Learning to Save Pawpaw Seeds

Everyday is something new at the farmette and today I was specifically learning to save Pawpaw seeds. I have been studying up a lot of various plants we have on the property and plants we want to grow.
I generally buy all my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds have saved some seeds before. I swear I had tasted pawpaw before and didn't like it. But this week a friend gifted us with  four special pawpaw fruits and I tried again. I dipped my spoon in the pulp and was amazed at the creamy,soft, custardy, slightly mango'ish taste. Totally fell in love.
But of course the real reason, was to eat them to harvest the seeds and prepare them for storage to plant in the spring. I was using this "How to Handle Paw Paw Seeds" from the Ohio Pawpaw Growers Association a my guide.
I started by cutting them and peeling  & taking the pulp out by edging it on the top of a glass. Worked like a charm.

 

I squeezed & separated the seeds out from the pulp. I must admit I popped them  in my mouth to remove most of the pulp. it's a tough sacrifice to make, but one I was willing to make for future propagation of this tasty treat. Then I rinsed them thoroughly. 
One of the most important things I learned is they must be stored moist. So I had about one cup of seeds and layered it into one cup of moist planting medium. Voila!
Into the fridge they went.

I thought I was going to make a tasty dessert for Mr. Perky and I have have this evening, but that will have to wait until the next time since I gobbled up all the tasty fruit myself. 

Things I used or ordered this week: the book on propagation is particularly one I have found helpful. It was recommended by the same friend that gave us the pawpaws.

 

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Autumn Olive Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

It is a little hard to explain my strange thing about jam and jelly. If asked I say I don't eat them. It's not that I don't like jam or jelly, it's just I only eat jam or jelly in one item: Thumbprint Cookies. Last year I made some with muscadine grape jelly, which I received as a gift.

Very recently I was given some Autumn Olive Jam, so after a taste test, I was off on another cookie making adventure.
Now, I have only recently heard of autumn olives and in fact it was just over a week ago that I receive that jam. What a difference a week makes. It seems to be a forager's secret, for these tasty treats seem to be a very common wild fruit. I particularly like that they have just a little bit to the taste.
While it is considered an invasive plant, the berries have some very high impact nutritional value, particularly they are high in lycopene.
Then Sunday morning, I was sitting on my back stoop and I spied what I thought may be a bush of this new delightful treasure. I snapped a pic and threw it up on a plant identification site and BAM! After I got back from church they had i.d.'d my bush as autumn olive. I had already tasted them.
Later my grand babies came to visit and we were walking the property and what to my wondering eyes did appear, an entire wall of autumn olive bushes. They enjoyed tasting the olives, particularly my brave youngest who tends to like tart things.

Now I know the secret...

Autumn Olive Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg (How To Store Eggs With Coconut Oil)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (How to Make Your Own Vanilla Extract)

1/3 cup jam

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

In another bowl, whip the butter and the sugar with a hand-held mixer until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients in sections, mixing until combined..

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press your thumb into the center of each ball, about 1/2-inch deep (the thumbprint). Fill each thumbprint with about 3/4 teaspoon of the jam.

Bake cookies for about 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
By the end of the day I had picked a large container of these little berries, which I didn't even know about last week ready to learn about making them into jam. That is how I like life - a learning adventure.

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Items I have used in some way today:

  

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How to Store Eggs With Coconut Oil

Imagine you take a trip to Perky Gramma's farm and you decide to pick up some of the ginormous fresh eggs or maybe you just happen to find a great sale at the grocery store. Wouldn't you like to stock up?
Storing eggs may seem to be a foreign concept, unless you don't use eggs quickly. Storing eggs with coconut oil is so easy and will help your eggs stay fresh for literally months! 

When you are working with fresh eggs; you want to wipe off the "schmutz", but don't wash the "bloom" off. This bloom actually provides a natural barrier for the egg. With fresh eggs, you are able to wipe them off and they will keep without refrigeration. Wash them when you use them.  

Now I finally have my own sweet chickens and I wanted to share again how to store your eggs. I get close to 70 eggs a week so I do wash them and coat them with coconut oil. 
If you are working with store bought eggs, bring them to room temperature. In fact, considering how old the store bought eggs could be I would recommend coating them with the coconut oil when you get them home from the store.

How to Store Eggs with Coconut Oil:
1. Ensure you are using only fresh eggs at room temperature. Check your eggs against light for cracks and just use those first, don't store.

