Tag Archives: organic

Helpful Homesteading Skills

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in a spiritual life, appalachian life, clean eating, drying herbs, farm living, garden time, holistic living, homesteading, Kentucky memories, organic food, plant-based, tea time and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello, from our homestead in the mountains. Spring is so close I feel like we could almost reach out and touch it! I don’t know about you, but it’s been a pretty rough winter here. We’ve gone from snow, to spring like temperatures,to flooding, to ice and snow, back to massive flooding, and snow again. But the good news is spring is less than month away! That and planning for our vegetable and herb garden helps make the lingering days of winter tolerable. Not to mention, a lot of reading and crocheting.

I was recently interviewed about our homestead. Many questions were asked about wby, what does it take, what advice can I give, and many more. I was a little surprised at the misconceptions that many people have about homesteading. That interview helped inspire this post. I am excited to bring to you ten skills that we use on our homestead in everyday life. These are skills that have been handed down from generations past, learned from fellow-homesteaders, and some we learned ourselves through trial and error.

Gardening is a plus for homesteaders. Having your own garden can eliminate or decrease buying from farmer’s markets, farms, or grocery stores. Don’t get me wrong, we love to shop our local farmer’s market for produce that we don’t grow. We buy some things from the grocery, but not to the extent we would buy if we did not have a garden. Gardens can be overwhelming for some and some may not have room for a large garden. I know some people who raise a large amount of produce for their families. Follow our blog and head over to our podcast, Homesteading in the Mountains, on Apple Podcasts for a tips, ideas, and gardening posts.

Our garden last spring.

Saving seeds has been a part of homesteading in our family as long as I can remember. I recall my grandparents shelling bean seed and many other types of seeds to dry for the next season. That tradition has been handed down through the generations to me. Saving bean seeds, seed potatoes, tomato and cucumber seeds mean we do not have to buy seeds, we know how the plants were grown where the seeds originated from, saves money, and ensures we have seeds for the next season.

One of our seed boxes

Herbs are my favorite! I love working in our raised herb beds. We grow lots of basil, chives, oregano, thyme, lavender, bee balm, echinacea, Mullein, yarrow, peppermint, chocolate mint, strawberry mint, spearmint, lemon balm, and more. Do you have to grow this many different herbs? The answer is no. Grow what you will use and what you like. I use our herbs to make spices for culinary purposes and many of them for teas, while other herbs are used for balms, herb and oil-infused oils for a medicinal and cooking. We also use them for wide-variety of medical rubs, cleaning supplies, and repurpose them for compost and fertilizer. I love to gift herbs and teas as well. Follow our blog and podcast for more information. My Favorite Top Ten Herbs (Chocolate Mint part 3) This is one of many links to posts about our herbs. Herbs have the ability to make food taste better, makes great teas, and can be used for many medicinal purposes.

Harvesting Mint for Teas

An early mint bed from a couple years ago. Future tea!
Chocolate mint drying to be used as tea.

Baking bread is making a huge comeback. Take a few minutes and look at the ingredients in your favorite store bought bread. Then, look at the price. Finally, think about the preservatives that have been added to prevent mold. With that being said, there is no comparison to the taste of fresh baked bread. I enjoy baking a variety of styles of bread. I love artisan bread, my husband loves sandwich bread. I also enjoy baking sourdough bread, wheat bread, and high-fiber seeded bread. Recently, I branched out to making sourdough tortillas and sourdough crackers. We enjoy baking all types of cakes and cookies. Homemade has less ingredients, is healthier, and tastes better. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: Homemade Crusty Vegan Bread This is one of many posts about baking fresh bread.

Artisan seeded bread.
Fresh homemade tortillas.

Sourdough Tortillas

Sewing is something I grew up with. My mom was a seamstress, my grandmother sewed clothes and was known for her quilting skills. My sister inherited the love for quilting. I can, and have a made a few quilts, dresses, shirts, and pants. I use my sewing skills more in hemming, sewing a button on, or mending clothes that need repaired. Nevertheless, learning to sew can save a nice chunk of change for hemming and mending. It is also a skill that that produces very nice gifts, and can become a nice side income.

Just a few of my sister’s homemade quilts I have used and now display as a keepsake.

Canning, Dehydrating, & preserving canning vegetables helps to ensure we have food for the winter, saves money by decreasing store bought food. Having our own canned or preserved food ensures we are eating healthy garden food, even in the winter. And garden food allows us to share our bounty with others. Canning Green Beans the Time-Tested Way (updated) This is only a few of the wonderful things we can and preserve for our family.

Fresh zucchini and squash
Dehydrating zucchini that can be rehydrated later.
Green beans from the garden canned and ready for winter.
Corn from the garden to the freezer and ready for winter.
Fresh peaches canned and ready for cobblers or bread.

Canning My Favorite Peaches

Crocheting or knitting is not a necessity, but it is a great skill to have when making blankets to share as gifts, for family, and as a business. My favorite of the two is crocheting. I have made a nice little stash of cash by creating ponchos and afghans. It also provides a means of relaxation late evenings, and in during the dark days of winter.

Crocheted afghan in process

Chickens bring eggs to our family. With the prices of eggs lately, our girls are appreciated more than ever before. They also provide an extra income. We sell eggs at a much better price than the over priced eggs in the grocery store. Chickens also provide meat for the freezer, they help decrease insects in the yard, and the rooster’s early morning crow prevents one from oversleeping. Our chickens help us to friends and flail who cannot pay the high price of store bought eggs.

Fresh eggs!
A few of our layers.

Composting is a way of repurposing what most people throw away into fertilizer. Some people buy a gadget that allows them to compost their leftovers in the house. They’re nice and work if you do only have the space outdoors for a compost bin. We chose to build a compost bin from used concrete blocks that would have otherwise been sitting unused in a pile, or sent to a landfill. The compost bin is basically three outside walls with an open front and top. It is open in the front to allow the tractor or shovel access. The top is open to allow easy dumping and to allow the weather elements to reach the compost, helping it to decompose. Once the raw vegetables, fruits, egg shells, tea leaves, fruit and vegetable peelings, dried leaves, and other organic decomposable additives have decomposed, and it is totally dry, it is added back to the gardens as organic fertilize and around the fruit treats. Composting reduces waste, fertilizes, and ensures our plants are not being exposed to toxic fertilize.

