Make It Yourself - Pancake Syrup

This isn't one of those “good for you” recipes, but we eat lots of waffles and consume a lot of syrup! I would love to serve real maple syrup but just can't justify the expense! This recipe is from the Tightwad Gazette. In my opinion it is quite a bit better tasting then the normal pancake syrup I used to buy. It is simple to make and quite cheap! I never run out of syrup now, which saves one of those emergency trips to the store! That makes it a winner at our house!

3 cup sugar
1 ½ cup water
3 T. molasses
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp butter flavoring
1 tsp maple extract (I couldn't find this ingredient, so substituted 2 tsp maple flavoring)

Bring all ingredients to a good rolling boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Turn off the burner but let the pot sit until bubbling stops. Cool. I like to pour into an old syrup bottle.

Baby Wipe Update

Several of you have told me that you love making your own baby wipes that I had shared directions for several months ago. You can find directions here. But some of you also had problems with mildew. I can understand why mildew could be a problem in the moist warm environment. I had found that using anti-bacterial soap had avoided the problem. But, interestingly, last month I began having a mildew problem again! Here are some things that worked for me that you may wish to try if it continues to be an issue for you.

1.Increase the amount of anti-bacterial solution, whether it be soap, tea tree oil or grapefruit seed extract. I use 10 to 15 drops of grapefruit seed extract.

2.I cleaned out my baby wipe container with bleach. Since it has been in continual use for almost five years, I figured maybe it needed a good cleaning.

3.After I mix up my soap and water solution, I dip the top of my paper towels in the water before flipping it over and setting it in the container. I seemed to only have mildew on the top edge and figured that maybe the soap just wasn't absorbing all the way to the top.

4.Some people boil their water first. I never have, but maybe it would be something you wish to try.

In the last month, I've had no problems with mildew, so hopefully some of these things did help and will answer your problems as well!

Encouraging Children to Memorize Scripture

Like most pre-schoolers, my children seem to be able to memorize effortlessly. They can hear a silly rhyme or song once and sing it days later. Many of their favorite stories are memorized word for word! They also absorb Bible verses quickly but that memorization seems to be dependent on their mom's consistency or lack thereof! We've learned verses very sporadically the last couple years.

Conventional Bible memory always seems laborious. Read a line, repeat it again and again, then move to the next line for more of the same until finally the whole verse is memorized. Several times the past months, I read of a different (to me) method of Bible memory. Instead of line by line, a small passage of Scripture is read all together. No progress is seen the first several days, but with consistent repeating of the passage the child will learn verses with more fluent recall then normal methods. At least, this is what the writer claimed.

I decided to try it as an experiment. Since this was back at the beginning of December, I chose the Christmas story in Luke 2. I really lack discipline and consistency in such areas but I was determined to read this passage every day for a month. The first couple days the children were excited to hear the story. Then I began hearing “We read this yesterday, let's read something else!” But soon they got the idea that we were going to do this daily and they began to remind me if I forgot! I would sometimes stop and explain a word they didn't know, such as “haste” or “glory”.

After the first week, I had it memorized myself which made it easy to quote when driving or other activity. I really didn't know if the children were actually learning the passage and wondered if I chose too many verses at one time. But on about the third week, I overheard one of them looking at a Bible story book and quoting a few of the verses almost word perfect. By the end of the month, the three and four year old could say the verses about the shepherd alone. They never did get the first verses about the taxation but for the small bit of time and effort it took me each day to say these verses, I certainly was pleased with the result.

This month, I chose a much shorter passage, Psalm 1. The children like adding some hand motions to this chapter and even the one year old is enjoying it. I'm excited about how quickly and effortlessly they are learning verses with the investment of only a couple minutes every day.

I thought I'd share it for any of you other young moms who want to teach Scripture, especially the pre-reading child. This is one area that I feel that we moms can have an impact on our children's lives for as long as they live. But if you are like me, it is easy to be so busy fulfilling all the physical needs of a home and children that it can be pushed aside.

If you have any other good ideas on memorizing verses, I'd love to hear them!

Favorite Gardening Books

As I've said before, I don't expect all of you to get excited about reading about gardening! But do take the opportunity this winter to learn about a topic that you do get excited about! I am a huge fan of continuing education and with easily accessible libraries, none of us have an excuse to not pick up a book, be it on history, or nutrition, or finances, or our Bible (that should have been listed first!) and learn something new!

In random order, here are some of the gardening books I've enjoyed. I'm not saying they are the best available on the subject, since I've only read a small fraction of the books printed! Some of these I've pored over since a teenager, and others I've read only this past year. But each one added to my gardening knowledge and were books that I plan to visit again.

 Joy of Gardening by Dick Raymond

An oldie but goodie! I've been paging through this book for as long as I can remember! With clear photographs, Raymond shares details on about every facet of vegetable gardening. He was a pioneer in using cover crops as “green manure”. Composting, seed starting, wide row planting, and specifics for growing many vegetables are found in this large book. It may be the book I turn to most often!

