Gather your herb of choice fresh from your garden or the market. Using a mortar and pestle, grind down to a pulp the selected herbs. Then once mashed, take the herb and put it in a solution of either alcohol, pure distilled vinegar, corn oil, sunflower oil, or olive oil.

If you are using alcohol, never ever use Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol-this is not meant for consumption. Back in the day our grandmothers and their mothers would use 180 proof edible alcohol, but that is a little tricky to find these days. So instead, use vodka! Vodka is half water half alcohol in equal volumes in 100 proof.

The measurements of herbs to liquid of any of the liquids mentioned above is 2 Tbl. mashed herb to 3/4 c. liquid.

Mix and shake the solution well, keep in a warm spot in your home, and shake daily for 3 weeks.

Citrus Extract Recipe:

Peel away the outer skin of your citrus of choice- this layer is called the Zest. Be careful not to use the white layer beneath called the Pith. Fill a wide mouthed bottle about 1/3 of the way up with your fresh zest. Next pour in to fill the remaining 2/3 of the bottle with alcohol. Let this mixture set for 2 weeks, shaking its contents 2 times a day. Strain out the zest chunks, and then bottle your new citrus extract.

There is nothing better than fresh ground herbs, so when choosing between whole and pre-ground, go for intact herbs and grind away at home. It's recommended never to make more than a 6 month supply of ground up herbs at a time. Once they have been broken down, they will immediately start to lose their flavor, so if you are storing them for long term, whole is always best.

To grind your own herbs you can use a mortar and pestle, a pepper or salt mill, or your blender or juicer-whatever is easiest for you, it doesn't really matter. Then store them in the ways mentioned in the chapter Herbs-Harvest Time.

How to Make Herb Butter

This delicious and gourmet treat is easy to make. First decide whether you want salted or unsalted butter (Salted butter will keep longer than unsalted F.Y.I.). Then soften your butter up and cream into it chopped herbs of your choice. You may want to add a touch of lemon juice as well, but it’s to your taste. Use 1-2 Tbsp. fresh herbs (well packed), or 1-2 tsp. dried herbs, for every ¼ c. of butter.

Make Your Own Candied Leaves and Flowers

You can candy rose petals, mint leaves, and the blossoms of oranges, lemons, lilacs, violets and sweet peas.

You candy them by dipping them into a stiffly beaten egg white. You can color and flavor your egg whites to suit your taste or décor. Coat them with sugar. Then dry them in an oven preheated to 110 degrees F. with the door left slightly open, or use a dehydrator.

Crystallizing Herbs

To crystallize more delicate items like rose petals, ginger root, etc, first cover the item to be crystallized with water. Boil for 5 minutes and then drain the water off. Now repeat this process 3 more times. Save the liquid used to boil the item the 4th time. After it has cooled, measure the liquid and the herb content by its volume and add sugar equal to that volume plus half more. Now boil this herb sugar water solution until the herb becomes more translucent. Drain the herb, dry it and then roll it in white sugar. Store this in sealed jars to be used later.

How to Dye Fabrics Best With Herbs

Make Your Own Natural Dye’s: These colorings will be softer than the artificial ones, but you are not adding any toxins to any products in this fashion so overall, it is better for your health.

These herbs make these different colors:

Black- Barberry Leaves

Blue- Blueberries

Brown- Coffee, Tea, Rose Hips, Tobacco, Hickory Chips and Nut Hulls (Walnuts make the best color)

Green- Sunflower Seeds, Birch Leaves, Beet Tops, Elderberry Leaves, Spinach, Rhubarb Leaves, Cabbage, Spanish Onion Skins (outer leaves only)

Orange- Orange Juice

Pink- Beets, Sassafras Roots, and Cherries

Purple- Cherries, Huckleberries, Blackberries, Cranberries, Grapes, Raspberries, and Purple Cabbage

Red- Beet Juice, Red Onion Skins, Bloodroot, Madder Root, and Logwood

Yellow- Cinnamon, Curry, Goldenrod Flowers, Stems and Leaves; Mustard, Paprika, the Stems, Flowers and Leaves of Apple Bark; Saffron, Turmeric, Ginger, and Pear Leaves.

Secrets of Using Natural Dye's



In the interest of all please do not use your cookware for dying fabrics. Mordants (substances used to set the dye in the fabrics) are often times highly poisonous.

1.)Do not use iron, aluminum or tin pans to do dying in. They can effect the color and chemistry of your dying process. Enamel pots and pans are best.

2.) Plant coloring can vary from batch to batch, so do not be surprised if you see different shades come from the same kind of plant. Factors that change the makeup of the plant and thus the color as well are amounts of rainfall, soil composition, light intensity, etc.

3.) When deciding how much plant to use for your dye project, use the same weight of plants to match the weight of the fabric.

4.) Flowers are the best place to extract color from, but roots, stems, leaves and fruits may produce a color too.

5.) Heat, steep or boil the plant to produce a water that has a strong color from the plant.

6.) Mordants placed into this colored water will make the color set into whatever substance you are dying and will many times make the color brighter. Alum, Acetic Acid (from vinegar), and ammonia are mordants. Keep in mind that using different mordants wiill give you completely different colors.If you are low on cash, lemon juice, salt and white vinegar can be used as mordants.

7.) Natural fabrics take dye best. Cotton, wool, jute, silk, linen, and rayon (cellulose based)

8.) To make sure your fabric takes the dye best, first wash the fabric out. Then soak it in the mordant. Next add your dye.

