Auto Immune Protocal Breakfast is Nutrient Dense

I have been on my new path to wellness for 5 1/2 months now. A part of this path is following the Auto Immune Protocol.

This weekend Gene and I drove into South Haven to the Winter Market yesterday. This is a small market during the cold winter months but a few vendors grow greens in greenhouses all winter long.

I bought fresh grown rainbow kale, two bags of spinach, two bunches of carrots and kale. My plan I to eat all of that between now and Thursday.

Another part of my plan is to cook and eat greens at all three meals each day. This is what the protocol recommends. This is nutrient dense real foods at their best!

This morning I sautéed onions, carrots, the Swiss chard and added coconut oil and two thick slabs of the local bacon we bought a few weeks back.  It’s a new mind-set for me to eat vegetables and meat for breakfast but this is what the protocol recommends. Ample healthy fats and protein keeps us full and feeling satisfied longer. Healthy fat is also necessary for our brains to work at their optimal levels.

It was delicious and I feel fully satisfied after eating this. And a lovely side effect is that I’ve lost a whole pants size too. Yahoo!

This functional medicine process is SO impressive. They have a way to get questions answered and to take care of serious health issues. After a lifetime of screwing  around with conventional medicine and not getting any answers, this is like a welcome breath of fresh air.

 

Small House homesteader, Donna

Getting Food Creative: Buying Locally Raised Pork

As the costs of healthy foods continues to go up many of us who are dedicated to healthy organic look to find more creative ways to feed ourselves. That is the subject of this post.

I have been a serious vegetarian in years past and I have many vegetarian as well as meat-eating friends as well. Many of my yoga friends are vegetarians due to ethical reasons. Some hunt deer for food, a process that provides their main source of protein. I always feel to each their own. No judging on my part.

Bob’s of South Haven, MI

My philosophy is that we all eat to live and most of us eat something that once lived in order to stay alive. This process for me is more about doing this in a safe, honest and ethical way than about anything else for me.

Eating safe meat is a huge issue today as the science is in and it has shown that factory farmed meat carries unhealthy chemicals, medicines and bacteria on top of the often deplorable way many of these animals are kept. This is where I draw the line as I cannot morally or financially support inhumanely raised animal practices.

Loading the boxes of processed meat into the vehicle.

I made a huge decision this winter. In the future I will only buy organic humanely raised meat. I know that this means a 42 % increase in food costs but the recent changes in my health requires this. So this means I have to get more and more creative to buy the highest quality foods that I need.

In years past I dealt with the issue of increased grocery costs by eating less meat (keep my intake to about 3 oz. every third day) and making more soups, stews and stir fry’s to stretch a small piece of meat. Since I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s’ I have been buying small amounts of organic meat at the Health Food store but the $13.50 a lb. has made this more and more difficult. I considered raising my own animals but roadblocks are there including not having enough land to pasture them, suitable barns and corrals to keep them in. And to tell the truth I do not have the emotional distance necessary to raise and slaughter my own animals.

Looking at the sales receipt as we pick up the meat.

I grow much of our own seasonal vegetables and raise chicken for our eggs. But I was having trouble dealing with the high costs of organic meat.

I finally found another more affordable way working with local farmers and growers who feed organic feed and believe in taking very good care of their stock without growth hormones and antibiotics. They do their best for a humane and ethical slaughter and safe meat processing too. It’s called farm-to-consumer…

Bobs Processing Inc., of South Haven, MI  a USDA approved meat processor.

I had been buying organic meat at the health food store and by the time the farmers raised the animal and made their profit, then the store marked it up to make their profit, I was paying $13.00 and $14.00 a lb. for this meat. Something had to change.

This winter I ordered and bought ¼ of a hog that was raised in the highest of standards. I know and trust the farmer who raised these hogs and believe this is the highest quality of meat possible. I ‘sold’ the other 3/4 of the hog to friends and neighbors to make this happen for us.

Check out time.

Our hog was raised by a neighbor, Anthony Winfrey of Forgotten Forty Farms and processed by Bobs Processing Inc., of South Haven, MI  a USDA approved meat processor.

This past weekend we cleaned out our chest freezer, thoroughly washed it out and made it ready for the organic raised pork that I picked up on Friday.

Buying directly from the farmer and making arrangement to have it processed cost me $685 a lb. total. Both parties made their profits and I now have a freezer of clean meat. Now that’s better.

