Heritage Tomato

 

At the time of year when everyone is inundated with tomatoes, I just have to show you ours.

 

 

Yes, these were grown from seed.  These are the tomatoes that DS received from his friend, that he saved the seed from last year.  They are just lovely.

 

 



The size of each is perfect for sandwiches.  They are so large that they take up the slice if that is how you choose to eat them.

 

 

 

Please excuse the use of the lighter.  I needed something which I had hoped would show good scale of the size of the tomato.

 

 

On the right side of the plate, I actually cut from top to bottom one side of the tomato because I wanted to see how that would look.

 

 

 

The picture below shows a bit better.  The left side are slices from side to side.  They are so meaty and the flavor is just lovely.

 

 

I served the slices with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil from the garden.  Forgot to take a picture of it though.  I also had Italian dressing on the table, but everything was so fresh and the flavors worked so well together no dressing was needed.

 

Eating Creatively

 

I am often left with the thought of "what am I going to eat for dinner?"

 

I truly wish that we didn't have to eat, it would make life SO much easier.

 

On this night, I decided to look inside the refrigerator and try to find something to eat.  Now of course, there is food in there.  There is always food in there.  But what do I FEEL like making?  Better yet, what do I FEEL like eating?

 

I found some left over potatoes.

 

I LOVE potatoes and because I do, I try not to eat them very often.  But, we had some for dinner earlier in the week and there was a small amount left.  I don't like to throw food away, so I saved them.  I could make SOMETHING out of them.

 

Now, what else was in there........

 

I know, eggs.  If only I had a good cast iron frying pan.  My dad made THE BEST ever fried potatoes when I was a kid for breakfast in the cast iron pan he had.

 

Anyway, I took the potatoes and an egg out and here is what I came up with.

 



 

 

A little butter went into the pan as it heated, then I put the potatoes in and waited a few minutes for them to brown, but they didn't really, not like in the cast iron pan, but they would be okay.

 

 

 

Then I scrambled the egg in a bowl and dumped that in on top. 

 

Now that I think about it, I probably should have fried some onions first and maybe some peppers that I keep handy in the freezer, then put in the potatoes and then the egg.  I'll have to remember that for next time.

 

Anyway, that was what I had for dinner.  I can at least say there was a protein in there, as well as the carbs.  I did put on some salt and pepper.  I think potatoes are the only thing I actually put salt on.

 

I just wanted to share this with you to hopefully inspire you to look and see what you have in your refrigerator tonight, that needs to be eaten up, so it isn't thrown out or forgotten.

 

I know that I mentioned recently that I have been trying to look at the food we eat and the amount we eat and to use up what we fix so that there isn't so much food going to waste and being thrown out.  Give it a try.  You'd be surprised what you come up with!

 

This weeks experiment

Every week I try to pick something to improve upon to either save money, the environment or to use our resources to the best of our ability.

This week, at least Monday through Friday evening, I have decided to make it a no TV week.  I have not turned on the bedroom TV in the evenings in over a month in an effort to save electricity.

It's winter here, and there is snow on the ground, and it gets dark at 4:30 in the evening.  So believe me, this isn't easy.  Usually I have the TV on as background noise or something "to do" when the nights are long.

There are a few reasons for my wanting to try this, first I want to see if I can.  Secondly, I want to see how much this will change our electric bill.  And finally, I really need to get some of my holiday knitting completed for gifts that I am planning to give.

I have gone without TV before.  When we were kids, we had a house at the shore and we had no TV and no telephone.  Growing up back in the 60's and 70's, you didn't really need a TV to keep you busy or for company.  You went outside and found your own adventures, you played board games on rainy days, or you read books that took you to far away places.

I have managed to get through quite a bit of a sock, that will be for my husband, and I have finished reading two of the garden books that I took out of the library.

These are a pair of socks I did for myself last year.

Lights

I have been giving a lot of thought to electricity, what else we could do to reduce our usage and light bulbs or lighting.

I like having timers on a number of lights in the house, that I change frequently.  We also have two outside lights on timers as well that help with when we are out at night so we don't have to come home in the dark.

Before I really began to think about all the electric usage, they were all on quite often and for many hours.  I have cut back all lighting drastically, except for one small, low watt bulb in the dining room.  When it is on, it lights up a majority of the area and can be seen all the way from our bedroom at night so that if you need to get up you aren't in total darkness.

