Maslin Pan

Oh, this baby is on my wish list for sure! I recently went to a canning workshop where the woman teaching had one of these. I asked her what it was called and where to get one, but she said it had been a gift and she thought it was for cooking jam. I did an image search and finally found it! (It wasn't easy.) It's called a "Maslin Pan". I love that it has a spout, a tipping handle, an over-the-top handle, and a measuring guide inside. And it's angled. How cool is that?! It would make cooking so much easier! (And more fun, don't you think?)

Homemade JELLY BEANS!?!?!

Oh my gosh, no WAY! It was a total fluke that I ran into this article outlining how to make your own stinkin' homemade jelly beans! It's another one of those things that never occurred to me. And the greatest thing is that they don't require corn syrup which is in almost every jelly bean under the sun. Hooray!

Check it out!
http://www.ehow.com/how_5393243_make-jelly-beans-stepbystep.html

Ramen, How I Loathe You

It is unfortunate that my whole family loves Ramen noodles. I do not. In college I refused to eat the stuff; even during my study abroad when my fellow students were downing their cheap bowls of noodles and fake broth, I pressed on in my homemade meal snobbishness. (I'm sure they were jealous of the delicious wafting smells coming from the kitchen.)

Even though I'm surrounded by Ramen-lovers in my very own home, I still can't get over those nasty packets of "flavor" that come with every package. The words "MSG" and "artificial" always give me a cringe as I unwillingly hand a steaming bowl to my children, much to their delight.

Well, today I wasn't going to stand for it anymore. On our menu for Tuesday's lunch is soup. I asked my son if he wanted Ramen. Of course he said yes. I didn't try plopping in frozen mixed veggies like last time (they went very unwell received). Instead, while the noodles were boiling, I discreetly did away with the packet of artificial beef flavor and whipped out my favorite beef base (Better Than Bouillon). I LOVE this stuff. And it's made from BEEF. Like, the real stuff. I stirred a couple teaspoons in and nonchalantly handed a steaming bowl of beef Ramen to my son. He downed it without even realizing and went on his merry way.

I AM MOTHER TRIUMPHANT! Mwahahahahahahahaaaa!

Take that Ramen.

Food Storage Survey

Last year at my church's annual Women's Conference I taught an Emergency Preparedness workshop. For this year's conference they've invited me to teach a Food Storage workshop! I am really excited for this opportunity. I love studying about food storage and finding ways of preparing that work for me and my family. (And there are so many ways to go about it.)

I've put together a survey to ask women about their challenges and successes with getting together a 3 months supply of food. If you'd like to take the survey, that would be great! Click HERE.

Homemade Strikes Again!

So, I've been looking into replacing more things that I usually buy in a box with homemade recipes. And guess what?! You can totally make homemade instant pudding and homemade jello (using gelatin & juice)! These are way healthier alternatives and I am super excited to try the recipes out. Here are the webpages I got the recipes from.

Homemade Jello

http://www.cheeseslave.com/homemade-jello/
(You can find the pastured beef gelatin she mentions on Amazon. I've also heard you can use Agar Agar instead of an animal-based gelatin if you're vegetarian. This is derived from a variety of seaweeds.)

http://www.publicradio.org/columns/splendid-table/recipes/dessert_gelatin.html

Just think... any flavor of 100% bottled juice is your flavor of jello. How cool is that?! And don't leave out frozen juices when concocting your jello plans. My kids are going to love this!

One little side note - gelatin is actually very good for you and has many health benefits, including giving your body needed callogen (a skin builder). Jello that's healthy! haha! That is so crazy. But you know what? That's what homemade does for you, folks!

Homemade Instant Pudding

http://chickensintheroad.com/farm-bell-recipes/instant-vanilla-pudding-mix/

http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com/2010/09/homemade-instant-pudding-mix.html

 I love that she recommends using flavored oils for all the interesting flavors you can find at the store. I was so worried I couldn't make homemade pistachio pudding, but now I can! Woohoo!

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival 2012

Baaaaa baaaaaa!

It's that time of year again!!!

I am really excited to be volunteering again at the crazy t-shirt booth for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

I've heard that the lines before opening get longer and longer every year. 

Can't wait! :-)

The beautiful artwork is by Deanna Williford.

Seafood Watch

So, for a few years I've known about this really cool organization called Seafood Watch that I really wanted to share with you. Seafood Watch is an organization that seeks to promote and educate the public and restaurants about sustainable fishing practices. I know a lot of people care about good food and sustainability and this organization makes it really easy as consumers to be conscientious about buying fish that has been harvested sustainably.  The thing I really love is that they have a little pocket guide that you can download and keep in your wallet so that you have an accessible guide when you're out shopping for fish so you know which kind has been raised sustainably and which fish has not - it really helps me feel like I'm a better, more educated consumer. Not only that, but they have cards you can download to give to friends or to leave at restaurants to encourage them to buy sustainable fish. I think it's a fabulous resource!

Here's the link for their downloadable cards. I've used mine a lot and LOVE it! http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx