Dehydrating Squash for Winter

Last year when I discovered that dehydrated squash and zucchini made the ultimate in dog cookie, I've not had to worry about having extra. In fact, I wish I had more! Aside from being the supreme tool for dog obedience in my house, dehydrated squash and zukes rehydrate wonderfully and maintain their summer flavor far better than frozen do. They seem to work best for me in cheesy squash casseroles or soups and stews after rehydration. If anyone knows how to make them so they are good for frying or saute'ing, I'd be grateful!

Harvest of the 27th, the smallest is a 1/2 lb saucer squash.

I also got myself my ultimate toy for dehydration this year. It is the Excalibur 3900! A very pricey but extraordinarily highly reviewed and American made dehydrator for those with very large gardens. It is a 9 tray model. I was anxious to try it.

My Long awaited Excalibur 3900

Controls are easy, but precise

Loaded with all the squash above except the saucer

Unfortunately, after a few hours on, I went to check and realized the unit wasn't producing heat. You have no idea how upset I was! I did all the checks recommended when it arrived and after disassembly, I saw nothing that shouldn't be there or anything undone. It was simply faulty. And, on top of that, the company is closed for a week for the holiday!

Now, Excalibur is just a pedestal

And so, I had to pull out my cheapo Nesco from walmart, reload and take 2 loads to do what I had already cut. Most annoying.

Now, I don't want to cut any company down since they have an almost universally wonderful reputation. But I do think the increase in home food production may have affected their quality control just like it did for so many seed companies that experienced the increase in sales. I sure hope they make it right without requiring me to perform electrical repairs myself! I'll let you know.

Boscoe and the Man Cat say Hello to you all!

Great Recipe for those who never know what to do with Cabbage!

Sorry there aren't photos, but it was gone too fast. Maybe next time. :)

Those who know my cooking style know I'm terribly picky with recipes. I never use a recipe as-is. I tweak and alter until it may or may not even resemble the original. This is no exception.

This is styled after an Ethiopian cabbage recipe, though I've changed it some. This will give a family of 5 a full meal of veggies. It needs no meat really.

It is also timely in that most of these things are available as spring winds down and we harvest our cabbages and carrots, pull out early onions to thin the ranks and harvest those early potatoes. And even if you're still shopping the markets, these are all in season and create a very frugal, yet hearty, meal.

The main ingredients:

-1 head of cabbage, medium, shredded (just cut on the bias)
-About 1/2 lb of carrots, sliced nice and thin
-1 medium onion in nice thin slices
-About 1/4 cup of olive oil to cook it in depending on how big all of the above turned out to be
-About a half teaspoon salt (some people like more, but my olive oil brings out salt flavor so I go with a half tsp)
-One and a half pounds of nice small yellow or white potatoes cut into dices of about 1 inch. I peel mine so the skin doesn't flap off and look bad in the dish since it gets stirred so often.
*Spices (options below)

Over medium heat, cook up the onions and carrots for about 5 minutes or until onions are clearing nicely. Then add spices (see below) and salt, as well as the cabbage. Cook for another 10 minutes or so until the cabbage is almost, but not quite, done. Then add the potatoes, cover, reduce heat slightly and let cook, tossing often, for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are just right.

Spices: You have so many options! The strictly Ethiopian recipe would call for a teaspoon each of tumeric and ground cumin and pepper. If you are at all like me, that much tumeric will give a bitter flavor that isn't totally pleasant.

A good substitution is to decrease tumeric to 1/4 tsp and put in a teaspoon of curry powder (which has a bit of tumeric too). Instead of ground cumin, which tastes different once it has been ground for a while in the cupboard, smash up your own cumin seeds (still 1 tsp). Add a few saffron stamen for another layer of flavor. And use fresh coursely ground pepper to give it a pop.

Certainly, the above combo gives a more Indian flair (it is still very slight in my book) but the beauty of this dish is the ease with which you can nationalize it in flavors you like.

The cabbage suits itself to you rather than you to it. To me, this is a much under-rated veggie, so comfortable and accomodating, yet bursting with nutrition, texture and flavor.

