Long Time, No See!

Hello all my wonderful fellow country living neighbors! It's been WAY too long since I've made a post and I sincerely apologize for my absence. It has been a crazy month with way too much going on, but things are settling down again so I am back to baking, blogging and enjoying my country life.

First, I want to tell you ALL about my daughter Ashley's AMAZING accomplishments! On May 6, 2011 she graduated from Navy boot camp and is now in Meridian, MS for A-school. She was just given her verbal orders for her first duty station...are you ready for this? She is going to Yokosuko, Japan! I can not even begin to tell you how proud we are. Out of all the negatives and struggles we've dealt with this past month, Ashley gave us something to be so proud of. Check out the video of her graduation!  She was in a performing division and did an amazing job!

You know, the economy has left my business in tatters, and we've had some issues with our middle child, but just when I think I have failed miserably, something as wonderful as this happens. Seeing my daughter wearing the uniform of a United States Sailor for the first time was an experience I will never forget. Can you believe this magnificent creature is my daughter?  I can't.

While away she was given standard military issue glasses, better known as BCG's or "Birth Control Glasses" because no one has ever been known to get "lucky" in them HAHAHA!!  She said she looks like Erkle! I think she looks adorable! Check out her formal picture...

OK, so now that I've bragged about my amazing daughter and her amazing accomplishments, I'll move on to other things.

The last month has been pretty rough financially, but we're surviving it and actually, these tough times are just a good reason to become more self-sufficient because I do not believe that things are going to get better any time soon.

Last year I planted 35 strawberry pants and of course, the first year didn't yield any fruit. Well, all that changed this year! The plants spread to about 65 over the winter and early spring and the strawberries just exploded from everywhere! I had tons and tons of berries and for the first time ever, I made strawberry preserves! I preserved about 20 jars of the delectable fruit and gave some away to friends and family, but stored a bunch for winter. I compared it to the junk I was buying the the grocery store and not only was my jam made from organically grown berries with only natural sugar as a sweetener and some lemon juice to acidify the berries for preserving, it ended up being WAY cheaper. Not to mention, they are DELICIOUS!!   This was my first time growing strawberries and I was pretty proud of myself and I impressed my hubby and family too!

The other thing I did to try and save some money was churn my own butter. Now I didn't sit with that wooden butter churn between my knees laboring away, actually, I found heavy cream on sale and used my Kitchen Aid. The butter was sweet and creamy and delicious and made the store bought butter taste like wax!! I'll never buy the store bought junk again! At least not if I don't have too! I also ended up with about 2 cups of fresh buttermilk which I used to make homemade banana bread. It was heavenly!

We ended up with 19 chickens, all brown laying hens after giving 10-away to a neighbor. Our coop wouldn't hold more than 19. The ladies are growing fast and almost ready to start laying! I am SO ready for those big, delicious brown eggs! I can't wait! AND, we were able to build the coop totally from recycled materials so it cost us practically nothing!

I keep hearing from our elected officials how the economy is getting better. Honestly, I can't see it. My grocery bill for 3 people each week is around $280 and that's without a lot of extras. My grocery bill when all the kids were home and there was 5 of us was about $300 per week, so I can't really see how this is getting better, add to that the fact that our government is trying to cut funding tot he FDA which is the same as killing us slowly if you ask me. It's enough of a reason for me to be totally committed to growing as much of my own food as possible and learning to make the things we call favorites. I've noticed that this isn't just a trend, it's becoming a movement and that's a good thing I think!

It doesn't really matter where you live, whether it be in the country or in the city or even in the suburbs, you can still produce some of your own food.  My focus this summer is going to be on sharing how we're doing more, in a healthier way, with less. So, stay tuned, I promise I won't stay away so long next time.

In the meantime, here is the strawberry preserve recipe I used!


Soft Spread Strawberry Preserves
(I doubled this recipe and made multiple batches)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
• 4 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions

1. In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate.

 

• To test for jelling
• Place three plates in a freezer... after about 10 minutes of boiling place a tsp of the liquid of the jam onto the cold plate. Return to freezer for a minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate... if it doesn't try to run back together (if you can make a line through it with your finger) it's ready to be canned! 

Farm Fresh Eggs No Matter Where You Live

When my family moved to the east Tennessee mountains 7-years ago, I was determined to learn all I could about country living. I'm still learning and I have a ways to go, but I'm enjoying every minute of it. 

