Heritage Hogs and Ranfurly Farm

Posted on October 2, 2010 by publisher

Joel Salatin would be happy to know we had ourselves a hog kill. This was a traditional practice just a few generations ago. Now people are reclaiming the skills of slaughtering and butchering. Here is Chris Harder giving Sonja a quick explanation of skinning a hog.

Near the beginning of August we picked up two, eight week old English Big Black Hogs from Ranfurly Farm. Ranfurly Farm is located near Chase, BC in Turtle Valley. Mike and Margaret Fryatt moved onto the farm just over a year ago, but they have done a lot in a very short time. They are breeders of heritage livestock. They are specializing in pasturing animals and growing part of their animal feed as green crops. Using electric fencing to control access, they let the animals into the green crops for a self-service buffet. Their daughter Jennifer Fryatt and her partner Adam Cooke, moved onto the property and are running the only Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in the area that I know about. This makes them a multi-generational farm, which is a very good thing.

hog parts Heritage Hogs and Ranfurly Farm

This was the first time we cut up an animal bigger than a turkey. Ranfurly Farm doesn't require you to butcher your own animals; they can send the hogs to a butcher for you. Our group just has an insatiable appetite for learning new skills.

At Ranfurly Farm they use electric fences for their pasture management so the hogs were trained to electric fences. We have been using a paddock and a small electric fenced pasture area for the hogs. We feed the hogs organic mixed whole grains from Fieldstone Granary. We soak the grains overnight and feed the mash directly to the hogs and chickens. This soaking improves digestibility and if the hogs do not eat everything the whole grains will sprout producing greens for the animals. We also feed the pigs kitchen and garden waste and the occasional feast of chicken offal. Hogs, like chickens, are omnivores and need animal products to be healthy. Traditionally, hogs would also be fed the waste products from cheese and butter making.

We have never handled hogs before and we have come to love these sweet animals. I can’t understand why someone would dislike hogs. Hogs are very clean animals and, if given the option, they will go to the bathroom in only one area of their living quarters. I don’t know how the two hogs come to a consensus about where to go to the bathroom, but they do.

The hogs were very wary of us at first. They have these big floppy ears that hang over their eyes. I don’t know how they manage to see where they are going. But now when we come, they jump around and bounce their ears so they can see us better. After their fill of soaked grain mash, the hogs will stand still for a back scratching. The hogs will grunt with delight and wiggle their back ends with pleasure, not unlike a dog.

I must admit I am getting attached to Bacon and Sausage. These are the only names I allow the girls to use for the hogs. (We have a policy of never naming livestock destined for our table. At the same time, names such as Bacon and Sausage, helps the children understand where their food comes from.) I don’t know which will win out, growing the sows into breeding stock, or my hunger for homemade smoked bacon.

If you are looking for heritage livestock or pastured beef, pork or lamb, here is their contact information. If you are interested in CSA please contact Jennifer Fryatt and Adam Cooke directly:

Ranfurly Farm
Mike and Margaret Fryatt
797 Bailey Rd, Chase, BC, V0E 1M0
T: 250.679.2735
E: mfryatt(a)hotmail.com
E: marg.fryatt(a)hotmail.com
60km
pastured beef from Galloway cows, pastured pork from English Big Black and Berkshire pigs, fibre from Blueface Leceister sheep and meat from North Country Cheviots Cross sheep, free range eggs from Black Australorps and Silver Laced Wyandottes chickens, breeders for English Big Black, Berkshire pigs and Blueface Leceister sheep; soon to be breeders of Bourbon Reds, Ridley Bronze, and Blue Slate turkeys; soon to be breeders of heritage Sussex and Wyandotte chickens
Jennifer Fryatt and Adam Cooke
E: ranfurlycsa(a)gmail.com
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) weekly box program for vegetables and pastured poultry

Slaughtering Chickens II

Posted on September 20, 2010 by publisher

Is minic an fhírinne searbh.
You cannot plow a field simply by turning it over in your mind.
Irish Proverbs

We slaughtered chickens this Sunday. It was a family affair. For a description of our homemade chicken slaughtering assembly-line please read Slaughtering Chickens. Shaen did triple work on the killing cones, scalding area, and plucker. For more information about our homemade plucker please read Whizbang Chicken Plucker. Erika was next in line, doing a clean-up of the pin feathers not removed by the chicken plucker. I worked at the gutting and cleaning table. Sonja found her niche as “quality control”. She would carefully look over each carcass and remove any feathers or organ bits that were remaining. She would sometimes “reject” a carcass and send it back for further work!

This was the first time the girls helped with slaughtering. Normally, they have stayed clear of the “killing floor” but the adults really needed their help. Even though Shaen was working three stations of the assembly-line, I was the bottle-neck. This was the first time I have gutted and cleaned carcasses, so I was on a steep learning curve. Shaen showed me the basic technique but gutting a bird is something only experience can really teach.

Normally, we would have wrapped the carcasses right away, but being short staffed, we left the finished carcasses in chilled water until near the end. Shaen took a break from the killing cones and starting wrapping and freezing.

