The family gathers each New Years day to eat hog jowl, collard greens and black eyed peas.  This year we are adding stewed tomatoes to the menu.  They don’t really have any traditional meaning but they go really well with the black eyed peas.

Black Eyed Peas are supposed to bring us wisdom in the coming year as the eye looks to the future.  Some also believe that they bring prosperity as the swelling of the dried beans as they are cooked symbolizes the swelling of the family fortunes over the coming year.  Whichever you believe, this is a simple dish to cook which bodes well for those who spent too much time celebrating on New Year’s eve.

Collard greens or greens of any type are also supposed to bring prosperity.  It is said that the leaves of the collard look like folded money when they are cooking.  Again, I’m not so sure I see the resemblance except for the fact that they are both green.  Regardless, they are delicious and very healthy.  Dark leafy greens contain tons of antioxidants including lutein which is supposed to help protect your eyes.

The last component of the traditional New Years Day supper is hog jowl.  Hog jowl is much like bacon only it comes from the jowl of the pig.  R fries it like bacon and it is delicious when eaten on a biscuit or even by itself.   Hog jowl is supposed to bring good health.  I have not been able to trace this tradition back to anything that explains it but we are going to include it because it is dang tasty.

One legend that I have heard regarding this menu is that it dates back to Civil War when the Union troops slaughtered all the livestock and took all the provisions from southern farms and households.  The only thing that they left behind was what they considered inedible such as  black eyed peas, ham hocks and heads.  Greens which grow all year in the south.  The southerners sustained themselves through the winter on what the Union troops left behind.

I am not sure that any of these foods bring health, wealth or wisdom but then again, why tempt fate when this tradition brings a simple, inexpensive meal is both delicious and easy to cook.  Menus such as this are also a reason why folks in the country will have an easier time surviving in tough economic times.  There is little waste and the foods are simple and inexpensive and usually home grown.

What are your New Year’s traditions?  Do you have a traditional meal on New Year’s day?

History of Brunswick Stew

According to the Brunswick Stewmaster’s website,

It all started back in 1828 on the banks of the Nottoway River during a hunting party. Dr. Creed Haskins, a member of the House of Delegates from 1839 through 1841, took a group of his friends on a hunting expedition.  While they were on the hunt, camp cook Jimmy Matthews stirred together the first impromptu mixture that has become known as Brunswick Stew. The original thick soup was made from squirrels, onions, and stale bread. When the hunters returned, there was reluctance to try the new mixture. However, the reluctance turned to demands for second and third helpings of the warm, thick stew.

There are many claims that Brunswick stew was first created in Brunswick Co, NC or Brunswick, GA but the Virginia claim is the best documented.  Wherever it was first cooked and eaten it is delicious and a staple here in Brunswick Co, VA.  Over the years, chicken has replaced the squirrel and rabbit that it was cooked with in the past.

The following is a recipe that you can cook at home:

Brunswick Stew Recipe

• 2 chickens (about 3 pounds each), cut into 6 or 8 pieces
• 4 oz of fat back, chopped
• 2 (16-ounce) cans, drained, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
• 4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 3 medium white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cups fresh or frozen lima beans
• 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste

Place the chickens and fatback in a large pot.  Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, partially covered, until the chicken is falling off the bones and the broth is well flavored, 2-3 hours. Spoon out and  transfer the chicken to a bowl and cool.

Add the tomatoes, corn, potatoes, onions, and  lima beans. Season with the salt, pepper, and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring often, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, pull the chicken off the bones. Add the chicken back and taste the stew for seasoning. Add more salt, pepper, or sugar as desired. Cook until very thick.  Serve hot in warmed bowls.

Green Tomato Relish

With frost coming quickly here in central Virginia, I decided to pick the majority of our green tomatoes.  The larger ones I am going to cover with newspaper and set to ripen.  These will continue to ripen until probably Christmas or New Year.

The smaller ones I made into green tomato relish.  Green Tomato Relish is also called Chow Chow or Picalilli.  It is a good way to use up a surplus of green tomatoes, green and red peppers and onions.

It tastes like a spicy sweet relish similar to bread and butter pickles and it is excellent on hot dogs, pork, in soups, etc.   Randy can eat it right out of the jar.  I prefer it on hot dogs or hamburgers.

