Spuds, Bugs and DE

I walked in the house the other day and 

this was sitting on my counter! 

In the spring Daniel helped plant the potato's so now that it's time to dig them up, he gets all excited to dig in the dirt and grab the big ones, but his favorites are the little tiny ones! I have found that if they plant and pick them, they'll eat them!

These nasty little creatures lived short lives in our garden this year. We got rid of any in sight by stuffing them in a jar. Squished a few and actually had to toss a few plants because they were so eaten up. After about a week of that, they were gone!! Other years, if the the plants are covered in bugs, we could use Diatomaceous Earth (DE). 

"Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) Organic Crawling Insect Killer With all the concerns about pesticides today - you can rest assured that Diatomaceous Earth is safe & effective. Made from the finely ground fossils of prehistoric fresh water diatoms. Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) kills common household and garden pests like roaches, ants, fleas, beetles..."

Sprinkle it on the plants at the onset of potato bug season. To insects DE is a lethal dust with microscopic razor sharp edges. The sharp edges cut through the insects protective covering drying it out and killing them when they are either dusted with DE or if its applied as a wettable powder spray. If they ingest the DE it will shred their insides!! 

It's nice to know that if you use D.E rather than a poison, the food and the kids will still be safe in yard and garden! Basically DE is a powdered rock used as a nontoxic, all-natural insecticide; a form of unrefined diatomite (diatomite is a soft powdery porous rock). 

DE is NOT the same thing as the DE used in swimming pools. Pool grade DE, produced for pool filters, is treated with heat, causing the formerly amorphous silicon dioxide to crystallize. Pool grade DE should never be used for pest control.

Fishin' for Dinner

FISH! I don't know too many people who don't like fish, although we do live in the land of 10,000 lakes so you pretty much have to love it! I was also curious about the health Benefits and mercury consumption and here's what I found out....

Daniel and Lydia, heading to the 'lake' to go fishing!

Health Benefits:

• Eating fish gives us one of the highest quality proteins, vitamins and minerals! I love fish and could eat it just about every day. I'm talking about cold water fish like crappies, walleye and northern which are a little fattier than white-fleshed fish like cod and halibut, pollack and bass which are really low in fat.
• The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating a variety of 'fatty' fish at least twice a week as a preventative against cardiovascular disease! I wonder if that why my Grandpa is still strong and healthy after all his heart attacks and bypasses - Grandpa and Grandma lived on a lake for most of their life and ate fish all the time.

Mercury:

• Trace amounts of mercury are generally found in fish since it occurs naturally in soil, rocks, streams, lakes and oceans. But now the prevalence of mercury as an industrial byproduct has caused some fish to contain high levels. That would be older, larger predatory fish like shark, swordfish, mackerel and tile fish (which I don't think we'll find in our lakes!).
• Luckily if we eat fish that are lower on the food chain we shouldn't have to worry about mercury levels unless lake reports show high percentages, but even then it's just a warning to slow consumption. 
• Also, pregnant or nursing women have to be careful of the amount of consumption because it can cause harm the developing nervous systems.

Didnt catch much but had a great time trying!!

I'm glad to see that it's one of the best quality proteins you can get your hands on! I have to say, there is something amazing about FRESH fish, spiced and fried in butter! Best ever! And for some reason it ALWAYS tastes better when eaten at the lake! 

Red Raspberry Leaf

Aside from it's edible, sweet, delicious fruit, the raspberry plant is also known for it's amazing medicinal properties. The rapsberry leaves are especially beneficial for expectant mothers, and because of the high vitamin and mineral content, these leaves are also an herbal remedy for several other ailments as well!

For pregnancy:

• Red raspberry contains vitamins and minerals like vitamins A, B, C and E, potassium, phosphorus and calcium which make red raspberry leaves a tonic for pregnant women and boost the immune system. 
• The leaves contain carotenoids and alkaloids like fragrine. The alkaloid fragrine tones the muscles of the pelvic region and uterus so they can contract more efficiently during labor, making  the process of delivery easier, faster and less painful!! 
• Red raspberry leaf promotes better blood circulation, eases morning sickness, prevents  postpartum hemmorage, relieves constipation, prevents miscarriages and promotes lactation and bone development for baby. That's alot for a little fruit leaf. 

