Goodbye 2019

I can't believe it's really the last day of 2019. Where did the year go? I had so many plans and ideas, but because of weather or other circumstances, they didn't all get done. There's always next year and I am really looking forward to it!

Although many things weren't done, there were accomplishments and new things tried. We dehydrated more, canned new things and explored new places. I cannot complain, even with all that we didn't do. Every year is a time to try to better one's self and every year that seems to be accomplished, maybe not to what I'd originally set out for, but still there's improvement.

Tonight will be quiet for us. We will settle down with a good book or movie and probably go to bed before midnight. Us old folks here don't stay up late like the young'uns do. We will just enjoy the day and evening and reflect on the last year and think about all the things we would like to do next year.

Now on to a new and clean slate!

Have a safe and happy New Years Eve!!!

Last Finishes of the Year

Bluprint had a nice sale last week where they had all knit and crochet scarf and cowl kits at 50% off, plus I had a 25% off coupon that I could use on top of the discount as well. I purchased 4 kits - 1 crochet and 3 knit - each costing less than what the cost of the yarn would have been for them!

My first finish was the Start Up Library Crochet Cowl Kit by Salena Baca and it really was a surprise to me. When I purchased the kit, I had originally gotten it to try out the yarn included in the kit: Sprightly Yarns Spectrum in Worsted Weight #4. I found a lovely color, Cresting Waves that would go with a few things in my wardrobe. Well, when it arrived, I thought I'd just work a few rounds of the cowl and see how it behaved and find another pattern. That cowl had such a lovely drape, that I decided to finish it. It's such a simple pattern - chains and double crochets, however, when put on, it looks so nice. Who would have imagined that I'd have fallen in love with it!?! Even more strange, is that I'm considering making another one from some yarn I have stashed. I think I'll make it a bit longer next time.

My next almost finish was the Fisherman's Wife cowl by Kalurah Hudson of whiletheyplaydesigns.com. I can not find the link to the kit, so I'm assuming it has been sold out since it was on clearance. The pattern is very well written and even has a link to a tutorial for making the picot edging. I'm really quite impressed and if her patterns are anything like this one, they are definitely worth the money! Now, back to the kit... This pattern uses Sprightly Acrylic Wool Super Bulky #6. I chose the color "suede" for my scarf. I so enjoy doing cables, however have never done any cabled projects in super bulky weight before. I'm still on the fence when it comes to bulky yarn, but it does look quite neat when finished, plus, it was a quick knit. I still have to block it and put on the buttons. Unfortunately, when laying my scarf out to take the photo, I found, not one, but two mistakes! (can you find them?) I haven't decided if I'm going to fix them or just say, hey - it's for me and just leave them as is. That's what I end up with when I'm counting and talking to hubby at the same time! I really should have checked my work before binding off. I have 2 more skeins of the super bulky in a Blue Heather colorway, so I could just make another one (or 2). I still haven't decided what I'm going to use it for.

This appears to be my last finishes of the year. I've had hats and other finishes I never recorded and will just have to do better next year. I made many gifts this year as well as some hats, scarves and mittens to donate. Hopefully, next year will be even more productive than this one was!

Dishcloths

What can I say? I'm an old fashioned type of gal that loves handmade things. One of those things is handmade dishcloths that are either knitted or crocheted from cotton yarn or thread. I was running low hand have been in the need for some new cloths for some time now. I  was looking for something just a bit different than my old standby, Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth. It's such an easy pattern, but since it's all knit except for one YO at the beginning of the row, it gets boring and it relies heavily on the color of the yarn. It's great fir mindless knitting in front of a TV or knitting in public, but a girl just needs something new now and then. (In the photo, you can see the lovely set of handmade Peppermint soap and Peppermint lip balm that my husband got for me. He knows how to spoil me!)

Speaking of the old standby, I found some Bernat Handicrafter Holidays in Holly Jolly Print colorway that I thought would be perfect for Grandmother's Favorite. I love the jogs of color throughout the white and loved how crisp and clean it looked after it was finished. Certainly a color that was perfect for gift giving, so I made a few to give away as well. I really wished I had tested the colorfastness before giving them away, as it really ran and the white became a pink. Now, mind you, I still like the color. The pink is light and pretty, but I lost the crisp look that I fell in love with. I've never had a yarn run like this one from Bernat. This is my first time using Handicrafter and I certainly will never buy another skein of it unless it's on sale or it's a solid color. I'm really bummed because I gave all the cloths away except one.

While browsing my Facebook Feed,  I came across a posted a link to the Flower Power Dishcloth.  It's a quick and easy to follow crochet pattern that created a bright and cheery flower dishcloth. As soon as I saw it, it screamed "MAKE ME!!!"  The directions call for a solid cotton cloth, but I had some scrubby yarn in my stash that I thought would be perfect for the center. The purple cloth was made using Premier Yarns Washi (Purple)and Lily Sugar 'n Cream Scents (Lavender). For me, the Washi was a bit difficult to crochet with. It could be my old eyes, but with all the texture and nubbies, I found it hard to find the loops of the stitches. It was only 3 rounds, so it wasn't too frustrating and I liked how the center turned out - nicely textured.

