In my continued efforts to replace commercial health and beauty products laden with harmful chemicals with healthy alternatives, I was thrilled when my friend Kelly gave me her recipe for homemade deodorant! Most of my life I had used a commercial deodorant until some years ago I learned how the aluminum in it can accumulate in my body and possibly put cancer and other health issues into my future!

Okay, the recipe. I did not have all of the ingredients listed in the original, but I altered it a bit and came up with this:

Ingredients:
2 or 3 Tbsp coconut oil
3 or 4 drops GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract)*
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup talcum powder** (I use baby powder, because I like the scent.)
a few drops essential oil like lavender (Optional. I omit this since I use baby powder.)

Soften the coconut oil in a small saucepan, and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix very well with a spatula, then scrape it out into a small container. I put mine into a 4" x 4" square plastic container, and once it hardens, I cut it into four squares for easy application. The soft mixture can also be put into an empty commercial deodorant container, which sounds like a really good idea! (Haven't tried it myself, yet.) Allow to harden at room-temperature or in the refrigerator, depending on the climate where you live. Now it's ready to use!

I was really surprised how effective this deodorant is. I was relieved, too, because my deodorant crystal was not working as well for me as it used to. (Probably due to hormone changes.) If you try it out, let me know how it works for you!

~.~ Good health to you and yours! ~.~

* Original recipe calls for Tea Tree Oil, which I do not have, but intend to try out some day!

** The original recipe called for corn starch instead of the talcum powder I use, but I'm trying to get away from using (modified) corn starch, too.

Our Little-House-On-The-Prairie-inspired experiment with "vanity cakes" was, as the preacher said, "vanity and vexation of spirit". They would not puff up, but ended up to be small balls of egg-y bread. Not what we aimed for, but they were edible. I think the next time we try it, we will not add so much flour to the batter. (It's supposed to be sticky.) If you've ever attempted making these, or would be brave enough to try, let me know how it goes!

...But since we had the frying fat hot, we made some Navajo Fry Bread! We like to make it from time to time. It's so yummy, and it makes for an easy meal, with whatever toppings you have available. We top it with refried beans, salad and either dressing or salsa. Good stuff! We used this recipe this time. The bread came out slightly crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, with a yummy, brown flavor. Very good!

I've posted before about making homemade tortillas, but back then I had issues with making the tortillas come out round. My children were guessing the animal shapes (I wasn't making any on purpose), and while it's true that a homemade tortilla in any odd shape is just as yummy, they hold the veggies and the salsa so much better when they are round! So here is the technique I've learned, through much experience, on video just for you.

¡Buen provecho!



*Special thanks to my camera girl, Jessica!*

Points to remember (in case you can't hear what is said on the video):

1) Start with a smooth, seamless ball. You can spread the dough ball smooth over the top, pinching it underneath, and pat it smooth.

2) Roll it out flat a little at a time, in all directions.

Daniel brought home some extra milk today...

Ten gallons extra!


(It was a good deal, ha ha.) So I started thinking about what to do with so much milk.

The first thing that came to mind was to make queso fresco, a soft cheese. After looking around on the internet and finding several recipes, I combined a couple, and this is what I ended up doing:

Heat four quarts of milk to 180° F (82° C), stirring constantly. (Be careful not to scald it.) While stirring with a wisk, slowly add 1/4 cup white vinegar. (The milk will begin to curdle.) Continue to stir for 10-15 minutes. (I left the heat on low, to maintain the temperature.) Line a colander with a fine cheesecloth, and pour the curdled milk through it. Allow the curds to cool for about 20 minutes, then gather the four corners of the cloth and hang it, suspended over a bowl or sink until it stops dripping (about 5 hours). I helped it by squeezing it periodically.


The solidified cheese can be broken apart and salted to taste, or left unsalted.

We use queso fresco in lasagna (instead of ricotta), tacos, sprinkled over tostadas with beans and salsa, and on top of bean dip. It's delicious!

