Newsletter - July, August, September 2001

Something New!

Quarterly Newsletter
July, August, September 2001

Recipes, hints, ideas, new books, whatever...

Quick Summer Stir Fry

1 stick butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 sweet peppers, red, yellow, green, cut in strips
2 green onions, chopped, with leaves
3 cups cabbage, cut coarsely
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 – 2 cups any leftover meat, cut into strips. Grilled chicken or beef works well.

   Melt butter in frying pan. Add garlic and stir. Add peppers, onions, and cabbage. Stir till transparent. Add tomatoes and meat. Stir till tomatoes are just soft and meat is heated through.

   Serve over angelhair pasta. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

   A slice of homemade bread (from your bread machine in the summer!) completes the meal. Ice cream and berries for dessert.

   This meal takes only minutes to prepare and makes use of several items grown in our garden. It has become a family favorite.

— From the kitchen of Michelle Zahn, Juneau, WI

July 2001

Hello!

   Summer is in full swing. It’s hay-making season, hay is in various stages of being cut, dried, baled and stacked in the barns for winter feed. Our farm is located on a state highway with broad ditches where grass and flowers grow wild. The state will keep the ditches mowed, or leave them for the farmers to harvest for hay. We cut and bale the ditch grasses for our sheep and horses. The alfalfa fields are for the cattle.

   Each year about this time we have a new brood of chickens hatched in early Spring ready for release from the brooder house to free range all over the farm for grass. They eat grass, small pebbles and corn kernels spilled on the ground when Jim grinds feed for the livestock, in addition to their special mash. Chickens need stones, crushed eggshells or oyster shells for calcium and to help digest their feed. The shells and stones lodge in the gizzard and grind the food they eat, much as our teeth work. Eggs collected in the summer from free-range chickens have deep orange yolks from the grasses and sunshine. The yolks are thicker and much more flavorful at this time.

   Each day when I go out to feed the chickens their mash I call them. “Where are my chicker-deedles?” I say, and they come running to me all around my feet waiting for their treat! I’m so happy to have them, and to look out my windows and see them all over the yard. We have mixed breeds of chickens in many colors, and they lay eggs in blue, pink, brown and white shells.

   This year for the first time the chickens have chosen to roost over night in our lilac tree, near their brooder house, instead of going inside for the night. When they first started to do this they were small, and lightweight. Each day as they grow, the branches lean further down under the strain. Now, when dusk comes, the branches the chickens are on are nearly on the ground! Our lilac tree is nearly thirty years old and quite large, so the branches go back up each morning when the chickens leave, but at dusk the tree is decorated with 40 or more chickens in beautiful colors.

   This August my father-in-law will celebrate his 80th birthday. The family is planning a surprise party for him. We rented a nearby park with a kitchen, restrooms and shelters. All his children are responsible for making side dishes to pass, and will pay for meat, to be grilled at the park. Jim’s mother helped with a guest list, and we mailed out homemade invitations to extended family and friends. The party is planned for a Sunday afternoon. For a treat, we rented a helium tank to fill eighty balloons, and will tie a note to each with a stamped, addressed postcard listing the date and event, location, and request that the finder write when and where the balloon is found, and mail it back. We’ll release the balloons after singing “Happy Birthday”. It will be fun for Pa to see how many postcards he gets back and where they come from!

   I receive letters from my customers every day with comments about my soaps. You are all so kind! It gives me pleasure to read my mail. Some comments:
   “I finally tried your soaps as a shampoo & I sure love it! It (my hair) never felt cleaner & smells nice, too! Thanks for all the work you do to bring me and others such a wonderful product!” – Penny S. L.
   “I just wanted to write and let you know how much I love your Oatmeal soap. I have very dry skin due to a thyroid disease and it helps me immensely. No more itching after using your soap.” – Luanne
   “I was so surprised when I used your Castile soap on my husband’s fireproof hood that he wears under his fireman’s hat! It came out pure white! I cannot use bleach to wash his hood, so I am so glad your soap does the trick.” - June I.
   “Your Lemon Aloe soap has caused my liver spots to fade! I’m a lifetime user!” – Arletta Z.
   “Your Morning in the Woods soap really does help keep mosquitoes away. I bought some for my children and grandchildren.” - Sharon Y.
   “Please rush Cucumber soap if possible. My daughter is using it & after years at the dermatologist – her skin has never been clearer.” – Sue D.
   “I just wanted to let you know that we all love your soap (even my husband who usually doesn’t care what kind of soap we use!).” – Brenda M.
   “My girls have eczema and your Fresh Meadow soap actually prevents it from reappearing!” – JoAnn R.

Summer Tips

Control musty cellar odors with sweet clover. Cut a large bunch fresh, tie with a string and hang from the ceiling in each room in the basement. Sweet clover grows wild in the ditches in Wisconsin. If you cannot find sweet clover, any strong smelling herb will do the trick. Lavender, tarragon, sweet annie, even dill will absorb odors.

Keep mosquitoes from multiplying in standing water, such as in the sump pump well, by adding a tablespoon or two of bleach to the water.

Morning in the Woods soap acts best as an insect repellent if you use unscented deodorants and hairsprays. The scents in your perfumes and hygiene products can override the effectiveness of my soap as a repellent.

Castile soap will remove most stains from nearly any fabric, including your carpet!

Cure athlete’s foot and ringworm with 1 tablespoon alum and 1 eggwhite. Mix with a fork and cook over low heat till it looks like tapioca pudding. Allow to cool slightly, apply to affected area. Cover with a sock or bandage and leave overnight. Rinse in the morning. 1 application should do it. If not, two will.

Freshen and clean refrigerator with 1 T lemon juice in 2 cups water. No soap smell in food or ice cubes!

