Poultry Seasoning Mix Recipe

This recipe I found somewhere years ago and no longer remember where. I like it and it works for poultry. It does not have salt in it. So, do not forget to add salt on your poultry along with adding this spice mix. I have forgotten and have learned that salt is a wonderful and most important spice to bring out flavor besides sugar in moderation. I had to add salt after  the cooking and that worked too.
Recipe:

3T. dry rosemary
3 T. dry oregano
3 T. dry crumbled or ground sage
2 T. dry ground ginger
2 T. dry marjoram
2 T. dry or ground thyme
1 T. dry ground pepper (optional)

Mix in a small bowl and store in a glass jar with lid.

sprinkle on meat with salt before cooking. If meat is skinned, mix some vegetable oil with some spice and rub onto poultry. I am sure you can add this spice mix to a marinade.

I have written the poultry seasoning mix recipe on a piece of paper and taped it on the jar. this makes for easy prep. when you run out of spice and dinner is being prepared in a hurry. I have done this to a few other spice mixes and need to do it to all, because I hate having to search for a recipe when I need more spice now... Hope you enjoy the mix.

I say the pepper is optional because I am not a big pepper fan. As a matter a fact, I could live with out this spice. When I grew up and wanted spicy, I grabbed cayenne or jalapeno and still do. I think dry ground black pepper in small amounts does has a mild flavorful spice to it.
 

Pumpkin Spice Mix Recipe

I must have spent years not having a pumpkin spice mix in my house and just adding different spices to accommodate a recipe. I like cloves in small amounts, but the local stores pumpkin pie spice did not have that ingredient in their mix.

So, here is a mix I have put together and tried different ways and like.

4 T. dry ground cinnamon
1 T. dry ground ginger
1 T. dry ground nutmeg
1/2 T. dry ground cloves
1/2 T. dry ground allspice (optional)

Mix all in a small bowl and store in a glass jar with lid.

Great for pies, squash, spice breads, hot drinks and smoothies. The allspice is optional because I can live without that flavor if needed. The first 4 ingredients are more important spices and if your pocket book and cupboard is even bare for that many, just use cinnamon and cloves. Or Just use cinnamon by itself.

Notice that I put the recipe on the spice mix container. I need to do that to all my spice mix containers. It is a quick way to make a new batch in a hurry without searching for the recipe.

It is not lovely, but the purpose is efficient. Perhaps, I will erase it with some nail polish remover and rewrite it better at some point, but for now I am going with it.

Dry ground cinnamon can stay fresh for about 5 years in a dark, dry, cool place, in a glass jar with lid. Buying whole dry herbs and grinding small batches at a time in a coffee grinder extends the freshness of the herbs/spices. If older they will still work, but be less flavorful. I have read that one must change out ground spices every 6 months. I have had ground thyme and separately curry in a jar for  about 4 years. They are still good and flavorful, yet less intense in smell and taste. Some spices are just better fresh and others seem to not matter. On the other hand there are spices that I am glad mellow over time. If something has been in your cupboard for 5 or more years, it would be a good idea to toss it. I am trying to remind myself by writing this.

Menthol And Hormone Balance

Even though I have had my Uterus taken out. I still live with my hormone balancing act. I was using Deet bug spray to keep the bugs at bay. Yes, I know it's a bad xeno-estrogen. In the garden and in Texas it is a must in the morning and or late afternoons. Last week the deet ran out and this is all that sat on the counter. They work great for my son, but I have tried the kids herbal armor with negative affects happening hours later. Everything bothered me. When the deet ran out, I just grabbed the Cutter. After a week my mind became restless with unhappiness and I would cry about anything that I could think of being sad about. Also my body was sore and overly tired just the past week. It did not make sense. Finally going through everything that may be new on or in me recently, I saw the Cutter. It is 65% p-menthane-3,8-diol. I had thought it was similar to the deet. But did the home work now that I was falling apart. Found out that it is just Menthol. Well, you would normally think that menthol is harmless except it is in mint and mint is said to block progesterone receptors from making/and or using progesterone. This may be all theory. yet I thought that perhaps it is not and that it is factual. So, I stopped using the Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus with 65% Menthol. 24 Hours later; I felt better and 48 hours later; I felt back to normal.

Crazy stuff. Must stick with the Deet or try an herb that may be a phyto-estrogen, yet will not shut down my hormones. I find that many choices in life are trying to find the lesser of two evils. That there is not a fix it all answer to any problem. When it come to the human body, it seems to be a constant battle to just keep it working for as long as possible.

