left of average, south of normal

Tumbling headfirst into the paleo diet -one tiny baby step at a time

2011-11-14T17:35:00.001-06:00

So, as a result of general malaise, chronic sugar addiction/cravings, and slow but steady weight gain, i've decided to try a different approach (generic 'moderation' and 'resist temptation' dieting not making any headway)

I'm always of the opinion that any diet you adopt should be a lifestyle, not something you take up for a few months merely to lose some pounds.

One of my relatives has been interested (though not precisely following) the paleo/primal diets for some time. I believe that the science behind them are fairly sound, if for no other reason than that high grain and refined carb. intakes can cause significant health problems over time. No, i'm not going to go into ANY science, because frankly, it's been done, by people MUCH more knowledgeable than me.

(one example is in the Paleo Solution, by Robb Wolf )

Thus I made the drastic decision a couple of weeks ago to *gasp* remove grains from my diet entirely!

Okay, not quite entirely, yet. I've removed all the obvious grain foods (bread, pasta, muffins, etc), and replaced them with more vegetables. I'm not yet worrying about trace amounts of grains in foods, or about legumes, or sweet corn.

Or, quite frankly, too much about the rest of the diet. Yet.

My focus right now is to eliminate grain, and drastically reduce refined sugars (not eliminate entirely as, well, i'm a bit of an addict, and cold turkey is a surefire way for me to fail!). Also, I am working on beefing up my intake of various veggies, from all points in the color spectrum.

There are some aspects of the diet i can't quite embrace yet.
no dairy? um... i'm at fairly high risk of osteoporosis. i think i'll stick to having milk products, thanks.

no sweet corn or potatoes? well, i'm gonna keep these for now. i know, they're not ideal foods, but i don't eat corn every day, and potatoes are my 'replacement' for family meals (the rest of my family are not yet on the band wagon)

coconut and palm oil okay, but lard/tallow not? I disagree completely about palm oil, but agree with caveats to both coconut and lard. Coconut oil is a fine choice, IF it's not highly processed or hydrogenated (as the types in candy and the like often are!) Lard is OK though, if (and this is a big one) it's from a grass-fed animal, as it will have much healthier trace vitamins and components than grain-fed, and even that is better than the scary stuff they sell in the stores. Never goes bad? Doesn't need refrigerating? I think i'll pass.

Frankly, i LOVE using animal fats for cooking. give me some lard, tallow, or bacon grease any day, and i'll pan fry you some thing delicious ;)

so far? well, i haven't lost any weight. but i wasn't expecting to, in the short term. i'm expecting losses to begin in another week or two, and progress slowly, as i'm only about 30 pounds over my ideal (and the closer to ideal, the slower things generally go!)

Hopefully, i'll keep y'all updated a little more frequently.

oh look. some lovely smooshy roving. that i dyed. yay! then i found out the dyes are not colorfast. boo. completely unrelated to the post, but i wanted to put SOME sort of picture in here :)

crochet pattern: ribbed neckwarmer

2011-09-18T14:32:00.003-05:00

worked up a nice light button-up neckwarmer last week. it turned out nice enough i thought i'd share.

*note: this hasn't been tested, just written up as i made it. if you try it and find errors, please let me know!

Ribbed Neckwarmer

You will need:
2 - 50g skeins or balls of worsted weight wool (or fiber of your choice)
2 buttons, approx 2cm or 3/4 " across (or slightly larger)
5.5mm crochet hook

stitches used:
ch = chain
sc = single crochet
DC or dc = double crochet
FPDC or fpdc = front post double crochet
BPDC or bpdc = back post double crochet
ridge stitches = the vertical line of stitches being created by alternate fpdc and bpdc

NOTE: turning chain does not count as a stitch

ch17, turn.
row 1: sc in second ch, sc across (16sc)
row 2: ch 1, turn. sc across (16sc)
repeat above row 17 more times, or until approximately square. continue to row A.

Row A: ch3, turn. DC across (16 dc)
Row B: ch3, turn. (FPDC in first stitch, dc in next stitch.) repeat across. note: this is your front side

Row C: ch3, turn. (BPDC in last rows fpdc, dc in same stitch, dc in next dc. ) repeat across, ending with BPDC in last fpdc, Dc in turning chain. (8 fp/bp ridges, each with 2dc between, 1 turning-ch/dc at each end)

row D: ch3, turn. Fpdc in ridge stitches, dc in dc across.
row E: ch3, turn. bpdc in (sunken) ridge stitches, dc in dc across.

Repeat rows D and E until ridged section is 15 1/2" long from row A to your working edge (adjust as necessary, but please finish on row E) If you have a very thick neck or like a very loose neckwarmer, work two extra rows at this point.

row F: ch3, turn. (FPDC in ridged stitch, dc2tog) repeat across, ending with fpdc in last ridged stitch, dc in previous turning chain.

row G: ch3, turn. (BPDC in ridged stitch, dc in dc) repeat across, (ending with dc in previous turning ch.)

row H: ch3, turn. (fpdc in ridged stitch, dc in dc) repeat across.

row I: ch1, turn. sc across.

repeat row I 3 more times

Row J: ch1, turn. sc in next 2 sc, ch 3 , skip next 3 sc, sc in next 4 sc, ch3, skip next 3sc, sc in last 3 sts. (two buttonholes made)

Repeat row I, working into chain stitches when necessary for 4 more rows.
Finish off, working in ends where necessary.

test-fit to determine button placement. stitch on buttons as desired.
as the sc portions tend to curl at the edge, a gentle wet blocking is suggested.

good luck everyone!

photoblog 4 - spinning whirling twirling

2011-09-15T15:06:00.000-05:00

i just wanted to show off my 'new' tool

new to me spinning wheel :) needs just a little love and it'll be spinning wonderfully!

mother of all and tension adjustment

the 'working end'. orifice and maiden


bobbin, flyer etc (before i took the mucky old yarn off it!) also, temporary cotton tensioner.

Now, with any luck, i'll be able to spin the lovely super-fine alpaca yarn i'm wanting to make (and then make soft wonderful stuff like shawls with)

Adventures in homeschooling

2011-09-07T18:28:00.000-05:00

Homeschooling is something i've always wanted to do (well, okay, wanted to do since i was adult enough to think about it). I had pretty crumby experiences in school, and knew that if my kids were in a similar school situation, they'd be just as likely as I was to come out of it scarred, rather than stronger. Thinking of all the quirky friends i know - and yes, that includes most of you! - i've come to realize that school specific situations (bullying, high stress levels, social competition, forced competitive sports etc) seem to be at least one of the major sources of their unhappiness (or psychological issues, or social problem). Now i know that's kindof sweeping, and it certainly isn't true in all cases, but it is what it is.

Following that, i've just officially enrolled my darling daughter in her first year of 'real' homeschooling. Last year we did Kindergarten curriculum, but i decided not to officially enroll her until we could see if homeschooling was going to work for her. It did, which makes me very happy.

This week, when most kids are trudging to their new classes to meet their new teachers, learning all those things they'd forgotten over the summer, and dealing with all those less-than-nice kids at the back of the bus.

My kids, however, spent all of today drawing, playing with blocks, doing string crafts, and playing outside.

Just as every parent is different, every homeschooling setup is different. My current setup (which is working, yay!) is this:

days 1-3: 3 pages of written work in a workbook, or equivalent: reading out loud, practicing spelling, etc. all count as a page. After, free to play or do alternative learning depending on the day.
day 4: free and clear of written work, only "play-ducation" all day - so cooking, learning about nature, making music, science experiments and all that 'other' stuff fits here.

that's it. a 4 day rotation. We throw in lots of extra 'time off' days, as suits our schedule, and sometimes take our learning on the road if need be.

Our province allows for a child-centric curriculum, which allows us to do as much or as little 'traditional' schooling as we desire, as well as as putting in as much 'other stuff' as we want, without feeling the need to cram it in after-hours.

not a recent picture, but you get the idea

photoblog 3 - Mary mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

2011-07-10T10:21:00.000-05:00

quite poorly, actually. something about multiple hail storms and record breaking rain, added to late planting and you get a poor garden.

the perennials are looking lovely though

hope you all have lovely sunny days!

photoblog 2 - old mcdonald had a ...

2011-07-07T23:24:00.000-05:00

chicken? how about a whole bunch of 'em!

some of the chicken dinners in the making!


the colored gals will be (mostly) laying birds


feeding frenzy! that's what a handful of dandelion greens'll get you!


jack

carmella

helena

Kain


Demetrius

Inca Gold

Chocolatl

habanero

Red

the alpacas are a bit scruffy, but this is the first time we've done shearing on the farm.

In preparation for some soapmaking experiments next month, i made some rosewater.

fresh rose petals

weight down into distilled water

more petals to add. didn't think it was strong enough yet.

the petals fade almost instantly in the hot water

finished. not much left of the petals after straining. (left)

photoblog 1- yarn love

2011-06-26T16:42:00.000-05:00

just pics, folks. i'll caption them, but that's about all i've got time for at this exact moment...

our newest family member

my first attempt at edible-food coloring dying. the white is wool, the brown is alpaca, and the mesh bag holds angora.


the setup. used 2 sets of dye, just the green, blue and pink tablets. as the two sets were different brands, the colors were slightly different, leading to interesting color variations later.


all the dye has been added, and the yarn pressed into the dye. had to add some water to bring the level up to an acceptable point.


my drying rack full of dyed batts


a re-carded batt containing an odd bit of dyed wool and the dyed alpaca (the two skinny bits on the left of the photo above) plus some white wool. yes, i know it's a horrible looking batt. but as i'm planning on using it all myself, i don't worry about the slubs too much.

the batt above, spun fine.

the finished yarn, chain-plied into about 50 yards of tweedy gently-shading yarn.


two of the three matching batts i dyed, pulled into rovings


some of the same wool, spun up


the finished yarn, plied 1-dyed, 1-plain white wool. about 400 yards total, and should stripe wide stripes of color.

color is a bit off on some of these, but the best i can do what with the never-ending rain around here.

are you ready for the end of times?

2011-03-11T09:42:00.000-06:00

okay. This isn't going to be a super-serious 'the sky is falling' kindof post. I figure you all are smart enough to make your own decisions as to whether it's just an acorn falling, or something more serious.


via this page

A quiz - How ready are you for the zombie apocalypse?

You might be accepting of the idea of bad things happening soon, you might be in denial, you might even think they’re already happening. Whatever your perception, eventually the gods/ lady luck/ karma are going to end up flattening the thus-far rather lucky human race.   Is it going to be zombies, or wild weather, or Government breakdown, or nuclear war, or even just a massive stock market crash? Who knows. On the assumption that it IS coming though, how ready are you for when it happens?

*disclaimer: this is not scientifically designed. It is for entertainment purposes only. And to make you think.*

This is old school quiz style. Grab a pencil and paper, or a notepad file, and write down the question numbers and the *most applicable* answer (one answer per question, unless noted, and pick the one that is closest to the truth for you)

1. Lets start with an easy one: food. How prepared are you food-wise for an emergency situation?
   A. I only eat fresh produce, and shop at the grocery or market at least three times a week.
   B. I have at least 3 months of canned and dried goods stocked in my cupboards.
   C. I eat out at restaurants most of the time, my fridge is used for holding beverages and ketchup.
   D. I have 3 years worth of MRE’s once my six months of canned goods and freezer full of food are used up.
   E. I’ve got a few bulk staples, but I’d run out of food in a couple of weeks.
   F. I’ll just go to my mom’s. She makes good food.

2. Okay. Let’s say there’s no electricity, or you’re stranded for some reason out of doors. How are your survival skills?
   A. that’s what a cell phone is for, right?
   B. I can start a fire with matches, own at least one pocket knife, and know what poison ivy looks like.
   C. I live in a city, but I’m prepared. I’ve got a generator, candles, and a solar-powered radio.
   D. I’ve done extensive wilderness camping, and love going out in the forest for a week with nothing but what I’ve got in my pockets
   E. I’ve got a book on survival skills, and I’ve read it.
    F. I know how to create a shelter, start a fire without matches or a lighter, and find water for survival.

3. Water. The stuff of life. Do you got some?
   A. I’ve got a six pack of coke and a dozen beer. I’ll be fine.
   B. I know a local above-water source or low-tech well, and have a decontamination system/plan in place for when my in-house water is used up.
   C. I have a water cooler and at least 2 - 3.5gal jugs.
   D. I have a large storage tote or set of containers of drinkable water that I change at least once a year, when I cycle out my old canned goods from my emergency stash
   E. I’ve got some iodine tablets in with my camping gear. I hear they make the water taste horrible though. Oh, And I’ve heard you can drink the water from your toilet tank too. Eew.

4. This zombie madness is lasting longer than you expected. Your food has run out. What do you do now?
   A. I pull out my foraging manual, and start figuring out what plants I can find to eat.
   B. It shouldn’t run out, because I’ll be gardening and hunting/farming to keep augmenting it. I’ll have my larder stocked full come fall.
   C. I’ll seriously start considering cannibalism…eventually. After all, if the Donner party could do it, so can i.
   D. I’ll barter one of my skills to a local surviving farmer for food.
   E. I’ll go out into the country and steal some. After all farms have lots of food, that’s where food is made,
right?
   F. I run to the grocery store. Duh.

5. How reliant are you on medicine/drugs/alcohol for your daily physical or mental well-being?
   A. I’m on a lot of different medications prescribed by my doctor.
   B. I’ve got a drug/alcohol/cigarette habit. But I can kick it any time.
   C. My body is a temple. I don’t use any habit forming or unhealthy products, and only ingest homegrown food and clean water.
   D. Sure I’ve got a habit, but I grow/brew my own. So piss off. No, you can’t have any.
   E. I’m on some sort of regular medication that I take all the time.
   F. I’m an occasional user of either meds or drugs/alcohol. I don’t use anything all the time though.

6. Oh dear. Someone has been seriously injured. Can you help them?
   A. I’ve got basic first aid knowledge, but not much past that.
   B. I’m a doctor or nurse, and I regularly do things like set bones and suture wounds
   C. I tend to faint every time I see blood
   D. I’ve got a book around here somewhere on medicine. I’ll just look up their symptoms and see what it says to do.
   E. I’ve got basic knowledge of first aid and emergency training, but for anything tough I’ll likely have to rely on either someone else, or on a book to figure it out.
   F. I would perform CPR on them. Or the Heimlich maneuver. I’m also pretty good with bandaids.

7. Gee, Fluffy, your Pekinese puppy has run out of food. What do you do?
   A. get out a sharp knife, say a prayer, then butcher him. No way are we going to waste valuable protein.
   B. I‘ll let him have some of my food. That way we can starve together.
   C. I let him outside, so he can fend for himself. He’s a wild animal. He’ll be fine.
   D. I’ll give him to the nice lady across the street. She’s got a bunch of pets…. Though I haven’t seen any of them lately…
   E. I’ll go and find a store-house with more dogfood. I’m sure no-one’s thought to raid them yet.
   F. I’ll put him down and we’ll bury him. No sense being cruel and letting him starve.

8. Slavering zombies have showed up in your yard, demanding brains, as well as your TV and valuables. How prepared are you to protect your own?
   A. I have a gun and I've taken it to a hunting range a few times.
   B. I’ve got a buncha kitchen knives. That’s gotta slow them down.
   C. I have been in the army. I have the skills I need, if I have to protect myself and my family..
   D. I go hunting regularly, and am proficient with both a blade and firearm.
   E. I’ve got mad ninja skillz I learned from a game on my X-box.
   F. I can use both blades as well as firearms/bows with skill, but in a pinch, I can go without. With skill and training, almost _anything_ can be used as a weapon. Particularly against un-skilled zombies.

9. Damn. This zombie madness seems to be unending. What skills do you have that you can use for long term survival?
* for this question mark down each letter that applies to you*

   A. I know how to make things out of wood or metal using low-tech means.
   B. I can make fabric from raw materials, and/or make clothing and other useful items from fabric or animal skins. Or I can tan animal hides.
   C. I'm really good with a computer, but I have no non-electric skills. Guess I’ll just have to steal or kill for what I want.
   D. I’m not very skilled yet, but I’m willing to learn, even if it means I’m the guy doing the boring jobs for a long time. At least I’ll be surviving!
   E. I am a proficient gardener, and know at least 3 ways of preserving food without electricity.
   F. I am good with animals and have experience caring for livestock OR I can hunt without using a gun, successfully. And have.
   G. I can (and have) brewed and/or distilled alcohol. And it tastes good
   H. I’ve got lots of books and files on my computer with how-to manuals. I’m sure I can figure something out.
   I. I have medical training, and sufficient skills to use it.
   J. those who can’t…. yeah. I can teach. I can teach the 3 R’s to children, so they can be smart enough to get out of this mess eventually!
   K. I’m good at scavenging and making do, and can MacGyver stuff together fairly efficiently.



