Calendula - Son may have Tourette's

[calendula]

Well, this weekend was spent grating soap (my arm is really sore ), starting seeds for the garden, and taking care of my sick son.

I experimented with making soap out of suet becuase I had a lot of it (I like to make treats for the birds), but it turned out hard and crumbly, so I decided to grate it. Not sure what I'll use the soap flakes for though. Maybe I could make laundry detergent.

I have some watermelons and lettuce seeds started, and will start more this week. We have big plans for our garden this year; we are going to expand it and also dig up new gardens for the kids so they can grow whatever they want. Gardening is a skill I'd really like to teach them, and they are super excited about having their own gardens.

My youngest son is 6, and was sick all weekend (how unfair, he didn't even get to miss school ). I did find out something interesting while he was sick though. He was complaining of a bad headache and crying. So, I consulted my many books on the medicinal uses of herbs. I found that fennel is supposed to be good for headaches (but used sparingly since it can cause problems if used for prolonged periods). So I brewed some fennel tea for him to drink. I also added a couple drops of fennel essential oil to some vanilla infused olive oil I made. I rubbed it on his temples, back, chest, and feet. Within 5 minutes of this, he was sleeping soundly. I'm not sure if it was the fennel, or just the extra attention from Mom, but he did pretty well the rest of the afternoon.

 

[Marianne]

Naturally, being Wisconsin cheese heads, our family loves cheese! I have experimented a little in the past with making my own cheese. The first time I made cheese it was using a recipe from the book "The Idiots Guide to Self Sufficient Living" by JD Belanger. It is a simple recipe using milk and vinegar, and makes a soft, bland cheese. It was easy to make, and I put it in the sauce for some Fettucini Alfredo I made (I even made my own noodles!) and it was very good!
...

Do you have that cheese recipe posted somewhere? The only 'cheese' that I have made is just draining whey from yogurt, the old Mediterranean way - just a soft cream cheese.

 

[calendula]

I don't have it posted any where yet; I will have to find that recipe and put it up later. It's really simple.

I did find this recipe. I think it is pretty much the same one I used:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5477354_easily-make-cheese-vinegar.html

 

[Marianne]

Oh ok! I have a recipe somewhere called pantry ricotta, I think. Instead of whole milk, you mixed up some dry nonfat milk and added the vinegar, etc. I used it one time when I didn't have cottage cheese that I usually put in lasagna. It was okay, but nothing to write about.

I bet using regular milk would make it a lot better! Did you end up with a cottage cheese type looking product, or something that was more firm?

 

[calendula]

Well, once it had curds, I strained it through cheese cloth and hung it from my cabinet door above the kitchen sink. This allowed the cheese to drain, so what you are left with is a soft white cheese, sort of like a cream cheese in texture, but a bit more crumbly. I salted mine to give it a bit more flavor, and then I put it in the fridge over night in a colander. I put a plate on top with a heavy jar on it to squeeze out even more liquid (and a bowl underneath the colander to catch the drippings). The next day, it was still pretty soft, but not like cottage cheese, still more like cream cheese I would say. I used it in alfredo sauce and it melted down nicely. Its not the most delicious cheese I've ever eaten, but heck I made it myself, so it was pretty satisfying

 

[Marianne]

Its not the most delicious cheese I've ever eaten, but heck I made it myself, so it was pretty satisfying

I know that feeling!

 

[calendula]

It rained yesterday, and that melted a lot of snow. My yard is quite hazardous now--big ice patches intermixed with sloppy mud puddles. Ah, the joys of spring.

Let's see, what SS stuff did I do over the weekend...I took some of the soap I grated last week and disolved it in water and a little vegetable glycerine to make liquid soap. I have been using it as a body wash in the shower. It works out pretty nice. I like using a loofah with liquid soap better than bar soap.

My MIL invited me to sell my soap in her antique shop, so I am very excited for this opportunity! I have the bars ready, and I am now working on designing bands to wrap around the bars. I made my own paper out of brocolli stem pulp and papers in our recycling bin. It turned out a nice pink shade that will look pretty on the soaps, so now I just need to figure out how I can print on them. I don't really want to do it all by hand, but I am not sure if homemade paper will work well in the printer. Its a bit thicker than regular paper. Sometime this week I am going to experiment with making paper out of pineapple tops.

 

[Marianne]

My MIL invited me to sell my soap in her antique shop, so I am very excited for this opportunity! I have the bars ready, and I am now working on designing bands to wrap around the bars. I made my own paper out of brocolli stem pulp and papers in our recycling bin. It turned out a nice pink shade that will look pretty on the soaps, so now I just need to figure out how I can print on them. I don't really want to do it all by hand, but I am not sure if homemade paper will work well in the printer. Its a bit thicker than regular paper. Sometime this week I am going to experiment with making paper out of pineapple tops.

Now, how did you get pink from the broccoli stem??? Not that I would have any hanging around here, I peel it and chow it down.

I played around with paper making years ago, what fun!

 

[calendula]

My MIL invited me to sell my soap in her antique shop, so I am very excited for this opportunity! I have the bars ready, and I am now working on designing bands to wrap around the bars. I made my own paper out of brocolli stem pulp and papers in our recycling bin. It turned out a nice pink shade that will look pretty on the soaps, so now I just need to figure out how I can print on them. I don't really want to do it all by hand, but I am not sure if homemade paper will work well in the printer. Its a bit thicker than regular paper. Sometime this week I am going to experiment with making paper out of pineapple tops.

Now, how did you get pink from the broccoli stem??? Not that I would have any hanging around here, I peel it and chow it down.

I played around with paper making years ago, what fun!

Actually, I think the pink came from some of the recycled paper that I used. If I would have used plain white paper w/ no coloring on it, I bet I would have gotten different results. There wasn't much color on the paper I used, so I was pretty surprised at the pink color I got though! It looks pretty pink with green flecks in it from the broccoli.

 

[Rhettsgreygal]

It rained yesterday, and that melted a lot of snow. My yard is quite hazardous now--big ice patches intermixed with sloppy mud puddles. Ah, the joys of spring.

Let's see, what SS stuff did I do over the weekend...I took some of the soap I grated last week and disolved it in water and a little vegetable glycerine to make liquid soap. I have been using it as a body wash in the shower. It works out pretty nice. I like using a loofah with liquid soap better than bar soap.

My MIL invited me to sell my soap in her antique shop, so I am very excited for this opportunity! I have the bars ready, and I am now working on designing bands to wrap around the bars. I made my own paper out of brocolli stem pulp and papers in our recycling bin. It turned out a nice pink shade that will look pretty on the soaps, so now I just need to figure out how I can print on them. I don't really want to do it all by hand, but I am not sure if homemade paper will work well in the printer. Its a bit thicker than regular paper. Sometime this week I am going to experiment with making paper out of pineapple tops.

Could you just cut bands from your homemade paper and print labels on label stickers that would also keep the bands wrapped around the soap?