Can What You Can

Yesterday, put up some pickled green beans (homegrown), apple (homegrown) butter, strawberry (homegrown) preserve.

Today tackling some plum (local crop swap) preserves and elderberry (homegrown) preserves.

We use a simple, water bath canning method which is simply described here.  Afterwards I use the hot water to wash all the dirty dishes (and there’s certainly a lot after a whole afternoon of canning that’s for sure!)

Preservation central - it’s jammin time. Ya mon.

Canning essentials - lids, funnel, food mill, jar lifter (want yer own?)

Jordanne puts in the spices into the jars of fresh green beans

Hand cranking apple sauce for apple butter.  Thanks to a bumper crop of Anna apples here on the ’stead.

Round and round and round she goes where she stops nobody knows….

Out come the jars from their hot water bath

Jars, jars and more jars of homegrown goodies. Don’t you just love the ‘popping’ sound as the jars cool.  Means a jar well-sealed.

Beans up close and personal - happy pickling!

An afternoon’s worth of work.   Stocking up for fall and winter time.

Another preservation day going on as we speak…

About Path to Freedom

Jules Dervaes is the founder of Path to Freedom, a family-operated, viable urban homestead project established in 2001 to promote a simpler and more fulfilling lifestyle and to sow a “homegrown revolution (TM)” against the corporate powers that control the food supply.

Since the mid-1980s, Mr. Dervaes and his three adult children, Anais, Justin, and Jordanne, have steadily worked at transforming their ordinary city lot in Pasadena into a thriving organic garden that supplies them with food all year round.  These eco-pioneers also run a successful business providing fresh produce to local restaurants.  This helps them fund their purchases of solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, and a biodiesel processor to further decrease their homestead’s reliance on the earth’s non-renewable resources.

Read more at First United Methodist

If you would like PTF to give a presenation at your church, school, club, green or communit events, etc email us at info@pathtofreedom.com

Visit the companion website HomeGrown-film.com

FYI: Our family were just subjects of this film.  We have no idea/ or say when, where this film will be shown or distributed.  All such inquires should be made to the producer at rmcfalls@homegrown-film.com

Or you can find that latest ‘Homegrown’ film news here

This morning Farmer D and I were on a mission -head hunting mission. To kill and destroy all harlequin bug on the premises.  These natsy little buggers have totally decimated our newly planted salad sowing.    Until the shipment of natural organic killer, pyrethrum, arrives it’s hand to hand combat to save our crops.

This afternoon hope to get loads of preserving done.  Incoming apples, strawberry, elderberry, beans.  Out going - butters, jams and marinate.  A PTF friend brought over some delicious plums from her backyard orchard and will be preserving those also.  Thanks L - love to do another ‘Crop Swap’ soon!

Later tonight our monthly co-op pick up at the Rose Bowl parking lot.  Our co-op coordinator is on vacation so she’s asks us to take over the reigns whiles she’s on vacation.

Then, sending out good thoughts and healthful wishes to all our friends who are having health issues and bouts with some sort of nasty stomach virus that’s going around.  Get well soon!

Wow, four entries today!   Enjoy…

Lady Fairlight snatches a tomato.

Oh my, just look at that face!  Guilty with pleasure.  Yum, yum.

Sheesh, Fairlight!  Be a lady and close your mouth when you chew.

Ms Dora (bantam gold cochin) is the broodiest of the lot (of 8 chickens) While the others, will go broody for a couple days, she likes to drag it out for longer - too long. (she’s both sweet and ditsy just like her namesake)

Rumor has it that stubborn broodies sometimes are destined for the pot; however, she knows that she’s in no danger at this urban homestead since she’s aware that her handlers have long ago given up eating meat.  Lucky girl.

Hey missy, have your heard what happens to hens who have broody issues?

Dora “Talk to my fluffy butt cuz I ain’t listening!”  Hey, but I like broody butts!  Dora “Besides,  broody hens make good mommies.”  She’s right.   Dora would make a great mommy and she has a cute butt to boot.

In the jungle, the mighty jungle Farmer D & J pick at night (pretty soon we are going to need those machetes!)

Pole bean vines are just loaded!

