A Garden Girl

A New Blog

2009-07-21T05:29:00.000-07:00

To be in keeping with my new life, I have started a new blog! From now on I will be blogging at Feathering The Nest. Please come by and leave me a comment.

Jonathan and Emily July 4 2009

2009-07-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

All my life I've been wondering if this moment would come

Getting ready

Wondering if I'd go through life all alone

Waiting for his bride

So I asked God above me who has mercy so free

Entrance of bride

In His goodness would He give someone to me

Giving away of bride

As my days turned to seasons, and the seasons to years

Pastor's message

No sign did I see that my prayer He'd hear

My sister, Alison and a dear friend, Rachel, singing Someone

But my Father in heaven knows just what's best to be

Jonathan saying his vow. Jonathan's Father prayed after he said his vow, and my Father prayed after I said mine.

And in His way, on His day, He sent to me

Me saying my vow.

Someone to hold me when the nights are so long

With this ring I thee wed...

Someone beside me to help me go on
First kiss

Someone to love me and to give my heart to

Mr. and Mrs.!

I asked for someone, God gave me you!

It's Almost Time!

2009-06-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

There are only eleven days left until my wedding! We are very busy finishing up all the last minute projects. My blogging will be put on hold until after my wedding, honeymoon and moving. When I come back I will be a Mrs.! See ya later.

Zucchini

2009-06-17T08:56:00.001-07:00

Anyone that has ever grown zucchini knows that when zucchini comes, it comes! You have zucchini everywhere! We have zucchini growing in our garden, and several friends are growing it too. And since we have a big family, we can eat a lot of zucchini, right? Oh, yeah. This morning we ate zucchini muffins for breakfast, last night we had stuffed zucchini for dinner, and the night before we had stir fried zucchini as a side dish. Sure, we can eat up that zucchini! Here is a recipe that a friend made for a church dinner recently. It was so delicious that I asked her for the recipe! I haven't made it yet, myself, but it looks very simple. This recipe actually calls for yellow squash, but they can generally be used interchangeably in recipes. These recipes that call for grated squash are good for overgrown squash that have lots of seeds in the middle, because you can cut them out before you shred it.

Squash Pie
2 cups grated yellow squash
1 small onion, chopped
3 large eggs
1 cup biscuit mix
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Cavender's all purpose Greek seasoning

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into 10 inch pie plate, buttered or sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes, until set and lightly browned.

A Ridiculous Experiment

2009-06-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

Have any of you ever noticed the button on your dashboard where you can change the language? Well today, I saw it again and thought, wouldn't it be neat if I changed the language, just to see what it looked like, and then changed it right back again? Sounds pretty safe, right? So I hit the button, scrolled through the options, and selected Arabic. The letters looked so cool! Then I hit the wrong button and changed the page I was on. Trouble! My blog read in English, but the header was all in Arabic! And I couldn't figure how to get back to my dashboard. I scurried around hitting random buttons, changing pages but I had no idea what I was doing because it was all in Arabic. Ok, I thought, now I'm done for. My blog is in Arabic, and I can't change it back because I can't read it! So I went and told my Mom what I did. She just laughed and shook her head. "Emily, you are too curious!" Abigail suggested e-mailing a friend that can read Arabic and asking her to help me put my blog back in English. I was about to do so, but I thought I would look at my blog one more time in Arabic, and try to figure out for myself what to do. Then I remembered all the buttons along the top of a blog that say sign in, follow blog, etc. I started randomly hitting these. Finally I must have hit the sign in button, because the page looked exactly like the English sign in one, except that everything was in Arabic. Do you know what? Arabic is backwards. All the things that are on the left of your page are on the right on an Arabic page, and vice versa. So I found the sign in page, and signed in. Then I was at my dashboard. Remember, it was all still in Arabic, so I was stumbling around in the dark. But I managed to recognize that language button. I hit it, and scrolled down to where it said English. Hit the button...ahh. I can read it now. I was so relieved! Have any of you out there ever done something like this? Let me tell you--I'm staying away from that language button! Well, I do know how to fix it now...

An Interesting Link

2009-06-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

A friend recently sent me this link for a very interesting article on lactose intolerance. You might like to read it.

Fried Grits

2009-06-05T05:46:00.001-07:00

Have you ever heard of fried grits? I have heard of them since I was a child, in the books I loved to read about pioneers and frontiers people. But I never tried it until just recently. I was just trying it for an experiment, but guess what? It was actually good! It is the only way I know of to use leftover grits, so it's a frugal recipe as well. I guess that's why the pioneer people in my books ate them--they couldn't afford to let anything go to waste!

Take your leftover grits, while they are still warm and pack them into a square container. If you have a lot of grits, you could use a loaf pan, but we never have that many. Refrigerate grits until they have become solid. Take the container of grits and dump out the block of grits onto a plate. Slice off thick slices. In hot bacon grease or olive oil, fry until brown on one side, flip over, and fry on the other side. We like to eat it with maple syrup drizzled on top. It is also good with milk gravy. The other day we had leftover grits and gravy that we ate for lunch the next day. Yum!

I have heard of frying dollops of fresh grits instead of waiting for them to cool. I have also seen a recipe that said to mix the grits with a bit of beaten egg. Hillbilly Housewife has some fried grits recipes if you are interested. I tried frying leftover oatmeal the same way once. It was not as good as grits, but not too bad.

And on a side note, do you know what GRITS stands for?

Girls
Raised
In
The
South

Have fun! And check out Life As Mom for more frugal ideas.

The Benefits of Mulching

2009-06-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

Mulching in the garden is very beneficial. Mulch helps to conserve water, especially in dry, windy climates such as where I live in Texas. I have noticed distinct difference in how well the mulched beds respond to a hot afternoon compared to the ones with bare soil. The mulch will look dry on top, but if you feel underneath it, the soil is moist. Mulch also keeps the fruits clean. Rain and watering often splash mud on the plants. A layer of mulch keeps down the mud so you don't have to clean the fruits quite as much. Another benefit of mulching is that it insulates the soil. This is related to the fact that it conserves water. A mulch will keep the soil cool on hot days. And in the fall or early spring, it will insulate the warmth of the day, and keep the soil a little warmer on cool nights. Finally, mulch improves soil health. By mulching, you are adding organic material that will compost over the year, and when you till it in next spring, the soil will be better for it.

I used to think of mulch as decorative wood chips that you put around your flowers. But mulch in the vegetable or herb garden can be so much more than that! This year we are using bought composted cotton burrs. A friend who was moving away gave them to us. But we have also used leaves, rough compost from our pile out back, or straw.
Some people use black plastic around their plants, but I prefer not to go this route because plastic does nothing for the soil.

Try using a mulch on your garden this year and see how much better your garden grows!

