The cardinal rule of newbie pressure canning

With my Christmas money in hand and visions of a well-stocked pantry dancing in my head, I bought myself this bad boy:  an All-American 30 quart pressure canner.  I chose the All-American because it's made in the US and it's said that with proper care your grandchildren will be able to use it.  It also has very few negative customer reviews and a metal to metal seal with no rubber gasket to be replaced.  The 30 quart is the second largest model they sell and is supposed to can 19 pints or 14 quarts.  I reasoned that it would probably be best to can fewer larger batches than a lot of smaller ones. The largest model seemed to border on ridiculous (32 pints or 19 quarts.)

I've only canned once before: 6 half-pints of pickled jalapenos using the water bath method.  High acid foods like fruit or things pickled in vinegar can be canned this way, but low acid foods must be canned in a pressure canner.  It was a pretty successful venture, so I felt confident that I would be able to handle pressure canning as well.  I was wrong.  So very wrong.

The first time I used my pressure canner I learned a lot...the hard way.  I will now share my great wisdom with you in case you're ever inclined to try this yourself...or just for your amusement at my expense. 

Tip #1   Just because you CAN can 19 pints at once doesn't mean you newbie SHOULD.  Having one successful canning attempt under your belt and a ginormous canner does not qualify you to can 3 pounds of dry beans at once.  

Tip #2    DON'T newbie can alone.  If you are a seasoned canner, solo away, but for me an extra pair of hands (and an extra brain) would have been a big help.

Tip #3 (and this one is the most newbie important) DON'T BUY A PRESSURE CANNER THAT DOESN'T FIT UNDER YOUR RANGE HOOD.   If, for some reason you don't heed this first bit of advice, DON'T wait until your beans have been cooking for 2 hours, you have boiling water and lids ready to go, and your hot jars lined up on the counter to come to this realization.

Tip #4   DON'T newbie decide to hot pack your jars, then put them into cool water in your canner, close it up and carry your canner (which now weighs approximately the same amount as a healthy middle schooler) to your car and drive to your sister's house so you can use her stove.  You may find when you arrive at her house and open the lid to inspect the contents that a jar (thankfully only one) has fallen over (thankfully not broken) and the lid has come off so you now have beans floating in the water, all your carefully measured head space is no longer so carefully measured, and everything has cooled too much to continue without danger of later spoilage.  Then you might find yourself packing up, driving home and despairing of the mammoth mess you now have to clean up.  Cleaning up after a success isn't nearly as disheartening as cleaning up after a failure.

At least it wasn't a total waste.  I ended up pouring the beans back into the pot, cooking them for the rest of the day and freezing them.  Since we're trying to move out of this house and I'm increasingly interested in building my own tiny house, I think I'll keep the canner and just try future attempts at my sister's house or our church building.  Since it's my mistake, I'd have to pay to ship the behemoth back, anyway.  Unfortunately I didn't make a good first impression, but I trust that in the future my canner and I will become good friends!  I'll keep you apprised of our relationship.  : )

Next time I think I'll write about my hair or skin care routine, both of which I am finally thoroughly pleased with.  I'll take votes if anyone has a preference.

And now it's time for another good idea, bad idea.

Whew, December has been a busy month.  Along with the usual seasonal parties and concerts, etc., we got to work extra shifts at work.  So on the Saturdays I wasn't working I was playing catch-up, not blogging.  Things have started to slow down now, and we got a 4 day weekend for Christmas, so I'm back to share with you one idea I'm pretty proud of... and another that didn't turn out quite so well.  

Good idea:

This doesn't really have anything to do with sustainability or healthy living (except that TOMS sells organic shoes, which I like) but I just thought it was an idea worth sharing, regardless of its relevance to the theme of this blog.

I had been wrestling with one of the great questions of life: whether or not it's okay to wear socks with TOMS.   A classic catch 22 scenario - should I look like a dork or have smelly feet?  The answer is neither!  You can have your socks and eat them too!  ...You know what I mean.

Instead of putting socks on your feet, you can put the socks on the insoles!  I pulled out the original insoles and use orthotic inserts because I work on my feet all day, which is what originally inspired me with the idea, but I suspect you could do this just as easily with the original insoles.  

I prefer this to no-show socks, because those usually don't stay in place for me and I find them uncomfortable.

Here's a handy dandy step-by-step graphic for you.  I simply put the sock on the insole upside down, so the hole faces down.  Then I put the insoles back in and ta daa!  The look of no socks, with the advantage of wash-ability and absence of odor!



