French Toast Sandwiches

And while I'm cooking up a storm for Kirk's next work shifts I made French toast sandwiches or dessert or whatever you want to call them. I sliced sourdough bread and set it aside while I mixed a little powdered sugar in cream cheese to slightly sweeten it but you wouldn't have to. I whipped four eggs in a bowl with a touch of milk. My cooking is not detailed because my ingredients vary. Two of the eggs were ginormous from the two, two year old hens keeping John Henry, the rooster, company and  the other two were two pullet eggs so how do you measure that? It is like the watery pumpkin I'm going to use today for pumpkin bars. I'm thinking I'll get out some sugar pie pumpkin puree also to mix with the Cinderella pumpkin puree so it is thicker and then strain the whole thing for a while to drain off some liquid.

 

Anyway, I got off track there. I spread the sweetened cream cheese on one slice of bread and smoothed some low sugar blueberry jam on the other slice of bread placing them on top of each other to form a sandwich. Then cutting the sandwich in half I soaked it in the French toast egg mixture flipping sides as the egg saturated the bread. The next step is to toast them as you would French toast. After cooked, I sprinkled powdered sugar on top. 

Hind thought makes me think that my usual adding of vanilla and cinnamon into the egg mixture would have been good in this situation too. You could also change up the type of jam you used. Blueberry was just handy at the moment. I'm also thinking I'll cut the sandwiches into wedges instead of just across, more visually appealing that way. 

We put the computer desk back to the way it was since our four year old no longer is pushing off and on the computer. Yes, we have a one year old but she isn't here as often and we do need to put the house up for sell. When we moved it we first took a photo of the backside so we knew just how to hook it up again. Not that I haven't done it without but we are practicing for when we move and we are photographing everything electrical to save hassle.     

Homemade Version Of Dishwasher Soap

With very little dishwasher soap left in the container I began thinking about making my own. I'm finding the fewer reasons for going to the store means I spend far less. You know how tempting things are and you can't help but come home with more than you intended.  I'm thinking I really need to look up my food expenses because I rarely go to Walmart and the local grocery store doesn't see me but every two to three weeks. I've got to be saving money don't I?

Yes, these ingredients for laundry soap have to be purchased but a couple of them I use in my laundry soap and the canning salt I use in well, canning. They are definitely cheaper than the products meant for just one use. Multiple uses items have taken on a big deal as I am trying to figure out just what to put in my extended storage. There is only so much space. We have run out in this house and if something has many uses, it just rose in importance in my eyes.  

So instead of buying hand soap, laundry soap, dish soap, and dishwasher soap, and the myriad of other cleaners, why not just have a few ingredients and use them for everything? I have read several studies and they all say the same thing. We are being ripped off by advertising telling us that we need all these products to get our houses, dishes, and laundry clean. They want our money pure and simple, not to create something far superior or safe for that matter. I already have salt, citric acid, washing soda, and borax, I'm set without a trip to the store to make my own dishwasher soap. That means this formula is a biggy on my list because I buy these products anyway.

Soap recipe

• 1 cup borax
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup citric acid
• 1/2 cup kosher salt (for scrubbing action)

Use 1 Tbsp per load (you can use a heaping tablespoon if you feel the need, but we do not).

This is the recipe I tried. I'm washing my second load of dishes right now with this formula. The first one looks as clean as the store product.

 If borax is something you wish to avoid, I found this recipe but haven't tried it. I've got to say I'm still on the fence about borax and so I'm using it.

So here is my borax-free dishwasher detergent recipe:

• 1 cup washing soda (old recipe used baking soda)
• 1/4 c. citric acid
• 1/4 c. coarse salt
• 10-15 drops of citrus essential oil (Optional. Orange, grapefruit, or lemon essential oils have great cleaning as well as antibacterial properties.)
• Distilled white vinegar (in the rinse aid compartment)

Mix first 3 ingredients well in an air tight container. Add essential oil. Mix again. Fill your rinse aid compartment with undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Use 1 tsp. detergent for average loads.
Use 1 tbsp. detergent for extra greasy, dirty loads
From My Healthy Green Family


I definitely don't use any product with lemon or orange in it as it eats the finish. That is why you never use anything with lemon in it when cleaning silver. Orange juice left on cotton will eat the fabric. Knowing this, long ago I began avoiding all cleaning products with lemon or orange despite the fact that they smell good. Well, at least better.

I did find this bit about the use of borax as a cleaner.

From ehow.   Borax's grainy texture removes dirt, and its chemical properties kill microorganisms and eliminate odors. The result is a clean dishwasher full of clean dishes. Since borax is alkaline, it also softens water, decreasing mineral buildup inside your dishwasher. At the time of publication, you may use borax freely in place of commercial dishwasher detergents.

According to the chemistry department at Iowa State University, borax is dangerous when inhaled or ingested and may burn the eyes and skin. Never touch it with your bare hands, and handle it carefully to avoid producing dust clouds, which can enter your eyes, nose and lungs.

Have to say I touch borax and declump it through my bare fingers all the time. Of course my skin is more like leather than skin. So don't let this freak you out. As with anything use caution, natural things can be dangerous too if use improperly.

I happened upon some recipes that used baking soda versus washing soda so I went hunting.

The difference between baking soda and washing soda is water and carbon dioxide. Seriously. Baking soda s chemical makeup is NaHCO3 (1 sodium, 1 hydrogen, one carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). Washing soda s chemical makeup is Na2CO3 (2 sodium, 1 carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). When baking soda is heated up to high temperatures, it breaks down to become washing soda, water steam, and carbon dioxide.

You can turn Baking Soda into Washing Soda by baking it. Below is the explanation on how you can do it.

The process is really simple. Just heat your oven to 400 F (or 200 C), sprinkle some baking soda on a shallow pan, and bake it for about half hour, until it changes composition. You should also stir it up occasionally, just so that it bakes more evenly.

Baking soda is powdery, crystallized like salt, and clumps together. Washing soda is grainy, dull and opaque, and is separate grains. (from rondagreig)

This made me wonder if baking soda is less expensive than washing soda? If so why not use baking soda instead. Don't get confused here because I don't know that baking soda is cheaper.

