Chronicles of a Frugal Gardener

Easy Homemade Cilantro Lime Hummus

2013-04-24T11:52:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I have posted. Too long as a matter of fact. I promise to make a point to try to update more often. This past year has brought a slew of changes including a slap in the face reality that we need to change our diet and lifestyle. I will go into that later.

We are slowly but surely changing our lifestyle into one that makes a point to have fruits and vegetables as our main course and to replace low nutritional value per calorie foods with those that have higher nutritional value. I don't know about you, but I personally like dressing on my salads or for dipping. Something I know adds extra calories with low nutritional value. It's hard to give up the flavor! In order to provide nutrition without loosing my urge to dip, I have been experimenting with homemade hummus.

Hummus is jam packed with nutrients and health benefits. Check out this webpage for a good explanation of the nutritional goodies. My favorite concoction, and least complained about by my son, is my Cilantro Lime Hummus.

*Please note that most Hummus includes Tahini. This certainly is not an ingredient that I have in my kitchen so I left it out.

Cilantro Lime Hummus

1 Can Chickpeas, drained - SAVE THE LIQUID
1 clove garlic
1 handful of cilantro (about 1/2 a bunch. more or less to your taste)
Juice of 1 lime
1 T. Olive Oil (I omit. You can leave it out too. It's healthier that way)
1/4 t. Cayenne Pepper (or more if you like it hot)
Salt to taste

*Extra - add a little cumin powder as a variation

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and start blending. Slowly add the remaining liquid (I don't measure but I think it I add around 1/4 cup, give or take) until it reaches the pasty, nicely blended consistency.

That is it. Experiment with the portions of the ingredients to find the exact flavor you desire. I will place some in a nice leaf of Kale and add some shredded carrots, kohlrabi and other veggies for a veggie taco. It is delish.

Enjoy and if you have any variations I would love to hear them.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

2012-09-03T22:30:00.002-05:00

For years I have been wanting to make homemade vanilla extract. I never got around to ordering the Madagascar Vanilla pods that are highly suggested to be used in all the recipes. Maybe I thought they were too expensive and I couldn't rationalize paying shipping on top of it. Anyway, I put it on my wish list of things to do and forgot about it.

Saturday I visited a new favorite spice store. This place smells wonderful before you even step in the door. What do you know, they had a jar of fresh Madagascar pods sitting on the shelf behind the register. I bought 5.

I have never purchased fresh vanilla beans before and wasn't prepared for the overwhelming wonderful smell they emit. Of course it smells of vanilla but this was so pure and fresh.

If we had smell-a-net right now, your nose would be glued to the screen. I started with 5 beans.

I took some bottom shelf vodka (from what I have read, vodka does not interfer with the flavor of the vanilla. You can use rum or bourbon should you choose.) You may notice that the end result is not in this canning jar. I decided to go with smaller jars after I took this picture.

Begin by slicing open the beans. You will need 5 beans for 1 cup of vodka.

Sealed the jars and set them on a shelf in my basement. Now the waiting begins. Once a week, I need to flip the jars and at the end of 8 weeks, the homemade Vanilla Extract will be ready to be used.

I have read that you can replenish the amount that you use with more vodka. I will keep you updated on the progress of the vanilla extract over the next 8 weeks.

Canning Zucchini Relish, reduced sugar recipe and review

2012-08-27T22:53:00.001-05:00

         It's that time of year again, the time where zucchini is coming in at full force. The time of year that you can check your plants one day and see nothing then the very next day, you find a mutant two footer.
         With the overgrown mutants, I love making Zucchini Relish. Quite a few of my blog visitors have asked about a low or reduced sugar recipe. Until today, I haven't had a clear answer as to what the taste impact would be by reducing the sugar.
          I started by reducing the amount of sugar by 1 cup (the recipe calls for 3 cups total). I let the complete mix process for 20 minutes and gave it a taste test. Typically I have a hard time staying out of the relish before its processed but not this time. I found the relish tart. Much too tart for my taste.
          I couldn't can it that way. My family would never eat it and it would go to waste. I figured I attempt to stay the reduced sugar route and added a 1/2 cup more. This made the recipe tolerable with a passable amount of sweetness. In my opinion, if you are wanting to reduce the amount of sugar, only reduce it 1/2 cup.
          Conclusion, even though I have tried to reduce the amount of sugar in other canning recipes, this one is simply not one to mess with. It is beyond good and the most excellent addition to any chicken, hot dog, hamburger and more.

Here is the orginal recipe. It is wonderful and makes a wonderful gift...that is if you can part with it.