Scoring:
Overall, questions are scored 0-5 points, 5 points indicating the highest preparation, 0 points indicating little or no preparation.

Note: for question 9, points are additive, not one answer only!

1. A-1   B-4   C-0   D-5   E-2   F-1
2. A-0   B-3   C-1   D-5   E-1   F4

3. A-0   B-5   C-2   D-4   E-1
4. A-3   B-5   C-2   D-4   E-1   F-0

5. A-0   B-1   C-5   D-5   E-1   F-4
6. A-3   B-5   C-0   D-1   E-4   F-2

7. A-2   B-1   C-1   D-3   E-0   F-4
8. A-2   B-1   C-4   D-4   E-0   F-5

DON’T FORGET TO ADD EACH CORRECT ANSWER FOR QUESTION 9!

9. A-3   B-3   C-0   D-2   E-3   F-3   G-3   H-1   I-3   J-2   K-3

If you scored:

0-10
You have a lot of work ahead of you. Perhaps this just isn’t something you’ve thought of before, or you purposefully decided to hide your head in the sand. Taking a first aid course, a gardening class or a handgun training course might be a good idea. Think about small steps you can make now, like buying some foods with long shelf-life, and getting a jug of water to put away in case of an emergency. Every small step in the right direction counts!

11-30
Well you’ve got some skills, but you have a lot to learn. You maybe have more ‘book learning’ than hands-on, and that’s something you can concentrate on fixing. Perhaps you don’t have a lot of useful skills. Ask your local woodworker/blacksmith/weaver to teach you some basics. Get your mother or grandmother to teach you how to do some canning. You might even find you like it!

31-50
You’ve spent a fair bit of time preparing and learning skills. You have a good idea what you’ll do when the zombies come, and have probably talked about it with your family. Now is the time to look with an objective eye and see what areas you’re still weak in, then focus your energies there.

51 and up
You are pretty prepared. You have the skills, the stores, and the knowledge to allow you to last during a catastrophic event. Just don’t let your skills get rusty! Keep thinking, planning and helping others with their own learning and planning!

As a note, I scored myself at 44. Still got a ways to go before I feel _really _ prepared.

of goings on in wintertime

2011-02-28T19:06:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting here watching my plants slowly die (it's end of season for my peppers and tomatoes, and they're going down fast!) and thinking about what to plant for the new season. I decided to list all the seeds i had saved here and there around the house, and figure out what i actually wanted to plant. Plus, i also need to amalgamate plans with mom, as we're sharing the garden. I'm pretty sure i'll be planting: white carrots, zucchini, pumpkins, and at least two types of tomatoes (likely more). must. do . more. planning.... :D

I got a swap gift in the mail today (and yes, i did a girly little happy dance as i started to open it!).
above is the first unwrapping (a postcard, and gift in bag)

next layer in, some toffee and the gift itself... this was a magic yarn ball swap, and my swap partner had it wrapped up beautifully!

partway through unwinding the yarn ball inside... so. much. yarn. woohoo!
you can't really tell, but it's a lovely variegated green. i think it will work into something crocheted (or loom knit) beautifully!

and finally, all the goodies that were inside. You see, a Magic yarn ball is a bunch of treats/goodies/things wrapped together in yarn, and the recipient gets to re-roll the yarn and find all the surprises inside!

in other news, my Strawberry mead is smelling WONDERFUL!... just about time to move it to the carboy, i think.

i`ve been crocheting a fair bit, and my spinning is currently on hold and will likely be so for a while, because March is National Crochet Month. Because of this, I plan on crocheting every day for the next month, no breaks (which of course means that i`ll be doing less spinning/loomknitting as a result)

i'm definitely ready for some warmer weather... maybe some rain.... melting snow.... anything?? yeah. soon, i hope.

Of winter, and fleece, and all things indoors

2011-02-20T20:05:00.000-06:00

hey folks. Guess i'm not feeling very blog motivated these days. Sorry.

However, i have been keeping myself busy (of course!)

my daughter is doing better everyday with her home education. she's beginning to sound words out fairly accurately, when prompted, and is starting to learn about telling time.

strawberry mead, brewing right now! yum!!

my first knit sock. no, really! i'm using a sock loom. it's slow, but very interesting!

I've recently purchased some icelandic fleece, and have washed a pound of it...

Yup, that's what a pound of fleece looks like.

It washed really really easily, and i'm very happy with the result. i also washed an 'extra' bit the seller threw in. unfortunately, the grease had hardened, and i was unable to completely clean it. I will be trying to comb and spin it, but don't expect fantastic results.

Icelandic fleece is much different than your 'average' white wooly sheep's fleece. it has two different parts of the hair, a long coarse hair, and a much shorter, very fine hair.

this fleece is grey, however you may notice that the skinny ends are dark grey, while the fluffy thick bits are light grey.
I decided to test-separate some of the fleece, because as far as i can tell, they did that historically (the coarse hairs had one set of uses, the fine another set. makes sense to me. dual purpose fibers.

as you can see, the fibers are very different in color once separated. The fine hairs were actually nearly perfectly white if i take all the coarse hairs out! However, i'm only going to pull the longest and coarsest, leaving a bit of grey in the softer fibers.

some yarn i've spun, drip drying after being washed and set.

a little yarn porn ;) my most recently finished yarn. it's 50/50 alpaca and wool

and this is my currently-being blocked super-crazy colorwork crochet project. (in case you're wondering, it's a row of running feegles, a la Terry Pratchett)

hope everyone is staying warm, and planning your gardens!

Returning from Hiatus

2011-01-22T11:45:00.002-06:00

hello again. I'm back. I've been a busy girl, just not on the blogging front. I've been crocheting and spinning a lot, as well as baking, cooking, childcare-ing, and homeschooling.

i have been enjoying the 'bounty' of my window garden (thus far 6 hot peppers and 4 small tomatoes)

i also took part in a swap on ravelry (the swap was for Imbolc, but i've opened it early) and i thought i'd show you what i got!

that huge ball is wool roving from a rare breed of sheep called the Coburg Fox Sheep, and the wood box is full of charcoal and incense. Such lovely stuff :D

here's a peek at a couple of my ongoing projects:

a bat-wing style shawl made with some yarn i just LOVE!


100% alpaca, spun fine. to be plied with wool.

in other news: um... no, not really any other news. am slowly starting to re-connect with old friends locally, which is nice and a real stress relief.

hope everyone is having a safe and warm winter... take it easy!

Yuletide Linkification, now with snark!

2010-12-11T21:07:00.000-06:00

I'm not feeling terribly motivated to post something long today, as DS just had his birthday party, and i'm wiped.

so.... in lieu of a more insightful and thoughtful post... you get some Yuletide links to other interesting stuff! (yay)

How to celebrate Yule - basic ideas, good for someone not familiar with the holiday

celebrating yule as a family - lot of diverse ideas. might try some of these this year!

Decorating a Yule Altar - decent ideas. going to try to get my altar set up this week... well... maybe. we'll see how it goes. still have tons of gifts to wrap (and wrappers [furoshiki] to sew) yikes!

(more on furoshiki here, if you are not familiar with them)

and now, for your sing along song....

something just a little snarky (do not sing this in front of dear old Aunt Edith with the rosary beads clutched in her hands. It might just be too much for her!)

note: youtube karaoke singalong below the words.

another note: borrowed the words from this page here

yet another note: you really should sing along, eh? (well okay, unless you're at work...... YOU can hum along instead!)

CHRISTMAS TIME IS PAGAN!
(Gloria in Excelsius Deo)

CHORUS: Glorious!
Christmas time is pagan!
Glorious!
Christmas time is pagan!

Christmas time is here again,
Decorations everywhere.
Christmas carols ringing out,
Gentle pagans, we don't care.

Modern folks all celebrate
What they learned in Sunday School.
In December, they don't know
They are celebrating Yule!

Let them have their Christmas trees,
Decked in red and green and blue.
We rejoice at every one!
Christmas trees are pagan, too.

Bowls of bubbly Christmas cheer,
Fill your cup and quench your thirst.
They think the tradition's theirs.
Wassail bowls were pagan, first. Every door and window bears
Wreaths of holly, wreaths of pine.
Circles represent the Sun.
Every wreath is yours and mine.

Christmas lights on Christmas trees,
Candle flames burn higher and higher,
Let us cheer along, my friends,
As they light their Yuletide fire.

There's a possibility
That this song is yours and mine
'Cause the tune was known to all
Back in A.D. one-two-nine.

Yule and gift-giving

2010-12-08T15:14:00.000-06:00

Over the years, my family has worked our way towards a more home-made, hand-made gift-giving tradition. This is in part financial (the Jones's we are not), but it is also because working on gifts through the year, putting energy into them, is infinitely more satisfying than going and buying some miscellaneous item (thoughtful though it may be) that happens to fall in your price range.

This doesn't mean we don't buy items. Honestly, about half our gifting in any one year is purchased, particularly items within our household, but i think this is in part because the handmade goods get given within the house throughout the year.

one gift some of our family and friends can expect this year is pictured below:

orange and cherry fondants, with the small centre bits of chocolate covered candied ginger

candied ginger and eggnog fondant

coffee, peppermint, and chocolate flavours

this was all made with one batch of filling, and the recipe for it is on joybilee farm.

all told, i made over 3 pounds of chocolates!!!

one recipe i improvised was for the coffee flavored filling. i used the following:
1tbsp Kahlua
1/2 tbsp instant coffee

to note with many of the filling recipes: some are too dry, and need extra butter (or a few drops of water)
and the rest are too moist, and need extra icing sugar. but they all taste wonderful!

oh, and one more thing: here's the finished super-secret gift for you to see:


asymmetrically striped dogswool/wool mitts

and for music today, here is a page with a number of songs, most containing an audio file. lots of nice variants on old standards!
http://www.odins-gift.com/mp3/suiteofyulesongs.htm.

yuletide and still random :D

2010-12-07T14:47:00.000-06:00

this years tree... still waiting on popcorn strings and the like

yarn for super-secret project. it contains suint-ferment cleaned wool and detergent washed dog hair.


the skein. it should work up as striping. we shall see. (words below and more can be found at http://www.odins-gift.com/poth/L-Q/otannenbaum.htm, as well as an mp3 of their version of the song!) O Tannenbaum German traditional, transl. by Diana L. Paxson: O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, With faithful leaves unchanging; Not only green in summer´s heat, But also winter´s snow and sleet, O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, With faithful leaves unchanging. O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, Of all the trees most lovely; Each year, you bring to me delight Gleaming through the Solstice night. O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, Of all the trees most lovely. O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, Your leaves will teach me, also, That hope and love and faithfulness Are precious things I can possess, O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, Your leaves will teach me, also.

Winter and wassailing

2010-12-06T17:51:00.000-06:00

The Wassail Song (slightly altered)

Here we come a-wassailing
Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a-wand'ring
So fair to be seen.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And Gods bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And Gods send you a Happy New Year.

We are not daily beggers
That beg from door to door,
But we are neighbors' children
Whom you have seen before
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And Gods bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And Gods send you a Happy New Year.

Good master and good mistress,
As you sit beside the fire,
Pray think of us poor children
Who wander in the mire.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And Gods bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And Gods send you a Happy New Year

We have a little purse
Made of ratching leather skin;
We want some of your small change
To line it well within.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And Gods bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And Gods send you a Happy New Year.

Bring us out a table
And spread it with a cloth;
Bring us out a cheese,
And of your Yuletide loaf.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And Gods bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And Gods send you a Happy New Year.

Gods bless the master of this house,
Likewise the mistress too;
And all the little children
That round the table go.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And Gods bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And Gods send you a Happy New Year.

as much as i love the changing of the seasons, winter is admittedly my least favorite, and not only because we get winter-like weather for up to six months of the year here!

the photos above are of my driveway and yard about 4 days ago, shortly after a snowfall (one of many so far)

and are sent out specially for those of you in warmer climates who might not get as much cold weather... see all that white.... even the sky is frosty off white a good portion of the time. sigh oh well.... it's almost yule :) yay!

Yuletide traditions, a conversation (with added music!)

2010-12-04T09:30:00.000-06:00

them: so, you're Pagan, right?

me: yeah...

them: so, do you celebrate Christmas?

me: no, we (my family) celebrate Yule, or winter Solstice, which is around the 21st of December.

them: what about presents? santa claus? christmas tree? everything else?

me: well, Yule is a celebration of the end of the fall and the beginning of winter. the winter solstice is the darkest day of the year, so we celebrate the return of the sun, and the beginning of the new.

My family doesn't have Santa Claus come and visit. instead, Chris Kringle, who is much like the early 1900's version of 'santa' comes, wearing his long green robes, and brings one gift to each good child, plus stockings for everyone. (he doesn't come visibly, of course. i'd be willing to help costume someone if i knew anyone willing to play the part some time!)

we have a yule tree. it has a lot of nature based ornaments, and pentacles. we also decorate a tree outside, and include decorations that serve the dual purpose of being food for the local birds...

as for everything else.. well, we tend to be pretty low-key pagans. we sometimes, but not always, do religious-specific celebrating. it is, however, a bit on the back-burner lately with our children needing most of our time, energy, and attention.

we also sing carols, and you'd recognize some of them, and give gifts to each other, our family, and friends, however, we work towards making gifts rather than buying them, and don't try to focus on the amount spent, as long as the gift is thoughtful and well meant.

(to note, this exact conversation is just a paraphrasing of a number of conversations i've had with friends over the years)

our yule tree 2009

The Yule Song

(Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) : Lyrics -my version!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.

They know that Kringle's on his way;
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother's child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.

And so I'm offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although its been said many times, many ways,
Merry Yule to you.

hope everyone has their gift making and buying nearly done! mine is about 90% !!!

more yuletide randomness

2010-12-03T09:39:00.000-06:00

yule decoration ideas some of these you may have seen before, but there are lots of great tree decorating ideas.

yule-centric nativity varient this version includes the different faces of the Goddess, the reborn sun-god, and lots of nature. sounds pretty cute!

and here's the _full_ lyrics... including one verse i hadn't heard before!

Jingle bells:

1. Dashing through the snow,

on a one horse open sleigh,

o'er the hills we go,

laughing all the way!

Bells on bobtail ring,

making spirits bright,

what fun it is to ride and sing

a sleighing song tonight! Oh...

chorus:

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.

oh what fun it is to ride on a one horse open sleigh!

jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

oh what fun it is to ride on a one horse open sleigh!

2. A day or two ago,

I thought I'd take a ride,

And soon Miss Fanny Bright

Was seated by my side;

The horse was lean and lank;

Misfortune seemed his lot;

He got into a drifted bank,

And we, we got upsot.

3. A day or two ago,

the story I must tell

I went out on the snow

And on my back I fell;

A gent was riding by

In a one-horse open sleigh,

He laughed as there I sprawling lie,

But quickly drove away.

4. Now the ground is white

Go it while you're young,

Take the girls tonight

And sing this sleighing song;

Just get a bob-tailed bay

two-forty as his speed

Hitch him to an open sleigh

And crack! you'll take the lead.

hope everyone enjoys singing along. i know my kids did! :)

Yuletide music and thursday randomness

2010-12-02T11:27:00.000-06:00

---
i've discovered that i can ply yarn with one hand (and a foot), while drinking coffee with the other.

my Yule tree is up, and lovely, but needs more pagan ornaments. will have to work on that

darling daughter + homeschooling is seeming like a fight right now, so we're backing off to 'easy stuff' for a bit, see how that goes...

my tomato plants suck water like nobody's business. i'm having to water them heavily every two days

i love hot chocolate, but wish that it didn't have any calories ;)

ravelry truly is addicting. really. trust me.

i've tried spinning my first 'alternative fibre'.... and am currently plying a unique skein of dogswool+sheepswool :) fun times.

hope everyone is having a wonderful and chilly time.

see y'all soon. expect more random.... 'cause random's what i got!

let it snow while i watch my window garden grow!

2010-11-19T09:25:00.000-06:00

the weather. cold. blowy, and snowy. it's actually much whiter out now than when i took the picture.

my tiny pot of ground cherries

Ripening rainbow peppers

carrot tops. i'm experimenting to see if i can get them to produce seed without a full root.

green tomatoes

chili peppers

not pictured: spider plants, baby pines, avacado plants, lavender, geraniums.

it may only be a little, food-wise, but my indoor garden really keeps me from going nuts in the white months (and, since those total up to about *counts on fingers*... 6, sometimes 7 months.... that's a lot of preserved sanity!)

