Detox Your House and Cosmetics! What do you do?

[sannabelle]

I heard you should not put meat in the compost pile because it attracts critters.

Makes sense- no problems so far, though!

 

[FrankHomestead]

Oh, my! You are my sisters from another mister and brothers from another mother!!!
Fantastic post mobius!
Where do I start? Errr..let's start with cheese since that was a hot topic.
My husband is Italian and he's from New Jersey where artisan cheeses and fresh mozzarella are WAY more popular and obtainable than here in Michigan. He really missed the fresh mozz and asked if I could learn how to make it. So started my cheese making journey! I became obsessed.

My very first attempt at mozz was a beautiful ball of creamy goodness. Though, not quite as stringy as it should be. My second and third attempt...100% fail. The curds did not pull together. Basically a big pile of mushy ricotta. Frustrated, I turned to my all-knowing of everything go-to...the world wide web.
I narrowed it down to one simple, naive thing. I needed to buy non-homogenized milk. I didn't even know what that meant, but after researching WHAT it was, made perfect sense. To this day I have no idea how my first batch turned out being it was homogenized.
Now the mozz I make is the cheater mozz, I make the 30 minute mozz with the rennet and citric acid...not the artful, labor of love mozz with the cultures. Though one day I will.
So I made mozz and ricotta for a cpl years before being introduced to the amazing wonders of artisan cheeses. Those firm, full flavor lingering, somewhat stinky aged delight. My family and I drove out to Nebraska to spend thanksgiving with my folks. My mom is the queen of entertaining and hospitality. You never leave her house hungry or in a bad mood.
She had a gourmet buffet spread every single day we we're there. And one of the goodies changed my life, really. It was my very first bite of crafted, aged artisan cheese, and I relished. It was sharp yet creamy...peppery yet sweet...it was to die for!!! The few other cheeses they displayed I did not care for. Only the one stole my heart.
Once we got back to Michigan I searched and searched for this cheese to no avail!!!!
I scoured the internet for a source or recipe with no luck!! And finally, a few month's ago I remembered to tell my mom of my dilemma over the phone and in 2 seconds my quest was over. "Oh I got that at Trader Joe's"
At last!!!! And for the icing on the cake....I FINALLY found a recipe...it's a you tube video of this man making it. Bless him.
I still have not made it yet due to the fact that I need to buy a big enough pot! hahaha!
The glorified cheese is named Peppered Toscana. Go to Trader Joe's and yank a wedge, you won't regret it.
In the mean time we have also found outstanding, fight over the last piece, artisan cheeses which I will have to look up the names quick if anyone is interested to know.
I have also made my own artisans including Parmesan, provolone, Asiago, white cheddar, cold smoked Gouda and pepper Jack. They are all currently in my cheese cave made out of a mini fridge...and all my work and time invested will be thrown in the garbage. They're most definitely ruined as I forgot all about them and stopped caring for them with the proper humidity and salt water wipes, oil wipes. I got completely caught up in my gardening and my New chicken world...and the excitement of finally moving to the country where I'm (almost) free to do as I wish. I checked on them the other day and they look perfectly normal. But I know without a doubt they will not taste perfectly normal.
Oh, well.They aren't organic anyway
When we get our country house I will have a cheese ROOM!!
I also love to make organic soap, use it every day, got a cinnamon oatmeal bar next to the bathroom sink. Smells like comfort.
I've made "homemade" beer once. it was a kit, lol, but it's a start. I want to make it someday using whole ingredients. Fresh hopps...ahh.
I will try to make everything myself at least once. if I'm fascinated by something, I always look at it and think to myself...wonder if I could make this. I've successfully grown my own pineapple plant from the top leaves of a store bought pineapple. I've also grown avocado plants from pits and lemon tree seedlings from seeds until my puppies demolished them.
Never stop learning my friends

 

[Junochick]

Oh, my! You are my sisters from another mister and brothers from another mother!!!
Fantastic post mobius!
Where do I start? Errr..let's start with cheese since that was a hot topic.
My husband is Italian and he's from New Jersey where artisan cheeses and fresh mozzarella are WAY more popular and obtainable than here in Michigan. He really missed the fresh mozz and asked if I could learn how to make it. So started my cheese making journey! I became obsessed.

