Recycle your Pickle Juice!

Pickle juice is one of those things that just does not go bad. It seems a shame to throw it away with so much life left in it! Check out this link for some cool tips on ways to reuse your pickle juice! http://www.ilovepickles.org/node/16
 Here's a couple of my favorites!
 "Add cut-up raw carrots, celery sticks, broccoli and cauliflower florets, and red and green pepper strips directly to the jar of any type of leftover pickle juice. Make sure to keep these tangy tidbits refrigerated. The marinated veggies are great for snacking on straight from the jar or become an innovative addition to a crudité platter. "
"Slip sliced onions into a jar of sweet-hot bread and butter pickle juice. The "pickled" onions liven up turkey, chicken or ham sandwiches, as well as hamburgers. "
"Pickle liquid mixed in with the mayo can give a new twist to your time-honored potato salad. Or, try this Dilled Potato Salad: combine cooked red- skinned potatoes, cooked-till-crisp-tender green beans, sliced black olives and chopped dill pickle. Toss with a dressing of 1/3 cup oil, and 1 Tablespoon each of pickle liquid, country-style Dijon mustard, lemon juice and chopped fresh dill."  (I gotta try that one!)

Update--  Try using pickle juice for a quick 3 bean salad! Just add beans! 

Another Update-- Just had some veggies (the ones in the picture) I had soaking in sweet pickle juice for about a week. VERY YUMMY!!!  :)

Orange Candle

I saw this on Facebook (on Our Green Planet's wall, posted June 23) and just had to pass it along here.
"...Peel the top of the orange, then gently get the natural wick at the center. Add a bit of Olive Oil, burn the wick and you have a 100% organic Candle!"  I have to try this!  I'll report back with results!

So... to report back on this.... FAIL!  Though the wick did burn for a bit, it was not a large enough flame to do any good for light or anything else. It slowly burned out after a couple of minutes. Even after allowing the wick to sit for about half a day in the oil, still, no luck.  There are plenty of other ways to make great candles, so this will not be one I try again. :P

The Incredible Fava Bean

Markus Rothkranz shares the amazing power of the fava bean:


Click here to visit HealthCures101.com.

Unfortunately, these amazing beans are not easy to find. So I think I will have to plan on growing them myself! Fava beans have a number of varieties as you can see here:
 http://www.italianseedandtool.com/category/italian_seed_and_tool.vegetable_seed.beans__fava/?gclid=CP7GwJ3xj7ECFcpeTAodOVUkfA
and here:
http://www.vegetable-gardens.co.uk/vegetable-varieties/top-10-broad-bean-varieties/
Several articles I read seem to indicate that the variety "Red Epicure" wins the taste tests.  So I guess that's a good variety to start with!  :)

Sharing Wealth

I just made an exciting discovery! I looked at my blog's stats for the first time and saw that my blog is quite popular! I had NO idea! 37,335 views and counting! 41 views just today! Wow! Thank you everyone! :D
So what brought me here today was that I have been thinking. ...

1.  I need to make money.  Don't we all, right?  I don't want to make money the old fashioned way- by selling something no one wants or needs. -A plastic trinket,... a pyramid scheme,... a gadget that will break next week, ... blech! We all get enough of that! I want to provide something of real value and benefit to the person that chooses to invest in me.
2. I want to do something I LOVE to do. That was the thought that brought me to my blog today. I was talking about this very subject and I said, "you know, I really love writing articles for my blog."
So when I logged in to Blogger's home page, they had the stats displayed... almost like it was Fate trying to tell me something. One should always listen when Fate speaks, so... I'm listening!
I feel as if I have been sitting on a golden egg for all this time and that egg is about to hatch.
Now I can think of a dozen ways to provide things of value for you my readers. But I would love to hear your input too. So far I am thinking of more book suggestions on gardening and sustainability,  referrals to suppliers or products that I recommend. (Such as Provent-a-Mite spray for reptile mites!)
It has been suggested that I make my blog available by subscription, but I am not sure I want to do that. I like the free knowledge that I share here and I really want to keep it that way.
If I can use this blog to make money, then I can spend a whole lot more time devoted to articles on herbs, wildlife, sustainability ideas, pets, homesteading, oh I am so excited! :D  This is truly what I love to do! Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. What do YOU want me to write about?
I will be putting a lot of thought into this new concept! Thank you everyone for giving me this great gift!