tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4637596696463405842024-03-05T17:47:15.587-08:00Dotal Anecdotes: Life as a Wifedotal, n: a woman's marriage portion. anecdote, n: a short account of an interesting or humorous incident.Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comBlogger349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-70439616042544387462014-07-21T03:38:00.001-07:002014-07-21T04:16:44.754-07:00Visit Us at the New Blogstead - We're moving! Dear Readers,<br />
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If you've noticed the blog was a little quiet, you weren't the only one! <b>We're moving to a new blog address called <a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/" target="_blank">Farm and Hearth</a>! </b><br />
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Head over to <a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/">www.farmandhearth.com</a> and leave a comment on our blogwarming post - <span style="font-weight: normal;">you will be the start of something big! And follow my <a href="http://instagram.com/foodlab_newearthfarm" target="_blank">Instagram feed</a> for crazy-delicious food!</span></h2>
But what do I mean, big?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gNY5USzlCKdUqykNFb-Qe_GdaB1B91G0ggoEB7CmL4hSpTEqb7mRA5bjek1rUHwPFBo79aNKD0gMi2iMNHeLP0-SksAGZgUv4OjyqphKAII-Xj4L4ylooadEib8osNnj_Y8223v1Auea/s1600/PigRoast_0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://samiroyphotography.com/" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gNY5USzlCKdUqykNFb-Qe_GdaB1B91G0ggoEB7CmL4hSpTEqb7mRA5bjek1rUHwPFBo79aNKD0gMi2iMNHeLP0-SksAGZgUv4OjyqphKAII-Xj4L4ylooadEib8osNnj_Y8223v1Auea/s1600/PigRoast_0017.jpg" height="400" title="http://samiroyphotography.com/" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photos by <a href="http://samiroyphotography.com/" target="_blank">Sami Roy Photography</a></td></tr>
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During my husband's deployment through 13-'14, I spent less time on the computer and more time filling my hours with our baby, volunteering on New Earth Farm in Eastern Virginia. An organic, biodiverse, sustainable, water-conserving farm led by Farmer John and Farmer Kevin and their team, this is a farm that is shaking things up. We troweled in the dirt, washed eggs, worked the farmer's market stand, dug potatoes, chased sheep and watched lambing, picked kale with red-numb fingers in December and harvested tomatoes in sweat-sticky August. I started working at <a href="http://www.newearthfarm.org/" target="_blank">the farm</a> as a fermentation and food preservation expert, and following the vision of our farm manager Kevin, we developed an entirely new facet of the farm called the <a href="http://newearthfarm.org/New_Earth_Farm/Food_Lab.html" target="_blank">Food Lab</a>. Here, in an airy, high-ceilinged building designed by interned architects and built entirely by donations, we experiment with food, create, invent, fail and laugh, and I teach classes in our new <a href="http://farmandhearth.com/farm-table/" target="_blank">Food Lab</a> - kombucha, advanced kombucha, sauerkraut, charcuterie, pasta, canning, lacto-fermentation ... and I take the classes mobile, too, teaching at Williams-Sonoma, Whole Foods, <a href="http://norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/events/garden-gourmet-kimchi/" target="_blank">Norfolk Botanical Gardens</a>, local garden clubs, private classes, area shops and markets.<br />
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I finished my <a href="https://www.yogaalliance.org/Credentialing/Credentials_for_Teachers" target="_blank">200-hour yoga teacher training</a>, took a prenatal yoga teacher training to add to my<a href="http://www.bastyr.edu/simkin-center" target="_blank"> Simkin Center doula training</a> and then immersed myself in a few other teacher trainings both in Virginia and in Seattle, meeting Manju Jois, Troy Lucero, Suzanne Hiite and other yoga legends (I am heading off to the <a href="http://www.baronbaptiste.com/" target="_blank">Baron Baptiste Level One</a> training in August 2014! Very excited). I'm still <a href="http://citybookreview.com/?s=huehnerhoff" target="_blank">writing for the San Francisco Book Review</a> and their <a href="http://sanfranciscobookreview.com/2013/05/alphabet-soup-foolproof-cheese-fluffy-ricotta/" target="_blank">Alphabet Soup</a> and <a href="http://sanfranciscobookreview.com/2013/02/the-seven-deadly-sins-of-book-reviews-how-to-improve-your-book-reviews-and-help-audiences-find-their-next-favorite-read/" target="_blank">Critical Eye</a> blogs, and I began <a href="http://bonfireva.com/" target="_blank">writing for a magazine after they came to the farm</a> for a photo shoot and a four-page spread on the <a href="http://newearthfarm.org/New_Earth_Farm/Food_Lab.html" target="_blank">Food Lab</a>. Journalists and magazine writers from around the world started calling for media visits every week; schools drove buses of children out for tours. All - and I mean all - the top chefs in our area, keen on the best tasting, freshest produce and the unusual weeds, bugs and herbs we could provide, started descending on the farm and hammering us with questions, the most passionate of them digging in the dirt themselves and foraging with us for wild plants. They started inviting me in to their kitchens for private, pre-hours sessions with them, working to create the most delicious, unusual, ancient foods together. <a href="http://www.newearthfarm.org/New_Earth_Farm/Cooking_Classes.html" target="_blank">Farm Table events</a>, where brilliant chefs designed a menu based on whatever we had to harvest that day and fourteen paying participants attend to cook and eat with the chef, started selling out back to back.<br />
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Whole Foods, Williams-Sonoma, local goat farms, butchers and pork farms, <a href="http://www.bonfireva.com/" target="_blank">Bonfire Magazine</a>, and other wonderful area providers and organic farms joined the charge as class sponsors, providing ingredients, tools, publicity, whole-hearted support. <a href="http://samiroyphotography.com/" target="_blank">A photographer volunteered her time</a> to come shoot events, edit the photos and get them back to us - she shot all the pictures in this post! An appliance store donated a dishwasher. Area chefs donated used tools. Farm visitors donated cash, kitchen gear, time to paint and sweep and mop, just plain shook our hands and encouraged us to keep doing what we were doing. Contractors gave tools and materials for our building, time, skill. With a massive group effort, the building was put together, the classes fell into place, and the people started coming. <br />
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With the scope of the blog ever evolving and my audience constantly growing, the name of the blog has itself evolved and I've had to move to a different platform - quite a daunting prospect in the blog world, but I am ready to take it on with your faithful reading support! All the good information on this blog will stay here, safely housed and accessible for us to search, read and bookmark, and the best posts will also be imported <a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/" target="_blank">over to the new blog platform</a> to find a fresh, new look.<br />
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Watch in shock and awe as farm-tested recipes straight from the field roll out, photos and news clips and tutorial videos, hilarious and piquing interviews, even horror stories roll out on the new blog! You'll even start seeing things for sale. Events will be posted on the blog so you can find when a class is coming to a city near you, and is a cookbook in the works? I can't say anything officially. But maybe we've finally heard your demands? Class tours will start to open up nationwide as I do a West Coast series in August in Seattle, Washington! And you can always <a href="http://newearthfarm.org/New_Earth_Farm/Home.html" target="_blank">visit us on the farm</a> for a tour, a class, or just lunch with the farmhands - every day, at about noon. We'd love to have you.<br />
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Mrs H<br />
<a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/">www.farmandhearth.com</a><br />
<a href="http://instagram.com/foodlab_newearthfarm">instagram.com/foodlab_newearthfarm</a><br />
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<br />Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-73692072304043596082013-05-22T05:00:00.000-07:002013-06-03T15:46:52.504-07:00Farmstead Meatsmith: Butchery Precepts<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>The Wednesday Review:</i></div>
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<i>Reviewing books, products and more</i></div>
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<b>This is a post about meat. </b></div>
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<b>You will see one dead chicken, and if you play the videos, </b></div>
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<b>you will see images from butchery. </b></div>
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Dear carnivores, </div>
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If you like fresh, local meat, you may be interested in learning how to butcher one day. Even if you never butcher for yourself, it is useful to understand the process, the various cuts of meat, and how to use the more miscellaneous scraps you may acquire (backfat, pig's feet, et cetera). <br />
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I believe that when an animal is respectfully sacrificed for human consumption, every possible shred of the creature should be used, and nothing wasted. To waste anything is to disrespect the sacredness of the creature we are consuming, in my opinion. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexLKdtPejYdfGQ5AaWaL8aEUAY88H3R-g_TGDydPUBU92ooRPqzsP9TSNL18FESvugSJJP0nj_fY17VcC69aZe1z-KmmbDWUlYuBl-HEd6JFwWCxnpsGV_7p3XFCHW8ZeeAD52zKskNQx/s1600/IMG_20130327_214104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexLKdtPejYdfGQ5AaWaL8aEUAY88H3R-g_TGDydPUBU92ooRPqzsP9TSNL18FESvugSJJP0nj_fY17VcC69aZe1z-KmmbDWUlYuBl-HEd6JFwWCxnpsGV_7p3XFCHW8ZeeAD52zKskNQx/s400/IMG_20130327_214104.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This beautiful bird, part of a larger flock, was eating her eggs and had to be<br />
removed from the flock. Rather than kill and bury her, I wanted to make sure<br />
her body was used to the best possible advantage. She made <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2010/12/scraps-from-table-arent-always-bad.html" target="_blank">gallons of rich,nutritious<br /> broth</a> which resides in my freezer and pantry now. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeukNNtFxe2EI-banl5iyscDpg2m_vI_jZWXeW0uosNjUJQ4ulEd5EDoJJSgmak_ttE8NCxtMPeXv3pJJ-WjJciRg6aZ1pDYogTtlHqB11TWROYeBdrY-gqE9vBI86BrquOq_mB92rb2cH/s1600/IMG_20130228_123748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeukNNtFxe2EI-banl5iyscDpg2m_vI_jZWXeW0uosNjUJQ4ulEd5EDoJJSgmak_ttE8NCxtMPeXv3pJJ-WjJciRg6aZ1pDYogTtlHqB11TWROYeBdrY-gqE9vBI86BrquOq_mB92rb2cH/s400/IMG_20130228_123748.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While this sow and her piglets are still rooting in the mud somewhere near<br />
North Carolina, the other hogs from this pen (not pictured) are in our freezer<br />
now. As are their bones, feet, and other scraps that are often thrown away. </td></tr>
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Many great words have been written on meat, and if you are curious about why we eat meat I can point you to <a href="http://thankyourbody.com/is-meat-healthy/" target="_blank">Thank Your Body's</a> great post about meat. Our meat is always local, always fresh, and always from people we know. I will not buy meat in the grocery store any more. I believe in looking my meal square in the eye before consuming it so I can fully appreciate the cost of the delicious dinner I consume. We haven't had ground beef in a long time, because nobody has been butchering cows right now - yes, we are hungry for hamburgers, but I refuse to buy factory beef at the grocery store - even if it's "free range" or "grass fed". Those names are meaningless now in a time where word-play and false imagery are the name of the game for marketing departments. </div>
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<a href="http://www.farmsteadmeatsmith.com/" target="_blank">Farmstead Meatsmith</a> is a group back near our Seattle, Washington home, headed up by couple Brandon and Lauren Sheard, that travels to different family farms and teaches butchery. They are releasing a series of butchery instructional videos - nothing dramatically gross is here, if you are concerned about seeing animals being killed or excessive gore. The animals are already butchered and cleaned before they appear in the video. However, if you do not want to see pictures of slabs of meat and sides of pork being split up, avoid clicking "play"! In a world where topics like birth and death and butchery have become taboo and relegated only to experts in secret rooms and closed facilities, the videos aptly warn, "<i>Please Note: Some may find disagreeable select images contained herein that pertain to the process of alchemy by which animal is turned into food."</i><br />
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With their plaid-shirted and bearded main characters, wholesome children running around and tantalizingly rustic wooden cutting boards and cast-iron pots, the videos are attractive and enjoyable and well-produced. The images evoke a feeling of pioneering spirit and a pseudo-Amish, rustic throwback to simpler times. And most cricitally, they deliver wildly useful and seriously needed information for families today. As the popularity of buying hog on the hoof and whole beef is rising, the need to understand how to handle the various cuts of meat and scraps will also rise! </div>
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<b>The Butcher's Salt: Precepts for Meat Cookery</b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/42436481" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>On the Anatomy of Thrift: Side Butchery</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/32367993?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ffffff" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>On the Anatomy of Thrift: Harvest Day</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/39451071" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>On the Anatomy of Thrift: Fat & Salt</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/47809670" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div>
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<br />
Curing our society,<br />
<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
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Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-83058418383462468472013-05-21T05:00:00.000-07:002014-07-22T03:55:07.152-07:00Trailing Trash: How to eliminate waste in the kitchen<div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks for reading this post, I'm so excited to visit with you! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
After you've gleaned all the good information you need, visit our new blog platform at <a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/">www.farmandhearth.com</a> to read even more fascinating tidbits from the kitchen and the fields. </div>
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Dear trashies,<br />
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Mr H and I are on an ongoing mission to reduce our trash output down to tiny. We haven't really set a standard yet as we're still in the learning phase, but it's amazing how much we've been able to whittle down our garbage each week. If you're seeking to find motivation to reduce your trash output aside from paying a monthly trash bill or picking up the scraps when the neighbor dog tears open your trash bins, just remember that <a href="http://thegoodhuman.com/2007/03/20/how-much-trash-gets-thrown-away-each/" target="_blank">there is no away for tras</a>h! I asked myself this question when we embarked on this mission: <b>If all the trash we ever threw away had to remain on our property, how would we evaluate things we threw out? </b>This drove my motivation. <br />
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We live in a duplex with one surfer-yogi neighbor and his son living above, and behind our property is another similar duplex (they are wonderful old houses built in the 1930s!), owned by the same landlord. Up top lives a painter and his dog Mikey, and below is Auntie Charlie and her husband. Between the four homes, we usually fill two large trash cans and a recycle can each week. I imagine Mr H and I probably provide the bulk of the garbage, so I wonder if we can diligently work to reduce that number to one can per week? <i>Update: By the time I finished collecting the data for this post, we had reduced our output down to one trash can per week, and every other week two recycle bins. </i><br />
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We are nowhere close to the <a href="http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Zero Waste Home</a> (they reduced their trash output to one Mason jar of garbage <i>per year</i>), but we're learning from them! Her rule of <b>Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (and only in that order)</b>,<b> </b>is a great mantra to live by when it comes to garbage, and while I will be focusing here on reducing kitchen trash (the main offender for garbage in most homes, probably next to blackwater), many of these concepts can apply to other areas of the home. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Q88WRErbgEGLDMhGkZ8aDmSoSbQ9rrzHf4FHWuyjMl-Ceghxy8m27lIye96mZXLqRHNrFpjOLcX6VvsYMnRoX5BjFl6rgNovJ6-tb5p-WHAJfgBZmkYIp0eMR5mn-0jGiOGop3BSN-Wf/s1600/IMG_20130425_163602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Q88WRErbgEGLDMhGkZ8aDmSoSbQ9rrzHf4FHWuyjMl-Ceghxy8m27lIye96mZXLqRHNrFpjOLcX6VvsYMnRoX5BjFl6rgNovJ6-tb5p-WHAJfgBZmkYIp0eMR5mn-0jGiOGop3BSN-Wf/s400/IMG_20130425_163602.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You don't say!?</td></tr>
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I'm going to include a list of tools that have become staples in our home (they will be affiliate links from Amazon - meaning I might make a small percentage of profit on some items that some people buy by clicking through my blog links!), since I spent so long hunting down and discovering these items - who knew some of them even existed?! I'd like to save you some of the trouble and jerry-rigging I went through in my own kitchen! <br />
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There are essentially three categories of trash that we have right now, and depending on your style of home you may have more: <b>recyclable items, compostable items</b>, and <b>pure garbage items</b>. If you have a wood-burning stove, you may also use some paper products for kindling. <br />
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There is a lot of overlap in the following concepts, as they are all intertwined with each other - and, amazingly, they also all help you to live nutritiously and frugally, too! <br />
<br />
<b>Reducing Kitchen Trash</b><br />
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<b>1. Buy food in bulk</b>: This is the obvious, and is so often brought up in trash-cutting discussions - however, it requires a little explanation. Often you can buy bulk cases of items at Costco or Sam's Club, that don't really reduce your trash output very much. A case of 40 individually-wrapped granola bars, for instance, may produce only one box instead of four, but it still leaves you with 40 wrappers and, more often than not, the four small boxes are boxed inside the large bulk packaging, anyway - leaving you with <i>more</i> trash than you would have had if you bought all four small boxes separately at the grocery store! Think critically when buying in bulk - a fifty-pound paper and string sack of oatmeal definitely produces less trash than fifty one-pound plastic containers of oatmeal, and the fifty-pound sack the bulk oatmeal came in can probably be composted to boot. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeQd66dTzeMz8AneMp33cjJGsf0wMRgDEJkktHUofZhI6ydB_d3xfdD2WAZ5Hjg04P0Ndvp0KvsRN2wba2z5U2Xf2sjsMFUvgV0krBCZTN7orRyLdvE-tfWrT-Hw_4EzUDAbyBJS5qTwX/s1600/IMG_20130329_154252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeQd66dTzeMz8AneMp33cjJGsf0wMRgDEJkktHUofZhI6ydB_d3xfdD2WAZ5Hjg04P0Ndvp0KvsRN2wba2z5U2Xf2sjsMFUvgV0krBCZTN7orRyLdvE-tfWrT-Hw_4EzUDAbyBJS5qTwX/s400/IMG_20130329_154252.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>2. Buy one-ingredient foods</b>: I know, how does this help? Our next topic will help address how this will aid your trash efforts, but let me expound on this for starters. As I hinted at in the previous section, and as you were hoping I wouldn't point out - yes, pre-made and processed foods <i>always</i> come with more packaging and trash than whole, fresh and unadulterated ingredients (we aren't even taking into account here the extra energy and waste used to produce the processed foods!). Wheat berries, whole barley, coconut oil, dried beans, and many raw or low-heat pasteurized milks are all examples of items that can be purchased in bulk with minimal damage to your trash bin. The paper sacks the grains came in can be composted, the coconut oil generally comes in glass jars or large buckets that can be reused, the plastic bag the beans came in is trash but since you bought fifteen pounds at once you have<i> one</i> bag and twisty-tie and not fifteen, and the glass bottles milk comes in can be returned for reuse, often with a deposit exchange. We use our own half-gallon canning jars for milk, so there is no waste there. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhxOLHyPu_26RL9y1SRCgFrBCaQ1rgAXhXD0ufqq66W7oJVrv5p7HZiW6tng6B4UkNupXAc3LnkSN7brlKebCQG5tw1P0cZ4IhnXOsDO3RUADs0YSWBUJVUEUk3PIX_N7gLmzyF35cET4/s1600/IMG_20130320_121315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhxOLHyPu_26RL9y1SRCgFrBCaQ1rgAXhXD0ufqq66W7oJVrv5p7HZiW6tng6B4UkNupXAc3LnkSN7brlKebCQG5tw1P0cZ4IhnXOsDO3RUADs0YSWBUJVUEUk3PIX_N7gLmzyF35cET4/s320/IMG_20130320_121315.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Make it at home:</b> When you have a pantry stocked with one-ingredient foods, you can easily prepare everything you need at home. Tortillas, bread, breakfast cereals, cheese, lasagna, yogurt, smoothie mixes and more are all items that come in plastic packaging that you can make at home from your bulk purchases. Condiments, especially, can be high on the scale of trash-can offenders, as their cute little plastic bottles can rattle into the compacter with alarming frequency! I made a fresh batch of mayonnaise the other day using lemon juice (not fresh-squeezed, but it came in a large glass bottle - a bottle which I still use today for my husband to take drinks to work in), salt (which came in a huge sack), eggs (farm fresh in a container I use every time I get eggs), and coconut oil (which came in a large glass jar that is still half-full). The trash output for this batch of mayonnaise was zero, but if I had been buying mayonnaise then I would have another plastic tub to throw away - and most probably, it would have been given to me in a plastic bag at the grocery store, producing even more waste! Use a SodaStream to carbonate beverages at home to save on plastic bottles and metal cans! Home-canned foods can be jarred in glass containers over a hundred years old that can be reused until they shatter, and capped with plastic reusable Tattler lids. My idea list below will provide some other useful tools. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGXDmsZ7JdYNSLOpgKef_s2VuFYnWc5JyVjH9CYFpYIdp0AFzjGW_ycTM-5ubrYX1NEWmAIqAOlnDLHrJwO0dfgp-2XyIbYXN9N74rVUznv92Dy1cVgZxESwr9xPQeb6JK1QCoaIuYilLR/s1600/IMG_20130127_142424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGXDmsZ7JdYNSLOpgKef_s2VuFYnWc5JyVjH9CYFpYIdp0AFzjGW_ycTM-5ubrYX1NEWmAIqAOlnDLHrJwO0dfgp-2XyIbYXN9N74rVUznv92Dy1cVgZxESwr9xPQeb6JK1QCoaIuYilLR/s400/IMG_20130127_142424.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crocks of fermenting sauerkraut - twenty gallons total</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>4. Own a large freezer, and create a large pantry space:</b> In our second home, we kept our shelves of jars in our bedroom. Not too fancy, I suppose, but space is space and we aren't attached to the idea that a room must be used only for the purpose it was originally intended! Getting creative with pantry space means a variety of things for many families: shelving in the guest bedroom, a crawlspace or under-stair storage converted. Boxes under the dining room table, boxes lining the walls during winter, or any of a variety of places we can dream up in our individual spaces to store jars, bags and containers of bulk foods. Owning a large freezer is helpful because you can purchase fresh meat at the time of butchering, pick fruit in season, or grind fresh flours and store them in the freezer. <br />
