Time To Dry Your Hydrangea Blossoms

The last two days in Princeton, Wisconsin are a sharp contrast to the hot temperatures we had earlier this week.  It is very cold and tonight we have a chance of frost.  In case this happens, I have gathered my inside plants that I have outside.  I don't want to bring them inside yet, so I am going to cover the bunch with a blanket and hope for the best.  I hope it doesn't freeze yet.  It is way too early.  One of the reasons besides the obvious, is that I save some of the hydrangea blooms and dry them.  They have to be cut after the growing season but before a frost.  If it freezes the blossoms freeze, and they don't dry properly.  Today I cut a few just in case.  This is my process for drying them.  Some people tie the stems together and hang upside down until dry.  I don't do that.

This Hydrangea is getting the fall blush.  I hope these are ready to cut, and not too early. 

Fill a vase 3/4 full of water and cut the flowers.

Strip the leaves off the stems and place into the vase of water.

The flowers should be put into water immediately after cutting.  This allows the water to be pulled up into the stem just like any cut flower.  The difference is that the flower doesn't wilt.  Just leave the bouquet in the water until all the water evaporates.  At this time the Hydrangea has begun to dry.  It does turn light brown, but once dry they last for years.  I have never done this, but I have heard that you can color the water, and the dried flowers will have that color in the blossoms.

These dried hydrangea's are several years old.  They still have the slight pink blush.

This is what happens if you pick the blossoms too soon.  They shrivel up and don't dry properly.

If it doesn't freeze tonight, I will cut some more or wait until next year to collect more.  There are a lot of ways to decorate with dried Hydrangea.  Some years I decorate my Christmas tree with some of the dried blossoms.  If you have some or have access to them, give it a try.  It's free, it's pretty and it's fun.

Update Of My Kefir Miracle

Today's blog is going to be an update of a post I wrote when I first started to write my blog in December of 2012.  It was called the Miracle of Kefir.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2012/12/the-miracle-of-kefir.html

If you read the first blog, I mentioned what kefir is, how wonderful it is and how it returned me to health after cancer treatment in 2006/2007.  Well, this spring something happened to the kefir grains I had.  My grains were over 6 years old, and they started to die off.  I tried to keep them going.  They still made kefir but the quality was poor and the grains quit growing.  All summer I tried to revive them.  I finally gave in and ordered new grains from a wonderful source called the kefirlady.  I was familiar with her because I followed her yahoo group for many years.  www.kefirlady.com  I learned from the literature she sent that I was killing my grains in two ways.  First, I was stirring with a silicone spatula.  Silicone kills the kefir.  I had never heard that before.  I also was not using enough milk in ratio to the grains.  I was starving my kefir grains by not giving them enough to eat.  I was thinking the more grains the better.  That was not true.  The kefirlady, Marilyn, raises goats and makes her milk kefir from goat milk, but her grains work perfectly fine in regular store bought milk as long as the milk isn't ultra pasteurized.  Some people were concerned that the grains would be "goaty".  Once a couple batches are made, there is no detectable goat flavor.

Finished batch of fresh kefir.

In case anyone is interested, the kefirlady also sells water kefir and kombucha.  I made water kefir in addition to milk kefir for a long time, but I found they reproduced so fast we couldn't possibly keep up.  They are different from milk kefir grains in that they grow in sugar water.  The grains use up the sugar in the water and make a fizzy drink that is slightly sweet.   It can be flavored with juices.  I often added grape juice but if left to ferment too long, it tasted a little like sweet wine.   It has good beneficial properties with probiotics just as the milk kefir does.  Kombucha is similar but the water kefir contains a greater number of good bacteria.  Good bacteria helps us to digest our food, helps with allergies and boosts our immune system.  I got this explanation of milk kefir benefits from http://www.kefir.net/nutritional-content-of-kefir/

