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North Woods Rustics: Check this out!!!: http://rafl.us/inzpkPY American Preppers Network is having a giveaway!  Click the link above to check it out!!

Mrs Volfies Fish Puff

Making Left Over Potatoes 

AMAZING!

                                     

 Ingredients

 -One Tin Each Sockeye Salmon

and Chunk light Tuna

-2&1/2 cups left over mashed Potatoes

(NOT INSTANT)

2 bunches of green onions washed trimmed and cut into small rounds.

2 tsps fresh minced garlic.

(NOT POWDER)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

( divided in half evenly)

1/2 Cup Helmans Mayonnaise

( The GOOD stuff )

2 eggs

1 Cup bread crumbs

2 TBS butter

( you guessed it REAL BUTTER)

 Set aside Bread Crumbs, half the Parmesan and the butter. Mix the rest of the ingredients and whip it..By Hand...whip it GOOD!  

( couldn't resist)

Turn into a buttered casserole dish.

Combine your bread crumbs, butter and other half of Parmesan cheese and mix either with fork or  food processor..to a fine moist crumble. 

 Crumble evenly across the top of your fish puff and cover with lid or tinfoil. 

 When their noses bring them to the table..

It's ready! 

This is an economic way to make a delicious dinner out of leftovers and pantry findings..but their taste buds will think you have created a Gourmet DELIGHT!

Cheers!

Pork Pies!

A Taste Of Great Britain!

 These days..food..REAL food has taken a back seat to take out and instant prepackaged junk. YES JUNK!! Stuff so full of preservatives and chemicals, that it is a shadow of it's former self!

You know what I mean? Meat pies partially cooked then frozen to be reheated in the oven in 15 minutes?

I heard my father talk about Pork Pies all my life...but I have NEVER had one!!

The closest I came was a bakery pie filled with hamburger and gravy. It was good...but Pork pies have HAUNTED me!

So I looked them up..and much to my STUPIFICATION ...they are SO EASY a CHILD could make them!!

I feel mortified that I..(ME ..the woman who thinks prepackaged foods are an abomination)..did not 

know just how simple and WONDERFUL these really are to make..and to EAT??

OH MY GOODNESS! Can you say party in your MOUTH??

So here it is folks..A little time consuming..but as simple as ordering fries! ( or almost)

You will need:

one pound of lean ground pork

one pound of bacon ( mine is home raised and cured so I recommend you use ham or pea-meal bacon)

1 cups bread crumb if store bought

(two if you just threw some bread in the food processor and made your own)

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground garlic powder

2 cups jellied broth

( Don't panic get your favorite meat stock and a package of plain gelatin and mix it up in advance.)

Pastry:

Easiest pastry you will EVER make..this is not for flaky recipes..this stuff is tough and NEEDS to be.

5 or so cups of AP flour with 2 tsp salt

2 cups boiling water

1/2 pound of lard

 ( NOT SHORTENING that shit will kill you)

and one egg

Got it? Good!! Lets do this!!!

take your boiling water add the lard and let it melt to liquid.

Stir into your bowl of flour and salt.

If it is too dry..add some hot water.

mix it up and knead it into a ball..put it in the fridge to chill.

This is called hot water pastry.

( now that wasn't so bad was it?)

The filling!

Throw you ground pork into a bowl.

mince you bacon and add it.

Throw in the Garlic, Pepper and Bread Crumbs

Get your hands in there and mix it REAL well!

That's your filling!

Now Let's make our shells!

remember..these are independent little suckers that need to stand on their own..so don't worry ..you can't over work this pastry..well not in 10 minutes you can't! ;D

Flour your board and take a piece of pastry roughly the sized between a golf ball and a tennis ball. Shape it into a hockey puck shape.

Take a normal everyday drinking glass and press the bottom into the pastry about half way down.

 Then Turn the glass over and begin to shape your pastry around the glass .

When you have a nice cup shape with no holes in it..roughly the same thickness all the way through..trim the edge with a sharp knife by turning the glass.

And there it is!!!

set on a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper laid on it and repeat..saving just enough pastry to make lids for you pies!

Now roll out the remaining dough.

And Use the TOP of the glass to cut your lids!

NOW!

Mix the egg in a half cup cold water and beat it up.

set aside with a pastry brush and get your filling from the fridge!

Making meat balls a TINY bit smaller than your balls of dough were,

gently press them into the shells.

Brush the rim of one of the pastry shells with egg wash

and pop a lid on..push it slightly inside the shell.

Fold the edges of the shell inwards a bit..and pinch closed!

Preheat your oven to 300 Degrees Fahrenheit

and brush egg wash all over the tops and sides of your pies.

Slide the cookie sheet with your pies into the oven and slow bake for 1&1/2 - 2 hours. Until golden brown and you can't STAND the delicious aroma ANOTHER SECOND!

remove from the oven and feel free to eat one while hot...HOWEVER...

these are meant to be eaten cold also..so poke a hole in the top of each pie..about the size of a pencil. ( Don't USE a pencil!)

and pop into the fridge to chill. 

               Gently heat up your jellied broth until just melted..NOT HOT.

Then pour it into a gravy boat.

Take your cooled down pork pies out of the fridge and pour the broth inside the hole until it over flows.

Chill and eat..or heat and eat..the choice is yours..but you may NEVER buy store bought meat pies again!

CHEERIO!!

z

For All My friends Who Can't watch my videos!

