Steps into Heirloom Seed Saving

As I mentioned in my post about Rolling over the New Year in Canning, there were so many things that I wanted to learn how to do as we started our farming journey, and there are still so many things that I would love to learn how to do - some for functionality and some just to keep an excitement within the mundane.

When I first was challenged to try out new skills, I tried to learn as many things as I could at once. This became a bit overwhelming to me, especially since we had young kids to take care of too. Somewhere along the line, however, the phrase "Jack of all trades and master of none" started echoing in my mind. It was then that I decided that maybe I needed to just pick one skill, learn it well, and not add anything new until I felt somewhat proficient at the one I was working on.  So this is what I now do or try to do most of the time. Along with this, as confidence is built in one skill, it starts to snowball building confidence as I try out another.

Now that we are starting our 6th year on the farm, I am at the point where I feel comfortable with where our garden is at and with my gardening skills.  It has been a long journey to get here with the challenges of breaking sod on poor soil and trying to produce food instead of weeds. Especially when you add in young kids, pregnancy, babies, and  . . . oh . . . that starting up a working farm and building a house on a bare piece of land thing too.

Not only was getting the garden established a major undertaking, but so was learning how to grow the variety of crops that I wanted to grow.  Apart from the couple of years where I experimented with plants while trying to establish a garden in town, I only had really had a little bit of gardening experience growing peas, beans, and tomatoes from planting in our forgotten garden during high school. (And I might have been more interested in getting a nice tan at that time than I was in really learning how to grow those vegetables well.)

So now that I have had my share of growing more weeds then veggies just after we broke the sod of the new garden, complete crop failures of new vegetables tried, and even farm animals mowing through the garden before our fencing was up, I now feel like I have reached the point of an established garden and have become a somewhat established gardener.

With that accomplishment has come my desire to take the next step in my gardening journey . . . Seed Saving and Heirloom Seeds.

Over the last few years of farming, we have kept back animals that thrive on our farm, and we have noticed that the animals that are born on our farm do better than those who aren't.

The same is said to be true of seeds.  Plants that resist disease and insects in a particular atmosphere (climate, soil quality, microbes present, etc.) will produce seeds for plants that do just as well in that same environment.  Seed saving gardeners have benefited greatly in their gardens through years of saving seeds from plants that thrive in their gardens, in addition to the benefits of not having to purchase seeds year after year.

Although there are many newer varieties of open pollinated seeds to choose from (seeds that will come back true to their parent plant, unlike genetically modified seeds or even hybrids that are cross pollinated), I have decided that I would like to try to grow heirloom seeds for my seed saving attempts.  Some of this is because it just fits with our farm as we raise heritage breed animals, and some of it is because I am appreciating the farming heritage of my grandparents and beyond more and more which leads to the appreciation of others who have persevered through years of farming.

Last year I started my heirloom seed saving endeavor by just learning about heirloom seeds - what heirloom even means and what some of those seeds are.  I requested a catalog from Seed Savers Exchange, an organization located in Decorah, Iowa - which is in my state and where I hope to visit soon!  I also scoured through various other seed catalogs, as well as through the internet, to come up with a rough list of heirloom seeds that I wanted to try in my garden. My list, shown in this post, has just has a fraction of the heirloom seeds available. It is almost mind boggling to even choose which ones to try! (You can click on my list to see it enlarged, but remember it is a first year thrown together list so you might want to double check things!)

Surprisingly, after I put together my list, I was able to find many of these varieties from the seed racks of various stores around me: Walmart, Fareway, Menards, and two nearby farm stores. Many of the seeds that I planted last year were heirloom varieties, and I was quite happy with how they grew and tasted.


Researching the varieties was about all that I could fit into my days so I didn't get around to saving any of my seeds last year.  I did, however, add the book Seed to Seed to my Christmas/birthday list at the end of the gardening season to help me learn the ins and outs of seed saving: avoiding cross pollination, properly saving and storing seeds, etc.  I was a bit disappointed I didn't receive it for Christmas, but my sweet husband ordered it for me for my birthday (last week) when he realized it was something I was really hoping to get.


