Making Beeswax Bread Bags

We go through a lot of sourdough bread. Tricia makes 2 big loaves every other week in addition to bagels, po boy buns and hamburger buns.  The loaves are kept beneath a cake dome, but the bread doesn't stay soft for long and starts getting stale and even begins to mold before we can finish it.  Tricia began looking for a solution and found one - Beeswax Bread bags!  She ordered some organic cotton fabric from Azure Standard and cut the fabric as she needed.

She began to sew the pieces of fabric into the shape of a bag.

These bags will have a drawstring on top for sealing up the bread and keeping the loaves airtight and fresh.

The next thing needed is beeswax.  Fortunately, each time we extract honey, we save all of the cappings and render the beeswax.  We end up with big disks of beeswax.  We make lip balm (chapstick or carmex) by adding essential oils (eucalyptus and peppermint) to the beeswax and castor oil.

But back to our beeswax bread bag project - the beeswax is melted in a crock pot.

The melted beeswax is poured over the cotton bread bags.

You must work fast as the beeswax cools and hardens quickly.

You want to make sure the entire bag is coated on both sides, so a bread-making tool is used to spread the beeswax on the entire surface area.

Once the bag is coated with beeswax, it goes into the oven at 250 degrees F for 10 minutes.  The oven is used as the heat evens out the wax and gets the edges coated.

We allow the bag to hang and dry for a bit.

And now for the test.  A big fresh loaf of sour dough bread goes into the bag for safekeeping.

The drawstring is pulled tight and the bread is now sealed up - better than Saranwrap.

Now we'll test things out and see if this keeps the bread fresher for longer.  Will it stop the bread from getting hard and going stale and molding?  We will soon know.

The Tail-end of our Mulch Inventory

We've talked at length before about Back to Eden Gardening where we use wood chips (4 inch layer) in the garden.  I won't bore you again with the details, but by doing this, you never need to till.  You hardly ever need to water.  You hardly ever need to weed the garden.  It makes gardening so easy.  Additionally, the chips decompose and become topsoil.  Each year you add another 4 inch layer and let nature take care of itself.

I don't even want to speculate as to how many loads of mulch we've gotten delivered to the house for free by right-of-way cleaning crews eager for a place to drop their loads of wood chips.  I stopped by a crew I saw working about 5 miles down the road the other day and left our address and contact information.  I've not heard back from them.  It is a new crew out of Texas that must've won the contract.  

We need more chips!  We are on our last pile and there's a reason we saved this one for last.  Normally the wood chips heat up and decompose quickly.  This last pile did not.  The reason for this is that it is largely made up of pine straw.  Pine straw is coated with a shiny, wax-like layer that contains high amounts of lignin.  This makes it resistant to decay, bacteria and fungi.  That's kind of counter-productive to our goal of mulch in the garden.

But we found a use for it!  The walkways/borders on either side of the garden have a dual purpose.  In addition to being walkways we use, they serve as a border or protective barrier for what's outside the garden.  That would be grasses and weeds, namely bermuda grass, bahai, and nutsedge.  These grasses are persistent, relentless and determined and require constant effort to keep them from encroaching into the garden.  You can see some of the grass on the eastern edge of the garden.  It so desires to get into the garden.

The grasses had invaded, filling half of the walkway with grass that we had mulched a couple of years ago.  That ended yesterday.  I removed all the weeds from the garden path on the interior eastern side of the garden and used a wagon and pitchfork to unload a 5 inch layer all the way down.  It's so nice and clean now - free of grass!

I did the same thing on the western edge of the garden.  It is so clean and in order now.

But it will require vigilance.  Those grasses send out rhizomes that climb through the fence and try to get a foothold in the garden and creep forward.  Someone has to guard the wall.  Almost like Colonel Nathan Jessup in "A few good men" in calling the Code Red, ha ha.  We'll keep our eyes on any encroachment and put more mulch on top.

