A Great Read…

March 31, 2014

I believe there is nothing like curling up in bed on a cold winter’s night with a good book and a warm husband who keeps my feet toasty.  Last Tuesday Charming and I made the trek to the Green Valley Book Fair and had a wonderful time.  This is about the only place where we go through the doors of the store and then go our separate ways.  (At most places, we’re joined at the hip…I know, I know…our sappy kind of romance makes my family members gag, too.)  I happily headed to the “How To” section and Charming immediately set out for the Science Fiction section, with plans to meet up in an hour in the Travel section downstairs. 

The book fair sells books to suit almost any interest or hobby and they have a great children’s section that is divided up by age group, which makes it really easy to find books that are suitable for your child.  They also sell puzzles and stuffed animals.

Because I really dislike shopping of almost any kind, I went through that place like a whirlwind.  I breezed through the How To section and picked up a great book entitled, “Little House in the Suburbs” written by Deanna Caswell and Daisy Siskin.  It’s a great starter book for anyone who has been contemplating working towards living a more self-sufficient lifestyle.  It’s specifically geared toward people who live in the suburbs and don’t have the space to plant a huge garden or cows, horses or pigs.  They give suggestions on small scale gardening and provide simple recipes to make things like stick deodorant, lip balm, herbal vinegars, vanilla extract and lots of other useful items.  The greatest thing about this book is that it promotes the reader’s confidence and reassures them that they can take small steps towards living a more self-sufficient lifestyle.  Believe me, there’s nothing like the feeling of growing your own food, canning it, and then being able to eat that same food during a blizzard.  Now that’s food security!  At the book fair, I paid $6.00 for this book.  When I got home, I looked it up on Amazon and they were selling used ones for around $9.00, plus shipping costs.  What a deal, huh?

After that, I made a swing by the classic literature section and got Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” to complete my set of her works.  I also got a book that was written by Anne Bronte…sister to Emily Bronte who wrote “Wuthering Heights” and Charlotte Bronte who wrote “Jane Eyre”.  I didn’t realize there were so many authors in the Bronte family. 

Then I went back through the How To section, just in case I missed something on my first pass through.  Satisfied, I went to meet up with Charming in the Travel section.  We got bogged down in the Political section…uggghhh…because Charming likes being aware of what’s happening on the political scene. 

Charming ended up getting a polo shirt for $2.49 (not designer quality, but fine to knock around town in), a pair of skinny “reader” eyeglasses in a little leather case, a group of four science fiction books, and another science fiction book.   All totaled, we paid $27.35 for our loot.  Taking a little “field trip” like this is our idea of a “couples retreat”.  We spent a couple of hours at the book fair then stopped by Costco on our way home and had a $5.00 lunch (without the bun, the Kirkland Signature hot dogs in the food court are gluten-free and Charming loves their chicken bakes).  We have the best time just being together and having a blast on the cheap…And they lived happily ever after.  The End.

 

My treasures from the Book Fair!

Charming's share of the purchases...although he
did get one more sci-fi book that I could not locate
in his office.  (He says he's becoming a bit concerned
by my obsessive need to take pictures for my blog
of almost every thing we do now.)

Magic Beans…

March 27, 2014

As I’ve said before, it’s important for gluten-sensitive people like me to be sure to get as much dietary fiber into their diets as possible.  Fiber promotes the removal of waste from the body and does other good things in the digestive tract to keep your body working properly.  I used to eat whole wheat bread, pasta, cereal and many other wheat-based foods that are normally considered to be part of a “good” diet…and I felt lousy all the time.  The breads, pastas, and cereals that I now eat are mainly corn or rice-based which don’t really supply enough fiber.  The trade-off for me is that I feel much better than I did two years ago, but I have to make a special effort to get fiber into my diet to keep me healthy.  During my gluten-free years, I’ve made a profound discovery…beans are nature’s perfect food! 

I’m not talking about just green beans here.  I’m talking about lima beans, kidney beans, navy beans, pinto beans, and black beans just to name a few.  They are packed with fiber and protein and, because the protein in beans is plant-based, you don’t get the artery clogging fat that you get when you eat most meats. 

At the grocery store, you can buy beans in a can or you can buy dried beans by the bag.  Or…you can do what I do…I buy dried beans and then can them myself.  Dried beans are much cheaper than canned beans.  If you take the time to can them in a pressure canner, you’ll have canned beans that taste just like what you’d buy in the grocery store. 

