Simple Syrup Recipes

Try it in iced tea or combine with rye whiskey, lemon juice and bitters for an amazing cocktail. We use a splash in Lemonade or Hot Herbal Tea!

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup dried Rose Petals or Lavender Buds

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir in the rose petals/lavender and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and steep for 15 minutes. Strain through a mesh sieve, reserving the syrup in a clean glass container.

Store in the refrigerator and use within one month.

You can also substitute Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Calendula, Chamomile, Dandelion, Hibiscus, Peppermint, Spearmint or any other herb you like!

 Tip: For a more tart flavor with the benefit of an abundance of vitamin C, add ½ cup Rose Hips to the ingredients.

 Sweet & Spice Juniper Simple Syrup is so flavorful people will think it took a lot of effort. Use this syrup to create your own signature cocktails and mocktails.

1 cup water
3 tablespoons dried juniper berries
3 cardamom whole pods or 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
1/2 c Orange/Lemon Peel or One whole fresh orange/Lemon

Using a mortar and pestle, lightly crush the juniper berries to break them open. Toss the berries into a medium saucepan. Repeat with the cardamom pods. Cut the orange peel into strips and add to the pan. Add the water and heat over medium heat to just bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in sugar. Simmer the mixture on the lowest heat for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Strain and refrigerate the reserved syrup. Use within 2 weeks.

 Lavender & Thyme Simple Syrup incorporates a botanical combination that compliments in baked goods, or in lemonade. In cocktails, pair it with vodka or gin, sparkling soda and fresh lemon juice. Placing the herbs in a small muslin bag makes straining the mixture much easier.

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
¼ cup lavender flowers
2 teaspoons dried thyme

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan. Place the lavender and thyme in a muslin bag and tie the top. Drop bag into the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep 10 minutes. Remove bag and transfer syrup into a clean glass container.

Refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.

Black Peppercorn Simple Syrup is an earthy, robust syrup that partners beautifully with the flavors of orange, grapefruit, persimmons, ginger and lavender.

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1⁄4 cup whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed or 10 drops Black Pepper Essential Oil

Combine water and sugar in a sauce pan. Crush peppercorns slightly using a mortar and pestle; add to pan and bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and steep for 10-15 minutes. Strain, reserving the syrup in a glass jar.

Store in the refrigerator and use within one month.

  

copyright 2015-2019 J&J Farm; JnJFarmKY; JnJFarmVA

Natural Disinfectant Spray

Here at J&J Farm we use AB Protection Blend but here is another recipe

Natural Disinfectant Spray Recipe

1oz Vodka or Witch Hazel
1oz Water
1 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
3 drops Sweet Orange Essential Oil
1 drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil
1 drops Lavender Essential Oil

OR 6 drops AB Protection Blend

Mix all ingredients together and add to a spray bottle. Shake the spray bottle frequently while cleaning.

2019 copyright J&J Farm; JnJFarmKY; JnJFarmVA

Air Freshener Spray Ideas

Basic
1 cup witch hazel
8-10 drops Essential Oil
OR for each ounce witch hazel use 1-2 drops Essential Oil

Deodorizing
6 drops Bergamot
1 drop Eucalyptus
2 drops Lemon

Pet Deodorizing
6 drops Cedarwood
3 drops Tea Tree

Apple Pie Spice
6 drops Cinnamon
3 drops Clove

Orange Spice
5 drops Sweet Orange
2 drops Cinnamon

Mood Lifter
4 drops French Lavender
3 drops Orange (Sweet or Blood)
2 drops Ylang Ylang

Stress Reliever
1 drops French Lavender
2 drops Rose
2 drops Clary Sage

Poo Chase (spray before bathroom use)
4 drops Eucalyptus
4 drops Peppermint

Pour into spray bottle, add drops of Essential Oil, shake VERY well before each use.

Remember these Essential Oils  can stain, so be careful where you spray.

2019 copyright J&J Farm; JnJFarmKY and JnJFarmVA

From J&J Farm

 

Hide Your Stuff in Plain Sight and a Burglar Will Be Baffled

I stumbled across this article right after a co-worker's house was broken into.  It reminded me of an old boyfriend who kept his Savings Bonds and other important papers in the bottom of his fridge under the veggie drawer.  

He kept it between two pieces of cardboard, wrapped in paper towels then sealed in two ziploc baggies; THEN taped down to bottom.  When I inquired he said a firefighter friend told him the fridge and freezers are the LAST things to burn in a house fire.  WOW! Great idea!

I am reposting it because I thought there were many good ideas and it made me come up with some new ones myself!

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Hide and seek was a great game for some of us as kids. As adults, some of us apparently did not learn much from that childhood game because we continue to hide cash and other valuables in places so obvious that anyone could find them.

Let's take a look at some of those lousy hiding places before we examine some good ones:

• Sock drawers
• Back of a wardrobe closet
• Inside a shoebox
• Inside a laptop
• Medicine cabinet, clothes pockets, briefcase and underneath a mattress

OK, enough of the not-so-good places to hide valuables. If you want to hide something in your home and increase the likelihood that it will not be found by a burglar, hide it where you think they won't look!

Whether it's cash, important documents, weapons, jewelry or anything else you value most in your home, hide it so well that an invader might be looking directly at the container in which it's hidden and not even consider trying to find it there. Here are some examples:

Kitchen Capers

One of my favorite places to hide small items such as cash and jewelry is in a can of soup. Open the can from the bottom, enjoy the soup, rinse out the can thoroughly, put your items in the can, replace the can bottom, and place the can at the bottom of a stack of other canned goods. Even if the burglar goes to the trouble of looking at the cans, he'll notice that the top is still on that particular can.

Above many kitchen cabinets is a walled-in area called a bulkhead. If you remove one or more of the wall cabinets, you can cut an opening and hide items in an area that's likely to be about 12 inches high, 10 inches deep and as long as the cabinets.

Put two pieces of Styrofoam around it (such as what steaks are packaged in) and then wrap the whole thing in aluminum foil and place it in your freezer.


**(I was thinking that dead space under cabinets, called toe space or toe kick; there are drawers you can install just under sink with a tiny shelf for sponges and the like.  Why not pull a piece of it an put a drawer in; but one you can kick with your toe and it pushes out like the old stereo cabinet drawers.  Here is a link to my idea: Under Cabinet)**

Family Room Fun

Sandwich your cash or another thin valuable between two pieces of cardboard backing within a difficult-to-reach picture frame. Even if the thief pulls the frame from the wall and looks at the back of it, he's unlikely to rip out the cardboard to examine it further.

Select the one or two heaviest objects in your house, such as an entertainment center or a piano, and place cash in an envelope under it. It's unlikely a burglar will expend enough energy to try to move those huge items.



**(There are so many products now like a fake book or can of tennis balls..make sure you HAVE these items already. If you have ONE classical book in your house and only magazines, it's a no brainer!)**

Think Outside the House

Another option for hiding your valuables from would-be thieves is by burying them in your backyard. This might be especially true for weapons beyond any that you want to keep inside your house. Guns, for instance, can be hidden in large-diameter PVC pipes, along with grease to prevent rust and coffee to keep residual moisture off them.

To your survival,

Frank Bates