Small Homestead

I have recently learned about a program called Angel Food Ministries.   The ministry provides food packages that cost a little less than half of their retail value through local churches .  The website states that the package should be enough to feed a family of 4 for a week and the cost is $30.   The value of the food is approximately $65.  Sounds like a really good deal, doesn’t it?  There are no income requirements for Angel Food Packages, they are available for anyone.

The Food

I looked at the menu for November 2009.  The basic package cost is $30 and includes the following:

• 1.5 lbs rib eye steaks (3 8 oz steaks)
• 4 Boneless Center cut Pork Chops
• 2 lb bag fried Rice Skillet meal
• 22 oz lasagna
• 22 oz breaded fish patties (5)
• 1 lb lean hamburger
• 1.5 lb breaded chicken breast
• 1 lb frozen zucchini
• 1 lb frozen cauliflower
• 1 lb broccoli
• 1 lb hash brown patties
• 8 oz breakfast cereal
• 2 lb onions
• Box of 2% milk
• 1 dozen eggs
• One family dessert item

I worked out pricing for this and it is truly a pretty good deal IF you will use all of the food that comes in it.  It would not work for Randy and I because we eat very little pre-prepared meals like breaded chicken or frozen lasagna.  However, I can see where it would be a great deal for my youngest daughter and her spouse who is in the military.   I can also see where it would benefit a great many people who are on a tight budget and their grocery budget was stretched thin.  When I had children to feed and worked full time, I often used convenience foods on those nights when there just wasn’t time to cook a full meal.

They also offer additional specials that are meat and fresh vegetables that Randy and I would use.  I am seriously considering ordering the assorted meat special.  I had considered the vegetable special but I honestly think I can do better than that at the local grocery store.

Thanksgiving Dinner

For November, Angel Food Ministries is offering a Thanksgiving dinner package for $36.  The package includes both turkey and ham as well as all of the traditional fixings.  It’s actually a pretty good deal.  This is an additional item and not the basic package.   It can be ordered through the local distribution sites through October 28th. You can find your local site at Angel Food Ministries website.

The Jury Is Out

I cannot in good conscience promote Angel Food Ministries without also mentioning the negative side.  It seems that the ministry is a non profit organization that was started by one family.  The family has come under some pretty negative press for receiving exorbitant salaries.   I don’t know the circumstances of this and I won’t pass judgment on something just from reading the press but it is something to consider if you are looking to donate to this organization.

If you would like to read some comments on Angel Food Ministries food, Frugal Living had a post that asked their readers to weigh in yay or nay.  My impression from reading a few hundred comments was that if you really need to stretch your grocery budget, it is a great deal.  If you are used to eating premium foods, you will probably not be happy.  Overall, I think that the packages probably are more appreciated by the people who need them rather than the people who are just looking for a good deal.

Have you tried their packages?  What was your experience?

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.

It’s almost Halloween and I am still getting vegetables out of the garden.  I have to admit that I am tired of picking tomatoes.  I have frozen more than we will eat this winter and the extended family hasn’t wanted to pick anything.  I am also still picking cucumbers, squash and a few stray limas.  Oh and I forgot the okra.  I have more okra than I will probably eat in this lifetime and all off of 3 plants.

I want to put the garden to bed.  The weather has gotten much cooler so once the rain stops this week, I am going to start putting most of the garden to bed and preparing it for early planting.  The first step is to pick all the tomatoes, ripe or not.  I will use these to make green tomato relish or picalilli.   I will also need to pick all of the remaining bell peppers and squash.  The peppers will either be frozen or used to make the green tomato relish.

The next step will be to remove all of the old plants.  We could plow or till these into the ground but the lawn tractor has not been running terribly well and I don’t want to strain it in the garden.  Once removed, the plants will either be added to a fresh compost pile or burnt.  This will help to cut down on any garden pests that have layed eggs in the plants.

Once the plants are removed, we will start covering the garden with composted manure.  This manure is over a year old and has stayed warm enough to kill all of the weed seeds.  This compost will be added to the garden and tilled in to help fertilize and to keep the garden soil soft.

After the manure is worked into the soil, Randy wants to cover it with plastic.  This will keep the soil hot and help kill any remaining weeds.  Hopefully it will give us a head start on the wire grass next year.  The wire grass has been the bane of my gardening this year.  It is almost impossible to kill and it makes it really hard to find the vegetables.

With those tasks complete, the garden will be ready for early spring or late winter planting.  Overall, while our garden didn’t look very pretty because of the wire grass, it was very successful.  We had enough lima beans, corn, tomatoes, okra, squash, and cucumbers to feed us through the summer and well into winter.

How did your garden do this year?

Its been challenging over the last two weeks to find the time and energy to get everything done.  With the days getting shorter and going to work for most of the day, the garden is getting wilder and wilder and I am getting further behind.  I did get another 5 gallons of Limas picked the other day.

We are also still picking tomatoes, green peppers, squash, jalapenos and chilis and Okra.  Goodness, I have enough okra for 10 years.  I have not gotten the winter greens planted.  It has been a challenge since Randy was operated on and can’t ride the garden tractor.

On the brighter side, I am truly enjoying my job.  It’s nice to get out and have a purpose in life.  Honestly, once I adjust to the physical side of it, I think I will get just as much done at home.  It’s also really nice to have an income.

I haven’t been writing as much but as the days get shorter, I will have more time inside to get it done.

I start my new job this morning and I just wanted to write a short note to let everyone know what was going on.  Tonight when I get home I am going to have to wade out into the mud to pick lima beans.  They are going wild.