This past Monday, Charming and I went to Costco to shop for some things that we like to buy in bulk.  I ambled down the aisles with Charming in tow.  (If I don’t keep him focused on shopping, he’ll stop and graze at every “sample tasting station” in the store.  When he likes something that they’re serving, he’ll give me “the nod” to pick up a sample as well.  Since these foods are usually gluten-laden items like chicken fajitas, spicy buffalo breaded chicken tenders, pot stickers or chocolate chip cookies; I gladly hand the tasty morsel over to him and wipe my hands off afterwards.)  Anyhow, when we walked down the aisle where they keep the beans and rice, I noticed they had 10-pound bags of dried pinto beans for $7.79!  For me that’s akin to winning the lottery or finding a bag of yarn at the thrift shop!  Yay!

When I got home, I put half of the beans into my biggest mixing bowl and covered them with water.  After letting them sit overnight, I put them on the stove in my biggest cooking pot and boiled them for half an hour.  While they were still hot I put them into clean jars, added one teaspoon of salt for quart jars and ½ teaspoon of salt for the one lone pint jar that I had.  After loading up the pressure canner, whose water had been heating up on the stove, with the jars and bringing the canner up to ten pounds of pressure, I let it do its thing for 1 ½ hours.  When the timer went off, I simply turned off the heat and pushed the canner to the back of the stove to cool.  In this particular instance, I canned half of the batch in the morning and the other half in the evening.  This allowed the canner to cool down completely before I processed the second batch.  Safety is extremely important when working with a pressure canner.

From that half bag (five pounds) of beans, I got nine quarts and one pint of canned beans.  So when I want pinto beans I just grab a jar, heat them up on the stove or in the microwave, season them and eat them.  I also use them cold on salads and I often mash them, season them, sprinkle with cheese, heat them and eat them as a dip with gluten-free taco chips.  They're extremely versatile.

I will can the rest when we have another rainy or snowy day and I have nothing else pressing to do.  Assuming I get eighteen quarts of beans from the 10-pound bag of dried beans, the cost per quart is roughly forty-three cents per quart!  You may be able to get a 15-ounce can of beans in the grocery store if they’re one sale, but the going rate is closer to seventy-five cents per can.  A quart is enough for Charming and me for lunch, with seconds!  Where in America can you find lunch for forty-three cents?

I know, I know…you’re thinking that it’s been three months since I stopped working and I’m sounding like I’m becoming emotionally unstable over dried beans, but it’s not only the cost savings.  It’s the great feeling I get from knowing that I’m capable of doing things that support a happy family unit.  Providing good healthy food at a low cost is part of that.  The sewing and knitting and spinning and canning and gardening and herb drying and all the other things I’ve been doing are all part of helping to support a healthy family unit.  A side benefit of the last three months (not working) is that I’ve noticed an overall sense of well-being and happiness.  I am so thankful that I’m getting this opportunity to not have to work for someone else.  Although I seem to work constantly at home, whether it’s cleaning the house or working on my art projects, I am happier and healthier than I’ve ever been and I thank God and Charming for this wonderful opportunity.

Filling the hot, sterilized jars with the beans.  Allow 1" head space.

Six jars of hot beans in the already heated water of the pressure canner.
Quarts need 1.5 hours at 10 pounds pressure,
Pints need 1.25 hours at 10 pounds pressure.

And you end up with...Magic Beans!

This and That...

March 24, 2014

I worked on several things over the weekend.  Charming had bought a small bird house at Michael’s craft store a month or two ago and he asked me to paint it for him.  I do paint a little, but it’s not something I’m really good at or driven to do.  I much prefer fabric or yarn as my art medium.  For me, the problem with painting something like a bird house is that you have to do a layer and then let it dry, do another layer and then let it dry.  By the time I get to the final layer I’m kind of tired of the whole thing.  Plus I don’t really like to follow straight lines, which as you can see was a problem when I was painting the little windows for the birds.  Hmmmmmmm…perhaps this is why Charming doesn’t want me helping him with the painting in the new part of the kitchen. 

Charming's bird house...Charming, isn't it?