Strawberry Patch and a Matching Dehydrator

Like some of you out there have reported, I too have had a great deal of difficulty getting my strawberry plant orders in. Finally, after placing 3 orders with 3 companies, 2 of them came in. What is funny, is that the only one I didn't have problems with was Jung's. I ordered from them last of all and got theirs first.

Gurney's came in second with only one delay. My Park Seed order, placed in January, still hasn't come and no notification has ever been given, only reluctantly admitted when badgered by phone.

But anyway, I'm now the proud mama of 75 Strawberry plants and I immediately set to work getting them in the ground.


Now, that strawberry patch may not look impressive to you, but to me it is a joy to behold. Why? Because that piece of ground is a nightmare! Truly. That little tree you see is actually the 4th one of it's kind to be there. The previous three have died there. My house isn't even 4 years old so this is worriesome.

The matching one on the other side is hale and hearty. It is only in this patch of dirt we have problems.

I finally figured it out though and now have high hopes. It turns out this little 6 foot by 12 foot patch of ground had several problems: poor drainage and fill dirt hidden underneath being the main culprits.

So, this past weekend I dug it out. I mean...dug. Pulling out all the house building debris that construction workers had hidden underneath the pretty layer of dirt and sod they put down afterwards, digging up the dead tree, freaking out over a great many worms and bugs, pulling up every blade of runnered grass and weed was the first half. I then filled it back up with a lovely compost and topsoil mixture and added 6 inches in height for drainage. I bordered it with those blocks and then planted my tree and strawberries.

What amazed me was that those little leafless bundles of roots put out leaves in less than 24 hours. Amazing!

Oh, and those 3 in front are testers. I went ahead and bought 3 of those $2.98 each strawberry plants from Lowe's to see if there really was a difference in the plants by the time for bearing comes. We'll see!

And for my big news...drumroll...I finally bought an Excalibur Dehydrator! I got the 9 tray, 3900 Model, which is my heart's desire! This month, till today actually, they had a pretty amazing special going with 50 bucks off the price plus a whole lot of accessories and free shipping. They are a significant investment, I know, but using the WalMart Nesco special last year for the first time showed me the value of a good dehydrator.

For me, it is really important to Store what I Grow and Eat what I Store! In short, no waste if possible. Freezing stuff is fine, I suppose, but it uses a lot of energy. Dehydrated stuff is no fuss, no muss and isn't going to spoil when I lose power in storms. Plus it keeps nutrition really well and seriously, who doesn't love home-made jerky or fruit wraps?

I'm very excited to get it and can't wait to start the production going for this year!

A Homesteader's Home

Living where I live now, I was limited by city ordinances, lot size, environmental restrictions and a whole host of other items, not the least of which was financial, so I built a home that was wood frame, extra strong and flexible (hurricanes), super energy efficient and roomy enough for a big family without a lot of extra rooms no one uses. It matches my neighborhood theme and I like it. Good ending, yes?

Ehhh..not so much when you think about it.

Someday soon I'll be retiring and moving to the country, whether it is to the property I own in NE Arkansas or some other lovely few acres I find, I'll be building a house on it too.

Deciding what to build as a homesteader who is also trying to be sustainable, trying to embrace the human values that made us a successful species, ensure continuity for the future, able to age in place and on top of that...love it forever, is a tall order.

Maybe you all can help me out.

I've considered the low cost things that are totally natural like the famous Hobbit House. I've considered the ultra-efficient and low impact Natural Home. I've perused the offerings for Underground Earth Homes. I've spent hours combing over the available concrete home plans in search of more permanent homes. I've even finally found articles on the increasing trend in Multi-Generational homes, yet plans remain sadly lacking in realistic living.

The bottom line on all of that is that they are hopelessly flawed in one way or another. What is a self-sufficient, sustainable, homesteading, multi-generational living, comfort loving girl to do?

While the Hobbit House is cute and, in theory, lightly living, it isn't at all a really permanent home no matter what the former inhabitants say. Too flimsy and too vulnerable. Also not a good idea for aging.