Green Tomato Relish

• 4 cups of finely chopped green tomatoes
  

  Main ingredients for Picalilli

• 8 bell peppers – green, red or yellow
• 5 onions, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons pickling spice
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 cups vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of pickling salt

All vegetables should be finely chopped.  You can use a food processor but I use my handy dandy Pampered Chef chopper.  It’s a bit more work but I try to keep our electric appliances to a minimum.  I have survived a year without a mixer or a food processor.

After chopping the tomatoes put them in a colander to drain.  Sprinkle them lightly with pickling salt.  If you use regular salt, your relish may turn cloudy due to impurities in the salt.

Chop the bell peppers and add them to colander sprinkling lightly with pickling salt.

Chop the onions and add them to colander sprinkling them lightly with pickling salt.

Chopped vegetables

Let vegetables drain for 3 hours – 24 hours.

After vegetables are drained, add them and the remaining ingredients to a large pan.  Set temperature on med high and bring to a boil stirring occasionally.  Once it is boiling, turn heat to med low and bring back to a boil.

Once it has come back to a boil for the second time, you can ladle it into hot sterilized jars.  Add lids and then put them in a water bath and boil for 20 minute.

Remove jars from water and set out to cool.  Check tops to make sure that all have sealed.

The first post that caught my eye at The Homesteading Carnival was Grandma’s Fried Tomatoes.  I haven’t had fried tomatoes in ages but I think I might try some tonight.  They might have to be Fried Green Tomatoes as I don’t think my tomatoes are EVER going to get ripe.

Also at The Homesteading Carnival another post caught my eye, Home Life Weekly has a post on Types Of Mulch.  It is an interesting look at the different types of mulches available.

My favorite at the Make It From Scratch carnival was this delicious looking Sausage Spinach Pasta Toss.  These are making me HUNGRY.  Try making it with fresh garden spinach and garden tomatoes.  YUM!

I also had to take a peek at these Crocheted Baby Thongs.  I was imagining a baby in a thong diaper but these are really cute.

We also had an article in A Gardening Carnival.  You can learn how Home (Garden) Economics works with How Gardens Save You Money.

Raised Bed Gardening has an article on how to garden if you don’t have a yard.  If you live in an apartment or townhouse you might want to check out one of these two articles Going To Pot With Container Gardening and 12 Vegetables You Can Grow In A Pot.

The Money Hacks Carnival always has great tips for saving, investing and making money.  This week’s carnival was no different and here are my own favorites.

From I Need More Allowance:  A Teen’s Summer Guide To Getting More Money comes 23 Ways To Make Money.  I wish that more teens were as enterprising as this one is.

5 Personal Finance Lessons We Should All Relearn from the Present Financial Crisis is right on the money.  I wished I had learned them the first time around.

By gosh, I think that is all for the week.  I hope you enjoy browsing the carnivals and picking out your own favorites.

Canning

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: How to make Strawberry Jam posted at The Barber Bunch.

RC presents Create an Edible Container Garden This Spring posted at Think Your Way to Wealth.

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: Canning Class at Carriage Hill Metro Park posted at The Barber Bunch.

Cindy S presents 12 Vegetables You Can Grow in a Pot posted at Oh My Aching Debts, saying, “No Room for a garden? Of course, you have room! This list will give you vegetables you can grow in a pot.”

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: How to make Sauerkraut posted at The Barber Bunch.

Cindy S presents Seven Deadly Homemade Weedkillers Unmasked: Vinegar posted at Small Homestead, saying, “I have been trying each one of the seven deadly homemade weedkillers. Today I experimented with vinegar and you can see the results.”

Vikki Lawrence-Williams presents Preserving Asparagus by Canning posted at Survival Cooking, Gardening and Emergency Preparedness Info, saying, “Asparagus is ready to harvest, but what can be done with it? Dehydrate it (http://www.survival-cooking.com/2009/05/preserving-asparagus-by-dehydrating.html) or preserve it by canning (http://www.survival-cooking.com/2009/05/preserving-asparagus-by-canning.html).”

Gardening

Yanic Arsenault presents Our garden –Year 2 : Eggshells, the wonder trash posted at Adventures into green.

Wren Caulfield presents Save Money on Food: Grow Your Own! posted at True Adventures in Money Hacking.