It is almost 6 months from my surgery. Have been running about 2.3 miles five days a week for a month. Working on eating more healthy foods. Yes, sometimes bad food enters my body. I'm not perfect. Hee. Need to get more multi-vitamins. Started taking ginseng in a pill form. Called Ginsana and started taking some zinc.

Been very busy. Between my son going to school 5 days a week with me having to attend chapel with him once a week. Managing my ever growing garden, exercising and I am starting to write a simple cook book (not so simple as it turns out) to organize some of my recipes form myself and perhaps family. Oh, and yes attend to my man. The days and weeks seem to be flying by. I had to turn off my comments because I am unable to look or respond at this time in my life. Perhaps I will turn them on again when I catch my breath.

Thought I would catch up on my blog. Nothing new in this part of my life. I am not sure what people would even think if I
talked about my career in the past as an exotic dancer. That perhaps will have to be another blog or book...

Quick Herbal And Apple Juice Tea Recipe (no-caffeine)

I was going to a pot luck recently and remember coffee,regular tea, lemonade and water is served. I get tired of water, have to watch my sugar and my body does not like caffeine. I had to use what I had on hand and this was what I made.


Get a medium pot and fill with 4 cups of water. Bring water to a boil. turn off heat and add:
4 chamomile tea bags
4 tsp. loose roobios tea in a muslin bag
Steep for 10 minutes. then take tea bags out.

Get a 2 quart pitcher and fill it with 4 cups of apple cider/or juice.
add the steeped tea into the pitcher and mix.

I added 1/4 tsp. of raspberry extract and took a slice of lemon and squeezed the juice in. This is optional of course.

Chill in the fridge. You can use 4 tea bag/teaspoons worth of herbal tea you like. Any flavor. This is a great drink alternative your body will like. Also, you can change the ratio of tea to juice. More apple juice or less apple juice to accommodate you diet and or taste.

Note: My husband did not like it. He went back for coffee. I think it is best poured over a glass filled with ice.




 

Raw Okra salad Recipe

So,  have been harvesting Okra for over 2 months now and found a large stray one. I thought to taste it to see if it was to hard. It was a bit stiff, but very good. The thought came to my my, "I can eat Okra raw". Looked it up on the Internet an yes people ate it raw. I tell myself, "why has know one told me this?" I sliced up some okra, put it in a bowl and sprinkle salt on top. Mixed and walla, salad. Yum. I love it.

To me, life is one big experiment and we learn as we continue to try new things.

Baking Soda Treatment For Carpets

I have done this to my last two houses and have finaly got around to starting this process here at my newest home. That reads like I have several houses. Hee. But, no. Just traveled around the states as my hubbies job changes. The buy and sell process, which does get pricey. I am not to fond of this home and yet I am tired of moving. For awhile.

I lay on my sons floor at story time and have noticed a cat smell. Even after steam cleaning it. I have also had small strange bugs and spiders find my fingers. Ewe. Late at night, I remember that I need to do a baking soda treatment and the next day I forget. After dropping my son off at school today, I noticed the car smelled funny. I went home and notice the house smelled that way to. Perhaps it was the new Spectracide poison I had sprayed in my bathroom, in the garage and the lining of the attic stairs. It works for at least 9 months. It is my back up bug managment. Cockroaches are encroaching. Double ewe.

So, today I remembered. First I turned on my electric candle/mug heater. There is always a small ceramic or glass dish on it. I put essential oils into it and the heater makes the rooms smell nice. It is temporary though.

The Baking Soda Treatment:

Baking Soda.
(Buy the largest bag or box you can. I like to get the 13 Lb. one. They are sold at Sam's or at Walmart in the pool supply section.)

(1) Cinnamon essential oil and orange essential oil.

You can also add some tea tree oil. I get my essential oils at www.sfherb.com

(2) Eucalyptus essential oil and lemon essential oil

You can put 2-4 cups of baking soda in a container that can be sealed. Add essential oils from group 1 or 2. I sometimes add tea tree for added fungal/bacteria kill. since our feet walk barefoot on the carpet. Add more citrus and less cinnamon, eucalyptus and or tea tree. A little goes a long way. Mix.

Sprinkle with large spoon, or measure cup onto carpet/carpets. Here is my messy part. There will be access and chunks in some places. Just take your bare feet and rub it in and around. Let it sit for a minimum of and hour or until you next vacuum. This makes the rooms smell great and will keep the bugs at bay. You can do this as much as you like or whenever. Safe, non toxic and not poison.

