Vinegars, hard apple cidar, and sunflower wine...

In the Kitchen

I have decided to try my hand at making some vinegar.  It began because I had a LOT of white wine leftover that a friend had given me a few months ago.  It was sitting in the fridge.  I like wine but I don't drink everyday so it had been just sitting there taking up space.  So, I bought a white wine vinegar mother and decided to try and make vinegar.  

I had enough leftover wine to make 2 quarts but the mother that I bought was really only intended for 1 quart.  I decided to divide it anyway and cross my fingers.  Well, it seems to have worked because my quarts are each starting to make their own SCOBY.  

See that white film on the top of the wine...that is the SCOBY.  If you do not know what a SCOBY is, I got this definition from Wikipedia: A SCOBY (for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) is a mix of cultures of bacteria and yeast present during production of kombucha and water kefir among others. The term "colony" in the name is scientifically a misnomer, because it implies a group of genetically identical or nearly identical organisms living together. For this reason, the acronym is essentially absent in the biomedical literature and the proper name pellicle is used. The species comprising the mixed cultures vary from preparation to preparation, but generally include Acetobacter bacterial species, as well as various Saccharomyces and other yeast types. SCOBY cultures used in beverage production can produce a structure referred to as a "mushroom," which is also biologically misleading, because mushrooms are a completely unrelated group of fungi. It often forms in vinegar in jars of pickled foods.

To continue on the vinegar theme, I decided to try and make my own apple cider vinegar.  

Here is a video that has information on how to start your own apple cider vinegar.  I went and had found some apples (apple trees grow everywhere around here) and started making applesauce (I also started some sauerkraut this past week with cabbage from my garden!)

Sauerkraut fermenting and applesauce

So, I used the scrap peels and cores from the apples to start some apple cider vinegar.

You can see that it is also starting to form a SCOBY at the top.  I think I put too much in the jar and I may pour a little off.  

Our family also went to press apple cider at Bishop's Orchard in Garfield, WA.  Mark had a good time throwing the apples into the water for washing...

Then, we put them into the grinder and the cider comes out the bottom.

We bottled it up...

..and took home 2 gallons of cider.  We drank one and I added some yeast to the other gallon to make hard cider.  It is still actively fermenting.

I racked both my sunflower wine and my hard apple cider today...

Siphoning wine out of this container into a new one...

The cider will only need another week.  Really excited to give it a try!

Three sister's garden update...

In the Garden

Last fall, I laid out an area to be used as a 3 sister's garden this year.  (See above if you do not know what a three sister's garden is).

So, the garden has been doing well.  The corn grew really tall on one half and not so tall on the other half.  It is probably due to the lighting.  One half is more shaded.  Despite that, we have gotten corn to eat... 

There are beans growing on the corn stalks...

And there are about 4 pumpkins growing on the ground (that I can see)...

 It is a bit of a jungle garden for sure!  I really enjoyed it and will consider doing it again.  I used scarlet runner beans this year and I think I would like to try a different bean.  The flowers were beautiful but I want to try more of a green bean variety.

In the Kitchen

Still fermenting...did both ketchup and mustard this last week (and more salsa).  I used the ketchup to make some barbecue sauce for the ribs we ate on Labor Day and it was SO good.   I have so much whey that I started looking for other ways to use it.  Click on this picture for a great article.  I did use some of the whey as a meat tenderizer for some beef that I used to make some chinese food.

Beekeeping

Last Sunday, Joshua and I tried checking the hive.  I wanted to get a picture of him for his 4-H book so this is what we got...he is holding a bar of honey.  I think I posted some videos last Sunday but they were from 3 weeks ago.  Anyway, pretty much, right after we took this pic, the bees just attacked me!  I got stung 4 times.  One in my stomach and one on the back of my leg.  These didn't bother me much.  Then, I got stung in both ankles...I had a pretty bad reaction to those two.  My ankles swelled up and it was quite painful all week.  I mostly sat around soaking them.  Luckily, I had lots of work to do on the computer so that was fine to sit and soak.  

I was finally feeling back to normal on Friday and could get out and do some work putting the sunflowers to sleep for the fall/winter.  I talked to our 4-H bee keeping leader and she said that they can get more possessive of their honey stores when the nectar flow decreases.  So, I guess we will not be checking the hive much.  I am not worried about it at all.  There is tons of honey (and bees) in the hive so I feel it is a strong hive and we have fingers crossed that it will make it through the winter.  Then, we will probably have to split it in the spring  because it has reached it's capacity in this hive.

