Back to the Land...

Sometimes, even with the Homesteading and Mountain Woman living I do, I feel like there could be some much more I could be doing.  I also feel very disconnected from the land sometimes.  Living close to nature, be it a desert, a forest, the sea, or great prairies/savannas, is healing to the soul.  To be close to the earth, to feel it beneath the feet, to be connected.  Closeness, connectedness, a feeling of belonging.  So many of us struggle with those feeling those thoughts.  Yet out here in the garden, it seems so easy to find, even if a bit thorny at times...literally!

One of the easiest way to start restoring ourselves, and getting back to our roots, is starting connecting to the land again.  How?

• Grow plants in windows.
• Work a a co-op/urban garden.
• Learning to preserve our own foods.
• Walk daily at a wild space or park.
• Swimming in the wilds
• Vacation camping out in tents in the wilderness.
• Going to Fur Trade Era Rendezvous.
• Save up and buy land.

So many ways to start working toward returning to the land, which one will you pick?  Are there others I missed?

~ Michelle

Update: Mountain Woman Pumpkin Balls - with Cinnamon Sugar!

Made another batch of Mountain Woman Pumpkin Balls today.  This time with pinto beans not black beans for the refrieds, and mixed alot of cinnamon sugar into the batch, plus some dashed on top before baking.  They are yummy.  These are what I call the party or weekend treat batch... and they are going fast!

~ Michelle

Michelle's Poppy Seed Chicken!

While this is not really a Mountain Woman/1830s dish, it is a family favorite that some have asked for, so here it is.  Michelle's Poppy Seed Chicken!

3-4 cups cooked Chicken

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 8oz container of Sour Cream

I tube of Ritz Crackers

½ stick of Butter melted

2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds

* Place Chicken in casserole dish.

* Combine sour cream and soup.

* Spread the sour cream/soup mix over chicken.

* Melt butter.

* Break crackers into crumbs.

* Mix cracker crumbs and poppy seeds into butter.

* Spread over the top of chicken and sour cream/soup.

* Bake uncovered at 350^F for 30 minutes.

* Serve at once!

This is a tasty treat, often baked for the whole family when they visit or come here, much to their great delight.  We typically have purple wonder potatoes and Navajo blue cornbread to the side.  Tasty!

Button Tins

 Growing up, one of my fondest memories was digging through my grandmother's button tin for items to sew on clothing for my dolls.  Some of the buttons in the tin went back to when my own mother was a little girl and it was like digging through time.  But the reason my grandma had the tin was much more practical and a skill that goes back at least to the 1800s. Many time garments would wear out long before the buttons, and saving them would be useful in making new clothing, replacing missing buttons on hand-me-downs, or replacing a lost or broken button on an otherwise perfect garment.



Today, I was blessed to find a tin that called to mind my own grandmother's button tin, and with the buttons I had recently gathered from my own mother's sewing chest, I was able to create the start to my own button tin.  The only thing different from my grandmother's is I am trying to keep the buttons as close to 1800s ones as possible, but that is a challenge.   This will be a fun new adventure, and keep my buttons where I can easily find them!


~ Michelle

Mountain Woman Pumpkin Balls

This is a recipe I first found on Women of the Fur Trade, but have modified a wee bit.  I use black refried beans.  I make half plain, and half with some added cinnamon sugar.  This is Rob and my favorite travel food, and I keep them on hand alot for breakfast food too!  They are so tasty, and though most people look at them odd I have yet to have someone not like them!  Enjoy!

Mountain Woman Pumpkin Balls

2 Packages of Jiffy Cornbread Mix.
1 Can of Black Refried Beans (12 to 15 oz)
1 Can of Pumpkin (12 to 15 oz)

Optional:
Cinnamon Sugar to Taste

If Needed:
Extra Cornmeal

Mix the Cornbread Mix, Black Refried Beans, and Pumpkin together in large bowl till cookie dough texture. (Add Cinnamon Sugar if Desired.)  If not think enough add a bit of cornmeal till at right texture.  Roll into dough balls and cook on tray in oven at 225 till dried out.  At 5,500' this took 1 and 1/2 hours.


~ Michelle

Mountain Woman Buffalo Stew

Today I cooked Buffalo Stew (American Bison)!  This tasty staple is a person family recipe, but feel free to modify it to your taste!

Mountain Woman Buffalo Stew

1 Pound of  Buffalo (American Bison) 
32 oz of Beef Broth (Low or No Sodium)
1 Dash of Garlic Salt
1 Dash of Oregano
2 Dashes of Thyme
12 oz of Multi-Colored Baby Carrots Chopped (Orange works, too.)
7 New Potatoes Cut to Desired Size
5 Green Onions Chopped (Mine were a little wilted on top, you can use 3-7 depending on taste.)
5 to 8 Twists of the Pepper Mill
Water as needed (I ended up using 4 to 5 cups as it cooks, just keep it covered with liquid).

If frozen, thaw your Buffalo.
Pour the Beef Broth into a Stock Pot.  Place your Buffalo Stew Chunks into the Broth.  Turn the Heat on to Med-Low to Medium (I have a gas range so I judge by a low flame).  Let cook 2 to 2 1/2 Hours, adding water as needed to keep Buffalo covered.
After the 2 to 2 1/2 Hours, uncover and add your Dash of Garlic Salt, Dash of Oregano, and 2 Dashes of Thyme.
Leave uncovered.
Chop your Carrots, add to pot.
Chop your Potatoes, add to pot.
Chop your Green Onions, add to pot.
Twist your Pepper Mill over pot 5 to 8 times.
You may need to add a Dash to a Tablespoon of Flour depending if you like a thick stew. (I added a dash, but it needed a Tbsp.)
Recover pot.
Let stew for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, until carrots and potatoes are tender.
Serve and Enjoy!

Recipe by Michelle M. Nickles, 2016

~ Michelle

So it begins, again of sorts?

When I was a child, I fell in love with the 1800s, especially the era of the trapper, Santa Fe, California, Oregon and other westward trails, basicly anything pre 1890s.  I also feel in love with Native American history of that same time and long before.  Then I grew older, and was asked to "rejoin" the real world.  I was told, you can live that life, it no longer exists in any shape or form.  Which is kinda true, but not totally.

When Rob and I came out west, both of us had done a wee bit of reenacting: Civil War, Cowtown, Cowboy, the likes.  But we hadn't found anything out here in the west that fit us.  Then we stumbled on the Mountain Man Rendezvous, which was both reenacting and a live style.  We feel in love with it, before even going to our first... a way to live history in the 21st century not just one weekend, but daily?  Priceless!   I so look forward to this journey of discovery!

So it is I now am beginning this blog, of my journey into the Mountain Woman life.  Here I will tell of my hardships, my joys, the lessons learned and the battles fought.  Here I will share our Rendezvous experiences, and how we fit the 1830s into our daily 21st Century life.  I will share my crafts, my art, and my jewelery, and all my discoveries!

Fare thee well, and God be with thee, until we met again!

~ Michelle