Three Things

First Observation:    It's been very hot and humid the past few days, but walking around the back yard I got to thinking about the very cold winter that we've had that killed all of our tangerine trees, our lemon tree and a satsuma tree.  It really played a number on our citrus.  Only one of our citrus trees survived.  It is a naval orange.  Although the orange tree survived, it was so injured by the freeze last year that it didn't blossom or fruit.  But early this spring, the fragrant blossoms filled the tree and fruit filled the branches.

We have a long ways to go until the naval oranges are ripe and a lot can happen between then and now, but it looks like we'll have a good orange crop for a change.  We did buy some replacement fruit trees to make up for the ones we lost.  Earlier this spring I planted a Satsuma, a Meyer Lemon and a Blood Orange.

Observation #2:    Speaking of blood oranges, Tricia was making something in the kitchen that was red like blood.  She's making a red velvet cake made with the last of the beets from the fall crop.  No food coloring in this cake.  It gets its color from the beets!  It tastes nothing like beets - just moist, delicious chocolate.  If your kids don't like vegetables, this is how you sneak some in!  They'll never know.

Final Observation:    I had a critter follow me home the other night when I was out walking.  It wasn't a raccoon.  It was this:

She's kind of cute.  We already have a cat named Ginger.  This kitten and Ginger don't get along very well.  There's been some hissing going on.  Tricia thinks we need a "barn cat" to keep the rate population under control.  We'll see how this goes.  We're going to wait a few days to see if she sticks around before we name her.  So far, we call her, "Kitty Kitty," but Matilda is probably on the top of the list of potential names.

She follows us around everywhere, even trying to come indoors.  We don't do indoor pets.  Kitty Kitty is not potty trained and has the garage smelling quite... aromatic, you might say.  Tricia got a box and filled it with dirt to see if she'd figure out it is her bathroom.  Like I said, this is a probationary period for Kitty Kitty.  She needs to work harder at making a good first impression.

The Cajun Prairie Revival

Several months ago we told you about attending a documentary screening at the Strand Theatre in Jennings, Louisiana about the Cajun Prairie.  The Cajun prairie once covered over 2 million acres of land in Louisiana.  It is home to native grasses and wildflowers.  Agricultural practices and cattle grazing, along with development has largely done away with it.  Only 1% of the Cajun Prairie remains.

A group of people is trying to revive it by saving seeds and propagating them in protected areas.  Moncus Park in Lafayette is one such area, along with a 10 acre plot in Eunice, LA, among others.  Our homesteading group was made aware of a small location of Cajun Prairie that was discovered in Jennings between Highway 90 and the railroad tracks just east of Jennings across from Seagraves Road. 

Those interested were invited to attend a prairie walk to identify native species of plants.  Louisiana Dept of Wildlife and Fisheries Robby Maxwell and a Phyllis Griffard, a UL Lafayette biologist led us on the walk.  The president of the Jennings Garden Club who is also running for District Judge, a local farmer and beekeeper and other interested folks joined the walk.

The area is a small piece of land between the railroad tracks and Highway 90 east on the right hand side of the road as you're on the way to Mermentau, LA.  Concerned individuals are working with the Louisiana DOTD asking them to not mow until the grasses are dormant so that the different native grasses and wildflowers can reseed.

I'll show you a few of the plants that we were able to identify, starting with milkweed.  Coincidentally, I was just reading a great book called "Theo of Golden" that mentioned milkweed.  In the book, the protagonist was lamenting the fact that this plant had "weed" in its name and proposed re-naming it to "Crown of many crowns."

Milkweed

Here is a familiar one, the Texas Coneflower.  This plant can grow 5 feet tall!

Texas Coneflower

This one is called "Rattlesnake Master," and was named as such as Native Americans thought it served as a rattlesnake venom antidote.  It turned out not to be effective, but the plant can be used for liver and bladder problems as well as rheumatism.

