Busy Homemaker
January 31, 2008 | 5 Comments
I’ve been a busy homemaking momma over the last few days.
Several days ago I went to a local dairy to get some raw cow’s milk and buttermilk. So in addition to drinking really good (don’t tell the Feds!) raw milk, I used some of the buttermilk to make whey and cream cheese. The cream cheese is mixed with oat flour right now and in the morning it will be rolled out into rugelach. (With butter and nuts baked in. Mmmmmmm….)
The whey will keep in the fridge for months and is good for soaking grains overnight, as well as for making sauerkraut and other fermented veggies.
I soaked and dehydrated a ton of nuts (it deactivates enzyme inhibitors and makes them easier to digest, and tasty too!)
I was also inspired to make homemade salsa (which incidentally calls for a little whey to get the lacto-fermentation process cookin’). I love love love salsa and there’s just nothing like homemade.
I baked wheat free rolls (ok I used a Pamela’s GF baking mix. But I still had to mix it and bake it people!).
I went to the store and bought every kind of bean our family uses on a regular basis, in large two pound bags: pinto, kidney, garbanzo and great northern. I soaked and cooked them all and then froze them in family size portions. Now when it’s time to make hummus/minestrone/chili/refried beans/baked beans etc, I can just grab a container from the freezer and cook.
I needed coconut and coconut milk but forgot it at Whole Foods the other week (duh!), and the brands at the local grocery stores have sulfites, which I’m allergic to, so I bought two whole coconuts. We had fun cracking them, draining them, cutting the flesh out and peeling off the brown skin. Then I made homemade coconut milk and coconut cream, and have two containers in the freezer of grated coconut.
Today I made raw chocolate candy. I followed a recipe that called for carob but I was out and it’s not time to go to Whole Foods for a couple more weeks, so I did cocoa. They called for almonds, cashews, coconut ground with raw honey, cocoa and vanilla. I spread that in a buttered cooke dish and chillled. They’re yuuuuummmmy.
I made beef broth from bones I got from the last Whole Foods trip. And fish broth from fish heads (you ain’t lived until you’ve cooked fish eyeballs!) I bought from Whole Foods. And chicken broth from chicken bones I’d saved from the last chicken I cooked. And turkey broth from the turkey bones I got from the turkey we cooked last week. (Tip: put a little vinegar in the cooking water, it helps get calcium from the bones and makes the broth more nutritious, and the vinegar taste will cook out.) So I have tons and tons of homemade broth in the freezer. Made minestrone with some of the chicken broth last night for supper, and used a little of the fish broth to cook salmon night before last. I’ll use some of the rest to make clam chowder next week.
Tonight I made apple crisp, one of my rare desserts I actually cook. I’ll share the recipe below. 
Carrie’s Apple Crisp
4-6 Tart Apples, sliced (I like to use Green apples)
Place apples in a baking dish.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine:
1/3 cup Rapadura or Sucanat (can also use brown sugar)
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup flour (I use oat because of wheat sensitivity)
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch sea salt
Mix the ingredients with your fingers, it’s the fastest and easiest way to get the right texture. Then sprinkle on the apples. Bake at 350 until apples are soft and topping is browned and crisp/chewy.
Dang. I think I should win some kinda award for all this, don’t you? I’ve been seriously channeling Caroline (”Ma”) Ingalls, I swear. Time to put the Little House books down. And step away from the kitchen. Very carefully. 
EcoWednesday - Saving Ink and Paper and Indoor Drying Racks
January 30, 2008 | 2 Comments
Cool tip from GreenDaily (which is a cool blog to subscribe to, I learn stuff all the time and it’s active enough to keep my interest) on saving printer ink as well as paper.
Also wanted to report on my recent IKEA acquisition: the FROST indoor drying rack. Even though I hang all the laundry on a clothesline outside, I still wanted a couple of these to use inside on rainy days. We’ve also had some days lately that were really cold, and my hands start to hurt and my nails turn blue while hanging wet laundry, which isn’t fun. I thought these would be a great solution.
I LOVE them. Firstly, the price is RIGHT honey. I paid more for a cheap wooden one at Target that falls over when you walk past it and doesn’t hold even a half load of laundry. The Frost holds TWO LOADS. I couldn’t believe how much laundry I could hang on it for the space it takes up!
At 16.99 each they’re a great deal.
Bullet Points of Randomness
January 24, 2008 | 4 Comments
Hat tip to Mom to the Screaming Masses, one of my favorite mom bloggers for this meme.
Tomorrow: Got an eye doctor appointment. I’ve been needing to get glasses so I can drive at night.
Feeling: Crampy. I’m ovulating.
