Buying Bulk

Sunday evening, I made my once-every-two-months trip to Cherokee Village to pick up my Country Life Natural Foods order.  In cooperation with a bunch of folks from that area, I order lots of organic pantry items through them.  Included in this month's order was a bottle of dried parsley so big that, as John said, Little Boy may be graduating from high school before we make it to the bottom of it!  As you can see, Girl 1 was astounded by its size.  (I love this photo!  You can really see her crazy-teeth situation.  I'm telling you, it's getting hard to feed these girls -- they hardly have any teeth right now!  She's got water bottle in hand because we were on our way out the door for a family run at the track :)

 

I absolutely love their flours, and we've really been going through it quickly around here, so this time I decided to go ahead and buy the big bag (I put a measuring cup in the photo for size comparison).  Luckily, we've got a big enough pantry to house all this stuff.

It's too bad bulk flour doesn't come in fabric bags anymore.  It would've been fun to try to make use of the flour sacks. 

If you're interested in checking out this company, visit their website at www.clnf.org.  If you'd like to get in on our next co-op order, contact me and I'll get you a catalog. 

Canning Club

A month or so ago, my friend Jessica had read about a local canning club in the newspaper, had done some research to find out what it was all about and how to get involved, and asked me if I'd like to join her for the next meeting.  Umm, YES! 

So, last Thursday, I paid my $10 membership fee and am now a legitimate member of the local canning club!

We basically walked in the door, paid our dues, and were ushered toward the table where tomatoes were being peeled using a Fry Daddy and a bowlful of ice water.  It was apparently salsa-making-night!  I love the concept of learning by doing, so this was right up my alley. 

I also loved having ready answers to my canning questions.   For example:

Q:  Can I use my pressure canner for processing salsa? 
A:  Yes, but it's unnecessary and may result in an overcooked, goopy product.

Q:  Can I substitute the Habanero peppers from my garden for the jalapenos called for in the recipe?
A:  Yes, but be sure to keep the volume the same.  For example, if I use fewer Habaneros because they're hotter, I need to sub in some milder peppers to keep the volume ratios the same.

Q:  Can I food process rather than just roughly chop the tomatoes so that I can achieve a consistency more like the salsa at my favorite Mexican restaurant?
A:  Yes, so long as I use the correct amounts of the ingredients, the way you slice, dice, or puree them shouldn't affect the success of the finished product.

The older ladies seemed to assume that Jessica and I were completely inexperienced canners, and we basically just let that go.  I don't know about her, but I'd rather let them treat me like a novice than think I'm so experienced that they skip over some of the canning wisdom they might otherwise bestow.

I thought it was interesting how eclectic the mix of people seemed to be.  I mean, we were all there, after all, with a common goal -- canning.  Yet, I heard a few ladies discussing how to be sure your jar "presented well" for judging at the local fair. . .   and yet another lady who seemed to be there for Doomsday Preppers training asking whether it would be possible to can salsa without electricity.   There were grandmas in their quilted aprons and business women still in their heels.  There was even a middle-aged man who seemed to be of no relation to any woman there and who made his salsa extra spicy by adding additional peppers straight to his jar.  I absolutely loved getting to be apart of this mix.

Because none of the ingredients were from a backyard garden, the canned jars of salsa came out to $2.75 apiece.  This seemed crazy high to me, but, then, I've never canned a product that I bought at the grocery store.  I paid my $2.75, poured my salsa into a hot jar, wiped my rim clean, added my seal and ring and initials in black sharpie, and watched it all go into the hot water bath.  My seal buckled during processing (which is something that has never happened to me at home.  I heard someone remark that that's what we get for not using Ball lids.  I've always used Ball lids, so maybe they truly are superior ;)  Anyway, the instructors weren't sure whether or not it would "ping," indicating that the seal was good, so they sent me home with an extra jar, too, just in case. 

Later that evening, as I lay in bed reading, I shot up in alarm as I heard the "ping" in the kitchen.  Then, realizing what it was, I smiled to myself.  It seems I got a 2-for-1 deal on my salsa -- it sealed, after all. 

Jessica, thanks so much for doing the legwork on this and for inviting me to be a part!  I'm already looking forward to next time!

For anyone local who's interested in joining up, we'll be doing something with local pears at our next monthly meeting, October 11.  Come join us!

I Scream, You Scream,

We all scream for . . . Hummus!