Wedding Budgeting

2009-05-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Planning a wedding is a big job, and a really fun job, but it can be hard to stay within your budget. When we started planning my wedding, Dad told me I could spend a certain amount of money. While it was great to know how much I could spend, I was a little lost, because I didn't want to spend it all up right away and then be stuck; but I didn't know how to keep from doing that either. So I looked around on line for wedding budgeting ideas, and I found this Easy Budget Wedding Worksheet. They give percentages of the total wedding budget that each part of the wedding should cost. It makes it so easy! Just decide on a budget, use the worksheet to figure out how much you can spend on your dress, flowers, rings, reception, and go shopping. It really helped me to know I could spend X amount of money on a certain category. Since our budget is very small, we cut out things from the planner (like the transportation category--limousines just don't fit into a frugal wedding!) that we didn't want, and used the money in another category. You can use this budget as a spring board to build your own. This budget planner really helped me.

Garlic Onion Buns

2009-05-21T16:46:00.001-07:00

I developed this recipe three days ago, and only made a small batch just in case we didn't like them. Well, all the buns got gobbled up, and I made another batch this afternoon! They go especially well with soup. I think they are becoming a new favorite at our house.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup warm milk (110*)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup very finely chopped onion (or to taste)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour or grahm flour
about 2 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 beaten egg
poppy seeds

Method
In a 4-quart mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk. Add the remaining ingredients, mixing the salt with the flour, and work them into a dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and somewhat glossy.

Return the dough to the mixing bowl and cover it with a towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Divide the dough into 12 equal size pieces and shape each into a round ball. Flatten slightly. Set the rolls on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover with a towel and let them rise again for about 30 minutes.

With a very sharp knife or a razor blade score an X in the top of each bun. Brush the buns with the egg, and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the buns from the baking sheet at once and allow them to cool on a wire rack.

How to turn a pair of jeans into a skirt

2009-05-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

The first step is to find a pair of jeans or other pants to use. When I am looking for pants to make into a skirt I look for pants that are slightly snug around the waist and have straight or slightly flaired leg. These styles make a nicer skirt. You also need a large piece of denim fabric, an old skirt, or another pair of jeans to fill in the jeans with. Here I am using another pair of jeans that I cut the legs off of to get a large enough piece of fabric to use. It is fine to sew together pieces of fabric, or make one long seam down the center. As long as you like the look, go with it!

Next you rip out the inner leg and crotch seam. This step is rather tedious, especially if the jeans you have chosen have a lot of top stitching. I don;t pick out every stitch. Usually I'll pick out a few, the rip as far as it will go, then pick out a few more, and so on. That makes it go a little faster. After you have this seam completely torn out, rip out a little of the center front and back seams. The goal here is to make the fabric lie flat. When you have first ripped out the inner leg seam, you will see, when you lay the jeans out, that the crotch still curves up. Keep ripping until it lays flat. Do this in the front and back.

Now that you have everything ripped out, lap one crotch piece over the other. Pin it down, and try it on. If it fits, proceed to the next paragraph. If not, try to determine what the problem is. If you have a "bubble" under the lap over, you probably need rip the seam a bit higher, and lap it farther. If the skirt feels too tight, re pin the lap not quite as far as before. This is a difficult part of making these kinds of skirts. Because just about every pair of jeans is cut a little differently, there is not one way to do this. You just have to keep pinning and trying on until you have the look and feel you want.

Now lay your skirt on the floor or a large table. Spread the legs out so that there is a V shaped opening between them. Take the fabric you are going to use, and lay it inside and under the V. Pin the fabric in. You may need to iron under a seam allowance. Or leave it to fray. Pin the fabric in the front and back, and try the skirt on again. Once again, if the skirt seems to bubble, you have spread the lags too far apart. Re pin the seam with the legs closer together. If the skirt is too narrow, spread the legs a little farther apart. Keep repinning and trying on until you are comfortable with your skirt.

You can see here that I spread the legs way too far apart. They need to be re pinned closer together.

Correctly pinned front

Now you can sew. I usually sew a double seam. One right next to the edge, and again 1/4 inch away. Sew all the way from the bottom up the lap over. Be sure to sew up into the original topstitching, and back stitch to prevent it from coming apart.

All that is left is to hem your skirt. Trim off any excess fabric. I usually press under 1/4 inch, then 3/8 inch, and sew the hem twice. Once right along the edge of the hem, and again 1/4 inch away. Or you could run two rows of stitching around, and leave the edge to fray.

Enjoy your new skirt!

Some other projects I've done.

You can use overalls, too.

Card Idea

2009-05-14T11:03:00.001-07:00

A few months ago I designed a card that I thought would make a very pretty wedding invitation. Jonathan and I were courting at that point, but I stuck the idea back in the corner if my mind, just in case. When the time came that Jonathan and I were engaged, and I was making the wedding invitations, I knew exactly how I wanted to make them! You could use this design to make any occasion card.

The card base is 8 1/2 by 5 1/2. Make two folds at 2 1/8 inches from each side so that the card opens down the center. Decorate each side with embossing, then a punch. You could vary the design by using rubber stamps, stickers, or rub on's to change the theme.

For more card ideas, visit There Is No Place Like Home.

Announcing...

2009-05-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

Since most of my readers are personal friends, a lot of you already know this. But for you who don't...

Will you marry me?

Yes!

We have been engaged about a month now, and wedding plans are full underway. We have set the date for July fourth. It's coming right up! Wedding preparation is the reason for the sad lack of blog posts. But I have some new ideas, so I should be posting more again. Don't give up on me yet. :)

Hobby Lobby Coupons

2009-04-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

Did you know that you can print Hobby Lobby coupons off their website? They have 40% off coupons on the website for you to print off as you will. The only restriction is one coupon per customer per day! Go here to print your coupon.
For more frugal tips hop over to Life as Mom.

Bake Your Own Bread!

2009-03-24T09:20:00.001-07:00

I bake all the bread for our family. Mom started teaching me to bake when I was about 9. She was expecting my youngest brother and could not stand for any amount of time. Since then, I have been learning and experimenting, and I love to bake bread. This recipe is a family staple. Mom developed it years ago and I bake a batch at least once a week.

Baking your own bread is a rewarding experience. First of all, you know exactly what is going into every loaf you eat. No preservatives, additives, or ingredients with long unpronounceable names! Homemade bread also saves you money. The last time I calculated the cost of this recipe, it was about sixty cents a loaf. Now you can buy a loaf of cheap all white flour gumminess (is that a word?!) for a small price, but if you're looking for a loaf of really good bread, you can expect to pay at least a few dollars! I think homemade bread supercedes even the very best bakery bread.

