Category Archives: DIY

Instructions, tips, ideas for doing things yourself

Preserving the harvest

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There is a house in our neighborhood which is vacant and for sale. In the back yard stands two apple trees and five (yes 5!) plum trees.

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Last year I got permission from the owner/tenant to pick their apples since it was obvious by the number of apples on the ground that they were not going to be doing anything with them.

This year I called the realtor and he gave us permission to take all the fruit we want.

Yay!

So I’ve been supplying us with plums to snack on for a couple weeks now. And I’ve had a basket of apples sitting in the corner waiting for me to do something with them.

Then two days ago a friend gave me some cucumbers and zucchini that she had left over after making all the pickles and relish she wanted.

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So today, I sat down with my recipe books and a pad of paper and made some lists.

Apples : make into cider
Cucumbers: pickle them
Zucchini: shred and freeze
Plums: unknown (I don’t care for plum jam/jelly. What else is there to do with plums?)

As you can see, I had some research to do. I finally decided to make plum butter amd a plum bbq sauce. But first we gotta go pick the plums!

Fist on the agenda for the day was to make the pickles since they are best when the cukes are fresh and they were already 4 das old.

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I’m not going to give a tutorial on how to make pickles. There are already a million of them out there, and I followed the instructions from the Ball Blue Book (one of my go-to canning guides). The only thing I changed is that I left out the sugar. I mean, really. Dill pickles do not need sugar!

However I did want to mention one tidbit that might be handy. The instructions say to tie the spices in a bag. I’ve heard that you can use a tea bag (the kind you buy empty and put loose leaf tea in to steep). But I don’t have any of those lying around, besides, I don’t like to use disposable if I can help it. You can tie the spices up in a square of cheesecloth or fabric, but that just seems awkward. What I’ve done for years now is use panty hose.

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Yep, I purchased a cheap pair specifically for this purpose so they had never been worn. I gave them a good washing. Snipped off the foot portion and tied a knot in the end. Then I just fill the tube with the spices and knot the other end.

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Because the fabric is so stretchy, when it is time to clean, it is a simple task to unknot it, turn it inside out over the compost bucket, and then rinse and wash. And since it is nylon, it dries almost instantly, too.

So once I had the pickles all canned, it was time to deal with the apples. The Hubby and Princess Girl helped cut them up. Because they were so wormy we only got about half of each apple for the pot. The wormy parts went into a bucket to be fed to the chickens. No waste that way.

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I put them on the stove to cook a bit and while they were heating, Princess Girl and I attacked the zucchini.

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I shredded, she packed. We put approximately two cups into each bag since that’s what most of my recipies tend to call for.

We did not blanch the zucchini. I have seen directions that call for it, but in my experience, it has never made a difference in the end product.

I got called away to help Mom with some stuff and when I came back I found that the apples on the stove had cooked down to apple sauce!

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I realized I had cooked them too long to make cider, so I changed my plans and decided to make apple butter instead. Unfortunately, all the peels were still in there. I know some people cook their apple butter with the peels on and they eventually break down into the sauce, but I believe that lends a bitter taste to the sauce and resulting butter. So, I strained out the peels.

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(Gotta teach Princess Girl how to take clearer pictures!)

I spooned the peely sauce into a mesh strainer and by tapping the strainer “ears” on the rim of the bowl and stirring the sauce in the strainer, I got most of the sauce separated from the peels.

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Another of Princess Girl's photos

Even though the apples were not real sweet, the sauce is some of the best I’ve made. I think that is because usually I use the Victorio strainer and it mashes the peels up and strains them out. And while the peels don’t end up in the final product, I think some of their flavor does.

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Princess Girl told me I have to keep this picture and post it. 🙂

At any rate, I got all the peels strained out of the sauce (more food for the chickens!) And ended up with 10 cups of sauce which I put in the slow cooker with some cinnamon and clove. I will let it cook over night.

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I have to buy some honey tomorrow to use as the sweetener since we don’t have enough at the moment.

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Princess Girl helped me finish up the zucchini and get the bags ready for the freezer.

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Twelve pints of pickles canned, 6 bags of zucchini in the freezer, and apple butter cooking in the slow cooker. I’d say it was a productive day.

And tomorrow we go pick apples and plums.

I love harvest season and knowing that I am providing healthy food for my family. And it’s especially great when I get that food for free!

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121

Homemade Laundry Soap

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Soooo….I’m a horrible blogger. I made about a year’s worth of laundry soap a couple days ago. I meant to take pictures so I could post step by step photos. The last time I intended to do a DIY tutorial, I ended up in the Emergency Room. This time, I got half way into the process and forgot to take pictures.

I’m horrible, I tell ya!

But enough about me. Let’s learn how easy (and cheap!) it is to make your own laundry soap.

There are about a bajillion different diy laundry soap recipes out there. I’ve been using this particular recipe on our clothes for at least two years now. Why did I choose this one?

Because it was the one my cousin gave me back before I really got into this diy journey.

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And because it’s simple – only 3 ingredients besides water. Washing soda, Borax, and Fels-Naptha soap (all can be found in the laundry isle of most large grocery stores).