Many of you who follow me, know how I feel about eating organic and whole nourishing food, so I am probably as they say ‘preaching to the choir’ but if you have been on the fence about spending for organic foods, this may interest you.

See more at: http://www.phoenixhelix.com/2015/05/30/sophies-story/#sthash.f60jKMHh.dpuf Eating organic is important for us all and especially for those of us who are fighting immune system diseases.

As you now I have Hashimoto’s Thyorditis. Hasimoto’s is an autoimmune disease that affects over 10 million people in the US alone. Damaging the thyroid gland, it creates symptoms so wide-ranging and confusing that it can be hard to diagnose. My Hasimotos’ is why I must eat organic.

Another podcast if great interest to the subject of eating organic is “Why Eat Organic” by André Leu: GFS Podcast 071, found on one of my all-time favorites podcasts, Gluten Free School (GFS)  by Jennifer Fugo. If you have been on the fence about the value of organic, your mind is about to be opened.

Gluten Free School is a dedicated teaching tools about being gluten-sensitive. This savvy woman gives us many empowering steps to get healthy. In fact, this is the number one spot for those living a gluten-free life who are seeking community, as well as simple & clear information about their condition, and looking for ways to become empowered and to finally feel better.

Based on her personal journey, Jennifer Fugo, founder of Gluten Free School, is more than just about chat about a diet… it’s a healing revolution!

If you want to know more about the how’s and why’s of eating gluten-free, check out Fugo’s podcasts at http://www.glutenfreeschool.com/listen/

For the podcast dedicated to the importance of eating organic go here: http://www.glutenfreeschool.com/2015/07/28/why-eating-organic-is-important/

Yes, it was a lot of work to find, sell and make the arrangements for this meat and yes the farm raised meat can be more expensive than meat in the grocery store but I believe it is worth it. I paid about $3.00 a lb. for the meat and with the processing it cameo out to about $5.00 a lb. Not cheap certainly, but not $13.00 a pound that I was paying in the health food store either.

The end result will be cleaner, healthier organic meat to help to me heal my leaky gut and shut down the inflammation of the Hashimotos’. When one is on a restricted diet like I am, meat is the number one component of the Auto Immune Protocol (AIP.)

Its time to celebrate because my freezer is now full and I know I am on my way to better health.

Small House homesteader, Donna

Coconut Yogurt – Three Ingredients – Cook Free

My finished yogurt.

Now that I am eating dairy-free due to my recently diagnosed Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, I’m experimenting this week with making various kinds of coconut non-dairy yogurt.

A close up of my newly made non-dairy yogurt.

I began my first test by using a 13.5 oz. can of classic, unsweetened coconut milk. This is a USDA organic, certified Non-GMO and gluten-free type that is also certified as kosher.

This is my purchased can of coconut milk.

I used the Native Forest brand that I bought at my grocery store (or health food store.)  I was advised in my research to avoid the type with guar gum but for this experiment I used the brand that had the guar gum in it. The total ingredients included; organic coconut, purified water, organic guar gum.

I bought this gelatin from Amaxon.com

I followed the recipe below.

(Recipe by Renee at Raising Generation Nourished at http://www.raisinggenerationnourished.com/2015/02/coconutyogurt

NOTE: If you are like most Americans and have been on a low-fat diet for years and have never eaten coconut milk before, I suggest that you start slowly with small amounts to work your way up to larger amounts of full fat in your system. Some report nausea when going directly from a low-fat diet to a cup of full fat yogurt but this can be avoided by increasing the coconut milk slowly to adjust your system.

As well as this probiotic power supplement.

You can begin by adding 1/4 teaspoon of coconut to your smoothie or hot cereal and work your way up from there. That is what I did.

INGREDIENTS:

1. 1 1/2 cups full fat coconut milk
2. ½ tsp. quality probiotic powder
3. 1 tsp.grassfed gelatin (If you want your yogurt more “kefir” consistency (thinner) then you can use half the amount. You could also make the consistency thicker/pudding/custard like consistency with more gelatin. Do not use the cold soluble gelatin as it will not work for this project.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Stir the probiotic power and gelatin into the coconut milk and put a lid on the container. (I used a wide mouth a quart mason jar as that is what I had on hand and clean. The original directions say to use a pint jar which fit this amount perfectly.
2. Place the jar under the light in your oven (WITHOUT the stove light on) overnight or for 8-12 hours. You can taste for “tang” and if you want more you can leave it in the over for up to 24 hours under the light.
3. Shake up the jar and place it in the fridge for 2 hours to finish culturing and thickening the yogurt.

