Real Corn Bread!

Not long ago, my husband and I went camping at Spring Mill State Park, near Mitchell, Indiana.  We had a very nice time.  We visited the Pioneer Village one of the days we were there, and went to tour the old grist mill.  They get dried corn (non-GMO!) and grind it to sell.  I bought 12 pounds.  :)  Today I was hungry for something simple to eat, so I invented a new (to me, at least) cornbread recipe.  Here it is!

Real Corn Bread

Preheat oven to 425 and grease a square baking dish.

Combine:
2 cups corn meal
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a smaller bowl, mix together:

7/8 cup whole milk
2 egg yolks (reserve the whites, as you will use them shortly)
1/4 cup melted butter

In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.

Now, pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, mix well, then fold in the beaten egg whites until fairly well combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes.  Check after 20 minutes by touching the center of the corn bread.  It should spring back, not still be liquid inside. 

When it's done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.  Serve with plenty of butter!

Simple, satisfying, gluten - free (if you care about that).  Yes.  This is a keeper!

Homemade pancake syrup

This is not Log Cabin syrup.  Our daughter and her family are living with us currently, and I want to share with you how she makes pancake syrup.  Indeed, it is healthier, in some ways, to eat REAL maple syrup, but it can also be too expensive for many of us.  Long ago, I taught her how to make pancake syrup, but she has improved the process. Read the recipe carefully.  The success is in doing it properly.

Homemade Pancake Syrup

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan with a heavy bottom.  DO NOT STIR...EVER. 
Bring it to a boil, reduce heat and boil for 5 minutes.
Allow to cool.  Pour into serving bottle.
It will sit at room temperature and NOT crystallize.  The secret is in not stirring it while it is cooking.

No HFCS, no other scary things.  Just "real" sugar and some ambient molasses in the brown sugar.

Use sparingly and enjoy!

Perpetual fabric softener sheets...

Along with the theme of the last post, I will tell you about my "fabric softener sheets."  I have a large empty cottage cheese carton with a lid.  Into the container, I put 1 cup liquid fabric softener and 2 cups of water.  Then, I filled the container with old wash rags I had, left from washing goat udders (truly - due to events of life I had to sell my milk goats.)  When I put clean, wet, laundry in the dryer, I take one of the wash rags and wring it out thoroughly and toss it into the dryer.  That's it!  Hopefully, next summer my husband will be able to put my clotheslines back up (long story...) and next winter, we'll be using the wood heating stove again (another long story...) and I won't be using the dryer very much.  But for now, this is nice.  I can have just enough fabric softener for the laundry and it costs Almost Nothing. 

Un - Paper Towels

Here is a humble little project that pleased my frugal heart immensely.  I cleaned my laundry room today.  I don't do it very (cough) often.  I found a plastic bag full of kitchen towels that I had quit using because the kitchen drawer was too full of them when I was given some new ones.  The old ones are faded and stained, but still quite useable, so I couldn't bring myself to throw them away, and they really weren't nice enough to even donate.  I think they've been awaiting their destiny in there for a couple of years.

I have paper towels, but every time I use one I feel a little "guilty."  It's like throwing pennies in the trash.  Somehow it just doesn't seem right.

Here is what I did.  I cut the hems off of the old towels on all four sides and then cut each towel in half, zig-zagged the raw edges and voila!  Un-paper towels.  They will live in this little basket in the cupboard under our kitchen sink.  I'm sure there will be some times I will still use "real" paper towels, but most of the time will opt for the washable ones.

Oh, yes, here is my clean laundry room. :)