DeWitt Spot

Persian tile ideas

2026-02-27T11:18:00.009-06:00

These are the final colors I chose for my Persian tiles afghan by Janie Crow. I decided to not design a square but instead bought her pattern on Etsy. Below are the final colors I chose and I had Grok assist me with the design.

This color will serve as the base for all the octagons, squares, and triangles, and will tie them all together.

Cream

Hazel

Light Grey

Lemon

Spring Green

Aqua

Sea Glass

Coral

Pink

Carolina Sky

Storm Blue

Thistle

Here is the design that GROK made for me when I told him that I purchased the pattern for The Persian Tile afghan by Janie Crow on Etsy. I also provided the yarn names, size, and manufacturer.

Custom Persian Tiles Afghan by Janie Crow

Yarn: Premier Basix Worsted (#4 Medium Weight) – 359 yards per skein

Border Color: Premier Basix Maize (warm golden yellow to pull everything together)

Hook Recommendation: 5.5 mm (I/9) – test and adjust for flat motifs with soft drape

Expected Finished Size: Approximately 50–56" square (cozy throw)

Joining Yarn: Cream or Light Grey (dc on wrong side)

Your Colors:

Cream
Light Grey
Lemon
Hazel (extra skein)
Spring Green
Pink
Coral
Carolina Blue
Storm Blue
Seaglass
Thistle
Aqua
Maize (border)

Octagon Motifs (make 16 total)

Octagon Type 1 – Make 8 (outer/edge positions)

Ring & Round 1: Storm Blue
Round 2: Cream
Round 3: Light Grey
Round 4: Hazel
Round 5: Coral
Round 6: Aqua
Round 7: Seaglass
Fan A: Lemon
Fan B: Spring Green
Round 8: Carolina Blue
Round 9: Aqua
Round 10: Storm Blue
Round 11: Thistle
Round 12: Seaglass
Round 13: Aqua
Round 14 (outer): Hazel or Cream

Octagon Type 2 – Make 4 (central positions)

Ring & Round 1: Hazel
Round 2: Lemon
Round 3: Storm Blue
Round 4: Carolina Blue
Round 5: Pink
Round 6: Thistle
Round 7: Coral
Fan A: Coral
Fan B: Seaglass
Round 8: Aqua
Round 9: Spring Green
Round 10: Storm Blue
Round 11: Carolina Blue
Round 12: Cream
Round 13: Light Grey
Round 14: Hazel

Octagon Type 3 – Make 4 (corner-ish positions)

Ring & Round 1: Thistle
Round 2: Aqua
Round 3: Spring Green
Round 4: Coral
Round 5: Seaglass
Round 6: Hazel
Round 7: Carolina Blue
Fan A: Storm Blue
Fan B: Lemon
Round 8: Thistle
Round 9: Pink
Round 10: Lemon
Round 11: Aqua
Round 12: Cream
Round 13: Light Grey
Round 14: Storm Blue

Granny Squares (make 9 total – 7 rounds each)

Granny Square Type 1 – Make 5 (outer positions)

Ring & Round 1: Cream
Round 2: Light Grey
Round 3: Pink
Round 4: Hazel
Round 5: Storm Blue
Round 6: Aqua
Round 7 (outer): Seaglass

Granny Square Type 2 – Make 4 (including center square)

Ring & Round 1: Hazel
Round 2: Lemon
Round 3: Thistle
Round 4: Carolina Blue
Round 5: Coral
Round 6: Spring Green
Round 7 (outer): Cream

Triangles

Small Corner Triangles – Make 4

Ring & Row 1: Cream
Row 2: Light Grey
Row 3: Seaglass
Row 4: Aqua
Row 5: Storm Blue
Row 6: Hazel
Row 7 (outer): Coral

Large Edge Triangles Type A – Make 8

Ring & Row 1: Light Grey
Row 2: Coral
Row 3: Aqua
Row 4: Thistle
Row 5: Storm Blue
Row 6: Seaglass
Row 7 (outer): Hazel

Large Edge Triangles Type B – Make 4

Ring & Row 1: Cream
Row 2: Pink
Row 3: Spring Green
Row 4: Carolina Blue
Row 5: Thistle
Row 6: Aqua
Row 7 (outer): Storm Blue

Maize Border

Round 1 (setup): Cream or Light Grey – even dc around the joined blanket
Rounds 2–5: Maize – dc rounds or 5-dc shell/fan repeats for a glowing golden frame
Final Round: Maize (or thin outline in Storm Blue or Aqua for definition)

Skein Estimates (359 yards per skein)

Plan 2 skeins each (high usage):

Cream
Storm Blue
Aqua
Hazel
Seaglass
Maize (border – get 3 if you want a wider border)

Plan 1–2 skeins each:

Light Grey
Carolina Blue
Coral

1 skein each (should be plenty):

Lemon
Spring Green
Pink
Thistle

Total estimate: 14–17 skeins

Quick Tips

Follow your official Etsy pattern for stitch instructions, charts, fans, and layout diagram.
Place Octagon Type 2 and central Square Type 2 in the heart of the blanket.
Work the same rounds/rows together for consistent tension.
Weave ends as you go.
Block the joined piece before adding the Maize border.
Your Premier Basix Worsted will give a soft, drapey, buttery feel after washing – exactly what you love.

Things You Need To Buy

2021-05-20T12:37:00.062-05:00

You asked for it and here it is!!! All The Things!

These are items that I have bought that I just love or items people have told me are great. Things I use, or my kids use, or things that are just awesome and Things I even hope one day to get... I thought why not share them and they just might be something you didn't know you wanted or needed......

Kombucha Starter kit

Crochet Necklight

The Rabbit Wine Opener

Lego Icons dried Flower Centerpiece

Susan Bates Crochet Needles

Diverticulitis tea ingredients:

Ginger root powder

Marchmallow root powder

Chamomile flowers

Peppermint leaf

Stainless mesh strainer

Sparkle Papertowels Pick A Size

Amazon Basics 2 ply toilet paper 5 pack

Etude Soonjung Skin Care Set

Digital Freezer alarm

Steam Canner

Vacuum seal bags

Vidalia Chop Wizard

I have over the last 8 years been using this product to the point It breaks. I am on my third one. I have gladly bought a new one each time. The time and ease of chopping onions, bell peppers, garlic, celery, and like items in large quantities for large batch cooking, home canning, and holidays have been invaluable. I bought another brand one time and quickly went back to Vidalia chop wizard because it chops so fast and well in great sizes.

Samsung 20+ earbud dongle

Pure Calcium Citrate

Seventh Generation TP

Bounty

Excalibur Food Dehydrator 9-Tray Electric with 26-hour Timer

This is not the one on sale but one from a friend's counter. I always try and use my own photos so she sent me one of her Excaliber. Click the link and see one 5-6 years newer!!! They last!!

If you want a dehydrated and Just don't want to spend the money right now, or want the gentleness of air drying without the BUGS! This is what you need.

Outdoor Zippered Dehydrator

The Best Mop I have ever used.

O Cedar Mop System

Led Lanterns

These lanterns are LED battery operated with a cylinder battery. To buy 4 spare batteries and no charger is pushing the mid-thirties in price. If the electricity is off and you are using a battery-operated lantern, batteries are important. I found a flashlight with 8 batteries that are a bit higher in volt yet the same style and size with a charger for 24.99. When you buy the flashlight below, you get double the batteries for cheaper, a charger, and a flashlight... More than a win-win

LED flashlight and 8 batteries

I love this canning additive. I use to keep things from turning brown to adding to some things when canning. It is Non-GMO and food-safe and organic. I also use it in my dishwasher to keep it running clean.

Citric Acid

Bamboo Spoon Set

Swing top bottle gaskets

Cleaning Brush set

Beer bottle brush cleaning set

Square Foot Gardening

Square Foot Gardening Template

2 add on dehydrator trays

round dehydrator Teflon liner sheets

Red Muscle Rack Shelf 30 x 60 x

light canceling glasses

I Phone 11 protector case

Blackout curtains

Brother inkjet color refill

Kodak 8 by 11 photo paper Glossy

Kodak Glossy 4 by 6 photo paper

13 piece glass food storage containers

Sea Witch Chopped Sea Clams 2/51 Oz. (Basic pack)

Louisiana Hot sauce Sampler

Good sense All Day Alergy 365 cap

Post Pandemic Emergency Food Storage

2020-09-03T12:49:00.037-05:00

Emergency Food Storage

Did you know that before the pandemic hit America, the USDA, FEMA, CDC, Homeland Security, and the American Red Cross all recommended an emergency food storage of at least three days to start? They recommend that once you have the three days of food and water in place to have a two-week supply. In your three-day supply, they recommend you have food that can be consumed without heat as an option. Here are a few websites to look over as you begin your journey of preparedness.

https://www.ready.gov/food

How to create an Emergency Water Supply

https://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/f&web.pdf

Well, we are way past three days, two weeks, and even three months. We are now into the six-month mark, and we are still in a partial shutdown, major job losses, and for some, catastrophic illness and death of loved ones. Imagine if you had food security that would ride you through this uncertainty. We have all had the struggle in 2020 at times finding food, or have been limited on what and how much we can buy at a time. Even now, six months into the shutdown, flour and yeast to make bread can still be hard to find. Most food chains have had their delis and bakeries shut down. The whole world knows about the absolute zeal Americans had for toilet paper at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic. Toilet paper won't feed you, but you should have some of that stored, also

Starting Your Food Storage

I think every American will now consider having at least some food supply on hand. Before this, the average American home barely had a three-day supply of food. The rest on hand would most likely be a bunch of fragments that you may or may not be able to force into a semblance of a meal. The American supply line chain for food and supplies is about three days because of the Just In Time Delivery System model that almost all stores and businesses follow. One big impact on the American supply chain is that there are no real contingencies for its breakdown. It is still broken in August of 2020 because of the restaurant shutdowns. Food suppliers are having to find a place for that supply of food that normally would be for restaurants and schools, which no longer need the food.

Americans eat out a lot, and now that we are not eating out, it is causing problems for supply lines. Not only are Americans not eating out as much, but many restaurants are just gone. They went out of business because of the mandatory government shutdowns. Many food suppliers are dumping and destroying food because they have nowhere to take, sell, or deliver. Some are giving what they can away and then finding disposal places for the rest. Americans do not think about where and how food comes to them; they just go buy it. Cooking from scratch is hard if you have never done it. Once Americans realize that, once you learn it, cooking from scratch is not that hard. Not to mention it tastes way better than Frankenstein Foods and even restaurant food. Then perhaps those foods being destroyed can feed into American homes instead.

