Heavenly Food For Thought

Hi Everybody, Frank here.

Earlier today I was reading Michael Snyder's The Economic Collapse blog. Just below his header there is a tab that says, "Did You Know?", so I clicked on it, and it was a very interesting article. We all know we live in troubled times and there seems to be a lot of confusion and worry. I am one that needs to be reminded on a regular basis where my strength comes from. I hope you enjoy the article, and I would like to thank Michael Snyder for writing it.

We'll talk more later, Frank 

Homestead News, Volume 1

We decided to start a new feature and call it Homestead News. Every so often we have given you an update of things that are happening around here, and we're running out of names for those articles. So, now they will just be called Homestead News and be numbered by volume. It may not be very original, but it simplified things for us. We have also added a new page to the list of Things To Read, at the top of the right hand column, titled Homestead News where you will find links to these articles. Now that we have explained our new feature, on with the news.

Pearl wants some attention while I wait for a goat to finish eating on the milk stand.

We are now milking five does twice a day. That sounds like a lot of milk, but really it's not.....yet. Copper and One Stripe have been providing us with the bulk of the milk so far since their babies are being weaned. Our three young does have only been giving us a little, morning and evening, until this morning. Last night was the first night I penned up the young babies away from their moms since the youngest, Easter, is now two weeks old. The young does are developing their udder capacity, which will continue to increase over the next few months. This morning from a full milking with all five does we got a gallon and a half of milk. Tomorrow will be less because this morning I wormed Copper and One Stripe. I will still milk them, and keep their milk for the animals for five days before we keep it for human consumption again. In the meantime, we will be getting the milk from the young does.

 

With all of this milking we have been making cheese two to three days a week. Now that we have plenty of milk we use four gallons every time. That makes a double batch of cheddar and a quadruple batch of mozzarella. So far we have six wheels of cheddar waxed and aging and two more in the cheese presses on the kitchen counter that we made today. There are several batches of mozzarella in the freezer. Our plan is to make 30 wheels of cheddar for the season. Mozzarella? Well, we always eat some fresh when we make it, then freeze the rest. I separate each batch into three pieces of cheese that are probably around half a pound. The supply in the freezer is building, and that's okay. We are eating more cheese on our low carb diet and there is nothing like homemade, just like with any food.

In our efforts to successfully grow cabbage for humans instead of insects, we are trying something new this year. Our first batch of green lacewing and praying mantid eggs arrived in the mail today. I've already had some friends tell me that it sounds weird to order bugs or to get bugs in the mail. That's okay, though, because they already knew I was weird. And they're still my friends! The bug thing will be an ongoing process and I will do an article about it as we get farther along.

I'm kitting a few dishcloths for a wedding shower gift for a young couple at church. I think it's always nice to get something homemade.





We spent half a day trying to program a radio scanner that we can't figure out. That was very frustrating. It is now in a box on a shelf. But we do have another one we are going to take a look at. 

Frank has been talking to a young man at church about survival radio. They are now working on setting up a class that Frank will teach for some of the folks in the area. This class will provide information about getting a ham radio license at the Technician level. But even more than that, Frank will provide information about using CB, GMRS, FRS, MURS, scanners and shortwave radio more effectively. They will be talking about how to use a small solar panel to power the battery in a car, or any battery, and allow continued use of radio communications when the power is out. Frank feels very strongly about trying to set up a network of local people that will be able to communicate via radio if there is a natural disaster, emergency or collapse situation, whether it lasts a few days or indefinitely. We really look forward to this class and the relationships it will build with people in our surrounding area.

Cowpeas

Cushaw winter squash

The garden is growing, so the masterpiece has begun. We have had so much rain that it is still hard to get into the garden and get a handle on the weeds, or plant a few more seeds. So far, the old pinto bean seeds I planted have not made an appearance. I don't know if they are too old, or it has been too wet. There are many people around here that haven't started their gardens yet because it is so wet. We are grateful that we have so many things planted and growing.

 









I am very excited to see the wild blackberries blooming. We now eat berries every morning with our breakfast, and I look forward to serving fresh berries we have harvested instead of having to buy them at the store. I will be picking every berry I can get my hands on this year in an effort to freeze enough, so we won't have to buy any. I don't know if I can do that or not. I would also like to can more peaches and pears, but I'm trying to figure out if I can do it without sugar. I know in some recipes, sugar is a sweetener, but it also provides part of the preservative properties. I'll have to do more research on that.