Hummus is pretty much a staple around here, and now that I've figured out how to make it using dried chickpeas rather than canned, it's pretty cheap for us to make and a very healthy snacking option (for our recipe, click here).  We do have trouble around here finding Tahini paste, a key ingredient, though.  Kroger used to carry it, but since their latest rearrange, I haven't been able to find it in there.  I ran into a former student/Walmart stocker and after chatting him up about his new baby (yes, this makes me feel old), I asked him if they carry Tahini paste.  I believe his response was "Ta-Huh?"  You know, it's used to make hummus, I told him.  "To make what?"   Uggghhh.

Anyway, this hummus had been in the fridge just a little too long, so I decided to see whether the backyard crew would like it as much as the indoor crew does.  Chickens and canine were both fans.  The chickens really made a mess of it, pecking and flinging it everywhere!

Does anyone local buy Tahini paste?  If so, where are you able to find it?

Thanks!

Greywater Solutions

First off, let's define greywater for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term.

"Greywater is wastewater generated from domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing, which can be recycled on-site for uses such as landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands. Greywater differs from water from the toilets which is designated sewage or blackwater to indicate it contains human waste."

Thank you, Wikipedia.  Green and sustainable houses can make great use of greywater, but these systems are typically much easier to install as a house is being built.  Adding the plumbing necessary for greywater systems that take full advantage of shower, laundry, and dishwashing water is difficult once the house is already established. 

There are, though, some other ways to make use of greywater.  One of those ways is with the AQUS.  This very cool system is affordable at just $200 and supposedly easy to install.  The system hides under your sink and reroutes the water that goes down the sink to the toilet.  Once the water reaches the toilet and is flushed, it leaves the house through your existing plumbing system.  This is a great option for those who'd like to make better use of greywater but aren't planning a new build anytime soon.

We've got the AQUS on a wishlist but haven't yet tried it out ourselves.  We are, however, taking advantage of greywater in one of the easiest ways possible. 

See the grey bucket? 

I realize that this solution isn't for everyone.  Not everyone could tolerate a bucket on the floor, but it really doesn't bother me and just sits right next to the trash and recycling cans.  Anytime I have extra water involved with dishwashing or the kids didn't drink all their water at dinner, etc., I just pour the water into the bucket.  When the time comes, I then tote the bucket outside and use it to water all my potted plants on the front and back porches.  Blossom, our inside cat, is a fan, too.  She thinks it's her very own giant water bowl. :)

Sew What?

Sew What? 

Sew knits! 

I was thrilled to discover that our local fabric warehouse has begun to carry knits.  The ladies who work there just shake their heads at my enthusiasm:  "What could you possibly want with this fabric?"    (They're really fun, sweet ladies who always give Little Boy treats and are eager to help me out with my crazy project ideas, so I'm willing to tolerate their playful jabs.) 

At $3.99 a yard for solids and $5.99 a yard for prints, I decided to do some experimentation in making my own clothes.  I was going for a kind of "body-drape" look that I thought would be easy to achieve with knit. 

Here's a look at 4 things I've made lately with Marshall's knit fabrics.

This one is definitely my favorite!  I love this dress.  Since it only involved sewing one long seam, it was definitely the easiest to make.  I even made one for Girl 1, and she loves it.  I feel a little like I'm headed to a toga party when I'm wearing mine.  Girl 1 says she feels like she lives in the Bible.  Either way, it's a neutral, comfortable dress that can be accessorized lots of different ways.  To make this dress, I kind of loosely followed these instructions.

I had some leftover fabric from the above dress, so I decided to turn it into a skirt.  Love this skirt!  It's very versatile.  I don't usually tuck into it, but I thought that would give you a better look at the skirt for the photo.  For this one, I VERY loosely followed these directions.

Then, I guess I started to get cocky and decided I'd try something with an actual pattern.  When I got that pattern home and started to read over it, I realized that though I've sewn LOTS of things over the years, I had basically no formal sewing training.  My mother-in-law gave me a few simple sewing lessons years ago, but other than that, I'm self-taught.  Reading that pattern was like reading another language.  Needless to say, this tunic/dress did not turn out as planned.  After lots of seam ripping, my first go at using bias tape, and a quick YouTube tutorial on how to sew a slipstitch, I did complete the project.  The end result is not something I would buy off the rack, but, oh well.  It was intended to be a tunic that I can wear with leggings, but it turned out a little longer than anticipated by the time I added the extra length to the waist to allow for my height. 