Future Farm

We did go and look at a property this past week.  It had a little over 6 acres and was nice and flat.  There is an old farmhouse on the property (build in 1898).  It is pretty small and needs a lot of work.  There is also a double-wide on a foundation and this is where the current residents live.  However, we were not allowed to see inside the double-wide...this seems a bit of  a red flag to me.  I didn't think any home could be too small because we are renting a small home but this place was smaller and I could not see how we could "fit" everything.  It is like we would have to live in both houses.  I thought that Henry could use the farmhouse for his consulting business but he doesn't seem too excited about that idea.

It is a bit out of town and the roads would be a concern in the winter.  Basically, we would have to get new vehicles.  So, we are still praying about it.  I just LOVE the layout of the property but not sure I want to live in a small house and renovate a small house...because it would be a shame to lose the farm house.  Lots to think about...

Fermentation!

In the Kitchen

I am not sure why this has taken me so long but I finally have decided to do some fermenting and I just LOVE it!  I picked up this book at the library (click on this picture to check out their blog):

I started with some pickles...both slices and whole dills...

Then, I made some salsa (and more pickles...)

Then, I decided to ferment some garlic as a way to preserve part of my harvest...

Then, I decided to start some fermenting some sunflower wine:

Sunflower petals ready for making wine.

Sunflower petals with hot water to make sunflower tea.

Sunflower tea...getting ready to add sugar and yeast to ferment.

I kept reading in the book for more recipes to try to ferment.  A lot of the recipes call for whey (a byproduct of making cheese).  So, I decided to make some cheese so I could have whey!

Just finished cutting the curd...its really hard to see, it just looks like milk but it solid...

This picture is showing the curds in the cheesecloth draining off whey.  In the background, you can see the whey...I collected 1 1/2 gallons of whey.

This is not fermenting but the boys and I went to pick peaches and I did can some of the peaches.  I also made a peach pie (not pictured):

At the Farmer's Market, someone from Kallstrom Corn came over and bartered for some huckleberry jam.  Then, my neighbor brought me over some corn that he got from his friend in Lewiston.  So, while the cheese was busy fermenting and curding (is that a word) and draining...I decided to process some corn to freeze...

Click on this picture to check out their website and where they are selling corn!

So, as maybe you can tell, it has been a busy 2 weeks for me with all the fermenting, canning and freezing of food items.

Still on the hunt for our future farm...starting to think about looking for land to build...hmmm...decisions, decisions...

The sunflowers are pretty much finished blooming so I am finished with the Farmer's Market for this year.  I will blog about this and some reflections another time...I am exhausted and heading to bed...

Fermentation!

In the Kitchen

I am not sure why this has taken me so long but I finally have decided to do some fermenting and I just LOVE it!  I picked up this book at the library (click on this picture to check out their blog):

I started with some pickles...both slices and whole dills...

Then, I made some salsa (and more pickles...)

Then, I decided to ferment some garlic as a way to preserve part of my harvest...

Then, I decided to start some fermenting some sunflower wine:

Sunflower petals ready for making wine.

Sunflower petals with hot water to make sunflower tea.

Sunflower tea...getting ready to add sugar and yeast to ferment.

I kept reading in the book for more recipes to try to ferment.  A lot of the recipes call for whey (a byproduct of making cheese).  So, I decided to make some cheese so I could have whey!

Just finished cutting the curd...its really hard to see, it just looks like milk but it solid...

This picture is showing the curds in the cheesecloth draining off whey.  In the background, you can see the whey...I collected 1 1/2 gallons of whey.

This is not fermenting but the boys and I went to pick peaches and I did can some of the peaches.  I also made a peach pie (not pictured):

At the Farmer's Market, someone from Kallstrom Corn came over and bartered for some huckleberry jam.  Then, my neighbor brought me over some corn that he got from his friend in Lewiston.  So, while the cheese was busy fermenting and curding (is that a word) and draining...I decided to process some corn to freeze...

Click on this picture to check out their website and where they are selling corn!

So, as maybe you can tell, it has been a busy 2 weeks for me with all the fermenting, canning and freezing of food items.

Still on the hunt for our future farm...starting to think about looking for land to build...hmmm...decisions, decisions...

The sunflowers are pretty much finished blooming so I am finished with the Farmer's Market for this year.  I will blog about this and some reflections another time...I am exhausted and heading to bed...

