Andrea

Goodgrief, MtRider, do you know how many varieties of "gooseberry" exist? I recommend plants for a future database. They have 11 different "gooseberries" listed. I have absolutely no idea which one might be yours!

Raspberry leaves should be dried before using. If used fresh, it may upset your stomach. I use a lot of dried raspberry leaves in tea. I find that it tastes like black tea but without the caffeine.

Jeepers, I like Trader Joe's organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Unlike Heinz, this has the mother in it. I don't take it straight, ever. I splash it on my daily salad along with garlic powder and tumeric powder. If you have a problem with hot foods, then I would be extremely careful about taking cayenne in a capsule form. I know I've tried to take tumeric in a capsule form and it makes normal hot flashes seem like a cold shower. Check out Joel Fuhrman's book Super Immunity he talks about how eating proper foods can cure most chronic health conditions. I enjoy a lot of his recipes and when I strictly follow his diet, I feel so much better.

I ride 6 miles on the exercise bike at least 5 days a week. As for push ups, I have a shoulder injury which prevents joining that challenge. Good for you, gofish!

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/chicken-plant-workers-say-chemicals-sprayed-carcas/nfg73/

Happy Birthday, friend! P.S. Mother earth has been unable to log on to her account for several months, so I'm not sure she'll be able to see this.

Oh man, I can't believe the Gathering has already come and gone. I was SURE it was later in the month . . . Sigh . . . I have one more week of stress (work) left and then things will lighten up. Darlene, I guess you'll get the box of treats from California all to yourself and those ADORABLE puppies! I'll send them out in a week or two when things lighten up. Glad you were all able to get together. Thank you so much for sharing your adventures!

Wow, just did some research and parboiled rice has a much higher nutritional value than white rice because of the way it is processed. Definitely going to try it out!

I hit the exercise bike at least four days last week, but I didn't track my miles.

SHARKNADO 2 airs this coming Wednesday, July 30!!!!!

21 half pints of pepper relish.

(((Annarchy))) You've most likely developed a sensitivity to one of the "new and improved" preservatives currently in use. Unfortunately, no true allergy tests exist for these ingredients. Believe me, I've researched it and undergone numerous allergy tests. For example, I thought I was allergic to shrimp, to the point of carrying around an epipen. Guess what, even though my throat swells up so that I can't breathe, I'm not allergic to shrimp, according to the tests. What I am deathly sensitive to are the preservatives used on shrimp. Which makes sense. I grew up on the coast catching, cleaning, and eating seafood for the first half of my life. Then, suddenly, I am deathly allergic to commercial seafood (the stuff you buy in a store). It's not the seafood, it's the crap used to preserve the seafood. We went out to dinner late Sunday night for the first time in months. It was to a restaurant not on my "safe" list but dh had a gift card and insisted. Even though I ordered what I thought were safe foods and ate very little (about 15% of my order when I realized that my safe choices were not so safe and popped several rapid dissolve benadryl), I stayed home sick on Monday. My husband sometimes gets frustrated with me. Luckily, he likes my cooking and he likes the money we save by eating at home even more. There are healthy choices out there. They may cost a bit more but they are so worth the price!

LOL, looks like we have another canning addict onboard! WELCOME, WELCOME!

I've been dumping it on my salads and using it as dressing! YUMMY! I use a fresh recipe though. I'll look up the Ball recipe, that might be a fun thing to have on hand during the winter months.

We mostly fall in the "thrifty" to "Low Cost" plan, but I also include toiletries, pet products, and paper and cleaning products in our food budget.

If you can't find white wine vinegar, I would feel confident substituting red wine vinegar, although they are sold side by side at most grocery. I made a batch of brushetta last night. Thanks for the inspiration! It's perfect for hot summer evenings and makes a great salad dressing!

I would use the recipe as given. Wine and vinegar are related but are not interchangeable. I would avoid the Kraft substitution as well, and go for the balsamic vinegar. If you don't have any balsamic, you could substitute apple cider vinegar but it would change the flavor.

HAPPY HAPPY DAY!!!

HAPPY, HAPPY DAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

National Raspberry Cream Pie Day?!? I had no idea, but I think it's one we need to start celebrating! Thanks Snowmom!

Been busy with elderberries. I just have two batches of jelly to make tomorrow (they're already juiced and ready to go!) and then I'm done with them for the year. Good thing too, my 2nd crop of figs and my peaches are getting closer to being ready to pick! My step ladder sure does get around the yard! I've picked 4 more tomatoes, a couple of zuch's, and juiced some aloe and stirred it into my morning smoothie. I've been snipping celery seeds and need to find some time to sit down and separate them out. I'd like to collect enough to use for seasoning this year. I always save celery seed to plant in the Fall but for the past several years, I haven't needed to. This celery reseeds itself all over my yard - it's almost as bad as lemon balm! I wish I could remember the variety but I'm guessing it's an heirloom since this is it's 5th or 6th year of planting itself without looking any different. If anything, it seems to be getting bigger each year. And there's one plant in a shady part of the yard (I didn't put it there!) that hasn't gone to seed yet, so I need to go and pick & dehydrate the leaves for flavoring. There's always something! Happy gardening!

I AM BEAT. The last batch of berries are in the dehydrator. This should give me about 4 cups of dried (stemless) berries which will make 8 batches of sambucol-like syrup, or if I'm lazy, I can just throw them in with my herbal tea. I also made 9 1/2 pints of jam, and I have enough juice in the fridge for two batches of elderberry jelly (14 1/2 pints). I'll throw that together tomorrow but I've already sterilized the jars and cleaned the kitchen so I just need to get up and get it done! For a while, it looked like I had dissected Barney in my kitchen. There was purple juice everywhere!

Ugh, I'm only halfway through my elderberries for the season. I'm tired of all of those pesky little stems! I've also got to get my herbs into the dehydrators. Everything is ready at once and preserving it takes so much time. But I've committed myself to doing a better job of preserving what I grow for future use, but it is so much repetitious work. How do you alleviate the tediousness of de-stemming gallons of elderberries? All I can say is that I wish there were more seasons of Dr. Who! We have Amazon Prime so I've been streaming Dr. Who on my kindle in the kitchen. How do you motivate yourself?

http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2014/06/making-your-own-fertilizer/?ext=FB_GC_PP_Registrations_blog_making-your-own-fertilizer1_2014-07-02_2100&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social%20Engagement&utm_campaign=Gardening%20Club-Registrations&initialPage=true