Many households have had a tragedy before the pandemic, be it illness, major home or car repair, job loss, or caring for a sick or elderly family member. They have learned about food security the hard way and adjusted their lifestyles to have food security. Most households do not have food security or have a clue about how to create it to have peace of mind. The fear and worry about how to feed their families during monetary hardship, illness, or job loss are fearful and stressful. Just the act of having food put by can relieve both the mental pressure and worry and take food from the financial struggle.

Our supply chain is long. Items are in short supply as they come from so far. Then the whole world is shut down in some form or fashion due to the pandemic. Americans are clueless about the extent to which our trade deals and other government programs have harmed American companies and pushed them out of business and overseas. The news does not show cities where the manufacturing is gone, and the cities have become partial ghost towns. People who live in those cities know about the factory closings and job losses, empty and abandoned buildings, and factories. A perfect example would be any town like Detroit that used to be a manufacturing city of cars and staple items Americans use every day. Items that were once made in the USA.

We go to the store and buy things like lightbulbs and other items for our homes. We are totally clueless; they are only made overseas and no longer manufactured in the United States. When the pandemic hit, Americans learned that almost all the ingredients to make medicine come from overseas. Many items are made in America, but the ingredients to make them are not. Over the last thirty years, through our trade deals with other countries, America has been dismantled and sold out. Research American ghost towns and farmlands. It is something very important about our country that needs to be addressed. I have spent my life saying buy American.

Some items are getting harder to find. This is causing producers to have problems getting the items they need to produce food for sale. You should research what you use in your home, like light bulbs, and items made from metal, steel, and aluminum, as well as electronic and digital items, as these items are coming from overseas. Batteries, lightbulbs, plastic items, electronics.

President Trump began to address these things when he took office. We don't have manufacturing in the US anymore. One of President Trump's main campaign promises was to bring manufacturing home to the United States. In conjunction with bringing manufacturing home, he is also getting rid of destructive regulations that destroy and close businesses because they serve no purpose but to line someone's pocket with money. For every new regulation made, two must now be removed. Brilliant! These are things he started to put back into place before the pandemic even hit.

I personally don't think we have even begun to see the impact of the worldwide pandemic on our supply chain yet. Steel mills had just started going back into production when the pandemic hit. President Trump had mandated that any government contractor could no longer buy foreign steel but must buy steel made in America. If we move into a cold war with our main supplier, China, things will be even harder to find. I don't think many realize that our basic lumber is also imported because of the crushing regulations on the lumber industry. The almost non-management of forest lands is what causes the devastating fires across the nation. There were far fewer fires when America managed its forest land. It also kept the price of lumber down with the constant influx of trees from properly managing forest lands.

This too. is changing, with the lessening of crushing regulations and trade deals that have decimated our industries and made a lot of people rich. This has dismantled the United States' ability to maintain its own manufacturing and supply chain. It takes time for the infrastructure of American companies to build back up to return to production. Do some research as to what you use and need in your home. What comes from China or overseas, and add that to what you store. Almost anything that has electronics, like refrigerators and freezers

CONTAINER SHIPS This is manufactured products from China and other overseas nations being brought into the United States. This is only one port; every coastal city that has a major port is bringing in just as many imports to the United States.

Supply line distribution and need failures

Food Being Destroyed

Production of Food item shortages

What does this mean for you, the consumer? It means you need to decide what kind of storage you want to put in place. Everyone should have a three-day emergency storage from storms, water issues, and loss of electricity. You should also have two weeks food supply, a three-month supply, and long-term storage. This usually means for 6 months to a year. This supply is of food and items that you need, eat, and use regularly. It needs to follow your type of lifestyle. You don't have to do it all at once, but you should have already started. It is estimated that everyone is stocking back a little food right now while we are in the middle of the pandemic. Most will stop when everything is back to normal. Some are estimating that about 30-40 percent will keep a storage plan and stash in place even when life as we once knew it returns. One thing that you might consider thinking about is if you should learn to be a producer as well as a consumer. Start learning what you may need to do and what to put in small gardens. Perhaps, you can get a few chickens. You may also consider learning new skills that help you prepare long-term food storage, like home canning or dehydrating. Check your state extension services and your state legislature for any post-pandemic changes that will help you store and produce food at home.

Three Day Supply

One of the most important things about any food storage or supply is that it be the type of food you eat on a regular basis. Do not buy and store food that you won't eat. If you do not like the taste or texture, nor is it a food you would normally eat, you are not going to eat it. The old adage is that rice and beans store for 25-30 years. If you don't like rice and beans, you are not going to eat them or rotate them back into your regular food supply. The reason rice and beans are recommended is that together they are a complete protein. Rice and beans, broken down by your body, can be converted into every amino acid your body needs to function. If you don't like rice and beans, find alternatives that will make another complete protein for your body.

Your three-day supply of food and water is more than likely going to be for an emergency like a power outage, earthquakes, storms, hurricanes, snow, or ice. Most people who live in those areas have emergency items stored from experience. It is a safety measure put in place to alleviate stress, worry, and inconvenience. How much you store in your three-day supply depends on your immediate family size or family that may be staying with you as part of your family emergency plan. You do have an Emergency plan, right?

You should regularly convert your 3-day supply back into your pantry and replenish it with newer food. This should only have to occur once or twice a year, as shelf-life is rather long on these types of foods. The foods you want to have in this supply are high-energy foods and foods that can be eaten cold. Take into consideration if you have to move out of your home and have supplies like silverware, napkins, hand sanitizer, and hand and bottom wipes. Have as much of it as possible be disposable. Have everything stored near or together in the event you do have to relocate. Don't forget storage options for leftovers like closable plastic containers and ziplock bags. Remember, this is just your emergency 3-day supply. Here are some ideas of items you should have.

canned Fruits
canned vegetables
canned soups
canned meats like tuna, chicken, spam, and ham
crackers
snack bars
trail mixes
dried fruits, seeds, and nuts
peanut butter
spices like salt and pepper
canned or dry milk
cereals
foods and special supplies for infants, like diapers, formula, ointments, and medicines
Food for special diets for the elderly, diabetics, and vegetarians
comfort foods for fear and stress, like candy, cookies, potato chips, and snacks
flashlights, matches, lighters, and a can opener
one gallon of water per person, per day. A family of four should have at a minimum 12 gallons of water for a three-day emergency. You should have more if your food requires water to eat or prepare. Several things people do not consider when storing daily water rations are that this is for drinking. You need to consider that you also need to stock up on hygiene. Personal washing, tooth care, hand washing, and cooking clean up. Do not forget your pets. They too need a gallon a day.

Two Weeks and Three Months Supply

Now that you have a three-day supply of food in place for a disaster or emergency, you can begin your short and long-term storage of two weeks or longer. We have learned in the 2020 pandemic that illness combined with job loss is a big portion of a food emergency. Most Americans have never had to even bother considering this until something like it has happened to them. These were the folks who were actually a little bit prepared. Something in life knocked them back a bit at some point, and they had to change their mindset. Now everyone has had to consider it. Your two-week supply can also just move right into a three-month supply and just skip the two-week part. I have a small pantry and a small long-term pantry that I use together. Consider making these supplies permanent. The fear and stress of future illness, major household or car repair, and job loss. Having three, six months, or even a year's worth of food stored could seriously alleviate fear and stress levels and remove food as part of the financial burden. The biggest secret to a successful rotational pantry is that you shop from your pantry supplies, then you shop at the store. This constantly rotates your food.

You are going to need a plan to keep track of what you are doing, as well as what you want or should store. You have to learn and plan so that your long-term food and emergency storage items don't perish. You need to work these items back into your pantry on a regular basis. You need to teach yourself to rotate your long-term pantry into your kitchen or working pantry on a regular basis. The best way to do this is to build your long-term pantry in a way that you shop first from your long-term pantry for the items that you can, in conjunction with your regular grocery shopping. Then just replenish these items back into your long-term pantry. This is where storing and buying food you normally eat come into play to make a long-term and short-term food storage economical and useful. This will also allow you to seriously take advantage of sales and bulk purchasing.

When you begin, just buy more of what you eat. Few can just go to the store and buy a three-month supply of food. Just buy more of what you eat. Buy a few extra at a time. If you normally buy one box of crackers, periodically buy two. Just start buying one or two extra of everything that is shelf-stable every time you go to the store. Something you may not have paid attention to in the past is expiration dates on food. Always look at what it is and try to find the one with the longest shelf life. Just rotate what you buy until your pantry starts to have more of the food you eat on a regular basis. When storing your food, always put the newest food at the back of the cabinet so that you are always using the oldest food first. In stores, restaurants, and warehousing, this is called FIFO, first-in-first-out. If you normally buy one of something, switch your mindset to buy two or three. Below are multiple links on different ideas to start food storage and build a three-month supply or longer supply of food. Each video author gives different ideas on how you can begin, rotate, and continue to have food security for your family.

Building a long-term pantry on ten dollars a week

Building a supply

Building a three-month supply of food

Journey to understanding and building food storage.

The mother of 12 couldn't find food when the pandemic hit. When she could find food she built a three-month storage.

You are also going to need to store items like cleaning supplies, laundry, and dishwasher soaps. You should also consider stocking items like toothpaste, mouthwash, and sanitary items for both men and women, like shaving cream, razors, tampons, and sanitary napkins. If your crazy 2020 stockpile of toilet paper is getting low...by all means stock it back up. A great source for doing this cheaply comes from two women who call themselves Krazy Coupon Lady. Their website shows you how to use coupons, phone apps, and in-store deals at major box stores and pharmacies. It is seriously worth your time to study a few of their videos teaching you how to take advantage of in-store deals, coupons, and deep discounts most people are totally clueless about. Sometimes as much as 50-60 percent off, and with a combination of apps, coupons, and in-store deals, sometimes for free or just pennies. It does not take as much time or is as hard as you think. Most people also don't realize that Walgreens and CVS are great places to replenish staples like paper and cleaning products with coupons. These stores are more friendly to the couponer and bargain shopper than a traditional grocery store.

Deep Discounts at Walgreens

Storage

As you build your food storage, you may notice you need places to store it. You are going to need to look around your house and find places to put shelves and cabinets to store items. That is, unless you are blessed with an actual big pantry. I am not, so I have been creative. You are now going to have a working pantry and a short-term and long-term working pantry. Many kitchens only have a small closet-sized pantry or a cabinet. Food items really can not be stored anywhere where there is a heat fluctuation, but non-perishable items like cleaning supplies, detergents, paper, and personal items can be stored in the garage or outside sheds and storage buildings. The best solution if you can afford it is overtime to get bookshelves, and industrial, or chef racks to store your new and growing pantry on. and stuff them in rooms and corners of your house.

When storing food for the long term, look for ways that keep your food storage safe. Consider adding infrastructure items like a vacuum sealer to extend the shelf life of perishable items. There are also mason jar attachments that you can use on the wide-mouth and regular mouth canning jars that will tightly seal items like crackers, pasta, and snacks longer in an airtight environment. Here is a good video example.

