Much better picture of my gardens...JUNE

You can see garden #1 ,#2 and #3.......#1 starts right in front and curves to the left and goes down to the end of garden #2....Garden #2 is the one you see right to the left of garden #1 and garden #3 is behind garden #2 but you can barely see it..... If you click on the picture you can see it enlarged......

Potato hills

They are not up yet but any day they will be! There are 25 potato plants in each hill so that gives us a total of 200 plants....They are heirloom blue potatoes.I really,really hope they do good!

This is a small section of one of our gardens......It is hard to get the whole thing in the picture......Here you can see the cabbage,some of the onions,a few tomatoes and some cauliflower.......My children each have a garden of their own this year and they are on the left side starting at the tiller and they go on down a ways....That overhead trellis you see is my little girls to grow her pole beans on....She also has morning glories planted around it.....

Garlic

My garlic patch this year.......Garlic is one of the best natural antibiotics there is.I should have about 100 heads of garlic at the end of this year if it does good.I am excited as I have never grown it before.....I don't know WHY because we love garlic!

Gardening!

I love it...! Here when it warms up a little I will be going outside and putting the rest of my tomatoes in.....I also want to plant more beans,peppers,popcorn and FLOWERS of course:) I LOVE gardening.I do alot of canning,dehydrating etc.This year we planted 200 strawberry plants! I have NEVER had that many strawberries and I am so excited.They are my favorite! We are also planting a bunch of heirloom corn (bloody butcher....I do NOT like the name! lol) for grinding! That will be a new experience for us.With all of the genetically modified corn in just about EVERY corn product you can buy.....it is a big push for us to just grow our own.If you don't know much about genetically modified foods and their dangers I highly suggest you research it.It is a very serious/scary issue!

POPCORN.....We are growing a bunch of that this year too! I have never grown it and I can't wait to see how it does.....

POLE BEANS....Usually I grow bush beans but after growing a few pole beans last year I am excited to grow alot more this year.....My husband is building me trellisis for them to grow up that I can walk underneath! They are SO beautiful!! My garden is much more to me that a place where food grows! ....I LOVE to make it pretty! Anyhow, I am very excited about these pole beans....It would be so much easier picking beans standing up!! SO that is another fairly new thing for us this year.....

My children all have their own gardens this year....That is SO fun and they just love it.We have such a wonderful time outside in the garden.They are very serious little gardeners and get so excited about growing things.My girls just love to go and gather herbs to preserve.They were given their very own dehydrator to dry flowers/herbs in .They love that.....They love to make things with herbs....

I am so thankful to live in the country and be able to grow all of this good food....have animals....fresh air....good water....It is such an excellent place to raise a family!

Baby chicks and turkeys!

We finally have some!

I use to have alot of chickens.....I have had turkeys,ducks,pheasants etc. too but then we moved out of state, built a house....etc. and haven't had time to build any chicken pens or get more chicks.(We also now have an organic chicken farmer for a neighbor that we got FREE eggs from so that made the egg issue not as important.)Figuring out how I would keep the chickens enclosed was another hindrance.I have gardens and flower beds that I do not want my chickens in.(They can do some real damage quick!) Yet I didn't want the traditional kind of pen that I had in the past. I want them free ranged! hmmmm Well,my husband is building me a HUGE chicken pen for my birthday! I really mean HUGE :) It is aprox 50 ft by 150 ft! My chickens,turkeys and whatever else I get will be able to free range yet still be caged! The pen is going to be built in part of our yard (we live in the boonies :) ) under a beautiful stand of poplar trees.....The area is big enough that they won't be able to scratch it all down to dirt but should have an abundance of greens and bugs.....I am very excited!

I am going to have a variety of breeds of chickens....

Black australorps
Silver Laced Wyandottes
Black Giants
Buff Orpingtons
New Hampshire Reds
Araucanas

My turkeys are.....

Blue Slate

I don't have the Black australorps yet.....They were OUT and that is the #1 breed I wanted! The feed store that I orered from say that they should be able to order me some yet this year....Oh and the Araucanas too.....All of the breeds that I have are heirloom breeds.I do not trust any of the hybrid/cross animals.....Or anything for that matter! From cows to seeds give me heirloom! They hybrid stuff is suppose to me "improved" but how can they really be? Almost all of them have reproduction problems....Some CAN"T even reproduce naturally! The white broadbreasted turkeys that are commonly grown for meat are prone to an abundance of health problems! They can be very hard to keep alive and they can't even mate.....No thank you....I don't even need to read a "study" (although their are many) to prove to me that meat/milk/eggs etc. from hybrid animals are inferior....Who knows what nutrients are missing....?

