From My Home to Yours: 6/5/26

    From My Home to Yours

6/5/26

~ Let's Talk Herbs! ~

(pictured:  rosemary)

Since my house looks like an herb store right now with herbs drying in more places than not, I thought we'd talk about preserving herbs this week before we get into our regular features.

Right now, I have 2 large trays of nettles air-drying and a large tray of yarrow air-drying.  I jarred up a full quart of air-dried elderberry flowers and another jar of air-dried apple mint.  I also harvested a tray of rosemary that is also air-drying as well as a tray of tarragon.  Notice my preferred method of drying herbs is to let them air-dry.  This method preserves all the good stuff in the herbs.  I do have a dehydrator, but try not to use it for herbs if possible.  When I do though, and yes, there are times when I do, I never dry the herbs at a temperature higher than 95 degrees.  Anything higher and you run the risk of destroying all the good medical and or culinary stuff in the herbs.

I also spent several hours this week researching and reading up on the herbs that I am currently growing.  I want to know all about each, their uses and contradictions, if any.  Next week, I plan to harvest dandelions (including the leaves), grape leaves (for making a tincture) and parsley.  Working on my winter apothecary is a priority in the summer time, just as preserving other foods are ... it all serves a purpose!

I also plan to make several tinctures next week using my home grown herbs and I'll be sure to share the method I use for the process and how I plan to use them.  I had planned to do it this week, but I ran out of time!  This is a very busy time of the year for us!

In the kitchen ...  I typically have some kind of chicken wrap for lunch everyday (unless we have leftovers available) and this last week I decided to prep the ingredients ahead so that putting the wraps together would be easier.  I laid out 7 small containers with their lids and then measured the ingredients for each wrap into each, put the lid back on and put them in the refrigerator.  Every day this week at lunch time, I would pull out a low-carb tortilla, open one of the containers and dump it's contents onto the middle of the tortilla, wrap the tortilla around the ingredients and then put the wrap in the microwave for one minute.  Once out of the microwave, I cut the wrap in half, added a piece of fruit and enjoyed the meal.  It was quick and easy and low-carb, which is the style of eating I do that works best for me.  What did I put in the containers for the wrap ingredients?  This week it was chicken and a slice of smoked cheddar cheese.  That was it!  It made lunch prep so much easier and you can believe that I'll be repeating the same process, maybe different ingredients, for the upcoming week.

In the garden ...

Our cucumbers (on the left) are loving this trellis!  Having the cucumbers growing in a raised bed and up a trellis sure does make harvesting a breeze!  The vines are loaded with baby cucumbers, in fact I harvested the first one this week.  Now that these are about to be producing cucumbers, it's time to plant some more seeds for a succession planting.  

Our tomatoes, on the right, are coming right along and with any luck, we'll have home-grown tomatoes fresh from the garden by July 4th.  In our area, that's what almost every gardener strives for, sometimes I achieve that goal and sometimes I don't.  This year is looking promising right now!

In the orchard ...

from the left ... peaches, pears, plums, apples

This week we've harvested plums twice.  I plan to de-seed and flash freeze some for smoothies, but other than that I'm at a loss as to what to do with them.  I could make plum jam and plum sauce, but honestly, I don't know how I would use the plum sauce.  The plum jelly is a given!  A hot biscuit and a smearing of plum jam and you're set!  Anyone have any ideas how to use plum sauce?  If you had a tree full of plums ripening, how would you use them?

Let's see how I did on my goals from last week ...

work on herbal garden area (it needs some freshening up)  I did some heavy harvesting, but it still needs help in the form of fertilizing and more heavy harvesting!  I'll continue to work on it a little each week until I get it where I want it to be!  Baby steps work in gardening too!

plant wildflowers and cockscomb seeds in tractor tires. Didn't get done!

preserve squash ... well, that didn't get done because we went on a squash eating binge and ate almost all of it!!!  We had pan fried squash, grilled squash, and deep-fried squash, all on different days.  Yes, we're still harvesting squash, but amounts are not large enough to do a canning.  It's okay, we still have some home-canned squash left from last year!  If we get enough of a surplus to can, I will, if not, we'll continue to enjoy eating fresh from the garden squash until it's no longer producing!

plant more garden ... Done!  This week I planted a third setting of tomatoes and sweet potato slips that we were given.  I plan to continue planting something in every week.  Here again, baby steps help me win the gardening game.  An hour a day is all I can give it, but it's working!