 "In addition to beneficial bacteria and yeast, kefir contains minerals and essential amino acids that help the body with healing and maintenance functions. The complete proteins in kefir are partially digested and therefore more easily utilized by the body. Tryptophan, one of the essential amino acids abundant in kefir, is well known for its relaxing effect on the nervous system. Because kefir also offers an abundance of calcium and magnesium, which are also important minerals for a healthy nervous system, kefir in the diet can have a particularly profound calming effect on the nerves.
Kefir’s ample supply of phosphorus, the second most abundant mineral in our bodies, helps utilize carbohydrates, fats, and proteins for cell growth, maintenance and energy.
Kefir is rich in Vitamin B12, B1, and Vitamin K. It is an excellent source of biotin, a B Vitamin which aids the body’s assimilation of other B Vitamins, such as folic acid, pantothenic acid, and B12. The numerous benefits of maintaining adequate B vitamin intake range from regulation of the kidneys, liver and nervous system to helping relieve skin disorders, boost energy and promote longevity."

Hopefully I will be able to keep my new grains for a long time, and I will have plenty to share.

Lemon Bars

Recently my sister reminded me of a recipe we used to make.  She got this recipe when she worked and lived in Stoughton, Wisconsin.  That was probably more than twenty five years ago. The recipe has been around for a long time, but I haven't made them in many years.  I don't know why, they are so good and go together very quickly.  It is a very easy recipe that doesn't need a mixer.

Lemon Bars

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Cut the butter into the flour and powdered sugar just like with pie crust.   Pat it into a 8 x 8 inch pan.
Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Filling:
2 eggs
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Mix with a fork until blended.  Put filling over the crust while the crust is still hot.  Bake for another 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  When done, sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Cut while still warm.

Fall is on the Horizon

 Fall is nearly here in spite of the warm temperatures we had today.  It was a beautiful day, but there are signs everywhere.   Here are just a few of the pictures I took today that proves fall is just around the corner. 

The corn fields are getting ready to harvest.

The corn tassels.

Ears of field corn drying up.

Lots of bees on the sedum.

Pumpkin

Another pumpkin

Lots of tomatoes, too many to eat.

Wooly Caterpillar

Blush on the hydrangea

Jack in the Pulpit berries

My Throw Back Thursday Family Vacation

Since the trend right now is TBT (Throw Back Thursday), I thought I would take a trip down memory lane.  In 1957 I moved to Stoughton, Wisconsin with my family.  My dad was transferred there with his company from Black River Falls, Wisconsin.  Back then the company was called Nelson Muffler Company.  I was in fourth grade at West Side school.  It was a little bit traumatic for me.  We had moved a few times during my young years, and I wasn't looking forward to adjusting again.  First of all, Stoughton 4th graders had already mastered their nines in multiplication.  I hadn't gotten that far.   These days I think they do multiplication in first grade.  The most traumatic experience of all was Syttende Mai.  No one in my family had heard of such a celebration.  Stoughton is a community with a lot of Norwegian descendants.  They celebrate the day Norway declared its independence.  Syttende Mai means 17th of May.  We moved in February so I was thrust into training for the big celebration.  My mom had to come up with a costume, and I had to do a Norwegian dance with my class.  I had to dance with strangers.

I survived and my outfit was acceptable.

The following years in Stoughton were good, and we became used to our new town.  We lived across the street from some wonderful people.  My parents became very good friends with them.  They owned a resort on Lost Lake near St. Germain/Eagle River, Wisconsin.  The wife and children would spend the summer running this resort and the husband would come up every weekend after work.  We began going there for our summer vacation every year.  We made some wonderful memories.  We fished, we played softball, we rode horses and played in the water.

One of the rustic cabins.  I think they had twenty cabins to rent out.

Every morning we would travel to the other side of the lake to play softball with another resort.  All ages and all abilities were welcome.  Across from the ball diamond was a horse stable.  We rode horses a few times.  It was different back then and there were no digital cameras.  Very few pictures were taken.  I found this one of the family holding a pet raccoon they had at the horse stable.

Oh look at the fancy white socks.

We didn't have a lot of money for vacations so during that week (sometimes two weeks) we ate a lot of fish that we caught.  I remember late at night mom would be frying fish and potatoes.

