DIY Shampoo

I am trying out a new homemade shampoo.  I used this recipe from Our Oily House, but used Argon oil instead of the Jojoba oil and also doubled the ingredients.  I also used the hair loss oil blends with extra peppermint because I like how it smells.  Wish me luck!  My daughter is getting married in October, so I have roughly a month for my hair to get used to this new chemical free shampoo blend. I like that I already had all of the supplies on hand and did not have to make a run to the store.  I hope to make the DIY dry shampoo spray (also from Our Oily Home) next, but I don't keep vodka in the house.  I am wondering if maybe witch hazel might be a substitute for that. I have gotten away from using natural products with a heavy work load the past three years teaching online at the wee hours of the morning.  However, due to some new education laws in China, I have found myself at the end of that job and more time to focus on the things I love like homemaking, homeschooling, my neglected garden, and more.  

 

Next Week's Menu

On Wednesdays, I use a few minutes to plan out our main supper meals and start my grocery list.  I usually do the grocery list online, but will often still go inside to purchase it.  By making the list online, I can add and take away as needed to meet my weekly budget.  Also, if like gets crazy then I can just order online and pickup when I am in town the next time.  I usually do a larger shopping trip every other week, with fresh produce and milk stops in between as needed.  This week, I am using all recipe from the Pampered Chef website.  I love that they are often full of fresh ingredients and simple to make.  Plus, I need some new ways to use the commercial steer that is filling my freezer.  ;-) 

 

Sourdough Bread Making

    I ordered a new cookbook and sourdough starter from Around the Family Table.  I highly recommend her for your starter.  Mine is bubbling and growing nicely.  The cookbook is HUGE!  I mixed up her recipe fore Vanilla Latte Mix as soon as I got it and have been having this lovely treat every morning for breakfast.  On the Weigh Watcher's app, it calculates as 1 point (for the almond milk) on BLUE. It really is the best homemade latte mix I have tried ... and I have tried a lot of them over the years.  ;-)  If you are looking at starting a sourdough or finding recipes to use with yours, try out this website because all of the recipes are amazing!  I think, I will have my starter built up enough to have have spare dough for a recipe by the end of the weekend.   

Around the Family Table 

 I am trying out a new recipe for Boston Baked Beans from The Hillbilly Housewife website.  

Boston Baked Beans

Makes 16 servings and freezes well.
 

• 32 oz. bag of navy beans (I am not soaking them, just sort and rinse)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 4 to 6 oz of bacon bits (because that is what I have on hand.  You can also use raw, chopped bacon ends.)

I sorted and rinsed the bag of beans and then put them into my 8 qt. Instant Pot.  I covered them by about 4 inches of water.  The main thing is to have plenty of water for the beans to rehydrate.  I don't need them soft and fully cooked, so I chose the "bean" setting, which is 30 minutes on the Instant Pot.  Let them cook and then allow the pressure to release naturally.  So I set it up before I had 2 hours of online teaching, knowing It would be ready around 12:30 pm, which is perfect timing for dinner.

Drain off the cooking water. In a very large casserole (4-quart or larger) combine the semi-cooked beans, salt, dry mustard, molasses, sugar and chopped bacon. I am using my Pampered Chef 6 qt. Enameled Dutch Oven that I earned in the Fall Free for All. The deep covered baker or Rockcrok are all good choices as well.  Basically a big ol' pot with a lid. ;-)   Add enough hot water to barely come to the top of the beans. Put a lid on the casserole, or tin foil. Bake the beans at 300° for about 5 to 7 hours. They will be tender, fragrant and delicious.  The cooked beans may be frozen in two cup portions to substitute for canned baked beans or canned pork ’n beans in any recipe. They make a good main dish, or a side dish for a large crowd. This recipe serves about 16. I make such a large amount so I can have plenty of leftovers to freeze.  I am also putting Rhodes Frozen rolls out to thaw to go with them for dinner.  Somehow I got my grocery list mixed up and ended up with over 60 frozen rolls in my freezer.  I will serve a salad on the side and might make a pie for dessert.  

