Moving Beyond The Basics ...

new shelves for storage

A few years ago, writing about gardening, baking bread, sprouting-drying-grinding wheat, saving money, making homemade cleaning supplies, etc. filled my blog with almost daily posts.  I suppose one can grow beyond the 'basics' and need to move on to something new.  On the horizon:  Fine tune canning skills; winter gardening; sourdough made in my sleep (oh I wish:); Dutch oven cookery; weekly hikes; kayaking on a river??; check out 4-H and therapeutic horseback riding for Nathan; birding ... and identifying and finding wild edibles.

I recently purchased a 'Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker for Dutch oven/outdoor cooking .. and can't wait for our fire pit to dry out to try my hand at outdoor cooking.

sprouted wheat drying

The 'old' skills are still being practiced and have now become routine; that's what happens when you practice, practice .. and practice.  

Hubby retires next year so we are getting 'ready' to live on his pension.  Paying off all debt has been our major goal as we enter this new phase of life.  With all of the uncertainty in the world, we don't want to have the added stress of a mortgage hanging over our heads after retirement.  Earlier this month we said goodby to Wells Fargo Bank and house payments.  In a few days it will 'hit' me when I don't have to write THAT check any longer.  Oh, don't worry .. we got hit with a tax bill to take its place after losing some tax deductions last year (daughter moving out .. no more school tuition payments .. little mortgage interest) .. it's going to take a bit of 'mental' adjustment to equate more tax with outgoing payments that could be written off.  I think we will still be ahead of the 'game' once I wrap my mind around the idea :)

canning supplies

Our storage room is coming along with the addition of new heavy duty shelving.  Each individual (new) shelf holds about 1500 pounds of weight .. so it is perfect for heavy canned goods.  Our extra kitchen gadgets now have a place that can be easily accessed.  And all of my canning jars are neatly stacked in their original boxes by size.  Most of the year our storage room is in the 50's F .. summer  in the low 60's F, which is perfect for storing garden seeds and canned goods.  It's also windowless .. so nice and dark keeping potatoes from sprouting.

What new/old basic skill have you recently mastered or are working on?

Beef Jerky

... a good food for the storage cabinet.

Trying to keep our long term food storage cabinet stocked, this week I made a large batch of beef jerky.  The stuff you buy in the store is loaded with preservatives and questionable meat.  By making it at home, you control the quality and can make it without unnecessary ingredients.  It will store well in a jar fitted with a tight seal for at least six months (if you hide it well).  Stored in a airtight bag, it will last over a year.


I used a lean roast trimmed of ALL fat, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces, marinated it in naturally fermented soy sauce (use organic or it will be  made with GMO soy beans), red wine, powdered garlic, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  You can add hot sauce, liquid smoke .. or what ever flavor suits your fancy.  Let it marinate overnight in the fridge.   Once marinated, pound the beef strips quite thin (almost to the point of seeing through them) with a heavy meat mallet.  (You can skip this if you slice the beef slightly frozen into very thin strips prior to marinating.)  Place on trays in a dehydrator and bring the temp up to around 170 F.  I use a dehydrator rack from Cabellas placed inside my convection oven .. it has a drying setting ... and takes about 3-4 hours to dry.  Be sure to keep the oven door opened a little crack.  Let it cool on a plate or tray a good day before storing to ensure the jerky is completely dry.

If my kids read this post, you can be sure our jerky will disappear when they come to visit.  It makes a great snack to take along on hikes or after a workout at the gym.

2011 Home Preserving (for my record .. ignore post)

• December - 10 pints canned beef stock, 5 quarts canned pinto beans
• November - 6 pints turkey meat in stock (frozen), 6 quarts turkey stock (frozen), 4 pints pizza sauce (frozen)
• October - 1 quart frozen raspberries, 1 pint frozen tomato sauce, 9 pints canned beef stock, 7 pints Boston baked beans, 7 pints Italian tomato sauce, 4 quarts tomato juice, 8 pints applesauce, 4 half pints raspberry cordial, 4 quarts roasted roma tomatoes with roasted garlic, 4 pints bbq sauce
• September - 6 quarts canned corn, 8 pints hamburger dill pickles, 6 (additional) pints bread and butter pickles, 15 pints Mexican stewed tomatoes, 13 quarts Italian stewed tomatoes, 7 pints chili (no beans), 12 pints sauerkraut,14 quarts canned tomatoes in juice, 15 quarts canned peaches,9 pints canned corn, 20 pints frozen corn
• August - 4 med. size and 3 small peach pie fillings frozen, 12 half-pints spiced peach butter, 24 ears frozen sweet corn, 10 lbs sauerkraut, 18 pints fresh pack canned dill pickles, 4 pints bread and butter pickles, 1 gallon refrigerator dill pickles, 4 pints canned chick peas, 6 quarts frozen green beans, 3 quarts raspberries frozen, dried herbs (marjoram ,dill weed, thyme, mint, oregano, parsley, edible flowers),13 quarts green beans, 7 half pints raspberry freezer jam, 4 half pints cherry jam, 4 pints dilly beans, 16 pints pinto beans, 6 quarts pinto beans, 2 quarts frozen broccoli, 1 quart frozen kale, 3 pints canned rhubarb
• July - 10 half pints strawberry freezer jam, 10 quarts chicken stock, 3 cups chicken meat packed in broth, , 1 gallon frozen strawberries, 6 quarts frozen broccoli, frozen chopped kale, 2 quarts raspberries for jam, and 1 quart sour cherries to marinate
• March - 17 pints Boston baked beans
• February - 16 freezer waffles
• January - 15 freezer waffles, 7 pints red beans, 7 pints beef chili, 6 quarts frozen turkey stock, 3 lbs frozen sliced turkey, 4 pints frozen turkey meat in stock, 4 pints leftover turkey by-products frozen for making dog food