The Homestead e-Newsletter: Learning More Each Day

April 2007

Learning More Each Day
by Nancy Carter

When gardeners garden, it is not just plants that grow,
but the gardeners themselves. --Ken Druse

I don't know about you, but for me just getting a few flowers to grow was the start of a long journey. I started out learning the difference between an annual and a perennial. Then I started learning about herbs and began thinking about growing a bit of food "just for the experience."

And then the next step was learning about organics and their benefits, which then led to wanting to eat healthier and to eliminate as many chemicals as possible from our lives. And the journey just continues - desiring to have a simpler life centered around home and family, wanting to raise some of our own food, and learning more and more each day.

My first flower garden was four houses ago now, and I don't know if those flowers are still growing or not, but I know that I surely am. Maybe all this gardening stuff really is more about the process than the product.

Blessings,
Nancy Carter
SeniorEditor@HomesteadBlogger.com

Natural Spring Cleaning
by Lisa Barthuly

It's springtime, and that means SPRING CLEANING! (No grumbling allowed.) Try some of these natural cleaners to make the job more pleasant and nontoxic!

Weed killer: Did you know that dumping vinegar on weeds instead of chemical weed killer will do the same job without poisoning the ground and getting into our water systems? It will.
Toilet cleaner: Rather than using the chlorine-laden can of toilet scrubbing powders, take a pint or quart size canning jar, fill 3/4 full of baking soda, put a straw down the middle of the jar into the baking soda, and pour about 20 drops of lemon essential oil (or tea tree, lavender, or orange) into the hole the straw made. Put the lid on and shake, then take a small nail and punch about five decent-size holes in it. You have your own 'shaker' of cleaner that contains NO CHLORINE and works even better!
Antibacterial all-purpose cleaner: Mix 20 drops lavender essential oil with 1 cup water in a spray bottle.
Dishwasher detergent/stainless steel cleanser: Mix 1 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup borax in a plastic sealed container. Be sure to label!
Drain cleaner: Pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain and follow up with a thorough rinse with boiling hot water.
Glass cleaner: A solution of equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle - it works great!
Laundry detergent: One of the simplest yet most important differences I have made to our family's "clean routine" is homemade laundry soap. Everything we wash touches us in some fashion, and the chemical residue is absorbed through our largest organ, our skin. This was one of the first big changes we made some time ago, and it's been healthier, simple to do, and cheap! Click HERE for the recipe.

Lisa Barthuly, her husband Marc, and their 3 children live in Washington State on their little homestead with Cooter the dog, Beauty the kitten, and lots of wild critters. They pray for more critters (and more children) and love the quiet country life amid God's creation! Check out their website, Homestead Originals, where they specialize in all-natural soy wax candles, books, and gifts.

Whole Grains Many Ways
by Theresa Powers

When we talk about whole grains, many people associate this with flour or bread. There are many ways to use whole grains! Let's discuss flour first.

White flour is the product of a refined whole wheat kernel. Sometimes bleached, this flour has little nutritional value. In commercial processing, nutritious whole wheat kernels are completely destroyed. The commercial mill crushes and sifts out the bran and the germ through a series of breaks. This is done until the starchy part of the kernel, the endosperm, is retrieved. From this part, white flour is produced.

The removed germ is the life of the grain and contains oil. If not removed, the germ will cause spoilage of the wheat flour within a short time. The refinement of the wheat kernel removes the most nutritious parts of the grain. The industry bags this refined starchy endosperm and adds back a few vitamins and nutrients. The flour or cereal is then labeled fortified or enriched. This is what you are finding on market shelves. This is not 100% pure whole grain, and your nutrition has now been supplemented.

Milling grains to flour is easily done with a modern home grain mill. Whole grain flour can be used in anything you would use white flour in. It's not hard to take a recipe and convert it to whole grain. Not only can we make a variety of whole grain breads, but you can make your baby's first cereals with whole grains! Whole freshly milled flour can be whisked into cool water in tablespoon amounts and fed warm to your baby. Think of the early start you are giving your little one here, not to mention the money you will save!

We have wonderful choices other than wheat when it comes to grains and legumes. Spelt, kamut, millet, quinoa, and lentils are just a few. Obviously, the more "whole" your grain is, the better it is for you. Cracking wheat in your blender and soaking it in hot water for one hour will make the wheat suitable to add to your whole wheat bread recipe. Double nutrition!

You can cook a variety of grains on the stovetop or pressure cooker. The grains can be incorporated into your meals just as you would rice! When cooking whole grains and beans, cover them completely with water instead of using measured amounts. This method will produce the best results. Simply drain off the excess water and serve. You can blend whole cooked grains in your blender for your baby too.