Thank you for stopping by and spending a little time reading about our life on our homestead. Please feel free to leave comments, like, follow and or share. Happy homesteading from our homestead to your home. God bless!

Sourdough Tortillas

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in appalachian life, clean eating, clean recipes, farm living, holistic living, homesteading, Kentucky memories, ky author and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky! I hope your February is going well! It’s hard to believe that we spring is so close! Where does the time go? So, I recently started a new journey on the homestead. Our daughter was always the only sourdough baker on our homestead… until she gifted me a starter of sourdough. My initial reaction was that I did not have time to babysit this starter. I thought I would forget to feed it and it would die. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to learn a new process of bread baking. Well… I was wrong on all counts.

I discovered that I have a few minutes each day to discard from the starter and feed the remaining starter. It wasn’t a very difficult process to fall into routine with. What I didn’t realize was that each day I would have the gift of the sourdough discard to do something with. I didn’t realize that I could make pancakes, muffins, breads, cakes or gift it to others. I also learned that I could save my discard in the fridge, and I learned to make tortillas with it! This sourdough starter turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving. Let’s get started with making sourdough tortillas!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup of sourdough discard
  • 3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Salt (I use organic pink fine Himalayan salt)
  • 1/4 cup extra light extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 cup warm filtered water (70 – 75 degrees)

Add the ingredients in a large glass bowl. Mix with either a large wooden fork or with your hands. I prefer to work the ingredients into dough by using my hands. I find working dough with my hands to be a satisfying experience. Once all the ingredients are in the bowl, work the dough into a ball. Knead and stretch the dough and fold it several times.

When the dough is no longer shaggy and feels soft to the touch, put the dough on a floured parchment paper, or floured surface. Work the dough by kneading it a few more times. Cut it into six pieces then divid each of the six to make twelve total balls of dough.

Next, heat a skillet over medium heat until it very hot. I used a ceramic coated cast iron skillet to fry the tortillas in. It worked fine. While the skillet was heating on medium heat, I rolled each of the six pieces of dough into small balls. I floured the parchment paper and then rolled one ball at a time until I reached the desired size and depth of each the tortilla.

Rolling the small balls of dough for tortilla.

I fried each tortilla for approximately one minute on each side. I adjusted the heat of the skillet after about six of the tortillas to prevent burning the bread. The tortillas fried equally as fast as the first tortillas as the skillet remained hot.

I used unbleached coffee filters to separate the warm tortillas. I had a box of the filters I had purchased that are too large for our coffee pot. So instead of wasting them, they acted as a great vessel to prevent the tortillas from sticking to each other. Once all twelve tortillas were fried, I allowed them to completely cool and then stored them in a gallon zip lock bag. The tortillas can also be stored in a large bowl with an air tight seal. The second time I made tortillas I did not use the coffee filters to separate. Instead, I stacked them and wrapped them with a clean cotton dish towel. Once they were all fried, I wrapped the stack of them in wax paper and put them an air tight container. Both ways worked well.

We have used the tortillas as wraps, to dip hummus with, and for fajitas. One thing to keep in mind is the taste of the tortillas do not take on a strong taste of sourdough unless you let the dough rest for several hours prior to rolling and frying. Allowing it to stay covered for several hours ensures the starter/dough ferments. If you make the tortillas as soon as you mix them, there will be a slight sourdough taste on the backside of each bite. If you rest the dough, the tortillas will have a strong sourdough taste. Either way, they’re delicious!

I hope you and your family enjoys this recipe as much as we do. The temperature is frigid in the mountains today’ it’s a low 25 degrees this morning. Knowing that it’s 29 days until spring makes me happy! I’m ready to get out and work in the gardens. Don’t forget to head over to our podcast, Homesteading in the Mountains, on Apple Podcasts. God bless from our homestead! Feel free to follow, like, or comment!

Gluten Free Plant-Based Carrot Cake

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in appalachian life, clean desserts, clean eating, clean recipes, homesteading, Kentucky memories, ky author, plant-based, Vegan recipes and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky. Snow still covers the ground on the homestead. While it has melted in a lot of places, it lingers here. Our farm lies down between two mountains resulting in us being behind the north side of the mountain. Our farm is located in what Appalachian people call a holler! We don’t mind it… I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Our homestead is the property in the end of the holler. No one above us, in front of us, or behind us. We love the privacy and lack of a of seeing traffic passing by. We have one neighbor who can see the lower end of our land, which helps with insurance and to keep an eye on our property if we’re gone. All that being said, I am excited to bring a new recipe that is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan it can easily be changed to non-vegan as well.

I was challenged with creating a dessert for our daughter’s birthday, that our youngest grandson could eat. He has recently become gluten and dairy intolerant. He tested negative for celiac disease and allergy tests are scheduled to help diagnose the problem. Until an official medical diagnosis is made, we’ve strived to remove both dairy and gluten from his diet, as this is what seemed to give him the most trouble. Our efforts seem to be working. We also discovered while on this gluten free journey that many spices contain gluten. I have used organic spices for years and was happy to learn that the majority of organic spices are gluten free. However, we must always read the labels to be for sure. With all that being said, I am excited as we move forward to post gluten free recipes that are also dairy free and vegan in upcoming posts. Here we go with a first, which was a huge success! Carrot Cake!!!

