'Tis The Season for Canning

Good Monday Morning,

Now is the time of season, when you try to extend the life of your vegetable garden.  Freezing and canning are one of my favorite things to do with the fresh produce from the garden. You are also preserving fresh vegetables, and not worrying about pesticides you may find on store bought produce.  Very eco-friendly way of eating.

I love to can salsa.  I make both the boiling salsa method as well as the chopped and jarred.  The later only lasts around a week or so.  Make sure you have plenty of tomatoes.  I used to grow jalapenos, habaneros and banana peppers and don't forget the chopped onions.  Delicious!

Canning sweet corn is another favorite of mine.  My boys' great grandmother used to freeze the best sweet corn ever.  She would blanch the sweet corn, cut from cob and add sugar and salt before placing it in quart size ziplock bags.  This was excellent in a crockpot for holiday get togethers.

I once tried to freeze habanero and jalapeno peppers so I could use them at a later time, but they turned out pretty mushy.  I will need to find a better way to freeze these.  I know you can pickle them, but then you loose the natural flavor of the peppers.

Head on over to here, the Kelly Bluebook of Canning.  I think I will check out this book, with as much canning as I do.

Lastly, I have been invited to a Pompeian Twitter party on Smiley360. It is my first party invite. My problem is, I do not know how to Tweet.  I think I will need to research this and sign up for a Twitter account.  Olive oil is so much better for your health than some vegetable oils.  I am pretty excited.  You can join too,
Join me for the Smiley360 #PompeianParty on Twitter on Wed 10/24 at 9pm ET! Hang out & win prizes! http://blog.smile.ly/pompeianparty.html

Another cloudy, gloomy day in Nebraska, it will be a great day for canning.

Scentsy is Scent-sational

I love Scentsy.  Those of you who have heard about it, probably own a few warmers and love it too.  And for those of you who have never tried it, I can guarantee after reading my post your mouth will be watering, and your nose will be tantalized, and you too will be hooked. The Scentsy product
isn't meant to be explained, it is meant to be experienced. The Scentsy Collection has something for everyone.

I have always been a huge fan of candles, but now being more eco-conscious, and living a more eco-friendly, greener lifestyle, the Scentsy product is perfect. Flameless, smokeless and soot-free—with Scentsy’s wickless candle bars and electric warmers, I can enjoy all the sensory delights of scented candles without the dangers of an open flame. Scentsy offers a safer alternative to traditional candles.

A few years ago I was introduced to the amazing Scentsy Collection. I was visiting my sister in Arizona, and she had plugged in this really decorative, stylish warmer with wax that melted by the heat of a small light bulb.  Her house had the most wonderful aroma from this wickless candle concept.  I was hooked immediately. It was the Bubble Gum scent, which reminded me when was in grade school and my favorite lip balm, Bonnie Bell Bubble Gum Lip Smackers, I didn't go anywhere without  my Lip Smacker, this brought back so many memories of my childhood past. 

Last year for my birthday I received the Scentsy Nebraska Cornhusker warmer, with five different yummy smelling scent bars.  I have not been able to go one day without plugging my warmer in, and enjoying in the delicious aroma that fills my house.

My Scentsy consultant, my friend is Sheila. Along with selling Scentsy, Sheila also sells houses in Arizona, and she owns her own Real Estate firm and she says "I love it when my listings smell good-always helps make a great first impression!  I know most everyone else wants their home to smell good, whether it is for sale or not.  (Who wouldn't!!!)".

You can make a statement in any room with a Scentsy warmer, and with over 80-plus scents, and enjoy a total fragrance experience. Scentsy has plenty of creative gift ideas for everyone on your gift-giving list, whether it's a special occasion or just because. Scentsy sells large or medium size warmers, room sprays, over 80 bars or bricks scents, plug-in warmers, car fresheners and more.

To place an order, host a party or even become a Scentsy Independent Consultant where you can enjoy the flexibility, fun and satisfaction of connecting people you care about with the products you believe in. Go HERE to Sheila's Scentsy website for more information.

Click HERE and "Like" The Scent Fairy on Facebook where Sheila gives the inside scoop of upcoming events and monthly specials. 

A Few of my Favorite Things...Going Green with Celadon Road

I have had the opportunity to try some of the eco-fabulous product of Celadon Road in the last few weeks. Of all the items I have sampled so far, there is not one I didn't like.

One of my personal favorites, the Body Butter. Celadon Road describes it as:

Healthy Planet, Healthy You! Smother yourself in pure nourishment! Using only gentle, natural and Certified Organic ingredients, our body butter is more than just lotion, it’s a support system for what the body does best...keep you healthy! Created with the notion that the health of the body and the planet go hand in hand, we’ve left out the harsh, artificial and synthetic ingredients when creating this ultimate hydrating moisturizer. Minimally processed, hypoallergenic and cruelty free.

The Body Butter is fragrance free, a little goes a long way, and unlike alot of lotions and creams, it absorbs into your skin and doesn't wash off so quickly with hand washings. With winter upon us, now is a great, green time to be using it. It is item # 019-001, sells for $26.00, (& remember you only need a little bit.) You can order it here.

Another wonderful smelling, toxic-free product I have been using almost daily, is the Lemon Mint Glass Cleaner. I used it the first time for my car windows. My dog slobbers all over the inside of the windows. I just loved it, not only did it clean my windows with no streaking, the smell of the Lemon Mint Glass Cleaner inside my car was an all-natural deodorizer. I couldn't wait to use it inside my house and now use it daily. I have even used it to clean up small spills on the linoleum.

Not just the natural way to leave windows sparkling and clean, it’s also an all purpose cleaner that boasts a fresh scent which naturally repels flies. So definitely a plus in the summer. Plus, safe for everyone to use. Sells for $6.00 for 24oz. Want to try it? Click here.

To finish my blog today, I want to tell you about one more product, the Jasmine Laudry Detergent. Celadon Road describes it as,

 The essence of pure essential oils, it takes only 1-2 tablespoons of Celadon Road’s™ low-sudsing Jasmine Laundry Detergent to work its all-natural magic on any dreaded laundry mountain! Use in regular or HE washers. Dissolve in water for washing floors and walls. An all-natural family formula, this detergent was originally created to ease the suffering of a child with eczema aggravated by commercial laundry products.

Another fabulous green product that smells great and safe for the environment. $10.00 for 32 oz., Details here.

Have a great Sunday, am off to shovel snow in the freezing cold weather.