Crochet for beginners

2012-08-25T09:47:00.001-05:00

I have been taking crochet classes at a new local yarn store since June. My mother taught me the basics of crochet as a child but much of those lessons were forgotten. So I thought.

Apparently crocheting is like riding a bike. You never really forget and it comes back to you relatively quickly.

I created a couple videos (I have more in the works) featuring the basics of crochet so that if I ever forget again, I will have the ability to look back and see how it's done. Fall is right around the corner so I am sharing them with you as crocheting provides great fall and winter projects.

Well here they are! Nothing fancy, just the down and dirty.

The land of the green

2012-07-25T09:40:00.002-05:00

I left my home the other day to head south to Nashville and Murfreesboro, Tennessee area for a tradeshow for work. As I was leaving my brown lawned home (ok with the exception of my weeds), I invisioned that I would be encountering a virtual dust bowl as I headed south. For some reason I just figured that south of us would have simply not received as much rain.

I visit the Nashville and Murfreesboro area about once a year. I love it here. I love how friendly everyone is, how it is common practice for children to refer to adults as sir and ma'am. How gentleman hold the door for women and there is a general respect for one another. I love the history, this area is a civil war buff's dream come true. I love the historic homes, the rolling hills and the meat and threes. I love the honky tonks, the country music, that wearing blue jeans, cowboy boots and a tee shirt is acceptable clothing where ever you go, even if it is out at night. Most of all, I love how people blend the question "How are you" into one word, "Ha-u." I always come back home saying that.

Murfreesboro reminds me of Scottsdale, Arizona in a way. The area that I generally stay in either city is generally in the newer developments with well manicured lawns, large shoping areas and great restuarants. Scottsdale happens to be another favorite city of mine so when you mix in the southern charm into an already neat area, this town is always a joy to visit and will remain at the top of my list of favorites.

Upon my arrival, I was stunned to see how green everything was. Even several hours away, I started to take notice of how green the hwy ditches were, that the fields were green and the trees looked healthy and full. The green continued as I arrived in Murfreesboro. Below is a picture from my hotel room.

I can't even count how many times I commented on how green things were around here. I wish I could take it back home with me! I didn't realize how much I missed seeing green lawns, fields and ditches. Oh well, I suppose that just as I leave the area that I love, I will have to leave the green grass behind as well.

Canning Berry Juice Concentrate

2012-07-18T07:39:00.002-05:00

As mentioned in my previous post about how to peal a peach, I recently went to my favorite u-pick. Not only did I come home with peaches, I also picked what the farm calls, a variety pack. Big delicious blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.

I managed to get through canning all of the peaches and raspberries over the weekend. Last night I wrapped up the blueberries and blackberries. Prior to canning, my 5 year old instructed me to freeze at least 1/2 of the blueberries so we can use them in smoothes. Who am I to argue with a child who wants to make sure she has nutritious smoothies, so I did just as I was told.

I didn't want to make any more jam or preserves so I opted to make berry concentrate following the suggestions from Mother Earth News. I figured we would be able to enjoy wonderful summery drinks this way or use the concentrate in our smoothies. My 5 year old would be happy.

The process was quick and easy and as a sweetener I used local honey. These 1/2 pint jars will end up making 24 ounces of juice when diluted with water.

I would be interested to hear about other juices that some of you have canned. Recipes seem to be difficult to find yet easy enough to do. Please feel free to share below any tips below.

How to peel a peach

2012-07-16T09:54:00.000-05:00

I took last Friday off to work on things around the house. Instead, I visited my favorite u-pick as it rained and the weather was beautiful. I'm easily distracted. I ended up picking blackberries the size of quarters, raspberries, and blueberries for 3 hours. Ok, I admit, I ate some too.

When I went to pay for my goodies, the farm employee asked me if I wanted any peaches. Um YES! Around our state, our fruit trees bloomed early and then were killed off by a late frost. So to help this farm out, a sister farm from Missouri brought their peaches for us peach deprived to enjoy.

I bought a lug, that is a 1/2 bushel and they were delicious! My daughter could attest to that as she has eaten 8...that I counted. She may have snuck some in without me knowing but it is difficult to discourage her from eating fruit.

On my way home from the farm, thoughts or wonderful peach recipes were running through my head. I ended up making raspberry and peach jam, peach nectar, frozen peach slices for smoothies and canned diced and sliced peaches.

For all of these recipes, one thing must happen. The peach must be peeled. If you haven't peeled a peeled a peach before, you would be surprised how easy it is to do. Much like peeling a tomato, it only requires three steps.

1. Place peaches in boiling water for 30-60 seconds.

2. Remove peaches from boiling water with a slotted spoon and place them in ice water.

3. Slide peels off with your hand. (Mutant hand not required)

Easy right! You can save the peels to make peach honey if you choose or something else incredibly wonderful. Enjoy!

