homemade Archives - Page 3 of 4

June 4, 2019June 26, 2019

Sunburn Gel

Hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day Holiday Weekend.

Today, I had planned on writing about making your own bug spray this week, but after working in the garden this weekend, I thought I would write about sunburn gel instead.

Bet you can guess why.

I’m not one of those people who tan all nice and pretty brown. I can eventually get there after lots of time in the sun with oils and water to cool you off. But that was in my younger days, not so much now.

We were finally able to get into our garden this weekend and finish planting. I know it’s late, but we had about 30 inches of rain during the month of May. That’s an entire years’ worth of rain in a month. It was crazy and a muddy mess.

This is my Chinese Yard Long Bean trellis. I can’t wait.

It’s also been fairly cool so far this spring. Usually by this time we are getting temps in the mid to upper 90’s and it’s miserable. And while it was pretty warm this weekend, it wasn’t near what I would consider “hot and miserable”. It was simply a beautiful sunny weekend.

We had a nice breeze blowing through the garden and I was determined to get some stuff done. And it was great to just be able to get outside without drowning.

By the time we got done my husband told me I looked like a lobster. I was pretty red, but it really didn’t hurt. We did finally turn the AC on this weekend.

The Recipe for Sunburn Gel

A few years ago I made this mixture just cause I thought the ingredients would work well on a sunburn. It actually surprised me how well it worked. It’s perfectly natural and very easy to make and it will cool your skin like no other.

What’s left of my mix over the last few years. I love this stuff.

It’s made 50/50 coconut oil and aloe vera gel. Super simple. I just shake it before each use.

Coconut Oil

I know they say not to put oils on a burn as it may cause the burn to continue to worsen. I also know this can be true from first hand experience.

But I’ve been using it mixed with aloe vera gel for a few years now and have had nothing but relief.

I’ve even used this mix on a burn my husband got from work on his arm and it relieved that pain too.

So you may want to mix just a little and test it on yourself before you use it on anyone else. Everyone I’ve ever suggested it to has loved it, but everybody is different too. So test it out first in a small spot before rubbing it all over you or someone else’s back.

Aloe Vera Gel

Everyboby knows aloe vera is good for burns. You can just cut a leaf from the plant and use it on a burn. But I actually buy aloe vera gel in bulk and use it in several different lotions I make, but I have it around most of the time.

Our newly replanted aloe vera plant. My husband is so proud of this plant. We’ve had this plant since it was a baby, about 10 years ago. We’ve just replanted it again.

I buy my aloe vera gel at Mountain Rose Herb or at Bulk Apothocary. I’m sure there are plenty of places to buy it, but these are my favorites.

Aloe vera is an anti-inflammatory, it promotes circulation and inhibits the growth of bacteria, all of which are great for burns. BUT, it also just cools a burn, which is what we are all looking for after a sunburn.

My new little garden buddy. He loves grub worms.

Now, we have to use some common sense and not stay out till you blister. When my husband told me I looked like a lobster, I was pretty red, but it didn’t sting to just touch my shoulders. They weren’t comfortable in a shower though, by any means.

But after I used this mixture on my shoulders and arms, I instantly felt relief and by the next day I was in the garden again with no pain. I did remember to use sun screen before I went outside this time so I didn’t repeat the process.

The Sun and Your Skin

I used to lay out in the sun for the perfect tan when I was younger. I always did and I still do think that tanned skin looks healthier than untanned skin. But I know now there is a difference in how much tan is healthy and that too much is really too much.

Today, I’ve discovered all that hours and hours in the sun was probably not the best way to go. While exposure to the sun can help the skin manufacture vitamin D, too much exposure to the ultraviolet rays from the sun can be too harsh.

This is the beginning of my cantaloupe hill. Be sure to use your sun screen when you make these.

Excessive exposure to the sun can reduce elasticity and cause premature skin aging. It can also damage or even kill skin cells. I don’t think that’s the best way to go for my older skin. Worst of all it’s the chief cause of skin cancer too. No thanks.

So now I still enjoy the sun, but I try to remember to use sun screen and limit my time out in the hot afternoon. I still like the look of tanned skin and still feel it looks healthier than untanned skin, but I’ve also altered my opinion of how much tan that needs to be.

