Living Free In Tennessee - Nicole Sauce

Today, we will have a Holler Homestead update. I want to share with you some of the stories from our part of the country that have happened in the last few weeks, take a look at where our focus is as we seek to increase the food we produce on site and talk about what we are focusing on moving into the new year. What we are preserving this week... Apple cider - the final round Apple sauce Drying herbs: Basil, comfrey, peppermint Sauerkraut What mother nature is providing... Watercress! Oyster mushrooms! Tomatoes Chilies A cabbage update - we have some :-) and carrots too! Stories from the Holler A deer from the neighbor Holy Helicopter Batman Sweet potatoes successful for the first time CANT OPEN ONE OF MY HIVES Firewood - ho! The great cleanup of 2016 Advice on my cookbook: 365 pages, one recipe each? 12 months? A weekly recipe? Song: Thanks Dave, by Kirk VanDerveer

Today, we talk a bit about the importance of community, explore five ways to prepare hatch chilies, and discuss how to preserve the chilies for winter. Highlight Recipe: Southwestern Broccoli Casserole Ingredients: 4 heads broccoli. Steam, chop, drain 1c celery, chopped 1/2 c onion, chopped 16 oz can green chiles, chopped (or similar volume fresh or roasted) 1 c sour cream 1 c Cheddar, shredded 1/2 c almonds, chopped or slivered Combine in 1.5 qt casserole dish: broccoli, celery, onion, green chiles, sour cream Top w/ cheese. Bake 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle w/ almonds. Serve. Song: Tripped Out by Sauce

After a personal break, we are back at it and today I chat about a few health care options and our experience with health insurance and healthshares.  Also today, a bit of a homestead update.

Squash, Squash, Squash! The many ways to eat squash is the name of the game in this 8th episode of Living Free in Tennessee. Today we will take a look at four ways to use squash that you may not have thought of and that can be used as a basis for many fantastic dishes as you work through your summer squash. We will also talk a little bit about elderberries and I will share a tip with you about canning tomato sauce when you don’t have enough tomatoes to process at one time. Evo Sprayer I love more than the Misto one - and yes this is an affiliate link. Song of the show: Learning What Leaving Is by Sauce

Untested (by me) poke remedy to poison ivy: http://duplin.lostsoulsgenealogy.com/cookingcorner/pokeweedcure.htm     Wild things we are eating this week: Blackberries Daylilies Gathering lots of leaves for teas: sasafrass, mint, bee balm, blackberry leaves What we are preserving this week: Corn Jams Beans A word on managing canned goods: Audit your stock and organize it. Fermenting Garden Excess Book Recommendation: Sandor Katz, The art of fermentation: http://amzn.to/29x4vOs Handy (FREE) video reference! Sandor Katz: http://www.wildfermentation.com/sandorkraut-the-video/ Fermentation Lids I like and use: http://amzn.to/29wfESJ Brine website I like: http://www.probioticjar.com/brine.html What you need Vegetables Salt Vessel: Jar, crock, anything really just no metal or plastic Wood spoon or other tool to help you push it down A way to weigh the veggies below the liquid (NWEdibleLife) Cool dark place Troubleshooting White scum Black scum Off smells - fermentation smell or baby poo?   Song of the Episo

Want to see a balanced documentary on how animals are raised for food in the US? Check out At the Fork, AtTheForkFilm.com! Today I am joined by John Papola, producer of this film to talk about what motivated him to trust in human nature and produce a film that is balanced and educational rather than preachy. Get tickets TODAY at AtTheForkFilm.com. Also covered on this episode: Quick shortbread recipe What is seasonal this week in Tennessee

Several of our friends have passed away in the last week and it reminds me that you need to live for the now as much as you can, while laying the foundation for a good future for yourself -- or for your loved ones. While thinking about this, I found a nice tribute to our friend who passed away on Monday from Garth Brooks: https://www.facebook.com/GarthBrooks/videos/1078676248878474/ What we are eating and preserving this week: From that garden and local markets: beets, spinach, yellow squash, cabbage, potatoes, peppers and a surprise kale plant, wild raspberries and blackberries, peaches From the larder: sweet potatoes, frozen blueberries, venison, bacon Preserving: A do-over on pickled beets (when in doubt throw it out), It’s time to make pickles but we will talk about that next week with our special guest... Three time-saving ideas for the homesteader who also works a full time job Listen to Remy's Reaction to the Florida Shooting: How to react to tragedy:

One of the best ways to eat well on a budget is to buy produce when it is in season and preserve it for the whole winter. Last week, I spent $20 on 1/2 bushel of beets, an additional $5-10 on other ingredients, and ended up with fourteen jars of pickled beets. Had I preserved all the beets, I would have had 21 jars, making the cost to me a little over $1 per jar. Go try to get such a premium product for that price at the grocer. You can get crummy ones in the $1.30 range, but premium ones are $3-6 per jar. This episode of Living Free in Tennessee walks through the process of water bath canning and shares my personal pickled beet recipe along with the recipe I inherited from my Great Aunt Helen.

What we are eating this week Berries! Elderflower Fritters: a recipe - do not use olive oil Items from the root cellar: Spaghetti squash and sweet potatoes Still getting lettuce galore but that is about to change What we are preserving this week - and how Peppermint Bee balm - finally about to bloom Sour Cherry Jam Blackberry leaves Pickled Beets - Recipe coming soon! Garden/pest update The flea beetle Squash bugs Does the duct tape trick really work on squash bug eggs? Neem oil or Dawn About the Root Cellar and Canned Food Storage Final song: Every Way written by Nicole Sauce, performed by Sauce

What we are eating this week Coleslaw recipe & freshness strategy 2 TBSP mayonnaise, 2 TBSP vinegar, 1/3 cup milk, 1 TBSP honey, 1 tsp freshly ground pepper, 1 tsp salt. Shake like mad! Pour over your cut up cabbage, carrots and onions. Chard, radishes, spinach, lettuces, canned corn (must. finish. last. year's. corn.), strawberries, sweet potatoes Poke weed w/ video on how to prepare it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3EnGpPUWhs Sassafras root - video on how to harvest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1scAAetl7EE What we are preserving this week - and how Peppermint Bee balm Strawberries Blackberry leaves Time to test your pressure canner gauge - a not from the entension office --https://extension.tennessee.edu/WebPacket/Pages/NYCU-2016-05-Canning.aspx How the Holler Homestead started An interview with Michelle Shelley of Full Circle Heritage Farms From Michelle: "You might want to change the title to "woman running a farm into the ground, into a wall, through a gate (farm truck with no brakes)

Nine years ago, we started on an adventure in the country. What began as a weekend getaway quickly changed into a small homestead with chickens, gardens, laughter, neighbors, and sometimes the opposite of laughter. The Holler Homestead is known in our area for our home roasted coffee (it takes less time to roast your own than drive to the store), elephant garlic, stone ground flour and hand rolled oats. We also help people learn how to preserve food and are keenly interested in self sufficient living. In this first episode we cover: 1) What we're eating this week from the land 2) The independence fund 3) Managing an overwhelming list of homestead duties 4) Tea 5) My new daily planner (read about that here: http://nicolesauce.com/2016/03/07/the-only-day-planner-that-has-ever-worked/) Let me know what you want to hear about next... ~Nicole Sauce