Very Easy Quick and Dirty Fruit Wine Recipe

Don't be thrown off by the name. It's quick in that it takes 6 weeks from start to drinking. It's dirty in that you really should drink it within a year. I've pushed it to two, but since the yeast is still active, it will just continue to ferment and get stronger. If that happens, add sugar to taste.

If you are a real connoisseur of wine, then you'll probably hate this. Although you can try out batch #3. It's most like real wine, and real wine drinkers who've tried it have liked it. But if you're like me and dry wine makes you pucker and what you really want is fruit juice with a bite, then you'll really like this. Actually very few people who've tried it have not like it. So give it a go. What do you have to lose?

I'm posting my experiments just to give you an idea at how versatile this recipe can be. Try something new and different, and then post it to my comments. Eventually we will convert the world into making wine with their own local fruit!

I got the recipe from my husband's foster mother, Sheila. She had an acre of blueberry bushes in her back yard that grew the tastiest blueberries I've even had. She wrote the recipe on the back of a paper plate about 15 years ago, and there it stayed for years shoved into the back of my recipe book. I think I still have that paper plate. Where it came from before that, I don't know.


Blueberry Wine Recipe

1. 1 Qt. plus 2 handfuls ripe blueberries.
2. Wash, drain and mash.
3. Put in gallon jar. Do not use a jar larger than a gallon, and glass works best - you can buy the gallon iced tea jars during the spring and summer. Spigot or no spigot, makes no difference. Just make sure to remove the spigot and wash separately between batches.  
4. Add 3 lbs sugar in jar  (6 3/4 cups = 3 lbs;   2 1/4 cups = 1 lb. If you like it sweet you can reduce it to 5 3/4 cups, but less than that and you have dry wine)
5. Dissolve 1 package yeast in 1 cup warm water - if you are like me and buy yeast in bulk, 2 1/4 tsp is one pack.
6. Add 1/4 tsp sugar to yeast.
7. Wait a few minutes until frothy, add to jar.
8. Pour in cold water and mix thoroughly.
9. Fill to within 2" of top of jar.
10. Place clean cloth on top of jar and cover w/ saucer.
11. Leave in a cool place for 5 weeks. NO STIRRING! It may explode out of the jar. That's okay. Just clean up the mess and LEAVE IT ALONE!! 
12. Spoon off pulp, strain into another jar. Use cheesecloth or a sterilized (boiled in water) washcloth. Anything else will leave it too gritty or not filter. 
13. Leave 2 or 3 weeks. ( I never leave it for 2 to 3 weeks unless I have the stomach flu. I drink it right away.)
14. Siphon into bottles and cap. I use mason jars, but anything will do. Plastic or glass - it doesn't matter.

My Experimental Batches

• (#1 & 2 were normal) 
• #3 1 xtr handful berries, 2 lbs sug; 6 wks 1 d (very dry - more like "real" wine) 
• #4 2 quarts berries, 3 lbs sugar; 6 weeks (okay)
• #5 2 quarts 2 handfuls berries, 2 lbs sugar; 6 weeks 1 day (too much berry taste)
• #6 2 qts juice, 2 lbs sug; 8 weeks 3 days (not bad. A bit dry, but full of flavor)
• #7 regular; 8 weeks 4 days (more of a kick than normal)
• #8 2 qts 2 handfuls berries, reg sugar; 8 weeks 6 days
• #9 2 qts juice, 1 1/2 lbs sugar; 8 weeks 4 days (not good, like blueberry syrup gone bad!)
• #10 Reduced sugar to 6 cups – still tastes good and sweet
• #11 Reduce to 6 cups sugar, normal everything else, but sub blueberries to ½ blackberries, ½ raspberries. Very good. Like a spring morning!
• (Lord knows what happened to #12-13, either I lost them or forgot where I was and started at 15)
• #15: 2 ½ cups frozen blueberries in a quart jar, Filled rest of jar with “Just Cranberry” Juice. Blended in blender. 6 cups sugar. Thoughts: Wonderful!!!
• #16: Used frozen fruit measured in 2 cup glass container. 3 cups blueberries. 1 cup blackberries. Blended in blender with warm water. 6 cups sugar. Good, real good.
• #17: 2 cups Strawberries measured in glass measuring cup then transferred to quart jar. Smashed down, then filled with blueberries, plus 1 handful. Blended in blender with water. 5 ½ cups sugar. (needed to add more sugar after straining. I added sugar to taste - my taste, that is) 
• #18: Filled quart jar to bottom ring with blueberries. Filled rest of jar with grape juice. 5 3/4 cups sugar. (not bad)
• #19: 4 cups blended muscadine (measured after blending). 6 cups sugar. (As of today, it's still in the back of my cupboard waiting to be strained. It's been there 8 months, not 8 weeks. I'm a little afraid of it now)
• #20: All measured pre-blended. About 2½ cups muscadine. About ¼ cup blackberries (frozen). About ½ c raspberries (frozen). About 1 ½ cups blueberries (frozen). All blended very well. 6 cups sugar. (I'll call this one "Cleaning out My Freezer Wine," but alas, it too is still waiting to be strained.)

