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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Blowing Away the Competition

Husband was told yesterday by his boss that he blew passed base time. That means he gets flag time, and several hours of flag time. WHOOHOO! Bring in more bikes, please. We have been stressing on money because he hadn't made flag time, and base pay barely covers the bills. Now we can add a little more to the savings.

I am a tad concerned about the weather. Last year we were only able to pull in 350lbs of produce due to the flooding and the cool temps. We aren't having the rain, though we have been threatened by the weather people that we will, but the cooler temps could be a problem with the tomatoes. The beans don't seem to be having a problem with it. We will see. But we are running very low on supplies from last harvest.

American Prepper's are giving stuff away, click to enter.









I have been feeling rather lonely lately. It comes and goes. There is that part of me that wants to take off and hit a bar, and another part of me that asks why? Phelan, you don't like to be around people very much, why put yourself in the situation. Because sometimes it is nice to pretend that I am not a country hick. And maybe I won't smell like cattle that one day. Of course if I was to break out the psycho babel, one reason is reclaiming a youth that I missed by having children and doing this homestead things so young. I was 17. But then again, it would just be nice to have an evening out, away from kids and livestock. Nothing mental about it, just a good time with close friends that I can go 6 months without seeing or talking to.

I am having issues with Murrial not standing correctly, that and her kicking me. Uma, our oldest calf, looks to be indeed pregnant. She is a fat little thing, as tall as my 5 year old and very very wide. Eddie's udder is starting to fill, but she shouldn't be due for 2 more months. I am thinking that my math might have been off and we will be calving in July. I am so excited about it. Babies are always exciting.

Waste not want not

Split Pea soup

16 ounces dried split peas
2 cups sliced sausage/ham hock
1 1/2 diced carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup hot milk

Using a crockpot, layer the first 9 ingredients in order, no stirring. Cover and allow to slowly cook for 5 hours. Pour in the hot milk and stir. Pour into your hot sterile jars (discard any large leaves) and process in a pressure canner for 40 minutes.


Pea Hull Jelly

4 cups juice from cooked hulls
5 cups sugar
1 package pectin

Wash pea hulls well, use as many as you wish. Cover with water. Boil until tender. Drain juice through several thicknesses of cheesecloth, reserving the liquid. Add pectin to measured liquid. Bring this to a boil. Add sugar and return to a hard boil (can't be stirred down). Hard boil for 10 minutes. Pour into hot sterile jars and seal. Water bath for 5 minutes.

8 comments:

HermitJim said...

Interesting jelly recipe...never heard of "pea-hull jelly" before!

Thanks for the recipe this morning...

Meadowlark said...

You knew someone would ask: milk in a canned product? I thought it was a no-no.

I think this is why canning confuses me... sometimes things are OK, sometimes not.

Any help here?
:)

Phelan said...

Who on earth told you no milk? We can extra milk all the time. Milk is fine to can, either a little like this recipe or a pint. My only no no is flour as a thickener. But cream and milk are just fine. Was there a reason they said not to do that?

Phelan said...

oh wait, I use raw milk, that will make a difference as it hasn't already been heated before. But still. . . I have never heard not to before.

Janelle said...

I am so excited to see the baby :) Though I would thought that she would calve in June . . . hmmm . . .

Donna. W said...

Do you have a kicker that you can put on a cow? Not the kind that hook on both back legs, but the one that hooks over the backbone and in front of the kicking leg? I've had great success with those.

Phelan said...

ok, did a little digging about the milk thing. the fear is botulism. However, you heat the milk several times in the process, reducing any chances of getting sick. You heat your soups or your canned milk before eating. It isn't something I am personally concerned about.


If concerned, don't use or process for a full 60 minutes. Like we do with canned milk.

Megan said...

Okay, I have to ask, what does the pea hull jelly *taste* like? It sounds interesting...

Megan

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