Bad idea:

I've recently been learning about the virtues of activated charcoal.  Not the stuff you find at the bottom of your grill or on your overcooked steak, but the stuff that's sold as a supplement and is commonly used in water filters and poison control situations.  Activated charcoal has been purified and it has a high amount of surface area and is very porous, so it is highly ADsorbent.  This means it acts more like a magnet attracting substances to it, rather than dissolving substances in it (absorbent).  You can use it to whiten teeth, in facial scrubs, and to make mascara. 

I had been wanting to purchase some black eyeliner from 100% Pure for evening makeup looks, but I hadn't gotten around to in time to have some for my work Christmas party.  The day of the party, it occurred to me that if you could make mascara with activated charcoal (which I haven't tried yet, but is on my list), maybe you could make eyeliner!  So I opened a capsule and mixed it with some of my homemade moisturizer.  I applied with an angle brush, my usual method, and was quite happy with the look of it.  I headed off to my work party feeling pleased and slightly apprehensive.  I knew it wasn't a great idea to wear something in public that I hadn't tested around the house first, so I periodically rubbed under my eyes hoping to avoid the dreaded "raccoon eyes" and was hopeful that any crisis would be thus averted.

Alas, not so.  When I arrived home and looked in the mirror: no raccoon eyes.  Whew.  Then I noticed black flakes on my CHIN!  My first instinct was to frantically brush them away, so there is no picture for your enjoyment.  Fortunately I sat in the back at the party, the lights were rather dim, and I didn't mingle with very many people so I can laugh about it rather than feel terribly embarrassed.  When I do get around to attempting homemade mascara, I'll be sure to wear it around the house for several hours before I venture out.  : )

This Circular Thinking Is Making Me Dizzy

When we first began considering this process, we sought counsel from a good friend who is already doing much of what we're hoping to do and is much farther down the road.  His advice was to have someone take care of the farm full-time and to read the book You Can Farm by Joel Salatin.  I was immediately interested in being the full-time person, so I bought the book and read it.  It was fascinating and incredibly educational.  I was a few chapters in when I realized that the author was the man I called the "profound farmer" featured on Food, Inc., a documentary that was influential in our family's process.  Joel Salatin is now one of my favorite people, and I'm currently in the middle of Family Friendly Farming: A Multi-Generational Home-Based Business Testament.  Wow!

I guess I'll be a bit vulnerable here and tell you that the reason I was interested in being the full-time farmer is because, while I mostly enjoy my job, it's not exactly a meaningful career, and I don't have a family of my own, so I struggle sometimes with investing the bulk of my time and energy in doing something that isn't really meaningful to me.  For a season is one thing, but for nearly 15 years is another.  I've always had a soft spot for animals and several years ago I discovered a love of gardening and the outdoors.  This seems like an opportunity to invest my time and energy in something that will be more meaningful and ultimately fulfilling.  Now, I'm sure I'm romanticizing it in my imagination, but I'm just as sure that I'd still like to try it.

So I have a plan.  I think I'd be glad for the Lord to interrupt or rearrange my plans (famous last words), but I'd rather have specific goals than vague hopes.  In very simple terms, my plan/hope is to work at my job for another 1-3 years while I pay off all of my debt (other than my mortgage which someone else is paying anyway) and save enough to have a healthy sized cushion while I transition to working on the farm and possibly building a business out of it.

Here's where the circular thinking comes in.  I'll have a moment of frustration that the process is going so slowly, then I'll think, "Okay then, what can we do right now while we wait?"  Then I sigh deeply and think, "Not much.  I can barely keep up with my life as it is."  I want to start learning as much as can now instead of waiting until I can actually do it full-time, but I don't have much time for learning until I can quit my job.  Similarly, in reality, we have a relatively large yard and we could grow a lot of food in the space we have...possibly even have some laying hens and rabbits.  But we're trying to sell our house, and not only do I "not have time", but an attractive lawn is generally more appealing to potential buyers than a yard sized vegetable garden and animal poo.  Not only that, but we're interested in emergency preparedness (New York City is a prime example of why this is a good idea), but we don't want to stockpile things that will only have to be moved eventually.  We're trying to get rid of things before the move, not add more.  I feel a sense of urgency that it would be wisdom to do this sooner than later, but the process is not going quickly at all.  So I'm caught in this tension of wanting to do as much as I can as soon as I can, but feeling like I can't effectively do much at all.

 

I guess what's important is to continue doing what we are able to do as we are able to do it, and realizing that we have actually done quite a lot.  While I don't know that we've made much progress in the area of sustainability (other than learning, which really is valuable!), we are continuing to learn and make healthier choices in our food and health and beauty products.  Things like organic apples, cloth napkins, and homemade moisturizer are simple changes, but not insignificant ones!