 Have fun making wine and post your results!!!

Turning Trash into Treasure: Recycling a Useless Dress into a Child's Apron

I found a beautiful ramie (think of it as Asia's version of linen) dress with lovely delicate flowers embroidered onto it at a local thrift store. In my size too! While I was trying it on at home and thinking about wearing it to our church's auction, the zipper broke. I didn't even wear it once, and with a broken zipper (Oh, how I HATE replacing zippers), I couldn't even send it back to the thrift store. So there's the beautiful fabric that's going into the trash.

I hate waste. I hate needless waste more. I'm the person who cuts all of the buttons off of worn shirts before throwing them out because those buttons will still be around when the shirt has disintegrated into nothing. Buttons are useful too. So this dress laid around the house for weeks, and I couldn't get rid of it. 

Then came along my newest project. My church has a Hogwart's / Harry Potter themed summer camp, and I'm the cooking teacher this year (Edible Transfiguration: Professor Thomasina Natalie Crumpets or T.N. Crumpets for short).  I need aprons for the kids since I don't want them to get dirty while we create our tasty treats.  I've been sewing aprons for several days when the thought hit me - there is probably enough fabric in that dress for a child's apron.

I used Simplicity's Sewing for Dummies pattern #2824, not because I'm a dummy at sewing, but since I knew it would be a quick and easy no-frills apron.  And when one is making about 40 of the same thing, quick and easy are important.

Laying out the pattern pieces was a little tricky. Since real women have curves, dresses for real women have curves too. I had to cut some pieces out first (like the main body) before the fabric in some places would lay flat so that I could cut the others.

I try to get all of the ironing of seams and edges done at one time. At one point I never ironed when sewing, but in the end it does save time and looks much less sloppy. One cool thing about using a finished garment is that I can use the existing bottom hem. One less thing I have to do.

I learned a trick years ago on how to turn straps right side out once the inner seams have been sewn. Use a large safety pin or a diaper pin. It's easier to show you:

All total it took me less than an hour to make, including the time to glue back on legs for a couple of action figures. And the button is reused - told you buttons are useful.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake in Under 10 Minutes

I have a few moments while my jelly jars are being sterilized to pop this one down.

Maybe I'm evil for making this recipe. Hopefully it doesn't lead to many pounds gained from lack of self-control (and I can relate to that), but it turned out so lovely and tasty.  I'm not a gluten-free girl by any stretch of the imagination, but even I liked this.

Every 2 weeks I teach a history co-op for middle school aged kids in my homeschool group. I was getting ready for the co-op one morning, when one of the mom's husband stopped by and asked if he could throw a quick surprise birthday party for his wife. How sweet!!

Here's the crux, one of our 5 families is totally gluten-free, and I hate leaving people out. I didn't want to burden the husband, who was being so nice, so I threw on my super-quick thinking "thinking cap" and came up with a solution.

A few years ago, a friend posted to her blog a recipe for chocolate cake in a mug - a quick combination of ingredients you could microwave in a coffee mug and would produce a chocolate cake. It was horrid!! I've rarely tasted anything worse. But I figure the concept has been hashed out a few times since then.

I searched for a recipe, not a gluten free one - I knew that would be a waste of time - and found one that had descent reviews.  I needed to increase the serving size to 3, but I didn't want to use more eggs (that was the main problem with the first one - tasted too eggy). Yet to increase the serving, I needed more flour and thus the binding agent needed to be increased (I subbed the milk with coconut milk, which is much creamier). 