I Have heard a lot of disaster stories about canning

potatoes..It is simple really. The only trick..is following instructions!

Here we Go!

Small New Potatoes are best..But you can process bigger ones..just make sure they are new and fresh..

wash and dice to about 1-1& 1/2 inches..cutting off any spoiled or iffy spots.

Place in a large stock pot..this pot is holding 10 pounds of potatoes.  Turn the burner on high. ALWAYS start with COLD water!

Bring to a boil and then turn down to a bubbling simmer for 10 FULL MINUTES!!!

This is crucial!!!

Strain the potatoes and reserve the liquid to fill your jars with.

Gently pack your hot potatoes into hot sterile canning jars to one inch from the top of the jar.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt NON IODIZED.

Ladle hot reserved potato water over your spuds to one inch from the top of jar.

De-Bubble By running the handle of a spatula in and around the potatoes. This releases all the air bubbles.

With a clean cloth wipe the rim of the jars
and put on you hot sterile lids. Screw down the bands to finger tip tight.

Pack into your pressure canner.the jars can touch..but must NOT be TIGHTLY packed together.

I have 15 pints in the canner here. 8 on the bottom rack and a rack in between to support the top layer.
There is 2 inches of boiling water in the bottom of the canner and about an ounce of vinegar to help keep the jars from clouding  on the outside from well water minerals.

Lock on lid and when you have a STEADY STREAM OF STEAM...allow the canner to vent for 10 minutes..thus ensuring that all air is pushed out of the canner.

Once the canner has vented..put the weight gauge on and wait for it to jiggle vigorously ..when this happens..SLOWLY turn down the heat a little at a time..( If you turn it down to fast..you will lose pressure and have to start over)until it is a gentle rocking or spinning motion..
Once your weight begins to jiggle vigorously..start timing your canner. You process pints for 30 minutes and 40 minutes for Quarts.
when your timer goes off..shut off the canner and allow to completely cool before opening.


NEVER rapid cool your canner by releasing steam early or by putting you canner into cold water.
Always wait until you canner is cool enough that you can lay you hand comfortably on the lid..and ALWAYS open the lid AWAY from you to prevent escaping steam in your face.
Follow manufacturers directions if you live 1000 feet or more ABOVE sea level.

Label, Date and store away for a rainy day!

CHEERS!

Dehydrating Beans

Alternative to Canning!!

I love Canning!! Especially green beans! Maybe it is because Mom didn't have a lot of freezer space and we ate a lot of tinned veggies..whatever the reason..canned green beans are my favorite!

BUT....

What if you don't have a lot of freezer space OR shelf space? Then Dehydrating is for you!

It is a fact that after and extended period of time, Frozen food lose flavour, nutrients and even edibility! And Canned foods..even home canned..lose a certain amount of nutrients in Processing ( Not to mention flavour)

But Dehydrated food retain approx 80 plus percent of there nutrients and can be stored indefinitely if properly sealed! Also the take up Less shelf space..can be stored almost anywhere at any temperature and humidity levels! ( when Properly sealed)  So this year I plan on making my dehydrator earn it's KEEP! Let's start with beans fresh from the garden shall we? 

These are Burgundy and Yellow  bush beans straight from my garden. ( heirloom organic) The first picking is always slim..so I decided it would be faster and easier to dehydrate them! 

Always use the freshest produce available.

Wash and cut your beans into your preferred size.

While you are cutting up your beans, set  to boiling, enough water to cover your beans in the pot..add a little salt. When water is boiling..drop the beans in and boil for 2 minutes. Effectively blanching them.

The WONDERFUL thing about these burgundy beans..is that they turn GREEN once blanched..actually telling you when they are ready!  After they are blanched drain and dump into cold water.  When cool drain and pat dry.

Begin laying your beans on your dehydrator tray.

be sure they do not touch each other.

When all the beans are on the trays..close your dehydrator and set to 130 DF and run for 8-12 hours. You will know they are "done" when you break a bean in half and there is NO moisture content what so ever inside the bean!

The don't LOOK appetizing but can be quickly plumped back up by dropping into a pot of boiling water.  AND enough beans for 3-4 people will fit into a one cup Jelly jar!

So Why let a lack of freezer or shelf space stop you from stocking up while fresh produce is in season?

CHEERS!!

Raised Strawberry Bed On a Budget!

Today we built our raised strawberry bed!

The whole project cost under $20!!

Here is how we did it!

Picking an unused spot in front of the porch,

We laid down a double layer of Biodegradable landscape fabric.

Using wood Volfie has recycled  from a packing crate at work..

He simple nailed me together a box!

Once that was done ( and sorry I have no pictures because I was too busy spreading the compost with a rake) Volfie willed the bed with four wheel barrow loads of material from the compost heap. Mostly rotting straw mixed with goat and rabbit poop from last year.  We then put a thin layer of soil on top and planted the 14 Strawberry plants!

These came from my dear friend Barb who had extra plants in her strawberry bed. Even the nails used in this project came from Barbs Husband Bruce. He got a bucket full at a yard sale and was only to happy to share!  As a thanks you I took them some of my home started organic

celery plants and a dozen fresh eggs!

It is a blessing to have such wonderful friends to share life with!

The only cost to us was the landscape fabric and 3 bags of soil.

Hopefully in no time at all these plants will spread to fill the whole bed. Years worth of strawberries to enjoy! Thanks Barb&Bruce!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbRRZj3Ijcg

CHEERS!