This recipe makes 4 loaves. For smaller families, it is easily halved. The bread also freezes well. Put it in a plastic bag or wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and store in the freezer for up to several weeks. Remember that homemade bread does not have any preservatives, so it does not have a long shelf life. It will mold in just two days in warm weather, so it definitely needs to be frozen. You could even freeze half a loaf.

I prefer to knead by hand, but if you have a heavy duty mixer, like a Bosch or Kitchen Aid, feel free to use it. I have found that it is easy to add too much flour when I use my Bosch, so be careful. This dough needs to stay relatively wet.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients
3 cups quick cooking oats
9 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, divided
1 cup unpacked brown sugar
3 tablespoons salt
6 tablespoons oil
6 cups boiling water
4 cups white flour
3 tablespoons instant yeast
1 1/2 cup water

Method
In a large bowl, combine the oats, 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, and oil.

Pour boiling water over. Mix very well.

Let sit, stirring occasionally, until oatmeal mixture has cooled to lukewarm. (about 105 degrees) This will take 1 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature.

Mix in 1 1/2 cups the water. Add 8 cups whole wheat flour, all of the white flour and the yeast. Mix until the dough is so stiff you can not stir any more.

You may add more white flour if needed. Turn dough out onto floured counter.

Mix by hand until a cohesive ball of dough forms. This will take about a minute.

Knead for 10 minutes, using additional white flour if necessary. The dough will be very sticky, but try to use as little flour as possible.

Adding too much flour makes dry coarse bread. Use a dough scraper (I just use a plastic putty knife!) to scrape up the dough from the counter and your hands as you knead. Don't worry about the dough sticking to everything.

When the dough feels stretchy, you know it is kneaded enough.

Put dough back in mixing bowl, cover, and put in a warm place to rise.

The dough should double in size and look fluffy. This will take about an hour. The temperature of your house and the humidity levels affect rising times, so you must learn to rely on your assesment rather than a timer. The dough is fully risen when a finger pressed into the surface of the dough leaves an indention.

When the dough is risen, punch down gently, and cut into four equal parts. Grease four 9" by 5" bread pans. To make loaves, pat or roll one part of dough into a rectangle about as wide as your bread pan and a little longer.

Roll up the dough, starting at the narrower end.

Tuck the ends under, and pinch seams to seal. Place seam side down in greased pans.

Cover loaves and let rise until they are crowning over the edge of the pan. This will take from 30 minutes to an hour.

At the end of rising time, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the loaves for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and turn out of pan onto a cooling rack.

Brush the top crust with a little butter if you like. I don't usually do this, but it is a nice touch, and a good way to cover up a loaf that was slightly over baked. Let bread cool completely before storing. If you must cut the bread before it has cooled, remember that the texture will be slightly gummy, and the center of the loaf may sink a bit. The crumb continues to develop as the bread cools. Sometimes I decide it is worth it, though, because warm bread is so good!

Another bread that is so easy to bake is French Bread. We make this a lot to go with spaghetti or casseroles. It is really good spread with butter, sprinkled with garlic and toasted in the oven. And french toast is always a favorite at our house!

French Bread

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons instant yeast
6 cups white flour (you can substitute whole wheat flour for part if you prefer)

Method
In a medium size mixing bowl, combine water, sugar, oil, and salt. Add flour and yeast. Mix well.

Turn out and knead 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place dough on bowl and let rise until doubled.

Divide dough in half. On floured surface, roll each half to a 12" by 15" rectangle. Roll up, starting with the 15" edge.Place loaves on greased cookie sheets. Let rise until doubled. keep and eye on them. They usually rise really fast at this point.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a very sharp knife or a razor blade, make several diagonal slashes across the tops of the loaves. Mix 1 beaten egg and 2 tablespoons milk and brush on the loaves. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds.

Bake about 20 minutes. Bread should be lightly browned. Remove from pans to cool on a rack.

Apron Giveaway!

2009-03-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

Lynn, from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures is doing a review of my Etsy Store, Emily's Emporium. And the review includes giving away one apron from my store! Go read the post to find out how you could win your favorite apron from Emily's Emporium! The giveaway will end Wednesday, March 25 at 5 o'clock.

Homes For All

2009-03-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

The dog has a kennel, the pig has a sty,
The rabbit a burrow (I don't know just why);
The bee has a hive, and the bird has a nest,
For bossy, the cow, a good barn is best.
The horse has a stable, the chicken a pen,
The cat has a mat, but the wolf has a den;
A cave for the bear, and a hole for a mouse,
But I am so glad that I live in a house!

by Mable Watts

Even Better Butter

2009-03-03T11:45:00.001-08:00

If you read my blog post Better Butter a few weeks ago, here is an updated post. I wrote that I make homemade margarine with 1 cup butter, 1/4 cup water and 3/4 cup oil. I got a comment from Shannon saying that she uses 1/2 cup water. I tried it, and it works just fine! Today I made butter using 1 cup very soft butter, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup canola oil, and 1/2 cup water. This is even better butter!

Natural Dandruff Remedies

2009-03-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

I would like to share with you some dandruff remedies that I have used. I have struggled with dandruff for about a year and a half. For me, it is worsened by using shampoos and other hair products that are loaded with chemicals such as laurel sulfates. The first thing I did was cut out the Equate shampoo I was using and switch to Tea Tree Triple Treat shampoo and conditioner by Giovanni. It is loaded with essential oils that cleanse and heal the scalp. After every washing, I rinsed my hair with Herbal Vinegar Infusion. (recipe below) A few times a week I coated my scalp with Isoplus Tea Tree and Aloe conditioner. This conditioner is really thick and greasy kind of like Vaseline. I put it on at night, and wash it out the next morning. After following this hair care schedule for about two weeks, my scalp was soft and smooth and my naturally curly hair was shinier and curlier than ever! I still use the natural shampoo, because just washing my hair once with the chemical types makes my scalp start to snow. Now that it is healed up, I don't use the vinegar rinse. (It doesn't exactly smell good.) But I do occasionally use the scalp conditioner.

Herbal Vinegar Infusion
2 cups distilled or spring water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons rosemary
1 tablespoon nettle
10 drops essential oil of tea tree, clary sage, or rosemary
(I used tea tree and added about 5 drops lavender as well.)

Bring the water and vinegar to a boil. Remove from heat. Add herbs, cover, and steep for about 2 hours. Strain, add essential oils, and bottle. Np need to refrigerate. Shampoo hair and rinse, or of not shampooing, wet hair and squeeze out excess. Apply approximately 1/4 cup to wet scalp and gently massage for 2 to 3 minutes. Rinse with cool water. Try to use daily until itching and flaking stops.

