Brenna Preston

So we live in tick country and after many treatments for Lymes disease (never properly diagnosed but treated because they couldn't figure out what else could be making us sick) did we have a scary night in the ER after an anaphylaxis attack. We were lucky to have a nurse who also had a family member with Alpha-gal and recommended we find an allergist to test for it. Test came back with extremely high levels hence the anaphylaxis. After eliminating mammalian meat and dairy, we also discovered we had to look at medications and other items in our house to switch over to vegan friendly items to prevent any cross contamination.
So after all of that, we still love to eat meat. We've began an all "fins and feather" diet. Unfortunately grocery stores only carry chicken and turkey and various fish. For the fish we have found plenty of recipes and different ways to eat it to our liking, but we are kinda getting sick of just eating chicken. We've recently decided to raise quail and some other birds since we just recently bought some land. Are there any good books out there for eating wild fowl? We can't cook in butter and try to avoid seed oils (nut allergies),so does anyone have any good ideas?
(Sorry for the lengthy post 😁)

Thank you so much for this recipe! We are getting goats and was thinking about how to store their cheese if I made some since we are starting out our new homestead with a very small solar setup (just enough electricity for a few lights, charge our phone and hopefully a small fridge/dorm size 🤞). My worries were for winter and the possibility of not enough sun to charge our battery so I am trying to think ahead and get some ideas now.

We recently bought some land to turn into our permie homestead and part of the closing included clearing the overgrown 2 acres for our future homesite. Now that spring has arrived we want to stay ahead of the brambles and brush starting to grow up. The property is about 2 hours from our current residence and we will be moving to it this year,but before then we were trying to figure out how to keep the area cleared for us to build. We will eventually get some goats but we can't have them in our current home and there isn't any infrastructure there. There is a bush hog attachment sitting in the woods (covered up) that we can use but no tractor to attach it to. We've been looking to see what is available to purchase but not sure if there is a particular brand that's better than others. Ideally we want to buy used so we're keeping an eye out on the market sites for one. Any suggestions?

This is a fantastic list! Thank you and to all who have added to it as well. I'm just beginning to forage and have only collected plants that I was 100% sure of (like dandelion). One reason I hadn't begun earlier was out of fear of eating something that would make me sick. This is a wonderful list to stick in my books when out and foraging. I will add pictures and more detailed information about the plants, such as stem size, hairy or smooth, leaf shape, etc..

Hilary Duinker wrote:
I think off-grid is ok in the title, but spending some time crafting a subtitle that will entice folks who are just starting down the homesteader/permie trail.  "develop the kitchen skills to homestead successfully in any kitchen".  

I think this is a great idea. The whole reason I was excited about this book is because I am just learning some of the old ways of homesteading and am about to buy some land to move onto. We have already begun canning jams and jellies, ferment veggies, make sourdough and Jun regularly. We raise chickens for eggs and have a small garden. What I've never done is try to preserve our harvest without having electricity available at all times. With our new property we know we have a small solar setup, which will power only a small fridge and maybe a few lights. We are looking at woodstoves and antique gas stoves for cooking and trying to weigh which might work better for us. There is a small wood burning stove in an old abandoned cabin, we just don't know if it's salvageable yet.
The recipes and techniques you were displaying were exactly the types of skills I am looking for. How to cure meats to food storage with limited electricity in an off-grid setting. I have tons of books with small amounts of information spread out, but one with the resources for food alone would be quite valuable. As for integrating it to a modern kitchen, it really shouldn't be a big deal. Just adding a small blurb such as "alternatively bake at X amount degrees for X amount of time" is all you would need. I believe you may have already stated this, but a section with tools needed would be important too. As for gifts, see if it's possible to work with a company like Cultures for Health to gain a coupon/discount code for purchasing rennet or starts or cheese making kits.

This looks fantastic! I would love to have something like this in my library! Beautiful pictures and information I've been searching for over a year. As we head into a new chapter of our lives, a resource like this would be quite valuable.

These are beautiful! I noticed this thread was started about 4 years ago, how are the fences holding up?

Leigh Tate wrote:Brenna, welcome to Permies and congratulations on your new homestead! Your property sounds wonderful.

You are so right about eye openers. We had the same one when we were first on well water. Also learning that I couldn't simple plug the hose into the kids' Slip-N-Slide because the holding tank ran out of water!

You've done well to make a start before you move to your place. If you plan to spend some time simply observing, it will serve you well. It helps to become familiar with weather patterns, wind and rain directions, water drainage locations, shade and sun patterns, etc. And by not starting out gangbusters, you have fewer "oh no" moments. :)

Hahaha, I can see us doing the same thing for a slip-n-slide! We were hoping to take at least a year before building so we can make see how the land lays. We've owned our current home for 20 years and I know there are a few things that drive me crazy, like it faces North and is dark all day. I also know I want a pantry and/or cold storage. So looking for ways to position the house and where we can build to best suit our needs.

Andrea Hicks wrote:My experience was similar. We’ve been living in the country for 3 years now. My big shock came from our septic system, which backed up all through our house before we realized there was any problem. If you also have one of those, my advice is, make sure the covers are accessible and not too grown over, and lift off and check levels every few months. If it gets backed up, it’s far better to know that sooner than later. Good luck!

Thanks for the heads up! We are looking at certain systems now, so I will definitely try to remember that!

We are about to close on our first homestead, a beautiful piece of raw land full of hardwoods and a few springs out in the country. We have chickens, gardens, put up several cans a year and have a handfull of skills readying us for the move. Coming from suburbia, we have always been connected to public water and electricity. Having friends on wells I quickly learned that when their power went out that their well pump wouldn't work. That was an eye opener, something I would never have thought of because if we lost power our water still worked. I am sure there will be a lot of learning through trial and error, but any bits of information about rural life would be greatly appreciated!