ARCHIVED: Freezing Summer Fruits

Busy time of year. Here's a refresher on how I freeze fruits for my family in the summer to enjoy them all year long. The process is the same for all summer berries.

Enjoy!

Archived Post:

We've been busy the last few weeks, picking, canning and freezing strawberries and raspberries. Blueberries will be ready soon.




By August my freezer is always packed with numerous frozen summer berries. We use them in cereals, yogurt, pies and my personal fave, smoothies!

I use the flash freeze method for berries. Using a cookie sheet you pile on the berries in a single layer and place in freezer uncovered. Once frozen, pull out the cookie sheet and place all the berries in a large freezer bag. This method keeps the berries from clumping together allowing me to remove only as much as I need at one time.



Be very gentle with the berries, raspberries especially are highly delicate. Next up, blueberries!

Building a Nest... literally

Today the kids and I hung out with some homeschooling friends. One mom in the group brought a nest building activity for all the kids. In teams, the kids were given a folded up piece of paper that displayed a local bird name (Robin, Chickadee, Hawk, Crow), their nest building facts and a list of materials the birds would use for their nests.

It was up to the kids to work as a team to find some of each item and construct a nest. We soon discovered that birds have "mad skills" when it comes to nest building.



This is a Chickadee's nest, a joint effort between myself and my 8 year old son. He did very well padding the inside with moss and pine needles to make the nest very soft.




My daughter worked with her friend and some younger girls making a Hawk's nest. The nest is very large compared to the chickadee's and Blue Jay's nests.

The nice weather is here and we are trying to enjoy every minute of it.

Homemade Holiday

I recently learned to make soap at Everdale. And when I got home I put all I had learned to the test. A few weeks ago I made two double batches of soap, one peppermint, the other Vanilla-Tangerine. Both turned out wonderfully and tonight I bundled them up in preparation to hand them out to some friends over the next week as our paths cross.

I may not be making many gifts this year, or baking as many cookies but it's the few simple things that make me happy.

For What It's Worth

Sometimes a little goal writing is just what the therapist ordered...in this case my Realtor. At least it's what she would order if I told her why I am having such a hard time committing to buying a house. I have been in a period of transition this past summer. A time when everything I thought I knew, cared about and dreamed up started to morph and change and mutate into completely different and highly unexpected things.

A year ago I would have told you very clearly about my dream to homestead, to live completely 100 per cent off the land, with a small herd of sheep, a thousand miles away from everyone and anyone. A year ago I could dream anything I wanted because dreams are just dreams. My reality is completely different.

I have decided to write down my priorities in order of importance so that I may better understand my life path and where I should go from here.

What Matters Most

1. Financial Independence. I want to owe as little money as possible. Neither borrower nor lender be. No credit cards, no loans, only the most minimal borrowing required to secure a solid home investment with the quickest possible payment schedule. This will require some frugal finesse of course but I am up for the challenge.

2. My Passion. I have a passion for creative writing that has taken a backseat for many years. I have dabbled and flirted a bit with the idea of being a writer, a real novelist who actually finishes a book to near perfection and gets it published. There is a fire inside me that truly must be fed. I can not deny this part of me any longer.

3. Natural living. I want to live close the nature. I want to see birds at my windows and flowers in my garden. I want to eat from my backyard, literally and figuratively. I want to eat local when possible and preserve my harvest. I want to learn all I can about cooking with the seasons and extending the growing season.

4. Family and Friends. Realistically family is my absolute number one, without question. However that seems more a of given. I am a woman who is greatly dedicated to my family. Friends however is something I want to encourage more of. I want to have people over. Develop close friendships. I want to create roots in my community and begin to feel like I belong here instead of thinking it's a way station until we get to where we are really headed. This is integral to creating a home.

5. Green Living. I want to lessen my foot print. I want to make environmental choices because it's the right thing to do. I want to consume less, grow more and really examine my needs as opposed to wants.

What Matters Least (...to me anyways)

1. Raising Animals. I no longer desire to keep animals. The benefit of raising animals for meat is greatly outweighed by the cost to house, feed and care for their upkeep. It is far more efficient for me to pay an expert, local farmer for his/her expertise because that is their job, livelihood and most likely their passion.