Cake Ingredients:

  • Egg substitute equaling 4 eggs ( I like just egg)
  • 1 1/2 cups of organic cane sugar
  • 2/3 cup of organic light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of melted organic unrefined coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup of sweetened almond milk with a tsp of organic white vinegar (you may sub for buttermilk if not following a plant based diet)
  • 1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple in pure juice no sugar added
  • 2 tbs of pineapple juice from pineapples
  • 2 1/4 cup of gluten free King Arthur’s organic flour (may sub for all purpose flour)
  • 1 1/2 tsp good quality non caking baking powder
  • 1 tsp non caking baking soda
  • 1 tsp organic cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp organic ginger
  • 1/4 tsp of organic nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp non caking salt (I like pink Himalayan)
  • 2 1/2 cups finely grated organic carrots
  • 1/2 cup organic pecans finely chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 cup choice organic raisins (optional) I like dark raisins but you may use golden

Frosting Ingredients:

  • 3 cups sifted organic confection sugar
  • 1 stick (equals 1/2 cup) of Country Crock plant butter
  • 8 ounces of organic plant based cream cheese (I like the Simple Truth brand)

Ingredients can be substituted for non-vegan cake.

Process:

Preheat oven to 350, spray and line a 13×9 glass baking pan with unbleached parchment paper. Mix vinegar into milk and set aside. Mix sugar, eggs or egg substitute, oil, vanilla, pineapples, milk, and juice. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients and then fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the carrots, pecans, and raisins. Gently stir and when well mixed pour into the prepped cake pan.

Gently tap the pan of batter on the counter top to decrease air bubbles. Bake on the middle rack. Bake for forty minutes. Due to difference in oven temperatures test at 30 minutes with a skewer for doneness. If the skewer comes out clean, the cake is done. If the cake is not ready, return to oven and check again at 35, etc. Bake until the skewer comes out clean when resting for doneness. I baked in a Pyrex glass baking pan, which is thicker. My cake was done at 42 minutes.

Unfrosted cake

When the cake is baked, set it on a cooling rack. Wait until cake is completely cool before frosting. While the cake is cooling, make the frosting.

Process:

Mix room temperature plant-based butter, room temperature plant-based cream cheese, and three sifted cups of confection sugar on slow in a stand mixer. Once the sugar is incorporated, speed the mixer up to create a fluffier frosting.

Frosting is ready for the cake!

When the cake is completely cooled, using a rubber spatula, frost the cake. (Optional) Sprinkle chopped pecans over the top.

Top of frosted cake. I didn’t add pecans to the top.

I was amazed how creamy the frosting turned out. It is smooth, creamy, and tart enough to be delicious. The frosting didn’t have a phony taste like store bought frosting often has. I couldn’t wait to taste the cake after it was frosted. I actually didn’t wait until our daughter’s birthday dinner. I tasted the corner of the cake and was super happy with the results! I explained to her why a tiny little piece was missing from one of the corners. She understood and said she would’ve done the same.

Plant-based gluten free carrot cake.

The cake was a success! Everyone enjoyed it and loved the addition of the raisins. I had additional chopped pecans for those that wanted to add nuts to the top of their cake. The moisture level was off the charts! Had I not told everyone the cake was non dairy, plant-based, organic, and gluten free, they would have never known. Eating healthy doesn’t mean that you have to scrimp on taste.

I hope you and your family enjoy this cake as much as our family has. It is a great sweet treat for evening coffee, after dinner dessert, or even a breakfast treat. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky. Feel free to like, share, subscribe or comment. If you’re enjoying our recipes and adventures in homesteading, go check out our podcast, Homesteading in the Mountains on Apple Podcasts. Have a wonderful week and weekend!

My Top Ten Favorite Herbs: (Part-Seven: Yarrow)

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in appalachian life, book reviews, clean recipes, drying herbs, farm living, garden time, holistic living, homesteading, ky author, tea time and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello from the mountains of Kentucky! I hope each of you had an amazing Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas on the homestead with family and friends. God is good. Anyone that knows me knows that when Christmas is over… I start counting down the days till spring. I know, we shouldn’t wish our time away. I keep reminding myself of this. Take each day, savor it, as it is gift we never get back. However, I still get excited to see how many days till planting time! As of today, 78 days till calendar spring!

That being said, I am excited to bring another of my favorite herbs to you today. Last year, I completed the courses to finally earn my herbalism certification. During my studies, I learned about the common wild plant, yarrow.

Close up picture of yarrow leaves.

Achillea millefolium, more commonly known as yarrow is a perennial herb that is a member of the daisy family. It is found in growing in the wild and sometimes will in your yard as birds carry the seeds far and wide. It grows up to three and a half feet tall. The leaves are dark green, fern like, but yarrow is more feathery. See above picture. It has been used for centuries for nose bleeds, minor cuts, thus becoming known in son areas as the nose-bleed plant. The blooms are more commonly white with tiny yellow centers. Some yarrow blooms are yellow in color. We grow both and both are beautiful in flower beds and landscaping. Both are equal in quality.

Pictures above is our yellow tallow in full bloom.

Yarrow leaves are safe to mix in salads and are quite tasty. The leaves can also be dried for teas. Yarrow is considered to be a safe herb, however it is not advised to ingest large amounts of yarrow on a regular basis as yarrow contains thujone, which can be toxic if consumed on a regular basis in large quantities.

Cut yarrow drying. Preparing for yarrow salve.

Yarrow is versatile and very useful as a topical herb. It can be used in topical oils, salves, or even just by picking the leaves and crushing them or chewing them to apply to a wound to help slow and even stop bleeding. As always seek medical attention for wounds that might require stitches.

Drying yarrow is not difficult. I dry it during the summer and fall. You may dry the blooms and the leaves for external use. Stay with the leaves for internal. I dry it in small batches by cutting it in the early morning hours while the air is cool. Rinse the leaves and pat them dry. Place the leaves and or blooms on a white cloth or paper towel and spread them out to allow air to circulate. Place them out of direct sunlight and allow to dry until the leaves are crumbly. Once dried the herb can be stored in a glass container away from the light to be used as needed.

Dried yarrow can be added to jojoba oil or fractionated coconut oil for an external oil to help heal wounds. I add a couple of heaping tbs of the dried herb to a half pint jar of either organic extra virgin olive oil, fractionated coconut oil, or jojoba oil. I prefer to use amber colored glass if possible. I allow the dried herb to stay in the oil of choice for two to three weeks in a dark cabinet. I then strain the oil into either a small spray bottle or dropper bottle, which makes it easier to carry with me. This oil is great for helping to heal scrapes, minor cuts, sooth burns, as a rinse for mouth sores, and other small abrasions.

