Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Although not nearly as bad as my husband got it, I caught the virus from him regardless.  I do feel taking my 4 thieves, and drinking a good amount of water kept me from getting it as bad as him. However, I was unprepared for waking up ill, as far as food goes.  I realized, after resting for several hours, that I needed to go tend the hens.  It was the worst, cold and windy day outside as well.  Yes, I did it in pajamas and muck boots, but left the other chores for my husband after he got home. The only soup on hand was home canned tomato soup, but I did have broth.  I always make sure we have ginger in the freezer.  You can freeze it. How to Freeze Ginger (is in this post) I am out in the boonies, so to ask a friend to come by was out of the question, so it all got me thinking.  I also have a limited amount of family, and they all work full time.  It's not like I can get door dash either.   I need to be better prepared in regards...

  The porch hanging pots are still blooming in late November, which is absolutely unbelieveable.  Never, has this happened in the last 16 years.  However, they all came down, as the weather will dip very cold today.  In fact, they are predicting windchills in the low 20's, so the water hoses were drained and put away in storage (before more rain rolled in). Yes, we woke up to snow, but it's a dusting.  The weather reporters have been so annoying about it too.  They act like we will be snowed in.  It literally rained the entire day yesterday. Watering cans were put away, porch plants taken down and discarded, porch furniture covered for the winter, and outside Christmas lights put up (before it gets too cold to do).  Leaves blown off all entryways. Breakfast these next few days will be Chedder and Chili  Egg Casserole, and some local blueberry sausages (from the freezer).  Recipe is from Rachel Ray Magazine (from years ago), but adapted w...

 . . . made my first homemade ginger ale and loved it!  I plan to make more of this (more so for health reasons) for a refreshing summer treat.  There are many recipes on the I nternet.  I also made a hot ginger tea.  The recipe is from my sister's I ndian cookbo ok.  I am enjoying this, in hopes to speed up my recovery from this col d/sinus /cough /ches t pain ill ness.

Started a  jar of sage tincture. Started another jar of mullein tincture Dehydrated sage for meals and for medicinal tea and for recipes.  I use it to make homemade sausage, pumpkin sage mac n' cheese and other recipes.  I didn't have much to harvest as one plant is half dead, so I had to dig out my small dehydrator for that small job. Started a jar of Four Thieves Vinegar. Froze medicinal basil pesto (Rosemary Gladstar recipe) Made a medicinal jar of thyme honey (Rosemary Gladstar).  I also have her recipe for Thyme Syrup.  That only lasts 4-6 weeks, so I have an indoor plant for that this winter. Started one jar of elderberry elixir. Put organic ginger root in the freezer.  I just rinse, dry, wrap up and place in a freezer bag.  It is used for ginger tea, homemade ginger ale and other recipes.  Ginger root itself has so many healthy benefits overall, I make sure I have...

This young guy has been seen off and on since last winter.  We thought he was housing up in what's left of our largest barn, but wasn't sure.   Well, my Vet Tech-in-training, has been able to get the cat to come to her, let her hold him (a bit reluctant), and will come to the house to eat the cat food.

I highly prefer freshly squeezed lemon juice in my homemade remedies etc.  To prepare for winter here is what I do to preserve real lemon juice. I do not have a juicer, which now I'm wondering if I should buy one. I used my hand lemon squeezer, but either will work to juice fresh, organic lemons. Pour juice into a clean, empty ice cube tray and freeze until solid.  Each cube (in my tray) holds 1-1/2 Tbsp. of lemon juice. Remove cubes and place in a freezer container or freezer bag, label and place back into your freezer. There you have it - real lemon juice on hand all the time. ...and of course I didn't waste the zest.  It went into the freezer as well, as these were organic lemons. I use freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice in my homemade ginger-ale, so I froze lime juice too. My goal has always been to purchase a Meyer lemon tree and grow my own, but that'll only happen when I have an extra $50.00.  That is how much they cost here. ...

On top of being a hot mess on Tuesday, so was the weather.  We got boat loads of rain, so everything is a muddy mess.  It's cold now again, and nights in the teens.  Stupid, crazy weather. By the way, when I post things that are just not going our way, it's simply reality.  I'm not complaining , just pushing through.  I don't post that life is all posh in the boonies if they are not.  Although winter is a time to rest, we may be cleaning up the garage this coming weekend.  Not willingly though.  I guess we'll see. I checked off my to-do list as best as I could yesterday, which started with washing the crock pots for another two crock pot dinner - turkey meatballs/marinara sauce in one, and veggie quinoa in another.  However, I realized I was completely out of quinoa, so glazed carrots went into the other crock pot. By the way, I had cauliflower to blanch and freeze, but decided to "rice" it with some onion and parsley.  We toppe...