Now an update.  The offer we made on the house in Mustang was a consignment offer, meaning their house stays on the market while we try to sell ours, and if they have another offer we have 3 days to come up with a plan to buy it even if our house hasn't sold.  We didn't know what kind of response we'd have to our house or how easy or difficult it would be to sell, but it looks like it's not going to be easy.  We haven't had a single official showing of our house.  Some neighbors across the street came over and asked to see it one day and said they might be interested but they'd have to sell their house first.  There has been no interest other than that.  I think houses in our neighborhood generally don't sell quickly, and our house is unique on top of that, having 5 bedrooms, etc.   Well, another offer was made on the house in Mustang and accepted.  We considered taking on 2 mortgages to make it work, but felt like that wasn't what the Lord was saying.  I think I'm equally relieved and disappointed.  While it was wonderful in so many ways, I think ultimately it was too far and too expensive.  I do feel a little sad if I think about it, but at the same time, I really haven't thought about it that much. We haven't processed it as a family yet, so I'm not sure where everyone else is, but I think I can confidently say that the bottom line is: we trust the Lord.

 

 

 

Leap of Faith: A Progress Report

Obedience to Someone intangible can be tricky.  Obedience to Someone intangible when 6 adult opinions are involved can be even trickier, but we're doing our best. 

A couple weeks ago we looked at a monster house (over 6000 square feet!!) on 7.5 acres in the city about 15 minutes away from the church building.  It was very impressive and very grand, and somewhat practical.  On one hand, we could have all fit (shyeah!), but on the other it would be very hard to be sustainable in a house that large.  On one hand, it was easy to love the idea of that house, but on the other I think everyone loved it but me.  I crave more open land in the country, and I'm fascinated by the notion of tiny houses and very seriously considering living in a bus.  Nonetheless, we were on the verge of making an offer.  Our concerns ultimately outweighed our enthusiasm, however, and we never followed through.

A few nights later at the dinner table my dad asked the family what we thought about going ahead and listing our house.  He had felt a release from the Lord a couple weeks ago that it was time, and that morning felt like the Lord told him we needed to be ready for quick action.  We went around the table and shared our responses to that idea. They were mixed.  I thought it made sense: it would force us to complete all the little projects we'd been putting off until we found the right place, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if God asked us to step out in faith before revealing the answer. 

The following Saturday, I thought about checking the real estate listings for anything new.  I've been the one that's done almost all of the searching and deciding what properties to go see.  Instead I decided to focus on being ready by working on some projects around the house, rather than investing time looking at listings.  The next morning I received an email about a new listing that I knew could be one of the strongest contenders yet.  We went to look at it three days later and learned that the house had been shown 20 times in four days, and there was talk of other offers, so we knew it would indeed be important to act quickly.  In response to what my dad had heard from the Lord and in agreement as a family, we made an offer that night.  Two days after that our offer was accepted, and two days after that our house was on the market.  In between Thanksgiving and Christmas isn't when most sane people try to move, so now it's really up to the Lord to send a buyer for our house.  I'm glad it's in His hands.  If this house is His will for us, He'll send a buyer and we'll be grateful for His provision.  If He doesn't, we'll be grateful that He prevented us from moving where He didn't want us to be.  

Because it happened so quickly, it's been interesting to see how people are processing the decision.  One of the reasons this house seemed so great is because it's already set up for multi-generational living.  The current owners were a family that lived in the main house, and one set of their parents who lived in a second, smaller house built into the workshop behind the main house.  The reason they're selling is because the couple that lived in the main house are divorcing.  When we looked at the house, the parents living in the smaller house were there and said they had thought that was going to be their forever home, and they weren't sure where to go from there.  This has been really difficult for my mom to process.  She feels like she doesn't want it at that expense.  

To be honest, I've had second thoughts as well.  I know my dad is willing to live there, and had peace about making the offer, but I also know that he really wanted to be closer to the church building and the people in our congregation.  Plus, while there's a workshop that appeals to Tim and John, a pool that appeals to me, a nearby small town that appeals to my mom, and a nice house that appeals to my sister, there's no catfish pond for my dad.   For his sake, I think I wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't work out.  I also have started to feel sentimental about our house.  My parents have lived in this house for nearly 17 years!  Part of me wishes we could sell it to someone we know so we could come back sometimes.  

I've been plagued by other doubts as well.  What about being incarnational?  Can we do what we feel God has called us to in the city where the people are?  Should we?  Is selfishness behind my desire to live in the country, or regarding the current political climate and decline of society is it wisdom and discerning the times to be somewhat removed from the city and more self sufficient?  Is it okay to be a Christian and live in the country?  That sounds like a silly question, but I've pondered it.  This house is so close to being exactly what we wanted, and yet...so far.  Literally.  Did we make a hasty decision or are we truly being obedient?

