Pondering the Big Woods

Photo courtesy of Lori Watson


What follows is an excerpt of food preservation information from "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I do not claim any rights to this information, I just compiled this as a courtesy for people who may be interested in how the Ingalls family prepared for winter and what they ate in the Big Woods.

Venison Jerky - salted, smoked with green hickory chips, wrapped in paper and stored in the attic
Salted fish - salted and placed in barrels in the pantry
Potatoes - root cellar
Carrots - root cellar
Beets - root cellar
Turnips - root cellar
Cabbages - root cellar
Onions - braided and hung in the attic
Red Peppers - dried, made into wreaths and hung in the attic
Pumpkins, Winter squashes - piled in the attic
Hard Yellow Cheeses - made from calf stomach rennet, placed in buttered muslin sewn shut and stored in the pantry
Herbs - dried and hung in bunches in the attic (culinary and medicinal)
Maple Syrup (if any left from prior year)
Maple Sugar cakes (if any left from prior year)
Molasses
Salt
Sugar (light brown for company)
Cornmeal
Flour
Pickles - sour
Walnuts
Hickory Nuts
Hazelnuts
Honey
Coffee
Tea
Vinegar
Dried Apples
Dried Berries


Pig Butchering Day:

Hams and shoulders - brined then smoked, wrapped in paper and hung in the attic
Other meat cuts - salted, smoked, wrapped in paper and stored in the attic
Cracklings from lard making - stored in jar or barrel in the pantry, used in making Johnny Cakes
Sausage - finely minced meat and fat mixed with salt, pepper and garden fresh sage then formed into balls and stored in the shed (to freeze)
Lard - jars stored in the shed
Salt pork - stored in a keg in the shed


Butter - grate 1 fresh carrot and soak in milk for a few hours before making butter so winter butter is not pale

Food:

Salt rising bread - this recipe has shortening, but I assume you can use butter instead
Rye 'n' Injun bread
Swedish crackers
Baked beans with salt pork and molasses - disregard the mustard if you want to be really authentic
Vinegar Pies
Dried apple pies
Cookies
Cake
Molasses & sugar snow candy
Red & White striped peppermint sticks
Pancakes
Cold venison sandwiches and milk
Hasty pudding
Pumpkin Pies
Dried berry pies
Cold boiled pork
Bread and butter
Hardboiled eggs
Stewed pumpkin with bread - pumpkin slow cooked all day with spices until reduced and very thick
Hubbard squash - baked in hunks for dinner
Hulled corn and milk
Hulled corn and milk with maple syrup
Hulled corn fried in pork drippings
Boiled potatoes, cabbage and meat
Johnny Cake
Pitchers of milk
Tea
Coffee

What I find interesting is how the Ingalls family doesn't eat much meat through the summer months because Pa doesn't believe in killing animals that may have babies.
They eat ultra seasonally (obviously) and naturally limit themselves to what is available or what they can afford if Pa went to town.

I've read this book 3 times since last fall and my main takeaways are the simplicity and seasonality of their diet.

I think as Americans who are used to having whatever we want whenever we want this type of thinking may be a tad extreme, but it's good information to ponder as we go through the fruitful months of summer.

What do we really need in order to survive?

On layoffs, new adventures and being a full-time mama & farmer

Today marked the end of my 9 year employment with Hollywood Video corporate offices. Hollywood is closing all their stores in the coming months and my position as a Specialty Sell Thru buyer was no longer needed.

That said, I loved my job at Hollywood and will cherish the memories and friends I made while I worked there.

But in the words of Walt Disney, I need to "Keep Moving Forward!"

I've been spread pretty thin with a 2 year old, farm, full-time job and a house in the city; so I'm really looking forward to being able to devote myself full-time to the two real loves of my life (family & farm).

What we're up to:

We'll be sending a fresh batch of pork to "Farm to Fork" restaurant in Dundee, Oregon sometime in the near future.

Patience is a virtue when watching pastured pigs grow as they do not make the same astounding rates of growth in six months like a confined feed operation pig does.

Chef Paul Bachand did all sorts of fun things with our pork last time, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.












We're also one of the suppliers for chef Jeffrey Kingman at "Cognito" that opens this summer in PDX. We'll be providing pork & vegetables for their top secret menu!

The Willamette Week also mentioned us in their article about Cognito today which was pretty thrilling I must say!

We can be found on Twitter @Rosemont_Farm.