We finished thirty chickens in four hours. This included assembly-line set-up, chicken catching, and clean-up. I was tired, stiff and sore by the end. I was covered in scratches from the raspberry plants after my foot race with the chickens. I don’t think we will be keeping the boilers in the raspberry patch in the future. The raspberries seem to have enough fertilizer, if the jungle-like growth is any indication. In the past, we have composted the offal from the chickens. This year, the chicken heads, feet, lungs, and digestive tracks became a feast for our two hogs. Shaen couldn’t believe how fast they ate the offal. Meadows, our cat, licked her lips after receiving her share of warm, raw liver.

By the end of the day, the girls sat down to their dinner with appetite. Both girls had a great sense of satisfaction at helping with an “adult job”. This winter, having “chicken dinner” will have a new meaning for the girls.

There’s nothing like biting off more than you can chew, and then chewing anyway.
Mark Burnett

Chicks, Chicks and More Chicks

Posted on July 10, 2010 by publisher

Last year a neighbor lent us an incubator and we hatched two loads of eggs. The first hatch was Quail eggs which went very well. For the second hatch, we ordered fertile eggs from a small backyard breeder of heritage birds. Unfortunately, this hatch did not go very well. We had what is known as a sticky hatch. This is when something goes wrong with the hatching and the chicks have trouble getting out of the shell. We had about 50% mortality in the shell and in the first few days of life. There was also a number of birth defects in the chicks. This sticky hatch really put us back last year. We ended up having to buy some point of lay hens to get the right number of birds.

A few days ago, we received our order of day old chicks from Miller Hatcheries. The chicks come in the mail from Westlock, AB. When the call from Canada Post came in, we drove down to the post office and picked up the birds. We have found getting live chicks from a respected hatchery will ensure healthy birds and less mortality. We get the chicks without immunization and do not have them de-beaked. Chickens that are not in confinement do not need be de-beaked for their own safety and actually need their beaks for foraging in the pasture. We ordered 50 Cornish Giants, a meat bird, and 50 sexed Red Rock Cross laying hens.

It is very important for the chicks to be kept at a constant temperature, so for the first week we have the chicks in our living room. Shaen got two large cardboard boxes, which he joined together into one very large box. He covered the bottom of the box with a few inches of spelt hulls from Fieldstone Granary. He set up the water and food. We use a standard un-medicated chick starter. When the chicks get a bit bigger we will put them on pasture and a homemade chick scratch made from organic grains from Fieldstone Granary. Shaen uses a red heat lamp for warmth. Miller Hatchery sends detailed instructions about the care of chicks, but Shaen likes watching the chick’s behavior for a better gauge of comfort. If the chicks are crowded around underneath the heat lamp, it is too cold, and he will lower the lamp to increase the temperature. If the chicks are crowded around the perimeter of the box, it is too hot, and he will raise the heat lamp. Shaen likes to see the chicks actively moving around in comfort.

Later we got a call from Rochester Hatchery. They specialize in heritage breeds. Originally, they had no extra birds available for this year, so we got put on their call list for order cancellations. We got the Rochester’s Heritage Group Pack. There is a mixture of 50 Ameraucana, Buff Orpingtons, Danish Brown Leghorns and Buff Brahams. There are a lot of chicks in my living room this week!

Lacto-Fermentation Horseradish Condiment

Posted on June 15, 2010 by publisher

The Nighshade Family are informally known as the Potato Family. This family includes all potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and tomatillos. These common foods can cause arthritis in sensitive people.

Making fresh horseradish condiment at home is very easy. Making condiments at home saves money and the condiment will be of better quality than any product available from the Industrial Food System. If you have a sensitivity to the Nightshade Family, using horseradish instead of hot peppers is a good substitute. Common symptoms of Nightshade Family sensitivity are the many forms of Arthritis, digestive disorders, and unexplained pain and stiffness that does not go away with treatment. If you would like more information about this topic please read an essay from the Weston A Price Foundation called Nightshades.

2c finely grated and peeled horseradish root
1T sea salt
1/4c live whey culture
extra filtered water if horseradish root is very dry (optional)
Clean and peel the horseradish root. Grate the horseradish root in a well ventilated space or work outside. Or chop up the horseradish into small pieces and grind into a fine paste using a food processor. The vapors that come off horseradish root makes crying from onions seem like a joke! Add the sea salt and homemade whey. Store the horseradish in a glass jar with extra space at the top to take the expansion during fermentation. If you do not know how to make whey please read Making Homemade Lacto-Fermentation Whole Seed Mustard. Let the horseradish sit in a warm place in your kitchen for 2-3 days until you can see many bubbles forming in the condiment. The horseradish condiment will last for months in the fridge. The horseradish’s flavor will continue to “evolve” and mellow from the action of the live whey culture in your fridge over a number of months. You can serve the horseradish as is, or remove an amount you are going to use that day and add an equal amount of heavy fresh cream. I like it the best this way.

