :)
Happy Eating!
Heather
Friday, October 8, 2010
Time of Plenty
This is such a great time of year, isn't it? It seems that everyone is talking about how this is their favorite time of year and I have to agree! I was born in the (late) fall, I met my husband and married him in the fall and I just love the cooler nights, the beautiful colors and the return to more baking. I must admit that I do seem to 'love' each season in its own time and have found that I do even more so since I've made a more conscious effort to eat seasonally, but fall is extra special because I do not want it to end!
I find myself spending more moments than I should paused down in our basement looking at all the jars that are full of food I've canned. I loved the different colors of food, sizes of jars and promised recipes they all store. On a whim I decided to get a rough count of jars and there are approximately 230 jars of tomatoes, pickled items, vegetables, soups, salsas, jams and fruit stored in our basement. I had no idea! No wonder I keep running out of jars. I found 5 more at a very quick rummage sale stop yesterday and will have them full shortly. I've got a big bag of green tomatoes to continue to use and just need a few more jars... I can't tell you how many times I've told my husband that I just need a few more jars, a few more jars. He asked when I'll have enough. When I'm ready to start downsizing canning after the kids leave home was my answer. I (kind of) believe that you add jars until you start subtracting jars. I also figure that more jars I have, the more I fill, the more I can share if the moment strikes, the more we can use any and all produce gifted to us or found inexpensively. And the more we have to get us through winter!
We are also waiting on our 1/4 of grass fed beef. It will be ready in a week or two (is at the processors) and the freezer is waiting! It has been a struggle to get the freezer empty in a time when I want to be filling it. I would have frozen many more vegetables this year, but we only have a smallish chest freezer because our basement door will not fit any other size. And normally that would still have not been a problem. However, I have been pumping milk 'just in case' and have about 1000 ounces of milk stored as well. The milk takes up a lot of room, but it gets priority over the vegetables since it can't be replaced at the grocery store! Here is hoping that I won't find my milk gone at 6 months and that this frozen milk can be used much later or donated to someone.
I find myself more and more content (from staring at all my jars) during this season of plenty. It reminds me of something that Laura said in one of the Little House books. I don't know the exact quote, but basically she was always so happy in the fall when the house was full of things to get them through the winter. I feel the same way! This is definitely a Finer Thing.
Have a great weekend,
Heather
I find myself spending more moments than I should paused down in our basement looking at all the jars that are full of food I've canned. I loved the different colors of food, sizes of jars and promised recipes they all store. On a whim I decided to get a rough count of jars and there are approximately 230 jars of tomatoes, pickled items, vegetables, soups, salsas, jams and fruit stored in our basement. I had no idea! No wonder I keep running out of jars. I found 5 more at a very quick rummage sale stop yesterday and will have them full shortly. I've got a big bag of green tomatoes to continue to use and just need a few more jars... I can't tell you how many times I've told my husband that I just need a few more jars, a few more jars. He asked when I'll have enough. When I'm ready to start downsizing canning after the kids leave home was my answer. I (kind of) believe that you add jars until you start subtracting jars. I also figure that more jars I have, the more I fill, the more I can share if the moment strikes, the more we can use any and all produce gifted to us or found inexpensively. And the more we have to get us through winter!
We are also waiting on our 1/4 of grass fed beef. It will be ready in a week or two (is at the processors) and the freezer is waiting! It has been a struggle to get the freezer empty in a time when I want to be filling it. I would have frozen many more vegetables this year, but we only have a smallish chest freezer because our basement door will not fit any other size. And normally that would still have not been a problem. However, I have been pumping milk 'just in case' and have about 1000 ounces of milk stored as well. The milk takes up a lot of room, but it gets priority over the vegetables since it can't be replaced at the grocery store! Here is hoping that I won't find my milk gone at 6 months and that this frozen milk can be used much later or donated to someone.