Almost all of the lamps are the new energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.  But, I have to say, they have gone down in price over the years, and quality.  Seventeen years ago, when we began to use them, we paid $13.00 each and those lasted for 7 years.  Not bad for $13.00.  Now, the price is less, I think around $7.00 a piece and it seems they last maybe two years.

I have reduced the amount of time each light is on, and I feel this has significantly reduced our electric bill.  Where the outside lights would go on at dusk and stay on until about 11 pm, I have set the timers by day and only have them on for about an hour around the time that I feel I will be out and coming home.  Plus, if they come on and I am home, I turn them off, I don't leave them to run their full cycle.  The thing I like about these in wall timers is that they have a random feature where it will change the times that it comes on, on it's own. 

The other inside timers I now only set to come on when I know I am going to be out in the evening.  They do not come on every night.

As I mentioned in another blog post, I have been doing other things, such as unplugging appliances not in use, and my computer and printer.  The past two months our bill went down $40.00 the first month and another $10.00 the second month.  That is quite a bit of a savings, don't you think?

So, now, I'm trying to think of even another way to save a bit, I want to look into finding a portable solar light that I could put in the kitchen and our bedroom, that way I wouldn't have to use either one of those lights at night either, they would just run on whatever stored solar power they have each day.

I know that we could probably look into solar energy for the house, but I honestly don't feel we will be here in five years and so I'd like to look at that for our future, final home.

Do you have any ideas of a portable solar light that might work?

Doing our part

I am lucky, I have time each morning to read the blogs I like and to look up anything that interests me.

It has been through reading blogs and looking at YouTube videos that I have learned so much and that I have changed things in our lives to help save the environment we live in, as well as to save us money.  The later, a bit on the selfish end, as I wish to stay at home and not go back to work, full time.  I enjoy being home.  I enjoy learning to do the things my grandmothers did.  I enjoy having the quiet instead of the rush of being out in the working world.

Here are some of the things we've started doing to help us reach and maintain a simple life for ourselves.

• We have built a 18 feet by 4 feet garden in our yard. In which we grew, tomatoes, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, several kinds of lettuce, onions, carrots, turnips
• Learned how to grow potatoes in buckets, got three small crops
• We repaired our front walk ourselves instead of hiring out
• We heat with wood, that is bartered
• We have found a local to us CSA that we joined with another couple for next year
• Found two lovely, at home, local nurseries that I bought perennials for our yard to encourage bees to visit, and butterflies.
• We try to use cloth, made in the USA, shopping bags, if we don't have one with us, we don't take a bag from the store, we carry the items out.
• I have unplugged every possible item that is not necessary when not in use.
• Watching less tv
• Turn off computer when not in use and unplug it when charged
• Turned of printer and only have one when needed
• I use the downstairs toilet as much as possible as it is a newer, more conservative toilet
• I borrowed a sewing machine to make cloth napkins
• I learned how to make butter
• learned how to can tomatoes
• learned how to make yogurt
• Built a hugel bed where blueberry bushes will be planted in spring
• Built a compost pile
• Started a worm farm
• Talked with a local Starbucks about obtaining coffee grounds a few times a week
• I'm using the local, free compost center to get compost to supplement our yard
• Dear Darling re purposed troughs to make a spot to garden on the deck
• Dear Darling made a gutter garden for our use next year on the deck
• We purchased, on clearance, a rain barrel to be installed in the spring
• We found old, old cobblestone at the dump pile that we will use somewhere in our yard
• I'm trying my hand at propagating some of this years plants
• I've saved some seed to use for the coming year
• New to me, vintage wool lined barn jacket, made in the USA
• New to us, vintage wool blanket, made in the USA
• Sewed wipes and cleaning cloths from clearance flannel material
• Using out door clothes line for drying more often
• Using indoor clothes drying rack now that fire is going
• Using cold water in washing machine
• Saving whey from making yogurt and using in baking
• Saving buttermilk from butter making and using in bread making
• Make all Dear Darlings lunches for the week
• Plan all trips in the car to make the most of each trip
• Learned how to dry tomatoes
• Froze shredded zucchini for future use
• Make our own bread crumbs, croutons and bagel chips
• Made dehydrated Kale chip
• Made refrigerator pickles
• Our Kuerig broke, I didn't buy a new one because I thought a lot about all those little cups going to the landfill
• Called the phone company and got a better bundle for our needs and saved $25.00 a month
• Also called DirecTV and got a deal that saved us $15.00 a month
• Learned about different Squash/Pumpkins, tried them and decided we like them

This list may seem like a lot of things.  Perhaps some of the things seem difficult.  Some, people may think, "why bother?"  But these are just some of the ways we are doing our part.  If everyone would just pick something, and go from there, just think what a difference it would make?