Madness is caused by not being often enough alone. – Heard quoted by Garrison Keillor on morning Public Radio.



		Something New! Quarterly Newsletter July, August, September 2001 Recipes, hints, ideas, new books, whatever... Quick Summer Stir Fry 1 stick butter 2 cloves garlic, chopped 3 sweet peppers, red, yellow, green, cut in strips 2 green onions, chopped, with leaves 3 cups cabbage, cut coarsely 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges 1 – 2 cups any leftover meat, cut into strips. Grilled chicken or beef works well. Melt butter in frying pan. Add garlic and stir. Add peppers, onions, and cabbage. Stir till transparent. Add tomatoes and meat. Stir till tomatoes are just soft and meat is heated through. Serve over angelhair pasta. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4. A slice of homemade bread (from your bread machine in the summer!) completes the meal. Ice cream and berries for dessert. This meal takes only minutes to prepare and makes use of several items grown in our garden. It has become a family favorite. — From the kitchen of Michelle Zahn, Juneau, WI July 2001 Hello! Summer is in full swing. It’s hay-making season, hay is in various stages of being cut, dried, baled and stacked in the barns for winter feed. Our farm is located on a state highway with broad ditches where grass and flowers grow wild. The state will keep the ditches mowed, or leave them for the farmers to harvest for hay. We cut and bale the ditch grasses for our sheep and horses. The alfalfa fields are for the cattle. Each year about this time we have a new brood of chickens hatched in early Spring ready for release from the brooder house to free range all over the farm for grass. They eat grass, small pebbles and corn kernels spilled on the ground when Jim grinds feed for the livestock, in addition to their special mash. Chickens need stones, crushed eggshells or oyster shells for calcium and to help digest their feed. The shells and stones lodge in the gizzard and grind the food they eat, much as our teeth work. Eggs collected in the summer from free-range chickens have deep orange yolks from the grasses and sunshine. The yolks are thicker and much more flavorful at this time. Each day when I go out to feed the chickens their mash I call them. “Where are my chicker-deedles?” I say, and they come running to me all around my feet waiting for their treat! I’m so happy to have them, and to look out my windows and see them all over the yard. We have mixed breeds of chickens in many colors, and they lay eggs in blue, pink, brown and white shells. This year for the first time the chickens have chosen to roost over night in our lilac tree, near their brooder house, instead of going inside for the night. When they first started to do this they were small, and lightweight. Each day as they grow, the branches lean further down under the strain. Now, when dusk comes, the branches the chickens are on are nearly on the ground! Our lilac tree is nearly thirty years old and quite large, so the branches go back up each morning when the chickens leave, but at dusk the tree is decorated with 40 or more chickens in beautiful colors. This August my father-in-law will celebrate his 80th birthday. The family is planning a surprise party for him. We rented a nearby park with a kitchen, restrooms and shelters. All his children are responsible for making side dishes to pass, and will pay for meat, to be grilled at the park. Jim’s mother helped with a guest list, and we mailed out homemade invitations to extended family and friends. The party is planned for a Sunday afternoon. For a treat, we rented a helium tank to fill eighty balloons, and will tie a note to each with a stamped, addressed postcard listing the date and event, location, and request that the finder write when and where the balloon is found, and mail it back. We’ll release the balloons after singing “Happy Birthday”. It will be fun for Pa to see how many postcards he gets back and where they come from! I receive letters from my customers every day with comments about my soaps. You are all so kind! It gives me pleasure to read my mail. Some comments: “I finally tried your soaps as a shampoo & I sure love it! It (my hair) never felt cleaner & smells nice, too! Thanks for all the work you do to bring me and others such a wonderful product!” – Penny S. L. “I just wanted to write and let you know how much I love your Oatmeal soap. I have very dry skin due to a thyroid disease and it helps me immensely. No more itching after using your soap.” – Luanne “I was so surprised when I used your Castile soap on my husband’s fireproof hood that he wears under his fireman’s hat! It came out pure white! I cannot use bleach to wash his hood, so I am so glad your soap does the trick.” - June I. “Your Lemon Aloe soap has caused my liver spots to fade! I’m a lifetime user!” – Arletta Z. “Your Morning in the Woods soap really does help keep mosquitoes away. I bought some for my children and grandchildren.” - Sharon Y. “Please rush Cucumber soap if possible. My daughter is using it & after years at the dermatologist – her skin has never been clearer.” – Sue D. “I just wanted to let you know that we all love your soap (even my husband who usually doesn’t care what kind of soap we use!).” – Brenda M. “My girls have eczema and your Fresh Meadow soap actually prevents it from reappearing!” – JoAnn R. Summer Tips Control musty cellar odors with sweet clover. Cut a large bunch fresh, tie with a string and hang from the ceiling in each room in the basement. Sweet clover grows wild in the ditches in Wisconsin. If you cannot find sweet clover, any strong smelling herb will do the trick. Lavender, tarragon, sweet annie, even dill will absorb odors. Keep mosquitoes from multiplying in standing water, such as in the sump pump well, by adding a tablespoon or two of bleach to the water. Morning in the Woods soap acts best as an insect repellent if you use unscented deodorants and hairsprays. The scents in your perfumes and hygiene products can override the effectiveness of my soap as a repellent. Castile soap will remove most stains from nearly any fabric, including your carpet! Cure athlete’s foot and ringworm with 1 tablespoon alum and 1 eggwhite. Mix with a fork and cook over low heat till it looks like tapioca pudding. Allow to cool slightly, apply to affected area. Cover with a sock or bandage and leave overnight. Rinse in the morning. 1 application should do it. If not, two will. Freshen and clean refrigerator with 1 T lemon juice in 2 cups water. No soap smell in food or ice cubes! Madness is caused by not being often enough alone. – Heard quoted by Garrison Keillor on morning Public Radio. 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