Our fair city, like so many cities these days, is changing. It’s growing. Every day, older homes and businesses are giving way to four-story buildings with commercial space on the ground floor and apartments on the top. I must admit, initially I wasn’t a fan, especially when one of the four-story behemoths went up right next door to the shop. But the reality is that the population is growing and people need somewhere to live. The alternative to high-density is urban sprawl – and I’m seriously opposed to urban sprawl. You see, our city, unlike many major metropolitan areas, is surrounded by farm land. A short drive in any direction from Portland and you’ll find orchards, vineyards, berry farms, vegetable farms, dairy farms, beef and poultry farms… you get the idea. There are also parks, wilderness areas, open spaces and hundreds of miles of trails, which also happen to be great for mushroom hunting. So, if a four-story apartment complex means that the farm land and open space nearby can be preserved, then build on.

What this does mean is that our business must change and grow along with the rest of the city and our new neighbors.

Since its inception, Portland Homestead Supply Co. has catered to the urban homesteader – the city dweller who wished to grow food, raise chickens, can, preserve, ferment, and make many of the necessities needed for running a simple home. And while we applaud and support those endeavors, the reality is that many of our customers are what I now refer to as micro-homesteaders.

Micro-homesteading does not lend itself to growing food, raising chickens or even putting by a season worth of fruits and veggies. Urban apartments don’t boast pantries and root cellars. But many urban apartment dwellers still value access to clean, wholesome food. And while they might not can a bushel of summer corn, they are likely to jam-up some fresh picked berries. This new breed of homesteader must forgo veggies in the garden for sprouts on the window sill and a basement full of pickling crocks for a refrigerator full of fermenting quarts. They still value quality products made with natural ingredients. They want household cleaners that don’t add toxins to their living space, soaps made with pure saponified oils and phthalate-free fragrances, and candles that burn clean soy and beeswax. And this is what we will offer.

To keep up with the changing demographics of our city, we’ll be introducing some new items and paring out some old. Here is a quick summary of some of the changes you will be seeing from us during 2017:

·        We will introduce a line of household cleaners made from safe, recognizable ingredients that you can feel good using around your children and pets. Each cleaner will come with a recipe so that you can make it at home or you can buy a bulk container to refill your cleaning jars.

·        We will continue to offer our line of soaps and add a line of organic soaps and liquid soaps.

·        We will offer a variety of candles made from soy and beeswax with no petroleum by-products or phthalates.

·        We will continue to offer oils, butters, clays, waxes, as well as jars, crocks, bottles, tins and all sorts of other paraphernalia for those who want to create from scratch.

·        We will still carry our extensive selection of essential oils.

·        We will still sell fresh eggs from our local farmer Chris and he will still bring pullets to sell once or twice a month, but we will no longer sell baby chicks in the springtime.

·        We will no longer sell Ball jars or common kitchen utensils that are easy to find in myriad other shops, but will continue to carry those tools that are unique to homesteading such as bean frenchers, butter churns, and coffee grinders.

Change can be difficult, and we anticipate having a few growing (or shrinking) pains this year, but are excited about being able to offer more to both our urban and micro-homesteading customers. We appreciate and value your support. Happy Homesteading.

Every summer we take a quick trip around the Fruit Loop in Hood River and load up the car with deliciousness. Usually we get our peaches in mid-August, but this year everything seems to be a few weeks early. So we were thrilled to find out that our favorite peaches – Red Havens – were ripe and ready to go at the end of July.

The set up is easy. We create a mini outdoor kitchen on the picnic table and use a propane camp stove for heat. Here’s what you need:

• – two canning pots of water on the stove
• – one big bowl of ice water
• – one small pot with hot water for lids
• – a case or so of canning jars
• The first thing we do is boil the jars for 10 minutes to sterilize them, and place them upside down on clean towels. While the jars are boiling, we make an extra light syrup for the peaches – using the proportions in the Ball Blue Book, we combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with 5 3/4 cups water. Next the peaches are placed in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, then transferred to the bowl of ice water. Blanching the peaches helps the skins come off easier.

The next step is the most important. Call the neighbors and ask them to come help with the canning. It’s much faster and much more fun with friends. Our neighbors Steve and Rita offered their help and besides our eternal gratitude, they’ll also get a few jars of peaches.

Once the peaches are cut and packed in the jars, pour the hot sugar syrup over them, put on the lids and bands and set them in the hot water bath. Twenty-five minutes later, they’re ready to come out and cool down. That’s it. And now you have enough peaches to shake off the winter blues come January and February.

If you’ve never tried canning and would like to learn more, check out our classes. We offer waterbath and pressure canning classes.

You will need:

1/4 cup carrier oil (olive, sweet almond, etc)

1 Tablespoon Alkanet Root

Instructions:

Combine ingredients in a small bowl or jar. Leave for a few days to infuse, or warm gently in hot water for an hour or two until the oil takes on the desired color. Use the infused oil in your Lip Balm recipe to add a pretty sheer tint! The infused oil can also be used for soap making and other cosmetic recipes.

A Video Tutorial on making Ricotta Cheese at home. So easy and you will love it! Visit the “Recipes” page to view the exact recipe we use here, as well as serving ideas.

Here’s a Video Tutorial on how to make a simple Container Candle.  For details on adding color and scent to your candle, and to view the exact method we use here, go to the “Recipes” page.

A quick video on making Laundry Soap at home. Easy Peasy! Go to the “Recipes” page to view the exact recipe we use here.

