This and That

The noise I heard late into the night Thursday night was rain.  Wahhhh!  Okay, so I get more indoor time, but I'm gonna get fat.  Oye.  I find that now I'm writing more, my fitbit has less steps.  The bathroom scale scared me the other day.  Did I really gain a few?  Oh my land, call in the troops, I need to be vigilant and keep my joints moving. 

I found out I can freeze my pear butter I made.  I just didn't feel like dragging out the big ol' canner pot just yet.

I made a trip to the "big" city and hit 3 stores.  That didn't even include the farm feed store.  I spent $2 and picked up a scrub brush and rubber gloves.  The chicken watering unit needs a good scrubbing before winter.

I even forgot a few items.  However, I made it home just after noon, and got a loaf of bread rising.  While that was going on, and got other stuff done.

Made rose water.  Looks pretty, huh?

Made homemade pickling spice(online at Taste of Home) for a meat marinade.

I did some dishes. Laundry was done before I left the house.

Two kids are sick now.

As for the bad memory (and not writing items down on the list, which I stick to like glue), it gave us an excuse for a motorcycle ride.  

It was a cold one, be we laughed about it.

 

As for my writing time?  The only writing I got was this blog.  I will write double time today.  It's a cold 40°F morning, and there is no way I'm going out to do outdoor work just yet.  Writing in my thick bathrobe and wrist warmers on, with thick socks and slippers sounds about right.

November Writing Month ~ Pear Butter with Sherry

November 1st sparked the start of National Novel Writing Month, and I am back to it this year.  Last year I didn't get to participate, but this year I am fired up. 

Of course it helps to know that I need to submit a contest short story piece, but that will only entail 8,000 words.  NaNoWriMo requires 50,000 words in 30 days.

Baking continues . . . 

English muffins for some breakfast sandwiches.  A sausage/potato/kale frittata as well.

All of my regular chores are still in action too, so I'm hoping to keep a balance somehow.   And of course our Staywell health insurance program has a bonus day on Nov.1st to obtain 15,000 steps (to earn 50 points).  So exercise was not left out either.

Garden work continues, although cold.  I'm yanking green bean plants, weeds, and a few last tomato plants/stakes.  If there is a will, there is a way. . . and I call it quits when I can't feel my fingers any more.  The days are getting colder. 

Although rain arrived again, so that put a delay on it (again).  But the rain brought us a 64°F day too (smiling).  The wind was wicked, so I hope it dried up the garden.  It was pretty wet out there yesterday.  It's very dark out still, so I can't see yet if what I heard at midnight was rain or not.

Speaking of green beans.  I left some pods on the table before taking Youngest Daughter to the doctor the other day.  Even though the older daughter was here, the dogs got into those beans.  I found chewed up seeds at the doorway.  I picked them up and reached my hand out to see who was the culprit.  Zuri licked my hand, and King went around the table and hid behind Zuri.  Hm.  I pretty sure King swiped my seeds.  

When we picked the pears, I placed a few into a brown paper bag to speed up the ripening time.  Pears ripen after they are picked, so every one we picked directly from the tree was rock hard.  Those from the ground were halfway ripe.
  

Pear butter was made.  Although I love the pear butter with star anise, I made a new recipe this time. Because I have sherry to use up.

The chickens loved their sweet treat of peelings too.

3 lbs. pears, peeled, diced
1 cup dry sherry
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Place all ingredients, but the cinnamon, in large pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat 1 hour or until liquid evaporates.  Find something to do near the kitchen - deep clean a drawer, wash a window, as for me?  I wrote. I put towels on the line, I made herbal tea for my sick daughter, and made myself lunch.

Process in a food processor until smooth.  Stir in cinnamon.  Don't forget the cinnamon.  I did, ha ha!  Darn multi-tasking failure!  I had to stir it in after I had the jars filled.


I'm not sure if you can freeze this.  Does anyone know?  I know you can make it with pectin and freeze it. Hm.  I put mine in the fridge to enjoy right now.