Worm murderer

2012-07-13T14:43:00.000-05:00

That is me. I apparently have a green thumb but not a brown one. My worms, save a handful, have perished. Being that I carefully followed the rules on how and what to feed them, I failed in the department of their environment.

I had been placing the worm home under my deck, in the shade, out of the direct sunlight. This rule I broke a couple days in a row a several weeks ago. During one of the warm spells, I moved the worms indoors as they should not be outside in temps over 80 degrees. When I moved them back outside, I set them on my deck, in the sunlight and forgot to move them for 2 days. The temps were in the 90's during that time. Yep, you got it...fried worms.

So I am off to purchase more. I feel so bad that I failed them and a little frustrated with myself as I should have some good compost to work with by now.

The worms that survived the heat torcher, are now residing in my basement as the temps outside have been nothing below 90 degrees. I have noticed that other critters have come along to join them. Unwanted bugs. If any of you have a worm farm, could you offer suggestions on how to keep the unwanted away from my bin? I do have the understanding that the worms will have to be inside permanently during the winter so I would like to elevate this problem now.

I am looking forward to suggestions...while I go visit the worm store.

Tips from my followers

2012-07-12T14:35:00.000-05:00

I have been terrible at posting regularly and I have a gazillion things to share. Today however, I want to share with you a collection of tips that a couple awesome followers have posted on my blog.

1. Ms. Christal posted on my Zucchini Relish canning recipe an alternative.

"I've made two batches of this so far. Very, very good. I halve the amount of sugar and used 1/2 summer squash, 1/2 zukes in my second batch."

I love the idea of using less sugar and what a great way to use up some of the summer squash.

2. On my cucumber bread recipe, an Anon person suggested to grill the bread using seasoning salt and a George Foreman. Doesn't that sound delicious! My husband does this with banana bread and it is amazing.

3. I received a very nice email from Michelle regarding my lack of strawberries (mentioned here). I have since torn out the plants. They really were not in an ideal location and would shoot off their little plants everywhere I didn't want them. Anyway, here is Ms. Michelle's tip on now to get a fantastic strawberry harvest.

"I read an article from the University of Minnesota and it said to put a balanced fertilizer on your patch 10-10-10 or 13-13-13 on before they bloom and then not again until next year. I followed that this year and have a freezer full of jam."

Ms. Michelle sent some images of the before and after. With her permission, I will share the images with you. Check back for the update.

Anyway, I love hearing all of your wonderful tips. We all can learn from each other so I hope you find them just as useful as I have.

Vertical Potato tower and garden ramblings.

2012-05-21T22:38:00.001-05:00

I was inspired to revisit growing potatoes vertically this year. Especially after seeing so many wonderful gardeners posting their inspiration on the massive time suck Pinterest. I think my buddy Max would have been proud to see this creation.

As you can see the potatoes are growing nicely out of the top and if you look close you can see the sprouts starting out the side as well. They seemed to appear over night which for a gardener that checks her garden daily, those new finds were quite exciting. I can hardly wait for the big reveal this fall. I promise to take lots of pictures.

Have you planted potatoes this year and how did you plant them?

I haven't planted everything yet. I still have carrots and zucchini, parsnips and beets. So many things beyond that I can't wrap my mind around how much work I have left to do. Herbs in particular desperately need to be planted.

Beyond that I was a complete failure in terms of starting seeds this year. I tried and tried and tried but between the 3 months of wedding decoration, I neglected them and they would get started and then die. Then we decided to gut our living room so my time was focused elsewhere again. The seed to die process happened 3 times. So I have to go out and buy peppers which I haven't come to terms with as of yet. At least I tried.

I have been harvesting strawberries. Just little guys and a handful at a time. I believe that this will be my last year for strawberries and they have become more of a nuisance and really do not amount to anything other than a very small snack.

Other than that, look below at how beautiful my sage is. I just love my sage bush but a BUSH it has become. I underestimated how incredibly large this sucker will become and need to trim it down. Not that I will mind having all of that sage for tea. YUM.

Oh, pray for rain. While I will not complain about the absolutely incredibly wonderful weather we have been having, we are going on 2 weeks without rain. My rain barrel needs filling although my 5 year old would much rather get soaked with garden watering duty.

Tattler Lid canning update

2012-05-19T20:22:00.001-05:00

I have successfully completed three canning batches using my new Tattler Lids. It was a rocky start...only because I didn't follow directions but once I got it, nothing but sweet success.

