Simply Rurban

Spinach and Navy Bean Dip

Posted on February 4, 2013 by simply0637

My school study group gets together about once per month or so over a pot luck dinner. With packing and time being even more precious than normal I wanted to make something that was fast, healthy and good. This recipe came in the knick of time in one of the newsletters I receive. And as luck would have it I had just come back from the grocery and had a whole bunch of spinach – perfect!

Navy Bean and Spinach Dip (thanks goes to the Garden of Life newsletter)

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
1 can navy beans, drained
1 pound fresh spinach
5 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon cumin, freshly ground
½ teaspoon coriander, freshly ground
salt & pepper, to taste

1. Heat a large, heavy-bottom sauté pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and whole garlic cloves, and sauté for 4 minutes.

2. Add spinach and cook until wilted, working in batches if the pan is not big enough.

3. Place beans, spinach, garlic, lemon and spices in food processor (I used my Vita Mix and it worked great) and blend to desired consistency (add water for a thinner dip).

Serve with fresh vegetables or whole wheat pita for dipping. I am not a huge lemon fan, so the next time that I make this dip I will only use the juice of 1/2 lemon. I think this is more in the range of 6 – 8 servings and would be really nice as a condiment on a sandwich.

Posted in Recipes, Snacks | Tagged navy beans, recipe, snack, spinach | 3 Comments

Make Your Own Non-Toxic Shampoo

Posted on January 31, 2013 by simply0637

As Stella was in the shower the other night I was informed that the shampoo was empty – not much I could do at that time. I did find a small bottle of travel shampoo and that got her through her shower. I needed to figure out what I could use for shampoo for my shower the next morning. I figured I had enough in the house to come up with my own shampoo. When I was traveling through Africa I used Dr. Bronners for my shampoo, soap, laundry – so I figured that could be my base. I did a little research on line and here is what I came up with. This worked really well on my hair, which is dry, thick and curly, Stella has not used it yet – so not sure how it will be on her thinner, straight, regular hair. Because I used castille soap it does suds a little but not like what a normal shampoo does.

Non-Toxic Shampoo

Items Needed

1/4 cup castille soap (I used organic, unscented)
1/4 cup filtered water
1/2 tsp Grapeseed Oil
Lavender essential oil (drops depends on how scented you want)
Glass or plastic bottle (can use an old shampoo bottle)

1. Mix all the ingredients in a glass measuring cup.

2. Pour into your container, label.

3. Use about 1 – 2 Tbl of the shampoo and shampoo as usual.

Remembering this does not have the same sudsing ingredients or chemicals – which means your hair may take up to 2 weeks to get “used” to the new shampoo and get the old shampoo build up out. Also it is better for your hair if you can let it air dry instead of a blow dryer – which is much easier in the summer than winter, if you live in a cold climate.

This will cost you less than the store bought shampoos and is better for you and the environment!

Posted in Beauty | Tagged beauty, lavender, shampoo | 4 Comments

Update

Posted on January 29, 2013 by simply0637

With our upcoming move and settling in – I will be reducing the amount of weekly blog posts for February and March. Don’t get me wrong I still will be posting and blogging – I think it will help me keep my sanity! My hope is to write 2 – 3 blogs per week. I will be up to running at 5 blogs a week by the end of March, if not sooner! Thank you for reading and your understanding during this time of transition for us.

Posted in Life | 1 Comment

No Bake – Chocolate, Coconut Macaroons

Posted on January 28, 2013 by simply0637

As the sorting and packing has begun, so has the kitchen cupboard using up. I have a honey jar and wanted to find a recipe that would use up the honey inside – what a mess the honey would make if I had to find someway to pack that jar and dispenser!! With all the packing and mind overload – I was also craving something sweet and comforting! I came across this recipe and it sounded so good and there was no refined sugar or baking – perfect!!

No Bake Chocolate, Coconut Macaroons (thanks to Red and Honey )

Ingredients

3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup coconut oil
3 1/2 cups medium or large unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup almond meal

1. In a saucepan add the honey and coconut oil – on VERY low heat melt. When melted turn off heat. I used honey, but you could use raw honey and that is what I would normally use.

2. Add the coconut flakes and mix well.

3. Add the vanilla and salt – mix well.

4. Add the cocoa and mix well.

5. Add the almond meal and mix well.

6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper.

7. Drop macaroons by the teaspoon onto the sheet.

8. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.