Meadowwood Garden presents Growing Tomatoes posted at Meadowwood Garden, saying, “Everything you need to know to grow the best-tasting tomatoes you have ever eaten!”

Gregory E. Rouse presents Raised Bed Gardening with a Tractor Tire posted at Raised-Bed-Gardening Blog, saying, “how to build a raised bed out of an old tractor tire”

Mary@SimplyForties presents Update on my Urban “Farm” posted at SimplyForties.

Jason presents How to Build a Square Foot Garden posted at The Frugal Dad.

Julian Pollock presents The History of Shutters – From Marble and Straw Mats to Metal and Poly-Wood Slats | TheHistoryOf.net posted at The History Of – Blog, saying, “It’s a double benefit when one discovers that polywood style materials, developed to be a cost saver – also turn out to help reduce one’s carbon footprint. More households are turning to door and window shutters for protection against our increasingly unpredictable weather. So now there are eco-options using forest-saving polymers as well as sustainable wood as regulated by the FSC.”

Kristen Welch presents We Are THAT Family: Green Acres Edition posted at We Are THAT Family.

Farm Animals

Belle presents How to Pasteurize Goat Milk posted at Homesteaderbelle’s Blog.

00FF00 presents Battery Hen Welfare Trust posted at ooffoo, saying, “A member of the ooffoo community discovers how to adopt an “ex-bat” and other ways of making changes to benefit the welfare of battery hens in an interview with Jane Howarth of the Battery Hen Welfare Trust.”

Sahara Reins presents Presentation is Important When Selling Free Range Eggs posted at Fowl Visions.

Belle presents Fried Fish, a LaMancha Dairy Goat, and Homemade Goat Milk Ice Cream posted at Homesteaderbelle’s Blog.

Recipes

kara thurmond presents Grilled Blue Cheese Portobello Burgers posted at An Hour In the Kitchen, saying, “Make your own buns, mayo, mustard and ketchup for your grilled Portobello Burgers!”

Marjorie Morgan presents The Woman’s Guide to Boating and Cooking posted at GO! Girls Outdoors, saying, “a review of a wonderful ‘boatkeeping’ manual (written in the style of a 60’s or 70’s housekeeping manual) that I found at a garage sale – entertaining, amusing and very different!”

Gregory E. Rouse presents Family Meals Under $5 – Spaghetti posted at Frugal-Living-Skills Blog, saying, “Weekly grocery circulars often read “feed a family of 4 for under $10!”. I’m sure most of you have laughed at this as I did. As a result, I began to wonder what does dinner really cost for my family of 8? So I set a challenge for myself and I figured if I kept it under $5, I was doing good”

Belle presents How to make Fried Zucchini – with pictures posted at Homesteaderbelle’s Blog.

Gardening

Sandy Wong presents Guidelines and Basic Tips of Drilling Drainage Hole on Garden Container | Gardening on Cloud 9 posted at Gardening on Cloud 9, saying, “We know that good drainage is the key to healthy plants, but the containers that we find most attractive are often the ones without drainage holes. But we can drill the drainage holes by ourselves, and it is much easier than what most of us would expect. All we need is an electric drill and steady hands. And here, let me show you how to drill holes on our containers.”

The Austerity Kitchen presents Mushrooms: The Poor Man’s Meat posted at The Austerity Kitchen.

Mother Hen presents Garden Update posted at Mother Hen.

Stan Wrobel presents Rhubarb « Cottage and Yard posted at Cottage and Yard, saying, “If your going to plant something why not make it a delicious perennial vegetable that you can eat over ice cream or pancakes.”

The Family presents Planting tomatoes posted at Once Upon a Family, saying, “Get your tomatoes off to a good start”

Rani presents Apple Dapple Cake posted at Indoor Garden Musings.

Brian presents Super Sturdy Trellis posted at Meadowwood Garden, saying, “Need support? The Super Sturdy Trellis is inexpensive, easy to make and a hurricane couldn’t knock it down! Perfect for pole beans, peas, melons, cucumbers etc. Visit us to learn how to make yours!”

Renee V. Rouse presents Family Meals for Under $5 May 1st posted at Frugal-Living-Skills Blog, saying, “…Weekly grocery circulars often read “feed a family of 4 for under $10!”. I’m sure most of you have laughed at this as I did. As a result, I began to wonder what does dinner really cost for my family of 8? I figured if I kept it under $5, I was doing good…”

00FF00 presents Wildlife in your Garden posted at ooffoo, saying, “A member of the ooffoo community presents nine top tips on managing as well as encouraging natural wildlife in your garden.”

