Joy in the Kitchen!

Every year about now we wish we had a cider press.  We have several apple trees and after canning dozens of quarts of applesauce and some pie filling, a few fresh apple pies, eating fresh apples until we're sick of them, we pick several boxes, store them in the garage, eat a few & throw the rests out in the spring.  So wasteful! This year Dave decided he would build a cider press.  After perusing the different home made presses others have made and posted on the internet, he built one we quite like!  He used materials we had on hand or that were scrap, so the total cost for the press came in under $50!  The grinder for our apples came from Dave's grandparents.  Grandpa hooked it up to a motor years ago and it worked pretty slick for grinding up our apples.  A few days ago we had Cider Pressing Day.  A few family and neighbors brought apples to press and in between, we pressed our own.  We started just after 10am, finishing up about 6p...

Twenty years ago when we bought a cool mixer/blender combo, we attended cooking classes for a few weeks to learn how to use it properly.  We learned how to make these pancakes in that class.  They are different than pancakes made with white flour.  They are thinner, have some crunch when you chew them, and they're FUN to watch when they're made!  They taste good as well.  This morning my children ate every bit as many of these as they do the regular Buttermilk Pancakes I usually make. You DO need RUMFORD brand baking powder for this recipe.  Trust me, the other brands don't work.  I don't know exactly why, other than Rumford doesn't have aluminum in it, but ONLY Rumford works like it should.  When the batter is all finished mixing, it will rise in the blender jar... be sure your griddle is hot and ready to pour onto!  Other baking powders, at least all the others I've tried, won't make this rise in the jar and get plenty of air bubbles i...

I know, I know, but not everything done in the kitchen is edible!  Several years ago on Frugal Families , someone posted about making laundry detergent.  At the time I thought "I" would never take the time to do that.  I figured I was getting a good deal on the detergent I was already buying.  I tried making the powdered version just to say I did - ICK.  It didn't dissolve in cold water and left white granules all over everything!  A few years later however, I saw a recipe for liquid detergent (probably on Frugal Families too lol ) and gave that a try.  IT WORKS!   I was surprised a few weeks ago to find a similar recipe at the check out stand of a local grocery store.  It listed the cost per load at  3 cents!  THAT is one of the reasons I've kept making my own liquid detergent.  There are only 3 critical ingredients (okay - 4 if you count the water) to keep on hand:  Borax, Washing Soda, and bar soap such as Fels ...

One of my favorite things to can is salsa.  I can adjust how hot it is to our families taste, I can use vegetables we grow ourselves.  Mainly though, it's easy and it TASTES TERRIFIC!  This recipe made 25 pints today. :)  It may make less if you have a lot of "tasters" helping out. These are going to look fabulous on my storage room shelf.  :) (at least they will look fabulous until they're gone ) Salsa 9 Quarts peeled & diced tomatoes 6 C. chopped onion 6 C. diced green pepper 1 12 oz can pickled jalapeno's, sliced (find in hispanic section of grocery) 2 1/2 C. white vinegar 1/4 C. sugar 1/2 C. salt 1/2 tsp dried red pepper (I leave this out because we don't like it hot) 2 cans diced green chilis 4 cloves garlic diced 1 bunch cilantro (I use 1/2 a bunch) 1 Anaheim pepper (option if you want more heat) 4 tsp. cumin 4 tsp. oregano cook 2 hours uncovered and add: 3 large cans tomato paste Pour into pint jars & waterbath for 20 m...

We have been busy playing this month, but it's time to stay home now as the garden is on! The past 2 days the kids have help me freeze 12 cups of peas, 4 quart bags of snow peas, can 6 quarts of green beans, and 7 quarts of dill pickles. We've been busy! :) Our Dill Pickles are a recipe from my Mom. They are an old recipe and as such, use less vinegar than is suggested now for canning. My whole family has made these for years without problems. The directions.... wash freshly picked pickling cucumbers. Slice, cut into spears or leave whole and place in clean canning jars. Put a pinch of powdered alum into each jar and then a good sized head of fresh dill. (I add more sliced cucumbers on top of the dill to squish it down in there good. In 3 quart pan, bring to boil, 3 C. of water, 1 C. vinegar and 1/4 C. salt. Boil 2 minutes and then pour into jars up to the fill line. Clean top of jar to be sure no salt remains, add lids & rings, process in a boiling water ...