Kombucha

This post is probably going to be a bit unsettling to my less "crunchy" readers, but stay with me :) I have been making this drink for a long time as well as several of my family members and friends. It is super good for you, full of probiotics etc. You can actually buy this stuff bottled at places like Whole Foods, but it costs a pretty penny. It is super cheap and easy to make so I make it myself.

Kombucha

1 gallon of water (distilled not tap)
3/4 cup sugar (raw is best, but white will do)
4-8 tea bags (any variety, I use green tea)
1/2 to 1 cup of kombucha
1 kombucha mother or scoby (this is the culture)

Dissolve sugar in water over low to medium heat, add tea bags and steep to desired strength, remove tea bags. Totally cool then add kombucha and scoby (from a previous batch or get some from a friend if this is your first batch). Place in a large glass container or jar. I cut this recipe in half a lot, as we just don't go through it quickly enough.

Cover with a tea towel and let sit for 5-10 days on the counter. The longer it sits the stronger it gets. I prefer mine around day 5. All you do is pour off 90% of the liquid through a strainer and put it in the fridge. Saving the remaining 10%  of liquid and the scoby to start another batch. If you don't want to start another batch right away it can sit (as long as there is enough liquid left) for a long time.

Couple things to take note of :)
*even though it has been put in the fridge the kombucha will start to form mini scoby's after time and become stronger or more vinegary tasting. Not bad by any means you just want to strain it before drinking and may not like the flavor as it gets stronger.
*the mother scoby will continue to form "daughter" scoby's. They kind of look like pancakes stacked on each other. They start off thin but get thicker. These you can either leave in the jar or take out with some of the kombucha to give to a friend so they can start their own. :) Although these look delicate they are NOT, it takes a knife to cut them in half.  So no need to be delicate with them :)

*if your scoby starts to mold it is garbage. I have never had mine mold (only dry out after being left alone for many months) but if it does get mold on it toss it and you need another one. The scoby's will gets stains on them from the tea not to be confused with mold.

I understand this looks very gross to most people, but it does taste yummy, we love to grate some fresh ginger into ours, tastes like ginger ale. It is a carbonated drink also, so it can take the place of pop for those who love pop/soda.

If you would like to obtain a scoby and some kombucha to start your own batch, let me know and I can get it to you :)

Shanda

Cleaning the oven...ick

I hate cleaning the oven. I have never had any luck with "natural" cleaners either store bought or homemade. So I usually wait until it really needs it and then I open windows and spray the nasty chemical laden stuff in it and clean it. Well since that is so easy to do in freezing cold weather with  a toddler *wink* I just don't do it. So needless to say my oven was nothing to brag about.

That was working fine for me until the other night, we were having company over for dinner. Dinner was focaccia bread, lasagna, and chocolate cake from scratch. So the bread was in the oven baking, with time were it was as soon as it was done I needed to pop the lasagna in, and then as soon as that was done the cake. So the oven had a couple solid hours of work ahead of it. Time was going to be tight but I was pretty sure I could get it all baked in time. At least the bread and lasagna, the cake would bake while we ate dinner. Just seconds after I had this thought the olive oil that the focaccia bread bakes in boiled over (all over) and started smoking. This was of course about 10 mins before Dan was to get home from work. By the time he got home the smoke alarms were going off despite several windows being open. Needless to say plans had to change. I finished baking the bread and as soon as it was done and shut the oven off, left it open to cool, and threw a cold soaked towel on the bottom of the oven to help it cool faster. I needed it to cool down enough for me to clean it enough so I could bake the lasagna without it smoking up the house the entire time. I ran downstairs to get some oven cleaner. Thankfully I had a partial can. I ran back upstairs and the oven was cooled enough to start cleaning it. Started to spray the oven cleaner and it would not come out. Although there was still some in the can there was no air left in the can to push it out. I was at my wits end. I thought back to some "natural" homemade recipes I had read online and decided to make my own quickly and try to get it just clean enough to were the smoke alarms wouldn't be going off when cooking the lasagna. So I threw together some baking soda, water, and dish soap. Grabbed my toughest green scratch pad and dove into cleaning the stove, not expecting much. I was blown away by how well it worked. :) I was able to not only clean the olive oil mess but some much older messes in less than 10 mins. Took some elbow grease but it looked awesome and the lasagna cooked (and was done in time) without smoking the whole time. :)

So today I decided to make my little recipe again (this time measuring) and clean the oven really really well, as I did a just good enough job the first time. It worked great again! My oven is sparkling clean! I would say if your oven is super duper bad maybe use the store bough chemical can, but if it's not too bad just use this and avoid the $$ and the chemicals. :) I am pretty clean cook, so my oven wasn't horrendous. I will be using this and only this from now on out.