I am thrilled to have chickens again.....I am thankful to have had the opportunity to have the organic eggs from our neighbor while it lasted (he charges now....$2.00 a dozen...very reasonable still...) but unfortunately, "organic" doesn't always = healthy .I want eggs from birds who are living in fresh air and eating the diet they were intended to have.The organic chickens are hybrid and although they are not caged,they might as well be.....There are thousands in a barn and even though they have access to the outdoors,they won't GO out(they are mentally OFF)....You can't even breath in the barn....It makes your eyes water from the ammonia.So they are fed organic grain? They are not healthy birds.....Makes you think twice about what you are actually getting when you spend the high price on ORGANIC food.....Most of the time it is a joke....Just a money making scam.I am all for TRUE organic food.....Your best bet is to grow it/raise it yourself or buy from a local farmer/source you know and trust!

I would post pictures of the birds but blogger will not let me right now for some reason....

Making an herbal tincture or vinegar.....

I thought I would write about this today as this is one of the things I am going to do today!

For tincture:

For a basic tincture you will need......

A glass jar (canning jars are the best)
The herb/herbs you want to tincture
Vodka/glycerine/rum/brandy

You can use dried herbs but fresh are the best!

If you are using fresh herbs....Chop the herbs coarsely and pack them into the jar....Don't pack them in SOLID but do pack slightly.....Fill the jar with your choice of alcohol (not rubbing alcohol of course!!!),label and let sit in a dark place for atleast 6 weeks.....Strain,bottle,label and use.Tinctures last for years..... If you are doing dried herbs...Fill your jar about 1/3 full of dried herb and then pour 1 cup of boiling water over them.Make sure they are all moist.....Wait a few minutes and then add your alcohol or "menstrum" (The correct term for the liquid you use to tincture your herbs....)

Making tincture is extremely easy and can save you alot of money! Tinctures are expensive to buy and the quality of most that you *can* buy wouldn't compare to the quality of fresh,homeade tinctures!

You can really have fun with homeade tinctures! Make up your own combinations....You can even add fruits! I love experimenting with different herbs/fruits and see how good I can get the tincture to taste. They can be really good.....You can also add sweetener to the finished tincture to make it taste better....Mollasses,maple syrup,honey etc......Glycerine makes a really good,naturally sweet tasting tincture but *supposively* it doesn't extract as much from the herb as alcohol.You can use flavored alcohol too but the stronger the alcohol,the more good stuff you will extract from the herbs so the flavored/sweetened alcohols aren't *as* good....

Today I am making CHICKWEED tincture AND Vinegar.....

FOR VINEGAR......

Make herbal vinegars the same way you would tinctures except use applecider vinegar (I use the good RAW stuff) for your menstrum and you only need to let it sit for 2 weeks.You can let it go longer if you want! Don't cover it with a canning jar lid though....It can rust fast and the lid is SO hard to get off! A baggy with a rubberband tied around it works great. Herbal vinegars are excellent for you.Raw apple cider vinegar is mineral rich and wonderful for you by itself but when you soak herbs in it the calcium from the herb readily dissolves into the vinegar and you then have an extremely mineral rich product!They can taste great too....Later on this summer when my garlic is ready to harvest I plan on making a garlic/sage/thyme vinegar.I think that would be delicious!

Read an excellent article HERE about herbal vinegars! I do not endorse this herbalists views on spiritualality at ALL.....She is very "earthy" and believes in the herbs having fairies/spirits etc.etc. and has many more wrong beliefs but she has alot of good things to say about health....

Surprise! Morels!

I was walking out through my garden this evening and decided to stroll through the yard to see if I might find some morels.Sometimes we have found them right in our yard.....I couldn't believe what I found! I ended up hunting for about an hour and found over 30 morels! Big ones too....If you have never had a morel.......well,I feel sorry for you! lol They are unbelievably delicious! Slice them in half,coat them with flour and maybe a teeny bit of season salt/pepper/garlic if you choose and then fry them in butter until they are slightly crisp on the outside....Guess what we are having with out roast/gravy and potatoes?? I can't wait!

