Living Free in Tennessee - Nicole Sauce

Nicole Sauce

Helping you live the live you life you choose on your terms. Living Free in Tennessee chronicles how we build our homestead, develop independence, plan and manage time and grow and preserve food sustainably - from a woman's point of view.

  1. 4h ago

    Processing An Abundance Of Green Beans - EP 1157

    Today, I will cover our usual segments as well as Last week, a listener asked a question that led us on an adventure about how to let go of the clutter in your life that are things you may not be things you LOVE but you love the person or memory that they trigger discuss what to do when all your green beans get ripe at the same time. Spoiler: You handle too many green beans much differently than too many tomatoes. Featured Event:Farm to Table Experience on September 19th at 1pm at the Holler Homestead in Lancaster, TN. $115 https://livingfreeintennessee.com/event/farm-to-table/ Sponsor 1: The Wealthsteading Podcast https://wealthsteading.com/ Sponsor 2: Strong Roots Resources: https://strongrootsresources.com/ Tales From The Prepper Pantry Green bean update 53 Smoked butts Schnitzel Saves the Day Shelving Idea for Basecamp Classroom Frugality Tip Most of us have tile somewhere in our house, and I have tried all kinds of things to get the grout lines clean. I personally have spent lots of money on a variety of cleaners. Well here you go: grab some peroxide and a toothbrush and prepare to be as amazed as I was. The grout looks brand new. So stop trying all of these weird chemicals that don't actually clean anything and go back to the basics.  Operation Independence Duplex Update Summer Time brings me memories of lazy days at the family pool, mom in the kitchen processing food or in the garden tending things. Picking strawberries at 4 in the morning, then getting home by 3 or 4 to shower and do it all over again. It was lazy but not lazy. There was always a sense of go with the flow in the summer where I grew up. And back then, a kid could still earn pocket money in the fields. Sometimes I miss that life, but it was also work. And perhaps that is why I find it fun to do the garden work or the canning work. Once again, I got the call every homesteader wants to get: Hey do you want all the green beans in one of my rows? I have too many. And it was hot, I had just spent 2 days painting and only had a single day to prepare for a Saturday event here. So I said. YES PLEASE! Last week we talked about how to process an abundance of tomatoes by basically NOT processing them. This week it is beans. Ways to preserve green beans Pickled Blanched and frozen Blanched and freeze dried Blanched and dehydrated Canned Timeline Canning and pickling Blanching and Freezing or drying Compost   Pre-freezing green beans for canning still means you need to blanch them so - why bother? My Secret to processing so many beans in just 24 hours - it was either a bushel and a half or 2 bushels. Presto electric canner Tapping into the in-between times One Last Batch at night How the supplies are organized Cleanup in between batches so I could also cook meals In sum: Hard work but not really that hard Recipes with green beans Steamed or boiled, drained, butter and spiced Pan seared Roasted Green Bean Salads Green bean eggy saute Make it a great week.