The blue flower was made using Red Hear's Scrubby Sparkle (Lemon) and Premier Yarn's Premier Home Cotton (Delft Blue). The Scrubby Sparkle was easier to work with, but made a tiny bit smaller flower center. It was much easier to work with and adds a sparkle to the center. The Premier Home wasn't as easy to work with as the Sugar 'n Cream. It kept splitting. I'm going to have to get used to it, as I bought a case of it from the Dollar Tree.

Winding Down 2019

Here we are with only a few days left in 2019. Looking back, I didn't do as much as I wanted, but did do some things I hadn't planned on. I know, life does that. That's why I don't do New Year's Resolutions, but instead make a list of things I'd really like to do. Every year I do this, except for this past year. I started the year healing from a shoulder injury I ended up with in 2018. The surgeon said it would take a good year to heal, so I decided I wouldn't push it, but just work with it. There was no garden and I put up food that I had bought from the farmer's market, etc. when I could. It's not what I originally would have wanted, but, hey, it's life and we got to work with what we have.

Hubby surprised me a couple of weeks ago and bought me a lovely bread maker. I have one, but it's showing it's wear and making noise and not making nice loaves any more. The new one is a Cuisinart Convection Bread Maker CBK-200. Wow - what a machine it is! It has 16 settings including quick breads, jam, gluten free and low carb. It works well, produces lovely loves and is so much more quiet than my old one (even when the old one was new!) Although I enjoy making my own loaves, when making one loaf at a time, this is much more economical than heating up the oven for just a loaf of bread. Now, if I'm using the oven for other things or cooking more than one loaf, I'll use the oven and make the bread by hand.

An Imperfection Can Hold the Greatest Beauty

December is my time to reflect on what has happened throughout the year. I go over my accomplishments, "failures" that hold lessons learned, and things I didn't have time for. It is also the time that causes me to remember so many things about family and friends.

As I was sorting through some boxes in the basement, I came across a box that held a ceramic bird tree.  My mother made this tree for me many years ago. She was taking ceramic classes at the time and decided to make a snow covered bird tree for me for Christmas. She had glazed it and put the snow on it and perfected it to make it look exactly how she wanted it to be. The tree was put in the kiln to fire, and that evening, the electricity went out, so the owner of the shop couldn't fire it right away. I can't remember how long the power was out, but it was long enough to allow the snow to slide down a bit. The owner didn't let Mom know what happened and just fired it. When Mom went to pick it up, she was very unhappy with it and was going to throw it out! It wasn't the perfect tree that she wanted and felt it wasn't gift worthy.

I absolutely loved it. It looked so much more realistic to me. I begged her to finish it by adding the lights and to let me have it and not toss it. She did finish it for me, but was terribly reluctant to give me the tree. She was so disappointed in it. My mother was a perfectionist and , believe me, she would never gift something that she felt was not up to her standards. However, by her doing this, I'm sure there were things people missed out on, because something she made for them was not "perfect" and she wouldn't gift it, but go out and buy a gift from the store instead.

I will admit, her needing things to be perfect had rubbed off on me some. It has taken me a long time to get over the need for perfection. Pulling out the tree brought back so many memories and how much I learned from it. Believe me, I see the tree and realize that an imperfection can hold the greatest beauty. I think the tree is much more beautiful that if it had turned out perfect.

Buy Nothing Group on Facebook

When Yahoo Groups change, my FreeCycle List vanished. They went to another platform and changed their name and the group pretty much is dead now. I started searching for another place that I could post my items and have them go to someone that would want them as well as use them. I have donated to the Good Will in the past, but when I went to take things in, I had to drive by their overflowing dumpsters of things I was shocked to see tossed. Things were not staying out of the landfill as I had hoped.

I came across a group called Buy Nothing on Facebook. Each area has their own list and I joined my area with my fingers crossed. As you can tell by the name, everything that is posted is given away to keep out of the landfill -  very much like FreeCycle. The list is awesome and active! I've been able to post a lot of things I no longer need and know that they will be going to some place wanted.

Today, I was looking to see what was posted when a post for a set of very colorful Farberware Knives with covers. I've been wanting a set of these for quite a while, but hubby said it's not worth wasting money on something that's probably junk. So, when I saw these, I asked for them, and I was lucky enough to get them! Now, I have to impatiently wait for hubby to get home, as he's picking them up on his way home from work.

I can't tell you how excited I am to finally get to try these knives, but it's even better to have gotten them for free - just the cost of pick-up, and since they are on hubby's way home, there's really no extra cost there either. I love the spirit of the group - things stay out of the landfill and someone re-homes the unwanted item, giving it a second life. So many things are tossed when there's so much life left in them. This method stretches every member's paycheck just a little more. With the cost of everything going up, this group certainly helps!

Homemade - Cheaper and Better

So many times my friends and family members will comment that it's really not worth it to make things from scratch when you can purchase it from the store. My daughter always says, "Time is money" and she doesn't have the time to put into it. Yes, it is - to a point. I don't work outside the home and she does, so her time is quite valuable to her. Yet, if she is buying things that really don't take much to make, is she really getting the best for her money?

For example, let's talk about store bought Vienna Rolls. First, I had no clue that the store sold its bakery rolls by the pound! My local store sells the rolls at $4.80 a pound and this package of 6 rolls cost $4.50 for 15 ounces! (I guess you can tell that I don't buy bread or rolls much.)