Do you have a remedy for sunburn, (other than not going out in it, of course)? Share it in the comments. I’m excited to see what you’ve come up with.

Thanks for coming by and Until Next Time –

Health, Wealth & Blessing ~ Tracey

May 21, 2019September 16, 2019

Creamy Homemade Lotion

I have to say up-front….You’re really going to love this creamy homemade lotion.

I found my favorite recipe for this creamy homemade lotion in a book written by Rosemary Gladstar. She’s an awesome herbalist with more knowledge than I could ever hope to obtain. If you haven’t heard of her, check out her website here.

She has several YouTube videos too. Search her name and you’ll come across a ton of videos. Check that out here.

She’s also got several books out, but I love this one. It has a ton of recipes in it, but this is my favorite.

This creamy homemade lotion feels magnificent on your hands and your body.

I make a couple of different versions of this lotion, one for my body and one for my face. I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.

Basically it has 2 parts, oil and water. Then you combine them.

The Oil Part

Start with 1/3 cup of a more solid-type butter like coco butter, which, by the way, smells amazing, coconut butter or shea butter.

This is the liquid oil I made several months earlier by infusing coconut oil with dried calendula flowers. Calendula is awesome for the skin.

Then add 3/4 cups of a liquid oil. This can be liquid coconut oil, grape seed oil, or any other oil that you prefer, even olive oil, if you like. There are a ton to choose from. Check the ones I buy out here and here or many other sites. Do your own research for what you prefer.

Then add about a 1/4 teaspoon of lanolin and 1 oz of bees wax.

I suggest the little wax pellets. It’s so hard to cut up the bricks, I’ve found it’s worth buying the smaller pellets.

You’ll want to use a double boiler to melt all your oils and bees wax. I don’t have a double boiler so I use a make-shift one. It’s pretty cheesy, but it works. One day I’ll buy one.

This is my double boiler. It’s a sauce pan and a 4 cup glass measuring cup sitting on a canning ring, so it’s not sitting directly on the bottom of the sauce pan.

Boil enough water in the sauce pan to cover the bottom of the measuring cup to slowly melt the oils and wax.

Once all of your oils and wax have melted, let it sit and cool off to room temperature.

The Water Part

The water part starts with 2/3 cup of water. We don’t have city water, we use well water. This recipe actually calls for distilled water. I have to tell you, I’ve always just used our well water and had no problems.

I have made rose water and use that in the mix for my face lotion. There are so many options to try and figure out what you like best.

Add to that 1/3 cup of aloa vera gel. I’ve used vegetable glycerine too. Be sure to try it different ways to see what you like best.

To this you’ll add Vitamin A or E oil whichever you prefer.

I generally use about 1/8 teaspoon or just a touch more of Vitamin E oil. It’s great for your skin.

At this point the recipe actually calls that you add any essential oil that you want. But personally, I wait until after I’ve mixed the oil and water to add the essential oil.

Mixing Oil and Water

We all know that oil and water doesn’t mix, right? Well, there is a way.

Blending the oil for a few minutes before adding the water made this mixture work much better for me.

I start the oil part in this large measuring cup for a reason.

Using a stick blender I’ll blend the oil portion for a few minutes (about 3-5 minutes) before I start adding the water.

I want to see the mixture lighten up a bit before I start adding the water.

The secret in mixing oil and water is to add the water very slowly while you continue to mix the oil.

If you use a blender, you can pour the melted oil into the blender before it cools. Then all you would do is turn on the blender for a short while before you begin to add the water.

Continue to mix as you continue to add the water mixture very slowly. As you add water, it will become creamier and creamier.

Be sure to go slow. My handheld stick blender begins to get hot as I’m finishing up.

I watched a video of Rosemary making this lotion in a blender and you could hear the difference in the blender when it got close to getting done.

Look how creamy that is!! At about at this point, I add 30-35 drops of whatever essential oil I’m using.

One thing I’ll caution you about is that the coco butter I use will almost cover the smell of any essential oil I use. But that doesn’t always stop me from trying.