I find myself more and more content (from staring at all my jars) during this season of plenty. It reminds me of something that Laura said in one of the Little House books. I don't know the exact quote, but basically she was always so happy in the fall when the house was full of things to get them through the winter. I feel the same way! This is definitely a Finer Thing.
Have a great weekend,
Heather
Thursday, September 30, 2010
And Now An ELMO Cake!
EDIT: I'll be adding pictures and such soon. This was written a few weeks ago and I never got them put in. SORRY!
Mike has been gone all week playing for libraries in very northern Minnesota. At one point he could see Canada across the water! Funny thing is that he is often told he sounds like he is from Canada, which he didn't agree with after listening to Canadian radio and TV personalities. Then at one of the libraries (less than 30 minutes from the Canadian border) someone told him he sounded like he was from Canada! Made me laugh since he just can't get away from that accent of his. For the record he is from the Milwaukee area and has no relatives that live anywhere north of Milwaukee.
Because of Daddy's absence we invited a friend over to play one day so I could have an adult conversation and Little Guy could burn off some energy. About 3 hours before they arrived for dinner and playing I realized that the next day was that little boy's 2nd birthday. And I hadn't planned on anything special for him. So off to the races I went and whipped up a cake!
This was a very simple, not that great looking, but did the job and made two little boys happy kind of decorated cake. My Little Guy LOVES Elmo and I have seen many different Elmo cakes around the internet. I've always figured I'd make him one, but never really had a good excuse to add more butter cream and cake to our lives. I figured this was a good reason to do so!
First I whipped up our standard chocolate cake recipe. I just did a single recipe worth and split the batter between two round pans. I don't have any special cake pans (I think they sell an actual Elmo pan) but I think you can make a lot of fun cakes with your basic round and square cake pans! This made for two very thin layers as the recipe would typically make one round layer or an 8x8 pan. I did this so they would cook faster since time was of the essence. Once they were out of the oven I flipped them out of the pans, let them cool a few minutes and then put them in my cake carrier. I put the first layer down, added a thin layer of raspberry jam to adhere them and then popped the second layer on top. Since the cake was still warm I threw it in the refrigerator to cool while I got the frosting going.
I didn't have my butter cream recipe out so I winged it from memory and made it extra stiff so I'd be able to use it for piping. Once I took out some for the nose and mouth I thinned out the rest to make it more spreadable. No time for a crumb layer, but with a bright red color and a thick application it went on fine. Then I threw on the marshmallows and used the flat end of a skewer to apply some food color as eyeballs. I took some of the thick frosting and added orange food color to it. I was able to shape it into a nose pretty quickly and it turned out way better than the eyes. I wish I had kept more frosting white and shaped the eyes since the marshmallows are a little odd looking.
The mouth was a dilemma as I didn't have any black food coloring left. I used brown and it is okay, but I really need to get black if I'm going to do this again. I did the wrong mouth shape at first, but after checking a book with Elmo's picture I tried to fix it. It's definitely not perfect, but again, it worked.
Last, since I had extra red frosting (Why didn't I have extra for the Thomas the Train Cake? That's where I really could have used it!) I put it into a pastry bag and tried to make hair all over. I should probably tell you that I have two REALLY old pastry bags and one has holes all over it. I also have a total of 3 tips. I have no real professional tools (maybe it should go on my Christmas list?) and I just do the best I can. I really wasn't liking the way the monster fur turned out, but didn't have time to try anything else.
Again, this was not my best cake, but it really surprised the birthday boy and my Little Guy LOVED having an Elmo cake in the house. Of course, it was really hard for him to wait until they came, but he enjoyed his piece and the left overs the next day!
And I should mention that we met this little boy and his mom through our Bradley class. I cannot say enough for the wonderful support we've gotten from the families in that class. The seven families have all stayed in touch and we are all celebrating 2nd birthdays this year. There is nothing like having moms to encourage you through the challenging times and cheer with you through the wonderful moments. It is so awesome to have a group of people with similar outlooks on birth and child rearing that are going through the exact same stages as you at the same time. I am so grateful that we took that class and that our group has stayed in touch! This summer we've welcomed 4 more new siblings (Peanut, another little girl and a set of twins, one boy and one girl) and we've got one more on the way fairly shortly. Such fun!