For Fertility:

• The leaves of the raspberry plant are believed to cure infertility in both men and women. Combining the leaf with red clover leaf can enhance it's benefits for fertility.
• Women with irregular menstrual cycles can take this leaf or tea to regulate their cycle and reduce PMS. 

Other Benefits For Everyone:

• Red raspberry leaves provide relief in diarrhea
• Ideal for treating skin irritation and improves skin firmness
• Prevents dehydration and lowers the level of blood sugar in diabetic patients
• Is used to treat flu, upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, fever and rubella

How to Prepare It:
Add 2 teaspoons of red raspberry leaves to 1 cup of boiling water. Allow the leaves to steep for 12-15 minutes to prepare the tea. The tea should be drank hot to get all the best benefits.

I either purchase bulk amounts of red raspberry leaf at the food co-op or order it online from Present Moment Herbs and Books. I store it in an air-tight jar in my cupboard. Every night (pregnant or not) I drink 2 large coffee cups of tea with 1 tablespoon of local honey. Sometimes I'll add peppermint and chamomile to it as well.

I have seen first hand the AMAZING benefits this tea has given me - from firmer skin to producing 'higher yields' in lactaion and easier labor and delivery. It tastes really good too.

Benefits & How To Use Flax Seed

FLAX - the most powerful food on the PLANET!! It has the proven possibility of reducing your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, cholesterol and diabetes. That's a lot of stuff for just a little seed to do!

Check out these benefits!!

Heart Disease:

The #1 killer in America! Helps reduce total cholesterol, LDL levels (bad cholesterol), triglycerides. Reduces clotting time, thereby reducing chance for heart attacks and strokes. Keeps arteries clear and pliable. 

Cancer: 

Flax seed is high in lignans which have anti-tumor properties. Lignans also act as antioxidants that could mirror the results of Tamoxifen, the anti-cancer drug for breast cancer. 

Constipation:
Flax seed's all natural fiber helps absorb water, which softens stools and allow it to pass through the colon quickly. Drink a lot of water when adding fiber to your diet because with out enough liquids fiber can actually cause constipation!

Menopause:
Flax is a phytoestrogen (an estrogen like substance found in plants). These phytoestrogens act as a natural hormone therapy to help stabilize hormonal levels.

Inflammation:
High in Omega-3 essential fatty acids, flax aid in inflammatory disorders like rheumatoid arthritis.

Immune System:
Flax contains lignans and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), which affect immune cells and compounds that control immune reaction.

Depression:
A diet high in Omega-3 fatty acids decrease the risk of depression and Alzheimer's.

How can you use flax?

• Use it in baking - replace 1/4 to 1/2 c. of the flour with ground flax if the recipe calls for more than 2c. 
• Use it in cooking - meatloaf, beef stew, meatballs, chili, chicken parmesan or enchilada's.  Use 2-4TB.
• Use it everyday - in your oatmeal, smoothies, soup or yogurt. 
• Whole flax keeps longer - store in freezer for up to a year.

I like to keep a canning jar full of ground flax in my fridge for quick use on salads, cereal, hamburgers and...well,  I pretty much put a tablespoon or so in everything I cook!! Shhhhh, it's a secret!!

Choco-Cherry Grahams

Choco-Cherry Grahams are a kitchen creation! These are a super easy, fun snack for you and the kids. They would also be a nice addition to a children's birthday party... and simple enough to make at a picnic. 

A Decadent Delight!

Graham cracker square

Nutella spread

Maraschino cherries 

Marshmallows

Maraschino cherries are super sweet which gives it a rich flavor alongside the Nutella spread. Nutella is a hazelnut spread with skim milk and cocoa - tastes a lot like chocolate to me!  

