stacysrandomthoughts.com

This is a recipe for apple wine that does require time to make and time to allow the wine to mature. But it’s well worth the effort. As the author, Stacy, says:

“Making Apple Winefrom fresh apples can be labor-intensive, but the end result has been more than rewarding.  Since Mother Nature messed with the production of apples on our apple tree this year, and my 5-on-1 apple tree is too young yet to produce very many apples, I was in a bit of a conundrum about how I was going to make this year’s apple wine with little or no apples.  So I bought Granny Smith apples.”

So you can make apple wine with apples that you grow yourself, or apples that you buy. Stacy explains which apples make the best wine.

Her recipe is a wonderful mixture of apples, raisins, cinnamon, and other ingredients. She includes each step in the winemaking process and also has some nice photographs.

However, you do need some equipment and a knowledge of the process. For example, she mentions racking wine, carboys and airlocks. Click here to see a demonstration of racking wine.

This is an example of a 5-gallon glass carboy and these are plastic airlocks.

Click the How to Make Apple Wine from Fresh Apples link below to see the complete recipe.

How to Make Sassy Homemade Wine – Apple Wine from Fresh Apples

Most commercial root beers are made with artificial favoring.  This is a natural, DIY recipe for root beer.  Katie uses sassafras, wintergreen, molasses, and vanilla  in her recipe, along with other ingredients.  With homemade root beer you end up with a rich blend of wonderful flavors.  It’s so much better than commercial soda.

One note:  In order to make homemade root beer you need a homemade ginger bug or starter.  Katie includes a link to her ginger bug starter. Here is the link to Wellness Mama’s Ginger Bug Starter recipe.

Please visit the How to Make Homemade Root Beer link below for Katie’s recipe for homemade Root Beer.

How to Make Homemade Root Beer

betterhensandgardens.com

If you love cream cheese, you’ll love this simple recipe by Lesa for homemade, French-style cream cheese.

It requires 2 ingredients (a cheese culture and rennet), that are inexpensive and can be ordered online. Lesa  includes links to places where you can get these 2 ingredients.

The process to make the cheese is easy and you can freeze it in containers for future use. This cheese is excellent on crackers and topped with Old-Fashioned Hot Pepper Jelly.

Click on the How to Make French-Style Cream Cheese link below to see Lesa’s recipe.

How to Make French-Style Cream Cheese

gluesticksblog.com

This is Brandy’s recipe for rock candy on a stick. It’s a fun project for kids. It shows them the process of crystallization and at the end they have rock candy to eat!

Brandy provides step-by-step directions and photographs. She also has a troubleshooting guide at the end. Nice recipe and fun for the kids (and adults!).

Click on the Homemade Rock Candy Recipe link below for the complete recipe.

Homemade Rock Candy Recipe

commonsensehome.com

There are a lot of advantages to baking your own bread. You know exactly what healthy ingredients are used in the bread. The cost of baking bread at home is often more economical than buying name-brand bread at the store. Finally, there are few things as good as the smell of baking bread in a home!

This is a nice selection of homemade bread recipes by the good folks at Common Sense Homesteading. There’s one section with yeast bread recipes that use wheat flour. Then there’s a second section that has bread recipes for people with special diets. Also, there are step-by-step baking instructions and GREAT photographs that made me really hungry.

You’ll find recipes for:

• Sandwich Bread
• Basic Sourdough Bread
• Potato Bread using Leftover Mashed Potatoes
• Crusty French Bread
• Duncan’s Meat in a Loaf
• Betty’s Buttermilk Rye Bread
• Gluten-Free Focaccia Flax Bread
• Buckwheat Galettes (Gluten-Free Wraps)
• Kombucha Sourdough Starter
• Gluten-Free Mini Breakfast Sandwich Biscuit Buns
• Soaked Gluten-Free Naan Bread
• Whole Wheat Bread – Sprouted or Soaked
• Coconut Butter Sandwich Bread

Click on the 13 Homemade Bread Recipes – Never Buy Bread Again link below to see all of these wonderful bread recipes.

13 Homemade Bread Recipes – Never Buy Bread Again

bestplants.com

I liked this jam recipe because it’s all-natural, and quick and easy to make.
This is a strawberry-honey jam recipe that uses just 4 natural ingredients.

It does not use added sugar or pectin. There are also easy, step-by-step directions and photographs. Very nice recipe!

Click on the Strawberry Honey Jam Recipe – Just 4 Natural Ingredients link below to see the complete article.

Strawberry Honey Jam Recipe – Just 4 Natural Ingredients

athriftymom.com

This is a great tip by Sarah on how to quickly make watermelon sticks, that are smaller and just the right size for kids to hold and eat. Perfect for the summer party or picnic too.

At the end of the article, she also has a link to another tip on how to quickly cube an entire watermelon!

Click on the Watermelon Sticks ~ Perfect for Little Hands link below to see Sarah’s excellent tip.

Watermelon Sticks ~ Perfect for Little Hands

Mint is an easy herb to grow and tends to overtake a garden. For that reason, it’s perfect for a container garden. You can use fresh mint in a lot of different ways. One thing you can make is a fresh mint syrup. You can use the syrup to flavor water, tea, mixed drinks, lemonade and more.

This is a nice recipe that makes one pint of mint syrup. It uses just 4 ingredients and is really easy to make.

Click on the How to Make Fresh Homemade Mint Syrup ~ a Minty Taste Treat link below to see the article and recipe.

How to Make Fresh Homemade Mint Syrup ~ a Minty Taste Treat

brownthumbmama.com

I found this recipe for homemade brown sugar on the BrownThumb Mama’s website. Pam’s simple recipe uses just 2 ingredients. She has some great photographs showing the process of making the sugar. The reason I selected this article is because Pam also has a great sense of humor and it’s reflected in her writing.

Click on the How to Make Brown Sugar link below for Pam’s complete recipe.

How to Make Brown Sugar

Everyone has probably heard the recommendation of drinking 8 glasses of water a day. Many people assume they can substitute soda (or pop if that’s what you call it in your area) for the 8 glasses of water. This video explores the science behind what happens to your body when you drink a lot of soda daily.

It turns out that drinking a lot of soda van cause a lot of health issues including aging you in the same way that smoking cigarettes can age you.  Diet soda has its own set of problems.

The video is fast, informative and entertaining.  Click on the How Drinking Too Much Soda Can Affect Your Body link below to go to the LifeHacker site and learn more.  When you’re on the LifeHacker site, just click on the picture at the top to start the video. It’s really an eye opener.