Joyfilled

24 minutes ago, Littlesister said:

Joyfield you are doing great with learning all the new things you are doing. All that will pay off in the end. I really need to get back to learning new things, but the past 3 years has been such a nightmare that I have put so much off I wanted to do and learn. But a new year is dawning, and GS will be out on his own and I can get back to all that. Minus chickens, goats, cows and all the nice animals I would love to have if I had a place to have them. But so much other things to do and learn.

There's so much to learn!! And....a lot can be done without living in the country. Soap making, bread making, knitting, sewing....lots of things that don't require farm stuff. I want to do it ALL. Not sure it's a good idea, though....haha! But I'd at least like to give it at try! And...you've had a rough couple of years (well....to some extent we all have!)....take it easy on yourself.

Today I went to a ladies house that sells sourdough bread. She gave me some of her starter!!! I'm beyond excited about that. I've tried making the starter myself a couple of times, but no go. I'm hoping I can do well, but she was so nice, she said she would give me more if something happened to it. I'll let you know how it goes....I've never done it before, so here's hoping!!

12 hours ago, Mother said:

Good for you, Joyfilled.  I loved having our cows and coats over the years and learning to make all the wonderful dairy products you mention.  Our jersey/guernsey cow used to give five gallon at a milking and even with a family of three teens and half a dozen of their friends I couldn’t use it up fast enough.  Hard cheese, soft cheese, cottage cheese, all manner of cheese, yogurt, butter,  pudding pies, gravy, and IN EVERYTHING! .  Like you, learning and experimenting was half the fun. Please do take us on that journey with you.  For me it will be like going down memory lane…    

 

Have you made vinegar cheese yet?  It is sooooo easy.  I make it still even with store bought milk ( but it’s better with fresh raw).  Heat the milk to almost a simmer.  190° on a dairy thermometer or just to where it has a froth or tiny bubbles starting around the edge of the pan.  Turn off heat and slowly trickle in a 1/4 cup vinegar stirring the whole time.  Keep stirring. First the milk will be a bit thickened, then it will turn almost slimy and a bit ropy ( the kids loved watching this and going eeeewww) then curds will occur as the milk solids form the cheese in the yellowish liquid whey.  You break them up with your spoon into cottage cheese-like consistency and then set the pan, cheese whey and all, into cold water in the sink.  Stir often as it cools to ensure the curds don’t stick back together but if they do just break them up again.  The slow cooling allows the curd to cook just enough to be a soft but firm consistency.  Then you strain it through cheese cloth using the whey for making bread, or feeding it to the animals.   ( note, this whey does not work well in fermenting pickles, etc like non vinegar cheese whey does)  Salt the cheese if desired. We eat this like cottage cheese or mix it with herbs and Mayo for a spread or dip.    

I thought I would get some good ideas from here! I'm excited to keep learning. This coming Friday we're taking a milking class! The people we're buying the milk from are giving it. Actually....it's a 13 year old boy. He was given a cow by his parents (I think), earned enough money to buy a second one. Then he started to sell the milk, and now he's offering milking classes! Smart kid, that one!

That's how I made the cheese! I called it fresh cheese because I have no idea what else to call it. I believe I can use the same method to make cream cheese and cottage cheese, right? I need to make those soon. I'm finding that it's not as hard as I thought it was, just time consuming....and if I plan it right, I should do okay with that, too. Here's hoping I can slowly, but surely, make more and more for ourselves!

18 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Joyfilled, you really are a Joy!

Be sure to share your adventures with us. I think I want to be you when I grow up. 

 

BTW, how is your daughter doing? Loving her role as a new wife I'll bet!  

Thanks, Jeepers!! I find I have so much I want to do....but only so many hours in the day, eh? And naps. I like occasional naps, too.

DD is doing well! Her DH just got a new job here in our small town, working for our local internet company. He gets paid more and he really enjoys what he's doing! We're all very thankful. He's continuing his studies, and eventually wants to be a pastor. Praying God guides their path!

....and having a good time making stuff! I've been making butter (and buttermilk), yogurt, fresh cheese, and am attempting to make sour cream. This week I'm going to try to make mozzarella and ricotta. I'd love to learn how to make hard cheeses, too. We can't buy a milking cow right now, but hopefully at some point, soon (maybe next spring???). In the meantime, though, I'm learning as much as I can!

Also, I found someone that will give me sourdough starter. I've been looking for a while now, and haven't found anyone that makes it, so I'm very excited!! I can't wait to learn what all I can do with it. Busy time in the kitchen, and I'm so thankful for it!

I'm just here to look at the pies.

We do! We have an attachment to my Kitchen Aid, but it takes FOREVER. For most of our use, we use our Nurtramill. Not that fancy wood one, ours is plastic. We have some non-electric ones that we haven't even pulled out of the box, but should. I'm baking all of our sandwich bread now, and some of our other breads, too, and use half wheat half all purpose (all purpose from the store). We do have hard white wheat, but haven't used it yet, either. We need to get more so we can grind all our own oz wheat. I priced the bread that we like at the store, Dave's Killer Bread, 27oz, $6.44. Yikes!!! I'm glad I'm used to making our own again....

Thanks ladies!!

On 8/17/2022 at 10:44 AM, Dee said:

I have a question for you ladies BUT first Joyfilled I'd like to have a piece of that bread and jelly.  It looks delicious!!!

