Ketchup by Jamie Oliver

I love this guy. He helped inspire my gardens and cooking whole. Here is a recipe from his show.

Homemade Tomato Ketchup

Recipe Excerpted from JAMIE AT HOME by Jamie Oliver. Copyright (c) 2008. Published in the U.S. by Hyperion. All Rights Reserved. Available wherever books are sold. www.jamieoliver.com

Prep Time:

1 hr 0 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

45 min

Level:

Difficult

Serves:

about 1 pint

Directions

Bizarrely enough for a chef, I really do take my hat off to Heinz, who have become the global brand of quality in the ketchup world. It's such an everyday cupboard product that you've probably never thought to make your own. But if you're growingtomatoes in the garden, or you catch sight of some really beautiful ones at the market in summer, just think how much of a treat it would be to offer your family or guests homemade ketchup. It's great fun to make. And you can make different colors of ketchup using just yellow, orange or green tomatoes - simply exchange thecherry and canned tomatoes for the same amount of your chosen colored ones.

Ingredients

• 1 large red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 bulb fennel, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 1 stick celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
• Olive oil
• Thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 a fresh red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
• Bunch fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks chopped
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 2 cloves
• Sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound amazing cherry or plum tomatoes, halved plus 1 pound canned plum tomatoes, chopped or 2 pounds yellow, orange or green tomatoes, chopped
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soft brown sugar

Place all the vegetables in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan with a big splash of olive oil and the ginger, garlic, chili, basil stalks, coriander seeds and cloves. Season with the pepper and a good pinch of salt.

Cook gently over a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until softened, stirring every so often. Add all the tomatoes and 1 1/2 cups of cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the sauce reduces by half.

Add the basil leaves, then whiz the sauce in a food processor or with a hand blender and push it through asieve twice, to make it smooth and shiny. Put the sauce into a clean pan and add the vinegar and the sugar. Place the sauce on the heat and simmer until it reduces and thickens to the consistency of tomato ketchup. At this point, correct the seasoning to taste.

Spoon the ketchup through a sterilized funnel into sterilized bottles, then seal tightly and place in a cool dark place or the refrigerator until needed - it should keep for 6 months.

"Our agreement with the producers of "Jamie at Home" only permit us to make 2 recipes per episode available online. Food Network regrets the inconvenience to our viewers and foodnetwork.com users"

* Sterilizing Jars

Properly handled sterilized equipment will keep canned foods in good condition for years. Sterilizing jars is the first step of preserving foods.

Sterilizing Tips:

Jars should be made from glass and free of any chips or cracks. Preserving or canning jars are topped with a glass, plastic or metal lid, which has a rubber seal. Two piece lids are best for canning, as they vacuum seal when processed.

Before filling with jams, pickles or preserves, wash jars and lids with hot, soapy water. Rinse well and arrange jars and lids open sides up, without touching, on a tray. Leave in a preheated 175 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Or boil the jars and lids in a large saucepan, covered with water, for 15 minutes.

Use tongs when handling hot sterilized jars, to move them from either boiling water or the oven. Be sure tongs are sterilized too, by dipping the ends in boiling water for a few minutes.

As a rule, hot preserves go into hot jars and cold preserves go into cold jars. All items used in the process of making jams, jellies and preserves must be clean. This includes any towels used, and especially your hands.

After the jars are sterilized, you can preserve the food. It is important to follow any canning and processing instructions included in the recipe and refer to USDA guidelines about the sterilization of canned products.

What all you can really make at home.