It does feel good though, to have finally have taken a significant step forward.  It will be interesting to see what happens.  Whatever the outcome, I'm glad it's in the Lord's hands.

DIY Dry Shampoo

I've been on quite a natural hair care journey.  I've read more crunchy blog posts about natural hair care than you can shake a stick at.  Where did that expression come from anyway?  Who are these people that shake sticks?  What sort of things do they shake them at?  I can't remember ever shaking a stick at anything.  Well, maybe a marshmallow on a stick over a fire...

Back to hair.  After a year of experimenting, I finally settled on shampoo and conditioner that I'm really pleased with, but now I'm going to talk about some of those days when I don't wash my hair.  I have discovered a dry shampoo recipe that I really like!  My hair is thin and fine and gets greasy really quickly.  I've over-shampooed for...ever, apparently.  Shampoo strips your hair of its natural oils, so your scalp freaks out and produces extra oil to make up for it, and it turns into a vicious cycle.  Supposedly, over time you can train your scalp to produce less oil by shampooing less frequently.  I used to shampoo every day, but about 7 or 8 months ago I started shampooing only every other day.  Perhaps my scalp produces less oil than it used to, but I'm still not happy with the way my hair looks the second day.  Dirty hair is one of my "things."  I'd typically rather leave the house with no makeup on than with unwashed hair.

Dry shampoo is a great way to stretch the amount of time between washings.  Back in my pre-crunch days, I used to use an aerosol dry shampoo.  It did the job, but I hated the smell, so I used it only in a pinch.  Post crunch, I tried several things I didn't like, starting with baking soda.  It performed acceptably, but because it's white, tended to make me look like I had graying roots.  Not okay.  Next, I read a book that suggested cocoa powder for brunettes.  I thought it sounded like a great idea but I ended up liking it even less than the baking soda.  The authors must not have been brunette.  Cocoa powder isn't as dark as you're probably imagining.  I think of it as dark because chocolate is dark, but cocoa powder is lighter and redder than chocolate.  Again, it performed acceptably, but noticeably stained my scalp a weird reddish color.  Not okay.  Then I think I read somewhere else about oatmeal ground into a powder then brushed out.  I succeeded only in looking like I had severe dandruff.  Really not okay.  I gave up for awhile.

Several months later, inspiration struck!   This happened probably around the time that I made my first batch of mineral veil.  It occurred to me to try the very same ingredients, but in different ratios.  For the mineral veil, I used arrowroot powder with a touch of cinnamon, but for the dry shampoo I use approximately:

          2 parts cinnamon
          1 part arrowroot powder

 I've been very happy with it!  It smells good, works well, doesn't make my scalp look weird, and I can leave the house feeling confident that my hair does not look greasy.

I store it in a glass spice jar, shake some out into my hands, rub them together, then rub them through my roots.  I let it sit for a minute, then brush through.  

This combination works for my hair color.  You might have to experiment with the ratio or the ingredients to find what works for you.  Straight baking soda or arrowroot might work very well for people with light hair.  For people with very dark hair, I'm not sure.  Allspice?  Comment if you have any ideas!

Mountain Rose Herbs is a great place to purchase ingredients. They sell high quality organic herbs and other products, and they are a fair trade company.  (Full disclosure, I do receive a small commission if you click the links on my blog and complete a purchase.

This post shared at Frugally Sustainable's Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #81

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

DIY Daily Shower Spray

Most household cleaning products are full of harsh synthetic chemicals complete with warning labels, but did you know that you can replace almost all of your household cleaners with just a few ingredients that you probably already have around your house?  It's true!!  You'll even end up saving money!

The first cleaner I made myself was a daily shower spray.  I liked the idea of daily shower spray, but it smelled particularly insidious to me.  When I used to use a store bought brand, I would literally hold my breath while I sprayed it, try not to touch it or get it on me, and place a towel over my nose and mouth when I stepped out of the shower, gasping for breath because I hated the smell so much.  Then I decided to try making my own.

As usual, I scoured the internet reading several DIY recipes and settling on a combination that I am pleased with.  It's super easy and economical.

You'll need:

• 2 parts water
• 1 part white vinegar
• 1 part rubbing alcohol
• 1 tsp liquid castile (optional, not pictured)
• tea tree oil for its antiseptic qualities
• other essential oils for scent - lemon and eucalyptus are great for cleaning, but I also like the freshness of peppermint, rosemary, and lavender together.  Whatever you prefer!

