Green Tomato Relish (Chow-Chow)

Last week, I made some Green Tomato Jam, as well as some Green tomato Relish (or Chow-Chow as some people call it.) I had thought about writing out the recipe as well as post some photos that I taken, to share with you, but decided against doing that because that is available in many places on the Internet.

The recipe that I use, can be found at Mommy's Kitchen website. (Just click on the name to be taken directly to the recipe. Besides, she explains the process perfectly and much better than I ever could.

I do have a few notes on the above recipe that I want to share with you:

• You can easily halve or double this recipe and it will turn out just fine.
• Her recipe says it will yield 5 1/2 pints, which I am sure that it does, but for some reason, I only ended up with 3 pints. That could be for a number of reasons one being maybe I let mine cook down to long, or my tomatoes aren't the kind she uses, etc. None-the-less, it is an awesome tasting relish. I hope that you give the recipe a try.
• After making a batch, you might want to increase or decrease the spices or green peppers. I thought it tasted perfect, but others might not have the same taste in relishes as what I do.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Green Tomato Jam

Last Saturday, I pulled the last of the green pepper, tomato, and cucumber plants from my outside vegetable garden. Which signals the end of summer for me. My garden did awesome this year. We had all the fresh produce we wanted to eat and still had more than enough to can, freeze, and dehydrate. I feel very blessed with how well the garden did this year.

After cleaning up the garden, I ended up though with a lot of green tomatoes. Not knowing what to do with all those tomatoes, and not wanting to waste them by just throwing them out, I asked my Facebook friends what they did with their green tomatoes. 

I received several replies, and among them was a recipe for green tomato jam which sounded easy, and something that I wanted to try...and so I did. It ended up being one of most delicious jams that I ever have tasted. I don't know how I ever missed out on this succulent awesomeness before, but I had so I thought that I would pass it on just in case someone else also has missed this recipe. It is definitely a keeper.

What you will need: (You can easily double or halve this recipe)

• 4 cups blended green tomatoes
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 ounce box of raspberry jello

Chop up green tomatoes and put into blender

Use the pulse setting on the blender to blend the tomatoes together.

Put blended tomatoes into a cooking pot, add sugar and lemon juice. Cook at a slow boil for 20 minutes stirring a few times.

This is what it looks like after the 20 minutes. NOTE: It will be very thin at this point until the jello is added.

Very Slowly add jello, stirring all the while. Put into jars and seal.

I hope that you enjoy this as much as what I and my family do. Thanks for visiting and reading my blog. :-)

Freezing Eggs

 Freezing eggs is easy and a great way to preserve the extras for later on for when they are needed.

What you will need:

• Eggs 
• Mixing bowel
• Fork (some people use a whisk, but I use a fork. I feel the whisk allows for to much air to be incorporated into the eggs. But which one to use is really just a preference.)
• Salt (1/4 teaspoon per cup of egg mixture) or if you will be wanting to use the eggs for baking omit the salt and add 1/4 teaspoon of sugar per cup of egg mixture.  This is a must, otherwise the texture of your eggs won't be right when you go to use them.
• measuring spoon
• measuring cup
• Some kind of container to freeze the eggs in. Some people use plastic ice cube trays. Other people use small 1/2 cup freezer containers. Since I have neither one of those, I use a muffin pan. Since I usually do a dozen eggs at a time, and my muffin pan has twelve cups, it works out wonderful. I don't need to measure, I just ladle out 12 equal (or near to equal) portions.

Steps:

Break eggs into a bowl.
Using a fork, (or whisk) break yolks and lightly mix yolks and whites together being careful to incorporate as little air as possible. Not incorporating any air at all would be perfect.

Add salt. How much salt or sugar you use will depend on how many eggs you are wanting to freeze. A rule of thumb is: 3 Grade A Large eggs = 1/2 cup. So for example if you are wanting to freeze a dozen eggs, you would add 1 teaspoon of salt or sugar.
Gently mix together.