Wool stuff

2010-11-18T10:36:00.000-06:00

Okay... lots of things happening on the fibre front in my life:

Mom and i recieved a drum carder from another family member. it's pretty old-school, and for medium/coarse carding... but SO SO much a step up from hand carding everything!

We also took advantage of a local arts studio selling off unused items, and picked up a picker (that'd be a super-scary tool that picks open the wool and lets the bits of vegetable matter fall out) and..... (drum roll..)

my new toy!

spinning wheel!

originally made in Winnipeg!

okay. it's not new... in fact, it's 20-30 years old. and it was in need of a lot of love when we picked it up. we'd been told it had been in storage for at least ten years. It showed.

after lots of tightening of bolts and screws, about a half cup of lemon oil, some machine oil, and a new belt, it's now running pretty nicely...

a very full plied bobbin...

on other fibre notes:

been crocheting up a storm. some of my recent FO's:

my dapper little gentleman

stocking from a KAL/CAL

warm neckwarmer

other odds and ends:
suint fermentation wool process similar to detergent washed wool.... still has a spicy/earthy smell when dry... and probably smells a bit like sheep when wet. overall, seems like a decent way to process. next year, i plan on having a number of fermentation tubs set up to process the wool (um... about 6 fleeces) sitting in my porch. then, i get to spin it all! (whee!)

an update and some recent FO's

2010-10-31T10:51:00.000-05:00

fyi, FO is finished object.

finished play rug! (finally!!!) it's to be part of the yuletide gifts (so don't tell them!)

warm and fuzzy warm ankle socks for reenactment

made this rag rug in about 4 hours!!! go crochet!


happy Hallowe'en!

We're not doing anything particularly pagan this Samhain... pretty much just taking the kids out for candy, then crashing at home.... it's just been to busy for me to expend energy on planning a feast or something like that. perhaps next year, the kids will be big enough to do something together.
hope everyone is having a good (if rather chilly and snowy) Fall!

time for something new - crochet stuff

2010-10-07T16:43:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally gave in recently and joined Ravelry. A fibre artist's hotspot, that's for sure. Addiction too, possibly.

While i was perusing their patterns for neck warmers and cowls, i decided that none of them were 'perfect', so I made up my own.

the following is my own pattern. if you make this for gifting or sale, please include a tag with the original pattern web address. thank you.

under a fall coat

Buttoned Up Neckwarmer

This pattern makes a close-fitted wool collar. It can be easily adjusted to fit. Original pattern makes a neckwarmer for a slender neck. I made this with a random skein of light wool yarn (kamb garn by Gefjun, apparently a defunct icelandic company that closed in the eighties, if i remember correctly) it was 100gr, and i used less than half of it, so i expect a 50 gram ball to be sufficient for most folks.

Materials needed:
1 ball 3ply or lace weight yarn, wool or natural fibres blend (mine was 17wpi, but 3 ply)
2.5 mm hook
wool needle
3-5 buttons of your choice

the neckwarmer, all buttoned up

stitches used and abbreviations:
chain (ch)
single crochet (sc)
half-double crochet (hdc)
double crochet (dc)
Treble-crochet (tc)

a note on gauge: initial 2 rows of pattern will be approx. 4 1/2 inches across. depth is somewhat unimportant, due to stretchiness of pattern.

the Pattern:

please note: work in back loops of the stitch for all repetitions of rows one and two! (this creates the ribbing effect)

chain 31.

row 1) ch 2*, hdc in next 20 stitches, dc in next 8 stitches, tc in next 3 stitches. turn.
* this will make 33 chain altogether. First hdc should be in the 3rd ch from the hook.

row 2) ch 4, tc in next 2 stitches, dc in next 8 stitches, hdc in next 21 stitches. turn.

Repeat these two rows until your pattern is 61 rows total, or to fit. (61 rows will fit a slender neck)

Next row) ch 4, tc across. turn. (this creates the 'button hole' row, allowing for flexible buttoning.)
next row) ch 1, then in both loops, sc across. turn.
next row) repeat sc row as above. finish off.

button flap:
This is worked in sc and in both loops to create a firm surface for the buttons to attach to.

on the initial chain, attach your yarn at the top (narrow end)
first row: ch 1, sc in next 23 stitches. turn
next row: repeat until flap measures about 1", or 7 rows total. fasten off.

finishing:
with yarn and needle, stitch the bottom 7 stitches of the neck warmer together. tack the button flap down on the inside of the neck warmer.
place then attach buttons.
weave in all ends.

open for putting on/removal. bottom is stitched together.

laying flat

if you have any concerns or questions with the pattern, feel free to contact me.

a quick update

2010-09-21T20:52:00.000-05:00

it's a bit hectic around here right now, but i thought i'd let you all know how it's going:

i'm preparing for my daughter's birthday this weekend... she's having fairy themed party, with a pinata. i hope she'll have a great time! i still need to make the cake and wrap the gifts, but i'm otherwise ready for it, which is fortunate... as i've got lots of other stuff going on!

I'm going to my first 'knit nite' with some other fibre artists tomorrow ... should be interesting...
i'm still finishing preserving... got a few things left on my plate: rosehip syrup, frozen carrots, and something with beets... my larder is looking plesantly full...

i'm working on processing a bit of wool so that i'll have a surplus of batts ready to spin over the winter... even better if i can gt a spinning wheel (it's on my wish list!)

um... .. i know there's more... i just can't think of it right now. expect another post with some pics soon....

stink-b-gone!

2010-09-05T11:13:00.000-05:00

okay folks. It's time for me to send out a HUGE passel of blogger love for the wonderful authors of Sew Green.
They recently posted a Fantastic recipe to make your own deodorant. The link to the recipe is here.

The kicker? IT ACTUALLY WORKS!!!

a single serving - one armpit worth :D

I admit, i was skeptical. I've been off Antiperspirants for years, and have tried nearly every commercial deodorant brand out there. Most of them leave me stinky by mid-afternoon, at best! I'm pretty aware of my stink, particularly when i'm working, because i'm in an enclosed area with another person, and tend to be rather close to their head a lot of the time.

I decided to try making the recipe mostly because the author stated that it worked really well for them. My only alteration to the recipe was to switch out the bergamot oil for the anti-bacterial properties of Tea tree oil.

I've now used it for a week, and i can honestly say, it really does work! I've used it both after showering, and after a period without showering. In all cases i've been very pleased with the results. I've had NO odor issues when using it right after showering, or in the morning when showering last thing before bed. This is SO wonderful!

I'm so enthused about it, that i've been giving out samples of my original batch to friends and family, because i think everyone should give it a try.

Oh, and did i mention it's easy to make? It's mix and use. A word of caution though.... if your intended container is more on the narrow mouthed side, I'd suggest mixing it in a small bowl, then just use a spatula to put it in the container.

so all you readers, thin on the ground though you may be...if your natural deodorant isn't quite cutting it, or you _want_ to switch from an antiperspirant but are worried about stink... TRY THIS! please! And let me know what you think!

going nutty

2010-09-03T17:50:00.000-05:00

Well, I've made some progress on our hazelnut harvest. All the nuts have aged and been husked. Now they're just awaiting the day when we crack and eat them (sure to be soon!)

I did find some interesting information on choosing 'good nuts', specifically for planting. Apparently if you put your nuts in a dish of water, the good nuts will sink, the bad ones will float. I tested this theory, and then took all the floating nuts and cracked them open. The results: of about a dozen floaters, 10 were hollow/rotten and 2 were edible nuts. Not a perfect method for sorting eating nuts, but certainly good if you wanted to enlarge your forest :)

Anyone for clandestine planting practices? *raises hand* gonna put a few hazelnuts, acorns, and chokecherries in good soil this fall, and see if any sprout next year!

my relatively meager hazelnut harvest

on a secondary, but related note, i decided to try (another) something new.... Acorns.
My mother's yard has 3 acorn trees of various ages (none terribly old yet) and two of them are chock full of nuts this year, so i thought it would be a good experiment to try and harvest some of them, see what they taste like.

Interestingly, according to this page, "Over the course of human history it has been estimated that people have eaten more acorns than both wheat and rice combined." and yet today it is such a non-food, perhaps something you might feed to animals... but certainly not to _people_! :) Heh. Whatever. Here goes for bucking convention again...

I went out with a small container a couple days ago, and collected the nuts that had fallen off the one tree (a burr oak) and both the ones that had fallen, and the ones about to fall (ie brown and fell out in my hands when i tested them for looseness) from the other one (tentatively identified as either a Gary oak, or a burr oak hybrid).

I then took off the husks from the burr oak (they don't fall off on their own). I did it what i'm thinking is the hard way, peeling it off in bits with my nails. It worked, but was tedious, and scratched up my nails (which would be a bad thing, if i cared much about them!)

Today, i went out with a larger basket, and collected again. the most ripe nuts are the ones that have fallen to the ground, and are the ones to take.

a slightly blurry picture of my harvest.

I'm still in the process of peeling the husks, but i've discovered an easier way:

Use a small sharp knife to carefully cut away the husk on one side.

The nut should then come out fairly easily by pushing the pointy end towards the cut side, and prying it out with your fingers.

While going through the nuts (particularly the 2 day old ones) i have found some worms, even though i took all the obviously holed ones out. Thus, here is a bit of an aid for anyone else who might want to pick:

This nut almost definitely has a worm in it.

This nut has a smaller blemish that may or may not have a worm.

Nuts without blemishes like those above may still have scratches on them (the color is different on the outer layer of shell than the inner ones) This seems to be normal, and doesn't indicate a bad nut.

I decided to sort my nuts by blemish status... i now have a 'quarrantine' tray, and a basket for the un-blemished nuts. Every couple of days, i need to check on all the nuts, and remove any bugs, holed nuts, moldy nuts, etc... apparently it will take a couple of weeks indoors for the nuts to be fully ripened, cured, and ready to process.

quarantine in the box on the left, good nuts on the right.

As for the 'okay, so what do i do now' step? I'm going to follow the instructions on this page, which seems very informative.
I plan on shelling, boiling, and freezing for later consumption (i think... i may grind and dry them for flour instead).

For the record, i tasted a couple nuts. they were pretty sweet and not astringent, so they likely have fairly low tannin content. Please note that un-boiled acorns in quantity are toxic, however tasting one or two is unlikely to do you any damage.* Tannic acid is a type of tannin, the same stuff found in grapes, tea, and numerous other sources. It just happens to be rather concentrated in acorns.

*if you have nut sensitivities, be extremely cautious! These nuts can cause the same reactions as more conventional nut choices!

I opened a wormy nut for ya, to show the damage, and an underage worm.

Here's a good nut. See the lovely white meat? And how thin the shell is? No wonder the nuts are only good a few months if unprocessed (ie boiled and either frozen or dried).

On the harvesting front, i've run out of both jars and energy for jams and jellies. However, i still want to do: more applesauce, more crabapple juice, some jelly juice to freeze for use in later fall (i have plans to do crabapple rosehip jelly) as well as can some apple pie filling. We shall see.

As for brewing, we started some chokecherry mead, some jelly crab mead, and most recently some pear mead. It all looks wonderfully fizzy and active. (yay!) I also have some chokecherry liqueur on the go, which is a wonderful color!

And if anyone is interested in a little barter, just gimmee a shout!

If you're interested in fibre stuff, expect a post about wool and things shortly!

persevering to preserve

2010-08-28T20:40:00.000-05:00

still slowly working away at canning here folks. I've got one (hopefully only one!) batch of jam left, then i've got lots of juice to make.... I also _hope_ to get the chance to can some apple pie filling (children permitting!) as well as do up some pickles... if i can get my hands on pickling cukes. No, i didn't plant any this year.

does anyone know of a locally set up bartering group/ co-op? i'm just curious to see if there's anything like that available in my province, as i'd love to be able to do more bartering...

and now, a recipe for you!

blueberry-crabapple jelly on to cook!

simple Crabapple Berry Jelly

ingredients:
crabapples: at least 8 cups
berries: at least 3 cups ((note: i've tried blueberries, hawthorn berries and chokecherries, but try anything you like!)
sugar: 7 1/2 cups
2 TBS lemon juice
pectin: liquid type, one pouch

a full rolling boil

procedure:
Place washed crabapples in a large pot. Add water until fruit is _almost_ covered (just a few spots sticking out) Bring to a boil, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the fruit is cooked through. put fruit in a strainer or jelly bag over a large bowl. Allow it to drain at least 4 hours, or overnight ((note: i tend to press/squeeze the pulp, as you'll get more juice, but you won't have a crystal clear end product. however... i don't care if it's clear or not!)

Repeat exact above instructions with your second fruit, into a second bag/sieve and bowl. (depending on the fruit, it can take anywhere from 5 minutes to nearly an hour to cook through. check frequently!)

as the cooking doesn't take long, prepare your canning equipment, and have it COMPLETELY ready before you start!
In a clean large pot measure 3 cups crabapple juice and 2 cups berry juice. if you are short on one, make it up with the other. if you run out of both, you can add as much as 1/2 cup plain water.
add the sugar and lemon juice
heat on high, and bring to a full rolling boil.
Add your pouch of pectin. bring back to a full rolling Boil. BOIL ONE FULL MINUTE!
take off the heat. continue to stir constantly for about 3 minutes.
pour into canning jars, and can in hot water bath for 10 minutes.
makes about 8 - 250ml jars

yummy jelly!

note: this recipe is an adaptation of the crabapple jelly recipes found in both major brands of liquid pectin.
for more detailed canning instructions, purchase a good canning book, or try online.

one source is: http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/before_you_get_started/31.php (though there are better sites for basic info, i happen to use the bernardin canning recipe book, and i love it)

going nutty

2010-08-24T09:55:00.000-05:00

over the weekend, i read a post from a very interesting blog, the foraging family. they were discussing hazelnuts, and harvesting thereof. Now, just the day before, i had picked what i had told might be chestnuts, and a bit of stem in order to identify them. Hubby identified them as American Hazelnuts. Nice. I then went online to try and figure out when to pick said nuts. everything i could figure out said 'soon' so... this weekend, i took little girl out for a short jaunt to go picking what nuts we could find. (with our poor weather, most crops were sparse, at best)

little girl in front of a hazelnut bush

nuts ripening on the bush. the reddish leaf tone made it easy to spot other bushes amongst all the other shrubs

unidentified berries. anyone have any idea?

more unidentified fruiting plantlife. this one is a climber of some sort. can't figure out what it is though...

our 'bounty'.... perhaps 4 cups of husks... maybe a cup of nuts still in the shell?

a big difference in nut sizes. some were tiny, some were huge... and it didn't seem to correspond with bush size either. also, the pollination was obviously poor, as while most of the nuts i picked were singles or twins, a couple were four or five on one stem.

the instructions i have suggest finishing ripening them indoors before shelling... so i'll do just that. i know some of the nuts have holes in them, but i'm hoping to have enough to share a nice taste in a week or so.

more preserving

2010-08-22T12:29:00.000-05:00

today i'm going to show you one of the ways I'm processing the copious amount of apples available to me (thanks mom!)

this has got to be the fasted method out there, and allows me to make 'orchard fresh' pies, apple sauce, etc, even in the middle of winter... and without buying fruit from the store!

step one: pick some apples

step two: rinse the apples (i just use cool water)

step three: prepare a large bowl with water and about 1/4 cup of lemon juice. also prepare cookie sheets with waxed paper or parchment paper.

step four: slice and core apples, dropping slices into bowl of lemon water (peeling is an option i don't do, as the skins are thin on this particular type of apple. HOWEVER you can choose to peel them if you desire)

step five: drain apples by the handful, and spread them out in a single layer on the prepared trays

step six: repeat until you run out of apples, or space on the trays (or space in your freezer!)

step seven: place trays in freezer overnight, or until frozen solid

step eight: remove apples from the trays, place them in freezer-safe storage bags, and label with date and contents. These should keep at least 3 months (i end up using mine throughout the winter and following spring).

to use: substitute in place of fresh apples for crisps, pies, and sauces. Also makes decent teething chews for toddlers (all the normal cautions apply).
note: just take out as much as you need, keeping the rest of the bag frozen. if defrosting before cooking, DO NOT discard liquid (juice) as you'll need it (if you drain it off, the apples will be too dry)!

hopefully EVERYONE can preserve some apples now. it doesn't take long, and it is a great way to save some of that harvest of apples from the birds!

preserving your produce....