Homemade Kitchen Toys For Infants

It seems that most little babies would rather play with something that ISN'T a toy rather than a real toy. 

Lydia loves to chew on ribbon and random things from the kitchen drawers, so I thought I'd encourage her love of the kitchen and recycle my old stuff by making these fun gadgets. 

Use a hole cutter to make the holes in the nipples and caps

1. baby bottle nipples and rings, cotton ribbon

2. milk caps, water caps, 2 bells, ribbon

3. canning rings, ribbon

These are great to keep in the car for infant entertainment!

Cane Sugar vs. White Sugar

What is the difference between cane sugar and white sugar? Should you be buying cane sugar rather than white sugar? Lets take a look at their differences. 

Cane Sugar

Cane sugar (or raw sugar) is sucrose that's extracted from sugarcane that has not been refined.

Sugarcane is harvested by cutting it above the roots so it is considered a sustainable plant because it will regrow the next season and produce for many years. It's loaded in a transport vehicle and brought to a plant to be processed

At the plant, the sugar cane is put into a machine that twists and turns the stalks to extract the cane juice. The juice is filtered, and then boiled so the water evaporates and the crystals grow. Then the mixture is spun rapidly so the liquid separates from the sugar, then dried. Now you have raw cane sugar.

White Sugar

White sugar is (or refined sugar) undergoes high levels of chemical processing before you buy it.

Refining cleans and purifies the raw sugar. First they remove the liquid layer that builds up around the sugar crystals by mixing it with purer syrup then spun to remove the liquid from the crystals. This also removes the impurities from the sugar. But the liquid still has more particles that need to be removed by a process called carbonation. Small pieces of chalk are mixed in with the liquid, the particles are drawn to them and then removed.

The color is removed either by being burnt off by carbon or an ionic resin. Then  it's boiled and spun again to remove further liquid. The result is white, refined sugar. The liquid byproduct is molasses.

Facts:

• Raw sugar is minimally processed making it a natural product and easier for your body to digest. 
• Raw sugar is more healthful than refined because there are no chemical additives. 
• Raw is more expensive and has a distinctive taste.
• Raw sugar supports a more sustainable industry.
• Refined is mass produced and less expensive.
• Refined is chemically processed.

The fact is, I have both! I bake with refined and use raw for beverages and some recipes. In a perfect world I would use raw for everything but my budget is tight, so I use both!

Chunky Chicken Rooster Tails!

Inspired by yesterdays visit to the farm 

these eggs were filled with goodness.

A fun way to get the picky one to eat lunch...

and he ate it all except the carrots!

 HB egg shell

Handful of chuncky chicken

cheddar cheese

carrots

cherry

Bologna Days!

People from around the state drive to Genola Minnesota every Wednesday to the Red Rooster Bar for Bologna Day's. It's quite the 'to do'. The old ladies get all dooker'd up and all the men are excited to eat ring bologna on white bread!

Grab a flimsy paper plate, a plastic fork and wait your turn to load up with as much horseradish, ketchup, white bread, baked beans and ring bologna! No knives, so be sure to bring your own pocket knife. The beer is ice cold and the old time polka band is playin' loud.

It's as if they're giving away free beer it's so crowded! You may even find the local Priest peeling back the bologna skins. And although it's all you can eat, you'll want to get there early so you can be first in line!!

Puddin' Pops!

Old toy, new fun! 

A while ago my Mom gave me our old 'Frozen Dessert Kit' and every once in a while on these hot days we use it. Today we made 'puddin pops'! 

Fun Facts about Jell-O!

Kraft foods sells more than a million packages of Jell-O each DAY!

Fruits that sink in Jell-O: seedless grapes and fruits in heavy syrup like fruit cocktail, peaches, pears etc. 

Fruits that float in Jell-O: fresh fruit like bananas, citrus sections, sliced peaches, apples and fruit in light syrup. 

Jell-O came out with a cola flavored Jell-O but it was dropped the following year. Original flavors were orange, lemon, strawberry and raspberry. 