9.)To dye the fabric, heat it slowly in the mordant and dye solution to almost boiling. Then cool it down equally as gradually. Do not ever actually boil the fabric in the dye solution or allow the fabric to soak in the dye for more than one hour. For silk keep the temperature of the solution below 160 degrees F.

You have two options on how to store your herbs; you can either dry them or freeze them.

Drying- You can either spread the leaves on a clean cloth in a dry well circulated area, or you can oven dry or use a dehydrator. Do not put your herbs in direct sunlight to dry. This will only cause the leaves to turn brown and burn. Some light sun at the beginning and end of the day is alright.

You can also hang your herbs in bunches from a string in a dry room or maybe an attic space. You will need to make a cutting from the herb plant of about 6” and then tie in groups and hang upside down. You may want to spread some newspapers below your hangings, to catch any leaves that fall off. The total drying process should take about 2 weeks.

The hanging method for drying works well with the following herbs: Anise, Basil, Marigold, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Tarragon, and Thyme.

It is best to keep your herbs in whole leaves, when powdered they start to lose their flavor. I recommend only powdering up the herbs right before you use them for cooking or scent.

Store dried herbs in dry airtight containers in a dark place away from heat. This will preserve the color and taste of your herbs and prevent evaporation of its natural oils.

Drying Herb Seeds- To save the seeds of your herbs, pull up the entire plant stalk when it has gone to seed and formed the pods, but the pods have not burst open yet. Spread the pods out in the sun to dry fully. Stir them around to prevent moisture from accumulating on the bottom. When your seeds are dry, shell them and store them in airtight containers in a cool dry place.

Harvesting Herb Flowers- Collect your flowers just after they have bloomed. Be careful not to bruise or overheat them. Put them on a screen to dry, do not pile them up, make sure they are spread out evenly.

Oven/Dehydrator Drying- This will take about 8 hours. For the oven you want the temperature to be 110 degrees F., with the door left ajar. Don’t dry different herbs together in the oven, only one kind at a time.

Freezing- Herbs that are good for freezing are Anise, Basil, Chives, Coriander, Dill, Marigold, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Sorrel, Sweet Marjoram, Tarragon, and Thyme. Put herbs into boxes or plastic baggies after rinsing off herbs and freeze immediately.

Cooking With Dried Herbs- The herb becomes 3 times stronger when it is dried then when it is used fresh. So to give yourself a measurement guide, 1 tsp. dried herb equals 1 Tbl. fresh chopped herb.

Saving Seeds

When your herb has flowered and then produced seedpods, it is best to remove the entire stalk for drying instead of just taking off the pods. Spread the stalks with pods on a nice clean cloth in the sun to dry. This may take you a couple of days to make sure they are completely dried out. Do not leave them outside overnight during this process, as the cool air and morning moisture will ruin the process. Figure between 2-3 days to dry your seeds completely.

Store the seeds in a dry container or envelope and keep them away from heat and light.

Save Those Seeds

Step 1: Go to your local farmers market or neighbors garden when they are vacation, and pick out some ripe strawberries.

Step 2: Woof down the perfect, large, and luscious ones. Save the gnome looking strawberries as what you will use for seeds.

Step 3: Using your finger nail or a spoon, gently flick off the seeds from the strawberries outsides. An easy way to remove is to cut the skin with the seeds, and then let everything dry together on a papertowel, and then remove the seeds easily once dried completely.

Planting Your Strawberry Seeds

Step 1: Use fertile soil well manured or composted, or buy specific seed starting soil from your local greenhouse

Step 2: Strawberries like slightly acidic soil. Place your seeds on top of the soil in your containers. Sprinkle with enough soil to lightly cover the seeds.

Step 3: Lightly spray with water so you do not move the seeds to the surface of the soil

Step 4: Place in a warm window with adequate light ( at least 6 hours of full sun a day is recommended), and cover with some plastic seran wrap or a plastic lid (I use egg carton covers from the supermarket and also the egg containers to start seeds in). This will make a mini-greenhouse, trapping in moisture and warmth which your seeds need.

Step 5: Have patience, strawberries grown from seed take a bit of time, up to several weeks or about a month to germinate. So do not huff and puff and throw your dirt in the back yard muttering obscenities. Its a good idea to write on your containers the date you planted your seeds, and then give it about a month- then pitch it out the window.

Step 6: Hopefully by now the first seedling leaves have grown, two identical healthy green leaves. Wait until the 3rd leaf appears before you can safely transplant your strawberries to individual containers.

Step 7: The first fruits that appear on your new plant may be small and minimal the first season. Next year your strawberry should thrive completely.

Strawberry Recipes



Overnight Strawberry Preserves:Wash and hull choice strawberries that are nice and firm to the touch. On your stove top, combine in a small sauce pan 2 c. sugar with 1 c. water. Boil this until the solution can spin a thread when a spoon is dipped in and lifted out. Now add to this about 4 c. of strawberries, 1/4 c. lemon juice, and 2 c. more of sugar. Boil this altogether for 12 minutes with no stirring. If any scum forms on the top of this, skim it off. Pour out the mixture into a shallow non-aluminum pan and let set for 24 hours. Next put into jars cold and seal with paraffin wax. The berries will hold their shape and their color.