Miscellaneous

Chris presents Dealing with unwelcome guests in your house (part 2) posted at Home I Own, saying, “The rest of my article about dealing with spiders”

Emma presents What is your child eating? posted at Baby-Log.

Sahara Reins presents Things to Consider When Buying Humming bird Feeders posted at Fowl Visions.

Sustainable living

Kristen Welch presents We Are THAT Family: Shades of Green posted at We Are THAT Family.

Flea presents Be A Survivor: …I Will CRUSH You… posted at Be A Survivor.

Heather Levin presents Natural Ant Control posted at The Greenest Dollar, saying, “Don’t put chemicals down to get rid of summer ants. Try these natural home remedies instead!”

Preserving

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: How to Dry Tomatoes posted at The Barber Bunch.

Vikki Lawrence-Williams presents Preserving Rhubarb from the Garden posted at Survival Cooking, Gardening and Emergency Preparedness Info, saying, “Rhubarb isn’t just for pies and preserves. Dehydrate it, then this winter, sprinkle it in your oatmeal! http://www.survival-cooking.com/2009/05/preserving-rhubarb-from-garden.html”

The Smarter Wallet presents Family Budget For Frugal Living: Living Cheap Can Be Fun, Too! posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thanks!”

Recipes

00FF00 presents Top 10 Vegetarian Soups posted at ooffoo, saying, “A member of the ooffoo community presents ten scrumptious veggie soup recipes to take you through the year, from summer watercress to winter minestrone.”

The Austerity Kitchen presents Fried Elderberry Blossoms posted at The Austerity Kitchen.

Heather Levin presents Easy Frugal Bread Recipe posted at The Greenest Dollar, saying, “This no-knead bread recipe is super easy and it’s made in a Dutch Oven. Lots of pictures for each step!”

Sahara Reins presents How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs posted at Fowl Visions.

jenafer presents How To: Making Mozzarella Cheese posted at Cage Free Monkeys.

Recycling

Yanic Arsenault presents Rethinking recycling – When you move, donate goods and share resources! posted at Adventures into green.

Brian presents When Good Frugality Goes Bad posted at Meadowwood Garden, saying, “The story of a man, a truck, a dog, some glass, and good intentions…”

MomToCherubs presents It’s Berry Pickin’ Time posted at Simply Beck’s Bounty.

2 Pennies Earned presents Frugal Tips for the Home Cook posted at Two Pennies Earned, saying, “I’d like to share some tips I’ve been using lately as I’m cooking for myself more, eating out less, and trying hard to not throw anything away.”

Sara presents Polliwogs and Doodles, unschooling, hands on learning, natural parenting, homeschooling, nutrition, gardening, baking, frugal living, foraging posted at Polliwogs and Doodles, saying, “Easy tutorial for making diapers out of recycled clothing!”

presents Cat Urine Smell Remover Recipe posted at Home Life Weekly, saying, “It can be difficult to remove cat urine smell from furnishings as the cat urine odor tends to linger, well instead of buying expensive odour removers, this recipe can be used to remove the odor of other pets as well.”

Sustainable Living

Joshua presents Tips for Learning during Summertime posted at Family and Parenting, saying, “Even though it is summertime, it is a good idea to keep your child’s mind active.”

Clea Danaan presents Happiness is Living the Farm Life in the Suburbs posted at Clea Danaan’s Intuitive Gardening Blog.

Pinyo presents Save Money and Benefit with Homemade Products posted at Moolanomy, saying, “Learn how to make your own homemade products is fun and good for you and the environment. Here are some examples to help you get started today.”

Nancy Miller presents Top 100 Blogs for DIY Home Improvement posted at Construction Management Degrees.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homesteading using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of homesteading, blog carnival.

Plowing the field

When I was a child, my mother decided that we were going to homestead.  We lived in the country so it was an easy shift to put more focus on growing your own food.  We gardened and we raised animals for food.  We had magazines on goats, chickens, making your own cheese, shearing your own sheep and plucking chickens.    It was a trend of the times and although we supplemented our food, we in no way came close to being totally self sufficient.