I’ve also been steadily working on the rug for the kitchen.  As you can see, I’m making progress, but making a braided rug is labor intensive as well as time intensive.  It now measures approximately 30" x 42".  However, the finished product will be well worth the effort and will add quite a bit of "coziness" to the kitchen.  Our cats, Walker and Powder, already take turns napping on it when I'm not actively working on it.  I will be so excited when this is finally completed.

Progress...

...on the...

...kitchen rug.

In addition, I’ve completed almost six knitted dishcloth squares that I’ll use in my “Dishcloth Sweater.”  It is surprising how much faster the Continental style of knitting is proving to be.  I only need 18 dishcloth squares for the body, so I’m well on my way with that project.  Since the sweater is made of cotton yarn and works up so fast, I may even get it finished in time to wear it once or twice before the weather gets really warm.  In my opinion, there’s nothing more satisfying than a project that works up quickly and has a real function.

Dishcloths that will be joined together into a sweater.

Last, but unfortunately not least, I worked on completing the dreaded tax returns yesterday.  I put it off at every turn possible and was truly thankful when my brother and sister-in-law showed up in the afternoon for a visit.  Although I use TurboTax software to do the taxes, it still ends up taking up way more time than I’d like to spend on this particular task.  I wish the government would re-vamp their process to where they would deduct the proper amount of taxes during the year, which would leave no need for me to spend time pulling my hair out while trying to wrap my brain around the form instructions.  I’d willingly forego a refund of a few dollars in exchange for not even having to think about a 1040 tax form. 

Charming and I are planning to take a day trip this week and go to the Green Valley Book Fair.  If you’re ever traveling anywhere in the vicinity of “The Valley,” it’s well worth a side trip to stop in at the Book Fair.  It’s located in a warehouse in a rural setting in Mt. Crawford, Virginia.  They sell books at really good prices.  Last year I got all of Jane Austen’s books for $2.95 each!  They also sell books on travel, history, children’s books, craft books, cook books, science fiction…almost any subject you can imagine.  A trip to the Book Fair is one of my favorite things to do.  I go there on a regular basis and I just love it.  To quote Thomas Jefferson (my favorite president), "I cannot live without books."  The Book Fair is open to the public about six times each year.  Check out their website at http://www.gvbookfair.com for dates and times.  Trust me, if you like to read you’ll love the Book Fair.

Switch Knitter…

March 20, 2014

As I’ve grown older, I’ve noticed little aches and pains that weren’t there twenty years ago…or even ten years ago...or even five years ago...uhhhhboy!   I guess that’s the trade off…as time goes on you gain wisdom, but lose that agility you had as a young adult.  Oh well, no matter, my new-found wisdom is helping me to find work-arounds to deal with issues like this.  Ain't wisdom grand?

Coincidentally, I recently came up with the brilliant idea of learning the “Continental” style of knitting.  It is supposed to be faster than my usual way of knitting (English style) and it’s supposed to be easier on your hands.  I told myself that this is just the thing I need to help with those little aches and pains in my hands.  All it will take is a little practice to get used to holding the yarn differently and making the stitches in a slightly different way.  It will be a challenge to change the way I’ve been knitting for years, but I’m convinced I can do this.  I firmly believe that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

But what to practice on?  Hmmm…I thought for a while and came up with the idea of making dishcloths.  They’re small, simple, and portable.  However, I don’t want to end up with 50 dishcloths that I don’t need.  So I put my thinking cap on and came up yet another idea.  I’ll make enough dishcloths, put them together and turn them into a spring sweater!  This project should take long enough to get me accustomed to knitting in the Continental style and I should have a useful product when it's done.

So then came the design phase.  What dishcloth pattern should I use?  How should I piece the dishcloths together?  What colors should I use?  Since the main point of this project is simply a learning exercise, I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money on it or spend a whole lot of time developing an intricate design.  Another consideration is that the project has to be portable.  I use up my extra bits of time (while waiting for appointments, during meetings, or riding in the car) to work on my knitting projects.

The parameters of the project were outlined.  Then came the time to make the decision on what the sweater should look like.  I finally decided on a pattern that is all over the Internet.  According to what I’ve found, no one seems to know exactly where the pattern originated, but everyone seems to have knitted it at least once.  It is a simple dishcloth, knitted diagonally that uses "yarn overs" around the edges to form a border of sort.  As all of the stitches are knitted, the project should give me plenty of practice.  

