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Fall Canning and Apple Picking Photos

Posted by html404 on October 6, 2011
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Health and Nutrition

Thrifty Thursday is all about canning and finding ways to provide good food for our families. Canning can be expensive, but if you are going to do it for the long haul then the initial investment is worth it. I bought canning supplies back in 2001 and we have only used them a handful of times until this year. Friends have been good to us providing produce and jars.

Apple picking. Check local orchards, neighbors who do nothing with the apples just falling to the ground in their yards and gleaning programs set up by non-profit organizations and farm partnerships. This applies to other fruits and vegetables too. We do this not only for ourselves but to provide local food pantries with fresh fruits and veggies – the ones that take them anyways.

This is actually fermenting sauerkraut and it is a before photo as I think it was a failed first attempt….maybe….haven’t tasted it yet to know for sure. Kind of scared to and you’ll know why by the next photo. A friend told me it should be fine, but I still have my doubts….

And here is one of the second batch with the first batch….notice the difference in coloring:

This is our stash of some of our canned tomatoes. We also have salsa, jam and applesauce. We are planning to make more applesauce tomorrow with two families. We will have three moms and 24 kids…..thankfully we will have a few over the age of 16! Plus some other young ladies helping equal the number above age 12!

Gleaning often means taking the leftovers that have fallen to the ground and are not perfect. However, they are perfect for canning and dehydrating.

Apple picking/gleaning is also a wonderful way to spend a beautiful day together as a family.

Happy Thrifty Thursday!

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What I Hate About Photography

Posted by html404 on October 5, 2011
in Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff

I love taking pictures of our family, of our outings etc. Photos seem to make memories last longer.

What I hate about photography is is getting the image so it can be used in multiple ways. For example: I changed the theme of Faith and Family Reviews last tonight and discovered that I could customize the header. I thought, “This will be great because then I can use family photos and make it more personal!” Yeah, right.

I went through dozens of photos only to discover that many of our photos are completely useless in regards to being a header. As with the one featured, it is blurry. Bah humbug. So bear with me as I learn the art of taking photos so they make great headers.

Perhaps we will take a vote on this month’s header from the few that are sort of useable. I will try to remember to switch them out over the next week so please let me know what you think.

Just maybe I will get some shots taken that will be useful….either that or I will find out my camera is the problem…..

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$2 Tuesdays

Posted by html404 on October 5, 2011
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Health & Garden Tuesday, Organic

We recently discovered an organic raspberry farm in our area that has $2 Tuesdays. So this morning that is what we did – pick a few pints of raspberries. What fun we had! The children loved it and the farmers were very hospitable. We hope to go again as they will have berries for a while yet as they grow them in high tunnels, which they are doing in conjunction to a research project they are participating in.

This farm also had sheep they raise for wool, chickens that they had for pest control and they also hold different classes throughout the year. They have a couple I am interested in but I am not sure if the timing is right or not….have to wait to see.

We are hoping to put up some more jam if the berries last that long….

Of course, I forgot my camera yesterday and for some reason it is a pain to get photos off my phone, so while I have a few of us I did not get many nor did I get us actually picking berries. I had planned to go back but ran out of space on my phone, of course. The trials and tribulations of a mom trying to capture family memories. Any suggestions on how to be better prepared? Would love to hear them!

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Long Awaited Photos – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on October 5, 2011
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Gardening

Guess what I found at the townhouse on Saturday…..yes! The cord for my camera to connect to my computer! Yay! Here are some long awaited photos from the summer through yesterday and a peek into our lives:

Clouds over Mrs. A’s Farm.

This was when we just started planting out in Mrs. A’s field in the spring!

Early morning at Mrs. A’s Farm.

Some of these photos were taken by my 8 year old son.

Hairy little man. These next couple were taken by our oldest.

Thought this one was cool. We think our 9 year old took it.

Lefse making.

Hairy man loved lefse making!

Pretending to fish.

Lefse.

Rolling out lefse.

Happy boy.

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Nature’s Hand Granola

Posted by html404 on October 4, 2011
in All Natural Products, Food and Treats

I don’t know about you but I love granola. Our family was privileged enough to try a new brand of granola recently – Nature’s Hand.

Nature’s Hand makes 100% All Natural granola. There are no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. And yes the ingredients can be pronounced!

http://www.natureshand.com/products-page/granola/cinnamon-apple/

Ingredients: Whole Grain Oats, Sugar, Whole Grain Wheat, Soybean Oil, Brown Rice Syrup, Honey, Oat Flour, Dried Apples, Sunflower Seeds, Natural Flavors, Molasses, Cinnamon, Vitamin E (troceopherols). My only beef is that they are not organic, but we could eat a whole lot worse.

http://www.natureshand.com/products-page/granola/wild-blueberry/

Ingredients: Basically the same as the Apple Cinnamon, but with freeze dried blueberries.

My Review:

We really liked these two flavors, though they offer five others – Original Vanilla Almond, Cranberry Delight, French Vanilla Almond, Raisin Hazelnut and Maple Pecan. The work great as a yogurt topping, as a topping on cold cereal or eaten right from the bag as a snack.