Mason jar attachment for a vacuum sealer.

Do you have anything stored under your bed? Find storage containers that fit under your bed to store extra food. To start, cut delivery boxes to fit under your bed. Find your creative self! Consider closets and other corners of your home that you can stick a shelf to store items. If you do not like it visible, consider putting fabric skirts or curtains over it so that it is hidden from view. There are a ton of YouTube videos out there teaching you these simple skills.

We as Americans have never really had this type of long-term crisis happen. Learning to prepare in this volatile time in American history is crucial, in my opinion. Food storage and food safety are good first steps into being prepared for any contingency in our crazy upside-down world right now. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being prepared. Those Crazy preppers and doomsday preppers might not seem so crazy to you now.

Freezing Spinach

2019-09-18T10:39:00.001-05:00

Freezing Spinach

I can't grow spinach at this time. I don't have the infrastructure and raised garden bed space or set up. I have three, four by four raised bed garden plots that I purchased in excitement when we bought the house five years ago. They have since begun to fall apart. Pesky pests like squirrels and raccoons and OPC (other people's cats)...I took the F out, dig up and poop up and just mess anything I have planted.

A knee injury and family hardship put two of my five seasons out of range to learn Gardening. Gardening requires learning, trial, and error, and finally building healthy soil. This makes me have to buy some things. Like spinach. It would be too expensive from the grocery to home can spinach. So for eight dollars at Costco for 2 large bags, I can put ten, two-person portions in the freezer. This tastes way better than can spinach and I don't have to cook it down for fresh. Win-win for me and my knee. I'll show you.

Pre Washed Or Triple Washed

Even if my produce says pre-washed, already washed or triple-washed, I still wash it very well. Gloved hands, protected hands can still stop and pick or itch their face or nose and or whatever else tickles or itches. I prefer to rewash all, my pre-washed produce.

Two large bags cooked down in butter salt and pepper till tender. I removed some of the liquid that cooks down from the spinach and cooked the rest away.

Before you know it the pan that was overflowing is no longer.
Then it is time to fill the containers.

It is amazing how two very large bags cook down to ten small containers, I now have ten delicious sides prepped and ready for dinner.

Coronavirus Gardening. Garden while sheltering in place

2019-04-13T14:42:00.001-05:00

Garden your way through Coronavirus!

I am updating a kitchen scrap garden blog I wrote about last year's celery. I also do the same with the bottoms of lettuce and cabbage. I just started some celery, lettuce, and cabbage today (3-23-20) Check Back in a few days, I will add some more pictures as I go along. Below is my blog on the celery that I grew from scraps last year.

If you have a few potatoes with eyes on them you can cut them into pieces, set them out to harden on the edges for a few days. Plant them shallowly in the dirt in a big flower pot or a 2-5 gallon bucket. As they sprout keep covering the area around the plants as they grow taller. When the container is full of dirt the potato plants are ready to begin their magic. Depending on the size of your container you could get anywhere from 10- 60 potatoes at the end of its life cycle. Worst-case scenario,? You fill your time productively, and if your plants fail you gave your dirt some good nutrition. Better yet, use the peels from all your veggie scraps as mulch on the topsoil of your kitchen scrap garden.

Youtube has so many videos teaching you this stuff. Take some time out from constant news watching and back up and be proactive. You are using scraps what is the harm maybe in 30-60 days you will have a small amount of food to add to your fridge. You can even plant carrot tops it will only be greens but greens are greens. Buy some bags of dirt, a few pots, and do a little container gardening. In Texas, this is the best time to begin. At worst you are learning a new skill with the time you are sheltering in place.

Growing Celery From Kitchen Discards (updated)

I use a lot of celery lately as my daughter and I are on the eating protocol from the GAPS diet. So I decided to try something I had read about over the years. I started growing celery from my discards. In a few weeks, I should be able to start harvesting Celery. Below are photos are the growing journey so far.

If you are interested in learning about the GAPS Diet I have written a blog on it.

Gut and Psychology Syndrome and Gut Physiology Syndrome.

Here is the book from my Amazon site. GAPS

Mushrooms:Ways to store them

2019-04-13T13:36:00.001-05:00

MUSHROOMS

Keeping Mushrooms For A Longer Time In Your Freezer Or Refridgerator.

I sometimes get so frustrated because I get busy and forget I had mushrooms I wanted to add to my cooking. Then they go all stinky and slimy. Taking advantage of sales and buying mushrooms in larger quantities will allow you to store them for whenever you need them in the freezer.

Simple solution, sautee them in butter or oil,

then store in the fridge and use within a week, or put in small freezer bags or containers and freeze in portion or meal sizes and keep for up to a year.

Mushrooms hold their texture and taste well when frozen.

My Gaps Diet

2019-03-09T19:43:00.009-06:00

GAPS Diet

Gut and Psychology Syndrome and Gut Physiology Syndrome.

GAPS Diet Book For Sale on Amazon

Gaps Diet Cookbook For Sale On Amazon

What exactly is GAPS? GAPS is an eating protocol or an elimination diet. It was put together by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride Most people don't realize it is two issues and type groups that have the same acronym. It is undertaken by those who come to a realization that they have severe gut issues and problems. Acid reflux, Diverticulosis, IBS, Constipation, Frequent Diarrhea, Nausea, Frequent Tummy Aches, Upset Stomach, etc....... This would be the Physiology side of Gaps. The psychology side is neurological. ADD, ADHD, Autism, and many other psychological issues.

Gaps

People are willing to undertake this eating protocol to heal their gut. Science is proving more and more every day that the gut is in charge of so many things having to do with our day-to-day living. Our gut controls so many aspects of our body. Take the time to google the gut-brain connection and read some of the studies from the top hospitals in our nation. They all tie our gut, endocrine systems, and brain together in a dance that for most of us is way out of balance. This, in turn, has made all of us way out of balance. We are taking antibiotics and other prescription drugs that treat symptoms but do not cure them. In many cases, a whole host of new problems arise from the medications that are meant to help.

This eating protocol is a drastic yet simplified way of eating through the elimination of Frankenstein foods, ( Processed Foods) and returning to simply eating whole foods. You also remove all grains, sugars, dairy, as well as the Frankenstein foods. The focus revolves around something from our past that has been lost through reliance on prepackaged and store-bought foods. It isn't forever just until you heal. After one month, I see a drastic difference, but I also still have a way to go. My gut is bad and I am too overweight.

Broths

Ask anyone you know in their late forties and early fifties, if they remember their grandmothers and great grandmothers always having a pot of soup or stock on the stove. The resounding answer you may hear is that yes they always had soup going or were always cooking soup. Why is that? Everyone knows or has heard. Oh, feed them chicken soup. In the past Mothers and Grandmothers knew that soup and broth heal, yet society has moved away from and has disbelief that soup actually heals. Old wives' tales meet science.

An old story talks of a woman who had two chickens. One seemed sick. Rather than put it down, she killed the healthy chicken and fed its broth to the sick chicken. Her family enjoyed the chicken soup as well. The sick chicken got well and later became a pot of chicken soup. She killed the one healthy chicken to heal the sick chicken and ensured her family ate two chickens.

Water Kefir

The GAPS diet or protocol is meat stock, meat broth, and bone broths first, then the broths and stocks are made into nutrient-dense soups. Adding in naturally occurring probiotic foods in increasing amounts heals the gut wall and helps the gut strip itself and reform with new gut lining.

Fermented Vegetables

Kombucha

While making broths you will need to bring your constitution up as to what level of broth you can go. You can use basic bones and carcasses, or you can experiment and add more parts of the animal that will bring deeper healing. The bones and fat will suffice if that is all you can bring yourself to do. My daughter and I chose to experiment for the healing.

Eating whole animals has been removed from our mindset. I remember it began in my generation. When my sister was little I remember she wouldn't eat eggs when she found out they came from a chicken butt.

Eating these fats and proteins binds together separated gut lining most often referred to as leaky gut back together through a tightening and reformation of the gut wall and lining. It takes as little as a few days or as long as a few months. It simply depends on the severity of your gut health. The Gut is tied to both the psychological and physiological aspects of GAPS. Healing the gut starts to help or contribute to a lessening of symptoms of severity.

My GAPS Journey

I think all of my children have gut health issues that tie into auto-immune disorders or constipation. Since discovering GAPS I have tried to encourage all five to consider GAPS.

About four years ago I was told I have a floating gall stone, and raging acid reflux. I didn't even know I have acid reflux. My doctor, as well as a technician who took my gut pictures, said mine was one of the worst they had ever seen. It is silent but could be deadly. Not being aware of acid reflux can silently erode your esophageal lining and at times lead to throat cancer. I was also told that I have fatty liver disease.

I took meds for a short time for the acid then quit as it made me have high blood pressure. The acid reflux I didn't know I had, I know I have now, since starting and stopping the medication. In one of my many internet searches, I finally found GAPS

The author of the GAPS Diet, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride did a three-part series about her book. If you have any type of gut issues, then most likely your whole family does. This video series is well worth your time. Each part of the series is about thirty minutes.

Since starting GAPS in February 2019 my gut is soft and squishy not distended and hard. Inflammation in my whole body has gone down and I have lost thirteen pounds. I am still on the introduction phase of GAPS and I plan to stay on it as long as I can stand it. I'm not bothered eating soups. I make broths, and set aside the meat and then make soups.

My daughter and I are both now on GAPS. She is a full-time teacher and very busy. She is also recovering from a nuclear die-off of her thyroid. When she researched what I was doing she asked to join me. Her immune system is severely compromised by her thyroid issues. Her doctors helped her make the decision to kill off her thyroid as her symptoms were becoming life-threatening.

So, my week is made up of making broth and soups for us for the week. I started making broths with a full array of veggies for flavor but switched to just broth. I have since put back the veggies for flavor upon request by my daughter. Some soups are whole and some are pureed. The chicken carrot pureed is delicious.

Next round I am trying tomato. This batch in the photo was broccoli and carrot pureed as well as chicken broth.