My next question is do you use equal amounts and what I found was that 1 cup of washing soda is equivalent to 1 1/3 cup of baking soda. The increase of baking soda needed would have to be figured into the cost to see which is cheaper.

•  
• Then I found out that the ph is different and this had me wondering again since you wouldn't use washing soda to substitute for baking soda just baking soda for washing soda.
   
• Baking soda has a pH of 8 (7 is neutral) and is best known for its use as a leavening agent in cooking. It also can be used as a mild scouring agent, an antacid and an emergency kitchen fire extinguisher.

• Washing soda is a caustic substance with a pH of 11. Because of this, you should wear gloves when handling it directly. Washing soda is used as a laundry additive and cleanser but never in food.

So there we have it. We are all completely confused. Well, I am anyway but for now I'm going to use the several boxes of washing soda I have. Then in the future I will decided if I want to buy enough for a full four gallon bucket for storage.

Right now I'm not wanting to have to move any more things than I absolutely have to.

I do know that I am completely in love with my home version of laundry detergent. It is the only thing I've found that gets out my grease stains. I'm a messy cook. Now if only I can tweak my lotion so that I have a less greasy version for a quicky softener instead of the greasy soak before bed while laying on a towel.  

• •  

Corn Silk Tea

 Last week our oldest daughter showed up with the equivalent of six and a half of these square sized laundry baskets of corn on the cob. When she said she knew of a place where she could get free corn and did I want some, I said of course YES! I asked for six to ten dozen. She brought home more corn than I have ever done at one time in my entire life BY FAR.  Whoa did we ever freeze corn.  I was tucking it in every corner I could of freezer space until she took her cooler of corn home.

Explanation for such a load of corn, it was free and beyond that they picked until they felt inspired to stop. They'd come back to her vehicle and feel pressed to go out again so off they went until one time they felt they should stop. Probably in part because they ran out of room. LOL How could I argue with that explanation? I too have often felt prompted to do things I just didn't understand  at the time like can lots of peaches and pears though we only needed a few more jars. The reasoning is usually apparent the next year because the crop fails or money is tight. So I rolled up my sleeves, wondered what the reasons were without thinking too hard, and went to work.

 Luckily I had help, my daughter and some of the time my hubby. It meant we only had to stay up until two in the morning to finish. Finish the corn that is because we were too sleepy to finish the clean up. I cut the corn off the cob and then blanch it making the task far easier but it still seemed like the mound disappeared slowly. Then when we were about done I asked everyone to start saving the corn silks. It slowed things down considerably as you had to firmly grasped the silks and pulled the greenery away instead of the usual whisk of a couple pulls and the whole husk came off. Well, with me that is as I've done this a few cazillion times before.   

 What in the world was I thinking? Well I just happened to come across an article about the medicinal properties of corn silk.

Corn silk is used for bladder infections, inflammation of the urinary system, inflammation of the prostate, kidney stones, and bedwetting. It is also used to treat congestive heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, fatigue, and high cholesterol levels.

Not that I was looking for any of that. Though a quick read and it became clear that corn silks are a good thing and one more natural  diuretic. What I was looking tooling around on the Internet was a natural source of vitamin C. I found out that corn silks are indeed high in Vitamin C and also K.Why the interest? In WWII Vitamin C was badly needed and so in England they dried rose hips and fed them to their children. I'm interested in self-sufficiency and Vitamin C is a biggy to have.

I've not tried the rose hips yet, the home-made ones that is, but it is on the to do list. The one that keeps getting longer no matter how many things I do. I have tried the store version of rose hips. Some will remember my experiment with pine needle tea as a source of vitamin C. Definitely a survival version as the taste is just like it smells -- not appealing. Not horrible but just rather sappy like.

 Dandelions are very high in C's and are also a diuretic. But then so are strawberries and lots of things. And now I've found out about corn silk so I'm thinking that more than one source of C's is definitely better especially since you don't know what the weather will bring. This year for instance it wiped out our garden. The pumpkins and other squash tried to come back but a month is definitely not enough time to do so before the threat of frost.

The high Vitamin K in corn silk might just come in real handy too as it helps to clot blood. Wonder if it would work as a poultice too? Hmmm....

With corn silks you do have to watch the amount. Too much of a diuretic isn't good. Too much corn silk and you could lower your sugar levels too low. Too much and you become dehydrated or your blood pressure becomes too low. As with all supplements we have to use our heads about them and remember that moderation is the key word. We also have to be aware of their interaction with the medications we are already taking.  

They recommend:
Corn Silk Tea Recipe: 2 tsps dried cornsilk to one cup boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes, strain and drink. Use only one cup per day for a maximum of 10 days.

My silks are dry and ready when I am.

Yet what excited me most about this project is that I can use more fully my corn. I'm not sure this corn she purchased is organic, probably not so I didn't save a lot of silk. But none the less it is worth trying a little in a few ways just to have the knowledge. Then when I have my own garden again I can save in a bigger way. We will have sweet corn and corn meal corn and the stalks can be eaten by the livestock. The corn by us either fresh, frozen, or dried. I don't like bottled. The corn silks can be dried and kept for medicinal needs. The cobs can be dried and burned for fuel. Now that is really using your harvest.

As for taste of corn silk -- I'm not sure yet. The Internet said it tastes like green corn. What part are they referring to because I thought if it was green then the corn kernels haven't developed yet so what are you eating? We will find out though one of these first days as I'm going to give corn silk tea a try. Got to be better than Blue Spruce needle tea doesn't it?

The other way they recommended using the silks was to put them in soups as a thickener. Now that sounds very doable as long as green corn flavor isn't repulsive. Hmmmmm...... don't know.Maybe best to go light on the amount at first.  