That’s it.

Truly.

I know, right?

And the process is just as simple.

Step #1: put 4 cups hot water in a pot.

Step #2: grate the Fels-Naptha into the water.

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Step #3: stir and then gently (gently!) boil until the soap is all melted. Don’t vigorously boil unless you don’t mind suds all over your kitchen.

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(And that’s all the pictures I got till the next day.)

Step #4: add in 1/2 cup borax and 1 cup washing soda (this is not baking soda – there’s a difference!) to the pot and stir till dissolved. (Note: this time around I doubled the amount of borax and washing soda to see if there is any difference in the long run.)

Step #5: fill a 5 gallon bucket half full with hot water. Pour the soap contents from the pot into the bucket and stir well.
Step #6: fill the rest of the bucket with hot water, stir and set aside until the next day to let it set up.

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See, told you it would set up.

Step #7: now stir, stir, stir! It would be awesome to have one of those paint stirring attachments for a power drill. That would make this part super easy. I thought we had one of those somewhere. Hmmmm… it’s probably still in our shed back on the homestead. Since I didn’t have one of those stirrer thingies, I just used a big slotted spoon.

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And eventually I even just used my hand to reach in and mush up all the gloppy clumps. It was strangely satisfying.

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Step #8: fill a container such as an old laundry soap dispenser or large jar half full with your soap, fill the rest of the way with water and shake. Use approximately 1/4 cup for a front loading washer (you lucky folks) and about 3/4 cup for a top loader. Shake with each use.

That’s it. See, told ya it was simple. And yes, with 4 people in our family and a top loading washer, this amount of soap will last us approximately a year.

So, how does it work? You know, I have to be honest, it’s not the greatest on stains. But it does a good job keeping things generally clean.

It is gentle enough that we used it on Flower Girl’s clothes when she was a baby and suffering from bad eczema and it did not irritate her condition.

It does tend to be clumpy when I pour it, but then, I’ve never taken the time to really, really stir it up well either. I’m sure that would make a huge difference.

As we travel on our journey toward all natural products, I like that the majority of ingredients in this laundry soap are all natural. I did however, read the ingredients on the Fels-Naptha soap and it does have some perfumes and unpronounceables. It’s diluted quite a bit in this recipe, so I went ahead and used it this time. I think by the time we need another batch, I will try to find a more natural soap. I have heard you can use Ivory soap in place of the Fels-Naptha. I will have to look into it more.

But, I’ve got a year to do it. 😉

Have you ever made your own laundry soap? What’s your favorite recipe?

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121

Reduce, reuse, recycle…repair

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Several years ago, we bought an outdoor chaise lounger when we found one cheap at the end of the summer. After sitting outside for several years, it got a tear in the fabric. We were able to live with it like that for nearly an entire summer just by being careful, but the rip kept getting bigger and bigger. When we moved to Oregon, we decided it was time to do a repair. Being the seamstress that I am, I decided to sew it. But the fabric was brittle and we still had to be very careful with it (ie, SOMEHOW keep the toddler from using it as a trampoline!). The repair lasted the summer, though, so I was happy. But over the winter, the repair failed.

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As the weather warmed up this spring, and we desired to sit out on our back deck more, we needed to do something with that chaise lounge. Replacing it was out of the question. The prices they charge at even the discount stores are astronomical. Besides that, we try not to waste things that can be recycled, reused, or repaired. And this qualified as something that could be repaired. Or at least fixed to a point that it is usable again without fear that the bottom is going to fall out on you at any moment.

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So, I had the great idea to use twine to do the repair. Since the ripped area is at the foot of the lounger, not a lot of weight with be put on it, generally. And I wanted to do the repair as quickly and cheaply as possible. This package of 100 feet of line was less than $4. I tied it off and started wrapping around the whole bottom half of the lounger.

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I was surprised at how far 100 feet of rope didn’t go. I had to space out the wraps more than I thought I was going to have to. But, it worked out.

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Once I had it all wrapped, I took up any slack in the line. By doing this three times, I was able to tighten it up quite tight and gained enough length at the end to go around a couple more times.

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I eventually got everything all tight and spaced out and I tied the end off. All that was left was to put on the cushions (yes, two!) and give it a test.

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I’ve used it quite a few times in the last week, and I have to say that it works quite well. 

What do you think of my cheap fix?

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121

How to preserve marigolds the “easy” way

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The no-work, no-fuss way to get perfectly preserved marigold blooms:

1.) Have a child

2.) Grow Marigolds or otherwise acquire them

3.) When child is around 2 – 3 years old, buy said child a clear plastic beverage bottle

4.) Leave said child, in possession of said beverage bottle, in the care of husband

5.) Find said beverage bottle in toy box two weeks later with perfectly preserved marigold blooms inside

*Disclaimer: Author does not claim that step #1 or the intervening years between #1 and #3 is easy, only the end result of having preserved flowers, without having the do the work yourself. The author does not know why you would want to preserve your marigold blooms in such a way or how long they will last, she is just offering a unique and easy way to do it. 🙂

(This article first appeared on Maridy’s personal blog in 2008.)