This recipe made four 4 oz jars of creamy lotion. I use this everyday after I get out of the shower.

I don’t waste any of this creamy homemade lotion.

When you get done, you’ll have this cream on your stick blender and in whatever bowl you’ve mixed it in. And since water and oil doesn’t mix, this doesn’t wash well.

So, the perfect fix, is to go lotion up, scraping it all out of all your bowls and whatever mixer you used. You certainly don’t want to waste this beautiful creamy lotion.

Whatever is left after that, which usually isn’t much, can easily be wiped out with paper towels. Now, it’s much easier to wash.

I’ve came up with a different versions of this recipe, just from experimenting, using rose water and rose infused almond oil, for what I use on my face.

So be sure you experiment. This is a base recipe that can be changed to suite your own needs. I hope you’ll give it a try.

If you have any questions, please let me know. If you have any suggestions, let me know those too. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Until later – Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey

May 14, 2019May 13, 2019

Why Do I DIY

I know people ask why should I DIY? It’s so much easier to just go to the store. There are more and more organic choices all the time and there’s so many more farms these days where you can buy fresh garden vegetables and even meats, milk and eggs.

So, why do I DIY?

In my opinion, there are a ton of reasons to DIY, but here are my top 10 reasons to DIY.

1. Taste!! Nothing taste better than homemade. You can use fresher ingredients and it’s not set on a truck for days or weeks on end going from factory to the store shelf.

2. Knowing what’s in my food, lotions and cleaners makes me feel better about eating or using them. Have you ever read some of those labels? You can’t even pronounce most of it. When I make these things myself, I know every ingredient that’s in it and I never have to wonder what those unpronounceables are.

3. I can adjust a DIY recipe to suit me and my family perfectly. Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error, but I can adjust foods, body products and cleaners to suit my own tastes, smells and needs. I can personalize anything.

4. There’s no unnecessary chemicals, preservatives, or coloring in your DIY stuff. I hate all the extra stuff they put in the stuff you buy.

5. When I attempt a new DIY, I’m learning something new. I love learning new things, it just feels good.

6. Some DIY skills I’m learning are becoming lost or forgotten skills in our new modern world. I like the idea of keeping these skills alive to teach to my grandkids. You never know, someday some of these may come in handy again.

Dandelions from my yard for dandelion jelly.

7. You get to choose where your ingredients come from. While they don’t always have to be organic, you still want to know where they come from. You can research the companies you buy from or maybe you can source them locally, near where you live.

In any case, whatever you are making, you have the choice from where you would like to purchase the ingredients to make whatever it is you are making.

8. When I make a new food item like butter or sauerkraut or breads, I always have such a sense of accomplishment. I figured it out, I was able to do it and it tasted good. I like that feeling.

9. When I make something, whatever that might be, I tend to appreciate it a bit more. I know the work and thought that’s gone into it.

Likewise, if I know someone else has put that same kind of work and thought into a product that I buy locally, I will appreciate that product just a little more than something I would pick off the shelf at a grocery store.

10. Last but not least, every time I make something new, I build a bit more confidence in what I can do. Even if a project doesn’t work exactly as I wanted it to, I learned from it and will try again. The next time I’m one step closer to where I want to be.

It was Thomas Edison that said something like, “I didn’t fail, I just found 10,000 ways it didn’t work.” I don’t know if I have that kind of patience, but I agree with his sentiment. You got to try or you’ll not get anywhere.

My granddaughter’s beautiful corn dolly.

When I DIY, Making Mistakes Means Learning Lessons

I told my grand daughter when she was very young and just learning to color and draw pictures, that I didn’t like perfect. The imperfections of what we do is what makes them unique to us. That’s what makes them special. She remembers that, and to this day will remind me of that if a project we make doesn’t come out just right. Because her imperfections are perfect for some, especially me.

I know sometimes it’s easier to go to the store and just buy the things I like to make and post about here. And sometimes I do that, but when I have the chance and the supplies to make what I need, I will try every time to make it. But if I can’t then that’s okay too.

In my opinion, if you can do it yourself, know what’s in it or how it’s built and potentially make it to your particular liking, then why not?

