Black Friday Shopping

I have plans to start writing on this blog again.  I won't post often, but more frequently than I have the past couple of years.
Thanksgiving is this week!  Yeah!  I love this season.  I don't so much like the shopping, though.  I've gone shopping early in the morning on Black Friday a few times, but I don't like it.  Not happening this year.
Last week I signed up for Ebates.  This site gives you cash back when you shop online.  I like this idea!  I already did some shopping at Kohl's today.  The items I purchased were all on sale, plus I got 15% off with a coupon code, I got free shipping, $15 Kohl's Cash, plus 6% cash back from Ebates.  If you use the link to Ebates that I'm giving I'll get even more cash back from them, FYI.  That's not why I'm telling you about them, though.  I just like sharing great deals!

Cloth Diapers, Part 1

I became a cloth diapering Mama in March 2012.  A little over a year ago.  And...I LOVE THEM!!!

I considered using cloth diapers nearly five years ago, when my oldest child was a baby.  But I didn't know anyone who used them, and so I didn't give it too much thought.

Then in August 2011 my husband was laid off for the first time.  Less than a week later I spent nearly $40 on diapers-2 big boxes, one for each child.  "I'm supposed to be prepared," I thought.  I was obviously not diaper-prepared. 

Two months later I was blessed to move to a neighborhood where I quickly met three moms who cloth diapered their children.  They answered all my questions, and a cloth diapering Mama was born.

Here are my answers to the questions that I had.  These are MY experiences.

Why would I want to use cloth diapers?

• Save money
• Less waste

Does using cloth diapers really save money?

Absolutely!  I ordered prefolds (more on this later) from Green Mountain Diapers.  Newborn diapers (6-10 lbs) cost $24/dozen.  Size small (10-15 lbs) costs $28/dozen.  Size medium (15-29 lbs) costs $32/dozen.  If you plan to wash diapers daily, you would probably want one dozen of each of these sizes.  This would get you through the first year and beyond.  Then you also need covers.  I love Thirsties Duo Wrap diaper covers.  They cost $12.25 each.  I would recommend getting 5 of each size 1 (4-15 lbs) and size 2 (15-30 lbs).

Total price for cloth diapering your child until he weighs 30 lbs:  $206.50 (shipping is free)
Estimated cost for using disposable diapers for the first year:  $284.33 (this is a very low estimate)

Plus, cloth diapers can be used on more than one child, so you will save even more.

But what about washing diapers?  That costs money!

Yes it does.  But not too much.  At least in my area.  I didn't own a clothes washer until about a week before  I started using cloth diapers.  My electric and gas bills both went down after using a clothes washer.  (Since this was in March, the weather started warming up.  Sorry this doesn't give a very accurate picture of how much washing cloth diapers actually costs.)
And laundry soap.  I make my own (I'll post that recipe soon).   My recipe costs $1.50/batch.  Each batch can wash about 264 loads of diapers.  I wash 5-6 loads of diapers each week.  So the laundry soap would last 44 weeks if all I washed were diapers.

Total cost of soap for 1 year (for just diapers):  $1.77

My baby just woke.  Gotta go.

Preserving Eggs

With Easter being this week, we will see the best prices on eggs of the year.  So now is the time to stock up.  But how long can eggs really last?

I do not refrigerate my eggs.  Last summer, when my apartment would get up to around 100 degrees inside, I stored eggs in the linen closet.  They would be just fine for 1-2 weeks, then some would start going bad.  Now I store eggs in the closet under the stairs, and the eggs are just fine for 1-2 months.  Actually, I haven't had a bad egg yet.  We eat them too quickly for me to know how long they really could last.

On Saturday I found eggs for 88 cents per dozen at WinCo.  So I stocked up.  Some went into the closet as is, and others I slathered in mineral oil.  Directions on how to do this are HERE.  This same article links to an article from Mother Earth News that discusses multiple methods of storing eggs.  It's a good read.

This week's egg prices (I'll update this when I get the ads this afternoon):

WinCo .88 (on March 23)
Harmons .99
Petersons .88
Fresh Market .99
Reams .95
Lee's  .88
Maceys  .99

 

So time to stock up!  And remember that WalMart price matches!

I Have Been...

• Washing dishes (My dishwasher broke and I relearned gratitude for it)
• Having great success with my third batch of sourdough!!!
• Shoveling snow
• Studying herbal remedies
• Washing dishes
• Playing with kids
• Experimenting with dietary changes for food intolerances
• Eating lots of yogurt and sauerkraut
• Washing dishes
•  Taking care of sick kids
• Washing dishes
• Sprouting beans
• Making a master winter menu plan
• Washing dishes

How about you?  What fills your days?