Here's what next week's goals look like ...

plant more cucumbers

harvest grape leaves

harvest dandelion along with leaves

harvest parsley

plant wildflowers and cockscomb seeds in tractor tires (I'm not giving up on this!)

make herbal tinctures

I continued reading book 7 in the Bregdan Chronicles, Glimmers of Change, by Ginny Dye. I finished listening to The Reluctant Bride by Jody Hedlund and started listening to The Runaway Bride by the same author.  Both of these books are part of a series of 4.  I am enjoying the saga of each as I listen while getting my daily exercise.  (All the audio books I listen to come from Libby the library app.)

I have two posts for those of you who sew or just like to keep up with what I'm creating over on Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine,  Here's week #21 and click HERE to read week #22.  

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...  

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 5/29/26

   From My Home to Yours

5/29/26

~ Canning Jars! ~

This week I want to talk about the lowly canning jar ... that has many uses!

This week alone, I ...

used them in making iced tea ... Here's how I make iced tea:  (1) take 2 empty canning jars, two rubber band (these came from celery bunches purchased at the store) and 4 tea bags.  Place 2 tea bags in each jar secured by the rubber bands (2) bring a kettle of water to just before boiling, don't let water come to a boil.  Boiling water can make some teas bitter, I prefer a more milder tea taste.  (3) pour hot water into jars and place an air tight lid on each jar quickly to hold all those tea flavors inside the jars. (4) Once the tea is cooled and dark in color, 12 - 24 hours, I pour the 'tea concentrate' into a pitcher and add as much water as tea.  Sweeten as desire, stir, refrigerate and enjoy!

used one as a 'vase' for my homegrown roses

used some for storage purposes ... I needed to restock my tea bags and so used three to store newly purchased tea bags in, in my pantry.  This will protect the tea bags from anything that would diminish their flavor or cause them harm until they're used.

and we can't forget all the yummy foods, kefirs, home canned foods, herbal concoctions, dried, and or fermented foods that call canning jars home for a specified amount of time in my home.

You can always find empty canning jars in residence in my kitchen waiting to be used in any of the above ways!   Empty canning jars are a staple in my kitchen and are near the top of the list of most used items in my kitchen!

How do you use the lowly canning jar?

Now, let's talk about our garden and my to-do list for the week ...

I harvested ...

squash ... actually, I harvested at least twice this much and then a dear friend shared with us from her abundance, more squash.  If all goes well, I should be preserving squash in the upcoming week.  In the meantime, we are enjoying fresh from the garden squash with our main meal of the day ... and it's delicious!  Thus far we've enjoyed it grilled and pan fried ... both equally good in their own way!  As of this writing, we have enough pan fried left over to make a squash casserole.  Hmmm, I can't wait!

Can you see all those 'pods' in the above picture?  Look closely, they are hard to identify! Each of those pods houses several seeds ... collard seeds.  We left a couple of collard plants to over winter to produce seeds for this fall's planting.  I harvested the pods this week and placed them in a dry area so they will continue to dry and then be removed from the pods.  This will make hundreds of seeds.

I did the same with a couple of cabbage plants and harvested those pods this week as well.  The pods look a lot alike so I had to make sure I placed them in separate areas so as not to accidently mix the seeds!

I harvested more elderberry flowers and apple mint this week.  (On a side note, I worked on thinning out my elderberry bushes, they were turning into a thick mass that was doing it's best to outgrow it's designated area!  A place for everything and everything in it's place definitely applies to those herbs that like to challenge their boundaries, one of which are elderberries!)

Next up is my 'to-do' list ... how did I do?

clean out another raised bed ...  I got one more done!

continue harvesting elderberry flowers ...  Done!

work on herbal garden area (it needs some freshening up)  Didn't get done!

plant wildflowers and cockscomb seeds in tractor tires.  Didn't get done!