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<b>5. Buy close to home, as fresh as possible</b>: fresh food requires very little packaging. The cardboard box for vegetables that we pick up from our local CSA is reused every week, often for years if it can be made to last. We pick up our milk in half-gallon Ball jars from our local dairy farmers, and return the jars with our names on them to be refilled each week, leaving us with zero waste from the milk. Eggs are the same story: cartons are returned to be refilled, and used until they disintegrate. Meat purchased directly after butchering is always wrapped in plastic or paper or both, but all of these foods share one thing in common: they don't need to travel to the store in plastic-wrapped pallets, be unloaded from logo-marked cardboard bulk boxes, or sold and handed to us in plastic or paper grocery bags. It's one thing to use reusable shopping bags - it's a whole 'nother ball'o wax to never need one in the first place!<br />
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<b>6. Examine your disposable products, and see which can be replaced with reusable products</b>: I use, as my inspiration for many of my kitchen tools and methods, our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Why? Because they lived in an era before convenient plastic (albeit they lived in the time of lead paint and asbestos insulation!). I browse antique stores and peruse old photos of kitchens, contemplating the difference and variety in tools and packaging before the disposable days were upon us.<br />
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<b>7. Buy antique tools</b>: Many antique tools are unrecognizable to us today because they performed a function that is now extinct in our kitchens. Marrow scrapers, lard presses, even hand juicers are items which have lost their functionality in a modern kitchen where products come prepared in advance and where <b>disposables replace adorables</b>. Hoosier cabinets with their compartments for flour are no longer found in most homes - why would we put flour in the compartment when it comes in a handy disposable package? Those old Uneeda Biscuit tins and Smith Creamery bottles are valued because they came from a time before disposable plastic biscuit packaging and milk bottles. I use antique stores to stock my kitchen and often find tools that are extremely useful for me, for which no modern counterpart is being recreated. Old tools often work the best, too - Squeezos from the olden days are made from all-American metal components and last longer than their modern plastic grandchildren. An ivory and silver marrow scraper that I have from the 1800s is in perfect working condition, and an antiquated all-metal jar opener is still going strong for me, while I've already cycled through handfuls of short-lived OXO kitchen gadgets in the mere four years I've been married. I also like using tools with a history, a story, and - you guessed it: buying an antique tool with a short string and price tag tag attached brings home less packaging than buying a brand new item from the store. They generally last longer, meaning I won't need to buy ten of the same tool over time. Buying antique also reduces the total volume of products consumed over the span of many lifetimes - reducing trash even further, in the long run! <br />
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8. <b>To re-emphasize almost every point from above, to really help reduce your kitchen trash - get out of the grocery stores as much as possible! </b> This is a long process of slowly reengineering your kitchen's function and the way you eat, but it is very possible and all you need to do today is start with one tiny thing - buying eggs from a neighbor, or signing up at a local CSA. <br />
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<b>9. You are not a bad person for throwing things away: </b>Please do not believe this lie, and if anybody makes you feel like you are a bad person for using disposables, throwing away a Kleenex, or not composting, ignore them. This isn't about morality, and it isn't about value as a person. It's just a whole bunch of useful ways to help you reduce trash <i>if that's what you want to do! </i> We aren't all in a place where we can do these things right now - but the key is to recognize <i>when</i> you are ready, and <i>when</i> you are able to start with a little change at a time, and being open to that change when it comes! <br />
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<b>10. Resources and my favorite things: </b>Some of these are <i>Amazon affiliate links</i>, and all of these will take you to external websites (off my blog). I hope you enjoy these tools as much as I do, and I hope this list is helpful! I wish I had seen a list like this years ago - it would have saved much grief and garbage, too! <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/dotallifeasaw-20" target="_blank">Visit my Amazon aStore to peruse more products</a> that I love using in my kitchen, and highly recommend to the urban homesteader. <br />
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<a href="http://www.organiccoffeesock.com/productslist.html" target="_blank">Organic Coffee Sock</a> | Reusable cloth tea bags or spice bags, reusable cloth coffee filters. Also available from through Amazon from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YE2OMO/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000YE2OMO&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Regency</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000YE2OMO" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<a href="http://www.marketspice.com/" target="_blank">Market Spice</a> | Bulk tea, coffee and spices - and if you do a little hunting, you can probably find a store like this in your neighborhood. Buying tea in loose-leaf bulk is not only cheaper, but reduces the waste of the tea bag and string, the plastic pouch that usually contains each individual tea bag, the box the tea bags go in, the plastic that generally wraps the box, and the plastic grocery bag you get every time you buy it! According to <a href="http://www.celestialseasonings.com/faqs" target="_blank">Celestial Seasonings</a>, when they eliminated <i>just the strings and tags</i> on their tea bags, they saved 3.5 million pounds of waste from entering landfills every year! I'm not a math person, but I'm pretty sure all the boxes and additional packaging would add up to even more than that, too!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005LM0S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00005LM0S&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Bodum Chambord Coffee Press</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00005LM0S" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004SPEU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00004SPEU&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Krups Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004SPEU" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Make coffee without a filter, and use the coffee grinder to grind whole beans to your specifications. Buy loose coffee and spices in bulk in reusable containers, or with minimal packaging, and prepare it fresh at home. <br />
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Muslin, thin cloth napkins, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000VLVBQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0000VLVBQ&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Natural Cheese Cloth</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0000VLVBQ" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00158U8DU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00158U8DU&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Nut Milk Bag</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00158U8DU" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Use instead of conventional cheap cheesecloth, which generally only lasts for one or two uses, for making nut milks, fruit jellies, cheeses, broths, gelatin and other items that need to be strained. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S7B4F6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004S7B4F6&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Stainless Steel Straws</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B004S7B4F6" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and Cleaning Brush | We keep these metal straws and a cleaning brush at hand for sipping drinks - eliminating the need to use plastic straws. Even though you can rewash and use disposable plastic straws for a while, they always crack after a few uses. <a href="http://ecojarz.com/">Ecojarz.com</a> has longer straws, if you use the tall reusable Starbucks cups or have a deep thermos. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AYPU4UM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AYPU4UM&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">reCAP Regular and Wide-mouth Mason Jar Pour Caps</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00AYPU4UM" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Use your Mason jars for holding condiments and syrups, taking beverages on the go, or storing those bulk dried goods conveniently.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009L76NBS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009L76NBS&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">EcoJarz Stainless Steel Drink Top</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B009L76NBS" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GLJ9LA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009GLJ9LA&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Original Cuppow Wide Drinking Lid</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B009GLJ9LA" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Use the EcoJarz with your metal straws, and use the Cuppow as a thermos lid or sipping lid (or with a straw!) to convert those handy Mason jars into tea mugs, smoothie canisters and lemonade glasses!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SSN3L2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000SSN3L2&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Ball Plastic Storage Caps</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000SSN3L2" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007V7MRI8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007V7MRI8&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Pewter Lids</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B007V7MRI8" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Instead of using the two-piece lid, make dry goods, leftovers, pickles eggs and mayonnaise easy to access with these screw on lids. The plastic lids are convenient for writing on with Sharpies - it just wipes away - and you can put labels on either of them.<br />
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<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/lets-talk-chalk-how-to-label-your-home.html" target="_blank">Let's Talk Chalk labels and felt pens</a> | I use these for converting containers to my own purposes, and for labeling jars and their lids for reuse. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5dOw8h_BI1R6HT-25HjMbsg1LsCrXKxxM0guSATtY3qqwNBHrn1nmT42QN3tOB5O_rb0RrPwkJNoIdRPptMhZtl2173QEWL_vi8ynVw3nzc83t5cy0eDpxLH86FPXFG9dJhSvEVAKc_63/s1600/IMG_20130211_072216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5dOw8h_BI1R6HT-25HjMbsg1LsCrXKxxM0guSATtY3qqwNBHrn1nmT42QN3tOB5O_rb0RrPwkJNoIdRPptMhZtl2173QEWL_vi8ynVw3nzc83t5cy0eDpxLH86FPXFG9dJhSvEVAKc_63/s400/IMG_20130211_072216.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005KJX0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00005KJX0&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Waffle Cone Maker</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00005KJX0" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | That's right, stop buying those dried up cones in foam packaging and make your own!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055PU5DC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0055PU5DC&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Tattler Reusable Canning Lids</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0055PU5DC" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | These reusable canning lids are more expensive than the throw-away kind, but like any other sturdy kitchen tool, they will pay themselves off in a year's time. <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2010/12/reusable-canning-lid-home-canners.html" target="_blank">Read my review here</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KYSLMW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003KYSLMW&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003KYSLMW" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001R1ZVWI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001R1ZVWI&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Insulated Ice-Cream Tub</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001R1ZVWI" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Making ice cream at home not only gives you control over the ingredients, but reduces a lot of plastic-lined cardboard trash in the process.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VBALBK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001VBALBK&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Gamma Seal Lid</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001VBALBK" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006RXPV4Y/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006RXPV4Y&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Bucket Lid Wrench</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B006RXPV4Y" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Those 5-gallon buckets are mighty convenient for bulk food, but they can be ornery to get open. Use the bucket hook to open those press-on lids, and use the gamma seal lid for contents you access a lot, like rice or beans.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FVPP04/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005FVPP04&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Kitchen Seed Sprouter</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B005FVPP04" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N8MRW8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000N8MRW8&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Sprouting Strainer Lid</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000N8MRW8" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Sprout your alfalfa and almonds at home, and save on those plastic clamshells of sprouts at the grocery store.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Q6ARMY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000Q6ARMY&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Bottle Capper</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000Q6ARMY" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Q64T8M/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000Q64T8M&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Beer Bottle Caps</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000Q64T8M" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Make your own fermented drinks (sodas, beers, kombuchas) and bottle them with reusable bottles - the caps will be your only piece of trash<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058PE00I/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0058PE00I&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Sodastream</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0058PE00I" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Use the home water-carbonating system to make soda water without all the waste of plastic bottles!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002H3NFNM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002H3NFNM&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">iSi Creative Cream Whipper</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002H3NFNM" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | Make instant and convenient whipped cream at home and don't buy the cans - or even better, use your multifunctional Vitamix instead!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QSJB3S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000QSJB3S&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Mini Funnels</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000QSJB3S" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | For reusing glass extract bottles and putting your own concoctions into antique bottles or even new bottles, and refilling them easily. Also useful for bottling home sodas and putting drinks in narrow-necked bottles!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002V91TY4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002V91TY4&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Misto Stainless Steel Olive Oil Sprayer</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002V91TY4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> | This reusable sprayer can be filled over and over again at home, saving you not only the cost of buying aerosol bottles of spray, but also the waste of the empty cans. <br />
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Of course, a <b>Vitamix </b>can replace many tools and prepared foods in your own kitchen! <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/66-awesome-things-to-do-with-Vitamix.html" target="_blank">Click here to read my 66 favorite ways to use the Vitamix</a>.<br />
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Many of these tools, including various sizes of Mason canning jars, will become especially useful if you start shopping at grocery stores that let you bring your own containers for items such as honey, nut butters, maple syrup, even soap and loose-leaf teas or spices. Whole Foods and many local health stores will have options for this - be sure to ask an employee if you should weigh your container first. <br />
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Cloth diapers, reusable toilet paper (the shock! I know!), cloth wipes, Diva cups, refurbished clothes and a long list of other items could start our conversation for ways to save waste in other parts of the home.<br />
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What are some other great tools we can use to reduce waste in our kitchen? What are other excellent tips, tricks and techniques for saving time, waste and resources? I know many of my readers are experts in this arena, and I hope you will weigh in with comments and suggestions!<br />
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Mrs H<br />
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tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-9612002379634165132013-05-20T05:00:00.000-07:002013-05-20T05:00:01.067-07:00Directions for Easy Homemade PizzaBeloved pizzerias,<br />
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Homemade pizza is so simple and easy to make - in fact, as I write this post I think I will need to make pizza for dinner tomorrow night. It's so irresistible when it's fresh and homemade!<br />
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Step 1: Make pizza crust. <a href="http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2011/02/whole-wheat-pizza-dough.html" target="_blank">Whole Wheat Yeasted</a>, <a href="http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2012/03/sourdough-pizza-crust.html" target="_blank">Whole Wheat Sourdough</a>, or a version of your own: they are all easy. Before rolling it out onto a hot pizza stone, scatter the stone with cornmeal. If you are using a metal pizza pan, spray it with olive oil first. <br />
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Step 2: Mix up a marinara sauce. Using a pint of homemade tomato sauce, whisk in a few tablespoons of Italian seasoning and a teaspoon of salt, or stir in any variety of <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/11/storing-herbs-for-winter.html" target="_blank">fresh, frozen or dried herbs</a> of your choice. Basil, oregano and rosemary are popular options. Spread the marinara on your pizza crust. <br />
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Step 3: Sprinkle the pizza with the toppings of your choice. Just about anything can go on pizza! Cooked meats, fresh and cooked vegetables, jarred olives and artichokes, and a hundred other things are all popular toppings. If you like, top the pizza with cheese. <br />
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Step 4: Bake the pizza at 375 or 400 for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is cooked through and the cheese is melted. <br />
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Buon appetito,<br />
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Mrs H<br />
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Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-83712253074839041922013-05-18T05:00:00.000-07:002014-07-22T03:58:12.235-07:00My Reading Basket (Edition One!) <div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks for reading this post, I'm so excited to visit with you! </div>
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After you've gleaned all the good information you need, visit our new blog platform at <a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/">www.farmandhearth.com</a> to read even more fascinating tidbits from the kitchen and the fields. </div>
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Dear avid readers and part-time literates,<br />
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<i>Polonius</i>: What do you read, my lord?</div>
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<i>Hamlet</i>: Words, words, words.</div>
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I love seeing what other people put in their grocery carts. I love seeing what they plant in their garden. And I love seeing what they are reading!<br />
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Don't worry, I won't recount for you what is in our pantry right now (you might not all be as weird as I am!). Rather, I want to share a few of the books in my reading basket right now, and ask you what you are are currently reading!<br />
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In this modern era, we have books from the library, books we bought at the store or received by mail for review, Nook books, and audio books - so I, of course, take advantage of all these avenues for word input and have something going in each category. I'm including Amazon affiliate links for each book in case you want to click through and read reviews or buy the book for your Kindle or whatever. <br />
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<b>Listening in my car</b><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594746036/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594746036&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1594746036&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1594746036" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></div>
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Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs | I'm only a few chapters in. It's very entertaining! I'll warn gentle readers that, so far, I have encountered a few instances of language. It's also a little scary, so if you have young ones I would suggest reserving this for your own personal reading or drive time! So far, it is a wonderfully written, vivid mystery! <br />
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<b>Listening on the Nook</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0445406488/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0445406488&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0445406488&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0445406488" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div>
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The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters | The second book in the acclaimed 19-book series based on the doughty character Amelia Peabody and her archaeological enterprises in Egypt during the Victorian period, I have read the first six books and own the entire series. I haven't read them in a while, though, so before I picked back up on the series I wanted to listen to the books and refresh my memory. The book plays during the day (in fact, it's playing right now!), and makes great entertainment while I'm washing dishes. <i>You can download the Overdrive Media App to your smart phone, laptop, computer, or reading device and use it to check out eBooks and eAudiobooks from your local library. This is a tip my mom shared with me, and it has filled my life with free and wonderful literature! </i> </div>
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<b>Reading on the Nook</b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609611543/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1609611543&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1609611543&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1609611543" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></div>
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Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD | This controversial book is surprising, shocking, and not surprising at all! I am two-thirds finished with the book and enjoying it immensely; you will probably see a full review on it later in the blog, as it has already impacted the way we eat (and yes, I am aware of the arguments against the book - I love controversial books and blogs!). </div>
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<b>Reading for the blog</b></div>