2. Take the eggs out of the little cups in the carton. Trust me you will appreciate that later. Otherwise things get a little slippery and it's harder to grasp them.

3. Get out your coconut oil, get a smidge on your hands and rub your hands together to warm up the oil or you may warm the coconut oil up until it is liquid. Several people have asked about using other food grade oils. Sadly, other oils will eventually go rancid.

4. Slather the eggs with a little the coconut oil on your hands. You want to coat the egg evenly and entirely.

5. Place them small tip down in the carton.

6. Afterwards I date the box with the month/year I got the eggs ready. If stored properly in a cool, dry, dark location the eggs could last about 9 months. I used to write 9 months, just in case I forget. But I don't do that any more. Then put it away.

7. Once a month I turn the eggs over (upside down) to keep the yolks from settling.

Just to show you an egg I just cracked that I did at the beginning of October (2015). This eggs is about 15 weeks old in the fridge. Looks & tastes nice and fresh.

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When you are testing freshness of your eggs there is always the float test. Place the egg in a bowl of water, if it sinks it is really fresh. If the egg is still on the bottom, but is starting to stand up it is still good to use. If the egg floats to the top...do not use it, it isn't fresh.
But, the best test I have found is simply sniffing the egg as you open it. There will be NO DOUBT if your eggs isn't fresh. 

There is one drawback of storing eggs with coconut oil, the egg whites will not whip up for a meringue anymore because of the oil.

Items I have used this week:

   

What I do here is simply share our journey of becoming debt free, teach vintage skills and living a new life on a farmstead. We would love it if your joined our Perky Gramma Teaches community on Facebook.

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How To Wax Cheese

I like being able to save money by purchasing things on sale and saving them up for a later date. One of the skills I learned is how to wax cheese. I would also say it is convenient when you are making a recipe that calls for cheese...and you notice you are out. Gooey, unadulterated, dripping cheese...then you remember you have precious bundles of stored waxed cheese.

Look at how good this looks...

Who doesn't love cheese? Unless you are lactose intolerant. Being the kind of gal I am, I knew I had to learn this vital skill of how to wax cheese. 

Equipment: You will need dedicated equipment for waxing, since you won't be able to get these items clean again. Get your equipment. You need a double boiler, parchment paper, a thermometer, boar bristle brush, cheese wax & muslin.  I wound up purchasing all the items I needed on Amazon.
Now you are almost ready to get started.

Next you need to purchase your cheeses. Use hard cheeses. Test it before buying by pressing your thumb into the cheese, it needs to not leave a thumb imprint to be dry enough. Also avoid cheap brands, I could almost guarantee they will give you problems in storage. I personally have had excellent results with various Gouda & cheddar cheeses.

Prep & dry the cheese. Since this was my first time, I worked with small batches of cheese. I cut them into meal sized portions. Wiped it down with vinegar & wrapped it loosely with a paper towel. Then let it it out on the counter to get to room temp. & to dry it out more. Pat it down to remove moisture. Because moisture will interfere with the adhering process.

Break up the wax (TIP: take the plastic wrapping off before you cut it) and melt in a double boiler until your temp. reaches 180 – 200 degrees. I will be getting a larger pan set for waxing.

 Wash your hands. Dip half of each block of cheese, slowly in & out of the wax.

 Hold it over the pot for a few seconds to allow the excess wax to drip off.

Gently set on parchment paper (it's smooth surface will help eliminate lumps & bumps in the wax). Set the side you just dipped facing upwards. Let it cool for at least 90 seconds.

 Then dip the opposite side of the cheese. Dip 3 times (3 layers).

 Then brush one more layer on. Look for spaces where it may have not been covered.

If you want to you can cut the labels out from the cheese wrappers ahead of time and then add the labels to the block of waxed cheese and wax a thin coat over the label. It will adhere the label and you can still read the label. 

After your cheese is waxed wrap up the brush and thermometer up in foil for the next time. Let the wax cool in the double boiler, then pack everything away in a special box with all your waxing equipment together.

For storage: After the wax is sufficiently dried, wrap the blocks in cheese cloth. Like a gift package. 

Store in a cool, dark place & fairly dry. It should last for years and years (8-10 years). Either store on a wire rack or hanging in pantyhose sure, I don't use those anymore LOL. But I will stress it depends on how well you follow the instructions and how well you store the cheese. Check it periodically for seepage, mold or cracks in the wax.