When you think of homemade you think of bread or dinners. Does it ever cross ones mind that almost everything you use can be made at home. I go around my kitchen thinking about how I can replace things with what I can make at home. I did the bread thing yeah but without a machine that is a lot of bread making when your family goes through a loaf a day. SO what else can I do to replace stuff and when you start making things from scratch not only are they healthier for you but cheaper in most sense. If you have a garden they are practically free. Lets take ketchup. My family goes through this stuff like it is water so how can I make this at home to make it cheaper. One way is my tomato plants. When I put tomatoes up I can put some aside for ketchup making. Not only does it not have all the added sugar into it but you can put spices in it as well. But you can do this with almost anything. Or replace something you cant make with something you can. Getting back to simplicity is my goal and dream. In the process like with the bread I might find somethings take up way to much time when I can be doing a million other things. But to try and strive for that will be my goal and to share with you guys on this blog. Manly so I don't drive my mother nuts with all my rambling. So as I go through this blog here I will post random stuff but hopefully it will help someone,somewhere over the rainbow.  
So because I seem to always go off subject weather it be here or in conversation I guess I need to give some ideas about what we can make from scratch at home.
1. ketchup
2. mayo
3. bread
4. noodles
5. tomato sauce
6. salad dressing
7. flour
8. muffins
9. pickles
10. hot sauce
11. salsa
12. pesto
13. BBQ sauce
14. Stocks . chicken, vegg, and beef
15. biscuits
16. tortillas
17. Refried beans
These are the list of some common stuff people use. More like the condiments. If you grow a garden, grow what you eat and grow enough to can them and put them up for the winter. If you don't get dries beans because they take to long to soak then cook. Do it ahead of time and can those suckers so all is needed to do is open and pour. So much cheaper. If you can have chickens for your eggs. Chicken feed is cheep. Oh potato, onion and garlic do well in a cool place for the winter. All this you can do living in suburbia. Now if you are like me who just tries to grab the moon, I want the whole homestead with the animals and garden. Total self sufficiency. I dream big always, no harm in that right.

So anyhow with the list above I will find recipes or make up my own and post them on here so that they are all in one spot. Don't worry I will give credit where credit is due.

Thank you for listing or reading my little rant session and Until next time, Reach for the stars

Cabbage Rolls

I first cooked these some time back but like everything else I never write it down and it is never the same twice. Friends come for spaghetti and  it is always different. I have always been that way though no matter what it is. I cant repeat it or it gets boring. I have tried to do weekly meals to make a budget for food but the though of having the same thing on the same night makes me want to cringe. I just cant do it. Anyhow I have started to write down what i do with what so that maybe I can make it again. I also can never follow the recipie to the T. It always gets change somehow. Well I am going to write down what I make tonight because its just yummy.

What you need:

1 pk Hot Italian sausage links (you can do mild or sweet instead)

1 zucchini 

1 head of cabbage

4 cups of spaghetti sauce of your choice.( mine was homemade)

2 c. brown basmati rice (cooked it would be 4)

1. Cook rice according to the package. While that is going you can cut the cabbage in half and put into a pot of boiling water. This will help the leave fall off and roll them better.

2. In a fry pan brown up the sausage. (if its links take out of the skin) when that is brown set aside in a bowl and add in your zucchini and saute that up. Pour that into your sauage bowl. With the other half of your cabbage chop it up real small and saute that up also and put into the bowl. When you have done all this the rice should be done. 

3 Mix half the rice with the other mix and pull the cabbage out of the water and let it drain.

4 When the cabbage is drained pull the leaves apart and fill with the mixture. Roll them up and put into a casserole pan. Pour the sauce over it and put in the oven at 350 for 30 mins or until hot through out.

Serve with Parmesan cheese and a side salad.

Animal ears.

Like I said in the last blog that I was going to post some animal ears for you guys if you wanted to take advantage of it.

Here is what you need
cheap headband (you can get them from dollar store, I think they come 3 for a dollar)
felt, construction paper or fabric. how ever you choose to make them.
scissors
glue
Pipe cleaners

1. Print out or make your own template
2. Cut 4 of the biggest part of the ear out
3. Cut 2 of the smallest part of the ear.
4. Fold the flaps up. This will give you something to glue onto the headband.
5. Glue the biggest part of the ear together (make sure you do not glue the flaps)w/ 1 pipe cleaner in the middle shaped to the ear and 1/4 of a piece bent like a L to go in the back. This will help hold up the ears.
6. Now glue the little piece inside the big piece.
7. Glue in the desired spots on the headband.