All I do know is that we haven't slowed down enough to get my head around using it. We've hauled hay twice this week which is a six hour trip twice. Hubby worked on the car replacing brakes, serpentine belt etc. while I cleaned up the house. Then yesterday we gutted the bathroom. We discovered a water leak. Not that there wasn't a hole in the floor already from a previous leak. We just hadn't gotten to the remodeling yet. So we began to tear as this appeared to be something new. The water was pooling by the toilet. Nope, not the toilet. Yup, the shower faucet valve once again but by then half the wall was tore out.

Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound so we just gutted all the walls and removed the furnishings. We still have the floor and ceiling to go but it is a great start. We wanted to finish the front porch that day but the roofers called at 8 and said can we come in an hour and a half to do your roof. With shingles flying off we thought it best to remain indoors throwing sheet rock out the window into a wheelbarrow.

With houses galore to roof in town and a long list of customers we thought we'd better get it done while we could. There are 27 construction companies in town trying to repair the damage from the hail storm. Our population is only 1200.
  
I had big plans to go dump the bathroom garbage at the town dump 45 miles away north and shop for sheet rock and paint for the front porch the next day. Alas, yesterday morning I found a very sick yak at chore time. I'd not been doing yak chores for the last few days as we divided and conquered the livestock tasks. I attended the critters in the upper corrals milking and taking care of chickens. I barely even glanced at the yaks in the distance though I did ask if they were alright because I noticed Gracie laying down more than usual. The vet chewed me a bit and told me never to do this again. He said I needed to take the full responsibility and have others help when needed. He was right. I have the gift and skill and it isn't fair to the animals to put it on others. 

Gracie baffled me. She had conflicting symptoms and I wasn't sure what we were dealing with except she was really sick. The matter was made worse since I was watching the little youngins that day. The one year old was in tow and a sick yak with big horns is not a place to have a one year old, especially since this yak hates kids. I called a couple friends to confer with leaving the tyke in the truck in her car seat. I then called the vet and his assistant relayed my information while he performed surgery. Then we loaded Gracie up in the trailer while my one year old looked on, shouting encouragement. Okay, she didn't shout encouragement.
She screamed in protest at being left in the truck locked in her car seat but what was I to do with her --safety first.

After picking up the four year old grand daughter from preschool at eleven we waited for their mom to arrive and then whoosh, off I went driving the hour and a half to the vets.

Heard the saying," Took everything but the kitchen sink."? Well I did take everything including the bathroom sink as my pickup had the toilet and all piled in back. Quite a site I'm sure but a girl has to do what a girl has to do. The dump was north and I was headed south.

Life has really been challenging the past couple years and especially this last summer. Yet despite all the challenges coming our way lately, I still stop each day and count my blessings. One can't be depressed and feel blessed at the same time. A friend I've known for years, though not a very close friend, committed suicide this week. I wish she would of counted her blessings each day. I've always found that the blessings out number the problems.  But it does take effort as blessings don't jump out at you like problems. So yesterday when I was feeling overwhelmed, I counted just a few of mine.  

 1. I had the help of two skilled livestock friends to load Gracie. They are often not available.
2. The trailer and pickup made it to the vets and back without a mishap. No flat tires and the truck started. It still isn't working right despite two new parts. At least one or two to go.
3. Wednesday we got the roof done.
4. The bathroom leak was a pain but at least we were planning on gutting the bathroom anyway and we've started. 
5. Gracie didn't need an IV after all like the vet thought from our phone conversation. It wasn't the terrible disease he feared and a big ole shot is all that was needed.
6. Since it is dust pneumonia it probably won't spread. Yes, dust can irritate the lungs and pneumonia will set in. We are really, really dry here with poor Colorado below us drowning.
7. Gracie's nose wasn't running and her fever appeared to come down last night. She was more bright eyed.  
8. I had money to pay the vet bill. It was part of the money I made selling the little whether goats. Not how I wanted to spend it but I had it none the less. Since Kirk is racking up the medical bills this is a biggy.

As I count my blessings I can see indeed, the Lord is mindful of me just as he is of every sparrow that falls. Though I have challenges a plenty, I'm never left to face them alone. I just have to look for the blessings to know of his love for me.

Corn tortillas

BLACK-EYED PEAS - (or Cowpea) - A oval, creamy white bean with a black "eye." Soft textured.




Oh what or what shall I do with this bean - pea or whatever you wish to call them? Don't remember where I got them or how long I've had this bag of them but it is high time I used them up. That was my thoughts a few days ago when I put a batch of them in a crock pot. For years now I've just bottled beans and then used them. A real handy method but I'm almost completely out of canned beans. I've a few black beans and a few kidneys but that's it. The temperatures have been in the 90's F. Hardly canning weather. Mighty hot for September.  

I got to wondering, how come I've never crock potted beans before? I think it was the fear of it taking forever for them to cook. Now that was crazy. I just put the beans in the crock over night and ta da in the morning they were done. With half the beans I added the rest of the goodies to make ham and bean soup. The other half of the beans went in the refrigerator until today. The leftover ham for the beans was from another meal.

The other half of the beans in the crock pot I put in the refrigerator to make refried beans today. Half of the hamburger and onions I cooked to go in with the refried beans in a tortilla shell I put in the crock pot with stewed tomatoes, a small can of tomato sauce, and a can of tomato paste to make a red sauce for lasagna tomorrow. I really need to use up the cans of tomato sauce and paste. I've bought a case of them over a year ago and I just don't seem to use much anymore. It is getting to be more and more home-made around here as the more I learn about food from the store the less I am inclined to use it.

That doesn't mean my grocery bill isn't still high but hey, I'm working on it.

I've been making my refried beans for years. You just put cooked beans in a fry pan or an electric skillet with a bit of oil and mash them a bit. These beans were a good choice since they are naturally soft and they were yummy. The traditional bean used is pintos but I don't like pintos much and why not be a bit creative. I used the same electric skillet I had just fried up the tortilla shells in. I added some garlic powder, chili powder, salt, black pepper, and dried onion tops. Remember the ones from the garden last year that didn't make full onion size so I dried the tops and bottoms.   