I am not a political person.  I feel, for me to make a change, says something about who I am, what I believe.  Will I share that knowledge with anyone?  Yes.  I'm sharing this with you in each post.  At least I would like to hope I'm sharing it! (smile)

My wool blanket

 

This is our new to us, wool blanket.

 

 

 

I saw this post over at  Nutmeg and Linen and just loved the idea of putting a crochet edge on a blanket.  So, I was on a mission! 

 

 

 

After searching a few days on eBay, I came across this blanket that I felt would work perfectly in our bedroom.  The color looked nice, the size was good, it is a vintage, American made wool blanket, made by Fabrio mills in Minnesota.  The seller had good reviews, seemed honest, so I took to watching and then bidding.  I figured that if I got it and didn't like it, I could always cover and "guilt" it and no one would see an ugly, wool blanket, but a pretty first try at making a spread for the bed.

 

 

And, I won!

 

When the blanket finally arrived, I was so thrilled with it, I couldn't have been happier, the color was right, the description of it was right.  I was/am a happy camper.





The blanket arrived clean, but I threw it into the dryer for a few minutes and then threw it out on the line to make sure it was fresh.

I have since taken the satin edging off and have begun the task of blanket stitch and crochet shells for the edge.

I have to say, for a vintage blanket, it looks brand new, and it is SOFT.  Even Dear Darling commented on how soft the blanket was, while suggesting that we use it as a living room blanket instead of putting it on the bed!

Pictures to follow once I've finished.

BUTTER

 

I made my own butter!

 

 

 These two photos show all that you need.  I used my Kitchenaid mixer, the wire whisk attachment,  a quart of Heavy cream purchased from our local dairy, a measuring cup and ice water.

 

 

I also saw this on the website below.  The blue strainer is the strainer that I use to drain my tuna.  I found it a few years ago in the grocery store and I never would have thought to use it in this way.  You need ICE cold water to wash your butter with and this allows you to have it ready to use without fiddling with a strainer or worrying about fishing out ice cubes before proceeding with the washing.

 



 

 

Taking pictures while the mixer is running isn't easy, but I tried.  First your heavy cream will turn into whipping cream.

Then, you will need either a splatter shield, which I didn't have, or a towel.  When it begins to break down and the buttermilk begins to form it will begin to splatter.  Be careful where you put your hands and fingers.

 

 

Here you can see, it actually did do what they said!  It was like magic when it happened.  This is after about 5 minutes of mixing at the number 10 speed.  Because it was the first time I made butter, I had to keep stopping it to "check" it.  And to take pictures to share.

 



 

 

I'm sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the rinsing.  Once you feel you have all the buttermilk out, you drain that and save it.  Then you begin the washing with the ice cold water.  This could take 3 to 5 times where you change the water.  You want to get the water as clear looking as you feel you can.

Now for me, this was the most difficult part, getting out all the water.  You need to be sure to get out all the water you just washed with because it will make your butter spoil more quickly.  You don't want that.

 

 

And here you see my first batch of butter!  Isn't it lovely?

 



 

The picture below shows you the second batch of butter, so I got two containers of that size and the pint jar of buttermilk from the quart of heavy cream.

 



 

 

I am so thrilled that I was able to make the butter.  The second batch didn't take as long as the first.  The first batch was about an hour, the second one was about 45 minutes.  Keep in mind, there is always a learning curve when doing something for the first time.  I am sure in the future I will be able to get prep and clean up down to 30 minutes.  Plus, I won't need to keep stopping to take pictures and looking to see if it is working or not.

 

This is the link I used to help me make my first batch of butter.  It was perfect. Has a video and written directions.  You have to love the internet!~

 



How to make butter in your kitchenaid mixer

Thank you for visiting and I hope you will give making your own butter a try if you haven't already.

Thrift Shopping

I don't like to shop.  And when I do, I usually go where I know, get what I need and go home.  I have never been a browser, though at home on the Internet is another story.