Over the past few days, I’ve had enough free time to make several of the dishcloths, using the new method of knitting.  I took a few pictures and made a quick sketch, using the “Draw” feature in Microsoft Word.  The sketch at least gives me an idea of what the finished project will look like.  Unfortunately, the "draw" feature doesn't seem to want to copy to this blog post, so a description will have to do for now.  Although it is taking a bit of getting used to, I find that knitting Continental really does speed up my knitting and seems to be less stressful on my hands.  I just love “win-win” situations!  During the process, I am diligently writing down the pattern instructions and will post them after the project is finished, along with pictures.

Diagonal Dishcloth Sweater

The loose-fitting sweater will consist of 15 diagonal dishcloths (12 for back as well as 3 on right front and 3 on left front) in Sugar ‘n Cream Emerald Isle.  The three middle dishcloths on the front of the sweater will be knit horizontally.  The top dishcloth on the center front will be a contrasting color (probably sage green or white) and will have a simple motif (possibly a leaf, heart, or star) knit into the square’s design.  The 2 dishcloths below that will be knit in the Emerald Isle color.  Bottom ribbing, neck ribbing, shoulder shaping/ribbing, and sleeves will be knit in same contrasting color as top, front dishcloth.  

Sugar 'n Cream yarn in "Emerald Isle" color.

Diagonal knitted dishcloths.  Note the holes around
the border.  These should look nice when the
project is stitched together.

Another picture of two knitted dishcloths, placed close
together to better show how they will look once
they are joined.

Suds In The Bucket...

March 17, 2014

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This watered-down Irish girl sends you wishes for a happy and productive day!

In my last post, I showed pictures of the cleaning products that I use for the bathroom and kitchen. Yesterday I made laundry detergent. When I first started this blog, I gave the recipe for laundry detergent from the Dugger Family. (The Duggers are the family with about nineteen children who had a reality show on TV.) With that many children in one family, there would definitely be tons of laundry and the cost for store-bought detergent could really eat at the family budget. You have to admire such an inventive and industrious family.

A few years back, a co-worker at my old job had told me about this homemade detergent. He and his wife had just had a baby and they decided to try to eliminate as many chemicals as possible in the products they used for their baby. He gave me the recipe and I gave it a try. I have no intentions of going back to store bought.

The Dugger recipe can be found on their website at www.duggarfamily.com. I’ve re-vamped the recipe a little to suit our needs and this recipe seems to work fine for us. Once you purchase the main ingredients of soap, washing soda, borax, and essential oil the ingredients will last for a couple of years…unless you have as many family members as the Duggers do. Our local Walmart carries all of these ingredients, except the essential oils. It should be noted that this detergent doesn’t “suds up” as much as store-bought detergent, but I’m ok with that as there seems to be no difference in the cleanliness of the clothes.

Laundry Detergent

2 cups hot tap water
1/2 bar Fels-Naptha Soap or Octagon soap
¾ cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
¾ cup Borax
10 drops of your favorite essential oil (this is optional; I use Doterra brand essential oils, which are a little on the pricey side, but very concentrated and have many other household and health uses…I like orange and lavender… Doterra’s website address is http://www.doterra.com)

In a medium-sized pot, over medium heat, add the hot tap water and grate the half bar of soap. Stir continually until the soap melts completely.

Fill a 2 ½ gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, Super Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to within 2 inches of the top with more hot tap water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

Next day, stir in essential oil (optional). Fill your container(s) half full…I have a stash of previously-used laundry detergent bottles that I re-use, but you could also use sanitized milk jugs. Then fill to top with regular cold tap water. Remember to shake the container prior to adding to your washer.

For top loading washing machines – use 1/2 cup per load
For front loading washing machines – use ¼ cup per load

In my quest to save money and live as naturally as possible, this has really been an eye opener. I used to spend at least $6.00 – $7.00 for store-bought laundry detergent that lasted about two months. It now costs me a couple of dollars to make a six-month supply, I know the detergent has fewer chemicals than the store-bought version, and my clothes are as clean as ever. In fact, when weather permits and I hang our clothes on the outside clothesline, they dry softer and less wrinkled than if I had done the same with store-bought detergent.

Grate the soap, then add 2 cups hot tap water.  Stir over
medium heat until soap is melted.

Fill bucket halfway full with hot tap water.  Add heated
soap mixture, Borax, and Super Washing Soda.
Stir until all ingredients are dissolved.