Heather
Mike has been gone all week playing for libraries in very northern Minnesota. At one point he could see Canada across the water! Funny thing is that he is often told he sounds like he is from Canada, which he didn't agree with after listening to Canadian radio and TV personalities. Then at one of the libraries (less than 30 minutes from the Canadian border) someone told him he sounded like he was from Canada! Made me laugh since he just can't get away from that accent of his. For the record he is from the Milwaukee area and has no relatives that live anywhere north of Milwaukee.
Because of Daddy's absence we invited a friend over to play one day so I could have an adult conversation and Little Guy could burn off some energy. About 3 hours before they arrived for dinner and playing I realized that the next day was that little boy's 2nd birthday. And I hadn't planned on anything special for him. So off to the races I went and whipped up a cake!
This was a very simple, not that great looking, but did the job and made two little boys happy kind of decorated cake. My Little Guy LOVES Elmo and I have seen many different Elmo cakes around the internet. I've always figured I'd make him one, but never really had a good excuse to add more butter cream and cake to our lives. I figured this was a good reason to do so!
First I whipped up our standard chocolate cake recipe. I just did a single recipe worth and split the batter between two round pans. I don't have any special cake pans (I think they sell an actual Elmo pan) but I think you can make a lot of fun cakes with your basic round and square cake pans! This made for two very thin layers as the recipe would typically make one round layer or an 8x8 pan. I did this so they would cook faster since time was of the essence. Once they were out of the oven I flipped them out of the pans, let them cool a few minutes and then put them in my cake carrier. I put the first layer down, added a thin layer of raspberry jam to adhere them and then popped the second layer on top. Since the cake was still warm I threw it in the refrigerator to cool while I got the frosting going.
I didn't have my butter cream recipe out so I winged it from memory and made it extra stiff so I'd be able to use it for piping. Once I took out some for the nose and mouth I thinned out the rest to make it more spreadable. No time for a crumb layer, but with a bright red color and a thick application it went on fine. Then I threw on the marshmallows and used the flat end of a skewer to apply some food color as eyeballs. I took some of the thick frosting and added orange food color to it. I was able to shape it into a nose pretty quickly and it turned out way better than the eyes. I wish I had kept more frosting white and shaped the eyes since the marshmallows are a little odd looking.
The mouth was a dilemma as I didn't have any black food coloring left. I used brown and it is okay, but I really need to get black if I'm going to do this again. I did the wrong mouth shape at first, but after checking a book with Elmo's picture I tried to fix it. It's definitely not perfect, but again, it worked.
Last, since I had extra red frosting (Why didn't I have extra for the Thomas the Train Cake? That's where I really could have used it!) I put it into a pastry bag and tried to make hair all over. I should probably tell you that I have two REALLY old pastry bags and one has holes all over it. I also have a total of 3 tips. I have no real professional tools (maybe it should go on my Christmas list?) and I just do the best I can. I really wasn't liking the way the monster fur turned out, but didn't have time to try anything else.
Again, this was not my best cake, but it really surprised the birthday boy and my Little Guy LOVED having an Elmo cake in the house. Of course, it was really hard for him to wait until they came, but he enjoyed his piece and the left overs the next day!
And I should mention that we met this little boy and his mom through our Bradley class. I cannot say enough for the wonderful support we've gotten from the families in that class. The seven families have all stayed in touch and we are all celebrating 2nd birthdays this year. There is nothing like having moms to encourage you through the challenging times and cheer with you through the wonderful moments. It is so awesome to have a group of people with similar outlooks on birth and child rearing that are going through the exact same stages as you at the same time. I am so grateful that we took that class and that our group has stayed in touch! This summer we've welcomed 4 more new siblings (Peanut, another little girl and a set of twins, one boy and one girl) and we've got one more on the way fairly shortly. Such fun!
