Homesteading is Serious Business

So I've been reading a lot about making my own bread. Motherearthnews.com has a great link on making no knead dough that you can keep in your fridge and just tear off portions everyday for a fresh loaf of home baked bread every day.
Let me tell you, I love to cook, but I am terrified of baking. I read that article over and over and over... it kept eating at me. And after a month of rereading the article, I finally came to the breaking point.

Screw it, I'm going to try the bread thing.

Let me just say, I really don't like having to buy things from the store. If I could have a farm, and an orchard, I would be in udder paradise. Really.

I went out and bought a beautiful oven stone. I went and found Vital wheat gluten. I very cautiously made my first batch of dough. I let it sit. And I started the oven. 4o minutes later, not only did my house smell amazing, but I had the most amazing loaf of free form artisan bread. More than that, I had a loaf of pride and accomplishment, riddled with tears of joy. Seriously. The bread made me cry.

Well, the bread event opened up a whole can of worms. I have been wanting to make my own butter for a while- and now that I have accomplished what seems to be an impossible chemistry experiment that is named bread- I feel like I should be doing more. I spent all night after that typing in, "how to make..." into the google search bar- followed by ketchup, mayo, mustard, cheese, etc. I was laying in bed until 3 am pondering the possibilities of home-made goodness. I had dreams of canning sauces and stocked cabinets and self sufficiency.

I have to say that my mind was blown away at the easiness of creating condiments. I almost felt hurt that I have wasting money on chemically processed foods that no one told me I could make at home.

So I'm going to start creating many things, and I'm taking you all with me on the journey. It's a whole new level now. Bigger than dinners and music. Soon enough, the only thing I will have to buy from the store is flours and oils... oh and coffee.... Everything else is going to be purchased from local(ish) farms and orchards. My fridge will be packed with things that have come from my own hands. I can't wait to get started!