Living Free in Tennessee - Nicole Sauce

A friend asked me, while looking at a carcass to cut up on his butchering table, how I would butcher a lamb if I had one here for Mark and me. So today, we will talk about how to process your spring lamb - or goat - for two. What mother nature is providing Watercress season is here Wild mustard flowers - as usual in time for Easter Dead nettle and chickweed Dandelion greens and flowers Tales from the prepper pantry The tools are organized! The last onions have landed in my kitchen - I kept finding more Avocado quinoa salad. Butternut squash bisque this week Stretching Meals Turkey cycle again this time, but with new recipes - we will share some next week. Operation Independence The trout conundrum as they relate to operation independence. Help please. What is the Independence Fund anyway? Great resource for cutting up a lamb from the Guardian of all places: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2008/nov/19/foodanddrink Make it a great week! Song: Cilly Song, by Sauce

Today, we are going to talk about some fun projects we did over the last week here at the Holler Homestead. There were some changes that needed to be done because of the pig, some fun wild plants popping up, goat hijinks and more. And yes, as usual, nothing went as planned but a bunch of stuff got done. This really makes me think the most important skill you can develop if you plan to integrate homesteading practices into your life is troubleshooting and keeping things flexible. Rainbowcrawlers.com What mother nature is providing More rain Stinging nettle Dead nettle (for salad) Watercress Egg recipe of the week: Tuna egg salad Getting the Gardens Ready Story: Farmers market meeting Tales from the prepper pantry Cleared out everything but the last 7 onions and 2 butternut squashes in the root cellar. Reorganizing it for the summer months Using up green beans and beets at a fast clip now that the new crops are about to be upon us BBQ story Stretching Meals The Boston Butt Project Operation Independence Pig shelter story Make it a great week! Song: Dr Feeley, Dr. Skinner by Sauce

How are you doing moving toward your goals? These past few weeks have had me thinking pretty hard about how simple it is to set a set of priorities in your life and family, then use them as a filter through which to make choices. It is so simple, in fact, that it is hard. Then I got to reading a book I was helping someone right and one of their chapter titles was "Organized people who are wrong beat disorganized people who are right every time." What mother nature is providing Watercress Shagbark Stinging Nettle Mullein Wild Garlic Getting the Gardens Ready Wood chipping in the garden space Trimmed up the peach tree and elderberries Tales from the prepper pantry The Sweet potatoes have rotted Still have butternut squash - the powerhouse of the pantry Operation Independence Another load of pallets arrives this week New Well Pump Installation Slogging through the taxes one day at a time Make it a great week! Song: Belly Dancing Vamp Tune, Sauce

We are going to talk about life and more importantly life today, not yesterday, and not tomorrow. You hear people say all the time to live in the now but that seems kind of weird, right? I mean, if I just do what I want every day to be in the now, then when tomorrow comes, I will have used up all my cash and will end up out on the street. Well, maybe living in the now but being aware of the future is important. We will cover more of that in the main topic of the show. What mother nature is providing I don't really know, but Houston has chick weed Watercress and Mint It froze again so some of the early starts and the daffodils will be beaten back when I get home Crappie Getting the Gardens Ready All it does is rain...so nothing Tales from the prepper pantry There will be a pig in the freezer when I get back so we will be makin bacon Centering meals around the meat in the freezer that needs to go. Goal is to keep as healthy as possible. Really focused on using up the canned goods Sugar snap peas, radishes and tangerines Stretching Meals In a hotel: Tamales Sushi Rotisserie chicken and salad Uber eats Operation Independence We are not going to have to buy pork for awhile... Focusing on operation yearly income through facilitation projects at least once a month Song: Special by Sauce

Today we have a great interview with Chef Brett Corrieri, the instructor from Cider Hollow Farm's pork processing class. Brett walks us through the process to dry cure a ham, and describes why you would want to eat it a little too well. Also today, we have a roundup of sweet potato recipes from you, the listener. Goat Video Sweet Potato Recipes Oven baked sweet potato fries (or cubes) Peel and cut 2-3 lbs sweet potatoes Coat with olive oil, toss with 1 tsp paprika (sweet Hungarian paprika if you've got it) 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt. Bake 425F for about 30 minutes, stirring and turning after 15. Should be slightly crisp on the edges, soft in the middle. Yum! Josh's Roundup Sweet potato chili Sweet potato flatbread NC Sweet Potato Tortillas Squash Sweet Potato Chili Interesting recipe Sweet potato fritters Ginger Sweet Potato Cheesecake SP Garlic Mac N Cheese SP Hummus Soul SP From Tamlyn TWICE-BAKED SWEET POTATOES Bake sweet potatoes like usual, cool, halve, and scoop out flesh (be gentle, the shells tear easily). Mix with minced garlic or shallot, beaten egg(s), salt, pepper (be generous), Brie (rind removed and diced small), fresh thyme and a little rosemary. Bake @400 on greased, foil-lined pan for ~25 minutes. Remove when tops are beginning to brown and allow to cool before serving. (Adapted from Barefoot Contessa's https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/twice-baked-sweet-potatoes) Make it a great week everyone! Song: Strange Child by Sauce