Happy Because: I went to IKEA today with just one kid in tow. It was such a nice trip.
Today I: Shopped at IKEA and ate breakfast at the cafe there. Got two indoor drying racks, 3 pots for plants, a clamp spotlight for oldest to read by at night, a throw rug that can go in the washer, various little cloth organizer things in the dollar bin, and a laundry hamper.
Laundry: All caught up and a load on the line outside.
Something I know: That Sadie is allergic to wheat. I hate that! But it will keep me motivated to stay away from it myself, because I have issues with it too.
Currently reading: Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
Wanting: Chris Martin. Reread the feeling post people.
Favorite gadget: my laptop
Thankful that: I got to spend some one on one time with my 6 year old. That my AdSense check is going to be about $200 higher than the highest it’s ever been.
Wondering why: Laura and Mary Ingalls had ONE DOLL EACH (and Laura’s wasn’t even a doll, just a corncob in a handkerchief) and didn’t fight over them, and my kids have enough paper in the house to last at least them a year and fight over three sheets of it.
Care to fill in any of these with your own answers?
Questions from Moms: Can You Help?
January 22, 2008 | 1 Comment
This week I got a couple of questions from subscribers and thought I would post them here to see if you smart ladies had any advice.
The first is from a subscriber to my newsletter about limiting TV. She asks:
Dear Carrie,
We are doing well with our now much limited use of TV (I would say at the most 3hrs a week total).
However, I am really struggling with things to do with my almost three year old son. My girls are doing well. They are 8 and 6 and they are being more creative, pulling out all kinds of toys rarely played with, going outside more and generally living life more.
But my son is the hard one. Also, I find I’m not getting any housework done because I’m having to entertain my kids so much. Our house is staying a wreck most of the time and I’m struggling with this aspect. Help!!!!!!!!!! Do you have any solutions?
Thanks,
Mom R
I totally understand this problem! It’s definitely an issue with kids around 3 and 4. One thing I’ve done that helps is to keep a large box (at their level so they can get it themselves) in the kitchen full of art materials: paper, colored pencils, crayons, stickers, watercolors, coloring books, paper dolls, etc. My 4 year old gravitates to it several times a day as does the 2 year old.
Some other activities that he could do by himself that come to mind are: playing with wooden blocks, train sets or Lego type toys, doing easy chores (he could help you work, I find that mine loved to help at that age but would also lose interest quickly, giving me a few minutes to finish up), cutting old magazines with safety scissors (my 2 year old loves to look through old parenting magazines and pick out all the babies), easy puzzles… I’m sure you could come up with a list if you brainstorm, and suggest something for him to do when he’s bored.
I can’t (nor would I want to, even if I didn’t have other responsibilities) spend all day playing with my kids. I think it’s important for kids to learn to entertain themselves for a part of the day even when they’re younger.
So I encourage mine to get involved in activities that are age appropriate. Sometimes it takes a little nudging. I kick them out encourage mine to go outside a couple of times a day if it’s pleasant, and once if it isn’t pleasant. LOL! That may or may not be possible for you depending on your living situation. It’s safe for me to turn mine loose outside where I live.
Can you encourage the older kids to involve the little one in their play? I know sometimes that’s hard, but I’m not above paying my oldest son .50 to swing the baby outside so I can get some pressing task accomplished.
Also, it will get easier. The youngest will adjust to not being entertained so much by you or some external stimuli.
The second email is from a Mom who wants to find a safer crib for her baby. She writes:
Hi Carrie,
Can you tell me where I would find a solid wood crib that is unfinished, or is finished using natural products? It seems there are lots of companies that claim to be non-toxic, but the U.S. regulations for this aren’t great to begin with so I don’t really trust it.
Thanks!
Mama B
I didn’t have much advice for her because I never had a crib, my babies coslept. But I’m quite sure there are companies that produce baby furniture made from sustainable goods and that are non toxic. I suggested she look for companies online and call their 800 number to do some more detective work.
Do you know of a specific resource for her?
Thanks for the input Moms!
Going on the Fourth!
January 22, 2008 | 10 Comments
Well I have not been around much here at the blog lately, due to the fact that I have been feeling a little under the weather since December. The feeling of lows and highs continued on until i missed my period and went out and got a home pregnancy test and found out i was pregnant. All I did was ask God why me although i know it has nothing to with him, but completely all me.
I told my husband and he has been ecstatic about it and more excited then i am. You might be asking why I was so down about it, Well i have three boys now and want a little girl and i do not think i will have one. But who knows maybe i will get blessed with a little girl finally. I am excited about the baby just not as i was with the first the three. All my boys are seven, two and 1 year old so i more than have my hands full, so thank God I am able to be a stay at home mom. I just wish i was excited about this one as i was with the others.
