Nancy on the Home Front

Back On the Home Front

It sure is nice to be back On The Home Front. As I mentioned over a week ago in a post October was a month I will not soon forget. I lost my father. What a hole he has left in my life. I am so thankful for the many wonderful memories I have. He was very good at writing poems and I am also thankful for the many poems he left behind. He could write verse for any occasion, a birthday, a wedding or a birth of a grand child. I am really going to miss him.

Two days after the service for my father, Hurricane Sandy arrived. I had decided to stay with my mom for a few days, which ended up being more than a few days – all without power, phone and Internet!

I was very thankful for my cell phone as we were able to keep in touch with what was going on. There were numerous trees down, flooded streets and wires everywhere.

None of this fazed my mother. My mother is the reason I am so interested in prudent living. She makes good use of everything! She had candle stubs on hand to provide light during the power outage. The cars were filled with gas before the storm arrived. Food from the freezer (which wasn’t much) was transferred to a heavy duty cooler with ice to keep it from defrosting and we ate all the leftovers up before they needed to be thrown out.

She has a gas stove so we could cook and town water so we did have water. By the end of the week we were wearing our coats inside, as the days got colder. Compared to so many we had it pretty easy, no damage to the house and a roof over our heads.

I do have to say it is wonderful to be back in Vermont in my own home ready to get back to life On The Home Front!

Linked to: TutusandTeaParties, LocalSugarHawaii

Recipe Box: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Scones

This is the fifth recipe I’ve shared with the Grain Mill Challenge. If you haven’t made scones you should really give it a try. They are so easy and the final result is so tasty! This is a favorite recipe of mine, I use mini chocolate chips but you could also used dried fruit.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Scones

Ingredients
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
½ cup chilled, unsalted butter
¾ cup buttermilk
1 egg yolk (save the white for topping the scone)
½ cup mini chocolate chips (op)

For the topping:
1 egg white
Sparkling sugar

Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

scones — Cut in the butter with a pastry blender.

Whisk together the buttermilk and egg yolk and stir into the dry mixture until dough forms.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and gently and quickly knead in the optional chocolate chips.

Pat the dough into a flat disk about 7 inches across and cut into wedges.

Transfer the disk to a parchment lined or slightly greased baking sheet. For crispier scones, separate the wedges; for softer, higher rising scones, leave them in a circle.

Brush the tops of the scones with the egg white and sprinkle with sparkling white sugar. Bake them in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25-27 minutes, check halfway through to turn the pan for even coking.

Removed the scones from the oven when they’re light, golden brown and cool them on a wire rack!

Recipe Box: Whole Wheat Bread

Several months ago I took a class at King Arthur’s called Cooking With Whole Grains. It was a wonderful class full of valuable information and I came home with this recipe! I’ve tried various whole-wheat recipes before but this is now my favorite. It’s also a perfect recipe to share with the Whole Grain Challenge I’ve been participating in. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups of whole grain flour (I used hard white wheat berries)
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup milk
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the warm water, milk, honey and butter. Stir the mixture until a dough forms, adding more liquid or flour if needed. Knead on a lightly floured surface until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a loose piece of plastic and allow to rise for 30 minutes to an hour.

Now gently fold the dough to get rid of any air bubbles. Form into a log shape and place in a lightly greased bread pan (8.5 x 4.5).

Cover with a lightly greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 45 minutes or until it has crowned over the pan rim.

Bake the loaf in a preheated 350-degree oven for 35 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

bread — Whole Wheat Bread fresh from the oven!

Pear Apple Ginger Marmalade

I thought I’d come to the end of this seasons canning but I had some extra apples and pears and saw this Pear Apple Ginger Marmalade recipe and well I now have a few more jars of marmalade to fill my pantry! It’s an unusual combination but is very tasty.

Pear Apple Ginger Marmalade

Ingredients:

2 lemons
1 ½ cups water
4 cups sliced peeled pears
4 cups sliced peeled apples
½ tsp baking soda
4 cups sugar
3 Tbsp finely chopped candied ginger or crystallized ginger

Directions:

Remove the thin outer rind from the lemons with a vegetable peeler or a zester.

Place in a large stainless steel saucepan. Remove the white rind in large pieces from the lemons and place in the saucepan. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat and boil gently for 20 minutes.

Finely chop lemon pulp in a food processor. Add lemon, pears, apples and baking soda to the saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat and boil gently for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Using tongs, remove and discard the large pieces of rind.

Add sugar and ginger to the saucepan. Return to a boil over high heat and boil rapidly uncovered, until mixture will form a gel, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.

Ladle into sterilized jars and process in your water bath canner for 15 minutes.

Makes about 6 cups.

My Garden: Fall Update

Usually in the fall my schedule slows down somewhat. I have a seasonal job that comes to an end in mid October, which means I have more time to devote to getting the gardens put to bed and preparing for the winter season.

