New Goals for a New Year!

This time of year, I plan goals that I want to accomplish during the year. This year, I have a few personal and business goals in addition to self-reliance goals that move me along my journey to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. Some of them are on this goal cloud that I got from The Mormon Channel!

For the past five years or so, I have done a really good job of accomplishing most everything I set a goal for. Well, that streak ended this year! I didn't accomplish very many of the goals I set for 2013. I start again this year and try to increase my chances of success by creating a better plan of how I am going to accomplish them. 

So, here are the self reliant goals I want to accomplish this year. Some of them are goals I didn't get to accomplish last year, others are new ones:

• Grow my own popping corn. This is a self-reliant goal of mine because we eat a lot of popcorn at our house! I don't want to have to purchase it at the store anymore! Although I bought the seed in time for planting popcorn last spring, it never happened. Looking back now, it was a good thing that I didn't plant them. I am sure I would not have managed to keep them alive. With all the rain we had last summer, I am sure I would have lost them to fungus diseases. With the new raised bed I added this past fall, I have plenty of room to plant popcorn this year. In addition, the spot I want to put them will give the plants plenty of sun exposure to combat any potential disease threats I may have this coming year.
• Make soap from wood ashes. This is also a goal I had from last year. Although I have been making soap for over 20 years, I have never made soap with wood ashes. I didn't accomplish this goal last year because after researching what was needed, I realized I didn't have enough ashes saved up from the winter! This year, with the cold winter we are expecting, I should burn enough wood in my fireplace to get a sufficient amount of ashes. Hopefully, it will be enough to attempt to make soap. We shall see!
• Make more of my own cheese. I have been making cheese for a few years now. This past year, I didn't get the time to make very much of it. So unfortunately, we ended up purchasing more cheese from the store than I made. This year, I want to reverse that! I hope to make the majority of the cheese we eat. I also plan to do more research into making my own vegetable rennet so I no longer need to purchase it.

I did manage to move forward in my journey to all non-electric appliances last year! Two of the goals I met were in getting non-electric appliances.

• A hand crank blender. Over the past two months, I have grown to like my hand crank blender. (I have not grown to love it- it still has flaws!) Still, I am glad that I have it. (You can see my review of the blender here.) I do use it often.
• A carpet sweeper. This appliance became a critical tool for me to help keep my house clean this year. You may recall that my vacuum cleaner broke back in early spring! When it broke, I set a new goal to go without purchasing a new vacuum cleaner for one year. So far - so good, with that goal! It was only possible because of this tool. (I promise an update on my year without a vacuum soon!) 

I also have a non-electrical appliance goal that I did not meet. That one was to fix up my treadle sewing machine and use it to make most of my clothes in 2013. I am sorry to say that it didn't even make it on the radar screen! The only dress I made last year was my pioneer dress for The Trek. (You can read about that here.) For the coat I am currently working on, I am using a 13 year old computerized sewing machine and my 23 year old serger. I still have some patterns for dresses and blouses from the 19th Century I hope to make this year. I would like to try to do that on the treadle machine. So, I will add fixing up the treadle machine to this year's goal list.

With all these goals, it promises to be a very busy year! My plan is to add one or two 'to do's' to my personal calendar each month so I stay on track to get them all accomplished.

I will post updates on my accomplishments as I work on each one throughout this year!

Happy New Year!

Coquito: Puerto Rican Eggnog

Have you ever had coquito? When I was younger, I used to be an eggnog connoisseur! Every year, I would seek out eggnog recipes from all over the world to taste. One of the best I ever had is coquito!

In Puerto Rico, coquito is made with rum. Since I am a Latter-Day Saint, I don't drink. So, I make mine without rum. (I am sure someone is going to write to me and tell me that it isn't really coquito if it doesn't have rum in it!  Nevertheless, this is the way I make and drink it!)

This recipe is made with sweetened condensed milk. I know that some people don't like sweetened condensed milk. I can understand that. It does have a bit of a 'canned milk' taste to it. Not to worry! Did you know that you can make your own sweetened condensed milk? There isn't any 'canned milk' taste at all when you make your own! I would hate for you to not try this recipe just because you don't like sweetened condensed milk!

So, here we go! Links to sweetened condensed milk recipes follows directly below the coquito recipe.

Coquito
3 egg yolks, beaten
A 12 oz. can of evaporated milk (You can use coconut milk, if you would like.)
A 14 oz. can of cream of coconut. (I use Coco Lopez. If you can't find Coco Lopez in the canned milk aisle of your store, try the alcoholic drink mix aisle.)
A 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup half & half or milk  (Sometimes I use light cream.)
1/4 tsp ground cloves (Sometimes I use nutmeg.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla (I usually use 1/2 TBS. I make my own, you can see how to do that here.)

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk
Homemade sweetened condensed milk recipe #1 (This recipe requires the most effort of the three, but is really good!)
Homemade sweetened condensed milk recipe #2  (This recipe is the fastest and easiest to make.)
Homemade sweetened condensed milk recipe #3  (This recipe uses canned evaporated milk.)

Start by beating the eggs well. I used a whisk. They should be thick. In a saucepan, combine the eggs and evaporated milk. Mix well and heat on low heat stirring constantly. The mixture needs to cook until it reaches 160 degrees. When ready, it should be very thick and coat a metal spoon. 

Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Mix in a blender. My suggestion is to use an electric blender. You will need to mix this well each time you serve it. (It tends to separate.) In my experience, shaking  the mixture doesn't really blend it well so an electric blender is needed.

Serve chilled. As it chills, it gets really thick and creamy! Coquito isn't really for drinking as much as it is for sipping. It makes a great dessert! If I could, I would have this every day of the year, it is THAT good! Unfortunately, eggnog doesn't like me anymore so I must limit my consumption to a few sips on Christmas day.

If you have never had coquito, try this recipe! If you love eggnog, you will not be disappointed!

O Holy Night

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Victorian Style

Whenever a holiday comes around, my thoughts always go to my ancestors. This is especially true at Christmas. I want to know: How did they celebrate Christmas? What did they ask Santa to bring them when they were children? What did they eat to celebrate the day? What was the conversation like around the dinner table? What Christmas carols did they sing?

While I will never know for sure (until I meet them in Heaven and get the opportunity to ask!), I can get an idea of what Christmas was like in the 1800's by visiting websites & reading books that offer that information. So, to that end, here are some websites that describe how our ancestors celebrated Christmas:

Victorian Christmas Dinner Menu
A Victorian Christmas
The History of Christmas in the 19th Century
The History of Christmas in America
Old West Legends: A Pioneer Christmas
Christmas in the 1800's