Times have changed, the homesteading trend has come and gone and come again but does homesteading still mean the same thing?  The tendency to get back to basics seems to be tied to times of economic hardship.  However, I think that in the twenty first century homesteading has changed.   Today there are more people living in the suburbs and there are fewer farms so there is less opportunity to move out to the country and become self sufficient.   Rather than making homesteading less popular, it has made it more creative.

It seems that homesteading is more a state of mind than a vocation.  To homestead is to become more self sufficient.  It is to grow and make what you can and to re use what is available.   It is part frugality and part returning to the basics.  It isn’t a product of rural living, it is bringing a taste of rural living to wherever you live.

Basics of Homesteading

Grow Your Own -  More and more people are growing their own food.  Even apartment dwellers have discovered container gardening and community gardens.  Square foot gardening has grown more popular in the suburbs and produces a surprising amount of food.

Pick Your Own - Farms and orchards across the country, allow you to go out and pick your own fruits and vegetables at a considerable discount.   Modern day homesteaders can add variety at a pick your own farm without the hassle of having the space and time to grow them.

Make it from Scratch – Many are rediscovering that meals made from scratch not only taste better but are healthier.  With so many news stories about bacteria contaminating our food, people are making more from scratch just to be able to control the raw ingredients.   Things made from scratch usually have fewer preservatives and more nutrition.  For those on special diets, you can control the amount of sugar, salt and cholesterol.

When you think of making things from scratch, you generally think of food but you can make most anything from scratch.  Clothing, furniture, household decor  items can all be made from scratch and usually they are better quality and less expensive.

Canning & Preserving – Whether you grow your own, pick your own or just buy it fresh, there are multiple options for canning and preserving food.  There are many more options today than in the past.  Freezing fresh fruit and vegetables can be as simple as washing, blanching and putting it into a freezer bag.  There are vacuum packing gadgets that will keep it fresh longer.  There are tons of websites on canning, pickling, freezing and preserving food.

Re-use & Recycle – One of the most basic concepts of self sufficiency is to use and reuse everything.  In the old days, feed and flour bags were often remade into clothing, dish towels, linens, etc.  Today’s plastic bags are not good for making into clothes but they can be re-used as trash bags, totes and other creative ideas.  Reusable cloth shopping bags are available at almost every grocery store.  You can recycle or reuse just about everything if you are creative enough. Toilet paper & paper towel rolls can be used as seed starters.  Plastic containers can be reused as freezer containers.  Old clothes can be made into quilts that are not only useful but also can preserve those memories.  Even pantyhose can be reused in many different ways.  My latest pair are currently being used to sprinkle sevin dust on the garden.

Frugality – While to many being frugal is just being cheap but to those of us who make it a lifestyle, it means living well on less.  It means saving where we can so we have more to spend where we want.  It does not mean buying the cheapest option of anything but finding a balance between cost and quality.  Frugality has been a part of every homestead as very little is wasted or thrown away.

Self Sufficiency – I think that homesteading is all about becoming more self sufficient and spending less of our hard earned dollars on things that we can do, grow or make ourselves.  Self sufficiency is about using what we have available to the best advantage.  For example, we live on a small farm and a good portion of our farm is wooded.  We use the wood to heat our water and our home.  We have a good amount of sun so we also use solar energy to heat water for the barn.   Becoming more self sufficient can be as small as mowing your own grass or washing your own car.  It can be as simple as catching rainwater to water your garden or your lawn.

Homesteading is not necessarily moving to the country and giving up on the grocery store.  We can simplify our lives in many ways and save money along the way.  I personally think that our life is better, richer and more satisfying than it was when I just went out and bought whatever we needed.  I live now on an income that most would think impossible but I don’t think that we are poor.

Bread and butter pickles

Our cucumber plants have been going wild.  We are getting four or five cucumbers per day so I decided to take advantage of the surplus to make Bread and Butter Pickles.  I found the recipe over at Get Rich Slowly and followed it pretty closely.  They have great pictures of the process.

