We kicked off the 'Kitchen Cosmetics' series with Coconut Oil

Another staple we use on the homestead is apple cider vinegar.  We feel that the best brand is Bragg's because it contains the "mother" which is full of enzymes and minerals.

Our dad drank this  in Florida when he used  to mow lawns.  It was  better than Gatorade and gave him more energy and restored the vitamins and minerals lost through perspiration The formula he used was: Add 1/4 cup of ACV to a quart of water. As a coffee substitute in the winter you can add  2 TBLS of ACV in a mug filled with hot water 3x day to feel energized but not adrenalized.  We suggest tjat upi start off with  smaller dosages of ACV to see how well your body tolerates it internally.   If you suffer from acid reflux from not being able to produce enough acid, it will relieve your problem.  However, if you produce too much acid, it will only make things worse.

It works great for dark hair to remove shampoo residue from hair after washing. If you drink it dailly or wash your face with it, you will develop a rosy glow to your complexion.  Usually pale skin is a sign that your body is in desperate need of acid and acv restores  the natural acid mantle of the skin.  ACV is truly a wonder food as it is beneficial for so many ailments.

For reviews from regular folks like yourself, go to iherb.com and type in apple cider vinegar  in search.  You will find a lot of personal reviews to see how it has helped others.  While you are there, don't forget to use our code to get a $5 discount off your first order at iherb.

Setting the table

Lemon slices

Fruit n flowers centerpiece

Hand cranking cream

Tea sandwiches

Tea isn't just for Girls! Guys (with cowboy hats and plaids) are invited too!

Lemon scones

Cake and "Bollywood" movie!

With the cost of gas and food going up, it’s  becoming more economical to throw your own parties at home.

Once again, it was time for "Laura Ingalls to meet Jane Austen" and pull out our grandma’s tea set and china.  (Jordanne’s motto is “What good are pretty things if they collect dust?”)

This time the tea party came with twist.  We topped off the afternoon of English tea with a lighthearted Bollywood movie/musical which everyone enjoyed.

With much of the food coming from the garden and pantry and nothing spent on decorations, we turned our dining room  into a tea parlor.   (It is still a bit cool/dreary for an outside tea party.)   The total cost amounted to what it would cost for one person to go out to a local tea room for tea.  Talk about savings!

Living simply doesn’t mean you have to be austere; actually, you gain imagination, learn a new skill(s) and save money, too! Too often these days, we let even party planning get into the hands of “experts.” There’s a concept in our society that we have to spend more to have more fun. Or that we have to “go out” to find excitement when you can bring all that home.

Tips From Our Tea Party

Thrifty: make do, use what you have or do without - decorations cost us NILL, nothing!
Upcycle: give something a second life , wrap presents in something old like fabric, skirt, pillow cases.
Garden & Citystock: grow your groceries, especially herbs!  Keep a small flock of chickens for eggs.
Kitchen: cook, bake from scratch, take a step further and learn to preserve the harvest.
Crafty & Handy: re-skill, do things yourself.  Invite friends over to help!
Home: bring the revolution home and have fun...at home

On the menu at this Tea Party were  sandwiches, homemade Meyer lemon scones (See Recipe) with home-grown/canned blueberry jam.

Some whoppers!

Before I write about food, our family wants to extended our concern and prayers to the folks in Christchurch, NZ who experienced another big and deadly earthquake.   We have a strong kinship with the land and it's people and hope that all our friends and "family" are safe.  Our prayers are with you all.

Meyer lemons & snow peas

Lemon pea pasta

One of my favorite early spring dishes is this quick and easy "Lemon Pea Pasta."  It combines the sweetness of the peas and zesty tang of lemons.

The recipe is simple, I don't really measure so here's what you use (adjust according to taste)

2 Meyer Lemons (peel and juice)   I like my pasta "lemony!"

4 tablespoon butter

2 cloves of garlic

4 cups of sliced fresh, raw snow peas

Some fresh herbs if you have it ( chives, parsley, fennel)

Salt & pepper

2 cups Parmesan cheese

While the pasta is boiling away,  melt butter add chopped garlic, herbs and the grated peel and juice of two large lemons in a large skillet.    Drain the pasta, reserving a bit of liquid.  Pour the pasta  into the skillet with the butter mixture, add a few tablespoons of pasta water if needed.   Add the sliced, raw peas (I never pre cook the veggies if I don't have to - healthier and tastier that way!) Toss the peas and pasta in the skillet mixing well.   Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  Right before serving add parmesan cheese, toss well.

Enjoy!