2. Growing Absolutely Everything. In this day and age, this is not necessary. Technology has made it so that individually we need not toil independently but work collectively. I can trade my skills for money which I can use in turn to pay another person for their skills. This is where self-sufficiency gets taken off my list of goals.

3. Rural Homesteading. I have decided I don't want to homestead in the traditional sense. Urban homesteading, if it really qualifies as that (which I highly doubt) is much more my style whether I live in the country or not, I am not seeking a self sufficient farm.

This process of looking for a house, holding hard and fast to dreams that no longer hold a flame in me, has been very much a learning experience. I have learned that by letting go of certain dreams and moving on towards others is very liberating. Buying a home is a huge step but it's one that I never thought would teach me so much.

Now would someone please tell me which house I should buy so I can get this show on the road? If only it were that easy.

Under the Microscope

If you follow Rhonda's blog at Down to Earth, you would have read her most recent post about taking her as she is. She talked about criticism that often comes when we write blogs. How opening up our homes and hearts to share this journey with others can end up with our hands wrapped. It's happened to me and it can be very jarring.

I have been loosing my stamina lately with this blog and with simple and green living in general. I feel I am under close scrutiny, that my opinions and actions are under close watch by those eager to point out any inconsistencies.

I started the process toward a simpler way of life a few years ago. Since then my ideas have grown and then tapered off a bit depending on certain outcomes and life circumstances. I think given that the process is a journey and not a fixed destination, there is no finishing line and that my goals in homesteading and green living will be in constant flux. However more than once I have I been on the receiving end of reprimands for my seemingly lack luster efforts. Some purists are more than happy to point out my flaws with the way I define homesteading or living an environmentally conscious life. Because of this, more than once have I thought of closing the blog and walking away from the blogging community.

Because I don't have a farm (nor do I see myself obtaining one in the future) I am seen as a wanna be, a pretender, and psuedo homesteader but one that should not be taken seriously. Sometimes I am able to laugh off these comments but other times not so much. We all approach our homes in different ways. We all do our best for the situations we find ourselves in. No one is perfect, nor should we expect them to be.

I try my best but it is discouraging when my best does not seem good enough. When my efforts bring about negative comments instead of encouraging ones. On one hand I am glad to see, after reading Rhonda's post, that I am not alone in feeling somewhat dejected but on the other I am disappointed that those people expecting perfection are so quick to point out where others fall short. It shouldn't be that way. Shouldn't we be ever encouraging and truly supportive of any efforts? I have never claimed to be an expert. I have never said I have it all figured out.

When I decided to live simply, if I had looked at all the changes needed and expected them to be made at once I would never have started this journey. I would have been too discouraged to even begin and what a shame that would have been. Some parts of the journey move fast and furious while others are slow and calculated. Others still are not moving at all. In the end, I need to move at my own pace, changing the things I can while accepting the things I can't.

Chicks in the City

I decided to contact the local townships to see what was permissable on certain land with specific zoning. We have been looking at properties in four different townships, all with various sizes from 3/4 of an acre to 33 acres. Obviously the size of our plot with determine the operations we can undertake. Laws seem to vary from township to township without much rhyme or reason.



In one township I was told chickens, even just three or four, are only permissable on land zoned agricultural. Agricultural land around here is hard to find for under $1 million, and that's just slightly out of our price range... okay fine, that's TOTALLY out of our price range! I asked about clothes lines as well, just double checking what I already thought to be law, that townships in Ontario could not regulate whether certain neighbourhoods have clotheslines, apparently I was wrong.

After laughing at me (literally) over my chicken request, the lady on the phone said "clotheslines are a concern for health and safety."

What?!

"The township has valid fears about decapitations."

Excuse me? What did she just say?

"It can happen. That's where the term 'clothes lined' comes from."

You have got to be kidding me!

On to the next, hopefully more sane, township. This township will allow chickens and other agricultural uses on rurally zoned properties over 5 acres or more. Good. Now I am getting some where. How hard can it be to find 5 acres with a house that isn't falling down and/or needing $1 million in renovations?...hard, apparently, really, really hard.

