Worthwhile Wednesday- Make your own foaming soap

I love foaming soap!  Mainly because foaming soap doesn't leave dried soap all over the sink top for me to clean later.

Can you tell I have kids?

But foaming soaps are primarily water based, so your putting a lot of money down for not much soap.  Not to mention most commercial soap have chemicals in them you don't want (not even really soap, but detergents) or worse antibiotics which are next to worthless and even dangerous.

So why not DIY it?  It's beyond easy and great for your health & wallet!

To begin, you'll need a few things: liquid soap, water, and a foaming soap dispenser.  I use old dispensers from our commercial soaps days.  You may also want some glycerin, this provides some extra moisturizer.  For soap, I like castille and my favorite brand is Dr. Bronner's.  I could go on and on about how great the product and company is, but you can read about that here. Just don't skip the parts about how great they treat their workers, awesome company!

1. Empty foam dispenser:

-Make sure and wash out your empty foam dispenser to get it ready for use. 


2. Fill with water:

-Fill about 4/5 the way full with water (filtered or distilled is best).

3. Add soap

-Add  ~1/5 of soap, you don't want to overfill, but add enough soap to fill the dispenser completely without spilling when you put in your pump.  Also add soap second or it will foam up when you add your water or you'll have a lot of foam and very little water in your container.

4. Add glycerin and/or essential oils (optional).

-If so desired you can add glycerin for extra moisture (to your desired level of moisture, but not much) and essential oils if desired (just a drop or two).  The essential oils really add fragrance unless you use an naturally antiseptic oil (lavender or tea tree oil fall in this category).  I like to use Dr. Bronner's Lavender soap and not add extra oils.

Some extra notes: I also use this as a baby soap for my girls, only I use the Dr. Bronner's baby mild soap instead of lavender.  It works great and castille soap being so versatile (and the girls still so young) I use it for all over, even their hair.  Works great for little ones!

There you have it: so easy, healthy, and frugal!

This post is part of Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #30.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Compost Trashcan

This year we added some new members to our family- feathered ones that is...

Now that we've started with some backyard chickens (more to come later), we've got a lot of litter around.  So that begs the question, what do you do with chicken droppings??

Enter composting!

I was introduced to composting when I was little.  My dad composted our leaves, food scraps, etc.  As I grew I didn't really participate in it.  But when I knew we were going to get chickens, I knew I had to dispose of their droppings somehow.

So I began to search online and then later in a local class. All information pointed to composting. In fact, chicken droppings make some of the best compost there is.

Only thing, my hubby doesn't have a ton of time to build me a composting bin. Now being trained by my daddy, I could probably build one myself given enough time. But with two little ones underfoot, who has extra time??

So what's a family to do? Trash it!

Literally, grab a trash can and a drill. I picked one up from Lowe's and spaced out about 25 holes around the body and lid. (the one below is not mine, but looks exactly like mine)

Photo Credit: Trashfreeyear

Easy Peasy!

Then I elevated it, for proper air circulation, on two bricks. Now you're set to compost. Great for limited space too.

Now composting can be an art if you want it to be. I like things simple though.

So after reading the science and talking to some experienced composters, I came up with my own little system. Nothing new, mind you, but these are my rules.

I start with a bit of dirt and then I alternate brown and green layers. I follow these up with a bit of dirt.

Brown items: leaves, straw, sawdust, newspaper, yard waste, cardboard, dry glass clippings
-These are high in carbon/low in nitrogen. Make sure to not use treated lumber in your compost!

Green items: fresh grass clippings, fruit and vegetable waste, egg shells, hair, livestock manure, coffee grounds, tea bags
-These are high in nitrogen/low in carbon.

Every week (at the least) or couple days (preferred) we mix it. At first we rolled the trash can. After it got so full, we turned it with a shovel.

Make sure to turn, and it will be hot. That's the side effect of decomposing. If it's too wet add more brown items and be careful with food items as you can attract flies. But if you are properly layering, this is no issue.

Verdict: so far great!

-And easy way to compost that was cheap and had minimal labor.

-Not to mention how little room it takes. Small yard, no problem!

-I don't have to carry off chicken droppings.

