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
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/7-12-6/62677.html
Christmas Pudding
By Bridget Harris
Epoch Times Ireland Staff
Dec 06, 2007
Master baker John Pimblett shows off one of his award-winning Christmas puddings at his bakery in St. Helens, England. Christmas pudding is a rich dessert that is traditionally made several weeks before Christmas to enhance the flavour before being served on Christmas day. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Master baker John Pimblett shows off one of his award-winning Christmas puddings at his bakery in St. Helens, England. Christmas pudding is a rich dessert that is traditionally made several weeks before Christmas to enhance the flavour before being served on Christmas day. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Making the Christmas pudding is an event that children like to be involved in. They like to help with the mixing, and I can assure you there is plenty of mixing to do. It happens only once a year so it is worthwhile having a go.
The following ingredients will make two family puddings. Divide the amounts in two if you would like to make only one pudding.
Recipe
225 g shredded suet
225 g white breadcrumbs
100 g self-raising flour
400 g brown sugar
575 g currants
225 g sultanas
225 g raisins
50 g mixed peel
50 g blanched and diced almonds (soak the almonds in boiling water so that the skins come off easily and cut them into small pieces)
1 dessert apple peeled and diced
1 small carrot peeled and diced
Shredded rind of 1 lemon and 1 orange
5 eggs, well beaten
10 ml (2 level tsp) mixed spice
2 ml (half a level tsp) cinnamon
5ml (1 level tsp) nutmeg
1 small bottle of stout
Small measure of rum
Place the suet, flour, bread crumbs, spices, and sugar into a bowl and mix well. Add the raisins, currents, sultanas, almonds, mixed-peel, and again stir well. Now add the diced apple, diced carrot, and orange and lemon rind.
In another bowl whisk the eggs and add the rum plus about 250 ml of stout. Pour into the first bowl and mix everything together. Test if the mixture is sufficiently moist by lifting some up on a large spoon and tapping the spoon against the side of the bowl. If it falls easily from the spoon, the mixture is sufficiently moist. If not, add some more stout and try again.
Leave to settle for over six hours or overnight.
Grease two pudding basins each of one litre capacity; you may have sufficient mixture left to fill one more basin. Cover each basin with grease-proof paper or a cloth. Secure the covers with string or twine.
Steam for about six hours. When cooked, remove the covers, and when cool, recover them as before.
On Christmas day just before serving steam the pudding for at least one hour.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/7-11-25/62285.html
Lemon Verbena
By Myrna Mack and Rebecca Hunnisett
Epoch Times Australia Staff
Nov 25, 2007
Lemon verbena has the most intense lemon-like smell of all the lemon-scented herbs – you just need to gently rub the leaves to release their fragrant, captivating aroma.
The plant is native to Chile and Argentina, and was introduced to Europe in the 1790s. It is sometimes called “herb Louisa” (the biological name is Aloysia triphylla ). Some say it was named after Maria Luisa, wife of Carlos IV of Spain, although others attribute the name to Marie Louise, empress of France.
The leaves have a very strong taste and potent fragrance, so use them with discretion. It is a great addition to fish and poultry dishes, vegetable marinades, salad dressings, jams, puddings and beverages. Chop the fresh leaves very finely since they are quite tough. Crumble dried leaves finely and add to the batter of carrot cake or banana bread.
The dried leaves retain their lemon scent for a long time, which makes them ideal for potpourri and herb sachets. You can dry the leaves yourself in the oven by placing on baking trays lined with parchment paper and leaving in the oven for 2-3 hours at the lowest setting. The dried leaves make an excellent tea, particularly if blended with mint.
Lemon verbena has several therapeutic properties and a lemon verbena herbal tea can help with digestion, reducing fevers and relaxation. It has a mild sedative effect and is said to be good for relieving flatulence.
The herb is easy to grow and loves full sun - in a warm climate it can grow to 4m high. It also makes a good pot plant, although make sure you shelter it in winter or move it inside since it won’t tolerate prolonged frost or cold.
It may drop its leaves if moved inside, but should grow them again if the soil is kept fairly dry.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/7-11-15/61942.html
Purslane—Little Pigweed
By Myrna Mack
Epoch Times Australia Staff
Nov 15, 2007
(Myrna Mack/The Epoch Times)
(Myrna Mack/The Epoch Times)
Purslane (also known as verdolaga, pigweed, little hogweed or pusley) is an annual succulent that’s native to India and the Middle East. You can buy it in some markets, and you may even find it growing wild in your back yard.
Purslane has fleshy stalks and rosettes of green leaves and yellow flowers that open for a few hours on sunny mornings. The tiny black seeds are very nutritious and used to be ground up by Australian Aborigines and made into loaves.
The leaves have a sharp salty flavour and can be eaten either raw or cooked. Add the tender tips to a fresh salad, or steam the leaves and add them to soups, stews, and other vegetable dishes. You can make a simple salad of freshly chopped purslane leaves, diced tomato and cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, a dash of salt and some olive oil.
In Greece the leaves are cooked with eggs like a frittata or omelette. The salty flavour of the leaves also blends well with cream cheese.
Purslane contains more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant (and five times as much as spinach).
It also contains two types of betalain alkaloid pigments. Research shows that both these pigments are potent antioxidants with anti-mutagenic properties.
In Greek popular medicine, purslane is used as a remedy for constipation and inflammation of the urinary system. In North India it is used as a liver tonic and to treat diseases of the liver.
Purslane can be grown from seed in a pot in the spring. Plant it in a sunny spot with plenty of moisture and well drained soil. It is a hardy plant that can tolerate drought.
Purslane is considered an invasive weed in some countries and once it starts growing in your garden, it can be hard to get rid of. So don’t plant it unless you like to eat it - then every time you weed you can have a tasty salad!
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/7-10-31/61384.html
An Exotic Kale: Chou Moullier
Easy to grow and to prepare
By Lelie Leckie
Epoch Times Australia Staff
Oct 31, 2007
Chou Moullier is an easy-to-grow, primitive type of kale originating from the Mediterranean area which tastes like a cross between Brussels sprouts and cabbage. (Photos.com)
Chou Moullier is an easy-to-grow, primitive type of kale originating from the Mediterranean area which tastes like a cross between Brussels sprouts and cabbage. (Photos.com)
Chou (chow) Moullier (mool-ya) is a primitive type of kale originating from the Mediterranean area. Until recently, I’d never heard of it.
I’d have to admit, what first attracted me to attempt to grow this exotic-sounding green vegetable was the picture in the seed catalogue. It depicted a small child standing next to a huge cabbage-like plant. So I sent off for the inexpensive packet of seeds, popped a few (they’re really tiny) into our slightly messy vegetable patch and then forgot all about them.
Things got busy and I barely noticed our “new” arrival growing steadily. That is until a dear friend arrived, and no sooner had she parked her suitcase than she was very happily harvesting many of the Chou Moullier’s grey-green leaves. Afterwards we were served two similar-looking dishes of food; one was a plate of stuffed vine leaves, or dolmades (my friend had also discovered the grapevines in the front); the other dish was a plate of stuffed Chou Moullier leaves—delicious! Even the kids liked them.
I’d have to admit, what first attracted me to attempt to grow this exotic-sounding green vegetable was the picture in the seed catalogue.
Since then, I have felt a little ashamed of my initial rejection of the proud Chou Moullier plant—even my husband (who admitted he was about to pull “that thing” out a dozen times) has professed it is now his favorite vegetable.
We never have a shortage of greens for our table. An added bonus of Chou Moullier is that it’s packed full of Vitamin A. And although it survived without much care, it’s important to keep the soil drained and to plant it in an area with plenty of sunlight.
We mostly steam the leaves well and serve them dotted with butter and a little salt. The best way to describe the vegetable is that it tastes like a cross between Brussels sprouts and cabbage. The younger leaves are also delicious raw. Why not try your hand at planting this unusual treasure today? I guarantee it’ll at least be a talking point at your next dinner party.
Seeds for Chou Moullier are available at http://www.edenseeds.com.au
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/7-8-22/58932.html
Cumin—’Roman Caraway’
By Myrna Mack
Epoch Times Australia Staff
Aug 22, 2007
In ancient times when it was necessary to conserve foods with salt, herbs and spices were used to correct the taste of meals. Cumin, also known as “Roman caraway”, was one of these spices. Its peppery flavour also made it a much cheaper alternative to black pepper, which was expensive and hard to come by in those times.
Cumin was also used as a condiment to ripen fish and meats, especially in stews. Its nutty peppery flavour adds a distinctive taste to many dishes.
Cumin became a symbol of both frugality and greed in ancient Rome, and the old Romans phrase, “They divide everything, even cumin” was used to refer to greedy people.
The origin of cumin is unknown. Several regions—Egypt, Syria and Turkey, among others—dispute to be the cradle of this aromatic spice.
Cumin was mentioned in the Bible as both a seasoning and also as a currency used to pay tithes. In ancient Egypt, it was used as an ingredient to mummify pharaohs. During medieval times, it was favoured in Europe and Britain , but seems to have gradually lost favour in those places.
The increasing popularity of Mexican influenced foods is boosting the sale of cumin. Try adding a few teaspoons of cumin powder the next time you make chili con carne it gives the dish a distinctive flavour and blends well with the tomato and beef.
Cumin is a strong spice, so use it sparingly. It can be purchased either as seeds or powder. Where possible, buy the seeds because they will retain their flavour much longer, and can easily be ground into powder with a mortal and pestle. Toast the seeds before grinding to accentuate the flavour.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/7-8-8/58138.html
Basil—King of Herbs
By Myrna Mack
Epoch Times Australia Staff
Aug 08, 2007
(Photos.com)
(Photos.com)
Tired of the same old filling in your sandwich? Try this combination for a delicious change.
Take a few pieces of thinly sliced pumpkin and sliced leek and sauté in butter, oil or ghee. Arrange them on a slice of fresh bread, add some tomato slices (fresh or sun-dried), shredded basil leaves, baby spinach and a sprinkle of salt to taste. For extra flavour, add some mayonnaise.
The basil adds a fragrant clove-like flavour to the filling. It is a sweet, fragrant herb that complements tomato dishes particularly well.
The name “basil” comes from the Greek basileus —meaning “king”—and it is certainly considered the king of herbs by many cooks.
Fresh basil leaves complement a wide variety of foods, including eggs, fish (particularly salmon), lobster, eggplant, zucchini, capsicum and, of course, tomatoes. It is also a great addition to stews, juices and soup.
The flavour of basil is stronger in the summer when the sun increases its intensity. For the best flavour, pick the leaves just before the plant flowers as they have more oily substances that give the delicious aroma. Older leaves tend to have a sharper taste. Basil has a strong flavour so use it sparingly in cooking. It tends to lose its flavour quickly when cooked, however, so add it to dishes just before serving.
You can use basil leaves either dry or fresh, although the dried leaves have far less flavour. Store fresh leaves in a brown paper bag in the fridge and store dry leaves in a glass jar.
Herbalists often recommend basil for digestive complaints and a cup of basil tea after a meal helps aid digestion and dispels flatulence. It can also assist stomach cramps, vomiting and constipation. The herb has a slight sedative action and is sometimes recommended for headaches and anxiety.
Basil deters flies and mosquitoes, which makes it an excellent pot plant to have in your kitchen, or near the barbecue. Pick off the flowers to promote leaf growth and pinch out the top leaves as it gets taller. This will release its aroma to ward off flies and also help it grow bushier. Keep it in a sunny, sheltered position in light to sandy soil.
[Cumin, if you do not know this spice, you should, it goes with the tomato in dishes and sauces.
Use very little, until you know which dishes will take more, I also use it in soups and stews.
For me it has a story, for in the early 1960’s I was still working to be thought of as a lady, LOL, not the sharecropper that did not know you don’t make sandwiches with cold cuts at a fancy ‘Butler’ served buffet. Learned that lesson the hard way.
I had been installed as President of the Santa Maria Valley Garden Club, at Ramona, California, and then there was the district wide luncheon, of the County Presidents, imagine the lady had a home, high on a hilltop, that had rooms that would seat 40 or 50 ladies for lunch..........
She served a simple hamburger, tomato sauced macaroni dish and of course lots of salads and etc........
And I was making a pig of myself with her macaroni dish, it kept calling me back for more........and as a rule, it was not a dish that I would have added to my ‘I like’ list.
She stopped and talked to me for a minute and I asked what she had done to this simple dish........and the lady shared her secret, cumin and fennel, must always go in tomato sauce dishes, along with the other herbs/spices that you expect to be in it.
granny]
[And I just turned on the scanner, Las Vegas had a big Halloween party, some place, I heard the Sgt say that they were all in costume and there were several hundred with wounds and blood dripping down their faces, send more help.
And now the dispatcher is reporting gunshots from several locations, so much for a peaceful night in Las Vegas.
granny]
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?ctid=1745
Cold and flu remedies
Last updated: 27 Feb 2005
Cheap, healthy and easy-to-make alternatives to paracetamol and cough mixtures
Useful Links:
* National Institiute of Medical Herbalists: Infoline 01392 426 022
The links above are to third parties’ websites, the contents of which are not the responsibility of GMTV.
Garlic and Honey Syrup
* Put 10 sliced garlic cloves in a jar
* Add honey and leave for a few hours
* You can either take this syrup as it is, or add a few teaspoons to hot water.
The honey draws the juice from the garlic, which makes a healing syrup good for sore throats and chest infections.
Both the garlic and the honey are antiseptic, which will help to kill the bacteria. Garlic also has sulphur compounds which are anti microbial and help the body fight infection. Garlic can stimulate cell growth
Sage, Rosemary & Thyme Throat Gargle
* Crush all the herbs with a pestle and mortar
* Add a teaspoon of each herb to a teapot and cover with boiling water
* Allow to cool and gargle
* You can also drink this hot, with a pinch of fresh ginger - it will help to sweat out a cold
All of these herbs have antiseptic properties. Sage is used to relieve excess mucous buildup. You can also chew the fresh leaves to soothe sore throats.
Rosemary is a good decongestant and is also good at easing muscle pain.
Thyme is a powerful antiseptic and is good for bronchial problems and ginger is good for strengthening and healing the respiritory system. It also removes congestion, soothes sore throats, removes headaches and body aches.
Onion Cough Syrup
* Finely chop an onion and put it in a bowl of sugar. The sugar draws out the juice from the onion and you have a cough syrup!
The same ingredient that brings tears to your eyes gives onions their ability to fight disease. This sulphur compound also thins the blood and helps prevent dangerous clots while lowering blood pressure and possibly reducing cholesterol levels. Onions also possess the ability to kill a wide variety of germs.
And, for asthma victims, onion extract may even relieve allergy-induced bronchial constriction.
Recipes courtesy of Dee Atkinson, owneer of Napiers Herbal Dispensary
Herbal Advice Line - 0906 8020 117
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message529664/pg1
It’s from Daniel Reid’s book “The Tao of Sex, Health, and Longevity”. I found it at the site [link to www.hps-online.com]
Fair use for the purposes of discussion and I’ll put a link to the book at the end of this post:
The following suggestions for juice and raw foods for the respiratory system were given for asthma, but then were cited for bronchitis, coughs and pneumonia as well:
Horseradish and lemon juice: the potent ethers in fresh grated horseradish dissolve mucus in the sinuses and bronchial tubes quickly and effectively; mixing it with fresh lemon juice doubles its efficacy; grate fresh horseradish into a bowel, add enough fresh lemon juice to make a paste, take 1/2 tsp 2-3 times a day, as needed.
Carrot and radish juice: fresh raw radish juice is similar in effect to horseradish, but milder; it is too strong to take straight, however, and should be blended 5 oz with 11 oz carrot juice, 1 pint daily.
Cranberries: cranberries contain one of nature’s most potent vasodilators, which open up congested bronchial tubes so that normal breathing is restored; cranberries are excellent curative and preventive therapy for the entire breathing apparatus; bring fresh cranberries to boil with just enough water to cover them, simmer 2-3 minutes, pour off excess water, puree cranberries in blender, strain off skins, and keep pulp in refrigerator; when asthma or other respiratory difficulty occurs, mix 2 tbsp in a cup of warm distilled water and sip slowly.
Garlic: raw garlic contains potent ethers and enzymes that dissolve mucus in lungs and bronchial tubes and help restore normal breathing; also kills bacteria in air passages, preventing respiratory infections; 3-5 cloves daily.
Other beneficial foods: wheat germ oil; pumpkin seeds; sunflower seeds; celery juice; turnips; raw spinach.
Carrot and dandelion juice: raw dandelion juice counteracts blood acidosis and helps alkalize the entire system, with particular affinity for the lungs; 4 oz with 10 oz carrot juice, 1-2 pints daily.
Horseradish and lemon juice: same effects and dosage as for asthma.
Carrot and radish juice: same as for asthma.
Cranberries: same as for asthma.
Other beneficial foods: celery juice: raw radishes; raw spinach; whole lemon puree’ (mix in blender with cup of distilled water): watercress.
Foods to avoid: same as for asthma.
Coughs
Coughs are caused mainly by the body’s attempt to rid itself of excess toxic mucus through the lungs and bronchial tubes; the toxins irritate tender lining of throat, causing the throat to ‘cough it up’.
Cleansing-detox is the very first step towards resolving this issue followed by a rejuvenation-diet.
The below foods and juices are therapeutic and healing after your cleansing.
Pineapple: fresh ripe pineapple is rich in bromelin, a proteolytic (protein digesting enzyme); bromelin literally ‘digests’ dead and diseased cells and foreign microbes in the throat; cut pineapple into cubes, chew well, and let juice dribble down the throat, but spit out the pulp; or gargle with the freshly extracted juice of ripe pineapple, and spit it out.
Persimmons: raw, very ripe persimmons soothe sore throats and contain enzymes that break down damaged cells and foreign microbes.
Horseradish and lemon juice: for coughs and accompanied by heavy mucus congestion in lungs and sinuses; same usage as asthma
Whole lemon puree: puree a whole lemon (with skin, fiber and seeds) in blender with a cup of distilled water, and drink slowly; flavor with 1 tbsp. molasses, if desired, but no sugar; dissolves mucus, restores mucus membranes; biflavonoids in skin and fiber assist in restoring tissue integrity in respiratory system.