After the cheese-making process, I ended up with about three quarts of whey by-product. Any ideas what I could do with that? I was thinking of chilling it to pour over cereal, or using it for pancake batter or biscuits.

So, just nine more gallons of milk to go! I am freezing some of it, but maybe some of you cooks out there have recipes that use milk as a key ingredient. Let's hear 'em! If you like, post it on your blog, and I will link you here.

(What's with the broccoli? you might be thinking. That is Ann's button for the Food on Fridays she hosts on her funny, informative, and very clever blog. Go check it out!)

Getting back to Scrumptious Oatmeal, but posting a photo which will evoke more appropriate olfactory memories...


(much better...)

Maybe you wouldn't normally put the word "scrumptious" before "oatmeal". But be it ever so humble, oatmeal doesn't have to be boring!

Because it is so nutritious and CHEAP, we eat it for breakfast a few times a week, which could get monotonous were it not for a few tricks which I will share forthwith.

Method #1: Put your pan on to heat, adding a heaping spoonful of butter to melt. When melted, add your measured oats and stir to coat with butter. Continue stirring, allowing the oats to toast until you smell the wonderful aroma filling your kitchen and making your stomach growl. Then add the measured water and salt. Stir and cook until done.

Method #2: Cook the oats according to directions, then add one or two cubed bananas, a little vanilla, and a handful of chopped nuts, and brown sugar. Banana Nut Bread in a Bowl!

Method #3: Melt butter in your pan, then throw in a peeled, cored, and chopped apple. Saute the apple pieces until they soften, then add the oats, water and salt. Cook until the oats are done, then add cinnamon and brown sugar to taste.

Note: Packages of oatmeal always instruct you to boil the water, then add the oats. I've always wondered why? I end up with lumpy oatmeal when I do that, no matter how furiously I stir while adding the oats to boiling water. So I stir the oats into cold water, then bring it to a boil. Works for me!

A certain group of Baptist ladies recently were discussing the yummy phenomenon of Fried Apples. I had never made them before, and one of them said (essentially), "Oh, you just melt some butter in a hot skillet, throw in some sliced and pared apples (preferably tart) with a little sugar, and fry them until they're soft."

That sounded easy enough. Someone else had mentioned how good they are on top of French toast. Hmm, crispy-tender, buttery French toast with warm cinnamony-gooey apples over the top... My pregger-brain latched on to that thought, so that's what we did for breakfast the next morning!


Here's how I made Fried Apples:

Peel, core and slice 7 or 8 tart apples (for a skillet-full, or you can half the recipe). Melt 3 to 4 Tbsp butter in a hot skillet, then add the apples, stirring to coat. Sprinkle brown sugar over the apples (to taste) with a dash of salt, and fry until they soften and start to brown and caramelize.


They should make a nice brown juice as they cook. Stir in some cinnamon, and serve warm.

...Your French toast will thank you! :o)

The froggy cupcakes we made for my son's birthday were really easy.


First we baked up 24 cupcakes, filling them only halfway full of batter to prevent them from running over during baking. After they were cool, I spread each thick with green frosting.

For the eyes, we cut a large marshmallow in half with kitchen scissors and stuck an M&M onto the sticky side. We painted the tops of the marshmallow eyes with green food coloring, but I think it would look better dipped into green sugar.

We stuck the eyes onto each cupcake, and drew a silly mouth on with pink frosting squeezed from the tip of a Ziploc bag.

These were so easy to make, and it was fun to arrange the eyes and mouth to make different froggy expressions! When birthdays come around here, I start looking for fresh ideas for cakes, and I find all sorts of fancy cakes online. But the ideas I really use (and that the children like the most) are typically simple ones like this one. :o)

Chiles Rellenos

This is a dish I tried to make a few years ago, and Daniel was not crazy about it. But the other day, he brought home these beauties:


What could I do?

This is what I did...


Remove the tops and seeds, then blanch them in boiling water for just about ten minutes. (Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.)

Meanwhile, brown about a pound of ground beef in a skillet with a chopped onion and a few chopped tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. (I use very lean beef, so there's really not any fat to drain off.)


