A little bit of history...

The little town where my sister lives is nestled deep within the American South. It is a town that time seems to have left untouched. It is approximately 60 miles from any large city and far from any major interstate. The little town itself is full of gorgeously preserved antebellum homes. During the American Civil War, this little town did not see any large battles and was left untouched by the passing Federal Army. Over the years, the local historic preservation society has been able to take over a few of these homes and restore them for public view.  They are some of the most majestic pieces of pre Civil War architecture I have ever encountered.

Bluff Hall (c. 1850) as it looks today

One of the homes in this little town sits right on the river and has an amazing historic clothing collection. Some of the clothing is on display throughout the house, but 90% of it in storage. Several years ago when my sister was a docent at the home, I had the opportunity to view the collection in person. The majority of the clothing dated from the late 1890s to early 1900s. Stupidly, I was only interested in Victorian era garments at that time and did not give these garments the attention I should have. Only now do I now realize the importance of these artifacts because the majority were donated by local families and thus all had a Southern connection. What an opportunity to document what real Southern American women were wearing at the turn of the 20th century! But I was younger then... and naive.

Early 20th century gown from their clothing collection

A few years later, I returned to the house- this time with my camera. I have to say, there is something amazing about this house. It is unlike any other museum or historically preserved house I have toured. It is very comfortable. It feels like home. 

Original grounds structure dating to the late 18th century

View of the yard looking toward the river

Main parlor

Attached Kitchen

What a treat in the American South!

19th century baby carriage

View from the back hallway looking into the dining room

View of the yard looking toward the river from the second floor

Second story doorway exiting out onto second story front porch

Mid 19th century wrapper/maternity gown

Second story nursery with hip tub

Boy's 2 piece dark blue velvet suit

How to make your own laundry soap

Here at our household, along with an array of many other things, we make our own laundry soap. Why, you ask? Well, because we can. There are other factors like thriftiness and not having to rely on manufactured goods, etc. But primarily, we make our own laundry soap because we want to.

Here are the pros:

1. It's cheap.

2. It's extremely hypoallergenic.

3. It does not leave any stinky artificial perfumes on your clothing.

4. It does not use artificial dyes.

5. It does not pollute the environment.

Here are the Cons:

1. It does take time to make and special equipment (equipment should NOT be shared with equipment you intend to use for food).

2. It does not remove heavy stains.

So, if you think the pros outweigh the cons, here is the recipe and instructions:

1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, shaved (or you can use Zote soap instead of Fels)
4 cups of hot water to melt the soap
3 gallons of hot water
1 cup of borax
2 cups of washing soda
1 cup of baking soda
1 large pot about 4-5 gallons size 

Container(s) to hold soap (I use recycled milk jug style containers)

Grate the soap into the pot (not one you plan to cook with). You can use a box grater or just rough chop with a knife. Do not use whatever tool you use for grating soap with food.

Add 4 cups of hot water to the pan. Simmer on low until the soap melts completely into the water.

Add borax, washing soda and baking soda to the hot water. Simmer on low until it dissolves with the soap. If the mixture is not melting, add more water if needed.

Add 3 gallons of hot water. Mix with a large spoon until it completely dissolves (Again, do not use a spoon you intend to use for food).

Pour into containers. As the mixture begins to cool, it will turn into a thick gel. 

Use 1 cup of this homemade laundry detergent per load of laundry!

Because this laundry soap is perfume free, I sometimes add 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle to eliminate any stubborn odors. It does NOT make your clothes smell like a pickle, it DOES eliminate odors, and is a NATURAL fabric softener!

Let me know how it works out for you!

How to make your own yogurt

When my husband started talking about making homemade yogurt, I thought he was nuts. "Yogurt? You've got to be kidding me!" However, after his first batch, I was hooked. Now we make it on a regular basis. My baby loves it! And, it is unbelievably EASY!

Here's what you need:

-1 Gallon milk (Fat content your choice. I always use whole organic).

-1 cup ready made yogurt with active cultures (I use Stonyfield Organic but you can use any plain yogurt as long as it says "active cultures" on it. Once you have a batch made, you can use your homemade yogurt as a starter).

-2 cups Dry Milk

-1/2- 1 cup Sweetener* (sugar, agave, etc. Honey is best added AFTER the process is finished.)

-1/2 tbs Vanilla*

*optional ingredients/adjust to your flavor preference

Stock pot

Whisk

Cooking Thermometer (candy thermometer works well)

Containers with lids

Consistently Warm Place

Prep time: 1.5-2 hours

Here are the basic steps:

Step 1: Pour approximately 1 gallon of milk into a stock pot. Using a cooking thermometer, heat to 185 degrees F. Stir occasionally to prevent the milk from scalding.

Step 2: Once the milk has reached 185 degrees F, remove from the heat source and mix in Dry milk, Sweetener, and Vanilla. Stir until all ingredients are completely dissolved.

