In this episode, Ryan gives his recommendations for trying out the wonderfully relaxing and contemplative hobby of pipe smoking. He also talks about what he and his fellow elders have done during the quarantine to shepherd the church family.
Category Archives: Homestead
An Autumnal Poem
The drupes on the dogwoods that bloomed
Aren’t the only red here in these shadowy woods
Because the maple leaves are turning now
In a few, shortening days the Almighty
Will dip a big hog bristle brush into
Paint the three shades of fire and let loose
With a thousand foothill-wide strokes
By rifle deer season, all but the evergreens
Will yield to the coming winter’s turn
Sunlight will reach the forest floor
And the trees will give back to the earth
Has it ever occurred to you
That the cooling shade doesn’t fall away
Until we don’t need it anymore?
And boy, does it go out in style
— Ryan Cornett
Foraging Acorns For Acorn Flour
Something everyone interested in homesteading, self-sufficiency, or just the general outdoors needs to look into is foraging. There is still time to get into acorns this year, and so to make some of the tastiest cookies you’ll eat.
Making Acorn Flour
The acorn mast is hard to predict; a great crop comes every 2-5 years. Under certain trees, the spread and number of nuts resemble a brown gravel road in a good year. I once found some white and chestnut oaks near a ridge that dropped some massive acorns and gathered about eight pounds in about that many minutes. I figured it was time to take action and see just how much work goes in to making acorn flour.
Step One: Float Test
Honeybee helped me fill a washtub with water and we dumped the acorns in and stirred. After a couple of minutes, we discarded those that floated (they are bad). We stirred some more to knock any dirt off the good acorns.
Step Two: Drying
We then placed the acorns on towels and laid them where they’d get the most sun on those unseasonably warm, early-October days. Drying the acorns separates the nutmeat from the shell somewhat, making for easier cracking and shelling. I let them go for 2-3 days. They could have dried longer, but I was afraid they might go rancid.
Step Three: Cracking and Shelling
I found the best way for me to get the nutmeat was with a nutcracker and knife, sitting at the kitchen table listening to audiobooks. As I removed the nutmeat (you’ll still have some acorns with grubs in them FYI), I placed it in water to keep oxidation to a minimum. I then coarsely ground the nutmeat in our NutriBullet.
Step Four: Leaching
I chose the cold-leaching method so that the product would stick together during cooking (and it seems to be the easiest method). I placed the coarsely ground acorns in an old gallon jar filled with water and stuck it in the fridge. I changed the water several times a day. This process removes the tannins, which taste bitter. When there was basically no taste whatsoever, I knew it was time to move to the next step.
Step Five: Drying and Fine-Grinding
For the first batch, I spread the damp, coarsely-ground acorns on a baking sheet and placed them in our $17,000 dehydrator. Remember that unseasonably warm and sunny weather? That allowed me to dry the acorns in our Honda Civic. I left a couple of windows lowered slightly to allow moisture to escape and for air circulation. I finished that batch off that evening after the sun went down in our oven on its lowest setting. For the second batch I made, I used my parents’ Nesco dehydrator.
After drying, I placed the coarse acorn flour in our coffee grinder (hand-crank BTW) and went to cranking. It took a while–it was a workout–but it was worth it. What I produced was a beautiful, light-brown flour that I made chocolate chip cookies with. They were spectacular! Perhaps the healthiest cookies I ever ate.
Overall Thoughts on Acorn Flour
I won’t get into the details of the process or the history of acorns, or the healthfulness of avoiding grain flour, but I will say that acorn flour is gluten-free and that if I had to, I could produce flour for my family. It’s not hard, but it is time-consuming.
Starches are referred to as the “forager’s dilemma” since they’re hard to find and harvest in any significant quantities, but we can at least rely on a good nut mast every few years if that were our only option. In the meantime, I’ll still buy White Lily and King Arthur.
Fermentation 101
Books upon books have been written about fermentation. This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive post on the subject; this is a basic overview of fermentation and the science/art (scart?) of fermenting.
I hope to lure you into the wonderful world of friendly bacteria and yeasts; let’s put these little microscopic critters to work!
Continue reading “Fermentation 101”
Ryan Cornett 