This batch ended up being a thin type of yogurt a lot like kefir, but I liked how this tasted. I added a bit of sugar-free jelly to one of the batches for a sugar-free taste of sweetness but I also like it plain as well. This is so easy to make, I will definitely make this again.

Next I’ll be trying my hands at non-dairy DYI yogurt made using homemade coconut milk. Stay tuned!

Small House homesteader, Donna

Testing Gluten-Free Flours

I have been experimenting with various gluten-free flours this week to find something that works for us.

First I bought a Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose flour to use for biscuits. It could have been the recipes, or me, but they these turned out just so so.  They needed a lot of honey on them in order to get them down. Back to the drawing board on this one.

Then I bought Bob’s Red Mill Coconut flour and Bon’s Red Mill Almond Meal and made blueberry pancakes. Gene and I both liked these and I was rate them very tasty and will definitely make them again.

The texture of these pancakes was finer than my favorite whole wheat pancakes that I used to make but not so much that I could not eat it. Gene and I both enjoyed the mild, slightly sweet coconut flavor of these blueberry coconut pancakes. I will make these again and again.

Coconut Flour Almond Meal Pancakes²

Makes about 16 small pancakes

Ingredients

• ½ cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup almond meal
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 4 organic, pastured eggs
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup milk (raw cow’s or coconut)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• a pinch of sea salt
• 1-2 tablespoons organic, raw grass-fed butter + more for serving
• pure maple syrup to drizzle (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients: the coconut flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt.
2. Slowly whisk in the wet ingredients: the eggs, coconut oil, milk, and vanilla. Mix until the batter is smooth. (If it feels a little dry, add more milk until it reaches the consistency you’re after).
3. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt, then add scoops of batter (about a ¼ cup each) for silver dollar pancakes. Cook for about a minute on each side until golden brown. Slather with butter and drizzle maple syrup as desired.

More experiment to come!

Small House homesteader, Donna

 

New Year’s Day on the Homestead

We tend to favor low-key holiday celebrations these days. Our life is quiet, simple we are older and we are tired!

A hearty sweet potato, sausage and kale soup to begin the new year.

This year we will enjoy the simple pleasure of walking Sassy, a bit of the NY day parade, watch a good DVD and a great healthy meal. We will likely talk to some of out-of-town relatives as well which is always a bright spot in our day.

I cooked one of my all-time favorite homemade soups this year; Sweet Potato, Sausage and Kale Soup that I adapted many years ago from This Organic Life written by Joan Gussow. This is a great book for any beginning gardener and is about Joan and her husband’s life as college professors and urban gardeners in upstate New York. This is my “go to” potluck soup that everyone raves over. This soup is so good it is almost sinful. I do recommend it!

I’m still trying to find away to make tasty gluten-free biscuits. Not there yet.

Experimenting with gluten-free biscuits today.

Sweet Potato, Sausage and Kale Soup

(Adapted from This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader, Joan Dye Gussow. This soup was originally a Portuguese tradition.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups chopped onion (about 2 large)

1 teaspoon sea salt (I use just a small pinch)

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Rosemary to taste (try ½ to 1 Tablespoon to start)

1 pound sweet turkey Italian sausage (or whatever sausage you like)

8 cups coarsely chopped peeled sweet potato (about 2 1/4 pounds or 6 lg. potatoes)

2 cups of cabbage

5 cups water

4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

I also add 5 or 6 chicken bouillon cubes

1 (16-ounce) package prewashed torn kale

Parsley to taste (I used about two heaping tablespoons)

1 (16-ounce) can cannelloni beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained

1 (16 oz. canned tomato) or homegrown/frozen

(I also like to add chunks of cooked/boiled Butternut squash to my soup. (It’s filled with fiber and I love it in my soups.)

PREPERATION:

1. Boil sweet potatoes and drain.
2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
3. Add onion; sauté 10-15 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Remove casings from sausage; add sausage to pan. Cook 5 minutes or until sausage is lightly browned, stirring to crumble.
4. Add sweet potatoes, 5 cups water, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes. Gradually add kale; cook 10 minutes or until tender.
5. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and beans (squash and any other ingredients above)
6. Transfer to a crock pot and finish cooking and blending all flavors

For our dessert I made my rice pudding. Now that I am on a restricted diet I was looking for a low sugar, gluten-free dessert option.