Methinks I shall be getting acquainted with local authorities, and short of begging on hands and knees, I shall have to make them see things my way. Chickens are a wonderful addition to organic gardens by keeping down pests and raising the nutrients in the soil. Not to mention the added bonus of eggs from happy chickens. Lordy, lordy, I really hope I don't have a big fight on my hands because man if I get ticked, feathers are gonna fly!

Yogurt Pops

At the beginning of summer I ordered two sets of BPA free popsicle molds from Amazon.com, made by Tovolo. I love, love, love these molds. I bought the star molds and the space ship molds. When they arrived, the kids and I never looked at summer treats the same way.




Aside from juice, we experimented all summer seeing what concoction we could dream up. I had a batch of ice cream that wouldn't set and we needed to leave. I couldn't just keep the ice cream maker going so I poured the semi-ice cream into the molds and shoved them in the freezer. It was great! The handles did slide off and we needed to eat them with a spoon but I figured out they just needed more time to de-thaw and pull away from the sides of the mold.

I also developed this recipe, a simple but very healthy popsicle. Yogurt pops.

You will need:

1 cup of frozen or fresh strawberries,
1 to 1 1/2 cups of yogurt (any flavour)
Popsicle mold

Place your strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree. Add your yogurt and mix. You can sweeten with honey but we don't bother. Pour your yogurt fruit into the molds and place in freezer to set. Remember to leave a bit of head space because they will expand when frozen.



Easy, healthy and oh-so-good!



Since buying my popsicle molds I have not bought popsicles, freezes or any treat this summer. We simply just make our own. I am so glad I found an alternative to all those freezie wrappers, or plastic wrap on store bought treats. These molds are easy to clean, easy to make and better for the environment. Love it!

Etsy Store Additions

I just added 3 new skeins of handspun wool to my Etsy Shop, Bless Ewe Farm.



It can take up to 6 hours to complete a skein, so I mean it when I saw they were lovingly created. Spinning is not a speedy craft. It takes time and patience, something that fits well with simplicity and they way I live my life. I also derive a lot of enjoyment from knowing my products are naturally made, comprising of natural resources that are renewable and not harmful to the environment. Please help me spread the word about using naturally derived resources.



I plan to do a lot more spinning this fall to keep the supply lines running. I am also going to start knitting a few items as well.

Strawberry-Kiwi Juice Concentrate

Homemade juice is both cost effective and better for your overall health.

I can control how much sugar gets used in the juice. I can control whether or not the juice is organic. And I can support the local economy by going straight to the farmer. Plus, it's just one more step to self-sufficiency.

From a pure cost perspective, it's a pretty good deal. Let me give you a break down. Each basket of strawberries costs me approximately $8. One basket made about 18 jars (125 ml) of juice concentrate. That works out to 44 cents a jar. Once prepared (diluted) each jar creates slightly less juice than 1L. 44 cents is a great deal for healthy and often organic treat.

I am not a big fan of juice from a nutritional standpoint. Let's face it, we are much better off eating the actual fruit then resorting to a fruit extract laden with sugar. Fruit has more fiber in the actual pulp than in the juice. Water is a much better beverage by a long shot. But, local strawberries in January are hard to come by, sometimes you want a little treat and hey, why not give it a try? So I did.


This recipe can be used for any type of juice actually. I just happened to try strawberries first because they are ready the soonest in the season.


I made two recipes, and finished with 22 jars of homemade juice concentrate. It was so easy I see myself trying my hand at some blueberry concoctions once they are ripe. We tried the recipe below using Strawberries and Kiwi. I also tried this recipe for Strawberry Lemonade at Homemade Serenity and it tastes so good.

Straight-Up Any Old Fruit Juice Concentrate

Select your fruit or combination of fruits. Wash, peel, hull, whatever just get them ready.

Place in a sauce pan with just enough water to separate the fruit, so it can somewhat bob. Do not add too much water though.

Start a slow boil. Once boiling remove from heat. Mash with potato masher and return to heat until slowly boiled again.

Line colander with several layers of cheesecloth. Place a large bowl beneath to catch juice.

Pour liquid into colander. And let the liquid seep out of the cheesecloth. Once most liquid has run through, twist cheese cloth and gently squeeze out any last bit in the pulp. Compost pulp.