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<b></b><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603420312/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1603420312&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1603420312&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1603420312" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></div>
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The Home Creamery by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley | Publishers have generously sent me rafts of books to review for the blog - and I can't wait to share the entire list with you (most of them are accompanied by giveaways! Hurray!). I am not sure yet if this book is my favorite on home creamery work yet, though. I've made about half the recipes in the book and had to supplement them with information from other books. I know Storey has a second book on home creameries, so I may check that one out before I settle the review. </div>
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<b>Reading for the Sacramento Book Review</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451698704/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1451698704&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1451698704&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1451698704" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div>
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Once Upon a Flock: Life With My Soulful Chickens by Lauren Scheuer | I just finished reviewing this book, and I can't wait for the review to be published at www.citybookreview.com. I thought it might be a mildly entertaining, and maybe cute book about chickens, but it was so much more than that! It was, in fact, a moving story and an anthropological and zoological study that made me realize that chickens are not just egg-laying creatures, but truly soulful beings with little minds of their own! It was emotional and it was touching, and it left me yearning to start my own home flock!! </div>
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<b>Reading for fun</b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140275428/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0140275428&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0140275428&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0140275428" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></div>
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The Other Side of the Dale by Gervase Phinn | Compared often to James Herriot's <i>All Creatures</i> books, this story chronicles the adventures of a school inspector in North Yorkshire in days of yore. The stories are humorous and colorful, the writing is clean and fresh, and - I'm about a third through this book - so far, everything is clean and wonderfully family-friendly. </div>
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<b>Reading from the library</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439153663/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1439153663&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1439153663&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1439153663" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div>
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The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom | I have only just cracked the cover on this, but I can't wait to read it. It's set in old-time Virginia and the main character is a white slave. </div>
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<b>Reading for education</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932012958/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1932012958&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1932012958&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1932012958" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div>
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Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay Clarkson and Sally Clarkson | A gift from my parents, this book is especially useful if you plan to school your children at home. I have only just begun to wade into it, but the Clarksons are acknowledged pioneers and innovators in the field of home education! A worthy read! </div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1889209023/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1889209023&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1889209023&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1889209023" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div>
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A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola | Another staple for the homeschool parent, this book is filled with revolutionary (to a country steeped in pen-and-desk tradition) concepts for education. </div>
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<div>
<b>Reading in the kitchen</b></div>
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<b></b><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558321454/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1558321454&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1558321454&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1558321454" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></div>
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Prairie Home Cooking by Judith Fertig | I cycle through my cookbooks and periodically re-read favorites to plumb them for new concepts and recipes I may have overlooked on the last circuit. I am currently re-reading PHC, one of my favorite books, and one of the first in my collection. It was a gift from my grandma and I treasure it! </div>
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There are more books, many books in the basket and on my kitchen counter, but of course I am always seeking further recommendations! Every once in a while you just hit that perfect, golden book that lives on and on as a classic family favorite! </div>
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What are you reading right now in your various categories? Do you have a reading basket, or a shelf of books waiting to be consumed, or an Amazon wishlist? Do you read for pleasure, or just for school or work? Are you reading any of the books I mentioned here, and do you have further suggestions for me? </div>
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Reading words, </div>
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Mrs H<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!</div>
Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-68044935908556531512013-05-17T05:00:00.000-07:002013-05-17T05:00:09.425-07:00Myths About Large Families - Your Questions, AnsweredDear gentle reader,<br />
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Have you ever met somebody from a big family? Are you from a big family yourself?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrOiuuUlUs1BHvmpALbD9zFI-FplN2grrOhQRM-j47ShXOqUS8ITTztkqeE237wS9kFg5mRola6NV8N3rXHb9SlSGcSKgTkxIFH2ehICUdweyQshZYt-gh30WSoDLhRs_T8FGtQSCVLC8/s1600/WM1932bm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrOiuuUlUs1BHvmpALbD9zFI-FplN2grrOhQRM-j47ShXOqUS8ITTztkqeE237wS9kFg5mRola6NV8N3rXHb9SlSGcSKgTkxIFH2ehICUdweyQshZYt-gh30WSoDLhRs_T8FGtQSCVLC8/s400/WM1932bm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There are lots of myths and legends regarding big families, or even just kids in general.<br />
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"Kids are too expensive. We can't afford to have another."<br />
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"Have you seen these two bicker? We couldn't handle having a big family fighting like that all the time!"<br />
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"The kids couldn't all have their own room. Growing up, that was important to me; I wouldn't want to deprive my kids of that advantage." <br />
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This, and many other myths, are heard day and night by big families. I myself am the <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2011/03/us-kids.html" target="_blank">second of eight</a> - and you know how much that experience meant to me!<br />
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My parents have heard it all - every snide remark, every jab, every rude comment. They <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-my-mom-taught-me-to-be-woman.html" target="_blank">take it all in stride as you know</a>, letting the thoughtless and uneducated remarks of the intelligence-impoverished roll of their backs. But the questions, while sometimes impolite and intrusive, are often simple curiosity or uninstructed ignorance, and in truth they do deserve to be answered. Who better to answer these questions than my parents, practiced veterans of society's attention and commentary? <br />
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And answer it, they did. Written by my dad, <a href="http://www.bobjordan.net/2013/03/05/concerning-a-large-family/" target="_blank">click here to read the answers to the thirteen biggest myths concerning having a large family</a>, and leave your comments and thoughts at the end! <br />
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Do you agree? Do you disagree? <br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-64436624595225208512013-05-16T05:00:00.000-07:002014-07-22T04:05:47.782-07:00Ricotta Salata and Making a Cheese Press<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Thanks for reading this post, I'm so excited to visit with you! </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>After you've gleaned all the good information you need, visit our new blog platform at <a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/">www.farmandhearth.com</a> to read even more fascinating tidbits from the kitchen and the fields. </i></div>
<br />
Dear cheeseheads,<br />
<br />
It's summer time!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfwywKinphNrzhbQxqqmJ7O-s83EbbYMxgFIyfzoRPZct0ve8FsQCT9p__NsmEO_g3vmgReJgpNvsTGt3dbWwJPQcU4lC04RjJuPjr4tD4i9RRnRbkXOOlTeWWIT9K6yGusrOWh_dnunh/s1600/IMG_20130422_095510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfwywKinphNrzhbQxqqmJ7O-s83EbbYMxgFIyfzoRPZct0ve8FsQCT9p__NsmEO_g3vmgReJgpNvsTGt3dbWwJPQcU4lC04RjJuPjr4tD4i9RRnRbkXOOlTeWWIT9K6yGusrOWh_dnunh/s400/IMG_20130422_095510.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Time for long bike rides, hot afternoons on the beach, and fly swatters.<br />
<br />
Visiting the farm on a warm afternoon, we recently enjoyed a light snack of <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/salted-rosemary-croccantini-why-buy.html" target="_blank">homemade crackers</a>, fresh ricotta salata, and <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/refreshing-carbonation-ginger-lemon.html" target="_blank">lemonade</a>. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ricotta Salata</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To make fresh ricotta salata, you will need a cheese press. If you don't have one, a very handy one can be fashioned from tools you may already have in your kitchen. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>To learn <a href="http://sanfranciscobookreview.com/2013/05/alphabet-soup-foolproof-cheese-fluffy-ricotta/" target="_blank">how I make ricotta cheese, click here</a> (external link). </b></div>
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This cheese press works excellently with ricotta cheese and farmer's cheese, also called farmhouse cheese or cottage cheese. </div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Ricotta Salata</b><b></b></div>
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<i>You can eat this plain, or slice it onto crackers or sandwiches or serve with cut pears. It makes a beautiful appetizer! If you use much more than two cups of cheese in this small press, your block will be a little loose in the middle and not quite as uniform. It still works quite well - I often pour in much more farmer's cheese than I should and get large, misshapen blocks because sometimes I don't care - but two cups is the perfect amount for a compact piece of cheese. </i></div>
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1 pound (about 2 cups) <a href="http://sanfranciscobookreview.com/2013/05/alphabet-soup-foolproof-cheese-fluffy-ricotta/" target="_blank">fresh ricotta</a></div>
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4 teaspoons salt</div>
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Remove the top and bottom of a 28-ounce metal can. Carefully wash all three components - the edges will be sharp. You can file them down if you like; I just treat them cautiously, like knives. </div>
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Set the can on an inverted bowl or elevated plate, set inside a pan or bowl to catch whey which will spill out. Place the metal bottom inside the can. If your cheese is very soft and liquidy, you can lay a piece of cheesecloth or muslin in the can; this is optional. </div>
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Pour or scoop the cheese into the can. Set the second lid on top, and weight it down with a heavy jar - a quart jar of water or peaches will do the trick. Whey will begin to ooze out the bottom of the can - if you press down heavily on the weight, you may press cheese out, so be careful. Set on the counter or in the refrigerator for about four hours, or refrigerate overnight. </div>
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Remove the cheese from the can gently. If you lined the can with cheesecloth or muslin, peel it back from the cheese carefully. If you are pressing farmer's cheese, it will be finished now. For ricotta salata, continue on: </div>
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Using two teaspoons of salt, rub the outside of the cheese and wrap it in a thin cloth. Refrigerate overnight or for two days. Remove and again rub with two more teaspoons of salt, curing it for another day or two. Repeat this step again if you like. The finished cheese will be firm and well-salted on the outside - don't worry, it won't taste ridiculously salty. The curing process seems to absorb the salt into the body of the cheese. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putting the loose ricotta in</td></tr>
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<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/salted-rosemary-croccantini-why-buy.html" target="_blank">Rosemary croccantini</a> can be made with various toppings. The crackers on the left are topped with traditional sea salt and rosemary. The center cracker has a multi-seed topping. The final cracker on the right is topped with crushed black pepper.<br />
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You can also get creative with the shape and size of the crackers! I made these small, as they were to hold cheese samples. <br />
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Eating my curds and whey,<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-82823687192898164352013-03-27T06:38:00.000-07:002013-03-27T06:38:17.893-07:00Silent<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I apologize for the silence this week. Our family has been visited by grief as a sweet, precious member passed from this life. Our hearts are bleeding for the mourning parents above all, and for all of us as we stand by aching to offer comfort; thank you for the thoughts and prayers offered.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
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Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-75922884822040825572013-03-12T06:00:00.000-07:002014-07-22T03:55:17.251-07:00Deviled Meat Spread: My childhood, grown up and cooler<div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks for reading this post, I'm so excited to visit with you! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
After you've gleaned all the good information you need, visit our new blog platform at <a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/">www.farmandhearth.com</a> to read even more fascinating tidbits from the kitchen and the fields. </div>
<br />
Dear angels,<br />
<br />
Not gonna lie, I love deviled ham.<br />
<br />
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We enjoyed it in sandwiches when I was a child, and it wasn't until last year when we were living in San Diego that I remembered how good it was, sought out a can, and enjoyed it wickedly on a slice of homemade sourdough. <br />
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But what ingredients are in the canned ham? Well, sugar for one, and sodium nitrites for another. Both of these are ingredients I seek to avoid - so I was excited when I accidentally stumbled across a recipe in my super-useful <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/66-awesome-things-to-do-with-Vitamix.html" target="_blank">old Vitamix book</a> for deviled ham!<br />
<br />
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You can vary the seasonings as you desire - or use chicken or beef for a shredded meat sandwich! If I could only tell you how good this spread is! You wouldn't be here long enough to finish reading my blog post. Away to the kitchen!!<br />
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Choose your ingredients!<br />
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Scoop and dump seasonings and spreads into the bin of the Vitamix ...<br />
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Add cubed, cooked meat. <br />
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Chop coarsely!<br />
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<br />
<b>Deviled Meat Spread</b><br />
<i>If you're vegetarian, replace the meat with cooked chickpeas! </i><br />
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
1/4 cup mayonnaise (homemade is most delicious!)</div>
<div>
1 tablespoon mustard (I used homemade ginger-garlic mustard)</div>
<div>
1 teaspoon paprika - hot, spanish smoked, or sweet</div>
<div>
1 teaspoon onion powder <i>or</i> 1 tablespoon minced onion</div>
<div>
2 tablespoons pickle juice</div>
<div>
1 tablespoon relish (optional)</div>
<div>
Sliced pickles for topping (optional)</div>
<div>
1-1/2 cups boiled, roasted or otherwise cooked leftover ham, chicken, beef or pork*, cut into 1" cubes</div>
<div>
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*Any meat, really. I mean this is basically tuna salad, with other meat.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Add ingredients to Vitamix in the order listed. Pulse at 10 several times, or for just one second on high, until coarsely shredded or chopped. <i>Do Not</i> overmix - if there are just one or two chunks left, let them be - you can easily overmix, and then you'll have a meat puree. Remember, on high the Vitamix blades hit the meat 1600 times per second, so it doesn't take long!! </div>
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Spread on sandwiches or roll in lettuce; serve with pickles for a spunky treat! </div>
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Floating away on a cloud of deviled ham,<br />
<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
Dear hard-working (and thus sweaty),<br />
<br />
I consider myself an expert on store-bought deodorants.<br />
<br />
As in, I've tried them all.<br />
<br />
I HATE sweaty arm-pits - for some reason, it just irks the heck out of me when my arms feel sticky and soggy! Perhaps the rest of the world loves it, but I loathe it!<br />
<br />
I thought I must just be super sweaty or something, because even the Dove Prescription Strength stuff wasn't doing the trick for me. Never thought about the fact that maybe store-bought deodorant, like store-bought cookies, milk and many (but not all) other conventional products, was just inferior to homemade, mystery-ingredient-less pit stopper. <br />
<br />
Well, perhaps I considered it, but then remembered that homemade deodorant is <i>hard</i> to make. Not sure where I got that assumption, but pretty sure I believed it, because I mean, who makes deodorant, really?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goorganicblog.com/recipes-fun-stuff/make-your-own/coconut-oil-deodorant" target="_blank">I was inspired to make it by this post</a>. This stuff was about as hard to make as a peanut butter sandwich. <i>Warning: if you can't even make a peanut butter sandwich, you may not want to try this, in fact you may not want to try much of anything. </i><br />
<br />
My ultra-fancy tools (hard to find but well worth it). Bowls, spoons, mixer or whisk, and an empty or almost-empty deodorant container and spatula. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIf_e0dCrtMZpBAyGcjoJLrrAL9LHSdNR62tJq-g5smgcwAXf5Y1ExRzu3W4Otk-1Il3vVWtjbjpLIMdWGL6Uuh6wYJD8CArLYfp2zwVZ97ieQpBRcmuY_RGgNrs1qqxq4p0KhJLsBepXy/s1600/IMG_20130225_130041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIf_e0dCrtMZpBAyGcjoJLrrAL9LHSdNR62tJq-g5smgcwAXf5Y1ExRzu3W4Otk-1Il3vVWtjbjpLIMdWGL6Uuh6wYJD8CArLYfp2zwVZ97ieQpBRcmuY_RGgNrs1qqxq4p0KhJLsBepXy/s400/IMG_20130225_130041.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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The mysterious and esoteric ingredients, available from anywhere things are sold. Coconut oil, baking soda, cornstarch, and a scent if you like. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExbnAIsZaiuStN5-gMtHYmtrQt88f3WRFL21-n1vvpiQicX9p1t1KZ07unJ25bXFJMFJAJrD9PHupn4dfbt4Lp4RtZcdidrfyiHAxMzDV8S5Xce5U-fwsKAyIrqclUtrZgJIV-xHuhy3C/s1600/IMG_20130225_125740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExbnAIsZaiuStN5-gMtHYmtrQt88f3WRFL21-n1vvpiQicX9p1t1KZ07unJ25bXFJMFJAJrD9PHupn4dfbt4Lp4RtZcdidrfyiHAxMzDV8S5Xce5U-fwsKAyIrqclUtrZgJIV-xHuhy3C/s400/IMG_20130225_125740.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Literally it was just a few ingredients from my kitchen (three, to be exact, with one optional add-in), blended together. Done. <br />
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I warmed the coconut oil a little to make blending easier. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfziElpJ7rkvlxOHDXoW6jWI_j-X6BhAHd1bOLU9hz3QrCXImOcQxFnR3HjJ8-U9-mHS9FuVv8S3RYHFmyNjQObrPusYkC453aa0Zy0PT5C5yhb640gvq8Z7MdrxATdOA_AGvu9nr8l_bu/s1600/IMG_20130225_130516.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfziElpJ7rkvlxOHDXoW6jWI_j-X6BhAHd1bOLU9hz3QrCXImOcQxFnR3HjJ8-U9-mHS9FuVv8S3RYHFmyNjQObrPusYkC453aa0Zy0PT5C5yhb640gvq8Z7MdrxATdOA_AGvu9nr8l_bu/s400/IMG_20130225_130516.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then I easily blended in the baking soda and cornstarch, as well as a few drops of essential oil just for fun. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicsz45UjUozPpVTAGZNnSl86quRD_3i_LY5sIWfUT4n9JxffUkgRmcTvsfspZsoYr2Eg1_3x5hWUqVFPcfJ3-q7RjNAcZP02VaN-0f8V3igyvEymvlc_nm0k46BpP_S5TwiaPA8rf719h/s1600/IMG_20130225_130559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicsz45UjUozPpVTAGZNnSl86quRD_3i_LY5sIWfUT4n9JxffUkgRmcTvsfspZsoYr2Eg1_3x5hWUqVFPcfJ3-q7RjNAcZP02VaN-0f8V3igyvEymvlc_nm0k46BpP_S5TwiaPA8rf719h/s400/IMG_20130225_130559.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Smoosh, smoosh! I chilled it in the freezer for about two minutes because I am impatient, and smashed it all thickly together. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtjQuGuuFxAVB7FkqiZyNhB-I2MjOkZOFn-tHbGlCly3Xkyo-P709fgoqQ4Vj78GOjz9nOHupHuscQ2tdAVmI4nemX2bJmrYVNSK9sa_XJiQ0g-CU90n_xJYBRzxKehwdH8wfVcD6W0n_/s1600/IMG_20130225_131847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtjQuGuuFxAVB7FkqiZyNhB-I2MjOkZOFn-tHbGlCly3Xkyo-P709fgoqQ4Vj78GOjz9nOHupHuscQ2tdAVmI4nemX2bJmrYVNSK9sa_XJiQ0g-CU90n_xJYBRzxKehwdH8wfVcD6W0n_/s320/IMG_20130225_131847.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Look, empty deodorant container! I just took out the last scrap of deodorant. If you're worried about the homemade stuff melting through, you could leave a little store deodorant in the container as a plug. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhwgMQJfvktsbFHawGXjbTvb8FdT63QgRE_cAqrfakOtiZbIC1Sgg2MQlC8gH8zyf-xGYSOU0ddUdNMmSvbPOaSwqRubSWunRkZs7cWXP_hVxo5384hN99AdkvrslZqXj3zxqsDjTB6NC/s1600/IMG_20130225_131931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhwgMQJfvktsbFHawGXjbTvb8FdT63QgRE_cAqrfakOtiZbIC1Sgg2MQlC8gH8zyf-xGYSOU0ddUdNMmSvbPOaSwqRubSWunRkZs7cWXP_hVxo5384hN99AdkvrslZqXj3zxqsDjTB6NC/s320/IMG_20130225_131931.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I slobbed some of the homemade stuff into the deodorant container because I'm fancy like that, and put the rest in a jar for refills later. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3tLhg66BRTgM5c4wlkL0s2UZf10DfYSlKBEaFsezfV24WWEvdAqItR9e62BSEw6rp0Dl5oGc5j7yHDiuCPU2Ha6Mg0TjFGLmzYgjtzg19Pmp5i8QSKhs0t-3ZSwMS9s9y48b8VYJuYHW/s1600/IMG_20130225_132515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3tLhg66BRTgM5c4wlkL0s2UZf10DfYSlKBEaFsezfV24WWEvdAqItR9e62BSEw6rp0Dl5oGc5j7yHDiuCPU2Ha6Mg0TjFGLmzYgjtzg19Pmp5i8QSKhs0t-3ZSwMS9s9y48b8VYJuYHW/s320/IMG_20130225_132515.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wiped it down and put on labels to be snazzy (<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/lets-talk-chalk-how-to-label-your-home.html" target="_blank">a good time for chalk labels?</a> I'd better order more). <br />
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<b>Homemade Pit Stopper Better Than the Store Bought Stuff and Also Less Mysterious</b><br />