Now this is just a very simple pattern. You can go to the limits with this. Use glitter and ribbon. Punch holes and put make sift earrings in them. Where ever your imagination takes you. Have the kids help or just have them do it. This would be fun for them to have a little more control over their own costume. I can post some noses too if you want. Just let me know. Oh and if you think of any other kind of ear you would like just message me and I will draw it up and post it. Like elephant ears or something lol.. Oh brain fart.. You can do a elephant and save your toilet paper and paper towel rolls to use as a trunk.

Have fun

Halloween Costumes on a dime

 Remember how I was talking about the thrift store and how wonderful it can be. I mean come on I got a 300 dollar kitchen aid mixer for only $100. But sometimes the trick is to go to thrift stores that are located in a more upscale part of town. Well anyways I was in a small town and went to their thrift store and was able to get the kids costumes for very cheap. I scored here because I found an old dance costume and wings and just kinda went from there.

For this dead little dancing girl here is what I did.
The night before I ragged rolled her hair so that it would be super curlie.. I wanted big hair. I found the wings and dress at a thrift store for a few bucks. I got a tupe of white face makeup which was cheap also. I made her face looked washed out by putting the white liquid make up on like lotion. I did her lips in eyeliner. Put a little blush on her face and wall la.

If you use your imagination a little you can save yourself tons of money for Halloween. Sometimes I get things so that they can continue to wear them as regular clothes or just play things around the house. My son still run around in his capes. So multi-functional if a big plus specially when you are on a budget. Some times the biggest part of the costume is the make-up.

Some ideas:

Jelly beans: 
Get a pack of water balloons and blow them all up. Put you child in something warm or cool whatever your season is like in your area. (Here is freezing.) then pin all the balloons on your child and paint their face with circles of color.

Vampire:
 Well nowadays vampires don't dress in capes but you can find those cheap too. Have you child dress in whatever you think is appropriated and then give them teeth. Made be with a little blood. I believe you can make this homemade also at this site. http://www.halloween-website.com/fake_blood.htm. If you want twilght Vamps just throw a little glitter on their faces. Tussle their hair and there you go. Or with the girls make them look like little beauty queens with the glitter.

Werewolves:
 Twilight wolves- Go around topless with a tattoo on the arm.
Teeth and a little make up with some old cloths from the thrift store ripped up. Tussle the hair with gel to give the messy look and wallah.

Princess.
  Find a old flower girl dress at the thrift store. I believe if you look good enough you can find a little crown also. Curl her hair and put on a little make-up. Slip on some little ballet flats and your done.

Fairy
Make the wings that I have posted. Combine the princess and the fairy if you want or you can find another little dress to add to the costume. Glitter!! Must have glitter. Do her/ his hair messy or neat. Different fairies like different things. If you want a more rustic fairy then when you get the little dress ripe the hem off to give that messy look. Rat the hair and put it up in pig tails or leave it down. Just so long as its messy. Put some leaves in their hair instead of a crown.

I have tons more ideas but it would take me all day to post but for now here are a couple. If you have a certain kind of costume you want just message me and maybe I can give you some ideas. I hope what I gave you helped a little.
Until we meet again


Bunny:
 Pink P.Js with Easter bunny ears. Paint the face. Or what ever color bunny you wanna be just pick those kinds of P.Js

Black Cat:
 Black clothes with ears and a tail. Paint the face to look like a cat.

Mouse: 
Gray or white PJs with a long tail and ears.

I am going to post on how to make ears for your costumes made out of headbands and felt. Along with the tail.

Strawbaby Jam

My grandma used to call strawberries , strawbabies. I loved it and when my son started to talk without knowing it he started to call them stawbabies also. Just a little something cute.

You know sometimes I just get to thinking about how they did it in the old days before chemicals and technological stuff. One of the things that crossed my brain was jams. How did they do it without the pectin. So I was on a mission. I researched and came across a couple recipes and finally tried one. This one isn't it but it is similar to the one I did. I believe you can do this with any kind of fruit, I just haven't tried it yet. But I will tell you that it didn't last long in my house and I made a bunch. I used frozen strawberries because they weren't in season yet. I also made a mixed fruit one. I got this recipie from  Hobby Farms just in case you wanted to go browse. http://www.hobbyfarms.com/food-and-kitchen/old-fashioned-strawberry-jam.aspx 

Old-fashioned Strawberry Jam

Indulge in strawberry jam made the old-fashioned way.

While recipes using pectin are my favorites for making quick batches of tasty jams or jellies with less sugar and less fuss, the flavor of jam made the old-fashioned way, with lots of sugar and cooking time, is a delicious occasional indulgence.

Ingredients
8 cups strawberries, crushed
6 cups sugar
Lemon juice (optional)

Preparation
Rinse (do not soak) berries and drain well. Remove hulls. Crush berries using a pastry blender or potato masher, but don’t puree them--jam has chunks of fruit in it.

Measure berries into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. If fruit is very ripe and sweet, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice for every cup of crushed berries.

Over medium heat, stirring occasionally, bring fruit to a gentle boil. Add sugar, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Then, increase heat to bring the mixture quickly to a boil. Keep mixture at a rapid boil, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until mixture passes one or more of the tests for doneness (see sidebar).

Remove from heat and skim off any foam. Using a wide-mouthed funnel and a ladle or measuring cup, fill hot, sterilized jars, leaving a one-quarter-inch headspace. Use a damp (not wet) paper towel to wipe the rims.

How to prepare canning jars
Wash canning jars, new lids and bands in hot, soapy water and rinse well. (Use new jars or inspect used jars well, choosing only those free of cracks and chips.) Dry bands and set aside.

Follow the manufacturers’ directions for preparing the lids.

Time this next step so that jars are dry but still hot right before you are ready to fill them. Using a wide, metal saucepan with a flat bottom or a metal cake pan, heat 2 to 3 inches of water until just simmering. Invert clean, rinsed jars in the water and simmer for 10 minutes.

Shortly before you are ready to ladle the jam into the jars, remove them from the water, turn right-side up, and allow to dry before filling. They should still be quite hot when you fill them.

Has my jam jelled?

Thermometer test: To use a candy, deep-fat or jelly thermometer, first  determine the jellying point for your altitude first. Boil some water, noting the temperature at which the water boils. Add 8 degrees Fahrenheit to find the jelling point for your jam or jelly (usually around 220 degrees).

Spoon test: Dip a large metal spoon into boiling jam or jelly. Hold it at least 12 inches above the saucepan, out of the steam, and hold the spoon upside down. If the jam is done, it will sheet from the spoon (run off evenly, leaving a syrup behind).

Refrigerator test: Place a small spoonful of jam onto a chilled plate and place in the refrigerator. If the jam sets up (becomes thick and somewhat firm) after two or three minutes, it is done.

How to Skin a Tomatoe

 I dont know about you but my tomatoes have tuff skins. So before I make my sauce tonight I took the skins off. Its real simple. Just a little extra prep work. You will need a bowl full of ice, a boiling pot, collander, a little knife. First score all your tomatoes on the bottom with a X, This will help them peel. While you are doing this put your pot on to boil. When you have that done dip your tomatoes in the water.

It dosnt take long, when you see the skin peel a little take them out and dump them in a ice bath. This will stop the cooking and help peel the tomatoes. 

 Just peel and core them. I put mine in a bowl so I can ruff chop them to put into my pasta sauce.

So there you go. Nothing is better then your own tomatoes simmering in a sauce for a few hours, Filling up your house with the yummy aromas of tomatoes and basil. I am glad that my 20 some odd plants have started to turn red. If you wonder why your tomatoes didn't turn red it might be due to it being to hot. The temp has dropped to the 80's here and my tomatoes are going crazy. But that is another blog. The benefits from this is that its all natural. You are in control of the ingredients in your tomatoes and its CHEAP! If you think about it a pack of tomato seeds are only at the most 2.00 dollars. Which contains enough seeds for about 20 plants.  So you get tomato's for less than pennies if each plant cost about 5 cents. Until next time. Have a good afternoon.