Add sugar to the juice while it is still warm. You choose as much or as little sugar as you want. You can always add more sugar later when you dilute it so it is best to underestimate than over estimate.

Now your juice is ready to can in a waterbath canner (10 minutes), or to freeze in mason jars.



I like to can my juice so it doesn't take up room in my freezer. Canning also uses less overall energy compared to frozen food that needs near constant cold to stay fresh. If canning, please be sure to add 1 tsp of lemon juice to the bottom of your jar before placing juice in. This raises the acidity level to can it properly and safely.

See that's not so hard!

Church of Eco-Sinners

Going green is the new buzz phase, almost as catchy as being "born again". For some, being environmentally friendly has taken on new heights. Many years ago, I took it as my personal mission to save the planet. I figured at least I could make some choices for my kids so I could absolve myself of any guilt I may encounter later in life. I didn't want to have to explain to my grandchild why I didn't at least try something.

Anyone who knows me, knows I do nothing halfway. Suffice to say, I became eco-obsessed. I devoured any literature I could find on the subject and began making little changes all the while preparing for my big, off the grid, hippie leap out of the consumer driven world. For the most part, it's still my goal.

But as I delved deeper into the green (under)world I noticed more and more inconsistencies. For example, many eco-aholics promote vegetarianism as a way to save the planet. It prevents gases from cattle manure, saves prime produce producing farmland and forests from being used for pasture. In general, vegetarianism improves our overall health. All mighty goals. Other Green Guru's swear by eating locally, and supporting neighbourhood producers. Also a noble goal.

Both have inherit flaws.

For one, vegetarians in the northern hemisphere require a varied diet that is not available locally in the cold winter months, thus relying on carbon emitting transport to bring in all those vegetables they are consuming. In essence, the strict vegetarian is causing huge gaping holes in the ozone and causing the greenhouse effect. Where as meat-atarians are doing the same buy consuming meat causing methane gas distribution and prime farmland loss. Who is the real eco-sinner? The vegetarians forced to eat foods grown thousands of miles away or the omnivore who consumes locally grown fayre which is far less efficient to produce?

I have come to the conclusion that we are ALL eco-sinners. Some more than others. Some are very much aware of their sins, while others remain blissfully ignorant.

Some city dwellers do not even own a car, preferring public transportation and pedal power to get them from point A to B, all the while cranking their heat in their gas furnace rather than putting on a sweater in the winter time. Some country dwellers drive huge gas guzzlers but grow so much of their own food they hardly ever need to go to the grocery store to buy food. These scenarios are real. Somewhere in all this we need to figure out what is best for us and the world we live in.

In the meantime, amateur environmentalists and closet eco-sinners (namely bloggers) post freely all their advice and wisdom, wagging their cyber fingers at unsuspecting readers. You are an eco-sinner because you don't use their brand of all natural shampoo. You are an ignorant eco-sinner for not knowing that chemical XYZ exist in that sneaker on your child's foot. You are not as good as them because they have it all figured out and quite frankly...you are severely lacking.

I follow at least 50 blogs. Many are like me, moms trying out new ways to raise a family without breaking the bank or the planet. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we flop. We are human after all, and no one is perfect. However I have noticed a few who stand out more than the average. These are the self-righteous, sanctimonious super moms who have it all going on (all that and a bag of organic, all natural veggie chips). They make the rest of us crunchy moms look like Hummer driving, polyester wearing, bottle feeding, live-in nanny employers.

These people make it seem like they know exactly what you and you and you and I need to do to make our homes and families healthy and free of eco-guilt. The planet would be saved if we all just did it their way. In some ways, they are right but there's a few flaws. For one, I don't live in Australia. For another, I don't have a huge savings account and I really don't want to swear off shampoo, deodorant and my feminine razor, thank you very much! I just want to be me, not them. I want stuff that will work for me. What Suzy Q, or Jane Doe, or Johnny Come-Lately do may not be helpful to me and I should not be made to feel like an inadequate, wannabe environmentalist for not doing it their way. And I am sick and tired of reading posts about how everyone is Doing It Wrong!!

Deep breath.