Nutritional value? I am not sure.....There are many,many different opinions....I do know for sure that:

#1 People have been hunting and eating morels for a long, long, long time.....That itself makes me like them....I would feel much safer eating a morel then I would eating a pop-tart etc.

#2 Combine the above with the fact that they are a WHOLE food that grows in the wild that the LORD made and I find it hard to believe that they don't have some really good stuff in them! I am not worried at all that they are UN healthy.....

It is a really,really good feeling to harvest delicious food off of your land and eat it for supper!

Apple bars with peanut butter,cream cheese frosting....

I served my husband a plate with these with his coffee this evening when he got home from work.....I held my breath as I asked him "Welllllll? How do you like them?" SO many of the healthy "desserts" I make he thinks are just "alright".....I get so excited when he actually LOVES something...! He said that he loves them! HE thought they were excellent! I am so happy :) Another keeper.....

Anyhow,I made this recipe up today when my children wanted me to pack them a picnic.They *love* going on picnics....I know how much we love apples w/ peanut butter as a snack so I thought I would try to combine the flavors in a "bar".....Whole wheat,wholesome sweetener,lots of good fat and protein too!They are delicious.....

BARS:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup apple sauce
1 cup maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 -1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 TB baking powder
3 apples diced up

FROSTING:

1/4 cup maple syrup
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

For bars......Beat together first the first eight ingredients......Add flour and then baking powder right on top on beaten ingredients.Stir.....You can seperate the dry ingredients first and mix them seperately and THEN add them if you want to but this is an unnecessary step and I never do it! My baked goods always turn out great.....Anyhow,then add the apples and stir them in...Grease pan....I baked this in a large sheet pan but you could use a 9x13 if you wanted more of a cake....If you use a sheet pan,bake at 425 for 15-20 min.....IF a cake pan.....probably closer to 30 minutes....

For frosting....Beat everything but the syrup together until fluffy....slowly add syrup.....Frost bars when cool! Enjoy!

Pumpkin pie.....

I decided to mess with my normal pumpkin pie recipe this weekend and substitute maple syrup for the sweetener....They turned out perfect.....Texture and everything.You would never know that you weren't eating "regular" pumpkin pie!

This recipe makes three pumpkin pies.....

1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
3 eggs
30 0z pumpkin (2- 15 oz cans)
2 cups cream

Mix all together and pour into an unbaked crust....You can use your regular crust or if you want to use a healthier crust you could try the hazelnut crust posted with my cheesecake recipe....
Bake at 425 for 30 minutes or until you see tiny cracks around the edge of the filling.....

Top with lots of whipped cream!

Making granulated MAPLE SUGAR at home!

I have been using maple sugar ALOT lately.....It replaces regular sugar with PERFECT results.No kidding, it isn't even a sacrifice and this is coming from someone who LOVES to bake sweet things and does often! Since we did our own maple syrup this year I have been making our own sugar! You can use maple syrup to replace sugar and in alot of things it works great,but in some things you can't have the extra liquid so that is where maple sugar is perfect! Now to BUY maple sugar is not very affordable unless you have alot of extra money to get rid of! Even just regular maple syrup is very expensive......SO....Here is how you make maple sugar! It is EASY,fun and pretty amazing to watch the transformation!! Try it!! I do suggest that you have someone to help stir but I have done it myself :) My arm was about to fall off but still.....:)

What you need:

1 qt maple syrup
A large pot
A candy thermometer reading to atleast 260
A wooden or stainless steel spoon
Cream or butter (Just a few dabs)

Now you are ready to begin!

Put your syrup in the pot and turn on HIGH heat.....YES.....HIGH heat! :) Do not stir it.....After it starts to boil you can put your thermometer in......You don't have to hold it in *constantly* but put it in every minute or so.....When it gets to 240 then you start to stir slowly......If at ANY time your syrup starts to really foam up and you are afraid of overflowing the pot,just put a dab of cream or butter in it! This should knock the boil right down.....SO....you are boiling the syrup on HIGH heat and stirring gently and you are creeping past 240......Just keep doing this.it will take several minutes from start to 260.......I think it took me around 15 minutes.....No matter,do NOT stop your syrup until it reaches 260 or you won't get the results you are desiring...Granulated sugar....As SOON as you hit 260 remove from heat and KEEP STIRRING.....You will now stir it until you have granulated sugar.....!