Here is my version:

Bread and Butter Pickles

• 3 1/2 lbs of cucumbers – sliced
• 1/4 cup pickling salt
• 2 cups cider vinegar (5% acidity)
• 1 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 2 Tb Pickling spice
• 5 grape leaves

I sliced the pickles and onions and layered them in a bowl.  Make sure that you discard the blossom end of the cucumber as this will make your pickles soft.  I sprinkled each layer lightly with pickling salt.  Then I placed a plate on top of them with a weight on top of it to press it down.  I let this set for a couple hours while I got every thing else ready. (Part of my preparations included sterilizing the jars and cleaning the canner)

Put the water in your canner and begin to heat.  It takes a long time to bring this much water to a boil.  I rinsed and drained the cucumber slices.  I put the sugar, water, vinegar and spices into a stainless steel pot and brought them to a boil. Once the solution was boiling, I added the cucumber and onion slices, making sure that they were covered with liquid.  I let the liquid return to a boil and took them off the heat after 90 seconds.   At this point, put the jar lids in a small pan of water and bring to a boil.

At this point, I added a washed grape leaf to each jar.  This also helps to keep your pickles from becoming soft.  Then I spooned the cucumber slices into each jar.  Once I filled the jars, I ladled in the liquid to cover the pickle slices.  This is a hot process and you need to use something to handle the jars.

Once the jars are filled, take a clean damp paper towel and wipe the jar clean.  Take the lids out of the pan and place on jars.  Screw rings down.  Place jars on rack in boiling water in canner.  Bring water back to a boil and let it cook 10 minutes of pint jars and 20 minutes for quart jars.  Take the jars out and set aside to cool.  Space them out so that they do not touch each other.  Leave them for 24 hours.

The tops should have a dimple in the center once they have cooled.  You will hear them popping as the jars cool.  If any do not have a dimple, then they did not seal.  Put a new lid on the jar and process in hot water bath again.  Or you can put them in the refrigerator and eat them.

I had a half jar extra when I was finished canning.  R and I finished off almost the whole jar for dinner.  They were delicious!

The secret to making Tzatziki is to either use Greek yogurt.  You can make greek yogurt by placing regular yogurt in a cheesecloth lined sieve or colander and letting it drain for an hour or so.  The resulting yogurt should be much thicker and dryer than regular yogurt.

While I used goat’s milk yogurt for mine, you can use either Greek plain yogurt or strained plain yogurt.

Tzatziki

• 2 cups Greek Yogurt
• 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup grated cucumber (seeded & peeled first)
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

Combine Oil and lemon juice in a bowl.  Add yogurt and mix well.  Stir in garlic and cucumber.  Stir well.  You can add more or less garlic to taste.  Keep refrigerated.

Uses:

Spread on Pita Bread.

Use on top of Souvlaki

As a vegetable dip for fresh vegetables

As a salad dressing

The carnival is also looking for hosts for future editions.  If you would like to host the carnival, just send me an email or leave a comment on this post.

Editor’s Picks

Neighbor Nancy presents The Backyard Flock: You Can Build a Brooder posted at Recession Depression Therapy, saying, “Even the super beginner can build this well designed, easy-to-clean brooder to keep your new chicks healthy, warm and safe. Follow the Backyard Flock series for more beginner chicken keeping advice.”

Eric Keith presents Sucker Your Tomatoes for Increased Yields and Disease Resistance posted at Farm and Field Survivalist.

Brian presents Super Sturdy Trellis | Meadowwood Garden posted at Meadowwood Garden, saying, “This trellis how-to article might come in handy for your readers since gardening season is about to get into full swing! It explains one method of building a multi-use trellis that can be used for beans, peas, melons, tomatoes, and much much more!”

ChristineMM presents How to Make a $10 Raised Garden Bed Tutorial by ChristineMM posted at The Thinking Mother, saying, “ChristineMM of The Thinking Mother shares a photo tutorial on how to build a raised garden bed for $10.”

Heather Levin presents How To Make Your Own Deodorant posted at The Greenest Dollar, saying, “Learn several different recipes for making healthy, eco friendly deodorant at home.”

I’m sure that you will enjoy the rest of these articles.  I enjoyed every one of them and learned a lot.  Be sure to check them out as well.

Farm Animals

Elizabeth Enslin presents Sonnet for a Poultry Farmer posted at Yips and Howls, saying, “Don’t know if poetry is appropriate, but this sonnet I wrote for National Poetry Writing Month is about do-it-yourself meat-raising.”

Mike Lawson presents Raising Turkeys for Fun and Profit: Basic Facts and Terminology posted at The Chicken Coop.