Warning: This vinegar infusion reeks while you're making it! I heat bring the water and vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan with a lid. Then when it's time, I crack the lid just enough to pop in the herbs. I put the pan in a place we won't be for most of the day to steep. I haven't found a way to reduce the odor while I'm making it, so I just try to keep it out of the house. After the infusion has cooled, it still has a slight odor, but I don't think it's too strong. I can smell it on my hair until it has completely dried.

Homemade Buttermilk

2009-02-23T14:47:00.000-08:00

Did you know that you can culture your own buttermilk? By adding a small amount of store bought buttermilk to sweet milk, you can stretch that expensive store bought jug to several more quarts of buttermilk perfect for baking!

Bring 1/2 cup fresh buttermilk to room temperature. Add 3 cups of water and 1 cup powdered milk. Mix well, pour into a jar, and cover loosely. Let the milk sit on the counter for 24 hours. Then refrigerate.

Buttermilk! It's as easy as that.

It's Finally Finished!

2009-02-13T07:36:00.000-08:00

When I was 17 I found a book at our library that was full of pictures of beautiful antique quilts. By the time I got home, I had decided I was going to make a quilt. I sketched out a pattern I had seen, made paper templates, and started in. I used scraps of fabric I had saved from other sewing projects and old clothes for the patches. Soon I had made 30 quilt blocks. Later a friend gave me books of quilt patterns, and I found out that my quilt pattern was called pinwheel. When I read the directions they gave for piecing the blocks, I found that I had done mine in a very difficult way-the directions they gave were much simpler! Slowly I sewed the blocks together, layered the quilt, and hand quilted it. Last Monday I bound it, and now my quilt is complete!

This post is a contribution to Show and Tell Friday at Kelli's House.

Sourdough Bagels

2009-02-09T12:26:00.000-08:00

Cream of Wheat and bagels has been the regular Sunday morning breakfast at our house for as long as I can remember. Dad and Mom's favorite bagel is cinnamon raisin. My brothers and sisters and I love blueberry. Since I have been keeping a sourdough, I have been on the lookout for sourdough recipes. I was really excited to find Sourdough Bagels on Wild Yeast Blog. I changed the recipe to include whole wheat flour, cinnamon and raisins. Since I did not have high gluten flour, I just used unbleached white flour and the whole wheat. I did not have malt powder either. I have never used these ingredients in bagels, and they always turn out delicious. If you have never used a recipe that is measured by weight before, don't be afraid to try it. I am new to weighing ingredients, but I actually find it easier then measuring by volume. It is so much more precise.

Sourdough Bagels

Yield: 16 bagels, 85 grams each

Time:

* Mix: 10 minutes
* Rest: 10 minutes
* Divide/shape: 20 minutes
* Refrigerate: 8 – 12 hours
* Boil: 20 minutes (includes heating the water)
* Bake: 20 minutes

Desired dough temperature: 78F

Ingredients:

* 693 g high-gluten flour
* 304 g ripe 100%-hydration sourdough starter
* 308 g ice water
* 2.5 g (7/8 t.) instant yeast
* 13.5 g (2 1/4 t.) salt
* 18 g (1 T.) sugar
* 15 g (4 1/3 t.) non-diastatic malt powder
* 47 g milk powder
* Seeds for topping (optional)
* Semolina flour for dusting
* 1 T. baking soda for boiling

Method:

1. Combine the flour, starter, water, yeast, salt, sugar, malt, and milk powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed to combine.

2. Mix on medium-low speed until the dough is very smooth and strong, almost rubbery, about 7 minutes.

3. Turn the dough out onto an unfloured counter and work a few turns by hand. Form the dough into a smooth ball; the surface should feel satiny and tight.

4. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.

5.Divide the dough into 16 pieces of about 85 g each. If you are making plain bagels, form the dough into a loose ball. For cinnamon raisin bagels, press about a dozen raisins into your ball of dough. Sprinkle a small pile of cinnamon onto the counter. Lightly roll the dough in the cinnamon , fold it in half, and roll it a few more times and fold. This will make swirls of cinnamon through the bagel. Form the balls of dough into a loose ball. Cover loosely and let rest 10 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and dust them with semolina.

7. To shape each bagel, poke a finger into the center of a ball of dough. Twirl the ball on your finger to stretch the dough into a bagel shape. Make the circle bigger than you think is necessary, because the bagels rise, and the hole will swell shut if they are too small.

8. Place the bagels on the prepared cookie sheets, slip into a large food-grade plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. I did not want to be boiling bagels Sunday morning, so mixed the dough early Saturday morning, and cooked them Saturday night.

9. In the morning, preheat the oven to 450F.

10. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Do not remove the bagels from the refrigerator until you are ready to boil them. Add the baking soda to the water once it is boiling.

11. Meanwhile, place a cooling rack on the counter with a dishtowel underneath it, and place the topping seeds, if using any, on a small plate in a shallow layer.

Boiling bagels
12. Drop the bagels, three or four at a time, into the vigorously boiling water for 20 seconds. They may or may not float right away, but they should float by the time the 20 seconds are up. If they float right away so the tops are not submerged initially, flip them over about halfway through the boil.

13. Remove the bagels from the water to the cooling rack with a slotted spatula. Let them drain for about 30 seconds before pressing them, top down, into the seeds and replacing them back onto the semolina-dusted, parchment-lined cookie sheet.

14. Turn the oven down to 400F once the bagels are in. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

15. Cool on a wire rack.

Baby Card

2009-02-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

This is a card I made for a friend with a new baby. I took a card pattern, and changed it to fit the stamps and materials I had. I like trying to recreate cards I see without using their recommended materials.

Kelli's House is a fun crafting blog. Take a look for cards and other paper crafting.

Better Butter

2009-02-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

We make homemade margarine out of butter and oil. It is more healthful than commercial margarine and a little less expensive than using straight butter. You can use whatever type of oil you like in this recipe. We usually use 1/4 cup olive oil (not extra virgin) and 1/2 cup canola oil. Using all olive oil does make it taste rather strong.

Homemade Margarine
In a large mixing bowl, whip 1 cup softened butter. Combine 1/4 cup water, and 3/4 cup oil. Slowly pour oil and water into butter with the mixer running on low speed. When all the liquid is dispersed, turn mixer up to high and mix until the butter is very smooth. Pour into a container and refrigerate, Use as you would any butter or margarine.

For more frugal tips and ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Some Projects

2009-01-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

Last week when it was eighty degrees, I bought flannel on sale to make a skirt. My sister asked me, aren't you so excited about a flannel skirt today? Not really! But I figured it had to get cold some time. Today it hasn't gotten over about twenty nine, and my flannel skirt feels great! This is my first try with the pattern, and it turned out a little large, but I love the style!