I love my homemade calendula cream.  It's a nice spreadable lotion that soaks in after a minute or so. Probably the best combination of ingredients I've tried for a lotion.  I'm using it on my varicose veins too, as winter is arriving and my legs are getting dry skin. The site has a ton of adds, but if you want the recipe it is online with Natural Living Ideas.  It's basically made with calendula infused oil, beeswax, water, and essential oil.  I purchased a hand blender just for making these lotions too.  I have labeled the box it's stored in, so no one uses it with a food recipe.  I have another one I have stored that I use only for soap making too (with lye).  Just some info.

I love the make up remover wipes I made.  They work great, but you have to use a cleanser afterwards, or a bar of goat's milk soap (thankful to still have some). 

I have to buy more vitamin E oil now, as my bottle is down to the bottom.  Does anyone have a resource to purchase it (a good quality of oil)?  This last bottle came from Mountain Rose Herbs, and was rather expensive.

Have a good weekend.

Storing Sweet Potatoes without a Root Cellar/Basement

I have found several ways to store up my sweet potatoes this winter.  Aside from the potato bin indoors, and the burlap bags in another cool/dark room, I am stocking them up in other recipes.

Ginger-Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Butter.

This is a Better Homes and Gardens canning recipe, but it is not boil canned. It goes in the freezer.  Recipe is not online, but is in their magazine (Canning, preserving, freezing and drying) and book I believe.

Frozen Mashed Sweet Potatoes.  I had been told by so many people "you can't freeze potatoes."  I beg to differ.  You can, but you bake and mash them first.  I add nothing to them.

I have been very successful with this process (this works well with white potatoes as well).  I bake the sweet potatoes, mash them, and freeze them on a baking sheet in 1/2 cup servings.  I take them out, and place them in container or freezer bags and simply heat in the oven when needed for meals.  I used foil the last time to line my sheets and the foil stuck to the potatoes.  I used parchment paper this year, and it worked perfect.

Aside from enjoying these with a meal, I can also thaw them to use for sweet potato breads, muffins, and even brownies.

Also, freeze the white mashed potatoes (or red), in 1/2 cup servings.  I utilize this for making rolls too vs. using "potato flakes" in the recipe I use.

You can always dehydrate sweet potatoes as well.  This will be my first year and test tasting them this way.  I have dehydrated (and canned) white potatoes in the past, but the texture after dehydrating is not the best tasting.

And for the first time, I will wrap a few up in newspaper and attempt at growing my own slips without a root cellar/basement.  I'll be storing them in the refrigerator or in a burlap bag of their own.   According to my research, the larger the sweet potato, the longer it will keep in a cool/dark location.


As for storing white/red potatoes?  Canning (pressure canning) has been the best option for me, along with freezing them mashed in single servings.  The taste is much better than dehydrating. 

You can pressure can sweet potatoes too, but I have yet to purchase a pressure canner. I borrowed one to can the white potatoes (to give it a try and check out one of the brands).

You can read my post on our experience canning the white potatoes: here.

Random Tidbits

After trying to convince our youngest daughter to go back to bed, she was on the bus to school, only to text and asked to be picked up.  She slept the entire day yesterday, and I whipped up a batch of homemade ginger-ale for her.  

And speaking of whipping up a recipe.  I made the homemade make up remover wipes - water, jojoba oil, vitamin E oil, and virgin coconut oil.  The recipe is in this book:

I will be back with an update, after the girls give them a whirl.   I sure hope they work.  Buying "organic" ones from the store is robbing my wallet.

Update:  11/7/2017 - these wipes starting growing mold on them yesterday.  So saddened, as these really worked, and I had hoped to cut down my costs for the girls.  I can't add an essential oil, as they are used over your eyes, and I can't put them in the fridge either.  They were tossed out.
 

The kale is growing like wild fire.  I am super happy too.  So is my swiss chard.  They survive a hard freeze, and the best part of this colder weather?  No bugs, so there is more to eat and stock up with.

