I guess it’s pickling season! I got 3 cases (66 lbs) of pickling cucumbers from OGC yesterday, and today I had 6 other mama friends over for my first ever pickling party– in fact, it was my 1st ever time pickling! We made 33 quart sized and 40 pint sized jars, ie 13.25 gallons (!!!) of pickles. I really hope they turn out yummy cause we sure poured a lot of effort and love into these home made pickles.

I have no idea if we saved any money. Let’s see if the old cranium can still do some math….

Here is the breakdown of what we used:
66 lbs organic pickling cucumbers $102
5 lbs sugar $4.95
2 quarts honey $15
2 gallons apple cider vinegar $17.78
2 gallons white distilled vinegar $4.50 appx
case of pint jars $8.15 x 3.33 = $27.17
case of quart jars $9.25 x 2.75 = $25.44
spices hot $5.90
spices mild $5.50
spices organic $7.15
sea salt $5.00 appx
5 bags of ice $7.80
Total $228.19 or $0.13 per ounce

Compared to the Woodstock Organic Sweet Bread & Butter Pickles selling for $0.19 per ounce (on sale right now) at our local grocery store, we saved $0.06 per ounce or a total of $101.76. Not bad… until you remember we put in a full 8 hour day. Divide that by 7 mamas and you get $14.54. Which equals a pay of $1.82 per hour. Wow. Ouch.

It was fun though!

This is what we did. I kinda used the Bread and Butter Zukes recipe I posted previously, but modified it a bit as we ran out of apple cider vinegar and sugar. Let’s call them Cucumber Sandwich Pickles.

Ingredients

2 pounds organic pickling cucumbers, cut into 1/4 inch slices and spears
1/4 cup sea salt
1 cup apple cider vinegar (I didn’t have enough, so we used some white vinegar too)
1/2 cup raw sugar (ran out, so we used raw honey too)
2 tbsp pickling spice blend (we used Frontier‘s hot & spicy, mild & sweet, and organic blends)

Preparation

1. Put slices and spears in a big bowl, toss with sea salt; add ice cubes and let stand 2 to 3 hours.
2. Combine vinegar, sugar, and spices; bring to a boil.
3. Add drained cucumbers; simmer about 6-7 minutes.
4. Pack hot pickles and liquid into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.
Yield: about 2 quarts

And here is the impressive (well, I think so at least) result, on top of our kitchen cabinets. Spicy on the right, sweet on the left.

And while the mamas were working, the wee ones were out back wrangling chickens.

Yesterday was our monthly Thundering Hooves drop. I had been up the night before till 1:30 am or so compiling an order of over 1,000 lbs of organic produce for Portland Green Parenting, and completely forgotten about the scheduled 9 AM meat drop. When someone knocked at my door, I didn’t even know what day it was– I was completely asleep and just out of it. Luckily, everything went well and we got quite a bit of nice, grass fed meat for Dan. I know I promised a review, and I am happy to say that Dan was very pleased with the quality of this meat. I’m a quasi-vegetarian (I do eat sea food), so what do I know? But he tells me the meat is fresh, tender, and nicely cut. For our 2nd order, he ordered everything below, except for the marrow bones that I got for making that nice and rich stock that I have been wanting to make for a few months now…

Marrow/Soup Bones $3.80
Beef Sampler Pack $19.00
Ground Beef 6 x $3.99 = $23.94
Hickory Smoked Bacon $6.99
Spicy Italian Sausage $8.99
Rib Steaks $27.29

Today was our biweekly Azure drop. The drop was quite large this time, with almost 2 dozen invoices and enough boxes to take up one entire side of our front porch. The drop is growing, but I am barely ordering anything from them since we are still so well stocked, squirrel syndrome style. I only bought:

Jack, Raw, Jalapeno cheese 5 lbs $26.55
POTATO Chips Lt. Salt (KING SIZE) 3 x 16 ozs. $6.67
Coconut Juice with Lime 36 x 17.5 ozs. $42.30
Total: $75.52

Tomorrow is our OGC produce drop. I ordered over 1,000 lbs of produce for about 30 families. I should really take photos tomorrow to post of the craziness that is produce day…

Other than being busy with all of that, I have also started anew with my demolished-by-our-chickens garden boxes. It’s amazing how much damage 5 heavy breeds can do. They ate absolutely everything except my tomato plants, and those were spared probably just because they don’t have any fruit yet. They also dust bathed on top of my onions, and under my blueberry bushes, exposing the roots of the plants. So aggravating!

I finally just had it with the destruction, and bought a Scarecrow Sprinkler (haha, yes I am evil) to keep them out, and have started replanting. I think it’s late enough in the season to plant winter veggies, but I am not sure since I have never really gardened before. Regardless, I bought some compost and winter veggie seeds today at the nursery, and will plant some more in the next few days. I am excited for the upcoming gardening workshop taught by Toree and Kendra of the Urban Farm School. There are still a couple of spots open, if you are interested in learning how to extend your harvest season.