 
Today I made the Cook's magazine's corn tortilla recipe. It isn't a true corn tortilla. It is simply a 1/2 cup of corn meal put into a flour tortilla recipe. The best part is the corn meal was mine from my Painted Mountain corn grown a year ago. I'd like to give you the recipe but I can't find it on the Internet and my daughter informed me it is a no, no to simply give the recipe to you even though I give them credit. I'm suppose to talk about the recipe and give a link. Live and learn something every day.




This recipe appealed to me because the traditional corn tortilla is made using masa harina and that has to be bought.  I did make a mistake though. This recipe rolled out beautifully thin and I got carried away.  See how much thinner the corn tortillas turned out in comparison to these flour ones. I should of made the corn tortillas thicker as they became brittle and broke apart. We each had one and then I did the best to roll up the rest with some refried beans, sour cream, and cheese. I put those in a glass pan and put them in the refrigerator. Tomorrow I'll add some more cheese and enchilada sauce and bake it. Add some salad on top and yum, yum!!


This is how I need to start cooking again. This is the way I did when the kids were little to try and conserve food. This is what I did to conserve money. That is my new resolution for the fall is to figure out ways to save money and time.

Well, it is time for a little shut eye as we are hauling hay real early in the morning. Next time I'll talk about what I learned about corn silks and their medicinal value.

Laundry Soap

Something good to eat -- lotion, or what am I up to now? This whipped yummy looking good enough to eat but is actually soap. It reminds me of my home-made marshmallow creme. It's why I labeled the jar clearly just in case because I have lots and lots of things in canning jars some edible and some not. 

As I said earlier in a blog post that I was about out of  powdered laundry soap and I can't find the soap which is fragrance free etc. on the store shelves in a decent size and online it is too expensive in my budget to order so I decided to go back to home-made. Yes, when the kids were little I always used home-made soap. Just home-made hand soap grated and added to boiling water to form a jell that I scooped a bit of and put in my top loading washer. This is a bit different and I think better.

Back then I was known to use pig fat, beef fat, deer fat, sheep fat, but definitely not chicken fat to make into soap. What ever animal  happened to be butchered that fall and had hard, not the soft greasy type fat which is why you don't use chicken fat, available after we made hamburger I ground and froze to be render latter and make into soap. It's why one year we had deer/sheep/pig soap combination and it was lovely.   

Now I'm not a fancy soap maker. Just good ole get the body clean soap is all I've ever made and I have to confess that I've never even made goat milk soap. Can you imagine this woman not ever making goat milk soap? Yeah, I know but it was on my list this year of to do's and then Waltzing Matilda duped us and didn't produce the amount of spare fat we needed. Yes, the pig failed us so now I'm going to try and round up some fat from someone who is butchering this fall. If all else fails I may even resort to buying lard to make soap. I'm just leary of the chemicals that might be lurking inside of a commercial product. 

I have a friend close by who makes fancy soap with wine, and dyes, and fragrance and all that foo, foo stuff. It is beautiful and I'm in love with her sunflower and thistle soap molds. I'd guess some of it isn't all with cocunut oil and such so maybe she knows a good source for lard. Her soap is really pretty and smells good but I can't get over the image of the battle of the perfume bottles. Think about it. Your shampoo is perfumed and your creme rinse, and then your body soap, and then you put on smelly deordorant and lotion and yes a battle of the fragrances has begun before you are even dressed. Then you put on clothes that have been perfumed with laundry soap and you apply goopy jell and other hair products with perfume and then move add makeup which some more perfume I'm sure too. 

A well dolled up lady may of just put on eight or more different perfumes. You can't tell me that a battle isn't raging and that those hundreds and hundreds of chemicals aren't having a negative effect on the person. It is why I don't dye my hair and why I don't perm it because I can't help but think of how your head has thousands of pores and those chemicals are seeping into your brain. My brain struggles enough to work correctly.

How can you worry about eating organic food and not worry about the largest organ of your body, your skin. I find it confusing because on the rare occasion I walk into a health food store I look around at the people and they don't look healthy as a whole. They look as sickly as those wandering through Walmart. Their hair is dull and their skin thin, wrinkled, and lifeless. Makes me think that there is more to this health thing than what you can purchase. In fact I know it there is. People are always asking me what kind of beauty regiment I do to look so young. Well folks, here it is. Eat well by growing as much of it as you can yourself, cook instead of buy ready made, drink lots of water, work hard, and stay away from the chemicals.

Am I healthy? Some doctors say yes and some no but I will say I am healthier than I have been in twenty years and I'm becoming healthier each year that passes.

So once again I'm going to return to home-made soap. It is not only a less expensive choice but a healthier one I'm sure. My soap is not creamy white anymore as it is quite old since it has been some times since I've made any soap but it works the same. The recipe I found called for a Fels Naptha soap. I looked it up and it has coconut oil and even lye. It looks pretty natural but it does have a few chemicals and of course perfume. I substituted my home-made soap instead in the recipe.

 

The gal calls her soap Mom's Super Laundry Sauce and I'm pretty impressed. Of course mine is quite different than hers since I used my own soap. When do I ever follow a recipe precisely? Anyway, I simply grated my soap, the entire bar, and put it in 4 cups of boiling water that I'd heated in a saucepan on the stove. Stir occasionally. Meanwhile in a small bowl mixed 1 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax and 1 cup of Super Washing Soada by Arm and Hammer, (not baking soda).

When the soap is melted then remove from stove  and add the mixed borax and washing soda. Stir until you don't feel the granuals on the bottom of the pan. Then pour into three - quart jars. 

  Let sit for four hours. It will separate like this. The mixture will still be warm when you put it into your blender or turn the mixer on it. That causes the mixture to blend and form the whippped appearance. The instructions called for turning the jars upside down but I like them right side up just in case I had to scrap out the soap  a bit from the edges of the jar. Then presto soap. I've give you the shortened version as I've linked to the site where you can get the full instructions.

I can say that I took a old sweatshirt with huge oil stains on the front and scrubbed in some soap with a scrub brush. This was a sweatshirt that had been washed and dried several times before and the stains magically dissapeared. I was impressed. I now have a front load washer so I am putting my soap in on top of my clothes. The instructions say for a top load to put in when the water fills and then add the clothes but what is the difference of adding on top of the clothes like in a front load washer? Just wondering. They recommend just a tablespoon.