Gluten-Free Low Sugar Brown Rice Pudding (my adaptation)

• 3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
• I cook the brown rice ahead of time and then assemble. I cook my rice for about 30 minutes and then let it sit in the pan on the same burner another 15-20 while it continues to slowly cook until soft. Just watch that the water does not fully evaporate and the rice burns. Usually this is not a problem, but just be aware.
• 2 cups milk, divided (I use 1 to 2 cups of organic Almond milk.)
• 1/3 cup white sugar (I use brown sugar.) I can get by with less sugar because the Craisins are very sweet.
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I leave out the salt)
• This year I added 3/4 cup of fresh pomegranate seed
• I egg beaten

• 2/3 cup golden raisins (I use Craisins (dried cranberries) since my husband cannot eat raisins.)
• 1 tablespoon butter (I generally don’t use butter but I bet it would taste wonderful!)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract When the dish is assembled, I shake on nutmeg on the top.
• I add a small package of slivered almonds.

1. I cook the brown rice up ahead of time.
2. In a separate bowl assemble all the ingredients except the nutmeg. Mix well.
3. Spoon into the bowl with lid I am cooking it in.
4. Sprinkle on the nutmeg
5. Cook at 325-350 for 20 minutes or until slightly browned and looks cooked around the sides
6. Serve warm (or you can also eat it cooled.)
7. Will keep for about 4-6 days.

You can make this simple dessert from start to finish in about 90 minutes.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor too and have an amazing new year!

Small House homesteader, Donna

Small House Christmas Dinner

Even though we have kept it pretty simple this year, the past week has been a whirlwind of Christmas activities. Our Christmas cards have been signed and sent, and this past Sunday we enjoyed our families Christmas dinner. We hosted this event in our home so much of my week was spent on planning, shopping, table setting and cooking for the big day. I like to cook as much ahead as I can and set the table the night before.

Gene cooked the chicken and I made the side dishes. I find that healthy home cooked food is one way I can show support to my son and make a small difference in his life. I also like to model healthy food for my grand daughter too.

I feel blessed to live in the land of abundance where we have the food easily available to create a special and tasty meal but I never forget to remember those who do not. While it has been challenging to switch over to gluten, dairy and sugar-free, I have not forgotten that I am indeed fortunate to have the ability to find and purchase the ingredients I now need. Having computer access to gluten-free recipes and a working stove, refrigerator, electricity and the ability to make these nutritious meals makes us very fortunate indeed.

Our Christmas Menu This Year Included;

• Susan Lamberti’s Fried & Baked Chicken
• Twice Baked Acorn Squash Quinoa & Kale with Pomegranate
• Gluten-free Stuffing
• Quinoa, Cranberry, Apple, Kale, Pumpkin Seed Pilaf
• Grandma’s Orange and Cranberry Gelatin Salad
• Tossed Lettuce Salad
• Cider (hot or cold) and Water

The highlight of the meal was definitely the Susan Lamberti family chicken recipe we call, Mom’s Fried Chicken. Mom was Gene mother, Susan Lamberti who emigrated from Italy and was a true and traditional Italian cook.

She fed her family of six every day, making many traditional Italian recipes and cooked everything but the bread they ate from scratch and kept her family fed, full and satisfied. Gene’s childhood holiday meals always included a fully baked turkey with all the seasonal trimming as well as homemade lasagna using her handmade lasagna noodles. Gene says his mother was “a piece of work,” but I think she must have been a saint!

In an Italian family it’s all about family and the food!

I enjoyed this chicken for the first time in the fall of 20145 when we visited Gene’s brother and sister-in-law at their home in Upstate New York. Gene’s brother Pat saved this recipe from oblivion. This chicken is lightly breaded, lightly fried and then baked and is incredibly moist and delicious. We watched the making of this chicken then but needed a quick tutorial to answer a few questions so Gene called his brother for the recipe which I have included here.

Susan Lamberti’s Fried & Baked Chicken (Prep 60 minutes, cook time 60 minutes. Ready in 2 hours.)

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken pieces with skin removed

Salt & pepper to taste

Eggs

Flour

Italian bread crumbs

Olive oil

1. Remove skin, cut up chicken and dry the pieces well
2. Roll chicken pieces in the flour
3. Roll chicken in the egg mixture
4. Roll the chicken in the Italian bread crumbs
5. Fry lightly in olive oil, turning often
6. Drain chicken on paper towels to take out any excess oil
7. Put the chicken back into the pan and add water, approx. ½ to ¾ cup of water depending on the amount of chicken pieces and the size of the pan. The water will soften the breading and allows you to make gravy in the pan.
8. Remove chicken from flying pan and put into a baking dish
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 60 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breasts.

