Accidental Bread Success

My son and I have been having quite a bit of fun together in the kitchen lately. We decide together what to make, and then I measure out ingredients while he dumps them in a bowl. I told him about sourdough starters recently and he begged me to do that. I washed a glass jar for it, and then found a recipe. We mixed it up and left it on the counter (sourdough starters are supposed to be at room temperature while they ferment). A few hours later, I went in the kitchen and found that the starter had overflowed (it was yeast, flour, and warm water)! It was perfect for the bread recipe I made on Memorial Day, so I gave it another go and got wonderful results!

Even though the bread is delicious, I am a little disappointed that the sourdough starter ended so poorly. I guess I'll have to try again. I'm sure my son won't might; he loves working in the kitchen!

I've been so proud of my family during the month of May. Hubby and I are really trying to restrict spending so we can pay off debt and save up for our homestead. We have done well at eating meals at home and remembering to send food to work with my husband. I've also pushed myself to dig deep in the chest freezer and cupboards for foods I normally pass up when making our meals. The chest freezer is nearly empty now, and we're using up food that would have otherwise gone to waste. I can't believe how much money we've thrown away in the past by ignoring food until it goes bad.

Another way I'm thinking of saving some money is going back to cloth diapers. We used them with our son when he was a baby (he outgrew the largest prefolds when he was 13 months), and I had them all ready to go again for our daughter, but the whole cancer thing threw me for a loop and disposables seemed like the way to go. Now that I'm in remission and have more energy, I think I'm ready to use cloth again. It would save us about $40 a month, or $480 in a year.

Strawberry Shortcake

When I went outside to play with my kids in the backyard, I noticed red in my strawberry patch. I figured I could probably get 10 berries today so I only took a small bowl with me. The plants were loaded! I got quite a few berries that were huge, but most were medium sized. I didn't see too many blooms left, but there were tons of green and pink berries. I think we'll be enjoying fresh strawberries frequently this year!

I was really surprised by the number of strawberries I was able to pick today. We've had some heavy rain lately (and not much sun). I was worried that the moisture would encourage slugs to sample my berries, but I only had to throw away 3 strawberries.

It was fun trying to think of things to do with the strawberries, but I ultimately decided on strawberry shortcake! Yum! 

My shortcake turned out really well, though I forgot to butter the pan first.

Shortcake recipe:
2 c flour
3 tbsp sugar
1.5 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of cinnamon
1/4 c butter, softened
3/4 c milk
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add the butter, milk, and egg.
You can either form individual shortcakes or make a large one (if you use a glass pan, butter it first!).
I sprinkled the top with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar, which was quite good (definitely give it a try).
Bake @ 425 degrees (F) for 15-20 minutes

I'm really excited for breakfast tomorrow; we're going to have strawberry pancakes since we didn't finish all of the berries today. I'm already making plans for the next bunch of ripe strawberries (maybe scones!). What is your favorite thing to do with strawberries?

Making Bread on Memorial Day

My family had a lovely Memorial Day weekend. It's nice when the hubby has an extra day off to spend with the kids and I. We have been keeping an eye on for sale properties in our area, checking out prices and amenities close by. We're still working on paying off debt and saving a down payment, but we want to get an idea of what locations would be ideal for our family (since we're looking for a decent piece of land for a homestead!). We ended up going for a nice country drive on Saturday and saw some nice rural towns.

We also spent the weekend doing some household cleaning. Since we do bottles for the baby (had to stop nursing her because of the chemotherapy), we have to do dishes far more often than we are naturally inclined, but we had some bigger stuff to catch up, like the crockpot and some larger pots and pans. We also had a few loads of laundry to run.

My 3 year old and I were a little bored yesterday and decided to make bread together. He enjoys when I measure out ingredients for him to dump in the bowl. I think it's good to encourage children to help in the kitchen so they will have a greater desire to cook as adults. They are more likely to try new foods if they participate in the making process.

Anyhow, I had a good time with my little helper. It was fun kneading our dough and waiting for it to rise. I think my yeast must not have been good though, because the dough didn't rise very much. The bread turned out dense, but with great flavor. I think I might switch yeast brands and try this recipe again. I also should have given a little more time for the dough to rise since I used glass loaf pans.