We have been picking a variety of things from the garden and herb bed to include in a salad about three to four days a week. I'll be doing an article on that before long as well. I have to tell you, the herb bed is doing wonderfully this year. I hope to actually start harvesting and using what's out there. Instead of only growing the plants, it's time to learn to preserve and put them to use. The new comfrey bed is doing well. I pick comfrey everyday now for the chickens and the goats. 

And Frank the funny photographer took some beautiful pictures after one of the latest rains. We had a nice double rainbow for a short time.
 

There is always a lot happening on a homestead in the spring. It's the time of increased activity after a long winter's rest. Now, if it would just quit raining for a day or two we might get to mow the grass before it gets knee high.

April 13th

April 18th

April 19th

Keep an eye on Yemen. It looks like things are heating up in the Middle East. We just pray it doesn't boil over.

Until next time - Fern

Adjusting to Fermented Vegetables

We wrote about our adventure with making sauerkraut back in March. I'm happy to say that this adventure continues on a daily basis. We have since made a third batch of kraut using a little of the juice from the second batch as an inoculate. We also shredded the cabbage this time instead of chopping it. I think the texture is better shredded. But this article isn't really about how we made sauerkraut, it's about how we have adjusted to eating it on a daily basis.

About two days after we started eating the sauerkraut, my knees were really hurting. I mean really hurting. Now, I have had arthritis for many years and am used to my joints flaring up, getting red, hurting for a while, then calming down. This has happened too many times to count over the years. And no, I don't take any medication at all for it. I take ginger capsules, Cod Liver Oil and Glucosamine. 

But this time the pain in my knees was different, and the onset was rather sudden. I hadn't done anything out of the ordinary or anything strenuous that would have instigated one of my typical flare ups. As I thought about it, the only thing I could think of that was different was we had begun to ingest a naturally fermented vegetable. We already eat sourdough bread about three to four days a week and drink milk kefir everyday, so it's not like our bodies were totally unaccustomed to fermented foods.

When my deductions came down to the possibility of the pain being caused by the sauerkraut, I went to the internet for some research. Here is what I found. This is a very lengthy article and contains some very good information about the need for fermented foods for a healthy life.

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At Mercola.com in Fermented Foods Contain 100 TIMES More Probiotics than a Supplement, "There is one precaution that needs to be discussed here, and that is the potential for a so-called healing crisis, or what Dr. McBride refers to as a die-off reaction, provoked by the massive die-off of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other harmful pathogens by the reintroduction of massive quantities of probiotics. It can significantly worsen whatever health problem you’re experiencing, before you get better.

The reason for this is because when the probiotics kill off the pathogens, those pathogenic microbes release toxins. These toxins are what’s causing your problem to begin with; be it depression, panic attacks, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or any other symptom. When a large amount of toxin is suddenly released, your symptoms will also suddenly increase."

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From Gaps.me I found, "You’ll meet people who will tell you that they “cannot tolerate” fermented foods: the reason is that they suddenly had a sizeable helping of a fermented food and got a serious “die-off reaction”. Never start from more than 1 teaspoon of any probiotic food per day. Depending on the severity of the condition, different people can introduce fermented foods quicker or slower. If on 1 teaspoon per day your patient gets a “die-off reaction”, let him or her settle for a few days or longer, then increase the amount to 2 teaspoons per day. Once 2 teaspoons are well tolerated, add another teaspoon. Continue increasing the daily amount of the fermented food gradually keeping the “die-off reaction” under control."

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After I read this, I realized that I was probably having a reaction to the 'die off' in my gut caused by eating the homemade sauerkraut. Painful, but interesting. We continue to eat a small serving of our kraut everyday. I think we missed one day since March 11th, a little over a month ago. Since that time, I think we have gradually repopulated our digestive tracts with healthy bacteria.

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I found an example of this at Breaking Muscle in The Real Reasons Your Guts Need Fermented Foods. "Some of the important health benefits of fermentation:

• Fermentation is the only type of preparation of foods that cannot destroy certain nutrients, will creates more nutrients and enhances others.
• It removes toxins and harmful bacteria found in many foods.
• It will improve your digestion, especially when consumed before your meal and also allows for your nutrients to be absorbed properly.
• It aids in the preservation and creation of important enzymes.
• Fermentation is a huge supporter to your immune function. It increases your B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, digestive enzymes, lactase and lactic acid that fight off harmful bacteria."

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We are very pleased that we have been able to add fermented vegetables to our diet. I think over time, it will continue to add to our overall health, and especially our digestive health. My arthritis appears to have gone back to 'normal', although my hands seem to hurt more than they usually do. I can't say that I think it is a reaction to our continued consumption of sauerkraut, though. We have gradually increased the size of our portions to about two tablespoons per day. 

