Vanilla Extract

This has to be one of the easiest and tastiest Christmas presents you can make!  Many years ago, when I first got started making things from scratch, I wanted to make Vanilla Extract, but the ingredients weren't easy to come by...or so I thought. Things are much easier to access now due to online herb and spice venders.  My favorite high quality supplier is Mountain Rose Herbs. 

Anyway, I was visiting Callaway Gardens with my daughter, and their farmers market season was just beginning.  


Credit: CallowayGardens.com

We had a great time meeting the vendors, one of which had the most amazing goat's milk and cheeses!  Then I spied a vendor selling herbs and spices, I quickly made my way over to see what she had in stock.  To my surprise, she had a vanilla extract making kit with everything I needed to make the extract except the vodka. Yes. I said vodka. That is how extracts are made.  An alcohol is used as a solvent for the herb or spice. 


 I was very excited to be able to go home and finally check this "how to" off of my list!  It was so easy and very cute in it's cork capped bottle. These bottles can be found from Walmart to Amazon.  I assembled my extract and then waited the eight weeks for full flavor.  It won't be sweet like commercial vanilla extract, because sometimes they add simple syrup to give it a sweet after taste. This will not be a problem if you intend to use it just for baking. 

Vanilla Extract 

*3Vanilla Beans
*1 Cup Vodka
* Glass jar with a tight fitting lid


1. Split the vanilla beans in half lengthwise with a pairing knife.  Be sure to leave an inch connected at one end.

2.  Place the vanilla beans in the jar and cover completely with vodka.

3.  Shake the bottle every so often and store in a cool dark place.  It will be ready in 4-8 weeks. 

It will last for years, and you can keep topping it off with vodka and give it a good shake as you use the extract.

 Vanilla sugar can also be made by putting a split vanilla bean into a jar of white granulated sugar.

This is a great gift for foodie friends or a DIY kit gift for your favorite Do It Yourselfer. A pretty jar, a nice bow, directions and a cute tag seem like the perfect gift to me! You can also use different alcohols to change up the flavor.  One year my sister-in-law made us Kentucky Vanilla Extract made with Kentucky Bourbon. It was different, but just as yummy, and great for label appeal!


Also, if you make this for yourself be aware you are on the cusp of herbal medicine making!  This is a very similar process to making all of those expensive herbal tinctures you see in herbal stores!

Happy Creating,

Jill

The Herbal Hutch









 

A Handmade Christmas

There are so many ways to bless people during the Christmas season.  There are also wonderful handmade gifts that can bring joy to the foodie & handmade lover in your family.  Over the next few days, I would like to share some ideas for  handmade Christmas gifts.  I have been blessed to be on the receiving end of several of these ideas through the years.
Hand Embroidered Flour Sacks for the Kitchen here's an example.

Hand stitched & trimmed flour sack clothes.  We use these for everything...covering bread, ferments and drying dishes. 

Home Roasted Coffee give it a try.

Hand poured  Beeswax Candles ideas from Mountain Rose Herbs

Arm Knitted or Finger Knitted scarf ideas

My lovely daughter made this beauty a few years ago.

 

 

 

I will be sharing more handmade ideas with you over the next few days to help you have a Handmade Christmas!

 



Happy Creating!

Jill
The Herbal Hutch

Baby's First Cough

I knew it would happen at some point, and I am thankful it didn't happen until he was five months old, but he had to get sick sometime.  It is such a hard thing to see and hear your little one when they are sick. Not surprisingly it all started with my oldest son getting a very strong cough, and a few days later little man followed suit. Suddenly, I woke to him coughing through the baby monitor and got him up to feed him as a precautionary measure.  After feeding him, I was awake and racking my brain to think of all the things I could safely treat this little one with. I know what I would do for myself or my other kids, but it always makes me take extra caution with one this young. I started taking elderberry tincture so that he would get some medicine through my milk, but I wanted to do more for him. Look at this face! How could I not do all I could to help this sweet guy?

