Wise Traditions 2011 — Part 1

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Friday is not over yet! I have a little break now so I thought I’d update you in case I don’t have time later. I’ll start with Thursday, since I spent the better part of it getting to Dallas for the Wise Traditions conference.

Let’s Have Lunch! Let’s Worship!

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Going to Wise Traditions 2011? You’re invited to share lunch with me, and other GNOWFGLINS members and friends on Saturday. Also, Brenda (from Well Fed Homestead) is putting together a prayer/worship on Sunday morning. You’re invited to that, too. See you soon!

Video: Batch Cooking for When I’m in Texas

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I spent most of last weekend batch cooking for my family while I’m gone in Texas to the Wise Traditions 2011 conference. Because my kids are pretty competent in the kitchen, my strategy was not to cook entire meals but rather to prepare meal components ahead of time (the idea behind my skillet dishes). Then they can mix and match and put together very simple meals according to a simple menu. This week’s video shares my strategy, or you can read more about it in this post.

Will I See You In Dallas, TX?

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I’m headed to Dallas, Texas in a few days to attend the Weston A. Price Foundation’s annual conference, Wise Traditions. This year’s theme? Myth Busters. The speaker line-up is absolutely astounding! I honestly don’t know how I’ll take it all in. Will you be there? I’d love to meet you.

Pictures of Lately

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What’s been happening in my kitchen lately… I got my book back from the editors last week and spent all my free time (plus) making final edits. That’s why it’s been so quiet on the blog, but life doesn’t stop in the kitchen. ;) Chanterelles, Mikah’s birthday, sourdough bread, fermenting olives, sprouting lentils and a sprouted lentil salad.

Mature & Dry Green Beans

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When the green beans stopped tasting quite so good, we let them hang on the vines and mature. By mid-October, some had dried out entirely and while most were still green. We picked. And picked. And picked. We split the bounty with our gardening friends Beth and Kerry. After about two hours of shelling, our half yielded 6 cups of fresh beans from inside the pods. They made great soup!

Weekend Gardening

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Hard to believe we’ve been gardening with our friends for 6 months. The time has flown! We’ve gone out there once or twice a week to work, bringing home more food than we can eat sometimes. We are still harvesting some foods, like tomatoes under the cold frame. We’ll have those maybe even in December, though the crop wasn’t as abundant as we’d hoped. We’re out the door in 15 minutes to go mushrooming, so I just have time to put up these pictures for you.

FREE Video: August ’11 Garden Update

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July came and went without a garden update and here we are near the end of August. Isn’t that how it goes? This morning, my kids and I made this video slideshow for you, this week’s free video. We hope you enjoy it! It is short and fun — if you’re not normally inclined to stop and watch videos, we invite you to break your rule and watch this one. No? Well, then, this post includes lots of pictures. ;)

FREE Video: Easiest Sour Cream EVER

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We get around 4 gallons of milk per day from our Jersey cow. For our family, this is plenty to make cheese, butter, kefir, ice cream and more — plus we have some to share with friends AND some to clabber (spontaneously sour) for the chickens and dog. I figured out a really easy way to get both clabber for the chickens and sour cream for us, with hardly any work at all. This week’s free video shows you how I do it.