Watercress

Today the kids and I set out to see about collecting watercress for dinner, see about a bit of water mint and to see how the nettles were coming along.  They seemed to be about a week away from my plate.

Below is water mint growing through watercress

Notice the purple veins.

Among all the mints we grow and collect- this would fall into our top 3.  

Since it is usually found easily on riverbanks and around most streams- it makes for an easy harvest.

Below is watercress

(A spicy, arugula flavored plant)

The root system is very easy to separate through in order to take what you need

About 3 gallons of edibles

[Below]

Seeing Stinging Nettles out and this tall already makes me SO happy.

If you don't already include nettles in your diet- you have no idea what you are missing.  Not only do they stand in perfectly for any steamed green, but the nutrients this plant provides could change your life.   It has one of the best medicinal rankings!  I find endless uses and benefits of nettle and believe it is only second to alfalfa when it comes to benefit rich plants.  I will have to talk about it in length soon.

 At our home we consume nettles about once a day- whether that be in the form of food or tea.

If you plan to harvest nettle- be sure to wear gloves.  They have sharp spines that are "supposed" to only give its victim painful rash/sore that lasts for 10 minutes...unless you are allergic to it.

 Last year- I was in a situation where I found the biggest patch I have ever seen... I had no gloves, but had scissors to cut with.  I did it...and paid for it dearly.  After 48 hours of not being able to use my hands properly- the pain finally let me go.

never. again.

You can see the little spines in the photo below- 

what it doesn't show you are ALL of the spines on the underside of every leaf.

W.J.E.I. day 3- leftovers

Since I had company over for lunch and the kids asked for the Shepherd's pie for a snack as well, this left me with needing to make dinner again.  With so many little pieces of leftovers from this weeks previous dishes I used up most ingredients tonight.

So far I have not tried to eat with the Paleo style in mind- this is an average week with average in house ingredients.  So far- so good.

Breakfast was half an avocado
Lunch was leftover Shepherd's pie
Snacks were also standard (almonds, homemade protein bar etc)
....all Paleo approved

The kids and I went and harvested watercress just down the road for an ingredient in a dish tonight...and very far from any farms or grazing pastures.  If your harvesting from downward flowing water...make sure you know what is up the hill before eating it!

For the ravioli-I used the leftover zucchini from lunch on day 1 to make the "pasta", queso from the sweet potatoes- along with an egg, some lemon and garlic to make the filling.  Mashed parsnips and almond flour became croquettes...and the salad was the other half of the avocado I ate for breakfast, watercress, fennel, lemon and roasted pine nuts.

A hot cast iron pan and a little olive oil will go a long way.

*In my opinion- the croquettes were not up for the brightness of the lemon in both the salad and the "ravioli"- So I would not recommend making this together- but it cleaned out the leftovers from the past few days without having to prep anything new.

W.J.E.I. Day 2- all meals- sweet potato shepherd's pie

Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

With the hubs gone again for a while- I know I will be focused more on my daughters school work so I tend to try to make a few meals out of one.

Tonight will be sweet potato shepherd's pie with a balsamic and thyme reduction.

Today was a bit of a blur- breakfast, lunch and all the snacks were well within range of the Paleo rules (predictable routine of eggs, almonds and salads)

-Veggies from the cellar/fridge/left overs- this has zucchini, rutabagas and carrots etc.
***I purchase local and organic- and found that Driftless Organics is 12 miles down the road.  Not only do they have outstanding quality, but they allow me come in and buy several hundred pounds of what I want... every time! My children eat 25# of their amazing carrots every week! Don't think a carrot can be "amazing"? try theirs.

-Ground turkey cooked down with thyme, garlic and red onions- salt, pepper and herbs to taste-
*** I was out of my turkey so I picked up Organic Prairie.  Not sure if they are soy free in their feed- so I can't recommend this as a for sure go to....it is at least organic.
I meant to call for verification today, but- you know...

Vinegar reduction
2 cups balsamic vinegar
3-5 T honey- depending on how sweet you want it and how thick you like it.
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
- let simmer and reduce until you have the desired thickness- viewed by coating the back of a spoon- then pull out the sprig and leaf.

