Thinking Out Louder

Real Chips!

2009-11-20T13:37:00.000-08:00

I bought some "Beets and Sweets" chips. They are made with sweet potatoes and beets. They were pretty good - except for the oil in which they were cooked - canola and/or safflower and/or sunflower. Liquid vegetable oils are not stable for frying. When they are heated they produce toxic compounds and by products. So obviously anything fried is going to have heated vegetable oils, unless.... you don't cook them in vegetable oil!
That's why I decided to make some chips the old fashined way - the way that is good for you.

So I used lard I rendered myself! Over a month ago I got a big chunk of back fat from the local farmers' market. If you don't have all natural non-hydrogenated lard, you could try non-hydrogenated palm oil. (Probably won't taste as good...)

I rendered it and stored it in a glass jar in the fridge.

I used my handy mandolin for slicing. (this thing saves so much time) Just watch your fingertips!

Then I fried them in small batches in a deep cast iron skillet.

The beets were tricky. There is a fine line between still soggy and burnt. I think next time I will lay the beet slices out to dry for a while before frying.

I used a spinkle of Real Salt when they were done and Voila!

They are delicious - and beautiful.

I gave Ben a taste test last night and he said my chips taste so much better than the ones from the store. Duh!

America's Next Top Baby Model

2009-11-08T20:59:00.000-08:00

I decided to let Ruthie do some modeling of our new inventory. She is so cute.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

College Savings? Probably Not

2009-11-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that I like to do crafts with my kids. A friend of mine gave me some of the cutest handmade hair clips as part of a baby shower gift before Ruthie was born. I knew I would enjoy making something like that. A seed was planted.

There was a ladies craft night featuring how to make said hair clips but I missed the activity when Ben and I decided to go see Harry Potter 6. So I asked for a brief explanation over the phone and then decided to wing it.

First we found lots of fabric flowers on clearance at craft stores and at the dollar store. This is the part that Julie and William love the most.

Then we start putting all of the disassembled flowers together in different ways to see what would look good.

Then I hot glue them together and we list them in our online Etsy store. Of course many clips are kept in Julie's personal collection. Like a baker who eats too much inventory - Julie has a hard time letting go her favorite ones (or any ones).

William likes them too.

Julie hand makes all of the packaging,
which is a lot of writing for a little girl.

Julie also did some "modeling".

Once they are in our online store we just wait for some one to buy them. After a purchase is made, Julie writes a personalized Thank You card, I package them up and we ship them off!

So there you have it. I run little business with my 5 year old daughter. So far we have not made a profit yet, so I don't think college will be paid for by hair clips, but you never know...

To enter in our current giveaway please visit http://veaterfam.blogspot.com and follow instruction on how to enter. Giveaway ends on Nov. 13th. There will be 2 winners! Good luck!

Check out our store for up to date inventory.

www.sewmagical.etsy.com

Here are some of my favorites we have made (some still for sale, some long gone).

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-31T23:25:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween. Hope yours was great too.

Twins - Five Years Apart

2009-10-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

It has been so fun to have both of my girls born at the same time of year. The clothing has worked out so well! The sizes and seasons are matching up perfectly. As some of you may know - I had been waiting 5 years to use the nun Halloween costume again. Here is a look at both Julie and Ruthie at this time of year. And just so he's not left out, I'll throw in a picture of William too!

Julie

Ruthie

Julie

Ruthie

William at 4 months

Ruthie at 7 months

Happy Halloween!!

More costume pictures to come!

Raw Butter! mmmmmmm...

2009-10-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

We are so fortunate here in Washington State that raw milk is legal. You can purchase it right in the store from Whole Foods or PCC and at various farmers' markets. We personally buy it from a milk drop at someone's home. It comes directly from the dairy, at almost half the price of that in the stores, and it's a couple of days fresher! It is certified which means the cleanliness is regulated. It is safe and it is way more nutritious than the stuff in the super-market that has had the life cooked out of it!

Most of all it is delicious!!

For more info on raw milk check out realmilk.com

So, what is raw butter, you may ask? Well, it is butter made from raw cream. That means that it has not been pasteurized. Since I had some raw butter last weekend on Vashon Island I have been thinking about how much I loved the all grass-fed raw butter and how I could get my hands (or lips) on some more, and then I got this email!

Quote:

Well, I have discovered a new source for raw butter from grass-fed Jersey cows in PA.

