Darlene

Now that Dee, is funny. I guess it's one way of tasting the different foods from around the world and I'm all for that!

rofl I love it! Weeds! Lol

Yep, I've been canning with various methods for decades. Kraut is an easy one. Good for you on your gift though! Kraut is so healthy for digestion!

Yesssssss, Dee! A thread on beef! The Idiot has not escaped today (to my knowledge) although Idiot Jr (the idiot goat someone gave me that I never wanted, who is the one who teaches all the idiot cows how to escape) was out down in the valley earlier. I can't tell you the calls I get from neighbors, "just wanted to let you know some of your sheep, your idiot cow, your idiot jr goat are in our yard, or out on the road". It's funny, but not funny because their escaping off the property is not good nor wise. Anyway, enough about Idiot. Like you, I've done both...grassfed and corn supplemented. I used to belong to the GA Cattlemen's Association and it was funny and interesting to listen to all those old guys who had everything down to almost the exact minute from birth to slaughter. Years ago, my butcher shared with me his experience about when to have the various things processed and said something like this: "When I sit down to have a steak dinner, I don't want a puny little steak on my plate. I want a big 'ole fat steak and the only thing that will get you that is time". His point was, the XX-XX amount of raising a cow for processing as touted by the local GACA, was contrary to his personal opinion. And then there are the added health benefits of grass vs corn. There are certain nutrients found in grass fed beef that is not found in corn fed. Supposedly, they say you can feed up to 5lbs/day of corn and not negate the grass-fed benefits, but I don't know. It's alot more work for me to supplement corn the last few months anyway so I've tended to just let them be grass-fed. I don't notice anything distasteful with the grass-fed beef, although I do notice a little difference when they've been corn fed. As far as what I use from the cow...everything I legally can have. There are certain parts that supposedly the butchers can't release, at least here, but everything I can get, I take because I add it to the livestock guardian dogs we raise and breed, to supplement their diets...heart, tongue, liver, etc. They love it and it definitely adds nutrition that can't be found in a kibble. Even when stuff in the freezer gets too old for human consumption, it's given to the dogs who could care less about any freezer burn. One of the greatest advances the local processing houses have instituted over the past 10 years is to upgrade to vacuum sealed packages vs the traditional freezer wrapped meats. I had so much meat go bad by the paper method over the years, and instead, have everything vacuum sealed because it helps the meat to last longer. I also keep alllll the tallow fat from the cows. Sometimes I use it in the soaps I make, sometimes I use it in cooking. It's amazing stuff. When we process pigs, I definitely keep all the lard. Nothing can beat homemade French fries, fried in lard. Ay yi yi, just writing about it makes me want to make some. Like you, I let my kids 'grocery shop' when they visit. Especially with the prices of meat these days. It makes me very happy to be able to do things like this because all of their friends think they're very special to have access to that kind of quality of meat. They also have permission to grocery shop the canned goods, as long as they participate in that year's canning. It's only fair that they help with the hard work, to benefit from that the rest of the year.

While I believe face to face interaction is important, for various reasons and seasons that is not always possible. The internet has the potential to be, and MrsS certainly is, a place to interact with like minded people. To make friends with those we would have otherwise never met. I know some of the most cherished friendships I’ve ever made have been with some of the ladies here at MrsS. Some I’ve been blessed to meet in person, others not, but after all these years, I have a history with many (up and down, good and not always so good), but cherished and impacting nonetheless. I’m glad you’re here and we’re glad you’re here.

I'm going to lock this thread so we can all re-direct to the new Watcha Doing Today? thread pinned at the top here in the Daily Diary

Sure do!

No green here, but I do have a pot of corned beef, potatoes, carrots and eventually cabbage going on the stove. What I'm really looking forward to are the Ruben sandwiches tomorrow lol

I freeze meals once in a while, usually when I've made too much and don't feel like leftovers. It's so awesome though when I'm able to pull something from the freezer and heat it up and it's a home cooked meal with MY recipe.

I don't keep much store bought flour either since I tend to grind my own grains into flour. I don't usually freeze the store bought stuff, although that's always a good thing to do too. Dee, you need to start a "beef" thread because as I sit on the front porch, taking a break from the day, I'm watching Idiot (that's the name I gave to one steer who's destined for hamburger in a couple of weeks) strolling down the driveway, not a care in the world, going where HE wants to go, which ticks me off. Off to the kubby to herd him back to the pasture. I'll be so glad when he's gone.

