Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Brisk 14°F and high of 38°F.  I used my clothesline yesterday, but the wind was crazy.   We are seeing wild ramps on our walks lately. Planted:  Mullein (very hard to seed start, so we shall see) Harvested:  Green onions, Yarrow Purchased:  Flower seeds A small, removeable fence has been placed around the "weed" and herb garden.  Thankfully, I had the fencing, and did not have to purchase any.  Hopefully, it will keep the rabbits out of it, but I have seen a chipmunk who runs among the outdoors.  Ordered a few books and DVD's from the library inter-loan program.  Just doing my part to keep the library open, but also to use the free resources. Speaking of resources, you never know what freebie you can utilize, and one fell right into my lap last week.  More on that later.                  Finished this book.  As a result, I learned a few new fun facts.  Like the fact that ...

Winter weather continues, but slightly better I guess.  However, we continue to have below zero temperatures.  The cold spell has been the longest , below zero, cold spell I ever remember.  On the downside, more people are getting sick.  My poor husband has to ride in a truck with a co-worker (part of the job), and his co-worker for the day was coughing.  The worker wore a mask, and then took it off and left in on the console of the truck.  My husband had to sanitize the inside of the truck after that.  Praying he does not catch any of those nasty germs. I've been dealing with sinus issues, and thankful for goldenrod tincture, mullein tea, ginger and peppermint teas and so forth.  I never got any Four Thieves Vinegar (Rosemary Gladstar's recipe) made this past fall, and I do plan on making some next fall.  I think "life" just took over my brain cells for a while.  I am very thankful I had made homemade vapo-rub. Deep cleaning?  Well...

  There is nothing better than to enjoy some crock pot Italian Soup during a cold spritz in May.  It was a new recipe  ( Food.com ), but I utilized some tomato sauce I canned last year, and dried herbs from the herb garden.  Not sure what they meant by "brown" onion, but I used a yellow onion, and used fresh minced garlic (not from a jar).  I also used sweet Italian vs. mild sausage (what was in the freezer), and it turned out delicious! I'm taking advantage of these cooler weather days, and getting dehydrated items re-stocked. I'm dehydrating ginger for tea making and other uses.  I can also grind it as needed.  I do freeze some as well, which has come in handy several times for homemade ginger-ale and other meals and recipes. Has anyone, who uses a dehydrator, dehydrated turmeric root?  I just froze us a bunch, but would like to dry some.  How do you dehydrate it without staining your trays?  Will it stain stainless steel if I layer it...