On my walk

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Look what I found on my walk today. “Wild” onions! At the same park I went to earlier in the week. The family and I went on a walk. In the pouring rain. And came home with a whole handful of onions. And there’s more, many, many more, to be had. I’m making quiche tonight with green onions in it. Yum!  And later this week, I’m going back to pick more and preserve them by cutting and freezing them. I’m excited. Can you tell?

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This is perfect because the onions are already there, growing great, and all I have to do is harvest them before they die off or get mowed down. And if you’re worried about me picking someone’s onions, don’t be. This part of the park is all but abandoned. The city comes in once or twice a year and mows it. And the onions are so thick, it looks like grass. I could pick as much as I wanted to, and you’d never be able to tell I had been there. In fact, I would never have guessed the “grass” was actually onions except that with the girls running around today, they were stepping on them and we could smell them and investigated. When I was there earlier in the week, I stayed on the trail. I guess there are times when getting off the trail is a good thing. 🙂

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.” Ps 121:1-2

On my walk…

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The other day I came across these structures in a yard in the neighborhood:

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They are over what look to be berry bushes (blueberries?). I thought at first they were for covers for unexpected late freezes or to create greenhouses in early spring. Until I looked closer.

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They are covered with a fine netting. Birdproofing the berries! I have not stopped long enough to see how you might enter them to get to the berries, but it seems like a rather simple and ingenious design.

What about you? Do you do anything to protect your harvest from the wildlife?

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.” Ps 121:1-2

Starbucks, eat your heart out!

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First of all, for you subscribers, are you enjoying the old posts? I think I have about 4 more of those scheduled. I hope the info is interesting to you. I felt like this blog started in the middle of the story of our move to the homestead (and then our subsequent move here to Portland). So I wanted to be sure the whole story was here on the blog. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program:

I think I mentioned before that I have a guilty love of mochas. Starbucks mochas, half sweet, to be specific. Well, today as I was making yogurt (following the super easy instructions from Jill, over at theprairiehomestead.com) I got a hankering for one of those mochas.

Might have something to do with the fact that I had just had to resist the temptation to run into Starbucks on my way home with milk. That little logo sure can get my mouth watering! (Pavlov anyone?) But I resisted because my wallet is near empty and their chocolate syrup is full of questionable ingredients such as highly processed sugars and preservatives.

What’s a girl to do? As I set the milk for the yogurt to heat on the stove, my tastebuds were still craving that creamy bittersweet chocolatey goodness. So, of course, I whipped up my own cafe mocha. Right in my kitchen. Whithout an espresso machine. And full of only nutritious real food. No way!

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Yes way!
-I started with about 3oz of really strong coffee. It could maybe even be called espresso, it was that strong.
-To that I added about 6oz hot milk (I used the microwave to heat the milk, but you could easily use the stove as well, or steam it if you have an espresso machine).
-About a tablespoon of cocoa makes a rich chocolatey mocha.
-To balance out the choloclate and add depth of flavor, I added about a quarter teaspoon real vanilla.
-For sweetness I added a splash of pure maple syrup. I really don’t know how much. If I had to guess, I’d say probably 2 teaspoons. But I don’t like my mocha very sweet. I just dropped some in, stirred it all up, tasted it, added a bit more, and tasted it again.

Perfection.

Well, it was missing the real whipped cream on top, so I dropped in a dollop of heavy cream. That kicked up the delish factor to as high as it could go without having actual whipped cream on hand (and no patience to make make some).

Who needs to shell out $4 for a drink when you can make an even better version for a fraction of the price right in your own kitchen?

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.” Ps 121:1-2

Makin’ Moolah!

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Yay! I’m going to be setting up at several craft fairs this Holiday Season with my jams and jellies. I’m so excited to be able to not only make some money for my family, but to be able to share with people my canning skills and the produce of our labors. I love it. You can find new info on my facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/TheCarpentersKitchen

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Oy, but now I need to get my ducks in a row and get some more jams and jellies made! Oooh, maybe I can turn this into a teaching opportunity and invite some friends over as slave labor…uh, I mean to learn how to can. 🙂

Oh, and this reminds me of a post I want to write about all the different ways you can earn money from your homestead. Is anyone out there interested in that type of information? Leave a comment and let me know. Thanks!

A “new” way to wind a garden hose

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Yesterday, I experienced one of those moments that make you say No Way! I was winding the garden hose back into its spot on the ground. It kinda sorta did its own thing and wound into a figure 8 rather than a circle. But here’s the thing,  as it was being put down, I didn’t have to twist or wind the hose to get it to lay flat. In fact, the whole thing laid down with nary a twist in the entirey. Which means, that in theory, when I pull the hose out next time, it shouldn’t twist and coil and kink.

Did I really just discover the secret to un-kinked hoses? Will it unwind with the same ease? Will my gardening life hereafter be blessed with free flowing water?

Have any of you experienced this? Am I really just now discovering this? Is this the “right” way to wind hoses and I’m just now learning about it??? Or was it a total fluke and it won’t make a difference?