corn Archives | Heavenly Homemakers

How to Grind Flour in a Grain Mill

July 6, 2014 by Laura 56 Comments

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Wanna see how easy it is to
grind wheat into flour in a Nutrimill?
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I’ve talked about how I love freshly ground flour and about how I love my nutrimill. You’ve all helped me share about great sources for organic or chemical free grains. I’ve even written a letter to your husbands trying to convince them that getting you a grain mill is a fabulous idea.

But I’ve never taken the time to show you how a grain mill works. Is it hard to run? Does it take a lot of time? Do you work up a sweat using it?

The answer to all three questions is a definite no!

So many people have mentioned to me things like “I don’t know how you have time to grind your own flour. I barely have time to cook, much less make the flour for my baked goods.”

You’re welcome to continue to think that because I grind my own flour, I am a modern day wonder woman. Or, you can watch this video clip and learn the truth…

Did you see that? I put in the wheat, turned on the machine…and then I walked away and made lunch and did some dishes. Then I came back and had freshly ground flour. It doesn’t get any easier than that. And wow, this flour tastes more delicious than any you’ve ever had (in my opinion)!

How to Grind Flour in a Grain Mill! #grainmill #grindflour #wholewheatflour

Check out the wonderful Nutrimill here!

This post was originally published June 1, 2010.

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Oh Beautiful Jars!! Stocked and Ready For Gawking

August 1, 2012 by Laura 28 Comments

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One of the jobs on my “To Do” List was to refill all of the jars in my pantry so that I’d have easy access to all of the staple ingredients I reach for so often. Since I typically purchase these ingredients in 25-50 pound quantities, I store them big buckets, and pour a smaller portion into easy-access jars in my kitchen, refilling as needed. (Read more here about where I purchase most of my food, and scroll through these posts to learn more about my bulk shopping and storage.)

My favorite part of this system, besides the fact, of course, that this just makes my life easier and saves us money while we strive to eat a whole foods diet is this: I love staring at my jars full of pretty food.

It’s a slight obsession. A major obsession? Yeah, probably something like that.

Well, after just a few minutes of going back and forth from storage room to kitchen, lugging buckets and bags of dry goods (a great upper arm work-out!), all of my jars are re-stocked and ready to go. Pasta, sucanat, wheat, salt, beans, corn, and rice. Oh so beautiful.

This is the part of my pantry I stare at when I most need a fix:

Hey, it’s much healthier than my former Pepsi addiction, right? :)

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Sniff…

July 22, 2010 by Laura 44 Comments

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If you recall, this is what our corn looked like just a few weeks ago. Matt babied it and worked so hard to keep it weed free.

garden_four

You can imagine, then, our despair when we woke up one morning this week after a big rain and wind storm to find this:

corn

I saw it first…and I HATED to tell Matt about it. It was probably only a couple days away from being ready to eat. sniff

We learned a little bit from this experience about creating good hills around the base of the corn to prevent this. Of course, we are glad that it was just a small part of our garden and not our livelihood. But still…

We are now about two days out from this unfortunate corn flattening and since the plants are still alive, it would seem that we may still be able to eat some of the corn. Maybe?!

And while I’m whining, I may as well show you this, which ALSO happened this week:

broken_jar

Apparently I had filled it too full of broth when I put it in the freezer because it cracked quite a lot. Which means that not only did I lose my beloved jar, but I also lost a half gallon of nutritious broth. I mean…maybe I could have strained out glass pieces from the broth…but did I really feel like taking a chance that one of us would have a tiny little piece of broken glass in our chicken and rice? Um, no.

So there you have it. And you thought you visited my blog for a daily dose of encouragement. Instead, you come visit and Laura is whining about her fallen corn and her broken jar.

Let’s see…maybe I can come up with some encouragement for you:

Sometimes jars break and corn falls over. When this happens you have to throw away a bunch of good broth and bear the bad news to your husband that a lot of his hard work just went to waste. It’s a chance to practice being a good help meet. (That was not at all encouraging.)
Sometimes jars break and corn falls over. Broth kinda looks neat with glass floating in it. (Better?)
Sometimes jars break and corn falls over. At least the corn all laid down the same way in the garden so as to be consistent. (I’m trying.)
Sometimes jars break and corn falls over. It’s a good thing two of my kids aren’t big on eating corn on the cob anyway. (Right?)
Sometimes jars break and corn falls over. When I poured the broth onto the ground (in an untraveled area) I bet some raccoon had a really great and nutritious feast lapping it up later. (Always good to help the coons build strong bones and better immune systems.)
Sometimes jars break and corn falls over. Eh, I don’t really like jars that much anyway. (Yeah, right.)
Sometimes jars break and corn falls over. It’s a delightful chance to talk to your kids about how when we don’t stand with our feet firmly rooted in the strength of Jesus, we just blow over when a strong wind comes. (And then they will look at you with a blank stare because today the wind isn’t blowing.)
Sometimes jars break and corn falls over. Basically, you just have to get over it and move on. (Which is real encouragement because it’s the truth.)