On the introductory protocol, you can have salt and pepper and just about any vegetable removing the most fibrous parts. Any veg you find bothers you at first you can remove it before eating your soup or omit and reintroduce later. It can be in the soup for flavor and removed before consumption. The only exception is no potatoes and parsnips. We are currently doing meat broth. We save the bones to reuse in the next batch once they are removed. All my meat broths are simmered no more than three to four hours. When the bones are cool I place in a ziplock freezer bag or vacuum seal, date, and then place in the freezer. When I use them a second time, I add them with the fresh item, be it chicken, beef, or lamb and then discard them. ( I have since stopped adding the bones to the next batch of broth and I am just saving them for future batches of bone broth at a later date in the protocol. )

Freezing Bones

It took me a bit of research on how long you can freeze bones for batches of bone broth. It seems it doesn't matter how old they are as bone-broth cooks so long and with the vegetables for flavor as well apple cider vinegar they will make a broth and taste fine. The USDA Was My Source

I found that after the first week my cravings were almost none. I have a few slip-ups, but I have gone black coffee no more milk or cream, and no sugars. I had previously switched to sweetleaf and rarely have sugar at all anymore. Previously I had also stopped first using artificial creamers and went back to half and half. In the last year, I had switched to full cream. Now the only milk I have is yogurt. We have even located raw milk and are making our own raw yogurt. When I don't have raw milk I just get the best low homogenized organic milk. I usually get Kalona Super Natural Organic Whole Milk. I also simplified the making of yogurt by buying an inexpensive machine that took all the ability to mess it up out. I also bought the extender accessory and extra jars as I always have more than seven jars when I make yogurt.

Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker

Euro Cuisine GY4 Yogurt Maker Accessory, Clear

Euro Cuisine Glass Jars for Yogurt Maker, Set of 8

I think the fats and oils in the broth stop the cravings. I know when I drink my broth I am usually satisfied, but you have to eat the soup four to six times a day to have proper nutrition.

We try and use organic where ever possible. We found a store for local pasture-raised and healthy-fed lamb, chicken, beef, and goat. The store is a Halal meat market and doesn't claim to be organic. The animals are just raised on pasture, in a healthy manner and it is local. It is actually cheaper than the grocery store. The taste is by far so much better than what I am buying at our grocery stores. I know that the meat is better than the grocery because the animals are out on pasture. We can get almost all the bones and joints for the broths also. It is awesome to behold, they bring the carcass out and cut the bone type you request right off a hunk of the animal. Now that is FRESH!

We are working our way up to trying goat. Neither of us has ever had it that we remember. Here are this week's broths and soups. I'll try and update weekly what soups I have concocted as I can get out of the kitchen!

22-quart roaster Beef Broth

1 leg shank, 1 package of neck bones, 2 pounds stew meat, 1 half-gallon previous beef broth made with the same bones, but also 1 pack of beef hoofs

Oster 22 Quart Roaster

8 stalks of celery chopped small

2 medium to large onions chopped small

1 leek well washed brown bits removed. Include all green stalk that is healthy for flavor

6 whole organic carrots unpeeled. peeled if unable to find organic. Leave them whole.

4 or 5 cloves of garlic if desired. I leave out as I find the broth gets a weird flavor. I add garlic at the time I make the soup.

2 organic chickens, or other meats and bones.

Bring roaster to a boil, turn down to simmer Salt and pepper to taste when the chicken, beef, lamb, or pork has begun to release into the water and it is cooked enough to be safe for tasting. Simmer for two and a half to three hours. Just until the meat wants to fall off the bone or fall apart. If you miss well fish it all out. No big deal just more work. Remove carrots if they are cooked and you can serve them with another meal. Or eat when you want to go for carbs or sugar. Continue to simmer roaster until the meat cools and you can pull it from the bone. Set all meat aside and put back in all bones, gristle, guts, gook, and fat. Add back all water and oil that ran off the meat while cooling. Simmer one more hour.

At this time I usually put the broth in half-gallon jars and quart mason jars.

When cool I refrigerate. I already had some half-gallon mason jars. Most often they are all full but I was able to combine things or put in smaller mason jars and cull out seven jars. My daughter purchased two packs of six jars. This past week I bought another six-pack of half-gallon jars. I can make three types of soups that last us both all week and then broth to drink throughout the day. My pans are large soup pans and I can usually get us each two gallons of soup and a bit from each pan.

Repeat with beef bones and lamb bones. Not really any variation on the broths when I make them. They are the same ingredients in the same quantities, just different bones.

Because I make three soups at one time I chop and sautee my onions, celery, and leeks in one pan and split between the three pans. I sautee them first because I think the richness adds to the overall flavor of the soup.

Chicken Broth

Made with 2 whole organic chickens and 5 chicken feet

(this batch was the first time I used chicken feet and I used too many.)

Chicken soup (Peas and carrots)

In a large soup pan, add broth into the pan until half full. Sautee a large onion chopped, 1-2 leeks rinsed well with brown removed or cutaway. Use all the leek including the green and chop finely, 8 stalks of celery chopped. Add to broth. till tender and add to broth.

Add

1 large bag of peas

8-10 carrots chopped

1 half-cup sauteed mushrooms

salt and pepper taste

add broth until the pan is just full enough to simmer without boiling over.

Simmer until all ingredients are done. Cool and bottle up into the fridge.

Chicken soup ( yellow squash, carrot, and Brussel sprouts)

1-2 cups chicken cooked in broth

3-5 fresh yellow squash chopped or 1 bag frozen

2 bags frozen Brussel sprouts braised and browned

4-6 chopped carrots

1 half-cup sauteed mushrooms

1 cup chopped red, yellow, orange, and green bell pepper

salt and pepper to taste

simmer soup until cooked. Cool and bottle up put in the refrigerator

Beef Soup ( Turnip, Kale, Napa Cabbage, and Carrot)

8 turnips chopped

1 napa cabbage

10 carrots

1 half-cup sauteed mushrooms

2 bunches Kale

all the beef removed from making the broth

salt and pepper to taste.

simmer until well cooked and then cool and bottle up for the refrigerator.

Until the next soup!!

Feeding Your family Like Your Ancestors

2019-03-06T17:06:00.004-06:00

Feed your Family Like Your Grandparents and Great Grandparents Did In The Past.

The Lost Art Of Food.

When it comes down to food, food production and storage, our Grandparents surely had it right. Times have changed in such a way that how we store food and the amount of food we have on hand in our homes at any given time is almost catastrophic. Granted life was a lot more rural than urban, but they planned for the year and to get through the winter. Life is a bit more high-tech now and in the process of all this technological change, we have lost some key skills. Most people are totally clueless about the ways of storing food for the long term. Fermentation, a crucial type of food preservation in the past, is greatly feared and barely utilized for the health benefits it provides. Processed foods are king and take up most of the space in our cabinets and pantries.

People Have Become Disconnected From Their Food

In the past, children were taught food preservation, as a matter of course. It was just part of childhood learning the way of food. That is not the case today. Most children leave home barely knowing how to cook. Food is not raised, nor grown for the most part in households. Food comes from the store.

Those born in the fifties and sixties bridge both the past and modern technologies. Technological change in society and food production in just a thirty-year span has changed how we eat and how we get and store food drastically.

I was born I the sixties and my children in the eighties, How I was raised and how I raised my children based on societal norms is drastically different. Even when I was a teenager you could still have milk delivered. Today, in some places having milk delivered by a farm is actually illegal. Raw milk is illegal in twenty states in the United States. Raw Milk Laws By State
By the time I had my children Milk delivery was a thing of the past already. The difference between me and my parents is substantially more dramatic in its differences Looking back I can see where the change began in me and my siblings. Our parents also following societal norms to a certain degree, but also what they were taught by their parents. My parents were about eight or nine when world war two ended. They came into adulthood in the economic boom of the 1950s

American Prosperity

Following world war two America experienced a time of great prosperity before a deep recession hit in the 1970s.

I have some of the fondest memories growing up in the country. The weekend was for yard work and gardening. We helped our parents till, plant, weed and harvest all summer long. My sister and I should have also been helping our mother prepare it for storage but she didn't teach us when we were small. Even in my childhood, our parents began moving away from teaching us the way of food survival. I talk to my sister and she doesn't remember our mom preparing food for the winter. All summer long our mother canned, blanched, and froze our bounty from our large garden. We also Purchased all our beef, pork, and poultry in bulk.

This is the way our grandparents lived and taught our parents to live. In the process, they saved a large amount of money. My sister can't remember the three large chest freezers we had on the back porch. The freezers were completely full of the summer and autumn bounty. My generation was the beginning of the lost way of food. I had a large learning curve to get back to preparing my foods that are healthier and more natural.

I consider our food supply to almost be poison. Gradually, but not completely, my husband and I have been changing the way we eat over the last ten years. We still have a way to go. Fast food and processed food is mostly laden with harmful chemicals and sugars.

Our food contains way more corn than people realize. If you can't pronounce it you shouldn't eat it. Corn is genetically modified to accept round up as pest control. We are told it is not harmful, but anything that has such a toxic chemical present in its own genetic makeup is not healthy. No matter how many scientists say it is so. I have a brain and I use it. Common sense should prevail here.

King Korn

If you have Amazon Prime you can watch King Korn on prime. I think the thing that motivated me the most to stop eating corn, was how long corn sits in the open environment before its scooped up and processed into our food supply.

Bring Back The Past

Using grocery store sales, price matching, loyalty programs, and bulk purchasing, as well as Farmer's markets, we can move the garden back to our table. By Canning, dehydrating and vacuum sealing foods you can increase their shelf life by leaps and bounds. Deciding to take control of your food purchases, you will make the quality of your food better, healthier, as well as, save money in the process.

Consider A Garden

You don't have a large sprawling garden. You can utilize a few raised bed gardens around your yard. This will add foods that are more nutrient dense because you raised and harvested them fresh from your yard. It is not necessary to have a big garden to bring bounty to your table, cabinets, and shelves. Then again, if you have space, why not try a garden in the summer and fall months. If you own your home put in a few fruit trees that grow in your region.

By having a garden and fruit trees you can have fresh and organic produce and fewer pesticides. If gardening is not your thing, find farmer's markets in or near your town. Most all fruits and vegetables you purchase from a farmer's market will probably be organic, if not then at least healthier and way more nutrient-dense than conventional farming. It will also be cheaper than in the store. Buying bulk always is cheaper overall.

Stores may be bigger and more complex today than in the past, but you can selectively purchase items in bulk and on sale. It sounds strange to say buy more to save, but that is what we need to get back too. Some hard work and planning at the outset will actually give you more time and more money in the end. There is no reason that while living urban that you can not bring rural to the table and to your wallet. Lifestyles less of convenience and more of frugality.

Canning Pumpkin

2019-02-27T16:33:00.009-06:00

Home Canned Pumpkin

Canning pumpkin has become one of my favorite things to do in the fall. Starting late September, pumpkins begin to show up in stores. Typically all you will find at the store are the ones people carve for Halloween. They have a wonderful taste when home-canned. There are other pumpkins that you may find taste better. Your best bet to find them is at some kind of pumpkin festival or church and hometown hayride. These venues will have a wider variety of pumpkins for sale.

If you do a bit of research online you can find pumpkin names and taste profiles and decide what you are looking for in terms of tastes for eating and for baking. My favorite thing in the world is mashed pumpkin with butter salt and pepper. By canning pumpkin, I can have pumpkin for pies at Thanksgiving, and buttered pumpkin all year round.