Today, we've got a good one with an exploration of how well goats work for weed control, as well as some tactics we have learned about over the past "almost year" of having these playful little devils -- and they are devils -- on our land. What mother nature is providing Shagbark Hickory Update Deadnettle is starting to spring up Bees legs are full of pollen Watercress may be big enough this week to harvest a round Bad mushroom year - all my best logs are gone Sprouts Eggapalooza - Getting the Gardens Ready Seedling trays - maybe - big trip to houston coming up and not sure if things will be in place Special replay this week: Growing your Own Seedlings. Mud farming - facial idea Tales from the prepper pantry Marty the pig will graduate in a few weeks - a confession Laying plans to eat more green beans - for some reason this year we've been finding lots of collard greens and not hitting the canned stores Still swimming in sweet potatoes - anyone got some fun recipes? Onions from last fall will be done in about two weeks, just as the wild garlic is coming on Operation Independence Duplex taxes are done - so much more to do on taxes Arranged for Marty to be processed Make it a great week!

Today, we are going to talk about something that several of you have brought up recently: How to navigate a big move. I have moved across the country several times, as well as overseas for a year and learned a thing or two along the way. As it turns out, some of you see your path toward standing on your own in another place from where you are. Places with lower property taxes, or no income tax, or less zoning restriction. Places where you are more free to just get a business started without filling out a million forms. And moving can be so costly! I will share with you some lessons learned in the trenches on this one. 5 NEW SPOTS OPEN: Spring Workshop Direct Download What mother nature is providing Trying out some shag bark tea this week (Hickory) Sprouts Wild garlic Sunchokes Getting the Gardens Ready Have seeds in hand and about ready to start the peppers Aquaponics changes everything Tales from the prepper pantry Lot's of sweet potatoes and here is a recipe shared by a listener Ryan from Homespun Magazine out of Oregon: http://homespunmagazine.com/articles/recipes/jamaican-grilled-sweet-potatoes/ Stretching Meals Sweet potato chili: $8, 14 meals - less than $1 a meal. Operation Independence Invested time at Liberty Forum in expanding the podcast reach - we will see how that goes. I developed a new speech that I can give anywhere now. Kept up on the weekly finance Really need to just do my taxes. 7 thinks to think about before making a big move. Make it a great week! Song: Learning What Leaving Is, by Sauce

Today, I am going to talk with you about opportunity and simplification. Simplification is the top of people's minds for so many right now as they declutter their closets, re-examine their priorities and see opportunities come to fruition. And opportunity is the name of the game. Here at the Holler Homestead, we have been on 18 months of growing side hustles as I transitioned to a different way of life, and, well, the opportunities just keep coming in. Direct Download What mother nature is providing Wild garlic is here - well it was always here, but it has made itself known. My favorite herb of the 2017/18 winter: Mullein Chicken eggs are back! Getting the Gardens Ready Setting my growing plans bit late this year - second tier priority Tales from the prepper pantry Elderberry syrup Hunting the rotting potato Almost through the salsa we canned I haven't bought Garlic in 10 years Stretching Meals Meatballs in stroganoff: $9+$2+$2=$13 (6 meals), Meatballs in lasagna: $1+$2=$3 (6 meals), Meatballs with rice and greens: $2+$1=$3 (4 meals). Total:$1.18 per meal. Operation Independence Caught up on the finance review, but not the declutter goal. Had to prepare to be gone for a week and precooked some things to make it easier on Mark and save money Cover over the camper *might* be done - no one can find my drill battery charger. 5 Ways to simplify your life Just Say NO. Every time you say yes, you a trading a bit of yourself. Is it worth it? Journal, meditate or pray each day - find your time - focus on whatever is in your way then let it go. Implement systems thinking: Declutter and organize and maintain Schedule time with your humans (Prioritize relationships) Schedule in time to grow your skills - books, new skills, expand your capability Of course there are many ways to simplify your life, but it is not simple to do them all. And when you make space for serenity, you also make space for opportunity. Next week, I am doing an episode on lessons learned from moving across the country. Do you have specific things you want to know about? Send your questions to me. Make it a great week! Song: Thanks Dave, Sauce

Today, I am going to talk with you about how to cure ham. This topic is robust enough that we could do several shows on it in fact. I even reached out to my buddy, Chef Brett, to get his take on the dry curing method alongside my brining approach to this conundrum. He and I will have a curing interview later this week.

Today, I've got a whole bunch of stull lined up for you, some of which I meant to tell you last week, but ran out of time. We are going to go through some lessons learned on budgeting for the homestead - Ive collected them from various sources, most of whom are not natural budgeters and we will talk about something I learned this week: How to square a pole barn with a measuring tape, stakes and string. SPRING WORKSHOP INFO