Back Porch Industries

Hello Friends. 

As of yesterday, Back Porch Industries is now officially a business.  My first subsidiary- Back Porch Farm Stand will be open for business on August 18, 2011.  Stay tuned for business advice, tips, stories, and what-have-you.  Seriously, I have no idea.  I have never ran a business before, but I have had many, many opinions on how they should be ran.  So, yeah, that pretty much makes me qualified.

Canning CSA & Zucchini Relish

A few months ago when the weeds hadn't taken over, my body was still fresh, and the only work involved was saying yes- I decided to start a Canning CSA.  I had been wanting to start a canning club for awhile now, and was trying to help brainstorm ideas of what to do with extra produce from the farm.

Now some of you are familiar with the idea of a CSA.  You pay $200-$400 in the beginning of the season in exchange for a weekly box of produce that features the freshest, ripest produce.  It is a great way to know where you food is coming from, to interact with the people that grew your food, to visit the farm, meet other shareholders, and try new things.  

The model I created for the Canning CSA is as follows:

-Shareholders sign up for the entire CSA (4 months) or by the workshop.

-The 2nd Sunday of every month, participants attend a workshop to can their share of produce.

-Each workshop includes all produce, materials, ingredients & lunch.

-The amount participants bring home is dependent on the price of produce.  For example, I got a great deal on zucchini, and so each participant went home with 28 jars.

-Workshops are completely hands on.

Last Sunday- July 10, I held my first workshop- Zucchini Relish.  Below is the tale.

As six women gathered in the Mad River Grange Hall, following the monthly grange breakfast, they prepared to participate in a centuries old American tradition that is experiencing a much needed revival.  They were about to 'put-up' 150 lbs of fresh, organic zucchini from Willow Creek Farms.  

The art of preserving food is thousands of years old- with drying meat, salting, and preservation in vinegar and cellars.  Canning is the procedure that allows us to use acid, heat & proper processing to ensure that foods can be kept safely for longer periods of time.  It wasn’t until the early 1800’s that a Frenchie by the name of Nicolas Appert observed that food cooked inside a jar did not spoil unless the seals leaked, and developed a method of sealing food in glass jars that food was able to be put up for longer durations.  This discovery was prompted by a contest offered by Napoleon who was looking to provide food for his troops.

Canning foods as a preservation method came to the American Colonies in 1812, but didn’t gain much popularity until the Civil War.  Today North Americans can more food than anywhere else in the world, and the trend is growing as evidenced by sales of canning supplies continuing to rise.

Putting food up was a way to save money, eat a more varied diet in the winter and provided a social outlet.  Neighbors and community members would gather in a kitchen to help each other process the bounty- a daunting task that is mitigated with helping hands & a convivial attitude.

Through the years the materials have gotten considerably better, lighter and safer for preserving food.  Now we have come to rely on home-canned foods to contain the essence of a season, so we can enjoy the fresh tastes of summer when it is positively wintry out.

With increasing knowledge of the importance of eating locally, rising food costs & a renewed interest in American traditions- canning food is experiencing a resurgence.  It is no longer just the weird gift you get from your aunt at Christmas.

With this history lesson, and a overview of kitchen & canning safety procedures, the women went to work chopping the massive amount of zucchini.

Soon the grange was filled with a rhythm of knives, spontaneous canning advice, talking & laughter.  With the process of chopping, salting, sitting, brining & boiling- there was little time for rest and as the finished jars began to multiply, the efforts were tangible.  Just under four hours later, 170 jars of zippy, sweet but not too-sweet, summery zucchini relish was canned.  Each person got to take home about 28 jars.  That should definitely last through some late summer BBQ's, potato salads, & sandwich creations and will help serve as a delicious reminder of the cyclical nature of seasons & abundance.

All photos by Sara Mosser.

Zucchini Relish from “Zucchini Time”

Makes 9 pints

2.5 cups sugar

3 cups vinegar

1/3 cup mustard seed

4 tsp. celery seed

1 tbsp. curry powder

24 medium zucchini (~7 lbs.)

¼ cup granulated pickling salt

Cut zucchini into a small dice.  Sprinkle with salt.  Add cold water to cover.  Let stand for 1-2 hours.  Drain, rinse with cold water.

