Simple stove cleaning.

Stove was always my nightmare to clean, a specially around Christmas time when there is an extra stuff spilling, more cooking and baking and the oven makes all the spills extra dry. I tried few different way to clean it and I find the best, simplest way to clean. My stove is clean right now so I can't show you how it works but next time it is dirty I will make sure to snap some pictures.
I use only two simple ingredients that everyone most likely already has at home: baking soda and vinegar. 
I got small spice jar and filled it with the baking soda, this way it is easy to sprinkle the soda on the stove and then I spray it with the vinegar, let it bubble for a moment and wipe it with a reusable cloth, rinse it under the water and keep wiping until its clean. Works wonderful. 

Cookies.

Every year at Christmas I bake lots of different cookies, I give them as gifts to teachers, family and friends. This year we made, some gingerbread, coconut macaroons and lots and lots of  sugar cookies. Only sugar cookies end up in pictures. 

Merry Christmas.

Wishing everyone a Very merry Christmas.

Peach.

I have been so busy that I couldn't find any time to post, the biggest craft show is coming up in 6 weeks and I spend every moment with a needle in my hand. I was looking thru my pictures and came across summer jam production so here we go, the first will be peach. I made much less this year because we still have few left from last year, but peach is so good, I can almost smell it. 

Indoor plants.

As the gardening season slowly comes to an end, I think about all the greens in my windows. Every year I shift them around, give them shower in my bathtub and make room for few plants that will come in, from the balcony. 

My pineapple:

And my lemon tree started from a seed.

In my Garden.

Summer was so busy that I had a hard time finding time to blog but today is first day of school so hopefully I will get the much needed time and inspiration to write more often. My balcony garden is mostly basil now, I have few tomato plants, red pepper, sweet potato, crazy looking corn, few flowers and salad mix that is coming up again. This summer was really good, I had lots of beans, peas and tomatoes from the community garden. On my balcony I had few cucumbers, much less than last year, and lots of herbs and basil.

Jams.

Last week I went with my kids for a walk and we picked some mulberries. Last year I froze them and this year I made jams. 

In my Garden.

Cucumbers are growing nice, now that it's warm and I don't have to cover them.

Oregano

I have basil everywhere, I think I doubled the amount of plants this year. Last year I didn't have enough pesto to last us all winter so this year I made sure there is plenty of basil. 

Tomato.

More basil, lettuce, and beans in the small containers.

Strawberry

More oregano, basil and some flowers.

On the wall I have 18 containers, 9 flowers and 9 basil

On the window I have pansies, lettuce, chive and more basil. 

Dandelions.

Last week I went dandelion picking. I do this every year, usually with my husband, so it can be done faster. It took us about an hour to fill this basket, we found a hill full of flowers and they were so nice and big.

So first I wash them and lay them on my table to dry.

Then in the evening I started to remove the green parts, it takes some time and my fingers were all brown but this way the syrup is not bitter.

Next step is to cover it with water and boil, remove from the heat, cover it and steep over night in cool place, I just put it on my balcony.

The next day I strain it thru cheese cloth and return the liquid to the pot.

This is the leftover pulp.

To make this into a syrup you need to add lemon juice, honey and lots of sugar and simmer for few hours, but I like this to be more healthy so I don't add any sugar just the lemon and honey, and just cook it for half an hour. Then I put it in jars and bottles and store it in the fridge.

I use it in my home made ice tea all year round, this will last us until next Spring.