-We've reduced our waste significantly! Which means fewer trash bags. Fewer trash bags means more money in our pockets.

-Again the more you compost the less trash. Less trash = less in landfills = better for our kids' futures!

-Finally, in about a month we'll have beautiful black compost for our garden. You have to love that!!

So what's not to like? Grab a can!

This has been a part of Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #29.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Using Grey Water

About a month ago, I ran across a post from Frugally Sustainable.  It's one of my favorite sites.

In this post the writer, Andrea, discussed greywater. Now I'll admit it, I had never heard of greywater and for those of you like me, greywater is your used household water.  So all that water you just drain from your sink, shower, or laundry machine, that's your greywater.

Now you may wonder what's so great about greywater?

Well, if you're like me you are probably looking for additional ways to save money.  With a little effort, greywater can help you do that. How?

If you save your greywater you can reuse it to water your plants or flush your toilet.  Now that it is hot, most of us are looking for ways to save on water.  Because if you're like me, you've got a lot of garden to water.endometriosis

Now there is a side note here, when watering plants, you need to use greywater that doesn't have anything toxic it in it.  Not only will you introduce toxins into your environment, you'll kill your plants.  So when you use greywater, it's extremely important to use water without cleaning agents etc in it, unless you use natural cleaners.

Once I heard about greywater, I started collecting water from our showers and bath time. For the most part, I've used it to flush our toilets.  But when I've been sure about the content of the water, I've hauled it out to our rain barrel to be used for our garden.

All that water we save, get's used twice.  Think about your water bill, what if you could cut it in half??

That's what you can do with greywater.

Not all of our waste water gets collected though.  With little children, I'm nervous about leaving any buckets out where they might have access to them and one of our sinks has no cabinet around it. So right now, I don't have buckets under our sinks.  But I'm hoping we'll add some in the future.

All that said, I'm guessing you're wondering if it's worthwhile?

It totally is!

We've had a lot of dry days lately, and we've saved a lot of water by flushing our toilets with greywater.  Plus the majority of the time I use the rain barrel to water the garden.

So instead of our water bill increasing this already hot spring, it's actually dropped!  That's amazing considering how much we have to water our garden and folks, we've got a huge garden.

I don't think I could recommend this enough.  It's worth the extra effort and not only are you saving your wallet, but you're helping to conserve one of our most valuable resources- Water!  Which is a scarce resources in some places and is a major focus of a lot of conservation groups.

For those of you interested about learning more, I'd highly suggest checking out the Frugally Sustainable post.  It's a great introduction and helps you learn the do's and don't's of using greywater.

This post is a part of Frugal Ways, Sustainable Days #26.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Reusable Coffee Filters for a Good Brew

Last week I talked about roasting your own coffee, and trust me, you won't regret trying it. This week, I'm continuing with the coffee theme, and I'm going to show you how I make reusable coffee filters.

But first, here's a little bit about why I made our own:

1) I hate waste. I'm not afraid of washing or a little extra clean up if it eliminates waste. Less trash makes me very happy.

2) I'm cheap or frugal, if cheap offends you. This cuts out another thing we have to purchase. Instead of new filters every time, just pull out a reusable one.

3) It's easy. Like I mentioned before, I don't mind a little extra work, but when it's this easy- it's a no brainer.

Now back to the filters. We have two ways we brew coffee at our house and when you read these, I might remind you that we are coffee snobs.

The first is our French press. Hands down, best coffee if you use it correctly. Coffee needs two things to be extracted properly- 1) heat and 2) time or pressure (that's why espressos brew so quickly, pressure). I might add that this is one of the reasons I'm not a fan of the Keurig systems, not enough time or pressure (no offense if you love yours, it's not for me though).

So as long as your water is 198-204 degrees F and is in contact with the grounds for approximate amount of time (this depends on methods and grind- check it out here) than you'll have optimal extraction. For the French press that's easy, just get your water close to boiling and pour over (go with courser grounds so the filter catches them all, and you don't over extract- over extraction = bitter). At the designated time, push down slowly the metal filter and enjoy.

The second way we brew is a drip cup. Now my hubby thinks this is the better way to brew. The cup is conical shape (which provides better drainage = no sludge & better extraction) and drips the hot water directly into a single serving cup. With a good filter and good brewer it has the proper time for extraction. I must admit, I like it too and the hubby is a master at brewing...so I may have to give him this one.