I can still bait a hook, clean a fish and row a boat to this day.  One time I caught a 24 inch Northern Pike on a cane pole.  It broke the pole so I reached in and landed the fish anyway.  I never liked eating those fish because of all the bones.  We don't fish and my daughters have no idea how to catch a fish, but it is one of my wonderful childhood memories.

The last picture I am posting is of me and my sister.  It was taken much earlier than our St. Germain vacations.  I just thought it was so cute, I had to include it.  I guess most of our vacations included lakes and fishing.  Maybe that is why I ended up living in a log cabin and enjoying nature everyday.

Pumpkin Pancakes and Crockpot Pumpkin Bread

Last Tuesday I wrote about our grandchildren camping at our house, and how we made Hobo Steak.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/08/the-hobo-steak-and-camping-experience.html

The next morning when it was time for breakfast, I made Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes.  If you like high gluten, cakey pancakes, these won't be for you.  They weren't really for me either, but my grandchildren really like them.  It is what my daughter makes, and that is what they are used to eating.

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes

4 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin
2 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
Optional:  1-2 Tablespoon coconut flour

Whisk the eggs with the canned pumpkin and vanilla.  Stir in the pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and baking soda.  Melt the butter or coconut oil and mix into the batter.  Grease the skillet and spoon the batter onto the skillet.  When bubbles form, flip the pancakes and finish cooking.

Pumpkin pancakes with real Maple Syrup

I had some canned pumpkin left over in the refrigerator from this pancake recipe.  I debated if I should throw it away or make something else with it.  I decided to make Crockpot Pumpkin Bread.  I posted a recipe for Crockpot Banana Bread several months ago.
 http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/12/crockpot-banana-bread.html

I used the same procedure for baking in the crockpot for this recipe.  

Crockpot Pumpkin Bread

3/4 cup canned pumpkin
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup of chocolate chips.

In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin and cream cheese.  Mix in the eggs, butter, and sugar.  Then add the flour, baking soda and cinnamon.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spray the bottom of the slow cooker or the crockpot baking pan.  Pour the batter into it.

Cover and cook on High for 3 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool and slice.

Pumpkin bread cooling on a plate.

Can be eaten with butter, whipped cream or plain.

Update on Whooping Cranes, Deer and Other Stuff

There isn't much going on these days.  Summer is coming to an end and our grandkids are going back to school tomorrow.  The Baltimore Orioles are still here.  They are busy eating a lot of grape jelly in preparation for there long migration.  The hummingbirds are fighting and competing for nectar from the feeders and flowers.

 

The Trumpet Vines have taken over the flower garden again.  I wrote about how invasive these plants are even though they are beautiful in a controlled situation.  The Hummingbirds love them.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/07/the-invasive-trumpet-vine.html 

We tried to dig out the roots of the trumpet vine but they came back with a vengence.  I don't know how we are going to handle this situation without killing the other plants in the garden.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/04/cleaning-up-trumpet-vines.html 

The trail camera has had the usual sightings with one exception.  We have a buck come every night with a very unusual rack.  One antler is perfectly formed and the other is malformed.  It is curved.  This ugly set of antlers may save this deer during hunting season.  A lot of hunters only hunt for trophy deer and not for the meat.

 For those of you who have read this blog, you are familiar with a doe we call Limpy.  I thought she might have had a fawn this spring, but she has been showing up alone.  Her hind leg has atrophied to a skinny little leg, but she manages to get around just fine.

Limpy may not have fawned this year, but our other two girls both had fawns.  One had twins.  Their fawns spots are almost gone, but it looks like they all made it through the summer.

Did you know a baby fawn pees like a dog?  I guess, how else would it do it.

The Sandhill cranes are being really really noisy.  More and more are showing up although it will be at least a month or more before they decide to leave for the winter.  We have the training ground for the new class of Whooping Cranes about three miles from our house.  I'm still hoping to see some show up in our marsh.  Yesterday we heard that six from last years class and two from 2012 showed up at the training grounds, so I know they are in the area.  Every time I see a white bird, I get the binoculars.  It is always an Egret, but you never know.  We have perfect conditions for them to visit.  Princeton Wisconsin will be the location for the Whooping Crane Festival this year.  

