Again today, we are joining Sherry (and friends!) for In My Kitchen! Our kitchen is the heart of my tiny home, as well as our little homestead. I have come to enjoy this review of the month past. To see just how busy I was, and how organized I remained as the month marched on! I only ran into one little problem...
It is enough to say, I have a couple more (much needed!) pieces ordered! Along with two pie plates, since holiday pie baking will commence very soon. Not having the right sized pan, can be a problem! For a few reasons, from the correct baking time to keeping it all in the pan and not all over the oven floor...but I did find that the new stainless steel pans clean up very easy. Food does not cook to the pan, it cooks in the pan. However, with the new bread pans, I am having to relearn just how high up in the pan the dough will need to rise, before being ready to bake. The new stainless steel loaf pans are a bit larger and wider than the previous set, making for a small learning curve in the kitchen.
But on a positive note, I did use canning jar rings and paper muffin cups successfully, with no muffin tin at the ready! And it works quite well, I might not purchase a stainless steel pan for muffin baking.
Humidity and homemade bread, don't always get along!
New in the kitchen for me in bread baking is moldy bread. Always in the past, my loaves of bread would stay mold free until entirely consumed. But not here in East Texas. The humidity is so high that after a few days the bread needs to be placed in the fridge to avoid growing mold and becoming wasted.
I know I am quite sensitive to wasted food, surely it comes from living in the time of being told that "there are starving children in Africa" as a reason to clean my plate. But wasted homemade bread is practically a sin, LOL! This mold issue may take some experimenting on my part. Or maybe a different way to store the baked bread. Possibly cutting each loaf in half before they go into the freezer, and only pulling out half a loaf at a time.
October has also been slow in the garden.
October has not marched in as swiftly as September did. While we have been busy with many things this month, as I look back, October has not been a big blur. And nothing truly exceptional stands out either. Which is not a complaint in any way, just the way it can be out in the country with a change in the season, as the year is walking by.
The oak trees are dropping leaves like crazy! And the squirrels are dropping acorns like rain on our metal roof. They will not go hungry this winter. Observing the animals that share this property always tells a story. I think this winter will be a cold one, the squirrels are definitely planning on it. Personally, I had hoped to have had more from the garden for our own winter's use.
We do have more crops planted for fall, including garlic, green beans, pea pods, and a second crop of cucumbers. The weather in summer is simply too hot for green beans, but these new seeds are coming up nicely! Next year for the green beans, we will start in early spring, and then follow up with a second planting in fall. Probably the same with peas. I would love to have a few pints of green beans on the pantry shelf, as well as some in the freezer.
These cucumbers are growing from seeds scooped out of a fresh cucumber.
They literally were scooped and planted! It took about three minutes in all. We are beginning to harvest and my hope is to can up a few jars of pickles. Any that get too large to be a pickle, will be enjoyed fresh. They are a bit slow coming off the vines, so I hope we have more than just a few for fresh eating. If it turns out, this second crop does not yield much, next year will I be double the cucumber vines in the spring. And I will plant both regular as well as pickling cucumbers.
My husband and I recently walked through the garden looking for a good spot to plant a few beets and the rest of the envelop of carrot seeds. And it looks like the wild bunnies of the Piney Woods have discovered our garlic patch...it seems they like garlic as much as we do. I know they sure enjoyed the sweet potato vines when the leaves were young and tender. Along with some of the larger cucumbers from the first planting, especially the large cukes hiding under the leaves.
And now the other best of having a garden, is cooking in the kitchen!
In October we enjoyed these new recipes:
Whole Fruit Organic Applesauce, from your IP. This one is for my applesauce loving husband! He eats applesauce with just about every meal.
Quick Pickled Beets and Eggs, Old fashioned, but still delicious! A good protein snack.
Dreaming of Manhattan Clam Chowder. While I love a creamy chowder, this vegetable one with ham or bacon is my favorite.
Keeping the Bugs Away, for Homestead Sunday #2 If you spend any time out of doors in East Texas you really need help with the biting bugs...
Seven More Soups for Supper, let's keep soup night on the menu. Soup for supper is always a good idea! (and good for the food budget, too)
Moist Whole Wheat Cornbread, in your slow cooker. Another recipe we have enjoy for a long time. Plus I love having recipes that use different cooking methods.
