Berries and chives and frog eating chickens??! Oh my!

 

 

Headed out for a little walk in the woods near our property and was pleasantly surprised to find loads of blueberry bushes scattered all around! I headed home for a bowl and my boots and went in search of some delicious blue treasure. I was able to bring back a decent amount of berries with the help of the kids...they did however abandon the task after they saw me get bit by a couple of ants :) I don't blame them, it was warm and the fact that our dog feels the need to point out every single snake or moving object in the brush underfoot doesn't help either....truth be told, we all know they are lurking there somewhere when we go berry picking but out of sight, out of mind right? I doubt we will bring her back berry picking LOL

                                                        All that aside - Here is the loot!

This evening I headed out to the herb garden with my kitchen scissors in hand to snip some chives for preserving. I have been trying to snip what I can once a week so I can fill a few little bags for the freezer. By the end of season, I am hoping to have chives for the whole winter. I also made some chive vinegar tonight. (Fill a glass bottle with vinegar and add a handful of chives and chive blossoms if you wish...let sit for about a week or two and then strain before using. Can be kept for several months and apparently it is lovely for tenderizing and marinating meat.

While I snipped chives, Emily took the chickens for their little evening walk :) Yes, we love our chickens and they love their free time. I didn't have my camera with me but sure wish I did when Emily's chicken called Honey caught and ate a frog!!! We knew they loved bugs but had no idea they ate frogs too! I guess you really do learn something new everyday.

                                                        Chickens are so much fun!

Bringing back the homemade popsicle....health style :)

   Making treats from scratch is always so much more rewarding isn't it? Everything tastes better when you have put in the time and effort to make it yourself. Lately we have been making up our own homemade popsicle recipes and we are sharing our favorite with you ;)

                                                      Homemade Healthy Popsicles

                                                        1 cup homemade applesauce 
                                                        1 cup pure orange juice
                                                        1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

                                                       Mix together and freeze in molds. 


Of course no rainy day is complete without homemade cookies made with coconut oil! If you haven't researched the health benefits of coconut oil, I suggest you take a minute and google it. Your body will thank you ;)  You can replace the butter or oil in most recipes for coconut oil and reap the benefits of this super food while devouring a delicious dessert or snack. I know coconut oil isn't something made locally but you can buy organic sustainable coconut oil in bulk at Costco for a really great price! 

Some pics of our outdoor cooker :)

These pics are from the fall (hence the hunting beard on my husband). We were having such a good time yesterday I completely forget to take some pics. But it will give you an idea of what I am talking about when I talk about our outdoor cooker.

                                                He cooks such great burgers on his grill!

Soaking up the sunshine :)

We decided to spend the weekend out in the great outdoors with friends and family. The kids pitched a tent and we took out all the outdoor games that had been collecting dust in the shed. It seems we are always so busy running around and getting things done that we don't have the time to just sit out and enjoy our own backyard oasis.

We headed to the local Farmer's market, fruit stand and butcher shop early in the morning yesterday and were blessed with a delicious meal cooked on the outdoor cooker that my husband built. Of course the laughter of friends and family always make for a magical evening around the campfire.

Life is good when you just take the time to stop and smell the roses.

Speaking of......our bee box is finally starting to bloom! :) We planted a wild flower box this year to encourage the bees to visit and pollinate our fruit trees and pumpkins...so far so good :)

                   

The benefits of boredom

 So this year we decided to forgo all the structured activities, overrated summer camps and rigid schedules and allow the kids (and us) to just be. It has been wonderful. It is amazing what you can come up with given the time and ability. It has been magical watching the kids learn to enjoy the simple things in life without having to rush them from one activity to another. There is a sense of calm in the house this summer. It is likely due to the friendship that is created between siblings when boredom meets imagination. It could also be due to the fact that no one is running around the house hollering for everyone to hurry up because we can't be late for swimming lessons again or the lack of stress from the chaos that ensues when you can't find the soccer shoes or the water bottles or the gas light comes on just as you pull out of the driveway in a hurry.