2010-08-21T17:11:00.000-05:00

Well, i'm in the midst of a canning and preserving craze right now. It's completely appropriate for the season, fortunately, otherwise i'd look even crazier than normal ;)

So far in the craziness i have put up:
3 batches of apple butter (one of them raspberry crabapple)
2 batches of crabapple juice
2 batches of apple sauce
one batch of blueberry jam
one batch of blueberry syrup

and that's over about the last week

on today's docket is/has been:
rack crabapple mead into carboy
make juices for jelly (crabapple, chokecherry, blueberry, hawthorn)
make jam from said juice
freeze apples for future use
go pick hazelnuts
make and can apple-chokecherry juice
make pear jam

and any spillover that doesn't get done, gets done tomorrow!

and now, for a few pictures of the ongoing insanity:

the crabapple cyser just before being racked (looks a bit nasty, but smells divine!)

chokecherries (sparse this year, but huge!)

cooked berries hanging for jelly making

mmmm crabapples....

crabs hanging for jelly

that's all for now folks. gotta get back and squeeze my jelly bags (yeah, i know... but my patience is short at best)

i'll update with more pics etc again in a day or two!

Catching up 1.0 - sheep and fibres

2010-08-15T11:03:00.000-05:00

Well, i got out of the house yesterday.... mom and the 4 of us went to the 'gathering of the flock' sheep and fibre event in Neepawa. it was the first year for the event, and considering the crumby weather, i thought the turnout was pretty good. the monkeys were pretty good, and i was able to look around at everything and buy a copy of Fiber Gathering straight from the author (her blog is here)! it looks like a pretty informative book, even though it's geared towards american festivals. i definately want to try making some hand-dyed yarn, like that in the book. I also had a chance to briefly chat with her and one other spinner (whose name i completely forgot. sorry!) about wheels, fibres and the like.... it was actually pretty nice to talk to other like-minded folk.

During our chat, i brought up fermented suint wool cleaning... i'm currently testing the method. i'm not sure i 'love' it, but i've got a small section drying to test out how well it works. we shall see.

a quick update

2010-08-10T14:25:00.000-05:00

hey folks. this is a photo-free and very brief post. i just thought i'd update everyone on what's going on with me and mine. lets see....

Moving - gone from our old place, moved back to near my parents. Whether this is a short-term move or a long-term one will be determined primarily by where hubby gets a job. i kinda hope he gets something close by enough to commute, as i am NOT looking foreward to moving again. Still living half out of boxes as we slowly unpack the many too many things we own.

Vikings - We had our big event of the year in Gimli, MB. it was fantastic, as always, and had a few hiccups, also as always. Daughter had a stomach flu for the first half, and Son decided now was a good time to go on a nursing spree (whether it was from stress, the heat, or a growth spurt, i'm still not sure), so i spent half my day sitting like a lump with him. The other half ended up being spent doing testing, as Hubby, Mom and I all decided to try to become testers for our Viking association (this will allow us to test others, and generally improve all the reenactor's knowledge and abilities when it comes to the 'living history' side of being a viking reenactor) Surprisingly, we all passed. Now i just have to do a few more things (like finish my second outfit) and i can officially accept the position.

cooking and brewing - We just bottled our most recent batch of Metheglen (that's spiced mead) and we're waiting for the second carboy to clarify so that we can finish it up too (i expect it to be at least a month before it's done) Also, just last night i started a 5 gallon batch of what i'm calling Rescue crab cyser (cyser is apple mead). hopefully it will turn out nicely... it's just waiting for hubby to get home with some yeast
In the next day or two i'm hoping to put up some of the baking apples (freezing them) and make some apple butter out of the crabs... Mom's garden is looking fantastic. i can hardly wait for the ground cherries and tomatillos to ripen... not to mention all the tomatoes!

The weather has been super-hot and sticky around here, but as i look out the window, i see a pretty dark cloud mass to the south... could be we're in for a storm this afternoon. guess i should check the weather report and find out if their best guesses coincide with mine... :D

as a side note, i've been following (in a broad sense) the problems the US government (and individuals) are having financially. Knowing how intertwined the Canadian government is with the US, i can't say i have much hope that if there is a crash/slide/downfall or other economic/political breakdown in the states, we will get by it anywhere NEAR scott free. You can, of course, look at everything going on and make your own mind on what you think is going to happen, but as for me? well..... lets just say i'm hedging my bets, and i plan on making sure my canned foods cupboard is well stocked this summer.

Take care to one and all, and keep your eyes and ears open!

(expect a photo post of some sort soon... once i unpack my camera cable!)

a quick update

2010-07-26T10:42:00.000-05:00

just letting folks know... Our household has essentially moved (excluding closing bank accounts and changing addresses on mail etc) but we're living out of boxes because the household is all frantically packing and finishing everything for our big viking event of the year. The Gimli Icelandic festival has the Biggest Vike encampment in North america for the group i'm part of (Vikings UK) i will be incommunicado for at least a week...

hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Reasons to be ... a Viking?!

2010-07-13T19:55:00.000-05:00

Things i have learned by being a Viking-age living history reenactor:

1. how to create and lay out simple clothing patterns.
2. how to start a fire without matches
3. brewing and mead making
4. leathercrafting (making shoes, belts, etc)
5. bone and wood crafting with electric machinery
6. wool preparation, spinning and carding
7. sock, mitt and toque making with naalbinding
8. simple fabric and fiber dying
9. the merits of natural fibres (leather, wool, linen and cotton)

skills i have further honed by being a reenactor
1. machine sewing clothing
2. hand stitching and basic embroidery
3. cooking over a campfire
4. general camping skills

Things i could still learn from other reenactors i know:
1. combat techniques with sword and shield, axe, and spear
2. archery and archery in combat
3. wood carving using a non-electric lathe
4. tent making
5. flax rhetting and spinning
6. making more complex and permanent fabric dyes
7. boat making, upkeep and sailing
8. wattle fence making
9. basket making
10. viking building construction
11. ancient food preservation (salting, drying, pickling, smoking)
12. metal working, both iron based and fine metals
13. weaving cloth
14. musical instrument making
15. tanning (hides and furs)
16. making butter and cheeses

and more. i'm certain i'm forgetting a bunch of things.

....and people wonder why i would ever want to take up a crazy hobby like this?!

So many of these things i find to be, if not practical in the 'conventional world', certainly practical in a preperatory sense, and fun too! (and yes, it's always a chore trying to figure out what i want to learn/master next!!!)

It makes me feel just a teensy bit better when i think about the grim future. i know that i'm better off than the average 'joe public' because i've got some skills they just don't have. And that makes me feel a bit better.

keep your eyes on the oil, everyone!

changes

2010-07-04T13:23:00.000-05:00

i may have few chances to post in the next month, for a few reasons!
1. i'll be moving by the end of the month, and will be spending the majority of my time packing.
2. we have 2 big viking reenactment events over the next month, and they will take time, energy and preparation

so i will likely not be putting any recipe posts up, but possibly some photo posts, and some to links of things i think are worth sharing.

and any of you folks who are close enough to bother, come to the Islendingadagurinn on August long weekend! Look for the vikings on the hill!

Wordless wednesday

2010-06-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

wild from the back of our rental place

going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

2010-06-28T12:03:00.000-05:00

We went to the zoo yesterday.

the rest of the family watching some birds

pelican

most of these won't have captions

can anyone identify this kind of tree? (the blossoms are rather perfumed)

the zoo had a large peacock convoy... and the males were all being showy

and what was the most common (by at least a factor of 20) animal at the zoo?

and they were cheeky and impertinent too... as soon as you looked at them they'd start begging. sad, really. particularly as there must have been THOUSANDS of them in the zoo's grounds.

While beautiful, i always find zoos and other enclosures such melancholy places; you can tell the animals have issues, both physical and emotional, from their captivity.

What i found saddest was a sign (which i didn't photograph) explaining that a lot of captive species at the zoo now have fewer non-captive animals left than there are captive ones, and explaining how the zoos were working together for healthy breeding practices and maintaining the captive populations without further capturing of wild specimens. yeah. so we've messed up enough of the wild that some of these beautiful and majestic animals are now more prevalent in cages than in the wild. gee. that makes me feel so good about our species and its' practices.

that time of the year again

2010-06-27T07:51:00.000-05:00

a nod to some of my favorite musicians

wild rose

Thinking about the present and the future - oil gone bad

2010-06-24T10:05:00.000-05:00

Now, i feel i must preface the following rant with a little info. I'm NOT a prepper, nor do i think that I'm an Eco-guru or some such. In fact, i tend to avoid the news, particularly world news, as it's ALL BAD NEWS, all the time. Quite frankly, i don't need more reasons to get depressed about the state of things as they stand globally than i already know about.

(via)

That being said, hubby and i have in the past talked about and loosely planned contingencies for apocalyptic disaster (a la Dies the Fire, but without the weird alchemical changes) and i think the plans are sound, as they stand, but that's all they are at this point, plans. We have yet to get to the point of being 'settled in' to somewhere for the long haul, and more easily able to be prepared for a long emergency.

Recent global events, however, have made me think about new possibilities of disaster, and their ramifications long term on the planet-wide ecology. Scary thoughts, too.... it may well be that our looming disaster is of Mesozoic proportions (just replace the dinosaurs with us, and the asteroid {or whatever the current theory is} with a giant oil spill)

So my current ponderings on the subject have been on the 'what if's' ... what if the worst case scenario really does happen? they can't close the leak, and it pumps itself dry, they use Tons of dispersants, which just serves to spread the oil and chemical-laden water effectively throughout the worlds waterways. Within a couple years (or less) all the oceans and waterways are considerably more polluted because of the bungles and stupidity occurring RIGHT NOW. Are we looking at an Oil Apocalypse? Might we even kill off the larger part of our oceanic species? Sadly, i think the answer might be yes. This, in turn, will affect all It's up to us to do what we can: look foreward, and do what we can to plan for the worst, but also take action right now, and contact your local government representatives (US folks try here)

other interesting links:
a peek at a worst case scenario here and here
Locally inspired Preparedness info
Current state of affairs in Oil Disaster - from the huffington post
Witchcraft to stop oil - hey, it's no more far-fetched than using human hair!
views of the oil - as seen from space! yikes!

Anywhoo.... i think that's enough depressing forethought for the moment. What i wanted to stress to everyone is this: be aware of which way the winds are turning. be prepared for short term emergencies, and start planning for long ones. everyone can do it, even if you live on a fixed income or in an appartment. Plan ahead, spend a couple of dollars every paycheck towards emergency planning, and before you know it, you'll have all the basics for at least a short emergency. Everyone take care, and keep your eyes open!

Wordless wednesday

2010-06-23T10:46:00.000-05:00

from someone elses garden

Sadface

2010-06-17T09:24:00.000-05:00

my camera is missing in action. unfortunately that means i don't really have much urge to post, as most of my planned posts included photos. oh well.

i might as well do a 'life update'. what's going on? well, the monkeys; er i mean children, are growing by leaps and bounds, and driving me up the wall. Daughter is getting more and more kinder-ready, albeit slowly. Son is learning new words (and ways to get into mischief) every day.

I have been making slow progress on my crochet projects. i have the crochet kids play rug over half done now.
I have been crocheting wool socks for the kids for our Viking activities, as well as working on small projects.

we are currently putting together a camping event for our Reenactment group. I am excited to see how many show up, and how much we can get done as a group (and individually). hopefully this will motivate me to finish some of my ongoing sewing projects!

i've been watching the wild flowers and plants grow oh-so-fast with all this rain we've had. too bad everyone's gardens aren't doing nearly as well!

Shea (aka Lard Butt) has proven himself to be an admirable mouser, which is both good, and unfortunate that he has to be (he is a fully inside cat). I will be glad to move, and deprive him of his hunting skills.

I have been fortunate enough to be able to bake almost all the bread my family has eaten in the last month, and i hope to continue, now that i've gotten into the swing of it a bit!

well, that's it for now folks. hope all is well in your worlds. keep smiling!

Dandelions 2.0 - now for breakfast!

2010-06-08T10:25:00.000-05:00

Hey there. if you're local, or watch the weather network, you've probably seen stuff about Manitoba having a huge amount of rain fairly recently. yeah. Well, they weren't joking! we had close to 5" in about 3 days, and the ground is just saturated!
Now, i've been contemplating trying my hand at this recipe for quite some time now, but never really had much motivation... my brain kept saying 'that's a lot of work digging those roots out... would it be worth it?'

With all this rain however, the soil was so nice and soft that i pretty much HAD to take the opportunity, so out i went to my 'flower beds' (ie: war of the perennials and dandelions, with the dandelions winning!) and went pulling a bunch of 'weeds'

such pretty flowers, but wait... that's the wrong end!

aah... there we go. that's more like it. Not as pretty though....

Dandelion 'Coffee' - or Adventures in Roasting!

The instructions i used came from this web site and this one. neither ended up being entirely what i did, recipe-wise. That being said, here's my 'notations' (i don't think this really qualifies as a recipe!)

1. Pull out roots - I pulled mine out of a flower bed that was sodden, and the plants were only a year or two old, so i just pulled them by hand. you may need to use a weeder or shovel to get them out in drier conditions. note: apparently, the ones in a lawn have little piddly roots not much worth pulling. using roots from recently disturbed sites (construction, garden beds, etc) will be more efficient.

2. trim and wash roots - i cut the roots right at the 'join' where the root bulges and separates, becoming leaf. The roots were then placed in a large tub, and swished with various changes of cold water (being allowed to sit for a while each time, to soften dirt) until they were rinsed clean.

3. cut roots - i decided to chop mine coarsely, to about 2x the size of a coffee bean (or pieces about 1/2" long on average). i then rinsed them in a couple more changes of water, to help leech out the bitterness, as well as remove any remaining dirt and leaf bits.

chopped roots

After pulling, washing and chopping about 100 roots, i got about 4 cups of chopped root total.

4. Roasting - This is where I found the instructions to be completely different, and neither quite right!

I ended up roasting mine for most of the day, starting at 250 F for about three hours, then when i got frustrated, i turned the temp to about 350 for another 45 mins or so, until they were roasted to a nice dark brown. NEXT TIME: i will let the chopped roots air dry (or dry in a low oven) for as long as it takes to be completely dry and then JUST do the roasting process, using a 375F oven. this should only take 15-25 minutes. (to tell if they are done, crack a piece apart. if the inside is nicely browned, it's good.)

roasted root in my coffee grinder. It is actually a darker brown, but the photo is a bit washed out with sun.

5. grinding - i ground my root with a hand coffee grinder to about a 'medium grind', though the grind itself has chunks of longer fibres mixed in with the ground and powdered root core.

four cups raw chopped root = 1 cup dandelion 'coffee' grounds

6. brewing - all instructions that I've seen recommended steeping the brew for 5-10mins. I made mine by folding a Tablespoon of grounds into a coffee filter, stapling it closed, and dunking it in a cup of hot water for about 5 mins. I then prepared it as i usually do for coffee.

mmmm.....

the result?

No, it doesn't taste like coffee. I didn't really expect it to. After Hubby's horror stories, i expected it to be rather noxious (his description was that it tasted like Icelandic sock coffee, only using a used sock, and pond water!)

Honestly, though, it was pretty good. Dandelion brew has notes of cocoa, a coffee-like bitterness, and is really rather pleasant to drink (hot at least. I found the cold brew less palatable).

I also foisted some on hubby, Mom and Dad, and all decided it was a palatable substitute for coffee (if you needed a substitute) (and if you're a coffee kind of person)

Future tasting:

I`m going to try brewing a pot of 1:1 coffee/dandelion blend and see how it tastes. I'd also like to try making up one of the chai recipes listed here.

So what do you think. Would you be willing to have a cuppa? You know, you can come on over.... i'll put a kettle on!

Wordless wednesday

2010-06-02T11:28:00.000-05:00

you know you're just a little bit redneck when your kids plastic cloth diaper cover is 'accented' with duct tape!

mystery project resolved!

2010-06-01T19:05:00.000-05:00

Well, my mystery food project has been completed, and it was definitely a success!

Candy Lemon Slices!

I found this recipe at brownie points blog (which has lots of yummy ideas and recipes!)

i followed the recipe pretty close, only i used 5 average lemons instead of oranges

here's a bit of a photo montage of the process to get yer juices flowing (pun intended!):

day one in syrup

after a week (the color is actually the same... just the lighting is different)

slices drying on a rack

(I dried mine on low in my oven for a few hours, then let them air dry the rest of the way)

translucent, juicy lemon sweetness!

same slice after sugaring

a few slices awaiting nibbling

Recipe results: FABULOUS!!!!! sweet slightly juicy candied fruit, rind without excessive bitterness, and the pulp slightly syrupy within the slice, and still containing a hit of acidic juice.