My very first attempt at mozz was a beautiful ball of creamy goodness. Though, not quite as stringy as it should be. My second and third attempt...100% fail. The curds did not pull together. Basically a big pile of mushy ricotta. Frustrated, I turned to my all-knowing of everything go-to...the world wide web.
I narrowed it down to one simple, naive thing. I needed to buy non-homogenized milk. I didn't even know what that meant, but after researching WHAT it was, made perfect sense. To this day I have no idea how my first batch turned out being it was homogenized.
Now the mozz I make is the cheater mozz, I make the 30 minute mozz with the rennet and citric acid...not the artful, labor of love mozz with the cultures. Though one day I will.
So I made mozz and ricotta for a cpl years before being introduced to the amazing wonders of artisan cheeses. Those firm, full flavor lingering, somewhat stinky aged delight. My family and I drove out to Nebraska to spend thanksgiving with my folks. My mom is the queen of entertaining and hospitality. You never leave her house hungry or in a bad mood.
She had a gourmet buffet spread every single day we we're there. And one of the goodies changed my life, really. It was my very first bite of crafted, aged artisan cheese, and I relished. It was sharp yet creamy...peppery yet sweet...it was to die for!!! The few other cheeses they displayed I did not care for. Only the one stole my heart.
Once we got back to Michigan I searched and searched for this cheese to no avail!!!!
I scoured the internet for a source or recipe with no luck!! And finally, a few month's ago I remembered to tell my mom of my dilemma over the phone and in 2 seconds my quest was over. "Oh I got that at Trader Joe's"
At last!!!! And for the icing on the cake....I FINALLY found a recipe...it's a you tube video of this man making it. Bless him.
I still have not made it yet due to the fact that I need to buy a big enough pot! hahaha!
The glorified cheese is named Peppered Toscana. Go to Trader Joe's and yank a wedge, you won't regret it.
In the mean time we have also found outstanding, fight over the last piece, artisan cheeses which I will have to look up the names quick if anyone is interested to know.
I have also made my own artisans including Parmesan, provolone, Asiago, white cheddar, cold smoked Gouda and pepper Jack. They are all currently in my cheese cave made out of a mini fridge...and all my work and time invested will be thrown in the garbage. They're most definitely ruined as I forgot all about them and stopped caring for them with the proper humidity and salt water wipes, oil wipes. I got completely caught up in my gardening and my New chicken world...and the excitement of finally moving to the country where I'm (almost) free to do as I wish. I checked on them the other day and they look perfectly normal. But I know without a doubt they will not taste perfectly normal.
Oh, well.They aren't organic anyway
When we get our country house I will have a cheese ROOM!!
I also love to make organic soap, use it every day, got a cinnamon oatmeal bar next to the bathroom sink. Smells like comfort.
I've made "homemade" beer once. it was a kit, lol, but it's a start. I want to make it someday using whole ingredients. Fresh hopps...ahh.
I will try to make everything myself at least once. if I'm fascinated by something, I always look at it and think to myself...wonder if I could make this. I've successfully grown my own pineapple plant from the top leaves of a store bought pineapple. I've also grown avocado plants from pits and lemon tree seedlings from seeds until my puppies demolished them.
Never stop learning my friends

Me too growing pineapples from the tops and avacodo and an apple tree, it's so cool to find people with common interests , I even grew up in Michigan

 

[FrankHomestead]

Me too growing pineapples from the tops and avacodo and an apple tree, it's so cool to find people with common interests , I even grew up in Michigan

Very cool!!! I've been here for long enough to say I grew up here...since 1st grade lol I was a navy brat so we lived wherever my dad was stationed. since being here though I had ventured off to other parts of the country on my own and always came back. Even the tropics gave me a new appreciation for the mitten.

 

[FrankHomestead]

Oh also, as if I haven't talked enough lol, I love to make water kefir and kombucha. kombucha is OK....water kefir is AMAZE...I've experimented with different fresh fruits and by far my favorite is lemon slices and blueberries together. But I'm biased, lemon blueberry anything is my weakness. Y'all ever had lemon blueberry scones??! Shut. Up. They are dangerous. I love to make those and any homemade breads. My arch nemeses is sourdough. for the simple fact I forget about my sourdough starter in the corner and don't take care of it, this it goes rancid. Are you seeing a pattern here?? LOL out of sight out of mind.

 

[Junochick]

I grow most of my fruits and veggies, I love zucchini Apple bread, pumpkin bread and anything with fresh peaches. I even substitute acorn squash and butternut squash for pumpkin in breads. Oh and fresh green beans I could just eat them for a meal. Sometimes I will eat just a dish of cucumbers with a little dressing for lunch. I love walking outside to eat berries right off the bush. I wish I had more land growing plants makes me feel good. I want one of your lemon blueberry scones!

 

[FrankHomestead]

I grow most of my fruits and veggies, I love zucchini Apple bread, pumpkin bread and anything with fresh peaches. I even substitute acorn squash and butternut squash for pumpkin in breads. Oh and fresh green beans I could just eat them for a meal. Sometimes I will eat just a dish of cucumbers with a little dressing for lunch. I love walking outside to eat berries right off the bush. I wish I had more land growing plants makes me feel good. I want one of your lemon blueberry scones!

OMG you named my favorites. Peach anything!!! Peach iced tea is the only thing I drink in summer other than water and my morning coffee. (And the occasional bloody Mary teehee) banana bread, you can keep. But zucchini bread I will cut you for! Butternut squash is Ahhhh OMG so good!!! I'll bake one of those with a little butter and sea salt and eat that only for lunch! My 2 yr daughter and I will sit there snapping green beans and dip them in ranch and eat at least a pound...LOL and cucumbers don't get me started...dipped in ranch, piled on my salad, piled on my sandwich....I'm especially fond of sweet peppers raw...I absolutely adore vegetables. the only one I dislike is eggplant. I don't get the fascination with that one other than the beautiful coloring lol

 

[FrankHomestead]

I grow most of my fruits and veggies, I love zucchini Apple bread, pumpkin bread and anything with fresh peaches. I even substitute acorn squash and butternut squash for pumpkin in breads. Oh and fresh green beans I could just eat them for a meal. Sometimes I will eat just a dish of cucumbers with a little dressing for lunch. I love walking outside to eat berries right off the bush. I wish I had more land growing plants makes me feel good. I want one of your lemon blueberry scones!

Would you like the recipe for the scones?

 

[Junochick]

Would you like the recipe for the scones?

Yes please, I would love the recipe. I grew up just north of Detroit in warren,Troy and Sterling Heights. I never liked the winters way too long and cold. Where I live in Arizona we get hot summers and very mild winters. If it snows in never stays long maybe 24hrs. Have a wonderful night and thanks for sharing

 

[FrankHomestead]

Yes please, I would love the recipe. I grew up just north of Detroit in warren,Troy and Sterling Heights. I never liked the winters way too long and cold. Where I live in Arizona we get hot summers and very mild winters. If it snows in never stays long maybe 24hrs. Have a wonderful night and thanks for sharing

I know a lot of ppl are lovers of the sun an heat, I am not one of them lol but it's good we have different preferences otherwise we'd all be crammed into one hemisphere am I right??