How to Make Thicker Yogurt

I think that I have posted about making yogurt more times than anything else.  I guess that's because I love it so much.  A couple months back, after making yogurt for nearly two years I had a couple botched batches.  So I went to the yogurt troubleshooting page at Kitchen Stewardship.  And I learned the best tip!  Don't stir the yogurt into the milk until the temperature of the milk lowers to 110.  In the past I too  frequently stir the yogurt into the milk when it is at 115 degrees.  I have also been wrapping multiple towels around the Crockpot to really insulate it well. The result:  My past few batches have been the thickest yogurt I have ever made. 

To make it even thicker:

Place a colander over a bowl.  Place a dishtowel or 90 count cheesecloth inside the colander.  Pour yogurt into dishtowel covered colander.  Let whey drip out until yogurt is desired consistency.  If you just let the whey drip out a little, for maybe an hour or so, the yogurt will be like Greek yogurt.  My kids and I love this!  We can eat it plain, whereas we normally eat our yogurt with fruit.  If you let the whey drip out for longer you will have a soft cheese that is similar to cream cheese, only a little more sour.  We love this on toast.

Click here for my step by step instructions on how to make yogurt.

Pancake Apples

Cooking Traditional Foods (a blog I peruse on occasion and has a weekly podcast, some of which are excellent) gave me the great idea of pancake apples.
Here's how you make this delicious breakfast or snack:

1. Make up a thick pancake batter.  I like to season mine with cinnamon and vanilla.
2. Cut up an apple or two into thin slices.
3. Dip apples slices into pancake batter.
4. Fry.
5. Enjoy!

Rising Food Prices and Some Good Sales

Food prices are continuing to rise.  The drought certainly didn't help the food prices any.  Hmm, funny how that works.

So, stock up while you can, if you can.  (I wish I could, but we're still living off of food storage more than purchasing it.  I'm sure grateful for what we have!)

Here are a few good deals:

Fresh Market

potatoes $2.50 for 15 lb bag
pork sirloin chops, boneless-$1.79/ lb  (expect meat prices to continue to rise)

Lee's 

butter-$1.87/lb
tuna-$.59/can
vegetable and canola oil-$6.99/1 gallon
flour-$7.99/25 lb
frozen vegetables-$.77/lb
canned tomatoes-$.49
50 pound bag red or white wheat-$15.99 (it's $11.45 for 25 pounds at the LDS cannery)
45 pound pail wheat-$21.99 (it's convenient to already have it sealed in a pail-it'll last for a long time this way)
(Talk about rising food prices.  Here are August 2011 prices at Macey's-45 lb. pail of wheat $15.99 and 50 lb. bag for $11.99)
powdered eggs-$13.49 (equates to $1.16/dozen when using 1 tablespoon powder per egg-this is what I do for all of my baking during the winter)

toilet paper and paper towels- $6.98 for15 Roll Strong & Absorbent Paper Towels, 36 Roll Advantage Pack or 18 ct. Big Roll Bath Tissue (yes, I copied that from the ad)

Any questions?

Some Sourdough Basics and Recipes

I promised this post to some people several weeks ago.  But I'm a slacker!  Sorry!

Favorite sourdough websites (click on names to go to the websites; I linked them to where they talk about sourdough):

King Arthur Flour  They have great info and recipes

Cultures for Health
Articles with lots of great tips

Kitchen Stewardship
The easy way to make a starter, and recipe links at the bottom of the page

GNOWFGLINS
This link is to a video with information on how to make a starter (and I think some benefits of sourdough?)

Sourdough Home

Basic Information:

How to feed sourdough starter and maintain it in the fridge

Favorite Recipes: (First I must say that these are my favorite recipes.  My husband does not like sourdough, at this time.  My goal is to become more proficient in it so that it's not quite so sour, and my husband will like it.  This will be an ongoing list, so as I find new recipes that I like, or recipes that I like better than the one I have  linked here I will change them.)

Bread
Crackers
Crepes (yes, this is the right link-I have never fried them for tortilla chips-my husband does like this recipe)
Pancakes (I like the recipe down near the bottom of this page)
Pizza Crust
Waffles

Do you have a favorite sourdough recipe?  Let me know!