My Garden Salsa

I made this today. The tomatoes and cilantro are from my garden. Here is the recipie so you can make your own yummy salsa

Ingredents:
10 vine ripe tomatoes chopped
1/2 yellow onion
1 lime juice and zest
1 sm can of Ortega chilies diced
2 garlic grated or chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop up everything and mix in a bowl. I don't have any spices in this so heat up to your liking.
Salsa is very versatile. You can add or take away whatever you like.

Hurray for Thrift Stores!!

I must say a few years ago I was a snob when it came to going to a thrift store. My grandma would drag me into them as a child and I remember the musty smell of the old clothes. We always did go to a nice one with my aunt but that was few and far between. Weather or not I meant to absorb the knowledge from my aunt and grandma about certain things but they stuck anyways. So now as an adult I look at thrift stores with new eyes. I have three kids. Kids don't just like to sit around and look pretty (well at least not mine). They play hard and to keep them in clothes is crazy. This summer I was able to go to out major thrift store here and get each kid 5 outfits for summer. Thats 15 outfits for under $100.(most were name brand) That is just nuts. So now you do have to know a little about prices of things in regular stores. I went in looking for canning jars and they were charging $1.oo per jar. That is just crazy. I bought them anyways because they were the old ones. But if you just want regular canning jars then go to the store for them. But now I was just in there looking for knitting needles and I got a great deal. A quarter of the price they would be in the store and some even had the wrapping still. I find it easer if I know what I want. It can get a little over whelming. So the next time you want a certain something try the thrift store first just for giggles. Oh another good find is my mom found a brand new juicer for $15.00 at one store. Ok ta ta for now.

Oh Holy Basil

My basil bush was huge so I decided that I was going to trim it back and dry out my trimmings to use in the kitchen. I spent a good 2o min picking the leaves off the steams and then putting them onto a cookie sheet. With out doing the research first, I popped them into the oven at 200 degrees and was ready to leave them in there for a couple hours. About 20 min later I look in there and they are all kind of brown. I hurried and took them out and pop in the next batch. Mind you I am trying to multitask by washing the girls hair with the baking soda and getting three kids ready for bed. Did I mention that I can't multitask, but I still try. I pulled out the basil and couldn't smell a think. I even crunched them up in my hand. I am so super sad. But I know for next time you have to bring it to 200 degrees for 20 min then turn it off and put the herbs in there. The other sad thing is that I trimmed my plant really far back for winter.

I Support Bees

After doing my post about the hot totties I was curious about the benefits of honey. I have heard here and there that it was good for you and had natural healers in it. Well I found a site that tells you all about it. I'm going to post the first page but if you want more you should go to the link I will post. You also hear a lot of stuff going on about how to save out bees. I don't think a lot of people realize just how important they are to us. All they see is these little things that fly around and they bite. Well for one a honey bee will only bite when it feels its going to be threaten. They use their stinger wisely for when they do it means their most untimely death. Its the wasps and killer bees that have evaded that we need to worry about. Anyways here is the post I found along with the link.

Discover the enormous benefits of honey; its myriad varieties and host of health benefits. Its versatility and the goodness it can bring into your everyday practical life is WOW!

Not only does this delectable liquid stimulate your taste buds and whet your appetite, its unique taste and aroma has sprung off many time honor cooking ideas and recipes such as the cannot-be-missed honey baked ham and honey dips. But is honey really good for you? This caramel-like liquid seems to be full of calories. ...sure it tastes good and has a pleasant texture that coats the irritated throat, but is it no more than just a tasty placebo?

