Sunshine Cafe

Homemade Buttermilk, Sour Cream and Cream Cheese are delightfullly simple to make.  I was really surprised when I learned just how easy this process can be. Buttermilk 1/2 cup buttermilk ( I used a starter culture to get mine going.  You can buy one here , or get one from a friend who is already making homemade buttermilk.  You only have to buy it once and can keep making buttermilk from it indefinitely.  I've been making buttermilk from this starter for a couple of years now. ) 3 1/2 cups milk Pour buttermilk and milk into a quart-sized mason jar.  Shake gently.  Leave on the counter at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.  The milk will thicken into buttermilk.  Transfer to the fridge.  Be sure to keep at least 1/2 cup for the next batch! Sour Cream/ Creme Fraiche 1/2 cup homemade buttermilk 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (not ultra-pasteurized, if you can find any that isn't!) Pour buttermilk and cream into a pint-sized m...

Continuing to try out this weekly homemaker routine, I set out to Iron on Tuesday.  I haven't ironed much of anything in years.  Occasionally, my husband will need a shirt ironed and I will haul out the ironing board and press it for him; usually I throw in a shirt  or two for my son and a few other things while the board is out.  Ironing hasn't been a big part of my routine for some time. I used to regularly iron shirts for my husband when he worked at an office.  Then when KB was born, I was overwhelmed with all the things having a new baby and a toddler entails.  I began taking his shirts to the dry-cleaner to be washed and pressed.  At $1.50 per shirt, this seemed like a bargain. My kids loved the weekly trip to our dry-cleaner and visiting with the nice couple that owned it and their little dogs.  I'm not sure when we stopped taking shirts there.  Perhaps it was when my husband switched jobs and stopped wearing dress shirts.  He s...

As I read old homemaking routines from the 1950's and earlier, I can't help but wonder what my grandmothers' days were like.  And what their mothers' days were like.  All the way back. Thinking that perhaps one day my granddaughters or great-granddaughters will wonder what I did all day, I thought I'd jot down some notes as I go about my day and then keep them here. Monday 2/15/16 President's Day No School today Kids are sleeping late because they were at a friend's Valentine's Day party late last night while my husband and I had a Date Night! 6:00 am - Wake.  Husband is working from home.  He works at the computer desk in the dining room.  I sip my coffee and eat a muffin. 7:00 am - Head to the gym,  Today is a Chest & Triceps workout.  I've had a cold for about a week, and before that had a sore arm from donating blood, so it's been almost four weeks since I've had a good workout.  I do about a 45 minute weights workout, then...

Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday, Mend on Wednesday, Churn on Thursday, Clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday, Rest on Sunday. - Old Nursery Rhyme I recently came across this old nursery rhyme when researching vintage embroidery patterns.  I had heard it before, but I'm not sure where.  I believe it is in one of the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I also may have seen it during other vintage homemaking searches. At some point, it seems, that "Churn on Thursday" was replaced with "Market on Thursday".   I will be working on embroidering a set of these Days-of-the-Week dish towels as soon as I find a pattern that inspires me. In the meantime I thought it would be fun to try out this routine in my daily life, with some modifications for a more modern lifestyle. Today I began with "Wash on Monday."  Life is certainly easier with electric washing machines, so laundry is no longer an all-day affair.  I typically tr...