Spam

wow,

The spam came in on my comments today…every single one of them from some music page…LOL As I don’t have music or audio files here on my page yet I am going to assume that all such comments are spam…

Thanks bye!

What to do with milk at the end of its life…

Why, Make Cheese of course.

For those that drink whole milk this is perfect for you. For those that drink 2% or less, you might need to buy whole milk just for this project.

I make cheese in my kitchen… nothing special, just soft cheese flavored with whatever comes to hand. Salt, pepper, vanilla, saffron, etc… I have had some complain about my Salt and Pepper crusted semi firm cheese, but others who have told me that I will under no circumstances stop making it… Its just about taste.

It has been brought to my attention that although I have brought back this cheese twice, it is not old yet. So here is the recipe and the instructions for any other cheese-maker to enjoy and mess up their kitchen with!

I have been asked why I use vinegar, lemon juice and a flavoring alcohol to make my cheese. The answer, I am squeamish. Squeamish at the thought of where the Rennet usually used for making cheese comes from, and vegetable rennet does not seem to work well.  Another answer is that there are vegetarians in our fair Barony and animal products are not palatable. I agree, and so I use vinegar, lemon juice and alcohol. This Recipe uses vinegar…

Mevanou’s Fresh White Cheese

 

Tools:

1 – pot large enough to hold 5 gallons

1 very long handled stainless spoon

1 wide bowl ladle

1 long candy thermometer that will clip to the side of the pot

1 24inx24in square of muslin

1 deep bowled strainer stainless as plastic will break

1 nine inch x three inch deep plastic container

1 package paper napkins

1 roll paper towels

 

Cheese Ingredients

4 gallons whole milk (Marlene’s in Tacoma Sells Raw milk for 10 dollars a gallon)

2 cups white vinegar per gallon

1 cup Lemon Juice

1 cup Tequila (or any other alcohol to change flavor)

½ cup ground pepper and ½ cup kosher salt mixed for the crusting

1 tbsp kosher salt

6 drops liquid smoke

 

Instructions

Step One

 

Let the milk sit out on the countertop overnight to get to a warm room temperature. The next day place the pot on the stovetop and gently pour in the milk one gallon at a time, letting the milk rest between gallons.

Once all milk is in the pot, add the liquid smoke and stir gently. Let sit 5 minutes then turn on the stove. Clip the thermometer to the side of the pot allowing it to hang halfway down the pot. Gently heat the milk up to custard temp or 140 degrees F. keep the milk at that temperature for 5 minutes. Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, and tequila in a 4 cup container and then gently pour it into the milk. Very Gently stir it in, turn down the heat and walk away..or not. The curds of the cheese will rise to the top and consolidate into a large and thick matt. Do not stir. Wait another 10 minutes and test the curds. When pressing down in the curds creates a tear, it is time to cut the curds with a long bladed knife. Create cubes within the pan gently…That’s the rule..Gently.  Turn back up the heat and allow the whey to simmer cooking the curds further. Press down the curds into the simmering whey and keep up the simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove.   ALLOW TO COOL!  Don’t play with the curds, cover the pot with the square of muslin to keep out hair and flies.

 

Step Two

 

When the curds and whey are cool to the touch; gently ladle the curds into the strainer lined with that muslin square. Make sure that you get all the curds, you should get about 5 lbs of un-drained curds. (I toss out the whey, as the flavors are stronger in the whey than the cheese curds and I just don’t like it.)

Gently break up the curds into pea sized pieces and allow to drain off the last of the whey. I let that go for an hour.

 

Step three

 

Pulling up the edges and corners of the muslin form a pouch with the whey inside, then twist it up causing it to squeeze out the last of the whey. Keep squeezing until the curds inside the bag form a ball. Open the muslin again and break it up again, sprinkling the tablespoon of Kosher salt all over it. Hand toss the curds so that the salt is well mixed in then using the muslin squeeze even more whey out of it.

Place the ball of curds still wrapped in the muslin into the plastic container. Open the muslin and yet again break up the curds forming it to the container, pressing by hand.

Pull out the bag and gently turn over onto a cookie sheet lined in paper towels and remove the muslin, taking care to keep the shape of the container.

Start crusting the cheese with the pepper and salt mix, on the top and sides. After this cover it with two layers of paper towels, so that they drape down the sides and cover the top evenly. Gently press the container back over the cheese and turn back up and press into the container again. Leave the paper towels; they will help with pulling more whey out of the cheese. Using the last of the salt and pepper, crust the exposed top of the cheese and press down as you do so. Layer paper napkins on top of the cheese, again pressing down. Put the lid of the container over the napkins. Turn the container lid side down and put in the refrigerator. The thicker the layer of paper napkins the more whey is allowed to drain off. Change the paper towels and napkins twice a day, or until they no longer are damp. Let the cheese age for two days and enjoy.

 

 

A GOOD REASON TO USE HOMEMADE Mevanou verch Reys Yriskynit © 2013 by Tina Marie Comroe

Mosquito season is almost upon us! When those lovely ladies of the Blood Sucking Society out do even the thirstiest vampires. How are you going to get ahead of them and keep from contracting the nasty diseases they carry? What can you do to keep them off of you?