Grandma’s Orange and Cranberry Gelatin Salad (Prep 20 minutes. Ready in 8 hours)

INGREDIENTS:

1 (oz.) package raspberry flavored Jell-O mix

2 cups boiling water

1 (16 oz.) can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, un-drained

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup pecans

1 teaspoon orange zest

TOPPING:

1, 4 oz. package cream cheese softened (I used non-dairy)

½ cup whipped topping (I used non-dairy)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Place the gelatin in a bowl and pour in the boiling water, and stir until the gelatin dissolves. Mix in the cranberry sauce, pineapple, celery, pecans, and orange zest until evenly blended. Pour the gelatin mixture into a mold or serving dish.

2) Chill gelatin in the refrigerator overnight or up to 8 hours.

3) To make the topping beat the cream cheese with half of the whip topping. Fold in the remaining whipped topping until well blended. Unmold the gelatin and spread with the topping mixture.

Twice Baked Acorn Squash Quinoa & Kale with Pomegranate: (Prep 15 minutes, initial cook 40 minutes-Mix together and bake another 20 minutes)

INGREDIENTS:

2 acorn squash

Quinoa, red or white

Kale, torn into pieces (amount is as much as you like) I use one whole large bunch for three squashes.)

Garlic, fresh or power (I used a large spoon full of prepared ground garlic)

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon allspice

½ cup pecans

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut acorn squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and coat the inner yellow portion with butter, coconut oil or olive oil. Place in the oven, right side up, and bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the inner portion is soft. For a more seasoned bowl, dust the squash with garlic powder, cinnamon and allspice. When the squash is done, peel out the inner portion and leave enough squash remaining in the bowl to maintain its structure.
2. Sauté’ the shredded squash, quinoa, kale, spices and /2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic.) and butter in a pan just enough to melt the butter and wilt the kale.
3. Transfer the mixture into the squash bowls and bake in the oven for 15-30 minutes. Add the pecans and the pomegranates to the top.
4. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds (toasted or not) Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cool slightly and can be made a day ahead.

Enjoy your holidays all!

Small House homesteader, Donna

I Begin the Long Journey to Better Health

Yesterday’s journal entry….

“It’s been a bad day in River City….I’ve been fighting a bad bacterial infection on my abdomen for more than a week. Today I broke down and went to see my new Grandville doctor today. I ended up having unexpected office surgery to remove two of the three sebaceous cyst she found there. The third one is too deep to take out in the office so we are hoping that the 10 day round antibiotics will take care of that.

Not to bore you with details, but my body parts were not cooperating and it took over 12 shots to numb the area so she could do the surgery. I won’t be moving around much for the next week or so.  I try so hard to avoid meds but here again I am taking antibiotics and pain killers…I HATE THAT. To me this represents just more toxins to detox from my body.

Husband Gene offered to come with me but he had an appointment at the dealer for new tires for his truck so I said “I can handle it.” BIG mistake! I needed his support and to drive me home as well as shop  at the health food store and pick up my prescription on the way home….six hours on the road…..It was a long hard and exhausting day.

Taking Keflex and 800 Motrin now…..and going to bed.  All plans for this week have been cancelled.”

I haven’t written a lot on this blog about my on-going health challenges. I don’t know if readers want to hear about these things. It’s all part of aging I guess and getting old is a job that is definitely not for sissies!

I have long been searching for a new physician one who is interested in and capable of an integrative approach; one who treats the whole body not just the particular system that is having problems at the moment.

The Positive Attributes of Alternative Medicine:

• Focus on proactive measures
• Treats the cause of illness and disease, not just the symptoms
• Is more cost-effective than Western Medicine
• Methods target whole body, as an interrelated system
• Generally safe with minimal side effects when used according to directions
• Best option for chronic diseases
• Requires more personal education and self-direction because it is not taught to most doctors and most patients never hear about it
• Can take longer to see results because addressing the root cause is more involved than simply masking symptoms

The roadblock for an alternative physician and treatment has been due to a lack of coverage by our standard health insurance and lack of free to spend money.