I managed to get all the carpeted rooms except the game room and half of our master bedroom today. Will buy more baking soda on my shop day. Every time walk into those treated rooms it smells wonderful.

Coconut and Palantain Soup Recipe

So, I make stuff take pictures. When I get time, see what makes it past the cuts of what I want to put online. This soup is so good. I froze leftovers and it would taste better every time I defrosted and cooked another bowl.


Recipe:

1 tsp. Veggie oil
1/4-1/2 onion, diced
1 large bell pepper, chopped ( any sweet pepper will do)
1-2 large plantain, chopped (I used one and I thought it was not enough)
1/4-1/2 C. of shredded coconut (I used unsweetened, but is sweetened fine)
1/2 C. dry lentils
1 14 oz. can of coconut milk. (you could try another milk of choice, I have not tried it though)
4 C. of water
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. salt

Heat a medium pot to medium. Add oil and saute onions until soft. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer on low for 30-45 minutes with lid partially covered.
Serves 4-6

Dehydrated Mushroom Chips Recipes

These are so yummy. Did you know eating mushrooms inhibit Estrogen and boost Testosterone. Great for people over 40 when testosterone drops dramatically. I love mushrooms. My dad used to saute' them in butter and garlic. So good. I wanted to create this into an easy on the go snack.

Take some mushrooms (any), I used small Bella and or button. slice them and place into a bowl. Pour olive oil on top and sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Stir. The mushrooms will absorb all of the oil. So you have to taste as you go and guesstimate. Place each on silpat sheets on racks and put into the dehydrator. Dehydrate at 135 until crisp. They are very tasty when hot and squishy. So, as you can see on the tray there are oily spots of missing mushrooms. So good.

Oiled with salt and garlic powder.

Yum....... 

Gumbo Stew (Burkina Faso) Recipe

I am growing 4 Okra this year and they are producing great. They grow big like small trees. they do have an odd smell to them like old urine. Ewe. But maybe that is what keep the bugs at bay. I have fried and baked these. I found this recipe in a  cook book that my mother-n-law gave me called Extending the table by Joetta Handrich Schlabach. I made this version meatless, but you can add a pound of  ground or pieced cooked meat if you like.

Ingredients:

Add and cook until soft:
1-2 T. veggie oil
1 onion, chopped
1-3 cloves of garlic, minced
Add:
4 C. chopped tomatoes or tomato sauce (can be 2 cans diced tomatoes or tomato sauce)
4 C. Okra fresh or frozen chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. crushed red pepper ( This is very spicy. Half it, if you want less spice)
Simmer 20 minutes.
Add:
2 C. Fresh or frozen Spinach, or other dark greens, chopped (I used Swiss chard)
Simmer 5 minutes.
Serve over hot rice of Nshima (en-SHEE-ma) which is an African cornmeal porridge.

This recipe is quick and easy. The Okra does not get slimy.





 

Berry And Banana Smoothie Recipe

I have bags of Blackberries and Raspberries I picked and froze from my garden. Now it has been the quest to utilize them. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com

Take:

1 1/2 C. Berries (any and frozen thawed fine)
1 Banana (fresh or frozen Thawed a bit)
1 T. sweet
1/4 C. Almond milk (any milk or yogurt will do)

Place in a blender and blend til smooth.

 

Drying Golden Berries

So many golden berries that I cannot eat them all. Decided to dry some. I found out that these berries I grew are common in North America. I found the orange Peruvian type and ordered the seeds from Trade winds seeds online. Next year I will grow the orange berries. I am hoping they are a tad bigger than these.

Took the husks off.

Discarded ones with holes and or that were green.

I poke holes in each berry to help dry faster. I dry them at 135F until firm to almost firm.

Not sure if this makes a real difference because it still take a long time to dry. Think it is my dehydrator. The walls are thin and do not hold the heat in very well. I am sure the Excalibur's are more efficient, but better suited for low heat drying because they are made of plastic.

When dry, I put into a glass jar with lid. They are very little. Almost like beads. I try to take them out when each feel dry with a little give. I am still working on how dry to make them. The golden berries dry are not as tasty as they are fresh, but still addictive. They have a slight bitter aftertaste and yet I still crave them.

Lifetime Memeories Through Recipes (Nanitas Flan)

A lifetime of memories through recipes. I was thinking about making Flan and new I had a non dairy recipe somewhere. The recipe was for Nanitas Flan and I found it. But in the process of looking for it my mind opened into a flood of memories. A wonderful and yet emotional journey through parts of my life that have long gone by.

