Thursday To-do's

I woke up Thursday realizing I had no plan for the day.  I always have a plan. Yikes.

The only think I needed to make was a nice home cooked dinner and deliver some to Dad for his 87th birthday.  It all depended on if the chickens gave me more eggs too.

I had to flour and pepper my pumpkins due to the excess of bugs.  I am sad too.  Only 2 jack'o lantern pumpkins on them, and no pie pumpkins (a few blossoms, but they look terrible).

If we ever have another wet spring like we did, I will not plant our garden.  It's so big and wide that I can't get the weeds caught up either (due to rain).  It's been a huge issue, and now faces us with the cost of putting in raised beds (so I can plant and weed no matter what), or move the entire garden, or reduce it's size.

As for the tomatoes, the weather is now cooling down, and they don't like that, so I'm going to salvage any green ones and start ripping them out. Yeah, not gonna plant a garden late ever again.

I couldn't let these buggers sit one more day to wait on late tomatoes, so a little over a pound went into the freezer.  

Speaking of freezer, has anyone ever frozen their tomatoes and thawed them later to can salsa or anything sauce-wise?  If so, I'd love to hear how to froze the tomatoes - skin on? skin off? etc.  Just asking in case we can't get enough in one picking in future years.

Just after washing all the dishes and putting them away, I did it two more times.  I guess the "to-do's" found me.

Made a jar of nettle hair tonic.

Made a jar of Four Thieves Vinegar.

Harvested some herbs - thyme, rosemary and parsley.  I needed fresh parsley for dinner.  I love the smell of fresh herbs.  

Homemade Dog Treats ~ Treats for the Family ~ Baked Einkorn Chips

Wednesday I knew it was going to rain, but still did some laundry.  Hubby has been working overtime, and forgot to put his laundry in the utility room.  We have indoor racks so it was not a big deal.

I had no produce to put up (feeling sort of odd about that too), so I whipped up some dog treats.  I now have them on hand for grand-pup visits here or their place.  I used my home grown pumpkin puree to make them.  All organic ingredients.  Normally, I'd bake these with our homegrown carrots, but we were force to plant late, and I have not even checked them yet.  I've used a few different recipes, but here is one of them:

Homemade Organic Dog Treats
3/4 cup organic pumpkin puree (I grow my own pie pumpkins)
1/4 cup shredded organic carrots
1/3 cup organic (ingredients should say peanuts only) peanut butter
1/4 tsp. organic cinnamon
1 egg beaten (I use our organic fed hen eggs)
2 cups organic all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°F, line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix all ingredients, roll on a pastry cloth or floured surface, to about 1/2 inch thickness.  Use a cookie cutter to cut dog treats, place on lined baking sheets and bake about 15-17 minutes, or until they are just turning brown.

I also whipped up some more Einkorn Snickerdoodles for the family.  Our youngest was a bit disappointed to come home with no cookies after a very hot day at school.  She is also starting to feel the stress of being back to school.

I made baked einkorn chips for the first time.  First tray I didn't bake long enough, but I'll definitely be making them again.  They are a substitute for store bought organic (expensive) tortilla chips.  They are not crispy crunchy like fried, but they are fantastic.  They last 3 days, so we used them with our home canned salsa, and of course delicious by themselves.  I think they would be fabulous with hummus.

Both einkorn recipes can be found online.

Carpet shampooing resumed too.  Oh I cannot wait for the day to rip up carpet.  I got about 40% of the bedroom done, but it'll take lifting and moving to get the rest done.  Not sure I have Hubby on board either.  I need him to look at my shampooer too.  I'm not sure it's working properly.  I have done what I can, but I'll need him to work on it I think.  

Gardening and Stocking Up ~ Another HOT day

The garden has been nothing but a struggle this year.  

On the up side. . .and all done in 2 days . . .

I got a small batch of salsa canned, and some tomatoes made it to the freezer.  I left the jalapeno seeds in this time.  I'm labeling these jars "ON FIRE!"  Boy is it hot. Super hot.  Hubby loves it.  I do not.  Next batch, if there is one, will not have the seeds left in. It's a new recipe for me to try (Ball book recipe), but it fit my need with how many tomatoes I had.

Onion soup made it's way to the freezer - 12 pints made.

Another batch of Cowboy Candy was canned.

A small bit of green beans went into the freezer, and some into our tummies.

Since we don't have a root cellar or basement (yet), the tiniest of the potatoes were boiled with the green beans, with bacon and bacon fat added.  One of our garden favorites.

A batch of zucchini meatballs made it's way to the freezer.  Bought the zucchini from a neighbor down the road, who has a produce stand.  I also got more jalapenos from him too.  I actually added diced jalapenos to these.  I should have double the recipe with winter around the corner.  Guess I'll put it on my list of to-do's along with our beef/pork meatballs.  Gotta get it done before the freezer fills up, or it'll be stuck to the upper racks (again).

A veggie frittata, loaded with dandelion greens, was made for us early birds for breakfast.

...and because it was so stinkin' hot (some area schools let out early due to no AC in the schools), I made a cold dinner - Mexican Quinoa (using thawed and cooked corn off the cob, leftover zucchini salsa and some fresh grape and cherry tomatoes).  After I took that photo, I took treats to the hens, and found purslane.  I added some to the dish.  