Strawberry Punch: Take 1 qt. of cleaned and hulled strawberries and mash. Add to this the juice of 1 lemon, 2 T. orange juice, and 6 c. water. Let stand for a few hours. Strain. Add sugar to taste and serve.

Strawberry Shortcake:

Ingredients

2 (16-oz.) containers fresh strawberries, quartered

3/4 cup sugar, divided

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup cold butter, cut up

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 (8-oz.) container sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Preparation

1. Combine strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar, and, if desired, almond extract. Cover berry mixture, and let stand 2 hours.

2. Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add 2 Tbsp. sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Cover and chill up to 2 hours.

3. Combine flour, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl; cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly.

4. Whisk together eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until blended; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Drop dough by lightly greased 1/3 cupfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. (Coat cup with vegetable cooking spray after each drop.)

5. Bake at 450° for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden.

6. Split shortcakes in half horizontally. Spoon about 1/2 cup berry mixture onto each shortcake bottom; top each with a rounded Tbsp. chilled whipped cream, and cover with tops. Serve with remaining whipped cream. Garnish, if desired.

Strawberry Jam Shortcakes: Prepare recipe as directed. Before topping shortcake bottoms with strawberry mixture, stir together 1/4 cup strawberry jam and 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint. Spread cut sides of bottom shortcake halves evenly with jam mixture. Proceed with recipe as directed.

Strawberry Tart:

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup cold butter or margarine, cut up

2 tablespoons cold shortening

3 tablespoons cold water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 cups half-and-half

5 egg yolks

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced

Garnish: fresh mint sprig

Preparation

Pulse first 3 ingredients in a blender or food processor 3 or 4 times or until combined.

Add 1/3 cup butter and shortening; pulse 5 or 6 times or until crumbly. With blender or processor running, gradually add 3 tablespoons water, and process until dough forms a ball and leaves sides of bowl, adding more water if necessary. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and chill 1 hour.

Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Line dough with parchment paper; fill with pie weights or dried beans.

Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper, and bake 3 more minutes. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan.

Whisk together half-and-half, egg yolks, and, if desired, rose water. Gradually whisk half-and-half mixture into sugar mixture in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Remove mixture from heat.

Stir in 3 tablespoons butter and vanilla; cover and chill at least 4 hours. Spoon into prepared pastry shell; top with strawberry slices, and serve immediately. Garnish, if desired.

In Spanish, the tree is known as guayabo, or guayavo, and the fruit, guayaba or guyava. The French call it goyave or goyavier; the Dutch, guyaba, goeajaaba; the Surinamese, guave or goejaba; and the Portuguese, goiaba or goaibeira. Hawaiians call it guava or kuawa. In Guam it is abas. In Malaya, it is generally known either as guava or jambu batu, but has also numerous dialectal names as it does in India, tropical Africa and the Philippines. Various tribal names–pichi, posh, enandi, etc.–are employed among the Indians of Mexico and Central and South America.

The exact origin of the guava is unknown, but it is believed that it came from an area extending from Southern Mexico into Central America. It is common in warm tropical areas of Mexico, South and Central America, the West Indies, Bahamas, Bermuda and Southern Florida. Through the global market is has now spread to places all over the world that are able to cater to its environmental requirements.

Qualities of Guava

I had never tasted nor known about guava until I rented this one small ranch house in Mexico. We had two trees that were just covered in apple sized guavas and produced it in the bucket loads. At first it was fantastic, but then we grew quickly sick of the taste as it was basically guava with every meal. Guava pancakes, guava empenadas, etc.

It’s fruit is very aromatic, almost floral or perfume like, and the taste is amazing. Some people find the aroma too much, but I think it is wonderful. Not to mention this fruit has an excellent source of vitamin A so it is very healthy for you. The wood itself from the tree is gorgeous and very easy to recognize. The bark is copper colored and flakes off showing a greenish hue beneath it. The trunk itself has a “bony” like quality. The fruit is yellow skinned with some pink blushing on it when fully ripened and has a musky sweet odor. The flowers are small, white, and sweetly scented. The wood is yellow to reddish, fine-grained, compact, and moderately strong. It is durable indoors for use in carpenter work. Though it may warp on seasoning, it is much in demand in Malaya for handles; in India, it is valued for engravings. Guatemalans use guava wood to make spinning tops, and in El Salvador it is fashioned into hair combs which are perishable when wet. It is good fuelwood and also a source of charcoal.

Types of Guava and Related Species

There are several different kinds of guava, some have yellow flesh and some are pink toned. There is the Brazilian guava, Guisaro (Psidium guinense Sw.), Cattley Guava, Strawberry Guava (P. cattleianum Sabine- and yes it actually tastes like a strawberry), Costa Rican Guava (P. friedrichsthalianum Ndz.), Para Guava (P. acutangulum DC.), Rumberry, Guavaberry (Myrciaria floribunda Berg), and Pineapple Guava (Feijoa Sellowiana)

Medicinal Uses

The roots, bark, leaves and immature fruits, because of their astringency, are commonly employed to stop gastroenteritis, diarrhea and dysentery, throughout the tropics. Crushed guava leaves are applied on wounds, ulcers and rheumatic places, and can also be chewed to relieve a toothache.

The leaf decoction or extraction is taken as a remedy for coughs, throat and chest ailments, gargled to relieve oral ulcers and inflamed gums, taken as an emmenagogue and vermifuge, and treatment for leucorrhea. It has been effective in halting vomiting and diarrhea in cholera patients and is also applied to help remedy skin diseases. The leaf infusion is prescribed in India in cerebral ailments, nephritis and cachexia. An extract is given in epilepsy and chorea and a tincture is rubbed on the spine of children in convulsions. A combined decoction of leaves and bark is given to expel the placenta after childbirth.

