One Hundred Dollars a Month - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

10 Fun Facts About Raspberries!

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 19, 2019 · 3 Comments

I like produce. I like to grow it. I like to eat it. I like to create recipes with it. I’m also kind of a nerd and like to get to know my produce. I like learning new or fun tidbits of info about the produce I’m growing/eating/baking. If you’re a weirdo like me then buckle up for this new series as I dive into a plethora of produce facts and share them with you. Here we go:

1. According to legend, raspberries were originally white. The nymph Ida pricked her finger while picking berries for the crying infant Jupiter, and raspberries have since been tinged red with her blood.

2. Makes the botanical name of the raspberry, Rubus idaeus, make a lot more sense. Rubus means “red,” and idaeus means “belonging to Ida.”

3. A raspberry is made up of many tiny bead-like fruits called “drupelets” clustered around a center core. Each drupelet contains one seed, and an average raspberry has 100 to 120 seeds. {Who knew?}

4. Raspberries are either red, purple, gold or black in color. Golden raspberries are a bit sweeter than the other varieties.

5. An old myth about raspberries originates in Germany and claims there are magical qualities of raspberries. It was believed that to tame a bewitched horse, one would have to tie a wild raspberry twig around the horse’s body.

6. It has been suggested that drinking raspberry leaf tea shortens the second stage of labor. {Oh please!}

7. Unlike many other fruits, unripe raspberries do not ripen after they are picked. If you want a ripe raspberry, you need to be patient!

8. The main difference between raspberries and blackberries is that raspberries have a hollow core in the middle while blackberries do not.

9. In the US, about 90% of all raspberries sold come from Washington, California and Oregon.

10. Blackberries are not the same as “black raspberries.” Blackberries have a “core” that stays in the fruit when it is picked, and, unlike black raspberry canes which grow upright, blackberry canes are long and trailing.

Had you heard any of those fun facts before? Do you have any of your own to add? Is there a particular produce item you want to know more about? I take requests!

Grow on,
~ Mavis

Recipe for a Simple Red Raspberry Pie

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Beans & Greens Farm in Gilford, New Hampshire

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 18, 2019 · 1 Comment

Last week on our way up the the Lake Winnipesaukee area, the HH and I stopped off at a place called Beans and Greens Farmstand. I thought it was going to be a little place to buy a few pints of strawberries. Boy were we in for a surprise when we pulled into the parking lot.

Oodles of flowers, baked goods, refrigerated cases filled with local products and farm fresh fruits and vegetables. WOWZA! To say we had hit the jackpot was a HUGE understatement.

We ordered a sandwich from the deli and ate out on one of the picnic tables they had sprawled on on the grass.

Check out the cucumber trellis made from old sticks!

And that bean teepee. The used bird netting on the sides to help the beans climb. {Clever!}

Beans and Greens Farmstand in Gilford, New Hampshire. It has EVERYTHING! Plants, fresh vegetables, farm animals, homemade PIES, and the surrounding area is gorgeous. You should go there!

Have an AWESOME Thursday everyone,

~Mavis

245 Intervale Rd
Gilford, NH 03249

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Simple Refrigerator Dill Pickles

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 17, 2019 · 7 Comments

I LOVE me some homemade pickles. Crisp, tangy and delicious, I can down a jar all by myself in no time flat. But going through the whole canning process can be cumbersome and time consuming sometimes, and with a hot and humid summer like this, who has extra time in the jam packed summer to hang out over the stove? Not me. That’s why I love this super duper easy pickle recipe. Did I mention it’s simple?!

Ingredients

4 cups cucumber spears {you can slice pickling cucumbers if you’d prefer that over spears!}
3 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 garlic cloves, whole
2 heads fresh dill

Directions

Combine the water, vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring well. Once mixture boils, remove from heat and let cool completely.

Place cucumbers, garlic and dill in a large glass or plastic container. Pour the cooled vinegar mixture over the cucumber mixture. Cover and chill in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can then transfer them to jars, if you prefer, or just keep them in the bowl.

See what I mean? Easy peasy!

~Mavis

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5 Different Ways to Dry Herbs

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 16, 2019 · 3 Comments

If you’ve ever grown herbs, you know that they grow quickly and continue to grow and grow and grow. And if you’ve ever tasted the difference between homemade and store-bought dried herbs, you know how worth it is it to pluck your herb harvest and get it dried.

Store-bought herbs are almost bland in comparison. I’ll use them in a pinch, but if I can cut and dry my own, I’m going to every chance I get! Here are 5 easy ways you can dry herbs. Just choose your favorite and get to drying!

Before you get started, you need to harvest your herbs. During the height of growing season, I usually snip of the entire stem to encourage the plant to keep producing. Then, I slide my thumb and pointer finger along the stem, forcing the leaves into a bowl.

Give them a good rinse and spin dry in a salad spinner or pat dry with a paper towel. You need to give them a rinse, but want to make sure they aren’t wet when you begin the drying process. Now pick your method.

In a Dehydrator: My post on Harvesting and Drying Herbs from the Garden goes into more detail on dehydrating them using a dehydrator, but it’s pretty dang simple! Lowest possible setting and then 1-4 hours, checking after each hour to see if they are dried.

In the Oven: The oven method or cookie sheet method requires only a cookie sheet and whatever herbs your little heart desires. Spread your herbs out over the cookie sheet {they can overlap}. Turn your oven onto the lowest possible temp and place the cookie sheet in the oven for 2-3 hours.

Hanging in Bunches: I’d only recommend this method if you like in a dry climate because sometimes the bundles retain too much moisture and you get mold before they are dry. But if you want to try this method, you can clip the stems and bundle them with a rubber band or twine, then hang them upside down in a place that is warm and dry.

In the Microwave: Place a single layer of herbs on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with another paper towel. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Check to see if herbs are dry. If not, return tot he microwave for 30-second intervals until herbs are dry {this can take up to 10 minutes, depending on the herb!}.

Air Dry: In the summer months, I love to use the sun and hot weather. I lay them out flat on a cookie sheet or even my dehydrator racks and set them outside to dry. I like this method because they dry pretty slowly, which I think retains their flavor better {but that might be all in my head!}.

Now what do you do with all those dried herbs? Me, I prefer to pull out my coffee grinder and pulse small batches them. If you are drying multiple types of herbs, you want to make sure that in between each type of herb, you clean your coffee grinder, just so that the flavors don’t co-mingle.

I put the dried and lightly pulsed herbs into small mason jars and then store them in the pantry or cupboard. They will store for about a year, and the flavor is so much more intense than anything you can get in a store!

Do you grow and dry your herbs? If so, what is your preferred method?

~Mavis

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

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