Clean & Green

Recent clinical findings show that we are not staying healthier by cleaning with anti bacterial products, but the reverse, we are becoming sicker! But how do you clean so that things are clean, really clean? We do not want to spread viruses or bacterial infections, so what are some other effective ways to clean?

Baby Bottles…. Back in the day before disposable liners in baby bottles women sterilized bottles in a boiling water bath. Now that seems like lot of work, and it is. But there is a simpler method if you have a dishwasher…. just clean all the parts of the baby bottle (bottle, ring, and nipple) in the dishwasher. The water temperatures in the dishwasher are high enough to sterilize all parts of the bottles.

Vinegar…. especially apple cider vinegar, is disinfecting. Vinegar is actually weakly acidic, making it a powerful cleaning agent. The acid in vinegar cuts through grease and germs found on counter tops while also inhibiting bacteria and mold. Vinegar can be used to naturally disinfect bathrooms, counters, and floors. You can clean using a diluted solution (1:1) of vinegar and water. Far less cost and just as good a result. If you’re worried about the odd smell of vinegar being left behind in your home, don’t fret. The smell will dissipate and you’ll be left with an odor free home. Add a ½ part of rubbing alcohol to the mixture and use it to wash windows and glass surfaces. Apple cider vinegar can be used to rinse your hair after washing it with baking soda. Your hair will be shiny and soft as if you used an expensive shampoo after using the baking soda/apple cider vinegar combo for a while.

Cuts grease and removes stains; removes soap scum and cleans toilets (add a bit of baking soda if you like). Pour down drains once a week for antibacterial cleaning, and add to water in a spray bottle to kill mold and mildew. White vinegar in the washer will soften the water and help remove stains from laundry. In fact, if you put a cup of vinegar in a wash load of colored articles, your colors won't "bleed" into white clothing.

To clean showerheads and faucet aerators with calcium build up that has affected the nozzle function, either remove the showerhead and soak it in the vinegar or fill a plastic bag with vinegar and place the bag around the showerhead like a feedbag for a horse. Fully immerse the showerhead in the vinegar. Tie the open end of the bag with a twist tie and let it soak for 24 hours. Let it run for a minute after you remove the bag and then use it.

To clean showerheads and faucet aerators with calcium build up that has affected the nozzle function, either remove the showerhead and soak it in the vinegar or fill a plastic bag with vinegar and place the bag around the showerhead like a feedbag for a horse. Fully immerse the showerhead in the vinegar. Tie the open end of the bag with a twist tie and let it soak for 24 hours. Let it run for a minute after you remove the bag and then use it.

Baking soda… is great natural cleaner for scrubbing tubs and showers, freeing stoves and pans from baked on grease and neutralizing odors. Make a paste with water and baking soda and scrub away. More water will equal a softer, more liquid scrub and less water will give more oomph. Baking soda can also be used for brushing your teeth, washing your hair, and exfoliating your skin. It is the gentlest, while it will still be extremely effective, scrubber to be found in the chemical-free cleaning world.

An all-purpose cleaner especially effective for cleaning glass coffee pots and glassware, and removing red-wine stains from carpeting. A paste (made with water) can shine stainless steel and silver, and remove tea stains from cups and saucers. Make a paste with a castile- or vegetable-based liquid soap and a drop of essential oil (tea tree or lavender) to clean sinks, countertops, toilets, and tubs. Pour 1 cup down the sink to clear a clogged drain, followed by 3 cups of boiling water or better yet, hot vinegar. Baking soda and vinegar also clean the toilet bowl.

Use baking soda to freshen up the scent in any room that has carpet by shaking some into the carpet. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes to absorb any odors, and then vacuum it up. Sprinkle some into the bottom of hampers, trashcans, litter boxes, ashtrays, or anywhere else that bad odors reside. And of course we all know about leaving a box of baking soda in the refrigerator to absorb smells. You can do this trick in any cupboard or closet as well

Drain Cleaner
Pour approximately ½ cup of baking soda into your drain, followed by a generous cup of white vinegar. This will start fizzing and popping (the best part!), cleaning away any moderate grease or dirt blockages in your drain. Cover with a stopper for a few minutes, and then pour boiling water down the drain for a final clean. Great maintenance recipe!

Alcohol, Rubbing…a natural cleaning product that will kill germs is easy with rubbing alcohol. Along with removing gum and paint, rubbing alcohol can be used to disinfect surface after they are contaminated with raw meat. However, rubbing alcohol should not be used on wooden cutting boards at all because they will dry them, crack them and allow more bacteria inside. Hydrogen peroxide is a good natural cleaning product choice for cleaning wooden cutting boards.

