October 2020 Newsletter

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” 

~ Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

And here we are, in the middle of autumn... and with another monthly newsletter in which we chat about books read, things watched, homemaking projects and any other ponderings which really don't fit into its own post! It's pretty much some old-fashioned, womanly chit-chat.  And I am happy to report that I took better notes this time! It's been quite a month hasn't it? 

Would you believe that our southerly climate is still giving us small amounts of veggies in October while other states are getting snow?!  It truly is an amazing earth!

We also had these sun-dried chilies on the vine that finally got some attention! I didn't even realize my husband planted them as they were situated in a little slot inside the curtains of juniper. He is a crafty little gardener who always hunts for nooks and crannies to put some seeds.  You never know what will take! By the time I spotted them they were already dehydrating themselves -- poor things! 😉

But that was to my advantage... Some were placed into extra-virgin olive oil to make a chili infused oil. This will be drizzled over pizzas, pastas, as salad dressing, marinade and for embellishing the flavor of everything else!

The remaining chili peppers were tied unto a string and made into a garland to continue to dry. These will be plucked off one-by-one during the winter and added to soups and sauces to spice things up and keep us feeling warm and toasty! 

And if you remember the guava tree we found on our property? Yes, once again, some are getting snow while we are getting tropical fruits in the autumn! I made them into some lovely jam which tastes like an exotic pear jam (for those of you who never tasted guava). 

I'm not sure which is more fun... preparing the jam for the pantry or labeling them nice and pretty? 

I was also excited to find some dried rose hips on our garden roses. Though they weren't of the wild variety, they are still rich in vitamin C for syrup making! The yield wasn't much (just a small bottle and mini-sized jar full) but any extra supplement of natural C is excellent to have for cold and flu season! You can find information on foraging for rose hips and making them into a shelf stable syrup here. You will find the rose hips ready between September and November. However, the best time to harvest is after the first frost (or late autumn if you don't get frost), when they are the sweetest. These fruits are one of the most concentrated sources of vitamin C available!

I've also been doing some fall home maintenance and organizing around the house as time permits. I have been able to build up our home apothecary while cleaning out our tea drawer! I noticed we had quite a few "sleepy-time" loose tea blends which contained lavender that remain untouched. While we love lavender in all areas of the home, the culinary use just doesn't seem to work for us. The flavor is too cologne-y I think. So I gathered all the loose teas of that nature and placed them in a jar (I labeled them relax herbs). I will prepare a sleepy time tincture (just substitute the calming herbs you have with the ones I share in my recipe to make it.. you can also empty out chamomile tea bags and any other sleepy-time herb combinations that have been sitting around and prepare a tincture with them) so nothing gets wasted! And in the end, you will have a nice, usable sleepy-time tonic! My variety contains dried chamomile, rose petals, passionflower, lavender, lemon balm, and spearmint (to name a few).

I've also re-organized the utensil drawer which I call "taming the wild beast". I've been on a basket hunt at thrift stores and found these lined ones which are perfect for the purpose! The smaller utensils were placed in the larger basket, the measuring cups and funnels where placed in the smaller basket while the awkward, large utensils claimed the remaining space. So far, so good! It feels wonderful getting these little projects done and definitely puts a spring in my step!

As far as books and movies go, I really didn't get a chance to finish reading anything last month. I have many books in beautiful stacks laying around the house. I read snippets here and there when the mood strikes but nothing is complete yet. Movies have been a disappointment once again. I just can't seem to find anything "new" to watch that has the "old" fashioned values that I crave... But I do have a few on my wishlist that may be lovely once the price goes down. 

In other news, the giveaway from our Etsy Shop ended but I am having a hard time connecting with the winner. I sent out an email a few times to the first winner and waited with no response. So, I have generated a second winner from the Rafflecopter service and once again, I still haven't a response. I may be going into the Spam box. So... if your name is Sarah (for privacy sake I won't include the last name), please check your email! You may be the winner! 

What about you dear reader? What wholesome and lovely things have you been reading, watching and/or working on? As always, recommendations are much appreciated and hearing about your homemaking projects always inspire me! (As for myself, I've been burning candles like crazy... the cozy feeling is therapy right now... I've also been embellishing my laundry area but I will share that in a separate post.) Until next time...

Verse of the Month:

"Let love be without hypocrisy.

Abhor what is evil.

Cling to what is good."

~ Romans 12:9

DIY Homemade Ranch Dip Mix ~ Printable Recipe with Jar Label

I think that the ranch dip mix is a quintessential part of the American diet! It seems it makes any meal delicious if you have the ability to "dip" it! In our household that means pizza, breaded chicken, breaded zucchini, veggie sticks and patties of all sorts. A simple food, plus a simple dip, with a nice salad and you have yourself a decent meal. The upsetting part is that the ranch dip mixes in the store bought packets are anything but decent...

Only 3 ingredients are recognizable foods (and the main three ingredients are maltodextrin, salt and MSG)! Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

Hidden Vally Original Dip Mix: "Maltodextrin, Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Onion*, Spices, Garlic*, Modified Food Starch, Less Than 2% Of: Calcium Stearate, Natural Flavor."