When I make bread, my loaves run between 2-3 pounds and the cost of ingredients runs about 50 cents to 80 cents if I decide to make a more specialty bread. If I make a dough for a one pound loaf, roll it into balls and let it rise - my homemade rolls will cost 25 cents, plus I know exactly what is in them. The texture might be a little bit different (depending on the recipe/type of dough I make), however, everyone says they are so much better than store bought.

If one uses the kneading cycle on a bread machine or uses a mixer to mix and knead the dough, the only time spent is the time it takes to put the ingredients in the bowl or pan. The time that it takes to raise, one could be doing something else - so it's not really working on the rolls. Then there is the punching down and shaping the rolls and putting them on a pan. That takes just a few minutes. The are put aside to raise again, and again, one could be doing something else. Into the oven they go - and baking time is another amount of time that could be spend elsewhere. So really - how much time total is actually going into these rolls? There's 25 cents in ingredients, a few minutes spent putting them into a bowl and then shaping the dough. There is the cost of running the oven, but if planned correctly, one can bake something else at the same time. With 6 rolls, the savings wouldn't be so impressive if you figure minimum wage in. 15-20 minutes is about $2 of labor, however, that's counting the pay BEFORE taxes and other deductions.

If you were to double the amount of rolls baked at one time, you would have about 20-25 minutes invested, and about $3 of labor BEFORE taxes. Three dollars of labor plus 50 cents in ingredients for $9.60 worth of store bought rolls. My rolls will weigh a little more than the store bought ones, because I am using a recipe for a 2 pound dough. By making my own rolls, I've saved over $6 (not counting the energy cost of the oven since that will vary depending on what type one uses). That's about an hour of minimum wage pay AFTER taxes that you SAVED by making your own from scratch!

Is it worth making things from scratch? Yes it is, for 2 reasons...
1. I save money and
2. It tastes better!

One more interesting fact... your rolls would be considered Artisan rolls and that would up the value even more!

Pantry Reflections Continued

In my last post, I talked about my pantry storage and concentrated on dehydrating. Dehydrating is fantastic, but there are things one can't store by drying it. That's where canning comes into the picture. Canning is probably the most work out of all the storage methods, but it is also one of the most versatile methods of storage. You can can so many things from jams, jellies, vegetables and pickles to sauces, pie fillings, beans, meats and soups. There are so many things you can put in a jar (and some things you can't!).

I'm primarily an ingredient canner, meaning I like to mostly put up the ingredients I'd use in my cooking instead of putting up jars of meals, etc. If I can a bunch of stew, then I'll be eating just stew. But if I put up some stew beef, broth, vegetables, etc, I now have a lot more options of what I can make for dinner. I'm not saying I don't have some quick meals on the shelf, because I do, but my main canning list consists of ingredients.

This year I've put up:

My husband's Favorite Pickled Peppers
Dill Pickles
Dill Pickle Slices
Bread and Butter Pickles
Pinto Beans
Pinto Beans with Onions
Fiesta Pinto Beans
Black-Eyed Peas
Black-Eyed Peas in Smoked Hock Stock
Chicken Bone Stock
Smoked Chicken Bone Stock
Beef Bone Stock with Beef
Beef and Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Corned Beef
Corned Beef Hash
Hamburger
Chili
Applesauce
Apple Butter
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

I still have a few more things to can - so will be posting an updated list at the end of the year.

Pantry Reflections

When it comes to out pantry, I don't stock for doomsday or any great disasters, but instead, I do it for convenience, taste, and knowing what is in the food we eat. I prefer to grow what we need and use, but there are things I can't grow, crop failures, etc. Then I buy from the Farmer's market or from people I know, and sometimes I find great sales at the grocery store that are too irresistible to pass up.

This year was a learning curve for me in many aspects of putting things up. First, there's the issue of age and slowing down. I used to stock up during the canning season - summer and autumn. It was intense and many hours in the kitchen. Notice, I said used to. I followed my mother's example of how and when to can and that model was productive, but exhausting. Now, I work on my pantry all year. Sure, there will be things I won't be able to put up, but many that I can.

One of the things Mom did was freeze and can a LOT. I can't really freeze things because of the lack of freezer space. We have the fridge freezer, and that's it. I've been concentrating more on canning and dehydrating. That's been another learning curve, because freezing was what I thought was the best way to go and the taste was close to fresh. With freezing, there is a downside... freezer burn. That will not only leave your food tasting nasty, but will ruin all your hard work in just a few month's time. A FoodSaver or other method of vacuum packing will fix that, but there's still the issue of storage and the cost of keeping a freezer running. Then there's the issue of a power outage - you can lose everything depending on how long the power is out and what time of year it happens.

