After a long hiatus.....I am back! Here's a recipe I made today for Homemade Cough Drops!

I know I've been gone for awhile. Life sort of got in the way and I've been pulled away to other things.  But this month I've been working a bit on writing a very-much-in-the-beginning-stages novel for National Novel Writing Month and the writing bug has bit me in the hind end and I wanted to get back to writing here on the blog again.  So maybe this blog post is part procrastination, but it just seemed so much easier than figuring where to go next with the novel. It's still writing....right? ;-)

After this whole election thing and finally finding out the results, I was feeling the need to do something....to make something with my hands.  I've been dabbling a bit in some make-your-own type stuff and I know winter's on its way.... I was having a gluten-free cinnamon roll(been a long time since I had one - it was yummy) and I swear by my Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice (decaf) tea to keep me healthy through the sick season.

(Yeah, I know that was a long, crazy sentence up there...)

Anyway, I looked around a bit and decided to try my hand at making my own cough drops/throat drops. I'm not too thrilled by the ones with all the extra junk I wouldn't otherwise consume.

I found 2 recipes, and this is the one I decided to make today: http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/11/diy-homemade-cough-drops.html

It was super easy - no need to heat anything up. And my little handmade cinnamon and honey cough drop balls look a lot like the ones on the The Prairie Homestead's site, so I must have done it right!

Now I need to let them sit a day or so to dry and then either wrap them up in wax paper pieces or put them in a container to keep them safe until I need them!

I was able to find Slippery Elm Bark and organic cinnamon at my local health food store (I believe it was from Frontier). I had the raw honey in my pantry already - purchased from the farmer's market.

Homemade Elderberry Syrup

We've already had one round of sickness already this year, so I decided we need to start taking some elderberry syrup both as a preventative and during any illness we may have.

Purchasing name brand elderberry meds can get really expensive, especially for a family of 5. I am finding that making it myself is a much less expensive option!

Elderberry is rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, flavonoids, beta carotene, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and a whole host of good-for-you things. 

Elderberry has been used to help with flu, colds, sinus issues, and even as a hayfever remedy. (I just recently read about the hayfever usage and might need to consider that next fall!) 

For more detailed info as to how elderberry products work, check out Sambucol's FAQ page, for they say it more eloquently than I can this morning. :)

Elderberry syrup is not a new thing--it has been used for generations.



After all of that information, let's move on to the actual recipe!

I used the recipe at Mountain Rose Herbs for reference, leaving out the optional stuff. With my allergy/sensitivity issues, I figure the less ingredients the better.

Since our elderberries at the farm didn't produce well due to the drought this summer, and I used all of the ones I had in the freezer, I purchased a pound of Frontier Organic Dried Elderberries from the local health food store for $14.99. I wanted to order from Mountain Rose Herbs, but they were out and I wanted to get some ASAP.

I also purchased local(ish) honey from the local health food store for $2.99/lb.

Here's the recipe, the way I made it:

Elderberry Syrup

1/2 cup dried elderberries (or 1 cup fresh/frozen)
3 cups water

1 cup honey

sterilized jar with lid
Strainer
cheesecloth (optional)


1. Put the elderberries and water in a pan, bring to a boil and simmer 30 mins.
2. Mash your elderberries. I used a potato masher. You could use a spoon or carefully use an immersion blender or something similar. Be careful--the juice will stain!
3. Strain your elderberry water into your sterilized jar, pressing to get as much juice out as possible.
4. Pour out a small amount of hot/warm elderberry juice into a small bowl and mix with honey.
5. Pour honey mixture into jarred elderberry juice and stir until combined.
6. Refrigerate.

I ended up with a little over 3 cups of syrup. I expected closer to 4 cups, but I left the stove for a bit and came back to a non-simmering pot, then turned it up and it was boiling. Oops.

Dosage: For everyday maintenance, 1 TB daily. When you are fighting an illness, take 1tsp every 2 to 3 hours.

For ease of pouring, I am repurposing a smaller bottle.

