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Category: Homemaking

lid removes easy for filling or turning
Broken Trash Can Gets a New Life as a Compost Bin

Broken Trash Can Gets a New Life as a Compost Bin

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Like most avid gardeners, I love to compost.  Along with improving home energy efficiency,  practicing water conservation, and reducing the amount of meat the family eats, home composting is one of the most environmentally beneficial activities we can do here.  Instead of buying bagged soil amendments, I create my own endless supply. I have tried using many kinds of compost bins and piles over the last 15 years.  I had an expensive black plastic bin that came apart in sections…

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How to Hard Boil Really Fresh Eggs

How to Hard Boil Really Fresh Eggs

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For the last two years we have only been hard boiling our oldest eggs for deviled eggs or pickled eggs.  I would hide a carton in the back of the fridge and wait a few weeks before making a new batch of pickled eggs.  Lots of sources say old eggs are necessary to get perfectly peeled eggs, and never to use fresh eggs.    In addition, I have read all sorts of different ways and times to cook them depending on…

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homemade Joe Josts Spicy Pickled eggs recipe for Joe Jost's pickled eggs
Joe Josts Spicy Pickled Eggs [Recipe]

Joe Josts Spicy Pickled Eggs [Recipe]

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A local Long Beach watering hole, Joe Jost’s, claims to have sold 6,000,000 Spicy Pickled eggs since 1934.  My husband has eaten his fair share of that number.  He loves to cook and this was the first thing he said he was making when we got chickens.  Since 2009 we have been making these at home. We like spicy pickled eggs so much, that rather than immediately start eating the Bantams’ eggs when they started laying, I set the eggs…

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homemade diy candles for gifts how to make mason jar candles at home
Soy Candles

Soy Candles

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I was frustrated not finding Advent Candles this year. I ended up dipping white candles in colored wax to achieve my desired look.  It was easier than I thought because I was given some candle making supplies by a neighbor who had cleaned out a storage unit.  It got me thinking, and I decided to try my hand at making soy candles for a few gifts.  This was the first time I made candles from scratch. Supplies Needed: Soy Wax…

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A New Farmers’ Market

A New Farmers’ Market

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Some produce I can’t grow because I either don’t have enough space in our little backyard (like artichoke,) enough heat or chilling, or they are too difficult for me to grow organically without a lot of effort.  Therefore, farmers’ markets are the answer.  In addition to buying the things I don’t grow, I enjoy attending farmers markets to sample new or unusual varieties of fruits and vegetables. Recently, I saw a sign posted for a new Farmer’s Market that will…

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