Shrubs. Historical Goodness.

I came across a way to preserve fruit and drink the result. And apparently, it is an OLD technique. It's called 'Shrubs.' I thought the name referred to the fruits picked from shrubs, or trees, and are usually the older fruit. Meaning the fruit is almost mushy or bad, but not yet and is still edible. But according to the history here I am totally off base. But that's nothing new. I still like my definition better.
A basic background is thus:

The word shrub comes from the Arabic sharaba meaning 'to drink.'

The first reference to 'shrub' in the English Dictionary comes in 1747 and is defined as 'any of various acidulated beverages made from the juice of fruit, sugar, and other ingredients often alcohol.'

So I started making my own shrubs today. I'm starting out with one from strawberries and one from cherries. Now, as the article link states, they have focused on alcoholic shrubs. I am making non-alcoholic shrubs using apple cider vinegar.

Day 1 of Exile- Oyster Crackers, Raspberry Peach Melba and Halloween

HA! I crack myself up! Exile. teeheehhee

So today was my first full day of FB Hiatus. I did not have a problem with it. Mostly. A couple of times I  thought, 'hey, I'll hop on FB and see if....' and then my brain kicked in and I told myself no.

Then a friends daughter came over and we spent the rest of the day doing craft things. Currently we are making Styrofoam tombstones for Halloween. Super easy, but waiting for paint to dry takes time.

Oh, and we made Ranch Oyster Crackers (I've posted the cracker recipe before, just not the Oyster cracker version) and Raspberry Peach Jam. OMG! That jam is fabulous!

Take 30

I decided today, after twiddling with the thought for a couple weeks, that I am going to go silent on FB for 30 days. I will deactivate my account on Aug 1. After 30 days, I will decide if I want to reactivate it.

The reason is simple-
Every so often I like to take a step back and reorganize my priorities. I like to take time to think about who I am, am I on the right path, have I done things I need to address or correct, get things done around the house,  and generally reconnect with the world around me.

You cannot do that using FaceBook.  FB makes you think you are connecting. I don't think you really are. I mean, yes, you can talk to someone fairly easy, and that's a connection of sorts.
But really, talking in person or over the phone where you hear the actual voice? That's really connecting on an emotional level.

So, I am going to take 30.
30 to find me again.
30 to read more books.
30 to decide my path.
30 to work on more budgeting of time, money and resources.
30 to look within.
30 to make more homemade things.
30 to engage in the world around me.

After all, I prefer to be IN the world, not ON it.
And as I've always said, if you want to change the world, change yourself first.
I just need to make sure I am the me I want to be. And the only way to do that is to disconnect and listen.

Buttermilk Ranch Powder

I have searched and searched for a ranch powder recipe that tastes as good as the store bought kind and I think I've found it!

Read on for the recipe...

Crock Pot Orange Chicken

I happened to be gazing (or would it be more appropriately to say grazing??) over at Crockpot365 when I ran across her Lemon Chicken recipe. Well, I love Orange Chicken so I substituted Orange Juice concentrate for the Lemonade concentrate.

Let me tell you...this is so good, I will definitely be making it again. And soon. Like maybe tomorrow.
This is a healthier version, too, because you don't bread and deep fry the chicken first. You just flour it, crisp it in a fry pan, and toss into the crock pot.

Hamming It Up

So I mentioned the other day being on a mission to re-create the ham sammy on a biscuit Grau and I had in Yorktown. Well, I am happy to report that the mission has succeeded.
And it's better than my expectations!

Virginia. Tasty Tasty Virginia

Not the Carrot Tree Cafe, but just around the corner is this cute little shop.

So Grau and I spent a week in Virginia. We had a blast walking around Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. History is alive and well there. Trust me.

I've never understood how people don't like history. Everyone *has* a history. And the lesson's learned, whether it be individually or en masse should always be of the utmost importance for fear of 1) making the same mistake again or 2) not continuing something that should have been.

Ketchup Catsup Catch Up

I'm a little late in posting this, but last week I made homemade ketchup.
I know, awesome, right? And you're thinking, 'I didn't know you could make ketchup at home!'
Well, you can. And it is so crazy easy, you'll wonder why you haven't been doing it all along.

I didn't make up the recipe. I borrowed it from here.  One day I will actually make my own recipe to suit my own preferences, but for now, this recipe is pretty good.
Recipe below the fold...

Halloween Silhouettes DIY

Around June or July every year, I get the craft bug. And not just any craft bug. The Halloween craft bug. I want to make things to decorate for my favorite holiday of the year.

One year, I made gravestones.
Another, I made witch's legs. (I need to do this again as I've lost my legs (ha ha) when I moved.)
I've made Black Cat signs.

And so on and so forth.
This year, I decided to make three signs. All silhouettes. For Halloween.
Super simple and easy- you can do it, too!

Three wooden plaques from Hobby Lobby (Gosh I love that store!!)
White and Black paint
Brushes
Scissors
Images to trace

I've Got a Blueberry for a Daughter

Well, not really. She's more of a lemon pie- half sweet, half tart, but always delivers.
I was really referring to Willy Wonka, the 1974 version. My favorite. I mean, Johnny Depp is awesome and all, but Gene Wilder will always be Wonka to me. (Violet! You're turning violet, Violet!) Okay, enough with the Wonk-isms.

So- I was pinteresting the other day, and came across a recipe for 2-ingredient lemon squares.  And I thought, I like lemon, but what would happen if I made blueberry instead?  Would it turn out the same?
Or would it blow up because blueberries have some secret chemical in them that when it encounters Angel Food cake mix just goes KaBooM!??! (I don't think they do, but you never know!)

What are the two simple ingredients?

Tomato Basil Garlic Chicken

I am still on my pesto kick except this time, I am not even bothering to blend the ingredients into traditional pesto. Nope. I'm going directly for the ingredients and calling it awesome.

Tomato, Basil & Garlic come together in this beautiful dish.

In this episode of Rave's Pesto Habit, I give you Tomato, Basil, Garlic Chicken, with a whole wheat spaghetti as the delivery method for the pseudo-pesto goodness. Oh can I tell you how delicious this was? Grau said it was 'a keeper' for the recipe book. I love it when he says that. It means I did good!