Speaking of harvests (and I hate to admit it), but we can’t keep up with our CSA. Mainly, we are drowning in lettuce, but we are also getting enormous amounts of fennel that I have no idea what to do with… next year, we need to either split our share with another family, or simply plant more and grow our own food. Anyway, I made this recipe for lunch tomorrow:

Beet, Carrot & Fennel Slaw

3 beets (about 1 pound), peeled and coarsely shredded
3 large carrots (about 3/4 pound), coarsely shredded
1 fennel bulb, coarsely shredded
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 teaspoons sesame seeds, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation

Toss carrots, beets and fennel in a large bowl. Whisk together brown sugar, 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, and next 6 ingredients in a small bowl until well blended. Add salt and pepper. Pour dressing over vegetables, and toss until well coated. Sprinkle with remaining teaspoon of sesame seeds.

Munchkie loved this slaw, and when it was all gone, she wanted to drink the dressing from the bowl and said, “Yumm, salad juice!”

Zucchini is in season locally, and we are drowning in it! Here’s a couple recipes I am going to try. I have never really pickled before, so this should be interesting…

Bread and Butter Zukes

2 pounds of small zucchini, sliced
1/2 pound small pearl onions
1/4 cup pickling salt
ice cubes
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon turmeric seed, slightly crushed

In a small bowl, toss zucchini and onion with salt. Cover with ice cubes. Let stand for two hours, then drain.

In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, and spices and bring to a boil. Add the zucchini and onions, reduce heat, and simmer 6-7 minutes. Pack the vegetables loosely into canning jars. Pour the liquid over the vegetables, leaving 1/2 inch space at the top. Cover jars and process for ten minutes in a boiling water bath. Place the cooled jars in a dark cupboard for about a month before opening. Makes about 2 quarts.

Zucchini Hash Browns

2 1/2 cups grated zucchini (I used both sunburst squash and zucchini)
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup olive oil for frying

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, combine zucchini, egg, and butter. Stir in seasoned crumbs, minced onion, and seasonings. Mix well.
2. Shape mixture into patties. Dredge in flour.
3. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium high heat until hot.
4. Fry patties in oil until golden brown on both sides.

Yes, that is embarrassing photo evidence of the nasty ass Krusteaz bread crumbs I used. Please forgive me (Dan picked them out, I swear). I choose to believe the organic, local zucchini and fresh eggs from our own backyard flock make up for them. Notice how HUGE that one egg is? It was literally the size on a duck egg, and had 2 yolks. No wonder our hennies cackle so loud every time they lay an egg– some of these things are monstrous!

Yesterday, Munchkie and I visited Bella Organic farm with friends to pick blueberries. We picked 6 1/2 lbs, not counting all the ones that went straight into Munchkie’s and my mouths. Yumm! They were delicious, and just $2.50 per pound. What a deal!

I dislike the thought of jamming them because of the insane amount of sugar called for in every recipe I find… maybe I should freeze them instead to have on hand later? Although based on our history of eating 5 lbs of frozen blueberries every 2 weeks from Azure, they wouldn’t last too long… so I think I will make pie!

Ingredients
Makes 1 pie

FOR THE FILLING
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5 cups fresh berries
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup raw brown sugar
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon butter

FOR THE CRUST
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon raw brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 lb butter
1/2 cup ice water

FOR THE GLAZE
1 egg white
1 tablespoon cream
1-2 tablespoons raw brown sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make the filling: Sprinkle lemon juice on berries. Mix flour, sugar, and arrowroot powder. Add to berries, and toss lightly. Set aside.
2. Make the crust: In food processor with dough blade, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until coarse. Add ice water, and mix gently until moist. Form two balls, and roll out one of them to line pie plate. Spoon filling into unbaked crust. Dot with butter. Roll out second ball, and cover pie. Fold edges of top crust under bottom crust, and flute edges. Slit top of pie to vent.
3. Make egg glaze: In a small bowl, beat egg white with 1 tablespoon cream. Brush top of pie with mixture, and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. and bake until filling bubbles, about 45 minutes.

Found four eggs again today. It’s so exciting!

I am rewarding our hennie-pennies by switching them from soy pellets to a more natural, and I hope healthier (even though it is not organic) grain diet. Using Pearson’s Square, I figured out how to mix a 17% protein feed for them:

26 parts grains– I used Dry Cob grain mix (oats, barley, corn) 8% protein ($12.95 for 50 lbs = $6.73)
9 parts protein — I used half Black Oil sunflower seeds 26% protein ($26.95 for 50 lbs = $2.43) half fish meal 60% protein for a total of 43% protein ($38.95 for 50 lbs = $3.51)
TOTAL: 35 lbs for $12.67 (or $18.09 for 50 lbs compared to $22.15 for the gross, extruded soy pellets I was giving them before)

They are also getting the following free choice:
oyster shell
red pigeon grit
kelp granules 8% protein

I was also recently reading about the importance of clean water for laying hens, and how chickens will shun dirty water and can die in a matter of hours if the temperature gets too high, so I wanted to come up with a better watering system for our girls. After searching for these nipples locally with no luck, I went ahead and ordered four of them along with a 20 gallon flat back bucket from FarmTek (who knew shopping for farm supplies could be so much fun?), and Dan created a new waterer that they cannot knock over, perch on and poop in or get dirty in any way. I love it!

Today I found four, yes 4, eggs in the coop! I think all our girls, except Rose, must be laying by now. I was reading somewhere that hens who do not lay move down on the chicken social ladder, so that would make sense. She is doing a lot better than in the beginning though, and is mostly hanging out with the flock. She is still somewhat skittish around me and won’t let me pet her as easily as the others do. The others have started doing this funny little “tap dance” when I get close. They stop dead in their tracks, crouch down, spread their wings a bit and start thumping their feet. It makes it very easy to pet them or pick them up. On the local chicken message board, other people were saying their hennies started doing this too right around the same time they started laying. So maybe that is another indicator the Rose isn’t laying yet. I think a change in her environment can be another reason too. But anyway! FOUR eggs! A new record!

Right now, Munchkie is napping, and Zoe is at her dad’s, so the house is very quiet. I had a nice morning with the wee one. We cut up and ate some fruit for breakfast, did some dishes, baked yummy zucchini bread (see below), tended to the chickens and garden, took some photos among the wild flowers, enjoyed some kombucha, and nursed down for a nap. There is still a lot of housework to do, including more dishes and 3 baskets of clean laundry that needs to be folded, but I am enjoying this moment of peace and quiet. I am finding comfort and even a sense of accomplishment in spending quiet enjoyable days at home, and creating more of my own reality. I am finding myself secretly (well, not anymore) dreaming of a small farm where we can create and build more of our own things rather than just feeling like consumers of prepackaged goods.

Lately, I have been considering alternatives to sending Zoe to public school, like homeschooling or doing a web academy program, for example. I dream of transforming our relationship. I want to have her close to me and enjoy our time together instead of fighting over things at home, take her and Munchkie to interesting and fun places (museums, the zoo, parks, farms etc), have her learn at her own pace, follow her own interests, and hopefully have all of us fall into a comforting schedule and routine with chores, school, and other activities where we feel happy and safe in each other’s company…

I must really be dreaming! Well, off I go to do some more chores. I want to find a way of organizing my space and mind, and that involves mopping the floor!

Zucchini Bread
2c shredded zucchini
2c raw sugar
1c sunflower oil
3 eggs

mix/cream toegther.

once mixed well add:
1 dash nutmeg
3c whole wheat pastry flour
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp salt
2tsp vanilla (whoops, I left this out!)
1tsp baking soda
1 1/2tsp baking powder
3/4c walnuts

bake @ 350 45-60 min
makes 3 loaves
The recipe is my friend Becky‘s grandma’s recipe.

Today was Azure Standard drop day, and we took delivery of about 1,200 lbs of food for 15 or so families. Our own orders has shrunk down to almost nothing since we are still stocked up on a lot of basics, and mainly eating fresh produce from our CSA and bi-weekly organic produce deliveries. This time I only got canned tuna (I still don’t know how to wean ourselves off this product), frozen wild Alaskan salmon, cashews, raw sugar, some cheese, a dozen eggs (to supplement our own home laid ones!), a few rice tortillas, and lots of butter from Rumiano. Plus some organic animal barley and kelp granules to mix in with the chicken food I am making next week.

Tomorrow I am getting over 1,100 lbs of fresh organic produce delivered to my doorstep for about 30 families. We are also getting our weekly raw milk delivery. It’s all very exciting, and I am beginning to dream of having a small warehouse or store front where I can take delivery of all this food instead of running it all out of our front porch. Of course that would add a lot to the over head, but I think it would be so much fun! (Read: if you know of a suitable location in Portland, please let me know! Or if there’s someone out there good at writing business plans, doing financial projections and applying for grants/loans, do contact me! I need some help figuring out how to get all of this off the ground.)

Other than that, I’ve been busy launching Portland Green Parenting’s online shop. I am really excited about carrying more Earth and family friendly products. I am also really interested in showcasing the talents of local crafty mamas and designers. Portland has an incredible craft and DIY culture, and I think it would be so neat to offer more local shopping resources to families in the area. I know I’d rather support a local WAHM than some big anonymous corporation”out there.”

