Tasty Tuesday

             Summer is early, and at this rate, it won't be easy! So, I'm digging out all my summer treats and lighter meal recipes, when the temps soar, the last thing you want or need is a heavy meal, but a cool treat is always welcomed!  This is also a great way to use up your winter stash of hot cocoa! Very easy and VERY good!

Frozen Hot Chocolate

3 oz. good chocolate
2 T. store bought hot cocoa mix or homemade
1/2 T. sugar
1 1/2 c. milk
3 c. ice
whipped cream
chocolate shavings or sprinkles ( live it up)
Chop chocolate into small pieces and melt in a small saucepan till melted. Add cocoa mix and sugar, stirring well till blended. Remove from heat and add 1/2 c. milk, stirring well. Cool to room temperature.  In a blender place remaining milk, the cooled chocolate mixture and ice. Blend on high till smooth, should resemble a frozen drink. Pour into a tall glass or large mug, top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings or sprinkles. Makes one large serving.

      I highly recommend using only good chocolate, you can even mix it up and use more than one for a richer taste, either way, this is a nice treat so keep these ingredients on hand, and live it up! Happy June! :)

Natural Laundry Soap

            Have you ever thought thought about making your own laundry soap? I sure have, and so many bloggers already do and have raved about their efforts, so when this recipe came my way, I really got excited about making it because it only has 5 ingredients and they are all natural.  I especially love the idea of scenting it with my favorite essential oils, like lavender or rosemary for starters! This recipe comes from Bonzaiaphrodite, be sure to check out her website full of other great info.

Homemade Laundry Soap

Recipe:

1 1/4 cups white vinegar

1 cup baking soda

1 cup washing soda

1 cup borax

1/4 cup liquid castile soap

Mix in a large, non-metal bowl. I re-used (and decorated!) my previous soap tub, which worked great.  Start with the vinegar and continuously stir as you add each powder.  Try to stir out and break up any clumps.  Finish with the liquid soap.  It will seem wet, like a thick paste, but keep stirring and it will begin to flake and crumble into a moist ‘powdered detergent’.  KEEP STIRRING! If you quit too early, you’ll find a very hard mass the next time you go to use it. So use them biceps and stir it to completion. You’ll end up with a sort of soft clumpy cake-y ‘loaf’, that will easily crumble off for use.

If you use plain non-scented castile soap, you may add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.

Store in a lidded container and use about 1/4 cup per load.

Junk=Treasures

I'm a thrifty kind of girl, and I'm not shy to say so! Give me a few bucks and watch me turn some junk into something useful and fun, mostly at the surprise of many, and I think that is half the fun! lol I may not use my treasures right away, but once a idea comes to mind, I run with it and these two photos are proof of that! The chalkboard was once a park sign, now, before you turn me in for harboring public property, it was left here when we bought the place, I think the former owners used it as dart board? lol  So, I turned it over and painted it with chalkboard paint, now if your a loyal fan of CP, you might recognize it from the kids playroom where it started out, but since I re-did that room and the kids didn't use it much anymore, I put it outside our back door on the deck, where it's pretty much protected under the eves. Now, I have a fun place to greet guests and each season in bright colors and sayings! Hubby made the little bench many moons ago and all the other treasures here were either thrift store of flea market finds. 

           This big spool was a freebie for the hauling, we usually use it as a extra serving table at gatherings, but I wanted a bird station close to the deck for easy viewing, so I  re- purposed the tall birdfeeder and for only $2 each at Walmart, surrounded it with colorful pots that remind me of Fiesta Ware for outside! The birds love it, and I can change out the annuals each year, according to sales, of course!
   So, don't let your outside space go to waste, liven it up with some summer color, and new found treasures!

Tasty Tuesday

            Summer is soon, I can feel it and have already tasted it, just had too!  My Internet was down for 24 hours due to the storms that hit Joplin then here, were all safe and very thankful! I had family over for dinner last night and really wanted to try this recipe, but I couldn't access it without the Internet, so I did it my way! lol  I'll go ahead and share the recipe I still want to make but my version was very tasty too! All I did was get a lemon cake mix and instead of adding the water per directions, I used frozen lemonade concentrate, it was tangy, will make you pucker a little but it was a hit! I frosted it with cream cheese icing.

