Darlene

Haven’t learned that one yet.

Your memory is impeccable!

Takes one to know one.

(((((Dee))))) Just got in from seeing a newborn calf born to one of the cows. Nothing brings more of a smile to the heart than to watch the newborn trying to get up on his little stick legs lol The fact that he/she was born on my birthday made it even more special It's been a great day so far...my daughters are up. I went with the youngest to the Amish market this morning and bought a ton of fresh carrots that I'll vacuum seal and freeze and more strawberries. Food is my happy place next to family...whether it be blood relatives or my family here. Thank you for remembering

Bingo. I have done that my entire life. The fact that I can expand into larger animals does not negate the fact that I was prepping before it was cool and I was doing so in the suburban environment. With 4 children, a husband and extended family all included too. Homey could testify to the mountains of stash I had and still have in many ways. No Campbell soups for me anymore lol.

Everyone is different. For those that know me well, they know that a "No", or "Can't be done" is meaningless to me, but that's just me. My perspective on all of this tends to reveal: Of course nothing is truly clean anymore. Consequently, I can either purchase products that boldly and blatantly state that they are bioengineered from fake produce, or I can try to strive to minimize my purchase of such products. Where do we draw the line? I've been drawing lines for decades. I've busted my backside to live and raise various products myself for a long time now. Making my own cream of mushroom soup? Piece of cake. I've already found several recipes that seem delicious. Can I find commercially made cans of cream of mushroom soup that do not boldly state they are bioengineered? Absolutely. I've already found a couple of brands - one being Wholefood's brand that is almost the same price as Campbells. Maybe the way I perceive things is different from most, and that's ok. But there's no way I would give up and continue to purchase those types of products, when it's a piece of cake for me to figure out a Plan B or C. At some point, I've already accepted the fact that I will have to forego and not purchase 'whatever' in the future because it has become contaminated to the point where I refuse to ingest it, and after thorough research, I am unable to figure out a Plan B or C. In fact, that is a thought I've been having occasionally lately - living without 'whatever' - which is a topic for another day. We cannot escape all of the contamination but I can sure minimize it through the work I do on the farm, my natural gifts and passions and prepare the best I can for the days that are accelerating and looming over us quicker than I want. For the record though, much of what I'm able to do here on the farm could be done if I still lived in the suburbs. It would require Plan B and C's, but it would still be doable. Consequently, I have a hard time giving up.

My better solution is to make my own.

My mom alerted me last night about this and when I looked at the cans of Campbells soup I have in my cupboard, I discovered she was right. Every single can of Campbells soup has this alert: “Contains bio bioengineered food ingredients….from genetically modified crops” The cans I currently have will go to the dogs and I will never buy Campbells again. Just the thought of this bioengineered and genetically modified garbage makes me sick.

I’m thinking about making some sourdough crackers with the discard too. I think they’d be amazing with everything bagel seasoning on them.

Yeah, it took me a little bit to figure out how to incorporate it into an already packed day. I think the thing that motivated was that first loaf lol. I eat it every day now.

Awwww happy birthday!!! And thanks Dee for the announcement

Yeah I took a several year break mostly because while the recipe I used made great bread, it wasn’t that “it” for me. The KA recipe has blown me away and reignited my excitement over making bread. I started the process with my third loaf today. Less than a week from when I started the first loaf.

That’s interesting E. That’s one of the things I noticed right off the bat with this starter. It’s far more active and a lot more fragrant. I’m excited to see if there’s any aroma or taste difference with the San Fran starter.

What do you mean they’re all the same? I can see huge differences between my original sourdough starter and the new from smell to activity etc.