The Natural Home and Underground homes both have the appeal of concrete, which is much more permanent, but they are drastically limiting in terms of normal family sizes and multi-generational living. Both also tend to have significant problems after 20 or 30 years that just don't pass the permanence test for me.

Concrete home plans seem to be geared almost entirely toward those who want to build huge monstrosities in areas where houses probably shouldn't be...like the Florida coast along Hurricane Alley. And current multi-generational plans usually really mean it has 2 ginormous master suites or a mother-in-law cottage/suite somewhere in there.

So let me run past you all what I think I want. Maybe you can offer me some sage advice?

1) Permanent - Homes are generally built for a 30 year life. Surprising but true. They say more, but no, not without a lot of work. Concrete is a sure and certain way, if properly done, to ensure your house will be there for hundreds of years of continuous occupancy. Minor maintenance needed, of course! Look at some of the simple middle class homes from Rome, almost 2000 years and still safe and sound, albeit buried under the new city. Heck, the Colosseum is still there.

2) Sustainable and gently built - Believe it or not, much of the concrete and cement materials are sourced locally to their use. Fossil fuels for creating it are often counted as the bad guy, but nowadays, many use old tires and other industrial waste for that process without contaminating the concrete itself. Good deal. Sustainable to me also means lasting. If a house has to be rebuilt every 5 years like the Hobbit House, then it really doesn't matter that only a tenth of it came from manufacturing, it is still a waste in the long run. Permanence is a part of sustainable, I think.

3) Multi-generational - Personally, I think the idea of every nuclear family unit living a totally separate life from the rest of their family is going to wind up being a fairly short lived norm, relatively speaking. It leads to so much instability, so much waste and so much expense that it really isn't super wise. I'd like to be able to ensure a reasonable and comfortable existence for all who live there. (I lived multi-generationally for a while and it isn't an unknown concept to me. I rather like it; no scratch that, I love it.)

4) Flexible Over Time - Any house that ties me to one type of wiring or permanently fixes some "modern" need in time won't work. Part of the reason our homes have a true life of 30 years is because of these ancillary issues. Any house has to be able to be changed, modernized (or de-moderized) and be generally flexible.

5) Appropriate to the climate - Most houses are not at all built that way. Same house plan in muggy South Carolina can be seen in Wisconsin. The dependence on artificial means to force it to work is a hallmark of today's homes. I'd like mine designed to take advantage of sun angles, prevalent wind conditions and all that good stuff. That includes protection from common negative environmental happenings normal to that area. Ever seen how many houses are now built in tornado alley that have no basement or storm shelter? No thank you, I say.

6) Stage-able - By this I mean that it doesn't have to be done, inside and out, to the last floor tile before I move in. I'd like to savor the experience of putting in shelves, the non-concrete interior walls (if any), the fixtures for all the bathrooms (but one, of course!), the cabinets, tiles...well...all of it over a period of time.

I'm not asking too much, am I? Nah..I didn't think so. So why is it that architects look at me in horror and simply say that is too complex a set of requirements in a less than 1 Million budget (for NE Arkansas!). Prices for design on a house like this are truly astronomical. I could buy a house with that much. Seriously.

I've considered that altering an existing plan might be better and, believe it or not, I found that the most likely one to be altered was in a luxury home plan book and I've found it online for you. It is ridiculous and all of it has to be changed, but it has the bones it needs, if you know what I mean.

So, what do I do? Where do I compromise? How do I find, commission or buy plans that will suit that? Who exists that will be my willing accomplice and design a home that is truly meant to be the right home for me and those who come after me? ::sigh:: Okay, I'm ready for your words of wisdom!

New Raised Beds Are Done!

Here is yet another great delivery of dirt and compost mix from Friday. Another 6 cubic yards, another long bout with my little garden cart and a shovel.

Yeah...(can you hear the excitement)?

Nah, just kidding. I really do enjoy doing this hauling. I feel like I'm accomplishing something that has actual results vice some paper shuffling result. So here is my nice, fresh compost smelling pile on Friday.


And here I am with one raised bed built and filled. (It only looks crooked because I take pictures crooked. We were sure to level it.)


And here we are on Saturday afternoon, with both raised beds built and filled and the "squash bed" being laid out to the left.

