DIY roasted coffee beans (a bit of Heaven ;)

I read a Facebook post from Trim Healthy Mama on March 15, 2013 that had me jealous! Not only was it written with elegance, but she described an experience roasting green coffee beans and drinking the freshly ground cup of heaven the next morning. I quickly set out to see what all the fuss was about. I did enough research to figure out what to do and not too much to add more days to the shipping. I placed my order and sat.....oh I couldn't wait! A few days later my sampler box of green beans arrived, and it felt like Christmas! I opened my box, assembled my popcorn popper and refreshed my memory with the step by step YouTube video. Unfortunately, I quickly burnt my first handful of beans! My second batch was in an iron skillet and turned out just fine. It took twice as long as what I read, I stopped the roast a bit early for fear of burning them like the popcorn popper failure. Yet, even with screwing it up and not roasting them dark enough, I still managed to produce the most wonderful and yummy cups of coffee I've ever tasted. (I add just half n half, no sugar or flavors and enjoy it very, very much.) I look forward to a cup every morning and find myself making a cup or two throughout the day, too!

This morning I roasted a new batch and this time I did it in a good heat dispersing pan. I found that it roasted more evenly and quicker than in my iron skillet.

After just one week I think I am officially converted. I had a cup of 'really good' coffee in downtown Chicago a few days ago and would rate it mediocre after my new found love. Life is full of new things to try and learn, I never want to stop exploring!

Where I ordered my first 4 lbs. of green coffee sampler:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/coffee/samplers/green-coffee-sampler.html?source=side

YouTube video teaching the popcorn popper method:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php

Home roasting basics:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/instructions.php

How to save / clean your mattress!

I am doing a bit of spring cleaning and thought it was time to replace one of the kid's mattresses. Usually we throw away and buy new mattresses for the kids, because I have never been able to find a way to clean them and remove odors effectively. Believe me I have tried EVERYTHING! After a little motivation from a friend, I looked online for an all natural air freshener. (And quite frankly Febreeze just doesn't cut it!). I found a great recipe to try and then I put my thinking cap on as to what could sanitize as well as freshen. What I came up with was amazing! My child's mattress looks AND smells brand new! I didn't take before pictures, because I honestly did not want to show the gross stains on the Internet.....but with the results we got, now I wished I had!!!!

Air freshener and sanitizer:

2 small oranges, sliced
1/2 Tbsp whole cloves
2 cups water
1 cup hydrogen peroxide

Boil the oranges and cloves in the water. Strain off 1 cup and let cool. Put the cooled liquid and hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle. The liquid looks like a weak cup of tea, but it did not leave a tan color stain on my couch or mattresses. But, be aware if you have a white couch, it could leave a stain. So you may want to test it somewhere no one would see!

Spray onto fabrics or mattress you want to freshen. I put a space heater in the room to dry it. Then I the sprayed it a second time (both sides). After about 4 hours when I checked it again it was sparkling clean! I immediately made more spray and went and sprayed every mattress in the house! Yay!

Gluten free tacos - Mockos

I thought when I gave up wheat and sugar I would have to give up fun foods like tacos and burritos too, but nooooooo! I substitute the tortilla with a large lettuce leaf and don't even miss it! Last night I made our 'mock-tacos'(or mockos) for the second time this month and they were gobbled up quicker than you can hang a piñata. I gave the smaller leaves to my 5 year old with a small bowl of ground beef and told her to use them like a spoon. She loved it! I even watched my non lettuce loving teenagers eating mocko after mocko. That makes me very happy :)

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
1/4 tsp. each: garlic salt, chili powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin
1/4 cup water

Toppings:
Large and firm romain leaf lettuce
Shredded Cheese
Chopped avocado
Salsa
Sour cream
Onions
Olives
Refried beans

Brown your ground beef, drain off fat. Add seasonings and water (never need to buy that unhealthy seasoning packet ever again). Assemble you mocko on a lettuce leaf, fill with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Homemade yogurt: update and tips

We have made about 7-8 batches of yogurt now and had only one to throw out. I was trying the crock pot method and accidentally put it on high instead of warm and left the house for several hours. By the time I returned it was burnt, ewe!!!! But, besides that, it has turned out perfectly every time and we LOVE it!

Here is the original recipe:
http://www.naturallyhomemade.blogspot.com/2013/01/how-to-make-homemade-yogurt.html?m=1

I have tried keeping it warm several ways, like in the microwave (off) with just the light on, in the crockpot on low for 10 minutes and then off for an hour, in mason jars in the oven (off). My favorite and easiest way has been to heat the milk to 190-200 degrees, cool it to 115, pour it all into the crockpot dish, mix in the starter, and set it in the oven with my dehydrator motor. It turns itself off and on and keeps the oven the perfect temp. I make the yogurt at bedtime, stick it in with the dehydrator motor and wake up to perfect yogurt. Can't get any easier than that!