The first batch of stew did not seal. This was of no fault of the Tattler Lids, just me not taking the time to firmly tighten the metal rims after I removed the jars from the canner. Since the seal and lid are thicker than the standard metal lids, extra care needs to be taken to ensure that the lids are tight to allow them to seal during the cooling process.

Word of warning. In my last post, I mentioned that I was concerned that I didn't get the seal laid down properly along the rim of the jar. On one jar, which was hissing when I removed it from the canner, was not properly sealed. I move the metal rim a bit and the pressure made hot soup spray out the side. This again was my own fault and no one was hurt. I figured out that the rubber should be placed on the lid, THEN placed on the jar to ensure that it is laying properly. This probably is in the instructions which of course I barely read.

The first unsealed batch I cleaned up and sanitized more lids and processed them again. Much to my relief they were firmly sealed when I checked on them the next day. I ended up doing 9 quarts of stew, 7 pints of stew and 5 quarts of beef chunks. All sealed wonderfully.

In the picture above you can see what the lid looks like. I'm not sure if it is evident but the lid is indented, indicating that it is sealed. The lid is very thick and since it is made of plastic, the pop noise that we canners love, never happens. However the indentation is quite visible. The red seal also is visible under the lid. The instructions mention that you should use the opposite side when reusing. That the side you used prior will be evident. This portion of the instructions I did read.

I can see how Tattler Lids will grow to become synonymous with canning. You know, like Kleenex is to tissue or Bandaid is to whatever they are called. I can hear future conversations such as "How many years have you used your Tattlers?"

I admit that they are expensive to purchase upfront. I purchased 240 to start with but after working with the lids and am able to see their durability, I can see that this was an investment that will pay off in the future. Much like spending extra for a good canner.

Canning with Tattler Lids

2012-05-16T23:07:00.001-05:00

Our family orders a 1/4 of beef every year from a co-worker of mine. This gives us the motivation to clean out our freezer and to find those things that are buried by seasonal items that are crammed in every nook and cranny throughout the year. Instead of throwing out anything, I decided to break out my industrial size stock pots and make beef stew.

About a month and 1/2 ago, I purchased the reusable Tattler Lids. Tonight was the first night that I was able to use them. To be quite honest, I was a little hesitant to use them as they are a little different than what I have used and trusted. They are thicker so the rim doesn't twist down as much. I also found that I spent a lot of time making sure that the rings for the lids sat evenly on the rim of the jar. I was so nervous that I would have them slightly off and the jar wouldn't seal correctly.

Then I discovered that 1. once the lid was on the ring sat correctly and 2. on the wide mouth jars, if I put the ring on the lid then placed it on the jar, the process was much easier. My soup is currently in the pressure canner so I do not have an update on how they sealed but I promise to give an update tomorrow.

Some positives are that the process to can and prepare the lids is the same as the metal lids. Minimal learning curve. The Tattle lids are thick and sturdy, I can see how they will last. I am really looking forward to getting over my hesitation and having the trust in my standard metal lids to transition over to my new prized Tattlers.

Red Wigglers

2012-05-03T11:27:00.000-05:00

In my last post I was debating exactly the steps I should take to officially have a worm composter. Should I build my own, should I just order a prebuilt one, etc?

When I figured in the time that it would take put one together and granted I don't have a lot of extra time, I splurged and purchased a prebuilt, 6 layer, outdoor composter, complete with 1000 red wigglers. No one is more excited than my 5 year old daughter. Her recent fascination and complete lack of fear of anything slimy that lives in the dirt makes a mama proud. I see a future show and tell, involving dirt, worms and compost. That will be a fun day.

Anyway, according to the site that I placed the order, they ship out every Monday and that the worms usually take 3 days to arrive. So in my excitement I figured that the worms would be here today since I ordered last week. I have been saving scraps of veggies instead of dumping them in my compost pile, let banana's go bad (and they are still sitting on my counter) and have been saving paper to be shredded for their bedding. My daughter has been sharing my excitement and has asked every day when they will arrive. Of course, we counted down the days and she went to school this morning thinking that by the end of the day, we would have 1000 new critters.

Boy was I wrong. The company did in fact ship the worm composter this week, BUT the worms will not arrive until next week. This is actually quite smart because I would hate for the worms to arrive before their home does. Admittedly I am a little disappointed that we have to wait another week. I know my daughter will be too but I'm sure once they arrive, the extra wait will be forgotten.

I will keep you updated on our adventures with the worms.

Getting dirty and vermicomposting questions

2012-04-27T12:45:00.001-05:00

We have had beautiful weather these past couple days. With the nice weather, I finally had a chance to go outside and start digging in the dirt until it was too dark to see. I loved it and I truly missed it. I love having my boots caked with mud, my jeans and shirt covered in dirt. I love that when my husband walks by me, he takes care to wipe the dirt from my face.

