Homemade Elderberry Syrup

In an effort to become more self sufficient and because I love to make things I'm making Elderberry Syrup on my blog today!  Our December weather in Arizona is still beautiful, as I sit and type up my blog post the windows and doors are open, I'm wearing jeans, short sleeve blouse and I'm barefoot.  Blue sky, bright sunshine and 75 degrees at home in Parker today.  

But... our kids are in school, winter visitors are arriving and cold and flu season is upon us.

This year when one of our family members gets that cold or flu bug we'll be ready to treat it and get well without having to go to the store for the appropriate remedy.   The thing I dislike the most about the over the counter cold and flu remedy's is the "non-drowsy" stuff they put in everything - makes me feel weird.  

The above picture is of the supplies I've gathered to make the Elderberry Syrup, I'll have the recipe at the end of my blog post.

Everything but the raw honey goes in a sauce pan to cook on the stove for 30 minutes.

The mixture has simmered for 30 minutes and is cooling before I strain it and add the raw honey.

After adding the raw honey, stirring until it dissolved I used a green glass beer bottle a friend brought over to me and made a label with directions for use and put it away in the refrigerator.

This was so easy to make and the house smells wonderful!

Elderberry Syrup Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried elderberries
3 cups distilled water
1/2 cup raw honey ( If you can get raw local honey it's best )
1 cinnamon stick, 3 whole cloves, and ginger (optional)

Place berries, distilled water, and spices in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 30 minutes or until a syrupy thickness. Mash the berries to release remaining juice and strain the mixture. Allow liquid to cool. Stir in raw honey only after mixture has cooled to preserve the enzymes and good stuff in the honey.
Elderberry Syrup will last 2-3 months when refrigerated.

Use: Child: Administer 1 teaspoon per day for prevention or 1 teaspoon per waking hour at the onset of cold/flu-like symptoms. Adult: Administer on same schedule, however increase dosage to 1 tablespoon.

Note: Not suitable for children under one year of age.

My favorite place to buy Elderberries online is Bulk Herb Store, they have fresh quality products.

My recipe, health benefits and directions for use came from Deep Roots at Home and Frugally Sustainable. 

I'm very thankful to be able to learn valuable skills of self sufficiency from these ladies.

Health Benefits:
Elderberry is used for its antioxidant activity, to lower cholesterol, to improve vision, to boost the immune system, to improve heart health, and for coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsillitis. Bioflavonoids and other proteins in the juice destroy the ability of cold and flu viruses to infect a cell. Elderberry juice was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama in 1995.

Elderberries contain organic pigments, tannin, amino acids, carotenoids, flavonoids, sugar, rutin, viburnic acid, vitaman A and B and a large amount of vitamin C. These, including quercetin, are believed to account for the therapeutic actions of the elderberry flowers and berries.

Elderberries were listed in Mosby’s Nursing Drug reference for colds, flu, yeast infections, nasal and chest congestion, and hay fever. In Israel, Hasassah’s Oncology Lab has determined that elderberry stimulates the body’s immune system, and they are treating cancer and AIDS patients with it.

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Lilyboo Buzzy Buzzy Bee

I have a fun project to share with you today using Cuddly Buddly's Lilyboo Designs Buzzy Buzzy Bee digital image.  I made a bunch of Beeswax candles recently and wanted to use them for gifts and gift baskets and thought they were a little plain in just the mason jars.  

I printed Lilyboo Designs Buzzy Buzzy Bee on Copic X Press It and colored with Copic markers:

E25, E18, E39, E97, YR21, YR24, R81, R83, R85, R21, E000, E00, E01, B0000, B01, N1, N3, N5, YG63.

Cut out my colored image with a Spellbinders Ovals and attached them to a Spellbinders Labels 18, cut a belly band from black card stock and attached everything to my mason jar.  I also added an organdy ribbon that's hard to see in the photo.

This candle went into the gift basket pictured below.

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Homemade Vanilla

Have you ever thought about making Homemade Vanilla?

We make our own homemade French Vanilla Coffee Creamer and the most expensive part was buying the Vanilla.  I'd seen some pictures of Homemade Vanilla on Pinterest that piqued my interest so I did some investigating and found out it's really easy to make.  Pictured above is a half gallon mason jar of vanilla that's been "brewing" for six months now.  It's official date of completion was October 24, 2012 - just in time for holiday gift giving!  Don't worry I have a second batch brewing that will be ready in March or April in case I get carried away gifting it, after all it was for our coffee creamer...