Growing Guava



Seeds from guavas are scooped out and cleaned of the flesh of the fruit. Take the seeds and the flesh attached to them and place them in a bowl and cover with either foil or plastic wrap with holes poked in the top. Let this sit for a couple of days in a warm area with filtered light. As the bacteria grows it will cause the fruit to ferment and the gelatinous sacks to let go of the seeds.

Rinse the seeds off and let dry on paper towels or on coffee filters where the paper won’t stick to the seeds as they dry.

Once dry, nick each seed with a knife and place them in warm water to soak for 1-2 days until the seed is about double in size. Place in seed starting trays with a light covering of soil and keep them moist with a covering of plastic in a warm place (75-85 degrees) in your house or greenhouse.

Transplant when they have sprouted at least two sets of leaves in full sun or partial shade. Guava trees need good drainage and to be fertilized well with organic manure or compost. 2 years after planting, your guava tree will start to bear fruit.

Guava seeds remain viable for many months. Most varieties of guava are self-pollinating, but a few are not so be sure to check ahead of time. They can germinate when planted in about 2-3 weeks but sometimes may take as long as 8 weeks. The plant may not germinate true to seed so vegetative propagation from a guava tree is highly recommended.

Guava can also be grown from root cuttings that are medium sized (avoid the very small and large roots) and are cut in 5-10” lengths. Place root cuttings in a prepared soil bed and cover it with 2-4” of dirt. Keep the soil nice and moist and warm.

Guava Recipes



Guava Cake

Original recipe makes 1 -13x9 inch cake

Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar

1 cup butter

4 eggs

1 cup guava pulp

1/2 cup guava nectar

3 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 13x9 inch pan.

2. Sift together flour, nutmeg, soda, cinnamon, and cloves.

3. In another bowl, mix together guava pulp and juice.

4. In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Add flour mixture and guava mixture alternately to creamed mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30-35 minutes.



Rose Sangria with Pineapple and Guava

Ingredients:

* 1 750-ml bottle rosé

* 4 6-ounce cans pineapple juice

* 2 11 1/2-ounce cans guava nectar

* 4 cinnamon sticks

* 2 cups 3/4-inch cubes fresh pineapple

* 2 oranges, halved through stem end, thinly sliced crosswise

* Ice cubes

Preparation:

* Mix first 5 ingredients in large pitcher. Set 12 orange slices aside for garnish; add remaining orange slices to pitcher. Cover and chill at least 6 hours or overnight.

* Fill tumblers with ice. Pour sangria over. Garnish with orange slices and serve.



Guava Jelly

Ingredients:

* 12 very ripe guavas

* 5 cups water, enough to cover the fruit

* sugar

* lime juice or lemon juice

Directions:

Dice guavas into one inch cubes.

Place in a large saucepan and cover with just enough water to cover the fruit well.

Cover and cook till guavas are very tender, about half an hour.

Cool.

Cover a large bowl with a muslin cloth and invert fruit onto the cloth taking care to catch the liquid that drips through the muslin, into the bowl.

Gather the four ends of the cloth and tie a knot and hang this'bag' for about four hours and collect all the drippings into the bowl.

LIGHTLY squeeze out any juice left in the cloth.

Discard pulp.

Measure the liquid.

For every cup of liquid add one cup of sugar and one tablespoon of lemon juice.

(Eg. if there are four cups of liquid you would need to add four cups of sugar and four tablespoons of lime/lemon juice.) Put this mixture back on fire and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and cook, stirring constantly (as the liquid tends to boil over), till the liquid starts coating the spoon thickly and the juice/jelly drips from the spoon in jointed drops.

Let stand for half an hour and pour into jars while still warm.

Cover and seal.



Gauti guava paillard by Chef Gautam Mehrishi

Ingredients:

Sifted flour: 125 gm (about 1 ¼ cups)

Softened butter: 50 gm (3 tbsp)

Sugar for the tart pastry: 25 gm (5 tbsp)

Milk: 5 tbsp

Egg yolk: 1

Guava: 2

Flaked almonds: 30 gm

Sugar: 20 gm (4 tbsp)

Butter: 20 gm (4 tbsp)

Brown sugar: 15 gm (3 tbsp)

A pinch of salt

Method:

For the tart pastry, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the egg yolk and milk. Do not over work the pastry. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for several hours.

For the guava palliard, roll out the pastry to a thickness of 2 mm. Using a round cutter cut out 4 discs of 12 cm each in diameter. Place on a baking sheet. Arrange thinly sliced guava in a rosace (like the petals of a rose) on each disc, leave a 1 cm border. In the centre, place chopped guava combined with brown sugar. Sprinkle on a few flaked almonds, a little sugar and a knob of butter. Bake in a pre heated 220 degree Celsius (450 degree F) oven for 15- 20 minutes. Serve warm, accompanied with an ice cream scoop.



Guava Rum Cheesecake

Crust

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup melted butter

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Filling

1 cup guava paste

1/3 cup rum

2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Glaze

1/4 cup guava jelly

1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9−inch springform pan.