As for getting rid of ordors like the site said it was miraculous at. Well, I tested that too with a milk soaked rag that I had thoroughly rinsed out. It still smelled milky when washed. The perfume in their soap probably helps mask ordors and I have to admit I really tested that one hard. Next wash I'm going to add a bit more borax when I'm faced with a ordor issue and see what happens.

I'd highly recommend this recipe and here is the site to go to for more details. This is truly one area you can save money in.

http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/whipped-cream-super-laundry-soap-3993.html

Sourdough Waffles

I know, I know a great many posts lately have the title sourdough in them. I did warn you this spring that I was going to concentrate on a few subjects to better understand them and not be trying so many new things.

I did spy a recipe for laundry soap and I've decided to use up my old bars of hand soap in the creation. Yes, I will be tweaking the recipe a bit to conform to what I have but I always do.  

It was getting hard to buy plain old powdered laundry soap -unscented especially in a big box, of course on sale too. Now I can't find any at all. The Internet has it but by the time I pay shipping it is no longer a good deal. When this shortage occurred I'm not sure since I buy in bulk six or so boxes at a time and it is months before I need more. Why not buy liquid detergent? To me it doesn't make sense.

I did a blog a year or so ago on powdered versus liquid laundry soap price wise and in my research was surprised to find out that powdered is formulated for dirt and grime, liquid is not. And even if it wasn't cheaper I'd of bought it if it wasn't exorbitantly price. Dirt and grime is the stuff I seem to be made of. So since I'm not buying water with a little detergent thrown in that isn't formulated for dirt. Now what?

Home-made of course. Any more it seems like if you want it done right you have to do it yourself. I'm going to try fitting in home-made laundry detergent once more into my schedule. Yes, once more since I used home-made when our kids were little and I was doing a cazillion loads. I had a top load machine then though and put in the soap and let is swoosh around before adding the clothes. I have a front loading washing machine now. It isn't going to work the way I use to do my soap. Still, the original plan was to return this year to home-made as I was having a time finding my store bought soap in powdered and I just now have a greater push.

That was one of the reasons for buying Waltzing Matilda, the hog that was suppose to be a fat hog according to the breeder but never made it though she grew and grew. So no fat, no soap making. It was alright until now, I had enough store detergent in storage and postponed the adventure for another year. But now I'm nearly out and none in sight at the stores. The new recipe I spied on the Internet has me gun hoe to barrel ahead and make my old soap into laundry soap. Maybe I can find someone butchering a hog and they will have extra fat and I can make some more hand soap for storage. I asked the butcher and he saves all of the extra he gets to make wild game sausage in the fall.

Just like our food storage since the garden failed, I guess our soap storage is going to get used up also this year. By next summer Mother Hubbard here will have bare cupboards. It has me motivated more than ever to put extra away.

So keep in touch because I am starting a batch of cream culture tomorrow to make cultured butter (Hopefully it works out) And I plan on tackling laundry soap sometime this week too. I promise, not all my posts will be about sourdough.

 This recipe I found for sourdough waffles is awesome. First we tried it with white flour and loved it and then spelt. The recipe calls for half white and half wheat but we were only making a half recipe so the second batch was all spelt flour. After all it is just Kirk and I, and so we just counting on the sourdough, which is made from white flour, to be the white part. The grand kids are coming tomorrow night to sleep over so I plan on a nice big batch come Friday morning and get there opinion. I'll do the half spelt and half white for them. They don't get wheat at all except here.

And I've got to say that despite the large selection of wonderful waffle recipes that I have. This is the one I want to eat over and over again lately. The texture is a bit different. It is very light and slightly spongy. Not quite like an angel food cake but none the less a different texture than traditional recipes. We love it! And of course we had to throw in some nice plump blueberries each time too. But enough talk. You need a recipe so you too can begin enjoying sourdough waffles too.

KING ARTHER'S SOURDOUGH WAFFLES

Sponge:
1 cup  (4 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) white whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons ( 7/8 ounce) sugar
2 cups ( 16 ounces) buttermilk
1 cup (8 to 8 1/2 ounces sourdough starter

Batter:
2 large eggs
1/4 cup ( 2 ounces) melted butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

To Make The Sponge:
Mix together the flours and sugar in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the buttermilk. Add the starter and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature overnight, or for whatever shorter time span is practical.

To Make The Batter:
Beat together the eggs, butter, salt, and baking soda until light. Blend this mixture into the sponge.

Spray your waffle iron with oil. Pour batter onto the iron and cook.

What I found out with these waffles is for us overnight was perfect.
Anything to help get the next morning off to an easier start. Also the waffles more challenging to get off the waffle iron  if they aren't done enough. That doesn't mean over done just to the color of the photo I showed. And I used oil instead of butter one time and they worked out the same so don't be afraid to do some substituting with this recipe.

 I'd like to tell you how stiff or liquid my sourdough start I begin with is but I don't measure when I feed.  I just adjust my recipes according to how the start is. I know there is a formula for feeding but really, I find feeding sourdough like feeding bum lambs. Each one is unique and there care also. When sourdough has sat and not been fed often it needs to have more liquid to help the natural yeasts multiply. Older and it bubbles over the top of the jar like a volcano so I make the solution stiffer. 

And the buttermilk I used in the recipe of course was cultured from good ole goat's milk courtesy of our Meagan and Mercedes, our lovely does. I know this adds a richness that store bought can't compete with but do your best with what you've got.

Two of our children want a sourdough start for part of their Christmas present and a recipe book of all the wonderful recipes I've discovered. Yes, home-made makes a very nice gift indeed and what I need to do for Christmas has been nawing at the back of my mind.

Keep in mind that sourdough breaks down the phytic acid in wheat and releases the nutrients for your body to absorb. It is also anti-cancer so go ahead give whole wheat sourdough waffles a try. Or try using spelt instead. It just happened to be what I had ground up.