Heather
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Fall Is In The Air...I Think
To quote a friend "What is up with our psycho weather lately?" I couldn't agree more! This week we have literally been on a weather roller coaster with highs going from mid 60s to 87 with none really in the middle. It has been a-- is today a shorts and t-shirts day or should we be layering more than just the long sleeve shirt and full sweatsuit?--kind of week. Every other day has been hot, then cold, then hot, then cold and now today is a second in a row cold one. So, since the weather folks say it is going to stay chilly all weekend I am going to say that fall is officially in the air! That and the 40 mile an hour winds are expected to die down finally so we'll be able to enjoy some calm air.
Last week we spent a day up in the area of state that I grew up in. It was a beautiful, sunny day perfect for getting out of the city. As we drove through farm country we caught a few glimpses of the colors of fall on the early bird trees. The harvest is well underway, trees are heavy with apples and pears, garden produce was set out in yards and roadside stands and we even saw a sign advertising eggs for a dollar. Yes, we stopped in, but sadly (very sadly) no one was home. We saw the chickens running around so no doubt that the eggs were from free ranged chickens and I am still sad that we couldn't fill our cooler with all the eggs they had! I did put some money in the coffee pot and helped myself to some tomatoes, 2 green peppers, and a handful of tiny onions.
Our first destination was to have lunch and pick apples with a family friend. He and his wife were like an aunt and uncle to us growing up and sadly almost exactly a year ago, his wife passed away. Since then I've tried to stay in touch with him with Christmas cards and such, but it was nice to take him a birthday cake in person. We had picked a ton of apples there last year and our applesauce was almost all gone so he invited us up to restock. It was an off year for most of his trees (too much rain and such huge production last year) so we didn't get nearly as many. The apples are also not as nice as last year, but I am not complaining. These are apples that are completely ignored and therefore very organic and I am happy to get them. It was a bit of an adventure this year since the horses are now gone and the pastures are hugely overgrown (weeds taller than me in some areas). Considering a lack of nap and the height of the vegetation Little Guy was a real trooper! He was excited to see the tractor and to "pick apple up" and goodness knows he adores the applesauce that come of these apples! Peanut was in the carrier and napped through some of the picking as well.
A good friend came to join us and then invited us to her mom's farm to clean out the garden and pick pears. Her mom is moving to another state and the farm was set to close in just a few days so we were welcome to whatever we could find. And boy, did we find! We picked a few boxes of pears, another bucket of apples, the rest of the beets (4 pints worth), a few stalks of brussel sprouts (2 dinners worth), a few last tomatoes, Swiss chard, two hands of beans, and then we found squash. There were some huge plants that had volunteered out in the pasture on the compost pile. We picked all that there were. I came home with 4 spaghetti squash (although 2 are not very ripe) and 19 acorn squash! And her daughter kept a box as well, so I do not know the officially count, but it has to be somewhere around 35 squash that were just growing wild.
After a tiring day of harvesting we headed back to our friend's home to meet her husband and have a wonderful dinner. We also got to meet their new chickens (previously lived at her mom's farm) and Little Guy got to help collect 3 eggs that night. A big day of country experiences for him and a dozen fresh eggs for us, wonderful! We also got to here more about their plans to adopt. They (and we) are praying for a baby for them. They have finished all the paperwork, home visits and such and now we are just waiting for the right birth mother to come forward. They are going to be wonderful parents and I can't wait for the right woman to choose them!
One moment I want to remember involved Little Guy and an acorn squash. I had a big box of squash, Mike had a bunch in his hands (and Peanut in the carrier), our friend has a big armful and Little Guy had one to carry. It was a good ways from the pasture to our van and we had to navigate the horse piles and a couple of fences to get the squash to the vehicle. Little Guy had not had a nap, had spent the day (literally) running around in the fresh air and sun and he was beyond exhausted. At one point I looked back and this very filthy, very tired little two year old was just standing there holding his one acorn squash. There was something about the sun hat on his head, the crocs on his feet, the dirt on his legs and the late afternoon sun behind him that made for the most adorable exhausted two year old picture you could ever imagine. For as slow as he was moving he did get that squash all the way to the van!