Free Food Preservation Webinar

GNOWFGLINS is holding a free webinar this Friday on food preservation-canning, dehydrating, freezing, fermenting.  If you can't watch then, they will email you a link to watch it in the following 2 weeks.  Learn more HERE.

Update:  This course was excellent!  I learned so much, and discovered how much I have to learn!  Let me know if you would like the link for the replay and PDF.

How to Make Buttermilk

Buttermilk is very easy to make; much easier than yogurt.

Like yogurt, you need to start with a culture.  I buy buttermilk at the store, then pour 1/4-1/2 cup (I don't measure) into a quart-sized glass jar.  Fill the jar the rest of the way up with milk.  Stir well.  Attach lid to jar.  Set buttermilk on counter for 4-24 hours, until the milk has thickened, and smells like buttermilk.  The amount of time it takes depends upon the temperature of the room, etc.  You can shake or stir it on occasion if you'd like, but it's not necessary.  If you leave it too long, it will separate into whey and buttermilk cheese (I think this is called quark).  The cheese tastes good!

 When you open the jar to use the buttermilk, be sure to take out 1/4-1/2 cup to put in a new jar for your next batch of buttermilk.

I have used powdered milk to successfully make buttermilk, but it did not act well as a starter culture for the next batch.

The Drought and More

HERE is an article comparing the current drought with the dust bowl of the 1930's.

HERE is an article stating that the US has fewest cattle in at least 40 years.

In other words, it is time to stock up.
Lee's has ground beef on sale for $1.88/lb.  You are allowed to purchase up to 2 family size packs.

A Confession

First, before I make my confession, I have to say that it has been a long time since I've been on blogger.  It took me several minutes to figure out how to make a new post.  Whew.  It's changed a lot.

I haven't shampooed my hair since December 31, 2011.  Over 5 months ago.  I have gone "no 'poo."  I wash my hair with baking soda and condition it with apple cider vinegar typically about every 4-5 days.  I've let it go a full week before, but at that point it's nasty.  As long as I wash it before that, though, it doesn't look greasy at all, and I like the way that it feels.
Here's my method for my long hair (I used a different one at first, but I like this one much better):

1.  Brush hair.
2. Wet hair thoroughly.
3. Put about a tablespoon of baking soda in palm of hand and use other hand to massage the baking soda all over scalp.
4. Rinse hair thoroughly.
5. Fill cup with about 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 3/4 cup of water.  I never measure this.
6. Dip hair into cup.  Let rest in vinegar mixture for about 30 seconds.
7. Take hair out of cup, and pour remaining vinegar mixture over top of head.
8. Rinse hair thoroughly, massaging scalp of head to get all of the baking soda out.
9. Brush hair well, beginning at scalp at least one to two times each day.

Baked Oatmeal and Bagels

Just wanted to share a few of my family's new favorite recipes with you.

Baked Soaked Oatmeal-This recipe has become a Saturday morning tradition.  Soaking is great for your grains so that you get more nutrition from them.  This recipe is adapted from Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Baked Soaked Oatmeal

• 2-1/2 c. oats
• 1 T. whole wheat flour (provides phytase to help break down the phytic acid in the oats)
• 1-3/4 c. buttermilk
• ½ c. melted butter, coconut oil, or canola oil
• 4 eggs (or 1/4 cup powdered eggs)
• ½ c. honey, maple syrup, or sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 2 tsp. Vanilla
• 2-4 cups fresh or dried fruit (dried apples, raisins, apples, pears, etc.)
• Optional: 2 c. chopped nuts (or sprinkle on each individual serving after baking)

Soak oats, flour and buttermilk covered on kitchen counter overnight, but 24 hours is better in order to break down more phytic acid. Before serving, beat oil, sugar, and eggs until glossy. Add salt, cinnamon, and vanilla; beat. Stir in oats and fruit. Add more milk, buttermilk, or water, if it seems dry (mine always does).  Pour into 9×13 baking dish and bake at 350 for 10-40 minutes, depending on your desired consistency. (I always cook mine 10-20 minutes, and still end up with overly dry oatmeal a little too often.)


Whole Wheat Bagels-I made these bagels a few weeks ago.  So good!  They take quite a bit effort since I had to broil, boil, and bake them.  What a fun treat, though! 

How I Make Yogurt

Yogurt!  This has become a favorite for me over the past year, as it is easy and healthy.  I can't believe that just a year ago I hated the stuff.  In the past I typically made it with powdered milk from the Home Storage Center (LDS cannery).  I am making the change to using more and more milk instead for health reasons, and because my husband thinks it tastes better.  He'll eat my powdered milk yogurt in smoothies or with vast amounts of fruit.  My two year old loves my yogurt completely plain.  I don't like it plain, but I'll eat it with fruit or as a substitute for sour cream (such as on enchiladas or potatoes).   I am also using more milk because it makes much better tasting yogurt cheese (like cream cheese)-a new family favorite.