As I begin to search for and order my heirloom seeds now, I will also be doing some reading so that in the future most of my gathering of seeds will be from my garden.

I would love to hear any thoughts or advice from those of you who have tried seed saving or who have favorite heirloom varieties. I am still a bit mind boggled with this new challenge, as I usually am when I step into a new area of learning, but I remind myself to take little steps, enjoy the journey, and as always - invest in the next generation by inviting them to come along beside me.



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Tools of My Trade

This book is a wonderful resource on companion planting in order to grow foods without the use of chemicals. It details good and bad companions, how various plants work together for increased flavor, productivity, and pest control.  It includes information not only for the vegetable garden, but also for companion planting with fruits, nut trees, ornamental plants, and much more. Copies of this book can be found used or you can purchase a new copy from the link provided.

This book is a wonderful resource on the technical aspects of seed saving.  It shares about the heritage and classifications of different garden seeds (heirlooms, hybrids, etc) and how the different types of seeds react to seed saving.  It shares about how to effectively maintain pure varieties of seeds with respect to how the plant pollinates and through different seed saving techniques.  Seed clean and storage techniques are also described.  A large portion of the book is given to explaining each type of vegetable family, the classifications of families to avoid cross pollination, and how each vegetable family responds to seed saving and storing.  If you are interested in saving and keeping your own pure strains of seeds, this is a must have book!

Handmade Christmas Gifts: A Chisel Case and Toolbelts

Each year for Christmas I make something handmade for our kids.  I partly do this because Christmas is so commercialized (although we do purchase some gifts too), but I think mostly I do it to give them something that no one else can give them.  Something created by me, from the heart.

It is a bit of a challenge each year to think of something that they would not only appreciate, but something that I can actually make.  Their first Christmas they will receive their stocking. The second Christmas they get a toddler sized pillow, made from a flannel with a print that reminds me of their personality or interest. After that, it's time for me to start dreaming up other projects.

You may have seen the sneak peak of one of my Christmas projects on my The Beginning Farmer's Wife Facebook Page, and if you were wondering just what it was . . . it's a chisel holder for our son - made from passed down fabric, Ethan's worn out work jeans, and a bit of elastic that I had in my sewing box.

 

 

Last Christmas our 9 year old son received a woodcarving book, Carving for Kids, along with some chisels. This past year he has been learning about how his different chisels work, practicing his carving skills with bars of soap, and is excited to soon work his way to carving some wooden projects.

We had just been keeping his chisels in a plastic zipping pencil case, but it made it hard to find the right chisel and really see what his chisel options were for the particular part of the project he was on. So this Christmas, I decided to sew him something to hold his chisels. 

Most of the projects I end up making for the kids are things that I have no pattern for, so they usually take a bit of time to create.  And a bit of seam ripping.   And sometimes even a few tears of frustration along the way.

This project was no different, but just like all of the other projects, it was one that I had set in my heart to make.  So I rip out the seams, try again, rip out more seams, gather encouragement from Ethan, and learn a few things for the next project. 

On Christmas morning, it is worth all of the hard work!

As for our other 3 kids, they received a hand made tool belt to hold their new Christmas tool in.  Caleb had received his tool belt for Christmas at age 7, two years ago.  I figured though, that since all of the kids have been working so hard and helping out so much with our hoop house project and the other building projects from this year, they really all needed a tool belt.

Along with being able to carry screws and nails to Ethan and myself, our 8 year old daughter now can tote along her own hammer, our 5 year old son can pull things with his pliers, and our 2 year old can check to make sure everything is level (and for some projects, a 2 year old's opinion of level is good enough!)

As I prepare to pack up our Christmas decorations and take down our tree, I will start my year long brain storm of what to make the kids for Christmas next year.

(I took this photo when setting up our tree to show how I keep my lights from getting tangled, by the way.  Each set of lights is folded and placed into its own grocery sack to be stored in a tub.)

Now that Christmas is over and secretive gifts have been opened, I'd love to hear of any projects you created this year . . . or even ideas of what I could make next year! 