Elmer and Martha King live in Pennsylvania and have cancelled their contract with Organic Valley to go all raw! In order to be sustainable, they have to sell all 1500 lbs of butter they have on hand. Let’s keep them in business!! They sell their butter for $9 lb. I just placed an order for 30 butters so that with shipping (ground) it is only $10 per pound all in. Anyone who wants to purchase some of that from me just let me know. He’ll be shipping it to me Monday, November 2^nd and I will have it by the end of that week.

For those who would like to place their own individual orders, especially for my friends who do not live in Washington, here is their information:

Elmer and Martha King

814-349-4890

So there you have it. A great source for raw butter. Sorry to those of you who are North of the border - I'm not sure this could work out for you...

If you live in the Seattle area (Eastside) and want to get in on the upcoming order I can get you in contact with my friend, let me know and I will pass along the info.

While the sale of raw butter is illegal in almost every state, I have found an interesting method for making your own cultured butter at home. I think I'll give it a try!

You can find more info on cultured butter at Body Ecology.

For kefir cultures click Body Ecology and Wilderness Fmaily Naturals.

For buttermilk culture click Cheesemaking.com and GEM Cultures.

Happy Butter Making!

More info on Pasteurization: from the The Douglass Report

5 arguments against pasteurization

This is just a partial listing of the problems with pasteurization, but it should be enough for
you to get the picture.

1. Pasteurization alters the quality and structure of the milk itself. For example,
when milk is pasteurized and homogenized, the lactose sugar is converted to beta-lactose—
a form that can cause milk allergies.

2. Pasteurization ruins the taste of milk. If you’ve ever had raw milk, you understand—
the pasteurized variety just isn’t the same. But beyond that, pasteurization
destroys the creaming ability of milk. It also destroys the souring bacteria of milk,
causing it to putrefy if kept long enough instead of souring normally. Pasteurization
also makes milk decompose when exposed to air.

3. Pasteurization sucks the nutritional life out of raw milk. The process diminishes
the vitamin content and destroys vitamins C, B6, and B12. Raw milk is an excellent
source of calcium, but once it has been pasteurized, your body can no longer absorb many
of the nutrients that are left. Plus, the pasteurization process destroys all the beneficial
enzymes, antibodies, hormones, and fatty acids (like cancer-fighting conjugated
linoleic acid or CLA).
REAL Health Breakthroughs
fromWilliam Campbell Douglass II,M.D.

4. Pasteurized milk can lead to a variety of health problems. The most obvious evidence
of this is that infants do not develop well on pasteurized milk. (Even calves do
poorly and sometimes die when given the pasteurized junk food.) Pasteurized milk is
more likely than raw milk to lead to tooth decay, constipation, allergies, arthritis, cancer,
and osteoporosis (so much for the whole “milk for strong bones” theory). And it may
diminish resistance to disease (especially in the young).

5. Pasteurization isn’t perfect. Most people are willing to give up all of the benefits of
raw milk because they’re concerned about safety. But the truth is that pasteurization is
not infallible: It may be carelessly done, which could result in various bacterial infections
such as helicobacter pylori, the cause of peptic ulcers.

- The Fringey Housewife

All Carrots Great and Small

2009-10-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

I decided it was time to harvest my carrots and beets before the bugs ate them completely.
Here are the fruits of my labor!

3 butternut squash (plus 2 we already ate), all of the carrots and most of the beets.

Don't you just love all of the colors!

The largest carrots.

The smallest carrot.

The most artistic carrot.

The most socially acceptable carrots.

The tallest carrot top. The red line is how tall I am.

The one and only cabbage head, full of worms - yum!My cabbages didn't do well.

This is the best out of a dozen plants. Any tips?

The largest broccoli head. (It's that tiny thing in the middle).

If anyone knows why my broccoli didn't head, please let me know.

Our biggest pumpkin - that's my boot.

Too bad it won't be orange in time for Halloween :(

And from earlier this summer:

I forgot to pick cucumbers for a few days when it was really hot and ended up with some really big ones! (That is a wide mouth quart jar!)

This was my entire broccoli harvest a couple of weeks ago. Maybe they will keep producing - pretty pathetic, I know.

I'm very sad I didn't take any pictures of my tomatoes and beans. It was a great crop!

I plan to double the size of my garden next summer.

He Can Fly, He Can Fly, He can Fly!

