Author: The Urban Homemaker

Making a Fall Centerpiece is very easy and inexpensive. My talented friend, Sandy Tuin has taken an inexpensive cloth napkin with Fall colors. On top she has used two small silk pumpkins (real ones are fine) that she bought last year at 90% off at Hobby Lobby. Combined with a few pieces of mini-Indian corn (her’s is from the garden) and two or three picks in Fall colors. This basic plan could be changed seasonally for Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, etc with a little creativity. Sandy says it is quite easy and can be VERY economical if you plan ahead.Here is how I adapted Sandy’s basic centerpiece with stuff I had sitting in storage from years past:

How have you decorated your table for Fall?

One topic I talk a lot about is buy fruits and vegetables locally and seasonally.

When we visited Oregon last month we enjoyed shopping at a family farm. This sign

posted at the end of the parking lot caught my eye.

Here is a picture of the old packing shed where we bought some fresh fruits locally in the Hood Oregon
region.

I loved the old-fashioned atmosphere of this fruit stand and meeting the owner!

Have you heard of or shopped at the “Fruit Loop” of family owned fruit farms and orchards in the Hood River, Oregon area? Tell me about your local orchards, farmer’s markets and homegrown vegetable stands! I will publish pictures at my website if you want to share.

How would you answer this question?

<<<Could you please tell me what type of oil I should use in making my bread. I normally use canola oil but was reading that it is very bad for one. Olive oil would have a strong taste. What do you use, sesame oil? If you could help me with this I would greatly appreciate it. >>>

Here is my answer:

<<<You could use coconut oil, or safflower oil if it is expeller pressed. I think the sesame oil as long as it is refined (not strongly flavored) but expeller pressed or you could even use butter.>>>

What healthy oil do you use?

The following is a sample of questions I have been receiving lately regarding bread baking problems and other topics of interest to homemakers.

Dear Marilyn,

Besides eating bread faster, how can I keep my homemade bread from going moldy? Thanks. Nancie

Dear Nancie,

I have four strategies for keeping bread from going moldy. First, I use dough enhancer.
2. I use honey which promotes shelf life.
3. I freeze all bread loaves, sliced and bagged until I am ready to use it. It takes bread
about 3 hours to completely thaw.
4. I use the 2 Stage Process. This soaking process has extended the shelf life
of my home made bread up to a week.

Dear Marilyn,

I am new to grinding wheat. I was given an old mill – electric with 2 stones. No directions. I had to experiment and ground the wheat this neighbor gave me. It came out too course, the bread was a little crumbly. I did use dough enhancer. Can this flour be ground again? finer?? Or is it possible to soak the flour first

Dear Carol,

I would say it is unlikely the flour can be made finer in the mill, but I would say experiment a bit and see if you can. Old stone mills really don’t produce good quality flour for high rising yeast bread. My recommendation is to use 2 Tbsp vital gluten per Cup of water used in your recipe, plus master the two stage process. A high speed grain mill will produce finer flour which will do a lot for eliminating crumbly bread. Higher quality wheat will also help. Keep in mind whole grain bread will never be quite as high rising as white flour because the bran is included.

Dear Marilyn,

I have been looking forward to your seminars but have not seen any
posted in a long time. Will you be doing these again anytime soon? I
really enjoyed them. Kristin M

Kristin,

Thanks for asking and encouraging me to get back to the seminars. I plan to resume
seminars this Fall and will announce a tentative schedule soon.

Dear Marilyn,

I want to sprout the grain and then mill it rather that use the two stage process. I’ve searced your sight and cannot find a conversion of this method for use with the zo machine. I know that the kneading time needs to be changed. Do you have zo machine settings for your whole wheat bread recipe using milled grain already sprouted?

Thank you,
Amy P

Dear Amy,

If you have sprouted the grain, use my basic Zo settings.
http://articles.urbanhomemaker.com/index.php?article=564

Let me know if it works out ok.

Amy wrote back that the dough was still very gooey. Here are my additional suggestions:

No, I haven’t had anyone contact me regarding the Zo and sprouted wheat bread settings. Hopefully someone who has mastered this process with sprouted wheat will send their tips and I will get back to you. In the meantime here are some other suggestions:

I think basic principles should still apply. If it is a gooey mess, it tells me either there wasn’t enough flour, did you check for a nice round dough ball and make adjustments in the beginning of the kneading cycle? If so, and it was gooey inside after baking, it tells me the bread wasn’t baked long enough, and you will need to increase the baking time by at least 10 minutes using the programmable feature.

IF the dough is gooey from over kneading, that tells me to cut the kneading time again using the programmable feature. I would try 8-10 minutes kneading time in that case.

Keep me posted with your results so if you get it, I can tell others and give you the credit! Marilyn

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Hi, Marilyn,

Lately, on the Mercola and Debra Lynn Dadd websites, I’ve been reading about plastics and potential estrogen effects. Plastic water bottles, even the heavy-duty ones on coolers, are cited as a major source.

We have two Multi-Pure filters in our kitchen, and, as you know, they have plastic tubing to the spigot.

So, my question is, has the plastic used in the Multi-Pure system been tested for potential leaching of toxins, including estrogen mimickers? How about in the pot-filler application we have, to the pot-filler? Thanks!

Helen in SpokaneDear Helen,

Thanks for asking a really timely question. Fortunately I have a great answer.
This is the reply I received from Multi-Pure:

>>>The plastic that we use is FDA Pharmaceutical grade and has

been tested by NSF to ensure that there is no leaching

of the materials into the water.

One of the great things about NSF certification is that they

test every nut, bolt, fitting, piece of tubing etc to make sure that

the item is not adding anything to the water supply. This is called

the Leach Test. So your customers should be assured that the water

they are drinking from their Multi-Pure is safe. We start with the best materials

and certify their performance.>>>

Hope this helps.

Marilyn

Do you have a question, comment or suggestion that others might benefit from?
Please email me at marilyn@urbanhomemaker.com.

In the last few weeks, my 19 year old son Stephen, myself and Duane, have been talking to an Army recruiter about the possibility of Stephen enlisting. Neither my husband nor myself have had any experience with a military lifestyle or commitment so we were a bit surprised when he came to us with this aspiration.

Those of you who have sons or daughters may relate to the anxieties of a mom when she contemplates the realities of what military enrollment represents today. I would say it has been a bit stressful for me as mom.

Yes, there are obviously many benefits to enlistment, but my emotions have been almost like a roller coaster as I entrust Stephen to his heavenly Father’s direction!

Fortunately, Stephen’s overwhelming desire is to be in God’s will. But as you all know, recognizing God’s will and direction isn’t always black or white, or clear and obvious. On the one hand, he wants to complete the Associate’s degree program he started last September. On the other hand, enlistment fits in with many of his longer term goals and the Army pays for all college education while you are enlisted. Oh, how I wish these life changing decisions were more plain and simple.

A particular scripture has been giving me much comfort however. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, don’t rely on your own insight, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes.” (Proverbs 3:5-7A) This last portion about not being wise in my own eyes has been speaking loud volumes to me lately in many areas.

I want to share with you a personal testimony from a friend who had to apply these same principles about trusting and not being wise in her own eyes as well.

You asked me to share how I came to be a Norwex consultant. I have to confess, it was not my plan; in fact, it took me quite by surprise since it was nowhere on my radar scope! Yet I know that this is what God has planned for me, and therefore it is very good!

Being a home school mother of five very active children whom I involve in the cleaning responsibilities of the home, I have been interested in finding a way to safely and effectively clean my home. I never really felt at peace when I would arm them with rubber gloves and send them off to do their daily chores. I quickly found out that cleaning with just a damp cloth did little, if anything, to remove the dust and the dirt.

Needless to say, I was extremely interested when you announced your chemical free cleaning phone seminar featuring the Norwex Microfiber Cloths. As I listened while you and Sandy discussed the cloths and how well they actually CLEANED surfaces, I became SO excited!

While listening, I browsed Norwex’s web site and my excitement grew even more. By the time I got off the phone I told my husband that I was so excited over these cloths that I could see myself selling them to others! That was quite a shocking statement for me – I hate selling things! More shocking is my fear of public speaking! But there was no denying my excitement. My wise husband then counseled me to pray about it and try the cloths for a while. If I was still excited about the Norwex cloths after I had used them, then we could discuss it. I took his advice and eagerly waited for my cloths to arrive..

I was so excited that I told my husband I wanted to bring these amazing cleaning cloths to everyone so they, too, could have a safe and effective way to clean their homes and keep their families healthy. He and I prayed about it, and then with his support and encouragement I faxed in my application to become a consultant. Then reality set in.

At two o’clock the next morning I woke up in a panic attack – what had I just done?!?!……

Read the rest of Heather’s Amazing Story at this link:
If you are unable to access the story, email me privately and I will make sure you get the whole story.

When a gorgeous shade tree died, that helped cool our house, I knew I
needed a summer strategy for getting dinner to the table without cooking.
So I started gathering up salad recipes into a complimentary 50 page ebook.

If it is too hot to cook at your house, download Sensational Summer Salads ebook for FREE!

After you read this book, please email me your comments and suggestions to
marilyn@urbanhomemaker.com.

Here is what my friend Rachelle said after reading this book:

“I just wanted to let you know how excited I was about your new cookbook, Sensational Summer Salads. I have to honestly say, I thought I wouldn’t get much out of it, but I was so impressed with the number of new and innovative salad ideas! I feel like a kid in the candy store…I can’t decide which recipe to try first! Thanks for sharing your recipes with us!” God Bless, Rachelle TriayHave a GREAT weekend!

Yesterday’s paper had an article about rapidly rising grocery prices for certain items.
They mentioned that it is estimated that 30% of food purchased is thrown out.

YIKES, I’d be broke if I wasted that much food. What do you think?

Marilyn

“Food production is energy intensive, says the article in today’s paper, from the natural gas used to make fertilizer, to the fuel used to harvest and transport crops, to the plastic wrap used to package items.”

The more we buy food with less processing such as chicken, but not pre-cooked/marinated chicken
the better the price. I’m buying eggs from a friend at $2.50 a dozen, hope she doesn’t have to raise
her prices any time soon.

I normally buy very little that is processed, but the increasing prices are making it hard to reduce expenses.
Maybe we should start eating more beans.

What do you do?