We have a new low tech kitchen gadget at our unplugged kitchen here on the urban homestead - a Mexican mortar & pestle or 'Molcajete y Tejolote'

[mohl-kah-HEH-teh ee teh-hoh-LOH-teh]
The Mexican term for "MORTAR AND PESTLE" — molcajete being the mortar, tejolote the pestle. The black, rough texture of both pieces is a result of the fact that they're made of basalt (volcanic rock). They are used in the traditional manner for grinding spices and herbs and other mixtures. . (Definition by epicurious.com)

According to an article by by Diego Delgado, "The word molcajete (mortar) derives from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs: “molli” (seasoning or sauce) and “caxitl” (bowl). The word tejolote (pestle) also derives from Nahuatl: “tetl” (stone) and “xolotl” (doll)."
Foods traditionally prepared in the molcajete include salsas and moles (mohl-LAY), as well as guacamole. It is also used for grinding chilies, garlic or other herbs and spices for food preparation.

...The grinding process releases the oils, and flavor essence of the substance. When done carefully you will produce a product that is more flavorful than a product prepared in a food processor. Depending on the food you are preparing the process can be quite laborious. If you enjoy cooking, using a mortar and pestle will simply be part of your "craft" of food preparation. If you just need to "get the job done", reach for the food processor.

Via Gourmet Sleuth

We kids, whose genetic make up is 1/4 Spanish, 1/4 French & 1/2 Belgian, like sweet AND spicy foods - the hotter the better!

Bring on the avocados, chilies and pass the chips, please.

What's an 'Unplugged Kitchen?'

I get that question a lot and tell folks that our kitchen has only one plug in appliance and that is our energy efficient refrigerator.      No microwave or  toaster.   What blender, food processor we do have are  all hand powered/cranked.   (Check out our Urban Homestead Supply store for human powered appliances)

If you think about what your Grandma's kitchen looked like and compare it with what modern kitchens look like today,  ask yourself : "Do I really need all these gadgets?"  Granted, some are useful, but others are not.

For me, I lean towards the latter.  Sure, that choice has changed the way I cook/bake.  It challenges me to think, when reading a recipe that calls for some gadget that I don't have, and to ask myself "how did they do this in the old days?"

I believe, with all the electric gadgets that are in the kitchen these days, that we've lost our connection with the food.   The rhythmic kneading of the bread can be done by machine now.   Or chopping vegetables-- just pop them into a food processor and press the button.

The homey, traditional kitchen sounds have been replaced by high pitched motors.

I actually like a quiet kitchen and get annoyed with anything motorized.   Sure, it may take me a bit longer than a machine, but I have connected and touched the food.   It was planted with human hand and prepared by human hands.

We have to re-humanize our food system and here on the urban homestead we've taken steps backwards to make progress.

Here's  a challenge for you: go through all your kitchen drawers, cabinets and get your hand tools out.    Use a knife instead of a food processor or a rotary beater instead of an electric mixer.      Try to make one meal a week without using electric gadgets.   A pie crust or bread without mixing the dough in a food processor - feel the dough!

Get your senses back into the cooking/baking!

Note: you might have noticed at the right hand bar that we've added two affiliates:  Mountain Rose Herbs and iHerb  (use referral code JUL 275 to redeem $5.00 off your order)  If you need to stock up on herbs for your homestead consider these two sources, thank you.

Living in Southern California, there's not really much down time for us homesteaders-farmers.  Only one more month left in 2010 and already projects and plans are being hatched for 2011.

Jordanne & I are working on the middle bed room/turned craft room.  Trying to get a grip on organization and such (folks are always giving us fabrics and yarn... and books!).  Like to turn it into a music room too.

The other day we had another evening of music.  Sure wish I had taken pictures!  It was quite the quaint scene with two girls in the kitchen strumming away on banjo and guitar while apple butter bubbled on the stove top.  Oh, and not to mention chocolate cake!

Now that the whole backyard garden is protected in floating row cover the farming chores turn to pruning the fruit trees, finding places for some "homeless" edibles along with cleaning up dead underbrush and fallen leaves (turning that into next year's soil)

In the barnyard, we are looking forward to adding to our chicken flock next spring.   The hardest part is which heritage breed to choose.    Chooks are like cookies, you can't have just ONE!  We LIKE them all but, alas, can't happen.  Should we get more Belgian banties or cochins?  What about some Barred Rocks, Wyndottes or Orphington.   Jeez, we are going to have to pick - eeny, meeny, miney moe!

The feral bee hive we saved from the Arroyo Seco is thriving and feasting on the flowering perennial basil, avocado and citrus.

We are pretty excited about the harvest totals this year.   Goes to show you that small spaces can be productive (and beautiful) if you grow the soil first!  I'm even amazed that after 10 years of intensive growing efforts continues to put out such high yields.  Sorta reminds me of the widow and the olive oil Bible story.    The earth gives back blessings with faith and hard work.

Here's another round of snapshots from the urban homestead - enjoy!

Kumquats, can't wait till these babies ripen!

Micro greens

Broccoli

Watercress growing in hanging basket aquaponics system

Snow peas and blue skies

Estella who acts more like Charlie Chaplin

Can we join you up there?

Sleeping duck

Enjoying the morning sunshine

Rinsing clothes

Hung out to dry (yep, those be bloomers)

Nothing like the smell of sun dried laundry on a winter's day

The greyish clouds are moving out, leaving brilliant blue skies and nippish temps - just in time for fall!

Cassidy drinks in the sun's ray

Through the kitchen window, glimpses of sunlight

Soft morning glow

Time to get to work for us humans while the goats look on in approval

Bees get to work too!

Ahhhhh SUN! Another kitty worshiping the sun

Happy Fall ya'll!

Can't believe last week went by and I only took one, ONLY one, photo of our meals last week.  Sorry to disappoint but I have a list of excuses people! Guess that shows you how busy I am. Going to have to tie that camera around my neck. I'll try to do better next time.

On the food front...

The figs are finally ripe so we devoured our first fig quesadilla of the season. I know, sounds odd but it's soooo delicious!

Harvested another 50 lbs of honey yesterday bringing the harvest honey totals to 130+lbs. There's probably one more honey harvest and then we'll leave the rest to the bees for winter.

In the kitchen, we are putting up peaches, apples, tomatoes, grapes, beans, carrots and more!

In the garden, time to get a jump on fall plantings.  Not too early to kick start the fall garden.

On the web front, Jordanne is working on a program that will allow us to publish our recipes online so stay tuned for that. Not only that but she is working on some other stuff, but for now that's under wraps!

Busy, busy, busy!

Summer's nearly over... my how time flies!

Finally, figs!

Fig quesadillas

WEEK OF EATS AT THE URBAN HOMESTEAD

All food items are homemade/homegrown/home preserved unless otherwise specified

Our Food Pledge

If not from backyard, then locally produced
If not locally produced, then organic.
If not organic, then family farm.
If not family farm, then local business.
If not local business, then fair trade.

SATURDAY

Breakfast - blueberry pancakes with strawberries
Dinner - flour tortillas with spanish rice, topped with sauteed green peppers and red onions

SUNDAY

Breakfast - french toast and honey
Lunch - Saturday dinner leftovers
Dinner - cream of tomato soup with tabbouleh

MONDAY

Breakfast - french toast and honey
Lunch - veggie patty with cucumber and tomato, basil salad
Dinner - leftover tomato soup with homemade bread

TUESDAY

Breakfast - apple crumble
Lunch - veggie patty sandwich with cucumber, tomato and basil salad
Dinner - summer veggie pasta - pickled peppers, tomatoes, peppers and basil

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast -apple crumble
Lunch - veggie patty with rice and cucumber, tomato and basil salad
Dinner - fig quesadillas

THURSDAY

Breakfast - french toast and honey
Lunch - summer veggie pasta - pickled peppers, tomatoes, peppers and basil
Dinner - herb pizza dough topped with tomatoes, basil, peppers, garlic with carrot, raisin citrus dressing salad

FRIDAY

Breakfast - french toast and honey
Lunch - tomato, avocado sandwich with cucumber, tomato and basil salad
Dinner - no knead bread, fresh tomato sauce (tomatoes, onions, peppers, parsley, basil) over spaghetti with salad

What summer time treats/feasts are you enjoying in your neck of the woods? Are you "Eating Closer to Home?"  Then join our food challenge to reduce your FOOD PRINT

Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic.  ~Rosalind Russell

For centuries, every culture has been on a question for beauty; but, these days, our obsession with beauty is proving  to be toxic and deadly.  Every year, countless women get sick or die because of what they are putting on their skin and hair.   Looking good shouldn't cost you your life or your wallet.

Here on at the urban homestead our beauty products are pretty basic. A few years ago, we starting looking to cultures who have been known for their gorgeous hair and luxurious skin. We figured if these women, who didn't (or still don't) have malls cluttered with  aisles of every conceivable cosmetic product on the planet, can still be stunning then that's something we should look into. For me, though I've always been into making herbal beauty concoctions since I was a teenager, a few years ago I started to look into the Indian culture and the herbs and treatments they use. That path has led me to discover new and wonderful herbs and beauty solutions. My family and I had the opportunity to visit India last fall, with our little film 'Homegrown Revolution'. We saw women who had so "little" compared to the Western world but their hair, teeth and skin were stunning.  That  really ingrained the message that less is more. In fact, we don't really need all that stuff that "They" would have us believe.  You can make wonderful products with simple ingredients that are commonly found in your kitchen cabinet or perhaps growing in your backyard.

Beauty treatments and solutions can be found not in fancy packing with a slew of ingredients, some which you can’t even pronounce. Unfortunately, many conventional beauty products are loaded with chemicals and are usually petroleum based while the "good stuff" is sometimes pricey.

So what's a girl to do?  Know the dangers - check out this video.  It's not just knowing where you food comes from but where all the other products that we use on daily basis too.

I think that this video is a perfect intro to our upcoming "Kitchen Cosmetics" series, stay tuned!

What beauty products are you using or making, care to share?

:: Resources ::

Hidden Dangers Lurking in Your Cosmetics and Personal Care Products

Dying to Look Good: The Dangers of Cosmetics

If Looks Could Kill

It's spring!  Well actually, this week it feels more like SUMMER!

And that means lots of fun culinary delights coming out of the urban homestead's kitchen.

Combining edible flower, herbs and butter for a delightful treat to slather on biscuits or smother veggies.

Here's a recipe for HERB BUTTER

Fresh From Our Garden to Your Table

Our front porch farm stand is expanding!

Don't forget, if you are local and would like to support local foods and farm, check out our homegrown business at DerVaes Gardens - featuring bounty from the urban homestead since 1995.

We send out a weekly email list on surplus availability.   Get a chance to know your food and farmer right here in the city.

Growing Closer to Home

Oh, and here's what one of the chefs had to say about the upcoming Food Network episode:

"On this week's episode Chef Brian & I got a much needed lesson in how to make good with what we got. We were invited to prepare a meal using ONLY ingredients found on the Dervaes family's Urban Homestead for potential buyers of their products from Whole Foods & Bristol Farms.

I can't use any of my cooking tools (ie NO L...e Creuset even... yikes) & we're "off the grid" tune in this Friday 5/7/10 at 10 pm EST to see how we did.

It was seriously one of the hardest yet most rewarding experience of my life! can't WAIT to share this episode with you all & I hope the message resonates with the rest of America & we can take off from this INCREDIBLE family's lead."

Recipe will make eight 16oz bottles

INGREDIENTS:

3 ounces of fresh ginger root (You can add more if you like strong ginger taste.)
6 tablespoons of citrus juice (Lemon &/ or orange)
3/4 cup of sugar (Natural cane is best. Light brown sugar gives an extra richness to the flavor.)
4 1/2 quarts of water
Some yeast from the supermarket. Bread yeast will work, but wine yeast is best.
To create extra zing, simmer the ginger mixture with 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom, or a few cloves. A 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cooking will give a subtle earthy flavor. If you really want a bite to your pop - or for a cold / fever remedy, add a teeny pinch of cayenne pepper.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Grate ginger root and put in a large, heavy bottomed soup pot.
2. Simmer the ginger, juices, and sugar in 1 1/2 quarts of water for 30 minutes to an hour. The longer it simmers, the stronger the brew will be. You can add a pinch of dry ginger spice for extra "bite."
3. Remove from heat and strain. Make sure you squeeze out all the juice. The leftover ginger root pulp can be composted.
4. Mix the brew with the other 3 quarts of water.
5. Let it all cool till lukewarm.
6. Ladle out a bit of the lukewarm mixture into a jar and stir in 1/8 teaspoon of yeast.
7. After 15 minutes the mixture will foam. Add the yeast solution back to your lukewarm brew.
8. Let the brew sit for 10 minutes

Now it's time to bottle up your soda! We use glass carboys and bailtop beer bottles (available at any homebrew store). But you have to have experience and be extra careful with these because the buildup of carbonation gasses can explode glass, and all jars have to be opened carefully. Glass bottles should be stored in a safe, out of the way place just in case of explosion. They should also be put in the fridge after one day to stop the carbonation (and stop the risk of exploding glass).
We recommend that you use empty plastic soda bottles instead. Make sure you CLEAN your bottles with a bleach solution. Make a mixture of 2 tablespoons of bleach in a gallon of water and clean your bottles with this -- inside and out. Make sure to use a bottle brush to get in all the "corners" and then rinse thoroughly with hot water and air dry.

When the bottles are ready, pour in the brew and twist the caps on tight. Don't fill bottles to the top. Leave about 3-4 inches of headspace. Squeeze the bottles and notice how they give. Leave on the kitchen counter and, every few hours, squeeze them to monitor the buildup of the carbonation. They will get harder to squeeze as the carbonation builds up. When they no longer give any more and seem ready to explode, put them in the fridge. This will stop the carbonation.

Drink cold and enjoy! Homemade ginger ale is best used up within a week or two of brewing.

FOR A SIMPLER, QUICKER HOME MADE GINGER ALE:
If the whole carbonation thing is too complicated or you don't want to wait very long, then just use carbonated water, like club soda or seltzer water, in place of that extra 3 quarts of water.