Gores and godets make it fitted around the waist, but very full by the time you get down to the hem.

Another project I finished is a stocking cap.

I found the pattern here through Knitting Pattern Central. I really like the cables. This pattern is fun and challenging. Working with double pointed needles and a cable needle takes some juggling.

My next knitting project is mittens. My sister has used this pattern and they turned out beautifully. I am excited about making some myself.

Sourdough Feeding Schedule

2009-01-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

I pour off about half my sourdough every night and feed it with 1/2 cup flour mixed in 1/2 cup water. If I am planning on baking the next day, I don't pour off so I am sure to have plenty. If you think your sourdough has died, don't pour it out. Just keep pouring off and feeding it. It will come around. Remember to use pure water to feed your sourdough, because chemicals in tap water can kill it.

For more help, go to Sourdough Home or Wild Yeast Blog. (my favorite bread baking website!)

Free Knitting and Crocheting Patterns

2009-01-23T11:05:00.001-08:00

My sisters and I love to knit. I have bought a few knitting books, but they are so expensive. Then we discovered that there are thousands of free patterns on the internet! My favorite site is Knitting Pattern Central. They have a lists of patterns according to catagories such as hats, mittens, lace items, and so on. For you crocheters, there is also Crochet Pattern Central. Their site is set up exactly the same as the knitting one. I want to knit fingerless gloves with a mitten flap. Yesterday I tried googling fingerless gloves, and up popped lots of patterns.

Right now I am making a cabled stocking cap worked in the round. This is my second project to work on double pointed needles, so I am still learning how to keep the tension even.

Knitting can be an expensive hobby, but I've been able to keep my costs down by always buying my yarn on sale. Hobby Lobby is a great store for sales and clearance. Yesterday I bought several skeins of Vanna's Choice yarn 20 percent off at our local Alco. Yippee!

For lots more frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Sourdough Mistake and Lesson Learned

2009-01-16T16:16:00.001-08:00

When I posted The Sourdough Project Day Three, I said that I did not plan to feed my sourdough as often as some people said. I was feeding it every two or three days. That, my friends, was a mistake. I starved it to death! It stopped foaming and sat there and began to smell bad. I also think that using tap water hurt the sourdough. Chlorine kills yeast. Now I am using our filtered drinking water. Well, I had read that it is possible to revive a forgotten starter with lots of loving care, so I decided that would be the best thing for me to do. I began pouring off half my sourdough twice a day and feeding it. After two days of this treatment with no response, I included a pinch of sugar in the feedings. Still no foaming, not even a few bubbles to give me any hope. Finally I decided it was beyond rescuing, and I would start again. But as I was pouring out the sourdough, I saw a few bubbles in the bottom! Hope! I kept that little bit in the bottom of the bowl and fed it with a little flour and water. That evening my sourdough started foaming and looked like it has life! Today (two days later) it is still foaming, and I plan to make sourdough bagels tonight for tomorrow's breakfast.

If you have a stater going and need more recipes, here are some websites I've been getting recipes and ideas from.

Wild Yeast
Sourdough Home

Sourdough English Muffins

2009-01-10T09:21:00.001-08:00

I made English Muffins yesterday evening, and they turned out pretty good! Two mistakes I made were adding too much flour which resulted in a denser muffin without as many characteristic holes. Then I rolled them a little too thick so some of them were slightly doughy in the center. But toasting the muffins took care of that problem. We ate them for breakfast this morning with homemade apricot preserves. Yum!

Sourdough English Muffins
1 cup starter
1 1/2 cups milk
5 1/2 to 6 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

In a ceramic bowl, mix starter, milk, and 3 cups flour. Cover and leave 2 to 24 hours.

When the sponge has developed, mix the sugar, salt, soda, and 2 1/2 cups flour. Stir these into sponge. Cover and let work up to an hour.

Flour counter and hands. Turn out dough, knead 2 to 3 minutes until dough is smooth and no longer lumpy. With a floured rolling pin, roll out 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Notice my can in the background? It makes a lovely english muffin cutter.

Cut out circles 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Place muffins on a cornmeal sprinkled cookie sheet, and let rest 15 minutes.

Place 4 or 5 circles on a lightly greased skillet on low, low heat with cornmeal side down first. Cook slowly 10 minutes, gently flip muffins over, and continue cooking 10 minutes.

Cool on rack.

Split the muffins with a fork, toast, and enjoy!

Creative Leftovers

2009-01-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

Our family has always eaten leftovers. I remember being shocked the first time I heard someone say they threw away leftovers because nobody would eat them. What a waste! It is true, leftovers can be boring. Especially when you eat them the same way the very next night. We try to make ours taste like they are new, not just heated up food from yesterday. To reheat casseroles, try making a little more sauce, cream soup, or whatever is in the recipe, and drizzle over. Add some fresh cheese, bread crumbs, onions, etc on top. This takes away the dry, reheated texture. Throw odds and ends of vegetables in a pot of soup. Before our family was as large as it is now, and we eat every bit, I remember my mom had a bowl in the freezer that she always put leftover vegetables in. Then when she made vegetable beef soup, she would add those frozen vegetables. Soup is a great leftover hider! You can throw in vegetables, rice and other grains, or gravy. Use your imagination. You never know what recipe you may come up with that will be a new family favorite! Steaming is a good way to heat up pasta or rice without drying it out. Use extra spaghetti sauce to make lasagna. We like dressing made with leftover cornbread and biscuits. Like the vegetables, save them up in the freezer until you have enough. Day old french bread is good in bread pudding. Cinnamon raisin bread is delicious as well.

Banana Bread Pudding
8 cups cubed day old french bread
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sliced firm banana
(1/4 inch pieces)

Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup milk
1/4 light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the bread cubes in a greased 4-quart casserole; pour butter over and toss to coat. In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs; add milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in bananas. Pour over bread cubes and stir to coat. Bake uncovered at 375* for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Meanwhile, for the sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan. Combine sugar and cornstarch; add to butter. Stir in milk and syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a full boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; stir in the vanilla. Serve warm sauce over warm pudding.

Planned leftovers are actually a good way to save time. Making an extra casserole to put in the freezer dosen't take much longer than making just one, and is very convenient on a busy day. Here is my favorite planned leftover recipe.

Day One:
Cuban Black Beans
cooked black beans
cooked rice
corn
shredded chedder cheese
fresh tomatoes, chopped
green onions, sliced
sour cream

On each plate, layer rice, black beans, and corn, and sprinkle cheese on top. Put the tomatoes, green onions, and sour cream on the table for everyone to put on their pile as they want.