I found these pumpkins at the store. This was literally the only type they had. A word of advice when choosing pumpkins. Look at all the pumpkins, usually, stores will store them in a large container. Look at the pumpkins and see if any have mold or mildew or rot starting on them or at the stem. If so do not buy them or any near them if possible. You have to check the stems very carefully. Make sure they are strong and firm with no softness or rot.

Take the pumpkins home and wash them right away. Use a mild soap and simple bleach water. Just a solution with a bit of bleach in it to kill the pathogens from the field that might facilitate stem rot. Dry them very well especially around the stem. Kept in a cool dark place on a table or up off the floor.

You can keep pumpkins, and other winter squashes for several months or usually most all of winter. They usually will keep until you are ready to home can them or just rotating them into your meals. Usually, I will keep mine on a piece of cardboard on the floor all along my dining room wall. I also keep them in racks layered alternately in different directions so air can move through and also on my kitchen table.

My daughter and I found a really great sale on winter squash so we bought quite a bit as it keeps so long and is seasonal. We are currently doing the GAPS diet. and winter squash is part of the introduction part of the diet. The acorn, butternut and spaghetti squash was a great find. When it no longer becomes feasible to store on the table and the rack we will home can the squash.

Gut and Psychology Syndrome

When you are ready to start canning the pumpkin there is going to a lot of prep work to get to the point where you can safely can the pumpkin. It ends up being a lot of work at the beginning yet at the end is well worth it. Not to mention by home canning you control what is in your food. Nothing but food! Being able to open a can of home-canned pumpkin and in five minutes have hot buttered pumpkin as a meal or with a meal is well worth the work at the front end. After experiencing the ease of putting a meal together post canning. I have come to love canning. I am very willing to put the hard work in at the beginning for the fast and easy reward at the end.

Pumpkins have a lot of steps to get it to the canning jar, or stored. if you cut it in half, deseed it, and roast it in the oven to deskin it, you can no longer home can it. You can only freeze it. So that leaves hand deskinning.

You can do this in several ways. After multiple years of canning pumpkin in the fall, I found my happy method. Rather than peel the whole outside as this picture shows,

I cut it into the desired chunk sizes. I then cut the peel off from the one-inch chunks. This method seems to go faster. The recommended size to cut your pumpkin is one inch as recommended by all ball canning books and the National center for home food preservation.

My two favorite ball canning books are: The Complete Guide To Home
Preserving

The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving

The removal of the seeds, deskinning, peeling, chopping, and cutting into one-inch squares is highlighted below.

You can hot pack or raw pack vegetables when home canning. The method below is a hot pack. After cutting the pumpkin into one-inch squares, I rinsed it and then blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes. I then placed it in jars with one inch of headspace. You then pour clean boiling water up to one inch creating the one-inch headspace. Typically I would add one teaspoon of salt in vegetables, but as pumpkin also has a sweet profile I left out the salt. Debubble with a wood or plastic skewer pushing the pumpkin around gently. This will force out any air bubbles inside the jar in or around the pumpkin. After de-bubbling the water or pumpkin may shift allowing you to either add more pumpkin or more water to realign back to one-inch headspace.

Fill your canner with the jars as you are filling them. As you are hot packing turn your canner on low and begin to slowly bring up the heat so that the canner and jars are of the same heat. My canner the All American 921 holds seven, one-quart jars.

All American 921 Canner

Once you can have canned the pumpkin for the recommended amount of pressure for your area, and the recommended amount of time per either the ball canning books or the NCHFP, turn off your canner and let it come down off of pressure. Once it is down from pressure you can remove the pumpkin from your canner and let it cool. Follow all instructions as per your personal canner. Once cooled for twelve to twenty-four hours, check all your seals, wash the jars, and store them on your shelves. I have found that with average size pumpkins that I get almost seven-quart jars per pumpkin.

From start to finish the pumpkin is delicious and beautiful in jars. I get wonderful satisfaction looking at my canning closet seeing the fresh in-season produce I have canned that I can have all year long. I have been doing three to Four pumpkins for my household. This takes me through the holiday season and pumpkin for me and the occasional guest who loves pumpkin as much as I do.
Happy Canning!!

2018-10-04T17:57:00.000-05:00

Second Fermentation of Kombucha Part Three

We started off making our own scoby, then we progressed to making our own batch of kombucha. We find ourselves at the glorious part of flavoring the finished kombucha and letting it ferment for a second time and get even fizzier.

Making Your Own Kombucha Scoby Part One

Kombucha: How To Make Part Two

Our favorite seems to be Pineapple. I prefer fresh or frozen pineapple chunks, but canned is also good in a pinch. First things first you need to find some good glass bottles. I use several different types.

The first type I use is glass bottles that are squared. They are called French Glass squared, but they don't seal well or tight enough for kombucha. They are pretty but don't get the seal as tight. The second type I like is swing top fermentation bottles. Originally I got my bottles one at a time at Sprouts. I bought a bottle of French sparkling lemonade in a swing top bottle for 1.99. Recently they raised the price to 2.99 per bottle. It is actually cheaper to buy a case now on amazon prime.

Easy Cap Beer Bottles

My favorite bottle at this point and time is

This is a 6 pack case bottles of Kevita Probiotic Coconut Kiefer that I bought at Costco for 11.99 per case. I bought it specifically for the bottles. I figured the cost and it was as good or better deal for the bottles as buying bottles. Plus I knew it would create a good tight seal. So I bought them, drank them, and cleaned the bottles for future kombucha 2nd ferments. The jars seal tightly and create a wonderful fizz. I like these kevita bottles the best and the swing top bottles the second best. As you can see from my image it is fizzing over, and that was just twenty-four hours. They are also way easier to clean with a bottle brush than any of the other bottles.

2nd Fermenting

The first thing to do is to make sure all your bottles are clean. Gather all your funnels and scoops and measuring cups as well as your completed kombucha. Clean any bottles that aren't completely clean. There is never a time that I don't find one or two bottles I thought were clean that could be cleaner. Find a GLASS jar to store your scoby in if you are not making another batch of kombucha right away. Typically I will start another batch and then do the second ferment. Make some Fresh sweet tea, set aside to cool. Place your scoby in the tea with a cup or two of starter liquid.

Prepare your fruit

Place fresh or frozen fruit in a glass jar. You can also use fruit juices. I would use organic juices, but that again is my preference. The second ferment process will eat most of the sugar present in juice and fruit. The brewing process has eaten most of the sugar present. Adding fruit gives it a 2nd sugar to eat and as it has already fermented, it will gobble the new sugar up and that is the added carbonation. When you add the brewed kombucha to the fruit it's going to start eating it right away. I put about an inch of fruit or juice in each bottle.

Fill the jar to top with the finished kombucha. Screw the lid down tightly. After placing the lid on tightly rinse the outside of jars and place on a kitchen towel to ferment for a few days until fruit sugars have been eaten and it is at the optimal taste profile for you. The longer you leave it the less sweet it will be. Do not leave longer than 2 to 3 days max or you will have an explosion in your kitchen.

I burp my bottles at least once a day to stop mild eruptions in my kitchen. When it is ready, I get a big bowl in a clean sink and I strain all the fruit out and combine all same flavors of the 2nd fermented kombucha into one bowl. I then refill the bottles before placing in the refrigerator. I do this each time with each different flavor. I always set even my unflavored kombucha aside along with the fruit flavored in tight bottles. The unflavored will also get fizzier.

They will last several months and begin to get more tart and fizzy at a slower pace in the refrigerator. At this time my favorite flavor is pineapple and honey lemon and lemon ginger. Play with the flavors and find the ones you like the best. Search for recipes on the internet. Your taste is going to determine your favorite flavors. It is very easy to play around until you find that flavor.

Happy happy Booch Babes!!!!!

Kombucha: How To Make

2018-08-19T10:50:00.009-05:00

Kombucha

How To Start Making Your Own Kombucha

Part Two Of Three

Three Gallon Jar

What Is Kombucha?

So now that you have spent the last three to four weeks making your Kombucha Scoby, Find my first article here. Making Your Own Kombucha Scoby Perhaps you purchased a scoby, or got one from a friend. Whatever way that you obtained your scoby, you now have all you need to make your own kombucha.

What exactly is kombucha? It is a very ancient drink, that goes by many names worldwide. The Chinese, who are said to be the inventors, call it the Tea Of Immortality. An interesting article I found when I first started researching kombucha before I started making it my self, tells the story of kombucha in the 1800s by an Australian writer. It is known in Australia as the China Story. The Tea Of Immortality

Weston A Price Foundation is an organization that was founded by Weston A Price. Weston A. Price was a dentist. He traveled the world in search of scientific data on nutrition and diet and the decay and deformity of teeth based on diet. He found in undisturbed and indigenous peoples that generations of eating whole nutrient dense foods allowed for optimal health. This didn't mean third world countries. It was also first world nations of ethnic communities following ethnic rich diets. His foundation is dedicated to the continuation of the truth in the diet. Here is an article from that website about kombucha. Kvass And Kombucha, Gifts From Russia.

Scientific Data

So as always, when I want information, I go out and look what is out there. The first thing that amazed me on articles on Making Kombucha, or is Kombucha Safe, that there is a glorious regurgitation of each others information. The general articles are mostly giving you their opinion based on other articles out there. I have gone out of my way not to do this and to push you to do your own research.

I have learned over time that one article is not enough. I read 100s of articles on any subject I am studying. I actually have found a pretty good scientific article on kombucha. Actual studies over a span of years. It begins with what is kombucha, and later in the article actual studies. You can find it here. Wiley Online Library The second set of articles I found was a medical conference. In the sidebar of the website are tons of gastrointestinal subjects covered at the conference. I started reading them based on a search on kombucha and gut health. Reading articles from the leading doctors and researchers of the gastrointestinal system seems like heavy reading, but if you have gut problems and issues it is more than worth your time and effort to educate yourself on options that are nonprescription.

Journal of Gastrointestinal & Digestive System When you make the decision to make kombucha, base your decision on sound research you have done your self. Don't stop looking for or reading articles till you feel you have learned as much as you can about kombucha.

Health Benefits

There are frankly some crazy articles out there on the health claims of kombucha. I stuck to the facts when I was researching. Fact: kombucha will help with gut health. Kombucha is jam-packed with probiotics. Good, healthy, natural probiotics. Gut health in our society is bad. More and More research is pointing to the gut as the clear controller of our bodies, our endocrine systems, as well as autoimmune inconsistencies. Recently they have found that the gut controls serotonin in the brain. There are too many articles to link. Do a google search for the gut and brain connection and you will find articles from the leading research hospitals in the world. Harvard, John's Hopkins among a few. Seriously your stomach tells your brain what to do? A sick gut is a precursor to many health issues suffered by just about everyone we know, if not ourselves. A good set of articles I found, were on our ancestral microbes and gut flora.