TIP: I actually currently store mine in the fridge since I have the space. But, I know if something should happen I will have a nice amount of cheese stored.
There you go. Waxed cheese. 

Want to learn more? Here is an article about my "5 Fabulous Favorite Kitchen Tools". Vintage skills for the modern woman.

What I do here is simply share our journey of becoming debt free, teach vintage skills and living a new life on our farmette. We would love it if your joined our Perky Gramma Teaches community on Facebook, comment or share. Know that I only post items that I use and recommend. I really appreciate your support. Below are items I used for waxing the cheese.

Plus it would just make my day.

      

       

Your order is so very appreciated, because anything ordered through my Amazon Associate links helps me to be able to stay home and write for you.

Perky Gramma Teaches is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

How to Make Your Own Vinegar: It's Easier Than You Think

I have actually blogged for several years on various niche topics, I learned to make my own vinegar in 2013, so I thought I would share just how simple it is to DIY Vinegar.Here is the first day for “making vinegar”. Made with organic Fugi apples & raw honey. I started it on December 10th. Quart jar with an apple, 1/4 cup raw honey and the filled the jar with water. TIP: I figured out real quick, instead of a rubber band to hold the cheese cloth on, I simply used a canning ring.

Stored in a warm, dark place. The jar(s) were wrapped a thick dish towel with a rubber band and storing it on a shelf near my back door. Next batch will be placed on top of my fridge.
"Stir the jar every day or so and check to make sure the fruit is submerged. Don’t worry about yeasty white growth on top; scrape off any other colors of mold and toss that into your compost bin."

When it started to smell like booze (this would be hard cider), I strained out the fruit through cheese cloth & put that in my compost bucket. Then continued to allow the vinegar to ferment. Leave undisturbed if possible. Again; don’t worry about yeasty white growth on top; scrape off any other colors of mold and toss that into your compost bin.

It is taking longer than I anticipated.  Still cloudy. Note the Mother of Vinegar floating around near the bottom. 

Interesting note: While I was in the process of making the vinegar, I was talking to the mom of my 7th grandchild. They had been discussing acetic acid bacteria in home school that week. Which is exactly the ubiquitous bacterium in the air that enables this process of fermentation to occur. Pretty neat.

This is what it looks like today 02/22/14. At this point I removed all the yeasty stuff on top, strained it & poured it into another jar, placed a lid on it to see if it will clear up...

I took the Mother of Vinegar at the bottom and started another batch today.Here we go again.

     

What you see here, is what I actually do. If you liked this article, please feel free to like me (Perky Gramma Teaches) on Facebook & keep up to date on things I post. Simply sharing my journey of preparedness.
 ~Perky Gramma Teaches~

Thank you Donna. I used the reference that Donna suggested from the Rock Farmer Blog

Top Three Picks (associates links)

When it comes to the items that I use the most, it would have to be my All American Pressure Canner, FoodSaver and Excalibur Dehydrator. I use at least one of these each week. I only recommend items that I use personally.

    

My Favorite Fried Chicken Recipe

I thought I would share is our very favorite fried chicken.
I got my "recipe" from "Tips from Heloise", the mom not the daughter, early in my life. So simple:

• Rinse the pieces of chicken
• Shake in a bag with flour
• Let sit for 30 minutes
• Then fry.
• Season after it comes out of the pan

The only change I have made over the years is I now use coconut oil to fry with.
Of course it is better fried in a cast iron skillet.
No matter what, it is our favorite! Here I am making chicken gizzards and livers.
 What is your favorite fried chicken recipe?

Items I used or ordered this week:

  

I participate in the Amazon Associate program, where I receive a small % commission for linking products that I recommend. I only recommend products I personally used and like. Your support is very appreciated, anything you choose to purchase through my link, is helping me to be able to share more things that I do with you. Perky Gramma Teaches Amazon link.

TIP: Set in Oil Stain

My mother loves to tell the tale of when I was in first grade and she went to the parent teacher conference. The teacher shared about how she had a stain on her clothing and I told her to try putting something on it to take the stain out (I don't remember what I told her). My mom cringed, fearing my advice had ruined the teachers clothing. Well, guess what, it WORKED and my teacher was overjoyed.

