What things do you make from scratch, to be more wholesome for you and your family?

missymoo81

Oooh no I haven't, what a fab idea, I've got fruit teas, definitely wrth a try. Fantastic thanks!

missymoo81

wanttobese - that's a great sugestion, are they much cheaper than Amazon? I think we've got one in the city. I will def have to have a look.

missymoo81

Oooh just found a collection of self sufficiency books OH got me for Christmas! One on household cleaning, bee keeping, hen keeping, soap making, growing veg And preserving!! Just reading the household cleaning one.

Butterfly_Brain

I make my own sour dough and granary bread.
We have a mill about 15 mins drive from us and get most of our flour and fresh yeast from there.

I grow my own veg from heritage seeds which I can save for the next years planting, which means that I don't have to keep buying seeds.

Today I have just put in Brussels sprouts, potatoes, (because one of my raised beds needs some nitrogen) parsnips, butternut squash, sweetcorn (they did really well last year), runner beans ( We had 70lbs last year, in fact I still have some in the freezer and some that I salted) chilli's, capsicums, peas, (quinoa,did really well last year) purple carrots, cauliflower, kale, purple broccoli, savoy cabbage, pak choy, celeriac and salad leaves.

We have just finished with last of the asparagus, kale and broad beans.

We have a pear tree, four apple trees including a brambley, and a cherry tree, our neighbour has plum trees, we always have swapsies when we harvest.

Added to that we have blueberries in pots, rhubarb, raspberries, camomile, loganberries and strawberries plus lots of different herbs.

Our garden isn't that big and is North facing but we manage to get a good crop every year thanks to stapling foil around the raised beds.
But sadly we don't have enough room for hens

We grow a lot of stuff in pots on the patio

I buy spices in an Asian shop in a town 10 miles from here, I also buy lentils, beans and pulses while I am there. We all hate chickpeas so I don't buy them.

We have a couple of local farms and farmshops that we visit, where we get eggs, pork, lard and local honey, but our local greengrocer sells local honey as well.

We have a great butcher and it is great that the meat isn't wrapped in plastic and it is the same sort of price as supermarkups but much, much better qualityand actually tastes like meat!

Don't say that you can't afford a butcher, my DH only earns £15,000 pa and we eat really well, our mortgage is nearly paid off, hopefully we will get rid of it early in the next couple of years, if we can pay off extra every year. It is only £260 a month but every penny counts.


I make jam, marmalade, chutney and piccalli and pickle my own onions. I also dehydrate foods and make fruit leather, I make a great beer, ginger ale, mead and wines. Peach, Elderberry and Tea bag go down very smoothly

We go foraging for blackberries, sweet chestnuts, wild garlic and mushrooms.

I don't buy white sugar, I use pure cane, honey or maple syrup instead.

I make my own cleaners and the one that I use most is half and half white vinegar and washing up liquid with 10 drops of tea tree oil give it a good shake and spray on, leave for ten minutes and then rinse off, it cleans just about everything and is anti bacterial.

It also makes a great pre wash spray and I have got coffee, blood, tomato, grass and bodily stains out using it. Spray onto the stain an leave for an hour,preferably overnight then wash as normal.

I always put soda crystals into the machine and use white vinegar as softener.

Soda crystals are also great for clearing blocked drains and plugholes, pour down leave for half an hour and pour down BOILING water from the kettle, blockage and smell gone!

Have you ever noticed a strange chemical smell from your scalp a few days after washing it?
I use white vinegar as a pre wash rinse for my hair it keeps the build up of product down wet hair and pour on a cup of white vinegar, leave it for a few minutes then add shampoo and rinse well. I avoid conditioner, you don't need it if you have your hair trimmed regularly because the vinegar helps to soften your hair.
Once a month I use a beaten egg white and rub through my hair and leave for five minutes, then rinse off. It adds nourishment to your hair.

Phew sorry for the long post, but I hope that you find some useful ideas in there.

Butterfly_Brain

missymoo81 wrote: »

Oooh just found a collection of self sufficiency books OH got me for Christmas! One on household cleaning, bee keeping, hen keeping, soap making, growing veg And preserving!! Just reading the household cleaning one.

John Seymour's book on self sufficiency is brilliant and it pops up in the works from time to time

mumto2monkeys_2

Super thread! Thanks

Can I clarify about soda crystals in the wash - is this along with my non-bio tablets and how much do I put in?

Kantankrus_Mare

Butterfly brain.............wow:eek:.....well done you!

You really are living the good life.

I also make wine......usually bramble and elderberry.

Some years it is more drinkable than others but never gets wasted as use in cooking.

missymoo81

Wow butterfly brain, you are amazing, an inspiration! Thank you so much for posting. Can I ask a few questions too. Did you say you grow quinoa? I didn't know you could in your back garden!!! Do you just buy normal seeds? Also with sour dough, do you find it expensive, to keep feeding it? As the recipe I have days give it half a cup of flour every 2 days, which to me seems a lot? Thanks so much again for sharing your knowledge.

Butterfly_Brain

Sourdough is not at all expensive, all I do is to keep a lump of dough back from the current loaf that I am making, not sourdough per se where you keep a dough for years, but it does make an equitable loaf.

I got my Quinoa seeds from Real Seeds on line and I am using last years seed that I saved for this years sowing.

http://www.realseeds.co.uk/

Butterfly_Brain

[SIZE=+1]Growing QUINOA
[/SIZE]

Quinoa is a high-protein grain you can easily grow at home. It is cooked just like rice, and as well as tasting good, it is rich in lysine, giving a good nutritional balance to your meal.
The grain is naturally protected from insects, rodents and birds by a yellow coating that tastes bitter. This is easily removed – by soaking the seed overnight and rinsing a few times in cold water before cooking.
It's no more hassle than soaking dried beans before you use them, and means that you lose less of the crop to the beasties in your garden.



'Rainbow' Quinoa
This is a diverse population of different colours all selected for an open flower-shape that sheds water easily and helps grow good seed even in slightly damper climates (like, for example, the west coast of Wales where we are . . .)
Note that at first you might question the name - we certainly did to start with. As it starts to grow, it seems to be just different shades of green. But wait patiently! As the seed ripens, they do indeed go all different colours, making an impressive display.
It does very well for us, reaching about 6 feet tall by the end of July, even in colder years. The plants flower in July/August, and seed is ready in Sept/Oct.