The Old Folks Home

[Arielle]

To lift the locals out of poverty they need to be able to provide nourishment now while working for sustainable future. Trying to get a hungry person to look forward is a challenge.

In the mean time if my chickens Provide a need sometimes greater than mine

Very kindof you Oz. I try to think the same when another carton of eggs from the serve your self cooler is gone.

Yes, it takes a double effort to move people to the next step. Feed them now to prevent todays hunger, and help them work to prevent future hunger. Wasn't that the premise of Oxfam, or something similar. Teach people to provide for themselves?? Maybe it was a different organization. very difficult with many surprising obstacles. I run into simple problems like no one knows there is a community garden plot, and fewer know were it is.

Talked to a few learned adults in the kitchen yeserday for a pancake breakfast, and sugested families have a small garden. Took a little persuasion for pwople to see that plots don't need to be 50 x 100 but just a few pots to be fruitful. ANd these are well educated thinking sucessful AMericans. ( ALl our food comes from the grocery store, right?)

You have a good heart Oz.

 

[pickitfarm]

All this canning sounds great! I am fortunate because I have a DH that likes to can and freeze as well. People love his canned peaches because they taste fresh unlike what you purchase in a can at the store. Boy that black/blueberry really does sound wonderful and the other jams adding vanilla. I would love to know the recipes. I have to admit I am a recipe addict. My favorites are full of recipes I found on the web.

As far as blackberries, we do have them growing wild alot of areas on our property but they have so many thorns you end up with your hands torn up from them. And Poison ivy is famous for growing in among it and I am highly allergic. I know my g-mom and her sister would pick them wild on the road where they lived in western MD. They always wore gloves when they went. We also picked wild strawberries that grew across the road from her house. It was a large field of them. Those things barely needed any sweetner. They were naturally sweet unlike what you get at the grocery store. Those were great times!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Here's the recipe for black and blue or all blueberry spice jam:

6 cups blueberry (or some parts blackberry to taste - I strained it so it was seedless, to 6 total cups fruit/fruit juice) washed sorted and stemmed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
7 cups sugar
2 3oz packets of liquid pectin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
8 8oz jars, lids, bands


crush berries well (I use food processor) leaving some chunks to your desired chunkiness.

add lemon juice, spices (to taste, your actual mileage above may vary), and sugar.

bring to a boil. boil hard 1 minute.

remove from heat.

add liquid pectin.

quickly skim foam and package into jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

process in boiling water bath 5 minutes for 8 oz jars, 15 minutes for 12 oz jars.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Strawberry Vanilla Bean Jam

2 quarts strawberries, washed and hulled
7 cups sugar
2 vanilla bean pods
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 3oz pouches liquid pectin
8 half-pint jars

crush strawberries (i use food processor to get desired chunkiness). combine strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in pot. Split open each bean pod, and scrape out the black filling. Add to strawberries. Get to rolling boil. Add pectin. Boil hard 1 minute. Remove from heat. Skim foam. Process leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath.

 

[ronott1]

We need pictures! I visited Capayalleychick's Ranch today and got to visit my Cockerels!

The Gray Boys and the Splash Pullet in the left pen are Blue Egg Layers from the UofArkansas:






These are SG Dorkings and New Heritage Delawares:









This is a two week ole EO Marraduna Basque Hen:



These are two week old Pita Pinta Chicks:

 

[pickitfarm]

Thanks SCG....I saved them to my recipe vault.

 

[chickadoodles]

We need pictures! I visited Capayalleychick's Ranch today and got to visit my Cockerels!

The Gray Boys and the Splash Pullet in the left pen are Blue Egg Layers from the UofArkansas:






These are SG Dorkings and New Heritage Delawares:









This is a two week ole EO Marraduna Basque Hen:



These are two week old Pita Pinta Chicks:

Love your birds so pretty!

 

[ronott1]

Love your birds so pretty!

Thank You!

The Basque are friendly and calm too. The Blue Egg Layer and the Pennes are friendly but flighty. All of these breeds are Heat Hardy Too.

 

[chickadoodles]

Thank You!

The Basque are friendly and calm too. The Blue Egg Layer and the Pennes are friendly but flighty. All of these breeds are Heat Hardy Too.

Your welcome! I do like the colored eggs!

 

[drumstick diva]

wow the Pita Pinta chicks are beautiful, I've never heard of that breed