At long last think I may have found an empathetic heart at last, a DO who is an osteopathic physician that is fully licensed able to treat my skin issues and thyroid issues and practices an hour’s drive from my home. She is also voiced in the language of thyroid.

I get really frustrated because I feel like all I do is focus on preventative methods like choosing healthy food choices. I grow it, I source it. I cook it. We choose only organic, GM free foods. I thought I make healthy lifestyle choices; I never smoked, I rarely drank. I’ve always exercised. And yet I seem to suffer from  chronic and major health issues. Often I feel like no matter what I do it is not enough…and many days I get discouraged and feel like throwing in the towel.

I believe the core problem is a lifetime of exposure to environmental toxins, overactive and raging hormones and too many antibiotics I am learning that the skin.

I am learning that the skin, which according to the medical field has been called “the third kidney” because it is able to release toxins such as pesticide, solvents, heavy metals, urea & lactic acid from the body.

I also know first-hand that bacteria leave behind toxins and harmful by-products in the body long after the infection has ended. Fighting off an infection is exhausting, stressful and takes a lot of energy. All that lost energy can hinder our ability to get well.

The Literature Notes That Chronic Infections Are Due to:

• Hormonal imbalance
• Food allergens
• Internal inflammation:

As I begin this new journey I do have some concerns.

• I am not a pill person and working with this practice will mean I will be taking more supplements. That will be hard to swallow for me (no pun intended.)
• Historically adding supplements has meant an increase in my bacterial infections and cyst eruptions and that is not something I am fond of. Detoxing is a hard thing physically and emotionally to deal with.
• Much of the costs of this work will not be covered by Medicare or Blue Cross Blue Shield and will mean that our precious cash reserves will be drained.
• I will need to eliminate sugar, wheat and dairy and I will have to learn and all new way to plan meals, shop and cook. Because food represents one of the most time-consuming tasks of my week and I have taken responsibility for food in our house, this will also be a challenge.

But Gene and I agree that our health is our wealth and we are going to invest in ourselves. It’s now or never.

Wish me luck on my journey.

Small House homesteader, Donna

A Sunday Morning Frost

Our tiny corner of SW Michigan began foggy and cool this morning with a pretty silvery-white coating of frost on all of the remaining plants. Now the day is brightening up and the sun is out and the sky is blue. It’s a beautiful early winter day on the homestead.

Yesterday’s walk under a glorious SW Michigan winter sky!

Gene has gone outside to finish wrapping the netting around our first-year fruit trees to keep the deer and rabbits from nibbling on them when food becomes scarce. Although we have finished with our leaf pickup work this season, more leaves have blown back in from the surrounding woods. Gene will be using our faithful sucker/blower equipment to suck more leaves out of the pea gravel landscaped beds around our ranch-style home.

Netting is going up around our new fruit trees today to keep the critters out.

We are having a very mild winter thus far having had only one snowfall. This is fairly unusual for a Michigan winter but is giving us extra time to complete our outdoor chores, plant more spring bulbs and so on.

 

Country roads take me home…

Yesterday’s weather was a stunner; beautiful, sunny and warm for just a 40 degree early winter day. I sat outside with my face to the sun with the chickens for almost two hours. The girls were happy to be out and about free ranging. They are giving me 7 eggs a day out of 8 chickens now. YEA!!

Free ranging Elsa in our woodlot. Isn’t she a beauty!

Even Snowball, my Cochin-Bantam that I adopted as a chick and who came to me with a wry neck and serious nutritional deficiencies from eating nothing but cracked corn has just started laying again after her fall molt. She still turns around in circles during times of stress, but she is doing well in spite of that not so good start in life. She is a sweet, happy chickens that stands up to the bigger RIR every time they get in what she considers her territory. It’s kind of funny because the Rhodies are twice as big as Snowball and yet they just fade away. It’s like they are saying, “Oh it’s a gnat, move away.”

Snowball is a feisty little Cochin Bantam ball of energy.

I am moving in slow mode this week as I am battling another bacterial skin infection.This is running right behind a 5-week episode of bronchitis and 9 month of on-going plantar fasciitis pain. I am afraid that my body is just run down.

I am feeling frustrated too because I believe I am doing everything right;  I focus on eating whole organic foods and make almost all of our meals from scratch. I get plenty of sleep and rest, do my yoga stretches and practice good household and personal hygiene. With a mostly indoor dog living with us, we clean weekly and I vacuum nearly every day. While I would not try it, I have been told that you could almost eat off of the floors of my home.

