Posted on 07/24/2009 3:37:21 AM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Weekly Roundup - Living On Nothing Edition Category: Roundups | Comments(15)
Did you hear about the guy that lives on nothing? No seriously, he lives on zero dollars a day. Meet Daniel Suelo, who lives in a cave outside Moab, Utah. Suelo has no mortgage, no car payment, no debt of any kind. He also has no home, no car, no television, and absolutely no “creature comforts.” But he does have a lot of creatures, as in the mice and bugs that scurry about the cave floor he’s called home for the last three years.
To us, Suelo probably sounds a little extreme. Actually, he probably sounds very extreme. After all, I suspect most of you reading this are doing so under the protection of some sort of man-made shelter, and with some amount of money on your person, and probably a few needs for money, too. And who doesn’t need money unless they have completely unplugged from the grid? Still, it’s an amusing story about a guy who rejects all forms of consumerism as we know it.
The Frugal Roundup
How to Brew Your Own Beer and Maybe Save Some Money. A fantastic introduction to home brewing, something I’ve never done myself, but always been interested in trying. (@Generation X Finance)
Contentment: A Great Financial Principle. If I had to name one required emotion for living a frugal lifestyle it would be contentment. Once you are content with your belongings and your lot in life you can ignore forces attempting to separate you from your money. (@Personal Finance by the Book)
Use Energy Star Appliances to Save On Utility Costs. I enjoyed this post because it included actual numbers, and actual total savings, from someone who upgraded to new, energy star appliances. (@The Digerati Life)
Over-Saving for Retirement? Is it possible to “over-save” for retirement? Yes, I think so. At some point I like the idea of putting some money aside in taxable investments outside of retirement funds, to be accessed prior to traditional retirement age. (@The Simple Dollar)
40 Things to Teach My Kids Before They Leave Home. A great list of both practical and philosophical lessons to teach your kids before they reach the age where they know everything. I think that now happens around 13 years-old. (@My Supercharged Life)
Index Fund Investing Overview. If you are looking for a place to invest with high diversification and relatively low fees (for broader index funds with low turnover), index funds are a great place to start. (@Money Smart Life)
5 Reasons To Line Dry Your Laundry. My wife and I may soon be installing a clothesline in our backyard. In many neighborhoods they are frowned upon - one of the reasons I don’t like living in a neighborhood. I digress. One of our neighbors recently put up a clothesline, and we might just follow his lead. (@Simple Mom)
A Few Others I Enjoyed
* 4 Quick Tips for Getting Out of a Rut * Young and Cash Rich * Embracing Simple Style * First Trading Experience With OptionsHouse * The Exponential Power of Delayed Consumption * How Much Emergency Fund is Enough? * 50 Questions that Will Free Your Mind * Save Money On Car Insurance
Has anyone started a prayer thread for granny?
Thank you :)
Ruth’s a special lady Her knowledge in so many areas always amazes me. I was lucky to be part of the threads she participated in for the last 9 years.
HUGS AND PRAYERS, GRANNY,
Thanks for all you’ve done for so many.
Health and wholeness to you . . . and peace regardless.
HUGS AND PRAYERS, GRANNY,
AND GRANNY . . . . FORGIVENESS TO ALL . . . REGARDLESS.
FOR YOU.
Granny, love you and miss you. Joya
Topamax (topiramate): Label Change - Risk For Development of Cleft Lip and/or Cleft Palate in Newborns
Available as generic topiramate
AUDIENCE: Neurology, OB/GYN
ISSUE: FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients of an increased risk of development of cleft lip and/or cleft palate (oral clefts) in infants born to women treated with Topamax (topiramate) during pregnancy. Because of new human data that show an increased risk for oral clefts, topiramate is being placed in Pregnancy Category D. Pregnancy Category D means there is positive evidence of human fetal risk based on human data but the potential benefits from use of the drug in pregnant women may be acceptable in certain situations despite its risks. The patient medication guide and prescribing information for Topamax and generic topiramate will be updated with the new information.