I am definitely going to be making this again, perhaps with oranges.... or cherries when they are in season.... or strawberries.. yum!

spring bounty - aka partial success is better than total failure?

2010-05-31T13:18:00.000-05:00

((as i'm finishing up this post, i'm watching yet more rain fall onto our already drenched grass. we've had over 3 inches in the last couple of days, and are expecting rain on and off for at least another week.
when i originally started this post (a couple weeks ago) the lawn was still in full flower. now it's mostly gone to seed. too bad. but perhaps i should start thinking about dandelion coffee?))

The back yard of our rental lot is garden-less, but has a bounty of poorly cared-for lawn. (I've never been the golf-course green type. Heck, i'm not the golf type either!)
I consider this lawn a bounty because it is BRIMMING with dandelions, and I decided this year to start incorporating more wild plants into my diet. Now, i'm a little skeptical of using the dandelion greens for salad, mostly as i'm not a huge salad fan. However, i recently came across a recipe for Dandelion jam, and after mulling it over for a few weeks, decided to take the plunge and make some for myself.
I searched about on the net, and ended up using this recipe, with minor alterations.

fresh flowers

Now, before i print the recipes, i should note that NEITHER batch actually set on the first try. (i re-boiled with a second pectin pack and they're all fine) However, i think this is because i didn't bring them to a high enough boil for long enough before canning them. So, well.... consider yourself warned.

Preparation:
Pick yourself a bunch of fully opened dandelion flowers. don't be surprised if you pick either way too many, or way too few! (i picked enough for all three batches PLUS extras in about 20 mins with my daughter)
to prepare the petals, use scissors to cut off the petal part, and discard the bottom of the flower and stem ( see this post for good pictures!)

prepared petals

Batch one: Dandelion Jam

2Cups prepared dandelion petals (about 200 flowers)
2 cups boiling water
1pkg pectin
1 peeled, cored, and pureed apple
4 Cups sugar
1 tbsp Lemon juice

1. in a heat-safe bowl, place petals. Pour boiling water on top. cover, and refrigerate overnight.
2. in the morning, strain the petals. pour the liquid into a largish pot.
3. Follow the directions on the pectin box for jelly (make the same as for an apple jelly)... often the instructions suggest bringing to a boil with the pectin, THEN adding the sugar. PLEASE READ YOUR DIRECTIONS! (as a side note, i would recommend liquid pectin for these recipes)
4. if your pectin is direction-less, try this method (as per the recipe i altered): add all remaining ingredients including pectin. bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Hard boil for 10 minutes (that's a bubbly rolling boil, not a wimpy barely-bubbling boil).
5. pour into jars and seal as desired (i canned mine in 250ml jars for 10 minutes)
makes 4-5 cups

petals steeping in boiling water

batch two: Dandelion citrus Jam
2 cups prepared petals (about 200 flowers)
2 cups boiling water
1/4 Cup Lemon juice
4 cups sugar
1 pkg pectin
1 citrus fruit rind, finely sliced

note: i used about 2/3 the rind of a grapefruit. you can use whatever fruit you like. i used a peeler to remove sheets of peel (without the white rind), then sliced them into julienne-style strips about 1/8" by 1" long

preparation: follow directions from batch one. it's exactly the same procedure!

After trimming all those petals for the jam batches, i still had a TON of flowers, so i decided to make a batch of Dandelion syrup as well. The recipe i used is based on this one.

Dandelion syrup
400 dandelion flowers, trimmed (around 4 cups)
4 cups of water
4 1/2 cups sugar
2tbs lemon juice

1. pour boiling water over flower tops. cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. in the morning, strain off the liquid, and pour it into a large pot. Add to this the remaining ingredients. Bring this to a low boil (simmer) and cook for about two hours, stirring occasionally.
3. At about the two hour mark, the syrup will begin becoming more frothy (and increasing in temperature as it starts to candy). take it off the heat.
4. pour into jars or containers, and can if desired
5. this makes about 4 cups

here is the finished products:

left to right: Syrup, batch one, batch two

I've tried the syrup on pancakes, and little girl has enjoyed the apple dandelion jam on bread.... a nice light floral flavor, and subtle lemony-ness make this quite enjoyable!

Away from home

2010-05-20T10:34:00.000-05:00

this is a photo-free post because I'm away from home this week (visiting our families) and i'm not sure if my camera will sync with hubbies' work computer. just thought i'd let you know why i've been "AFK" so far this week. Don't worry though, i've got a couple interesting foodie posts coming up.... i've just got to get them written!!!

Strawberry syrup

2010-05-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

I recently bought some strawberries from the local big-box grocery, as they were on sale, and looked like they were in pretty good shape. We ate some of them, but as little man tends to get facial rashes when he eats too many, and hubby hardly ever touches raw fruit unless it's an apple, the berries were getting old fast. Since i had just recently made strawberry fro-yo, and even more recently made some delish vanilla ice cream, i decided to take the berries and turn them into strawberry syrup, to top said icy goodness. I searched the net, and found a few recipes, compared them, then made my own. here it is:

Strawberry Sauce
1 pint strawberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp oil or butter (optional)

1. rinse strawberries, remove tops, then dice or chop flesh. add sugar, and stir. Leave this mixture for about an hour, or until the sugar has pretty much dissolved

*side note* i've heard this is the best way to make mediocre strawberries taste good. it brings out the flavor more than just cooking them right away

2. puree all or most (as desired) of the berries. add all berries, syrup and sauce to a pot. add lemon juice.

3. cook the berries on medium, stirring frequently. When they begin to boil, you can add the oil, if desired. it will keep the 'frothiness' to a minimum.

4. boil for about 5 minutes. if you intend to use syrup cold, or the sauce is already thick enough, go to step 5. if the sauce is intended for use hot, and is to thin, add the following:

2 tsp corn starch
2tbs water
mix together the starch and water in a seperate cup. add to the berries, whisking constantly. boil 2 more minutes to cook the starch.

5. this syrup can be used immediately, or stored (or even canned) for later use. i poured my syrup into jars, and found that the full jars sealed (however, i know that i didn't can them properly, so plan on keeping them refrigerated until use) Makes just over 2 cups syrup. yum!

Spinning fun

2010-05-13T09:32:00.000-05:00

I am quite enjoying Spinning these days, and thought i would give you a peek at what i've been working on.

Here is a pic of the one-tone wools i have spun recently. most of it will be used for naalbinding (which i will hopefully be doing a post on soon, for all my vike and non-vike friends alike!)

This is my current WIP (work in progress)... a multitonal two-ply. I'm in the midst of plying it right now. i'll take another pic once it's all skeined up. it's going to be used for a kids hat... should make for interesting colors, i think. I plan on doing another similar one, with slightly different colors, for the other child (no need to get them fighting over just one hat.... there's enough of that already!

I have to say, using my one commercial spindle for plying, it feels HUGE compared to the viking-sized ones i have been using lately (and looks huge too) yet it didn't feel unwieldy when i was using it originally... just now. Hm. All a matter of perspective, i guess.

Hope everyone is having a fun friday!

Wordless wednesday

2010-05-12T10:59:00.000-05:00

lookie here! it's springlike even up here in zone 2!

Wonderous Vanilla

2010-05-10T11:45:00.000-05:00

Vanilla is such a wonderful thing, isn't it?

I've been researching vanilla ice cream recipes, and came across this one. part of it includes a vanilla sugar recipe.
Vanilla sugar? hello! i LOVE vanilla sugar.... i use it in my hot chocolate recipe, and would use it elsewhere, except that it's so stinkin' expensive!!! a few tablespoons for $4?

Now, i like the recipe but there was no way i was buying an OUNCE of vanilla beans. at my rough estimate (the two beans i bought being 4g and about $6) it'd cost me about 40 dollars for an ounce of beans. This being said, i altered the recipe. here's what i did:

Vanilla Sugar, in two parts

2 vanilla beans
3 1/2 cups vanilla sugar, divided

you will also need a mortar and pestle, a sharp knife and cutting board, and containers to store your sugar, as well as a sieve.

1. Slice open the vanilla beans. Use the knife to scrape out the seeds and juicy bits. Add these to the mortar, along with sugar (up to 1/2 cup, depending on size of mortar). Macerate thoroughly, to break apart the seeds and the fleshy bits. Add remaining sugar (to a total of 1/2 cup) and stir, then sieve to remove fibrous bits.

This vanilla sugar can be used in ice-cream making at a rate of 1tbsp sugar = approximately 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract.

2. Take remaining pods, and dice finely. In batches, mash them with sugar, then strain out the bits, adding them back to the mortar. Repeat until either A) the sugar no longer becomes sticky and brown tinted or B) your arms get tired. Add the bits and remaining sugar (i used 3 cups total) to a container. store for two weeks to allow the flavor to leach fully into the sugar, then strain out the bits. This sugar is quite strongly scented, and could be further diluted with plain sugar if desired!

This second vanilla sugar can be used in anything, including coffee, desserts, or anything you can imagine!
the flavor seems to be as strong as store bought vanilla sugar, possibly stronger!

see the yummy flakes of vanilla goodness?

that means:
store bought vanilla sugar: $4 for about 4 tbsp

whereas:
2 beans $6
3 1/2 c sugar $.50?
______
total 56 tablespoons of tasty goodness, and a HUGE SAVINGS!

i am so going to be giving some as gifts to family! yum yum yum!

I also tried the recipe for the Philadelphia-style ice cream using method 3 and flavoring with 1tbs vanilla sugar (seed type) and 1/2 tbs vanilla extract. it is DIVINE! (and so so fattening... but that's a recipe 'tweak' for a different day, methinks!)

hope everyone had a good weekend, and a good mother's day where applicable :)

Wordless wednesday

2010-05-05T10:39:00.000-05:00

my current mystery project

(i'll give you the scoop in about 2 weeks when it's done!)

Random thoughts

2010-04-29T11:24:00.000-05:00

First of all, i have to say: OH MY GODDESS! I just won an ice cream maker!!! it was on the blog Passionate about Baking, which i've been following because it has SCRUMPTIOUS looking recipes. They recently had a give-away for an ice-cream maker and i was the randomly chosen winner! YAY! *does happy dance* I am so psyched.... i don't think i've won anything 'free' since high school!

(via )

i think i've found my perfect 'base recipe' for baking bread. Of course, it'll never turn out the exact same twice, but this recipe is pretty simple, and unlike most 'whole wheat' recipes it actually IS 100% whole wheat (some of those recipes are so.... misleading. I hate that.)

The recipe i've found is from CDKitchen and the link is here. I have made it twice so far, and while i'm following the ingredients exactly (for now at least!) i'm using different instructions, as i'm making it all by hand. if you'd like to try it the way i have, just print out the recipe, then follow along here:

tools needed: large bowl, wooden spoon, flat surface (optional), measuring cups and spoons, tea towel, bread pan(s)

In large bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water. Let stand 10 mins then stir in.
Dump in all flour EXCEPT 1/4 cup (per batch), as well as the salt and honey. stir until evenly lumpy.
Add the milk, oil, and eggs. Mix thoroughly. This dough is very sticky.
Dump in the reserved flour, and mix it in.
If using a flat surface, flour it, and dump out the dough onto it. If doing it my way (less mess = better) sprinkle a few tablespoons of flour on top of the dough, as well as getting it around the sides and to the bottom. Put a little extra in the bottom of the bowl (to do this, pull the dough away from the sides one side at a time, and sprinkle flour down the crack. turn and repeat.)
Using either method, knead for at least a minute, adding more flour as required.
Place bread back into bowl (if necessary). Pour about 1tsp oil on top, and spread it around on all exposed surfaces (this prevents it from drying out!)
Cover with tea towel, and set in a warm place (i have a cold house, so i use my oven with just the light on.)
When the dough has risen to double its original size, punch it down. (I do this a second time as well... it seems to make a lighter loaf)
Grease all bread pans with butter. Shape bread and place into the pan. cover again with towel.
Let rise once more to double, while heating oven to 375F.
Place dough in oven, an bake for 35-40 mins.

To test done-ness for bread, dump out of pan onto a cookie rack. Tap the bottom with your knuckles. If it sounds hollow, it's cooked.
Turn bread out onto racks, and cool. I like to spread a little butter on the top while it's still warm, as it gives a chewier crust.

Please note: this recipe makes a LARGE loaf. When i tripled the recipe, i had to use three large pans to fit the dough in. if you are using 'medium' pans, there may be extra dough, (i'd use 4 medium pans for a triple batch, i think)

Other randomness: i've been doing a lot of spinning (both at last weekends' trainer and otherwise) and if anyone is interested in handspun wool, or drop spindles, drop me a line. i'm always willing to barter!

my seedlings are growing by leaps and bounds... going to need to repot some this week, and take some to their 'final homes' (the ones i'm giving to family)so i can have more room on my window sills.

wordless wednesday

2010-04-28T08:56:00.000-05:00

me as Viking wifey

wordless wednesday

2010-04-20T07:44:00.001-05:00

a viking shield hubby and i painted

for the love of spinning

2010-04-19T13:17:00.000-05:00

One of the things i enjoy most about my Living history hobby is the time i get to spend taking wool 'from sheep to sock'... that is cleaning, combing, spinning,dying and finally naalbinding it.

one of the mid-weigh spindles and some yarn spun from it

i finished my WIP drop spindles, and did some 'test spinning' on the different weights. here are some of the results

light weight on the left, then medium, and heavy

at a guess, the first is lace weight as a 1-ply, the heaviest is perhaps a sport weight.

close up of the same

i have this crazy idea that i want to save all of the light weight that i end up spinning, and eventually buy/make a loom (preferably a viking-style warp-weighted loom) and test my hand at weaving. I think the light wool would be perfect for weft, and would make a nice mid-weight fabric.

a light spindle, full of thread-like yarn

i'm slowly taking bites out of my BAGS full of raw wool, washing, carding/combing and spinning it. i still have.. oh, at least 15lbs of wool to go though! (yikes!)

i would love to get a carding machine. that has to be the one step i like LEAST about getting the wool ready. hand combing/carding/flick carding is just not the same. it's okay for a show, or small batches, but i'd like to be able to do more, and larger batches!

After Finishing my first set of drop spindles, i decided that i would make further medium and small ones, as i know i want more than one weight of each for myself (one way to make 2-ply yarn is to spin onto two same-weight spindles, then ply (reverse spin) them together onto a third (often heavier) spindle)

I'm also mid-packing and preparing for our next event. it's a trainer (not open to the general public event) in SK and it's this weekend. i still have so much to pack!

on another note, my seedlings are growing by leaps and bounds... have had to transplant my acorn squash into larger containers, and will be doing the same with some of my other seedlings in the next day or two

wordless wednesday

2010-04-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

yes, i made the hat

of houses, dreams, and the future

2010-04-13T10:57:00.000-05:00

i read a blog today in which the lady blogger was talking about her dream community, and how it would be back-to-the earth, barter is good types. i like those ideas. it reminded me of recent conversations with my mother about housing, and sub-terranian housing in particular.
Over the years, much as 'average' young ladies dream of their wedding day, i have dreamed of a house. Specifically, MY house. one i will own. eventually. The design and materials have changed over time, but the overall logic and dream have remained. I want to own a 'lifer' home, one that i can live in until i die, not some 'starter home' (man, i hate even the idea of that) that i'll have to sell a few years down the road to get the next bigger better place.

My dream house has a large common room, which would contain kitchen, dining and living rooms combined. It will run partly on wood heat. it will have 3 bedrooms, and the bathroom will have a tub big enough for me to actually enjoy (i'm 5'10", and conventional tubs are just a pain in the..... back. i can't even imagine how really tall people could stand them!)

My dream house would also have a large cellar/cold storage space, and a Meadery (translate that as essentially a cool storage room with lots of wine racks) It will have as few stairs as possible (because i know my hips and knees are going to get worse over time, not better!) It will also be located on a minimum of 20 acres, as i hope to eventually become as self-sufficient as possible, including meat sources. it will also have a multipurpose library/craftroom/games room (hubby and i are readers, and we have a fair number of hobbies)

(via)

My primary house design has always been rather barn-like (large, lofty, exposed timbers, shaped rather like a traditional 'red barn' ) but i'm starting to reconsider. the merits of a partially submerged (subterranean) house are just too great to ignore:
-greater energy efficiency for heating (like having geothermal heat, without the pump, pipes or fans)
-low maintenance, due to extra-sturdy materials used in original construction (like stone and concrete)
-long lifespan of the house, again b/c of the sturdier materials

Other cool reasons to have one include: greater fire resistance, amazing sound-proofing, more easily defensible against zombie attacks, and the possibility of building in hidden rooms and escape tunnels (i've always love the idea of hidden stuff in houses!)

also of consideration is the fact that a bermed home should work as well here, in a zone 2b/3a climate as it does in warmer ones, unlike a lot of other green building techniques (i'm thinking about adobe, cob, straw bales etc) which just don't seem to perform efficiently enough when it's -40 with windchill.

