Small Pleasures Bring Big Joy
(Page 2 of 3)
April/May 2002
by Grace Brockway · Photos by Bill Brockway Ellenburg Depot, New York
Not every project we tried has stayed in our lives. It's important to learn your limits and admit when doing something just doesn't feel right. Although we loved canning and eating the meat from rabbits we raised, the necessary slaughtering was not to our taste. So we no loner do it. We also learned to slaughter and clean our chickens. We don't mind doing it when necessary, but the amount of slaughtering entailed in raising meat birds isn't for us.
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Still, I get a kick out of watching our hens roam around the yard, digging and scratching, or taking dust baths. When we first got them, Bill and I spent many a morning lying in bed, laughing after having been awakened by our young rooster's attempts at crowing. He progressed slowly from awkward croaks to slightly more appropriate cock-a-doodles, but never managed to master the full cock-a-doodledoo. To this day I still smile when I hear a rooster crow.
Homesteaders can pass on lots of advice and tips to newcomers to the life. But in terms of the Big Secret of Homesteading, I think that's a personal journey. I suggest you read all you can, talk with other homesteaders, weigh everything you learn and then make your decisions. But remember, sometimes the only way you'll learn whether something is right for you is by doing it.
At least that's true for me. Simple joys for simple minds: When I go out to the clothesline I can always be assured of finding a parade of farmyard friends hurrying along behind me, hoping I've got a pan of scraps for them. Look again and there will be Quiet, the cat, at the end of the parade, hoping I'll take a moment to scratch his stomach. I usually do, and stretch a bit and take note of which wildflowers are blooming at the moment, how deep the brook is or whether there are any birds at the feeder. Before heading back into the house, I'll take a quick stroll past the vegetable garden to see if anything needs picking, then stop off at the kitchen garden to pick an herb for that night's stew or do a bit of weeding.
May my simpleness never end.
Grace's Spaghetti sauce
11 quarts of tomato pulp (25-30 pounds, I'd guess)
1 tablespoon onion powder
12 garlic cloves cup olive oil
3 tablespoons oregano
6 bay leaves
2 tablespoons basil
2 tablespoons salt (or 1 tablespoon salt plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce)
1 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper cup red wine
Simmer all the ingredients in a thick-bottomed pot for about 6 hours or until it has thickened down to 7-8 quarts. About an hour before the sauce is ready, fill a waterbath canner with water and start it heating. It should be almost boiling when you're ready to add your jars of sauce to it. Wash and rinse 7 quart or 14 pint jars. Keep them in hot water, removing one at a time as you fill them. Soak the appropriate number of can ning lids and rings in hot (not boiling) water.