The area that is a bit gray and dry is where I leveled out the area with 6 cubic yards of dirt a few weeks ago so the beds would sit nicely. I'll be banking up that front area with a bit more dirt. I'll also be using very large containers that my herbs and such go in as a frontage on that bank.


Now to something completely different...

Last year I wrote about making dehydrated squash into dog cookies. I got some questions and remarks on them. I even tried them on my best friend's dogs but they had no interest in them (they are young boxers). What I have found is that because my dogs had yellow squash quite frequently in their home made dog food, they developed a taste for them and now, dog squash cookies = maniacal frenzy of love. Here I am opening up a new jar of dehydrated squash chips.

And this is what I see as soon as that lid pops and the aroma escapes.

Too funny.

I thought, hey, if they like them, I wonder what they taste like.

I won't show you the after picture because my face is not web-safe after I took a bite. And yes, that is bread dough in my hair. Don't ask.

For those who had questions on my home-made dog food recipes, I'll give a whole blog entry on the expanded recipe set later on. Needless to say, they love it.

Chris's Questions: My Answers

Another blog I follow pointed to yet another great blog that had the following questions on it. I really enjoyed reading the answers other people gave so I thought I'd take a run at them too! Hope you enjoy my answers as much as I've enjoyed others.

If you want to get them for yourself, the One Acre Homestead in Ohio is the original author and has the original versions easy to copy and paste. Let me know if you do so I can read yours! Hey, I'm nosy. ;)

Basic Questions About You
1-What is the biggest goal of your lifestyle?
Improving self-sufficiency and independence, being sustainable in a real way (not the faddish TV way), having clean and healthy food that actually tastes better, being less of a consumer and more of a creator.

2-When did you start this lifestyle?
It grew on me. Since I'm still near the urban center/edge of the suburbs, I'm very limited by local ordnance what I'm allowed to do. I've been increasing my capabilities over the past 2 years conciously and drifting that way for years.

3-What was your main motivation?
If you had to boil it down to one single motivation, I would have to say fear. That is a bit embarrassing, but true. Food contamination, lack of control over prices and availability, utter dependence on our consumer system really sort of freaked me out.

4-Did you have any previous experience in anything you're doing now?
I come from a long line of farmers, but really nothing that I did myself. I never graduated from the "little helper" stage in my Great-Grandma Elma's or my Grandmommy's garden. Even as a teen I was still being directed due to lack of interest. Canning and preserving and hunting and fishing and the cleaning of catches were done under duress. I wish, oh how I wish, I would have been more pro-active. They told me I would regret it....

5-Does your spouse/signifiacant other (if you have one) share the same ideas?
Alas, no spouse ::sigh:: but my family is sort of half and half on it. One sister shares my "green" ideas and also gardens and the like for health but no one else. I really think they think I'm a bit of a nut job.

6-Do your friends and family understand and support these choices? What about your kids?
My best friend is very supportive even though she doesn't share my passion for it. Some family support in the form of not making actual fun at me, most of the time, but no one to really share the journey with or enjoy the accomplishments. The kiddles, my sister's, really have no interest save the youngest who thinks the wonderful rich compost/dirt mix smells and feels nice to play in. (I agree.) She also likes to see things grow. I have hope for her!

7-How happy are you with your achievements so far?
Pretty happy. I wish I could do more. I'm always reaching for the next thing to do or learn. Really can't wait to move into the country!

8-Are you more of a gardener, homesteader, prepper, health concience, "green"' or a combination of several?
I would say all of the above since they all sort of lean on each other or come from or go to another. Being a gardener gives an urban homestead capability that allows prepper-like food independence that is more healthy and certainly more green!

9-Has this change of lifestyle affected your personality?
I'm not objective enough to judge my own personality changes. I'm me every day. BUT, I do think it has changed my views enough so that it must show in my personality. Every single day I get at least one moment of max happiness and that is good for your sunny side. It also means I see more of the "lack" in the world in independence, responsibility and just plain common sense. That, I think, has made me a bit less sympathetic and I'm sure that shows in my personality at times. I'm also less daunted by new things or skills because I have learned new things I never thought I could do. Now, I'm more of a grab a bull by the horns sort of person. (No actual bulls will be grabbed this way!)