The fact is, honey is far better than what most people perceive. Researchers are turning up more and more new evidence of honey's medical benefits in all directions. The benefits of honey don't just stop at satisfying the palate; honey also offers incredible antiseptic, antioxidant and cleansing properties for our body and health, hot beauty and skin care tips for ladies, and amazing healing properties as a head-to-toe remedy, from eye conjunctivitis to athlete foot. Its powerful healing attributes have long been used thousands of years ago and known to promote healing for cuts, cure ailments and diseases, and correct health disorders for generations after generations. The renowned UMF Manuka honey, perhaps the tastiest natural medicine, is commonly cited in many discussions on health benefits of honey. This honey not only fights infection and aids tissue healing but also helps reduce inflammation and scarring. In addition, it is often used for treating digestive problems such as diarrhea, indigestion, stomach ulcers and gastroenteritis. The page, titled "In What Ways have You Experienced the Benefits of Honey?" is filled with eye-popping testimonies about the healing power of honey. I've lost count of the number of times I have accessed that page, but the stories posted there never cease to move and amaze me over and over again. With more and more health experts and theories, such as the Hibernation Diet, supporting its benefits, this oldest natural sweetener just keeps getting better.

One of the greatest pleasure and fascination in using honey is understanding the different floral varieties of honey, their appearance and quality, and experimenting with each of their unique taste and distinct flavor, and being able to know which floral variety of honey is most perfect for which kind of foods. The uses and benefits of honey in foods are as diverse as its floral varieties and places of origin. It is almost like acquiring wine knowledge through wine-tasting and getting information on the origin, quality and worth of the different wines. Very intriguing, satisfying, and even infectious! Besides all the pages on benefits of honey, perhaps one of the most well-received topics in this web resource is related to those exotic, tantalizing recipes which I have specially created and developed using honey. I think this is what makes the honey recipes here different from the massive number of honey recipes available out there.....exotic!

http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/

Old Home Remedies

When my kids get sick I try to give them the natural stuff before carting them off to the ER. I have some things to share that are just old home remedies that I have learned through the years and they work. My girls and I were just sick with a cold and got over it pretty quickly.

Hot Totty (PG)

My girls came down with a cough and sore throat with no fever. So promptly in the morning I made them a decaf spice tea with lemon and honey. The lemon and honey have to be strong enough to taste. I brew the tea for 4 min and add in the honey and lemon. I had them sip on it and they both told me their throats felt better afterward and after a day and a half they were feeling much better.

Vinegar Again?

I don't ever remember getting cold medicine as a kid. I remember if I had a really stuffy nose my grandma would put a bowl of vinegar with a rag by my bed and that would help.

Steam oh lala

Also when the kids get really congested I put them in a steam bath and then out into the cold. My son had a barking cough when he was about 8 month old. I put him into a steam shower (just run the hot water on the hottest setting and sit in the bathroom with the steam) and then took him to the ER. By the time I got there he stopped coughing and the nurse told me that the combination of steam and cold air helped break all that up.

Hot Totty:

Another one. And this is only for adults, Its the hot totty. You take 3 fingers full in a shot glass of Rock n Rye whiskey in a mug of hot tea. That helps your sinuses and coughing. Well let me tell you what. The first time I heard about this my hubby got the recipe from a co-worker. He though you put three fingers full in the mug with the tea. Ha ha his cough was gone and he slept really good. The next day I told this co-worker what he had done and she laugh and told me that it was only supposed to be three fingers in a shot glass.

Homemade Dishwasher Soap

When I first made this I wasn't to happy about it, I didn't think it worked and I soon realized that you kinda have to scrape off your dishes before sticking them in the dishwasher. Well I now just wash my dishes by hand because I'm lazy and if I have to wash my dishes before I put them in the dishwasher than why am I using up electricity and water to wash dishes twice. Plus I think my dishwasher is on the fritz anyway lol. So anyhow this is a recipe I found for the dishwasher. Let me know If you have anymore luck with it than I did, but of course mine could also be operator error.

What you need is.

1/2c. Castile soap ( shop around for this because this can get spendy in certain places.)

