Sore Throat Soother

The last remnants of our week long bout with pinkeye seems to be the cold, more specifically the cough and sore throat. The Miracle Elixir was good, it stopped the cough but the sore throat remains, poor guys. They're finally back in school, for the few days that remain anyway, but even last night there throats were still sore. The cough was gone but the scratchy itchy throat was not. In my research I've found that honey seems to be the 'go to' for soothing throats and coughs. 

So I made a little warm drink for them that really seemed to help ease the pain, honey of course was the main ingredient. It was simply hot water, lemon juice, a bit of fresh ginger and honey. I made them sip it slowly but you probably don't have to, I felt like it might help a bit in the soothing department. Give them a spoon to stir it with though, the honey kept sinking to the bottom.

If you don't have lemon and ginger simply warming milk with a spoonful of honey stirred in is also a wonderful throat soother. And if you still need another idea our most common best bet for sore throats is simply a spoonful of good honey. It soothes going down and the THRILL of a whole spoonful of honey straight out of the jar can make any sore throat a thing of the past. Try out the tea though, it was really really good. Oh and helpful!

Lemon Honey Tea

1 cup hot water
1 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP honey
1 small piece of ginger,about a 1/4 inch peeled, chopped--optional my kids LOVE ginger so I put it in

make sure your water is not boiling hot, just hot
mix all together
serve warm with a spoon to stir it up
sip slowly for best soothing results

Thankful for honey, even way up here in Alaska, where it's going to snow tomorrow [May 17th!] and we have an actively erupting volcano, with lava even.

Never


Ever


Dull.

Homemade Miracle Elixir Cough Remedy

Well it's been an exciting 5 days around here. Pinkeye took over our house and along with it came a NASTY cold that set us all back right on our rear ends. There was no "happy" mother's day it was a cranky, snotty, infected, out of sorts day. The day before was our local clean up day and of course we didn't want to get out there and infect the world so we stayed home. I hope the people who cleaned up our ditch know we are not normally lame and do really clean up our area but it was too much for us this year. We did attempt our may day fire, yes over a week late because of late Easter and wisdom tooth pain, and we sat around and grumped at each other. That fire will go down as the worst may day fire ever. EVER. Friday brought us the pink eye and a box of dead turkey poults in the mail, don't worry though they were buried with full honors, a boy playing taps on his trumpet and 21 one shot salute with a bb gun. It has not been pleasant around here and today to top it all off it snowed, the date is May 14th, not cool.

Somehow I have made it through all the yuck with a sense of humor, I haven't lost it and screamed at anyone. I haven't locked myself in the bedroom or driven away swearing to never come back. I've given out a lot of pinkeye drops, kleenex and most importantly hugs. Everything in my house is sanitized, bleached and scrubbed clean so we can avoid reinfecting ourselves. When will everyone go back to school? I do not know.

Being contained to our home has been fine, I did escape once to go grab milk, I sanitized myself from head to toe to go out so I wouldn't infect anyone else. I forgot to buy cough drops at the store and the last lingering effects of the cold is a MAJOR cough, ugh. Luckily for me I found this recipe for a "miracle elixir, it'll do the trick sir" Sorry could not help myself there, the Sweeny Todd just pours out once in a while. I made the original recipe but with much less cayenne pepper, well because it's for my kids. The cool part is I can make/grow most of the stuff here on our property. Apples to make vinegar, honey from the bees, water duh from our well, cayenne from the peppers I am growing this summer and the only I am not growing is ginger, I bet I could, just let me do some research.


Homemade Miracle Elixir Cough Remedy

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons of fresh water
1 Tablespoon of fresh local honey

mix all together
1 TBSP for adults
1/2 TBSP for kids
NONE for kids under one--they shouldn't have honey!
this will store for a few weeks in the fridge but won't last long once someone starts hacking up a lung
I think I will make the full strength cayenne for my husband though, he'd like that

I gave each of my little boys a serving of this and they instantly quit coughing and acting sick. Was it a miracle elixir? Or were they just to scared of it to complain anymore? I don't know and I'm not asking and neither should you.









 

The Penny Worthy Project

Well spring has finally hit, it's raining and our last pile of snow is melting pretty quickly out there, although now the driveway is full of mud puddles instead of snow and slush. Ah well at least the trees are finally leafing out, sort of, or at least they WILL be. soon. nevermind.