Other beneficial foods: carrot juice; raw radishes; cranberries (as for asthma): raw spinach, raw garlic; molasses.
Foods to avoid: pasteurized milks and all dairy products; all cooked food; all refined starch and sugar; eat nothing but raw fruit and raw vegetable juice.
Influenza
The ‘flu’ is caused primarily by the body’s vulnerability to flu germs owing to extreme toxemia of the system, which results in excessive retention of toxic wastes, which impair immunity; flu strikes hardest in winter, because in winter the body excretes wastes more slowly and people eat less fresh, raw foods; toxic tissues, mostly in the respiratory apparatus, become breeding grounds for air-born pathological bacteria.
Cleansing-detox is the very first step towards resolving this issue followed by a rejuvenation-diet.
The below foods and juices are therapeutic and healing after your cleansing.
Horseradish and lemon juice: same for asthma.
Carrot, celery, parsley, spinach juice: this blend is super-rich in potassium, which quickly reduces acidity throughout the system, thereby commencing the detoxification process required for complete cure and recovery.
This blend also contains the full range of organic minerals and other nutrients required to sustain convalescing patients, without stuffing them full of solid foods;8 oz/4 oz/2 oz/4 oz, 1-2 pints daily, taken in small doses throughout the day.
Other beneficial foods: lettuce juice; carrot and radish juice; whole lemon puree; grapefruit juice (in distilled warm water); distilled warm water.
Foods to avoid: all cooked and solid foods; pasteurized milk; coffee, tea; sweet soft drinks.
Pneumonia
Severe inflammation of lung tissues owing to vicarious elimination of highly toxic wastes through the respiratory system, which becomes infected by pathogenic bacteria as a result; due largely to excessive long-term consumption of pasteurized milk, refined starch and sugars.
At the turn of the century, Dr. J.H. Tilden of Denver, Colorado, treated thousands of cases of pneumonia using only two methods: fasting with daily colonic irrigations, and nutritional therapy; no drugs, no surgery, and he never lost a single patient!
Cleansing-detox is the very first step towards resolving this issue followed by a rejuvenation-diet.
The below foods and juices are therapeutic and healing after your cleansing.
Horseradish and lemon juice: same for asthma; provides quick relief from mucus congestion.
Carrot, celery and radish juice: dissolves mucus; alkalizes bloodstream and respiratory tract; accelerates detoxification, and thus restores natural immunity; 8 oz/5 oz/3 oz, 1 pint daily.
Carrot and spinach juice: detoxifies colon and restores normal bowel functions, thereby taking excretory load off the respiratory system; 10 oz/6 oz, 2 pints daily.
Other beneficial foods: cranberry (as for asthma); raw garlic; whole lemon puree (as for colds); molasses.
Foods to avoid: all refined starch and sugar; pasteurized milk and all dairy products; all cooked foods, especially meat and eggs.
Source: Daniel Reid.
The Tao of Sex, Health and Longevity
[link to www.amazon.com]
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message529664/pg1
Recession Proof GLP - “Plague Tonic” with apple cider vinegar and hot peppers, etc.
Quote
I made this once before and liked it, I only have half a bottle left so today I made a new batch. Here’s how I did it:
It’s supposed to be equal parts of the following,
3 onions (strongest ones)
3 heads of garlic
a lot of hot red peppers - you could use habaneros, but not me
a lot of fresh ginger root
two big horseradish roots
You chop these very fine or grate them and cover them with organic apple cider vinegar in a big glass gallon jar with a good lid. I used two quarts of Hain vinegar.
The last time I made this I chopped these things fine with a chef’s knife, except the horseradish and maybe the ginger, which I grated. I kind of couldn’t face the fumes again and thought I would use my Jack LaLanne juicer instead this time
It worked pretty darn well, but I was still overwhelmed with fumes even with all the windows open. I had to peel and quarter the onions, peel the horseradish and cut it small (kind of a dull blade in my older juicer, it was secondhand and has seen hard use), that horseradish is something else. Had to peel all the garlic.
Running that stuff through the juicer generated some awesome fumes. The tears were running down my face and I could barely open my eyes. But I’d rather run the juicer with my eyes mostly closed, than use a grater or a big sharp knife.
Anyway you take the chopped, grated items or the pulp and juice from the juicer, and put it in a big gallon size glass jar and add organic apple cider vinegar to cover it (to fill the jar is what I did).
(edited to add - I ended up getting another gallon glass jar and splitting the batch so I could add more vinegar to it, and so that there was room in the jar to shake it.)
Then you let it age for at least two weeks, but you can let it go a month. You’re supposed to shake it vigorously every day.
After that you strain it and put it in bottles. I was saving the smaller pint size vinegar bottles that I used last time. Those work better for decanting it than the big quart size bottles that are a better deal.
I’ve been taking it the way Ted says to take apple cider vinegar at Earth Clinic, two tablespoons of vinegar tonic with 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, then add some water and drink it, it tastes good, kind of fruity. I suppose I use a little more than 1/8 teaspoon baking soda.
This batch is going to be prettier than the old batch I made, you should have seen that hot red pepper juice come out of the juicer, it was gorgeous, blood red, the whole batch is a better color.
Anyone else ever try this? I think I saw this recipe first here at GLP, but someone here found it at another forum. Not sure what the origin of it is. It’s supposed to be antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal.
http://articles.herballegacy.com/the-swine-flu-pamdemic/
The Swine Flu Pandemic
Posted by Herbal Legacy admin in Health, Herbal First Aid, Herbal Remedies, Herbs
by David Christopher, MH
“The world is moving into the early days of its first influenza pandemic in the 21st century. The swine flu virus is now unstoppable.”
-World Health Organization Chief Dr. Margaret Chan
So…. we are having a PANDEMIC!
With the announcement by WHO that the swine flu (or H1N1 flu) is a pandemic many people are in a panic and looking for answers. In fact, in Argentina the health care system was essentially shut down by hordes of people rushing to the hospitals to find out if they had swine flu.
Every article in the media indicates something different; from how many cases there are worldwide; to how soon a vaccine will be ready for the general public, to when it is predicted to get worse (after all, WHO has declared it unstoppable). Who and what are we supposed to believe?
First – what is the flu? Influenza (or flu) is a respiratory infection caused by any number of viruses. More than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year from the seasonal flu and about 36,000 die each year. Flu season happens during bad weather when people stay indoors and the therefore don’t get the fresh air, exercise, or sunshine with its accompanying vitamin D production. In other words, we create a personal environment conducive for viral invasion.
Influenza becomes pandemic when many people are subjected to a weakened or polluted personal or communal environment. A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide.
Here are a few examples of Pandemics you may have heard about:
• The Plague - middle ages-1347 AD
• The Spanish Flu – 1918
• HIV/Aids virus – 1980’s +
• Swine Flu – 1976
• Gulf War Syndrome -1990’s
• Swine/ Avian (H1N1) - present
• Avian Flu – it has been predicted that this will be a pandemic in the future
The pandemic of 1918 was devastating to the population at large. It is estimated that it killed 50-100 million people worldwide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic). However, there was one simple home remedy that was not only effective in curing people; it also prevented others from contracting it. What is that simple remedy? It is something that can be found anywhere in the world and is often overlooked by the medical profession. We can easily purchase it in any grocery store for under $1.00! Many of us already have it in our homes and use it in cooking but don’t realize the medicinal qualities it contains. This easy home remedy is simply ………garlic.
How does it work? Garlic has over 28 sulphide compounds, one of which is created when garlic is crushed. The amino acid Alliin is in a compartment and the enzyme Allinase is in a separate compartment. The crushing combines these two ingredients and creates a new substance named Allicin. This smelly, unstable sulphide is more powerful than any antibiotic and is potent in crushed fresh garlic. This super herb has appeared in close to 1,000 published papers and has been shown to kill bacteria in concentrations as low as 1 part extract in 50,000 parts water. The odor kills bacteria in Petri dishes at 20 centimeters distance and killed bacteria that were resistant to the antibiotic chloramphenicol. Garlic is the only antibiotic that also promotes healthy digestion and protects the body from toxins produced by the infection.
The best insurance in the world against the “predicted coming plagues” and “killing diseases” is to have the body in a good healthy condition. Disease germs are merely scavengers and can only live on toxins, mucous and residue from junk foods. They cannot and will not damage healthy cell structure. Therein lies the key! Have a healthy, clean body and disease germs will by-pass you - wanting nothing to do with your body, because it would be “obnoxiously clean” (in their language) and have no filth for them to live on.
If you do get sick, however, you should not be around other people. You should stay home and take care of yourself.
Avoid all animal products (especially dairy) and go on a liquid diet of fresh juices and plenty of distilled water and red raspberry tea. Make sure the bowels are moving so as to eliminate toxins quickly.
Next, lubricate the body liberally with garlic oil (fresh garlic pressed into olive oil) – especially the chest and soles of the feet. This is an easy way to take in a lot of garlic. You can get a recipe for onion soup on our website listed below.
One woman called because many at her work had been out with a flu that was lasting about two weeks. She came home from work feeling sick and called to see what she could do. She wasn’t up to going to the store so I questioned her to see what she had in the house that she could use. I told her about this simple remedy which includes the juice from two apples, four stalks of celery, and one inch square of ginger. The Chinese have done studies that show that effectiveness of ginger in killing viruses. She drank this juice all day along with water. She also stayed down and rested. The next day she was back at work.
To complete the process of healing, we suggest you stay on fresh juices, fruits and vegetables, and drink plenty of distilled water.
If the plague, or some other epidemic hits before you are in a good healthy condition, it is good to have an aid for a fast cleaning. My father, the famed herbalist Dr. John R. Christopher, tells the following story about an aid that does just that. Here is his story in his own words:
While lecturing in Snowflake, Arizona one night, one person in the group asked if we had an Anti-Plague formula, and I was prompted to give them a certain combination of herbs (that included garlic) to use.
The people there were very impressed to go right to work and prepare this liquid, having it ready for use. We had told them that plagues come at unexpected times and it could be tomorrow or maybe even years away, but expect the unexpected and be ready now. If the formula was still unused, from “no need” years later, we could all be happy but “TIS BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY”.
These good people made it up in gallon lots and had it on hand. Months later while speaking in Tucson, Arizona, someone asked for the “Anti-Plague remedy.” I was surprised and asked where they had heard of it, as we had only given it out once. We were informed that a plague-like condition or flu had hit the Snowflake area and when other aids failed, this combination of herbs in liquid form performed its job with amazing speed.
At our next series of lectures in Snowflake, sometime later, we heard one testimony after another about the many different types of ailments that were given quick relief by using this formula.
The formula (now called Super Garlic Immune Formula) has now spread in many areas from coast to coast and is being used with good results. A man picked us up at an airport on the west coast a short time ago, and on the floor of his car was a bottle with liquid in it. When asked what it was he said, “Oh, that’s your Anti-Plague remedy, we never travel without it as it works good on about any sickness that comes up while we are traveling. We are also never without a bottle of it at home.”
Learn more about Dr. Christopher’s Super Garlic Immune Formula, find a recipe for the soup and learn more about educational opportunities regarding the pandemic at the website below.
David Christopher, MH, is the son of famed herbalist Dr. John R. Christopher. David Christopher is a popular lecturer – his repertoire is extensive including such subjects as weight management, diabetes, cancer, cleansing, backyard/grocery store herbology, etc.
For more information, including recipes and ready-made garlic products, visit http://www.naturalcureforswineflu.com/.
Press Release Version: http://www.herballegacy.com/Swine_Flu_PR.doc
Printable Version: www.herballegacy.com/Swine_Flu_Pandemic.pdf
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9 Responses to “The Swine Flu Pandemic”
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Angelina Thelin Says:
August 8th, 2009 at 2:11 am
I am going to stand on my soap box for a moment to state My theory on the swine flu and the mass vaccination plan.
Some developers, have admitted to the science of vaccines as faulty science for the 20th century. It seems to me that they do not tell us the whole story about them, and their potential problems. Outside of proclaiming them the miracle magic bullet that has been developed to save us all! I believe when we do not research the full facts for our selves it can lead to problems with our health. I feel that vaccines are not boosting to out immunity, In fact I feel it actually does the exactly opposite to our systems.
Good grief they use animals to develop them. what about foreign DNA amongst other viruses the animal may have, not to mention their preservatives. What does that do to us I wonder, cause more Dis-ease to our bodies. I feel that they decrease our ability to build proper immunity allowing sicknesses. Many diseases were well on the way out in serious decline before vaccines and immunizations sprouted wings.
We have also had the swine flu before and the mass vaccination program did not work well causing more problems that it helped. I have a friend who got Guillain-Barre, which still affects her. we even had news reports against the vaccineand what was happening on 60 minutes interview in 1976, that only aired once.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9mh9f_swine-flu-1976-propaganda_webcam
and it is discussed in this great article
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/27/science/sci-swine-history27
I feel there are other more helpful, more productive ways to do things than forcing faulty science on people and letting the chips fall where they may. starting with eating good foods, avoiding dairy products. I fully agree with using garlic to help with colds and such, I feel kelp which helps feed the thyroid, echinacea, honey, and a good pro biotic can help also greatly.
Though I have found that my favorite tool for the flu and colds in addition to these is Elderberries. There have been many studies done, that have found elderberries extremely successful in knocking out the flu virus. I know a family who used it on the diagnosed swine flu (grandmother and her grandchildren)and it worked well, in only a few days. I prefer to make a syrup of the berries, adding to the simmering mix, cloves (for pain relief), cinnamon (Regulation of sugar levels and its warming), ginger (is warming is an anti-inflammatory and is helpful with the bronchi), sometimes I will add rose hips(high vitamin C, anti-inflammatory and has been found to help with the flu). I allow it to cool and then add raw/wild honey and wild/black cherry juice (high vitamin c and helps the kidneys). I keep my supplies for this on hand, so If I need it I can whip it right out.
thank you for the soap box and for listening.
Thx Granny for link
http://www.naturalpathhealthcenter.com/index.php/Recipe-Book/
Gluten-Free
Wheat Free
Dairy Free
Allergen Free
Corn Free
Egg Free
Peanut Free
Soy Free
Refined Sugar Free
3566 ping.
= = =
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message529664/pg1
Recession Proof GLP - “Plague Tonic” with apple cider vinegar and hot peppers, etc. Quote ‘I made this once before and liked it ... how I did it:
It’s supposed to be equal parts of the following,
3 onions (strongest ones)
3 heads of garlic
a lot of hot red peppers - you could use habaneros, but not me
a lot of fresh ginger root
two big horseradish roots
You chop these very fine or grate them and cover them with organic apple cider vinegar in a big glass gallon jar with a good lid. I used two quarts. ... It’s supposed to be antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal.’
Thanks again.
http://www.naturalpathhealthcenter.com/index.php/Recipe-Book/better-than-tabouli.html.html
Better Than Tabouli
Ingredients
1 head Cauliflower, Chopped Fine
1 Bunch Parsley, Chopped
2 Tomatoes, Seeded and Chopped
1 cup Hemp Seeds
1 Cucumber, Seeded and Chopped
1/2 Small Red Onion, Chopped
2 Lemons, Juice
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Methods/steps
1. In a large bowl mix first 6 ingredients together. 2. Add lemon juice and sea salt to taste then drizzle with olive oil until you reach desired [moistness]. 3. Serve chilled or at room temperature
Additional Tips
You can also stuff tomatoes with this. Try with broccoli (chopped) and sliced olives or radishes (sliced or diced).
http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/recipe-wine.html
The Rhubarb Compendium
10.18 - Rhubarb Wine (and other fermented forms of rhubarb)
Recipes in this section:
Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients:
5 lb rhubarb
6 pts water
2.5 lb Sugar
0.5 oz Precip. Chalk
0.25 tsp Tannin
1 tsp Nutrient
1 Campden tablet, crushed
1 pkg Wine Yeast
O.G. 1.095-1.100
Procedure:
Place chopped rhubarb and sugar in fermenter. Mix well. Cover w/plastic sheet for 24 hrs. Crush rhubarb. Pour HOT water over the crushed rhubarb and stir vigorously. After a bit, scoop the rhubarb into a straining bag and squeeze as much of the juice out as possible.
Discard the pulp. Add the grape juice. Add the next 5 ingredients. Check and adjust (if necessary) the gravity of the must (should be 1.110) Check and adjust (if necessary) the temperature (should be 75 deg F). (The recipe doesn’t say to, but it seems to me that you should wait 24 hrs before adding the yeast so the Campden tablets don’t kill it too). Ferment at 75 deg F, rack to secondary, ferment @ 65 deg F, rack to tertiary, etc., until clear. Bottle. Age 6 months. Bottle.
Age 6 more months. Drink.
“For old fashioned German rhubarb wine, add to either recipe 0.75 oz ginger root (bruised) and 0.75 oz cloves per gallon. Tie up in straining bag, suspend in must, and remove when must reaches 1.040”
Rhubarb Wine
There are two things that you have to know about to make good rhubarb wine: 1) Chop up your rhubarb stalks and freeze them in plastic bags for a few days before you make the wine. I really don’t understand why this should make a difference, but it does. If you use fresh rhubarb the wine never comes out as good. 2) You have to have patience. Rhubarb wine can taste uninteresting at eight months and really good at ten months. You have to let it mellow.
Ingredients:
3 pounds rhubarb
3 pounds white sugar
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
1 gallon hot water (doesn’t have to be boiling)
2 campden tablets (crushed)
wine yeast
Procedure:
Use frozen cut up rhubarb. Put it in the primary fermentor (a “kitchen-size” clean plastic garbage can works really well) along with the sugar. Cover and let stand for 24 hours. Add the hot water, mix everything together and then strain out the rhubar . Put the liquid back in the primary fermentor and when it is luke-warm add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and leave it to ferment for three or four days. Then syphon the liquid into gallon jugs with fermentation locks. There will be a fair amount f sediment, so when the wine settles a bit (about a month) you will want to rack it. Be sure to top up the bottles. We bottle ours at about 6 months. This last year I made one batch of straight rhubarb and the other batch was mostly rhubarb with about a pound of green grapes crushed and thrown in as well. Both were entirely drinkable, but the one with the grapes added was definitely better.