BACKGROUND: Topiramate is an anticonvulsant medication approved for use alone or with other medications to treat patients with epilepsy who have certain types of seizures. Topiramate is also approved for use to prevent migraine headaches. The new data was from the North American Antiepileptic Drug (NAAED) Pregnancy Registry.
RECOMMENDATION: Before starting topiramate, pregnant women and women of childbearing potential should discuss other treatment options with their health care professional. Women taking topiramate should tell their health care professional immediately if they are planning to or become pregnant. Patients taking topiramate should not stop taking it unless told to do so by their health care professional. Women who become pregnant while taking topiramate should talk to their health care professional about registering with the North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry, a group that collects information about outcomes in infants born to women treated with antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy.
See Drug Safety Communication for additional information, including a data summary and recommendations for healthcare professionals and patients.
Read the MedWatch safety alert, including links to the Drug Safety Communication, Q&As, and FDA News Release, at:
Tell us how we are doing:
Unapproved Cough, Cold, Allergy Products: FDA Prompts Removal From Market
AUDIENCE: Consumer, Family Practice, Pharmacy
ISSUE: FDA announced that it intends to remove certain unapproved prescription cough, cold, and allergy drug products from the U.S. market. Unapproved prescription cough, cold, and allergy drug products have not been evaluated by the FDA for safety, effectiveness, and quality. People may be at greater risk when using these products than when using FDA-approved prescription drugs or drugs that are appropriately marketed over-the-counter (OTC).
Many health care providers are unaware of the unapproved status of drugs and have continued to unknowingly prescribe them because the drugs’ labels do not disclose that they lack FDA approval.
BACKGROUND: Cough, cold, and allergy drug products are used to relieve symptoms associated with the common cold or upper respiratory allergies. These symptoms may include coughing, chest congestion, nasal congestion, itchy eyes, and sneezing. Some cough, cold, and allergy products may be purchased over the counter (OTC), while others require a prescription. See link below for a list of the unapproved prescription cough, cold, and allergy drug products FDA intends to remove from the market.
RECOMMENDATION: Consumers who believe they are taking an unapproved prescription cough, cold, or allergy product should contact their health care provider to discuss alternatives.
Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events, side effects, or product quality problems related to the use of these products to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:
* Complete and submit the report Online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm
* Download form or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178
Read the MedWatch safety alert, including links to the News Release, Q&As, and List of Unapproved Prescription Cough, Cold, and Allergy Products at:
WELCOME BACK!!!!!
How are you feeling?
How wonderful to see you posting again. Please don’t overdo it. We love you and miss you.
Thought for the Day
Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bear bad fruit — and each
of us is a gardener.
NancyLand Online Recipes
http://www.nancyskitchen.com/2011Recipes/Mar/05.html
Jello Salads and Dessert Recipes
http://whatscookin.proboards4.com/index.cgi?board=Jello
Recipe Message Board
http://whatscookin.proboards4.com/
Chocolate Recipes
http://www.nancyskitchen.com/chocolate_recipes.htm
Great post on making cheese.
I’ve made ricotta and it was easy and turned out well. So, I’m looking forward to trying some more of these recipes.
OMG, am I seeing things?????
Granny, you don’t know how wonderful it is to see a post form you!
I wanted to post my FAVORITE 100% whole wheat bread recipe, in honor of granny’s return.
I got this recipe from her years ago - when I first started collecting (would that be hoarding?) wheatberries for long-term storage and figured I should learn what to do with the darned things.
Well, grinding the berries and making bread from them turned into one of my favorite hobbies. And this recipe has never failed me, even though it is 100% whole wheat flour. The key is patience - give it plenty of time to develop flavor and to rise.
100% Whole Wheat Bread
The key to really great 100% whole wheat bread is to extract the best flavors from the whole wheat and temper the harsh tones that sometimes accompany whole wheat flour. Good whole wheat bread has an almost nutty taste without a bitter aftertaste. A long fermentation gives the yeast a chance to produce its own flavors and convert the starch to sugar. By refrigerating the dough overnight, you can make excellent 100% whole wheat bread.