Divide the mixture into three tablespoon portions. (3 TBS equals 1 egg) and place into container that you will be using to freeze the eggs.

Place in the freezer and allow 1-4 hrs to become completely frozen. If you are using a 1/2 cup freezer container, you are now done. Make sure to label the container.

If you are using an ice cube tray, or muffin tin, remove the frozen eggs from the container and place into a freezer zip-lock type bag, label bag, and place into freezer. If the egg mixture is difficult to remove from the container, simply turn the container upside down and allow cold water to run over the underside  for a few seconds. Flip the container right side up and the egg mixture should easily slide out. Or you can use a knife to loosen the sides of the frozen mixture from the pan.

Best if used within 6 months, but will stay good in freezer for up to a year.

To use:
 Thaw overnight in the refidgerator, or under cold water. Once thawed, use as normal.


Thank you for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Natural Mosquito and Flea Repellent Recipe

Where I live at, mosquito and fleas seem to be in abundance at this time of the year. While I don't like to get bit by them, I like even less the over-the-counter sprays filled with all sorts of chemicals. Lucky for me one of the best mosquito and flea repellents that I have found is also one that I can easily make with things that I normally have in my house.

The combination of the ingredients have been used for decades to ward off mosquitoes and fleas, but the recipe that I found for it, made up way more than I would ever use during the summer months....so I have somewhat changed the recipe. As with anything else like this, please try the product on a small patch of skin before slithering all over you in case you find that you are allergic to it.

Natural Mosquito and Flea Repellent Recipe

• whole cloves
• rubbing alcohol
• baby oil (equal amount as alcohol used)
• a container that can be tightly closed

Put as much or as little as you like of the cloves in the container and cover with the rubbing alcohol. Tightly cover and allow to marinate for 4 days, stirring (or swishing around) the contents both morning and night. After the 4 days, add the same amount of baby oil as what there is rubbing alcohol. There is no need to actually measure it...just eyeball it is good enough. Mix together and store in a covered container in a cool, dry, place .

To Use: Apply with a cotton ball to arms, legs, and throat area.

Thanks for visiting and reading my blog. :-)

Breakfast in a Bag: Crisis Meal

There is one absolute factualism in this life, and that is stuff happens and usually at the worst of times. Sometimes when the stuff happens, it happens in the morning when everyone is hungry yet there isn't time to prepare breakfast. As the old saying goes, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, so it is tempting during those times to stop off at doughnut shop or one of the those fast food places to grab something to eat. Not only is that not healthy for you, it is also a big waste of money.

Instant oatmeal packets that you can buy at the grocery stores are a healthy alternative, but it is much cheaper to make them yourself a head of time and keep them in your pantry for emergency meals. These are also good to have to take with you camping, hiking, or when you go fishing.

Shirley's Notes:

• Nuts are included in this recipe for the purpose of adding protein. Between the nuts, oatmeal, and powdered milk, each packet has the same amount of protein as two grade A large eggs. If you have an allergy to nuts, you can easily leave them out of this recipe.
• Feel free to substitute sugar for any powdered sweetener of your choice.
• These packets store well in the pantry for several months.
  
  
  
   

Breakfast in a Bag – Oatmeal Packet

(recipe makes one packet)

½ cup quick, one minute, oatmeal

2 Tablespoons powdered non-fat milk

2 teaspoons sugar (or granulated honey)

¼ cup walnuts

dehydrated fruits (optional)

spices (optional)

Place above ingredients in a sandwich size plastic bag. Remove as much air as possible. Close bag and shake to combine ingredients.

To use:

Open bag and pour warm or hot water into the center of the bag. Close bag and allow ingredients to rehydrate. (Usually around 2 to 5 minutes.) Stir if needed. Transfer to a bowl, cup, or enjoy eating it straight from the bag.