  2. Aug 12

    Purging The Sentimental - EP 1155

    Today we talk about purging the sentimental stuff, from ball gowns and family heirlooms to someday projects that never seem to get done. How do you decide what stays, what goes, and how do you let go of things that carry memories without feeling guilty about it? Featured Event Homemade Condiments: The Secret Is in the Sauce Holler Homestead • $75 Learn how to make mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup and homemade salad dressing from scratch, including what I've learned from failing mayonnaise, mushroom ketchup, and how to build your own salad dressing flavor profiles. LivingFreeInTennessee.com/event/condiments Sponsors Strong Roots Resources StrongRootsResources.com Agorist Tax Advice AgoristTaxAdvice.com/LFTN Tales from the Prepper Pantry 49 jars of green beans put up, with four more jars worth coming out of the garden Using the Presto electric pressure canner alongside the regular pressure canner to get more done Purging old food from the pantry that we simply don't eat anymore Cooking with what we grow: squash, pork, homemade tomato sauce, herbs, garlic and onions What regenerative soil does for the flavor and nutrition of the food we grow Getting a "second flush" of cream by letting the raw milk sit longer before skimming Frugality Tip It's clearance season for gardening and summer supplies Look for deals on hoses, sprinklers, connectors, grills, pools and plants Back-to-school season also means deals on office supplies Stocking up on good journals while prices are low Operation Independence Picking a huge batch of green beans from Trippy Acres Main Topic: Purging the Sentimental How sentimental stuff quietly turns your home into storage for decisions you don't want to make Why grief can turn us into repositories for family heirlooms nobody else wants to deal with Stuff begets more stuff: once you're the person who says yes, everyone knows where to send the family heirlooms The ball gowns I loved, wore, no longer fit into and finally decided to let go Giving the original giver the right of refusal when something may still matter to them Being grateful for a gift does not mean you have to store it forever Letting go of useful things that are no longer the right things Why keeping the old thing until you replace it can leave you surrounded by worn-out shoes, furniture and other junk Getting rid of something can force you to finally find the solution you actually want Looking at what you want to do in a space before deciding what deserves to stay there Why boxes of old technology, cables and unused cameras are keeping me from having my sewing table If something can easily be replaced for $20–$50 and you haven't used it, consider letting it go Trusting that you can get what you need when you actually need it Keeping things because Grandpa or Grandma made them, even when you don't particularly like them Taking a picture when you want to preserve the memory without preserving the object Choosing the sentimental things you genuinely love instead of keeping every sentimental thing Keeping Grandpa's ironwood roadrunner instead of every object he made Vintage clothing, family glassware, quilts and other inherited things that carry emotional weight If another relative will be upset when you get rid of something, give them the opportunity to take it Don't transfer your guilt by forcing sentimental things onto someone else How physical clutter, financial clutter, paper clutter and mental clutter feed one another Clearing things out has created more than physical space—it has created space in my brain and in my day Making room for the things I actually want to do: swimming, singing, playing piano and writing songs Getting rid of the someday projects The broken chair you're someday going to repair The supplies you bought for a project six months ago and still haven't used Buying supplies for the project you're actually going to do now instead of the one you might someday do The emotionally difficult someday projects, including an embroidered pillow cover my grandmother intended for a baby I never had Either do the thing or make a decision about the thing—don't let it live forever in a someday pile Why centering your identity in old memorabilia can keep you looking backward instead of building your future You can appreciate the memories without allowing the objects attached to them to control your space It's okay to be ruthless Keep the things that genuinely matter. Preserve a picture when that's enough. Give things to people who actually want them. Then move forward. Reference Links Living Free in Tennessee LivingFreeInTennessee.com Holler Roast Coffee HollerRoast.com Make It A Great Week!