2009-10-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

I spent most of the morning finishing William's Peter Pan costume. The hat was harder to make than I had anticipated... It is sort of like a crooked ice cream cone. No sewing, just hot glue. Not quite sure how to make a Peter Pan hat, I looked on the internet for a pattern but everything was too complicated to understand so I just decided to wing it. Not too bad for $0.50 worth of felt.

We painted his dagger together this morning. Then I asked him if he wanted to try on the rest of his costume.

"No, I want to watch the paint dry."

If only we all had that much time (and patience) to take joy in watching paint dry.

Tomorrow is our church Halloween party. Now to just get everyone else's costumes done in time... More pictures to come!

By the way, I made the entire costume without getting out my sewing machine!! All hot glue, baby! I even have a great burn on one finger to prove it!

Happy Halloween.

These Shoes are Made for Walkin'

2009-10-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

After living in Arizona for 3 years, I'm finding it difficult to wear real shoes again. The skin on the back of my heels has become very soft and unaccustomed to anything against it.

But recently I have been dealing with some chronic knee problems. My Naturopath Physical Therapist recommended I get some really supportive shoes and wear them all the time - especially when doing things on my feet, ie cooking meals, doing dishes, and of course walking.

Since my heels are such wimps now it has been difficult to get used to shoes again, but it sure has been worth it. I have so much less leg and knee pain.

So under recommendation from my Doctor and from me I bring you the ultimate in comfort - Keen shoes! The molded foot bed has great arch support and my legs and knees feel so much better. Plus, these shoes are sooo comfortable.

I ended up getting these green "Portola" style ones because they were on sale at onlineshoes.com at 40% off! I think they are running out of available sizes in this style.

I had previously gotten a different style at REI but it had a bulkier back and in combination with my tender heels I kept getting blisters :(

While shopping in a different pair of shoes the other night I realized what a difference - my legs fatigued much faster and the next morning my knees hurt. So I guess I will be wearing these Keens during all waking hours for the rest of my life!

Vashon Island = Fantasy Island!

2009-10-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

I've never taken a girls' weekend before, but given my recent stress load, Erin, a great friend of mine came to the rescue and we took a weekend away from the chatter of children to get a little r and r. I can't take much credit since I really didn't do much of the planning, but what an amazing place - Vashon Island!

I'm not sure there are a lot of recreational things to do (besides hiking), but if you are just looking to relax and have some great food, and perhaps get a massage - this is the place. Located just west of lower Seattle, Vashon Island has many bed and breakfasts and a few amazing restaurants.

Coming from the Eastside (Bellevue, WA) we took 2 bridges and 1 ferry boat to arrive on Friday evening and check into our accommodations at the Betty MacDonald Farm. It is quaint country set lodging (we actually stayed upstairs in the barn).

Then Erin and I set out to find some dinner. A friend had recommended a local French restaurant la Boucherie.

Scrumptious, delectible, tantilizing could all describe the menu. We decided to get everything on the menu and just split it all. Yes, we ate the whole menu!! And it was great. Described as ultra-local, the food was fresh and so flavorful, right from Sea Breeze Farm down the road. Why is their food so yummy? Because it is real food. Next time I plan to visit the farm.

In their own words :

OUR PHILOSOPHY...

We are a diverse, multi-species, "beyond organic", grass-based animal farm.

We practice an intensive pasture rotation in lieu of commercial fertilizers. Our freely-ranging poultry flocks effectively forage, fertilize and cleanse the pastures behind our dairy herd. The resulting meat, dairy and eggs are remarkably flavorful, gorgeously colored and fantastically healthful. It goes without saying that no herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics or artificial inputs exist on our farm. We take pride in our commitment to sustainable, traditional, and healthful whole-food production.

If you would like to learn more about this kind of farming, I suggest you read You Can Farm by Joel Salatin. (You can also find it on Amazon) I'm reading a copy from my local library.

I wish I had taken my camera so I could show you every course.

Because we are such cute girls, the manager/waiter sent us away with a bag full of breakfast foods at a great deal.

8 eggs (darkest yolks I have EVER seen)
2 handmade sausages (huge things, one pork, one beef - made with wine and spices)
the remainder of our Real Milk (all grass-fed, raw), which we had started at dinner with our dessert.
raw butter (illegal to sell, but aparently not illegal to serve - Yum!)
some french bread
2 pints of fresh raspberries

Needless to say our next 2 mornings' breakfasts were so very yummy and filling.

Stuffed with yummy food, we went back to our lodgings and watched Moulin Rouge, one of my favorite movies.