<i>I wasn't sure I trusted homemade deodorant yet, so when I mixed this batch up I made sure I had a little bit of the Real Stuff set aside. The next day I threw the Real Stuff away and now just use the Good Stuff! This may be difficult to make on a hot day, as coconut becomes liquid at warm temperatures. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>You can buy empty deodorant containers online! Here is an affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009XKCL50/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009XKCL50&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">5 Deodorant Empty Containers - for lotion bar, heel balm etc. (2 oz.)</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B009XKCL50" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i><br />
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<i><br /></i>
1/4 cup (generously scooped) coconut oil, warmed to partially liquid<br />
1/4 cup baking soda<br />
1/4 cup arrowroot or corn starch<br />
Optional: essential oil or pure extract for aroma, unless you used virgin coconut oil in which case it will smell like coconut, yum!<br />
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Using a blender or a vigorous fork, whip together ingredients. Store in a jar and apply by hand, or cool until thick and pack into an empty deodorant container.<br />
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<i>Note:</i> If you are anxious try try it, you can make some now and then let it soften and pack it into an old deodorant container later! When I was packing it in to the deodorant container, I chilled it in the freezer for just a few minutes and then stirred it together to get it evenly thick. Also, if you keep your bathroom really hot, you should be warned that this will melt right out of your deodorant container <i>unless</i> you leave a little store deodorant in the container as a plug.<br />
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<b>Using It: The Facts. </b>When you initially swipe this on, your body heat will instantly melt the coconut oil and your arms will feel wet. <i>When this happened, I was horrified!</i> I hate spray-on or gel-like deodorants that feel wet. Hate them!! Even though I know you can leave your shirt off and let the deodorant dry, it never really does and I feel sticky and irritated all day. <br />
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However, in this instance I was pleasantly surprised to find that the deodorant dried instantly, by the time I could pull a shirt out of the drawer; and then miracle of miracles, I forgot I was wearing it all day! I even wore two t-shirts and a sweatshirt and then ran eight errands (with a baby!), which generally would leave me sticky and damp under the arms. When I got home that night I suddenly remembered I was testing homemade deodorant, and hurriedly took off my sweatshirt to see how soggy I was. What? No sticky? No sweaty? A miracle!! I raced off to throw away my store-bought deodorant immediately!!<br />
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Did I mention that even with premium coconut oil, this is still cheaper than buying deodorant at the store, even with store coupons... ?<br />
<br />
You can even store spare deodorant in the freezer now - what a fun way to freak your friends out!<br />
<br />
Not sticky,<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-51343946387639456352013-03-05T03:21:00.000-08:002014-07-22T04:00:26.166-07:00Making Kefir from Starter - Five Easy Steps, No Gadgets Required!<div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks for reading this post, I'm so excited to visit with you! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
Dear cultured,<br />
<br />
Making kefir with a packet of starter is so easy-peasy, it's almost not even worth the time to post the instructions online! The directions are on the back of the box so you'll figure it out within seconds of opening the package, but I may never have made kefir myself if I hadn't heard how stupid easy it was. <br />
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<i>Note: Different brands may have slightly varying directions, although the basic principles will remain the same. Be sure to read the directions on your box, first! </i><br />
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Of course, fresh kefir is ever so good for you with lots of nutritive probiotics ready to help work on your digestion, and the tart, tangy flavor is one of my favorite features! It makes a fast breakfast or a quick and filling snack, and it is even good (oh so good!) for little food-eating babies with developing immune and digestive systems. I prefer homemade kefir to store-bought for three reasons, one or all of which may resonate with you: 1. To avoid ultra-high heat pasteurized milk product. 2. To eliminate the added sugars and other curious ingredients. 3. To reduce the amount of plastic bottles and trash I throw out. <br />
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I like to enjoy a little culture every day - homemade yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut or some seasonal Vivaldi.<br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ygpf6mxTUeY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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You can buy packets or boxes of powdered cultures online - here at <a href="http://www.culturesforhealth.com/" target="_blank">Cultures for Health</a> (they have many other fabulous resources, as well) or at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=yogourmet%20kefir&linkCode=ur2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20&url=search-alias%3Daps" target="_blank">Amazon</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> (affiliate link - this is the starter culture I used. The same brand offers yogurt culture as well, also available from Amazon). You can usually buy it at your local health food store or Whole Foods (I've never seen any in Trader Joe's, though). <br />
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<b>By the by, what are kefir grains? </b>The <a href="http://www.cheeseslave.com/how-to-make-kefir/" target="_blank">other way to make kefir is using kefir grains</a>, which you can also buy online or get from a friend who has too many. I forgot to tend to mine (ahem) so I had to throw them out just this morning, and now must rely on the goodness of friends to give me some new ones! <br />
<br />
Kefir starter is just another way to do the same thing and is a nice fall-back if you have no grains or are new to culturing foods. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1X9BPPl2GB9p2MQcXVtbjmmWA9yQVjnwpeqEH5DYxFNBVeoL7CzTV60IphkfTi3hHhPoGvE_oQZ0o8q96CStvFoH_YrkfP0y5-AgrW3s20IlnM6BsiZQLPIw-WL7KAn5Ph9fRv2XsJOL/s1600/IMG_20130104_142630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1X9BPPl2GB9p2MQcXVtbjmmWA9yQVjnwpeqEH5DYxFNBVeoL7CzTV60IphkfTi3hHhPoGvE_oQZ0o8q96CStvFoH_YrkfP0y5-AgrW3s20IlnM6BsiZQLPIw-WL7KAn5Ph9fRv2XsJOL/s400/IMG_20130104_142630.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyk6v-er5zerRWsdnC_ckJ8T2BGwSk-vLogFA454-p0yZiCSg1EV0OGqm3m7c-faziAaeDIElZhhD0QEHJnBBetYx5KzeVJg8G9m_mDCBnHlzLd-vxIEthOZ_tEgFJS8khzA9DTISXfMH/s1600/IMG_20130104_142959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyk6v-er5zerRWsdnC_ckJ8T2BGwSk-vLogFA454-p0yZiCSg1EV0OGqm3m7c-faziAaeDIElZhhD0QEHJnBBetYx5KzeVJg8G9m_mDCBnHlzLd-vxIEthOZ_tEgFJS8khzA9DTISXfMH/s400/IMG_20130104_142959.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This little guy watched the whole thing and he thought it was hilarious</td></tr>
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You don't need any fancy gadgets, just a kitchen thermometer for accuracy, a pot for heating and a whisk, spoon or blender for bringing it all together. And a hearty appetite for deliciousness!<br />
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Heat the milk. You can't use ultra-pasteurized milk for culturing, so check your store for low-heat pasteurized milk (usually it comes in glass bottles and will have a cream top) or raw milk. <br />
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Check how many packets of starter you will need (there were six packets in my box, and it takes one packet per quart of milk).<br />
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Let the milk cool down.<br />
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Dissolve the starter into a little bit of the milk.<br />
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Pour it all back into the pot, mix well and let it sit for 24 hours. That's it!<br />
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<br />
<b>Kefir Made With Starter - Five Easy (Super, super easy) Steps</b><br />
<i>Easy-peasy-pudding-n-pie - this is so simple I thought I would die! For the pan, I use a simple, non-reactive metal pan - a heavy crock would hold too much heat and it would take eons for the milk to cool down, and a Teflon-lined pan would be bad for our health. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Raw or low-heat pasteurized (usually in a glass bottle) milk<br />
Kefir starter<br />
<br />
Check your box of starter to see how much milk they use per packet of powdered starter. The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=yogourmet%20kefir&linkCode=ur2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20&url=search-alias%3Daps" target="_blank">yogourmet</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> starter I used takes one quart of milk per packet of starter. <br />
<br />
1. Heat the milk to 180F or simply bring to an almost-boil. <br />
<br />
2. Turn off the heat and let it cool, at room temperature, down to 73 - 77F. <br />
<br />
3. Remove a little bit of the milk into a bowl and whisk the culture into it, dissolving it thoroughly. Pour it back into the pot of cooled milk and stir it in well. <br />
<br />
4. Cover the pot or transfer into a clean jar, cover, and set out of the way so the inoculated milk can stand at room temperature for 24 hours or until curd forms - until it thickens. <a href="http://www.culturesforhealth.com/choosing-equipment-making-dairy-milk-kefir" target="_blank">Read more tips on kefir containers</a>.<br />
<br />
5. Refrigerate for 8 hours to halt the process. Stir well and enjoy!<br />
<br />
Kefir is tart, tangy and tastes like sour yogurt. If it's too tart for you or just for a change of pace, blend in some honey, maple syrup or fruit! <br />
<br />
I added a half-pint of blueberries to a little over a quart of kefir, as well as a few drops of raw honey.<br />
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<br />
Quaint and cultured,<br />
<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
Dear amigos,<br />
<br />
Mr H loves salsa. I make it about every week, sometimes more often, when he is home. How to keep it affordable, and made from local and organic ingredients even in the dead of winter? We don't have cold frames for tomatoes and jalapenos won't grow here in winter, so we rely on canned and frozen ingredients from the summer prior!<br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Winter Salsa</b><br />
<i>If you like your salsa blended anyway, use a pure home-canned tomato sauce instead of chopped tomatoes; I sometimes use one quart sauce, one quart diced. </i><br />
<br />
2 quarts diced tomatoes<br />
2 cups chopped, frozen onions<br />
2 cups chopped, frozen peppers<br />
2 cups raw corn, frozen (optional)<br />
1 pint cooked or home-canned black beans (optional)<br />
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped frozen cilantro <i>or</i> 2 tbsp dried cilantro<br />
1 canned or frozen habanero or jalapeno (more or less to taste)<br />
Sea salt, to taste (several teaspoons, generally)<br />
Freshly ground black pepper<br />
Dried, ground garlic, garlic flakes, or coarse garlic salt<br />
Ground cumin, to taste (2 tablespoons or more, generally)<br />
<br />
Thaw frozen items; drain in a mesh strainer. Drain tomatoes in mesh strainer, letting sit for several hours or pressing with a spoon to remove some of the extruded water. Drain beans. Chop pepper or throw in Vitamix with some of the tomatoes or sauce, and about half the onions and peppers. Stir all ingredients together, season to taste, and serve fresh. <br />
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<br />
Dipping in,<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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<br />
Dear <a href="http://historiccookery.com/tag/pompkin-pudding/" target="_blank">pompkin-lovers</a>,<br />
<br />
I really do love a good ol' pumpkin. Last fall, I bought a trunk-load of pie pumpkins, and I've been gradually incorporating them into the kitchen. Pumpkins can last for months in a cool, dry place (under our dining table), and I'm enjoying having fresh puree for now, but shortly I'll be roasting, pureeing and freezing them all in one big swoop to clear the space out. <br />
<br />
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<b>Roasting Pumpkins</b><br />
<i>Use "Sugar Pumpkins" or "Pie Pumpkins" or "Sugar Pie Pumpkins" for this - they are small, usually about 2 - 4 lbs. Do not attempt to use the large jack-o-lantern pumpkins for eating - they will be watery, stringy, tough, and nasty as they are bred for size, not food. They are definitely not edible! </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Preheat oven to 350. Wash pumpkin. <br />
<br />
Halve pumpkins. Remove seeds and set aside; scrape out the stringy pulp. Cut pumpkin into wedges or halves and lay, flesh-side down, in a pan.<br />
<br />
Roast for 45 minutes or until flesh is tender and soft when pricked with a fork.<br />
<br />
Using a knife, your hands, or a spoon, scrape the flesh from the skin; discard skin (makes great compost!). <br />
<br />
Puree the pumpkin flesh in a blender until fine and smooth. <b>1 pound</b> of uncut pumpkin makes approximately <b>1 cup</b> of blended puree. Freeze in tubs and transfer to vacuum-seal bags, or <a href="http://domesticendeavors.net/2012/11/01/roasting-and-freezing-pie-pumpkins/" target="_blank">freeze in ziplock bags like Miz Carmen</a>.<br />
<br />
Optional: If you want a <i>less wet</i> puree, more appropriate for blending into cheeses or butters and possibly more cooperative in some baking applications, or spooning into yogurt, then line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Pour in the puree and let it strain in a bowl overnight. Discard the liquid and use the remaining puree as desired. <br />
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<b>Pumpkin Seeds</b><br />
<i><a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2010/10/dinner-in-pumpkin.html" target="_blank">You can roast seeds</a>, but I prefer dehydrating them. You can do this if you have more seeds than you want to roast all at once, or you can do it if you prefer to keep them as a "living food" and add to trail mixes or granola bars. </i><br />
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Clean the fibrous threads of pumpkin off the seeds; rinse if desired. Pat dry and spread evenly on a dehydrator tray; dry at 135 for several hours or until they are crispy and dry. Store in an airtight container; freeze if they will be left for several months or more. <br />
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<b>Using Pumpkin Puree</b><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.pietown.com/" target="_blank">Pie Town USA</a>: </b>Perhaps the most obvious choice in our minds is a traditional <a href="http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1937,138160-226202,00.html" target="_blank">American Pumpkin Pie!</a> Mix up your own <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/09/homemade-pumpkin-pie-spice.html" target="_blank">pumpkin pie spice</a> and blend it with the puree before freezing, if you are planning to make a lot of pies in the future. If you're tired of Libby's recipe, try this <a href="http://www.thesimplemoms.com/2012/11/a-simple-real-food-recipe-pumpkin-pie.html" target="_blank">allergen-free real-food Pumpkin Pie</a>, based on the recipe from <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/nourishing-traditions-book-review-and.html" target="_blank">Nourishing Traditions</a>. Note: Pie Town is a real place, and Mr H and I were there. "There were three buildings," he later said, "and all of them said pie for sale!" They even have a Pie-O-Neer Cafe. Truth is stranger than fiction!<br />
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<b>Drink it Up</b>: Stir puree into your hot drinks, or throw it in your smoothies. (I'm in the testing phase for a pumpkin smoothie! Cue pumpkins, bananas, creamy whole milk, pumpkin spice, honey, an egg white, vanilla ... is this breakfast, or is it dessert?!) <br />
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<b>Layered: </b>stack homemade yogurt, homemade granola, dried cranberries, and pumpkin puree! Dig in for a hearty breakfast (or freeze for a dreamy snack). <br />
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<b>Baked Delight:</b> Add to brownies, pancakes, waffles or cakes with pumpkin puree; add it to banana bread, muffins, or other delights either in addition to or in place of butter or oil. <br />
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<b>Stir it:</b> stir pureed pumpkin in to wheat farina or Cream of Wheat, or oatmeal or groats. <br />
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<b>A Dazzling List: </b>Thousands of other bloggers have weighed in on this topic over time, and this blogger has collected <a href="http://www.52kitchenadventures.com/2012/10/31/50-ways-to-use-up-leftover-pumpkin/" target="_blank">50 of the best ways to use puree</a> (I can't vouch for all of them - many of them are not "real food" recipes, but they may spark your own ideas). <br />
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<b>Blended:</b> throw pumpkin puree in the Vitamix with cream cheese and a little cinnamon or honey. Use it as a spread for toast and bagels! <br />
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<b>Tired of Puree?</b> If you don't want to puree your pumpkin, <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2010/10/dinner-in-pumpkin.html" target="_blank">here's another fun recipe idea</a>: Cut off the top, remove the seeds, and roast your dinner inside! <br />
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<b>Soup on Tap</b>: add the puree to a pot of soup to thicken and increase flavor.<br />
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<b>Harvest Leather:</b> Sweeten with sugar or maple syrup and pumpkin spice, and cook down until the volume reduces by about one third; spread on a dehydrator lined with parchment paper (NOT wax paper) or leather trays, and dehydrate for several hours or until the center is no longer tacky. Cool before peeling from trays. <br />
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<b>Canning Pumpkin? </b>Are you low on freezer space? It is possible to can pumpkin, but it's too dense to be pureed and canned: it has to be processed in cubes. <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2010/11/cinderellas-pie-pumpkin.html" target="_blank">Follow the canning instructions here</a>; when you want pumpkin puree, just strain out the water and puree the cubes. The whole cubes (and their liquid) also make a great addition to soup!<br />
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<b>Pumpkin Ice Cream: </b><a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/11/pumpkin-ice-cream-recipe/" target="_blank">why say more?</a><br />
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Pompous as can be,<br />
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Mrs H<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
Pin us at <a href="http://pinterest.com/dotalanecdotes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for pretty photos and intriguing articles<br />
Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-45994009235206537892013-02-27T06:00:00.000-08:002013-02-27T06:00:06.268-08:00I Will Never Eat a Florida-Grown Conventional Tomato Again<div>
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<i>The Wednesday Review: </i></div>
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<i>Reviewing books, products and more you may be interested in</i></div>
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Dear patient readers, </div>
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Stop! Put that hamburger down!!<br />
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<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2011/01/bonus-points-if-you-know-what-lee.html">You all know my spiel on eating organic</a>, local food - <a href="http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/index.jsp">it's better for your body</a>, it's kinder to the world we are entrusted to steward, it's better economic practice, yadda yadda. </div>
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But what if lives depended on it? <br />
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<a href="http://appetiteforbooks.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tomatoland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://appetiteforbooks.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tomatoland.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
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Horrify yourself into investing in local, organic tomatoes with Barry Estabrook's <span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449423450/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1449423450&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1449423450" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </u></span>. (<i>Affiliate link - note cover has changed</i>) </div>
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I was alerted to this book by <a href="http://plentifulthoughtsofmiscellany.blogspot.com/2012/04/in-short-tomatoland.html">a thoughtful and somewhat frightening review by the mysterious Mrs S</a>, which you must read if you are considering eating tomatoes again. Ever. Get a sampling of what the book will discuss by reading her thorough review. I checked it out at the library, then we ended up buying it on Mr H's Nook; it was too good to not own. <br />
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This book is a one-sided expose on the tomato industry. Quite frankly, I have no need to hear the other side. There is no reasonable justification or logic for the cruelty and bad practice engendered by these companies. I don't care about the bottom of line of the company, the sweet drawings of farms on the tomato labels, the cheap price of the tomato in the grocery store, the wholesome American that wants a cheap, store-bought sliced tomato on their sandwich in winter and deserves to be able to afford out-of-season fruits in any part of the country, keeping burgers on the 99-cent menu for families that can't afford more, the cruel rationalization that we should provide horrific-condition jobs for illegals since they'll come here anyway, or the families of the management that are struggling to pay bills despite their thieving and gross manipulations.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cuesa.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_orig_size/tomatoland_ppt4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://www.cuesa.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_orig_size/tomatoland_ppt4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cuesa.org/article/search-promised-tomatoland-part-1-problem" target="_blank">In Search of the Promised Tomatoland, Part 1</a></td></tr>
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How can we justify buying tomatoes that are two dollars cheaper per pound, made possible by costing somebody, somewhere, their life and livelihood? </div>
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<b>We say that organic tomatoes cost an arm and a leg, but we're being figurative. </b><br />
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<b>Conventional tomatoes are costing arms and legs, but these are real arms and legs. </b><br />
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Children are being born without limbs, thanks to hazardous pesticides akin to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange" target="_blank">Agent Orange</a> soaking the sandy soil of Florida where the tomatoes are grown. Saturating the men and women working in the fields, filling their pores and lungs with poison. Most of them illegal in this country, they are powerless against the injustice. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://politicsoftheplate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Tomato-pickers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://politicsoftheplate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Tomato-pickers.jpg" width="329" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://politicsoftheplate.com/?page_id=831" target="_blank">The publisher's synopsis of Tomatoland</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://awakeatthewhisk.com/wp-content/uploads/Tomatoland-2011-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://awakeatthewhisk.com/wp-content/uploads/Tomatoland-2011-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://awakeatthewhisk.com/wp-content/uploads/Tomatoland-2011-001.jpg" target="_blank">Read another blogger's review</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/06/23/tomatoes_custom-7c69b05ec889b9118e8ea40129d33aa0e8ef17bd-s2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/06/23/tomatoes_custom-7c69b05ec889b9118e8ea40129d33aa0e8ef17bd-s2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/06/28/137371975/how-industrial-farming-destroyed-the-tasty-tomato" target="_blank">How Industrial Farming 'Destroyed' the Tasty Tomato</a></td></tr>