For a sweetener, I use about 1/2 cup of peach honey

(I made peach honey by boiling leftover peach peeling with white sugar until it reduced to a syrup). 

However, I DO NOT recommend regular honey.

Step 3: Let the milk mixture temperature reduce to 110 degrees F. Add the yogurt starter and stir until it is completely dissolved.

Step 4: Pour into clean, dry containers. I prefer glass containers, but I have also used plastic. You can save your peanut butter jars, jelly jars, and any other type of jars for yogurt. Just make sure all your containers have lids (these are what you will be storing your yogurt in as well).

Step 5: Fill containers with milk mixture. Do not put the lids on the containers. Place the filled containers in a warm place (not HOT- approx. 110 degrees F is ideal) for 8-12 hours. (The longer the yogurt sits, the tarter the yogurt will become.) I place my yogurt in my OFF over- the- range microwave and turn the over- the range- light on. You can also use your OFF oven and turn the oven light on. Or, you can place your containers on a heating pad (with a very low setting) on your countertop. Some people have even had success placing their containers in a warm sunny spot inside the house. However, if you are not so adventurous, you can purchase a yogurt maker at many "Big Box Stores". They come with containers.

Step 6: After 8-12 hours, remove the yogurt from its warm area, place the lids on the containers, and refrigerate immediately. Use within 4 weeks of your make date. Makes a 1+/- gallon yogurt.*

That's all there is to it! Add some fresh organic fruit or eat plain!

Enjoy!

*I make 1 gallon of yogurt at a time because we use it daily. You can easily cut this recipe in half to create a more manageable batch!

Fall in the Mountains

Last weekend we took a train ride along the river and into the mountains. The scenery was gorgeous and the chance to ride on the nearly extinct thing called a passenger train was glorious. The railroad is what built America. Many a town sprouted up near rail stations and quickly fell away when the rail changed course. The railroad supported families. It built the American middle class.

But people today are too busy to travel by train. We are in too much of a hurry and prefer to get from point A to point B in the least amount time possible. People on trains used to talk to one another. Today, people talk on phones or stick little buds in their ears so they do not have to interact at all. Husbands met wives on trains. Children traveled to see grandparents by trains. Today we search out love electronically and children would rather just email a greeting to Grandma rather than go for a visit. Yes, we are very busy these days. However, for a few hours one Saturday afternoon in the Fall, my family and I got to experience something extraordinary.

Homemade Applesauce

It's fall in the South and that can only mean one thing! It's apple time!

Only one hour away from the South's greatest apple orchards, each year we take a day and go up to the mountains to get apples. This year we came home with a bushel of yellow delicious and a half peck of granny smith's. I intend to use the granny smiths for various recipes. They keep a long time and will last the winter through. However, the yellow delicious are a bit more perishable and thus need to either be eaten, canned, or dried.

And that is what we did. We ate lots- gave away lots, dried a few, and made applesauce with the rest.

Here is the process of making homemade applesauce.

Step 1. Wash and peel your apples. I do not have one of those fancy apple peelers (although it is now on my Christmas wish list) and did by hand.

Step 1: Wash and peel your apples

Step 2: Core your apples, cut them up into pieces, and put them in a deep stock pot. I add a little ascorbic acid to prevent browning and as a preservative. Add about 1/2 to 1 cup of apple cider or water (more or less may be needed depending upon your batch size).

Step 2: Cut up your apples into small pieces

Step 3: Cook on medium-low heat for approximately 1 hour. (Again, more or less time may be needed depending upon your batch size.) Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

Step 3: Cook until soft. You can see the pot contents have been reduced to almost half.

Step 4: Can in sterilized jars in a water bath or pressure canner. Here is a link to the site I reference most often when canning anything.

It's just that simple. If you want a smoother applesauce, use a food processor after coring and cutting up the apples. There is no need to add sugar to this recipe. If you use the right kind of apples, your applesauce will be naturally sweet.

I used approximately 16-20 apples in this batch and ended up with 1 quart and 3 pints of applesauce. My 20 month old eats it like it's going out of style! She loves it! And- no artificial preservatives (ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring substance) and I know EXACTLY where it came from!

Canned pint of applesauce

Sweet Cherry Jam

Enjoying a little quiet time in the studio means lots of busy time in the kitchen! Summer is such a wonderful time of year! Here is a little "sampling" of sweet cherry jam I put up yesterday.

Hand pitted bing cherries

all ready to be made into sweet jam

I love when there's some left over to fill a sampling jar.

It didn't last long!

Sweet cherry jam on toast with cream cheese

A Summer Bridal Tea

Just a short little post today. Headed out to Bridal Tea this afternoon and have made a few tea cookies from my grandmother's recipe. All ready to be baked, cooled, and rolled in powdered sugar! Yum-Yum!