However, with 5 very basic pantry ingredients, you can have yourself a tasty ranch dip mix option that is very inexpensive to make! It is also healthy as it is created with nutritious and powerful herbs and spices.

(While I did share a ranch mix many years ago, I now prefer this updated recipe. Maybe you will too...)

Makes approx. 1 pint jar

• 1/2 c. dried parsley 

• 1/4 c. garlic powder 

• 2 tbsp. onion powder 

• 1/4 c. salt (we use the Himalayan pink salt) 

• 2 tbsp. ground black pepper 

Mix together all the ingredients and pour into a pint sized jar.

I have provided a label to paste to the jar to make refills convenient. I noticed that half the battle to making the mixes is finding the recipes in the heat of the moment. When they are on the jars, it takes literally minutes to make! 

To prepare the ranch dip:

Mix together 1 cup of sour cream with 2 1/2 tsp. of the dip mix. For best results, let it chill in the refrigerator a few hours before serving to allow flavors to “marry”.

Variations:

- Substitute 1/4 c. of plain kefir for part of the sour cream to create a tasty probiotic blend.

 - Squeeze some lemon juice into your prepared ranch mixture for a more tart flavor.

 I think these make useful little gifts! Make a few extra pints for hostesses!

Free printable recipe with convenient label is found HERE.

Happy Homemaking!

Recipe was adapted from Live Simply Blog.

My Only Chance ~ Snippets

 

My Only Chance...

I remember embracing her, kissing her, dressing her up and always rocking her.

I remember bathing her every night and reading and saying prayers with her every evening.

I remember playing games with her and helping her make all kinds of kitchen messes. I drank so much tea and ate many homemade pastries around the table with her. And then I began to home educate her.

I remember one day when she was 7 she said, “mom, you kiss me too much... you hug me too much... you squeeze me too much, you love me too much”.

But I only smiled and squeezed her again because that second one never came. That moment of anticipation never arrived. That next baby was not to be and only He knows why.

My only consolation in all of this was...

I took every chance. 

I didn’t hold back one ounce of love or give away my time to other “important“ pursuits. I was her mother and I took every. single. chance. to be one.

Dear young mothers, don’t rush through these crazy and turbulent childhood years... don’t assume another is coming to fill those empty arms. Just be there and love them as if they are your last.

Take every chance.

(Note: I'll be sharing some little "snippets" here and there from some of my more special Instagram posts that I feel some of you may enjoy that aren't on it...)

DIY Sweet Lavender Botanical Perfume ~ All Natural Essential Oil Blend

"And lavender, whose spikes of azure bloom

shall be, ere-while, in arid bundles bound

to lurk admist the labours of her loom,

and crown her kerchiefs witl mickle rare perfume."

~ William Shenstone (1742)

These "Sweet Lavender" botanical perfumes provide an all-natural scent while integrating a sense of relaxation via aromatherapy. They are very simple to make and don't have any of the toxins found in traditional perfumes. They are also convenient to carry around and make lovely gifts! 

In order to prepare this project, you will need the following* (some of which are affiliate links to the products I used):

• dried lavender flowers (optional but pretty), 1/8-1/4 tsp. of lavender buds per bottle
• 10 ml roll top bottle (you can also recycle essential oil bottles)
• small essential oil funnel
• sweet almond oil (or fractionated coconut oil, sunflower oil, or mild carrier oil of your choice)
• roman chamomile essential oil, 1 drop per bottle
• lavender essential oil, 2 drops per bottle
• peppermint essential oil, 1 drop per bottle
• juniper essential oil, 1 drop per bottle
• vanilla oleoresin essential oil, 2 drops per bottle (you can also use 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract if you need to be resourceful but it will cloud the look of your blend. If you do use it, I would omit the lavender flowers and add the extract in the first step.)

* If you haven't yet built up a collection of essential oils, then this can be expensive to prepare. With that in mind, you can try for a more frugal version by experimenting with a simple mixture of lavender and vanilla essential oil to get a nice basic blend.

1. Begin by filling each bottle with 1/8-1/4 tsp. of lavender buds if you are using them.

2. Using a small funnel, carefully fill each bottle with your carrier oil (almond oil, fractionated coconut oil, sunflower oil) making sure to leave 1/4 inch headspace. As you can see, this can get messy!

3. Next, add the essential oils (amounts are shared above).

4. Fill up the remaining of the bottle with carrier oil (up to the neckline) if necessary.

5. Press roller ball lid onto each bottle and shake each bottle to blend your perfume.  

And you are finished! I like to let the blend "marry" for 24 hours and then test the aroma. You can label them if you choose or keep them in their "au natural" setting. I think they smell divine but feel free to add or subtract the ingredients to make it pleasing to your senses. 

Use this as you would perfume (though keep in mind that since it is natural, you may have to do a few applications during the day to keep up the scent). To get the aromatherapy benefits, make sure to inhale the fragrance nice and deeply each time you apply it for relaxing results!