Then add 2 or 3 shredded potatoes or frozen julienne potatoes, cover and let cook until the potatoes are tender. If you want them a little hot, sprinkle the meat mixture with chile powder, or pour some hotsauce over it. Yum! (I'm cooking for children too, so I didn't.)

Drain the chiles and stuff with the meat mixture, placing them carefully into a greased baking pan. Choose a pan that will just fit all of them, so that the chiles are touching. This supports them so that they stay stuffed, and it also keeps them cozy. :o)



Top each chile with the cheese of your choice. I had extra stuffing left over, so I "stuffed" it in between the chiles in the pan.

Then pop them into the oven for about 45 minutes. If you want, you can make it look more like a casserole and sprinkle shredded cheese over the whole thing. I didn't have that much cheese on hand, though.


I can't remember how I made chiles rellenos last time, but this recipe was a winner with my husband and the children, too! We served it with homemade salsa and guacamole.

It was very filling, and no one could eat more than one chile. So the portion size is easy to plan for the number of people you are going to serve.


It's a colorful, slightly exotic meal that was really inexpensive to make. I might make these again next time we have guests!

Fun with Cannelloni!

Things like filling pasta used to intimidate me, so I never prepared meals like this for my family. Until I realized just how easy it is, if you have the right tool and a little know-how.


I know professional chefs probably have a neat kitchen gadget that does this, but Ziploc bags sure work great for me!


To make Spinach and Cheese Cannelloni, simply cook up a couple pounds of fresh spinach (or use canned), drain and chop. Add this to a package of ricotta cheese, and mix in two egg yolks and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, salt & pepper to taste.

Then comes the fun part... Filling the pasta!

I use Ziploc bags to decorate cakes and cookies, too, as well as for filling deviled eggs. Next time you serve whipped cream on a pie, try spooning the cream into a Ziploc bag and snip a tiny "V" out of one tip, and squeeze a fancy design onto the pie. It looks so much neater and more attractive than a spoon job! Your family or guests will feel so special. ;o)

But back to the cannelloni...


Line up the filled pasta shells in a baking pan, and cover with prepared tomato sauce (I used about 24 oz. seasoned spaghetti sauce) and a little water to cook the pasta. Make sure all of the pasta is covered, or it will not cook.


Bake this at 350 F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for another 5 minutes or so, just to melt the cheese. Serve with salad or a vegetable. Such a delicious meal, and your family will be so impressed!

Speaking of impressed, I hinted that I might share the recipe of the best cheesecake I've ever attempted. I do not have photos because I did not make it again this week. It is so rich, we can't eat it twice in one week! So the recipe follows, for you to enjoy:

Tried and True Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Mix and press onto bottom of 9" pie pan: 1 cup fine cookie crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup melted butter. Build up the edges about 1/4 inch.

In a mixing bowl, whip two 8-oz pkgs cream cheese (room temperature) until smooth. Add two eggs and 1/3 cup sugar, and beat just until smooth. Add 1/2 cup evaporated milk and 1 tsp vanilla, a little at a time, beating just until incorporated. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 300 F for 45 minutes.

I topped mine with chocolate syrup and chocolate (Oreo) cookie crumbs, but of course you can top it with anything that appeals to you.

Two important tips for a perfect cheesecake:

1) Do not overbeat the cream cheese mixture. Beat only until it is well mixed.

2) Do not bake until it is all set. If you do, it will crack in the center.

Happy baking! :o)

Today's food post is not nearly as healthy as the above button implies. HA! No sir, today we are talking sweets.

The girls and I recently made Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies using this RECIPE.



I didn't get a photo of the finished product, which had a glazey chocolate frosting on top, but you get the idea. They were irresistably delicious, and also pretty and would make a special little gift for my Sweetie for Valentine's Day. Oh, hey! That's coming up. :o)

Hello? Anybody around?


...[crickets chirping]...


Well, I haven't been, either! After three weeks of VBS, and a wonderful (if not altogether too brief) visit from my cousin Shelley, AND being without internet for a few days, it's been too long since I posted. It certainly wasn't for lack of subject matter!