This is one of our favorite bread recipes. yeasts perform differently at low temperatures. In this recipe, the dough is mixed the day before and refrigerated. The acids and enzymes produced by the yeast at lower temperatures temper the harshness of the whole wheat and develop wonderfully complex bread flavors. It’s no more work than other recipes; you just mix the dough the day before.
Bakers note: This bread should be very light and fluffy, not dense. The secret of making it so is to make sure that the dough rises fully both in the first rise and in the pans. The dough will fill two 5 x 9-inch loaf pans and should be very soft and puffy before baking. If you let it over-rise, you may see a blister or two in the dough. Poke the blisters with the point of a knife and hurry the bread into the hot oven.
Ingredients
5 to 6 cups fine-ground whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat gluten (optional)
1 teaspoon dough conditioner
1 seven gram packet of instant yeast (or two teaspoons)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted and slightly cooled butter
Directions
1. Place about three cups of the flour in the bowl of your stand-type mixer. Add the yeast. Carefully measure 2 cups room temperature (80 degrees) water. The water should feel cool to the touch. Mix the water with the flour with a dough hook for 30 seconds or until the yeast is dissolved and the ingredients begin to combine.
2. Add the salt, sugar, and butter and continue mixing. Add most of the remaining flour, the wheat gluten, and dough conditioner and continue mixing at a medium speed for at least four minutes adding more flour as needed to reach a soft dough consistency. (It is important that the dough be mixed for at least four minutes to develop the gluten.) The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but will be soft, not firm, to the touch.
3. Once the dough is mixed, place it in a large greased bowl, turning once to coat both sides, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or for up to three days.
4. On the day that you would like to bake your bread, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature—about three hours. The dough should rise to nearly double in size.
5. Once the dough has risen, form the loaves. Coat your hands with flour and gently form a loaf by pulling the dough around itself to create a slightly stretched skin. You may need to coat your hands several times if the dough is sticky. If necessary, pinch the seams together on the bottom of the loaf. Lay the loaf gently in a well-greased loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with the second loaf. Let double again in size, about 11/2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the dough has doubled (the loaf should be very puffy), place the two loaves on a shelf in the top half of the oven, well-spaced so that air can circulate between the loaves. Bake for thirty minutes or until done. The interior of the loaves should register at least 185 degrees when an insta-read thermometer is inserted through the bottom crust. Remove the bread from the pans and cool on wire racks. Let it cool completely before cutting.
That definitely calls for Irish Soda Bread. A couple of weeks ago, I had been reading up on some of the original recipes for it, and had to try a batch, but wanted to make it as close to authentic as possible.
Oldest published Irish Soda Bread recipe found to date NOV 1836 Farmer's Magazine (London) p.328 referencing Irish newspaper in County Down.
A correspondent of the Newry Telegraph gives the following receipt for making " soda bread," stating that "there is no bread to be had equal to it for invigorating the body, promoting digestion, strengthening the stomach, and improving the state of the bowels." He says, "put a pound and a half of good wheaten meal into a large bowl, mix with it two teaspoonfuls of finely-powdered salt, then take a large teaspoonful of super-carbonate of soda,% dissolve it in half a teacupful of cold water, and add it to the meal; rub up all intimately together, then pour into the bowl as much very sour buttermilk as will make the whole into soft dough (it should be as soft as could possibly be handled, and the softer the better,) form it into a cake of about an inch thickness, and put it into a flat Dutch oven or frying-pan, with some metallic cover, such as an oven-lid or griddle, apply a moderate heat underneath for twenty minutes, then lay some clear live coals upon the lid, and keep it so for half an hour longer (the under heat being allowed to fall off gradually for the last fifteen minutes,) taking off the cover occasionally to see that it does not burn.
The basic soda bread is made with flour, baking soda, salt, and soured milk (or buttermilk). That's it!