No, there has been none of that stress here this summer. Just a summer full of homemade fun, memories and laughter. Truth be told, our 5 year old is teaching himself to swim at the beach and the kids have enjoyed several spur of the moment games of soccer, football and basketball without the coaches, competition and rushing. Who knew?

It is so much fun to watch the kids come up with all kinds of things to keep themselves busy without me trying to schedule all their time away. I haven't even had to consult my insanely long list of boredom buster pins on pinterest! They make up their own boredom busters, especially since their screen time is limited.

They are loving the simple things like biking to the store, spending the day at the beach, making popsicles, going to the the library, having backyard water fights or playing games together.

Yesterday our oldest daughter started collecting books from around the house to exchange for new ones at our local book exchange shop.

The kids have even come to me several times in the last few weeks and asked if I needed help with anything. There is nothing that fills my heart with joy more than working around the yard or preparing food with my children by my side.

So why are we so afraid of letting our kids get bored? Why do we worry so much about what all the other families are doing? Why do we feel like bad parents if we don't enroll our kids in piano, dance, soccer, swimming, hockey, gymnastics, guitar, football....the list goes on and on and on.

We fill our homes with video games, computers and satellite TVs. We buy prepackaged craft kits with detailed instructions and spend hours planning fun things for our kids to do. But the reality is....they don't need it and less is more.

 Remember when we were kids and the only time the networks would put anything interesting for kids on TV was on Saturday mornings? I don't think my sister and I even bothered turning on the TV during summer break because all we could find were soap operas and daytime talk shows. We would venture out into the woods. We would head down to the brook or build forts in the trees. We would create clubs and invite our friends to join. It didn't cost our parents a cent but we were happy as can be.

Mom used to save all sorts of things for us to use for crafts and we had a blast creating whatever we wanted and we felt proud when we created something really cool.

No one ever spent hours planning out activities for us because we came up with all sorts of crazy fun things to do all on our own. I remember jumping off the picnic table wearing pillow case capes we made and pretending to be superheroes for an entire afternoon. LOL Those are some of my fondest childhood memories.

Our kids need time to be creative. They need freedom. They need to get bored. They need to be shipped out into the great outdoors so you can wash the floors...they may head out grumbling but given enough time they will come up with all kinds of fun stuff to do out there. Truth be told, kids want to feel independent and helpful. They hate being micromanaged. Most kids would rather hang out at home than be dragged to yet another activity.

All that to say, we are having a magical summer here. A summer full of time, imagination, memories and possibilities. Every day brings with it another adventure. Maybe we will spend the night lying in the trampoline star gazing and trying to find all the constellations or maybe we will adventure into the woods in the search of wild blueberries...who knows what tomorrow will bring but whatever it brings it is sure to be spontaneous and rewarding.

Made homemade laundry detergent today! So far so good.....

 We got up bright and early this morning and made some homemade laundry soap! We had a lot of fun making this together and the end result was really great. The clothes smelled fresh and looked really clean when I hung them out to dry. 

The kids thought it was funny to grate soap with the cheese grater :)

Adding the tangerine essential oil to the fabric softener crystals.

                                     Mixing it all together. 

                     Proud of their yummy smelling laundry soap :)


Here is the recipe for all the brave souls willing to give it a try:

1 cup grated bar of soap (We used Dr. Bronner's natural lemon scented soap)
2 cups Washing soda
2 cups Borax
1/2 cup baking soda

Mix it all together and add your own blend of essential oils if you wish. Have fun creating different laundry scents. About 40 drops or less should do it. 

Add 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of laundry soap per load. 

We also made homemade fabric softener crystals since we were hanging our laundry out to dry. 

2 cups epsom salt
20 drops essential oils (If desired) We used the same tangerine we had used for our dishwasher detergent and it smelled really good. 

Add 1-2 Tbsp per load. 

Enjoy your natural and economical laundry soap :)

Making homemade dishwasher detergent!!

Most of us know it is possible to escape all the hype of big company cleaning products by using a little baking soda and vinegar to clean most things in our homes but I was always very skeptical about making dishwasher soap or laundry soap since I always assumed it would be impossible to replicate the cleaning power that these products offer. I was so wrong!