This is the can of coconut milk I bought at Whole Foods. But any Asian type grocery will have coconut  milk. I had to open the whole top after the milk congealed in the fridge!

What I threw together in 5 minutes with what I had around the house was so tasty, I wanted to share it. So many people are having to go gluten-free, and that shouldn't stop someone from spontaneous indulgence!

Gluten-Free Microwave Chocolate Cake Recipe
Yields 3 servings

Ingredients
4 TBSP butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c coconut milk (can use regular milk too, but it will affect the flavor)
2/3 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill AP GF Flour, but really any kind would work - I'm trying 100% garbanzo flour next time)
3/4 tsp Xanthan gum
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1/4 + 1/8 tsp baking powder
pinch salt

Directions:
Spray a medium microwave-safe bowl with non-stick spray and set aside. I used a 6" by 6" square glass casserole pan.

In a small mixing bowl or large cereal bow, combine the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and milk. Use a wire whisk to mix together until fully mixed.

In a small plastic container that can be lidded, combine the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Make sure your dry ingredients are all at room temp, otherwise it affects the way it mixes and you won't get a smooth consistency. If you don't have time to let it set out and get room temp, microwave it on low (as low as the microwave can go) for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Pop the lid on the container and shake until well mixed. Add to the creamy mixture and blend with whisk until smooth. Pour into greased bowl and smooth with spoon until even.

Cook in the microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched.

Let it cool five minutes, then serve. It doesn't even need icing. You can top it with whipped cream or drizzle some melted semi-sweet chocolate chips on top. Or treat it like a brownie and top it straight from the micro with vanilla ice cream! Very tasty, even for the non-gluten-free folk! You won't miss the gluten, and it's a high protein low carb (let's just ignore that pesky fat) snack using the garbanzo bean flour.

My Laundry Soap Recipe

It all started with the N.O. Saints going to the Super Bowl. I had never watched a Super Bowl. Never, and I'm almost 40.  It's just not my thing. But growing up a stone's throw from New Orleans, I had to see this one.

So it's the morning of the Super Bowl. We're heading to a friend's house, and we hadn't bought any snacks. I envisioned the grocery stores out of guacamole, beer and frozen wings, so I thought we'd try one on the edge of town that looked little used.

There I am, standing at the end of an aisle waiting for my husband to hunt down some snack or another, and there was a display of soap next to me.

I picked up a bar to read the ingredients (I get fidgety when I'm bored).  To my surprise, it was real soap, as opposed to detergent (petro chemicals disguised as something that should clean, but really isn't all that good). Zote soap: made in Mexico, and I remember the scent from something my Hispanic mother used when I was a child.

"What's "real soap"?" you ask. Fats and oils saponified by adding sodium hydroxide to it and then left to cure. It's how soap has been made for eons.  This soap, other than a light fragrance, pink color, and a whitener (which I suspect is borax), is as natural as the soap I make, and only 79 cents a bar. I bought 2 bars, not much of an investment, and thought I'd make laundry soap with it.

I've made my own laundry soap for a few years now. Something I started post-Katrina when money was tight, but now I do it because I prefer my soap to anything store bought. I normally use batches of my homemade soap that have gone awry - like the green tea & hibiscus fiasco. But when I run out, I don't like using my good soap. Maybe this would make a good back up.

It worked wonderfully! I've tried making laundry soap in many different ways over the years - adding things like borax, baking soda, and washing soda (also known as sodium carbonate or soda ash), but it doesn't make any difference from using solely soap. Okay, it does make a difference, but not in a good way. It's really difficult getting the powder additions to dissolve, and they often leave a residue on the clothes. Maybe it's my water or maybe not.

Anyway on to the recipe and instructions . . .

Simple Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe
Yields 1 gallon
Ingredients:
Bar soap:

• I use any real soap. If it's my own homemade soap, I use 4 to 8 ounces, depending on how strong I want it. OR:
• 1 bar Zote soap: sold anywhere where there's a large Hispanic community - it's found at Albertsons or Calandros locally. Often on the bottom of the shelf and hard to find. Look for the pink and white label.

Water - sink water is fine.
Directions:
Grate the soap using a cheese grater (don't worry, it washes well - it is soap, after all). Any type of grating is fine, from slices to fine. The finer you grate, the less time it takes to dissolve. The larger you grate, the less time it takes to grate.

Place the soap in a large pot, and fill with water to about 2 inches from the top. Fill slowly, otherwise a-lot of lather and foam will be produced.