Sometimes (in my mind) I narrate the simple things I do in my daily life to pass the time and other times life is moving to fast to think about those steps I take. Fall is coming and the winds of change are here again. The time when it is to hot and the garden grows slow and swimming in the pool is enjoyed later in the evening. Looking forward to the fall weather.


Nanitas Flan

ingredients:
6 eggs
8 T. sugar
5 T. sugar
4tsp. water
1 cup fresh orange juice
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 tsp. grated orange rind


Heat oven to 350F. Put 8 T. sugar and 4 tsp. water in a small pan, on low heat, stirring constantly. When it darkens to a caramel, divided and pour the syrup into six oven safe cups or mugs. Lightly whip eggs with a wire whisk until light colored or your arms get tired. Beat int the the remaining 5 T. sugar and gradually add the juices and rinds. Continue beating/whisking until you cannot whisk any longer. Then give exactly 10 more strokes. Pour mixture into the prepared cups. Place cups in a pan of shallow hot water and bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the custard/flan comes out clean. Remove the cups from the water and cool on counter. To serve, flan may be un-molded onto dessert plates.

 This is very good. You can cover and put cups into fridge to store. I have used ceramic coffee mugs to ceramic or glass baking cups. It is hard to un-mold. so usually these are eaten straight from the cups as a quick snack. To cut out sugar, just not make the caramel part.

This recipe is from a story book. I had borrowed it from a Las vegas Library years ago. the  recipe has been made many times since. Need to make it again.

Cucumber Patty Pan Salad With Yogurt Balsamic Dressing

I took a Lemon Cucumber (you can use any cucumber) and a small Patty Pan Squash ( any summer squash will do) and cut them into bite size pieces. Put them into a bowl. Top with your favorite dressing or try this one out below. I thought this one hit the spot.

The dressing is from Salad in a jar site. I did change it a little.

Yogurt Balsamic dressing (I just put this in an 8 oz. caning jar)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1 1/2 T. brown spicy mustard
1 1/2 T. Jam (I used peach) Any will do.
3 T. yogurt
1/2 T. olive oil

Put in a jar. Close the lid and shake until well mixed. Serve and or store in fridge.

Baking Powder Biscuits Recipe

Yum... My son loves biscuits.

1 3/4 cups Flour (I used bread flour here, but using all-purpose flour will give you a softer biscuit)
1/4 cup wheat germ or other flour of choice.
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chilled vegetable shortening, butter, or like.
1 cup of whole milk or milk of choice (I used yogurt)

Pre-heat oven 425F

In large bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. Add shortening and cut it in with a pastry cutter or rub with your finger until mixture is mealy. Add milk, stirring with fork, just until the dough holds together and still sticky.

Transfer dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead about eight times, pat out 1/2 inch thick, cut into rounds with a biscuits cutter or mug/cup. Pat the scrapes together and cut out more rounds.

Arrange the rounds on a baking stone or sheet about an inch apart and bake in the upper third of the oven till golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Sweet And Spicy Masa Fritas Recipe (Fry Bread)

This yummy food is made with corn meal processed with lime. Got this recipe from, "My Colombian Recipes" site. I changed it a little. Corn is awesome, yet not very digestible or nutritious until it has been cooked with ash or lime (not lime the fruit) Hominy is whole corn that has been cooked with, I assume lime. Boiling corn with ash from wood is how the Indians made that food more healthful.

This is very tasty. Reminds me of polenta, but much better.

So, I took:

1/2 cup Masa (found in the Mexican food zone in the N. American grocery stores)
1/2 cup water and or 1-2 T. extra for moist bread.
1 T. sugar
1/2-1 tsp. Emeral's Creole Spice (recipe found in my dehydrated Okra blog)

Oil for frying (I used Coconut oil)

Mix all ingredients except for the oil and let sit for about five minutes. Put some oil into an iron skillet or like and heat up until a sprinkle of water sizzles in the oil. Roll the dough into 4-5 balls and then flatten like in the pic.. Add the Masa patty's and fry on both each side until golden. You can sprinkle with salt while frying. Set on a towel to drain and then serve/eat as you like.

Double or triple to serve more people.

Addicted To Golden Berries Growing In The Garden

Growing these in my garden, but they are not as big and as golden yellow/orange as I have seen on ones from South America. Perhaps those are different seeds. I do not know.

