Raisin Cakes

Eh, why not.

Raisin Cake
1 c raisins
1 3/4 c water
1/4 c coconut water keffir
1/2 c butter substitute
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c muscovado sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 c chopped walnuts
1 c tapioca flour
1/4 c brown rice bran
1/2 c brown rice flour

Boil liquid and raisins for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add butter, cool. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Pour into greased bundt pan.
Bake 350F, 25-35 min

Cyanide Poisioning

What the internet says:

1. Peach pits, not likely.
Plants containing cyanide include apricot pits and a type of potato called cassava. Fortunately, only chronic or massive ingestion of any of these plants or pits can lead to serious cyanide poisoning.

2. May cure cancer.
Laetrile, a compound that contains amygdalin (a chemical found in the pits of raw fruits, nuts, and plants) has been purported as a cancer treatment worldwide. One of the side effects of laetrile is cyanide poisoning. The FDA has not approved laetrile as a cancer treatment in the United States. The drug is also made and used as a cancer treatment in Mexico under the name "laetrile/amygdalin."

3. Just in case.
The symptoms of cyanide poisoning are similar to those experienced when hiking or climbing at high altitudes. Such as: general weakness, confusion, bizarre behavior, excessive sleepiness, coma, shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, and seizures. The skin of a cyanide-poisoned person can sometimes be unusually pink or cherry-red because oxygen will stay in the blood and not get into the cells. The person may also breathe very fast and have either a very fast or very slow heartbeat. Sometimes the person's breath can smell like bitter almonds, though this can be difficult to detect.

Sake Sorbet

I first had this in a funky sushi place downtown Barcelona. I have longed to find it since and have asked many people if they had tried it or had a recipe or knew of one I could adapt. Silly me, it is Sake SORBET not ice cream. Something sooo simple, hey it had been translated three times, and a one word difference is how I found this:

Sake Sorbet
1 1/2 c sake
1 1/2 c simple syrup
3/4 c water
1 t lemon juice
1 t lemon zest

Peach Pit Jelly

I got what sounded like a great deal on organic peaches, 60 for $20. That's 3 for a dollar. Sigh, I had to throw a few out. So after eating a few fresh peaches the rest were peeled and chopped and frozen. The peels and pits were made into jelly:

Peach Pit Jelly
Cover peach peels and pits with 2" water. Bring to boil, 30 min, then let sit overnight. Strain and measure.

4 c peach juice
5 c sugar
1 pkg pectin

Bring juice to boil, reduce if necessary to 4 c. Add pectin, bring to boil. Add sugar, bring back to boil. Boil 1 minute, jelly should begin to foam and 'sheet'. Skim off foam, pour into jars. 10 minute water bath.

Okay. This was my first experience canning. And I have to say it is NERVE WRACKING. I'm glad I had such no nonsense, straightforward jelly making instructions. So in that spirit here are my canning instructions--

How To Can:
Put mason jars in dishwasher, wash. Hand wash lids and rings. Move clean mason jars to water bath pot, and boil to sterilize. LEAVE JARS THERE until a few minutes before you are ready to pour stuff into them. Take jars out using jar tongs, pour the water in the jar back into pot, set the jars out on clean dish towel. Dump laddle, funnel, lids, and rings into water bath pot. Remove all from water bath JUST before you are ready to put stuff into the jars. And that is just the prep.

Put clean funnel on first jar, use ladle to ladle in yummy homemade goodness. Place lid on jar, then ring, and tighten. Repeat. Put all jars in water bath pot, bring to boil. Boil for whatever time your recipe calls for adjusted to your altitude. Remove jars from pot.

THIS IS IMPORTANT:
Take a deep breath, you're done, DO NOT PANIC when your jars start making noises. Loud popping noises. This is good, it means they have sealed. Leave them on the counter, check in 24 hours to make sure they have sealed, and then remove the rings. If they haven't sealed, refrigerate them, and give them to everyone you know to eat fresh for the next 3 weeks.


P.S. Peach pits do contain cyanide. Sort of. They contain a compound that when mixed with digestive acids releases cyanide gas. There are no ground up pits in this, but I couldn't find any information on whether the jelly would have those compounds in it. No one has died from peach pit jelly that I know of, and people (the same people) keep making and eating it.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Crumb

Pumpkin Oatmeal Crumb
4 c oats
4 T ground flaxseed
2/3 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1 T lemon juice
1 t salt
1 T vanilla
1 stick butter, softened
3 c pumpkin puree
3 c milk

Topping:
1 c nutty nuggets, or chopped nuts
1 stick butter, softened
1 c brown sugar

Bake 10 min 375 in 9 x 11 dish. Add topping. Cook 10 more minutes. Desert or breakfast.

Dishwasher Detergent FINALE

I just bought some. It is great. The homemade stuff just sucks.

Dishwasher Detergent: Part Three

Baking soda plus lemon juice(natural degreaser)
Vinegar Rinse

5 day week

After deciding not to buy groceries, I promptly ran out of things... dairy free butter, olive oil, fruit, nuts, milk, soy yogurt, cheese (for Chris's lunch), almond milk and patience. These do not grow in my garden. But are now mostly restocked. We could have probably made it longer, but after realizing I had lost YET another breadmachine paddle I gave in. I had no snack/easy food, and I really just wanted a banana or even an apple.

Six months, who was I kidding. I lasted 5 days.

Dishwasher Detergent: Part Two

First load of baking soda and salt went well, second not so much.

Dishwasher Detergent 2.0
Washing Soda

Vinegar rinse

This one wasn't much better, but any stuck on food wiped or rinsed away in the sink. I will give this one another try.