Rhubarb Wine
Among the shelfloads of imported exotics, it’s easy to overlook common or garden rhubarb. Yet this highly underrated ‘fruit’ has much to recommend it. Heather Mairs thinks pink.
Ingredients:
3 lb/1.25kg rhubarb
3 lb/1.25kg sugar
1 sachet general purpose wine yeast.
Procedure:
Wipe the rhubarb, but do not peel.
Chop into small pieces. Place in a large howl and cover with sugar.
Leave overnight Until the sugar has dissolved. Strain off the syrup and cover the rhubarb with water to rinse off any remaining sugar. Add this liquid to the syrup and make it up to 1 (UK) gallon with water and a cup of cold black tea to add astringency.
Add the wine yeast and transfer the liquid to a demi-john fitted with an airlock. Leave to ferment. Using a hydrometer, Stop fermentation using two Campden tablets when the reading reaches around 1.01. Leave the wine to clear naturally; alternatively use a vegetarian clearing agent e.g. Bentonite. Pour the wine into sterilised bottles, and leave for a minimum of 3 months. If kept in a cool place the wine may be stored for up to two years.
Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients:
3 lbs. rhubarb (stalk only)
1/4 pt. white grape concentrate or 1/2 lb. of light raisins (chopped)
7 pts. water
2 1/4 lbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. tannin
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
1 campden tablet (crushed)
1 pkg. wine yeast (champagne)
Old Fashioned German Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients/Procedure:
3 lbs. rhubarb (stalk only)
1/4 pt. white grape concentrate or 1/2 lb. of light raisins (chopped)
7 pts. water
2 1/4 lbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. tannin
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
1 campden tablet (crushed)
1 pkg. wine yeast (champagne)
Procedure:
add the following in a linen straining or “hop” bag from
the start of fermentation until SG 1.040:
3/4 oz. fresh ginger root (chopped)
3/4 oz. whole cloves
You will probably want to sweeten rhubarb wine back up a little before
bottling by adding 1/2 tsp. stabilizer (sorbate) and 1/4 to 1/2 lb.
dissolved sugar (or to taste) per gallon.
Makes 1 gal.
Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients:
6 (Imperial) lbs Rhubarb
2.5 (Imp) lbs sugar
1 (Imp) gallon water
1 oz. precipitated chalk
2 tsp citric acid
1 Campden tablet
Yeast (and nutrient)
Procedure:
It recommends garden rhubarb from late May, cleaned and chopped. Add 2/3 of the water and 1 Campden tablet. Leave for 3 days, stirring it twice a day. Then strain the fruit and press it dry. Add the chalk to the resulting juice; when the fizzing subsides, add the remaining ingredients and ferment.
Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients:
12.50 lb Rhubarb (cubed)
5.00 ga Water
12.50 lb White granulated sugar
5.00 ea Campden tablets
50.00 oz White grape concentrate (optional)
5.00 pk Montrachet wine yeast
5.00 ts Yeast nutrient
1.25 ts Grape tannin
Procedure:
Cut up rhubarb and put in primary fermentor. Pour dry sugar over fruit to extract juice. Cover with plastic sheet and allow to stand 24 hours. Put pulp in a straining bag (I use a new laundered pair of panty hose) and add water and Campden tablets (to kill any “wild” yeasts) and disolve well. Let stand another 24 hours. Add remaining ingredients including yeast. Ferment 48 hours. Remove pulp bag and squeeze as much of the juice into must as you can. Put the spent pulp in your mulch pile for the garden. Stir the fermenting must twice a day to break up the “cap” that forms on the surface. In 3 or 4 days (or when hydrometer reading is 1.040 or lower) syphon into a five gallon glass jug or carboy and attach fermentation lock. Rack again in 3 weeks. Make sure all containers are topped up. Rack again in 3 months. When wine is clear and stable, bottle. Wine may be sweetened to taste at time of bottling with sugar syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part water). Add 2 stabilizer tablets per gallon (or follow directions on package if using powder) to prevent renewed fermentation. To preserve color and flavor add 1 antioxidant tablet per gallon.
Starting specific gravity should be 1.090-1.095, Acid .60%, Age 6 months
Caution:
This wine may have you giving back things that you never stole.
Servings: 5 gallons
Rhubarb Wine
Use three pounds of sugar to three pounds of rhubarb per gallon of finished wine. Slice the rhubarb thinly, cover with dry sugar, and wait until the sugar has gone to juice. Strain off the juice and wash out the sugar that has remained in the pulp by stirring in water and straining again. Add yeast and ferment.
Ingredients:
12 lb. rhubarb, chopped
1 qt. white grape concentrate
10 lb. sugar
6 qt. hot water
2 tsp. yeast nutrient
4 tsp. liquid tannin
2 tsp pectic enzyme
8 Campden tablets, crushed
8 qt. cold water
1 pkt. Champagne yeast
finings
1/4 tsp. sulfite crystals
8 oz. wine conditioner
Procedure:
Place rhubarb and sugar in primary fermenter, stir, cover for 24 hours. Crush rhubarb (they suggest a potato masher) Pour in hot water, stir vigorously. Scoop rhubarb into a straining bag and squeeze as dry as possible. Discard pulp. Add grape concentrate, mix well. Add remaining primary ingredients, except yeast, mixing well. SG should be 1.110, temperature should be 75 degrees F. Rehydrate yeast and add to primary. Keep in a warm place (75 degrees). Fermentation should have begun within 24 hours.
When SG reaches 1.020, rack into a clean carboy, topping with cold water. Attach fermentation lock. Move to a cooler location, ideally 65 degrees.
After 10 days, or SG 1.000, whichever comes first,rack into a clean carboy. Top with cold water.
After 3 weeks or SG .090-.095, whichever comes first, rack into a clean carboy, add finings, top with cold water. Let rest 10 days.
Rack into primary fermenter, then filter into a clean carboy. Add sulfite crystals, dissolved in a small amount of water. Top with cold water.
Bulk age 6 months. Add wine conditioner and bottle. Bottle age 6 months.
Comments:
I can’t tell you how either of these tastes; I only found them about a week ago, when I noticed that the rhubarb in my garden was approaching readiness. The first recipe is a bit vague for my tastes — how much yeast? What kind? I will probably end up using Montrachet wine yeast. The second recipe is too chemically-oriented for me, but that’s no reason not to pass it along. Good luck in your endeavors, and if any other interesting recipes come your way, please forward them.
Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients:
12 lb Rhubarb
1 qt White grape concentrate
10 lb sugar
6 qt HOT water
2 tsp Yeast nutrient
4 tsp Liquid tannin
2 tsp Pectic enzyme
8 Campden tablets (crushed)
8 qt COLD water
1 pkt Champagne wine yeast
Procedure:
Place chopped rhubarb and sugar in fermenter. Mix well. Cover w/plastic sheet for 24 hrs. Crush rhubarb. Pour HOT water over the crushed rhubarb and stir vigorously. After a bit, scoop the rhubarb into a straining bag and squeeze as much of the juice out as possible.
Discard the pulp. Add the grape juice. Add the next 5 ingredients. Check and adjust (if necessary) the gravity of the must (should be 1.110) Check and adjust (if necessary) the temperature (should be 75 deg F). (The recipe doesn’t say to, but it seems to me that you should wait 24 hrs before adding the yeast so the Campden tablets don’t kill it too). Ferment at 75 deg F, rack to secondary, ferment @ 65 deg F, rack to tertiary, etc., until clear. Bottle. Age 6 months. Bottle.
Age 6 more months. Drink.
Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients:
3 lb rhubarb
0.25 pint White grape concentrate
7 pt Water
2.25 lb Sugar
0.25 tsp Tannin
1 tsp Nutrient
1 Capmden Tablet, Crushed
1 pkg Wine Yeast
O.G. 1.095-1.100
Procedure:
Place chopped rhubarb and sugar in fermenter. Mix well. Cover w/plastic sheet for 24 hrs. Crush rhubarb. Pour HOT water over the crushed rhubarb and stir vigorously. After a bit, scoop the rhubarb into a straining bag and squeeze as much of the juice out as possible.
Discard the pulp. Add the grape juice. Add the next 5 ingredients. Check and adjust (if necessary) the gravity of the must (should be 1.110) Check and adjust (if necessary) the temperature (should be 75 deg F). (The recipe doesn’t say to, but it seems to me that you should wait 24 hrs before adding the yeast so the Campden tablets don’t kill it too). Ferment at 75 deg F, rack to secondary, ferment @ 65 deg F, rack to tertiary, etc., until clear. Bottle. Age 6 months. Bottle.
Age 6 more months. Drink.
John’s 2 1/2 gallons of Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients:
1 gal. rhubarb juice
5 Lbs sugar
2 Tbsp Red Star baking yeast (YEA, I know but I was using what I had on hand)
1 1/2 gal. water
Procedure:
Squeeze the juice out of the rhubarb stalks, if you don’t have a wine press freeze the stalks solid then let them thaw in a strainer over a big bowl when they’re thawed, squeeze as much of the juice out as you can. Mix in the sugar and pour into your carboy (I have a 2 1/2 gallon one just for wine) or fermenter. Fill with water and shake to mix and disolve the sugar. Proof your yeast with a cup of water and a tbsp of sugar, or a cup of your mixed juice and water. Pitch the yeast and let it do its thing, this takes about 3 or 4 months before it can be bottled.
Once it clears, rack it into a bottling bucket fill and cap your bottles. I used very old 16 oz soda bottles (when was the last time 7 UP came in 16 oz glass bottles). Let it sit about a month or so in the bottle and it picks up a very light carbonation from the suspended yeast when you bottle. After a year, the carbonation hadn’t increased from the first bottle, but the wine went from a rose to a beautifully clear white.
BTW, everyone I gave the wine to raved about how amazing it was.
Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients:
3 lb Rhubarb
2 lb sugar
Champagne yeast
3 mg vitamin B1 tablet
1 level tsp pectic enzyme
1 level tsp yeast nutrient
Procedure:
Wash the rhubarb and slice it lengthways then chop in to 2” lengths. Put it in the bucket and add the dry sugar. After 24 hours the sugar will have dissolved in the rhubarb juice. Remove the liquid and rinse the rhubarb then discard it. Add the other ingredients to the sugarry liquid and ferment. Use some grape concentrate as well but remember to reduce the amount of sugar (1kg grape concentrate is equivalent to about 600g sugar).
Rhubarb Wine
This material picked up at local wine store. I haven’t tried it yet but am about to, so can’t recommend it from my experience! Recipe makes 23 liters.
Ingredients:
15 lb/6.5 kg rhubarb
3 campden tablets (crushed)
12.5 lb/5.5 kg corn sugar
7.5 qt/7.5L hot water
3 tsp yeast nutrient
10 tsp Tannin (powder)
2.5 tsp pectic enzyme
1.5 qt/1.5L white grape concentrate (or red to add some color)
cold water
1 pkg Lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast
5 campden tablets (crushed)
sparkolloid finings
Procedure:
Place chopped rhubarb in a primary fermentor. Pour sugar over rhubarb and stir together with crushed campden tablets. Cover and leave for 24 hours.
Crush rhubarb with a potato masher or mallet.
Pour hot water over rhubarb and stir vigorously. Next scoop rhubarb into a straining bag and squeeze into fermentor until dry. Discard the pulp.
Add ingredients 5 - 9 (add cold water up to 23l mark)
Check that gravity is approximately 1.110 and adjust with more sugar if necessary.
Verify the must is 65 - 73 or 18 - 23 C. Add yeast to a cup of warm water for 10 minutes and then add to must. Cover fermentor and place in a warm spot.
After 5 -7 days, check the gravity has dropped to approximately 1.020. Transfer wine into a carboy and top up with cold water.
When visible activity has ceased, check that gravity has reached 0.990 - 0.995, and transfer into a clean carboy. Add 5 crushed campden tablets.
Stir wine for several days until carbonation has been removed.
Add finings. When wine is clear it can be bottled.
At bottling time, add wine conditioner to taste.
Rhubarb Wine
This recipe comes from _Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices_ by George Leonard Herter and Berthe E. Herte, published by Herter’s, Inc., Waseca, Minnesota. I’ve never tried it, so I can’t vouch for it.
For about 4 gallons of finished wine, use the following quantities, 20 pounds of rhubarb stalks, 12 pounds of sugar, 3 1/2 gallons of water. Bakers yeast or wine yeast “starter”. Yeast nutrient helps to speed the fermenting.
Lay the rhubarb stalks on a working table and start in the middle of each stalk and crush it. Put the crushed rhubarb in a large polyethylene pail, tub or pottery crock. Add 1 1/2 gallons of boiled water that has been cooled down. Dissolve four grains of sodium metabisulphite for every gallon of “must” in a cup of warm water and stir it in well with the “must”. Put on a cover or cover with a sheet of polyethylene with a ball of cotton on one edge and tie it down with a cotton cord. Leave for five days. Then remove the pulp and place it in a clean cloth and wring it out. Put the liquid in a large polyethylene jug or glass bottle. Test the wine liquid or “must” with your saccharometer to ascertain the amount of sugar you need for the alcohol content that you want. Include the water to be added with the sugar. Dissolve half of the sugar in a gallon of water and boil about two minutes. Cool to lukewarm and add. Put on a fermentation lock and leave ferment for about ten days. Dissolve the other half of the sugar in a gallon of water and boil for about two minutes. Cool to lukewarm and add to the “must”. Leave ferment until fermentation stops. Siphon or “rack” into another sterilized jug leaving as much sediment behind as possible. Be sure that the jug is filled right up to the top with no air in the jug. Fit a fermentation lock and leave until “polished” or clear. Then siphon into bottles or jugs and cap.
Comments:
Rhubarb leaves are deadly poison and so are the roots. They have been used as poison throughout Europe and Asia for centuries. Be sure to use only the stalks for wine making or eating. Rhubarb, no matter how it is made, makes an acid wine and requires sweetening to tone down the acid taste. Best way to do this is to make your rhubarb wine, then after it is finished, add artificial sweeteners to sweeten it somewhat.
Rhubarb Wine
Ingredients:
[for 23 litres (5 Imp. Gallons) ]
6.6 kg (14.4 lbs) Rhubarb
1.2 litres (1.2 quarts) White grape concentrate
3.4 kg (7.6 lbs) Sugar
7.5 litres (7.5 quarts) HOT water
11 g (2 1\2 tsp) Yeast nutrient
25 ml (5 tsp) Liquid tannin
7 g (2 1\2 tsp) Pectic enzyme
1.5 g (1\4 tsp) Potassium metabisulphite
10 liters (10 quarts) Cold water
1 pkg Lalvin Champagne wine yeast
1 pkg Enolophin 2 part finings
1.5 g (1\4 tsp) Potassuim metabisulphite
290 ml (10 oz) Wine conditioner
Procedure:
Equipment - standard wine making equipment, straining bags, potato masher
Place the chopped rhubarb in the primary fermenter. Pour the sugar over the rhubarb and stir the two together. Cover with a plastic sheet for 24 hrs.
Crush the rhubarb with a potato masher.
Pour the hot water over the crushed rhubarb and stir vigorously. When the rhubarb and water have been stirred, scoop the rhubarb into a straining bag and squeeze it as dry as possible into the fermenter. Discard the pulp.
Add the grape concentrate and mix well.
Add the next 5 ingredients and mix well.
Use your hydrometer to check the specific gravity of the must. It should be 1.070.
When the must is at 23C (75F), rehydrate the yeast EXACTLY as per the package instructions and stir in.
Cover the fermenter with a lid or plastic sheet, and keep in a place that is 23C (75F).
When the SG reaches 1.020, after about 6 days, rack into a clean and sanitized carboy, top up with cold tap water and attach bung and airlock.
Move to a cooler location, one that is about 18C, (65F).
After 10 days, or when the SG is at 1.000, whichever comes first, rack into a clean and sanitized carboy and top up with cold tap water.
After 3 weeks, rack into a clean and sanitized carboy, add the enolophin 2 part finings as per the package instructions, top up with cold tap water if needed, and leave for 10 days.
Rack into a clean and sanitized carboy and add 1\4 tsp potassium metabisulphite (dissolve first in 1\4 cup wine), stir well and top up if necessary.
Age in carboy 6 months.
Add wine conditioner, then bottle.
Age in bottle 6 months.
Strawberry Rhubarb Ginger Mead
Sparkling Mead Recipe for 23 Litres
Ingredients:
3.5 kg honey
1 kg corn sugar
100 g freshly grated ginger root
5 g citric acid (approx. 1? tsp)
5 g yeast energizer (approx. 1? tsp)
1.2 kg frozen rhubarb
1.2 kg frozen strawberries
100 g coarsely chopped lemongrass
grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 packages Lalvin EC 1118 Champagne yeast
1? g Irish moss (approx. ? tsp)
Procedure:
Sanitise a 46 litre primary fermenter and lid.
Thaw frozen fruit and mix with corn sugar in the bottom of the fermenter and leave to sit for two days. (Don’t worry about the fruit spoiling. The sugar acts as a humectant, preventing the growth of spoilage organisms. Also, if you buy or pick fresh fruit, freeze it before you begin.)
Bring 8 l of water to the boil. Add the honey, grated ginger, citric acid, lemongrass, yeast energizer and Irish moss, and boil for 15 minutes.*
Remove from heat and pour on top of fruits and sugar. Add grated zest at this point.
Allow to steep for 15 minutes and then add enough cold water to bring the level up to 23 l.
When temperature is 20 to 23C, pitch yeast.
Primary fermentation should take 4 to 6 days. Rack to a carboy. Most of the fruit will be floating on top of the liquid. Use a siphon tube to rack the clear liquid, leaving the fruit and sediment behind.
Secondary fermentation will take 6 weeks. If mead is clear, rack, prime with 1 cup of corn sugar, and bottle. If it is still cloudy, rack to a clean carboy and add Enolophin 2 Part Finings. Rack, prime, and bottle when clear.
Age for at least a month before tasting. Mead will generally improve continuously for 2 to 3 years—if you can keep it that long.