I also like to add the oil to equal parts of shay and cocoa butter to make a slave that absorbs through the skin and can carried in small containers for emergencies. I will post this recipe and details of how to make the salve in an upcoming post.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about how we use yarrow. Feel free to comment, like, or subscribe. God bless each of you. Happy New Year, from the mountains of Kentucky!

Why We Homestead

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in appalachian life, clean eating, drying herbs, farm living, garden time, homesteading, Kentucky memories, ky author, memories, Vegan recipes and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello from the mountains of Kentucky. I hope August is off to great start for you. It’s been a busy one for us as we head into harvesting season, and with my mom being in the hospital for past two weeks. I’ve spent much of my time with her and let the family tend most of the harvesting. However, I have been enjoyed picking beans, canning a couple dozen jars of those, preserved some pickles, and pickle relish. In reality, the harvesting and preserving has just begun. Now, onto the topic at hand, why we homestead.

Spreading two-year old manure over the garden.

I am often asked why we homestead. I wanted to share a few of the reasons why we chose and enjoy our way of life. Homesteading was a way of life for our grandparents, and great grandparents. Our parents also raised large gardens and homesteaded to an extent. It’s a way of life that we find rewarding in many ways. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s work that comes with great rewards.

We homestead because we are blessed with land that is rich and fertile. The soil is perfect for growing a garden. We enjoy growing corn, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers of all kinds, cucumbers, onions, zucchini, squash, cantaloupes, carrots, radishes, lettuce, kale, and other seasonal vegetables. We love having fresh organically grown fruit and vegetables in the warmer months and preserved vegetables for the winter months. Either way, growing, harvesting, and preserving our own produce ensures we are eating healthy food that is free from artificial fertilizers, and or pesticides.

Early spring garden.

We love to can, freeze, and dehydrate. Canning green beans is a favorite! Canning Green Beans the Time-Tested Way (updated) our family enjoys fresh tomato juice to make soups, pasta dishes, and more. If you’ve not tried home canned tomato juice, you don’t know what you’re missing. Canning Tomato Juice the Easy Way! Updated Information! Feel free to browse my website for canning pickled tomatoes, pickles, relish and more. Preserving veggies also reduces our grocery bills, and again, allows us to have our own homegrown organic veggies at our fingertips year round.

Our family also enjoys growing our own fruit. We have blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry bushes. We also grow strawberries and various types of melons. and have apple and peach trees. We also love growing, cooking, and preserving rhubarb. We love preserving jams, jellies, and pie fillings from the fruit and we can be found picking and eating it fresh.

Drying chocolate mint for teas.
Blackberry jam made from wild blackberries our grandson picked.
Fresh strawberry jam.

Homesteading is more than growing, harvesting, and preserving our own food. It’s about working the land to help it provide for us as well as our animals. It’s about taking pride in the land that the Lord has blessed us so abundantly with. We love to share our bounties with others and we enjoy bartering. If we have an abundance of cucumbers and someone else has an abundance of peppers, we may trade produce with each other to help the other person out.

Homesteading also allows us to be more self-sufficient by growing and harvesting our fruits and vegetables, raising our own chickens and ducks for eggs and meat, and growing and tending our herb garden to make teas, spices, and medicinal oils and poultices. it’s a way of life that allows us to share our bounties with our family, friends, neighbors, and church family.

Farm fresh eggs

Homesteading is a tradition that’s been passed down from generation to generation. Our parents and grandparents shared their knowledge of working the land with us as children, young adults, and they’re still sharing their words of wisdom with us through conversations, written journals, and precious memories from the past. My grandfather taught me much about fertilizing the land with natural fertilizer such as, rabbit and horse manure, compost, egg shells, and more. He taught me how to reduce waste and turn peelings, coffee grounds, egg shells, tea leaves, and veggie and fruit scraps into rich fertilizer by creating compost from all natural food scraps, dried leaves, wood chips from the chicken and duck run, and nature. Compost creates a rich fertilizer for the garden, and fruit trees.

Herbs are another large part of our homestead. Our herb garden expands each year with new herbs that we find useful for making great tasting teas, spices, and for medicinal uses. We enjoy growing a variety of basil, mints, oregano, chives, sage, lemon balm, bee balm, hyssop, yarrow, dill, echinacea, lavender, rosemary and more. Chocolate mint and peppermint are two of our favorite herbs for making hot and cold tea. Oregano, basil, and sage are among our favorites for spices. Chives make a great addition to most meals, and fresh dried sage makes Thanksgiving stuffing even more delicious. Head over to my podcast, Homesteading in the Mountains on Apple Podcasts to learn more about growing herbs, cooking with them, and using them and discover how I use them for medicinal purposes.

A few clippings of sage to dry and add to the spice jar.

Homesteading is something we take pride in. We also love to bake all of our breads from scratch. Our daughter bakes sourdough bread, white yeast bread for sandwiches, rolls, buns, and more. I like to bake artisan breads. We both enjoy baking biscuits and cornbread. Regardless the bread, cakes, or cookies, they’re delicious and do not contain all the added preservatives as processed bread. Either bread is a healthier choice that we enjoy with soups, as toast, for sandwiches, with meals, and if there’s an end piece left when baking day rolls around, we use it to make croutons for delicious soups and salads. The grandkids all enjoy the breads and the sweet treats. Baking helps keep our family healthier by consuming less processed foods. We also like to avoid food dyes, preservatives, and enjoy using organic flours and yeast to bake with.

Fresh baked banana peach bread
Fresh baked crusty seeded yeast bread
Two loaves of fresh baked sandwich bread.