Jell-O is America's most famous dessert. In fact it was once considered a very decadent dessert and served by the upper class. They used fancy Victorian molds to create desserts that were both beautiful and tasty. 

Fun Stuff!!

Baked Potato Kabobs

Quick, simple and tasty - baked potato kabobs. 

Ever hear of such a thing?  

This morning I dug a few red spuds from the garden and had big plans to somehow grill them...but I ran out of time. So instead I smothered them with EVOO, sprinkled a handful of parsley and sea salt on them, poked a few holes and threw them in the microwave for 10 minutes (I realize I probably killed all nutrients!). After 10 minutes I strung them on a kabob stick and put them on the grill for 5 minutes so I could still get that grilled flavor. 

This was a really quick way to get the potato's done in the amount of time it took to grill the steaks. 

Rare Cookbooks Worth $$

You probably have them on your shelf - old, vintage or antique cookbooks. Did you know they could be worth money! Many people are now selling their rare cookbooks to to cookbook collectors and making hundreds of dollars at it!

Some collectors collect in one category like chocolate cookbooks. Many are looking for old vintage Betty Crocker cookbooks from the 1950's or 1960's. And some don't have to be very old to be worth a lot.

Check the Internet for the value of your cookbook. The Faded Giant book database lets you search the value of specific texts. Search using title and author. You can also do general searches using the term 'cookbook'.

Rubus Occidentalis

Or more commonly known as Black Raspberries - the 'king of berries'! 

Black Raspberries have one of the highest antioxidant ratings among the common fruits and berries and they are right here...growing wild in my back yard! 

Black raspberries have around 40% more anti-cancer power because high amounts of anthocyanins they contain - the natural compounds which gives them their black color. 

1 cup of black raspberries provides 60% of the days requirements of vitamin C. 1 cup also provides 7 grams of fiber!

Our fence line is loaded with these wild raspberry plants and since they're fresh season is Minnesota is July 1st - July 21st we only have about another week to pick!  

Gingerbread Eggs and Freezer Jam

We had fun in the kitchen this morning! Gingerbread man eggs and heart shaped jelly bread were on the menu! This was a great way to get Daniel to eat this morning. Some days he tends to be really stubborn about eating breakfast, but not today. 

This nummy strawberry freezer jam is from last years pick of strawberries from an organic berry farm. Freezer jam is super easy to do and takes very little time and effort. All you need is ripe fruit, sugar, water and a box of fruit pectin. Mash, mix, pour and freeze!

Cabbage Hotdish??

I recently switched to grocery shopping once per month rather than each week. It's has helped me become more resourceful, right down to the bag of old cabbage in my ridge. It had been there for about 3 weeks in it's sealed bag, still in good shape. I found a cabbage recipe in a church cookbook and curiously whipped up 'Cabbage Hotdish'.

It didn't have a name in the cookbook other than 'hotdish' and I wasn't about to tell my family what was in it but it turned out excellent and healthy and they gobbled it up!!

Ingredients:
1# Ground Beef (I used 1 1/2 #)
1 medium onion
1/2 c. uncooked rice. (I used 1 c. leftover cooked brown rice)
1/2 head cabbage (I used 3/4 of the 16oz. bag)
1 - 15oz. can tomato sauce (or 2 small cans)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (I used 1/4 tsp crushed garlic from my freezer)
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 c. tomato juice (I used 2c. V8 vegetable juice)

Brown the beef. Layer the beef, cabbage, sauce, rice and onion in 2-qt casserole dish. Repeat layers. Mix garlic with pepper and juice; pour over top. Cover. Bake 350 for 1 1/4 hours. (I just put everything into the crock pot on high for 3 1/2 hours or so). Easily serves 5 or more.

Did you know CABBAGE is a SUPERFOOD!! It's FULL of vitamin C - more than Oranges!! Vitamin C is the best anti oxidant that reduces 'free radicals' in your body which are the basic cause of ageing! It also helps in treating ulcers, certain cancers, strengthens your immune system and fights against cough and cold! What a great reason to 'eat your cabbage'!