  3. Aug 8

    Community Spotlight: Tori The Mom, Lessons From Wildfires in Spokane - EP 1154

    Today I am joined by Tori the Mom to talk about the wildfires that came within a mile of her home in Spokane, what it was like to watch evacuation zones move toward her neighborhood, and what she learned when preparedness suddenly became real. We talk about evacuation plans, knowing more than one way out, preparing kids and animals, cash, gas, communications, technology that helped her stay ahead of the fire, and the things she plans to do differently next time. Featured Event The Art of Containment: How to Contain Small Ruminants with Fencing Saturday at 10 AM We will cover how electric fencing works, running stranded wire for small ruminants, rechargeable systems when you don't have power nearby, and our "graveyard of shame" of fencing ideas that didn't work. LivingFreeInTennessee.com Sponsors The Wealthsteading Podcast with John Pugliano InvestableWealth.com Strong Roots Resources StrongRootsResources.com Topics Covered Meet Tori the Mom and how she became part of the LFTN community Tori and her sister's 20 acres of raw land near Loon Lake, Washington Her plans to build a retreat for wives and ex-wives of alcoholics Why making the big, hard-to-reverse decisions on raw land is different from cutting trails and experimenting Watching the Spokane wildfires go from "that's way over there" to evacuation zones within about a mile of Tori's house How high winds, dry conditions and flying embers allowed the fire to jump the river and move rapidly toward town What happened when Watch Duty and county emergency alerts suddenly started going off Knowing when it is time to stop watching and start packing Why camping is excellent practice for evacuation Teaching kids what to pack and identifying the few irreplaceable things you actually want to grab Keeping identification, important documents, cash and small irreplaceable items ready to go Why knowing multiple ways out of your neighborhood matters Practicing driving without GPS and learning how to navigate when familiar landmarks or street signs are gone How Tori's habit of taking different routes around Spokane gave her more options when evacuation traffic became a problem Planning meetup locations in multiple directions when family members may be separated Why your relatives living nearby doesn't necessarily give you somewhere to evacuate Gas, cash and snacks: three simple preps Tori realized she needed to have ready before an emergency Starting with some emergency cash instead of getting stuck because you can't immediately set aside the "perfect" amount Why Tori needs to practice actually loading her dogs and cats into the cars Having enough animal carriers and figuring out what will actually fit in your vehicle before you need it Desensitizing yourself to stressed, noisy animals so their reaction doesn't derail you during an emergency How Tori turned emergency practice into the "zombies" game when her kids were young—and why they still remembered it when the wildfire came Debriefing with kids after an emergency and giving teenagers responsibility for part of the family's preparedness Why practicing your plans matters more than simply thinking through them How community helped Tori stay calmer, troubleshoot problems and know that people were watching out for her The value of having community outside your immediate geographic area when everyone near you may be dealing with the same emergency Watch Duty, regional emergency alerts, weather forecasts, FlightRadar, Facebook groups and a police scanner as sources Tori used to follow the fire Using wind direction and future wind predictions to decide whether it was safe to sleep or whether conditions might change overnight Watching firefighting aircraft and listening to scanner traffic to understand what was actually happening Ember guards for attic vents as something to investigate for homes in wildfire country Knowing the specific risks where you live and building your preparedness around them Why Tori's biggest takeaway is simple: practice packing, practice loading the car and know what absolutely has to go with you Reference Links The Wealthsteading Podcast InvestableWealth.com Strong Roots Resources StrongRootsResources.com Living Free in Tennessee LivingFreeInTennessee.com Watch Duty FlightRadar HipCamp Tori's Property Shielstra Braehaven on HipCamp 20 acres of raw, forested land near Loon Lake, Washington Holler Roast Coffee HollerRoast.com Make It A Great Week!