Variations: In addition to the above ingredients, to each packet add:

• Peaches and Cream: 3 Tablespoons dehydrated peaches and 1 Tablespoon non-dairy creamer
• Apple Oatmeal Cobbler: 2 Tablespoons dehydrated apples, 1 Tablespoon raisins, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, dash of nutmeg
• Strawberry and Cream: 2 Tablespoons chopped dehydrated strawberries, 1 Tablespoon non-daily creamer
• S'mores : 10 miniature marshmallows, 2 Tablespoons milk chocolate chips
• Pecan Pie Oatmeal: 1 Tablespoon pecans, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Thank you for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Room Air Freshener – Make Your Own

The best make-your-own room air fresheners recipe that I have found, is also the simplest to make.

1 cup water

1 Tablespoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Essence oil (optional...if you want it, add as much or as little as you desire)

Mix above ingredients together and pour into a spray bottle. Use as needed.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Cheese Made from Powdered Milk

If you never made cheese before, and are wanting to try it, this is an excellent recipe to start with. It is fast, easy, and if you follow the directions, you will probably succeed. While the finished product is good, on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being excellent) I would give the taste a 6. My hubs gives it a 7. Most likely, that is because as with any homemade thing, homemade always tastes a little different than store bought. Either way, it is a good recipe to have on hand in case one needs/wants cheese sometime and cannot, for whatever reason, get to the store.

Cheese from Powdered Milk

Makes about 2 pounds of cheese

3 cups hot water

4 ½ cups non-fat powdered milk

½ cup oil

1 ¼ cup vinegar

additional hot water

cold water

additional oil

• Lightly grease a medium size pan with oil by rubbing oil on sides and bottom of pan with a paper towel.
• Put pan on a hot burner til oil starts to smoke.
• In a blender add powdered milk to the 3 cups of hot water. Mix well.
• Add ½ cup oil to the milk (this is so the cheese will melt in cooking like store bought cheese does) Mix well
• Once the oil in the pan starts to smoke, remove pan from burner and add milk mixture all at once and quickly. (Otherwise the milk will scorch and it won't make for good cheese.)
• Add the vinegar to the milk DO NOT POUR IN MIDDLE OF PAN Pour the vinegar around the outer rim of the liquid.
• Gently stir until the curds separate from the whey. When it is totally separated, the whey will be a yellowish color and the curds will be white.
• Drain the curds in a colander that is set over a pan.
• Rinse the curds with hot water to rinse more of the whey off of the curds.
• Then rinse off the curds with cold water to set the curds.
• Consistency of the curds will depend on how long you let it drain. For a spreadable cheese, let set for 3 minutes. To be able to slice the cheese, let it set for 10 minutes. To be able to grate the cheese, 1 hour. (more on letting it set one hour further down.)

If you are wanting this to be mozzarella cheese, simply add ½ teaspoon of salt, and mix well. Place cheese into either a cheese cloth, or the toe of nylon stocking. Squeeze out any remaining whey and place into a dish. Set some kind of weight on the top of the cheese. (This is to press the curds together.) Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

If you want to have cheddar cheese flavored cheese, add 3-4 Tablespoons of cheddar powder. (Cheddar powder can be found at Amazon.com or numerous other places on the Internet.) You can either eat it right away, or if you are wanting to slice or crumble the cheese,  place cheese into either a cheese cloth, or the toe of nylon stocking. Squeeze out any remaining whey and place into a dish. Set some kind of weight on the top of the cheese. (This is to press the curds together.) Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

  

Gravy Mix Recipes...Make Your Own

When I was growing up, having gravy at every meal was an expected thing. It was poured onto everything...potatoes, biscuits, vegetables, noodles, you name it and gravy was on it. Which was fine except for the meals when we would either grill out, or at breakfast when no meat had been fried. When those meals happened, we used a gravy made from one of the following recipes that my Grandma had for making gravy mixes. Personally, I like the chicken one best, but the beef one is pretty good too especially if used for a base to make a stew.