*Or if you want to make your life a little more complicated, you can pasteurize your honey instead of boiling it. If you pasteurize, your mead will retain more honey flavour and aroma.
Pasteurization works by holding the honey at a specified temperature for several minutes. The temperature is high enough to kill wild yeasts and spoilage organisms, but not high enough to boil the honey. (And, given that honey is filthy with wild yeast and bacteria, you must either pasteurize or boil.)
To pasteurize:
At step 3, above, leave the honey out, boiling the other ingredients. After 15 minutes, bring the temperature of the boiling mixture down to between 68 and 71C (155 -160F). (Adding 5 to 6 l of cold water should achieve this). Remove the pot from the heat, and dissolve the honey in it. The temperature should stabilize between 60 and 72C (140-160F). Apply very low heat and hold the temperature in this range for 5 minutes. Then proceed with step 4.
If you are in any doubt about your temperature for those last 5 minutes, give up pasteurizing and boil everything.
One side effect of this process is that your mead may have a protein haze after fermentation is complete. You can get rid of this by fining with Bentonite.
Strawberry Rhubarb Mead
Ingredients:
1 gallon water
3 lbs. honey
4 cups chopped rhubarb
1 qt. strawberrys
2 packets of ale/beer yeast
Procedure:
Meads are not frightening things to make. Actually, they are deceptivly easy. The only thing to keep in mind is that EVERYTHING needs sterilizing. Wash out/off all the utensils, pots, tubing, spoons, bottles, and containers with a good sanitizer. B-Br te is a good commercial brand. The second rule of mead is that anything you wash with your sanitizer needs to be very well rinsed afterwards with fresh water (no one likes a case of the runs, if you know what i mean). Keeping in mind these two rules, the est is easy:
Boil the honey with 1/2 of the water
As the honey begins to foam, skim the surface with a fine mesh strainer until no more foam bubbles up. Make sure you get the bulk of this, but by no means be fanatical about it. You do have other things to do.
Mash up the strawberrys and the rhubarb chuncks and put them in the bottom of your plastic brewing bucket. 4: Put the boiled honey in the bucket along with the other 1/2 gallon of water.
Let this mixture cool, as the hot honey will surely kill the yeast.
When the mix is cool (about 85 degrees or therebouts), add your yeast. PLEASE!!! In the name of all that is good and culinary! Please dont use bread yeast!!! This is NOT the same stuff. Dont send a bread yeast to do a beer or ale yeast’s job It WILL NOT WORK!!! At this point, cover your bucket and put an air lock on top and put it someplace that wont be disturbed.
When the air lock slows down to bubbling once every 30 seconds or so, your mead is just about done. This part of the brewing process takes anywhere from three weeks to two months depending on your climatic conditions. You can, when you think it might e done, remove the airlock sanitize and rinse off a straw, and put the straw through the airlock hole for a taste to see if it’s done. You will want to bottle it when the honey sweetness is all gone.
When it comes time to bottle this wonderous elixier, sanitize a bunch of plastic soda bottles. This will make about a gallon of mead so clean as many bottles and caps as necessary. Sanitize and rinse a piece of pvc tubing (the hose kind that you can et at your local hardware store). Now comes the fun part. Invite your favorite person over to help you fill the bottles. You want to get as much of the mead out as possible without getting any of the pulp mixed in. Strain the mead through a big strain r or collender (that has been sanitized and rinsed) and into another bucket or pot. Take the pvc tubing and create a vaccume type affair (you remember from sixth grade science putting the bucket on the table and all of your bottles on the floor... if you dont remember, e-mail me and i’ll explane it.) and syphon your mead into bottles. This really does work best with another person to help, but it can be done with one.
Put your freshly bottled mead in the refrigerator for about a week (if you can stand to wait that long). The result is more than worth the effort put in. You cannot buy anything that compares to this on the market. Really.
Ok, this is a little bit off the topic but, in an odd way, not that much.
Rhubarb Wine Daylily
Figure 10.1: Rhubarb Wine Daylily
For more information on winmaking see: external link rec.crafts.winemaking FAQ - http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/rec/rec.crafts.winemaking.html external link rec.food.drink wine FAQ - http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/rec/rec.food.drink.html
© RhubarbInfo, 1996-2003
Updated on September 1, 2004
http://www.scavm.com/Fulton.htm
The following two articles by William M. Fulton on finishing violins first appeared in the May 1972 and July 1997 SCAVM Bulletins, respectively.
Bill Fulton is one of the founding members of our Association and was our president during 1968. He has been a regular contributor to our Bulletin and has made many presentations at our meetings through the years. He is well known for innovative and sometimes controversial ideas such as terpene varnish, plate bending, and the glazing method of finishing.
Bill took up violin making in 1951 while serving with the U.S. Air Force in Germany. He studied with Willibald Raab, first in Mittenwald, then in Erlangen. He retired from General Dynamics in 1980. He is author and publisher of the books Propolis Violin Varnish, Terpene Violin Varnish, and Violin Varnish Formulation Manual. He resides in Idyllwild, California.
TERPENE VIOLIN VARNISH
by William M. Fulton
There are only two materials required to make terpene (or turpentine) varnish. These are linseed oil and gum turpentine.
continued..........full instructions for the varnish and undercoating of “PROPOLIS SOAP – Used as a Ground for Violin Varnish”
http://www.smart-penny.com/5.html
~~~ Homemade & Handy ~~~
This section is devoted to concoctions that make your life easier without costing a lot of money. Commercial products are on the market for a lot of these things, but I don’t like to use weird-sounding chemicals in my house. I think the homemade items are better for my pocket, the environment, and me.
CRITTER UNCOMFORT
My grandmother told me to put wood ashes in my garden (just a sprinkling) and the bugs wouldn’t chew on my plants... I’ve used this hint for years and it seems to work because I’m seldom bothered by any kind of “critters.”
Disinfecting sponges and dishrags
Paula Vogelgesang
1 quart water
4 tablespoons household bleach
To keep those kitchen sponges and dishrags safe and sanitary, just put 4 tablespoons of household bleach in a bucket and add 1 quart of water. Put in the sponges or dishrags, and let them soak for 10 minutes. This will kill all the germs and keep your sponges and dishrags clean.
Disposable non-toxic bug trap
Paula Vogelgesang
2-3 banana skins
¼ cup sugar
¼ vinegar or sweet pickle juice
1-gallon or ½-gallon plastic milk jugs, juice jugs, or 2-liter bottles
Use a pair of scissors to cut 4 to 6 holes around the top of the jug. If you are going to hang it, you will need a piece of fish line or a lightweight piece of rope.
Chop up 2 or 3 banana skins and mix them with 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of vinegar or 1 cup of sweet pickle juice. Dump this into the bottle or jug and fill it half-full of plain tap water.
Set the jugs outside AWAY from the doors and windows of the house.
This stuff will ferment after a few days and attract wasps, flies, and other assorted pesky bugs who are drawn to the scent of the sweet, sticky juice. They crawl into the jug and drown. When the jug gets to looking gross, toss the whole works away and start another jug.
There is a commercial version of these that cost about $10. These are virtually free.
Homemade Hopper Gitter
Paula Vogelgesang
1 pouch chewing tobacco
One 1-quart jar, fill with very hot water
1 cup dish soap
Put 1/3 of the pouch of tobacco in the hot water and let it steep for 2 or 3 days, longer if you can, as it gets stronger with age.
When you are ready to spray:
Strain out 2 cups of the “tobacco tea,” and mix with 1 cup dish soap in a hose end sprayer. Set it for 10 gallons. Wet the weeds down around your garden real early in the morning for good bug control.
The tobacco tea contains nicotine, a poison to the bugs. It will kill the hoppers in a day or so if they are small. It is a contact spray so you need to hit them with the stuff. I DO NOT spray in my garden. Tobacco affects the members of the nightshade family, namely potatoes, tomatoes, all sorts of peppers, etc.
To mix a smaller amount in a bucket:
Use 1 cup tobacco tea and 1/2 cup of dish soap in a 5 gallon bucket of water. Use your garden sprinkler can and douse the flowers & weeds.
I have this brew for many years and it seems to work fairly well as long as you start when the bugs/hoppers are small.
Gardening Tip
Paula Vogelgesang
A subscriber shared her way of sheltering tender plants from late frosts using milk jugs filled with water to form a mini-solar heater/greenhouse. She sets 3-gallon milk jugs to form a triangle around the freshly set plant. The jugs are then filled with water and capped. The sun heats the water during the day and releases the heat during the night. If it’s going to get really cold, then you may need to take a shopping bag or a clear garbage bag and pull it over the filled jugs to keep any frost out. When the weather warms past frost danger, remove 2 of the jugs, leaving the 3rd jug near the plant. You will need to dig it down into the ground about half-way and before you put it in the hole, put about 4 nail holes in the bottom. This jug then becomes a water source for just that plant. Filled with a hose, the plant gets 1 gallon of water a day and they grow like crazy, soon concealing the jug from view. I have put a little fertilizer in the jug if needed and I know it goes right to the roots instead of all over the garden.
This is a super cheap way of keeping tomato and pepper plants from a late frost and you get the jump on those fresh ripe tomatoes with no expense.
Christmas Tree Freshener/Saver
Paula Vogelgesang
2 gallons
2 gallons very hot water
2 cups Karo syrup (corn syrup)
2 ounces of liquid bleach
2 2-finger pinches of Epsom salts
1/2 cup of Borax (20 Mule Team is what I find)
1 teaspoon chelated iron
Mix this solution in a bucket. Make a fresh cut across the bottom of the tree trunk and stand it up in this solution until it comes into the house. Use this solution to fill the well in the tree stand (it’s also a good idea to make another fresh cut across the bottom of the trunk, just before you put the tree into the stand.) Fill it with the solution right away so the pores in the trunk don’t seal.
This works well because the syrup provides sugar and it is only when sugar is present that trees will take in lots of water. The borax contains boron which helps the water get all the way through the tree. The Epsom salts and iron assist in the process of keeping needles green and fresh and the bleach stops the mold from forming when sugar and water are combined. A fresh tree will drink several GALLONS of water over the usual 2-week period they are up in your home. You will need to check the water level several times a day to start with and always make sure there is water in the tree stand reservoir.
Always be sure to keep your tree away from heating stoves and even the television because the heat dries out the tree. Don’t let tinsel get tangled in the light sockets. Check the tree lights before you put them up and discard any that are questionable. Lights are cheap and it is not PennyWise to save $5 on a string of lights and burn the house down!
Water Savers
Paula Vogelgesang
There is a product on the market that is new to me, and it is a wonderful help for those of us who garden. Polymer crystals (found in garden centers and some variety stores) are a tiny crystal that expands in water to hold up to 200 times its weight in stored water. These are sold to use in centerpieces and also to be mixed in potting soil to help hold water during the long hot summer days when one cannot be available to water the plants.
They work great! A special help for those who do container gardening.
Window Queen’s Window Wash
Paula Vogelgesang
Makes 1 gallon
1/2 cup household ammonia
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Add mixture to 1 gallon of warm water and stir well.
Use old rags to wash windows. Clean out corner crud with old toothbrush.
Dry windows to shine with pieces of old black and white newspaper.
Scented Bath Salts
Paula Vogelgesang
1 cup Epsom salts or 1 cup Kosher salt, or 1 cup sea salt or other coarse salt
1 cup baking soda
6 to 8 drops essential oil of choice (find at craft stores, discount stores, etc.)
2 tablespoons glycerin
Food coloring (optional)
Mix the salt and soda together in a glass bowl. Add the essential oil just 1 drop at a time and stir well, then add the glycerin a drop or two at a time. (Most directions tell you to use a spoon to mix, but if you use your hands, you can work out the lumps with your fingers.) You can also add color to the salts. The color makes the salts more attractive and tells someone that this is not edible.
Put the salts in a wide-mouth jar(use canning jars — they are inexpensive and can be found almost everywhere). Tie on a tag with a decorative ribbon and give with pride.
To use, add anywhere from 2 tablespoons to 1/2 cup under running water; depends on how full the tub will be.
Light a candle, relax and enjoy.
Make-It-Yourself ‘Spots Away’ for Dishwashers
Paula Vogelgesang
1 cup Borax
1/2 cup Baking Soda
Mix together: 1 cup Borax 1/2 cup Baking Soda
Put in a pint jar along side the dish soap and add just 1 teaspoon everytime you run the machine.
I like this one. It does a good job of keeping hard water spots off of my glass dishes and both Borax and Soda are natural materials and not harmful to our environment.
A box of borax costs under $3.00 and a box of baking soda is less than a dollar. Total cost for several cups of “Spots Away” is under $4.00 and will take years to use up. A commercial product costs $6.97 per bottle and the dishwasher uses a bottle every 60 days.
CUSHION KEEPER
Nothing is more frustrating than a couch or chair that puts the cushions on the floor when someone sits on them! I have such a couch and it drives me nuts! However, I think I have found an inexpensive solution.
While looking through one of those mail-order sewing catalogs one afternoon, I found some rubbery stuff that said it would hold the cushions on the couch or chair without damaging the piece of furniture. But, the roll cost $27!!!
Upon closer observation, it reminded me of the rubbery shelf liner I had in my kitchen cupboards...so I tried that.
I had a roll of the 20-inch wide shelf liner that was 12 feet long...I didn’t need nearly that much, so I just cut it to size. I took the cushions off the couch, laid the liner stuff in place and re-positioned the cushions. They haven’t moved since except when I move them to vacuum. A roll of shelf liner costs $4. The difference between the two is $23 and I have better places to spend $23....
HOMEMADE MOTH BAGS
1/2 cup of whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks, broken
1/2 cup whole black peppercorns
Combine the ingredients and mix well. Put 1 Tablespoon of the mixture into a square of muslin or colored cloth, tie up with a ribbon, dental floss, grocery string, yarn or what ever else you have on hand. Hang the bag in the closet from a thumbtack or pushpin to keep the bugs away and out of your clothing.
Do not put the bag right next to any piece of clothing as the cloves and cinnamon contain oils that could stain the garment.
SNOW BOOT DRYER
Kids and snow go together like cake and ice cream. Kids + Snow = wet boots = frustrated kids and Moms!
A really neat and cheap boot dryer can be concocted by using a pair of those nice heavy wire paper towel holders you can get at any discount/dollar store for 99 cents each. Make sure they have the nice wide base so the boots won’t tip the thing over easily.
Just put a boot over each holder and set the holder/boot over your furnace vent...it won’t take long to dry those boots and the kids can be back outdoors and sledding once more.
HOMEMADE HAIR GEL
1 teaspoon plain gelatin
1 cup warm water
To make the homemade version of the old sticky hair gel that makes it spikey ... just dissolve 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of plain gelatin in the 1 cup of warm water. Mix it very well and then keep it in the refrigerator in a small closed container. To use, just smear it in your hair and then use your hands to get the look you want. The gelatin will not hurt your hair; it’s pure protein and washes out easily.
This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial version and works just as well.
SUPER WINDOW WASH
1 teaspoon Washing Soda (found in detergent aisle in the supermarket)
1/2 cup of hot water
1/4 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent
2 cups club soda
The reader who sent this in says: “This removed all of the old crud on my windows. I have an old house with very old glass in the window frames. This recipe worked real well and my windows are clean!!”
STAIN REMOVER
1 cup vinegar (I use white, but if you have the apple cider vinegar, it works too)
1 cup Whisk laundry detergent
1 cup household ammonia
1 cup tap water
Mix well; pour into a 1-quart spray bottle. Squirt on the stains (you may need to scrub the mixture into the cloth with your hands a bit) and wash immediately. Do not let this set on the clothing!! It will remove the color just when you don’t want it to .... (voice of experience).
MAKE-IT-YOURSELF CARPET CLEANERS
There are 2 versions of this and both work extremely well in the carpet machines.
The first one is:
1/3 cup powdered borax
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
or
1/8th cup Whisk laundry detergent
with the 4 gallons of hot water required by the machine
Mix the Borax (20 Mule Team is what I have) and the 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol OR the 1/8 cup of Whisk liquid laundry detergent with the warm water. Pour into the reservoir of your machine and follow the directions for use. Use the vacuum part to suck up the excess water and dirt.
Then, when the carpet is nice and clean, follow with a rinse of 1/4 cup white vinegar in 4 gallons of fresh warm water, following the machine use directions. The vinegar rinse will pick up any residual dirt and also remove any soap scum from the carpet. Since the sticky soap film is gone, the carpet will stay clean much longer.
(This recipe is used by a friend of mine who cleans rental housing units for a living. She says it works better than any commercial stuff she ever tried, and there are no dangerous chemical fumes to hurt her lungs!! AND it’s saving her a ton of money!!
MAKE-IT-YOURSELF FIRE RETARDANT MIXTURE
7 ounces of Household Borax (sold in grocery stores around here as 20 Mule-Team Borax)
3 ounces of Boric Acid Powder (found in the pharmacy section of your local drugstore)
2 quarts of warm water
Mix the 7 ounces of Household Borax, 3 ounces of Boric Acid Powder, and 2 quarts of warm water and stir to dissolve the powders completely.
Either dip the fabric in the mixture or spray it on to thoroughly saturate the fabric until it drips. Hang to dry.
This product will wash right out without damage to the fabrics so if you have to use bedsheets for stage curtains, it won’t damage them for home use later on.
HOMEMADE DEHYDRATION REMEDY
This is a homemade version of a commercial product used for diarrhea and upset stomach due to flue and colds. It is pediatrician tested and okayed)
2 cups hot water
5 teaspoons powdered flavored gelatin
1/2 teaspoon salt ( you can use No-Salt, as it contains the necessary potassium
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Mix very well, let cool, and give to the sick person. If the illness persists over 24 hours, it’s time to head for the doctor’s office.
HOMEMADE BABY WIPES
1 roll of very good quality microwave paper towels (Bounty is the one suggested)
2-1/4 to 2-3/4 cups water
2 Tablespoons baby shampoo or baby bath
1 Tablespoon baby oil
Used wipe container...whipped topping bowl or other plastic container
Cut the roll of paper towels in half with a serrated knife (this will take a while, so go slow). Mix the water, baby shampoo, and baby oil in a bowl or an empty baby wipe container. Place half of the roll in the container, put the lid on, and invert to let the towels soak up all of the water/oil mixture.