Shepherd's Pie
Layer chopped veggies then cooked turkey in an accommodating dish .  Top with mashed sweet potato.  Do not smooth the potato down- the more ridge like it is, the better for alternating density and depth of texture.

Bake at 400* until veggies are tender

Dish plate and drizzle with reduction-

W.J.E.I. DAY 1- meal 3- making queso blanco

What a windy and dark day!

After milking, I went out with James, Agnes and Barney to the back end of their property for some Mullein and mint to make tea for all these gross sounding coughs.  

Tonight's meal was nothing crazy.

Mashed parsnips with thyme, onions and garlic, 

grilled pork loin from our organic, no soy pigs, cabbage salad

 and sweet potatoes with spicy chili sauce and raw queso.

With the understanding that dairy does not fall into everyone's beliefs about the Paleo diet- 

I do see that some allow it IF it is raw.

I figured it was only fair to note how fast and easy it is to make queso blanco.  This type of cheese is crumbly and if pressed then sliced- will fry well as a meat or soy substitute.  Anything is better than soy- try it.

When you look up this recipe on other sites or in books- you will note that they all indicate an initial temp of between 160* and 180* or to foaming but just below boiling.  You have to keep milk at these high temps for about 30 minutes to pasteurize properly, but the good stuff begins to get killed off at a very low rate of heat- especially if you get it up to 134* and once again around the very low 140's and 170's.... This is how some manufacturers are able to put the "raw" cheese label on their product- it is if they never fully reach one of those temps for certain cheeses.

 Since I prefer to keep my cheese as raw as possible- here is how I make mine. 

Heat your milk to very low 90-ish*

(use an instant read thermometer or you can heat it to the point where if you were to put your finger in the milk and close your eyes- you would not know it was in liquid)

At this point add 3/4 t citric acid per 1/2 gallon of milk you use.

Mix well in an up and down motion and top stir for a few moments if using fresh raw milk- 

this will keep the cream from surfacing.

After a minute or two you will notice the coagulation occur.

Let rest for 5 minutes

Drain into a colander and allow to drain for up to an hour.

Toss with salt and/or your herbs for best flavor.

I drain mine and save the whey for several other things like a replacement of water in baking, protein drinks or what I actually do... feed it to the pigs.

This week we have one pig- my daughter named him Cheddar.  Next week I will let my son name the other when we get him/her.

Last year we had 3 and they were named High heel, Squidgy and Justin.

Again- this dinner was pretty average for us... but it was warm and fast and on a blustery day- it works well.

**IF you live in a state where raw milk is legal then follow these instructions**If I lived in a state where raw milk was legal- this is what I would do.

W.J.E.I. DAY 1- meal 2

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VEGGIE PIE

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Since I am now realizing this is going to take up more time doing the actual blog entry than it takes to make and eat the food... well, I will skip the snacks from today since they are usually veggies or almonds.

-How I made lunch-

Whatever vegetables I had in the fridge/cellar/within my reach

This time it was carrots, red onion, egg plant and zucchini

Slice your vegetables into very thin strips

 DOUGH

Depending on the size of your pie pan....

between 1. 1/2 -1. 2/3 cups of your flour of choice

1/3 cup COLD water

3 T melted coconut oil

1 t salt

Mix until you have a crumbly mixture and do your best to turn out on a flat surface and kneed until cohesive. 

I was in a bit of a rush so I packed it in the pie shell with my knuckles and smoothed over with my fingers.

Now begin arranging the outermost edge with one layer of vegetable

rotate rings of vegetables until all the way into the center 

last to enter the circle- I tend to use a VERY thin strip of the most pliable vegetable to form a rosette 

For every one egg I use, I add 1 T of milk with some salt and pepper at the end.  This pie took 6 of each.

Beat with a fork then pour in and around all of the vegetables.

The pie I made today had a few roasted red peppers and 2 oz of pesto mixed into the egg and milk mixture.

Bake at 370* until you can smell the food about 20 feet from the oven or the center is set.

Since the pesto muddies the coloring and makes the photo less detailed- here is a photo I took around a year ago of the way my daughter likes to eat her "veggie pie".

Paleo approved? W.J.E.I. DAY 1- meal 1

After quite a few emails with a friend from back in my hometown- she put a bug in my ear that maybe all the information I had absorbed about the Paleo diet was heavily one sided, misguided and those writing said blogs might have had a touch of false omniscience.