It's brighter in the thrifting world. I found DIGIMON which my oldest son loved when he was little. So obviously I bought it for him. It's a brand new never used beach towel, perfect condition! 

This will be under the tree for him this winter, I am excited. I also got this adorable Digimon talking alarm clock still in the box

 I think he'll like it too, I hope he does.

I bought this Keurig

on my yardsale group on Facebook a while back, my original intent was to gift it to the teachers lounge or the third grade kitchen. But I soon realized that the teachers lounge HAS a Keurig and the teachers in third grade use a french press. hmmmmm what to do. Well it just so happens that we are remodeling and someone suggested you can't beat a Keurig for that ONE cup of coffee you need to get the job done, or hot water for tea or cocoa, or heck even instant oatmeal might be happening around here. So considering all that, I decided to keep it and perhaps sell it after we're done with it. Right now we use a french press and we love it but with no stove looming in our future a french press will not work.

Everything I have here I bought off of Facebook from a local yard sale or garage sale group, are you a member of one? It can be a fantastic addition to any thrifty lifestyle and a great way to purge your home of stuff you no longer need, think instant cash in hand. Of course I never invite anyone to my home, or meet people I don't somehow already know, having a group all linked on Facebook is a little less intimidating that craigslist. Do you have local buying and selling groups? Have you started one? I'd love to know about it, how do you keep sp@mmers out? And drama to a minimum?

And as always....how are you spending your pennies??

Just Another Meatless Monday Lentil Sweet Potato Curry

This is one of those fast one pan meals I love to whip up, not Paleo obviously but delicious anyway. A word about Paleo and our remodel, it will be hit or miss. I plan to eat healthy foods, but many of them will not be Paleo. I will be trying to avoid gluten because I'm sure it has a negative impact on my health. Really what I am interested in is

• quick cooking
• thrifty cooking
• as little clean up as possible.

I will have limited work space during the remodel and time will not be mine to plan and execute huge meals. I am making a 2 month cooking plan, almost done with that, and following that for our main meals until July when I will chop, prep and freeze another 2 months or so of meals. I'll share my meal plan soon, I'm almost done with it.

So this is one dish I think I can easily toss in a crock pot at noon and come back to fully cooked dinner after 5 hours or so. I made it on the stove but I know beans and lentils cook well in a crock pot so one of my meals for the summer plan is to try this in a crock pot. It was really good, we all enjoyed it with a dab of yogurt on top and fresh fruit on the side. Perfect for those days when everyone is hungry and look at me like I'm supposed to feed them or something.

Lentil Sweet Potato Curry
2 TBSP coconut oil-divided
1/2 an onion
1-2 TBSP curry powder, add as much as you like
1 tsp cumin
3/4 cup of green lentils
1 sweet potato, chopped in 1 inch cubes
6 cups water
12 ounces frozen cauliflower
salt to taste
pepper to taste

melt 1 TBSP of the coconut oil over medium heat in a dutch oven
coarsely chop the onion and cook it in the oil for a minute or two
add the curry powder and stir for 30 seconds
add the lentils and sweet potatoes and stir for another 1-2 minutes
add the water and bring to a boil
reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes
stir occasionally to make sure it's not too hot and scorching, reduce the heat further if it is
once 45 minutes are past remove the cover and add the cauliflower
cook for another 15 minutes or so
add the salt and pepper to taste
remove from the heat and stir in the last 1 TBSP of oil until it melts
serve hot with a dollop of plain yogurt on top

This is my husband's lunch all ready to go in a mason jar, there was JUST enough to send him leftovers.

I'm going to start up a Just Another Meatless Monday board on Pinterest, so when you link here, know I am pinning there. Follow along and join the fun.

5/Five Favorites

Joining up on this five favorites list that Grace is hosting because I was sipping coffee brewed in my new french press and I thought "Oh should show this off"(because you care, I know you do!) 

Soooo here we go five things I am loving right now 

1) my new french press from World Market

lovely no? I'll be putting it away for the summer remodel but for now I am loving it and using it as much as possible

2) Cold and Flu Begone from Village Herbals here in Palmer--one or two doses of this tincture and a good nights sleep will make everything better--works every time especially in the dead of winter

3) lemons LOVING them right now-they were plentiful at the store and I am thinking lemon bread in the freezer for part of our remodel/freezer eating plan would be nice--yes?