1/2c. Water

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

3 drops of tea tree essence oil

1/4c white vinegar

Baking soda

Add everything together except for the baking soda. I put mine in a jar with a lid ( one way to recycle) and use 1Tb in the first cycle and 1 Tb in the other side. Take a handful of baking soda and sprinkle over your dishes and in the bottom to help the cleaning process and to get rid of odors. Feel free to comment on this.

Garden

So it is coming up on autumn and all my little garden stuff is starting to die except for my tomatoes and my zucchini. I was quite disappointed this year because i planned for a fairly good size for my veggie babies. I mean we are talking about 20 or so tomatoes plants, 9 zucchini plants over 20 cucumbers (mind you two different kinds and all heirlooms) about 20 bean plants, 20 peas, potatoes, basil, dill, cilantro, raspberries, blueberries and so on and so forth. Anyways so it started off good .Oh and I forgot the volunteer plants that came up that ended up being cantaloupe. So moving forward and as I was saying, everything was turning out to look really nice. Well I guess it got to hot so my peas died and then before my beans can give me and green beans they started to die. Cucumbers weren't producing and I was afraid that my tomatoes wouldn't turn red. But I will tell you I have zucchini coming out of my ears. Man I'll tell you I think those suckers will grow just about anywhere and in the worst conditions. I will show you some pictures of how pretty it was but I think that earwigs decided to have a feast with my beans and I'm not at all happy with them. So next year before I have my garden (which Tn is better to grow in than Nv anyhow) I will find a organic way to not have earwigs. I was all jazzed this year thinking i was going to get to can something too. What can i say, you live and you learn. Big wide world at your finger tips how can you not learn new things everyday unless your head is in a hole.

till next time

Steal Cut Oats

Steal cut oats or whole oats! A lot of people get intimidated by them or just plain dont know what they are. These are the oats that has only been processed to take off the outside husk. Steal cut is what the instant oatmeal was before it was flattened. How do we eat these suckers? Well if you have a mill grinder (which they sell for home use now) you can grind them up and make your own flower, or you can cook them for a hour and have oatmeal that is a little chewy. I'm sure there are tons of ways to use these but the fact is that they are so much better for you then the rolled oats. They have twice the amount of fiber and protein. They are a little more spendy ( which I don't understand because they are less processed) but worth it. I will tell you two ways to cook them and both ways are really good. I have found they have more flavor then the rolled oats.

Here is what you need

2c oats

4c water

desired seasonings ( i put cardamon, cinnimon, brown sugar, milk and sometimes butter.)

So for the first one it is going to be stove top. It takes about 45 min to a hour to cook it and this one is chewy. Put the oats and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium , cover and let simmer for 45-60 min. Add in all your fixings afterward.

The second is a crock-pot. With this way you will get the mush more soft stuff. Put your oats and water in a crock-pot along with your fixings . Put on low for 8 hrs. I suggest doing this at night before you go to bed that way in the morning breakfast is all ready. Ha ha kinda like the coffee pot.

Well there you have it two simple ways to get more nutrition into the mouths of babes.

Natural Shampoo. Day One

So I washed both of my daughters hair with the baking soda and vinegar rinse. They were totally jazz about how it was easy as pie to brush their hair while it was wet. I have done this once before on myself but didn't use the vinegar rinse and I'll tell you it make a whole lot of difference. With out it your hair is reallllly hard to brush until it dries. I also put some lavender essential oils in the rinse and rinsed all that out.. So we will see how this goes. Wish me luck.

Natural Shampoo and Conditioner

When you stop using the store bought chemical enhanced stuff, you will get your hair and scalp back to its natural state. You don't need lather to know your hair is getting clean. In fact all that is proving that your hair is being stripped of not only the bad oils and grime but your good oils to. Therefor you have to use conditioner to replace the oils you washed out. For a few days your hair will feel kinda funny or be either frizzy or flat but have faith it will go to its natural state and feel better then it ever has. So before you slap on moose to flatten the 70's afro you have, just make sure that if you have curly hair, to brush it while it is wet and not while it is dry. Also if it is getting to dry you can put a tiny amount of coconut oil on it. Also with the natural way you don't need to wash your hair everyday. And if you think by a bottle saying it is natural is not always so. Here is a link with a article that researched it. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-dirt-on-natural-shampoos.html.

