Penny In Yo Pants

(8/11/14 addendum: this doesn't work with all skirts...  I'm sure the material makes a difference.  Knit fabric or light fabric is the best.  Many of my summer skirts hit just below the knee which is modest and cool for the summer weather.  But when you put a penny and rubber band in the mix it hikes that skirt to 3 or 4 inches above the knee...  just a word to the wise.  So for that length skirt I will go back to my garter style elastic to hold my skirt in place.)
  
I bike to and from work most days and I love skirts and wear them almost every day. I have an elastic band that I slide up garter style to slip over one edge of my skirt to keep it from flying up and exposing a bit too much...but Eva at Opulent Poppy just shared a GREAT idea!



You place the penny on the back side of your skirt and rubber band around the penny on the front side turning your skirt into pants (well almost).  This is perfect!
Thanks again Eva for sharing this great idea.

Israel

The finished jam.

Yesterday was 103 degrees so I decided to take advantage of the heat and finish drying the oven fruit leather outside.  I cover with lightweight material so the air can get in and out but not bugs.  

This is actually a shear curtain panel, it works great.

This is the leather from the dehydrator.  

I cut them into serving sizes leaving the parchment right on them for storage.

They are all in a large plastic tub for conditioning.

Post-Drying Treatment

Conditioning. When drying is complete, some pieces will be moister than others due to their size and placement during drying. Conditioning is a process used to evenly distribute the minimal residual moisture throughout all pieces. This reduces the chance of spoilage, especially from mold. To condition, place cooled, dried fruit loosely in large plastic or glass containers, about two-thirds full. Lightly cover and store in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place for four to 10 days. Stir or shake containers daily to separate pieces. If beads of moisture form inside, return food to drying trays for further drying, then repeat the conditioning step.

Information from Colorado State University

Apricots, Wheat Crackers and Basil...

My mom checks this blog often.   And she likes to see some updates.  Which I'm not always great at
So Mom this is what I've been up to today.

 I cut the third cutting of my basil.  It's really doing well.  It actually came back from last year volunteer.  So that had a good bath, a spin in the salad spinner and then into the dehydrator.  It took a few hours to dry.  Last cutting I hung it in the open air to dry but this time I was in more of a hurry I guess???

It dried down beautifully.

After vacuum sealing all of my latest dried items: mint chamomile, basil I decided to make some  wheat crackers.

I made a big pot of bean soup so crackers sounded  good.

My recipe:

3/4 cup warm water

1 package yeast (2.5 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon honey

let this set a few minutes for the yeast to dissolve then add,

flour freshly ground from 1.5 cups wheat berries  (Vita Mix dry blade)

salt

and freshly ground pepper

I let this rise for an hour or so.

While this was rising I got a call from a friend who wondered if I wanted apricots.  They have an orchard and  have so many they will rot before she can get them all processed.  

I ran quickly out to her place for some lovely very ripe apricots.

YUMMY!!!

Came back home to finish the crackers.  I cut the dough into 16 pieces rolled them out thin and then put them on a hot griddle, not oiled.

Cooked them for a minute or two on each side.  They really are tasty.

After a bit of lunch, bean soup that I had put in the crock pot this morning it was time for apricots.

Two batches of jam. and six trays of fruit leather.

I used parchment paper in my dehydrator for liners.  I  can cut and roll it on the same paper once it's dry.

I ran the apricots with some lemon juice in my blender to puree and then onto the parchment.

I am drying two cookie sheets of fruit leather in my oven.  I added some coconut to the top of this one.

Apricot Jam

2 quarts crushed apricots

6 cups sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

That's  it.  Bring it to a boil stirring often so it doesn't scorch.  Boil until it thickens, about 25 minutes.

Put in your clean warm jars and process according to your altitude.  

 USDA Link

So there you have it.   That's my day.  I have washed the kitchen floor, the counters are wiped off and dishes done.  And I'm done too.  Time to have a bit of dinner and then I think a movie is in order.

Love you mom.

your little bird

DIY Cough - Throat Drops

I have been meaning to do this for months.  Last fall we bought some herbal cough drops and they were very nice. (Swiss Alps yodeling man) I also have a friend that buys the essential oils cough drops they were wonderful but very pricey ($.60 per drop). Or at least  I thought that was a lot to pay for a cough drop.  So ever since then I thought certainly I could make these myself.   So today was the day.

The first thing I did was to steep some STRONG herbal tea.  I used chamomile, rose hips, peppermint, and orange rind.