But the problem with the drip cup? Filters! So to stop the waste and expense, enter make your own.

First you'll want a paper filter for a pattern. I used a number 2 filter. If you have a conical basket for a larger machine, you'll probably need a number 4. I added one inch seam allowances for each side.

Make your pattern and cut. For fabric, I used unbleached muslin. This is IMPORTANT. You definitely don't want to ingest any bleach or taste it- Yech.

I wanted a raw look up top, but also didn't want my fabric to rip or shred over time. So I did an overlock stitch on the top.

I then sewed all three sides together (1/2 inch seam allowances).

Trim the edges to remove excess fabric and then flip inside out. Press.  Sew three sides again (1/2 inch seam allowances).

You've just added French seams! Yay. The great thing about this, is it exactly mimics the paper filter, in that you have a thicker bottom portion to fold down over your drip hole. This slows the water down (remember time for extraction) and doesn't expose your coffee to raw seams.

But remember our raw top? I make it taller to fold over the cup. I hate when a paper filter gets caught by the water and folds over.  With it rounded over the top, no problem!

A simple and easy way to eliminate some waste.  Plus remember that easy part- it's not only easy to construct, but simply rinse out when done and allow to air dry.  No need to wash with soap- besides who wants soap flavored coffee??  If you do worry about germs, don't, just boil it and use again.

All in all very worth your time.

This post is linked to Frugally Days Sustainable Ways # 18.

Fix and Forget Friday- Guest Post

I'm really excited and honored to share my first guest post with you all over at Stacy Makes Cents! 

When looking into changing our diet to a more whole foods diet while on a budget, I found Stacy's site and what a blessing she has been.  I've learn a great deal from Stacy and my own family LOVES her recipes.  That's why I'm so excited about my guest post.  Today I get to share one of my own recipes, inspired by Stacy's love of the crock pot.

Below is a sneak peak.  Follow the links to see the whole post:

I’m a recent convert to the crockpot. Not that I didn’t use a crockpot before, but now that I’m home
with my girls, it’s become a staple in our house. I’ll be honest, it’s just easier to fix something quickly
and then spend the rest of the day chasing my girls down…and yes, they do move that quickly.

Once I became a fan of Stacy, my love of the crockpot deepened even more. I used to think crockpots
were only useful for soups and meats covered in some type of sauce. Now I make our yogurt, breakfast
casseroles, oatmeal, and even “fancier” dinner items consistently.

Today I wanted to share one of the “fancier” items I regularly cook, Cranberry Apple Stuffed Pork Loin. It’s a recipe that I like for company. A delicious meal that is easy to throw together, but will impress whomever is coming to dinner. It started as an oven roasted recipe, but I found myself crouched over the hot oven basting the pork…forever. A great taste, but inefficient and all of us mommies know that an efficient use of your time is key to a happy mom.

Read the rest at Stacy Makes Cents and find out more about Stacy at her site and on Facebook.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Roast your own coffee

I'll admit it.  My hubby and I are coffee snobs.  We love a good cup of coffee.  In fact, we would rather not drink coffee than drink poor quality coffee.

But I'll make another confession- we're living on a budget, a strict budget.  Let's face it, your best brands are NOT cheap.

So after a lot of research, we discovered roasting coffee on our own.

Now, before I go into all it takes to roast your own coffee, let me make a comment on caffeine.  My husband and I are not heavy coffee drinkers.  At most we have a cup to two a day...however, if you are not a moderate coffee drinker than I wouldn't suggest this for you (why tempt yourself).  As most of us know, excessive amounts of caffeine are not good for you.  But that said, there are benefits to drinking moderate amounts of caffeine and coffee in particular (some benefits come even with decaf coffee).  You can review some of this here and here. 

Back to roasting!  The first thing you'll need is green coffee beans.  This is how we save money on good coffee.  If you buy unroasted beans in bulk online, you'll find the price per pound to be around $4-5.  That is amazing for good quality coffee.

We buy our coffee from Sweet Maria's.  I love them!  They are an American company that excels in selecting great coffee beans and providing great support for their clients.  In fact, I used their original youtube videos to learn about coffee roasting. 

