Homemade Natural Laundry Soap

Here's the recipe for the natural laundry soap I promised!

2 Cups Baking Soda

2 Cups Borax

2 Cups Castile Soap (Powdered)

20 Drops Lavender Essential Oil

20 Drops Orange Essential Oil

Add the essential oils a little at a time to the baking soda, mixing well.  You can use a pastry blender if you like.  Then combine all other ingredients and mix well.  Store in a jar with a tight fitting lid. 

To use:  Measure out 1/2 - 3/4 cups per load.

Enjoy the cleaning power and fresh scent of this easy to make natural laundry soap!

Summer's End: Tomato Pie

Hooboy, it's true what they say...the older you get, the faster time flies!

  Seems like we were just picking the first squash and beans last week!  Now, with August just around the corner, that school bell will be ringing before we know it (we go back August 15 here in Pensacola)! 

 As summer begins to wind down, so does the summer garden.  Not much left of the tomatoes; just some struggling green ones and a few red ones picked earlier and stored in the refrigerator.  Not really enough to put up. 

So, what to do with the late stragglers?  Why, make a Tomato Pie, of course!

I don't really have this recipe written down, just sort of rattles around in my head when I see green tomatoes.  So, I'll try to piece together a recipe like I piece together the pie, just adding whatever sounds good at the time!

Of course, you have to start with fresh red and green tomatoes.  Throw in some onions, too.

Don't forget green bell peppers (and red if you have them on hand).

You'll also need some shredded cheese and two deep-dish  pie crusts (I cheated on the pie crust..got store-bought). 

 That's about it for the ingredients, unless you can think of something else you want to add, like maybe some eggplant or squash.  You probably would have to make it in a 9 X 13 dish (and more pie crust)  for that many vegetables.  But for this pie, we'll just stick to the main ingredients and make a round pie.

Slice and layer the green tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers.  Sprinkle on some shredded cheese (I use "Seriously Sharp").  Also, I chopped the bell peppers because there's not a lot of  room in that round pie crust.

Now, slice and layer the red tomatoes, more onions, bell peppers, and additional cheese if desired.

Oh man, I'm getting hungry.

Place top crust on pie and crimp edges.  Bake in 350 degrees oven roughly 40-45 minutes, checking it toward the end so as not to burn the crust. 

Serve with a salad, some of those homemade wheat rolls, southern sweet tea, and you've got some mighty fine eating ahead!

Using those last tomatoes to make a tomato pie is like putting the period at the end of summer...make that an explanation point!

Stay tuned for more recipes for fall...Buttermilk Pie, Amish Cinnamon Coffee Cake...

Home Canning: It's a Family Tradition

The first several weeks in June are always filled with puttin' up vegetables.  As far back as I can remember, we picked, snapped, and canned green beans in June, as well as froze squash.  My mother did it, as did my grandmother before her.  It is a family tradition, one of those special family activities that is passed down from generation to generation. 
 Until my children.  For years, neither of them showed any signs of interest in planting a bean, much less canning one.  Finally, a year or two ago my daughter decided she wanted to try vegetable gardening, and she even froze some of her green beans.  As for my son, as long as I plant the tomatoes at his house, he will water them (and eat them).  So, a glimmer of hope arose on the horizon. 
This year brought a nice surprise.  Glory of glories, my daughter announced that she wanted to learn how to can her beans (didn't like those frozen ones!).  Well, do you think I was one to stand in her way?  Bring it on, I said!  I went all out and even created a "Canning Frolic" invitation:

We had a wonderful time canning beans for Shelly and us!  Little Lillie (our little Mother's Helper) got in the act too.  Lanie was there, but she stayed out of the kitchen!   Will have to work on her...

Lillie is very serious about her work.

We started with clean jars.

And of course beans.

Washed and snapped (on this canning day, we had so many, I cheated a little and cut some of them).

Got our water boiling to add to the jars.

Simmered the lids.

Raw-packed the jars (meaning we didn't cook or blanch the beans).

Added the boiling water.

Hubby tightly screwed on the lids.

Put the beans in the caner. 

We do the actual canning outside on the camp burner since we can't regulate the temperature as easily with the electric stove in the house.  We've had this caner over 20 years, but she's still puttin out the steam!

And there we have it!  A beginning to our winter's food supply AND a beginning to "passing the torch" of our Food Preservation Family Tradition!

 

As American as Apple Pie and Aprons

My daughter has been taking a cake decorating class this summer, and one of the items needed for the class was an apron.  Glory be!  I collected aprons for years, but a few years ago I decided I needed to actually move around  in my sewing room, so I began to clean out and sell some collectibles, old aprons being among them.  I did manage to keep a few that were too dear to my heart to part with.  Anyway, I was  tickled pink to know my daughter was going to be wearing an apron, and she was willing to wear one of my old ones (eek!  could I part with it?).  But I thought it was time she had a brand new one all her own!  So we found some material and went to work sewing.  We had to add the bib to the half apron because the pattern didn't have one.  This is what we came up with:

We later added some big red ric-rac between the skirt and ruffle.

We also made the babies each a little half apron, because they sure love to help Mom and Grammy cook!
                                     

Oh how aprons bring back the memories!  There's just something so homey about an old apron, so much history in a little piece of cloth.  My sister sent me this little "apron story," and as I read it, the memories of my grandmother started flooding my mind.  They could have written this story about her! 

The History of Aprons

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.  The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few.  It was  easier to wash aprons than dresses, and aprons used less material.  But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.  It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion, was even used for cleaning out dirty ears. 

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.  And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her  arms (when the weather was hot, it was used as a fan).  Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.  From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.  After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the summer, the apron was used to bring in peaches that were ripe on the trees. 

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.

As we celebrate our country's independence, let's also remember all the Grandmas out there who worked hard alongside the men to help make this country great; who doled out strength, understanding, love, and spiritual guidance (and many of those scrumptious apple pies)  from behind those work-worn pieces of cloth. 

I'm sure most "baby-boomers" have a picture in their mind of someone they love wearing one of those simple little coverings.  If the memories come and you have a minute, won't you share your favorite apron memory with us?