Real Food Kitchen Tour: The Wannabe Homesteader

by Ann Marie Michaels on August 7, 2012

Welcome to another edition of the Real Food Kitchen Tour. This week we’re featuring Stephanie Larsen, author of The Wannabe Homesteader.

What’s a Real Foodie?

A “real foodie” is someone who cooks “traditional” food. We cook stuff from scratch using real ingredients, like raw milk, grass-fed beef, eggs from chickens that run around outdoors, whole grains, sourdough and yogurt starters, mineral-rich sea salt, and natural sweeteners like honey and real maple syrup.

We don’t use modern foods that are either fake, super-refined, or denatured. This includes modern vegetable oils like Crisco and margarine, soy milk, meat from factory farms, pasteurized milk from cows eating corn and soybeans, refined white flour, factory-made sweeteners like HFCS or even refined white sugar, or commercial yeast.

We believe in eating wholesome, nutrient-dense foods that come from nature. So we shop at farmer’s markets or buy direct from the farmer, or we grow food in our own backyards.

This Week’s Real Food Kitchen Tour: The Wannabe Homesteader

This week we travel to Ocala, Florida to tour the kitchen of Stephanie Larsen, author of The Wannabe Homesteader.

Blog Name: The Wannabe Homesteader
Blog Author: Stephanie Larsen
Location: Ocala, FL
How Long Blogging: Since January 2012
House or Apartment: House
Size of Kitchen: Approximately 15′ × 8′
Things You Love About Your Kitchen: There’s a lot to like about this kitchen because I’ve always had very old kitchens to cook in. I love the size of the kitchen and the big, pull-out cabinets. I love the tile floor and the fact that everything is relatively new. The two large pantries are really nice as well.
Things You Would Change: There’s not too much I would change but I do wish there was more natural light in the kitchen. I’m also a little annoyed at my dishwasher. I don’t think it’s working very well because there is always dishwasher detergent residue left on the plates which is pretty toxic stuff.
Favorite Tools & Gadgets: I love my Rachel Ray knife and stainless steel pot set, I love my Blendtec, old retro juicer my mom gave me and my wooden spoons. I love my cutting board and my Lodge cast iron set of pots and frying pans. I’m also digging this cool kitchen scale that my mom got me at a garage sale. It’s from Noway and doesn’t need batteries or electricity. But my ultimate kitchen gadget would probably be the Berkey Water Filter. It’s pretty much indispensable.
Biggest Challenges Cooking Real Food: Affording it and finding it. Right now, we are on a tight food budget because we’re getting out of debt. When we’re debt-free, I’ll be ramping up my real food cooking, especially in the grass-fed beef and cheese department.
Current Family Favorite Meal: It would probably be homemade pizza. I grind the grains, soak them and make a great thin crust pizza.
Favorite Cookbooks: I like all my cookbooks (besides the Atkins Diet cookbook — it just sits there) but my favorite is probably my own recipe binder. I made it and put all the best recipes I found around the net in it.

Kitchen view

Soaking lentils and rice for dinner and carrots and salsa fermenting on the counter

Some favorite gadgets

Small collection

Antique shot and wine glasses, Corning Ware, and jars that I’m saving for…something

Baking stuff, herbs, spices and supplements (I don’t normally use Agave but I couldn’t find raw honey)

Making whey

Experimenting with sourdough starter

Refrigerator

My strangely clean-looking fridge with local wine, Red Curry and rice leftovers, a lot of pastured eggs, homemade cream cheese, mostly all organic fruits and veggies and a lot of cultured butter.

CSA veggies, meat, fresh ground flours, and flax seed.

Very true!

My hubby frying tostones in coconut oil

The extent of my gardening…for now

Check Out the Previous Real Food Kitchen Tour Posts

Let Us Tour Your Kitchen

Are you a real foodie? Do you have a kitchen that you’d like to see featured on CHEESESLAVE?

Please email me at Questions AT realfoodmedia dot com. Either send me a link to a Flickr set or email me your photos (minimum of 5, but more is better). Note: Please send me LARGE photos. Minimum 610 width. If they’re too small, I can’t use them.

Oh, and please send the answers to the above questions (at the very top of this post).

As much as I’d love to include all the photos I receive, I can’t guarantee that I will use your photos in the series. I’m looking for creative, good quality photos.

Some ideas for photos:

Show us what’s in your fridge or what’s fermenting on your counter
Take some snaps of some of your favorite kitchen gadgets, or show us how you organize your spices
Got backyard chickens? Send some pics!
How about a lovely herb garden?
Kids or pets are always cute!
Try to include at least one photo of yourself, ideally in your kitchen

And no, you don’t have to have a blog to be included in the tour.

Photo credit: A warm welcome Project365(3) Day 10 by Keith Williamson, on Flickr and photos by Memories by Michelle
Disclosure: cmp.ly/4 and cmp.ly/5

{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }

J. August 7, 2012 at 11:51 AM

The dishwasher detergent residue occurs because of lack of phosphates, which have gotten an unfounded bad reputation. Phosphates are essential to proper dishwasher rinsing. Throw a little bit of TSP in your dishwasher, alongside the detergent, and it will work like new again.