To use, fold the wet cardboard center in half and pull out of the middle. This will leave you with the end of the towel in your hand and you can then thread it up through the hole in the container. If the wipes dry out, just add a little more water.
The nice thing about these wipes is that they contain NO ALCOHOL that could irritate the skin.
(They call these baby wipes, but a lot of folks carry them in the car to wipe hands while traveling or to wipe your face if needed.)
HOMEMADE BATHROOM CLEANERS
Using ingredients found in your kitchen and laundry cupboards, you can make cleaners for all parts of your bathroom that work well (with a little elbow grease), are safe to use and very inexpensive. They are safe for the fiberglass/plastic tubs and surrounds as well as the sinks and commodes. I have used all of these and find that they work well and cost very little.
#1. Mix 20 Mule Team Borax and lemon juice to a paste. Wet the surface to be cleaned and smear the paste all over. Let the mixture sit for a couple of hours, scrub well and rinse. (in the case of the commode, brush to clean and flush to rinse).
# 2. Pour 1 cup of white vinegar in the commode, let set overnight, brush, then flush to rinse. Costs 9 cents per cup!!
#3. Baking Soda and white vinegar can be made into a paste and used in the same manner as the borax and lemon juice, it may be a little cheaper because the ingredients don’t cost quite as much.
#4. 1/2 can of any cola drink can be poured into the commode, let it set for several hours and flush to rinse. (Since the main ingredient, cola syrup, can eat nails, this does not surprise me.) It also works. This treatment costs from 25 cents to 75 cents depending on the price of your soda.
MAKE-IT-YOURSELF LIQUID LAUNDRY SOAP
A REAL MONEY-SAVER!
I started making this soap after discovering a buildup of some kind of white
looking “cement” in the sewer line of my mother-in-law’s mobile home.
It is some kind of carrier from the powdered detergent she had used for years.
A subscriber shared this with me, I tried it and it worked wonderfully on the clothes.
There is no smell, dye, or perfume in this stuff. Since I line-dry everything, all I smell is sunshine!
Besides this stuff is really cheap to make.
It costs about 30 cents per gallon! The cheapest I found in the supermarket
was $5.99 per 96 ounces. Which is not even a full gallon.
And the expensive stuff is running around $10 a gallon.
HOME-MADE LAUNDRY SOAP
1/3 bar of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
1/2 cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Borax, 20 Mule Team
Water to make the recipe
Grate the 1/3 bar of soap on an old grater. Put in a pan of 6 cups of very hot water and heat till the soap dissolves. Stir in the washing soda and borax. Stir till it thickens. This takes about 15 minutes and the mix looks sort of like honey. Take it off the heat . In a large bucket (I used a pickle pail) pour 1 quart of hot water, then stir in the soap mix you just made, and blend. Add another 5-1/2 quarts of water ... this can be cold. Stir until well blended. You will have 2 gallons total.
Set aside for 24 hours. It should turn to a thick gel. I had one batch that didn’t gel, in fact it
sort of separated, but I just shook the jug before I measured out the soap.
Use 1/2 cup of soap for a machine load of clothes. This soap does not have suds, so don’t panic.
I also use 1/2 cup of cider vinegar as my rinse agent instead of fabric softener. It’s cheaper and you
can’t smell it in the clothes when they are dry.
CHEAP WEED KILLER
A subscriber wrote that she found a weed killer in a mail order catalog,
safe for the environment, biodegradable and safe for pets, for “only” $8
per quart. It was made of lemon juice and vinegar (both cheaper than $8)
so she made her own formula, tried it, and sent it to me.
I tried this and it works quite well. I called my Extension Agent and he
said that basically it is two forms of acid and perfectly safe around kids and pets.
He did caution that if you use too much, it could make the ground so that
it won’t grow anything for a few months ... but that’s okay, especially
in the cracks in the sidewalks!
WEED KILLER FORMULA
In a 1-quart spray bottle, pour 4 ounces of lemon juice concentrate (you
can get the cheap stuff ... it works just as well), then fill the bottle
up with white vinegar (28 ounces). Vinegar (on sale) costs around a penny
per ounce and the lemon juice concentrate I bought was 3 cents per ounce.
For the mixture detailed above, that’s a total of 12 cents for lemon
juice and 28 cents for vinegar, which means the homemade version costs 40
cents per quart instead of $8!
INSECTICIDAL SOAP
The commercial insecticidal soap sells for $7.98 per quart. The homemade
versions cost just pennies and do the same thing. I presented two
different versions on KOTA Television.
Version # 1: Mix two tablespoons of Ivory Soap Flakes powder with one
quart of water. It will look a little milky. Put this in a quart spray
bottle and use when you notice an infestation of white flies, mites,
aphids, thrips, etc. Be sure to spray underneath the leaves too ... most
of these critters like to hide!
Great-grandma used to pour her dishwater over plants that looked
“sickly.” She was using home-made insecticidal soap.
Version # 2. Mix two tablespoons of Dawn Dishwashing Liquid with one
quart of water and put in a spray bottle. Use for the same insects as the
version # soap mixture.
When I spoke with my County Extension Agent, he told me to warn folks
that these are CONTACT sprays — you have to squirt them directly on the insects.
He also cautioned against using these sprays OR the commercial version on
a hot day, as they can damage (burn) the foliage of the plants if you get too much on the leaves.
My own personal preference is the Ivory Soap spray because most
dishwashing liquids are detergents and I don’t know what they do to the environment.
Cheap Boot Tray
Use the bottom of an old plastic laundry basket as a boot tray for muddy
shoes. Just cut the broken plastic top off and discard it. I used a pair
of tree lopping shears to cut the ribs off mine, but a sharp knife or a
good pair of scissors would do the same.
Shiny Scarecrows for Fruit Trees
Save those throw-away disks you get in the mail for online offers.
Glue them together with the silver sides out. Hang them from some fish
line (I just run it through the center hole) and dangle the shiny circles
from your fruit trees .. .the flashing of the silver is said to deter
birds from eating the fruit. Sure worth a try to save the cherries.
“Make-It-Yourself Disinfectant Wipes and Sprays”
as seen on KOTA-TV, Rapid City, SD
The commercial disinfectant wipes and sprays are handy, with a price to match ...
$4.89 per container of either the wipes or spray when I checked at the supermarket.
You can make them yourself for just pennies.
You will need:
2 1/4 cups of tap water
1 1/2 teaspoons of bleach or other germicidal cleaner
1 teaspoon liquid dishwashing soap
Roll of paper towels ... the cheap ones work just fine
Cut the roll of towels in half and take out the cardboard core. Put the
half-roll in a container with a lid or an empty wipe container. Combine
the liquid ingredients and pour over the towels in the container. Let the
liquid soak up. To use, pull towels up from the center.
Or, pour the mixture into a spray bottle, label for use, and spray away,
thus eliminating the expense of the “ready to use” product. (In this
case, “ready to use” means the company has added the water!)
My regular cleaner costs a little over $3 for a 48-ounce bottle, which
makes 24 gallons of cleaning solution at the recommended rate of 1/4 cup per gallon! Do the math!
My cleaner, mixed according to directions, used in the sprays or wipes, figures out to $39.12 per gallon or a whopping $938.88 for the 24 gallons of cleaning mixture! This is one area where “do it yourself” really pays off.
SWEET SIMMER
I make my own simmer mix for the stove top or simmer pot at almost no cost. I have this in a small pot at the Black Hills Stock Show in Rapid City every year and people will follow their noses to the scent. They are so surprised to find out the ingredients and I often hear ... “I can do that!”
When you use oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes etc., save the peelings. Dry them on a paper towel on top of the refrigerator or on a window sill. When dry and crisp, break into small pieces. Mix with a handful of whole spices...broken bits of cinnamon stick, whole cloves, whole allspice berries, star anise etc. (I mix this when I clean my spice cabinet and get rid of the old stuff) Store this conglomeration in a recycled glass jar.
When you need a lift, or when company is coming, put a small amount in some water on the back of the stove and turn it on low ... the whole house smells wonderful and the cost is practically nothing.
ELECTROLYTE MIX
For baby lambs, calves, goats, etc.
This formula is to be used if the animal has an upset stomach and diarrhea.
In light of new government regulations regarding beef products fed to livestock, the following
has been changed to use CHICKEN broth or CHICKEN bouillon instead of beef products.
1 package fruit pectin (Sure-Jell or Pen-Jell)
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 10-ounce can Chicken Broth
or....
10 ounces of warm water mixed with either 4 chicken bouillon cubes or
4 teaspoons of powdered bouillon
1 teaspoon plain salt
Mix well. It foams up a lot so you need to use a big bowl. Let the foam go down a bit and then add 2 quarts (8 cups) of warm water.
Administer WITHOUT milk for at least 3 days...then gradually introduce the milk again.
Baby lambs or goats get 8 to 16 ounces per feeding 3 times a day. Baby calves get 1 quart (32 ounces) 2 or 3 times a day.
This is a time-tested, tried-and-true recipe used by many rural farmers/ranchers/homesteaders etc. It’s cheaper than any of the commercial mixes I’ve found and works just as well.
It goes without saying that if the animal doesn’t show some improvement within 24-36 hours, it means a trip to the vet.
*********************************************************
Hit the second-hand stores this spring and look for an old mesh-sided playpen. These work really great to confine the baby animals when you have to bring them in the house to warm up. The animal is up off the floor and any “accidents” are confined to one spot for easy clean-up. Anyone who raises stock will tell you that critters in the house are as much a part of spring as the mud!
EMERGENCY HEATER
Here I go again...it’s winter and time once again for me to get on my soapbox
and preach that everyone needs to carry an Emergency Heater in their
vehicles. This 40 year old Extension Service idea will never go out of style.
It’s cheap and easy enough for kids to make.
You will need the following:
- A 1-gallon tin can (such as a 3# coffee can...with the paper label removed)
- 1 roll of toilet tissue (cardboard center removed) this is vital...you cannot leave the cardboard center in the middle of the roll.
- 1-16 ounce bottle of 70% rubbing alcohol
- 2 or 3 books of matches
- A doubled over piece of heavy duty aluminum foil, larger than the top of the can so it can hang over the sides some.
- The plastic lid for the can.
Put the toilet tissue roll, alcohol, matches, foil and the lid in the can and put it behind the seat in the pickup or on the floor in the back seat of the car/van? Do not leave home without it.
If you get stranded in a snowstorm out on the road....
Unpack the heater kit.
Put the toilet tissue roll in the can, pour the whole bottle of alcohol over the tissue and let it soak up completely, about 10 minutes.
Now you can light the heater. This does have an open flame so you need to set it where coats, caps and kids can’t catch fire.
Only the top 1/3 of the can will get hot so it can sit on the car/truck seat, but a magazine wrapped in foil or even a small board could also be carried to set the heater on.
Only the alcohol fumes will burn. The toilet tissue is simply the wick.
When the vehicle gets warm — it only takes about 10 minutes for this heater to warm a car up to 65 degrees — use the doubled-over foil to put out the fire. Let the can cool completely and then remove the foil and put the plastic lid on the can. You want to keep those alcohol fumes from evaporating in case you need to relight the heater.
This heater will burn about 9 hours continuously and from 18 to 24 hours on and off. Because you are only burning alcohol fumes, this produces NO carbon monoxide, but you still need to put a window down just a crack on the downwind side. This is an open flame and does use oxygen.
I also recommend that these heaters be put in the tractors of farmer/ranchers who need to travel several miles away from home to feed livestock or to check on ewes or cows that are about to give birth about the time of year when the snow squalls come through and it’s easy to lose your way.
The heaters will also work for temporary heat when the power is off in your home. Mobile homes especially cool off fast when the power is out. The heater can be taken into a small room and used to heat it. Set it on a table and light it. You will have a fair amount of heat and some light.
The heater will also work to melt snow for water and to heat up soup. You have to hold a saucepan over one side of the flames and it takes a while, but it sure beats nothing.
Please folks, if you don’t have a genuine emergency...stay home!!
(I personally do not consider running out of cigarettes, coffee or pop an emergency. Now having a baby...that’s another story!)
Before you turn a wheel, check the weather conditions on the local radio or TV station. Every year one reads horror stories of people with small children out on the road in a storm and nobody in the vehicle even has a warm coat with them.
If you do have to get out on the road....make sure your gas tank is FULL and that someone knows where you are going, by what route, what time you are expected to arrive and who to call if you don’t. And above all....carry that heater with you.
A cell phone is a handy gadget, but during a blizzard no one can get to you anyway.
FLEAS B-GONE
If you have pets in the house, namely dogs and cats, it’s a given that at some time or another you will be blessed with fleas. They get into the carpets and the fibers of your furniture and they hurt when they bite.
You can buy expensive sprays and flea bombs that do work fairly well, but I don’t like to use that kind of chemicals in my home. The following solution is much cheaper...and it works quite well.
Mix together:
1 cupful of plain Borax (usually sold as 20 Mule Team borax in the stores here)
1 cupful of plain Table Salt
1 cupful of plain Baking Soda
Stir these three ingredients together really well and then sprinkle this over the carpets and furniture before you go to bed at night. Next morning, you can just vacuum it up.
Repeat every couple of weeks until you are sure all of the flea eggs have hatched (they lay them in the fibers and it takes several weeks for all of them to hatch out) and you have sprinkled them.
This mix works by drying up the body fluids of the fleas. I used this when my kids were quite small. I didn’t feel I had to worry about the babies getting something in their mouth or on their hands that was harmful.
MUTT’S MATTRESS
Fido needs a mattress for the winter? A couple of old area rugs from the house can be recycled into a comfortable doggy bed. Fold them over and place them in the dog’s house. If you have concerns about fleas, put some of the homemade flea powder between the folds of the rug. The dog will get the benefit of the flea powder, but doesn’t have to get its drying effects directly on his skin.
If the dog needs an insulated bed you can do the following. Take a couple old fuzzy coat linings and stitch them together to make a bag. Fill with Styrofoam peanuts (a good way to recycle them) and stitch the bag shut. Dust with a little of the flea powder and wish Fido “sweet dreams.”
“PASTE” POT SCRUB
1/2 cup Cream of Tartar
1/2 cup Baking Soda
1/2 cup White Vinegar
1/2 cup Soap Flakes (example: Ivory Snow)
Combine the cream of tartar and soda, add the vinegar and mix very well. Add the soap flakes and stir to make a soft paste. Apply to a stained aluminum pan and scour with very fine (400-grade) steel wool, rinse well. Keep the remainder of the paste in a small jar with a tight fitting lid. This will remain useable for 1 to 2 years.
(I mixed this up using just tablespoons of the cream of tartar, soda, and vinegar and used a scant 1 1/2 teaspoons of the soap. It worked really well and I was quite pleased with the results. I didn’t want to mix up a whole big batch...cream of tartar is sort of expensive and I hesitated to make that much for starters.)
HOMEMADE STICKER STUFF
The grade school crowd is into stickers of all kinds. They collect them and want to stick them everywhere. Mom can go into sticker shock when she sees the price of just a few of the things. You can make your own quite easily. Enlist the help of the kids with the picture cutting part. That way, they get what they want and you save the $$ for the things they need.
Mix together 2 parts white glue and 1 part vinegar. Paint the mixture on the backs of pretty pictures cut from magazines, seed catalogs, etc. Let them dry completely. Package them in recycled envelopes for the kids. They can lick and stick to their hearts content and it costs just pennies.
HOMEMADE BATH POWDER
Most everyone has a favorite scent for perfume or aftershave. I also am aware that in the case of many of the designer scents, there is a whole lineup of expensive, matching fragrance products. An easy one to make-it-yourself is the simple dusting/bath/body powder.
All you need is a box of cornstarch ($1.25) from the grocery store and your favorite scent. Put about 1/2-1 cup of the cornstarch in a glass bowl. Use anywhere from 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite scent for a light scent to 1-2 teaspoons for a fairly strong scent. The cornstarch will get lumpy, but just keep stirring it around until all of the lumps are pretty well gone. Spread the scented powder out on a foil lined pan and let the alcohol in the perfume/body wash evaporate. Then, put the powder in a sieve or some kind of sifter and shake or stir through to break up any remaining lumps.
Pour into a pretty container and enjoy. This is a really nice gift for some of the grandmas that have the old-fashioned colored glass body powder boxes. You might check at the discount store perfume counter for a nice new bath powder puff to go along with the powder.
MAKE-IT-YOURSELF PRODUCE WASH
2 cups plain tap water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon citric acid powder
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Few drops grapefruit oil
The citric acid powder is found in the canning section of the supermarket and is used in canning tomatoes. I got my grapefruit oil at the health food store but have since found that it can also be obtained through bulk spice dealers as well. The alcohol in the lemon extract kills bacteria; the citrus oil is a cleaner as is the soda and citric acid.
My recipe costs about 20 cents for 16 ounces or 40 cents a quart. The commercial fruit and vegetable wash comes in at $4.89 per cup. Cost to make a gallon of the homemade version is under $2.00. To purchase a gallon of the commercial product will lighten your wallet by $78.25.
PennyWise
P.O. Box 518
Kadoka, SD 57543-0518
Watch the pennies and the dollars take care of themselves.
http://www.smart-penny.com/12.html
~~~ Recipes ~~~
Cinnamon Spice Craft Dough
By Paula Vogelgesang
1 C Applesauce
1 – 2 C Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon powdered cloves
1 Teaspoon powdered nutmeg
Mix all ingredients together until it makes dough with the consistency of playdough. You can add more applesauce or cinnamon as needed.
Pat the dough out nice and flat on a cinnamon dusted board and then smooth it with a rolling pin. I used cookie cutters for my shapes, but you may want to just use the tip of a knife around paper shapes. Use a toothpick or soda straw to make a hole near the top of each piece for hanging.
Use a pancake turner to transfer the cut outs to a drying rack. Let dry for several days at room temperature, turning over once a day so they dry flat. If you’re in a hurry, you can use a dehydrator.
When completely dry, thread a length of ribbon through each ornament and use as desired. I use these for package ties and they are then placed in linen closets or dresser drawers as air fresheners where they will last for years.