 

I started searching google, when I came across a garlic remedy from The Elliot Homestead that sounded great. It also reminded me that this is exactly how I had treated my last baby with his first illness.  So in the middle of the night, like any good mama, I whipped this remedy up with my stick blender.  It worked great!! I rubbed it on his feet (cover feet with socks) and chest every diaper change.  Yes, he smelled like an Italian restaurant, but he got better in a few days, and his cough was greatly reduced in one day. I am so thankful for simple and safe ways to help my baby.

 

 

 

Homemade Garlic Salve for Coughs and Colds
You will need:
– 8 cloves garlic, peeled
– 1/3 cup coconut oil
– 10 drops lavender oil (optional)

Combine the ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Blend for about 3 minutes, or until it is a perfectly smooth whipped butter. You may need to scrape down the sides of the food processor to get all the garlic completely worked into a paste. (By The Elliot Homestead)

Happy Healing!

Jill

The Herbal Hutch

 

 

The Perfect Kale Soup

This soup has been a family favorite for years now.  I came across it in a blog called Passionate Homemaking. She had a much fancier name for it "Zuppa Tuscana." :) At my house, the kids get to pick what they want for their birthday meal, and more than once they have picked to have Kale Soup (as we uncreatively call it). A few weeks ago, we went to Gibbs Garden for a fall outing, and a distraction from what our original purpose for that day, which was supposed to be our first chicken butchering day....but that's another post.  Anyway, we had a great day in the beautiful gardens and got fully into the spirit of fall. 

 

 

We returned home and all I wanted was a big bowl of warming soup!  I turned to my favorite, Kale Soup, and it made a perfect ending to a bitter sweet day full of God's blessings! The bonus is it is even better the next day!!!

1 lb bacon
1 lb.  Italian sausage bulk
4-6 potatoes peeled and diced
1 onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
6-8 cups chicken stock
2 cups whole milk, half & half, or raw cream
1 head of kale (5-6 leaves, as desired), chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese

First, cook the bacon in the oven at 415 degrees for 15 minutes. (This is the only way to cook bacon!)  Cool, finely chop and set the bacon aside. In a large pot, cook the sausage, onions, and garlic (in bacon grease, if desired) until the sausage has browned. Crumble sausage as you cook it. Add the potatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Once it has reached a boil, turn it down to low and simmer for 20 minutes or so, just until the potatoes are tender. Add the milk, kale, and bacon (save some bacon to go  on the top of each bowl) and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes. Season to taste. Top with parmesan cheese and bacon for extra flavor!

This little Peter Rabbit dish, that my second little man eats out of, was my husband's as a kid.  I love that all of my kids have eaten out of it. 

We love a big hunk of sourdough bread and butter to go with this rich soup.

Sourdough and Parmesan Cheese 

I promise this will become your new favorite soup!! 

Enjoy, stay warm and enjoy God's blessings in the everyday moments!

Blessings,
Jill
 

How I Was Able To Never Buy Laundry Soap Again

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Many years ago, when I first started down this more natural lifestyle path, I had a desire to learn how to make the daily products I used. One of the first things I learned to make was laundry soap.  I used liquid laundry soap at the time and I searched through recipes, and there are tons out there!  During my quest I came across the Duggar's recipe for Liquid Laundry soap. Well, I thought they should know something about good laundry soap with all of their active children.  Surprisingly, it was very easy to make.  The hardest part was finding the Fels-Naptha soap. Don't worry it is much easier now just look on the top shelf in the laundry detergent section.  It is a bar of soap wrapped in paper.  If your store doesn't carry it there is always Amazon.  So here you go my/The Duggar's Liquid Laundry Soap (directly from their page).  I hope it works as well for you as it does me!

 

 

 

Laundry Soap

(Front or top load machine-best value) 

Ingredients: 

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar*
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda**
½ Cup Borax

Directions: 

-Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Visit the Fels-Naptha website to find a store in your area that carries the product.
**Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

 

 

If you would like a  more thorough post on the Duggar Detergent check out this post by leahlefler

Another detergent option to try is this one by Mommypotamus, but I have never tried it. 