Anyway, I have borrowed a friends sewing machine and have been trying my hand at some basic sewing.

I found some diaper fabric made in America for $6.99 a yard at our local Joann's, which to me, doesn't seem like a bad price.  It's the same kind of material that the napkins I bought off of etsy are made of, only I don't have a serger.  So I have been practicing using the different stitches on the machine and also making hems to see which I like better.  I am considering making the napkins to give as gifts for future gift giving.

I'd also like to spruce up my own dining room, but don't really have the extra money to go out and buy all new things.

So, I was at the Salvation Army store and I was looking for a flat sheet to try to make an apron out of.  I figure a sheet is a lot of fabric and much cheaper than buying it on sale and often times flat sheets don't wear out, while fitted ones do.

Anyway, while looking for a flat sheet to make the apron, I found what I thought was a window curtain, but is really a shower curtain, and a flat sheet that almost match in color.  I am thinking about using the shower curtain, which is mostly cotton to make napkins and then use the sheet to either make a table runner for the table and the sideboard and perhaps even valances for the window.  Quite an undertaking for me.  Those two items cost me roughly $7.00.  I will have TONS of napkins.

 

 

These are the sheet and curtain I hope to do the napkins, table runners and valances out of.

 

I also found a vintage fitted sheet that looks like it was never used.  It has a nice small floral print that I will try to make the apron from.  This cost 1.99

This is the small floral print I will try to make the apron out of.

Then I went to a local antique shop because one of the stands has all kinds of old sewing stuff in it.  I got the edging and sewing thread for about $5.00.

Then I found two flannel receiving blankets for .99 cents for the two of them, and they looked brand new.  I bought them too and I am not sure what I am going to do yet, but I am sure they will turn into something handy.

 

Wish me luck with my sewing adventures.  I am sure you will see the outcome soon.

Sundays are my busiest days

I truly think that Sunday is the busiest day of the week for me.

If I haven't been able to shop for the following week, it's off to the store to do lunch shopping.  I make a weeks worth of lunches for Dear Darling on Sunday.

For the summer, he didn't want bread with his meal each day, so I only had to bake a loaf on Friday and that would see us through the weekend and maybe a spare slice or two for during the week.

Winter (fall) is another story.  I make bread on Friday and then again on Sunday.

At the market, I picked up fresh fruit.  I like for him to have at least two different fresh fruits a day.  I also make a "magic bullet" drink for him, that has lettuce, grapes and pineapple (this week).  He likes them better with blueberries, but they are SO FAR out of the budget right now.  Next year I am going to keep an eye on the price and BUY lots to freeze.  Plus two servings of vegetables as well.

I also like to make something for a home made snack.  This week is just brownies.  Yes, it's a box mix, I have some in the pantry and need to use them.  Then I will figure out how to make my own.

For lunch he will have beef and noodles, which the beef is leftover spaghetti meat sauce from dinner last night with some of my canned, diced tomatoes and I added macaroni noodles and a slice of muenster cheese on the top.  I will also give him two slices of bread for each day as well, with butter.

Lunches this week will be

A sliced orange
A sliced cucumber
Beef and noodles, plus bread and butter
Cheese and crackers
A banana
Homemade yogurt
Made at home brownies
Magic bullet drink

Oh, plus, as a surprise, I put three Hersey's kisses into each Cheese and crackers container.

It may seem like a lot of food, but he will eat some of it at morning break time.  Since he is away from home, it is so easy to grab something quick off the "lunch truck" and by providing a variety of good food and homemade snacks, the lunch truck doesn't see our dollars.

What or how do you handle lunches in your home for those who work out or go to school?

Sour Dough





Yogurt Sour Dough Starter

 I've begun a journey.  That may take a while.  Both Dear Darling and I are bread lovers.  We would eat it everyday at every meal if we could, but for us, it is not healthy, so we only try to eat it on the weekends.

Both of us like sour dough bread, so I thought I would try to make some.  How hard could it be?

Starter bubbling away

 Having never made it before I began my journey.



Sponge

It's not quite as simple as making a loaf of bread in the bread machine.  PLUS it helps if you read the directions of the recipe from start to finish.  There is a lot of waiting with making sour dough bread.  Not only do you make the starter that you feed for 3 to 5 days, but then you make a sponge which takes over night.