I cook everything from scratch, no matter what it is so depending on the type of meal I'm making, that will dictate how much time I spend there. The Kitchen has always been my favorite room in the house and I have the equipment to back that up. As well all know, there are times when the kitchen is literally lived in...canning sessions, holidays, etc. But overall, it's the main room in my house, other than the greenroom that I spend alot of time in with work. I don't eat out much either...that sometimes feels like work too sometimes. Sometimes I'll order out and pick it up when the day has flown and I'm just not in the mood to cook. Last week I had the same thing over and over for 5 days only because I was craving it so that tends to dictate how much I cook too. One of the most beautiful things I get to observe is my girls managing their own kitchens now, cooking from scratch like I've always done, and doing a pretty darn good job at it too. I still get the texts and phone calls for "how do I make this dish you always made? or "how. come my ???doesn't turn out like yours?", but I'm sure at some point in time, they will have collected all our family receipes over time, added a few of their home and will simply fly.

I am intentionally starting a new post that I'll pin here in the Daily Diary. The original "Whatcha Doing Today" is 410 pages long and 7 years old so I thought we could start fresh. So, what am I doing today? Working (trying to), I already fed the adult dogs and pups, along with the morning bottle for the calf. I'll re-feed the pups this evening with the calf's 2nd bottle for the day. I have to take a roll of hay out to the cows, change the sheets on my bed, and finish cooking the corned beef I have simmering for St Patty's day. I also need to run to the store and get a loaf of seeded rye, if it's not already sold out. My youngest daughter is coming up for the weekend with her boyfriend so I'm going to try to get the house ready for their visit. I'm already tired just thinking about it. And THAT is a boring glimpse into my day today. It looks so simple of paper and yet never gets totally done.

You are proof positive, ANewMe, that the Lord is at work and He has a meaning and purpose for all of us here. I'm so grateful to be able to discover what some of those things are with you.

It's so awesome to see you again evensong! You're one of the original members at MrsS, even before I took her over so it's extra special to see you again I know that real life has to always take priority, and I know that you've had far more important things with your family, and I'm sure it's meant the world to them that they had you to help. But the fact remains that over the years, the several attempts to allow political discussions blew up in MrsS's face. That was due to the irresponsibility of some of the posters, and the site and many members suffered the consequences from it. So, I'll have to give a hard pass on political discussions at MrsS. It's just not going to happen. It's not what we're about and Lord knows there's a million other things we have going on in our lives that are far more important, especially when we're so busy with our families. Stay in touch and I hope you reconsider. It was such a nice and special surprise to see you post!

Hey Dee! Is there a story you'd like to share about those turkeys perched in front of you bay window? Inquiring minds want to know.

Doesn't it though? lolol I'm loving it, getting ABSOLUTELY NO work done at my job or on the farm (I work from home), because I'm having too much fun at our reunion!

Oh my gosh Cricket! It's so awesome to see you here. We won't add up the years I was MIA. All that matters is that you're here once again.

*waving* Welcome back!!!

wheezie, we are SO happy you're back! We're still in the process of overhauling everything so please be patient as we do, but it just makes it that much more special that you can join the journey with us. As a side note, I, too, went through many changes over the past 15 years so I totally understand and you're in good and understanding company with that

She better NOT have taken it with her because that would be sooooo mean to the rest of you, especially when that dread fills your heart as you realize Darlene is here and she's going to change everything.... . lol If I could ONLY figure out how to change the color schemes, I would be happy. Never fear, I will somehow figure THAT out too lol

They're already unfolding I've been down in the Moderator's Bunker firing off posts left and right. I've written so many posts in the last 3 days that I noticed that I am the #2 post contributor for the week lol. Shocking. I'm writing this post right now to give everyone a heads up that changes are not only coming to MrsS, but they are unfolding. We would like to give y'all a heads up on the little steps we've taken thus far. Under each forum title out on the main page, you'll start to see Moderator names being added. For example, Under the Streams in the Desert forum, it says "Moderator - Darlene". Not all of the Moderators have been assigned to each forum, but we've started so you'll be able to easily see, who is exactly responsible for that particular forum. In the event that there's questions or issues, please direct any communication directly to the Moderator who is listed on that forum. They will be able to assist with anything anyone needs. I figured I had better get started on these changes while Mt_Rider is away because she tends to want to hide behind that big ole blue couch anytime I start to do some work around here. The fun thing will be to see how long it takes her to find this post once she gets back because the first thing I'll expect is a post from here hiding behind that big ole blue couch lol. Anyway, we will keep you apprised of the little things we will be doing. I have A LOT to say, and not enough time about a variety of things, so I'll probably break it down into bite sized pieces for now. If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact us and we'll do our best to answer them.