Bleach…. Bleach has been used for ages as a disinfectant on glass, plastic, and wood! It is not just for your clothes! To insure that water is drinkably safe after a disaster, bleach can be added to the water, allowed to sit for 30 minutes, and consumed safely.

Coarse salt… Cleans copper pans and scours cookware. Sprinkle salt on fresh spills in the oven, then wipe off. Sprinkle salt on rust stains and squeeze a lime or lemon over them, let sit for several hours and wipe off. When you burn the inside of a pot while cooking, put some water in it, add a generous amount of salt and this will loosen the burnt food, which you can then scrub off more readily with steel wool.

Grapefruit seed extract… Add to water in a spray bottle for an odorless way to kill mold and mildew. I use only 20 drops to a spray bottle of water. You can also use it to wash produce to get rid of pesticides, and take it internally to kill parasites and most "bad" bacteria and viruses. It's also a better way to disinfect kitchen surfaces than by using bleach or other cleaners. I use it on and find that my counter tops feel cleaner than when I use commercial cleaning products.

Lemon juice: Lemon Juice is one of the strongest food acids, marked by its sour taste. Because the pH is so low, lemon juice can kill most household bacteria, while also leaving your home smelling fresh. Lemon juice is an all around natural cleaning wonder. With it, you can remove lime scale, make windows and mirrors shine, polish copper or brass, clean kitchen and bathroom surfaces, and remove sweat stains. Use as a bleaching agent on clothing, and to remove grease from stoves and countertops. Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice to 10 drops of (real) lemon oil and a few drops of jojoba oil to clean and polish wood furniture.

Olive oil: Use to lubricate and polish wood furniture (three parts olive oil to one part vinegar; or two parts olive oil with one part lemon juice).

Furniture Polish recipe #2
Mix together ½ cup olive oil to ¼ cup lemon juice. Add a couple of drops of lavender oil to this mix – smells amazing! Rub in a small amount to the wood surface and then wipe clean with a soft dry cloth. Lovely shine with a hint of lavender!

Tea tree oil: Can be added to vinegar/water solutions for its antibacterial properties. Use it to kill mold and mildew, and on kitchen and bathroom surfaces instead of chemical products. Add 50 drops to a bucket of water to clean countertops and tile floors.

Borax or Boric Acid… Borax has many defining properties that make it an excellent cleaning agent. When mixed with water, borax reacts to make a hydrogen peroxide / water solution. It also can act as a chemical buffer when cleaning, so the pH is what it needs to be to make something effectively clean. Borax is best known as an alternative to bleach. However, this natural cleaning product also cleans, deodorizes, disinfects, softens water, and effectively renews painted and wallpapered walls.

Add Borax to deodorize laundry. Also use ½ cup Borax with ½ -cup vinegar & 1 gallon of hot water as a general purpose cleaner. 2 Tbsp Borax, ¼ cup lemon juice and 2 cups hot water in a spray bottle is a good cleaner, too.

Note: While borax has a wide array of uses, and is naturally occurring, it can irritate the skin, and is toxic if ingested. Please keep borax out of reach of children and pets, and make sure to rinse clothes and surfaces before use.

Cornstarch… is actually derived from corn and is known for its fine, silky texture. Since it is a great deodorizer and can get into very small spaces, cornstarch is great for cleaning carpets and shining smooth surfaces. Also, as a starch it can be added to water to make a liquid starch solution perfect for ironing.

One of it’s most amazing cleaning qualities is its ability to remove grease stains. Not many products can claim to do that!

Depression Era Revisited

The economic outlook for America is pretty gloomy right now. Much like the Great Depression of 1929-1932. Our Grandparents made do with less. So can we. Bringham Young once said, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” If we live by that as our motto, as our grandparents did in the Depression, we too will survive as they did.

Following are a few of the recipes from that period. I have laid them out like menus. It makes it easier to imagine eating it! There is something here for any meal, so browse, try them out, and enjoy spending less, doing with less and doing it well!

Day 1

Breakfast:

Depression Rice Pudding
½ cup long grain white rice
½ cup sugar
1 can evaporated milk, diluted to make one qt [must use evaporated milk]
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
Cinnamon to taste
Grease a glass 9" x 13" Pyrex dish with solid shortening.
Preheat oven to 300F.
Place all ingredients except cinnamon in pan.
Generously sprinkle top with cinnamon.
At least once during the baking, stir cinnamon crust into the rice and sprinkle top again with cinnamon.
Let bake until rice is tender, or approximately 1-½ hours.
Let cool and serve either warm or cold.