Berries and cherries...

Growing and Foraging...

A short post this week about all the cherries/berries we have collected this summer.  The season started the end of June with red raspberries and then golden raspberries ripening.  We have some bushes right in our yard so these were easy to pick.  Next, our tart cherry tree started to produce.  Last year, I collected 2 cups of cherries.  This year, I got 2 gallons!  Also, a friend of mine said I could glean some off her tree so I ended up picking about 14 more pounds of cherries off her tree.  I made cherry pie filling which was a new venture for me...super easy and delicious!

I didn't really keep track of the raspberries that I got.  I got about a gallon of the golden raspberries and I would guess 3-4 gallons of red raspberries.  Then, in mid-July the wild blackberries started to ripen.  The boys and I like to go to Boyer Dam in the swimming area each summer so the boys can play in the water while I pick blackberries.  I picked about 23 pounds of blackberries.

Just as the blackberries started, the huckleberries were also beginning to ripen.  They are a little bit more challenging to get because I drive about 1 hour 30 minutes to the top of a mountain to pick.  We picked for 4 Sundays (a new record for us...).  Anyway, we ended up with 22.5 pounds of huckleberries.  I was talking to a guy at the Farmer's Market that sells huckleberries for $40/gallon.  He said that 1 gallon weighs approximately 5.7 pounds.

So, it has been a "fruitful" summer...pun intended.  This is the most fruit we have collected by far.  I already made a cherry pie and it was delicious.  Also, I used some of the leftover huckleberry jam to make ice cream and it was AMAZING!

Sunflower follies...

Sunfowers

A little update about the sunflowers.  I planted roughly 1100 seeds of 11 different varieties.  I installed a drip irrigation system.  This is the first time I have ever done anything like this and I was so nervous about doing it wrong but it went together just fine.  

I was concerned about getting good germination.  Last year, my germination was completely terrible.  I think I had planted about 1700 seeds but only had a little over 300 plants (for the whole season!).  This year, I tried a little experimentation with planting seeds directly into the ground and starting transplants and then transplanting into the field.  Well, both methods worked pretty much equally well and my germination was up close to 90% so I wiped my brow and breathed a sigh of relief...until...

Pic after Henry mowed down the "lanes" the grass was getting taller than the sunflowers!

The boys and I went to Kansas and I guess I just thought that everything was going great and when I got back, the flowers would have grown so tall BUT they looked kind of sickly (this also me me almost sick to my stomach...all that work and I just felt like they were dying...ugh!).  I ran home and consulted with Henry (my hubby).  They were quite pale so we decided some fertilizer was needed. I found a rate of fertilizer online for cut sunflowers (not easy to do...most rates are for oil seed sunflowers).  Henry did the calculations for me (thank you!) and I headed out to apply the fertilizer.  

The good news is the the flowers greened up immediately and started growing!  But things were still going so S-L-O-W-L-Y...

Gold sunflower at the end of the rainbow

 I think the weather had a little bit to do with the delay in flowering.  We have had some crazy cool weather and then it gets a little hot and then it cools down again.  These are not ideal growing conditions for sunflowers.  Sunflowers like it hot and that is what we finally got this past week (the last week of July) and they finally started to pop!

Sunflowers in the field

Booth at my first week of 2016 at Farmer's Market.  New banner, chalkboard sign, and stand for jams.

So, I have planted 11 different varieties and I can tell you already that the single stem varieties are totally kicking butt (I guess that is why they tell you to plant single stem varieties for cut flowers).  That is mostly what I had picked yesterday (ProCut Gold, ProCut Orange and ProCut Lemon).  The branching varieties are really lagging but coming along.  The double sunflower I had chosen is not going to be great for cut flowers, the stems of the flowers are too short.  Last year I grew a double, single stem and it had a lot of deformed heads.  I guess I will try another variety of that kind next year.  

Another thing I wanted to mention is that I planted the single stem varieties about 6 inches apart.  Johnny's said you could plant them 4-6 inches apart.  I am going to plant them 4 inches apart next year. (I know there are a lot of boring details here but I refer back to these blogs for notes when the next growing season starts so it is part blog part journal for me...)

Overall, it has been a good sunflower year, despite the worries of the fertility matter and the cool weather.  I took 87 flowers to the market yesterday and my goal was to take about 100 each week.  As the other varieties start blooming, I think this goal will be attainable.