You'll need vanilla beans, I ordered a package from Amazon.com

Then you'll need a 1.75 liter bottle of Vodka, cheap Vodka is fine.  The alcohol extracts the good stuff out of the Vanilla Beans and over a period of six months becomes Vanilla.  Have you ever wondered what Vanilla Extract meant on the bottled Vanilla in the stores?  Mmm hmmm that's right.  At the very beginning of the process the liquid looks like dirty water and smells like Vodka, eew.  A few months later the liquid is turning brown as the alcohol is breaking down the Vanilla Beans and it smells heavenly, like Vanilla.

You can see a knife in the photo, I used it to cut open the Vanilla Beans and scrape out the yummy, sticky insides.  That's what goes into the jars with the Vodka. 

When I started the Vanilla making process I'd read you need room (head space)  to shake your jars once a week so I used three quart mason jars.  I found I needed my quart mason jars for other things and poured the contents of the three jars into a half gallon mason jar and it fit perfect.  As you can see from the first picture the jar isn't completely full anymore,  I've used a little of it for our coffee creamer and a gift basket.  I just couldn't bring myself to buy one more little tiny jar of Vanilla when I had a half gallon under our kitchen sink!  

Speaking of under the kitchen sink...  you're supposed to store your Vanilla in a dark place and shake it every day for the first week and then once a week for six months till it's ready.  I didn't want to forget about it so I put mine in the cabinet under our kitchen sink.  Each time I need something in there I shake my jar of Vanilla.  It works for me (=

A couple of our dear friends were married recently and I wanted to use some of my Homemade Vanilla as part of their gift basket.  I poured some into a quarter pint mason jar and labeled it to go with the other homemade goodies in their basket.

Six months seems like a long time to wait for Vanilla but it's actually passed rather quickly!

Looking back, it was pretty simple to make,  I think the most fun I had with it was buying the Vodka.  

My two youngest kids were with me when I bought the bottle of Vodka and they were shocked and really gave me a hard time until I explained exactly what it was for.  I think they were actually embarrassed but they thought it was pretty interesting watching the process and now have Homemade Vanilla to use when they bake cookies. 

I hope you enjoyed my adventure in making Homemade Vanilla today and might be inspired to make some for your family.  I also thought it would be a good idea to give the link for the ReCap lid that's on the 12 oz. mason jar in the photo above, click the name and the link will take you there!
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Homemade Pressure Canned Pork n' Beans

Hello blog friends today I'm talking about my newest adventure into home canning.

I love the idea of being self sufficient and I also love making things, I've been wanting to try canning for some time now but didn't think I'd be able to with a glass top stove.  I found a pressure canner at our local big box store and carefully ready over the box to see if I could use it and found out yes I could - so I bought it! 

The adventure begins!  I opened up that box when I got home and read all the directions and the little cook book that comes with it and made plans to can salsa but that's another post...

Today I wanted to share the process of making pork 'n beans.

I gathered my canning supplies and went to work -

I soaked two pounds of great northern beans in water overnight and added 2 teaspoons of baking soda to the water to alleviate their ill affects after my family eats them.

Put everything together to hot pack them.  The 6 quart jars are in the canner sterilizing in the boiling water, sauce heating, beans in warm water, jar lids ready and waiting.

Two cups of beans in each jar and then two cups of sauce.  Burp the jars, wipe the rims with a paper towel dipped in vinegar for a good seal.  When I take the hot jars out of the canner I use a pitcher to take some of the extra water out and also pour some into the pan with the jar lids and rings waiting to soften the seals on the lids.  After putting the lids and rings on I put them back into the pressure canner using a jar lifter.  Put the top on the pressure canner, turn the heat to high and wait for the pressure to build so I can start timing them for 90 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.  

I've taken a picture of four of the quarts of pork n' beans, one jar didn't seal and one jar I decorated for a hostess gift for a BBQ we were invited to over the weekend.  The jar that didn't seal I put in the fridge and we had pork 'n beans with dinner that night, they were delicious!  

Here's a picture of my hostess gift.  I used a strip of burlap, covered that with a strip of a brown paper bag I'd stamped with a friendship definition, colored some leaves from another stamp set, attached it all to the jar and added a die cut button with a scrap of the burlap used as thread.  The bow on top is made with a little left over burlap mostly to see if I could tie a bow with it.  I hope she likes it!

