Use it up and Wear it out Candles

I used to throw away that little bit of wax left from the end of candles without thinking about it. This project was part of my goal this year of more homemade and less store bought (even though I'm working with the leftovers from my favorite local candle makers). I also hate to waste things!

The amount of scrap left over from the candles was not insignificant!

I'm sure there's a better method to this...

After saving the ends of candles for a few weeks, this is what I'm left with. They're not the prettiest candles - they're slightly grey and dingy from the soot of being previously burned. And I didn't bother scrubbing out the candle holders. I would not give these away as gifts. But for my own use, they're brilliant! I'm happy I was able to make use of something I had previously just thrown away.


I'm linking to:

 Homestead Barn Hop

Last Minute Flower Seed Valentines

My daughter's school is all hippiefied and doesn't want candy for Valentine's day. I'm not too heartbroken. Last year I spent quite a bit of money, just to contribute to tooth decay. Not this year. 

I mixed up some gel food coloring with Elmer's glue to make garden friendly paint

We each decorated the hearts and had a lot of fun

Next we glued on several seeds from cheap seed packs.

 

Marigolds, sunflowers, morning glories, zinnias...

Never say never, but I spent a grand total of about 3 bucks on this project, other than what we just had laying around the house (food coloring, glue, paper). And it made the whole family happy. Why would I spend a bunch of money on crummy valentines cards that just get rummaged through and tossed when the candy is gone?

Honeycomb Socks

One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to read at least one book a month (last month I read three), and to knit at least one pair of socks every month. It's part of my grand scheme to hold on to what's left of my brains, and to make more/buy less. This pattern in these colors reminds me of honey comb (mmm, homesteading dreams)

Here's January's socks:


Toe up knee high socks - perfect size for my five year old!

She loves them and wouldn't take them off, even when she got way overheated.

Even on a smaller scale, knee high socks are an exercise in patience.

The bright colors and the honeycomb-like pattern have me itching for spring. I can't wait to see those bees buzzing around my flowers!


I'm linking to:

Homestead Barn Hop

A Look Back at January

This is the first of twelve posts to keep track of what I'd hoped to accomplish each month this year to keep myself accountable. This involved things like reading more, knitting more, more homemade and expanding the garden and getting healthier.

What I read:

War Brides by Helen Bryan

The Preacher's Bride by Jody Hedlund

Things I Learned from Knitting by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Yes, I chick-lit it up. Next month I'll probably do the same.

What I knitted:

January socks: Knee high toe up socks for little girl. Pattern adapted from Circle Socks

Homemade:

Liquid Oatmeal-Castile Soap 

Homemade Deodorant

 

 No Knead Beer Bread

 Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Garden:

Hibernating this month, but our seeds arrived!

Well being:

Got Kiddo in a great preschool

Quit a terrible job

Will be starting a new job in early February



Organization:

Started keeping a daily journal to keep track of chores

Started some major de-cluttering and working to keep the house in better shape

Getting healthier:

Whoops. Things have been stressful, y'all.

Striving for Greener Thumbs

As excited as I am to get back outside digging in the dirt, I can't seem to muster the same enthusiasm for my indoor plants. I forget to water them, or I water them too much and muddy water drips everywhere. The dry heat inside and lack of sunshine is turning them into crispy, sad brittle things.

This key lime tree (which flourished outside during the summer and gave us dozens of itty bitty limes) is losing leaves left and right. It could use some sunshine!

Toast. But check out those raised beds... so full of potential!

This tropical beast is hanging on despite my neglect. Also, how cute was my husband as a toddler? I want to pinch his cheeks every time I pass that photo.

All hope isn't lost! Our seed order came in the mail this afternoon!

We'll be growing from seed: 

Golden bantam sweet corn

Contender bush beans

Golden wax bush beans

Tendersweet carrots

Black seeded simpson lettuce

Jericho lettuce

Red romaine lettuce

Black beauty zucchini

Waltham butternut squash

Genoese basil

Black mammoth sunflowers

Sugar ann snap peas

Bloomsdale long standing spinach

We have some strawberries and herbs that'll come back with a vengeance, and we plan on buying lots of established tomato and pepper plants, since we've never had luck growing them from seed. With the fourth garden bed we built in the fall, we'll be extra busy this year!

I'm linking to:

 

Homestead Barn Hop 

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

  Kid friendly chocolate milk, mom friendly mocha and a shared squash muffin.

My parents have a thing about mochas. They have a fancy espresso machine that they fire up every day. They have big opinions about which espresso makes the best mocha, and which chocolate has let them down in the past. A long time favorite of theirs has been Ghiradelli powder, but it is so expensive. They have tried throwing in chocolate chips, but it clumps and sinks to the bottom. For the past few months I've been making them this syrup, which is super cheap and simple to make. It stirs into hot or cold milk, and doesn't clump or sink to the bottom.

Start with a 2:1 simple syrup

Have your blocks of unsweetened chocolate ready to go

Not ready yet! I'm always impatient and end up with grainy syrup. Wait until it's clear.

