Self-sufficiency being the goal of the homesteader, it would seem we have crossed our first little milestone. We’ve been here going on 14 months and since living sustainably and off-the-grid as far as energy, water, waste and transportation are such far-reaching and challenging goals, we have focused first on the food.
Saturday night was the closest we’ve come to a truly local meal, with 75% of it coming from these 55 acres. Soups and stews have long been my specialty, and this one was the best I’ve ever made.  Since last week I was as irritated and frustrated as a caged up ‘coon, for a change of pace this week I’d like to share this little success story with my fabulous new recipe and a few fun photos. Bon Appétit!
Homestead Stew
From the forest:Â Leftover roast deer and leftover wild pig BBQ short ribs deboned and cut into chunks
From the garden:Â onions, new potatoes, fennel, turnips, Greek oregano, French tarragon, German thyme, banana peppers (still frozen from last summer’s harvest!)
From the store:Â several slices bacon (will make our own someday, but that’s not an easy one), 1 cup red wine (ditto on the wine) , celery (requires advanced gardening skills, I’ll get there though), salt & pepper (no hope there)
Chop the bacon and sauté with the diced onion, celery and peppers. Add the chopped new potatoes, fennel and turnips. Deglaze the pan with the wine, add the herbs and leftover meats, and cover with water or stock. Et voilá, 20 minutes later a truly delicious stew.
For his Mother’s Day handy hubby made a fabulous berry cobbler from the last of the frozen dew berries picked last spring, because it’s time to fill the freezers back up again with this year’s crop! And I can’t wait for those free-range, farm fresh eggs!!
Finally the cricket and grasshoper population is under control in the garden!
In the kitchen garden: spring lettuce mix, Cinnamon, Thai and Sweet basil, French tarragon, Greek oregano, German thyme, cilantro, mint, lavender, sage
Growing fine: several varieties of corn, tomatoes, beans, peas, summer and winter squash, potatoes, onions, melon, peppers
Born Free!
Happier chickens are tastier chickens!
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I am impressed. Would love to have a big garden like you have. lots of work but isn’t it fun!!
Love
Aunt Mary
Am glad to see that you have finally reached one of your goals by self suffiency. Food. And you have some very impressive cooking skills! Thanks for posting the pictures. Your garden looks amazing! It is so nice to follow your blog and read your progress. You are not an amateur gardener now but a professional farmer!
Well done, Mishelle. I raise my glass for you and your family!
“Frozen” fruits and vegetables?
I see you “Papi-proofed” the herb garden. Very smart! Everything looks yummy. Would love to be there for some taste-testing.
Leo, I don’t get it. If we grew them? Why on earth not? We are going for self-sufficiency here, not prehistory!
Thanks so much Jorn and all for the nice comments!
I was a volunteer in the 1970’s. Post some stuff we can smoke!
hehe Lorenzo, would love to! if i didn’t reside in one of the most conservative states in the country, i might just do that!
Mishelle.
If you are off the energy grid how do you freeze foods? I personally find frozen foods to be the epitome of processed foods. Or would that be “freeze dried?”
Leo, then you would be quite surprised, hardly processed at all, straight from garden to freezer! Let it never be said that I am not a big fan of technology, some of it anyway!
And we are not off the energy grid, yet, but once we are solar panels can support everything from computer to freezer. Still very expensive technology, but getting more affordable all the time.