Winter Garden: A month ago I purchased a grow light ... I now have lettuce plants growing inside ... the only garden plant I miss in the winter. Will post pics and let you know how it works out.

The Thrifty Garden/Home has been on an extended vacation. Today I came across this article about the use of clotheslines in the U.S.A. In my opinion, I think a nicely arranged clothesline is a piece of yard art :) I have a retractable one to use outside in the summer .. and a folding one to use inside. People should not be banned from saving electricity. If more and more people start using a clothesline, communities will have to start relaxing their (unrealistic) standards.

Mystery ice cream flavor revealed:

Name: Winning name suggestion ... Banana Float (submitted by Patrick)

Ingredients: half and half, whole milk, sugar, rennet, ripe banana, birch (or root) beer extract.

The double blind fold test came back: Successful flavor! Good color, texture, taste, aroma!

Recipe: Makes 1/2 gallon

3 Junket (brand) rennet tablets
2 tablespoons cold water
3 cups of whole milk
2 cups of half and half (or heavy cream if you want to fatten your thighs ;)
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons birch or root beer extract
1 soft/ripe banana (no brown bruises please;)

Directions are here using the standard vanilla recipe .. of course substituting root beer for vanilla flavoring. Add a well smashed banana to the mixture during the last ten minutes of hand crank or electric freezing.

Inspiration: As a child I favored the banana and root beer freezer pops often eating one bite of banana followed by one bite of root beer. The mixture of flavors is quite good.

Scientific experimentations have been going on in The Thrifty/Garden Home's test kitchen


yesterday and today. Starting off with a new recipe for Italian bread (akin to French bread ;) .. , mystery flavored ice cream (I have to do a double blind test on a few lab rats ... ahem, I mean family and neighbors before I reveal this flavor) ... could be a hit with Ben and Jerry if the mystery is revealed too soon .. and I don't want to give them reason to worry about competition ;) ... chocolate zucchini bread, peach butter, peach pie fillings, and something else that will come to mind later (I'm sure). I'll let you know what flipped and what flopped. Pictures, recipes and results to follow. Oh, IT came to mind before hitting 'publish' ... a big jar of refrigerator (Claussen type) pickles.

Pics: Mrs. Mac's kitchen 'pretties' , a few lovable 'lab rats', the experimentation chair.

It's been a while since I've had to purchase bread. Once I got into the routine of making a few loaves each week, even sticking some in the freezer for an emergency, it's been rather nice to offer my family some home baked goods. Even forcing me to find the time .. but, I have to admit, the stuff off the sprawlmart shelves can't compare. Here's another recipe I've been perfecting .. and can make with ease after a few go-arounds.

The same bread book that is mentioned in this post was used. If you don't want to make the bread the old fashioned way (by hand), you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook to do the kneading, or tweak the recipe to use in your bread machine (see below).

Challah Bread .. makes two loaves

4-1/2 to 5-1/2 cups unsifted flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 package active dry yeast (about 2-1/4 teaspoons)
1/3 cup softened butter*
pinch of saffron
1 cup very warm tap water
4 eggs (at room temperature)
1 teaspoon cold water
1/4 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)

In a large bowl thoroughly mix 1-1/4 cups flour, sugar, salt, and the dry active yeast. Add the butter.

Dissolve the saffron in very warm tap water. Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat two minutes at medium speed of electric mixer (I used a hand mixer (Kitchenaid) with just one beater), scraping bowl occasionally. Add 3 eggs, 1 egg white (reserve yolk for later use), and 1/2 cup flour. Beat at high speed two minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about eight to ten minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; turn out onto lighly floured board. Divide in half. Divide each half into 2 pieces, one about 1/3 of dough and the other about 2/3 of dough. Divide larger piece into 3 equal pieces (you're going to be braiding ladies/gentlemen). Roll each piece into a 12-inch rope. Braid the ropes together; pinch ends to seal. Divide the smaller piece into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 10-inch rope. Braid the ropes together; place on top of large braid. Seal braids together at ends. Place on greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough to form second loaf.

(recipe makes two large loaves of double stacked, braided bread .. with that picture in mind, it's not all that hard to make this recipe .. see photo of unbaked bread)

Beat together remaining egg yolk and 1 teaspoon cold water; brush loaves with egg mixture. Sprinkle with poppy seed. Let rise in a warm place, free from draft, until double in bulk, about 1 hour. (a closed oven with no heat will work).

