Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Free Wood!
When we first bought this little place here and began building it from a bare farm field and 10 acres of woods into a homestead, we considered putting in an outdoor wood boiler. We had all that wood, so why not?
Well, because if we heated solely with wood, we would have to never go away for a weekend during the winter or our plumbing would freeze! Either that, or we'd have to have two heating systems: the wood one and another (oil, propane, or electric) that would be a back-up for when we were out of town. The construction budget was rather tight, so putting it two systems was not feasible at that point in time.
We went with a propane boiler instead, and used that exclusively until we got a great deal on a used wood boiler about four years ago. So now, if we want to go away in the winter, we can let the fire in the wood boiler go out, and just flip the switch to turn the propane boiler on. The propane boiler also heats all our domestic water in the 'non-heating season' (During the heating season, that is done by the wood boiler--'free' hot showers!). For the last three winters, we haven't paid hardly a cent to heat our home. And we haven't needed to cut down any of the trees in our woods, either!
How have we done that? Well, it took a little time and some talking to people, but now we are known as people who will come with chainsaws and haul off any downed limbs or dead trees you have.
At first, DH talked to one of the neighbors who had had some oaks lumbered off a few years prior. The tops of the oaks were still laying in this neighbor's woods, and DH asked him if he was going to use them. The neighbor said no, and generously offered us all the tops we wanted to cut and haul away. For the last four winters, we have spent a few weeks each January cutting tops in the neighbor's woods. We still haven't cut up half of what is out there. And, being oak, the wood is still solid even after about six years of laying on the ground.
Then, in October of 2007, a tornado went through the town 8 miles north of us. We knew several families who lived there and had trees fall in the storm. The day after the tornado, DH showed up with his chainsaw, offering to help. He not only cut up and removed trees for those families, but also from dozens of their neighbors. Many of those people gave him the wood for his assistance in cleaning up the downed trees, saving them the expense of hiring a tree service to do it.
A few of the people he met during that time have contacted us now and again about removing trees for them after other storms. Some of the people DH works with have heard him talk about cutting wood, and have offered him their own unwanted trees. Friends of ours who had too shady lawns call us up when they are contemplating removing a few trees to let more light into their yard.
DH has also answered ads on Craigslist about hauling off wood when people have had land cleared of trees for landscaping or building purposes. Last year he got 8 trailer loads (16' utility trailer) of oak from one person that way.
This spring, there have been several rounds of strong storms go through our part of Michigan, and again, we have sprung into charitable clean-up. Most people don't have a use for the wood, so offer it to us in exchange for our assistance in getting their yards back to normal.
At this rate, we'll never have to cut down a living tree (or useful dead snag) in our own woods.
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Well, because if we heated solely with wood, we would have to never go away for a weekend during the winter or our plumbing would freeze! Either that, or we'd have to have two heating systems: the wood one and another (oil, propane, or electric) that would be a back-up for when we were out of town. The construction budget was rather tight, so putting it two systems was not feasible at that point in time.
We went with a propane boiler instead, and used that exclusively until we got a great deal on a used wood boiler about four years ago. So now, if we want to go away in the winter, we can let the fire in the wood boiler go out, and just flip the switch to turn the propane boiler on. The propane boiler also heats all our domestic water in the 'non-heating season' (During the heating season, that is done by the wood boiler--'free' hot showers!). For the last three winters, we haven't paid hardly a cent to heat our home. And we haven't needed to cut down any of the trees in our woods, either!
How have we done that? Well, it took a little time and some talking to people, but now we are known as people who will come with chainsaws and haul off any downed limbs or dead trees you have.
At first, DH talked to one of the neighbors who had had some oaks lumbered off a few years prior. The tops of the oaks were still laying in this neighbor's woods, and DH asked him if he was going to use them. The neighbor said no, and generously offered us all the tops we wanted to cut and haul away. For the last four winters, we have spent a few weeks each January cutting tops in the neighbor's woods. We still haven't cut up half of what is out there. And, being oak, the wood is still solid even after about six years of laying on the ground.
Then, in October of 2007, a tornado went through the town 8 miles north of us. We knew several families who lived there and had trees fall in the storm. The day after the tornado, DH showed up with his chainsaw, offering to help. He not only cut up and removed trees for those families, but also from dozens of their neighbors. Many of those people gave him the wood for his assistance in cleaning up the downed trees, saving them the expense of hiring a tree service to do it.
