From the generous folks at.....

Koda Farms who produce fabulous rice flour for all sorts of recipes have sent me a couple of boxes of Mochiko Rice flour to share with a few lucky readers.

This flour is fabulous and is a great gluten free alternative for both baking and cooking. It's properties are a great combination of wheat flour and cornstarch when cooking and thickening. You can make roux with it or turn it into a slurry (like cornstarch) and thicken soups and sauces, quickly and easily. Best of all, it's great when you are freezing meals to use later.

So if you are interested here's how to let me know (you'll get an entry for each one):
1. Leave a comment letting me know what you would try it out in first.
2. Become a follower of my blog.
3. Give me a shout out on your blog letting people know about the giveaway.

I'll choose a winner by Saturday Morning so check back.

P.S. I have three boxes to give away! and for more giveaways check out Heavenly Homemakers!

99 cent project

That will soon be covered by my sweet pea vines. This new trellis of sorts would be perfect for any climbing vegetable. I know it looks a little silly now, give me a few weeks and it will be a beautiful statue of peas. We got the original idea out of the magazine Organic Gardening. I can't find their "blue prints" online, however, this was so easy with your own creativity and possible trash you should be able to come up with one too!

Brian found an old bike in the trash that was in horrible condition so we took the wheel off and then took the tire itself off of the rim. From there we screwed it onto an old 10 foot piece of landscape timber that was about to be thrown out also. We buried the timber about 2 feet in the ground. I didn't want anything permanent because I want to be able to rotate along with the veggies next year.

So once it is firmly in the ground we looped twine (99 cents - the only cost in the project) through the bike rim and also attached it to stakes in the ground. As you can see in the picture above. From there you are all set. I'm excited for my peas to be able to have plenty of growing space and to have some interesting height in my garden!

Let me know what you are up to in your garden or how your projects are working out!

For more frugal ideas, gardening tips and other homemade projects check out Frugal Friday, Peterson Clan's Gardening Club and Go Graham Go!.

Not over yet.......

I love hot chocolate (very guilty pleasure) and it probably is one of my top three favorite things about winter time. Cold mornings, not having to go anywhere are perfect for hot chocolate.

For years, my Nana and I would eat what we called a chocolate sandwich. Not sure how this started, it would consist of french bread and almost anything chocolate....anything from a triple chocolate chunk cookie to a chocolate bar. As I grew up and moved away I would get care packages and inside would always make me smile when I came to a package of chocolate bars. Between not really sure what type of chocolate this actually is and not really caring, I would always make a sandwich and think of her.


During the winter, I take these same chocolate bars and turn them into hot chocolate. It's one cup of milk per chocolate bar. Many times, I end up finding these in the international aisle in the grocery store. We still have a few cold morning left......enjoy the hot chocolate while you can:).

I want to hear about your winter time guilty pleasure or your favorite hot chocolate recipe.

Chewy Breakfast Bars

This is one of our favorite breakfast for on the go mornings paired up with a kefir shake or even an afternoon snack while running errands. The recipe is pretty flexible and you can substitute any of the fruits with what ever you have on hand or find on a great sale.

Chewy Breakfast Bars
Yields 24 Bars

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 cake pan or small baking sheet

2. Combine the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl :

4 1/2 cups Old Fashion Oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dried peaches, chopped
1 1/4 cup wheat germ (whole wheat flour is fine - you just lose good fiber and nutrients)
1/4 cup raw flaxseeds, pulsed a few times in a food processor
2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon

3. In a small sauce pan combine the following ingredients until smooth:

2 tsp. molasses (or low sugar fruit butter)
2 cup honey
3 tsp. vanilla extract

4. Pour into baking sheet and pack it. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut and enjoy.

5. Wrap extra bars individually in plastic wrap or small baggies and place in an air tight container.

Notes:
Make a double or triple batch for the month and freeze anything you won't eat within the first week. They freeze great! If not frozen they will last for about 2 weeks, give or take the conditions.

Other fruits that work out great are currants, raisins and assorted dried berries. You can also sub in raw almonds in for other great nutrients.

Check out other great recipes here and here and menu planning ideas, here.

Homemade Tahini

Susie writes: "I've heard of tahini but cannot find it in any of the stores in my area. Is something that can be made at home? If so, how do you make? Or are there any other options besides the tahini in the hummus?"

Tahini is a paste of ground sesame seeds. At times it can be pretty pricey, however, most recipes call for you to use it sparingly and it last in the fridge for a really long time. So it's worth the money in my eyes. I just finished mine off and think it's a little over a year old. I typically find tahini in the International section of my grocery store or in mom and pop Greek/Mediterranean grocery stores. If you can't find it, it is very easy to make.

Tahini
Yields 2 cups

• 2 C toasted sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
  

Put the sesame seeds in your food processor (a blender might work), and drizzle in the olive oil. Puree the seeds and oil for 3-5 minutes until smooth and creamy. If your tahini is a little thick add a small amount of water or oil at a time until it reaches it's desired consistancy. Store in an airtight container in your fridge.