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Gifted From Farmhouses of Old

As a young girl, I spent many weekends on my grandparent's farms.  My dad's home farm was 15 minutes east of our house. My mom's home farm was 45 minutes west. Often, we would spend Saturday on one farm and Sunday on the next.

My dad's family had 8 boys born into their family and 4 girls (one of which lived but a short while after birth).  All of these siblings left the farm for other occupations, although one of my aunts did marry back into the farming lifestyle, and one of my uncles bought the farm house to live in with his family when my grandparents moved into town.

My mom's family had 2 boys and 3 girls born into the family. Both boys continue to farm the fields around the homeland, with their houses just a brisk walk from the farm house, which is now being rented.

As I mentioned, my growing up years were filled with memories on my grandparents' farms, the common meeting place for the brothers and sisters, as well as my many cousins (which number near 50 now, not counting spouses and the next generation).

Our days were simple.  Looking for long lost golf balls that young farm boys had hit into the field so many years before we came along, blowing bubbles that floated into the summer sky, water fights to wash away the summer heat, peaceful walks to gaze at growing gardens, sitting on the porch and calling dibs on passing cars when days were lazy, football games when fall called for activity, and cold winter evenings of popping popcorn on the stove, playing with the few simple toys in the closet, card games around the kitchen tables, and the occasional sled ride pulled behind a tractor.

Life was simple and times were peaceful on the farm.  For us at least, who didn't carry the burdens of the farm.

As I became older, I grew to know more and more of the struggles of life on the farm through stories told and memories shared, both from my grandparents and from their children.

I know that struggles can either tear families apart or bind families together.  I am thankful that I have been blessed to see many ways that my aunts and uncles have been bonded together.

Not only were there strong bonds built in their individual families, but there were bonds built between the two sides of my extended family, who both understood the joys and struggles of farming life.  It wasn't uncommon for holiday gatherings to include both sides of my family. 

I remember one Easter in particular, that I looked around the room and greeted my grandparents: "Hi Grandma, Hi Grandma, Hi Grandma (my great grandma), Hi Grandpa, Hi Grandpa."

It was rightly pointed out to me how blessed I was. 

As the years went by, families started spreading out more and more.

And as years continued to wander off, so did the strength of my grandparents, which kept them from those large family gatherings. 

But those bonds remained.

A few years before my maternal grandmother passed away, she told me that she wanted me to have a beaded Christmas tree that my paternal grandmother had made for her.  I told her to write my name on the back of it, and when she was done enjoying it, I would be honored to have it.

I remember the days when my paternal grandmother was making these trees. I was in younger elementary and can still picture her farmhouse dining room table filled with trays of brightly colored beads and costume jewelry gathered from garage sales.  My grandma loving crafted a tree for each of her children, as well as others whom she loved, with beads and charms picked out just for them, just as she carefully crafted her love towards her friends and family through her faith.

The tree that my paternal grandma gifted my maternal grandma includes an A in the middle for Anna Alice, her name.  She also included a K in the bottom corner.  K for Kies, the name I grew up with.  It includes butterflies, flowers, and reminders of my grandma Anna Alice's sprawling flower garden on their homestead, which she so diligently took care of, and which I strolled by along side her on each visit as she showed me the changing colors of each season as the years continued to wander by.

This tree now hangs in my farmhouse dining room at Christmas.

A reminder of my grandparents.

Of bonds formed.

Bonds formed by two families who didn't raise their families together, but who both raised their farm families through times of joys and times of struggles, of which there were many.

This tree from farmhouses of old glimmers memories of joy during each Christmas season and flickers encouragement of perseverance, played out through faith in the One who sustains, when struggles come.

I can't think of a more fitting gift from my Grandma Anna Alice, as well as from my Grandma Kies.

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Christmas Projects

Each year I like to make something for the kids for Christmas. As I was looking at the photos of last year's projects (one is similar to what I'm doing this year), I remembered I started a post last year that I never published. So here it is. I will admit, I wish I could have made as many gifts this year, but since tomorrow is Christmas Eve, I will be happy to just get done what I have planned for my kiddos. I'm close! Now back to work!!