As the garden grows and we produce more fresh vegetables, we will be trying a number of different vegetable combinations. I also plan to try fermenting our pickles and jalapeno slices this year instead of canning them. I think that will be a fascinating experience. I truly hope to have a section of jars on the shelf that contain vegetables we grew in our garden with no pesticides, herbicides or commercial fertilizers, that have been fermented using whey from the cheese we made. I think that will be really neat.

As I served another portion of sauerkraut the other day, Frank took a bite and said, "This even tastes like regular sauerkraut. It's pretty good."  I asked Frank recently if he ever thought his wife would be making cheese, waxing cheese, growing a garden, fermenting vegetables or even milking goats. He said no, and I agreed. Sometimes our life seems like a dream. And it is. It is a dream come true. Make yours the same.

Until next time - Fern

Low Carb Fried Chicken

I think I have made a great discovery. Frank loves fried chicken, well, we both do. After we changed our diets to accommodate a low carbohydrate intake, I no longer fried chicken. But I have only found so many ways to bake or saute chicken that meets our dietary requirements and supports our weight loss.

As I was pondering new and delicious ways to fix chicken, I ran across some information about sourdough starter and it's carbohydrate content. As the starter ferments it predigests, or consumes much of the carbohydrates in flour. When sourdough bread is made and left to proof, or ferment, the starter will consume much of the carbohydrates in the wheat, creating a bread that is lower in carbohydrates compared to yeast made breads. This got me to thinking about different ways I can use my sourdough starter. I am very interested in what you think about this information. Here are some of the things I have read.
 
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From Cultures for Health: Low Carb Fermented Foods 

"One of the beauties of the fermentation process is that it actually lowers the carbohydrate count of the food you are fermenting.

Fermentation occurs when bacteria feasts off of the carbohydrates found in a food. In making kombucha that food is the sugar. In making sourdough bread that food is the flour. In making sauerkraut that food is the carbohydrates in the cabbage. In making yogurt that food is the lactose naturally occurring in milk.

In fermentation, the sugars and starches are eaten up by the bacteria cultures, and converted to lactic acid, carbon dioxide, and more bacteria. So, by definition, fermentation is a process one could use to lower the dietary carbohydrate levels found in various foods.

It is difficult to know the exact carbohydrate count of a fermented food, but there is one principle to keep in mind if you are concerned about the carbohydrates in your fermented foods:

The longer the fermentation time, the more carbohydrates eaten up by the organisms, the more sour the ferment, the lower the dietary carbohydrate count.

So by controlling the culturing, you control the carbohydrates found in fermented foods and in this way you can eat low-carb and enjoy many fermented foods."

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From Daniel Reed: Sourdough Bread and Health

"Researchers in Sweden at Lund University have noted that the fermentation process that’s involved in the creation of sourdough utilizes carbohydrates, lowering the carbohydrate level in the dough as it’s transformed to lactic acid. The result of this process means that sourdough bread can aid in ensuring that your blood glucose level remains in line, helping to guard against various diseases especially diabetes."

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With this information in hand, the question then became how many carbohydrates that are contained in fresh ground whole wheat flour are 'consumed' during the fermentation process? There doesn't seem to be a consensus on the numbers. If you look up the number of carbs in whole wheat flour, you will find that a bag of whole wheat flour at the store, and flour you just made from grinding up wheat berries appear to have a different carb counts, and quite a different amount of nutritional value. 

Nutrition Data indicates that 1 cup of whole wheat flour has 87g of carbs and 15g of fiber. Subtracting the fiber from the carb count gives a total of 72g of carbs. It doesn't indicate whether this is store bought flour or fresh ground whole wheat flour.

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The Whole Truth has an article that says, "When wheat is ground for commercial flour sales, the bran is first removed and the germ and oil in particular are separated out, since these spoil in a short period of time. The remaining endosperm is then finely ground, leaving white flour. In order to market “whole-wheat flour,” a small percentage of the bran is returned to the product, yet it still lacks the germ and thus is far from being “WHOLE” wheat flour."

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There are a few opinions out there about how many carbs are consumed during the fermentation process, but most indicate it would depend upon the length of time the flour is allowed to ferment. There are several forums that discuss possible numbers like this one. "I have done some thinking on this. The starter itself should not be high carb if you consider the example of wine. One bottle of wine contains approximately 2.6 lbs of grapes. That would make the carb load 468 grams. However we know that there only remain around 30g of carbs in a bottle. Hence we know how much the beasties eat. Essentially we are left with 7 % of the original carb count. Two problems with this. Wine ferments on average for 2 weeks. This starter takes 4 days. Second, we cannot automatically assume that the uptake of carbohydrates is the same with flour as with grape juice. If I was to make this I would assume 20% of carbs remaining to be on the safe side."