Instead, this year I have been spending my time driving back and forth to Connecticut to be with my father who has been ill. During the weeks that I’ve been at home I have enjoyed some beautiful fall weather, perfect for hanging the laundry outside. Nothing is better than the smell of sheets dried on the line.

There is still quite a bit of wood that needs to be split and stacked. Luckily there is enough already split and stacked to get us through the winter.

garden, prudent living — Wood waiting to be split and stacked.

The garlic has been planted and today I will be mulching the beds with straw.

The beans that were left on the trellis have now been picked and just need to be separated from the shells.

Unfortunately my father passed away quietly in his sleep last week. Not the news we wanted to hear but I am so thankful for the time I did have with him this last month. He will be greatly missed. I go back down to Connecticut this week, spending time with my family and my loved ones. This will be one October I will remember forever.

Linked to: MsGreenthumbJean , ASouthernDayDreamer, AdornedFromAbove, SidewalkShoes, LocalSugar, KatherinesCorner, BlissfulRhythm, TheBrambleberryCottage, TootsieTime

Frugal Tips From My Readers

Each week I have had a giveaway related to one of the topics covered in the blog. The first giveaway was a series of books relating to budgeting and managing your money. I asked each person who entered to leave me his or her best frugal tip. I thought I would share a few of them with you today.

Shop and sell at consignment sales for children’s clothes and toys.
My tip is to appreciate what you do have, shop in your own closet and pantry and share all that you have. When we seek to serve the emphasis is taken away from purchasing.
My tip is to track all of your spending – everything. Be sure you know where your money is going
Keep track of your spending!
My parents lived through the depression and taught us how to live simple lives. Thrift stores, coupons, making your food from scratch and most importantly not wanting more then you need.
Cook from scratch.
I make my own laundry soap, can, dehydrate, garden, barter when I can, reuse items, cook from scratch.
Homemade laundry detergent ingredients.
Understand the need between a need and a want.
Making baby food from scratch! Still trying to find ways to be more frugal – like stocking up a pantry now that we have one
Make your own baby food!
Use a program to track your expenses (I use mint online, afterall it is free!) so you know where you money is going. Secondly use coupons combined with sales!
Coupons
Stop upgrading.
Make a budget each payday and stick to it.

Linked to: FeminineAdventures, Thrifty101

Wild Rice Pancakes

Wild rice pancakes is the third recipe I’ve shared with the Grain Mill Challenge. Using a WonderMill grain mill you don’t have to limit yourself to grinding wheat berries. The WonderMill is also great for making gluten-free flours such as brown rice, white rice, sorghum, quinoa, millet, amaranth, bean, corn or other gluten free flours.

Wild Rice Pancakes are made from wild rice flour. I decided to use my grain mill to make my own wild rice flour. We have a good friend who lives in Wisconsin. During the early fall he has the opportunity to collect wild rice. He was gracious enough to share his Wild Rice Pancake recipe with me.

Wild Rice Pancakes

Start by cooking ¼ cup of wild rice in a couple of cups of water.

Bring to a boil and cook for several minutes. Then let it sit while you combine the other ingredients. It is easier to drain the rice when cooked rather than adding the exact amount of water to cook such a small amount of rice.

Ingredients:

1 cup of wild rice flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 lightly beaten egg
1 cup milk ( or more according to your taste)
oil for frying

Directions:

Mix together the dry ingredients. Then add the beaten egg and the cooked rice and stir in the milk until the batter is the consistency that you like.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a well-oiled griddle or fry pan. Cook until golden on each side.

Makes about 16 medium sized pancakes.

Note: this recipe is also adaptable for camping or backpacking. Make the mix beforehand; substituting powdered whole egg and 1/3 cup powdered milk for the wet ingredients. All you have to do is add water and fry them up! Makes a great breakfast on the trail!

Homemade Applesauce

There are so many things I love about fall; the colors, the cool nights, hiking in the woods, and picking apples. We used to gather the kids and make it a family outing; coming home with bags of apples! Now that we are empty nesters it is just my husband and me. Making homemade applesauce is a natural byproduct of having an abundance of apples.

I love having jars of applesauce in my pantry to enjoy during the winter. I know exactly what is in each jar and how much sugar has been added.

Directions:

Making homemade applesauce is very easy. Wash, core and quarter your apples. Place in a large stainless steel pot and add just a little cider, apple juice or water. Just enough so the apples don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Simmer until the apples are soft.

Once the apples are quite soft put the apples through a food mill to remove the skins.

While the applesauce is still warm add some cinnamon and sugar if you’d like. I usually don’t add any sugar as I find the natural taste just right.

Follow the directions for canning the applesauce in your water bath canner or place in freezer containers to store in your freezer. Either way you will have plenty of applesauce to enjoy all winter.