I decided to put some of the kale into the crocky too - Lentil Barley Soup (recipe from the book above, and thank you Mama Pea for the book suggestion).  A wholesome meal packed with warmth and nutrients. 

I added a finely diced habanero for heat and health as well.    I didn't have a leek, so I used chopped green onion and one shallot.  I still didn't have a lot of spice to the pot, so I ended up adding some "fire powder" and red pepper flakes.  Fire powder is just a mess of hot peppers dehydrated and ground up (at the end of the season).


Apparently Lagom (Swedish) is the new Hygge (Danish).  I just read an article on it, and I pretty much try to live that way - living life to the fullest, staying spontaneous,  trying new things, yet being responsible.


I've been using simply borax to scrub my toilets.  We have a septic system, so I have to be careful of what I use.  I just read a blog (Hibiscus House) that suggested you use baking soda, white vinegar and tea tree oil.  I did some more research, and from what I found, it's also septic safe. I gave it a try, and it works great.  

Send good thoughts and prayers my way.  I'm writing a short story for a contest.  A contest is always a shot in a million, but I love writing too.  There is a pay out for the winners too.

I'm making progress on the mug sets.  They are looking pretty good so far.  I need to crochet the straps on next. 

Happiness is when I find another pint of homemade granola in the cupboard.  I love it on my yogurt.

Monday Fun

Monday flew by fast for me.   For one, it flew by because I overslept.  I guess I needed it.  However, I overslept the bus arriving too, and found a daughter still in bed (yikes!!).  I had to get her up and over to school, although late.   She woke up not feeling well either.

It rained all day long.  I just wanted to crawl back into bed, put on warm cozy clothes, and binge watch netflix.  Seriously, I did.  

But alas, I got some things done.The TV stayed off.

I didn't do much cleaning per-say, but I deep cleaned one bathroom drawer.  It holds most of the medical supplies, bandages, gauze etc.  It was a mess I tell ya'.  Only one drawer left to clean now.

The rest of the day was pretty much fun stuff.  Low key, and relaxing.  I vacuumed, and did other mundane chores, but was limited to some due to finger injuries. 

By the way, after putting a plantain poultice on the tips of those two blistered and bruised fingers, it's much better today (but still tender to use).  The swelling reduced a lot.

 Although my sage supply runneth low, I used some (amongst other herbs, spices) to make my first "Four Thieves Vinegar (Rosemary Gladstar recipe).  It'll be done in 4 weeks.  

I also refilled my lavender antiseptic and calming spritzer bottle.  Also a Gladstar recipe.

And, because someone was trying to convince me to make biscuits and gravy the other day (after a long outdoor work day), for dinner....I did.  Just a different day when I was not worn out.

I snapped this gorgeous photo when I went out after dinner, to pick kale.  The sun was shining so brightly over the ornamental apple tree (planted here before we moved here).  The rain stopped for a bit, and boy it was just so pretty.  Cold, but pretty.

As for "ill" daughter, I made her a hot cup of mullein tea and put fresh ginger root on the shopping list.  

Happy Homemaker Monday

I am joining Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  I had a very busy Sunday (just flip back one more post to read about it), and I am very happy to see it raining this morning (or it may be snow, not sure, could be snow showers again).

On the breakfast plate. . .
 Coffee and a piece of toast with Ginger-Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Butter.


Right now I am. . .
Taking a break, sipping more coffee


The weather outside . . .
Cold, rainy, and dark, so it's a much slower "work" day for me.


Looking around the house . . .
I sigh as I look at my large kitchen table, still covered with sweet potatoes, white potatoes and red potatoes.  I need to get the bin cleaned out and get the potatoes put in storage.


Today's to-do list . . .
~Wash bathrobe, I got it dirty somehow.  Most likely from taking the dogs out early morning
~wash and bleach bath towels
~scrub master bath toilet
~vacuum
~bake biscuits
~write

~crochet mug sets for up coming bazaar sale
~make iced tea
~dinner prep
~deep clean something


Currently reading . . .