Tell me your thoughts, do you think I am wrong for not being overjoyed right away, or is this normal behavior for and over experienced mom?
Stevia Sweetened Lemonade Recipe
January 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Our guest this week on the show is Erica Johns, author of two ebooks on health and nutrition. She let me share her recipe for Lemonade that is sweetened with stevia. Thanks Erica!
All I do is use a citrus juicer (just a hand-twist model) to squeeze the juice from two fresh lemons.
Then add enough water to mostly fill a two-quart pitcher, then add 2-4 droppers full of liquid stevia. Yum!
My entire family loves it. Since we only allow the kids to drink juice at breakfast, this healthy lemonade allows them to have a tasty drink all through the day.
Erica likes Sweet Leaf Stevia, and it’s one of my favorite brands too. Give it a try.
Natural Moms Podcast #72
January 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This week we are joined by Erica Johns. Erica, aka SuperMom, is a homeschooling Mom of 6 who shares tips on healthier living on her website and ebooks.
Listen on the site or download the mp3
A Survey For Grown Ups (Meme)
January 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Alyssa over at Life from my Laptop shared a fun quiz at her blog and I thought I would paste my answers here. A ton of blog memes have been circulating around the blogosphere in the last few weeks but noone has tagged me (sniff, sniff)!
50 questions for the people who are a little older….
1. What bill do you hate paying the most? My car payment, because I’m unsecured debt free so the car note is my only debt, and I can’t wait to be free of it! Other than that I don’t mind paying bills at all.
2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
LOL! I don’t do romantic dinners. And I can’t even remember the last time I had any kind of nice dinner out. It’s about time, I think.
3. Do you regret losing your virginity to who you lost it to? Was your husband your 1st?
Yes it was my husband. Moving on…..
4. If you could go back and change one thing what would it be ?
While there are a couple of things I would like to change because they were painful, it would change my current reality and who I am, so I wouldn’t want to change them. Does that make sense?
5. Name of your first grade teacher? Oh wow, I have no idea! I don’t remember most of my teachers.
6. What do you really want to be doing right now?
Going out with a friend to see a show (like Coldplay. Ahem.) It’s been too long!
7. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A missionary - then I realized that I would have to leave my parents, and we’re close so I didn’t want to do that. Then, a writer.
8. How many colleges did you attend? Zippo!
9. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
It had a cute sailor look (it’s red with horizontal white stripes), plus it was around .50 (thrift store again!)
10. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
I couldn’t care less, honestly. Capitalism = supply and demand. I think people who complain about gas prices ned to stop their whining and drive less, get a more fuel efficient car or a greasel.
11. If you could move anywhere and take someone with you where would it be?
Italy. My parents and kids.
12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
no alarm this morning or any other.
13. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
nothing deep, just nice cozy snuggles with a toddler.
14. Do you miss being a child?
never
15. Who is your best friend? Why are they your best friend?
God. Because he always listens.
16. What errand/chore do you despise?
cleaning the shower. I wish someone made a “green” version of those automatic shower cleaners!
17. If you didn’t have to work, would you volunteer?
I’ve been volunteering all my life, whether I work outside the home or not.
18. Get up early or sleep in?
I like to get up early, but rarely do because then my kids will just wake up.
19. What is your favorite cartoon character?
Betty Boop
20. Favorite thing to do at night with a girl/guy?
Dinner, coffee, conversation
21. Have you found real love yet?
Nope. But I know what it looks like because I was raised seeing it in action with my parents and sister and bil.
22. When did you first start feeling old?
When the cute Starbucks barista guys started calling me ma’am. But, I’m not old.
24. Your favorite lunch meat?
Anything without nitrates/nitrites.
25. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?
I never shop there. Bleh!
26. Beach or lake?
Either is nice.
27. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
No I think it’s beautiful.
28. Do you own property?
Nope, and I don’t care if I ever do. I used to think that home ownership was smart, but that was when I was ignorant.
29. Favorite Guilty pleasure?
My daily mug of Senseo coffee. I LOVE this machine!
30. Favorite movie you wouldn’t want anyone to find out about?
I love old musicals like Fiddler on the Roof and The King and I. I know, that makes me a geek.
31. What’s your drink?
Coke, but I rarely ever drank them, and several months ago gave them up forever after learning about some of their icky poo business practices. Don’t tell anyone, that’s practically a sin here, I could get kicked out of Atlanta!