Fill bucket to within two inches of top.
Let sit overnight to cool.  Then stir in essential
oil (optional).

Fill bottles halfway with concentrated detergent mixture,
then top off with cool tap water.

Finished product...six bottles of detergent!

Call Me Mrs. Clean…

March 13, 2014

My family and friends know that I struggle with housecleaning.  (Other than washing dishes…strange as it may seem, that’s like therapy to me.)  Part of the reason I don’t like housecleaning is that I don’t see much point in it; as two days later, you’re back where you started from.  I like things to be in order, but I don’t mind dust or a little dirt on the floor.  The way I see it, there are two kinds of women…cleaners and crafters.  Even those women who work outside the home tend to be one or the other.  The cleaners keep their house so clean that you could eat off the floor, but they can’t sew on a button.  The crafters have beautiful artwork in their houses that they’ve created, but you really don’t want to set foot in their house for fear of catching something.  Both of these types of women absolutely have their merits and places in this world.  Unfortunately, I’m not a cleaner.  I often I wish I fell more into that category and I’m sure Charming would prefer that as well. 

I spend most of my time either creating something or thinking about creating something.  I do it naturally, I can’t help it, and it’s a drive that’s almost as strong as that which keeps me breathing.  When Charming and I make trips to Lowe’s or Home Depot to get materials for house projects, he’ll hang out in, say, the hardware aisle.  While he’s weighing the pros, cons, and costs of the different nuts and bolts, I peruse the clearance bins on the end caps to see if there’s anything for under $2.00 that I could turn into something that looks like a million bucks.

On the days when it’s time to clean the bathrooms, I just want to stay in bed.  The worst part of bathroom cleaning is that it seems to be full of hair…dog hair, cat hair, people hair.  I told Charming that we need to consider buying those “No-No” hair shavers for everybody in the family…dog and cats included.  Everybody should be sleek and hair-free in order to make my job of cleaning the bathrooms easier.

Until the day arises when all members of our household are hair-free and I can simply hose down the bathrooms, I have developed a plan that really has helped.  When I find I have a few spare minutes, I’ll vacuum a room or use a dust wand to dust off the TV, sofa, and end tables or use the mini-vacuum to vacuum around the wood stove.  It’s amazing how a few spare minutes can add up to a cleaner house. 

You may recall an earlier post where my cleaning experience in the bathroom was less than stellar.  I have since found my own style of bathroom cleaning.  Two things are important to me:  I want to use as many natural cleaning products as possible and there is no rule that you have to clean everything in the bathroom all at once.  I can do whatever I can when I have a few spare minutes.  So here’s my method.

I do use natural products that are cheap and readily available to anyone.  You can buy everything you need for a clean bathroom at Walmart or almost any grocery store.  My “go to” bucket of cleaning products includes: baking soda, borax, white vinegar, and a dishwashing detergent.  (I substitute the dishwashing detergent with the laundry detergent that I make, but you can use store bought dish detergent for this if you don’t make your own.)  It is important to note that I have mixing utensils that are dedicated only for mixing my cleaning ingredients.  I got mine for almost nothing at our local thrift shop. 

Special utensils you’ll need for mixing the cleaning solution: 

          Medium-sized mixing bowl

          Whisk (to break up the borax as it’ll sometimes clump together)

          Measuring cup

          Funnel

          Empty squirt-type dish detergent bottle

In the medium-sized mixing bowl add 1 cup Borax, 1 cup white vinegar, and 1 cup detergent.  Whisk ingredients to make sure Borax does not clump.  Using a funnel, pour the cleaning mixture into the empty dish detergent bottle.

You’ll also need the regular tools to clean with, such as a scrubbing brush, bucket, rubber gloves, etc. 

-         You can use this liquid mixture to clean shower tiles, tub, and sink (as long as they’re not made of fiberglass). 

-         For tough stains or soap scum in the shower/tub/sink, squirt the liquid mixture on the surface and then sprinkle baking soda on top of it.  Let it sit for about five minutes then scrub with a brush.  After scrubbing, rinse the surface with water (a hand-held shower is great for this). 

-         This liquid mixture can also be used to wipe down the outside surfaces of the toilet.

-         I also use the liquid mixture, plus about 1/8 cup of baking soda sprinkled around the bowl of the toilet and then scrub.  

