Chem trails

 In Florida this spring the skies were covered with trails criss crossing the skies. At one pount we suddenly see a rainbow splat just in the white area of one trail. Not across the blue and whitw of tge sky like a typical rainblow. Just a multicolored SPLAT. My thoughts this was tge sun reflecting in the metals released in the chemtrails.

Then about a week ago, I observed a plane flying in an upward trajectory. Leaving no trail. Then suddenly it started leaving short dashes of trail then no trail . It did this for about 4 dashes. Then just as suddenly the trail was no longer being left. Those in control will tell us its just contails. But there is no way the plane was turned off and on to leave dashes. I would guess this was where the plane was running out of whatever tgey were spraying.

Solar Storm?

  Friday, and Saturday people were seeing What appears to be northern lights/ aurora. We were told this was due to solar flares. I am not so sure. But on Saturday evening before dark, The sky lit up here, in a very unusual display here. Still daylight though. Northern lights appear at dark. After dark, the sky was black. I could see unusual colors in the sky when i took a picture with my phone camera then looked at it. Nothing spectacular though, and the sky looked black with the naked eye. Here is my daylight pic....

Strawberry Tower

                                                        Strawberry Tower

This weekend, my husband built a beautiful Strawberry Tower. It is 4 ft wide at widest point, and 5.6 ft tall. We got it into my bed moments ago, and got it filled. My adult so was kind enough to use his tractor and fill our trailer with about 6 buckets full. 

Now we have to let the dirt settle for a couple days, just in case it needs more dirt after packing in. Then we will plant out my 40 strawberry plants and a few flowers. The strawberries are Ozark Beauty. June bearing plants.

Vegan Roasted "Bacon" Flavored Chickpea Croutons

     I have been trying to seriously up my greens in  my diet. One way I have found to help is by eating packaged broccoli slaw as a salad. I have gotten addicted to this stuff. Breakfast, lunch and snack. I also love to add an oil free dressing.
      I looked for over a year for a suitable oil free dressing. Everything I tried just wasnt good. It was too thin, no body, or just missing flavor. Then I stumbled upon Bryanna's Oil Free Poppyseed dressing HERE. I opted for her cannelini bean sub for tofu and the maple syrup. I make this dressing by the quart jar. Yes it is that good.
     Now for the Vegan Roasted "bacon " Flavored Chickpea Croutons. Boy do these pack a flavor crunch and hint at the bacon flavor I remember. They also have the texture of bacon in my opinion. Kinda crunchy, kinda chewy. I often just grab a hand full and eat them that way.

                                                 

print recipe

Vegan Roasted "Bacon" Flavored Chickpea Croutons

by Tammy Travis September-22-2017

Ingredients

• 1 can Chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 2 TB Soy Sauce or Braggs Aminos
• 1 tsp Liquid Smoke
• 2 tsp Nutritional Yeast
• a pinch Smoked Paprika

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Drain and Rinse beans 3, Combine remaining ingredients in a shallow bowl or baking dish. Add beans and arrange so beans are in single layer as much as possible. 4. Marinate for 4 hours in the fridge. 5. There will be liquid left so pour everything into a non stick skillet on medium heat and cook stirring frequently until all liquid absorbed.6. Pour beans onto a parchment covered cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes, stirring a few times. Until beans are crunchy, chewy, and slightly browned.After they cool, store them in a covered container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 25 mins Yield: 1.5 cups
UPDATE: I no longer marinate. Takes too much time and flavor is just as intense to just dump everything in skillet, stirring occasionally until liquid becomes thick and sticks to beans (  no longer floating in skillet). I also now use about scant 1/2 tsp smoked paprika).

         My nephew is expecting his first child soon. A little girl. We all know how the thought of a new baby, especially a girl, can get our creative juices flowing. I created this little set for the coming baby by throwing together a couple of patterns. These are size 0 to 6 month size. Baby stuff comes together so quickly. I got the complete set done this morning. My 28 yo old daughter said... "cute"..."not my taste, but cute". lol. Just wait till she is expecting. She will be overflowing with these little things out of spite,lol. That will teach her.

I used the hat pattern from this site: HAT

For the pretty little flower and the shoes I used the pattern from here: SHOES 
I very seldom follow a pattern. I prefer to wing it and create my own on the fly. But this time, I wanted something quick that I didn't have to think about,lol. The designers of these patterns did a great job. They were very easy to follow.

 For the little shoes, I also crocheted little leaves and  attached them under the edge of the flower. I also crocheted a chain of 100 stitches then folded it in half. I pulled the center fold thru center of the back of heel about 1/2" then pulled the ends back thru that loop and snugged it down. Now mom can tie this around in front of ankle to help hold them on. You could also use ribbon if you like.