The recipe for the bread is pretty simple:
2 tbsp yeast + 1 tbsp sugar, then mix with 1/2 cup of warm water
In a separate bowl, mix 1.5 cups of flour with 2.5 cups of warm water, then add 1/3 cup of oil, 1/3 cup of sugar, and 1 tbsp salt.
Then add the yeast mixture. While mixing, slowly add 5-6 cups of flour.
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, then separate in to 2 loaves in loaf pans and let it rise in a warm place (20 minutes for metal pans, and about 35 for glass).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F) and bake for 25 minutes (metal) or 30-35 minutes (glass).

I'm looking forward to trying the recipe again with new yeast, and the understanding that glass pans need a little more time for rising.

Strawberries

My strawberries are looking lovely. I had 12 plants last year, but I would guess there are about 30 now and they're all loaded with berries! It looks like each plant has 5 or so berries already, and some of them are starting to pink.

Last summer, there were ripe berries between June and September (I was amazed to still have fresh strawberries when we were able to get fresh, local apples). Our garden has quite a bit of shade, which may have had something to do with the long season for the berries. It may have also been the reason not much else grew.

I've decided to grow some other plants from seeds, so we will hopefully have some cucumbers and tomatoes to transfer outside soon. I would love to have a big garden, but with the limited space here and the amount of shade, it doesn't make sense to plant very much.

I would like to get my herb garden replanted. I made the mistake of putting spearmint in a central spot and it took over the area. I recently learned that mint is a rather dominant plant and the roots will out compete other plants. I want to replant what I lost: rosemary, parsley, dill, and basil, plus a few more. The spearmint will be dug up and transferred to a pot.

I finally figured out where the SD slot is on my new computer so I came back to add some week old pictures, plus one from this morning. We have our first fairly ripe strawberries! My son picked one a little early, but the rest are staying in the garden to get nice and red.

Oncologist Visit

I had an appointment with my oncologist yesterday to go over my recent bloodwork. I have to get my blood drawn every two weeks or so, just to make sure everything is within the normal range. Most things were in the correct range, and things that were outside of it are correcting themselves. The only thing that was new was the presence of (excess) liver enzymes. My oncologist wasn't concerned as the level was not very far outside the normal range. He thinks it will go back to normal soon.

I'll have a PET scan something within the next month to make sure there isn't any cancer left (not a 100% guarantee since there can be small enough masses to not show up). I'll need to have them a few times a year for the next couple of years, then once a year until 5 years have passed. That's a lot of exposure to radiation!

All these dealings with cancer have left me paranoid about developing another type of cancer. The chemotherapy I got for Hodgkin's was ABVD, which isn't that bad. It's only given once every 2 weeks. Don't get me wrong, it was terrible, but I can't even imagine how horrible it must be to get chemo multiple times a week. I'm going to schedule a visit with a dermatologist soon. I want to have get a skin check for melanoma. I have some dark lines in a couple of my fingernails (that can be a sign of melanoma).

I've been tracking my fruit and vegetable consumption lately and it's alarmingly low. There are days when I don't manage to eat 5 servings a day, which is absurd! It might explain why I'm having trouble losing weight (I gained 45 pounds during chemo, and was plump to begin with). It's also important to get enough fiber to prevent colon cancer.

My garden has been sorely neglected, but I have some lovely strawberry plants and herbs. My next post will feature my tiny food garden.

Parenting Revelations

I realized something this morning after telling my son for the millionth time to stop harassing his little sister. He needs some time to himself, and I don't mean a time out. I think he needs some one-on-one time with his parents. Now, I realize that isn't such a far out thought that I deserve an award for my excellent creativity and genius, but when one is frazzled and constantly caught in the middle of squabbles, it seems like an "aha" moment.

We were doing well with having 2 kids in the beginning. My husband had 2 weeks of paternity leave and after the first few days (I had a caesarean), we went out every day (it helped me beat the baby blues). Our son loved it! We went on picnics, to the coast, on a train ride, to a cheese factory, and took lots of trips to parks. I don't particularly like the feeling of walking everywhere a few days after having major surgery, but I felt like it really helped our son realize that life could still be fun with a new baby.

Then I started coughing. I thought at first it was related to pain medication, or maybe I had a blood clot go to my lungs (this was a really scary thing to think about!). I couldn't breathe if I was in bed, so for a couple weeks I sat up to sleep. The cough got so bad that I was throwing up anything I ate. It was awful! I also had horrible night sweats, and wasn't hungry (I lost 65 pounds in 6 weeks!).

