Little House on the Prairie this is not.

I know that getting back to nature, gardening and the new thoughts on urban homesteading are all the rage, but today I am tired. Really tired, like I could go to sleep for the night right now tired. (It's 8pm) And I am usually a night owl.

But these last 2 days have worn me out. I have gotten up at 6:15 am.I have done laundry and hung out 5 loads in the last 2 days. I have cleaned house, made bread, weeded and watered and worked in the garden. Fought with squirrels intent on eating all my corn, and with a German Shepard who steals my squash and cucumbers and eats them. I have done dishes, made home made spaghetti sauce to freeze for later, and blanched and frozen the squash I am trying to save from the dog. I have picked herbs for drying and taken dried one and made crushed herbs for the winter. Walked 4 1/2 miles, made supper and done some of my work from my business. Kept up with all the technology this world has to offer and tried to watch my diet so I don't go over in carbs and can continue to lose weight.My spine is killing me as is my ribs where I have a car accident injury And this is only Tuesday. Lordy!

And it makes me think about those poor pioneer women who helped settled this country, because they did all of that, (minus the technology stuff). They gardened, cared for their families, baked and made meals, cleaned their homes, did laundry, fought off all the dangers that were around them, sewed their own clothes and lived in homes with grass for a roof.. And they did all of this without air conditioning, electricity, or running water, computers and internet to order things, and proper medicine for anything that made them ill.And then I wonder why I am complaining, because I have all of those things, sure I may be tired and doing more physical work than normal, but my life must be really easy compared to theirs. So I will continue to do all of these things, and work hard, because it is better for my family,friends, the environment, and life in general. Little House on the Prairie this is not =)

Not just for scrambling anymore!

 As I learn to try and use everything as far or as much as I can, I have come to really dislike throwing things out. The fine line is to be a good saver but not a hoarder =) Saving is good, hoarding is bad in case there is any question =) 

I have found many times when I am cooking that recipes will use eggs whites or egg yolks separately but not the other part. I used to just throw out the extra that I did not need but one day it hit me and I wondered how it would work if I froze the whites or the yolks. 

So the next time I had a recipe that used just yolks I got out a freezer bag and dumped in the whites. Over time they start to build up and today after using 3 yolks but not the whites I had enough to make an angel food cake (about 1 1/2 cups). So I got the whites out from the freezer and let them thaw.

I found the recipe in my old Betty Crocker cookbook I have had since I got married. I have used it before and it is good.

 

Before you start place 1 cup of flour (they said cake flour, I just used all purpose and it is fine) and 3/4 cup of sugar plus 2 tbsp sugar in a bowl and stir together

 

Then place the egg whites in your mixing bowl and add 1 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar and 1/4 tsp of salt. (I use my kitchen aid, it is a work horse and I love it!)

Beat the egg whites until they are foamy using your whisk attachment (but a regular beater will work just as well.)

 

Slowly add 3/4 cup of sugar as you continue to beat the eggs whites, and the sugar is all gone. The egg whites will be thick white, very full and have stiff points

 Add 1 1/2 tsp of  vanilla and 1/2 tsp of almond extract. Fold these in gently with a spatula, You want the whites to stay nice and fluffy so fold carefully. I thought about using cherry extract but didn't have enough but you could try some different things here like lemon. It would make a nice change.

 

Now all that flour and sugar you prepared ahead of time is coming in handy! I used a small sieve and sifted the flour and sugar over the egg whites in small amounts and folded in each addition until it was well mixed. Continue to be gentle as you fold to keep the whites fluffy but make sure it is all folded in completely.

Now for the good stuff. Add one cup of coconut and fold it in gently as well and then put it all into an non-greased angel food cake pan. Make sure it is non-greased.This is important and will save some cooking heartbreak later

Bake @ 350 for for about 30 minutes or until the top is brown. 

Once it is done cooking turn the pan upside down and rest on the bottom of a bowl or another object. This is why you don't want to grease your pan. I did it once by mistake and trust me, it is not pretty =). Leave it until it is cool.

 

Turn the pan back over, run a knife around the sides and pop it out of the pan. The run a knife around the bottom and the cake will usually slide right off. This is the finished product and looks and taste absolutely wonderful. I cannot think of a better way to use up extra egg whites. I will start saving again, because I have left over egg yolks now too and I want to make another cake called Daffodil Cake once I have enough of of both frozen.

Happy baking all!!

Just in case you were wondering...

Homesteading is HARD work. It all sounds like fun and games and has become a new trend but it is a lot of time consuming hard work and  I don't believe it is for the faint of heart. It requires a lot of work every day and  but I would not trade it for anything! =) It brings on a feeling of self satisfaction and success when you are able to create, grow, make and save and help your family out. And it is a great thing to pass on to your children. Everyone that does this has their own reasons for doing so but for me the idea behind it is to help save money, use my resources to the best of my ability, and create things myself and grow  organic food.

I love to hang out my  hang out my laundry.

It is hard to explain, but when I am out there hanging things out, it is quiet and still. It is a bit of a slow process but it brings me a feeling of great satisfaction as I watch the line of laundry grown longer and longer. I get to use our natural resources as well and save myself some money. Since I started doing this my gas bill has dropped $25.00. It is a great bonus!

 

 We make our own bread.Well not we, I make our bread. I have not broken this to Ivan yet, but in an attempt to reduce our consumption of processed food I am going to try and start making all of our bread.He has a particular bread from the store he really likes so we will see how this goes.Today I did make grilled ham & cheese for lunch from this oatmeal brown bread and it was really good, and no preservatives! We will see how long I can keep this up.

We have our own garden. It is increasing in size at an alarming rate but it is one of my favorite things to do with urban homesteading. There is no greater satisfaction in watching the seeds you plant grow into huge plants and then produce fruit and veggies you can eat without fear. Today I found 6 or 7 zucchini and yellow squash that will be big before long and the corn is now chest high. I am very excited to see the end result!

And if you have a garden you have to preserve your harvest in whatever way is best. These are basil pellets that I freeze with olive oil to use at a later date and as the summer progresses more and more items will need to be frozen and canned.

Now this is not to say that if you don't do Urban homesteading you are not busy and have nothing to do. I realize how busy most people are each day and the stress they are under.

 I have just been surprised at the sheer physical labour that goes into it. 

I am worn out at 10 and I am usually a night owl & I hurt everywhere from all the gardening work. And along with that I run my own business and help out with family and friends.But you know I would not trade this for anything. After spending years in pain and ill, to be able to do each and everyone of these things now is like starting life all over again and I LOVE it.