Day Two:
Santa Fe Chicken Stew
4 whole chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 small onion, diced
15 1/2 ounce can whole kernel corn, undrained
24 ounce can black beans, undrained
14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
10 ounce can rotel tomatoes, undrained or 1 cup salsa (We usually use a combination.)
1 1/2 cups prepared brown rice
garlic, cumin, and salt to taste
chicken broth from cooking the chicken
(The original recipe calls for the canned ingredients. Substitute leftovers as you have them.)

Place first nine ingredients in a crockpot. Add chicken broth to make the stew the consistency you like. Cook on low for three to four hours.

Ladle soup into bowls, and sprinkle with Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese. Serve with tortilla chips and extra salsa.

And finally, a recipe that uses leftover oatmeal. Honestly, the thought of reheating leftover gluey oatmeal is kind of gross to me. But these muffins are delicious.

Breakfast Oatmeal Muffins
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup leftover oatmeal
1 cup raisins, optional
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and soda. In another bowl, combine oil, eggs, oatmeal, raisins and vanilla; add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Spoon into 12 greased muffin cups. Bake at 350* for 18 minutes.

For more frugal tips, visit Biblical Womanhood.

The Sourdough Project Day Four

2009-01-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I had a change of plans, so I am making English Muffins instead of the bread. They fit into our menu better. I mixed my sponge last night. Sorry- there aren't any pictures. I was too tired. By last night the sourdough had completely stopped foaming, and had a yeasty slightly sour smell. I poured off what I needed for the sponge, and fed my sourdough with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup flour. Then I was surprised to see it start foaming again! What I am figuring out is that the yeast eats up all it can, so it stops foaming. Then when you feed the sourdough, it starts up again. Back to the sponge...The recipe says to let it sit for 2 to 24 hours and the longer the better. I'll make my muffins this afternoon, so it will sit about 16 hours.

The Sourdough Project Day Three

2009-01-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

This morning the sourdough is even more separated than it was yesterday. You can see a definite alcohol layer on top.

I think I will start stirring it twice a day. Some sourdough recipes call for feeding the sourdough regularly to keep it going. This recipe only says to feed it when you take away from it. I am planning to feed mine more often than that, but probably not twice a day.

The sourdough is smelling yeasty, but not really sour yet. The bubbling has nearly subsided. I think I will mix the sponge this evening. Here is the bread recipe.

Classic Sourdough Bread
1 cup sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups warm water
5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Making the sponge: Blend starter thoroughly. Pour one cup of starter into a glass or pottery mixing bowl. Replenish stater.

To the starter in the mixing bowl, add the warm water and about 3 cups flour. beat vigorously. Cover sponge with plastic wrap. Let work 2 to 24 hours. (The longer the better.)

Blend the salt, sugar and soda into 2 cups flour. Mix this into the sponge. When the dough begins to hold together, turn it out onto a floured board and knead 4 to 5 minutes. Add flour as needed to make a fairly stiff dough.

Give the dough a rest while you clean out and grease your bowl. Continue kneading 3 to 4 minutes. Place dough in bowl. Let rise 2 to 4 hours.

Knock down the dough and shape into 2 long french-style loaves. Place them on a cornmeal sprinkled baking sheet and let them rise another 2 hours or so.

Toward the end of rising, place a baking pan on the oven bottom, and preheat the oven the 450.

Slash loaves and brush with cold water. Pour 2 or 3 cups of water into the pan, put the loaves on the rack above the steam and bake about 25 minutes.

You can also use this dough to make pizza crust or pretzels.

The Sourdough Project Day Two

2009-01-07T08:32:00.000-08:00

The sourdough is still fermenting. This morning, about 24 hours after I mixed up my sourdough, the foaming had receded, and it had a mild yeasty smell. The sourdough had separated into layers. You can sort of see them in this picture.
There is a flour mixture layer, then an alcohol layer, and then another small flour mixture layer on top. The purpose of stirring daily is to mix the layers back together.

After stirring, the sourdough has a thick stretchy texture. Put the bowl back in its warm corner.

The Sourdough Project Day One

2009-01-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

I am still learning how to make a good sourdough. All the recipes I have used so far did not start with any cultivated yeast, but relied completely on yeast from the air. This time I am trying a sourdough that begins with a tame yeast, and then goes wild. As Carla Emery says in the Encyclopedia Of Country Living, "it is difficult to work with invisible livestock"! This is a King Arthur recipe.

Sour Dough Starter With Yeast
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar or honey (optional, but I am using it)
1 tablespoon yeast
2 cups flour

Pour the water into a two-quart glass or ceramic jar or bowl, add and dissolve the sugar or honey and the yeast in that order.

Stir in the flour gradually.

Cover the jar or bowl with a clean dichcloth and place it somewhere warm. (I covered mine lightly with a piece of waxed paper. I have had sourdoughs grow into the towel before, and that makes a huge mess. My bowl is on top of a bookshelf in our living room. That was the warmest place I could find in our very cool house.)
The mixture will begin to bubble and brew almost immediately.

Immediately after mixing:

Fifteen minutes after mixing:

About half an hour after mixing:

Let it work anywhere from 2 to 5 days, stirring it about once a day as it will separate. When the bubbling has subsided, stir you starter once more and refrigerate it until you are ready to use it. The starter should have the consistency of pancake batter. (Note: It is not necessary to refrigerate the starter. That is only if you are not going to use it right away.)

Obituaries

2009-01-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

There has been a sad passing. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 350 for about 20 minutes.

If this made you smile for even a brief second, please rise to the occasion and take time to pass it on and share that smile with someone else who may be having a crumby day and kneads it.

Biscuits

2008-12-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

Our family enjoys eating biscuits for breakfast, dinner, and leftovers get eaten anytime between for a snack. We make ours a little healthier with the addition of whole wheat flour and by using oil instead of shortening. Here is our adapted recipe. You can use oil in any biscuit recipe by simply substituting it for the shortening. The dough may be a little stickier than usual. You can also substitute whole wheat flour for about a third or a half of the total amount your recipe calls for. You may need to experiment with your recipe a little bit before you get the proportions you like.

Butttermilk Biscuits
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup oil

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. Add milk and oil. Stir just enough so dough leaves side of bowl and rounds up in a ball. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead lightly ten times. Roll dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart for crusty sides or touching for soft sides. Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

Herbed Cheese Biscuits
Use the same recipe as above, and add 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1 tablespoon parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.

How To Make Fabric Sanitary Pads

2008-12-18T10:18:00.000-08:00

I have been using homemade fabric sanitary pads for about a year. The reason I use them is to save money, and also to avoid the rash I get from the store ones. To read a good article about using fabric pads, hop over to Hillbilly Housewife. She has a pattern over there as well that is a little different than mine.