This is my syrup as soon as it was removed from the heat....

The rest of the pictures show the process of turning into sugar......You will feel and see your syrup start to get thick and lighter......Then you will see the texture change......You need to keep stirring until your sugar is DRY...Don't stop when it is wet or when it cools it will be HARD....

It will take about 15 minutes of stirring......When you are all done you can sift it to get the little hard lumps out....There will be some hard lumps.....Depending on what you are using your sugar for you can take them out or leave them in! They are wonderful "candy" or you can use them to sweeten your coffee/tea/hot cereal and a bunch of other things! The better you stir,the less lumps you will have! HAVE FUN!

Homeade crackers

This is an excellent recipe......I can't believe that these crackers taste so wonderful made with 100% whole wheat.....

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter
1 cup of buttermilk
(if you don't have buttermilk you can add 2 TB of vinegar to water or milk and use that instead)

Mix above ingredients in a bowl until combined.....Cover with plastic wrap or waxed paper and leave on the counter overnight or for several hours......When you are ready to make your crackers , slightly flatten your ball of dough out on a floured surface.Sprinkle with :

1 tsp of salt and 1 1/2 tsps baking powder....knead several times until mixed in well....Roll dough out (I do half at a time) about 1/4 inch thick.....Cut into squares and prick with a fork a few times.Bake on a buttered cookie sheet at 425 for about 10 minutes....You want them just brown around the edges.....These are SOOOO good! I love to put butter and salt on them as soon as they are out of the oven and eat them warm......

A WONDERFUL variation.......

Before rolling out the dough knead in 2 cups of cheese and some herbs/pepper......They taste like a store bought ,cheese flavored cracker! Wonderful.....

Hazelnut caramel cheesecake.....

We had this today and it was absolutely delicious! It was the first time we tried the crust and we will definitely be using it again.....The filling I have made one time before....It is 100% as good as cheesecake using regular sugar.The topping I made up today and was SOOOO happy to find that it was just as delicious as my normal caramel topping made with brown sugar!

CRUST:

1 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
3/4 cup arrowroot flour
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla

FILLING:

4-8 oz packages cream cheese(softened)
4 eggs
1 cup maple sugar
1 TB vanilla

TOPPING:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup cream
1/2 tsp vanilla


For crust.....In food processor,process hazelnuts until finely ground.....add the rest of the crust ingredients and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.Remove from oven and top with filling.....

For filling.....Beat cream cheese until smooth.Add sugar and beat until well combined.Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.Beat in vanilla.Spoon into crust and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.....

For topping......Combine maple sugar and butter in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.....Add cream and bring to a boil again....Boil for about a minute and then remove from heat....Add vanilla.Pour over cheesecake!

This is delicious warm but well chilled cheesecake (chilled for several hours) is the BEST!!

Enjoy your HEALTHY cheesecake!

I use fresh cream,homeade butter,real salt,organic eggs,real vanilla and our own maple sugar.I will be much happier when we have our own free ranged eggs (we buy organic from the neighbor but the are not free ranged) and my own homeade cream cheese! I have not made my own cream cheese yet...

Eliminating refined sugar and white flour....