Lemonade Layer Cake

Cake:

• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 3 tablespoons thawed lemonade concentrate
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free buttermilk
• Cooking spray
• Frosting:
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 2 teaspoons thawed lemonade concentrate
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.
• Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.
• To prepare frosting, place 2 tablespoons butter and the next 4 ingredients (2 tablespoons butter through cream cheese) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat). Chill 1 hour.
• Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Cooking Light 
APRIL 2002

          And if you'd rather have a cool summer pie, this lemonade pie is easy, rich and cold!
Lemonade Pie
1 sm. can frozen lemonade, thawed
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. cool whip
1 graham cracker pie shell
Combine first 3 ingredients and blend well. Pour into the graham cracker pie shell and chill or freeze.  Once ready to serve, top with remaining cool whip and serve.

       Please keep Joplin in your prayers, this one was too close to home, 3 hours from us, I guess that's why I'm so heart broken over this disaster? I feel so bad for them all, it's just so unreal! It got pretty scary here too but no complaints, only gratitude!

Herbsteading 101/ Drying Herbs

                Drying your herbs has to be the easiest chore to this "make your own" lesson group, and keep in mind, I use this easy method for drying flowers too, did I say how easy it is?  A proper dried herb will keep most of it's original color, aroma and value. Wash the herbs only if they really need it, and make sure they are properly dried before hanging.  Simply tie a bunch with a rubber band and hang up side down in a well ventilated place making sure the air flow can evenly dry the bunch. A ideal place could be a barn, attic, kitchen or garden shed. Drying time varies between each herb, but for the most part, leafy herbs used as spice should be brittle enough to break with your fingers but not so much as to crumble. Roots and barks take longer and should really be dried differently. This post is mainly geared towards leafy herbs and flowers, as that is what I use most.  The end product should smell, look and taste pretty much like fresh. Store in clean, dry and  air tight, glass jars for longest shelf life, and keep in a dry, dark and cool place. Be sure to label each jar so you know what it is.
 
       Other methods include drying racks, rooms and dehydrators, all of which should come with or can be found directions for best use. There is also a microwave method, but I haven't tested it, but would like to, to compare. If you prefer fresh, and many do, stock up on ice cube trays and freeze them for easy access and storage. Any way you do it, drying your home grown herbs is easy and so much better tasting than store bought, which can remain on store shelves for up to a year before being bought, just herb for thought!

Tasty Tuesday

           Do you bake year round? If your like me, some summer days are just too hot to have a oven on but then again, some things are worth sweating over, like cobblers! My family prefer cobblers over cake but since I'm the baker, I have the upper hand, I do cave from time to time and give them what they want, especially when seasonal fruits can be bought by the bussel. I love cobblers too, don't get me wrong, but cake rules in my kitchen! Now, that we've settled that, let's get back to this post! Cobblers are handy because you can use any fruit, fresh or frozen.  This easy recipe will please all cobbler lovers.

Fruit Cobbler

2 1/2 c. fruit
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
1/2 c. butter, melted
For topping: Stir together flour, b. powder and milk. Stir in melted butter and mix well. Spread in lightly greased 8 in. pan.
Berry Mixture: Combine fruit and sugar and mix well.  Spoon over batter and bake for 45-55 min. in a 350 oven. Top with ice cream and enjoy!

Pinterest

            Have you heard about Pinterest yet? I hadn't till a fellow blogger turned me onto this wonderful site, that can be and has become addicting, just a little! It's really neat, and kinda hard to explain, so I'm calling it my magic carpet ride! At Pinterest you can collect pin boards of all your favorites things, even food! Friends can follow you as you collect and share your finds and you can do the same to others, all over the world! I'm really surprised all this is free! Take the photo above, it's from Pinterest where I have been searching and a little drooling over garden sheds, since we are planning to build one soon. I have a whole board with these cute and cleaver sheds pinned, as they call it, for my records and yours if you so choose to follow me.  I've already found a few bloggers I know there, so I'm not the first to share this magic land with you, so come join us and together we can pin all sorts of fun, cleaver and yummy things. Look me up if you join, you won't be sorry, I promise!