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Americans can't afford to buy Florida's conventionally-grown tomatoes any more. I will never buy one again. Not after reading this. Not if I want to sleep at night. And if we can't afford to buy tomatoes that weren't stolen by taking the lives of somebody else to produce them, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=zechariah%207:10&version=NIV">maybe we can't afford tomatoes at all</a>. </div>
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Mrs H<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!</div>
Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-53125237553712288372013-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:002013-02-25T06:00:01.209-08:00Monday Menu: Deployment ChangesMr H's deployment date has been moved four times in the last five months, and now it has been moved again! "That must be nice!" people say. Well, not really, and here's why: he's been gone for the last four months getting ready with the squadron as they fulfill qualifications for deployment. Now that deployment has been moved, they have to do these quals over again to stay current. What that means is, he'll be gone for another four months, and <i>then</i> they'll deploy!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidsI2YhnMX3Jrs2lV7rh0hCM2UvcWduuWp0WL8Vs7Rh_bsofwawz1G_521xpOtN_wSSC7MWX5E9t5rZBc3WBX7oZ28REpTR_GD_rWp8lCdSmjhPgoZLaCJX88AJea8Vw1OaM_yzlR6Odcb/s1600/IMG_20130215_172904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidsI2YhnMX3Jrs2lV7rh0hCM2UvcWduuWp0WL8Vs7Rh_bsofwawz1G_521xpOtN_wSSC7MWX5E9t5rZBc3WBX7oZ28REpTR_GD_rWp8lCdSmjhPgoZLaCJX88AJea8Vw1OaM_yzlR6Odcb/s400/IMG_20130215_172904.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Little H is excited Daddy came home!</td></tr>
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All in a day for the Navy!<br />
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Life goes on, though. We don't change too radically either way, and we're still readjusting to the new schedule. <br />
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<b>In the kitchen</b><br />
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<a href="http://ahomeinthemaking.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-01-23T09:46:00-08:00&max-results=3&start=3&by-date=false" target="_blank">Double-Chocolate Brownies</a> | This recipe has no flour, <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/less-sugar-no-sugar-nursing-your-sweet.html" target="_blank">no cane sugar</a>. All decadence. The almond butter was fresh-made in the Vitamix, seconds before it went into the brownies! I used unsweetened chocolate, chopped; you could use bittersweet or semi-sweet for a little indulgence. <br />
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<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/07/food-group-cowshare.html" target="_blank">Milk</a> | We get a gallon and a half of raw milk every Monday, but it's just not enough. Not only do we drink it faster than the week runs out, but we don't have enough left for all the other dairy products our kitchen needs to function: sour cream, cottage cheese, buttermilk, yoghurt, kefir, whole cream, butter, ice cream... This problem has been persisting, but I haven't been able to remedy it because in this state you have to purchase milk by cowshare; if I purchase another cowshare and we end up with more milk than I can keep up with, I'll still be spending that money every week and perhaps being overwhelmed. We've come to a solution with a bi-weekly home delivery of low-heat pasteurized milk, an amount which can be varied by whatever we desire. I can use it for recipes where I will be heating the milk anyway (i.e. yoghurt) and while it is not completely optimum, it is a necessary middle-ground to help us avoid UHT, pre-processed, plastic-packaged store products (we're also working towards a zero waste goal!). <br />
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<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/refreshing-carbonation-ginger-lemon.html" target="_blank">Lemon-Ginger Effervescence</a> | I really, really like this drink. We've been enjoying it <i>a lot. </i>You might call it lemonade; you may call it detox drink. I call it <i>wonderful</i>! <br />
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<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2013/01/frothing-milk-without-frother-and.html" target="_blank">Hot Drinks</a> | Of course, it is winter and you may be more interested in a foamy cappuccino than a glass of sparkling lemonade! Read about frothing milk and cafe au lait here, and add your comments of delicious ideas! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home, home on the range</td></tr>
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<b>Crop Circles</b><br />
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Kale | We've been eating the kale off our porch, and it has enjoy a few snows and several freezes. Completely unharmed - I love this hardy plant!<br />
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Garlic | The garlic is sprouting and it, too, has survived the cold with no apparent problems. Winter gardens are so inspiring!<br />
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Flowers | This weekend we'll be working at a local CSA helping mulch and plant flowers. We'll bring home any spare seeds or bulbs for our own garden!<br />
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Starters | Mr H is starting seeds indoors soon: asparagus, tomatoes, fennel, and I am not sure what else is in the works. He has the seeds, the soil and the containers - now, for ten cohesive minutes so he can put it all together!<br />
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<br />
Mrs H<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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Dear green,<br />
<br />
Ever in the mood for something sweet?<br />
<br />
That's what gets me - after dinner, I find myself hankering a little sweet note of completion to signal my brain that all is done, time to settle down for the night. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xq0pGDYw6_fS3C6SimBawrAeRovr_3jicOSlc2shk2Hd-4JW2XQRUwW70JhsByWXmnBO2uGOcELAjfmPc6ApB_aMnWMRYAcuohLkc5dt5wwP6hn_qUGi0hS_sLYlb5XvCrT2croxfJOg/s1600/IMG_20130219_173424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xq0pGDYw6_fS3C6SimBawrAeRovr_3jicOSlc2shk2Hd-4JW2XQRUwW70JhsByWXmnBO2uGOcELAjfmPc6ApB_aMnWMRYAcuohLkc5dt5wwP6hn_qUGi0hS_sLYlb5XvCrT2croxfJOg/s400/IMG_20130219_173424.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Of course, since we're <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/refreshing-carbonation-ginger-lemon.html" target="_blank">skipping sugar entirely for Lent</a> (sugar, not sweets*), I've been compelled to find creative outlets for this sweet tooth. Which is what I should be doing anyway, since sugar is, well, <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/less-sugar-no-sugar-nursing-your-sweet.html" target="_blank">not all that great for you</a> to put it mildly.<br />
<br />
The following recipe was motivated by something I saw the Vitamix guy doing at a display recently. I hunted for the recipe for what he made and couldn't find it, so I approximated something close in my own kitchen and fell in love.<br />
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*Why say sugar, not just sweets? I was more keen to get refined sugars out of my body than I was to live without sweetness for two score days. Sugars are hidden in many things, so somebody cutting "sweets" out of their diet without doing a deeper investigation is probably still consuming sugar. Since we buy one-ingredient foods, it's pretty hard for sugar to hide in our kitchen; and since I like sweetness, I enjoy being compelled to explore new ways to enjoy it without the aid of refined cane sugar!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOj_COIiXJFVg1pI-05twuB2u1jri8N2IccqoeEUwIhlCMkESp_42YmYIXxLxR5fJXyVHDU6wlQkLjFZlip3_AUWww_IkZwy8iHTSZk1Cuz1xcNiokCElHWirlDyIm6WlaYElLX6HTbVl/s1600/IMG_20130219_172939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOj_COIiXJFVg1pI-05twuB2u1jri8N2IccqoeEUwIhlCMkESp_42YmYIXxLxR5fJXyVHDU6wlQkLjFZlip3_AUWww_IkZwy8iHTSZk1Cuz1xcNiokCElHWirlDyIm6WlaYElLX6HTbVl/s400/IMG_20130219_172939.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDFz1ejIt9rkmnwFrOEDS-UtYyA-RSB0PKXNsa682ldmuDi5nesebjHdcJ7Bhbu3F2bWnwRaiVX13GrKMwiaHtONLgXDPXWuWf7X2YGp7VPPtTRyxabkFm9GDRNRiOZhVGoEONVkhGTq0/s1600/IMG_20130219_173218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDFz1ejIt9rkmnwFrOEDS-UtYyA-RSB0PKXNsa682ldmuDi5nesebjHdcJ7Bhbu3F2bWnwRaiVX13GrKMwiaHtONLgXDPXWuWf7X2YGp7VPPtTRyxabkFm9GDRNRiOZhVGoEONVkhGTq0/s400/IMG_20130219_173218.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdzI_RwJtK1SAa0fQpPlnzRLlV3jiw_QWs-zt_VfTyDxTe1GDWgrqBLlAD1VvDKuprFH11qDMYlyLYxUgq4xe5wwSxAO7MzwhRkI8AZHtGzQLEJDUwz7yvLwdJK-uh7u65WEDIvWtMjvev/s1600/IMG_20130219_173229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdzI_RwJtK1SAa0fQpPlnzRLlV3jiw_QWs-zt_VfTyDxTe1GDWgrqBLlAD1VvDKuprFH11qDMYlyLYxUgq4xe5wwSxAO7MzwhRkI8AZHtGzQLEJDUwz7yvLwdJK-uh7u65WEDIvWtMjvev/s400/IMG_20130219_173229.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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This dessert is well worth the wait. All 30 seconds of it. Yes, this thing can be blitzed together in a fraction of the time it takes to remove a tub of ice cream from the freezer and find the scoop. Forego refined sugars and artificial flavors, and consume this treat which will not only taste dreamy beyond dreams but actually move your body forward in the path of health! Win, win, win. <br />
<br />
<b>Green Freeze Ice Cream</b><br />
<i>This treat reminds me of my friend Esther - I know she'd love it! But she prefers her ice cream firm, rock-hard, actually, so if you are like her, scrape it into a tub and pop it in the freezer for a few hours. If you want it firm but not </i>too<i> firm, add a teaspoon of vodka when blending: the vodka won't freeze, and will keep the ice cream somewhat moldable. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
1/2 to 1 cup cider or apple juice <i>or</i> 1/4 - 1/2 cup apple juice concentrate<br />
Handful of green: kale or spinach<br />
2 frozen bananas<br />
4 cups ice cubes (1 1/2 trays, or approximately filling the Vitamix)<br />
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Put the ingredients in the Vitamix in the order listed (rule of thumb: softest items first). Starting on the lowest speed, slowly increase speed to 10 and then to high. Use the tamper as necessary until the sound of the engine changes (when an air pocket forms in the firm ice cream, and the blades just whir without resistance they are higher pitched) and the ice cream is frozen. <br />
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The whole process should take just a few minutes. Don't over mix, or you'll unfreeze and cook it!<br />
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Enjoy immediately or spatula into a tub for freezing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cYA5SmkAUoLm0VMVcDTCAsECLwpj_qv8-yc1dCbejHLDlKMZz0X6poBsUyCGOgq2KmF-I1ky6M3qHGwxA2xh96v658Nree2XWl_aw8sJwjiW4DUdkXezXwrwWn32xWzqIPyyf30zE63C/s1600/IMG_20130217_161243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cYA5SmkAUoLm0VMVcDTCAsECLwpj_qv8-yc1dCbejHLDlKMZz0X6poBsUyCGOgq2KmF-I1ky6M3qHGwxA2xh96v658Nree2XWl_aw8sJwjiW4DUdkXezXwrwWn32xWzqIPyyf30zE63C/s400/IMG_20130217_161243.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we like sweet little things</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Slushing,<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
Pin us at <a href="http://pinterest.com/dotalanecdotes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for pretty photos and intriguing articles<br />
Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-48194409377093677622013-02-20T05:51:00.000-08:002013-02-20T05:51:00.260-08:00Let's Talk Chalk: How to label your home, and a free giveaway of your choice!<br />
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Dear jarred,<br />
<br />
Since virtually everything in my kitchen was either purchased in a bulk 25-lb sack or a 5 gallon bucket, or came straight from a farm and went into my dehydrator or was ordered online and arrived in a cardboard box wrapped in plastic, it stands to reason that most of my food is transferred into containers such as jars, tubs and plastic bags, and then joins the ranks of other jars, tubs and plastic bags in the cupboards and in the refrigerator.<br />
<br />
I'm always running into the irksome problem of how to attractively label them!<br />
<br />
I received a label maker as a gift, and I LOVE it! I use it to categorize my files, I smack names on top of cans of pumpkin-butter and jars of coffee beans, and I even label shelves so guests know where to find things (and replace them, hopefully!). <br />
<br />
But what about big tubs? What about jars that live on my shelf and need to be read clearly, from a distance, or that sit on the counter and should (in my hopes and dreams!) look ultra-cute? What about containers whose contents are constantly changing or being updated, like when the coffee was last ground or when I last used the sourdough starter, or how recently this container of leftovers went into the fridge? This was my kitchen dilemma, and it was mostly answered with sticky notes and cheesy taped-on pieces of paper. Alright, it worked, but it wasn't very nice looking, and it was exceedingly annoying to have to keep re-taping on the paper when it ripped off from being shoved into a small space one time too many. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/CharlieChalkDesigns" target="_blank">Let's Talk Chalk!</a></b></div>
<b><br /></b>
A friend introduced me to an Etsy store, after hearing me gripe about this issue. I almost fainted when I saw, for the first time, things I'd only <i>dreamed</i> existed, living in real life in front of me!!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/CharlieChalkDesigns" target="_blank">Let's Talk Chalk!</a> is a business run by a mom and her daughters and their products are ... Unbelievable! Beautiful stickers (which easily peel off to place elsewhere, if you change your mind) with markers that can be erased with a damp rag. The marker doesn't smudge once you let it dry for a few seconds, so even grabbing a tub by the label won't mess up your name tag.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEBuhGSbWKBw4tiF_GmdLJggOUTP06uvvFkML-jXSXSRlKHsjAl_NHs806vaEe4Sx3lDOPRseccsF5qzB2mq1P_70CKMx6MdseMFPRDmz5Np10GcGnWxue3MRF7nNp0X1cKL58TI9xLIv/s1600/IMG_20130211_072216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEBuhGSbWKBw4tiF_GmdLJggOUTP06uvvFkML-jXSXSRlKHsjAl_NHs806vaEe4Sx3lDOPRseccsF5qzB2mq1P_70CKMx6MdseMFPRDmz5Np10GcGnWxue3MRF7nNp0X1cKL58TI9xLIv/s400/IMG_20130211_072216.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I like to label my jars with what is in them, and where I got it (sometimes even what I paid for it!) so that when the time comes to refill it, I know where to go or what shopping list to add it to. Sometimes, that source changes over time, so a printed label on a jar would need to be completely replaced - now, I can just wipe off the source of my sugar, and replace it with the new store I purchased it from! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVpEHet1Pit-AMrJ1QW-YGhfd5z8cnpUJWbkaP2AJ84YQDsKcXPCIXFk5QdHgt_35OBw1EWug1ho0dyFUt7rBDT8YG1V9kb277tU7R5nwXAf8QflMQ4obhXVCE0ElpojYtZe-RaspJBT-/s1600/IMG_20130211_072533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVpEHet1Pit-AMrJ1QW-YGhfd5z8cnpUJWbkaP2AJ84YQDsKcXPCIXFk5QdHgt_35OBw1EWug1ho0dyFUt7rBDT8YG1V9kb277tU7R5nwXAf8QflMQ4obhXVCE0ElpojYtZe-RaspJBT-/s400/IMG_20130211_072533.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Keep forgetting when you last refreshed your sourdough? Not a problem! Add the date, and when you feed it or use it again, just swipe away the date and write the new one! No labels wasted, no time spent printing or taping on a new one. <br />
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And it looks horribly cute, to boot!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnlUsgd0EsvA2Qw5cb5lRdshPft9xmwBhrAs2OTSkdKjKDi4RLy81tiqLgvks9-6hyq8Sansp7P94ghwGko_erjoHbU8ZyP2lnJJKGHSlvitwxSWJiDuMwKV1dMfU5eguHkZSrhkX_zOW/s1600/IMG_20130211_072628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnlUsgd0EsvA2Qw5cb5lRdshPft9xmwBhrAs2OTSkdKjKDi4RLy81tiqLgvks9-6hyq8Sansp7P94ghwGko_erjoHbU8ZyP2lnJJKGHSlvitwxSWJiDuMwKV1dMfU5eguHkZSrhkX_zOW/s400/IMG_20130211_072628.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There are more than just kitchen labels here, too! I'm labeling a gallon jar of cloth-diaper detergent and including a list of ingredients and measurements, and how to run a load of diapers! These stickers can go on jars, bins in the craft room, boxes of office supplies, baby bottles, kids' drawers, storage tubs. There are <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/87799046/24-curly-q-mustache-wedding-chalkboard?ref=sr_gallery_14&ga_search_query=lets+talk+chalk&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_ref=auto2&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">fake mustaches</a> for party humor, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/114136951/chalkboard-tees-are-a-fun-unique-way-to?ref=sr_gallery_7&ga_search_query=lets+talk+chalk&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_ref=auto2&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">t-shirts with chalk labels</a> you can erase and rewrite (I'm the birthday girl! Welcome Home Daddy! Baby Due in Three Weeks!), a <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/76886205/vinyl-chalkboard-decal-12-x-24-by-lets?ref=sr_gallery_8&ga_search_query=lets+talk+chalk&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_ref=auto2&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">large chalkboard decal</a> for the fridge or pantry (grocery list? The contents of your chest freezer? Homeschool schedule for the day? Days left in Daddy's deployment?), <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/101885006/chalkboard-labels-2-set-of-24-oval-by?ref=sr_gallery_29&ga_search_query=lets+talk+chalk&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_ref=auto2&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">simple round labels</a> for just about anything under the sun, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/118554815/silver-chalkboard-wine-charms?ref=sr_gallery_13&ga_search_query=lets+talk+chalk&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">chalkboard wine charms</a> (these work great on coffee mugs with a handle, too - so no more losing your hot cocoa on Christmas Eve!) ... and <i>so much more!!!</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img1.etsystatic.com/011/0/6393746/il_fullxfull.419053221_1flz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://img1.etsystatic.com/011/0/6393746/il_fullxfull.419053221_1flz.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/121321708/vinyl-chalkboard-ticket-shape-labels-35?ref=sr_gallery_20&ga_search_query=lets+talk+chalk&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">The most beautiful gift tag of all?</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img3.etsystatic.com/000/0/6393746/il_fullxfull.332371863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="http://img3.etsystatic.com/000/0/6393746/il_fullxfull.332371863.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/98116561/large-elegant-vinyl-chalkboard-lisa?ref=sr_gallery_23&ga_search_query=lets+talk+chalk&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">A wide decal perfect for the fridge,</a> bathroom mirror, the front of Mom's notebook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/6393746/il_fullxfull.270765908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/6393746/il_fullxfull.270765908.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/90313482/chalkboard-labels-small-vinyl-scalloped?ref=sr_gallery_24&ga_search_query=lets+talk+chalk&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">Petite labels for spices</a>, jars of homemade toothpaste, containers of erasers...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img0.etsystatic.com/007/0/6393746/il_fullxfull.375863708_8cdg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://img0.etsystatic.com/007/0/6393746/il_fullxfull.375863708_8cdg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/109644872/12-diy-heart-wedding-chalkboard-vinyl?ref=sr_gallery_21&ga_search_query=lets+talk+chalk&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">Adorable labels for glasses at a party</a>, jugs of variously flavored kefir, Tupperware tubs of leftovers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.etsystatic.com/010/0/6393746/il_fullxfull.418679458_l5ay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="393" src="http://img2.etsystatic.com/010/0/6393746/il_fullxfull.418679458_l5ay.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/121220482/vinyl-chalkboard-calendar-monthly-decal?ref=sr_gallery_34&ga_search_query=lets+talk+chalk&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">A large calendar that you can update</a>, erase, change, and never need to replace!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
How else could you use mini chalkboards and labels? Signs at a farm stand?<br />
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Keeping score during a game when the original sheets run out (or for those of us who shop for games at the thrift store!)? <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmh1wPTraSECeUHgkbTIWTXQMZZamaHrzFG6X10GiQZioDdMvs-gsvjIsSRjq7c2MQDBvX2ZCmmJMjAhp6EvQOphwjrImbhKAZnDd3Mg1TH70_KIGLVIVkFzxfRFpUJzSRkPRMT_2qHkB/s1600/IMG_20130123_092153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmh1wPTraSECeUHgkbTIWTXQMZZamaHrzFG6X10GiQZioDdMvs-gsvjIsSRjq7c2MQDBvX2ZCmmJMjAhp6EvQOphwjrImbhKAZnDd3Mg1TH70_KIGLVIVkFzxfRFpUJzSRkPRMT_2qHkB/s400/IMG_20130123_092153.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Signage to direct guests at a wedding, label the gift table, placecards or Reserved for Family signs? I don't think there is any limit to the uses! <br />
<br />
These chalk labels are of superb quality and are delivered to you from a family store - supporting a small, wholesome business while making your house efficient and adorable? I think this is a double win! <br />
<br />
But it's even cooler than that. They want to host a giveaway <b>for you! </b> This giveaway is extra-awesome because instead of me choosing what you would like for your giveaway, you'll simply <b>go to her online store and choose $25 worth of product! </b> After a winner is chosen by <a href="http://www.random.org/" target="_blank">random selection</a>, I'll send you a message and connect you with Pattie at Let's Talk Chalk! to place your order. (Of course, if you decide you need more than $25 worth, just place your order and she'll give you a $25 discount off the total.) <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Enter the giveaway! </b></div>
<b><br /></b>
1. <b>Visit the Let's Talk Chalk! <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LetsTalkChalk" target="_blank">Facebook</a> or <a href="http://pinterest.com/gopattie/let-s-talk-chalk/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> site and follow one or the other (or both). </b>They post beautiful and clever ideas on their Facebook and Pinterest sites, and you'll be inspired! <br />
<br />
2. <b>What would you use your chalk labels for? </b>Leave a <b>comment </b>below with your idea or creative use, and be sure to use a <b>current email</b> when you do so - I'll be using that e-mail to contact you when you win, so it should be one you check! <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The contest will <b>end February 27th, 2013 at midnight EST!</b> </div>
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Labeling away,<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
Pin us at <a href="http://pinterest.com/dotalanecdotes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for pretty photos and intriguing articles<br />
Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-8593509461085948452013-02-19T05:02:00.000-08:002014-07-22T03:55:57.341-07:00Refreshing Carbonation: Ginger-Lemon Effervescence<div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks for reading this post, I'm so excited to visit with you! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
After you've gleaned all the good information you need, visit our new blog platform at <a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/">www.farmandhearth.com</a> to read even more fascinating tidbits from the kitchen and the fields. </div>
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Dear Lentils,<br />
<br />
Did you choose to give something up for <a href="http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=4841001&ct=3334445" target="_blank">Lent</a>? Perhaps you, like many others, chose sugar as your sacrifice of choice. <br />
<br />
Or perhaps you just don't want refined, processed sugars in your diet - <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/less-sugar-no-sugar-nursing-your-sweet.html" target="_blank">we're all the better for that</a>!<br />