Homesteading, has health benefits through consuming less processed foods, eating primarily organic foods, decreases our grocery bills, increases our income through selling produce and eggs. Increases our health through gaining exercise working the land all while being more self-sufficient, and proud of our hard work, our land, our harvest, and the fact of taking Better care of our nutritional needs and our families. Homesteading also allows us to work independently. I am a college professor and am on campus two days a weeks. I host a podcast and maintain this website as well as being an author of various books with one in works. I am also a doTERRA essential oil dealer. My husband is retired from welding for a major coal company in our area. Our daughter who shares the homestead with us homeschools, is self-employed as a Plexus consultant, and also an author. Her husband is self-employed, which helps him have time to work the land as well. Any way you look at it, homesteading is one of the most rewarding ways of life. We give our Lord, Jesus Christ, all the glory and praise for His blessings and the land and wisdom that He provides us with.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. I look forward to reading your comments. Feel free to like, comment, share, and or subscribe. God bless, from the mountains of Kentucky!

Garden Time

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in appalachian life, clean eating, farm living, garden time, holistic living, homesteading, Kentucky memories, ky author, memories, organic food, plant-based, Spiritual life, Uncategorized, Vegan recipes and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Garden Time!!!

Good morning from the mountains of Kentucky! Cold air invaded the mountains last night. It was a chilling 28 degrees when I awoke this morning. I was thankful that I had covered my ferns up last night. We have several mountain winters in March and April in Kentucky. With so many of the trees and bushes blooming early this year, it’s difficult to determine which winter it is. I’m not sure if this cold snap is redbud winter or dogwood winter. Nevertheless, hope remains as these small winters only last a day or two and then it’s mild weather again.

The smell of yesteryears lingers in the air as the garden was turned this week. The smell of fresh soil always reminds me of growing up only a few miles from where we live. Papaw plowed with a mule and plow from morning till evening. He would wipe the sweat from his brow, fan with his hat, rest a bit and return to his work. The smell of the rich dirt lingered in the air just as it does here today. The chickens are enjoying the freshly plowed ground as well. They love to scratch and search for worms in the loose dirt.

As I prepare breakfast this morning, I am reminded of eating oatmeal with my Papaw. I felt an unction to prepare a hardy bowl of oats, as he called them. I like to use a half cup organic oats, filtered water, fresh honey for the sweetening, and whatever fruit I have available. This morning I added a half of an organic banana, and some organic blueberries. I include a tablespoon of organic walnuts, a teaspoon of flaxseed, hempseed, and chia seeds. White serving I drizzle with almond milk and a tiny bit of honey. I toasted a slice of my homemade seeded bread with breakfast this morning. It’s a hard breakfast that will sustain me until late in the afternoon.

Delicious plant-based breakfast for a busy day!

I’m excited about planting this year. The manure has been spread and the first turning of the garden is complete. Seeds have been sewn in miniature green houses, and in the hydroponic garden. Fresh vegetables are a joy in the summer months. Fall is a time of harvesting and preserving for the winter months ahead. It’s not for the faint of heart, but for those who enjoy eating what they’ve grown from seed to nourish their bodies.

Spreading natural fertilizer.

Gardens can be as large or as small as you want them to be. For us, a large feeds our families all summer and sustains in the cold months. We usually have an abundance to share with neighbors, extended family, and church family. It seems the more we give to others, the more it grows.

Organic lettuce in one of the hydroponic gardens seven days after seeing the seed.

Eating healthy is a large part of being healthy. Eating organic, plant-based, and clean is a foundation for overall health. Get up and get moving! Being active helps prevent and fight many diseases that plague people across the world. Make it a point to know the ingredients in the food that you put in your body. Know the vocabulary of hidden toxic ingredients. Do your research, and start small and make changes weekly. For example, I no longer buy bread that is deemed healthy, but is it really when you can’t pronounce fourteen of the twenty seven ingredients. I choose to bake bread for my family on Saturday mornings. My recipe has four ingredients, of which one is water, and I add various organic seeds for the crunch and fiber. The following is a link to my bread recipe. It’s easy, doesn’t require an abundance of time and tastes delicious. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Living a clean and holistic life is very gratifying. The rewards are great and exceeds the long days and time spent prepping, preparing, and growing, foods that nourish your body, not poisoning them a little at a time with toxic ingredients found in processed foods.

The first turning of the garden!

I would like close with a great book suggestion for young readers, as a read aloud, and great for the primary classroom. It is written by our daughter and it’s beautifully written and illustrated. Check the book out at the following link;

http://My Magic Boots https://a.co/d/bcIP0sC

Link is added above.

God bless from the mountains of Kentucky! May your day be filled with joy, hope, the love of Christ, and good nutritious foods that can help heal you from the inside out. Feel free to leave a comment, like, and or follow by blog for more posts on clean and holistic living.

First turning of the garden complete! Awaiting a second plowing and plants!

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: Homemade Crusty Vegan Bread

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in Vegan recipes and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Seeded artisan bread

Good morning from the mountains of Kentucky. It’s official! We are 22 days away from spring 2024. I am eager to say that I am very happy about that! When the butter cups are blooming, daylight lasts a little longer, and the birds are singing early in the morning, I begin to have spring fever. I am ready to sow seeds, plant crops, and enjoy the sunshine on my face. I am eager to share a new bread recipe with you that is clean, easy, and tastes delicious. But first, I would like to ask if you have ever looked at the list of ingredients on bread you buy from the grocery store? The ingredients are numerous and many that I can’t pronounce or have to search the internet to determine what they are. This is scary to say the least. Even most of the breads that are labeled as organic contains a long list of ingredients. The recipe that I am sharing today has basically five organic ingredients, of which one is water. Are you ready to take control of what you put inside your body? Let’s get started!

Ingredients:

  • 3 1/2 cups of organic, unbleached all-purpose flour (I like King Arthur’s)
  • 1 1/2 cups of warm filtered water 75 degrees
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of aluminum-free sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
  • 2 teaspoons of organic non-caking yeast
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup of organic seeds of choice. I used pumpkin, flax, and hemp seeds. (This is optional)

In a large glass mixing bowl mix the dry ingredients and add warm water slowly stirring as you add the water. I like to add the yeast to the warm water to help activate it and then add the water to the mix. I also like to mix by hand, but a stand mixer with a dough hook can be used. Gently fold in the seeds of choice. Once the dough is mixed set the bowl aside in a warm place and cover the bowl with a clean dish cloth. Let rise for two hours.