Nature’s Hand Granola is a bit pricey at $4.99 per 13 oz bag, but they do offer a case size with six pouches and a bulk size of 320 oz (more than the six pouch case if you are not quick with your Math! 😉 )

Sorry, forgot to take photos before we chowed down. I do have an empty package, but it wouldn’t show you anything different than Nature’s Hand’s website.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Health and Garden Tuesday: The Dangers Of PVC

Posted by html404 on October 4, 2011
in Uncategorized

We have been reading up on the dangers of PVC and have found out that it is actually a pretty deadly chemical. Think of how many things are made from PVC! We are surrounded by products made from PVC. So, we thought that we would share a few articles on the topic of PVC to show you how dangerous it really is.

PVC: The Poison Plastic Website

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=saftey+of+pvc+rainwear#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=danger+of+pvc+in+children’s+products&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=4488cb887e893d25

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=saftey+of+pvc+rainwear#hl=en&expIds=17259,27617,27642,27868&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=danger+of+pvc&cp=12&qe=ZGFuZ2VyIG9mIHB2&qesig=1qqIvQP1ClDOULtYnhJ0Vg&pkc=AFgZ2tmn9Qs088FczgNmIObRvzSmYDtsx6RgZaq45l9wOf8_vnuETqIiKNj-LkZn8BYpJsWZRLAlTV2q-EUju4_kmmnQOMMiRA&pf=p&sclient=psy&aq=0&aqi=&aql=&oq=danger+of+pv&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=4488cb887e893d25

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Canning and Dehydrating – This Week’s Monday Motivation

Posted by html404 on October 3, 2011
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Home

If my camera cord wasn’t lost I could post a real photo of the things we have canned in the last couple of weeks. But alas, it is still MIA (military term for missing in action for those of you that go blank with abbreviations…I know the blankness because I use to experience it ALOT!) so you will have to make do with this photo I found on Microsoft Office in their image gallery. Boo hoo….

Two weeks ago a friend had us over to can 5 bushels of tomatoes. We had a great time spending time with them and have been enjoying the fruits of our labor in spaghetti, chili and pinto beans. We made canned tomatoes and a few jars of salsa.

Since we enjoyed canning so much we came home and made several jars of grape and strawberry jelly and applesauce….yummy!

We are hoping to make more applesauce this week with friends coming to our house if schedules allow for it.

Due to laws changing in Illinois in regards to farmers selling homemade baked and canned goods made in their own kitchens, we are hoping to sell some of our wares next year. Farmers use to have to use commercial kitchens to do this sort of thing. I even looked into using one this summer but it never panned out and I am glad now since we can do it all in our own kitchen. There are stipulations though…of course.

When I get into the whole kitchen thing, my husband likes to call me “Suzy Homemaker”….well that’s what I use to be before 2008 when I started working from home. I love all the so called lost arts. Love to cook, love to bake, love to can, love to sew, love to knit (even though I am not very good at it) and now we are getting into dehydrating since that does not kill all the nutrition in the food. It is very satisfying being able to provide my family with healthy, homemade food and clothes. What can I say? I am from the old school where I believe a woman’s place is in the home taking care of her family and house. It gives me great joy to fulfill my calling as a wife and mother. Not that I don’t enjoy my other “work”, as it helps pay the bills, but my greatest joy is being a wife and mom.

I know you all aren’t going to agree with me, so what is your calling? What gives you joy as a woman?

Disclaimer: This does not mean that I do not enjoy being a small business woman, I do. The thing is it would not be nearly as satisfying doing it on my own. I love the look on my husband’s face when I can say, “Honey, I made XXXX amount of dollars today/this week/this month.” And I love being able to include my children in my work. Just saying…;-)

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The DMZ Book Review

Posted by html404 on September 30, 2011
in Books

DMZ is a suspenseful novel packed with action and romance. Julie Baker is a reporter whose parents had been missionaries in Colombia. Old hurts and terrors surge as she revisits the place of her birth… and her parents death. When Julie is abducted by guerrillas, there is no escape! Will anyone help her or will she end up dead like her parents? In the end she is left with more questions than answers.

This book is packed with surprises at every turn and the ending is amazing! I loved how the author wrote such a spell binding book! I couldn’t put it down! I really liked the entire plot and story. Even though this book was romantic and a tear jerker, it was still full of adventure. A really good book to say the least! 😉

This book get’s two thumbs up from me! You can find it on Amazon here.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Deeply Devoted – A Revell Blog Tour

Posted by html404 on September 29, 2011
in Books

Deeply Devoted by Maggie Brendan will resonate with those who have trust issues. I bawled my eyes out (no news there, I know!) in places as I felt the pain of Catharine’s past and her inability to fully trust in the present.

This book is set in the west during the era of mail order brides. I have always admired the strength and courage these women must have had to present themselves as brides to complete strangers. Catharine was no different.

I also admired the trust that Catharine and Peter had in God, as farmers, He was in control over whether their crops failed or made a profit for their livelihood. Farming is hard work as it is without considering the weather factor.

Maggie Brendan’s first book in her Blue Willow Brides series was a very enjoyable read for relaxation. It had all the good read qualities since it made me laugh, cry and feel the pain and hurt of the characters.

Two thumbs up from me!

“Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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A New Addition – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on September 28, 2011
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Home

Sorry, this was suppose to go live two weeks ago, but I found it in my drafts folder……

See, I told you he was a new addition! But he is not a human addition, but the pet variety.
……And this went live this morning without a photo because I still have not found my camera cord, so I nabbed a photo of Robert that we emailed to Blaze’s owner. Sorry to those visiting earlier today and saw nothing! Surprise!

More of this story later….;-) Nothing like spiking your interest and curiosity, eh?