  
Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte

This book has become a garden classic and it is simple to see why. In one small volume is packed a large amount of garden wisdom. In an easy to find alphabetical layout, the author specifies many different garden plants from vegetables, flowers, and trees and what each one likes best. She particularly spells out what plants are best to grow near each other, because of the pests they attract or detract and other factors. If the key to successful gardening is giving each plant what they prefer to grow their best, this book is a valuable resource!

 
Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy

If you have children in your life and even a small plot of land or pot of soil available, read this book! Lovejoy enthusiastically shares plans and tips for gardening with children. Twelve detailed plans for simple gardens that children would love such as a sunflower house, bean tunnel, and flower maze. Interspersed is many simple projects to allow children to experience the wonder of growing things! I liked the section on gardening basics. With it's simple explanations on things such as soil PH, it would be good for any beginning gardener, whatever their age! Lovejoy's charming watercolors are just icing on the cake and if you enjoy this book, look for her other books. In fact, I'll just need mention another favorite...

 
Trowel and Error by Sharon Lovejoy

This Lovejoy book is packed with a lifetime of garden tips! Especially for someone who is attempting to garden organically, this is an invaluable resource. I started reading this book with pen and paper in attempt to write down things I wanted to remember, since I was reading a library copy. Within a few pages it became evident that there was far to much to take note of and I'd just need to add this book to my wish list! House plants, garden pests, seed starting, compost...when it comes to growing plants, this book doesn't miss anything! With Lovejoy's lovely illustrations, Trowel and Error is a joy to read!

 
The New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew

Did you ever wonder why you till and compost your entire garden, plant seeds in long rows with three feet of bare earth between that you fight to keep weed free the rest of the summer? That is the question Bartholomew asked as a new gardener and retired efficiency expert. His “new” method requires simple raised beds with a series of one foot squares, and greatly reduces the labor while adding to the productivity of your land. I've always loved the German Four Square Gardens and we'd like to build some raised beds sometime. His instructions make it sound quite simple. Maybe we'll get to it this spring, and if so I'll be sure to give updates. The only thing about his plans that I'm cautious about is his heavy use of peat moss. My experience with peat moss is that it is very difficult to wet if it dries out. I understand why he uses it because it is light, cheap and weed free. Maybe it would work better then I think! If you want to reduce your garden chores, especially if you have a very limited space to garden, check out this book!

 
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

I can't believe I'm reviewing a Kingsolver book. No, I don't plan to ever read her novels, but I throughly enjoyed this book! Not a “how to” book like the others listed here, read this one just for inspiration and enjoyment! The book chronicles Kingsolver and her family's one year challenge to eat only food that they grew themselves or was raised in their local area in Virginia (with a few exceptions like coffee and spices.) Besides being a talented writer, Kingsolver is passionate about her subject and, if you skim the evolutionary garble, she gives a great appreciation for the wonder of home grown food! I read this book last August, in the midst of buckets of tomatoes and other produce, and it was just the shot in the arm I needed! Though I enjoy harvesting my own food, Kingsolver and her family, gave me even more motivation to know where my food has been! Though she doesn't do so in the book, I came away with an awe of the creative power of God who truly has provided for our needs abundantly! And I may never look at grocery store bananas the same again!

 
The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery

I've already reviewed this book in the past, so I'll just mention again that this large volume covers living off the land like no other book I've read!

So that is my favorites! I'd love to hear about yours! Maybe I can add some more to my list of books still to be read!

My present “to read” list includes...

Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth – how to save heirloom seeds

Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman– a Maine farmer describes how to extend the garden season

The Backyard Berry Book by Stella Ott – to find out how to raise blueberries

Root Cellaring by Nancy and Mike Bubel – to make better use of our basement

Sunflower Houses by Sharon Lovejoy – because this is the only one of her books I haven't read yet!

Two more articles worth reading –

Buying Seed

Easy to Build Compost Bin

Ragged Denim Quilt

Some time ago, I asked for old jeans to make a denim quilt for my son! The response was quite generous! One reader told her grandmother who gave me three boxes full of jeans! Not only was I able to finish the quilt for which I was collecting denim, I also made a matching quilt for my younger son. We hope to have bunk beds for them someday and now I'm all prepared with matching bed spreads!

As a "thanks" to all those who shared their old jeans, I am attempting to write my first sewing tutorial! Maybe some of you will be inspired to make your own ragged quilt. I love recycling something totally useless, like worn out jeans into something useful and attractive. These directions can also be used for flannel or fleece to make a very cuddly blanket!