Hard Times Coffee
Mix well 2 qts. Wheat bran and 1 pt. yellow corn meal.
Add 3 well-beaten eggs and 1-cup sorghum molasses.
Beat well, spread on pan and put in dry oven, on very low heat. (Wood stoves were kept warm at all times.)
Take great care to stir often while browning.
A handful is enough for two people.

Lunch:

Potato Soup

4 large potatoes, rinsed, peeled, cubed
Water
salt & Pepper
4 Tbsp plain flour
butter

Cook potatoes in water until overdone and falling apart.
Take some of the broth in a coffee cup.
Add the flour and wish with fork until smooth.
Pour into the potatoes and stir. Add Butter and serve.

Quick, Muffins

1/2 cups of flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup of butter or butter substitute

Mix into a bowl the flour, and baking powder, salt, sugar and egg.
Add milk, pour gradually into the bowl with other ingredients, beating with a fork as it is added. When the mixture is smooth, add butter or butter substitute melted.
Beat until the dough is smooth and creamy; this takes but a moment.
Grease the tins and only fill them half with the batter.
Place in hot oven 400 degrees F. Bake 25 Min.

Blackberry Tea

Pick the blackberry leaves and dry them. When you want to make tea, just crumble a couple of teaspoons of leaves to one cup of boiling water. Steep for five to ten minutes, and you have blackberry tea.

Dinner:

Meatless Loaf

1 cup rice
1 cup peanuts crushed
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients together.
Bake in a loaf pan, for 30 minutes, or until loaf is good and set.

Scalloped Corn

1 can corn
3 eggs
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups sweet milk
1/2 cup soda cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Beat eggs separately, put 1 teaspoon of butter in baking dish and 2 tablespoons butter melted butter into cracker crumbs. Add yokes of eggs, milk, salt and sugar to corn, fold in whites of eggs. Bake in casserole dish for fifty minutes in moderate oven.

Dessert:

Candied Orange Peel

4 oranges, peeled
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
8 drops oil of peppermint
1/2 cup cinnamon candies

Cut orange peel into thin strips with scissors.
Put in a saucepan, cover with cold water and let come to a boil.
Drain, cover again with cold water and bring to a boil again.
Drain; Add sugar and water.
Bring to a boil; Add cinnamon candies, continue to cook slowly until all but one tablespoon of syrup has boiled away.
Dredge in sugar.

(My kids are adults now….and every Christmas my son still begs for this candy!)


Day 2

Breakfast:

Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast

Makes a white sauce with butter melted in the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat and add flour until it is a thick paste. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly to keep smooth. Add enough milk to dilute to the consistency you want. Slice on package of chipped beef and add to the white sauce. Turn the heat back on and warm though.

Serve over toast

Lunch:

Depression Salad

1 can yellow hominy, drained
1 can black eyed peas, drained
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, diced
1/4 cup cooking oil, optional
1/4 cup vinegar salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the above ingredients together and serve hot or cold.

Dinner

POOR Man's Casserole

1 small head of cabbage
2 large potatoes
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 pounds of hamburger
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 stick butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt, more or less.
Depending on taste pepper to taste
Dash of paprika

Cut cabbage into cubes, salt and pepper to taste and cook until well done.
Drain. Peel and quarter potatoes. Salt and cook until well done.
Drain and mash potatoes with butter but make sure the mash potatoes are on the dry side.
Place hamburger in large skillet, add onion and cook until well done.
Drain off all the fat. Stir in the cumin. Line baking dish at least 3" inch deep with cabbage.
Place the meat mixture on top of cabbage.
Cover the top with the mash potatoes, sprinkle with paprika.
Bake for 25 minutes at 350/o. makes 4 large servings.
In the casserole you had your whole meal.

Wilted lettuce
1 large bowl of fresh clean garden picked lettuce pieces
8 slices of bacon fried and crumbled. (More if you like)
1 small onion diced small
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons sugar

Break lettuces into a large bowl and salt and pepper.
Add remaining ingredients to bacon fat in frying pan. (Use not more than 4 tablespoons of the bacon fat)
Bring this to a boil stirring constantly, pour over the lettuce, and toss lightly with salad fork and spoon until the lettuce is wilted.

Poor Man's Bread

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Water
Stir in enough water to make a batter and pour into greased skillet. (Use a cast iron skillet.)
Fry until brown on each side like a pancake.
Tastes great with homemade butter and jam.

Dessert:

ScrewdoodlesRoll

A piece of bread dough into a 8" rope, twist, fold in half and pinch ends. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. (This was always my favorite part of the meal!)