Tried and True Favorites for your Best Thanksgiving Celebration Ever! Because to my way of thinking, a holiday dinner is probably not the best time to experiment...
Gingerbread and Pear Pudding Cake. I have been making this for years, it was time to share it! PS you will want to make this...
Make Ahead Meatballs, Beef and Italian Sausage Version. Never a meatball fan until I learned how to cook them, this way. Moist and tender.
Plus I updated nine older posts with better photos, and written content. As I get better at this blogging thing, I hope to reflect those better skills in in each post, old and new.
Wait, did you do anything for fun?
Yes we did! As a family we have taken young Mr. trick or treating at two "trunk or treat" events. This is the second year for him to go trick or treating, and he is finding most of it, a lot of fun. Our last romp was held at a large state park nearby and we all got a good walk in. Probably a couple of miles.
We did leave quickly as the sun was setting as the mosquitos who love the lake, also love everyone still visiting the park for the evening! The funny thing about his going trick or treating is that he does not eat or even like candy. The blessing box in our little town will benefit from our family outing...
And we now have a completed chicken run!
The fencing was completed for the chicken run. Just in time I might add, as a family of coyotes had discovered our ladies and sadly we were down to only three. It was a relief to get them in their own secured area. They adapted quickly to the boundaries after being in a fenceless yard with virtually no boundaries for most of their lives. They would follow us everywhere!
They helped me with hanging up the laundry, when I was baking and cooking in the canning kitchen and even when I was putting clothes in the washer. One hen in particular had decided that my canning kitchen really belonged to her! She fought hard to be let in, when the doors were closed. It is nice to see them out and about foraging, relaxed and acting like chickens!
We have six Brown Sussex pullets to join them out foraging here real soon. The little ladies have grown so much in the last couple of weeks. We will let them out of the small coop they share just as soon as they are too big to fit through the wire gauge on the fencing.
Plus with the fencing up, I no longer have to keep an eye out that they are OK. We are still having predators visiting the yard but the ladies are safe! The predators will move on or we will have no choice but to take action. We were not the only homestead to lose hens. One lane about 5 miles from us, took a poll and all in all, about 20 chickens disappeared in about 2 weeks. Gardens and chickens go hand in glove as part of our home and kitchen.
And lastly, I was happy to get this B & R Homestead sign up. This is from our days in Montana. It was made in shop class as a gift when our Son In Law worked at Frenchtown School District. But we have been working towards out homestead life for many years, and since moving to Texas, have not changed our minds in any way!
B & R Homestead, two families, one dream.
Thank you for dropping by for a visit, I appreciate it! Be sure to stop and visit all the bloggers who participate with Sherry at In My Kitchen!
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That's amazing about the cucumber seeds - I hope you get a good crop! I thought your improvised muffin tin was genius and I'm pleased the hens are enjoying their new digs with all the added security :) I hope you have a delicious November.
ReplyDeleteSammie, thanks! I was quite happy with it myself, as I do not have the greenest thumb around! Plus until growing my own, cucumbers were not a favorite to enjoy. But fresh cucumbers are so delicious compared to those in the standard grocery that have been in storage.
DeleteLike you are thinking about, we keep the bread in the freezer after cutting it into meal-sized pieces to be defrosted in the oven or (if last-minute) in the microwave.
ReplyDeleteYour garden sounds impressive. I hope you’ve solved the chicken-thief problem.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae, that will probably be my fall back for bread storage, as it is jus the two of us here, and a loaf of bread lasts longer than it used to! Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteThat gingerbread and pear pudding cake sounds lovely. Your weather in East Texas sounds similar to ours in south east Queensland with the humid summers. I'd hate to be wasting good sourdough too.
ReplyDeleteJo Tracy, I wish it was sourdough, but I have yet to master that! I will need to remake the Gingerbread and Pear Pudding Cake with my new stainless steel baking pan, it was a bit tight using my old glass pie plate.
DeleteThe chicken run is looking good!
ReplyDeletewww.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
MIreille, thanks! I know the ladies are so much more at ease and so am I!
DeleteI started making sourdough 7 years ago in tropical Darwin (in fact I started my starter there!) and remember well the mould issues. Definitely try the put half a loaf (as soon as it's baked and cooled) into the freezer option. I'm doing that these days anyway to save time for baking. I find that it toasts super well, I usually take it straight out of the freezer and blitz in the microwave for 20 sec then toast.