In a 10 quart Dutch oven, combine sugar, vinegar, mustard seed, celery seed, and curry.  Bring to a boil.  Add zucchini.  Heat through (but do not boil) about 5 minutes.

Pack zucchini & syrup into clean, hot pint jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.  Using a spatula or chopstick, remove air bubbles.  Adjust lids according to package directions.  Process in boiling bath for 5 minutes (starting time when water returns to a boil).

Suggested Uses

-add to any sandwich for a zesty crunch

-garnish your bratwurst or hamburger

-serve as a side dish at a picnic

-add to potato salad for an quick side-dish

-give as a gift to friends & family

Chickening Out

One of my greatest pleasures in life is my chickens.  They are freaky.  They make dinosaur noises.  They eat my compost.  They provide me with eggs.  They escape, and although it is annoying, somtimes I kinda like chasing them around the yard.  See my post about it here.  Although don't ever look at that blog again.  It is dead to me, and I will never mention it or update it EVER again.  I have to place my animosity somewhere, and I choose that blog.  DTM.  ya here?

Anyways...

Chickens are super easy.  They need water, food, and a safe place to sleep.  You can get as fancy or as simple as you want in chicken care.  *The information I present below is based solely on experience and the shared experience of others..... there is probably about a bajillion websites and differing opinions of proper chicken care.  Don't take my word for it, or do because I have successfully raised, slaughtered and befriended a lot of chickens.

The First Steps
1. Creating a Chicken Heaven
First of all you will need a place for your chickens to sleep aka roost.  They don't need a rooster to show them where this is.  THAS RIIIIIGHT....   chickies don't need a MAN!  Buying chicks or buying pullets require different kinds of care.  I will outline both below, but for sure you're gonna need some place for your hens to live.  So I will cover that first.

Our chicken heaven.

It needs to be safe.  That means from dogs, skunks, weasels, loony tunes, and possums.  When chickens go to bed, they are assuming that you took precautions to ensure their safety- because they are both idiotic and trusting.  This basically means having a place with a door that shuts and is off limits to the predatory world.  TRUST ME, there is nothing worse to come out to a scattered assortment of chicken innards.

At the basic level, this means shutting a door to their coop at night.  Chickens are light guided animals (shouldn't we all be?), and will seek shelter when the light is fading.  That is the time to shut their door.  Or you can get a solar-sensitive door.  Or you can have a solar-powered electric fence wire around the coop that the chickens will learn to jump over and will discourage predators.

If you live in a rural area, you can have your chickens free-range.  This leaves them vulnerable to a whole host of predators (including pythons if you live in Australia), which you should consider before letting 'em loose.  We have a chicken "run" which is a fenced in area that connects to their coop and then on over to the compost.  Sometimes in the winter we let them roam the garden and the neighborhood.

2. There needs to be a nesting area

Duh.  You want eggs?  What do they lay eggs in?  Exactly.  Fill the bottom of your coop with hay.  But for some reason, they like a box.  Make a nesting box.  At the very basic it just has to be a 3 sided structure that they can make a nest in.  If you have more than four chickens however, you're gonna want more than one nesting box.  AND when you're making the coop- think about the amount of effort you want to put into getting the eggs.  There is countless coop plans online.  Find the one that suits you where it is easy to gather eggs and also check on the general health of the coop.

Keeping Them Alive

Our chickens enjoying the compost heap.

1. Food
If you want to raise your chickens to be egg laying, you need to feed them egg-laying pellets.  Not QUITE sure what is in those little pellets, but I know that it fortifies their diet so that the shells are strong and that you are getting an egg a day per hen.

We supplement their diet with our compost and weeds from the garden.  This makes for a more varied diet which produces a darker yolk, and a different tasting & more enriched egg.

I would like to experiment with a custom chicken feed, but for now- I buy the pellets.

2. Water
Chickens need a daily supply of fresh water.  They get dehydrated easily.

Maintenance
1. Egg Collection
An egg comes out of a chicken.  Chickens are full of salmonella.  Make sure you wash the eggs before consuming and also you hands after collecting the eggs.

