Easily Give the Gift of Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is a wonderful gift for everyone on your list for many reasons.  I love Amazon!  I find that many of the products I buy, are sold for a better price on Amazon.com.  I held off buying Amazon Prime for a long time because before I ever even heard of it, I had signed up for Netflix.  Little did I know that with Amazon Prime, I would not only get movies and TV shows similar to Netflix, I would get free, 2-day shipping on many products I purchase throughout the year.  After starting the free 30-trial with Amazon Prime, I saved $14 on my very first order!  My link below will bring you to Amazon Prime.

  My Amazon Prime Affiliate Link

Beware - SCANPAN!

I have heard wonderful things about the Scanpan brand pans and horrible things about traditional non-stick pans. Since many of my pans have a non-stick, toxic coating (I know, I know, I need to toss them) I decided I would like to give Scanpan a try, but I thought the prices were a bit high.  I was able to purchase a used one on eBay for a little less than half the price of a new one.  Such a steal! Perfect price for a test run.

When it arrived, it was in a sad state. I wasn't too worried because I knew they had a 'lifetime guarantee.'   I found a website that said, to return the pan to its original clean, non-stick state, it would be necessary to boil baking soda in water for 5 minutes, then let the pan sit with the baking soda/water for about 30 minutes. After trying this twice, it didn't come as clean as expected.  I contacted the company and heard back quite quickly. They instructed me to use the baking soda and if that didn't work, clean with Barkeepers Friend and a scouring pad.  The Barkeepers/scouring pad did the trick; the pan looked spotless.  So now the real test - frying an egg.  Not only did the egg stick to the pan, it stuck so badly that I had to repeat the baking soda/Barkeepers Friend process to get it to come off!  Not impressed!

Along with the cleaning instructions, the company sent me pictures of what is and is not covered by their warranty.  It appeared that my pan was under 'covered.'  Again, I contacted the company and this was their response:

" I’m sorry to hear the Barkeepers Friend and Baking Soda instructions did not work for you.  Unfortunately since the pan was purchased on Ebay, it cannot be covered under the warranty.

When I think of a 'Lifetime Guarantee,' I think of companies like Tupperware, Cutco and LLBean.  They don't care who/where their product was purchased; if their product fails, they replace it - plain and simple.  We pay a little more for their products, but in the end it's usually worth it. It seems to me that Scanpan pans are pricey enough to be in the same category.

I was almost ready to purchase a ceramic pan until I read this article.  This article outlines that NONE of the non-stick cookware currently on the market is safe except a properly seasoned cast iron pan.

I think my new plan  is not to purchase these new ceramic pans, but to go back to basics and start seasoning my cast iron pans!   I'm taking my pastured bacon out of the freezer right now!

UPDATE: I've managed to switch all my coated pans for cast iron pans. If they're seasoned properly, they are non-stick.

My Amazon Affiliate Link:

Pre-Seasoned Combo Cooker

Free Kindle e-book - 100 Easy Recipes in Jars

If Christmas is on your mind and you're looking to find some easy-to-make, inexpensive gifts, this FREE e-book might come in handy.  Please check price before clicking 'BUY.'

Water Kefir and Milk Kefir - Free Kindle Books

I am so exited to get this free Kindle e-book because I just started making water kefir.  Water kefir is my newest  step in becoming healthier.  In fact, I killed my first kefir grains and just received my order of new ones.  If you're not making water kefir right now, it doesn't mean you can't download the book.  Hurry, while it is free!  As always, please check that the price is still $0.00 before clicking 'BUY.'

F

Fermenting Volume 3: Milk Kefir is also available right now for free!

Free Kindle e-Book - The Homemade Medicine Book

Free Kindle e-book. I've not yet read this, but I've downloaded it for when I have the time!

Get this while it is free and double check that the price still says, "$0.00" before clicking 'BUY.'

Quinoa - I Hate Quinoa

Okay, so remember when George W. Bush was president? Remember he proclaimed his hatred for broccoli? Broccoli Growers of the US (or some group) sent him a truckload of broccoli.

I'm officially proclaiming my hatred for quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). You know that seed that is referred to as a grain because it has the properties of a grain, and goes for $6.99 per pound at the health-food store/supermarket? It contains all the essential amino acids which makes it a complete protein. Yeah - that seed. Well really, I only hate the taste if it is not prepared properly. If it is not rinsed before it is cooked, it tastes bitter. It gets even better if it's soaked overnight before it is cooked.

