Ideas and Advice for How To Live a Joyful and Empowered Life.
All Things Empowering – Healing Ourselves & Earth, Self-Sufficiency, Food Forests, Gardening, Art, Road Trips, Preserving, Foraging, Permaculture, Homesteading and More!
Pansies, with their vibrant colors and mild flavor, can be a unique addition to your homemade probiotic drinks. Here’s a simple recipe to get you started: Fermented Pansy Soda Recipe Ingredients: Fresh pansy petals (about 1 cup) 1/2 cup raw honey (look for unpasteurized or raw honey with natural yeast and bacteria) Filtered water A… Continue reading Fermented Pansy Soda Recipe
I've never been a fan of oven fries until I tried these. Adding flour and seasonings to the oil makes all the difference! The flour gives them a tasty crispy coating and the inside of the fries is creamy and delicious! I am including the video below for how to make them. I followed everything… Continue reading The Most Delicious Oven Fries with Fry Sauce
Chive blossom vinegar is very easy to make and takes your regular vinegar up a notch! Pick your chives on a dry morning after the dew has dried. I picked and used blossoms with stems attached since the stems are flavorful also. Stuff the chives into a sterilized glass jar and pour over your favorite… Continue reading Chive Blossom Vinegar
I made up this recipe thinking of things I would put on a baked potato. I made it easy by cooking the potatoes in the microwave and leaving their skins on - this also adds more nutrition. The serving size is small, for 1 or 2 people but you can double or even triple it… Continue reading Baked Potato Salad with Bacon and Cheese
Halloween is here and it’s a time for all things spooky and all things pumpkin! I just love doing food for any holiday – the girls absolutely love it! And obviously Halloween is the best Holiday, obviously. 🙂 The food for it is festive and fun and the girls just get the biggest kick out… Continue reading 10+ Spooky Halloween Dishes (& what to make with all that candy!)
Guest post. A wonderful way to use peaches and rosemary from your garden.
Blueberry vinegar first began as a failed attempt at blueberry wine, but is now an annual tradition and the primary vinegar we use for everything. Making vinegar is a perfect use for old, blemished, and forgotten fruit. This recipe is for a sweet blueberry vinegar that is excellent as a finishing vinegar or to dress… Continue reading Homemade Blueberry Vinegar
Classic carrot cakeClassic Carrot Cake Monica's art printed on useful and decorative items available at fine art america. Any purchase help support this blog. Thank you. Homemade Granola Recipe Homemade Convenience Food Series #2: Banana Bread Easy Peanut Butter Fudge Personal Pizza Homemade Convenience Ideas Rosemary Garlic Artisan Bread Wild Plum Ketchup Plum Crisp
Hello and Happy Sunday! I am so excited to be sharing this recipe with you all!! It comes to you from Thika, Kenya – a delicious fresh tomato soup courtesy of our cousin Minal. About the recipe Okay as some of you may know I just returned from a holiday in Kenya this July and… Continue reading Fresh Tomato Soup With Love From THika
Wild plums are in season right now in the Midwest, and this is one of the best things I’ve made with them to date. Seven years ago, I put up a recipe for ketchup made from wild plums (Prunus americana or nigra will both work, as well as any common plum or stone fruit you… Continue reading Wild Plum Ketchup
The plums are ripe on my Damson blue plum fruit trees. So yesterday I made plum crisp; it was so good, I'm ashamed to say I had thirds. I am making another pan today so I can share with my dad. Filling: 4 cups cut-up plums 1 tbsp all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 tsp… Continue reading Plum Crisp
This simple syrup recipe is just like my other syrup recipes but it yields a bigger amount so some of the quantities and cook times differ. This syrup is absolutely delicious on and in so many things (ice cream, pancakes, waffles, tea, cocktails, etc.) but this bigger recipe is to ensure you have enough to… Continue reading Blackberry Simple Syrup
There’s a reason why bread is considered a comfort food…it warms your body like your mother’s warm hug. The humble loaf of bread starts it’s life with such simple instructions yet, cared for in such a way. You create this “spiritual-like” experience from the aroma, wafting in the air. To the emotinal love you put… Continue reading Rosemary Garlic Artisan Bread
I am a fan of Rain Country on Youtube. A few days ago my feed on Youtube came up with one of her older videos on making Calendula Soda. I have many Calendulas growing this year 🙂 So I watched the video, then excitedly went to my garden and picked a couple handfuls of Calendula,… Continue reading I Made Calendula Viola Soda!