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This Christmas (2009) I wanted to make some gifts, but with watching spending and with fabric stores 45 minutes away (Walmart no longer has fabric) I decided I would have to do it from the fabric on hand. Making gifts is sometimes tricky for me - trying to think of something that someone will appreciate and that matches who they are. Right now my main "homemade" skill is sewing, but hopefully I'll pick up some more skills down the road.

Here's what I made:
This is a Tic Tac Toss game for our son, Caleb. (5 yrs old in 2009)

A bib for our son Isaac. (Just turned 1 in 2009)

A blankie and pillow to go with our daughter, Hannah's, baby doll. (Just turned 4 in 2009)

"Grandma's Memory Gameboard/Placemat" This was for my mom. I made it out of scraps from my grandma's (my mom's mom) fabric stash. Memories for her of her mom and for her to make memories with her grandkids. The spring side: My grandma always had a cheery flower bed in the spring and summer.

The fall side: This is the other side of the placemat. My grandma's kitchen was deep browns and yellow.

A gardening apron for my mom. This was actually for her birthday, which is right before Christmas.

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Wallypop

A couple weeks ago I received an e-mail asking if we used cloth diapers. We have actually been using them for the last 6 1/2 years, since our oldest son was born. I have recovered a lot of my prefolds, made a few more diaper covers, and added in some washable wipes, but other than that I am still using everything I started in with Caleb. I wish I knew just how much we have saved over our 3 kids who have used these, and soon to be 4.

Well, this week I opened a package to find these great diapers sent from Sarah, who is the owner of Wallypop in Des Moines, IA. Not only are they cute, but they are well constructed and very soft! I've never used diapers like this before, although I have admired them and wondered about them - so I am very excited to give them a try!I encourage you to head on over to Sarah's website, wallypop.net, and check out not only her diapers, but also her other products for natural living.

Thanks so much for the great gift, Sarah!

Pears and Gadgets!

As you may remember from my last post, I haven't really had anything this year to preserve. I have canned some ham hocks for meals like ham and noodles, but my garden and berries were pretty useless this year due to all of the rains. I was hoping that someone, somewhere, would have an overflow of something that I could put up, and I have been blessed by some friends with an offer for pears!

So tomorrow I plan on going and picking pears. I am thinking of doing canned pears, pear juice for mixing with grape juice, pear sauce for our oatmeal, and dehydrated pears for fresh eating and adding to breads maybe. Any other suggestions?

As I also mentioned in my last post, CSNStores.com offered to let me test out a few of their kitchen products. I decided to choose a couple gadgets that would help me with stocking my pantry.

One of the products I chose was the Hamilton Beach Wave Power 12 Speed Blender. I burned out my last blender a year ago when making applesauce. It took me awhile to pick out a blender, but I decided to go with Hamilton Beach again, even though the one that burned out was a Hamilton Beach. Here's why: The pitcher is a 48 oz pitcher. The majority of the others were smaller. It is also a glass pitcher, with most others being plastic. I also looked at the power, and the Hamilton Beach had 550 watts - which was higher than many others. My old blender (which is now in the garbage) was only 450 watts so hopefully this new one will not have the problems my old one did. And an added perk is that my old pitcher fits my new blender, so I now have a spare.

I will admit that I don't use blenders much, and really don't know many of the ins and outs to using them, but I was able to make a yummy strawberry smoothie after some fiddling around. I always have trouble getting things to mix well in them, but after some adjusting I got it going and got all of the ice crushed.

Another item I gave a try was the Progressive International Food Chopper. I'm not much for filing my cupboards with gadgets (since I don't have much cupboard space), but thought this might be helpful when making and canning soups since I spend so much time chopping.

I have found when using this that it works best not to use it with the bottom in place. The blades don't seem to go all the way down, so there are pieces that are not cut all of the way through. Putting it on a cutting board seems to help. As I was guessing, it also does not cut all of the pieces into uniform size like I can, but when making sauces and soups, I don't think it matters that much. What I will probably use it for most is for chopping onions. I usually chop these in large amounts and freeze them in 1/2 cup size baggies so they are ready to go. I haven't canned any soups yet, but I think it will be helpful when I am doing large batches of soups too. My verdict - I probably wouldn't use up my cupboard space for this if I just did small amounts of chopping, but I think it will be handy for when I am chopping lots and lots of things that I don't care if they are uniform or not.