Cost to make this batch came to $4.37. That is less than half what a little bottle of Sambucol would cost me!

I actually like this homemade version better than Sambucol!

Most of my family took to this syrup pretty well, but not my extra-picky middle child. *sigh*  He loves maple syrup, so maybe I will try making a small batch with maple syrup instead of honey.... more expensive, but if it means he will take it...


Obviously, if you have a little one under 2 years old, you may want to use a different syrup other than honey.

Review: Vitacost and Mr. Rebates

One way I am able to afford to get better vitamins and supplements for my family is to use Vitacost.com and Mr. Rebates.com together.

With Vitacost alone, I often save around 50% off of the cost of what we buy. That's a huge chunk of cash! And, I usually only order a couple times a year, so I generally order enough to get the free shipping offer. There are often additional offers you can get--just google "Vitacost Coupon Codes" and check out the sites to find a good one that works for you.

Vitacost gives their customers the option of leaving feedback, so this helps me in deciding which products to buy. Unlike some other online retailers, Vitacost gives all of the information about the product that you would get by looking at it in the store. Plus, since you are already at the computer, you can research companies if you have any questions about allergies, etc., and not waste money and time in buying a product that won't work for you! They also have a 30 day money back guarantee if something doesn't work for you.

An additional way that I save on our Vitacost expense is to first log into my Mr. Rebates account and then go to Vitacost from my Mr. Rebates page and get an additional amount back (added to my Mr. Rebates account, which I can then have moved to my Paypal account or request a check in the mail).  The current rebate for Vitacost is 6%. There are numerous other websites that you can save money on with Mr. Rebates as well! Check it out!

Vitacost is currently doing a promotion where members can refer friends and both the friend and the member gets $10 towards their purchase at Vitacost! Win!

Click here to get your $10 towards Vitacost: Vitacost.com Rewards

To sign up for Mr. Rebates, click here to get started:

Happy (frugal) Shopping! :)

A Mini Farm and Garden Tour

Thought I would introduce you to part of the crew on our homestead, as well as some of our garden plots.

I was out in the herb garden two Wednesdays ago checking out the status of my plants. At that point the chives weren't even coming up. I sighed, bummed that it wasn't Spring YET and started tearing out the old growth and what did I find---Radicchio that had overwintered from my lettuce mix last year! Spring really is here!


Here is a pic of my herb garden. Not much is coming up that is visible on the pic yet. The chives are peeking out of the ground and if I could eat potatoes I would be cutting some of those chives already! Maybe on a salad instead...



I also found a few praying mantis egg sacs that I will leave for this year's natural bug-control. I will NOT bring them into the house. Please see Randy's blog for what happened last year!



Here is Mama Kitty looking cute for her pic:



And here is Sweet Pea out in the old shed taking his sunbath(can you see him?). Both kitties are pretty much banished to outside our living area due to my allergies. I've kept them around though, and rest assured they are fed and cared for and earn their keep on the farm catching varmints!




While I am at it, here is our veggie garden plot. It has yet to be tilled, as our soil is way too wet still. That box is a sort of raised bed that Randy built last year for potatoes. I think I am going to try sweet potatoes in it this year.
To the right and behind the plot is our chicken house and chicken yard. We let them out this time of year, but (try to) keep them within the confines of the fence when our garden is producing, or else we sacrifice a lot of plants and produce!


And here are our current chickens. We thought we had 3 hens and a rooster, but yet again we have more roosters than we need. The roosters are Americaunas, the brown and black is a suspected mix of Americauna and ?(We think she is laying brown eggs instead of the green/blue Americauna eggs, but not sure yet. She is supposed to be Americauna), and the black and white speckled one is a Silver Wyandotte. Last time we had a bunch of Americaunas, we had a rooster that developed months sooner than the other rooster. They hatched at the same time. We were sure we had just one rooster....until the other one started growing spurs and eventually crowing. It makes me wonder whether there is some hormone control or something in the species to allow for a dominant male without all the fighting or something. I will have to research that sometime.

So, our second Americauna "hen"...is a Henry. :)