[Shirley's Notes:]

• You can use bouillon cubes rather than the loose granules. To do so, substitute the three Tablespoons of granules with 6 cubes. You will need to smash the cubes and break up the chunks before adding them to the mix.

Chicken Gravy Mix

1-1/3 cups of nonfat powdered milk

¾ cup all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

¼ teaspoon ground sage

1/8 teaspoon ground thyme

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix together and store in an airtight container.

To Use:

• In a medium size sauce pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
• Combine ½ cup of gravy mix with butter and slowly add 1 cup water, whisking mixture continually.
• Cook for 2 – 3 minutes until thick and smooth.

Beef Gravy Mix

1-1/3 cups of nonfat powdered milk

¾ cup all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons beef bouillon granules

1/8 teaspoon ground thyme

¼ teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon sage

Mix together and store in an airtight container.

To Use:

• In a medium size sauce pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
• Combine ½ cup of gravy mix with butter and slowly add 1 cup water, whisking mixture continually.
• Cook for 2 – 3 minutes until thick and smooth.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Yucca Shampoo – Make your own

Some of the Yucca flowers in my yard.

For hundreds of years, the southwest Native Americans used the dry root of the Yucca plant for shampoo. During the 1970's it was the “in” thing for everyone to buy shampoo with yucca in it. The yucca plant does leave the hair looking shinny and beautiful. This is because the Yucca root contains a natural saponin which softly lathers when used with water. It helps to prevent dandruff and some say that it helps to prevent hair loss. Now days though, it can be rather difficult to find commercially made shampoo that has Yucca in it. 

The Yucca plant.

Making shampoo from the yucca plant is not difficult at all. To do so:

1. Dig up a small to medium size plant.
2. Remove all dirt and chop the the roots into manageable size pieces. (About 1 inch cubes seems to work best for me.)
3. Peel off the brown outside layer of the root, cutting off the hairlike extensions..
4. Use a hammer or rock to pulverize the root pieces into the pulp. You know you have smashed them enough when the pieces turn from white to light yellow.
5. Your shampoo is now finished. You can either freeze it or dehydrate it for later use. To deydrate it, place onto a cookie sheet and place into 225 F degree oven for an hour or two or until all the moisture has evaporated and the root no longer feels sticky.. Or you can dehydrate by allowing to set in the sun. Store in a dry, cool place in an air tight container. If you freeze it, allow to thaw before attempting to use.
6. To use: Put a small amount into a bag made out of cheesecloth. Close the bag and wet it. Squeeze the bag with yucca root to dispense the lather onto your hair. Wash as you normally do.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Margarine Recipe Made from Powdered Milk – Make Your Own

I have found that there is no need to buy margarine at the store, when it is so easy to make your own. Not to mention healthier for you and cheaper. In my humble opinion, homemade margarine tastes a lot better as well.

Shirley's Notes:

• I used vegetable oil only because it was the handiest for me. As far as I know, any kind of cooking oil can be used. Of course the type of oil that you use will affect the taste of the margarine.
• I haven't tried this, but you could add herbs to the end product.
• I have used this in cooking and for spreading. I have not tried it in baking yet so I don't know if it would work or not for that.
• If you want your margarine yellow, but are opposed to food dyes, you can still get a yellow tint to your margarine by grating a carrot and simmering it in milk until the milk turns yellow. Replace the 6 tablespoons of water in the recipe with 6 tablespoons of the yellow milk.

Recipe:

7 Tablespoons powdered milk

6 Tablespoons water

½ teaspoon salt

12 ½ oz (375 ml) cooking oil

Yellow food coloring (optional)

Place powdered milk, water, salt, and food coloring (if desired) into a bowl. Using a mixer, beat until mixture has thicken and is smooth.

Slowly add oil to mixture while continuously beating the mixture. Beat at high speed until the margarine ends up being thick and smooth like store bought margarine. If it isn't thick enough, just add a little more powered milk to achieve the correct consistency.

