November 7, 2011: Blue Corn Flour Tortillas

I’ve shared a recipe or two using the new corn/flour tortillas I’ve found at my local grocery store such as this one for Lite Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas. Rather than buy another package, I decided to use the blue corn meal I had on hand to make my own version of these tortillas. Here’s what I came up – a tortilla that would be just as good in a taco recipe as a burrito or enchilada recipe.

Blue Corn Flour Tortillas

1 cup flour

1 cup blue corn meal*

1 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

3 T. shortening or bacon grease or lard

¾ cup warm water

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening until thoroughly mixed in (like pie crust). Sprinkle on the water and mix with a fork. Form into a ball. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 15 minutes.

When dough has rested, pinch off small pieces of doll and roll into a ball. Flatten the balls as you would a hamburger patty. On a lightly floured surface, roll tortilla dough into a very thin circle (this may take some practice).

Heat a flat griddle to medium high. Place tortillas, one at a time, on the griddle and cook for about a minute per side, just until the dough gets slightly charred.

To use tortillas, fry briefly in very hot oil for soft tortillas, or cook longer and shape to make crispy taco shells.

*You may need to special order or visit a Latin grocery store in order to find the blue corn meal. For those of my readers who live locally, I found this ingredient at Cole’s in Clay Springs.

October 10, 2011: Pie Crust Recipe

Over the weekend I made a couple of different pies and of course I made the pie crusts for them from scratch. I’ve used several different recipes for crusts but found this one to be the best for support heavy fillings. It’s a bit denser than you might expect but it is easy to roll out and doesn’t tend to break apart so it’s a good recipe for the beginner pie maker.

Pie Crust

3 cups flour

1 t. salt

8 ounces butter flavored Crisco (half stick)

1 egg

1 T. sugar

1 t. vodka

Cold water

Combine flour and salt. Add shortening and cut into flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives, uncles mixture resembles coarse meal. The smaller the particles of shortening, the more tender your crust.

Combine egg, sugar, vinegar and enough cold water to make one cup of liquid. Pour over flour mixture. Mix with a fork just until combined. You may have to add more water to get the mixture to hold together; it will still be somewhat crumbly, however.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Turn a pie plate upside down over dough and trim edges to one inch larger than the rim of the pie plate. Fold dough in half and gently ease it into the pie plate. Use your fingers to crimp the edges.

Tip: If your recipe calls for blind baking, place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the crust. Add baking weights or dried beans and bake at 425 degrees for about 10 – 15 minutes. The parchment paper makes it easy to remove the weights when you take the crust out of the oven.

Makes enough for two 9” pie crusts.

September 16, 2011: Peach Butter Recipe

Recently my friend Kathy scored several boxes of peaches straight from Colorado. These were freshly picked, perfectly ripe, huge, beautiful and juicy peaches that you could never find at the grocery store. Of course I had to get some but I’m not a big fresh fruit eater. I made a peach cake, then decided to can the rest of them using a new recipe for peach butter.

I’ve shared with you the exact measurements I used but if you have more or less peaches, you can adjust the recipe accordingly.

Peach Butter

7 extra large peaches

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

Pinch of salt

1 ½ t. pumpkin pie spice

Peel, pit and slice the peaches. Place them in a large saucepan and heat over medium low. Cook until the peaches are softened (this could take more than half an hour, depending on how ripe the peaches are). Let cool slightly and press through a sieve.

Place the peach juice (you should have 4 cups of it) back in the saucepan. Add remaining ingredients. Cook over low heat until reduced to a very thick paste. To determine if the butter is ready, spoon a small amount on a plate. If no liquid separates from the butter, it is ready to put into jars. Note: cooking down the peach juice could take longer than two hours.

When peach butter is ready, ladle into sterilized jars to within ¼ inch of top. Wipe off rims. Top jars with sterilized seals and rings. Store in refrigerator. The peach butter will keep for several months as long as it stays cold.

OR if you have a lot of peach butter, you might want to process it in a hot water bath. If so, use new seals when closing the jars. Place them in a large pot of gently boiling water; make sure the lids are covered by an inch of water. Boil jars for 10 minutes (below 1,000 feet above sea level) to 25 minutes (above 6,000 feet over sea level).

Makes 4 half pint jars.

March 21, 2011: Miscellaneous Spring Cleaning Recipes

I’ve been laboring under a delusion for some time now. I always thought the first day of spring – the vernal equinox – was scheduled for March 21st. It was my pastor who set me straight. I did a bit of research on www.timeanddate.com and found out that the equinox can occur on either the 20th or 21st of the month and this year it happened to be the earlier date. Spring officially began at 11:21 PM, marking the date when day and night became nearly equal.

So… I had meant for today’s post to be about spring cleaning in honor of the first day of spring but I guess I’m a few hours late. Oh well, this stuff happens. Onward and upward with our spring cleaning chores!

I tend to break up my spring cleaning chores because it’s just too much to do all at once. Each time I clean my house, I select one job that I never get around to but once or twice a year. A few weeks ago it was cleaning the back side of the wooden louvered doors to my pantry. Boy, that was a real eye opener! The back of the slats were black with grime. Yuck! Now, however, they are clean and dust-free. This past weekend I moved my couch out from the wall and vacuumed up all the dog hair, dust bunnies, and accumulated filth from underneath. It’s tasks like those that make spring cleaning very time-consuming – but oh so satisfactory.

I’ve shared lots of cleaning formulas this past month and now I’ve compiled a list of miscellaneous recipes for various cleaning tasks. Here they are, in no particular order.

