Whiteley Creek Homestead

blueberry picking

It's how I was raised. During the spring, summer, and autumn seasons, we planted, tended, gathered, and put away food that would carry us through the cold winter months. I do believe I was meant to have lived in the 1800s... a Little House on the Prairie/Laura Ingalls Wilder existence, as I thrive on living off the land and using what I have. Making do and finding joy and contentment in it. So, when my friend Connie told me the (chemical-free) blueberries were ripe at Pine Winder Blueberries, I scrapped my plans for the next morning and trucked on over.  

The sweet-spirited young mother, who was assigned to pick berries on the other side of my row, was as colorful as the blueberries hanging thick on the branches.

The peaceful solitude of the patch was interrupted occasionally by the fleeting buzz of a fly, a gentle breeze flapping the streamers tied to a wide-eyed balloon scarecrow, and an intermittent loud-speaker recording of a not-so-foreboding, at least to human ears, bullyish bird call meant to deter meeker birds from pecking more than their share of succulent berries. 

In three hours, I had picked two five-quart buckets @ $19.50/bucket. Forgoing washing and scattered on a rimmed baking sheet, to prevent a solid clump post-freezing, the berries roll freely as marbles. It'll be a breeze to measure the amount needed for blueberry muffins, pancakes, and scones on a cold January morning. Now, let's be real here. I'd proudly lay claim to the freezer bag labels, however they are clip art I happily discovered online then inserted text boxes to add the picking date and berry patch name. Not necessary, but how fun it life makes!

Picking details: Pine Winder Blueberries is located three miles west of Pine River (Minnesota) on County Road 2, then watch for their sign directing you to turn right (north) and travel a short bit down a country gravel road to their driveway on the left. This year, the patch was open for picking July 20-30, 2017, which isn't a long window of time. That's how blueberries are. You can request to be on their email list so that you get notification of picking dates in 2018, or follow their Facebook page for updates at the beginning of July. 

banana fudgsicles

It began with a chocolate pie recipe that became fudgsicles. In my world, that's often how it works. A slice of "Chocolate Banana Freezer Pie" pictured on the cover of my Clean Eating Magazine has been tempting me since its June 2011 publication. However, as I was reorganizing my walk-in pantry, some retro-style popsicle molds, that I had received as a gift from my daughter Jessie several years ago, caused two ideas to collide. I thought, "The pie filling recipe in my Clean Eating Magazine would make perfect fudgsicles." And it did. And they were. Perfect fudgsicles.

The fudgsicle's sweetness comes solely from bananas. No additional sweetener. The pie filling's pourable consistency makes filling the molds a breeze, and the frozen product readily releases from the molds with a stream or spray of hot water aimed at the desired number of popsicles you choose to consume. Place the remainder back into the freezer for another day.

A happy collision of pie filling and popsicle molds.

may day snowfall's visitor

A commonly expressed comment in these parts is, "Only in Minnesota." It refers to how our climate pays little attention to the calendar. True to form, during the overnight and continuing through the morning hours, a blanket of snow covered the landscape on this first day of May. Although it brought our greenhouse construction and autumn leaf raking to a sudden halt, it was the most beautiful sight...and it came with a most unexpected surprise visit.

In the mid-morning, I nonchalantly began freeze-framing this moment in time by shooting a photo of our backyard, catching a corner of our 1890 RR passenger car and woodpile, just off the back porch. Walking alongside the RR car to the opposite end, I chose the view facing our pole building that is positioned next to our garden plot. Pay particular attention to the draping tree branches behind the snow-covered blue chair. Look closely in the left photo below and you will see a surprise visitor that dropped by seconds later. 

Click on the photo for an enlarged view. Do you see? Remember my recent post regarding attracting orioles and how crucial it is to pay attention to the timing of their yearly arrival? Dick immediately sliced an orange to fit into a suet feeder that I retrieved from my bucket of bird supplies. After attaching an s-hook, he hung it on the branch where, moments ago, the oriole had briefly perched. Long enough to communicate to me, "I am here! I traveled far, but I am here!" And so are we. We will feed you oranges, grapes, and seeds. We will provide a water source and nest building material. We will welcome your young babies. You are home pretty bird. Esmeralda. That shall be your name.

sunset...a moment in time

Not wanting to lose the fleeting moment, time was not wasted by racing outdoors. I snapped this photo looking out our living room window at 8:37 this evening. "8:25 PM Sunday, April 30, 2017 (CDT) Sunset in Brainerd, MN" is what Google told me.