I'm so grateful for good friends, tons of free organically grown produce and fall weather!
Hope you have a great weekend,
Heather
Last week we spent a day up in the area of state that I grew up in. It was a beautiful, sunny day perfect for getting out of the city. As we drove through farm country we caught a few glimpses of the colors of fall on the early bird trees. The harvest is well underway, trees are heavy with apples and pears, garden produce was set out in yards and roadside stands and we even saw a sign advertising eggs for a dollar. Yes, we stopped in, but sadly (very sadly) no one was home. We saw the chickens running around so no doubt that the eggs were from free ranged chickens and I am still sad that we couldn't fill our cooler with all the eggs they had! I did put some money in the coffee pot and helped myself to some tomatoes, 2 green peppers, and a handful of tiny onions.
Our first destination was to have lunch and pick apples with a family friend. He and his wife were like an aunt and uncle to us growing up and sadly almost exactly a year ago, his wife passed away. Since then I've tried to stay in touch with him with Christmas cards and such, but it was nice to take him a birthday cake in person. We had picked a ton of apples there last year and our applesauce was almost all gone so he invited us up to restock. It was an off year for most of his trees (too much rain and such huge production last year) so we didn't get nearly as many. The apples are also not as nice as last year, but I am not complaining. These are apples that are completely ignored and therefore very organic and I am happy to get them. It was a bit of an adventure this year since the horses are now gone and the pastures are hugely overgrown (weeds taller than me in some areas). Considering a lack of nap and the height of the vegetation Little Guy was a real trooper! He was excited to see the tractor and to "pick apple up" and goodness knows he adores the applesauce that come of these apples! Peanut was in the carrier and napped through some of the picking as well.
A good friend came to join us and then invited us to her mom's farm to clean out the garden and pick pears. Her mom is moving to another state and the farm was set to close in just a few days so we were welcome to whatever we could find. And boy, did we find! We picked a few boxes of pears, another bucket of apples, the rest of the beets (4 pints worth), a few stalks of brussel sprouts (2 dinners worth), a few last tomatoes, Swiss chard, two hands of beans, and then we found squash. There were some huge plants that had volunteered out in the pasture on the compost pile. We picked all that there were. I came home with 4 spaghetti squash (although 2 are not very ripe) and 19 acorn squash! And her daughter kept a box as well, so I do not know the officially count, but it has to be somewhere around 35 squash that were just growing wild.
After a tiring day of harvesting we headed back to our friend's home to meet her husband and have a wonderful dinner. We also got to meet their new chickens (previously lived at her mom's farm) and Little Guy got to help collect 3 eggs that night. A big day of country experiences for him and a dozen fresh eggs for us, wonderful! We also got to here more about their plans to adopt. They (and we) are praying for a baby for them. They have finished all the paperwork, home visits and such and now we are just waiting for the right birth mother to come forward. They are going to be wonderful parents and I can't wait for the right woman to choose them!
One moment I want to remember involved Little Guy and an acorn squash. I had a big box of squash, Mike had a bunch in his hands (and Peanut in the carrier), our friend has a big armful and Little Guy had one to carry. It was a good ways from the pasture to our van and we had to navigate the horse piles and a couple of fences to get the squash to the vehicle. Little Guy had not had a nap, had spent the day (literally) running around in the fresh air and sun and he was beyond exhausted. At one point I looked back and this very filthy, very tired little two year old was just standing there holding his one acorn squash. There was something about the sun hat on his head, the crocs on his feet, the dirt on his legs and the late afternoon sun behind him that made for the most adorable exhausted two year old picture you could ever imagine. For as slow as he was moving he did get that squash all the way to the van!
I'm so grateful for good friends, tons of free organically grown produce and fall weather!