And if your food processor is already out and dirty, you might as well make hummus with it!

Notes: As far as substitutes for tahini, I would recommend using unsweetened peanut butter or another nut butter, such as almonds. Just get one with as little sugar in it as possible and stir a few drops of sesame oil in it before adding to your recipe.

Check out the Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge.

Hummus

We love hummus around our house. It's a great protein when paired with a whole wheat pita. It's also a great inexpensive snack for company or even yourselves. Not to mention easy to make! If you don't want the carbs or eating it with pita or chips, try snacking on this dip with celery, broccoli or cucumbers!


Hummus
Yields: 4 cups

3 cups cooked chickpeas*
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1/2 cup olive oil, or to taste
1/2 cup water

In a food processor, purée the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, oil, water, scraping down the sides, until the hummus is smooth. If the hummus is too thick try adding a little more olive oil or water in small increments. Salt and pepper to taste. Transfer hummus to a bowl, garnish and dig in!


Notes/Options:
*Cooked Chickpeas - I prefer to soak mine and the cook them in the pressure cooker. Way less sodium and just better for you, however, it you are in a pinch you can use canned ones. Just make sure to drain and rinse them first.

Hummus keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.

Try adding other flavorful vegetables and herbs, such as:

• Roasted Peppers
• Roasted Garlic
• Fresh Basil
• Rosemary
• Parsley
• Roasted Eggplant
• Paprika
• Jalapenos or other spicy peppers

Check out the Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge.

Re: Pistachios Recall

Here is the latest update with the pistachio recall. Just in case you have been hiding underneath the dirty laundry or a rock. Last week the FDA put out a consumer warning recalling pistachios due to salmonella.

Check out the this FDA website to find out which products have been effected by the latest recall. They have it set up so you can search by Brand name, UPC code or Product description. Can't make it much safer than that! Further down the page they also have listed items to be looking for that may still be lurking in your pantry or freezer.

Making Buttermilk

Browsing through other blogs (got to love carnivals!) I stumbled upon Sandra at Keeping it Simple. She had a great idea for making your own buttermilk. You can find the original post here with pictures or check it out below.


Saving Flavor & Money

You just don't get that real buttermilk flavor in your baked goods from milk with vinegar or lemon juice added like you do with the real thing. Our one grocery store hardly ever has buttermilk so I would have to substitute for it until I found out this neat trick. Make my own! I now keep 2 quart jars just for this. I have not bought buttermilk in almost a year and I never run out.

Just put about an inch deep of buttermilk into one of the jars. Fill the rest of the way up with regular milk. Any percent will do. Let it set out on your counter for 6-12 hours, depending on the temperature. Just like yogurt, this needs to be warm to multiply, but you don't heat it. On colder days you will need to let it set out 12 hours. Then you just refrigerate it. When that jar gets about half way empty, I just do another one. Make sure you use the clean jar to start it with each time instead of just filling up the last one. Never buy buttermilk again. You will have the real flavor of buttermilk.

Now what to do with homemade buttermilk?!?! Please leave me ideas for recipes in my comments section. I'm thinking the standard pancakes but I would love to hear how you cook with buttermilk and get a little more creative than pancakes.

Waiting for Lunch Time!

Occassionally when I have to work late, my husband makes dinner for us and when I get home I make lunch for us for the next day. Knowing how hard it is to get into the office microwave line, i decided to utilize a few items that I already had in the fridge and make a killer chilled spring time salad with them.

And don't let the name scare you off! Sorry no picture...........

Potato and Pea Salad with Sweet Lemon Vinaigrette
Serves 4

3 each chicken breasts, cooked and chunked
3 each medium baked potatoes, chunked
3 cups peas, fresh or frozen, (just blanched then chilled)
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
Scallions or chives, optional

Sweet Lemon Vinaigrette
2 cups Olive Oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons turbinado (or sugar)
1 tablespoon garlic powder

In a mixing bowl, combine ingredients for vinaigrette and whisk vigorously. Add the salad ingredients, making sure they are all chilled. Toss, making sure to completely coat all ingredients and chill over night. Serve chilled.

Notes:

• Omit the chicken and have a great side dish salad for a BBQ
• Substitute the brown rice for a whole wheat pasta
• Sub in Turkey for Chicken
• Add corn for a little more color and extra nutrients

Check out More Lunch Time Recipes at Tasty Tuesday and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Spring Gripe.......

Would you believe yesertday we spent all day in the garden and working on the flower beds in 65° sunshine and today it is gloomy and snowing/sleeting?

By last night we were running around trying to cover up some of our tender plants just in case. The snow isn't sticking, however, I didn't want any plants to freeze too bad. So right now in our garden, it looks like we are growing large plastic bottles and plant pots. Over our flower beds, we covered our tender lovelies with antique windows resting at an angle between the garage side wall and the sidewalk so any snow that might fall would not rest in the plants. Yes, a little overprotective. I know so chill is good for them but is there a too much point?

I'd love to hear tricks of your own to save your plants. My backyard is looking pretty random right about now.