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Food For Life Garden Update!

Inspiration “The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” Laura Ingalls Wilder

As spring progresses and is on it's last stretch before passing the baton on to summer, we are starting to get some pretty warm days here in Missouri. There are still a few cooler days and nights, but it's been plenty warm for planting most everything outside. There is so much to do this time of year as I'm sure you can relate! Here is what I've got going on with some tips for you!

Breeding Chicks: I had bought American Bresse chickens a few years ago to breed and grow for meat and eggs. The roosters make the most incredible roast chicken that you've ever had in your life. It's unlike any other chicken meat that I've ever had. Marbled meat and huge flavor make this chicken stand out far above the rest.

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I finally have my flock separated, so I can breed these American Bresse chickens and I've got my incubator set up to hopefully increase my flock and raise a few meat birds for the freezer. I bought this Harris model many years ago and never got to use it because of moving. But it's running just fine! I also added a few of my Buff Orpington eggs since my wonderful Buffs are getting older and I like to add a few new chicks every year or two. Stay tuned to find out how this experiment goes. It's my first time doing this. In the past, I always had broody hens, but the breeders tend to breed broodiness out of the chickens so if your hens won't go broody, your other option is to do the job with an electric incubator. I've read mixed reviews about this one, but it's fairly inexpensive, and I'll let you know what I think about it after I hopefully get some baby chicks.

Cheese Making: Spring rains brought lush green pastures, that my goats are happily mowing for me. This means lots of fresh milk and I'm back to cheese making. Check out my new cheese posts and learn to make some easy German soft cream cheese as well as an incredibly tasty dessert. Scroll down for more information! And keep an eye out for more awesome cheese recipes coming soon!

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And since the hot weather is fast approaching, I've posted instructions for making your own naturally carbonated fizzy lemonade, a probiotic home brewed version that has a ton of health benefits and is super refreshing on hot days. Read more below!

In the garden: Check on your fall planted onion or shallot sets. Depending on the weather, when you planted onions or shallots from sets, they may be bolting. I normally plant them from seeds, which makes them far less likely to bolt. But I did plant a few shallot sets last fall and they are bolting. If you're interested in growing onions, read all about onion varieties and how to grow onions from seeds (It's too late this year for starting bulb onions, but you can still get green onions started, and save this information for next spring!).

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Here is what to do with bolted onions: The bulbs are done growing, so you can take the shallots out of the ground. they need to be used up pretty quick since they won't store well. You can use both, bulbs and greens. Chop and dry them, freeze them, or ferment them. Fermented onions have great health benefit and they taste amazing. They will store for a year in your cellar or refrigerator and they are so easy to make and ready to use whenever you want some onions. I like to eat them right out of the jar, but they are also great for sandwiches and more. I cut the flower stalks for pesto and am planning to process the rest soon.

Garlic scapes: The flowering stalks that appear when you plant hardneck garlic, need to be cut off so the energy of the plant does not go into seeds, but into growing bigger bulbs that you can store to eat and replant. Look over your garlic and when you see the seed stalks emerge from the center, wait until they just start to curl, then cut them off and you'll have a tasty delicacy for your kitchen. Read more about growing garlic and be prepared to plant your own this fall.

Garlic scapes are incredibly tasty fried in butter, like asparagus. They can offer an attractive display as edible decoration. You can use them raw in salads and on foods the way you would chives or green onions. They are awesome in stir fries, egg dishes and mixed into herb cheeses. They have a mild garlic flavor, are a bit crunchy, and are easy to freeze and ferment as well in a brine fermentation. I'll be posting that recipe in a few days, so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, follow the master recipe for the brine method in fermented vegetables. To freeze them, just chop them to the size you like and stick them into a freezer bag or container. Freeze and remove just what you need when you want to use them.

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Make Pesto: Use your garlic scapes, onion stalks and greens, herbs and weeds to make pesto! Follow my wild greens pesto recipe and create amazing pestos from your garden. I used a big pile of onion stalks, garlic scapes, mixed herbs, and greens today to make pesto for the freezer. Pesto freezes well and can be used to flavor your meals all year if you have a way to keep any air out of the bags.