Bake at 400 F, 18-25 minutes, or until done. Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire rack.

The taste and texture is similar to a croissant roll .. just not as buttery rich. Makes delicious toast and good sandwiches.

Here's a challah bread recipe I've adapted for the bread machine.

3/4 cup water
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3-3/4 cups of unsifted (bread) flour
1-1/2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
1/4 cup butter (cut into chunks)*

either make this single loaf dough and bake as directed above or bake at a medium setting following your bread machine directions.

*since challah bread is a Jewish egg bread, the original recipe called for using margarine .. which is kosher ... I'm not fond of margarine .. and am not Jewish nor kosher .. so prefer butter ;)

Potato Bread

Last week a friend left a comment asking for my potato bread recipe.

This recipe is adapted from a booklet titled: Fleischmann's Bake-it-easy Yeast Book (printed about 1972). It is a very good, detailed book ... my copy was published before 'rapid-rise' yeast and bread machines became so popular in the early 1990's ... it's worth scouting out online or at book sales.

Old-Fashioned Potato Loaves (makes two loaves)

1 medium potato
water
hot tap water
2 packages active dry yeast (equal to 4-1/2 teaspoons of traditional dry yeast)
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt (I use 2 teaspoons)
1 cup warm milk (105F-115F 40C - 45C)
6-1/2 to 7-1/2 cups unsifted flour (I use organic, unbromated, unbleached)
flour

Peel and dice the potato ... boil in water to cover until tender, approximately 20 minutes; reserving liquid. Add hot tap water to potato liquid to make one cup; cool to warm (105F-115F. 40C to 45C) Mash potato; set aside.

Pour warm potato water into large warm bowl. Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved. Add butter, sugar and salt. Stir in mashed potato, warm milk and three cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.

Punch dough down; turn over in bowl. cover and let rise again about 20 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured board; divide in half. Roll each half to a 14 x 9 inch rectangle. Shape into loaves. Place in 2 greased 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans. cover; let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 50 minutes.

Dust loaves with flour. Bake at 375F (190C), 35 to 40 minutes, or until done. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

I actually enjoy kneading the dough ... it's great exercise for your hands and arms. Don't be shy .. give it a try without a bread machine/mixer with bread hook :) This is how our grandmother's kept their hands in good shape.

As you can see from my photo, I baked one loaf in a bread pan .. and the other I baked on a cookie sheet .. somehow my nice bread pans got misplaced when we moved and I am making do with what I have on hand.

Filler Up ... (the freezer that is)

Winter is (well, not often talked about once the snow melts .. but is just around the bend) coming .. time to get the pantry, larder, and freezer stocked. Come winter, it's nice to be hunkered in as the snow piles up outside. Work from the summer months is stored away and only steps from the kitchen to prepare. Summer is a hectic season .. but winter brings much needed rest. We are in the process of stocking up for the coming months .. months without the backyard garden. Canned goods are being made .. veggies frozen .. berries preserved .. jams made .. all in preparation for winter. That time of year that warms the soul with good soup, good company, and more time to relax than in the summer.

How do you prepare for winter?

Digging for Yukon Gold ....

potatoes that is. In April I planted several rows of these delicious golden nugget seed potatoes along with a few rows of red 'new' potatoes. Yesterday a few were harvested, boiled, mashed with half and half, sprinkled with sea salt, and infused with a mix from my mini blender of butter and fresh basil. The result ... heaven! Add a quick stir fry of tender pork loin strips with freshly picked carrots, onion, and garden sugar peas .. and we dined on a delicious and easy meal. No gravy required ;)

Eating from the garden is akin to having dined on food kissed by a technicolor rainbow. The flavor explodes with rich 'colors' not found in store bought fare. All those years growing up .. eating canned veggies and hamburger helper ... years 'wasted' food wise ;(

My best childhood memories of food always drift back to visiting with relatives during the month of July that lived on farms in Illinois .. or had backyard gardens and home canned foods. We in the USA have grown accustomed to over processed, chemically altered, blah foods that hold no candle to nutrition and/or taste compared to home grown food. I encourage anyone that hasn't planted a garden to start planning for next year to give it a try. Even if you just try growing tomatoes and herbs in containers on your back deck or patio ... it's a start to wake up the inner gardener inside all of us.

artwork credit here

Cookbook Review:

I never buy books. Why buy when you can borrow from the library? This week's run to the public library netted half a dozen great cookbooks. Currently, I'm perusing, "The Little House Cookbook" ... about "Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Classic Stories." Having read all of the Little House books, this cookbook has a lot of pioneer recipes that I wondered about when reading said books. The author, Barbara M. Walker, has done a great job of reliving a portion from the novels that recall certain foods the Ingalls family ate. She has adapted the recipes and some of the ingredients to modern measurements/products, but for the most part, has done an excellent job of retaining authenticity to the pioneer era. Illustrations are by Garth Williams; I believe he illustrated the series I read. This is a good read for those of you that would enjoy minimalist ingredients and a sense of history through the preparation of food. At one time I had wanted to make 'ginger water' as described in The Long Winter book. Having mistakenly made the likes of ginger beer, this book describes the beverage ginger water or switchel .. a non alcoholic drink given to farmers on hot days. I shall try to once again make this drink. It sounded so refreshing as I read through the book years ago.

Taking care of your health.

Old time remedies may just soon have a comeback ... especially if President Obama's health reform bill is passed .. and we are forced to give up our private insurance care. There is talk about the many limits on what treatment will or will not be available under this scheme.

I have a fascination with 1800's cookbooks. There is usually a section of good health advice and remedies from nature to help alleviate some common maladies and prevent poor health in the first place. Admittedly, some have talk of adding opium to tinctures which gave me a good chuckle. Some of the remedies seem plausible as prevention. Simple ideas such as serving 'milk toast' to an invalid, alleviation of growing pains in children, leanness (not too common today, eh) remedy, etc. give new food for thought at taking better care of our bodies in the first place. Preventative medicine .. goes along the lines of the old saying, 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' .. My latest read is: The Original White House Cookbook, 1887 edition. It has all manner of intriguing articles from carving meats .. to measures and weights in ordinary use. In between there are recipes for custards, cordials, rabbit stew, turtle soup ... and mock turtle soup. This last entry gave my daughter a fright when I asked her what 'mock' meat was used in place of the turtle. She read: "Scald a well-cleansed calf's head, remove the brain, tie it up in a cloth, and boil an hour , or until the meat will easily slip from the bone ..." Sorry I asked! Even with the old recipes, there are others that give great instruction that are more appetizing to our current likes. Refrigeration was not readily available (electric) so ice and dry curing methods were used. This is definitely a good read. Check it out in full context here.

Thrifty Home Finds.

I spotted a Kitchenaid mixer paddle yesterday at a vintage store. Price $2.99. Mine went missing about a year ago .. or did I throw it away when the paint started coming off (?). Anyhow, the perfect replacement just happened to appear .. so I purchased it today. Ann (my daughter) had her wisdom teeth removed (ouch), and while waiting for her prescription, I dashed across the street to some thrifty/vintage stores. Another item on my 'to find at bargain basement prices' list was a nice pair of off white king size pillow cases for my bed. At the Hospice store, they had a pair of barely or never used luxurious Egyptian cotton king cases .. asking price: $.50 ea. A christmasy pillowcase for a quarter was had to repurpose into a holiday apron .. some scrap material totaling $.50 to make new kitchen table napkins ... a pressed glass shaker bottle for storing baking soda in my bathroom for cleaning the sinks ... $.25, and a dainty little glass syrup/cream pitcher with lid .. $.45. How about a Hepplewhite (shield back) chair from the Salvation Army for $7.99 (I already have fabric to reupholster the seat) ... some mismatched tea cup saucers (vintage of course) ranging from .$25 to $3.99 will be perfect to 'repurpose' as soap dishes this Christmas with a bar of homemade soap. Christmas shopping in July. Repurposing inexpensive castoffs into new and usable items. Very rewarding. Total spent .. under $20. I would have spent at least that much to buy a new mixer paddle with the cost of shipping. No, I didn't buy all this stuff while my daughter sat in the car (silly) ... some was purchased yesterday ... what kind of mom do you think I am? ;)

Do you shop at used or vintage shops? Tag sales? One man's junk is another man's treasure :)

Wall art photos: Little Girl Eating Biscuit .. Rumford Baking Powder vintage advertisement framed (copyrighted 1885) $1.25. Little girl rocking her dolly .. $.75

Turnip greens (at least the ones from my garden) are not bitter. They are not palatable fresh (such as spinach) due to prickly fuzz, but blanched they are delightful. I have had success feeding them to my children by chopping them up (about 1/2 inch diced, thick stem parts removed) along with some carrots, celery and onions. Brown rice and chicken stock make a good addition as well with said veggies. If I told them to eat their turnip greens (alone), they might just turn up their noses! For 'non greens' eaters, the trick is to not overpower them by eating all greens. Moderation is a good thing. Are you a 'greens' eater? If so, care to share a quick fix?