We use our applesauce in many different ways everything from making muffins to enjoying in a meal.

My Garden: The Last Seed Saving Class

Don’t forget to enter the WonderMill Grain Mill Giveaway! Click here to enter!

Remember when I attended my first seed saving class? It was May and the garden was just beginning.

It was so much fun to follow Sylvia’s garden through the seasons. I learned as much from Sylvia as I did from the other class members and I would heartily recommend her class for anyone interested in learning how to save their own seeds.

The last day of class was cold and wet. We spent the first few minutes walking around her garden looking at the changes. Many of the garden beds have already been cleaned out and are ready for winter. The beds have been raked, cleaned up and soil amendments added. This cuts down on the workload in the spring.

seed saving, gardening — Sylvia’s October Garden

Spelt and perennial rye have been planted and have already sprouted. Winter wheat has also been planted.

The rice crop was a bit disappointing; there are only a small percentage of viable seeds. Despite the small harvest, Sylvia plans to cut back the rice, remove the leaves and hang the stalks to dry.

Some plants are under row covers as much to protect them form cold weather as to keep them safe from the woodchucks!

Tomatoes were still growing in the greenhouse with fruit ready to harvest.

greenhouse, gardening — Tomatoes in the greenhouse.

Beets and Swiss chard have been planted to give fresh greens through the winter.

Peanuts were drying on the bench, each plant had a small cluster of peanuts.

After walking through the garden and greenhouse we moved inside where it was warm and dry. We learned several techniques regarding drying your seeds.

corn, drying techniques — Flint corn drying in the living room.

From hanging flint corn to dry in the living room, to curing sweet potatoes in an old refrigerator to get them ready for long-term storage. Sweet potatoes much be kept at 95 degrees with 95% humidity for 5-7 days to cure. Even the guest room was taken over for seed drying!

seed saving — Seeds drying in the guest room.

Everything is very well documented which will help plan the following years garden.

The most interesting part of the day was sitting around at the end of class talking about what we learned and why it is so important to learn how to save your own seeds. As seed packets get smaller and more expensive and your favorite varieties start disappearing you may want to learn how to save your seeds as well.

One of the best books around is Seed to Seed by Susan Ashworth. It will give you all the information you need to get started. This book is available in the Home Front Store.

Linked To: MsGreenthumbJean, SidewalkShoes, ASouthernDaydreamer, TootsieTime,

Frugal Tips: October Bargains

October is one of my favorite months. I love the change of seasons; cooler nights, bright sunny days and the beautiful colors on the trees. It is also a great time of year to search for bargains. One great bargain is the chance to win a WonderMill Grain Mill. I am currently taking part in the Grain Mill Challenge and WonderMill was kind enough to send me a grain mill. Since I already own one I decided to give it away to one of my readers. Click here to enter!

prudent living. bargains — October Foliage.

October’s tricks can be your treats with spooky items on sale before and after Halloween. Children would enjoy playing dress up with costume props such as masks, hats, boas and fairy wands. After removing any Halloween-related tags and packaging, tuck a few different dress-up items in a reusable pasteboard box or a trunk as a special gift for an imaginative child.

bargains — Purchase costumes now for dress-up or gifts later.

This is a big candy month of the year. Stock up on candy for all your holiday’s this month.

bargains, frugal tips — October is a good month to buy candy.

This may be a good month to buy a new car, if you must. In October salespeople are getting nervous about meeting or beating year-end quotas. New models come out in September and October and dealers like to get rid of last year’s models. According to Forbes you can save 10-20% by purchasing last years model, rather than going for the new 2013 model.

Garden Centers put their perennials plants on sale now that summer is over, and this is a great time to get them in the ground. Fall storms will help them get established in your garden, so they can blossom and grow in the spring. It’s also a great time of year to find mulch and soil amendments on sale.

October is also a good time to find deals on blue jeans. Retailers stock up for the back to school season and they may want to move those items they didn’t sell.

bargins, prudent living — October can be a good time to buy bluejeans.

Look for local bargains as well. Ibex, a local clothes manufacturer holds a tent sale every Columbus Day Weekend. It’s a great time to find fabulous deals on clothes you might not be able to afford during the year.

bargains, sales, prudent living — Ibex Tent Sale

Remember no matter how good the deal is ask yourself “do I really need this?” buy only what you need. Remember there is a difference between a need and a want!

bargains, frugal tips, prudent living — Save your money – know the difference between a need and a want!

Linked to: LearningTheFrugalLife , MyUncommonSliceOfSuburbia, AnnesFunnyFarm, FrugallySustainable/None , WeAreThatFamily, TheNYMelroseFamily, AdornedFromAbove, KatherinesCorner, DelightfulOrder, SevenAlive, Thrifty101,TheBrambleberryCottage, HousewivesOfRiverton