It was there. And, then it was gone. A moment in time.

vegan chocolate cupcakes

In vegan recipes, ground flaxseed soaked in water is often used as an egg replacement to simulate its gelatinous consistency. My experience has been that often this substitution results in a "gummy" baked product. Alternatively, vinegar and baking soda are a reliable stand-in. Whether you choose to consume vegan fare entirely, predominantly, or interspersed now and again, this recipe, which I have made many times and is consistently tender and rises nicely, will unite the masses. Enjoy a cupcake or slice of cake unadorned, with a sifting of powdered sugar to simulate a gentle snowfall or spread with a light swirl of frosting.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Yield: 11-12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup non-dairy milk (i.e., almond milk) or water (Milk or water works equally well.)
• ½ 1 cup coconut natural cane sugar)
• ¼ 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (or other coconut oil)
• 1 ½ tsp 1 tbsp Bragg raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp pure almond extract (optional, but awesome)
• 1.5 cups whole grain unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ 1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa cacao powder, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ 3/4 tsp sea kosher salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. With an electric mixer, beat together the following ingredients in a large bowl (non-dairy milk, oil, sugar, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, almond extract). Beat on medium speed for a minute or two.
2. Now sift in the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt). Mix well, until the clumps are gone.
3. Spoon the batter into prepared cupcake pan, about two thirds full for each. Bake for about 22 minutes at 350F, or until the cupcake slowly springs back when pressed with a finger. Allow to completely cool.

Recipe Source: www.ohsheglows.com My adaptations are in red.

Is it wise to feed birds grape jelly?

Last July, I decided that I'd entice some orioles to my feeders, however I was doomed to fail at the starting gate. "Start early. Your best chance of attracting orioles is when they first arrive in the spring (early May in Minnesota)." http://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/attracting-birds/bird-nesting/how-to-attract-orioles/ I can verify the May arrival because I took the photo of the oriole sitting on a tree branch in my central Minnesota yard on May 14, 2008. So, back to last summer, I put some grape jelly in a dish. I had been careful to compare the options. Smucker's Concord Grape Jelly: concord grape juice, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fruit pectin, citric acid, and sodium citrate (preservative). Smucker's Natural Concord Grape Fruit Spread: concord grape juice, sugar, concord grape puree, fruit pectin, and citric acid. Polaner Concord Grape Jelly: juice concentrates (pear, grape, pineapple), concord grape puree concentrate (water, concord grape juice, concord grapes), fruit pectin, citric acid. All that I attracted were bees. No orioles. Not a single one. Likely, this was because it was July. Fast forward to this year, I'll set the jelly out at the beginning of May instead. Then, I began to think. I know that it is common to feed birds grape jelly, but I just don't feel right about it.

There must be a nature-derived alternative that would supply the energy (carbs) required for orioles to rebound from their long spring migration through the nest building stage, "which takes up to twelve energy-zapping days to construct their pendulous sac-shaped nests on the ends of slender deciduous tree branches," http://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/attracting-birds/bird-nesting/how-to-attract-orioles/ and protein to feed their young. Online research led me to the answer. "Orange halves (Photo: http://www.audubon.org/news/make-orange-feeder-orioles), ripe dark-colored fruit (darkest mulberries, reddest cherries, and the deepest purple grapes) served in a shallow, bright orange container that is placed in the open so it can be seen overhead when birds are in flight. They'll ignore green grapes and yellow cherries even if they're ripe." https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Baltimore_Oriole/lifehistory Also, plant fruit bearing trees on your property for a help yourself buffet, furnish a water source, aid their nest-building efforts by supplying yarn and string Terrain's Bird Nesting Cotton Ball (Photo: http://www.shopterrain.com/product/nesting-cotton-balls)...a gift from my daughter, Jessie, and offer mealworms for a protein source after eggs hatch. Orioles forage on their own, too, eating "a wide variety of insects, including beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, moths, and flies, as well as spiders, snails, tent and gypsy moth caterpillars, the larvae within plant galls, and other small invertebrates." https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Baltimore_Oriole/lifehistory

So, why is feeding grape jelly detrimental to a bird's health? "Birds developed the way they did by adapting to the environments in which they lived and the foods that sustained them. We do our best for them when we stick as closely as possible to their natural diets." http://blog.lauraerickson.com/2007/04/is-feeding-jelly-really-okay-for-birds.html To summarize the article's main points, jelly's high sugar content will satisfy hunger but not nutritional requirements and birds may exert less time foraging for their natural diet of foods in the wild. I know there will be many that will stalwartly stand behind their tried-and-true grape jelly offering, but it's all about choice, my friends. Grape jelly versus orange halves, the deepest purple grapes, darkest mulberries, reddest cherries, berries growing on bushes and trees, mealworms, and insects. Hmmmm...let me think on that.

instant pot raw milk yogurt

Thus far, since purchasing it in November 2016, there is an additional way that I use my Instant Pot on a continual, consistent basis. Every two weeks, I make two quarts of raw milk yogurt using a recipe from Traditional Cooking School which uses the Instant Pot's yogurt setting to maintain a temperature of 96.8°-109.4°F, so it doesn't compromise the milk's raw state.

A small measure of thermophilic "heat loving" (108°-112°F) culture is added to the milk versus mesophilic culture that is used for making room temperature yogurt (68°-78°F). Raw milk's beneficial enzymes haven't been destroyed by pasteurization, which is good, but those same enzymes compete with yogurt's culturing process producing a runnier consistency than pasteurized yogurt. A solution is to add gelatin, which will mimic the thickness of store-bought yogurt.     