A few of the people he met during that time have contacted us now and again about removing trees for them after other storms. Some of the people DH works with have heard him talk about cutting wood, and have offered him their own unwanted trees. Friends of ours who had too shady lawns call us up when they are contemplating removing a few trees to let more light into their yard.
DH has also answered ads on Craigslist about hauling off wood when people have had land cleared of trees for landscaping or building purposes. Last year he got 8 trailer loads (16' utility trailer) of oak from one person that way.
This spring, there have been several rounds of strong storms go through our part of Michigan, and again, we have sprung into charitable clean-up. Most people don't have a use for the wood, so offer it to us in exchange for our assistance in getting their yards back to normal.
At this rate, we'll never have to cut down a living tree (or useful dead snag) in our own woods.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Calendula
It came to me unexpectedly, in an 'annual flower' seed mix that, I think, was a freebie with a vegetable seed order back in 2005 or 2006. Just starting a flowerbed behind the garage at the time, I tossed the contents of that free package onto the soil and lightly raked in the seeds. Mostly weeds came up, but I did get some statice and some very robust looking calendula.
The statice evidently didn't set enough seed that year to ever come back in subsequent springs. The calendula, however, did.
Sounds like I have a great opportunity for some more experimentation here: learn how to use calendula!
Friday, June 24, 2011
A Walk with the Camera
It is a chilly cloudy evening here. First time in about four days that it's gone 12 hours without raining. Even though the sun didn't show up today, I did a lot of work outside. After picking about 8 quarts of strawberries and washing four loads of laundry (all of which went to the 'solar/wind powered clothes dryer' aka the clothes line), I decided to grab the camera and do an impromptu photo shoot of the current sights at this little place here.
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The solar/wind powered clothes dryer in action.
A very zoomed in (and thus blurry) picture of cranes flying over head. Yes, the sky really was that white.
DH and DS2's summer project: a pile of storm damage (aka free fire wood) to split and stack.
Kittens hiding in a hollow piece of wood at the top of the stack.
Pansies needing to be rescued from the weeds that loved all the rain this week.
The volunteer mulberry tree (3 yrs old, about 6' tall) near the garden has mulberries this year!
The onions are looking good.
The cascade hops are about 10' tall now.
Vetch in bloom.
Looks like it will be a good year for peaches.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Frugal Food #4: Loving Leftovers
Hand-in-hand with cooking and eating at home comes learning to use and love leftovers. Allow me a few examples from my own kitchen:
Original Meal: 3.5 pound chicken, roasted in oven. Mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, corn.
Leftovers: chicken carcass, approx 3 cups of meat picked off bones, 1/2 cup mashed potatoes with a few tablespoons of gravy, 1/4 to 1/3 cup of corn.
How to use: 2 cups meat becomes all the meat needed for a chicken pot pie. Or chicken and dumplings. Or chicken tetrazzini. Or chicken fettuccine Alfredo. 1 cup meat and the chicken carcass are the base for chicken noodle soup. The gravy can be tossed into the soup for added flavor. The mashed potatoes can be formed into two patties and fried up to eat with a breakfast of eggs and toast. Or mixed with the gravy (if not used for soup) and corn and heated up for a quick snack. Or put into a lunch box as part of a school or work lunch. The corn (if not eaten with the potatoes) can be put into cornbread batter for added appeal.
Original Meal: Easter ham (or any 4-5 pound ham for dinner).
Leftovers: ham bone, about 4 cups of meat, 1/2-1 cup pan drippings not made into gravy.
How to use: 2-3 cups meat for scalloped potatoes and ham. Or slice thinly for sandwiches for lunches. Or dice and add to omelets for breakfast, or for pizza toppings. Note that you can freeze the cooked meat and use at a future date. Use ham bone in split pea or bean soups. Use the pan drippings and some meat as a base for a ham soup with assorted veggies.
Original Meal: Beef pot roast, gravy, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots.
Leftovers: 2 cups meat, 1/2 cup carrots
How to use: meat can be used for sandwiches as is, or shred and add barbecue sauce for sandwiches (or over rice or boiled potatoes). Or, use the meat in a beef barley soup. Carrots can be part of a lunch, or added to a noodle dish for added color and flavor.