2. Cleaning the Coop
This should be done as often as necessary.  We get free hay from the feed store.  They sell hay bales and allow people to come and sweep the floor for the extra that falls out of the bales.  This is good for nesting material and just as an overall cushy floor for their entire coop.

Chicks v. Pullets

Chicks- the cute little fluffy things that make you think of easter, rainbows and babies.
Pullets- teenage chickens

You can buy baby chicks or pullets from feed stores, craigslist or the newspaper if you live in a rural area.  If not, you can buy them online and have them shipped to you.  But just a word of warning they often put extra chicks in there because some will die.  Also if you get chicks- you will probably end up with a rooster or two.  Your neighbors will hate you if you don't deal with it.

Chickies will need to be kept in a brooder for about 6-8 weeks.  This can be a wooden or cardboard box, with newspaper, some fluffy stuff for warmth and a light bulb.  The ideal temp is about 90 degrees.  They will need clean water ans special food.  You can also feed them hard-boiled eggs.  The yolks have all the nutrients they need.  It was what they were eating as embryos.  Some people think this is wrong.. You be the judge.

If you don't want to deal with all that.. you can get pullets...

She knows what's coming.

Pullets are more expensive, but you will have eggs quicker.  Generally hens begin laying eggs at around 6-8 months of age.  They will typically lay one egg a day in the spring and summer with egg production dwindling with the shorter days or with age.  Then you eat them.


Have FUN with your freaky dino-bird friends.

Canning CSA

Freakin' Frittata

I learned everything I know about Frittatas from this woman.

Frittatas are my go to dish.  I am a master at them.  They take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to make, they are hearty, and besides the eggs- the ingredients are infinitely changeable- making it easy to use food on hand.  Just the other day my roommate made one with potato salad in it, and a few days before that- Kim Chee. 

I will explain the steps, and then include a recipe I created with various ingredients from around the kitchen that produced delicious results.

There is going to be no quantities in this first explanation of the steps.  The quantities of ingredients are dependent on serving size. Two eggs per person is a good rule of thumb.  If the numbers are getting too big however, you can drop it down to 1.5.

Gather:
-A pan.  I typically use a 10" cast iron, but any non-stick, oven-proof pan will work
-A whisking utensil
-Eggs.
-A variety of other vegetables.  I like to have my frittatas just BUSTIN' with vegetables.  So I try to get enough that ALMOST is pushing the limits of the egg.  But don't push the limit or else your masterpiece will fall apart on the fork, embarrassing you and your friends.
-Cheese (optional)
-Cutting board and knife.
-Oil

Make:
1. Admire your pretty ingredients.

2. Cut them up.  I wouldn't cut anything too small.  If you are using potatoes, cut them first and while they are cooking- use that time to cut the other veggies up.

3. Heat oil in the pan, and start cooking your veggies.  If you are using potatoes (which I highly recommend) cook them first.  They take forever, and even onions can't hang with the amount of time it takes to cook them.  As a constant stirrer & flipper it takes great restraint for me to cook potatoes.  However, I have learned it is best to heat the oil, put the taters in- and let them fry until they are browning.  Then give them a flip and mix around, wait. Repeat.   As they get closer to being done, add the rest of the ingredients.  Sometimes you will have to gauge the cooking times of the various veggies and add them at different times.

4. While the veggies are cooking. Crack and whisk the egg. You can add milk or water to make them fluffier.  I use about 1 TBSP of water.

5. Turn the heat to Medium.  Spread the veggies evenly in the pan. Pour the eggs in. I have developed a trick that satisfies my need to constantly be futzing, and also helps the eggs cook quicker & more evenly- which lessens the possibility of burning.  As the edges cook, you can scrape your spatula around the edge, which creates a little space.  Then you can move & tilt the pan to redistribute uncooked egg to the nook you created. 

6.  Once it seems the eggs have set on the bottom of the pan and have begun to set on top, transfer the pan to the oven and turn on the broiler.  Be very careful here, and remove the pan immediately when the eggs are firm.

7.  If you chose to add cheese, now would be the time to spread it evenly, and pop it back in the broiler until it is bubbly and golden.

The finished product.