 

Lastly, I want you to take a look at how our random half functioning garden tub gets used at our home...

It has never been used for a bath, but countless 5 gallon buckets have been filled!!!

 

Happy Washing!

Jill

The Herbal Hutch

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

"Mama's Mud" A Spa Treatment for Baby"

This is a shared post from my blog over at Linden Row Botanicals. I will be posting over there as well on soap and skincare topics.

      In May, I was blessed to give birth to my fifth child.  That's a lot of diapers and many opportunities for diaper rash to occur.  Naturally, once I started down this natural health and body care journey, over six years ago, I had to learn to make a better diaper rash cream.  I tried several recipes, but none worked as well as the one I came up with "Mama's Mud".  I have been using it for years now and given it as baby gifts as well.  The best thing is that it is VERY simple to make!

You will need:

1/8 cup coconut oil (extra virgin is preferred)

1/4 cup raw shea butter

3-4 Tablespoons Bentonite Clay (I use Redmond Clay)

This will make about 1 cup.

First, combine the coconut oil and shea butter in a small bowl.  You can use a hand mixer to blend or even soften the shea butter slightly in a double boiler.  Then add the clay until you reach the desired whipped texture.  Store it in a sealed container at your changing table or in a small tin in your diaper bag.  You can apply the paste at each diaper change to prevent rash or just apply when a rash occurs. 

I use the paste when there is an active rash.  As prevention, I have Redmond Clay (can you tell I love the stuff) in a shaker that I dust my babies bottom with during each diaper change. 

If you use cloth diapers, you can use this too!  I apply the paste and then use one of my homemade wet wipes (in its dry state) as a barrier. My wet wipes are made from cut up fleece receiving blankets.

*The paste may discolor or stain fabric.  It  is clay after all. :) 

"Mama's Mud" has worked wonders for me and I hope it brings quick healing to the little bums in your life.

Jill

A New Motto

     We are always striving to become more self-sufficient and I often feel that we aren’t moving quickly enough towards our goals.  The only way we seem to make progress is to leap!  We read, study and plan only to not act on the plan.  Things should be prepared for the animal before you take on the responsibility of the life and well-being of an animal. Right?

  Yes, we plan to eat our animals, but we want to give them the best life possible and respect their contribution to sustaining our lives.  There is a tendency for us to plan & plan & plan…you get the picture.  I have found the  only way we make progress is to do drastic things...

First Batch of Egg Layers

like order 15 or even 25 chicks when we don’t even have a coop :$.  Say yes to a rabbit before our colony is built.  If we don’t have the pressure of the animal coming we don’t “build it.” 

 My new motto instead of “Build it and they will come.” Is “Build it they are coming!” 

There is a big difference between the above statements, but it has been our motivator thus far.  I hope one day we won’t function this way, but for now, this is how we make progress. 





The Chicken Castle

Hawthorne, my husband, has almost finished the “Chicken Castle” as we are calling it due to it being 25% larger than we intended.  You could say we are also growing in our building experience as well, if you can call assembling PVC pipe and chicken wire building. ;)  This PVC pipe structure will house our Freedom Rangers when we move them outside around 3 to 4 weeks.  This will be our first batch of meat chickens and they arrived yesterday so I will be writing about that new learning  experience soon.  Birch, my oldest daughter, helped me set up our brooder so we would at least be ready when the chicks arrived. 



Sweet Fern


 

 

 For now our  breeder meat rabbit, Sweet Fern, is being moved around on grass in a modified dog kennel. 

In the coming weeks we plan to fence the rabbit colony and try to seed it with plot spike.  Our property has some interesting quirks and one is a concrete pad in the woods that is half fenced.  There is a very thick cover of organic matter on top of the concrete pad from years of leaves falling.  When my farm friends at East West Farm and Free Home Farm came for a visit they gave us the idea to build the colony.  This will be a huge learning experience and I pray we learn quickly without many mishaps.






There is always so much going on here and more we want to do, but I am trying to learn to rest in the journey and see the Lord's blessings each day.  Thanks for taking the journey with me.


Jill, The Herbal Hutch