32. Cowboys or Indians?
Indians are way cool (I’m part Cherokee), but Cowboys are pretty hot (for example, Matt Damon in All the Pretty Horses)
33. Cops or Robbers?
cops…… my Daddy was one. But then he became a Christian and realized he would never want to take someone’s life, so he became a minister, which isn’t a huge stretch, when you think about it.
34. Who from high school would you like to run in to?
anyone from my pre baby days. I did homeschool.
35. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now?
probably AM 640 so I can listen to Dave Ramsey
36. Norm or Cliff?
Blech. Neither.
37. Grey’s or ‘The Office?
I don’t watch TV. Although I did catch the last TWO MINUTES of Coldplay on Austin City Limits Saturday. I was so sad I missed it I almost cried. Boohoo!!
38. Worst relationship mistake that you wish you could take back?
That’s a teensy bit too much - not THAT transparent as a blogger!
39. Do you like the person that sits directly across from you at work?
yep it’s my kids
40. What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
As if you had to ask - if you’ve been reading this blog for more than 5 minutes you know it’s Chris Martin of course. Sans Gwyneth. And there’s that pic again! Ahhhhhhh…..
41. Indoors or Outdoors?
in Spring or Fall, outdoors
42. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
nope.
43. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?
no, thank goodness
44. Last book you read?
The Summons - which is so odd because I never read fiction. It’s the first novel I’ve read in years. Right now I’m starting the Little House books with my kids for read aloud time.
45. Do you have a teddy bear?
no
46. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
outside at a campsite
47. Somewhere in California you’ve never been and would like to go?
Sunnyvale, to visit friends
48. Do you go to church?
every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday
49. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
neither thankyouverymuch!
50. How old are you?
32
C’mon - it’s your turn!
Annette at Quiet Mom
Tiffany at Nature Moms
Crystal at Money Saving Mom
Salad Saturday!
January 20, 2008 | 1 Comment
This post is the first in a weekly series. Each Saturday I’ll post a free salad recipe from my new salad cookbook. It ha
s over 365 recipes, so you can either buy it now or just hang around here for the next 6 years. LOL!
Bacon-Avocado Potato Salad
6 medium boiling potatoes
2 avocados, cubed
8 slices natural, nitrite free bacon
1/2 cup onions — chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
sea salt and black pepper
paprika
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
Boil potatoes in their skins. While potatoes boil, cube avocados and toss with lime juice. Chop bacon into one inch pieces and fry until crisp in a large skillet. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. In bacon fat, sauté onions until golden. Remove pan from heat and stir in wine, vinegar, mustard, and salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.
When potatoes are tender, drain, peel, and dice. While still warm, pour dressing over potatoes and toss. Allow to cool to room temperature. Fold in avocado, bacon, parsley, and cilantro. Serve at room temperature or chill one hour or longer.
Enjoy! Get 365 more salad recipes of all kinds - from breakfast to main dish, at 365 Salad Recipes.
EcoWednesday - Handle CFCs With Care
January 16, 2008 | 3 Comments
Last night at bedtime we had a bit of excitement. My oldest son wanted to stay up and read after lights out, and asked if he could put a new bulb in his lamp to use on his bed. I said ok.
So he went and grabbed a new CFC, took the lamp and bulb into the bathroom to screw it in, and broke it. Uh-oh.
I’ve heard that this situation called for special precaution because of the small amount of mercury present inside the bulbs, so I shooed the kids out of the room, got my laptop and did some quick googling.
What I found and what I did was this:
- This bulb broke on a hard surface (the bathroom counter and floor), which is good, since cleaning up a broken CFL on carpet is much more complicated. I made a note to myself to make sure bulbs are changed over a hard surface in the future.
- I opened the bedroom door (opens to the outside) to ventilate the area. Kids were already out of the room.
- I put on rubber gloves (the EPA recommends disposable gloves, but I didn’t have any).
- I used paper to “sweep” the broken glass into a plastic zipper bag. Interestingly, you are not supposed to sweep or vacuum up broken CFLs. I placed the first bag into a second bag.
- I wiped the area with a wet paper towel and also put that into the sealed bags.
- I set the package aside with the other recycling. I still haven’t found yet where I’m supposed to take it. I’ll update here when I do.
I decided to make a house rule that ONLY Adults Can Touch CFLs. Also, from now on I’ll wear a pair of rubber gloves when installing a new bulb (I’m clumsy and I’ve broken bulbs screwing them in before). And I’ll be careful not to hold/screw in the bulb by the glass but by the base.
Be careful. CFLs have many benefits including being the more frugal choice (they last for YEARS. Unless you break one. Ahem.), the more environmentally responsible choice, etc. But you do need to use caution when handling them, cleaning up a broken one or disposing of them (even if they aren’t broken, you can’t just throw them in the trash).