Freshly folded dough awaiting the oven to heat.

After two hours, turn your dough out onto a floured parchment paper or floured wood cutting board. Fold the dough each way into itself. Shape it into the shape the desired shape that you prefer your bread. Lightly dust a stone pizza stone and place it on the oven rack that you will bake your bread on. Preheat the oven and the pizza stone to 450 degrees. Add about two inches of water to a shallow glass cooking dish and place on the rack beneath the rack you’re going to bake the bread on. This will help your bread have a crispy exterior on top and a soft bottom. Allow your bread to continue to rise while the oven and stone are preheating. When the oven is preheated, score the top of the bread three to four times with a serrated knife. Remove the hot stone and carefully remove the dough and place it on the the hot stone. Bake for 25- 30 minutes, depending on how crusty you like your bread.

Fresh bread just out of the screaming hot oven still on the baking stone.

This bread can be made from wheat flour if desired or oat flour. The seeds are optional and can be exchanged for other seeds, or left out of the recipe. You may bake this bread in a preheated covered cast iron Dutch oven that is lined with parchment paper before adding the dough, or you may divide the dough into two small loaf pans.

Once the bread has baked transfer to a cooling rack and allow to completely cook before cutting. Sharp serrated bread knifes are great to cut the bread. This bread makes great sandwich bread, toast, French toast, as a side to supper dishes, toasted as crusty bread, or buttered as is. The inside is soft and airy and delicious. I love the texture of the baked pumpkin seeds within the bread. The possibilities are vast!

Cooling on the wire rack.

I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe. Every time I bake, I am reminded of one of my favorite components of the Lord’s Prayer.

Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. (KJV)

The top is crusty, the bottom soft, and inside is airy. It’s delicious!

We should focus on this day, not days that have past, nor days that haven’t yet arrived. If we keep our focus on, this day, we do not get caught up in the what ifs, from yesterdays, or the what wills, of tomorrows. Keeping our focus on the Lord for this day encourages us to rely on Him more completely.

God bless, from the mountains of Kentucky. I welcome Feel feedback and or questions.

Organic Vegan Vegetable “Beef-less” Soup

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in canning, clean eating, clean recipes, farm living, garden time, ky author, organic food, plant-based, Vegan recipes and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello from the mountains of Kentucky! I hope your fall is off to a great start. Things are beginning to slow down on our small farm. All of the garden produce is either, canned, preserved, dried, or frozen. It was a lot of hard work, but very satisfying and rewarding work. We enjoy the produce year round. But my personal favorite is making soups with all the different veggies. When the cool fall winds begin to creep into the mountains, I feel the urge to cook. One of my favorite dishes is homemade vegan vegetable beef-less soup, especially on wet and drizzly day like today.

A warm bowl of soup on a fall day makes for a cozy meal!

I grew up eating vegetable beef soup. It was always a winter favorite in our house. Our children grew up eating vegetable soup with grilled cheese. Vegetable soup remains a favorite still today. Just because my vegetable soup is vegan, doesn’t mean it’s not tasty. I think you’ll find my vegetable soup to be savory, filling, and healthy.

Ingredients:

  • Half of a large organic yellow onion
  • 1/4 organic red bell pepper
  • 1/4 organic green or yellow pepper
  • 1 tbs organic extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 can of unsalted diced organic tomatoes
  • 2 cups organic vegan meatless chorizo crumbles (I use Morning Star)
  • 2 cups of meatless beef crumbles (my favorite is Simple Truth crumbles)
  • 2 cups organic frozen sweet peas or 1 can unsalted organic sweet peas
  • 2 cups organic frozen corn or 1 can of unsalted organic corn (I use 3-4 ears of frozen corn from our garden and cut it off the cob)
  • 2 cups of fresh green beans cooked or one can of organic green beans (I use a half quart of beans we preserve from our garden)
  • 2-3 medium sized potatoes
  • 2 cups sliced carrots
  • 1 1/2 cups organic vegetable broth
  • 1 quart tomato juice (I use the tomato juice we can from our garden tomatoes)
  • I like to use good quality organic seasonings. Add salt, pepper, onion salt, garlic powder, turmeric, and paprika to taste. I usually season each layer of the soup while I’m preparing it.
  • One tablespoon of organic tomato paste.

In a large cast iron stock pot, heat olive oil over medium low heat. Dice onions and peppers and add to oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until onions and peppers are tender. Add meatless crumbles and add a small sprinkle of salt and pepper and other spices. Sauté for ten minutes and then add diced tomatoes.

Meatless crumbles are very tasty and textured very close to beef, only better!

While this is simmering peel and dice potatoes, and slice carrots. Add the potatoes and carrots to a pot of boiling water. Add a drizzle of oil and season the potatoes and carrots with salt and pepper. Cook the potatoes and carrots until they’re semi tender or a tiny bit al dent-e, which will prevent them from overcooking when added to the soup.

These are a flavor bomb! Delicious for tacos, chili, or veggie soup!

While the potatoes and carrots are cooking, begin adding the remaining ingredients one at a time. If you choose to use canned veggies, drain the vegetables and rinse well before adding. If you use frozen, allow them to thaw first. Once the vegetables have all been added, season to taste with remaining seasonings and add salt and pepper if necessary. Allow the vegetables to come up to heat and add tomato juice. Allow the mixture to begin to cook and add vegetable broth. When potatoes are the desired tenderness drain and add to the soup. I like to add a tbs of organic tomato paste at this time and add any additional seasonings. Allow the soup to simmer on low for 30 minutes. Serve with your favorite crackers or organic dairy free grilled cheese! Anyway you serve it, your family will love it!

Close up of a bowl of soup to emphasize the delicious veggies!