 

I have written about the Whooping Cranes many times.  You can use the search box to read those stories.  They are so beautiful, and it is so interesting to follow the progress of them from hatching to their migration to Florida.  You can follow them in a blog written by the people of Operation Migration.  Then at the end of September you can follow the long migration to Florida with the help of the ultralight aircraft.

http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/ 

Norwex and E-cloths My New Favorites

I write about house cleaning products often.  You would think I would have the cleanest house around.  I do NOT.  I often post concoctions for cleaning.  Most of them work quite well and use a combination of vinegar and baking soda.  The trick is that a lot of things work well, but you have to use them.  That is why I'm always looking for an easier way.  The two things I still have trouble with is windows and the grease splatters on my black gas stove.  I now have the answer.  The initial investment is expensive, but I had heard so many good reviews for these products that I took the plunge.  They are Norwex towels and e-cloths.  E-cloths are less expensive so I bought that set just for windows and mirrors.  They are different colors than the Norwex towels, so I won't get them mixed up. 

Norwex is a micro fiber towel that looks just like the other micro fiber towels you see from the Dollar Store, but the difference is that the fibers are much smaller and closer together.  It also has silver threads running through it.  The silver cleans the towel in between uses.  Once you’ve wiped up dirt, bacteria and viruses with your cloth, the silver works to inactivate the bacteria and viruses within the cloth.  It does this by suffocating the bacteria so that it doesn’t get the oxygen it needs to survive. After about 18 to 20 hours, your Norwex cloth will be much cleaner than it was when you finished cleaning with it.  In fact a study was done using a paper towel, a regular micro fiber towel and a Norwex towel.  They cleaned up a spill and cultured it for a period of time.  The paper towel was the worse with no bacterial killing ability, the regular micro fiber was better but the Norwex killed over 90% of the bacteria.  All you use is water.  You don't need a cleaner of any kind.  When the towels are dirty, I just throw them in the washing machine.  Apparently you can dry them in the dryer but I just air dry.  Usually I just rinse them out and hang for the next use.  To use, the cleaning towel has to be dampened with water.  I keep this set for my stove, microwave, counter and any other kitchen appliance.  I have a black refrigerator that would get a white dusty film on it.  The Norwex cleans it right off and doesn't just move it around.  Norwex has many products, but I have only used the enviro towel and window polishing towel which I use mainly on the countertop.  There are tons of links comparing Norwex with E-cloths and reviewing the products.  If you have doubts, just read what others say.

http://www.norwex.biz/pws/home2999999/tabs/products.aspx

It looks like these are about ready for the washer.

The next product I love is the e-cloths.  They are much cheaper than the Norwex.  I bought mine on Amazon.  I have only used this set for windows and mirrors, but they are wonderful.  Just wet the towel, wipe down the mirror or window,  and dry with the polishing towel.  There are no streaks or film left behind.  I bought a white window miracle cleaning towel at one time at the flea market.  It worked great until I washed it and then it left behind lint on the bathroom mirror.  I never got it back to it's original condition. 

http://www.ecloth.com/Glass-Polishing-Cloth-2-for-the-price-of-1.html

I have no stock in these products.  I don't sell them or receive any compensation for this review, it is only my personal experience.  The money saved in cleaning products will pay for these items in a hurry.  The Norwex set was $35 and the e-cloth set was $14. 

Coring A Fresh Pineapple

 
We like fresh pineapple. They have so many wonderful health benefits.  They are full of vitamins and very important minerals.  Pineapple helps digestion and inflammation.  Of particular interest to me is that it is shown to decrease the progression of age related macular degeneration.  My dad has that eye disease and if certain things are helpful in prevention, we will try them.  Besides its nutritional benefits, it looks pretty on the table until it is ripe.  You know a pineapple is ripe when one of the center spikes pulls out easily.  In the past I would cut off the top and bottom.  Then I would take a knife and work around the pineapple to remove the skin.  After that I would remove the core.  By this time, I had a puddle of pineapple juice on the cutting board, and it would be running all over the counter.  That is why I was so happy when I found this Pineapple Corer and Slicer at Aldi's.  It was only $3.99, and it works beautifully.