 
So, if I take the 72g of carbs in 1 cup of commercial whole wheat flour, add it to the sourdough starter and let it ferment all day, or a minimum of 8 hours, and multiply that by 20%, I get 14.4 carbs. 




Now, what does all of this have to do with fried chicken? I started all of this research to try to get a reasonable estimate of how many carbohydrates would be in 1/2 cup of our whole wheat sourdough starter. After all of this reading, I determined that 1/2 cup of starter should, could or probably contains about 7 or 8 grams of carbohydrates. That is doable for us on the amount of carbohydrates we are limiting ourselves to during this phase of our diet.

I mixed 1/2 cup of starter that had not been fed for over 8 hours, with one egg, cut up the chicken (which we raised; it doesn't have skin), dipped each piece in the batter, shook off any excess, and fried it up. I realized after we were eating that I hadn't thought to put any salt and pepper in the batter which would have made the chicken better. But, you know what? It was really good. Like I said before, we both like fried chicken and we hadn't had any for over four months.

When figuring our carb count for the chicken in this meal, I count it at 6g of carbs per person. That is probably higher than it actually is, but I would rather error on the high side than the low side. We only have a meal like this about once a week or less, but it does add a tasty alternative to the way we have changed our eating style.

My question for you is this. Do you think I am close to accurate in my assessment of the carbohydrate contents of the sourdough starter? I don't want to try to kid myself into thinking I am fixing a low carb meal if I'm really not. I know there are many differences between sourdough starters that are fed all purpose white flours instead of only fresh ground whole wheat. But if this really is a decent low carb way to fry chicken, then I am happy to provide an occasional tasty meal for my husband. 

Until next time - Fern
 

Negative Interest is Here

Hi Everybody, Frank here.

A couple of days ago I ran across a news story that I thought was very interesting. It didn't make big news, I doubt if most people have heard of it, and it didn't seem like news to me either. Then later on, it was like one of those light bulbs went off. But it didn't go off in the usual way, it went off and gave me a kind of different look at something. I'm going to share with you a slightly different take or perspective about this Swiss bank story. It's going to have a lot of rambling, and it's going to appear to be a somewhat partial rant. But the more I thought about it, it became more and more clear as to what was really happening. You see the Swiss National Bank has started to sell ten year bonds at a negative interest rate. Well, I'm going to tell you all this stuff again, and if you can or choose to, please follow along and see if you can see the perspective that I took out of this article. I would appreciate your comments.

Switzerland is selling ten year bonds at negative interest, therefore, put your money with them and only lose a little bit, guaranteed. Or, put your money with someone else and lose a whole lot more. What this is telling me is that the world bond market is about to spiral downward. Bonds have always been considered to be a safe investment with a small return. But it appears that Switzerland is making this available at a good rate, because soon other competing markets are going to move into greater negative territory. Now, they're also doing this publicly as a hedge against a larger deflationary move. What this means, as I see it, is like I said earlier, the world financial markets are about to spiral downward out of control. This is an unprecedented move by the Swiss Bank. Obviously, this downward spiral has already started. It's not going to happen in one day, it'll take weeks, months, maybe. But when your ATM quits working, and your bank doors are locked, that $0.35 of spending cash you have in your pocket will be the last currency you see. 

I know people that buy everything on credit cards. Now I'm not talking about major purchases here, I'm talking about buying a burrito for breakfast, and it goes on a credit card. When they buy gasoline for their car, it goes on a credit card. When they do need cash, for some unforeseen reason, it comes straight out of the ATM. I know folks that go to the ATM multiple times a day. They carry zero cash. 

Folks need to be paying attention. Switzerland just sent a huge message world wide. You might want to get two or three dollars stored away, because when the EBT cards quit working, banks are closed, ATM's don't work, that means no more burritos, no more gasoline, no more psychotropic drugs from the pharmacy, no more cigarettes, and the list goes on and on. That burrito is not going to feed a family of four for very long. That $0.35 that you have in your pocket will not go very far. And if you do have a little cash stored up, buried out in a jar in your yard, you'd better spend it as fast as you can, because within a day or two after the ATM's shut down, cash will be worthless. 

