AppleJuice Apocalypse and Nutty Nums (plus a Ricotta bonus)

Ok. Just wanted to share two quick oatmeal adventures, one good and one awful. Awful comes first.

Apple Juice Apocalypse: I wanted an apple taste in my oatmeal, but didn't want dried apple or to go through the trouble of cutting up a fresh one. I had some apply juice and thought, why not? Do not do this! For some reason, I didn't think of apple juice as an acid, but when you're talking milk, it totally is. And my milk curdled while it was cooking. So, instead of a lovely hint of apple, I ended up with icky acidic whey and chunks of milk. Sound gross? Well, it was.

Nutty Nums: This is a good story. Not a love story, but a good one. Nuts. Chopped and added as a protein and flavor booster right at the end. Lovely. I used almonds. They were pretty good, but I think walnuts or another soft, creamier nut work better. Either way though, a hint of vanilla and last minute nut add-in = a nice fulfilling breakfast.

Ricotta Bonus: So, I've been making my own ricotta. Or some kind of version of it. Here's what I do -

I heat milk to about 200 degrees F (just before boiling). I add lemon juice or vinegar by the teaspoonful until the milk starts to just curdle. I add one more teaspoonful, and end up with some nice blobs of "cheese." (I seriously doubt this is a real cheese because there's no culturing to it.) I hang it over a bowl in a floursack towel (my cheesecloth's holes were too big) for about 5-10 minutes and use immediately. Great in lasagna, or ricotta almond spaghetti with pine nuts*. A half gallon of milk makes probably 2 cups of ricotta, but I could be wrong.

*Ricotta almond spaghetti: boil some spaghetti; save some of the water. At the same time, make your "ricotta." Mix together ricotta, some ground almonds (1/2 C?), salt and pepper to taste, dash each of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a few tablespoons of pasta water (helps sauce bind to pasta). Toss mixture with spaghetti, and add pine nuts. A nice autumn pasta.

Book, Art, Magazine organizers

I found this fun idea in a Family Fun magazine I was perusing while waiting for a doctor's visit. I'm using is to organize my children's coloring books, scrap paper, art supplies, etc. I found that only the absolutely honking big cereal boxes are big enough for most coloring books or construction paper to fit flat, so I also used an empty box that my garbage bags came in. I think it's a great way to recycle and organize at the same time. I bet kids would have fun painting them, too! Or if you wanted to put them up on a shelf, maybe paint them black and find some chalkboard paint (heard of it; never used it) to use on the spines for labeling.

Applesauce Adventuring

With apples going on sale here in SoCal (39 cents a pound at one store), I have adventured into the art of applesauce. I didn't look up any recipes. In fact, my only inspiration was an experiment on "Sid, the Science Kid."

I started by microwaving my apples, 'cause I figured that would break them down. I wasn't really thinking of the nutrients being mangled by micro-waves, but I did learn that even with sufficient water, the apple forms a little bit of a skin. So, microwave cooking is probably not the best. But the texture and taste after blending weren't too bad. I just had to add water.

Which pretty much left the stovetop. I next cooked them just enough and then ran the apples through a food processor. The resulting applesauce tasted more akin in texture to babyfood than applesauce. So, if you're making homemade babyfood, by all means run it through a food processor. It wasn't horrible, just not my favorite texture.



So, I just discovered tonight, after leaving the apples on the stove on medium for too long that they kind of fell apart in the pot. I spooned up some of the resulting breakdown. Low and behold it looked and tasted very much like real applesauce.


Perhaps just cooking it until the apple falls apart is the best method. And then maybe running over it with a potato masher or something. I am a bit concerned about the breakdown of vitamin C, though. Temperatures above 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 C) can break down vitamin C. Since boiling point is 212 degrees F (100 C), that would mean boiling the apples would deplete it's nutrition. So, other than leaving it on the stove on low for a really long time, I'm not exactly sure how applesauce can be made without affecting the nutrients.

As far as how long it keeps: in the fridge, not long enough for my family to go through a big batch (maybe 2 weeks); in the freezer, I'll let you know- I'm trying that this time. Please leave any advice you might have in the applesauce department. I could probably google it, but I'm not really looking for a recipe; just techniques.

Well, in other apple related ranting, I have a question: Do you think homemade applecrisp with fresh ingredients is healthier than a sugary kids cereal (say, Trix or Cap'n Crunch)? Kids cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals, but they're also loaded with sugar. (And I just read somewhere that over-consumption of sugar can decrease the amount of certain minerals your body can take in. I just read it, so the source may not be valid, but honestly I believe it... hope I'm not wrong.) Applecrisp also has sugar, but most of the sugar is natural from the apples. And the topping I use also has oats in it. (I don't pay attention to fats unless they're hydrogenated; I feel like over-consumption of sugar is far more detrimental to my health than healthy fats.)

