Ruminations on the end of winter.

The winter is starting to wind down, so are the contents of my cupboards and freezers.
Unfortunately my freezers had a little help when we had that brief thaw.
Water from our run came up quickly through the drain, and it knocked over one of our
two small freezers and destroyed the other small one as well. The large freezer continues
to hum away undisturbed, thank goodness. That is our meat freezer. We were able to save
quite a bit, but some stuff went to the chickens and pigs, so nothing was really wasted.

This experience underscores the necessity for having food on hand that is frozen, canned,
AND dried. That way not everything is at risk. I did not grow potatoes last year, but
bought some and bartered for others. I am just about to the end of them, which is sad,
because I don’t care for grocery potatoes. Our daughter-in-law is Korean and she has
shown me the secret of well made rice. Rice, noodles and bread will be on the table more
for a while, but sometimes the man of the house really wants potatoes. And I confess, I do too.

Milk and eggs were plentiful through the winter this year. I have learned to make some simple
cheeses, and I hope to continue to learn more about that. Genetically engineered alfalfa is
coming and that is very scary. I quit eating all conventionally made dairy products and meat
a few years ago when I realized that the animals were being fed genetically engineered corn and
soybeans. The man of the house and I do not completely agree on this issue, but he does feel
that GE alfalfa is not necessary. He grows beautiful alfalfa that is in demand for people with dairy
goats and dairy goat people are very particular about their hay. I would urge everyone to get
informed about GE products, the more you find out, the more likely you will demand GE labels
on foods, and see that nearly everything you buy will have that label. Some foods are now labeling
their products GE or GMO free, because they know that a growing number of consumers are
concerned.

Since I run the kitchen, I keep it GE free as much as possible. No beet sugar etc. This means
more things must be made from scratch, but we are used to mostly home made food, even catsup,
mustard and salad dressings.

I am taking an on line class about fermented foods. Even things such as french fries, pickles, butter,
sour cream and bread can be cultured. It is fascinating to find out how delicious these foods are and
how beneficial for us to eat them. I am learning a lot and am using more things such as sprouted flour.
It will be fun to use various fruits and vegetables this summer to experiment with.

A peek in the freezer shows me that I might as well use up the rest of that rhubarb in there. It is hard
to believe that before long we will be able to eat rhubarb from the garden as well as dandelion and
other greens.

I ordered a broadfork this year, and look forward to making use of it. Almost time to start seeds
and to remind the man of the house that he promised to make me a top bar beehive before spring.
Did you know that oatmeal with other nuts and seeds) w/ cinnamon, soaked overnight in water and
a little fresh whey or raw a/c vinegar, rinsed and cooked w/milk and some dried fruit and a little
sweetener is an exceptional breakfast dish?
While waiting for area farmer’s markets to begin, check out the granary in Ortonville. It has a new look and
more capacity for fresh and perishable food.

Lent is a good time to assess how we are living and where we want to go from here.
Choose this day who you will serve.