(via)

with all the available technologies for solar energy, drainage, and skylights, i think a house like this would not only be 'doable' but in fact probably darn comfortable to live in!

some links to info on bermed or other underground housing:
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/QandA/earthshelter/how.htm answers lots of questions about different methods
http://www.lifeunplugged.net/greenbuilding/earth-berm-and-earth-sheltered-home.aspx has lots of alternative living information
http://everything2.com/title/Building+an+underground+house a rough-and-ready how-to

i am fortunate to have come from a family of handy guys, so when i finally get to the point of owning a chunk of earth, i think between them and my friends and i, we can do a substantial amount of the construction work ourselves, saving a HUGE chunk on costs. However, this is still just a dream. Gotta get myself back out into the country, and start looking for some good (read cheap) land.

Local eating: a quest for knowledge

2010-04-11T09:57:00.000-05:00

I have had it in my brain since the beginning of the '100 mile diet' movement, that that would be a great idea to work towards. After all, less travel should technically = less cost, and i'd be more likely to deal with the farmer/maker in person, therefor passing the buck directly to them.

This is still just an idea at this point, however, for a few reasons:
1. low income household means buying hugely bulk (like a 1/4 cow) is very difficult, and handmade local items are often more expensive than more distant varieties
2. 2 small very noisy and active kids make it a huge production just to get out of the house, so searching out farmers markets and out of the way shops is nigh-on-impossible (just getting out to the bank and a grocery store uses up most of my patience!)
3. renting a house, and one without a garden makes growing my own hard/impossible (though my window garden is doing as nicely as can be expected)

Last year, i made some headway on the 'make it yourself' vein by teaching myself how to do boiling water canning. i also took the opportunity to use that new skill to make Yuletide gifts for everyone! it was very... cost effective, and _hopefully_ appreciated.

rainbow peppers. Mmm mm spicy!

This year i'm doing more indoor growing, and have made initial attempts at breadmaking ( i have found a no-knead recipe that's edible... a bit heavy though....)

my goal (within the next year, maximum two) is to reduce my Imported purchases (imported being from out of country) by 50% for food goods, and 5% for all other items. To do this, i need to start re-assessing my family's diet, and research a 'complete' list of foods that can be made locally, then work towards sourcing these more local foods.

Do you eat locally?
Do you grow your own?
What about clothing/paper goods/ etc? can you buy local products?

Wordless wednesday

2010-04-07T11:14:00.000-05:00

Getting into the spring of things - what have YOU been doing?

2010-04-01T13:53:00.000-05:00

yup, this plant is a lush! heh.

some newly transplanted lavender

newly planted seeds for myself (and, assuming everything grows, maybe a few to gift!)

My recently planted seeds include: italian parsley, grolau chives, globe basil, good king henry, ground cherries, Anaheim chiles, and a bunch of others. most of them will be kept indoors, excluding the ground cherries. Some may be indoor/outdoor, but my findings last year were that the ones that were taken outdoors grew MUCH slower and more poorly than the plants on my windowsill .

i also whipped up these little puppies:

what are they? why, felted soap 'stones' of course!

and before you say 'wtf?' i found the instructions on a blog i was following (no, i don't remember which one, but the directions i used were from Martha ) and thought that it'd be an interesting craft to try. it was! i just used two whole bars (too lazy to do the 'reshaping' step) and some of my bits of not-yet-handspun roving. they exfoliate nicely in the shower/tub when only slightly wet, and make a great lather when sopping. should be useful for camping!

just finished this crochet bag. got the pattern from The Sunroom. it works up quite quickly and is a fun little stash-buster! (not that it actually 'busted' any of my stash... but that's neither here nor there!)

on a more historical note, have been doing a little stone working. Soapstone, to be precise.

I went and bought a 3x3x5" block of stone, and have cut about a third of it up. These bits will all end up looking like the ones above...

What are they, you may ask. Well, these are whorls (weights) for drop spindles. I'm hoping to have them completed and on shafts so that i can start getting used to spinning with the different weights.

And if you say 'drop spindle? hunh?', i point you to this link, because it's quicker than trying to explain (and frankly, i gotta go deal with the kids, rather than blog!)

So what have YOU been doing this spring?

Cloth menstrual care update

2010-03-31T10:31:00.000-05:00

Well, i've spent some time (and a very small amount of money) on getting my 'ducks in a row' and making myself cloth pads. I also threw together some handkerchiefs (mostly for my snot-nosed little darlings. i love cold and flu season) and some cloth 'wipes' for baby butts and other small messes.

i decided to use my serger for as much of the creation process as possible. after looking about online, i decided to use This Pattern for my pads, making them pretty much as described.

they look like this, in various fabrics. The middle sections pull out for quicker drying time. there are also optional waterproof pieces that can be put in to reduce leaking.

the layers are:
outer 'envelope: soft flannel top, rough flannel bottom
oval pad and 'winged' pad inserts: 2 layers rough flannel with a layer of terry sandwiched in the middle
(the 'winged' insert is my own idea, because, you know, sometimes a girl needs a little extra protection!)

I also tried This pattern, but only made a couple to try them out. it is designed to be done with a serger and sewing machine, or just a sewing machine. they provide less padding, and no extra protection in the 'wings' however they are all one piece.

lots of handkerchiefs and wipes..

For my materials, i was able to recycle some flannel recieving blankets, and some heavy rough flannel sheets i'd recieved to use for making cloth diapers. i purchased 3 packages of snaps, and 3 meters of flannel, as i had limited numbers of recieving blankets. i used an old towel for the terrycloth in the pad liners.

this made me about 8 envelope-style pads with fillers, 4 folding-style pads, and about 12 panti-liners, plus handkerchiefs and wipes, with LOTS of left over fabric

total cost to me: less than $20 time spent: about 7 evenings, on and off
estimate cost of all new materials: less than $100.
worth it? oh yeah.

if you decide you want to try it out yourself, but don't have access to a serger, here are a couple links for similar sewn pads:
This one is almost identical to the 'envelope' style i made however the inner pad pattern is different
This one also has a very similar pad and includes cutting patterns and layered inner pad inserts

This site is a wealth of information with lots of patterns and other good stuff

one cycle later: opinions and thoughts:

well, i like the pads. they are soft and comfortable, if a little bulky (though they don't hold a candle to the disposables of 30 or 40 years ago. thanks for the horror stories, mom!) I think i'll have to find/adapt a pattern for night-time use (a longer design), but otherwise no complaints in the design department.
In practice, using a cold water bucket is slightly icky, but i think definitely keeps staining to a minimum. i had to toss a drained bucketful of pads in with my washing pretty much once a day, (i threw them in my regular warm wash with darks.... i find a hot wash roughens the nice soft flannel)

I think that if these last even two years, i'll have gotten so used to them i won't want to change back! i'll just have to make more.
thanks for following along, and if anyone has any questions/comments, or (if you're a local) wants some help sewing their own, just shout!

Sausage Rolls from scratch!

2010-03-24T08:54:00.000-05:00

Warning: this recipe does NOT contain a pressurized canister of chemical-laden puff pastry.
Instead, you get to learn my moms not-so-secret biscuit recipe, which is very adaptable and chock-full of yumminess!

These sausage Rolls are not as light and flaky as commercial ones, but not little bricks either. the breading tastes just like its origins... a biscuit. The meat is similar to a mild meatloaf.

Basic Biscuits

2 Cups flour (white, whole wheat, or a blend)
4 generous tsp baking powder
2tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp softened or melted margarine/butter
1 C milk

Thoroughly mix margarine into dry ingredients in large bowl. Gradually add in milk *more or less may be needed depending on how the recipe is to be used! if using for basic biscuits, add milk until mixture is sticky and thick, and all flour is incorporated. Drop by spoons-full onto a baking sheet.

Bake at 425 F for 15-20 mins

Tasty options:
-add cinnamon, raisins and an extra Tbsp sugar for sweet biscuits
-add garlic powder, diced chives, and 1/2C shredded cheese for savory biscuits

Sausage Rolls
Breading: make a double batch biscuit mix. add just enough water to hold the flour. turn it out onto a clean, lightly floured surface, and knead the dough until smooth. Divide into three sections

Filling:
1 Lb hamburger
1 egg
1 medium onion, finely diced
1/4 C rolled oats, coarsely chopped (i used my coffee grinder for about 3 seconds)
1/2 seasoning salt, or other seasoning
6 tsp Parmesan
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp pepper

topping:
1 egg
2tbs milk

my onion is a bit coarse for this recipe, but i didn't realize until it was already mixed in.

instructions:
make up the meat mixture, mixing thoroughly. Make up biscuit mix (don't forget it's a double batch!) using only enough milk to barely hold together the flour! as instructed above, turn out onto counter, knead, and split into three.
roll out one section into a log about 12-14" long. press it flat until it is about 4" wide and evenly flat.

Apply a line of sausage mix to the bread. it should look similar to the picture above.
next, Wet the CLOSE edge of the bread with a bit of water or milk. Roll the dough from the FAR side towards you, then the wet edge rolls up to make the bread complete. Overlap the edges and press them together until they adhere at least a bit.
Roll the sausage roll over until the spliced edges are on the bottom, Pressing the dough to even up the 'log' shape if necessary.
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, slice the 'log' into 6 even sections. brush a little 'topping on each one (i was too lazy to find a brush, so just slopped a bit on using my fingers). place slices on a baking pan. I pressed down on the ends of each piece to flatten them a little and make them less tube-like. Repeat with other 2/3 of mixture and bread (note that the bread vs meat mix may come out uneven. don't worry... i have a solution at the end!)

to bake: in a preheated oven (425F) bake for 20 mins or until biscuit is browned and meat is no longer pink in the middle.
Serve with mustard or ketchup for dipping, or sauces and sides as desired.

if you end up with extra dough: make up into biscuits and bake with the rolls.
if you end up with extra meat: shape loosely into a loaf or balls, or press into greased muffin tins. top with a bit of ketchup, and bake at 425 with the rolls (if a large loaf, may take more than 20 mins to cook). serve as 'mini meatloaf'

Happy spring!

2010-03-22T13:44:00.000-05:00

Hopefully everyone is enjoying their early spring... wether it is under two feet of snow, or amongst early blooms.
Here in the Canadian prairies we've got lots of grey and brown, with banks of lingering dirty white... no green in sight yet!

We celebrated Ostara on the weekend with our littles... which included lots of eggs and treats

i had prepared treat-filled cascarone-styled eggs, as well as plastic eggs for hunting. Both kids got a HUGE kick out of searching out the eggs with small baskets, then dumping them into the big basket! After everyone had breakfast we took turns opening/crushing eggs to find the treasures inside. the fillings i used included small toys, chocolate eggs, fortunes, juice-based candies, and coins for our rewards system.

The last couple days i've spent planting seeds and watching my seedlings grow.

My daughter and i planted small pots of radishes and mesclun to grown on the windowsill...

and i repotted my unidentified mint....i think it's catnip, but it could be a crossbreed

as for works in progress, i'm slowly working on a play mat for the kids.. it will be farm-centric but similar to those 'roads and cities' playmats you can buy commercially.

this is the pattern i'm using... the orange bit is the part i've finished thus far

it's quite a bit larger in real life

so what have you planned or already started for Spring? are there plants growing? plans for fresh paint? or something even more ambitious? let me know!

Basic cooking - Chili even kids will eat

2010-03-20T17:37:00.000-05:00

...or at least my kids will. My chili recipe is mild but flavorful, and full of more than just a bunch of beans and chili powder.

Rainbow Chili

ingredients:
1lb hamburger OR for vegetarians use 1 can green lentils, drained
1 medium onion, diced

2 Lg cans diced tomatoes ( 28 oz/796 ml)
3 medium cans pork 'n' beans OR for vegetarians use beans in tomato sauce (14 oz / 398 ml)
1 can Kidney beans, drained (19 oz, 540ml)
1 can mixed beans, drained (19 oz)
1 can black beans or pinto beans, drained (19 oz)
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green pepper, cored and chopped
2 cans sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can OR 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cut green beans
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 cup mead (or substitute white wine or beer)
1 can green chilies, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
3 tsp (or more) chili powder
optional - hot sauce
3/4 cup frozen kernel corn

directions:

1. if making meat version: brown hamburger and onion in a frying pan.
2. add all ingredients into a LARGE pot, bring to a boil on medium,stirring occasionally, and cook for at least 20 mins, or more to blend flavors. Longer cooking improves flavor.

to cook in crock pot: follow step one, then add all ingredients into large crock. let cook 2-3 hours on high, or 4-5 on low.

This chili is mild but flavorful. Please note that the flavor increases with longer cooking times. I suggest adjusting seasonings right before serving, if necessary.

This chili is great served with a dollop of sour cream or a handful of shredded cheddar, and either crackers or hearty bread with spread. I douse my chili bowl with hot sauce as well, as I'm the only one in the household that likes spicy food!

i haven't frozen this exact recipe, but chili usually freezes quite well.

Project Pagan Enough

2010-03-20T17:28:00.000-05:00

found this really great project through PaganWitch. I thought that this is a wonderful idea. I have limited exposure to other 'real life' Pagans, but have encountered, even within myself, bias and prejudice about other pagans, so I wanted to have this on my blog to remind everyone to be more tolerant I suggest that if you believe in these same ideals that you should join in the project!

Project Pagan Enough is a movement, a cause, a Harmonious Riot that includes bloggers, podcasters, pagans, non-pagans, me, you, and the whole pagan community. It is my hope that the Project Pagan Enough logo becomes a beacon of progress and change for those of us living a magical life. By putting the Project Pagan Enough icon on your podcast’s site, blog, or other website, you’re making a set of promises:
1. You are pagan enough, despite how you look, act, smell, dress, believe, or are.
2. You recognize that others are pagan enough despite their appearance, smell, manner of dress, belief, practice, or other aspect.
3. You recognize that you can have an academic debate on the finer points of belief or practice, but that it does not take away from someone else’s level of being pagan.
4. You welcome, befriend, and encourage others in the pagan community despite their appearance, dress, or other physical or superficial characteristic.
5. You promise to treat members of other faiths, despite the faith, with honest-to-goodness fairness, equality, and grace, not judging them or their faith based on the actions of fringe members of their same faith.

Like the points of the pentacle, these 5 tenets of Project Pagan Enough work together and will, I hope, launch our community into a new era of tolerance, love, and all of the qualities we like to think we have.

Basic cooking - Shepherd's Pie

2010-03-18T09:20:00.000-05:00

I am a huge fan of basic, simple, tasty foods. i don't like using bizarre ingredients or unreasonably complicated techniques. if you said "down home cooking" that's essentially what i strive for.

As a friend recently said: If your great grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, don't eat it!

This shepherd's pie recipe is an adaptation of the one my mom makes.

Shepherd's Pie

1lb hamburger

2 eggs

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder (or 1/4 C finely diced onion)

1/4 C old fashioned rolled oats (i coarsely chop them using my coffee grinder)

salt and pepper to taste

heat oven to 350F

mix all above ingredients thoroughly. Grease pie pan (i use a glass pan, and spray it with cooking spray) Press meat mixture into pan evenly.

spread on:

2-3 Tbs catsup or tomato paste (or other sauce of you want to change it up a little!)

Cook in oven for 45-50 mins or until cooked through (will be firm and juices will be clear, not pink) Drain off any oil (if using regular ground beef)

while meat is cooking, prepare potatoes:

4-7 medium potatoes

2tbs diced green onion

2 tbs butter

Peel and coarsely chop potatoes. place in pot. cover with water, bring to boil. cook until potatoes are soft when poked with a fork. drain. (yes, i know this is basic, but i said i'd try to keep this blog beginner friendly!)

mash potatoes with masher, or if lacking one, use a fork. blend in onion bits and butter.

when meat is cooked, spread mashed potato blend on top, sealing it to the pie plate at the edges. sprinkle with paprika if desired.

Return pie to oven for 15 mins OR until potatoes are heated through and begin to brown on top/edges.