With a few simple ingredients you can free yourself from the big corporations and all the chemicals by making your own homemade dishwasher detergent in a few minutes.

                It smelled great but we weren't convinced that it would clean as well as the big brands so we gave it a try and it worked great! It even cleaned up all the hard water deposits in the dishwasher! Here is the recipe for those willing to give it a try :)

                                                    1 cup washing soda
                                                    1 cup baking soad
                                                    1 cup kosher salt
                                                    1/2 cup citric acid
                                                    20-30 drops of favorite essential oil (optional)

We used tangerine oil and it smells so good! Just add 1 Tbsp per washload and enjoy chemical free homemade dishwasher soap!

Headed out to the local raspberry U-Pick this morning :)

Raspberry season just opened up here in the Maritimes so we headed out to fill our bowls! About 30 minutes of work got us a pretty decent load of berries!

Maybe we should of had a few more kids....all those little hands sure make for light work ;)

We froze some berries for winter and also got busy making some jam!

                            Freezer jam is so simple to make and only takes about 10 minutes!

Tomorrow morning we will be making a batch of raspberry waffles to freeze....and eat of course :)


                                                     Basic waffle with raspberries recipe

                                                       2 cups all purpose flour
                                                       3 tsp baking powder
                                                       3/4 tsp salt
                                                       2 Tbsp sugar
                                                       3 eggs separated
                                                       1 3/4 cup milk
                                                       1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil
                                                       Handful of delicious raspberries

                                          Mix dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. 
                                        Beat egg yolks until frothy then stir in milk and oil. 
                                               Pour into dry mix and beat until smooth.
                                   Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold into batter. 
                                                          Gently add berries.
                                 Pour onto hot waffle iron and bake until golden brown. 
                                         Serve with butter and maple syrup, jam or honey. 

This recipe freezes really well so feel free to double or triple the recipe and freeze them for a quick, healthy breakfast by just popping them into the toaster in the morning.


                                                         

Hunting and gathering....

You know, when you really think about it, a lot of us seem to have lost touch with where our food really comes from and the idea of not stepping into a grocery store to provide food for our families almost seems absurd. But it is possible! Here is a challenge for you :)

Make yourself a nice cup of tea or a tall glass of lemonade and grab a pen and paper.
Then start to think about all the food sources available to you just outside your door. You will likely be amazed how many of them are free or dirt cheap. Of course some of them will require a little hard work on your part but isn't that the way things are supposed to be? Skip the gym membership and grow a garden...all that weeding and planting can be a great work out!

Here is our list :) I am sure it is nowhere near complete and there are likely tons more options that we haven't even learned about yet.

Quahog fishing (Free)
Mackerel fishing (Free)
Ice fishing for smelts (Free)
Trout fishing (Cost of a fishing license)
Clam fishing (Free)
Salt (Sea salt from evaporating sea water)
Sugar (If you are lucky enough to have maple trees on your land, this can be a fun project!)
Eggs (Our chickens have paid for themselves many times over!)
Berry picking -Blueberries, Strawberries and Rasberries (free if you can find them, if not - hit the local u-pick and get real, local berries for a super deal!)
Apples, cherries, pears (from our fruit trees in the yard)
Gooseberries (from the bush we planted 2 years ago...it only cost about 8$)
Rhubarb (Probably the easiest plant to care for and cooked rhubarb is delicious!)
Chives (They grow back every year all by themselves and are virtually maintenance free. Cut them all summer long when you have a free minute and dry or freeze them)
Gardening (Use your imagination and plant whatever will grow in your region)
Hunting big game and small game is also an option for those who are interested in that. Hubby is an avid hunter and the kids will choose wild game meat over store bought meat any day of the week!

You can also hit the local farmer's market or farm stand for your dairy, flour, sugar and meats. However, if you are feeling really adventurous you can also make all these things from scratch on your homestead ;)

Get a great book on preserving and have fun providing local, real food to your family all year long!

                                       The mackerel is in! Here is a photo of last night's catch!