Materials
flannel
water proof fabric (optional)
cotton batting

Begin by tracing your favorite commercial pad, preferably one with wings. Use this pattern to cut one layer of flannel or other soft absorbent cloth and one layer of water proof fabric. You could use another layer of flannel, but the water proof fabric makes the pad "safer". I used Classic PUL from Neptune Fabrics because that is what I had, but if I buy more I would like to try the breathable one.

Next make an oval pattern that is a little smaller than the body of your pad. Cut three or four layers of cotton batting using this pattern and stack them on top of each other. They will look very bulky, but don't worry yet. When everything is sewn together, the pad will be smaller. Zig-zag around the edges of batting to hold all the layers together.

Now lay down the water proof fabric, right side down (fuzzy side down). Next center the oval padding on the bottom layer. On top lay the flannel right side up.

Pin very well all around the edges and down the middle of the pad to hold all the layers on place.

Use your zig-zag stitch again to stitch around the edges. Switch to straight stitch and sew around the edges of the inner pad.

Completed! If you don't like your pad the first time, keep using them for a while to get used to it. Don't be afraid to experiment with your pattern until you have the size and shape you are comfortable with.

To Use: Place in pantys and wrap the wings around just like store bought pads. Safety pin the wings on bottom. Or you could add a button or snap or a bit of velcro.

To wash: As you change each pad, rinse it out and put in a bucket of cold water to soak. I like to add a few tablespoons of borax to reduce staining and odor. Try to get them washed within two days. If you can't wash them, get them out if the bucket to dry, or they will start to stink. Just throw the pads in the washer with your other clothes. They won't hurt a thing.

If you would like to try fabric pads but don't want to make your own, here are some stores that sell them.
Cottontail Baby
Mother Of Eden

Book Review

2008-12-14T14:34:00.000-08:00

The Encyclopedia Of Healing Foods by Michael Murray N. D. is the best book on food and nutrition I have ever seen. It came with my herbalist course as required reading, and I fell in love with it. The book opens with an overview of nutrition and how to design a healthy diet. Next Dr. Murray covers vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Part three is the "Compendium Of Healing Foods" where every fruit, vegetable, meat or other food you ever heard of (plus several you've never heard of!) is listed. In the chapter "The Healing Power Of Vegetables", vegetables are listed with a vegetable overview, history of the vegetable, nutritional highlights, health benefits, how to select and store, tips for preparing and serving, and finally safety. "The Healing Power Of Fruits" follows vegetables, and the following chapters cover every food group. The book closes with a chapter titled "Promoting Health and Healing With Food". The Encyclopedia Of Healing Foods is an essential book to anyone desiring to learn more about food and nutrition.

Creative Leftovers

2008-12-13T16:01:00.000-08:00

Blue Jean Quilts

2008-12-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

Quilting can be a very expensive hobby, but if you scrap quilt, you can make quilts for just about free. I have made two twin size blue jean quilts, and am nearly finished with a queen size quilt made out of old clothes and scraps from sewing. Each of them cost about ten dollars for the materials I needed. I had been saving blue jeans for a quilt, but it was taking a very long time. When you are saving jeans from two young boys, and a hard working Daddy, there isn't much left to quilt with! So I decided to check at garage sales. That wasn't going too well either, until I found a garage sale where the people were selling blue jeans for a dollar a bag! And they had tables of them! I was so excited. I think I bought three trash bags full of blue jeans. We were able to wear some of them, and the rest were perfect for my quilt project.

Here is how I made my quilt. You can save your old blue jeans, find them at garage sales, or ask all your friends to save you their jeans. Don't worry about all the blue jeans being the same shade. The variations add character.

Begin by cutting your jeans into squares. I cut mine six and a half inches square. You could make yours smaller or larger according to your taste. Remember that smaller squares make more cutting and sewing. You can make some squares out of two triangles sewn together and cut some squares around pockets. Sew the squares into strips and sew the strips together to make the quilt the size that you want it. Next comes layering the quilt. To save money, I used an old blanket for the batting and a sheet for the back. This makes a very heavy quilt. Lay the quilt top on the floor right side up. On top, lay the sheet, or whatever you are going to use for backing, upside down. (Right sides together.) On top of the sheet, lay the blanket or other batting. Smooth the layers as flat as you possibly can. Pin well all around the edges, and trim the edges even. Sew around the edges leaving about a foot open for turning. Trim the corners and turn the quilt right side out. Sew up the hole. Next you tie the quilt. I used red cotton yarn, and tied on the corner of every two squares.

Use the same method and make a matching pillow. Happy sewing!

For more frugal ideas visit Biblical Womanhood.

Natural Cleaning Recipes

2008-12-11T10:03:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest ways most people introduce harmful toxins into their homes is through cleaning products. Commercial cleaning products are loaded with poisons that are harmful to your health and to the environment. What to do? Make you own homemade natural cleaners using mainly ingredients you already have in your home! Don't try to switch all at once. Make your homemade solutions one at a time as you use up the store bought cleaner. And while you're at it, ditch the paper towels. Save old holey socks, and cut them down the side to use for cleaning rags. Worn out T-shirts, and other old clothes also work well for cleaning rags. To clean mirrors, use newspaper. Here are some recipes that we use to get you started. Remember to always label your containers!

Scouring Powder
Mix equal parts baking soda, salt, and borax in an airtight container. Use to clean sinks, bathtub, counters.

Antibacterial Spray Cleaner
1 teaspoon borax
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups hot water
1/4 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil
1/4 teaspoon lavender essential oil
3 drops tea tree essential oil
Mix all ingredients and pour into a spray bottle.

Drain Opener
Pour 1 cup baking soda down the drain, then add 1 cup hot vinegar. Wait a few minutes before flushing the drain with about a quart of very hot water. Repeat if necesary. This process, cutting down to 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup vinegar is also excellent for keeping garbage disposals clean

To clean floors combine 1/4 cup vinegar with 1/2 gallon hot water. If a stronger disinfectant is required, add five drops tea tree essential oil.

