Do You Have Any Tissues?

Tis the Season! Although the stores have already declared it to be the Holiday Season, the season I'm talking about is Cold Season. You know, the "there's a nasty bug going around," "you're sick too? I was sick all last week and now my kids are sick," and of course the various versions of the flu that seem to be circling that hungry vultures .. just waiting for you to collapse so they can swarm in.

So, we notice that with the start of this season comes the shopping and preparations that are similar to the Holiday Season, but just a little different. A warm-up course perhaps? hahaha

I posted on www.mamataneyskitchen.blogspot.com about making some Garlic Honey to help out. Honey truly is golden this time of year. And I am getting ready to order Elderberries for making syrup, another must-have for Flu Season. But .. there is something else that isn't medicinal, but is vital. Tissues.


~oh .. Earth Friendly~

Being the frugal, tree-hugging, barefoot (yes, it is not even 50 degrees out and I'm barefoot .. that's another story), crunchy kinda mama that I am, I decided that I'd had enough of store-bought tissues this year. 1)Recycled tissues just are NOT as soft as the other options. 2)Softness is KEY when you're blowing your nose repeatedly. 3)Eco-Friendly store-bought alternatives are also WAY more expensive, something that is a BIG issue. 4)I found a cool alternative.

We were cleaning out our attic for the weatherization that was going on, and I found a box of old towels. You know, those ones that just get softer and softer with age. The ones that they just don't seem to make anymore .. unless you maybe spend a small fortune on towels? Anyway, I didn't really NEED these towels though. We have our towels. So .. what to do. And .. then .. inspiration struck.


~Inspiration struck - a homemade tissue~

I got out a pair of pinking shears and began folding and cutting. This was really easy to do, and in fact I did it while sitting on the front porch of our neighbor's house, while all the kids played in the sandbox. (Since when does work like this need to be hidden away?)

The result from one old, soft towel was an empty diaper wipe container full of homemade tissues. Using the pinking shears meant I didn't have to worry about hemming the edges and fraying. I also gathered up some old baby washcloths, and toseed those in the container too. I wrote on the lid (as you can see in the top photo) what was in the wipe container - both so our kids would know and so that guests would understand.


~the finished product, ready for use~

For "what to do" with the used tissues, the answer was just as simple. I had found a package of clothespins that had a hanger top when cleaning out the attic and put one to use here, holding an old pillowcase. You can easily rig up something that would do the same job. Used tissues go in the pillowcase. When we need to wash them, they get the rare priviledge of being washed on HOT water. Most things don't really need hot water, but for obvious reasons, go with hot hear. To dry them, it would be best to line-dry in the sun. The sunlight will help kill any residual germs that might be lingering about. If not, just toss them in the dryer on a high-heat setting. You can also add some Eucalyptus essential oil to a rag and toss it in there with them for the last 5-10 minutes of drying. This will give them a nice scent as well as help kill germs. Another good essential oil for this would be Tea Tree Oil.

And, there you go. TA DA!! We have discovered handkerchiefs!! Here is a little fun history from wikipedia: A "handkerchief" or "hanky" primarily refers to a napkin made of cloth, used to dab away perspiration, clear the nostrils, or, in Victorian times, as a means of flirtation. A woman could intentionally drop a dainty square of lacy or embroidered fabric to give a favored man a chance to pick it up as an excuse to speak to her while returning it. Handkerchiefs were sometimes scented to be used like a nosegay or tussy-mussy, a way of protecting those who could afford them from the obnoxious scents in the street.

Re-using, re-purposing, re-cycling, and saving some money in the process .. does it getter better or smarter?

Failed Sour Cream & Real Butter

Not all attempts work the first time we try them, but it is only more encouragement to keep trying! A beautiful example: This was our first attempt at making sour cream. We used our raw milk, or rather the cream from it, and cooked it for a bit, then blended in some of our (traditional) buttermilk. This is it, sitting out to age. It tasted different than store-bought, that was to be expected. What wasn't to be expected was that it never thickened up like we had hoped. Hmmmmm. A dilemma to be sure! But, all was not lost ~ RANCH DRESSING PACKETS TO THE RESCUE!!! And, viola, we made a beautiful, homemade, raw ranch dressing. The taste truly was amazing.

And now, here's something we hope you'll really like: REAL BUTTER!!
On the left you will see a partial stick of butter. I bought it at our local Co-op, and while not organic, it really is a very good quality butter from a respectable creamery. On the right, my homemade butter, made from the cream of our delicious, Jersey-cow, pasture-raised, raw milk. Historically speaking, one could always tell the quality of the butter by just how yellow it was. Any questions?
Ok, I think I heard one - how do you make butter?? Well, it is a merciless sport to be sure! First, start with raw milk and seperate out the cream into another container (I use a 1/3 measuring cup for this). The cream is thick and heavy, when it gets watery looking you're not getting cream! Once you've got your cream, well, here is what I do: 1) I pour it into my KitchenAid mixer and attach my whisk attachment. 2) Start to whipping the daylights out of the cream. Here is where you show no mercy!! ;) 3) You're cream will soon become whipped cream (yes, this is where it comes from) ... but don't get too excited!! ~ Be mean & cruel and keep whipping that cream till it breaks down! Don't give up, you're almost there! 4) Soon, you will have mastered the cream (hee hee) and it will suddenly begin to split ~ with the butter beginning to clump together & buttermilk shooting out. 5) When I say "shooting out" I mean it, so turn down your mixers! 6) Drain off the buttermilk - you want to get as much of it out of your butter as you can. Sometimes if I plan on adding ingredients, I will attach the paddle attachment here. Save the buttermilk, it is great in recipes! 7) Now that you've gotten the buttermilk out, you can add any extra ingredients to your butter that you'd like: salt, honey, garlic (though I wouldn't advise the honey and garlic together, but you may be weird like that and if you are - go for it, I won't judge!), strawberries, various herbs and so on. 8) I like using little metal molds for my butter as they freeze well and it is very easy to pop the butter back out once frozen.
So, there you go, how to make butter. *Note - if you have buttermilk left in the butter it will increase the rate at which it spoils. I've never had any butter that lasted long enough without being eaten to go bad! Now, go find yourself a nice cow and get to milkin'!!