Herbsteading 101/ Infused Vinegars

               I must confess,  I don't use vinegar in my cooking alot, hardly ever but I do use alot of it in my home as a cleaner. I don't mind the smell of vinegar but others do, so I like to flavor the vinegar with citirs  peels. I also try to drink a little apple cider vinegar each day, this old time remedy is the hardest but hidden in some orange juice helps it to go down a bit better. Apple cider vinegar, organic is best, is so good for your body, and I do feel better after I kick it back! lol

          I use white vinegar when I'm making my scented cleaners. This is so easy, you will wonder why you didn't do it before. You can use lemons, oranges or grapefruit, pick a couple that are firm and sweet smelling, peel and place the rinds in the bottom of a quart size mason jar, fill with white vinegar and set aside for about a month, give it a shake now and then.  My favorite is orange, mainly because we eat the most of them and I love the smell! Once your month is up, strain into a spray bottle and use! It's that easy and you've just created your own natural cleaner that is safe on anything from chrome to marble! Plus, you've saved a bundle and the planet, now doesn't that make you feel better! lol  It's all about simple ways to keep our home safe for us and with the high cost of food and gas, every little way to do so counts!

Tasty Tuesday

             Keeping it simple today, I have a flat of flowers to plant before it rains! I've already shared the recipe for cake mix muffins, which are my favorites, so today, I'm sharing the recipe for cake mix cookies, another favorite! These are so simple and so good, and I love that you can make all kinds just by the flavor of the cake, plus you can add raisins, chocolate chips and icing, oh ya, some deserve icing!

Cake Mix Cookies

1 boxed cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil ( I use canola)
Combine all ingredients well, add extras like raisins or chocolate chips now and blend again. Form into balls, flatten with fork and bake for 12-15 min. in a 350 oven. Ice or not.

      I love these because they are handy for large crowds, they stay moist and keep well. So, the next time you need a small gift, bake up a batch, store in a pretty container and make someones day extra nice! Ok, I'm off to play with my plants! A favorite greenhouse was having a sale, so I made out like a bandit! Enjoy!

Herbsteading 101/Salve Making

                I'm growing extra herbs this year for salve making then soap making, so since I already know how to make salves, here is lesson 2 in my herbsteading lessons.  Salves are magical. There's a salve for every skin aliment known to man, and then some. First, you need to decide what you want your salve for? A rash, insect bite, or just rough skin? For your first batch, let's go with all purpose itch, with summer soon upon us, you will be using this alot.  The basic formula is simple: 1 part oil to 5 parts beeswax. If you made the herbal oils from my first lesson, you can use it here instead of adding the herbs to your carrier oil.  As with the herbal oils, your carrier oil can be any good natural oil, some favorites are sunflower and  grape seed and most of all olive oil, extra virgin is best. Do not use vegetable oils. I prefer olive oil.  If using fresh herbs, wash well and make sure they are completely dry, remember, water and oil don't mix. For this recipe, were using Plantain, which can be bought or harvested from the wild. If you are using your herbal oil, you are set to begin. If not, you will need to infuse your herbs in the oil. To do this, a old crock pot works best, simmer herbs and oil on low for at least 3 hours if you plan to make your salve the same day. If you are planning ahead, you can make up batches of infused oils to have ready for salve making. Drain oil over cheesecloth and store in airtight container until salve making time. If you don't mind the herb to be loose in the salve, chop fine.

      Once your oil is ready, you will need the beeswax. I get mine at the farmer's market from a local beekeeper, who sells it reasonable. Any good health food store will carry it too. You will need 5 parts, which means if you are using 1 cup herb oil, you will need 5 cups beeswax, which will make a lot, I would advise you to start with smaller portions.  Keep in mind, you will need containers for your salve. I like using baby food jars. In a large metal pot, warm oil and beeswax till just melted, use a wooden spoon that can be kept for this purpose only. A good rule of thumb is to add the contents from one vitamin E capsule to each batch for good measure, since vitamin E is very beneficial and soothing. Remove from heat once the mixture is warmed well. At this point you can add a few drops of essential oil of your choice, used more for scent so choose a nice smelling oil. I mainly use lavender in mine but if you want a extra healing agent, add a few drops of Tea Tree oil instead. Blend well. To test for thickness, drop a spoon onto wax paper to set, allow to cool. If you'd like it harder, add more beeswax and if you'd like it thinner, add more oil. Once you got it the way you want it, pour remaining salve into clean jars and allow to cool.