Filling the wire basket

Those are some mighty long pole beans - gorgeous!  Viva la homegrown revolution.

For some reason this week, Lucie Goosey, has boycotted using the chicken nest that all her fellow “inmates” use.  While other are content to use their nest, Lucie thinks she’s somesort of Steve McQueen in her escape efforts.

Here’s the escapee in the animal enclosure prior to her “great escape”

If I could read a chicken’s mind, what is going through that little brain of hers?

Checking out the bars of her “cell”  Yep, I can get through these “easy peasey”

Hey lady, this is supposed to be an escape and your aren’t supposed to be watching me - so if you don’t mind…

I oblige her and leave the animal enclosure for a few minutes.  Come back and find Lucie Goosey has

escaped and laying in the pot right outside the enclosure. Lucie sits there for a couple minutes, lays her egg and then goes back and joins her fellow “prisoners.”

It’s been another busy week here on the ’stead.  Certainly not a dull moment that’s for sure.  Something always going on!

Last week inspired by catching a brief clip of Bittman’s cooking show on our local PBS station made some tasty ‘leftover rice’ dishes with solar cooked rice.

And just incase you are wondering…  No, we aren’t tired of green beans and cucumbers just yet! After eating seasonally from the garden over a decade one just learns to appreciate what one has growing.  My cooking methods/motto is to keep things simple and our meals reflect the simple, yet flavorful seasonal dishes we enjoy.  Probably if I had more time, I could be a bit more creative with expanding the menu selection, but so far nobody’s complained.

Since it seems we are about a month behind schedule (thanks to the weird weather) the onslaught of veggies is still to come and I want to whip up some tasty “cold” summer soups.

Once again there will be lots of reference to ‘homegrown’ in this weekly meal wrap up.  Last week seems one reader had issues with all the “homegrown references,” so I will just use an abbreviation ‘HG’ instead.

HG = Homegrown

CG = California grown

O = Organic

SATURDAY

Breakfast - homemade, HG blueberry pancakes (made with HG eggs) and homemade, HG strawberry sauce
Dinner -homemade w.w. flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (HG green onions, peppers, cilantro) topped with HG peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and O cheese

SUNDAY

Breakfast - homemade granola and HG fruit
Lunch - leftovers from Saturday dinner
Dinner -sun cooked CG O rice with HG zucchini, peppers with HC lemon thyme butter and HG cucumber salad

MONDAY

Breakfast - homemade granola and HG fruit
Lunch - leftover sun cooked rice HG vegetable (peppers, squash) patty with HG green beans
Dinner - HG egg omelet with HG vegetables - green onions, celery, peppers and tomatoes with O raw cheese with sprouted O bread

TUESDAY

Breakfast - homemade granola and HG fruit
Lunch - leftover sun cooked rice HG vegetable (peppers, squash) patty, O raw cheese with HG green beans
Dinner - HG roasted eggplant and HG tomato sandwich with HG cucumber salad

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast - homemade granola and homegrown fruit
Lunch - O CA grown rice pilaf with HG green beans and homegrown greens with HG cucumber salad
Dinner - HG roasted eggplant and HG tomato sandwich with HG cucumber salad

THURSDAY (filming)

Breakfast - homemade granola and HG fruit
Lunch -
Dinner -

FRIDAY

Breakfast - homemade granola and HG fruit
Lunch - homemade pizza crust (made with HG herbs) topped with HG peppers, roasted eggplant, green onions, basil and tomatoes with HG cucumber salad
Dinner - O whole wheat pasta with homemade tomato sauce with HG tomatoes, peppers & herbs with HG beans, homemade no knead bread and HG/homemade wine

Thanks to SoCalDan (fellow Freedom Gardener) for a few of the photos posted below (and for bringing some very beautiful homegrown produce from your garden to share!)

Also we appreciate the wonderful and talented musicians who provided us once again with great music.

Another great and enjoyable evening everyone.

Fellowshippin’ on the ’stead. Photo courtesy SoCalDan

All eyes and ears!  Everyone listens to oldies but goodies renditions.

David (harmonica)  Jordanne (guitar) and Sascha (guitar) Photo courtesy SoCalDan

Jammin’ - CCR’s FORTUNATE SON