If you strongly dislike the smell of vinegar, you could use hydrogen peroxide instead.  Just be sure to use an opaque container, as hydrogen peroxide degrades quickly when exposed to light.  Don't replace the rubbing alcohol with peroxide, however, because when you mix vinegar and hydrogen peroxide a chemical reaction takes place and you end up with an unstable liquid called peracetic acid.

I simply rinsed and reused my shower spray container, and I usually use my bathroom cup and a funnel I keep in my bathroom to mix up a batch of this or that.  Fast, inexpensive, better for you, and I'm completely satisfied with its performance!  More DIY cleaning recipes coming soon!

You need to know about this cosmetics company!! (And a mini progress report.)

I'm in LOVE, I'm in LOVE, and I don't care who knows it!!!!!!!  ...With a cosmetics company.  

I usually experience a range of emotions when I realize something else in my life needs to change: a twinge of annoyance that effort will be required of me, a healthy dose of exasperation that I've been duped by the lure of marketing and the ease of convenience yet again, a bit of anticipation for the hunt (I like research),  and ultimately a cozy, satisfying feeling that I'm doing something better for my health.

So I realized that most of my makeup had to go.  Preservatives, synthetic chemicals, phthalates, parabens, petroleum, carcinogens...yuck.  The first change I made was a mineral veil/finishing powder replacement that I made myself and was very happy with.  You can read about that here.  Making everything else seemed a little out of my reach, though.  Maybe someday, when I have more time **scoff** I'll get into making my own cosmetics, but for now I need something ready made.  It took me several research attempts to find something that didn't disappoint when I read the list of ingredients.  I figured I'd just go with Bare Minerals...which I think is a good company and a good option.  But then I Googled one more time and found 100% Pure.  Not only was I not disappointed, I was ecstatic!!!  From their website:

100% Pure are the first and only cosmetics colored from antioxidant rich fruit and vegetable pigments. While other color cosmetics are colored with either synthetic dyes or minerals, only 100% Pure Cosmetics are colored with fruit and vegetable pigments (patents pending)! All the antioxidants and vitamins are in the pigments, so you will be applying all the healthy nutrients of the fruits directly on your skin.

Not only are there no harmful ingredients, but you get the benefit of antioxidants and quality moisturizers!!!  I can read the ingredients list and basically recognize and understand everything in it!  They offer a full range of makeup and skin and hair care products.  I recommend reading the FAQ page to learn more about why this company is awesome.  I was tempted to quote the entire thing, but I'll just link it.  You're welcome.

It was a gradual process, but I have now switched almost all of my makeup to this brand, and I couldn't be happier!  So far I have purchased eyebrow powder gel (huh? but I like it), eyeshadow, mascara, cheek tint and lip glaze.  Next on my list is eyeliner and lip gloss.  Another thing that makes this company awesome is their samples and gifts with purchase.  Because of this I have also gotten to try their body cream in several scents, a body scrub, face wash/mask, coffee bean eye cream, and super fruits reparative cream.    So far, I have pretty much loved every product I tried.  They almost all smell aMAZing...the body creams especially are fruity heavenliness!!  To me, the coffee bean eye cream smells exactly like buttered popcorn Jelly Bellies taste...weird, but kind of yummy.  Even the mascara smells good!  My sole product complaint is that the mascara tends to give me raccoon eyes, so I have to be vigilant against smudge.  It can also be tricky to pick out colors on a computer screen.  Finally, their products are not drugstore cheap, but you get what you pay for.  Their products are quality, and they're made in the US.  I'm happy to pay more for a product I'm this excited about.  In the future I may review individual items, but for now I just want you to know that this company exists!!

Now for the mini update.  We are still looking for land - with or without home, though not as intensely.  We are still seeking the Lord for where and when.  It's been almost a year.  This entire process started when we celebrated my mom's birthday last year, which we will do again on Sunday.  It has not been an easy process.  There are a lot of opinions, a lot of variables, and a lot of obstacles.  We've asked a lot of questions and had a lot of conversations.  "Did God really say...?"  "I'm running out of steam."  "I feel like I'm working harder than anyone else at this."  "I don't know if I want to do this anymore."  "I felt pushed out of the process."  "I'm considering just doing this on my own."  "Should we just wait until...?"  "But there will always be something to 'just wait until' for."  "Are we being too picky and delaying obedience because it's hard, or is it just not the right time?"  And so much more.  I believe all of that has been good practice, though.  Multi-generational living and working together is not easy, but we believe it's worth it.  The Lord continues to refine our vision as we continue to learn.  I'm grateful for His wisdom, His sovereignty, His leading and His timing.  And a little impatient sometimes.  But mostly just grateful.