Store in refrigerator. Yield: About 1 ¾ pounds

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Rhubarb Dump Cake Recipe

I am not exactly a big fan of rhubarb, but I do really like this easy dessert.

Shirley's Notes: If you are using a commercially packaged yellow cake mix, omit the vanilla.

Rhubarb Dump Cake

1 pound rhubarb, cut into ¼ inch pieces (about 3 to 4 cups)
1 cup sugar
1 (3 oz.) package strawberry jello
1 package homemade yellow cake mix
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup water
¼ cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9X13 inch baking dish. Spread the rhubarb evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb, followed by the jello, and then the cake mix. Mix vanilla and water together and pour over the top. Finally pour melted butter over the top. Do **NOT** stir. Bake for 45 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and the the top crust is slightly brown. 

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

 

DIY Yellow Cake Mix - Make Your Own Groceries

Making your own cake mixes is easy and in-my-humble-opinion they taste better too.

Homemade Yellow Cake Mix

Shirley's Notes: this can be used for any recipe calling for a standard size cake mix box or as a stand alone cake. When using this cake mix, you will need to add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the cake mix.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ cup not-fat powdered milk

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and powdered milk. Store in an airtight container or baggie. Keeps well in pantry for months.

To make a stand alone cake: add 1 tsp. vanilla, ¾ cup water, ½ cup butter softened, 3 eggs. Mix well Place into a greased and floured pan and bake at 350°F until done using the test with a toothpick. Approximate baking times: 8” or 9” in round pans: 20-25 minutes. 13X9” cake pan 35-40 minutes.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Pickled Eggs

 I don't know where or when this tradition started in my family, but for as long as I can remember, every Easter there has been a plate of pickled eggs on the Easter dinner table. I don't know if this stems from my German heritage or from the part of my family that was Amish. It also could be just a regional thing too. I don't know. All I do know is that we always had/have it every year and I think they are awesome and very yummy! If you don't like pickles or pickled beets, you will not like these. However, if you do, you are in for a real treat.

What You Will Need:

• canned beets with its liquid reserved (shown are beets that I canned, but store bought beets works too.)
• sugar
• vinegar (shown is apple cider vinegar but white distilled works good also)
• glass container
• hard boiled eggs, peeled

Measure liquid that was reserved from the canned beets and pour into glass container. Add equal amount of sugar and vinegar to beet liquid. (Example: to ½ cup of liquid from beets you would add a ½ cup of sugar and a ½ cup of vinegar.) Mix well. Add peeled eggs and beets to the mixture. 

Place in the refrigerator and let set for 2 to 3 days.

In closing today, my family joins me in wishing you and yours, a blessed and meaningful Easter. Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Homemade Yogurt

I love yogurt. I mean I really l-o-v-e yogurt. I love it so much that I eat it almost every day at every meal. I love the taste, the creaminess, and the fact that it is good for you. But...it is rather expensive to buy when a person buys as much as what I use to. I use to spend so much on yogurt that I almost needed to get a second job just so I could pay for my “addiction.” Then I tried making my own, and liked that even better.

Making yogurt is fast, easy, and inexpensive. You don't need any special equipment to make it and most of ingredients you probably already have on hand.

Shirley's Notes:

• You can replace the honey with an equal amount of sugar. If you are wanting the yogurt to be sugar free, you can replace it with 6 packets of your favorite sweetener.
• I have found for myself, and my tastes, that the lower the fat content of the milk, the more “sour” the yogurt will taste. I prefer a fat content of 2% or more. But that is just me.
• You don't have to use the unflavored gelatin if you don't want to. I only add it to thicken the yogurt so that it will have the same thickness and creaminess as store bought.
• The best way that I have found to dissolve powdered gelatin is to dissolve it FIRST in a little bit of the cold milk and then add it to the warm milk. Otherwise the gelatin globs together and all I end up with is something that looks very nasty floating around in my yogurt.
• Always save back a ¼ cup of yogurt for starter for your next batch.(The carton of store bought yogurt pictured below is empty. I only included it in the picture to show that a starter was needed.)