10-Has it changed your view of your life before?
Pretty much as in Question 9.

11-What about how you view others that don't understand it or naysay?
Sometimes I feel like I should try to change their minds, mostly if I care for them. Other times I feel like such total idiots should not be reproducing. It varies. Many times, I just feel sorry for their kids, growing up to be just one in the zombie horde, dissolving their brains with TV and junk food.

12-If you could convince someone to live the way you do in ONE sentance, what would you say?
If you've ever actually seen what e-coli or salmonella can do to a kid, you might want to start a bit of a garden.

Other Questions-
1-How large is your vegetable garden?
I do Square Foot Gardening with some side beds and herb gardens. I couldn't really give a square footage since I am opportunistic in where I put plants. They are everywhere! And I use dozens of giant to medium sized containers too. Just look at my 2009 garden plan for the plant listing to get an idea, I guess.

2-Do you grow any fruits, and what and how many?
Some blueberries from a couple of bushes and strawberries. I have apple and olive trees but the apples won't produce for a couple more years. Ditto with my newest fruit dwarf trees that I keep in containers.

3-Do you have any animals and what are they? (other than pets)
Nope. City laws allow NO chickens or poultry and no other animals not "commonly" considered pets. Pshaw! I'm working on it!

4-Do you can/dehydrate/freeze/store your own produce?
Yes, Yes, NO and Yes. I don't do very much freezing of excess produce because it is energy dependent. In a major emergency or hurricane, I couldn't keep it frozen. I can or dehydrate or just plain store (root veggies, etc) almost everything.

5-Do you work with mainly power tools or hand tools in your gardens and others? (wood cutting, splitting, tiller vs. broadfork etc...)
Because my home borders the wetlands, I can't do anything with power back there. It completely sucks. You ever tried taking down a 30 foot high wall of invasive japanese honeysuckle, poison ivy and multiflora rose with a pair of hand clippers? Yeah...great....

6-Do you compost?
Yes, but I'm a miserable failure at it to this point. It just won't break down! I'm keeping on trying though. I'm gonna get one of those fancy spinner ones this year.

7-Do you recycle?
Absolutely! However, I never take the labels off the cans because I'm lazy and I don't like touching slimey cat food. (Before anyone says anything, my cat has IBD and has to have a special pre-digested food. I've have him 14 years (as of the 15th of February) and love him so I give it to him.)

8-Do you consider yourself energy consience? (conserving to save $)
To some extent. I've really tried by unplugging things when they aren't needed and replacing all the non-critical lightbulbs with CFLs. Places like the kitchen and bathrooms though, I just can't stand that yellowish light so they have regular bulbs. I have been doing really well keeping the thermostat much lower this winter than in previous years and simply not wearing shorts 365 days a year.

9-Do you make any of your own household cleaners?
I've recently begun doing that again. I used to years ago because I was so poor when I first went out on my own. So far, I'm limited to vinegar for window cleaner (it really does work better than Windex!).

10-Do you make your own bread?
Yes, 100% of it for the last several months. For Christmas my best friend and her dad got me the ultimate in bread machines, the Cuisinart stainless steel rolls royce of bread machines, so that I could do it even when I was simply too busy with gardening after working all day. I gotta say, it really does free me up to do a lot of other things and uses a LOT less energy than firing up the big oven.

11- If in an emergency situation, are you able to not leave home for a week? How about a month? A year??
Yes for a week or a month. No for a year however that is the goal. I think at 3 months I'd be hurting. And milk...I'd probably be sweating bullets for a glass of cold fresh milk by the end of the first week. I would have to have power though to do it at this for anything longer than a week if in winter or full summer.

12-Are you tired of answering questions yet?
Nah..this is fun.

13-If you prep, what do you consider to be your most useful tool/items
Hmm....Propane grill/stove probably, because I can do so much with it from cooking to canning to baking to sterilizing water in a pinch. You'd be amazed what you can do with a good one!