Now that things are getting back to "normal" again, I will be able to write. It's all too much for just one post, so stay tuned.

*****

We've had frost on the ground most mornings, and even during the sunny days our house stays cool enough to need a sweater. We sadly bid adieu to fall, and I made a creamed soup with the last of the squash. The family raved about it, so I'll share my recipe just in case you have a gourd or two still lying around:

Creamed Squash and Potato Soup

one large squash, seeded and cubed
4 to 5 potatoes, peeled and sliced
salt to taste
milk
diced ham

Place the squash, potatoes, and salt into a large soup pot and add just enough water to cook the vegetables until soft. Spoon into a blender and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the pot and pour in enough milk to make it the consistency you want. Add diced ham and simmer for 15 minutes or so.

Even Joseph, my pickiest eater, asked for seconds. This one definitely gets written into my "keepers" recipe book!

I hope you are all staying warm and well this winter, especially those of you in the North.

Blackberries are abundant (read: CHEAP) this time of year in Guatemala, as I think they are right now in parts of the U.S. as well. These were so big and juicy, Daniel couldn't resist buying several pounds of them.

That is a lot of berries.

So the girls and I have been having fun in the kitchen, baking up all sorts of blackberry goodies, and popping fresh berries into our mouths as we go.

Jillian made some yummy little tarts. (They did not last long!) We also experimented with two cobbler recipes. One consisted of a batter we put into the prepared baking dish, then just dropped the berries on top. It turned out more like a cake.

Oh, but then... Then we made this:


Using this recipe.


You roll out the pastry dough, put the fruit on top, roll it up and slice it like cinnamon rolls.


If your favorite part of the cobbler is the crust, this recipe is for you! To me, if the crust isn't good, the cobbler isn't good. This one is really good!

The power has been out for the better part of the day, and we couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the protests going on in town. It would blink on briefly from time to time, but mostly we just did without. So I'm posting quickly, while we have power!

I gave up on getting laundry done, but I did fire up the one thing that functions without electricity: My gas oven.

I (heart) my gas oven!

We had some strawberries on hand that were a bit past their prime, so I made three loaves of Strawberry Bread. It turned out so moist and good, I thought I'd share this delicious recipe with you.



Strawberry Bread

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour loaf pans.

3 cups flour (I used half whole-wheat.)
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 T cinnamon

Combine these ingredients, then make a well in the center. Then add...

4 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups oil

Combine well, then stir in...

1 cup chopped pecans
16 pkg frozen strawberries, with the juice
(I used fresh, not frozen, and added just a bit of apple juice for moisture.)

Pour batter into two or three loaf pans and bake at 350 F for 40 minutes (three loaves) or up to 60 minutes (for two large loaves).

The recipe included a glaze to drizzle over the top, but we found that entirely unnecessary.



...I also made two apple-cheese pies, not to be confused with cheesecake. Didn't have a recipe, so this was just an experiment. I'll probably post about them once we've tasted them!

For years I put off trying to make flour tortillas at home, thinking it must be too difficult. And why go through the trouble anyway, when they are available at the store, mass-produced, packaged, and ready to go?

Welll, I found out that those icky mass-produced, ready-made tortillas are not to be compared to hot, homemade ones. And they are actually very easy to make! Here's the recipe we use. I call it mine, because I've adapted it :o)

4 cups flour (use as much whole wheat as you want)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup olive oil
1 to 1 1/4 cups water

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Sprinkle with oil, and mix until you have even crumbs (no big ones). Stir in one cup of the water, then add just a little at a time until you have a workable dough (meaning when you knead it, it doesn't "crack" where you bend it). Knead about twenty times.

Let the dough sit for 10 minutes, then start heating a large skillet or griddle to med/high heat, not high enough to make it smoke. Your cooking surface should be dry, not greased. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls, and roll them out into circles as thin as you can get them. Cook the tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side, or until the dough is firm and you see browned spots.

