Baking Homemade Bread

The one thing we like about making our own bread, is that we have control over what goes in it. No preservatives or chemicals. Pure, natural bread...the way it should be.
Whole wheat bread that you buy in the store is nothing compared to the whole wheat and grain bread we make here on the farm.
We use Bob's Red Mill flours, and add 10 grain flour for more flavor. It creates a delicious and nutrtious bread for sandwiches. We also use it for dipping in our home made soups.
Just once, try making your own bread. You'll love the difference.

Laundry Day

The sun is shinning, and the laundry basket is full. Guess it's time to wash the clothes.

In this house, we don't have a dryer. We either hang them out in the fresh air, or use clothes racks. Mostly the latter during these cold months of winter. Some of the lighter weight items do dry outside, but I hang most of the clothes on racks by the woodstove. They dry overnight, and I save a ton of money by not using a dryer. Friendly on the wallet, and on the environment.

While most people are using a automatic washer, we use a 1945 Maytag Wringer Washer. It is a bit more work, but in the long run, I have more control over it. I control exactly how much water I need to the drop. I control how long it runs, or I can shut it off for things to soak. It has a cast iron, porcelin tub, so there is no way for clothes to get rust stains from soaking. We have been using it now for 4 years, and I can't imagine going back to a "modern" day washer.

The blessing about my washer...I will bet my Maytag is around much longer than any Maytag on the market today.

Go Ahead and Snow

They are calling it The Groundhog Day Blizzard.

When we look out the back window towards the gardens, it looks like someone held a white sheet across the window. You have to look past all those flakes coming down to even see the scarecrow now.
Let is snow. It doesn't really matter to us. We are keeping busy in our harvest kitchen working on packaging up orders, taking photos, and working on our next product debut.
This week, we debuted Rejuvenating Night Cream, and Herbal Infused Oils. By Monday of next week, our Elderflower Day Cream will be ready to be shipped as well. We have a few more products that will be debuting soon too.

We enjoy the simple life. We enjoy working from home. It does make for a nice commute to work, no matter what the weather is outside. The only problem we see...you can't call your boss and tell them you are stuck in your yard and can't get to work.

Organic Heirloom Veggies

Life is bit slow around here in the winter, and it gives us a much needed break from the summer schedule of planting, weeding and harvesting.
It is a good time to read up on organic farming methods, and peruse over new seed catalogs.
At this time of year, we start to plan out our garden on paper. Come planting time, this does make the job a little easier...just a little. A least we know where we are going to plant most things.
This year, we of course will focus on organic heirloom again, but we are thinking of trying out a couple of new tomatoes. We like the looks and sound of the Striped Cavern from Johnny's Seeds. They are bell pepper shaped, and are hollow which will make for a great stuffed tomato. They will probably sell well at the farmers markets as well. Folks like to try new things, and we will give them a recipe for the stuffing part.
Now, we just have to wait until the snow melts, the gardens are plowed and we can put our "garden" on paper to the test.