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.