Pastures, Electric Fences and Milking Problems

Posted on June 14, 2010 by publisher

This is an internal electric fence for the cows. This is about as green as Kamloops ever gets.

About 2 weeks ago, Joe and Eric finished the perimeter fencing and one cross fence on the far side of the gully. Joe dug out the spring with a big excavator and there is a 3000 gallon accumulation tank which works as a reservoir for the spring. Joe did some work with a backhoe putting in a road into the middle of the lower four acres.

Shaen worked every free minute he had to get the pasture ready for moving Patty and the calves. Shaen has 700′ of 3/4″ black poly hose running from the spring. There is a filter to reduce particulates in the line. He has about 45psi at the bottom of the hose but this pressure increases as the accumulation tank is drawn down. He finished off the roadway with a backhoe and made a turnaround large enough for us to bring in our big truck.

Shean moved an 8′x12′ tool shed to the property. It was scary for me to watch him move the heavy building but he got it into place without anyone getting injured. This building is a secure storage area for equipment and supplies for the cattle. It will also be one side wall for a hay, feed and chip shed which we will be building this summer. We built a small paddock about 30′x30′ to train the cattle on electric fencing. Shaen called it the ugliest fence he’d ever seen. The fence is pretty rickety too, but we were running out of time and just needed to move the cattle. The idea was to use the paddock to train the cattle on electric fences. Thus, strength wasn’t really needed.

We moved the cattle to the new pasture on May 30, 2010. Patty immediately started eating the wonderful rich forage. The calves started running around, leaping and jumping. But the training on electric fencing in the small paddock did not go well. Patty hit her nose on the electric fence then backed up in a hurry and hit her butt into another electric fence. She was quite upset, having no place to go but up. The calves found ways to break out of the paddock and would walk through the electric fencing taking the shock over stopping their romping. Then Patty walked through an un-electrified gate as we madly chased the calves around the property. It was not an auspicious start!

Shaen was worried we would never catch them again on the property. We stopped chasing and started working to secure the paddock so the calves could not get out. Patty headed up the gully to feast on some delicious forage. The calves leaped and jumped for joy at their new found freedom. After we got the paddock secure we worked together to catch the calves which were tired after all that wonderful play. I caught Patty and we milked her. But she did not want to go back into the paddock. As I led her towards the paddock she took me for a run. I did not let go but instinctively dropped to the ground on my knees. This spun Patty around. I weigh about 125lbs and Patty weighs about 800lbs. After that incident we got her into the paddock but without power to the electric fence. We were betting Patty wouldn’t walk through the fence, even through she likely could. We thought Patty, having been trained to fences, would not consider the idea that she could just walk through our weak fence. This proved to be true and we found Patty and the calves in the paddock in the morning.

chicken electric mesh Pastures, Electric Fences and Milking Problems

Here is the netted electric fencing for chickens. Shaen set up the area and we moved the boilers into the area after Patty(Georgia) and the calves ate the grass. Laugh at our fence! It is a sad example of Shaen's carpentry. Nevertheless, it did the job.

The next day’s milking went better. Our netted electric fencing arrived too. Shean worked to get the fencing up and make a new pasture area for Patty and another area for the calves. We also had another problem. Two of Patty’s teats had sores from the vigorous feeding of the calves. One teat was especially damaged. We decided to try two controlled feedings a day. This time we protected the damaged teats with our hands and would allow each calf one undamaged teat to drain. When the calves started to seriously butt Patty they would be pulled off and returned to their electrified pasture area. We carefully milked out the damaged teats. After we were finished milking, we used Bag Balm on her teats and udder. I am somewhat uncomfortable using Bag Balm because of the petroleum product and antiseptic chemical in the preparation. We will shift over to straight coconut oil as soon as possible.

Within a few days Patty and the calves got used to the netted electric fences and the double strand electric wire. We are getting used to the twice a day milking. We are getting about 14 gallons of milk a week, even though Patty is feeding twins. With the fresh forage the cream line is going up from about 10% of the volume to 30% for night milking and 50% for morning milking. Patty’s teats are healing but we have to clear brush in the pasture area because Patty is getting scratches on her udder as she moves around to feed. We are starting to understand why farmers coddled their dairy cows. They do have special needs.

Undated July 11, 2010: After about a week of controlled feeding, Shaen decided to go back to bottle feeding for the male calf. He is just too rough on Patty’s teats. We have to allow the female calf to suckle on Patty or Patty will not let-down her milk. The calves are always in a separate pasture from Patty, though Patty can see the calves throughout the day. We cannot understand why the female calf fights us going to the feeding. We understand why she would fight us when we pull her off to milk Patty. It’s a lot of extra work to manage the cow calf relationship. I hope we will not have to do this for Patty’s next calf.

Krystal, our relief milker, started using an Ouch Cream on Patty’s damaged teat. This cream finished off the healing of this very big wound on one of Patty’s teats.

