Home Economics 101 self guided

More and more people are becoming interested in self-reliance and home production.

Follow along in Home Economics 101 to learn how to:

• Turn raw milk into fresh cheese, kefir, yogurt and sour cream
• Preserve food like jams, jellies and pickles through canning
• Make all natural soaps, detergents and home cleaners
• Mix your own herbal remedies
• Cultivate a sourdough starter and bake fresh sourdough bread from scratch
• Ferment juices, sodas, hot sauce and sauerkraut at home to promote gut health
• Preserve foods through freezing and drying methods
• Manage dry goods for maximum storage
• Brew a batch of beer
• Repair or build using basic carpentry and woodworking methods

Details

Sessions: These topics will be covered in 9 pre-recorded sessions

Format: 90 minute videos of the live class include a lecture guided by an expert in a topic area as well as student questions and conversation.

Topics covered include:

• Dairy
• Canning
• Cleaning/health/beauty products
• Sourdough baking
• Fermentation
• Freezing and Drying
• Dry goods Storage and Prepping
• Brewing
• Woodworking

By the end of course students will have basic understanding of the topics above as well as resources to pursue any of the activities in more depth.

Sessions

Session 1: Dairy

Introduction to Dairy Preservation with "Kitchen Marm" Chelsey Norman. Interested in buying bulk dairy from a farm or keeping a dairy animal, but not sure what to do with gallons of milk? This class will walk you through the basics to start making yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, sour cream and fresh cheese at home. You'll learn the difference between mesophilic vs thermophilic cultures, how to maintain kefir grains, what to do with all that leftover whey and more.

Session 2: Canning

Introduction to Canning with Kate Parsons, professor of digital art at Pepperdine University and Co-founder of Primal U, a skills based wilderness and resilience course. In this class we’ll cover both the basics of waterbath and pressure canning, as well as a few easy preservation techniques that don’t involve water processing. We’ll also provide you with two easy recipes that you can try during the course using very minimal equipment.

Session 3: Health, Cleaning, and Beauty products

Introduction to All Natural Health, Cleaning and Beauty Products with Joseph Smith "The Homestead Padre." In this class you will learn about how to make all natural cleaners and medicines at home. Products include: soap, laundry detergent, all natural cleaners and herbal medicines. By the end of this session you will know how to stay clean and healthy without exposure to synthetic chemicals.

Session 4: Sourdough

Introduction to sourdough baking with Roxanne Ahern, author of Holistic Homesteading: A Guide to a Sustainable and Regenerative Lifestyle.” In this course you will learn how to create and care for your own starter culture and the step by step process of how to make a beautiful and delicious sourdough loaf. Roxanne will also teach students the many ways to use the sourdough discard, as well as how to dehydrate and store your starter.

Session 5: Fermentation

Introduction to Fermentation with Kate Parsons, professor of digital art at Pepperdine University and Co-founder of Primal U, a skills based wilderness and resilience course. In this class we’ll cover the basics of fermentation, including lacto-fermented sodas, shrubs, hot sauce, and sauerkraut. We’ll also discuss their health benefits and provide you with an easy how-to recipe that you can try during the course.

Session 6: Freezing and Drying

Introduction to food preservation via freezing and drying with Roxanne Ahern, author of Holistic Homesteading: A Guide to a Sustainable and Regenerative Lifestyle.”. In this course we will cover the basics of how to preserve food with the methods of freezing and drying. There will be a step by step tutorial for both methods, and Roxanne will she her best tips and tricks, with ample time for student for questions and answers.

Session 7: Dry storage and prepping

Introduction to dry storage inventory management with disaster preparedness expert Chris Ellis. In this session, Chris covers scaling your preps – and associated skills – from a three-day plan to a one-year (+) plan. The training encompasses basic and advanced techniques for storage, inventory management, and prepping strategy. Graduated resilience is the overall goal.

Session 8: Brewing

Introduction to home brewing beer with small scale brew enthusiasts "Mashtun" Tim Hollosy and Dan Neville, members of the "Watch the Pot" brewery/club run from a barn in Michigan. In this class you'll learn how to turn grains and hops into beer. We'll share our experience and lessons learned scaling our four-person midwest based brew club from a stovetop to a highly automated full barrel system. Finally, we'll discuss the social and local benefits of building and brewing with friends.

Session 9: Woodworking

Introduction to Woodworking. When a tree falls, we automatically think of firewood, but really that should be the last use we come to, each part should be used to its fullest extent. Wood is the greatest material there is, renewable, durable and infinitely workable. In this lecture, I’ll talk about the basic tools and equipment you need, and how to start on some simple projects. Woodworking for projects and repairs you need for your home. Kevin Alviti has been a carpenter for over 20 years, he has worked on everything from oak framed barns to high rise flats, from 18th century style carvings to cleaving the parts for a gate from a log.

There is a sliding scale fee available upon request! Email Ashley at ashley@rizomafieldschool.com for information.