I started the batch of homemade limoncello yesterday. It left me with 17 de-zested lemons and 20 de-zested oranges to use quickly. They won’t store very well without their tough zest to protect them and as you may know I’m not a fan of food-waste. Any move towards a self sufficient life means using every part of everything you can. There should really be no waste in a self sufficient household. So what do you do with 17 lemons? The oranges were easy – I juiced and refrigerated them for this week’s breakfast orange juice. The lemons caused more thought […]
Limoncello Recipe
We’re still trying to preserve, juice and munch our way through the windfall of free citrus fruit. After much deliberation, day dreaming, book-reading and internet browsing, I decided to designate 17 lemons and 20 oranges to the ‘limoncello‘ treatment. We have started the process of making limoncello liqueur and arancello liqueur. We still have 89 days to wait till we find out whether both were successful. At that time I’ll let you know. But for now, if you have lots of citrus fruit to use here is the recipe for homemade limoncello liqueur: Homemade Limoncello Recipe Notes: This recipe is […]
Reduce Food Waste – Week Three
Well it’s definitely getting easier to waste less food. It’s becoming more habitual to think about any leftovers quickly. This week there have only been a few potato peelings and half a cup of cooked cous-cous wasted. They got fed to the animals so really a very good attempt at wasting no food. Well I think anyway. I’m getting into the swing of creative thinking too. For example last night MrDB made far too much garlic bread so today I used it in a romesco sauce recipe. It worked a treat, tasted great, saved us cash and reduced our food […]
Chicken Nesting Boxes Made Simple
Anyone who follows this Self Sufficient site knows that we like to keep things as simple as possible. If we can do something cheaply or for free then that is what we will do. A big part of a Self Sufficient Life is getting the best quality food at the cheapest prices. This is where keeping Chickens is so invaluable. Chicken nesting boxes or Chicken Laying boxes can be a simple affair if we wish. Hopefully you have read How To Build Chicken Houses For Free and are now on your way to the freshest Eggs imaginable. Here is a […]
Low Energy Marmalade
After the windfall of free fruit, this week has seen Casa Dirty Boots become a hive of citrus preserving activity. We’ve juiced, pickled, preserved and marmaladed. Soon cordial and limoncello (and maybe even orange-cello) are on the menu. The house smells divine – lots of bubbling citrus and I have to say I’ve learnt a lot about marmalade. We’ve made marmalade many times over the years but this time I’ve gone research crazy and tried a few different techniques to see how different the taste can be depending on the method. Most methods require two or more hours cooking before […]
How To Build A Compost Bin
As you know, I am all for making things for free if I can. It is not for everyone but I thought I would give everyone the quick and easy way to learn how to build a Compost Bin at home. Searching the Web I am surprised that the Garden Composting Bin Plans that I could find all seemed so complicated to follow. Well, I will be keeping it as simple as possible. Compost Bin Plans should be so easy to follow that people will be inclined to build one themselves, not be put off by technicalities. We have built […]
Pickled Beetroot (Beetroot Preserve with Vinegar)
Nothing beats a bit of beetroot – if you get me. This is such a bright and cheery summer veggie I always want to preserve some for those dull wintry days. If you’re experiencing beetroot overload at the moment why not pickle your own? It is a million times better than the bought stuff and very simple to prepare. Homemade Pickled Beetroot For every 1 kilo of raw, fresh beets you’ll need 600ml of brine (made with 50g salt and 600 ml of water) plus 600ml of malt or red wine vinegar. Wash but do not peel the beets. Place […]