Gardening

Belle presents This Year’s Garden so far……….. posted at Homesteaderbelle’s Blog.

Clair Schwan presents Cold Climate Gardening – how we do it here in Wyoming posted at Vegetable Gardening and Greenhouses, saying, “With the winter fading fast, perhaps it’s time to consider what vegetables we might grow and harvest during the upcoming winter. That’s right, we can grow and harvest vegetables in the winter months. Here’s how we do it in Wyoming.”

Miscellaneous

Credit Shout presents Lowes Credit Card Review posted at CreditShout, saying, “If your thinking about doing a lot of home improvement this spring and summer, you may be heading to Lowes. We have reviewed the Lowes credit card.”

Ralph Sparkson presents Why I Love My Dog posted at Best Funny Dog Pictures, saying, “We got another dog about two years ago. It had been over ten years since our last dog, who died just before our daughter was born. With our new dog, we were lucky because our daughter has a small neighborhood business of caring for pets and that is how we found the dog we now love so much.”

Lindsay presents Home Brewing to Save Money (and have fun) posted at Off the Urban Grid.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents YNAB (You Need A Budget) Personal Budget Software Is 10% Off posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Budgeting is a big part of maintaining a home and managing household finances. We present a review of a great budgeting tool.”

The Smarter Wallet presents Control Household Debt With 5 Smart Saving Strategies and Budgeting Ideas posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thanks!”

Savings Toolbox presents How to Get the Best Mortgage in Today’s Market posted at Savings Toolbox.

Leave Debt Behind presents Quick and Easy Ways Your Teen Can Make Money posted at Leave Debt Behind.

Margaret Garcia presents 100 Best Blogs for Living Healthy on a Budget posted at Surgical Technician Schools.

Recipes

Rani presents Super Potato Salad posted at Indoor Garden Musings, saying, “Need an easy spring recipe?”

Michael Medeiros presents HOME STYLE BBQ SAUCE | Barbecue Recipes posted at Barbecue Recipes, saying, “Summer barbecue is just around the bend. This basic home style BBq Sauce is easily made with items from the cupboard.”

Recycling

Aparna presents Uses of hair clippings-Best out of Waste posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming, saying, “What do you do of those hair clippings after you cut your hair?”

Sustainable Living

Jacob Duchaine presents Being a Man posted at Blogging Guy

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homesteading using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of homesteading, blog carnival.

Kory, our dog, gets her bowl half full twice a day.  Goat’s milk is highly digestible so it is safe to give to dogs.  Cow’s milk will often give them an upset stomach.  She also gets a dollop of yogurt every day.

We have been trying to eat at least a small amount of yogurt every day and this seemed like a great chance to put some excess milk to good use.  I started with a quart of fresh goat’s milk and six hours later I have a quart of tasty yogurt.

This recipe uses no special equipment or cultures and you can make it with regular homogenized milk if you prefer.

Homemade Yogurt Recipe

Yogurt Ingredients

1 Quart Milk
1 Heaping tablespoon bought plain yogurt
1/2 cup powdered milk (optional but makes yogurt thicker)

Add the powdered milk and stir until completely dissolved.  Heat the milk, stirring occasionally and bring it just to a boil.   As soon as it boils, remove from heat and allow to cool to approximately 115 degrees F.  You can use a thermometer if you have one but the milk should feel warm to the touch but not hot.  Temperature is important so if you aren’t sure, use a thermometer.

Once the milk has cooled, add the yogurt culture and stir well.

Now the fun begins.  I use a crockpot and fill it half way with warm water.  I put the jar of yogurt into the water and turn the crockpot to warm.  Let it sit for 6 to 8 hours. Keep a close eye on the temperature. It needs to incubate at 115 degrees F.   If it gets too hot, it will kill the yogurt cultures.  If it gets too cool, they will not grow.

Warm Water Bath

At first I thought that it might be too hot as the yogurt did not seem to be thickening but then right at 6 hours, it turned to the consistency of a soft pudding.  I removed it from the water bath and split it into smaller jars.   I sweetened one with sugar and added a dollop of vanilla to it.  It tastes wonderful!

The second one I am going to use to make tzatziki dressing. Depending on how it turns out, I will give you the recipe for it tomorrow.