Category Archives: Food Storage

Dehydrated Kale – Super Food Storage

Dehydrating, Food Storage, Square Foot Gardening (SFG)

This year’s garden has produced an abundance of kale for us.  The deer have been eating the sweeter things in our Square Foot Garden, like the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.  Because the deer have started to nibble on the kale now as well, I decided it was time to harvest about a half a paper grocery bag full of kale and prepare it for long term storage.

The first step I took was to blanch the kale leaves for less than 10 seconds in boiling water.  Patting the wet leaves with a towel will remove much of the moisture and make the dehydration process go quicker.  Set at 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the kale was left overnight for dehydrating.  We set the temperature this low in order to preserve as many of the nutrients as possible.

Once dried, the kale is packaged gently into this half gallon mason jar and then we use the mason jar attachment to the Food Saver to remove the air from the jar.  This will increase the storage life of the kale to be used in soups during the winter months.

dehydrated kaleNehemiah 13:13
In charge of the storehouses I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and in addition to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered reliable, and it was their task to distribute to their kinsmen.

Dilly! Dilly!

Dehydrating, Food Storage, Indoor Vegetables

An amazing compliment to our farm fresh eggs is our homegrown dill.  It’s one of my favorite herbs we grow and goes so well with fish and eggs.  What we see here is the product of growing densely seeded dill seeds in two different one gallon grow bags over the winter, in our basement, under a 27 watt LED panel.  Cut and hung upside down in our basement, this dill is going to be harvested and stored in empty glass herb containers when it is all ready.  So easy and delicious!!

dill drying

Genesis 1:29

Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

Future Lettuce Heads in an Envelope

Food Storage, Indoor Vegetables

And now there will be many more.  Last November we shared with you the beginnings of the seed production from an uneaten Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce plant we grew under LED lights in the basement.

Eat Some Now, Save Some For Later

Last weekend we took to harvesting the small lettuce seeds for future production.  Just a few lettuce plants taken completely through their life-cycle produced enough seed for us to enjoy literally hundreds of head of lettuce over the next couple of years.  The Lord provides!!

black seeded simpson lettuce seeds

2 Corinthians 9:6 ESV

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Spicy Cheesy Sunflower Shoot Snack

Dehydrating, Food Storage, Indoor Vegetables, Microgreens

One and a half pounds of freshly harvested sunflower shoots, covered in liquid aminos, nutritional yeast, olive oil and just a hint of cayenne pepper made for a delicious snack after hours of dehydrating at 105 degrees F.  It filled the house with an odd asian food smell that wasn’t entirely unwelcoming.

Any guess as to how much 1.5 pounds of sunflower microgreens would reduce to in a dehydrator?  5.8 ounces.  That’s a pretty good amount of water weight that was taken out of the product during the process.  It wasn’t quite as crispy as I would have thought. Maybe I used a little too much oil; maybe I hadn’t dehydrated quite as long as I should have.  Regardless this is still quite the tasty snack, and the aftertaste is better than the initial bite.

spicy cheesy sunflower snacks

Click: Article on Making the Sunflower Snacks

cheesy spicy sunflower microgreens

Psalm 107:9 
For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

2.5 Year Old Banana Chips Still Taste Good

Dehydrating, Food Storage

It was March 2015.  The girls and I took advantage of a sale on bananas and made a mess of banana chips in our dehydrator.  Not sure how this happened, but we failed to eat a quart mason jar full of these goodies which were on the shelf, vacuum sealed, for two and a half years!!

They still taste very good, and we ate these a couple of days ago, so far as look, smell, taste and giving it a few days, I’m confident to say that these were perfectly fine after all this time.

banana chips two years old

Matthew 4:4 ESV 

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Thyme to Dry

Dehydrating, Food Storage, Indoor Vegetables

The indoor thyme plant has overgrown slightly, so it is time for a trim.  Below you see the cut thyme resting in my prized Stonehenge souvenir cup air drying for future consumption.  I just love the way it makes my fingers smell when I handle fresh thyme.  Once the leaves are dry they will be easier to remove from the stems, and then the dried thyme leaves will be stored in a reused herb shaker container.  With indoor growing … you can always find the thyme.

Air Drying Thyme

Genesis 9:3 – Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

Making Homemade Dandelion Wine (With Taste Test!)

Food Storage

Next spring when your lawn in flush with yellow dandelions, consider using this wild edible plant as a food source. Seriously! The flower heads taste nice and look pretty in a salad. I’ll share how we make dandelion coffee with you sometime on this channel (so don’t forget to Subscribe). But for this project, we will show you from start to finish how to make your own homemade dandelion wine with just a few ingredients. Stay tuned to the end to see several friends and family taste this wild concoction.

If you’d like the recipe we used, you can find it here:  How to make Dandelion Wine

Proverbs 24:30-34
I passed by the field of the sluggard And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense, And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was broken down. When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction. “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,” Then your poverty will come as a robber And your want like an armed man.

Making Fruit Leather in HumblevilleUSA with Apple Sauce

Dehydrating, Food Storage

Welcome to Humbleville, USA!! Here is a tasty and easy treat to make with the little ones … homemade fruit leather!! Apple sauce with no sugar added is a great base to make not only apple flavor fruit leather, but you can also puree in other fruits to add variety to your dehydrated fruit leather choices (strawberry is Clare’s second favorite flavor).

If you like this video, you may also enjoy our other dehydrator and food storage videos. Thank you and God Bless !!

Dandelion Wine – First Ever Batch

Food Storage

The girls helped me harvest enough dandelion flowers to put together our first ever batch of dandelion wine. It should be ready in a few weeks.  Expect a video from us at that time.  Here is the recipe we used:

Ingredients 

1 quart yellow dandelion blossoms, well rinsed
1 gallon boiling water
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
8 cups white sugar
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon slice

Directions

1.Place dandelion blossoms in the boiling water, and allow to stand for 4 minutes. Remove and discard the blossoms, and let the water cool to 90 degrees F (32 degrees C).

2.Stir in the yeast, sugar, orange slices, and a lemon slice; pour into a plastic fermentor, and attach a fermentation lock. Let the wine ferment in a cool area until the bubbles stop, 10 to 14 days. Siphon the wine off of the lees, and strain through cheesecloth before bottling in quart-sized, sterilized canning jars with lids and rings. Age the wine at least a week for best flavor.

Dandelion Wine

1 Timothy 5:23
New International Version
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

CANNING: Meat Storage — Taste Test — 2 Month Old Chicken Legs

Food Storage

Welcome back to Humbleville! There are a bunch of good Youtube videos on how to can meat, so I won’t get too much into that today. But what I have found lacking are taste testing videos. The ones I have seen are taste tests right after the canning process. But what does it taste like after it has been sitting on the shelf at room temperature for a period of time? Well, it just so happens that I have canned chicken legs and thighs two months ago, and I’m in the mood for some tasty chicken. Please join me on this Humbleville adventure as we taste test two month old chicken. Please share this video with your friends, and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the Humbleville channel to see if I survive the taste test long enough to produce additional videos. God Bless!

UPDATE:  We broke open a jar of chicken thighs at the one year mark to make chicken salad sandwiches and they were delicious!!  Our Chloe tasted the warmed chicken before I mixed it up and she asked “Daddy, did you put butter on this chicken?  It’s awesome!”.  A little mayo, some chopped celery, a few dollops of pickle relish and some shredded mild cheddar served on lightly toasted bread made a great lunch.  I wish I had my garden fresh lettuce to serve on it as well.

Those who work their land will have abundant food but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.
– Proverbs 28:19