Wednesday, August 28, 2013

A Homemaker's A-Z Index ~ Prepare Your Own Pantry/Products



Before there was the "grocery store" and "bulk food warehouses", there was your backyard…
“The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago. Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, the food was in homes, gardens, local fields, and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, near bedsides. It was in the pantry, the cellar, the backyard.”
~ Joel Salatin, Excerpt from


Do you feel the urge to build up your own reserves like the sisterhood before us? In these uncertain times, it is a personal goal of mine... We can produce items for our homes that do not include added chemicals, toxic processes and preservatives that are causing many bizarre health issues. By personally preparing our pantry foods, making our own medicinal remedies, being resourceful with what we grow and creating our own cleaning products, we can provide like the woman of yesteryear but with the blessing of modern day advantages. 

Below is an A - Z index of homemaking recipes and ideas from this blog based upon "being creative with what you have". These items have been shared in the past and are being updated weekly. Be sure to check back (there will be a link to this post on my side bar) when you need some suggestions regarding what to do with your abundance of...

Apples

Avocados

Bananas

Beans

Beets

Bell Peppers

Broccoli

Butternut Squash

Cabbage

Calendula

Carrots

Chamomile

Eggs

Elderberry

Figs

Fruit Scraps


Garlic

Grapes

Honey

Lavender

Lemons

Oats/Oatmeal

Onions

Oranges

Peaches

Peppermint


Pomegranates

Potatoes

Pumpkins

Squash
Strawberries

Tomatoes

Zucchini

You may also be interested in creating an herbal for all your household DIY recipes:



"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
~Theodore Roosevelt
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Monday, August 26, 2013

Dehydrating Your Giant Zucchini ~ Build Up Your Pantry


Is your garden starting to give you Z.O.U.S.'s (zucchini's of unusual size)? Consider shrinking them down. Won't they be wonderful in savory soups and sauces come autumn and winter? I love making these tiny additions to our pantry! Not only do they benefit the food budget, but they allow you to prepare future homemade meals in a pinch.


The first step is to gut the middle of the zucchini with a tablespoon. The seeds will be large with soft flesh because of the mature size, making it easy scoop it out. Feed this to your chickens or add to the compost pile.


Next, chop up the outer firm flesh into small cubes. 


Place in a dehydrator for the amount of time that your zone calls for (this is located in your dehydrator manual).
Store your finished product in an airtight container.

To reconstitute: Place equal amount of boiling water to your amount of dried vegetable. Soak from 10 minutes to 2 hours depending on how soft you need them to be. You could also toss them directly into soups and sauces as they cook (which I do a lot of the time) but they may not be as tender or flavorful.

You may also be interested in "what to do with all your zucchini"…


"When you eat the labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you."
~ Psalm 128:2
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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

"Soul Enjoy Good" ~ A Homemaker's Day Inn

Woman Reading on Couch by T. F. Simon

Her husband has taken the family for a few hours but mother has stayed behind.

When she was younger, she would rush to the automobile in order to do some frivolous shopping.

That is no longer her love…

She has grown fond of her own little retreat, her quiet home.

As she stirs her green tea, the ice clanks against her glass like an old set of chimes. 

She gently stretches her tired body across her daybed. She pulls the light afghan over her flowing skirt. It keeps her company.

Today she will open a new, hardbound volume. It is lovely to her with its red and beige toile pattern. She carefully fingers the crisp, canvas cover before she delves into her devotional.

She no longer has guilt for these seemingly idle moments, for she realizes the impact they have on her health, her spirit. She feels restored…

She makes her way into the kitchen, plays some inspirational music and begins to stir the ingredients.

Soon the home is filled with a delicious aroma and a hungry set of faces. They smile when they smell mother's cooking. They smile when they see mother.

This is her new day out, it is a "day inn"... 

“Oh, I can't describe my home. It is home, and I can't put its charm into words.”
~ Elizabeth Gaskell,  North and South

"There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink,
and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour.
This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God."
~ Ecclesiastes 2:24


Proverbial Homemaker Series:
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Monday, August 12, 2013

Make Your Own Cold Fighting Medicine ~ Pantry Series


Welcome to part three of our "Make Your Own Medicine with Pantry Provisions" section of the pantry series.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."
~ Hippocrates

Jacqueline at Deep Roots at Home (with a nursing background and love for natural healing) has graciously agreed to share some information from her archives that will turn your basic food storage into a medicine cabinet as well!

Cinnamon and raw honey are both staples in our "Essential Pantry List".

 Today we will learn how to fight a cold with them:

cinnamon and honey, cure for colds

People of many cultures have been using honey and cinnamon to treat disease for centuries. Folk wisdom still retains knowledge of the healing properties of both raw honey and cinnamon. Both are great alone, but mixing them together increases their power exponentially.


This simple mixture has worked well for us, and if we have a cough, we add my No Side-Effect Cough Remedy. Keeping these two powerhouses on hand in my home-remedy medicine chest is a time saver. I also consider both raw honey and cinnamon to be in the top 10 on my list of preparedness musts.

Obviously, mixing them up is nothing complex; a child could do it in a pinch.

Ingredients and directions:
One teaspoon of preferably local raw honey and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon will usually knock out a cold within a day or two. I add a pinch of grey or pink sea salt (such as Redmond’s Real, Celtic, or Himalayan) for the minerals, too. Mix together and take two times a day x 3 days for best results. Both honey and cinnamon are anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal.


If you are worried about what seems to be a lot of sugar, do some research. LiveStrong.com cites studies that show that honey and cinnamon have several positive effects in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and may reduce blood sugar levels and blood pressure. But, please read more for your self and don’t take my word for it. We personally only use raw, local honey.

Other benefits of honey and cinnamon according to NaturalNews.com:

  • Drinking honey and cinnamon in lukewarm water results in them moving through the bladder and cleansing it of infections.
  • Drinking this beverage on a regular basis can also relieve arthritis pain, and in some cases, entirely cure it.
  • This mixture strengthens the immune system, helping ward off colds as well as some viruses.
  • Regular consumption of honey and cinnamon together, when combined with an overall healthy diet and moderate activity level, can prevent heart disease by clearing clogged arteries.
  • Applying a paste of honey and cinnamon on a guaze pad to infected gums can ease pain and bleeding as well as slow the progression of the infection.
  • Honey and cinnamon also provide energy, making people more mentally alert and ready for physical activity which in turn increases the metabolism.
  • When consumed together, honey and cinnamon can ease digestion, helping to prevent gas.
Note: Do not give this to infants under the age of one year.

honey and cinnamon, cure for the common cold

Coffee-lovers~ consider adding cinnamon and honey to your brew and then drink a big glass of water! Coffee is very dehydrating, but I digress…maybe I’ll talk about that in another post :)

If you are blessed by something you have read here at Deep Roots, please consider liking my page on Facebook and subscribing via Feedburner. Thank you :)

Emile Munier, May I Have One, too?, painting, child with a slice of bread, eating fruit

Great selection of bulk herbs, books, and remedies. Articles, Research Aids and much more.

 Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I do seek scientific confirmation of the safety and effectiveness of the herbs and remedies I use. Using remedies is a personal decision. Nothing I say on this blog is approved by the FDA or intended to diagnose, treat or prevent disease. All things on this blog are my opinion or the opinion of others.
For 38 years, I have been a wife to my husband and a teacher of our children in the home. Now a new season has come, and with the blessing of my husband, I write this blog as an encouragement to myself and others. (Titus 2: 3-5) How important is this role of speaking into the lives of younger women! The habits of the home in one generation become the morals of society in the next. As William Ross Wallace said: “The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world.”
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