So this week, I’ve been bustin’ out projects left and right. We built the chickens the new nest box on Saturday. Rick cut another big limb off the tree Sunday morning, but the weather quickly turned too cold and snowy to do anything else outdoors. Instead we did some decluttering in the former office, and started some major basement reorganization.
Rick picked up more stone for our future patio, and I’ve sort of been on a baking kick too. Not to mention the serious, and much needed hose-down Rick gave the high chair (I don’t remember H getting it so dirty?), the copious amounts of laundry he got off my plate this weekend, and the serious scrub down in the kitchen. What would I do without him??
Rick says I’m nesting, but I think it’s a bit of spring fever. I am just so happy that warmer weather is here, to get a little vitamin D, to get some dirt under my fingernails again. It was a long winter for me.
This week’s report…
Plant something – more spinach, more leeks
Harvest something – 24 eggs, spinach enough for a couple omelets.
Preserve something – some pork gravy Rick couldn’t bear to throw out. 😉
Waste Not – compost, scraps to chickens, etc. Lots of recycling this week. 😉 Listed three chairs on craigslist to make more room in the little house. We sold one on Monday. I hope the others sell, we could use the money and the room! Also still haven’t missed a week of meal planning (yay me!). That’s 12 weeks straight now.
Want Not – Built the chickens a new nest box, got more stone, been scouring craigslist for everything lately, including a new camera and a picnic basket. Haha.
Build Community Food Systems – nothing major or even interesting here this week. Do you hear the crickets chirping yet?
Eat the Food – The usual – stuff from the freezer, another jar of jam, elk, etc. Made some really yummy potato soup-turned corn chowder from frozen corn this week. Recipe from my head:
3 slices of bacon
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup flour
4 cups milk
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped (I cut mine into various sizes so some break-down and some don’t)
corn from 4-5 ears
salt and pepper
shredded cheddar and/or pepper jack cheese
In a large pot, cook the bacon until crispy over med-high heat. Remove the bacon to drain, and reserve 3ish tablespoons of the grease in the pot. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add the flour and whisk until there are no lumps and the flour is cooked but not browning. Add the milk, whisking, a cup at a time until all the milk is added and there are no lumps of flour. Add the potatoes and corn. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the milk doesn’t scorch, the reduce heat to a simmer. Continue cooking about 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the smaller pieces begin to break down. Meanwhile, crumble the bacon and shred the cheese. When the small potatoes are broken down, serve with cheese and bacon pieces on top. Serves 6 (ish).
The Lazy Homesteader 
Yum! The soup sounds delicious…. You have been a busy bee! Take it down a notch.. you’re making the rest of us look bad 😉
I know – I “nest” like an intern competing for a job on This Old House. My poor husband. It won’t be long before he’s on a first name basis with the guys at home depot. 😉
nice work!! I never thought of canning gravy, that’s brilliant – is that how you preserved it? I find freezing stuff like that pointless, we can never find it or forget about it. Or, it’s hard as a rock when we need it…
Haha – we did freeze it. But we use our freezer all the time, constantly cycling things through. So we’ll either remember it or find it a few months from now and plan it into a meal. 😉