Queen's Edge Farm

Saturday, October 3, 2009

It's been a great couple of days. I've been systematically cleaning, though there is still too much in here. The rain doesn't help, as I have stuff stacked in here out of the weather, and I am delayed in moving stuff to the barn. But other than that, I feel like I have gotten a lot completed.

The church is supposed to be out here tomorrow, and I am in no way ready. I wanted to have the house clean, but so far, I have managed to get the dishes done, and the bathroom cleaned. I've been washing clothes, but with the damp weather, I have stopped. The clothes are taking too long to dry on the line. I am kind of embarrassed at the condition of the barn, and while I know they are coming out to help me, I am still embarrassed. I have locked the goats up, and they can stay in the pen tomorrow while everyone is here..

I have the no trespassing and beware of dogs signs posted at the gate, and in the window of the cabin. I have one motion sensor installed, but need another done, hopefully tomorrow.

The girls and I stopped at a local flea market today and Lauren found two large fire place logs/fire starter type for $1. They are way more expensive at HEB. I can cut each of these into three pieces and it will help get the fire underway.

Looking for ideas of what to cook. I'd like to start organizing my pantry and sorting through my food stores to make sure I have enough on hand. So far, I am good to go with dry goods, I am just waffling on filling the freezer.

I am applying for a couple of jobs, two part time and one full time. We'll see what pans out.

Please pray for a friend of mine who has had a recent death in his family, they need prayer for strength and traveling safety.

2 comments:

Anne M. said...: Wanted to share our experience with one of those fire starter logs just in case =)

We got a box of them a couple years ago thinking that if we need to start the fire quickly this would be easiest. Well they definitely start up quick but they also burn VERY hot! Our stove pipe was darn near red! And the creosote build up was horrible.

Later we read the side of it more and seen that it wasn't supposed to be used in closed fireplaces or wood stoves. But we still chopped them up into real small pieces to use as fire starters - just no full logs! LOL! (also they are great for tough to burn outside stuff)

Although at Walmart we was able to find a log that you could use in a wood stove. It was made from something natural, but I can't remember now what it was. They cost a little more than the others but the trade off was worth it! Cause sometimes you just don't want to mess with building and coaxing a fire =)

Your doing so great! Don't worry about how things look, usually we are harsher on ourselves than anyone =) Hope today went well!; October 4, 2009 at 4:51 PM
Amy E said...: Thanks! These are HUGE logs, so I will definitely be chopping them up, normally we rarely buy these, and use the fires starters to start the fire, at least for the past ten years. But now that I am alone and on a limited income, I was so happy to find these logs...cutting them up will give me several fire starts. Thanks for the encouragement!; October 4, 2009 at 6:40 PM

Grandma's Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

2 pkgs active dry yeast or 5 tsps if using bulk yeast
1/2 cup warm water (not too hot)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening, butter, margarine
2 tsps salt
2 cups milk, scalded
1 1/2 cups cold water
10 to 12 cups flour (white or whole wheat)

Yield: 4 loaves

Soften yeast in warm water, springkle in a tsp of the sugar
In LARGE mixing bowl blend sugar, shortening, salt and milk until shortening is melted. Add cold water, cool to luke-warm. Stir in yeast. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and satiny, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover with foil or damp towel. Let rise in warm place (85 to 90 deg) until light and doubled in volume about two hours. Punch dough down by plunging fist in center. Knead dough for about 5 minutes.

Roll out one fourth of dough to a 16 X 12 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 TBSP of melted butter. Combine 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (or more to taste). Sprinkle mixture over dough. Starting with 16 inch side, roll jellyroll fashion. Either cut into 16 1 inch slices or leave as a whole loaf. Place on a greased pan, cover and let rise in warm place until light, about 30 to 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix one box 10X sugar with 2 tbsps water. If too stiff, add more water until icing consistency, add a drop of vanilla too. Spread on baked bread while bread is still warm.

2010 Homestead Stats

Laundry Soap

Homemade Laundry Soap:
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small washpan or bowl that holds about 2 gallons.

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the washpan. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Transfer soap (using a funnel if necessary) into empty plastic laundry holders, milk containers (I use my empty glass milk bottles and old Fab containers) Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

5 cups grape juice (about 3 1/2 pounds of ripe grapes)1 (1 3/4 ounce) box of sure-jel pectin7 cups sugarBefore getting started it is best to clean the entire kitchen, making sure the sink is empty. Bleach the sink and all utensils used in making jelly (I do this as I sell my grape jelly as part of my homesteading business.)

Wash the canning jars in warm soapy water, and rinse well. Set off to side.

Place a large pan of water on the stove to heat. Once it starts steaming, place lids and rings in the bottom, and 2-3 jars (depending on if you use actual jelly jars or pints) to sterilize.

Next make the grape juice using clean washed grapes (make sure you use rubber gloves when picking or washing wild grapes)To 3 1/2 pounds of clean grapes (6 cups of grapes) add 1 1/2 cups water.Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes.Strain and squeeze out all of the juice with cheese cloth (see paragraph below)
I didn't have cheese cloth, so I poured the grape mixture into a large spaghetti strainer with a large pan underneath. I had to stir it around some as the skins and seeds would sink to the bottom, and clog the colander up. Stirring allowed the liquid to drain out. I then used a large metal spoon and squished it some to get more of the juice out.

In a very big pan, put 5 cups of the juice (it’s okay to add no more than ½ cup water to even out amount)Add the fruit pectin to the juice.Mix well.On high heat, bring to a full rolling boil, and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.Stir in sugar all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil, again boil hard for 1 minute stirring constantly.
Remove jelly from heat, skim off foam
Use a large spoon inserted inside the jar to lift CAREFULLY out of the water. DO NOT TOUCH THE INSIDE OF THE JAR OR THE RIM WITH YOUR HANDS.
Ladle jelly into hot jars, place a lid and ring onto jar (do not tighten yet).
Set jars to the side. After a while you should start hearing “pings” as the jar seals.
When jars are completely cool, tighten rings and store on pantry shelf.**SIDE NOTE: Wild Mustang Grapes are normally ready the end of June, so be prepared. Keep an eye open for vines on the side of the road, or any that friends and family may have growing in their yard. Many people just let them grow and don’t do anything with them, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a good supply. Also, the more you pick off the vine, the more the vine produces new grapes, so you probably won’t EVER run out of grapes to use until the vine dies or you get sick of making jelly. Good luck and feel free to contact me at queensedgefarm@yahoo.com for questions.