After steeping I stained through a coffee filter because I wanted it completely clear.

Cough drop recipe:

1 cup of herbal tea

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon butter

Bring to a boil to a hard crack, 300 degrees

When your syrup is at 300 degrees remove it from the heat and let it cool just a bit. 

Then add  1.5 tablespoons lemon juice.

Be very careful - it splatters!

At this point these are very good herbal drops.  You can stop right here if you want to.

(Swiss Alps yodeling man type)

But I wanted to duplicate the pricey essential oil drops so I added some LorAnn's oil.

I used Anise, Spearmint, and Cloves.

I have to say these are wonderful!

I really do think they are every bit as good as the $$ drops.  

Since I haven't yet purchased molds I needed to make my own.  

Below is powdered sugar in a cookie sheet pressed firmly with a second pan.

I used the end of a whisk to make indentations in the sugar.  It was a good size for the drops.

When the drops were hard I sifted them out of my powdered sugar so it wasn't a waste of all this sugar.

These are the finished drops.

I think these are worth investing in some good silicone molds.  I think that would be a lot less work and clean up.  But I really wanted to try this before spending the money for the molds.

Store in an airtight container.

a little bird

Lovely Dishes

My dear friend had a yard sale.  She decided to sell her china - I tried to talk her out of it but she said she never used them so she was getting rid of them.

I think they are just lovely so I bought them.  Now she can enjoy her china when ever she comes here because I  will use them.

She is right we do need to use our lovely things often.  Otherwise its just  stuff that takes up space.

So dear Karen I will use and enjoy your dishes often. And I look forward to your next visit so we can have tea in these lovely cups.

a little bird 

Where did June go...

Where did June go...?

I took the month of June off from work.   I work at a school so most of the school is closed for the entire summer but some of us need to work through the summer too.  :-)  So it is back to work tomorrow for me.

But I had a great time just being at home through June.  I did some cleaning I never seem to have time for through the school year (and yes there is still more I wish I would have gotten done.)  I helped in the garden and the yard,  I even got a camping trip in with the granddaughters.  I think that was the highlight of my time off; six days in the mountains with four little ones is time well spent!

I thought since I have been pretty much absent from blogging I would just share some pictures of June for me.

A day at the fabric store.

Relish - using Tattler Lids

Birthday party

Can you see the teapot in the middle?

Cilantro - Coriander 

Basil

Dill

Honey Crisp Apple

Leaf Lettuce

Second birthday party

Fresh honey straight from the hive that morning

Hiking with my four favorite little girls! 

This was my June in a nut shell.  What a great way to spend the month.

a little bird

Flag Day 237

Happy Flag Day!

Since I was a young girl today has been a special day.  A day to look back over our history and think about this wonderful country.

And now the day is even more special - four years ago today - our sweet granddaughter #3 was born.

Happy Birthday dear Gem.

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened on that day in 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.  The United States Army also celebrates the Army Birthday on this date; Congress adopted "the American continental army" after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775.

For a printable of the above click HERE

Tattler Lid Review

 

Today I finally used some of the Tattler lids I purchased.  They are reusable rubbers and lids.  A bit like stepping back in time.  I thought they were very easy to use.  They have one step that is different from normal lids being that as soon as you pull them from the canner you tighten the lid.

The towel does get wet therefore hot so change the spot you're using on the towel so you don't get burned.  I think I could have used nice rubber gloves too but I didn't have a pair handy...

These lids have been around since the 1979.  They are made in the USA and BPA free.

All of my lids sealed so I'm very pleased with them!!

They do cost more!  A dozen  Tattler lids costs about $10.00 compared to normal canning lids that are about $2.50 a dozen.  But since you use them again and again I think they are worth it.  If you use them four times you have paid the same as normal throw-away lids.  So every use after that is free.

all of the lids are down and sealed

I am really pleased and would recommend them.  I will purchase some more. 

commercials

My #2 son and wife were having a conversation.  And mentioned a commercial.  "What are commercials?This is a question my granddaughters asked my #2 son and wife.  They just looked at each other and laughed.  You see they don't watch TV.  They do have Netflix's so they have access to children's programs or movies.  But they have never watched regular TV.  They had no idea what a commercial was...  I remember when my boys were young and they found out when we were children TV was black and white, there was no such thing as a micro wave, VCR, home computer, cell phone, and the list goes on and on.  They looked at us like we were relics.  :-)    It seems they too have joined the 'relic' group.  Welcome, kids it's not a bad group to join at all.  Love Mom
a little bird