What I love more is that my daughter thinks that the garden is her playground. She literally rolls around in the freshly tilled soil. Buries herself in the dirt. I love the fact that the garden is just as much a part of her as it is me. She is my gardening partner.

This year, my daughter and I have decided that we need to have a worm farm. She was making worm homes out of broken pots and dirt. I figured it was time to expand and give her a learning experience. Traditionally I would make my own and from what I researched the process seems pretty easy. I have to admit that I am very tempted to just buy one that is already made and go from there.

I have heard that you can also place 5 gallon buckets throughout the garden with holes in the bottom which allows the worms to go out into the soil and fertilize along the way. I would love to know if this works well so if any of you out there reading this have any advice please let me know.

I want to do something that is as easy as possible as my time is limited. Especially during the summer. Is a prebuilt one the way to go as far as sorting the castings and the tea? I would love advice on where to start, what to do, etc. I have access to an unlimited supply of composted cow and horse poo but I would rather not shovel and haul if I can avoid it. Vermicomposting at home seems like the way to go.

My Cousins wedding

2012-04-01T20:45:00.000-05:00

After 2 1/2 months of my glue gun and me being attached at the hip, my cousin was married to her sweetheart last night. The wedding was one of the most beautiful I have ever attended. My cousin simply glowed.

I think I ended up making over 700 flowers by hand out of burlap, paper, cupcake holders, coffee filters, and doilies that my aunt made. My other crafty aunt worked her hands to the bone making pinwheels, doilies and other beautiful hand crafted beauties. We had a craft day where others would help make flowers, cut the burlap for tables and jars and give our glue guns a run for their money. In fact, one couldn't take the constant gluing any longer and croaked.

For me, being part of her wedding in the way was an incredible honor, a lot of hard work and in the end, a lot of fun. She mentioned at the reception that due to the help of everyone involved, she was able to have a stress free day. What an honor to be one of many that helped her be able to enjoy her wedding day and not worry about anything. My cousin, one of the most beautiful people, inside and out, that you could ever be blessed to meet, was able to enjoy herself on her wedding day.

The reception hall turned out exactly as she had envisioned in her dreams. She said that she had always imagined her wedding this way, just never thought she could have it. I will never forget that I had a part in giving that to her.

Now as I give my glue gun a rest, here is what some of what the reception looked like.

The glowing P at the head table was a stencil that I made, then cut out of dark paper and back lit with Christmas lights. It looked incredible when the lights were dimmed and is one of the first things the guests saw when the entered the reception all. Pinwheels hung from the stage to match the pinwheel wall.

Here is one of the 150 bouquets that I put together. No two were the same which made it easier to put them together. You can see two of the handmade burlap flowers in the arrangement.

Burlap for table runners. Twine to tie the napkins, Burlap, ribbon, card stock with a P stamped on them, then cut into circles around the mason jars. Handmade and silk flowers in the jars.

Matching flower arrangements placed in an antique tin.

This Pinwheel board was approximately 7 feet wide.

A close up of the pinwheel board.

This was a cupcake stand that my aunt made using this beautiful glass and matching plate. A little gorilla glue and you have a beautiful stand.

An old window screen from our house turned into a just married sign for the gift table. The sign was made of burlap garland, card stock and twine.

This is part of the entrance. We tried to hide the "Women" bathroom sign by hanging kissing balls, pinwheels, lace from the ceiling.

The other side of the entrance.

A jar with flowers under the guest book table.

This is the arrangement next to the card box.

The card box made out of an antique suitcase.

This is the view from the head table.

What the photo wall looked like from the head table.

The guest book table and gift table.

This is a salvaged shelf that I used next to the photo booth.

The photo booth. My cousin lined up a photographer and an entire table full of props for those who wanted to take pictures.

The guest book table.

Many complements were made in regards to the decorations and those who spent countless hours putting it together were able to sit down and relax and watch a fantastic couple celebrate their big day.

How to make burlap roses

2012-03-07T23:16:00.001-06:00

I have been asked quite a few times to create a how-to on making burlap flowers. These beauties I am also incorporating into the flower arrangements at my cousins wedding.
They are quite easy to make although they make take a few trys before you have the process down.

Things you will need:
Burlap
Scissors
Hot Glue gun and glue
OR needle and thread.

TIPS:
-Try to cut the burlap along the weave to prevent any loose ends
-When creating large flowers, try to keep the "petals" towards the top. Hot glue the petal to secure shape.
Oh and if you have any scrap material laying around or extra ribbon...turn it into a flower using this same method.

Here is my first how-to video. Please excuse my voice as I am getting a cold.

Enjoy and have fun!