We have had about 2 or 3 inches of rain overnight so it is going to be wet.  I just can’t put it off any longer.  The lima plants are taking over the garden.  I guess they like the cooler weather.

I am going to be working full time which is great news for the budget and lousy news for the garden.  R can’t get out and pick so I will be picking evenings.  It’s a good thing.

I made soup yesterday with the soup pots I have in the freezer.  I added some frozen tomatoes and some okra.  The okra made it so thick that I can’t simmer it all day but boy is it YUMMY!

R is home from the hospital and doing as well as can be expected.  He is pretty much house bound and hurting enough that he hasn’t complained.  He is managing to walk around the house a good bit though.  I am very glad not to be making the hour and a half drive to the city every day.

I am trying to keep up with all of my chores plus R’s chores.  I can’t do it all but I am making a pretty good stab at it.  I made it out into the garden today and oh my gosh!!!  It has gone wild over the last 5 days.  I picked half a row of lima beans and got 2 gallons.  Then I picked two gallons of tomatoes.  There will be more by Sunday.  I still have another full row of lima beans and all of the peppers to pick.

I figure that I will have 15 – 20 Green peppers and another 2 gallons of lima beans.  Then there are the chili and jalapeno peppers that need picking.  Believe me, I am not complaining.  We should easily have enough vegetables to see us through the winter and into the spring.  The big freezer is almost full and I am going to have to start using the two smaller freezers.

I am going to try Marci’s suggestion of freezing the tomatoes whole and unpeeled.  She puts hers in a paper bag and then blanches and peels them as she needs them.  Hopefully they will work just as well in a plastic grocery bag.  I should have much more time to blanch and peel them as I need them than I do right now.

Over the next week, I need to get the fall greens planted.  I am planting turnip and collard greens.  I am also going to plant some more cabbage, lettuce and spinach plants.  These will pretty much round out the vegetables for the winter.

Just wanted too give everyone a quick update.  Randy had surgery yesterday for his hip replacement.  He came through with flying colors but then spiked a fever last night.  I was at the hospital until early this morning.  His fever is back down but he is on IV antibiotics right now.  Hopefully when the antibiotics are done, his fever will stay down.  Other than that he is doing well and giving the nurses a run for their money.

Be back soon!!

The tomatoes are finally coming in and they are coming in all at once.  It’s amazing how many you get off just one bush.  Then multiply it by 10 and you get enough tomatoes to feed an army.  For the last few weeks, we have been having tomatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Fresh Tomatoes

Today I was faced with an ever growing supply and decided that it was time to put some up.  Rather than canning them and having to deal with sterilizing jars, buying lids and processing, I decided to freeze the majority.  We have 3 freezers plus the refrigerator freezer so there is ample room.

Freezing tomatoes is simple.  You can freeze them with their skins on just by cutting them into wedges or slices and popping them into a freezer bag.  Frozen tomatoes are best used in soups, sauces and casseroles because they do not retain their texture.  I am peeling them, quartering them and freezing them by the quart.

Freezing Tomatoes

1. Wash all tomatoes before processing.
2. Boil enough water in a pan to cover several tomatoes.


Blanching tomatoes

3. Drop whole tomatoes into boiling water.  Boil for one minute or until the skin splits.
   

   Split skin on blanched tomatoes

4. Remove from boiling water and set aside to cool.
   

   Peel Comes Away Easily

5. Use fingers to peel skin from tomatoes.
6. Core with sharp knife and cut into wedges or dice.
   

   Quartered Tomatoes

7. Put juice and tomatoes into freezer bag.
8. Label and place into freezer.

Frozen tomatoes retain their flavor if not their texture.  They are excellent used in stews, soups and casseroles.  Today I put up 15 quarts of tomatoes in about an hour and a half.

July has been a strange month here.  It was hot and dry for the first three weeks, so much so that we feared losing the garden altogether.  The last week and a half of July it rained just about every other day.  The rain gauge showed approximately 4 1/2 inches over that time period.

However, the rain did help the corn, limas and tomatoes.  I have been keeping track of what I have picked and put up.   The limas and the corn are the definite winners here.  Cucumbers would be a close third.  The squash and tomatoes have just not done well.

We have picked:

• 152 ears of corn
• 5 gallons of limas
• 25 cucumbers
• 15 yellow squash
• 5 tomatoes

I have put up:

• 15 quarts of corn
• 10 quarts of limas
• 5 quarts of squash
• 5 1/2 pints of bread and butter pickles

I have been a little disappointed in the garden so far.  I had hoped to have enough to put up to see us through the winter as well as sharing some with R’s and my kids.   Right now with the exception of the corn, it doesn’t look like we will have enough to see us through the winter much less the kids.

Some of it is our own fault.  We killed half a row of green beans with weed killer overspray trying to get rid of the wire grass.  The  wire grass has made it difficult to keep garden pests off of the plants.  It doesn’t hurt the plants themselves too much but you can’t see what is attacking the plants.  We also did not do enough preparation prior to planting the garden.  We should have sprayed the wire grass and let it die and then covered the rows.

Regardless, for the small amount of money that we have spent in seed, we have done well.  The tomatoes will ripen eventually.  There are tons on the vines and it’s just a matter of having enough warm nights to ripen them.

We have already planted a late summer planting of beans and squash so we should do better with them in August and September.  Once the corn is finished, we are going to plant turnips and collards there.  I also want to get some brussel sprouts and broccoli planted for the fall.

My Small Homestead was included in several carnivals this week.  I have found that carnivals are not only a great way for other people to discover my blog but also a wonderful way to find other blogs that interest me.  So this week, I decided to share some of my favorites.

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.