 

I've made bread and rolls, etc. for years.  Used to do it all the time but not so much anymore.  My question?  I've never used vinegar when making it.  I've been googling it today as a recipe I read calls for it.  It sounds like I should have been using it all these years.  Do any of you put vinegar in yours?

Come on over!!

....first time in a long time! 4 loaves of honey oatmeal bread. So, so good!! I'm trying to avoid our almost $6 a loaf bread.

Hello! I am not able to go through the thread at this time, although I did get through about half of it! I was wondering....are any spices off limit? For example, I generally add some curry to some of my soups. It gives them a deeper flavor. Now I can add that after I open the jar, but I'm trying to make meals that my kids can open up and use without adding anything.

Thanks for your help!

Hello again!

Any of you fine ladies (or gents!) use a canning journal? If so, what can you tell me about it? Is it self made? Bought (bonus points for links!)? It's occurring to me that it would be nice to know when I canned something (other than just writing it on the jar), and how many....mainly to see how much lasts for how long for our family. I've seen some journals on Amazon, but they seem to focus on what's in each recipe and how it was canned. Still valuable if I don't have access to internet, but not quite what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

First time canning for the season!! Better late than never, right?

Canned 14 quarts of chicken and broth, and have 11 quarts of broth in the caner. I'm tired....but it feels SO good. I will be doing more now that I have all the canning stuff out!

Because it's fun?

Regret: I don't have a picture on my phone of my DD and I. It got so chaotic, that I didn't even think of it. I'm hoping there's a picture somewhere, but I sure wish we would have gotten a selfie in there somewhere. Now I want to do it all over again, just to get that photo. Okay, so maybe not ALL over again....

We don't have all the pictures yet, probably won't for at least another week. It was a great wedding, though, not traditional, but very meaningful. I'll share more pictures as I get them, but not all of them (they said over 1000!!!)!

Rehearsal today, wedding tomorrow!! 😳🥰🥰🥰

My table is covered in wedding stuff....

We're having taco salad for dinner!

This is our kitchen garden. Hubby has more stuff planted in the bigger garden, but this is the stuff we want to babysit more. Cucumbers are doing great as are a couple of the zucchinis. One of them may be a gonner. Carrots are either slow or completely gone 🙁. Tomatoes are good, thyme is dead. Got replacements today, so here's hoping! Rosemary is doing well, as is the stevia. I need to harvest it soon! The potatoes? Not sure, but most leaves look good! 

It got over 100° today. Next week will drop to highs of 70's.... we'll have to see what the garden thinks of that!

Thanks everyone!! It's fun to come here and tell y'all about it, and encouraging, too. I feel like some day I'll be telling my grandkids: yep, your Mom and Dad got married during that whole crazy season. Things are pretty crazy, but watching them getting their home together and making do with what they have is heart warming. If you think of them, pray for them. His computer that he uses for work (given by his job) stopped working. It took them 2 days to get him a new one, and because he's hourly, he doesn't get paid for that time. Things are tight as it is, and now two days less.

They are also honeymooning close to home, just about an hour or so away in a bigger town near us. They don't know the city real well, so they figured they would save on travel expenses and go somewhere close by, and stay out of debt. Smart ones, those two.

1 hour ago, Becca_Anne said:

Congratulations and how fun. I once put together a wedding for my daughter's best friend for under $200. I made the cake, she bought food for a cookout and paid for the marriage license and officiant they were married in the park. I bought her flowers and all the paper products at the Dollar Tree so we could eat. It was actually a wonderful little wedding! It's not the cost it's the thought and love that goes into it 

Love this!! Yes....the cost doesn't matter as long as the marriage is strong. I do have to say, though, that I struggle with the thought that the wedding will be TOO simple. But @Joyfilled Redhead is a pretty simple gal, although she has good taste and likes things looking pretty. I'll post pictures, if anyone is interested in seeing!

2 hours ago, Midnightmom said:

 

National Center for Food Preservation Website

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_05/ground_chopped.html

So I can use water instead of broth. 

The chorizo I use comes in long (8" or so) plastic casings. I'd obviously remove the plastic, but then should I cook it into ground beef like pieces or just brown the outside of it and leave it in one piece (cut to size)?

4 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

Yes, can it just like you would loose sausage or hamburger. Bown it just a little first. I do remove some of the fat and water first before canning it though. 

 

I even rinse my hamburger before I put it in the jar. Then I cover it with beef broth, de-bubble, wipe the rim very well with vinegar, cap and process.

 

75 min. for pints. 

90 min. for quarts.

Wanna come help me? 😁

What broth do you suggest for chorizo? 

1 minute ago, Midnightmom said:

You wouldn't be able to safely can it in the jacket. You would have to open up the casings and par fry the meat so that it wouldn't become a solid mass in the center of the jar. Or, you can skip the opening the casings part by buying it in bulk - like ground beef - and processing it the same way. This would be considered "hot packing" so use that process and follow the time and pressure indicated for your elevation and your jar sizes. You may also want to do a test run on a jar or two the next time you process another meat to see if you like the consistancy, and to make sure that the spices haven't become overbearing.    

Ohhhhh....this is good news!! This is doable. I will give it a try at some point. So treat it like say, ground beef? Cook it, then can it according to my area? It would be great to have some available, even if the power is out! I'll follow your suggestion, and do a test run. Here's hoping!!