As the rain poured on our roof we had a great night's sleep and slept in as we pleased! After watching some America's Next Top Model reruns we headed out to the local farmers' market around lunchtime. I ate a yummy fresh carrot and my friend Erin bought a big bag of squash and pumpkins!

Tempted to return to La Boucherie for lunch, but knowing that we couldn't afford to eat there for every meal, we set out to find another great eatery. Some kind ladies at the local art gallery steered us towards the Monkey Tree. We were not disappointed! It was great.

I had the cauliflower and dill soup and then we split the poached pear with gruyere sandwich. Then we got some desserts to go.

The rain finally let up and we were able to explore the grounds of the Betty MacDonald Farm. We picked some apples and ate them. Found some wild mint and made some fresh tea from it; a nice relaxing afternoon.

By the way, laughter is the best medicine - I actually feel human again! Thanks Erin.

I plan to go to Vashon Island again very soon...

Can't Decide! Halloween Preview

2009-10-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Halloween is approaching and I can't decide which costume to use for Ruthie...

A cute (and a little bit scary) mouse...

A chubby Jack-o-lantern...

Or an angelic nun... (I've been waiting 5 years to reuse this costume!!)

Leave a comment to vote for your favorite!

These are a few of my Favorite Supplements

2009-10-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to share with you my favorite dietary supplements. As far as I'm concerned, vitamins should come from food. But as we all know the SAD (standard American Diet) is so devoid of the vitamins our bodies need to sustain health.

So I strive to use only food derived vitamins as my supplements. To learn more about the difference between synthetic and natural vitamins you can read more here or here. As you may have guessed there is controversy surrounding this subject. My feeling is if some synthetic vitamins block the natural ones from doing their job then I prefer to stay away from all synthetic vitamins.

Probably the most important supplement we take as a family is high vitamin cod liver oil. This is not to be confused with a regular fish oil supplement. The difference is profound. Most refined fish oils are taken for their omega-3 content or the EPA and DHA benefits. While DHA and EPA are also present in the high vitamin cod liver oil, the most dramatic difference between this product and other fish oils is the amount of vitamins A and D. These are so depleted in today's diet. You can do more research on your own, but take it from me, if you want to be more healthy right now - start taking this supplement today. I prefer buying it from Radiant Life because you only have to take half as much as regular cod liver oil. And there are NO added synthetic vitamins. Even Carlson and all those other expensive brands and junk to their products, like soybean oil, synthetic vitamins, etc. - yuck! Just take a look at this label - cod liver oil should have somewhere near 6000IU Vitamin A per serving and over 600IU Vitamin D per serving. If the stuff you are taking is not near that (or has extra vitamins added to make it such) maybe you should switch brands..

Onto my next favorite supplement. It's really hard to find a multi-vitamin that is not made from mostly, if not all, synthetic sources. For example let's look at some vitamin C sources. They usually say "Vitamin C as ascorbic acid" which is technically the same but is made in a laboratory. Take a look at your multi-vitamin right now, you'll see what I mean. **** I'm waiting for you to go look at your multi-vitamins. **** So I now take the Realfood Organics by Country Life. There are other whole food multi-vitamins, but most are quite expensive and rightly so because you get what you pay for. As you can see from the label the sources for all of the vitamins are from real food which is then I believe fermented to make the nutrients more available. I have really enjoyed this brand. Also, if you get them at www.4allvitamins.com they are way cheaper than retail store prices! They also carry a Vitamin C which is all from food. Me like.

That's it for now. Next time I address vitamins and supplements I will tell you about:

Desiccated liver
Kelp
Spirulina
Acerola cherry powder
Bee pollen
Nutritional yeast
Probiotics

and many more....

Until then,
TFH (The Fringey Housewife)

Where to Begin?

2009-10-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my thoughts and opinions. I've experienced a recent desire have my voice be heard in that silent kind of way. I have some unconventional ideas and goals and want to share them with those who care to listen (or read).

Sometimes I think out loud and no one is listening. By sending it "out there" I feel like I am think out louder, and maybe someone out there will be listening - besides my supportive husband who is generally listening, most of the time. But everyone deserves a break every now and then - even the best listeners.

I'm going to start off being anonymous. We'll see how long that lasts... For now it will help me speak my mind. For those of you who know my secret identity...it will remain our little secret!
Let the highly opinionated ramblings begin!!

-TFH (The Fringey Housewife)