Hope you have a great weekend,
Heather
Friday, May 28, 2010
Baby Preparation Update
I'm happy to report that most everything is ready for Baby 2 to make an appearance!
The biggest thing left that I'd like to have done is a hair cut for me (and do one on Mike and Little Guy). I got my hair cut shorter before Little Guy was born and then it started growing and growing and growing. I think I've only had one cut since then and after a certain point I figured I'd let it grow enough for a Locks of Love donation. It is finally long enough and I just want it gone! The challenge is working in a time to get it cut. I told Mike that if it isn't done before labor I may cut it off myself while in labor as it really is getting on my nerves on my best days and I imagine it will be a lot worse when in labor!
The one thing I really thought I did well before Little Guy's birth was to stock our freezer and I've worked hard to do it again. It saves so much effort and money to have things pre-made. Especially when Mike doesn't cook! We got a pretty generous amount of our regular frozen stuff (veggies, meats, cheese, etc) and I pre-made a bunch of meals as well. To give you an idea of what we've got on hand in our chest freezer...
1 Sausage, Onion and Pepper Quiche
4 Calzones
Chicken Enchiladas (1 meal)
3 Large containers of Jambalaya
3 Veggie Lasagnas
2 Southwestern Veggie Bake Casseroles
7 Beef, Cheese and Bean Burritos
1 Recipe of Angel Chicken (just need to make pasta)
1 Large batch of Colorful Chicken and Rice
2 Turkey Pot Pies
1 Large batch of Cheesy Sausage Penne
4 loaves of banana bread
2 loaves of bread
1 bag of bagels
tortillas
6 pizza crusts
biscuits
I'm sure there are more things I'm forgetting, but overall I'm pretty sure that we'll be eating well (and easily) after baby comes. And thanks to the farmer's market we'll be supplementing more and more fresh local stuff too!
Now that the heat is better I'm feeling a little better too. I'm working hard not to be too anxious about getting baby here earlier rather than later! With Little Guy I fully expected to go past 41 weeks (like the average 1st baby) and for some reason I keep thinking this one will come in May (due date is June 8th). Baby 2 will come when s/he is good and ready and I'll do my best to be patient until that day. Although after Sunday we've got a fairly quite week...it would be really convenient :)
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Take some time to remember all the brave troops. I'm very grateful to my brother-in-law who is currently deployed as well as my numerous cousins, uncles, and grandfather who have all served as well. They are true heros.
Heather
The biggest thing left that I'd like to have done is a hair cut for me (and do one on Mike and Little Guy). I got my hair cut shorter before Little Guy was born and then it started growing and growing and growing. I think I've only had one cut since then and after a certain point I figured I'd let it grow enough for a Locks of Love donation. It is finally long enough and I just want it gone! The challenge is working in a time to get it cut. I told Mike that if it isn't done before labor I may cut it off myself while in labor as it really is getting on my nerves on my best days and I imagine it will be a lot worse when in labor!
The one thing I really thought I did well before Little Guy's birth was to stock our freezer and I've worked hard to do it again. It saves so much effort and money to have things pre-made. Especially when Mike doesn't cook! We got a pretty generous amount of our regular frozen stuff (veggies, meats, cheese, etc) and I pre-made a bunch of meals as well. To give you an idea of what we've got on hand in our chest freezer...
1 Sausage, Onion and Pepper Quiche
4 Calzones
Chicken Enchiladas (1 meal)
3 Large containers of Jambalaya
3 Veggie Lasagnas
2 Southwestern Veggie Bake Casseroles
7 Beef, Cheese and Bean Burritos
1 Recipe of Angel Chicken (just need to make pasta)
1 Large batch of Colorful Chicken and Rice
2 Turkey Pot Pies
1 Large batch of Cheesy Sausage Penne
4 loaves of banana bread
2 loaves of bread
1 bag of bagels
tortillas
6 pizza crusts
biscuits
I'm sure there are more things I'm forgetting, but overall I'm pretty sure that we'll be eating well (and easily) after baby comes. And thanks to the farmer's market we'll be supplementing more and more fresh local stuff too!