An added bonus, all of Sweet Maria's products are purchased at fair trade or farmer's gate prices.  Farmer's gate just means they bought the beans at fair trade values, but they purchased them from a farmer and not a co-op.  Either way, you can guarantee that your coffee is bought at a living wage.

Green beans store for a long period of time. From the seller, you typically can store the beans in a cool dry place for up to 9 months without any change in quality.  They'll keep longer than that, but you might have some quality changes after 9 months.

When you're ready to roast, you have a lot of options.  You can purchase a home roaster- but that's too pricey for us.  You can oven or stove roast- but the consistency can be hard to obtain.  What you'll find is most roasters will recommend- Air Poppers!

That's right your common Air Popcorn Popper, produces an excellent quality and consistent cup of coffee.

Now, not just any air popper will work.  You need one that looks like this on the inside.

The side vents allow the beans to get hot, without allowing the oil secreted from the beans to getting to the heat source. If you have a popper with the grate on the bottom, the oil and other fragments can get into the heat source, resulting in a FIRE HAZARD.  So check that popper before you buy.  We use the CVS brand of air popper.  It works great.

With the right popper, add 1/3 a cup of green beans to your popcorn popper.  Turn it on.

I like to stir mine in the beginning , until it looses enough water weight to move on it's own. But you don't necessarily have to do this.

You'll notice the beans slowly yellowing and the smell is something like baking bread at this point.

The chaff will fly up.  This is just the casing of the bean and is harmless, though a bit messy. You don't have to pick it out either.  It doesn't effect the taste of the coffee at all.  I keep a colander in front of the popper with a wet cloth.  It catches the chaff and keeps it from flying all over the place.

After about 1 minute 30 seconds, you'll enter first crack.  It sounds like popcorn popping. This is when the internal structure of the bean is breaking up and the oils are being released.  That's what gives coffee it's great taste!  You'll notice the smell is changing into a more coffee like scent.

Once first crack has past, you officially have coffee.  How far you go from here depends on the bean and the type of roast you want. My hubby is a dark roast man.  I follow the recommendation of Sweet Maria's and go to the darkest that particular bean is best at.

This usually means I go to the second crack and stop it right when it starts.  While first crack sounds like popcorn, second crack is quieter and is more like paper crackling.  Don't let it go too far.  Soon after second crack is over you get ash. Yuck!

Turn off your popcorn popper and using oven mitts dump into a colander. I shake my beans, this helps cool them off quickly.  Lay them out on a cookie sheet and allow to cool.

Mark and store in a glass jar when completely cool. I like canning jars.  I don't screw it down all the way at first.  What is happening is the beans are degassing, releasing CO2.  This will build up pressure if you screw it down all the way.  Leave it that way for several hours and then secure and put in a dark place.  Light and oxygen is what causes your coffee to go stale.

Since the coffee is so fresh the taste you get at 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, and even 72 hours after roasting will be totally different.  Most coffees peak at about 48 hours.  But they are still wonderful later on.  I'll give you an good example.  Starbucks has the goal of roasting the coffee and getting it to you within 2 weeks.  Even with the best packaging the coffee is losing flavor.  So at four days out, your cup of coffee is fresher and more amazing than then gold standard of coffee in the store. 

You'll notice the amazing taste immediately...but be warned.  You might end up like me and the hubby- Professed Coffee Snobs.

Next week- Brewing Coffee with reusable filters and the best extraction!

This post is part of Frugally Sustainable Ways #17.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Make a bread bag

We made the switch to homemade bread several months ago. I primarily make sourdough, but also some fruit breads and other yeast breads.

But as everyone knows homemade bread becomes stale fast. How do you stop them from becoming stale?

For awhile we used ziplock bags. But plastic encourages mold and the fruit breads especially would go bad quickly.

So enter our homemade bread bag.

I took some ripstock nylon and layered it with muslin and a decorative cotton. The addition of velcro and we had a wonderful sealed bag!

The three layers help keep the bread fresh, but also to "breathe" to discourage mold. It works great on it's own, but even better when paired with a bread box.

