Bubble wrap window insulation

 

I was looking for different ways to insulate old windows and ran across using bubble wrap. Great idea! The bubbles make natural insulating pockets, it still lets in lots of light, and the application is super simple. Also, the window I wanted to use it on has very high visibility from the street thru pretty much our entire downstairs, and using the bubble wrap also took care of that problem quite handily!

First, find some bubble wrap. I scavenged mine from packaging at work, but I'm sure I could have gotten plenty by asking on freecycle.org as well. Big sheets of small bubbles would be the best choice, but smaller pieces can be set together without being very obvious. Smaller bubbles will insulate better, and also stick better.

Cut the bubble wrap to the size of your window glass. I marked the corners with a sharpie and followed the bubbles across with scissors. Easy.

Wash your bubble wrap after you cut it to size if it needs it. No sense in putting dirty things on clean windows!

Wet the bubble wrap, particularly the bubble side, and just lay it onto the window glass, bubble side to the glass, matching up your corners. It will stay there just fine, and when it dries, is stuck fast pretty well. If you have trouble, a piece of tape or two on the corners will prevent the bubble wrap from coming loose.

That's it, you're done!

Turkey Noodle Soup

Yep, Thanksgiving has just passed! Although I forgot to document my turkey making, or the day after turkey pot pie making, I did remember to document this :)

I had already used up all of our turkey, but a friend had given us the legs and wings from their free range Thanksgiving turkey (thanks Leslie!). I threw them in the freezer until today. Time to make soup!

Throw your spare turkey parts and bones into a pot and cover with water. I used one of my canning kettles as I planned to make a huge batch of noodle soup, but you can use any size you need. You can also use chicken thighs or wings, or a left over rotisserie carcass just as easy. Another trick I use is to buy my chicken breast on the bone, cut it off the bone and freeze the rib cages for soup later. You can add how ever much meat you need to fill out the amount of soup you make.

Add a bay leaf or two or four, depending on how much you're making. For an average kettle, I use two. Shown are 3 cloves of garlic and about half a medium onion. Toss those in, too.

Put the lid on and bring it to a boil, then simmer for a couple hours. Keep the lid on so your stock doesn't get too concentrated as the water evaporates. Salt to taste. I usually put about half of what I think I'll need in at the start, and add more if needed when I start throwing veggies in.

Speaking of veggies! Carrots, celery and more onion are obvious in the picture. The white dish holds rosemary (1 T or so), the jar is frozen thyme (1 t or so), and the frozen green chunks are basil and parsley( a couple T each or so). I also added two pint bags of corn. Use what you like! As far as measurements, put in enough veggies so that when you stir the soup, it looks like there's plenty for each bowl of soup. I don't measure my spices really. Add some, let it cook, taste it, and add more of what it seems to need. Trial and error is your friend here. If it doesn't come out just how you wanted this time, try again!

Before you put the veggies in, pick your bones, skin and big chunks of meat out of the pot and put in a bowl to cool. Now chuck your veggies and spices in, and cook until the carrots are about done.

After the bones and meat cool enough to handle, pick them clean, separating the bones and skin and junk from the meat. Break or cut the meat into small pieces. At this time, I get my extra chicken ready, too. Cut up thawed meat into bites and put it with the rest of the meat chunks.

Once the carrots are about done, put the meat and noodles into the pot. Again, use enough meat so there will be enough for each bowl of soup. Remember, your noodles will swell, so make sure to leave room, and consider how much broth you like. If you put too many noodles in, don't water the soup or you will destroy the flavour! I know, I have done it. I salvaged it by adding bullion, but it wasn't the same. Just remember for next time. I used store bough egg noodles in this batch for the simple reason that I didn't feel like making my own today. The noodles are done when you say they are done. Make them how you like them.

 Add a slice of home made wheat honey oatmeal bread with a bit of butter, and enjoy!

Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread

This is the wheat honey oatmeal bread I make for my family. I hope you enjoy!

3 c. hot water, 2 c quick oats, 1 c honey, 4 eggs, 2 T salt, 3/4 c oil, 3 T yeast in 1 c warm water (3 packets is 3 T), 2 c wheat flour (for starters, you'll need 9 cups more).  I substitute 1 c milled flax seed for 1 c of flour.

Pour hot water over oatmeal and set aside to cool. Beat all other ingredients together, add oatmeal and mix. A tip. use some of the oil from the recipe to coat a 1 c measuring cup, and then measure your 1 c of honey. It will come out of the measuring cup much easier that way. 

This is the yeast after sitting a few minutes in the cup of warm water. The bubbles mean it is now active. Cold water will not activate it. Too hot water will kill the yeast. Make sure everything is just lukewarm before adding yeast mixture. Mix. 

Work in 9 c more flour to make a nice spongy dough (not sticky). I work in about 6 cups in the bowl, until it is firm enough to work with on the table, then dump it out and knead in the rest of the flour until it is the right consistency. Dough should be smooth and not sticky. If it sticks easily to your hands or the table, add more flour and keep kneading until it doesn't.

Grease a bowl, put the ball of dough in, grease the top, cover with a light towel, and let rise until it doubles in size. This takes about an hour, but can take longer depending on how cool it is where you set it to rise. Be careful not to set it anywhere too warm, or it will kill the yeast and it won't rise!

Punch down the bread after it doubles, and knead it a second time. Use a bread knife to cut the dough into about the size you need for each loaf. I knead the loaves a bit, too. Shape each dough ball into a loaf shape, making sure to make it smooth. You can see the oddball loaf that I didn't form out right. It'll taste just fine, tho :)

Place in bread pans, cover and let rise again. 

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, lower to 350 for 25-30 minutes. The bread is done when it is nice and brown, and knocking on it makes a hollow sound. I wrap the individual loaves in wax paper and put them into bread bags or ziplock, and store in the freezer. This bread freezes very well!