We're hoping to partner with a few more local restaurants in a CSA type model to allow us to expand what we can offer from our sustainably run, ethically grown 22 acre slice of heaven.

Here's to a fun and healthy summer full of family and farm memories...plus some really darn good food.

Alternative Pest Management with Edible Plants

Image source: Pollenatrix

A long time ago, I read that the shortage of Hummingbirds was because of pesticides. At my old place (about 75 miles east of here) I counted 11 Hummingbirds at one time all vying for a spot on the feeder. I have seen 1 a year here in the Willamette Valley! The difference is terrible, and I really miss those little zoomers.

According to Jonathan Ya'akobi at Dry Climate Gardening, a pair of nesting birds can eat 75 pounds (POUNDS!!) of bugs in a year. This includes aphids, insect eggs and caterpillars.

I've been actively researching plants that attract birds (bees, butterflies and beneficial insects) and are still part of my edible landscaping plan.

To attract and keep the beneficial critters a few things are needed - food, water, shelter and no pesticides.

Food:

Blueberry
Huckleberry
Raspberry
Grapes
Mulberry
Plum
Calendula
Dill (food for Black Swallowtail caterpillars)
Fennel (food for Black Swallowtail caterpillars)
Nasturtium
Parsley (food for Black Swallowtail caterpillars)
Sunflowers
Anise Hyssop
Pineapple Sage
Cherry
Crab Apples (Crab Apple Jelly anyone?)
Hazelnuts/ Filberts
Walnuts
Chesnuts

Check out this LIST online that has some great suggestions for attracting birds.

The folks at EarthEasy have plenty of suggestions how to control pests by attracting beneficial insects too!

Shelter:

Evergreen shrubs and trees (leaves or needles or both!) to protect them from predators and the elements.

Water:

Birds love water that drips so a tiny fountain is sure to attract them.
A birdbath is great too.

Butterflies like a little muddy place that they can sip tiny amounts of water from. Think 'marsh garden'.

I don't know about you, but I would much rather lose a berry or two to a flock of birds than sit on a chemical soaked lawn.

More Summer pics!

Here come the combines! It was really quite a sight. I know they thought I was nuts running out there to take pictures, but oh well!

My oldest sons building fence. I do so love having big strapping boys. View looking Northwest at the Trask Mtn range (coast range).






















The view due North. Isn't it beautiful here? I can see why my Great x 4 Grandfather chose this site for his house.






















This is view North and slightly West...it was stunning in person.

Farm Pics August 2009

Sorry I am so lax about posting - what with a toddler, full-time jobs and a farm the blog gets forgotton.

We are tweeting @Rosemont_Farm though! Come play along!

















Here is Vi.
















Here is the view looking East into the town of Yamhill. The Bent Grass seed crops are down & the combines are coming through...see next blog post.
















The red clingstone plums are ready this coming weekend! They make luscious jam.
Thanks to 2 wild beehives we have plenty of fruit set this year.

















The view looking due East at the town of Yamhill. In the foreground is the corn and tomato patch.

No more milk sales effective July 12, 2009

It is with great sadness that we have decided to cease selling raw goat milk effective today. Please return your jars at your convenience for a refund of your deposit monies.
Take care,
Heather & the gang

Just hamming it up at the farm

Sunday at the farm was a very productive day.

We started tearing down the old greenhouse that had fallen in the "Blizzard of '08".

We found a bunch of chicken raising supplies from when my grandparents were raising a flock.

The major find was a big brooder. We just need to rewire it with a safer set up.

We also found a bunch of the original doors and windows off the house (c. 1876!). The doors were in really good shape.

There was a giant pickle crock that was cracked but repairable. I am sure the glaze is lead so we would not use it even if it were not cracked.

We took a peek into the old smokehouse and saw so many treasures that we want to go after. We are very patient though, knowing how unsafe that building might be.

At the entry way of the old chicken coop we uncovered a giant flagstone that was placed there to keep the mud down. My dad thinks he may have placed it there years ago.



This mama was all coy and shy about having her picture done.

This mama muscled her way in when I was taking pictures and shoved her mug right up into the camera to make sure I took her picture. She is a big ham but she is my favorite goat...don't tell the others. You can see her baby belly. I am guessing she will go another 4 weeks or so before we meet her little ones.

We have lots more to do in the coming months, stay tuned for updates.

Garden update: Yesterday we started 90 tomato plants, 48 cucumbers and 21 zuchinni plants!