Original Meal: tacos with seasoned meat, refried beans, shredded cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, etc.
Leftovers: 1 cup meat, 1/2 cup refried beans, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, some lettuce, salsa, sour cream.
How to use: if you have tortilla chips, you can make nachos with all of the above leftovers. If no chips, the meat, beans, and cheese can be stirred together heated, and eaten like that for lunch. The lettuce can become a small salad with the tomatoes and the addition of other veggies like carrots, celery, cucumbers, whatever you like.
Original Meal: Open house fare! 1 pig--approximately 200 pounds on the hoof--roasted, 20 pounds of potato salad, 16 pounds dried beans made into baked beans, salad, veggie tray, cake.
Leftovers: 1 large bowl potato salad, 1 large bowl salad, 1 large bowl baked beans, about 7 gallon bags worth of pork.
How to use: repeat of original meal! Of course, you can only have that until the potato salad, salad, and beans are gone. Then you still have all that pork! I freeze it in gallon bags, then take out 1 bag at a time, usually 2-3 meals in each bag. Here's some things we do with a bag of pork: add BBQ sauce and make BBQ pork sandwiches. Don't add BBQ sauce, and have regular pork sandwiches, LOL. Dice and add to rice and veggies for a stir fry/fried rice type of dish. Add BBQ sauce and serve over rice or boiled potatoes. Use it in any recipe that calls for 'cooked, diced pork'. Throw it in a soup made with tomato juice and whatever combination of veggies you have on hand. But, mostly we smother it in BBQ sauce and use it that way.
Any large quantity, say 1 cup or more, of pan drippings (aka 'meat juice' at this little place here), can be a soup starter. I've made some awesome soups with 1.5 cups of 'juice' from a pork shoulder roast (which became shredded BBQ pork sandwiches), a few cups of added water and 1/4 to 2/3 cup each of assorted veggies on hand: corn, beans, peas, carrots, onion, potatoes, celery, etc.
Leftovers are great snacks, and lunch fare. Most smaller quantities of leftovers at this little place here get used up in lunchboxes. DH has brown bagged it (actually, a small 6-pack sized cooler) to work for 18 years now, since getting out of college. My kids don't eat hot lunch at school, they eat whatever they pulled from the fridge or pantry at home (also toted in small coolers).
Larger quantities of things such as goulash, spaghetti, lasagna, soup and stew, pizza, casseroles, pot pies, etc are often put out on Sundays for an after church lunch buffet. I line the dishes up on the counter, each member of my family puts dibs on something, we all get our preferred lunch, and the leftovers get eaten.
Original Meal: 3.5 pound chicken, roasted in oven. Mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, corn.
Leftovers: chicken carcass, approx 3 cups of meat picked off bones, 1/2 cup mashed potatoes with a few tablespoons of gravy, 1/4 to 1/3 cup of corn.
How to use: 2 cups meat becomes all the meat needed for a chicken pot pie. Or chicken and dumplings. Or chicken tetrazzini. Or chicken fettuccine Alfredo. 1 cup meat and the chicken carcass are the base for chicken noodle soup. The gravy can be tossed into the soup for added flavor. The mashed potatoes can be formed into two patties and fried up to eat with a breakfast of eggs and toast. Or mixed with the gravy (if not used for soup) and corn and heated up for a quick snack. Or put into a lunch box as part of a school or work lunch. The corn (if not eaten with the potatoes) can be put into cornbread batter for added appeal.
Original Meal: Easter ham (or any 4-5 pound ham for dinner).
Leftovers: ham bone, about 4 cups of meat, 1/2-1 cup pan drippings not made into gravy.
How to use: 2-3 cups meat for scalloped potatoes and ham. Or slice thinly for sandwiches for lunches. Or dice and add to omelets for breakfast, or for pizza toppings. Note that you can freeze the cooked meat and use at a future date. Use ham bone in split pea or bean soups. Use the pan drippings and some meat as a base for a ham soup with assorted veggies.
Original Meal: Beef pot roast, gravy, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots.
Leftovers: 2 cups meat, 1/2 cup carrots
How to use: meat can be used for sandwiches as is, or shred and add barbecue sauce for sandwiches (or over rice or boiled potatoes). Or, use the meat in a beef barley soup. Carrots can be part of a lunch, or added to a noodle dish for added color and flavor.