(Many of these recipes will contain glue. I choose NOT to use it as small children may decide to put these in the mouth. Cinnamon and applesauce will not harm them or a pet — not so sure about the glue.)
Orange Dreamsicle Cake
By Paula Vogelgesang
2 eggs
1 box white cake mix
1 can orange soda
2 pkgs orange gelatin (3-oz size)
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding (3-oz size)
1 c milk
2 c water
1 tsp vanilla
1 carton prepared whipped topping, thawed (8-oz)
Mix cake mix with orange soda and eggs. Spray a 9”x13” pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. When cake is done, poke holes in the cake with a fork. Mix 1 pkg of the orange jello with 1 cup HOT water until dissolved. Add 1 cup COLD water and pour entire mixture over the cake ... allowing the jello mixture to run into the holes. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.
Mix together the box of vanilla pudding mix and the other package of jello. Add 1 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix very well. Blend in the thawed whipped topping. Use this mixture to frost the cake.
Be sure to keep cake refrigerated.
Sweet Pumpkin Rolls
Paula Vogelgesang
Makes 2 dozen
1 cup scalded milk
1package yeast
1 1/4 cups mashed pumpkin puree
1/4 cup warm water (110°)
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 to 6 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter or margarine
Sugar Glaze (optional)
Put the pumpkin, sugar, 1/4-cup margarine and salt in a mixing bowl. Pour the scalded milk over the ingredients, stir to combine and melt the margarine. Let cool to lukewarm.
Sprinkle the yeast in the lukewarm water, stir and let sit to dissolve and begin to grow a bit.
Put 2 cups of flour in with the milk mixture and stir well. Gradually stir in the yeast/water mixture and beat for at least 2 minutes. You can use a mixer or a wooden spoon.
Gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto a floured board or table and knead for just a minute or two to smooth out the dough. Place the dough ball in a well-oiled bowl, turn the dough over so the top gets oiled too, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 hour).
Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured table or counter. Work the dough a little until it’s not sticky. Cut the dough ball in half. While it rests for about 10 minutes, grease or oil two 9”-cake pans. Cut each dough ball into 12 pieces and shape into rolls. Place in greased pans, brush with a little melted margarine or oil. Cover and let rise till doubled. This takes about 45 minutes.
Bake in a pre-heated 375° oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the pans and cool on a rack. Don’t leave in the pans or they steam and get soggy.
GLAZE Mix 1 cup sifted powdered (confectioners) sugar, 1/2 teaspoon good vanilla and 3 teaspoons milk in a small bowl. Mix well and stir till smooth. Drizzle the icing over the rolls using the tip of the spoon.
Homemade Taco Mix
By Paula Vogelgesang
2 Tablespoons dried onion powder
2 Tablespoons dried cumin powder
1 Tablespoon dried red pepper flakes (I use pizza peppers or 1/2 teaspoon of ground red cayenne pepper)
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon paprika
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Teaspoon season salt
2 Tablespoons dried oregano leaves, crushed
Mix ingredients in a small bowl and stir well to combine. Store in a recycled glass jar away from heat and light.
How to use: mix 2 tablespoons taco mix with 1 pound ground meat that has been drained of any fat. Add ½-cup water and ¼-cup of catsup, stir together and simmer for 10 minutes. This makes enough mix for six pounds of ground meat. When I did a price check on the difference between the homemade mix and the commercial mix, judge for yourself. The commercial mix costs 95¢ per packet or $5.70 for the batch. The homemade version costs 32¢ per packet or $1.92 per batch, for a difference of $3.54 for 10 minutes of work. Or if I made 6 batches, I would save $22.68!
Minestrone “Soup in a Jar”
Makes about 6 jars
1/4 cup lentils
1/4 cup split green peas
1/4 cup barley
1/3 cup beef or chicken bouillon powder
2 Tablespoons parsley flakes
3 Tablespoons dried chopped onions
1/3 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon basil leaves
1/4 cup dry macaroni
Use a pint jar (2 cups) for this recipe and layer the ingredients in the order given. Put the lid on the jar and add the cooking instructions on your tag.
Put 10 cups of water in a large saucepan. Add a large can of crushed tomatoes and the contents of this jar. Add to the pot: 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots, 3 or 4 peeled and coarsely chopped potatoes and 2 cups sliced or shredded cabbage.
Bring the pot of vegetables to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the lentils and split peas are tender.
This “gift in a jar” is easy to make, costs just pennies and is great for teachers, grandparents, or anyone else who might enjoy vegetable soup!
White Chocolate-Cereal Mix
6 cups square rice cereal
3 cups round oat cereal
2 cups salted pretzels
2 cups salted peanuts
12 ounce bag of hard-shelled chocolate candies (use the red and green if you can find them)
20 ounce package of white candy coating or white chocolate
Break the chocolate into chunks and melt in a double boiler on the stove over low heat, or in a microwave just heat for 1 minute, stir, heat for 15 seconds and stir... repeat at 15 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted.
Mix all the other ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour the melted chocolate over the ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon. Pour out immediately onto parchment or waxed paper, spread and let cool about an hour. Break up into chunks and store in a airtight container.
(if you let the chocolate/cereal mix set in the bowl, it sticks like everything and you can hardly break it loose!)
Penny-Wise Cinnamon Spice Coffee Creamer
2 cups powdered coffee creamer
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamom
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon powdered cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Mix well. I used a blender, and it took just a minute or so .
Place in a small glass jar and use like any other powdered creamer.
To make this into a coffee mix, add 3/4 cup of instant coffee to the mixture. When I made my batch, I mixed up the creamer & spices and took out 1 cup for the Creamer then, I added 1/2 cup of instant coffee to the remaining 2 cups of creamer mix and then had the coffee mix too.
Two gifts for the time and effort it took to make one gift!
Cinnamon Caramel Rolls
By Paula Vogelgesang
Makes 1 dozen
2 loaves of frozen bread dough, thawed or an equivalent amount of homemade dough)
1 cup of brown sugar
2 Tablespoons of milk or cream 1/2 cup melted oleo (or butter)
1 large package butterscotch or vanilla pudding (NOT the instant kind)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
White sugar
Softened butter or margarine
Cinnamon to taste
Mix the brown sugar, milk, melted oleo, pudding mix and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon until smooth and pour into the bottom of the greased cake pan.
Roll out the amount of dough in 1 loaf to make a strip about 6 inches wide and 18 inches long.
Spread with the softened butter or oleo, sprinkle with some white sugar and cinnamon. Roll up like a jelly roll and cut into 6 pieces.
Place the rolls in the pan. Repeat with the other loaf of thawed bread dough or the same amount of homemade dough.
Again, slice and place into the pan.
You can add chopped walnuts, pecans, raisins or dried cherries on top of the sugar/cinnamon misture before you roll up the rolls to slice them.
Cover the pan with a towel and let rise for 2 to 3 hours in a warm place or until doubled.
Bake in a 350° oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before you turn the rolls out onto a cookie sheet with sides. You can spoon the warm caramel sauce up over the rolls again if need be.
Sweetheart’s Cake
Paula Vogelgesang
One 9-inch heart shaped cake layer or several smaller sized individual cakes
Whipped Topping
Cherry pie filling
Center the heart shape on a large plate. Frost with the whipped topping. Using a teaspoon or pastry bag, make a border around the edge of the cake and refrigerate until serving time. Just before serving, spoon the cherry filling inside the border you made.
Crispy Eyeballs for Halloween
Paula Vogelgesang
Margarine
Marshmallows
Crispy rice cereal
These are neat for kids to make for Halloween treats!
Mold into balls about the size of a golf ball, flatten slightly and put a colored candy like an M&M® in the middle for the pupil of the eye.
If you want to increase the “gross factor” you can drizzle a little bit of thinned red icing or some of the piping gel across the eye.
Yo-cheese (a cream cheese replacement)
By Paula Vogelgesang
Strainer
Cheesecloth or muslin
Spread ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic, very finely minced
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped chives
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
This is one of the simplest cheeses to make and by using non-fat yogurt it is one of the healthiest. Line a strainer or colander with cheesecloth or muslin and put in 1 or 2 containers (32 ounces) of plain yogurt, depending on the amount you want.
Let this drain for one or two days. It depends on the amount of yogurt that you use. At the end of the draining period, you have YO-CHEESE. You can mix it with herbs or honey for a cracker spread. This is the recipe I use:
Take 2 cups yo-cheese, blend in all spread ingredients well. Chill for a couple of hours to blend the flavors and serve with whole-wheat crackers
HOMEMADE “HELPER” ITALIAN STYLE
2 cups dry macaroni or noodles
2 Tablespoons dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Mix the ingredients into a zip-type bag, or a recycled salad dressing or peanut butter jar, and store in the cupboard. When you need a quick supper, you will need the following:
1 pound ground meat (I use beef)
1 recipe ‘helper’
2 8-ounce or 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce or 2 cups of ketchup and 3 cups of plain tap water
Brown the meat in a large skillet; use a fork to break it into small pieces, and turn often to brown them well. Pour off any fat. Add the water to the meat in the skillet and bring it to a boil. Stir in the tomato sauce or ketchup and the bag of “Helper”. Cover with a lid, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir often to keep from sticking; you may have to add a little water. Serves 4 hearty appetites. I serve this with baking powder biscuits and a vegetable. (The planned-overs will keep a couple of days in the fridge, and I have put it in the freezer for yet another meal.)
“Helper” mixes in the stores cost anywhere from $1.89 (on sale) to $3.89 depending on variety and the spices in the box. Quite frankly, all they consist of is the pasta and the seasoning packet. You still have to add the meat and sauce. I bought the pasta for 30 cents, but this could be less if you find a bargain on pasta. I figured the spices at a generous 20 cents, so my box of “Helper” cost just 50 cents instead of the $3.89. Doesn’t take many of these to add up to quite a savings!
GRAVESTONE CAKE for HALLOWEEN
Chocolate cake, frosted (mine was in a 9 x 13 pan)
Sandwich cookies
White frosting for piping
Halloween candies
Make a chocolate cake and frost with chocolate frosting. Crush some chocolate sandwich cookies and sprinkle on the top so it looks like dirt.
Take some vanilla sandwich cookies, pull them apart and decorate the halves with icing. Put “RIP” or “BOO” or whatever on the top half of the cookie and then push it down into the cake so they look like headstones. If you want, you can add some candy decorations like little pumpkins or candy corn.
COOKIE PIZZA
(a great Christmas gift for a teenager)
“Pizza Dough”
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 12-ounce package chocolate chips
“Toppings”
Raspberry or Strawberry Jam
M & M candies
Chopped nuts, walnuts, pecans or peanuts
Shredded coconut
Cream shortening and sugars, add the eggs and beat well. Combine the flour, soda and salt and add to the mixture, beating well to mix. Stir in the vanilla and chocolate chips and beat 30 seconds to mix.
Divide the dough between 2 large foil pizza pans (well greased) or put about half of the dough onto one pizza pan and make the rest into cookies.
Bake the “pizzas” in a 350 degree oven for about 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the “pizzas” cool completely before adding the “toppings.”
Spread the jam to almost the edge of the baked “Pizza.” Then sprinkle with the chopped nuts and colored candies. Finish off with a dusting of the shredded coconut.
You can use a pizza cutter to served this desert. Cut small slices as it is rich. You will need to run a small knife around the outside edge of the pan first to loosen the cookie before serving. (These are fun for a party)
PEANUT BUTTER PLAY DOUGH
1 cup peanut butter (creamy)
1 cup powdered non-fat dry milk
1 cup honey
1 cup oatmeal (you may need to add a little more)
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well either by hand or with an electric mixer. Knead by hand until smooth.
Put the kids up to the table and let them play...... if they eat it...... fine!
(you could give them a few mini-candies for eyes and noses......)
SPICY SAUSAGE AND BEAN SOUP
(a very economical soup ... good too!)
4 cups cooked northern beans or 2-15 ounce cans, undrained
1 16-ounce can of tomatoes, diced
1 4-ounce package sliced pepperoni, chopped
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine the undrained beans and tomatoes in a crock pot. Stir in the remaining ingredients and pour in 2 more cups of water.
Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours.
Serves 6 hearty appetites.
(this can also be cooked on the low heat setting all day long while you are at work.)
SWEET & SPICY CIDER PACKETS
Many times, the packets of commercial cider mix make too much at once....usually a gallon.
The following recipe is just right for 2 cups of cider or apple juice.
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
2 or 3 pieces of dried orange rind
1 2-inch cinnamon stick broken into small pieces (I used a hammer)
Cut 2 4-inch squares of cheesecloth or muslin. Put one on top of the other and place the
above ingredients in the middle. Bring up the corners and tie with string.
You could put several packets in a recycled pretty jar...or decorate one.
OR, put a couple of these in a pretty cup or mug. A perfect “Little gift”.
Tie on a card with the following directions:
Pour 2 cups of apple juice or cider in a pan or microwave safe cup. Put 1 packet in the
juice/cider and heat just to boiling. Let stand a few minutes and serve.
MAKE-IT-YOURSELF ONION SOUP MIX
1-1/2 cups minced dried onion flakes
2/3 cup beef bouillon powder
3-1/2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed, crushed ( I use my meat tenderizer hammer ...
it works!)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Mix all of the above ingredients in a small bowl. Store in a recycled jar
with a tight lid. Five tablespoons of this mix equals one envelope of
commercial soup mix
To use, mix the five tablespoons of soup mix powder with 2-1/4 cups of
water for soup, or combine with one 16-ounce carton of sour cream for dip.
I use five tablespoons sprinkled over a beef roast in the crock pot along
with the water and let it simmer all day. Good to have on hand for a
quick meal, and it makes heavenly sandwiches. Or, you can add some
barbecue sauce to some of the roast that’s been shredded ... yum!
This recipe makes the equivalent of six envelopes of soup mix. The last I
bought was $2.89 for a package of two envelopes. The total price for this
mix when I made it myself was under $3 for the six!! Quite a savings, and
nice to have on hand when you need it.
RANCH DRESSING MIX
An all time favorite!
30 squares of saltine crackers 1/2 cup onion salt
1 cup dried parsley flakes 1/2 cup garlic salt
1/2 cup dried minced onion 1/4 cup onion powder
2 tablespoons dried dill weed 1/4 cup garlic powder
Put the cracker squares in a blender or crush with a rolling pin until very finely powdered. You don’t want any chunks. Add the parsley flakes, minced onion and dill weed. This too has to be very finely powdered. You can do it with a rolling pin, but it does take a while, a blender makes this part a lot easier.
Pour the powdered ingredients into a 1 quart bowl and use a wire whisk to blend in the onion/garlic salts and powders.
Pour the blended ingredients into a container with a tight lid. Store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight and away from heat and moisture. Use the mix within one year.
This recipe makes 48 tablespoons of dressing mix.
One Tablespoon equals one (4 ounce) commercial package.
To make the dressing:
Combine 1 Tablespoon of mix with 1 cup of buttermilk and 1 cup of mayonnaise. For a lower fat version, use non-fat powdered buttermilk mixed with skim milk and either 1 cup of plain non-fat yogurt or non-fat cottage cheese (blended smooth) in place of the mayonnaise.
When I did the price check I found that 1 package of commercial mix cost $1.49 or $71.52 for 48 packages.
The home-made mix comes in at 20 cents per package or $9.60 for the 48...for a difference of $61.92 cents! (Most of us can take 10 minutes to save over $60!!)
Suggestion: Since the mixture should be used within one year, this is a good recipe to share with 3 friends. Each contributes a couple of dollars and gets the equivalent of 12 packages of dressing mix.
“LIKE DOROTHY” SALAD DRESSING
1 can tomato soup - 1 cup sugar
1 cup oil - 1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp. salt - 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dry mustard - 1 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. pepper
Put all ingredients in a deep bowl and whip with an electric beater. You can use a wire whisk if you have a strong arm. Put into a bottle and keep in the refrigerator. This will keep for months.
When we did the price check on this, the commercial product was $3.59 and the same amount of the homemade cost $1.39!
MAKE IT YOURSELF LEMON EXTRACT
I make this for my own use and would never go back to the store-bought stuff.
To make your own lemon extract, peel the yellow part off of 2 lemons...do not include any of the white bitter stuff (it’s called pith). Chop the peel up fine so that you have at least 4 Tablespoons of the yellow part. Put it in 1/2 cup of vodka mixed with 1/4 cup of water. (If you think it’s a lot of alcohol, check out the commercial stuff) Let sit for at least 2 weeks (I used an old jelly jar). This will yield about 3/4 cup of Lemon Extract, which will keep for about a year. Strain before using.
If you would like to give some as a gift, make some curly lemon peel pieces, place them in a small jar (quilted jelly jars are nice) and add the strained extract you’ve made.
BLACK SKILLET CORNBREAD
1 1/2 cups sour milk or buttermilk
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups corn meal
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup melted butter or canola oil (the original recipe called for
“drippings,” leftover bacon grease)
Beat together the sour milk or buttermilk, eggs, sugar, salt, and soda. With a few strokes, stir in the corn meal which has been mixed with the flour. Stir in the melted butter or oil and mix well. Pour into a well-greased round pan (8 x 1 1/2) or an 8” cast iron skillet. Bake in a hot oven at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.
At our house, this is usually served with some kind of beans: calico beans, boiled beans and bacon or baked beans.
GERMAN POTATO SOUP
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 of a small carrot, sliced
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 cups chopped celery (I only use 1 cup)
3 cups reconstituted non-fat dry milk powder (1 cup dry milk powder mixed in 3 cups of cold water)
2 cups chopped boiled or baked potatoes (with skins left on)
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery and caraway seeds. Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and start to turn color.
Add the milk, cold potatoes, and carrots and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Stir occasionally. Add the dill weed (optional) and stir to mix in the seasoning. Do not allow to come to a boil again. Season with some salt and pepper and a little bit of butter or margarine if you like.
Serve with crackers alongside the soup cup. This is a low-fat recipe that serves 4 people. This recipe is a great way to use up those 2 extra baked potatoes or the few boiled potatoes remaining after dinner last evening. It makes a hearty soup that costs very little.