4) THIS toaster oven by KitchenAid  it's on sale, it will hold 2 9x13 pans and it will make life simpler this summer when we are out of our kitchen--I can do all kinds of things with it for summer cooking and then it can roll right into the new kitchen as our toaster

5) my plants reacting to warm sunlight and warm days-it seems the snow has finally stopped and summer may in fact be coming--regardless May is acting and feeling like May so I say carry on

The Penny Worthy Project--A Tale of Two Sweaters

I've been gutting and getting rid of stuff like crazy this week. Serioulsy purging because the great remodel/brink of divorce(I KID!!) is coming. We're moving everything out of our main floor to refinish the floors and then remodel the kitchen. The last thing I NEED to do is drag in more stuff. HA!

This is not stopping me but simply slowing me down. I'm not reselling either right now, I may be sourcing and accumulating for the fall and Christmas season NOW but no selling. It's too much work for me at this point with summer coming, the remodel, gardens, animals and kids too. ACK. I also have given up some serious volunteer obligations, I'm sure I've let people down but I had to focus on OUR family for a while.

The Tale of Two Sweaters goes like this--There once was a boy who found a sweater his mother bought for him, it was too big and she had set it aside for use later on. He loved the sweater and though it was too big he proceeded to convince her he should wear it and wear it he did. Dead of winter? The sweater was his coat, raining out? The sweater was his coat. Spring day? The sweater was his coat. Windy Day? The sweater was his coat.

It was a simple oatmeal colored wool blend from REI, nothing special to some and the best sweater in the world to one. And on the days it was not warm enough his mother forced him to put on something warmer. And on the days it was too warm out his mother forcibly removed the sweater from his sweaty body, much to his relief, although he would never admit it.

Two years on and the sweater is showing it's age, it's been loved, almost, to death. The boy's father mended it, patched it, darned it and still it was on the downward slide. It was somehow lost behind his desk for the better part of 3 months and once found he resumed wearing it with patched, darned gusto. He loves that sweater but it was no longer something a parent felt right letting her child wear in public, although being the mother of this particular child, she knew she could hardly resist.

And then out of the all the thrift stores, in all the sweaters, in all the world his mother finds

Yes YES an EXACT MATCH. A perfect replacement. The sweater she thought she would never find. It is considered a minor miracle in family lore. And the boy refuses to give up the old sweater but loves the new sweater with equal fervor. This is A Tale of Two Sweaters.



Now over to you, what are you spending your pennies on?





 

Just Another Meatless Monday Baked Goat Cheese Zucchini and Tomato

A few weeks ago I spent a day fermenting with friends, it was a great day all the way around. I met women I didn't know, some from here and one from France. The french woman was knowledgeable without being know it all (HARD TO DO), had a great sense of humor and a love of good food. At one point she casually offered up that the best way to eat zucchinis was this simple recipe, I immediately tucked it away for safe keep until I had the needed ingredients.

I happened to have zucchini and tomatoes this week so I made the effort to acquire goat cheese. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. This morning while my husband slept in and my kids ate their Easter candy with early morning gusto I set about to make "the best way to eat zucchinis" a reality. If you're wondering my kids and husband are Orthodox and their Easter happened very late this year, I thought we'd be hunting eggs in the grass, um no we still have snow. Anyway, I made the recipe in about 10 minutes, it's not hard, it's beautiful and it really truly transforms it's simple ingredients into a delicious topping for fresh crusty bread or a tasty side dish. If you cut the pieces smaller I bet it would be a wonderful baked dip too, maybe even baked in a loaf of round bread?

Baked Goat Cheese, Zucchini and Tomato

2 ripe tomatoes
1/2 pound of zucchini
8 ounces goat cheese
2 TBSP good olive oil
salt and pepper

lightly wipe a small 1qt gratin pan with oil
slice the tomatoes and the zucchini thinly-less than a 1/4 inch
begin by laying a slice of tomato in the end of the pan at an angle
then add a slice of goat cheese
lay a slice or two of zucchini over the goat cheese
repeat across the pan, as the pan gets wider use more tomato slices, goat cheese and zucchini
refer to the picture to see what I mean
once the pan is full drizzle with the olive oil and give it a shake or two of salt and pepper
bake in 350˚ oven about 40 minutes or until the zucchini is done and everything is hot and bubbly
serve with good bread or a side dish

a few notes

• you may have a few slices of zucchini or tomato left, you can try to squeeze them in or just pop them in the fridge for salad makings
• use any small shallow pan about 8 inches long and 4 inches wide or if you don't have a small enough pan you could double it

YUM