We had a lot of rain this week, almost daily in fact, so finding time to work on my to-do list was a challenge ... but ... I did make a little progress and a little progress is better than no progress.  We desperately needed the rain so I'm praising God and in no way complaining!

Let's set some goals ('to-do's') for next week ...

of course, I'm going to work on the unfinished items from last week's list

preserve squash

plant more garden (the weather in our area this year has made planting the garden a challenge)

I continued reading book 7 in the Bregdan Chronicles, Glimmers of Change, by Ginny Dye. I finished listening to Roses by Leila Meacham and started listening to The Reluctant Bride by Jody Hedlund.  (All the audio books I listen to come from Libby the library app.)

This past week was my birthday week and I had a somewhat unusual 'gift' request!  You can read about it HERE and see what I did with it!!!  My dear hubby never knows what to expect from me and this was not even on his radar for possibilities of things I would asked for, for my birthday!!!

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...  

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 5/22/26

  From My Home to Yours

5/22/26

~ We Found It! ~

What did we find ... ground beef on sale for ... $3.99/lb.  Not so long ago I would have refused to pay that much for 73/27 ground beef, but in today's economy that is a sale price!  Regular prices in our area right now are running from $5.99/lb and up.  We did a stock up using the grocery money we haven't had to use the last few weeks.

That's one thing I was able to mark off my unfinished 'to-do' from a couple of weeks ago.  Here's another item on the list I started working on ... freezer meals!

With the ground beef, we ...

added chopped onions from our freezer and browned a big skillet full and froze it ...

made meatloaves and froze those ...

made meatballs and froze those ...

Made hamburger patties and froze those ...

Yes, we've been busy ... and I do mean we, my dear hubby has worked along side me doing the parts he felt comfortable doing.  (His knee injury has healed enough that he can walk around inside without assistance, but isn't quite ready to take on the uneven ground outside yet.  So, we work as a team, he helps out inside doing as much as he can, and I take care of the outside chores ... as much as I can!)

We also found marked down 'overripe' banana's and I made a couple loaves of banana chocolate chip bread for the freezer ... well, actually only one loaf made it to the freezer!!!

At the same store, we found whole milk on mark down (with a best by date of 5/22) for $2.45 per gallon.  I love it when we find deals on milk ... I try hard to use every drop in some way before it goes bad!

(Cucumbers working their way up the trellis.)

Out in the garden ...

I've spent a small portion of almost every day in the garden this week and was able to make progress on ticking off yet another item on my 'to-do' ...

clean out remaining raised beds ... I got 1 done leaving two to do yet.  Our temps soared this week and early mornings were the only times I could stand to work in the garden.  You'd be surprised what you can get accomplished by working in the garden approximately one hour a day!

(This years garlic harvest was not the largest bulbs we've ever grown, nor were they the smallest!  We'll take it!  This variety is 'Music.')

I got the garlic harvested and now curing ...

I amended the raised bed the garlic grew in and planted sweet potato slips ...

I planted more tomato plants that we grew from seeds as well as tomatillo plants, also grown from seed.

I pulled the 'suckers' from our well-established tomato plants and put them in a jar of water to root.  As soon as the roots start to appear, I'll plant them in a raised bed or container for a second wave of tomatoes, later in the summer.

With this year's garden I have really tried to focus on using heirloom seeds from things we have grown and doing things such as using the tomato 'sucker's' to generate new plants.  I also grew our sweet potato slips from left over sweet potatoes from the last harvest.  Anything we can do to help offset the cost of seeds and plants, we're doing!

(this is one of my new roses and the smell is amazing!)

My roses are blooming and showing out ... even some of the new bushes I planted earlier this year are already producing roses ... and they smell so good!  As part of my garden walk each morning, I cut roses, bring them in and add them to a mason jar of water.  I replace the spent ones with the new ones giving me a beautiful jar of roses to enjoy everyday.

(The results of one mornings 'hour' in the garden.)