Sourdough Rolls

Sourdough Rolls
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110F.)
2 cups Sourdough Starter
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil,
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoon salt
31/2  cup - 4 cups all-purpose flour

I mixed the above in the general way of making bread but I used only 3 cups of flour, not 3 1/2 - 4 and had to add a little more liquid because it was too dry so I'd go easy on the flour. Our weather has been brutally dry so I'm sure that was a factor.

Keep in mind too stiff a dough and it doesn't raise very well and is dry. I ended up using another egg and a little flour to compensate for too much fluid. Making dough isn't an exact science. More a feel and a skill acquired.

 I mixed at first in the Kitchen Aid mixer and threw a towel over it letting it raise in the bowl. The recipe calls for 2 - 1 /2 hour time laps but I just watch the dough knowing the temperature of the room makes a large difference along with the stiffness of the dough. I prefer leaving the dough rather sticky at this stage. The bread dough clinging to the hook but still has a very moist look to it. This takes some time and I don't rush putting in all the flour at once but slowly allow the gluten to develop in the flour.  

When raised I turned on the mixer and then turned the bowl out onto a flour coated counter top for a bit of hand kneading. This is a good time to add more flour if needed. When the dough feels nice and smooth and elastic I pinched off pieces of dough and rolled into balls, placed them in a well greased large cast iron skillet to rise. Once again I threw the kitchen towel over the top. I just can't make myself use plastic wrap. It is so disposable and a nice white cotton towel is much for fitting.

The recipe says 1 to 1 1/2 hours later it will have risen but I just know it was after chores were done that I heated the oven to 375 F. and then placed in the rolls. They always call for brushing butter or egg whites on top and this recipe calls for butter but I never do. Sometimes afterwards if the tops seem a bit dry but this recipe needed neither this time.

Then when the tops just start to turn a light-light brown, I turn down the oven  to 350. This increased heat at the beginning causes the dough to raise extra high. Then turning it down insures the insides get done all the way through before turning the outsides to crisp. Don't crowd your rolls. Leave lots of room to raise or they turn out heavy.

This is a Cuisine magazine recipe and it gives a sourdough starter recipe using dry yeast. I've not liked those. They are bitter to my palette. My sourdough imparts of well over a hundred years of history and I love its mellow tones.

Warm from the oven Kirk and I took our first bite. I wasn't impressed. There was a distinct tangy sourdough flavor and a bit bland flavor. I wondered with the speed this dough came together if it might lack the developed character we've grown to love in doughs that sit and age.

Time means flavor. The texture of the rolls was wonderful though, light, airy. And we both looked at each other and talked of how much better the rolls might be in the morning when they had cooled and the flavors melded. Indeed they were better the next morning. A sweeter taste appeared. Kirk loved the tanginess, I preferred the sourdough baguettes we had left over from a few days before. They too need just a little tweaking for my taste. Nothing wrong with them but I miss the European texture I mentally associate with this type of bread. Ridiculous really since I've never had baguettes before making them myself. But don't burst my romantic bubble. I've got a fantasy going on here about this foreign to our household style of bread and I intend on fiddling until reality meets up with fantasy. 

Still on a sourdough roll, get the pun, I made two batches of sourdough waffles. One with white flour and one with spelt. Oh my, home-made buttermilk and either white flour or spelt are awesome in these waffles. They are so.... light and slightly spongy in texture and a wonderful flavor. I'm not done yet for I've still a stash of sourdough recipes to try. I'm really liking sourdough. I've an article that talks about a scientific study on sourdough since they have found anti-cancer properties in it. Go figure, and they think they are so smart today. I'm thinking our ancestors without all their sophistication are looking pretty smart to me. 

I'll be sharing this recipe with you also but for now I've got to shower and be off with Kirk to the neurosurgeon to see what he has to say about hubby and all those tests the neurologist ran on Tuesday. I know none of those were normal. Like I said life is wa...y to exciting.   

Rabbit Fever - Tularemia

Life if far too exciting for me. Too many troubles but it is the nature of growth so I guess I'll just become a little more knowledgeable once more.

Our son was just diagnosed with a suspected Tularemia infection, a rare infectious disease that can attack the skin, eyes, lymph nodes, lungs, and less often, other internal organs.

Our son has a tick bite that has not healed and drastically swollen lymph nodes with major flu like symptoms that come and go with exertion. 

But one can contract the disease in many more ways. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) site says that Tularemia can be spread in the following ways:

being bitten by an infected tick, deerfly or other insect
handling infected animal carcasses
eating or drinking contaminated food or water
breathing in the bacteria, F. tularensis

The disease mainly affects mammals, especially rodents, rabbits and hares, although it can infect birds, reptiles and fish. What an odd assortment. Luckily I've taught my children that if the doctor's answers don't add up, just keep going. The third doctor our son went to see called a specialist on Bubonic Plague, Colorado or American Tick Fever, Lyme Disease, and Rocky Mountain Fever, all diseases they looked at in the beginning. The cure is the same antibiotic so pinpointing the cause is not necessary.

Though I do know a little about Rocky Mountain Tick Fever. My step-brother had that years ago. He had a very distinct smell to his body odor. One of the things the doctor used to identify his disease.  

The symptoms are different depending on how you contract Tularemia and that also effects just how deadly the disease is. If treated, less than two percent die. From what I can tell inhalation can cause 50 to 60 percent death rate if not treated. So if a rabbit doesn't look healthy keep a wide berth. I don't care if it is Rocky Mountain Fever, Colorado Tick Fever, or Bubonic Plague, they are all nasties.

What makes Tularemia confusing is that depending on how you contracted the disease your symptoms will be different. Enough to confuse most doctors especially when you factor in that the disease is now rare.
 
A much different story in WWII when the disease was common. The United States was very different from now. Farmers alone made up 21 percent of the labor force. Produce from victory gardens and rabbits were what was for dinner, not beef as today's slogan implies. Rabbit on the table would include domestic and wild though I'd guess it was wild more than domestic that caused the problem. Kirk's grandpa raised beagles to hunt rabbits and that was pretty common also. There is a vaccine against Tularemia and Kirk's dad remembers getting several shots for different types of tick fevers, this being one of them. He  spoke to our son of a friend that died from Tularemia.