We have always used *alot* of wheat flour....We have even ground our own for several years now.....My Mom was/is and excellent cook and taught me how to bake bread (and alot of other things!) from scratch...I really enjoy it and most of the things we eat *are* from scratch.BUT....we use WAY to much sugar and white flour.....Wheat just isn't the same in some things....Yes,soaking helps the texture etc. but it still isn't the same as white....Sugar is another things hard to replace.....I love to bake desserts and we all love to eat them.....BUT, we love our health better....I have *always* been very interested in health/herbs.I have lots of herb books,grow my own herbs and love to make my own medicines for my family.We rarely go to the doctor but treat our own illnesses with herbs/wholesome foods.We live on a farm,drink our own raw Jersey milk....make cheese,yogurt etc.We have a huge garden and preserve alot of our food.We eat local grown meat....I could go on and on....I am passionate about health and health topics.Still,white flour and sugar are something that we still eat to much of.They are two big things that don't belong in our healthy lifestyle! Two things that we have not managed to give up and they also happen to be two of the worse things for us!I feel that they are two VERY bad things in our diet and that we suffer alot of consequences from eating them....Which makes me feel guilty.... Some think I am crazy for feeling this way as everyone thinks that we eat *sooo* healthy and we do *compared* to alot of people....I have never believed in that .We can always make ourselves feel better by comparing our eating habits with *most* other people as sadly,most people out there are severely lacking knowledge about health and eat very unhealthy....We should instead,compare our eating habits to what is the RIGHT way to eat.The Lord designed certain foods for us to eat and we believe that the healthiest way to eat is to eat our foods in their natural state as much as possible....Sooooooo white flour and refined sugar do not belong!We have recently decided to quit using both.....100%....We will have some *rare* exceptions of course and down the road,after we break ourselves from these addictions I am sure I will use them both again OCCASIONALLY but for now we are done! It feels great! It has been a couple of weeks now and I am AMAZED at the delicious desserts that I have been able to make without either of them!!!! We are using only unrefined sugar and MAPLE SUGAR off of our own property, that we made, is the number one thing we are using! DELICIOUS!! I have alot of recipes I will be putting on my blog that are just delicious!

Delicious wraps

I wanted to write this down so I wouldn't forget what was in them. I made some whole wheat tortillas and filled them with :

spinache
radishes
mixed sprouts
cheese
flax seed oil
horseradish
cayenne
salt

My husband just loved them and when he loves something healthy I keep track of it! Don't get me wrong....he likes *alot* of healthy things but ever since eliminating white flour and refined sugar from our diet it makes cooking/baking a little more challenging......

Of course you could use any vegies/cheese with any seasonings and I think they would be delicious! The horseradish gives them an excellent flavor though!

Whole wheat tortillas

This is a delicious recipe that is easy to make! If you want to soak your flour first then make this the night before and add 1/2 cup of whey or 1/2 cup water w/ 2 TB lemon juice added and let it sit on the counter overnight or for several hours.....When ready to make just add a little extra flour to get it the right texture!

8 c. whole wheat flour
4 tsp. salt
1 c. of butter
3 c. water

Mix all ingredients.Form into gold ball sizes.Roll out flat into a circle.Cook on each side in a lightly buttered pan.Do not over cook.(about 1-2 minutes per side)

Fill with desired fillings!

These are sooo soft....even made with 100% whole wheat!!

Tapping Maple Trees!

We have a new and very addicting hobby.....

This year we finally tapped our trees.We put out 36 taps and so far, we have boiled down 360 gallons of sap from those taps! We have made over 9 gallons of syrup! I am so thrilled for many reasons but the biggest two are:

1. We have our *own* source,off of our *own* property of healthy,WHOLE, sugar!

2. It is SOOOO much fun! From start to finish it is absolutely fascinating.....

The buckets hanging on the trees and hearing the drip,drip,drip......The taste of the clear,sweet sap......The smell of the steam as the sap boils down and starts to become concentrated......
Tasting.....Finishing off the syrup....Watching the golden syrup pour of of the ladle and waiting to see the "apron" which lets me know it is done......Filling my jars....Letting the children lick all of the bowls,spoons,funnels......Putting my cooled jars of syrup away.....Pancakes with maple syrup that we made ourself!.....Making maple cream,sugar,candy and butter! I plan on posting recipes/methods for all of the things I have tried.....I am amazed at how many delicious things you can make out of just 100% maple syrup! This is a dream come true of mine!

Peanut butter

A year or so ago I stopped buying the "junk" peanut butter and determined to keep it up...Since then I have been only buying REAL peanut butter....Well,It takes some getting use to but we like it.......HOWEVER.....I made something really wonderful recently!! Peanut butter "Spread" that tastes SO much like junk stuff but is healthy! I was thrilled.....We all loved it and I could actually eat it for dessert......

Peanut butter spread.......

1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 TB maple syrup
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla

Melt the peanut butter,butter and coconut oil together on very low heat.When combined,add everything else and beat/whisk until smooth.Pour into container and refrigerate!

Delicious!!!!!!!