We've talked for a long time now about what's coming. It may take a few more weeks, months or even years, but the move by the Swiss bank is a first time event. Think about it. They are offering you the deal of a lifetime. Put your money in one of the world's most stable banking systems, pay to put your money into this bond program, so they can help preserve your wealth. Any other system where you put your money is going to charge a greater loss. That's hard to conceive, isn't it? 

You've heard of Austrian economics, right? Where growth goes on perpetually? And debt is good? Well, these folks are some of the same folks, the Swiss that is, that helped develop the Austrian economic system. Their negative interest ten year bond tells us that growth is not perpetual, and that the Austrian economic system has flaws. Just like our system has flaws. Perpetual growth is impossible. It has been known to be impossible since the beginning of our economic system's development. Blame it on

the Federal Reserve, blame it on coming off of the gold standard, or you can blame it on us being the reserve currency. And you can throw in the petrodollar if you need something to blame. Any one of the afore mentioned failures will collapse the system. Everyone of those mentioned is in the process of collapsing. Perpetual growth is unsustainable. Pick anything you want to blame, and we are well past the point of being there. Every world economy is in a downturn, that's why the Swiss did what they did. They're discouraging investors from leaving faltering economic systems and rushing to their known stable banking practices. But, investors are still hurrying to buy negative interest Swiss bonds. I don't care what the news media is telling the general public, the economic systems of the world are imploding, including China, and the Euro, and the U.S. dollar. World growth is grinding to a halt.

What does this mean to you and I? It means that taxes are going to continue to rise. There is going to be more government intervention in every aspect of our lives. Ultimately, the government will reinvest your 401k, and they will do this for your own good, of

course. These are the types things are going to occur. We will probably go to a cashless society, because we all know that hoarding is bad and wrong. Try going down to the bank and withdrawing $5000.00 in cash. Even if you call ahead, a couple of days even, you will have to explain to the bank teller why you need the money, and you will have to fill out a federal form that you received that much money. This is nothing new, because if you want to buy, let's say loose diamonds, or you ran across a great sale on someone's antique silver coin collection, and this person wants cash. You're going to have to explain why you want that money. 

Don't forget that in 1933, I believe, the Roosevelt administration confiscated all gold and silver from the rightful owners in the United States of America. But first they artificially lowered the cost of gold and silver, so they could steal it from the American public at a lower cost, then re-inflate the value, after they had confiscated everyone's wealth. If you chose not to participate in this redistribution of wealth program, you were then an immediate felon. If you don't think that they won't confiscate your 401k, and then pay you pittance on the dollar, then you do not believe the old saying about history repeating itself. They did it in 1933, and do not kid yourself, that the greedy politicians will not confiscate your wealth, in whatever form it is, to keep their blasphemous, never ending, spending orgy alive for a few more days. 

So you might want to consider having a little cash in hand. When that ATM, as mentioned before, quits working, and your credit card quits working, you might want to have a little bit of cash in your

pocket so you can buy food for your family. If you don't have cash, your family is going to starve to death. It will be too late to order food storage over the internet, it will be too late to go to the big box store and buy a few weeks worth of canned foods, and it will be too late to buy all of those seeds that you were going to plant. What it boils down to is that it will be too late. What I have read is that the average family has less than a three day supply of food in their house.

Now most folks that read this already know everything I've just said. But it's nice to have a little reminder every now and then. Today your credit cards still work. The ATM's still have a little cash in them. The big box stores are still open, or they were as of this writing. But then, there is always the guy 

that says, I don't have any extra money to buy things, while he's standing there sucking down a 44 oz. Slurpee, talking on his newest and most advanced smart phone, talking to his kid that is in the backseat of his overpriced SUV, and the kids is on his newest most advanced smart phone. The kid is in the backseat and the guy is in the front seat, and this is the only way they know how to communicate. Get the picture here? Way too many useless gadgets in an immediate gratification society. But they don't have time to stock up on something as useless and trivial as maybe a couple of bottles of water and some canned food. 

This is where we are. This is not what is coming. But this is what is here. The Swiss banks just sent out a loud call to everyone on the planet, and I doubt very seriously if any of the major networks carried the story on their evening news. Just one more announcement. Dark clouds are on the horizon. They are getting closer everyday. And that Bozo I just described with the newest, most up-to-date cell phone? He's going to be coming to your house and wanting your food. Because he is still a father and he will do what is necessary to feed his family. More food for thought. 

Well folks it's time to go. We're going to go milk our goats, and pet our new babies a little bit because they are our next generation. Tomorrow we're going to make cheese again.

We'll talk more later, Frank