How to make Ribbon Flowers

2012-03-03T19:33:00.000-06:00

With my cousins upcoming ribbon flowers, I am making a variety of flowers by hand. One style of flowers are ribbon flowers. These are relatively easy to make and are incredibly pretty.

The above are a handful of the flowers that I made using Ombre style wired ribbon.

The supplies that you will need are

Wired Ribbon

(I recommend thin wire over thick wire. It is easier to work with and easier on your hands if you are doing multiples.)

Scissors

Hot glue gun and/or Thread

(I have found that using hot glue is faster when doing multiples.)

Cut your ribbon. To make the size of flowers above, I cut about 1 1/2 feet of ribbon.

Start by pulling the wire out of one side of the ribbon while gathering the ribbon down the wire.

TIP - Fold the edge that you are not pulling from over to prevent the ribbon from sliding on the wire

Pull the wire from both ends, gathering the ribbon tightly in the middle.

TIP - do not cut the wire off until the flower is complete. The ribbon may slide off of the wire otherwise.

(please forgive my nasty glue thumb)

Start with one end of the gathered edge. Fold a small amount over and secure with hot glue or thread. Fold it in the opposite direction (kind of like a zig-zag) and secure with hot glue or thread.

Begin wrapping the wired edge around the zig zag or center, gluing or securing with thread along the wire edge.

Be sure to pull the material down to keep it out of the way while wrapping.

Here is another flower that has an edge that is easier to see.

You will want to secure the edge is not gathered in some way. I hot glue the edge down to keep the wire in place.

Open the flower up by moving the flower layers around. Ta-da! You have a ribbon flower.

You can glue a backing on to the underside of the flower and affix it to a barrette. This is one I made for my daughter.

Here are others that I have made using clearance Christmas ribbon.

I hope you have fun making these. I know that I have. I am working on a video on how to make burlap flowers. I know! A video!

Inexpensive and unique bridal shower invitations

2012-03-02T12:21:00.001-06:00

A couple posts ago, I mentioned that I am creating the decorations for my cousin's upcoming wedding. On top of that, my other cousin and I are throwing bride cousin a bridal shower. Confusing?

Since my cousin is having a vintage style wedding with lots of burlap, my dart cousin and I decided to keep with the theme for her bridal shower. We came up with these invitations.

We cut the card stock to size, used random buttons, ribbon that is being used in wedding decorations and burlap scraps to put these together. Armed with hot glue guns and about an hour, we assembled these for about $10.

Then there were the envelopes. If we were to buy envelopes, we would have had to spend about $16. At that time, I remembered that I had some lunch bags at home and thought they would make good envelopes. Since I purchased these well over 5 years ago (they were in my craft drawer) I didn't count the cost in. I think I spent around a dollar at that time.

Here is what the lunch bag envelopes looked like.

We hot glued these shut as well. Using the same card stock used for the invitations, I punched a circle and stamped it with my cousin's upcoming initial.

I had one of the recipients call me today, an art teacher, she thought these were some of the cutest and most unique invitations that she has ever received. My cousin, aunt and her future family members all loved them.

Wait until they see the wedding.

GIVEAWAY - Tattler Reusable Canning Lids

2012-02-24T16:12:00.001-06:00

I love to can and I am always looking to cut down on cost. I ran across the Tattler Reusable Canning lids a while back and thought they were an ingenious idea. I will be adding them to my canning inventory this year. Check out their key features below. How can you go wrong?

This is an opportunity for you to try the lids as well! A lucky person will receive one dozen of the Regular Mouth Lids and another person will receive one dozen of the Wide Mouth Lids!

To enter, please leave in the comments what your favorite thing is to can. (If you have a link to a recipe, please feel free to share.) I will be randomly selecting the winner on Monday February 27th, 2012. You can also email me here.

To learn more about about Tattler Reusable Canning Lids, please visit their website here or join them on their Facebook page.

Good luck to everyone and please take time to visit Tattler's.

State Champ

2012-02-21T11:27:00.000-06:00

I am a clumsy person. It comes naturally. So clumsy in fact that when I was pregnant with my youngest, I feared that my husband would have a nervous breakdown. I comforted his nerves by constantly holding my hand, or stand facing me with his arms held out around me to catch me just in case I would trip on air and fall. You could imagine his panic every time I got close to a set of stairs.

So due to my clumsiness, an athlete I could never be. I married an athlete. You know, one of those that can move their feet, arms and hands at the same time without breaking something. When I met my husband, he was involved in numbers sports. Some included winter "fun" sports like bowling and wanted me to join him, coordination or not. A couples night of sorts. Well as you can imagine, since I have to move my feet to bowl correctly I wasn't exactly what you would call good.

