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The Urban Homesteaders

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Urban Homestead Facts

LOCATION
Pasadena, CA
(Northwest Pasadena, one mile from downtown Pasadena)

PROPERTY SIZE
1/5 acre (66' x 132' / 8,712 sq.ft.)

GARDEN SIZE
~ 1/10 acre (3,900 sq.ft. / ~ 66' x 66')

GARDEN DIVERSITY
Over 350 different vegetables, herbs, fruits, berries

FOOD PRODUCED
6,000 lbs annually
challenging for 10,000 lbs in 2008 (read more)

URBAN HOMESTEAD SUPPORTS
4 full-time adults, volunteers, and many clients

ENERGY USAGE
6.5 kwh day (and going down!)

SOLAR POWER PRODUCED
9000 kwh ( as of 10/20/08)

GALLONS OF BIODIESEL MADE (since 2003)
1,500 gallons (as of 2/12/08)

"EARTH IMPACT FOOTPRINT"
5.2 acres per person

Tally Ho 2008

PRODUCE
4,340 lbs (9/31/08)

EGGS
Chicken 921 & Duck 1028 (10/22/08)

HONEY
25 lbs (10/20/08)

Steps Taken

Everyday Steps

Growing 99 % of produce
- 6,000lbs on 1/10 acre

Food Preservation/Storage:
- canning
- drying
- freezing

In the Kitchen:
- baking/cooking from scratch
- yogurtmaking
- breadmaking
- cheesemaking
- sprouting
- cast iron cookware
- no dishwasher or microwave

Food Choices:
- buying in bulk
- organic
- local
- eating seasonaly
- reducing "food miles"
- fair trade
- vegetarian(over 17 years)

Raising Small Farmstock:
- chickens (eggs/manure)
- ducks (eggs/manure)
- dwarf rabbits (manure)
- dwarf/pygmy goats (milk/manure)

Composting Methods:
- making/using EM Bokashi
- vermicomposting
- composting food, garden and green waste

Fuel:
- homebrewing biodiesel
- running diesel car on biodiesel(~4,000 miles a yr)

Energy Conservation:
- "powering down"
- cut daily energy use in 1/2 12 kwh to 6 kwh a day
- 12 solar panels
- "green" power
- rechargeable batteries
- line drying clothes

Energy Efficient Appliances:
- washing machine
- refridgerator
- water heater(gas)

Energy Efficient Electronics:
- computer/printer/copier
- TV(no cable)/VCR/ DVD

Energy Efficient Lighting:
- compact fluorescent bulbs
- olive oil lamps
- oil lamps filled with biodiesel
- homemade soy & beeswax candles
- daylighting
- solar tube

Non-electrical Appliances / Hand-powered
- blender
- toaster
- grinder(s)
- popcorn popper
- solar oven(s)
- hand washer/wringer
- pedal powered grain mill
- straight razor
- handcranked radio
- mortar & pestle

Natural beauty/no makeup
Homemade Non-toxic Beauty Care Products
- toothpaste
- deoderant

Biodegrable/Non-toxic Cleaning Products:
- vinegar
- baking soda
- lemon juice

Natural Health Practices:
- homeopathy
- herbal remedies
- prevention

Water Conservation Efforts:
- low flush toilets
- toilet lid sink
- reusing laundry water
- limit toilet flushings
- limit baths/showers - mulching
- handwatering
- clay pot irrigation
- solar outdoor shower
- front load washer
- food not lawns

Hand powered garden tools:
- push mower
- broom, rake
- trowel, shovel
- hand clippers

Self-employed Working at home:
- honey business
- produce/flower business
- craft business

Crafts & Skills:
- winemaking
- survival skills
- edible landscaping
- sewing
- leatherwork
- fiber arts
- animal husbandry
- holistic care
- tinctures
- carpentry
- plumbing
- building
- haircutting
- bicycle repairs
- soapmaking
- candlemaking
- herbs
- urban farming
- website design
- photography
- self publishing
- video & graphics

Living Simply:
- making use or do without
- bartering
- monthly shopping trips
- reduce, reuse & recycle
- second hand clothes
- salvage/thrift store
- consume less

Passive Cooling:
- no AC
- wood floors
- blinds
- windows
- screen doors
- edible forest
- "living" screens
- solar attic fan

Heating:
- no central heat
- woodstove that uses scrap wood
- dress in layers

Walking the old paths:
- tithing
- day of rest
- stewardship

Saving seeds
Unschooling
Beekeeping

DIY Projects:
- solar oven
- cob oven
- solar outdoor shower
- depaved driveway/patio
- installed solar panels
- roofing
- sheds, etc
- animal enclosure, etc
- this website
- urban homesteading

Using canvas bags on shopping trips / no plastic

Transportation:
- biodiesel "veggie" vehicle
- 4 "car free" days a week
- walk
- bike
- carpool
- mass transit
- cross country train trips
- 2 airplane trips in 25 years

"Green" Home Upgrades:
- metal roof

Outreach/helping others along the path

CURRENT TRAILS

Growing 10k on 1/10
Rainwater
Waste water recovery

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« FREEDOM IN JEOPARDY | Main | FINALLY! »

SKILLET GRANOLA

December 16, 2008



I’ve had a few inquiries about the stovetop, aka, skillet granola.  It’s a little like eating toasted museli, which is supposedly better for you anyway.   I’m one for not cooking food too much - almost raw if we can. 

