Potato Wine

We are always searching for things to make wine from, usually in the Spring we have no problem with that as there is always an abundant supply of dandelions which make fantastic wine, and the young oak leaves which are equally good. In Winter it can be a little harder as there is little that grows outside, hence we turn to the basement for inspiration. 2015 provided us with a good potato crop so the next batch of wine had to be potato. To some that may sound a bit different but potatoes make an awesome strong white wine. It is such a simple cheap wine.

To make roughly 3 gallons, boil 12lb of peeled potatoes in some of the water until tender. Once cooled strain the potato water into a large pan, a jam pan works well.

Ready to cook

Don't chuck away the potatoes, they are still useable! They are a good excuse to make some cracking leftover potato recipes.

Potato goodness

To the potato water, add 500g of organic raisins, 2tbsp freshly grated ginger, 6kg of sugar (we used half brown and half white) and a cup of tea for the tannin. Boil until the sugar has dissolved and let cool. Once cooled pour into a brewing bin, top water up so you have roughly 3 gallons and add the yeast. We used a sparkling yeast.

Cooling

Leave to ferment for a week before racking into a demijon. When the wine has completely stopped fermenting it can be cleared and bottled. At the time of writing this blog our potato wine has not yet been racked into the demijon. Update to follow :)

Feedback Folks!

I have been running my blog for a couple of weeks now. In order to write what folk like, or to write more of something, less of something or to not write at all it would be great if those who read could spend a few moments to make a small comment about my blog. This will help me to keep my writing relevant. Thanks so much in advance :)

Awesome Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks

Another cheap and frugal cut of meat that is often discarded or discredited is the humble shank, lamb shank in this case. It is not seen as a quality piece of meat, folk see it as tough to cook and not worth the effort. Not by me, it is one of the most tender, tastiest and easiest cuts of meat. This is how to achieve this wonderful delectable dish.

Sprinkle the shanks with pepper and cinnamon, brown them in a pan until nicely colored.

Getting Browned

Place the browned lamb shanks in a slow cooker. Fry a sliced onion and two cloves of garlic in the same pan as you browned the lamb. Once they are slightly colored add the onions and garlic to the shanks. De-glaze the pan with a splash of water, all those charred bits at the bottom of the pan are flavor, don't leave them behind!

All Done

Put a large handful of mint in with shanks (I use frozen because I don't have fresh at this time of year.) Cover the shanks with enough stock or water to cover half way. I used leftover carrot water. Cook for 6 to 8 hours. Heavenly!

No bread, no worries!

Sometimes despite baking most days, things can run out. When it is the bread that runs out one must think what else can be made rather speedily and that whatever it is we come up with will be a hit at the dinner table filling those empty hungry tummies. Don't worry if there is not even a crust in sight, it is not the end of the world.  These little flatbread beauties are quick and easy to knock up and so versatile.

Ready to Serve

Mix two cups of wholemeal flour with a scant 1/2 tsp baking powder and a slug of olive oil. Mix this with milk or kefir or water to create a dough. Break off large walnut size pieces and roll out thin on a floured side. Pat off any excess flour. Cook in a pan on medium heat, no oil is needed, they dry cook wonderfully. As soon as they brown on one side turn them over and cook the other side. They really do take minutes but these little breads can be served with so many different things. Homemade hummus goes a treat, and so does just plain old butter! Now, who needs bread?  :)

A Cleaner Clean!

Over the Winter months with not much to do outside other than tend our livestock that is bungled up in their sheds my attention turns to that dreaded cleaning! With the warmer months being so busy the poor house and contents seem to get buried under dust, and all matter of different things. One of the biggest areas where people are unknowingly poisoning themselves is by using toxic household cleaning products. They are so bad for you, throw them away!