Saving Money with Cooking Basics

With the economy in the state it is, with people losing their jobs, families moving in together to conserve, and costs rising while incomes dwindle we all need to find ways to conserve. One of the best ways to do this is to make your own…go to the basics and find ways of conserving.

Stale bread – Why waste it? As long as it has gone stale before it has gone moldy there is no reason not to still use it. Granted it will not be very good for a sandwich anymore, but we can still keep from spending money on bread based items using stale bread.

1. Seasoned Bread Crumbs:
6 slices bread, dried out and crushed
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheeses mixed

Mix these and store in a recycled glass jar with the lid secured.

2. Dry Bread Crumbs: Save all your stale bread in plastic bags and store in
the refrigerator. (Whole wheat and rye bread crusts are also useful, but store and prepare them separately.)

Place bread on jellyroll pan and dry completely in a very slow oven (about 250º) until golden brown. Remove from oven and pulverize small batches in a blender. Or, put the dried bread crusts in a plastic or paper bag and crush with a rolling pin. These crumbs will keep several months if stored in a tightly closed container and, kept in a dry place.

3. Croutons: Croutons are an essential ingredient for Caesar salad, split pea,
or lentil soup, stuffing and many other dishes. To make them easily at home:

Bread (any type will do)

Remove the crusts from slightly stale bread. (Save these crusts to make breadcrumbs). Before bread is completely dried, cut into half-inch cubes, spread them out on a dry, flat jellyroll pan. Set the oven as low as possible (sometimes the pilot light will make it warm enough) and place pan in center of oven for about 3 hours, or until croutons are very dry.

Storage: They will keep several months in the refrigerator if stored in a heavy plastic bag or airtight container, and even longer in the freezer.

4. Garlic Croutons:

1-cup croutons
2tbsp butter
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

Take all ingredients and sauté in a large skillet until golden brown. Let cool and use as desired

5. Italian Croutons:

1-cup croutons
2tbsp butter
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
1clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp Italian seasoning (or 2 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano. 1 tsp parsley)

Take all ingredients and sauté in a large skillet until golden brown.
Let cool and use as desired

Bouquet Garni: Is a collection of herbs (traditionally fresh parsley, fresh or dried thyme, and bay leaf) that are bundled together and cast adrift in your pot to flavor a soup, stew, or broth. They are tied together so they can be removed easily at the end of the cooking. Below are some suggestions.

1. Fresh Herb Garni

Make a fresh herb bouquet garni by gathering together

3 sprigs of parsley
1 sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf.
If you want a hint of citrus, add a curl of lemon or orange peel.

Tie the herb sprigs together with a piece of kitchen twine. Drop the herbs in the pot and tie the other end of the twine to the pot's handle or the top of the lid.

Remove the garni from the pot when ready to serve the pot's ingredients. Simply untie the string from the handle and throw the garni in the trash.

2. Dried Herb Garni

Cut a square of cheesecloth or tulle and lay it out on the counter.

Measure out herbs and spices appropriate to the dish you're making.

Place the herbs and spices in the center of the square. Gather the corners together and tie with kitchen twine. This bouquet garni will be easy to find in your dish so you don't have to tie it to the pot handle or lid.

Use a slotted spoon or small hand-held colander to remove the dried garni from the pot, and then throw it away.

3. Bouquet Garni Seasoning
2 tsp. parsley flakes
2 tsp. thyme leaves
2 tsp. oregano leaves
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. basil leaves
1 tsp. marjoram leaves

In a small jar with a tight fitting lid combine all herbs; shake well. Store in cool dry place. Shake before using, measure and crush slightly. Use 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon for 4 servings. Can be used in stews, soups and with meat, fish, poultry or vegetables.

Recycle for Christmas

It’s not too early to begin planning for Christmas (Chanukah, Kwanza, Yule) now. And it is never a bad gift when your hands make it; your love and creativity construct it therefore you make it personal.

Start keeping jars for recycling into your treasures. Old spaghetti jars are just the right size to put all dry ingredients for bean soup in. Just place the ingredients, including spices into the jar, seal it. Cover the lid with a scrape of cloth and ribbon leftovers. If the different kinds of beans are layered to show off the colors , it is very pretty. Next make a nice label, either attached to the jar or hanging from the ribbon. On the label place the name of the soup, gifted by, and full directions for cooking the soup, including ingredient list. The label becomes a recipe card at the same time!