COUNTRY BREAD
1 cup lukewarm water
3 packages dry yeast
6 cups warm water
2 cups non-fat dry milk powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup shortening or oil (I use oil)
1 cup instant potato flakes or leftover mashed potatoes to equal 2 cups
1 cup dry oatmeal
12 to 15 cups all-purpose flour (amount depends on moisture content)
To make: Soften the yeast in the 1 cup of lukewarm water. I always put in about 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar because it feeds the yeast and makes it work faster.
Combine the 6 cups of warm water with the non-fat dry milk powder, sugar, salt, potato flakes, oil, and oatmeal in a large bowl. Add the yeast after it foams up and stir into the milk mixture. Add 4 cups of the flour and beat about 3 minutes with a wooden spoon to develop the gluten. Then, gradually add enough remaining flour to make a dough that cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a floured counter and knead, adding a little more flour if necessary. Knead the dough till smooth and elastic. Put the well-kneaded dough into a greased dishpan and oil the top. Cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise till doubled.
Punch down, rest the dough about 5 minutes and make into loaves. Put into greased pans, raise again to double and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 to 55 minutes. The loaves will be a rich golden brown color an dsound hollow when you tap them with your fingers.
Makes 4 large loaves or five smaller ones.
I make up batches of bread and freeze the extra loaves. These cost about 20 cents each to make, much cheaper than the $2.29-$2.79 per loaf charged in the markets.
HOME-MADE REFRIED BEANS
3 cups cooked pinto beans
(or a 1 pound can of pinto beans)
1/4 cup drippings (bacon)
dash of salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup grated longhorn cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese
In an electric skillet, heat the drippings on a low heat setting. Add the beans and mash with a potato masher or fork. Add the seasonings. Add the cheese and stir until melted (omit for burritos).
These can be used as a dip, a side dish, a stuffing for sopapillas, burrito filling, tostados and in combination with many other dishes. (These are really good. I use the dried pinto beans (bought in bulk) and cook a whole sackful at once. The ones I don’t use at the time, I freeze in 2 and 3 cup baggies. I also don’t use the full amount of cheese because I’m on a low-fat diet.)
CORN CAKES
2 1/2 cups cream style corn
2 cups unsalted cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted margarine
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste, at least 1/8 teaspoon
4 egg whites
cooking spray or a little bit of cooking oil
Combine the corn, cracker crumbs, milk, melted margarine, sugar, and salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff but not dry, and fold into the first mixture. Heat a large skillet until hot and add just a tad of oil. Drop in large spoonfulls of batter and then flatten them out with the back of the spoon to make a thin corn cake about 3 inches across. Fry over medium heat about 3 minutes, turn once and cook for another 3 minutes...about six minutes total. This makes 12 very good corncakes. (This may be one way to get the small fry to eat their vegetables.)
SPECIAL SAUERKRAUT
To jazz up that canned sauerkraut, add some chopped apple...about 1/2 cup, 1/2 teaspoon of celery seed and 3 teaspoons of brown sugar
E-Z RICE
One of the staples in my kitchen is rice. I like to have some cooked ahead and in the freezer for those last minute meals when I’ve had to work late. An easy way to fix the rice is to use my oven to cook it at the same time I’m cooking something else.
Put 1 cup of raw rice in a metal bowl with a pinch of salt, then add 2 cups of water. Cover the bowl with a piece of aluminum foil and bake it at 350 degrees for about an hour. This makes about 2 1/2 cups of cooked rice which I then refrigerate or freeze for other uses.
PennyWise
P.O. Box 518
Kadoka, SD 57543-0518
http://www.smart-penny.com/3.html
~~~ CRAFT IDEAS ~~~
PennyWise does not assume responsibility for the advice
given. It is up to each reader to determine if such
advice is safe for his or her own situation.
“Soapy the Snowbaby”
Paula Vogelgesang
2 cups Ivory powdered soap
1/2 cup water
Trims for Snowbaby scarf and hat
Toothpicks
Sticks or chenille stems for arms
Whole cloves for the eyes and mouth
Whole allspice,little buttons or beads
Orange craft paint or marker
I hereby declare January the Month of the Snowmen — or to be “politically correct” Snowpeople!
Christmas is over and there is no other holiday until February when all the hearts show up. Snowmen are good for all winter. January is a month usually filled with snow, so let’s make it Happy Snow. This is a little Snowbaby you can make that is quick and easy to make, and it doesn’t cost much either.
Mix the soap flakes and water till doughy. It looks awfully dirty, but will dry nice and white. Shape the soap into 3 balls with your hands — small, medium and large.
Put a toothpick in the middle of the large ball about halfway and then gently press the middle ball down on that. to stabilize the Snowbaby. Then put a toothpick halfway into the middle ball and insert it into the small ball to stabilize the head to the body.
Use orange craft paint or the marker to paint a toothpick orange, let it dry and then break the end off to make a nose the size you want. Insert the orange toothpick into the head. Push in the eyes, mouth and the buttons on the front. Cut a couple of sticks (I cut twigs off the ash tree in the front yard) and put them in place for arms.
Dress the Snowbaby any way you want. I used a little hat that used to be an ornament, and tore a scrap of fabric for the scarf (there are little hats available at craft stores — look in the ornament section.)
Set the Snowbaby aside and let it dry completely. I set mine on one of those free CD’s that come in the mail. You can glue it down if you need to.
Father’s Day candy feeder
By Paula Vogelgesang
Chick feeder
Quart jar
Bag of candy
An easy gift for Father’s Day is a candy feeder.
You need a chick feeder (found at a Hardware Store for about $3.)
1 Quart glass jar (recycle a mayonnaise jar)
A bag of candy (jelly beans, lemon drops, Lifesavers, peppermint drops, etc.)
Fill the jar with candy, screw on the feeder and flip it over. The candy can be taken out one piece at a time and the whole thing looks good on a desk
Make-It-Yourself Drum Composter
By Paula Vogelgesang
1 garbage can with a tight fitting lid
Electric Drill
Depending on the price of the garbage can, this can cost about $20. The cheapest drum composter I found was $169 PLUS the shipping!
Make sure you use a garbage can with a tight fitting lid or one you can tie down good and solid. Electric Drill: you will need to drill a minimum of 20-30 holes in the sides, top, and bottom of the garbage can. Layer in the materials to be composted. Usually a combination of dry leaves, dried grass clippings, old cow or horse droppings, kitchen waste, shredded paper, etc.
Dampen the whole works and put the lid on the can. Set the can on some bricks so it can drain. Every day or so, tip the can on it’s side and roll it around the yard a couple of times, Return it to it’s spot, take the lid off so it can get some fresh air, and use an old pitchfork to stir the contents around a bit before replacing the lid.
According to the folks that used this, it takes about 4-6 weeks for useable compost.
MINI-TRAVEL DESK
One of those metal cake pans with the sliding/pop-off lid makes a perfect mini-desk for kids and adults on the go.
Fill the inside of the pan with paper, pencils, markers, crayons, and other needed items and store in the car under the seat.
The metal sliding top is perfect as a writing surface and is easily cleaned if markers or crayons miss their mark.
SANTA TRACKS
A reader writes: Here’s a hint I used when my kids were small, and I look forward to using this idea for the grandkids when they spend Christmas with us.
Use a piece of cardboard (a cereal box works well), and trace around a big boot.
Cut out the center boot part to make a stencil of a footprint.
Put some baking soda in a salt shaker and then make SANTA TRACKS across the floor to the Christmas tree.
Just flip the pattern/stencil over for the right and left tracks.
This works well on plain flooring as well as carpeting and is easily cleaned with a damp rag or the vacuum.
VALENTINE WREATH
For a quick and easy Valentine Wreath you can use either of the following ideas, which use a heart-shaped form.
# 1. Cover the shape with red cellophane or tissue paper. Scrunch it for texture and either pin or glue to the form.
Decorate with wrapped chocolates either glued or pinned to the paper. Another variation would be to use 2” wide strips of fabric
(torn, not cut) and wrap the wreath with this before adding the chocolates.
# 2. Use a grapevine heart-shaped form. Tie on small inexpensive red toys with hearts (mine cost 99 cents each and I used two,
a teddy bear and a puppy). Then simply insert valentine sucker sticks in the wreath wherever you wish. Hang and let the kids enjoy.
OLD - FASHIONED ICE CANDLES
You will need:
clean waxed paper juice or milk cartons
ice chips
canning wax from the grocery store, about 1-1/2 boxes or 1-1/2 pounds
a coffee can to melt the wax in
a taper candle (colored)
Melt the wax over a double boiler (be very careful ... wax is extremely flammable).
Center the candle in the middle of the waxed carton and surround the candle with the ice chips to the top of the carton.
Carefully pour the melted wax over the ice until the carton is full of the wax. Let this set for at least 2 hours, then pour out the water, and peel away the waxed carton.
The wax will have holes in it similar to Swiss cheese where the ice chips were ... they look somewhat like lace and are really pretty. Every single one is different.
These can set in the middle of an arrangement; they look beautiful when burning. Some of the colored wax will come out through the ice holes as the candle inside burns.
CHALKBOARD TABLE
All kids love to draw and if paper is not available, they will use the walls, floor or the good tablecloth.
A television decorating show had a child’s chalkboard table for $300 (at that price, the kid wouldn’t be allowed to touch it)! I made one for just $10. Very affordable for parents.
You need:
A little round plywood or masonite decorative end table with 3 dowel legs ($5.88 at a discount store)
A can of chalkboard paint ($ 2.79...same store)
Acrylic craft paint (optional)
Sand the tabletop and legs. I did cut the legs down 5 inches with a
band saw, after taping the legs together so they wouldn’t shift.
I sprayed the tabletop 3 times, sanding between coats. Then I painted
the legs ... one yellow, one blue and one red.
With the addition of a 59 cent box of chalk, I have a toy that is irresistible to
my 2 little neighbor gals (they are 2 years old).
I had a couple of old metal folding chairs I had gotten at an auction years ago. I did repaint them to go with the table, but you can buy the little plastic chairs in the discount store for about $3 each.
HOMEMADE FLOWER PRESS
Pressed flowers are great to use for decorations on stationary, lampshades, jars and bottles full of bath oil or bath salts, but are quite expensive to purchase. The stores do sell kits for making flower presses, but they run about $15 and are nothing more than 2 pieces of board and either twine or maybe big screws and washers......it’s not necessary.
You can make your own pressed flowers with nothing more than an old telephone book and a stack of books.
Pick pansies, Johnny jump ups, wild roses, daisies, ferns of all kinds, tansy leaves, (in other words, any flower or leaf that will press Flat)
Open the phone book about a half-inch from the bottom. Lay in 5 or 6 flowers, allow about another 1/2 inch of phone book pages and repeat until you run out of flowers or the book is about full. Put the phone book of flowers in an out of the way spot...and pile on heavy books...I use 7 or 8 encyclopedia books. Leave undisturbed for a couple of weeks. Then, check to see if the flowers are completely dry. If so, they can be put in a flat box and kept there to use however you want. If they aren’t completely dry, leave them in the book for another week. (daisies and sometimes roses will take longer).
COOL CRAYONS
Those broken bits of crayons the kids bring home from school can be
salvaged quite easily by making larger crayons in candy molds.
Melt the crayons from the same color family .... all yellows, blues,
greens, etc. … in washed vegetable cans. I set the cans in a pan of hot
water set on simmer so they melt slowly.
Then I just swirl the colors around a little, cool to lukewarm, and pour
the resulting mixture into candy molds. Set them aside to cool a few
minutes, then pop the new crayons out.
You can have flowers, animals ... most anything. I have a set of ice cube
trays in the shape of farm animals. These are super for a birthday gift
at the last minute, or save them for stocking-stuffers at Christmas for
the under-5 set. I got my molds at garage sales, but have seen them in
the bargain bins for under a dollar.
JAR FLAT DECORATIONS
This is a great recycling project for scout troops, 4-H clubs, folks in nursing homes, etc.
Items needed include:
Clean used jar flats
Used cards from Easter, Mother’s Day, Birthday, Christmas or photographs.
Glue, glitter, yarn, rick-rack, ribbons, or anything else that will glue on to the flat.
Cut the pictures to fit the size of the jar flat. Glue them to the flat. Let the glue dry and then start decorating with the ribbons, glitter, flat craft jewels, etc.
You can glue two of the flats together so you have decorations on both sides. Glue on a piece of ribbon or yarn to use as a hanger. A hot glue gun works great for this project if safety rules are followed. Several of these decorated photo flats can be glued on a wide ribbon and used as a photo gallery for grandparents or other relatives.
SEA SHELLS REVISITED
If you have some nice-sized shells and some leftover scented candle odds and ends, you can make something beautiful for your bathroom or bedroom at practically no cost.
To begin, you will need to purchase some wicking at the craft store. Around here, it’s about $2 for 10 feet...that’s a lot of candles! I don’t use the little metal wick holders. I just tie the wicking around a washer from my junk drawer...does the same thing and it’s free!
Melt the wax in a clean old tin can in a double boiler. Put the wick tied to the washer in the center and add some melted wax. Let it set up and then add a little more wax. You may have to hold the wick up. I tie the wicking onto a pencil and suspend it between a couple of small drinking glasses. It’s a little unorthodox, but it works.
These also make a nice addition to a bridal shower gift. Purchase some towels on sale and add a few of these candles for extra pizzazz.
BLUE JEANS BONUS
One of my favorite gifts to give small or not so small boys and girls, is a Blue Jeans Quilt. They wear like iron, and when made from recycled jeans, can be quite cost effective. There are several different ways to make them and time usually dictates how they are made in this house.
I cut the squares (about 5”) from the good parts of the jeans over the year as they wear out too much to patch...or someone gives me a pile of old jeans they’ve discarded. To assemble the quilt, I usually just stitch the squares together to get the size I need, add a backing and tie in the middle of the squares with scrap yarn or crochet cotton. I then zig-zag around the outer edges to reinforce it.
My jean quilts are usually sized so they can be carried in the vehicle in the winter...or tossed on the floor and flopped on. In fact, I call ‘em Floor Flops. I have learned though not to put anything in the middle for a batting. I usually use an old blanket for the backing and with anything extra in the middle, they are simply too heavy.
My expense for these quilts is next-to-nothing, usually no more than the cost of the thread and the time it takes to put them together. My quilts are usually made for kids, but they can be made in larger sizes for bigger beds or to use for impromptu picnics. They also work quite well under a sleeping bag as an extra padding.
Ragged blue jeans are easy to obtain. Simply “put out the word,” and chances are you’ll get more than you bargained for.
If you have craft ideas to share, please send them to
paula@smart-penny.com
PennyWise
P.O. Box 518
Kadoka, SD 57543-0518
http://www.smart-penny.com/2.html
~~~HINTS~~~
Just Bag It!
For ease in finding things in your suitcase, those extra big plastic bags are a wonder. Just put allof your shirts in one, your socks and underthings in another, shoes in yet another one and toiltries in another.
It’s so easy to find what you need and if you get snagged in a security check, it’s easy for them to scan each individual bag.
This same ideas works great for organizing a briefcase or a large purse...much easier for the security folks to do their job and it saves you time and frustration as well.
PennyWise Hint: Icing Bag Christmas Treats
By Paula Vogelgesang
One of the biggest sellers at craft fairs is the clear plastic icing bags filled with all sorts of goodies.
Take a few minutes and make them yourself A package of the clear plastic icing bags can be found in craft, variety and specialty cake decorating stores.
These treats are so easy to make that even the kids can do this, especially for the teachers.
Some ideas include: Gourmet Jelly Beans Spicy Cereal Mix/Puppy Chow Aw Nuts Hot Chocolate Mix Candy, Candy, Candy.
Fill the bags with whatever you choose, twist the top to secure, tape it with clear tape and add a bow and a tag. (to make it easier to fill the bags, just use a quart jar.)
Germination Test
If you have left-over garden seed, now is the time to test them for the coming season. Read on the label how many days it takes the seeds to germinate....the following instructions are for things like radishes, lettuce, etc. (Some seed has a hard coat and it’s going to take longer anyway)
Just count out 10 seeds and put them on a dampened paper towel in a sandwich bag. Put the bag on top of your refrigerator for a few days (mine is nice and toasty and an ideal place to test seeds). After 3 or 4 days, check to see how many of the seeds have sprouted. If only one or two seeds sprout, you might want to consider getting some new seed. If however, 8 out of 10 sprout, you know that they are good for this year.
Second Sight
To help an elderly or sight impaired person find their radio station, put a piece of transparent tape over the dial and then mark over it with a colored marker...or use some colored sticky backed dots from the office supply store...you can cut them down as small as you need. When the radio is no longer needed, peel off the marked tape and there is no damage. This also works for oven dials, dryer heat setting knobs and all sorts of other knobby parts of life.
Clip It
Spring type clothespins can be used in place of “store bought” plastic clips to close cereal bags, chips, candy, noodles, nuts and anything else in a bag. If you glue a small magnet on one side, they become great note holders for the refrigerator too.
Vinegar Uses
If you are using vinegar for cleaning, it makes no difference what kind you use for non-porous materials, but brown (cider) vinegar will stain anything porous. Vinegar is used for cleaning and deodorizing all sorts of things.
If the dishwasher develops “bad breath”, just put a half-cup of vinegar in a dish on the bottom rack. Load the machine with all of those fancy dishes you never use.....run the load through the cycle. The dishes will be clean and the dishwasher will no longer smell.
De-Bug IT
To check for “critters” (as in bugs) in the basement, try those sticky mouse traps. After a couple of days, you will have captured some of the crickets, spiders and other creepy crawlies. Then decide if they are enough of a pest to spray, or have a professional come in and do the job for you.
Love Those Lines
A number of housing developments and apartment buildings will not allow clotheslines. If this is so in your neighborhood, string some lines in the garage, basement or bathroom. Those who live in mobile homes can hang clothes on hangers on the shower rod in the bathroom...there is usually a heat vent right by the bathtub (comes in handy as a dryer). If you line-dry clothes indoors, you will also notice the humidity level raises in the house. Less irritation to nose and throat and the moisture retains heat in the rooms too.