 Old magazine I found stuffed in a drawer.  It's mostly recipes.  It may get me into trouble this time of year.

 The same novel - The Bones of Plenty.


On the TV today . . .
Nothing, listening to music, maybe some netflix tonight.  By the way Hubby and watched a movie called "Black Butterfly" and it was very good.  I have to give the writer credit for a very mind boggling movie.


On the menu this week . . .
Again, it's "fly by the seat of my pants" week - most likely homemade biscuits and gravy with fried potatoes, stuffed bell peppers, soup or stew of some kind, something using turkey maybe.


If I have a few minutes to myself today I will . . .
 Write in my personal journal.


New recipe I tired or want to try this week . . .
Well I made homemade hairspray and will be trying it later today.  You can find my source for the recipe in yesterday's post.

I also made calendula cream for the first time.  Easy recipe, almost like the homemade hand lotion, but using my calendula infused oil, and different essential oils.  I am using this on my pinched fingers.  Again, this is on yesterday's post too.  The recipe can be found online. 
 
I want to make homemade make up wipes.  I have everything but one ingredient, so it's on the list for this weekend.

A chocolate pie.

A new sweet potato dish.  Again, need one ingredient. Adding it to my shopping list.  

A rosemary foot soak recipe.




Looking forward to this week . . .
 The weekend.  



Favorite photo from the camera . . .

Devotional, Scripture Reading, Key Verses. . .

Psalm 27:6 (NIV)

^"Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord."

This and That ~ Homemade Hairspray ~ Calendula Cream

I have been reading my library magazines and books off and on, and recently read a nice article on motorcycle camping.  A future possibility for sure.  I'm reading through many magazines to hopefully find a muse and get an article sent off.

The dog flu has hit Ohio.  We are told we should vaccinate our dogs or keep them home etc.  Seems like this happened last year or the year before too.  Hubby thinks is a conspiracy to push another vaccine.  Hm.

I made homemade hairspray for the first time.  I have several new facial cleanser recipes to try over winter or spring.  One requires rose water, and I refuse to buy it (very expensive), so I will wait for my own rose blooms to make that myself.  It's a long wait, but I hope to cut the cost of such supplies that my girls use constantly.  

Back to the hairspray.  I found the recipe in the book "Homemade Beauty" written by Annie Strole.   The recipe calls for a bit of vodka.  However, Dr. Axe has the same recipe online too if you are interested.  There are other recipes as well, but I started with this one.  I'll be trying it out on the girls and see how well it works.  They use so many products that are full of chemicals and perfumes, it chokes me out as I walk through the house.  I hope I can convert them.  Slowly, but surely.  Especially make up remover.  Oye. That will be a spring trial, unless we find rose water on sale. 

I'm currently in the process of setting up a craft bazaar reservation.  It's been hard to get in touch with the people in charge.  One is already filled.  I waited too late I think.

Hubby and I got a lot done on Sunday as well.  

We reduced our barn pile debris, cut some of it up, and now have a start of this year's fire wood.  Oh, there is much more to cut.  But that's not all we accomplished.

Air conditioners were put away (finally), more of the garden tilled (cucumber and squash plants removed), some porch furniture stored, and . . . 

. . . an emergency batch of calendula cream was made (after I applied a plantain poultice to my boo-boo (s).

What my fingers looked like a 10am.  My hands look red, but it was pretty cold out.  Like about 41°F when we started.

What they looked like at 4pm.  Yeah, I got them pinched under a heavy board.  Hubby feels terrible.  I should have paid more attention, but with care I hope it'll heal up quick. 

After I got the cream made I had Daughter help me mix up some homemade sausage to set overnight.

Now I am out completely out of calendula oil, so I started another jar, although it's not really sunny today, nor this time of year.  I will need to keep it in the warmest room.  

Although cold, we are still getting some calendula blooms in the herb garden.

And after all of that work, Hubby got a call out for work, and went in for the extra hours.  I just love that man.