Banana Muffins

 Have you tried the soaked grain recipes for muffins?  This process helps to make a softer, fluffier whole grain muffin.  This recipe is one of the first I ever tried.  At that time, I would make it in my Bosch Mixer/Blender.  Some time after purchasing it though the blender part died.  I decided to try it in my new Pampered Chef Deluxe Cooking Blender.  I knew it had the power to grind the grain and it would not damage it for the batter to sit overnight.  

Here is my tweak of this recipe.  I want to try it with pumpkin next time. 

Phase 1:

• 3/4 cup of buttermilk
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. melted butter
• 1/3 c. raw honey
• 1 1/2 very ripe bananas, broken in pieces
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 1/3 c. Pastry whole wheat berries (NOT flour.  1 1/2 c. if using other grains like spelt or kamut.)

Blend all together starting at the lowest speed and increasing to the highest speed.  Let it blend for 3 minutes to be sure that all of the grain has been ground.  You may have to add additional liquid to keep the batter churning for 3 full minutes.  Cover blender and let it sit overnight at room temperature. If you make this in the morning for the evening, just let it sit 8+ hours and even up to 24 hours before finishing with Phase 2.  This is similar to a sour dough process. 

Phase 2: 

Add 1 egg to the blender and hit the pulse button a time or two to blend. I actually put the leavening agents in a little cup so all I have to do in the morning is dump it in after I blend in the egg.  Now add the following:

• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt

Pulse a few more times to blend in the leavening agents.  Now you can add walnuts or pecans if you family likes them.  To ensure they are easy to remove from the muffin tins, I use paper muffin cups and then spray the muffin cups with vegetable spray.  

Bake 20 minutes at 350*.  Cool muffins in the pan for 3-5 minutes and then serve warm with fresh butter and honey.  

Alternatively, you can use freshly milled flour and mix phase one with a wooden spoon and cover until morning.  Then proceed with phase 2 and bake the next day. 

 This last couple of weeks, I have been working on a few canning projects.  I tried a new recipe that I LOVE and want to share.  Have you ever heard of Pear Honey?  My husband immediately said I was not going to can all of the honey we had just harvested from the bees.  It took a bit of explanation to show him that there is no honey in this recipe.  In fact, it is a honey like texture and flavor but all from pineapple and pears.  To make this recipe, I used my Pampered Chef Deluxe Cooking Blender on the Jam Setting.  I followed the directions as listed in the recipe except, I added the crushed pineapple at the end when the blender beeps for you to add the pectin.  This recipe is a sauce, so no pectin is needed.  To make this an even faster recipe, I used my apple wedger to make fast work of preparing the pears.  Try out this recipe if you have extra pears on hand and want to try something new.  Oh, and I have some of these Wek jars in my Amazon cart.  They are just too cute! 

Taste of Home's

Pear Honey Recipe

Psalm 138 sung by Jason Silver 

We have been reading through the Psalms for our devotion time.  I love this arrangement of Psalm 138. Here is a link to Charles Spurgeon's commentary on this particular Psalm.  I shared this with my Classical Conversations students as well.  In light of the many challenges of 2020, we discussed the many difficult years that humanity has survived this world.  We talked about times of war such as World War I, World War II, times of hunger such as the Great Depression and times of sorrow and loss such as the many children who were moved to the country during The Blitz, but never were returned home to their families in England.  We also talked about all of the difficult times that had occurred before David wrote this Psalm and how we can trust the Lord and Praise HIM even during difficult times.  We can even thank HIM during difficult times as He will use them for a greater good even though it may not seem possible during the challenging times or times of sorrow.  So today, I challenge myself to life the Lord above every thing and trust HIM to increase my strength of soul rather then relying on my own abilities, which are always lacking.