Put the pot on high heat, and bring to a simmer. Then turn the heat down to medium. Stir until all the soap is dissolved.  It will go from being lumpy, like the picture above, to clear, like the picture below.

Pour the whole thing into a gallon bucket. Add cold water to finish filling the bucket up. It will take one or more hours to gel. Every 30 minutes or so, give it a couple of stirs to make sure the mixture stays homogeneous.

As it starts to cool and gel, it gets thicker and "slimier," but that's normal. When it gels, it will look like the picture at the top. Once it gels, it's ready to use. I place between 1/4 and 1/2 cup (depending upon the load) of the gel in a coffee cup, add water to the cup and microwave it on the beverage setting. This will liquefy the gel. Add it to the running water in your washing machine and wash like normal.

For 79 cents, I now get a gallon of real laundry soap!

Strawberry Pepper Jam Recipe

Continuing with my jam and jelly recipes . . .

Strawberry Pepper Jam Recipe
Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/2 c minced Serrano peppers (measure after mincing)
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 large bell pepper, also minced
• 1 tsp butter
• 4 cups white sugar
• 1-1.75 oz pack powdered pectin, plus 1 TBSP from another pack
• 1 1/2 tsp Serrano pepper seeds
• 1/2 tsp bell pepper seeds

Directions

1. Clean and sterilize jars, lids and rings.
2. Make sure you wear gloves when dealing with the peppers. Also, set the seeds aside for later use.
3. Place strawberries in a blender with the lemon juice. Blend until it reaches the desired chunkiness. Pour into large pot with peppers, butter and sugar.
4. Place pot on  medium heat and bring to simmer. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the pectin and the pepper seeds.
5. Turn heat to high and bring to a rolling boil (bubbles stay when you stir). Boil 3 full minutes or until it reaches 221 degrees.
6. Ladle into prepared jars. Screw on lids.
7. Water bath: place the jars in a large stock pot or canning pot. Add enough water to cover plus 1 to 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes.  Remove the jars from the pot and let cool at room temp for 24 hours. 
8. Check to make sure the lids sealed by depressing he center. If it pops back, it is not sealed. Try giving it another water bath. If it still doesn't seal, refrigerate it and use it within the month.

Blueberry Grand Marnier Sauce Recipe

I was messing around in the kitchen on my 20 year old's birthday. She wanted plain cheesecake with strawberry topping, but my husband's not a big fan of strawberries. He is however a fan of Grand Marnier, a French liqueur with a slight citrus taste. And he likes blueberries. So I created this for him to top his cheesecake with - it also ended up as a topping for ice cream and pancakes and, well you get the idea.

 Blueberry Grand Marnier Sauce Recipe

 Ingredients:

•  1 1/2 cup blueberries (I used Dole frozen Wild Blueberries)
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp butter
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 2 TBSP Grand Marnier
• 1/2 TBSP cornstarch

Directions

1. Put the blueberries, sugar, butter and lemon juice in a pot about 3 or 4 times as large as the ingredients (it tends to expand as it cooks). Put on medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Simmer10 minutes. 
2. Turn the heat up to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil 3 minutes. 
3. Remove from heat. Add Grand Marnier. Using a sifter or a fine mesh strainer, sift the corn starch into the mixture while stirring so that the corn starch doesn't lump.
4. Allow it to cool (should take about 20 minutes). Then pour on whatever you want.

Abita Strawberry Beer Jelly Recipe

With the last of my jellies simmering on the stove, I'm going to try to take a minute to get another recipe written down. Right now, 6 or 7 of my original recipes are floating around the kitchen written on the backs of receipt paper. As they emerge, I'll post them so that I don't lose any. The ingredients are all similar - it is, after all, jelly or jam, which is always some fruit, sugar and pectin with a couple of other optional things thrown in. But the proportions for each one is different.

So before I lose one . . .