In addition to pulling the occasional weed, directing rose legs or cucumber vines up their trellis and watering, I also harvested the things you see in the wheelbarrow ...

garlic scapes (I made more garlic scape vinegar)

rhubarb (it wasn't enough to do anything with so I froze it and will be adding to it as often as possible.)

elderberry flowers  (they have medicinal properties too!)

a few more garlic bulbs of a different variety

and finally, the day's rose harvest!

Not pictured, but occurred on the same 'morning' ... a handful of spearmint.  I walked by the container it was growing in and noticed that some of it needed harvesting so, that's what I did.  It is now air drying in a colander near a ceiling fan.  So is a colander of apple mint!

I think that almost takes care of my 'unfinished' to-do list of a couple of weeks ago, so let's make another one for the upcoming week ...

clean out another raised bed (the only thing left on my 'unfinished' to-do list.)

continue harvesting elderberry flowers

work on herbal garden area (it needs some freshening up)

plant wildflowers and cockscomb seeds in tractor tires.  This is what they looked like last year ...

I finished reading book 6, Carried Forward by Hope, in the Bregdan Chronicles, by Ginny Dye and started on book 7, Glimmers of Change.  I finished listening to An Unexpected Grace by Tracie Peterson on Libby the library app and then listened to Wish You Well by David Baldacci, also on Libby the library app.  I now understand why there was a long waiting list for Wish You Well, this book touched me in deep places in my heart. And then I started listening to Roses by Leila Meacham.  If you like Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, you'd most likely enjoy Roses.  To me it's another 'page turner!'  (All the audio books I listen to come from Libby the library app.)

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...  

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 5/15/26

 From My Home to Yours

5/15/26

~ 15 Different Items ~

Take a close look at this picture of one area of our raised bed/container garden gardening area ... there are 15 different items growing here.

hyssop

parsley

rose bushes

tomatoes

squash

apple mint

onions

st. john's wort

blueberries

comfrey

cucumbers

green beans

horseradish

lemon balm

tomatillos

Can you spot my windchime and shepherd's hook???  We had my mother's day outing this week on a day when we had to be 'out of town' and I found exactly what I was looking for in a windchime.  It's gentle 'tinkling' in the almost continuous breeze is just beautiful!

I threw my 'goals' list for the week completely out the window!  We had a lot of 'going' to do last week and the only thing I got done was green beans planted.  On weeks when we have so much to do away from home, I can quickly get to a point of feeling overwhelmed ... I can feel it building, but thankfully next week, as of right now, is a 'yipheee, I get to stay at home every day week!'  I love home, being home, working in my home and all that home encompasses ... 

I want to work on putting at least 2 freezer meals in the freezer next week.  I have the recipes/methods chosen and really want to get my 'meals in the freezer' part of my pantry restocked.

I also need to harvest our garlic ... it's ready!  While it's curing, about 2 weeks for our area, I'll pull out all my garlic preserving recipes and methods and decide which ones I want to use this year.  Some are culinary and some are herbal.

My nettles have grown to the point that they can be harvested again ... I need to get that done, so they'll keep putting on new growth.  I'm enjoying powdered nettles in my morning smoothie, the powder is tasteless so it doesn't affect the taste of the smoothie but I get all the nutrition and herbal benefits!  That's a win, win situation in my book!

Oh goodness, the amount of garden planting I still need to do is scary, what a spring it has been in so many ways.

    I started listening to An Unexpected Grace by Tracie Peterson on Libby the library app.

Over on my ladies Bible study blog, I added a post titled, When Trials and Tribulations Come Your Way.  Ladies, go take a look and let me know if you can add anything to this 'how-to' list.

And now I want to close this post with a praise report to God.  A year ago I was diagnosed with cysts and nodules in my thyroid.  I was assured that they were not cancerous and in fact that they were common in women of a certain age.  I went back this week for my yearly check up to see if anything had changed.  Between last year's check-up and this year's check-up I did a lot of praying that if there was something I could be doing to help support my thyroid that God would lead me to it.  I did a lot of research, found 3 things I felt were worth trying and was diligent to do each of them every day praying that they would help and that God would heal my thyroid through my efforts.  My check up this week left me in tears ... the cysts were gone, the nodules were gone and my thyroid was healthy.  I have been praising God ever since.  Through His providence, He lead me to the information I needed.  He abundantly answered my prayers.  I asked my endocrinologist last year, if there was anything I could do to support my thyroid and I was told, 'no' and for me not to get caught up in all the info online.  I'm so glad I didn't listen!