                                                  That little hat looks so tiny on my hand.

All Natural, Effective Deodorant/Anti-Perspirant...Plus It's Cheap!

    For years I have thought about what I had been reading about the aluminum in anti-perspirants being strongly linked to Alzheimers and breast cancer. According to one article I read it stated most breast cancer tumors are found near the outer section of the breasts near the arm pits. However,  have never been able to find anything I liked that didnt have aluminum that worked. The aluminum is what the deodorants use to keep you dry.
   However, recently I got a stronger nudge to find something safe. My sister in law was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and just completed a round of chemo, and lost all her hair. Now she is beginning to embark on a series of radiation treatments. I really feel for this woman going through this, but she has held strong, and tackling this head on.
    With this new diagnosis in mind, I started my research again. I was on the edge of ordering one brand when I saw a post on a blog about her homemade deodorant and follow-up comments about how others were having reactions to the baking soda that was used to keep a person dry. After I delved into this further I found even more people commenting about the baking soda causing rashes and skin irritation. The skin under your arms is rather delicate after all. I guess the baking soda can be a little abrasive. I was getting ready to add that all natural deodorant to my shopping cart then decided I better hold off a little longer.
    So back to the drawing board again. After doing many Google searches on natural deodorant recipes I stumbled upon someone promoting Milk Of Magnesia as a deodorant-anti-perspirant. Supposedly it was pretty effective. So I decided to give it a try.  I poured a nickle size amount onto the tip of my fingers on one hand and shared this amount on the fingertips of the other hand. I then smeared this around on my armpits. It doesnt take long to dry. Low and behold....It worked. I have even tested it in the gym. I have no underarm wetness and no odor. I always shower at night before bed and apply it then. By the time I get lotion on, etc its dry. i dont re-apply the next day but you certainly can. I have been testing this for a month now and I am very happy with it. It's even summer time too.

Its just magnesium which is good for you. Some are even deficient in this mineral. You will need to buy the off brand however. The name brand has added sodium hypochorite which is just a bleach agent that is added. It will be listed under the "inactive ingredients" list on the back of the label. My Kroger brand didnt have this. Just the magnesium.

I beleive the Kroger brand was around a dollar. Others have found brands without bleach at the Dollar Store, or Dollar General. 

Give it a try, you have almost nothing to lose and a more healthier disease resistant body to gain.

UPDATE: I have recently started adding a few drops lavender essential oil for fragrance and I mix about 1 Tb coconut oil, melted into about 1/2 cup of M.O.M. The oil gives it a nice thicker body, and a wonderful silky feel. 

New Baby and Ninja Turtle Quilt

   We have a new baby in the family. My niece just had a beautiful little baby boy. The are Ninja Turtle fans and requested a quilt. I usually prefer soft colors for new babies but nija's just dont come in baby blue,lol. I also used a store bought receiving blanket and monogrammed it and mde a matching burp cloth.

I also surprised mom and dad with a banner with baby info recorded o it in embroidery. I also added the turtle .

I hung the banner on a dowel and added some ribbon. All ready for the nursery wall.

Seasoning Cast Iron Skillets....The Right Way

    I have been married for 38 yrs. I bought a set of cast irons pans during the first year of my marriage from walmart. I have used them a few times over the years, but I really didnt like them. My son liked to make deep dish pizza in it occasionally. I had problem with them sticking even tho I seasoned them several times. Well to be honest I did what I thought was seasoning  I used them. I would use, wash with soap and water, then dry over heat on the stove just until fully dry, then rub a light coat of oil on them. 

    What freaked me out was that EVERY time I wiped them with an oiled rag, my rag always came back black as coal. No matter how many times I rubbed it down. I couldnt stand the idea of this getting into my food. Plus, it still stuck unless I cooked with oil in it. 

    Well recently, I read another method to season. I decided to give it a try. I didnt have any thing to lose. This method is as follows:

1. Wash pan well. I even used a scrubbing pad. A Brillo pad. I scrubbed till it felt good and smooth on the bottom. Then rinsed well.

2. Dry with a towel.

3. I rubbed each skillet with crisco shortening and a rag. Inside and out. I read you could also use coconut oil.

4. Place upside down in oven with aluminum foil on the rack under them.

5. Turn oven onto 350 degrees. Heat for an hour. then allow to cool down.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 two more times. for a total of 3 times in the oven.

I couldnt believe how shiny and smooth my pans came out. Even better than when I purchased them.

Plus they passed the rag test. I rubbed them with a towel and the towel comes back clean. Absolutely no black.

Just look at that shine!

I understand they recommend only washing with water and no soap. Some people say they use soap. But either way, do not let them air dry. dry on a hot burner then put away when cooled.