ReplyDeleteDOS, thanks for the tip! One day (soon I hope) I hope to make and use a whole wheat starter for bread and such. But honestly I have had starter issues since trying many, many years ago.
DeleteMelynda, I enjoyed reading about what you have been up to in your kitchen. You always have the best recipes. I'm glad to hear that your chicken run is now complete. I am sure they are at ease now. It's wonderful news to hear. Thank you for sharing with us at The Crazy Little Lovebirds link party #62. We're always so happy to have you join us there.
ReplyDeleteStephanie, thank you so much! The garden and the chickens are a large part of my kitchen, and honestly I can't have one, without the other!
DeleteSuch a wonderful read. I have always wanted to grow cucumbers, I will be trying this method next season. :) Soup is definitely a great idea for dinner. Thank you so much for sharing #SundaysonSilverado #221
ReplyDeleteKristen, thank you so much! I thought they were hard to grow, trust me, if I can grow them, anyone can. When you continue to visit here you will learn I do not have the green-ist thumb, LOL!
Deletehow wonderful to have your chicken coop. Sadly a lot of the chooks around here get taken by foxes! Yes when i moved to hot and humid queensland, i had to learn about cooking in a different way and shoving a lot of stuff into the fridge and freezer. We keep all our breads in the freezer and just take it out for eating. That's interesting about the cucumber seeds! Thanks so much for joining IMK this month. Have a fab November and see you in December ... Eek how can that be? oh yes thanks for using the IMK logo too!
ReplyDeletecheers
Sherry
Sherry, thanks so for hosting us all! I always enjoy reading each post, to see what everyone has been up to.
DeleteI can't believe those cucumbers came from the seeds of a fresh cucumber! That is amazing. You will have to keep us updated on how they turn out when you pickle them. I have been super busy painting kitchen cabinets for work so I haven't had much time to get out in the garden lately. I am jealous of your fall harvest haha! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHello, I just had one from the vines for lunch, very sweet and crisp even though it was picked 3 days ago. I am going to go out after the rains stop and see if there is enough to make a quart of dill pickles. I am anxious to try a recipe that makes one quart at a time. Thanks so for stopping by, I appreciate it!
DeleteSo lovely to read your posts about life on your amazing homestead. Your gardens and chickens sound so idyllic from a city perspective. Though my mum has chickens on her big suburban block and lets them out of their small coop to wander the gardens but had had problems with predators. It is interesting to see your alternatives to non-stick bakeware - it really annoys me that there is so much non-stick bakeware in the shops because it never lasts and I prefer my food without flakes of that coating! The muffin experiment looks great. I have loved having a cast iron pan instead of my non stick frypan and look out for good bakeware but recently bought some nice trays and was disappointed they did not fit in the kitchen but made good housewarming gifts. And good luck with your bread - how disappointing it would be to find that the mould has got it. I used to do work visits in Darwin in our north and the mould there was awful because it was so humid so I assume East Texas is like this. Glad you can freeze it. I sometimes just slice a loaf of bread and put it in the freezer and take out a few pieces at a time to toast if I think the loaf wont last. I took hate bread waste!
ReplyDeleteJohanna such a kind comment, thank you! We have been state hoppers these last few years, and East Texas is as rugged as anywhere else, but not with cold and snow, but rather heat, and humidity! It does keep me hopping however, as most of what I knew worked in the past, needs a tweak or a complete turn around.
DeleteIt's always interesting to read about your homestead life. I never thought to try scooping the seeds straight out of a cucumber, I thought they would need to be dried first. Your muffin cups sound very practical, improvising is so rewarding. You have cooked so many delicious dishes this month, and I love the idea of the pear gingerbread dessert.
ReplyDeleteHRK, thank you! And for the record, I had no idea if the cucumber planting hack would work or not! That is exactly how much of a green thumb I do not have, LOL! I decided to give it a try, because sometimes when I cut a tomato in half, some of the seeds have rooted, so I thought, why not give the cucumber a try. It was a busy month for food, and of course now we have entered NOV and this is my favorite time of the year to cook and bake. Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate it.
Delete