Original Meal: tacos with seasoned meat, refried beans, shredded cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, etc.
Leftovers: 1 cup meat, 1/2 cup refried beans, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, some lettuce, salsa, sour cream.
How to use: if you have tortilla chips, you can make nachos with all of the above leftovers. If no chips, the meat, beans, and cheese can be stirred together heated, and eaten like that for lunch. The lettuce can become a small salad with the tomatoes and the addition of other veggies like carrots, celery, cucumbers, whatever you like.
Original Meal: Open house fare! 1 pig--approximately 200 pounds on the hoof--roasted, 20 pounds of potato salad, 16 pounds dried beans made into baked beans, salad, veggie tray, cake.
Leftovers: 1 large bowl potato salad, 1 large bowl salad, 1 large bowl baked beans, about 7 gallon bags worth of pork.
How to use: repeat of original meal! Of course, you can only have that until the potato salad, salad, and beans are gone. Then you still have all that pork! I freeze it in gallon bags, then take out 1 bag at a time, usually 2-3 meals in each bag. Here's some things we do with a bag of pork: add BBQ sauce and make BBQ pork sandwiches. Don't add BBQ sauce, and have regular pork sandwiches, LOL. Dice and add to rice and veggies for a stir fry/fried rice type of dish. Add BBQ sauce and serve over rice or boiled potatoes. Use it in any recipe that calls for 'cooked, diced pork'. Throw it in a soup made with tomato juice and whatever combination of veggies you have on hand. But, mostly we smother it in BBQ sauce and use it that way.
Any large quantity, say 1 cup or more, of pan drippings (aka 'meat juice' at this little place here), can be a soup starter. I've made some awesome soups with 1.5 cups of 'juice' from a pork shoulder roast (which became shredded BBQ pork sandwiches), a few cups of added water and 1/4 to 2/3 cup each of assorted veggies on hand: corn, beans, peas, carrots, onion, potatoes, celery, etc.
Leftovers are great snacks, and lunch fare. Most smaller quantities of leftovers at this little place here get used up in lunchboxes. DH has brown bagged it (actually, a small 6-pack sized cooler) to work for 18 years now, since getting out of college. My kids don't eat hot lunch at school, they eat whatever they pulled from the fridge or pantry at home (also toted in small coolers).
Larger quantities of things such as goulash, spaghetti, lasagna, soup and stew, pizza, casseroles, pot pies, etc are often put out on Sundays for an after church lunch buffet. I line the dishes up on the counter, each member of my family puts dibs on something, we all get our preferred lunch, and the leftovers get eaten.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Mmm, Strawberries!
The strawberries are on at this little place here.
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We first picked about a week and a half ago, just a quart the first day. Then on Sunday afternoon, it was five quarts, and I made 4 of them into 18 half-pints of jam. The other quart went for strawberry shortcake.
This afternoon DD2 and I picked about 7 1/2 quarts.
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Four of those quarts are now 19 half-pints of jam cooling on the island in the kitchen. I'll take 12 to the farmers' market next week, and keep the rest for us. We don't ever buy strawberry jam from the store. Not in at least ten years. Mine is better ;0) . I try to make at least 24 jars for us, and if the kids eat it all by January, well, they just have to wait until June to have more.
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This afternoon DD2 and I picked about 7 1/2 quarts.
Four of those quarts are now 19 half-pints of jam cooling on the island in the kitchen. I'll take 12 to the farmers' market next week, and keep the rest for us. We don't ever buy strawberry jam from the store. Not in at least ten years. Mine is better ;0) . I try to make at least 24 jars for us, and if the kids eat it all by January, well, they just have to wait until June to have more.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Something New
Yesterday I finished a new quilt block pattern for a swap I'm involved in. The block is called Kaleidoscope, uses fabric scraps, and is paper pieced. This is the first paper pieced block I've done, as well as the first scrappy block (although in these swaps I do try to incorporate pieces from my scrap box that are too small to do even a baby quilt with).
I think I'm hooked! It was really fun to make, even with ironing after each and every new fabric strip was sewed on.
I think I'm hooked! It was really fun to make, even with ironing after each and every new fabric strip was sewed on.
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