One of the things I love about where we live are the many birds. I will often set out seed or suet for them to enjoy.

I do buy suet blocks from the store, but sometimes if I have the ingredients on hand I will make my own. They are easy to make and don’t take much time.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups lard
• 3/4 cups peanut butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup corn meal (I have read that masa could work better since it doesn’t tend to sink while the block is hardening)
• 1.5 cups mix of bird seed, scratch, & black oil sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup grated apple

HOW TO

1. Using a pot on the stove, melt the lard and nut butter.

2. When the lard and nut butter have turned to liquid, add the remaining ingredients. Mix well.

3. Pour the mixture into a half gallon carton. Place the carton upright in the fridge to harden.

4. When the liquid mix has turned to a solid, tear off the carton and cut into individual blocks.

5. Extra blocks can be placed between wax paper and put in the freezer until they are ready to be used.

FEEDING OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS

Place blocks in a suet feeder and watch the birds flock to it.

The blocks could also be given to your chickens as a treat.

The post Making Suet Blocks appeared first on .

As we strive to have a sustainable home, we want to use the most of our farm raised animals. Today that means using fat from our pigs to render lard.

When we take our pork to be processed we let the butcher know we would like to keep the fat. The fat comes back to us in slabs. To turn those slabs into a usable product I use a slow cooker. It’s so simple, I should have started rendering lard years ago.

Lard

fat from a pig that is rendered and clarified for use in cooking.

STEP 1

Cut the cold slab(s) into small chunks. This is the most difficult part of the entire process. Maybe if you have good knives, you will have an easier time than I do using our crappy one. The smaller the chunks the better.

To keep the fat from sticking, pour about a 1/4 cup of water in the bottom of a slow cooker. Then, toss in the fat chunks.

STEP 2

I turn the slow cooker on high, at least for the first little bit.

You know you are on your way to rendered lard when the fat changes from it’s lovely pinkish color to a horrid creamish color.

As the fat heats up, liquid escapes the chunks and starts filling the slow cooker. This is the good stuff.

STEP 3

Using cheesecloth and a funnel, I carefully strain the liquid fat into a jar.

I pour the first bit of liquid about an hour and a half into the cooking.

I turn the slow cooker to low, and let it render some more. Then, when there’s more liquid I strain that.

I typically repeat this process three times.

*Please note – the fat will not render completely out. There will still be some chunks remaining.

STEP 4

After the liquid cools, I place a lid on the jar and put it in the fridge. Here it turns into the soft, solid, white stuff we refer to as lard.

It can be used in cooking, baking, suet, or soap making.

The post How to Render Lard appeared first on .

Our soap is handcrafted using a small assortment of natural ingredients:

|| Four Key Ingredients ||

These four items are the key ingredients in our soap recipes:

Goat Milk:
Goat milk is great for sensitive skin. It contains natural ingredients that help to remove dead skin cells, leaving new smoother cells. Goat milk also contains vitamins and minerals ideal for healthy skin. The cream found in goat milk is a natural moisturizer. Our goat milk comes right from our small Nigerian Dwarf Goat herd.

Coconut Oil:
Coconut oil has high cleansing properties, produces a fluffy lather, and adds hardness to the soap.

Olive Oil:
Olive oil is mild, making it ideal for sensitive skin. It also adds hardness to the soap.

Sodium Hydroxide:
Sodium Hydroxide, or lye, is used in all real soap – even the store bought soap. They are just better at disguising the name.
We mix goat milk, lye, and oil together. A few days later, the ingredients have chemically changed into soap. At the end of the curing process, about 4 weeks, there is no lye left – only pure soap.

|| Other Butter, Fat, & Oils ||

You may also find these other butter, fat, and oils in our soap:

Almond Oil, sweet:
Almond oil has mild cleansing properties.

Avocado Oil:
Avocado oil is mild cleansing, high in vitamin E, and adds hardness to the soap.

Castor Oil:
Castor oil enhances the lather in soap.

Lard:
Lard is used to add hardness to soap. It also produces lather. To be as sustainable as possible, I render the lard from pigs raised on our farm.

Rice Bran Oil:
Rice Bran oil is mild cleansing and provides the soap with a bit of a sheen.

Shea Butter:
Shea butter contains many vitamins for healthy skin and natural moisturizer.

|| Fragrance & Color ||

Essential Oils:
I use the natural scents of essential oils to add fragrance to soap. I am not a fan of strong smells, so our soaps are lightly scented.

Mica:
Mica is a group of minerals that have been purified and crushed into a fine powder. I use this natural source to add color to soap.

|| Exfoliating ||

Apricot Kernels, crushed
Oatmeal
Poppy Seeds
Pumice Stone, ground

|| Other ||

Activated Charcoal:
Activated charcoal is especially great for those with oily skin, as it absorbs oils and dirt.

Honey:
I use locally sourced honey for the moisturizing and lathering qualities. It also gives a slight sweet scent.

That’s it. You will only find a combination of these natural ingredients in our soap. No harsh chemicals that can be irritating to your skin.

The post Handcrafted Soap Ingredients appeared first on .