I am more than interested- always looking to fine tune my diet to work for my body.
Since I have not had a chance to research the suggested reading my friend gave me- I will be checking if my friend, Jodi, approves of my current meals. I figured I would try to see how many meals that I make this week actually fit the mold for this diet....I already consider myself healthy- so- we shall see.
When the week is over and I have hopefully read what she suggested I will have a much better idea about the details...

I call this set of recipes W.J.E.I. or Would Jodi Eat It?

Lacto fermentation is an important part of my diet- with that being said...

I took about a cup of my Kimchi
**(or Kimchee or Gimchi) I made from my overstock of vegetables in the garden from last fall**
1/4" julienne both half a carrot and half a zucchini and dry fried them on a cast iron pan.  
Put a teaspoon of coconut oil on heated cast iron skillet and half cook half steam a duck egg

Ear infection drops

My daughter gets ear infections every spring...for what feels like the entire duration of spring.  If she is stuffy, coughing or sneezing- she is most likely fighting an ear infection of sorts.  Since we don't use antibiotics, we use a homemade drop.

2 Tablespoons of virgin organic coconut oil
***Kills bacteria and has healing properties

~~~OR~~~

2 tablespoons olive oil
*** Olive oil is a good way of softening the wax that might be harboring the growing bacteria that might be leading to blocking the Eustachian tubes

2 cloves of crushed garlic
***being antimicrobial and it naturally relieves pain-this is usually the go to for ear infections
[some say eating a few cloves a day helps as well]

10 drops of tea tree oil ***if you have the right stuff- if not, leave out!!!***
***has antiseptic and bactericidal properties
[this MUST be high quality]
A "pure" essential oil only has to be 50% essential oil...the rest are fillers
[No more that 15% ceneole and at least 30% terpinen-4-ol]

Using a tiny sauce pan, I heat the oil and crushed garlic thoroughly until the garlic begins to brown.  Remove from heat.  I wait for the oil to cool and then filter out the garlic through cheese cloth or a thin tea towel.  You most definitely don't want any garlic particles going in the ear.
After I add the 5-10 drops of tea tree oil, I pour into a dropper and keep in the fridge.  When I use it, I heat with my hands or a cup of warm water to warm the contents- 2 drops in the ear 2x a day works for us.

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Swimmer's Ear

In the summer I use this after every swim lesson:

1/3 cup white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of rubbing alcohol.  We keep it in a dropper located in the swim bag.  If I don't use it- she gets swimmer's ear.

Dishwasher detergent

While I have all the ingredients out for laundry soap,

 I pull out the citric acid, rice and salt to make dishwasher detergent.

Again, most recipes call for Borax.  I edited that out and replaced it with washing soda.

1 cup washing soda
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1 Tablespoons rice (to keep the citric acid from forming all ingredients into stone)
1/2 cup kosher salt
(Kosher is used to add an extra abrasiveness but primarily because it doesn't cause cloudiness- this is why it is called for when you use salt for canning)

X this recipe by as many times as you want.
 Some times I omit the salt and rice, increase the citric acid- then "pour" off into ice cube trays so they become solid, pop them out into a zip-lock bag.  This allow for individual doses in a container under the sink and the ability to make it once to last me for 6 months to a year.

To keep the cloudiness out, I add either green tea or vinegar to the rinse aid in the door.... my door broke off:( so I put the vinegar in an upstanding container that houses about 1/2 cup volume on the upper tray... when the water from the machine tops it off, the vinegar begins to drop down over the dishes.

When I do my "need to scrub" dishes by hand I put 1 cup white vinegar, about 1/2 cup baking soda and 10-15 drops of lemon essential oil to a basin of hot water.  If its really nasty stuff I am washing- I add a teaspoon or two castile soap.

OR

Dish soap:

1 bar of the Kirk's castile soap
1T washing soda
30 drops lemon or lime essential oil
1 cup white vinegar
1 gallon water

Shred the soap- heat the water on the stove to HOT- not boiling- and melt the soap.  Remove from heat then add the rest of the ingredients and combine well.  If the viscosity becomes unbearable, wait until it has cooled a bit then use your emulsion blender to return it to a creamy state.

Allow to cure at room temperature for a day before using.
***When using this soap, I add 1-2 cups of white vinegar to the water in the rinse basin.

Laundry soap

