Strawberry-Kiwi Juice Concentrate

Homemade juice is both cost effective and better for your overall health.

I can control how much sugar gets used in the juice. I can control whether or not the juice is organic. And I can support the local economy by going straight to the farmer. Plus, it's just one more step to self-sufficiency.

From a pure cost perspective, it's a pretty good deal. Let me give you a break down. Each basket of strawberries costs me approximately $8. One basket made about 18 jars (125 ml) of juice concentrate. That works out to 44 cents a jar. Once prepared (diluted) each jar creates slightly less juice than 1L. 44 cents is a great deal for healthy and often organic treat.

I am not a big fan of juice from a nutritional standpoint. Let's face it, we are much better off eating the actual fruit then resorting to a fruit extract laden with sugar. Fruit has more fiber in the actual pulp than in the juice. Water is a much better beverage by a long shot. But, local strawberries in January are hard to come by, sometimes you want a little treat and hey, why not give it a try? So I did.


This recipe can be used for any type of juice actually. I just happened to try strawberries first because they are ready the soonest in the season.


I made two recipes, and finished with 22 jars of homemade juice concentrate. It was so easy I see myself trying my hand at some blueberry concoctions once they are ripe. We tried the recipe below using Strawberries and Kiwi. I also tried this recipe for Strawberry Lemonade at Homemade Serenity and it tastes so good.

Straight-Up Any Old Fruit Juice Concentrate

Select your fruit or combination of fruits. Wash, peel, hull, whatever just get them ready.

Place in a sauce pan with just enough water to separate the fruit, so it can somewhat bob. Do not add too much water though.

Start a slow boil. Once boiling remove from heat. Mash with potato masher and return to heat until slowly boiled again.

Line colander with several layers of cheesecloth. Place a large bowl beneath to catch juice.

Pour liquid into colander. And let the liquid seep out of the cheesecloth. Once most liquid has run through, twist cheese cloth and gently squeeze out any last bit in the pulp. Compost pulp.

Add sugar to the juice while it is still warm. You choose as much or as little sugar as you want. You can always add more sugar later when you dilute it so it is best to underestimate than over estimate.

Now your juice is ready to can in a waterbath canner (10 minutes), or to freeze in mason jars.



I like to can my juice so it doesn't take up room in my freezer. Canning also uses less overall energy compared to frozen food that needs near constant cold to stay fresh. If canning, please be sure to add 1 tsp of lemon juice to the bottom of your jar before placing juice in. This raises the acidity level to can it properly and safely.

See that's not so hard!

Red Fruit of the Gods

We went strawberry picking Tuesday. We filled four baskets full but I don't think that will be enough for all the canning and freezing I do. I will have to get some more next week. We go to a local berry farm, where they grow strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. They also have a lot of fresh local produce but it's too early in the season for most things. I was eying the new potatoes but simply must wait a few more weeks. Right now they resemble the size of ping pong balls!

Stealing a taste! Nothing beats the sweet taste of a strawberry fresh from the field. These strawberries were perfect for homemade juice!

I'm in Fabric-Land

I bought some new fabric at a 50 per cent off sale the other day. I am just in love with this cotton I bought for future quilting projects. These will go in my stash for later.



This week I am completing the quilt for my niece for her 5th birthday coming up in July. She loves red and pink so these were promptly pulled from my stash and I set to it. Here's a sneak peak...



I will post pictures of the finished quilt in a week or so.

Homestead Blessings

I order this today from Homestead Blessings and I simply can not wait for it to arrive. I also ordered, the Art of Quilting.



I came across these neat looking videos about a year ago. I have been biding my time, contemplating which ones to buy first. I was at a homeschool curriculum fair a week ago and one of the vendors actually had the whole set of DVDs for sale. I waffled, returned to the table a few times before ultimately walking away. The next day I regretted it.

It always seems to be the way. The times when I buy impulsively I almost always regret it before I even hit the parking lot. The times when I talk myself out of it are the times when I wish I had behaved impulsively.

I will write a prompt review once I watch them.

Book: Plain & Simple, A Woman's Journey to the Amish

This book, Plain and Simple by Sue Bender, has two elements that make it one of my favourites. First: it advocates Simplicity as an enriching lifestyle of choice. Second: it has quilts. 'nough said!

It's a auto-biographical journey of a woman, living and working in California who is suddenly called toward the Amish through their simple patchwork quilts. At first she wants to touch and feel the art, then she wants to learn how to make them before finally she decides she must learn who the artists are behind them.

My life was like a crazy quilt, a pattern I hated. Hundreds of scattered, unrelated, stimulating fragments, each going off in its own direction, creating a lot of frantic energy. There was no overall structure to hold the pieces together. The crazy quilt was a perfect metaphor for my life.