Shanda's Oven Cleaner~
1/2 cup baking soda
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp Dawn Dish soap

Mix together and use a very rough dry green scratch pad to apply it all over the oven. It really doesn't need to sit long if at all. Start scrubbing the spots in the oven, scrub until the spot is gone. Then wash with a wet rag and that's it. :)

Shanda

How to clean your dishwasher naturally

Lately we have been having an issue with our dishwasher not getting stuff clean, especially on the top rack. So I decided to try giving it an old fashion cleaning.  :) So simple and yet it does work. I ran our dishwasher totally empty on a heavy cycle and extra hot water, not sure if most dishwashers have these options or not. With this empty load I added about 2-3 cups of white vinegar, no dish washing detergent of any kind. In addition to this I also took apart the sprayer for the top rack and cleaned it very well with vinegar. The result in a perfectly running dishwasher that actually gets stuff clean! :) I was having to rewash almost everything from the top rack before. I just unloaded it and not one item needed rewashed!!

Shanda

Elderberry Cough Syrup

This stuff is not just for coughs, it helps boost your immune system. I give some to Micah if Dan or I get sick, in hopes he won't get sick. Although I only give it to Micah, adults can use it as well. I just usually take a tincture or capsule which Micah won't do just yet.

Recipe for Elderberry Cough Syrup:

1/2 cup dried elderberries (purchased from www.bulkherbstore.com)
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger or powder
2 cups water
1 cup honey (raw organic is best)

Bring all but honey to a boil reduce heat and simmer until reduced by about half. Strain and add the honey, mix well. Keep in fridge for up to 2 weeks. I freeze any that is left.

I do highly recommend only using local raw organic honey (if you are looking to get some get a hold of me and I can get you some, I get it locally from a guy and usually buy several quart jars at a time), store bought honey is just really not good for you. Many reasons why, but mainly it has been pasteurized (heated) and this kills a lot if not all beneficial stuff in it.

Dosing -Shake before use.
Active cold/cough-1 tsp every hour or so for young children, 1 Tbsp every hour or so for adults.
Preventative-just take a couple doses for a couple days. I give Micah some in a medicine dropper and he sucks it right down, he loves it!

Disclaimer-I am NOT a Dr. this is just what I give my little man when he is sick, it really does seem to help him get better quicker. :)

Shanda

Amber Teething Necklaces

My baby is now 1 year old, thankfully he has never had to have Tylenol or Ibuprofen for anything. I credit some of this to his constantly wearing his amber teething necklace. He always wears this thing, and it's cute to boot :) I highly recommend them to anyone with a young one, or for themselves to help with headaches. The best place to get high quality amber necklaces is http://hyenacart.com/stores/inspiredbyfinn/. I would not recommend buying a cheaper version off ebay or something as you can't be sure it's real amber.


Shanda

Kale Chips

I know half of you just thought "kale, ick" but stick with me here. These are really yummy if you do it right. I don't have a recipe per say just kind of do the same thing with each batch. I clean a bunch of kale and cut it up ( I use scissors) into chip sized pieces. Place the kale in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with garlic salt and I toss in some red pepper flakes. You can put whatever you and your family like on it, my family likes garlic salt and spicy foods. I put it all on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, move it around on the cookie sheet at 15 minutes, then let it go for another 10-15 minutes. Then you have some yummy kale chips to enjoy :) Don't assume you won't like it until you try it!

Shanda

Honey Roasted Almonds~sooo yummy!

Awhile back I went on a short road trip with my mom and she had brought along a can of honey roasted almonds. They were so good, it was hard not to eat the whole can. Well, that gave me the idea to make my own. It becomes a very expensive snack if you buy them from the store in a can. Not to mention they have ingredients I am not fond of. If I can't pronounce it I don't want to eat it. So I found some recipes and did my own little tweaking and here is what you have-

~Honey Roasted Almonds~

2 cups of almonds with  skins on (mine were roasted whole almonds)
1/4 cup sugar (don't use less)
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp water
2 tsp olive oil

Place almonds on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30, to make them have a  nice crunch. While they roast, place the sugar and salt together in a separate bowl, set aside to toss it all in at the end. Combine the honey, water, and olive oil in a saucepan. Heat this mixture to boiling over medium heat just before your almonds are done in the oven. When it reaches a boil and your almonds are done add the almonds to the saucepan. Stir constantly until all the liquid is gone. Dump the honey coated almonds into the bowl with the sugar and salt and toss to coat. Place on a cool cookie sheet until dry. Store in a airtight container & try not to eat them all at once. :)

Shanda