Rattlesnake Master

This plant is called the 'Hoary Pea."  You can see the flowers that are typical of peas and if you look closely in the middle right of the photo, you'll spot some little green pea pods.

Hoary Pea

This pretty flower is the Rhexia Virginica.

Rhexia

Little Bluestem

Here is rosinweed.  The native Americans used the roots of this plant to treat pains from injuries. 

Rosinweeds

We had an interesting time walking and identifying plants that they they told us was making up the Cajun Prairie, an ecosystem that is on life support.  They are saving the seeds from these plants in an attempt to bring the Louisiana Cajun Prairie back from near extinction.

We're Not Home Yet

Are you a traveler?  An adventurer?  We enjoy traveling.  We especially like to tent camp in places like the Great Smoky Mountain National Park or Rocky Mountain National Park.  We also enjoy Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida, where we camp not far from the beach.  Taking in all the beautiful sights, eating food cooked over a campfire, drinking cowboy coffee and then hiking for hours on trails.  It's just invigorating and relaxing and we've piled up a mental library of family memories on these annual excursions.

But do you know the best part of traveling?  Getting home!  Pulling into the driveway is a rewarding experience.  Seeing familiar sights, but with renewed appreciation and then crossing over the Home Sweet Home doormat, opening the back door and walking inside, smelling the familiar smell of home.  It's nice, an experience that's hard to explain.  I guess some would call us 'homebodies.'

I'm blessed to have been raised in a family that values togetherness, family, and a simple, yet comfortable and safe home and environment.  We've tried to provide that same thing to our now-grown kids, realizing that not everyone has the opportunity of enjoying an intact family with those they love surrounding and supporting them.  We never take that for granted.  Maybe that's why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  Our family is not perfect and things aren't always idyllic, but God is faithful and has blessed us.

I wonder if you also do what I'm about to explain?  As I think about things, despite our blessings, my mind goes to things that are less than perfect, relationships that could be stronger, struggles and health issues that loved ones go through.  You wonder why do bad things happen to good people?  Why is there such suffering?  Why are things unjust?  Why is life so unfair?  The short answer is we live in a fallen world.  Ever since sin entered the world, things have been this way, with pain, toil, sorrow, sickness, parting, and death burdening us.  Can you imagine what it must have been like in the Garden before sin?

For the believer, there is a future glory waiting.  There is a coming Homecoming that will make the "pulling into the driveway after a trip" joy seem petty and trite.  The best way to illustrate this is from a story I heard that Dr. Criswell, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, wrote of: 

A faithful missionary couple returned to the United States on the same ship that carried Theodore Roosevelt home from a safari that he had been on in Africa.  A mob of reporters and well-wishers were on the dock, waiting to see Teddy Roosevelt after he got off the ship from his safari.  Nobody was there to greet the missionary couple who had returned home after serving on the mission field their entire lives in Africa.

Later that night in their simple hotel room, the couple talked about arriving back and the husband was downcast.  "It isn't fair," he said to his wife.  "Mr. Roosevelt comes home from a hunting trip and the entire country is waiting to greet him.  We come home after years of service on the mission field in Africa, and nobody was there to greet us."

And then his wife answered, "Honey, we aren't HOME yet."

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Philippians 3:20

Are you homesick?

Smells Bad, Tastes Good

Image Credit

When I sat down to write this post about smelly foods, my mind immediately went to durian.  I've never eaten it.  Durian, if you're not aware, is a fruit that grows in Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia.  It is said to have a delicious almond-custard taste, but a strong aroma that has caused the fruit to be banned in many places.  I'd like to try it someday.

Nope, we didn't have durian for lunch today, but we did eat some foods that are quite "aromatic," you might say.  First, we opened the seal on a jar of kimchi that we had made back in February when we harvested cabbage and carrots.  Kimchi is a Korean sauerkraut that is fermented and stored to age.