Crust: Prepare the crust by combining the ingredients and pressing onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake until dry − about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Filling: Melt the guava and beat constantly two to three minutes until very smooth. Add the rum and let it cool. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese. Add the sugar, eggs one at a time, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Gently fold in the melted guava mixture. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 1/4 hours. If top starts to brown, tent with foil.

When done, turn heat off, open oven door a few inches and let it cool inside oven for 20 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Glaze: Mix glaze ingredients together in a small saucepan until melted and it is the consistency of heavy cream. Let it cool and brush on top of cold cake. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes to set.



Guava Custard Pie

4 eggs

1/2 can condensed milk

2 cups fresh whole milk

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

6 medium guavas

Peel guavas, remove seeds. Cut into small pieces. Combine ingredients in order given: egg, milks, sugar, lemon juice and guavas. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake 30 to 40 minutes longer until knife comes out clean.

 -To remove rust from silver or copper, use a paste of water plus wood ashes. Or for just removing rust from copper, use a lemon sprinkled with salt and scrub. To remove tarnish from silver or copper, you can rub with toothpaste, ketchup or Worcestershire sauce.

-To clean tarnished jewelry, soak them for several minutes in a concentrate of lemon juice. You will be able to wipe the tarnish off very easily afterwards.

-To clean out your refrigerator, use baking soda dissolved in water to make a weak solution. Scrub and wipe down inside doors, shelving, and walls.

- To clean wallpaper, mix 4 T. baking soda and 2 c. flour. Then once these are mixed, add 2 ½ T. ammonia with 1¼ c. water and beat all together. Next, put this mixture in the top of a double- boiler, with boiling water in the bottom pan. Let this steam over the lowest heat possible for about 1½ hours. Remove top pan with dough and let cool till it reaches room temperature. Remove dough and knead until it is pliant. To clean the wallpaper, start at the top of the wall with a small piece of the dough. Roll it down and knead against wall to absorb any dirt. Repeat until cleaned completely.

- To remove fresh paint from skin-use kitchen cooking oil to dissolve and wipe off.

-To clean the sink, add lemon juice and wipe down sides -let this set for about 10 minutes. Then using baking soda, scour until clean.

-To clean the shower or tub to remove mildew, use a diluted solution of 2 tsp. white vinegar in 1 qt. warm water. Use a soft sponge to clean with, and then dry surface completely.

- To clean toilet bowl, pour a bucket of water down drain to empty the bowl of water. Sprinkle now empty bowl with baking soda. Adding a little vinegar use the toilet bowl brush and clean away.

- To unclog a drain, make a solution of ½ c. vinegar and ½ c. baking soda with 2 c. boiling water. Pour down the drain and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Then flush again with hot water.

- To clean windows/mirrors, use a solution of diluted vinegar, rubbing with a soft cloth in sections, and drying immediately to prevent streaking or film forming.


Environmentally Safe Cleaning Solutions



Ammonia- *Note-This cleaning agent is safe to use as long as you are using it in a ventilated area. Do not mix Ammonia with any other cleaners especially Chlorine Bleach! When Ammonia evaporates it becomes Nitrogen gas. If in an unventilated room, the Nitrogen will displace the Oxygen in the room and cause you to suffocate!!*

Uses: Oven cleaning- (preheat oven to 200 degrees F. - Turn oven off. Next add ammonia to a shallow non-aluminum pan on the middle rack. Close the oven door and leave overnight. The fumes from the ammonia will loosen up the grease into a sludge that can be wiped off easily the following day.

Baking Soda- The chemical name for this is Sodium Bicarbonate. Its benefits are it is an excellent deodorizer and has mild abrasive qualities for scrubbing with.

Uses: Polishing, used as an abrasive for scrubbing burnt pots and pans, cleans bathrooms, kitchens-added to laundry it makes your whites whiter, for spills especially on carpet, sprinkle on spill and let dry, then vacuum up.

Cornstarch- this is used commonly in the kitchen as a thickening agent for gravies and stews, but is also an excellent cleaning tool too.

Uses: Make into a paste with water and use to polish glass. Mix 1 ½ T. cornstarch with 3 c. water and you have your own laundry starch.

Distilled White Vinegar- One of the safest and most natural cleaning agents there is. The active ingredient in vinegar for cleaning is the acetic acid.

Uses: Cleaning off mildew, cleaning stains and odor from toilet, and removing various other forms of residue from a multitude of surfaces.

Lemon- Citric acid is what makes this a useful cleaning agent. It also has a wonderful smell to act as a natural deodorizer.

Uses: removing tarnish, cleaning counters, deodorizing, removing residue and stains from sinks and other surfaces.

Salt- Known as Sodium Chloride, this household staple is useful because of its abrasive qualities and its action as a mild antiseptic and disinfectant.

Uses: removing rust, removing tough residues, etc.

Natural Soap- Homemade or store bought, this should consist of nothing more than lye and a type of fat or oil. The benefit of this over commercial soap is it is completely biodegradable and has no toxins in it.

Uses: Laundry, hygiene, washing out foul mouths, etc.


How to Keep a House Warm on a Budget



Insulating Windows:

-You can buy some thick fabric to make warm drapes to hang over your windows. Even better if you can buy also some thick almost rubberized plastic lining (similar to picnic table topping or if really tight for cash, use a plastic table cloth and use that to line that back of the fabric-this will keep out the maximum drafts possible using curtains.)

