Nourishing Traditions and Chicken Bone Broth

I finally succumbed today. I couldn't take the pressure of being the only healthy one in the house, so I surrendered to the virus and let it envelope me with aches and fever. Alas, we are all unified in illness. So here's to hoping someone will make Mom some Jell-O now.

NEVER have I been so grateful for being prepared this time. I had big batches of frozen chicken bone broth, stashed away in the freezer. We've been drinking that for a week and I even had enough to share with a sick neighbor AND our dogs. (The dogs LOVE it!!)  I get my recipe out of "Nourishing Traditions".

The best thing you can do, especially if you're a new young wife and mother, is invest in this cookbook Here is a paper back copy...Nourishing Traditions and if you're Prime, you'll get it with free shipping.
It is also avaliable for your Kindle .

The book may seem strange, especially if you are new to clean and healthy eating.  Some of the recipes may seem over the top to you. Take it with a grain of salt and a pinch of fresh ground cracked pepper. But as far as investing in a book to which you would be making constant reference, this book is NOT a waste of money.

We will be planting soon and I hope to can more fermented foods from recipes found in the book.  You can look on the Amazon page for more information and read all the reviews.

Photo from Taste of Home

It is true, I have recently become a new Amazon Affiliate, but I would never tell someone to buy something I didn't believe in.  (Thank you so much, if you do make a purchase through our Amazon doors!!!)

Here is a good link with 10 healthy benefits of drinking chicken bone broth.  She has lots of links too. Hope you find it helpful.

Now, back to bed for me.  I want my mom.  

Be blessed and be a blessing! 

Stay healthy.  

Stay hydrated. 

This flu is bad and everyone has it.  

xoxox

Join us on Facebook where we discuss the recipe.

Make Your Own Kombucha SCOBY

It could be better to obtain a fresh SCOBY Kombucha Tea mushroom from a friend or maybe order one online.  That is not always the most practical way for me, however, as I keep forgetting to order and I have no friends who drink this bizarre, strangely delicious elixir of life.  Experimenting with self-sufficiency is commendable and rewarding, plus I enjoy the challenge.

It can be done.  Fear not!

(And I don't want to discourage you regularly purchasing from Kombucha bottling companies.  I LOVE their products and will keep buying them.  I enjoy their convenience and all the unique flavors they produce. Just sometimes in life we need or want a large vat of it.  Maybe this can help get you started).

Purchase a plain, non-flavored, commercial bottle of raw, refrigerated Kombucha at the market.  You don’t want the warm bottle off the shelf as it was probably pasteurized.  Your best chance is with the refrigerated one.   

Take a few sips and use the rest.  J  This liquid will become your starter.  Or don't drink any at all and use the whole bottle.  It's just for me, I can't resist. I gotta get a Kombucha hit. 

FYI:

(I have made it straight in the store bought bottle before. I drank half of it and set the other half aside to “grow” without adding anything to it. But in case the health inspector comes to my blog and tries to shut me down, I’m giving you the official, sanitary instructions).

Your liquid needs a sanitary, clean, glass jar or bowl to live. I prefer a taller container as they are easier to cover. A bowl is just fine too though.  Do NOT use metal or plastic. Ever. Glass only.  A quart size jar to make a starter is sufficient.

Make a strong cup of BLACK tea using distilled water, not tap water, as tap water contains chemicals which could possibly kill your starter mushroom.  To this cup of tea, add 2 TBLS sugar. Let it cool. Pour the cooled, sweet tea and the bottle of Kombucha together into your jar. The tea and sugar will be feeding your mushroom, similar to feeding your sourdough starter or your Amish friendship bread. 

I cover mine with a kitchen towel and secure with a rubber band.  You can use muslin, cheese cloth, a coffee filter or a paper towel.  It needs to “breath” so we don’t want to seal it with a lid or cover it with plastic. 

Place it in a warm, clean place out of sunlight, away from drafts.  I take the fabric lid off occasionally to give it some air, then recover.  

Now you wait.

Shhhhhh.....patience grasshoppa

You’ll get a “mama” or a SCOBY.  You might get one as soon as 7 to 10 days or it could take a few weeks.  I think the warmer your spot is, the better your chances of success.  You can’t leave it on a sunny, cold back porch and be sad when it failed.  It needs warmth and darkness.  By warmth, I’m not suggesting “heat”.  I’m thinking something similar to where you set your Thanksgiving rolls to rise. 

Once you get your mama SCOBY, you now have a SCOBY and your “starter”.  It's official. You can make a larger batch of Kombucha with this.