However, when bread does go stale, don't throw it out! Stale bread is great for meatloaf, making your own breadcrumbs,or simply refresh them on the oven, just wrap your bread in a wet paper bag or towel and place in a preheated 300 degree oven. In about ten minutes the steam will soften your bread.

I encourage everyone to try a natural fabric bag. It's been great and was super easy to make. In fact, I'll post a tutorial soon.

Happy bread eating!!

This post is linked up with Frugally Sustainable Ways. 

Worthwhile Wednesday- Dishcloths

This Christmas, I got some great books on Tunisian crocheting, also called afghan crocheting. Big thanks to Fran!!!

It gives you the look of knit, but with crocheting. Perfect for me, an avid crocheter.

To try it out I used some cotton yarn I got on sale awhile back. (have you noticed I'm all about using what I already have on hand?)

I loved it!!

First I just did the simple stitch.

Then I combined it with the purl stitch for this great honeycomb pattern.

Finally I tried the knit stitch, awesome!!

Sorry for the shadow, I couldn't get it right. :(

I made all dishcloths and washcloths to get used to the technique. Very simple and a great practice, plus more dishcloths which we needed.

To boot, these are stylish dishcloths that took very little time to make and cost a fraction of what even walmart charges. Since I got my yarn on sale, all in all my dishcloths maybe cost at most .50 cents a piece, for a much better look.

Next up is a bag for my bible study materials. I've been using a reusable grocery bag, and it's time to move up.  I'm thinking I can make my bag for less than $3, using similar cotton yarn that I got at a fraction of the price.


Below is the pattern for the honeycomb cloth. If you need clarification on any of it, let me know.

Next up on my crocheting adventures: plarn. What's plarn? It's "yarn" made out of plastic grocery bags. The bad thing about plastic grocery bags is they aren't strong enough. Now, we use reusable bags to shop, but every once in awhile we get stuck with plastic bags and before we started using reusable bags we have a bunch leftover!

My goal is to use up my plastic bags, making stronger crocheted grocery bags. Plus if they get worn out or dirty, off to the recycling bin. A great way to reuse and then recycle later!  (Even better, it gives us more reusable bags to take to the store without purchasing any!)


Look for some plarn adventures in the near future and happy dishcloth making!!

Honeycomb pattern dishcloth-

Chain 25, using h sized Tunisian hook and cotton yarn of your choice. Organic natural peaches and cream brand is always a favorite of mine!

Complete a foundation row forward- insert hook in second chain from hook. Yo, pull up lp. *insert hook in next chain. Yo, pull up lp. Awarding another stitch to hook. Repeat from * across. You will have 25 lps on your hook.

Foundation row return- yo, pull through 1 lp. *yo, pull through 2 lps. Repeat from * until 1 lp remains on hook.

Row 1- sk first vertical bar. *tps in next vertical bar, tss in next vertical bar. Repeat from * across, ending with tss.

Row 1 return- same as foundation return.

Row 2- sk first vertical bar. *tss in next st, tps in next stitch. (hint you have staggered stitches when compared to previous row) when two stitches remain, tss into next to last st and final st.

Row 2 return- same as foundation row return.

Repeat until desired length.

Final row- slip stitch across in normal stitches, Fasten off at the end. This gives the cloth the same look at the start and end.

This post linked with Frugal Days, Substainable Ways Wednesday.

Worthwhile Wednesday- Reusable Snack Bags

We use a LOT of sandwich bags. Snacks for the girls, extra pacies, baby spoons...

You name it, and we stick it in a plastic baggie.

The more I thought about it the more wasteful it seemed, not to mentioned expensive.

Now I've seen reusable snack bags before, but had never sat down and made one. But after I threw away another baggie covered in applesauce, I decided it was time!

First I trolled the Internet for good tutorials, but without Velcro and a waterproof fabric on hand I wasn't sure what to do. Then I found this tutorial.

Instead of PUL or nylon, she used heavy duty freezer bags. Perfect for lazy and cheap me, who didn't want to go shopping for extra supplies. Though that said, there is no reason you couldn't sub PUL or nylon for this instead, in fact I'd encourage you too. It's easier to wash. This is just my alternative for $0, using what I had on hand.