It's a good idea to rinse and soak overnight to remove phytic acid. Phytic acid is an anti-nutrient that seeds, legumes, nuts and grains contain; soaking removes it. Remember mom used to soak the beans overnight on Friday night for the Saturday night, baked-bean dinner? This must be why.

The other thing I hate about quinoa is the price. $6.99 per pound is a little pricey. But honestly, I'm only hoping that proclaiming my hatred for quinoa will result in a truckload of quinoa backed up to my house. But until that truck shows up, I think I'll just order it from Amazon (affiliate link below) for a much better price!

Source: http://www.weedemandreap.com/2013/07/you-arent-cool-until-you-prepare-your-grains-properly.html

Free Kindle Book - Gluten Free Recipes - Wheat Belly Recipe Book (Tiffany Cook's Easy Gourmet Recipes)

Another great, gluten-free recipe book that is free today.  Please check the price before clicking BUY.

40 Top Paleo Recipes - Free Kindle Book

This Paleo recipe book,40 Top Paleo Recipes, is free right now.  Please check that the price is still "$0.00" before clicking on "BUY..."

Amazon Free Kindle for a Limited Time - Act Fact!

This book, Things Mother Used to Make A Collection of Old Time Recipes, Some Nearly One Hundred Years Old and Never Published Before, is free right now - please double check the price is $0.00 before clicking 'Buy.' I just downloaded it; can't wait to take a walk down 'Memory Lane' and check out these recipes!

Stonewall Kitchen's Hand Soap

Here I am talking about Stonewall Kitchen again - I can't help myself - I just love their hand soap!  In case you have not yet noticed, I am somewhat of a brand-name snob.  It's not just brand names; if I don't like a top brand name I'll admit it.  But when I find a product I love, I am brand loyal.

Stonewall Kitchen's hand soap, in my opinion, is superior.  I have to admit, though - I cheat and mix it with water in my foaming dispenser. I put about 20 pumps into a foaming hand soap dispenser, fill with water, securely put the pump back on and shake.  It mixes nicely, isn't too soapy and is a great price considering it is only $9.95 for 16.9 ounces.  I've never counted how many pumps I get from one container, but trust me - it's a LOT!I love the Lavender Mint and my next purchase will be the Lavender Mint Hand Soap Refill which is only $14.95 for 35 ounces - an even better deal.


Purchasing this soap and diluting it in my foaming dispenser allows me to spend more on jams and jellies!

Turnips and Rutabaga

Growing up, I don't recall eating 'turnip' other than on Thanksgiving.  My mother always made it mashed and served it with the turkey.  I wasn't overly fond of it, but I continued the tradition each and every Thanksgiving with mashed 'turnip.'  Through the years I learned to like it.  You may be wondering why the word turnip is in quotes here.  Stay with me...

When my daughter and I were doing the Atkins Diet, she found many healthy, delicious recipes.  She came across a Turnip Fry recipe that we thought was delicious.  The recipe source is long gone, but I remember it suggested soaking the turnip fries in milk before proceeding, as turnip could be bitter, and soaking would remove the bitterness.  I never did that step, and found my "Turnip Fries" to be delicious anyway.

A couple weeks ago, a friend was stopping at Whole Foods on his way to our house and wanted to know if we needed anything.  My husband and I thought turnip fries would be good since everyone who would be joining us for dinner tries to stay on a gluten-free diet.  We asked our friend to pick up a turnip.

When our friend arrived, we were surprised at the tiny little turnips he brought us.  We never bought these small purple and white things, and didn't say a word.  We went ahead and made turnip fries and they turned out okay although there were not a lot to go around.

The next time I went grocery shopping, I looked at the turnips and to my surprise, I also found a rutabaga.  I have to admit, though, I don't usually look at the signs above the vegetables.  I know what a carrot is so I don't have to look at the sign.  I thought I knew what a turnip is, too.  That day, I learned that the 'Turnip Fries' I had been making for at least ten years, were actually Rutabaga Fries!  Boy did I feel dumb!

I don't think my mother knew what a real turnip was, either, as what she cooked on Thanksgiving and called 'turnip,' was Rutabaga!  No wonder I went all these years thinking rutabagas were turnips!

Check back - my Rutabaga Fry recipe will be appearing on the website very soon!

Stonewall Kitchen - Jam, Jelly and More!

Through the years, I think I've purchased every brand of jam and jelly that is sold in traditional grocery stores.  My daughter is a big fan of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich (PBJ).  When she was young, I always looked for healthier jam/jelly that didn't have added, unnecessary ingredients.  The biggest problem then, is that they didn't taste all that great.  Today my biggest concern is high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  Several doctors* and scientists* say the amount of HFCS we eat that is acceptable - ZERO!