- You can also buy from your hardware store insulation kits, which is basically thin plastic sheeting, some two sided tape, and maybe a piece of foam to put in between the two halves of the window to prevent leaking drafts. But when you think about these kits, you don't need to buy all of this stuff for the price they are asking. Go get some plastic sheeting and your own roll of double sided tape separately. It will be cheaper. Then when you finish taping up the sides around your window, take a hair dryer and blow on the plastic. This will heat up the air inside and make the plastic stretch nice and taut to make your insulation sealed tight.

- Really in a pinch, just wave your hand around your windows to see where the drafts are coming in the strongest. Take wadded up strips of newspaper and stuff it into any crevices where air is leaking through. You can also then seal it over with some masking tape. Be careful to not use any duct tape, or it will rip the paint off your window frames.

- Don't have any storm windows? Well just buy some thick plastic sheeting, and using thin strips of wood, hammer the plastic into place, sealing it all the way around your window frame.

- My personal highest recommendation is what my parents did for our old house growing up. They made their own window panel inserts. These were brilliant because unlike with plastic sheeting, which you have to replace almost every season (esp. if using the thin kind in these kits), these literally lasted decades. They were pieces of insulation wall panels, the thickness of the windows, so about 2-3 ", that he cut and fitted for each window in the house. We even had them for our bedrooms upstairs. To make them less ugly, fabric was glued to them to match the décor of the room they were in. To ensure that around the edges of the panels, that air still didn't leak through, he took some cheap shag like carpeting that he had extra of, cut it into strips, and put that on the edges of the panels. We put them in every night around suppertime in the winter, and we had to take them out of the windows as soon as we woke up. They worked like a charm! My parents have lived in our house for 40 plus years and they still use the same panels every cold season.

Insulating Doors:

- Install storm doors. My parents installed them for both our front and back porch. A storm door is an extra thick door, in our case, about twice the thickness of the other doors. They also closed tightly shut, with rubberized linings on the bottom to prevent drafts from coming in under the door.

-Having a porch creates an air buffer between the inside of the house and the elements inside, use this as your main entrance to the house and seal off other doors for the winter.

- If in an emergency, tear old sheets or t-shirts into strips. Soak in water and stuff into cracks around doors. As the water freezes it seals perfectly creating a draft free zone.

Closing off Spaces:

- Any pantries or closets that don't have doors-close off with thick hanging blankets or curtains so you are heating the most usable space as possible.

- Keep rooms not using closed so you are not wasting heat to warm them up during the day (i.e. bedrooms)

What to Do When There is no Electricity?



Keeping Food Cool:

-Run cold water in your bathtub and put perishables in there.

-Use a box with a tray of water on top. Then drape a piece of cloth over the tray and down the sides of the box. The water will slowly seep down the sides of the fabric and as it evaporates, cause a cooling effect, which will keep your food fresher.

-If you have a basement, move all perishables there to the coolest corner.

Making Light:

- If you are out of batteries or just don't have enough lanterns for all rooms, you can make a quick easy and cheap lantern on your own. Take a empty can, or an empty bottle, and pour some cooking oil in it. Then take some twine or string, or a shoelace if that's all you have, and put that in the oil, leaving about 2 inches hanging out over the top edge- Voila, instant oil lantern for emergencies!

-To make the light spread further, put a metal cookie sheet behind or some aluminum foil, or a mirror, to reflect the light outward into your room.

Cooking:

- If you have land, you can just cook over a campfire or on your grill.

- You can make a solar cooker out of a cardboard box with the sides painted black, put some aluminum foil to line the bottom, and then some plastic wrap on top or a piece of glass. You can bake casseroles, breads, eggs, just about anything!

Christmas Time on a Budget


It's Christmas again, and this is the most expensive holiday of the year. This doesn't have to be so, it's just that over the years it's become more about what you can buy or cash you can give away, instead of trying to come up with something creative on your own. Instead of buying something impersonal to decorate your tree, try making something very personal even with your kids that you can keep for years.

Classic Old Decorations:

1.) Salt Dough Ornaments: I made these when I was little with my mom, and I cut them all out and painted them myself. They were hideous yes, but they make wonderful timepieces and collectibles for parents and their kids that they can keep and use to mortify you years later with.

Recipe:

1 c. Salt
4 c. Flour
1½ c. water

Instructions: This will be pretty stiff to work with. You knead it to make it a little softer and more smooth and elastic. Roll out dough till it is ¼ " thick. Using cookie cutters, or if none available, use lids from jars to make cut outs or hand form your own creations. Then using a pencil make a hole on the outside edge so that you can put string through later on. Don't make the ornaments too big or too heavy, or the branches of your tree won't be able to support them. Bake the "cookies" at 225 degrees F for ½ hour. Check on them periodically to make sure they aren't burning.

2.) Blown Eggs: These are one of my personal favorites, not only can they be used to decorate at Christmas, but also at Easter for an Easter Egg tree. You decide whether you want to use brown or white eggs. White eggs will dye easier, but brown are naturally beautiful. Take the eggs and with a needle or pin, poke a hole into both ends of the egg. When you have the small hole you can pry around its edges with the needle to lift up some more shell and widen the hole. Put your mouth on the smallest opening, and blow the egg innards into a bowl. Save and put in the fridge for breakfast the next day, or use for baking Christmas cookies! Next step is you want to rinse out the eggs with water, and lightly wash the outside to make sure no egg whites or yolks got on the outside (this will damage the dyeing). Let air dry on some paper towels until no water drips out from holes. Next you can dye with food coloring, or use crayons to make designs and then dye, or paint by hand, or put ribbons on, or wrap in fabric…the possibilities are endless.

