Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Random Tidbits ~ Mustards ~ Homemade raspberry honey mustard ~ Extreme Clean Resumes

I'm still cracking English walnuts.  I've put 3 pounds (and counting) in the freezer so far.   I have more to crack.

This year, my herbal journey will be experimenting with mustard (s).  I'm looking into different ones for greens as well as one for the seeds (there isn't one plant that is good for both, that I have found yet).   In the past I have baked a honey mustard pretzel in the oven (store bought pretzel's with a mustard sauce baked on them).

This past Christmas,
our 19 year-old gifted Hubby with a basket full of goodies - nuts, crackers, mustards, etc.  One mustard was a raspberry honey mustard.  It was delicious.  Of course this challenged me to make some myself.

I had to purchase organic raspberry jam, as I have zero here.  I have wild black raspberry, but wanted red raspberry for this recipe.  


The recipe uses 1/3 cup organic honey, 1/3 cup organic raspberry jam, 1/2 cup spicy brown mustard, 1 Tbsp. organic mustard seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon of homemade onion powder.   This entire recipe is challenging me to move onto making something else from scratch (more on that later).  Mix, and refrigerate.  It made 1/2 pint and a little bit more.

I kept mine in the refrigerator, and my family loved it!  I purchase a non-gmo pretzel at our local grocer (organic section) that works well with this dip.  This would make a nice gift for next Christmas.  As I tasted this, it would be amazing on a chicken wrap with a homemade tortilla, or salad too.

My "spring" cleaning, or otherwise known as "extreme" clean has resumed.  My kids used my bedroom as the grand central for Christmas wrapping, so that has been cleaned up.  Dust is everywhere, due to burning wood. Hubby swears it doesn't come from there, but with windows shut tight, I beg to differ.  A box is already getting filled by the kids to donate to the thrift as well.

(recently made: over sized hot pad, pot holders, dishcloth, dishcloth/scrubbie, and soap saver)

In between it all, I am trying desperately to restock my items (one color at a time) for Farmer's Market.  I'm still iffy on if I will participate, but have zero stock for it.  

Last night, our 16 year-old was inducted into the National Honor Society.  Over the past years, they did this ceremony at a breakfast, but most parents could not attend.  This year, it was at night, without a meal.   I'm guessing so more parents could attend, but oddly it appeared less people there.  Either way, she's the third kiddo to be a member.  Gosh they are growing up. 

The pups have been my alarm clock lately.  It forces me to get busy and dump the ash pan, and put a log of the fire early.  They go right back to sleep most mornings.  Their shots are all complete now.  


6 comments:

Susan said...

I love making my own mustards. This year it was cranberry mustard and it was in everyone's gift basket/bag. Once you start making your own condiments, you realize there is no end to the combinations and flavorings!

Mama Pea said...

The flavor of those English walnuts is going to be worth all the time you spent shelling them. Also any you end up with will be a real $$$ saving as all walnuts (organic anyway) are priced sky-high right now.

My hubby balks at my raspberry jam (one of my favorites) because of the seeds (which I don't even notice). Wonder if he would like the raspberry honey mustard dip?

I'm on your side (against your hubby!) in knowing that using wood as your heat source creates a lot of dust in the house!

Congrats to your daughter on her National Honor Society induction. When I was in high school, we didn't have any kind of a ceremony . . . we just got a medal and certificate at the end of the year. Our daughter received hers though at a dinner as was previously done for your kids.

We could have used your pups to get us up this morning. I made a potty stop at 6 but crawled back in bed for just a minute . . . and it was nearly EIGHT O'CLOCK when we woke up!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Susan, I can't wait to try more.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, I don't even notice the seeds in the dip. The pups got us up at 5:15am this morning.

RB said...

That raspberry honey mustard sounds good; I actually bet it would be good with any berry jam.
Been home all week. Fell over last weekend and jarred my right arm and shoulder pretty badly, so work was out of the question. I'm doing better now and hope to be able to work regular next week.
Prayers for a safe and blessed weekend for everyone.
God bless.
RB
<><

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

RB, we love the mustard. It's delicious.