Take out and enjoy!! And you will enjoy these – I have no doubt. You can store in the freezer or fridge in an airtight container. We chose to store in the freezer – since you have to wait a couple of minutes before you eat one – in the fridge they are to easy to grab and pop into your mouth!!

Posted in Cookies, Recipes | Tagged chocolate, coconut, cookies, macaroon, Recipes | 1 Comment

Wire Knitted Napkin Ring Holders

Posted on January 25, 2013 by simply0637

After my try at knitting with wire and making a knitted wire bracelet – I wanted to do more. I decided next to try and make some wire knitted napkin rings. I needed a heavier wire and smaller knitting needles -I wanted them to hold their shape when a napkin was not inside. It was a little more difficult working with a thicker wire and took longer – but I really liked the results!

Wire Knitted Napkin Rings

Items Needed

Beading Wire (gauge 28)
Beads
Size 4 Metal Knitting needles

1. String you beads onto the wire.

2. Cast on 8 stitches. Make a slip knot and place on your knitting needle. Then cast on using the Thumb method.

Row 1 & 2: Knit

Row 3: is where I started using my beads and making a pattern. K4, bring a bead up, K4. The bead, depending on the size with either lay above the knitting or in the loop between the two stitches.

Row 4: knit

Row 5: K2, bring bead up, K4, bring bead up, K2

Row 6: Knit

Repeat Rows 3 – 6 to create this pattern or create your own pattern.

When the piece measures a little over 5 inches, end with two knit rows and then bind off.

Weave in the wire on both the cast on and bide off sides. Slip over a napkin and there you go.

I LOVE these!!

Posted in Crafts, Knitting | Tagged knitting, napkin rings, wire | 2 Comments

My Dream Is Now Reality

Posted on January 24, 2013 by simply0637

I think I am still in shock! In my early 20’s two of my aunts moved to an area of Virginia that I fell in love with – over time more family moved to the area for a total of 18 of them! It is a very rural area and jobs are not abundant. I have wanted to live there for almost all of that time and once did for about 6 months and have tried another time – but when we went to close on the property – 7 of the 11 acres had disappeared – so we passed.

Throughout life we have ups and downs and with the downs coming learning, enlightenment, growth. Our paths diverge to side trails and we wonder why we are off the path we thought we were supposed to be on. Yes, I have wanted to live in this particular area of Virginia and once was there and then I had to move – which was sad, but if circumstances were not what they were I would not have met my now ex-husband and had my incredible daughter Stella!

In 2011 I was laid off from my job – yes it was devastating, but looking back at it now and I may have already stated this in a previous blog – but it was one of the very best things that ever happened to me. I started this blog, I enrolled back in school, I was able to spend more time with my daughter and I was able to truly follow my dreams and desires to live a more simple life, to eat a more whole foods, nourishing diet, to develop my crafts and to teach others. Since the lay off – I have had some really good days and some really bad days, but through the bad days I have worked on me, sat with me, listened to me and supported me – and all of it has paid off and of course it is not done – it never will be…

Over the Christmas holiday we went to Virginia to visit with family and then headed to Asheville, where we were thinking of relocating in June of this year. While I was in Virginia – I felt the tug and speaking with my Aunt and Uncle wished and dreamed of finding a way to be in Floyd – the ask was out there and the energy was moving. We headed to Asheville, which was much bigger than it was when I last visited 15 years ago, but the outlying towns fit my vision.

The day after we arrived back home in NY I received and email from my Aunt telling me about a job opportunity in Floyd!! I stared at the screen and re-read the email several times. For two days I tried to write a cover letter to go along with my resume and was stuck – I contacted my Aunt who said maybe that was telling me that it was not the right opportunity – my response – no I thought it was the right opportunity and that was why I was having such difficulty – I wanted this job with this organization! That same night, after that back and forth, I wrote the cover letter and sent it along with my resume. The next morning I heard back from them – and there were two job opening – could we do a phone interview that day or the next day -that afternoon we had the phone interview!! It went superbly!! In order for them to move forward they needed to meet me in person, for me to think about salary and to look into housing – my head was spinning – the date was set for me to come down in two weeks.

Stella and I drove down on a Friday, I met with them on Saturday and we drove back home on Sunday. I was even more excited after meeting them in person and walking the sanctuary – they would let me know by mid-week.

Yesterday the phone call came and I was offered the job!!!! My job with be administrative duties in the office and then also Development Director!! It is a great organization with an essential mission, if you get a chance check them out and even better donate to the cause!! Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary.

