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Using Vinegar On Mildewed Towels

It is summer and in our house that means mildew. Somebody forgets a wet towel in a hot car or bunches it up in a pile in the laundry room or leaves it wadded up in the beach bag, etc… the possibilities for creating mildewed towels are limitless for my creative family. But I have a secret weapon: Vinegar!

I add one cup of vinegar to a load of laundry at the beginning of the wash cycle and it removes all trace of the mildew smell from our towels. The best part is it only costs a couple of pennies per load.

This post has been linked to Frugal Fridays.

Alea July 31, 2009 frugal living 4 Comments

My Husband Willingly Bought Me…

Painting tape! Some girls ask for pearls, I ask for painting tape.

I asked my husband to buy me 2 inch blue paint tape the last time he went to Home Depot. I was waiting for the usual questions: What was I painting this time? Was it going to be a crazy color like taupe? (my husband is a very beige man!) How much furniture would I need him to move? Or when I was done, would I need new furniture to match the paint? But he didn’t ask any questions. At all! Not even when he came home and handed me the tape!

I wondered if maybe he was starting to trust my decorating choices. Perhaps he forgot the unfortunate incident with Ralph Lauren crackle paint back in ’97. Curiosity finally got the best of me and I asked, “Aren’t you wondering what I’m going to paint?” He said that since there were paint cans in our bedroom, he thought that is where I would be painting. I asked if he wanted to know what color I was going to use (it took me most of 2001 to convince him that the dining room would look good painted cranberry red). He said that all of the painting I had done in this house had been an improvement on what was there (that is not saying much) and that as long as it did not involve crackle paint he was fine with whatever color I chose. Wow, even though he remembered the crackle paint incident he still bought me painting tape. That is definitely a finer thing! Though I am wondering if maybe I should make him a doctor’s appointment…

This post has been linked to Finer Things Friday.

Alea July 31, 2009 frugal living , 5 Comments

Food Waste Friday

I had another bad food waste week. We had company, so the food that I cooked before they arrived was pushed to the back of the refrigerator and not found until we ate our way through the food in front. I did think about freezing the pulled pork and spaghetti, but convinced myself that the children would eat it for lunch. Which they would have if we had been home, but we ended up doing activities that took us away from home at lunch time. This week’s waste is particularly painful, because the food had to be thrown out rather than composted (which eases the pain somewhat). Here is what I had to toss:

This post has been linked to Food Waste Friday at The Frugal Girl.

Alea July 31, 2009 eco-friendly 1 Comment

The Squash Has Left the Garden

The squash has left the safety of the raised garden beds. The rabbits have not touched it, but since I am overwhelmed with summer squash right now, I guess I wouldn’t mind sharing. I am putting together a list of recipes that use squash. If you have one that you like, please leave a link or recipe in the comment section. If you don’t have a squash recipe, but need some, come back on Saturday.

The tomatoes are trying to leave as well.

After being severely burned early in the season, I did not think my blackberries would produce any fruit this season. I am so glad to be wrong!

I planted this radish seed about 2 weeks ago. It should be ready to harvest in 7 – 10 days. You can see more radish seedlings coming up nearby. By the time they need more room, the larger radishes will be harvested.

I have shown you pictures of different color chard in the past, so I thought I would show you the latest colors. The chard pictured above has a very orange appearance to its stalks and the chard pictured below has green stalks:

The green chard looks like celery when it is chopped up. It also has a milder taste than the more colorful chard.

Rabbits are not supposed to like sunflowers, but my rabbits did not get the memo. I thought I would show you how I grow sunflowers to protect them from the wee beasties.

Since my rabbits do not like Russian Sage, I plant a sunflower seed close to the plant and surround it when it is most vulnerable with the dead branches of the Russian Sage (they retain the smell). The dead branches also provide support while its stem is still thin and wobbly.
Once the sunflower is about a foot high and has developed a thick coat of fuzz the rabbits won’t touch it and I can remove the dead branches. My sunflowers will be blooming soon.

