VICTORY

 

Good Food

So many good, natural, whole foods have been given a bad name over the years, and the potato is one of them! Any food that is high in starch is shunned by the dieting community. But the potato has given nourishment to generations of people worldwide for centuries.

Going back to the terrain dilemma I mentioned in an earlier post---It's not the food that is bad, it is the soil which has been depleted, and the processing practices that have made good food bad for you.

There are many things that can be done on a small scale, meaning we can grow our own food using organic principles. The first practice being nourish your soil---don't destroy it. How can this be done? By giving back to the soil what was taken out of it, in the form of compost.

NOW, is the perfect time to begin preparing your soil for springtime planting, while the ground is recovering from the growth of last year's garden.

First you'll need to clean it up.

Get rid of any insect/egg harboring plants that have been left in the garden.

Burning them (check with your local authorities before burning anything!) is the best way to cut down on what might be in the soil just waiting to develop. Just when your broccoli or greens start to flourish - overnight, bugs can make a disaster of them.

In my opinion it is better to burn the weeds and leftover plants to get rid of the nuisances, than worrying about what good insects you might be killing off. Nature is going to provide us with both! But with a little forethought, we can possibly cut down on the bad ones.

Now, plow the ground and plant a cover crop. According to many experts: 

"Cover crops just might be the hardest-working plants you’ll ever grow. Cover crops (also called green manure) suppress weeds, build productive soil, and help control pests and diseases. Plus, cover crops are easy to plant and require only basic care to thrive. And they grow well in nearly every part of the country." 

http://www.suburbanhomesteading.com/build-your-soil%e2%80%99s-productivity-with-cover-crops/quick-tips

Other enthusiasts/experts, on using cover crops for the above reasons, include: McGie Homesteading Adventures (YouTube), Mary Jane Butter's, Mother Earth News, and a myriad of others. MaryJane even suggests using an edible cover crop, Daikon Radishes.

Chocolate Saltine Toffee with M&Ms

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(,(")("). . .We have baby rabbits now. 🐰🐇🐇 I've not been able to get to see them, but soon I hope, before they're too big to look like babies. lol Photo soon! 🙏🏼

Sewing Tips

 Re-covering an old potholder to look like new. (2009)

MaryJane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook: For the Farmgirl in All of Us, MaryJane Butters 
I think I found this idea in MaryJane Butters book or website. If not, it still has some cute projects, tips and ideas on lots of things. Come to think of it, I re-learned how to do the blanket stitch in her book, it has directions for SEVERAL different stitches

Keepers at Home

Titus 2:3-5 (KJV) The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

The passage before us shows how much the honor of Christianity is bound up with the faithful discharge by Christians of the simple domestic duties of life. In truth, the family is the chief seat, and often the main test, of Christian virtue, as it is the distinctive feature of humanity as ordained by God. Source: Pulpit Commentary

Butter Is Better

My Homemade Butter

You can use store-bought, cream-line milk to make a little bit like I did. Just use the cream on top to make butter. It's a fairly small amount. I just placed some cream in a 1/2 pint jar, placed the lid tightly on top, and shook it until a lump of butter formed. Kept shaking until the whey separated from the butter. Poured off the whey, (saved it for other uses) and squeezed it in my hands (or you can mash in a bowl until any remaining liquid comes out). You can lightly salt the butter if you wish. And since this was such a small amount, there was no need to rinse and cool. I used it immediately after making it. 

I have so many memories of women who milked cows, but for some reason I never actually saw them milking. Sad, I'm interested now, but getting too worn out to try it. Sure, there are lots of videos about this, and I love watching them. But it is  still sad to have had the opportunity, and didn't watch or help.

For more info on butter: 

Butter Is Better (Link): Is butter better for you? Sally Fallon Morell, the President of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of Nourishing Traditions answers this question.

Eating in Season

Seasonal Simple Pleasures

We've probably all heard of eating seasonally for our health, for our pocketbook, and for environmental reasons. . .but why not just for the simple pleasure in it?

Photo: Pixabay

Marshmallow Cheese Toast

I recently bought a book call Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children's Tales. It is a wonderful book! Of course I'm a little prejudice, since I've loved her writings since I was child. Actually, I've grown to love her even more as an adult, because of her attention to details about the home, cooking, and gardening. She truly had a green thumb, and a most wonderful sense of artistic abilities. You can see it in her books of course but even in her yard, farms, decorating and clothing.

 

Lots of things on my mind. . .

Spring. . .

It's one of my favorite seasons. If you can even call it that in this age we're in. Winters are usually not really cold here, spring is beautiful but short-lived, summer is exasperating with the heat, and fall can't be enjoyed for all the misery of the bugs, heat, and rain it brings. (I actually use to be an optimist.) I've honestly been thinking lately that the next season was summer. Ha! 

Sidenote...So, I’ve actually had this post saved as a draft since 2018 for some reason. So as of today, Dec. 31, 2023, I’m posting way ahead of spring, and maybe I’ll get a headstart on it this year... I mean next year! 

Back to the original post (Mar. 14, 2018)

So, I bought lots of seeds to start, plant, and apparently save this year. I've been so excited to plant these seeds and actually started thinking it might be too late to plant some of the flower seeds I bought. I know the Zinnias, marigolds and such will eventually bloom - but I'm pretty sure bulbs and perennials should have already been planted back in the fall. Here I am clutching the seeds, dreaming of beautiful flower gardens, and reality struck a few days ago that it might be too late to plant them. I have seeds for the most gorgeous snapdragon called Apple Blossom. . .

I think I'll plant just a few of the seed and see how it goes, and save the rest until fall. You have to have a back-up plan. 

Collards Greens & Turkey Wings w/Rutabagas

Add abt. 2 qts water, cleaned chopped greens, smoked turkey wings and diced rutabagas to dutch oven, season with salt, add a Tablespoon butter or oil, bring to boil, turn down and let it simmer to desired tenderness. Serving Suggestions: Serve w/cornbread and sweet iced tea.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

"It is more important to live the life one wishes to live, and to go down with it if necessary, quite contentedly, than to live more profitably but less happily. " Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings