Found some vintage pictures.. Is going back to basics better?

Loretta Lynn canning green beans...

Vintage baking.. Apron on, hand mixer, milk in a bottle..

Little more update photo.. Milk is in a carton and  I just love how women in pictures are wearing their pearls to cook in...

I think about how back in the day when women baked or even cooked a meal it was from scratch... We did not have the conviences we have today.  Most of the food they cooked they raised in their gardens.  Today we run to the store for everything.. It is one of the reason I love to plant a garden and make my bread from scratch when I can... Life just gets too busy  to do that every day.. How I wish we could slow things down and enjoy the simple life again.  Think about it, what would happen if we could not get to the store for the things we need... How would we eat?  

Playing in the dirt... Gardening getting ready for planting...

With today being 45 to 50 degree day it was time to move the garden box. It usually sits in the middle of the yard by the drive way... So today we moved it back to the original location to the side along the fence...  We will be starting our seeds this week so they will be ready to plant by the end of May... Being in Michigan and the crazy spring we are having I think we will be safe by then.. It has been so cold and frost is finally coming out of the ground.. Since I use a garden box and it sits on top of the ground we should be ok if we cover it with heavy plastic if needed.

I am in search of berries bushes. Raspberry and Blueberry...maybe some Strawberry too...I think if I can grown them in the back yard it will be helpful but not sure if I can plant enough to make a good amount of jam.. So we may just be going out to the local farms and picking them....

I will be planting some habernero peppers to add to my jams..  Also we are putting in a herb garden to add fresh herbs to the jams and my cooking... Plus we will be doing tomatoes.. thinking of doing them in 5 gallon buckets and staking them up... As I get older the ground is alot lower than my knees and back like.. So we are looking into ways to elevate the garden beds...

So it sure looks like spring has finally sprung and we are looking forward to turning our backyard into our product department for our grocery shopping...

Keep gardening and canning what you grow!
~Aunte B~

Homemade Potato Soup

Homemade Potato Soup

Left over Ham and a ham bone
6 small red potatoes, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 sweet onion, diced
3-4 Cups ham broth
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1/2 Cup butter
1/2 Cup flour
Black Pepper to taste

Place ham bone in large pot and cover with water.  Simmer for 1 hour.. During the  last 30 minutes add cubed red potatoes.  Then once the potatoes are tender, remove potatoes and set aside.  Remove ham from the pot and remove any ham from the bone and return to the broth.   In another large pot add butter, carrots, celery, onion and garlic.  With lid on simmer for 15 minutes until veggies are tender.  Ad cooked potatoes to veggies.  Stir and cook for about 5 minutes more.  Add flour to veggies and stir until well mix in well. Cook for 5 minutes.  Add one can evaporated milk and stir to combine.  Add ham broth and ham into mixture and stir well.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened.  Enjoy this creamy delicious soup with some grill cheese sammies...

With 4 cups of broth I got 2 quarts of soup....  

This is one of the best tasting potato and ham soup I have ate...

We need strawberries!

My last jar of Strawberry Jam is just about gone... about a spoonful left in it... So I have got to find some strawberries to make some jam... This year when we go to get our fresh Michigan Strawberries I am gonna have to make an extra trip and buy twice as much...
That jam sure was a big hit..

 

Spring time and Gardening

We have spring on our brain... I want to get out and play in the dirt.. The only problem with that is my raised garden bed is still frozen.. So what to do in the mean time???  Plan out the garden.. I want add more raised bed for gardening.. I figure to use cement blocks that will give me a clearance of 8 inches of dirt to play in... Not sure if it will keep the dog out but he is trainable..  Oh and did I mention I want to add 3 more beds to the garden.. One for a salad greens, one for tomatoes, one for green beans and peppers..   Hoping to eat right out of my garden for meals.  Can a hugh amount of tomatoes for spaghetti sauce, tomato paste and whole tomatoes..  Now let see if I can do this inexpensively... That is part 2 of my summer.. Recycling, Reusing and finding frugal ways to save more money...

 Not only is gardening good nutrition  its good exercise and it is good for your mind.   So playing in the dirt is therapeutic for your sole....

Changes are happening here.

Wow, its almost the end of February and we are running out of time... Time for preparing our jams, candles and breads.. With two teens in high school, I have to commitment to make products and get them out there to sell, we are in the process of setting up the workshop for spring product... Candles and Soaps and Lotions that is...  Jams will have to happen when we get our Michigan fruit in season..

So stay tune, who knows where we will end up....

~Brenda~

Carb vs Carbs

So there are diets that say NO Carbs.. or Low Carbs... Really what is all the carb talk about?  There a good carbs and bad carbs...  So with this picture maybe it will be a little clearer..

So the good carbs are food found in a natural state... 

That is all you need to know!

Eat those!!