  4. Jul 31

    Homestead Happenings For July 31, 2026 - EP 1153

    Today I am joined by the Tactical Redneck for our weekly update from Holler Homestead. We catch up on what's been happening around the farm, share an upcoming class at Basecamp Lodge, answer listener questions, and spend most of the episode talking about fencing. We cover the pressure-tested fencing supplies we've come to trust, the lessons we've learned after building miles of fence in rocky Tennessee soil, and the skills that actually make someone an asset when it's time to build infrastructure on the homestead. Featured Event Homemade Condiments Class Friday, August 22 • Holler Homestead Learn to make your own mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, salad dressings, and more. You'll taste a variety of recipes and head home with a homemade dressing you make in class. $75 https://livingfreeintennessee.com/event/condiments/  Sponsors Strong Roots Resources https://StrongRootsResources.com The Wealthsteading Podcast https://InvestableWealth.com Topics Covered Updates from Holler Homestead Nashville duplex project and staging it for sale Announcing the Homemade Condiments Class at Basecamp Lodge: https://livingfreeintennessee.com/event/condiments/  Combining FAMACHA scoring with routine flock maintenance Why rotational grazing becomes more challenging with four flocks A deep dive into electric fencing on rocky and hilly Tennessee ground Lessons learned from building and rebuilding fence The pressure-tested fencing products and brands we've come to trust Where it's worth spending money on fencing supplies The tools that make fencing faster and more reliable The skills that make someone genuinely valuable on a fencing crew Why careful planning saves far more time than hard work alone Building better homestead systems instead of repeating the same mistakes Reference Links Strong Roots Resources https://StrongRootsResources.com The Wealthsteading Podcast https://InvestableWealth.com Holler Roast Coffee https://HollerRoast.com THE FENCING SUPPLIES LIST FROM TACTICAL Recommend Companies   American Grazing Lands https://www.americangrazinglands.com   Farm Fence Solutions https://www.shopfarmfencesolutions.com   Power Flex Fence https://powerflexfence.com   Premier 1 https://www.premier1supplies.com       Geared Reels O'Briens https://powerflexfence.com/collections/reels/products/ogr-obrien-gear-reel   Speedrite https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/speedrite-geared-reel?cat_id=49   Strainrite https://www.shopfarmfencesolutions.com/31-geared-wheel-27897645.html   Taragate https://www.americangrazinglands.com/collections/portable-fencing-supplies/products/taragate-geared-reel   Gallagher https://powerflexfence.com/collections/reels/products/gallagher-reel-standard-1320       Wire and Jumper Wire Poly Wire Powerflex Fence - 1/2 Mile - 2640ft Super 9 PolyBraid https://www.americangrazinglands.com/collections/portable-fencing-supplies/products/polybraid-mixed-metals-6-stainless-3-tin-copper-strands-2640   Jumper Wire https://www.americangrazinglands.com/collections/portable-fencing-supplies/products/jumper-lead       Step In Post Strainrite - Multi Wire Tread In Post https://www.shopfarmfencesolutions.com/multi-wire-tread-in-post-pk-10.html   Steel Post, Multiwire Tread In https://www.shopfarmfencesolutions.com/steel-post-multiwire-tread-in-pk-10.html   O'Brien Tredaline Post - White https://powerflexfence.com/collections/fence-posts/products/obtp-white-obrien-tredaline-post-white   FenceGard Tread -In Post, White https://powerflexfence.com/collections/fence-posts/products/powertredin-post-white-box-50       Fence Charger 110 - Cyclops Super, 12 Joule, 110V AC Powered Energizer https://cyclopsfence.com/collections/ac-mains-powered-energizers/products/cyclops-super-12-joule-110v-ac-powered-energizer   12V - Cyclops Super, 12 Joule, DC Battery Powered Energizer https://cyclopsfence.com/collections/battery-powered-energizers/products/cyclops-super-12-joule-200-acre-12v-dc-battery-powered-energizer   Fence Tester Speedrite Digital Fault Finder ST100 https://cyclopsfence.com/collections/fence-testers/products/speedrite-digital-fault-finder-st100-free-usa-shipping       Insolaters 2" Offset Screw-In Ring Insulator (Pack of 25) https://www.americangrazinglands.com/collections/insulators/products/2-offset-screw-in-ring-insulator   6" Offset Screw-In Ring Insulator https://www.americangrazinglands.com/collections/insulators/products/6-offset-screw-in-ring-insulator XL Ring Offset Insulator 6" https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/xl-ring-offset-insulator?cat_id=46 Make It A Great Week!