The syrup will be done when it's clear when taken off the heat.

 Throw in the chocolate, salt and vanilla, and let it melt. At this point it'll look like a total globby, nasty chocolate froth, floating on a sugar pond. Don't worry!

Blending it up turns it into a smooth sauce, which stays smooth after cooling off.

The syrup should coat the back of a spoon when still hot, and tastes amazing!

 This amount makes four pint sized jars plus a little left over. It should keep my folks happy for a week or two!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup:
3 cups water

6 cups sugar

4 bars unsweetened chocolate (4oz)

1 tsp salt

1 T vanilla

Canning experts: can this be safely canned next time around? We just keep it in the fridge, but I'd love to know!

I'm linking up to

 

Homestead Barn Hop

No Knead Beer Bread

Baking bread is a science and an art. I'm not particularly scientific when it comes to my baking or cooking skills, so I've hesitated to try an honest to goodness loaf of bread. Maybe beer bread is cheating, but I gave it a try and I followed instructions.

Dough rising. I used beer that reminds me of my years living in Germany. Mmmm, beer.

Mark it with a K and put it in the oven for Kiddo and me. Since kiddo's name starts with K. Did you know that's how you used to tell your loaf of bread apart from everyone else's in the communal oven? Love that.

At this point I was a little worried I'd baked it too long. It looked very... rustic.

Ohhhh, it's soft and wonderful on the inside and crispy crunchy amazing on the outside. Following the directions made it perfect, imagine that.

Beer bread for all!

No Knead Beer Bread

Do you have any favorite bread recipes? I'm excited to try more, now that I've had some success!

The Seasonal Chef - Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Trying to cook with what's available or what's left of the harvest in the middle of winter is a challenge. We're eating a lot of soups and stews these days, along with other meals we've squirreled away in our deep freezer.

My fairy kitchen helper searching for goodies in the pantry

Onions and shredded carrots from the garden we kept in the freezer. Potatoes and celery past their prime. Butternut squash from the garden that we're desperate to work our way through. Amazing, fatty bone stock from our Thanksgiving turkey.

It's still good!

Last year's garlic is over-eager. Can't wait for fresh garlic again!

How I preserved some of our garden herbs - in shot glasses

Throw it all together, cook 'till tender and blend till smooooth

 

Looks like baby food. Would totally work for baby food. And adult food too. It's very tasty.

I added some of the purée to turkey bone broth and shredded turkey we had in the freezer along with a little extra sage and thyme. The veggie purée thickened the soup and gave it some amazing flavor. No extra veggies or noodles required. My husband and I have been eating on this turkey soup for several days.

As for the rest of the purée, we may eat it just as a thick soup with a chunk of bread or I might add some meatballs to it to stretch it for a few more meals. I love experimenting with ingredients I have on hand mainly to see if it can be done. Our great grandparents wouldn't have thrown out those potatoes, I'm telling you.

Mid-Winter Garden Leftovers Soup:

8 small russet potatoes, peeled

2 butternut squashes, cooked and puréed

4 stalks celery

1 cup diced sweet onions

2 cups carrots

3 cups bone broth (I used turkey. Vegetable broth would work, too)

2 cups water

8 cloves garlic

1 oz pesto with no nuts

Pinch rubbed sage

Pinch ground thyme

Pinch ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Birthday ambitions

I think I might just water my house plants already and then take a big birthday nap after yesterday.

De-Cluttering for a New Year

During a brief spell of unemployment last summer I spent some time observing my neighborhood while I dug in my garden. I noticed that nearly every house got a visit from a lawn service and/or a maid service. Most of them have both. It's not quite a Desperate Housewives neighborhood, but it's close.

"Ohhhhhh!" I thought. "That's why our house is the Addams Family house/yard of the block!" Also, we have foxes.

I thought my suspicions were confirmed when we were invited to a dinner party two doors down. They are very friendly, both work full time and have two small children. Yet their house was impeccable. The next weeks I spied, trying to figure out which maid service they used so that I could beg my husband to keep up with the Jones'. It turns out they were one of the houses that didn't have help. Shit.

We're constantly working on our house, though, especially the outside. The big patches of brown in that back porch photo were from trees that had to be chopped down, and we worked on filling them in with sod this fall. The two bushes by the shed are hopefully the location for new blackberry bushes this spring. We're encouraging the foxes to stick around, however, because they keep the bunny and kitty population under control.

The inside of the house is another story. Yesterday the above mentioned neighbor Dad came over to retrieve his daughter from a play date and I was horrified when I looked at my own home from his perspective. I haven't cleaned up the Christmas mess, we have (clean, I swear!) linens and rugs hanging over our railing. We look like trashy people who moved into a beautiful home and are living beyond our means. We have nice things and take care of it all, but the clutter is unflattering to say the least.

So that's what I did about it.

Oh, do you notice what's way back in the corner of the dining room? Under the adorable oval framed photo of my husband as a toddler?

 That's only what's left of our bumper crop of winter squash. There's another blog post or two!