My oldest sister also remembers tick shots but I don't remember such things. I do remember the sugar cubes with the red dot of medicine on top that we ate and they said was to protect against polio. I wished that all my vaccines were in that form.  

Then United States change. People moved to the cities. They seldom go outside and sit inside watching television, playing computer games and the like. Not much risk of rabbit fever there. Farmers have become a dying breed. The average age of a farmer in 2011 is 58 in the US, 58 in Australia, and 66 in Japan. People don't roam outdoors like they use to. And many parks and area you are not allowed to get off the trail. So except do it yourselfers, no one eats rabbit. When was the last time you saw it on your local restaurants menu, never.

But the thing that I found far more disturbing was that fish and birds can get Tularemia. Never heard of a case like I have from rabbit but I guess it is possible. The disease can stay alive in water and the soil for weeks.  That is why the CDC considers it a possible biological weapon, particularly as a airborne contaminate.

Since Tularemia is potentially fatal ,if not treated early, it is wise to check things out and in our son's case check it out several times until you get an answer that feels right. Since our son is an avid hunter and has a bird dog, he is at a greater risk. He pulls ticks off of the dog and himself particularly in the spring. I remember pulling a good share off of our kids when they were growing up. It is a part of rural life so beware. Not all ticks just suck blood. Some give more than they take. 

Sourdough Baguettes

How in the world do you say baguettes? I say it like it has a q instead of a g. I had to go search on the Internet even though I'm not giving this class in person. http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=baguette&submit=Submit I found this fascinating site. It actually says it out loud instead of those confusing little squiggles above the letters. No big surprise, I have been saying it completely wrong. I'm not exactly from a culinary family. Meat and potatoes is all my father ever wanted, after all his family is from Idaho.

I've always loved to cook though I wasn't particularly good at it. With Mom seldom home and a girlfriend who's parent's gave us free rein in their kitchen, she had six younger brothers to eat the results, I cooked my way through childhood. But it wasn't until I was married to Kirk that I really discovered my love for food. For real food that had fresh wonderful natural flavors. This love has been spurred on as Kirk travels a few times a year to large cities with their wonderful selection of eats and he comes home with tales of tongue tickling delights.

We have learned to savor food. Something you just don't do with tator tot casserole or tuna fish casserole, staples when I was a kid. It is no wonder I put ketchup on everything including corn.

My parents still don't see what I see in food but that is okay. My husband LOVES to come home after a long and I mean long 14 hour day at work to a home cooked meal. Last night it was cube steaks dipped in egg and a mixture of dried bread crumbs, flour and salt and pepper fried up nice and crisp with a spicy Alfredo sauce on top. One where I used fresh cream, home bottled half dried tomatoes in olive oil and spices, a little butter, black pepper, basil, parsley, and lots of Romano and Parmesan cheese. A side dish of rice and another of green beans and yum, we were set for mouth watering fun.

This morning it was home-made cinnamon raisin bread and a fruit smoothy with home-made yogurt swirled inside. Yes, my family loves it when I live in the kitchen. Unfortunately at times it is feast or famine. It has been feast lately.


New excites mea and catalogues for cooking supplies that also give recipes are high on my list of good things. Two of the several new sourdough discoveries have come from them.  This makes my sourdough start especially happy with all the use.




Baguettes
1/2 cup (4 ounces) fed sourdough starter
3/4 cup ( 6 ounces) lukewarm water
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups ( 10 1/2 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour

Being as this is a recipe from King Arthur Flour, they are recommending using their flour. I do love their bread pans and order their cake flour since it doesn't have those nasty extras in it, but I use Montana Wheat instead of their flour. I believe when possible and affordable to use local. Local may be a state a way since we aren't a big crop state but I want to encourage something so... basic as close as possible. Montana wheat all purpose comes in unbromeated and unbleached. I love how the cold harsh white is replaced with a warm light yellow without all the refining. I'm not a lover of white. Probably a hold over from childhood when I would scream whenever I saw someone in white, fearful that they were another doctor to poke and prod me.

Now for the instructions. These are from King Arthur Flour.
Combine all of the dough ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough. (This takes only a few minutes)

Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour. Refrigerate, covered, for 12 to 18 hours.

This is where I left the recipe behind. Instead of making a baguette, I rolled the dough out into pizza circle on to parchment paper and let the dough rise for well over an hour. Wish I had timed it but the whole point of using this recipe as a pizza dough was the flexibility of it. Make the dough the day before and let the dough rise for an extended time while the busy evening routine took me away.

 I put all the toppings on knowing that livestock chores had been kept waiting and when I got home Kirk would have arrived. I called Kirk as he was traveling home and asked him to put the pizza stone in the oven to heat while I finished chores. I wasn't too sure how this all would turn out as I don't normally put tomato sauce on too soon as it makes the dough rather soggy.

I should not have worried because it came out nice and crisp on the bottom and not a bit soggy. The dough had a bit of chew just the reason why we love artisan bread. This is definitely a keeper as a pizza dough.

Now for what I was suppose to do.

Divide the dough in half. Shape each piece into a 15" to 16" baguette, and place on a lightly greased or parchment-linved baking sheet, or into a baguette pan. cover and let rise until very puffy, about 3 hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the overn to 425 F.

Spray the baguettes with water and make three fairly deep diagonal slashes in each. ( I did not spray mine with water.)

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until baguettes are a deep golden brown. Remove from oven, and cool on a rack.

I went back and make the dough as baguettes too but still love it as pizza dough more. Definitely a keeper recipe. Give it a try and see what you think.

The roll you see next to the baguette is sourdough too but an entirely different recipe. I'll be sharing that one too. It is from the Cuisine magazine. As it has 2 cups of sourdough start in the recipe, it has a distinct sourdough flavor unlike the baguettes which is just a yummy bread. I liked the baguettes better and Kirk the sourdough rolls. To each their own so these two are going in my separate sourdough file for sure.  

