Komo Mill

The time had come for us to purchase a grain mill. We wanted to have a good mill that would allow us to buy wheat berries and other grains and to grind them as needed. I was surprised to learn that flour starts to spoil immediately after it is milled. In fact, according to Pleasant Hill Grain:

• wheat flour loses 40% of its vitamin content in the first 24 hours after milling and 85-90% after 2-3 more days. 
• Unsaturated fats in the wheat germ oxidize/go rancid.
• B Vitamins are destroyed by light and air.
• Beneficial enzymes start working and play themselves out.
• Vitamin A is diminished.
• Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant that helps to protect flour from oxidation, deteriorates once milled, especially if the conditions become moist.

So to increase nutrition and decrease the store bought versions with additives and preservatives we opted to grind flour as it was needed at our house. After a long process of evaluating what we features we wanted and the different options of mills we choose the Komo Mill Fidibus 21.

This mill will grind hard or soft wheat, oat groats (dehulled oats), rice, triticale, kamut, spelt, buckwheat, barley, rye, millet, teff, quinoa, amaranth, sorghum and dent (field) corn. It will also grind spices, lentils and dry beans (pinto, red, garbanzo, kidney & more.) It isn't suitable for herbs, oilseeds like flax or sesame, nuts, popcorn, or fibrous materials, but that didn't seem to matter since we have a spice mill for those items.

Results:
I LOVE this mill. More importantly my husband LOVES this mill. It is quiet, does not heat the grain, and works like a charm. I am really happy with our purchase. The mill cost just over $400 which seems like a lot (or at least I thought it was a lot), but considering we use the mill nearly every day, and it makes a huge difference in the taste and texture of our flour, we are very happy.

Tip: 

We live in a small, old, log cabin and we do have ants and other annoying bugs. Bugs really like flour and have a tendency to climb up into the mill to get at the remnants of the flour. To avoid this we cut up a pair of nylons and put a strip of the nylon around the mill. Then when the mill is not in use we pull the stocking strip up to cover the spout. Works like a charm!

Strip of nylon pushed down to use

Strip of nylon pulled over spout

Blueberry syrup and waffles

Oh goodness, this is what I woke up to. My husband made waffles and the BEST blueberry syrup ever!  I highly suggest you make it, you will not be disappointed!

He makes the waffles with organic whole wheat flour that he milled using our Komo mill (see our review of this mill). Then took our homemade maple syrup and put a bunch of blueberries with it in a pan. He the reduced the blueberries/maple until it was the perfect consistency. No real rules to the perfect consistency. Just what you and your family will find to the be the right consistency for waffles. 

It was beyond good!!  I love going to our local you-pick blueberry farm. I just cannot get enough blueberries and the you-pick makes it affordable. We got 5 gallon on our last trip and spent about $40.  We got home and promptly froze most of the berries. I recently read an article that says frozen blueberries are actually lower in antioxidants as the freezing process increase the bio-availability of the antioxidants. Yumm. 

I am so thankful

Today I am thinking about how blessed my family is. We live in a rural area, where we can raise our own fruit and veggies, and chickens. I am blessed I have a husband that does so much more than his share. Today he has been cutting firewood, getting ready for winter. The Farmers Almanac is saying it will be a bitterly cold winter. Not looking forward to another cold winter, but glad I live here so, I guess I will deal with whatever comes our way. But for today, I am left with the reminder that I am so fortunate. And I am beyond thankful!!

Starbucks Giveaway

I have been invited to participate in an upcoming giveaway for a $50 Gift Card for Starbucks.  I lived in Seattle for 10 years and have an affinity for Starbucks. I am not a coffee drinker, but they carry wonderful Tea and Hot Chocolate (Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate is amazing!!)  My husband on the other hand LOVE his Starbucks. Now that we live in a very rural area, he had to come to grips of living without his Starbucks. Until now... a Starbucks has now opened inside the local hospital, which we are at quite often. So he is now teaching the new baristas how to make his drink-a grande, double blended, vanilla, frappuccino, no whip.  If you love Starbucks be sure to check out the first giveaway I am participating in. Good Luck!! 

$50 Starbucks Giveaway

Chickens

Our first animals...Chickens! We bought 15 chicks from the local farm store. Before they could come home we needed to build a coop. The winter lasted a lot longer then expected. So instead of building we converted one of our storage sheds into a coop. It was WAY bigger then we needed but figured we could grow our flock to fit the building. We came home with the chicks, and they moved into the coop. They loved the size. After being in a tiny cage at the farm store they could finally spread their wings.

We enjoyed our chickens from the moment that we got them. I never realized how much fun they would be, but they have become part of the family. They are so much entertainment. The birds are about a year and a half now and I am so glad we got them. I sit on the back deck for hours and watch as they hunt and peck for little morsels. If one is so lucky to find a bug, she will run as fast as she can to get away before another bird steals the treasure. I was also very surprised that each bird has its own personality. We can tell which bird is talking, just by the sound of their voice. We can also tell without looking who will be the one misbehaving, out in the rain, running to lay an egg, or walking up to us in hope of a treat. It has been a most wonderful experience and addition to our little farm. I will take you on a tour of our coop and introduce our chickens on a later date. Until then, here's a shot of part of the flock.

Gardening

It's a beautiful morning in the garden. My husband is busily weeding but took me on a tour to check out the latest. It's been a week since I've been out. I was amazed at the changes in one week. The corn is growing fast, and some have purple hair. I thought that was amazing. I never saw purple haired corn before.

Then I saw the beans and peas. Both doing great. We have already enjoyed a lot of peas, but frankly there are never enough peas :).  

Then to the acorn squash. This took a long time to grow. Figured we would miss out this year. But then poof. Acorn squash appeared. 

We are still getting a lot of cucumbers, so pickle canning will continue today. Or probably tomorrow. It's pretty hot today and I hate canning on hot days. No reason to heat up the house when tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70's. 

And the excitement today...drum roll please...

Cantaloupe!!! I can't believe it. It is tiny, but I am hopeful! It made my day!!

Well off I go to hot tub away the soreness. God bless. 

Pickles

Pickles, pickles and more pickles!! Today we are canning our cucumber/pickles. It is such a time consuming, yet satisfying, task. As much as I love preserving the excess produce from our organic garden, it also signals that fall is soon approaching. So far we have about 7 jars of pickles canned. We did dill and bread and butter pickles this year. I am not the biggest fan of vinegar so I am really excited for a new pressure cooker/canner that I am getting. It will be great to use the pressure versus a very acidic liquid to preserve. But until it comes, vinegar it is. Yesterday my husband helped out a neighbor and in return was given some fresh dill. I'm excited to add that to the dill pickles. Nothing better than fresh herbs!

A few of our Pickles 

Welcome

Welcome to our blog…

Join us as we learning about our small-scale, sustainable garden/farm.

We will talk about gardening, canning and preserving methods, organics & GMO’s (genetically modified organism) , and great giveaways, all while promoting a positive, loving environment and giving  thanks to God and his many blessings.

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