NEW WESTON

SORRY ABOUT THE HALF PICTURES. I HAD TO COPY OVER FROM PHOTO BUCKET AND I HAVE NO CLUE WHY YOU CAN ONLY SEE HALF
I DELETED THE PHOTOS FROM MY CAMERA BY ACCIDENT

Ok last night I used my large pressure canner to cook up a ton of sweet potatos. Then I hand peeled them because the peel just falls off. And I ran them over with a mixer.

I plopped them out on to parchment paper on my drying trays...all 10 of them









Turned it on 125 and turned it on. Sweet!

Here is what it looked like after 10 hours. I could never have done this in my old dehydrator. It would have molded w/out the fan circulating the air.

I have about 30 more pounds to go!

Now if I could only find some pumpkins! Where do they all go after halloween?

CLOSING PPWK, HORROR DRIVE TO DALLAS AND SUPER BUY

Well guys it happened today!!! I closed on the refinance!!! The remaining debt I have is paid off as of the 10th except for the truck and the house and my next house payment is February 1. This is a good thing because after a horror of a drive from Rockwall TX to Dallas TX which took 2 hours due to a wreck that closed the freeway, a wait in the room at the doctor for 1 hour before he came in and then being told I have to have surgery by the 28th of December.....well I know that doctor bills don't be covered 100% and I will be off work for at least a week.

Can you believe it happened!!!?

Then I bought something I have been trying to get for months but could not find one in my price range! A Knack jobmaster 36 chest for my truck! Of course I see a paint job in the near future. (with the words painted on the lid saying "Nanna's Tools).




ps....I got lost going to close, I got lost trying to get to the doctors office and that was over half an hour and in a really scary part of town. I did get to see where Dallas has really renovated old neighborhoods though.

FOOD PRICE CRISIS?

Here is what to watch for beginning now. Manufacturers have done this before. On both coffee and on sugar. Probably a whole lot of not so obvious things (like the size of a burger at the local drive in?)

5 Years ago coffee sugar and flour could be purchased in 5lb sacks or cans.

6 months ago when I purchased the coffee this was the size.



Now at the local wally world under a sign that says "This is the same great coffee...only a different label" this is the size.



No the price did not go down.

TRUCK DETAILS AND 700 LB OF FEED

Today for lunch I decided to take Boo for a spa visit. She had her hair done (car wash), she got a mani/pedi (wheels cleaned and shined), and ....ok I can't think of something cute to say about the scrubbing she got to the interior and to the bed...they even armour all'd the bed liner!! I don't think she was even this clean when I purchased her.

Of course I had to go to the feed store after work! But hey...she's a work truck.

I picked up 150lb of rabbit feed, 25 lb of oil sunflower seeds, 50 lb of whole oats, 400 lb of laying pellets and 1 heavy bale of hay.

I unloaded this all tonight when I got home, then started some laundry and started turnips boiling. I am in the mood for mashed turnips, some more greens and some chicken. mmmmmmmm

Then maybe a cup of hot cocoa before going to an early bed.

ps...I have been up since 4am...why? Because one of my guineas FELL OUT OF THE TREE, HIT THE HOUSE AND FELL SCREAMING TO THE GROUND"!! You just can't go back to bed after that.

A CHANGE OF MIND

Since yesterday...when looking at my calendar....I was toying with the idea of advertising the rest of the chickens on craigslist.

My heart was not in butchering 19 chickens all by myself. Then I remembered I had a whole bird in the fridge that I had put in to marinade last night. I had to cook it tonight.

I decided on fried. I mixed flour, italian bread crumbs, salt, pepper and coriander. I fried it in my cast iron and I wish I could explain my change of mind. As soon as I began to smell it cooking...as soon as I cut my first piece and the juice squirted out...as soon as I took that first bite.....my mind changed.



I will be investing in a good industrial vacume sealer soon. I want fried chicken this winter.

PRODUCTS OF THE DAY

These two jars = 7 pounds of boiled and shredded white potatos. I love dehydrating.



3 quart jars of white meat + 3 quart jars of dark meat + 1 pint of hearts and livers = 6 chickens

CHICKIN KILLIN DAY

Well I almost "chickened" out. I had spent 15 minutes wiping down the counters with bleach, getting together all my utensils, trash can with a large bag, comfortable chair, table with a cover, garden hose and squirt nozzle, previously sharpened hatchet...everthing I might possibly need.

In the kitchen, the canning jars were ready lids ready, previously made broth warmed and ready, canner with water in it ready.

I had on my old clothes and my rubber gloves and was standing with a chicken in my hands and almost could not do it. My heart was sad. Who could I pay to do this for me? Then I realized that if I was going to eat meat, I needed to take responsibility to kill them on my own. This way I would know for sure that it was quick and clean.

Yesterday I had been wondering how to kill a chicken by myself w/out being able to ring it's neck. (tennis elbow) I knew I had the hatchet but that was a two person job. If only I could hold it's head in place and stretch out the body. So I improvised. I got two large nails and hammered them into the killing stump close together. Then I bent one slightly so that there would be room to slide the chickens neck between them. It worked very well. The chicken was held and he did not panic.

Just before I killed the first one a thought crossed my mind which has been there before. "Don't mourn those who die fulfilling their destiny". The destiny of this chicken is to be food. Mine, or some other preditor. He fulfilled his destiny today along with 5 of his brothers.

No pics..sorry too messy. And I am tired right down to my sore fingers. But I am listening to my canner hissing with 6 quarts of chicken meat and 1 pint of hearts and livers.

I forgot to weigh the meat but I only took the breasts, thighs and drumsticks and the hearts and livers. I know people say gizards are good to eat but I just can't. I might in the next group take them and can them in pint jars.

The thighs and drums I put in quart jars with the bone in. The breasts were huge so I de-boned those and canned them skinless/boneless.

I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt in each jar, filled it to 1" from the top with warm broth and washed the rims and added lids.

I am canning at 10 lb of pressure for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

When the pressure goes down I will heat up quart jars of broth and can 8 qt of those. If that is not all the broth I will do another batch.

Then I will see how much day light I have left.

ps...the chickens do have fluid around their hearts. It will be good not to let them live much longer. I have 19 more to go!