I found another construction method I liked better, just like the old sandwich bags that didn't have the zip tops that incorporated the fold over closure. I did this for a couple of reasons, 1) I didn't have any velcro and didn't want to get any, 2) I had heard that Velcro could catch food and get a little dirty, and 3) I wanted a quiet closure in case we were at a meeting or church when we needed to open it.

First I used a cotton fabric I already had from a previous $1 a yard sale. Yay for using up scraps!!

I also cut a regular ziplock freezer bag (I used this since I knew it would hold up- I wash mine to reuse and they work great). These were quart size.

I then cut my fabric to match.

I wanted a finished edged, so I rolled my edges and sewed. If you have access to a serger, I would just serge it instead.

Then I folded the "back" part of the bag to make the fold over. This was about two inches.

I then folded my other side (which will become your front) to match edges and pinned, so the right sides of fabric are together.

Next I sewed up both sides.  Then I trimmed off excess and flipped.

All done!

This picture has the back flap over the top, just like the old sandwich bags.

I made a bunch and in the end even made two for my sister and one for my friend Amie that are embroidered. Too cute, right?

In the end they were sandwich size, which is perfect for us. You could adjust the size if you wanted smaller or larger.

We tried them out the next day, and wonderful, just wipe it out when done or wash in sink. I'm guessing this will cut our sandwich baggie buying by at least half, which is a win for us.

Plus less trash and who doesn't love that!

This post is linked up to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.

On the way to granola town- Tomato Sauce!!

A while ago, Mark and I embarked on a new adventure- Tomato Sauce. 

Neither of us had ever made tomato sauce, but we didn't let that stop us.  After reading 20 or more posts we came up with our own system.  Hope you enjoy!

The first thing we did was buy our tomatoes.  I know, buy...but the truth is we didn't plant tomatoes in the garden this year.  BIG OVERSIGHT. 

However, we were able to get tomatoes at a very reasonable price at the farmer's market.  What we bought were the ripest tomatoes that needed to be used ASAP.  Perfect for canning.

From there we washed our new tomatoes, cut any bad spots off, and cored them.  No, we didn't remove the skin or pulp.  I figure that there are probably some good things in both that we might lose by getting rid of them at this step, plus I saw a bunch of variance in this step.

 

We pureed our tomatoes and placed into our stock pot.

Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and let it cook. The foam will die down...but keep cooking.

In all it took around 2 hours, but I like my sauce a little more watery than others. I did reduce my liquid by half though. Once we were close to my desired consistency, I used my immersion blender to puree the sauce even more.  I LOVE IT.  Get one if you don't have one.  It's fantastic.  Though side note, if you don't have one you can use a blender.

Finally, I strained my final product.  This removed any seeds or leftover skin that didn't cook and puree.

You're left with a super healthy and fresh product!!  We simply froze ours in freezer bags, as we will use these within the year.

The final tally- .44 cents a "can" of sauce.  This is a good 30 cents cheaper per can from my local knock off brand tomato sauce from the grocery store. 

So not only are we cheaper than the grocery store, but we are using local products that are pesticide free, picked and used at freshness, and is HEALTHIER!!  No sodium, as my family has to watch that in particular.  If you don't have to, I would recommend adding some salt if you like during the cooking process, but even then you are likely to add less than the canned goods.

Now it is a little late to help many now, but that said, bookmark and get ready for next summer.  Watch out, Tomatoes!!

Next up on my road to granola- sourdough bread.

It's Ok, Wednesday

So I totally stole borrowed this idea from Amber, who got the idea from Glamour magazine. They had a section called Hey, It’s Okay and listed a bunch of things to be okay about. I'm joining in, even though it's not Tuesday, because it's ok!

It's ok...

-that my husband things I'm crazy, because I did totally hear our 8 month old say "hey, kitty, kitty".

I'm mean it wasn't clear like that, but she did say it, even if I haven't heard it again.  I swear!

It's ok...

-to be totally uncool with the whole new Duggar baby.  I'll be honest, I would never tell anyone that they can't have whatever number of kids they want, I mean it's none of my business.

But come on...whose really raising those kids??  It's the older ones!  They even admit they couldn't do it without the help of their older ones.  If that is the case, I see an issue.