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I chose to give up sugar for Lent, the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter, although it wasn't really with a spiritual intent in mind (while we're being honest here!). In truth, it seemed like a great excuse to talk myself into giving up the granules for forty days. <br />
<br />
It's not so hard for me - virtually every food we buy is between one and three ingredients anyway, so it's easy to check foods as they come in the door; and we hardly incorporate sugar in our regular diet at this point, so I just wanted to see how I felt if I really ensured sugar truly didn't go past my lips for all of forty days - even though it meant freezing the beautiful, fat, gorgeous heart-shaped peanut butter cookies my dear friend made me for Valentine's Day!!! <br />
<br />
The following recipe is a refreshing - and detoxifying - drink that you might enjoy in place of sodas or sweetened drinks. I'm sure we all know the evils of soda here, but I myself love carbonation so I'm always eager to find new (and cheap) ways to enjoy seltzer! We came up with this on a perfectly sunny morning when we were hungry for something cool and fizzy, but not the dead sugars that usually accompany such drinks. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQRT0_nDG_ifY9XaCrRTym1HBrUgz5YwbQ5U2O2MRkHrd1oNBZJR5ArJEDHJJeiv2tRcEvc4hlOHgbutXN0s6Z5WUxvbWJ04uUqbokM5dl17r5pda3tb-rXQLBuIl7y2Cnj-2P8CcnuKy/s1600/IMG_20130405_165454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQRT0_nDG_ifY9XaCrRTym1HBrUgz5YwbQ5U2O2MRkHrd1oNBZJR5ArJEDHJJeiv2tRcEvc4hlOHgbutXN0s6Z5WUxvbWJ04uUqbokM5dl17r5pda3tb-rXQLBuIl7y2Cnj-2P8CcnuKy/s400/IMG_20130405_165454.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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This drink is even more fun, because it has health benefits! Raw ginger <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/504737-how-much-raw-ginger-can-you-eat/" target="_blank">is said</a> to contain anti-inflammatory phenols, as well as an anti-inflammatory enzyme called zingibain. Raw ginger also aids in fighting rhinoviruses that lead to cold and flu, and can help relieve the cold or flu if you've already contracted it; it can help with coughs, constipation, indigestion, menstrual cramps, laryngitis and sore throats. Or do you suffer from motion sickness? Research has found that ginger works just as well as motion sickness drugs. <br />
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The carbonation may help soothe pregnancy hiccups (it did for me!) and the ginger can help calm a queasy stomach during morning sickness. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXo6u6g-zh_oji1Btdt8wLUXMNVcmjwP-gs_Dl3U0XDGXrznFgZe0M8mf5NkI3H28w_NXEdC_lMCFli2J59WcYoKiyPxC_SPXYO9qV6vN-3dox1dnTgGNmftPxSKCedhE5CXKAQuwWutx/s1600/IMG_20130215_193149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXo6u6g-zh_oji1Btdt8wLUXMNVcmjwP-gs_Dl3U0XDGXrznFgZe0M8mf5NkI3H28w_NXEdC_lMCFli2J59WcYoKiyPxC_SPXYO9qV6vN-3dox1dnTgGNmftPxSKCedhE5CXKAQuwWutx/s400/IMG_20130215_193149.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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My husband enjoys carbonated drinks as much as I do, and he was enjoying this sparkly beverage when I mentioned there was no sugar in it. "Really?!" he said. <br />
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I got the same response from my friend - who <i>loves</i> sweets, and generally asks me to add a little sugar to the drinks I make. "No sugar!?" she said. She also gave up sugar for Lent, and is enjoying herself immensely!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifBTrf4Q43uONHN9JdN5KW4WpPnTjwLhXVFY0Vkx3wjKwxL5anIm-9fE9wY3grsMcTvvDsInIXRaf_dYWy1z8JfTtZM5VsPJHDADyqW0BlDpcPwFMVnwLmTexUMppV7d9NY0cfJoTgfgn6/s1600/IMG_20130215_193346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifBTrf4Q43uONHN9JdN5KW4WpPnTjwLhXVFY0Vkx3wjKwxL5anIm-9fE9wY3grsMcTvvDsInIXRaf_dYWy1z8JfTtZM5VsPJHDADyqW0BlDpcPwFMVnwLmTexUMppV7d9NY0cfJoTgfgn6/s400/IMG_20130215_193346.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A home carbonator makes this easy!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EoO8TqAbz3w0xhyphenhyphenztLlI5_rMxsNK7zvcn3B5doFgBl6t4ng9R8u3hHYnkOddVV2iRhrfTTPz3jkkjsMBtRtTLe399yk8qfrUzip5YdP7URDOpRhoSFje5nZ9MGniv6nq_YNX5fjuXrEs/s1600/IMG_20130215_193449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EoO8TqAbz3w0xhyphenhyphenztLlI5_rMxsNK7zvcn3B5doFgBl6t4ng9R8u3hHYnkOddVV2iRhrfTTPz3jkkjsMBtRtTLe399yk8qfrUzip5YdP7URDOpRhoSFje5nZ9MGniv6nq_YNX5fjuXrEs/s400/IMG_20130215_193449.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsa9aM9lufv2qkDpOi_5BUIj9954LDLtFsOc1MLdxbfWm9ByICgl0fXAMMEfmWqLp4-7NPSnCnyAHovX5rOnw6P5snFwumcul-KZbyX-Zk1fCL-Z_awpd8pySjSQ8arViC9a2b96KAiNMV/s1600/IMG_20130215_193540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsa9aM9lufv2qkDpOi_5BUIj9954LDLtFsOc1MLdxbfWm9ByICgl0fXAMMEfmWqLp4-7NPSnCnyAHovX5rOnw6P5snFwumcul-KZbyX-Zk1fCL-Z_awpd8pySjSQ8arViC9a2b96KAiNMV/s400/IMG_20130215_193540.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can strain it all at once, or make individual servings. </td></tr>
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<b>Ginger-Lemon Effervescence</b><br />
<i>Using lemon juice not from concentrate will make a visible difference in your drink: it's a little thicker, darker and more potent. However, you can use any other lemon juice, or fresh-squeeze it yourself. To serve, either carbonate the water yourself with a home carbonator, or use mineral water, club soda or seltzer. Tonic water, which is not the same as club soda, has quinine dissolved in it which may not be what you want. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Two knobs ginger root, peeled<br />
12 ounces organic lemon juice, preferably not from concentrate<br />
Optional: 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon lime juice<br />
Optional: Generous pinch of lemon zest for extra punch<br />
Carbonated water<br />
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Shred the ginger on a lemon zester or another fine grater. Scrape and pour all ingredients into a pint jar, cap it, and shake well. (<i>Maybe <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/66-awesome-things-to-do-with-Vitamix.html" target="_blank">pulsing it in the Vitamix</a> on high would extra-blend the flavors?</i>)<br />
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Let sit overnight or for 24 hours, or use immediately if you just can't wait.<br />
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<b>To use</b>: Pour liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. I reserve the shredded ginger and use it again - this is up to you. Bottle or re-jar the strained liquid. Add approximately a tablespoon of the ginger-lemon concentrate to 20 ounces of water, or to taste. <br />
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<b>Continuous serve</b>: Strain individual servings one at a time as desired, and keep topping off the jar with lemon juice as you go. The ginger will go quite a distance, although the strength of flavor will be up to you. <br />
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<b>Note</b>: It's hard on your teeth to sip acidic, lemony drinks all day, so make sure you clean your teeth after enjoying this drink! <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SKHQS4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002SKHQS4&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20">(This is the Sodastream we use)</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002SKHQS4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <i>(affiliate link)</i><br />
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Take the bubbly to the park, to work, on the road or just have a few bottles available for quick drinking - I use old glass bottles to mix up a few ready-to-go drinks, and store them in the fridge! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQxLz6dAOQmE-8SoScIo9OATBxgbkrWFl0Qdk3LW_s2h7A_52ERbBmOupx1YEP8wOH9TpHMkPgQARwGO8JuCGu0xHeMODScppL8UxbGtsB_sBHfHWqabDY7Y_EGqf-qT3xY-TAlGm6eFp/s1600/IMG_20130217_170542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQxLz6dAOQmE-8SoScIo9OATBxgbkrWFl0Qdk3LW_s2h7A_52ERbBmOupx1YEP8wOH9TpHMkPgQARwGO8JuCGu0xHeMODScppL8UxbGtsB_sBHfHWqabDY7Y_EGqf-qT3xY-TAlGm6eFp/s400/IMG_20130217_170542.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%209:17&version=NIV" target="_blank">New wine in old skins?</a> </td></tr>
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Effervescing,<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
Pin us at <a href="http://pinterest.com/dotalanecdotes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for pretty photos and intriguing articles<br />
Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-34117500492675398452013-02-15T10:37:00.000-08:002013-02-15T17:18:03.348-08:00Writing Letters - An Art, A Pastime, Our HistoryDear reader and writer,<br />
<br />
E-mail, Facebook, and of course online blogging are great outlets for much of our interpersonal connections. Living several thousand miles away from my family, and with dear friends dotted all over the globe, I love having social media to keep in contact with people whom I might not otherwise hear from for a very, very long time! <br />
<br />
There is still value in handwritten letters, though; they were once a record of the times, as we now read entire books comprised of letters Mark Twain or Louisa May Alcott wrote, and are fascinated by the quotidian events of their now historic lives. <br />
<br />
This <a href="http://inshortstories.blogspot.com/2012/11/monday-munch-this-is-gonna-cost-you.html" target="_blank">writing prompt from our short stories blog</a> (which is in temporary hibernation due to extenuating circumstances!), encouraged readers and writers and desiring-to-be-authors to pick up the pen (the literal pen), and compose a handwritten letter to somebody. <br />
<br />
And mail it.<br />
<br />
I love mailing letters! I write several every week, including thank-you notes for gifts and kind gestures people have made for our family, as well as chatty missives to my grandma, friends and family members. Sometimes we includes jokes, humorous pictures or games from magazines, recipes, family photos or anything else we can stuff in. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdt_WI-iNJvcv46XreMYWbGlD57Y3YVov7VG5Q3QyhZ7drNfTgYFOClt_5AnHI5PA0hWkrE5TBYVAskVfe3ad6hNsOH2fcl-C_9X0dQYO09C9NfNjdYlVWsBt1AGPfiS7wQ4hxDHYFDblU/s1600/IMG_20130211_132911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdt_WI-iNJvcv46XreMYWbGlD57Y3YVov7VG5Q3QyhZ7drNfTgYFOClt_5AnHI5PA0hWkrE5TBYVAskVfe3ad6hNsOH2fcl-C_9X0dQYO09C9NfNjdYlVWsBt1AGPfiS7wQ4hxDHYFDblU/s400/IMG_20130211_132911.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stationery and cards live in a small box on my dresser - they used to be in a boring<br />
box, until my mom-in-law gave me a set of cards and envelopes in this pretty one! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyhRWDuwHgHY6G1YluFDol7JOYWiZIMCQ5rG5-SWs3YwicXQIrJOjsn6Wo3-oNBXVCusqKABaPOYzTb7atKc6_L5N97HGgy7o3nA7J6bzALFGRyOTzNzcVCm83eQhQMnrPAcZiBOtRhJc0/s1600/IMG_20130211_132907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyhRWDuwHgHY6G1YluFDol7JOYWiZIMCQ5rG5-SWs3YwicXQIrJOjsn6Wo3-oNBXVCusqKABaPOYzTb7atKc6_L5N97HGgy7o3nA7J6bzALFGRyOTzNzcVCm83eQhQMnrPAcZiBOtRhJc0/s400/IMG_20130211_132907.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dresser is convenient: I can write brief letters after the baby lays down for<br />
a nap, or write longer ones in the chair and then quickly address and stamp them here</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwECVdKd2i2fNI8qfVlTE9nxWOhw61ymd-RrpfkY9UAAjcYFfyQI-u27HITvRnR5pa2UpghtQXcFPLrf86Ksvra38lBAlPlsIAHlttTOdgCVpe5hgiMixOzaXMlI_nXto1AsmTOQW4LHm7/s1600/IMG_20130211_133016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwECVdKd2i2fNI8qfVlTE9nxWOhw61ymd-RrpfkY9UAAjcYFfyQI-u27HITvRnR5pa2UpghtQXcFPLrf86Ksvra38lBAlPlsIAHlttTOdgCVpe5hgiMixOzaXMlI_nXto1AsmTOQW4LHm7/s400/IMG_20130211_133016.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the back, I have an old address book, and an envelope of necessaries!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PMiItIwtjUYtDWRMFxw1VYbqyAbpG7QDia0bWIK8WrP3fcMsnYk0dtwH3n_YBBbruZFb9SK61QvZtTO5Ij3a8A-8l93ZHRlrDXo813AVwV6oehvyqoLjuOgoK80ci52_t7oik1_nByde/s1600/IMG_20130211_133006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PMiItIwtjUYtDWRMFxw1VYbqyAbpG7QDia0bWIK8WrP3fcMsnYk0dtwH3n_YBBbruZFb9SK61QvZtTO5Ij3a8A-8l93ZHRlrDXo813AVwV6oehvyqoLjuOgoK80ci52_t7oik1_nByde/s400/IMG_20130211_133006.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The address book was from an old house, built in the 1930s in Coronado, CA <br />
and belonging to the original owners until I visited at the estate sale in 2011. <br />
This address book was still empty, and I knew I would need it. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgED03yZt7-wtkH3MmoVTQ7PmUJBDxWuwsePprYDVX7Zkj2lauepw-VzMtM_iBxNeWwT0eqrF6xpBTIlRzxhmV__3HgzycTSgYuR5ZgneY298BdRyZGiUz77wuVhxMeSgIb7GovTXfcaIZe/s1600/IMG_20130211_132936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgED03yZt7-wtkH3MmoVTQ7PmUJBDxWuwsePprYDVX7Zkj2lauepw-VzMtM_iBxNeWwT0eqrF6xpBTIlRzxhmV__3HgzycTSgYuR5ZgneY298BdRyZGiUz77wuVhxMeSgIb7GovTXfcaIZe/s400/IMG_20130211_132936.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This envelope holds various stamps (I use the simple ones for business transactions,<br />
and the cute ones - most of them supplied by my mom-in-law! - for personal letters).<br />
It also holds stickers for sealing envelopes, and address labels. The address<br />
labels were free, thanks to some various charitable organizations that somehow<br />
obtained our name and address. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2J_aT4s066WtMzYfT6wahO4qHZwccw0MLR0d5_tUQu-U7N_xhKfzXn685GNQdOyoJgWizliFURJ_igBb8zGlyK72EEIk3hj0_4GJ7P-h0Rm70pcrbBoQb9e1L9et15DQ1S1wWxVhUOwG/s1600/IMG_20130211_132925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2J_aT4s066WtMzYfT6wahO4qHZwccw0MLR0d5_tUQu-U7N_xhKfzXn685GNQdOyoJgWizliFURJ_igBb8zGlyK72EEIk3hj0_4GJ7P-h0Rm70pcrbBoQb9e1L9et15DQ1S1wWxVhUOwG/s400/IMG_20130211_132925.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Letters waiting for a reply are stuck in the front of the box, a little sideways, so<br />
I can see them until I make the time to sit down and reply! </td></tr>
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I love this truly personal interaction! It's such a thrill to get a letter or package in the mail - I settle down with the baby on my lap and we tear it open and enjoy it fully. Every single one is so special and so interesting. I am interested in the choices people make in stamps, and stationery, and pens, and how they write things and even how their script looks! You can learn a lot about a person from a letter that you can't pick up from a typed message online. <br />
<br />
When my husband was in boot camp, and over the course of some of his Navy deployments, letter-writing has been our primary source of contact. Perhaps it hardly needs saying that I have treasured and saved those tender notes, and will reread them many times over the years. They are precious symbols of our love that can be shared with future generations (well ... some of them!), and they contain so much about our daily lives that seems inane now but is of increasing interest as time goes by. <br />
<br />
Do you wish you had letters from your childhood? I know I do! When is the last time you wrote a letter? Who would you like to write a letter to today?<br />
<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
Pin us at <a href="http://pinterest.com/dotalanecdotes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for pretty photos and intriguing articles<br />
Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-53247934665271500042013-02-12T06:33:00.000-08:002014-07-22T03:56:07.639-07:00Lacto-Fermented Sauerkraut: What it is, and why we need it<div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks for reading this post, I'm so excited to visit with you! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
After you've gleaned all the good information you need, visit our new blog platform at <a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/">www.farmandhearth.com</a> to read even more fascinating tidbits from the kitchen and the fields. </div>
<br />
Dear fellow krauts,<br />
<br />
I love sauerkraut! You'll probably be hearing more about it soon as I tell you about our recent 400 lb cabbage harvest over at the farm, but for now, let's talk about kraut! <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNSL9iVwhk1z0iGigEo4gUUNcanEHUfQLXjrDPJqqJYjujEwhUuHjJn8vesHLYQXveFys4xsVapOC1GKM5z4RyL5nyNFv1aGltORU-QwUTNI3Wq4AUKsmMArABd0-YzfU_fQ_vooq2QDY7/s1600/IMG_20130203_154350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNSL9iVwhk1z0iGigEo4gUUNcanEHUfQLXjrDPJqqJYjujEwhUuHjJn8vesHLYQXveFys4xsVapOC1GKM5z4RyL5nyNFv1aGltORU-QwUTNI3Wq4AUKsmMArABd0-YzfU_fQ_vooq2QDY7/s320/IMG_20130203_154350.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>What is sauerkraut?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i><a href="http://inmybox.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/sauerkraut_crock.jpg" target="_blank">Sauerkraut</a></i> is German for “sour cabbage,” which is exactly what sauerkraut is. It is also known by its French name, <i>choucroute.</i> It is simply lacto-fermented cabbage with a little salt added, to aid in the fermenting process. </div>
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<b>Why eat sauerkraut?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Traditional and ancient methods of food preparation often involved fermentation, as freezers and refrigerators for long-term storage didn’t arrive on the scene until recently. Fermented foods were even considered sacred in some cultures, and revered for their healing properties. Sauerkraut, while not only being a delicious and hearty food, is a source of lactic acid bacteria, all of which help to promote a healthy gut and good digestion by providing microorganisms that our bodies need to survive. </div>
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<b>Why eat <i>raw </i>sauerkraut?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Raw sauerkraut is packed with beneficial bacteria and microorganisms, most of which are killed off during high-heat processing or pasteurization.</div>
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<b>Why not conventional sauerkraut?</b></div>
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Sauerkraut knock-offs can be found cheaply in many grocery stores because manufacturers skipped the lengthy fermentation process, and simply mixed in vinegar to provide the tangy flavor that is distinctive in fermented foods. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRUrw5_zTTcYE4ywif3LOlfInp38_LNg9fXwx1f9LAocPdtz0MK4h_QpYzeeOoRhQzvc3xeTigSsXUZC8VK03HUSHzRlNsfbPu1JYcBfkryqkk-_gh-3jinUavHyzIUp17RM2JIlCV7Xf/s1600/IMG_20130124_181545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRUrw5_zTTcYE4ywif3LOlfInp38_LNg9fXwx1f9LAocPdtz0MK4h_QpYzeeOoRhQzvc3xeTigSsXUZC8VK03HUSHzRlNsfbPu1JYcBfkryqkk-_gh-3jinUavHyzIUp17RM2JIlCV7Xf/s400/IMG_20130124_181545.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<b>How is sauerkraut made?</b></div>
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Cabbage is washed, chopped (<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/66-awesome-things-to-do-with-Vitamix.html" target="_blank">you can chop it in the Vitamix!</a>) to the desired texture and then mixed with the perfect proportion of hand-harvested, mineral-rich non-iodized sea salt: 5 pounds of cabbage to three tablespoons salt has been my salty sweet spot for fermentation. Too much salt, and the cabbage won’t ferment properly; too little salt, and it will simply rot in the crocks! It is packed, smashed and pressed down into special fermenting crocks, then weighted down to extract, over the period of days or weeks, the salty brine. As the kraut is slowly pressed beneath the weight, it bubbles, ferments, and develops the beautiful array of bacteria and the familiar, heady sour flavor and aroma. You can leave it in the crocks for some months (watch for mold or bloom on the surface, skim it off, and wash the plate before returning to the kraut), or transfer it into jars in your fridge. Because every natural fermentation is different, kraut will continue to ripen for months in your refrigerator, and the flavor will evolve and may vary from jar to jar.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkPrLp7yxMD0VW5J-gK7yEK3WTepqrZ_OrbH4drhdnScfr_zCzP5o3OgF_c8LoyHiUziEuyOJ45AmFAqi2udZai_PFH4hk6xGR0yeqSU3dhB6jdd-xm5mwMVFwvorm08ZX4Dl0RL1zAKN/s1600/IMG_20130124_191247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkPrLp7yxMD0VW5J-gK7yEK3WTepqrZ_OrbH4drhdnScfr_zCzP5o3OgF_c8LoyHiUziEuyOJ45AmFAqi2udZai_PFH4hk6xGR0yeqSU3dhB6jdd-xm5mwMVFwvorm08ZX4Dl0RL1zAKN/s400/IMG_20130124_191247.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This crock is half-full, and the jars filled with water are pressing the brine from the cabbage</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg585gjofq_psDX028h1Ddkw9M-Mwh7FyBJmuM7ljpBkAGAYd1PoXm-ySHqmsbLHS1tt5tQ18JkX03p-s-mjqBWRUNS1YSJMLJFbwKzWm-4JDEKc5m04MwmXW9vFWY5KEJhFd2mqrzJKl0U/s1600/IMG_20130124_191241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg585gjofq_psDX028h1Ddkw9M-Mwh7FyBJmuM7ljpBkAGAYd1PoXm-ySHqmsbLHS1tt5tQ18JkX03p-s-mjqBWRUNS1YSJMLJFbwKzWm-4JDEKc5m04MwmXW9vFWY5KEJhFd2mqrzJKl0U/s400/IMG_20130124_191241.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The two smaller crocks hold five gallons each; the large crock is ten.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEh1Hcpge5zaorGYS8NTCfhD6Cmxcb7TM4fIFudpQU5g3vziYvygnOhqNXbCHW7pix5OJYCS4Fwqw2DMLexMhWwssPWWeVwb7rm0Bodyh9nd29U_ZwZ0NdXkzgtoaxe-AMNIJrdZcDgJo9/s1600/IMG_20130127_142424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEh1Hcpge5zaorGYS8NTCfhD6Cmxcb7TM4fIFudpQU5g3vziYvygnOhqNXbCHW7pix5OJYCS4Fwqw2DMLexMhWwssPWWeVwb7rm0Bodyh9nd29U_ZwZ0NdXkzgtoaxe-AMNIJrdZcDgJo9/s400/IMG_20130127_142424.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cloth keeps dust, bugs and foreign objects from falling into the brine!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Nourished Kitchen </b>has a beautifully photographed <a href="http://nourishedkitchen.com/homemade-sauerkraut/" target="_blank">article on preparing kraut at home</a>, so I won't reinvent the wheel by going into too much detail. I love Jenny's brilliant blog (and she's writing a cookbook, folks!) and I know you'll enjoy visiting her kitchen, too. <br />
<br />
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<b>How do I eat it?</b></div>
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You can eat it plain as a side
dish, or layer it in sandwiches, <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Reuben-Sandwich-231677" target="_blank">Reubens</a>, burgers and dogs. <i><a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/choucroute-garnie.html" target="_blank">Choucroute garnie</a></i> is a French method of preparation, where the kraut is served with
sausages or other salted meats such as bacon and other charcuterie, and often
cooked potatoes as well. Traditional
recipes like <a href="http://www.tasty-german-recipe.com/Spaetzle-recipe.html" target="_blank">German spaetzle</a>, <a href="http://allrecipes.com/video/2957/pierogi-polish-dumplings/detail.aspx?e11=sauerkraut&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&event8=1&prop24=SR_Showcase&e13=B%3aSearch%20Results-Grid%28test%29&e7=Home%20Page" target="_blank">pierogies</a>, sauerkraut soups, casseroles, slow-cooker
recipes, slaws, and more all feature sauerkraut. Salted, raw ‘kraut is vegan,
gluten-free, GAPS, Paleo/Primal-approved, and of course sugar-free! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>How long does a jar last?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Properly fermented cabbage can
last for months in your fridge, said to reach the peak of flavor and fullness
at six months, and in some cases it will last for years in a cool, refrigerated
area. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Can I can kraut? </b></div>
You can, although processing kraut will kill many of the beneficial bacteria. However, if (for instance) you suddenly had to move cross country and wanted to bring your gallons of kraut with you, but didn't think it would survive the trip, you could can it all and just enjoy it for the flavor and, yes, there would still be some nutrition. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>To can kraut: </b></div>
Bring sauerkraut to a simmer (minimum of 185 deg. F). Do not boil. Pack hot cabbage into clean, hot jars. Leave 1/2" headspace. Bubble and cap. Process pints 15 minutes, quarts 20 minutes, in boiling water bath (<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-food-hoarders-twelve-steps-how-to.html" target="_blank">see basic canning instructions here</a>).<br />
<b><br /></b>
Sauering nutritiously,<br />
<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
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Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-2646234372532800322013-02-11T04:39:00.000-08:002014-07-23T04:14:00.002-07:0066 Awesome Things to Do With Your Vitamix (and the tools you may be spared)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Thanks for reading this post, I'm so excited to visit with you! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