Before I share what I did, let me say again that I am not a doctor and have no medical training.  What worked for me may not work for you, as everyone is different and your thyroid issues may be completely different from mine.  I'm only sharing what worked for me and about how God worked in my situation to bring about what I was asking Him to do.  Please consult your doctor, a trained herbalist or other medical personnel for thyroid treatment.

Here's what I did every day ...

ate 2 brazil nuts

took one kelp capsule

used a very low dose roller bottle of frankincense and coconut oil on my thyroid area

prayed ... oh, how I prayed!

Please understand that I am not in any way saying or even suggesting that this is a cure for cysts and or nodules in your thyroid, nor am I suggesting that anyone should try it themselves.  I'm just sharing what worked for me ... and giving God all the glory!

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...  

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

Making an Herbal Salve

 If  you read this post, then you'll know that my hubby is dealing with an injured knee.

While visiting the friends mentioned in last week's post, the lady of the house offered the use of an herbal healing salve she had had good results with to apply to his knee.  After a couple of days of use, hubby could tell a difference in his pain level and it was at that point that we became very interested in purchasing some for him.  It could be applied in a roller bottle form or in a salve.  Thanks to the generosity of our friends, hubby was sent home with some of both and a recipe to make both.

I made a batch of the salve once we were home and what follows is how I did it ...

(Here's where I have to say that I'm not a doctor, nor do I have any herbal or medical training other than my own personal studies and usage.  As always consult your doctor or someone trained in the usage of herbal treatment.)

I used 3 ingredients ...

 coconut oil  (the brand I used, pictured, is Member's Mark.  I prefer coconut oil to be organic, virgin, cold pressed and unrefined.)  The link, coconut oil, is to what I've used in the past and would use again if I could not find locally what I was looking for.

 beeswax (I used what I had and grated the amount needed.)  I highly recommend that if you have any health issues with your hands, such as arthritis, etc that you use beeswax pellets.  I've included a link to ones I've used in the past and will go back to using for anything that calls for beeswax pellets.

an essential oil herbal blend called Restore 

a container to put your salve in ... I used a wide mouth half-pint jar, but a roll-up tube such as this one or this one, would be better in my opinion.

step 1:  grate beeswax and measure out 2 teaspoons; set aside ... or measure out 2 teaspoons of beeswax pellets and set aside.

 step 2:  set up a double boiler.  You can use a glass heatproof measuring cup that has a handle that will hook over the side of the pan if you don't have an official double boiler.

step 3:  measure and add to double boiler the following:

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 teaspoons beeswax

stir occasionally as it melts being careful not to slosh any out into the water which could cause water to pop up into mixture.  You don't want water in the mixture you are melting.  The coconut oil will melt quicker than the beeswax.  The stirring is needed in order to mix the oil and beeswax together.

Step 4: When the beeswax and coconut oil are completely melted, set the top part of the double boiler off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes, stirring off and on to further blend the beeswax and coconut oil.  Note:  allowing the mixture to cool for this short period of time is necessary in order not to destroy the therapeutic properties of the essential oil  you will add.

When the 5 minutes are over, add the essential oil blend (10-20 drops) and stir in really well to blend essential oil with coconut and beeswax mixture.  Note: if essential oil is not blended well with coconut and beeswax mixture it will separate when cooling.  So ... stir, stir, stir until well blended (for me, it was approximately 2 - 3 minutes of stirring)!

All three ingredients are blended, in the container of choice and cooling.  I put an air tight lid on the container and let it sit for 24 hours.

The final product!  All that's left is labeling and using!  I'll make another batch as hubby continues to use this salve on his knee.  Next time though, I will use beeswax pellets and roll-up tubes!  

One more note:  the method used here is your basic salve making method.  The only thing that would change is the essential oils you added if you wanted to make a different salve.

Tell me what you think, would you like to see more 'how-to' posts in addition to the weekly 'From My Home To Yours' posts?

Until the next time ...  

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!