Speaking of rabbits. They started nibbling on my hollyhocks again. I realized that it had been at least a month since I had applied my homemade rabbit repellent and we have received a couple of good rains during that time. I did not have any rabbit repellent made up, nor did I have time to make any right away, so I cheated. First I watered the plants, including all of the leaves and flowers within a rabbits reach. Then I sprinkled garlic powder on them. This will offer them protection until I have time to make up another batch of organic rabbit repellent this weekend and give all of the flowers in my garden another coating. I pick up cheap bottles of garlic powder for .50 cents at Walmart for just such emergencies (I would not feed this garlic powder to my family as it is a product of China and I just don’t want to risk it).
This post has been linked to How Does Your Garden Grow?

Alea July 30, 2009 gardening , , 7 Comments

Easy Homemade Fudge

One of my earliest memories is of my Dad making this fudge at the holidays. My Dad handed over the recipe and the responsibility for making fudge to me when I was in my teens. It is quite easy to make. Like my peanut butter fudge recipe, the marshmallow cream simplifies the process and makes a creamy fudge that melts in your mouth.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3 cups sugar
12 ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 jar of marshmallow cream (7 ounce jar)

In a large pot combine the butter, evaporated milk, and sugar. Cook over high heat, stirring continuously until the mixture reaches 234 degrees (use a candy thermometer to keep track of the temperature). Remove from heat.
Stir in chocolate chips until they are completely melted and completely mixed in.
Add vanilla; stir well.
Stir in marshmallow cream until it is completely mixed with the chocolate.
Pour fudge into a greased pan or serving dish.

I put it in the refrigerator to cool it quickly. It will take approximately 4 -5 hours to cool if you leave it at room temperature (which is way too long for my family to wait). Makes approximately 3 lbs.

I like to buy Christmas tins at the post holiday sales when I can pick them up for a quarter. This recipe can be divided between 3 small tins and makes a delicious, inexpensive gift to share with the neighbors.
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Alea July 30, 2009 recipes and cooking tips , 11 Comments

Almost Free From the Garden: Salad

On our weekly menu plan I have garden salad listed several time a week. It probably sounds a little monotonous, but the salad is different every single time I make it.

When I make a garden salad, I go out to the garden with a colander and pinch, pull, and cut until the colander is full. Then I bring the colander in and run the vegetables under the faucet and let them drip dry. (Of course I collect the rinse water and use it to water the plants!) The salad is composed of what ever is ripe and ready to eat! Here is a partial list of items that I consider good salad material: arugula, Swiss chard (chop the stalks like celery and pinch the leaves like lettuce), lettuces, spinach, radishes, carrots, snap peas, parsley, cilantro, green onions, tomatoes, kale, broccoli, bell pepper, and mustard leaves. I even add strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries occasionally. Even if you don’t have a garden, you can spice up your salad by trying different vegetables when they go on sale at your store.

Alea July 30, 2009 recipes and cooking tips , No Comments

Nutty Broccoli Salad

A couple of weeks ago I saw a recipe for broccoli salad on a blog that looked very good, so I printed it out…and lost it. I can not remember what blog I saw the recipe on (I’m so sorry), but I left a comment; please let me know if it was you!

Last week I had to harvest 7 broccoli crowns that were getting burnt in the sun. I have already used some in beef and broccoli, pasta salad, and added it to garden salads. I needed a new way to use the broccoli, and since I was unable to find the recipe I printed out, I decided to create my own version of broccoli salad. The good thing about making my own recipe is I used items that I already had on hand. If you decide to try this, please adapt it to what you already have available to you.


Salad Ingredients:

5 cups broccoli florets

1/2 cup cranberries

1/2 cup pecans

1 small onion, chopped

6 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 celery stalks, sliced

1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette (I used Annie’s Naturals because it is gluten free)

1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar

Mix salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl, stir well. Pour dressing over salad, mix until thoroughly coated. Refrigerate at least 3 – 4 hours, until chilled (I let it marinate over night). Serve cold.

How do you keep track of all of the wonderful things you read online? Leave me a comment and let me know!

This recipe has been linked to In-Season Recipe Swap at Tammy’s Recipes , Healthy Helpings, Foodie Friday, Friday Feasts, and Food On Fridays.

