Have you heard about "Switchel"?

It was a big hit with the guys!

I recently discovered this refreshing drink called Switchel.  Just the name itself peaked my curiosity and I had to check it out.  It is taken from The Old Farmers' Almanac, their website has two recipes that vary just a bit.   "Switchel is a refreshing drink from the colonial era and early American farming days.  Switchel was how hardworking farmers quenched their thirst out in the hot, sunbaked fields. That's enough of an endorsement for me!  This drink is also called Haymaker's Punch (because it was drunk while haying fields)..."

I made it today and served it to my two farmers, and it was a huge hit!  I made the second of the two recipes.  I think I would like to add a bit more water, sparkling water, or tonic water next time, and maybe a little less sugar.  I think it's much healthier than some other options such as iced tea, lemonade, or soda, and it is more thirst quenching than just plain water.  In addition, a little vinegar is very good for you!

Here's the recipe I used:

1 gal. water
2 cups raw or dark brown sugar
1 cup molasses
1 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ginger (fresh)

Switchel, a delicious and refreshing old time beverage!

I used light brown sugar and powdered ginger because that's what I had on hand.  I think I would like to use raw sugar and fresh ginger next time.  But if, like me, that's what you have on hand, make it anyway, it's worth it, it's delicious!


Carpe Diem! Lil and Bill

Growing Sprouts at Home!

Sprout Jar Wooden Rack with Jars

Growing your own sprouts at home is a rather simple project that can provide excellent nutrients at a very reasonable cost compared to purchasing them in your local grocery store.  In addition, it is a very compact way to store food in case of an emergency.

What you will need in order to grow your own sprouts:

1. A jar in which to grow them.  A standard wide-mouth quart size canning jar is what I use.
2. You will need to have a piece of mesh cloth that will enable you to drain off the water from the seeds as you rinse them each day.  I didn't have any lying around the house, so I ordered mine online. 
3. You will also need to have a way to keep your jars upside down so they can completely drain, and have some air flow to the sprouts.  My very talented  husband made a wooden rack for me that holds up to 3 Mason jars and folds flat for storage.  You can purchase one from our Marketplace if you wish.
4. Then, you will need to have sprouting seeds.  I found mine online.

Canning jar, mesh cloth, and metal ring

Folding Wooden Rack

Homemade Joint & Muscle Massage Oil

Homemade Joint & Muscle Massage Oil

Do you have joints or muscles that hurt?  Joints that just ache, muscles that hurt from overuse or strain?  I do.  My hands, my thumb joint on my right hand, and my back are the worst.  My husband will massage my hand for me at night, which is where my thoughts turned to making a wonderful massage oil.  How much better it would feel with healing oils, herbs and spices to just soak right in there where it's needed the most, to help the healing and repairing along.  Let me say that there's something to be said about the said healing properties of herbs.  The commercial rubs just aren't that helpful.

So, I did my homework, and came up with this fabulous healing herb massage oil.  It's designed to target the problem, and get right in there to work on what's ailing you.  Make some for yourself, or click the button right at the bottom of this post.

Homemade RX Dog Food, Is It A Good Thing?

Ziggy, after a grooming from Hannah at Animal Trax today!

Our adorable little canine baby, Ziggy!  Isn't he cute?  He is very camera shy, this is the best I could do, he's really much cuter than this!  He just got home from visiting one of his favorite people, Hannah, owner and groomer at Animal Trax.  He loves to look handsome!  He is almost nine years old with some health problems.  You'd never know it tho', he is such a happy and lovable dog, I still think of him as a puppy.  He has bladder stones, calcium oxalate type, and a higher than normal squamous cell count in his urine.  Because of that, I decided to look into the health benefits of making his food and treats as opposed to buying commercial prescription food.  My reasons for going down this road are three-fold:

Homemade Crock Pot Yogurt!

Homemade Crock Pot Yogurt!

I never realized how easy it is to make homemade yogurt until I saw a pin on Pinterest by One Good Thing by Jillee.  She calls it "crock pot yogurt", and it's so easy to make.  Just pick a day that you are planning to be home for the day.  I have a crock pot with a temperature probe, so that makes it just a little bit easier.  I just pour in the milk, add the powdered dry milk, and set the probe to 180 degrees F, and go about my business.  It takes about four hours on the low setting to reach that temperature.  Then I remove the crock pot from the well, set it on my stove top to let it cool down to the temperature of between 95 degrees F and 115 degrees F.  That takes about 1.5 to 2 hours or so.  Then mix in the yogurt tempered with some of the warm milk, stir well to thoroughly mix, and pour into clean mason jars.  Then place them into your oven, pop on the oven light, and wait another eight to twelve hours, I usually just leave them overnight.  Wallah, you have delicious yogurt.  Refrigerate a couple hours to chill for best results.

Here is the recipe:

Make Your Own Homemade Vanilla Extract?

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Many years ago, when our children were very young, we had the privilege of travelling to Haiti.  I had relatives there who were missionaries to Haiti.  I won't go into the spiritual awakening that happens when seeing poverty face to face like you never dreamed possible, that would be for another post.  But, while there, we were directed to the most flavorful vanilla extract I ever sampled.  I have longed for that vanilla over the years, and wondered why we couldn't have something of that quality and flavor here in the States.  Well, as I've mentioned before, I do love Pinterest, and found that I can have that quality of vanilla extract if I want to make it myself.  I then began a search for quality vanilla beans, and found some at Vanilla Products USA.  Not only do they have excellent beans that are packaged to stay fresh with good pricing, but along with the beans they send instructions on how to make your own vanilla extract.  And, I just noticed that they have the instructions directly on their site.  So, here is a picture of the vanilla I was able to make with their 30 bean Assortment of ten of each, Madagascar Gourmet, Madagascar Extract, and Tahitian Grade A vanilla beans. It's extremely fragrant, quite dark in color, and the flavor is fantastic!  Why not try it?

Carpe diem! Lil and Bill

My First Homemade Grape Jam!

Homemade Grape Jam

This is the first year that we've had a nice harvest from our grapevines.  Last night Bill rescued them from the bees and earwigs!  He washed them all for me this morning, de-stemmed them, and got them ready for me to process.  We had about 23 cups of cleaned, ready to process grapes.  I placed them into a large pot and turned up the heat.  When almost all of the skins split or came off (about ten minutes), I then processed them in a food mill to remove all the skin and seeds.  I put the juice and pulp back into the pot, added sugar to our taste (about 8 cups), and brought it all back up to a rolling boil.  I then added the pectin according to the instructions on the package, brought it back up to a boil, then funneled it into freshly washed jars that I had placed in the oven at 225 degrees to sterilize and keep hot.   After all jars were filled, I wiped clean the rims, topped with the lids that had been soaking in hot water on the stove on low heat, and closed up with the rings tightened finger tight.  Time to place all the jars into the canner with boiling water for ten minutes.  That's it, I'm done!  Finished up with nine pints of wonderful homemade fresh grape jam!

Carpe diem! Lil and Bill