We made wine (on a dime)

Yup! We went there! We made homemade wine, and we did it using upcycled equipment! Why you ask? Well because we had no clue if we were going to be able to make a decent product and we are frugal people. It would make me physically ill to drop $250usd on a venture that I have no clue whether or not we would excel at. No... better to try my hand first then, if it goes well, slowly upgrade the equipment. 
So how did I do it? Easy peasy! We started with a 5 gallon plastic bucket-a meticulously clean one that has only ever been used for food (pickles in our case) or nothing at all. I.e. Don't use the bucket that your joint compound came in, of the paint from your barn! Next we took the lid from said bucket and made sure the seal was water-tight. Easy again just toss a gallon of water into it press the lid on and see if it leaks when tipped on its side or flipped upside down. No leaks? Great! Move on to the next step! Leaky? Find a 5 gallon bucket lid gasket (or if you want run a bead of silicon caulk where the rim of the bucket seats into the lid and let it dry completely before testing the seal again. Be careful to use a very thin bead or your lid won't fit back on your bucket!!!
Ok so now your bucket is air-tight, now it's time to drill a hole in the lid! Yup all that and your going to put a hole in it anyway. You'll need to put a half inch hole in the lid to attach a half inch long nipple or hex coupler through the lid in order to attach your airlock either type of pipe will be screwed into the lid and held firmly in place with a corresponding nut Inside and out when using the nipple to ensure a solid seal.
Now comes the tricky part-the airlock. There are 2 ways to do this the way we used was a balloon over the end of the nipple and that works alright and it's cheap. The other way would be to use a length of half inch tubing (new only for this part guys) attached to the connector on the lid of your fermentation bucket the other end is held in a jar of water. Everything used here has to be squeaky clean because the water has the potential to be sucked back into the bucket as the wine breathes. We will be trying this method with our blackberry wine that we just started we'll let you know how it goes.
There you go! You have a simple and cheap fermentation bucket to give wine making a go. Now the only real equipment you need is a stockpot to boil water, a tube to rack your wine with, and some wine bottles with corks (read this woman used mason jar and lids).

Easy isn't it? Did you try out this project? Let me know! What kind of wine are you making?

From the sunset homesteaders to you, God bless y'all!

 

We're Writing A Cookbook!!!

I've been thinking about writing a book for a very long while now. We're talking years... ok over a decade here and closer to two. I've started many works of science fiction and someday maybe I'll get there, but lately I've thought about writing down some of my favorite recipes and getting them published. Now with the help of the Mountain Man and some of my family I may just get started on actually doing just that!!!
I will start very soon compiling recipes (about 50 in all is my goal) and historical information on some of the ingredients used to make them! I'm very excited to start this project and I can't wait to share all I've learned! I'm not sure how to fund this project since publishing any book is not free so our next issue to attack will be how to get the capital required to get there. We may look into fund raising websites or crowd funding but rest assured I've already got a growing list of recipes in mind to share with y'all.

With the greatest excitement from the sunset homestead to you, God bless!