Purists are quick to tell you that if your "soda bread" has raisins, it's not "soda bread! It's called "Spotted Dog" or "Railway Cake"! If it contains raisins, eggs, baking powder, sugar or shortening, it's called "cake", not "bread." All are tasty, but not traditional Irish Soda Bread!
Researching other sites added more insight - they don't use flour - notice it is 'meal' a coarse grind - also, they used a soft wheat rather than the hard red high gluten wheat. One reason many don't like it is because they use too much baking soda, thereby causing that metalic after-taste.
Normally it is made as either brown or white - the differentiation comes from the amount of bran left in the meal. I tried both - broke out my trusty (and cheap) Victoria mill ($29). Using some of the soft winter wheat I had grown, made the first grind more to crack the wheat than grind it, then adjusted tighter and made a second pass. After the second pass is where I sieve it to remove most of the bran using a screen colander for the white bread. Then, I run it back through one more time at an even tighter setting, resulting in a fine meal texture.
You can bake it on a baking sheet, or in a dutch oven - but traditionally you need to cut a cross, going all the way through the dough. This is not as a religious significance, but to create 'farls' - this not only aids in the expansion of the dough as it bakes, but serves to divide in into quarters to serve at the table.
Typically it was baked daily. Oh, one more thing, eat freshly baked, because as it cools, you need to wrap it in a damp towel - unless you like gnawing on rocks.
The recipe I used was:
450 g / 1 lb / 3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Between 200-300 ml / 8-10 fluid ounces buttermilk, sour / soured milk
You need to mix it very moist (as moist as you can)
bake for 45 minutes at 400-450° F Starting at 450° for the first 10 minutes, then lowering to 400° for the balance of the time.
The white variety was our favorite, and we will be having it on the 17th along with other traditional items...
If like me, you aren't Irish, remember for that one day, everyone is Irish... LOL Enjoy.
I have made some great tasting cheeses, but never seemed to get my cheddaring right (Swiss didn’t turn out too well - but I have trouble being patient enough - LOL)
Farmer’s cheese was probably the most popular with us, and wife loved the cottage cheese which was super easy...
As you may have heard, Jim Robinson went for a checkup last week and was admitted to the hospital...
Thought you might like to see his latest post today:
Here’s testimony from an article Amy sent me today that describes another man’s experience with honey:
“My Dad suffered from a deep decubitus ulcer on the back of his lower right leg. He is not diabetic. The tendon was exposed and the drainage was very heavy. The leg and foot were very red. Due to the massive exudate and his existing venous stasis condition, the foot below quickly became extremely macerated. Conventional treatment could not stop the drainage and therefore, could not start the healing process. That’s when I recommended the use of Wound Honey. After three months of twice daily saline cleanses and applications of Wound Honey, the foot is completely healed. Drainage stopped after the first two days. The redness in the lower extremity was replaced by a healthy pink tone. Granulation tissue was observed soon after the drainage stopped and wound healing progressed until all were fully closed. The Podiatrists caring for my Dad are amazed. A million thanks to this product for helping an 84-year old, WWll veteran and war hero.”
— 84-year old, WWll veteran
https://www.woundhoney.com/woundhoney-testimonials_a/133.htm
There is hope!
Thank God!
And thank you all very much for your prayers and encouragement!
More info at:
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:jimrobinson/index?brevity=full;tab=comments
That Wound Honey is honey from Tea Oil Trees which is a healer on its own.
I knew in my heart I would live to see you post once again! Praise the Lord!
I'll be making a trip to the coast next week and will give that update on the Gulch I've been meaning to send you.
Here's Praying you are feeling much better and can smile when you awaken each morning!
thx for the recipe.
So that explains why mine always turned out like rocks! I’ll do the damp towel thing this year and see if anyone eats it. In years past, it’s always been a dismal failure.
The towel works, but it is sure best right out of the oven - particularly if you do it covered in a Dutch oven, as it steam bakes by holding the moisture in.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.