So now that I have my gadgets, I am ready to stock up my pantry. I'm looking forward to getting my pears, and will probably start canning soups when it cools off this fall.

Full Disclosure: I received this product free in exchange for an honest opinion of a product-this review represents my true feelings.

7 Years!

Today Ethan and I have been married 7 years, and a great 7 years it has been!

Ethan's favorite number, or at least the one he picks if he is asked to pick a number, is always 7. I find it appropriate that this is the year that we are moving out to the country and starting a farm. Our dream since we first got married (and even before, when we knew we were going to get married) was to have a house in the country that included a nice piece of land. To be able to farm it is the icing on the cake.

This year we decided that instead of exchanging anniversary gifts, we were going to pick out something together for our new land/farm. Maybe a cool mailbox, a sign for the farm, a nice tree . . . we haven't decided yet. I'll try to remember to post what we end up picking out.

If you don't mind me being too sappy though, the best gift Ethan has given me is his love through Christ, his perseverance in his work, and the opportunity to move our family out into the country.

Great Gifts: Black and Decker Rice Cooker

My husband and I went the first year of our marriage without having much rice at all. Then we worked at Cono Christian School, which is a boarding school that has a large population of international students. The two years we worked there, the dining center served rice multiple times a week, which encouraged Ethan's desire for meals with rice.

I probably wouldn't have choosen to have a rice night once I started cooking after our move, but some of my husband's favorite meals are stir fry and Mexican dishes - and he had become quite accustomed to having rice on a regular basis. So tonight is Monday night, which is rice night around our house.

The first year or two after we moved, Ethan tried making some of these rice meals by the stove top method. At Cono, however, the rice was steamed, and he was never happy with his results. So a few years ago for Christmas I got him a Black and Decker 16 Cup Rice Cooker. You can check it out a bit more on this link.

Although I would rather have a non rice meal, I do have to admit that it makes really good rice. It will make up to 16 cups of cooked rice, and it is very easy to use. The pan that inserts in to the cooker has very clear and easy to follow marks on it. If you put 3 cups of rice in the cooker, you fill the rest of the cooker with water up to the 3 cup mark. If you put 6 cups of rice into the cooker, you fill the rest of the cooker up with rice to the 6 cup mark.

Once you have the rice and water in, all you have to do is plug it into the wall and push a button. Then you can walk away and forget about it! When it is done cooking, the button pops up and the cooker goes to a warm setting to keep the rice warm. The end result is perfectly cooked, fluffy rice. It isn't pasty nor does it stick together.

There are two things that some people don't like about the cooker. One of these things is that if you put too much water in, water will splatter out of the steam vent while it is cooking. It can make quite a mess, but there are two solutions that I have found. One is to get familiar with your cooker and know just where the water level needs to be in relation with the line. I was able to do this after just a few uses and had no more splatters. Until I figured it out though, I just put a bowl loosely over the top of the cooker's vent to block the spray.

The other issue is that rice does tend to stick to the bottom of the pan a bit, especially if you leave it on the warm setting for quite awhile after it is done. This doesn't bother me either though. I just listen for the pop of the button and turn the unit off. The rice stays plenty warm if you keep the lid on. Any rice that is stuck to the bottom I just leave. (It is a bit dry if it is stuck.) After the meal, I put a couple inches of water into the cooker and let it set for about 15-20 minutes. The rice that was stuck rinses right out.

So although rice isn't one of my favorite meals, I would say that this is one of the Great Gifts that I have given. My husband loves it, and I like to see him enjoying his food. I enjoy eating rice from the cooker more than from the stove top, and best of all . . . sometimes Ethan takes over the cooking on rice nights!

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Great Gits: Perennial All Stars

When I was growing up, I always enjoyed seeing my Grandma's flower bed. She always had beautiful flowers that showed the efforts of her hard work. She kept up her large flower bed by continually working in manure for fertilizer and also by keeping the weeds plucked out. My grandma is now in a care center, but she maintained her perennial flower garden into her 90's.