Plus after so many pregnancies, risk to mommy and babies go up.  That would terrify me, especially given what happened the last time to them.  But then again, not my business...

It's ok...

-to have gotten out my Christmas stuff early.  Yes, I know I'm crazy!  It's not even Thanksgiving, but truth be told I have a LOT of stuff to put out. It takes time...more time than I have for one weekend.

So I'm spreading it out, especially since the next few weeks we are celebrating/traveling each weekend.  Yikes!

Oh and we are totally saving the Christmas tree until after Thanksgiving.  I do have some standards. ;)

It's ok...

-that I'm totally out of the loop when it comes to most tv shows  and entertainment news.  We don't have cable.

I know, your crazy bells are ringing again.  I mean, Christmas early and now no cable...

But in truth we like it that way.  We watch a lot of netflix (I don't live under a rock yet) and hulu.

The only show I really love right now, Parks and Rec.  It makes me sad that it doesn't have a lot of viewers...it's hilarious!

It's ok...

- that I let Elizabeth watch the Nightmare before Christmas.  Yes, it's scary for kids...but she LOVES it.

Plus before you start thinking I'm a horrible mom, she can say Shakespearean perfectly because of it and she's three!

It's ok...

-to be striving to eat better and live greener (in other words, more granola), but still love a Coke.

Sorry folks, I may eat pastured eggs, local grass fed beef, free range local chicken, local or homegrown produce, make my own bread, laundry detergent, & baby food...but I want a good coke every now and again.

They can over process it all they want...it's still delicious and one habit I have yet to break. ;)

On my way to granola town- Birthday Edition

So each week I write about something I'm doing different in our life that might fall under the category of granola.  Most of it is changes to our food, as we want to incorporate better quality, local, healthier, and in most cases cheaper food options.

But this week is different.

Why?

Today is my birthday. 

Not just any birthday mind you, but one of THE birthdays.  Yes, today is the end of an era for me.  Today I am officially no longer a twenty-something.

So in honor of the day of my birth, I'm going to make some granola wishes I hope to fulfill in the future.  Here goes!

1. I want to master sourdough bread.  I've already taken the first step and made my first starter.  Most people keep theirs for years and even name them.  We named it LG- for little girl- that one is all Elizabeth, don't ask. 

Wish me luck!  I hear that it's not easy.

2. Mark and I both want to start roasting our own coffee beans. 

I'll go ahead and say it, we're coffee snobs.  We dislike the over-processed stuff they stock on the shelves.  We're even purist on the ways to brew...it only makes sense that we would continue on our road of "snobbery" to roasting our own beans.  Twenty four hours after a roast is suppose to be the best time to brew.

Anyway, I digress.  We're on our way here too.  Our Christmas gift to each other is green beans and a roaster. Yay!

3. I want to get my crocheting back underway.  I MISS IT.  With class it has been crazy busy here, so no crocheting for me. 

Plus I want to get the Etsy store open. I'm only two months behind. ;)

4. My sewing/embroidery machine is growing cobwebs.  I would like to finish some projects and work up some more things for the Etsy store....if it ever opens.

5. Chickens.  Simply put I want some...and maybe a turkey.  Definitely a cow too...maybe I ought to add fence to that list.

6. I want to learn to smock.  My mom started teaching me, and I stopped after awhile.  But I remember all the cute dresses she made me, and I would love to do that for my girls.

7. Next year I want to can and freeze a lot more food.  I'd like to remove almost all our dependence on store bought canned food, if possible.

8. I hope to perfect my bread making skills.  Right now I'm making our loaf bread and hamburger buns.  It's good, but a little tweaking is needed to make it even better.

I think that's enough wishes for now....though looking back, it looks a little more like a to do list. I guess I better get busy. :)

On the Road to Granola Town- Teething Biscuits

Evie has been teething since she turned six months old.  So you can imagine how much she gnaws on everything!

Finally I decided that I needed to help her out, so I went looking for teething biscuit recipes.

Lots of them have whole eggs or lots of sugar in the recipe...which for an older baby (over a year) is fine, but not for my little one (just turned 8 months).

But after lots of searching I found a recipe here.  I liked it for several reasons:

1) Simple and not a lot of fuss.