Stephanie (@wbhomesteader) August 8, 2012 at 11:51 AM: Hi J, What is TSP?

Reply

Amy Love @ Real Food Whole Health August 7, 2012 at 2:12 PM

Thanks for sharing your kitchen with us!! We use plain organic white vinegar in the rinse aid compartment of the dishwasher, and a safer, non-toxic detergent like 7th Generation. If that’s not budget friendly, you can also make your own, or use a DROP (like 1-2 individual drops) of dishwashing soap (again, like Seventh Gen, but then you are only buying one product)- it won’t suds over with just a drop. We did this for quite some time at our old place and it always worked great with that old dishwasher.

Stephanie (@wbhomesteader) August 8, 2012 at 11:50 AM: Hi Amy! Thanks for the tips. I think I’ll try the white vinegar/drop of Seventh Gen..

Reply

Beth August 7, 2012 at 3:06 PM

I’d love to get a recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent! Anybody?

Susan August 8, 2012 at 11:51 AM

Beth- You can find recipes for dishwasher detergent online, but be forewarned: I don’t hink they are as swell as they sound. And from comments on other blogs, many others don’t think so as well.

I have made my own laundry soap and household cleaners, so making my own dishwasher soap sounded perfect because I already had so many of the necessary ingredients. By two loads in, I stopped using it. My dishes all had a film on them, and by closer inspection I realized the glaze on my grandmother’s plates was coming off. My glassware still has a film that looks like the glass was etched that no vinegar or Lime-Away will remove. I even ended up throwing away some of my coffee cups they looked so bad. I haven’t been able to do anything that brings the luster back to my dishes, either.

And the inside of my expensive Bosch dishwasher? It looks awful! Nothing I’ve used to clean it will make it look like new again. The whole home-made detergent, for me, was not only a dissappointment, but made me sad because of the special items that are no longer the same.

Do a lot of research before you embark on this venture!

Stephanie (@wbhomesteader) August 8, 2012 at 11:53 AM: Me too, I have only had bad luck with homemade dishwasher detergents.

Reply

Mari August 7, 2012 at 4:13 PM

I heard it’s better to place the dishwashing detergent tablet or gel packet in the silverware section so it starts dissolving and cleaning right from the start of the cycle. And that way by the end of the cycle it’s had more rinse time and less residue left on the dishes. When it’s put into the detergent compartment there’s a greater chance it will not fully dissolve and/or fully rinse off. Hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar in the rinse-aid compartment is a good idea too.

Karen August 8, 2012 at 8:15 PM

If I may make a suggestion regarding dishwasher detergent . . . I made my own for about 9 months, and it was just ok. My glassware had a haze to it, but the price was so cheap it was worth it. However, then I discovered Biokleen brand . . . and I switched and I haven’t looked back. I pay about $9 for a container that lasts 2-3 months. You only use 1/2 tablespoon per load. It immediately got rid of the haze on my glassware, and it’s very environmently friendly and has no toxic ingredients. I am totally in love with the stuff. I still use vinegar in my rinse compartment.

Stephanie (@wbhomesteader) August 9, 2012 at 6:28 AM: Thanks for the suggestion Karen! Definitely going to look into this. $9 for 2-3 months is not a bad price at all…

Reply

Dina-Marie @ Dimes2Vines August 9, 2012 at 8:08 AM

I am amazed at how neat and clean your fridge and shelves are – Thanks for sharing your kitchen with us! I have made my own laundry detergent but never dishwasher – all the comment have been interesting and I don’t think I will be trying it!

Stephanie (@wbhomesteader) August 9, 2012 at 3:50 PM: I *may* have tidied up a little for the pictures. I hope I’m not the only one who has done that…

Reply

Gabi August 10, 2012 at 7:18 PM

Great tour; I love your blog name! Your sourdough starter looks great, and I love your vintage corning ware casseroles…and I’m a blendtec user, too…workhorse, eh?

Stephanie (@wbhomesteader) August 13, 2012 at 4:07 PM: Thanks Gabi! My starter did well but my whole wheat sourdough bread was a fail. It had a great flavor but was hard. I’ve developed a liking for vintage kitchen ware too. Yes, the Blendtec is an absolute workhorse. Great multi-tasker.

Reply

Amy B. August 20, 2012 at 10:27 AM

Holy cow — hanging the cheesecloth from a cabinet knob to drip the whey is brilliant! Never thought of doing it that way before. I usually just sit it in the strainer over a bowl, but I think the added force of the height will make the process go more quickly. That little trick is going to make things so much easier. Thanks!

Real Food Kitchen Tour: The Wannabe Homesteader

What’s a Real Foodie?

This Week’s Real Food Kitchen Tour: The Wannabe Homesteader

Check Out the Previous Real Food Kitchen Tour Posts

Let Us Tour Your Kitchen

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