This brings me to Stonewall Kitchen.  Stonewall Kitchen's ingredients are, by far, the best I have found. Although I have not checked each and every one of their products, I've never seen HFCS in any of their ingredient lists.  In fact, I can actually pronounce and understand their ingredient lists without grabbing a dictionary.  Their products contain sugar, but is that a bad thing?  Good old-fashioned sugar (even if it's white, refined), in my humble opinion, has to be better than all the new man-made, food-like products.

It is amazing that a company, as large as Stonewall Kitchen, evolved from a card table at a Farmer's Market.  As the story goes, it all started with a jar of jam in 1991.  Stonewall Kitchen, best known for their award-winning Specialty Foods, also offers a wide variety of gourmet foods and gifts, kitchen and cookware, home decor and garden accessories, recipes and their classic Product of the Month is always 10% off.

One of the best perks for me, is that after eating their delicious products I can reuse their glass jars.  I keep several different types of sugar in my kitchen and the Stonewall Kitchen jars work great - muscovado, jaggery, evaporated cane sugar, white sugar (for guests' coffee) and coconut palm sugar.  I have actually collected a good-amount of their jars and also use them for miscellaneous items, like cotton balls.  They work great for spices and I appreciate that the jars are square, fit together and stack nicely.

Just a few of my Stonewall Kitchen re-purposed jars.  The top left, small jar holds added nutrition for a small, handicapped dog and bottom right holds The Mustard Seed's Indian Spice Tea - both will be blogged about soon!  

Yesterday, I was able to attend Stonewall Kitchen's warehouse, Labor Day sale at their 7 Amarosa, Rochester, NH location.  I only just learned about this yearly event this weekend - I didn't know this outlet store and warehouse in Rochester existed.  Discontinued items were marked at half price with an additional 25% off.  I was able to purchase $200 worth of products for only $75!  Since I love their products, it was a great opportunity to not only stock up, but to try some new products at a greatly reduced price.

Just a few of my good buys at Stonewall Kitchen's Warehouse, Labor Day Sale!

*Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Mercola and food formulator, Russ Bianchi, all say high fructose corn syrup in any amount is unacceptable.

Accuchef Recipe Program

I use Accuchef recipe program to keep my recipes organized.  I was tired of different size index cards, newspaper and magazine clippings and recipes on notepad paper.  I wanted them all organized in one place. The most important thing I was wanted in a recipe software: that it be easy to use.  I was able to download the program and use immediately without reading any instruction manual or help file.  There is a nice help file f needed.

Although the program is only $19.95, they give the option to download a free, sixty-use trial copy before purchasing.  All future upgrades are free.

Click above to order

This program allows printing of cookbooks with headers and footers and on index cards.  It's possible to import recipes from a website and comes with over 150 recipes.  Each cookbook file can contain over 2 billion recipes!!!  It's possible to list available ingredients and Accuchef can suggest recipes.  The nutrition analyzer can analyze over 6,300 items. There are many, many more great features.

I love this program!

Julien Bakery Paleo Wraps

I was pleasantly surprised when I tried these Julien Bakery Paleo Wraps.  The folks at my local health-food store have not yet steered me wrong and they were certainly right about these Paleo Wraps.  Made from coconut meat and coconut water, they are not only delicious, but they actually stay together when eating.

My first wrap consisted of shrimp, lettuce and cocktail sauce.  The slight taste of coconut added to the taste.  I'm not certain these coconut wraps would go with everything, but it could not have been better for shrimp.  My husband tried roast beef, Swiss cheese and mustard - just as good!  Although these are a little pricey, as is any specialty food, I think they are well worth it!

Julien Bakery items are available at THE GLUTEN-FREE MALL:

Tomatoes are a Fruit

There is no question - tomatoes are a fruit.  Period.  It's easy to tell a fruit from a vegetable; there are two different ways:

1.  The seeds are INSIDE a fruit or OUTSIDE a vegetable
2.  The flower has a fruit attached, while vegetable flowers are above or separate from the edible portion. 

So yes, tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, green peppers, avocado and cantaloup - all fruits.  Just because we put something into a garden or tossed salad, does not mean it is a vegetable.

And speaking of summer squash, zucchini is not only a fruit, it's a summer squash.  I know the signs at the supermarket say "summer squash" on the yellow and "zucchini" on the green, but they are both summer squash.  The yellow is usually either a crook neck or a straight neck.  Winter squash, which are also fruit, are the ones that become ready in the fall usually after a frost - hubbard, butternut, acorn, etc.