This method of cleaning is working well for me, costs way less than commercial cleaners, and is better for the environment.  It makes me feel a little better about housecleaning…well, not much, but a little.

My "go to" cleaning supplies.

From right:  Borax, detergent (in canning jar), white vinegar,
baking soda (in spice container), and the liquid mixture of
borax, vinegar, and detergent that I put in a squirt bottle.  (Don't
be tempted to put this into a spray bottle because the borax
will most likely clog the nozzle, which results in swear words.)

For tough stains or soap scum, spray the liquid mixture
then sprinkle baking soda.  Let sit for about 5 minutes.

Then scrub with a scrub brush.  

Rinse after scrubbing for a nice clean surface.  Using a
squeegee on the tile surface clears the water away quickly.

Playing In The Dirt…

March 10, 2014

Today Charming and I have plans to play outside.  The temperature is supposed to be in the high 50’s.  That’s really close to the 60’s and, in my mind, the 60’s are just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the 70’s.  Spring is here!  (Well…once we get past the “wintry mix” the weather girl is calling for later this week.)

We’re slowly gearing up for planting season.  Last week, I filled seedling trays with dirt then Charming poked two holes in each compartment of the seedling trays and planted seeds.  So far, he’s planted seeds for green peppers and Jalapeno peppers.  In addition, he planted several kinds of tomatoes, including:  Mortgage Lifter, Beef Steak, Amish Paste, and Mr. Stripey. 

The seeds he planted are from last year’s crop.  Charming takes great pride in and goes to great pains with his seed-saving endeavors.  Unfortunately, he keeps many of my dishes tied up for weeks during the summer due to the drying process.  Whenever I bring in a particularly large or beautiful tomato, he gets a gleam in his eye and immediately confiscates it.  Then, like some kind of Samurai soldier, he slices and dices and digs out the seeds.  After the shower of tomato juice stops flying through the air, he grabs the salt shaker and makes a snack of the leftover pulp and skin…Yea, sometimes he’s Charming alright.

The Mortgage Lifter tomato is a really good producer.  The story behind the name tells of the man who developed this tomato.  In the 1930’s, although he had no formal plant breeding education, he selectively chose four different plants that were known to produce large fruit…I forget their names.  He cross-pollinated one plant with pollen from the other plants.  The following year, he took the strongest seedling form the seeds of this plant and repeated the process.  (This is a lot more difficult and time-consuming than it sounds.)  It took him years to develop his own stable variety, but he finally did it.  By the time the 1940’s rolled around, he was selling these tomato plants for $1/plant to people who would drive miles to get them.  The end of the story is that he was able to off his mortgage with the money he got from selling his tomato plants.  Isn’t this just a wonderful story?

A few years ago, Charming made a “hoop house” of sorts that fits over one of our garden beds.  Using PVC pipe, he made the rectangular frame then attached four lengths of the pipe to the sides of the frame in order to make the rounded supports that would hold the 4-ml plastic up off the plants.  He made hinges and grab handles out of the pipe as well.  This enables either one person or two to lift the side of the frame up to check on the plants or to simply leave it open on particularly warm days.  Because this winter has been pretty fierce, the hoop house has taken a beating, so we’ll be repairing any damage done by the heavy snow.  The reason we didn’t disassemble it in the fall is because we had nine Napa cabbage plants growing under there.  They were beautiful and looked great up until January when the weather started getting really dicey.  We used most of them in stir-fry, but a few did get caught by the harsh weather.   After that, we decided we’d just let the hoop house rest until spring and then make repairs as needed.

See below for pictures of the starter seeds (although there’s really nothing to look at yet, except dirt) as well as pictures of the hoop house.  Before we know it, the dirt will be warm and the garden will be in full swing.  From my point of view, a garden is one of the most beautiful sights on earth!

A small portion of our seedling trays.  (Note the use of
recycled popsicle sticks for the markers...I love recycling!)

Charming's hoop house is about 4 foot tall and covers
an 8' x 4' vegetable bed.  This is where we over-
wintered our Napa cabbage.

The hinges and handles on the hoop house allows
one person to open it up when the days are warm and
also makes it easy to water the plants.  

I took this picture today (3/10/14).
Three of our Napa cabbage made it through
the harsh winter.  What great little troopers!

