Bulk Canning Lids

I've been thinking about ordering some more canning lids for this next harvest, so here is the link to my post from last year.

Bulk Canning Lids

I have not ordered yet, so I can't say for sure what the prices are this year. I can update when I do order.

Anyone else know of a good place to buy bulk lids?

Stocking the Pantry via Deanna

I have been a fan of Our Plain and Simple Life for quite some time. Deanna does alot of stuff that I do, but does even more things that I would like to do. Recently, she posted about a Mega Shopping trip to stock her pantry for 6 months. That is something I have wanted to do for a long time, I just have a hard time knowing where to start. I think she may have gotten the ball rolling for me. She updated with this post on That shopping trip and That plan. I am anxious to read more about this! Thanks so much Deanna!!!

Sidenote: Deanna did this 6 month pantry stocking for 11 people on $1300!!!

Make Your Own...Skin care products

I am really trying to eliminate chemicals from our lives. I can't believe how much unnecessary junk is in personal care products! For more info visit Skin Deep.

Instead of listing one recipe, I have found several websites to help you find your own products to make!

www.passionatehomemaking.com

www.recipegoldmine.com

homemeadebeautyrecipes.homestead.com

www.csuzberry.com

Some of the above sites do offer where to buy products. One place I have had good luck in ordering from is Mountain Rose Herbs. They also go into great detail about each herb they sell. It's a great learning tool!

Anyone else have tips or good websites to visit?

Make Your Own...Deodorant

Deodorant. Nearly all of us use it - or else we should be and don't! :) But why put something on our skin that is potentially harmful? Have you ever looked on the label of your deodorant? Aluminum and propylene glycol are very common ingredients in deodorant. Aluminum is well known to cause problems. There are studies that indicate that aluminum may be part of the Alzheimer problem or even breast cancer. Propylene glycol is found in antifreeze! That alone is enough to deter me away from it! Check out these websites for more info on these ingredients or your favorite personal care products. Natural Health Information Centre and Skin Deep.

Now for a recipe to avoid all those unnecessary chemicals and it is far less expensive - a win-win situation to me!

Once again I cannot take full credit for the recipe. I got it from Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking. It's only ingredients are coconut oil, baking soda and cornstarch. (You can find aluminum-free baking soda at most stores. Usually the Rumford brand is ok.) I saved an old solid deodorant container and washed it out real good and put the homemade stuff in it. I must say, I was skeptical at first, but it honestly works well! No odors, no sweaty pits! I am anxious to see how well it works this summer when I am working outdoors and REALLY sweating. That will be its true test for me. The only thing I have found that I didn't like, is that if your shirt is a bit snug in the armpit area, the coconut oil can leave a residue on your shirt. Not so attractive. Makes it look like your not wearing deodorant! But if you wear loose clothing, no worries! (side note: the residue does wash out - nothing permanent)

Give it a try - I dare you! :)

Make Your Own ... Dish Soap

Another project I tackled last month!

Found a good recipe for Old Fashioned Dish Soap at Laura Williams Musings blog.

After some research on the different bar soaps, I decided to use Octagon bar soap. Of course, I couldn't find it locally. So I ordered some from Soaps Gone Buy.

I must say, it was sooo easy to make and it works really well! The only thing about using soap like this, it does not suds up like the commercial dish soap does. Once you get over that, it is great!

I bought the Octagon for 99 cents and it made 1 gallon of dish soap - not too bad!

I did try to add essential oils to the soap, but it has enough of a scent to it I couldn't get it to change much. The scent was good, I just wanted orange smelling dish soap!

Now that I make my own laundry detergent and dish soap, I think it's time to learn to make my own bar soap for these recipes and for personal use! Maybe next winter...

Make Your Own...Pepperoni

Over the winter, there were a few things I had wanted to learn to make myself. Pepperoni being one of them. I found this great recipe at Tammy's Recipes - Tammy's Spicy Pepperoni. It is really good. I have used it on pizza and in pasta so far. It is also so simple to make. If you can make meatloaf, you can make pepperoni!
I was able to find all the ingredients locally except for the TenderQuick. I ordered that from Leener's. Leener's is an Ohio company that sells alot of cool make it yourself kits. On Tammy's website, there were several people who commented that they used regular salt instead of the TenderQuick. Sounds like it may be worth a try just to avoid the nitrates. Regardless, this pepperoni tastes like the real thing and you can make it so much cheaper and healthier than that store bought stuff!

2010 Garden Changes

Every year I keep a running list of what I want to change for the next years garden. Here is what I have compiled to far.

Need to grow more potatoes, corn and garlic
Grow less tomatoes
Try pickles again
Keep the amount of carrots about the same
Get a few more raspberry and blueberry plants started
Fill in the dead spots of the strawberry patch
No popcorn
Keep the amount of greenbeans the same
No peas needed
Do more herbs: mints, bay, cumin, echinacea
See if we can start some grapes or apples
Keep onions about the same
Do some landscaping in the front yard
Do less canning this year - I hate to do that, but with a newborn and a 2 year old in tow, I don't know how much I will be able to do this year. Thank goodness for the bumper crop of tomatoes last year!

Edited to add: We will not be doing potatoes in tires this year. They do grow well that way if they are kept well watered. We won't be doing it that way because I need to be able to handle the harvesting by myself. The tires are too large and heavy for my 5'1" petite frame to handle without injuring myself! I can't always count on my husband to be able to help me. Afterall, he works full time plus helps run his family's farm.

Updated - Finally!

I have finally updated the garden and food preservation lists to the right. Sorry for the long wait!