Strawberry Season, Laundry Soap, and More

This past week our youngest daughter and I went to a local berry field to pick strawberries. We found a local farmer that does not spray the fields and hasn't fertilized in a couple of years. It was as close to organic as we could find. After spending some time visiting while we picked, we returned to her house to clean and de-hull the berries. The next day I made two batches of freezer jam and froze the rest to use in mixed berry jam later in the season. Freezer jam is a favorite at our house - we have already consumed one and a half containers. It is easy to go through jam quickly when you have homemade sourdough bread, homemade scones, and homemade French toast casserole at the house. Thank you to our two boys for furnishing us with homemade baked goods this week!

 

We make our own low-tox laundry soap and we were almost out, so in addition to jam, we made another batch of laundry soap. We make this soap once every couple of months or so for a family of six. I put the instructions up on the web site if you would like to see how we make it. Click here for the article and recipe. 

Last week we continued to dry herbs for culinary use and tea. This will be a continuous process throughout the summer as different plants are ready to be harvested. Last week was thimbleberry leaves (a new addition we are experimenting with this year), oxeye daisies, more rose petals, and chamomile.

Have a fabulous week!

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