The Rhodies like to free-range in the compost bin.

Gene and I had planned to go out to dinner yesterday to celebrate our 19th anniversary but I just did not feel up to it. I could not see spending the money and then not enjoying the meal.

Last years anniversary celebration dinner out.

I have also started over again with a new physician, a female DO this time ,in the hopes that THIS ONE might be a good fit for me. I need a physician that is more holistic than Western medicine, listens, believes me and understands that I do not want antibiotics every three months and is willing to work with me.

One of the beautiful back roads of Allegan County, MI.

My skin issue is a hereditary condition; many others in my family also have it. We get frequent boils and cysts and that turn into nasty, hot and painful infections. This week I was told to stop eating wheat, sugar and dairy so this has thrown me for a loop as I will not eat packaged, processed foods with chemicals in them or soy and substitute foods often have these ingredients in them.

I spent a large portion the day on-line researching yogurt, breads and so on that I will be able to eat. We live in a very rural area and do not have a lot of healthy food choices here so it takes planning ahead and a lot of kitchen time.

I find peace in the beauty of my rural home.

I am trying to focus on my many blessing today….not the negatives. I go back to see the doctor tomorrow and will stop at one of my favorite large health food stores on my way home.

Things I am grateful for this week:

• I am grateful that this health food store is well stocked and available to me.
• I am grateful I have a vehicle that will get me to this appointment and back.
• I am grateful that I have the choice to start over with a new physician.
• I am grateful to have insurance and Medicare that will help with these new bills.

Remembering today to find joy in the simple things of my home centered life.

Small House homesteader, Donna

Easy as Pie Homemade Pie Dough Recipe

Today’s pie bake is adapted from my newly bought, The Amish Cook’s Family Favorite Recipes Cookbook by Lovina Eicher that I recently purchased from Amazon.com. This is one of the many wonderful books published by Rodale Publishing.

I plan to make many great from scratch meals from my new cookbook.

I recently received a mail offer from Rodale Publishing to buy this book on time by making payments and my interest was piqued. The total cost of the hardcover book, with 4 monthly payments and the shipping and handling was over $40.00. I wanted this cookbook but I did not want to make payments and quite honestly I do not buy books that cost that much. Instead I searched for it on Amazon and found a used book being sold by a library. I paid just $6.95 for it and that includes book rate shipping. Oh happy day!

This book intrigued me due to its wonderful collection of traditional home-style Amish recipes, photographs and lifestyle tips shared by its Amish born author and writer. I find a lot of my recipes on-line, but of course due to their religious practices, I do not see many authentic Amish recipes shared on-line.

Like its name, Pat a Pan Pie crust is patted in the plate using your fingers.

Today I decided to try my hand at what the cookbook calls “Pat a Pan Pie Crust.” I have never been a pie maker (my mother worked full-time and did not cook or bake) I tend to make a fruit crisp if I am baking a dessert.

My husband absolutely loves a fruit pie but I have been lone nervous about making a pie crust and pie from scratch. I generally do not make many sweets as we are trying to cut back on our sugar intake but I wanted to make this pie for him as a special treat for our 18th anniversary.

It’s so easy. Just mix the flour, olive oil etc. right in the pie pan.

Finally I decide my fears were just plain silly as no one taught me to cook or bake (I figured it out by myself) and if I could make delicious holiday fruitcake and stolen from scratch, I could certainly make a tasty pie.

So I tried this recipe and it was, as I mentioned above, as easy to make as pie! LOL! My photographs are definitely not magazine worthy, but you get the idea.

This is what is look like as I stirred the crust with the fork.

The recipe is called Pat a Pan Pie Crust and according to Amish cookbook it is easy enough for a child to make. This is the one for me!

The crust and filling ready to go into the oven.

I adapted the original recipe slightly using tapioca to hold it together. In my one fruit pie experiment many years back I used tapioca with a health food store-bought whole wheat crust and it was delicious. I especially liked that it was not overly sweet either. The filling is held together by the Tapioca so I can add much less sugar than a conventional pie and I do not have to make a sugar and cornstarch batter-type filling.

I know this is one tiny ingredient that is not from scratch.

Pat-A-Pan Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons cold milk

Place the flour, sugar and salt in a 9″pie pan and mix with you fingers until evenly blended. In a measuring cup, combine the oil and the milk and beat until creamy. Pour all at once over the flour mixture. Mix with a fork until the flour mixture is completely moistened. Pat the dough  with you fingers, first at the sides of the plate and then across the bottom. Flute the edges.