Now to try sourdough overnight waffles and sourdough Ciabatta. Two new recipes awaiting my trial.

Udderly Confused At First

I spend a great deal of time fussing over decisions of what goats to keep and what ones to get rid of. Then I started breaking each one down. Their faults and their good points. I decided what was most important to me. I learned that I'm so... into udders. Half of the points for linear appraisal is for udder. To me that is mainly what a goat is all about, the udder or they wouldn't be called a DAIRY goat.

 

So at this time of year when I'm looking at who to keep and who goes down the road. The udder is the thing I'm looking at most carefully. This is Megan's. Discard the cow hocked look because she isn't that cow hocked but always stands goofy on the milking stand. The escutcheon could use a better arch. This one comes to a peek a little but for capacity this is pretty awesome especially since she is two and this is a picture of her udder at three weeks freshening with her nursing twins.

The udder isn't perfect but far above average I'd say. I'd like to see it collapse down to nothing when empty but it doesn't but the daughter I kept of hers does. I still get a 1/2 a gallon of milk a day besides Megan nursing twins so I can't wait to see what she produces when they are weaned. Her ears could be longer but what really do ears do for a milk goat? Lamanchas don't have any. And her nose is too small. Her hocks could have a little more angle and her back should be flatter though it isn't bad. She has a nice long rump and is a very big girl for two. She has a very classy smooth appearance. Her dairy character is developing nicely. Something she didn't have a lot of as a yearling. Over all, I like this doe.   

 

 I need to get rid of a doe and so I've started to break down each goat's faults and strengths. In doing so I've begun looking back at old photos. I've decided next winter I really need to put them in folders for each goat. That way I can see how the goat changes and develops. Maybe it would also help me to see what each buck I use does for my herd also. This is Megan's udder at one years old for a comparison to the two year photo. I know that Megan got her nose from her mother, not her grandmother and so it must of been the buck that did this dirty trick. Chicory's daughter, Daisy has a nice nose.  

The udder on the left is Megan's right after she freshened for the first time last year.  The one above is at three months. The one on the right is her daughter Mercedes just a few weeks after she freshened. It is an improvement on mother. This girl looks a lot like mom and her son is probably the best buck born this year. That makes me super happy because this is Chicory's great granddaughter. I can't wait to have her linear appraised and compare her score to her great grandmother's and mother's scores. It will tell me just where I'm moving forward and where I might of lost ground.

As for Daisy here. Her udder looks a great deal like her mother, Chicory.

Her medial attachment was wonderful. That is the line up the middle.  This is Chicory. See why I'm thinking this photo taking is a handy tool? I can look back at each doe and their ancestors and see just what has changed and what is passed on. Yes indeed, I'm gong to start making lists of traits for each doe. I have records of their births. How many kids they had and of what sex plus if I had to pull the kids or was it natural. I'm also keeping record as to the time of birth because normally they will kid within three hours of the time they kidded the first time. I then know whether they kid normally on the 150th day or sooner and approximately what time. Since I put the doe in with the buck when she comes into heat and don't leave him in the pen for days like many do, I know pretty close when my does will kid and don't spend night after night having to check them.

I've made a choice as to what doe to get rid of. The shocker is how much she developed cow hocks from a kid to this year. I would not of dreamed it. I'd like to tell the person who will be receiving her first before I blab all about it on here but some of you will probably figure it out. That will give me three does and a maybe four if I keep the little brown doe just born. She is so tiny I don't really know what she looks like.  And I've decided on only keeping two of the seven bucks intact. The rest will be banded. But first will check with an interested party to see which buck they might want of the whole group. Will I sell these two or keep them, I haven't decided yet.

The biggies in my book when deciding on whether to keep a goat or not is:
Udder shape and capacity ( I have dairy goats for the milk) Taste goes without question because we use it.

Structurally sound  or correct (That doesn't mean perfect but no large faults.) Extra points go to a doe who doesn't pass on her faults. If she consistently has kids better than she is and they are uniform to each other then she scores big.

Body capacity (If she isn't big enough, she can't sustain a large udder)

Has multiple births by two years old as mutiple births equates to more milk. Plus she doesn't require help with birthing. (Chicory was the exception because it wasn't genetic and all her doe kids have kids on their own.)

Personality (This is huge as I have to milk the doe twice a day and who wants to deal with a headache that often?)

In personality mothering ability is included. Megan is a bit of a pain at first when she kids but each year she is getting better and her other qualities make up for it. Her daughter didn't do so well this year but part of that was my fault so I'll give her another chance since she had the nicest kid and has a kick butt udder. She is a dream to milk too so she remains. 

Personality also includes how well they get along with other goats. I have NO BIDDYS in my herd. Cranks go down the road in a hurry because I want to be able to put more than one mom and her babies together in the same pen and shed. Crankiness is genetic and taught to the offspring so they get a double whammy. We once had a doe break ribs on a doeling of another goat. Yes, she hit the road. 

I had a women complain once that the goat she bought from me was too nice and ended up much skinnier than the rest of her goats because she wouldn't fight at the hay feeder. I say, weed out the the old biddies and replace them with sweet mild mannered ones. They just aren't worth it. There are lots of nice does that give lots of milk and you will thank yourself 365 days of the year. 

As for bucks, well I just don't know what you keep. I'm going on linage, what their mom and dad looked like, and if they are an improvement presently. I'm never sure how they will develop as I would have never though one of the goats I got last year would develop such cow hocks.

It is why I do linear appraisal. I learn a tremendous amount each year. I've only been doing it one year and watched the year before. I'm sold though. I will be doing it as a learning experience from now on.

As much as I've learned from this experience I'd highly suggest you undergo this same journey. Learn what is most important to you in a dairy goat. Break each goat down structurally and by personality. A wise Linear Appraisal judge told me that you can have one pet goat. The rest have to pay their way. That means being cut throat he said if you want to improve your herd. I agree. I don't have the money to pay for goats not performing. That is just a hard fact of life.