I would keep your first batch rather small, maybe half a gallon, because your starter is small and weak.  With each new batch you brew, it will become stronger and your “mama” will get bigger, thicker and more healthy. 

Thank you for stopping by my Little Shop of Horrors. 

If you found this helpful, please share.  I hope you'll follow my blog, over to the right. 

OH....and comment or ask questions.  I'm happy to help. I'm not a Kombucha pro.  I've been making mine since 1998.  I know a little, but I don't know everything.  

Oh Pooh, be fair.  Give it a chance.  It's good for you.
There's starving cats in China who would love this, ya know.

Encourage one another.

Be blessed and Be a Blessing.

Sharing with:

Growing Home Blog ~ Teach Me Tuesdays

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia ~ Tuesdays Treasures

Cornerstone Confessions ~ Titus 2 Tuesday Link Up

A Bowl Full of Lemons ~ One Project at a Time

Clean and Scentsible ~ Inspiration Exchange

Watching "Waitress" and Inventing Pies

Did you see "Waitress"?

 Allyson and I love that movie. 

As in love, love, love, love, and LOVE.

She invents pies and gives them great names now.

This cream cheese blueberry pie was named

"This Is So Much Better Than Math Homework Pie"

"Baby don't you cry, gonna make a pie, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle.  
Baby don't be blue, gonna make for you, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle.  Gonna make a pie from heaven above, gonna be filled with strawberry love.  
Baby don't you cry, gonna make a pie, and hold you forever in the middle of my heart"

Florida Minimalist ~ My New Style

Please do not be inspired by me or copy my unique look without giving me

full credit for my intellectual property. 

 

(you know I'm kidding, right?)

 

Busy and stressed here. 

Trying to stay focused and cheerful.

Peace and much love to you.

 



Orange Peel Stove Top Potpourri

They bloom in the spring, grow all summer and fall,

Now citrus harvest season is upon us in Florida. 

Orange peel is just another nifty thing I hoard

I save it all year to use when my soul craves a spicy contentment. 

It's like comfort food for your nose.

Save your peel chunks if you have no time to zest.    

 

You can leave them in big chunks or Julienne them. 

They will dry within a few days.

I have vintage pie crust cutters I'll use when I feel like it.  Makes for sweeter packages when given as a gift.

  

Here is my recipe for the "Orange Peel Stew"

(which you will NOT eat, only smell).    

I collect spices all year when they go on sale or I have a coupon.

 

Handful of Orange Peel

2 Tbls Pickling Spice

3 Cinnamon Sticks1 Tbls whole Allspice1 Tbls powdered Ginger 

    

Place in 3 cups of water and simmer on stove top. 

May be refrigerated between uses. 

You'll have to bring it to a FULL Rolling bowl! 

It will look like back yard, mud pie and leaf stew. As soon as it comes to a heavy boil, turn it down immediately to very low simmer.  Simmer all day. Do not leave unattended.

*Your water will evaporate all day, so you'll keep adding water to your little pot.

*Little potpourri burners won't work either. This has to come to a boil on your stove, but be sure to turn it back down to the lowest heat, asap just to simmer, or it can scorch or burn.

*Refrigerate to use the next day. Add a few more pieces of orange peel or a cinnamon stick if it starts smelling weak.

*You also don't have to wait for your orange peel to dry to use it like this.  I do out of habit, but fresh boiled orange peel smells good too.  :) 

**********************************************************************************



Pooh is feeling kind and generous today and offers you an orange. 

~The End~

Be blessed and be a blessing. 

Sharing with:

Just Something I whipped up at Project Inspire

No Minimalist Here Open House

Share Your Cup Thursday

Southern Lovely Show and Share

Whatever You Want Wednesday at Free Pretty Thing For You



Jonah Salt and Pepper Shaker

You may or may not know I have a Jonah.    My husband and I wanted a Hebrew Bible name for our son, but wanted something different.   We watched "Sleepless in Seattle"...we both looked at each other and at the same time said..."JONAH"....that's it!!!

Robin's Egg Blue Kitchen

We're not quite finished with the decorating but here is a late evening snap shot of the eating area. We were exhausted after painting all day but I was so excited over how it turned out, I had to take a picture before bed. It's a spa blue paint from Home Depot.

When I first began with the cut in work, I thought, "oh no...what have I done???...I hate it!"....wishing I had gone yellow or something else for the kitchen. Robin's Egg Blue is my favorite color (it's already in the master bedroom). It works almost as a neutral, as everything seems to go with it, especially browns, yellows and reds...especially reds! Yummy! In this picture, it goes nice with the greens I set out for Christmas.

It turned out so pretty and it's sweet during the day when the sunlight hits it, giving it a peaceful, cozy glow.