An unwitting homesteader

If you would have told my five year old self that I would be a homesteader on the eve of my thirtieth year, I would have thought that you were crazy. Even as I sat eagerly helping my grandmother make pound upon pound of egg noodles from scratch, being covered head to toe with flour, and begging her "just one little bite mawmaw paweeze 'cause I'm a pwincess!"
If you would have told my nine year old self that I would be using the skills of knitting, crochet, sewing and hand quilting to make money I would have laughed at you because I was going to grow up to be a veterinarian. Yet there I was sitting with my great granny (I miss you gran!) bent enthusiastically over my very first crochet project which would begin my love of all things fiver artistry.
If you would have told my 12 year old self that I would can over 400 pounds of fruit and vegetables from my garden every year I would have told you that it was impossible and I was going to marry a millionaire. Then I would have gone right back to helping my mom and grandma process tomatoes, green beans, and pickles.
If you would have told my 15 year old self that I would be trying to teach my children the value of learning 'old fashioned skills of hunting, fishing, hand sewing, canning, gardening, animal husbandry, and hard manual labor I would not have believed you because I was never having children as I tried to teach my 5 year old sister her ABCs
If you would have told my 19 year old self that I was about to step on the path to self sufficiency I would have laughed bitterly because at that point I finally learned what bills were and self sufficient lifestyle were a pipe sream.
If you would have told my 22 year old self that even though at that moment my whole world was falling apart, that by 24 I would meet the man who would take my little boy as his own and reset me back on the path to nature and life, I would have screamed at you. I would have told you to piss off because men lie and cheat and all deserve hell.
Which brings me to my 24th year. When I started eating my doubts. When I was set upon a blind date with the mountain man by my parents. I went to placate their demands and by the end of the night I would be intrigued by the man who would steal my heart, and be a father to my son when his father stepped out, and ultimately would father my little children.it was at this point that I would begin a 6 year journey returning to the land and life I had left at 19 and rebelled against from an early age in thought but not deed.
Here I am almost 30 years old. I knit hats and scarves for my family every year. I see dresses for my daughter and myself. I quilt and do odd seamstressing for fill in cash. I garden and can to lower our grocery bill. The mountain man and I hunt and fish to lower that grocery further. We raise chickens for eggs and meat and it goes down further still. We foster bees for healthy ecosystems in our garden. We harvest rainwater to offset the cost of watering our garden. We brew wine. We bake bread from scratch. We make egg noodles. And all the while I marvel at how early I began my education that led me to this homesteading lifestyle.
I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people. My grandmother for teaching me how to make noodles and pickles. My mom for teaching me how to process food for shelf stability and how to care for a garden and bake. My granny for teaching me how to crochet and cook. My aunt Anita for teaching me how to sew. My father for teaching me how to shoot and hunt and fish and cook and build and repair. My cousin Alisa for getting me to think outside of the box. My husbands grandma for teaching me how to quilt and the ladies of my church for helping me to refine my skills quilting. My husband for gently guiding me back to the life I love.
I owe my lifestyle to my upbringing and my success to those who were patient enough to share those skills with me.

From my heart to you, God bless you!

Prepping for the sale

The sunset homestead is going to be for sale. When? Not sure, but soon. Scared? Of course! Happy? Elated! We have been homesteading on a very shady 50'x100' patch of earth for the last 6 years. We are more than ready to move on to bigger and better things. We have grown from a young family of 3 to a family of 5 here and many memories have been made here, we've just outgrown our meager plot. We've developed it to its capacity and outgrown its production. We need more space. We need more productive land. And we want to raise animals besides our contraband chickens!!!
So where are we? In a mess that's where! 6 years of random useless clutter that has accumulated and clogged our humble abode. It's in need of a thorough cleaning and I'm up to my eyes in springtime chores already and I really don't want to add more to our already overloaded list. Am I the only one who's ever honestly wished for one of those giant dumpsters and toss like everything?? I need help 😂

It's Morel Season!! 🍄

The mountain man found morels yesterday!!! One of my favorite wild mushrooms. It's great sautéed in butter with some sliced onions spooned over a nice perfectly cooked steak with a hearty baked potato beside and a freshly picked garden salad also. YUM!!! That's what's for dinner tonight just by the way.
It great in a mushroom frittata or mushroom ragu. Morels do well when dried and reconstituted and if you can find enough you might just be able to have these earthy little gems all year long unless you happen to be like me and must eat mushrooms with every meal. I have no shame.
A word of caution however. False morels can make you very extremely sick.  When looking for morels a hollow stem is safe a solid stem is not. You should be able to see to the top of the cap from the bottom of the stem (as long as the mushroom grew straight that is) if you aren't sure err on the side of caution and don't eat it!

Forage frequently my friends!
From the sunset homesteaders to you, God bless!

