Queen's Edge Farm

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

There was a time in my life when this blog was my lifeline. I still miss writing in it daily. It helps me to decompress, and provides a record of what I have accomplished, and the goals I still need to meet. I always have maintained this is for me first, and to keep my family updated second.

Our littlest goat girl, Dakota, had her first doeling on Saturday, May 15th. A really cute and TINY baby girl, we have named Kaya. She has skunk striping/ or zebra striping. I'll try and get a picture here for posterity.

The days have been busy. Most days are spent at the shoppe, getting things in order, dealing with customers, sewing and getting the girls school work completed.

I am looking for someone to make cute little aprons. If you are interested, please contact me. I have had several people ask recently. The think is, I live and do business in a small town. The people here don't have a lot of money, and so won't spend a lot on a frivolity. So, a $5 apron is about what will sell. I sell a lot of books and used clothing, and every now and then a craft item, but I do need more. So, let me know if you have a craft/handcraft you'd like to include in the shoppe. I am more than welcome to include it.

I have started that 14 days Colon Cleanse. Hope that isn't TMI - LOL. I have been reading this book by Kevin Trudeau regarding Natural Cures. I am desperate and am tired of being in pain so am following the steps in his books. After the CC, I will be doing a Liver, Gallbladder, Bladder, Kidney and finally a Candida Cleanse. If you can get past his grumblings with the FDA and the FTC it's a valuable resource. Though he does have a huge point regarding government control, one that I definitely share.

We've had a lot of rain, and flooding this past week. The weather has been chillier at night the past couple of them, and I have been able to turn the AC off. The bad thing about that is I can hear the dogs barking all night, the crickets chirping, the bull frogs at the pond, and the branches of the lone tree/bush behind the "cabin" scraping against the side/roof. All combined, I wake up often. Plus, throw in a baby nursing every few hours, and it is a great recipe for grouchiness the next morning. (I did sleep great last night though.)

Well, off to check the laundry. I needed jeans for tomorrow, and being me, left it until it was pitch black outside. So, now I face the myriad of June bugs buzzing around, plus the chance of stepping on a rattle snake. I need to make sure the dogs walk in front of me on the way to the Wash House.

Good night!

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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.