3.) Cranberry and Popcorn: I remember doing these when I was little, it was fun to pop a huge bowl of popcorn and string them alternating with cranberries to hang on the tree. The great thing about this decoration, is you can use it for your tree and then after Christmas is over, drape it on a tree outside and it makes an excellent bird feeder!

4.) Colored paper Garlands: Cutting strips of festive colored paper and looping together and pasting to make long garlands to decorate walls, banisters or the tree.

5.) Recycling Old Christmas Cards: If you are a pack rat like I am, or as I prefer to be called, sentimentally inclined, you keep all the Christmas cards you've ever received from birth. Now drag out that shoebox (or crate, depending on your age), and put those cards to use. You can use some masking tape and double side it to the back of each card and tape the cards to form a Christmas tree shape on a closet door or on a wall. Or if you are willing to cut some of them, you can cut out the pictures or designs on the front of them to turn them into Christmas ornaments. You can also make kissing balls out of them, by taking the cards, cutting them into octagon shapes, folding the edges about a ¼" on each side, and gluing them together with the decorative sides facing out, to make a nice festive ball.

6.) Quilling: This is a very old craft, where you take thin strips (1/4 ") of paper, and using a Quilling tool you twist the paper around the tool as tightly as you can. Pulling it off you let the paper uncurl until it's reached its limit and is a circle shape. Then you pinch this circle into tear drops shapes, triangles, circles, hearts, etc gluing the ends together to hold it. You can make your own snowflakes with this, or angels, etc.

7.) Potato Print Wrapping Paper: Slice a raw potato in half so that the sides are perfectly flat. From there, carve out a raised relief area of a design you desire. Blot off the potato to remove the juices. Then did in acrylic paint and start stamping some plain or colored paper.

Recycling Everything Under the Roof


You remember stories from your grandparents or parents about how everything was saved back in the day to be reused later on. This was usually during times of war or during the Great Depression. We've become a highly wasteful society in the United States, and instead of burying it, burning it, or throwing it in the ocean, we can all use and reuse to make the longest life out of some very useful items that otherwise will take decades to break down. Here are some tips and ideas on what to save and their different beneficial uses.

Milk Cartons and Other Liquid containers made of cardboard or plastic: You first make sure you rinse out with sudsy water thoroughly the insides of the containers and let them air dry. You do not want any fungi growing inside.

-These containers are excellent to use as planting beds for seedlings for your garden when it is still too cold outside to directly plant them outdoors. Just trim down the tops to allow at least a depth of 2" of soil to be put in. Covering these with some plastic wrap to hold in moisture and trap in heat and stick in your sunniest window and watch your seeds germinate.

-Another use especially for gallon plastic milk containers or laundry containers, is you cut of the tops and bottoms and use these as protective barriers to place in the ground around your tomato plants or other plants you are growing that are susceptible to leaf cutters and other critters that like to munch on your garden.

-Cut an opening in one side and hang your plastic milk jugs or juice containers on a branch to make your own birdfeeders.

Tin Foil: It's infuriating to see someone use this to wrap a casserole in and then just dump in the trash. It's a huge waste and it takes forever for this to decompose in a garbage dump. This is a pretty resilient kitchen item that can be used and reused over and over again. Just fold it up and tuck it in a container in your kitchen to keep any and all scrap pieces of. If food becomes stuck to it, you will have to throw it away since cleaning will only tear the foil apart.

-Can be used to make a solar oven

-Can be used as reflectors to hang in your garden to ward off pesky birds that like to eat your corn and sunflower seeds, or on your fruit trees to ward off birds and also fruit bats who devour your crop.

- Can be reused for cooking during camping trips for the grill.

Twist Ties/Strings/rubber bands: This should be pretty self explanatory, you can reuse these to reseal bags whether you are storing your own food in food storage bags, or tying your garbage bags up, etc. Keep a special box or jar for these near the kitchen sink close to your bags and other items used to store things. You can never have too many.

Glass Soda Bottles/Beer &Wine Bottles/Etc: These are going to be needed to be washed out thoroughly in hot sudsy water, and let air dry upside down.

- You can use your old bottles to make your own solar water heater, by getting a glass drill bit for your drill gun and boring a hole in each bottle and connecting them with hoses on a wooden plank. Using a gravity-fed water system you can have water slowly filtrate into these bottles and warm up to high temps in the sun. Then have the water drain down again into your bathroom for hot showers and warm water in the sink.

-Bottles can also be used for decorating- you can drill a hole in the bottom side of a tall glass bottle and feed in a small cord of colored lights that when lit up, add a nice festive atmosphere to any room or bar.

- Oil Lanterns can be made out of nice wine bottles that you have saved. You can buy a wick at a craft shop or a hardware store, and purchase some kerosene fuel (try to get the kind that emits the least amount of smoke and fumes), and voila!

-You can make your own decorative lamp, use some hanging light bulbs at different lengths, and then intermittently around the bulb also at varying lengths you can hang empty wine bottles to act as prisms and light reflectors to decorate a room with.

Metal Tin Cans: Wash out thoroughly, being careful to not cut your hands on the edges. If you have tin snips this will be helpful but not necessary for all ideas listed below.