Patty has been plagued by hordes of flies so we have moved our layers to the pasture. It took about a week for the chickens to realize the wonderful maggots to be found in the cow patties. Our little manure spreaders are enjoying a wonderful meal while cleaning up the pasture. The number of flies on Patty has halved.

Making Homemade Lacto-Fermented Whole Seed Mustard and Yoghurt Cream Cheese

Posted on June 10, 2010 by publisher

There are many types of prepared mustard. In France, Dijon mustard is light in color and has a strong flavor. Bordeaux mustard is darker, with a mild flavor, and may include additives such as salt, vinegar, sugar and tarragon. Meaux mustard is mild and made from crushed mustard seeds rather than grinding seeds to a fine powder. German mustard is similar to Bordeaux mustard. English mustard is very strong. American-style yellow mustard is a mixture of the mildest mustard seeds with salt, vinegar, sugar, and turmeric. The turmeric gives mustard its characteristic color.

100 2984 Making Homemade Lacto Fermented Whole Seed Mustard and Yoghurt Cream Cheese

To the right is a pint mason jar of Whole Seed Mustard Dressing. I make fresh dressing about once a week. Twice a week I make salad which saves me time in the kitchen and ensures there is always some salad available for each week.

Homemade Lacto-Fermentation Whole Seed Mustard
Making homemade mustard is very easy. It will be fresher and of better quality than any mustard you can find commercially. Making your own mustard will also save money. This whole seed mustard is very much like the French Meaux Mustard. This recipe will get its vinegar-like flavor from lacto-fermentation. The mustard’s flavor will continue to “evolve” from the action of the live whey culture in your fridge over a number of months. The mustard will start as fiery hot and age into a mild, complex rich flavor.
1c brown mustard seeds
1T sea salt
1/4tsp turmeric (optional)
1/4c live whey culture
Take the mustard seeds and soak them for two days in filtered water. Change the water once or twice in a day. The mustard seeds should start to sprout during this time. (If they do not, find another source of seeds. The seeds are dead and have been given some sort of treatment to make the seeds store longer.) After the seeds have started to sprout, rinse the seeds one more time and pour off the water. Mix the mustard seeds, sea salt and turmeric, if desired. You can use any food processor to grind the seeds into a fine paste. Add more filtered water, if needed, for a smooth consistency. Store the mustard in a glass container. Add the live culture whey and let the mustard sit at room temperature for two days. This will activate the culture and make the mustard last for months in the fridge. The fresh mustard will start out very hot and mellow over time.

Live Whey Culture and Yoghurt Cream Cheese
Live whey culture is very easy to make. Use a cheese cloth bag or fine cotton cloth to drain the whey from homemade yoghurt. Whey is the whitish, watery material that comes off the yoghurt. If you continue to drain the yoghurt for about 24 hours, you will have a lovely yoghurt cream cheese. You can store live whey culture for months in the fridge.

Whole Seed Mustard Dressing
1c extra virgin olive oil
1tsp sea salt
1/4c raw apple cider vinegar, raw wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1T cold-pressed sesame seed oil (optional)
1T whole seed mustard
1tsp raw local honey (optional)
After you ground your mustard seeds into a fine paste in the food processor, cleaning out the last of the mustard paste can be a chore. You can “clean” out your food processor by making some salad dressing. Add all of the ingredients together and blend. The mustard will emulsify the oils into a thick, creamy dressing. Store the dressing in a glass container in the fridge for easy use.

Recipes for Nourishing Traditional Travel Foods

Posted on June 9, 2010 by publisher

Preparing nourishing snack foods before leaving home really helps when making a meal is inconvenient. Always have a thermos for hot drinks while traveling. Make the hot drinks up in the morning during breakfast.

Beef Jerky
2 large lean beef roasts (about 6 pounds)
1tsp Himalayan salt per pound of meat (or to taste)
Let the pastured beef roasts thaw in the fridge for 3-4 days. This gives the roasts a bit more aging which improves the end flavor. Cut the roasts into 1/4 inch strips the width of the roast, if possible. Add Himalayan salt to the strips of meat and mix well. Let the meat sit for a few hours or overnight, if you have time. Himalayan salt is a “pink salt”. Traditional pink salts were used for curing meats. These pink salts have natural sodium nitrites and sodium nitrates. Himalayan salt is great for curing meat. Put the salted meat into the dehydrator at a low temperature for 12-24 hours. The best beef jerky is dried but chewy. For travel, store a day’s supply in paper bags with a plastic zip-lock outer bag.

Soaked and Dried Nut Granola
3c soaked and dried pecans
3c soaked and dried walnuts
6-12 pitted and soaked dates
1T vanilla extract
1T ground cinnamon
1/2tsp sea salt (optional)
1c soaked and dried pumpkin and sunflower seeds (optional)
Soak the pecans and walnuts in lightly salted water for 12 hours. Pour off salted water and dehydrate nuts of 12-24 hours at a low temperature. When the nuts are dried they can be stored in the freezer for later use. Grind the nuts into a course meal in a food processor and put aside in a large bowl. In a small bowl, cover the dates with very hot water. Soak the dates until soft. Grind up the dates in a food processor and add some of the date water to make a smooth paste. Add the vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and sea salt. Mix in nuts and add more date water, if needed. Add whole pumpkin and sunflower seeds, if desired. You can shape the mixture into granola bars or crumble into irregular shapes for a granola cereal. For travel, store a day’s supply in paper bags with a plastic zip-lock outer bag.