Here is a much more healthier option -

2 cups of water
20 drops of tea tree essential oil
15 drops of pine essential oil
10 drops of orange essential oil
A drop of washing liquid (natural stuff of course)

Add all these ingredients to a spray bottle, shake well and it is ready to use. You can make a different spray for different areas but to be honest this is the only one I use everywhere, the kitchen worktops, the bathroom and anywhere else I feel needs a clean. It not only cleans but the essential oils are anti-bacterial so you are eliminating the bad guys. It also makes your house smell divine.
Essential oil's can be expensive to buy, but they last a very long time so it is worth spending that extra money to get them. 
Over time you will save money this way as you will not be spending more regularly on those toxic harsh environmentally bad cleaners. A clean clean!

Ginger and Spice

A few blogs ago I showcased my homegrown ginger plant that I had managed to get to sprout from an organic piece of store bought ginger root. Here is it a couple of weeks later -

Growing well

As you can see it has been doing well, it did have a minor setback when my son snapped about an inch off the top when he dropped the cat food lid on it but it seemed to grow back. The brown powder on the soil surface is cinnamon. Cinnamon and most spices act as a mold inhibitor so it stops some of the nasties that may cause damage to you plants plus giving them a dose of nutrition. It can be sprinkled on and re-applied after watering. And it is all natural folks!

I shall be featuring this wonderful spice called cinnamon in  a future blog and how it can be used in the kitchen and bathroom area :)

Thrifty Tasty Taters

Those who follow my blog and Facebook page will know by now that nothing goes to waste in our household and that leftovers rule. A few days a ago I made a big batch of cheesy mash, it is so easy putting a few extra potatoes in the pan just so you can make these little potato pleasures! 

Frying away

There is no set rule on ingredients here, simply add 1/2 tsp baking powder and enough wholewheat flour to your mashed potato leftovers (it does not need to be cheesy) until a dough is formed. You want the dough just short of sticky. Add a touch of salt and pepper and shape into flat discs. Fry in butter and oil (I use avocado oil) and fry for about 10 minutes on each side or until nicely browned.

Ready

I served these with a slightly spiced yogurt, put a sprinkle of cumin and turmeric into some plain thick yogurt and stir.

January Joy!

Once again our weather has surprised us, it has been plus one today, can you believe it? We cannot! It was a joyful occasion for our poultry who had the lucky opportunity to get out of their Winter accommodation and breathe some fresh air. I am sure it won't last though.

A few of the chickens

One has escaped!

A couple of the ducks

The Story Behind!

Our journey to become as self - sufficient as we can has not been a straight road, nor has it been an easy ride. We have made some very difficult decisions along the way, some we feel that were right and some we cannot not yet decide on. We have had a rather long adventure to be where we are, and we felt that that adventure was worth sharing. This is my book, our story!

Our Story

If you interested in reading about long journey please click here -
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Like-Mine

A bit slim on the basic supply front!

What would you do if you woke up in the morning to find no butter, no bread, no cereal, a splash of milk and pretty much bare cupboards? Well the first answer should not be to panic, secondly it should not be lets lie on the floor and starve and thirdly it should not be lets jump in the car and go to the local store as fast as humanely possible. What we should do is think about it, there is always something we can make with what we have tucked away, we just need to look and use our brains. Joking aside food insecurity is becoming a real problem, it is sad that there are so many that struggle to get a simple meal. And, it is true to say that the majority of folk have no idea what is is like to go properly hungry. Society has become so dependent on stores for food that if a food shortage was to happen, it would be a disaster on a huge scale.We should all think about that.

Our lack of basic supplies this morning could have caused a meltdown, but when supplies are low being resourceful and thinking outside the box is must. Although I lacked the basic's I still managed to whip up a plate full of heart healthy Oaty Banana Chia Pancakes. Although, I did slightly worry when I opened the fridge to find the egg carton empty. I quickly sped outside and was lucky to find my hens had laid me a couple of eggs. Phew!

Oat Goodness

If you would like to make these pancakes the recipe for them is on my Facebook Page, the link which can be found to the right of my blogs.