Weird Things Alane Does

1. I haven’t used a microwave for microwaving in years, like 10 years.

No, I’m not joking. I can remember the last thing I microwaved and when it was. It was oatmeal when my now husband and I had started dating. We both decided at that moment, we would no longer use the microwave for more reasons than what I want to get into on this blog (send me a message if you really want to know)! Instead of using it for its original intended purpose, I have found a much more beneficial use for it in my kitchen (my house came with one). It is now my apron storage! All of my aprons are beautifully folded and protected in there. It is always entertaining when we have guests and they go to use the microwave. They are always so puzzled as to why I have aprons in there! They are equally puzzled to find out that I don’t use it and I don’t know how to use it. My dad will come over and lecture me on all the ways that a microwave can be used — he definitely thinks I’m weird! It makes me laugh every single time. Instead of heating my food in the microwave, I either sautee it in a pan on the stove or heat it up in the oven. 

2. I put a cardamom seed in when I grind coffee beans every morning!

One morning I was reading random articles and came across the benefits of cardamom and how the Turkish put it in their coffee. I always have cardamom seeds stocked in case I am making a dish that calls for it so I started throwing a seed pod in with the coffee beans. It was so delicious that I started doing it every morning! It has become so much a part of my morning routine that I feel like I can’t stop doing it now! What would my coffee think of me if I stopped? I’m being weird, but, in all seriousness, it is delicious!!!

3. I have a checklist hanging in my kitchen for ferments and brews happening so I don’t forget when it is ready.

If you ferment or brew, you know this happens!! After time passes, it is hard to remember when you made something. I made a chart of the common things I like to make so all I have to do is fill in the date. I put the checklists in plastic sleeves and use dry erase markers so I can erase them after I have finished. Then I use a command hook on my cabinet that is closest to me when I cook. It is important for me to have it right in front of my face. I have an amazing ability to ignore things around me, which can be great for focusing on tasks with a lot of commotion around but not great for keeping a tidy house. These are the plastic covers and dry erase markers I use.

4. I render my own lard.

That sounds weird in itself, right? I’ve become slightly obsessed with doing way too many things myself. I want the food as close to a whole food when I purchase it so that I know what process it goes through to get to the final product. I am able to purchase fat from a local farm (Peaceful Pastures) and have taught myself how to render it down in my crockpot. It is simple to do but you do need to have a little patience. The final product is an amazing and healthy cooking fat that seriously goes fantastic with anything you are making. I once used it to make chocolate brownies. They were delicious!

5. I use filtered water for everything – drinking water, boiling water for cooking, even soaking seeds!

Anything that will be consumed is made with water from my Berkey filter! There are so many chemicals in our water that I can’t imagine that it is good for us to be ingesting it so much without filtering it. The Berkey gives us some peace of mind that we are doing our best to limit the chemicals we are drinking and cooking with while at home. I even fill up a 5-gallon water container when we travel. It is good for the environment as well that we aren’t consuming more plastic water bottles. It is good on the wallet, on the environment, and for our internal systems!

6. I never throw old wine away.

I hate wasting anything! That most definitely includes wine that I don’t finish and as I get older, that is every bottle of wine that I open. If I am the only one drinking, I will never finish it in a few days before it goes bad. It has become a joke to my husband anytime I buy wine now because he knows I won’t finish drinking it. But, I never pour wine down the drain, ever! It makes the best-sautéed onions and I always pour in a little when making bone broth.

7. I never throw away food scraps!

What I can’t use in other ways, for instance, making bone broth, I put in our compost. Compost is such an important part of your garden. Think about all the minerals your food absorbs while it is growing. It is getting those minerals from the soil and when the food you eat leaves that soil, all the minerals just went with it! Composting gives us the ability to replenish our soil with those minerals so it can keep producing more nutritious foods for us. Another weird fact about me: I went to an organic farm school while living in San Diego. I learned so much from it!

8. I make cheese out of my spoiled raw milk.

Are you a raw milk drinker like me? Never through it out, even when it goes bad! That is cheese just waiting to be made! Depending on how sour it is, I may only have to heat it for a few minutes for it to separate. If it doesn’t separate easily, then I’ll add a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice to it. 

Have whey leftover from making cheese? I don’t throw that out either! I use it to make lemonade in place of some of the water. It already has a sour flavor so it pairs well with the lemons. When starting out, add just a small amount at a time to make sure you don’t overpower it with whey. My favorite all-time raw cheese-making book is The Art of Natural Cheese Making.

9. I make my own dog treats.

I started making dehydrated beef liver dog treats seven years ago after talking with a local beef farmer about how he had an abundance of the liver to sell. He mentioned that he was probably going to make pet treats out of them for his dogs. I thought to myself, I could do that for my pups and make them extra spoiled! Now my son, Fletcher, makes them and started his own business selling them Special Yummy Yummy Dog Treats (specialyummytreats.com).