Two Frugal Chicks

Other than using baking soda as an antacid, a baking ingredient or a refrigerator deodorizer, I had no idea it was so versatile.  AllYou.com has a great article on 31 ways to use baking soda…

Baking soda can do a lot more than just sit in the back of the fridge.  Try these easy tips and put baking soda to work in every room of your house!

1. Skip produce washes—just put some baking soda on a damp sponge, scrub and rinse.
2. Soak hair brushes and combs in a mixture of 1 teaspoon baking soda and a small amount of warm water. Rinse and dry.
3. Before you store your patio furniture for the season, scatter baking soda under chair cushions.
4. Keep your grill clean all summer long by putting some baking soda on a damp brush, scrubbing the grate, then rinsing.
5. Freshen rugs by sprinkling baking soda on carpet, wait at least 15 minutes (preferably let sit overnight), then vacuum up.

Read more…. .

It’s the time of year when we are all looking for ways to preserve the lovely fresh fruits and berries we are enjoying. I’ve made my own pectin before from crab apples. Here’s how:

Apple Pectin
3 pounds sliced, washed tart crabapples
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
4 cups water

Wash, but don’t peel apples.
Add four cups of water and two tablespoons of lemon juice.
Boil the mixture until it reduces almost in half (about 30 to 45 minutes), then
Strain it through cheesecloth or a jelly bag.
Boil the juice for another 20 minutes

If you want to test your pectin you can do so with denatured alcohol (just don’t taste it after you add it though, it’s poisonous). You add 1 T alcohol to 1 tsp of your pectin water. If it is high in pectin it will form a gelatinou material. It was kinda fun doing this and seeing it gel up. You can test the pectin level of any fruit using this method. If it’s ready to go, pour it into sanitized jars, and seal them to store in the refrigerator, freezer or process in a water bath.

Knowing how much to use depends on the fruit you are trying to jam. Some fruit have more natural pectin than others. The more ripe the fruit is, the lower the pectin levels. See this page for the pectin content of fruits.

To test, remove a spoonful of the jam, and hold an ice cube against the bottom of the spoon to cool the jam. If the spoonful sets to your liking, you can fill the jars, seal them . If the spoonful does not set, add more pectin, cook and try again.

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We’ve been getting a lot of eggs lately so I’ve been thinking on ways to use them up.

My best tip for a non soggy quiche is to lay slices of swiss cheese on the crust before you add the egg mixture. It keeps the crust from getting soggy.

Bon Appetite……

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Here is the link to an interesting article about getting rid of flies.

Ends up the two best methods are a box fan and a dish of soapy water.

Lots of wives tales about other methods. I tried the home made sticky traps in my hen house and they did not work. I’ve seen the bags of water over door ways too.

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Here is a link to an article on eggs. I love fresh eggs. I went to check yesterday and brought in 12 from my hens. I guess my husband forgot to gather them while I was out of town. Chickens are so easy to keep and so rewarding.

Conventional: Hens live in stacked cages, usually four to eight chickens to a cage with at least 67 square inches of floor space per chicken.

Cage Free: Hens live on the floor of a barn rather than the outdoors or in a cage.

Free Range: Hens live outdoors or have limited access to the outdoors.

Organic: Hens are fed vegetables grown without any antibiotics, growth hormones or commercial fertilizers.

Omega 3: Hens are fed a diet containing ground flaxseed, which produces eggs containing slightly more polyunsaturated fatty acids.

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Throw some cloves in the ash tray. Cheap, easy and smells nice when the car warms up.

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Tip 1: I wrap my meatloaf in bacon to keep it moist and flavorful.

Tip 2: I line the meatloaf pan with bread. It soaks up the grease. When the meatloaf is done you just throw the bread away (or in my case, give it to the chickens who will love it).

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Here is an example of a rock bottom price list posted by living well spending less. Every one will have different products that they use and prices are different regionally, but this will give you an idea of how to get started.  Hope this helps..

Glean: (verb)
1. To harvest (grain) left behind by reapers.
2. To collect bit by bit.
3. To obtain as a result of effort.
4. To gather a return or reward.

We were asked at one of our coupon classes about gleaning.  A friend of mine belongs to the Renton Community Co-Op.  She shares her excess bread with me, and I share our fresh eggs with her.  This co-op gleans from:

PCC Natural Markets: bakery items, gluten free items, dairy, deli salads, pizzas, sub sandwiches
Costco: Bakery items only – muffins, breads, cupcakes, cakes, brownies
Saars: Produce only
Franz: Bakery items only
Panerra: Bakery items – bagels, bread, pastries, cookies (all made fresh that day)

Members are required to drive to one of the gleaning pickups twice a month, and take the items home to divvy up into boxes according to how many families are in their local group.  Once a week, members are required to go pick up their boxes.

There is a lot of food that is not usable and will need to be recycled/composted, but there is more than plenty that is perfectly fresh – and its good stuff like Dave’s Killer Bread and organic dairy products.  A lot of the items gleaned are store overstock, and not necessarily items close to their pull dates.

Annual donations of $30 per household for those financially able are appreciated, but not required for membership.

Click here to learn more about the Renton Community Co-op or google co-ops in your local area..