So, I've been concentrating on other methods of storage. Dehydrating is one that I find fun and quite amazing. I can dehydrate green beans and they get so much smaller, store for a long time in a vacuum sealed jar, and taste darn near like fresh when re-hydrated. I've been experimenting with drying and cooking quite a few veggies this year and have been quite pleased with the result. So far, I've done:

Potatoes - both sliced and shredded

Green Beans

Mixed Vegetables

Corn
Cabbage
Carrots

Mushrooms

Onions

Bell Peppers - all colors

Celery

Celery Leaves

Peas

Squash

Chives

Spearmint
Apples - both sliced and diced

Bananas

Grapes - red and white seedless

Pineapple
Clementine slices

One of the things that I like doing is buying frozen vegetables on sale. I don't have freezer space for them, but that's ok. I bring them home, open the bag and pour them onto my dehydrator trays, give them a good rinse, drain and then put in the dehydrator. They have already been blanched and cut up, so there's really no work to doing them this way. When done, just put in jars and vacuum seal. They will last for a LONG time on the shelf as long as they stay vacuum sealed.

The list will certainly get longer as I try my hand at more items. I dehydrate all year long and continuously use from my pantry as well. I'm always rotating. Like I said - it's not for stocking for a disaster, but for using and having better quality ingredients.

December - My Time for Reflection and Planning Ahead

I cannot believe it is already December! The year has gone by so quickly - where has it gone?! I swear it was just yesterday that I was waiting for the rains to stop so I could plant my garden (which didn't happen!) Now I'm waiting for seed catalogs to plan for the coming year!

For most, December is a time of rushing and getting ready for Christmas, yet for me, it is a time to reflect and think about how things can be improved for next year. My last week will be looking at my list of goals that I made last year, seeing what I accomplished and planning a list for next year.

I like the relaxing atmosphere of not having to worry about Christmas. There was a time I was hugely upset that we no longer celebrated it, but I've come to a realization that it's nothing more than a consumer nightmare. Yes, I still give gifts to those that celebrate, but I no longer feel pressured. That is just what I need at this age.

Speaking of age - I've finally come to the realization that my body and mind are no longer the same age. My mind thinks it's much younger than my body knows it is. Getting hurt 2 almost 2 years ago made me realize I need to slow down. (And believe me - it took almost those 2 years of healing to come to terms with that!) Things don't get done as quickly, and that's OK. I don't need to be Superwoman any more!  The funny part of that is, I do a little each day and it seems I'm getting more done. Then again, maybe not.

Black Friday - Just Staying Home and Enjoying Family

Black Friday is a day I normally don't venture out in. I never really saw the draw, and after working in retail, I certainly don't get it! People start shopping on Thanksgiving now, and will go all the way through into Black Friday. I've talked to some shoppers that don't even have Thanksgiving until the weekend, so that they can shop! Sorry - I was brought up that Thanksgiving family time started on Wednesday evening and went through to Sunday - when everyone had to return home. I long for those days when spending time with  family was more important than rushing out to stand in line for sales of items one really doesn't need anyhow. But that's just me.

I've been pouring over online seed catalogs, trying to decide what we will be planting next year. I am a Sustaining member of Seed Saver's Exchange and an heirloom gardener. I prefer seeds with stories that are open pollinated and love collecting seeds from the plants I grow. It is so much more satisfying for me to do that than to have to buy packets of seeds every year. Don't get me wrong - I still buy and trade seeds, because there's always something different I want to try.

I came across some asparagus seeds at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I've been wanting to plant some asparagus, but the plants can get a bit expensive. I chose the Precoce D'Argenteuil as they can be harvested in their second year instead of the normal three! The packet holds 75 seeds and has a lot of good ratings stating they are easy to grow and delicious, so I have a decent chance of succeeding with them! With them being an heirloom, I'll be able to collect seed and make a really nice bed of asparagus for $3!

I also like MIgardener. Luke offers some amazing seeds at an unheard of price of 99 cents. He has over 500 varieties to choose from and everything I have purchased from his has always performed well for me. He also has a fantastic YouTube channel that has so many wonderful and informative videos. I have followed his channel from almost the beginning. I've learned so much and it's been great watching him grow.

The other place I get open pollinated/non-GMO seeds is from Fedco Seeds. Their prices are good and you get a nice amount of seed for the price. I've also had great success with their seeds in the past. They are out of Maine and have a lot more than seeds. They have trees, plants, tubers, berries, bulbs, etc. The most exciting thing for me is they offer root stock and scionwood for grafting as well as supplies. After I get out gardens established, I'm going to put my grafting classes to good use. Definitely worth a look at their catalogs!

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Weird Weather and A Late Soap Update

I can't believe the weather these last few days. We went from snow to 60's! It worked in well for putting out the crocus and the garlic late, but the plants are confused. My daffodils are about ready to break through the soil and the chrysanthemums are coming up. My chives are about 6 inches tall and my hydrangea is budding up. I haven't checked the other plants, but I certainly wonder what this late warm weather is going to do to everything. I lost my all my thyme and now wonder if it was from the same reason, as we had strange weather last winter as well.

While I was out doing some catch-up yard work, I gathered the last of my seeds. I got really behind on things, so I didn't really harvest anything. I was lucky and was able to get the seeds from my Dutch and Siberian irises as well as my garlic and regular chives. I found a patch of chives that had reseeded in an area I didn't want them in, so I dug them up and potted them up to keep inside this winter. I've never overwintered chives inside so we'll see what happens. Right now, they aren't looking the best, but this is just after potting them up - complete with dirt still on the side of the pot!

Crisco Soap curing.