My mom, who probably hasn't worn bare shoulders in public since her 40th birthday, will be glad to hear that I am making some attempt to dress my age lately.  My new personal rule has been that I don't show both knees and shoulders at the same time.  It works most of the time.  So, if I'm wearing short shorts, I try not to pair it with a tank top.  Jeans and tank tops.  Short skirts and t-shirts.  You get the picture.  The dress, as pictured above, however, does not meet the criteria.  So, I guess I should go put on those leggings.  (By the way, my exceptions to my own rule are my running gear:  I definitely wear shorts,  and I can't stand to have sleeves when I run, so shoulders and knees are all bare when I hit the road.  I also make an exception for crazy hot days.  If it's above, say, 90 degrees, all bets are off!)  Of course, rules are made to be broken, so I don't always follow my own rule.  Besides, 33 is not that old, right?

And lastly, this picture really doesn't do this top justice.  It's really cute.  And it has an adorable little pocket!  Oh, and these are the jeans I had on in a Goodwill store one time when a kind, older gentlemen offered to buy me a new pair!  Hahaha!  And, yes, I do realize that these jeans do not look like the jeans of someone who's trying to "dress her age,"  but I love them AND, they do follow my rule:  my knees may be showing, but my shoulders aren't!  ;)

Surprise, the Chicks Are Here!

So, the last (and first time) our shipment of chicks arrived, I likened it to Christmas morning.  We had counted down the days and prepared for weeks for their arrival.  It was such a joyous occasion.  Today was joyous, but I'd liken it more to that "oh-we're-in-labor,-better-head-to-the-hospital" day.  We knew they'd be coming mid-September.  We'd originally thought that we'd get them this week, but we hadn't yet gotten the shipping notice.  So, we were surprised to get the phone call from the post office this morning at 7:00, asking us to please come pick up our chirpie chicks! 

We all scurried around.  Girl 2, our #1 chicken farmer, rushed around throwing shoes on and jumping in the van to accompany daddy to the post office. 

Their home in the garage had to be readied quickly.  Luckily, we already had all the feeders, waterers, and tubs cleaned and had feed ready to go.

Some quick assembly, and the chick habitat was ready to go!

Time to move in!  Unfortunately, one died in shipping.  You can see the poor little one in the top left of the box.  :(  It's pretty common, but it was a first for us.

This girl loves her chicks!

We'd orginally ordered a bunch more chicks, including more layers, but we canceled those and just went with broilers (meat chickens) this go round.  In fact, we decided to try a different breed altogether.  These chicks are Cornish Cross, which is much closer to what's grown in chicken houses today.  They reach maturity very quickly, which is good, but they have some other negatives that must be weighed in as well (that's another post altogether).  Because we'd ordered so many in our initial order, the company threw in a free "exotic breed" chick that they apparently didn't remove when we diminished our order.  You can see her/him in the above pic.  Girl 2 named it Cuddles.  It's the only one she was allowed to name (meaning that the others will all be dinner).

Getting acquainted with their new home

Pinterest Cleaning Day!

On my weekly cleaning schedule, Wednesday is Bathroom Day.  As you know, if you read the blog regularly, I don't love cleaning.  I DO, however, love an experiment, so I decided to make today's cleaning more bearable by trying out a couple of cleaning tips I'd pinned on Pinterest.

First off, I planned to try this pin to tackle the soap scum in the shower.  All I needed was vinegar (which we use all the time for all kinds of things, so we always have it on hand in giant jugs like the one pictured below) and blue Dawn (which I do not keep on hand.  Luckily, the 9 oz. bottle is on sale this week for 99 cents at Walgreens).  I put 1/2 c. vinegar in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.  Then, I poured 1/2 c. Dawn into a spray bottle.  Once the vinegar was warmed, I added it to the spray bottle and gently mixed the two by turning the bottle.

I doused the shower pretty good and was surprised to see how thick the mixture is.  I just let it sit for 2 hours (while I tried my other cleaning experiment).  At the end of the two hours, I used one of my Grandma Smith's scrubbies that she knits (but any kind of scratchy pad or sponge would do) and went to town on the shower.  I really was amazed at how well the mixture had dealt with the soap scum.  Now, we didn't have just a ton of build-up, but I suspect it would work it's way through even pretty tough scum. 

I'll definitely continue to use this mixture on occasion (looks like I need to get back to the store before the end of the week for some more Dawn while it's on sale).  Of course, because of the Dawn, this mixture is not entirely green, like the vinegar-based cleaner I usually use.  Although, since it's typically used to clean dishes (which we eat off of), it's presumable less hazardous than, say, a cleaner with bleach, Soft Scrub, or Comet.

The other pin I tried was the grout cleaner in this pin.  While I was less than wowed with the results, it was a green option, and it was good to get down on my hands and knees with a toothbrush and really work on some spots that I normally miss with the mop.