14-Are you able to heat your home without gas or fuel oil?
No, since I live near the wetlands and in a pretty protected area, I'm restricted in what I can do. I built the house to be super energy efficient, meaning all electric also. I've got propane based support to a limited extent.

15-Are you able to cook without gas or electricity?
I can for so long as my propane bottles hold out. I can also use my solar oven for some things if there is sun. If no one is checking, I can also build one heck of a campfire!

16-Again, if in an emercency situation, could you live in the wild or out of a tent? ( camping,hunt/fish, cook,etc.)
That depends. Not here because there isn't enough wildlife to eat nearby without a vehicle to get to them. I could fish in my river, but I'd have to be pretty darn hungry to eat out of it since it runs all through the suburbs and urban environment. I am a pretty good camper in general though.

17-Have you ever practiced your prep skills? (turning off main power for a day or 2) How did you do? (this can include a power outage due to weather as a test)
I have had to practice it when a water main broke for a couple of days and once when the power went off for about 24 hours. Other than that, I've really limited my practice to individual things. For example, trying to figure out how to clean clothes if I had no power or having no power to cook, etc. Given my heavy work schedule I really do have to work around "modern life" at this point.

18-Do you have the knowledge & skills (plus tools) to hunt and fish for food?
Limited at this time. I do have some skills, but I really need to find someone this year who will take me hunting since the last time I did it I was a child. I'm a crack shot (I've got the chest candy to show it) and have some skills with human powered projectile weapons as well.

19-If you don't prep, why not?
NA. I do prep.

20-Do you or can you sew your own clothes and make your own bedding?
Yes! I love to sew and can sew everything from a full authentic Elizabethan gown to modern pajamas and make my own patterns too. I wish I had more time to do it at the moment. I can crochet but what I don't know how to do is knit. That is one of the skills I've got on my list for this year.

21-Can you field dress a deer, drink a coffee, smoke a cigarette, make a cell phone call, light a fire, AND answer all of my annoying questions at the same time? lol thanks for playing!
Ahhh...no! Wish I could do all that and whistle a tune at the same time.

Random Stuff from Shopping to Onions

Christmas last year, we decided that consumerism had reached ridiculous proportions and that either no-gift, handmade gift or drawing a name options were the way to go.

With my best friend, we simply made a list and set a dollar limit. For those who know me, it is perhaps not surprising that everything on my list was cooking or kitchen related. I do love my kitchen and all it's wonders.

One of the coolest gifts I got was this pair of Onion Goggles. Now, I know, some out there are going to bonk me on the head for wasting all that plastic on goggles against onions, BUT, I'm exceptionally sensitive to them. I love them, I eat them any chance I get, but I cry like a baby and have burning eyes for hours when I cut them.

Alas, no one will cut them for me. So, Onion Goggles. I was going to take a picture of myself with them, but the result was so horrifying and silly looking, Boscoe volunteered instead. He looks much more attractive. The blur is because he was doing the "Boscoe Dance". They work wonderfully.


I know I just recently wrote a post on what I thought sustainability was and I know that buying smelly nice things for showering isn't exactly in the correct category. Bear with me in my imperfections!

But it does bear on frugality.

I do have pretty dry skin in the winter and it is quite painful to have your hands so dry they crack from washing them a lot, digging in dirt and all of that.

Most of the Bath and Body Works formulations work well for me and as a bonus, smell nice! But I'm also trying to be less spendy on things and get used to the concept of planned spending and improving overall spending patterns.

One of the ways I do that is to buy a large supply when they have their fantastic semi-annual sale or when they change packaging and put all the old packaged items on sale. Here is my haul from the last sale. I saved an average of 49% even including shipping costs. I probably won't need to buy again for a year and maybe by then, I'll have figured out how to make more of this stuff on my own.

(Not all of this is for me, by the way. I do front load items that will go into gift baskets for both expected and unexpected gifts throughout the year. Hey, I found out right after my order that I would need to give a Mom-To-Be basket soon, so we all know it happens. Congrats, J!)


And just for kicks, here is the Boscoe-Big-Man enjoying a moment and trying to lure me into scritching his belly! You'd give in to that face, wouldn't you?