I hope that you and your family enjoy this savory and delicious soup as much as my family does. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions. I love to hear from my readers. If you are not already following my blog, feel free to follow and receive notifications each time I post. For now, so long from the mountains of Kentucky! God bless each of you!

Holistic Living

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in a spiritual life, appalachian life, canning, clean eating, drying herbs, essential oils, farm living, garden time, holistic living, homesteading, Kentucky memories, ky author, memories, my special days, organic food, plant-based, tea time, Vegan recipes and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky! I hope you are having a wonderful day. Things have been quite hectic in our neck of the woods! As a college professor this is one of the busiest times of the year as we are deep into the fall semester. Each year brings growth and change, which are both welcomed, but not always easy. As famers, life has been extremely hectic as we are harvesting, preserving , and canning the remnants of our garden. As a part of a church family, it’s been a busy time of growth, and a sense of urgency to pray more for our country and family than ever before. We’ve also felt the need to preserve and can more than in years past. With that sense of urgency, we’ve actively been growing our pantry, and stocking our shelves with a little more than usual this year.

Making time for self-care, especially when life gets crazy is a must. I have found that taking the time early in the morning hours to sit quietly, reflect, meditate, pray, and journal has proven to be very therapeutic and healthy for my mind and spiritual well-being, which helps to maintain a healthy mind, heart, and soul. I enjoy crocheting, which is also very therapeutic. After prayer, devotion, and Bible study, a few minutes of crocheting is one of my times to reflect and meditate. Mornings are great for me as the house is quiet and the farm outside hasn’t come to life just yet.

Morning fog hovering in the still green mountains. Morning walks are the best!
Crocheting and reflecting on the past and meditating on the day.

Holistic living is healthy and very satisfying way of life. I am often asked how I made the decision to lead a holistic life. I have been an advocate for clean eating for a great number of years, which made the transition somewhat easier. I chose clean eating for my health. My health was declining at a young age. My cholesterol was out of control, my blood pressure was extremely high, I was over weight, and I was border line diabetic. So, the journey began there! I decided that I would take back my health! I chose clean eating as many fad diets just didn’t work. Day by day, week by week, with the help and support of my family, church and friends, changes started happening! One by one I was able to stop taking meds for all of the above health issues, I lost 75, yes 75 pounds! I was finally in control of my diet and my health!

With the wonderful effects that clean eating had on my health, it evolved into my decisions to become a pescatarian, then gradually that evolved to becoming a vegetarian, which both added vitality and a new zeal for life in my thoughts and my body and evolved into an even cleaner diet. I’ve had trouble with digesting diary for years and had gradually made the change to almond milk and plant butter and cheese, which again made the transition easier. For nearly five years now, I’ve enjoyed a vegan/plant based diet, which has lead to an increase in my overall health, and a peace and satisfaction that I am making a difference in my overall well-being.

Enjoying the smell of mint drying in the kitchen.

I am also a herbalist, and enjoyed growing our own herbs for cooking, making teas, and also for minor medial problems for years. I also love sharing them with family and friends. The most recent addition to living a cleaner and healthier life, was the decision to become a doTERRA essential oil consultant. I’ve used essential oils for years, and finally decided that I would become a consultant and purchase from myself rather than online markets. This line is the best that I’ve used thus far and it’s also a nice little supplemental income as well. With a holistic lifestyle come lots of questions. The primary questions I am asked are, why and how.

Fresh basil in the background and one of my favorite oils. Orange is very versatile.

The first question is the most common question. What inspired you to lead a holistic life? I always answer that question with a question. Why wouldn’t I? Then I begin to explain I chose this lifestyle for my health, my peace of mind, and simply put, for my life. I also add some details about the astounding amount of research revealing the high level of toxins, preservatives, and additives that basically poison the human body and our environment. These toxins are found in food, fast foods, shampoos, soaps, toothpaste, makeup, perfumes. detergents, cleaning products, air fresheners, candles, and even in our pet’s food. I’ll share another story in a different post of how we nearly lost my canine baby due to additives in what was supposed to be healthy doggie treats. That was a real eye-opener!

I always share one of the most informative books that I’ve ever read was, How Not to Die, written by Dr Gregor. There is so much information revealed within the covers of this book that confirmed my reasons for eating clean, and eating cleaner than I had been eating. His research also solidified my thoughts about why I had been food poisoned by fast food on more than one occasion, why we nearly lost our house dog, and why cleaning products and certain air fresheners lead to smothering and irritated sinuses. He exposes much about how these horrific toxins are actually allowed to be in our foods, pet foods, cleaning products, and even in medicines and vitamins that we think are helping us.

An eye-opening read!!! I encourage anyone who is interested in living a cleaner, more holistic life to read this book!

Secondly, I’m asked if it was a difficult transition. My answer is no. You don’t have to make the plunge and change everything at once. I made changes over a period time with my diet and I did the same thing with household items, hygiene items, and even my car air fresheners. I didn’t see the need to waste products that I already had on hand, so as I would empty an item, I would replace it with plant based, organic, and a cleaner item. First on the list, I would begin eliminating the toxins from my our home and our vehicles. My first elimination was laundry detergent. To prevent waste, after exhausting the last of my stock, I began using organic plant based detergents that didn’t require fabric softeners. There were some products that I had in my home that I could not convince myself to continue using. Those plug in air fresheners were tossed in the garbage, empty or not!

With the various air fresheners gone, I replaced them with diffusers for essential oils to help clean and purify the air and also bring a wide array of wonderful scents into the house. One by one I replaced our cleaning supplies with either organic plant based cleaning supplies or homemade supplies from natural ingredients. It’s quite amazing how many options are on the market and what’s even more amazing is the number of cleaners you can make using essential oils! I’ll share my bathroom cleaner soon! It cleans great, easy to make, and also prevents those toxic fumes that no one likes.