-Hanging Lanterns can be made by in warm water removing glue and labels. Next you fill each can with water and stick them in the freezer overnight. The next day, using a hammer and various diameter nails, hammer in the desired pattern you want for your lantern. Then hammer in two holes on opposite top sides of the can, this you will use to put wire in to hang your can from .The freezing of the can helps it maintain its shape as you are hammering into it. Let the ice melt, dry thoroughly and pat dry with towels to prevent any rusting. You can use old candle stubs that you've saved, or tea lights (can usually buy a big pack at the dollar store), or some battery operated light if you are afraid of having open flames. Using some craft wire or cutting with wire cutters some old wire hangers, make a handle for the top of your lantern to hang on a nail to give off light. Or if you want this to line a walk way or a garden area, you can just have them on a non-flammable surface to give off light.

-Planters can be made with this, by taking a nail and hammering the bottom with holes in scattered locations. Make sure that you have enough drainage before you plant seeds in or transplant anything to your planter.

Wine Corks: Only save real cork material, not the plastic corks.

-This can be saved and used to make your own corkboard.

- Makes a good pincushion for your pins and needles that tend to get scattered and lost.

-Save your corks and put them in a large vase or glass vessel to use as a decorative piece in a room, or an unintentional way to let your family know you drink a wee bit too much.

- Can be shaped and reused to cork smaller decorative bottles that you may want to use to store different cooking oils, vinegars and dried seasonings.

Newspapers: These can be saved in your basement, garage, or another dry location where they won't rot and decompose.

-Can be used to put on the garden beds to act as a covering to prevent weed growth.

-Save the funny papers to use as kitschy wrapping paper.

-Can be used for various projects around the house to spread when painting or cleaning and you don't want to damage your floors.

-Are excellent when used with cleaners to clean your house windows. Streak free and gives a nice polish.

-Can be ripped into shreds to use as litter for a chick brooder or other small animal housing.

-Save clippings of important news events to put in a scrapbook or a photomontage.

-Can be used to make paper-mache crafts

Styrofoam: A lot of produce packaging comes with Styrofoam trays, whether it is meat or veggies, wash off the Styrofoam with soapy water and let air dry completely. Store under the sink or in an area where it won't cause too much clutter.

-This is an excellent tray for your seedlings. When you cut or puncture holes in the bottom of your seedling containers, the water is going to drain out and get all over your windowsill or floors. So by reusing these Styrofoam trays you can save yourself the trouble of always having to clean up after every time you water your plants.

-Can be used as a painting pallet if you are artistically inclined or if you are just doing some touch ups around the house.

-Can be cut into pieces to use as packing material if you are sending a fragile item in the mail.

Plastic Grocery Bags: This is probably the biggest culprit of waste pollution on our planet. Because they are so light and billow in the wind like a balloon, they are carried near and far across the earth. Not only this, but they take decades to decompose and are made of oil byproducts. I keep one bag and stuff the collection I accumulate over time into it. To stop this trend in it's tracks I recommend investing in some sturdy reusable shopping bags (nylon, hemp, or canvas) to do your shopping in and so to let the establishment know that plastic bags are no longer needed.

-Save up your bags to be used as liners in small waste paper baskets in the home office, bathroom or bedroom.

-Can be cut up along the seam to unfold into a flat plastic sheet to make your own homemade kite with.

-Can be used as wrapping and cushioning for putting fragile items in storage such as dishware, glasses, etc.

-Can be used to separate recycling items in your basement.

Cardboard Boxes: This can be used for a variety of different purposes around and outside of the house from paper supply boxes, to shoe boxes, to what your refrigerator came in. Save it all if you can and recycle what you don't intend to use.

-Can be used to make your own chicken incubator and brooder.

-Can be used as floor covering when doing construction, painting, or car oil changes.

-Can be used to put things in storage in your basement, attic, or garage.

-Helps when it comes time to move out of the house or apartment.

-Can be saved to reuse at Christmas time to wrap presents in.

-Can be used for making kids craft projects for school (i.e. dioramas) and home entertainment (doll houses, etc).

-Can be painted or wrapped in extra wallpaper or pretty gift-wrap to turn it into a decorative storage unit. Works best with shoeboxes.

Can be used to store old photos or recipe cards inside.

Old Clothing & Fabrics: If donating to your church or the local Salvation Army hasn't been done yet, there are still some ways that you can salvage and use those bags of yesteryear wear.

-Stained clothing or fabrics can be cut into squares and turned into cleaning/dusting/oil change rags for around the house and garage.

-Old dress shirts, preferably men shirts since they are larger, can be saved and turned into various crafts such as the Shirt Pocket Quilt, or into a decorative pillow.

-Have any scrap fabrics, save to turn into a patchwork quilt.

-Can be used to make a scarecrow for the vegetable garden.

-If especially dated and eccentric clothing, it can be used for costumes for Halloween or parties.

-Hand-me-downs especially for baby and children's clothing no longer able to fit, to family members or friends who could use them for their kids.

Egg Cartons: Save these whether made of cardboard or Styrofoam.
-Makes a good desk drawer or kitchen junk drawer organizer. Can use to store paper clips, rubber bands and other doo-dads that accumulate and need a spot to be organized in.

-Can be also used as a seed-starting tray to plant your seedlings in. Some egg cartons come with a clear plastic lid that makes a perfect little greenhouse to lock in moisture and heat. Remember to puncture a hole in the bottom of the egg holder to allow excess moisture to leak out.