6 Bean Soup

Ingredients for Jar:
¼ cup baby lime beans
¼ cup small white beans
¼ cup black eyed peas
¼ cup garbanzo beans
¼ cup pink beans
¼ cup pink beans
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup dehydrated onions
½ cup dehydrated celery
½ cup dehydrated carrot
¼ cup dehydrated green pepper
½ cup dried parsley, minced
¼ teaspoon powdered garlic
½ bay leaf crumbled
½ teaspoon fines herbs
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 envelops chicken noodle soup (opened and poured into jar)

Ingredients for Label:
Parmesan Cheese grated

Directions for Label:
To soak beans: For each pound of dry beans, any variety, add 10 cups hot water.
Up to 2 teaspoons of salt per pound of beans may be added to help the beans absorb water more evenly.
Heat to boiling, let boil 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover and set aside for at least one hour, but preferably four hours or more.
The longer soaking time is recommended to allow a greater amount of sugars to dissolve, thus helping the beans to be more easily digested.
Always discard the soak water.
To maintain color integrity, soak beans separately.

Drain beans.
Combine vegetables with soup mix, 2-1/4 quarts water, bay leaf, fine herbs and soaked beans. Simmer, covered, about 1 hour to desired tenderness.
Serve hot sprinkled with cheese.

Note: a small zip lock baggy can be attached to the label filled with the cheese. Another zip lock baggy can be used inside the jar to hold and separate the spices and soup from the beans. Also note this is a large recipe and a larger jar will be needed.

Keeping the same idea, you could make up all the dry ingredients for brownies, layer it so the flour is white with the cocoa’s brown separate on top. On the label add directions for assembly and cooking- but do not forget to tell them what “wet” ingredients they have yet to add!

Brownies for Jar

Ingredients for Jar:
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup cocoa
1/3 cup red candy covered pieces (like M&M’s)
1/3 cup green candy covered pieces (like M&M’s)
½ cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar packed
1 cup white sugar

Ingredients for Label:
¾ cup softened butter
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions for Label:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place mix from jar into large bowl
Add butter and eggs
Mix until completely blended
Spread into lightly greased 9x9 pan
Bake for 35 minutes or until brownies just start to pull away from sides of pan
Cut into 16 pieces, 2x2


Another suggestion for the spaghetti jars you are recycling is to make bath salts up and place in the jar. Again the lid can be covered with fabric and ribbon with a label telling them what they have, how to use it and what the ingredients are (in case of allergies).
Making a bath salt is as simple as adding essential oils to some Epsom salts and….voila! instant bath salts. (In the next post I will put several different bath salt recipes, some far more complicated.)

How to Make Your Own Recycled Paper

First off.....I need to apologize in advance......Not for this article, but because of the authorship of it. Years ago I found this article, online. I didn't know much then, I didn't copy the URL or the name of the author......SO, I honestly don't know where it came from. It is a great, short piece on recycling paper, I knew it needed no improvement, so include it here. Again my apologies if it is your work with no credit.

Don't throw away your old newspapers. Try making your own recycled paper!

Recycled paper can be made from old newspaper, following the instructions below. Recycling paper uses cellulose (plant fibers) over and over again, it uses less electricity, less water, a lot less pollution, and it saves trees from being cut down!

You will need:

a food processor or an old blender
an electric iron
an old wire hanger
an old pair of panty hose
newspaper or other paper, torn into 2-inch squares
white glue
water
an insect screen or strainer (optional)
food coloring (optional)
a big sink or tub filled with 4 inches of water

Make sure you have a place to work where you can make a big mess!

Step One:Make a frame out of the coat hanger. You'll need a frame for each piece of paper you make. Stretch the hanger and bend it into a rectangle/square shape. Take one leg of the panty hose and stretch it carefully over the hanger frame. Make sure it is tight and flat.

Step Two:Put a handful of the torn up paper and some water into the food processor or blender. Blend the mixture on high until it becomes mushy. Keep adding paper and water until you have a big gray blob. You may have to add a little more water to keep things moving smoothly. Keep the food processor on until all the paper has disappeared. Then leave it on for 2 minutes.
For some color, add a handful of brown or red onion skin (not the onion itself, just the papery outer skin).

Step Three:Put 2 tablespoons of white glue in the sink water and add all of the paper pulp you just made. Mix it really well. Use your hands.

Step Four:Scoop the frame to the bottom of the sink, then lift it slowly. (Count to 20 slowly while you are lifting.) Let the water drain out for about a minute.

Step Five:Hang the frames on a clothesline or put them out in the sun. Wait until they are completely dry with no dampness at all. You can then gently peel off the paper.

Step Six:Use the iron, set on the hottest setting, to steam out your paper. You can keep making paper until the pulp is all strained out of the sink. Mix up the sink every time you make a new piece.

Try other things like using in insect screen over a wood frame, or a strainer instead of the pantyhose and hanger.