After you've gleaned all the good information you need, visit our new blog platform at <a href="http://www.farmandhearth.com/">www.farmandhearth.com</a> to read even more fascinating tidbits from the kitchen and the fields. </div>
<br />
Dear kitchen fiends,</div>
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<br /></div>
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I'm not embarrassed to say I <i>love</i> my Vitamix. I've been yearning for one for years, and it was the fulfillment of many hours of longing when my husband <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/10/vitamix-inaugural-use-long-awaited.html" target="_blank">bought me one as a gift!</a> It now graces my counter where it is used daily, usually several times a day. Based on this expert evaluation, I added it to my list of the <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/holiday-2012-25-best-kitchen-gifts-for.html" target="_blank">25 best gifts for an urban homesteader</a> last Christmas!</div>
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As I was flipping through my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GHW6FO/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000GHW6FO&linkCode=as2&tag=dotallifeasaw-20" target="_blank">vintage Versatile Vita-Mix cookbook</a> (this is the one we had growing up ... I <i>had to have it </i>and found a used copy online), I thought it would be fun to compile a list of things one can do with a Vitamix, and even a list of tools the Vitamix could replace in the kitchen.</div>
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The Vitamix has a two-horsepower engine, and the blades travel at a speed of 400 revolutions <i>per second</i>. This means that food in the blender, being hit with the four blades, is chopped 1600 times per second! This power means things that normally can't be done in a regular blender - freezing ice cream, cooking soup, grinding flour - can be done with ease in a Vitamix (although if you run it too hard, you <i>can</i> overheat the engine, which will automatically shut off until it cools down. This happens sometimes when I puree very dense nut mixtures).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
This is not a comprehensive list of tasks; these are just the ones I could think of. Vitamix is not paying me, advocating for me or suggesting that I do this; in fact, they don't even know I'm doing it. I just love this tool, and think everybody should hear about it!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHiQWpZgwQWV73cV3ErNm0aYTJAbytTGDFSKA8wn1_LZbulr8rUlU-M3X3WU0cZILRjHbxS72pNps_pArp9QfJ9U0v_EHNdgphCSSNBwIsbBmHyTeLp0YrO8uqQOrlN-Mcu8s4FPEpTbd/s1600/IMG_20130211_071554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHiQWpZgwQWV73cV3ErNm0aYTJAbytTGDFSKA8wn1_LZbulr8rUlU-M3X3WU0cZILRjHbxS72pNps_pArp9QfJ9U0v_EHNdgphCSSNBwIsbBmHyTeLp0YrO8uqQOrlN-Mcu8s4FPEpTbd/s400/IMG_20130211_071554.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Self-washing Vitamix; then drop in the tamper, and wash that at the same time!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-XT5PT0jTqCaJh8Z8YIo0cERJVDPFtSZ2kCS5GgKF9a23r5rqxANkkcLbydzXKNDtmBahI-MsGhI1n4jHSWc0Z-I9gtyZv9Y5HKFxLOJexyPKn0nLMDEEjjqxz2Iygb9_4kN58t81-Ds/s1600/IMG_20130211_070934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-XT5PT0jTqCaJh8Z8YIo0cERJVDPFtSZ2kCS5GgKF9a23r5rqxANkkcLbydzXKNDtmBahI-MsGhI1n4jHSWc0Z-I9gtyZv9Y5HKFxLOJexyPKn0nLMDEEjjqxz2Iygb9_4kN58t81-Ds/s400/IMG_20130211_070934.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whipping up a batch of banana bread </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcyfSBWEzC4v1kzBwSDIXND4q1OlotsKFVDachk1CMKbFoiojJ38Nmjic54nzKNh-qtTR3wKOZxTHE2VQ7b_3_UGvJQO6nmZy3SB_nzWk1dbVhV7WfKxDda7mWJfIcODHxJqoMnI7R3-t/s1600/IMG_20130126_121501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcyfSBWEzC4v1kzBwSDIXND4q1OlotsKFVDachk1CMKbFoiojJ38Nmjic54nzKNh-qtTR3wKOZxTHE2VQ7b_3_UGvJQO6nmZy3SB_nzWk1dbVhV7WfKxDda7mWJfIcODHxJqoMnI7R3-t/s400/IMG_20130126_121501.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh mayonnaise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJ30-wJrlQ1QGsAvQCYmLF0TJKxR6K6QDgGvc-EnLyNqE3vo9i6eIZz_nPtULWgrIHMG8qyM0RduLyl0rP-Xpy3RKfanwwD1at0UspAIQS79pX-sBiSUfvx2DDzNAUbRxSnIqICLr5_ic/s1600/IMG_20130126_121235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJ30-wJrlQ1QGsAvQCYmLF0TJKxR6K6QDgGvc-EnLyNqE3vo9i6eIZz_nPtULWgrIHMG8qyM0RduLyl0rP-Xpy3RKfanwwD1at0UspAIQS79pX-sBiSUfvx2DDzNAUbRxSnIqICLr5_ic/s400/IMG_20130126_121235.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nut Milk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkGijuYna0dTySIrhffBaWv7CSVz1EUXmzN_QvegfR5FLDZO_o7HxZfHtjOZBvST9_7f_H3b6MnIS2bTuxcYDWzjvpyGmNv1p_Cf-xuNUAnPCrpbfUL0Ufq72eJrV1_SisTcdEKoV7BIN/s1600/IMG_20130116_174206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkGijuYna0dTySIrhffBaWv7CSVz1EUXmzN_QvegfR5FLDZO_o7HxZfHtjOZBvST9_7f_H3b6MnIS2bTuxcYDWzjvpyGmNv1p_Cf-xuNUAnPCrpbfUL0Ufq72eJrV1_SisTcdEKoV7BIN/s400/IMG_20130116_174206.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pureeing pumpkin for pie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCimUBdFdcBg3kOHe0L_HZISizWFNr3m6J43JoKu_1-aT_rPWFty7CTLQUgglKCT_DEaT9Y9AR_Ou1DfddFZt1CZeHmlLwSofbsAaq1qITFJ-KVGETR8jP-ieMREft3UGHoZcYhsTw8Bd/s1600/IMG_20130108_172216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCimUBdFdcBg3kOHe0L_HZISizWFNr3m6J43JoKu_1-aT_rPWFty7CTLQUgglKCT_DEaT9Y9AR_Ou1DfddFZt1CZeHmlLwSofbsAaq1qITFJ-KVGETR8jP-ieMREft3UGHoZcYhsTw8Bd/s400/IMG_20130108_172216.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chopped cabbage for slaw</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dlm9yJ5bq-SNHXJ7gxf7gYMI_3CMlOrjjRcCPmHI9_Jioz2kYkppmA12auXS3j0K4FCdtyPaSBBuozIKftp6YbLqwhgxFJ8eI5GA8cBoDxpBDBP61SbNxsI6OAgf6DT8knelsBb-iR_N/s1600/IMG_20130106_115513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dlm9yJ5bq-SNHXJ7gxf7gYMI_3CMlOrjjRcCPmHI9_Jioz2kYkppmA12auXS3j0K4FCdtyPaSBBuozIKftp6YbLqwhgxFJ8eI5GA8cBoDxpBDBP61SbNxsI6OAgf6DT8knelsBb-iR_N/s400/IMG_20130106_115513.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berry Freeze</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikg-LVWHvr-j2KApankrCaQYEm1lxR6zKE__yi0D8wEDxpuQWsVFJWVC6dNjp3EPvMMj913A4YD0rIHUnqtVeRsiquX4ZHeq9wXuVIv-WH4Y3dW4Gwbq66PgztBRjJbyHTUkxx1WTjjuW2/s1600/IMG_20121207_122803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikg-LVWHvr-j2KApankrCaQYEm1lxR6zKE__yi0D8wEDxpuQWsVFJWVC6dNjp3EPvMMj913A4YD0rIHUnqtVeRsiquX4ZHeq9wXuVIv-WH4Y3dW4Gwbq66PgztBRjJbyHTUkxx1WTjjuW2/s400/IMG_20121207_122803.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Processing cracker dough</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdgSXSccFdBdDt-J17CkKPfSom0-ffdNjMA0BFQj4BfbLxWpOl45MM5sDKZvCq8bzNhdSsxvUwqPthubG7SdE2BZgJIpvRi8INcbrN8iZGJPTLjVvUSV5DWBuQKOMFoboQnKSj0jCy1QP/s1600/IMG_20121206_083817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdgSXSccFdBdDt-J17CkKPfSom0-ffdNjMA0BFQj4BfbLxWpOl45MM5sDKZvCq8bzNhdSsxvUwqPthubG7SdE2BZgJIpvRi8INcbrN8iZGJPTLjVvUSV5DWBuQKOMFoboQnKSj0jCy1QP/s400/IMG_20121206_083817.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hearty breakfast smoothie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYUd5r51Arq744uLrOiCAVN_9Oom4ichEMzN_FOLEHwduKmWo-4l6Gi1j0u5pgn3UQetibNVn_1KgPmIkN8aF2uqJJKJ8lqtArh8WZFN5w44CDvkKb0PdxGYfg6U2ziByHncyzl0gnmmB/s1600/IMG_20121202_102855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYUd5r51Arq744uLrOiCAVN_9Oom4ichEMzN_FOLEHwduKmWo-4l6Gi1j0u5pgn3UQetibNVn_1KgPmIkN8aF2uqJJKJ8lqtArh8WZFN5w44CDvkKb0PdxGYfg6U2ziByHncyzl0gnmmB/s400/IMG_20121202_102855.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frozen Ice Cream</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJR5aWtiSr7bMbBTMMCCyq9JH3tJhMdL2Rwmvj-u09sf6fMK1yG6iJ8uQ3kfd6OS_ipdzTshLAbcw82YtLqKFX8ucuQCf4qYoJmwSVGAoqgqA3Hn79cmZJqSZjLfhDvXqYs8uuNLtBsVw/s1600/IMG_20121201_133934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJR5aWtiSr7bMbBTMMCCyq9JH3tJhMdL2Rwmvj-u09sf6fMK1yG6iJ8uQ3kfd6OS_ipdzTshLAbcw82YtLqKFX8ucuQCf4qYoJmwSVGAoqgqA3Hn79cmZJqSZjLfhDvXqYs8uuNLtBsVw/s400/IMG_20121201_133934.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooking and pureeing soups</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgptgpUpBpHAlX2NEJuzdlxbUZEBYZUboByvIv_4CKMxlHVL9dHFbwhHS1yrsilmuuivT8yiyT5dWqFjrLQMBqQB2rvDn56OeugqDwNKtWfjWbVmT4BIAueUr_phPRqR3vvEqZ-9RQtmdgH/s1600/IMG_20121129_133604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgptgpUpBpHAlX2NEJuzdlxbUZEBYZUboByvIv_4CKMxlHVL9dHFbwhHS1yrsilmuuivT8yiyT5dWqFjrLQMBqQB2rvDn56OeugqDwNKtWfjWbVmT4BIAueUr_phPRqR3vvEqZ-9RQtmdgH/s400/IMG_20121129_133604.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blending dehydrated peppers into powder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHHhuA1MGX_JFY5DfcI1f4Ts5BlbDvp1DDDmvhDbvDq1XvW9g7aMp1LBe_aNcAPkxTv9SlGzhJMl1-eKGRTnaDBM04Q8UrGH4P1o72bTcgW-9Tl2FBiSMR7EFeM7nCj-YMr9iQub7kkiB/s1600/IMG_20121121_123804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHHhuA1MGX_JFY5DfcI1f4Ts5BlbDvp1DDDmvhDbvDq1XvW9g7aMp1LBe_aNcAPkxTv9SlGzhJMl1-eKGRTnaDBM04Q8UrGH4P1o72bTcgW-9Tl2FBiSMR7EFeM7nCj-YMr9iQub7kkiB/s400/IMG_20121121_123804.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast in a cup</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>66 Awesome Things to Do With Your Vitamix (and the tools you may be spared)</b></div>
<b><br /></b>
1. Churn and freeze ice cream (<b>ice cream churn</b>)<br />
2. Cook milk for yogurt (<b>stove</b>)<br />
3. Make sorbets and sherbets<br />
4. Blend smoothies (<b>weak-sauce blender</b>)<br />
5. Chop carrots and cabbage for slaw, kraut or <i>choucroute </i><b>(mandolin)</b><br />
6. Chop onions for stew <b>(Slap-Chop or a knife and tears)</b><br />
7. Shred potatoes for hash browns <b>(shredder)</b><br />
8. Cook blended or chunky soups <b>(pot)</b><br />
9. Puree batter for crepes <b>(immersion blender)</b><br />
10. Mix cold puddings <b>(whisk)</b><br />
11. Mix and cook hot puddings or custard <b>(eons standing and stirring at the stove)</b><br />
12. Crush ice for cold drinks <b>(ice-crusher)</b><br />
13. Crush ice for snow cones <b>(ice-shaver)</b><br />
14. Crush and blend slurpees <b>(7-11)</b><br />
15. Grind meat, such as hamburger <b>(meat grinder)</b><br />
16. Puree meat for spreads like deviled ham or chicken spread<br />
17. Shred cheese <b>(time)</b><br />
18. Grind bread crumbs <b>(processing attachment)</b><br />
19. Grind quinoa, wheat, rice and other grains into flour <b>(grain mill)</b><br />
20. Grind wheat, oatmeal, cornmeal and other grains for hot cereal and porridge<br />
21. Grind coffee beans <b>(coffee grinder) </b><a href="http://www.day2dayjoys.com/2013/05/how-to-grind-coffee-with-vitamix.html" target="_blank">Read a tutorial at day2day's blog!</a><br />
22. Powder beans and other legumes for smoothies or soup<br />
23. Blend large quantities of spices or herbs<br />
24. Coarsely chop beans for faster cooking<br />
25. Hyper-rupture fruit and vegetables with skins for cheesecloth pressing or pouring into a juicer for maximum extraction and nutrients, impossible to achieve with a simple triturator/centrifigal juicer alone <b>(commercial hydraulic press)</b><br />
26. Blend vegetable drinks and cocktails<br />
27. Blend yogurt with fruits and other flavorings<br />
28. Blend breakfast shakes<br />
29. Fully homogenize cocktail drinks <b>(drink shaker)</b><br />
30. Blend homemade powdered drinks like cocoa, especially involving chocolate chunks for richness<br />
31. Knead bread dough, pizza crust, doughnuts, English muffins ... <b>(stand mixer)</b><br />
32. Blend batters like muffins, biscuits, quick-breads such as banana or pumpkin loaf, popovers <b>(hand mixer)</b><br />
33. Blend pancakes and waffles, cakes<br />
34. Whip and cook frostings <b>(double-boiler)</b><br />
35. Process pasta dough <b>(food processor)</b><br />
36. Mix cookie dough <b>(wooden spoon)</b><br />
37. Whip pie fillings like lemon meringue or pumpkin<br />
38. Process pie crusts, both flour and graham variety <b>(pastry blender)</b><br />
39. Blend and cook baby foods <b>(baby-food maker)</b><br />
40. Mix dips and spreads like guacamole, blue cheese and more<br />
41. Make pureed bean spreads for sandwiches <b>(a fork!)</b><br />
42. Whip cream cheese, plain or with flavors<br />
43. Blend fruit whips<br />
44. Emulsify salad dressings and dipping sauces like cocktail sauce, ketchup, sweet and sour<br />
45. Make mayonnaise and herbed or seasoned mayonnaise <b>(tedious drizzling)</b><br />
46. Mix Russian dressing for Reuben sandwiches!!<br />
47. Mix and cook ice cream toppings like butterscotch<br />
48. Blend and cook fruit syrups and mock maple syrup<br />
49. Whip cream <b>(Isi whipper)</b><br />
50. Make finger paint!!<br />
51. Puree nut butters and homemade Nutella <b>(store-bought butters)</b><br />
52. Blend powdered seasoning mixes <b>(mortar and pestle)</b><br />
53. Grind dehydrated fruit or vegetables into chunks for trail mixes or oatmeal<br />
54. Grind dehydrated fruit or vegetables into powder, such as peppers <b>(magic)</b><br />
55. Blend granolas<br />
56. Make delicious basil, kale or other unique pestos<br />
57. Make nut milks like almond or cashew milk<br />
58. Froth milk for cappuccinos or steamers <b>(milk frother)</b><br />
59. Melt cheese for queso dip or chocolate for strawberries or fondue (<b>fondue pot)</b><br />
60. Blend perfect lump-free gravy <b>(your broken arm)</b><br />
61. Powder sugar so you can stop buying expensive confectioners' sugar packets <b>(mo money)</b><br />
62. Shred chicken or other meat for Mexican potato salad, chicken salad, tacos <b>(two forks and dexterity)</b><br />
63. Blend fruit into puree for fruit leathers.<br />
64. Blend the same fruit into puree for butters and sauces, like apple butter or apple sauce!<br />
65. Make brown sugar.<br />
66. Blend soap and hot water to be its own dishwasher! Pour hot soap into the sink and wash the rest of your utensils ... <b>(dishwasher)</b><br />
67. Make raw or just homemade butter (<b>dazey churn, butter churn, tedious hours shaking a jar</b>)<br />
68. Make whipped, herbed, honeyed, berried or other blended butter spreads.<br />
<br />
I know that's more than 66, but the list is growing as I use my Vitamix and I can't stop it!!!<br />
<br />
As a new mommy, what's the best feature of all, you may ask? Even when my baby is clinging to me and not in the mood to be put down, I have chopped cabbage for kraut, blended smoothies, made mayonnaise and washed the Vitamix - <b>all with one hand! </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This is the blender I got, and (perhaps needless to say), I highly recommend it! (<i>This is an</i> <i>Amazon affiliate link! That means I get a bonus for referring some customers.</i>) All Vitamix blenders have the same engine, and I chose this specific blender because I felt it would give me the most options when it came to speeds and processing times.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=dotallifeasaw-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B004J6MZIQ" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
What else do you do with your Vitamix? Is there a tool or technique I'm missing here? If you have any recipes, share your blog link or just type a recipe or tip into a comment! <br />
<br />
More than smoothies,<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
Pin us at <a href="http://pinterest.com/dotalanecdotes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for pretty photos and intriguing articles<br />
Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>Recent Recipes</b> we made, using the Vitamix</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/salted-rosemary-croccantini-why-buy.html" target="_blank">Salted Rosemary Croccantini</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-add-powdered-green-food.html" target="_blank">Adding Green-Food Supplement</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/10/vitamix-inaugural-use-long-awaited.html" target="_blank">Long-Awaited Banana Milkshake</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/11/monday-menu-and-creamy-blueberry.html" target="_blank">Creamy Blueberry Smoothie</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/render-unto-caesar-orange-julius.html" target="_blank">Real-Food Orange Julius</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/11/monday-menu-with-many-smoothies-and.html" target="_blank">Green Almond Smoothie</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/11/monday-menu-hurricane-sandy-and.html" target="_blank">La Belle Verte Smoothie</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://www.vitamix.com/Find-Recipes/M/A/Mayonnaise" target="_blank">Mayonnaise</a> (official Vitamix recipe)</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://vitamix.com/Find-Recipes" target="_blank">Find more official Vitamix recipes here!</a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>As seen on</i> <a href="http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/02/homestead-barn-hop-98.html" target="_blank">The Homestead Barn Hop</a>, <a href="http://www.naturallivingmamma.com/2013/02/10/natural-living-monday-11/" target="_blank">Natural Living Monday</a>, <a href="http://www.nourishingtreasures.com/index.php/2013/02/11/make-your-own-monday-link-up-0211/" target="_blank">Make Your Own Monday</a>, <a href="http://sweetsav.blogspot.com/2013/02/my-meatless-mondays-cabbage-and.html" target="_blank">My Meatless Monday</a>, <a href="http://www.thisgalcooks.com/2013/02/10/link-party-marvelous-mondays-33-with-features/" target="_blank">Marvelous Mondays</a>, <a href="http://alifeinbalance.net/motivation-monday-note-encouragement-love/" target="_blank">Motivation Monday</a>, <a href="http://www.day2dayjoys.com/2013/02/healthy-2day-wednesdays_19.html" target="_blank">Healthy 2Day Wednesdays</a></div>
</div>
Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-21519668834063098842013-02-10T09:43:00.000-08:002013-02-21T04:01:26.268-08:00Too Much of a Good Thing? Freeze it for later! Why I Take It AllDear adventurous companions,<br />
<br />
I was once again blessed with an enormous amount of bananas. Free!! <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkYG1V0IJKljVom8zKx3o3HvCqoqQPavLmvMXoumR2Xq6W1q7yJ2X0XoauLbXY4FR8S2Q4tRRcAbsSYuQAHXZuPlOkLxIQmdJKGwcBdG0hx8iwh2QCbsF6EBBO8CBnGIGrSAhPIsuQtf6/s1600/IMG_20130210_112811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkYG1V0IJKljVom8zKx3o3HvCqoqQPavLmvMXoumR2Xq6W1q7yJ2X0XoauLbXY4FR8S2Q4tRRcAbsSYuQAHXZuPlOkLxIQmdJKGwcBdG0hx8iwh2QCbsF6EBBO8CBnGIGrSAhPIsuQtf6/s400/IMG_20130210_112811.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
After my <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/10/monday-menu-deployment-edition-ii-with.html" target="_blank">experience last summer</a> with seven cases of (halved, in peel) bananas, I've learned that if anything, I know my way around a box of bananas! Not a single one went to waste, and the peels hit the compost pile at our local CSA immediately. <br />
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<br />
When somebody offers me free food, I take it, immediately. No questions asked. I won't turn down anything, or any amount, for two reasons. <br />
<br />
First,<b> if word gets out that I'll take anything and everything, no matter how much, I'll be the first person people go to when they have a surplus. </b> If I turn it into a prepared food that can be shared, I'll bestow them with a package of it to thank them for thinking of me and, of course, to encourage them to think of me again the next time they have a surplus they want to get rid of! If they knew I would only take part of the food, they might offer it to somebody else first knowing they could get rid of it all in one fell swoop - but since I can take it ALL, always, every time, I hope I will be their first choice!<br />
<br />
Second, <b>there is no such thing as too much because there's always a way to save it!</b> Even if it's something I haven't used a lot of before - bananas, the first time I got them - and I don't know at the moment how I'll deal with them, I take it without blinking. I can take the haul home and instantly hit the Internet, my books, or call some expert friends to find out how to process large amounts. Even lettuce can be turned into a blended soup and frozen! Eggs can be pickled, or separated and frozen, or turned into custard or pound cake or ice cream and frozen and vacuum sealed for later. If it truly is too much of something or a food that will rot before I can process it all (like when I was given an extended-bed pick-up truck full of sliced oranges on a hot day), I have some immediate avenues where I can disperse it with no trouble to the original giver: urban homesteading groups, church groups, friends and my network in the local community will all hit my doorstep to enjoy the surplus within a matter of hours after I spread the word. <br />
<br />
Out of unexpected surplus or blessings others have received, I've been generously blessed with cases of oranges, bananas, cabbage, greens, collards, bunches of herbs, bags of onions, apples, habaneros, boxes of eggs, fresh meat, pumpkins, watermelon, and so much more; let me assure you, I don't take <b>any </b>of this for granted! It all feeds in to <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/fair-careers-why-i-work-full-time.html" target="_blank">my larger mission of dedicating time</a> and my networking capabilities to feed my family the most nutritious, nourishing diet I have the power to with my own two hands. <br />
<br />
Every scrap of food goes to the immediate purpose of feeding hungry bellies. There have been times I've been generously offered (and instantly accepted!) huge amounts of food that I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat myself, and by nightfall it was on the tables of families interested in the food and sometimes in desperate need of it. Even though I didn't do anything to earn that food, it still felt good to be able to give it away and see the joy and answers to prayer it brought to others! <br />
<br />
I absolutely love free food - honestly, without it, it would be a real challenge to keep our family fed the way I feel I should. I earnestly pray every day that I can keep a table of real, nutritious food for my loved ones and the transient sailors and their families that we are often feeding in our home, and I know that my prayers are constantly heard and answered in miraculous ways - sometimes within hours of the prayer - and often the day I run out of something. <br />
<br />
Do you ever get free food, and what do you do with it? Or have you been able to give away from your surplus? <br />
<br />
Feeding,<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
Pin us at <a href="http://pinterest.com/dotalanecdotes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for pretty photos and intriguing articles<br />
Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!<br />
<br />
<i>As seen on</i> <a href="http://alifeinbalance.net/fabulously-frugal-thursday-kids-making-choices-activities/" target="_blank">Fabulously Frugal Thursday</a>Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-33242232348298991152013-02-04T06:19:00.000-08:002013-02-10T09:54:04.511-08:00Wintering Over In Virginia: Snow, Ice, and KrautDear frosties,<br />
<br />
We enjoyed a little bit of snow here in our mild-tempered state of Virginia. The kale thrived! Kale can enjoy quite cold temperatures; it just slows their growth. Once temps rise about 60, they'll grow much faster, but at these cold temps they certainly won't die.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Garlic was unfazed. <br />
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<br />
Twenty gallons of sauerkraut were safely inside with stable temperatures, sitting right at 70 degrees. Any lower and fermentation would slow, any higher and it would just rot.<br />
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<br />
The hose had no comment.<br />
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<br />
Obviously I was working hard inside, here in a commercial kitchen developing a new product (watch out!). <br />
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Back at home, I cooked up a heap of apple butter, and another heap of <a href="http://www.mrswages.com/page/Food_in_Jars_Apple_Pumpkin_Butter.aspx?nt=619" target="_blank">pumpkin-apple butter</a>. The former I canned, the latter I froze.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUNq6hKxfjahqcxkkg8bZ3Tn8LYDUb4_g3JnNYB-c-Fhh-tP4KDprFxGcghSIGdjy1tLrEjNimN6k0OnPoejdKGsEkhBqCZ-yzrL9LS-F-axJXJeopNTwNpZY2bEn2coWEI03qt45mEK1g/s1600/IMG_20130124_114241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUNq6hKxfjahqcxkkg8bZ3Tn8LYDUb4_g3JnNYB-c-Fhh-tP4KDprFxGcghSIGdjy1tLrEjNimN6k0OnPoejdKGsEkhBqCZ-yzrL9LS-F-axJXJeopNTwNpZY2bEn2coWEI03qt45mEK1g/s400/IMG_20130124_114241.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Dear Beryl helped me defrost my freezer, which we are still trying to repair several hundred dollars later, after the <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/05/experience-unloading-our-household-in.html" target="_blank">traumatizing move that went terribly wrong with the horrible movers in denial</a> - hopefully this newest repair does the trick and it won't fill with ice, frost, and water!<br />
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My neighbor built a pretty intense snow-lady that took him all morning to make! She was life-size and quite the ice-witch! </div>
