Irony

On Friday we drove our pick up truck with its little load of vegetables, tables, signs, etc. to the Potter County Farmer's Market and got behind this....

Tractor trailer of green beans...

...heading to the canning plant

....irony.

Picking Haws For Haw Jelly

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We have two beautiful hawthorn trees in our backyard.  One has yellow haws and the other has red haws.  The yellow haw tree didn't produce at all this year while the red haw tree is loaded.  I finally got a chance to pick some haws for jelly yesterday.  

Be careful when picking haws because the trees have nasty thorns!

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The haws from the hawthorn tree are known for their great effects on the circulatory system and the heart.   The hawthorn tree has a wonderful tradition of folklore and beliefs surrounding it.  Not surprisingly, the cruelly thorned hawthorn branches were thought to be used to make Christ's crown of thorns.  Bushman Fitness writes about the hawthorne's historical and medicinal background on his blog page Hawthorne: Blood-Control HQ.  

Recipes for haw jelly are not plentiful.  I found this one from Stalking the Healthful Herbs by Euell Gibbons.

Here is Euell Gibbon’s Recipe for Hawthorn Jelly:

To make Haw Jelly, crush 3 pounds of the fruit, add 4 cups of water, bring it to a boil, cover the kettle and let it simmer for 10 minutes, then strain the juice through a jelly bag and discard the spent pulp, seeds, and skins. If red haws are not too ripe, they will furnish ample pectin for jelly making, but if they are very ripe, add 1 package powdered pectin to the strained juice. We felt our juice could stand more acid, so we added the juice of 2 lemons. We put just 4 cups of this juice in a very large saucepan and brought it to a boil, then added 7 cups of sugar and very soon after it came to a boil again, it showed a perfect jelly test.

That's a lot of sugar.   But I've read that the jelly won't set if less sugar is used.  I'll make the jelly today and let you know the results! 

The Best Time To Start Chickens For Butchering

A friend came to the Potter County Farmers Market this Friday and we talked about butchering chickens.  

Our experience has been that the best time to get your fast growing chicks is as late in the summer as possible.  That way, there's (hopefully) been one killing frost (here in north central Pennsylvania) when it comes time to butcher them in late September or early October and the flies are dead.  I personally find it quite disgusting to be butchering chickens and have flies land on them.  Blecch.   

The very best chicken butchering tutorial that I have found:   

Survival Skills With Russ

 “I want there to be no peasant in my kingdom so poor that he cannot have a chicken in his pot every Sunday”

 - Henry IV

Don't forget to go over to the Homestead Revival Barn Hop

Apple Cider Vinegar For Chickens?

Apple Cider Vinegar is full of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements.  When reading about this addition to my chickens' diet I found that it may help the chickens' health in a number of ways.  One way it may help is that it may prevent bacteria from building of in the birds' crops.  Another way it may help it that its reported to remove mucous from the body which helps chickens who are prone to respiratory problems.  And third, its supposed to build up their immune system.

From my very unscientific experience, I've found that my chickens' egg production really increases if once or twice a week I add a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a couple gallons of my chickens' water. 

Many of the reports say to use natural, unfiltered, apple cider vinegar that has "mother" in it.  I use the basic cheap stuff off the grocery store shelf and it seems to work fine.  Who knows, maybe the egg production would go up even more with the good stuff?

What I use.
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The Good Stuff
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Give it a try... I'd love to hear about your results!

On which side does a chicken have the most feathers? 

On the outside.

~chickenjoke.com

Homestead Revival: Why You Should Shun Cheap Groceries

Homestead Revival: Why You Should Shun Cheap Groceries

This author of this blog, Amy, eloquently says exactly what I would like to say.


And after you read her wonderful blog, don't forget that the Potter County Farmers Market is tomorrow, Friday, on the Coudersport Courthouse Square, from 2 - 6 p.m.

Crunch A Color

I came across wonderful food chart, lunch box planner, lunch box note, and placemat printables from Potter Barn Kids.  

"Make mealtime nutritious and fun with these downloadables from Jennifer Tyler Lee. Whether you're playing the Crunch A Color game or just want to get kids excited about eating well, these charts and cards are sure to inspire healthy – and colorful! – choices."

Crunch A Color Printables

Sour Cream Cucumbers

I was going to write about my outside weed garden.  But it'll be so much more fun with pictures.  Today, a recipe for that abundance of cucumbers people may be getting! 

This is a recipe my mom made when I was a kid and now I make it for my kids.  They gobble it up!

Sour Cream Cucumbers

Everything here is "to taste."  We like ours a tiny bit vinegary and garlicy.  So I'll give you approximate measures and you can taste your sour cream mixture until you get it the way your family likes it.  

Ingredients: 

3-4 cucumbers, peeled, if necessary, and very thinly sliced

sour cream, a nice big dollop (maybe 1/2 to 3/4 cup)

garlic powder (about 1 tsp.) 

white vinegar (about 2-3 tsp.)

pepper (about 1/8 tsp.)

I remember my mom always put the cucumbers in a colander with salt and ice cubes for a couple of hours (I think to crisp the cucumbers).  I usually forget about that step until just about suppertime and the dish still turns out tasty.  

Mix together sour cream, garlic powder and vinegar.  Taste and adjust.  Fold in sliced cucumbers until they're nicely coated.  Sprinkle with pepper.

So simple and so good!