Yogurt Recipe

What You Will Need:

• 1 quart Milk
• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin, dissolved (see above note)
• ½ cup of powdered milk
• 2 Tablespoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup of plain yogurt
• medium size bowl
• 2 quart sauce pan
• measuring cup
• measuring spoons
• wooden spoon
• whisk
• plastic wrap
• candy thermometer

Steps:

1. Heat milk to 185°F then stir in powdered milk, honey, vanilla, and gelatin.
2. Put plain yogurt in a bowl
3. Let the heated milk cool to 110°F. Using a whisk, gradually stir in cooled milk, about ½ cup at a time, into the plain yogurt, stirring until smooth between additions.
4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, poking 2 or 3 holes for ventilation.
5. Transfer to a warm place (about 90°F...oven works wonderful for this) and let sit until milk begins to thicken around the edge and the yogurt is set, which will be about 5 hours.
6. Place bowl in refrigerator until completely chilled.

Enjoy and thanks for visiting my blog.

Yeast Making

In the comment section on my bread making post, I was asked by someone to share my yeast recipe. This recipe comes from the opened book that is pictured above. The book is entitled, “Buckeye Cookery with Hints on Practical Housekeeping” which belonged to my great-great-great grandmother. The copy that I have is a first edition published in 1885, which is a hoot to read. (There is a second edition of this book available online at Google books if you are interested in reading more.). Since the copyright has expired, I feel fairly certain that it is okay for me to share the recipe. I did though, change the recipe to show the modern day measurements.

This recipe is how I was taught to make yeast, but there are many more ways of doing it with getting the same result. I will list at the bottom of this post, links to other recipes for making yeast from apples, raisins, and so on. Please make sure to check them out. While I have never tried those recipes, they do sound interesting. If you make yeast in another way, please let me know how you did it.

Shirley's notes:

• Hops here mean when the blossom on the vine is fully opened and still has its pollen in it.
• Hops can be bought at either a health food store or where ever supplies for beer making are sold.
• It is best to use non-chlorinated water. Chloride is hostel to the process of making yeast. Bottled water is best.
• It is important to use whole wheat flour and not white flour. White flour has been bleached and processed which makes it harder for fermentation to take place.
• Once you have set the yeast in a warm place to foam, it is best if it is not moved until it foams.
• If you happen to have a yeast cake, you can add it to the mixture before you place it to foam. It will aid in the speed of fermentation of the mixture. If you don't have it, don't worry, but it will be a slower process.

Homemade Hop Yeast Recipe

2 handfuls of hops

2 medium sized potatoes

3 pints of non chlorinated water

1 tablespoon of sugar

3 tablespoons of whole wheat flour

Additional whole wheat flour (amount will depend on humidity)

Cheesecloth

Wash and peel the potatoes and place in a pan with the non chlorinated water. Place hops in cheesecloth , tie closed, and place into water with the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook the potatoes and hops until the potatoes are soft. Discard the hops. Mash the potatoes in the water; add the sugar and whole wheat flour. Set a warm place until it foams. After it foams, good and light, thicken with more whole wheat flour to make a light dough. Spread the mixture out onto a surface and cut into cakes about twice the size of the yeast cakes that you normally buy from the store. Keep yeast in a cool, dry place until needed. To use, soften cake in warm, but not hot, water and use it like store bought yeast.

Links to other yeast making recipes:

• Yeast water made from fruit 
• Yeast from raisins 
• Sourdough starter
  
  

  

   

  Just as a side note, the second book shown in the picture above was my great-great grandmothers cookbook. The Housekeeper's Handy Book of, Domestic Science Cyclopedia, of Valuable Information, was printed in 1915. That one is hoot to read too.

  
  

  Thanks for visiting my blog. :-)