 My recipe came from Farm Bell Recipes @ Chicken's In The Road and follows:

Makes - 6 pints or 3 quarts
Cook Time for pint jars - 75 minutes, 90 minutes for quart jars  

Ingredients

1 lb great northern beans soaked
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
2 tablespoons molasses
3 cups tomato sauce
3/4 cup condensed tomato soup
3 cups water
6 pieces 2″ each of bacon/pork, fried

Directions

Soak beans over night. Mix the remaining ingredients except bacon . For each pint jar, use 1 cup soaked beans. Add 1 cup liquid mixture and stir to mix well. Add 1 piece of bacon and push under liquid. Clean jar rims and adjust lids. Process at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes.  For quart jars use 2 cups soaked beans, add 2 cups liquid mixture then add 2 pieces of cooked bacon, clean jar rims and adjust lids.  Process at 10 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes. 

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Mason Jars - Outdoor Lighting

Have you ever thought of using mason jars for outdoor solar lighting?

This photo is of my husband hanging up our newly homemade mason jar solar lights.

Here's a close up view.

I came across lights like this on Pinterest and clicked the links to find out more about them.

What I found out is they are expensive to buy and have shipped.  Which got me to thinking...

I talked to my husband and he told me to buy the supplies and we'd make them.  

I went to our local big box store and purchased a case of pint sized wide mouth mason jars and a dozen solar lights for your yard.  You know the ones that come on stakes to plant in your garden?  We took the lights apart down to the black plastic so they will fit in the top of the mason jar with the ring on it.  They have a silver cover over them that is easy to remove for a perfect fit.  We needed a hanger so they could hang from the eves of the house, we used my Crop O dile to punch holes in the metal ring that screws onto the jars and threaded wire through the holes for a handle.  The wire was in the back of his truck from a fix it job he'd done earlier so it isn't figured into our budget.  The cost for homemade outdoor solar lighting without the wire is approximately $3.00 for each light.

I didn't take pictures as my husband was making them but I did get a picture of our solar lanterns toward the end of the process of putting them together.

They recharge in the Arizona sunshine each day and look wonderful at night hanging from the eves kind of light Christmas lights!

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Mason Jars - Jars of Joy?

I'm talking about mason jars again today.

I've had a fascination with mason jars since I was a little girl.  My grandmother used mason jars for home canning and I loved going down to her basement and looking at all those beautifully filled jars.  

Even the empty ones had a beauty of their own all lined up waiting for the day they'd be filled.

I have some of my grandmother's old mason jars and display them in a place of honor in my kitchen.

What I really wanted to share today is that mason jars are great for homemade gift giving.

Pictured above are jars of homemade hot cocoa mix I have ready for holiday gift giving.

I made labels for my jars at the Avery website & printed them using my ink jet printer, the directions for use are on the label.  I might add some ribbon and a tag later but I kind of like them just the way they are.

The smaller jars are hot cocoa for two, the larger jars will serve four.  

In December I can give these out to our mail carrier and faithful UPS driver or anyone!

Here's a recipe I found at AllRecipes.com

Hot Cocoa Mix

Ingredients

• 10 cups dry milk powder
• 4 3/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 3/4 cups powdered non-dairy creamer

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine milk powder, confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and creamer. Stir till thoroughly combined. Store cocoa mixture in an airtight container. Makes about 15 cups mix, or enough for about 45 servings.
2. For 1 serving, place 1/3 cup cocoa mixture in a coffee cup or mug, and add 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir to dissolve. Top with dollop of whipped cream or a few marshmallows, if desired.

If you'd like to do something like this for the upcoming holiday season just "google" hot cocoa mix recipes and you'll find a lot to choose from!

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Mason Jars - Home Decor

Mason Jars aren't just for canning anymore -

While being wonderfully functional for canning and food storage mason jars old or new are also fun to use for home decor. 

I used some of my vintage mason jars to decorate the "mantel" below our t.v., I simply filled them with fall themed potpourri and put their tops back on.  

 

I filled some of my old Drey jars from the 1930's with candy corn and caramels.

Did you know that Ball Co. bought out Drey Glass Co. and  manufactured Drey mason jars during the depression as a less expensive canning jar?  In doing this they didn't have to lower the price of their Ball jars.  Drey mason jars were never advertised as being made by Ball.

Since it's October I thought eyeballs in a jar would be fun along with more candy corn and caramels in my old and new Ball mason jars.

Now that you've seen all the pieces and parts here's what my autumn display looks like.

When the season changes to Christmas I'll see if I can come up with more fun ways to use my new and old mason jars for more holiday home decor.

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