The shell is now ready to be filled. If you are preparing a shell to fill later or your recipe requires a prebaked crust, preheat the oven to 425 F. Prick the surface of the pastry with a fork and bake until golden brown. Check often and prick more if needed.

The Apple Filling:

Core, peel and simmer your apples on the stove top with ¼ cup water, for about 10 minutes over low heat. To assemble your filling add:

The Tapioca and Fruit Mix:

Using 6 cups of slightly cook apple slices, add 2 TB of tapioca granules and 1/2 cup of coconut sugar. Mix well.  Fill the pie shell.

Cook the filled pie shell, 25-35 minutes at 450 degrees or until done. If the crust starts to brown to fast but the apples are not fully cooked, wrap the edges of the crust in foil.

Serve warm. I was very happy with my experiment and thought it was delicious.

Small House homesteader, Donna

The Real Value of a Home Cooked Thanksgiving Dinner

Last night as I was driving to physical therapy I saw a sign at the Big Boy restaurant in town, it read, “Turkey dinners On Thanksgiving Day, $8.99 per person.” I thought to myself in my 5 p.m. tired fog, I am doing this wrong. Taking my son and family to dinner would cost us about $36.00, plus drinks.

A fun Thanksgiving game of dominoes with our grand daughter.

Today as I processed the idea overnight I began to realize that my special order organic 9lb. chicken at $4.00 a lb. that the chicken alone equals the monetary cost of the meal advertised on that restaurant sign. Add to that expense the cost of organic; potatoes, carrots, stuffing, Seven Superfoods Salad ingredients, corn bread, Jell-O w/ fruit (for my 6 yr. old granddaughter), two vegetables and dessert, cider, lemonade, cider and tea. And I quickly realized that for many cheap food is a real and deceptive lure.

Add to that my 2015 Thanksgiving Schedule:

Monday: Make the shopping list and grocery shop.

Tuesday: Make the Jell-O and Seven Superfoods salads and bake the pies.

Wednesday: Clean house, change tablecloth, makes the table arrangement and set the table.

Thursday: Get up early to cook the food and entertain the family.

And yet the flip side to this coin is the reality of what a home cooked meal prepared with love truly means. As life gets busier and busier, welcoming family and guests into the warmth and security of our homes for the day is becoming a lost art. But I feel it’s an art worth pursuing and keeping.

Because we use locally raised foods, we are not footing the bill for transporting ingredients across the country or around the globe. So it takes less fossil fuels (or energy) to cook a locally sourced meal at home. Studies show that it takes double the amount of energy to process, package and transport food than it does to grow it

Because we have control over what we are cooking and eating our meal will be more nutritious with less salt, additives and empty calories. Food we cook a home is just plain healthier and the cooking process itself empowers us to make heathier choices.

Cooking at home is also better for the environment as there is less food waste and fewer tossed out items like food wrappings and paper napkins and tinfoil cooking pans to enter the waste stream.

It’s a terrific way to teach introduce children to new dishes as well as about the taste, texture and pleasure of well-prepared food. This process turns the time spent together in the kitchen or dining room a family bonding experience.

The real truth is, the food I cook at home just tastes better. Once I began eating “real foods” I quickly recognized the difference between what I was now eating and the “dead food” taste of the foods in my past.

Their is also the pride I feel when I plan and cook a great meal at home and my family devours it. This is something I cannot put a price on. I know I am giving something of value to them and this is a way for me show my love for my son and granddaughter.

Because we will be using the whole chicken we have less waste. We will eat that chicken for our Thanksgiving dinner and then have leftovers to work with for the rest of the week. For us that means making a homemade chicken pot pie later on that same week, one of my husband’s all-time favorite meals

After that I will take the bones and skin and vegetable trimmings and boilthem into a rich chicken stock. This will be the perfect starting point for a pot of delicious homemade soup later on this winter.

Anything left over will end up in the compost bin and in a year or so it will be turned into wonderful soil and free fertilizer and the leftover bones and skin will be given to the chickens to peck over as a treat.

While we build the basics of a healthy from scratch meal we also build community and lifelong bonding with our loved ones. We make and keep traditions and create memories that are priceless.

The only real ingredients I need for my happy Thanksgiving are real food and my family. And I believe that cooking still matters.

Small House homesteader, Donna