The lines will save you money on your electric/gas bill and I personally think it helps the clothes
last longer...all that lint in the dryer comes from your clothes.
Sap Zap
To get rid of pine sap dribbles and drips on your vehicle, just use softened butter
or margarine. Smear it on, let it set for a few minutes and wipe off with a soft cloth.
This does not damage the finish.
No Bug Cereals
To keep the “critters” out of your oatmeal, flour, cornmeal etc. put in a few sticks
of unwrapped spearmint chewing gum.
“SNAKES ALIVE” (and spiders too)
Do not leave your shoes outside in the fall of the year if you live in snake country.
They look for places to hide and shoes are perfect. We have rattlesnakes.
I also was told that Black Widow spiders also like shoes
Kiddy Corral
If you have a playpen with a removable floor, take it to the lake or beach and push the legs
down into the sand or the grass. The little ones under 18 months can play safely without the
worry of them toddling off into the water.
Bug-B-Gone
To make bug splatter removal easier on your vehicle, motor home, or camper, spray the bumper,
hood, grill and overhead area above the windshield with cooking spray. It keeps the bug juice from
sticking so much and wipes off fairly easily, with less chance of paint damage. Be sure to not spray
the rubber gasket material around the windows as some oils cause these to deteriorate.
Cleaning Copper Pots
An old trick to clean copper-bottomed pots and pans is to sprinkle table salt on them and then scrub with a rag soaked in some vinegar. The job is made even easier if you run hot water over the bottom of the pan first. The heat seems to help the salt and vinegar do their job. ~ Sue, SD
Kitchen Gadget Cleaner
Recycle that fuzzed-out toothbrush. Keep it in the kitchen drawer to clean the gunk out of the cheese grater, garlic press, food choppers, and other handy kitchen helpers that are hard to clean. If you are like me, if it’s hard to maintain, it goes back on the shelf and doesn’t get used.
Recycle Umbrellas
Save the metal ribs from the old umbrellas and use them as plant supports in your garden this spring and summer. If you paint them green, they can hardly be seen against the plants. ~ Mary, TX
Travel Caddy
Save and clean the ultra detergent boxes with handles. Cover with some kind of fabric with or without padding. These make a handy sewing caddy, just right for some needlework on the road. ~ Jody, TN
Gum Remover
Bubble gum, or any other kind for that matter, can be removed from hair with peanut butter. Moosh it around with your fingers. The peanut butter will cause the gum to break up into little balls and it comes right off of the hair. A quick shampoo and all is well...sure beats a haircut. ~ Jackie, WA
Easier Reading
Use BLACK felt-tipped markers with a fine line and white paper when writing to older folks or the sight impaired. When you write plainly in large letters, the contrast makes it easy for them to read. This is how I write to my sons who have an eye disease. ~ Ila, SD
Mouthwash Alert
Keep your bottles of mouthwash up high and away from the little ones. This stuff belongs with the cold medicine as the alcohol content runs from 18% to 26% and 4 ounces of the stuff could be FATAL to a 20 pound child. ~ Jack, PA
Tube Savings
Before you throw away that squeezed out tube of toothpaste, styling gel, hair slick-um etc., cut the end off with a pair of old scissors. Split the tube up the side. You will be surprised at how much product is left in that so-called “empty” tube. ~ Adele, WA
Cheap Doggy Bed
Need a bed for the pooch? Make a bag using an old fuzzy coat liner for one side and a piece of fabric made from stitched together hunks of old blue jeans for the other side. Stuff with some of those styrofoam peanuts. If you have access to cedar shavings, put some of those in too. They are supposed to help keep the bugs away, and besides that, they smell good too. (Cedar shavings can sometimes be obtained at a school where they offer wood shop classes.) ~ Jon, AK
Patch a Basket
To mend the broken slats in a mesh laundry basket, I use silver tape. Put a piece of the tape on the inside and on the outside, over the broken slat. The pieces of tape will stick to each other and mend the basket for several more months. ~ Phyllis, MT
Trash Can De-scented
It doesn’t take too long for a trash can to develop bad breath. If you put a couple of handfuls of new kitty litter in the bottom of the garbage can BEFORE you put in the new bag, it will absorb the off odors. Much nicer smelling and keeps the critters from trying to take the lid off the can before the garbage man comes. ~ Bob, IL
Laundry Short-Cut
I never sort laundry. In the bottom of my bathroom linen closet are 4 baskets...1 for whites, 1 for towels, 1 for colored clothes and 1 for jeans. Every member of the family puts their soiled clothing in the proper basket and when it’s full, it goes to the washer. This sure does save me a lot of time. My kids learned right from the start that clothes that weren’t in the baskets didn’t get washed. ~ Bob, IL
Easy Grill Cleaning
After the barbecue/cookout is over, you will want to clean up the grill. There is a very simply way to do this without using a lot of elbow grease. Let the grill top cool off completely. Lift it out of the grill and put it into a black plastic garbage bag. Add 1 cup of household ammonia. Tie the bag shut and set the whole shebang in direct, hot sunlight. Leave overnight. The fumes of the ammonia will loosen all of that black gunk on the grill. Fish it out of the bag and turn on a stream of water from the garden hose (do this where it won’t hurt the lawn). About 99% of the cruddy stuff will rinse right off...
Barrow Cooler
A wheelbarrow makes a neat, portable soft drink cooler when you are hosting an outdoor picnic. Simply line the barrow with plastic or used foil (cleaned and recycled of course), fill with ice and add the sodas. They stay cold for a long time and clean-up is a breeze. Dump the water and ice in the flower beds, dry out the barrow and you’re done.
Double Does It
Double up when you cook. As a working mom, this really helps me out a lot. I drive 40 miles one-way to my job so I do a lot of cooking on weekends. This way, it’s not so much work to put good healthy meals on the table during the week. It’s no harder to make two casseroles, and the time to bake them is the same. Sure beat buying the pre-cooked and high priced items in the supermarket.
Use All That You Buy
When you buy fresh broccoli, don’t throw away the stalks after eating the flowerettes. There are lots of nutrients in them and after all, you did pay good money for them. Chop the stalks in your food processor and then freeze for later use when making broccoli/cheese soup...OR use your food processor or a good sharp knife to slice the peeled stalks into thin circles to use in casseroles or in stir-fry recipes.
Foiled Again
If your cookie sheets are darkened with age, you can make them shine again by covering them with heavy duty foil. They can be wiped off with a damp rag between batches of cookies and the heavy foil is easily cleaned. Roll it up on a cardboard tube for easy reuse.
The Super Duster
Make a throw-away duster from old newspapers. Roll together a couple of sections of plain black and white newspaper. Tie the bundle in the middle with a piece of grocery string or a good heavy rubber band. Cut a long fringe on one end with a pair of sharp shears. (This is the duster part)...the other end is the handle. Now you can dust the cobwebs out of the high places and chase the dustbunnies out from under the couch. Just pitch the whole thing in the trash when it gets dirty. (I like this idea because it means one less “thing” to have to keep track of, besides, those old fashioned feather dusters always make me sneeze.
PennyWise
P.O. Box 518
Kadoka, SD 57543-0518
http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/recipe-index.html
10 - Rhubarb Recipes
Rhubarb recipes for all sorts of things. Remember, only the stalks are edible, don’t eat the leaves or roots. Rhubarb is incredibly versatile with many culinary uses; try it in cakes and desserts, pastries, jams, pickles, conserves, sauces and, of course, wine. There may be several recipes by the same name but they are different (although sometimes only slightly, I have tried to remove the duplicates). There are now over 300 recipes in this collection. If you have a recipe to add to this collection or a comment on a recipe, please email it to me.
Rhubarb Bar Recipes Rhubarb Bars, squares and such, 14 recipes Rhubarb Muffin Recipes Rhubarb Muffins, 14 recipes
Rhubarb Bread Recipes Rhubarb Breads, 7 recipes Rhubarb Pickle Recipes Rhubarb Pickles (coming soon)
Rhubarb Cake Recipes Rhubarb Cakes, 45 recipes Rhubarb Pie Recipes Rhubarb Pies, 52 recipes
Rhubarb Candy Recipes Rhubarb Candy (coming soon) Rhubarb Pork and Beef Recipes Pork & Beef entrÚes with Rhubarb
Rhubarb Chicken Recipes Chicken (and other bird) entrÚes with rhubarb (coming soon) Rhubarb Pudding Recipes Rhubarb Puddings, yogurts, sobet, trifle and frozen deserts, 19 recipes
Rhubarb Cobbler Recipes Rhubarb Cobblers, crisps, fools, crunches, and crumbles, 43 recipes Rhubarb Sauce Reicpes Rhubarb Sauces, chutney, relish, salsa, compote and stewed rhubarb, 46 recipes
Rhubarb Cookie Recipes Rhubarb Cookies, 2 recipes Rhubarb Salad Recipes Rhubarb Salads and salad dressings, 5
Rhubarb Desserts Rhubarb Desserts, 9 recipes Rhubarb Souffle Rhubarb Soufflé (coming soon)
Rhubarb Dumplings Rhubarb Dumplings (and swirls) (coming soon) Rhubarb Soup Rhubarb Soup, 2 recipes
Rhubarb Drinks Rhubarb Drinks, other than wine, 10 recipes Star Trek Recipes Star Trek recipes with Rhubarb (coming soon)
Rhubarb Fish Recipes Fish entres with Rhubarb (coming soon) Rhubarb Tart Recipes Rhubarb Tarts, 8 recipes
Frozen Rhubarb Recipes Frozen Rhubarb, 7 recipes Rhubarb Trifle Recipes Rhubarb Trifle (coming soon)
Rhubarb Grütze Recipes Rhubarb Grütze (Gruel) (coming soon) Rhubarb Wine Recipes Rhubarb Wine and other fermented forms of rhubarb, 17 recipes
Rhubarb Jam Recipes Rhubarb Jam, jellies, conserves, preserves and marmalades, 39 recipes
Rhubarb Stuff Rhubarb Stuff, things with rhubarb that defy these simple categories, 27 recipes
Rhubarb cooking tips Rhubarb cooking tips, also see the rec.food.cooking FAQ and conversion guide
Strawberry
It seems that the single most common ingredient in rhubarb recipes other than rhubarb is strawberry, so you probably need to visit The Original Strawberry Facts Page
http://www3.telus.net/strawberryjamm/jamm/strawberryfacts/index.html
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A Few Links Leading to useful Resources which contain information on Other Berries and Fruits
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http://www.farmersalmanac.com/recipes/a/slow-cooking-hints-and-recipes-for-the-crock-pot
Slow Cooking: Hints and Recipes for the Crock Pot
crockpotDon’t you love coming home to fragrant, tantalizing aromas after a long, hard day at work? Dinner is ready the moment you walk in the door when you use a crock pot. Slow cooking is easy, saves time, and is extremely versatile for preparing your favorite soups, main dishes, and even desserts. Check out these tips for successful crock pot cooking, then try these delicious slow cooker recipes.
* Spray the inside of the crock pot with a nonstick cooking spray or use a disposable liner for easy cleanup.
* Do not under or overfill the crock pot. The appliance should only be filled one half to two thirds full in order for food to cook properly.
* To avoid food poisoning, defrost any frozen foods before placing in crock pot and cook food on HIGH for the first hour to allow food to reach safe temperatures faster, then reduce heat to LOW to finish cooking. Do not leave cooked food inside the crock pot for refrigeration. The pot’s thick material will not allow food to chill quickly enough to prevent bacterial growth.
* Do not remove the lid to the crock pot during cooking. Lifting the lid allows enough heat to escape that you must extend the cooking time by 20 to 30 minutes each time. Spinning the lid will help condensation drip off so you can see through the lid to check the food.
* For best results, trim excess fat from meats before slow cooking. Save money by buying cheaper, less-fatty cuts of meat; these tougher cuts of meat will become very tender after slow cooking in the moist heat. To add color and enhance flavor, brown large cuts of meat before placing in the crock pot.
* Vegetables cook slower than meats in a crock pot, so slice veggies thinly and place near the sides and bottom of the pot.
* Ground meats are best cooked in a skillet before adding to the crock pot.
* Seafood becomes rubbery when cooked for long periods of time, so wait until the last hour of cooking to place in the crock pot.
* Add spices during the last hour of cooking; otherwise, they will lose flavor.
* If you must adjust the cooking time for a recipe, remember that cooking for one hour on HIGH is equivalent to two hours on LOW.
Breakfast Casserole
6 eggs, beaten
10 slices bread
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 pound sausage
Salt and pepper to taste
Yellow mustard (optional)
Brown sausage, stirring to crumble. Drain fat. Spread mustard on one side of bread slices; cut bread in quarters. Beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Spray inside of crock pot with nonstick cooking spray. Layer bread, cheese, and sausage in crock pot. Pour egg mixture over other ingredients. Cook on LOW 8 - 10 hours.
Pumpkin Soup
1 ounce butter
2 pounds pumpkin, peeled and cut into one-inch square pieces
1 medium onion, whole
2 cloves, inserted into the onion
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt to taste
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup milk
Nutmeg
Sour Cream
Place butter and pumpkin in crock pot. Turn on HIGH and allow butter to melt; stir to coat pumpkin. Continue cooking on HIGH for 1 hour. Add the whole onion (with cloves), sugar, salt, and stock. Cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or on HIGH 4 to 5 hours. Before serving, remove the onion and puree soup in a blender or food processor. Add milk gradually until desired consistency. Serve with a dollop of sour cream sprinkled with nutmeg. Makes 4 servings.
Beef Stroganoff
3 pounds beef round steak, 1/2 inch thick
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 medium onions, thinly sliced, separated into rings
Two 4-ounce cans sliced mushrooms, drained (or 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced)
One 10 1/2-ounce can condensed beef broth
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup flour
Trim excess fat from steak; cut meat into strips 1/2 inch wide and 3 inches long. Combine 1/2 cup flour, salt, pepper, and dry mustard; add steak strips and toss to coat thoroughly. Place coated steak strips in crock pot. Stir in onion rings and mushrooms. Add beef broth and stir well. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours. Before serving, combine 1/4 cup flour with sour cream; stir into crock pot. Serve stroganoff over noodles or rice.
Apple Pie Casserole
1 1/2 cups cinnamon and sugar graham crackers, crushed
1 1/2 cups rolled or quick oats, uncooked
2 cups fresh apple (any kind), chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 cups unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
Mix graham cracker crumbs and oats in mixing bowl. Set aside 1/3 cup of the mixture to use as topping. Pour half the remaining mixture into a large crock pot. Add half the apples, followed by the remaining crumb mixture, then the rest of the apples. Mix apple sauce, maple syrup, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove together, then pour evenly over ingredients in crock pot. Sprinkle the reserved 1/3 cup crumb mixture over top of casserole. Place lid on crock pot. Cook on LOW for 6 hours. (For a thicker casserole, turn heat to MEDIUM and remove lid during the last 30 minutes.) Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Makes 6 servings.
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/recipes/a/apple-cider-season
Apple Cider Season
appleciderMention apple cider and it conjures up images of curling up by the fireplace on a cold autumn evening, joining friends for holiday parties, or taking a trip to the local cider mill. Apple cider isn’t just another seasonal beverage, but to many families is a treasured tradition.
What is Apple Cider?
In many parts of the world, “cider” indicates a fermented beverage, but in the U.S. and most of Canada, cider normally refers to an unfermented, unfiltered, sometimes unpasteurized form of apple juice. Unlike clear, sweet apple juice, apple cider is cloudy and more tart. Mulled cider is hot apple cider mixed with orange peel and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
How is Apple Cider Made?
Cider mills are popular destinations for agritourists seeking out the season’s freshest apple cider, cider doughnuts (yes, the batter contains cider), and apples fresh from the orchard. Apple cider is typically made from a blend of different types of apples to give the beverage a more balanced flavor of sweet and tart. Apples are first ground into pulp, then pressed to extract the juice. The juice quickly oxidizes, giving the cider its deep amber color. Apple cider is made in the cooler months because hot weather hastens fermentation.
Cooking With Apple Cider
Apple cider is a popular beverage, but is also great for cooking. Try using apple cider to moisten stuffing for turkey or chicken or to baste baked apples. It can also be boiled into a syrupy glaze for cakes. Here are some recipe ideas to get you started!
Hot Buttered Apple Cider
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 gallon apple cider
Beat brown sugar, butter, honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well blended and fluffy. Heat apple cider in saucepan over medium heat until hot. Fill individual mugs with hot apple cider, stirring in 1 tablespoon butter mixture. Serve with cinnamon sticks for stirring. (Butter mixture can be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Makes approximately 12 servings.
Apple Cider Vinaigrette
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Olive oil to taste (optional)
Mix all ingredients; cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Serve with your favorite salad greens. Makes 1 1/2 cups.
Roast Chicken with Apple Stuffing and Cider Sauce
3 1/2 to 4 pounds whole roasting chicken
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
Stuffing:
1 tablespoon butter
1 apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced
1 onion, half diced and half whole
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup apple cider
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Sauce:
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
To make stuffing, melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Place apple pieces in skillet and sauté. Add diced onions and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in tarragon, breadcrumbs, apple cider, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Loosen skin on breasts and thighs of chicken by sliding fingers under skin. Push stuffing under skin, distributing evenly. Tie legs with a six-inch piece of twine. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper on inside and outside of chicken. Place onion half inside cavity of the chicken. Place chicken in roasting pan; bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees.
To make sauce, transfer chicken from roasting pan onto cutting board. Scrape bits from bottom of pan, then pour pan drippings into saucepan. Whisk in flour; warm over medium heat. Gradually whisk in apple cider and chicken broth. Bring to simmer; cook over very low heat for 3 minutes. Stir in tarragon and apple cider vinegar.
Carve chicken and arrange on serving plate. Sauce may be served on the side for individual glazing. Makes 4 servings.
Apple Bread Pudding
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat bread cubes
1/2 cup apple, peeled, cored, and diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
3 eggs
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Mix bread, apple, and butter in bowl. In separate bowl, whisk eggs, honey, cider, vanilla, and cinnamon; pour over bread mixture. Let stand for 1 hour. Pour pudding into baking dish. Bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes or until pudding is firm. Serve warm with ice cream. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
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