My mom also has taken up the interest in perennials and took a class through a local community college on how to make a flower garden the most visually appealing. For the last class, they were supposed to receive a list of information about various perennials, but she missed that class.

Since she had really been looking forward to getting that list, I got her a book for Christmas called Perennial All Stars: The 150 Best Perennials for Great-Looking, Trouble-Free Gardens, by Jeff Cox - who is the host of HGTV "Grow It!" I wasn't really sure what the book would be like since I wasn't able to look at it closely before I bought it. (Although you can take a small peek at it here.) When it arrived though, I was really impressed by it.

The book has great illustrations and lots of information about each plant. Each perennial has 2 pages dedicated to it that include photos and detailed information about the plant. It also has a highlighted section within the information that serves as a quick reference for the plant's growing conditions, similar to what you might find on a growing tag from the store.

I think one of the neatest things about this book is the Perennial Plant Finder - located right after the table of contents. It has the plants grouped into great categories that are wonderful for planning a flower garden. These categories include:
Spring-blooming by flower color, Summer-blooming by flower color, Fall-blooming by flower color, Winter-blooming by flower color, Long blooming, Less than 2 feet tall, 4 feet or taller, Cold climate plants, Deep South plants, Dry sites, Wet sites, Full shade, Full sun, Seldom need division, Deer resistant, Ground covering, Naturalizing, Evergreen or semievergreen foliage, Colorful or variegated foliage, Fragrant, Attract butterflies, and Attract hummingbirds.

I hope that my mom thinks that this was a great gift. I sure did! Of course, one of the reasons I thought that this was such a great gift is because the half.com seller that I bought it from sent me a water damaged book - which wasn't the degree of condition that I ordered. I wouldn't have minded for myself, but it was to be a gift. Because of that, they graciously sent me a new one for free and told me to keep the damaged book. I gave my mom the good one, and I ended up with one for myself!

I hope that when we get a property of our own, I am able to put together a flower bed that would make my grandma proud.

Great Gifts: Al Dente Noodle Maker

I thought that this would be an appropriate gift to highlight this week since I just posted about making noodles. 4 years ago I received my noodle maker from my parents, I and have been enjoying since.

The noodle maker that I have is the Villaware Al Dente Pasta Machine. It is made out of chrome plated stainless steel and clamps onto a table or counter. It has 3 separate rollers, each 6 inches wide. The first roller used is to roll your dough to the desired thickness - there are 7 settings to choose from. After you have your dough rolled out to the desired thickness, you use one of the two remaining rollers to make spaghetti or fettuccine.

This pasta maker cleans up quickly with a dry cloth after you are done. It comes with a nice instruction booklet that also contains some recipes. I think the hardest part of using this pasta maker is really just with making the dough. The humidity of the day and the eggs you use effect the moistness of the dough, which is a very important part of making great noodles - so you have to learn how to get it just the right consistency.

You can read more about the Villaware Al Dente Pasta Machine here, although you can find it cheaper than that site if you shop around. I also just found out tonight that there are optional attachments that allow you to make angel hair, trenette, spaghetti, lasagnette, lasagna and ravioli. Hmmm. . . I think some of those might make my great gifts list of things I would like!

Great Gifts: Vegetables, Herbs & Fruit - An Illustrated Encyclopedia

I am going to be starting something new on my blog called "Great Gifts". These posts will talk about a great gift I've gotten, a gift that is on my wish list, or a great gift I have given. (At least I think it is great!)

So here is my first "Great Gifts" post.

For Christmas I received a book from my younger brother. All I told him was that I would enjoy a gardening book. He picked one out for me on his own and sent it through the mail since he was currently stationed out East with the Navy. The book I received is called Vegetables, Herbs, & Fruit - An Illustrated Encyclopedia by Matthew Briggs, Jekka McVicar, and Bob Flowerdew.

This book is really a great book. On the cover it says that it is "the definitive sourcebook to growing, harvesting, preserving and cooking". I believe it is all of that, and more. The book contains historical information on the different plants, has great pictures, and has a wealth of information on the different varieties, how to propagate and grow them, maintain them, prepare them, and store them. In addition to all of these things, it also has recipes, medicinal uses, and warnings for various plants.