Hmmmm… I went looking for answers and here they are.

 

Ten Fun Facts about Mosquitoes

Yes, there are fun facts about mosquitoes…but it was meant to be Sarcasm…don’t ya know…

1. Mosquitoes are the deadliest animals on Earth.
That’s right; more deaths are associated with mosquitoes than any other animal on the planet. Mosquitoes may carry any number of deadly diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis. Mosquitoes also carry heartworm, which can be lethal to your dog.

2. Only female mosquitoes bite humans and animals; males feed on flower nectar.
Mosquitoes mean nothing personal when they take your blood. Female mosquitoes need protein for their eggs, and must take a blood meal in order to reproduce. Since males don’t bear the burden of producing young, they’ll avoid you completely and head for the flowers instead. And when not trying to produce eggs, females are happy to stick to nectar, too.

3. Some mosquitoes don’t bite humans, preferring other hosts like amphibians or birds.
Not all mosquito species feed on people. Some mosquitoes specialize on other animals, and are no bother to us at all. Culiseta melanura, for example, bites birds almost exclusively, and rarely bites humans.

4. Mosquitoes fly at speeds between 1 and 1.5 miles per hour.
That might sound fast, but in the insect world, mosquitoes are actually rather slow. If a race were held between all the flying insects, nearly every other contestant would beat the pokey mosquito. Butterflies, locusts, and honey bees would all finish well ahead of the skeeter.

5. A mosquito’s wings beat 300-600 times per second.
This would explain that irritating buzzing sound you hear just before a mosquito lands on you and bites.

6. Mosquito mates synchronize their wing beats to perform a lover’s duet.
Scientists once thought that only male mosquitoes could hear the wing beats of their potential mates, but recent research on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes proved females listen for lovers, too. When the male and female meet, their buzzing synchronizes to the same speed.

7. Salt marsh mosquitoes may travel up to 100 miles from their larval breeding habitat.
Most mosquitoes emerge from their watery breeding ground and stay pretty close to home. But some, like the salt marsh mosquitoes, will fly lengthy distances to find a suitable place to live, with all the nectar and blood they could want to drink.

8. All mosquitoes require water to breed. Some species can breed in puddles left after a rainstorm.
Just a few inches of water is all it takes for a female to deposit her eggs. Tiny mosquito larva develop quickly in bird baths, roof gutters, and old tires dumped in vacant lots. If you want to keep mosquitoes under control around your home, you need to be vigilant about dumping any standing water every few days.

9. An adult mosquito may live 5-6 months.
Few probably make it that long, given our tendency to slap them silly when they land on us. But in the right circumstances, an adult mosquito has quite a long life expectancy, as bugs go.

10. Mosquitoes can detect carbon dioxide from 75 feet away.
Carbon dioxide, which humans and other animals produce, is the key signal to mosquitoes that a potential blood meal is near. They’ve developed a keen sensitivity to CO2 in the air. Once a female senses CO2 in the vicinity, she flies back and forth through the CO2 plume until she locates her victim.

 

Yeah, so just being a living breathing creature attracts them….So what can we use to repel them? Well, the most popular brands all have one thing in common, DEET.

 

One of the most widely used ingredients in store-bought conventional bug sprays for personal use is N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide, or DEET, as it’s commonly known, which is designed to repel, rather than kill, insects. DEET is used by an estimated one-third of the US population each year. Although DEET is approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is a known eye irritant and can cause rashes, soreness, or blistering when applied to the skin. Additionally, DEET has been linked to neurological problems; according to the EPA, at least 18 different cases of children suffering adverse neurological effects, as well as the deaths of two adults, have been associated with DEET. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found that DEET causes diffuse brain cell death and behavioral changes in rats. DEET has been shown to have a negative impact on wildlife and water sources in production and during use. DEET is toxic to birds and aquatic life. DEET has been found in approximately 75 percent of U.S. water sources, including the Mississippi River.

 

One word: EEEWWWWW!

 

Is there anything Natural and Environmentally Safe to use instead?

Why yes, yes there are! Many Essential oils offer the relief from the Mosquito Horde. With the use of Essential oils you are using natural remedies that have been around since the time of the first Egyptian Pharos.

Excellent insect repellent essential oils include:

Citronella, Rose geranium, Clove, Lemongrass, Lemon, Eucalyptus, Catnip, Lavender, Cedar

Tea tree

Best Bug Spray Ever

Good for Humans and Pets

You will need:

 

v     A 4 oz. clean spray bottle with a fine mist setting (do not use a bottle that previously contained cleaning products or hair products such as hair spray).

v     1.5 ounces of distilled water

v     1.5 ounces of Apple Cider Vinegar

v     15 drops Citronella Essential Oil

v     15 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil

v     15 drops Cedar Essential Oil (just omit if allergic)

v     10 drops Lavender Essential Oil

v     10 drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil

v     5 drops Lemongrass Essential Oil

Directions:

Fill the spray bottle with the choice of either 1.5 ounces of distilled water and 1.5 ounces of alcohol or 3 ounces of distilled water. (Even though a 4 oz. bottle is suggested, leave about 1 oz. unfilled so you can shake the bottle well between uses.) Then, add the essential oils.