Mold – make a paste of salt, vinegar, and a bit dishwashing liquid and apply to the mold, then wipe off with a wet rag. Or you can use foamy shaving cream.

Carpet Cleaner – make a paste of Fels Naptha soap suds, water, and borax. Test on a small, inconspicuous area first to be sure this solution doesn’t bleach your carpet.

Sterling Silver and other types of jewelry – scrub with white toothpaste then rinse with water. Be careful of soft stones, such as opals, which shouldn’t be scrubbed.

Mirrors – brew a week tea using plain Lipton or other black or green tea and put in a spray bottle. Wipe off with dry, white coffee filters.

Dusting (non-wood items) – in a container with a lid (like the one I use for homemade all purpose wipes), add water plus a few drops of lemon. Add paper towels (cut a roll in half) or white dusting cloths. Squeeze out excess water from the paper towel or cloth and use to clean the dust from veneers, plastics, countertops, etc.

Brass – use full-strength Worcestershire sauce (wipe on and then remove with a clean, damp cloth), ketchup, or a paste of lemon juice and salt.

Silk Flowers or plush baby toys – place in a paper bag and sprinkle with salt. Shake and remove.

Garbage Disposal – for tough odors, make a tray of vinegar ice cubes and toss a couple down the drain, then run the garbage disposal.

Toilet Bowl – if your toilet bowl is terribly stained, soak paper towels in cola, then plaster them along the inside rim of the bowl. Let sit for about an hour, then remove and flush.

March 1, 2011: Natural Cleaning Product Ingredients, Fabric Softener Recipes

Today, the month of March comes blowing in on a strong wind – at least where I live! March represents the beginning of spring (the vernal equinox occurs two-thirds of the way through) and a gradual thawing and warming that sends a signal to bulbs that it’s time to bloom (the official flower of the month of March is the daffodil).

March is actually named after the Roman god of war, Mars and it was considered the first month of the calendar year in ancient Rome. It’s fitting, then, that the month’s birthstones are bloodstone and aquamarine, both of which denote courage.

All right, enough March trivia!

What does spring mean to me? Usually it’s spring cleaning! March is the beginning of the early windy season here in the White Mountains (which can last until May and makes another appearance in the fall) and by the time spring officially arrives, my house needs a thorough cleaning of all the dust that sneaks its way past the windows and doors.


In honor of that age-old tradition, I’m dedicating March blog posts to natural cleaning products and tips. I’ll still include food recipes and the occasional beauty treatment, but I want you to be ready for deep cleaning projects that only cost pennies - so there's no excuse not to clean!

Before we get any further into this month devoted to spring cleaning, I thought it beneficial to compile a list of ingredients you will find helpful to always keep on hand. With these products, you will have a natural arsenal of supplies sufficient for just about any spring cleaning job on your list.

The beauty of using natural products for cleaning is that you really can’t go wrong trying them for any type of application. Most of us know that you can’t combine bleach with various other ingredients because it could create toxic fumes; since I don’t use anything as harsh as bleach, that’s not a concern. The harshest item on this list is ammonia – and I use it sparingly.

It’s doubtful you can ruin anything with natural products, either. In the following list, I’ve indicated what each product does in the way of cleaning so you can determine whether or not a specific ingredient is appropriate for a particular application.

Natural Cleaning Products List

•    Lemon Juice – Mild acid (corrosive to metals), mild antibacterial and antiseptic, water softener, whitening agent, cuts grease
•    White Vinegar – Mild (household formula) acid that dissolves mineral deposits, brightens, cuts grease
•    Borax (sodium borate) – Detergent, insecticide,
•    Washing Soda (sodium carbonate) – Water softener, water descaler, removes oil, grease, and alcohol
•    Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) - Disinfectant, antiseptic, acid neutralizer, water softener, odor neutralizer. But don't use on aluminum!
•    Cornstarch– Absorbs grease and moisture, mild abrasive
•    Dishwashing Liquid (dish soap) – Cuts grease
•    Tea Tree Oil – Antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, pesticide
•    Salt – Sets dyes, removes rust, abrasive, absorbent
•    Castile Soap – Non-foaming cleanser made from plant-based oils, used in place of any type of cleanser for face, body, or household
•    Fabric Softener – Lubricant, conducts electricity
•    Ammonia – Degreaser, produces streak-free shine; use sparingly and never mix with bleach or any product that contains bleach; use in a ventilated area

There may be a few other products that are necessary for specific solutions, but this list represents the core ingredients that will be used in the majority of the natural, homemade cleaning product recipes I’ll share with you here.

And because I owe you a recipe or two, here are two uses for fabric softener. These recipes are economical, too – I’m still using the bottle of fabric softener I bought six months ago!



Dryer Sheets

Instead of buying a box of dryer sheets for the laundry at the store, make your own. Simply use an old washcloth. Before you put your wet laundry into the clothes dryer, dampen the washcloth, then sprinkle it with about a tablespoon of fabric softener. Scrunch up the washcloth so the fabric softener permeates it, then toss it into the dryer. This is far cheaper than using dryer sheets.

Bathroom Cleaner

If you’re like me, you use hairspray on a regular basis (hey, I have to – I’ve got this fine, thin, flyaway hair!). But when I spray it on, it doesn’t just land on my hair – it tends to coat the tile floor in my bathroom, too. Unfortunately, hairspray is tenacious and regular floor cleaners don’t cut through the layers of sticky stuff. The solution? Mix 1 part fabric softener with 2 parts warm water. Spray or pour on the floor where needed. Let it sit for a couple minutes, then wipe it up. Presto! The hairspray softens and comes right up!