When finally opened, it has a slight fizz.  It's cold, tangy, flavorful.  It's very healthy and is supposed to be eaten before a meal to get your digestive enzymes working.  We enjoy it and have several more jars aging in the fridge to open and enjoy this summer.  Kimchi is probably not a dish I would have eaten as a kid.  It's funny how your taste buds change as you get older and more adventurous in your menus!

Now that our digestive enzymes are kicked into gear, it's time for the main course of our smelly culinary dishes of the day.  We normally eat primarily things that we grow in the garden or raise on the pasture, but not today.  We're on a mission.  We're rotating through our pantry of emergency foods we store in case of hurricanes, power outages from EMPs, pandemics, terrorist attacks or alien invasions.  We go through our oldest provisions and then restock the food pantry with items with longer expiration dates.

Today we'll pull out two tins of sardines.  They are approaching their 'use by' dates. Tricia opted for Mediterranean style sardines that are marinated in olive oil, black olives and spices.  For my choice, even though they are produced in Poland, I selected a tin of sardines in Louisiana hot sauce.  I never knew the Polish had an affinity for Louisiana hot sauce.  Who knew?

With a couple of slices of homemade and toasted sour dough bread, I made an open-faced sardine sandwich, pouring every drop of the Louisiana hot sauce marinade to be soaked up by the bread.  Very elegant.  Produced to be enjoyed by the discriminating palate.

The sardine steaks lay atop the bread and the pungent aroma of faraway seas and exotic fish markets filled the air.  I'm not sure if this meal would earn any Michelin stars, but it's downright delicious!  It was a lunch fit for a king and queen.  The last morsels of bread were used to sop up the savory fishy juices.  We topped off our coffee cups and enjoyed the afternoon.  Yes, we'll need breath mints after this meal.  (We're kind of weird, I know!)

Tears In the Kitchen

 After harvesting all of the onions in the garden, we brought them inside - out of the hot humid weather where they'd surely be rotten by now.  The sit in our "onion curing room" which doubles as our parlor when we don't have a tarp on the floor and a baker's rack full of onions sitting in the middle of it.  The ceiling fan overhead is on high and has been circulating air for about a month now. We've been quite fortunate to not lose a single onion.  Oh, one or two has begun to get a little soft, but if you peel off the outer layer, everything beneath it is fine.

On Saturday, it was a rainy day and we figured it would be beneficial to begin processing some of the onions.  With so many to choose from, we set our criterion for selecting the first onions to process.  We decided we would begin with choosing any that had the beginnings of a soft spot.  We found only two.  Then we selected all the small onions.  They were put into baskets and brought to the kitchen.

The first step in processing is to pull off the loose skin.  Then cut off the neck and the roots.  Then slice in half and remove the outer, papery skin.  Here's what you're left with.  The other thing that you must contend with is tears.

Finally, we chop them up into chunks.  These chunks will be perfect for cooking with.  We use an old chopper that has seen better days, but it still works like a charm.  I would love to know how many pounds of onions, peppers, and potatoes over the years it has cubed.  It's quite loud when you slam down the top.  Tricia wears ear plugs while doing it.

Just getting started, but we have a long way to go.

After working for a bit and putting a bunch of onion chunks in a big plastic bag for freezing, we decided to take a break for a week or two.  There's no rush for doing this as long as the onions cure and hold well.  Truth is, we are planning to take the bull to the slaughterhouse this summer.  It would be a doggone shame to have the deep freeze full of onions when it could be storing beef.

Just this little bit of chopping yielded a whopping 17 1/4 pounds of chopped onions.  Imagine how much time we've saved on the back side.  No more prepping and chopping onions and crying while you are cooking.  We've taken care of those tasks on the frontside.

Look at the onion curing room following chopping up 17 1/4 pounds of onions.  We didn't even put a dent in the onion inventory.

That's okay, we use a lot of onions in our kitchen.  The only slight rush to clearing this area is that it won't be too terribly long before we will be harvesting garlic and we'll need this area for curing garlic here.