Back in January and February of 2015, I made 3 batches of soap. My first batch of soap was from a soap making class that I took locally and it really didn't do very well (you can read more about it here). The second batch was a soap recipe using Crisco and that one traced really quickly (read more here) and the last batch was made following the instructions from Becky's Homestead. This soap was made using olive oil. (more info here). Well, they were cut, cured and then tried, but seemed like each one needed longer to cure. They were put in shoe boxes, put on the top shelf and there they sat, forgotten about, until this past year.

The bars are definitely dried and some have cracked, but they are all still usable. Out of the three, I like the Crisco one the best. It lathers enough to be pleasing, cleans well and doesn't seem to dry my hands out. Becky's recipe didn't do a lot for me. I'm not sure if it's the additives I put in or just not my type of soap, but that stuff will melt quickly and turns slimy. It is certainly not one for the shower. Even after 4 years of sitting in the box!  The one I made from the class is my least favorite. It just doesn't do it for me at all. Maybe because there was the lack of trace, I don't know, but without a recipe, there's not making again to find out.

Will I attempt soap making again? Yes! I just need to get through these bars first. That may be awhile, though, because now that they sat for so long, these guys are taking FOREVER to get through!

Cranberry Sauce Time!

Thanksgiving dinner is not complete without cranberry sauce. Don't take my word for it - ask my son! He will wipe out a whole can himself!!! He prefers my homemade, but will settle for the store bought if he has to, but no matter what kind, it HAS to be on the table.

I'm making 2 batches of sauce from 2 different recipes. I'll be doing my old standby (you can find the recipe here) and I'll be trying the one on the back of the Ocean Spray bag as well as on their website. The one on the bag has less sugar to berry ratio and also has more water and needs to be cooked to gel stage.

I heard that one doesn't need to use a Foley Mill, but can just blend the berries with a hand held stick blender. I don't know how that will work, but will be trying a batch to see. My guess is that it will make a more chunky sauce instead of a smooth one that I get from my mill, because the Foley takes out the skins.

Homemade Jellied Cranberry Sauce

3 cups Cranberries
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Water

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil, add the cranberries, then return contents to a boil. Reduce heat. Boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

Place a Foley Mill over a medium mixing bowl. Pour contents of saucepan into mill and push through. Remove mill and stir berry mixture.

Pour into serving container or straight-sided jar. Cover and cool completely at room temperature before refrigerating.

Makes 1 cup.

First Snow of the Season

Yesterday at 4:45 am, I woke up to a brighter than normal morning and wondered why. I got up to have a peek and was surprised to see a dusting of snow. It looked a bit more impressive in the wee hours of the morning after the snow. By the time I thought of taking a picture, it was already melting. 

Saturday was a busy day filled with some much needed shopping. First we went to Sam's Club to pick up some of the sale items like peanut butter and raisins. Sam's is never a quick stop because I have so many friends that work there on both Sam's side as well as those that do the demos. Thank heavens hubby is a patient and understanding person!

From there, we went to Tractor Supply because he had to return some tires he had purchased for his garden cart that weren't what he needed. While he was off doing that, I found the clearance section and picked up some crocuses and some organic fertilizer that was on there. I didn't have any clue there would be snow when I woke up yesterday. I may not have gotten them if I had. With that said, the ground isn't frozen yet, so hopefully they'll have a chance and I'll see them next spring.

We discovered the outdoor Amish Farmer's Market was still opened and stopped to see what they'd have this late in the season. It was getting near the time to for the day and they were out of a lot of things, but they had quite a few winter squash left. I got a decent deal on the squash, so I ended up getting about 3 bushels of a mix of spaghetti, acorn, butternut and Kabocha squash for $48. That may seem high to some, but in this area, it's a good price. 

Ollie's was next because we had a 15% off coupon. We had some good finds - like a package of 8 Jello sugar free butterscotch pudding for 89 cents! That's what one costs on sale. We had a few good finds like that and then a few of the normal groceries we get there. 

For the grand finish, we went to the Thanksgiving dinner put on by the local fire department. It's a free dinner for the community, but is all actuality, it's a good fundraiser. I don't think anyone had a dinner without donating something. Personally, I love these kinds of dinners! The menu consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, apple sauce, roll and a dessert - oh yes, and a beverage. 

Overall, it was a great weekend! Nice and busy on Saturday, snowy start yesterday and the rest of the day was filled with church, laundry, and working on the pantry shelves.  Nothing earth shattering, but still busy and at the same time peaceful.

Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats

My son is a responsible adult, yet, he can turn back into a kid when he finds out Mom made Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats! I saw it last night when he showed up in the kitchen after his Tai Chi practice. His eyes lit up and I swear he was drooling just a bit when he reached for the knife to cut the first piece out of the pan!

I originally didn't plan on making the treats when I bought the marshmallows. I had all intentions of dehydrating them (yes - you read that correctly). They were on clearance at Ollie's for 50 cents and then I came across a sale on Crispy Rice for less than $1.50. Still, I had no intentions, until I opened up the marshmallows to find that they had become sticky and globbed together. These certainly were not dehydrating material! Change of plans!

This was not a problem though, as I ended up with a really happy son!

Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats

4 Tablespoons Butter
12 oz bag regular sized marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups Crispy Rice

Butter a 9" x 13" pan. Set aside. Measure all ingredients ahead of time so they are ready to be added in when needed.

In a pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Add vanilla and mix well. Add peanut butter. Mix well. Remove from heat and add cereal, mixing to coat evenly. Do this quickly as the mixture becomes harder to work with as it cools down. Pour into buttered pan and pan in evenly. Allow to completely cool before eating. Some prefer to cut when warm.

Smoked Chicken Bone Broth

4 smoked chickens covered and resting.

My husband loves to smoke all kinds of meats and anything else he can think of. I gave him a barrel type pellet smoker a few years ago and just this summer I bought him a Pit Boss, which was a larger upright one, for his birthday. He was excited and has used it quite a bit, but not as much as he'd like.

While shopping at the grocery store, I came across 4 chickens that had been marked down to half price. They just magically hopped into my cart and whispered in my ear that they were excellent smoking material. It appears hubby thought so, too, because they ended up in the smoker with a nice coating of a new rub recipe that hubby wanted to try. The chickens were good, but the rub needs a bit a tweaking. I wasn't so fond of all the cayenne pepper that was in it, and hubby had even cut the amount in half.

Cooking with veggies

Now, my turn for excitement. I took the meat off the bones and froze it and put all the bones and skin in the crock pot and covered them with water and added a tiny bit of vinegar to draw out the calcium. I let them cook over night. In the morning, I took out my 20 quart stockpot and transferred the carcasses and stock from the crock pot into the pot. I added onion, celery, garlic, broth and carrots and brought it to a boil, then simmered it for a good 24 hours - making the total simmering time about 36 hours.

Straining through cheese cloth

I then strained out the bones and veggies and then transferred that back to the pot, giving it a second straining - this time through cheese cloth. As chilly as are temps have been, when the pot cooled down some, I took it out to the garage to chill overnight.

The next day, the broth was brought back in the house and I peeled the solidified fat off the top. The broth was heated, brought to a boil then put in hot jars to pressure can.Since this broth was cooked with vegetables, I processed it for the vegetable broth time. 

It always amazes me when I do this. Why? I ended up with a total of 13-1/2 quarts of broth from something I might have thrown out! The onions that were added were parts of onions that I might have thrown out. I save the tip end and root end (I remove most of the brown wrap from the tip and the roots from the end since they are not very clean, and keep the white part). I also keep the tough outer part of the onion that lies beneath the brown protective covering. All of this goes in a freezer bag and kept in the freezer. I will also keep the leaves and tougher stalks from the celery and freeze them as well. Then when I do a broth, I take all the frozen veggies and add them to the water with the carcass. My only cost may be the carrots, garlic and any seasonings I may use plus the cost of electricity to cook it.

13.5 quarts of broth from 4 smoked chicken carcasses.
Dehydrated veggies in background.

If I figured correctly, it cost under $2 for lids and veggies for 13 and a half quarts of delicious and healthy broth. (I did not factor in the cost of the electricity.)

I Can't Wait!

My son gave me some of his college books on WWII and said he thought I'd find them really interesting. It started with "Maus" and then "Maus II". Both books are a definite must read! The have left a lasting impression on me. I then read "Night" and have "The Good Old Days" as well as "The Butcher's Tale" to still read. WWII has always interested me, as my father served proudly served our country during World War II with General Patton's Third Army, 10th Armored "Tiger" Division and 21st Tank Battalion. He participated in the Rhineland, Ardennes and Central European campaigns and saw action at the Battle of the Bulge. Unfortunately, he never spoke of this until just before he died, and many times he was difficult to understand. So now, when I see footage taken at any of these places or find something written about them, I pour over the footage and photos to see if I might see my father in any of them. I know it's probably silly, but there's always that chance.

I came across a find the other day and decided to order 2 books. They are both reproductions of instruction leaflets that were given out during the war and center around how to live with War Rations. The one is a cookbook entitled: "Eating for Victory: Healthy Home Front Cooking on War Rations" and the other is the companion book in the series called "Make Do and Mend: Keeping Family and Home Afloat on War Rations". Both of them are hard cover books that I ordered from the original country of origin: England. I found them online at Abe Books and they cost me less, even with postage, than I could purchase them here in the States! I think it's cool that they are coming from the place that the leaflets were originally published. So many times, reproductions are done elsewhere.

I think these will not only be informative, but could be very useful. It would be nice to have more ideas for using items out of the garden as well as cutting back on meats, etc. I have read that England encouraged healthy living at that and those recipes were part of it. Both books cost $11 including shipping and tax. Now, the hard part will be waiting for them to arrive!

Are they here yet?

How about now?.....

It's going to be a long wait!

Applesauce and Apple Butter - Finished!!!

It really felt good to pull out the last jars of applesauce and apple butter and listen to them ping! They will taste so good this winter. I really hadn't planned on making any this year, but I heard our local orchard had really nice deer apples available for $8.99 a bushel.  I asked hubby to get a bushel on his way home from work one day and was floored to see these "nice" apples! Many were the size of golf balls and some may have reached almost tennis ball size, but that would really be pushing it. What was I going to do with all of those pathetically small apples?!!! (As you can see in the photo, that is only a half bushel of apples. They are tiny!!)