Over time, our bodies will clog up with the overload of preserved and refined foods we are feeding ourselves. Supplemented nutrition only calls for us to supplement with other remedies to correct our system's functions. As you get older, this process gets worse! It goes back and forth and it never ends. A proper balance of unrefined whole foods can help keep your system in check.

Start making your own bread, baby cereals, side grain dishes, and more. Summer is a perfect time to try new grains in your salads!

With a bit of investigation you will find overwhelming studies on grains being related to better health. A nutritious diet can lead to enhanced wellness that will follow into the next stages of life, no matter what age you start at!

Theresa Powers is the mother of nine children and owner of Ripe For Harvest, a business promoting the use of whole grains and whole grain bread making. She just finished her first book, now available. Baby's First Foods: A Mother's Guide to Whole Grains and Family Nourishment will give you a great start in whole grain use. Visit www.ripe4harvest.com.

Going to Market
by Denise Burns

Who doesn't love going to a farmer's market? Fresh vegetables and fruit, flowers, home baked bread and cookies, homemade soap, all presented in an inviting manner, sold by people just like you. Hey, wait a minute! "I can do this!" you say to yourself. And you can. Here are a few tips to think about as you consider selling at the market.

First, check with the market manager to get the rules that govern the market community: entry fees, weekly commitments, booth size, setup locations, loading/unloading areas, and other details. It also helps to visit the market as a customer once or twice before you join up as a vendor. Talking to existing vendors is an excellent way to gather information on customer preferences, selling prices, foot traffic patterns, and other factors that can help you design a successful experience.

After you've identified a viable market and checked out the rules, the next step is to consider your booth space. Does the market require a canopy tent? Does it provide one as part of the fees paid, or do you need to bring one along? How are the products you intend to sell going to be displayed? Will you need a table on which to set up displays? Will you need storage for the excess inventory? Will you need to keep that inventory cold or hot? Will you need a chair to sit in when the traffic lulls a bit?

My family has a market booth in the summer months selling home-grown fruits and vegetables. We have a 10'x10' easy-up canopy tent, and this year we're adding a third lightweight table to hold our product display. We cover the tables with wide tablecloths that hide the large coolers we slide under the tables. The coolers keep items cool for sale; they also hold extra inventory for when the items on the table sell out.

To more attractively merchandise our products and advertise the fact we grow them ourselves, we use baskets, cloth napkins, and pretty wood platters to decorate the tabletop as well as hold our vegetables and fruit. The weekly prices are listed on small chalkboards scattered around the display. Another busy vendor at our market uses a large blackboard on an easel at the corner of his booth to write out his weekly prices for customers to see from a distance. His tables are higher, making his display more at eye level, like the produce section of a grocery store. His booth is quite successful. Of course, his vegetables are wonderful, too.

Which brings me to the most important detail: customers shop at a farmer's market not only because they like the freshness of a particular bread, soap, flower, or tomato, but because they like the community of people that come together to buy and sell. Be friendly, not only to customers but also to other vendors who can send customers your way. If you are selling quality products, merchandising them in an attractive display, and talking to customers (remembering them week-to-week always helps!), you, too, can sell successfully at the farmer's market and have fun doing it.

Denise Burns is the wife of Mike and mother to three sons. Their family farm website is www.BurnsBestFarm.com and she blogs at HomesteadBlogger at a blog by the same name. They are working their land to build a home- and farm-centered enterprise that glorifies the Lord.

Schoolhouse Store Spotlight

Be sure to check out the latest e-book offering from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine! Homeschool Dialogues is packed full of "conversations" with many of the greatest names in homeschooling. Read what John MacArthur, Josh McDowell, Dr. Bruce Shortt, John Taylor Gatto, "Little Bear" Wheeler, Lisa Welchel, Teri Maxwell, Karen Andreola, and many others have to say about the homeschooling experience.

Homeschool Dialogues is packed with interviews previously published in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. TOS writers get the honest answers about what is taking place in the public schools today, the impact public education is having on our children and the country, how the church needs to support families, and how we are being desensitized. Writers also sit down and chat with homeschoolers' favorite pioneers and leaders who share their advice on how to have a relaxed homeschool, the difference between home school and home education, and ways to foster a love of learning.

We hope you've enjoyed this issue of The Homestead e-Newsletter. We'd love to hear what you think about it. Did you try the recipes, craft suggestions, or any of the other tips? We want to hear about it! And we also want to hear your suggestions for future newsletters. Is there a topic you'd like to see covered that we haven't yet? Would you like to contribute a column? Just let us know! You can email me at SeniorEditor@HomesteadBlogger.com. Or just stop by The Front Porch and say "Hello" when you're visiting us at HomesteadBlogger!

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