Why do you DIY? I’d love to hear what makes you want to make it yourself instead of buying at the store. Let me know in the comments below, what you’re working on.

Thanks for dropping by.

Until next time – Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey

May 7, 2019May 7, 2019

Making Homemade Yogurt

Homemade yogurt really is pretty easy to make. It take a bit of time, but it’s really not hard.

The hardest part of making homemade yogurt is waiting for the milk to heat up and then to cool back down again. And because you are looking for specific temperatures, it’s not something you can just walk away from.

In making homemade yogurt all you need is some milk and some active live yogurt cultures. This sound intimidating but it’s really not. Go to the store and read the label of the plain yogurt. If you’re getting the right one, it will say that it contains active live cultures.

You need active yogurt cultures for making homemade yogurt.

You’ll need about a cup of your live cultures. I generally buy one of those little serving size cups and that works fine.

I have found that different brands produce different tastes. So try different ones. You may find one tastes better to you.

In making homemade yogurt, you’ll heat your milk up to 180 degrees making sure you stir a lot to ensure you don’t scald your milk. You want it to heat up, but you don’t want to burn it.

Once you’ve heated your milk, remove it from the heat and let it cool. Some have suggested you can set your pan in a sink with some cool water in it to help move this step along. I’ve not done that, but I can see where it would work.

This is just a bit too hot yet. Give it another 20 degrees or so.

When your milk cools to about 90 degrees, you add your yogurt with the live cultures. Stir your yogurt until that is all dissolved.

Bits of undissolved yogurt. Almost done.

Now, I have a yogurt maker. I bought it 4-5 years ago and found it to be really easy to use. But, there are a lot of recipes out there showing how to set your yogurt in your oven with just the light on and let it set over night. I’ve never done this, but I really need to try it.

If you’d like to try that, I suggest you do your own research to ensure everything is just right, so you don’t waist a half gallon of milk.

I used raw milk, so I removed the cream first. There was about a cup of cream, so this is a bit shy of a half gallon. Usually a half gallon will fill this container.

I pour my dissolved yogurt with live cultures and milk into my yogurt maker and plug it in. It keeps it at a very low temperature and I set the time on it for 8 hours. You’ll note on my machine, there’s not actually a timer, it’s just numbers. You move the pointer to the number corresponding to the time you’re to take it out. This is just a reminder, so you still can’t just forget it.

My yogurt was due to be finished at 8:30 pm.

After 8 hours, you have yogurt. You’ll find that there is a LOT of whey in your container as well. I like my yogurt really stiff, almost like a soft cheese.

Look at all that golden yellow whey!!! Just hang it and let it drain to whatever consistency you like best.

You can make your yogurt any consistency you like. I add all the yogurt into a clean white dishtowel, and tie it up to let it drain. The longer it drains, the thicker it will become. So this is completely up to whatever you like.

As a general rule, I will tie mine up and let it hang overnight.

2 Cups of whey from that just less than a half gallon of raw milk.

After you have removed as much of the whey as you would like, it’s done. Put it in a container and put it in the fridge.

Now you can use a cup of this yogurt to make your next batch. I’ve read that you can’t do that forever, but I can’t say from experience how long you can use your last batch to start the next. I have a bad habit of forgetting to save some for my next batch. But I have done that up to 3 different batches.

Homemade Yogurt

Ingredients

Half gallon of milk
About a cup of plain yogurt (Be sure it contains active cultures. It will say on the label).

Directions

Heat your milk to 180 degrees slowly. Make sure you stir regularly so ensure it doesn’t scorch or stick to the bottom.

Once your milk reaches 180 degrees, remove it from the heat and let it cool. You can set your pan in a bit of cool water in the sink to hurry this along if you’d like.

Once your milk has cooled to almost 90 degrees, add your live cultured yogurt and stir to dissolve. This works better if your live cultured yogurt is at room temperature.

Add your mixture to your yogurt machine and plug it in. Let it set for 8 hours.

Then drain the whey to your liking.

I haven’t written anything on the uses of whey yet, but I’ll have to do that in the future. There are a ton of things it can be used for and it’s really healthy.