Preserving herbs: You might start to see some culinary herbs growing faster than you can use them. Check out my guide for freezing basil and use the same method for any herbs. Of course you can dry them, but many herbs lose their flavor and some of their nutrients that way.

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My favorite way to preserve herbs is by salting-curing the herbs and keeping them in the refrigerator. This old-timey method works great at keeping fresh herbs handy year round or even longer. This works perfectly for parsley, dill, cilantro, papalo and other herbs.

Just as a reminder, and if you got my previous newsletters, you already know this, but...

Don't forget to make compost to nourish your soil and plants throughout the year! You can make great compost in just 3 weeks, and use it for side- and top-dressing your planted garden thoughout the season. And if making a huge compost pile isn't your thing, there are lots of other ways to compost!

Fruit trees are best planted 10 years ago, and second best today! You can still plant fruit trees safely. Here is a guide to planting trees and another about planting a tree guild that features companion plants that help attract pollinators, repel pests and will help the tree to grow up healthy. And if you choose edible companion plants, you can get abundant harvests even before your tree starts to bear.

Don't miss my guide for starting a medicinal herb garden! Not only will you have herbs to use for your herbal home apothecary, but many are great for seasoning your foods, to attract pollinators, and deter pests.

​Herb Seed Collection! Here is a great deal I found for a herb seed starter pack from Amazon. A collection of 36 herbs for just over a dollar a packet. I got one for myself and had good success with germination. This contains most of the seeds to grow the herbs I mention in my medicinal herb garden post.

Your source for information about gardening, planting a food forest, permaculture, farming with animals, growing meat, and milking goats. Learn about making cheese and sourdough bread, preserving your harvest, traditional homestead recipes, off-grid living and more! Visit foodforlifegarden.com​

​GET YOUR SEEDS HERE! True Leaf Market has many vegetable varieties, as well as a big selection on herbs! Plus, they offer Free Shipping over $75.-. So get your seeds before they sell out or it's too late to plant!

New On The Blog

Make A Fizzy, Naturally Carbonated Lemonade!

Making your own naturally carbonated fizzy lemonade is easy to do. This is a home brewed recipe, full of health benefits, and it is super refreshing on hot days.

This brewed lemonade is easy to make. It takes just a few minutes to mix, and a couple of days to ferment and you have a homemade soda that's far better for you than any of the store bought sugary ones. Fermenting adds probiotics and carbonation. It's easy to make and I listed 4 different ways to make it. You can even do it with yogurt. Find the instructions and make your own healthy, delicious lemonade for the hot summer days!

How To Make A Naturally Fizzy Lemonade Soda From Scratch

Easy Homemade German Quark Cheese

If you are German and live abroad, I'm sure you've come to the painful realization, that Quark cheese is just not available in most other countries. And Quark is so very important in German cooking. Cream cheese is nothing like quark, cottage cheese could work as a substitute when blended, but it's normally salted and not quite the same. Greek yogurt has a similar consistency, but tastes and behaves differently. So, what to do, but make your own!

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Fortunately it's very easy to make, easier than making yogurt. It just takes a little patience while it develops it's proper acidity and thick enough curd for straining. I posted detailed instructions for making this naturally cultured quark. And once you make quark, the sky's the limit on what you can do with it. Many German recipes rely on quark and they are delicious, but you can also use it every day as a healthy alternative to cream cheese or cottage cheese in recipes, or make it the feature ingredient and dress it up to rock your taste buds. In any case, it is a great skill to learn, you'll have probiotic cheese with gut-healthy live bacteria, and it's a fun, easy project, especially if you're new to cheese making! Give making quark a try, you won't regret it!

Homemade Probiotic Quark Cheese Recipe

Make This Incredibly Delicious Quark Cheese Mousse!

Now that you have made some delicious quark, let's put it to use and try this totally awesome German style dessert, an easy Quark Cheese Mousse. It was my favorite when I was growing up in Germany and I didn't even realize that it's healthy. It is just super tasty, creamy and moussey! Totally divine! This is my first of many quark recipes to come, so do try to make Quark and give this delicious dessert a try. Yumm!

You can also try this with cottage cheese or greek yogurt. It won't be the same, but it will still be very tasty! Get all the info in my new article about making quark cheese mousse on the blog!

Outrageously Delicious German Quark Cheese Mousse