Our new bee houses! 🐝

         The mountain man made a bee house for non-stinging bees for me! We discovered the idea while at the store one day and rather than buy it he made one with some of our scrap wood and odd bits of thin bamboo. It's aesthetically pleasing and looks rather folk artsy. I'm very excited to see how well it works for us! My research shows that non-stinging bees are a vigorous pollinator and since we have gardens here there and everywhere we need all the pollinators that we can entice to our property 😁
        So far we have seen some teensy weensy little bees flitting around the house 💕   Does anyone know how to entice them further? I'll be working on a bee waterer this weekend also if I can find a suitable dish and some odd marbles and rocks.

Have a blessed  Saturday!

The many uses of violets

Yesterday I posted about how to make violet syrup, but I didn't go into detail on why or to what benefit. Firstly let me start by saying why wild violets are so good! 

Wild violets are loaded with vitamins A and C, even better than oranges by weight, and salicilic acid which acts as a mild keratolytic (this helps you shed dead skin cells when used topically). Violets can soothe a sore throats, help you sleep, stimulate lymphatic glands to strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation by aiding in the elimination of toxins from the body (read helps you go #2) hello miracle weed!

You can harvest the blossoms and leaves and dry them to make a tea blend for all year long. You can make a jelly with them, candy the blossoms, eat the leaves in a salad, freeze blossoms in ice cubes for wow factor, make violet vinegar, or make violet syrup.

To use violet syrup mix 1-2 tablespoons in your morning tea or coffee or try one of the mixed drinks detailed in this website https://makemeacocktail.com/recipes/violet-syrup_cocktails/?ing=4069. Or shake some with ice and clear liquor and pour over seltzer water.

Violet syrup will give clear liquid a beautiful blue-violet hue and lends a mild floral flavor to any drink. Enjoy your wild flowers! Pick some today

Violet syrup

 This spring our yard is inundated with violets and dandelions. Being the foraging enthusiasts that the mountain man and I are, we've decided to capitalize on our good fortune and make up a batch of violet syrup to flavor drinks with.
We started by filling an old ice cream tub (the gallon sized one) with what felt like a million violet blossoms. Then we pulled the petal off each bloom saving the petals for the syrup and tossing the rest to the compost. Each batch of syrup requires a cup and a half of packed violet petals. This process requires a fair amount of time but it's worth it! Now that you have spent several hours gathering and separating the petals bring a cup and a half of water to a rolling boil and pour over the violet petals. Now make sure that you use a heat proof container for this - preferably one with a lid. Once you have gotten the violets submerged let those puppies steep for 18-24 hours at room temperature. Strain out the petals and press as much liquid from them as you can.  Place the beautiful deep violet liquid into a small pot and add one and a half to two cups of white sugar heat over gentle heat until the sugar fully dissolves. Place in jars and store in the fridge for 4-6 months.

 

Violet syrup
1.5 cups violet petals (packed)
1.5 cups boiling water
1.5-2cups sugar (white suggested)

Pour boiling water over petals and steep for 18-24 hours
Strain petals removing as much liquid as possible
In a pan mix the sugar and violet water over gentle heat until sugar is dissolved
Store in fridge for up to 6 months.

There you go! Gorgeous violet syrup to add to your favorite drink or have on your pancakes! It tastes just like spring! Enjoy!


From the sunset homesteaders to you God bless!

Introducing the Sunset Homesteaders

Hello! I'm glad to meet you! My name is Jasmine. I am a 30 year old wife and mother of three wonderful children. I work full time in a day hab for adults with developmental disabilities Monday through Friday. My husband works 45+ hours Monday through Friday at a local landscaping company. Together after work every day we operate a small urban homestead, hence our name the sunset homesteaders. We work right up to sunset and beyond every day. Planting, watering, picking, feeding the chickens and dog and children, canning or freezing or dehydrating. We manage somehow to fit 80 hours of work into 20 hours every week. We love our little homestead however we want to get more land out of town where we can cultivate more of the food our family needs and grow more of the meat animals, milk animals,  and wool bearing animals we want. This is our journey as it happens. Every triumph and tribulation. Every humorous moment and every heartbreaking hurdle. Welcome to our home.