Pioneer Woman at Heart

Exciting news!  We have opened the blueberry-basil vinegar I canned last fall.  We love it.  It's perfect for salads!  I'm so glad I made the vinegar.  I have not yet drained the vinegars that are being infused with chive blossoms just yet, but those will also be used for salads and marinades this summer.  Yum! Joining Sandra today at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for today's Happy Homemaker.  Enjoy.  It's my last time participating in this. If you didn't see it until now, I did a spring clean on my blog, and so far love it.  What do you think? More organizing?  After using up some older note paper, I have splurged, and obtained a magnetic meal planner pad, with perforated grocery list that tears off.  Talk about getting organized.  Too often, I will sticky note the heck out of the kitchen with meal ideas, and then get so off track.  Not anymore. Has anyone noticed on blogger, that when you have a draft post in the works, an...

Pardon me, while I down coffee with the hopes to revive my tired self, and gather my scrupples.  One can easily forget the amount of physical labor it takes to plant a vegetable garden, until it's planting time again.  Wowzer.  Nothing like popping a few arnica capsules, after rubbing arnica salve into my knuckles and very sore hands, and all before heading to the garden.  Kicking myself for not dehydrating enough dandelions to make dandelion salve, but weather was against us this spring. Allergy season this year is the worst year ever.  My eyes feel like daggers stabbing them most days, and my nose is so dry, I have to use a spray with aloe to survive outdoor work.  The cotton wood is terrible, and looks like a fuzzy white blanket over the grass top.  Thank goodness for nettle tea for some relief.  However, it's not been enough.   One day we battled awful wind while gardening, and I developed a really bad earache.  I have not had a...

We purchased some horsetail salve to try last year.  It is said to help with severely dry, cracked skin.  My husband was the first to try it, with very, very dry and cracked hands from work. He loves it!  He joked I could not have it back.   I started the infused, horsetail oil the last part of March. Something I learned:   horsetail is also called shavegrass. I infused horsetail in oil, and strained it.  I then made horsetail salve.  I remembered to label my jar with what oil(s) I used, so I can journal this all in my "Herbal Remedies" journal.  I often forget to write the oil used. Now, the one we bought, has more in it than I put in ours, as far as ingredients (the purchased salve had lanolin, and aloe).  We'll see if ours works just as good.  I added the sage essential oil, and vitamin E oil. A "first" time experience for us this year.    I bought the larger tins at a seed store in an Amish area last year.  They a...

  Initially, I made this homemade onion butter (minus the fresh parsley, as our herb garden lacks it right now) to try on grilled fish, but we used it for grilling mixed vegetables.  Delicious!  We will be making it again soon, as we still want to try it on grilled walleye maybe. The recipe comes from this cookbook, which I obtained years ago.  I kept it for some reason, and I am glad I did not donate it.  We plan to grill more fish, and try more sauces, marinades and such. Homemade Onion Butter   ©  June 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart  

  A few of our lavender plants are ready to harvest to dehydrate some.  I also picked some to enjoy indoors, and placed them in a small vase. The dehydrated harvest will be used for a few things, but it all depends on how large the harvest is this year.  I did not dehydrate any last year. Dehydrating Lavender  ©  June 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart  

  Wild violet picking, back about a month ago or so, got me motivated to press some.  Why?  I have no clue, but I did.  The old fashioned way.  I pressed them between layers of waxed paper and heavy books. It also got me thinking, and I started looking into flower presses, that were small enough for hikers to take along in their backpacks.  I am still him-hawing that purchase.  They are small, and after measuring the wild violet leaves I pressed, I am not sure they would be big enough, and worth the purchase. Back to the creative bug that zapped my bonnet.  I decided to take the pressed wild violets, and leaves, and modge podge them to a cut piece of card stock.  The job of modge podge and delicate pressed flowers is a delicate job.  The flowers are very thin. I did two layers, and allowed it to dry each time.  I also have been very (and I mean very slowly) slowly purging some craft supplies I still had in my utility room.  The...