Halloween is Near

When whiches go riding and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers,

 'tis near halloween."   Author Unknown

Pumpkin Pasties

This is a variation of the Pumpkin Pasties recipe in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz. If you ever get a chance to get your hands on this wonderful book  - do so. It has some wonderful traditional English recipes that are delicious. These little hand pies are so simple to make that I had Joseph make them for our Monday baking to use for our afternoon snack.

Pumpkin Pasties

1 homemade pie crust or gluten free pie crust recipe
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4   cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
3 Tablespoons almond milk
colored sugar crystals of choice

1. Combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar,  nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger in a small bowl. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

2. Make the pie crust. Roll out the pie crusts and cut into four-inch circles.

3. Put 1 - 2 Tablespoons of the pumpkin filling into one side of the pastry circles.  Then fold over and crimp the edges with a fork to seal it. Make a couple of slashes in the tops with a sharp knife to make vents.

4. Brush the top of each with the milk and sprinkle with colored sugar of choice.

5. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until a golden brown.

 

Happy October! This year seem to be flying by ever so quickly. One month begins and then its done. I always heard that the older you get the faster time passes - it seems to be true. Oh, to be a child so that I could relish and delight in the slow leisurely days of time. I do hope you are having a wonderful day and here's what's on our table this week.

sausage stuffed acorn squash, green salad, grapes
BBQ chops, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans
steak sandwiches, salad, baked apples
Slow Cooker chicken tacos, Spanish rice
roasted butternut squash with kale, beans, corn muffins
veggie pizza, salad
Irish stew, soda bread

I'll also be making millet muffins for the freezer, pumpkin pasties and  polenta parmesan thyme crackers for the jar.
Be sure to check out all the wonderful menus this week at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Have a brilliantly blessed week.

October is Here

" The sweet calm of October, now warms the low spot; upon its grassy mold

The purple oak-leaf falls; the birchen bough drops its bright spoil like arrow-heads of gold. "

~ Willim Cullen Bryant ~

Menu Plan Monday

This is what on our table this week~~~~

Breakfast~
milk toast, banana
applesauce muffins, hot tea
boiled egg, toast, orange slices
baked apples, toast, hot tea
cinnamon toast, hot cocoa
oatmeal with dried fruit of choice (x2)

Lunch~
cheese & Black Bean Quesedillas, pineapple
baked potatoes (sweet or white)
ramen noodles with mixed veggies, cantaloupe
pumpkin waffles with maple syrup & cinnamon
macaroni & cheese, apple slices
chicken sliders, carrot sticks, orange slices
peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, banana

Dinner ~
Baked Potato Soup, garden salad, rolls, mock pecan pie
salmon cakes, veggie rice, green bean casserole
Macaroni and Cheese, steamed broccoli, corn on the cob
crock pot roasted chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, french peas
beans, cornbread, fried okra, spinach
Pineapple Meatballs over rice, garden salad, cantaloupe
corned beef, braised red cabbage and apples, popovers

For more wonderful menu idea this week pop over to I'm an Organizing Junkie. Yum-Yum!

Have a brilliantly blessed week.

Natural Cleaning

The following are a few of the commom household cleaning products that I have used for years. The majority of them came from a little purple book named Clean & Green by Annie Berthold-Bond. My mother and I had a non-chemical house cleaning business in 1996 named Down To Earth and these are the mixtures we used then and I still use in my home.



SUPPLIES~
White Vinegar
Baking Soda
Washing Soda
Borax
Non-petroleum liquid Soap (Tree of Life Dish Washing Soap works very well- I just buy a gallon jug)
Essential Oils; lemongrass, lavender, grapefruit, eucalyptus, tea tree, pine


CLEANING MIXTURES~

All Purpose Spray Cleaner
1 teaspoon washing soda
2 teaspoons borax
1/2 teaspoon non-petroleum liquid soap
2 cups hot water
1 teaspoon essential oil
spray bottle

Combine the hot water borax and washing soda in a glass measuring cup and stir to dissolve. Let cool a bit. (the hot water can melt a plastic bottle) Add the liquid soap and essential oil, gently stir. Put in the spray bottle.  Makes 2 cups

Bathroom Scrubber
1/2 cup baking soda
enough non-petroleum liquid soap to make a creamy mixture
1/2 teaspoon eucalyptus oil
10 drops lemongrass oil

Combine the ingredients with a spoon, until the consistency of frosting. Scoop generous amounts onto a sponge or rag and use it to scrub the counter top, sink or tub.


Air Freshener
2 cups water
1 teaspoon essential oil of choice
(this can be a mixture of 1/2 and 1/2 teaspoons of two different oils)

Put the water in a spray bottle, add the essential oil. Put the top on and shake to blend the oil and water. Spray the room. Remember to shake this each time you use it.


Floor Cleaner
(this can be used on wood, tile, and linoleum)

1/2 cup non-petroleum liquid soap
1/4 cup white vinegar
20 drops grapefruit or lavender essential oil
2 gallons water

Combine all ingredients in a large bucket. Use with a mop or sponge. This also works well on baseboards and cupboards.


Carpet Sprinkle
1 box baking soda
1 box borax (simply fill the soda box with borax once it it empty)
40 drops of essential oil of choice

Combine the baking soda and borax in a jar, put on the lid and shake to mix. Remove the lid and add the essential oil, re-cap and shake to blend well. Sprinkle over carpet and let set for 15-30 minutes then vacuum it up.

Happy Easter 2012

Here's hopping that your sun will shine,

your eggs don't crack,

your chocolate doesn't melt,

 and your day goes all sparkly and glitterly!!

HAPPY EASTER