  5. Jul 31

    What To Do With All These Tomatoes - WITH ENDING - EP 1152

    What a month! My AUDIO Host cut off the end of this episode. When I replaced the file, the podcastchers did not update. TRY TWO for those of you who did not listen to it on Youtube by now! Today, I want to talk to you about navigating homestead abundance when it feels like everything is happening at once: planting for fall, processing an abundant tomato harvest, livestock needing extra support in the heat, and personal things ramping up in the background. But mostly, today is about 120 pounds of tomatoes that appeared here yesterday during a week when I won't be around. We will also cover our usual Tuesday segments. Featured Event The Art of Containment: Practical Livestock Fencing, August 8th at 10am at the Holler Homestead in Lancaster, TN. Tickets ar $50, grab yours here All Holler Homestead Events: https://livingfreeintennessee.com/events/  Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com/LFTN Tales From The Prepper Pantry 120 Pounds of Tomatoes Peaches: Final Harvest  ¼ bushel of green beans off 5 plants Time to plant the fall garden if you have not - for real, it is time! Moving from paper goods to washables where it makes sense Frugality Tip Say yes, but lean on community Operation Independence Seeking Farm Sponsors for our Farm To Table Dinner in September - how that works. Tomatoes All At Once Geraldines Story from A is For Cod-Wada: https://www.amazon.com/coda-wada-Geraldine-Duncann/dp/B0006YH9M2 THE MOMENT EVERY HOMESTEADER WAITS FOR: Michelle from Trippy Acres has too many tomatoes this is the day EVERY homesteader waits for - the moment someone says, can you take all this (WHATEVER) off my hands - and that whatever is a thing you love. Adjusted Monday schedule to harvest Admitted I wasnt processing last night to maintain health, but kept them all cool where? In my livingroom on a fold out table Processed them today - 120 pounds or so of tomatoes. A FAMILIAR RHYTHM: SORT - CUT - FREEZE - REPEAT GOAL is not homestead processing perfection, it is food spoilage stabilization. Works well post freezer: canned sauce, ketchup, salsa, stewed, freeze dried Must happen from fresh: Sundried, fresh Partial processing now helps future winter canning flow well Core and cut smaller to make it easier to process later as sauce Skins come off easily after freezing for stewed but before thawing, so store tomatoes you plan to skin as a single layer and only cored, not sliced smaller Dice the tomatoes you want for salsa in salsa batch sizes so that you can pull tomatoes for salsa straight from the freezer into the salsa pot Reducing sauce without heat by freezing and canned tomato water Keep Heat Outside Dehydrate and crockpot reduce sauces outside under cover (assuming you don't have a bear problem) to save adding heat inside Freezing for winter canning lets you heat the house int he winter while processing your tomatoes - win-win Prioritize ripest tomatoes first and set aside underripe ones to ripen as you go Favorite Tomato recipes Canned Salsa (Scaled for how many peppers I have) Fresh tomato Basil Soup (Make it and freeze for winter) Tomato Cucumber Salad Fresh Tomato and Meat Sauce Sliced Tomato with, salt and pepper, basil and a balsamic reduction Dried tomato in olive oil and garlic Freeze dried tomato powder Canned tomato sauce Canned stewed tomatoes if I am in a hurry Tomato cheese fry pies One of the things that can be hard to communicate to people about living a homesteaders lifestyle is that you will have times where everything seems to be happening at once.  Like for me right now: I need to be in Nashville for a few days managing my rental property, my mobility is coming back so I am working on a backlog from my injury and also setting a foundation for a fall garden, the livestock does best when they are handled daily even though they can sort of go on auto pilot. We just finished a large peach harvest, there are saturday farmers markets to do, our events are happing every other week or so, and then, 120 pounds of tomatoes appeared.  You build the skills over years on a homestead to tap into something like this and run with it.  I used to drop everything for days to do projects like this and that is how I learned a better way. One that preserves the food while preserving the reason I am on the homestead: to live in concert with nature, build abundance from the land, and enjoy the beauty of this place. So if you are new to homesteading, it may feel like lots of pressure at this time of year with the pest pressure, the weeds and the harvest, but it doesn't have to be. And being frantic all the time isn't why you are doing this, is it? Make It A Great Week