 Now that you are equipped with a very vague set of directions on how to make a frittata I will give you a more traditional style of recipe.  However, I truly believe that as you cook more & more- recipes become more of a guideline than a set of rules.  Just think about proportions of ingredients and go! go! go!

The Best Frittata You Will EVER Eat
(serves 4-6)
ingredients:
-8 eggs, whisked with 1 TBSP water
-1/2 cup salsa, mixed into egg mix
-Small bunch of cilantro, chopped & mixed into egg mix
-2 small tortillas, cut in half & then into 1/2 inch strips
-3 green onion, chopped.
-1 red pepper, medium dice
-2 zucchinis, cut into half moon chunks
-1 can of green chilies, or 2 fresh jalapenos, diced
-1 cup Jack Cheese, shredded
-2 cloves garlic- finely chopped
-3/4 lb sausage (optional)
-1 tsp. cumin
-Salt & Pepper to taste

Other veggies would be yummy too, like squash, carrots, olives, avocado as a garnish, corn..

1. Brown the sausage, drain the liquid & set aside.

1a. Heat 1 TBSP oil over medium heat in your non-stick, or cast iron pan (10 inch or less).  Add green onions, stir & let cook for a minute or two.

2. Add peppers, zukes, garlic & jalapenos.  Cook for a few minutes, or until just getting tender.  If necessary add more oil.

3. Add the tortilla strips and let them brown.

4. Add the canned green chilies, cumin, salt & pepper and cooked sausage.  Give everything a good flip and spin around. Distribute the veggies evenly in the pan.

5. Pour in the egg mixture.

6.  As the eggs begin to cook, use your spatula to separate the edges & tilt the pan around to let uncooked egg run into the edges.  Continue until the top is barely runny.

7. Place the pan in the oven, & set to broil.

8.  Broil until the eggs get firm.  Takes about 2-5 minutes depending on your oven.

9. Remove, add cheese, return to broiler until the cheese is bubbly, golden, melty.

10. Cut it into wedges and serve from the pan, or slide out onto a tray.  Serve with salsa.

Make-over

Does anyone with mad design skillz want to design me a header?  We can talk about trade options...  I have pickled things, dried things, sewn things, brewed things and cooked things.

I am imagining something awesome looking with a possibility of incorporating a painting by Grant Wood.  But hey, I will let you have your artistic license.  Just make me look cooler than I already do.

Who amongst you will rise to the challenge?

The Incredible Bulk!

I have been working on a post about making a mini hoop house for-ever.  And it is still in progress.  As it turns out, my lack of construction skills doesn't make it an easy task for me to describe how to build something.  So while that is floating in the ether, I want to talk about purchasing food in bulk.  This may be fairly lengthy, so let me break it down.

• Utilizing the Bulk Food Aisle
• Buying Commonly Used Goods in Bulk Quantities
• Bulk Purchasing Cooperatives

Utilizing the Bulk Food Aisle
Buying in bulk or purchasing from the bulk section is not only better for the environment, as it reduces packaging, but it is considerably cheaper and you can get just the right amount you need.  Which is important because a lot of foods are not meant to sit around... Mom, I'm looking at you- I know you got some flour in the pantry from 10 years ago.

Bulk foods should be stored in air-tight containers.  This is important to keep the food fresh, and ultimately prevents you from having a pantry filled with bags of random white powders.  Unless you deal crack, but if that's the case I am sure you want to keep your crack fresh as well, so the same sort of system might apply. 

Generally, it is health-food stores that have the most extensive bulk food aisles.  However, mainstream grocery stores are beginning to have a few items as well.  If buying organic is cost-prohibitive for you, this is a great way to be able to eat organic foods at a more reasonable cost.

How does it work?  You select your item, fill a bag with the appropriate amount of grain, legume, chocolate chip or what have you, mark it with the number on the bulk bin. pay. DONE.  or are you.....?

This system is effective, simple, and cheap-er than buying prepackaged goods.  But, you are now on the path to having a plastic bag and twist-tie mountain.  We all have a stash of plastic bags, am I right?  It is pretty hard for me to throw away a plastic bag.  It's even harder for me to accept a bag to put my groceries in if I forgot my tote-bag.  I can't tell you how many times I have juggled multiple pieces of fruit, a sixer, butter, juice and a loaf of bread- just so I didn't have to deal with the resulting bag.  There are two ways to deal with this dilemma.