Just about 3 years ago, we decided to give darts a try. The hubs already had a set of darts and played regularly. I figured since my feet can remain stationary, I might be ok. (I have to mention that I have sprained my ankle throwing darts. Don't ask.) Little did I know that 3 short years later, I would have the title of Iowa State Dart Champion!

My cousin and I have competed in the State Dart Tournament every year since I have started throwing. Our game is doubles Cricket. This year, we went in without expectations. Our main goal is to have a good time. When we started throwing, we were focused and evened each other out. If one was doing bad, the other would be doing good. After 7 hours of throwing on Friday night, we had won the winners bracket. That means that we were the top of the hill, no one was above us. We were told by the officials to return the following day to throw against the winners of the losers bracket.

In the tournament, we play double elimination. When you win the winners bracket, the losers must beat the winner twice. The winners on the other hand only have to beat the losers once. So we knew going in that we may have a battle ahead of us...a battle that was in our favor.

We won the tournament in only two rounds (out of potentially 9). My cousin went up and threw a 7 mark which closed out two numbers. That was huge. This left me with the bullseyes to close. I went up, threw one bull, then threw my second dart only to have it land dead center, right in the double bullseye area. I will never forget the look on my cousins face when I turned around. What had just happened didn't register with her. The somewhat blank look transitioning to a huge smile and laughter followed by a huge hug is a moment that I will never forget.

We won. We got a plaque and had our picture taken. And what do you know, my dad now calls me an athlete.

I'm still here

2012-02-15T10:06:00.001-06:00

I was looking at my blog today and noticed that I haven't posted since November. My priorities have been elsewhere which has left me little time to keep my little blog.

Since my last post, I have traveled to Texas, Michigan, Arizona, and Colorado. Traveling as you can imagine involves not only the travel portion but the prep and then recovering after being gone for days or even a week at a time. All of those trips left little time for anything other than laundry and repacking. Couple that with Christmas, my sons birthday, increased job duties, kids activities and my winter hobby, darts, posting was left in the corner with the cobwebs.

Sunset in Nebraska on my way to Colorado. January 2012

Even though I'm not traveling until next month, my time is still limited. I still have two jobs, darts and the best of all, I am creating the decorations for my cousins wedding coming up at the end of March. I about died when she told me that she is having a vintage wedding. To just about make me faint, she asked me to create the decorations for the reception. I can't even put into writing how enormously excited I am that she has included me in her big day. I have been plugging away hand making flowers for the tables in every spare minute that I have.

Hand made burlap flower for bouquets.

So as you can see, my future posts may be limited. I haven't even started seeds yet! (I may be ok since I suspect we might have snow in May) If I could only have 1 more hour a day.

Garlic Panic

2011-11-08T13:04:00.005-06:00

That pink blob hovering over Kansas is full of snow, ice, and winter weather that is heading our way. It is predicted to dump 2-4 inches of snow on us overnight. Mother nature wasn't messing around with a nice, welcome to winter, here is a dusting of snow introduction to winter. No she decided to go full force with a winter storm that requires a 12 hour winter advisory notice. I haven't even dug out the snow pants yet!

What a great time to realize that I have forgotten to plant my garlic bulbs. I have had them for weeks, sitting in my dining room, just ready to find their winter home. I have walked past them, picked them up and told them how excited I was to plant them. Of course I never got around to doing so.

I am hoping that this snow will melt fast allowing me enough time to dig in the cool dirt to get my garlic in. Better yet, bipass us all together. Now that would be a great thing.

Getting rid of frost bitten garden goods

2011-11-03T14:39:00.001-05:00

We had our first frost a couple weeks ago. The night before the frost, I grabbed my kids, armed them with plastic bags and we picked as many tomatoes and peppers that we could find by the light of the moon. Sure enough, we missed a lot. I honestly hate to see all of the goodness go to waste but due to my busy schedule it was inevitable this year.

In order to complete this story, you must know a little history. I for some reason have become the go-to person to find needed items and homes for animals. This year alone, I have found good homes for several wonderful dogs, a couple cats and 3 pigs. Yes pigs. I have to give props to my circle of friends who always seem to come through with finding homes.

Towards the end of September, My friends at Quakerdale were having a festival that involved three donated piglets. They hinted to me before the festival began that the piglets either needed to find a home or the old farmer was going to make them ground compost. Find a home I did and the three little pigs were swiftly moved to an acreage and where they are now happily living with chickens, rabbits and a horse. Apparently these pigs LOVE what we would consider inedible, nasty, frost bitten, mushy, stinky produce, especially tomatoes. The pig owner knew the frost had arrived and hit me up for some of what the frost decided to leave me. The first bag that I gave him was full of those nasty tomatoes, frost bitten green beans, swiss chard, egg plant, and mushy peppers. The pig ate every last bite and of course wanted more.