  6. Jul 29

    What To Do With All These Tomatoes

    Today, I want to talk to you about navigating homestead abundance when it feels like everything is happening at once: planting for fall, processing an abundant tomato harvest, livestock needing extra support in the heat, and personal things ramping up in the background. But mostly, today is about 120 pounds of tomatoes that appeared here yesterday during a week when I won't be around. We will also cover our usual Tuesday segments. Featured Event The Art of Containment: Practical Livestock Fencing, August 8th at 10am at the Holler Homestead in Lancaster, TN. Tickets ar $50, grab yours here All Holler Homestead Events: https://livingfreeintennessee.com/events/  Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com/LFTN Tales From The Prepper Pantry 120 Pounds of Tomatoes Peaches: Final Harvest  ¼ bushel of green beans off 5 plants Time to plant the fall garden if you have not - for real, it is time! Moving from paper goods to washables where it makes sense Frugality Tip Say yes, but lean on community Operation Independence Seeking Farm Sponsors for our Farm To Table Dinner in September - how that works. Tomatoes All At Once Geraldines Story from A is For Cod-Wada: https://www.amazon.com/coda-wada-Geraldine-Duncann/dp/B0006YH9M2 THE MOMENT EVERY HOMESTEADER WAITS FOR: Michelle from Trippy Acres has too many tomatoes this is the day EVERY homesteader waits for - the moment someone says, can you take all this (WHATEVER) off my hands - and that whatever is a thing you love. Adjusted Monday schedule to harvest Admitted I wasnt processing last night to maintain health, but kept them all cool where? In my livingroom on a fold out table Processed them today - 120 pounds or so of tomatoes. A FAMILIAR RHYTHM: SORT - CUT - FREEZE - REPEAT GOAL is not homestead processing perfection, it is food spoilage stabilization. Works well post freezer: canned sauce, ketchup, salsa, stewed, freeze dried Must happen from fresh: Sundried, fresh Partial processing now helps future winter canning flow well Core and cut smaller to make it easier to process later as sauce Skins come off easily after freezing for stewed but before thawing, so store tomatoes you plan to skin as a single layer and only cored, not sliced smaller Dice the tomatoes you want for salsa in salsa batch sizes so that you can pull tomatoes for salsa straight from the freezer into the salsa pot Reducing sauce without heat by freezing and canned tomato water Keep Heat Outside Dehydrate and crockpot reduce sauces outside under cover (assuming you don't have a bear problem) to save adding heat inside Freezing for winter canning lets you heat the house int he winter while processing your tomatoes - win-win Prioritize ripest tomatoes first and set aside underripe ones to ripen as you go Favorite Tomato recipes Canned Salsa (Scaled for how many peppers I have) Fresh tomato Basil Soup (Make it and freeze for winter) Tomato Cucumber Salad Fresh Tomato and Meat Sauce Sliced Tomato with, salt and pepper, basil and a balsamic reduction Dried tomato in olive oil and garlic Freeze dried tomato powder Canned tomato sauce Canned stewed tomatoes if I am in a hurry Tomato cheese fry pies One of the things that can be hard to communicate to people about living a homesteaders lifestyle is that you will have times where everything seems to be happening at once.  Like for me right now: I need to be in Nashville for a few days managing my rental property, my mobility is coming back so I am working on a backlog from my injury and also setting a foundation for a fall garden, the livestock does best when they are handled daily even though they can sort of go on auto pilot. We just finished a large peach harvest, there are saturday farmers markets to do, our events are happing every other week or so, and then, 120 pounds of tomatoes appeared.  You build the skills over years on a homestead to tap into something like this and run with it.  I used to drop everything for days to do projects like this and that is how I learned a better way. One that preserves the food while preserving the reason I am on the homestead: to live in concert with nature, build abundance from the land, and enjoy the beauty of this place. So if you are new to homesteading, it may feel like lots of pressure at this time of year with the pest pressure, the weeds and the harvest, but it doesn't have to be. And being frantic all the time isn't why you are doing this, is it? Make It A Great Week

  7. Jul 24

    Homestead Happenings for July 24, 2026 - EP 1151

    Today I am joined by the Tactical Redneck for our weekly update from Holler Homestead. We talk about wrapping up peach season, putting food by before it goes to waste, building a backlog of freezer meals, improving the duck pond, and the latest fencing adventures. We also share what we've been learning from this year's garden, experiments with coffee-dyed aprons for upcoming classes, and why choosing to cultivate steady progress instead of chasing perfection is making a real difference around the homestead. Featured Event The Activation Tour with Derrick Broze Franklin, TN https://ActivationTour.org Sponsors The Wealthsteading Podcast https://InvestableWealth.com Discount Mylar Bags https://DiscountMylarBags.com Topics Covered Wrapping up the peach harvest Making peach pie filling and preserving the abundance Building a freezer meal backlog for busy seasons Duck pond improvements and better water flow Fencing successes, mistakes, and lessons learned Rotational grazing and sheep management updates Saving a 140-year-old family tomato seed line What worked—and didn't—in this year's garden Coffee-dyed aprons for upcoming homestead classes Preparing for future events at Basecamp Lodge Balancing farm projects with the Nashville duplex sale Living out this year's word: Cultivate Reference Links Living Free in Tennessee https://LivingFreeInTennessee.com The Activation Tour https://ActivationTour.org Discount Mylar Bags https://DiscountMylarBags.com The Wealthsteading Podcast https://InvestableWealth.com Holler Roast Coffee https://HollerRoast.com Make It A Great Week!

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About

Helping you live the live you life you choose on your terms. Living Free in Tennessee chronicles how we build our homestead, develop independence, plan and manage time and grow and preserve food sustainably - from a woman's point of view.