This brings me to corn.  Corn on the cob is one of my summertime favorites and I've been known to buy four dozen at a time.  I cook them, cut the kernels off the cob with a knife, place in an inexpensive plastic bag, then into a vacuum-seal bag.  I lay the bags out in my freezer, flatten and let freeze; I then vacuum seal.  I've also been known to eat only corn on the cob for dinner.  Is there anything better than fresh corn-on-the-cob with organic butter in the summer?  There just might be - freshly frozen corn off the cob in January!  It's always great to take a bag out of the freezer and enjoy on a cold wintery day!  I have not bought insecticide-laden corn from the supermarket in several years.  It is a lot of extra work to freeze my own corn, but well worth it!

Corn - is it a fruit, vegetable or grain?  I personally think the jury is still out on that subject.  The Whole Grains Council defines corn as a grain if it is dried and a vegetable if it is cooked.  I think I may be wrong, but I have to disagree.  Since we eat the kernels, which are the 'seeds,' and the seeds are INSIDE the husk, I would have to take vegetable completely out of the equation - seed, fruit or grain.  But honestly, I vote for grain.

Nigella Sativa - Black Cumin

For the last couple months I'm seeing, over and over, articles on the Internet about a black seed that is said to have many health benefits - Nigella Sativa.  This morning I came across an article by Green Med Info that contained lots of interesting information.  Also known as Black Cumin, this tiny black seed is believed by many to be a powerful herb with numerous health benefits.

While black seed is said to be anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory, what I find most interesting is that it is believed to be antibacterial and said to not only kill MRSA (Methicillin-resistand Staphylococcus Aureus) but also believed to kill h.pylori.  According to Russ Bianchi, h.pylori is the most common cause of heartburn and can be eradicated with cayenne pepper.  I am interested to know if this tiny black seed can contribute to killing borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease bacteria, since it is believed to be anti-bacterial.


I buy my black seeds from Amazon, but I've read I might be able to find them in my local, Indian spice store. Black Cumin tastes a bit like lemony pepper. I grind the seeds in my Melitta coffee grinder, put the powder in a small bowl and my husband uses it like pepper.  I've used a pepper-type shaker, but since it is a bit oily, it sticks together; a bowl/spoon seems to work better.  I'm not a big fan of pepper, so I would probably need to encapsulate it, if I were to take large amounts.

It's Tick Time!

Natural (and Toxic) Tick Repellents

Tick season is officially upon us here in New Hampshire.  Aside from planning to use food-grade diatomaceus earth (DE) on my lawn in the areas we tend to walk the most, I have an arsenal of tick repellents.  I specifically use three: 

1.  I use the most toxic, tick-killing spray I can find that contains permethrin to put on my shoes (especially white sneakers - they love white) and pants from the knees down.  Most experts who taut using natural products, admit that the toxic products we are exposed to can NEVER compare to having chronic Lyme Disease.  Those of us who have chronic Lyme Disease know we need to protect ourselves and our families at any cost from this debilitating, financially crippling disease. 

2.  As the weather warms and I switch from pants to shorts, I spray myself from the waist down with Buzz Away Extreme.   It's active ingredients are: castor oil, soybean oil, cedarwood oil, citronella oil, peppermint oil and lemongrass oil.  Inert ingredients are: purified water, coconut oil, glycerin, lecithin, sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, sodium benzoate, and wintergreen oil.  Although I don't know what sodium benzoate is, the remaining ingredients look like excellent, natural ingredients.  It is a little strong smelling, and since I'm sensitive in that department, I use another product from the waist up.                                  
                                                 (Affiliate Link):

3.  Since the smell of Ticks Away Natural Spray is a little milder than Buzz Away Extreme, I use this product from the waist up.  It is a New Hampshire product, sold by Cardigan Mountain Soap Works, and works well.  This company also has a "bugs away" soap that I use during tick season.  Ticks Away ingredients are: distilled water, pure essential oils, emulsifier, sorbitol. Looks like they use good, natural ingredients.

Aside from using sprays on our bodies and food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) for the lawn, we've found another great tick-removing tool - CHICKENS!  We just picked up our babies last night.  They are 21 days old - born March 15, 2013- three Barred Rock, three Australorps, and three Barred Rock/Rhode Island Red cross.  The bad news is: they won't be big enough this year to eat the spring ticks.