The next change was hair care products and tooth paste. doTERRA made that change easy for me as well. They have a wonderful plant based shampoo that incorporates essential oils, and a fantastic plant/based conditioner, and leave in conditioner that is excellent! I can’t even explain how wonderful my hair feels after using these products! My hair shines so much more than before and it feels less weighted. I also made the transition from usual tooth paste to a clean toxin free tooth paste from doTERRA. I chose this toothpaste simply because I’m a doTERRA consultant, and after trying it… it works! My teeth are clean and white and after reading the list of ingredients in my old toothpaste, it was an easy transition and one that I am happy I made.

doTERRA shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in conditioner. All natural!!!

Finally, vitamins was the next item to begin changing. It was easy to switch vitamins with doTERRA. The vegan vitality pack is on my monthly auto order. I love these vitamins as they’re all plant based, no additives, or artificial colors added, and they’re in veggie capsules. Essential oils, homegrown herbs, and homemade teas helps with common cold symptoms, allergies, scrapes and minor abrasions. I could go on forever with the reasons why I chose a holistic lifestyle.

Vitality pack! This was a game-changer! Even though I already took vitamins and had for years… I noticed an immediate change in my stamina!!

I’m asked if I miss fast foods, soft drinks, and what in the world do I do about coffee. Number one, I don’t miss fast foods. As a matter of fact, the cleaner you eat, the less you even want fast foods. My husband and I now prefer food prepared at home ten to one over restaurant foods. I gave soft drinks up over twenty years ago for my own personal health and have never looked back. I’ll be honest, coffee change took a while. It took a little while and a lot of different coffees to find a good organic coffee that I truly enjoyed, but have finally found one that is very satisfying. I have also replaced much of the coffee that I drank during the day and evenings with organic and my homemade teas.

Delicious organic coffee from Amazon!!!

Finally, I’m asked if I feel better physically since making so many changes. Simply omitting meats and dairy from my diet was a game changer with my cholesterol and inflammation. Omitting artificial colors, scents, and toxic preservatives really made a positive impact on my allergies. Plant based vitamins, a good clean diet, and the removal of toxic smells in our home has made a positive impact on my overall health, stamina, and lead to a much more simple life that makes me happy knowing I am doing something to improve my quality of life, my families, and decreasing the chances of disease in our bodies.

Enjoy the simple things that bring joy and support your health. Organic lavender growing near our front door! Love to add to plant butter, cookies, teas, and more.

If you’re interested in holistic living, start slow. Remove one thing at a time. Don’t try to do it all at one time! You’ll become overwhelmed, which might result in giving up. Make one change and allow that change to become a routine. Once you feel grounded and content with that change, make a second change. As you empty or exhaust a supply of one particular item, replace it with a cleaner wholesome item. Read the labels, do the research, do a little soul searching, meditate, pray, and take holistic living one day and one change at a time.

Take time to enjoy the change. One change at a time and you’ll be more likely to stay the course. It’s so worth it!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. Feel free to leave comments. I enjoy reading comments and answering questions. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky! Happy Fall!!!

Reminiscing in the Herb Garden

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in a spiritual life, appalachian life, canning, clean eating, coffee time, drying herbs, farm living, garden time, holistic living, Kentucky memories, ky author, memories, my special days and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Good afternoon, from the mountains of Kentucky! I hope your Labor Day weekend is already off to a great start! It was a quiet morning in the mountains in our neck of the woods this morning. A big music festival has been going on in our small downtown area for the past three or four days. But, for myself, I would rather be in the peace and quiet of our small farm. This morning as the fog lifted and the dew glistened and clung like diamonds on the green leaves, I enjoyed the mountain air with a hot cup of coffee. As a result of the scattered showers last night, damp leaves lay scattered over the still damp ground. A feeling of fall was surely in the air. With thoughts of the inevitable season swiftly approaching, I felt an unction to walk through the herb garden that would all too soon be gone.

My favorite Italian basil.

With the sounds of the hummingbirds feeding and crickets still chirping, a peaceful feeling filled my being. The smell of the herbs filled the air as I brushed past the holy basil, rosemary, lavender, and my favorite Italian basil. The mint caught my attention. It was still thriving as a result of quenching their thirst with organic mint teabags this year. There was such a harmonious feeling being in the midst of the bright and fresh herbs that would soon hang in my kitchen to dry. I felt an anxious feeling for the aroma that the herbs omit while they’re drying. Our entire kitchen would be filled with scents of lavender, basil, and mint. Yet, another indication that fall is near.

My thoughts lingered in many places this morning as I enjoyed the surroundings that I so love. Lingering thoughts of our cemetery service yesterday where we gathered to have church on the graveyard. This is an old tradition that still lingers in the Appalachian mountains. It’s a time to pay respect to our loved ones, worship together in song, preaching of the word, and prayer. It’s also a time when the world outside with all the doom and gloom seems to stop… and family gathers together to remember and celebrate the lives of our family who have gone before us.

My great grandparents grave.

The songs that were sung on the cemetery still felt alive in my mind. While sitting quietly among the herbs, one of my favorite morning fragrances enticed my senses. The earth was alive this morning! The aroma of the rich soil was thick in the air. The smell of the soil after a rain instantly transported me back to my childhood. Rising early to the sounds of our mother singing. I would eagerly follow the sound of her soft voice. Many mornings I found her sitting on the back porch drinking coffee, enjoying the mountain morning air, and other times she would be shucking corn or stringing beans she had picked earlier that morning while my brother, sister, and I slept. The aroma of strong black coffee filled the kitchen and the cool morning air. The scent of damp soil enticed me to run barefoot between the rows of corn, but the freshness of the garden vegetables sustained me. I loved stringing beans, or chopping corn, even as a young child.

Everyone I string beans, I think of my youth.

After a slow and thoughtful walk through the aromatic herbs, reality called my name. It was time to go inside and enjoy a little time with my latest adventures in writing. I’m excited to share more news and details as the project approaches completion. Also, upcoming posts include canning crushed tomatoes, preserving like a pro, vegan zucchini bread, and an update on our fall adventures in the mountains. For now, may the Lord bless you each with a wonderful and restful Labor Day. Feel free to leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers. God bless from the mountains of Kentucky!