Worms, Dehydrating, and Gift Giving

There's always something going on and this past week it was the worm bin. I love my worms not just because it's low maintenance but because they are such hard workers and do a great job at composting all the scraps of veggies and fruits that I blend for them. Better to compost than continue to add to the landfills. It's a win-win. Well, I had noticed the worm population not growing the way it should and lo and behold my youngest, Isabella and I were adding food to the bin when we noticed something quickly moving around in the bin. We jumped back and then looked all around and discovered a guess what?! A centipede. YUK! I still get shivers thinking of that sly creepy insect moving around in the bin and feasting on my worms. Luckily we maintain our worm bins properly but it's a stark reminder to always check the population to ensure nothing is missed. Of course, the centipede was disposed of quickly. Soon I am going to post pictures of my worm bin so you can see what black gold is. I'll explain next post.  

On another note, so much to do and not a lot of time left before Christmas and then the New Year 2017. I dehydrated the turmeric roots and some great organic peppers I picked up at the Farmers Market last Saturday.  Everything is in glass jars to preserve the freshness. The peppers are Cubanelle, Poblano, and Bell Peppers. Today I started on the white onions. I'm trying to get everything done before the New Year so I can focus on having time off with the kids. My dehydrator gets a lot of work from Spring until wintertime and now living in South Florida it hasn't gotten much of a break.

I highly recommend this http://www.nesco.com/products/Dehydrators/Dehydrators/ Mine was a gift from my sister many years ago and it's been one of the best gifts I've ever received. I use it all the time for healthy snacks such as banana chips, apples, kiwi, pears, to drying my peppers, onions, garlic and potatoes. Yes, even potatoes. It's a great way of preserving food for the short and long-term without refrigeration. There's different pricing to suit everyone's budget.

I am in the process of trying to figure out how to get rid of the white fly so that I can continue with container gardening. Once I accomplish this I will have more to dehydrate. If anyone has any suggestions, they are all welcome. Post comments below or shoot me an email. With that in mind, I'm looking at freeze drying. This is great for everything from veggies, fruits to meats and dairy. But I'm not there yet so that will be a post for another time.  Here's some pictures:

I add ginger root and black pepper to take out the properties of the curcumin. Then I add in some organic virgin coconut oil and combine with milk for a great toddy before bed.

The peppers turned out nice and crispy ready for my next turkey chilli or chicken in the crockpot or a host of other yummy recipes.

I want to stress how important it is to not get caught up with all the holiday gift shopping and having your budget fly out the window. You want to be able to enjoy the season and not stress too much. The Holidays are really for those family get-together's and sharing time, recipes, and the latest news. If you are creative, use your imagination and skills to make something for someone. Recipients of such homemade gifts will generally find it more worthwhile knowing you spent the time on creating something special just for him or her. Some ideas would be to gift the person that likes to cook with some homemade spices. You can mix basil, oregano, thyme, some peppers, and place in a jar, put a label on it and you're done. You can also buy a mason jar and fill with cocoa, marshmallows, and sprinkles or chocolate chips. Another idea if you are the diy'er is to make soaps, lotions, and scrubs. I always stress to buy organic ingredients as much as possible, or at least sustainably harvested and definitely Non-GMO. Make some vinegars, a Sangria, or put together a gift basket of fruits and candies. If you like to paint, paint something for that someone special. If you are out shopping, be wise and use those coupons!  Soon I'll post pictures of my coupon binder. I love coupons!

Well, that is it for now but I wish you all a very healthy and Merry Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hannukah and blessed New Year 2017.

Blessings,
Zamira and Fam!