I have been making my laundry soap for years now.  I began making everything from dish soap to laundry soap and took every oz of commercial soap out of my home. To avoid chemicals, dyes and perfumes along with anything petroleum based.. I make everything I can.  In fact, I have not used traditional soap in years.  I began using castile soaps for everything.  If not castile, then soap nuts.... more on that some other time.

Short version:
POWDER DETERGENT
2 cups baking soda
2 cups washing soda
1 bar grated soap
[double as many times as you want]
Leave a powder in a sealed container.

If a liquid is desired [liquid does do a bit better job of cleaning]
Grate bar into bowl, stir into 1 gallon of hot HOT water and stir until melted.
In a separate bucket, mix hot tap water with the B. Soda and the W. Soda until dissolved.
mix all together and be prepared for severe thickness.  If you have an emulsion blender- no problem, but if you don't then just give your final container a good shake each time before using if settling occurs.
1/8cup to 1/4 cup on average- depending on your washer and clothing soil... up to 1/2 cup detergent.

Detailed info:

My laundry detergent search kept hitting wall after wall when the one ingredient "Borax"  was involved.
If you have done your homework, you will know why you should never touch the stuff.  There are several reasons why it is banned in so many places.  Being used to kill rodents to interrupting the reproductive organs permanently in children under 9 and going further to poison babies in utero by disfiguring them through their mothers skin when she just touches it- etc...

I finally realized washing soda and baking soda, while only different by tiny amounts, were in fact different enough to really work together.  They are one in the same since you can make one from the other.


The difference between the two is a baking sheet, 400* and about 30-40 minutes.
Want to know the science details?
Washing soda, carbon dioxide and steam.  That is what is sodium bicarbonate after the heat:
NaHCO3 toNa2HCO3- lets be clear- I can't even write this down right in proper form.
it is a breakdown from (1sodium, 1 hydrogen, 1 carbon, 3 oxygen molecules) to (2 sodium, 1 carbon, 3 oxygen molecules)- or baking soda to washing soda.

The local farm feed store sells bags of sodium bicarbonate... 50# for $14+change.  Or I can go get it at Walmart- 12# for $8-$10.  I will say that the "feed grade" version is much more coarse- so if you plan to use it like I do for the face or delicate surfaces...buy the Arm&Hammer version....everything else- why not go with the farm feed store???

Here is my recipe in general:

2 cups washing soda 
2 cups baking soda
1 bar soap finely shredded
(castile soap- I add one more per 4-5 because the size is so much smaller)


I say "general" because each of the 4 soaps I use do something different
and from time to time I change volume.

For a general detergent I shred Zote soap.  It consists of nothing that rates above a 1 from the EWG website.  Not only that but it has a great blueing agent.  Every white you see is actually a shade of blue.  adjust the blue- you wind up with a brighter everything.  Whites obviously- but colors too.
It is made with tallow- this makes it "grate" in little curls because of the fat.  I allow this to be exposed to the air for a few days before adding the rest of the ingredients so it breaks apart for an easier dissolve.  There is no difference other than the color of the pink vs blue (white) Zote soap.  The reason they are made is because the difference between the southern and northern sections of Mexico tend to prefer a color vs no color.  Its a marketing thing.
So- in general I have to believe it has tallow saturated with GMO.  I feel torn over this because I don't support ANY GMO producing agent.  However- this was discovered after a lot of digging.  Sadly this does not fall under the FDA's guidelines of "if GMO so and so is not used in the FINAL stages of *anything* then it doesn't have to be announced".

I hate politics and lawyer talk. So I call bull $h!t for those of us having to fight a battle the government is trying so hard to keep in whispers.

For my detergent that I use for myself, the children and delicate fabric-aka my favorite and most trusted- I use castile soap- whether it be Dr. Bronner's or Kirks.  I order Dr. Bronners and am lucky enough that my little, tiny, non-existent town has a gas station that sells Kirks for $1.32... it was $1.19 until I bought the whole stock and it went up right away.  Still cheaper than anywhere online that I can find!
Either castile will shred at a super fine point.  It can be made into a dust to match the consistency of the baking soda and the washing soda.