 

 

notice what you notice

I asked Dick what this meant to him. His rapid fire response was, "Well, this conversation is heavy," then, pointing overhead, he said, "Look at the yellow butterfly!" Oh, yes. He gets it. He lives it. In her insightful article, Rev. Felicia Searcy, of Unity Worldwide Ministries, gets to the core of its meaning and how this concept can shape our everyday in a positive or negative manner.

comparison of homemade broth methods

Sure, you can purchase quality broth at your local ShopRite, Whole Foods, Publix, or Cub Foods, but is it gelatinous? With a little effort to source the proper bones and learn the methodology, you can prepare collagen-rich broth with minimal time commitment. What cooking method works best for making homemade broth (i.e., stove top, slow cooker, pressure cooker)? Since I have used all three methods, I have an opinion. As is evident from my photo below, which shows the final step of straining cooked meat and veggies from the broth, I prefer the Instant Pot, which in this application is used as a pressure cooker. This is not to say that a soup pot set over a low flame, or a slow cooker set on low setting, won't do the job. But, my experience is that it kinda doesn't. Not as easily or effectively anyway. 

One reason is that with the stove top and slow cooker methods, water evaporates rather quickly. So, you have a choice. Replenish the water as it evaporates, or be content with less broth. The problem with adding more water is that you will dilute the broth's gelatinous consistency and lose flavor. There are other benefits to using the Instant Pot, which are prolifically addressed in the blogosphere, but liquid/moisture and nutrient retention are important to me when selecting a cooking method.

 

gelatinous chicken broth bones

In my quest to master homemade meat broth and bone broth, I have learned bits and pieces here and there. Then, in January of this year, I completed a free online 30-Day Broth Challenge that brought all the pieces together and helped me establish a cadenced, consistent routine. Starlene is launching another challenge starting March 1. It'll be time well spent. You may be asking, 1)"Why make homemade broth?" Google: broth benefits. 2)"Will it demand a huge chunk of time?" Discover for yourself in the broth challenge. 3)"Where can I learn the process?" There are many online resources, but Starlene's broth challenge will provide a strong foundation. 4)"What cooking method works best (i.e., stove top, slow cooker, pressure cooker)?" Since I have used all three methods, I have an opinion which I'll share in my next post. 5)Which bones produce a gelatinous consistency? Selecting and sourcing collagen-rich bones is the focus of today's post.

After extensive research and trial and error, I discovered Seely's Ark Free Range Pastured "Heritage White" Soup Pac. I am now confidently and consistently producing the gold standard for homemade broth which has a jiggle like JELL-O. I'm not saying you must source Seely's Soup Pac or a even a similar product. In a perfect world. Yes. But, no. Just the types of bones included in the Soup Pac: 1 back/spine (what remains after the breast, wings, and legs have been cut away), leg bones (2 femur + 2 tibia), 2 feet, 1 neck, and 2 wing tips ("hands"). In their Soup Pac, Seely's Ark tucks all of the pieces, that you see in the photo above, inside the back bone cavity. Compact packaging. Tidy. I have included two photos below to aid visualization of the location of these particular bones on the chicken.

Left to Right: 1) Back w/ Spine and Leg Bones w/ Knee Joint 2)Wing Tip ("Hand")
Photos: Krieger Science

To achieve desirable gelling, 3 1/2-4 lbs of chicken parts is recommended. The weight of the typical bones included in a Soup Pac averages 2 lbs, so you would want to use double the amount of bones shown in the photo to make one pot of broth. (Keep in mind that you'll be able to get a second, and sometimes a third, pot of broth from these same bones.) Another option is to use the amount of bones included in one Soup Pac then add a package of meaty legs + 2 additional feet. The Soup Pac that I used in making today's broth weighed 1.92 lbs. The 5 legs that I used in today's broth weighed 1.57 lbs, so the total of all the meat and bones is 3.49 lbs. Plus the weight of two additional feet. Then it's just a matter of prepping the veggies then tossing them into the pot with the chicken parts and adding water, herbs, and peppercorns. I also add egg shells accumulated over time and stored in the freezer. While the ingredients simmer, let's talk about sourcing the chicken parts. 

Ideally, you will want to use pastured chicken. In simplified terms, my stance is this. First, if we choose to consume meat, we must demand a humane existence for the animal, and it is our duty to support those farmers who are doing it right. Secondly, making broth provides an opportunity to use every part of the chicken. It is an important way to be respectful towards animals. Nothing is wasted. It is a statement of reverence for life.

I know that, realistically, we must do what we are able. Pastured chicken is definitely more expensive. We must evaluate how we spend our money and where we can trim expenses in areas that are lower on the priority scale. Pastured chicken is often difficult to source, but when diligence pays off and you're able to locate suppliers, it's a beautiful thing. Shop food co-ops and farmers markets in your local area and beyond whenever you travel. Buy whole chickens. Watch for sales, then stock up. Suggest to farmers, who raise meat chickens, that they assemble "Soup Pacs," which consist of parts that are often discarded. Walmart sells packages of chicken feet. If your Walmart doesn't stock them, ask. Making homemade broth is experiencing a resurgence, so it's more common to find what you need...if you know what you need to be looking for. And now for the big reveal. Gelatinous, collagen-rich chicken broth to heat, season, and drink in a cup or use as a base for soups, the liquid in casseroles, for simmering vegetables, etc.