Gut Microbes May Reduce Heart Disease Risk.......

Scientists Call for a Noah's Ark Of Human Microbes

Vitamin D Deficiencies

Recently I have been following research on vitamin D, gut health, and insomnia. One night when I couldn't sleep......... I found a video on your tube about Vitamin D, Gut health, and sleep. Perhaps I am weird, but I found it fascinating. But I have gut issues and insomnia. Much of what this doctor says has to do with probiotics and of course the gut. I also felt I had been struck by a Mandela effect or something when most everyone I knew was coming up extremely low in vitamin D around the same time.

So many things are pointing to the gut that it is mind-blowing. Hippocrates lived over 2000 years ago, and even back then he said two things that resonate today. Two loosely quoted statements most of us are aware of are: all disease begins in the gut, and let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food. So what does all this have to do with Kombucha? Probiotics Which Kombucha is full of naturally through the process of fermentation.

Probiotics For The Win

Kombucha has many probiotic strains in it, as well as the B vitamin profiles. The longer your kombucha goes, the larger the chance you have of more probiotic strains appearing in your kombucha.
In an article on the Cultures For Health website, they talk about different strains of probiotics in kombucha. They do sell kombucha making supplies, but if you were going to go that route I think a better website would be, Cultured Food Life This companies products are always going to be fresh and never dehydrated. They are shipped live in airtight packaging and only sent once a week for optimum freshness and viability. If I was purchasing that would be the route I would go. When I start to make Kefir, this is where I will go to get my grains. It again goes back to do your reading, your research. Fact check and then fact check again.

here is the link to the article where this information is quoted from. Cultures For Health

Probiotics: Bacteria & Yeast
QUOTE
The specific bacteria and yeast strains in the kombucha are what make it act the way it does, and what produce the fizz and flavor of kombucha. Not all kombucha cultures will contain the exact same strains, but these are some that have been recorded in studies:
Acetobacter [2] is an aerobic (requiring oxygen) bacteria strain that produces acetic acid and gluconic acid. It is always found in kombucha. Acetobacter strains also build the scoby mushroom. Acetobacter xylinoides and acetobacter ketogenum are two strains that you might find in kombucha.
Saccharomyces [2] includes a number of yeast strains that produce alcohol and are the most common types of yeast found in kombucha. They can be aerobic or anaerobic (requires an oxygen-free environment). They include Saccharomycodes ludwigii, Saccharomycodes apiculatus, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Zygosaccharomyes, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Brettanomyces [2] is another type of yeast strain, either aerobic or anaerobic, that are commonly found in kombucha and produce alcohol or acetic acid.
Lactobacillus [2]: A type of aerobic bacteria that is sometimes, but not always, found in kombucha. It produces lactic acid and slime.
Pediococcus [2]: These anaerobic bacteria produce lactic acid and slime. They are sometimes, but not always, found in kombucha.
Gluconacetobacter kombuchae [2] is an anaerobic bacteria that is unique to kombucha. It feeds on nitrogen that is found in tea and produces acetic acid and gluconic acid, as well as building the scoby.
Zygosaccharomyces kombuchaensis [3] is a yeast strain that is unique to kombucha. It produces alcohol and carbonation as well as contributing to the mushroom body. END QUOTE

You can do single batch brews of kombucha, or you can set yourself up with a process they call continuous brew. My thought is, gaining probiotics naturally through a natural product that I control is way better than taking a pill from a bottle. If I am already taking probiotics, and I know they help why not take control of where my probiotics are coming from. More and more doctors, mine included are telling their patients to take probiotics. They encourage you to take the best brands out there. At least mine does. So a probiotic that I make, and control, is the way I want to go. These are all facts.

I began my search as I have a sluggish liver and gallbladder. I do not want to have my gallbladder removed so I set off on a search for ways to help and or heal my gastrointestinal issues, What I came up with over and over again was fermented foods. I found much on how kombucha can heal and detox the liver and gallbladder. This had my interest, so I kept reading. Of all the fermented foods kombucha seems the easiest for me to keep up with and also get my husband to take seriously.

Since starting to drink kombucha, we both notice a difference with our reflux and way fewer issues of constipation. I decided to make kombucha myself because of the inflated cost to buy it. So began my journey to making my own! My advice to you is read, read, and read more articles. You also will begin to see a correlation between repeated and regurgitated info. but if you keep digging the truth of the health benefits will begin to present itself. I have made sure I have not called out a bunch of crazy claims. Just because someone has said it or wrote it down, doesn't make it so. I in no way want to be lumped in with all the others who are regurgitating other articles. I have tried to point you toward some truth in writing, and encourage you to do more research. Something made you start looking at Kombucha. Keep looking!!!

Making Kombucha

Gather your ingredients and tools.

Never brew, or store your kombucha in anything but glass containers or bottles. When you get your scoby, place it in a glass jar with its liquid. Place out of direct sunlight on the counter until you are ready to make your kombucha. When your kombucha is finished, store it only in glass jars. If you must break your brewing cycle, store your scoby in a glass jar with a good amount of fresh tea and starter. Place a paper towel or kitchen towel with a rubber band and set in a place out of sunlight. Periodically dump off a bit and add a room temperature cup very sweet tea to feed your scoby. When you are ready to brew kombucha again make a throwaway batch just to wake up your scoby. Unless you fed your scoby periodically your scoby is going to be hungry. Making a throwaway batch is not necessary, but I find the second batch to taste better after you restart brewing after a pause.

Never store your scoby in the refrigerator. There are articles, blogs, and videos that advise you to do this when not brewing kombucha. Over time, it will weaken if not kill your scoby. Store it on the counter, out of the way, out of sunlight. Here is what you will need to make kombucha:

One to two cups starter liquid. [previously brewed kombucha, or liquid that came with your scoby]
A healthy scoby
Six organic black tea bags or 6 tablespoons of loose leaf tea. For your first batch of kombucha using all black tea. In later batches, you can use green and black. Always make sure black is in the highest ratio. Both green and black tea make first different taste profiles, but also nutrient profiles. Later you can take a baby scoby and begin to do green tea if you prefer. The main thing is letting your new scoby get strong with your home, water, tea, and sugar environments.
I had so many questions and unknowns, that I found a video that recommended a book all about kombucha. I do not regret buying it. The book will teach you different flavor profiles, different teas, and also general knowledge. There are tons of photos that show you how your kombucha should and could look during and after the brewing process. The Big Book Of Kombucha

One cup of organic sugar. [I recommend both organic tea and sugar. It is not required, but I think it makes for a better-tasting kombucha.]
One gallon jar.
One rubber band.
One paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
One gallon of filtered water. Remove one to two cups of water. This is so you can add your starter tea at the end of making your kombucha. [In your very first batch and in all your batches if you prefer, add two cups. The two cups add an assurance that your PH will be low enough for safety. Also depending on your eventual taste profile preference, your kombucha may brew a bit faster. ] If you only have one cup of starter, that is fine. You can always buy a bottle of plain kombucha with raw cultures and add another cup of that. 1 cup is enough only do this if you feel better doing it.
PH levels, if you are really worried about your kombucha being safe, you can always buy PH strips and test your kombucha after adding one cup of starter to make sure the PH is low enough. If it is not the correct color you can always add the cup of raw strain kombucha from the store. Once you have established your own kombucha you could add 2 cups from your own. Never add white or apple cider vinegar as some websites might advise. They are different things and it will compromise your scoby health and future brews.
Here is a link for test strips on Amazon. PH Test Strips
This year for Mother's Day We bought Mom a kombucha kit. It has the one-gallon jar, scoby, starter tea, test strips, and everything else you would need to get started. Here is the one we bought. Kombucha Brewing Kit

Making The Tea.

Take half of your filtered water and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat. Then add your tea and sugar to the water. Stir well so that all the sugar is dissolved. Brew this 20 minutes. Then strain the tea or remove the tea bags. I love this strainer. I usually do 3 gallons at a time or use my 3-gallon jar.

As I am brewing a tea concentrate this strainer allows me to strain a larger amount of tea than a regular tea filter. I make larger amounts of kombucha because so many are drinking it in my home. Most of the time I put the tea in the strainer and place it in with the hot water. I use it like in the photo if I got lazy and just put the tea directly in the water.

Pour the remaining water and the brewed tea into the one-gallon jar. This will cool the brewed tea down closer to room temperature. Allow the tea to sit until you know it to be room temperature, or use a food thermometer to test the temperature mid 70 degrees to 80 degrees is perfect. Any more than 80 degrees and let it cool some more. I actually love these temperature strips for the outside of my booch brew jars. I strongly recommend the ten pack as over time you have more and more jars rotating into your kombucha making. 10 Piece temperature strip pack

Once the tea is cooled to the optimal temperature so as not to kill your scoby, add your starter tea and your scoby. Place your paper towel or kitchen towel on the top of the jar and place the rubber band to secure. Place the kombucha out of the way in an area out of direct sunlight. It does not need to be in a dark corner. It does need to be in an area that the temperature will stay between 70-80 degrees. 69 is ok but lower than that and there is a potential for mold to grow. Rare, but it can happen.

Let The waiting Begin!

Now all you do is wait five to ten days until the flavor is what you like. Don't fuss and worry and poke at it. Just wait for it buttercup! Try and leave your kombucha undisturbed for around five days. Then begin tasting it for the flavor profile that you like. I prefer mine at around five to seven days. The easiest way to taste without disturbing the scoby growth is to stick a straw in, put your finger over the end and draw out a taste. I like my kombucha to still retain some of the tea flavors. Now that your kombucha is to the flavor you like, you can bottle it up somehow or start the second ferment process. I drink both plain kombucha and flavored second ferment kombucha. Part three I will show the second ferment. Remember to make and store all your kombucha only in glass jars. Wood, plastic, or ceramic could leach into the kombucha causing harm to you.

Always, always. always use glass to make and store your kombucha

part three: second fermentation and flavoring

Making Your Own Kombucha Scoby

2018-08-08T14:04:00.007-05:00

Kombucha: Making Your Own Scoby

Part One Of Three

What Is Kombucha?

Kombucha is a fermented black tea, or a black and green tea combination. It is brewed strong with cane sugar and then has an item called a scoby added. The tea, sugar, and scoby work together to begin the fermentation process. The time brewed and the final flavor is up to the home brewmaster. Many find that kombucha is an acquired taste, yet others find it is the long-lost drink of their soul. The taste is described by many if not most as tart, vinegary, or similar to apple cider. The taste is tangy and fizzy. If you do the second ferments with flavors and fruits and seal the smaller bottles tight, it becomes very fizzy. At times it will remind you of soda pop. The second ferment below is only twenty-four hours. I usually leave the second fermenting for two to four days. I think this will be done tomorrow on day two, based on the fizzy going on. I brewed the kombucha from August first till August seventh. I estimate it to be in the refrigerator by the ninth.

