Tuesday - Kitchen Day!

I'm happy to say that the girls' room is still clean! We had a hefty glitch the other night, but it finally got taken care of. I haven't looked in there for a few hours though; I may need to temper my excitement...

Today is my Kitchen Day, and while I didn't get a ton of things cleaned perfectly, I DID get a lot of cooking done. Yesterday I had to run to town for my midwife appointment, and had planned to make Split Pea Soup. I prepped the carrots, celery, and onion in the food processor, and then started looking for the split peas... I used to buy them by the barrel, I swear. I guess I thought I had enough to last for eternity, and haven't bought them in a while, because they were nowhere to be found. Thankfully I had to run to town anyway, so I just figured to pick up some split peas. I did, but not at the price I'm used to! $1.19/lb for plain, ol', bulk split peas. It did save me a stop, even though I paid more. I used about 5.8 lbs for my pot; made about 3 gallons.

If you're interested, it goes like this:

• Split peas and water, about 1:2 or 3 in a pot or crock pot.
• sliced carrots
• diced celery
• an onion or so, diced
• RealSalt
• Black pepper (fresh ground)
• Spike - available at Fred Meyer in bulk (along with expensive peas)
• Bay leaf (or leaves, if you make 3 gallons)

Bring to boil, simmer a good while (or put in crock pot on low for the day). I usually use a bit of bacon for taste, but I haven't gotten around to smoking the bacons yet, so this one is meat-free. I also make it fairly thick; when cool it can stand your spoon up nicely. I used to add basil and thyme, but used Spike this time. VERY tasty!!!

Now, that was all yesterday, but today I measured and bagged and froze the remainder of the soup.

I also roasted a home-grown, home-processed turkey, which smells really tasty. I also used Spike on this. I'll let you know how it tastes.

I was able to acquire a gallon of raw organic cream today, on the Black Market. I used some of it to make ice cream! Yummy! I got the recipe from Nourishing Traditions (see sidebar) and tweaked it only a bit. I made blueberry ice cream, with blueberries, cream, honey, maple syrup, egg yolks, and vanilla. It called for arrowroot powder, but I don't have any yet. The only thing I'm ashamed of is the honey. It's cheap "clover" honey from Costco. The blueberries are from Azure, naturally grown, the maple syrup is organic, egg yolks laid today, and real vanilla. But wow, it's sure good. Very fluffy and full of all those great fat-soluble vitamins like A and D and such... Since it's not pasturized those things remain intact and useable! So this ice cream is pretty imperative for good health. :)

Another recipe from the same book is for sauerkraut. I made some of that today, too. Or, I started to make it. I got some organic cabbage (2 small/medium heads), shredded it in the food processor, put it in a bowl with the abovementioned salt, and beat it up. I need a good cabbage-abusing tool. I used the handle of a giant wooden spoon my husband's grandparents gave me ages ago. It took a while. After you beat it up, you put it into quart jars, press it down, put a lid on, and walk away. That is, just leave it there. On the counter. At room temperature. For days.

Then put it in cold storage (I'm still not sure exactly what that is... the basement? The fridge?) for as long as you want to wait till you eat it. It is a lactic-acid fermentation, which kills nasty bacteria but promotes good-bacteria (think yogurt, etc). VERY good for you, so I read. I look forward to eating it.

The hens are upping production consistently. We're getting 15-18 a day, but they don't start laying till 10 am or so. Do I have lazy hens? I gave away 3 dozen yesterday, and 3 1/2 dozen today, and still have plenty on hand. I need a spare fridge and a roadside stand.

My seeds are VERY reluctant to sprout. The peppers I shopped for and ordered so meticulously are not germinating worth a darn. I don't know if I messed things up or what. I thought the peas I set out were a lost cause, but I've seen a FEW trying to sprout. I must've had 15 packets of peas. I may be lucky to GET 15 packets of peas in harvest! :) The broccoli and cabbage starts are doing okay. Visions of freaky un-canned, un-cooked sauerkraut dancing in my head! Just what I'll have time for, with a newborn and homeschooling to do...

As to my appointment, things look good. I was not dehydrated at all (better not be! 2 quarts+ of liquid per day, baby!), bp and heartrates for me and baby were good, minimal weight gain (all that water, maybe?), and another chiropractic adjustment to keep me together. I'm very grateful for that.