I ended up making 2 large apple crisps, few jars of dehydrated apples, and the rest in sauce and butter. I'm pretty sure the orchard is not organic, so I had to peel them. I had put it off, since I know how long that takes and tried to ignore them as long as possible. I made and apple crisp first and although it was good, I kept wondering if I lost my mind getting these! Then I did the dried apples - oh my. That took forever. It about killed me to to compost all the peelings, because I really wanted to make apple jelly out of them. But at least they didn't go to waste!

I left the second half bushel in garage as long as I could. I tried to ignore it but as the temperatures went down in the teens at night, I knew I had to use them or lose them to the  cold temps. Ignoring would no longer be an option! I peeled and peeled and peeled and then cored for 5 LONG hours. Nope, not an exaggeration. They were too small to go on the apple peeler, so it had to be done the old fashioned way. I can't complain though, as it gave me time to listen to some podcasts that I wouldn't have found otherwise.

I added a few larger apples we had gotten at the university outlet. They have a nice orchard and gardens that are used as classrooms/research for the students. Every year, the abundance is brought in to the outlet and sold. Hubby will pick them up on his way home from work sometimes, so I had a mix of those apples as well. I didn't care for the one batch of sauce that I made. There was a flavor from one type of apple in it I just didn't like. I made apple butter out of that batch and the batch that was made specifically for the apple butter was turned into sauce. That batch had apple cider in it. It's a good thing that one cooks down the apples first before sweetening and adding spices!

I don't normally sweeten, but the spices seem to add a bitterness I didn't like, so I put in a bit of honey and a bit of sugar - I'd say not even a quarter of a cup,  but it made all the difference. I don't think I would have even had to do that if I had cooked this batch with the cider, but it wasn't an issue. I certainly wouldn't have added all the sugar that the Ball book has. Three whole cups for a batch and I had more than one batch in the pot! UGH!

After a few canner loads of jars, I had finally finished what I had put off for so long and it felt good. The jars still need their rings removed, then washed and labeled and finally put away on the shelf. That's on today's to-do list.

 

Not As Prepared As I Thought!

Our electric company scheduled an 8 hour power outage that took place yesterday. They've been warning us about it for weeks, which was really quite nice of them. It was in the 30's yesterday and I got up early to warm the house up, make a nice hot pot of coffee and bake some muffins. At exactly 8am the power went off and stayed off for almost 9 hours.

Although others in the area were upset, I was thankful for the outage. For me, it was like a practice run for the possibility of outages this winter and I found that although I was "prepared" for this one, in all actuality, I was not. Since our home is fully electric (sigh..) we have to improvise a bit. We do have a generator and we tested it out to make sure all is working properly, but didn't really use it yesterday except to run a hot plate to cook dinner on. That's an expensive way to heat up food! I should have had something else like canned heat or tea lights. 

I also need to can some soups or stews so that they will be available to heat up. Nothing warms you up like they do! I'm pretty much an ingredient canner, so I found this to be another weak spot in my being prepare! We did have water and juices but didn't need them, since we are on public water and we didn't lose it. That could always change though.

The house did cool down some, but wasn't unbearable - especially with wearing layers.  The generator will take care of that problem, though. That is, until we would run out of gas. I say that, because I was in an outage that lasted a good week. That was a fun one. We had freezing rain and then snow while there were still leaves on the trees. It took down lines, trees, transformers, made roads impassible and the snow really piled up and covered some of the downed trees, which added to all the mayhem.

I can now take one needed item off the list. I just ordered a pack of Safe Heat Chafing Fuel. That will be one less thing I will need to be concerned about next time. I'm going to have to still put up some soups, but that won't be a problem.

Well, today will be filled with canning up the applesauce and apple butter I made a couple of days ago. I forgot about the power outage when I was cooking it up, but no problem. I just put the big pots out on the grill and that kept them nice and cold. I'll have to heat them up and then adjust the spices, but not an issue.

Playing Catch-up

Summer has come and gone and I won't say I'll miss it this year. It was hot, humid and rainy. I didn't put a garden in because of the cold, rainy weather this spring. I should have attempted something, especially after seeing the prices for produce here! The Farmer's Markets in this area are outrageous to say the least. I know we are in a more prominent area, but gouging will stop me from buying local!

 Wegman's was running a sale on frozen veggies. A pound bag was 79 cents, so I made sure to dehydrate some. I saved 20 cents a pound and all the work was pretty much already done. I told hubby to wait and watch, because the sale ran quite a while, I was sure the veggies were going to go up in price. They have gone back to 99 cents a bag or more, but the bag sizes have gotten smaller. Yup - price increase!

It appears it's really time to buckle down and get serious. We had some serious crop failures this year with lots of rain and flooding plus an early freeze/snow in the midwest as well as down south! Potatoes, seed corn, sugar beets, and dried beans were some of the crops that were affected. I'm sure we are now going to see some price hikes with everything. Those are major crops and many things in the food industry depend on them.