This was kind of a blessing in disguise, I no longer had to feel bad that my busy schedule took me away from preserving what remained in the garden. The three little pigs have been enjoying their goodies for a couple days and with our large load that we will be delivering over the weekend, after we clean out the garden, they will have quite a few enjoyable meals ahead of them. In return we will be getting windows for cold frames, composted manure for the garden and when the time comes, farm fresh bacon.

I guess that the saying is true, when one door closes another opens. Everything works out in the end and this truly is working out much better than I truly anticipated. I love being able to add to my circle of people who are willing to trade goods for other goods just to help each other out. It's good to have people like that.

Canning Hot Peppers - in small batches

2011-10-05T12:45:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you but I never ever had enough hot peppers to match the amount needed that is suggested in canning recipes. I usually have just enough to fill a pint jar. Canning peppers is one of the easier things to can and since I figure I'm not the only one out there that doesn't have 14 lbs of peppers readily available, here is how I can individual jars.

Before you start the processing, make sure that your sterilized jars are in hot, even boiling, water as you will hot pack these babies.

Ingredients needed:

Enough hot peppers to fill a pint jar (anything extra just use right away)
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water (note - you want to have equal parts vinegar and water. Reduce or increase amount if needed.)
1 clove of garlic - peeled
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt (optional)

I begin slicing the washed peppers about a 1/4" inch slice. Seeds and all will go into the jar. If you have smaller peppers and do not want to take the time to slice them, just cut an X into the peppers to allow them to "vent" and prevent them from exploding.

Next, I mix equal parts vinegar and water. A pint will take between 3/4"c - 1c total of the mix, depending on how tight you pack the jar. Warm the mixture to just below boiling.

Pack the hot jar nice and tight. Stuff those babies in about 1/2 - 1 inch below the rim. Add the peeled clove of garlic and the salt.

Next add the warm vinegar/water mixture to about 1/2 inch below the rim.

Seal with sterilized lids and rims and water bath for 10 minutes at 1000 feet.

I can't guarantee that I will be eating any of these but I know my husband will put them to good use. Enjoy!

Canning Applesauce - Ingredients Apples

2011-10-02T17:02:00.003-05:00

My daughter and I made our annual trip to the Apple farm that is conveniently located a mile away from our home. I love apple picking but what I love even more this year is seeing my daughters excitement when she realized that she was tall enough to reach some of the low lying apples. She couldn't stop giggling.

We left the farm with 28 lbs of apples ready for eating, apple sauce and pies. We decided to start with applesauce as this was something that I knew a very busy and helpful 4 year old could help me with.

We started by washing the apples. (Please keep in mind that the absolute best way to wash apples is NOT to let them all sit in a bowl of water but to rinse and wipe with a dry towel. Any residue on the skins can resonate in the water and transfer over to the other apples. Albeit an easier and less messy method when a 4 year old is involved. Just make sure you rewash to ensure the apples are clean.)

Next core and slice the apples. I left the skins on as I have a food mill. If you do not have a food mill, peal the apples before cooking.

I failed to take a picture of the apples while they are cooking. I'm sure all of you can imagine apple slices in a pot...cooking. Be warned that at this moment, your house smells delicious. It will make everyone mouth water. Cook the apples until soft and mushy. About 10-15 minutes. Be sure to stir often as to not scorch the apples on the bottom.

Please note that I did not measure the amount of apples I was using. I filled a 7.5 quart french oven with enough room to allow me to stir the apples.

Once the apples are soft and mushy, run them through a food mill. (If you peeled the apples ahead of time, you can use a masher, a hand mixer, food processor, something to puree the apples.) The food mill will remove most of the skins. At this point, I highly recommend sticking a spoon into the bowl of hot freshly pureed apple sauce and taste. Be sure not to burn yourself as it might be piping hot. Repeat as necessary.

This is what the apple sauce will look like once pureed. Be sure to have your jars sterilized and in hot boiling water before canning. Remove the jars from the hot water and fill with applesauce using 1/2 inch head room. (I used pints and my 7.5 quart french oven produced 5 pints of applesauce). Seal and water bath for 20 minutes at 1000 altitude.

Now some people add sugar, red hots, juice, water or even cinnamon. The only thing that I added to 1/2 of the jars was cinnamon. I mixed it in after I pureed the apples. It was delicious.

My daughter snagged a bowl of the sauce right before I canned it which is evidence that it is good.

Have fun making applesauce. If I can avoid it, I will never buy store bought again.