Same here. I have the frozen yeast but after watching that program, I like the potential freedom with the fermented too.

Yeah, that was one of the points/questions they made. While there are definitely, legitimate gluten intolerant people, the unknown is what percentage of those that are intolerant, are actually intolerant to the commercial processes we've used forever...and whether or not those that suffer from intolerance, would remain so if they ate the types of fermented breads that were more common 100+ years ago.

aka Sourdoughs The other night I watched a series that went into an in depth analysis of various food preparation/preservation techniques. One of the episodes was on bread and some of the things they talked about really struck a chord with me. As we head into increasingly unknown days ahead, and as I have assessed and reassessed my preps, one of the things that has always been at the core of my preps are grains. Whether they be the soft grains for various desserts or the hard grains for bread making, it's something I've been using for decades at this point. Anyway, when I watched the episode on bread, it really got me thinking. A loaf of bread and ??? (fill in the blank), and we will be ok. With our European background, bread has always been high on our list for enjoyment but I took notes as I watched this episode because I really learned alot, which in turn, solidified my commitment to storing grains: In a 1 kernel of wheat there’s everything to support a life. There’s carbohydrates, minerals, proteins, and it’s locked up real tight. If you take the seed and start chewing on them, there will be no benefit…it’s actually very difficult to digest. All grains need to be fermented, where you use a culture of bacterias Bacterias are everywhere. Sourdough culture is a mixed ecosystem of bacteria and yeast that were used to ferment bread for millennia. When you expose wet flour to air and stir it and you will get a sourdough culture that transforms the wheat into a very nutritious substance. This is how the ancient Egyptians 6000 years ago accidently learned how to leaven bread. Building a culture is like the art of baking and is where it becomes the skill of the orchestrator. Working with natural starters is difficult because it has a mind of its own. It changes all the time because it is a live process but is essential because if you don’t do it, you won’t get the nutrients out of the kernel of wheat. Wheat, even in the form of milled flour, is hard for our bodies to digest. One of the advantages of the long sourdough fermentation is that it allows bacterial to fully break down the carbohydrates and the strong, stretchy gluten in the dough. It also releases the healthy minerals in the grain so that our bodies can more easily absorb them. The sourdough fermentation has all the variables of any natural system – far more than are manageable on a large scale. To simplify the process, food scientists came up with a reliable shortcut in the form of fast acting commercial yeast. The yeast was isolated and then bred to get the biggest rise as fast as possible. This caused the rest of what was going on in a natural fermentation to be overlooked. As it turns out, that represents one of those simplifications of industrial food that had unintended consequences that we’re dealing with right now. When yeast is used, you have no fermentation, no acidic breakdown. The bread becomes harder to digest and when things are harder to digest, it taxes the body’s system. There is currently a trend where there’s so much food sensitivity, whether it’s gluten or wheat. There are so many bad wheat products out there, so it is not surprising that people are not feeling well. The corporations promote eating more whole grains, so everyone gets on the bandwagon eating whole wheat macaroni, etc but they didn’t say fermented whole grain. There needs to be a distinction of a properly fermented loaf of sourdough bread and all the other form in which we get gluten. When you bake a loaf of bread, essentially the bread becomes a pressure cooker. This thoroughly cooks the starches in a way that makes them delicious and digestible. When you take your first bite of a piece of sourdough bread, it will make you salivate. This process is essential to trigger digestion. If you chew a piece of yeasted bread, you typically need something to wash it down as it doesn’t make you salivate. You start with wheat. If you smell wheat flour and after the whole process of fermentation, it doesn’t smell like wheat anymore. It smells like something new. Taking traditional foods and making them in traditional ways is important because those foods worked for a very long time and are the product of a kind of cultural evolution. I have a sourdough starter that I've had for several years. Last week, however, I had made up some pizza dough. For some reason, I forgot to put it in the fridge after we were done making pizzas. Long story short, it sat on the kitchen counter, covered, for a week. It began to bubble and release that familiar sour dough smell which was quite pleasing. I ended up making some pizza with the fermented dough and it was absolutely amazing. To the point where I want to make some sourdough bread in a similar fashion, just to experiment, without the aid of the refrigerated sourdough starter. I don't know if that makes any sense, but the notes I shared above, sure made alot of sense to me and makes me want to play even more with sourdough breads.

I'm sure it's a 'supply and demand' thing too. Everything has gone up and continues to go up and in spite of all the increased prices across the board, I personally feel the need to get certain things while I can...before they are no where to be found or so cost prohibitive that I just can't afford it.