Dried Bananas
2-3 bunches of over ripe bananas
Peel the bananas and cut in half. Then cut down the mid-line of the banana. You will have four pieces for each banana. Place the cut bananas in the dehydrator with the curved side down, to avoid sticking. Dry at low temperature for 24-36 hours. My girls call these dried bananas candy.

Frozen Tomato Salsa
6 large frozen garden tomatoes
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 fresh red or green pepper, chopped
1 small fresh carrot, chopped
1 small onion, chopped (optional)
small amount of fresh hot pepper, minced (optional)
1tsp sea salt
Frozen tomatoes make wonderful salsa. Let the tomatoes unfreeze overnight and pour off extra liquid from the tomatoes. (This liquid is great for thinning out guacamole.) Chop or food process the fresh vegetables. Add unfrozen, drained and hand-crushed tomatoes. You can remove the tomato skins, if desired. Add sea salt to taste. For travel, store the salsa in a glass mason jar with a plastic lid.

Frozen Berry Sauce
2c frozen garden raspberries
2c frozen garden blueberries
small amount of local raw honey (optional)
Lightly simmer at very low temperature until the berries lose their shape. (You can use any frozen fruit you have leftover after the winter.) Do not over cook the sauce. When the sauce cools, add a small amount of local raw honey, if desired. For travel, store the berry sauce in a glass mason jar with a plastic lid.

Caesar Dressing Base
4 cloves garlic, finely grated or minced
1/2c olive oil
juice of one lemon
1/2tsp sea salt
Mix all the ingredients together and store in a small mason jar. When ready to make the salad, rip up most of a head of romaine lettuce. Soft boil two eggs for five minutes and add half of the Caesar dressing to the eggs and mix well. Pour over romaine lettuce and serve.

Spelt Sourdough Pancakes
10c whole spelt grains, soaked, sprouted and dehydrated
sourdough culture with Kefir culture
2c ground spelt flour
2-3 pastured eggs
1/2tsp baking soda
1tsp sea salt
Take the whole spelt grains and cover with filtered water. Soak the spelt for 2-3 days, changing the water 2 times each day. When the spelt has small sprouts, rinse and drain one more time. Dehydrate the grains for 12 hours or until dry and store in the freezer for later use. Grind the spelt into flour and add to sourdough culture. (I use a Vita-Mix for grinding grains.) Add raw milk Kefir to culture and stir. Return culture to fridge for the night. When ready to make pancakes in the morning, preheat two or three cast iron pans on the stove-top. Use a small amount of lard or schmaltz in the pan. The pans are at the right temperature when the grease is just below the smoking point. Fill a large bowl with about 2 cups ground spelt flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Mix well. Add eggs and about 3 cups of the sourdough culture. Add more culture to thin out the mixture. Pour about 1/2 cup of batter onto the hot grill. Turn pancakes when brown and bubbly. For travel, I cool the pancakes and layer with wax paper. I divide the pancakes into daily amounts and wrap the stack in wax paper bags.

fire cooking Recipes for Nourishing Traditional Travel Foods

Nourishing meals while traveling is a challenge but good planning will make the job easier. Prepare as much as you can at home.

Eating Nourishing Traditional Foods While Traveling

Posted on June 8, 2010 by publisher

Traveling with children can be challenging. With a little planning it can be easier to produce nourishing traditional foods.

I have had a number of people ask me how I travel on a restrictive diet like the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Actually, it’s very easy and I do not suffer at all. For example, our family just spent five days canoeing Clearwater Lake in Wells Gray Park. Here are some tips for eating nourishing traditional meals while doing wilderness travel. These tips could easily be used for camping road trips, though we would do our cooking on a small gas barbecue or camp stove. Here are Recipes for Eating Nourishing Traditional Travel Foods.

