At Home My Way

Remember in children's book " The Little Red Hen " when she said, "Who will help me carry the wheat to the mill?" and her friends replied, "not I" said the goose; "not I" said the cat; and "not I" said the dog.  Being the city girl that I am, I never fully understood how the heck the Little Red Hen got soft fluffy flour from golden grass-like stalks of wheat. YouTube to the rescue!  Now I know and so can you.  Join me as I begin my journey baking bread with fresh ground wheat AT HOME MY WAY!   Recipes at the Top:  Chit Chat at the Bottom  No Knead Bread  Using Fresh Ground Wheat (Printable View HERE) "No Knead means no kneading!  It means stirring with a spoon like you do a bowl of brownie mix.  That's what I'm talking about!" 3 1/2 cups Hard White Wheatberries (wheatberries aren't milled yet)  ( This will make about app. 4 1/2 cups of flour. You only need 3 1/2 cups of freshly milled flour for this recipe .) 2...

I planted garlic for the first time this past fall in my mid Missouri, zone 6B garden.  I planted in October and harvested mid/end of June, just in time to get my bush beans planted! Making garlic powder was super easy! It smells and tastes sooo good!  We love some garlic at our house and for sure will be planting twice as many bulbs this fall.  Turning garlic into garlic powder was pretty effortless although I did have to purchase a dehydrator and coffee (spice) grinder.   This is how I grew garlic and turned garlic bulbs into garlic powder AT HOME MY WAY. Garlic Bulbs to Garlic Powder Supplies needed: Garlic bulbs (I used about 20 large bulbs and got about one pint of garlic powder.) Food processor Dehydrator (I got a good deal on mine from a "return/ overstock" store.) Coffee (spice) grinder ( This is the one I bought .)  (I like that the cup is removable.) A few glass canning jars Optional:  Jar Vacuum sealer  (I got THIS ONE from Amazon.)...

  INSTRUCTIONS AT THE TOP - CHIT CHAT AT THE BOTTOM! I have lots of seeds started under lights this year and decided I have spent enough money!  I could not spend more money for up-potting baby plants when there is a nearly free way to do it.  Here's how I make easy paper pots for gardening AT HOME MY WAY! How to Make Paper Pots (for garden seedlings) Supplies needed: Paper (Large sheets of paper from paper grocery sacks, packing material, newspaper, old wrapping paper would probably work) Jar (no lid) with straight sides (approximate diameter of the paper pot you want) Scissors Tape-optional Instructions  (See pics & video at the bottom of this post): 1.         CUT PAPER IN STRIPS.   (LENGTH of the strip is enough to wrap the jar in several layers. WIDTH of the strip is equal to the height of your desired paper pot PLUS enough paper to equal the diameter (width) of your jar.  (My strips were about 7 inches which gave me a 4 inch ta...

My Six Favorite  Gardening Channels on YouTube    Am I the only person who has a thing for YouTube garden channels?  Talk about an infinity of garden information – plus links - to all of the best supplies and equipment to use.  The folks who create these channels are like your favorite teachers times 100. They have extensive knowledge and use their very own homes and gardens as their classrooms. They can take a beginner (like me) and give her garden wings to really grow some good stuff!  Gardening has arrived and the coolest kids are doing it!   If you are like me and life has gotten stressful, then take yourself away. These trips are only a few clicks away.  Switch off Forensic Files and the nightly news, and enjoy the gardens.  Or - when the view outside your window is frozen with ice and snow - head on over to YouTube and enjoy learning to start seeds, see lush zucchini plants, skyscraper tomatoes, and happy little beans plump fo...