Freemotion's food journal: Expanding the gardens, pics p 53

[Dace]

I am so jealous!

I think I am going to try your method Free..... Hopefully I won't miss the cuke boat, we really enjoyed our homemade pickles last year.

On the 'getting over bad food' topic.... One of my hardest issues is oil. I can control what I put on my plate when I am a guest but the oils that are on foods, like marinades and bottled dressings really bother me. However, I have been volunteering to cook alot so we have had a lot of 'from scratch' dressings and marinades.
Aside from that I tend to approach it like Free..... We are so much better off that we were a year ago, some lesser quality foods are not going to hurt us and in my case it is more important to be a gracious guest!

 

[FarmerDenise]

I am so jealous!

I think I am going to try your method Free..... Hopefully I won't miss the cuke boat, we really enjoyed our homemade pickles last year.

On the 'getting over bad food' topic.... One of my hardest issues is oil. I can control what I put on my plate when I am a guest but the oils that are on foods, like marinades and bottled dressings really bother me. However, I have been volunteering to cook alot so we have had a lot of 'from scratch' dressings and marinades.
Aside from that I tend to approach it like Free..... We are so much better off that we were a year ago, some lesser quality foods are not going to hurt us and in my case it is more important to be a gracious guest!

And fortunately it won't be much longer until you'll be able to have more control again

 

[Dace]

Oh FD, you have nooooooo idea how anxious I am to have my own kitchen!! But at the same time I am incredibly thankful that our family could house us for this month. It has been lots of fun but I am still ready to do my own thing!

 

[FarmerDenise]

Oh FD, you have nooooooo idea how anxious I am to have my own kitchen!! But at the same time I am incredibly thankful that our family could house us for this month. It has been lots of fun but I am still ready to do my own thing!

You are fortunate that your family was able to help you out that well. But even when you go on vacation, it is nice to come back home to your own bed and familiar food and your own routines

 

[freemotion]

I had one jar of pickles go completely mushy on me (quart)....now I'm nervous about the others. I shouldn't be, because of my success last year....but I just started filling my second 2-gallon jar (woohoo!) and it is already almost full! The cucumber plants are still healthy and producing, and there is still plenty of dill. I threw a small handful of pole beans into the last jar. I didn't have enough beans to do anything with other than eat them as I picked them, so I set a few aside to see how they'd come out as pickles.

Yesterday I picked up two bags of wheat berries and my total bill was less than $45. I hadn't stocked up on wheat berries yet because I couldn't find them for less than $150-170 including shipping for 50 lbs, yet I now have 100 lbs for $45! They are not organic, but are chemical-free, and that will do. I have a bag of hard white and a bag of soft white. I will order a bag of kamut next. It is time for me to start making some of our bread, even though we don't use that much, it is $3-4 per pound for the kinds I will tolerate, one of my grocery splurges. I will be happier with 45 cents a pound! Even if it is just for toast and such, it'll cut down on the grocery bill a bit.

So one goal for this winter will be to perfect recipes for whole wheat bread that we will actually eat. Growing up, my mother made all the bread, but used white flour mostly. I learned from her, and in my teens made the bread for the family quite often....six loaf batches. It was always a battle to not devour a loaf with butter as soon as it came out of the oven. Mom stood firm....most of the time!

I made all my own bread for many years as an adult, but gradually stopped. When I shifted more and more to whole grains, I was not satisfied with the results made from grocery store flour. The bread was too dense, too strong and bitter, and too crumbly. I had two recipes I used for toasting and French toast only, an oatmeal bread and a seven-grain bread recipe. The extra gluten produced in these methods made a softer, less crumbly bread that was wonderful toasted with butter but impossible for sandwiches.

Since shifting to a very low-grain diet, it has not seemed worthwhile to bother with bread-making, especially since we can get the wonderful sprouted grain breads from Alvarado Street Bakery....most of the time.

Now at 45 cents a pound, I can no longer resist the challenge. Grinding the wheat myself will solve the strong, bitter taste that comes from using rancid grocery store flour. I could even sprout it, I've experimented with this a little in the past year or two. Bring on the cooler fall and winter weather! I'm ready!

NOT!

Oh, hey, just had a thought....I have a Gouda almost ready to wax and age, and a Caerphilly waxed and aging....ooooh, grilled cheese sandwiches on homemade bread! I think I'm gonna swoon!

 

[freemotion]

My dad dropped off a sack of raw in-shell peanuts! It is a 25# sack and almost full, maybe only 5# are missing from it. My brother brought them from Florida, but I don't think dad wants to bother with the roasting/boiling needed to eat them, and mom can't open peanuts anymore so I get them. I will be canning them up as soon as my gas stove is installed....well, my next day off after my gas stove is installed! Woohoo!

 

[Henrietta23]

My dad dropped off a sack of raw in-shell peanuts! It is a 25# sack and almost full, maybe only 5# are missing from it. My brother brought them from Florida, but I don't think dad wants to bother with the roasting/boiling needed to eat them, and mom can't open peanuts anymore so I get them. I will be canning them up as soon as my gas stove is installed....well, my next day off after my gas stove is installed! Woohoo!

 

[TanksHill]

So where did yo find such a good deal on wheat? I can't wait to see what you come up with for bread. I have made bread from store bought whole wheat flour as well as ground my own.

The sprouted grain bread recipe that is somewhere around here is wonderful. But I had a hard time running the crock pot all day for a small round loaf that lasted my family about 10 minutes. Kinda hard to use it for sandwiches also.

Keep us updated.

g

 

[kcsunshine]

Okay, free, I'm on a roll today - since you're the food guru - here's one for you:

Have a good day.

 

[Dace]

Hey Freecomotion

I am on a quest to make some good sour dough for my son....so naturally I ventured off into the world wide web to see if I could find a workable gluten free version that would please everyone. I have not found one yet, but I will keep looking.

What brings me to your 'front porch' is I recall you saying that some people who don't tolerate wheat can tolerate SD (you included I believe) I think you said something about the protien being partially digested in the fermentation process....would that mean that if someone was gluten intolerant they may be able to handle traditional SD?

Can you 'splain?