I am always looking for new ways to use herbs. These summer mocktails or cocktails use herbs with other ingredients and there's also a recipe for mint syrup. Thank you for the wonderful ideas to the blogger that wrote this. I hope my readers enjoy it as much as I did. Combine herbs and juices… Continue reading Summer Mocktails or Cocktails
Cheddar zucchini bread is the perfect recipe to use up that extra garden zucchini! This tender quick bread is filled with shredded zucchini, cheddar cheese, garlic, and chives. Best served warm with butter. So good, you’ll be going back for seconds! This cheddar zucchini garlic bread is the perfect recipe for your summer zucchini harvest….… Cheddar […]… Continue reading Cheddar Garlic Zucchini Bread — The Toasty Kitchen — My Meals are on Wheels
Welcome to my kitchen where I cook from scratch…mostly savoury dishes as you know as apart from bread I am not a baker or a cake maker…my mother was the scone and cake maker she used to win prizes for her cakes and scones and would really frown up me if she knew I […] International… Continue reading International Scone Week…Banana Scones with Coffee Drizzle…ish — Retired? No one told me!
I had some blueberries I needed to use up so I made Blueberry Basil Jam. I did not can it because it only made around 4 cups and I plan on giving some to my dad. Plus, I'll eat toast with the jam for breakfast for a while. So it's more a refrigerator jam. 4… Continue reading Blueberry Basil Jam
Because I don't have a lot of freezer space and I don't really like the hassle of canning, I have been learning about fermenting as a way to preserve my excess produce. There's actually more reasons to this and that is that I love the taste of fermented food and fermented food has probiotics which… Continue reading Fermenting is my Favorite Way to Preserve Food, Here’s Why
I wanted to make beer battered fried Sage leaves but didn't have beer so was trying to think of a substitute. Kombucha is fizzy, slightly sweet, but more sour, so I thought maybe it would work, so I gave it a try. I only used about a cup of all-purpose flour then whisked in enough… Continue reading Kombucha Battered Fried Sage Leaves
The daylily plants that I have now have been in my family for many years. My grandma was growing them in her yard when I was a teenager, around 40+ years ago. When I got married in my 20's, I got a few divisions from her large clump and enjoyed them for many years. At… Continue reading Tawny Daylily – Easy To Grow, Beautiful, Edible and More!
Oregano tea you say? I thought that was to season Spaghetti! Seems I'm always referring back to when the pandemic was first taking hold in a lot of my posts. Yes, I am. That period of time and what we went through was a life changer for me. Being laid off for 2-1/2 months, experiencing… Continue reading How to Make Oregano Tea and It’s Health Benefits
I've recently adopted a practice of make a large batch of herbal iced tea that lasts about a week until gone (I live by myself). I started doing this because all herbs have SO many health benefits, vitamins and minerals. Each week I use different herbs so I'm getting some different health benefits, vitamins and… Continue reading Mixed Herbal Iced Tea for Health Benefits
Most herbs have amazing health benefits and have many vitamins and minerals. Since the pandemic hit, I have been working more herbs into my diet to boost my immune system and for their particular benefits. I have been making and enjoying herbal syrups in this effort to consume more herbs. I use them in ice… Continue reading Herbal Syrups For Health, Refreshing Ice Water and More!
Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic I've been on a quest to grow as many fruits, vegetables and herbs as possible for my health, and in case anything happened to our food system. During this quest I found out that Dandelion is highly nutritious. Dandelions are full of antioxidants and boost the immune system… Continue reading Boost Your Immune System With Dandelion Tea
Made these and they are definitely chewy and delicious 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ½ cup melted butter 2 cups white sugar 2 eggs ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ⅓ cup confectioners' sugar for decoration Directions Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line one 9x13 inch… Continue reading Chewy Brownies
The other day I looked out my kitchen window and noticed the dandelions blooming. At first I thought "great, time to figure out how to get a mower". But for some reason a memory came to me of years ago frying dandelion flower buds in butter and them tasting like mushrooms. I had also made… Continue reading Dandelion Salad
Years ago, my then-husband and I went to a fancy restaurant. One of the things I ordered was a salad - I cannot remember everything on the salad, but I do remember the candied walnuts that I loved so much. I wanted to make them at home so looked in a recipe book (this must… Continue reading Quick and Easy Candied Walnuts
Yesterday I had an upset stomach. I've been taking supplements that I don't normally take and I think that is what's doing it along with some stress. It was odd - my stomach was churning but I was hungry. I didn't want to eat something that would upset it more. Then I remembered that the… Continue reading Canned Fruit and Yogurt Smoothie Great For Upset Stomach
As I've been transitioning into the stay-home order here in Washington state, I've been doing all the normal things I'd do on my days off from work, but I've also been watching a ton of Youtube. Everything I watch on Youtube is something I want to learn - either some new skill or things about… Continue reading Food Forest Gardening