Last- which is rare- I make 5 bars worth of Fels-Naptha.  If you have never heard of it, you are missing out- however- it is not what I would consider healthy or safe.  It is the lesser of most evils out there.  Why would I use it if it is toxic?  Because it works that well.  I still refuse to use it on my clothing or the children's clothing, but it does the trick to get the engineers clothing clean of grease and nasty other things... that and it gets them really clean.  It also works on getting my homemade napkins super clean too.

If you look at the photo above, you will see a few variations of the Fels-Napths I use.  One has no specific ingredients and the other has several:

I do more laundry than the average house- I wear many costumes during the course of one day.  between the farm clothes, milking clothes, chore clothes, wood cutting, painting, Pj's, Mass suits, my every day jeans and two children who like to match me- I need different detergents for everything- this setup I just explained works well enough that I do this once every year to year and a half and I am done....not to mention I give away about 6 moths to a years worth to friends and family... and still wind up with over a years worth- well- enough said.

Cost?  I would estimate (since I go big)  I buy:

*50# baking soda which turns into both B.Soda and Washing soda= $15
* 9 bars of Zote soap.  Dollar General =~$13-ish
*6 bars Kirk's soap.  Gas station=$8-ish

About $45... for detergent that whitens like bleach, detergent that takes care of your delicate clothing and even baby clothes/ diapers- then a general detergent and a super oxy-clean type of detergent.  Not including the Fels-Naptha, These detergents are clean from petroleum, dye, synthetic nastiness and my enemy- perfume.

Now- I divide it all into separate huge zip-lock bags.  When I use the powder, I fill a mason jar and use an old Parmesan cheese lid to be able to disperse about 1/8c-1/4c per load.


Once all the powder is made and I want liquid- I take about 1 part powder to 4.5 parts HOT water and mix until melted.  Like I stated above- emulsion mixer is handy to make it so it can be put back into the spout kind of dispenser that requires no lifting.... still needs a shake after sitting for a while.


I wind up having over a years worth of soap AND I give away about a years worth for others to try.  If out of the above recipe- I am able to get a 4.5 gallon bucket of powder and just under 4 containers of liquid (which equates to 125 loads per bottle for top loader and 250 loads per bottle for he washers) X4!!!- you can probably estimate how long that would last you and most likely half or quarter my recipe.

Healing salve for little knees

The day before Easter- I took my children to mass.  2 hours later I felt like I had been set up.  Honestly.  I am sure it would have been an absolutely beautiful night had my children been raised to expect what was expected of them in what they deemed "the quiet church".  Clearly- my children were not raised Catholic.  When we walked in, E, my son, was handed a candle.... lit.  I began to watch him carefully as his expression grew into one of adventure.  Before I knew it he was dripping wax all over the Easter vigil paperwork... I took said candle away.... He begged for it back- in a church that you are expected to behave and be.s.i.l.e.n.t.- well I obliged and reluctantly handed it back.  It took 2 seconds.  It was like slow motion.... he leaned forward- candle in one hand and pew right in front of him- he hesitated long enough to begin to scorch the pew then lift the bible out of the pocket right next to it to use as fuel to finish his diabolical plan.... this is when I blew it out and then headed to the back of the church where the BABIES have to go....with a 3...almost 4 year old and a 6 year old.  At one point the kids were upside down on the stairs to the belfry acting possessed... Okay, who am I kidding, They stayed like that most of the time...for the next 1.5 hours.

It was a disaster.

Finally I sent them outside to wait it out.  Oh, did I mention at this point it was 10:30pm?!?!  Before I knew it E was knocking on the church doors trying to get me.  W had fallen very hard down a slanted cement wall and tore her leggings away from her knees and she was bleeding- she was trying hard not to cry but it was not working .

After getting home and in their pj's- well after 11pm- we had to make a healing salve with what we had on hand...

We don't keep hydrocortisone in the house for the reasons of its toxicity for thinning the skin among others.

We grabbed a tiny vile from the craft closet.  It probably holds about 1 tablespoon.  We added about 1/3 part vitamin e liquid, 1/4 teaspoon honey, then tossed in 13 yarrow blossoms and a small bit of yarrow and topped it off with melted coconut oil.  Once combined- I placed the cap back on it and set in a cup of hot water to steep the flower/ flower root mixture.  It transformed into a sweet almond scent that healed her knees so well.  The bloody scrapes were about the size of 50 cent pieces with pieces of flesh hanging off of them...now they look mollified and about the size of a penny.  Very fast healing and with no side effects!