For more natural cleaning recipes and ideas, visit these sites.
Frugal Fun
Natural Healthy Home Cleaning Tips

Composting

2008-11-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

The definition of compost is a mixture of decaying organic matter, such as leaves and manure, used as fertilizer. Compost is the best fertilizer for organic gardeners, and anyone who wants to improve their soil. Compost helps to break up clay soil, add substance to sandy soil, and enrich loam. We add compost and sand to our heavy clay soil to make it lighter and richer. Here is how I make my compost. There are more scientific methods, but this works well for me. Composting is not a difficult process, but it does take some time. Step one is make your compost pile. Step two, cover it with dirt and let it sit for a few months. Step three is to put it on your garden. Start your compost pile with a layer of dry leaves or straw to permit drainage. Continue with layers of grass clippings, vegetable peelings and dry bread from your kitchen, manure, and more leaves or straw. You can put nearly anything on your compost pile, but do not use meat scraps because they will attract animals. Manure from horses, cows, goats, chickens, or rabbits is fine, but do not use dog, cat, or human waste, and do not put dead animals on your compost pile. They introduce dangerous organisms to your soil. A compost pile can be made inside a small cage or crate, free standing, or in special drums that you can buy. When the pile is two to three feet across and two to three feet high, you cover it with dirt. Now is the waiting period. It takes about three months for the pile to compost, but you can use the rough compost before that for mulch, and it will continue to rot in the soil. During the waiting time, you can occasionally stir your pile, and water it if it seems very dry. When you dig into your compost pile and you can no longer tell what it was, and it smells like earth, it is ready to be put onto your garden. For more information on composting read see these books.
Let It Rot! by Stu Campbell
The Rodale Book Of Composting by Grace Gershung and Deborah L. Martin

Homemade Pretzels

2008-11-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to make homemade pretzels for a long time now, and decided that today would be the day. My sisters, a friend and I all made the pretzels together and we had a lot of fun. They were easier to make than I expected, and turned out delicious. Next time we want to make them with a cinnamon sugar coating instead of the salt, and maybe some with a mustard glaze. Here is the recipe I used. It is from the Food Network.

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 package active dry yeast
* 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
* 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
* Vegetable oil, for pan
* 10 cups water
* 2/3 cup baking soda
* 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
* Pretzel salt

Directions

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2008-11-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

We have been making this laundry detergent for almost a year now, and really like it. You are probably wondering why in the world we make our own laundry detergent. Well, one of the reasons is the cost. Homemade is cheaper than buying from the store. Another reason is that when you make your own, you can avoid chemicals that are in commercial laundry detergent. We use our washing machine water to water our yard and trees, and sometimes use it on our garden. We do not want to be putting chemicals into our soil, and possibly into our food that we are growing. This recipe makes a no suds detergent which is perfect for the high-efficiency front loading washing machines. Grating the soap does take some time but we think it is worth the effort. Do not buy any soap but the Fells Naptha. Other types do not work. We buy it at Krogers.

Powdered Laundry Detergent
1 cup grated Fells Naptha Laundry bar soap
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For light loads use 2 tablespoons. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons.

For more frugal tips go to Biblical Womanhood.

The Good Side of Fat

2008-11-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

We (as in our culture) are obsessed with skinny. We are told from childhood that to be skinny is to be beautiful. Fat is bad. Everywhere you look is an advertisement for the latest fad diet. Foods are labeled low fat or labels boast about how few calories they contain. What no one seems to remember is that the human body needs a certain amount of fat.

The scientific name for fat is adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is a connective tissue stored between the dermis ( the bottom layer of skin) and muscle. There are two types of adipose tissue; white adipose tissue and brown adipose tissue which is found primarily in infants and disappears as the child grows.

The main function of adipose tissue is to reserve lipids which can be burned to meet energy needs of the body. You will not starve to death during a few days of sickness and not eating because your body has an extra store to be released when caloric use maxes intake. Even a breastfeeding mother can continue to nurse when she can not eat for a short time. Her body will produce milk from energy stores.

A second function of adipose tissue is to cushion internal organs. The kidneys and eyeballs are enclosed in a layer of fat to absorb shock. Other organs are also protected by fat. Adipose tissue provides protection of skeletal muscle to prevent rupture of small blood vessels (bruising).
Adipose tissue insulates the body and helps conserve body heat. This is where brown fat comes in. Brown fat is a specialized form of adipose tissue in infants. They are born with stores of brown fat mainly around the neck. An infant's body can break down brown fat to produce heat. Because infants are unable to shiver or take other measures to warm themselves, this may be vital in an infant exposed to cold.

Finally, adipose tissue is an endocrine tissue, which means it secretes hormones, the primary one being Leptin. Leptin is an appetite-suppressing hormone. When released, it signals the hypothalamus that fat stores are sufficient.

Adipose tissue is necessary to the proper functioning of the body. An overabundance is harmful. But remember, not all fat is bad.

Homemade Granola

2008-11-09T12:16:00.000-08:00

Granola is my favorite cereal. It is so expensive to buy, though, that we hardly ever had it. Then I started experimenting with making my own. This is the best recipe I ever tried. I found it at Biblical Womanhood and adapted it a little bit.

Lazy Granola
Combine in a small saucepan:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup oil
Bring to a low boil. Add two teaspoons of vanilla.
Into a large bowl measure:
6 cups whole oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup oat bran
3/4 cup pecan halves or pieces
3/4 cup coconut
Drizzle syrup over oats and stir well to coat. Line two 9 by 13 inch pans with parchment paper. Place half of the mixture in each pan. Bake at 375 degrees for ten minutes. Take pans out of oven and stir granola. Put pans back in the oven. Turn oven off, and go to bed.
After the granola is baked you can stir in raisins or other dried fruit.

You can also toast the granola in a skillet. Our oven is not working right now, so I put half the granola at a time in our electric skillet and toasted it, stirring constantly, until the oats and coconut were lightly browned. I left the first half in for about ten minutes,( at 350) but the oats were burning a bit. For the second batch I turned the temperature down 25 degrees and toasted a few minutes fewer.

2008-11-07T15:55:00.000-08:00

Our family has moved several times in the past few years and I want to share an idea we have learned that helps make it a little simpler. A few days before you leave, pack a bag with enough clothes for several days, toothbrush, and any other personal items you need. That way if it takes you a few days to find everything, you at least have clean clothes and your toothbrush. If you think you'll be getting to your new home late that first night, try to put your pillows and enough blankets for a pallet where you can find them easily.
We moved to Oklahoma for a few months and when moving there, we were really thankful for our little bags. All of our dressers and hang-up clothes were on a trailer that Dad was planning to pull behind the U-haul moving truck. Well at the last minute, literally, he discovered that U-hail now uses a new type of trailer hitch, and the ball on our old trailer didn't fit! So we left the trailer behind and went to OK with just our bags. We had to do laundry every other day until Dad and I made a trip back down for the trailer, but we were so glad for a change of clothes. When we moved back down here, I was not going to get caught short again; Just in case something happened, I packed as many clothes as I could fit in my bag! We got here with all our belongings, but I was prepared.

Fall

2008-10-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

Fall here is really beautiful. We have been enjoying all the trees and hills around here.

We camped out in tents by the pond two nights ago. It wasn't too cold, but we had lots of blankets so we were pretty cozy.

Experiments

2008-10-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hello people! I am new to this blog world, and don't know much about it but I am learning. Thanks to my friend Lynn for teaching me how to set up my page and do links.