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!