The following herb flowers can easily be found in your yard or ditch.  

I will post something with photos very soon!

Coconut oil:  healing. Antibacterial. Amazing- I need to do an entire page on it.

Yarrow- I deadhead the flowers and grab up the leaves to help with fevers and colds .  Helps with infection.

Comfry: It heals skin.  reproduces and stimulates skin cell reproduction..... sometimes so fast, when you put it on a cut it can form a scar from the restructure of skin cells at such a rapid rate.

Vitamin E:  healing properties for skin

**Disclaimer:  I am not a doctor- but I play one at home. These are things that work for us- proven by thousands of years of others doing it this way by those who forage the earth- but you must do what works for you or what your doctor advises you of.

Yogurt

For every oz of milk you have- it can become yogurt.  All you need is a pan, some heat and a starter.... ie: a little left over yogurt from a store container.

Original directions:  

~heat milk until 175-185 (almost boiling)

~let cool until 110-112

~whisk in starter

~place in either of the following:

*Oven heated to 170 then turned off

*Food dehydrator set at "yogurt"

*Lunch box filled with hot water

*Yogurt maker....all for 8-12 hours

I don't do that......

My directions:

I take my milk (always 1 gallon for me),

put it in a pot and heat it until it reaches about 115*

(I go with that temp to avoid stages of pasteurization since I use raw milk)  

Remove from heat and allow to cool until it reaches the temp of about 112*.  

At this point I whisk in my starter (approximately 1/2 cup- to be honest I just add a bit)

 and put a lid on my pan. 

Jacket the pot by wrapping it in 2 towels and place somewhere off the floor and warm-ish.

I check between 18-24 hours after I wrap up the pan.  If it seems a little watery then I allow it to sit for a bit longer, but that has only happened once.

***By allowing 24 hours of curing, this will eliminate much of the lactose out of the milk*** 

Here I am allowing the whey to filter through the cloth so I wind up with a Greek style yogurt that also doubles as "sour cream" (very similar process) if you add a little lemon in it.

You can see the thick Greek style on the bottom side of the spoon 

and the thinner traditional yogurt on the left.

When you make this yogurt, the exact amount of milk used is the exact amount you will get.  However, when I make my Greek style yogurt I wind up with about half of what I start with.

Don't toss the whey!  I always try to keep at least a cup or more on hand for getting rust off of...anything.  Seriously- It will remove massive amounts of rust.

Since you began with just milk- there will be just milk in the yogurt.  Zero sugar.  In my house we like it with honey, cinnamon and lime zest over granola.  

Some times we add grilled apples and maple syrup.

In the end when I believe it might be on its way out-

 we make yogurt drops out of it or freeze it for- well- frozen yogurt.  

 White and refined sugar is awful for you.  It feeds the nasty things inside you and allows it to grow.... it grows cancer among other terrible things.  You might want to stop eating it....

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Back to the whey:

My friends father (in his late 80's!)  is using the whey to fix this old milking bucket and filter.  Originally this thing was covered in rust.  I believe I heard that this was a few treatments into the process.  I asked if it would remove rust successfully from clothing and got a blank expression.... so that will be for another day. 

There have been studies that have shown that the world is "in environmental peril" because no one knows what to do with all the whey that it leaves behind from this massive Greek yogurt phase.  There are processes that allow you to use whey to make other cheeses like Ricotta, 

but this is not one of them.... so the world is "in peril"? 

For real?

  The easiest answer is to feed it to your pigs, chickens, dogs or any pet for that matter- not to mention you can easily use it for your protein shakes or a substitution for water in anything baked.  

 On a side note:

 I don't recommend consuming a lot of dairy or meat.  But I do have a hard time understanding people who "don't eat dairy" because of  lifting weights and yet they consume whey protein- more specifically... Casein.   How confusing.  There has to be like 100 cows inside each 10# container of Casein.  Okay, that MIGHT be an exaggeration, but I can't even say that for a fact. Casein causes cancer.  End of.  I have years worth of reading material that proves this if you want it.   

Body Spray