Salt and Baking Soda

After I had stirred down the sponge, I added the salt and baking soda.  You can see the two separate clumps in the photo above.  I learned this trick from my mother, this way, should I get distracted while making something, you could look in the bowl and see what you had already added preventing any additional amounts of ingredients. 

 

The recipe said to cut the dough in half and then half again.

Then to place two of the halves into the bread pan and let rise again, for about three hours.

 

As you can see, they are cute, little loaves.  They didn't rise very much.  They were more dense than we would have liked them to be, but for a first try, they came out okay.  I guess it's one of those things I will be trying to perfect with trials and time.

 

Small things can save you big!

There are tons of ways to save money, but are you willing to do them?

Some people feel that they will be depriving themselves.  Says who?  OH, that's right, the Jones' or the advertisers.

When did we stop thinking for ourselves?

Sure, everyone likes to have a big house, a big car, a big boat.......  And they also have BIG BILLS to go along with them.  Don't think because someone has more than you, nicer than you, or bigger than you that they are not MORE in debt than you.  And why should you try to keep up?  So you can look as happy as they do, and once the doors are closed, be miserable?

We all lead the life we want.  We all make the choices we do.

We have chosen, after some curve balls, to live a bit more simply.  To not have the newest, fastest, brightest, biggest ______.  (You fill in the blank)

We want to be happy with where we are at.  We want to continue to pay down our debt and enter into the stage in life where we can put a little something more away for a rainy day.

As a couple, we decided that I would stay home and work at making our home a nice place to come to.  To have a garden, to make bread, to have healthy meals on the table.  To knit items for ourselves and as gifts.  To take care of the dog.

How do small things save you big? as the title of this post states.

Well, sometimes it's the little things, done over time that save you money.

Take the time to reuse containers.  They could be glass jars that your spaghetti sauce came in, or the containers that your vegetables came in.

Take time to remember your handmade grocery bags.  They save the environment, which is big.  You are doing something, not just for yourself, but for the world as a whole.

Before you throw something away, think if it could be repaired, reused in another way or recycled.  Such as my trough garden.  These items would have been thrown away into recycle yes, but they will have a much more productive life as a garden.

Look around your home for the appliances that you do not use everyday that are plugged in.  How many do you see?  If they aren't important, meaning the freezer, refrigerator or an appliance you can't unplug, unplug them when you aren't using them.  We have three in the wall air conditioning units.  In the off season, I unplug them.  Do I know how much this saves us?  No, I've never actually worked that out, I suppose I should, but I know that there is a little green light on the plug and it has to be using some electric if it's lite all the time.  I do the same with several lights in rooms we don't use often, as well as the coffee pot and the toaster. 

Give it a try, it's a small thing to do, but can save you big over time.

Use what you have

 

We have always tried to Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle whenever we can.

 

Meet my new planter.

 

 

 

This started out as two containers for hose on a fire truck.  They were being thrown in the trash and my dear darling asked if he could have them and was given them.

 

What to do with them?  Certainly there had to be a new purpose for these.  They do weigh a considerable amount, so they can't be moved around much.  And the corners do have small drain holes. 

 

We are always looking for new ways to grow our garden, since our yard is so steep, that we thought this would work great as.......

 

A new planter for the deck. 

 

Dear darling screwed them together and then made the base out of some wood and I painted the wood to help protect it from the weather.  We chose this spot because of the good amount of year round sun it gets.

 

 



 

 

 

Next, I put some straw in the bottom and mixed peat moss, used coffee grounds and aged compost and filled in each trough.  Then, I had some peas that I had started in a container to be transplanted into the garden that I transplanted into the top trough.

 

 

Then, in the bottom trough, I decided to try to plant some very LATE season lettuce, carrots and spinach.

 

It is all an experiment at this point. I am not really sure what will work here and what won't, but I won't know if I don't try.

As you can see, I am recycling some plastic containers from the grocery store to use as little greenhouses over the seeds that I've planted.  Which, really worked out well, because not only did they help to keep the soil moist, but we had a few evenings of temperatures into the upper 30's and these little covers helped a lot.

Plus, because this planter is a manageable size, I can just throw a tarp over it when the nights do go low enough for frost.  We will see how this planter works at helping us to extend our growing season.

What types of things do you reuse, repurpose or recycle to help you along with your life of simplicity?  I'd love to hear them.