Abita Strawberry Beer Jelly Recipe

Yields 24 ounces of jelly
Ingredients:

• 1 - 12 oz bottle Strawberry Abita Beer
• 1 cup thinly sliced strawberries
• 1 - 3 oz pack liquid pectin (I used Certo)
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 TBSP lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp butter

Directions:

1. Wash and sterilize lids and jars.
2. Use a pot that is much deeper than the ingredients - this jelly will foam quite a bit, even with the addition of the butter. Place all of the ingredients in the pot. 
3. On high heat, while constantly stirring, bring to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirring) for 3 minutes. 
4. Skim off any foam and then ladle them into the prepared jars. Screw lids on tightly. 
5. Place jars in a large stock pot or canning pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the jars plus 1 to 2 inches.  Cover the pot with a lid, and bring the water to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove from water using a jar lifter device. 
6. Let the jelly sit at room temp for at least 24 hours to make sure to gelled.

A Jelly Tale of Woe and Strawberry Jam Recipe

Ever since I stepped off the path well-traveled (i.e. using other people's recipes) I knew that one day my jelly would fail to gel. Especially with my goal of using less sugar and more fruit.  The Strawberry Jam I made Thursday failed to gel. It's runny to say the least, and even when refrigerate, which gels even runny jelly. So lets give this story a happy ending and turn that runny jam into toast and jam.

4 reasons why jelly fails:

1. Didn't reach the correct temperature.
2. Not enough sugar. 
3. Acid content too low.
4. Not enough pectin.

I boiled the heck out of it - 3 minutes of a rolling boil at least.  A rolling boil is where there are big boiling bubbles even when you stir.

I'm not willing to add more sugar. Most jelly and jam recipes have far too much sugar in it. The ratio is often 1 cup fruit to 1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar. Insane! I want jelly fruit, not fruit flavored sugar. I reversed the ratio for this recipe to 1 1/2 cups fruit to 1 cup sugar, so I knew there was a good probability that it wouldn't gel. Still - no more sugar.

Acid content was good. 1 cup of lemon juice to that amount of sugar and fruit is fine.

What went wrong? I suspect my ruby liquid was a product of the last. By pureeing the strawberries before measuring, I used a much higher quantity of fruit than standard recipes would use. I think 1 1/2 boxes of pectin powder would have been fine, but 2 boxes would make it perfect.

How do I fix it now? Start by pouring all those jars of jelly back into the pot. Now rewash and re-sterilize those jars. I need to get another 1/2 box of pectin into the jam, but at this point, the powder would not dissolve in the slightly gelatinous state of the jam.

Also, I want to fix this recipe in a way that I can duplicate the recipe without having to go through this "re-batching" process again.  I'm going to use 1/4 cup of warm apple juice to dissolve the pectin. Next, bring the jelly to a simmer, and then add the juice/pectin mix to the pot.

I bring it to a rolling boil for 3 full minutes, and then re-jar them.

Result: It's much better, but still a slight bit runnier than I'd like. I'm leaving it as it is - it's a great Strawberry Butter, but next time I make it, I'll start with 2 packs powdered pectin.

And now the recipe in it's new and improved form:

Low Sugar Strawberry Jam Recipe

Yields about 70 ounces 

Ingredients:

•  7 cups fresh strawberries, pureed in the blender
• to measure after pureeing, first add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the blender, add strawberries and blend until you have 4 cups (that would 3 1/2 cups berries and the 1/2 cup lemon juice). Repeat once more for a total of 7 cups pureed strawberries and the 1 cup lemon juice called for below)
• 1 cup lemon juice (see above)
• 1 1/2 tsp butter
• 5 cups sugar
• 2 - 1.75 oz packs powdered pectin (such as Sure Jell)

A note on berry selection. If you look at my pic above, you'll see some green berries. Why would I put very unripe berries into the jam? Because the less ripe, the more pectin it has. A few unripe berries added to the mix are like pectin filled pearls and help the jam set better. But don't use too many; they're also less sweet.

Directions:

1. Prepare lids and jars like normal (see previous posts)
2. Put pureed fruit, lemon juice, butter and sugar in large pot.
3. Bring mixture to a simmer, and simmer on low for 15 minutes, while occasionally stirring.
4. Add both packs of pectin. Increase heat to med-hi and bring to a rolling boil for 3 full minutes while constantly stirring.
5. Remove from heat and ladle into prepared jars filling to 1/4 to 1/8 inch from top. Make sure rims are clean and screw lids onto jars.
6. Place jars in a large stock pot or a canning pot and cover with water plus 1 to 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil, and then boil for 15 minutes. This water-bath helps prevent the jam from spoiling.
7. The only thing left to do is to let it cool and enjoy!