My daughter wants her own perfume.  This causes a lot of problems in our home since we have not used anything with petroleum or coal based synthetic scenting in over 6 years.  If someone with perfume or freshly laundered clothing (using something like Gain etc.) comes too close we usually wind up with headaches and a bout of nausea- not to mention the sneezing fits that ensue.

I do make a few different kinds of scented things- but mostly these are coconut oil and essential oil based.
-Flying bug repellent (base of lemon and lime essential oils+)
-Tick repellent (base of Clove oil+)
-Cooling spray (base of peppermint oil+)
etc.....
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A moment on oils:
 At one point I found a large set of resources showing there is no true difference between therapeutic and food grade essential oils IF you buy organically and from reputable companies.  The biggest difference is the carrier oil used within the essential oil to make it for a topical or internal use.... I can't find this set of paperwork at the moment but will eventually and put it up for you.  You need to know the companies and know that they are not diluting the pure oils with diathylphthalate or dipropolyne glycol.   ie:  NOW essential oils are not always organic but they are non GMO.  Which, in the world of essential oils where organic is very hard to find and can cost more than gold, is good enough for me.
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We tried our hand at a few new body sprays today.  My daughter wanted orange and lemon, my son wanted grapefruit and lemon and I wanted vanilla and lemon which smells like lemon meringue pie.

Usually if it smells like you can eat it, we go for it.

To make a spray- I used 20 drops of each essential oil- 40 drops total-
1 part Witch Hazel to 3 parts distilled water

This one I did
6 oz of distilled water
2 oz Witch Hazel
40 drops total of the essential oil

Mix all into a spray bottle and shake before each use.

Diatomaceous Earth

What is is? Tiny fossilized water plants

Food grade Diatomaceous Earth is 86% silica.

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) has a very strong negative point resulting in pulling toxins from the body- some studies show it absorbs E.coli, endotoxins, viruses, methyl mercury and even pesticide residues-etc.

Having enough Silica in the body, about 7g, allows for calcium absorption.  

7 grams of silica is a lot.  Way more than what we need in Iron.

Reported health benefits:

-Triglyceride reduction

-Enhances calcium absorption

-Natural weight loss

-Detox- removal of radiation and heavy metals

-Lower high blood pressure

-Lower high cholesterol

- In Europe and Asia (they have no FDA) DE benefits are widely used in health and beauty products for hair, skin, nails bones and joints.

-Can help slow the degeneration of connective tissues

-Hair, teeth, gums and nail strength 

Reported benefits from using DE go anywhere from preventing kidney stones, preventing and alleviating Alzheimer's, fading age spots, decreasing appetite to treatment for inflammation to the middle ear.  The list goes on and on and on......

I take 2 tablespoons mixed with oj or a protein shake every day.  Some people take it with water or coffee....  since it changes the viscosity of your liquid- I wouldn't personally want thick coffee.  I do have to stir it back up into the liquid from time to time as it settles if I take too long to drink it.

Canned BACON

A few days ago- some friends and I went to an E.T. food delivery that happens once a month at the local Amish Bent and Dent.  I was able to pick up about 20# of bacon for a little over $2 per pound. 

 This is the type of bacon I like to have on hand when people come over

 or I have no time to get some from the local butcher.

Usually I try to do 30-40# canned bacon each year- this frees up the freezer for other things.

Parchment paper and butcher cut bacon works best (this was normal sliced bacon)

Once laid out on paper, almost reaching the ends and not touching, I then place another layer of the paper on top then fold the whole thing in half:

I then cut off any excess in order to make it all fit into a wide mouthed canning jar

There have been times that I got bacon so long I too had to cut that- check twice- cut once

Roll to size- depending on the thickness of the bacon and the spacing you use- this will be different each time

Pressure can 10-11# for about 60 minutes.  Everything I have ever searched about the "rules" for canning bacon all vary.  This has worked for me for years.  Go with what you feel comfortable- which is most likely 90 minutes

this really is nice to have in the pantry

Now- when it comes to cooking it- pull out the entire roll and unroll on a counter.  Gently unfold and pull up from the paper and place on griddle if you would like strips or half strips.  I actually never expect strips from this process and just dump it all in to make crumbles