Homemade Pickles from Garden Cucumbers

Making your own pickles is a relatively simple process, made even easier with help from a "Mrs. Wages - Dill Pickle Mix".

I started out with a sink full of cucumbers picked fresh from our garden.

I then cut them up into the sizes and shapes that I wanted. Some jars have spear pickles, others are whole pickles, and the remaining are pickle slices.

I then prepared the mix by following the package directions, pour the hot mix over my cucumber pieces, capped the jars, and processed in a hot water bath. The end result was 14 pints of freshly made pickles! Thirteen pints went into the cupboard, and one pint went directly into the refrigerator for use.

If you've never canned anything before, pickles are a quick and easy way to learn!

Supplies needed to make your own pickles:

9-11 lbs of cucumbers (the small pickling kinds work best, as their name implies)
Vinegar
Water
Pickle mix
Canning jars, lids, and rings
Canning pot
Lid Lifter (not necessary, but very helpful) - I have used a fork to lift the lids before, and it works, but the lid lifter works better
Jar grabber (not necessary, but very helpful) - You could also use tongs, but the hot jars are mush more easily handled with the grabber designed for the job

Make Your Own Deodorant

Did you know that you can make your own deodorant?  It's one of those things that I have never really thought about making myself, it's not overly expensive to buy, and it's readily available.  However, when I stumbled upon this recipe online, it seemed so simple that I had to try it!  I already had all of the ingredients, so there was nothing to stop me (aside from the fear that it wouldn't work, and I would have to endure a day of being a stinky mess!).

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
5-6 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil
1/8 Cup of Arrow Root Powder
1/8 Cup of Corn Starch
1/4 Cup of Baking Soda
Several Drops of Bergamot Essential Oil (for scent)

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the powders.  Add in the coconut oil, and mix to form a thick paste.  Add several drops of essential oil, until you've reached the scent level that you want.  Store in an air tight container.

To use: Simply scoop out a small amount and apply to your underarms.  If you have any remaining on your hands you can simply rub it into your skin as a lotion.

If you don't have Bergamot essential oil, you could use your favorite essential oil scent in place of it. Personally, I would probably forego the essential oil next time I make it, the coconut oil already gives it a light coconut scent on its own.

Admittedly, I was hesitant to try this out; who wants to spend a day stinking up the office in the event that this homemade concoction fails?!?! I mixed it up on a Thursday evening with the intention of trying it out over the weekend when the only people that would be witness to any offensive smells would be my loved ones. Friday morning, as I was preparing to go to work, the little jar of homemade deodorant was calling my name. Casting my hesitations aside, I tried it out (on a workday!). Having little confidence in the efficacy of this DIY deodorant, I tossed my regular deodorant into my work bag just in case I needed it.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well it actually worked! It worked just as well, if not better than my store bought deodorant, and it was entirely all natural! That was it, I was hooked!

My family was on vacation the following week, and I packed my little jar of deodorant, and again the back up store bought deodorant. I never once had to use the store bought stick, my homemade stuff served me well, even in the heat of the summer!

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Make Your Own Almond Butter

A friend of mine posted this picture on Facebook, and I wondered, "Could it REALLY be THAT easy?" While I was out grocery shopping, I bought some almonds with the sole purpose of trying this!

According to the picture, all I would need was a food processor, and some almonds. Easy enough, so that's how I started. I simply dumped 2 cups of whole almonds into the food processor, and turned it on.

After 5 minutes it looked like this:

There wasn't much change after 10 minutes...

After 15 minutes of spinning around in the food processor, it started to turn into a grainy paste...

After 20 minutes the magic started to happen!! The ground almonds were suddenly turning into something that resembled almond butter!!

After 25 minutes, the almonds became ALMOND BUTTER!! A taste test revealed that this almond butter was lacking something (my daughter agreed), so we added less than a teaspoon of sugar, and it was perfect!

We poured the almond butter into a mason jar, and we were finished. Two cups of almonds yeilded about 8 ounces of almond butter.

Next time I do this, I'll warm the almonds in the oven a little bit before starting. I've read that warming the almonds helps to speed up the almond to almond butter process. My food processor is rather antiquated, so it may not be an issue with newer machines; however, I kept stopping the food processor, and stirring the almonds around with a spoon for fear that the motor on the food processor would burn out.

Overall, I declare this a HUGE SUCCESS!!

What To Do With All That Rhubarb?

I came to the sudden realization today, that I haven't done anything with the rhubarb growing in our backyard yet this year!  We've only been growing it for the past couple of years, and my rhubarb recipes to date have been limited to ONE.  Unfortunately, our rhubarb stalks were quite spindly this year, but that didn't stop me from trying out a new recipe!  I wish I had taken a picture of the end result, but by the time I thought of it, the confection had been reduced to mere crumbs by my family.

Alas, here's the recipe that we tried, and LOVED!

Rhubarb Bars

Ingredients:
1 c. flour
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. butter

Filling:

1 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. finely chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb

Procedure:
Combine flour & powdered sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into the bottom of a greased 11-inch x 7-inch x 2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. For filling, combine first four ingredients. Stir in rhubarb; pour over warm crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm if desired. Store in refrigerator.


My family LOVED this recipe!