L Kroeker

I've made grape jelly & juice. This year I made grape jam with "seedless" (soft seeded) Concordia grapes. The jam is excellent. I don't even notice the seeds!

If you have enough grapes, I say do all three.

I know of valiant grapes being grown at 2054 ft., zone 2, in the Canadian Prairie region.

I also know that concord grapes are grown here at 1480 ft., zone 3b-4 also on the Canadian prairie.

We do get hot in summer, but our main concern here is cold and sometimes hardly any snowcover until Dec./Jan due to winds. We can hit -30 to -40°C, and have even seen down to -52°C.

In zones 3b-4, there are native grapes in some areas, but none where I am unless they are purposely planted.

I realize this is an older thread, and I don't know how much resolution this gives to anybody's questions, but hopefully, it's helpful to someone.

We bought an electric Wondermill years ago. It took very little time for it to pay for itself. We could make flour for less than store bought white even we used organic grains from the neighbors. This is one machine that is well worth investing in.

What we liked was that there are no grindstones that might leave gritty particles in the flour. It can also grind quite fine. The flour also adds a wonderful subtle nutty flavor to baked goods that you can't get otherwise.

We use extremely little white flour now. That is reserved for the very few recipes that would get way too dense. I think that amounts to one or two of our many recipes. Everything else is now 100%  freshly milled whole grain and we would never go back.

Interesting lists.

I must say first of all, I hate clothing without pockets, but just the same, I find back pockets annoying & relatively useless.

My pockets stay empty as much a possible. I hate carrying things in my pocket unless I have to & if I have to, it's a driver's license and probably nothing or little else.

Anything else can be carried otherwise, and even then, I keep it minimal. I just don't like carrying things. I like freedom.

I went from a medium purse to smaller to wallet size to big diaper bag to backpack to a small carry to empty pockets again. After going through many babies over many years, I really have an aversion to carrying stuff.

My kids & husband on the other hand each have good quality multitools (however, not in a pocket), and possibly a few other things if they feel they need or want it.

I've had a few friends that picked eggs and put those in their pockets. Some rediscovered them later as a wet & sticky mess. Lol That's just not a great place to put eggs.

What if you gave it a brush of fresh butter? That would soften the crust.

This sounds like something I would like to try. Thanks!

I have two recipes. Three if you count pound cake, but I'm only writing out 2 recipes today.

One is a variation of the pancakes listed above and is an easy favorite for my family.

Dutch Pancakes (Pannekoeken)

1/4 c. Butter
6 eggs
1 1/2 c. Flour
3/4 c. Sugar
1/2  tsp. Salt
1 top. Vanilla
3 c. Milk

Heat oven to 425°F. Melt butter in cast iron skillet. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir flour, salt, sugar, vanilla & combine with a hand mixer. Gradually add milk while mixing.

Pourmuxture into skillet. Place in preheated oven. Bake for 30 min. @ 425°, then turn down to 325°F for 10-15 min. or until the sides puff up. Important: Do not open the door until the pancake is done. Don't overbake.

Remove from oven.

Popular toppings: fruit/fruit sauce (strawberries, blueberries, saskatoons, bananas), bacon, scrambled eggs, almonds, walnuts, freshening with icing sugar (in Canada, that's what it's called), maple syrup, jams/jellies, butter & brown sugar, whipped cream.


I can't believe nobody did cream puffs!

Cream Puffs

1/2 c. Butter
1 c. Boiling water
1 c. Flour
4 eggs

Whipped cream

Bring butter & water to a boil, stir in flour. Remove from heat & beat in eggs 1 at a time. Drop in tart tin & bake for 10 min. @450°F. Reduce to 350°F for 10 min. Cool. Cut through half way. Fill.

Baby creampuffs: Drop by tsp. full. These will expand, approx. double. Keep this in mind when dropping. Bake these at 450°F for 10 min, then 350°F for 10 min. until golden. Fill with whipped cream in pastry bag. Can de ornate additionally by drizzling with chocolate or caramel sauce.

Note: A savory sandwich filling is also fantastic in cream puffs.

Ben Veenema wrote:I make raw milk into raw yogurt instead of consuming it as a liquid.

I'm not a "milk drinker" person. I feel weird drinking milk by itself for some reason... maybe I'm broken.  But I love yogurt.  I use a crock pot and temperature controller to keep the temperature at 120°F, high enough for the yogurt cultures to work but hopefully not high enough to kill the beneficial organisms in raw milk.  I suppose you could also use the low temperature yogurt cultures but they don't make a nice, thick yogurt in the end.

Ours is cultured at 110°F. One gallon of milk warmed (preferably still warm from the cow...it speeds up the heating), yogurt culture added & whisked in, put in the jar, wrapped 2 huge fluffy towels, and set in a warm place for 8 hours. Temp @ 120°F sounds a bit high. I get my best results at 110.

Thanks. We are considered zone 3.

I know of nobody growing elder here. I imagine someone has tried, however, as a big box store was selling the "Black Lace" (a proprietary variety anyway) cultivar.

We have had milk cows for about 19 years. I was the primary milker of the family cows in my teen years. My favorite of all the types? Of course, the jersey!

I noticed that when I had to drink store milk, that I quickly gained weight & my stomach hurt badly, like I wanted to die. The stuff tastes like it was overheated & like plastic. It is nothing like raw milk. I have learned since that there is a lot that changes the milk composition from the start, by choice of dairy feed supplements (milk is ruined already right here), all the way through the processing, to the store. I will never drink it again. Raw only is the way to go...and it is certainly financially worth having your own animal. There is so very much you can make with the raw milk that saves money.

As far as naysayers, I just let them be. They will most likely never understand. I know what works. They really don't know what they are missing.

I have known a few people who could not drink the conventional stuff be able to drink raw with no issues.

As far as colostrum, some cultures eat it as a pudding. We tried the stuff as is and tried the pudding. It is very powerful, both medicinally & in flavor. It has the worst flavor in our opinion. BUT it is regularly used to save calves that lost their mother's, and we have seen it extend a dying dog's life (from totally down & almost limp to running around), kittens who would have died within hours to the pudgiest, strong little furballs. The egg and other things we tried didn't match the colostrum's power. It is certainly a miracle-laden superfood.

If I had to use it for myself, I don't know if I could bear to taste it...but it makes me wonder what aches & pains might disappear if I could.