Realizing The Cost

So now you have found the drink of your soul. You are buying and drinking it on a regular basis. Then you start to add up the cost. Then you start to do research and realize it is just Black tea, sometimes with green tea, and sugar and a scoby.

What is kombucha really? It is a fermented tea. The fermentation creates a probiotic-rich drink that can help you establish a healthy gut balance. The foods that we eat today in the (SAD) ... Standard American Diet has robbed our guts and bodies of their natural biomes. Kombucha can help rebuild balanced gut flora based on the probiotics that establish themselves in the brewing of kombucha. Probiotics, amino acids, the B vitamin spectrum, and many more beneficial things are present in Kombucha. Unlike Kiefer, a very healthy probiotic drink made from milk, without grains, you are not making Kiefer. You must literally get the grains from somewhere because you can not make them. Kombucha Scoby's can be made. You can not make kombucha without a scoby. You must literally buy, beg from a friend, or make your own scoby.

Scoby? What is a scoby?

Scoby is actually an acronym. It means the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. A Scientific mouthful explanation is best served by Quoting Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCOBY

Quote:

A SCOBY used for brewing kombucha.

A SCOBY (for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is a syntrophic mixed culture, generally associated with kombucha production wherein anaerobic ethanol fermentation (by yeast), anaerobic organic acid fermentation (by bacteria), and aerobic ethanol oxidation to acetate (by bacteria) all take place concurrently along an oxygen gradient. A gelatinous, cellulose-based biofilm called a pellicle forms at the air-liquid interface and is also sometimes referred to as a SCOBY. Either samples of this pellicle or unpasteurized kombucha can be used similarly to mother of vinegar to begin fermentation in pasteurized sweet tea.^[1]

End quote. Scientific mouthful Right?

As the picture from the Wikipedia quote and the three pictures from my scobies above illustrate, a SCOBY is as the wiki says: "a gelatinous, cellulose-based biofilm." It is a film that floats on the top of the sweet tea most often. Although, sometimes the mass does sink. Often people mistakenly call the scoby a mushroom. This is wrong, as a mushroom is a fungus. The scoby is a combination of bacteria and yeasts. It is rightly called a mother. When you start your first batch of Kombucha you will use your scoby. Your scoby is now the mother of all your future batches of kombucha. Eventually, you can give the babies to your friends. Babies! What Babies?

Making Babies!

Each time you brew a batch of kombucha, the scoby will form a new scoby. Depending on the length of time you brew your kombucha will depend on the thickness of your baby scobies. Every single time you brew kombucha, your babies will be of different sizes and your kombucha will taste different. Now it is a matter of getting your hands on a scoby. Later you will have too many scobies and will end up making a Scoby Hotel. More on that in part three kombucha second ferments.

There are several ways to get a scoby. Find a friend and get one of their babies. Buy one. Make one.

If you want to buy one I recommend Kombucha Kamp.

Kombucha Kamp Scoby

There is also a very good book by Hannah Krum from Kombucha Kamp. She calls herself The Kombucha Mamma. She wrote a book of all her knowledge. I found it very helpful in the beginning when I started making kombucha myself. I go to it now to troubleshoot when I have problems.

The Big Book Of Kombucha

You can always get a kit. We bought one for our Mama for Mother's Day. I loaned her my Big Book Of Kombucha and she made her first batch of kombucha. Here is the kit we bought her.

Kombucha Brewing Kit

Making your own scoby.

In a way, it seems scary to begin concocting experiments in your kitchen. With Kombucha you must always use GLASS. Never make your kombucha, store Kombucha, scobies, or starter tea in plastic. Always use glass to make. store and bottle up your Kombucha. Kombucha can leach chemicals from the plastic and be harmful to you. Fermentation is safe simply because of the ph balance created by the brine. In the case of kombucha, it is the scoby and the starter tea of already finished kombucha that creates a low ph and safe environment. Also, maintaining a temp not lower than sixty-nine degrees, Depending on your house the temperature is going to fluctuate. If you maintain lower than sixty-nine degrees more than a few days you can develop mold. The mold is probably not going to happen. The mold that is worrisome is black and green mold. Not white film mold. A white film mold on top is ok.

I had a white film on my very first attempt to grow my own scoby and I tossed it out. After reading the big book of kombucha I realized I did not have to toss it and it was actually safe. Newbies right! If you have a black and green mold toss it out scoby and all and start over. If you have black mold you will know, The odds are actually slim that it will get too cold in your house. Most homes are not that cold on a regular basis for a long enough time for mold to occur. Even in the winter, most homes are not that cold. If your home is that cool find a place that is warmer. On top of the refrigerator is sometimes good as it produces heat to run. Find a place that runs warmer. That is the place you want to make science happen! If it turns out that your home is that cool, they do make heaters designed to brew kombucha.

Kombucha heater wrap around belt

This is why I made my own scoby versus buying one. I was new at it, was unsure, and did not want to spend money I might have to toss, It is simply the cost of a bottle of originally flavored kombucha. No flavors, no additives. Every post I read and probably every single one you will read recommends, GTS, Original organic raw kombucha. It is easy to find in just about every store these days. It is also a trusted source.

Making The Tea.

Start with a jar around the size of one quart. Remember always use GLASS to make and store your finished kombucha. Bring one quart of water to boil. Add three organic tea bags or three tablespoons of loose tea. Organic is not necessary but is probably just good practice. I use organic loose leaf tea from Arbor Teas.

It is a matter of preference. I love the flavor. I am a big hot tea drinker. Once the water is boiling add the tea bags and 1 cup sugar. One cup of sugar may seem like a lot, but the raw live strands need food for three to four weeks it takes to grow a decent-sized scoby mother. Let the tea brew for around twenty minutes. After twenty minutes remove the tea bags and allow the tea to come to room temperature. GTS kombucha is a raw and live bacteria with strings and strands of a mother floating in the tea. It is the raw culture in the bottle of kombucha that is going to let you grow a scoby over time. It can not be too hot when you add the bottle of kombucha or you will kill the raw culture that is going to grow your mother scoby.

Making A Mother

Now that your tea is at room temperature, pour the bottle of kombucha into the quart jar. The picture below looks bigger but is a quart jar. Add the cooled tea and sugar mixture. Stop at the shoulder of the jar. Just before it narrows toward the top. You do not want it all the way to the top as your scoby needs room to grow. The last thing you want is your scoby to poke out of the jar if it grows happily high. Discard any tea you have leftover. Cover this with a paper towel or kitchen towel on the top. Hold it down with a rubber band. The tea, sugar, and bottle of kombucha need to breathe. Covering with a paper towel or kitchen towel securely will stop any bugs from getting in. Place your jar in a quiet place and forget about it for three to four weeks. It needs to be in a place where it will maintain a temperature of 70-85 degrees. Remember the warmer the area the faster it may brew. After this time you will discover that you have a scoby that has grown on the top of your sweet tea mixture. After three weeks you can see it evaporates down from the lip. Now the Magic can begin.

Now you can brew Kombucha. Stay tuned for part two Making Kombucha!

Part 2

Canning Green Beans

2018-07-28T18:00:00.005-05:00

Home Canning Green Beans

Having home-canned items on your shelf is a boon. Controlling what is in your food is a must these days if you are on the path to becoming food conscious. We eat green beans often, so having them canned on our shelf is something I love. I replenish my home-canned shelf based on the season. Fresh if they are in season, or frozen if they are not. "They" the food commentators do advise that although you "can" can green beans that have previously been frozen safely, it is not recommended. They will be too tender. I grew up with my Mom making what she called; six-hour green beans. Perfectly southern seasoned, melt in your mouth green beans. So I do not mind them going from frozen to home-canned. Once seasoned they taste as if I cooked them all day like my mom used to, I especially go out of my way to can frozen as all of Costco's frozen vegetables are organic.

Canning can be and is a lot of work, so when I can items I try to have enough to run a complete canner load. I use an All American 921. Here is a link.

All American 921 Canner

If you have Prime on Amazon with free shipping it is cheaper to buy on Amazon. The storefront is the actual manufacturer of the canner and is the same price as on their website.

This canner will allow me to bottle up 19-pint jars or 7-quart jars at one time. I chose this canner as I wanted a sturdy nonrubber sealed canner that I felt would be safe, which would also allow me to can food anywhere I needed too. The big lockdown screw bolts went a long way to calming my irrational fear that home canning isn't safe because it will explode and kill you. In reality, if a canner explodes it is more likely the Person doing the canning did something wrong, not the canner. In the event the Home Canner does do something wrong, there is a pressure release valve on the top of every home canner to bypass mistakes. If the pressure gets too high the relief valve will blow, and not the canner.
I am long since over that irrational fear as I have become more experienced home canning foods.

Size Matters!

I mostly can pints and I mostly can single ingredients and put meals together myself. I can some soups and sauces, but most of my canning is single-ingredient foods and I combine upon cooking. Like beef, potatoes, and carrots. I make five minutes Stews. Drain the carrots and potatoes, add beef as is and add carrots and potatoes. Add a thickener and heat till thick and serve with green beans. Supper in Five! With it just being my husband and me, we really do not need quart items. I also typically try and serve two vegetables per meal. I even can my soup in pint jars.

Green beans I can in my favorite jar The Ball pint and a half or 24-ounce jar. When canning the jar is treated like a quart jar in the way it fits in the canner and the time that you would choose for the individual food item.

The jar is wonderful for green beans, asparagus, and whole carrots. Sadly Ball replaced the jar with a 28-ounce jar that I do not care for, They sell four jars for the same price as they used to sell nine jars. When I heard Ball was discontinuing the 24-ounce jar I set out to find and buy as many as I could. I ended up buying nine cases over a few weeks time as I found them. You can find them in the canning isles of most big box stores, and even the grocery store. You can still find them both on Ball's website and stores.

Nine Cases!!!!! It seems a lot but when canning on a regular basis you would be amazed at how quickly you run out of jars. Let us say I did the green beans, carrots, and asparagus. That would be only one canner load each of 7. At just seven each, that is twenty-one bottles. and only twenty-one meals with vegetables. You think it is a lot, but it actually goes fast. It is only fourteen meals if you serve two vegetables as I do. Once you start home canning you will find you give a lot away. You are so proud you want to share your babies. Rarely do you see the empty jar or bottle return home.

Preparing your environment for canning

My method is simple. First I wash and sterilize my working environment. I wash my jars based on how many I think I will need. *

I gather all my items at the ready so I don't have to go looking for them. I also sterilize many of my utensils inside my water bath canner.

I wash and drain my green beans. In this case, they were frozen. I set them in the fridge the night before; then on the counter to thaw on the morning I was going to can.