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The little guy snuggled down with some heated teddy bears and we enjoyed some brisk, breezy jogs on the oceanfront. <br />
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Winter is proving quite nice here on the Eastern Seaboard; how is winter where you are staying? Snow? Cold temps? Balmy weather? Burst pipes? Anybody from Alaska here? <br />
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Mrs H<br />
<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
Pin us at <a href="http://pinterest.com/dotalanecdotes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for pretty photos and intriguing articles<br />
Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-65080152886119572332013-02-02T06:02:00.002-08:002013-02-02T07:00:18.508-08:00Love Those Board Games: How to Store EfficientlyDear neat little pins,<br />
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I love things to be pared down, cut down, trimmed down, leaned out. I love efficiency. In my first life, I worked in the aerospace industry on projects leaning out production facilities, improving processes and quality. I like to save time, space, energy, and money, and I am <i>constantly</i> on the lookout for ways to make life better!<br />
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Sometimes, a good idea just slaps me upside the head ... and I wonder why I never thought of it before? <br />
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I've been clearing house and consolidating in a hard-core effort to get rid of Stuff, and I was tackling the shelves in our spare room. The board games take up so much space, and I got to thinking about all the <b>wasted space</b> in those boxes. This is the solution we came up with!<br />
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<b>The Master Solution: </b>Each game goes in it's own one-gallon bag (you could use two-gallon Ziplocks if you wished), and if the board doesn't fit in the bag I noted on the bag: <b>Board separate</b>. The boards, being emblazoned with the name of the game, needed no further labeling although somebody with thousands of games could number them and sort accordingly. <br />
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You can get as fancy as you like with trimming pictures or descriptions from the boxes and slipping them into the bags, front and back, to show which game is which. Some games took two bags, in which case I noted "<b>1 of 2</b>" and "<b>2 of 2</b>" on the bags, respectively. <br />
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All the game bags were neatly placed in a small Rubbermaid container, and the boards set on top. Suddenly, hundreds of acres of shelf space miraculously cleared up, and I didn't have to get rid of all our favorite games!!<br />
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Teeny tiny box where once sat dozens of huge bulky boxes ...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpVNVozS16uhwnHdMecrpukAIKmXZ0U6Vu3BwbpBMoyW45kAs8umLLGfjCkzgbljPmWngaa_GOOZmiwjZpFTTHz4iv6Ir9Q_hHk5PT0XkcUyiJWxNpZWH4tqtvJt0VE48d8UhS9V6dfHC/s1600/IMG_20130202_085326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpVNVozS16uhwnHdMecrpukAIKmXZ0U6Vu3BwbpBMoyW45kAs8umLLGfjCkzgbljPmWngaa_GOOZmiwjZpFTTHz4iv6Ir9Q_hHk5PT0XkcUyiJWxNpZWH4tqtvJt0VE48d8UhS9V6dfHC/s400/IMG_20130202_085326.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmm this mysteriously dark picture is so ... low quality!!</td></tr>
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I did get rid of all this, though.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuXoyyZEYBT-ZVBjKXNWgJuTQLkgpQTLLt6TRU0-FrqwxEaQasx4YqOiC9jLwPit_rjq0ROkt508zQ4E0XxzqbEa7lVCFGH_up1rt5DaDpXYHenAUK17czLY2cPgPsZE5MtOjLYR7YJSk/s1600/IMG_20130119_082623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuXoyyZEYBT-ZVBjKXNWgJuTQLkgpQTLLt6TRU0-FrqwxEaQasx4YqOiC9jLwPit_rjq0ROkt508zQ4E0XxzqbEa7lVCFGH_up1rt5DaDpXYHenAUK17czLY2cPgPsZE5MtOjLYR7YJSk/s400/IMG_20130119_082623.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ah, dead weight, gone; I love the feeling. Love the purge. Such a relief! This also works great with <b>jigsaw puzzles </b>(just cut the image off the front, and tape or staple the bag to the back, if it's too large), <b>homeschool kits </b>or <b>educational packs </b>that come in nice big, colorful boxes with loads of cubic inches being wasted! <br />
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Losing weight,<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
<br />
tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
Pin us at <a href="http://pinterest.com/dotalanecdotes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for pretty photos and intriguing articles<br />
Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463759669646340584.post-31530411830412006332013-01-15T06:00:00.000-08:002014-07-22T04:00:36.467-07:00Vegan Eats World: Review, Giveaway, and Spicy Drunken Noodles recipe!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<i>The Wednesday Review:</i></div>
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<i>Reviewing books, products and more you may be interested in</i></div>
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<i>This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered! Read on for the review and a free recipe, however! </i></div>
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This is the fifth book in a <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/09/huge-autumn-giveaway-five-bestselling.html" target="_blank">series of giveaways!</a> </div>
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Like us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook to stay up to speed</a> with all our giveaways! </div>
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<i>I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. They did not pay me for my review. As some of you know far too well, the opinions expressed herein most definitely are and perhaps unfortunately always will be my own! </i><br />
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Dear cooks of international flair, </div>
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I've been having way too much fun with this giveaway series. Not only am I loading up on a stack of fresh cooking material for the kitchen and hopefully helping you to do the same, but I've been "meeting" readers from far and wide! We've had winners in Missouri, Utah, Texas and Massachusetts, and I am curious to see where this next book will go! The last book we gave away was <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/12/nourishing-traditions-book-review-and.html" target="_blank">Nourishing Traditions</a>, and it sailed off to a new home in Utah! We're giving away another book from the outstanding press, <a href="http://www.perseusbooksgroup.com/dacapo/home.jsp" target="_blank">Da Capo Lifelong</a> {<a href="https://apps.facebook.com/dacapocooking/?fb_source=search&ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">follow them on Facebook for recipes, giveaways, and information on fabulous cooking books</a>}; they generously offered us this giveaway on top of the one they just <a href="http://dotalanecdotes.blogspot.com/2012/11/vegan-cupcakes-take-over-world-review.html" target="_blank">sponsored for Vegan Cupcakes</a>! </div>
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Speaking of generous, <b>everybody's a winner</b> with this review, because Da Capo's publicist gave permission to share a recipe for all of us to enjoy! Read on for Spicy Drunken Noodles ... </div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738214868/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dotallifeasaw-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0738214868">Vegan Eats World: 300 International Recipes for Savoring the Planet</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dotallifeasaw-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0738214868" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Terry-Hope-Romero-Vegan-Nerdista-Cookbookista/360747867770?fref=ts" target="_blank">Terry Hope Romero</a></div>
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This is a book on international cooking, and I guess it also happens to be vegan - which is almost beside the point when you start exploring these flavorful, exotic dishes that weirdly can be made as easily as a bowl of spaghetti, in your own kitchen! </div>
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This is also a huge book. Almost as big as my (huge) baby, it boasts over 300 recipes from around the world! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfldth6bZDcBhJH25LbSl5YkfwkzzxGvRilRRdMizhJj5_hJjacU4el4u2HUc9dXaVi0_DfLmPQvRVecQHWxEd0eYww5W2SGtXmFwsQB4uLw7xplUKuifEVgHsdUrwoqzqtnaprV_EdJWK/s1600/IMG_20130114_092129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfldth6bZDcBhJH25LbSl5YkfwkzzxGvRilRRdMizhJj5_hJjacU4el4u2HUc9dXaVi0_DfLmPQvRVecQHWxEd0eYww5W2SGtXmFwsQB4uLw7xplUKuifEVgHsdUrwoqzqtnaprV_EdJWK/s400/IMG_20130114_092129.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53Pu-wdtemU8wcrIMo-MS3bXLYJMiOnjQKo7fiB98GaMF5snNs57kYSqQui7rXiF6z8QivqyiorZ1We_hbtdLZox4bN1hPkaKgFh4UHR7lqVVOFhUFWgQAOwKw5jQ8_AI8jDQmROE_-NC/s1600/IMG_20130114_092127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53Pu-wdtemU8wcrIMo-MS3bXLYJMiOnjQKo7fiB98GaMF5snNs57kYSqQui7rXiF6z8QivqyiorZ1We_hbtdLZox4bN1hPkaKgFh4UHR7lqVVOFhUFWgQAOwKw5jQ8_AI8jDQmROE_-NC/s400/IMG_20130114_092127.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>What's with vegan eating? </b> Vegan and vegetarian eating may be a pseudo-faddish lifestyle for some Westerners, but in many parts of the world it's just a way of life; animal products may be costly or hard to come by, and people rely on a plant-based diet in many regions as a matter of necessity. Not surprisingly then, fabulously creative and delicious recipes have developed in remote parts of the world, meals which are consumed by everybody, not just card-carrying "vegans"! You might be living a purely vegan lifestyle and seeking new material to jazz up your weeknights, or you may be roasting a turkey this afternoon but looking for a nutritious side dish with a little Mediterranean flair, or hoping to use up a few extra eggplant and thinking a Lebanese Moussaka Stew might fit the bill. I, a die-hard self-professed advocate of whole milk, cheese and bacon, am delighting over the traditional Garlicky Potato Dip from Greece, Coriander Rye Muffins from Russia, Okra Masala (Bindi Bhaji) from India, and Takeout Stir Fry Noodles with Mushrooms and Greens from China!<br />
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<b>What's inside: </b>Rather than dividing the recipes by region, which is a cute idea but can be inconvenient when you want to quickly find a soup for a cool evening, these recipes are conveniently and handily divided by food genre. Preceded by a section familiarizing novice cooks on tools, ingredients and lingo, there are twelve fat chapters in this book: <b>Spice Blends </b>(like Olive Oil Harissa Paste),<b> The Three Protein Amigos: Tofu, Seitan and Tempeh </b>(like Lemon and Olive Chickpea Seitan)<b>, Pickles, Chutneys and Saucier Sauces </b>(like Whipped Garlic Dip)<b>, Salads, Spreads and Sandwiches </b>(like Avocado Mango Cashew Salad), <b>Soups </b>(like White Bean Farro Soup with Chickpea Parmigiana)<b>, Curries Hearty Stews and Beans </b>(like Mexican Homemade Refried Beans)<b>, Dumplings Breads and Pancakes </b>(like Ethiopian Savory Crepes)<b>, Asian Noodles to Mediterranean Pasta</b> (like Sizzling Seitan Pho Noodle Soup), <b>Hearty Entrees</b> (like Korean Veggie Bulgogi), <b>Robust Vegetable Entrees and Sides </b>(like Crisp Stir-Fry Greens with Veggie Oyster Sauce)<b>, Rice and Whole Grains: One-Pot Meals and Supporting Roles</b> (like Crusty Persiaon Rice with Dill and Fava Beans), and <b>Sweet Beginnings </b>(like Walnut Spice Sticky Cake). <br />
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Recipes are all accompanied by a few little purple symbols, helping cooks that are seeking a dish to fit certain specifications: <b>123</b> denotes the easiest recipes; <b>45</b> denotes under-45-minute recipes; a <b>chair</b> marks recipes that are mostly inactively cooking on the stove or in the oven so you can be out of the kitchen; <b>$ </b>indicates inexpensive ingredients; <b>low-fat</b> marks recipes with a tablespoon or less of added fats; <strike style="font-weight: bold;">G</strike> indicates gluten-free recipes; and <b><strike>S</strike></b> marks recipes without soy. <br />
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Of course, the book is scattered throughout with beautiful color photographs of many of the delicious recipes you'll be encountering. With recipes using traditional fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, recipes that bring on the heat with berebere and harissa, recipes that are familiar and recipes that are bizarre, there is something exploratory and exciting for everybody in this book. But perhaps we should let the recipes speak for themselves? I'll leave you with the recipe for Spicy Drunken Noodles, and then you can <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738214868/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dotallifeasaw-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0738214868" target="_blank">check out the book on your own</a> or enter the giveaway below!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFo9P0ybQQdVW7ckFt1usENrjSwRRAEs8Own0DjmhYadSf3cqSwPaV9bu7uZtfCuNZnNK7rQF4XNNhR8Wgi74LQ1e7W7XeeeQaXxJpmZe2rKNO_mVAFxwQj9_GtwfEeuxF6hNvwUGerJ2s/s1600/Drunken+Noodles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFo9P0ybQQdVW7ckFt1usENrjSwRRAEs8Own0DjmhYadSf3cqSwPaV9bu7uZtfCuNZnNK7rQF4XNNhR8Wgi74LQ1e7W7XeeeQaXxJpmZe2rKNO_mVAFxwQj9_GtwfEeuxF6hNvwUGerJ2s/s400/Drunken+Noodles.jpg" height="400" width="338" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>photo courtesy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz<br />used with permission</i></td></tr>
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<div style="display: inline !important;">
<b>Pad Kee Mao </b></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">(Spicy Drunken Noodles) </span><br />
From <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738214868/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dotallifeasaw-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0738214868" target="_blank">Vegan Eats World</a>, reprinted with permission<br />
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<br />
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>Serves 2 to 3</i></div>
<br />
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></div>
<i>There are many colorful stories about the origins of </i><br />
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>this addictive, fiery Thai noodle dish, but the strangest </i></div>
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>one may be about the wife who was so fed up </i></div>
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>with her drunken husband she turned to revenge </i></div>
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>via loading up his favorite noodles with fistfuls of </i></div>
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>hot chile peppers. Seems like her plan backfired, </i></div>
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>because the heady mixture of savory sauces and </i></div>
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>fiery chilies made him (and countless fans after) </i></div>
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>swoon and ask for seconds. Your homemade spin on </i></div>
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>this takeout favorite need not be punishingly hot to </i></div>
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i>be just as good.</i></div>
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<b>Thai soy sauce: </b>Like her sister recipe, Pad See Ew (page 230), Pad Kee Mao is best made with genuine Thai soy sauces. One bottle of each Thai sauce will last for dozens of noodle dishes, making spontaneous Thai-style noodles an easy weekday meal treat. Chinese- or Japanese-style sauces don’t have the correct flavors; your dish may be good, but it won’t taste like Thai food. Thai thin soy sauce (light amber color, thin consistency, and strong, salty taste) does the job of standing in for fish sauce. Golden Mountain sauce is a special Thai seasoning sauce with a consistency and flavor slightly like Worcestershire sauce; it’s vegan, with complex flavors that soy sauce alone can’t cover. Thai black soy sauce and sweet soy sauce are thick and sweet sauces with molasses-like notes; both have their own unique character, but in a pinch are interchangeable. But for the most authentic tasting dish, use both!<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Authentic Thai vegetables </span>are much more challenging to find than the sauces, but a little cabbage, carrot, or even a few florets of broccoli or a handful of snow peas are fine.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Regarding the rice noodles,</span> you have license to use whatever you can find. Many Thai restaurants use slippery, chewy, wide fresh rice noodles. These noodles are delicious and will make the most authentic-tasting dish but can be difficult to find. If you can’t find sliced, fresh flat rice noodles at Thai markets, investigate Chinese markets for bags of soft fresh rice ho fun noodles: huge rice noodles that resemble a floppy kitchen towel folded into a squishy bundle. Regular Pad Thai rice sticks, if not authentic, are an easy-to-find substitute.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">If you can’t use fresh ho fun noodles immediately,</span> they can be refrigerated but will be stiff after being chilled a few hours (but they can keep for weeks, so it’s worth stashing an extra bag in the fridge for future stir-fries). To refresh ho fun noodles, steam them for 4 to 8 minutes until soft and pliable enough to unfold; the older the noodle, the more steaming required. Gently unfold this super noodle (if it rips a little don’t worry), and slice or tear into pieces. Don’t worry if they’re not pretty, they’ll taste like dynamite in noodle stir-fries. Keep the fresh noodles covered with a moist paper towel until ready to stir-fry.<br />
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<div style="font-weight: bold;">
Drunken Noodle Sauce</div>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
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2 tablespoons Chinese vegetarian stir-fry sauce (see page 13)<br />
2 tablespoons Thai thin soy sauce (see page 19)<br />
4 teaspoons brown sugar or palm sugar<br />
1 tablespoon Thai Golden Mountain sauce (see page 18)<br />
2 tablespoons Thai black soy sauce or Thai sweet soy sauce (see page 19), or<br />
1 tablespoon of each sauce<br />
2 teaspoons rice vinegar<br />
2 teaspoons lime juice<br />
2 to 3 teaspoons Asian chili garlic sauce or hot red pepper flakes<br />
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<div style="font-weight: bold;">
Noodles and Vegetables</div>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></div>
12 ounces Thai fresh flat rice noodles or Chinese fresh ho fun noodles<br />
3 tablespoons peanut, canola, or grapeseed oil<br />
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped<br />
3 to 4 red or green hot chile peppers<br />
(Thai, Indian, or serrano), sliced into paper-thin rings<br />
One 8-ounce package fried tofu or 1 recipe<br />
Savory Baked Tofu (page 50), sliced into<br />
1/4-inch thin strips<br />
3 cups shredded Napa or savoy cabbage<br />
1 carrot, sliced into matchsticks<br />
3 scallions, both green and white parts, thinly sliced<br />
1/2 cup lightly packed Thai basil leaves<br />
1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves<br />
Lime wedges for squeezing over noodles<br />
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
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<b>1. </b>If the rice noodles are very fresh and soft, you don’t need to cook them; just tear into bite sized pieces if needed and proceed to the stir-fry. If already sliced, gently separate the noodles and set aside, or refold the ho fun several times into a wide tube and slice into wide, 2-to 3-inch strips. If the noodles have been refrigerated and are hard, set up a bamboo or metal steamer over boiling water. Steam the Thai noodles or the whole, unsliced ho fun until soft (4 to 8 minutes), then turn off the heat and keep covered. If using ho fun, when the noodle is cool enough to handle, either slice into strips or tear into pieces 2 to 3 inches wide with your fingers. Keep covered until ready to use.<br />
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<b>2. </b>In a liquid measuring cup whisk together the vegetarian stir-fry sauce, Thai thin soy sauce, brown sugar, Golden Mountain sauce, black or sweet soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, and chili sauce. Chop the vegetables and arrange all of the ingredients within easy reach of the stove for the stir-fry.<br />
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<b>3. </b>Preheat a wok or large skillet over high heat, then pour in 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the oil is rippling, stir in the garlic and chilies, stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the tofu and fry another 2 to 3 minutes until the tofu browns on the edges. Transfer the tofu to a dinner plate. Add another tablespoon of oil and add the carrot, cabbage, and white part of scallions and fry for 2 minutes until slightly softened. Transfer to the plate with the tofu.<br />
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<br /></div>
<b>4. </b>Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, add the noodles, and stir-fry for 1 minute. If the noodles start to stick, dribble in a teaspoon or two of water; whenever sticking starts to happen add a little water but don’t add too much or the noodles will become mushy. Now drizzle on half of the sauce, stir-fry for 2 minutes and return the tofu, cabbage, carrot, green parts of scallions, and the remaining sauce. Stir in the basil leaves and cilantro. Continue to stir-fry for another 1 to 2 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed, everything is coated in sauce and the noodles are gently seared in some places. Transfer immediately to serving plates and squeeze lime wedges over noodles before devouring.<br />
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<div style="font-weight: bold;">
Add any of the following to the stir-fry before adding the noodles:</div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">With Green Peppercorns: </span>Stir in 2 to 3 teaspoons of fresh green peppercorns along with the chilies.<br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">With Shallots: </span>Slice a large shallot into paper-thin slices and fry along with the garlic and chilies until golden.<br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">With Snow Peas, Baby Corn, or Broccoli: </span>Add a handful of snow peas, baby corn or thinly sliced broccoli along with the cabbage<br />
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Without Noodles: </span>Or omit the noodles entirely and double the amount of vegetables for a spicy all-vegetable Thai stir-fry.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h3>
<b>Enter the giveaway! </b></h3>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<b>1. Leave a comment below</b>. Do you prepare vegan foods already, or are you just an international-cooking fan? What is the best feature of this book for you? Use a <b>current e-mail address or Facebook page</b> when you leave your comment, and I will contact you via that route when you win - so be sure it's one you check! Winner will be chosen Wednesday, January 23, 2013. <br />
<br />
<b>2. Share this giveaway with a friend! </b>The more popular a review is, the more giveaways we are privileged to do in the future! Use <b>Pinterest, Twitter, e-mail, Facebook</b> or any other medium to share this review with somebody, and feel free to add a bonus comment for yourself letting us know you did so. <br />
<br />
We're still giving away more! <b>Chef AJ's </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unprocessed-achieve-vibrant-health-weight/dp/1456576097/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354116966&sr=1-1&keywords=unprocessed" target="_blank">Unprocessed</a><b>, Ron Schmidt's </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Untold-Story-Milk-Revised-Updated/dp/0979209528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354116909&sr=8-1&keywords=untold+story+of+milk" target="_blank">Untold Story of Milk</a><b>, and a bonus, edible round from </b><a href="http://tropicaltraditions.com/" target="_blank">Tropical Traditions</a><b> - so <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes?ref=hl" target="_blank">follow us on Facebook</a> to be alerted to all our giveaways!!! </b><br />
<br />
Bon voyage,<br />
<br />
Mrs H<br />
<br />
<br />
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tweet us <a href="https://twitter.com/_Mrs_H" target="_blank">@_mrs_h</a> for chewy nuggets<br />
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Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dotalanecdotes" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for recipes, giveaways, and brilliant flashes of perspiration!Mrs. Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522714502210311748noreply@blogger.com