If you can sew a straight seam, you can make this very simple blanket. There is no need for batting, quilting, or binding. Actually, this is not literally a quilt, since it is not "quilted"! The variations are endless but I show you how I made mine!
1. Choose your fabrics. You'll want at least two different fabrics. You can use scraps of almost any sort but cottons will give you the ragged affect. I used black denim for the back, blue denim of various shades for the front, and various cotton homespuns for the alternate blocks.
2. Cut your fabrics. You may make them any size you choose. I chose to make seven inch squares. With one half inch seam allowance, this gave a finished six inch square. A pair of newly sharpened scissors will make the job of cutting denim much easier!

I was making a single size quilt. I needed ten rows of fourteen blocks, which totaled 140 denim blocks and 140 homespun blocks.

3. Prepare your fabric sandwiches. If you've done a lot of sewing, you are probably accustomed to placing right sides together. Since in this case you want the seams OUT, you'll need to adjust your thinking. This was probably the most difficult part of the entire project! Many of my denim squares are actually turned wrong - but since they are from old jeans and all rather faded, I don't think it shows too much! If you work with fabric that has no wrong side, like homespuns, you'll save yourself some headache!

You will be stacking a front denim square, wrong side up. Then a homespun square, right side up. Next, a back denim square, wrong side up. Then a home spun square right side up. (It is so much easier to do then to write about!)

Above is what the back looks like.
4. Sew the fabric sandwich layers together. I didn't do any pinning. If the squares are the same size, it isn't necessary.
Above is a view of the front of the blanket.

5. Continue sewing the squares together in strips until you reach the desired size.
Above is a view of the back.

6. Stitch around the outside of the blanket to hold the fabric together since there is no binding.

7. The quilt still looks rather unfinished. To get the "ragged" affect, you snip the seam allowance. You want to get close, but certainly not the whole way to the stitched seam. If you have spring loaded scissors, you'll make the task much easier for yourself. This is a monotonous job, one that takes time but is rather mindless. So have a friend over and chat while you snip! Don't forget the edges!

8. Almost done! Throw the whole blanket into the washing machine with a tiny bit of soap. Then dry it in the dryer. The agitation and drying process will soften and "fluff" the seam allowances giving the ragged appearance you've been aiming for. Check the dryer about every five minutes and empty the lint trap! You will collect an unbelievably large amount of lint and threads!
This the huge pile of lint after drying two single sized blankets!

9. Go cuddle up under your new blanket with someone you love!

Variations: I made two small blankets with this method, adding a heart applique. Before sewing the denim squares together. I stitched on a heart in the center of the square. I also snipped the heart so that it would fray and add to the ragged affect. I really liked the effect, but both blankets were gifts and I don't have pictures to share!

As mentioned earlier, this is a great way to make a soft quilt with flannels or fleece. Fleece won't "rag" but still looks quite cute. If you want a thicker quilt. You can add some thin batting between the layers.

If anything is not clear in these directions, please let me know!

Bread Variations

Once you have mastered a basic bread dough such as the Country White Bread or the Whole Grain Bread, you can now make endless variations! If you make out a weekly menu, on baking day you could look at your menu for ideas on breads you could use during the week, such as hamburger buns, cinnamon bread, garlic bread, etc. I'm not that organized but maybe you are! Though I have separate recipes for many of these breads, sometimes it is just easier to use the bread dough you already have mixed up, especially if you make a large batch. Just be sure to mark the your tops of your loaves in some way, such as sprinkle cinnamon bread with some cinnamon sugar.

Just for fun, last week I made a batch of my whole grain bread, divided it into six loaves and brain stormed on all the different ways I could use the dough. Here is some of the variations I came up with!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Roll out your bread dough into a rectangle.

Spread with softened butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. If desired, sprinkle raisins, chopped nuts, craisins or other dry fruit. Roll the dough up beginning with the short side, squeezing tightly. Place in greased loaf pan.

Note: Bread made like this will separate but taste awesome. If you want a prettier slice, omit the butter and sugar so that it will "stick" together better.

Cinnamon Rolls

Roll out and spread with butter, cinnamon and sugar as above. Roll up the dough beginning with the long side. Cut into rolls and place in greased pans.

Monkey Bread

Pull dough into small balls. Dip into melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar.

Place into greased bread pan. (Don't fill too full. I often have balls “hopping” out of the pan as it rises in the oven! Maybe the reason it is called monkey bread! This is the children's favorite and is usually consumed immediately out of the oven!)

(I didn't get a picture of the monkey bread before several "balls" were pulled off and consumed - but you get the idea!)

Dinner or Sandwich Rolls

Form into rolls of whatever size desired and place in greased pan or baking sheet.

Herb Cheese Bread

Roll dough into a large rectangle. Sprinkle with cheese and herbs as desired. I usually use mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, and poppy seeds.

Roll up dough beginning at long side, squeezing seam tightly. Place on greased baking sheet.

I often form a figure “eight”, tucking the ends into the center. Brush top with milk, sprinkle sesame seeds and slit the top.

Twist Top Bread

Take a one loaf portion of bread and divide into two. Form both pieces into a long thin strand. Twist the two together and place into a greased loaf pan. You also may use three pieces and braid the strands together.