That is awesome! Those pics are definitely inspiring.
Calling All DIY-ers!
Eccemus
(LJ)
#22
I now use my instant pot a lot and make dishes I never considered before.
Making a lot of homemade Asian dishes because the mains are protein and oil with amazing spices.
Bonnielee
(Bonnie)
#23
You are truly someone after my own heart. Iām now in my 60s with those years of major food prep, preserving the bounty, including pressure canning salmon, meats and water bath processing of fruits, tomatoes, etc. I did a lot of dehydrating as well. I feel there is a squirrel in my DNA, just love putting things away for the winter. Maybe from my past generations of homesteaders. Anyway, Iām rethinking that decision to stop the preserving as I see potential for easy Keto friendly meals and snacks in my pantry. Thanks for the inspiration!
JustPeachy
(Sophie)
#24
You should go for it! As you know preserving isnāt just for jams and jellies! I just harvested a few more tomatoes. Yesterday I peeled a bunch, crushed them, blanched them, and then divvied them up into bags for the freezer. Iām thinkin stew/soup.
Also forgot that I make my own vanilla extract. Super easy, tastes better and I love the little vanilla beans in there.
Quarry
(Joy)
#25
These other posters humble me. Youāre all wonderfully ambitious.
I think my veggie garden is going to become dominated by three-season gardening of greens. With glass cover, I can keep greens growing all but 3 months here in Wisconsin. Love a wilted salad, drenched in butter or bacon fat. Keeps one regular, too!
Dear husband makes terrific dry wine on charred white oak. I rarely want more than one or two ounces, so hardly impacts the carb count.
āKeto not sustainable?ā Ha! Enjoying salads more now than when I was eating them low fat.
Bonnielee
(Bonnie)
#26
Has anybody tried making their own puffed pork rinds? I think Iām going to try it. My son raises a few pigs each year for the family and no one takes the skin. Anybody try this?
JustPeachy
(Sophie)
#27
I think this is pretty damn awesome, especially for Wisconsin! You gotta love fresh picked salad greens any time of the year. And your hubby is welcome at my house if he can make wine!!! My dad used to make scuppernong wine and it was my job to make sure it was always bubbling. lol! I was started young. 
@Bonnielee Iāve never tried fried pork rinds but I have seen them made at a festival and all they did was slice the skin into strips and deep fry in oil. When they floated they were removed, and then immediately added seasonings. I think it would be a cinch to do. Let us know how they turn out, will you? 
Bonnielee
(Bonnie)
#28
I sure will! I found this farm blog that goes over how they make them. So, we shall see. Iāll post a photo and give a pork rind report!
http://www.sumasmountainfarms.ca/blog.php?id=70&title=How-To-Make-Super-Healthy-Pork-Rinds
farmgirl
(Arlene)
#29
I tried this. Had pork skin from some Red Wattle pigs. Quite a bit of fat still on the skins. It was extremely difficult to cut the skins into small pieces, but then I tried simmering them in water for a while and it was a breeze to cut them up. As for frying up the pork rinds into those nice fluffy things you see in the store, mine just arenāt the same. Some are very hard and chewy. Iām still working on coming up with just the right frying temp and time frame.
janknitz
(jketoscribe)
#30
The secrets to a good gel for bone broth are lots of gelatinous joint parts and enough water but not too much. Just enough to cover the ingredients. I do not use ACV (itās really not necessary and I donāt like the taste) or roast ahead of time. I do use a pressure cooker and then keep it at a simmer (via my Instant Pot ākeep warmā setting) for a few hours after the pressure is done. Iām not a big beef broth fan, but I make chicken broth every other week and use wings because they have tons of collagen (as a child I loved chicken feet in my soup, but now they gross me out!).
My DIY is ferments: kombucha, dairy kefir for my husband, kraut, pickles, and because Iām dairy intolerant I make my own coconut yogurt (in my Instant Pot) and coconut cream cheese. I make my own ghee, and many keto things from scratch (almond crackers, grain and sugar free granola, keto (coconut) ice cream, etc.). Iāve been making some non-dairy ācheeseā for myself (out of nuts or veggies). I use a food dehydrator when certain veggies are plentiful and cheap.
I have a terrible black thumb, but this year for the first time I have been able to keep a few herbs without killing themābasil, chives, and mint. Iām pretty proud of that!
Cheryl311
(Cheryl Hall)
#31
Update: my broth turned out beautifully - very gelatinous and the oxtails definitely added so much flavor. Thanks so much for your tips!!! 
Darcy
#32
I am also in WI trying to do extended season gardening for greens. However I am having rabbit problems. They really love the salad bar I provided for them. Over winter they moved right in to my raised bed and made a nest.
JustPeachy
(Sophie)
#33
Had this exact same problem 2yrs agoā¦we had to tack hardware cloth around the tops of our raised beds. Worked like a charm. 
Darcy
#35
I think we will have to dig out all the dirt from the beds and put hardware cloth on the bottom too since they tunneled in this winter. Who could blame them, such a nice cozy spot under the plastic and hoops.
JustPeachy
(Sophie)
#36
We laid the hardware cloth down when we built the beds, but beds are 18" high so that little sucker hopped up into it to build her nest! The squirrels seem to like laying up in them during the summer too so they can cool offā¦sometimes you canāt win for losing! Iām just glad they let me have some tomatoes. 
Darcy
#37
LOL. Mine donāt seem to like mustard greens, so I guess I have that. At least they are cute.
JustPeachy
(Sophie)
#38
This Seed Bread has been on my kitchen-to-do list for months. Since Keto Iāve limited myself on the bread making and only do an occasional mug bread for Sunday brunch and so far only one batch of hamburger buns! Anyway, I thought Iād give this a goā¦
I did have to make one subā¦ I didnāt have almond milk so I used HWC instead. And I also added a pinch of salt. It does taste a little bland and I think Iād up that salt to at least 1/2tsp. and it is a little spongy but dense. It might benefit from some almond flour, otherwise itās fairly good for .5g net carbs per slice. It was easy to get 12 slices out of the loaf. Oh, and I baked it in the convection oven because I refuse to heat up my house in the summer! 
Quarry
(Joy)
#39
Thatās so darn cute! Yes, Iāve gotten pretty defensive about my raised beds since battling a groundhog years ago. Greetings from Les Paulās hometown, Darcy.
daon
#40
@JustPeachy I just bought a Bel Cream Maker off Ebay. I paid a bitā¦but most are from the UK, so I jumped on one from the US in what looks to be mint condition, perhaps never even used. I canāt wait for it to arrive at my house so I can make my own cream! Yipee!