After suffering through that for 6 weeks, I went to the doctor. She immediately scheduled me for a set of chest x-rays. I had multiple masses in my chest, mostly between my lungs. 2 days later, I had a CT scan and was referred to an oncologist. He recommended that I have a lymph node biopsy. The lymph nodes over my collar bones had been swollen for about a year, and that along with all of the other symptoms (and the masses showing up on scans) made it seem likely that I had a type of lymphoma.

The lymph node biopsy revealed that it was Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I needed a PET scan, a lung function test, and an echocardiogram before I could start chemotherapy. I was an emotional wreck, and felt like I had to hide it.

I was still trying to function as normal, but I was still recovering from my c-section and trying to adjust to having 2 children. I had to give up breastfeeding when I started chemo. It was horrible. It was the day my daughter was 3 months old, and should have been so wonderful, but instead nursed her for the last time 5 minutes before I left the house for my first treatment.

And my children had to deal with all of that... and the months that followed. I wanted to make the transition to 2 children as smooth as possible for my first. The cancer made it hard to be a parent. All I wanted to do was rest, and that couldn't happen because I was still a stay at home mom with 2 little ones. I am so happy that I got to continue being at home with my children (it's the best thing in the world for me), but it was hard. I felt like I had climbed a mountain when I played with my son for 15 minutes.

And now, shortly after finishing treatment I need to get back to being a normal mom (new and improved- now with energy!), but I find it challenging because my children did not stop aging while I went through treatment. I don't have a tiny baby and a 2.5 year old. I have to figure out how to do things with them, but they're different people with new needs. The baby is crawling and cruising everywhere, and my 3 year old is going through the tough emotional stuff that is normal for his age.

I think every child needs some special time alone with parents, but it is especially important when you have more than one child. For my children, that need has been ignored because of my treatment. Now that I am well, I think it is time give my son some extra attention. He needs reassurance that he is still an important part of my life.

One-on-one time with parents seems to curb destructive behavior and encourage a more cheerful disposition. My son seems more agreeable when he has gotten to play without his little sister. There is too much competition for parental attention when siblings are together. 

Some ideas of simple one-on-one activities:
-Board games (The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel game is our favorite!)
-Art projects
-A trip to the grocery store
-Baking a treat
-Reading favorite books together

I will be writing more about my cancer experience, and ideas I have for one-on-one time, in the next few weeks. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail at ThePlasticHomesteader@gmail.com.

The First Post

There are so many things I want this blog to be about: children, beating cancer, my interest in natural living, every day household stuff, and homesteading/farming. It's amazing to me when people can have a blog about just one topic. I plan to write about a wide variety of things to keep it interesting (for me, anyway).

I chose the name The Plastic Homesteader because I'm less "crunchy" than a lot of the homesteaders I know of. My house is filled with plastic toys (though we do have quite a few natural toys), and we eat some processed food. I would like to periodically reassess what possessions we have and see if they still fit with our lifestyle dreams.

Our number one dream is to buy a decent plot of land (at least an acre, but ideally 5+) and start our very own little homestead! I'm most interested in having an orchard and various types of berries, but also would like bees, chickens, dairy goats, and fields for growing vegetables.

It would be nice if farming took off and we could sell excess produce and homemade goodies like candles, yarn, and soap at a market. I love to visit farmer's markets and see all of the wonderful things for sale. I usually end up bringing home way too much fresh produce and yummy baked goods. It's so nice that people can generate an income from being productive on their own land! 

We're currently living in a rental (house). Our landlords are fantastic, but we don't have much room for a garden. The layout is also a bit tricky with such young children (3 and 9 months). It helps keep us motivated to save for our own place. 

Chemotherapy took a toll on how our home looks. It's full of clutter and needs a thorough cleaning. I did more than most people probably would have, simply motivated by the fact that I am a stay at home mom and needed to maintain some level of normal routine for the kids, but it is still a wreck. The husband and I accomplished quite a bit today, which felt fantastic! We put together a futon for our guest room (something we've been putting off for a few months), moved our son's bed out of his old room and in to ours (he gets up in the middle of the night and climbs in with us, so we figured maybe this way he'll stay in his own bed), and turned the ex-bedroom in to a playroom for the kids. 

After finishing chemotherapy, I regained my interest in doing things around the house, which inspired me to start this blog. I want to have some accountability and share any useful tips and tricks I figure out.