These berries do get more golden to tan, but that is all. They range from marble size to smaller. The taste is like a sweet firm tomato with slight fruit flavor ranging from pineapple, peach, to apricot. There is also a sort of after taste which I cannot put my finger on and is the addictive part. These are so addictive. My body wants to keep eating these like there is something important in the berries that my body needs.

Saving some seeds for next year. They are very small.

I have four bushes growing at various stages. This is an area where I have two and they are huge. These plants were the most delicate to grow and I thought they were all going to die. They start out very thin and week, but have grown into very sturdy plants. I call them my mini lantern trees. They are so beautiful.

You can pick these and keep them stored on the counter in their husks. They continue to ripen and the husks dry out. These stay fresh for days. I have not had any go bad yet. Do not mind the bubble. My son wanted to play with bubbles in the garden.

More pics. Have tomato plants, patty pan, hot peppers, tomatillos growing amongst the berries. It is a jungle.

 Tedious to pick, yet so worth it.

So cute.

Yes, more pics.

The bubble gun.

...

///

Tonka and Mijo.

Yeah, after so much rain it was nice to be outside.

It is a jungle in there.

Yum.

Helping hand.

...

: )

Dehydrated Beet Chips Recipe

I have been pondering the idea of eating beets for a long time. The first time I tried them was juiced with and apple and maybe a carrot a few years ago. All I could think of when drinking it was that it tasted like dirt and maybe I did not clean the beet enough. My next beet encounter was when I moved to Pflugerville TX. and met up with a friend whom lives in Austin. We had lunch and she had a salad with beets on it. I was curious, she offered me a bite of one. My thoughts kept remembering dirt flavor and I said no thanks.

Beets keep popping up here and there on the net. and in the store in mid summer. They are so healthy and nutritious that there must be at least one way I could tolerate and consume these. I tried making some fermented drink out of a beet and my ferment went bad. It is July and the last few veggie ferments I have tried failed to. Sometimes I fail miserably and mope around for a few days. I had two more beets sitting in the fridge. What to do. I read that the greens are very nutritious and the only way I could sneak that into food was to dehydrate them. Did that and put them in a jar for soup or stew insertion. Saw online that some people were making Beet chips. I thought if they do not work out they can be crumbled into sauces, soups or stews right?

Took out my little porcelain blade mandolin from www.cutleryandmore.com It slices real thin and I wanted the thinnest sliced beets. Sliced my 2 beets real thin and put them on racks. Salted the tops and dehydrated at 135 until crisp. Must warn that the beets did drip a lot of beet juice on the bottom of the dehydrator. It cleaned up with water and paper towels.

Taste test: The first taste was sweet, salty and a dirt after taste. The sweet seemed to dominate just a bit more than the dirt flavor. I was not sure if the salt was even needed at that moment. I found myself looking at how beautiful they are and craving another every time I opened my pantry. The salt flavor is now welcoming and perhaps makes the dirt flavor more of an earthy flavor. Not only do I tolerate these chips, but I like them. They are actually my first successful veggie chip made.

Some people say they make you pee purple. It does not seem the case for me or perhaps I have not eaten enough. I have also read that if you do pee purple that you may have underlying issues and to visit your doctor or that you are just the estimated 15% of the population than cannot beak down and assimilate the so called purple essence itself.

Arugula and Patty Pan Salad Recipe

Love this salad. Put some Arugula on a bowl and add some walnuts. (these walnuts are soaked and dehydrated.) Added some dried cranberries and took a very small patty pan squash and sliced it thin and then in half. Then added the patty pan. Found out that mini sized patty pan can be cut without deseeding. The seeds are not fully formed yet. For a dressing I made a pack of Ranch Dressing This way.

1 cup of almond milk
Mixed with 3/4 cup mayo
and then added the Ranch dressing packet and mixed.
Or in my case, closed the lid and shook it vigorously. (Or use any salad dressing of choice)


So good. Inspired to grow arugula now.

Freezing Fresh Corn On The Cob

Freezing fresh corn is the best way to hold on to the flavor. Corn loses its freshness within a day or two. Take off the husks and stringy stuff and place into Ziploc. Push out air and freeze. You can cut the corn into smaller portions before freezing to.

Buying fresh produce and freezing it yourself insures the quality, ripe, freshness you like best.

Freezing Diced Tomatoes

Been processing and giving away many tomatoes. With time tight I thought to freeze diced tomatoes in Ziploc bags. Put 2 cups of diced tomato in a Ziploc. Pushed out all the air and froze. That easy. Each bag contains 1 cans worth (if not, a tad more) of fresh diced tomatoes/frozen for cooking later on.

Quick and easy.