Okay. So with that said, I want to apologize if I have ever made anyone feel guilty or inadequate for what I have posted here. At my heart, I am just trying to share what works for my family and I am very much aware that what I do may not be for everyone. I hope that I have showcased a middle path free of finger wagging and self-righteous indignation. If I have not being so Zen, then I apologize, repent my self-righteous sins and promise I will try harder from here on out. Amen.

The Wind, The Wind...The Wind has Changed!*

We went on a road trip this past weekend to see a play in Stratford. It's about three hours from where we currently live and so we had to take the road trip in stride. About an hours drive in, we started passing these gigantic wind turbines. It was not so much a wind farm more like individual farms with four or five on their land. They seemed to pop up everywhere as we drove along the highway. The turbines were enormous yet elegant.



We stopped to take a look and listen. All we could hear was the wind. Other than that the turbines moved silently. Some anti-wind power activists say that since the installment of these wind power generators local residents have felt ill, get headaches, and all because of the supposed vibration these things cause.

Mind you, we were just passing through, but I felt no such difference in that area than in our own backyard. My husband likes to point out that no matter where you live, city or country, beneath wind turbines or elsewhere, there are frequencies passing through us all the time we just don't notice them.



Perhaps certain people are more sensitive to these vibrations, or perhaps they are just causing a squawk for no reason other than aesthetics. I can not determine someone else's comfort (or lack thereof) so I must give these claims some thought.

What I do know is this: our way of life and our ability to continue living like this is dependent upon our ability to find alternatives. We need a cleaner more permanent solution than coal or oil. Nuclear power is clean but not desired. Solar energy is expensive and has more impact on a individual basis than on a larger scale. Wind Turbines generate a lot of power and can be done on a larger scale for the general population but people don't like the look of them.

I don't like the look, or possible fall out of a nuclear plant. I don't like the look of oil spills. I certainly don't like knowing that somewhere in the world someone is blackening their lungs while mining coal for our energy. Taking everything into consideration I like the look of a turbine better than any of these other, more standard energy producers. And I certainly wouldn't mind having one in my own backyard.

*Inside joke from a production of Saint Joan in highschool.

Starting Seeds

The weather has been a boon this year and I am grateful for it. The garden beds are ready now, I finished preparing the large 12 by 14 foot garden yesterday with my hubby's help and now we are "a go". All we need to do is wait for the last frost of the season which should arrive sometime around June 1 for our area (a borderline Zone 5 and 4).

I started some seeds a few weeks ago, some lettuce and broccoli. I did not sow all the seeds. I am going to stagger a bit this year so it is not all ready at once.



I also decided to use these neat newspaper pots instead of the plastic ones I normally used. Since we thought we were moving, I recycled all my old ones last September. Now of course, you all know, I am not moving just yet. Rather than buy a whole bunch more I decided to make my own. The newspapers can be planted directly in the ground with the seedling. So cool!

I found the tutorial at Natural Kids. I make them while in front of the television or when I have few moments. I need a lot so it is far better for me to do a few here and there then do them all up at once.

I am on the look out for biodegradable tape that I can use too, which presents a challenge but I figure a bit of plastic tape in a whole lot better than a bunch of large pots that can crack and become useless. A bit of "sweat equity" on my part helps keep emissions down when making and transporting those pots to a store. And newspapers get dropped off at my house without me even asking for it, so I am using what I have.

Soda can kill you!

Hello, my name is Tracy and I have a cola addiction.

It saddens me and embarrasses me to say this but I am a heavy user...or should I say former heavy user. I can thank this lovely article in the Globe and Mail. As someone who consumed (way) more than 2 sodas a week I am 87 per cent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.

I have always known my propensity for sugary drinks was not good for me, and I had some real plans to kick the habit, some day. I don't drink alcohol. I don't smoke. I have never done illegal drugs and keep my prescription usage to only when necessary. I enjoy a relatively natural lifestyle and my sugar addiction had to go.

I have been soda free for almost two weeks. My primary beverage is now water and I feel great! My skin looks nicer, more rosy and overall I just feel healthy. Kicking the soda habit has also helped me lower my snacking overall. I crave sweets less and less each day. I am really starting to take my health seriously. I am buying more organic food than I ever had.

Saying no to Cola and supermarket meat is really making a difference for me. I have lost 6 lbs, have more energy and look forward to more dietary changes for me and my family.