And there you have it. ;)

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The Garden

July 7, 2010 by Laura 28 Comments

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Several of you have requested to see how our garden is growing this year. Therefore, I braved the millions of mosquitoes and took several shots of our glorious soil with green things growing out of it.

I can take absolutely NO credit this year for how the garden looks. Matt has worked VERY hard and keeping the weeds under control and everything looks so, so pretty.

I basically started on one end of the house and went all the way around the back to the other side taking pictures. Yes, we have more than one garden spot. If it has the capability to grow things (and it isn’t an area used regularly to kick soccer balls), it has been tilled and it shall bear fruit. Well, vegetables as the case may be.

garden_one

Here we have several tomato plants and some pepper plants.
Looks like the beginnings of salsa, wouldn’t you think?

garden_two

Ah, more tomato plants. Yes, there will be many tomatoes. We are not afraid.

garden_3

Ooh, the first fruits. Vegetables. Wait. Tomatoes are a fruit.

garden_four

We planted the corn in two stages so that it would be ready at two different times.
The first round is just a bit taller than me. We’re so proud.

garden_five

Here are more pepper plants growing in the raised garden bed Matt made last year.
Our yard is really not crooked. I just took a crooked picture.

garden_six

Here’s our little garden of potatoes. See all the blossoms?
That means there are lots of french fries growing underground.

garden_seven

Beside the potato plot grows our beloved peach tree.
There are only a few peaches on it, so this year we will be mooching peaches off of others if possible.
The tree sure looks pretty though.

garden_eight

And last but not least, the green beans. Four long rows of green beans. And look:

garden_nine

I picked a whole bowlful on Tuesday!!
When I steamed some that night, I thought perhaps I was in heaven.

And then we may or may not have steamed more of them for breakfast this morning. Who could resist?

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Putting up Corn for Winter

August 8, 2008 by Laura 30 Comments

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No. 1 thing to know about preserving produce for winter: It takes hard work and time and might make a big mess.

No. 2 thing to know about preserving produce for winter: In the winter when you get to pull yummy things out of your pantry and freezer…all the hard work and time and big mess will have been worth it. Very worth it!

Here’s a bit about how I put up corn…and you should also check out this post at Amy’s Finer Things because she blogged about this already. I really liked her technique for cutting the corn off the cob!

First…here is our happy little party of Nebraska Cornhuskers….

Check it out…they make a game of how far they can throw the husks. Hey, whatever it takes to get the work done with a happy attitude!

Meanwhile…I’m in the kitchen sticking those ears into boiling water. Just for a short time. Two to three minutes. Blanching stops the aging process of your produce.

Ah, but you don’t want them to continue to cook…so you immediately pull it out of the boiling water (with tongs of course) and run it under cold water to try to cool it off right away. (And Amy recomended putting it in ice water…a much better idea!!)

Now, I line up my ears (hehe…line up my ears…hehe)

And then I cut the corn off the cob into a bowl with a sharp knife. If you have an electric knife, you can use that too. Or do it the way Amy does it. (Oh, so many options.) (But no matter what option you choose, your hand will probably cramp up and feel like it will never again be them same by the time you’re done. But don’t worry, after several operations, you’ll be okay again.) (Kidding…just give yourself a few minutes of a hand massage.)

I then use a measuring cup to scoop the corn into freezer bags. Sometimes I use quart…sometimes I use gallon. Just don’t fill the bags too full, or after it freezes, you’ll have a terrible time getting your corn out of the bag!

Then get the air out of the bag and seal it up and press it flat. And it’s ready to go into the freezer. Isn’t it beautiful?

When you’re ready to cook it, break off whatever amount of corn you want, put it into a saucepan with a little water and cook it until it’s bubbly. Turn it off, drain out the excess water and stir in butter and salt!

Awesome!

I’ll show you to process of freezing green beans another time!

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