I'll begin with the basics, then give more details on how I make it using powdered milk.
Update:  I now only make it with whole milk and it is so yummy!

1.  Heat milk to 180 F.
2.  Lower temperature of milk to about 115.
3.  Add yogurt with live cultures.
4.  Keep milk between 90-115 for 6-12 hours. The idea here is to allow the healthy bacteria to multiply (pleasant thought!).  If the temperature is lower than this, the bacteria will stop multiplying.  If the temperature is too high, the bacteria will be killed.
5.  Refrigerate yogurt for 8 hours.
6.  Enjoy!

Plain Yogurt

8 cups water
powdered milk to reconstitute water, plus a little more (2 cups from Home Storage Center)
1/4 cup plain yogurt with live cultures (store bought or saved from a previous batch)

1,  Heat water in a crockpot on high for 1 hour.  Stir in powdered milk; mix well.  Heat on low for 1/2 hour.  Temperature of milk should now be 180.  If too low, keep heating.
2.  When milk reaches 180, unplug crockpot.  Cool for about 2 hours, or until milk reaches about 115.  Update: To ensure thick yogurt, don't add the yogurt until the milk has lowered to 110 degrees.
3.  Stir in yogurt.
4.  Wrap crockpot in a towel or two to insulate.  Allow to sit for 6+ hours, until the yogurt is firm.  (Sometimes I let it sit for nearly 20 hours.  This is okay, because yogurt is cultured.  It won't hurt you to eat yogurt that's sat out for a day.)
5.  Scoop yogurt into containers.  (You may have some watery looking substance at the very top, or the bottom may not be quite as solid as the rest.  This is okay.  The watery substance at the top is whey.  If you don't want to eat it, add it to your bread, or save it to soak your oatmeal.)  Be sure to scoop 1/2-1 cup into a separate container to use as the starter for your next batch.  Refrigerate for at least 6-12 hours before eating.

I have made this recipe about once each week for about 6 months without having any botched batches.  If you have problems let me know, so I can help troubleshoot.

Update:  Click Here for Directions on how to make your yogurt thicker.

Whole Wheat Sourdough

Over the summer I learned to make sourdough.  I loved it!  I made sourdough bread, pancakes, pizza crust, biscuits, and probably other delicious things too.  At the end of the summer things got a little crazy in my life, and sourdough (and breadmaking in general) was one of the first things to go...after this blog.  Now that my life is much more in control, I cannot wait to make start another starter, hopefully a few days ago.  Wait!  That didn't happen!
So here is how to make your own starter.  Hopefully I'll share some recipes in a few days.

1.  Mix equal parts of wheat flour (or any flour) and water in a quart-sized jar.  I started with 1/2 cup of each.
2.  Put a napkin over top, and screw it on with a lid.  The napkin allows for airflow to get into the jar.  The idea with sourdough is that you are getting natural yeasts and healthy bacterias from the air.
3.  Set in a warm place.
4.  "Feed" the starter twice each day, following steps 1-3.  I usually use 1-2 tablespoons of each flour and water at each feeding.  Be sure to mix well, making certain to scrape the bottom and sides of the jar.
5.  Within 2-4 days you should start to see bubbles.  This is all dependent upon things you can and can't control such as temperature.  When I started my starter during the summer, I had a lot happier of a starter than I expect to this time.  Just do your best to keep it warm.  Keep the jar on the stove so that it warms up while your cooking, etc.  (Note:  When I tried in the future, I found it rather impossible to get good results in the cold winter temperatures.  I'll give it another shot, and then I think I'll just have to wait for warmer weather.)
6.  You can make crackers in less than a week of starting your starter, but you should probably wait 1-2 weeks prior to making bread, just to make sure your starter is happy (lots of bubbles).
7.  When you're ready to make a recipe, take out as much starter as the recipe calls for, then replace with equal parts of flour and water.

Easy!  This really only takes about 1 minute of work each day!

I learned how to make sourdough from Kitchen Stewardship.  If you don't like my directions, you can check out her's.  I also started by using her recipes.  Then I got more adventurous.

Stock Up on Peanut Butter!