I used what would be called the raw pack method for preparing and canning my beans.

Once the jars are filled, you would then add salt. I put a quarter teaspoon per jar. Salt is not required, but it adds to taste and clarity of jar and color when your items are canned. I do not always add salt to vegetables, but I do green beans.

I then added boiling water to each jar to the proper level, then I used a wooden skewer to stir and remove any air bubbles that have settled in the jar. You want to remove air bubbles so you have a proper seal. I then checked jars for nicks or chips, wiped the jar for any debris that might impede sealing in the canner, and added the new canning lid and screwed down the top fingertip tight.

Once the jars are ready, place in the canner, make sure your canner is filled to the manufacturer's recommended depth of water in the canner, add vinegar to assist if you have hard water. A quarter cup will help the jars not be cloudy with lime at the end of canning. It isn't necessary, it just helps with the overall look of the jar afterward.

Remember to always check the vent area is free of debris.

Once the canner is full, place the lid on and in my case I line up the arrow on the lid to the groove on my canner.

Once the grooves are lined up you would then alternately tighten the screws down catty-corner from each other all the way around

Let us get the fire going!

Turn on the fire and bring it up to temp to begin venting. Eventually, you will get used to your stove and know at what setting will bring your canner up to temp. I no longer put mine on high. I know to keep my canner at ten pounds of pressure I need it to be on medium. I just set mine there and do other tasks or read while I wait. I'm never far from my kitchen and canner when canning.

When the canner begins to heat up inside it will begin venting air out of the vent hole. At first, it is light. You want the venting to become a very strong vent out. Once you know it is a strong vent, set your time and let vent for 10 minutes. This is very important. Venting pushes out all the air from the canner itself and from the jars also. This will allow for your jars to eventually set a proper seal. The heat is also building in the canner, which will kill bacteria and other bad microbes. I did not post a picture as it is very hard to show the canner venting in a photo. Below are three videos that show a canner venting, another under pressure and how to use an All American in general. I chose Starry Hilders as she actually cans outside on fire as she lives off the grid in Idaho

Venting a canner

When canner reaches pressure

How to use an All American Canner

Now the waiting begins.

Once the canner had vented for ten minutes I add the weighted gauge and wait for the canner to come up to pressure. When it begins to make a jiggling sound the canner is now up to pressure. I set my timer for the time recommended for green beans in a quart jar. In my case at sea level, I would can with ten pounds of pressure for twenty-five minutes in a quart jar. At the end of twenty-five minutes, turn off your canner and let it come down off pressure. This can take a while. Do not become impatient and try and make it come down faster as it could cause your jars to break, or spew out some of the liquid in the jar. This could cause your jar to lose its seal or not form one at all. Once the canner has come down off pressure, remove the lid carefully away from your face so that any steam left in the canner will push out away from your face. Set beans to cool on the counter for twelve to twenty-four hours. Then wash the outside of your jars in hot soapy water. Dry them off to write with a sharpie the date of canning and the items you canned. Now you can put them up in your cabinet.

Always research any canning recipe for yourself.

As always when following someone else's directions for home canning, ALWAYS do your research on home canning techniques and times. Never trust anyone else to be your authority. Always check and double-check yourself. I have watched many canning videos where someone decides to do a how-to. I have actually seen videos on water bath canning food that should be pressure canned. A good rule of thumb is pickles and foods in brine, and foods very high in PH can be water bath canned. This includes most fruits, as well as jams and jellies. All vegetables, meats, and beans are pressure canned. Again the exception with vegetables is if you are making them into pickles. These have vinegar and sugars which change the ph. Why, what is the difference? The Ph level that controls the acidity level that stops bacteria and microbes!

Books, Books, and More Books. Does one ever have enough books?

Balls books are trusted immensely. They test all their recipes in test kitchens and labs for precise times and temps. I have many of their books. The one listed below is a good one. It is good to have on hand. It is very in-depth and covers more than canning. It is recommended that after a canning publication by an accepted authority is ten years old to replace with an updated version. This book was originally published in 2006 and is now over 10 years old, but it is full of almost anything you might ever want to can. I think it is a must on your shelf if you plan to start home canning. It has classic recipes from the past. Whereas the newer one is more hip for our Foodie society of today. One should always have a classic! You can always look up times and anything else that may have changed by cross-referencing with newer versions.

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving: 400 Delicious and Creative Recipes for Today

The new book that replaces this one is here. The All-New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving: Over 350 of the Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, and Preserved Recipes

The National Center For Home Food Preservation is probably one of the most trusted how-to sites all around. I use this website often. I have also bought their latest book from an extension service, publisher. That information is on their website, How to buy the Bound version. You could save time and money and print the PDF on their website and put it in a binder.

National Center For Home Food Preservation

There is a learning curve to becoming a home canner. Society today has taken away from us home food preservation as it was in the past. Things we used to learn growing up are no longer taught to us. Why bottle up your food when you can go to the store and buy it. I take this step by step, but there are many, many things you need to know and understand on home canning that ensures you have canned the food item at the proper temp, in the proper canner, for the proper amount of time. With the time spent canning, you want to make sure that while you are canning you are safe and ultimately your food is safe for you to eat. You want proper seals and long shelf life. I watched many YouTube videos learning how to can. Honestly, I still watch them and I still learn something I did not know. For Example, Why do my beef cuts sometimes have a metallic taste after it is canned and sometimes it does not. When browning in cast iron pans the food item sometimes takes on the taste of the iron. Eureka! I only use stainless steel pans now to brown and par brown meat items for home canning. No longer have that problem and curiosity of taste.

Two home canners that do excellent how-to canning videos are:

2leelou Preserves 2leelou is a professionally trained Master Food Preserver. She gives precise and proper instruction. She is an instructor at her local state extension service.

imstillworkin is very, very, thorough and by the book as a canner. With these two you will get the best hand and visual instruction there is out there. Neither of the two deviates from proper and safe canning instruction. If you are new to canning that is exactly what you need. Keep your eye out for more canning articles.

Happy Canning!!

*Note I take all my own photos. Crooked at times on purpose. Some photos are generalized and not the actual canning session. Washed jars at the ready are not the size used in this article.

Making A Sourdough Starter

2018-04-29T18:05:00.000-05:00

MAKING A SOURDOUGH STARTER

The desire to bake bread

If you love bread and have wandered into the ways of breadmaking eventually you may want to try making sourdough bread. One needs a starter to use in the bread. The starter is used in place of yeast to make the bread rise and has a sour taste. You can get a starter in multiple places. You can start your own, or you may know a friend or family member who has one in their refrigerator and would give you a dollop or two to feed and make your own sourdough mix. You can order a starter from multiple places online, I have always wanted to get one from King Arthur Flour as they say their starter is over 100 years old. King Arthur Soughdough Starter

What Is Sourdough?

It is a moist, and fermented starter you store until you use and it is also your baked goods. From your bread, rolls, cornbread, pizza, pretzels, to pancakes, waffles, and biscuits. You use the starter rather than yeast to make and bake. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary,

sourdough
noun sour·dough \ ˈsau̇(-ə) r-ˌdō, sense 1 is also -ˈdō \

Definition of sourdough
: a leaven consisting of dough in which fermentation is active
: a type of dough that is allowed to ferment before it is baked and that has a slightly sour taste

There is no wrong way to make sourdough. The type and amount of flour to the consistency of the starter based on the liquid to dry ratio is all a personal choice. Eventually, when I can find GMO free Cornmeal, I think I will make a cornmeal sourdough starter. The type of liquid can and will vary based on the recipes and guideline you look up on how to make a starter. I have seen milk, whey, to pineapple juice added to the starter liquid. An interesting video I watched in my search is of an old family recipe from a youtube channel called: Food Farmer Earth. Their highlighted family recipe uses milk as the liquid. I might consider making a milk-based sourdough starter also, but I would want to use raw milk.

You are surrounded by bacteria!

No matter where you are or where you live there are friendly bacteria surrounding you in and around your home. Wild yeast floating in your home and on the flour type you choose to use will combine and begin the fermentation process. The final result will be a sourdough starter that you store on your counter if you bake bread often or one you store in your refrigerator and feed weekly until you need it again. The cool environment slows down fermentation but does not stop it. I have heard tell of folks who forget to feed it and recover it back out on the counter adding in flour and water. It is as simple as setting it out to come to room temperature.

I made many attempts at making my own starter before I was finally successful. It wasn't because it was hard, but that I forgot I was making it and would forget to feed it. It would get pushed back on the counter and would dry out. One day I just had all the magic work, science and my memory and now I have a happy starter I use.

How do bacteria make bread?

Wild yeast is the bacteria that is all around us in our environment. it comes out to play in all countertop fermentations. Whether it is sauerkraut or sourdough wild yeast enter the mix and begin fermentation. In all fermentation Lactobacillus that is also in the air meet up with the wild yeasts and combine with the flour-water mixture and begin to eat the simple sugars that exist in flour. Over time the yeast feeding on the sugars creates the carbon dioxide bubbles that we begin to see. The sour taste is the regular feeding we give the yeasts and Lactobacillus as they create the carbon dioxide. Upon combining a portion of this bubbling mixture to your bread recipe you don't need yeast as you have captured the wild yeast from your home and put it to work. Once the loaf of bread rises, the yeast begins to die, but the carbon dioxide is still trapped and your bread has formed. Bake and eat!!!

Making Your Own Starter

When I finally made mine I opted for simple 1 Cup dry to a half a cup liquid.

I used 1/2 cup organic white flour and 1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour. You don't have to use organic, nor both white and wheat you can use 1 cup of either. I chose the 1/2 cup each.

Flour and Water

Mix them well.

Then cover.

I used a 7-day method. 3 days at 24-hour fermentation, and 4 at 12-hour fermentation. For the first 3 days. Every 24 hours discard half the mixture. add back 1 cup flour and a half cup water. One day I might add white flour and the next whole wheat.

Mix well again.

After the first couple of days, you begin to see bubbles.

For the next 4 days discard half and add back 1 cup flour to 1/2 cup water every 12 hours. It is at this time you can start to use the discard and make biscuits or pancakes. Experiment with recipes you find online till you find one that will become your favorite. I am a firm believer in trial and error until you find something that works and tastes great.

Now that your starter is finished store in the refrigerator.

When you want to make something, take out the amount that your recipe needs and add back 1 cup dry to half cup liquid. Thus, keeping it fed. If you aren't using it regularly don't forget to weekly discard some or half and add back the 1 cup dry to 1/2 cup liquid ratios. I choose to keep mine at a high level in case I bake multiple loaves of bread. No way is the right way. Through time, study and finding what works for you, you will have a sourdough starter for the rest of your life. You could become the friend or family member giving out lovely dollops of sour joy!