                                                         I just love a man who can fish ;)

Took the kids camping this weekend :)

So we are just getting back from a great little family camping trip. We had a great time exploring nature and reading around the campfire. We had gone to the local library a few days before our trip and found a great book by meteorologist Cindy Day called Grandma says. It is a book about all the different weather lore our great grandparents and grandparents used to predict weather and it is filled with really great stories about growing up on a farm as well a lot of fun ways to use weather lore today. We are going to try some of them and see if they really work :)

                                                              Nature's playground






                 We thought we would share with you one of our favorite campfire recipes as well :)

Campfire Cinnamon rolls!!  

They are pretty rustic looking but taste great!

Recipe for Campfire Cinnamon rolls:

A ball of your favorite pizza dough (You can cheat and use store bought if you wish)

A mixture of Cinnamon and Sugar to taste (We used coconut palm sugar)

We also added some shredded apples for fun :)

Spread out a small section of dough into the palm of your hand. 

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Add shredded apples if you wish.

Squish dough together to form a ball.

Cook on campfire for about 10-15 minutes. 

Enjoy! 

The kids really enjoy making them and they are delicious. Especially on a cool evening around the fire. 

PS - Keep an eye out for neighbors getting rid of their old stove or BBQ and save the grills for camping. They are great for cooking over the fire! 

Strawberries!!

So we headed out to our local fruit stand this afternoon to get some fresh apple cider and homemade fruit roll ups :) Yum! We also stopped by the strawberry U-pick to get in one last pick before the season ends in a few days.

Fun times in the berry field!

                                                     Fresh berries for preserving....yum!

This one was for tasting ;)

When we got home, we froze some for winter, made some sundae/oatmeal sauce and bottled some delicious pectin free strawberry and banana preserves. We use our preserves for sweetening up our homemade slow cooker yogurt (Recipe to come later), as filling for homemade toaster pastries and to make tasty milkshakes! 

Recipe for Preserves:

4 Cups crushed strawberries

2 cups mashed bananas

4 cups sugar

Mix all 3 ingredients together and bring to a slow boil.

Boil rapidly while stirring often until temperature of mixture reaches 220 degrees.

Place into clean jars and freeze for winter. 

Recipe for Sundae sauce:

Crush berries

 Add sugar to taste

Place in a clean jar. Refrigerate and enjoy! 

Our morning chicken routine :)

Took some pics this morning so you could all see our morning chicken routine. They currently have a coop which we put them in at night for safety and a chicken run where they spend most of their day in the summer. We started out wanting them to be completely free range since we are advocates of allowing farm animals to live happy, peaceful lives but after losing 3 chickens to predators we just couldn't bear the thought of losing anymore and invested in a chicken run for our girls.

 Our daughter Emily letting the girls out for a bit of fresh grass before moving them to their chicken "Cottage".

The girls discovering that Grandma stopped by and left some treats for them this morning. Grandma lives right up the road and often brings vegetable clippings for them :) God blessed Grandmas.

                                   Nothing better than collecting fresh eggs in the morning!

            And the reward for all Emily's help? Picking raspberries from the raspberry patch for breakfast!

Let us introduce ourselves :)

We have been trying to live a simpler life for the last few years. We aren't great at it but we sure try! :) We grow a garden and have added several garden boxes to the mix this year. We have 2 dogs and 3 chickens. We have experimented with making butter, yogurt and ice cream in the last few months and we are just having a great time as a family trying to get back to basics and live a simple, happy life!

Our new pumpkin box seems to be doing quite well so far...fingers crossed it stays that way because there is nothing greater than picking and carving your very own home grown pumpkins :)

We also try to buy a new fruit tree or two each year for our dream orchard....we try to save money where we can so we always buy them towards the end of the season when they are half price. We picked up this sad looking little cherry tree for a steal yesterday and decided to try our hand at planting it. We are hoping it will turn around for the best and make a full recovery....a family has to have hope, don't they?

Of course our girls had to supervise the entire thing :)

Those are our layers - Pearl, Jezebel and Honey....they provide lots of entertainment! For anyone thinking about getting some chickens - Do it! They are easy to care for and they are so sweet!