Effingham Homesteaders Co-op and Barter

01/05/2025

This week resulted in a little something different. I was able to harvest two wild hogs while hunting. One of the lessons learned is when cleaning a sow containing full milk glands, it’s best to cut the belly skin along the outside area just where the hair begins. This will allow you to separate the skin from the meat and fold the complete section that contains the t**s completely out of the way without damaging any milk ducts. Wild hogs are a nuisance across the United States, but provide an excellent food source for little to no cost.

11/17/2024

Today I picked enough peas for a meal. I e should be able to get a big harvest by mid week next week. Will also start canning collards.

11/09/2024

This volunteer popped up along the corner of the garden a few weeks ago. With all of the weeds, you would think it would not thrive. However, the area it is growing is also where most of the weeds and mint are thriving. The secret appears to be comfrey that is planted in the same location.

11/07/2024

Homestead omelets: I like to consider myself a bit of an omelet connoisseur. Every week I make omelets that contain a variety of store bought and home/natural grown ingredients. Today the omelet contains fresh asparagus, a small peeled and diced potato, sausage, a petite red sweet pepper, diced onions, chicken of the woods mushroom, seasoning and cheese, sautéed/cooked in a small skillet (covered). I found if you sprinkle the shredded cheese across the omelet, it’s easier to fold once the ingredients are added. I also cover the skillet with a lid to allow the omelet to cook evenly and melt the cheese. Add the cooked ingredients to one half of the egg/cheese and fold the other half over.

11/05/2024

Today I was fortunate enough to harvest some chicken of the wood mushroom from our church property. Although I am preserving some of this and vacuum bags and freezing, I’ve placed some of it in a brown paper sack in the refrigerator to eat during the next week to preserve the fungus, I sautéed it in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. This will be great, diced and combined with squirrel and gravy.

11/02/2024

It’s been a busy few weeks with repairing our second house due to storm damage. Fortunately, the garden is doing well and our sweet peas are blooming.

09/25/2024

Homesteading is more than growing a garden. It’s a combination of raising and harvesting crops, raising animals and promoting insects beneficial to your goals, and living naturally. The photo shows the berries of winged sumac growing on our property. Native to the area, the winged sumac has many uses. The bark of the tree can be used for tanning hides, while the oil from the sap can be used as a varnish. It also has medicinal uses in treaty disentary, mouth sores and diarrhea. The sour berries are edible and can be used to make a lemonade type drink, spices and tea. The young shoots can be harvested and peeled in the spring and cooked or eaten raw.

09/25/2024

09/23/2024

What is homesteading? To me, it’s a way of surviving through self sustaining practices. It’s getting away from the need to depend on others to provide the majority of goods that you need. If you homestead while working a full time job, It’s getting back to basics so that you can actually save some of your hard earned money to use on things that actually have meaning. If you’re dedicated to it, it’s hard work and it will take you away from the television more than it allows you to sit in front of one. If shared with a spouse, it’s a way to come together and enjoy canning, freezing, cooking and eating the bounty that God has provided. It puts you back in front of God instead of video games. It teaches valuable lessons and rewards your knowledge. I firmly believe if more people would put their hands in the dirt, we could resolve hunger and homelessness. I enjoy learning new planting and growing techniques and seeing how well they perform. I take pride in keeping the garden clean while reducing dependency on chemicals to control bugs and weeds. But it goes so much further than that. We are now eating healthier and enjoying more home cooking and less restaurant food. It’s not uncommon for us to begin cooking hours ahead of time to ensure everything is cooked slowly and to perfection. From homemade sour cream biscuits with brown sugar and pecans to slow cooked tender London Broil with made from scratch scalloped potatoes. We are moving further away from the preservatives and harmful effects of processed foods, and finding better health through the effort we put into our homestead.

09/19/2024

Tonight’s homestead meal is pork loin medallions and Rumbledethumps (Scottish comfort food).

09/19/2024

Today I decided to make hamburger buns from scratch for my wife’s sloppy joes. Although I will use a different flour next time, they actually turned out quite well.