Nettle

Latin name - Urtica dioica

Common names- Stinging Nettle,Common Nettle

Medicinal actions-diuretic,astringent,tonic,styptic,rubifacient,alterative,nutritive,
hemostatic

USES- ( This information comes from my well stocked library of wonderful herbal/health books.)

*Increases fertility in men and women
*Eases leg cramps and other muscle spasms
*Diminishes pain during and after birth dues to its high calcium content
*Prevents hemorrhage after birth.Nettle is an excellent source of vitamin K and increases hemoglobin,both of which decrease the likelihood of postpartum hemorrhage
*Reduces hemorrhoids
*Increases the richness and the quantity of breastmilk.
*Stops external bleeding
*Excellent hair tonic
*Blood purifier....This makes it an excellent remedy for all kinds of skin problems (including eczema and acne)Since the cause of skin problems is often internal we must use blood cleansing herbs to treat them.
*Wonderful for the kidneys/bladder (including kidney stones)
*Headaches
* Helps prevent illness of every kind

MY personal experiences with Nettle......

Nettle is a wonderful,nourishing herb! It contains almost all of the minerals and vitamins needed for good health, especially vitamin A,D,C and K.Calcium,potassium,phosphorus,iron, and sulpher are abundant in Nettle.It is a very good tasting tea.Everyone in my family loves it except for me! It is one herb that I particulary do NOT like the taste of.I think I am the weird one though because I have heard from several sources that it is one of the best tasting herbal teas.It is readily available for gathering by nearly everyone as it grows just about everywhere!
This is the first herb I would recommend for any kidney/bladder problems and one of the first herbs I reach for when feeling run down.It is such a wonderful tonic!I send my husband a big mug of herbal tea everyday to work and it is often Nettle.
Nettle is my very healthy/good looking:) midwife's tea of choice.She drinks it daily and believes it to be a very big part of her good health.She has seen wonderful things happen with Nettle and anemic people.
As stated above, it is a great herb for maintaining health.Keeping healthy should be our goal.Herbs will help us heal ourselves when we are sick but the *best* route to go is to KEEP healthy.Nettle tea is a perfect for this!

Preparations and dosages:

Tea is the only way I have ever used Nettle.With nourishing/tonic herbs teas are the best way to get all the vitamins/minerals the herb has to offer. You can NOT overdose on Nettle tea! To make a good strong tea take a quart jar and put a nice size handfull of dried herb.(If using fresh,use two handfulls.) Fill the jar with boiling water,cover and steep for atleast 20 minutes.I like to let it steep until it is completely cool and then just reheat it if we want it warm.The long steeping time draws alot more nutrition from the herb.I like to get my tea steeping before I go to bed and then it is ready in the morning to strain and drink!

* BE CAREFUL* when pouring boiling water into glass jars.I have been making teas for years and love making it this way but occasionally a jar does bust.I have only had it happen a few times but it has happened.

* If you do not enjoy the taste of Nettle tea (like me!) add some mint.Mint is wonderful for disguising bad tasting herbs.

In my medicine chest....Garlic herb honey

Not drugs :) Herbs..... I *love* herbs.I love health.I am very much into healthy,wholesome living....

Garlic/herbal honey......

I made this yesterday for colds/sore throats and *who knows what else*.Honey alone is a wonderful medicine but add garlic and herbs and you have a powerful antibacterial/antivirus syrup that tastes great and is excellent for you!I also like this syrup because it is an easy way for children to take garlic.

Put 2 cups of honey,a handful each of sage and basil....and 5 heads of garlic in the blender.Blend it until it is pureed and then put in a quart jar to let it sit for a couple of weeks.(In the sunshine if possible) After atleast 2 weeks strain it and then bottle it!A wonderful thing to have on hand!

Salsa

I am making salsa tomorrow.....Fresh salsa is my favorite.I love tomatoes,jalapenos,sweet onions,cilantro,lime juice,salt and pepper mixed up fresh.It is *so* excellent. My favorite canned recipe is the one below.It tastes like Pace Picante sauce.Delicious! It is what I am making tomorrow from the last of the tomotoes in my garden.