Mini Lavender Honey Cheesecake Recipe

First of all, this recipe isn't an original of mine. I've tweaked it, of course, but the credit and inspiration goes to David Hagedorn from the Washington Post: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2009/04/08/lavender-honey-cheesecake/

Second, a word of warning for those attempting a cheesecake for the first time: It's a 3 day process.

Day 1: Set all of the ingredients for the filling out to thaw to room temp (that's above 68 degrees). That wasn't too hard, was it? But it is important. The filling will NOT mix correctly if you have cold ingredients.

Day 2: Make the cheesecake. That's a little  more difficult, but this cheesecake is very simple and almost foolproof as far as cheesecake recipes go.

Day 3: Eat the cheesecake. Sounds easy, right? But the temptation to eat it fresh will be overwhelming! Cheesecake, like a few other desserts, needs a day to "cure" and for the flavors to mesh. If you eat a piece an hour from the oven, and then wait a day and eat a second piece, you'll see what I mean. Don't give in to temptation. Wait 24 hours to eat the cake.

Another small word of warning, after eating this yummy thing, I didn't eat anything else for 3 hours just to let the flavor linger a bit longer. If you at all like the taste of lavender, you will love this. A friend told me it was the best cheesecake she's ever had. Ever!

Now on to the recipe:

Mini Lavender Honey Cheesecakes Recipe
yields ~36 cupcake sized cakes.

Ingredients:
For the crust

• 2 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

For the filling

•  1/2 cup vanilla wafers, crumbled (about 14)
• 3 tablespoons plus 2/3 cup good-quality honey (I buy local, and the darkest I can find)
• 2 (4-8 oz packages) pounds full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup full-fat sour cream (room temp)
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract

For the topping

• 1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used Dole's frozen Wild Blueberries)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 TBSP sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender - food grade (I buy mine in bulk at Herbalcom.com)
• 8 ounces (yes, 1 more package) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
• 1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt (or you can sub Yoplait's vanilla Custard Style, it does change the taste a bit though - just make sure it's thick)

For garnish

• Spray whipped cream
• Little royal icing flowers (optional)

Directions:
Position the oven racks in the middle of the oven and none on the bottom. You're going to keep all of the pans as close to the middle as possible.  Preheat to 350 degrees. Line 3 regular cupcake pans with cupcake papers.

For the crust:  

An easy way to make the vanilla wafers into crumbs is to use a rolling pin and a gallon zip bag. I don't remember where I read this, but it's a brilliant way to make crumbs for crust. Place a modest amount if cookies (or graham crackers) in the bag. Zip. Roll with the pin until it's crumby.  Don't be too frisky or the bag may pop.

Combine the wafer crumbs and sugar in a medium bowl. While stirring, drizzle the melted butter onto mixture. It should be oily, but not saturated. Put 1 heaping TBSP of loose crust mix in each cupcake cup (or 1 level TBSP packed mix). Then using a glass that fits just nicely into the cupcake pan, press into the bottom.

For the filling: 

Combine the 1/2 cup of crumbled wafers and 3 tablespoons of the honey in a small bowl. Set aside.

Beat 2 lbs (4-8 oz packs) of cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer on medium speed for several minutes, until it is smooth and creamy.  Now you see why it's so important for the ingredients to be room temp. It will never get smooth and creamy if it's cold. It'll stay lumpy.

For the next few steps beat on low speed - otherwise the texture will be weird. Also stop often to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula. Add the remaining 2/3 cup of honey and beat until incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Next the vanilla extract. Finally the sour cream. Don't over beat it. Once each ingredient is incorporated, stop. I have over-beat it on the left. I know because it shouldn't have air bubbles. I'm so OCD when it comes to mixing the filling, and the over-beating warning is mostly for myself.

Next fold the wafer-honey mixture into the batter - that means stir with a spoon - DON'T MIX with an electric mixer! This step will add texture to the filling and is also what makes this cheesecake fool-proof. Even if you over-mix like I do, it'll still be fine because it's supposed to have a crumbly texture.

Now, pour the filling into each prepared cup. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup, about 2/3 full for each cup, and had plenty to go around. If you run out, just take a teaspoon from each one (starting with the most full) until you fill all of your cups. If you have extra, portion out an equal amount of the extra into each cup.  Mine looked like this.