2) No egg whites- she's not old enough for egg whites yet.

3) No granulated sugar- instead an all natural sugar that actually has nutrients in it! 
 (That is if you use REAL maple syrup.  Don't buy the other stuff, it's just corn syrup with maple flavoring.  So just sugar and no nutrients...)

4)It used applesauce rather than bananas.
Bananas tend to constipate children, and Evie isn't a big fan.  Plus we make our own applesauce, so easy on us.

After finding the recipe, I decided it was time to try.

First I got all my ingredients together.

Then just mix it up.

Roll it out and cut into circles.

Poke holes in the center and widen with your finger.  If you want a wide hole for your baby, make it really wide.  The dough will shrink up when baking.  Evie is still little, so I left them small.  Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees until brown.

Let them dry out on your counter over night.  That way they are nice and tough.  Yes, tough!  These are to gnaw on, so you want them to be like a bone or rock. 

Store and enjoy whenever baby wants or up to two weeks.

Oh, and after your baby has slobbered awhile on these, it will get a little messy...but as my mom told me, a messy baby is a happy baby!

On the road to granola town- Making Yogurt

**Apparently, Blogger posted this and then when I edited it, didn't post it again.  Sorry for the repost and multiple posts today**

So I promised after my first granola post, that I would post on yogurt next...but my love of all things pumpkin over rid yogurt.

But now as promised, here is my adventure in making yogurt!


Like a good computer savvy person, I found a tutorial here for my yogurt adventure.

First I made sure I had a nice clean crockpot and then added my milk (1 half gallon).

We regularly drink non-homogenized whole milk, so that wasn't hard for us.  We switched when I decided I was tired of paying a lot of money for a product that was over processed at the grocery store.  That's when I found a local farm and we started our journeying into local fresh foods, with the least amount of processing.

Now not everyone has access to good milk, and for those of you that want to do this without non-homogenized milk you can do it!  Non-homogenized just works a little better.  The big thing is you don't want to use ultra-pasteurized milk it won't work up right.  Also if you want a lower fat content you can use lower fat milks, but from what I have read, it doesn't work up as well.

Next, I added my thermometer and turned it on low.

The next part is to wait...and wait.  You need the yogurt to get up to 180 degrees, slowly. If you scald the milk it won't work right.  But you can make that into ricotta cheese, so no waste if it happens.

Now my crock pot is pretty old, so when it got close, I added a towel over the top to insulate it.  That helped it get up to temperature a little easier.  Otherwise it takes a lot longer than necessary for me.

Under normal circumstances it will probably take around 2.5 hours.

Once it got up to 180, I made sure it sat at 180 for thirty minutes (gives you a slightly thicker product).  I did this by turning off the crock pot, but leaving my towel on.

After the thirty minutes, I took my towel off and took my insert out of the canister.  I skim the "skin" off the top too.  This is some of the fat from the milk that solidifies.  I don't like the texture it creates, so I skim it off.

I let that sit and cool down to 115 degrees.  You want to shoot for 110-120 degree before you add your yogurt starter.  That is the optimal temperature for the cultures.

Once you get to that range, take 1/2 cup of yogurt starter (just regular plain yogurt with active live cultures- I like Stoneyfield) and mix with the warm milk.  Then add that slurry to the crock pot .

Once you mix it, recover and wrap again in your towel. Place in the oven with the light on, but don't turn the oven on. You just want to maintain the temperature for 4-8 hours.  That's so your cultures can do their stuff.

I do this at night, so the next morning I awoke to this:

Yum! (the yellow color is a little extreme on the iPhone, but that is some of the fat that separated)

After refrigeration for a couple of hours, it's ready! 

Stir it with preserves, syrup, applesauce, or granola.  Great for breakfast, cheaper (I get double the amount for the price of the expensive stuff and I use great milk!), and HEALTHY!!

One side note though, while thick, real yogurt doesn't look like most of the stuff you get from the grocery store.  To make that thicker, they add gelatin.  If you prefer this you can add gelatin.  I would recommend a natural gelatin from animal, rather than synthetic...a little more healthy.  

Also this yogurt can be used to make your own cream cheese!!  So even better.

Just don't forget to save some of you product to use as your next starter, so you don't have to buy more.