Try adding lots of food coloring, for colored paper, or try adding lint or leaves to the food processor. Your paper will have an interesting texture.

Making your own paper can be fun, and it's a great way to re-use old paper.
You can recycle all kinds of paper for re-use.
Sometimes paper printed from color-inkjet printers will run, that is, the color will bleed off and become part of your new paper, but that can make for an interesting effect!

Yucca

Common Names: Narrow leaf yucca, fine leaf
yucca, bear grass, mesa yucca, Indian
cabbage, pamilla, amole,
Spanish bayonet, Joshua tree,
datil, Spanish dagger








Latin Name:
Yucca angustissima
Yucca – Named after the root of the cassava plant from which tapioca is made (yucca is
a Carib word), perhaps because
of the similarity of the roots
Angustissima – narrow-leafed

Navajo name: Tsa’aszi’ts’ooz - narrow yucca (Talawosh, ‘water suds,’ name for root; Nidoodloho, ‘the green fruit’; Nideeshjiin, ‘stalk black,’ name for young, dark stalk; Nideesgai, ‘stalk white,’ name for taller stalk

Description & Distribution: Fine leaf yucca is a perennial with fleshy, long, stiff, narrow pointed leaves and a tall stalk of large white flowers growing almost directly from the fleshy roots. Leaves may extend to 20 inches above the root crown. The flowering stalk may reach 4 feet. The fruit is a large plump capsule with many medium seeds; the capsule becomes woody and splits open. So much energy goes into producing the flower, stalk and fruits that most yuccas bloom only once every few years. For fertilization of the flower, yuccas in the southwest depend upon a night visit by a tiny, highly specialized female moth that brushes the flower’s stigma with collected pollen as she enters the blossom to lay her single egg in the flower’s ovary.
Conspicuous but scattered, yucca occur in communities of blackbrush, and joint fir, shadescale and black greasewood, big sagebrush, and fourwing saltbrush, blue gamma and galleta, Colorado pinyon, and junipers, and ponderosa pine and
gambrel oak.

Elevations are from about 3,800 feet to about 7,000 feet.
Associates are green Mormon tea, sand dropseed, broom snakeweed and green rabbitbush. The sites are often slopes with coarse to medium soils.
A tall flower stalk rises from a thick clump of leaves. Height: 4' (1.2 m).Flowers 2" (5 cm), greenish white, cup-shaped, leathery, mostly
drooping, abundant; on annual stalk. Leaves 2', linear, stiff, sharp; edges white, fibrous, shreddy.

History: With an enormous variety of uses, yuccas constitute the single most important non cultivated group of plants for prehistoric and contemporary Indians living in the southwest. One of the basic requirements for a people progressing toward a more advanced society would have been the ability to tie one object to another; to do this, you usually need some kind of cordage. The long, tough fibers that could be extracted from yucca leaves played a fundamental role in early weaving, manufacturing, and construction, especially before cotton was imported from the south. Yucca fibers were twisted or braided into twine and rope that e=were used for lashing house beams, fixing ladder rungs, fashioning blankets or belts, making bowstrings, and nets for fishing or trapping small game, sewing animal-skin robes, and binding together all manner of items.

Mush more recently, in an experiment during WWII, fibers from narrow leaf yucca growing in the wild were commercially extracted and made into paper for use by the U.S. Navy.

During excavation of Aztec Ruins, aboriginal hairbrushes made from the pointed enda of yucca leaves were discovered. Strips of banana yucca leaves or whole narrow leaf varieties were employed to make paintbrushes, and to weave baskets, bags, mats, and tapestry at many Ancestral Puebloan villages. Perhaps the single most universal use was in the manufacturing sandals. The 406 sandals recovered during the 1970’s excavation of Antelope House at Canyon de Chelley showed surprising diversity in heel and toe shape, heel and toe strap design, weaving rhythm, weaving technique, and of course size. The mix included course plaited sandals made from banana yucca strips, fine plaited sandals made from narrowleaf yucca, as well as twined and wicker sandals made from yucca cordage. Some of these woven sandals employed both types of yucca, one in the warp and the other in the woof.

Although the preponderance of evidence for prehistoric use relates to manufacturing, there is plenty to indicate that yucca fruits were an item in the Ancestral Puebloan diet. This is particularly true of the thick, sweet fruit of the banana yucca, which could be eaten green. Although it was more likely dried and stored for use in winter.

Uses:
Hopi uses:
Food: The fruit of the banana yucca was dried and stored for winter use. Today they bake the fruit in earthen ovens.
Medicinal: The Hopi have used the crushed roots for a strong laxative and to cure baldness.