      This recipe is wonderful for insect bites, heat or diaper rash. A soothing balm that will also nourish the skin as it heals. The hardest part of this whole lesson was finding enough jars, you can buy them online if you want to get fancy or if you know someone with a baby, have them save you all the baby food jars. Thats what I did, it took awhile but they were free. The major benifit from making salves yourself, is you can custom  make them, experiment with different herbs and essential oils to find your favorites. Salves are a natural balm that attacks the skin right away to heal, and making your own is a satisfying feeling.

Herbsteading 101/ Herbal oils

            I'm not sure herbsteading is even a real word, spell check is having a fit, but it's perfect for my next endeavor: a herb farm! We have 2 acres on top of a hill with alot of sun, we've always wanted to do something on the side that would bring in a little extra income, plus this would cut down on the mowing alot since I plan to turn most of the yard into herb beds, perfect! This is in the planning stages now, a infant of a dream but one that can be easily turned into reality. 

     Herbs are easy to grow, most are drought friendly and grow like weeds! I've had this passion for herbs for 2 decades now, and I'm not getting any younger, so it's now or never! With little overhead to get started, this just makes sense. Labor will be the biggest issue but by starting now, I hope to plant the beds next spring. I'm preparing the beds by marking them, covering them so the grass will die back and by adding the lasagna method over the next 3 seasons, the beds should be ready next spring. 

     With all the excitement, I can't wait to play with herbs and have such a positive response to herbal crafts that I'm going to learn to make soap this year, using my own herbs and flowers. I've aways wanted to learn so now is the time. I have already made my own herbal oils and salves, which I love to make and give as gifts. I've had a peek interest in this subject so I thought I'd share how easy it is to make your own herbal oils, the first in herbsteading lessons.

Herbal Oils 101

Oil infusions are made my simply adding herbs to oil and allowing the sun to slowly blend the two. Start by filling a quart size mason jar 1/3 full with your herb of choice, pick one you will use in your cooking or salve making, the next lesson here. A popular choice would be rosemary, great for grilling too! Fresh is always better but with this herb, you can get away with using dried. Fill jar with olive oil. I buy mine at the dollar store and usually stock up at that price. Place jar in a sunny window, shaking once a day for about 2 weeks. To use the oil, strain with cheesecloth as needed and refill as needed also.  Another method is by placing ingredients in a small or old crockpot and allow to simmer all day on low. Both ways work well and once you have your oil ready to use, salve making can begin.

     Stayed tuned to salve making 101 next,  and follow us along on our herbsteading journey, I just know this will be beneficial to us and many others who enjoy herbs and lessons learned from them. May the power be with you! :)

Tasty Tuesday

              My blog is beginning to resemble a food blog, I need to post between Tuesdays so you all don't get bored, but then again, learning new recipes is never boring, not for me anyway! But I will try my best to post other things in between.  I'm switching things up this week, thinking ahead a little to canning season. I'm itching to get the garden in, but so glad we haven't, it would of been flooded like so many did, so till I can play in the dirt, I'll gather my canning recipes and keep them handy.

      Cucumbers has to be one of the easiest things to grow and nothing tastes as good as a homemade pickle or relish. I can both and am always looking for a better recipe or way. My mother in law turned me onto refridgerator pickles and  I was quickly hooked! These are great for those super hot summer days when you really don't want to heat the house up over cukes, but you have to do something with them. This method requires no canning! Yes, you heard me right, no canning, no mess, no hot house! And for that reason alone, I use this recipe alot!

Refriderator Pickles

1 c. water
1 c. white vinegar
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. sea salt
1 pd. baby cucumbers, quartered lenghwise
6 garlic cloves
2 t. black peppercorns
2 large dill heads
In a small saucepan over med. heat, combine water, vinegar, sugar and salt and bring to a boil. Stir till sugar has dissolved. Let cool to room temp. Divide cucumbers spears, garlic, peppercorns and dill between 2 sterilized pint jars. Pour cooled vinegar mix over contents in each jar. Seal with lids and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before using. Can be kept in refrigerator for up to 1 year. Recipe can be doubled.

      This method is also cheaper on the electric bill, always a plus! Now, you are ready to harvest your cukes and make homemade pickles the easy way!