Here’s an easy tutorial on making Lip Balm. You can see the exact recipe we use on the “Recipes” page, as well as details on infusing a tint into your lip balm. Have fun!

For those of you not familiar with Harriet, she is the author of the book The Householder’s Guide to the Universe and a self-described Farm Wife. Harriet has spent a lot of time thinking about home and what it means to be a home maker. She is working on her next book which examines the history and modern implications of the home economy. Listening to her talk about the history of land ownership, the relationship between the global market economy and the home economy, and the devaluing of the culture of home, I began to have a new appreciation for what a “home” really means.

Harriet has spent the last few years working closely with small farmers in the area. She has traded her householding skills for farm fresh fruits and vegetables. She has learned to put up a pantry that provides delicious, nourishing food for the year. She has analyzed, tweaked and codified her methods for making a home and is now ready to share the wealth of information she has put together and talk to others about what it takes to make a home economy work.

For the next six weeks, Harriet will be hosting a working group that will come together once a month to read, discuss, analyze and philosophize on the topic of the New Home Economy. The groups will be held at the shop and at Harriet’s home. If you’re interested, check out the class page and register for the AUTHOR’S SERIES | Returning Home: The Practice, Principles and Art of the New Home Economy. I look forward to meeting fellow householders and sharing experiences, methods and new ideas. The first class is this Sunday. I hope to see you there!

A lot has been said about bone broth lately. I’ve read about bone broth in magazines, books, on blogs and in newspapers. Here in Portland, we even have a Broth Bar that serves a wide variety of bone broths with your choice of add-ins. Genius.

I love that traditional foods are getting so much attention these days. If my mom were still with us, she would probably get a wrinkle on her forehead, squinch her eyebrows together and ask (in her really thick German accent) “What’s the big deal with bone broth, it sounds like just soup to me.” Yes mom, it is just soup. It’s the kind of soup you used to make, not the kind of soup that most of us eat out of a can or box. It’s the kind of soup that values frugality, that uses leftovers and meaty bones, that takes all day over a slow fire, that ends up being so delicious it is sometimes attributed with healing powers. But that’s kind of silly, because all good food – real food – has the power to heal. Enough reminiscing. On to the broth.

Meat and Bones

What makes bone broth so amazing is the minerals and collagen that come from the bones and connective tissues in meat which pass along to us in the broth. And while a perfectly wonderful broth can be made with just the bones, a little meat adds flavor and texture to the broth. I use a mix of knuckle and femur bones with a couple of meaty, boney (and inexpensive) shanks. Throw the bones in a 400 degree or so oven to let them brown, then brown the meat in the stock pot with a smidge of olive oil to keep them from sticking. Browning adds color and flavor to the broth.

Veggies

Here’s the best part of a great broth. You don’t have to buy a mix of fresh veggies from the store or farmer’s market. You can use the ends, stems, and funny looking veggie parts that you don’t use during the week. In this batch I used carrot peels, a sad-looking carrot, a left over celery heart and the cut-off ends of the stalks, broccoli stems, kale stems, the top and bottom ends of a couple of beets, parsley stems, and onion ends and peels. I cut one additional onion in half and browned it with the bones for good measure. In all, the veggies were about the same volume as the bones and meat.

Seasoning

To round out the flavor, I add a few whole peppercorns and a couple of whole cloves. Salt is optional. If you’re planning on using the broth in recipes or reducing it, don’t add salt; but occasionally, I like to add just a pinch of sea salt to bring out the flavors. Acid helps break down the collagen and draw out the minerals, so if I have a little wine left over from the previous evening I’ll add a generous splash to the pot. Leftover wine is fine, but don’t use plonk. If you don’t have any decent wine (i.e. wine you would drink), add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. Finally, I add some herbs – a bay leaf, maybe some thyme and a few extra stems of parsley.

Cooking

When everything has found its way into your pot, fill the pot with water, cover and set on the stove. I set the heat to medium until just before it boils, then turn the heat to low and let it sit all day. You don’t want the broth to boil, just a light simmer will do. After 8 to 12 hours of slow
cooking, I skim all the veggies and other bits from the top and set the broth pot out to cool. Usually I’ll start the stock in the morning, let it cook all day and then just before going to bed, I’ll skim it and set it out on the back porch to cool overnight. In the morning a lovely layer of yellow fat will cover your broth. Skim this off if you want, but don’t throw the fat away. The fat can be used for cooking – I like to sauté veggies with it.

Once the fat is skimmed from the top, I reheat the gelatinous remains just enough to liquefy. Remove the bones, meat and remaining veggies and pour the broth through a strainer into containers. Voilà, a week’s worth of healthy goodness! Aside from soups, I use the broth to braise veggies and meat, create thick, silky sauces, make gravies and reheat leftovers. If, like me, you’re trying to break a decades long coffee addiction, a warm mug of broth in the morning is (almost) as comforting, and much healthier, than that cup of joe.

That’s it, except for some final words of encouragement. Like all homesteading projects, making bone broth takes time and planning. While it’s much quicker to pick up that hermetically sealed box of broth from the store, the health benefits of homemade bone broth far outweigh the convenience of store bought – not to mention the amazing smells that fill the house as the broth slowly simmers. It doesn’t sound like much, but how we feed our families is a fundamental statement of our values. Every part of this process that we can take out of the hands of corporations brings us closer to better health, better sustainability and a greater sense of “home”. We all work, we all have busy lives, but sometimes it’s worth the extra time spent. Nuff said.