1. Start preparing dried goods a week before leaving. These foods are for emergency rations and quick snacks. I soaked, sprouted and dehydrated whole spelt grains. I dehydrated two large lean roasts for beef jerky. I prepared some soaked and dried nuts and seeds. I made a few pounds of soaked and dried nut granola for snacks. I have a L’Equip Food Dehydrator but, because of the amounts I was processing, I used my sister’s Excalibur Food Dehydrator and really liked it too. For travel, store a day’s supply of each item in paper bags with a plastic zip-lock outer bag. By processing my own dried snacks at home, I save money and produce a higher quality product.
2. Start preparing condiments two days before leaving. This trip I prepared three special condiments. I prepared salsa, berry sauce and Caesar dressing base. I stored the condiments in a glass mason jar with a Bernardin plastic lid. I find these plastic lids easier to use and clean and the plastic does not touch the food. Portion homemade fermented condiments for your trip in appropriately sized wide mouth mason jars. Examples of homemade condiments are: horseradish sauce, mustard, ketchups, and fermented vegetables. Recipes for these condiments can be found in Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions. I stored the condiments in the cooler. By processing my own homemade condiments, I save money and produce a much higher quality product.
3. Think about your cooking methods and organize appropriate equipment. Wells Gray Park has developed wilderness camps with fire pits and metal grills, so we planned on cooking over an open fire. (We brought along an MSR stove for emergency use, which we didn’t use during the trip.) We brought a normal camping set of stainless steal pots for boiling water, but these light pots tend to burn food very easily. We decided to try doing all our cooking with my Mother’s cast iron Dutch oven. We found the lid worked great for warming food or frying even with the ringed grooves in the lid. I would definitely bring the Dutch oven for cooking over open fires again. Early explorers used cast iron Dutch ovens for all their food preparation including baking bread. Here is an example of a camp Dutch oven with three legs on the pot and the lid.
4. Use your frozen foods as ice. Traveling by canoe allows the use of a hard shelled cooler for frozen foods. This trip I used two thermal bags, one inside the other, inside the hard shelled cooler to store our frozen foods. I brought along 3lbs of pastured ground beef, 1lb of pastured lamb, 2lbs pastured sirloin steaks, 1lb of pasteurized butter and 1lb of raw butter. After five days we brought home half the meat and butter which was partly frozen. The cooler didn’t fill with dirty icy water. It was an easy cleanup after the trip. I would definitely use the thermal bags again.
5. Organize your storage system and eat your fresh supplies first. With canoe travel, extra weight isn’t really an issue, but space is limited. We had one hard shelled cooler for frozen foods and one bin for dried and fresh foods. In the cooler was the layered thermal bags with the frozen meat and butter. On the other side of the cooler was 2L of raw milk, two precooked and sliced beef roasts, and the condiments. In the bin was all the dried stores, 2 dozen pastured eggs, 2lbs of raw gouda cheese, 3lbs of dried cured bacon, and 3lbs of cured sausage. On top of all this was 2 heads of romaine lettuce, 6 apples, 6 mangoes, 6 tomatoes, green onions and carrots. The morning of the trip, I made up about 30 sourdough pancakes, which I cooled, layered in wax paper and divided into daily amounts. The sourdough pancakes lasted very well throughout the trip. The girls enjoyed the pancakes cold with raw butter or warmed with bacon, butter and berry sauce. We had food for about eight days for four people.
6. Start travel days with a good breakfast and a prepared dinner. At home we cooked two chickens in the Dutch oven. One chicken would have been enough. We cooked some brown rice in bone broth. Both pots were placed in a traditional straw hot box. A simple hot box can be made with a cardboard box filled with straw or any insulating material. Five hours later we had a hot meal after loading the canoe.

hot drink Eating Nourishing Traditional Foods While Traveling

A hot drink can really save the day. Having hot drinks in a thermos is not only convenient but can treat hypothermia.

7. Use a stainless steel thermos for hot drinks and bring raw cider vinegar for drinking water. Start the trip with a full thermos and keep the thermos full. The last thing I do in a day is fill the thermos so the family will have hot drinks first thing in the morning. This is a good safety practice during wilderness travel. Putting a teaspoon of cider vinegar in drinking water makes a very refreshing drink. It is also reputed to relieve muscle stiffness, which I have found to be true.
8. What about the bugs? I am not fond of putting poison on my skin so I do not use bug spray. I have noticed that if I do not eat anything sweet while out in the woods, the bugs do not feed on me. As soon as I eat even a piece of fruit, the bugs are biting within the hour. I remember complaining to an old hunter about being eaten alive by bugs. He say to me: “You have sweet blood. That’s why the bugs eat you.” Sweet blood. I have gone from being the person eaten alive, to the one in the group not bothered by bugs. It makes me wonder if others have had this experience too. So, if you are bothered by bugs in the woods, try going low carbohydrate a few days before and during the trip. If it works for you, please contact me. Try our Bug Away Spray.

My Mother’s Dutch Oven

Posted on April 3, 2010 by publisher

A Dutch oven is best for long, slow cooking. It will take the toughest cut of meat and make it fall off the bone. It works like a crock pot in the oven. These case iron pots will last for generations, making it a good choice for someone wanting to reduce their carbon footprint.

Over the winter I have found my Mother’s Dutch oven to be indispensable. This bare cast iron pot has a wire bail handle. On one side of the pot is a coiled wire handle which helps lift this heavy pot when full. With the help of a tightly fitted lid this pot is useful for many types of cooking. It can be used on top of the stove for frying or boiling or in the oven like a covered casserole dish for slow roasting. I have never used it for baking, but the pot and lid can be used over an open fire as an “oven” for baking biscuits, breads and cakes. It is a wonderful, versatile kitchen implement. I cannot remember a time when this pot was not in my Mother’s kitchen. It may have been a wedding present which would make it almost sixty years old. It is in perfect condition after years of heavy use. I will be giving this pot to my children.