So today I walk around in a daze, my mind going over all that needs to be done in order to move – feeling a bit overwhelmed – but it will all work out – it has so far and I know it will continue – who said wishes don’t come true!? Sometimes they take 20 years!!!

Posted in Life | Tagged dreams, virginia | 2 Comments

Kids Craft Corner – Needle Felted Eye Glass Case

Posted on January 23, 2013 by simply0637

On our recent trip to Asheville – we went into a great craft store. This was not a Michael’s but a true hand crafts – craft store. As we were walking down the aisles – we came to the needle felting section. Stella picked up a felting needle and asked if I would buy it for her, I told her we already had a felting needle. So great of children to always have a come back – her’s: what if I want to needle felt the same time you do, we only have one needle. What could I say to that?! So we purchased a felting needle, felting pad and some wool roving for her. Who am I to squelch her creativity – she so has my number!!

Last year we made felted eye glass cases. Stella was so proud of hers that she took it into to school to show her art teacher. I noticed that she began using her old eye glass case and when I asked her why she said that her art teacher had lost her case! What kind of teacher does that?! So this was a great project to make again, using her new needle felting supplies.

Needle Felted Eye Glass Case

Items Needed

Felt material (we used felted sweater scraps)
Template (we used an eye glass case we already had)
Felting needle
Felting pad
Wool roving
Stencils
Swing machine or needle and thread
Cotton fabric for liner

1. Cut out your felt pieces – you will have two.

2. Decide what design you want to do. Both Stella and I used wooden stencils.

3. Pull some wool roving and fill the stencil center. With you needle felt around the edges of the stencil and then the inside of the design. Keep doing this, folding over the wool roving. When the roving is secured and the design is solid, remove the stencil. You may still have to clean up the edges with your felting needle. The needles are sharp and we have both gotten ourselves good with the needles. You can always use a chop stick to hold the stencil or roving instead of your fingers.

Keeping doing this until you have completed your design.

4. Cut two pieces of cotton fabric for the liner.

5. Either using the sewing machine or with needle and thread, fold over the top of the cotton lining twice and sew. Do this to the other piece.

6. Place 1 piece of the cotton lining down (wrong side facing up), the 1 piece of the felt (right side facing up), then the other felt piece (wrong side facing up) and top it off with the other piece of cotton (right side facing up).

7. Either using a sewing machine or needle and thread (I was able to use the sewing machine for one, but not the other), sew the sides and bottom. The top with be the end with the sewed cotton lining.

8. Turn inside out and you have an eye glass case!

Posted in Kids Crafts | Tagged eye glass case, felting, kdis craft | 3 Comments

Knit Your Own Wash Cloth

Posted on January 22, 2013 by simply0637

For Christmas I received a gift of a handmade knitted washcloth and a wonderful bar of handmade soap! I loved them both and remembered that my grandmother used to knit washcloths as gifts. I reached out to my aunt and asked her for the pattern, which she gladly shared and then told me it was grandma’s pattern. I remembered that grandma had sent me the pattern and I was new to knitting and the yarn overs scared me – I need to look for the piece of paper! This is a fast knit and you can knit a washcloth in an afternoon or over the course of 2 evenings. I made mine a little smaller than the pattern shared below – I wanted to make a special one for Stella since we had just bought some beautiful handmade soap – her’s was a cranberry bar!

Knitted Wash Cloth

Items Needed

Size 8 knitting needles
Cotton yarn

1.Cast on 4 stitches

2. K2, yarn over, knit to end

3. Repeat step 2 until you have 60 stitches on the needle (I repeated until I had 40 stitches).

4. Start decreasing by: Knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together…knit to end

5. Repeat step 4 until there is 4 stitches on the needle, bind off.

6. Weave in ends and go take a shower or bath to use your new washcloth!

Posted in Crafts, Knitting | Tagged knitting, pattern, washcloth | 2 Comments

Nourishing Traditions Inspired Pumpkin Bread

Posted on January 21, 2013 by simply0637

Back in December I made banana bread using the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. The bread was so good and I wanted to see how the recipe would work with pumpkin instead of bananas. The bread turned out a little dry and I am not sure if that was because I froze it to have while we traveled or if it was dry from the start. The soaking is done with 3 cups of flour to 2 cups liquid – in the future I think I will up the liquid to 2 1/2 – 3 cups and see what that does. The liquid ratio was fine for the banana bread recipe. There is something to be said about both breads and how they make you feel after eating – and that is – wonderful. They have just a hint of sweetness and are wonderful toasted with some really good butter. They don’t feel like they are just sitting waiting to be digest, but they feel like they are being absorbed and nourishing my body!