I love allowing my inner rebellious child write on the walls of my house. I wrote a quick blessing behind the fridge. Now I have to go and hunt down more secret places to write more messages. LOL It's so much fun.

Peach Peel Jelly

Basically you just get a bunch of peaches, wash them very, very well, and peel them. Make sure you don't include anything yucky, like bruises or worms. Throw all that away. :) Do whatever you were going to do with the peaches: freeze, can, jelly, jam, pie, cobbler, ice cream, butter, muffins, cake, peaches and whipped cream, peaches and cream with a little sprinkle of sugar, or my personal favorite; peaches and cottage cheese. It's my favorite afternoon snack.

Save your peach peel for later use. I would add a little lemon juice to keep from browning. I put mine in a zip lock bag this time and put them in the freezer, as my family had just arrived and I didn’t have time to make jelly now. However, normally, I would really recommend you make it the same day if time allows.

There is a tremendous rewarding feeling you will get when you make something so incredibly delicious for your family out of compost fillings. LOL




When it’s time to make your jelly, you put the peelings in your pot. Cover with water. My mother-in-law said we cooked ours for about 30 minutes. I have an old fashioned fruit sieve I use, but if you don’t have one, you could just strain the peelings out or use cheese cloth.

Take your juice and follow the Sure-Jell peach jelly recipe. I also found several recipes last night which gave (better than I could) directions for what we do, except they also used the pits. I hadn’t thought of that. I believe (don’t quote me or I’ll deny it) there is natural pectin in the pit and peel, by the way. I'm not sure about that, but for some reason, that's what I'm remembering.

The lovely thing about peach peel jelly is you’ll get a glorious, beautiful hot pink, peachy, rose colored red jelly. I can’t really describe the color, but it’s so pretty. I wish OPI would make a nail polish named "Peach Peel Jelly" so I could put it on my toes.




I asked my mother-in-law what gave her the idea to start doing this and she said she was stingy and didn’t want to throw anything away. I thought that was funny. They say a man marries his mother. My mother-in-law and I are two peas in a pod. She’s one of my closest friends because we have so much in common. I hate watching her grow older. I don’t know how I’m going to live without her.

OK, back to jelly. You can’t really mess it up. It’s got so much sugar in it, it still tastes delicious even if it doesn’t jell perfectly.

I enjoy canning peaches because there is so much you can do with them. Have you tried pickled peaches? Goodness gracious they are my favorite!!!! Grandma used to make spiced peaches too. Oh wow, what I wouldn't give for a jar of grandma's spiced peaches right now. Gosh, I miss her food!!!!

One time I had a little peach and a little raspberry both left, so I made peach melba jam. Just throw whatever you’ve got fruity in your freezer, especially any type of berry, into your peach jam and experiment. I have NEVER been disappointed. I have also made peach/blueberry jam, peach/pear, peach/strawberry, peach/plum. You get the idea.




Now that I think about it, jams and jellies are one of my favorite foods. I love going down the jelly aisle at the store and getting something new. At any given time, we probably have at least 5 jars of opened jams in our fridge.

One more thing about jams or jellies which I highly esteem is they are always delightful as gifts. Every summer back in Texas (not so much now) my mother-in-law and I would can dozens and dozens and dozens of jams and jellies. Whenever you needed and instant gratitude gift, say for example, the mailman did an especially nice favor for you that day, you could run in and grab a jar of jelly to hand him. Or if someone just moved into your neighborhood, you can take them a jar of your peach melba jam and make an instant BFF. I always passed out tons of jams at church around Christmas time too. You want to tell someone you love them and give them a little something, but you don't have the kind of budget which allows you to tell EVERYONE you love them. Jelly makes everyone happy.

Can you tell gifts are my love language? LOL




Here are peach peel and pit jelly recipes you can experiment with. Just play it by ear. Like I said, you can't really mess it up. If it comes out too thin, pour it on pancakes. :)

Recipe 1

Recipe 2

Recipe 3

Vintage Red Barkcloth Curtain

I found this little curtain strip at a thrift store for nothing. I always bring home vintage fabric "something or others",

thinking I'll harvest it's goodness for projects or quilts.

As usual, I couldn't stand cutting into this, so I gave it a much needed bath,

pressed it and hung it up in my kitchen window.

 

 It gave my kitchen a splash of holiday color. Red is so appetizing to me. Don't you want to bite into this fabric? LOL Yummy!!! Because it's so short, it lets in a lot of light, so I think I'll let it stay for awhile. Light is good in the winter months. :)

 

 

~ Blessings and Favor ~