Here we are in 2024. Time for an Urban Update and set some new goals, get some good ideas started, and look forward to the next year and all that it will hold. This week we will be taking all the Christmas decor down, start to organize the kitchen pantries, and see what we have left in our winter Garden.
January 7, 2024
In The Garden
December Garden Tour
On December 31st I recorded some video footage of my fall/winter gardens outside with the intention of posting another Garden Tour Video over on my YouTube channel, Becoming Homesteaders. The video was great but unfortunately, I recorded it in portrait mode and not landscape. This is just a preferred style for videos on YouTube and couldn’t be fixed. So those videos were made into different “shorts” over on YouTube and Instagram. Hopefully this weekend I can do another video of the gardens and do a better job.
Azelea
It was cold that day and I had my grand dog outside with me. She is a beautiful little Dalmatian named Azelea Sage (thus the Sage Lane Syrups business my daughter has) and she was a rescue. Azelea listens pretty good but not always stays in the yard when I am not paying attention to her. Needless to say, I was a little distracted while filming and that caused the mistake. No big deal I was still able to share the footage and let you all see a little bit of the garden and what it looks like at the end of December.
Here are links to the shorts if you want to check them out. This is the back garden video, this one is the herb garden video, and the strawberry garden and original fenced in garden video. I will hopefully post that January Garden Tour this week, weather permitting so look for that over on my channel.
I was still able to harvest some baby kale and plan to make sausage, potato, kale soup today while I make another round of bread to last this coming week. The kale and other greens still look good. Some have a little burn on the ends of leaves but all in all holding their own.
My carrots are doing great. I have harvested some and they have such a lovely, sweet flavor. We are so surprised, not bitter at all. I believe that the colder temperatures do make them sweeter. I still haven’t covered my spinach with the heavy-duty plastic I purchased from Johnny’s Seed, and I hope to do that this week. They still look amazing too even uncovered.
In The Kitchen
Sage Lane Syrups & Sauces
We made more beautiful syrups for my daughter’s business, Sage Lane Syrups and Sauces. This month’s flavors are blueberry and butterscotch. She has had a few more business start purchasing from her so we will be making more sauces and syrups. I am excited to see where this will take her this year.
The sauces and syrups are mainly used for different coffee drinks like lattes and cold brews, but also can be used in anything to add sweetness and flavor. My husband and I made an ice cream flight with them. We used vanilla ice cream and tried the caramel, lavender, and blueberry syrups with a dab of whipped topping. So good and a great way to use the syrups. We have also added them to oatmeal’s and teas!
Hamburger Stew & Sourdough Bread
This week was a busy week and my husband took on the responsibility of making a few meals for me. These were ready and waiting for me to enjoy when I got off work in the evening. I think it is important for both of us to help each other doing things when the other cannot.
He made a hearty hamburger stew which was amazing. This used all of our own home grown and home canned foods with the exception of the hamburger. So good on a cold night for sure! He used some homemade sourdough bread bowls that I made this past Sunday and wow what a meal.
On Sunday’s I try to make enough bread to last the week for us. This week I made these bread bowls and some walnut, raisin, and cinnamon bagels. Both turned out so good and a first time make each. I have made bagels before but never with walnuts, raisin and cinnamon. The bread bowls were good but didn’t hold up as long during the week as I had hoped. Still good just not as soft and fresh.
Both of these recipes I found at Farmhouse on Boone if you are interested in trying them. She has all the sourdough recipes and info you need to start making your own sourdough creations and she gives you the confidence to do it. Sometimes people give us the impression that sourdough is so complicated, but Lisa on Farmhouse on Boone makes you feel comfortable and makes it super simple to understand. Check her out!
Pantry Clean Up
This coming week we plan to go through all our beautifully, canned items that we put up this summer and organize them. I will be making meal plans to use these canned items and canning some as well. We are still using our home-grown Kennebec potatoes as well as our onions, even though the onions were small. The garlic was gone about a month ago and we have had to purchase some from the store.
Wrap Up
I hope you all are getting excited for this coming year and all that it holds. Time to make those garden plans, get your pantries organized, and using up what you have preserved in preparation for the next garden season. Let me know what you are doing to get ready for this new year and look for the next Urban Update. Happy Planning!
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