Navajo uses:
Ceremonial: Fiber from the narrowleaf yucca is used to tie ceremonial equipment- hoops, prayersticks, unravelers, and chant arrows. The juice is used to make paint for ceremonial pipes. Leaves of the yucca that a deer has jumped over are heated in coals. When they are soft, juice is wrung from the leaves onto small, flat stones that hold paint pigments.
Probably the most important ceremonial use of yucca is bathing in suds made from the yucca root. For example, boys and girls have their hair washed with yucca suds on the next to last night of the Nightway. Most ceremonies include a ceremonial bath of yucca suds for the patients as well as the singer, along with other cleansing rituals. Purification, clean thinking, and a serious attitude are important in Navajo ceremonies.
Navajo creation stories tell how the Navajos learned weaving from Spider Woman, a Navajo holy person. Before the 1500’s Navajos wove mats and sandals with fiber from the narrow-leaf yucca, the inner bark of the juniper and later with locally grown cotton. All this changed when the Navajo acquired sheep from the Spaniards.
Medicinal: Yucca is used in childbirth. The roots are soaked in water, the liquid is strained and given to a woman having a long labor. A cupful of yucca suds and sugar is given to the mother to help deliver the afterbirth.
Other: Yucca is used to wash wool and as an ingredient in several dyes. Soap made from the crushed root is used to wash hair. Sometimes sagebrush is added to make the hair smell good, grow long and soft, and to prevent it from falling out.
The 102 counters of the Moccasin game are often made of Yucca. An arrow poison is made with yucca juice mixed with charcoal from a
lightening struck pinyon or juniper tree and rubbed on 6 inches
of the tip of the arrow.

This yucca is often called the banana plant by Navajos
although the fruit tastes more like a date and is not considered
as good to eat as the fruit of the wide leaf yucca. However,
the fruit may be roasted in ashes, eaten raw or sliced and dried
for winter.
The crushed fruit is used to make a cheese from goat’s milk.
Other parts of the plant are edible. Flower buds are roasted in
ashes for 15 minutes, leaves are boiled with salt.
Jicarilla Apache: Use yucca suds to wash plant materials woven into baskets

Shampoo recipe: boil one-half to one cup of the chopped fresh or dried root in one and a half cups of water until suds form.

Collecting: The root at any time of the year. Should be split lengthwise, before drying. If for medicinal use, the bark may be removed; if for washing or rinsing the hair, the bark should be left on. Use only after drying.

Cultivation: From roots dug in the late fall and replanted in well-drained, sandy soil. A cinch.

Forage Value: Sheep eat yucca, especially the flower buds.

Warnings: None specifically, although strong tea, drunk in large quantities, has been used traditionally to stimulate birthing; therefore if you are pregnant, don’t drink five days worth in one sitting.

Disclaimer: Nothing herein written is to imply diagnosis or recommendation for treatment.It is presented for historical interest only

References:

Dunmire, William w., and Tierney, Gail D., Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four Corners, Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, NM, 1997……pg 145-148

Mayes, Vernon and Lacy, Barbara Bayless, Nanise’: a Navajo Herbal, Navajo Community College Press, Tsaile, Arizona 1989….116-118

Moore, Michael, Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, NM, 2003……pg 280-282

Prickly Pear Cactus

Common Names: Plains prickly pear, Many-spined cactus,

Latin Name: Opuntia phaeacantha (desert), polycantha (plains) and similar species

Phaeacantha – From the Greek phaea, “dark,” and akantha, “thorn”

Navajo name: Hosh niteeli, “broad cactus”

Description and distribution: Plains prickly pear is a short cactus forming small, waxy, greenish clumps of flattened, jointed, roundish stems under 1 foot tall. The pads (terminal stem sections) bear several principal spines and many glochids (short, stiff, sharp hairs) on most of the tubercles (orderly bumps) on the faces and margins ( spines on bumpsalong the margins may be as long as 1 ¾ inches). Marginal bumps bear the yellow flowers and fruits.

Sandy or gravelly soils of hillsides, flats, canyon rims, and mesas in grasslands, deserts, oak woodlands, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and montane forests.

Clumps of prickly pear are scattered in woodlands of pinyon (Pinus sp.) and juniper (Juniperus sp.) and in overlapping woodland and forest between elevations of 6,000 and 7,200 feet (the higher elevations on south slopes). Broadleaf yucca (Yucca baccata) seems to be a common associate.

