Cactus Juice Is Bottled. 02.01.2010

We bottled the prickly pear melomel.  It is a gorgeous color.  We of course sampled and it is still a bit hot, but has a smooth almost smoky flavor.  It is a little drier than I would of like, but still very good.

We ended up with 18 bottles or just over 19 liters.  Think about buying wine at ten dollars a bottle.  Now figure we spent approximately $30 to make this batch.  If you like wine or honey mead, it is well worth it to make your own.  There is some initial investment in equipment, but it will pay for itself in the first couple of batches depending on your setup.  This is how we take one step closer to self sufficiency.

Read W.U.F. Update September 18, 2009 to read more about this batch of Cactus Juice.

W.U.F. Update 01.28.10

Well folks we are almost back to that time of year again when this blog will be updated more frequently.  It has been a busy winter.  We have spent time sorting and deciding what stuff we need to get rid of.  We had boxes that hadn't been opened since Sy and I moved in together ten years ago.  The plan is to have a huge garage sale this spring.

I have also spent some some time on spiritual pursuits.  I continue to study and practice Asatru, but have recently incorporated a healthy dose of Buddhism into my life.  I have taken up meditation and yoga again.  These are things I haven't done in a few years.  I am feeling better than I have in awhile, mentally, spiritually, and physically.

The big news is that Sy has started some of the cool weather seedlings this past week, and we will be starting more soon.  We started some yard cleanup a couple of weeks ago.  We were having 60 degree days in January and couldn't pass up the chance.  Last year we named our compost pile Mt. Stromboli.  The new pile is called Mt. Vesuvius and promises to be just as rich.  We will be using of off Stromboli this year while Vesuvius breaks down over the next year.  The section of yard where we keep the compost is full of giant tree roots. It is nearly impossible to dig to get the grass because of these roots, so this is an ideal area for us to keep the compost piles.  

The prickly pear melomel has been racked a couple of times into fresh carboys, and is now about ready to bottle.  I plan to let it age awhile in the bottle before drinking, but judging by the smell coming out of the air lock it should be a very sweet mead.

I recently changed the look of Decriminalize Common Sense Blog.  It is now called World Freedom Advocate.  While I still post my opinions, it has now become a true portal to activism.  Please visit.

Well that is all for now.

                                                       The Prickly Pear Melomel (Aka Cactus Juice) 01.28.2010

The last day of summer is bringing snow and freezing overnight temps.

I am off work on Sundays and Mondays. I woke up Monday to find out that there was a freeze warning and possible snow coming. We started out for our weekly trip to the farmers market, and it started to rain. We got to the market and there were two vendors sticking it out. We bought some green beans, and peaches from Colorado's western slope. We were also able to get a great price on a case of peaches and cream corn. We have canned this for the winter. We left the market and went to Home Despot to get materials to build a couple of cold frames for the cherry tomatoes, and the bell peppers.

After we got home we worked to get everything we could in. We picked buckets of squash, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes. After the harvest was in we had to build the cold frames for the cherry tomatoes and bell peppers. We used some 1 x 2 cedar screwed together into a frame. We then covered these with 3.5 mil plastic. Simple and easy to disassemble, store, and reuse for years to come.

The Prickly Pear Melomel is still fermenting nicely. I expect it is going to do so for awhile. But good things come to those who wait. Anyway I hope everyone checks out the pics and has a great day.

Prickly Pear Melomel update

I reported in my last post that we had started a prickly pear melomel. I am experimenting with this fruit mead. It has prickly pear juice, apple juice, wild flower honey, purified water, and yeast. It now has a brisk fermentation going.

W.U.F. Update

It has been awhile since I have done a proper update on the happenings at W.U.F. It has been busy this summer. The garden has been fairly low maintenance. We have had an awesome harvest this year, and we are not even close to having the entire lawn replaced. So far our most prolific crop has been the cherry tomatoes. We have been harvesting 1-2 pounds per day on average. we let it go a few days awhile back. We ended up with five pounds of ripe tomatoes. We added onion from the yard, and jalapenos, roasted hatch chilies, cilantro, and smoked garlic from Sunflower Farmers Market. I put in too much cilantro but it is still good. I have eaten three jars already.

We have also had a good yellow summer squash crop this summer. We have been unable to keep up with it. Our lettuce did well also. We still have some winter squash ripening on the vine and some pumpkins to carve up for Samhain. We have been sharing with family and friends as well as putting some away. We had some corn and will have a ton of red and yellow bell peppers as soon as they ripen. We are hoping to ripen them on the plant, but may have an early frost this year.

I was on vacation last week, and while I was at my moms Sy and I picked 13 1/2 pounds of prickly pears, the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. The juice of said prickly pears is in a fermenter with honey, purified water, organic apple, juice, and wine yeast. The honey is local wildflower honey and is very rich. It should add a nice flavor texture to the prickly pear. This is of course an experimental melomel. A melomel is a honey mead with fruit added in the fermenting process. It is a honey and fruit wine essentially.

Sy and I have also been working on setting up an online shop at Etsy.com. It is an online market place for selling homemade products. Sy will be soon putting up some of her jewelery for sale, and I hope to sell some photographic prints. We are also toying with selling canned goods such as jelly's, dried herbs, and salsa. Every little bit we add brings us a little closer to the lifestyle we want for ourselves.

Prickly Pear Melomel starting the fermentation process.