So, basically, which do you think is healthier for breakfast: applecrisp or kids cereal? I think you can all tell where my vote lies.

Me and Living Things

Due to comments about the freakiness of my amazing yellow spider (which found a new home or was eaten the day after I found him), I need to explain something: I have a degree in biology and I worked in field research on aquatic animals, including what I find to be the most grotesque and vicious living thing - dragonfly larva (they bite... hard). I have also lived in a home where a spider egg sac must have hatched on the kitchen table as I was reading and had a spider run across my bed while I was on the phone (bad landlord). Basically, I'm no stranger to close encounters of the creepy kind. And this was a truly beautiful spider.

I have developed a great appreciation for living things. I think I've always had it, but it has become more refined over time. For example, we've had some ants in our kitchen, and I wince every time I kill one. I know they shouldn't be there, but I can't help but feel their death is my own fault for my lazy uncleanliness. And in our house, we generally try to save spiders. If they are in a bedroom or too close to my kids, they die; I just can't run certain risks. I know a lot of people are scared of them, but ... have you ever watched a spider spin a web? It's one of the most beautiful, patient, and creative natural events I've ever seen.

I really love living things, but I must admit there is one creature that will never survive if it sets creepy feet in my home (if I see it, of course). That is a cockroach. I can stand dragonfly larvae, spiders, ants, worms, snakes, lizards, rats... but any cockroach I see is DOA. I recognize that cockroaches are amazing and resilient creatures that have a purpose and function in this world. I just don't want to see it and I don't want that purpose invading my territory. Luckily our new place doesn't have that issue.

So, what living creature really freaks you out? And what is the most inspiring natural scene you've experienced?

This is another spider we found in our yard. I believe it's one of the yellow agriopa species. It moved after a week or two to I don't know where. Or it was eaten. At first I was worried. But, after researching, I found out that agriopa build their nests so that they can be suspended in the middle in plain view, to deter larger animals from destroying their nests. And what decently intelligent animal wouldn't be wary of a 3-4" arachnid? They aren't horrifically poisonous. And since we could always see it, the girls knew to stay 4' plus away from it (thank goodness for instinct). I was almost sad to see it leave; I'm sure it kept a lot of pests away.

If you really want to see insects in a new way, see the season 1 Green Porno shorts on Sundance Channel. I cannot in good conscience 100% recommend them, 'cause while they may be about animals, hello, the name is Green Porno. Basically it is animal/insect sex explained/acted out. Some of them are very funny to me (the spider and the bee), and some are pretty mild (season 3 squid and sardine). But, if you're uncomfortable with the words penis and vagina, don't watch them. If you're uncomfortable with gender specific body suits, don't watch season 3 shrimp or season 1 snail. And do not watch the fly one unless you like horror!

My Lizard Friend and the Amazing Yellow Spider

This is my friend the lizard. We have lots of lizards around here, but this one will always be dear to my heart. Those you spend time on always are.

My daughters found this little guy (or girl) one day on the edge of one of my seedling containers. I was amazed at how close he let us get. Then they found him the next day. I thought he'd just found a nice spot that he liked. On day three, though, I knew something was amiss. I checked and realized he was caught by some duct tape I'd used to secure the container. I had accidentally left some of the tape exposed and his/her fine toes had been caught.

I cut the tape off and, wearing gloves, I carefully used a small knife to extract his body from the tape. It took about a half hour, but at the end, he/she only lost a few scales. I will never carelessly apply duct tape again.


This is a spider I barely noticed. One of my daughters had asked me five minutes before I noticed the spider if she could pick this particular flower. I'm so glad I told her no! Isn't this an amazing camouflage?

Homemade Deoderant/Antiperspirant

Sounds pretty loony, huh? But, I thought I'd give it a shot. I researched several recipes. The one I wanted to try was on the angry chicken blog; the one I ended up using was one one green generation's recipe. Except that I tweaked it. You can read on one green generation about her experience. Here's what I did:
1 part non-aluminum baking soda (I did 2 Tablespoons) to 4 parts corn starch (I did 8 tablespoons), add several drops of essential oil or, in my case, Trader Joe's lavender body oil.

Mix in a food processor. Put in a small jar (mine is a washed out lemon curd jar). Apply with a make-up pad, cotton ball, or knit/crochet a small cotton pad like the one I made.

I needed a bit more baking sodathan one green nation 'cause I guess I just have a stonger or more prolific smell. What I like about this is you can adjust the ratio of baking soda/cornstarch based on your body type. No rashes yet and I've been using this for a month. Hope it keeps working, 'cause it's way less expensive and works even on those very hot days.