12 cups chopped tomotoes (I leave the skins on)
5 large onions
9 hot peppers
2 bell peppers
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt
1 cup vinegar
1 cup tomato paste

Chop all vegies and put all ingredients in a big pot.Cook for 30 minutes.Hot water bath for 30 minutes! Delicious.....corn added is excellent too and I may add cilantro this year I dont know....

Calendula

Calendula.....
Latin name:Calendula officinalis

Common names: Pot Marigold

Medicinal actions: anti inflammatory,anti-spasmodic,astringent,vulnerary,anti-microbial,anti-fungal,lymphatic,emmenagogue,diaphoretic

Uses:Calendula is one of the best herbs for treating any kind of skin problem.Inflamation,infectionphysical injury,bleeding,bruising or strains Calendula is excellent.*Insect bites*Hemorrhoids*Skin diseases,Eczema,Psoriasis,fungal conditions(ringworm,athletes foot)*Sunburn/Burns*Ulcerations*Varicose Veins*Measles*Cancer*disorders of the liver*expels wormsJust to name a few......:)

My personal experience with Calendula.....I have *mostly* used Calendula externally and it seems to work really great! I just started a batch of Calendula ointment a few days ago. It is *one* of my favorite herbs for ointments.I also love to add Comfrey and Yarrow.They are great for skin conditions too.Calendula is a *safe* herb.You can drink it freely.I have heard that it loses alot of it's nutritional value when dried.I don't know if that is true or not but I freeze mine just incase.It is SO easy to grow! I start alot of seeds every spring.It is beautiful and it reseeds itself readily.It doesn't smell the greatest.....Sort of skunky like a regular marigold in my opinion.Then on the other hand it has sort of a good smell....:)

To make an ointment:Harvest herbs after the dew is off.You do not want moisture on your herbs as it will cause mold to grow in your ointment.Do not wash the herbs!Chop coarsley and pack into whatever size jar you are going to use.I like to pack my jar fairly tight.Cover with oil.(I use olive oil) Use a spatula and stick it down in the jar a few times to try and get as many air pockets out as you can.Top off the jar again with oil if necessary.The oil should come completely to the top of the jar.No air space.Let sit for 2-6 weeks.I like to do 6 if possible.Check your jar once in a while and top off with oil if necessary.(Usually it isn't) Make sure you have it sitting on a towel or something as it may seep.After you have let it sit as long as desired then it is time to strain the oil.Pour contents of jar into a cheesecloth and squeeze,squeeze,squeeze ! :) Let the strained oil sit undisturbed for several hours or overnight to allow water droplets to settle to the bottom of the jar.Pour the oil into another jar(after letting it sit), leaving water droplets behind!Now to make the ointment...For every ounce of oil you have you will need approx a TB of beeswax.You can buy little beeswax pebbles (which are really easy to use!),you can use a chunk of beeswax and grate it(isn't to hard),or you can raise bees and harvest your own beeswax AND propolis (like I am attempting to do!).Either way is fine! :) Heat the oil/wax *just* until the wax is melted,stirring constantly.Pour into containers! If you find that you want your ointment to be not so hard you can reheat it and add a little more oil(just plain olive oil is fine) or if it is to soft you can reheat and add more wax. It is fun to add Essential oils too.They add(depending on which kind you use) anti-bacterial/virus/fungal properties to the ointment and also smell wonderful! Tea tree/lemon/clove/lavender/calendula are a few kinds that work great in ointments!Have fun! I *love* to make ointments!

Herbs......

Psalms 104:14 ".....and herb for the service of man...."
Along with a wife and mothers many duties, taking care of her family's health is one of them.Herbs were created by God for people and are perfect for food and medicine.Be educated! Study healthy living/herbs so that you can feel confidant taking care of your loved ones when they are ill.It is risky business,going to the doctor these days(child abuse suspision and all manner of germs) and anyhow, most doctor visits are unnecessary.Most people are ignorant (in the true sense of the word) about their health and need a "professional" to tell them what is the matter with them AND what to do about it! This is a dangerous situation to be in as most doctors dont know a thing about health,only how to cover up symptoms with drugs.Illness is a warning sign from the body that something is wrong! The situation needs fixed not covered up! After years of blocking out the body's red flags that something is out of harmony what is going to eventually happen? Cancer,heart disease,diabetes,etc. etc. etc.I am starting a series of posts about my favorite herbs.....:)