Nourishing Traditions Inspired Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

3 cups spelt, kamut or wheat flour (freshly ground if you have a mill – I wish I did)
2 cups buttermilk, kefir, or yogurt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 – 1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger

1. Mix the flour and buttermilk, kefir or yogurt in a glass bowl, cover with a cloth and let sit 12 – 24 hours – the longer you soak the more it will rise. If you are milk intolerant you can use 2 cups filtered water plus 2 tablespoons whey, lemon juice or vinegar instead of the buttermilk, kefir or yogurt.

2. If you are using fresh pumpkin puree make that prior to the rest of the directions. I have some already made and just needed to take out of the freezer to defrost several hours prior to the next steps.

3. When you are starting to prepare the bread, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

4. Grease a loaf pan with butter and dust with flour.

5. Add the eggs and butter and mix well. You will have to use your arm muscles for this one. The soaked flour is more like a dough at this point. You could also put into into a Kitchen Aide mixer and use a dough paddle.

6. Add the salt, syrup, baking soda, spices and pumpkin – mix very well.

7. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 – 1 1/2 hours. Check after 1 hour – mine was done. You want a toothpick to come out clean.

8. Take out of the oven and cool slightly on a rack in pan – then take out of pan and allow to cool completely.

Posted in Bread, Recipes | Tagged bread, pumpkin, recipe | 1 Comment

How To Make Your Own Fire Starters

Posted on January 21, 2013 by simply0637

Originally posted December 27, 2013

For many in my area, we heat with wood and one thing we talk about is how difficult it is at times to get the fire started. If you were to ever come to my home you would see toilet paper rolls lined up in the bathroom and find bags of them by the fire – this is also a conversation starter – “why do you have all those toilet paper rolls.” Home-made fire-starters is the answer! I have shared this with many around these here parts, so I have decided to re-post this. These are the best fire starters and so easy to make!

We heat our house with a wood burning stove. It is almost the end of December and we have not turned our heat on yet. Some mornings it is a bit chilly in the bedrooms, but not enough for me to turn the electric heat on and pay that bill. The wood is stored outside under tarps and I usually have enough wood around the stove for about 3 days – but there are days when I have great difficulty getting the fire started. Even though I let the wood heat and dry by the fire – some of the wood is still wet and that makes it super hard to get the fire started. I use paper, burnable mail and I do have a stash of fat wood – but I wanted to find something else to get my fires started. I did some research and found that lint, wax and toilet paper rolls make great starter material. We always save out toilet paper rolls, Stella collects all the wax from our candles (why – I don’t know – but I am glad she does, but when I asked her for it, she said she threw it away – ugh!!) and for the lint – I put a call out to friends and family to start collecting for me. We dry our clothes in the warmer months on the line outside and in the colder months on a line by the fire. We do have a dryer but I try not to use it.

Fire Starters

Items Needed

Lint from your dryer or cotton balls
Toilet paper rolls or paper egg cartons
Wax or crayons
Old saucepan

1. Stuff your toilet paper rolls or the egg carton with lint – don’t’ pack too tightly.

2. Melt the wax or crayons on the stove. Since we no longer had Stella’s bag of wax – I used a broken candle and it finally made me take out the small part of candle holders around the house. I also tried crayons since we had a bag of broken ones.

3. Pour the wax over the lint in the egg cartons or with the toilet paper rolls you can dip the whole thing into the wax. I poured some wax into one side of the rolls and then flipped over and poured into the other side.

4. Allow to dry. For the toilet paper rolls – set on wax paper to dry. For the egg cartons either place on wax paper or on a cookie/baking sheet.

5. If using the egg cartons – after the wax has dried cut up – with each egg holder becoming a fire starter.

With the wax and lint – this should burn at least 5 minutes or more – enough time to get that fire going!

Posted in Homesteading | Tagged DIY, fire starters, how to | 3 Comments

Spinach and Navy Bean Dip

Make Your Own Non-Toxic Shampoo

Update

No Bake – Chocolate, Coconut Macaroons

Wire Knitted Napkin Ring Holders

My Dream Is Now Reality

Kids Craft Corner – Needle Felted Eye Glass Case

Knit Your Own Wash Cloth

Nourishing Traditions Inspired Pumpkin Bread

How To Make Your Own Fire Starters

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