I suggest serving this with ample steamed veggies, and perhaps this gravy (the one that's part of this recipe) I recently found it when i was trying the attached recipe, and hubby LOVES it. plus, it's pretty easy, AND naturally low fat! (as a note, i thicken the gravy with a couple of teaspoons corn starch)

this is a wonderful fall/winter/spring dish for when you've been outside burning lots of energy!

Frugal eating: 1chicken + 1 crockpot = 2 meals

2010-03-15T10:21:00.002-05:00

Frugal eating is not something I'd say i excel in, however it is definitely something I STRIVE towards. My husband and i (and our kids, of course) don't often eat out, except when traveling. i TRY to make as many meals as possible, though i do fall back on a frozen pizza on occasion. I do like to think i probably cook more than the 'national average'... though that is in part just because i'm actually at home all the time, so have no good excuse ;)

i recently tried something a bit new. i roasted a chicken in my crockpot. I know, this is NOT a new 'trick'. It is, however, new to me.

Crockpot Roast Chicken
1 smallish roasting chicken
celery
oil/cooking spray
broth or water
spices, as desired

i used a medium crock pot (about 5L, or 1 1/4 gal, approximately)
Defrost chicken at least halfway, if necessary. Stuff cavity with pieces of celery (adds to flavor)
oil inside of crock. place 2-3 pieces of celery on bottom to prevent chicken from sticking. stuff chicken into the crock. add 2-3tbs broth or water. sprinkle spices onto chicken skin (i used garlic powder and pepper)
Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Chicken will be very tender and tasty, though the skin will not be particularly crispy.

serve with potatoes or rice along with at least one vegetable choice.

later that day, or the next morning:

Chicken stock
Cut all remaining meat from the bones, dicing it, then reserving it in the fridge for later. Dump all remaining bones, skin, celery bits, etc in a stock pot (or any large pot). add water to cover (use at least 1.5L) throw in:
1 bay leaf
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 onion, coarsely chopped,
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

bring to a boil, then simmer for at least an hour to extract all the chicken-y goodness!
strain to remove all the bits, keeping only the broth.
adjust seasoning as desired

Chicken crock soup
make up any chicken soup using the broth and stock you've reserved. i usually wing it. i would write down a recipe, but frankly, i don't remember exactly what i used. A decent looking soup recipe is found here. Cook everything but the noodles and chicken for at least 3 hours on high, or 6 on low, before adding the chicken (which just has to reheat) and noodles (which will cook nearly as fast as the package directions!)
just remember: any noodles or other quick cooking items should be added shortly before serving, rather than at the beginning of the cooking time, and if using your broth for a recipe, DO NOT add water as well! Just substitute your broth for the whole fluid of the soup.

and when you're busy pulling apart that chicken, why not save the wishbone and get yourself a little extra luck?

Sleep, and the lack thereof

2010-03-12T22:21:00.000-06:00

i love sleep.
No, really. i LOVE sleep. love it. not in the 'oh yeah, i like to get enough sleep when i can' kind of way. in the 'i would sleep ten hours a day plus naps if i got the chance' kind of way.
No, i don't have a sleeping disorder (unless you consider children a disorder!). i just love sleep, that's all... i love napping, i love dreaming, i love the feeling of waking up completely refreshed. i even like it when i feel like i've overslept.

Unfortunately, my sleep schedule has been consisting of less sleep, more wakefulness for quite some time. Say, 5 years or so. Now, don't get me wrong. i LOVE my kids. but MAN, do they ever frak up a parent's sleeping!

caution: ranting ahead!

When i was pregnant, i of course had trouble sleeping comfortably. that was fine. i just slept extra to compensate. When my daughter (now a precocious 4 year old) was born, we (read 'I' ) decided to *gasp* co-sleep with her (you can insert the 'tisk tisk, what a bad mother' here if you desire), a la European tradition. It was GREAT (except having even less room in bed) but i could sleep. lots. and did! baby fusses, you wake up enough to stick boob in mouth, baby nurses, and you fall back asleep. worked beautifully.

eventually, we graduated her to a co-sleeper (essentially, a bassinet that attaches to the parents bed, with one side down to allow the parent to easily access the child while in bed). this was also good. after a little coaxing, we were able to separate the co-sleeper and convert it into a mini-crib, still in our room. fabulous. unfortunately, this meant i had to start getting up to nurse, usually 4-8 times a night. this cut into my sleep allotment a fair bit, but i coped. little girl napped a lot during the day, and tended to get pretty drugged up from the oxytocin in breast milk. so she slept well, when she was sleeping.
over time, we moved her to her own room, and then graduated her into a full size crib. at this point, she was slightly under a year old. then we made our first big mistake. we decided to try sleep training. specifically, the cry-it-out methods i had read about.
You might have the idea it didn't work. that'd be an understatement. after weeks of trying the techniques for a few days, then stopping because it wasn't working at all, we ended up with a child that would have panic attacks, scream and eventually vomit every time she was placed in or woke up in her crib. it was great. Really great. We ended up chucking the idea of using the crib at all, and putting it in storage. we took her mattress, and laid it on the floor (so she couldn't fall and hurt herself) and started trying to get her to sleep on her own using no-cry methods (ie i would nurse her until she was lightly asleep, then put her down, and hum while touching her back until she was fully asleep... then i would eventually creep out of the room. it took forever, but was still less stressful than the screaming). Middle of the night feedings were okay, it was just getting her to sleep that was the problem.

skipping forward a bit, by the time she's two or so, she's in her own big-girl twin bed, she can put herself to sleep, and she sleeps fairly well, only getting up for potty stops and the occasional glass of water. easy peasy. okay, that's a bit of a fib. it was a lot of patience and ~~hard work~~ extra patience getting her to learn to sleep comfortably on her own.
As parents, we patted ourselves on the back, and finally got some fairly good nights sleep.

then i got pregnant again.
see previous cycle, only different.
pregnancy: fine.
co-sleeping: fine. my joints don't love me as much as last time, contorting to allow for monkey-boy to sleep with us, but i'll survive.
little man into co-sleeper: fine. later than with little girl, but it works okay. still wake up every 90-120 mins for feedings, most nights.
we finally get him into his own room when he's around a year. in a crib. it's 'okay'. getting him to sleep is a task of patience (nursing, rocking, humming, and tiptoeing... then some days repeat X 3 or 4 if he's teething or unsettled) and he's still nursing every couple hours (which i think of as 'normal'... or at least 'normal' for my kids)
Unfortunately, he's not as easy a sleeper as his sister was. he only sleeps maybe 10 hours a night, including wake ups.. and often doesn't nap more than an hour a day. he also doesn't get nearly as sleepy when nursing, so getting him to sleep at all is more of a challenge.

i've actually thought about starting him with some sort of self-soothing techniques/sleep training, but i'm holding off. why? Gods know i'd appreciate a little extra sleep (i really don't function that well on less than 8 hours!) Primarily, i know that if i start anything that is going to involve extra crying, instead of having ONE whiny kid up in the middle of the night, i'll have TWO.... plus hubby getting even less sleep because he'll have to deal with one of them while i deal with the other. it's a no-win situation.

it's times like these i almost wish my kids used soothers or sucked their thumbs.... but they never needed the habit, b/c i had the original 'soother' available to them all night... *sigh*

okay, i'm done venting.
i am looking for... well, not advice exactly, but maybe just... support?
most (NOT ALL) of the other parents i know in person give the impression they either have 'perfect' children, or little hellions, so i don't feel i can necessarily rely on any of them for decent advice on my essentially 'decent' kids.

yeah. okay. i'm done now.
g'night all. i gotta go try and catch a few hours sleep. i'm sure going to need it.

Crocheting while already busy

2010-03-10T20:42:00.000-06:00

it's just one of those things i do... i like keeping my hands busy while watching tv, while a passenger in a car... while waiting for a doctor/etc.. i am listening, honest! i DO hear ya while i'm going 'okay, only two more rows...' in my head... i may just not hear every word, that's all...

he's listening too, you just can't tell!

I've actually finished a few projects in the last couple weeks; and of course started a few more!

the bowl turned out... lopsided, but considering it was patternless and really just a trial of skill, not bad. the kids have been using it to put crayons and things in... or as a hat (little man loves wearing weird things on his head... like plastic buckets... or underwear... yeah. he's a special boy!) I like the feel of the material it makes though, quite sturdy. think i'll try this technique with a pattern for other container shapes... they should hold up well during use.

Finished this dish towel as well. It turned out quite nicely, and didn't use nearly as much yarn as i expected. (you can find the pattern here)

I'm also making progress on my latest sewing project... have made a few pads and pantiliners. don't think i'll make 'enough' until i've tried these out though (pics and pattern links to follow)

i started one new crochet project, and boy, is it an ambitious one for me! i've designed and started making a play mat for the kids. You know those mats you can buy with the roads and cityscapes on them? Well, i wanted to make a farm and country version, so mine is going to have fields, forest/swampland and gravel roads! i'm about 15% done, and when complete i'll post a picture of that one too!

Now most of what's on my plate, craft-wise, is actually sewing. hand sewing. whee. (i'm sure you can sense my enthusiasm!) i need to finish some Viking kit (clothing) for myself, and help hubby get some of his cut and pieced so he can work on finishing it too.... we both want to have more complete outfits for our big event in August. i'll be lucky to get one item done for myself though, as i'm sure i'll have a ton of new clothes to make for the kids (baby vikings are cute, but require frequent costume changes!)

That time of the month again...

2010-03-02T16:10:00.001-06:00

BOYS BEWARE! this post gets personal!

It's that time again... that once-a-month crampy bitchy yes-i-have-to-go-to-the-bathroom-AGAIN-dear time.

No, this isn't going to be a bitchy rant about hating being female or anything silly like that! i LOVE being a girl! i love all the blessings we as women are given, and i can endure the minor discomforts that are part of the whole!

I actually want to talk about feminine products, because i've been contemplating a change for the greener.

(now, for any gentlemen who have read this far: while it might not apply to you personally, what about your daughter? your wife? a little information on options isn't a bad thing! and just think... if they switch to a greener product, that means no picking up pads or tampons on your bread and milk grocery runs!)

i have, thus far, been a plain ole pad and tampon girl. Post kids, i pretty much ceased tampon use, though not for any particular reason. A few recent articles and blogs have brought the issue back into the forefront of my mind, including this one at one green generation.

So, with the idea of change in mind, i started to research my options.
I decided early on that i don't just want to use an organic (and expensive!) disposable option, because, lets face it, other than a few less chemicals, there is NO real difference!

this left me with: cloth pads, alternative tampons, or cups.
My findings and analysis thus far:

lets start with the oddball one: alternative tampons. the one interesting option i've found is Sea sponge reusable tampons (here is one product available) they are supposed to last at least 6 months, and have lower risk of TSS than conventional tampons.
my thoughts? may be a viable option, but i don't think it would be my primary choice!

How about Cups? the three products i've looked at are The Keeper, the Moon cup, and the DivaCup.
The Keeper and Moon Cup are made by the same company, and are identical, except for materials. they are supposed to last TEN YEARS!!!
my thoughts: i want one, but they don't ship to Canada, b/c of federal regulations. poo.

the DivaCup is similar to the moon cup and keeper, but i have seen a LOT more negative comments about leaking and discomfort. they are also only recommended for ONE year use, and are not to be used with IUD's (my current choice in no-more-babies-thankyouverymuch )
Also, cost-wise, the DivaCup costs MORE than the other two. Yes, i know this is kind-of penny pinching, but if I'm going to be frugal, i want to be capital-F Frugal.
my thoughts: not unless hubby gets the snip. and i'd still rather try the keeper first.

Now, on to a broader playing field. cloth pads.
Two commercial varieties i looked at were Glad Rags and Lunapads.
These are both nice products, but Hoo-boy are they pricey!

So, i think to myself; I've got a serger, and a sewing machine, and a nice stash of fabric. why don't i just make my own?
Enter: more research.

the results: lots of nice free patterns available, some with good pictures. a good hub page with lots of links is found here
my thoughts: i'm cheap. i'm-a gonna make mah own!

final results: since this is still just in the planning stages, i'm not sure how things'll turn out, but i'll be sure and keep y'all posted. i definitely will be pulling out my fleece and terry fabrics and deciding on what pattern/patterns to try soon though!

heck, i might even get real crazy and try number 7 on this list of ways to use more cloth and less paper/plastic products! hey, i'm already doing 3 loads (or more) of cloth diapers every week. This would be different how?

take care, everyone, and as the weather starts to warm, like the earth: think green!

thoughts + actions = results

2010-02-25T14:53:00.000-06:00

I've gotten to thinking about the repercussions of not only our actions, but our thoughts as well. Was reading this page of this interesting blog and it got me to thinking. I know people that are unerringly positive, no matter what life throws at them. i also know people that can find the negative in every situation, no matter how trivial i might think it is. Most people, I'm sure, fall somewhere in the middle. i know that recently i have been finding myself in a rut, psychologically and emotionally speaking. The same negative thoughts and emotions seem to loop and repeat unless i force myself to stop and realize what I'm doing (no, I'm not going to give intimate details of my personal problems. This just isn't that kind of blog)

Generally speaking, though, i'm finding that being a stay-at-home mom of two toddlers living in a semi-isolated situation has over time drained me of my physical, psychological and emotional energy, and i am not having an easy go of trying to regain a balance on any of those fronts (hey, what is this balance thing? I'd be happy with a good night's sleep! )

I've been contemplating something that i can do/say to myself to create and reinforce positive thoughts and actions. I'm not sure what it'll be, but I'd be interested in others thoughts on the subject. I'm contemplating it being a meditation perhaps, something short that i can memorize and improvize on whenever i catch myself falling into an old rut.
I'm also thinking i'll do a working (read: a spell or magick) on the same general idea. might even dust off my tarot cards and start doing daily readings again to try to put things into some sort of new perspective

you never know what might happen.

the long cold days, crochet, and clutter-busting

2010-02-18T12:00:00.001-06:00

So. i look out my window this morning just as the sun is coming up (no, i'm not up at this time by choice). I see... not much. Looking again, i see.. fog? Oh, lovely.
I check the weather network online and see....yup. Fog. Ice fog, to be specific. and -15C to boot. whee...

and this is warm, and 'mild' for this time of year.

for those of you who might not live in such northern climes, this is a picture of part of my back yard, taken yesterday. see those two short pillars on the right side? those are the top of a 3-foot tall childrens 'castle' slide toy. yeah. lots of snow.
(the thing in the middle is a tripod for our living history group, used for cooking)
those drifts in the background against the brush are 5-6 feet tall.
that blown in path is just that.... a path towards our wood pile.

yay winter.

to keep myself from going insane, i've been spending lots of time with my hook and yarn

trying out a tapestry crochet un-pattern. .this is the beginning of a bowl/container of some sort. as you can see, i'm using two colors of worsted weight cotton, and a super-bulky acrylic hidden inside to provide bulk and stiffness.

this is the beginning of a tea towel pattern i'm trying. i like the way the fans look in the pattern.

and this

is a super-warm fast and easy pair of slippers.

the pattern is heavily adapted from a toddler slipper pattern. The original pattern is here. It makes a great kids slipper, but when i made a pair adapted for myself, i found it too 'ridgy' using double crochet. Here is the pattern i ended up making that is more comfortable, and nice and stretchy to boot!

simple slippers

materials: acrylic worsted weight yarn (i used red heart super saver)

4mm crochet hook

note on gauge: i didn't test gauge for this pattern, but i tend to crochet close to most pattern gauge, so if you tend to crochet loosely or tightly, you may have to adjust your hook.

sizing: this pattern is designed to fit an average size 9 mens, or size 11 women's foot. (that'd be me)

i included one possible adjustment if you have very large/wide feet. this pattern was tested on four adults, ranging from size 8-10 mens, and fit all of them without adapting.

stitches used:

ch - chain

hdc - half double crochet

ss - slip stitch

hdc2tog - hdc two together

st - stitch

method:

working in rounds:

round 1: ch3. ss into first stitch to form a loop. ch2, then hdc 9 into the loop, joining with ss to 2nd ch of ch-2.

round 2: ch2. turn. hdc in same stitch. 2hdc in next stitch, 1hdc in next, *(2hdc in next hdc) twice, 1hdc in next hdc. repeat from * once, then 2hdc in last hdc, ss to join.

round 3: ch2, turn. 1hdc in each of next 3 st. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in each of next 6 hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 3hdc, join.

round4: ch2, turn. 1hdc in next 4hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 8hdc, (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 4hdc. join.

round 5: ch2, turn. 1hdc in next 5hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 10hdc, (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 5 hdc. join.

round 6: ch2, turn. 1hdc in next 6hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 12 hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 5hdc. join

(( bonus round for big feet: ch2, turn. 1hdc in next 7hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 14 hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 6hdc. join ))

round 7-18: ch2, turn. 1hdc in each hdc around. join.

the joining point will be the top center of the slipper.

from this point, work in ROWS, not rounds.

row 19-28: ch2, turn. 1hdc in each hdc across.

row 29: ch2, turn. hdc in next 13hdc. hdc2tog in next hdc. hdc in next hdc. hdc2tog in next st. hdc in next 14 hdc.

row 30: ch2, turn. hdc in next 12hdc. hdc2tog. hdc in next hdc. hdc2tog. hdc in next 13 hdc. fasten off, leaving long tail for sewing.

finishing: fold the last row in half, creating the heel. stitch along this to close up the heel. weave in ends.

decorating: if you are so inclined, feel free to decorate with flowers, ankle pom-poms, or any other frou-frou bits you desire. i left mine plain as i like to be able to slip on my clogs while still wearing them.

this pattern was written down as i made it, but hasn't been tested by a separate set of eyes. if you find errors, or have problems, please let me know!

and in the on-going war against clutter and grime: clutter and grime are still winning. they have more warriors. However, i am waging battle with clutter by thinning the herd on my over-flowing bookshelves, and trying to re-organize them at least a touch. so far about 50 books have hit the bag. i actually have almost ALL my books on shelves now! crazy. Now to get those bags to a thrift shop..... that might be the tough bit.

for all my fellow winter-persevering folk, i raise a mug of hot chocolate to you, and hope you all keep warm.