Here is what you need to be Natural. Are you ready lol

water

baking soda

vinegar

essential oils ( optional)

That's it!! I know you right.

1. With about 2 TB of Baking soda and a little bit of water, make a paste that is a little thinner then toothpaste.

2. message this into your scalp, now you will feel the tingles as it works to wake up the scalp ( lovely feeling)

3. rinse well and in a bottle of some sort ( if it is a old shampoo make sure you rinse it really well) put in 1 part vinegar and 4 parts water , also the oils if you choose, rinse your hair with this mixture and then rinse with water if you choose.

Here is you natural Shampoo, also every couple of weeks you can do a deep conditioning with eggs, honey and yogurt.

So once again something that is better and natural for you is also cheaper.

Natural Window Cleaner

Once again here is vinegar coming to the rescue. Vinegar is a very useful ingredient, it has many uses from going into to salad dressings and pickles to cleaning the tub and counter tops. I suggest to buy yourself a very cheap gallon of white vinegar. Not only are the recipes I put on here natural but they are really cheap. Pennies to make a all purpose cleaner. Well this recipe is for a window cleaner, very simple.

You'll need:

1 part vinegar

4 parts water

Put them in a spray bottle and you have yourself some window cleaner. If you feel it wont work because it isn't blue then add food coloring. And for that matter if you want purple make purple.

And for double streak free use a micro fiber towel.

One more way to clean your windows the natural way is to get yourself a micro fiber towel and make sure you only use it for the window. Just get it wet with water and clean your windows. It works really well. Just make sure you use one that hasn't been used first for anything. Take the one towel and get the window wet then take a second and dry what you just wiped up. If you don't dry it also then it will streak.

The more natural you get with your cleaning products the less you have to worry about it spraying on plants and cooking stuff. The kids can use them and there are no fumes to worry about.

happy cleaning

Homemade dish soap

This is a natural dish soap in a concentrated form. I made this for the first time and OH MY Goodness it was so thick. It wouldn't go threw the pump. It was quite funny. So I suggest that if you are going to put it into a pump that you diluted this a whole bunch. Also i found the glycerin at Whole foods if that helps at all.

1/4 c. soap flakes (I use Ivory soap and grade it with a cheese grader)

2c. hot water

1/4 c. glycerin

1/2 tsp. of you favorite essential oil. I use lavender but there is anti bacterial stuff like tea tree oils.

1. dissolve the soap flakes in the hot water and let it cool. then stir in the glycerin and oil and let that cool completely.

2. Put into a squeeze bottle like a old dish soap. Remember that this is a concentrate so if you use it straight from the bottle only use about 3 tsp of it in a sink of water.

Apple Pie Jam

Well its coming up to autumn which means APPLES!!! Oh the possibilities when it comes to apples. I wont be like Bubba and go on forever about Apples. Just one little thing though. Apple Pie Jam!! it is soooo super yummy. When apples go on sale or at a good price buy a few pounds if you wanna can these suckers or better yet go to a orchard and pick some. I live in Nevada and there is no such thing here which is a crying shame. I have a recipe here thanks to Taste of HOme.

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled and sliced (about 2 pounds)
• 1 cup water
• 5 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1 pouch (3 ounces) liquid fruit pectin
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mace, optional

Directions

• In a Dutch oven, combine apples and water. Cover and cook slowly until tender. Measure 4-1/2 cups apples; return to the pan. (Save remaining apple mixture for another use or discard.)
• Add sugar and butter to pan; bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in pectin; return to a full rolling boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat; skim off foam. Stir in spices. Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: 7 half-pints.

Editor's Note: The processing time listed is for altitudes of 1,000 feet or less. Add 1 minute to the processing time for each 1,000 feet of additional altitude.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (2 tablespoons) equals 76 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), trace cholesterol, 1 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, trace protein.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Apple-Pie-Jam

here is the link to this page if you wanted to browse more.