I have looked through this book a bit already, but I have just scratched the surface of gathering the knowledge contained in it. It will be of great help when I begin my garden planning as well as when harvest time comes. If you go to this link at Amazon.com you can peek inside.

If you can't tell, I am very excited about this book and think my brother did a great job picking it out!

For those of you who like to buy books, don't forget about amazon.com and half.com where you can get used books in great condition for unbeatable prices.

 

New In the Kitchen

I have had my eye on some new kitchen appliances this year. Since my birthday falls shortly after Christmas, this year I thought I would ask my husband and our parents to join funds and also join my Christmas and birthday gifts to help me get these. Although I hoped I could check them all of my list, I didn't think that I would actually get to.



As it turned out, I was blessed with gifts beyond what I deserved! Now you will find three new helpers in my kitchen: a Nutrimill grain mill, a KitchenAid mixer, and a Cuisipro batter dispenser.


My Nutrimill will grind grains extra fine to course. It's main use will be for grinding wheat berries to make wheat bread. Freshly ground wheat is so much more nutritious than the wheat flour that has sat on the shelves. It is also more economical to grind it yourself - minus the cost of the wheat grinder - which is why I wanted it as gift rather than just buying it. Ethan and I have talked about how it might be fun to even try to grow our own wheat someday. (Has anyone had any experience with that?) In addition to grinding wheat though, it can also grind quite a variety of other grains including beans and corn. I have already ground some lentils to hide in other recipes (great fiber!), and I plan on using it to grind corn for cornmeal (they say popcorn works best!). It will be fun to see all of the new things I can do in my kitchen with this. See here for more information about grinding wheat at home.

The KitchenAid mixer will not necessarily do new things for me, but it will help me do what I do quicker and more efficiently. This is important to me since it will free up some of my time. Time is precious when you have children who grow up quickly! I will also be able to make our own bread again. I have had migratory arthritis in all of my joints for the last month so kneading bread for 20 minutes isn't a pleasant activity. (We're still trying to figure out what is causing the arthritis - hopefully it's just viral which lasts up to 8 weeks.) With the arthritis and my month of poison ivy this fall preventing me from bread making, the KitchenAid is quite the helper!

Last but not least, the Cuisipro batter dispenser will be of great help for our breakfast night. You just fill it with the batter, squeeze the handle, and out comes the batter according to the amount selected. It can be set for pancakes, waffles, muffins with blueberries and chocolate chips, and cupcakes. Since I am not the most graceful in the kitchen, this will help contain some of my messes! (*Later note - I don't use this much anymore.  It's hard to clean and doesn't hold much batter before needing to be refilled.  It might come out if I have little ones that want to help make cupcakes or muffins, but I think I might stick with a measuring cup and pouring.)

Tools of My Trade

As mentioned above, my Nutrimill will grind grains extra fine to course. It's main use is for grinding wheat berries to make wheat bread. Freshly ground wheat is so much more nutritious than the wheat flour that has sat on the shelves. It is also more economical to grind it yourself, minus the cost of the wheat grinder. (I put my wheat grinder on my Christmas/January birthday list and asked gift givers to go together on it.) In addition to grinding wheat though, it can also grind quite a variety of other grains including beans and corn. You can even make your own cornmeal (they say popcorn works best!). See here for more information about grinding wheat at home.  You might be able to find a nice used one on e-bay, or you can purchase one new as in the link below.


My kitchenAid mixer was another jointly given Christmas/birthday gift.  It's most common use is for making bread, 3 loaves at a time.  The dough is worked entirely by the mixer with the dough hook, including the 10 minutes of kneading time.  The only hand work is dumping in ingredients and then forming the dough to fill my loaf pans.  I also use my Kitchen aid for mixing cakes, cookies, quick breads, for whipping . . . well, just about for all of my mixing! These can be found used on Ebay or you can purchase one new as in the link below.  I would strongly recommend getting the 5 qt, 325-watt mixer.  I have had friends get the smaller one and have been disappointed with the volume/motor capabilities.