I'm already writing up a plan for next year's garden.  We may be moving it though.  I know cabbage, watermelon (and other various fruits), along with more tomatoes will be on the list.  Then I can supplement Stud Muffin and the ladies to offset the cost of expensive organic feed.  Oatmeal, only if I can locate it bulk and cheap (for the hens).

Our oldest daughter stopped in with grand-pup Mia.  I'm gonna have to get some dog treats made for their future visits.  She of course raided the fridge.

So, are you wondering what I'll be doing on a hot rainy day?  Most likely cleaning indoors.

 

This and That

Sunday the heat started rolling in, along with thunderstorms and a lot of humidity.  Second picking of tomatoes brought us 6#.  Not much but tomatoes no less.  

Humidity and heat rolled in on Monday and the heat index reached a high of 98°F.  Today it will be the same.  Rain is in the forecast for Wednesday.  The porch is unbearable, so crochet time was indoors (again).  

Hubby and I wandered out the pear trees.  They are loaded, but deer are bedding under one tree.  We also discovered that two other trees growing are producing apples.  Not enough to pick, but producing.  That was a happy discovery.  They were smaller over the years and they were planted before we moved here.  Thankfully, the pears are not ready to pick.  

The treadmill and I are back in a relationship.  I have used it since the passing of our nephews.  It's been a rough time, but now I'm back on track as they say.  First time to step on a bathroom scale since April too, and I actually weighed less than back in April.  Happy moment for me.  I guess all that weeding paid off.  Of course unloading and stacking firewood, lifting the canner pot, lugging my heavy laundry basket through the house and out to the clothesline, mucking the chicken coup all helped too.

I have a tea for that . . . hormone balance

First, let me just say this.  I am posting only from personal experience (blog has a disclaimer).  I know that internet "experts" will say don't follow "advice" from blogs, but I'm posting anyway.  I can't really say it's "advice" either, as it is simply my experience.

Today, I realize how much nettle tea balanced my female hormones.  I truly went gun-ho, in drinking it, in desperation to grow my hair back.  When I stopped drinking it so often, I felt depressed/fatigue, had mood swings as I turned another year older.  Once that happened, and weight came on vs. off (despite exercise and healthy eating), so I thought back to what I had been doing.

Here are a few teas that I have found very helping in hormone balance in women (aside from herbal supplements you can buy):

Stinging Nettle (Grows wild)
Raspberry leaf (Grow your own)
Tulsi/Holy Basil (Grow you own)
Rooibus (Red tea, a drink of South Africa)

I purchased my Rooibus tea (organic).  I wanted to experiment with the tea and see if it would help. 

I have found all to be helpful in hormone balance, and the best time to drink Rooibus tea is in the evening. I find it helpful with a getting a good night's sleep as well.

I'm using a rotation of these teas, but I'm also making other changes.  Hopefully I will have updates using the other changes I've made in a month or so. 

You can also put a few drops of thyme essential oil into a diffuser for hormone balance.  It not only helps with hormones but kills off bacteria etc in the room (suggested for rooms when someone is ill and resting).

Also, I found eating a good rotation of hormonal balancing foods has helped ward of any menopausal symptoms too.  Foods such as asparagus, broccoli, dark leafy greens, a rotation of legumes, nuts and seeds, and using coconut (organic) oil to fry potatoes or pop my popcorn.  

I had noticed, after asparagus season was over, and broccoli not on yet, that I was gaining weight regardless of exercise.  Once I added them back into our meals, I started to lose the weight, and felt great.  It's just tough to find organic asparagus in the stores, but when I do, I freeze it now.

The older you get the more iron women need too, so I keep organic sunflower seeds on hand now.  Of course you can also get iron (and hormone balance) from black beans and other sources.

Sharing this all from personal experience.  Also, remember that if you are taking any prescription drug, getting chemotherapy, or other care, check with your doctor before trying any herbal tea.  They can interfere with your treatment.

Day of Destruction ~ My Friday Finish

After unwillingly working in the garden the past few days, I realized one thing - we need a day of destruction. Boy it will feel so good after all the hell we went through (and still going through), with the garden.

I put a little ditty in Hubby's mind about it too.  The dune buggy.  I asked him to get it running, so I could have a good day of it in the garden.  Still makes me grin just thinking about doing it.

It's not out of the realm of possibilities either.

Finished my "scrap" yarn lapghan.  I have it up for sale for $45.00 now.  Whew.  One more done.  And I still have more yarn in the closet, ha ha!

Dinky Green Bell Peppers

Our green pepper plants we started from heirloom, organic seed, are producing.  However, they are not tall enough, and as you can see, the peppers are half or less the size they should be.  I only saw these and a few more out there.  It sure doesn't help me start the day in a happy, motivated, upbeat, peachy-keen attitude.

I can't weed very much due to the ground being so wet yet, but I managed to pull all the thistle from my front flower beds.  I was contemplating what to do, with nothing to harvest, nothing that could be easily weeded etc. 

A few balls of pizza dough made it to the freezer, but that was about it.  I am out of everything all at once it seems.

I have had a few very nice tea breaks on the porch with this cooler weather.  I'm still working on the crocheted lapghans, but I can only handle sitting idle for so long.  I decided to head to the garage and at least try to clean up some stuff.