To Use: Shake the bottle before each use. Essential oils do not fully dissolve in water and alcohol and will settle. If you do not shake the bottle, you risk having concentrated droplets of essential oil irritate your skin.

Mist onto your skin and clothing and reapply as necessary. Discontinue use if you feel sensitivity from the repellent. Be careful not to mist delicate fabrics or surrounding furniture that may be harmed by the ingredients in the repellent. Be especially careful not to allow the mist fall into open beverages.

What do you do if you got bit? Well, it’s not what you do when you get bit, but before you get bitten. Grab together a simple first aid kit.

v     A 6 fluid ounce bottle of Witch Hazel

Good for insect bites, scrapes and minor cuts

v     A 8 ounce box of Arm& Hammer Baking Soda

Good for Bee Stings and sunburn

v     A 16 ounce Bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar

Good for Sunburn, bee sting and itchy skin

v     A jar of Home Made Neosporin

Good for cuts, scrapes and insect bites

v     A jar of Bruise Balm or 6 ounce bottle of Bruise Juice

Good for Aches, pains and bruises associated with heavy fighting, Archery and other activities that call for physical exertion.

v     A box of band-aids

Self Explanatory!

v     A small bag of cotton balls

For daubing on the liquids, and combined with band-aids to hold a poultice/ointment on insect bites.

v     Lip Balm

For Chapped lips

Now for some additional simple recipes that will keep your household in tip top shape during eventing season.

Homemade Neosporin

v     1/2 cup coconut oil (proven to help heal burns – plus it’s anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, & a great moisturizer)

v     1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (full of vitamins & a great moisturizer)

v     30 drops Comfrey Essential Oil (a herb for healing wounds)

v     30 drops Calendula Essential Oil (a herb for healing wounds & skin irritations)

v     2oz beeswax (equals out to 2 of the 1oz bars or 4 tablespoons)

v     2 tablespoons of honey (natural moisturizer with anti-microbial properties)

v     10 drops lavender essential oil (anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, & analgesic)

 

In a double boiler put the coconut oil, olive oil and warm them. Add the beeswax and allow melting completely. Remove from heat and add essential oils. Mix in a large bowl with wire whisk until fluffy. Spoon into a jar, put on the lid and keep in a cool dark place.

 

Lip Balm

v     2 Tablespoons beeswax (about 1 oz)

v     2 Tablespoons coconut oil

v     2 Tablespoons Shea butter

v     5 drops peppermint essential oil

v     12 lip balm containers

v     Medicine dropper

Directions:

1. Melt beeswax in a small pan or crockpot over low heat. Add coconut oil and shea butter until all ingredients a melted. Add a few drops essential oil if desired. I did not use any essential oil and it is smells wonderfully like honey!
2. Using a small medicinal dropper, pour the melted liquid into your lip balm containers. Add a few extra drops to the top after filling each container as the ingredients will shrink as they cool.
3. Cool completely to harden. Cover with cap and decorate or label as desired.

 

Small batch Bruise Juice

 

v     2 cups Olive Oil

v     4 tablespoons Juniper berries

v     4 tablespoons Arnica flowers

v     4 tablespoon Comfrey leaves

v     4 tablespoons st Johns Wort

v     4 tablespoons Wormwood

v     4 tablespoons Yarrow

Directions:

Grind the herbs together in a food processor to get a fine mixture. Add the olive oil and blend for five minutes. Pour into a small crock pot scraping out all the oil and herbs with a rubber spatula, and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Stirring and wiping condensation from the lid before replacing it.

Let cool and strain through a fine cloth bag, cotton or muslin will do.

Squeeze the oil out of the herbs to get as much as you can.

Pour into a bottle and keep in cool dark place.

Bibliography

 

Books on Essential oils and Aromatherapy

1. Aromatherapy Oils, Ark Creative 2004

2. Aromatherapy & Complimentary Therapies, Life Basics, Escalator Press2002

3. The Guide to Remedies: Homeopathy, essential oils, crystals, Home remedies, Paragon Books 2004

 

About DEET

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14713564

2. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/consultations/deet/health-effects.html

3. http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/deet.cfm

About Mosquitoes

1. http://insects.about.com/od/flies/a/10-facts-about-mosquitoes.htm

2. http://www.webmd.com/allergies/features/are-you-mosquito-magnet

3. http://www.allmosquitos.com/what-attracts-mosquitos/what-attracts-mosquitoes.html

 

 

Back From The Dead

Okay,
I know its been a long time since I wrote anything, anything at all…
So..
I have a paper entered in the An Tir Kingdom A&S competition. Just a single entry this time, as I am not up to being Kingdom Champion. Come and See us all at the LaQuinta Hotel in Fife/Tacoma Wa. The Weekend of March 1-3 2013!