One of the first things we did when we moved to Tennessee was buy chickens. We decided on Rhode Island Reds because of the superior brown eggs they produced. Needless to say, we had a lot to learn about raising chickens but we learned a lot fast. Within 6 months of getting our little chicks, we were enjoying big, brown delicious fresh eggs. I've never tasted better eggs in my life! And these were the best eggs for baking too. Sadly, after a year and a half, my husband entered a 6-month para-military style police academy in order to join the police force  and we had to give our chickens away. The good news is, now that the kids are older and we've adjusted to our country lifestyle, we're going to get more chickens. 


These days, even city folks can raise chickens right in their backyard and enjoy the benefit of fresh eggs or fresh meat, depending on what you decide to raise your birds for.  Our chickens became pets so we only raised them for the eggs, but many people raise them for both. 


Chickens come in handy for a few things. 


1. They help you become a little bit more self-sufficient by providing you with healthy, non chemical or steroid injected eggs.  Add up the amount of money it would cost you to buy free-range, organic eggs and compare it to the cost of raising your own. In most cases you come out ahead and in the rare case that you decide to raise fancy birds or spend more on a coop, etc. it's worth the extra cost to know that what your eating is way healthier than the stuff you buy in the grocery store. 


2. Chicken droppings make excellent compost and natural fertilizer for your garden! Talk to anyone who uses chicken droppings for fertilizer and they'll tell you, it works better than the chemical laden fertilizers you buy at your local garden center. It's cheaper too! 


Chicken droppings are high in nitrogen,  adding it to the compost pile will turn it  into a rich addition that adds organic matter and increases the water holding capacity and  biota in your soil. Aged chicken manure can also act as a good fertilizer, providing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to help your plants grow.




3. Chickens are good for pest control. As they hunt and peck around the yard they devour all those pesky insects eliminating the need for toxic pest controls or at least less of them. Always be sure to use natural pest controls. 


4. Their hunting and pecking is good for the soil. As they search for bugs, grubs and worms, they break down the leaves and large pieces of soil debris and aerate the soil.


Some of the benefits of farm fresh eggs are:



Thanks to a 2007 study by Mother Earth News that took egg samples from 14 different flocks, we have some pretty good data to back up the claim that free range or pastured eggs are better for you. Here are some of the benefits:


1) Less Cholesterol: According to the study there was 1/3 less cholesterol in the free-range eggs. This is good news for an egg lover like me who also has a family history of high cholesterol.

2) Less Saturated Fat: Mother Earth News found 25% less saturated fat in the pastured chicken eggs. Saturated fat is a buzz word in the food world now, with reason, so anything with less is always a plus.

3) More Vitamin A and E: Vitamin A helps in all sorts of areas including vision, skin health, immune function, and so much more. There isn't as much information out there on Vitamin E, but I think we can assume it does have a purpose.

4) Extra Omega-3s: We are constantly learning more about the Omega-3s, but there has already been a lot of research pointing to benefits for people with heart concerns. Double the Omega-3s is a good thing!

5) They Just Taste Great: I suppose this is more of an anecdotal thing, but I believe pastured eggs just plain taste better.

** The above information was found at the article: The Health Benefits of Farm Fresh Eggs" http://astrology.yahoo.com/channel/food/the-health-benefits-of-farm-fresh-eggs-237375/




So many people are starting to realize that our world is spinning out of control, being self sufficient is going to be a necessity. Not everyone can afford to or wants to live in the country on a farm. The good thing is, raising chickens in the city and in urban areas is becoming more and more common.  The first thing you need to do is contact your local zoning department to learn about the rules and regulations for keeping livestock in your area.

For more information on raising chickens visit the resources below:

Back Yard Chickens - http://www.backyardchickens.com/
The BEST online resource for raising backyard chickens, including breeds, hatcheries, and more.

DIY Chicken Coops  http://www.diychickencoops.com/raising-chickens
Excellent information for beginner backyard chicken raisers.

The Country Chicken - http://www.cyndilou6.com/
Information and resources for raising backyard chickens.

Stay tuned for more backyard chicken and urban livestock articles. As Under the Willow Tree grows we'll be adding more to these sections. Feel free to leave questions, etc. in the comment area. We'd love to hear from you.