Now that the heat is better I'm feeling a little better too. I'm working hard not to be too anxious about getting baby here earlier rather than later! With Little Guy I fully expected to go past 41 weeks (like the average 1st baby) and for some reason I keep thinking this one will come in May (due date is June 8th). Baby 2 will come when s/he is good and ready and I'll do my best to be patient until that day. Although after Sunday we've got a fairly quite week...it would be really convenient :)
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Take some time to remember all the brave troops. I'm very grateful to my brother-in-law who is currently deployed as well as my numerous cousins, uncles, and grandfather who have all served as well. They are true heros.
Heather
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Canning again!
Saturday Mike and I went and did the Freecycle produce pickup. It has been months and months since we've been involved, but they needed help, we had a gift certificate to use for the A&W near the pickup spot and I'm in serious nesting/cooking mode. Made sense to volunteer!
We ended up picking up 5 cases of nectarines, 2 cases of green grapes (most were composted right away), a flat of strawberries, probably 20 or so pounds of large onions, and a decent sized box of tomatoes. The benefit of doing a Saturday pickup is that the amount of total produce is lower, so it is easier to manage going through it and composting what is not in good shape without feeling the need to build six more compost bins. I expected to find the quality to be a lot lower, but it turned out to be in fairly decent shape overall. I was especially grateful for the onions since prices have shot up considerably in the last two weeks and we have completely run out of onions with all my pre-baby cooking.
The oddest part is that today, April 27th, I find myself canning. Nothing is really in season yet here in Wisconsin and I have 5 cases of nectarines to deal with. Some are not good, many are a bit discolored inside, but overall they taste good and can just fine. I've done two cases and have 17 quarts done, but I have to work tomorrow and still have 3 cases to go! I'm not complaining, just trying to figure out how to balance canning, being a mom to a very active and not very helpful around boiling water toddler, work and my NEED for a nap after work. Crazy times!
I'm just grateful that our family has a very full freezer, some shelves of home canned goods and full bellies. And when you can get produce for free it is even easier to be grateful for all we have!
And for anyone interested, I'm okay with using this fruit even thought it isn't organic. We eat a lot of organic/home raised fruit and I figure that some of this sprinkled in is okay. When it is free or basically free (see moral dilemma: carrots) I'm not willing to turn my back on it!
For more grateful people visit Heavenly Homemakers.
Have a great day!
Heather
We ended up picking up 5 cases of nectarines, 2 cases of green grapes (most were composted right away), a flat of strawberries, probably 20 or so pounds of large onions, and a decent sized box of tomatoes. The benefit of doing a Saturday pickup is that the amount of total produce is lower, so it is easier to manage going through it and composting what is not in good shape without feeling the need to build six more compost bins. I expected to find the quality to be a lot lower, but it turned out to be in fairly decent shape overall. I was especially grateful for the onions since prices have shot up considerably in the last two weeks and we have completely run out of onions with all my pre-baby cooking.
The oddest part is that today, April 27th, I find myself canning. Nothing is really in season yet here in Wisconsin and I have 5 cases of nectarines to deal with. Some are not good, many are a bit discolored inside, but overall they taste good and can just fine. I've done two cases and have 17 quarts done, but I have to work tomorrow and still have 3 cases to go! I'm not complaining, just trying to figure out how to balance canning, being a mom to a very active and not very helpful around boiling water toddler, work and my NEED for a nap after work. Crazy times!
I'm just grateful that our family has a very full freezer, some shelves of home canned goods and full bellies. And when you can get produce for free it is even easier to be grateful for all we have!
And for anyone interested, I'm okay with using this fruit even thought it isn't organic. We eat a lot of organic/home raised fruit and I figure that some of this sprinkled in is okay. When it is free or basically free (see moral dilemma: carrots) I'm not willing to turn my back on it!
For more grateful people visit Heavenly Homemakers.
Have a great day!
Heather
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