Pioneer Woman at Heart

  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...

  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 ...

Meals were from the freezer and pantry.  Remember all that onion soup I froze?  Well, I pulled some, along with frozen corn we put up, a jar of home canned potatoes, and with pantry goods, created a potato/corn chowder.   Honestly, this was so good. I have homemade baking mix on hand, so I pulled shredded zucchini for some muffins for school lunches.  Evening snack was popcorn, which we still have plenty of.

The only reason I am up this morning, is to locate the school's transportation number and cancel the bus today.  Both kids that ride it are sick with fevers and whatnot.   As luck would have it, the school was calling me as I was calling them, and they closed today due to snow and bad roads.  Traffic outside, is moving extremely slow. As for me?  I woke up at 4am freezing cold.  I knew at that point I was the next to get the sickness (that our 15 year-old brought home from a sleepover).  My temperature was 101.4 and I am not feeling so well.   

It's beginning to look brighter, earlier in the days here.  Sunrises are pink and beautiful,and it does help with rising earlier now.  This cold winter has made me lazy in the mornings.  Happy Valentine's Day, by the way.   Hubby had to fix the gas line on our daughter's car (18 yr.).  Luckily, it's was fixable without buying parts.  However, my car needs back brakes now.  Not sure when or how it'll get done (too cold to work outdoors, and with his hours). I've been reading "sheet pan" dinner cookbooks from the library lately (when I have a few minutes).

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.  ...

We woke up to all the white stuff melted.  All of it.  I am so glad to see that.  It was an ice rink walking to the barn, to fetch wood and to get the mail.  It'll be sloshy out there, but I'll take warmer weather and mud over ice and freezing temps at this point. There are so many nutritional and medicinal benefits of herbs and spices, so I won't go into detail of each one.  However, I mixed the following together for their benefits, and tried it on eggs, on sandwiches, meats etc. Although I called it "Fire it Up" we like to think of (or call it) "Full Throttle" because it fires up our "engines." A body boosting, immune boosting, sickness fighter, overall health boosting mix. First I picked dehydrated garden parsley, and my home ground garlic. 

First, I apologize for the long "coffee hour" post today.  It started out short, but it kept raining, and I kept typing.   Thursday and Friday cooled down to the lower 70's - perfect camping weather.  It was just the most amazing porch talk weather, the best ever sleeping weather this summer yet. I've been bug picking, coop cleaning, and simply staring at our garden.   I am starting to worry that I am running out of exciting, happy moments to post here.  A dentist visit allowed me

  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...