Harrison Farm

I’m giving sourdough starter a try (again!)  I’ve had limited success with sourdough in the past, and my dissatisfaction with our current bread situation is pressing me to try it again.

For a long time, I soaked my wheat Sally Fallon style before using the aid of my bread machine for the kneading and rising.  Then I’d transfer the dough to bread pans for a final rising and bake.  The process required several steps, but they were easy steps and the kids helped out a lot…until the non-stick coating started to peel away from the bread machine pan, so I decided to stop using it.

Then I started using a modified whole-wheat recipe from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes book, but for some reason the bread is rather dry and crumby.  I can’t stand putting so much time and effort into making bread when I don’t really care to eat the finished product.  So here I go with trying sour dough again.

Another motivator to get this started now is that I have a birthday coming up, a perfect excuse to try out a version of Wardeh’s healthy Chocolate Sourdough Cake.  Doesn’t it look Dee-licious?  I’ll be using whole wheat rather than spelt and sucanat instead of cane juice.  Can’t wait to give it a try!

image compliments of flickr's sea turtle

A couple of days ago I whacked my right shin on a stool.  The skin turned pinkish almost immediately.  It hurt!

I dropped what I was doing, soaked a cotton ball with witch hazel, and dabbed it on my sore shin for a couple of minutes.  The discoloration faded quickly and now there is not a hint of blue or purple bruising on my skin!

There seems to be a correlation between how soon the witch hazel is applied and its effectiveness.  If I wait until my skin is already turning blue, the astringent doesn’t seem to make much of a difference at all.

I did a quick search and it seems that witch hazel is helpful for other ailments too from relieving pain from varicose veins, to soothing the itchiness and swelling of poison ivy, to helping nicks and cuts heal.  Have you had success using witch hazel? Seems like handy stuff to have around.

For a few days this week, I worked on this ebay auction in my spare time.  After selling a couple of our custom Orderly Drawers on ebay a few weeks ago, we decided to try selling them in a Dutch auction format.

I’m a bit concerned about people shying away from the unusual auction format, but hopefully I’ve put in enough information to encourage buyers to take the plunge with their bids.  In this auction, we’re selling the custom organizers by the inch.  So buyers are actually bidding on “1-inch of organizer width” and putting in the quantity of width inches they want to purchase at that price.  Does that make sense?

I hope it’s clear enough.  This allows us to have one auction up for any size drawer, while leveling the playing field for those with large and small drawers, while minimizing our ebay fees.  At least, that’s the idea.  We’ll see if it flies. » Read the rest of this entry «

I finally tried my hand at making homemade yogurt.  The process is easier than I had expected. » Read the rest of this entry «

The question of storing lacto-fermentation has been brought up.  One of the beauties of lacto-fermentation is that you don’t have to “can” them in a water-bath or pressure canner.  The thought of boiling all that water in the middle of summer is stifling. » Read the rest of this entry «

At Chattanooga’s Niedlov’sNiedlov’s Bakery, bread is made the old fashioned way. It tastes sour, chewy, delicious - especially with a pat of butter.

Carman, Sudoku, a sleeping Rosebud, and I had the pleasure of visiting Niedlov’s Bakery with some fellow homeschoolers. » Read the rest of this entry «

I’m about to write a post on my current bread recipe, and I realized that it probably won’t make sense to most people because there are a few additional steps I do that are unfamiliar to most. Before making the bread, I grind the wheat, then soak it in buttermilk (or other acidic liquid) for 12-24 hours before mixing the ingredients. Here’s why. » Read the rest of this entry «

In a package of Christmas gifts from my mom, I received some flax seed meal. I had never used it before, but I’ve since been adding some to our bread each time I make it  and I like the slightly nutty flavor it has added.  Flax seed is low in carbohydrates and high in fiber, anti-oxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids, and phytochemicals, so in addition to the nutty flavor, we’ve added nutrition too.

The bread I make uses 4 cups of whole wheat flour.  I’ve been substituting 1/4 cup of flax seed meal for 1/4 cup of flour.  The bread rises and bakes just as it does without the flax seed meal.

Saturated fats do not cause heart disease. I know it sounds shocking the first time you hear it. I was rather scandalized several years ago when first confronted with this theory. After all, I have a degree in home economics with lots of college nutrition and cooking classes under my belt. But there is actually no evidence that saturated fats cause heart disease. It seems to be a scary case of making the data fit a hypothesis.

In an article by Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon titled “Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Research,” they argue that “for the last four decades, saturated fats have been blamed for the misdeeds of polyunsaturated fats, trans fats, and refined carbohydrates.” (Caution: Don’t confuse saturated fats with the awful-for-you trans or hydrogenated fats!)

The article lists the following as benefits of saturated fats: » Read the rest of this entry «

Here is the batch of corn relish Sudoku and I made. It is terribly easy to make when you cheat a little like I do. I used a large bag of frozen corn instead of fresh. It makes this process so easy, I have no excuses for not keeping some on hand. Sure, it would be better for us if I used fresh corn. But then, it would probably never get done. So, this is how I make my compromised corn relish. » Read the rest of this entry «