-Sue Bender

This is not a new book. It was released in 1989. It is still very relative. Of course the 80s were a harried time for feminism which out and out scorned homemaking and servitude of any form. Now there seems to be a renaissance of homemaking, and keepers of the home. Sue Bender seemed to be a product of her generation. Pushy and driven to work yet drawn to the home and not understanding why.

I found this book wonderfully written, hugely entertaining and very easy to get lost in. It's a short book, a very quick and simple read. Just what I was looking for.

Church of Eco-Sinners

Going green is the new buzz phase, almost as catchy as being "born again". For some, being environmentally friendly has taken on new heights. Many years ago, I took it as my personal mission to save the planet. I figured at least I could make some choices for my kids so I could absolve myself of any guilt I may encounter later in life. I didn't want to have to explain to my grandchild why I didn't at least try something.

Anyone who knows me, knows I do nothing halfway. Suffice to say, I became eco-obsessed. I devoured any literature I could find on the subject and began making little changes all the while preparing for my big, off the grid, hippie leap out of the consumer driven world. For the most part, it's still my goal.

But as I delved deeper into the green (under)world I noticed more and more inconsistencies. For example, many eco-aholics promote vegetarianism as a way to save the planet. It prevents gases from cattle manure, saves prime produce producing farmland and forests from being used for pasture. In general, vegetarianism improves our overall health. All mighty goals. Other Green Guru's swear by eating locally, and supporting neighbourhood producers. Also a noble goal.

Both have inherit flaws.

For one, vegetarians in the northern hemisphere require a varied diet that is not available locally in the cold winter months, thus relying on carbon emitting transport to bring in all those vegetables they are consuming. In essence, the strict vegetarian is causing huge gaping holes in the ozone and causing the greenhouse effect. Where as meat-atarians are doing the same buy consuming meat causing methane gas distribution and prime farmland loss. Who is the real eco-sinner? The vegetarians forced to eat foods grown thousands of miles away or the omnivore who consumes locally grown fayre which is far less efficient to produce?

I have come to the conclusion that we are ALL eco-sinners. Some more than others. Some are very much aware of their sins, while others remain blissfully ignorant.

Some city dwellers do not even own a car, preferring public transportation and pedal power to get them from point A to B, all the while cranking their heat in their gas furnace rather than putting on a sweater in the winter time. Some country dwellers drive huge gas guzzlers but grow so much of their own food they hardly ever need to go to the grocery store to buy food. These scenarios are real. Somewhere in all this we need to figure out what is best for us and the world we live in.

In the meantime, amateur environmentalists and closet eco-sinners (namely bloggers) post freely all their advice and wisdom, wagging their cyber fingers at unsuspecting readers. You are an eco-sinner because you don't use their brand of all natural shampoo. You are an ignorant eco-sinner for not knowing that chemical XYZ exist in that sneaker on your child's foot. You are not as good as them because they have it all figured out and quite frankly...you are severely lacking.

I follow at least 50 blogs. Many are like me, moms trying out new ways to raise a family without breaking the bank or the planet. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we flop. We are human after all, and no one is perfect. However I have noticed a few who stand out more than the average. These are the self-righteous, sanctimonious super moms who have it all going on (all that and a bag of organic, all natural veggie chips). They make the rest of us crunchy moms look like Hummer driving, polyester wearing, bottle feeding, live-in nanny employers.

These people make it seem like they know exactly what you and you and you and I need to do to make our homes and families healthy and free of eco-guilt. The planet would be saved if we all just did it their way. In some ways, they are right but there's a few flaws. For one, I don't live in Australia. For another, I don't have a huge savings account and I really don't want to swear off shampoo, deodorant and my feminine razor, thank you very much! I just want to be me, not them. I want stuff that will work for me. What Suzy Q, or Jane Doe, or Johnny Come-Lately do may not be helpful to me and I should not be made to feel like an inadequate, wannabe environmentalist for not doing it their way. And I am sick and tired of reading posts about how everyone is Doing It Wrong!!

Deep breath.

Okay. So with that said, I want to apologize if I have ever made anyone feel guilty or inadequate for what I have posted here. At my heart, I am just trying to share what works for my family and I am very much aware that what I do may not be for everyone. I hope that I have showcased a middle path free of finger wagging and self-righteous indignation. If I have not being so Zen, then I apologize, repent my self-righteous sins and promise I will try harder from here on out. Amen.

Thrifty Find Thursday

I found this yesterday at a chain second hand store.

It's a electric ice cream maker. Last summer, I found a crank ice cream maker for $4. No energy required...well that is to say no carbon emitting energy. It certainly takes a lot of human energy, which is sometimes in short supply.

So, this electric ice cream maker was a treasure to find. Brand new without a spot of anything on it. I imagine because of it's amazing condition that it was never used...until now.