So many ways to eat your yogurt

There are so many ways to eat your homemade yogurt. You can eat it with fruit or sometimes I will pour honey over it or I add granola to it. Sometimes all three. I’m sure there are plenty of other ways to flavor it.

The way I make it, it could actually be used as a cheese too if you wanted. You could add some herbs to it and spread it on crackers or a bagel.

Or you could just mash some fruit into it and flavor it that way. I’ve not tried that yet, but it sounds good, so I may have to give that a try. I usually just add my fruit on top.

I’d love to hear your experiences with making yogurt. Let me know how you’ve flavored your yogurt.

If you’ve used the oven method, I’d love to hear how it turned out. I’ll be giving that a try soon too, just to see.

Don’t forget to subscribe. I have some good stuff coming up that you won’t want to miss.

Until next time – Health, Wealth & Blessing ~ Tracey

April 30, 2019April 29, 2019

Homemade Potato Salad

Okay, so homemade potato salad isn’t so over the top or different, but it is practical and better yet, it’s customizable to suit your own tastes.

My husband loves potato salad, specifically dill and red potato potato salad. We actually only found it in a few places and he really didn’t like those. He didn’t think they had enough dill in them.

So I set out to make my own.

This has several spices in it as well as real mayo. I think next time I make it though, I might exchange some of the mayo with sour cream,maybe about 1/2 cup, just to see what it’s like.

As I was making this it occurred to me I didn’t think to weigh the potatoes, but I did count them. We started out with 16 new red potatoes that were smallish to medium size.

We don’t peel our potatoes, so I just chopped them into small pieces before I boiled them. It would be easy enough to peel your potatoes if you don’t like the peel. You could also use another kind of potato if you wanted to. Maybe you have a preference.

In this recipe I used dijon mustard. You could use regular mustard or whatever suits your taste best.

I also used lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar, which I think I’ll try out a little later. I’m curious to taste the difference.

I used the spices we like the most that I thought would suit this recipe, paprika, garlic and onion powders, dill of course, and salt and pepper. Pretty easy and straight foward.

I also found that mixing the mayo and the spices before adding to the potatoes made sure that everything was mixed evenly and actually made everything that much quicker. I just mixed them all together while the potatoes were cooking.

I have to say when I added the mayo to the potatoes I was a little nervous. As I mixed it up it seemed like there was way too much mayo mixture. But as it turned out after it cooled in the fridge for a while, it was just right. My husband like a creamier mix, so it was fine. Again, this is something you can adjust to your own liking.

I will say it does taste much better after sitting for several hours.

Homemade Potato Salad

Ingredients

Please think of these as suggested measurements. Suite them to your family’s taste.

2 Cups Mayo or salad dressing, your choice
1 Tsp. Paprika
1 Tsp. Garlic powder
1 Tsp. Onion powder
2 Tsp. Dill seed
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Pepper
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
16 small to medium red potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, your choice.

Directions

Cut the potatoes in smaller pieces. I tried to get mine cut to about 1/2 pieces or smaller. I don’t want them to go to complete mush when you stir them up. We both like chunky potato salad.

Add them to your sauce pan and cover with water. You can see I didn’t get a big enough pan. I made a mess I had to clean up later. Boil your potatoes to fork tender.

While your potatoes boil, mix all your spices together and pour into your mayo and mix well.

Once the potatoes are done, drain well and put into your bowl. Pour your spiced mayo over your potatoes and mix well.

Put in the fridge to cool and to allow all the flavors to mingle.

When I was growing up, my mom made homemade sweet pickle potato salad all the time. I learned to do that as a matter of course. I’ve never measured anything I ever put into it, I just knew what was there.

This homemade potato salad was a little different. We didn’t use dill much for anything except for the canning mom did and I didn’t know much about that.

I’ve discovered I really kinda like it. So I planted some dill. I know it’s only an annual here where we live, but I’ll be planting it every year from now on, I think.

I hope you’ll give it a try. Mix it up and make it your own. Let me know what changes you made, I’d love to hear them.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, now’s a great time to do that. I have some good stuff coming up.

Until next time – Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey