My Frugal Accomplishments

For the week of 5/6/2013- 5/13/2013

Picked up free bags from my local recycling center. The man gave me 3 packs since I don't get there that often.

Babysat made $50

Picked up 55 yogurt cups for free. They were a managers special with a 50 cent peelie. They rang up 50 cents making them all Free!!! What a steal.

Joined a co-op and placed my first order for grass fed and raw dairy. The prices are comparable with conventional food prices.

Baked 3 loaves of bread.

Had a potluck of leftovers for dinner one night.

Made goat cheese from failed goat milk yogurt.

Passed on material presents for Mother's day and got exactly what I wanted. A family barbeque dinner that I didn't have to cook.

Processed 3 of my chickens myself. Got a little over 20 lbs. of fresh meat!

Red Hot Chili Pepper Paste / Kirmizi Biber Salcasi

Red pepper paste is a common ingredient used in Turkish cuisine. I like it because it gives a little kick and a nice red color to any dish. I especially like to use it in Bulgur Pilavi.

I keep a Ziploc bag in my freezer for any peppers that have turned red and started drying up. When I have a decent amount I make red pepper paste.

This recipe is very versatile and practically fool proof. You can use red bell peppers for a mild paste, a mix of bell and chili peppers for medium heat, or like me just chili's for a spicy hot paste.
I used dried peppers but fresh are fine too.

If using dried peppers first rehydrate them a little by pouring boiling water over them and letting them sit until cool. Once cool pull the stem and seeds out. Wear gloves for this. I didn't and my hands were burning for hours.

Boil peppers (fresh or rehydrated) about 15 minutes until soft. Put peppers and a couple of  ladle fulls of the boiling liquid in a blender. (I used 2 ladle fulls for about 1 quart of peppers) Blend until smooth. Add more liquid if needed to keep the blender going.

 

Put pureed peppers into a pot. Add salt. Cook over low heat until most of the liquid has evaporated. Be careful that it doesn't BURN. Once it is thick and at the consistency you like (I like mine a little thinner than the store bought one) put it in a clean jar. Drizzle a little evoo over the top if you'd like. I make small jars at one time so I do not can mine but this summer depending on my pepper harvest I may try to can some.  Keep refrigerated.

Now it's ready to use. Spread it on toast. Saute it with a little butter for eggs. Add it to soups, pasta sauces, bulgur, anything you'd like to have a little extra heat.

Enjoy!

                                   
I am linking up to the Barn Hop at The Prairie Homestead

Farm Days

These days on the farm have been so incredible. I am loving getting my hands dirty everyday and soaking in the sunshine. I have been spending more and more time at the community garden which is now officially my home away from home.
My favorite part about my second home are definitely the goats.  Oh how I want one. The kids are just about the cutest things I have ever seen.

 

 

 

 



The buck, Boaz, and BB really hit it off. They were tagging each other. It was so funny. Here I am with Boaz by my side keeping a watchful eye on BB.

BB made a new friend with the community farm's farm dog Bello.

One of my main goals for my son is to teach him to love being out in nature and to instill a strong work ethic. The best way to teach him this is by tending the land. The other day I went to the community garden to work.  BB was not exactly happy about that so I put him in the "backpack" as I call it and got to work tilling the earth. He was snug as a bug close to his mama. One of the other members snapped this pic. I am in love with this picture right here. It reminds me of the beautiful, amazing women in Africa that can do just about anything with a baby on their back.

My chicks, can I even still call them that, are huge. Every time I check on them it looks like they have grown. They are now 2 weeks old. I will be sad to see them go but have another batch coming in May. I can't wait!

This week I am linking up with

Farm girl Friday




Small Footprint Fridays

The Chicks are Here!!!

Yesterday I got an e-mail from my friend saying that the chicks arrived earlier than expected and if I could pick them up right away. Well being how I am I was totally unprepared lol. I hadn't bought the feed yet and my son broke the bulb in the heat lamp.
So I packed up the gang and drove out east to my friend's house about 45 minutes from my home. On the way I stopped at the feed store and just my luck they were out of chick starter. Fortunately they are getting a delivery today. While I was there I got a bale of hay. Next stop Home Depot to get a new bulb.
When I got to my friends house she had the chicks all ready to go with a small bag of feed for me. She really is a life saver! We cranked up the heat in the car and hoped for the best.
This is my first time raising chicks or even chickens for the matter. So I am just a little paranoid. Every little sound I was freaking out. We all made it home safe Alhamdulillah.
I got 3 Cornish cross rocks and 3 Cornish game hens. Technically where I live chickens are not allowed but since these will be culled before anyone notices I should be ok.
Right now they are staying in my basement in my make shift brooder. I had them in a wooden box that I had got for the brooder but the walls were too high so I couldn't get the lamp close enough to keep them warm. So I moved them into a Rubbermaid tub. I put paper towels over some straw in the bottom. I don't have a proper waterer or feeder now but will get one today. 

Isn't it cute?

Baby chickies taking a nap.

I was nervous at first but now I am absolutely loving having these little guys here. It has been so much fun so far. Better than watching T.V.

This week I am linking up for the Barn Hop at

and I am linking up to the Farm Girl Friday Blog Hop

Goals for 2013

With a new year comes new dreams. I started this year with a new appreciation for life and a strong drive to make this year the year I finally accomplish my goals so I can live the life I have always dreamed of living.
1) My biggest and probably most difficult goal for this year is to take control of my health and lose around 50 lbs. I have struggled with my weight my whole life but am determined to get to a healthy weight. I have been eating clean for the past 3 weeks. It has been wonderful. Not only am I eating better... I am saving time by prepping ahead and saving a bundle of money since I am not eating out anymore. The biggest change has been giving up soda. I never realized how addicting that stuff really is. The first week or 2 I kept craving it but now I have no desire for it.
2) Produce more of my own food.  With me transitioning to a clean real food diet I am thinking more and more about where our food comes from. The food industry is so corrupt that the only way to guarantee what you are actually eating is safe you must grow or raise it yourself.  I am going to try my hands at some meat birds this year Inshallah.
3) Get out of debt for good.  This has been an on going process.  I have paid $600 towards one debt this month and cut up my only credit card. I sold my old car so will be getting another $1000 to pay down our debt.
4) Spend more time together as a family. This is more my husbands goal but I have always wanted to become closer. We decided we will start praying together. This will be a great tool to help teach BB more about our faith.  It will strengthen our iman and our love for Allah (swt). Bonus, praying in congregation increases its reward too!

I have declared this year as my year of change! I am so excited to share my journey this year with all of you. Happy New Year!

Karniyarik

Karniyarik is a stuffed eggplant dish.  It is my favorite Turkish meal! On my last trip to Turkey I finally learned how to make it.  It is hard to find the right size eggplant here but, the ones from my garden were perfect!

Peeled eggplant from the garden.
 

I don't have an exact recipe just yet. Rather a method.  You need small eggplant for this. The baby or Japanese kind are best.
First peel the eggplant leaving stripes of skin on.  Make a slit with the tip of a knife. You are now ready to fry these babies whole.

Once they are soft and cooked through put them aside to cool. While they cool make the filling. I used a little less than a pound of ground beef for 5 small eggplants.  First saute one chopped bell pepper and one onion in a little oil.  When the onion and pepper gets soft than add the beef to brown.  Season with salt and pepper.  Open the eggplants where the slit is and spoon in the filling.  Place in a baking dish.

Mix together some tomato paste and water (maybe a tablespoon of paste to a cup of water).  Pour into baking dish.  The liquid should come to just below the top of the eggplant.  Bake at 375 until the liquid has reduced by half.

I had forgotten to take a picture of the finished product when it first came out.  I took these out of my husband's lunch box before he headed off to work.

I served my karniyarik like this with a side of Bulgur Pilav and salad.  I have had these served with a slice of tomato and hot green pepper placed on the top of each eggplant before baking. Maybe next time I will try it like that. 

Making the Most of the Harvest : Butternut Squash

This was the first year that I ever grew butternut squash.  I am pleasantly surprised at how well they did.  We got soooooo many squash.  I should have enough to hold me till next years harvest. YAY!

Some of this years harvest.

In my attempt to make the most out of what I had grown I picked all mature butternut squash, immature squash, and squash blossoms. 
I quickly got to work. I cleaned the mature squash and inspected them for any damage. I wiped down all of the squash with a diluted bleach water mixture to prevent fungus. I now have them curing for winter storage.
There were a couple of squash that were slightly damaged and needed to be used up right away.  I decided to make some crock-pot "pumpkin" butter. Yummm!!

This "pumpkin" butter is so good.  The recipe made enough for a year with some to give away as gifts.  I am bringing a container to my sister next week.  I decided to freeze small containers instead of canning.

I scooped the seeds out of the squash from the "pumpkin" butter and roasted them up with a little salt. Instant protein packed snack.

The immature squash will be used like a zucchini.  I think I want to make zucchini appetizer.  I just need to get some Bisquick. 

Fried squash blossoms and one lone eggplant.

The squash blossoms I stuffed with a bread crumb cheese mixture and fried'em up Delicious!!

These were sooooo good!

Look at how many things can be made from a single crop.... And that is why I *love* butternut squash! 

The Barn Hop

  

Mama Mushroom!

Back in April I bought a mushroom box from Gardens Alive.  After a couple of weeks we got some decent sized mushrooms.  Here's how big they were before leaving for camp. 

This is what I came home to 3 days later. I can't believe how big they got basically over night. This was our first harvest.

I checked on the box this morning and we have couple small ones again. Probably by Monday we will be harvesting again.
I am loving this. I am not sure if I am saving any money growing our own or if it would have been cheaper to get the mushrooms from the store but this way is so much fun. It even got my husband excited. I found pictures of the mushrooms on his cell phone lol. He took care of them while I was camping.