Currently, milk is running $4.20 a gallon at Walmart and Sam's and even more for name brands. I've stopped buying fresh milk. That's just too expensive - especially when other parts of the country are selling as low as $1.50 a gallon! I hate living in a regulated state. It's supposed to help the farmers, but I just heard on the radio that Deen's is going under, because sales dropped, Walmart no longer uses them (Walmart does their own now) and what they do sell isn't enough to support them. It's really sad when specialty milk is cheaper than the real thing! I can get almond milk for $1.75 for a half gallon! I've switched to powdered milk.

I'm anxiously awaiting my garlic order to arrive. I'm very late getting them in, but figured I'd take a chance and try. MIgardener had a sale of them, so I picked up 3 different bulbs to try. According to my tracking number, they are supposed to be delivered today. We've had such cold temps - quite a bit below normal, so hopefully they will do ok. If not - I've only lost 3 heads of garlic and $10.

They're All Dead

Six years ago, I planted a small Common thyme plant.  It grew and flourished and spread into a huge patch. I had harvested enough time to last me a year, last year, and couldn't wait to see how lovely it would be this year. That didn't happen. Every single plant I had in that patch died. I can only guess it was last year's strange winter. We had warm weather well into December and then the temperature dropped hard and fast. This thyme was acclimated to this area. I bought it from a lovely gentleman that lived just up the road from me and he had taken some from the thyme he had grown for years in his garden. I was heartbroken to see it all gone. I waited and hoped it was just late coming back. It wasn't. It is truly gone.

I will now have to start over. So, out with the old, and in with the new. I'm hoping this one will survive. This one is English Thyme. I've read that some say the Common and the English are the same, others claim the Common is has larger leaves. Personally, I think this one looks a lot like the one I started with - both in the size of the plant, as well as the size of the leaves. We shall see.

On the up side of things, I was combing through Craig's List, when I came across a listing for canning jars, rings, and lids. I wasn't hopeful that they were still available, but they were and I got a nice little deal. For $8, I got:

• 1 dozen quart jars - 10 wide mouth and 2 regular
• 10 12-oz jelly jars
• 11 pint jars - 6 wide mouth, 5 regular
• 2 new boxes of wide mouth bands/rings
• 1 new box of regular bands/rings
• 1 opened box of regular bands/ring that had 6 lids and 8 rings

I was pleased with my find. They will be put to good use!

Market Bag Finished

The Market Bag is finished and although it's nice, it's not exactly what I wanted. The bag is smaller than I thought, however it does hold quite a bit. I put in a decent size head of cabbage, 2 grapefruit and 8 clementines and still had room to spare.

The only thing I didn't like about it was the bottom design. Although it is solid and won't allow things to slip through, it has corners that look like weird "ears" when you put something in it that doesn't completely fill the bottom. My cabbage was the heaviest and looked VERY odd in the bottom. I know that aesthetics won't affect usefulness, but I guess I'm just a snob when things don't look right. I will continue on my bag search, but will still use this one for smaller things like peppers, etc.

Crocheting a Market Bag

I've been looking for good bags to use at the Farmer's Market. I'm not sure how sturdy my Tyvek type reusable grocery bags are, and they aren't the most joyous to carry around at the market. I usually have a numb and painful hand by the time I get back to the car.

I came across some market bags on Ravelry (don'tcha just love that place?!!) and found one that I liked. It's called Market Bag by Lily Sugar 'n Cream and Bernat Design Studio. It's a free download at their website. Ravelry has posted you need to be a member to download it, but I am not logged in, and could still download the pattern.

I'm using Peaches 'n Cream 1-pound cone in #159 Pink Lilacs colorway and am about 1/3 of the way done. It's an easy pattern and I'm hoping it will perform the way I want it to. I chose this over other mesh bags that were on Ravelry, because of the solid bottom. I thought it would help keep smaller things from falling/poking through the bottom. I also like that the sides expand and fit around the items that you put in the bag. Just not sure if it will be wide enough to get things like cabbages, etc. in. I guess I'll find out when it's finished and being used.

Superbowl Recipes

It's coming up on Superbowl Sunday, so now is the time to start looking for a good recipe or two to snack on while you watch the commercials game. Both of these have been deemed game worthy, so I thought I'd share. The first is a simple dip that is made with items you may already have on your pantry shelf or in your fridge. The second will take a trip to the store to pick up some fresh produce.

Chicken Ranch Spread

1 pound of cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 - 12.5 oz can chicken breast (drained)
2 Tbsp. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Chill. Serve with chips, crackers, etc.
Note: The above recipe is the original list of ingredients. I found that it was quite stiff and could use something like sour cream, ranch dressing, mayo, etc. to loosen it up if you would prefer to use it more like a dip. The flavor is decent and hubby loves it with multi grain crackers.

Mango Salsa

2 ripe mangos
2 medium avocados
1 medium bell pepper (yellow, red, etc. Not green), diced
1/4-1/3 cup finely diced red onion
1 lime
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)

Peel and dice the mangos and avacados. Add to bowl. Add bell pepper and onion. Roll the lime back and forth a few times on a flat surface, using the palm of your hand and pushing down firmly while rolling. This will help get more juice out of your lime. Cut then squeeze the lime over the ingredients in the bowl. Add salt. Mix all ingredients gently being careful not to mash the avocado.

This salsa is good served with tortilla chips. I love putting it on chili - the sweetness of the mango blends well with the spice of the chili!