I was able to google search Rival Ice Cream Maker and found out it costs $40 US, when I paid $10, with a coupon for $10 off...so basically free! The google search lead me to two Home Shopping Channel Youtube videos where the ladies showed me how to use my machine. How to pull it a part, put the ice cream mixture in and what to do. I was also able to find this website that has the exact "Owner's Guide" and printed it off. The website has many more manuals as well. The manual has recipes and how-to's.

So...I have a brand new Ice Cream Maker, and I know exactly how to use it. I'd say it was my thrifty find of the month!

Colour Wheel

This is what is currently on my spinning wheel. I ordered this lovely colour of VERY soft fleece. I also have a wildberry colour and another teal colour that I can not wait to get on the wheel. I am trying my hand at some fingerling weight yarn for socks.

I am not sure that I will want to sell it on Etsy. I might just end up keeping it for myself!

How Does My Garden Grow?

Actually, it's growing rather well at the moment. I have to say I am very pleased with how much I have learned since I began my vegetable gardens two summers ago. This year is my biggest garden yet and everything is thriving at present.

Last weekend marked the end of frost in these parts. I finally planted all remaining plants and I have to say it's looking pretty good.



I made a nice path through my larger garden, something which I had neglected to do last year. I also overcrowded my plants last year. I am not convinced I didn't overcrowd again this year but I am on limited space and... well it's hard to be a gardener and limit yourself!



On the smaller patch is my radishes and onions. On the opposite side of the path is my "pickle bed" or cucumber patch. I have tomato plants lining the entire outside of the garden. I am using the tomato cages as a deer and neighbourhood dog deterrent. There is one bubbly puppy that lives a few houses down who bounds toward me or the kids every time he is out the same time we are. All the produce that the deer like to munch on are quite close to the house so I am hoping they will not risk getting so close and eating my broccoli and peas again this year.

The farthest raised bed has corn, cantaloupe and my left over onion starters. I read that corn pollinates through the wind so they should be planted in a bunch, not in a straight row. I am really hoping they go well, but I would not be heart broken if they don't grow since corn is so cheap just down the road. I am hoping I can train the cantaloupe down the hill. I used sheep manure (compost) in the beds, and I added peat moss to the bed by the house and the main garden, especially around the tomatoes.

I still have pumpkins to plant in the compost pile and too be honest I am more excited about that experiment then any other I have tried this year.

Old Fashioned Way

I have been taking care of an extra child this week for my neighbour. Another homeschooled child. It's a temporary arrangement until he and his mom move to another city in July. Yesterday we came home from the park in pouring rain. The kind of rain that floods roads. We were driving slowly and still our van caused large splashes on both sides. I haven't seen that amount of rain in years. After weeks of pure heat and sun, we needed a good drenching!

Of course it was on this day that I had our bed sheets and blankets on the line since morning and it only dawned on me half way home. No!

The bed clothes were completely drenched and needed another whirl in the Spin Cycle before I could even contemplate putting them in the dryer. I had no choice, our bed was naked and needed clothes before we hit the hay a few hours later.

As I was placing the newly spun comforter in the dryer, my neighbour's boy said, "I guess you have to do it the old fashioned way."

I stopped mid-motion and looked at him. "The old fashioned way?"

He said nothing, shrugged and went off to play.

I hope he was joking...other wise I have concerns, deep concerns for our young people.

Cantaloupe vs. Cucumber

I have a confession to make... I cheated! I bought some plants for my garden rather than starting them all from seed. Let me explain, before you start to feel like I have been leading you on. I started seeds, lots of seeds but none of my tomatoes seemed to take and they maxed out at about 3 inches, and haven't grown a millimeter for three or four weeks now.

I also made a mistake when planting my cantaloupe (musk melon) and cucumber seeds. If you are familiar with these seeds then you know they are quite similar in size, shape and colour. I planted them indoors weeks ago. I had cucumber on one side and cantaloupe on the other. Since starting my seeds my cats have made it their life mission to maim, kill and otherwise dismember my seedlings. The fight for the best sun beam continues. In all the kafuffle, the cats have over turned and rearranged my pots and now the cucumber and cantaloupe seedlings have been misplaced. They are growing quite well, but I have no idea which is which.

Yes, there is a cat inside my seedling tray!

Yesterday, while purchasing some tomato plants, I grabbed two cantaloupe plants knowing I planted many more cucumber plants than cantaloupe since I pickle them come August. I figured a direct comparison between plants would help me figure out what is cucumber and what is cantaloupe. No such luck! The plants, like their seeds, are too similar and I am at a lost.

The cantaloupes were destined for my modified Three Sisters raised bed, and the cucumbers were to go in the main garden. In the end, I know I will have cucumbers here and there, and cantaloupe growing intermittently as well.

Lesson learned: Always label your planted seeds!