In my vegetarian days, I found I didn’t like cast iron because I found seasoning with vegetable oils produced a gluey residue on the fry pans or pots. (I didn’t know that if I had used traditional fats like lard, schmaltz, or tallow, I would never have had problems with my Mother’s cast iron pots and pans. Of course, I wouldn’t have used animal fats because I was a vegetarian.) So, I moved away from my Mother’s cast iron pots for two decades and became a consumer of non-stick fry pans and stainless steel pots.

In the last few years, as I have learned more about nourishing traditional foods, I have removed all the non-stick pans from my kitchen. I still use my stainless steel pots and pans, but they don’t do a great job in the oven. I started using glassware for the oven which works well for quick baking but doesn’t do a good job at slow roasting. I still had my bias against cast iron from my vegetarian days and heard that enameled cast iron did not stick as much as cast iron. So I bought a number of Le Creuset enameled Dutch ovens. These are very nice pots but they are very expensive. I bought them as seconds so the price wasn’t as bad but most people would find the price excessive.

This winter my sister brought out our Mother’s old iron pots and pans. Since we do not have vegetable oils in the house, the old cast iron was seasoned with lard, schmaltz, and tallow from my grease bucket. Lo and behold the bare cast iron did not stick. A few of the old cast iron pots still had the sticky residue from old vegetable oils which took some time to remove. Once the old vegetable oil was removed, the old iron fry pan would became slick and easy to clean from the animal fats.

It is funny how our actions can have unintended results. Becoming a vegetarian made my Mother’s iron pots and pans not work for me. I became a consumer of Teflon pots, pans and baking trays which I needed to throw out every few years as they got scratched up. Many people discard grandma’s iron pots and pans because of sticking, not knowing that this modern problem is caused by industrial vegetable oils. In the end, the Vegetable Oil Companies created a new industry for non-stick pots and pans. This started our society’s love affair with Teflon with all its related health problems. Do as your grandmother did and her iron pots and pans will last a lifetime. Maybe even several lifetimes. For more information about collecting your own animal fats please read The Great Grease Bucket: Something from Nothing.
“Something from Nothing” is what a frugal housewife would get when she went to the trouble to save drippings from roasted meats, sausages and bacon. “Something from Nothing” is what the Vegetable Oil Companies created when they convinced everyone that the grease bucket was unhealthy and would cause disease or possibly death.

So, if you are interested in nourishing traditional foods and saving money, go to your local garage sale and pick up a load of dusty old cast iron pots and pans that someone is throwing out. Save your drippings from roasted meats, sausages and bacon and use your grease bucket to season your cast iron pots. You will be shocked at how slick your cast iron will become. Here are instructions for seasoning your pans. Just remember, use animal fat. NEVER use industrial vegetable oils.

25 Steps to Eating Nourishing Traditional Foods

Posted on November 3, 2009 by publisher

Eating well does not have to cost a fortune. Find quality sources of food and consider growing some food yourself. Cooking your own meals will save money and your health.