Mom came home and asked me where in the world had I learned that information. I responded “I read it somewhere”. Since that time it is a running joke in my family that I “read it somewhere”.

As I have been unpacking, I have been washing everything & among other things, catching up on laundry stains.
Just wanted to share one great TIP for set in oil stains in clothing.

See the stain? I applied a little Dr. Bronner's Fair Trade & Organic Castile Liquid Soap.

I rubbed it in well, let it set for about 10 minutes & then washed normally.

Dr. Bronner's works on so many things and the bottle is entertaining as well.
Once my mom & I spent quite some time reading aloud from the text that is printed on the bottle. Ethically sourced, certified organic.
Great product, the man very unusual...

Items I used or ordered this week:

  

I participate in the Amazon Associate program, where I receive a small % commission for linking products that I recommend. I only recommend products I personally used and like. Your support is very appreciated, anything you choose to purchase through my link, is helping me to be able to share more things that I do with you. Perky Gramma Teaches Amazon link.

Dehydrator: Little or Big?

From the very beginning I have learned by doing. 
My first adventure in dehydrating was bananas on my Oster Dehydrator. One banana on each tray. Mr. Perky loved the bananas. The smaller units work well and I don't have complaints. Initially I focused on fruits I wouldn't be able to produce myself, so that I would have options. Particularly items like mangoes, bananas, pineapple, you know more tropical fruits.
It didn't take me too long to figure out for me I needed a much larger dehydrator with temperature control. Within a month I was saving my money for another dehydrator. My general rule of thumb in is to buy larger than I think I need and choose a higher quality product. We want these tools to last. 

I did the research and decided on the Excalibur, 9 tray dehydrator.
The Excalibur Dehydrator is a true work horse. I use it constantly. Besides being able to dry 15 square feet of food at a time, the adjustable temperature is extremely handy.

I purchased the Excalibur in 2012. While I have mostly done fruits and veggies I have also dehydrated some cabbage, elderberries,
ginger chipped beef, milk, lattes, sweet potato treats  and dog food for my furbabies. For the dog food I even added some leftover (spicy) Chinese food. Mixed up the veggies and leftover rice, dehydrated it and added it to their jug. They love it!

I probably have every vegetable imaginable dehydrated. When the cold weather sets in, it's time to make soup I just pick what veggies I want and toss them in the pot. 
Even if you don't have a garden, you may even dehydrated packages of frozen vegetables from the store. 

Using the Excalibur: 
This week I did a boat load of blueberries and a plethora of pineapple. The blueberries I was using were grown without chemicals, but they were the end of season gleanings were frozen. Roll them out in a single layer before you dehydrate them. The temperature was set at the fruit/fruit roll setting (135-145 degrees). The blueberries took approximately 12 hours. 
Some people will prick a hole in larger berries. I haven't had to do that yet. 
Since mine are from the farm, they all tend to be larger. I don't take the time to poke them, since I am doing at least a gallon at a time.

When done the blueberries are crisp and will bounce on the counter top, or floor as my dog knows. This dog, Snooker is ALWAYS in the kitchen when I am working. 

I was also doing canned pineapple, since I found some cans with the newer pop tops. I am trying to get rid of those cans since I have heard that those type of cans don't tend to last as long in storage. I just drained the juice from the slices and put them on the trays. Again the temperature was set at the fruit/fruit roll setting (135-145 degrees). The pineapple took almost 20 hours, because they were thicker slices from a can.

The pineapple is leathery in consistency.
While you are able to store fruit in Mylar bags, I choose to vacuum seal my fruits in canning jars. Honestly we use/eat the fruit fairly quickly, so I haven't determined the shelf life. 

I just replaced my small dehydrator with a Presto electric dehydrator to replace my smaller dehydrator (I burned the motor out). This will be used in the garage to dehydrate the very smelly stuff like garlic, onions, etc. The scent of certain items are very overpowering for my nose. 

In the end if the power does go out, I will simple use the trays outside on sunny days to dehydrate my foods. Until then I have two excellent tools to help me store up for in the present.

To answer the question "little or big?" I think that depends on how much you plan to dehydrate for storage. Maybe like me you will wind up with both.

   

I participate in the Amazon Associate program, where I receive a small % commission for linking products that I recommend. I only recommend products I personally used and like. Your support is very appreciated, anything you choose to purchase through my link, is helping me to be able to share more things that I do with you. Perky Gramma Teaches Amazon link.