I know that there is a great amount of information floating around the internet regarding "Back to Basics" living. There are those who list recipes and instructions for those who wish to improve their life and that of their family, by controlling their own food supply as much as possible. I am no different than you in this respect. I am also seeking ways to simplify my life, to grow my own food and raise my own meat. I can, preserve and dehydrate food from my garden. I look for recipes and instructions that will allow me to make things that I would otherwise have to buy.
I believe in making my own staples for both the pantry and the refrigerator. I began back in the 1980's, when I was just married. We were a very young couple, (Chris was 18 and I was only 16), but we knew what we wanted. The dream was to build a log cabin and live an old-style life together. Over the years some of our dreams may have changed, but the one thing that has remained a constant is the desire to live that simpler, homemade existence.
It began with the staples. I took on an attitude that if it could be bought, it can be made. This is especially true in the kitchen. All of the base ingredients are right there on the grocery store shelves, and recipes abound in books, magazines, and on the internet. I began making a basic baking mix, a Bisquick replacement. My mother gave me a Bisquick baking book with lots of ways to use the baking mix. Since then, I have added cornmeal mix and a number of other base mixes that I would normally buy. Here I am 30+ years later, still using those mixes, only now I grind my own grains.
This blog is written for those just like my husband and me, who search tirelessly for the ways of our ancestors, so that we too may follow that old and almost forgotten path to a better life filled with creativity and simplicity. There are so many ways that we may enhance our families lives, just by stepping back a little through time, and taking the responsibility for what we eat, (grow as much of your own food supply as possible and learn how to preserve it), how we shop (we purchase things second-hand as often as possible to defy consumerism), and how we live ( our altitudes and philosophies guide our path) our lives.