1. Take all those bags you been a stashing, and bring them with you the next time you go to the store, use those for putting bulk foods or even produce in.  When you bring them home, give a rinse, let dry and put them in their hidey hole until next time
2. Bring the container with you for a little trip.  This is especially nice for things like oils, nut butters, vinegar, etc.  This also eliminates the need to guess-timate how much is going to actually fit in the container.  There may be a scale around the bulk items, if not you can have the cashier weigh your container.  You will tell the cashier what to tare the scale to when you check out.

Our spice rack

 If nothing else, please listen to me when I share this tip.  BUY YOUR SPICES IN BULK.  It is ridiculously cheap.  Plus you can get the amount you need.  How many times have you bought a bottle of spice or herbs you have never even heard of specifically for one recipe, and it is still sitting around, unused?  Those little buggers are expensive!!!  Conventional, or organic- both are spendy.  And, like flours, grains and other goods- they have a shelf life.  That weird spice rack you inherited from an old-roommate or picked up at a garage sale should probably be salvaged only for the bottles to put freshies in.




Buying Commonly Used Goods in Bulk There are certain items that are used around the house often, and hence need to be replaced frequently.  It is not only cheaper, but it is handy to have the re-supply.  At my house we purchase the following in large quantities.

• Vinegar.  We store the big gallon jugs in our pantry, and then refill a smaller bottle for the cupboard.
• Dish soap.  We buy a non-petroleum based gallon container of dish soap from CostCo, fill up a smaller bottle- and store the bigun' under the sink 
• Olive Oil.  Buying organic olive oil at CostCo is worth the membership alone.  It isn't the most delicate of olive oil, but it does the trick for cooking.
• Toilet Paper. We buy a case of tree-free toilet paper from the local co-op, and get a discount for doing so!  
• Shampoo.  Another very expensive item.  If you buy the huge gallon containers and fill a smaller bottle- the initial cost will be higher, but you will save money in the long run.  Just make sure you like it.  Sometimes a store will have various kinds of shampoo that you can just refill.
• Rice.  Now you may not live in a household that consumes rice as voraciously as my mine.  But we buy a 25# bag of organic short-grain rice, and like the TP- DISCOUNT! 

Check with your area grocery store if they will offer a discount for this sort of purchasing.

Bulk Purchasing Cooperatives
A lot of people don't have access to a store that provides the option of bulk purchasing.  If this applies to you, encourage your local grocers to offer this service.  In the meantime, you can form a bulk purchasing club.  While it is a bit more work, you have access to wholesale prices, and it can be a good way to get to know people in the community.

Disclaimer:  I have never started or participated in one of these clubs, so this information has been gleaned from friends and various websites.

The Basic Principles
1. Gather a group of interested people
2. Look through the distributor catalog and decide what you would like to purchase and how much your household would realistically use.
3. Compare your list with the groups list, to figure out quantity.
4. Order food.
5. Meet the distributor, unload the food and divide it up!

Here are some websites that describe this process a little more fully.

• How to Start a Buying Club: Tips and ordering info from United Natural Foods
• How to Start a Neighborhood Food Buying Club.  great source of links and info
• Bulk Buying Best Practices Toolkit. very comprehensive step-by-step instructions
• Foodclub.org. This site is amazing.  It does all the work for you.  Once you have your wholesale accounts set up, you can do all your purchasing from ONE site that will plug into your various distributors.  It also has the ability to figure out the cost per person splitting various items and other such administrative tasks.  And it's only $free.99

Now that I have written the word "bulk" so many times, it looks weird.  What a weird word.  B-u-l-k.  I will take this as a clear indication to end this post now.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  In the meantime, see you in the bulk foods aisle- I will be the one scooping freakish amounts of nutritional yeast whilst lusting after the chocolate covered macadamia nuts and probably forgetting to write down the number, or accidentally writing the wrong number.  Cashiers and undercover shoppers don't take too kindly to this behavior (or combining items) so, learn the bulk etiquette and use it!  bulk. bulk. buuuuuuulk.  that is a word right?

My cupboard