Place the pans all as close to the middle of the oven as possible. I had to cook mine in 2 batches, since only 2 pans fit in my tiny oven at a time. So if you have to do that, that's fine. Bake for 30 minutes, until the filling is set but still slightly wobbly in the center. It will look like the picture on the right. It's okay if it cracks. That's what also makes this cheesecake foolproof. We're going to cover it up with a topping, so the cracks won't show!

While the cake is baking, prepare the topping: 
 Combine the blueberries and water in a blender. Blend until it's as smooth as you can get it.  Pour into medium saucepan. Add sugar. Over medium-high heat, cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the berries are very soft and everything is warm.

Add the lavender and remove from the heat. Let the mixture steep for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. I used a strainer over a coffee cup (pictured above), and when that wasn't fast enough (it drains slowly), I added my tea strainer to the process and another coffee cup. I strained it a couple of more times to make sure there's no solid lavender in the syrup. There should be about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of lavender syrup; discard the solids.

Beat the last 8 oz of cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer on medium speed for several minutes, until it is smooth and creamy. Reduce the speed to low, then add the yogurt and the lavender syrup (pictured above). If needed, use a spatula to make sure the mixture is blended together completely.

Remove the pans from the oven; let it rest for 5 minutes, then spread the topping evenly over each mini cheesecake. Using the same method as with the filling, if you don't have enough to go around, take a teaspoon from each, until all are topped. Or if you have too much, evenly distribute it among all of them.  I filled a soup spoon for each cupcake.   If you're cooking them in 2 batches, wait until all are cooked before topping.

Cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Believe me, it's much better the next day.

When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the pans (I used a fork to help pry them up). Spray a swirl of whipped cream on top. If you want to be really fancy, top with a small royal icing flower (I like my little violet!). Or you add a couple of fresh blueberries or a sprig of fresh mint leaves.

These came out so yummy! I could have eaten them all - seriously.

Homemade Tile Cleaner Recipe

So maybe I'm a little more crunchy than I thought I would be. Before you judge, let me explain how I came upon the path of making my own tile cleaner.

I was about to hop in the shower a few nights ago, when I thought about utilizing the time it takes for the hot water to make it from the other side of the house to my shower for something other than sticking my hand in the water every 10 seconds to see if it's hot. Cleaning the bathroom sounded good - well, as good as cleaning the bathroom ever sounds.

I couldn't leave the room for obvious reasons, so I had a nearly empty bottle of Comet Liquid Bathroom Cleaner and a full bottle of some other stuff that had bleach in it. I used the bleach stuff in, what I thought was, a small quantity, yet sufficient to clean. After my shower, my husband refused to shower until the bleach smell left the room. Not a big fan of bleach smell.

Fast forward a few days. Between being sick for weeks on end and busy in the few moments I felt well, my house has become a wreck. A pretty filthy wreck at that. And our bathroom (not the master bedroom one, but the other) was filthy. The kind of filthy that makes you consider the bushes outside as a good place to go. It needed serious cleaning, scrubbing and sanitizing. I didn't want to use the bleach stuff again, because in the quantity I needed, my nostril hairs would singe.

I didn't have near enough Comet to clean it, but looking at the bottle I noticed the active ingredient was citric acid. "I have citric acid!" I thought. A 1 pound baggie of it was stuck in my freezer looking like something more nefarious, but was actually left from my "Fizzing Bath Bomb" experiment, that obviously didn't go well.  I tried looking up cleaner recipes that had citric acid. I found a couple, but they weren't what I needed, so I improvised.

The result worked better than bleach has in the past, plus no bleach smell. My tiles are cleaner than I thought they would be. So before I totally forget what I threw together, let me share it.

Natural and Effective Tile Cleaner Recipe
1/4 cup Citric Acid Powder
1 cup Hot Water
1 cup Vinegar
1 tsp Tea Tree Essential Oil

Dissolve the Citric Acid in the Hot Water. Pour into a spray bottle. Add the Vinegar and Tea Tree Oil. Shake (after putting the top on the bottle). Squirt on dirty tile, toilet or whatever and let sit a couple of minutes, then scrub and rinse. Repeat squirting, scrubbing and rinsing until clean.

I used Tea Tree Oil because I had an excess of it lying around (don't ask). But many other essential oils would work in it's place. I wanted one that didn't have a strong lingering scent and killed germs. Lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, or spearmint are a few I can think of off the top of my head.  Whatever your preference is.

Who am I kidding? I am becoming as crunchy as Muslex.