A few years ago I had FOMO (fear of missing out) and didn't know it. I didn't have the money to go to restaurants, bars, vacations, movies. I didn't have a partner to share all these good times with like everyone else seemed to. I'd dread the weekends thinking everyone else was out having the… Continue reading Covid19 Stay-Home and Lifestyle Thoughts
On my first post on Walmart Grocery Pick-Up, I left off with not being able to schedule a time due to increased demand so I was going to try back later. I tried back the next morning and was able to schedule the pick-up for 2 days later. The instructions said to get their app… Continue reading Follow-Up On Walmart Grocery Pick-Up
One of the things I planned to do in protecting myself from CoronaVirus is to shop online for my groceries and do the pick-up service. This is not something I was open to before because I like looking for deals and picking out my own fresh produce. But I'm trying to stay away from large… Continue reading Walmart Grocery Shopping Online & Pick-Up Experience
Pizza is one of my favorite foods. I make it at least once a week. I've been single for a long time so if I make a regular size pizza I will will eat too much. The solution for this was to make a batch of pizza dough and freeze dough balls that will fit… Continue reading Personal Pizza Homemade Convenience Ideas
I am a butter person. As we all know, butter does not spread well. I've searched for a soft butter spread at the grocery store for a long time, but they all contain water which makes my toast or popcorn soggy. I remember my grandma always had butter on the counter at room temperature and… Continue reading Homemade Soft Butter Spread
Easy Does It Christmas Recipes By Monica Resinger *Note: I used to publish a home and garden e-zine from approximately 1998 until 2007. During that time I was married and raising my children. My kids are now adults and I am divorced. This is one of the articles I published in the e-zine during that… Continue reading Easy Does It Christmas Recipes
*Note: I used to publish a home and garden e-zine from approximately 1998 until 2007. During that time I was married and raising my children. My kids are now adults and I am divorced. This is one of the articles I published in the e-zine during that time. Just wanted to let you know in… Continue reading The Benefits of Crock-Pot Cooking w/Recipes (from 2001)
Pizza has always been one of my favorite foods and now I can bring it to work with me for lunch with no hassle. I simply toast bagel halves, spread on store-bought pizza sauce, add toppings and shredded cheese. Toasting the bagels helps them to not get soggy from the pizza sauce. Once assembled, I… Continue reading Homemade Convenience Food: Bagel Pizzas
I don't have a lot of time in the mornings before work and never feel like doing food prep so it's wonderful to be able to just grab and go. Since being single, I can't count the number of times I've made banana bread and ended up throwing some of it away because it got… Continue reading Homemade Convenience Food Series #2: Banana Bread
I save single serve bottles from when I purchase beverages from a store (like Gatorade, tea or soda). Then I make a large batch of sweet tea, let it cool, pour it into the saved and cleaned bottles and refrigerate. Then I have the convenience of grabbing a bottle for work or when I get… Continue reading Homemade Convenience Food Series #1: Sweet Tea
I get excited over weird things I think. I was out of mayonnaise this week and needed some for a sandwich I was making. I didn't want to make a trip to the store. I've known it's possible to make your own mayonnaise but never tried it. I knew it required eggs and oil, which… Continue reading Homemade Mayonnaise
Lately I've been inspired by Youtubers that are taking a day to cook and prepare many frozen meals for later use. This would have been really good for me to do back when I was raising my family. Now that my family is raised and I'm single, at first I thought it would be of… Continue reading Freezing Meals The Simple Way
Saturday night I got a craving for candy but didn't have any so I looked around for an easy candy recipe and found this. Extremely quick and easy. There's only a little cool time. The fudge begins to harden as your pour it into the dish. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil 2 cups… Continue reading Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
I love iced coffees! I've never liked the price of iced coffees. A long time ago I started making my own special coffee drinks at home. Learned how to make simple syrup and bought an espresso machine and have been using it for years. I recently learned of cold brew coffee and did a search… Continue reading Easy Cold Brewed Coffee
I'm a fan of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce and one day wanted to make a barbecue chicken pizza and found I didn't have a drop of Sweet Baby Ray's. I didn't feel like making a trip to the store and had remembered seeing or hearing (can't remember where) that barbecue sauce is just ketchup… Continue reading Homemade Barbecue Sauce Recipe / What’s Your Favorite Sauce Recipe?
I love granola, but it's expensive! Long before the internet, the recipes I found for making it required wheat germ and other ingredients I didn't usually have on hand, so I never made it and only had it when I could find it on sale. A couple years ago I saw a recipe on Pinterest… Continue reading Homemade Granola Recipe
Ideas and Advice for How To Live a Joyful and Empowered Life. 