Our spring break trip to TN had a hickup, snafu.....unexpected event.  Youngest daughter woke us up at 5am Sunday.  She was pretty sick.  Best guess was food poisoning, but she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I quickly made a batch of homemade ginger-ale to start with, and go from there.  She rested most of the day Sunday, but still pretty sick.  We canceled our  trip reservations and waited to see if she'd be better by Monday (and try and re-book another lodging choice. We rebooked for leaving Tuesday, and she still wasn't feeling her true self.  I expected we'd cancel when Hubby woke up early Tuesday morning (3am) sick.  I thought for sure we'd cancel the entire trip.  He got up, sucked down homemade ginger-ale and made the drive Tues. morning. I'll admit it was a rough 9 hour drive (with many stops).  Both Hubby and Daughter had upset stomachs.  We made it, and crashed for the night.  The next day, they bo...

  I think I did about 5 rounds of dirty dishes, but then turned around and made homemade lemonade and a pot of homemade ginger-ale syrup for Daughter K.  She is sick.  Her throat was very sore, thus the extra dirty dishes. Lemon juice can help break up the mucus and help a sore throat, plus it's packed with vitamin C.  Homemade ginger-ale has a lot of healing properties too, and helps with nausea as well.   She was dealing with a very bad headache as well.  I surely hope she feels better this morning. Tragic news.  My husband's first day back to work was not good.  He was told that a co-worker, 41 years old passed away.  A semi trailer crossed over the center line and landed his semi on top of my husband's co-worker's car.  I was told that it took 75 minutes to get the semi off of the car.  Mike (his co-worker) died at the hospital.  He leaves behind his high school sweet heart (wife) and two kids (7 and 9).

The snow did not arrive as the forecast predicted.  The wind came with a small bit of it, and that was it.  I had Saturday night and Sunday to do whatever I felt like - no demands, no errands, no schedule, pretending I had a few snow days. This morning we have a -9° wind chill.  The bitter cold has moved back in on us. Grab of cup of coffee or tea.  It's a long Monday morning ramble. . .

  I enjoy reflecting on the previous year, as we bring in a new year.  So grab of cup of coffee, tea, or your favorite beverage, and join me.   Made my first hay net.  Click on "read more" for more reflections in no particular order, and definitely not all of them. . .

This bird is annoying the heck out of me, and trying to take over my front porch.  I have no idea what type of bird it is, but the beak on it is longer than most birds.  The sound it makes is sooooo annoying.  It would come all the way to the door when I was inside, squawk, and fly off before I could get a photo. I keep ringing my dinner bell to keep it away. ....just another day in the life of our homestead. So?  Did we get more rain? 

I am happy to say my herb garden is springing to life again.  I chopped my first chives of this year.  Boy was it a good feeling.  My kids thought I was nuts when they saw me smelling them while walking in the house. They went into the butter I made for the steaks yesterday, and I chopped more for eggs.  It really is a good feeling.  I also added a tab div ider in my recipe bo x.  I reads "butters." Guess what I brought home? 

I had a mess of hot peppers to take care of, so I made one last batch of hot pepper jelly.  I'll be freezing the rest, or using them in recipes such as salsa etc. I froze a bunch of mad hatter peppers.  I'll use these in recipes that call for red bell pepper and in many recipes.  I have a ton more to freeze today or I lose them. Army worms have invaded our state.  I have yet to see any at our property, but some friends are dealing with their entire yards gone. I brewed up a batch of homemade ginger ale for Mom.  She has had no appetite and loves my ginger ale.  I wanted to make her favorite snack, but decided it was best to not right now.  She says the only thing she can eat right now are tomatoes and popcorn.  My tomato plant has new tomatoes on, but nothing ready to pick, so we'll check the produce down the road. Speaking of Mom, she has had two more falls since I last posted.  We went into town last night and helped do some things and feed...

One thing I keep in my freezer:  ginger root (and cranberries) One thing I keep in my pantry:  honey Homemade Ginger-ale is often requested, although I give the recipe out to the family so many times.  It truly is a staple for when anyone is sick or experiencing nausea.  I wish there was a way to make a giant batch, and can it.   I would also buy my fresh cranberries in October, and put them in the freezer for Christmas.  The cranberries would be used for Mom's Hot Cranberry Punch recipe every year.  I however, did not buy any cranberries this year. So, cranberries were often found in my freezer too. Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal - another new recipe tried. The recipe is online with The Real Food Dietitians.  I borrowed their cookbook from our library, but the recipes they post online are not in the cookbook.  We are very much enjoying the breakfast oatmeal bake recipes.  There are about two more of their recipes to try. The ...