I Think I Can, I Think I Can…

March 6, 2014

On Wednesday, I threw together a recipe for some barbecued chicken (see recipe under the Gluten-Free Recipes tab).  That night I served the it over rice.  It was thick, sweet, and a bit on the spicy side.  Charming thought it was awesome as he loves spicy foods.  I’d rather it be a bit tamer for my sensitive tum tum.  Yesterday, I made some gluten-free bread in the bread machine.  (I’ll add the recipe for the gluten-free bread machine bread under the Gluten-Free Recipes tab.)  This bread is coarse, but works well for hot sandwiches, regular toast, and French toast.  Unfortunately, after many tweaks to the recipe, there still seems to be no way to get a rounded top on the bread.  (Oh, I do miss the nice rounded, fluffy, homemade bread that I used to make with regular flour, but making and eating that is not worth the stomach ache that would result.  So, it’s kind of like my nephew says, “I get what I get and I don’t throw a fit.”)

Getting back to the chicken…Since I boiled the chicken prior to putting it in the slow cooker, I decided to keep the remaining water in which it was cooked.  Because I’m a natural born recycler, we don’t throw much away in our household.  I threw a few vegetables in with the chicken water and made my own chicken stock.  I use my pressure canner to can the stock versus freezing it because I don’t like to use up precious freezer space.  However, since it’s late in the winter and we’ve used quite a bit of last summer’s canned bounty, we do have the extra shelf space for this.  Why in the world would I can my own chicken stock when I can buy it at the store for under a dollar a can?  There are a couple of reasons.  The chicken stock that I make is gluten-free.  Not every brand of chicken stock that you buy in the store is gluten-free.  If you’ve ever been on a low-salt diet, are watching your sugar intake or have any other reason to read labels on food items every time you shop, you know that it’s time-consuming to have to read every label on every food item that you purchase.  So having one less label to read is a blessing in itself.  Also, I know exactly what I put into the chicken stock.  I know there are no added chemicals preservatives and I control the amount of salt. 

As it so happens, the Ball Blue Book of Preserving has a recipe that works well.  The Ball Book is the “go to” book of food preservation and I think it’s an absolutely riveting read…I occasionally curl up by the fire with this book during the winter months and read, plot, adapt, and plan new canning recipes.  Walmart sells the Ball Book for about $6 or $7.  It's absolutely worth the money.  (I should work in the advertising/promotion department for the Ball Company!)  Although I like to throw a couple of carrots into my chicken stock, in addition to the other ingredients called for in the recipe, it tastes just fine without it.  Canning your own chicken or beef stock is really quite easy if you have a pressure canner.  However, do not try this in a regular water bath canner as any broth made with meat requires the higher temperatures of a pressure canner to ensure that the end product is safe to eat. 

Here’s the recipe for chicken stock as it appears in the Ball Blue Book of Preserving with pictures below the recipe:

1 (3 to 4 pound) chicken, cut into pieces

4 quarts water

2 stalks celery

2 medium onions, quartered

10 peppercorns (I just use ½ teaspoon of my favorite black pepper)

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon salt

Combine chicken and water in a large saucepot.  Bring to a boil.  Add remaining ingredients.  Reduce heat:  simmer 2 hours or until chicken is tender.  Remove from heat; skim off foam.  Remove chicken from stock, reserving chicken for another use (like Slow Cooker Barbecued Chicken).  Strain stock through a sieve or several layers of cheesecloth.  Allow stock to cool until fat solidifies; skim off fat.  Bring stock to a boil in a large saucepot.  Ladle hot stock into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace.  Adjust two-piece caps.  Process pints 20 minutes, quarts 25 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner.

Yield:  8 pints or 4 quarts

The next time you’re making dressing/stuffing or need a base for soup or beans, you’ll be glad you took the time to make your own stock.

Onions, celery, carrots, and bay leaves...Yummmm!

Pouring the stock into jars.

Leave 1 inch of headspace.

10 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes for pint jars.  (Timer 

shows 19 minutes, but I used a minute dashing from the 

kitchen to my desk to grab my misplaced camera, pet 

Max The Wonder Dog, and leap over the cat who 

was taking his hourly tongue bath...double yuck...in 

the pathway leading back to the kitchen.)

Finished product...7 jars of gorgeous chicken stock.
(Recipe makes 8 pints, but Max The Wonder Dog asked for
one jar to go over his dry food for supper...I find it hard to
refuse those yellow puppy eyes and that pink nose.)