Alea July 29, 2009 miscellaneous, recipes and cooking tips , 16 Comments

$1.50 off Kraft Dressing Coupon

I don’t usually talk about coupons on my blog, (though I do use them) but this one was too good not to pass on! To get your coupon for $1.50 off a bottle of Kraft dressing, which can only be used at Publix grocery stores, click here or here. You can print two coupons per printer. These coupons will go fast, so print them as soon as you can. My favorite Kraft dressing is Catalina; I use it to make Taco Salad. To get regular updates on the latest coupons visit Money Saving Mom.

Alea July 28, 2009 deals and money saving tips 1 Comment

GF/DF Peanut Butter Cookies & DF Butter Substitutes


To make this recipe dairy free substitute vegetable shortening for the butter. Here is a conversion chart:

1/4 cup butter = 1/4 cup vegetable shortening + 1 1/2 t water
1/3 cup butter = 1/3 cup vegetable shortening + 2 t water
1/2 cup butter = 1/2 cup vegetable shortening + 3 t water
2/3 cup butter = 2/3 cup vegetable shortening + 4 t water
3/4 cup butter = 3/4 cup vegetable shortening + 4 1/2 t water
1 cup butter = 1 cup vegetable shortening + 6 t water

You could also use a gluten free margarine like Nucoa.

For more kitchen tips visit Kitchen Tip Tuesday .

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter (don’t forget the measuring pb trick)
1 cup butter or substitute 1 cup vegetable shortening and 6 t water
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 finely ground brown rice flour
1/2 potato starch flour
1/4 tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
extra sugar

In a small bowl mix dry ingredients together.

In a mixing bowl beat peanut butter and shortening and water (or butter) together until complete blended. Add both sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until thoroughly combined. Stir in flour. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour or until thoroughly chilled.

Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll in additional flour. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by criss-crossing with the tines of a fork.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. cool cookies on a wire rack. Makes about 4 dozen.

You can make these filled with gluten (if you do not have Scandinavian grandparents) by omitting the GF flours and xanthan gum and using 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour instead. If you know how to appropriately use the expression “uff da”, then you should probably play it safe and stick to the gluten free recipe.

For more delicious recipes visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, and Tuesdays at the Table.

Alea July 28, 2009 recipes and cooking tips , , , 9 Comments

Volunteering When You Have Young Children

No matter how much you want to volunteer, it is difficult when you have young children. I thought I would share some ways that my friends and I have volunteered when our children were/are young. These are things that you can do for your favorite charities and service organizations either from your home or with your children. I am not suggesting that you should volunteer when you have young children, sometimes, especially if you have volunteered a lot in the past, this can be a time to take a break and come back with renewed energy when your children are older. However, if you are feeling called to volunteer and want to do so without being separated from your children here are some things you can do:

1. Be an email coordinator and/or newsletter cooridinator

2. Sunshine Committee (send cards and flowers, organize meals for new moms and the sick)

3. Send out mailings (Many organizations send out newletters, invitations, or donation requests. You can address letters and lick stamps while your children draw at the table beside you.)

4. Do the accounting

5. Volunteer Coordinator (when I was on bed rest while expecting Rew I obviously could not volunteer, but I could send emails and make phone calls to match volunteers to positions and coordinate times from bed)

6. Visit the elderly (nothing generates more smiles than a happy baby)

7. Work in the nursery at your church

8. Wrap gifts for an angel tree program (Our angel tree program requests that gifts be donated unwrapped and then the volunteers have a massive wrapping party while the child play and do art in a corner of the room.)

9. Organize donations (Our church has a clothes closet and the clothing needs to be washed and sorted by size which can be done at home. A military spouse group that I belonged to ran a thrift store and used the proceeds to give scholarships to military dependents. They allowed mothers to bring their children with them to sort since the shop was closed to the public that day.)

10. Write press releases for your favorite organization.

How do/did you volunteer when you have young children? Did you take a break? Do you choose to financially support a ministry instead? Did you trade off babysitting with a friend or find some other creative way to find a way to serve? Please share in the comment section how you balance volunteering with all of your other commitments.

To read more posts on how and where other bloggers are volunteering visit Community Service Saturday at Coping with Frugality.

Alea July 25, 2009 miscellaneous 4 Comments
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