The Desert Prickly-pear is an erect or sprawling shrub with fleshy fruit and brown to black spines. This species has a very wide range, and up to ten or more varieties have been described, making exact identification confusing. Usually the varieties are distinguished by pad size, spine distribution on the pad, spine color and size, and fruit length. The Desert Prickly-pear has adapted to both the deserts of Texas and the cool moist forests of the Rocky Mountains. It blooms from April to June.

History: The fruits were regular dietary items for most Ancestral Puebloans, although at Chaco, where the fleshy-fruited species is absent today, they seem to have played a minot role. Much farther south, the Aztecs of Mexico recognized thirteen varieties of prickly pear fruits, some sour, some sweet; some eaten raw, others werecooked. The ancient Maya Indians also ate them. Prickly pear fruits would have provided a good source of protein, vitamin C, potassium, and calcium.
In more recent times prickly pear has been recorded as a food item for Hopi, Rio Grand Pueblo, Navajo, and Southern Paiute Indians.

Uses:

Hopi Uses: Food source.

Navajo Uses:
Medicinal: The fleshy leaf is peeled and bound over a cut to stop the bleeding.
Ceremonial: Cactus people are part of the Navajo origin myth, and thus, cactus is used in several ceremonies.
Other: The sweet juicy fruit was eaten by the Navajos, fresh, dried, or cooked in a stew with dried peaches. The spines of the fruit were removed by rolling the fruit in sand or by singeing it is hot ashes.
The sticky juice from cactus stems was used as glue in making the buckskin war shield.
The cactus was used to make an arrow poison. A mixture of rattlesnake blood, yucca juice and charcoal from the pith of the cactus was painted on at least 6 inches of an arrow.
A variety of rose and pink dyes can be made from the ripe cactus fruit. The riper or darker the fruit, the darker the dye. A rose dye is made by steeping ripe prickly pear fruit and bark or roots of Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens) in water.
Ripe prickly pear fruits are still one of the most important wild plant dye sources for traditional Navajo rug weavers.

Dye Recipe: Rose Taupe Dye

1 lb. Mountain Mahogany rootbark
1 lb. Prickly pear fruit
1 lb yarn
1 cup juniper ash water

Boil rootbark for 1 hour in a 5-gallon can of water. Strain and cool until lukewarm. Soak cactus fruit in 1 quart of lukewarm water and strain, pushing the pulp through strainer. Add pulp and water to rootbark solution. Add yarn, which has been in juniper ash water. Allow to ferment in a warm place for 1 week. Rub dye into yarn often. Rinse thoroughly.

Ute uses:
Sometimes used cactus juice to temper their pots before firing.

Forage Value: This cactus is a nuisance on
rangeland, becoming more frequent
as grass is grazed away.

Nutritional Content of Prickly Pear fruit: (100 grams of raw fruit)
Water % - 88 Iron mg - 03
Calories – 42 Sodium mg - 2
Protien g - .5 Potassium mg - 166
Fiber g – 10.9 Vit. A IU - 60
Carbohydrates g – 1.6 Thiamine mg - .01
Ash g – 05 Riboflavin mg - .03
Calcium mg – 20 Niacin mg - .4
Phosphorus mg – 28 Ascorbic Acid mg - 22

Cactus Fruit Jelly Recipe:
Prep Time: 45 min Total Time: 2 hr
Serves: about 8 (1-cup) jars or 128 servings

Ingredients:1 Tbsp. each Ingredients:3-1/2 cups prepared juice (about 3 lb. fully ripe cactus fruit) 1 cup water 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 7-1/2 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl (See tip below.) 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine (optional) 2 pouches CERTO Fruit Pectin

Preparation:Bring boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot, soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling. Remove fine thorns and blossom ends from fruit. Cut into small pieces. Crush cactus fruit, one layer at a time. Place in saucepan; add water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place 3 layers of damp cheesecloth or jelly bag in large bowl. Pour prepared fruit into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed; hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. Press gently. Measure exactly 3-1/2 cups juice into 6- or 8-quart saucepot. Add lemon juice. Stir sugar into juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin quickly. Return to a full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon. Ladle quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches; add boiling water if needed. Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 5 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Warnings: These cacti have sharp spines as well as tiny barbed hairs called glochids that can be difficult to remove from the skin. The spiny pads often break off and stick in the noses and throats of livestock.

Disclaimer: Nothing herein written is to imply diagnosis or recommendation for treatment.It is presented for historical interest only

References:

Mayes, Vernon and Lacy, Barbara Bayless, Nanise’: a Navajo Herbal, Navajo Community College Press, Tsaile, Arizona 1989….76-77, 142

Dunmire, William w., and Tierney, Gail D., Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four Corners, Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, NM, 1997……191-193