Purchase your food as whole ingredients and as close to the original natural state as possible. Avoid processed foods. Avoid all additives, coloring, stabilizers and fillers. Avoid Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Here is a link to the Non-GMO Shopping Guide. If you are wondering what is wrong with GMOs please see the numerous video presentations by Jeffery Smith on GMOs. Make it a point to understand the system used to process your food. If you cannot understand the process, do not eat the food.
Try to source your food locally. Get to know your farmers and ranchers. Show appreciation for all the work that goes into producing your food. Look for pastured raised or organic. If you are wondering what is so great about pastured raised animals please listen to Jill Eisen, on CBC Ideas program, Have Your Meat and Eat It Too! Find the local suppliers for un-sprayed products. There are many local suppliers which are not certified organic but follow organic principles. Un-sprayed products are usually cheaper than certified organic. Use eatkamloops.org to find local farmers and ranchers. For some guidelines about assessing food quality read WAPF Shopping Guide for Canada.
Eat local foods seasonally. The food has better nutrition and is cheaper. If you would like to eat these foods out of season, find a suitable storage method. Get a large deep freezer and find an area in your home for dried stores. Consider building a root cellar or cold room. For more information read Winter Storage Part I and Winter Storage Part II.
When buying from non-local sources try to buy certified organic. When we can’t talk to the producers about their practices, having a third party certification is a good idea. If certified organic foods are not in the budget, read about The Dirty Dozen and avoid foods with the most contamination.
Consider growing your own food. Use container gardening on small properties or a big garden on larger lots. If labor is an issue, you might be able to trade garden space for labor. Depending on your zoning, you might be able to have laying hens for eggs or a miniature goat for raw milk.
Start a grease bucket. Save all your drippings and fat from roasted meat and fowl. Use the grease for any high heat frying or roasting. For more information read The Grease Bucket – Something from Nothing.
If you eat industrial vegetable oils or foods containing industrial vegetable oil, stop now. For cooking, replace these industrial vegetable oils with your grease bucket, butter, or coconut oil. Save your extra virgin olive oil for salads and uncooked foods. Other cold-pressed oils may be used occasionally in very small amounts. If you have any condition involving inflammation, removing even quality cold-pressed oils may improve your condition.
Make bone broth. Save all your bones from meals and store in the freezer until you have a pot full. Cover the bones with water and add 4T cider vinegar and simmer for 6-24 hours. For more information read Beautiful Bone Broth.
Eat some fermented foods each day or with each meal. Fermented foods improve our digestion. Fermentation can remove anti-nutrients from our food and increase nutrient availability. Fermented foods are not commonly available in the Industrial Food System and must be made at home. For more information read Wild Fermentation.
Start making some fermented foods at home. A good place to start is making yoghurt or kefir. If you do not consume dairy, try making lacto-fermented vegetables or use sourdough for breads and biscuits. Contact eatkamloops.org for free starter cultures. For more information about what starters we have read I Got Culture!
If you eat grains, beans, and legumes, soak them overnight in water, salt and fresh lemon juice before cooking. This soaking will remove the anti-nutrients from the food and make it easier to digest. Use bone broth when appropriate for the recipe in place of water. This will improve your digestion of these foods. If you are wondering why you need to soak grains read Be Kind to Your Grains. Here are FAQ about traditional food processing of grains, nuts, seeds and beans.
Purchase all of your grains whole. If you are making flour, grind it yourself, and use it within four days. Flour is very perishable and will go rancid very quickly. Freshly ground flour can be stored in the freezer for later use.
If you eat nuts and seeds, soak them overnight in water and salt. Nuts and seeds can be then dried and consumed uncooked. These store well in the freezer for quick use.
Look for a local supply of grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. There are many local varieties which will be fresher. Look for un-sprayed or organically grown.
If you eat rice, buy organic brown rice. Since this is not a local product, buy certified organic. Brown rice does not need to be soaked overnight but cooking in bone broth will help with digestion and improve flavor. If you would like to try fermenting rice to improve mineral availability read A New Way to Soak Brown Rice.
Buy your meat by the whole animal. This allows you to have a variety of cuts, offal, fat and bones. The butcher will package the meats in sizes that are best for your family. Get all the products from the animal even parts you do not know how to cook. They can always be used to make bone broth. For more information read Cooking with Grass-Fed Meat and Fowl and Visit to the Killing Floor at Kam Lake View Meat.
If you consume dairy, find a source of raw milk or raw milk products. This will involve having your own cow, goat or sheep or being a member of a herd share program. If you are wondering what is so great about pastured raw milk please read Let’s Talk about Raw Milk Safety. For more information about herd share programs in the province read Birdsong Farm – Cow Share Program.
If you are concerned that you have a deficiency in your diet and want to take a supplement, consider using whole foods, sometimes called superfoods. Examples of superfoods are: fermented cod liver oil, high vitamin butter, liver, spring and fall butter, raw milk products, bone broth and fermented foods. Other superfoods are related to the health problem of the person such as: various fresh or dried glands, kelp, assorted clays, probiotics, assorted high vitamin berries and herbs. For more information about superfoods read Supplement or Superfoods.
Look at your cosmetics and decide if you would eat them. If you would not like to eat them, consider stopping use. Our skin is far more porous than was once believed. The use of coconut oil can be a excellent moisturizer. Consider making your own soap or buying brands with very few ingredients. A good source of information about the safety of your cosmetics can be found on Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database. If you would like recipes for making cosmetics, cleaners and simple medicines please read Healthy Household: Staying Clean Safely and Saving Money.
Look through your medicine chest and decide if you can do without most of your medication. Many medications mask symptoms while the condition worsens. It is better to feel the pain and make fundamental changes in our lives, rather than masking symptoms while the condition gets worse. Think about the other drugs you take on a daily basis. Assess if these drugs might be adding to your health problems.
Think about food preparation in the home and how the task can be done efficiently. The job of running a traditional household is more work than eating convenience foods. This means someone must be willing to allot time for this important work. Some people use one day a week where they spend a morning in the kitchen producing meals for the whole week. Others cook larger meals and consume the leftovers.
Remove all plastics from your kitchen and replace with glass containers. Remove Teflon and aluminum from your kitchen and use stainless steel, glass, cast iron or enameled cast iron. Stop using a microwave for cooking or reheating foods.
If you are thinking about having a child, start thinking about what you eat before you conceive. All traditional populations had a special feeding schedule for mothers and fathers to be. For more information read Thinking about Motherhood.
If you continue to have health problems after changing over to a nourishing traditional diet, consider looking at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This diet is also known as Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS). This diet is for very sick people. For more information about SCD and GAPS please read Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Please read this very good article by Dr Ron Schmid called Diet and Recovery from Chronic Disease.
Continue getting educated about health. eatkamloops.org has donated a number of books to the Kamloops Public Library. For a list of donated books read Recommended Reading List. Look through the WAPF Shopping Guide for tips on assessing the quality of your food choices.

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