Prices on peanut butter have already risen, and will continue to rise.  But, good news to some of you, Fresh Market has Sunland Peanut Butter on sale for $.99, per 16 oz. container.  Time to stock up.  If all the peanut butter is gone, ask if you can get a rain check.  Hopefully you can.

A note about Sunland Peanut Butter.  It tastes a little different than you may be used to.  I love it!  (And so does the rest of my family.)  It's made from Valencia peanuts and palm oil, instead of the typical hydrogenated soybean oil.  Palm oil is a healthy fat, soybean oil is not.  

Maceys Case Lot Sale

Maceys' caselot sale begins tomorrow, and runs (most likely) for the next 2 weeks.  Here is my review on what is a good deal.  Remember that grocerysmarts.com has a great star rating system, showing what they say is a good deal.

Milk and Eggs

• Country Fresh $8.88-I've heard good things about this brand, but have never tried it.  According to the Augason Farms website, this can makes 39 cups of milk.  This brings the cost to $3.64/gallon.
• Morning Moo Milk Alternative $8.88.  I cannot stress enough that this is not real milk.  It tastes good when drinking it straight, and works great in baking.  I bought a 50 lb. bag of it several months ago.  I have since decided that because of all of the ingredients in it, that this is not what I want to feed my family.  I will finish what I have, and will not be buying more.  Ingredients can be found here.  Anyway, each can makes 90 cups of milk, bringing the cost to $1.58/gallon.  Great price!  The chocolate milk comes to $2.33/gallon.
• Country Cream $11.99-I really like this milk.  I think it tastes good to drink.  The price on this comes to $2.40/gallon.  Not bad compared to the prices at the store.
• Whole eggs $11.99-I use these in my baking frequently during the winter when fresh eggs are more expensive.  I only use 1 T egg powder per egg, allowing the eggs to go farther than what the directions say.  Using my method, each egg in this can costs about $.07, or a dozen eggs costs $.84.  Great deal!  (This may be a great item to give to loved ones for Christmas!)
• Butter Powder $18.99-I've never had this before.  The prices comes to $3.62/lb. (4 sticks).

Grains

• 45 lb. pail of wheat $15.99 and 50 lb. bag for $11.99-Great prices!  This is much cheaper than buying wheat at a Family Home Storage Center (LDS Cannery).  In the bag, this wheat costs $.24/lb. which is an amazing price!  This is a great stock-up price!  (Can you tell I'm serious about this being a great price?)  To learn more about changes in the price of wheat and other items, look here. 
•   50 lb. bag of oats $19.99-Great deal!

Other

• Chopped Onions, 23 oz., $5.99-  Not that great of a deal.  The Family Home Storage Center has a much better price.  By the way, 6 T of dehydrated onions equals about 1 cup of fresh onions.
• Canned tomatoes $.50-Yeah!  I get to stock up!  I'm all out!
• Canned beans $.50-Best deal you can find these days.
• ShurSaving brand canned pears and peaches, 29 oz., $.99-This is a good price, but ShurSaving isn't known for having the best quality.  I would probably want to try a can first if I were stocking up on these.
• Pineapple $.88-Good price!
• 25 lb. bag sugar $12.99-Not that great of a price.
• Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce $.88-Decent price, but you can find better.
• Tuna $.57-I haven't bought tuna in a long time, but I need to stock up on some.  Is this the best price I'm going to find? (I'd really like to find it for $.35 a can, but I have a feeling those days are long gone.  Is this the price I need to settle for?)
• Tomato sauce $.25-The best I can plan on finding
• Tomato paste $.39-I haven't bough tomato paste in a long, long time.  Is this a good price?

Did I leave anything out that you have questions about?  Leave a comment if you do, or if you can answer my questions regarding tuna and tomato paste.

rhubarb juice

 I have a lot of rhubarb.  I have 12 plants.  Several hundred (probably close to 500) stalks have been been pulled, and you can't tell that any have been taken.
My neighbor gave me a great idea on how to use it in large quantities:  juice.  I have access to a steam juicer, so I tried it.  Now I have 20 or so pints of rhubarb juice in my freezer.  It tastes awful by itself, but I mix it with apple or home-canned grape juice, and it tastes great!

My Spinach Has Gone to Seed

My spinach went to seed before I had the chance to pick it all.  But I still found an excellent use for it.  I picked off all the leaves, washed them, lightly steamed them, and then froze them in muffin tins.  Once they were frozen I placed these spinach patties in a freezer a bag.  Now whenever I make a smoothie, I throw one or two of these patties in.  Tastes great!