Pioneer Woman at Heart

  I freeze fresh ginger often, so that I have it on hand for all sorts of recipes, and it has worked out very nicely.  Many people do not know you can do this with fresh ginger root (we purchase organic). How I Freeze Ginger Root I wash the organic ginger root, dry it, wrap it a few times in plastic wrap, and store it inside a freezer bag.  I date each bag and the door of the freezer works best, or it may get lost in your freezer storage. Back to the dehydrated organic ginger root. We love herbal/herbal medicinal teas.  I dehydrated a small-ish bit of organic ginger root in May of 2025.  I have been using small bits of it for tea infusing and tea brewing.  It's worked out great, and continues to maintain it's flavor.  I will definitely keep dehydrated, organic ginger root a staple in my pantry. I will be using it to experiment with other recipes.  Considering the amount of power outages this year, I've decided a few more dehydrated (food, herbs, e...

We made it to 8°F with an early wind chill of -6°F this morning.  The snow is falling as well.  Hot water is flowing again, but somewhere my husband heard we will hit a -15°F tonight, and through Wednesday afternoon.  They have issued a wind chill warning. My husband was the next one to take a fall.  He beat me to the chicken coop, and as I was reaching for the door, I see him down on the ground, chicken feed scoop flown, and watering unit busted in pieces.   I brought up the fact it was high time to get those spikes on our muck boots, and we never did go looking for them.  It's first on the to-do list today. We've put in place all of the "just in case" happens.  We are always pretty much prepared, but we did refill propane grill tanks (in case we needed extra heat, but our propane heat stays on if the power goes out), and we picked up a small propane tank for the small grill (as an alternate source to cook).     Let's talk "tea" to...

  I have a travel size mat and iron, I use to seal my brew bags.  You could also use a flat hair iron if you have one. I bought my brew bags from Mountain Rose Herbs.  I'm sure the price has changed since then.  These are great for traveling, going to a gathering, or any other time you want specific brews, and you are not at home. These are nettle tea, and I store them in an amber jar until I use them.  I also have many tea infusers, but teabags come in handy for a convenience tea (no cleaning a infuser or tea ball).  They also come in handy to deliver medicinal teas to someone who is sick or feeling ill.

  It was high time to make homemade spearmint iced tea.  I love this stuff!  My Mom hated it, but her Mom (Grandma), used to make it.  Love, love, love it on a hot day.  It's nice to have when I come in from the garden.  Now that my husband is doing all the mowing after work, he too enjoys this delicious tea.  I use organic green tea bags. My popcorn is not doing that great this year.  I may have planted it too late.  I hope I did not waste garden space with a fail crop.   Here is what's going on in some of the flower beds. The two "red" ones are actually two different colors.  The last one is more of a burgundy.   My lavender is in full bloom too.  I brought some in to enjoy.

I brewed a canning jar of home picked, wild growing nettle yesterday.  It tasted so good.  I am running low, but I have many other teas to enjoy this winter - chamomile, ginger root, tulsi, lavender, lemon balm, catnip....the list is long.  The health benefits are awesome. I'm gearing up for a possible "Farmer's Market" season this year.  I may only do a few dates, as it 's taking a long time to create the "goods" to sell.  This is one "set" I am creating - over sized pot holder, hot pads to match, one crocheted flower dishcloth, and a soap saver bag.  I am using up extra "country yellow" yarn, but many not have enough to knit a matching dishcloth.  I guess we'll see.  I like to make an entire matching set, even if I put them all in separate groups to sell.  One customer once told me she buys "matching sets" for three family members each Christmas.  That put a light bulb on for me.

When tension brews, I brew a cup of Holy Basil tea.  I'm now growing Holy Basil in my garden.  I'm patiently waiting to harvest it. We are tea and coffee enthusiasts (if you want to call us that), and love to try new varieties.

The last time Hubby and I made a trip to restock our organic items (the ones we cannot find around here nor can order online), I purchased Steep Sacks made by The Republic of Tea.

I had an upset stomach, and was searching for a peppermint teabag, and got this one.  My youngest daughter said I should share this.  It's pretty funny.  It's comical.  It's entertaining.  At least to me it was.  

I pulled a bag of frozen blueberries yesterday, and baked the family a buttermilk-blueberry coffee cake.  Yum.  To top it off, I surprised them with a 4 lb. meatloaf (Hubby's favorite, and I don't make it that often) that was made with organic beef, and veggies.  I also made garlic mashed potatoes, and green beans.  I really miss my own potatoes.  I bought a bag (they now sell organic potatoes here), and about 3-4 of them were rotten only two days after buying them.    Blueberry Buttermilk Coffeecake Recipe :  I added cinnamon and nutmeg to the topping.  

My kids ( and I ) love to drink tea and coffee both.  But lately, they have gott en funky with both.  Mom se nt over some vanilla choc olate tru ffle teabags, and guess what my 16 year-old did? Sh e put that very same teabag into the coffee maker, along with the coffee grounds, and brewed it.  Not bad too. I wonder what else they wil l come up with , now th at m ost of my tea is restocked. Wh at would you call that any way ( brewing coffee with tea )? Coff-tea?  Tea-F ee?  Ha ha ha!