The first thing you do is cut the top off the pineapple.

Then you line up the corer and start turning. 

There are serrated teeth on the bottom of the corer.  After placing it over the core, just start turning until you reach the bottom of the pineapple.  Then just pull up and you have several slices of pineapple already eat or cut into smaller pieces, leaving the core behind.  All the extra juice will be in the bottom of the pineapple.

Fresh sliced pineapple ready to eat.

I know a lot of people are tired of gadgets, but this one is worth having if you eat fresh pineapple.  It is small enough to store without a problem.  Pineapple must be in season because I see it for a very good price.  Try it, you'll like it.

The Hobo Steak and The Camping Experience

A couple weeks ago I wrote about my grandchildren coming out to our house to camp.  It is a yearly thing that they like to do just before school restarts in the fall.  Nothing turned out as planned last time.  Many things went wrong that week.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/08/smores-in-microwave.html

We decided to try for a redo last weekend.  I am so glad we did.  It was fun.  The weather was hot, but it didn't pour down rain and the evening was very pleasant.  They came on Saturday afternoon.  We started a fire earlier so we would have a good bed of coals for our dinner.  Everyone has made this recipe at some point in their lives, but I will post it anyway.  We made Hobo Steaks.

Hobo Steaks

Aluminum Foil
Hamburger Patty
Potato sliced thin
Carrot sliced thin
Handful of green beans
Slice of onion (optional)
Pat of butter
Salt and Pepper

Tear off a piece of aluminum foil about 14 x 16.
In the center of the foil place the hamburger patty.
Then cover with the sliced onion, sliced potato, sliced carrot and green beans
Put a pat of butter and some salt and pepper over everything

Fold the foil and make a sealed packet.  Cook over hot coals until the vegetables and meat are done.
We had 7 packets and it took about 45 minutes.  You can put the packets directly on the coals or use a little tripod rack.  These Hobo Steaks can also be made in an oven.  You can add whatever vegetables you like.  I put some multi-colored peppers on mine and instead of butter a dollop of bacon grease (no eye rolls, please). 

Normally the kids would be a little picky over some of these ingredients, but they ate it all.  I think when kids can make their own and participate, they like it better.  I forgot we have growing kids now, and one little stinkin packet of food wasn't enough.  Out came the hot dogs.  Fortunately I had some gluten free hot dogs in the frig.  We ate a whole package before the night was over.  I think 10 year old Sam had 3 hot dogs.

As soon as Jack cooks his hot dog, Sarah is ready to roast a marshmallow.

Hot Dog is almost perfect.

It wasn't over yet.  Last time the kids had to make s'mores in the microwave.  This time the coals were perfect.  Again we had to accommodate a gluten free option.  I had purchased some GF chocolate chip cookies, so that is what we used instead of graham crackers.  I didn't try them because I'm not a fan of s'mores, but everyone else enjoyed this variation very much.  However, I ate my share of the chocolate bar.  

Jack enjoying his chocolate chip cookie s'more.

Even great grandpa participated in the experience.  He sat by the campfire and had a brandy and sweet with cherries.  He really wanted a brandy old fashioned but we are so lame in the alcohol department, this was all we could come up with.

Sam and Great Grandpa

Time to put the cover on the fire and go to bed.

Pretty soon it was time for bed.  That didn't go so well.  We slept in our own beds, but Sarah and the kids played musical beds for quite a while.  Melissa ended up on our couch.  Sam, Jack and Sarah all ended up in one double bed in the camper.  No one slept well, and they got up very early.  Oh well, that's all part of the memory.  They will probably remember the bad nights sleep more than all the other good things that happened that night.