Thrifting, Food Price Book Template, Sour Tomatoes Recipe, Irish Cookbooks, Pallet Chicken Coop, Deck Rehab

Thrifting- Today I got a brand-new polar fleece jacket, a sweater, some canning jars and my little spring sign (above), all less than $20., what a deal!!! Part of Independence Days!

Food Price Book Template- What a great idea! I got this thru my Spring Food Prep/Storage class-

 Organizedhome.com Here's another nice link too for: Organized Pantry: Beginner Guide to Pantry Pride Part of Independence Days! Organizedhome.com-Pantry

Sour Tomatoes Recipe-  I had never heard of these before but, come summer, I will make some from my home-grown ones. From: Backwoodshome.com I love their free, online magazine!


"This is an old Pennsylvania Dutch recipe and is not at all complicated. Basically the principle is much the same of that of sauerkraut. There are only five items needed for these fermented tomatoes: tomatoes, grape leaves, salt, alum, and water.

The tomatoes must be ripe but firm. Our preference has been Early Girl, but last year by chance we discovered Mortgage Lifter and this year Amish Paste, either of which would work equally well. Last year, my son and daughter-in-law used Romas and produced some of the best we have ever had. The choice is yours, but remember the tomatoes need to be ripe and firm.

To begin, choose a container suitable in size to your intentions. I use either a crock or plastic bucket. My wife always uses her "sour tomato crock." I have always avoided metal for fear of a chemical reaction to the salt.

Begin with a cushion layer of grape leaves which will compact to at least 1/8 inch. Next, a single layer of tomatoes. Continue with this procedure — tomatoes. grape leaves, tomatoes. grape leaves — until your container is full, leaving room for something to hold your tomatoes down in the brine.

Now for the brine. Mix 1¼ cups salt to 10 quarts of water. Do not use an iodized salt. I get an 80 lb. bag from the farm supply store and we use this for all our salt needs: table, cooking, and all our pickling, including our pork. To each 10 quarts of water also add 1 tablespoon of alum. Completely cover your tomatoes with brine and put a weight on top.

Let them pickle for 6 to 8 weeks. If you find a mold forming over the top, don't panic! Remember, they are fermenting! Dig them out, rinse them in cold water, and have at 'em!" 
By Richard Miller

Irish Cookbooks- I got these 3 used cookbooks from Amazon, filled with lots of very old, traditional, simple recipes. I wanted to find some recipes with more simple, nourishing ingredients, and something more unusual. Being part Scotch/Irish I'll give these a try! I will post some recipes soon...Part of Independence Days!

I made this Irish Soda Bread tonite, it was wonderful! Allrecipes.com

Chicken Coop Made From Pallets-

from- tinyhouseblog.com  Lots of photos and info. I love their blog, very inspiring ideas!!!

Deck Re-Hab- Our 4 year old Trex deck gets pretty dirty over the winter, but I didn't want to spend the money for a pressure washer. I remembered we had a old boat brush (from when we had an old sailboat in Portland, sigh) and so I used that with some Mr. Clean and wa la, all clean!!! Part of my Independence Days!

Here's the before-

The after

Most of the staining, dirt, and mildew just scrubber right off. Sometimes elbow grease is all that's required. It actually took me less time to clean it this way, than to drive to a rental place, pay, clean, and drive back. And it was free  :)