With Justin getting a wee bit bored with oatmeal and me with so little time in the morning lately we found this recipe very quick, easy, tasty too. Not that we are dissing oatmeal, we just needed a bit of a change.

Lucky for us we have a few jars of our own honey to sweeten the oats.  I don’t put any nuts like the recipe calls for (trying to save money and also cut down on too many “unnessary” staples)   Dried fruit would be nice, but I canned or froze all ours this year.  Better luck next year.

Like I wrote before we have gone into “Depression Era Mode,” as Farmer D likes to say, here on the urban homestead and trying to reduce our spending and save money.  We are eating very simple and homegrown meals with very few basic staples.

We’ve gone through many a hard times in the course of our self reliant journey.    Of course, there’s is more each of us could do to save money.  Since we have been sorta busy these last few months some basic conservation practices have slipped through the cracks.  I for one am not a viligant as I used to be on a few aspects of my urban homestead life.  There’s always room for improvements and getting back on “the horse” so to speak when in the course of time you have fallen off.

Anyhow, here’s the skillet granola recipe.  Enjoy.

Care to share any of your “falling off the horse” experiences.  Was there things that you used to do in the past but are too busy to do any more.    What are your goals for 2009 (hmmm, good subject for another post)

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9 Responses to “SKILLET GRANOLA”

  1. Charlene Long Says:
    December 17th, 2008 at 4:29 am

    Thanks! I appreciate the recipe. I’ll be trying that one today!

  2. Terry Says:
    December 17th, 2008 at 9:40 am

    This sounds good and easy especially if you don’t want to turn on the oven in the summertime. When you wrote earlier that you were cutting out granola, I felt so bad for you! (I love my granola in the morning!!). I have been playing around with my granola recipe to see how to cut out some ingredients and still have that toasty oats taste I love so well. Here is my recipe. You can leave out all the seeds and nuts, just add a little more oats, and it is just as good. I have also experimented using some peanut butter and that is delicious too!

  3. Matriarchy Says:
    December 17th, 2008 at 1:49 pm

    Thanks! I just inventoried my pantry and I have a lot of oats. I need to get the rest of my family eating them, since they don’t share my love of hot oatmeal. Maybe granola will do the trick. Terry, I printed your recipe, too. I have sunflower seeds stored also.

  4. Melissa Says:
    December 18th, 2008 at 8:38 am

    Thanks for the recipe. :) I really like the simplicity of of it. My family is getting tired of oatmeal too, so they’ll definitely be thanking you also.

    The recipe you posted says to use a non=stick skillet. I see you are using a cast iron one (Great choice I must say) Do you have problems with much sticking this way? I’m not wanting to set off the smoke alarms before breakfast. :P

  5. Susan Says:
    December 18th, 2008 at 11:59 am

    This is great! made some last night and had it for breakfast this morning. For someone who does not have and oven (A kitchen for that matter!) it works great. I added sunflower seeds and cinnamon. Thanks!

  6. Tina Says:
    December 18th, 2008 at 7:24 pm

    Your blog is wonderful. Keep up the good work.

  7. Missy Says:
    December 21st, 2008 at 8:42 pm

    I never thought about making my own granola. Over the last almost year I have been making my own things from scratch. When I want to have granola I get bulk from my favorite, mostly natural grocery store. It is not cheap though.
    I love you site by the way. Very inspiring. Living in an apartment complex as I do, I feel so far away from nature which I prefer. I plan on growing some of my own veggies in pots next season. Hopefully I will get it right this time.

  8. Amy Sirk Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 4:33 pm

    Thanks for the recipe. We are also making it through some tough times. I’ll be making this recipe in the morning, with some substitutions to keep it more local, pecans from my trees and sorghum from a place in KY.
    We keep y’all in our prayers. We’re also going through rough times. I know we’ll come out the other side stronger and more grounded.

  9. URBAN HOMESTEAD’S WEEKLY MEAL WRAP x2 | Little Homestead in the City Says:
    March 7th, 2010 at 6:31 am

    [...] Oh, and for those asking, I posted the recipe to the skillet granola a few years back - here’s the link to the recipe again. [...]

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