These are so delicious while they are hot! We have eaten them with refried beans, cheese and salsa, etc. They are also yummy for a snack, with butter and honey on them. Oh, the possibilities.

They take about twenty minutes to make, start to finish, and that is if you roll them out, like I do. If you happen to have a tortilla press, you could whip these out all the faster!

¡Buen provecho!

Lately I've been playing around with the idea of making laundry soap, for several reasons. One, it would be something less harsh to wash my family's clothing with. Two, it's cheaper than the laundry soap we can buy here. And three, it just looked like fun! So when we ran out of powdered laundry soap yesterday, well, necessity provoked some invention.

Most of the recipes I found online called for a bar of plain soap, borax, and washing soda. I did find one recipe without borax, and that was good because I can't buy borax here.

So I shredded a bar of soap into a saucepan and melted it with a little water. Then I poured that into a bucket with 2.5 gallons of hot water.

Then stirred in a cup of washing soda. Actually, all I could find was a laundry treatment powder made of 1/2 sodium carbonate (which is the "washing soda") and 1/2 sodium percarbonate, thinking that it wouldn't make much difference. Would it?

The recipe said to set it aside to cool. Which I did. And the stuff just kept foaming up... and UP...

...and UP SOME MORE.

Perhaps that sodium percarbonate made it do that, because none of the recipes I saw said anything about the soap foaming up.

Anyhow, what we ended up with was a nice liquid gel laundry soap with a foamy head. We stir it up, then use 1/2 cup of it per load, or a little more for particularly dirty loads. It works great, and smells so fresh!

Even here in the mountains, it gets pretty warm on some afternoons this time of year. When Daniel comes in from a long morning of hard work, he's ready for something to cool him off, but also needs a lunch that will satisfy his hunger. That's a good time to whip up some chicken salad sandwiches! We like it any way it comes, but here's a version I made recently:

Cool-as-a-Cucumber Chicken Salad

3 chicken breasts, boiled thoroughly then chilled
1/2 cucumber
1/2 apple
mayonnaise
dash of salt
dash of dill, if you like

Cube the chilled chicken breasts, the cucumber, and the apple. Mix them all together in a medium mixing bowl, then add a dollop of mayonnaise, according to your taste. Add the salt and dill, then mix all together.

This recipe made about eight sandwiches. Delicious served with chilled mint tea!

I hope all you mothers out there enjoyed some special blessings today! Here in Guatemala, El Dia de la Madre is always on May 10 instead of the second Sunday in May, as it is in the States. So this year I had two Mother's Days. :o)

My children honored me with some homemade gifts, lots of hugs and kisses, a song, and even a blender! (Maybe we'll have smoothies tomorrow :o)

My husband fixed lunch for us. We always have the same thing on Sunday: pot roast and veggies in the crockpot. It is always delicious, and it sure makes things easier on Sunday afternoons to have lunch ready for us when we get home from church! Want to try it? Here is our recipe:

Sunday Dinner

On Saturday night, turn your crockpot on high, rinse off your roast and place it in the crockpot. Cover the meat with tenderizer (I use all-natural papain, no MSG) and spices. Whatever is on hand is fine; you can experiment with rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, whatever smells good to you, just don't overdo it! ;o)

Next, pile on the veggies. We usually put in carrots and potatoes or cabbage. Quarter a medium onion and put it on top. Add some salt, pour in water almost to the top, cover, and turn the pot down to low heat to simmer all night.

Next morning you'll wake up to an aroma that will make you want to eat roast for breakfast!

Makes Sundays all the more restful for this Mamma. May the Lord bless all you other Mammas out there, today and every day!

This is the recipe for a simple, cheap, but very effective all-purpose cleaner that I use in my home:

1 cup distilled water
1 cup isopropyl alcohol
5 drops peppermint oil
5 drops lavender oil

Put all ingredients into a spray bottle and use to clean and disinfect surfaces in the kitchen, bathroom, or anywhere. It will clean windows and mirrors, and floors too. I have noticed that when I wipe down the table and high chair with this cleaner, flies do not land there! I'm told the lavender oil repels flies and other bugs.