And remember to bundle up, it's cold outside.

Recipe and work in progress

2010-02-14T22:37:00.001-06:00

here we are at the end of the week... update time!

works in progress..... well, i 'completed' the summer top i was working on... it's a pattern from lion brand. NOT pleased with the results... the model was an A cup. i am a D cup. and evidently my breasts are in a different location from hers, as my top did not fit as pictured.... too low, and very low on the sides even when adjusted. going to try to do some alterations to get it wearable... mostly adjusting the straps and adding a few rows to the sides under the armpit. will post a pic if i get it usable.

made myself a nice pair of slippers. fit really well. i will post the pattern, and a picture, when i get back home (i'm currently visiting my parents this weekend)

started a pattern for a crocheted cotton dish towel. it's a nice pattern, so we'll see how it looks when i finish it.

spending 'quality time' with my family is difficult these days, as it's either "TV" time.. and not quality time at all... or involves two preschoolers running around/over/through everything while screaming and shrieking at the top of their lungs.
not much a lovey-dovey valentines in this household, let me tell you. but it's okay... eventually the kids will get older... more mature..... maybe by the time they're twenty, if i'm lucky!

here's a great recipe from my mom's black box (again, this is not attempting to be an obscure reference... she uses a black recipe box too!)

mom says, " if you want to serve the sauce on rice or veggies, make sure to double the recipe" (everything but the chicken)

origin of this recipe is unknown. mom may have found it in a recipe book somewhere.

Soya Chicken Wings
ingredients:
1/2 cup liquid honey (if yours is solid or creamed, that's fine too)
1/2 cup soya sauce
2 tablespoons catsup (or ketchup, if you spell it that way!)
1 clove of garlic, or more to taste.
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
12 chicken wings, whole or seperated

combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl. place wings in a shallow baking dish. pour sauce over wings. bake at 375 F for 1 hour. baste and turn wings once to ensure coverage.

this recipe goes great with whole grain rice and steamed veggies. the chicken turns very dark from the sauce, nearly black! it makes a very sticky, finger-licking great sauce!

also noted in the recipe: may substitute spare ribs for wings

that's all for now folks. hope all you lovebirds got some extra snuggle time with your special people, and that you remember to call those family members and friends you love, but haven't seen in a while.
take care!

small kids - how do you butt-cover?

2010-02-13T19:06:00.001-06:00

this is solely a personal opinion post. my way will not necssarily be right for you, but it's right for me.

when i was first pregnant, my husband and i discussed diapering solutions. i was totally opposed to going with mainstream disposables, so we decided to get cloth diapers. we spent time going to second hand shops and collecting diapers from friends with older kids. then we purchased a few prefolds in various sizes from a local retailer, and got our plastic pants from a local mega-store. i also used paper liners once the baby was started on solids to reduce the scraping necessary to remove feces.

i did some consulting with previous users, and determined how i was going to care for them. I decided to use a dry pail, and machine wash and dry them. i am not anal about stains, particularly as i lived on a farm with iron-rich water, so whites eventually grayed no matter what. and you know what, while not pristine white, they are a nice 'ivory' tone and don't LOOK stained, with few exceptions.

it worked wonderfully. with only a few extra loads of laundry a week, i was doing my part to reduce my carbon footprint. we hardly used any disposable diapers for baby #1

baby#2 has been a bit different, mostly due to circumstance. we've moved farther from our extended families, and therefore are on the road a lot, visiting. while it is possible to cloth diaper on the road, it requires a fair bit of extra effort, and extra space to pack.

i feel guilty every time i buy a package of disposables, but i think i can justify the use, because it's either that, or put my sanity just that wee bit closer to the edge.

that said, i still LOVE my prefold diapers, plastic pants and snapppis! i use them as much as i can, and will likely have diapered my 2 children for less than $500 including the disposables and training pants!

i'm always interested in others opinions and such though, so feel free to let me know what you do/did for Your kids!

long days with simians and tired of the snow

2010-02-08T20:09:00.000-06:00

Okay. so my kids aren't actually monkeys. It just seems that way some times. Particularly on those long cold stuck-in-the-house kind of days where they feed off each others energy, and seem to go from running around screaming with glee to running around just screaming in about 3 seconds flat. Just trying to do those normal everyday household chores (cooking, laundry, etc) seem nigh-on-impossible. *sigh*

It may come as no surprise that i haven't gotten much done on my Works in Progress lately. i've now got a half-finished crochet top, and a bag of strips of fabric waiting to turn into a rug (eventually)

while i haven't actually done any 'deep cleaning' i have made progress in organizing my basement (which is pretty much a mess of boxes because we're living in an undersized rental) and trying to get some stuff ready to go to thrift.

and no, i haven't done any good things for my spiritual self yet either... i have _thought_ about what i want to do... but that's pretty much the same as complete inaction.

i'm getting a bit tired of the cold whiteness outside too... so to bring a little green energy into my post, here's a pic of some of the plants from my window garden this summer

these are rainbow peppers, an edible ornamental hot pepper

some of my bounty of peppers

(sweet medusa peppers and hot rainbow and purple peppers)

now... just think some warm thoughts

and don't look out the window

Free recipe friday - scalloped potato casserole

2010-02-05T17:49:00.001-06:00

- this may or may not be a recurring event, but i thought i'd post a few of my 'black box' recipes (i use a black box for my recipe cards, this is not intended as an obscure reference)
i'm going to try to write the recipes simple enough that even an inexperienced cook can follow them. wish me luck!

please note: recipes i post will NOT be 'diet', 'low-cal', 'lite' or low in sugar or fat. i like sugar and fat. if your health requires a lower calorie or healthier version, i suggest eating the following recipe with either a large salad or a bowl of vegetable soup.

Scalloped Potato Casserole

this recipe is quick, cheap and convenient. it's for those "i'm not even thinking about supper until 4pm" kind of days where you still need to feed the kids a decent healthy meal.

materials needed:
large casserole dish or medium roasting pan, with lid.
knife, cutting board
oven

ingredients:
8-12 potatoes, sliced into 1/4" or thinner slices (i use red skinned medium ones, but this is your choice)
1 can ham, diced into 3/4" cubes
1 onion, sliced thinly into rings or strips
1-2 cups frozen or raw vegetables (a package of frozen spinach works, so does 2 cups of mixed vegetables)
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
pam or oil
1 can condensed milk
1 can condensed mushroom soup
1 cup shredded cheese

process:
preheat oven to 350 degrees F
spray/oil the inside of the pan lightly
layer the ingredients as follows:
1/4 of the potatoes
1/2 the onions and meat
1/4 of the potatoes
all the veggies
1/4 of the potatoes
the remaining onions and meat
the mushrooms
the remaining potatoes

in a seperate bowl, mix the condensed milk and soup mix. Pour this mix over the casserole layers. Sprinkle on the cheeze.
Bake covered for 45 minutes.
uncover, and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the casserole is cooked through and the cheese is melted.
let casserole sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Note: an easy way to test this casserole is to poke at one of the potatoes right in the middle on the top with a fork. if it is soft and cooked through, the casserole is likely done. You can also test it by poking a knife right into the center of the casserole. wait one minute, then pull the knife out. if the blade is VERY hot, the casserole is cooked.

Serves: 3-6 (or an average family of four with young children)

i plan on posting a picture after the next time i make this.

in other news, we're currently preparing to visit a local school as 'the Vikings'
wait, what?
yeah.
vikings.

hubby the viking

myself, my husband, our kids, plus a smattering of other family members and friends all do Living History. We recreate the Viking era and use our hobby to educate others.
So what do we do?
Well, at our biggest events, we set up era (that is, viking) tents, work on skills and crafts of the day, and put on combat demonstrations using live steel and even archery!
(please note that we have extensive safety precautions, including blunted weapons and relatively extensive training)

Our next event will be very small, and is just going to be family members. we're going into a grade school to educate some grade 5's on the Life and Times of the average Viking.
it should be lots of fun!

imbolc, spring cleaning, and going green

2010-02-03T14:15:00.001-06:00

happy belated Imbolc / candlemas / groundhog day to all!

you may have noticed that i'm a nature worshiper in my profile. well, to be more specific, i'm essentially a non-practicing wiccan. a what? yeah. non-practicing. i'm afraid i've pretty much let my religious side slide badly since my kids have been born. i intend to do.... well, things... rituals and the like... but i quite simply don't have then energy for it. (couldn't have anything to do with the 13 mo old sucking the life ... er.. milk.. out of me, could it?!?!)

so this spring, my intent is to increase the energy i put towards my religious/ faith-based self, and begin making an effort to practice with my pendulum and possibly start doing some energy-work again on at least a weekly basis.
i had hoped to do something for imbolc, but again, a lack of energy prevented more than the thought. i think i'm going to put one thing on my 'to do' table, though, and make myself a bratach brid, or healing blanket, to be blessed next imbolc (for more info, and pronunciation help, try this link for lots of imbolc traditions )

as for spring cleaning? well... i'm not a neat, tidy person. i never have been. and my darling hubby is worse than i, which makes it HARD to make progress in the mess... but i will be trying to make headway in making my home more friendly and mess-free. hopefully in part by sending bags full of stuff to a local thrift shop. that might help a bit!

as part of my cleaning, i'm hoping to begin switching to more 'green' and 'eco-friendly' products.. for me,. this is a 'baby steps' kind of thing. i'm not going to go out and spend a huge chunk of change on a crate of cleaning products that either work poorly, or aren't quite as green as they proclaim to be. i change one thing at a time, and test to see if it works.

so yes, happy thoughts of a waning winter and groundhog-sized shadows to all!

Works in progress

2010-02-01T22:21:00.000-06:00

well, i actually got some things done over the past few days!
i completed my scarf project (YAY!)

this is a poor picture, i'll admit, but the scarf looks great peeking out of a winter coat (i know, it's a gift, but i had to try it on!)

2-tone ruffled scarf

materials: 2 balls sport weight yarn, red
1 ball sport weight yarn, ivory
4mm hook, or as desired

row 1: ch203. Dc in 3rd chain from hook. Dc across. turn.
rows 2-6 : ch3, (Dc in next st, 2dc in next st) across. turn
row 7: finish off red, join in white, work as per rows 2-6. finish off. weave in ends.
enjoy!

note: i reserve no rights for this pattern, as ruffled scarf patterns are widely available. i simply provide the pattern in case you like this one in particular, and want to make one the same/similar.

also, i made a gift for a little boy. i hope he likes it.

isn't it cute?

and look, he fits inside!

the baby hedgehog is a slight adaptation of a pattern from the book Amigurumi World, and the Mushroom pattern is found here. (i used the larger adaptation of the instructions)

my next project is going to be for ME! i know... greedy, ain't i? i plan on making a lovely summery top to wear once it warms up!

i'm also slowly working towards getting ready to make a rug. i've been searching my house for scrap fabric, sheets and the like to make into yarn. not ready to actually start MAKING the rug yet, it's going to be a while until i have sufficient material stockpiled.

oh, and i was thrift shopping earlier in the week... picked up some nice finds, including a hemp blend shirt (gotta love hemp!) and a Woman's Day book on crochet patterns, published in the 80's. man, some of them are FUGLY! however, i think i might actually try a few of the salvageable ones, just to see how they turn out. time will tell.

Happy Imbolc everyone!

multitasking

2010-01-28T18:56:00.001-06:00

i'm not entirely against new technology.... skeptical of it perhaps. i tend to take up products and ideas once they're proven... and affordable. For instance, i only got a cell phone about 3 years ago. i resisted facebook for a long time before finally succumbing to its draw.....

i've resisted the idea of an e-book as well, though i am a moderately avid reader. However, as i received a net-book computer for yule, i have become interested in finally reading a disc of Honor Harrington novels i've had for years. i decided to download a free reader of some sort, and eventually decided on the ybook reader because it's simple, no frills (but also no advertising!) and actually resembles a book to a reasonable degree!

now, normally, when i think of multitasking and one of the 'tasks' is crochet, the other invariably ends up being tv/movies, or sometimes listening to music, because it's physically possible to do both at the same time.

this morning i tested out the ybook reader while the kids were still asleep upstairs, and i found out that not only does it make for a comfortable read, i can also crochet a simple stitch while reading, because it's hands free! *does a little happy dance* now, i wouldn't try a complicated pattern, but the scarf i am working on was doing just fine...

Perhaps i'll actually get more reading done this way?

left of average, south of normal

Tumbling headfirst into the paleo diet -one tiny baby step at a time

crochet pattern: ribbed neckwarmer

photoblog 4 - spinning whirling twirling

Adventures in homeschooling

photoblog 3 - Mary mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

photoblog 2 - old mcdonald had a ...

photoblog 1- yarn love

are you ready for the end of times?

of goings on in wintertime

Of winter, and fleece, and all things indoors

Returning from Hiatus

Yuletide Linkification, now with snark!

Yule and gift-giving

yuletide and still random :D

Winter and wassailing

The Wassail Song (slightly altered)

as much as i love the changing of the seasons, winter is admittedly my least favorite, and not only because we get winter-like weather for up to six months of the year here!

the photos above are of my driveway and yard about 4 days ago, shortly after a snowfall (one of many so far)

and are sent out specially for those of you in warmer climates who might not get as much cold weather... see all that white.... even the sky is frosty off white a good portion of the time. *sigh* oh well.... it's almost yule :) yay!

Yuletide traditions, a conversation (with added music!)

The Yule Song

(Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) : Lyrics -my version!

more yuletide randomness

Yuletide music and thursday randomness

let it snow while i watch my window garden grow!

Wool stuff

an update and some recent FO's

time for something new - crochet stuff

a quick update

stink-b-gone!

going nutty

persevering to preserve

going nutty

more preserving

preserving your produce....

Catching up 1.0 - sheep and fibres

a quick update

a quick update

Reasons to be ... a Viking?!

changes

Wordless wednesday

going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

that time of the year again

Thinking about the present and the future - oil gone bad

Wordless wednesday

Sadface

Dandelions 2.0 - now for breakfast!

Wordless wednesday

mystery project resolved!

spring bounty - aka partial success is better than total failure?

Away from home

Strawberry syrup

Spinning fun

Wordless wednesday

Wonderous Vanilla

Wordless wednesday

Random thoughts

wordless wednesday

wordless wednesday

for the love of spinning

wordless wednesday

of houses, dreams, and the future

Local eating: a quest for knowledge

Wordless wednesday

Getting into the spring of things - what have YOU been doing?

Cloth menstrual care update

Sausage Rolls from scratch!

Happy spring!

Basic cooking - Chili even kids will eat

Project Pagan Enough

Basic cooking - Shepherd's Pie

Frugal eating: 1chicken + 1 crockpot = 2 meals

Sleep, and the lack thereof

Crocheting while already busy

That time of the month again...

thoughts + actions = results

the long cold days, crochet, and clutter-busting

Recipe and work in progress

small kids - how do you butt-cover?

and are sent out specially for those of you in warmer climates who might not get as much cold weather... see all that white.... even the sky is frosty off white a good portion of the time. sigh oh well.... it's almost yule :) yay!