…what you put on your skin should also be edible since it gets absorbed into your body, don’t you think?

It’s been a few yrs already since I stopped using antiperspirants (although at the time I stopped using them cause they were destroying my clothes and leaving hard residues in the pit area), and started using Tom’s of Maine, mineral rocks, or most recently a deodorant cream like Funk Butter. They all worked great, but nonetheless I decided to take the quest for the perfect natural deodorant one step further and make my own. It was super easy to make, and I am very pleased with the result.

Deodorant Cream

2 parts Baking Soda
2 parts Arrowroot powder (or cornstarch if you cannot find arrowroot)
2 parts Shea Butter
1 part Sweet Almond Oil (or another carrier oil)
Essential Oil (I used lavender)
1 part Kaolin (white) Clay (optional)
Small jar (I bought these nifty little 2 oz tin jars from Frontier that I am sure can be reused many times)

Directions: Stir all ingredients (except the essential oils) over low heat until a smooth cream forms. Take the mixture off the heat and add your essential oils. You do not want the essential oils to be added when the mixture is really hot since they are so volatile and they will evaporate. Spoon the mixture into small clean jars. Let cool.

Today we drove out to Thompson Farm in Damascus to do some raspberry u-picking. We ended up just picking 3 pints, and bought another 12 pints already picked raspberries. They are delicious and I have been wanting to learn how to can, so today is the day! I am going to make some jam.

I bought a home canning kit, accessories, and mason jars at Fred Meyer’s, I consulted the tutorial at Fresh Preserving, and I found a nice sounding recipe here although it does not call for any processing, so I looked up another recipe here and combined the two sets of instructions (which in and of itself breaks the 1st rule of canning, which is to always use tried and true recipes, although this site validates what I decided to do, I think).

I like it because 1) it has a ratio of fruit to sugar that favors the fruit, and 2) because it doesn’t call for pectin, which I didn’t even know I was supposed to buy.

Anyway, here is the recipe. I will report back later on how it turned out.

Ingredients

6 cups ripe raspberries
3 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp orange peel

Preparation

Cook together in a large, heavy pan over medium high heat for 35-40 minutes. When jam is ready (it reaches 220° and sheets off the side of the spoon) add 1/4 c. lemon juice and cook a few more minutes. The jam will rethicken. Add 1 T. grated orange peel. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. LADLE hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight. Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.
The recipe says you can leave the lemon juice and orange peel out for pure berry flavor, but I think I will add lemon juice since I happen to have a lot on hand and leave out the orange peel since I have none.

Wish me luck!

I am now pretty sure it is the Rhode Island Reds who are laying. I found 2 more eggs today, one of which had a soft shell and was not usable, the other of which was a perfect brown little egg that I threw into my zucchini bread (that actually came out more like crumbly coffee cake than bread).

Our new hen is not doing so well. She is getting pecked and is not integrating into the flock very well. She is also not taking to me the way I had hoped even though I try to feed her treats and bribe her/make her like me. Its really sad to see her so scared and skittish compared to the other 4 who are happily moving around as a group, eating grass and foraging, while Rose aimlessly wanders around like she is lost.

I do love having chickens though and kinda wish we had room for more! They are so much fun to watch: its like chicken TV in our backyard! They are getting really tame too and today one of them snuck into the kitchen and flew up on the counter as I was working!

I am wanting to make my own chicken feed now instead of buying the soy-based mix I have been getting from Azure. I think a more natural and varied grain diet would probably be healthier for our girlies. I have researched recipes and found these 2 sites the most useful in deciding what to make: Greener Pastures Farm and Lion’s Grip. I still have to do the math to make sure I am putting together the right protein ratio, but at least I feel like I am halfway there. I have the following items in my Azure cart, which will make 394 lbs of feed for a cost of $294.90 or $.75 per pound.

If a chicken needs to eat 4 lbs of feed to produce one dozen eggs, well, then these will be some damn expensive eggs, but still cheaper than store bought ones.

Thorvin Kelp Gran ASCO Ani/Fert (Blue Label) 55 lbs. $53.90
Montana Milling Millet, Organic 50 lbs. $35.80
Montana Milling Cornmeal, Organic 25 lbs. $14.80
Azure Farm Chicken Wheat, Organic 50 lb $16.35
Sesame Seeds, Brown 50 lbs. $87.30
Wheatgerm, Fresh, Raw 44 lbs. $30.00
Oats, Rolled, Regular 50 lb $25.00
Flax Seeds, Organic 25 lbs. $19.40
Whole Barley, Organic – Animal Feed 45 lbs. $12.35