How to make a turnip/rutabaga hater into a lover of root veggies.

I'm a master of disguise (with food that is ;) If you want to get your family to consume healthy root veggies but they balk, try what I do.

Most kids will eat mashed potatoes (minus those with sensitive gag reflexes). When we have an abundance of turnips I boil a few in with the potatoes and mash them together. This will work with rutabagas too, but they have different cooking times so you may need to start the rutabagas ahead of the potatoes or cook them in separate pans. I've had success getting my family to eat both roots when they are prepared as follows:

I never measure (except when baking).

Using about one cup of mashed cooked turnips or rutabagas for every two to three cups of mashed potatoes add to taste the following: Butter, half & half, one small bud of pressed fresh garlic, salt & pepper. Now for a special treat ... add anywhere from one teaspoon to a tablespoon of prepared horseradish .. mix well ... and serve steaming hot garnished with your favorite fresh garden herb sprinkled on top. No gravy needed.

This combination is always a 'smash' hit.

Tomorrow I'll give some tips for getting your loved ones to eat turnip greens.

I have become quite good at getting my kids to eat their veggies. My son, Nathan, age 13 (and the possessor of an extra chromosome ;) has taken a liking to quite a variety of garden greens. For someone that beat great odds to survive (2% chance), having been tube fed for the first four years, and me not giving up on teaching him to eat ... has turned into one of my best eaters.

Tonight I made one of his favorite veggie combos, peas and carrots.

Here are some vague directions for the dish.

You can be the judge of the serving size for your family.

Cook equal amounts of diced carrots and cut up sugar snap peas in a shallow pan of boiling water for five minutes; drain and set aside. Put a pat of butter in the pan to melt and quickly saute a small amount of diced onion. Add the peas and carrots back to the pan along with a sprinkle of dill weed, sea salt, black pepper and a 1/2 teaspoon of honey to taste. I need to remember to make a double batch next time as we always run out of this favorite dish.

Tomorrow I'll share how I got my family to enjoy turnips, including the greens, rutabagas, and horseradish.

My kids HATE shelled peas but will always eat the sugar snap variety. Nathan thinks they're green beans ... I'm OK with that!

Taking & Making Stock:

A frugal homemaker will not waste her provisions. If you can purchase a good quality whole local chicken for half the price of already cut up portions, buy the whole bird. Learn to cut up the chicken yourself and freeze or use immediately. Once the back bones have been cut from the bird, you can easily wrap them and freeze for later use. Today was the day to prepare for the autumn and winter meals by making homemade chicken stock. I used about seven back portions including the necks to make my broth. Other ingredients added to enrich the flavor and nutrition were fresh carrots, celery, onions and herbs, as well as dried garlic slivers, black peppercorns and a smidgen of sea salt.

Today's batch should last well into winter. The next stock will be made from a turkey carcass after Thanksgiving dinner. Yesterday I took inventory of my freezer and pantry supplies and found only two jars in the freezer, and three in the basement pantry.

I prefer the taste of homemade stock from the freezer, however, it takes up quite a bit of space. For some of our needs, I pressure can it in quart size jars for longer shelf life. This frees up valuable freezer space and ensures we have some for year round use.

To make chicken stock:

Use your largest stock pan. Put seven to eight frozen chicken backs and neck pieces in pan. Add several whole onions cut in quarters; onion skin will impart a nice warm color, four large carrots, and three or fours stalks celery. Add your favorite herbs (mine are oregano, rosemary, thyme and black peppercorn) and a few teaspoons of salt (this is not much salt ... you don't want the stock salty). Fill pot with water a few inches shy of the top. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer (covered) for three to four hours or until all the chicken meat falls off the bones. Cool the stock and remove chicken and veggie pieces. You can pick through the meat and set aside. Strain the cooled broth several times and skim the fat. Pour into clean jars leaving a few inches of head space for expansion during freezing. Store in the deep freeze after the liquid is completely cool. Will last for about twelve months.

With any chicken meat you remove from the bones, place in a freezer safe container and cover with some of the broth. This will make a quick addition when you want to make chicken soup this winter.

I feed the cooked veggies to my dog mixed with her dry food over the course of a week.